Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 896: Silver is not necessary
In front of Rongguo Mansion,
The scene has changed. Many managers, accompanied by their servants, have started to go to the alleys and lanes, beating gongs.

With a "ding" sound, people immediately gathered around to watch what was happening. As the number of people increased, several managers started shouting,

Shouting,

"My dear young masters, the master is planning to build a garden. We will give you three taels of silver a month, including food. If you do a good job, you will get a reward later. The second mistress said that the Jia family members will be given priority."

Seeing that the Rongguo Mansion was in need of more people, many of the people who had been chatting idle could no longer sit still and rushed over, shouting that they were needed.

Even some local residents who had no work came here, making a lot of noise.
The carriage of the Marquis's Mansion,
After he finished speaking, he arrived at the gate of Rongguo Mansion. He looked at the noisy alley to the west. Zhang Jinyu didn't care about it. In fact, he was still thinking about whether he should take people to search Xuanzhen Temple. Jia Jing had been locked up there for more than ten years. How could he sit still?

The earlier guess has not been verified yet, so I have to figure it out.
"Get out of the car and go in,"

"Yes, Lord Marquis,"

Ning Bian got off the carriage first, and the personal soldiers behind him dismounted and followed him. The group went straight into Rongguo Mansion. It was not known whether the gatekeeper had given instructions or the Marquis came more often. When he saw that it was Marquis Luo Yun, he only sent someone to inform the old lady first, and the rest of the people did not try to stop him, and let the Marquis's people go in.

As soon as he entered the mansion, he went to Rongqing Hall from the side courtyard path, leaving a few gatekeepers looking at each other and asking;

"Butler, why don't we ask?"

Who knew that the manager had an inexplicable smile on his face?

"You guys are all so dumbfounded watching the gate. Miss Xichun from the East Palace followed you into the Marquis' Mansion."

"Well, you are still wise."

There were sounds of flattery and laughter coming out, it was so joyful.

After passing the front yard, go through the east end of the corridor in the middle yard, enter the corner gate, and walk a little further to Rongqing Hall.
Although there are many twists and turns, the road becomes familiar after walking a lot. When Zhang Jinyu saw a few maids talking at the inner gate, she knew she had arrived.

at this time,

In the inner hall, after everything was settled, Jia She and Jia Zheng hurriedly took their people back to raise money. Lady Xing and the Second Wife wanted to follow them, but were stopped by Lady Jia.
"Why are you two following me? Let me handle the outside work. Didn't I just tell Lai Da to start recruiting people today? Once Master Song has finished drawing the plan, don't wait. Work will start today. There is no delay."

"Yes, old lady,"

Mrs. Xing and the second wife nodded and sat there somewhat apprehensively, not knowing how much of the silver would be left in the end.
Jia Zheng had no problem saying that there were 180,000 taels of silver in the Rongxi Hall treasury. As long as someone sent the 160,000 taels of silver to the Rongguo Mansion treasury account, the silver would be considered as paid by the second wife. In fact, Jia Zheng did not want to ask about this, but because it involved his daughter, he felt a little guilty, so this time, he personally took Zhou Rui and the key into the treasury.

Upon entering the door,

He saw two rows of shelves, filled with a dazzling array of things, covered with brocade. Jia Zheng frowned, walked to a place, removed the brocade, and saw a gold and silver object of great value. He removed the brocade at the side, and still saw the same thing. He could not help but ask in surprise,
"Zhou Rui, you used to be in charge of the treasury. How many of these similar artifacts do you have?"

Zhou Rui followed behind, not daring to breathe. He had brought these things from the Duke's Mansion with his men, and only the Second Wife knew about it.

"My Lord, these are all things that the Second Madam used to visit various residences. They have never been touched, but there are quite a few of them. There are also some rare items that are worth a lot of money."

"Well, in that case, how much money can we get if we keep some of the things that catch our eye, like these objects, and sell them all?"

Jia Zheng didn't care about these things. He knew that the mansion was short of money. Instead of leaving these things behind, he would rather exchange them for some silver. When the Ministry of Works was on duty today, the Wu family, the Guo family, the He family, etc., all entered the Ministry of Revenue with silver bills in their hands.

After asking, I found out that they were going to ask the elders to borrow people. If the masters of the Ministry of Works had not gone to the mausoleum to build the tomb, the construction would have started long ago. Thinking of this, Yuanchun must be in even greater need. Jia Zheng was worried for the first time.
Seeing the second master talking like this, Zhou Rui wanted to speak, but he didn't dare to say anything more. How could he interrupt the master's affairs?

"Master, these things are made of gold and silver, so they are easy to sell. The East Market will buy these things. If you calculate, there are at least 60,000 taels of silver. If you decide, I will send someone to deliver the things to the East Market and exchange them for silver."

"Well, let's do it this way. Bring more guards with you. If that doesn't work, you can ask for silver notes."

"Yes, sir."

After watching it,

Jia Zheng locked the door of the storeroom and returned to the inner courtyard.
In the study room of the East Garden, Jia She was so angry that he was throwing things around. Qiu Tong was sitting there in a gauze dress, raising her eyes and asking;

"Master, what made you so angry? You started throwing things as soon as you entered the door. These were all bought with silver."

When he heard the words "buy with silver", Jia She's expression, which had calmed down a little, turned red again and he cursed:
"Humph, I bought them with money. After today, some of these things will belong to me. They want me to pay for the garden. How can that be justified? The wealth is theirs, but they are thinking of paying me for the money."

Jia She was so angry that he didn't hold back and said everything. Qiu Tong smiled slightly. Everyone knew what was going on in the mansion. The one who made the decision was the Second Wife. Even the current Second Wife was taking care of others.

"Oh, Master, from what you said, there is a noble in the mansion. As the saying goes, a big tree provides shade. From now on, money will be freely available. I wonder how much money Master will pay?"

"You little idiot, why are you asking these questions? What can you do with 40,000 taels of silver?"

Jia She calmed down and knew what the woman meant. Being a royal relative was a golden sign. There would be many ways to make money in the future. The Yun family in Chang'an County had some intentions long ago to form some caravans together. There was also Qi Yun, the governor of Ping'anzhou in the north, who had even talked about some hidden ways to make money. This way, there would be no problem. Thinking of this, the unhappiness in his heart dissipated a lot.
However, the manager Xu Chang of the Rongguo Mansion's caravan has been silent. He went out last time to buy food for the mansion. Didn't Miss Feng say that she wanted to reorganize the caravan? Why is there no movement?

"You are such a playboy, but you can actually say such words. I am a real man and I love you well. But I really can't take out 40,000 taels of silver."

Jia She calculated that he only had 10,000 taels of silver in his hand, which was the leftover from before. Now he had to take out 40,000 taels of silver at once, which was really a difficult task.

But I didn't know that Qiu Tong was full of charm. She was wearing a gauze dress, and facing the light, the situation inside could be seen clearly.

"Look at what the master said. Look, there are so many things in this room. If we take out some of them, it will be enough."

Qiu Tong's words implied that if they sold some of the things in this room, they would get some money. Some of the antiques and paintings in this room were left by the Duke's Mansion, and the other part was bought one by one by Jia She using the money obtained from the mansion. How could they bear to sell them? In the future, they might still rely on these things.

"No, no, not to mention that these things are hard to come by, even for the birthday banquet next month, I have to carefully select a few. If I sell them, I won't have anything suitable to give as gifts in the future."

This was true. Jia She calmed down, sat down slowly, and looked at the boxes in the room, but he felt a little proud in his heart. These things, others wanted to get, but they really couldn't. Not to mention the calligraphy and paintings of the previous dynasties, there were also some collections of calligraphy and paintings left by the literati of the Han and Tang dynasties. Of course, regardless of how much they were worth, being able to get them was also a favor to many people. Qiu Tong had no idea about these things. The study should be neat and tidy. Now, not only are the boxes full, but there is also a big bed here. Every time he is happy with himself, he doesn't avoid these things used by scholars. They are dead things and can't be used as silver. With silver, you can have everything.

"I don't understand what you said, Master. But if you don't keep any money, I'm afraid these things will be sold at a low price when something goes wrong. It's better to take advantage of the capital. As you said, when the palace celebrates, many dignitaries will look for these things everywhere, and the price will definitely go up. In this way, Master can sell more and only keep a few valuable ones. Not only can you make money, but you can also give away things. You can kill two birds with one stone. Who would dislike the hot money?"

The more Qiu Tong spoke, the redder her face became. It was true. A few days ago, several old relatives came to inquire if there were any better gifts. It seemed that even if the price was 30% higher, there would be people who wanted them. He rolled his eyes and looked at the locked boxes against the wall. If he sold all of them, the more than 100,000 taels of silver would increase by 30%, and then all these years of hard work would not be in vain. The 40,000 taels of silver he had paid would not be much left. After the birthday banquet, the prices of these things would surely drop, and he could buy them back then. The profit would be double. Jia She stroked his chin, kept silent, and thought carefully. What Qiu Tong said made sense. If the price was high, he would sell, and if it was low, he would buy. Coming here a few times a year was better than fiddling with those business outside. The more he thought about it, the more satisfied he became.

"You are smart. I will do as you say. However, I am a little unhappy. How do you think?"

Qiu Tong knew the lewd smile on his face. Her face turned red, and she walked over and whispered,
"master,"

How could Jia She bear it? He put down his clothes and rushed over.

But inside Rongqing Hall,

The matter of repairing the garden has been decided. The money and other things have been arranged. The manpower is also ready. Let some people clean up the house first, and the rest, after recruiting people, will start to demolish the house.

Wang Xifeng's eyes were filled with excitement. This was the biggest opportunity. Even if the garden was worth 400,000 taels, if she intervened, she could at least get some profit. However, the old lady did not let her go. She was anxious and had to wait.

"Old Madam, you are so lucky. I thought it would be difficult to build this garden, but you completed it in just one day. I heard from the servants in charge of purchasing that only our Rongguo Mansion has started construction in the capital, and there is no news from other mansions."

Only Feng girl could say such flattering words, but what she said was also the truth. The only master craftsmen in the Ministry of Works in the capital city were under Doctor Qin. It was just that I didn't know where the one sent by the Marquis came from.

After all, Mr. Zheng from the Ministry of Industry had also said that everyone had gone to the mausoleum. How to explain these things? Although the old lady was confused, she only heard the general idea, but she also knew that some things could not be said nonsense.

"You are saying nice things. No matter where the Marquis found this person, we just need to use him. If anyone outside asks about it, we will know nothing about it."

"Yes, listen to the old lady,"

Wang Xifeng responded with a hoarse voice. Seeing Ping'er still following behind her, she was furious and signaled her to go out and see how the managers arranged things. Ping'er understood and retreated carefully.
Just at this time,

The old woman outside the house called out to the inside.
"Madam, Madam, the Marquis is here."

There was only the sound but no one was there. But the old woman was smart. No one dared to stop Marquis Luo Yun from coming here. They were not very agile, so when they saw the Marquis coming, they shouted first.
really,

Zhang Jinyu didn't stop at all. As soon as he finished speaking, he stepped into the inner hall and looked around. He saw that Daiyu and Baochai were not there. Several wives of the house were here. He didn't know what they were discussing. What did they say was, "Four women make a play?" No, three women make a play. These ladies who are good at it must sing Kunqu opera to cheer them up.
When he reached the inner hall, he bowed and said;
"I am sorry to bother you today. I pay my respects to the old lady."

"Your Majesty, there is no need to be polite. Please take a seat."

Grandmother Jia was also a little surprised. Seeing Marquis Luo Yun coming here in such a hurry, what happened? Could it be that someone else wanted to borrow Master Song from him? That was impossible.

Zhang Jinyu nodded and sat down next to Wang Xifeng. Without arranging a seat, Wang Xifeng stood up and served tea to the Marquis first, and asked with a smile;
"My Lord, are you here today for something? Are you planning to change your mind and take Mr. Song back?"

Zhang Jinyu reached out to take the tea bowl and was about to thank her when she saw Sister Feng's nervous look. She found it a little funny. How could she go back on her word? Even for Daiyu's sake, she couldn't do such a shameless thing.
"What are you talking about, Sister Feng? Since you have agreed to the Rongguo Mansion, how can you go back on your word? The garden renovation has been decided, so it is better to start work as soon as possible."

After saying that, he took a sip of tea. However, the taste was really not good. It was not as good as the tea brewed by Yuanyang.
Luo Yunhou's unintentional words made everyone in the room, especially the old lady, feel relieved, but they also felt a little strange and asked;

"Since the Marquis is not here for this matter, then what is it for, so early in the morning?"

It's a bit strange. If there's nothing wrong, he wouldn't come here in person.
Zhang Jinyu put down the tea bowl. He didn't know how much the old lady knew about the affairs of Xuanzhen Temple, or whether Madam You knew the inside story. But looking at the women in the room, as the saying goes, women in the inner house are good at fighting inside, but not outside. Only when the old lady is around can she suppress them. When Lady Jia left, the monkeys scattered when the tree fell.

"Old Madam, I really have something to discuss with you. It's about Ningguo Mansion, but I don't know how to start. Maybe you know something."

Zhang Jinyu spoke hesitantly, half covering up, which aroused everyone's curiosity. What's the big deal? It involves Ningguo Mansion. Jia's mother thought for a moment. If it's related to Ningguo Mansion, it must be Jia Zhen. He has been punished and exiled. What else can she do?

"I don't know what the Marquis wants to ask specifically. Ningguo Mansion only has a title, and there are only some family properties listed in the public account. There is only a hollow manor outside the pass. These..."

"Ahem, don't think too much, old lady."

Zhang Jinyu had to interrupt Lady Jia. The Ningguo Mansion matter had been settled. How could they force it further? It would cause dissatisfaction among the nobles in the capital. It would not be worth the loss. Besides, Jia Zhen could not leave the capital.
"Old Madam, the Ningguo Mansion's matter has long been settled, so I don't want to say more. I came here today to ask if the Xuanzhen Temple outside the city, Ningguo Mansion, or the Jia family, is still needed."

This question,
Everyone was puzzled, but Wang Xifeng reacted the fastest and asked with a smile;

"Why, the Marquis has taken a fancy to Xuanzhen Temple? Could it be that the Marquis also wants to practice Taoism?"

There was a smile in her beautiful eyes. It was said that Taoists did not forbid women, but before entering the Taoist sect, one had to keep the yang energy from being lost and strengthen the foundation. Marquis Luo Yun was young and full of vigor. If he really wanted to practice Taoism, would his elder sister-in-law, Madam You, and the people in the mansion be willing to give him up? She didn't know what she was thinking about, her face turned red, and she felt something strange under her body.

"Sister Feng is joking. I don't practice Taoism. I just want to buy it and change its appearance. Some old friends from Jiangnan have come here. They are Buddhist disciples and have no place to stay in the capital. So I want to change the appearance of Xuanzhen Temple and find a place for them to stay."

Zhang Jinyu did not hide it. Although it was not difficult to rebuild a new one, there were a group of nuns in the mansion, and there were many gossips. Hearing about this, Jia's mother nodded and said it was not difficult. After all, Xuanzhen Temple was built on the land bought by the Jia family. If it was abandoned, it would be bad.
"Since the Marquis has said so, it is not difficult. Madam You, from the Zhu family, what do you think?"

Although the old lady can make the decision, the Xuanzhen Temple was built with the money from the Ningguo Mansion, and the food and drink expenses were also provided by the Ningguo Mansion, so these transactions are still decided by the Ningguo Mansion.

How could Madam You and Li Wan disagree? They had previously discussed whether they could sell Xuanzhen Temple for cash to save money for Ningguo Mansion. Now that the Marquis was here, it would be a great gift to him.
"Listen to the old lady. Since the Marquis can use it, then give it to the Marquis. It will also save the Ningguo Mansion from future offerings."

Li Wan spoke first, and Madam You nodded. Only Madam Xing and the Second Madam opposite were puzzled. Over the years, Ningguo Mansion had spent all its resources on Xuanzhen Temple, and now it was just given away for nothing. It was really true that one does not know how expensive firewood and rice are until one manages the household. Madam You wanted to say something, but she smiled and said;
"If the Marquis wants it, just take it. If Xuanzhen Temple still wants to keep someone, please make arrangements for them. Ningguo Mansion will stop providing donations to Xuanzhen Temple from today."

Although Master Jing has passed away, no one knows how many people there are in Xuanzhen Temple. It is a good thing that the Marquis will take over and arrange all the people, which can save a lot of trouble and money.

who knows,
Before Mrs. Xing opened her mouth, the second wife asked,
"Zhen's family, I don't know how much silver is offered to Xuanzhen Temple every year, and how much silver was spent on building Xuanzhen Temple. I heard that Zhen sent silver every year, is that true or not?"

Everyone in the room was silent, and there was something inexplicable in their eyes, as if they were concerned, but deep down, they just wanted money!

(End of this chapter)