Mrs. Shi immediately convened the whole family for discussion. She and Mrs. Wang agreed that the virtuous concubine only entered the palace for the sake of her family. After years of hard work, it was really difficult, and now she has finally succeeded, she must be allowed to go home to visit relatives in glory.

.Moreover, Concubine Wu and Concubine Zhou in the palace have already begun to conduct inspections at their homes.

We are preparing to build a separate courtyard for the family members. If our family lags behind others, it will not only make Yuanchun lose face in the palace, but also show that the Jia family does not need to live in the past. This is a taboo for nobles. External face.

Once it collapses, it will quickly decay.

Mrs. Shi sighed in her heart, "Oh, if the old Mr. Guo was still alive, why would they need to plan like this!"

Therefore, this provincial residence should not only be built, but should also be built magnificently and luxuriously. It must not be worse than others, so that the queen can come to our home happily and do everything we want.

It is not difficult to hire smart people to plan and build a large garden. There are also places. He demolished the walls and pavilions of Huifang Garden in Ningguo Mansion and moved in directly. Jia She lived in the old garden of Rongguo Mansion and made it into one.

place,

Among them, bamboo trees, rocks, pavilions and pavilion railings and other objects can all be moved here. Then we can arrange to build mountains and dig ponds, erect buildings and pavilions, plant bamboos and flowers, etc., and just put in the effort and energy to do it according to the scenery.

The biggest question now is where the money to build this big garden will come from!

After a rough estimate, it would cost hundreds of thousands of taels of silver to build a magnificent provincial residence, furnish it with furniture, furnishings, plant flowers and trees, etc. With this cash, the Jia family is now

It's not easy to take it out all at once.

The Jia family is a big business. In addition to several farms, shops, and countless antiques, the Ningrong mansion almost occupies a street. But in recent years, the Jia family has been going downhill. There are only a few houses in the family.

, but there are more than a thousand slaves serving him

There are many masters and servants who are rich and honorable, but none of them can plan and plan. Their daily ostentation expenses cannot be scrupulously frugal. Therefore, although they are still bright on the outside, their inner pockets are somewhat exhausted. Daily life is still limited.

We can handle it, but how to raise this large sum of money?

Mrs. Shi thought that the whole family would undoubtedly have to contribute to the cost of building the garden. The family still had some old foundations, so they should use them first. In addition, Mrs. Shi decided to contribute one hundred thousand taels herself, and the rest would be spent.

The first house and the second house each paid fifty thousand taels. Since it was the glory of the whole family, the Ningguo Mansion could not sit idly by and had to pay tens of thousands taels. This might not be enough, so Mrs. Shi turned her attention to her wealthy relatives.

Among the four major families, King Jia and Shi Xue, the Shi family is already in decline. Now that the family is in financial distress, the women in the family have to make their own needlework to save the cost of using needlework. The Shi family can't support much, and they can only add two or three more at most.

A thousand taels of silver came to meet the occasion, but it couldn't be of much help; Wang Ziteng was now the backer of the four families of the Wang family, so Mrs. Shi felt a little scared to speak to him, but she didn't dare to

If you want to open your mouth to him, you can only ask Mrs. Wang to go back and ask tactfully. It just depends on his intentions; in addition, there is the Xue family. His family is a wealthy imperial businessman with a slightly lower status. They have always relied on the three families.

In order to be able to gain a stable foothold, it was implicitly the money bag of the Jia and Wang families. In addition, the mistress of the Xue family and Mrs. Wang were sisters, so there should have been no problem and she could easily 'borrow' a large sum of money.

But the situation of the Xue family is different now. Xue Pan is in exile, and the mother and daughter of the Xue family are supporting the family business alone. It is better than before. Alas, it is embarrassing!

Mrs. Wang was also upset. After all, this villa was built for her daughter's marriage. Jia She and Ning Guofu were a little aggrieved by Mrs. Shi's assignment. There was absolutely no way to hide the fifty thousand taels of silver for the second room. But

Mrs. Wang felt very distressed when she was asked to come up with so much cash at once. Although she had a lot of private property, she couldn't afford to plunder them all. She also had two sons at home, especially her most beloved son Baoyu, so she couldn't.

Let him live in embarrassment and feel wronged in the future.

Mrs. Wang first thought of Wang Xifeng and Jia Zhu, her son. Although he had the reputation of being a civil servant, he would be like that all his life. He was afraid that he would not be able to compare with her husband Jia Zheng and would not be able to rely on him. Fortunately, he still had an official position.

He had a monthly salary, and for the sake of his brother's face, the Ministry of War also understood that he was not in good health and often reported illness, so he just wanted to support an idle man.

Jia Zhu and his wife, with their room and board and monthly salary, are both officials, and they also have a salary from the Ministry of War, so their life is not bad. Wang Xifeng's dowry is rich, and Yuanchun and she are two-fold relatives. It is natural for them to contribute to the important things of the empress.

Right?

Unexpectedly, Wang Xifeng was summoned and as soon as she revealed her meaning, Wang Xifeng immediately burst into tears. From Jia Zhu's body being damaged and her future unclear, to telling her and Jia Lan's mother and son how helpless they were.

She has had a hard life all her life! The dowry is the foundation for her and Jia Lan's livelihood, but they don't know if it is enough. How can they have the energy to dedicate themselves to the empress? Oh, if a wealthy family cares about their daughter-in-law's dowry,

Yes, that is a strange news in the world. If this spreads out, it will ruin the face for several lifetimes!

These words with a gun and a stick made Mrs. Wang so angry that she fell backwards. She pointed at Wang Xifeng tremblingly and was speechless. Wang Xifeng was not afraid at all. Humph, what dare the Jia family do? Will her uncle agree to divorce her? In-laws.

Who cares about them when her husband is angry? She is really fed up with Jia Zhu's unwillingness to live or die. If it weren't for her uncle's pressure and realistic considerations, Wang Xifeng would have wished to divorce Jia Zhu long ago, and she was afraid that he would not make it.

?

However, Wang Xifeng was not the one who didn't care about family ties at all. She said to Mrs. Wang diligently that although she had no money, she could contribute! The matter of building a separate courtyard was the most complicated, and she couldn't bother the master and his wife.

, there is no need for the elder to interfere, she has always been in charge of the house, has experience, and can definitely take on this responsibility.

‘Well, it is absolutely necessary to make a big fortune!’ Wang Xifeng said silently in her heart.

Unable to sway Wang Xifeng, Mrs. Wang pinned her hopes on the Xue family. She wrote a letter to her sister, in which she recalled the affection between the sisters in the past, told Yuanchun and her own difficulties over the years, and described Yuanchun.

With the honor and favor in the palace and a bright future, the good days are yet to come! When Yuanchun becomes prosperous, can we not vigorously support our relatives? In the future, Pan'er will also benefit a lot.

After talking a lot, Mrs. Wang made a request for "borrowing money". As for the amount, well, the more the better, at least there must be at least fifty thousand taels of silver, right?

The current actual head of the Xue family is Xue Baochai. After receiving Mrs. Wang's letter, Mrs. Xue Wang had to discuss it with her daughter.

Xue Baochai frowned deeply, thinking in her mind. She had never met Xue Jia, and had no feelings for her. So, she would only judge this matter from the perspective of interests. From her mother's daily gossip, she understood

I feel that this aunt is much more thoughtful than my mother. No matter how you read this letter, it feels like a wasted effort.

After a while, she shook her head and said to Wang Xue: "Mom, since my brother's accident, the family's property has shrunk. In addition, in order to appease the clan and maintain our family's status as the direct branch, we have sacrificed a lot of profits. Now, Xue

The family is no longer what it used to be. Whenever my aunt opens her mouth, she will 'borrow' at least fifty thousand taels of silver. Where does our family get so much money? We must leave enough money in our business accounts for turnover."

"But your aunt opened her mouth to us." Wang Xue was in a dilemma: "That's the Jia family with one family and two sons. We shouldn't offend it, right? Also, Yuanchun is your cousin, she is the empress of the palace.

.She has become prosperous in the palace. If you tell us something, it will definitely be of great benefit to our family! Your aunt said that she is now very popular in the palace and her promotion is just around the corner. We must not lose it now.

To lose face and show the decline of the family!"

"Mom, the Jia family used to be very prominent, but since the old man passed away, it has probably gone downhill. My daughter is now in charge of the family business, and she knows more or less the news outside." Xue Baochai shook his head and said: "Just take it.

Regarding my brother's case, Mom, you wrote letters to both Uncle Wang and Aunt Jia at the same time, but it was Uncle Wang who helped my brother in the end. My aunt didn't do much, and she only sent a letter to comfort her later.

What's the use? Whether aunt doesn't care about our family or she is too resourceful to do it, the Jia family is of little use to our family!"

"If it was my uncle who spoke to us today, then I would grit my teeth and squeeze money everywhere to try to get the fifty thousand taels together. But, we don't have to be so generous to my aunt! She said it was 'borrowing'

I asked if there was any mortgage, but just said 'borrow' money, so why don't you just say give money away? This is because something happened to my brother, and the two women in our family have no support, so they take our mother and daughter as the main scapegoat!" Xue Baochai!

He sneered.

This sentence aroused Mrs. Xue Wang's anger. Isn't it clear who is closer between her sister and her children, whom she has not seen for many years? After thinking about it carefully, she also became cold-hearted towards Mrs. Wang.

.

"If that's the case, then we won't borrow it!" Xue Wang said angrily.

Xue Baochai sighed: "Mom, it's okay if I don't borrow it at all. We are old relatives after all. If we suddenly break up, my uncle won't be able to explain it! Besides, after all, the Jia family belongs to the official family of the country, and the emperor still cares about it.

The old love of the old man, the eldest cousin is still a virtuous concubine in the palace, serving the emperor. They may not be able to help make things happen, but bad things are easy! When word spreads, people say that we don't care about family ties at all. We are imperial merchants.

, I can’t afford to offend a noble noble!”

After saying that, Xue Baochai lowered her head, feeling a little sour in her heart. In just a few years, since she took charge of the family business, she was no longer the girl who had been coddled in a boudoir. She had also seen a lot about the warmth and coldness of people. She was aware of the difference between her own family and the Zhongming Dingshi family.

I feel it personally.

In the past, people in the family always thought that the Xue family was great, but now they feel that she is looking at the sky from a well, and her vision is too narrow. The Xue family is rich, but they can't get into the eyes of high-ranking officials. People can be polite to you.

Part of it depends on the money and property sent by your family, and part of it depends on how many capable relatives you have. For example, if you don’t have an uncle, your brother may be more than just exiled!

Therefore, Xue Baochai is also planning for her future. When her brother comes back, she will return the family property and she will always get married. So, what kind of husband should she choose? Thinking about the future, she feels uneasy

Endless.

"Well, Chai'er, what should you do, my mother will listen to you." Xue Wang said hesitantly, her son was exiled, and she became more and more dependent on her daughter. Her daughter has ideas and is much stronger than her.

"I'll take out ten thousand taels of silver from the cabinet. I don't expect my aunt to repay this money." Xue Baochai took a deep breath: "Mom, write another letter and send it to Rongguo Mansion, complaining to aunt, and give our family's money

The situation was dire. After that, I told my aunt that I had tried every means to squeeze out ten thousand taels from the money I spent on the goods. Our family had really tried our best, so that my aunt wouldn’t be too short and collected some specialties from Jiangnan to give away.

Go. In this case, aunt has nothing to say."

"Okay, let's do it like this." Mrs. Xue Wang nodded.

In the capital, Mrs. Wang received a letter from Wang Xue and ten thousand taels of silver. Although she was very dissatisfied, she had nothing to do. The capital was far away from Jinling, how could she know the true situation of the Xue family? Alas,

The Xue family was really in ruins. The wealthy imperial businessmen could only afford this little money! She felt heartbroken at the thought of having to pay for it herself.
Chapter completed!