The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Chapter 149
People around the Supreme Emperor came to pay respects to Jia Amnesty, which had too much to do with it, and several people in power in Jia's mansion all attached great importance to it.

It's just that Jia Zheng prided himself on being a clean scholar and disdained to make friends with the eunuch, so he only let Jia Lian and Jia Zhen receive him.

The eunuch surnamed Wang really just came to worship, sat for a while, said some pretentious words, and then left.

After sending him out the door, Jia Lian narrowed his eyes as he watched the other party's frame go away.

Now, he finally understood why so many people hated eunuchs.

He had met several great eunuchs in Daming Palace before, whether it was Dai Quan or Qiu Shi'an, Jia Lian felt pretty good and friendly.In comparison, this dog eunuch is very uncomfortable.

The other party seemed to come here purely to play prestige.

It is said that the servant knows the master, and the strange way is hidden in the court and the public. In his later years, the Supreme Emperor changed his style of the past, liked luxury, and was very happy...

These, I'm afraid there is nothing wrong with it.

Of course, no matter what, the Supreme Emperor was not something he could offend. Naturally, he would not criticize the Supreme Emperor's behavior.

Moreover, it is a good thing for the Supreme Emperor to let this dead eunuch come to worship Jia She, for him and for the Jia family. It means that the Supreme Emperor still misses the families of these meritorious ministers.

A noble family lives with dignity, and this dignity mostly comes from the holy family.

Therefore, Jia Zhen, who was also sent out like him, looked at Jia Lian, half envious and half sour, and said: "Brother Lian, congratulations, I didn't expect that even Chonghua Palace would send people to pay homage to the Elder Lord.

It can be seen that the Supreme Emperor and his elders still remember your mansion..."

Jia Zhen is much older than Jia Lian, and knows the status of Rongguo Mansion in the ruling and opposition parties when Jia Daishan was alive.

Among other things, when his grandfather Jia Daihua died, there was no sound in the palace.

They are still big families, and it's really sad to think about it.

Jia Lian responded casually to Jia Zhen's words, and when she turned around, Lin Zhixiao came up and said:

"Second master, the old lady invites you to go over."

Lin Zhixiao had come over a long time ago. He saw Jia Lian and Jia Zhen talking to the eunuchs in the palace, so he didn't dare to disturb him. He didn't speak until Jia Lian was free.

Jia Lian was not surprised when he heard this.

Jia Amnesty's funeral was very well arranged, and it was the first time that he and Wang Xifeng had hosted such an important event, so Jia's mother was a little worried. These days, she had confessed many times in secret, and she was afraid that they would not do it properly. .

Since Jia Liannian paid so much money for the old man, he naturally listened to the opinions he could listen to.

This time I don't know why.So I bowed to Jia Zhen and asked him to take care of me outside, and then walked to Jia's mother's courtyard.

When I got to this side of the corridor, I heard the gossip of a few sweeping women in the yard over there.

They either sat on the steps, or stood with broomsticks on their hands, and said in their mouths: "So, it is really difficult for Master and Madam to manage this family.

This time the grand master went, and the money needed to spend on the funeral for a month before and after was gone.

Elder Master, you also know how the money in his hands can be kept for a day and a half. I heard that over the years, not only have they failed to accumulate their wealth, but they have even lost money.

In this way, the money for the funeral should not be subsidized by the master and wife..."

"Didn't you hear that the old lady paid for it?"

"The old lady paid a little, and most of them came from the officials here. I heard that the wife even took out a few thousand taels of silver to pay for the elder's funeral."

"What's the matter? Didn't it mean that the elder master and the second master separated long ago? Even if the elder master doesn't know how to manage the family and loses money, can't even the eldest wife, the second master Lian and the second mistress Lian, they It can’t be done without money, so why do you need your wife to pay the money?”

"It's not like you don't know what kind of person the eldest lady is. Tell her to take money? You want her to do it too!
Let's talk about Lian's second grandma and Lian's second master...

Second Grandma Lian is naturally rich.I heard that the dowry she got as a dowry back then was not known how much, let alone the money she earned overtly and secretly in the years when she was the head of the house, let alone tens of thousands of dollars!It's just that if you want Second Mistress Lian to take money for your father-in-law's funeral, it doesn't make sense, let alone Second Grandma Lian, her money is so easy to get?If you really want to ask her to take it, it probably means that you have no money. How has she ever treated the Eldest Master and Eldest Wife as her parents-in-law...

As for the second master Lian, he is naturally filial.It's just that after all, he has only become an official in the past two years and started earning a family business, so the money he has must be limited, so naturally it is all in the hands of Lian's second grandmother.

In this way, this money, can't our master and wife come out?Only our master and wife, who are kind and kind-hearted, are willing to be so magnanimous and careless. If we change to another family, what should we do in such a situation? "

The women were gossiping about the mansion angrily, and they were all in high spirits.

They are all relying on the funeral at Dongkuayuan, and most of the master's grandmothers are not in the yard here, so they don't have any scruples.

"Forget what you said. After all, we are all a family, and the old lady is still there. How can we separate them completely? It's like our Rongguo Mansion making friends with other mansions. It's not that we have been doing it here. Apart from letting Second Master Lian come over to help the housekeeper, Elder Master actually didn't care about it at all.

But let me tell you about it, regardless of whether it is red or white, good or bad, there is a back and forth between each family, welcoming guests, no one can make a fortune from this, right?

So, since our Rongguo Mansion is acting as an agent for all the gifts in return, then naturally all the gifts should be received by us, right? "

"That's the reason... I know what you mean. You mean, when Second Master Lian and Second Mistress Lian were doing funeral affairs for the Grand Master, they swallowed all the sacrificial rites sent by the mansions. Send it to the official office for registration?"

"That's right! There was nothing going on in the old man's courtyard before, so that's all.

But nowadays, for the elder's funeral, almost all the mansions sent people to bring the offerings, and even if they didn't come, they sent people to deliver them.

Everyone knows that this exchange of favors is a one-off transaction. Naturally, there should be a leader so that there will be no troubles.

However, I heard from the people in the management room that Second Mistress Lian and the others had absolutely no intention of bringing this account to this side. Just look at it, it will be a muddled account in the future.

That's why I said, the family of the master and wife is difficult..."

"According to what you said, it's true. Second Master Lian and Second Mistress Lian did not act honestly. This is due to the fact that the master and wife are kind and the elders don't care about them.

Alas, fortunately, they still have the nerve to use the money given by the wife to take care of the grand master's funeral..."

Jia Lian stood in the wide corridor, covered by the pillars, although he didn't hear all of what they said, but he did hear the general idea.

He wasn't surprised at all, not even angry.

Because similar rumors didn't just come out today, he had already heard about them from Zhao'er and others.

It's the first time I've heard it with my own ears.

Jia Lian was [-]% sure that this was Mrs. Wang's handwriting.It is nothing more than wanting to use the pressure of public opinion to let him and Wang Xifeng obediently send all the sacrifices received from this funeral to this place for registration and compilation...

Speaking of this, there is a reason.

Although Dongkuayuan has been separated for ten years, it is not completely independent.

For example, it is true that Jia Zheng has always been in charge of the courteous exchanges with various noble families.After all, other people don't have the heart to sort out the internal relationship of your Rongguo Mansion, and it is impossible for them to establish contacts with two Rongguo Mansions at the same time, and send two gifts to Rongguo Mansion every time...

In the past, because Jia She lived alone in Dongkuayuan, he ignored everything, and those who had contact with him were personal friends, so he didn't interfere.It's okay for Jia Zheng to accept all the gifts and prepare all the gifts for other people's homes.

But this time when Jia Amnesty died and such a major event happened, the problem of Rongguo Mansion's nondescript way of dividing the family was exposed.

When other people's families come to pay respects with offerings, they will naturally go to the mourning hall.The mourning hall is located in Dongkuayuan, so the sacrificial ceremony is naturally sent to Dongkuayuan.

A family of 100 taels and 200 taels of silver, calculated in a few days, plus silver, is worth thousands of silver!

This money, calculated according to the previous rules, should indeed be sent to the official treasury here for return.

That's the reason... But how can they easily hand over what fell into the hands of Jia Lian and Sister Feng?

After all, if it's all about "reason", then the Rongguo Mansion's family property should all belong to their big family, and Jia Zheng and others can only share a small share...

Hasn't their big house said nothing for so many years?Now there is only one sacrificial ceremony, and it is the only chance for Jia She to take advantage of it in exchange for his life. What's wrong with Zhan Zhan?
Therefore, in Rongguo Mansion, reason has long been unreasonable.

Jia Lian didn't want Jia Zheng to save face, so naturally he wouldn't force Sister Feng to send over what she got. At worst, she would send them a bill back at the end.

Perhaps, Mrs. Wang was annoyed by this.

Really, she was half-forced by Mother Jia to take money for Jia Amnesty's funeral, but she didn't get any benefit, but Jia Lian and others gave her another one!
When she realized this problem before, she hinted at what Sister Feng should do to be "reasonable".

Sister Feng only said that most of the sacrificial gifts brought by others are things used in funerals, and there is not much money now.It just so happens that there is still a shortfall in Jia She's funeral money, so after Jia She's funeral is over, we will see if there is any surplus.

After all, you can't treat the grand master's funeral badly, right?
Sister Feng also followed Jia Lian's instructions and hinted to Mrs. Wang that she should pay off the undelivered part of the 3000 taels of silver promised that day...

Because Jia's mother was worried that Jia Lian would not be able to be a council member, so she only gave two thousand of the six thousand silver, and said that she would give the rest slowly later.

Mrs. Wang followed suit. She only gave one thousand of the three thousand silver, and said that the other two thousand had not been turned around yet, and would be brought over in a few days.

On the other hand, the 4000 taels of silver from the official that Jia Mu and the others agreed to, Jia Lian took someone with him the next day and went directly to the accountant to collect it.

Anyway, he has been the housekeeper here for these years, and he wants to get money, Lin Zhixiao dare not refuse to give it!
Lin Zhixiao is in charge of the bank.

If Jia Lian and the others didn't send over the sacrificial ceremony, Mrs. Wang naturally wouldn't send over the remaining two thousand silver.Just like that, she already felt that she was at a loss.

Maybe there is no good way, Mrs. Wang can only achieve her goal by tarnishing the reputation of the two of them.

Therefore, these women, in the past two days, have spread the good name of Jia Zheng and his wife everywhere, exposing the shameless behavior of Jia Lian and his wife.

From this point of view, Mrs. Wang is nothing more than a housewife after all, and she is not far-sighted after all.

(End of this chapter)