Red Mansion Huacai

Chapter 342: Live Up to My Expectations
Tanchun and Xichun were furious. After all, Grandmother Jia was an experienced person, and she was choked when she heard the words. She didn't like the Xue family mother and daughter in the first place, and she had loved Baoyu for more than ten years. If it was just an ordinary mistake, she would always defend him. But such a thing even implicated the girls in the family, not to mention Daiyu who had just received the imperial edict.

Yu Shi, who was standing aside, watched the other party's heart with her nose, and did not care about the matter. She was planning to bring her second sister into the Rongguo Mansion in the future. Mrs. Xing was not a smart person to begin with, and she had a grudge against Mrs. Wang from a long time ago. Naturally, she would not miss the opportunity to add insult to injury.

Mrs. Xing frowned and said, "This Baoyu is becoming more and more outrageous. How can the poems of the boudoir sisters be spread out casually?"

Hearing this, Jia's mother sighed inwardly. She knew her eldest daughter-in-law had bad intentions, but it was not easy to point it out now. After all, it was Baoyu who made the mistake. So she said, "Don't worry, Madam. Was the poem that was spread out a copy or printed?"

Aunt Xue said, "It is only a copy now, but if we don't stop it, I'm afraid it will be published someday."

Baochai replied, "The old lady didn't know. It's fine if it's just the copy. I heard that the manuscript is now pledged to Wenmo Bookstore. Madam went to negotiate and found out that the bookstore is the business of Prince Zhongshun."

Although the Xue family had fallen into decline, they were very good at using their reputation to gain a big reputation. If it was an ordinary bookstore without roots, no matter if it was the Wang family or the Jia family, the shopkeeper would always give it some face. But it happened that Wenmo Bookstore was the business of the Zhongshun Palace. Because of the grudges in the past, let alone the Jia family, even if Wang Ziteng came in person, the Zhongshun Palace would not give him any face.

Xichun didn't quite understand what he said, and said in surprise, "There aren't many good poems and lyrics that we sisters created for fun. I'm afraid no one would buy them even if they were printed. What's the point of Wenmo Bookstore?"

After the words fell, Tanchun gritted her teeth and said, "What else can I do? Prince Zhongshun is not magnanimous, and he has a grudge against our family. I'm afraid this move is purely to disgust people!"

If Tanchun could think of it, then so could Grandmother Jia. At this point, I'm afraid it would be useless even if Rongguo Mansion stepped in, but they still had to step in!

Whether it is to give an explanation to the Xue family or to recover those boudoir poems, people must be sent to Wenmo Bookstore to put pressure on it.

After thinking it over, Grandmother Jia said, "Tan girl, go to the front to see if Lian'er is there. If you have time, ask your second brother to send a letter to Wenmo Bookstore!"

Tanchun took the order and left quickly.

Grandmother Jia sighed, then frowned and said to Aunt Xue, "Don't worry, Madam. Once the invitation is sent, there will always be a chance for this matter to be resolved."

Aunt Xue was hesitant to speak... She knew about the grudges between Prince Zhongshun's Mansion and the Jia family. They had even had a fight with the Jia family over a little opera actor. Could they still save face for the Jia family now?

Grandmother Jia added, "Bao-yu is still in the academy now. When he comes back, I will definitely give him a good scolding to vent my anger on Auntie and Bao-ya-tou."

Aunt Xue said reluctantly, "Baoyu may have drunk too much and didn't pay attention." What else could she say? She was thinking that she might have to go to the Wang family again. After all, her brother Wang Ziteng still held an important position, so he should have more favor than the Jia family.

The mother and daughter patiently drank a cup of tea, then immediately got up and said goodbye, without mentioning anything about visiting Mrs. Wang.

Now that Mrs. Wang is confined in her room, it would be awkward for both the inside and outside of us to meet. Rather than that, it would be better not to meet.

Tanchun escorted the Xue mother and daughter out of the ceremonial gate. Aunt Xue and Baochai got on the carriage. When they got inside, the mother and daughter both looked worried.

If the reputation of this "talented woman" spreads, I'm afraid people in the market will gossip about her behind her back. The Xue family is in a very bad situation now. Not only does they have a daughter-in-law who is making trouble, but they have also encountered such an unprovoked disaster outside.

When the carriage rumbled out of Rongguo Mansion, Aunt Xue told them to go to Wang's house. She turned around and said to Baochai, "Before, I thought Baoyu was a good person because of your aunt's feelings... Who knew he would do such a useless thing?"

Baochai sighed. Although she had no romantic feelings for Baoyu, she still remembered their past relationship and said, "Brother Bao has no bad intentions. He must have been fooled this time."

"No matter how much you coax her, you can't act without discretion. If this boudoir poem gets out, how will people outside look at you?"

Baochai said with a little frustration: "At this point, mother still expects her daughter to marry into a wealthy family?"

The foundation of the imperial merchants was long gone, and the Xue family is now just a merchant. Although the scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans have been freely transferred since Emperor Taizong, the officials still look down on merchants, and this cannot be changed easily. The wealthy families in Jiangnan, even if they started out as merchants, would try to pretend to be farmers and scholars, fearing that their children would be harassed in the future when they enter the officialdom.

If it was just an ordinary merchant, it would be fine. Who doesn't know Xue Pan's temper? Even if someone was attracted to Baochai, they would have to retreat after taking a look at Xue Pan's character.

Aunt Xue was surprised and asked, "My son, what do you think?"

Baochai said, "If it were up to my daughter, she would marry a capable scholar."

"No!" Aunt Xue said loudly, "Not to mention a juren, even an ordinary jinshi is not acceptable!" Then she begged in a low voice, "If you marry someone of a lower status, how can I feel at ease with your brother alone?"

Baochai wanted to argue, why should her own marriage be determined by Xue Pan? But seeing Aunt Xue's sad eyes, she could not say the words that were on her lips.

She sighed again, thought for a while, and then smiled bitterly, "Then my daughter can't find a rich family to be her second wife, right?"

It was just a joke, but when she finished speaking, Aunt Xue in front of her just stared at her in a daze without saying anything. Baochai thought about it for a moment, then frowned and said angrily, "Mom, do you really have such thoughts?"

Aunt Xue smiled awkwardly and whispered, "I've only been thinking about it privately. If I really meet someone suitable, it might be a good marriage."

Baochai looked calm, but her heart was in turmoil. A good marriage? How could it be good? She was in her prime, only 28 years old now. Was she really going to be the second wife of a 40-50 year old old man who could be her father? Why?
Let’s not talk about the depression felt by the mother and daughter, but let’s talk about the situation in Rongguo Mansion.

As soon as the Xue family mother and daughter left, Youshi saw that things were not going well, so she simply excused herself as being tired and left. Mrs. Xing added fuel to the fire, but after being glared at by Lady Jia, she also felt bored and left the hall.

Tanchun had some chores to attend to, so she soon led Xichun to the back. Apart from the maids, only Grandmother Jia and Daiyu were left.

Without anyone else around, Grandmother Jia said with a bitter face, "I spoiled Baoyu too much before, and now I'm afraid it's hard to change his temper. He may have good intentions, but he always does the wrong things, and he won't turn around after doing the wrong things." As she spoke, she patted Daiyu's hand and said, "I'm afraid he's implicated Yu'er again this time."

Daiyu was resentful in her heart. She was narrow-minded. If she tolerated Li Weijian, would she be unable to tolerate others? Two years ago, she treated Baoyu as an ordinary cousin.

Both her parents passed away, and the distant relatives of the Lin family could not be relied upon, so Daiyu regarded Rongguo Mansion as her mother's home. But her mother's home not only did not become a help, but now became a burden. If it were not for the old lady and a few sisters, Daiyu really didn't want to come again.

Jia's mother was angry in front of her, so what could she say? She pursed her lips and said, "It's also because my uncle and aunt are not around, and Bao Erge has lost control."

Grandmother Jia said in distress: "Your uncle is not a worry-free person. He wants to discipline Baoyu, but every time he beats him, he doesn't teach him a lesson. What's the point of just beating him hard?"

But Daiyu could not accept this, so she stayed beside Lady Jia obediently, freeing up one hand to help her calm down.

After talking on for a long while, Grandmother Jia finally came back to ask about Daiyu's situation in the past few days.

Daiyu finally smiled again and nodded, "Don't worry, grandma. Everything is fine."

Grandmother Jia thought for a moment and said, "Brother Jian... those concubines are not making a fuss, right?"

Daiyu shook her head and said with a smile, "All are good." Then she counted them one by one, saying, "Baoqin is still young, and looks like my sister; Qingwen has a bad temper, but she has no bad intentions; Xiangling is a carefree person, and although she is cheerful now, she rarely participates in things; Hongyu manages everything very well; Xiuying is innocent and naive, and is also a good person."

After hearing this, Jia's mother asked, "What about Fu Qiufang?"

Daiyu thought for a moment and said, "Madame Fu is in confinement now, and I haven't seen her many times. But she seems to be a woman who knows her own business, so I don't think she will do anything rash."

Grandmother Jia said worriedly, "It's a good thing she gave birth to a daughter. If she had really given birth to a son, you would have been worried in the future."

Daiyu said, "Before I married, my fourth brother had already told me that all concubines in the family would have a share of the family property, but the title would be reserved for the legitimate son."

Grandmother Jia nodded repeatedly and said, "Jian'er is very clear-headed. Ordinary people can't fool him. This saves a lot of trouble."

The families of wealthy families were in chaos, and the concubines were scheming against each other, mostly because the men had evil intentions. Grandmother Jia had lived to such an old age, and she had heard and seen countless evil things like favoring concubines and destroying wives. If the male master of the family was a wise man, he would have dealt with the concubines ruthlessly when they acted like demons, and there would not be so many right and wrongs.

After a pause, Jia's mother continued, "I heard that Jian'er has a mistress outside?"

Daiyu whispered, "It is my fourth brother who was framed... I cannot tell my grandmother about the situation. But my fourth brother said that the girl has a bad temper and is lawless, so it is not good to bring her into the family."

Grandmother Jia was slightly relieved. She turned to look at Daiyu and hesitated to speak. After a long while, she said, "Yu'er is still young. We have to wait a few years before having sex... I think Zijuan and Xueyan are old enough. If it doesn't work, we can let them serve Jian'er first."

Daiyu's pretty face flushed immediately, and she thought to herself, although they had never really enjoyed the pleasure of love, each time they would always toss and turn for nearly an hour before they would stop... and Fourth Brother was getting worse and worse, and she didn't know where he learned these tricks from, but he would not stop until he had made her lose her mind several times.

Trying to collect her thoughts, Daiyu couldn't help but lower her voice a little, and stammered, "My granddaughter has already told Fourth Brother about this, but Fourth Brother has always refused."

Grandmother Jia frowned and said, "What's the logic behind this? In terms of color, Xueyan and Zijuan are not much worse than Hongyu."

Daiyu was at a loss for words, thinking to herself that the fourth brother was a loyal man, and that the concubines were not chosen simply for their beauty. Take Xiuying for example, she was just an ordinary girl in terms of beauty, but she was very doted on by the fourth brother.

Grandmother Jia thought about it for a while, and then asked tentatively: "How about... I send Amber to you?"

Daiyu was at a loss whether to laugh or cry, and shook her head repeatedly. She didn't want to talk about such an embarrassing topic any more, so she thought about filing a complaint.

Just at this moment, the head maid Yuanyang hurried in, bowed and said, "Madam, the second master has sent a letter and is back."

"Oh? Let Lian'er come in!"

After the voice fell, Yuanyang only turned back and nodded slightly, and Jia Lian strode into the inner room. He bowed and greeted, and without waiting for the greetings, Jia's mother asked, "What did the bookstore say?"

Jia Lian smiled bitterly and said, "Long'er said that the steward of the palace received the invitation but didn't say anything."

"This..." Grandmother Jia was very angry and gritted her teeth and said, "It's always the Zhongshun Palace that is in the wrong. At most, I went to the palace to seek help from the queen. If this matter is brought before the saint, he must give us an explanation!"

Jia Lian said, "I'm afraid there will be a lawsuit... The manager said that the book of poems was paid for by the bookstore and has nothing to do with our family. The sisters' real names were not used in the signatures of the poems, but their nicknames."

Grandmother Jia was at a loss. If she had used her real name, it would have been fine. If it became a big deal, the Zhongshun Palace would have been in trouble. But she had to use a nickname... For example, Xing Xiuyan's nickname was Sizhongke. You couldn't just say that it was Xing Xiuyan when you mentioned Sizhongke, right?

Besides, the eldest daughter Yuanchun is not doing well in the palace, and Grandmother Jia really doesn't want to trouble Yuanchun unless it is absolutely necessary. After thinking for a moment, Grandmother Jia couldn't help but turn her head to look at Daiyu: "Yu'er, look at this matter——"

Daiyu was very upset because it was related to her reputation, but she knew she couldn't get rid of it now. So she simply said, "Don't worry, grandma. It will take some time to publish it, and it won't be circulated overnight. When my fourth brother comes back from office today, I will talk to him and see if there is any other way."

Jia Lian wanted to make amends for the humiliation he had suffered yesterday, so he immediately flattered, "Brother Jian will surely be able to suppress the Zhongshun Palace if he steps in to handle this matter."

Jia Mu felt that she owed Daiyu, so she just held Daiyu's hand and patted it - everything was said without words. Daiyu was upset because of Baoyu's incident, and when she saw Jia Lian, she thought of what happened last night. She was not a patient person, and although she was careful in everything when she lived in Rongguo Mansion, she did not stop Daiyu from arguing with others when she had the time.

Because she was in a bad mood at the moment, she simply frowned and said to Jia Lian, "Brother Lian, I don't know how I have wronged you that you have found a way to torture me."

Jia Lian immediately looked embarrassed, and Grandmother Jia was even more stunned. She hurriedly asked, "Yu'er, what do you mean by that?"

Daiyu pursed her lips and snorted coldly. Grandmother Jia frowned and looked at Jia Lian: "Lian'er, tell me!"

Jia Lian regretted it to death. He never expected that Brother Jian would not only not show any sympathy, but also tell Sister Lin! If he had known this, even if You Erjie had pushed him, he would not have done the job of a brothel owner.

Jia Lian smiled bitterly, bowed to Daiyu and Jia's mother, and said, "It's all my fault. I drank too much yesterday and said something wrong..."

Grandmother Jia asked, "What did you say?"

Jia Lian looked embarrassed, fearing that the fact that he had found a mistress would be revealed to others, and his eyes were full of pleading when he looked at Daiyu.

Daiyu had been angry all night, and now she was angry again. She should have told him everything that happened yesterday. But she remembered that Jia Lian had escorted her all the way to Yangzhou, and that Jia Lian had handled her father's funeral, so she couldn't bear it, so she left out You Erjie and said, "I don't know where my second brother owed me a favor. Yesterday, he went to have a drink with my fourth brother, but he pushed this fickle girl over and asked my fourth brother to take her as his concubine."

Grandmother Jia was immediately annoyed: "Tell me what you did!"

Jia Lian secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but he kept saying angrily, "Grandfather, please forgive me. I really can't refuse."

Grandmother Jia was angry and said, "Yu'er has just married, and her brother doesn't want to help her. How can he gossip behind her?"

Filial piety is more important than anything else. Even though Jia Lian has inherited the title, if Grandmother Jia were to risk her dignity and report Jia Lian for being unfilial, all that is now gone would be in vain.

Jia Lian quickly knelt down and apologized: "Grandfather, I will never dare to do it again."

After scolding Jia Lian, Grandmother Jia hurried to comfort Daiyu: "Yu'er, don't be angry. I will definitely give him a good beating later. Fortunately, Jian'er is a good person..."

Daiyu thought of Li Weijian, and immediately the depression in her heart was relieved a little. She forced a smile and said, "Fourth brother is naturally good. He doesn't hide anything from me."

Grandmother Jia turned her head and looked at Jia Lian: "Don't kneel down anymore, come and copy the Filial Piety Sutra ten times later!"

Jia Lian agreed with a bitter face and hurriedly took his leave.

As it was almost time for dinner, Grandmother Jia invited Daiyu to stay for dinner. The two of them chatted for a long time until Daiyu returned near noon.

Little did she know that just as she left, Baoyu returned to Rongguo Mansion. There was a commotion inside, but we won't talk about it for now.

............................................................

The Construction Department Office.

Li Weijian had been dealing with miscellaneous affairs with great difficulty, and had managed to sort out the personnel arrangements in various places. However, the vacant vacancy has not been filled yet, and now the Construction Department has only one person in charge.

Li Weijian was newly promoted to assistant minister, and received a list of new scholars of practical learning the morning before. According to the sage's intention, he wanted him to find suitable personnel from the list to fill the vacancies in the Construction Department. Of course, the fifth-rank doctor and the sixth-rank chief official must be transferred from various inner government offices. The remaining sixth-rank and seventh-rank official positions are reserved for the new scholars of practical learning.

Li Weijian looked through his resume and felt a headache. Most of these scholars who obtained practical knowledge had a solid foundation in Confucianism and were not too bad in mathematics, but few of them knew much about construction.

After a whole morning, they finally selected a few seemingly suitable candidates for the Practical Studies. Just as he was about to leave the list and go to have lunch, a eunuch came in and said, "Master Li, the emperor has ordered you to come to the palace to see the emperor."

Li Weijian did not dare to delay and hurried out of the government office to the imperial city. He was so hungry on the way that he sent Ding Rusong to buy some chess piece biscuits.

I had expected to wait at least two hours before I could see His Majesty, but unexpectedly, after only a cup of tea, a eunuch led Li Weijian to the western warm pavilion at the back.

When he got inside, Li Weijian greeted them solemnly, raised his eyes and glanced around, and saw that food was placed in the west warm room, and Emperor Zhenghe, dressed in bright yellow, was standing in front of the window with his hands behind his back.

Emperor Zhenghe turned his head and looked at Li Weijian, and said, "Have you had lunch yet?"

Eh? Unprecedented harmony... Is there such a benefit in saving Princess Yongshou?

Li Weijian quickly told the truth: "Your Majesty, I came here in a hurry and have not used it yet."

Emperor Zhenghe nodded and said with a smile: "Dai Quan, bring a chair to Jingling Bo."

Dai Quan hurriedly moved a chair, and the Zhenghe Emperor sat down on the couch with a majestic horse and golden sword. He raised his hand and called Li Weijian: "Have some food with me."

"As you wish." Li Weijian stepped forward and carefully sat down. He watched Emperor Zhenghe pick up the chopsticks and take a bite, then he carefully picked up the chopsticks.

There were eight dishes on the table, including smoked duck with tofu, roasted lamb liver, bird's nest and smoked shredded fatty chicken, sunflower box side dish, bird's nest and tofu, crystal pork elbow, egg custard, crispy chicken, two kinds of snacks and a dish of vegetable porridge.

Li Weijian picked up a piece of pork elbow and tasted it, and couldn't help but curl his lips inwardly. The level of the imperial kitchen was worrying, and it couldn't even catch up with the skills of his own kitchen.

He didn't show it on his face, but unexpectedly, Emperor Zhenghe noticed it and said, "It tastes normal, right?"

Li Weijian raised his eyes and glanced at Emperor Zhenghe, not knowing how to respond.

But the Emperor Zhenghe said, "The palace is not like the outside world. Even I cannot easily change the food." Without waiting for Li Weijian to reply, the Emperor Zhenghe picked up a small silver flower roll and ordered, "Eat first."

The emperor and his minister ate and drank in silence, neither talking while eating nor talking while sleeping. Seeing Emperor Zhenghe put down his chopsticks, Li Weijian, who had just eaten half full, also hurriedly put down his chopsticks.

Without Emperor Zhenghe's orders, eunuchs came forward to remove the food and serve tea.

Li Weijian thought it was not a good idea to continue sitting down, and was about to stand up when he heard Emperor Zhenghe say, "Yongshou's matter is all thanks to you, my dear minister."

Li Weijian secretly complained in his heart, look, it’s different now that you saved the princess, she never called me your beloved before.

He didn't show it on his face, but bowed and said, "It's only natural. I just happened to catch up with it... This Bagua Sect is getting more and more rampant."

Emperor Zhenghe nodded and said, "Yes, I issued an edict today to reprimand the governor of Shandong, and will soon send an imperial envoy to investigate the Bagua Sect case."

The captives of the church that Li Weijian captured that day had already been taken to the Shenxingsi Yamen. After a round of interrogation, the confession obtained was even worse than Li Weijian had imagined! Although the man was just an ordinary church member, he occasionally heard about the "Prince's orphan". Wu Qian did not dare to neglect it and reported the matter to Emperor Zhenghe overnight.

Emperor Zhenghe was immediately furious, thinking that Jia Jing had deceived the world... twice! Although the situation in Dashun was good now, it involved the imperial power, and Emperor Zhenghe would never allow the blood of the deposed prince to flow among the people, not to mention that he was involved with the evil-minded Bagua Sect.

Since it was the imperial envoy who openly left the capital this time, Wu Qian, the Langzhong of the Ministry of Punishment, had already led his men to Shandong to investigate secretly.

It was not appropriate to discuss such private matters with Li Weijian, so Emperor Zhenghe briefly spoke about them and then got down to business.

"Li Aiqing."

"The minister is here."

Emperor Zhenghe said: "My dear minister, you said before that pursuing the remnants of the Junggars would be profitable--"

"I am willing to guarantee my life and property. The Sindhu countries have been at peace for a long time. After thousands of years of accumulation, their wealth is not inferior to that of the Dashun."

Emperor Zhenghe nodded and said, "Lord Yue said the same thing... But now I'm afraid that even a skilled cook can't cook without rice."

If they wanted to use the excuse of destroying the remnants of the Dzungars to capture Sindhu, the huge amount of logistical supplies and long supply lines would not be enough, and the military expenses alone would not be small. Moreover, seeing that the civil and military achievements had been made, and that the mess of Dashun was now showing signs of revival, Emperor Zhenghe was thinking of touring the north and south to stabilize the four directions.

Because the treasury was insufficient, Emperor Zhenghe did not want to use the internal treasury. In the past, the saint would have just gritted his teeth and endured it for the sake of the overall situation. But now... isn't there still Li Caishen?
Seeing the saint's earnest eyes, Li Weijian suddenly felt a headache and said, "Saint, these businesses have just been launched, and I no longer have the energy to do other businesses."

Emperor Zhenghe frowned: "Really? It doesn't need to be much, 10 million will be enough this time."

Li Weijian said: "In this case, why doesn't the Saint sell some of the water shares?"

Emperor Zhenghe shook his head repeatedly: "Not good. Water affairs are a long-term business, and that share cannot be sold." Emperor Zhenghe was still waiting to receive dividends every year. Compared to the golden eggs, he had to hold the hen that laid the golden eggs in his hands.

Li Weijian was about to mention the chemical industry, but then he changed his mind and realized that the chemical industry would not see any development in the next few years. He then thought of the situation in Sindhu, and suddenly an idea flashed in his mind. He thought about it and said, "Saint, in fact, there is no need for other livelihoods. Just conquering Sindhu is a great thing to do."

"Oh?" Emperor Zhenghe became interested: "My dear, tell me what the article is."

Li Weijian said, "My Dashun has a prosperous maritime trade, and there are countless merchants who have been to Sindhu. I heard that a navy has been to Sindhu before." Seeing Emperor Zhenghe nodded, Li Weijian said, "If so, I think the wealth of Sindhu has long been known to everyone. In this case, why don't the saints learn from the Western barbarians and first set up a company to raise capital for military funds, and then slowly distribute the profits after conquering Sindhu?"

Emperor Zhenghe said disappointedly: "Someone has already submitted a petition on this matter, but the ministers in the court think that this move is against benevolence and morality, and the court should not do this."

Li Weijian blinked and said, "If the imperial court can't do it, just give it to the people to do it. What does this have to do with the imperial court?"

"Hmm? My dear, tell me in detail."

Li Weijian thought about it and said, "It would be better if the Imperial Household Department issues bonds with the spoils of war as collateral, agreeing on the interest rate, or repaying the principal and interest in three or five years. After that, private companies can take over, and the collateral for the second sale can be more vague. It can be gold and silver spoils or fertile land. When the army captures Sindhu, the Imperial Household Department can simply mortgage the jurisdiction of various lands to private companies on the pretext that it is unable to repay."

Emperor Zhenghe thought for a long time. It seemed that all these evil things were done by private companies, and had nothing to do with the court? What was wrong with the court? It was just to go to Sindhu to chase the remnants of the Quasi bandits. The Quasi bandits were the ones who massacred the states in Sindhu. The land occupied by Dashun was ownerless... In this way, it would be morally justifiable, and those ministers would have no reason to object, right?

After thinking about it, Emperor Zhenghe smiled and patted Li Weijian on the shoulder: "Well, Fu Sheng really lived up to my expectations!"

(End of this chapter)