The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 496: Thunder Explosion (Part )

On the twentieth day of the first lunar month in the eighth year of the Qiansheng reign, the weather was still cold. Jia Zheng returned home from work, staggering along, mentally exhausted, and looking so decadent that he seemed to have aged several years.

Jia Zheng's political talent was mediocre. If he hadn't had the amulet of "father-in-law of the emperor", he would have been badly tortured by the Donglin Party. Despite this, Jia Zheng was still very scared during this period. He was very cautious and timid when he went to court every day. He was really unable to sleep or eat well.

Fortunately, various signs indicate that this purge in the imperial court is coming to an end. The most direct manifestation is that the Donglin Party has stopped stirring up public opinion, and there are fewer impeachment memorials. Today's morning court was surprisingly harmonious.

In addition, several nobles with lighter crimes were actually pardoned and kept their titles after returning the stolen money and paying fines. For example, the Nan'an County Prince family was found to have resold 20,000 taels of salt and made a profit of nearly 200,000 taels of silver. They voluntarily returned the stolen money and paid three times the fine, or 600,000 taels of silver, and were successfully pardoned.

In other words, Emperor Qiansheng did not want to kill them all. However, some people were punished severely, for example, the Beijing County Prince's family was found to have resold more than 100,000 salt permits. Tsk tsk, you have to know that the annual salt permits issued by the Great Jin Dynasty were only 2 million, but the Beijing County Prince's family resold more than 100,000, which was equivalent to one twentieth of it.

Of course, this was the total amount of salt vouchers that the Beijing Prince's family had resold over the years. It was not that much that they resold in one year, but it was also very exaggerated. The profit was as high as 700,000 or 800,000 taels. So even if the stolen money was returned and three times the fine was paid, several people in the Beijing Prince's family were still confiscated and exiled, and the Beijing Prince himself was demoted to a marquis, and his hereditary iron-hat kingship could no longer be kept.

Let's get back to the point. After Aunt Zhou helped Jia Zheng change his clothes, Mrs. Wang put down the rosary in her hand and asked carefully, "Master, you have worked hard. Did you have a smooth court today?"

Jia Zheng just said "hmm", took the hot tea offered by Aunt Zhou and drank it. Mrs. Wang tried again, "I heard that the Prince of Nan'an returned the stolen goods and paid the fine, so will the eldest master and Master Zhen of the East Palace be released if they return the stolen goods and pay the fine?"

Jia Zheng pondered and said, "It is still unknown. I will make further inquiries later. If we can settle the matter by paying silver, that would be the best. In any case, we should prepare the silver early."

"How much silver does that cost?" asked Mrs. Wang.

Jia Zheng frowned and said, "I went to the prison to ask questions a few days ago. According to the admissions of the eldest master and Zhen'er, they resold 5,000 and 3,000 taels of silver respectively, making a profit of about 30,000 silver coins."

Mrs. Wang's expression changed slightly: "So many!"

Jia Zheng nodded solemnly and said, "If we return one and punish three, that would be one hundred and twenty thousand taels of silver."

"Amitabha, where did our family get so much money? It's really a rip-off." Mrs. Wang said in shock.

Jia Zheng said in a deep voice: "There is really no other way. We can only sell off part of the farm."

"There are hundreds of people in the whole family who rely on these farms passed down from our ancestors for their livelihood. If they are sold, what will we do in the future?" Mrs. Wang felt very uncomfortable. Why should the trouble caused by the first wife affect the second wife? The family property should have been divided clearly in the beginning.

Jia Zheng glanced at Mrs. Wang and said, "We are all family, we can't just stand by and watch someone die, right?"

Madam Wang lowered her head and said, "That's not what I meant, but even if I want to sell the farmland now, I'm afraid it's too late."

Jia Zheng was also in a dilemma when he heard this. Although the Jia family had more than ten hectares of fertile land worth more than 300,000 taels, it was too late to sell the land as their hometown Jinling was thousands of miles away. By the time they found a buyer and got the money, it would be too late.

"Well, there is really no other way. I can only risk my old face and borrow some money from other families for emergency." Jia Zheng stroked his beard and said.

Mrs. Wang said nothing when she heard this, but she was very unhappy in her heart. One hundred thousand taels was not a small amount of money. According to her, she would just not hand it over and let the sentence be whatever it was. However, she had always been known as a "good person" and a "good daughter-in-law". Although she thought so in her heart, she could not say it out loud.

Jia Zheng rested for a while, and without waiting for dinner, he ordered someone to call the brothers Lai Da and Lai Er, and said bluntly: "Now the eldest master, Zhen Ge'er and Lian Ge'er are still suffering in prison. There is a way to reduce their sentences, but they have to pay 120,000 taels of redemption silver. I am usually busy with official duties and don't take care of the family finances. I don't know how much silver is left in the mansion. You two are the stewards of the two mansions. How much spare money do the two mansions have now?"

Lai Da and Lai Er looked at each other. The former bent his waist slightly and answered carefully: "Master, there is not much money left in the mansion now. We can only use about two thousand taels."

Jia Zheng's face changed slightly, and he blurted out, "Only over two thousand taels? Are you really not kidding me? I vaguely heard that the rent and tax collected from the farm last month was also five thousand taels of silver."

Lai Da said terribly, "How dare I fool you, Master? You are so busy with official duties that you probably don't know that our house has been running out of money for a long time. We still owe 60,000 to 70,000 taels of foreign debt for building the garden two years ago. Although we collected 5,000 taels of rent and taxes last month, we spent a lot of money during the New Year and paid off part of the foreign debt that was due. Now we really only have more than 2,000 taels left. If you don't believe me, you can call Lin Zhixiao to reconcile the accounts. He is the manager of the treasury and all the accounts are checked by him."

Jia Zheng frowned, then turned to ask Lai Er, "How much silver is left in the East Palace?"

Lai Er said sheepishly, "There are only a little over a thousand taels left. Last year, the farm had a bad harvest, and Wu Jinxiao only paid two thousand five hundred taels in rent and taxes. I spent part of it on the New Year, and also paid off part of the foreign debt. That's all I have left."

Jia Zheng could not help but sigh, "Have the two governments become so strapped for cash? I thought they could at least come up with tens of thousands of taels, but this is all there is. What can we do with it? It's not even enough to return the stolen money."

Lai Da and Lai Er looked at each other again, and the latter said carefully: "Forgive me for being frank, but the mansion can't come up with 120,000 silver coins no matter what, unless we sell the garden or the farmland."

Jia Zheng scolded him, "Bullshit! This garden was once the imperial concubine's villa. Although my brothers and sisters live in it now, it is the property of the royal family. How can we sell it? Besides, it's too late to sell the farmland now!"

Lai Er said awkwardly: "I have not considered it carefully."

Lai Da suggested: "How about you find someone else to borrow money from, and then sell the farmland to pay it back in the future. The Xue family has millions of assets, so they should be able to come up with the money."

Jia Zheng pondered for a moment, then said calmly, "Let's talk about it later. Tomorrow is a holiday. Bring me the account books of the two mansions. I need to check the accounts carefully."

Lai Da and Lai Er both felt a little nervous, agreed verbally and left the study. As soon as Lai Er walked out of Jia Zheng's courtyard, he immediately wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and whispered, "Fortunately, my elder brother had foresight and came in advance..."

Lai Da glared at him hastily and whispered, "Shut up!"

Lai Er immediately became alert, and without saying a word, they both left quickly.

…………That night, Baochai and Baoqin finished dinner with Aunt Xue and chatted for a while. They were about to go back to the garden when a maid from Jia's mother's room came in and said with a smile, "The old lady wants to see Auntie."

Although Aunt Xue felt a little strange, she quickly changed her clothes and rushed to Grandmother Jia's room.

"It's strange. The old lady called my aunt over so late at night. I wonder what it's for?" Xue Baoqin muttered to herself, blinking her apricot-like eyes.

Xue Baochai smiled and said, "The old lady's illness has improved recently. I'm afraid she won't ask mother to go play cards. Sister Qin, please go back to the garden first. I'll sit for a while. If there is nothing else, I will go back too."

"Okay!" Baoqin agreed and went back to the garden with her maid.

Xue Baochai waited in the room for about half an hour. Aunt Xue finally came back and saw that Aunt Xue was still there. She said, "My son, why are you still waiting here? It's so cold, why don't you go back and rest early?"

Xue Baochai smiled gently and said, "I'm not sleepy, but what does the old lady want to talk to mother about?"

Aunt Xue sighed and said, "It's all because of Master She and Master Dongfu Zhen. An old man in his seventies still has to worry about his children and grandchildren. It's really a sin!"

Xue Baochai's heart moved, and she asked, "Is there any news about Master She and Master Zhen?"

"That's not certain, but I heard that a few families returned the stolen goods and paid the ransom money and were released."

"Hey, that's a good thing. It shows that the emperor is not forgetting the old friendship with his ancestors and is just treating it as a loss of money to ward off disaster."

Aunt Xue said with a strange expression: "It is indeed a good thing, but the Jia family can't afford the money."

Xue Baochai frowned slightly and asked, "How much?"

"Your uncle said that we need to prepare an estimated 120,000 taels of silver," Aunt Xue replied.

Xue Baochai was startled and asked, "So many?"

Aunt Xue patted her chest and said in shock, "Well, this is already too little. I heard that the Nan'an County Prince's family made a profit of 200,000 taels from reselling salt, and they returned one and paid three, a total of 800,000 taels of silver. This is still good, the Nan'an County Prince finally kept his title, but the Beijing County Prince was even worse. He returned the stolen money and paid the ransom silver, and handed over more than 2 million taels, but he was still demoted to a marquis, and several of his family members were confiscated and exiled. Tsk tsk, more than 2 million taels, even if our Xue family was confiscated, it wouldn't be worth that much. After all, the county prince is rich and powerful."

Xue Baochai was also a little frightened when she heard this, and asked, "What are the old lady and uncle planning?"

Aunt Xue said, "Of course we have to spend money to ward off disaster. But now the treasuries of the two mansions can only take out less than four thousand taels of silver, not even enough for a fraction. I didn't expect that the Duke's mansion, which looks so glorious on the surface, is actually very poor inside. Even our family can't compare to it."

Xue Baochai sighed and thought to herself, the Jia family has too many people. There are six or seven hundred people in the two mansions together, so the expenses are naturally huge. The daily food and clothing expenses alone are shocking enough. But they are not good at management. There are many rich and noble people in the mansion, but there is no one who can strategize. There are only Jia She, Jia Zhen, and Jia Lian. Even if there are mountains of gold and silver, they will be squandered. Brother Huan is good at making money, but unfortunately he is too young, and it is not his turn to be the head of the family. As for Baoyu, there is no need to mention him. It's okay to be a rich and idle man, but if he is really asked to manage the household, he is useless.

Aunt Xue then continued, "Just now the old lady came forward and called all the masters of the houses, as well as some of the prominent servants in the mansion. The old lady took the lead in taking out 10,000 taels of silver from her own pocket, and then asked each family to contribute their share. Guess what the result was, Bao girl?"

"What was the result?" Xue Baochai asked back.

Aunt Xue sighed and said, "Your aunt gave two thousand taels, but the eldest wife only gave one thousand taels, saying that this was all she had left. Tsk tsk, but Zhen's daughter-in-law gave five thousand taels. She really wanted to save her man, so there's nothing to say. Feng also gave two thousand taels, and Lai Ma also gave five hundred taels out of consideration for her feelings. Other families gave a share of one hundred taels or two hundred taels, but all added up to just over twenty-eight thousand taels, not even enough to return the thirty thousand taels of stolen goods.

My mother thought that since our family lived here anyway, we could also contribute to the cause, so she agreed to give out two thousand taels, and finally we could collect thirty thousand taels, which was enough to return the stolen money. But the old lady left me alone again, implying that she was planning to borrow ninety thousand taels from our family temporarily, and then return it to us after selling the farmland. "

Xue Baochai asked hurriedly, "Mom, did you agree?"

Aunt Xue smiled bitterly and said, "How dare I agree to this? Besides, we can't even afford 90,000 silver coins."

Xue Baochai frowned and said softly, "Ninety thousand taels is too much. If it's twenty or thirty thousand taels, it won't hurt to lend it out."

Aunt Xue nodded and said, "I think so too. Although we have closed the business in the south, most of the money has been used to buy farms. Although we have 80,000 or 90,000 taels left, we still have to run the business in the north and spend our daily expenses. How can we lend it all out? But if we don't lend it, it will seem that we are too heartless. What's more, we are still living in someone else's house. It's really difficult for us."

Xue Baochai said lightly, "Mom, don't worry. If the old lady asks again, you can lend her 20,000 taels. No matter whether they return it or not, it will be considered as your kindness. They can figure out the rest themselves."

Aunt Xue nodded and said, "It's the only way!"

……

The next day was a day off, and Jia Zheng did not go to court. He got up early, washed, and after breakfast, he waited in the study Mengpo Zhai. However, after waiting for a long time, Lai Da and Lai Er did not come to deliver the account book, so he sent someone to urge them to do so.

At this time, a servant came to report: "The shopkeeper Qi from the Jinshang Bank is here to visit."

Jia Zheng was startled for a moment. He did not know Qi, the shopkeeper of the Jinshang Bank, and they had no daily interactions. So he ordered, "Take him to Rongxi Hall. I'll be there soon."

Jia Zheng left Mengpo Zhai and hurried to Rong Xi Tang. The Shanxi merchant bank had a great background and powerful forces behind it, so Jia Zheng naturally did not dare to neglect it.

The shopkeeper Qi of the Jinshang Bank is called Qi Fugui. His name sounds vulgar, but he is actually a business veteran who is good at dealing with people. After some polite conversation, he took out a promissory note for 20,000 taels and said with a smile, "This is the money you borrowed from this bank three years ago when your family was renovating your garden. Now it is due to repay the principal. Please settle it with Master Zheng."

(End of this chapter)