Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Rongguo Mansion, Lixiangyuan.

Upon hearing Baochai's words, Aunt Xue exclaimed in surprise, "What major thing has Second Uncle discovered?"

Xue Baochai said, "Baoqin said in the letter that Second Uncle asked Aunt Cai to check the accounts and found that the purchase and sale prices of the old shops on Ping Shi Street were suspicious."

He then sent the tadpole brothers to Suzhou to investigate, and they discovered that Cai Ronghui, the owner of the old shop on Ping Shi Street, had embezzled more than 4,000 taels of silver in profit over the past year by using high purchase prices and low selling prices.

The second uncle has already reported this matter to the Yingtian Prefecture, requesting Jia Yucun to imprison Cai Ronghui in order to deter the other three rental shops.

Fearing legal trouble, the owners of the other three long-established shops confessed to their second uncle that they had each embezzled shop funds in the past two years.

My second uncle reviewed the accounts from previous years and found that since we moved to Shenjing, these old shop owners had become less restrained and had been rigging their businesses.

We've only been in the capital for three years, and these four old shops have already had over 30,000 taels of profit embezzled—it's truly shocking.

Aunt Xue turned pale upon hearing this and said through gritted teeth, "These old shopkeepers were all personally trained by your father and have received kindness from my Xue family."

After your father passed away, I did not mistreat them; each of them received a generous salary, and each family accumulated wealth.

They weren't satisfied yet; they wanted to seize even more of the Xue family's property. They're truly heartless and ungrateful! Only by handing them all over to the authorities and bringing them to justice can we vent our anger!

Baochai said, "These people, seeing that we are not in Jinling, have lost their self-control. They are greedy and shameless scoundrels."

Fortunately, this matter was handled by my second uncle; otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to uncover these big rats.

The second uncle handed Cai Ronghui over to the authorities for legal proceedings only to make an example of him. If the other managers were also handed over to the authorities, there would be many disadvantages.

The second uncle said that Jia Yucun was not trustworthy, and reported the other managers to the government. The government was involved in this matter, most likely to profit from it.

If we fall into such a predicament, we will likely be unable to recover the full amount of the money that was embezzled from our Xue family.

Therefore, Second Uncle told the other three old managers that as long as they returned the embezzled funds within a specified period, the Xue family would not pursue the matter further, but would only dismiss them from the Xue family.

……

Aunt Xue said indignantly, "Isn't this just letting them get away with it!"

Baochai advised, "Mother, the Xue family has lost its foundation in officialdom. Although my uncle is the military governor of the capital, his situation is not what it used to be, and he is very cautious in his actions."

Brother Cong is a Hanlin official, and his reputation is extremely important. I don't want to involve him in anything that is completely unrelated to me.

In business, we should rely on ourselves more, leave more room for maneuver, and try not to trouble others. This is the best long-term strategy.

As long as the embezzled funds are recovered, there's always hope for a future where we can rebuild.

Besides, the Xue family still needs to do business in Jinling, so it's always better to avoid making enemies.

My brother Cong once told me that Jia Yucun is untrustworthy, though he's usually a good judge of character; the Xue family should keep their distance from him in the future.

Aunt Xue sighed, "It's safest to avoid getting involved with the government. Let's do as your second uncle says."

Baochai then said, "Mom, I think that with these four shops having such a problem, the rest of the family's businesses will most likely suffer as well."

Even if our family business doesn't make money, we can still maintain it. But if it's swallowed up like this, even mountains of gold and seas of silver will be squandered.

Since her brother wasn't cut out for business, the daughter wondered if she should hand over the Jinling business to her second uncle for the time being.

My second uncle is shrewd and capable, knowledgeable and not greedy for petty gains. The Tadpole brothers are honest and simple, and trustworthy people.

We will temporarily entrust the business to the second wife, and the second wife will receive 30% of the profits as a reward for her management.

Given the current situation of our family, how much money we can earn is not important; what is of utmost importance is to protect and pass on our family business for generations to come.

Besides, those four shops are rented to Xinchun Company, which brings in ten thousand taels of rent every year, enough for our family's daily expenses."

Aunt Xue sighed, "That's the only way. If we let these old managers keep their hands on the table, they'll take advantage of us sooner or later."

Your brother is such a troublemaker; he doesn't care about anything at home and just spends his days drinking and wasting time.

Aunt Xue glanced at her daughter and said, "Without anyone to support us, we're really struggling to make ends meet."

Now it seems your idea of ​​renting a shop was truly prescient. Fortunately, Cong-ge was willing to help, which has really been a great help to our family.

When we first came to the Jia family, it was my fault as a mother for not looking ahead. Cong-ge was just a scholar then, not as successful as he is today.

I was instigated by your aunt to arrange this supposedly perfect marriage, which has truly wasted your time. Now he holds a high official position and is still in the midst of mourning.

Baochai blushed and scolded, "Mom, why are you saying all this useless stuff? If you keep talking, I'll get angry."

…………

Rongguo Mansion, Sister Feng's Courtyard.

Winter days are short. Just past dusk, the night is already dark. Inside and outside the courtyard, lights are shining brightly, and maids and servants are busy preparing to set the table for dinner.

After a busy day of mundane affairs, Wu'er and Ping'er were about to return to the East Mansion when they saw Lin Zhixiao's wife lift the curtain and enter the room, carrying a large package in her hand.

She smiled and said, "Second Madam, the package that just arrived by the post station was sent by Second Master Lian from Liaodong, along with a letter."

Wang Xifeng's eyes lit up when she heard this, and she laughed, "At least he still has some conscience, remembering to send things back for the New Year."

Fifth Brother, stay here for a moment. I don't know many characters. Could you help me read Second Master's letter and see what it says?

You and Ping'er should both stay here for dinner; it'll be more lively with more people. I'll have the maidservant deliver a message back to the East Mansion.

As she spoke, she opened the package and found two fine fox fur coats, several wild ginseng roots, a box of sliced ​​blood deer antler, and some other medicinal herbs she didn't recognize.

Wu'er was very familiar with these items, because every year when the Liaodong villages delivered their harvest, these local Liaodong products were often included.

She opened the letter and read it through, then said, "Second Madam, Second Master Lian said that during the year-end routine reassignment, he has been transferred to Yonglan Pass to work."

Deng Hui, the military commander of Yonglan Pass, was a comrade-in-arms of the Third Master. Knowing that the Second Master Lian was the Third Master's brother, he took great care of the Second Master Lian on a daily basis.

Because Second Master Lian was literate, which was a rare find among those exiled to the border, General Deng appointed him as the granary clerk at the pass, responsible for keeping accounts and counting the grain.

Second Master Lian said he was doing well over there, and that all these New Year's gifts were sent by people in the army, including two wild ginseng roots each for the old lady and the second master.

The rest was kept for Grandma to recover after childbirth, and the two fox fur coats were used to make clothes for the eldest daughter.

Second Master also said that there would be a lot of grain and supplies to deal with at the border at the end of the year, and he would be leaving the pass in a few days to transport grain south with the army, so he could still make it back to the pass for the New Year.

Wang Xifeng laughed and said, "Ever since Second Master went to Liaodong, I have been inquiring about the exiles in the army. They usually do menial and hard jobs, and it's good enough if they can just survive."

Although Second Master is literate, he doesn't have the same reputation as Brother Cong in Liaodong. No one else would treat him so well, let alone assign him as the treasury secretary.

The name Deng Hui sounds familiar; it's like I've heard it somewhere before.

Wu'er laughed and said, "Second Madam has a good memory. Last time Third Master came back from Liaodong, he was accompanied by two Liaodong army colleagues. They went to the capital together to report on their duties and receive rewards."

One was Lieutenant General Liu, who was later promoted to Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Liaodong. It was Third Master who recommended him to the Emperor.

The other person was Deng Hui, who was originally the guerrilla general of Yonglan Pass. He fought against the Jurchens alongside the Third Master and was promoted to the rank of adjutant general as a result.

Third Master had even hosted a banquet for them at the mansion. The arrangements for the banquet in the outer courtyard were all handled through Second Madam, so Madam had naturally heard of his name.

I heard Third Master mention them once; these two were his close friends in the Liaodong army, and they had fought alongside him, so I remember them very clearly.

Wang Xifeng sighed, "No wonder General Deng takes such good care of Second Master; in the end, it's all because of Brother Cong's favor."

Second Master has been in Liaodong for quite some time, but fortunately, with the help of Brother Cong and his old friends in the army, he has no worries about food and clothing and lives a peaceful life, so I am at ease.”

After Wu'er read the letter, the three of them sat down to eat together. Wang Xifeng then chatted about the Lantern Festival, how things would be arranged in the inner courtyard, and other matters, as there were quite a few miscellaneous things to attend to because Grandmother Jia was going to watch a play in the main hall.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The Earl's Mansion, Jia Cong's Courtyard.

Jia Cong brought Tan Chun back to the courtyard and instructed Ling Guan to tell the kitchen to cook exquisite southern dishes according to Tan Chun's taste.

After the brother and sister had dinner, Jia Cong escorted Tan Chun back to her residence.

When he returned to the courtyard, he saw that the main room had been tidied up and most of the candles had been extinguished.

The courtyard was filled with the tranquility of the night, with only lights shining from the two side rooms.

He entered the main room and saw that the canopy bed in the inner room was half-drawn, but he couldn't remember which person was on night duty.

Because the maids Qingwen, Yinglian, and Lingguan were on night duty, the bed curtains were left hanging empty while they made the beds and warmed the quilts.

Only when someone is on night duty inside the house will the bed curtains be half-lowered; this is an old custom in the inner courtyard of the mansion.

He saw the delicate body wrapped in the brocade quilt, which vaguely resembled Ping'er's outline, lying motionless on her side, so he subconsciously slowed his footsteps.

I took toothpaste and a toothbrush from the outer room, and went out to rinse my mouth in the corridor so as not to wake Ping'er.

The courtyard was cold as ice at night. A full moon hung in the sky, bright and round, its light dazzling. Every detail of the stone steps and corridors, every blade of grass and every tree in the courtyard was clearly visible.

After Jia Cong finished tidying up and returned to his room, he had only taken a few steps when Ping'er, who was on the bed, woke up with a start and quickly sat up to get out of bed.

She covered her mouth and yawned, saying, "There's a lot going on at the West Mansion at the end of the year, and I'm a bit tired after coming back. I just want to warm up in bed, but I don't want to fall asleep. I'll help Third Master change his clothes."

Jia Cong laughed and said, "Let's skip it. It's too cold at night. If you sleep too warmly, you might catch a cold. I've already taken care of everything. You can just lie down comfortably."

After Jia Cong changed into his nightgown and got into bed, comfortably leaning against the headboard, Ping'er got up and lowered the other side of the bed curtains.

The bed curtains were warm as spring, and Ping'er's delicate fragrance was intoxicating.

Ping'er smiled and said, "I came back with Wu'er today. The main room has been tidied up, but the small table is still set up. Which young lady is coming to have dinner?"

Jia Cong reached out and pulled her into his arms, replying, "It was Third Sister who came over for dinner and asked why we hadn't seen you."

What's keeping you so busy that you even had your meal at the West Mansion?

Ping'er obediently leaned against Jia Cong's chest, gently wrapping her arms around his waist so that he could hold her tighter.

He smiled and said, "Second Madam just received a letter from Second Master and asked Wu'er to read it to her, so she invited everyone to stay for dinner."

Jia Cong sighed, “With the help of my comrades, Second Brother will surely be safe and sound in Liaodong, but it will be a long time.”

Hopefully, this experience will teach him a lesson and help him grow, so he can return home and live a peaceful life, which would be a good thing for his sister-in-law.

Ping'er said, "By the time Second Master returns, Eldest Sister will be married. I won't have much time to stay with Father."

She then said with a smile, "With Third Master's abilities, after more than ten years, he will probably be granted the titles of Marquis and Duke, and the Jia family will surely become more prosperous and prestigious."

Jia Cong laughed and said, "How could I be so lucky as to encounter all the good things in the world?"

Whether I can be granted a title of nobility or dukedom is secondary; what matters most is a peaceful and stable home, with you all serving and caring for me every day.

Ping'er laughed and said, "Look at what Third Master is saying. More than ten years from now, I will be an old woman. Third Master will probably be too lazy to even look at me, let alone pay attention to me."

Jia Cong kissed her on the lips and laughed, "Don't I get old too? God is fair in this matter, no one should despise anyone else."

While we're all still young, we should cherish these precious moments and not waste our youth.

Ping'er felt a little flustered when she heard Jia Cong's tender words and his slightly burning gaze. Her jade-like arms, which were wrapped around his waist, unconsciously tightened their grip.

Her delicate, petal-like cherry lips were instantly sealed by Jia Cong, who unbuttoned her small clothes one by one, and his five fingers lingered and roamed on her smooth, hot skin.

The cold wind howled incessantly outside the window, like a ship on a stormy sea, swaying with the wind and waves, mixed with the delicate, almost broken singing of a sheng and xiao.

…………

Shenjing, Huitongguan, Ordos Department Inn.

Although night was deepening, Noyan Taiji still hadn't gone to bed.

The maid Xiaoxia, carrying his bathrobe, had already come to check on him twice. She still saw him sitting at his desk in the outer room, carefully examining the map on the table, his eyes thoughtful.

"Taijitsu, it's late. You should rest early and be careful not to ruin your health."

Nuoyan looked at the dark courtyard outside the door and said, "Go to the inner room and wait. I need to wait for Shu Ergan to report back."

A while later, footsteps came from outside the courtyard, and a slender, tall man entered. He had bright eyes and a slightly hunched back.

Noyan Taiji's eyes lit up, and he asked, "Shuergan, is there any news from the north?"

Shu Ergan said, "Reporting to Taiji, I have dispatched two groups of fast riders from the camp north of the city to patrol fifty miles to the north, but they have not found any messengers from the Great Khan."

"Taijima, given the time we sent the letter, it's understandable that we haven't received a reply from the Khan, considering the great distance between the two places."

Noyan Taiji looked worried and said, "We finally managed to reach the Emperor of the Great Zhou through Jia Cong, giving the Ordos tribe a chance to recuperate."

Only by obtaining a response from the Khan can they devise a plan for the tribe's withdrawal as soon as possible and finalize the border trade between the two sides.

Now, the Mongol-Zhou regime is facing off against the border town of Xuanda, and a major battle is imminent. The Ordos tribe is caught in the middle, struggling to survive, like snatching chestnuts from a fire. Time is of the essence.

These past few days, I have often thought about how Altan, knowing full well that it was impossible, insisted on raising the trade volume by four levels, which prevented the two states from reaching a peace agreement.

The Tuman tribe must have had a reason for acting this way, but I cannot find out the details.

The stalemate between the two countries, where disagreement tantamount to war, has been a constant worry for me.
If things change and the Ordos region becomes entangled in the situation, making it difficult for them to act independently, the opportunity that Jia Cong secured for us may be lost.

Only by receiving a reply from my father as soon as possible can I have enough time to react.

Shu Ergan said, "When Taiji mentioned Aletang, it reminded me of something. Our fast cavalry patrolled north and encountered Tuman scouts twice along the way."

They seemed to be doing the same thing, as if they were also intercepting messages along the way.

Noyan Taiji's expression changed, and he asked, "They are also waiting for news from the north. Have they found out when this situation started?"

Shu Ergan said, "Our tribe's camp is near the Tuman tribe's camp. The soldiers guarding the camp said that five or six days ago, the Tuman tribe started sending out scouts on fast horses every day."

Moreover, they patrolled northwards without ever stopping. The nearby Great Zhou garrison had sent swift cavalry to patrol, but nothing happened between them.

Noyan Taiji's expression was solemn as he said, "If we can act in secret, the Tuman tribe can too."

The Ordos tribe secretly negotiated for survival, but Anda Khan's desire to march south was burning bright. It was unlikely that they would also secretly appease him.

Although I am not clear about Altan's true intentions, whoever receives the news from the north first will gain the upper hand, while the other will be put on the defensive.

Shu Ergan ordered the northern outpost to closely monitor the movements of the Tuman tribe's camp and to immediately ride into the city to report any unusual activity.

In addition, starting today, all baggage and equipment will be secretly packed up, leaving only essential food supplies, in order to be ready to respond to any changes in the situation.

You select skilled personnel to secretly monitor the movements of the Ministry of War of the Great Zhou Dynasty, as well as the unusual activities of the Tuman Tribe's Hall of Reunification.

I hope Father Khan can make a decision soon and send word as soon as possible. (End of Chapter)