Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 897 Something Happened at the East Emperor Mausoleum
In Rongqing Hall,

Green smoke slowly floated out of the incense burner, and a fragrance of Boya filled the room. Only noble families could enjoy the best spices.
The second wife, who was sitting on the east side, asked unclear questions. Madam You smiled and deliberately did not answer. Instead, she said something else.

"To be honest, Xuanzhen Temple spent a lot of money, especially the annual offerings. We dare not leave the bill at home. There is only one internal account book, which was sent to the old lady before. How to spend it is how to spend it. As a woman, how dare I ask about it?"

Seeing the second wife's face darken, Mrs. Xing suddenly felt happy.
"Mrs. You said it well. Each mansion has its own issues, so how can we take care of everything? Since we can't make money from it, we still have to pay for it. We should get rid of it as soon as possible. It's just a matter of paying for it. It's better than the people in the mansion doing it recklessly."

Isn't it obvious who these words are referring to?

The atmosphere in the inner hall, which was originally quite lively, became obviously off due to the disturbance caused by the two ladies, and the smile on Grandmother Jia's face also disappeared.

"Since it is useless to keep it, then don't keep it. My Lord, take it as you like. The title deed is in my hand. Yuanyang, give it to my Lord."

"Yes, old lady."

Almost all the property deeds of the two mansions seemed to be in the hands of the old lady. When Zhang Jinyu saw Yuanyang entering the warm room, he knew that she was going to get the deeds. There were some things that he really had to say. If you can use money, you must not use favors.

"Thank you for your kindness, old lady. Since this is a Taoist temple built by Ningguo Mansion, and there are annual offerings, it cost a lot of money. I must make proper arrangements for the people in Xuanzhen Temple. In addition, silver must be given, otherwise it will be bad if people in the clan gossip about it. So, Xuanzhen Temple, plus the surrounding fields, 50,000 taels of silver, Madam You, please accept it for now and put it into the Ningguo Mansion's account."

After saying this, he took out 50,000 taels of silver and placed them on the square table beside Madam You. It is said that 50,000 taels is too little. An ordinary house in the capital city costs more than 50,000 taels, let alone a Xuanzhen Temple. After placing the silver note,

He took out another 10,000 taels of silver and placed it next to Li Wan.
"This ten thousand taels is the tribute from Xuanzhen Temple this year. There must be an explanation for this, so that we can explain it to the clan."

If you really want to get things done efficiently, you must take everything into consideration. I originally thought that Rongguo Mansion was named after the head of the Jia family, but later I learned that Ningguo Mansion was the head of the Jia family. If you want to solve the matter of Xuanzhen Temple efficiently, you just need to spend more money.
"Oh, the Marquis is sensible. In this case, Madam You should keep it. If someone asks about it, you can have an explanation."

Wang Xifeng was not jealous of this. The most difficult thing to manage was the family affairs. Before, Ningguo Mansion was in charge of it. Now, even if it was her, although she was concerned about the income from the family's industries, the thousands of children of the Jia family and many elders were all staring at these things.

If they really start to act and the clan elders come to visit, it will be hard to explain the situation clearly.

"In that case, my Lord, old lady, I will give it to you first and keep it."

Madam You picked up the banknote, hesitated a little, and put it back into her purse. She felt something was wrong and turned her eyes to Grandmother Li Wan.
At this time, Li Wan

Wearing a dark robe, at first glance, he looked elegant and noble, unlike before, he kept silent. Since Ningguo Mansion accepted the silver, it would be good to put it in the public account of the mansion, but many people would be concerned about it.

Li Wan suddenly had an idea in her mind and said;

"Thank you, Lord. Since the old lady has said so, Ningguo Mansion will accept it, but we can't be without an explanation. As the second wife said, since the clan has also contributed money to Xuanzhen Temple, this money cannot be kept only in Ningguo Mansion. Thinking that the school in Rongguo Mansion has been demolished, the children of the clan will have nowhere to go in the future, which is not acceptable."

Li Wan stood up, Su Yun hurried forward to support her, walked to the center, bowed slightly and said;
"Madam, I think that although the school has been demolished, the clan education cannot be interrupted. There is a large courtyard behind the East Garden of Ningguo Mansion, and there is also an attic. After a simple repair, it can be used as the clan school for enlightenment. If a good teacher is found, it would be good for the clan to produce a few more candidates. Of course, the cost of the school can be guaranteed by the clan's industrial revenue, so that Rongguo Mansion and Ningguo Mansion don't have to set up separate accounts, okay?"

The words were so majestic that even Zhang Jinyu looked at him with a new eye. He was really amazing. In this way, not only would he gain fame, but he would also stop Rongguo Mansion from interfering. The income from the Ningguo Mansion's industries and the expenses for the school were not small. No matter how many people came to study, they would all be given a monthly allowance.

How could anyone disagree with the Rongguo Mansion throwing out such a burden? Perhaps she was surprised, Jia's mother smiled and quickly asked Li Wan to sit down.

"I was thinking before, what should be done with the clan school after the school is demolished? Look, the daughter-in-law of the Zhu family and the clan children's studies cannot be interrupted. Even Baoyu must continue to study hard. In this case, you two don't need to worry about the money and work of rebuilding the school."

Grandmother Jia turned her head and looked at Wang Xifeng, and then she instructed;

"Feng girl, after you recruit people, go to Ningguo Mansion first and repair the courtyard and attic of the school. Then send all the previous account books to Ningguo Mansion. From now on, the school expenses will be paid from the public account of Ningguo Mansion. We will also hire more teachers. If any family wants to go, they should go to Ningguo Mansion to report their names. The roster of students from Rongguo Mansion should also be sent over."

"Yes, old lady, I was saying that the school was demolished, and it would be a problem for Baoyu to study in the future. I didn't expect that my sister-in-law had already thought of a place for Uncle Bao. I will go and take a look later and buy anything that is needed."

Smile happily,
Then he thought that the school could save a lot of money a year, and he could finally breathe a sigh of relief. However, the remaining money in Ningguo Mansion would not be able to speak up. It was still the eldest sister-in-law who was powerful.

Seeing that everyone had made up their mind, the two ladies did not speak any more. Zhang Jinyu had already taken the land deed that Yuanyang had sent, stood up and bowed.
"Old lady, in this case, I dare not delay any longer. I need to go out of the city to take a look. Goodbye."

"That's good. It's better to deal with it sooner rather than later. If there are any problems, please handle it yourself, my Lord."

When she turned to leave, Grandmother Jia gave her some more instructions, which made Zhang Jinyu a little dazed. What else could she do if she had to take care of it herself?
"Don't worry, old lady."

After saying that, he hurried out of the room with his men. His anxious look made the people in the room confused.
But Wang Xifeng didn't care about that. She took Mrs. You and Li Wan's hands and said goodbye to Lady Jia.
"Madam, let's go to Dongyuan and see how to change it."

"Okay, let's go and have a look,"

After hearing Lady Jia's agreement, Wang Xifeng stood up, took the hands of her two sisters-in-law, and walked out, leaving the two ladies and Lady Jia in the inner hall, staring at each other in silence.
"Drive, drive,"

"Go, get out of the way, get out of the way."

A burst of hurried horse hoof sounds rang out from outside the East City Gate. Several people from the palace rode their horses in panic, rushing towards Prince Zhongshun's palace.

When they arrived at the gate of the palace, their pale faces were covered with traces of cold sweat. After rolling off their horses, they ran straight to the inner door. The doorman knew that they were the prince's confidants, so how could he dare to stop them? He opened the side door and let them in.

The wind blew through the front yard, and a few people disappeared.

Outside the underground palace of the Eastern Tomb of the capital, there was a mess. Craftsmen and imperial guards kept escaping from inside. Deep inside the underground palace, a cold atmosphere seemed to permeate the air. A damp miasma floated out from inside, causing the torches on the corridors of the underground palace to flicker.

The exquisite carvings on the walls of the corridor were eroded by water vapor at some point and became mottled. The bluestone slabs underfoot were also covered with green moss. Fortunately, the corridor of the Eastern Emperor's Mausoleum and the front hall of the underground palace were made of solid materials. The last time the earth dragon turned over, it was not a big deal. The collapsed place belonged to the palace in the center of the underground palace. The trapped people had already been rescued. Although many people died, the eunuch Song Zhen, who was in charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, had already issued a gag order, strictly forbidding anyone to leak the news. He was just waiting for the Ministry of Works and the newly appointed craftsman Fang Liren.

Who knows,

When they were cleaning and repairing the underground palace, the imperial guards came to report that water was seeping out from the ground on the east side of the imperial mausoleum. They thought it was no big deal, but the water seepage became more and more serious, and it slowly flowed out along the repaired wall. The whole wall was wet, and a small puddle gathered in the corner, and some places turned into flowing water.
The busy laborers around didn't notice anything until the craftsmen in charge of the construction noticed something was wrong. They could only go out and report to the imperial guards and immediately close the side chamber of the East Palace. In just a short while, the accumulated water began to rise.
Supervisor Song Zhen, who received the news, was in disbelief. This had never happened before during construction. How could they have dug up a dark river?
"You know, this matter is extremely serious and will cost you your life. I will give you one more chance."

"Eunuch, how could I lie to you? The water in the east chamber of the underground palace is almost full. Fortunately, we reacted quickly and ordered people to build a dam in the outer palace. It's still in time, but the East Palace can no longer be used," the master craftsman who came had a pale face. The so-called East Emperor Mausoleum was built in the east of the capital, in a precious land surrounded by three mountains. When the emperor entered the capital, he saw this place as a place for his ascension to heaven.
After ascending the throne,
He even asked people from the Imperial Observatory, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of Rites to find this place, draw a map, select a site, and build the imperial mausoleum. After the front part was completed, the White Lotus Rebellion broke out and the construction was suspended for several years. After the new emperor ascended the throne, Prince Zhongshun was given full authority to supervise the matter. All officials were involved, except Changle Palace.

Song Zhen's face was no better than the master carpenter's. It was pale and gray, and his trembling hands didn't know where to put them.

"Then have you informed the newly appointed Master Craftsman Fang?"

"Replying to Father-in-law, not yet?"

The craftsman shook his head. Everyone knew that the construction of the mausoleum took the prince a week to complete. The newcomers didn't know how many days they could stay.

"Well, in that case, let's go over and talk about it and see what to do. By the way, do you have any ideas?"

"Father, there is a way, but it is very costly. We need to dig a deep pit east of the Eastern Mausoleum, and then dig a canal to divert the water outside the underground palace. After the water level drops, we can bury it again. I think the water seepage is caused by the last time the earth dragon turned over, causing the water level of the underground river to rise. As long as we leave a canal to divert the water out, there will be no problem."

In fact, these things are not a big problem for these master craftsmen, but they require money and energy, which is a huge expense. Another thing is that time waits for no one.

Song Zhen's face darkened, and he understood what the master carpenter meant. He asked again without giving up;
"Is there any other solution?"

"Have!"

Master Craftsman Yuan An nodded heavily. His life and property depended on this. He had taken a lot of money from the mausoleum.

"Eunuch, that means we need to secretly dig a small water diversion channel to divert water to the small river at the foot of the mountain. We need to dig it in a more concealed manner. In addition, after the dam is built inside the mausoleum, the East Hall will be directly abandoned. The water in the underground river will be exhausted at some point, so we need to raise the West Hall by more than three feet. The layout remains unchanged, with the West higher and the East lower, and the water will naturally flow away."

There was nothing that could be done about it. Since ancient times, water has always flowed from west to east. It is impossible to flow the other way around. Although the east is more expensive than the west, the water in the mausoleum does not care about that. The only thing that could be done was to change the overall layout of the imperial mausoleum. Fortunately, the rear hall had not been completely excavated, and the unused soil was used to pad the west, which was enough.
With a solution, Eunuch Song felt a little relieved. As for changing the layout of the underground palace, it was not something he could decide.
"Come here, hurry to Prince Zhongshun's mansion and tell the prince, Yuan'an, let's go see the craftsman."

"Yes, father-in-law."

There was a hurried sound of footsteps, and they arrived at the entrance of the underground palace. Such a big thing could not be hidden from anyone. Lord Fang, the craftsman in charge of the Ministry of Works, had been in office for a long time. He had already seen the situation of the mausoleum and was secretly shocked. Prince Zhongshun was so bold that he dared to touch the money for building the imperial mausoleum, and so many people died. How did he hide it? Or, Your Majesty, he also knew about it.

Looking at the entrance, I saw people rushing back and forth in a hurry. Many of the exiled prisoners were carrying bags of earth and rocks. It was obvious that the underground palace was leaking water. I couldn't fake it, so what should I do?

Thinking about difficult things,

A shrill voice came from behind.

"Oh, it turns out that Mr. Fang got here first. It was so hard to find him at my house."

Dressed in a bright red robe, the inner palace supervisor, Eunuch Song, led a group of people and hurried over. His fat body kept shaking, which made Fang Liren frown unconsciously. He could not lose his manners and bowed.

"This humble official has met Eunuch Song."

"Haha, we are family, why should we be so polite?"

He smiled and seemed extremely enthusiastic, but his eyes were fixed on Mr. Fang without leaving. After being polite, Song Zhen touched his chin and asked;

"Master Fang, what do you think we should do after what happened in the underground palace?"

"Eunuch Song, I have only been in office for less than three days. I don't know anything. The matter of the underground palace is naturally under the leadership of Eunuch Song. How can I make a decision?"

Fang Liren bowed and answered carefully. It was impossible not to get involved in the affairs of the imperial mausoleum. But he had no idea how to get out of it. He could only wait and see.

Hearing Lord Fang's words of surrender, Eunuch Song's expression improved a lot.
"Haha, Lord Fang is still very good at speaking. Well, I have already sent someone to the palace to inform the prince. Let's go down and take a look first."

"Listen to my father-in-law."

Afterwards, the imperial guards were sent in first, and they lit torches and slowly entered along the corridor. However, the underground palace was damp and stuffy, and the flickering firelight made everyone look like ghosts. The atmosphere seemed a bit depressing.

The front hall was fine, without any water. But as we walked towards the central palace, it became a bit messy. Along the center line, a one-meter-high dam had been built beside the ditch on the east side of the central palace. The side chamber doors on the east side had long been closed, with water seeping out. Some of the smaller ditches could still draw water, but if there were more, it would not be enough.

Fortunately, the underground palace in the middle of the imperial mausoleum was not affected. The previously collapsed part had been rebuilt, and several huge trees transported from the south had been erected to support the roof of the dome, making the entire underground palace solid. The remaining rubble and wood were piled there, which looked a bit eye-catching.
"The water flow is not strong, there is still a way to remedy it. Master Yuan, how do you master craftsmen discuss this?"

It is impossible for Lord Fang, the craftsman, to really ignore it. He is in his position and should do his job. If he stands idly by, he will be guilty of dereliction of duty and should be exiled.

"Your Excellency, I have already discussed with them. The first is to build a dam to prevent the spread of seepage water. The other is to widen the canal and dig a new river outside the mausoleum, directly connecting it to the bottom of the east side chamber. In this way, the water from the underground river can rush out, and the underground palace will naturally be dry."

The answer was quite standard. Although it was a simple statement, it could not fool Lord Fang. He was from the Ministry of Industry, and everyone knew the simple truth.
"It's easy to say. If we dig it again, it will be equivalent to digging a new underground palace. Not only will it be very expensive, but the protection of the imperial mausoleum will also need to be reinforced. These cannot be completed in a short time, but there is still time."

After a pause,
Fang Liren kept his mouth shut, realizing that there were more than one way to remedy the situation, but they required changing the layout of the underground palace, which was beyond the power of a small craftsman like him. So he reacted and shut up immediately, causing Eunuch Song beside him to sigh inwardly, feeling it was a great pity.

"Master Fang is thoughtful. Although the water has spread, it is probably due to the flooding of the underground river. We will discuss the remedy after the prince's reply. Now, we should repair the dam first and then send people to widen the canal. We must not let the water seep into the palace."

"Yes, Grand Eunuch."

The leaders who were gathered around all clasped their fists and accepted the order. Then, a large number of people, carrying sand and stones, poured them on the embankment in front of them, rolled them repeatedly, and poured glutinous rice paste on them to stick them firmly. Not only was it a lot of trouble, but the construction of other places was almost suspended.

Although Lord Fang felt something was wrong, he was helpless and could only wait for the prince's reply. He was confused. After all this trouble, would the Zhongshun Palace, or the prince, really have any money left? No matter how he calculated it, it was a loss.
I took a look at the giant tree that was supporting the sky. Just one of them cost a lot of silver, and now six of them were used to build the central palace. It was really incredible!

(End of this chapter)