The Concubine Wushuang of Red Mansion

Chapter 92
There was a question coming from inside, but Jia Cong didn't answer. The door creaked open, revealing a face. Seeing Jia Cong, he quickly stepped back to let in, "The young master is here!"

Even the owner of the Hua Gong Hall, Zhao Shigao, and the waiter at the shop couldn't tell that this handsome young man was none other than the beggar Li Gou'er who sold them the fans that day.

Before, Jia Cong asked him to rent a house, which is here.

There are two entrances to the courtyard. There is an inverted seat in front. There are three main rooms, one bright and two dark. There are also two side rooms on both sides, which looks spacious.

When Jia Cong came in, a child about five or six years old came forward to say hello. His movements were not yet skillful. Then he ran into the room and shouted, "Mom, the young master is here!"

In the room, a woman wearing a coarse cloth gown and an indigo sweat towel tied around her waist was wiping her hands on her body. When she came out, she saw Jia Cong and knelt down to say hello, "Master!"

Compared with the servants of Ning Rong's second house, there is no doubt that the servants in this house have no rules at all, but there is no doubt about the respect between their eyebrows.

"Aunt Li, please get up quickly!" Jia Cong didn't mean to dislike her. He gave her a hand and walked into the bright room.

Aunt Li served the tea and said with a smile, "Have you eaten, Master? If not, let's go make some for him!"

Jia Cong took in their family, and Aunt Li was grateful from the bottom of her heart.

Today's world is getting worse and worse. If you don't have someone to take refuge in, it will be difficult to survive even if your family has a few acres of thin farmland.

Taxes and corvées, either of them, can drive a person to the point of death.

"I've already used it. Aunt Li, go ahead. I have something to talk to Shouzheng."

The two of them entered the study. Outside, Li Gouer's brother was running around making noises. Aunt Li pulled him out and closed the door to the living room.

"Young master, what are your orders? I just want you to have a try, regardless of mountains of swords or seas of fire." Gou'er's eyes were bright and he was eager to try.

Taking refuge with Jia Cong can be said to be the proudest thing Li Gouer has done in his life. At the beginning, he was also a misunderstanding. After Jia Cong rescued him, he felt that the grace of survival should be given to him with his own life.

As it turns out, his persistence paid off.

"Two things. You said before that the owner of this house wants to sell it. How much money did it cost?"

"This location is so good and close to the imperial city. I bargained several times, but the landlord insisted on asking for one thousand, two hundred taels of silver. Later, my servant said harsh words and negotiated the price to one thousand, one hundred taels. , it’s unlikely to go any further.”

One thousand and one hundred taels, which is equivalent to about 100 million taels in later generations. To buy such a house outside the Fourth Ring Road in the capital. Although the area is smaller, the price is not expensive. Jia Cong nodded, "Then buy it."

When Li Shouzheng heard this, he was so happy that he almost jumped to the sky. What did this mean? It meant that from now on, his family of five would have a place to live and would never be homeless.

"Yes, I will do it tomorrow, but the head of the household..."

The deed of sale for this family of five is still in his hands, and Jia Cong is not worried that they will fly away, saying, "Just transfer the house to your father."

"Yes, my grandfather and father went out to help the young master find a good horse today. After a while, they should be back." He took the thousand, two hundred taels of silver notes handed over by Jia Cong and counted how many there were. , "Master, I don't want this much."

"Leaving 100 taels here may require some expenses. One more thing, I want you to help me find a shopkeeper. If you follow me in the future, you can't just be a follower. You must learn some skills that will be of great use in the future. .”

When Li Shouzheng heard that he would be of great use in the future, he was excited and said, "Sir, I will go back and search among the beggars again, and you can always find something useful. I wonder what you want, and what kind of business you plan to make?"

"Open a bookstore. If you are able to read and write, it is best to be a bookkeeper. If not, it doesn't matter. The first thing is to be loyal. It doesn't matter if you are less talented."

Just as he was talking, Li Shouzheng's grandfather and father also came back. When they heard that Jia Cong was coming, they came in and kowtowed to Jia Cong.

It was getting dark and Jia Cong couldn't stay here forever. He asked about buying a horse and heard that he had contacted Ni Er.

"Is it the one in the west corridor, nicknamed Drunken King Kong?" Jia Cong was curious. "I only heard that he was a moneylender who specialized in usury, ate his spare money in gambling houses, and wanted to bring down drunkards, but he also changed his mind because of people. The envoy has always been known as a righteous knight."

Li Shouzheng's grandfather was not over sixty years old. He was dying and covered with bones. Now he has some flesh on his cheeks. He came back after drinking again, his face glowing red. "It's exactly the one I mentioned. Today is also a coincidence. I am a slave and my son." When I came out of the horse market, I just happened to catch him asking for interest from someone who owed him money, so I ran into him head-on."

"It turned out that the slave was walking without eyes. Then Ni Er insisted on saying that he touched the slave and dragged him to have a drink. He called his neighbor Jia Yun and said he was a branch of the Duke of Rongguo. He found someone there. I was at a small shop and came back after eating a few cups of horse urine. If I had known earlier that I was coming over, I would have rather offended Ni Er today."

"It doesn't matter! You are coming from Huaixi. You are not familiar with the place here. You have to get to know a few people before you can do anything in the future. We are not in a hurry to find horses. Anyway, the land is covered with snow, so we have good horses. , I won’t be able to use it for the time being. In addition, my master also said that he would help me find a good horse, and thinking about finding a good horse is also a matter of fate. "

"My words are indeed reasonable. Although the horse is a beast, it is very understanding of human nature. If you can find a good war horse, it can save people's lives at critical moments. There is also a lot of knowledge here. I will wait for you in the future. After you buy a good horse, I will tell you about these joints."

"I'll ask you for more advice then!" Jia Cong's attitude was that of a courteous corporal, which moved everyone in the Li family. The old man Li was so excited that he knelt down again.

Jia Cong hurriedly pulled him up and said, "Don't kneel down all the time. I'm still young, and your whole family is a capable person. They help me. Even though they sold themselves to me in order to cover up others' eyes and ears, I never really sold you." A family of slaves.”

"If I say this, how can my family live with themselves? Without my help, my family would have died of cold and starvation."

Old Man Li wiped away his tears and said, "To tell you the truth, out of ten people who escaped from Huaixi with us are still alive today? Our family is the only one who still needs to be wiped out." , I have given you a great favor to survive, and my family doesn’t know how to repay you. I said if you don’t treat your family as slaves, your family will only be uneasy and afraid that you will not serve me well, and this will cost your family their lives.”

Jia Cong stopped saying these pretentious words and asked the whole family to stand up and said, "Even so, I won't be polite. Although I don't live here, I still have to establish the rules that should be followed. From now on, in this family, You will always be the housekeeper, responsible for the outside affairs, and Aunt Li will be responsible for the inner courtyard. After a few days, if something comes up, I will give you orders."

When Jia Cong went out, Old Man Li wanted to see him off. Jia Cong waved his hand and returned to Xia Jin's courtyard alone. Xia Jin hadn't come back yet, so Uncle Kui drove him to the Rongguo Duke's mansion.

I heard that at today's court meeting, the emperor has issued a decree, ordering a group of people arrested by the Beijing Guard yesterday to be tried and convicted by the three divisions. The door of the Ningguo Palace has been affixed with a Jinyiwei seal, and many people have been posted on Ningrong Street. Patrol Captain.

For a time, there was an uproar in Kyoto. People who used to interact with the Jia family now avoided the Jia family like snakes and scorpions.

There were some precious cars parked in front of the door, but the other Liu Gong and several other nobles involved in the case, as well as the female relatives of the family came hand in hand. They cried and fussed in Rongqing Hall for a long time. When it was time to wipe out the blackmail, Jia Mu said anything, Apologize, bow down and leave.

Jia Mu was tortured for a long time, but she felt worse at night. She asked the imperial doctor and took some soothing medicine before falling asleep.

Jia Cong wrote twelve poems in one breath under the lamp, but they were all copied from some poems recorded in previous lives. Among them, the ones that were simple and appropriate to the situation were all masterpieces.

The next day, after school, Jia Cong went to Xia Jin's small courtyard to practice as usual, and then went to Yuqingtang. Meng Jixi was packing his luggage and planning to go south. When Jia Cong came, he was deeply surprised and took him to Erqing Hall. Upstairs, a banquet was set up for Jia Cong to have a meal.

"Brother Meng doesn't seem to expect his younger brother to come?" Jia Cong said with a smile.

"Now that you have an official status from the eighth rank, and you can receive a salary from the imperial court, who is the eldest brother, and how can you still fawn over him?"

"Brother Meng seems angry when he says this!"

"To tell you the truth, if you had not been admitted to the Hanlin Academy, I would have knocked on the door of Rongguo Duke's Mansion and asked for the twelve poems we had agreed upon before. But, in a short time, , my little brother is not what he used to be."

There is so much envy in my words, but there are some opportunities that I cannot even envy.

Jia Cong handed a few pages of paper with poems written on them to Meng Jixi, "Brother, let's take a look, how about it?" Meng Jixi couldn't wait to take it and tasted it carefully from beginning to end. Whenever he felt good, he would pat the table and say "good". The shopkeeper downstairs had to come up to see what happened.

"Boss, the guests downstairs were all frightened. They thought there was a fight from above!"

"Hahaha, what a poem, brother. If such a good poem is published, my Yu Qingtang will be famous in history!"

The shopkeeper felt hot in his eyes, but seeing that Meng Jixi had no intention of sharing with him, he turned back and went downstairs.

"Brother Meng, you said last time that you would pay me six cents for selling one copy?"

In business, even if you are good brothers, you must speak clearly first to avoid hurting your feelings over money.

"No, I previously planned to sell a collection of poems for one tael of silver, but now it seems that selling this collection of poems for one tael of silver is too much of a loss. If the price is one or two taels of silver, then according to the previous share, brothers can get it Seven cents and two cents of silver.”

Jia Cong smiled and did not refuse. Now he also has to support his family. Although he has some money, sitting on nothing is not an option. If he can sell a thousand copies of these twelve poems, he will get 700 taels. Silver is a good thing.

No one will bite his hand if he has too much money.

"With my brother's talents, it shouldn't be a problem to publish a few more poems in a few months. If a brother has good poems, don't forget about the eldest brother. It just so happens that the eldest brother has a few poems in hand and will co-author a copy in the future. Whether the collection of poems is a fixed price or a share is decided by the brothers."

According to Jia Cong's original idea, he wanted to open a bookstore. Jia Lian was a good director and had people who could be used. But now, after so many things happened, Jia Cong didn't want to have anything to do with the Jia family. It's on.

The plan to open a bookstore can only be shelved, but the matter of making money is imminent.

He has money but no one who can take on the big responsibility. This is worse than having no money.

Jia Cong thought about his own affairs for a while, then quickly came to his senses and said with a smile, "How can there be a steady stream of poetic talent? I want to make a living, but I wonder if the elder brother can give me some advice?"

"There are so many ways to make money in the world. Even if the younger brother has capital, as far as the elder brother knows, the younger brother is not free at home. If the younger brother does not have an official status, the elder brother is willing to help. Since the younger brother has an official status, if the younger brother has an official status, If you accumulate private property, it won’t look good if you make a fuss.”

Meng Jixi thought wholeheartedly about Jia Cong, "It's not worth the loss if I lose my official status!"

"Over there in the south of the Yangtze River, I heard that every household has a loom, but I wonder how long it takes to weave a piece of cloth?" Jia Cong wanted to think of a solution from the loom. He was also an engineering graduate in his previous life.

Meng Jixi thought that Jia Cong wanted to get a share of the textile business. He shook his head, "Although textiles are a big business there, from selecting silk, dyeing, weaving flowers, to selling, there are many steps in every joint." If you don't engage in this business for generations, you can only make a small amount of money in it. If you are not careful, you will lose money.

If he ends up like this, the big families that are already entrenched in him will never sit idly by.My little brother is young now, so why not put your mind on your studies. If you are short of money, write a few poems. For 200 taels of silver per poem, I can't afford it. "

"My brother is grateful for his kindness. Now my heart is wavering. It's not that I don't know how difficult it is to earn a family fortune. I also understand a little bit about the truth that shopping malls are like battlefields. When asked about this, but I have never been to Jiangnan. After all, it is the land of gold dust and the land of wealth. I yearn for it. Wouldn’t it be better if I could find another bucket of gold?"

Seeing that Jia Cong gave up this idea, Meng Jixi also felt relieved and said, "That said, it is the same everywhere in the world. Jiangnan is rich, but the people are still miserable. The only ones who are rich are the salt merchants who have thousands of looms at home. How can the cloth merchants and the officials and gentry get enough food for the common people?"

"My eldest brother has the heart to save the world and benefit the people, I admire him very much!"

Meng Jixi was a big bookseller in the south of the Yangtze River, and his family was also engaged in the weaving industry. Hearing these words, he blushed and said with a smile, "In the past, my eldest brother would never have thought of this, but in the past few years, my master has often talked about it, from south to south." When I walk north and look around, I feel that people's livelihood is in decline, many people outside are displaced, and the situation is not as good as the previous year, and it is inevitable to feel fear."

If the world is in chaos, the first to suffer are often those wealthy families.

Jia Cong also understood what he was thinking and asked about the world outside. Before he knew it, the sky had darkened and snowflakes were falling outside.

There was a brazier in the room, and it was as warm as spring. Meng Jixi walked to the window and saw the snowflakes falling densely from the dark sky. The refugees huddled on the ground and by the wall. Her mood became more and more depressed. She sighed, "I don't know, in this world." How long can there be peace?"

He Gui followed the shopkeeper and ran up, "Third Master, the old lady in the mansion is sick. The Second Master asked the Third Master to go back quickly."

I was enjoying the wine, but it had to end.

"Another day, I'll treat my eldest brother to a drink!"

"Okay, when the collection of poems is printed, I will become famous all over the world. The eldest brother is also waiting for me to earn a lot of money from my collection of poems. When the time comes, we will not return until we are drunk."

Meng Jixi will go back to the south the next day, and the two of them will not be able to get together for a short time.

In the palace of Prince Zhongshun, Prince Zhongshun was listening to Xia Jin's account of the Ningguo Duke's case of gathering people for adultery and what he knew about it. "My disciple knew long ago that Jia Zhen was going to use refugees to deal with him, so he deliberately changed his driving route," he said. , those refugees can still be targeted, it is conceivable that they have known the basics for a long time."

Therefore, Jia Cong easily planned a route. When he returned to Rongguo Gongfu from Xia Jin's small courtyard, along the way, only the back street of Ningguo Gongfu was sparsely populated, and the refugees happened to take action.

Therefore, on the day of Laba, Jia Cong would stay late on purpose, giving the refugees a chance to take action.

"Does the fan thing have anything to do with him?" King Zhongshun asked.

Xia Jin's eyelids twitched and he shook his head firmly, "It doesn't matter. I heard from Cong'er that even without that fan, there would be singing and dancing every night in the Ningguo Duke's mansion. It's common for people to gather for gambling and fornication, but it won't be like today. It’s just such an ugly scene, involving so many people.”

This matter was an opportunity for the emperor, but King Zhongshun himself was not sure how far this opportunity could influence the four princes and eight princes.

In the past two days, he did not enter the palace. He could understand the emperor's thoughts to a certain extent. The emperor would not agree easily. The officials in the court had no confidence in the other six princes and other nobles involved in the matter. They didn't even mention it, and only impeached Ning Rong's second house.

Although, in the end, there would definitely not be a full-scale operation, the actions of the officials were so unified and so targeted, which also made the emperor very unhappy.

Since ancient times, cliques have been inevitable, but cliques were formed so blatantly and without fear that no emperor would be able to accept them.

Even outside the palace, King Zhongshun could feel the emperor's helplessness and anger. These people were just relying on the Supreme Emperor to act.

Fortunately, there were still some stubborn ministers in the court who filed several impeachments and demanded that all the nobles involved be brought to trial and brought to justice.

"This incident is really ugly, enough to go down in history!" King Zhongshun said sarcastically, "Who would have thought that the descendants of the Second Duke Ningrong would be so miserable that the ancestors would be completely embarrassed."

"But, has Jia Cong ever said, how would he deal with Jia Zhen if there was no such thing as gathering people for lewdness?"

"Your Majesty, those refugees have been recruited. It was Jia Zhen who had people find them. If there was no such thing as a gathering of people for lewdness, just because Jia Zhen colluded with the refugees, the court would be enough to punish him."

If Meng Jixi had suffered a loss at the hands of Jia Cong before, Xia Jin would not have become suspicious after what Xia Jin said today. After all, how could an eight-year-old child have any bad intentions?

But Meng Jixi suffered a loss, which made King Zhongshun feel embarrassed. However, many years of imprisonment had changed his character a lot, and he no longer cared about it like a little kid.

"But, Lao Xia, you must have forgotten that Jia Zhen did not intend to rebel by colluding with the refugees. He was just attacking a junior. It was an innocuous matter. How do you think the court will punish the crime? If someone helps and intercedes, he may even be fined. No need, you don’t understand this truth, Jia Cong may not understand it!” King Zhongshun said sincerely.

　I feel hot and cold. I seem to have a cold.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)