Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

At Rongguo Mansion, Jia Lian left early, and no opera was being performed in the courtyard.

Simply drinking alone is inevitably less fun, so the people in the clan soon dispersed.

The women inside, knowing that Grandmother Jia enjoyed lively gatherings, mostly returned to Grandmother Jia's Rongqing Hall after the meal to chat about family matters.

Suddenly, Lai Dajia's son came in beaming and said loudly, "Grandma, Second Madam Lian, great news!"

"The Empress Dowager and our Lady have both bestowed rewards!"

Grandmother Jia and the others were all taken aback, then overjoyed.

Before long, a group of palace eunuchs came out from the outside path, carrying and lifting all sorts of red-embroidered goods.

The two leading figures were both dressed in bright red eunuch robes.

One of them was Xia Shouzhong, the chief eunuch of the six palaces. After Yuan Chun was made a Noble Consort, he frequently came to the Jia family to deliver imperial edicts and request gifts, and he became familiar with both Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang.

The other one, however, was someone they didn't recognize.

The other women in the hall had already made way for the eunuchs so they could bring all their belongings in.

"Madam, ladies and young ladies, greetings."

Xia Shouzhong stepped forward, bowed, and said with a smile.

Grandmother Jia and the others also stood up to greet them, responding with a word, their gazes falling on the old eunuch beside Xia Shouzhong.

Seeing this, Xia Shouzhong smiled and introduced, "This is Eunuch Zhou, the chief eunuch of Weiyang Palace."

Although Grandmother Jia and others would go to the palace every year to receive banquets, they mostly met with the Empress and rarely saw the Empress Dowager, so they did not know the head steward of Weiyang Palace.

Upon hearing this, he immediately became even more respectful.

The eunuch surnamed Zhou was not arrogant. He simply smiled and said a few polite words before saying, "This old servant is here on the Empress Dowager's orders to deliver these things to your esteemed residence and to extend my congratulations to the Marquis of Zhenyuan."

Grandmother Jia and the others hurriedly tried to kneel and thank the Emperor for his grace, but after being told to stand up, they looked at the valuable goods laid out on the ground and were secretly surprised. They couldn't help but ask, "May I ask, sir, why has the Empress Dowager bestowed such a reward?"

On every festival, Yuan Chun would bestow some precious items upon the family, which did not seem strange to Grandmother Jia and the others.

However, the gifts bestowed by Yuan Chun today were clearly secondary; they could all tell that the Empress Dowager's gifts were the main focus.

Eunuch Zhou smiled and said, "This time, Marquis Zhenyuan escorted the princess safely back to the capital, which is a great service to the Empress Dowager. She is very pleased and has specially bestowed this reward upon him."

As expected, Grandmother Jia and the others thanked them again and sent someone to invite Jia Lian over.

However, Zhou Tai heard that Jia Lian was not in the mansion, but did not insist on meeting with him. She said there was no need to trouble herself, and then took Xia Shouzhong back to the palace to report.

Meanwhile, in Rongqing Hall, the women from the other houses were filled with envy when they saw the Empress Dowager and the Imperial Concubine's gifts piled up in the hall, and they all offered their congratulations.

Even Aunt Xue couldn't help but feel envious looking at the wealth and splendor of the room.

The Xue family is not lacking in wealth, but the riches bestowed by the emperor are different from those earned through family business.

Knowing that the Rongguo Mansion would be busy taking inventory of these things, she got up, bid farewell to Grandmother Jia and the others, and left with her daughter Baochai.

With her gone, the others felt it inappropriate to linger and also left.

Soon, only the family members of the mansion remained in Rongqing Hall.

Lady Wang looked at Wang Xifeng, who was happily counting the valuables with several maids and servants in the hall, and turned to Grandmother Jia, saying, "Grandmother, although the garden in the back is basically completed, there are still many expenses to be incurred in welcoming the Empress back home for a visit."

Now, most of the remaining silver in the treasury has been used. After the New Year holidays, there are still several families whose gifts need to be given, but with these imperial rewards, perhaps that will be enough to cover those expenses.

Upon hearing this, Grandmother Jia immediately understood what Lady Wang meant.

She looked somewhat unhappy.

Firstly, she was unhappy that Madam Wang was bothering her with such matters; she had long since stopped managing household affairs.

Secondly, they are dissatisfied that despite having such a large family fortune, they are still struggling financially, and now they have to scheme against these things.

But then Grandmother Jia's expression softened.

She also understood that her family had spent far too much money on the garden in the future.

We used almost everything we could, both inside and outside the house.

Even she spent tens of thousands of her own money on this!

She understood Madam Wang's predicament.

And she also knew that ever since the east courtyard was opened up and the two houses were combined into one, this kind of thing was inevitable.

Logically speaking, since they are family, income and expenses should be unified.

But with so many people in a family, it's impossible for them to really not distinguish between each other.

For example, if others present Grandmother Jia with some nice things, she must also take them out and share them with everyone, right?

This is unrealistic.

Therefore, according to the family's previous custom, the wealth that an individual receives is naturally distributed by that individual.

The estates and shops within the manor, as well as the gifts and exchanges between families, were all recorded and paid out by the government.

In the past, Jia She and Jia Zheng kept separate accounts, which was perfectly fine. They each kept their own records.

But now, the family has been united again. Unfortunately, both Jia Zheng and Jia Lian are capable of achieving success outside the home, which inevitably leads to disagreements.

For example, in the past, when Jia Zheng was in charge of the household, people would send him gifts out of respect for him or Lady Wang. They could keep the gifts for themselves or send them to the government treasury.

For example, Yuan Chun's rewards, unless specifically designated for Grandmother Jia or anyone else, went directly into the official treasury.

But things are different now.

The silver in the official treasury needs to be used jointly by Jia Lian and Jia Zheng's families.

If Jia Zheng's colleagues or friends sent gifts to his residence, would Lady Wang allow them to enter into the official system?

Obviously not.

Madam Wang did the same thing throughout the past year.

Wang Xifeng did exactly that.

In recent years, Jia Lian has received a constant stream of rewards and gifts from others. Wang Xifeng has been quick to accept these gifts and keep them at home for her own use.

As a result, everyone had their own plans, and the government spent more than it received, naturally leading to a deficit.

The drawbacks hadn't been apparent before, thanks to the century-old heritage of the noble family. But now, the construction of the Grand View Garden has placed an unbearable burden on the mansion.

The glitz and glamour fade away, revealing the true nature of things.

Now, Madam Wang was in a dilemma.

Wang Xifeng didn't care. No matter how difficult things were in the government, her private coffers remained fertile, so she had nothing to worry about.

It's no wonder that Lady Wang would covet these items bestowed by the Empress Dowager and want to ask Grandmother Jia if they could be used in the official treasury.

In Lady Wang's view, as long as Grandmother Jia agrees, Wang Xifeng will not disagree.

Lady Wang even harbored some resentment. Previously, Wang Xifeng had always been obedient to her, but since Jia Lian gained power, Wang Xifeng had become increasingly disobedient. Unfortunately, Wang Xifeng was also very clever and shrewd, making it difficult for Lady Wang to find fault with her.

How could Lady Wang know that the reason Wang Xifeng stopped listening to her was because Jia Lian was constantly whispering in her ear?

After Jia Lian's repeated reminders, Wang Xifeng realized that the former Madam Wang did indeed have the suspicion of taking advantage of her.

By taking advantage of her jealous nature, they prevented Jia Lian from taking a concubine. Since she herself could not bear a son, it was very likely that the title that Jia Lian held would eventually fall to his second wife.

Furthermore, when she was reprimanded and punished by the Empress Dowager and almost divorced from the Jia family, her aunt, Lady Wang, did not help her. On the contrary, Jia Lian remained loyal to her. Comparing the two, she naturally understood who she should rely on.

"Grandma, the inventory is done. Take a look and see if there's anything you like. Just take it."

Wang Xifeng was very good at dealing with people. Knowing that everyone was envious of her, she immediately tried to win over Grandmother Jia.

Grandmother Jia took the list, glanced at it, and really didn't want to speak.

Actually, although the items looked numerous, they were only worth two or three thousand taels of silver in total. In the past, this amount of silver wouldn't have even caught her eye.

"Feng girl, now that you're in charge of the household, you know the situation here."

Just now your wife said that after the New Year, there are still a few mansions whose New Year's gifts have not been prepared.

These days, things aren't the same at home as in previous years, and there's nowhere else to scrape together the money.

These are all new items; it would be a waste to just leave them lying around at home. It's better to keep them in the government office for proper use.

If the eunuch hadn't said that the gift was a special gift from the Empress Dowager to Jia Lian, Grandmother Jia wouldn't have been in such a difficult position.

Even if everyone knows it's because of Jia Lian, as long as the Empress Dowager doesn't say it, it can be considered a reward from the Empress Dowager to the Jia family. It's only natural that such things would be sent to the government.

Wang Xifeng was taken aback for a moment, but she reacted quickly and immediately smiled and said, "What you say is true, Madam. Of course I know about the situation at home."

"Alright then, let's send all the gifts bestowed by our Ladyship to the government; that should be enough to prepare congratulatory gifts for several families."

Wang Xifeng was no ordinary woman; she judged the situation almost instantly and chose to sacrifice a pawn to save the king.

After all, since Grandmother Jia had spoken, she had no choice but to give in.