The Red Mansions

Chapter 106 Xue Baochai's Doubt

in the library.

Jia Yun stood up abruptly, and said in surprise, "You said that the Jia family has no savings for a long time?"

Xue Baochai looked serious, nodded seriously and said: "Eight years ago, many princes competed for the throne. At that time, the four princes and eight princes stood behind Prince Yizhong to support them vigorously. They had money to contribute money and strength to recruit soldiers and horses to win over courtiers and expand their strength. "

"At that time, the slave family was still young, and when my father and Qing Ke discussed this matter, they did not shy away from the slave family."

"The slave family heard from my father that the Xue family mainly contributed to buying all kinds of food and supplies through the trade route, while the Jia family used the savings of several generations of the family in millions of taels to support Prince Yizhong. "

"Even in the end, in order to do their best, the Jia family went to the household department to borrow 80 million taels of silver."

"It's a pity that the success fell short in the end. The throne was taken away by the current emperor, and the four princes and eight princes were also seriously injured."

"After this, my father was depressed, and soon passed away, and the Xue family lost its backing and began to decline."

"And the Jia family had to get involved in the construction of the imperial mausoleum in order to make up for the shortfall they had consumed. Of course, not only the Jia family participated in this matter, but also the four princes and eight princes."

Jia Yun nodded and thought, "That's right. I was sure that Qin Keqing's father, Qin Ye, had a deep connection with the Four Kings and Eight Dukes. I didn't expect it to be so."

"It's just... where did Qin Ye put the embezzled money? Did the Jia family keep it? Or hid it by himself?"

"However, according to Jia Zhen and Jia Rong's attitude towards Qin Keqing, the money should not have been placed in Jia's house."

After pondering for a moment, Jia Yun asked Xue Baochai, "Then what do you mean by the many secrets about the Xue family that you said earlier?"

Xue Baochai hesitated and said, "One is about the Xue family's backing."

Jia Yun looked at Xue Baochai with warm eyes, nodded silently, and motioned her to speak.

Xue Baochai said: "Because the Xue family is loyal to the prince, no one dares to be the backer of the Xue family these years."

"The reason why the Holy Majesty has not taken action against Xue's family today is because he has scruples about the four princes and eight princes. Once the obstacles of the four princes and eight princes are cleared, the Xue family will definitely be liquidated."

"Even so, the share of the Xue family's business given by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Household Affairs has been declining year by year."

Jia Yun said: "The four kings and eight princes are not so easy to fall now, at least they can dance for a few more years."

"But the future of the Xue family is hard to say. Now that the Holy Majesty has been in power for many years, if he wants to clean up the Xue family, even if there are four princes and eight princes to stop him, it seems to be a piece of cake."

Xue Baochai nodded and said, "That's it, there is one more serious matter than this."

"What's the matter?" Jia Yun asked hurriedly.

"A coffin, a masonry coffin!" Xue Baochai replied.

Jia Yun was surprised: "The masonry coffin used by Prince Yizhong?"

"Husband knows about this?" Xue Baochai asked in amazement, after thinking about it, she nodded and said, "That's right, anyone who cares about this will know about it."

She took a deep breath, and continued: "The masonry coffin was sent to the capital by my father, and dedicated to Prince Yizhong, old thousand years old."

Modern people think that giving someone a "coffin" is a curse, but it was not in ancient times.

Not to mention the implication of "promotion and wealth", but a pair of wood that can be "unbreakable for ten thousand years" can only be enjoyed by "emperors".

As soon as the ancient emperors ascended the throne, they began to build mausoleums and sent people to search for good coffin materials.

Xue's father sent a wooden coffin board to Prince Yizhong, Lao Qiansui, in the hope that he would be crowned the Ninth Five-Year Supreme.

Xue Baochai continued: "Later, Prince Yizhong's old Qiansui "broke something" and was not qualified to use it, so that coffin has been kept in the shop."

"Now that coffin has become a guillotine hanging over the Xue family's head. Maybe the Holy Majesty will remember it sometime. This has become a heart disease for our Xue family."

"Even if the Holy Majesty doesn't think about it, this matter can still be used as a fuss to attack and annihilate the Xue family. Therefore, how to get rid of this hot potato has become a problem that the Xue family must face."

Jia Yun said with a smile: "This matter is not that serious, and it is easy to deal with. Let Brother Xue find an opportunity to sell it to the eunuch who built the imperial tomb with great fanfare and cheap. I think it will be easy to sell."

"Brother Xue just happens to be a prodigal son in the eyes of outsiders. Doing this will not easily arouse suspicion, and at the same time, it can indirectly release goodwill to the Holy One."

"Although the honor of being a holy ninety-five may not necessarily value this kindness, but whether there is such kindness or not, it can be of great use to the Xue family at a critical time."

Xue Baochai asked suspiciously, "Will the four princes and eight princes have any objections?"

"Oh, what do they have to say? You were sold to eunuchs, not to the sage, so there is no rebellion in your Xue family." Jia Yun said.

"Furthermore, they can even repair the imperial mausoleum, so they don't want Xue's family to sell coffin boards?"

Xue Baochai breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the words, and said, "I'll tell my brother carefully about this when my servant returns home tomorrow."

After a pause, she said again: "It's another matter, I'm a little uneasy."

"What else is there? Finding a backer for Xue's family?" Jia Yun asked doubtfully, and then said:

"This matter cannot be rushed, it needs to be planned slowly. After all, the Xue family was on the wrong team at the beginning, and it is not so easy to ease the conflict between each other, because the two sides are not on the same side, and the Xue family is on the passive and weak side."

Xue Baochai shook her head and said, "It's not because of this, but because my family suspects that when my elder brother beat someone to death in Jinling, it might be a trick set up by others."

Jia Yun wondered, "Why do you say that?"

Xue Baochai analyzed: "At the beginning, my elder brother committed a life lawsuit, and the family was in a hurry, and it was dealt with hastily."

"Later, after our family entered Beijing, the slave's family pondered over it again, and found that the matter was full of doubts, and many joints were somewhat unreasonable."

"For example?" Jia Yun asked.

Xue Baochai said: "One is that the kidnapper is not so courageous, you must know that the Xue family still has some prestige in Jinling, not to mention a kidnapper, even many officials will not offend easily."

"But that kidnapper not only sold Xiangling to Xue's family first, but also sold her to Feng's family after turning around. You must know that those who walk in the rivers and lakes are always cautious. Although it is money, they will not risk their lives to offend Xue. Family."

"The second doubt is that the son of a small country eunuch named Feng Yuan, his parents died early, and he has no brothers. He is the only one who lives with a small family. When he grows up to eighteen or nineteen years old, he loves masculinity. The most hated woman."

"Since he is the son of a village eunuch, it is impossible not to know that the Xue family can't afford to provoke him, but he still provokes him. At the same time, he loves masculinity, but when he sees Xiangling, he immediately falls in love at first sight and wants to marry into the family. There are two."

"Some people say that Mr. Feng and Xiangling have grievances in previous lives. This can only fool the uninformed. Mr. Feng's various unreasonable behaviors have deepened my doubts about the elder brother's beating to death."

"But what really made the slave family suspicious was the third point, that is, the mother wrote a letter to the capital and asked my uncle to help my brother settle the lawsuit, and then my uncle wrote a letter to Jia Yucun, the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture in Jinling Province."

"It stands to reason that if Jia Yucun wants to deal with this lawsuit, he can find any method to deal with it, but he has played some ghosts and ghosts, saying that his brother suffered from an unknown disease and was hunted down by Feng Yuan's soul to death. "

"In the end, although my elder brother escaped the lawsuit, he became a "dead man". Now, the business routes and properties of the Xue family are all in the name of the slave family in the name of dowry. Although my elder brother is the first son, he is not even eligible to inherit .”

Jia Yun nodded lightly, thought for a while, and asked, "Is Baochai suspecting that your brother's matter was done by the Jia family?"

"Although there is no evidence, the slave family guesses that this matter has something to do with the Jia family, and even the slave family's uncle is involved." Xue Baochai pursed her lips and said.

Jia Yun pondered and said, "According to what you said, it is really possible that this matter has something to do with the Wang family and the Jia family."

"However, the most urgent task is to solve the hidden danger of your brother's death earlier."

"Otherwise, other members of the Xue family will come to compete for the family property in the future. Brother Xue was a dead man at that time and was not eligible to inherit the family property. You are also a family of daughters. Now that you are all married, you are not eligible to inherit."

"When the time comes, the Xue family's huge family business will be cheaper than people from other clans."

Xue Baochai sighed and said, "The Xue family is a piece of fat now, and everyone wants to take a bite."

"Before entering Beijing, my uncle sent a letter asking for 10% of the Xue family's property. After entering Beijing, my aunt also tried to test my mother. She wanted to borrow a few [-] taels of silver from the Xue family for emergency, saying that the eldest daughter of the Jia family had a hard time living in the palace... ..."

Jia Yun suddenly said: "No wonder I had no friendship with Jia She, Jia Zheng, Jia Zhen and others before, but after I passed the examination of scholar, they suddenly valued me very much."

"Before, I couldn't figure it out. Although I passed the examination as a scholar, for the Jia family full of titles and orders, it seems that it is not worthy of so much attention."

"Now that I think about it, they clearly value the fact that I am engaged to you, Baochai."

Speaking of this, he smiled and said: "Baochai, if my prediction is correct, your cousin is probably going to Beijing soon!"

Xue Baochai's cousin is Xue Bian, and her cousin is Xue Baoqin.

In ancient times, property was not given to foreign surnames. Except for Xue Baochai who could take away the dowry, Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai could not share it, and Xue Biao could at least get a share.

So what is Xue Biao doing here?Of course it was to fight for property.

Xue Baochai pursed her lips, thought for a while, then nodded and said, "My husband's expectations should not be bad, but they should not come to Beijing so soon, because my aunt suffers from phlegm, and without a reasonable excuse, it is difficult for them to leave for Beijing. "

Jia Yun laughed and said, "It's so easy to find an excuse. Brother Xue Biao is like a father. Isn't your cousin betrothed to Mei Hanlin's son?"

"At that time, Xue Biao can come to Beijing with the excuse of sending his younger sister to Beijing for marriage. Maybe they will defect to your house and live there."

Xue Baochai was dumbfounded, thought for a while, and said dejectedly, "It's really possible for them to do this!"

Jia Yun smiled and said: "Baochai, don't be discouraged. Now that you are married to me, the Xue family and I will be prosperous as well as we are, so I will definitely not stand idly by."

Xue Baochai was silent for a moment, then raised her head and said, "It is still difficult for my husband to protect Xue's family."

Jia Yun nodded and said: "That's right, so this year's provincial examination and next year's general examination are very important to the Xue family and me."

"After a while, I will go to Qingshan Academy to make contacts. This trip is also essential!"

Seeing that Xue Baochai was still worried, he explained: "Actually, Xue's family is just a business after all, and it's not worthy of the Holy Majesty to deal with it. What we have to guard against is precisely Jia Wang's family and other competitors."

"However, although the Jia and Wang families want to annex the Xue family's property, they will not be too ugly. If there is anything that will not be made public, it will only cause trouble in the dark."

"As for the other competitors, if they don't know the inside information, they will definitely be afraid of the Jia and Wang families, and they will not openly target the Xue family. They will only lure the stewards of the Xue family's business road and the Xue family members to cause civil strife in the Xue family, so as to gain the wealth of the fisherman. profit."

Having said that, Jia Yun saw that Xue Baochai's face had softened a lot, so she stepped forward to hug her, and said with a smile: "Don't look at the chaos inside Xue's house, but it's just that chaos has its benefits, and it won't make people vigilant. Home is beneficial."

Xue Baochai nodded, leaned her head on Jia Yun's arms, and said softly, "After hearing my husband's analysis, I feel relieved."

"Since the father of the Nu family left, the Nu family has been trembling because of my elder brother's incompetence. I am afraid that one day the huge Xue family will be wiped out."

Jia Yun smiled, suddenly thought of something, restrained her smile, and said:
"But you must persuade Brother Xue, don't act mischievously outside, if he lets others make a mess and kills someone, then the Xue family will have to let others decide!"

Xue Baochai frowned again. She knew Xue Pan's temperament very well. He was ignorant, extravagant, and arrogant. Otherwise, the Xue family would not have declined so badly.

"I can't tie him up with a rope, can I?" Xue Baochai murmured.

Jia Yun said with a smile: "It's really possible. Find him a powerful woman to watch over. Isn't it equivalent to using a rope to tie him up?"

In the original book, Xia Jingui suppressed Xue Pan, who had a hard temperament and extravagant demeanor, to death.

But this is also related to the fact that the Xue family's family fortune was basically ruined at that time.

There is a saying that money is the courage of a hero, and the Xue family has little money, so Xue Pan naturally has no confidence to compete with Xia Jingui, and he becomes weak every minute.

But that woman has no bottom line, and she is not a person who lives.

Regarding Xue Pan's matter, the couple just discussed it for a while, but they didn't pay much attention to it.

After all, you can't always think about things that have never happened. Do you want to pass that day?

While talking, Xiren came to report that Jia, Cuihong and Xiu'e had come.

Jia Yun and Xue Baochai came to the living room, and the three of them stepped forward to salute.

After Jia Yun introduced the three of them to Xue Baochai, she asked Jia again, "Brother, didn't I tell you to rest? Are you here today?"

Jia disturbed the back of his head, and said embarrassedly: "Staying at home during this period of time is almost moldy. We have taken Brother Yun's monthly money and have to do something, so we came here today."

Jia Yun thought for a while, nodded and said: "Forget it, since you can't be idle, go and listen to my mother's orders, and open a few more vegetable fields in the next yard!"

The three Jia accepted the task happily, and were taken by the attackers to see Mr. Bu.

After they left, Xue Baochai murmured, "It's okay for these few to start a small business, but if they want to run a commercial route, they won't be able to get on the stage."

Jia Yun nodded and said: "I didn't think about letting them go to the business road to develop. Right now, the business road is secondary to us. The key is that I want to get fame as soon as possible, and then I can develop power. Guangyao lintel."

……

Sister Feng courtyard.

The sun is shining brightly, the birds are singing and the flowers are fragrant, and the breeze blowing in the yard brings coolness.

Wang Xifeng leaned against the window, staring at the stone table in the yard, in a daze.

Ping'er lifted the curtain and came in, and said, "I've been standing for a long time, aren't you tired?"

"Don't worry about my old lady's business!" Wang Xifeng said with a blank expression when she recovered.

Ping'er pursed his lips and said, "I don't care about you. Before he got married, he invited you to his house, but you hesitated. Now that everyone is married, you can't go if you want, right?"

Wang Xifeng turned around, took a look at Ping'er, stepped forward and poked Ping'er's forehead with his fingers, and scolded: "You, you, me, me, me, me again, are you going against the sky?"

Ping'er dodged, and said with a grin: "Finally, I've come back to my soul, I'm afraid you'll become an idiot."

Wang Xifeng sighed, walked to the round table and sat down, poured a cup of herbal tea, took a sip, and said:

"There are a lot of things going on in the mansion, and now I can only stay in a daze for a while, thinking about the heart thief, comforting and relaxing."

Ping'er hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward and asked, "Second Master is taking money from you again?"

"If he doesn't take money from me, why should he go out and enjoy himself?" Wang Xifeng rolled his eyes and said.

Ping'er nodded, stopped talking, stepped aside, and started sewing.

Wang Xifeng glanced at her, and said angrily: "I embroider purses every day, the closet is full of purses, and I don't see you making some decent clothes for me!"

Ping'er snorted, and said: "If you want to do it yourself, do it with you, you prefer to talk about things, this is not true, that is not true, slaves are too lazy to do things that are thankless."

Wang Xifeng laughed angrily, she stared and said: "Are you still my maid? I think you look like a daughter of a thousand gold now, do you want me to serve you with tea and water?"

Ping'er bit her lip and remained silent.

Wang Xifeng became more and more angry, she patted the table, raised her eyebrows and said, "I'm talking to you, you..."

At this time, Feng'er from outside came to report that Grandma Rong had come.

Wang Xifeng took a deep breath, forcefully suppressed the fire pressure, stood up and said, "This matter is endless!"

When he came to the outside room, Wang Xifeng smiled at Qin Keqing and said, "I saw magpies calling in the yard early this morning, and I'm still guessing who's coming today. Come on, let's sit down and talk."

The two sat down, Qin Keqing smiled and said: "The stay in the mansion is boring, I wanted to find someone to talk to, but suddenly found that the whole Jia mansion is only closer to you, so I came here."

Wang Xifeng said with a smile: "Hehe, I was bored in the room just now, and when I have nothing to do, I quarreled with Ping'er to amuse me!"

At this time Ping'er brought tea over, and said in a bad mood: "You are easy to bully when you are with the servant girl. When you are happy, grandma teaches the servant girl, and when you are not happy, you also teach the servant girl. You have vented your anger!"

Wang Xifeng smiled and said: "If you can be my venting bag, you can have fun secretly..."

(End of this chapter)