The head of the Red Mansion

Chapter 23 Blessing
Where does it come from?

Isn't this copied?

It was copied by your eldest son.

Madam Wang's chest heaved, wanting to have a big argument with Shen Ning, but then she saw how Shen Ning was being fawned over, surrounded by eight burly old women, each with a feather duster tucked into their waistbands...

hiss~
A feather duster?

Thinking of what happened to Aunt Twelve in the school yesterday, and that this sister-in-law had once been a matriarch, Madam Wang calmed down immediately and was speechless.

Grandmother Jia hated her second daughter-in-law's foolishness in constantly messing things up. Seeing that she was backing down again, she had no choice but to step in herself. "Shen Shi," she suppressed her anger and played the emotional card, "Although you are only a niece-in-law, put your hand on your heart and tell me, how has your aunt treated you all these years? She has treated you like her own daughter-in-law!"

To be honest, when Jia Jing was still doing well, she really liked Shen Ning.

She was even grateful that the Jia family was able to marry her.

The daughter of Grand Secretary Shen was destined to be the matriarch of the Jia family.

With her and Jia Jing around, the Jia family will be safe for three generations.

But who could have imagined that Prince Yizhong would ruin things?
When the heavens above change, the heavens above the Jia family naturally change as well.

The Shen family of today is not the same as the Shen family of the past.

As for the Jia family... of the Ning and Rong mansions, she looked around and realized that only Zhu'er and Baoyu would amount to anything.

Both of their sons were born to the Wang family.

With the addition of her eldest granddaughter Yuan Chun, who was born on the first day of the Lunar New Year, Grandmother Jia's scales naturally tipped in her favor.

"You only found out about these rumors yesterday. How could an old woman like me, who has been out of the picture for a long time, know about them? As for your two sisters-in-law, I can vouch for them. One of them doesn't care about anything at all, and the other is just a deaf person."

Excluding Xing was a last resort.

Everyone in the Jia family knows that her eldest daughter-in-law can't even manage her own courtyard.

Moreover, her eldest son is right here. He can ignore Xing Shi if he doesn't care about her, but if she, as the mother-in-law, only cares about Wang Shi and ignores Xing Shi, she will definitely cause trouble again.

Grandmother Jia gave her eldest son a disdainful look. "This matter... you should ask Lian'er. Lian'er, you're in charge of all the affairs at home. Tell me honestly, haven't you heard a single word about it all this time?"

Jia Lian: "..."

He was utterly stunned; how could this have affected him?

Everyone knows that.

The moment his eyes met his aunt's, his legs went weak and he almost knelt down, but Jia She grabbed him and said, "Lian'er is a silly boy. He's been busy with his lovemaking lately since his wedding. How could he care about the gossips in the mansion? But these servants really do need to be disciplined."

He turned to Jia Zhen, "Zhen'er, you are the clan leader and have experience. How about this, have the people you found out yesterday gossip about this household, and arrest them one by one?"

"I'll listen to Uncle She."

Jia Zhen quickly cupped his hands in greeting.

"Sister-in-law, what do you think?"

“Brother She’s suggestion is excellent.”

Shen Ning smiled, "However, it's still a bit short."

"Oh?"

Jia She hurriedly bowed and clasped his hands, "Sister-in-law, just say what you want, even if it means hitting Lian'er..."

"Why would I hit my own child? As the saying goes, ignorance is no excuse."

Shen Ning touched her belly, "But now everyone knows about the curse, and my heart... I'm restless day and night, always wanting to accumulate some blessings for this child! I just heard that Kaifeng Prefecture suffered a once-in-a-century snow disaster, so I asked Rong-ge'er to donate some silver for me. However, our family still owes the national treasury..."

"What my sister-in-law is worried about is that our own children are naturally a blessing to our family."

They were all clever men. Jia She understood the implied meaning from the song and, as he straightened up, he said loudly, "Lian'er, go, carry the silver, and return it to the national treasury first."

Even if it's to bring good fortune to his unborn nephews and nieces, he would never let his second son benefit from it.

"Wait!"

Grandmother Jia almost stood up, "The matter of the treasury silver..."

"Doesn't my aunt love me anymore? Or were those words just meant to comfort me, and is she hoping something bad will happen to our eldest son's family? Hoping that my son and I will die together?"

As she spoke, not only did her eyes become sharp, but even her voice carried an unspeakable resolve.

Jia Mu: "..."

Her heart was pounding.

Thousands of reasons to object were rendered speechless in the face of Shen Ning's seemingly reasonable but actually tantrum-like rhetoric.

The old man's face turned red with anxiety. "What nonsense are you talking about?"

Glancing at her second son, who shrank back under Shen Ning's gaze, and then at her eldest son, who insisted on carrying the silver, she was powerless to resist. "You said you'd donate money too. This old woman will give our child eight hundred taels of silver." She took a deep breath. "She'er, you're the uncle..."

"My son and Xing gave my nephew and niece six hundred taels of silver as a token of their blessing."

Jia She quickly laughed and said, "Second brother, you and I will be treated the same way!"

"……nature!"

Jia Zheng had no choice but to grit his teeth and agree.

He knew how shameless his sister-in-law was today, but he was a gentleman and couldn't do what she did.

"In that case, thank you very much, Aunt, brothers, and sisters-in-law."

Shen Ning seemed to have some difficulty standing up, and gave them a curtsy. "Zhen'er, hurry, go with your Uncle She and Brother Lian to carry the silver, and bring Rong-ge'er back while you're at it."

"Yes!"

Jia Zhen admired his mother greatly.

The most difficult old lady was once again managed by his mother.

Even the two uncles and aunts who most wanted to object were frightened again. "Son will go now. Madam You, take good care of the old lady and mother as they return to the mansion."

Just as Madam You was about to agree, Jia Lian was so frightened that he knelt down with a thud, "Grandma, Aunt, Father..."

Despite the freezing weather, sweat dripped from his brow. "At the end of last year, in the manor..."

"Lian'er got married last year."

Knowing she couldn't avoid it any longer, Madam Wang had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "Including some other miscellaneous matters, I took ten thousand taels of silver from the treasury." With so many people around, she dared not reveal that Yuan Chun had used silver to bribe officials in the palace. "Perfect timing," she added, "the Lai family had a considerable amount of silver confiscated; let's use this to make up for it first!"

Jia She: "..."

He gave Wang Shi and his second brother, who seemed completely unaware of the situation, a deep look, and snorted, "Then take twelve thousand taels from here first." The money the brothers and the old lady had given for the child's good fortune was exactly two thousand taels. "We'll settle the other accounts later."

Now, Jia She only wants to return the silver as soon as possible, otherwise the thieves in his house will steal it all.

When the time comes, if they shrink back, their descendants will have to pay the price.

Although his son is stupid, no matter how stupid he is, he has to cover for him for now.

"Lian'er, what are you waiting for? Make your move."

"Yes!"

Jia Lian rushed over to count the silver.

Oh dear, seeing that the gleaming silver was about to be carried away, Wang was heartbroken.

Her daughter is short of money.

Without that sum of money from the national treasury, the Lai family has lost so much more; what will happen in the future...?

Wang knew that the master not only wanted to take a piece of her flesh, but would also check the inventory from time to time.

"Alright, this whole thing is giving this old woman a headache!"

Grandmother Jia not only had a headache, but also felt heartbroken.

But Shen Ning threatened their family in front of so many of them, saying that those who hadn't paid back the money... well, they couldn't blame their family later.

"You brothers can handle the rest!"

How can Wang be held in the right to embezzle funds?
She's here today, and her eldest son will get everything he deserves.

Grandmother Jia was too lazy to reason with the brothers anymore, and said, "We women will go back."

Within three days, most people who needed to know that the Jia family was broke would have already found out.

fair enough.

Grandmother Jia knew that some people in the palace wanted to extort more things from the Jia family. Now that's settled, they should be able to get less in the future.

She rose from being a great-grandson's wife to becoming the matriarch of the Jia family, experiencing a period of great glory. It's not that she didn't understand some of the intricacies of palace life.

However, the Jia family is not what it used to be; they can only offer them small concessions.

Now that there's no meat left, out of consideration for our past relationship, even if they come to cut more, they'll always cut less.

Grandmother Jia could only leave with this wish, unaware that in a nearby tree, the secret guards personally dispatched by the emperor had witnessed the entire confrontation between the Jia family members.

After they left, he naturally had to return to the palace immediately to report the news.

The Emperor will receive another tens of thousands of taels of silver, which is always a great joy.

He came in a hurry and left in a hurry, without anyone knowing.