Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Just as the housekeepers and their wives were racking their brains trying to figure out how to slip the silver into Sister Feng's courtyard without being seen by others, Jia Zheng had already left the court.

He rushed back to the Rongguo Mansion and immediately sought out Madam Wang to discuss important matters.

"Are you serious, sir?"

Madam Wang could no longer maintain her Buddhist mindset; she suddenly stood up and almost tripped over the kang table.

Jia Zheng saw that Lady Wang had lost her composure, but he did not intend to blame her.

Hmph, they're just women after all. They lose their composure when something big happens. How can I, the master, remain calm and collected in the face of honor and disgrace?

"Of course I wouldn't lie to you."

Confirmed news has already spread from the palace: the Emperor Emeritus and Empress Dowager were overjoyed because they praised His Majesty for his filial piety, benevolence, and profound understanding of the universe.

By special imperial decree, it was stated that the relatives of the concubines were restricted by national customs and etiquette when visiting the palace, and even mothers and daughters could not be completely at ease. Therefore, this great favor was granted.

An imperial edict was issued to all the nobles and relatives of the emperor, granting them permission to enter the palace on the 2nd and 6th of each month. Furthermore, those who owned multi-story buildings or separate residences, where the emperor could stay at a secure location, were permitted to request that the imperial carriage enter their private residences.

This way, one can at least fulfill the deepest familial bonds, which is in accordance with the principles of Heaven.

Jia Zheng stroked his beard and recounted all the news he had heard in the palace.

Lady Wang was unable to suppress her feelings.

She sent her daughter, who was not yet of marriageable age, into the palace, which resulted in the mother and daughter rarely seeing each other for seven or eight years.

Even on the momentous occasion of his daughter's investiture as a concubine, he could only have a brief meeting with her in the Fengzao Palace. Because there were eunuchs and palace maids everywhere, he didn't even dare to fulfill his wish to hold his daughter.

Now that the sage has actually allowed his daughter to return home to visit her family, isn't this a great joy to make up for her regrets?

Therefore, they could not let it go, so they hurriedly asked Jia Zheng to submit a memorial to the emperor, requesting that Yuan Chun return home to visit her family.

Jia Zheng snorted, "I think you're confused. Even if the Emperor were to issue a decree, how could Your Highness, with her precious body, simply go home so easily?"

Didn't you hear what the imperial decree said? Any residence that invites the Empress to return home for a visit must have a multi-story villa with proper security and defenses.

The implication is that there must be an independent courtyard that can serve as the empress's temporary palace!

"Our mansion is large, with many courtyards, but where can we find a place of sufficient standard to serve as a royal palace?"

Madam Wang poured a bucket of cold water on her face, saying with great resentment, "So, does this mean our family is unable to invite Her Highness to return home for a visit?"

Jia Zheng frowned and glanced at him, saying, "Why are you panicking? Since the Emperor has shown divine favor, he will not be indifferent to the plight of his subjects."

We had already gathered together to discuss this before the court session ended.

"Judging from the palace's intentions, if we wish to invite Her Highness to return home for a visit, we must build a separate temporary palace for her!"

"Then we will build a temporary palace for Her Majesty," said Madam Wang hurriedly.

Jia Zheng was somewhat displeased and asked her in return if she knew how much it would cost to build the temporary palace.

Madam Wang then asked, "Isn't even the government's savings enough?"

Jia Zheng sneered: "Although I haven't been involved in family affairs all these years, I still know roughly what the official treasury is like."

What kind of status does our lady have? If the palace we build for her is substandard, not only will she be unable to hold her head high in front of the other concubines, but our Jia family's century-old reputation will also be ruined!

In my opinion, it's best not to request it unless you have a substantial amount of money.

Madam Wang fell silent for a moment, as if she understood the difficulty of organizing such an extremely honorable event.

"Yesterday, didn't Lian'er confiscate the property of several servants and add a considerable amount of silver to the government coffers..."

Jia Zheng continued his merciless attack: "Stop daydreaming. What can that little bit of silver do?"

Take, for example, the Ministry of Works' construction of the Prince's Mansion for the Fourth Prince a couple of years ago, which cost nearly 300,000 taels of silver!

Our lady is of the rank of one of the Four Consorts, so how could the construction of her palace be shabby?

Even if it can't compare to the Prince's residence, it shouldn't be too far behind.

Lady Wang knew that Jia Zheng was always on duty at the Ministry of Works and wouldn't say anything wrong about such matters, so she asked, "According to you, if we're going to welcome our Lady back home for a visit, at least how much money should we prepare?"

Jia Zheng said, "In my opinion, at least 200,000 taels of silver are needed to qualify for this matter."

Otherwise, there's no point in discussing anything further.

Two hundred thousand taels of silver? That's far too little for the government's needs...

Madam Wang also fell silent. After a while, she said, "How about we talk to the old lady about this first and see what she thinks..."

Upon hearing this, Jia Zheng immediately understood what his wife meant...

She was trying to take advantage of the old lady!

This is somewhat different from Jia Zheng's plan.

He thought that Madam Wang would consider asking the Wang family for help...

Over the years, Wang Ziteng's official career has been very successful, and the Wang family is currently the most prosperous among the four major families. Given Wang Furen's status as the eldest daughter of the Wang family and Yuan Chun's niece, the Wang family should be willing to provide support!

Of course, he would never reveal such thoughts, so he nodded slightly, said nothing, and went back to Mengpo Studio.

The problem has been presented to you; how well you handle it is up to you.

……

Because he had to deploy defenses outside the city, Jia Lian didn't leave his office until the afternoon.

When he returned home, he heard the phrase "visiting relatives" circulating in the family, but he didn't pay much attention to it.

It was nothing out of the ordinary.

Seeing that Jia Zheng and the others did not come to him, he pretended not to know and continued to lead his men to survey the terrain in the east courtyard as planned, preparing to build his own martial arts training ground, imperial horse path, etc.

He wasn't worried at all that the trip to visit his relatives wouldn't go through.

To put it bluntly, what is that little bit of silver in the government?

It's just a place where everyone hopes to squeeze some money out of their pockets every year.

If they really wanted to raise the money, Jia Mu and Wang Furen alone could handle it.

These two old women are sometimes not to be underestimated...

Jia Lian even planned to use this incident to squeeze every last drop of money out of the pockets of both Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang.

Money is what gives them confidence. Once their confidence is diminished, it will be easier for them to do things in the future.

However, although Jia Lian didn't care, Wang Xifeng cared a lot.

When it was time for dinner, Wang Xifeng couldn't wait to tell Jia Lian about it.

"The bigger piece of good news you mentioned yesterday, were you referring to the trip home?"

Wang Xifeng finally took Jia Lian's words to heart.

There was nothing we could do. We were already grateful to have been granted permission to visit the palace on the 26th, but Jia Lian said that an even greater favor was yet to come.

Sure enough, it came true today. How could this not make her, who was fearless, feel uneasy?

Jia Lian smiled and said, "Compared to how I would know, shouldn't you be more concerned about whether our family will be financially ruined once we decide to do this?"

Wang Xifeng immediately pressed, "You mean, this matter can be accomplished?"

"If I said I could make it happen, would you believe me?"

"I believe you! From this day forward, even if you say the sun rises in the west one day, I'll believe you!"

Wang Xifeng was genuinely convinced.

Leaving aside the past, it's astonishing that Jia Lian could even foresee the palace's recent act of leniency.

She clearly remembered that Jia Lian had told her yesterday to hide the family's silver well, because the family might soon have a big hole to fill.

How about it? They're here today.

If we really want to build a temporary palace for the Empress to visit her family, it will be a huge financial burden.

The fact that everything was predictable sent a chill down Wang Xifeng's spine.

If her husband weren't otherwise perfectly healthy, she might have even considered hiring a shaman to ward off evil spirits and see if Jia Lian was possessed by a demon...

I've made up my mind that I should try not to hide anything from him in the future, otherwise I won't feel at ease!

After discussing the general strategy for dealing with Jia Lian's visit home, Wang Xifeng asked, "How did it go? I saw you come out of the west wing just now. How much did you collect?"

Jia Lian smiled, wanting to test Wang Xifeng's judgment: "Guess."

Wang Xifeng pursed her lips, but still cooperated, saying, "Three thousand?"

Jia Lian shook his head.

"Five thousand?"

"There can't possibly be ten thousand, can there? Heh, if that's the case, then our servants are really too honest."

According to government regulations, anyone who embezzled or stole two or three taels of silver from their master's property would have their hand chopped off.

More than ten taels is a capital offense.

How many stewards and servants are there in the house? It must be 10,000 taels. Didn't each person just report 400 or 500 taels on average?

They'd be dead no matter where they went. Were those lackeys really that honest?

Jia Lian smiled and said, "I have already had Xiangling and Qingwen collect half of it. In order to avoid attracting attention, you should not try to take any of this money. Just leave it in the west wing."

The remaining half is piled up in the outer room; you can send someone to move it to the official residence later.

Wang Xifeng's eyes lit up; the heartless man was doing things that pleased her more and more.

Keep half of what you have; that's what a wise person does!