Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 345: Dandy people bring trouble

Rongguo Mansion.

Ever since Jia Cong's words in Rongqing Hall that day, Jia Mu, Jia Zheng, Mrs. Wang, Wang Xifeng and other heads of the family have given up their hope.

They gritted their teeth and began to pay land taxes in various places according to the regulations of the imperial court.

But not everyone in Rongguo Mansion agrees with this approach.

When Jia She heard that his family had started to pay summer taxes and that the family income in the second half of the year would be greatly reduced, he was so angry that he smashed the teacup.

Only then did he realize that the reason why the mansion paid the summer tax so decisively was because that beast from the East Mansion had passed on a message to the old lady, scaring the old lady and his pedantic brother into submission.

This made Jia She scold Jia Cong: "The son doesn't feel sorry for selling his father's land."

This beast obtained the title himself, and he enjoys a huge share of the estate, and he has no extra land under his command. It's easy for him to talk without any pain in his waist, but he makes the Western Mansion suffer a lot to pay the land tax.

Nowadays, many officials, gentry and nobles in the capital are either waiting and watching or delaying. Why should the Rongguo Mansion be the one to take charge?

However, according to the new policy of the court, Jia She did not have much say in the matter of the payment of summer taxes by the entire household.

At the beginning, the old master of the Jia family left a will before his death, stating that Jia She would inherit the title and Jia Zheng would inherit the family.

The mansion and the property of the title are inseparable, and Jia Zheng has the first say in the disposal of the property of the title, not to mention the opinion of Lady Jia.

Therefore, Jia She was completely helpless about the mansion's decision to pay the new summer tax.

This incident had a great impact on him, because after paying the summer tax, the amount of silver collected in the public treasury was greatly reduced, and the amount of silver allocated to the East Route Court according to the rules was also less.

After deducting the monthly wages of the maids and servants in the east courtyard and the daily expenses of the household, the money left in the hands of Jia She and his wife was more than half less than usual.

This made Mrs. Xing, who had always been obsessed with money, heartbroken.

This made Jia She, who had always been used to a luxurious life, full of resentment.

In fact, he had a cash cow. It was normal for him to get some money from his son, a son with a hereditary earldom.

But he had gone too far in the past, and he and his son became strangers in public, but deep down they were like enemies.

Everyone in the Rongguo Mansion, and even in the noble circle in the capital, knew about this matter.

Ever since Jia Cong started to rise to prominence and was granted the hereditary title of Earl Wangdai by the emperor, countless people have been laughing at him behind his back.

Although Jia She was a mean person by nature, he still had to maintain his dignity as a father, and he could not bring himself to go to the East Palace to share the profits.

Moreover, he also knew very well that the beast in the East Mansion was no good person. He was the one who led troops to kill on the battlefield. If the old lady wanted to squeeze into his mansion, she would not find any gap at all.

Not to mention the deep grudge between him and me. If I anger him because of this, I don't know what that beast would do behind my back.

Not to mention the distant case of Wang Shanbao, let’s take the Jia Zhen and his son from the former East Palace as an example. Just because they were plotting to take over the incense shop that was related to him, he could only watch them die and refused to help at all.

He also killed a large group of old servants in the family. His methods and intentions were extremely evil. Jia She saw all these things clearly, so he dared not to offend that beast.

Ever since Yingchun and Sun Shaozu's engagement was broken off, Sun Shaozu suddenly left the capital, and Jia She's fur shop and business in Datong also came to a halt.

He asked the store owner to make a special trip to Datong. It was said that many people were implicated in the corruption case among the army under the Nine Provinces Commander-in-Chief's Inspection Team. To be on the safe side, the Sun family had to temporarily close down their business.

Jia She's fur shop has had no income in the past two months. He was used to living a dissolute and extravagant life, and now that he was suddenly short of so much money, he naturally became like an ant on hot pot, unable to get around.

These days, Jia She is racking his brains to find ways to make money outside...

……

Since the Rongguo Mansion began to pay the new summer tax, in order to make up for the deficit, Wang Xifeng obtained the consent of Lady Jia and Mrs. Wang and spent some time reorganizing and laying off the household slaves.

Although the population in the mansion had decreased, there was no shortage of staff. This was mainly because Wang Xifeng was used to managing the household on a daily basis and knew the strengths and weaknesses, as well as the diligence and laziness of the servants in the mansion.

Those who were driven out of the mansion by Wang Xifeng to be married off, or sent to work on the farms outside the mansion, were either gossipers or lazy.

The absence of these people in the mansion actually made it possible for the remaining people to do things without constraints and gossip, and things went much more smoothly than before.

Of course, there were some innocent people among those who were driven out, but they were a very small minority after all.

Therefore, except for the relatives of those who were driven out, who spoke ill of Feng Ji in private, most people praised the Second Mistress for her good means.

Under the pressure of paying the summer tax under the new policy, except for a few heads of the household who were a little worried, the other people in the mansion actually lived more comfortably than before, which was a strange thing.

It can be seen that if the wealthy and powerful families in history always live in peace and prosperity, they will accumulate chronic diseases over time. Only when they experience ups and downs and oppression will they give rise to the vitality to reform and innovate.

Emperor Jiazhao implemented the new policy vigorously, and perhaps he did not expect such side effects to occur.

……

However, not everyone in Rongguo Mansion was happy. For example, Baoyu, the phoenix boy who was praised by everyone in the mansion, had been feeling a little depressed recently. That day, he went to Daiyu's room to talk to Lin Daiyu, but Zijuan said that the girl had gone to Lixiangyuan to look for Bao, so Baoyu hurried over excitedly.

Naturally, he was most pleased to have the company of the two most outstanding sisters in the mansion.

As luck would have it, they arrived at Lixiangyuan late, so Aunt Xue invited them to stay for dinner. However, Baojie was indifferent and Lin Daiyu was lazy at the table, and they dispersed after the meal.

Baoyu felt that the sisters in the garden were somehow very estranged from each other. His second sister had moved to the East Palace and would never come back.

Everyday, the sisters often went to the East Mansion to chat and play with their second sister, but they often left him alone, making him a lonely ghost many times.

Now, the two sisters he loved most were also indifferent to him. Feeling annoyed, he drank a few more glasses of wine.

He returned to his room feeling upset and drunk. He was going to drink a bowl of maple tea brewed in the morning, but because that tea was expensive and needed to be brewed three or four times before it became delicious, Baoyu had saved it for later.

Unexpectedly, the maid Qianxue brought a cup of new tea. When she asked, she found out that Baoyu's wet nurse, Li Ma, came over and saw that the maple dew tea was rare, so she insisted on drinking it. Qianxue didn't care too much and ate it with her.

Baoyu was already feeling unhappy because he had lost the favor of his sisters, and he drank a few more cups. After hearing Qianxue's words, he threw the teacup under the influence of alcohol.
He also scolded Xixue and asked her what kind of grandmother Li was, saying that she was so filial and even took his tea and gave it to others.

He also kept saying that he wanted to drive out Li Ma and Qianxue.

In fact, Baoyu has always been on good terms with the maids. Besides, Qianxue is very pretty. Although she is not as close to Baoyu as Xiren, Sheyue and others, she is still very much in Baoyu's eyes.

His words of driving people away really meant to drive away the senior and domineering Madam Li, and as for driving away Xixue, it was just an angry remark made after drinking.

But unexpectedly, he smashed the teacup and cursed, making such a big noise that it alarmed Lady Jia and Mrs. Wang, who usually kept their eyes and attention on Baoyu.

Mrs. Wang also knew Xixue. Although she was somewhat charming, she was a gourd with a half-sawn mouth. The few times she came to Baoyu's room, she was not very attentive and pleasing, and was far inferior to Xiren and others.

In addition, there was talk of reducing the population in the family, and Mrs. Wang wanted to win over the hearts of Lin Zhixiao and his wife, so she used this as an excuse to drive Qianxue away, vacating the vacancy and filling it with Lin Zhixiao's daughter Hongyu.

In order to cover up the traces, Baoyu's wet nurse, Li Ma, was dismissed. After all, Li Ma was involved in the maple dew tea incident. On the surface, it seemed fair and no one could find fault with it.

……

Although Baoyu always said that girls are made of water, he was also very caring and loving to the maids, and he indeed always had a good reputation in the mansion.

But whenever he encountered the expressions of his parents saying bad things about the girl in his room, he would immediately act like a cuckold, shrink his neck, lose all sympathy and care, and just try to avoid disaster for himself.

So, although Qianxue was full of grievances and hoped that her master could protect her, in the end, it was not possible and she could only be driven out.

At most, Baoyu would feel sad and depressed after the incident.

For example, in the original trajectory: After Qingwen passed away, he only asked the girl whether she called his name before she died. If she didn’t, it meant that others didn’t hear it clearly and she was a fool...

Sometimes, what Baoyu cares most about is not the honor, disgrace, life or death of the girls, but how important he is in their hearts.

……

After Xixue was driven away, Baoyu was very sad and looked depressed and worried for several days.

Except for Xiren, his most trusted maid, the other maids in his room looked at him with a hint of fear in their eyes.

If he hadn't been drunk and lost his temper at Qianxue that day, how could she have been kicked out for no reason?

As a result, the maids felt fearful that the rabbit's death would cause the fox's grief, and they served Baoyu even more carefully.

Seeing that the little maid in the room was no longer as charming and fearless as usual, Baoyu felt even more depressed and could not stay in the room any longer. Whenever he had free time, he would wander around the mansion looking for fun.

……

A few days ago, Jia Cong explained in Rongqing Hall the reasons why the five high-ranking officials were convicted. This gave Jia Zheng, who usually only knew how to sit in the government office and talk about poetry and prose, a refreshing feeling.

Nowadays, the imperial court has repeatedly implemented new laws and policies, the pros and cons of which involve thousands of households. For example, the new policy of reducing and exempting officials and gentry from taxes is greatly related to the Rongguo Mansion.

The ups and downs of the political situation made Jia Zheng immerse himself in poetry and books, and he developed an unprecedented desire to explore the external affairs.

This day was also the day when all government offices were closed. Jia Zheng knew that Jia Cong would be studying classics in the mansion to prepare for the exam, but one hour after lunch was Jia Cong's rest time.

After so many years, Jia Zheng still knew Jia Cong's daily habits, so he asked the maid to go to the East Palace to call Jia Cong over for a talk.

After receiving the message from the maid, Jia Cong left the East Mansion, and took Qingwen with him before leaving, because Qingwen was helping Yuanyang to draw a new embroidery pattern, which she was going to send over.

The two parted ways halfway through the walk, and Jia Cong went alone to the three main rooms in the east corridor of Rong Xi Tang, where Jia Zheng and Mrs. Wang lived on a daily basis.

Not long after Jia Cong entered Jia Zheng's living study, Baoyu took advantage of the free time at noon to stroll to the east corridor of Rong Xi Tang.

Because he knew that at this time, Jia Zheng was in Mengpo Zhai Study, where guests gathered to chat in their spare time.

(End of this chapter)