Do you know: I am Xu Jiazi

Chapter 469: Methods and 'How Much?' [Thank you! Goodbye! I owe you 38k more]

Not at the right time (after 2 p.m.)

The sun is blazing,

The Imperial Palace of the Great Zhou Dynasty,

The palace guards on duty outside the palace were standing in a shaded corridor, but their heads were still covered in sweat.

Looking at the eunuchs who came over with clear soup to quench everyone's thirst, the guards licked their lips slightly.

In the cool hall,

The strong sunlight made the hall very bright.

The female officials on both sides were fanning themselves with appropriate intensity.

The breeze blows,

The memorial in the emperor's hand was shaken gently by the wind.

"There are quite a lot of people on this list. Who are they? Zilong, have you checked them out?"

The emperor asked as he looked at it.

Zhao Zilong bowed slightly and said, "Your Majesty, there are officials from the Northern Liao Ministry of Rites on the list, and most of the accompanying personnel are direct descendants of several major families in Northern Liao, such as Han, Zhao, Liu, and Ma."

The emperor raised his eyebrows and said, "Oh? Are there any talented generals among them? If there are any, I will arrange for the boy from the Xu family."

Seeing Zhao Zilong shaking his head, the emperor said, "Indeed, the Xu family's kid's move is indeed not good, so let Gu family's Erlang prepare for something? Hmm?"

Zhao Zilong bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the department reported that most of the young men who accompanied us have no real positions in Northern Liao. Although they are brave, none of them can enter the army, and none of them are talented generals! What happened to those young generals in Bai Gao before is a rare opportunity."

The emperor nodded with some regret. It was no wonder that the emperor had this idea. The speed of recovering Baigao far exceeded the emperor's expectations. The feeling of expanding territory was really great.

"Your Majesty, the Queen is here."

After the internal officials passed the message,
The queen walked in, followed by a maid holding cold drinks.

"Where's Fang'er?"

"Your Majesty, I am watching my sister sleeping in my chamber."

The emperor smiled and nodded, saying, "Did someone send Pingning's gift?"

The Queen hummed.

Xiangyang Houfu,

Madam Wu and other officials and noble ladies in the capital stood aside and watched not far away.
There, the Marquis of Xiangyang and Princess Pingning and their spouses were respectfully seeing off the eunuchs who had come to deliver the rewards.

Subsequently,

Marquis of Xiangyang asked everyone to continue enjoying themselves.

On the way,

Madam Wu looked back and said:
"Speaking of which, my fellow princesses, the one the current emperor loves the most is Princess Pingning! Look at the boxes that he has given her."

The people around responded one after another.

Walking into the cool room with ice cubes placed on it, Mrs. Wu sighed with satisfaction.

Mrs. Bai, the wife of Marquis Gu, looked at Sun, who had been in a daze since entering the room, and asked, "Sister, what are you thinking about?"

Madam Wu glanced at Madam Sun and said, "She is wondering which of the ladies she just dealt with is the better one."

Hearing this, Sun smiled and shook her head, saying, "There are so many twists and turns here. I have to wonder if I have seen the girl that person is talking about. I feel dizzy just thinking about it."

Madam Wu picked up a piece of watermelon and said, "Now you know who I'm facing, right?"

Sun patted Madam Wu's hand and said, "I'm really sorry for causing you so much trouble!"

Madam Wu nodded proudly, but while eating the piece of watermelon, she looked at the boxes given by the palace that were carried away by the servants.

in the afternoon,

The sun sets in the west,

After finishing his official duties, the emperor held a cup of cold tea and looked at Zhao Fang, who was writing beside him, with a smile on his face.

The eunuch standing by walked over from the door and whispered something in the emperor's ear.

The emperor frowned and said, "This old guy, is he sending me something again?"

"Yes, they said it was a dowry for the twin girls of Xu's Wulang."

The emperor put down his teacup in annoyance and said, "How could he come up with such an idea?"

"By the way, doesn't the Xu family kid have three maids around him?"

"Your Majesty, yes."

The emperor smiled and said, "Go to the warehouse where the spoils of war sent by Marquis Tuoxi are stored and pick up three carts of things. Then tell him that this is an early reward for his military exploits."

"How do you know?"

"Your Majesty, please count the young lady Qingcao beside Wulang."

The emperor waved his hand.

The sun has set.

But the sky was still bright.
Quyuan Street,
Yong Yi Hou Mansion,

At the door of Xu Zaijing's warehouse,
Xu Zaijing's wet nurse, Mama Cui, and Mama Zhu who was beside Sun were standing there.

Watching the last wooden box on the table being properly put into the room and the door locked,

The two mothers then wrote their names and put their fingerprints on the account book at the door.

Afterwards, Mother Cui walked out with Mother Zhu, saying as they walked, "Some of the things in the warehouse were just taken out, and now it's full again."

Mother Zhu followed him out, nodded and whispered, "The two maids beside Wulang, their dowries are more than those of the legitimate daughters in the capital, so they will never have to worry about food and clothing in the future."

"Yes! We have been counting for so long. Let's go. I will invite my sister to have some tea."

As they talked, the two mothers walked out.

As a result, after walking a few steps,
Then I saw Dan Mama, who was beside Sun, leading the maids and servants of the Marquis's Mansion, walking towards this side with things in their arms.

"Xiao Dan, where did this come from?"

"Sister Cui, the palace said that the reward for Wulang's meritorious service in the Western Army, the eunuch who came to deliver the gifts said that Miss Qingcao should count them personally."

Hearing this,

Qingcao, who was following behind Dan's mother, lowered his head in confusion.

"Oh, then we have to take a closer look."

Saying,

Mother Zhu and Mother Cui walked towards the yard.

The maid guarding the storeroom door was a little surprised when she saw everyone coming back.

Soon, several bright yellow candles were lit at the door.

The two mothers beside Sun and Qingcao counted the things in the wooden boxes.

"Just after Xiangyang Marquis's Mansion sent gifts to Hua Xiang, Yun Xiang and the others, the rewards from the palace came down, and they specifically asked you, Qingcao, to count them. What a coincidence."

"Yes!"

Listening to the discussions of the people around him, Qingcao just counted things in a daze.

After locking and signing,
Qingcao returned to Xu Zaijing's courtyard.

In the study,
Behind the bright yellow candle stood a bronze mirror that reflected one's own light.
Gather the candle light onto the table.

Xu Zaijing looked away from the book, looked at Qingcao who was holding a cup of herbal tea, and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Sir, why did the palace give me the rewards and let me count them?"

"Because you are the head maid of this young master's house."

"Oh." Qingcao nodded.

"Also, your majesty and the Marquis of Xiangyang are playing around with each other, but we are the ones making trouble."

Xu Zaijing looked at Qingcao's bewildered expression and continued, "Your Majesty and the Marquis of Xiangyang have a life-long friendship. Princess Pingning was adopted by your Majesty as his daughter, so their friendship is naturally deep."

Qingcao nodded repeatedly.

Xu Zaijing turned his head and continued to look at the book, saying: "Since His Majesty asked you to count, those things are yours. When you get married, they will be your dowry."

"You are my first maid, I can't treat you unfairly, you must not refuse." Qingcao looked up at Xu Zaijing and said, "Yes, sir."

"Ah."

Two days later at noon,

Jiying Lane,
Moriya
Shou'an Hall.

The old lady stopped making incense, turned her head to look at Sheng Hong who was leaving the yamen, and Wang Ruofu who came to greet and talk, and asked, "What did the lady say just now?"

Wang Ruofu said with a gossipy look on her face: "Mother, I heard from the relatives of the Wang family that recently many families have given up the idea of ​​finding a marriage for Jing'er!"

The old lady wiped the copper tweezers used to make incense with a towel and placed them on the table, saying, "Why is this?"

Sheng Hong also looked at Wang Ruofu with curiosity.

After Wei Shuyi placed the herbal tea on the table of Sheng Hong and Wang Ruofu, he stood aside, waiting for what would happen next with curiosity in his eyes.

"It was the Xiangyang Marquis who caused all the trouble! He gave three carts of so-called dowry to the maidservants from his family."

Sheng Hong stared at Wang Ruofu and said in disbelief, "Who can afford three carts of dowry if they are able to marry the fifth son of the Marquis's Mansion? Are you giving up because of this? Is it possible?"

Wang Ruofu picked up the cold tea, rolled her eyes secretly, and said, "Sir, do you know what is in these three carts? Let's put it this way, the daughters of ordinary officials may not have such a good dowry!"

Sheng Hong curled his lips and shook his head. Just as he was about to speak,
The old lady at the side pondered and said, "How did this news leak out?"

Wang Ruofu rolled her eyes and thought for a while: "I heard from the relatives of the Feng family that it seemed to be heard from Madam Wu! Madam Wu and Madam Xu have always been good friends, so it can't be fake!"

The old lady nodded thoughtfully.

Sheng Hong took the opportunity to say, "Besides, she is better than the legitimate daughter of an ordinary family? Could it be that the box is filled with gold, silver, jewelry, silk, satin, and land deeds?"

After saying that, Sheng Hong looked at Wang Ruofu, who was silent and smug, and said hesitantly, "No. Is that true?"

When these words were spoken, Fang, Cui, Liu and other maids serving in Shou'an Hall all stared in surprise.

Wang Ruofu shook her head: "There is no land deed or house deed!"

Sheng Hong heaved a sigh of relief: "Is that right?"

After he finished speaking, looking at Wang Ruofu's pouting face, Sheng Hong realized: "You don't have these two, but you have everything else?"

Wang Ruofu nodded with emotion.

Sheng Hong continued: "Then there are a total of"

Sheng Hong didn't say anything else.

Before, the Sheng family lived in Yangzhou.
When preparing Hualan's dowry, the business of the first wife was much more prosperous than before.
So the old lady prepared 1,500 taels of silver for Hualan, plus about 500 taels of gold and silver jewelry.

Sheng Hong and Wang Ruofu prepared silver, a farm and a shop for Hua Lan, totaling more than five thousand taels of silver.

The rest is no more than five hundred taels.

This is because the eldest son’s family is wealthy through business.

Moreover, the sum of these is almost as much as the money used to marry noble ladies of the royal family today.

Of course, this does not mean that the Sheng family has this much strength. After all, the Sheng family has five children who are about to get married, so they naturally cannot spend all the money at once.

If what Wang Ruofu said is true,

When a girl from a family in the capital is discussing marriage with the fifth son of the Xu family, she has to see if the money in her pocket is enough to cover the "dowry" of the two maids.

Wang Ruofu looked at Sheng Hong, who was lost in thought, and continued:

"Mother, I also heard that the reward for Jing'er's meritorious service in the Western Army was also issued that night. I asked Qingcao, the eldest maid in Jing'er's room, to count it. Tsk, I heard that it is more valuable than the one given by the Marquis of Xiangyang."

Then Wang Ruofu said with a dreamy look on his face:

"Speaking of this Jing'er, could he be a fortune-bringing boy? How much income would he have earned in a day?"

Sheng Hong said, "It's probably around 10,000 or 20,000."

This money sounds like a lot, but in fact, Zhuang Xuejiu can earn about half of it in three years.
By the time Xu Zaijing and others finish the imperial examination, they will be able to earn almost the amount that Sheng Hong mentioned.

The old lady lowered her head and continued to make incense.

Beside the Luohan chair where the old lady sat,
Cui Ru'an and Fang Suqin looked at each other, with a hint of surprise in their eyes.

They had heard of this kind of income when the Yongyi Marquis's Mansion was at its most prosperous.

Wang Ruofu looked at Sheng Hong and said, "Sir, I told you that many people have given up, but now you can be trusted!"

Sheng Hong nodded: "It's really hard to get close to nobles and officials."

Listening to the conversations of the people in the hall,

Wei Shuyi, who was standing by, was very surprised and a little happy.

The two maids who had followed Qingcao to learn embroidery skills from her before, now have such a generous amount of money to support themselves, and their future lives will definitely be better, not like her.

After talking for a while,
Sheng Hong and Wang Ruofu stood up to say goodbye, and Wei Shuyi followed them.

The old lady crossed her legs and handed the prepared incense to Fang Mama, then stepped off the Luohan chair sideways, walked a few steps in the hall with her hands behind her back, and said to herself, "That's a good idea."

In late June,

The birthday of the God of God Baoguan is coming.

On this day,

evening,

Near the old Caomen Street in Huihefang,
In a very elegant wooden teahouse,
The daughters of the nobles and officials in the capital were drinking tea and enjoying the fragrance in the cool evening.
Zheng Ni, who had been married for some time, was also among them, along with her sister-in-law Shen Hezhen.

In the private room,
Shin Hezhen held a cup of tea under his nose, sniffed it, nodded in appreciation, and took a sip.

Yu Yanran and Li Jia Wu Niang were talking in low voices.
Although Shen Hezhen didn't want to eavesdrop, the sound came in anyway. Listening to the two people talking about "maids", "dowry", and "tens of thousands of taels",

Shin Hezhen couldn't help but prick up his ears and move closer.

Seeing Shen Hezhen coming over, Yu Yanran and Li Jia Wu Niang did not stop the topic, but pulled her into the topic.

Talking,

More and more people are talking about this topic.

Gu Tingyi came over.

But after a while, Gu Tingyi left the group that was talking and returned to the window where Duke Yingguo Zhang's Wu Niang and Chai Zhengzheng were waiting.

"Sister Tingyi, what are the sisters talking about?"

Chai Zhengzheng asked while looking at Zheng Ni who was stunned by what he heard not far away.

"It's about Hua Xiang and Yun Xiang, the maids around Brother Jing."

Chai Zhengzheng nodded.

Gu Tingyi continued, "If I hadn't heard that the palace later gave Brother Jing a reward for his meritorious service, and asked Qingcao to count the items, would I have really forgotten to ask Brother Jing what specific merits he had made in the Western Army? Zhengzheng, do you know?"

Chai Zhengzheng pursed her lips, thinking about the battle record and instructions that the Queen had told her and Madam Chai in the palace. She glanced at Zhang's Wu Niang and shook her head, "I don't know, but Wu Niang must know, right?"

"Me? I, I, I didn't! I haven't heard big brother say that either."

Seeing the disbelieving looks of Gu Tingyi and Chai Zhengzheng, Zhang Jia Wu Niang glanced at the others who were still chatting and said, "Okay. I heard it from my eldest brother."

The three of them exchanged a few words.
Zhang Jia Wu Niang said with some emotion, "The reward granted by His Majesty is probably over ten thousand. And it is said that Hua Xiangyun and the other two girls' 'dowry' is about the same. Tsk tsk."

Gu Tingyi and Chai Zhengzheng nodded indifferently.

"Hey, what's with the looks on your faces? Isn't this a lot of money?"

Gu Tingyi and Chai Zhengzheng looked at each other in confusion.
Gu Tingyi asked: "How much?"

Gu Tingyi's biological mother, Bai, gave her a dowry. Uh, the money was calculated by the ship.
Chai Zhengzheng: "Not a lot, right?"

One of her coin books was still half full.
Zhang Jia Wu Niang narrowed her eyes and looked at the two of them.

Rong family,

Back to the snow courtyard,

Under candlelight,
Rong Feiyan, who was in the bitter summer, was holding a piece of paper and reading.

She fanned herself with a fan and said, "Miss, today's reward from Concubine Rong is quite a lot."

Rong Feiyan nodded, then sighed with some melancholy.

Ningxiang came over with a sliced ​​watermelon and asked, "Why did the queen give you something as a reward?"

Xibu stuffed a corner of watermelon into Ningxiang's mouth and glared at Ningxiang.

(End of this chapter)