Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 285: Many troubles at the end of the year

As soon as people entered the house, they saw Jia She walking in circles in the hall, like a donkey pulling a mill.

"You're back!" Jia She looked up and immediately walked over quickly. He came close and asked in a low and hurried voice, "Do you want to go to the Prince of Dongping's birthday celebration?" Jia Lian reacted indifferently. He saw that there were no female relatives in the hall, only two maids standing there serving.

"Father, let's go to the study to talk. It's not convenient here."

The father and son walked along the corridor to the study. After entering the room, they asked Xiangling to guard the door. Jia Lian then spoke: "Father, are you confused? I don't know what my situation is now. If I am not careful, I will be regarded as a fence-sitter."

Jia She was not angry at the tone that was almost scolding, and continued in a low voice: "Little beast, didn't you notice that the atmosphere in the capital is not right? His Majesty clearly wants to protect Ningyuan Hou, why are there so many officials impeaching him? Logically, the nobles should stand on His Majesty's side to help balance it, but you and a few people like Prince Zhongshun stand on that side. Prince Dongping came back from Shandong on the pretext of illness, and wanted to hold a birthday banquet, but His Majesty didn't say a word of 'no'. Now Ningyuan Hou is confined to reflect on his mistakes, what if... With three thousand Dongping cavalry in hand, Prince Dongping can move freely. Have you ever thought about the Jia family? What should the Jia family do?"

Jia Lian knew that he had underestimated this cheap father before. This old man has some stuff, but not much. If he is not pushed to a certain extent, he will lie down if he can, like a salted fish. Now that he realizes that the situation is not right, he is anxious and angry.

"If the sky falls, there will be someone taller to hold it up. Why are you in such a hurry? Prince Dongping returned to the capital on the pretext of illness and brought his troops with him. He must have noticed something. As for the birthday banquet, father, second uncle, and elder brother Zhen can go together. It will also be considered as giving face to Prince Dongping." Jia Lian's expression did not change. He even took a step back in disgust to prevent Jia She's saliva from flying.

"Little bastard, the Jia family is no longer what it used to be. The 8,000 Thunderbolt Black Iron Cavalry that were invincible back then have been divided into three parts by the Beijing Camp, Prince of Dongping, and the Wang family. You have no soldiers. Once something happens in the capital, who will treat you as a bargaining chip? Rely on the Wang family? The Wang family can be relied on, but why should the Jia family rely on you to keep up appearances? I advise you to work hard in the Shenji Camp and try to control this force."

At first, Jia Lian didn't care, but when Jia She mentioned the Shenjiying, Jia Lian's heartbeat quickened. Could it be that this old man saw something and came to test me on purpose?

"That's easy to say. Although the Shenji Camp is stationed in the city, it is part of the Beijing Camp. Without the emperor's order, Yue Qi can't mobilize them. How can you expect me, a civil servant who has fought in battles for a few days? Okay, don't think too much. The only hope of the Jia family is that I cling to your majesty's thighs. Can you still expect the King of Dongping to help the Jia family?"

After Jia Lian's words, Jia She's overloaded CPU stopped overclocking and nodded decisively: "This is the only way."

Looking at the old man leaving, Jia Lian sighed. Although this old man was not a good person, he had a sense of crisis and was very familiar with things within the rules. This was the benefit of being born.

The conversation was not without gain. At least one of the purposes of Dongping Iron Cavalry stationing in Tongzhou could be seen. As for whether it sided with one side or not, it was not discussed. It was certain that Shenjiying had one more potential enemy to guard against. And the emperor must have more than just Shenjiying in his trump card. There must be something hidden. In short, there must be a force hidden in the dark, but it is not known which department it belongs to. Judging from Xia Shouzhong's performance, it had nothing to do with him. Most likely, Qiu Shian was controlling this force.

Speaking of which, Long Jinwei was fine as a spy, but in a real battle on the battlefield, he was definitely no match for the regular army. After all, it was not the time of Taizu, and Long Jinwei was originally composed of elite soldiers who had fought many battles.

When the rabbit dies, the dog is cooked; when the bird is dead, the bow is put away; this is the true portrayal of the emperor's lackeys. Take this as a warning!
Well, there is no need to worry too much. As a noble family, the Jia family only needs to abide by one principle: whoever becomes the emperor should be loyal to him. Don't bet on him in advance. Jia Lian has this awareness, and he should also do a good job in the training of future generations. It's too early to think about these things now.

As the New Year approaches, Rongguo Mansion becomes busy. But this has nothing to do with Jia Lian, he still has to get up early and start a busy day.

After daily exercise, he took the hot towel from Guixiang's hand and wiped himself. When he saw Wang Xifeng appear surrounded by a group of people, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart that Wang Xifeng was becoming more and more majestic.

"Don't you need to wait on grandma?" Jia Lian smiled and went to meet her. Wang Xifeng smiled and held out her hand, letting Jia Lian lead her back to the hall. She said proudly, "I have a great-grandson in my belly, and the grandma can't bear to see me tired. Sister Zhu is also capable and can share a lot of my work."

"The key to being a housekeeper is employing people. You should mainly keep an eye on the accounts and manage your subordinates. My grandmother loves fun, and you still have to entertain her with colorful clothes, but don't put yourself in a difficult position." Jia Lian said this to Wang Xifeng in the original novel. The Wang Xifeng in front of him has changed a lot, but she is still a granddaughter-in-law, so she has to please Grandmother Jia.

"What nonsense! Everyone envies me for marrying well. A man should be determined and a woman should be strong. As for grievances, please rest assured, my husband, apart from my grandmother, no one else would dare to let me suffer any grievances."

Wang Xifeng in this time and space lives a much happier life than in the original novel. Although there are other women around Jia Lian, Wang Xifeng is not so jealous. She knows about the two actors outside, as long as she doesn't bring them back, just pretend they don't exist. As for Guixiang, there is nothing she can do about it. Jia Lian has already made a harsh remark, and she really doesn't dare to touch the bottom line.

Fortunately, Guixiang and Ping'er have not shown any signs of pregnancy yet. I can only say that God is blessing me.

"It's been a while since Qin from the East Mansion got married, but she's not pregnant. But my cheap mother-in-law is pregnant. It's a joke. Isn't it because she's inexperienced that she didn't think of going to the doctor until she was almost pregnant."

When Jia Lian heard this, he couldn't help but twitch slightly, but fortunately Wang Xifeng didn't notice it.

Just as he was thinking about it, a maid came in to report that Jia Rong had arrived.

Wang Xifeng tactfully led her people to leave, leaving Jia Rong and Jia Lian to sit opposite each other. When she learned that Jia Rong had not eaten yet, she offered him a portion.

"Why are you here so early in the morning?" Jia Lian put down his chopsticks and asked casually.

Jia Rong smiled and said, "Qin asked me how the Jia family school is going and wanted my brother to attend the class."

Jia Lian sneered and said, "Jia Dairu is a poor scholar who recites from a script every day and doesn't care about the uproar in the audience."

Jia Rong smiled and said, "My nephew thinks the same thing, but the schools outside are not necessarily much better than the Jia family's family school. My father-in-law got a chance to be sent out to work outside today. She is worried that he will be busy as an official outside and that without mother, her brother will become a bad boy without anyone to discipline him, so she wants to bring him to her side to take care of him."

Is this another change? Qin Bangye can be sent out.

"Well, take it then. By the way, how is Brother Zhen's health? I think he is not as good as before."

"I just can't stop smoking opium now, otherwise I'll have all kinds of problems, gas problems, body aches, especially the leg injuries. It hurts so much on rainy days that I can't walk, all thanks to the opium. I've finally figured it out, if you don't behave, I'll cut off his supply."

After hearing Jia Rong's words, Jia Lian was shocked, but he said calmly: "The business of smuggling opium cannot be done. It harms others and ourselves." "I know that many officials in the capital and local areas have lost their jobs because of this. But if someone smokes this, there must be someone selling it. It is difficult to expect the court to be determined to ban it. I will just pretend that I don't know about other people doing this."

After Jia Rong said this, Jia Lian's expression suddenly became serious: "You know this is against the law, and His Majesty will never tolerate it. Why are you still getting close to them? From now on, when it comes to Brother Zhen, just let the servants you trust go to buy the goods, and never get involved."

Seeing Jia Lian's expression was not right, Jia Rong put down his chopsticks and quickly explained: "Second Uncle Lian, the goods from the capital are all shipped by sea from Tianjin! It is said that it is related to the one in Xishan."

"Old or young?" Jia Lian asked casually, putting away his serious expression. Seeing this, Jia Rong immediately said with ease: "I don't know. Dai Quan should know everything. I can't ask him. Nowadays, in the capital, those who smoke this stuff are rich and powerful. There are deep connections here, and the interests are so great that they are about 100,000 yuan a year. If anyone dares to cut off the source of wealth, I'm afraid they will fight to the death."

Jia Lian knew very well how harmful this thing was, and he really couldn't take care of it at the moment. After passing this hurdle, he had to put it on the agenda and destroy it to death no matter what.

After Jia Rong finished speaking, he took out the account book and handed it to Jia Lian: "It's the end of the year, take a look?"

"I have to go to work and don't have time, so I won't read it. Give the income directly to your aunt." Jia Lian got up to change his clothes, and Jia Rong got up with a smile and asked to see Wang Xifeng.

Wang Xifeng didn't expect that she still had her own business, so she asked, "Is there anything wrong with Rong'er?"

Jia Rong said, "Nephew, my second uncle and Xue Pan's business partnership have completed the year-end inventory and sent the proceeds to you. My second uncle asked me to keep it for my aunt." Jia Rong took out an envelope and handed it to Wang Xifeng. Although he knew that Jia Lian had other businesses outside and that he made at least 10,000 taels of income every year, he did not expect to get it in his hands. He thought that Jia Lian was hiding his private money and was prepared to pretend that he didn't know.

When she took out the banknote and saw that it was twenty thousand taels, Wang Xifeng smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Rong'er."

"Second Aunt, you are too polite. If it weren't for Brother Lian's support, my nephew wouldn't be where he is today."

Wang Xifeng politely sent Jia Rong away, and she became even more proud. She felt that she had a good grasp of Jia Lian's situation. As long as he was not jealous of his affairs with women, he would not hide his private money. He did not have much money, and he could not keep a woman outside for long.

Little did they know that Jia Lian's real private money was divided into three parts, and Guixiang, Ping'er, and Youshi all hid it. They said it was for their self-defense, but in fact Jia Lian could take the money whenever he wanted. The three of them had been bewildered by Jia Lian and obeyed his orders. As for the twins, Jia Lian didn't have to spend a penny, and the troupe made a lot of money.

Ping'er was serving him when he was changing clothes. When he asked about Jia Rong's purpose of coming, Jia Lian casually explained that he was going to give him dividends.

Ping Er couldn't help feeling a little guilty after hearing this. When Jia Lian came back from Shandong, he gave her 30,000 taels of silver and a box of gold, all of which she was told to hide in her own box. Ping Er didn't seem to be jealous, but said with a little envy: "Miss, you are lucky. You are pregnant, and you will get a lot of dividends. When the young master is born, don't blame me for asking for too much."

Jia Lian, who was dressed neatly, reached out and touched Ping'er's face and said, "Let's see if you are behaving well."

After leaving the Jia Mansion, before leaving Rongning Street, Ni Er caught up with him.

Jia Lian signaled the carriage to stop, lifted the curtain and asked, "What's the matter?"

"To answer your question, the woman stayed overnight in the city. The Zhen family's steward went there again at night, but he didn't stay long before leaving. By the way, yesterday morning, the subordinates didn't dare to follow him. The eldest son of the Zhen family went out from the west gate and came back in the afternoon. I spent some money and got the news that the eldest son of the Zhen family went to give a New Year gift to the emperor."

Jia Lian waved his hand, signaling Ni Er to retreat, and told the driver to go to the Wucheng Bingmasi first.

Things were becoming more and more mysterious. Everything and everyone that Jia Lian felt were hinting to him that something big was about to happen.

The five imperial censors of the Five Cities Military Department were all present. Jia Lian called everyone together for a short meeting and emphasized the security of the capital. The closer it got to the end of the year, the more we should not slack off. After that, Jia Lian kept Jian Renda, and the others went about their work.

"Is there anything new?" Jia Lian asked casually, but Jian Renda did not dare to be negligent and said, "Nothing worth noting. It's the end of the year, and it's normal to have interpersonal relationships. There was a commotion at the Chongwenmen tax checkpoint yesterday. The caravans of the Duke of Li and the Duke of Qi were stopped. Later, they were allowed to pass only after the tax was paid. However, the Nine Gates Commander did not show up. A head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was lying on the road, shouting: If you don't pay the tax, we'll run him over."

Speaking of these two families, Jia Lian did have some memories, the Liu family and the Qi family. The Liu family was not simple, and Old Man Liu was also a branch of the Liu family. Liu Xianglian was also a descendant of the Liu family, but he was not from the legitimate lineage, so he was not doing well.

The tax officer of Chongwenmen was only a sixth-rank official, and although he was not a high-ranking official, he had considerable financial power. This was a checkpoint set up by the royal family and was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The tax silver collected was returned to the inner treasury, and most of it was used to support the royal family. So, even though he was a sixth-rank official of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, he dared to confront the convoys of the two dukes' mansions. This shows that the overall strength of the four kings and eight dukes has been declining.

When Jia Lian smiled and nodded, the doorman Zhu came in hurriedly. Jia Lian was stunned for a moment, and Jian Renda tactfully retreated.

"Master, Lai Wang from Second Madam's office is here, and he looks very anxious."

Jia Lian motioned him to bring the person in. Lai Wang came in a moment later, panting and reporting: "Second Master, Second Madam asked me to come and report that a steward from the Shi family came to inform the old lady that the two marquises will not wait until the New Year because their families cannot afford to eat. They will take up their posts before the New Year to earn some money to support their families. Second Madam doesn't know how to respond, so she asked me to ask."

Jia Lian thought it was ridiculous. Isn't it funny that the Shi family couldn't make ends meet? Obviously there was a purpose. What was the purpose? It must be that the Shi brothers didn't want to be sent out, didn't want to leave the capital. Isn't this Jia Lian saving them once? This is to increase the stakes.

"Tell Second Madam to give two relatives 10,000 taels of silver notes and see if they want them. It's not a big deal if they really want them."

Jia Lian gave a very decisive solution: Shame on you, I'll help you.

You can't get involved in this job. Who knows if someone else is instigating it!

(End of this chapter)