Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 340: The Sun Reflects Tenderness

Rongguo Mansion, outside Rongqing Hall.

Just after the hour of Si, Daiyu took Zijuan to Rongqing Hall to pay her respects to Lady Jia.

She has been weak since childhood and was born afraid of cold. Although her health has improved a lot in the past two years, she still dislikes the severe winter and cold spring. Summer makes her most comfortable, and she often takes Zijuan out for a walk.

Today she wore a green collared boa with light blue flowers, a white round-necked thin silk jacket underneath, and a plain white long skirt. Her clothes were elegant and flowing, and she looked indescribably pretty and charming.

The two men had just walked around the marble screen and had not yet reached the door when they saw Lin Zhixiao's wife turning into the hall from the left wing.

Daiyu knew that ever since the Lai family was convicted last year, the Lai brothers had been involved in several murder cases and were executed after the autumn. It sounded really scary.

Nanny Lai, who had served my grandmother for half her life, was now kept in a small courtyard outside the mansion. My grandmother resented her son for ruining the reputation and wealth of the Jia family, and from then on she would not allow her to enter the mansion to see them.

Now that Lin Zhixiao has become the chief steward of the Jia family, Lin Zhixiao's family is in charge of the affairs of the inner courtyard. He runs between his grandmother and Sister Feng every day, and they talk about all the household affairs.

After all, Daiyu is a relative from outside the family, so when she encounters such housekeeping affairs, she will most likely avoid them to avoid suspicion. Besides, she has always disliked these trivial matters in the backyard.

Just as he turned around, the voice of Lin Zhixiao's family was heard from behind the soft curtain, and the voice mentioned words like Third Master Cong, Tianchan, and Xia Fu.

Daiyu knew that Lin Zhixiao and his wife were her grandmother's confidants. Although Sister Feng was in charge of household affairs, she still had to give face to these two people on a daily basis.

Now when she mentioned things like her third brother's land to the old lady, she always felt something was not right.

Although Daiyu has read a lot of poetry and has a straightforward and intelligent personality and cannot stand petty calculations, it does not mean that she knows nothing about household affairs.

She was born in the Gusu Lin family, a family of marquises during the Five Dynasties, and had seen the world. Her mother, Jia Min, was also a very shrewd woman, and she learned a lot from her when she was young.

In addition, she grew up in a prominent family like the Jia family and had seen many twists and turns in the lives of the wealthy. Although she felt disdainful in her heart, it did not mean that she was unaware of it.

And since it was related to her third brother, she was even more concerned. She knew that some time ago, the younger brother of the concubine house of the Jia family had coveted the title property of the East Palace, but he failed.

……

Daiyu took Zijuan a few steps away and said, "Wait here. When Aunt Lin comes out, tell her that the gauze curtains on the windows of my room have faded, and Aunt Lin sent someone to replace them."

Zijuan blinked her eyes when she heard this. In fact, she had also heard some of the conversation in the hall just now. She had served Daiyu for many years and they had already understood each other's minds.

Knowing that his daughter's mind was on the Third Master, he knew what Daiyu meant after hearing what she said.

But he asked, "What if I tell her and Aunt Lin asks someone else to do it?"

Daiyu smiled and said, "This is Rongqing Hall. She will definitely not ask anyone else to do it for her. She will do it herself."

Zijuan seemed to understand something, and she smiled and whispered in Daiyu's ear, "Don't worry, young lady, I'll be waiting here. If you have anything to do, just go and do it."

Daiyu's pretty face turned slightly red: "Humph, you are the only one who talks too much."

Not long after Daiyu left, Lin Zhixiao's wife came out of the hall, and Zijuan came to greet her and said with a smile: "Auntie Lin, our young lady asked me to find you."

Lin Zixiao's family knew that Zijuan was Daiyu's confidante, and that Miss Lin was the old lady's apple of their eye, so naturally they dared not neglect her in the slightest.

Smilingly she asked what was going on, and Zijuan repeated what Daiyu had said just now.

Lin Zhixiao's wife knew that Daiyu came from a family of officials. She was well-educated, intelligent, and kind-hearted. She was usually a worry-free person and seldom ordered others to do things.

But she is not as easy-going as the second girl. If you dare to stab her, this girl will not be polite to you with her sharp tongue. Besides, she is also spoiled by the old lady.

Therefore, she couldn't help but care about Daiyu's affairs.

"Hey, your girl rarely asks for help. Curry happens to have extra Xiaying veils. I'll bring someone to change your girl right away."

Lin Zhixiao's wife is a smart person. If Zijuan talks about this outside Rongqing Hall, the maid at the door will definitely pass the message to the old lady.

Miss Lin is the old lady's darling, and only by handling her affairs personally can she satisfy the old lady's wishes.

As for what I just said to the old lady in the hall, it was just someone else's request, so it won't matter if it is said some time in the evening.

When Zijuan saw that Lin Zhixiao's wife had indeed come to do it personally, she couldn't help but admire her own daughter's foresight.

……

Earl's Mansion, Jia Cong Courtyard.

Ever since he listened to Liu Jing'an's analysis that day at Luocang Mountain, Jia Cong decided to take the imperial examination next year, so he now takes time every day to review the classics and essays.

Suddenly, Qingwen said outside, "Miss Lin is here."

Jia Cong put down his book and saw Daiyu coming in with a round fan in her hand. She said to him, "Third brother is really a closed-door reader of sage books. He will surely win the first prize in the imperial examination next year."

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Sister, why did you come here alone under such hot sun? You didn't ask Zijuan to follow you. The sun is very strong in the hot summer. You should go out after 3 p.m. in the future. Otherwise, you will get heat stroke. It's no joke."

Daiyu smiled and said, "I informed Third Brother today. How are you going to thank me?"

Jia Cong looked at Daiyu in surprise.

Daiyu said, "I heard Lin Zhixiao's wife and the old lady talking about the land and Xia Fu in your name. I didn't hear the details, but it doesn't look like a good thing. Third brother, you should pay more attention."

When Jia Cong heard the words "land property" and "Xia Fu", his expression changed slightly. He walked back and forth in the study twice and suddenly understood.

He smiled at Daiyu and said, "Although I didn't hear the whole thing, I have probably guessed what happened."

Daiyu was surprised and said, "I only heard a few words, and Third Brother actually guessed it. Tell me about it."

Jia Cong said: "After I was conferred the title of Earl, I had 3,200 mu of tax-free land under my name. Now that the emperor has issued a new policy, the tax-free land for officials and gentry has been reduced to 30%, so I still have 1,000 mu of land to spare.

I guess someone wanted to transfer the land under his name to me to avoid paying the summer and autumn taxes. Since Lin Zhixiao's family would tell the old lady about this, the person who donated the land must be the concubine of the Jia family in Shenjing.

Otherwise, Lin Zhixiao's family would never have asked for this shame."

Daiyu said, "Those people must have known that Third Brother didn't want to get involved in this, so they went around in circles to find the old lady. Will Third Brother agree?"

Jia Cong explained: "Your Majesty's new policy of reducing the tax-free land of officials and gentry and the tax based on land is to reduce the number of officials and gentry who eat the state's salary in vain, so that those who are rich and have land pay more taxes, and those who have no land and no property pay less taxes.

This is a good policy that serves the public, cares for the people, and increases national revenue.

Now that the new policy has been implemented, many officials and nobles outside are running out of tax-free land, and can only return the land they originally donated to their families. These people are now looking for new households to donate.

While the emperor is working hard to promote the new policies, they are still dreaming of transferring the money to other families, embezzling the national taxes and reaping the benefits.

I, your third brother, am also an official appointed by the imperial court, so it is not easy for me to do something that would betray the new policy."

Daiyu smiled and said, "When I was little, I heard my father say that since the Yong'an period, there have been new parties and old parties in the court. Third brother advocates new policies, so he is the new party?"

Jia Cong replied: "Although the New Party claims to reform bad policies, its opinions are not always new or good, and there are also some injustices. Although the Old Party claims to adhere to the old rules, its opinions are not all rigid and outdated. There are also some laws that have never changed, so we cannot generalize them.

I am not a member of the new party, nor am I a member of the old party. I only agree with what is right.”

Although Daiyu, as a girl in the boudoir, did not understand much about court affairs, she was well-educated and intelligent, so she naturally understood what Jia Cong said.

Jia Cong's words only distinguished between good and evil, right and wrong, without any barriers or clichés. They were really thought-provoking, and her eyes sparkled when she heard them.

"Third brother, you are amazing!"

As for what was so great about Jia Cong, Daiyu couldn't put it into words, she just felt that he was to her liking.

Jia Cong found what she said interesting and looked at her with a smile. The sunlight outside the window was dazzling, illuminating Daiyu's pretty face, with her charming eyebrows and eyes, and every detail was clearly visible.

There was a thin layer of sweat on his smooth forehead, making him look pitiful and playful.

Jia Cong laughed and said, "It's a hot day. You must have come here too hastily. Your head is sweating. It's easy to catch a cold if the wind blows. You are not strong and you don't take care of yourself."

As he spoke, he took out a handkerchief from his sleeve and gently wiped away the sweat on Daiyu's forehead. His movements were gentle, as if he was wiping a precious piece of porcelain.

Daiyu's pretty face was slightly flushed, but she did not avoid Jia Cong's actions. She even narrowed her eyes slightly and allowed him to wipe the sweat off her face.

Since ancient times, it has been stipulated that boys and girls should not sit together after the age of seven. Although they grew up together in the garden, Daiyu has not yet reached the age of marriage, so they can joke and talk without restraint. However, Jia Cong's action was a little too intimate...

Jia Cong is a person of later generations and does not care much about the barriers between men and women.

Daiyu, however, is sincere by nature, tender-hearted and expressive, and she is unwilling to hide her thoughts.

……

A graceful figure flashed outside the door and then quietly retreated.

Yingchun had come to talk to Jia Cong, but she saw Zhishao and Wu'er going to Mrs. Liu's place. Qingwen and Yinglian were also leaving, so no one notified her when she entered the yard.

As luck would have it, she saw what Jia Cong and Daiyu were doing. Yingchun felt a little embarrassed and her heart was beating fast. She was afraid of encountering embarrassment if she went in, so she quietly retreated.

Yingchun was not as smart as Tanchun. Tanchun had already figured out the clues from the sachet that Jia Cong carried with him.

Yingchun was a little slow in this regard, but girls are not stupid in these aspects. This year she also vaguely realized that Congdi treated Lin Daiyu differently.

I think they are cousins, have been together since childhood, and have grown older year by year, so they finally developed feelings for each other.

But Yingchun thought it was not a bad thing, it was even quite good.

But this matter has not been done yet, and we must not let the old lady see any clues, otherwise it will be a big trouble again.

Many people knew the old lady's feelings towards Baoyu and Lin Daiyu.

……

Rongguo Mansion, Fengjie's Courtyard.

Xing'er's wife took the debt collection book from outside and walked into Fengjie's yard with a nervous look on her face.

She was Wang Xifeng's maid, and followed Wang Xifeng into the Jia Mansion. She was also promised to Jia Lian's servant Xing'er. The couple were both Wang Xifeng's confidants.

Xing'er's wife has always been in charge of the debt collection outside. Even the secret matter of Wang Xifeng secretly lending money at high interest rates was handled by Xing'er's wife outside, which shows how much Wang Xifeng trusts her.

Xing'er's wife entered the outer hall but did not go into the inner room. Instead, she went to see Ping'er first, said a few words to her, and then took out the account book in her hand.

He also pointed out the key points to Ping'er.

Ping Er had been with Wang Xifeng in handling the affairs of the inner house for several years, so she naturally knew the ins and outs of it. She was also surprised after seeing this and asked, "How could there be such a huge deficit? How could this happen over the years?"

Xing'er's wife said with a bitter face, "Now the court has changed the method. Starting from this year's summer harvest, we must follow this method. This item was not included in previous years, but it will be added in the future.

The account book shows the deficit of the mansion's farms near Shenjing, as well as the amount reported by Jin Cai from the old house in Jinling. We have to wait for the grandmother to make a decision on whether to hand them over.

It must be settled before August, and Jinling is still waiting for confirmation from the mansion."

Ping'er's face also looked a little ugly. She said, "You are in charge of the external accounts. You know that the income of the mansion is fixed every year, and it is not very abundant. I am afraid that Madam will not be able to make a decision on such a huge deficit."

Ping'er took Xing'er's wife into the inner room. Wang Xifeng had been feeling unwell these days and had a piece of plum blossom ointment on her temple.

It is now July, the time when the mansion takes stock of the first half of the year's harvest. It is also the busiest time of the year for Wang Xifeng.

Every year, the income from the government shops, farms, etc. must be taken care of for a half-year at this time, which is a tedious task.

And the usual chores in the mansion, such as monthly wages, shopping, welcoming and seeing off guests, staff allocation, clothes, hairpins and skirts for the ladies of each room, clothes, outfits, pens, ink, paper and inkstones for the men, and family studies, none of them should be left out.

……

Although Wang Xifeng's father was also the legitimate son of the Wang family, he was the most incompetent among his brothers. Compared with his brother Wang Ziteng, the difference between them was like heaven and earth.

Therefore, before Wang Xifeng got married, she was not a very favored lady in the Wang family and her presence in the family was not very strong.

But she has been scheming since she was young, and she likes to be close to her shrewd and capable aunt. Facts have proved that she has a good eye.

Her eldest aunt later married into the second branch of the Jia family in Rongguo and became the mistress of the household. She even helped arrange for Wang Xifeng to marry the eldest son and grandson of Rongguo, allowing her to become a phoenix on the royal family.

Perhaps it was the embarrassing position of her parents in the Wang family that made Wang Xifeng feel neglected, thus inspiring her passion for power.

Ever since she was supported by Mrs. Wang to run the household, even though she had a confidant like Ping'er to help her, she still did everything by herself, because the feeling of having all the decisions made by her really made her intoxicated.

Working so hard all year round would hurt even the strongest person, so every summer and winter she would develop old illnesses and could only barely get through it each time.

She also didn't dare to complain in front of Lady Jia and Lady Wang, for fear that the power to be the head of the household would fall into the hands of others...

And in July this year, Wang Xifeng seemed to have more things to do than in previous years.

Because July is the time for collecting summer taxes.

In the Zhou Dynasty, land tax was levied twice a year, divided into summer tax and autumn tax. The summer tax was collected no later than early August, and the autumn tax was collected no later than early March of the following year.

Originally, the collection of land tax had nothing to do with the Jia family, a family of dukes and nobles. At this time of year in previous years, Wang Xifeng did not have to deal with this matter at all.

And this year, with the announcement of two new policies by the imperial court, they were first piloted in Yongzhou and several states in the south of the Yangtze River. The land properties accumulated by the Rong State Jia family for generations were all in these places...

When Ping'er gave Wang'er's wife's account book to Wang Xifeng, she asked Wang'er's wife to tell the story again.

Wang Xifeng's face changed when she heard this: "According to this calculation, all in all, we lose tens of thousands of silver coins a year. How are we going to live in the future..."

(End of this chapter)