Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

Chapter 337: Lure for gain

In the blink of an eye, it is late spring in March, and the weather is gradually getting warmer.

After the hibernation of the cold winter, the city of Shenjing became bustling and lively again.

The Party Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Affairs had just returned from the court when he heard the report from the housekeeper: "Sir, the Jin Yiwei came to collect the 'goodness deposit' from our shop. Since the master was not here, I sent it to him and said that I would wait until the master comes back to make a decision."

The party official frowned and said, "What does this deposit mean?"

"It is said that no matter how big or small, every shop in Shenjing City must pay one month's profit to ensure that it does not break the law, disrupt the government, and does not harbor bandits. Each shop only pays once."

The party cadre sneered, Jia Cong, this kid, couldn't wait to spread his wealth as soon as he took power? The food looks too ugly.

"How much does our family have to pay?"

"Jin Yiwei said that for our restaurant, an inn, and a jewelry shop, we have to pay a total of more than 34000 taels of silver."

"Bastard! Greedy! Don't hand it over!" The party cadre cursed angrily, got up and went to the study room, determined to read this bastard's book.

"Go, take my post and visit all the gentlemen, and say that this beast is greedy. Today is a deposit for good deeds, and tomorrow is a deposit for abiding by the law. How can we tolerate adultery?"

"Yes."
-

Qingyang Hou Qizheng took a rare leave to avoid going to court. He slept at home all day long. As soon as he got up, he heard the report from the housekeeper.

"Master, Jin Yiwei came to collect the 'goodness deposit' and asked our family to pay more than 43500 taels of silver. I sent them away and asked for your instructions." The butler explained the matter again.

Qi Zheng smiled coldly. Jia Cong was crazy about money. He dared to risk the disapproval of the world. In the past, the Jin Yiwei extorted money, but for individual people, he was fine. He thought it was troublesome and wanted to stew the powerful people in the capital. .

"Don't pay attention to him. Such lawless things will be judged by the court."

After suffering a loss in the court, Qi Zheng became more cautious and let the weak-legged officials charge into the battle.
-

"Good! Good figure, good singing! Come and have a drink with me." There was a concert in Prince Zhongshun's palace, and he was the only one in the audience.

A young actor who was playing a leading role walked up to him, bowed his head shyly, held orchid fingers, and offered him wine.

"Your Majesty, please."

Prince Zhongshun's eyes were lustful, he stretched out his hand, pulled him into his arms and sat down, lifted his delicate chin, and said with a smile: "What a good official, your body is getting better and better, I can't live without you for a day." you."

"My lord, you are bullying me again. Even if you say you like me, why don't you drink the wine that you are offering me?" Qiguan said coquettishly.

Prince Zhongshun smiled and said: "Of course you have to drink the wine you toast, but there is a certain way to drink it."

Qi Guan pretended to be puzzled and said with a smile: "Your Majesty has many tricks."

"No matter how many tricks I have, I can't compare to you." Prince Zhongshun said with a smile.

"Your Highness...making fun of me again." Qi Guan said angrily.

"Haha, stop talking." Prince Zhongshun smiled and handed the wine glass to Qi Guan's lips.

Qi Guan rolled her eyes at him and took a sip of her wine. Just as she was about to tactfully submit, she suddenly heard the Chief Historian running in.

"Your Majesty, Jin Yiwei came to call for payment of the 'goodness deposit'. Your Majesty has to pay more than 48000 taels..."

"You bastard! Jia Cong, how dare you stir up trouble with Tai Sui! I didn't find out what was wrong with him, but he came here!" Prince Zhongshun said angrily.

Qi Guan trembled in fright, swallowed the wine with a gulp, stood up in a hurry, and stood aside.

"It is said that every shop in Shenjing City has to pay money." The chief historian said cautiously.

"Hmph! I will enter the palace immediately and ask the Emperor whose national law this is!"
-

The above scenes happened everywhere in Shenjing City. The common people and the powerless people would not dare to refuse to pay when they saw the Jin Yiwei coming to collect money. Fortunately, Jia Cong specifically ordered that the collection be only levied on shops, pedestrian merchants, street vendors, etc. Low-level tour operators are exempted.

Since the store couldn't get the cash at the moment, it didn't push too much. It was due in one month and all the shopkeepers and merchants were grateful to Jin Yiwei for his "generosity".

"Sir, Junanbei Division reported that this raid on the account books of various shops has yielded a lot of gains. Huaizhenfang in the west of the city and Shengpingfang in the east of the city alone have a profit of 1500. One hundred and eight squares in Shenjing City, if Collecting them all, I'm afraid it will exceed million taels." Lei Tai said.

Jia Cong shook his head and said: "It's normal that there are more fertile places in the inner city. The outer city is a bit bitter, but not so much. If I can collect 1200 million, I will burn high incense."

Lei Tai said: "It's all thanks to your master's clever plan. This is also a huge windfall."

Jia Cong said: "It's not that simple. There are two dead fat men. The emperor will not just sit back and watch me eat this piece of fat."

At this time, one of the fat men was having a banquet with several court officials at home.

Everyone was chatting and laughing happily, and they all secretly wondered in their hearts that Fatty Feng was actually making trouble today. The sun was coming out from the west. This damn Fatty must have a trap, but he couldn't drink too much to avoid being fooled.

After drinking for three rounds, Feng Yuan said with a smile: "My colleagues, how do you like this wine?"

"Excellent, excellent, this wine is clear and refreshing, with a long aftertaste. I wonder what kind of wine it is? I have never heard of it." Taichang Temple Qing Cheng Tuo said with a smile.

Everyone laughed and agreed.

"This wine is a new product from Shenxian Winery. It's called the Moon in the Cup. It hasn't been sold yet. I tried my best to get a few bottles from Jia Cong. I thought that only this wine is worthy of you Qingya. Scholar." Feng Yuandao.

"I see, the product produced by Shenxian Liquor House is indeed extraordinary." Taipu Temple Qing Fengjing said.

"Moon in the cup, what a name! This wine can only be compared to the cold moonlight." Zhan Zhengdao, Qing of Guanglu Temple.

"Old Li, you and the Jia family are related by marriage. Why don't you go get a few bottles sometime? Let's try it. You provide the wine and I provide the food. How about it?" Qin Tianjian Zheng Tufa joked.

Everyone laughed.

Li Shouzhong, who was offering wine at the Imperial College, smiled bitterly and said, "Brother Junsi, don't make fun of me. I saw Jia Cunzhou and his son Zhu were diligent and enterprising in the prison and had good character, so we got married. We had no intention of clinging to him."

Now that Dang Koubo has suddenly emerged as an army, stirred up the situation, and is now in charge of the royal guards, my younger brother can't avoid suspicion, so there is no way to make friends. "

Everyone smiled and nodded. Li Shouzhong had been cautious all his life, so these words were in line with his temperament. Feng Yuan waved his hand and said with a smile: "No. Brother Zhengli is really worried. Since we are in-laws, it is common sense to move around a lot. Who can say anything? I would like to marry my daughter to Jia Cong, but that boy is a lecher. I don’t like it either.”

"Lingai comes from a well-known family, and her character... has a strong character. Jia Cong is blind, and it is his loss."

Everyone comforted them casually and laughed secretly in their hearts. Jia Cong was not crazy. Isn't he afraid of being crushed to death by his wife?

Feng Yuan cupped his hands and said with a smile: "If there are any good young talents, please keep an eye out for me."

"It goes without saying that you and I are as close as brothers. Your daughter is also our daughter, so you should pay attention to her visit." Everyone laughed.

"Thank you very much." Feng Yuan smiled and said casually: "Have you heard about the recent events?"

Everyone knew it well and said with a smile: "I wonder what brother is talking about?"

"Of course it's about the 'goodness deposit'." Feng Yuandao.

"Then we still don't know? I heard that all the officials in Shenjing City who are qualified to be impeached have submitted their papers. The General Affairs Department receives hundreds of papers every day to impeach Jin Yiwei and Jia Cong, and six bachelors have also done so. I have a headache."

"Have you all come to school too?"

"That's not true. We are all poor officials and have no money and property. We only receive a few salaries, which is not enough to live on. How can we be qualified to pay this money?" Everyone laughed.

When this topic was brought up, Li Shouzhong suddenly felt uneasy. Now that Jia Cong was pointing the finger, he also felt a little uncomfortable, for fear of being implicated.

Feng Yuan smiled and said: "I have talked with Mr. Zong Xian about this matter, and he has some unique insights into it.

It is said that this method makes small profits for the merchants and huge profits for the whole country. It is wrong for all the princes in the court to lose their great righteousness because of small gains. "

Everyone looked at each other and suddenly thought that the Yushitai seemed silent these days, and the Sixth Section did not say a word either. Obviously, there is something fishy about this matter.

"What do you mean, brother?" everyone asked.

However, Feng Yuan avoided answering and said with a smile: "Brother Jun Si, the Star Observation Tower in your Qintian Prison has been in disrepair for a long time. Why not rebuild it?"

"Who is not to say it? It's because the court has no money. Every time I go up and shake, I'm afraid that I won't be able to get down. Hey, what I mean is..." Tu Fa said happily.

Feng Yuan chuckled, looked at Wu Jiangyou, the bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, and said: "Brother Yicai, it was really hard work for the Hanlin Academy to compile the "Da Wu Huidian", has it been completed?"

Wu Jiangyou said hurriedly: "How can such a masterpiece be completed in three or two years? There are a lot of poor Hanlins in the Hanlin Academy who can't afford meat. They are dizzy all day long and their legs are shaky. How can they repair the book? Brother Zhengfang, you……"

Feng Yuan added: "Brother Zhengli, as the ancients said, when a country is going to prosper, it must value its master and give importance to it. It's time for your Imperial College building to be repaired. I heard that it's leaking everywhere and it's in bad shape."

Li Shouzhong said hurriedly: "Brother Zhengfang, please forgive me. I would like to thank you on behalf of the students."

Feng Yuan added: "Brother Zhongzhen, I heard that the vassal hall of your Honglu Temple collapsed a lot due to snow a few years ago..."

"It's absolutely true, brother, Wanwang holds your hand high." Kong Yanghua, the minister of Honglu Temple, cupped his hands.

"Brother Ziyuan, I heard that most of the sacrificial vessels and musical instruments in Taichang Temple are old, and the construction progress of the Emperor's mausoleum seems to be slow.

In the suburbs, people worship at the Ancestral Temple and pay homage to the late emperor's mausoleum every year. In recent years, the pomp has become too crude and unseemly, and it needs to be straightened out. "

Taichang Temple Qing Cheng Tuo's eyes shone and he said anxiously: "Brother Zhengfang is loyal to the country. I admire him so much. Isn't it because he has no money..."

"Brother Youqiong, the state banquets and palace banquets held by Guanglu Temple in recent years have become more and more frugal. I have never been full once."

"Brother Dewei, I heard that your Taipu Temple's horses are getting thinner and thinner. We have always heard that the most important things in the country depend on the army, and the most important things in the army depend on the horses. We should not ignore them."

Everyone was feeling itchy and said in unison: "Brother Zhengfang has great views, why don't you wipe out the old evils with a stroke of your pen, report to His Majesty the grace of heaven, and relieve us from hanging upside down."

Feng Yuan smiled and said: "I'm not the God of Wealth. I don't have any money in the treasury. I just spent a lot of money, so what's the use? But now I have a good opportunity."

"I would like to hear the details, and we will all obey your orders." Everyone in Qingshui Yamen is so poor that they are not willing to let go of such an opportunity.

Feng Yuan chuckled, Damn it, if it wasn't for the wrong direction of the wind these days, I wouldn't be too lazy to drag you poor guys along.

After sending a few people away, Feng Yuan returned to the back house. As soon as he sat down in the study, he saw a spherical man similar to himself "rolling" in, with a look of aggrievement on his face.

"Oh, my Xian'er is back. Will you enjoy playing poetry today?" Feng Yuan smiled and went over to hold her hand and sit down.

Feng Xian pouted, with an aggrieved look on his face, and shook his head: "Not happy. They all laughed at me for being fat and wouldn't be naughty with me."

"Asshole! Who is so bold? Tell daddy."

Feng Yuan frowned. Although he was more shameless, his wife died early and he left a daughter behind. He loved her more than life. No matter who he was, if he dared to offend his own daughter, he would definitely have sex with him.

"They are girls from the Zhao family, the Qu family, the Yang family, and the Lu family." Feng Xian pouted, as innocent as a 200-pound child.

Feng Yuan snorted coldly, "It turns out that these people are all ministers of various ministries. When you beg me, I will let you know what is going on."

"Don't worry, darling, daddy will vent his anger on you and let the adults in their family punish them severely, okay?"

Feng Xian shook his head, twisted the corners of his clothes, and said, "No, then they won't be stubborn with me anymore. At least they still invite me to cultural gatherings now."

"You...silly girl, ugh." Feng Yuan smiled bitterly and shook his head, then thought for a while and said, "Daddy, think of another way to make them all envy you and not dare to bully you in the future, okay?"

"Well, okay. As long as they don't bully me. I still think of them as good sisters."

"Oh, silly boy, you are so kind, you will suffer in the future. Dad can't protect you forever." Feng Yuan said, stroking his daughter's temples, with tears in his eyes.

(End of this chapter)