Palace Flower as Employment [Red Mansion]

My name is Shi Xianglin, and I used to be the daughter of the Zhongjinghou Mansion, but now, I am the head of the historian who ranks second in the Jingshi Merchant Pastry Alliance, and I am also the world-renowned "sub-father of the country" Jia Zhiyuan Jia Qi's cousin.Although when my father was alive, I never saw him or said a word to him.

From the perspective of relatives, his grandmother is the sister of my grandfather and mother, and my father is his grandmother's nephew. According to common sense, since the two families are relatives, they should move around frequently.

But the fact is that our family is not very familiar with their family.

Not only are they not very familiar, it can almost be said that they have no contacts.My family will not invite their family if there is any event in their family. If there is any happy event in their family, our historians will at most let my father and my second uncle go to sit for a while. My mother and my second uncle are not willing to go to their house easily. Yes, let alone us juniors.

Whether it is the second uncle's family or my family, the juniors below, whether they are male or female, have been repeatedly told by the elders that we are not allowed to associate with the cousins ​​of the Jia family.

There is only one person in our historian family who often runs to their house, and that is my late uncle's posthumous daughter, that is, my cousin, Shi Xiangyun.

I remember when I was young, every time the Jia family sent someone to pick up my cousin, the servants of the Jia family would try their best to invite me to go there, but every time my mother made excuses and hesitated to go there. My cousin grew up gradually, and my second aunt, like my mother, began to find reasons to keep my cousin at home.

As for the reason, it is actually very simple, because Jia's family is the most famous family in Beijing without rules.

I still remember the disdain on my parents' faces when they mentioned Jia's family.What kind of dignified Sir Xijue lives in the back garden, what is the second son of a fifth-rank official stealing the Duke’s main hall, and the Jia family’s behavior of sending the eldest cousin into the palace to be a maid. Our family, from the second Uncles, fathers, and the girls and servants below, when they mentioned Jia's family, they always looked down on them in various ways.

Even the fact that my cousin beat the Dengwen drum in order to sue the servants in the family was also a topic of private conversation between the parents.

At that time, I knew that the lack of discipline of the servants in the family made the family's decent life worse than that of the servants, and it was extremely embarrassing to beat the Dengwen drum in order to sue the servants.

In fact, after my cousin beat the Dengwen drum to separate their families, the Jia family's two branches, no, it should be said that the three branches are still unpopular figures in Beijing.

General Wei Lie's mansion is in chaos, Jia Xuezheng - this second cousin uncle used to be a member of the Ministry of Industry, so for a long time, everyone called him Jia Ministry of Industry.However, later, the second cousin of the uncle’s family also became a member of the Ministry of Industry, Wailang, and later became a doctor of the Ministry of Industry, Minister of the Ministry of Yu, and even Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry, so everyone called the second cousin of the uncle’s family It is the Ministry of Jia Gong and the Ministry of Jia Yu.As for the second-cousin uncle who had not moved for more than 20 years as a member of the Ministry of Industry, he became Jia Xuezheng. In terms of position, but everyone calls the uncle of the second cousin Jia Xuezheng to show the difference - the family is in all kinds of chaos, the uncle of the second cousin is capable of everything, and the aunt of the second cousin is all kinds of greedy and cruel, and the sons and grandchildren of the family are actually Don't go to a serious school, just hang out in the inner house every day. Although the daughters in the family are shrewd, they are not shrewd in their ideas. They can't even achieve the word chastity that is necessary for daughters.

At that time, these two branches of the Jia family had always been at the top of the blacklist of many families in Beijing.

As for my uncle's family, although there are a few families willing to associate with them, many still maintain a wait-and-see attitude.

My father has said more than once that my uncle's family is too ostentatious.

Not only was the matter of disposing of the slaves and repaying the deficit turned upside down, but even the third cousin and the fourth cousin who were far away in the south of the Yangtze River were not small.Taking advantage of the name of Yangzhou patrol salt censor to accept money wantonly, and let those sea merchants help them find things!

At that time, neither my father nor my mother looked very good when they heard the news. My father even said to my mother: "...It's fortunate that my cousin has been busy for the past two years. Regarding the matter of Tian and the ancestral hall, isn't their family counting on this in the future?"

At that time, my mother had the same attitude as my father.

The mother's attitude changed when Mr. Lin Wenzheng returned to the capital because of the sweet potatoes.Anyone who is well-informed in Beijing knows that this sweet potato was obtained by the fourth cousin through a sea merchant, but the credit went to the Lin family for nothing!Mr. Lin Wenzheng has been achieved!

Around Mr. Lin Wenzheng and sweet potatoes, there was a lot of discussion in Beijing, and my mother said to the people around her more than once in private: "Look at it, the girl of the Lin family and the belongings of the Lin family must all enter the Jia family." .”

Sure enough, before the end of the year, Mr. Lin Wenzheng became terminally ill. Before he died, he betrothed his only daughter to his fourth cousin.As for the huge family property of the Lin family, except for those that had to be handed over to the national treasury, the rest that could be used as a dowry were given to the daughter, so that the dowry of the cousin of the Lin family was as high as 400 million taels of silver.

Everyone said that Mr. Lin Wenzheng had been smart all his life, but Lin Lao was once confused, and he didn't even know the crime of pregnant Bi.The Jia family is in such a situation, and given so much dowry to their daughter, how long can they stay with the eldest cousin's cowardice and the age of the fourth cousin Lin's cousin?

At that time, everyone was not optimistic about the marriage.Many people even bet that when the fourth cousin is a little older, after he participates in the examination, he will definitely be caught by someone else, and then cousin Lin and her huge dowry will become the target of most people in the capital.

No one thought that the fourth cousin would pass the Juren examination when he was ten years old, and at the end of that year, he would directly enter the cabinet.Although it is only an imperial edict, it is also a close minister of the emperor.

Our family was one of those who were stunned by the news.

The father who heard the news didn't react for a long time, and it was from that day that I really understood what the concept of 400 million taels of silver was.That is to add our family and our second uncle's family together, and the total family belongings are only about a quarter of that of cousin Lin's family.

At that time, my mother insisted that there must be some agreement between my uncle's family and Wansui.As for our cousins, most of the attention was attracted by the dowry of Lin's cousin.

Sure enough, it didn't take long for the fourth cousin to borrow 300 million taels of silver from the national treasury, and also uniquely proposed the repayment period and the interest to be paid every year.

To be honest, when the family heard about this, no one didn't scold fourth cousin for being stupid.

Civil and military officials borrow money from the imperial court without paying interest, and there are many who owe it for two or thirty years.This fourth cousin not only paid the interest, but also established a rule with the court to return the principal on time every year.

But not long after, the fourth cousin proved to the world that he was right.

The treasury was empty, so Emperor Sejong ordered the Ministry of Accounts to recover the shortfall. Almost every family was forced to jump by the Ministry of Accounts. The only person who was not tossed and owed the treasury was the fourth cousin.

My father and mother said that the fourth cousin is using the people in his hands to put pressure on the court, but I always feel that this is not the case.But what the real facts should look like, I don't understand.

The same thing, land tax and per capita tax.

According to the national law, people with fame and official positions like the fourth cousin do not have to pay the land tax and their own personal tax, but the fourth cousin pays all of them. Not only does he pay taxes on time, but his parents, wife Son, even the servants at home, the tenants and craftsmen on the farm below, all paid what they could, but they still paid up on time.

Therefore, when the demon concubine came to power later, she couldn't find a reason to punish him.

According to Liang Zhiyuan and Qi Zhiyuan who later retired successively, and other officials who experienced the matter of the demon concubine, after the demon concubine Wen family drove the fourth cousin out of the cabinet, she ordered the fourth cousin to pay All taxes are paid, and the previous ones are made up.

In fact, everyone knows that the demon concubine is coveting the money and family business of the fourth cousin and sister-in-law.

If Fourth Cousin, like other officials, used the laws of the country to make profits for himself by not paying taxes, then the Demon Concubine would definitely make a big fuss about it, and then get Fourth Cousin's family property and Lin's Cousin's dowry inside.

But who would have thought that since the fourth cousin entered the cabinet at the age of ten, for so many years, everyone in the family and in the village have paid taxes, even women have paid taxes.

The concubine Yao had no choice but to ask for a thorough investigation of the accounts of the fourth cousin, but was resisted by the two prefects of the cabinet and the household department.

The workload was too great, and the Ministry of Household Affairs couldn't complete the work at all.As for local officials, from the day when the Mongols and Nvzhi surrounded the capital, and from the year when smallpox ravaged the whole of China, most of the state capitals north of the Yellow River had to rely on the fourth cousin to operate.

Not to mention that demon concubine and His Majesty Yingzong who died young, even the powerful Supreme Emperor couldn't do anything to fourth cousin.

Because anyone who has stayed in the fourth cousin's Zhuangzi and workshop will be extremely loyal to the fourth cousin.

The fourth cousin hired those refugees to work for him. Not only did he eat and drink well, but he also paid wages. The wages were very high, and he even paid the tax.

The reason, of course, is that outside the capital, most people have to pay at least three taels of per capita tax every year. Such a high per capita tax is enough to force the common people to become refugees.

Of course, I didn't know these things back then, but this didn't stop me from being curious about my fourth cousin.Although my father insisted until his death that the fourth cousin's reckless behavior would definitely hurt the family in the future, but my mother didn't think so.

My mother said that my fourth cousin was a very powerful and capable person when he was young.

I remember that the first time my mother praised my fourth cousin in front of our sisters, it was because of that little actor.

It is very ashamed to say that the cause of the incident has a lot to do with my cousin.My cousin, Shi Xiangyun, has been close to the second cousin Bao's second cousin since she was a child. She looks down on the eldest cousin, and also looks down on the fourth cousin. From her mouth, there has never been a good word about the fourth cousin.

That year, not long after Concubine Jia visited relatives, and the first month was not even out, a little opera singer specially sung for Concubine Jia was called to sing in front of the whole family, and then my cousin said, that little opera singer and The cousin of the Lin family looks the same!

The fourth cousin exploded at that time - at that time, the cousin of the Lin family was already his fiancée - he immediately cut off the little actor, and my cousin was also sent back on the same day.

Later, my mother told me that if my fourth cousin didn't do that at that time, there would definitely be those boring dandies who would praise that little actor—that is, the troupe was raised by the Jia family themselves, and there would be men from the Jia family who would praise that little opera troupe. Little opera, besides, there are so many dignitaries in Beijing, if someone asks the Jia family for this troupe, or even this little opera, will Concubine Jia's natal family still be able to give it?In the end, everyone will play this little opera, just like playing cousin Lin. ——From this incident, I know how vicious my cousin is!She simply wanted to force cousin Lin to die!

Of course, the fourth cousin was also very decisive in this matter. He directly killed the little actor, and even threatened Concubine Jia's parents and family, telling them that if it was rumored that the little actor was similar to Lin's cousin, he would Let people publicize everywhere in Beijing that this little actor is the daughter of Concubine Jia's adultery when she was at home!

At that time, I wondered whether such a tactic would be useful. My mother told me that the more you catch wind and shadows, the more difficult it is to stop, and this kind of tactic will not be of much use to ordinary people, but it is good for the Jia family and for others. For Concubine Jia's parents, this tactic was extremely effective.

Sure enough, later on, just as my mother said, there was no news at all from Beijing.

Without the protection of the fourth cousin, no matter how much dowry the Lin family's cousin had, she would end up with nothing left.

This is what the little actor incident told me, that is, from that time on, there is a person living in my heart.I even secretly thought in my heart, if only my future husband could protect me like my fourth cousin.

You don't need much tenderness, nor much money, as long as you can protect me.

At that time, I never knew that I would have this opportunity to marry my fourth cousin, and I never thought that I would have any intersection with my fourth cousin.

Until the married cousin brought news from Jia's house.

At that time, my father died of smallpox. At that time, my cousin finally got her wish and married her second brother Bao who was always in her heart.

It's a pity that Baoyu has a temperament of pity and pity, and he is not suitable to be a husband at all.From the first day of her marriage, she began to stay alone in the vacant house.

Of course, my good cousin would never say such a shameful thing.It was my mother who saw it in her face and posture and the way she walked.

The smallpox was very serious that year, as long as the sons of the Supreme Emperor who did not die in the hands of the Mongols all fell under the smallpox, and our historian, my second uncle, and my father were also infected with smallpox.

After the second uncle and my father died, neither my family nor the second uncle's family had any adult males.According to common sense, after the second uncle and father pass away, the imperial court will, according to the will of the second uncle and father, designate successors for our two families from among the heirs of the second uncle and my father, and give us crowns and robes .

But that year, the court did not do so.

Thinking about it now, at that time, the sons of the Supreme Emperor were all dead, even the Emperor Sejong was gone, and it was inevitable that the palace was not in the mood. When we are full of filial piety, it is okay to ask someone to ask for it.

But at that time, after hearing what my cousin said, we were as if we were fascinated by ghosts, and we completely believed her words, thinking that the Lin family's cousin was really dead, and that the child born by the Lin family's cousin was also weak tight.

The cousin said to us: "...that's what our old lady meant. Brother Qi is so powerful and capable, and the ready-made Mrs. Zhiyuan, I don't know how many people are staring at this position outside. It's just that there are many people outside. I don't know the background, so I want to find one in a relative's house. I don't want to look good, and I don't want to have a lot of dowry, as long as I can take good care of Brother Qi and don't compete with Lian's second sister-in-law for the family business.... Our old lady It means that the sooner this kind of thing happens, the better, if nothing else, let others get it first."

Everyone knows how many loopholes there are in the words.

Everyone knows that the old lady's words are not as important as before in the big cousin's house, and no one will even let her decide on such a big matter.

But at that time, we just believed it.

In fact, at that time, our family was always worried about the title.To put it bluntly, if letting me be a concubine for my fourth cousin can confirm our family's title, no matter if it is the second aunt or my mother, they will force me to be a concubine for my fourth cousin.

And I, because I put my fourth cousin in my heart in the early years, so I didn't find out what was wrong in time.

According to my mother's arrangement, I met my fourth cousin for the first time on my father's anniversary.And the fourth cousin is just as I thought, handsome and unrestrained, not only has a dignified appearance and a dignified appearance, but also behaves differently from ordinary people.

At that moment, I was very willing.

I thought that I was finally going to marry the wishful man in my heart.

But I never expected that this incident would become the reason why our family was questioned.

Later, we moved into the house of my uncle.

At that time, I didn't know what face to use to meet my cousin and sister-in-law.

I know that I was teased by my cousin, and our family paid the price, but the harm I did to my cousin and sister-in-law was real.It took me a lot of effort to break up the relationship, and I mustered up the courage to apologize to my fourth cousin.

I don't know if the fourth cousin knows about it, but I think I have to do it.

Later, my fourth cousin gave me some Western dim sum recipes, and our family moved out of my cousin’s home. Later, my younger brother liked to teach, my sister-in-law was not good at it, and I married someone else.

The person I married is a businessman. He is equivalent to the position of the third cousin in the uncle's house at home. There is an elder brother left by the original wife on the top, and a younger brother from the second wife on the bottom. I was defeated, so I was very unhappy.Rather than saying that I married him, it would be better if he became our family's door-to-door son-in-law.

The two of us rely on the prescription given by our fourth cousin, as well as sugar, matcha, cocoa and other ingredients that are rarely obtained by others, especially cocoa, which made us firmly occupy a place in the merchants in the capital.

Later, when my cousin’s great-aunt passed away, I went to offer my condolences and saw my cousin again.

I finally couldn't help but asked my cousin.

I asked him, when I apologized to my cousin, did my cousin already know about that matter.

My cousin took a deep look at me and said: "...I will choose Sister Lin. One of the reasons is that Sister Lin is the smartest woman in the world. Many things cannot be hidden from her eyes. The second reason is that Because Sister Lin is the most generous person in the world, no matter who she is, she can understand each other's feelings, even if the other party brings her a lot of trouble, she will choose tolerance and forgiveness in the end. Moreover, Sister Lin's tolerance and To forgive is not to use the reputation of an irrelevant third party or other things to forgive others. This is what I admire most about Sister Lin."

I was stupid at the time, and my cousin told me:

"...Everyone in the world thinks that Lin Daiyu was lucky enough to marry me for three lifetimes and enjoy a lifetime of wealth and wealth. But what others don't know is that I depend on Sister Lin. If it wasn't for Sister Lin, I, Jia Qi, would be just What other people call me is just a big talker. In fact, I am a spoiled child like my famous cousin. My cousin was spoiled by the old lady, and I was spoiled by My parents were spoiled. Like my cousin, my temper is not very good. In fact, I have seen many women, especially those who used to live in the Grand View Garden, but Sister Bao likes them well My cousin is strong, and Sister Yun is even more heartless. Let alone other people."

Later I learned that whether it was the resettlement of those refugees or the development of electricity later, many things in it were related to Sister Lin.

At that time, I realized why my cousin kept saying that he stole the glory that should belong to sister Lin, but sister Lin also said that if it wasn't for cousin, these things would be just a pile of waste paper.

Cousin and Sister Lin have always had a good relationship. Even after Cousin quit the cabinet, the two of them also visited half of China, and even once, if the juniors didn’t stop them, they would sneak up to Nanyang The boat to Golden Pearl Island.At that time, my cousin was almost 70 years old, but he was always in good spirits and was a lovely old man.

By the way, my cousin has several pearl islands overseas, which specialize in pearl cultivation.

However, I'm not having a bad day.

Although my husband passed away more than ten years ago, I have a lot of children and grandchildren, and my family is rich, and the expenses given to me are very good, and my life is not in vain.

As for my cousin, her husband died in a woman's belly after all, her reputation is also bad, and she is not young, so she can only live by renting a house - at that time, her cousin's family had long ignored her up.It is said that when she was living on a rented house, she was bullied. It happened that she did not behave well and offended her neighbors. In the end, no one helped her. In the end, her little real estate was also bullied Get away.If she hadn't been related to her cousin, she might have been taken into the building long ago.

She was born with a long life span.If it hadn't been for her cousin to build a Chunhui Hall for the elderly, she would have starved to death like a beggar in the old days.

Of course, some people said that she had died long ago, because her real estate had been given to others long ago.

I don't know if this is true or not, because I have stopped communicating with her a long time ago.

In my life, I have lived rich and prosperous, and although I have regrets, I still have a happy ending.

My life is not in vain.