Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 396 Return to the capital city
The backyard of Rongguo Mansion,

Sister-in-law Liu stood in the corridor uneasily. The servants and maids around her didn't leave, they all knew that the matter was not over yet.

Although Dai Liang said the same thing, the cold wind blew and the back of his neck felt chilly. He wanted to say a few words to make people disperse, but no one around him dared to move.

I felt uneasy and couldn't help but have someone write to Butler Zhou to inform him of the situation here.

Before Butler Zhou arrived, Wang Xifeng led people over here. Looking at the aggressive second grandmother, wearing a fox fur and leading a large group of people, Dai Liang suddenly broke out in cold sweat, and Sister-in-law Liu also took a beating. Ji Ling, not to mention the servants and maids around him, all lowered their heads and did not dare to say a word.

When Wang Xifeng entered the courtyard, he glanced around at everyone.

The servants and maids around were so angry that they didn't dare to breathe. Sister-in-law Liu couldn't bear it, so she came to the yard and said;

"Second Grandma, it's not that I don't let you cook it. It's just that the ingredients are not enough. The money for those pastries is almost gone. Manager Dai stopped me just now, and the servant is not good at talking."

Wang Xifeng snorted coldly and asked sharply,

"When did you become the steward of the Rongguo Mansion? Do I, Wang Xifeng, want to call you sister-in-law and let you take charge of the Jia family? You are in charge of the kitchen. You can do whatever I ask you to do. There are so many reasons, Then let me ask you, it’s a joke that the kitchen expenses are not enough, the money given by the government every month is sufficient, it is not enough, so where did the money go?”

"This this,"

Sister-in-law Liu didn't know where the money had gone. It was obvious that someone had taken it. She couldn't help but look at Dai Liang. The man gritted his teeth, walked out and said;
"Hey, Second Grandma, it's cold and the things outside are expensive, so just buy what you need, and buy more when it gets cheaper."

Wang Xifeng squinted at the person who spoke. She looked unfamiliar, but she also knew that it was Baotou from the house. All the materials used had passed through this person's hands. Behind him was Butler Zhou Rui. She knew about this and didn't want to Ask, but it’s not enough to be shameless.

"Who do you think you are? How dare you talk to me like that? What are you doing in a daze? Let him remember it and hit him with thirty sticks first."

"Yes, Second Grandma,"

The guards following behind him didn't expect to fight, so several people surrounded him. The two of them held Dai Liang down, kicked him to the ground, and then started beating him with sticks in their hands.

With just one stick, Dai Liang started wailing, and the whole courtyard was shocked. Sister-in-law Liu's face turned pale and she knelt down in fear.
"Grandma, I know something went wrong, please spare me."

"If it weren't for the fact that you are good at your craftsmanship and you are still an old man, I will sell it to you today, but there will still be punishment. Ping'er will give her ten boards, slap her face, and make her remember better. What are you waiting for? Just hold her down. .”

"Yes, Second Grandma."

Wang Xifeng wanted to give Sister-in-law Liu a hard blow, but she didn't expect that Sister-in-law Liu immediately knelt down and begged for mercy when she saw that the situation was not good. She thought that this person had always been in charge of the kitchen. Considering this person's skills, I can only give her a gentle punishment and give her a long memory.

Ping'er asked the two guards to hold one arm on each side, then held a board in one hand and pulled Sister Liu's hair with the other, and then slapped her hard.

"what,"

A scream made the people in the hospital lower their heads unconsciously again.

Wang Xifeng waited for the two to finish their punishment, and then said;

"For the sake of the second wife, let's forget this matter. I'll give you a memory. If there is a next time, it won't be so simple. As for you, please think about it and go back to rest."

"Yes, Second Grandma."

After Wang Xifeng finished speaking, she pointed at the people around her. The servants and maids in the courtyard responded with trembling silence. Looking at the two people who were still humming on the ground, they waved their hands and led them back.

When Wang Xifeng and others left,

The corner not far away,

Qian Hua glanced outside with a horrified look. He didn't expect the second mistress to be so ruthless, as if she was a completely different person, and she actually practiced family law in the mansion. This kind of thing hadn't happened in Rongguo Mansion for a long time.

As for the two people who were still wailing in the yard, Qian Hua did not come forward. He just asked the servant and the maid to help them go back to the house to rest. He pretended that nothing happened and went back to his yard.

This behavior is obviously hard for others to understand. Why don't you go to the second wife's side?

The people sent by Dai Liang went to Butler Zhou Rui and told them about the matter. Unexpectedly, Butler Zhou cursed directly;
"Idiot, you don't even know your last name, get out of here,"

I was also a little surprised in my heart that the Second Mistress actually made a move in the house. This had never happened before, but after thinking about it, in recent times, the power of the Second Mistress inside and outside the house has been increasing day by day. To put it bluntly, the matter of recruiting people from outside, Zhou Rui naturally knew, but not a single penny was touched in the public account of the house, and no one interfered. After all, no one had any extra income. Under the light, Butler Zhou's face was uncertain, but he still did not dare to interfere in this matter. So he sent someone.

Outside the house,

Lin Hongyu naturally found the shopkeeper of the wine shop and asked the shopkeeper if he wanted five hundred portions of late-night snacks.

The shopkeeper nodded in agreement without saying a word, then woke up the waiter, the chef, the helpers and others. They lit the fire all night and started cooking. The remaining meat and vegetables were also stewed. Wang Xifeng even brought people out to watch. For a moment.

After finishing one part, he asked the guards to go to the Chamber of Commerce to call for people. The Jia family members came to eat happily. It was a lively and noisy scene. Everyone who entered the door greeted Wang Xifeng, and the power was sufficient.

On the other hand, within the house, after this incident, word spread quickly among the servants, and many servants and maids were wary. The second mistress must be strict in the past few days, as if Jia's house suddenly became deserted.

It was in sharp contrast to the excitement outside the house.The clouds passed like smoke,

the rising sun,

The chill of early spring is gone.

It seemed like half a month passed by. I wandered around the Grand Canal for so long, almost bored, before I arrived at the dock on the outskirts of the capital.

Arriving at the end of the earth,

Before Zhang Jinyu's naval vessel docked, the guardsmen got the message and hurried over to clear the dock, driving people around, causing a lot of commotion.

When the ship docked, naturally the Pioneer Battalion under his command disembarked first with men and horses to take control of the dock. Then Eunuch Zhao sent people to inform the people of the Imperial City Department that the long-awaited mules and carriages were waiting at the guard camp. Wait, gather people as soon as they arrive.

It turns out that Zhang Jinyu and Zhao Si had jointly submitted a report before they came, asking the emperor to make a decision on the confiscated property, amounting to tens of millions of taels.

A secret message also came from the capital, asking Luo Yunhou and Zhao Si to escort the money to the capital in person. Bring the money directly and pay it into the internal fund. Naturally, the emperor has to listen to his words. The imperial city The company's people had already prepared their cars and waited at the dock.

When Eunuch Zhao got off the ship, he arranged for Li Qianhu and Ji Yunhui to lead the troops and watch the boxes of money being moved. There must not be any mistakes. If something went wrong and the emperor was jealous, his life would be over. .

Then, Eunuch Zhao saw Luo Yunhou and his family disembarking from the boat. There were only more than 20 large boxes carried from the boat. None of the extra items were found. He was still a little puzzled, but when he thought about it, he broke into a cold sweat. , I brought so much cash, it would be troublesome if the emperor found out.

After taking a look at the huge ship at the pier, he knew that the ship belonged to the Hou Mansion. He thought of a way, walked over quickly, grabbed Zhang Jinyu's arm, and said,
"Master Hou, you have to help a bunch of miscellaneous families."

Zhang Jinyu was a little puzzled when Eunuch Zhao suddenly pulled her sleeves, and asked,
"Brother Zhao said it clearly, what does this mean?"

"May I ask, Lord Marquis, where is your money?"

Seeing Eunuch Zhao's cautious look, Zhang Jinyu knew what was going on. It couldn't be that the old eunuch was too greedy and took too much. There were many people at this time, and he was afraid that he would be exposed, so he tried to ask;

"How much money did Brother Zhao get?"

A trace of uneasiness flashed across Zhao Si's face, his face twitched, and he whispered;

"Master Marquis, you gave it to me at first, and then the Za family plundered some more. It wasn't much, almost more than 300 million taels of silver. I left in a hurry and it was all in cash. I didn't have time to exchange it for banknotes. Now it's all on the boat, but it's too conspicuous. Well, there are so many spies around, I’m afraid I won’t be able to get lucky.”

Zhang Jinyu looked over with wide eyes, "Good guy, you can scrape out another two ounces of oil right under your nose. You are truly worthy of being a eunuch who ransacked your house. Even if he was ruthless, it was all in cash."

"Brother Zhao, what do you want to do?"

"Please also ask the Marquis to lend a helping hand, and the Za family will be richly rewarded."

Eunuch Zhao had no choice but to seek help from Marquis Luo Yun and went to the south of the Yangtze River. It was absolutely impossible for him to give up the money, just like taking his own life.

Zhang Jinyu looked around and saw that there should be a lot of secret spies in the dock town. This matter was a bit troublesome, but it was a minor matter.

"Brother Zhao, don't be embarrassed. The previous two million was worth two taels of silver. I had already exchanged it for you in banknotes. Now that it's with me, the other one million or so of silver you have is really not enough. Don't unload it until tonight." Then transfer it to the building ship of the Marquis Mansion and slowly transport it again in the future, is that feasible?"

Zhao Si clapped his hands, a good idea, worthy of the Marquis, and said with a smile;
"Master Hou has some foresight. I'll keep those banknotes with Master Hou for the time being. Don't worry. However, Master Hou, the Za family does not agree. You said that if the two of us didn't take a box of silver, we wouldn't bring anything back." It will definitely cause unnecessary trouble."

Zhang Jinyu saw Eunuch Zhao's hand and pointed in the direction of Da Nei, but she still didn't understand what it meant.

"What does Brother Zhao mean?"

"Oh, Lord Marquis hasn't understood yet. When the water is clear, there will be no fish. The two of us went to the south of the Yangtze River. How could we not be greedy and bring back some money?"

Only then did Zhang Jinyu understand what Eunuch Zhao meant. He wanted to steal money through corruption. It was reasonable to think that after bringing so much money to the emperor, it would be strange if he didn't take it at all. What's more, the emperor was always suspicious, so he glanced at Zhao again. Father-in-law, I have to say that the dead eunuch has a good eye and figured out the emperor's temper in the palace.

"What does Eunuch Zhao mean?"

"Master Hou, the Zajia are not stingy. There is 110 million silver in cash on board. The Marquis brought back 60 taels of silver to the Hou Mansion, and the Zajia brought back the rest. This silver is just a little bit of the Zajia's kindness."

Looking at Eunuch Zhao who was still cheerful, Zhang Jinyu admired this man for his ability to bend and stretch, and his neatness in doing things. It was a pity that he was just a eunuch, otherwise he would also be a jester, so he agreed,

"Okay, just as Eunuch Zhao said, when things get settled, Eunuch Zhao and I will have a good get-together. We still have business to do."

When Zhao Si heard that the Marquis had a business to do, his eyes lit up and he smiled;

"Then we must sit down. When the Marquis arrives, the Za family will be in trouble."

"Haha, I wish I could."

(End of this chapter)