Red Mansion, Ningfu Scholarly Family

Chapter 162: Ten million dowry!

……

The two talked for a while, and seeing that it was getting late, Jia Rong said with a smile: "How about having a meal and drinking some wine, and then leaving tomorrow morning?"

Xue Ke was somewhat tempted, but in the end he shook his head firmly and said, "No, let's eat on the boat."

"This is the first big deal we are going to do at sea. I must personally supervise the shipment of 300,000 rolls of silk to Southeast Asia. There cannot be any mistakes."

Jia Rong heard this and stopped forcing him. He smiled and said, "Okay, then you should be careful and remember to bring more guards. I will also ask Jiao Da to come ahead to escort you."

Xue Ke smiled and said, "With Uncle Jiao's escort, it's basically foolproof. Brother Rong, wait for my good news in Beijing."

"OK."

Jia Rong stood up and patted Xue Ke on the shoulder: "Come on, I'll go to the dock to see you off."

Xue Ke said hurriedly: "Don't bother me, big brother. I can do it myself."

Jia Rong said, "Don't be so hypocritical, let's go."

As soon as the two of them left the yard, they saw Xue Baoqin walking around in circles with her head down under the banana tree at the entrance of the ceremonial gate, as if she hadn't noticed them yet.

Jia Rong asked, "What happened to your sister?"

Xue Ke rubbed his head and shouted, "Bao Qin!"

"Ah? Brother." Baoqin hurriedly ran over holding her skirt and said with a smile: "Brother Rong, have you finished talking about your business?"

Jia Rong smiled and said, "That's all. What was Sister Baoqin looking for just now? Did you drop your purse?"

"Hehe." Baoqin smiled and said, "I lost my purse. Whoever picks it up will..."

"Cough cough."

Xue Ke coughed in time and said, "Baoqin, go back soon. Remember to listen to Aunt Lin and Brother Rong at home, and don't worry about your brother." As he spoke, he glared at Baoqin.

However, Baoqin obviously didn't care about her brother's threat. She smiled and said to Jia Rong, "Brother Rong, I want to follow you to the dock to see you off, okay?"

Jia Rong: "Okay."

Xue Ke: “No.”

The two exited almost at the same time.

Baoqin glanced at her brother lightly and raised her chin.

Xue Ke said helplessly: "Since Brother Rong has said so, just follow him. Remember to be obedient and don't cause trouble for Brother Rong."

Baoqin: “I know!”

"Brother, you are so long-winded."

Xue Ke: “…”

Soon, the carriage was ready.

The three of them plus Xiao Xiao boarded the carriage, and a dozen personal soldiers followed on horseback, heading all the way to the dock.

……

"Are you sure? Jia Rong has left the house?"

"Absolutely sure!"

"With whom?"

"I only brought the second young lady of the Xue family and a maid."

"Where did they go?"

"It should be to see off relatives at Matou."

"Is there anyone to protect me?"

"There are more than ten personal guards."

"it is good!"

Elder Ye clapped his hands and smiled slightly.

"Bring more people and kill him!"

"Be neat!"

"besides!"

"Order the third brother to lead his men to disguise themselves as Bailian and rob one or two shops. Then have Imperial Censor Hu write a letter saying that the remnants of Bailian have come to Lianghuai and request the court to send troops to suppress them."

"As ordered!"

Watching his men turn around and leave, Ye Huayang picked up the teacup and took a sip, muttering to himself: "Who made your grandfather go against me? You can only blame your bad luck."

To be honest, his trip to the south of the Yangtze River was not smooth sailing.

The three major salt merchants had gone out to sea, and he was out of reach, so naturally he did not get any of their property.

The plan to provoke rebellion in Lianghuai was stillborn because of the salt ticket system proposed by Jia Jing. Not only did Jia Jing gain fame, but he also lost hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.

Just as he was getting ready to impeach Jia Jing, his father in Kyoto sent him a letter, ordering him not to act rashly.

It can be said that nothing goes as planned.

Since he is not happy, others can forget about being happy too.

Jia Jing must have been heartbroken over the death of his precious grandson.

"Hahaha……"

Ye Huayang smiled for a while and felt a little better.

"Someone is coming."

"Please ask the three girls to come in and sing a song."

After a while, three beautiful girls with excellent temperament and slim figures were led into the house.

They all look so sad and pitiful that one can't help but feel pity for them at a glance.

They are not ordinary prostitutes, but Qian Shuyan, the legitimate daughters of the Qian family, one of the six major salt merchants; Wu Xinyi, the legitimate daughter of the Wu family; and Zhou Xiaoying, the legitimate daughter of the Zhou family.

They were all once rich daughters raised in seclusion, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. Among them, Zhou Xiaoying, the daughter of Zhou family, was engaged. Although the man's family background was ordinary, he was a young scholar with a reputation for talent.

Ye Huayang obviously knew something. He ordered the other two beauties to pour wine, and then he took Zhou Xiaoying on his lap and caressed her while pouring wine into her mouth.

Zhou Xiaoying was like a puppet, allowing Ye Huayang to manipulate her without saying a word.

The more Ye Huayang looked at her, the more he liked her. He pinched the beauty's chin and chuckled, "I just like your arrogant and unyielding look. When I return to Beijing, I will marry you and make you my ninth concubine."

"As for your engaged husband." Ye Huayang took a sip of wine and laughed: "Originally, I thought it would take some effort, but I didn't expect that when he heard that your family had committed a crime, he hurriedly distanced himself from you. He tore up the engagement with you a long time ago and sued your father for forcing him to get engaged to you..."

When Zhou Xiaoying heard this, her body trembled.

Ye Huayang was even more proud, and smiled: "Do you think you are still the daughter of the richest salt merchant in the world? No, now you are the daughter of a criminal, and you should go to the Jiaofangsi."

"It's an honor for you to follow me!"

……

Yangzhou Wharf.

A group of merchants from Shandong slowly disembarked from the boat pushing carts. Leading them was a slim girl in colorful clothes with a veil.

"Saint..."

The girl glared at the person who spoke.

The man quickly changed his words: "Miss!"

"Ah."

The girl nodded and said, "Tell me, what's the matter?"

The man looked around cautiously and said, "Are we really going to enter the city? If we are discovered, the consequences will be disastrous!"

The girl raised her hand and hit the man's head hard: "You crow mouth! We are serious businessmen now. We don't kill people or set fires. Who can find us?"

The man rubbed his head and rolled his eyes. We indeed didn't kill anyone or burn anything in the past few days, but we robbed a government ship a few days ago. Have you forgotten so quickly, old man?
"But……"

"No buts!"

The girl waved her hand and said, "Little Six, you don't know how expensive firewood and rice are until you run a household."

"We have tens of thousands of brothers, and we consume hundreds of taels of salt a day. The queen and I are worried. Fortunately, the price of salt in Lianghuai has been reduced this time, and all merchants are allowed to buy and sell salt."

"I have already thought about it. It would be great if I could find an opportunity to become a salt merchant this time. Not only can I solve the problem of salt shortage among my brothers in the sect, but I will also have an official status in the white world."

Xiao Liuzi curled his lips.

"It's just a fool's dream..."

"What did you say?"

"Ah? I thought the young lady was really smart!"

"Humph."

The girl chuckled.

"Come on, let's go into the city."

"Wait, Miss."

The girl was a little unhappy.

"What's wrong with you?"

Xiao Liuzi looked up at the sky and said, "It's getting dark. How about we find a place to rest outside and go into the city tomorrow morning?"

The girl said angrily, "I said you were stupid, and you really are stupid. Now that it's dark, isn't it a good time to get away with it?"

Xiao Liuzi suddenly realized.

"Miss, you are wise!"

As they were talking, they were walking towards the Yangzhou city gate. Halfway through the journey, a man suddenly ran up to them, panting and saying, "Miss, there are brothers from the sect ambushing us ahead!"

Girl: “???”

"Do we have someone in Lianghuai?"

The girl looked at Xiao Liuzi.

Xiao Liuzi shook his head: "Absolutely not!"

The girl was a little confused: "What is this?"

Xiao Liuzi thought for a moment and said, "It's probably a dog-eat-dog situation in the imperial court, trying to push the blame onto us, Bai Lian."

The girl nodded imperceptibly. The White Lotus Sect was used to taking the blame for this.

Even the reason why the White Lotus Sect has survived to this day is not unrelated to the fact that the bigwigs in the imperial court felt that they could take the blame at critical moments.

……

Jia Rong and Xue Baoqin watched the big ship that Xue Ke was on set sail and disappear into the night.

The three of them got on the carriage and headed back.

Jia Rong was thinking about the next things to do. Studying for the imperial examination was one thing, becoming the largest salt merchant in the country was one, and dominating overseas was another.

There is still a lot that the young minister needs to do.

A long way to go.

Xiao Xiao narrowed her eyes slightly, her body swaying with the car body, and she frowned from time to time, not knowing what she was thinking.

Baoqin sat opposite Jia Rong, playing with a strand of hair that fell on her chest.

When she returned home this year, she overheard a conversation between her father and her brother.

The second branch of the Xue family has been thriving this year and has become one of the top wealthy merchants in Daxia, but this wealth was given by the Ningguo Mansion. Once the support of the Ningguo Mansion is gone, the second branch of the Xue family will collapse in an instant.

How can we completely tie the interests of the Xue family and the Ningguo Mansion together?

Marriage!

When Xue Baoqin heard this, she immediately understood something and her breathing became rapid. She was caught red-handed by her father and brother.

Seeing this, the two did not hide it from her.

"Qin'er!"

"how do you feel?"

Xue Li asked with a serious face.

She hesitated for a while, and finally said, "...It's all up to Daddy."

Xue Li laughed loudly and praised Baoqin for being well-behaved and sensible.

"Qin'er, don't worry. Although our Xue family is not worthy of being the mistress of the Duke's Mansion, you can't escape the position of the second wife. In the future, your brother will become the eldest son's right-hand man, and no one will be able to bully you."

Xue Keyi looked at his sister and smiled, "Yes, Brother Rong thinks highly of me now. He has entrusted all the important matters of overseas trade to me. In the future, I will prepare a dowry of tens of millions for you. Who can bully you?"

Xue Li laughed and said, "A dowry of tens of millions, even the emperor would be jealous, this is really a bargain for Rong Ge'er!"

The two of them talked back and forth. Xue Baoqin was so embarrassed that her face turned red. She ran away covering her cheeks. She had no idea what the two of them discussed afterwards.

"squeak…"

There was a sudden piercing sound, and then the carriage shook violently, and the entire body tilted to one side.

There was a sudden spin.

"what!"

Baoqin screamed and threw herself on Jia Rong.

"Brother Rong, I..."

"fine."

At the critical moment, Jia Rong held Baoqin's body with one hand and supported the carriage with the other, barely able to stabilize his body.

The carriage swayed from side to side twice in succession before finally stabilizing without overturning.

"The White Lotus Sect is here to protect justice!"

"kill!"

"Whoosh whoosh!"

"what!"

There was chaos outside.

At this time, the slightly anxious voice of Li San, the captain of the personal guards, came from the front: "Young Master! There are White Lotus bandits ambushing ahead! You go first, we will intercept them from behind!"

"it is good!"

"Remember to signal for help!"

"Don't worry, young master. The message has been sent out and our people will be here soon!"

Jia Rong is not pretentious.

I didn't have time to think about why so many White Lotus Sect members came outside Yangzhou City, why they were targeting me, what their purpose was, etc.!

At this moment, safety comes first.

After all, there is Baoqin who needs to be taken care of.

Xue Ke went out to work hard for himself, and then he entrusted his sister to his care with confidence, and there must not be any mistakes.

Otherwise I would be sorry, brother.

The carriage had just changed direction after a sharp turn, and the soldier in charge of driving the carriage raised the whip.

"Drive! Drive!"

The personal guard drove the car with a nervous look on his face.

"Stop!"

Jia Rong suddenly spoke.

The guards hurriedly stopped the carriage.

"Young Master, what's wrong?"

Jia Rong said solemnly: "It's hard to say what the situation is like ahead, let's find a place to hide here and wait for reinforcements."

The guard thought for a moment and jumped off the carriageway: "You are right, my subordinate will go ahead and investigate. If there is any danger, I will give a loud warning so that you can be prepared."

"Thank you, brother."

"You're welcome, young master."

The personal soldier held a knife and walked forward cautiously in the faint moonlight.

……

Xiao Xiao had sat next to Jia Rong without knowing when, with a sword in her hand.

Jia Rong felt that the atmosphere was a bit solemn, so he smiled and said, "You are still holding the sword? Why didn't I notice it just now?"

Xiao Xiao smiled and said, "I just hid it on my body."

Jia Rong nodded and said in approval: "You are really amazing. You can even hide a precious sword."

Xiaoxiao blushed.

"It's already this late, what are you thinking about?"

Jia Rong: “…”

Sister! I really don’t have any random thoughts now.

"Brother Rong."

Baoqin, who had been in Jia Rong's arms, twisted a little, and Jia Rong quickly let her go, explaining, "It was urgent just now."

Baoqin was unexpectedly calm and nodded, "Brother Rong, I know, you don't have to worry about me."

As he spoke, he turned his back.

Soon when she turned around again, Baoqin had a soft sword in her hand, which was four or five inches long and as thin as a cicada's wing. The hilt of the sword was wrapped with a moon-white silk ribbon, which seemed to have been wrapped around her waist.

Jia Rong was stunned.

A gentleman hides his weapons in his body!

Baoqin explained: "I used to travel around with my father all the time, so I always had something to protect myself."

Xiao Xiao's eyes lit up, and she took Bao Qin's soft sword and looked at it carefully for a while, and said enviously: "It's really a good thing."

Baoqin smiled and said, "This was made by a master from the Western Regions. It is as thin as a cicada's wing, as soft as a silk ribbon, and extremely sharp!"

"Ok!"

After Xiao Xiao had read it, he returned it to Bao Qin and said seriously, "Young lady, take it! Protect yourself well later."

Baoqin held the sword tightly and nodded slightly.

"I know."

“Brother Rong, if you have the chance, you and Sister Xiaoxiao can go first, don’t worry about me.”

Jia Rong shook his head and said nothing.

He just held Baoqin's hand tightly.

Baoqin lowered her head and also grabbed Jia Rong tightly with her backhand.

Just then!
All I heard was a loud roar from far away.

"who!"

The three of them immediately became nervous.

Each of them hid their weapons.

After a while, the sound of chaotic footsteps came from far away, and it seemed that many people were walking forward. They did not pass by Jia Rong's hiding place, but went directly to the place of battle.

The voice of the soldiers driving the car could be heard faintly.

"My fellow heroes, the remnants of the White Lotus Sect are ahead. Kill them and you will be promoted to a noble position and become a prime minister in no time!"

The eldest lady and Xiao Liuzi looked at each other and smiled slightly.

You can kill imperial officials and soldiers openly and get rewards, so why not do it?
"Don't worry, big brother. We at Baifeng Escort Agency are irreconcilable with Bailian! We will kill them even at the risk of our lives!" Xiao Liuzi said confidently.

"Brothers, kill the official... E Bailian!"

"kill!"

"Our reinforcements have arrived!"

"Brothers, kill!"

……

(End of this chapter)