Corrupt official in the Red Chamber

Chapter 278 surrender
Aunt Lai put down the account book in her hand and looked at her second son who was jumping up and down with disdain.

"You are so frizzy, when will I be as steady as your big brother?"

Lai, who was sitting aside, laughed, returned the abacus to his position, and then said to the second child:

"If the sky falls, there will be a tall man to hold it up. What can be done to stop you?"

Laiji was very angry when he saw his mother and elder brother acting as if nothing had happened.

"How long has it been and you are still here joking? Do you know that if we can't pass the test this time, the whole family will die."

Aunt Lai and Lai Da looked at each other, and then both shook their heads.

Lai Da sighed, then pointed to the seat next to him, "Don't worry, sit down and tell me if you have anything to do."

Laiji couldn't think of sitting still, so he quickly said:
"Grandma Rui from Dingxihou Mansion went to our Ningguo Mansion today and asked our master to hand over the old account books."

After he finished saying this, he stared at his mother and eldest brother closely with his eyes.

Who knows, Grandma Lai and Lai Da don't seem to care at all.

"What's the matter? Grandma Rui wants it. Just hand it over." Lai Da said lightly.

"Okay, my brother, don't you know the trick in this? If I hand over the account book, will I still be alive?"

Lai laughed, and then said: "How much money have you made from this, why do you worry? At worst, you have to lose the money? For the sake of the old lady, can Uncle Rui really kill you?" "

After hearing this, Laiji felt that it made sense, but he still felt uneasy.

"But, this time the Hui clan has lost so many sacrificial fields and shops, can Uncle Rui really let it go?"

Aunt Lai stood up and pulled her youngest son to sit next to her.

"Ever since the old lady asked Uncle Rui to temporarily serve as the clan leader, I knew something like this would happen, so I had already thought of a way out for you."

It turns out that Aunt Lai has suffered a lot from Jia Rui, and she also has some understanding of Jia Rui's character of retribution.

She knew that once Jia Rui became the clan leader, the dirty things in the clan would be exposed, so she thought of an escape route for her youngest son in advance.

After listening to his mother's comforting words, Laiji finally felt a little more relaxed.

At this time, Lai Da followed his mother's words and said: "You secretly sent me your old debts. I will personally go to Dingxihou Mansion tonight. For the sake of my old reputation, Uncle Rui should be able to let you go."

After hearing this, Laiji said with some worry: "If I do this, I will offend Uncle Zhen to death, and he will not take my life by then."

"There is nothing to worry about. As long as Uncle Rui comes to protect you, no matter how courageous Jia Zhen is, she will not dare to disobey his orders." Aunt Lai comforted her youngest son.

Lai Da below continued: "Do you think that after this incident, Jia Zhen can still be as prosperous as before? If he doesn't get peeled off this time, he is considered capable."

After listening to what his mother and brother said, Laiji finally felt completely relieved. He sat relaxedly on the chair, picked up the tea handed over by his mother and drank it in one gulp.

"Has that guy Lai Shangrong already taken office?"

Speaking of this nephew, Laiji also felt a little honored.

To be honest, among the children in their family, only Lai Shangrong is relatively progressive. He has at least read some books and is able to write something on social media.

As for the other nephews, they all only know how to eat, drink and have fun.

"According to time, he should have taken office by now." Speaking of his eldest son, Lai Da felt that his bones were two ounces lighter.

"This time, thanks to Uncle Rui for taking care of our old face." Aunt Lai said with a sigh.

Lai Da kept nodding beside him.

It turned out that after they offended Jia Rui, Jia Rui blackmailed them into a house. They originally thought that the relationship between the two parties would take a turn for the worse. Unexpectedly, Jia Rui arranged for Lai Shangrong to be a county magistrate for the sake of his lifelong service to the Jia family.

Of course, this county magistrate did not come for nothing, they also gave him a generous gift.

But even so, Grandma Lai and Uncle Lai were filled with gratitude.

After all, with a background like Lai Shangrong's, without a big backing, it would be basically impossible to become an official in this life, unless one day Grandma Lai and Lai Da also get rid of their slave status.

But now that Lai Shangrong can become the county magistrate when Nanny Lai and Lai Da are still slaves of Rongguo Mansion, this is a great kindness.

"Okay, I'll go back and get the account book now." Lai'er couldn't wait any longer. He wanted to end this mess as soon as possible, otherwise he wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

Aunt Lai nodded slightly, agreeing with her younger son.

Laiji got his mother's approval and left quickly.

After Lai Er left, Lai Da asked with some uncertainty: "Can Uncle Rui really let Lai Er go?"

Aunt Lai smiled softly, and then said confidently:
"Do you really think Uncle Rui cares about that little bit of land?"

Lai Da didn't know what his mother meant, so he opened his mouth and said nothing.

Aunt Lai sighed, "What is our uncle Rui's identity? How does he put this in his eyes? Uncle Rui wants to control the power of the clan."

After Lai Da heard this, he immediately understood what his mother meant, and he nodded gently.

Indeed, with Jia Rui's current net worth, what does one or two thousand acres of land near the capital mean?As long as he misses something, he doesn't have to take action personally, someone will naturally send it to him. "From now on, don't always look after Rongguo Mansion. Go to Dingxihou Mansion often and fawn over Grandma Rui. It will be good for you in the future." Aunt Lai reminded her eldest son.

Lai Da only admired his mother from the bottom of his heart. Although his family was also the housekeeper of two houses, it was his mother who really made their fortune.

"Yes, I understand."

Grandma Lai threw the account book in her hand on the table, and then said to her eldest son: "Our family's business outside the customs is doing so smoothly, do you really think we are lucky? This is all because of others. For the sake of uncle, don’t argue with our family.”

Nature knows this very well.

"Let's do this. You divide [-]% of this year's interest and send it to Grandma Rui tomorrow."

Although Lai Da was a little reluctant, he thought that with Jia Rui's protection, they could do long-term business, so he agreed.

Early the next morning, Lai Er hurried to Lai Da with a package.

When he entered, he saw Lai Dazheng directing four boys to carry two boxes out.

"Brother, where are you going?"

"Second brother, you are here just in time. We brothers will go to Dingxihou Mansion together."

Raiji looked at the two heavy boxes behind Raida, his eyes a little red.

He thought that Lai Da had taken money from his home for his own business, just to exonerate himself.

Lai Da also saw Lai Er's expression, but he didn't say anything. It would be good for him to let the other party continue to misunderstand.

So, the two brothers took advantage of the lack of people in the morning and left the mansion, then followed the alley around the main street of Ningrong Street and came to the side entrance of Jia Rui's Dingxihou Mansion.

After arriving here, I saw two or three young men sitting at the door, chatting there.

Next to the boy stood two sturdy men wearing helmets and crowns and holding swords.

These people with weapons are Jia Rui's personal soldiers, guarding Jia Rui's mansion day and night.

Lai walked to the door in big steps and said politely to a young boy: "Thank you for your hard work, young man."

The boy looked up as if nothing had happened, then quickly stood up, "It turns out to be Butler Lai."

Lai Da is also considered a figure in Ningrong Street. Although the servants of Jia Rui's family all have their nostrils turned upward, they still have a minimum of respect for upper-class figures like Lai Da.

Lai laughed and stepped forward, took out several ingots of silver from his arms, and stuffed them into the boy's hands one by one.

"Thank you for your hard work, brothers. I have something to see Uncle Rui here. Please let me know."

The few boys were naturally happy when they got the money, and then they separated and went to report to the inside.

It took about a moment to burn incense before word came out from inside, asking Lai Da to wait outside in the study.

After being convinced, Lai Da Lai Er came to Jia Ruiwai's study under the guidance of the servant.

However, given their status, they were naturally not allowed to sit in the outer study and could only wait outside the door.

After about half an hour, Jia Rui slowly walked in all directions, accompanied by Wangcai and several other servants, and arrived in front of the outer study.

When Lai Da Lai Er saw Jia Rui coming over, he quickly knelt down.

When Jia Rui saw them, he just nodded slightly and passed them directly into the outer study.

Lai Da and Lai Er didn't dare to get up because they didn't have Jia Rui's words, so they could only kneel down outside the study and wait.

After about a cup of tea, Wangcai walked out, smiled at Lai Da and Lai Er and said:

"Both housekeepers, please get up quickly."

Lai Da Lai Er was finally able to get up from the ground. After that, he didn't care about the dust of being single, so he smiled and came to Wang Cai's side.

"Steward Wangcai, do you have any instructions from our uncle Rui?" As he spoke, Lai Da stuffed a banknote into Wangcai's hand.

Wangcai squeezed the banknote in his hand, and then the smile on his face became even brighter.

"Don't worry, two housekeepers. Our uncle is in a good mood today. If you need anything, just come back."

Lai Da and Lai Er breathed a sigh of relief, and then entered the study room under the guidance of Wang Cai.

After coming in, I saw Jia Rui, sitting in the middle drinking tea.

The two of them quickly knelt down and kowtowed to Jia Rui again.

Jia Rui put down the tea cup in his hand, "You two are both busy people, how can you find time to come to my place today?"

Lai Da and Lai Er looked at each other, and then Lai Er spoke.

"Replying to the uncle, Grandma Rui came to our house yesterday to ask for the old accounts. Our master said that the account books were lost, but in fact the account books were not lost."

(End of this chapter)