Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Rongguo Mansion, Fengjie's courtyard.

Wang Xifeng felt a little strange after hearing what Lin Zhixiao's family said.

She naturally knew that Mrs. Wang owned a dowry shop with a good location and space, and it was an important asset for her aunt.

The shop was run by Mrs. Wang's dowry servant, who sold silk and porcelain from Jinling, Jiangnan and other places. Although the business was not big, it gave Mrs. Wang a sum of money every month.

Therefore, although Mrs. Wang, as the mistress of Rongguo Mansion, received a monthly allowance of twenty taels of silver, she did not really take it seriously.

However, since Jia Cong inherited the hereditary title of Rongguo, the property and assets of Rongguo Mansion became the property of the first wife, and the second wife of Rongguo moved to the east courtyard as a concubine.

Although the monthly allowance of twenty taels was not a large amount of money, Mrs. Wang was no longer the mistress of the Rong Kingdom, so she could not receive the twenty taels of allowance.

Even though Li Wan was widowed at a young age, Grandmother Jia felt sorry for her and made an exception to give her the same monthly allowance of twenty taels. However, now that the second wife's status had changed, this allowance had to be cancelled.

Even though Baoyu was kept by Lady Jia's side because of her favor, his monthly allowance could not be paid from the West Palace, but had to be allocated from the East Courtyard's allowance.

This is not about the value of a few dozen taels of silver, but the inheritance of titles and salaries in aristocratic families, which pays the most attention to patriarchal etiquette. These details cannot be ignored at all, otherwise how can one be legitimate?

Mrs. Wang and Li Wan moved to the East Courtyard. Although their monthly allowance was not as generous as in previous years, their food, clothing, housing and transportation were not affected.

The East Courtyard can also receive a share from the Duke of Rongguo every month, which is enough for the daily expenses of the second branch of the Rongguo.

But even so, the second house could no longer be as well-off as before, so the subsidy for Mrs. Wang's dowry shop became more important than before.

According to the current situation and Wang Xifeng's thoughts, Mrs. Wang will definitely keep a closer eye on the property in the dowry shop than before. Why would she sell it at a low price?

Wang Xifeng asked, "But you used your reputation to make Manager Zhao sell the store to you at a fair price?"

Lin Zhixiao's wife laughed and said, "Look at what Second Madam said. I am just an old servant, a clerk in Second Madam's store, and you still give me this face.

Besides, regarding our Xiaohong’s matter, the Second Madam doesn’t like our family to some extent, so there will never be such convenience.”

Wang Xifeng believed what Lin Zhixiao said, because Jia Cong promoted Xiaohong, who was driven away by Mrs. Wang, to be the maid in charge of Rong Xi Hall.

This move alone not only severely humiliated his aunt, but also won the hearts of Lin Zhixiao and his wife.

Now that his aunt was extremely fed up with Lin Zhixiao's family, how could she possibly give them face?

Lin Zhixiao's wife said, "It's a coincidence, these pieces of fabric were not bought from the Madam's dowry shop, but from another shop on the same street.

The owner of the shop at my house had some friendship with my boss. It happened that I went to his shop to look at the goods and saw these pieces of high-quality fabrics. Because of his old face, he sold them to me at a fair price.

According to a shopkeeper, the second wife seems to be in a hurry to make some money recently, so she sold all the top-quality Suzhou embroidery and brocade at the purchase price. That shop just happened to get a batch of goods. "

I paid attention to it and asked the shopkeeper about the matter. He said that the lady's dowry shop not only sold high-quality brocades, but also other fine porcelain items. A lot of them were sold in the past few days.

In addition to the daily expenses of the dowry shop and the necessary wages, a rough estimate shows that the lady had collected three thousand taels of silver.

But I heard from several acquaintances in Dongluyuan that Dongluyuan has not had any major expenses recently."

Wang Xifeng sneered, "Third brother and Second Master have a deep friendship, and with the old lady's support, the share of public funds allocated to the East Courtyard every month is enough for daily expenses there.

They haven't done anything big over there, so if there's any big expenses, it must be that the Madam has other things to do and needs money. Anyway, it's not up to us to do anything unless the public funds are touched."

……

Earl's Mansion, Jia Cong Courtyard.

In the study, Qingwen was holding a leather rope and circling around Jia Cong like a butterfly.

She wore a bright red printed boa, a light yellow soft silk cross-collared blouse, a light purple embroidered handkerchief around her waist, and an ivory embroidered long skirt. She looked pretty and charming, with an agile figure.

He measured the width of his shoulders, his height and the length of his hands. He also ran behind Jia Cong, put his arms around his waist, and measured his waist circumference with a leather rope.

Wu'er came back with two pieces of new satin. Qingwen was best at needlework, so she naturally knew better than others about the quality of materials. When she saw something, she even said that it was top-grade brocade.

She thought that Jia Cong would not have much time left before the imperial examination, so she had to hurry and make new clothes, and there was no time to waste.

She worked for a while and said with a smile, "Third Master has grown a lot taller than when I made new clothes for him at the end of last year. If I add some sizes, I'll be done with the clothes in about three or four days."

Wu'er, who was standing by, waited until Qingwen was done with her work, and then told Jia Cong everything about Lin Zhixiao's family buying cloth.

She said, "Second Madam also finds this strange. Although our family is considered wealthy, spending over a thousand taels of silver on various matters is considered a large expense.

I don't know why the Second Madam urgently needs such a large sum of money, and even the top-quality goods in the dowry shop have to be sold at a low price."

After hearing this, Jia Cong thought about it for a moment and understood it a little, and said, "Even if we celebrate the New Year or other festivals, or have a lot of social interactions, it doesn't make sense to spend three thousand taels on each one.

You only need to think about whether the Madam has mentioned any large expenses in the past six months, and you can guess what she is raising the money for."

Wu'er is also a smart person. She has been following Wang Xifeng as the housekeeper for the past six months and has been paying attention to every household chore. After just thinking for a while, she had a guess in her mind.

He said: "Last year, the Madam wanted to find a way for the eldest daughter in the palace and wanted to withdraw 4,000 taels of silver from the public treasury, but this plan was later rejected by the Third Master.

At the beginning, the Third Master said that if the Jia family continued to handle this matter, it would be harmful rather than beneficial to the family. Could it be that the Second Madam was unwilling to give up and raised money on her own to do this privately? "

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Wu'er is now in charge of the household affairs, and his brain has become more sharp. He hit the nail on the head right away. This must be the case."

Qingwen interrupted and said, "The Third Master is now the head of the family. They say that doing that is harmful to the family, but the Second Wife is still doing it in private. Isn't this ruining the Third Master's career and bringing trouble to the family?"

Jia Cong smiled slightly and said, "Madam has been trying to ruin my career for a long time, but it is not necessarily true that this will bring trouble to the family.

The second branch has moved to the east courtyard, the Jia family's lineage has been determined, Rongguo Mansion is Rongguo Mansion, and the second branch is the second branch, not everything can be confused.

After the New Year, I sent gifts and letters to my elder sister, and she specially sent me a reply letter. These things are not done for fun..."

After hearing this, Wu'er and Qingwen were both a little confused. They didn't know what Jia Cong meant, but they both believed in their Third Master's ability. Since he said it was okay, there was no need to worry.

……

The palace city of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Qianyang Palace.

At three quarters past the hour of You, Yuan Jing, a sixth-rank eunuch serving in front of the Qianyang Palace, came off duty and left the palace. When he returned to his residence, a eunuch, Xiao Huangmen, was already waiting outside his door.

Yuan Jing also recognized this young eunuch, who was the errand boy for Xia Shouzhong, the eunuch in charge of internal affairs, and he usually followed Xia around.

When the young eunuch saw Yuan Jing, he stepped forward and saluted with a smile on his face, saying, "Hello, Eunuch Yuan. I am here to wait for you, Eunuch Yuan, on the orders of Grandpa Xia."

Yuan Jing smiled and said, "I know that Eunuch Xia has been busy with the three-year beauty pageant, and we haven't been close to each other much. I don't know why he came to our house."

Xia Shouzhong is nearly fifty years old and is the oldest eunuch in the palace. He walks around the six palaces on a daily basis and is familiar with many concubines in the palace. He is a man with extensive personal connections.

That's why he was flattered in private as the eunuch in charge of the six palaces, but his actual position was just the eunuch in charge of the fifth rank of the Internal Affairs Bureau.

Although Xia Shouzhong's rank was higher than Yuan Jing's and his qualifications in the palace were unmatched by Yuan Jing, he did not dare to be arrogant in front of Yuan Jing, a junior.

Although Yuan Jing's rank was lower than his, he worked in Qianyang Palace and was a person who walked in front of the emperor. Moreover, the deputy chief eunuch Guo Lin stood behind him...

This eunuch Xiao Huangmen followed Xia Shouzhong every day, so he naturally knew Yuan Jing's importance and was very flattering to him in his words.

He said, "Grandpa Xia has always admired you, and knowing that you are on duty early today, he specially set up a banquet at his residence and invited two eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department, hoping to invite you to come over for a gathering."

After hearing this, Yuan Jing's heart moved slightly, but he did not reply immediately. Instead, he opened the door, entered the room, and sat down on the chair in the middle hall.

The eunuch followed him into the room with a hunched back and stood respectfully in front of Yuan Jing.

Yuan Jing asked, "Why did Eunuch Xia hold a banquet out of the blue and invited two eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department? Who are they?"

The eunuch smiled and said, "Those two are Eunuch Qiu and Eunuch Huang from the Imperial Household Department."

When Yuan Jing heard this, he was slightly startled and had roughly guessed the purpose of Xia Shouzhong's sudden invitation.

The three-year selection in the palace was to enrich the emperor's harem, and the people in charge were the chief eunuchs of the Silijian and the Neiguanjian.

However, there were four other people who were responsible for the specific affairs of the selection and the initial screening of the selected ladies and female officials.

They were the eunuchs Qiu Hong and Huang Yongjue who were in charge of the Imperial Household, and the eunuch Xia Shouzhong who was in charge of the Internal Affairs. In addition, there was a eunuch who served as an advisor and supervisor.

Originally, Guo Lin, a trusted eunuch of Emperor Jiazhao, should have been the most suitable candidate for such matters. However, as the deputy chief eunuch, Guo Lin was not suitable to be involved in practical matters.

So he sent his confidant Yuan Jing to participate in the work. Although Yuan Jing's qualifications and rank were lower than the other three, no one dared to look down on him.

All the concubines and female officials who entered the palace had to be screened by these four people. The winners would have their portraits painted by painters before they could be shown to the emperor. The emperor would first select the women with outstanding appearance and flawless talents and virtues from the selected portraits. Only the best ones would have the opportunity to meet the emperor.

It can be said that Yuan Jing and the other four people decided the fate of the selected concubines and female officials.

Now Xia Shouzhong invited three other people to the banquet, and his intention was self-evident...

……

Yuan Jing smiled and said, "Eunuch Xia has arranged a banquet, but which lady do you like during the selection process and would like to recommend her to His Majesty?"

The eunuch was slightly stunned when he heard this. He didn't know how to answer for a moment. After thinking for a while, he said, "How dare I guess about Grandpa Xia's affairs? Eunuch Yuan will know when he goes there."

Seeing that the eunuch kept his mouth shut, Yuan Jing became more cautious and worried.

In fact, during the annual beauty pageant, it was common for the families of the concubines to spend money and seek connections in the palace in order to gain the emperor's favor.

In Yuan Jing's opinion, an old eunuch like Xia Shouzhong in the palace had been able to stand firm for so many years without any accidents. Even if he was a little greedy by nature, he must have acted with propriety.

The palace selection is a major event that takes place every three years. There are countless beauties from all over the Great Zhou entering the palace to be selected. Many of them are from wealthy families who have to pay money to get connections to be chosen.

Even if Xia Shouzhong wanted to earn some extra money, he would never do anything out of his hunger and easily bring trouble upon himself.

He would definitely choose a woman with outstanding talent and appearance, and then accept bribes from her family.

Only by doing so can you take into account both public and private interests, easily make money, and sleep peacefully without causing trouble.

Otherwise, recommending a woman of such poor appearance to the emperor would mean that you are living too long...

Therefore, using the selection of concubines to extort personal wealth was just a common tactic in the palace, and it was harmless for Yuan Jing to do a favor.

Moreover, those who were recommended to the emperor were all talented and beautiful, with no faults to be found inside or outside. Whether they would succeed in the end depended on their own fate, and it was also a matter of conscience to get benefits from their families.

However, although this is the case, Yuan Jing is a cautious person. As the saying goes, there is no good banquet, so he always has to find out the truth first before deciding whether to do this favor or not.

Yuan Jing said calmly, "As a junior, I dare not neglect Eunuch Xia's banquet. If you don't explain the reason and leave us in the dark, how can I attend the banquet?"

……

When the eunuch heard this, he looked embarrassed. He understood what Yuan Jing meant. This man was very cautious and didn't dare to step into a trap. It was obvious that he would not release the eagle until he saw the rabbit.

Yuan Jing said: "The affairs of the palace have always been something that cannot be kept secret. For many things, what matters is whether they succeed or fail, and whether they exist or not is not important.

Since Eunuch Xia invited me, he kept the secret so secretive. This makes me feel a little strange...

In fact, even if you don’t tell me, it’s easy for us to find out by asking someone.”

The eunuch was also a smart man. Xia Shouzhong was experienced and scheming. When he asked him to come over to invite someone, he would tell him how to deal with it. He would not reveal his background until absolutely necessary.

After inviting people over, they drank a few drinks and found it easier to talk about many things.

But Yuan Jing acted extremely cautiously, and the eunuch knew that if he did not reveal his true identity, Yuan Jing would never attend the banquet, and he would then have a hard time explaining to Xia Shouzhong.

He had no choice but to grit his teeth and use his trump card, taking out a brocade bag from his body, and said with a smile: "This is what Grandpa Xia asked me to bring to my father-in-law. I hope my father-in-law can help me during the selection.

There will definitely be a generous reward afterwards.”

Yuan Jing took the brocade bag, opened it, and saw two silver notes worth five hundred taels inside. He smiled and said, "Whose family is this young lady from? She is quite generous."

Seeing that Yuan Jing looked relaxed and took the matter of the banknotes calmly, the eunuch concluded that Yuan Jing had no objection to this matter, so he felt relieved and stopped trying to hide it.

He said: "When Grandpa Xia was selecting, he valued the talents and looks of the three ladies. Among the selected girls, it is hard to find a match. If I recommend them to Your Majesty, Your Majesty will surely be pleased.

The three families were Chen Juan, the daughter of Chen Dingchen, the governor of Dengzhou; Wang Yao, the daughter of Wang Hongdao, the prefect of Quanzhou; Jia Zheng, the daughter of Jia Yuanchun, the deputy director of the Ministry of Works of Rongguo Prefecture; and Jia Yuanchun, the female historian of Fengzao Palace.

……

Yuan Jing remained calm when hearing the first two names, but when he heard Jia Yuanchun's name, his eyebrows twitched slightly and a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes.

On that day, Jia Cong sent a letter containing New Year gifts to Yuanchun in the palace through Yuan Jing.

According to palace rules, anything outside the palace that enters the palace must be strictly checked, and of course the contents of letters must also be opened and checked.

After that, whenever Yuanchun sent a letter out of the palace, she still could not escape investigation.

Yuan Jing knew very well that Jia Cong and Jia Yuanchun both passed letters through him and had no intention of hiding anything.

Because he was the eunuch on duty in Qianyang Palace, they acted like this just to show their intentions to the current emperor through him. The Jia family cherished the emperor's grace and was content with the status quo, and did not have undue expectations of the emperor's favor.

Given the shrewdness and capability of Weiyuan Marquis Jia Cong, how could he do something that goes back on his word? Wouldn't that leave him with a huge source of gossip and trouble?

Moreover, the emperor knew the intentions of Jia Cong and Jia Yuanchun at that time, and he was quite approving in his words, which showed that he extremely agreed with what Jia Cong said and did.

Now, I don’t know why, this matter has become so complicated?
Although Yuan Jing was not sure whether Jia Cong was responsible for this, he would definitely not wade into such muddy water.

He pushed the brocade bag containing the banknotes on the table and said with a cold face, "No merit, no reward. We dare not accept this money.

The emperor has been reviewing memorials until midnight these past few days, and he is very tired. Eunuch Guo has been serving the emperor in the palace, and I have to stand guard outside the palace all night. I am not lucky enough to enjoy the banquet invited by Eunuch Xia."

……

The eunuch's face changed drastically when he saw Yuan Jing's sudden strange tone of voice. He couldn't invite Yuan Jing to the banquet, and he would have a hard time explaining to Xia Shouzhong when he returned.

He said, "Since Eunuch Yuan has another imperial errand, I will report this to Grandpa Xia. Grandpa Xia thinks highly of you and will definitely invite you to a banquet on another day."

Yuan Jing said: "It is not necessary. The three-year selection is related to the peace of the harem and the continuation of the royal bloodline. We are young and inexperienced, so we dare not act rashly in this regard.

To be honest, money is a good thing and we like it very much, but you have to have a life to spend it.

Although we are humble and dare not call ourselves gentlemen, we know what we should and should not do! "

After hearing what Yuan Jing said, the eunuch was completely confused...

Just now when he talked about the selection and connection, Yuan Jing still looked humble, how come he suddenly became so righteous?
……

The palace of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the Internal Affairs Bureau, and the residence of Xia Shouzhong.

A sumptuous banquet had been set in the main hall, and two eunuchs in brocade robes had taken their seats, but neither of them had picked up their chopsticks.

Although Yuan Jing's rank was lower than theirs, his status was special, and even as their superiors in the eunuchs, they did not dare to be too negligent towards him.

Xia Shouzhong was originally in a very good mood today. In this three-year election, there were many people asking for favors, and he also carefully selected them before deciding on three families with outstanding talents and appearance.

He had received tens of thousands of taels of silver in benefits from these families, which was truly an astonishing windfall.

As for this kind of talent show, since the power of selection lies with the emperor alone, even if you accept money from others, if the matter does not come to pass, others will not gossip about it. It is very easy to make money.

No one in the palace who was involved would refuse such a good thing. In Xia Shouzhong's opinion, Yuan Jing must be the same.

However, the eunuch he sent to invite someone has been gone for a long time and has not returned yet, which makes Xia Shouzhong feel a little uneasy.

The two eunuchs in brocade robes who had already taken their seats also looked a little hesitant. As long as one of the people involved failed to reach an agreement, the benefit would not be achieved...

Finally, when Xia Shouzhong was eagerly waiting, the eunuch finally came back. When Xia Shouzhong saw his depressed face, he knew that things had not worked out.

The eunuch trembled as he told the story again. Xia Shouzhong's face darkened. He slapped the eunuch so hard that he staggered, and cursed, "Useless brat!"

The eunuch was full of grievances, and after a while, as if he had thought of something, he said, "Grandpa Xia, when we first started talking about this, Yuan Jing was quite easy to talk to, and he didn't seem to be against it.

But he was a very cautious person and insisted on asking who I recommended. When I mentioned the three names, his expression suddenly changed and he turned hostile. "

After hearing this, Xia Shouzhong was full of suspicion and said to himself, "Could it be that the three families selected by our family have something shameful that makes Yuan Jing avoid them?"

But no matter what the real reason was, since the matter had been revealed to Yuan Jing and he was determined not to get involved, it could no longer be done.

Although Xia Shouzhong had received tens of thousands of taels of silver from the three families, Chen Ding, the governor of Dengzhou, and Wang Hongdao, the prefect of Quanzhou, were not in the capital, and the people in charge of the transaction were only the relatives of the housekeeper, so it was relatively easy to deal with.

However, the person who came to ask for help from the third family was a relative of his Xia family, and he could not fool him at all. Moreover, the Rongguo Jia family was very powerful, so this matter must be explained.

As for whether to discuss with his own clansmen or send someone to explain the reasons to Weiyuan Bo Jia Cong, he still needs to think carefully before deciding... (End of this chapter)