The Kangping Life of Mrs. Xing in Honglou

After Jia She's birthday, the old lady called everyone together to count the property in the palace.The chief steward of the outer account held the account book and said: "There are ten Zhuangzi in one hundred hectares in the mansion, twenty Zhuangzi in fifty hectares, fifty Zhuangzi in twenty hectares, eighty Zhuangzi in ten hectares, and one villager in the sacrificial field." One hundred hectares, most of which are distributed around Kyoto and Jinling, with 45 shops. In addition to Rongguo Mansion and Jinling Ancestral House, there are three five-entry houses, five four-entry houses, ten three-entry houses, and five other houses. In total, these are worth 150 million taels of silver. There is 35 taels of cash in the palace, 4 taels of silver in the field house and Zhuangzi every year, 9 taels of profit in the shop every year, and a total of 13 taels of silver in the mansion every year." All the masters were very happy when they heard it, and nodded in satisfaction. This is not counting the antique calligraphy and paintings in the library, and the decorations.

"The annual income is 13 taels of silver. There are only a dozen or so masters in our mansion, and the maximum annual expenditure is 3 taels. In addition to the gifts, there will be a balance of 8 to [-] taels a year. When the title is lost in the future , and you don’t have to worry about your descendants.” Xing Yue was calculating the balance of Rongguo Mansion in her heart, but she didn’t expect that there are so many properties in Rongguo Mansion, and this is the rest of Mrs. Wang’s embezzlement over the past ten years. When visiting relatives in Yuanchun, how come you can't make ends meet?

"Masters, the balance in the mansion has been less than 1 taels of silver in the past few years. I am afraid that this year it will not be able to make ends meet, and we will have to use the silver in the palace." The accountant immediately poured cold water on everyone. "It seems that the income of the mansion is quite a lot, but there is also a lot of expenditure. The daily expenses of the mansion need 1 taels of silver every year, and the cost of house repairs is also high, 5000 taels of silver every year. The mansion gives gifts on New Year's Day, and banquets for birthday parties It takes 2 taels of silver. The second master is an official and manages up and down. He needs 3 taels of silver for banquets. The girl sent 3 taels of silver to the palace in the past six months. This year, the second master used 10 taels of silver for his wedding. This year, it was just July, and he received 1 taels of silver. Now he has paid 2 taels of silver from the palace. The cost is still to come." According to the manager, this year's money is definitely beyond the means.

Xing Yue was very tongue-tied when she heard that, the Rongguo Mansion must have spent too much money. She heard that most of it was spent on Jia Amnesty and Jia Zheng. She didn't know where Jia Zheng's 3 taels of silver went. But she knows a thing or two about where Jia Amnesty's money is spent. There are many concubines and aunts in the big house, and some of them are Yangzhou skinny horses. The housekeeper's elegance is just a plaything.

As soon as the steward of the accountant said these words, the masters of the Rongguo Mansion looked at each other in blank dismay. They didn't expect that the mansion was struggling to make ends meet now. The bulk of the money was spent on Jia She and Jia Zheng. No one could say no to Jia She. Grandpa, a serious family member, who dares to stop him from spending money, Jia Zheng is now an official in the Manchu Mansion, who can stop him from getting money for officialdom.

"Boss, the income for the second half of the year has not been collected yet. According to you, this year so far is beyond our means, and we are short of two.

Ten thousand taels of silver, did you use the money in the treasury? " Xing Yue asked.

"Answer to my wife, it is true. Now I can only use the money in the treasury. In the second half of the year, the income will be delivered and put into the treasury to make up for it." The chief steward said, the chief steward is an old lady, how could he not know the tricks in it, It's just inconvenient to talk about.

"This Zhu's daughter-in-law and Lian's daughter-in-law have just been in charge of the house, and they are facing this difficult situation. Fortunately, there is money in the palace to cope with it. Unlike other families, in order to fill the shortfall, they have to borrow money from the household department to survive." Xing Yue During this period of time, Jia Amnesty was not asked if there was any money owed to the household department in the family.

When Jia She heard these words, he immediately remembered what his father told him before his death. When his great-grandfather was still alive, the national treasury was weak, and the pension money for soldiers was also small, so it was impossible for orphans and widows to support their families. To make ends meet, the old Duke couldn't bear the poverty of the families of his subordinates who died in battle and the disabled soldiers, so he borrowed a total of 100 million taels of silver from the household department and distributed them to the soldiers.When his father was around, he transferred 2 taels of silver from the palace every year under other names and secretly repaid it to the household repayment department. After calculation, it has been more than 30 years since his father, and even if something major happened, the court would To return the treasury silver, the money in the palace can also afford it, Jia Amnesty calculated silently in his heart.

"Did the 2 taels of silver that the Duke personally set to send to Lord Chen every year have been delivered?" Jia She asked casually. This expenditure was ordered by his father, and it cannot be stopped anyway. It's my own mother, and I can't violate it.

"You said that the money, your father passed away, the mansion is not as good as in previous years, so 2 taels of silver per year is not a small amount, so I decided to save it for other expenses." Mrs. Shi said very easily, She knew in the early years that a sum of money was missing, and when the Duke passed away, someone checked the whereabouts of the money, but the result was unclear, thinking that the Duke might be raising a second wife somewhere else, He decided to cut off the money without authorization.

"Old lady, what are you talking about? You didn't give me that sum of money. When did this happen?" When Jia She heard this, the anger in his heart burst into flames, and he couldn't control his voice.

"You unfilial son, you actually yelled at your own mother." The old lady didn't think that the money had any important uses, she only thought of Jia She, an unfilial son, and she was disrespectful to her.

"Old lady, when did you make the decision not to give the money?" Jia She trembled angrily. This is a major matter related to the fate of the family. Back then, his father wrote the booklet, and the emperor knew why the Jia family owed the money, so he granted the Jia family a special order. Pay back 2 taels of silver every year, and pay it off in 50 years. Now his family refuses to pay it back without authorization. This is a crime of deceiving the emperor.

"Since your second brother and sister were housekeepers, it has been nearly 20 years now. The money in the house is tight. How can I give 2 taels of money to others." Jia Mu knew the money when she saw that her eldest son did not have the same expression as before. I'm afraid it's not easy.

"It's been almost 20 years." Jia She's face paled suddenly, and he sat down on the chair. No wonder he has no real job all these years, and his second brother has only been promoted by one level. It's not that the old lady is today's wet nurse. I'm afraid the house has already been ransacked.

"My lord, my lord, what's the matter with you, Lian'er, hurry up and invite the imperial physician." Xing Yue quickly got up to look after Jia Amnesty, and told Jia Lian to find the imperial physician.

"Lian'er, come back, I'm fine, I don't need to call the doctor, old lady, my son is tired, so I'll go back to rest first." With the support of Xing Yue and Jia Lian, Jia Amnesty stood up, saluted the old lady, and left. , anyone can see that the money is of great importance.

The four of them returned to the big room, Jia She waved Wang Xifeng back, brought Xing Yue and Jia Lian to the study, sent out all the servants, took out a box from the inner room, opened it, and took out a book from inside. The memorial was written by the Duke Jia Daishan, with the emperor's imperial approval on it. After Jia Lian read it, his face was also pale, which was consistent with Jia Amnesty's reaction.Xing Yue took it over and saw that the memorial was about the repayment of the money by the Ministry of Accounts.

"Master, the money that the old lady forfeited is to repay the loan from the household department, right?" After all, Xing Yue is a modern person, and has not really experienced the irresistibility of imperial power. Among the three, he is the calmest.

"Yes..." Jia Amnesty and Jia Lian's faces turned pale, and Jia Lian was covered in cold sweat. This is a serious crime of raiding the house.

"Father, why doesn't the old lady know about such a big event?" Jia Lian asked, the fate of the whole family was at stake.

"Your great-grandfather was afraid that his family members would be worried, so he kept the matter of borrowing money a secret. He hoped that his family members in the mansion would live comfortably and not worry about the debt. Only the successor knew. Who would have thought that there would be such a big mistake." He didn't want to tell Xing Yue at first, but the debt was huge, and he couldn't get it together for a while, so he had to pay attention to Xing Yue's more than [-] taels of silver.

"Master, Lian'er, it's useless to say these things now, let's think about how to deal with it, master, what do you think of this plan?" Xing Yue is more rational, and now it's better to solve the problem quickly.

"Right now, I can only submit a pleading letter and pay off the debt owed by the household department. I hope that the Holy One will not blame me." The three of them understood that this was the only way to do it now. Now that the matter was up to now, Da Fang couldn't get rid of it no matter what.

"Master, how much money does our family still owe the household department?" Xing Yue asked, this is more critical.

"When my father was there, I paid it back for ten years. When Lian'er's mother was housekeeper, I paid it back for four years. I paid back 2 taels of silver a year. A total of 28 taels of silver was repaid, leaving 72 taels of silver unrepaid." Forgiveness has the final say.

"My lord, there are only 35 taels of silver in the palace, and now I can only use 30 taels of silver, otherwise the family will not be able to live, and there is still a shortfall of 42 taels of silver. The 12 taels that the master gave me a while ago, I will pay for it later." Have someone send it to the master." Xing Yue clearly differentiated the priorities, although it was caused by Jia's mother, but in the end it is Jia She's inability to manage the family, this matter must be done, otherwise the future of this big house is in jeopardy.Furthermore, I don't know how many people thought about the money that Jia She gave her for ransacking the house before, so they took this opportunity to hand it over, which not only showed their heart, but also saved trouble.

"Come here with 7 taels of silver. The remaining 5 taels will be reserved for you and Yingchun. After repaying the loan from the household department this time, I'm afraid I won't be able to leave anything for their brothers and sisters? Lian'er, it's because the father is incompetent. You can only rely on yourself in the future." Jia She decided to take out the private silver left by his grandmother to pay back the money, and after taking out 35 taels of silver, his hands were also empty.

"Master, I think it's better to send 10 taels of silver over here, and keep [-] taels of silver for Yingchun, who is only four years old, and we still have time to save her dowry. It's important to pay back the money from the household department now." Xing Yue Said.

"Well, Lian'er, don't let your daughter-in-law know about this." Jia She told Jia Lian that although these are four major families, they still have different surnames.

"Master, it's better to let the old lady know about the money owed to the household department. After all, the old lady has gone through a lot of things, and maybe there is a way to get the best of both worlds. I know that the master doesn't want to disturb the old lady, but this is the case in the palace. If you have too much money, you can't beat the old lady." Xing Yue is not the one who suffers, she can't let Jia Mu and Mrs. Wang take advantage.

"I'll tell the old lady tomorrow." Jia She thought for a while, he had promised his father not to tell the family members of the mansion, and he finally made up his mind and said. "Lian'er, you don't need to worry about the money owed to the household department by the government. You should pay close attention to the usury matter, and there must be no more troubles now." Jia She told Jia Lian.

That night, Jia She and Xing Yue discussed for most of the night, Jia She tossed and turned, and did not sleep the whole night.Early the next morning, Jia She and Xing Yue went to the old lady and showed the memorial to the old lady. After reading it, the old lady burst into tears, saying that she had harmed her children and grandchildren, calling Jia She so big. Why don't you tell your family about the matter as soon as possible, the old lady can't afford to take such a big matter as disobedience.

"Old lady, don't be sad, what should I do now?" Xing Yue saw that the old lady was only focused on crying and scolding Jia Amnesty, and she didn't think of a solution at all, so she couldn't help being furious.

"Forget it, it's the old woman who caused the trouble, so I'll let the old man bear it. I'll go to see the holy majesty and ask for forgiveness." Jia Mu just said so, and didn't take any action at all.

"Old lady, although the old lady ordered to cut off the supply of money, those who don't know are not guilty. After all, I can't blame the old lady. I only blame our master for not being diligent all these years. He thought that because of the old lady's order, this The mansion will go back to the original execution. Who would have thought that such a trouble would happen. In any case, our master cannot escape this responsibility, so our master will personally plead guilty and pay back all the money from the household department. The merits of the ancestors can be forgiven." This is what Xing Yue said, insinuating that Mrs. Shi didn't even listen to her husband's orders.

"The old lady doesn't need to blame herself. This is what the person who inherited the title knew. After all, it was the son's negligence that caused this terrible disaster. The left and right sons couldn't avoid it. It's better for the son to plead guilty. It's just that the manor still owes the debt to you." The household department has 72 taels of silver, and the palace only has 35 taels of silver, and the remaining 42 taels are for the old lady to decide." Jia Amnesty originally wanted to pay back with his own silver, but was persuaded by Xing Yue last night.

"Old lady, it was originally the responsibility of our master and Lian'er to repay the money from the household department. The old lady and the second younger brother's family should not have been implicated. It's just that there was a mistake, and we were asked to take out so much money all at once. If you can’t get it out, please ask the old lady to think of a way.” Xing Yue deliberately said that the matter of repaying the money has nothing to do with the second wife’s family, and it depends on the old lady’s attitude to ask the old lady and the second wife to pay the money. .

Mother Jia thought in her heart, the boss made such a big mistake, naturally the boss's family should bear the responsibility, and the second family didn't know about it, but they would be implicated. hateful.

"How much can you take out?" The old lady said very displeased.

"If we go back to the old lady, we can at most take out 15 taels of silver, which also includes the 12 taels of silver that our master gave a few days ago. The old lady also knows that we have no separation, and the big house does not have its own. Property, the master is a person who doesn’t value money, and doesn’t care about spending money. I didn’t keep the money. I came from a small family and I don’t know how to run a business. I live on monthly money, and I haven’t saved it all these years. How many, after all, this is the top priority in the mansion, if it is not done well, it will be a serious crime of raiding the house, so I took out everything the master gave me, and the most important thing is to pass this level." Xing Yue lied. Heart does not beat.

There was still more than 20 taels of silver left, and the old lady's heart twitched. Hearing what the old family meant, they wanted her and the second child's family to pay the money, and even magnified what Xing Yue said before, which had nothing to do with them. His face was even more ugly.

"Old lady, my master is filial and kind, so it's not easy to open his mouth, but procrastination is not an option. There is still a shortfall of 22 taels of silver. We have to sell the property in the palace to get it together. Our master is very ashamed. The thing is that there is no separation in the end, so it must be a drag on the second brother's family. Using all the cash in the palace is already sorry for the second brother's family, and if we sell off the property in the mansion, we may have no face to face the second brother's family. , what our master means is to set aside the property of the second house, sell off the property allocated to the big house, and collect the 22 taels of silver and return it to the household department. I don’t know what the old lady wants?" Xing Yue wants to share Home, do not mix with Erfang.

The old lady thought about it in her heart, after all, her heart was biased, she nodded and agreed to divide the property, the old lady also had her own considerations, if the father-in-law passed away, the family was divided, and the old lady would not be involved in this matter. On the head of the Er family, now, the 17 taels of white money seems to be gone. Not only that, even if the big house committed the crime, even if the money from the household department is returned, the emperor does not know how to deal with it. She can't She watched helplessly that the second room was also implicated, and watched her eldest grandson Jia Zhu and eldest granddaughter Yuan Chun being implicated forever.