Sword of the Red Chamber from Heaven

Chapter 673 Arrangement, Hidden Stake

The sky is getting dark and the lights are coming on.

This conversation actually took up half a day, and by the time the table was filled with delicacies again, it was already evening.

Aunt Xue finally made up her mind, took out some silver and handed it to Xue Ren.

"I will explain the follow-up matters to my sister. This matter is indeed risky, but the benefits are also huge. Our Xue family can't afford it all by ourselves. If we force ourselves to eat it, we will eat ourselves to death."

"It would be best if the Duke's Mansion also intervenes in this matter. Otherwise, when the capital is settled, we will be eaten up by those people and nothing will be left."

"What the sister-in-law said makes sense."

  Xue Ren nodded slightly when he heard what Aunt Xue said. This was why he talked about this deal with Aunt Xue and others. He still had some spare money, which was more than enough to buy a few streets at this special time, but what about the future?

For a child to carry gold through a busy street is asking for death.

Different perspectives lead to different things.

There is no comparison between an emperor who holds the world in his hands and a wealthy man with a fortune of millions. A word from the emperor may make countless wealthy people disappear into thin air. In the eyes of some people, a rich man without military power is just a puppet who can take whatever he wants.

Those wealthy people who have both money and military power can no longer be called wealthy businessmen. They can perhaps be called princes.

Today, the imperial court does not allow individuals to have their own private armed forces, which cuts off the possibility of wealthy businessmen becoming princes. Even if they raise assassins and develop their power in private, they cannot be stopped by the imperial court's army.

Just like the Zhen family in Jiangnan, their power is so great that they can almost cover the sky with one hand. This is even though they are officials, they still cannot stop the iron hoof of Jia Hong's men.

This is true for a place and a country.

A country that is rich but lacks sufficient power to protect itself is fat meat in the eyes of foreign races, and anyone can take a bite, just like the Song Dynasty that has disappeared in history. To put it nicely, it is a country that is in a corner, but to put it bluntly, it is just a fat sheep raised by foreign races that can be chopped down at any time.

This is also the fundamental reason why those wealthy businessmen tried every means and sharpened their heads to get to know court officials and enter the court.

On the other side, a very ordinary-looking maid brought the prepared food to the table from the small kitchen. Then she whispered something to another maid beside her, with an embarrassed look on her face, and she slipped away with a red face.

The little maid who stayed behind shook her head helplessly at the maid's behavior. Then, she looked into the hall where people had already started toasting and muttered something in a low voice.

"Fortunately, everything has been prepared. If it hadn't been done by now, I don't know what kind of embarrassment Cui Er would have made."

After saying this, she stood back in her original position obediently.

The little maid who left was named Cui'er. She was one of the maids bought from outside after Aunt Xue came to the Duke's Mansion. She was nimble and her only shortcoming was her average looks. It could even be said that she was not recognizable at all. Even if you put her on the street, you might mistake her for someone else.

However, for Aunt Xue, this shortcoming of the other party is better to be called an advantage. At least when such a little maid is placed in the room, she does not have to worry about the other party causing trouble for her. However, she did not know that the little maid named Cui'er went to the small kitchen after leaving Lixiang Courtyard. At this time, there was only one elderly woman left in the small kitchen.

Because of her excellent cooking skills and her expertise in Jianghuai cuisine, she was recruited by Aunt Xue.

After Cui Er arrived here, she first glanced around and then said, "The second master of the Xue family is really amazing. All those old things have been dug up. The grandmother, the young lady, and the young master seem to know that the things that happened back then were the work of the marquis, but they don't seem to plan to take revenge."

"The second master of the Xue family has traveled a lot and seen a lot. He guessed that the Marquis was a god. This time the rebel king of Dongping was approaching the capital, he made up his mind not to leave. He also won over the grandmother and the young lady, and even planned to bring in the Jia family to take the opportunity to buy up the properties on the street that were eager to sell, intending to take a gamble!"

"He does have some self-awareness!"

The woman spoke calmly and did not comment too much on the Xue family's choice.

Then, she looked at Cui Er again and said softly, "We should not underestimate the world. I didn't expect that the second master of the Xue family could actually find out so much information. It's true that you can't judge a person by his appearance, and you can't measure the depth of the sea!!"

Cui Er thought about it, nodded seriously, and then said, "What a pity, what a pity..."

The little maidservant said casually twice, "What a pity."

The woman didn't say anything, but she understood Cui'er's meaning. She had never met Xue Ren, but from Cui'er's description it was not difficult to understand that he was a shrewd and knowledgeable man, so he could find out so many things.

But he overlooked one thing, that is, their existence. The Xue family knew that Jia Hong did it, but didn't Jia Hong know it himself? Jia Hong had already arranged people around them. This is called knowing yourself and the enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles.

Just like Cui'er said, fortunately Xue Ren and Aunt Xue did not have the intention of revenge, otherwise what would be waiting for them was not great wealth but danger to their lives.

"Okay, I already know what happened. You should go back first. Be smart and don't let them see anything. Although they dare not touch you, some things are not good."

Cui'er nodded, and looked around with her ears open. When she found that there was no one, she returned to her previous embarrassed expression and slowly walked away.

Not long after, the woman walked along a more secluded path from the corner gate of Ningrong Street and arrived at the Ningguo Mansion, or more precisely, the imperial concubine's villa.

She placed the inconspicuous little note in her hand inside a relatively hidden bird cage outside the courtyard where Jia Hong lived in the Ningguo Mansion. After putting it down, the woman left without looking back. Less than half a cup of tea later, another woman came and took the thing away.

After several rounds of communication, Lu Yi received the news soon. After reading it, she passed it to Jia Hong. In fact, she would not disturb Jia Hong about such trivial matters, but since it concerned Jia Hong himself, she felt that it was necessary for Jia Hong to know it.

After reading the contents, Jia Hong frowned. He never thought that the person he had saved casually back then would have such thoughts. The Xue family deserved the punishment for what they had done back then, but even if it was attributed to him, he didn't care.

When he saw that the Xue family members had no thoughts of revenge, he simply rubbed the note into ashes.

"He who knows others is wise, and he who knows himself is enlightened. They are all smart people..."