The Red Mansions

Chapter 195

Chapter 195

While the few people were talking, it was already time to hold the lamps.

Jia Heng, Jia Zheng, Jia She and the others also came out of the general manager's hall, and their servants prepared a banquet in the courtyard beside them, entertaining the accountants of Jinyi Mansion and the soldiers of the Beijing camp.

There are staggered toasts, five drinks and six drinks.

Jia Heng also drank two cups with him, and then accompanied his cousins ​​Dong Qian and Xie Zaiyi to accompany the guests. He walked out of the courtyard and walked along the Chaoshou corridor. Seeing Jia Heng, she approached with a smile and called, "Master, Second Grandma Lian asked me to call you. The old lady has set up a meal for you to go and eat together."

Jia Heng nodded and said, "That's it."

Ping'er came forward with a lantern, and said with a light smile, "Grandma Heng's side, I asked Feng'er to inform you just now, saying that I have left food here, so I won't go there for now."

Jia Heng was stunned for a moment, with warm eyes, and said: "Miss Ping'er has a heart."

He eats at the Rongfu, but Qing needs to know about it, so he just forgot about it in a hurry.

Looking at Ping'er in this way, he is really a caring person.

At this moment, Jia Heng raised his eyes to look at the girl. The wind in late autumn was chilly. The lanterns hanging on the gallery were swaying with the wind. On the pearl hairpin among the cloud piles and emerald buns, one can see a string of pearls shining with one big and four small crystals, and under the bangs in the air, that pearly round and jade face becomes more gentle and soft under the light .

Stared at by a pair of clear eyes, Ping'er pursed her glowing lips, her curly eyelashes drooped a bunch of shyness caused by the man's scrutiny, and an imperceptible blush appeared on Chuntao's sweet face, He chuckled lightly and said, "Master Heng, this audit is finally over, Second Mistress Lian said just now that she was sweating from exhaustion, she went back to have someone take a bath..."

As he spoke, his voice gradually became weaker and inaudible, and his heart beat faster and faster.

I thought, what is she talking about, grandma went back to take a bath, what did she tell this boy to do?

She didn't know what she was talking about in a daze just now, and she always felt that if she didn't say something just now, her heart beat faster and she almost couldn't breathe.

When Jia Heng heard this, her eyes froze and she thought, Sister Feng should also take a bath.

I just changed the subject, and said casually: "In the past few years in the West Mansion, there have been these gangs of rats secretly doing bad things. Sister-in-law Feng is supporting herself alone, and she is mentally and physically exhausted. Go take a bath, sleep, and rest for a few days. , is also very good."

Hearing this, Ping'er suppressed the sudden thoughts in her heart, looked at Jia Heng in surprise, her cherry lips moved, and said softly: "Master Heng is indeed doing big things outside, and he can understand the difficulties of Second Mistress. "

She really didn't expect that Uncle Heng would understand Second Mistress Lian so well, and Second Master Lian would never say such words of knowing what is cold and what is hot.

The second master would only say, "Good Fenger, give me 200 taels of silver, I need it urgently."

As Ping'er said in the original book of A Dream of Red Mansions, "The second master, even if the silver falls into the oil pan, he still wants to fish out the flowers."

"Sister-in-law Feng has two mothers-in-law, and there are Baoyu and a group of sisters below, just like the mouse in the bellows, being angry at both ends." Jia Heng smiled lightly, and said: "But who is not difficult? No matter how difficult she is, It's not good to do that wicked side business, you are her caring person, and you will persuade her more in the future, and don't let her do things like collecting money and intervening in lawsuits, you need to know that good and evil will be rewarded in the end."

In the words of a big guy, don't look at the joy of dancing now, be careful about making lists in the future.

Ping'er was stunned for a moment, doubts appeared on his face, and he said, "What did Master Heng say?"

Jia Heng looked at Ping'er's confused expression and said: "It seems that you don't know?"

That's right, Sister Feng and Jia Rong want to avoid Ping'er's usury, but if Ping'er doesn't know anything about it, I'm afraid it's not entirely true.

Ping'er's face changed slightly, and he said softly: "Even though Second Grandma is a bit more aggressive in her daily life, but if she wants to talk about doing unscrupulous business..."

"It seems that she also has something to hide from you." Jia Heng said with a light smile.

Ping'er and Sister Feng also hid some things from each other, such as Qiao Ping'er joking about saving Jia Lian, and helping Jia Lian carry money behind Sister Feng's back to pay for the funeral of Second Sister You, and so on, too numerous to mention.

Hearing this, Ping'er said softly: "Second Mistress is the master, she should keep some things from me."

Jia Heng said: "Okay, let's not talk about this for now, the front is the Rongqing Hall."

Ping'er nodded.

Rongqing Hall

Mother Jia's temple hair was like silver, and she was smiling. Because she took a nap in the afternoon, she was full of energy at the moment, listening to a few people talking about the audit.

Behind him, Yuanyang, Amber, Jade and other maidservants kneaded their shoulders.

I only heard Tan Chun say with a smile: "Old lady, Brother Heng asked the accountant masters in Jinyi Mansion to check everything one by one, and found out that there was a total of 58 taels of silver that were not in the account, and then Wu Xindeng and the others couldn't hold on , I started recruiting, and after a few days, I will make up for the shortfall with money."

When Jia Mu heard the words, she also had a bit of embarrassment on her face, and said: "It looks good on weekdays, but I don't want to steal the property from the house. Alas, it is hard to guard against house thieves by day and night."

Just after taking a bath, she changed into a light yellow dress, wearing a gold silk eight-treasure beaded bun, and the five phoenixes in the morning sun hanging with pearl hairpins. A rosy melon-seeded face was flushed because of the bath, and she was as charming as Chunhuaqiuyue, shining brightly, said charmingly: "Old Ancestor, you don't know, these evil servants are so outrageous, behind them, they arrange all kinds of masters, even the eldest master and the second master dare to arrange them, so I don't need my granddaughter-in-law." said."

When Jia Mu heard the words, she was stunned for a while, and asked, "How did they arrange it?"

Sister Feng said: "It's just some bastard words that underestimate the master. The elder master and the second master are still angry at the moment."

Mother Jia sighed, but it was not easy to ask, and said: "I have indulged them all these years. I thought they had served the mansion for decades, and the whole family and generations were busy. It's not easy, it's okay to live a decent life in private, never thought... oh..."

Sister Feng smiled and comforted her and said, "Old Ancestor, you are benevolent and kind, but your heart is lacking and you don't know how high or low you are. As you talk, people will ride on the master's head."

Thinking about how respectable Lai Da was in the mansion in the past, all the servants in the mansion would call Grandpa Lai, and even her young master would respect her three points.

Jia's mother was silent for a while, and asked: "Wu Xindeng's wife, and Shan Daliang's family, I saw that they were also taken away. Now what do you and Brother Heng plan to do with them?"

After all, I am getting old, and I still have some nostalgia for the past.

This is also human nature, the person who was still waiting in front of me just now, chatting and laughing to relieve boredom, will be taken away the next moment.

Sister Feng said: "Old lady, they have all been sent to Zhuangzi to farm the land, but the shortfall of money has to be made up by their men."

Jia Mu nodded and said, "They are all old servants in the mansion. Even though they have made a big mistake, it is not easy to throw them out, and they will fend for themselves."

Sister Feng laughed and said, "How can I?"

Not to mention anything else, what if these people say they can't know about the master's private affairs, so let them go out and chew maggots carelessly?Besides, if the money is not enough, you still have to work and farm, and the money will come back.

But at this moment, the woman outside came into the room and said: "Old lady, Second Mistress Lian, Uncle Heng is here."

When Jia Mu heard the words, a smile appeared on her face, and she said: "Just now I was talking about Brother Heng, but I didn't want him to come here. Yuanyang, you go and greet me."

Li Wan, Daiyu, Yingchun, Xichun, and Tanchun in the room all stood up or stared.

Well, Baoyu is not here, and I have gone back to write my impressions at the moment.

Tomorrow night is what Jia Heng said, the deadline for handing in homework, if it is delayed any longer, it can only be said that you didn't bring it, however, not bringing it is equal to not writing it.

Mrs. Wang was still sitting in the hall, looking up at two figures, one tall and one lower, reflected in the screen.

She planned to wait for a while to see if she could talk about the found silver in front of the old lady.

The mandarin duck responded with a smile, and before they set off to meet Jia Heng and Heping'er, they saw a man and a woman entering the hall, one in front of the other.

Jia Heng's expression was indifferent, and he saluted Jia's mother who was sitting on the Luohan bed. His eyes glanced at the jewels and emeralds in the Rongqing Hall, and when he found that Baoyu was missing, he asked with a frown, "Why isn't Baoyu here?"

Well, he was just purely curious.

Madam Wang: "..."

Sister Feng smiled and said, "Baoyu has been served by Xiren and Sheyue for a long time, and has gone to write."

Jia Heng nodded and said: "Let him write well, I will read it tomorrow night."

The smile on Jia's mother's face did not diminish. She had already learned from Tanchun that the boy in front of her "educated" Baoyu, so she couldn't say anything, but she could tell the difference.

Jia Mu smiled and nodded, and said: "Brother Heng has worked hard this time, Yuanyang brought Xiudun here, and I will talk to Brother Heng for a while."

The mandarin duck responded, moved the embroidered pier and placed it in front of Jia Mu's right hand, and let Jia Heng sit down with a light smile.

Jia Heng looked indifferent, nodded, and said: "The old lady is polite."

Sister Feng laughed and said: "The old ancestor is the same. If the family doesn't talk about the two families, it would be outrageous to say those things. However, it is not easy for a busy person like Brother Heng to spare time to help check the accounts. You don't know. I took the time to hand over the memorial to the palace, so I was so busy."

When Jia's mother heard this, her face was a little moved, and she looked at Jia Heng in surprise.

"Recently, I'm busy with the emperor's envoy assigned by the sage, and the big case that all civil and military officials are staring at." Jia Heng took the tea from the mandarin duck beside him, nodded at the duck-faced girl with a pretty face, and said: "Old man Madam, when the Duke is here, you also know that the emperor's envoys are in a hurry, and they are watching from inside and outside, so the sooner it is done, the better."

When Jia Mu heard the words, she nodded lightly, sighed, and said, "It's not easy for you to be an official outside."

"Old lady, why don't you start the banquet first." Sister Feng said softly with a smile on her charming face.

Jia Mu smiled and said: "Okay, I forgot, Yuanyang, let them serve the food quickly, Brother Heng is also hungry now."

As they spoke, they also got up and took their seats on a round table. Jia Mu sat at the head, Sister Feng accompanied her on the left, followed by Li Wan, Daiyu, Yingchun and Xichun.

Jia Heng and Tanchun were sitting on Mother Jia's right, while Mrs. Wang was still sitting beside her.

Mother Jia greeted her, and Mrs. Wang just smiled and said, "I've spent some time with Baoyu before, so I'm not too hungry now."

Tanchun was seated next to Jia Heng's right hand. The naive young girl seemed to have just changed her clothes. She was wearing a peach blossom light pink dress, with a rosy white face and a thin layer of makeup. For a girl of this age, In fact, it is not suitable for too much makeup, youth is the best rouge and gouache, the jade hand with the jade bracelet picked up a teacup, said with a light smile: "Brother Heng just said that you are not good, but the thing about you Faden Wengu the day before yesterday Son?"

"You know if you don't want to." Jia Heng put down the teacup, turned to look at the handsome girl with handsome eyes and sculpted eyebrows, and said with a smile.

She really deserves to be the person who can be a princess in the original book, and she is very sensitive to these things.

The people at the table all looked at the two of them when they heard the words, because Jia Heng was the center of their eyes at the moment, every word and smile, even Mrs. Wang who was on the side cast a pair of cold eyes.

Tanchun said softly: "There is a lot of noise in Beijing about this matter, and my sister-in-law was also talking about this matter yesterday, so she was a little curious, as long as Brother Heng doesn't think I'm talking too much."

"Why? It's rare for the third sister to be interested in these things." Jia Heng smiled and said, "However, since it's an official business and the matter is confidential, it's hard to say much now. After a while, the dust will settle. , and tell you the ins and outs of the future."

Earlier, this girl had reminded him a little bit, and he could see that this girl was very interested in politics.

"I have a lot of doubts and I am asking brother Heng for advice." Tan Chun said with a smile, his eyes full of autumn water.

Because they are sisters from the same clan, and Jia Heng is the patriarch of the Jia clan, no one felt that there was anything wrong with this statement.

Jia Muyin said with a smile: "Aren't you going to be an official? Ask me what to do, and have dinner during the banquet. You are not allowed to talk about official affairs."

When it came to the end, he deliberately raised his face, but obviously everyone knew it was just for fun.

Sister Feng also echoed with a smile, and said: "Let's talk about this again, Brother Heng will punish himself with a glass."

Jiamu watched this scene with a smile, and thought, how many years, when her husband was around, she talked about some outside things during the meal, and she listened quietly, all the things in the past seemed like yesterday.

At that time, it was still a time when the palace was relying heavily on it. Since when did these things no longer exist in Rongqingtang?

Perhaps at that time, she already knew that in this Duke's mansion, she was able to encourage and support the momentum, and she was already worthy of the Duke who was under the nine springs.

But now, from this branch of Ningguo, we can see some signs of revival.

When everyone heard the words, they didn't say anything anymore, started the dishes and had dinner.

……

……

The night was dark, and a crescent moon hung on the black sky, sprinkled with thousands of cold moonlight.

In the majestic and majestic Daming Palace, the lights are brightly lit, and the floor is as clear as water, reflecting the figures of court ladies and eunuchs standing with their hands down.

In the inner study, Emperor Chongping had just had dinner with the inner eunuch. He was sitting behind the desk, holding Jia Heng's memorabilia and watching it by candlelight. A summary of the investigations delivered by the internal investigation factory.

The memorabilia is Jia Heng's memorabilia.

Emperor Chongping put down the memorial, a trace of thought appeared on his resolute and indifferent face.

Dai Quan hesitated for a while, then said softly: "Your Majesty, this Jia Heng...does he overstep a bit?"

When he read the investigative report earlier, he felt terrified. Tian Zijian threatened to lend it to Jia Huan?This is too bold.

But looking at the person's Dulwich theory about Tianzijian in the report from the detective, he felt that this was not the case.

"Jia Zheng had three sons, the eldest son Jia Zhu died young, and the concubine Jia Huan, I heard that he was raised in the hands of a woman. If Jia Huan has one or two benefits in the future, why not lend him the sword of the Son of Heaven?" Emperor Chongping's eyes fell on the memorial, but his heart was lingering in his heart, "Use his virtue instead of his prestige. , the Son of Heaven Sword is not only the sword of authority, but also the sword of holiness."

As in the future, the monarch and his ministers have a beginning and an end. This matter is recorded in the history of the country.

Hearing this, Dai Quan sighed in his heart that Jia Heng was really a holy family member. After thinking for a while, he said: "Your Majesty, the Jia family is most likely to rectify the family affairs and check the deficit. The government investigated the deficit of more than 100 million taels of silver."

Emperor Chongping nodded, walked to the carved window with his hands behind his back, looked at the vast night, and said in a low voice: "Since my personal administration, I have seen that the household department has a lot of deficits, and the Zhen family in the south of the Yangtze River, because of welcoming Taizu and Taishanghuang The Southern Tour also ran into a lot of deficits, they were in charge of the Jiangning Weaving Mansion, and they embezzled a lot of official silver, so that the Zhen family utensils are used for clothing and food, which is extravagant."

At the end of Emperor Chongping's speech, there was a bit of sternness in his eyes.

Jia Heng investigated the Lai family and other slaves, and made up for the loss of more than one million taels of silver in the public. If he inspected the slaves of the Zhen family and other heavenly families, how much money would he get?

Dai Quan's complexion changed, and he said, "Your Majesty, Mother Zhen and the Empress Dowager..."

"There's only one Nanny Lai on the left and right." Emperor Chongping snorted coldly and said solemnly.

The situation of the Jia family is almost the same as the predicament he is facing now. The old lady of the Zhen family used to have an affair with the queen mother, and the queen mother even received the favor of the deceased old prince of the Zhen family.

Emperor Chongping pondered for a while, and said again: "You wait to pass down my oral order, and let Lu Jingyao and Ji Yingtian from Jinyi Mansion fully cooperate with Jia Heng."

Hearing this, Dai Quan's heart skipped a beat, and he cupped his hands and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, this servant is going now."

Emperor Chongping watched Dai Quan leave. This wealthy emperor felt a feeling of "jealousy" that he absolutely did not want to admit.

"Ten lands and nine disasters in the world, the Hulu in the north are disasters, and the Ministry of Household Affairs has become more and more unable to support it in the past two years, and the salt tax in the south is not good this year, and it has lost 300 million taels. In the coming year, the Zhen family may Let’s try it out.”

It can be said that because Jia Heng's search of Lai's house brought a lot of excitement to the emperor, he already had the intention to search Zhen's house in advance.

A mere servant has accumulated millions of taels of silver in more than ten years. If the Zhen family is raided, wouldn't he get at least five or six million taels of silver?Give the treasury another blood transfusion?

(End of this chapter)