The Red Mansion Big Liar

"This……"

Jia Lian originally thought that even if he was dissatisfied, he would only complain that the price was too high. He never expected that he was actually dissatisfied with the fact that he had done something wrong.

He couldn't help but secretly wonder if Jia Zhen had offended Jia She so much that he was unwilling to accept this favor.

Just when he thought that Jia She would not agree, he suddenly changed his tone and said, "Don't rush to reply to him. Tell this to the old lady first."

"Uh..." Jia Lian was stunned for a moment before he suddenly realized that he was planning to ask the old lady to pay the money.

"Hey! Hey!" He was relieved and hurriedly agreed, saying goodbye, "Son will go find the old lady right away!"

"and many more!"

Jia She stopped him again and said, "Go to the old lady and tell her that Zhen wants five thousand taels!"

He then frowned and threatened, "When you get the money, send it to me. If the news leaks out, I will pretend that I never gave birth to you!"

When Jia She said that he did not give birth to a son, it certainly did not mean that he disowned him, but that he wanted to beat him to death.

Hearing the hidden meaning in the words, Jia Lian couldn't help but shrink his neck.

"Son, don't worry! But, if Brother Zhen..."

Before he finished speaking, Jia She shouted, "Just do it. How can I not consider these things?"

Jia Lian didn't dare to ask more questions and quickly bowed and took his leave.

After Jia Lian left, Mrs. Xing said with a beaming smile, "Master, you are so happy! Is that Zhen'er's brain rusty? Yi'er spent more than 100,000 taels to pay off his debts, and now he wants to give up the marriage for 3,000 taels. He is really short-sighted!"

She became more and more excited as she spoke, patting her chest and trembling, "Let me see, three thousand taels of silver is not a lot, we can still deduct two thousand taels as a benefit...but the old lady is reluctant to spend..."

"What two thousand taels?" Jia She said with disdain, "It's five thousand taels!"

"This..." Madam Xing was stunned by this sentence and said cautiously, "Master! Even if the old lady is willing to give the full five thousand taels, she still has to give Zhen'er three thousand taels, isn't it..."

"Who said we would give it to him?" Jia She asked with narrowed eyes.

"What do you mean, sir?"

"Don't you think about it? When we first proposed this marriage, that bastard acted as if his tail had been stepped on and dragged us to the old lady to argue. How could he be so kind now and agree to let us get married for three thousand taels?"

"Master, are you saying that Brother Zhen is playing tricks on us?"

"I am his uncle after all. With the situation in the East Palace now, even if he has the guts, he wouldn't dare to cheat on this!"

"What does the master mean?" Mrs. Xing was confused by what he said.

"What do you mean?" Jia She laughed and said, "Don't you think about it? The East Palace relies on Brother Yi to maintain its dignity. Now they are so kind and don't want to strengthen the relationship, but push him to our side?"

As if he felt that Madam Xing couldn't figure out the knot in the matter, he didn't keep her in suspense and said thoughtfully, "I think he probably hit a snag with Brother Yi, so he wants to make up for it with us."

After Jia She's analysis, Mrs. Xing was immediately impressed and couldn't help but exclaimed: "Master is wise! I was thinking just now that he must have a rusty brain to be so picky about picking up sesame seeds and losing watermelons. So this is the reason!"

She said seriously, "If he hadn't stopped me last time, Brother Yi would have agreed to the marriage. Now, the girl has become even more beautiful after being groomed by me. How can he not be tempted?"

Jia She twisted his long beard with his hand and said with great satisfaction: "So, no matter how much the old lady is willing to pay, this money has nothing to do with him!"

Madam Xing hesitated for a moment and said, "But...but if we don't pay this money, and he makes a scene after the matter is done, won't the old lady know that we have embezzled this money?"

"uh-huh……"

Jia She was too excited just now. When Mrs. Xing reminded him, he remembered this omission and coughed a little embarrassedly.

After a long pause, Fang slowly said, "You are right. However, since Brother Yi despises the fourth girl, he has no hope now. At most, I can give him three to five hundred taels as a token of appreciation to shut him up."

Mrs. Xing still had some doubts, and asked carefully, "Will he not tell the old lady about this?"

"How dare he!" Jia She slammed the table. "It's too late for him to hide this kind of thing, how dare he tell others about it? If Yi Ge'er knew about it, would he be so shameless?"

At this point, he turned to Madam Xing and said, "As for Lian Er, when he sends the money over, remember to remind me and make sure he doesn't let anyone know about it."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Madam Xing agreed hurriedly, "He is lucky to be able to sell a fictitious marriage to others. He will definitely not spread it. As long as Lian Er keeps it a secret, the old lady will not know about it."

"That's right! As long as this marriage goes through, the old lady won't know that we embezzled the money, and we can be considered to have explained it away."

Jia She thought for a moment and said, "Now that there is this kind of thing, I'd better ask Lian Er to stop interfering. First, I want him to avoid getting drunk and letting the cat out of the bag in front of Zhen'er or Yi'er. Second, he knows that I have embezzled the old lady's money, so I can't push him too hard."

Besides, that kid is always making excuses when doing things. Since we don't have to avoid the East Mansion now, I'll let you do it, and I'll be relieved!"

This had already been discussed before Jia Lian returned.

Therefore, before this, Jia She deliberately exaggerated the facts in order to complain in front of Lady Jia. In Mrs. Xing's opinion, Zhang Yunyi rejected the East Palace probably because he liked Yingchun more.

Now that the East Palace is no longer blocking the way, Mrs. Xing is even more confident.

"Master, rest assured! Leave this matter to me, there will be no problem!"

"Ok!"

If you tell lies too many times, you will start to take them seriously. Jia She was not very sure at first, but now that Jia Zhen took the initiative to give in, he felt more and more that what he said in front of Lady Jia had come true.

"How can a cat not like fishy smells? Didn't the old lady ask her to move into the garden to make things easier for Yi Ge'er? Don't forget to remind the second girl to not be so arrogant. If we can get her to make things happen, maybe we can turn the tables!"

"This... this is not appropriate, right? The young lady is at a critical moment right now. If any rumors spread..."

"That's it!"

Jia She was just too excited and didn't think about it for a moment. He could only say angrily: "This matter must be dealt with as soon as possible, so as to prevent the East Mansion from taking advantage of Yi Ge'er. If the eldest girl's marriage is over and there is no final conclusion, then follow the master's method and give him a boost!"

……

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 197: Unexpected Changes

Zhang Yunyi managed both his public and private lives, enjoying himself in the hot spring villa, having fun and having a great time.

The Ning and Rong families also ran around and cried out for him, worrying about him a lot.

Jia Lian took Jia She's order and reported it to Grandmother Jia with a worried heart.

Unexpectedly, Grandmother Jia was quite looking forward to this.

Not to mention anything else, just look at the vegetables in the greenhouse. This honor, which only the royal family can enjoy, is worth more than a few thousand taels of silver.

What's more, Zhang Yunyi has a bright future and is favored by the emperor. He may be of great help to Yuanchun in the future.

With Jia She's words as a basis, this marriage seemed a done deal to Jia's grandmother.

She was not as shameless as Jia She, so she had no objection to spending some money to avoid looking too embarrassed.

However, she was not aware that Jia She had proposed an increase in the price, and was still quite dissatisfied with Jia Zhen's exorbitant request.

After a long pause, he said, "If he is willing to give in, it is only right that we give him some compensation. However, we can give him the compensation, but what will happen if he wants it? Go and tell Zhen Ge'er that it was me who said that. Just give him three thousand taels to spend!"

After hearing this, Jia Lian also breathed a sigh of relief.

He didn't know that Jia She planned to swallow all the silver.

Although the task was not completed perfectly, the amount given by Lady Jia exactly matched Jia Zhen's offer.

Even if this matter is exposed in the future, at least he won't be accused of helping me cheat the old lady.

When Jia She saw the three thousand taels of silver that Jia Lian handed over, he did not blame him too much. He just repeatedly warned him not to disclose the money to anyone.

He also told him not to ask about Yingchun's affairs in the future and asked him to call Jia Zhen over so that he could have a face-to-face talk with him.

Jia Lian didn't care about it. When Jia She asked him to raise the price to the old lady, he saw that Jia She intended to cut the price.

Now, with only three thousand taels left, he naturally was unwilling to give it all to Jia Zhen.

On the contrary, Jia She told him not to worry about Yingchun's marriage, which surprised him.

Living in the outer study for more than a month was not without benefits. Seeing that he had fallen out with Wang Xifeng, Jia She did not force him too much.

Apart from the unspeakable secret, I feel free from all worries.

He didn't dare to interfere and hurried to the East Palace to convey Jia She's intention.

Jia Zhen and Jia She are a pair of foes. Before they fell out, they often went out to play together.

When he heard that Jia She wanted to meet with him, he guessed that he wanted to bargain.

After reciting his speech several times and pondering over the wording for a long time, he moved to the east wing of the Rong Mansion.

I thought the price was sky-high but the return would be low.

Unexpectedly, Jia She did not play by the rules. As soon as he came up, he did not even serve tea. He sneered and said, "If you had known this at the time, your uncle would have rewarded you with a few thousand as compensation. Now you have the nerve to ask for it, and you are not afraid of getting your tongue snapped by the wind!"

Jia Zhen was so humiliated that he wanted to turn around and leave, but the situation was stronger than him. For the sake of the silver, he had to swallow his anger and said, "Uncle She, please calm down. It was indeed my fault at the beginning. I hope you will not hold my fault against me."

The more he tried to appease the situation, the more Jia She felt that his judgment was correct, and he said aggressively: "Oh! When you took me to the old lady, you didn't say this!"

Even a clay figure still has some earthy qualities. Jia Zhen was also annoyed and angry after being ridiculed one after another.

The key point is that Jia She not only pushed too hard, but also asked for a thousand or eight hundred yuan right away. That was the situation at the beginning, and now I'm afraid he will give a discount again.

Even though every little bit counts, he now has several thousand taels of savings, and he also has the money that Youshi deposited in the Xue family as a foundation.

Instead of being humiliated here, it is better to put some effort into Zhang Yun逸.

He immediately threw away his sleeves and said angrily: "Since Uncle She has no intention of discussing this business, then just pretend that my nephew has never been here."

Seeing him turn around and leave, Jia She sneered and said sinisterly, "I'm afraid Brother Yi is still in the dark about this matter, right?"

Jia Zhen was startled when he heard this and immediately stopped.

He regretted it so much that his intestines turned green. He thought this was a lucky way to make money, but he didn't expect that he would shoot himself in the foot.

Although he had made up his mind to cut ties with Zhang Yun逸, he also hoped to get more money to support himself.

In the past, he had urged Youshi to hint at Zhang Yun逸.

If Jia She reported the matter to Zhang Yun逸 at this moment, it would definitely arouse his vigilance.

Once the plan is disrupted, it would be a case of losing the big picture for the small.

I could only pretend to be calm and said, "It's easy to find a pretext to accuse someone of a crime. Let's not talk about whether my cousin will believe your one-sided story. Even if he does, knowing the original agreement, I want to see if you still have the nerve to marry the second girl to him!"

"This……"

Jia She was suddenly speechless. He was not afraid that Zhang Yun逸 would know, but he was worried that the matter would become a big deal and be known to Lady Jia.

Although Jia Zhen was not clear about the inside story, he could see Jia She's concerns and became more and more unreasonable.

It has to be said that these people in the Jia family have limited abilities in other matters, but once money is involved, they are all shrewd.

Both of them had concerns, and they bargained for a long time, finally settling on the price of eight hundred taels.

……

at the same time.

Prince Ning was also busy. He learned from Jia Zheng the approximate date for the completion of the villa for his bride.

He then found his biological mother, Concubine Zhen, and planned to take advantage of the Spring Festival when Emperor Qing was not practicing Taoism to persuade her to set the wedding date in advance, so as to avoid wasting time by letting the Ministry of Rites choose a date after the construction of Rong Mansion was completed.

Concubine Zhen naturally would not shirk her son's request.

However, the actions of Prince Ning and Concubine Zhen backfired.

Emperor Zhengqing was already suspicious of the reason why she facilitated this marriage.

At this moment, seeing that the Rong Mansion's villa for the bride had not yet been completed, but they were so impatient and busy negotiating the wedding date, he became more suspicious.

He was born in a prince's mansion, unlike the emperor who was born in the inner courtyard of the imperial palace.

In particular, because he was obsessed with Taoism, he had few offspring, only two sons, the Prince of Qin and the Prince of Ning.

But as an emperor, he has his reverse scales that cannot be touched.

It would be fine if Prince Ning only made friends with some old and idle nobles, but Wang Ziteng was his confidant who was promoted by him.

Although, in order to prevent any disaster, Wang Ziteng was transferred to the Nine Frontiers, he still controlled a large number of troops.

In recent years, he has neglected state affairs, and the reason why power has not fallen into the hands of others is that he relies on the emperor's mentality to let his ministers check and balance each other.

But because of this, a single move can affect the entire body.

Once drastic measures are taken to disrupt this balance, it is easy to cause turmoil.

This was also the reason why he dealt with corruption in the Ministry of Works and only punished the Jingzhao Yin and the patrol camp.

Therefore, although it seems that taking away Wang Ziteng's military power can solve the problem once and for all, we cannot act rashly.

A single move in the court could affect the entire body, but this marriage, however, has room for maneuver.