Whose Evil in the Red Chamber

The life of Jia's family is not so comfortable. At the beginning, Jia's family also borrowed a lot of money from the household department. Like most aristocratic families, the money is not used to repay the debts, so the Jia family is still recorded as a large sum in the deficit of the household department.

Fortunately, the Jia family has no children to join in this time, so they don't have to be frightened, but seeing more and more families paying off their shortfalls, repayment has become a general trend, and they are more prominent than the Jia family's royal relatives and powerful families. They all took the initiative to liquidate the deficit, and the Jia family couldn't afford to default any longer.

The two mansions of Rongning and Ning counted their family assets, and the Ningguo mansion even invited Jia Jing, who "cultivated immortals" in the Taoist temple, back home. The money for supporting the Taoist temple will be abolished, and the effort to nourish the spirit will be ruined. He returned home aggressively and taught his son Jia Zhen that he was unworthy. The account book handed over by the aggrieved Jia Zhen choked back all the words. .

The money on the books of Ningguo Mansion is not enough to pay off one-tenth of the shortfall they owe. Jia Zhen intends to sell several Zhuangzi and the Taoist temple where Jia Jing lives, so she invites his old man back discuss.

Jia Jing spent several years building the Taoist temple, and everything he used was first-class and good. After the completion, he expanded and rested year after year, and bought a lot of surrounding land to support the entire Taoist temple. The expenses really took a lot of Jia Jing's heart. Now Jia Zhen wanted to sell the Taoist temple, but Jia Jing refused to agree to anything, and repeatedly reprimanded Jia Zhen for being unfilial.

Jia Zhen changed her usual fear of his father, and only said: "Although my father is from Fangwai now, if the family suffers a catastrophe because of the deficit, the Jinyi Army must not be able to tell the difference between Fangwai and Fangwai." inside."

Jia Jing had nothing to say, so Jia Zhen persuaded again: "Jinling still has our old land. I remember there is a Taoist temple there, which is quite neat. Father might as well go to the south."

Up to now, Jia Zhen has a tough attitude, and what she does is to repay the deficit of the household department. What else can Jia Jing do, the Taoist temple is gone, and he doesn't want to stay in Ningguo Mansion, so he has to listen to his son's suggestion, He took a few young apprentices back to Jinling to devote himself to cultivating the Tao.

When he arrived in Jinling, he still wanted to restore the old luxurious style, but the Ningguo Mansion was really poor because of the repayment of the deficit, and it was difficult to survive. How could there be any money left to support this Taoist master?Jia Zhen became ruthless again, Jia Jing's life became bitter, but he had no spare money to make alchemy and take medicine, but he lived a few years longer, that's for later.

The Taoist temple and the surrounding fields are worth a few silver coins. The other Zhuangzi in Ningguo Mansion were accumulated when their ancestors were rich, and they chose the best location. This time, they exchanged a lot of silver coins.Although various families are now selling off their property in order to pay off their debts, the rich and noble families in Beijing do not know how much they are eager to sell and the price is not high, so it is not difficult to sell.

Not to mention others, the two brothers Shan Wangqi and Wang She mobilized a large amount of funds from the Hou Mansion and the shop to buy farmland real estate in central Beijing, and also received a lot of valuable antiques, furniture, and cultural relics at a low price for their shop. Room calligraphy and painting and so on.Not only that, Wang Qi also bought a very elegant mansion in central Beijing for Jingxuan in case he needed it.Although the Lin family also has a house in Beijing, Jingxuan is not more comfortable than living in his own one-acre three-point land, isn't it?

On the contrary, Jing Xuan accepted his affection, and accepted it without any rejection. He also searched for a lot of exquisite furniture and decorations from Wang Qi's hands to serve the house.Wang Qi didn't feel distressed either, instead, he happily offered advice from the sidelines. Compared with the miserable family who went bankrupt and paid off their debts, the lives of these two were too comfortable.

Ningguo Mansion now only has the big mansion of the Duke’s Mansion and Jinling’s ancestral property left. Jia Zhen raised her fans outside and sold all the courtyards used by opera actors. The theater troupe at home has also disbanded. Boy, it is a death contract, if there is a family member to redeem it, it will be released.

For a moment, the huge Ningguo Mansion seemed empty.After the investigation of the shops in the mansion, including the dowry shop of the original wife, Jia Zhen really found out the tricks. After some investigation, only the good things found from these people's homes were enough to repay one-third of the deficit. Jia Zhen was so angry that she jumped to her feet, hating that the family had raised many rats over the years.

Originally, Jia Zheng advised him: "There is no reason for the family to search the house first, so the matter would not be like this."

After seeing these copied things, Jia Zheng had nothing to say.

In this way, the Ningguo Mansion went bankrupt and paid off its debts. Most of the servants who were released and expelled, only the loyal and honest ones were left. After a month, they saved a lot in terms of monthly money.Jia Zhen quietly invited Jia Lian to come to the mansion for a drink, and bowed repeatedly during the dinner: "Thanks to your daughter-in-law for coming up with all these clever tricks, otherwise how could I pay off the shortfall, and I don't know that these pigs and dogs are greedy for these things. ! I would rather use the money to fill the gap than fatten up this group of white-eyed wolves!"

Jia Lian's face was bright, but when he thought about his family's affairs, he turned into mourning again and again: "Now we all know that this deficit cannot be delayed, but on our side, alas, it is difficult."

The reason why Wang Xifeng was able to give Jia Zhen these ideas was because she already had an idea in her heart on how to rectify the Rongguo Mansion. However, the Rongning and Ningfu mansions were different after all, and the Ningguo Mansion was Jia Zhen's speech. , if he is determined to rectify, it will naturally go smoothly.

When it came to the Rongguo Mansion, it owed more than [-] taels of silver to the household department more than the Ningguo Mansion, and this debt was quite heavy.However, Rongguo Mansion's accounts were in a mess like Ningguo Mansion's. Although it was not enough to make ends meet, the remaining money was pitifully small.Therefore, if you want to pay off the debt, you have to rely on the two families to come up with their own abilities.For this reason, the two families have not been able to coordinate, and the debt repayment has been delayed.

It wasn't until the East Mansion paid off the shortfall that the old lady was really anxious, and called the couple and asked them to come up with an idea.

On the other side of the big house, taking money from Jia She and Mrs. Xing is like cutting their flesh. After the old lady opened her mouth, Jia She jumped first and took Jia Zheng's family to live in Rongxi Hall. Talking about things, talking inside and outside, is to ask the second room to take the lead.

Jia Zheng didn't speak, Mrs. Wang was not easy to get along with, she lifted her eyelids and said, "Now Lian's daughter-in-law is in charge of the house, uncle's words are not biased."

For a while, Wang Xifeng was pushed to the forefront of the storm. She was not annoyed, and said to Jia Mu with a smile: "Old lady, it's all my fault. She is young and thin-skinned, and she didn't take care of this family. If you want me to say, we also Just look at Uncle Zhen in the East Mansion, the money found from the houses of those traitors is enough to make up for a big gap."

Wang Xifeng's words brightened the eyes of the people in the two rooms, but Jia Mu still had some scruples about being the head of the family, and hesitated for a while before saying: "Those people over there have betrayed the master and ungrateful. Unfortunately, our family is not willing to use a loyal servant to take the blame for the master's family."

Wang Xifeng smiled, she had already guessed that the old lady would be like this, and said with confidence: "Of course nothing will happen to the loyal one."

Over the past few years in managing the family, Wang Xifeng has long kept those restless people in her heart, but these people are all dignified servants in the mansion, so she can't do anything about it. Now, taking this opportunity, she wants to Let these people know how powerful she is, Wang Xifeng, and see how these people still use the old lady and the second wife to suppress others.

Jia's mother acquiesced in this matter, and the two families did not object. Wang Xifeng started the investigation from Lai's house based on the evidence he had collected long ago, and turned the Rongguo Mansion upside down. The amount of money seized was unknown. There are several more than that.

But even so, it was still far from paying off the deficit, and the two families still wanted to shirk each other. At this time, the Ministry of Criminal Justice will try the case of Zhongping Wang Shizi Huan Yi murdering Xue's father and son. Huan Yi was bitten to death He didn't admit to calling out wrongdoing, but when the Xue family father and son and several family members from Wuhegang were brought to the hall as witnesses, Huan Yi was completely dumbfounded.

He had calculated thousands of times, but he didn't expect that the Xue family and his son were safe and sound. Huan Yi, who came back to his senses, finally understood that he was full of confidence and wanted to teach the Xue family and Lin Jingxuan a lesson, but he didn't expect the other party to see the opportunity and counterattack. Take him into the army.Huan Yi was so proud of his own means before, how annoyed he is now.

When the third master of Wuhegang knelt down in front of the hall and told how he used the copycat to operate private salt these years, and handed over the account books kept privately by the copycat, Huan Yi felt top-heavy and almost fell down .If the return of the Xue family father and son gave him a blow to the head just now, then Wuhegang's confession was like the last straw that broke the camel's back, making him understand that he was powerless to recover.

Looking at the bandit angrily, Huan Yi's eyes turned red, as if he was about to eat him, while the third leader looked calm.At the beginning, his father was the head catcher of the county government, and there was a younger sister in the family. The family lived a little poor but very happy.He had learned some moves from his father since he was a child, and his father saw that he had some talent for martial arts, so he sent him to the head of Qin's escort in this county to practice martial arts.

He also wanted to grow up with his master and become a bodyguard, which is also a top-notch errand.Unexpectedly, when he was 15 years old, the county government found out that someone had set up a salt well privately and sent his father with a few police officers to handle the case. Who knew that the salt well was guarded by special personnel, and the county government officials still stubbornly resisted and fought. Zhong's father was stabbed and nearly died.

My father was injured while handling the case, but I never thought that the county government not only failed to punish the murderer, but closed the case, and my father passed away not long after due to his serious injuries.He was young and energetic, and was very dissatisfied with this matter, so he made a fuss with the county magistrate, and was dragged out and beaten [-] times.

After recovering from his wounds, he felt dissatisfied and thought about going to the city to sue again. How could he know that the official of the government office kicked him out because he sued the officials for nothing, and warned him that if he came to make trouble again, he would be punished? Hit the board.

There was no way to file a complaint, so he had no choice but to turn back home first. On the way, he met the escort team of the escort agency. His master was shocked when he saw him, and told him that his house was caught in a fire, and even his old mother and younger sister were all killed in the flames. up.Hearing the news, he was about to go crazy. The first thing he thought was that the owner of the salt well had colluded with the county magistrate to kill them. He wanted to go back and find them, but he was severely stopped by his master for a long time.

In the end, he also understood the disparity in power between the two. If he went home now, he might have to go underground to reunite with his family.After figuring it out, he held back his grief and didn't go home. He entrusted his master to help with the funeral affairs of his family. Since then, he has been wandering in the rivers and lakes, trying to find out the owner of the salt well and the forces behind it, and accumulate strength for revenge in the future. .

In this way, he gradually gained some fame in the rivers and lakes, and later he became the third in the village with Jin Lan, the two sworn masters of Wuhegang. I came to Wuhegang because I had heard about the forces behind Wuhegang.

He hated those entangled interests who ruined his family back then, so he secretly collected a lot of evidence and waited for the opportunity. That's why when Wei Zhen approached him, he couldn't wait to assist Wei Zhen in handling affairs and set up such a Huan Yi jumped into the perfect big trap.

The time, place, and people were harmonious, and Huan Yi couldn't do it if he wanted to. The huge Zhong'an Palace was confiscated in an instant, and all the family properties were confiscated. All the immediate family members of the palace were expelled. Demoted as an official slave.If the palace is like this, how can those aristocratic families who have been attached to the palace for many years break away from their ties?

Some people have always kept a low profile and are not known to be the cronies of the palace, but because they helped digest Xue's shop this time, they were exposed to the public. After careful investigation, it was found that these people were all involved in Jiangnan. In the salt business.Not only that, but the children of these aristocratic families have also done a lot of corruption and perversion of the law behind their backs, such as oppressing people with power, taking over lawsuits, and forcibly occupying land, etc.

The emperor was merciless towards these families, because Huan Yi and others were of royal blood, so the emperor did not take their heads extrajudicially, and these families were not so lucky.For a while, these aristocratic families in the capital really saw the iron and blood methods of the current emperor, and privately said that today's face is sour and heartless, killing people without blinking an eye.But they dared to say in private that even the hard-boiled censor had no courage to remonstrate in the court that the emperor was too cruel, look at the old background of these people who were exposed, not killing is not enough to rectify the king's law!

The bloody Caishikou really shocked many people, including the Jia family. Now the family that should repay the deficit has already paid back the money quickly, and there are very few people who are still in arrears, which makes the Rongguo Mansion stand out. Conspicuously, some old friends of the Jia family also urged Jia Amnesty and Jia Zheng to pay off the shortfall quickly, both openly and secretly. The one on the dragon chair is ruthless now, so be careful not to cause any trouble because of the money. .

Jia Shen has always been a restless master. He has some connections in the capital with hereditary titles, and he does not do little to arrange lawsuits on weekdays. He was so scared that he almost flew out of his nerves. Yes.And Jia Zheng was also sitting on pins and needles in the Ministry of Industry, and his attitude at home naturally became much more positive.

Because of the great help from the previous ideas, Wang Xifeng's position in the family has become much more stable now. This time, the whole family worked together to raise money, and Mother Jia also left the matter to her to handle.Wang Xifeng was never afraid of seizing power, so she naturally agreed. She already had a plan in mind, so she was not in a hurry at this time.

"Except for the money seized from homes that are useless, we still have to fill in the vacancy of 80 taels. There is no cash in the public house, but there are farm land and pavement. If we follow the example of Master Zhen in the East Mansion, only the old house and sacrificial offerings in the south will be left." Tian, ​​and the rest are all sold, and we can make up 50 taels.

The old lady told me that she wanted to withdraw 10 taels from her body, so there would be 20 taels left, and the two householders would each contribute 10 taels. I wonder what my father-in-law and second uncle think? "

Now both Jia Amnesty and Jia Zheng are eager to pay off their debts. After hearing what Wang Xifeng said was very orderly, the old lady took out another 10 taels of money and asked them to pay [-] taels each, which was reasonable, so she nodded and said, no disagreement.The two wives of Xing Wang were heartbroken but they couldn't help it. They were thinking about how to get the money together.

On the side of the big house, Mrs. Jia Shexing and his wife knew that Wang Xifeng was very wealthy, so they planned to let her take the lead. Wang Xifeng groaned inwardly, but said with a smile on his face: "My dowry shop is very rich. In the south, even though I earned a few silver coins, they were all used for turnover, and I couldn’t withdraw much temporarily. Besides, my shop was run by my cousin Pan’s unmarried daughter-in-law. If I wanted to withdraw silver, I would But you can’t do it yourself, you have to discuss it with her.”

After hearing this, Jia She and his wife dare not bring up this topic anymore. Now who doesn't know that Xue's father and son are very red and purple, who would dare to offend them at this time?

Wang Xifeng finally took out 3 taels, and the remaining 7 taels were all obtained by Jia She's selling the antiques he had collected over the years. It took more than three months to slowly get better, and the whole person lost weight several times.

In the second room, Li Wan brought Jia Zhu's posthumous widow to live without paying any money. Jia Zheng didn't have much salary, but some calligraphy and paintings he had collected over the years were worth some money, and they were all sold off. She collected more than 10 taels from the two shops she married as a dowry and some gold and silver porcelain, but she couldn't afford the rest. Mother Jia secretly subsidized them again, and only then did she make up [-] taels.

In this way, Rongguo Mansion finally paid off the shortfall in time for the last train.Although the Rongguo Mansion was gradually declining in the past, it still maintained a vain and luxurious scene. Now, it can't even support the scene. , the Rongguo Mansion, which was once bustling and bustling, is now quite empty.

After this battle, both the big house and the second house paid a lot of money, and only Wang Xifeng benefited. Her family property is rich and she doesn't care about the dowry of more than [-] taels. This time, she has successfully completed the task of repaying the debt. Heel, those accompanying servants who refused to obey discipline and stumbled secretly because they were the proud old people in front of Mrs. Jia and Mrs. Wang, all those who found problems in the inspection were all kicked out of the house and never used again. Those who have found out the problem have seen Wang Xifeng's methods and scheming, and they are all honest and honest, and they dare not be the first bird again.

After the power of housekeeper was taken over by Wang Xifeng, she vigorously formulated a series of new rules to reorganize the management of the house. Although the whole Jia mansion was in a tight situation at the beginning, but now even the Zhuangzi and the shop are gone. Without the pitifully small production in Jinling and the salaries of the men in the mansion, what can we do otherwise?

The men and women in the mansion who are accustomed to being pampered and pampered naturally cannot help complaining, especially Wang Xifeng has offended Mrs. Xing Wang and Mrs. Wang at this time, especially Mrs. Wang, she sees that her precious son Baoyu is surrounded by two little maids. Wang Xifeng refuted even her attempt to make ten sets of new clothes with a piece of decent material from her husband, and the old lady used her own material and asked the big girl next to her to make three sets for Baoyu.

That girl's craftsmanship is mediocre, how can it compare to the craftsmanship of the tailors and embroiders who used to order clothes for the family?Mrs. Wang was very unhappy in her heart. She always felt that Baoyu had been greatly wronged. She went to the old lady and blamed Wang Xifeng: "My daughter-in-law also knows the current situation at home. We people make fewer sets of clothes and eat less. It's nothing, but Baoyu is still so young, and she hasn't suffered this kind of hardship since she landed, so I, my mother, don't mention how sad I am when I see you."

Mother Jia also cherished Baoyu very much. Hearing Mrs. Wang say this, she felt uncomfortable. It happened that Wang Xifeng came to pay her respects. The ear report seemed to have conveyed the message, so Wang Xifeng entered the room and saw Mrs. Wang and Jia Mu's faces were ugly. She knew in her heart what the reason was, but she didn't change her face, wanting to see what scheme Mrs. Wang was planning.