Three hundred and seventieth chapters shoot themselves in the foot
Rongqing Hall
With Jia Heng's clear voice and words of assurance, the Rong Mansion reached an agreement that Yuanchun would no longer be betrothed to the King of Chu. Jia Heng pondered for a moment and said, "Old lady, let's do this for now."
Jia Mu smiled and said, "It's almost noon as we talk."
But at this moment, the cotton curtain was opened from the outside, and a woman came in and said breathlessly: "Old lady, people from Jinyi Mansion came to the door and arrested Wu Jinjing from Nanshe Village, saying that he was involved in a case...
…”
Jinyi Mansion?
The emperor's own army?
When everyone in the Rongqing Hall suddenly heard about this, they were all shocked at first, but then their thoughts changed slightly and they all looked at Jia Heng.
Sister Feng said: "You guys are celebrating the Chinese New Year, you guys are short-sighted. The official of Jinyi Mansion lives here. Go and ask why Wuzhuangtou was arrested?"
This is just a joke and a joke.
Jia Heng said: "Sister-in-law Feng, I ordered people to arrest her. I ordered the servants to send a message before, but the house didn't receive it?"
He remembered that before leaving the mansion to go to the eldest princess of Jinyang, he ordered Jiao Da to send a servant to the Ning mansion to deliver the message. Didn't he go?
Lin Zhixiao happened to come in. Hearing this, he reported: "The uncle sent someone to tell you. He didn't say why. He just said that the villagers brought by our Wujia Village should be allowed to stay in the courtyard first."
When Jia Heng heard this, he guessed that Jiao Da did not believe some people in Rong Mansion and was worried that the news would be leaked, so he did not tell the truth.
However, Jia Mu looked surprised when she heard this and asked, "Brother Heng, what's going on? Why did you send Jin Yiwei to take Wuzhuang Head?"
Jia Heng said: "I was about to tell the old lady about this. Wu Jinxiao, the head of Zhuangshan Village, and his younger brother Wu Jinjing, have over the years falsely reported disasters, colluded with merchants, deceived the superiors and deceived the inferiors, misappropriated Zhuangzi's output, and defrauded them."
The East and West Prefectures sold Zhuangzi at a discount, and then the Wu brothers asked distant relatives to take charge of Zhuangzi. In addition, the Wu Jinxiao brothers, relying on their status as the head of the village, wantonly embezzled Zhuangzi's output and embezzled a lot of money from my Jia family.
goods."
With that said, he handed the paper from Jinyi Mansion to Jia Mu.
Jia Mu frowned and said in shock: "Is this happening?"
After receiving the briefing, Yuanyang on the side took the reading glasses to Jia Mu. After Jia Mu put them on, she looked at them attentively.
When Sister Feng heard what Jia Heng said, her eyes lit up and she thought to herself, could it be that the property of these evil servants must be confiscated again?
During the last wave of raids on the Lai family and Shan Daliang's family, the Rongguo Mansion suddenly got hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, and the Duke was suddenly much richer.
At this moment, in the Rongqing Hall, Li Wan, Baochai, Daiyu, Yingchun, and Tanchun were all looking at the young man in the python suit, waiting for his words.
Well, it sounds a bit mean. Even Mrs. Wang stopped being annoyed, looked at the young man, and listened with her ears.
In the past few days, I have been dealing with my age with Sister Feng, and I have fully realized that the bank of Rongguo Mansion has enough cash. The feeling of having hundreds of thousands of taels of cash stored in the bank, and being able to use it at will, is far more than the housekeeper who used to have a hard time.
Jia Heng said: "According to what Wu Jinxiao said, his brother Wu Jinjing also misappropriated the farmland in the mansion. This time, they are all disposed of together. The number of farmlands in Rongning's second mansion over the years has also been sorted out. It can be regarded as a source of open source."
use."
Jia Mu put down the paper in her hand and sighed: "I see the annual donation, and the head of Wuzhuang comes to say hello. He seems to be honest and honest, but he is also a traitor in his heart."
"Old Ancestor, Brother Heng has always been careful and will never wrong them." Sister Feng Danfeng's eyes flashed coldly and said: "As the old saying goes, it is difficult to paint a dragon or a skeleton to paint a heart. Knowing people, knowing faces but not knowing hearts, these village heads
On weekdays, there is no one to control the village that is occupied by Shan'ao and the sea. They are all masters. They are not satisfied with this at all. They embezzle the master's village. They are really greedy.
elephant."
When Jia Heng heard this, he glanced at Sister Feng and said to himself that Sister Feng had no words to write about, but she still said some witty words and made remarks at random.
Aunt Xue also said at this time: "Old lady, let's not talk about the heads of these villages, but also the shopkeepers and accountants in the shops. If you don't, take the opportunity to put the money into your own pocket. The first one will be at a disadvantage to Brother Heng.
While I was renovating it, these people emptied the shop."
At the end of the sentence, Aunt Xue's face was a little angry.
Jia Mu sighed and said, "It's just that we have Lai Da and Shan family in front of us, and there is Zhuangtou here. How can we get rid of such moths and rats in our house?"
Jia Heng said: "These people may not have been good in the past. Their hearts are changeable. They have been managing money and property for a long time. Over time, they will inevitably develop greed. The household chores in the clan must not be left to one person. Secondly,
We still need to pay attention to mutual supervision.”
Sister Feng listened, feeling a little strange in her heart.
These words seemed to be talking about her, but she did not enrich herself in the palace. In order to gain a reputation for being fair in dealing with things, she often complained to the eldest master and the eldest lady.
Jia Mu nodded and said, "Brother Heng is right."
Having said this, he glanced at Mrs. Wang and said, "If Brother Heng hadn't picked them out one by one and allowed these people to succeed, the family's income would have become less and less. I'm afraid that in three or two years, life in this family would have become even more difficult.
.”
As soon as these words came out, everyone couldn't help but look at the young man with complicated thoughts.
Aunt Xue also had a thoughtful look on her face and thought to herself, no wonder the old lady tolerated the younger generation so much and didn't protect her sister.
There are some things that we are not aware of without being reminded, but once we take a closer look, we feel that they are really the same thing.
Since Jia Heng's small sect became a large sect, how many things has he helped the Xifu do, and how much glory has he brought to the clan and the government?
Mrs. Wang was speechless for a moment. She knew that the old lady was hitting her, and she couldn't help but feel more and more depressed.
Seeing Mrs. Wang's silence, Jia Mu secretly shook her head.
Sister Feng said: "Old ancestors, these village leaders are really shameful. They need to be investigated strictly and the greedy property must be recovered. The Zhuangzi must also be recovered."
That being said, it still depends on Jia Heng how to pursue him.
Because this is not something that the servants of the Jia family can solve.
Jia Mu cast an old look at Jia Heng and asked, "What do you mean by Brother Heng?"
Facing Sister Feng's shining eyes, Jia Heng said slowly: "The case is not over yet. If we find out the whole story, we will recover the stolen money and stolen goods. This is the right thing to do."
Jia Mu nodded and said, "Brother Heng, please pay more attention."
After saying that, he looked at Sister Feng aside and said, "You are also helping. If Brother Heng has any instructions, you can help him."
Sister Feng said with a smile: "Ancestor, you can rest assured."
Jia Heng stopped talking now and said goodbye: "Old lady, if there is nothing else, I will go back first."
Jia Mu smiled kindly and said, "Just go."
Just when Jia Heng was about to get up and leave, Xiang Yun said with a smile: "Brother Heng, my sister-in-law said that we should go to Tianxiang Tower to get together. Can I go with you?"
The atmosphere in Rongqing Hall was tense just now, but Xiangyun was clever and as quiet as a chicken and did not interrupt.
Jia Heng thought for a while and said, "It's okay to go now. It's almost noon. Sister Lin and third sister should go together."
Previously, Keqing of his family invited the sisters to gather in Dongfu.
Tan Chun, Daiyu responded softly.
Jia Mu smiled and said: "Hey, Brother Heng, venison is not easy to digest. Don't let these sisters eat too much."
If she hadn't been older, she would have joined in the fun.
Jia Heng nodded and said, "I will pay attention."
After saying that, he looked at Yuanchun and said warmly: "Sister, will you come with me too?"
"Brother Heng, I'll go there later." Yuan Chun said softly.
When Jia Heng heard this, his heart moved slightly. He glanced at Mrs. Wang and nodded to Yuanchun.
Qing knew that Yuanchun wanted to talk to Mrs. Wang about the intimate relationship between mother and daughter, which may have eased the conflict between him and Mrs. Wang.
Baoyu looked hot in the corner and opened his mouth, wanting to say that he wanted to go too.
But because Jia Zheng was here, he swallowed back the words he was about to say.
Aunt Xue smiled and looked at Baochai who was sitting elegantly: "My dear girl, you should go too, don't let down your sister-in-law's kindness."
Baochai responded with a "hmm", stood up Yingying, looked at Jia Heng, and called: "Brother Heng."
Sister Feng smiled sweetly and said: "Old ancestor, it's almost the Chinese New Year, so I'll go too."
After saying that, he turned to look at Li Wan who was sitting beside him and said, "Sister-in-law Zhu, you have nothing to do here. Didn't my brother and sister also invite you to come with them?"
In fact, it seems that space was intentionally left for Jia Mu, Jia Zheng, Mrs. Wang, and Yuan Chun to discuss marriage.
Li Wan was elegant and a smile appeared on Wen Ning's face, and he said, "I was planning to go there later."
Jia Lan is at home these days, reviewing her homework, and she also invites Uncle Heng to be her host.
On the other side, Tanchun pulled Yingchun, but saw Yingchun looking at him doubtfully and said: "Third sister, what is this?"
Tan Chun smiled and said: "Second sister, let's go to Brother Heng's place and sit for a while?"
When Yingchun heard the words, he nodded and responded slowly.
For a moment, Jia Heng led a group of warblers toward Ning Mansion.
Everyone in Rongqing Hall also dispersed, and for a while only Jia Mu, Mrs. Wang, Jia Zheng, Yuan Chun, Baoyu and Aunt Xue were left.
Mother Jia cast her kind eyes on Mrs. Wang and said with some seriousness in her voice: "Mother Baoyu, you have seen it too. You don't know what kind of temper Brother Heng is. There are clear grievances. When did you say he made you and Baoyu suffer?"
, and the eldest girl is also here, and Feng Yatou said that she is also taking care of her as a real sister, and the day before yesterday she was sent to the eldest princess's house to help take care of the business in Dongcheng."
When Mrs. Wang heard the words, she opened her mouth, but for a moment she couldn't say anything unpleasant.
Jia Zheng frowned and said: "Brother Heng often goes out to handle important affairs of the court. When you come home, you go to the old lady to talk about your family relationship. How can you still be angry? If you look at me with such a slap in the face, wouldn't it chill people's hearts?"
When Mrs. Wang heard this, her face turned pale and her eyes were slightly red.
Jia Zheng shook his head and didn't feel like talking anymore.
Mrs. Wang, however, felt that a thousand people were being pointed at her and cried: "I didn't have any bad intentions at all. I was just thinking about the big girl's lifelong affairs. Besides, I, a mother, can do harm to my own daughter. Brother Heng is a capable person."
Yes, he considers everything very carefully, how can I, a womanly man, compare to him."
In the end, I felt even more aggrieved.
Yuan Chun took Mrs. Wang's arm and said softly: "Mom, you have promised me my marriage. Brother Heng has always been reliable. Don't worry."
Mrs. Wang said calmly: "Since he promised, I won't say anything else."
Mother Jia sighed: "That's right, the whole family still needs to be harmonious. Big girl, you can go over there later and talk to Brother Heng. Don't let him be angry."
Yuan Chun chuckled and said: "Old ancestor, Brother Heng is not that kind of person."
Jia Zheng's face was somewhat relaxed, and he said: "Mother, Ziyu, who is known as a virtuous man and a god in the capital, could be angry over such a trivial matter. Besides, he wasn't angry at all just now. I don't think so.
He treats the eldest girl as his own sister."
Yuanchun said "hmm" when he heard this, feeling somewhat ashamed.
My sister?
Jia Mu suddenly asked: "Big girl, how does he treat you on weekdays?"
Yuan Chun said softly: "Brother Heng is very good to me. Brother Heng and Princess Jinyang are doing business in Dongcheng, and now I am in charge of the account books."
When Mrs. Wang heard this, her heart moved and she looked at Yuanchun aside.
Jia's mother was also a little curious and asked: "I don't know how big the business is and how much money you get in a year?"
Yuanchun explained: "I will withdraw the one to twenty thousand taels of silver per month for purchasing or using silver."
When Jia Mu heard this, she became even more curious and said, "You can also withdraw money?"
Yuan Chunming's eyes were as bright as water and he said softly: "Well, Brother Heng trusts me very much."
In fact, even though Yuanchun was in charge of the financial income and expenditure of Jia Heng's properties, how could his every move be hidden from the eyes and ears of the eldest princess of Jinyang? Naturally, he would not bypass Jia Heng.
This is not a question of whether Jia Heng can trust Yuanchun, but the financial supervision system is a long-term prevention strategy.
But just by granting such financial authority to a woman who has just reached her twenties, this level of trust is enough to make Yuanchun feel inexplicably moved.
Jia Mu smiled and said, "Then did he send you a monthly routine?"
This is a joke.
Yuanchun said softly: "Yes, it's January 20th."
At the end of the sentence, my heart skipped a beat.
I never realized in the past that these twenty-two monthly calculations are the same as the monthly salary of the wife of the house?
Jia's mother smiled and said: "Baoyu, mother, listen to me. Brother Heng said that he should treat the eldest girl badly, so he should treat her right. Our two mothers only have twenty taels per month. Of course, it doesn't mean that we are short of these few taels."
It’s hard for a man of money to think about him.”
When Mrs. Wang heard this, her expression paused for a moment, and the anger in her eyes dissipated a little.
No matter whether Uncle Heng is trying to save face or he is sincerely treating the eldest girl of his family well.
That uncle Heng couldn't bear to wrong the eldest girl.
Aunt Xue smiled and joked: "The eldest girl is praising talented people in the princess's mansion. She is very honorable. I don't want to get any money."
She thought to herself that she wanted her daughter to go to the princess's mansion to praise the talented people. Of course, it was not for the money, but because she could get in touch with the noble people in Tianhuang.
After Mrs. Jia and Aunt Xue played the drums, Mrs. Wang's depression was relieved a lot.
Mother Jia turned to Yuan Chun, smiled and said, "Big girl, you should also go to Dongfu. Don't let Brother Heng and his wife wait in a hurry."
Yuan Chun nodded in agreement, and as he spoke, he also headed towards Ning Guo Mansion.
Prince Chu's Mansion, inner study room
The King of Chu was sitting behind a mahogany table with quiet patterns, holding a writing brush and writing attentively. Under the west window separated by several screens, a woman wearing a red skirt, a green skirt, and a golden hairpin walked swaying.
Sit across the chessboard.
The woman in the red dress has high hair, her skin is as creamy, and her aura is as bright as orchid. She has a silver necklace on her forehead that curves into the shape of a crescent moon. There is a square of jadeite hidden in the middle of her forehead, and her phoenix eyes, painted with rose eyeshadow, are a little bit...
With a sharp look, he was holding a black chess piece in his hand.
The woman in the green skirt opposite was dignified and quiet, with two slender eyebrows like willow leaves, bright eyes with soft waves, looking at the black and white chess field, holding the white chess pieces in her hands, undecided, and silently exuding a bookish air in her movements.
Princess Chu Zhen Qing urged: "It's my sister's turn."
Concubine Liu frowned, put the chess pieces in the chess box aside, and said with a chuckle: "My elder sister is very good at chess, but my younger sister is far behind, so I am willing to lose."
A smile appeared on Concubine Zhen's lips and she said, "Sister, are you giving up now?"
Concubine Liu shook her head and said: "After twenty-nine steps, you will be completely defeated, whether you succeed or not."
Concubine Zhen placed the black chess pieces in the chess box beside her, and her bright jade face showed a slight lack of interest: "Our prince, just now he said that my sister is an excellent chess player."
There is actually a bit of ridicule in saying this.
Zhen Qing was the royal concubine of the King of Chu, and she had a naturally arrogant temperament. When Concubine Liu first entered the palace, Concubine Zhen often made things difficult for her.
The reason why Concubine Zhen is so confident is because her father is Zhen Yingjia, the president of Jinling Provincial Tiren Academy.
Chen and Han established weaving bureaus in Jiangning, Hangzhou and Suzhou in the south of the Yangtze River in order to contribute silk fabrics to the palace. The president of the imperial envoy Tirenyuan was in charge of the affairs. He was an official of the second rank and directly contacted the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
It is under the jurisdiction of the Governor-General of Liangjiang.
Concubine Liu said: "Your Majesty is not good at playing chess, so he sometimes misjudges my chess skills."
Obviously, she has long been accustomed to Concubine Zhen's strength and has resigned herself to it.
"That's right, your chess skills have become more and more foreign recently." Concubine Zhen smiled and said, "It happened that after the New Year, the Jia family's sister came over and there was a piano player. Our sisters played chess amidst the music of the piano.
, but it’s not particularly elegant.”
This statement almost makes Yuan Chun look like a maid, but this is precisely the pride of the Zhen family daughter.
Although her Zhen family is not the home of a duke, if a duke's daughter comes into the family, she will become a concubine.
Concubine Liu pursed her lips and did not respond for a moment.
While the two were talking, the King of Chu also stood up from his seat, walked around the screen, and said with a smile: "What are your two beloved concubines talking about?"
Concubine Zhen said with a smile: "I am talking about the marriage of a girl from the Jia family."
Mentioning this matter, King Chu's smile faded a little and said: "Oh, so is Gu..."
"The prince does not need to explain to me." Concubine Zhen waved her hand and said with a smile, "I am not a jealous woman."
In order to become the queen in the future, she is willing to tolerate it for a while and win over the Jia family. After that, she will always have her own tricks.
However, at this moment, a maid suddenly came from outside the study to report: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Grandma Zhen is back."
When the King of Chu heard this, he felt happy, but his face remained reserved and he said: "The good news must have come, let her come in."
Not long after, Grandma Zhen entered the small hall of the study and met King Chu's expectant and somewhat scrutinizing gaze, and her heart couldn't help but "thump".
She has nothing to trust.
"Mommy, does the Jia family say this?" King Chu asked.
As Concubine Zhen, who was familiar with the changes in Nanny Zhen's demeanor, she frowned, and a cold look flashed through her sleeping eyes.
Are things not going well?
Aunt Zhen said with a bitter face: "I am ashamed that I have not been able to accomplish anything good. Mrs. Jia's wife said that she would wait for General Yunhui to return home to discuss it, but it happened that General Yunhui returned home with the eldest daughter of Jia's family, and General Yunhui came.
Go to Rongqing Hall and express your disapproval of this marriage..."
As he said that, he told everything he had experienced and seen in Rongqing Hall before, down to the smallest detail.
When he heard Jia Heng's words, "He went to his eldest mother's palace, but was moved by the appearance of his maid," the King of Chu's expression suddenly changed, and a chill arose in his heart.
If this spreads out, how should outsiders talk about him?
"Did he really say that about Gu?" King Chu asked with frowning eyes.
Grandma Zhen said: "Everyone in the Jia family listened, and I didn't dare to lie."
The King of Chu paced, his face covered with gloom, and he had a headache for a moment.
Concubine Zhen snorted coldly, and a touch of sarcasm appeared on her beautiful face: "This General Yunhui is quite sharp in his words."
King Chu: "..."
He glanced at Concubine Zhen and thought to himself, which group are you from?
Concubine Zhen said: "My lord, it seems that Jia Heng saw the prince's plan and objected to it. I wonder what the prince plans to do next?"
She asked her nanny to help arrange the marriage, and she had already shown off her attitude as a lady, but in the end she still failed to accomplish anything good. That was God's will, so she can't be blamed for being jealous.
The King of Chu looked uncertain and said, "Let me think about this matter."
Seeing King Chu's solemn expression, Grandma Zhen whispered: "Your Majesty, I think the second wife of the Jia family seems to be very agreeable."
The King of Chu frowned and asked, "Where are Mrs. Rongguo and Jia Zheng?"
"They said they should discuss it first." Grandma Zhen shook her head and said.
The king of Chu was immediately disappointed.
Concubine Zhen sneered: "This is probably an excuse."
King Chu sighed and said: "That's all, let's do this now."
The next step is not to marry the Jia family, but how to eliminate the impact of this matter. If it falls into the ears of the father...
King Chu couldn't help but feel annoyed.
I originally wanted to take things by surprise and create a fait accompli, but now I feel like I shot myself in the foot.