Turning the tide in the Red Chamber

Chapter 28 [028] Qiao Qingwen
Jia Zhen was so scared that her face turned pale, and she said in a trembling voice:

"Brother Yichen, we can settle the score now."

Seeing his cowardice, Jia Chen knew that today's purpose of intimidating the other party had been achieved, so he sneered and said:

"Today is Brother Rong's day of great joy. There are so many guests here. We can't neglect the guests. We should hold the evening ceremony first and then deal with our private affairs."

As soon as these words came out, Jia's mother's eyes lighted up slightly. This kid is really good. Although he is a little reckless, he still has general knowledge, but he is able to stand up for the family. He can find ways to win him over and let him assist Baoyu in the future.

Hearing these words, Jia Zhen felt a sense of gratitude as if she had received amnesty, and nodded flatteringly:
"Brother Chen has a deep understanding of righteousness, knowledge of books and reason, which is really admirable. After the ceremony is over, I will immediately assist Brother Chen to settle the accounts and give the full amount of silver."

Seeing his begging and groveling servant-like appearance, and seeing Jia Chen's upright and extraordinary demeanor at such a young age, Jia's mother sighed inwardly:
Is it time for the head of the Jia family to change?
If it wasn't because Jia Chen was too young and he was a descendant of a side branch, she would have united with the elders and masters of the Jia family to dismiss Jia Zhen and support Jia Chen in his position.

Staring into Jia Zhen's eyes, Jia Chen typed a sentence with a pun:
"It's good that you can weigh and understand the seriousness!"

"It's natural!" Jia Zhen nodded like a pest, and said with a flattering smile:

"Brother Chen, please take a seat!"

After finishing speaking, he half bowed his waist and invited Jia Chen to sit down beside his wife You Shi.

This table is the main table where the groom and the bride sit, as well as Jia Zhen and his wives and concubines.

Jia Zhen had a flattering smile on her face, but she felt extremely aggrieved in her heart.

He hated Jia Chen to the core, but today he was so frightened by Jia Chen that he didn't even dare to think of revenge for the time being.

Realizing that she was now servile, nodding and bowing like a dog with a broken spine, after Jia Zhen walked away from Jia Chen, she straightened up quickly, regaining her stern majesty, and ordered Li Sheng to preside over the marriage ceremony between Jia Rong and Qin Keqing.

In ancient times, the person who presided over the wedding was called Li Sheng.

Li Sheng is responsible for singing the rituals of "qi", "kneeling" and "kowtow".

Amidst the lively sound of fireworks and firecrackers, Qin Keqing, supported by maids Baozhu and Ruizhu, stepped over the brazier at the door and walked into the main hall with lotus steps.

Jia Rong handed one end of the silk cloth tied with a red hydrangea to Qin Keqing, and the two walked together to Jia Zhen and You Shi, holding the red hydrangea.

After the worship, Jia Rong led Qin Keqing into the bridal chamber.

Jia Zhen greeted the guests to enjoy the wedding banquet.

After witnessing the fierce conflict just now, the guests all looked down on Jia Zhen, and when they toasted him, they all wore perfunctory fake smiles on their faces.

If Jia Zhen wasn't the head of the Jia family, the guests wouldn't want to deal with his soft bones.

At the same time, although the guests did not toast to Jia Chen, they all had some admiration and appreciation for him.

This young man is only thirteen years old, and he is decisive in killing and attacking, with a heroic spirit. If he enlists in the army in the future, he will be a brave general who is good at fighting.

Jia's two generations of Shuangguogong, but most of the descendants were ineffective, and now they finally have a successor.

Jia Mu picked up a plate of roasted venison, handed it to Yuanyang, and ordered:
"Give this plate of venison to Chen'er. He must be tired after killing so many thieves just now. Eat more meat to make up for it."

Yuanyang obeyed and brought the roasted venison to Jia Chen.

"Thank you, old lady, for your gift!" Jia Chen bowed to Jia's mother to express his gratitude.

Jia Zhen happened to have a panoramic view of this scene, the corners of his eyes twitched a few times, he gritted his teeth with hatred, felt extremely aggrieved, but dared not show any dissatisfaction.

He was not only afraid of the authority of the old lady, but also afraid of the long sword in Jia Chen's hand.

Jia Mu asked with a smile, "Does Chen'er live alone now? Is there someone around to take care of me?"

Jia Chen told the truth, "I live alone."

Mother Jia thought for a while and said with a smile:

"Mother Lai gave me a little girl named Qingwen. This little girl is smart, sleeps alertly, is very good-looking, and has very skillful hands. I will give her to you and ask her to help you sew. Make up, wash and rinse."

Jia Chen was overjoyed. Qingwen is the most beautiful maid in the Rong Mansion. If she marries a wife and a virtuous concubine, Qingwen is very suitable to be her own concubine, so she saluted and said:
"Thank you, old lady, but Chen'er was disrespectful, so I had no choice but to accept it."

Jia's mother ordered Yuanyang to bring Qingwen over, and handed over Qingwen's contract of prostitution to Jia Chen.

Jia Chen's eyes lit up, Qingwen, this little girl is a beauty, with a slim waist, slender shoulders, and a pair of seductive eyes, bright and kind, looking bright.

The eyebrows and eyes are a bit like Lin Daiyu.

Jia Chen asked, "How old are you this year?"

Qingwen replied articulately: "As for Uncle Chen, this servant is thirteen years old."

Unexpectedly, she was the same age as him. Jia Chen asked the month of birth again, and it turned out that he was more than three months older than her.

Lin Daiyu looked at Qingwen, feeling a little disappointed.

At this age, she still doesn't understand the love between men and women, so naturally she won't be jealous, but she just feels that there is one more person beside Brother Chen, and she will spend less time with her in the future.

Jia Baoyu stared at Qingwen intently, sighing inwardly, why didn't the old lady reward her for such a good girl?

"Old ancestor, you are partial, why don't you reward her to me?" Jia Baoyu got into Jia Mu's arms, shaking his head and tail coquettishly.

Mother Jia smiled and patted him on the shoulder, comforting him:

"My darling, I will reward you with a better one later."

When the guests saw that Jia Chen got such a juicy maid, they were also very envious, and secretly sighed that this kid was very lucky.

As far as Qingwen's beauty is concerned, she can be ranked high in the entire city of Shenjing.

When Jia Zhen saw that Mother Jia had actually given him the outstanding maid beside her in order to win over Jia Chen, her anger burned even more, but she didn't dare to act rashly anymore.

When the banquet was over, Jia Zhen took the initiative to ask Jia Chen to check the accounts.

According to the previous agreement, Jia Chen invited Jia Zheng to go with him.

The three of them walked to the warehouse together and checked the ledger, sales volume, and books in stock.

At present, "Disciples Regulations" has only been on the market for a month, and it has sold [-] copies. The total profit is [-] taels of silver. After deducting the costs and expenses, the total profit is [-] taels of silver. Forty-two.

In this era, one tael of silver can buy one stone of rice, which is one hundred and fifty catties of rice.

For a farmer's family like Grandma Liu, the family's annual expenses are only twenty taels.

Jia Chen earned two hundred and forty taels of silver this month, which was enough to support Grandma Liu's family for twelve years, so it was considered a fortune.

Moreover, this is just the beginning. For the time being, "Disciple Regulations" will only be sold in Shenjing City. When it is sold all over the country, the money earned will be dozens, or even hundreds of times.

Jia Zhen honestly handed over a stack of bank notes worth two hundred and forty taels to Jia Chen.

The corners of Jia Chen's lips twitched slightly, he packed the banknotes, and brought Qingwen home.

After entering the house, Jia Chen took out a fifty-two silver bill for pocket money, handed the rest of the silver bill to Qingwen, and said with a smile:
"Go find a box and lock up these banknotes."

Qingwen took the bank note and asked in surprise:
"Uncle Chen, if you entrust so many banknotes to me for safekeeping, you are not afraid that I will embezzle them privately?"

(End of this chapter)