Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 301 So that’s it
The new Minister of Revenue had nothing to do with Jia Lian, and he had no intention of actively making friends with him. He followed the principle of impartiality. In addition, there was a difference in rank between the two.

The pillars outside the palace gate were pacing back and forth like ants on a hot pot. When they saw Jia Lian coming out, they hurried forward and said, "Second Master, the Second Madam is about to give birth."

Jia Lian was also shocked when he heard this. The due date had already passed, and he was still worried that Wang Xifeng was pregnant with Nezha.

Get on your horse and go home quickly. Work is not as important as your wife and children.

When he returned home, Wang Xifeng had already been sent to the delivery room, and all the family members who could come had come. Jia Lian met Jia's mother, Wang Furen and others, and wanted to enter the delivery room, but a woman stopped him: "Second Master, don't dare to go in, it's a bad omen!"

Jia Lian knew there were many rules, so he stood outside and shouted, "Don't be afraid, Feng'er, I'm outside."

Although Wang Xifeng was in great pain, she still smiled when she heard the voice and told Ping'er with difficulty: "Go tell Master that I'm fine!"

Even though he had read the original novel, Jia Lian still couldn't feel at ease, after all, a lot of changes had been made.

Jia Lian couldn't help with childbirth. At most he provided some disinfection tips, but he really didn't know anything else.

Time passed little by little. Jia Lian, Qing Jia's mother and others went back first, and he was left alone in the courtyard waiting slowly.

Qin Keqing and Li Wan stayed to help, but actually they just stayed to wait for news.

At this moment, Jia Lian heard Wang Xifeng's shouting inside the house, and he shouted for a long time outside: "Don't be afraid, I'm here."

Almost three hours later, a clear baby cry was heard in the room. Jia Lian sat down on the ground weakly. Looking closely, he was sweating profusely due to anxiety.

Someone came over and offered to help him. Jia Lian looked up and saw that it was Qin Keqing, and he quickly thanked her.

A midwife came out of the house and said, "Congratulations, Master Lian, both mother and daughter are safe."

Jia Lian heaved a sigh of relief and said repeatedly, "Okay, okay, there will be rewards, everyone will get a reward."

The midwives, maids and servants who were all in the room smiled happily upon hearing this, and their hands moved more quickly.

After all, if the second master is unhappy about the birth of a daughter, the reward money will be gone. Unexpectedly, Jia Lian didn't care and was still overjoyed.

"Feng'er, I can't go in. Listen to me, you have worked hard, and I thank you." Jia Lian shouted again outside. Qin Keqing and Li Wan behind him exchanged glances with mixed feelings.

In this era, men often express their feelings for women in a very subtle way, but Jia Lian is an exception as he does not hide his feelings in front of others.

Wang Xifeng is really enviable.

"Master, it's time for dinner." Guixiang appeared quietly, and Jia Lian waved his hand: "I have no appetite. I will eat after I see Feng'er."

Li Wan and Qin Keqing once again envy Wang Xifeng.

Maids and old women came in and out, and were finally allowed in. However, Jia Lian was not in a hurry. He asked someone to fetch hot water, washed his face and hands, and cleaned himself up before entering.

Wang Xifeng had fallen asleep with a little person lying beside her. Jia Lian first looked at Wang Xifeng's face. Although it was a little pale, her breathing was steady. He was immediately relieved.

After sitting down on the stool beside the bed, Jia Lian looked at the mother and daughter quietly. Time travel was already unreal, and now he had a child, even though it was a daughter, Jia Lian still had the motivation to strive.

He himself did not believe what he said when he said it was for the sake of the Jia family, but it was very convincing when he said it was for the sake of fighting for his wife and children.

When it got dark and the lights were turned on, Ping'er came in. Seeing that Jia Lian only had eyes for Wang Xifeng and the child, she wondered in her heart what would happen when I give birth to a child in the future.

When Wang Xifeng opened her eyes, she met a gentle gaze, and it seemed that the pain of childbirth was not so painful. She said, "Master, you haven't eaten yet."

Jia Lian smiled and shook his head: "Wait until you wake up, and then we can talk and have dinner later." Although he was a playboy, Wang Xifeng could still feel Jia Lian's true love.

But there is only one person, and there is nothing you can do about it if you want to share things with others. This is the way the world is.

The couple held hands and talked for a while, and the little one suddenly woke up and opened his mouth to cry. Jia Lian reached out to hold the baby, but the nurse next to him came over and stopped him, saying, "Second Master, you can't hold a newborn baby carelessly. It's weak, so you have to be careful. Let this servant do it."

The wet nurse took the child away and went next door, and the crying stopped after a while.

"It must be painful to give birth to a child, right?" Jia Lian turned around and looked into Wang Xifeng's eyes and asked subconsciously.

Wang Xifeng smiled slightly: "What nonsense are you talking about? This is a woman's fate." Ping'er came over and said, "Second Master, it's time to have dinner."

Wang Xifeng exerted a little force and shook Jia Lian's hand: "Master, go ahead. I'm fine now."

Jia Lian then stood up, looking back every few steps, and said, "I'll come after dinner."

Wang Xifeng's childbirth was undoubtedly the biggest event in the Jia family. The news quickly spread throughout the Jia family, and some rumors about Jia Lian also spread. There was no maid who did not secretly envy the second wife.

Mrs. Wang recalled that when Baoyu was born, Jia Zheng was waiting with Jia She to drink, and when he learned that it was a boy, he went back to rest happily. When Yuanchun and Jia Zhu were born, he was not at home at all.

Li Wan's situation was not much better. When Jia Lan was born, Jia Zhu was out. When he hurried back, the child was already born. When Jia Zhu learned that it was a son, he happily went to see Jia Lan first and had no time to care about Li Wan.

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

Later, after Ningke returned to the guild hall, the housekeeper came to ask him about the house, whether to rent or buy it.

A house is a big deal, so of course Ning Ke had to ask about it in detail. Only after asking did he find out that Butler Ning was quite popular.

Houses in Beijing are very expensive, but the location also matters. If nothing unexpected happens, I can only live in the west of the city. It is not suitable to live anywhere else.

The housekeeper looked around for a day and found only one suitable house for sale in the west of the city, asking for 8,000 taels. After serving as an official for many years, it was not that he could not afford this amount of money, but after buying the house, he would be short of money. There were five people in the family, plus servants, a total of 15 people. A house that was too small would not accommodate them, and a house that was too big would not be affordable.

"I can only rent it!" Ning Ke sighed, his money was very tight! How could he say that? As an official, Ning Ke took the money he deserved and didn't take a cent he shouldn't take.

The housekeeper lowered his voice and said, "The real estate agent said that we can pay half first and we can talk about the rest later."

Ning Ke immediately put away his smile and said, "What good things are you thinking? You can't just take advantage of the pie that falls from the sky."

The two were talking when there was a commotion outside. They stopped to wait for a while. Mrs. Ning came in and said, "Master, someone is coming from the palace." Ning Ke quickly tidied his clothes and came out. Seeing Qiu Shian standing in the courtyard, he quickened his pace and stepped forward to clasp his hands: "The public night has come. Ning is terrified."

After some greetings, Qiu Shian said, "Your Majesty knows that Lord Ning is an honest official. He may find it difficult to settle down in Beijing this time, so he specially grants him a three-story house..."

………………

It was three days later that Jia Lian learned that Ning Ke had been granted a three-story mansion.

Jia Lian, who became a father for the first time in this world, had no fatherly dignity when facing his daughter. Even though she was just a newborn, he had already shown signs of being a daughter slave.

Jia Lian, who had taken three days off, spent most of his time with his daughter. Even if his daughter fell asleep, he would sit by her side and watch her for a long time with a silly smile. This made Wang Xifeng both pleased and jealous. It was only because she was not feeling well, otherwise she would definitely teach this man a lesson.

His mind was focused on his daughter, and everything else was naturally put aside, which led to Guixiang and Ping'er being quite resentful, especially at night when Jia Lian said he was tired and wanted to sleep alone.

That day, Wang Xifeng was still complaining: "I gave birth to a girl, but her family didn't care. No one came to see me, so they sent the housekeeper to deliver some supplements."

It seems that Wang Xifeng is complaining about her parents' family, but in fact she is worried that her position in the Jia family will be unstable after giving birth to a daughter.

Jia Lian, who had been around his daughter all day, had no choice but to sit in front of Wang Xifeng and hold her hand, saying, "What are you thinking about? What's wrong with my daughter? I just love her."

"You don't know, sir. When I gave birth to a daughter, who knows how many bad things my parents said about her in private." Wang Xifeng knew the family situation and also knew that girls would not be popular.

Just as Jia Lian was about to comfort her further, there was a commotion outside. When Jia Lian frowned in dissatisfaction and was about to scold, Ping'er came in with a nervous look on her face: "Master, someone is coming from the palace."

Jia Lian stood up immediately after hearing this: "I'll go take a look!"

He ran out and came to Rongxi Hall to see Jia Zheng and Xia Shouzhong drinking tea. Jia Lian walked in quickly, and Xia Shouzhong stood up and took the initiative to speak with a smile: "Congratulations, Master Jia, on the birth of your daughter."

Jia Lian thanked him quickly, and Xia Shouzhong's face became serious: "There is an imperial decree!"

Everyone hurriedly stood opposite the incense table, and Jia Lian stood solemnly in front, waiting for Xia Shouzhong to read out.

Xia Shouzhong held up the imperial edict, and after a long list of formalities, he read out Jia Lian's various achievements, and finally said the key point: "Specially granted the title of Jiangning County Master."

This shocked Jia Lian. Emperor Chenghui was really generous. He gave his newborn daughter the title of County Princess, and the title was County Princess of Jiangning.

"I accept your order and thank you!" Jia Lian kowtowed sincerely. Emperor Chenghui was really nice, as long as it didn't threaten his throne, he was willing to give him benefits.

Even though this is just an honorary title and there is no fief, it is a social status. To put it this way, it is difficult to buy a sleeper ticket on the Chaoqi train, and you need a letter of introduction to go out, but for the title of director of the Writers Association of a certain province, you can buy a sleeper ticket by showing your ID, and you don’t need a letter of introduction.

To put it more seriously, even a first-rank imperial decree cannot compare to the treatment of a county lord. If one is lucky, the title of county lord can be passed down, just like Jia She's title. When it is passed down, whether to downgrade or not is up to the emperor. The emperor said that Jia She's performance is good, so his rank will not be downgraded. In the future, Jia Lian will inherit the title and will also be a first-rank general.

Wang Xifeng's imperial edict disappeared when she passed away and could not be passed down.

Xia Shouzhong did not come empty-handed, but brought rewards from the Queen and Yuanchun, mainly for physical nourishment.

In short, even though Jia Lian had a daughter, the news caused a huge commotion, so huge that all the masters in the Jia family were jealous and their eyes were red when they found out.

In contrast, the reaction from the outside world was very indifferent. No one questioned the emperor's high standard of rewards. Only a fool would question it.

Everyone who needed to know about the situation on New Year's Eve knew it afterwards. The Shenji Camp could be said to have turned the tide and frightened the Prince of Dongping, so that he dared not act rashly.

After all the great contributions, Jia Lian received very limited rewards. According to people's understanding, this shouldn't be the case. Now we all understand, and we are waiting for it.

Fortunately, it was a girl. If it was a son, the reward might have been greater.

Jia Lian was still too young, and Emperor Chenghui could not give him too many rewards. After such great achievements, would it be reasonable not to reward him? Therefore, it was reasonable to reward a newborn daughter with a title!
To put it bluntly, after killing those people, no one would want to see Emperor Chenghui give the reward to Jia Lian. Who knows what kind of official monster would be born.

At this point, everything that should be clear is clear. A county lord is definitely not enough, and when she inherits the title in the future, she will definitely not be downgraded.

Well, if Jia Lian didn't get a title, it would be fine if both father and son had both titles. Whether they were civil or military, the mood was the same.

After seeing off Xia Shouzhong, Jia Lian returned home. Wang Xifeng, who was still in confinement after giving birth, was so happy that she hugged her daughter and licked her, saying repeatedly, "County Lady, County Lady!"

Fortunately, Wang Xifeng knew the seriousness of the matter and did not make her daughter cry.

In the afternoon, the Jia family became lively again. This time, the people who came were not the housekeepers, but the ladies of the house, who came to congratulate Wang Xifeng.

When Wang Xifeng met her family, she tried hard to remain reserved, but she could not hide the joy in the corners of her mouth and brows. She wanted to show off. What should she do?
The next day when Jia Lian went out to work, Li Dong and Lin Ping came together. The two classmates were naturally very affectionate when they met. When they talked about their recent situation, Jia Lian realized that they had new places to go.

"The Li ni case has been basically concluded, and a group of officials have been dismissed. We two have taken advantage of it." Lin Ping explained the situation and was going to be promoted.

Although they were promoted, both of them were sent to other places, and the principle was to serve as officials in different places.

Lin Ping got a job as a sixth-rank judge in Songjiang Prefecture because of his father-in-law's connections. Li Dong had a good relationship with Jia Lian and was considered to be from the same faction as Zhang Tingen. He was also selected at this time and went to Jiangning to serve as the magistrate. Yes, that's the Jiangning of Jiangning County Master.

When talking about this position, Li Dong said with emotion: "It's not easy to be the magistrate of Jiangning! I can see that there is a reason why both of us were sent to Liangjiang."

Being an official in Liangjiang is both easy and difficult, especially in the wealthy areas of Jiangnan. In the past, officials in Songjiang Prefecture, Suzhou, Wuxi, and Changzhou were all lucrative positions that everyone was fighting for, but now it is not the case. Few people are willing to go there. The reason is very simple. Sun Huazhen, the governor of Liangjiang, was stationed in Nanjing. He was really rude to the gentry in Jiangnan, and he also had strict requirements on the officials in the prefectures and counties under him.

In Sun Huazhen's view, Jiangnan has huge problems, especially the tax problem.

After all the trouble with the land tax, the debt was basically cleared, but the problem of commercial tax resurfaced. It was not that taxes were not paid, but that collusion between officials and businessmen led to extremely serious tax evasion.

The commercial tax rate in the Great Zhou Dynasty was 1% of 20%, which was too low in Sun Huazhen's opinion. Moreover, many gentry were exempt from paying taxes because of their meritorious service.

Sun Huazhen thought, is this too much? With meritorious service, one can only be granted a certain degree of land tax exemption based on actual conditions. When will the business tax be exempted?

These two brothers knew something about the situation, so they came to say goodbye and ask for advice.

(End of this chapter)