The Red Mansion Big Liar

Yu Shi felt sweet in her heart and readily agreed: "This was originally given by you. When the first payment from the concubine comes, I will renovate your house. Then I can shut him up and prevent him from getting greedy after knowing about it."

Although the imperial court will certainly take the lion's share of the snowflake candy business, and the profit for the imperial merchants will not be too great, a 10% share would probably be more than 10,000 taels a year.

If the amount is small, Jia Zhen will not take it to heart, but if it exceeds ten thousand, he will definitely become covetous.

Instead of waiting for him to ask for money, it is better to spend the money on Zhang Yun逸.

This was actually Zhang Yunyi's plan. He had half-jokingly mentioned that Youshi should raise the child, but it also had a hidden meaning.

Although he has already thought of ways to make money, he currently has no cash, except for the two hundred taels of gold bestowed by the emperor.

He thought that if he could find Xiangling's family, he would have to find a place to accommodate them, and his own house was indeed a suitable place.

Moreover, once the Jia family falls, the two mansions built by imperial decree will have to be taken back. At that time, there will need to be a place to stay.

According to his idea, he wanted to take over several houses in the surrounding area.

However, right now Youshi's money has to be allocated in batches and cannot be spent all on this. It will not be too late to implement it after the trade route for soda ash is opened up.

"Sister-in-law, just let me handle these things. It's time for us to discuss the real business!"

This was not the first or second time for the two of them, but today You was grateful and, under the influence of alcohol, allowed Zhang Yunyi to try all the things that he was too embarrassed to do in the past.

The waxing moon at the beginning of the month is like a bent bow, hanging in the night sky. The moonlight is as weak as water, like mercury pouring on the ground, illuminating the dark night sky, and also shining on the window edges and the kang table in the house.

Nearing the second watch, Zhang Yunyi, who had eaten and drunk his fill, walked out of the yard, leaving behind the mess on the kang in the house and the exhausted Youshi to clean up the mess.

He did not rush back, but ran around Huifang Garden twice more.

First of all, our body is our capital, and we don’t want to give up exercising.

Secondly, although the smell of alcohol covered it up, there was also some unspeakable taste mixed in.

After running a few laps, he returned to Dengxian Pavilion, only to see Xiangling sitting downstairs.

Zhang Yunyi asked in confusion: "Didn't my sister-in-law tell you that I wouldn't be back for dinner?"

"Ah!" Xiangling cried out softly and stood up suddenly, but answered the question irrelevantly, "Master is back!"

Although she was facing Zhang Yunyi, her eyes were averted and her cheeks were flushed, making the rouge mark on her forehead even more charming.

"Have you eaten yet? Where's Ruizhu?"

"I ate it!" Xiangling's face became redder and she said in a trembling voice, "Sister Ruizhu went back to her room first. She...she said the bathtub wasn't big enough. We'll take turns bathing Master from now on. Tonight, Xiangling...will go first."

"Oh……"

Zhang Yunyi then remembered that his instructions to Ruizhu in the morning seemed to have a significant effect on Xiangling's enlightenment.

But this girl really wasn't that scheming. She even told the truth that the bathtub was not big enough.

Zhang Yunyi stepped forward and held her slender waist, saying, "Are you tired of waiting? It's a good time to take a bath and relax!"

"Swish!" As he was so close to her, the smell was so strong that Xiangling couldn't help but take a sniff and asked in confusion, "Why does the master smell so strange?"

Zhang Yunyi secretly thanked his luck that it was Xiangling who was waiting. If it was Ruizhu who was beside him at this moment, she would probably be able to notice the abnormality even if she tried to cover it up, right?

"Drank some wine and ran a few laps."

As he said that, he dragged Xiangling upstairs and said, "It's a good time to take a bath, so that you won't be choked by the stink."

Xiangling lowered her head and said with a red face: "Then let me give you a bath!"

"Oh?" Zhang Yunyi asked teasingly, "Xiangling also knows how to scrub her body?"

"Hmm!" Xiangling nodded heavily and said solemnly, "Madam always praised me for my dexterity and said that I felt very comfortable when I rubbed my hands!"

"Hiss!" Zhang Yunyi's heart was moved, and he blurted out, "Then rub it for me according to the concubine's method!"

"Yeah!" Xiangling agreed happily.

……

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 47: Wang Xifeng

"Go! Let Wang'er go to the East Palace and call Rong'er to me!"

In the three-room porch on the back building of Rong Xi Tang, Wang Xifeng, leaning against the kang, slapped her hand heavily on her thigh and said angrily.

Ping'er took a look and saw that her pretty face contained a look of sternness and fear. She did not dare to ask any more questions and hurried down to give instructions.

It has been more than a month since the last time I visited the park.

There was nothing new in the mansion, and the Xue family wanted to show off, so the news of selling sugar had been spreading everywhere for a long time, and they had just sent off a caravan that was going far away.

As a daughter of the Wang family, Wang Xifeng was well aware of the Xue family's concerns.

But recently, the Xue family has not only retained the title of royal merchants, but also has great intentions to expand its business.

Every single incident was like a heavy hammer hitting Wang Xifeng's heart.

Especially, she had just learned indirectly from Aunt Xue that the Xue family was only selling the 10% of the sugar on behalf of her, and all the profits were taken by Youshi.

This made her, who had a high opinion of herself, even more annoyed.

On the one hand, he secretly cursed Youshi for being shameless and having an affair with her brother-in-law, and on the other hand, he was angry at Zhang Yunyi for being so short-sighted.

She secretly speculated that if Youshi was hooking up with Zhang Yunyi, then the Xue family was being introduced by Lady Wang.

As for Xiangling, she was just given away intentionally by the Xue family to please her.

She has never believed in ghosts and gods. Who in the whole mansion doesn't know how much Xue Pan has gone through with Aunt Xue for Xiangling?

If I just send it away, wouldn't I be laughed at?

If they had not reached a deal behind the scenes, why would he rush straight towards Xiangling without even looking at me?

The one who could come up with such a face-saving and win-win solution must be my cousin.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel daunted.

Just at this moment, Ping'er came in and reported: "Laiwang has been sent away."

Wang Xifeng looked at Ping'er, recalling Xiangling's appearance in her mind, and couldn't help but compare them secretly.

Although Ping'er was not as pretty as Xiangling, her figure was better than Xiangling's, especially the pair of long legs with well-proportioned body under her skirt. Although they were not as tall as hers, they were not much worse.

Unfortunately, this benefit is ultimately hidden by the long skirt. If you don’t experience it yourself, it’s not as intuitive as seeing it in person.

Ping'er felt uneasy when she was stared at. She asked cautiously, "Madam...what did I do wrong?"

Wang Xifeng came to her senses instantly after hearing this, and suddenly asked, "Why has Madam been running into the old lady's room so often recently?"

"How would this servant know?" Ping'er glanced at the door and whispered, "Besides, it's not easy to find out about this."

These words, like a needle, pierced deeply into Wang Xifeng's heart.

She seems to be in charge of Rong Mansion, which seems glorious, but in fact she is just a buffer between Lady Jia and Mrs. Wang.

Lai Da's old servants only have Lady Jia in their eyes, while the servants brought by the Wang family, and even the servants she brought as a dowry, all follow Lady Wang's lead.

The only person I can really trust is Lai Wang...

No, there is only Ping'er in front of me.

It was fine if she wanted to ask about other things, but once it involved Lady Jia and Mrs. Wang, she suddenly felt that no one was available.

"I know that without you telling me! Lian Er is in the south. If there is something, wouldn't it be easier to send someone to deliver a message and ask him to do it? But they let Lai Da and his wife go. It's obvious that they are guarding against us!"

It was extremely rare for her to reveal her true feelings.

Hearing this, Ping'er hurriedly opened the door, stuck her head out to look around, then closed the door again and whispered, "Grandma, be careful with your words!"

"Why do you have to be so sneaky? Everyone in this mansion is a smart person. Even though they respect and fear me on weekdays, they are waiting to see me make a fool of myself behind my back! Once that Bao Second Madam comes to live, who will remember me?"

Although she said calmly and complained about Ping'er being sneaky, her voice became lower.

At this point, she couldn't help but laugh at herself and said, "The eldest master is not favored by the old lady, and Lian Er and I are also embarrassed. They drag their feet and don't divide the family. They spend the money from the government first. Isn't it because they want to leave it for Baoyu?"

In ancient times, it was a clan society with a complete system for dividing the family property, which was legally binding.

My father's property, the so-called official silver, was distributed according to the seniority and seniority of the legitimate and illegitimate children, and the proportions were fixed.

As for the woman's dowry, only her own children have the right to inherit it, and the woman can decide the distribution ratio completely independently.

Unless there are no children, the family will be handed over to the clan for distribution, which is the so-called eating up the entire family.

Jia Daishan had only two sons, Jia She and Jia Zheng, both of whom were legitimate sons, so the distribution ratios were not much different.

But how Lady Jia distributed her dowry can be seen from her attitude towards her two sons.

If the family is divided early and the official treasury is full, the gap between the first and second wives will not be that big.

But if you wait until the official energy is exhausted, the gap will be immediately apparent.

This is even more obvious in Jia Lian and Jia Baoyu.

Jia Lian's mother's family background was ordinary, and her dowry had already been mostly spent by Jia Lian and his son. Mrs. Xing was from a poor family, and even the two of them combined were not even one-tenth of what Mrs. Wang was worth.

Although Wang Xifeng's own dowry was quite generous, whether it was Lin Daiyu, who was favored by Lady Jia, or Xue Baochai, who was valued by Mrs. Wang, their dowry was much more than hers.

She has always been strong-willed, and Jia Lian is the heir to the title of Rongfu. She couldn't stand the fact that he was slightly inferior to the second wife, let alone the huge difference between them?

If her own interests were not involved, why would she watch the officials so closely and do things that offend others?

Once the government's money is exhausted and the two sides split up, if I can stay here and continue to manage the household, I can still supplement some of the income.

Otherwise, you can only go back to the East Courtyard.

By then, the whole family will probably have to rely on her dowry to survive.

When it comes to sensitive topics, Ping'er didn't dare to say anything, and could only comfort her softly: "The old lady and the madam still have to rely on grandma to help manage the household."

Wang Xifeng stared at her pair of golden lotus feet resting on the edge of the kang with deep eyes, and murmured, "Yes! They need me now, but it's hard to say what will happen in the future!"

If Jia Baoyu had married Lin Daiyu, Mrs. Wang might have kept her to help with the household management.

If it were Xue Baochai, before Lady Jia's death, she might have been able to help out with her special status.

Although it may not last long, it is better than losing power immediately.

Therefore, when she heard the rumor of a perfect match in the mansion, she was the one who was most worried.

But this is not the worst case scenario. What she least wants to see is if Lady Jia and Mrs. Wang reach a tacit understanding on Baoyu's marriage.

Originally, she had never considered this possibility, but now, Mrs. Wang always ran to Lady Jia's room for no reason and sent the servants away, obviously having a secret conversation.

Considering that Mr. and Mrs. Lai were sent to the south, a bad feeling came to my mind.

Jia Lian accompanied Lin Daiyu to the south, and if Lai and his wife went to the Lin family, they would inevitably have to avoid him.

Then it is very likely that he is going to Jinling.

Xue Pan was a living dead man, so instead of leaving all that property to the Xue family, it would be better to use it to enrich Xue Baochai's dowry.

Or perhaps, this is the key to why Mrs. Wang helped the Xue family to establish connections and impress Lady Jia.

If seeing the benefits of coveting is just an inducement, then facing the threat of losing power adds another layer of driving force on top of the inducement.

Even if he couldn't cause any trouble for the Xue family, he still had to make some money to survive.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but look at Ping'er and said in a deep voice, "How do I treat you?"

……

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 48 Everyone has their own agenda

Although Ping Erh did not know why Wang Xifeng asked this question, she knew that she probably had something important to tell her, so she quickly expressed her loyalty, "Madam, you treat me like a sister, and I have no way to repay you!"

Wang Xifeng nodded heavily and said, "It is rare that you are so loyal. I will not treat you unfairly and will definitely give you a good home."

As a maid in name only, what good fate could there be for her?

Although Wang Xifeng had said similar things before, this was the first time she was so serious. However, she did not dare to be careless and said in a proper manner: "As long as I can share your worries, I will be satisfied."

"Grandma! Uncle Xiaorong is here!"

As he was speaking, Lai Wang's voice was heard.

The two of them stopped talking, and Wang Xifeng sat up straight before she said in a deep voice, "Let him come in!"