Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 7 Asking for Silver
Jia Cong's injuries were finally healed. He started to move around in his room these days. After lying down for nearly half a month, his hands and feet became a little stiff.

Now that he had just recovered from his injuries, his body seemed even weaker and he became a little out of breath after just a few movements.

So he started using some of the fitness methods from his previous life.

Zhishao discovered that the Third Master had started to behave strangely. He often lay on the ground to support himself, and ran in circles in the narrow granary yard every morning and evening, and would not stop until he was sweating all over.

That day, Zhishao went to ask Wang Shanbao's wife for the monthly allowance, and Wang Shanbao's wife turned around and reported it to Mrs. Xing. Later, Mrs. Liu in the kitchen was severely scolded by Wang Shanbao's wife.

Mrs. Xing was greedy for money and goods. As the eldest daughter-in-law, she had no control over the West Palace, but the East Courtyard was her world. Everyone in the courtyard had a fixed amount of monthly allowance, and the public allowance was also distributed according to this amount every month.

These people live and eat in the courtyard, and they don't have to use the monthly allowance to feed themselves. Besides, there's someone like Jia Cong who is dishonorable and has no backbone and is easy to bully. How could Wang Shanbao, the housekeeper, not tamper with the monthly allowance?

She had received Madam Xing's secret order to pick on the weak, to embezzle and withhold money, to help Madam Xing amass wealth, and to take some of the spoils for herself, thus further consolidating her position with Madam Xing.

Because Jia Cong lacked money for recuperation, Zhishao was forced to go to Jia Cong's house to ask for the monthly allowance. This revealed the truth, and not only did Wang Shanbao feel humiliated, but Mrs. Xing also felt bad. How could she not resent him?

Later, when Zhishao went to the kitchen again, she brought out some cold rice and leftovers, and the portions were deliberately reduced.

Wu'er, the daughter of Mrs. Liu, was also missing. It was said that he was under house arrest by his mother. Jia Cong knew that it was Wang Shanbao, the housekeeper, who had heard Mrs. Xing's words and was doing something bad.

The silver box in the room had been empty for a long time, but fortunately he had exchanged ten taels of silver for the couplet given to Zhao Ma, so he did not starve. Every day Jia Cong would sneak out to buy some food to supplement his diet.

Just when Jia Cong was looking for ten taels of silver to support him and Zhishao for half a year, Wang Shanbao's wife suddenly came to his house and mentioned the ten taels of silver he had with a fake smile.

Before Jia Cong could deny it, Wang Shanbao, with a fierce face, preemptively shouted: "Brother, don't say that you don't have the ten taels of silver. Your mother showed off to Mrs. Xia, and many people heard it."

Jia Cong smiled bitterly. Seeing that his calligraphy was valuable, Zhao Ma was delighted. She must have been bragging about it to her fellow villager. There were so many gossipy people in the Jia family, so it was impossible to hide it from anyone.

Wang Shanbao's long face, which was not even two taels of meat, deliberately put on a fierce look: "Madam said to keep it for you. You can use it in the yard without spending a penny. Don't hide the silver and learn bad things. Take it out quickly!"

She saw that Jia Cong did not show the anger or grievance as she had imagined. Instead, he looked calm and stared at him with eyes that were so deep and hot that she suddenly felt a little uneasy.

She gritted her teeth and said, "This is not what I said. Madam told me to do it herself. If you don't take it out, I will let Madam take it herself."

Jia Cong suddenly smiled, which scared Wang Shanbao's wife.

She thought it was normal whether Jia Cong was angry or crying, but he smiled at her at this moment.

Was this bastard born of a prostitute beaten stupid or mad? Jia Cong's smile looked innocent, but it made her feel a little uneasy.

This made Wang Shanbao feel even more depressed. He felt like he had seen a ghost and that his mind was controlled by a child. He felt a little ashamed and annoyed.

The atmosphere at the scene became depressing. Zhishao behind him turned pale, her small hands tightly grasping the corner of her clothes, her bright eyes staring at Jia Cong worriedly.

Jia Cong took out a purse from his pocket and handed it to Wang Shanbao without any expression: "I spent two taels of silver on buying things these days. The rest is here."

Wang Shanbao's wife Hai heaved a sigh of relief and sneered inwardly. He despised Jia Cong more and more in his heart. He thought that he could scare this whore's son to death with just a few words. What a spineless bastard, he would not hand over the silver obediently.

She didn't mind the embarrassment and counted the silver in her purse in front of Jia Cong to see if two cents were really missing.

She was busy counting the silver with her head down and did not notice that although Jia Cong's face was calm, there was a flash of coldness in his eyes, which was bone-chilling.

Jia Cong knew that he could not keep the money. If he did not hand it over smoothly, Mrs. Xing would naturally come up with more ways to humiliate him. She was his stepmother, and she only said that she would help the child keep the money, but did not ask for it. There was nothing wrong with her.

The principles of filial piety are there, and the patriarchal ethics are in place. If he shows the slightest disobedience, he will be branded as unfilial and will no longer have a place in the Jia family. His situation will be even worse than it is now.

……

Ever since Wang Shanbao's family took away the silver, eating became a problem. Zhishao had a small appetite and didn't feel anything when she ate.

But Jia Cong now exercises every day, which consumes a lot of energy, and he is too hungry to fall asleep every night.

Reincarnated into the Jia family, a family of two dukes, Jia Cong thought he was technically capable, but it turned out that he couldn't even get enough to eat and became so miserable.

However, he saw through Mrs. Xing. She was the eldest lady of the Jia family, but she was so greedy and stingy that she even took away the ten taels of silver from her concubine's son.

And there's the look on Wang Shanbao's face. Both the master and the servant are not presentable enough. Apart from doing trivial things like these, they can't be great demons. No wonder the old lady doesn't like the eldest daughter-in-law.

The book sent by Tanchun mentioned Wang Wei, letting Jia Cong know that in this timeline, Wang Wei was one of the few celebrities who had not been wiped out by the historical branch.

Here he is still the "Poet Buddha" famous throughout the world for his poetry and paintings.

Jia Cong specially wrote three poems by Wang Wei, preparing to take them to Zhao Ma when she entered the courtyard, and then take them to the bookstore for consignment. The last incident with the couplets made him realize the value of his calligraphy.

This time, Madam Zhao must keep her mouth shut, otherwise, after getting the silver, Madam Xing will ask for it back.

However, Zhao Ma was not seen for several days. Later, I heard that she was sent to the laundry room by Mrs. Xing, saying that Jia Cong was grown up and no longer needed a wet nurse.

Jia Cong sneered in his heart, this was like cutting off his hands and feet in an attempt to trap him to death. However, it would not scare him, so at worst he could think of another way.

The next morning, Jia Cong left the East Courtyard early and prepared to go to Wenhan Street to find a calligraphy and painting shop to consign his three calligraphy works.

Not long after he left the house, Zhou Changyan, dressed in a blue shirt, entered the Rongguo Mansion.

As the eldest son who inherited the title, Jia She originally inherited the ancestral imperial decree to build the Rongguo Mansion. According to the patriarchal system and ethics, Jia Zheng, as the second son, should move to a separate mansion.

But he never expected that the one who was moved to another mansion was the eldest son, Jia She. It was all just a word from Grandmother Jia.

Grandmother Jia hated her eldest son's extravagant and frivolous behavior, so she only allowed him to inherit the title but did not allow him to live in the mansion, and no one else could say a word about it.

It can be seen that at this time, filial piety is more important than clan law. Even someone as absurd and cruel as Jia She could only listen to his mother's orders and dared not utter a word of complaint, otherwise he would be doomed.

Jia Cong saw all of this, and although he lived a humiliating life, he knew that the moral principles of filial piety and patriarchal law must not be easily violated. He could only take it step by step and plan for the long term.

The strange phenotype inherited by the twins of Rongguo Mansion is rare even among the nobles in Shenjing City. Although the heads of each family are well aware of the reason, they will never talk about it. Every family has some dirty deeds, so they should keep their dignity.

In the Jia family, this was an even more secretive issue. No one, from top to bottom, dared to talk about it. Even someone as humble as Mrs. Xing, although she hated it in her heart, would never dare to say a word about it.

Zhou Changyan was just a humble servant of someone else, so he naturally didn't know the twists and turns of such a wealthy family. Since Jia Cong was the grandson of Duke Rong, he naturally went to Rongguo Mansion to look for him, but he didn't know that there was a separate East Courtyard.

(End of this chapter)