King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 43

Because of his loyalty, Lin Ruhai considered issues from the standpoint of the emperor, and that's why he said something to Jia Yucun.

In fact, the different choices of Jinling officials are ultimately due to their different positions.

Of course, from being demoted to being reinstated, Jia Yucun knew how to think for himself.

So he listened to Lin Ruhai's words, but he was not persuaded for the time being, because he had to seriously consider his own interests.

At present, only a small part of Ying Tianfu's accounts has not been investigated. Even if there are problems in these, it has nothing to do with Jia Yucun, the new prefect.

In other words, Jia Yucun has no crisis at all, so he is not busy making choices.

But he is very clear that a crisis also represents an opportunity, and if it is handled properly, it may save ten years of effort.

The previous experience of being dismissed from office made him feel insecure in the officialdom, so he wanted to make the official bigger, and the goal even went straight to the cabinet center.

Sitting in the sedan chair, Jia Yucun frowned and thought, thinking about Lin Ruhai's words over and over in his mind.

In fact, Qian Ruiming approached him a few days ago and was guiding him to stand in line, but Jia Yucun fudged him.

In the past few days, he has not been idle, while collecting news from various government offices and Beijing, and at the same time carefully analyzing and considering it.

He has already figured out the general context of factional struggles, so it depends on how to choose next.

"If you choose, there is a risk of choosing the wrong one. If you really want to choose... you can only choose according to your majesty's hope as brother Lin said!" Jia Yucun secretly thought.

But this will create another problem, helping the prince will offend Prince Rui, which is also a trouble for him.

Should we continue to pretend to be stupid... Jia Yucun was extremely conflicted at the moment.

At Xue's house on the other side, Xue Pan was also frowning.

From the beginning to the end, he didn't intend to sue. It made him miserable at this point. Today, he really wanted to withdraw the lawsuit in court.

But thinking of the situation with the knife resting on his neck that day, Xue Pan couldn't help shivering, and the thought of retreating disappeared immediately.

"You mean... Zhenjiang Mansion didn't issue tickets for us?"

"Exactly..."

After answering a sentence, the steward of the Xue family went on to say: "Our boat can't get through, so the grain we bought can only be piled up. Unfortunately, there are not enough warehouses in Taixing, and a lot of grain is piled up in the open air!"

"If it rains, I'm afraid the food will be rotten..."

Xue Pan clenched his fists, and said viciously: "Those people in Zhenjiang Mansion usually take advantage of us, but now they trip me up, they are really beasts!"

The steward hesitated for a while, but couldn't help but said: "Master, I'm afraid this matter... has something to do with our family's case!"

"I'm suing Hu Jin'an, how much does it have anything to do with Zhenjiang Mansion? Nonsense..."

Not everyone can see the general trend clearly. Even Jia Yucun has to collect a lot of information, and only after a few days of analysis can he sort out the context.

At this moment, Xue Pan retorted, and the steward also felt that he was thinking too much, so he stopped talking.

The steward said something else before leaving the living room, leaving Xue Pan to drink alone.

"Master, the wife has passed the meal!"

"I know, I know……"

Xue Pan waved his hands away impatiently, and the servant girl was afraid of suffering unreasonable disaster, so she hurriedly withdrew.

Although Xue Pan is an adult, he has not yet married, and the big house is sparsely populated, so they always eat together.

After taking another sip of mulled wine, Xue Pan set off for the inner house.

"Look at you, what time is it now, and you still drink so much...how come you can't grow up!"

Smelling the smell of alcohol on her son, Aunt Xue couldn't help scolding her, while Xue Pan just sat there indifferently.

The maids and women quickly put out the meals, but Xue Pan had no appetite for the delicacies, and kept thinking about the emperor's mission.

"Why didn't Baochai come?"

"Mrs. Lin, I have just passed the message, and the girl said that she will come over after the handkerchief is embroidered!" The servant girl replied.

Aristocratic ladies in this era, in addition to reading and writing, are also working as female workers, and the latter is especially important.

"It's not too late, call her again...Why are you so hungry!"

When the voice fell, voices had already been heard from the back hall, but it was Baochai and some maidservants who came over.

"mother……"

"Sit down!" Seeing her daughter coming, Aunt Xue finally smiled.

The family of three ate for a while, seeing his elder brother frowning, Baochai couldn't help asking: "Brother...are you worried about the case?"

My younger sister Bingxue is smart, maybe she can come up with a solution... Xue Pan thought about it, and then told the embarrassment of the government.

"Little sister, what do you think should be done? The food can't be delayed, if something happens, you'll lose your head!"

What they prepared was military rations, and if they were not delivered on time, the prison supervisor would punish them severely.

"The crown prince came to suppress the Japanese, and these grains are prepared for the crown prince. Why don't you try to report this matter to the crown prince?" Baochai replied softly.

Xue Pan looked guilty: "It's not impossible, it's just that I don't have an official status, so I can't send news to the prince!"

Although Xue Pan's grandfather was only a member of Zhongshushe, he was the confidant of the ancestor Zhu Shenzhuo back then. Although his official rank was low, his status was respected.

Xue Pan's father was a juren after all, and he held the title of head of the household department during his lifetime, and he was also a serious official.

Thinking of this, Aunt Xue only felt angry, and the more she looked at Xue Pan, the more she felt displeased.

"Over the years, many officials have made good friends with the family, why don't you find their way?" Baochai frowned.

"This... before this group of people came to borrow money, most of them were blocked by me. Now I ask them for help, I'm afraid..."

"Tell me about you, what can you do? When your father left, he said..."

When Aunt Xue was about to train her son again, she heard Baochai say: "I remember my aunt's letter before, saying that Jia Yucun, the magistrate of Yingtian, was recommended by my uncle's family before he could come to Yingtian to work..."

"Brother, why don't you ask this person for help?"

"No... If he arrives at Yingtian, our family will offend him, right?" Baochai said as he looked at his elder brother.

"Since there is such a relationship, then I will give it a try!"

Xue Pan was also really anxious, so that he didn't even want to eat, so he got up and rushed outside.

Baochai hurriedly persuaded: "Brother, don't be in a hurry. It's getting late today, wouldn't it be rude to rush to the mansion? Go tomorrow morning!"

Thinking about the truth, Xue Pan could only turn around and come back, sighed and started to eat.

"Pan'er, you have to find a way as soon as possible to get the official status of the Ministry of Finance, otherwise how can you support the family!" Aunt Xue sighed, her face full of sorrow clearly visible.

Amidst Aunt Xue's nagging, the family of three finished their dinner and talked for a while before leaving.

Walking in the corridor of the inner house without saying a word, Baochai stopped at the corner, leaned on the railing and looked at the stars in the sky, and finally let out a sigh.

Originally, there was instability within the family, but now they are encountering these troubles, and the ups and downs make it hard to feel at ease.

However, the elder brother who is the pillar is unreliable, which makes Baochai not worried.

Behind her, only Ying'er, the close maid, followed.

"Girl, what's on your mind?" Ying'er couldn't help asking.

In her heart, Baochai, who is smart and wise, is like a fairy in the sky, so why can't she resolve her worries.

"You know what's on your mind!"

"Of course I understand, girl...does she miss her future husband?" At this point, Ying'er laughed.

Although the two of them are master and servant, their relationship is not so good, and Ying'er dared to joke when there was no one around.

Knowing that Yinger wanted to make her happy, Baochai didn't get angry, but turned her face and said, "Yinger, don't eat jujube cake for this month!"

Hearing this, Yinger was immediately dumbfounded.

(End of this chapter)