The head of the Red Mansion

At the Duke of Liguo's mansion, Liu Biao never expected that his grandson, whom he had decided to exile, would suddenly seem to have a new future.

He looked at his grandson in front of him, twirling the ring on his finger, and a smile gradually appeared on his face.

"Grandfather~"

Liu Xianglian's eyes also smiled, "Please help me, Grandfather."

He still needed his grandfather's help with the traditional betrothal and marriage arrangements before the wedding.

"Hmm~, you saw the girl from the You family?"

"Yes!"

Liu Xianglian himself was satisfied.

Seeing his grandson's ears turn red, Liu Biao couldn't help but smile. "Alright, although the You family's social standing is a bit low, Grandma You and Jia Zhen are still quite good."

Most importantly, this marriage was arranged by Mrs. Shen on behalf of her grandson.

"I've already asked Liu Zhong to invite the official media."

Liu Biao is indeed broke right now. "Grandpa can take care of the rest, but the betrothal gifts..."

"The grandson will pay for it himself."

Liu Xianglian quickly interjected, "How about thirty-two?"

"Can!"

That's too little, and it's not good for their reputation either.

Liu Biao agreed, "When you have time, visit the Jia family more often. The You family has no male heirs, so you'll practically be the old lady You's son-in-law in her old age. Supporting a family isn't just about being fierce and ruthless. Although your mother left behind a lot of wealth, my Liu family has also been wealthy before."

The Four Kings and Eight Dukes, each of them was once incredibly powerful and influential.

But what about now?
Apart from Prince Bei Jing, who has royal blood and has always been treated favorably, the other families, except for the Jia family, have successfully transformed their status.

No, it doesn't seem like it's a complete transformation.

However, because of Madam Shen, the emperor regained his trust in the Jia family.

Liu Biao was sometimes quite puzzled.

How did the Jia family manage to gain the Emperor's trust while right under the Emperor Emeritus's nose?

Shen's haphazard and indiscriminate attacks almost turned the entire Jia family into a laughingstock.

Is this... a process of destruction followed by construction?

Liu Biao waved for Liu Xianglian to leave, then continued to review the rise of the Jia family.

In the end, all he could do was sigh.

The Liu family cannot follow the path of the Jia family.

Among the descendants of the Liu family, there were no exceptionally talented individuals, but there were also none as hopelessly incompetent as Jia Zheng.

Each of them had their own ideas, and each felt that their own path was the best and that their people should support them.

But the Liu family...

Liu Biao closed his eyes and let go.

The emperor was a wise ruler.

If you're capable, rely on yourself!
That night, some families rejoiced, while others grieved.

Even the likes of You Erjie and You Sanjie are engaged. After watching her brother write another piece of calligraphy, Baochai returned to her room with a sense of melancholy.

She thought about her future from the stories of Sister You Er and Sister You San.

The Jia family member of similar age to hers was Jia Rong.

Baochai had seen him a few times from afar; he was skilled in both literature and martial arts.

But they were already engaged long ago.

Although Qin Keqing's family background wasn't particularly good, she had saved Madam Shen's life.

Even the Empress, out of respect for Madam Shen, grew to like her even more through her frequent favors.

In the school, that girl did indeed have some extraordinary qualities.

Baochai sighed softly.

Her mother always placed her hopes on her eldest uncle, wanting her to enter the palace.

Even if she could enter the palace, given her family's background, she could only be selected through the minor imperial examinations.

Baochai has read all the official gazettes these days. Now the palace has released many palace maids who were selected as junior members.

The Empress is determined to thoroughly reform the orphanages in various regions.

The palace maids who left the palace were all sent to the orphanage.

Even if they manage the sales bureau perfectly, what good will it do?
Baochai tossed and turned in bed, thinking about the consequences of not gaining the emperor's favor after entering the palace.

She would also waste her time in the palace, and eventually be released and sent to the Salesian Bureau.

By then, she'll probably be even less capable than Sister You.

How to do?
The next day, after breakfast, Shen Ning, who was taking a walk, saw Baochai.

"Baochai greets her aunt!"

She called out to Jia Zhu and the others.

"Don't mention it! You're up early today!"

In the past, didn't Baochai always accompany Aunt Xue to handle affairs until 9 AM?
Just in time, this was also the time when Yingchun and the others finished dealing with the affairs of the East Mansion and returned to the school.

"Yes, I didn't have much to do at home today, so I came early."

The Xue family's business was connected to both the Jia and Wang families; the better the two families did, the more profits the managers reported.

Baochai had already seen through the reason behind this.

Therefore, when her mother sent lavish gifts to her uncle's house, she could only pretend not to see them.

She tried to persuade her.

They lived in the Jia family's residence, but actually, their cousin Wang Xifeng was more helpful to the family.

If anything happens, just give her a call, and she can immediately arrange for Wang'er and others to accompany her.

Because of her cousin, Baochai felt she had completely taken control of the shops in the capital.

But my mother always valued my maternal uncle's family more.

Even though their second uncle ignored them, when their eldest uncle came back, he would only send a letter.

"Is Auntie going to see her baby at Cousin's house?"

"Yes, it just passed by as I strolled along."

Shen Ning replied with a smile.

"Then I'll go with you. I met with everyone several days ago."

Baochai naturally took Shen Ning's arm, "Lan'er from Brother Zhu's family changes almost every day."

"That's how kids are."

Shen Ning was more curious about why she had come to see her. "When I was little, I saw Feng Chang."

"Oh I see!"

Baochai smiled, "Last time my eldest cousin-in-law said that the baby's name hadn't been chosen yet, I wonder if it's still like this..."

"It's still not done."

Shen Ning is not taking the blame for this.

vine, admiring, banana, nettle, iris, vine...

There are so many names you can choose.

But Jia Zhen was overwhelmed by the choices.

She originally wanted to make the decision, but this guy seemed to be acting like it was his first time being a father, and she was too lazy to dampen his enthusiasm.

"Let them decide, as long as it's chosen before the baby's first birthday."

Since the girl didn't say why she came, Shen Ning didn't press her for details.

When the two went into Mrs. You's room, the little guy was asleep.

She looks a little plumper than when she was born.

Shen Ning gently touched his little hand, without disturbing him, and took Baochai to the outer room.

"Mother, my sisters are doing a good job managing the household."

Madam You doesn't want to leave her son for a moment now. "Look, why don't we let them manage him like before?"

"As long as you let them manage it, I have no objection."

Shen Ning didn't care.

By learning and observing more, they can at least manage their own wealth in the future. No matter the era, money is a source of confidence.

Madam You delegated household chores to Yingchun and the others to practice, but she still had to manage her own dowry and the property that was later confiscated from the Lai family.

Just like the original owner of this body, even though she gave the power of managing the household to Madam You early on, she didn't give away her own dowry or the property given to her by her mother-in-law.

These things will not be handed over until the very last moment before death.

Shen Ning sometimes feels that people in ancient times lived more enlightened lives than people in modern times.

Many elderly people today divide their wealth among their children early on, but due to favoritism, the distribution is not fair. When they themselves need money to save their lives, neither family will give them any.

In the novel *Dream of the Red Chamber*, the Lin family was wiped out and no descendants survived. Some say that if Lin Ruhai had adopted a son, Lin Daiyu would not have had such a difficult life.

Shen Ning sometimes finds it quite ridiculous.

Lin Ruhai was merely an adopted son, so naturally he wanted to give everything to his daughter.

That's what he thought, and that's what he did.

The problem lies solely in Jia Zheng's lack of humanity as the maternal uncle, who hypocritically allowed Wang Shi to bully his own niece.

As Grandmother Jia grew old, she sacrificed Lin Daiyu for the sake of her so-called family.

Unfortunately, Baoyu, who was in love with his daughter, was a coward.

Several factors combined led to Daiyu's tragic fate.

If any one of these three factors had been stronger, things wouldn't have turned out that way.

Actually, there is another character in Dream of the Red Chamber who is in a similar situation to Daiyu.

Xue Pan's wife, Xia Jingui, also had no brothers.

The Xia family did not want to have an heir.

He also wanted to give everything to his daughter, Xia Jingui.

People in ancient times weren't so obsessed with having heirs or continuing the family line, but many people in modern times have become obsessed with it.

"Alright, I'll send out invitations tomorrow."

Madam You had no idea what Shen Ning had been thinking, but she smiled and said, "Please ask them to continue managing the household for me and give them a salary."

Her sisters managing the household saved her a lot of money.

The major compradors of the outer courtyard were all dismissed and their properties confiscated.

Nowadays, compradors compare prices from multiple vendors. The goods delivered to them may not be the best, but they are not so bad that they are unusable.

Anyway, the cosmetics that Yu used before are no longer usable.

She always bought it with her own money.

With this inflow and outflow of cosmetics alone, she could earn several dozen taels of silver a year.

Therefore, Madam You was very generous in giving her younger sisters some stipends.

“Sure, once they get their salaries, let them treat us to Tianxianghe roast duck.”

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law smiled at each other.

Tianxianglou was opened jointly by the two of them.

Baochai sensed something was off about their smiles, but her focus now was on Yingchun and the others' salaries.

In fact, since the housekeeper took over, Yingchun and others have benefited greatly.

Madam Shen and Grandma You don't know how much they subsidized them.

But she helps her mother manage the household...

On this day, Baochai's feelings were extremely complicated.

But the girls were both in a really good mood.

Apart from her, who was to help her mother manage the household, everyone else would receive a letter from Grandma You.

After returning home, Baochai inevitably mentioned it to Aunt Xue.

"I think Grandma You mainly wants to save some money for her two younger sisters."

Aunt Xue didn't think much of it, nor did she pay much attention to her daughter's bad complexion. She only felt that Madam You was taking public funds for private gain. "She was taking money from the Ningguo Mansion to please her mother-in-law and sister-in-law, while openly letting her two younger sisters benefit as well."

That's what it means to be cunning.

Aunt Xue looked at her daughter and said, "You should learn more from her."

How did Lady You manage to maintain her position in the Ningguo Mansion?
It's not just about today's children.

"This scheming and cunning... I'm afraid even Madam Shen didn't see through it."

Aunt Xue clicked her tongue and sighed, "In this respect, your cousin Feng is far inferior. She's one of the younger sisters-in-law in this family, and she still has to go over from time to time to answer their questions."

As a result, she was overjoyed and practically jumping for joy.

"No wonder the You family has fallen into such a state, yet she was still able to marry into the East Mansion and find good marriages for her two younger sisters."

Unfortunately, her daughter Baochai is far from being comparable to You Shi.

Aunt Xue also hoped that her daughter could be like Madam You, helping to promote the family.

"I heard that she also saved up a lot of dowry for Sister You Er and Sister You San."

Aunt Xue sneered, "Everyone says Madam Shen is incredibly clever, but I think she's just so-so. When Madam You moved her things back to her parents' home right in front of her, she..."

"Mom~"

Baochai interrupted immediately, "Second Sister You and Third Sister You are not the biological sisters of Madam You. She is only considering their situation because Old Madam You treated her very well before. How could Madam Shen not know their family's situation? She is also remembering the kindness Old Madam You showed to Madam You."

How can everything in this world be judged solely by interests?
Baochai studied at Ningcui Pavilion. From the floor heating to the door curtains and window screens, one can deeply feel Madam Shen's care for the girls.

"My eldest uncle is favored by the emperor, but he is my eldest uncle, and we are us."

Her mother felt much more arrogant because of her eldest uncle.

This is not okay.

The Jia and Wang families were not exactly irreconcilable enemies, but they were not far apart in terms of their differences.

"Leaving aside the fact that we live here, just think about my brother and me. What would happen if we couldn't go to school here? Who could control my brother? Can you still count on my second uncle?"

My second uncle indulged in drinking, gambling, and prostitution.

Cousin Wang Ren followed suit.

If my brother goes to my uncle's house, what good things can he learn?

“You keep telling us about your eldest uncle, but when he came back to Beijing, did he ever say he wanted to see us or have a chat?”

There's only a third of the affection when you meet in person.

They never even saw her; all they did was take money from her house…

Baochai was actually very annoyed.

The Wang family had several shops in Nanjing that were taken over by their family.

When she arrived in Beijing, her mother sent her a lot of gifts.

With so much silver, Baochai felt that it would be better to give it to anyone than to her maternal uncle's family.

"Don't you know the situation with the Jia family and my eldest uncle? You keep bringing it up. If this gets to Madam Shen's ears, do you think my eldest cousin Zhu and my cousin Feng will still let us stay here?"

It's simply impossible.

Although her cousin Zhu was very kind and close to her mother.

However, Zhu Da Cousin felt even closer to Madam Shen, his aunt, and loved and respected her even more.

Cousin Feng is the same.

She didn't have children yet, and she wasn't affected when the Wang and Jia families were at their worst. This was partly because her second sister-in-law, Madam Lian, was quite kind and always protected her, and partly because Madam Shen never held a grudge. Instead, she felt that she was implicated by her family and offered her a lot of support.

If she were Feng's cousin, not her mother-in-law, but an aunt who was even better than her mother-in-law, she would also be truly filial.

Why would the Xue family be worth Zhu Da and Feng Cousin protecting so desperately, disregarding such good elders?

"Mom, my brother has already started learning the laws of the Great Zhao."

Baochai was completely helpless against her mother.

She was also his daughter; when their father passed away, she was even younger than her brother.

But she only spoiled her brother, spoiling him despite knowing it was wrong.

But for her...

"Have more faith in him, he will get better and better."

While they couldn't emulate Madam Shen, the third and fourth aunts of the Jia family were also extremely skilled at teaching their sons.

Both Min Jianbai and Lin Chang'an are striving to become well-rounded individuals, excelling in both academics and martial arts.

"Don't always think about how we rely on our uncle's family."

Baochai advised her mother, "He can study for a few more years over there. Even if he can't take the imperial examinations, he'll definitely be able to support the family business." (End of Chapter)