The Red Mansion Big Liar.

Chapter 497 Making something out of nothing
"Hurry up and stand up! You two have worked hard!"

In the imperial study, Emperor Wanlong raised his hands in a gesture towards Jia Yucun and Lu Bing who were kneeling below.

Jia Yucun was very excited and said prostrate himself, "I am the emperor's salary and I am loyal to him. I am honored to be able to share the worries of the emperor!"

He was sent out of the capital on an imperial envoy, receiving an order from the retired emperor, but returned to the capital to report to Emperor Wanlong, so he called himself "the emperor". It seemed that he was not referring to anything, but in fact it was hinting, and it was impeccable, so it was flawless.

Lu Bing, who was standing by, was not as smooth as him. He just said in a proper manner, "It is not worthy of praise from your Majesty for doing things that are within my job scope."

"Alright! Alright! Both of you are my trusted ministers. You are exhausted from the long journey. I will grant you a few days off. Go back and have a good rest!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace. I will take my leave!"

The two of them knelt down quickly, bowed, and took their leave.

After leaving the palace and going their separate ways, Jia Yucun got into the sedan chair. Thinking of the emperor's words "a loyal and faithful minister", he couldn't help but feel overjoyed and his heart was filled with emotion.

I fantasized all the way about being favored by the new emperor and the future relationship between the emperor and his subjects being in harmony with each other. Before I knew it, I had arrived home.

At this moment, he just remembered that he was too excited along the way and forgot that Jiao Xing was still in Ningguo Mansion.

Just as he was about to send someone to Ning Mansion to report the news, he suddenly saw Jiao Xing coming out quickly from the inner door.

"I...I respectfully welcome you back home!~"

Seeing Jiao Xing's depressed look, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated, Jia Yucun couldn't help but think of the instructions she gave him before she left, and a feeling of sadness rose in his heart.

"Just come back, just come back!"

He passed by Jiao Xing and wanted to ask her to go back to the house, but when he got close to her, he hesitated and put his half-extended hand behind his back.

Jiao Xing was worried, but she didn't pay attention to his little actions. Seeing this, she hurriedly followed him.

After returning to the house, Fang said cautiously: "I heard from my brother-in-law that the master has made great contributions this time..."

Hearing the word "brother-in-law", Jia Yucun's face twitched unconsciously, and he raised his hand and interrupted: "I know, don't say anything!"

"But..." After hearing everything Jia Yucun said, Jiao Xing couldn't help but look embarrassed and said, "Master, are you blaming me..."

Thinking that it was all his instigation, Jia Yucun couldn't help but feel soft-hearted and sighed, "How could it be! This time, thanks to Brother Yi's help, I was able to accomplish this great feat..."

"But, I..."

"No buts!" Jia Yucun said without question, "Don't you want to listen to your husband?"

"I dare not!" Jiao Xing had to change her words and said tactfully, "I'm just worried about delaying the master's important event!"

"How could that be? You did a great job. I am very pleased."

Jia Yucun waved his hands feebly, but then changed the subject and said, "However, I have made great contributions this time, so I don't need to rely on others anymore. In the future, I will not go there unless it is necessary, and there is no need to mention the previous things again!"

Jiao Xing didn't understand what was going on. After hearing his advice, she felt that he really knew it, so she didn't say anything more.

For a moment, the couple looked at each other in silence.

……

Xinglong Street.

The Mei family is not far from Jia Yucun’s mansion.

But the white lanterns were hung up early.

Faint sobbing sounds could be heard from the white mourning hall.

After all, Mei Lian had been dead for more than a month, and his body had long since become cold.

Everyone in the Mei family had already cried when the decree was issued.

Do it all at once, second time tired, third time exhausted.

I had already prepared myself mentally, and even though the body had just arrived home, I wasn't as sad as I was at the beginning.

Mei Pi, dressed as a filial son, was just bluffing and wailing symbolically, without a trace of sadness, and he didn't shed a single tear.

Fortunately, the ancients had their own method of drying and preserving corpses. In addition, the corpses were exposed to wind and sun along the way, and were processed again when they returned, so there was no odor.

Otherwise, I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to stay in the mourning hall for a moment.

Seeing her son being so heartless, Mrs. Mei sobbed softly, raised her head, and said dissatisfiedly: "You are such an unfilial son..."

She was halfway through her words when she saw Mei Pi's sad face. Her heart softened and she thought she had wronged her son. She could no longer complain. Although her complaints stopped abruptly, her voice woke Mei Pi up.

He couldn't help but turn his head and was met with Mrs. Mei's tearful, mature and charming face.

Mei Pi was stunned and took a peek, his heart also starting to stir.

Although I have never met the eldest lady and Aunt Zhao of the Rongguo Mansion, my mother can still be said to be charming.

Especially, if you want to look chic in mourning clothes, this plain white dress makes me feel pity for her.

Since Zhang Yun逸 likes this, how could he not be tempted?
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel annoyed. Why didn't he think of this at the beginning?
After all, using the tiger's skin as a banner is just bluffing. How can it be justified as confirming this relationship?

My mother has been wearing plain clothes in white for this month.

If I had known earlier, I should not have said anything about holding a banquet outside. Instead, I should have invited Zhang Yunyi to my house before my father's body was returned to Beijing.

Now, not only did he miss the opportunity, but the boasts he made in advance in order to gain the trust of the Zhou brothers were about to be exposed.

Now, not only did he not save face, but he also exposed his butt.

Fortunately, this road has not been completely blocked. Even if Zhang Yun逸 is unwilling to pay his respects, it is also a solution to find an excuse to change the location to home after his father is buried.

As the saying goes, wine is the medium of sex, so I'll persuade her to drink a few more glasses of wine...

However, he was not worried that Zhang Yunyi would not be happy to see the prey, but he was worried that his mother would fight to the death.

Mrs. Mei had no idea that her son was obsessed with selling out his mother for fame and fortune. When she saw his brows twisted into a "川" shape, she thought he was worried about his future.

He quickly comforted her, "Good boy, don't worry. At worst, we can sell our house in the capital and buy a few acres of land in the countryside. As long as you work hard, you will be successful one day!"

It would have been better if she hadn't said it. After she said it, it had the opposite effect.

If Mei Pi had not seen the world of pleasure before Mei Lian left Beijing, even if he could not endure hardship, he would not be reluctant to give up the prosperity of the capital.

But now, it is another matter.

When he heard that Mrs. Mei wanted to buy a house, an idea suddenly occurred to him and he fell to the ground with a thump.

"The child is unfilial!"

Mrs. Mei was horrified and asked, "What's wrong? Let me take a look, don't hit your head!"

"Son...son should never, ever, ever get involved in bad habits..."

Mei Pi, who had been unable to hold back a single tear just now, now burst into tears and said in a sobbing voice: "Not only did I lose my family's house in gambling, I also owe a lot of foreign debts!"

"What?" Mrs. Mei felt a black screen before her eyes. It took her a long time to catch her breath. She raised her hand and pointed at Mei Pi tremblingly, "You...you..."

"My son knows he was wrong!" Mei Pi kowtowed twice more, "If my father hadn't died, and I were the only child in the family, my son's death would not be a pity!"

As he said this, he pretended to hit his head against the pillar. Mrs. Mei, who was already slumped on the ground, didn't know where she got the strength from, but hurriedly grabbed Mei Pi.

"You are trying to kill me!" Mrs. Mei grabbed her son's arm tightly, "Let's think of a solution. Please don't let this happen!"

"My son doesn't want to either! It's just that my son owes a lot of debts. It was with great difficulty that he got the creditor's consent. He will come to collect the debt after my father is buried... The creditor said that if I can't pay it back, he will have to pay with my son's life... It's either way, I'm going to die..."

"How dare they!" Madam Mei said fiercely, "Although debts must be repaid, it is not reasonable to pay debts with human lives. I don't believe there is no law. At worst, we can sue the authorities!"

At this point, she suddenly perked up and said, "Oh right! The Xue family, didn't they tell us to just ask? As long as they're willing to pay off the debt, we'll agree to cancel the engagement!"

Mei Pi was stunned. He originally wanted to cut off his family's escape route and then threaten his own life to persuade his mother.

Unexpectedly, she came up with such an idea.

He was so distracted that he forgot about trying to commit suicide. Madam Mei thought he saw hope and patted his head to comfort him, "All right, all right! As long as there is life, there is hope. Saving your life is more important than anything else. Your father's seventh day of mourning has already passed. There are no outsiders here today, so there is no need for you to stay here. Didn't you say that some good friends will come to pay their respects tomorrow? I'll take you back and get some sleep."

Speaking of a good friend coming to visit tomorrow, Mei Pi said with a sad face: "Even if I sell everything I have to pay off my foreign debts, I have no money. Where can I stay?"

How could Mrs. Mei not know this?
But he could only comfort her: "When the time comes, things will work out. Let's think about it again. Maybe there will be other ways."

After hearing this, Mei Pi finally calmed down.

He also knew that too much is as bad as too little, and today he was just setting an ambush.

……

(End of this chapter)