Cross the Sea in the Red Chamber

At the beginning of February, when the new emperor had not yet ascended the throne.In the capital, Jia's Mansion, Lixiangyuan.

Ever since Jia Amnesty announced that the first wife would no longer take care of Jia Baoyu's daily expenses, the life of the second wife became more and more difficult.Although Jia Baoyu is a child, how many servants are around him?Not to mention these servants, how much money does he spend to support himself every day?

Not unaware, even Jia Baoyu's mother-in-law, Mrs. Wang, was taken aback by the calculation.Now she knew that Mrs. Xing of the big house was not lying, and Jia Baoyu's expenses for a child could exceed three Jialians.This is just an ordinary supply of money, not counting the rewards he received from the palace during the New Year's Eve. These things are truly priceless treasures.

Although it is possible to reduce Baoyu's daily expenses, no matter how Mrs. Wang calculates, she can only subtract one-third of it at most.Jia Baoyu was her only support for turning around. Even if she suffered from someone, Mrs. Wang couldn't suffer from her youngest son. How could she be willing to detain Baoyu?Besides, Baoyu lived in Dafang, if he couldn't afford food and clothing, wouldn't Dafang see it as a joke?Does it confirm Dafang's words about raising a son for the second bedroom?

But since you can't deduct Baoyu's expenses, you can only deduct others...

The second room of the Jia family did not make any money from the division of the family. Even if Jia Zheng had already driven Aunt Zhao and Jia Huan to the Zhuangzi, regardless of their life or death, there was nothing in this mansion except Aunt Zhou, an invisible person, and the old man who lived in the house. Baoyu in the wife's place also has six masters, big and small, and these masters can't move anywhere, so how can they save money?

The eldest son, Jia Zhu, was sick all day long, and he couldn't live without bitter medicine for a day, and he didn't know how much tonic and other medicines he drank. He didn't give money to buy medicine, so why did he watch him die?

The eldest grandma Li Wan has always saved money the most, but she wished she could exchange all the money in the family into tonics and feed it to her husband, no matter how much she deducted, she would not be able to deduct anything.Detaining her is equivalent to detaining his own son, and Mrs. Wang is also very embarrassed.

Jia Lan said he was the eldest son and grandson of their second wife, but where is the treatment that the eldest son and grandson should have?His father is not in good health now, and his mother only knows how to take care of his father. Even if she occasionally thinks of disciplining him, there is not much time left.Grandparents all said that he was tough on his father, and they were not close to him.He, the dignified eldest grandson of the second wife, is like a wild child, although he has all relatives, but no one pays attention to him at all.

Not to mention Jia Tanchun's place, her house is like a hole in the snow, with four white walls left, nothing of value, all sold by maids and wives for money .Her daily food and clothing are not as good as those of the servants in the mansion, and she doesn't have the support of her elders. It is considered good to be alive today, so where is there any room for deduction?

Mrs. Wang didn't want to defraud herself. After all, she was an official's wife, so she must have a few maids to serve her. After all, only her husband was left, but should she be defrauded of Jia Zheng?

As for Jia Zheng, he only worked as a minor official of the ninth rank, and was often punished by the court. He was an official for a long time, but he didn't get any money, but spent a lot of it.That's all, he still has the prestige of a scholar and an official, and he keeps many useless cleanups for no reason.

These Qing guests are no more than servants in the mansion, they are all literati with fame and reputation, and it costs a lot of money to support them every month.If these people can be of any use, that's fine, but they don't want to take care of anything, they are only responsible for discussing poetry, calligraphy, painting, and literati in the mansion with Master Jia Er, and they haven't done anything useful, but they are very flattering. good at.

In terms of throttling, it's right to drive away those useless cleanups, but how dare Mrs. Wang do this?

Ever since the usury incident was exposed by her in front of everyone in the two rooms, Jia Zheng looked at her not to mention tenderness, not even ignorance, but only deep disgust.If something went wrong, he would scold her head and face, and even almost hit her a few times.

Mrs. Wang used Wang Ziteng's name to suppress them those few times, relying on Wang Ziteng's efforts to restore Jia Zhengguan's post, so she saved herself.But these cleanups are the most important thing for Jia Zheng, a good-looking person. If she dares to move, she may not be able to suppress Jia Zheng's anger.

Mrs. Wang also thought about discussing with her eldest son to save some money.She didn't dare to keep a straight face, and entered Jia Zhu's room with a smile on her face, and only exchanged a few words with the three of them, and the atmosphere in the whole room cooled down.

Li Wan's wrist trembled, and the good celadon tea bowl fell to the ground and shattered into pieces. She didn't bother to clean it up, but just stared blankly at Mrs. Wang and said, "Madam, is this trying to force our family to death?"

"What stupid things are you talking about?" Mrs. Wang glared at her daughter-in-law, "Your family? You're talking like I'm not Zhu'er's mother. Isn't everyone in this yard a family?"

Mrs. Wang thought she could suppress her daughter-in-law, but the usually clumsy Li Wan couldn't care less at this time, and gritted her teeth and said, "Daughter-in-law doesn't dare. But madam, please take a look at this house, sir, is there anything valuable? "

She took out the silk handkerchief and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, "Ever since I moved into Pear Fragrance Garden, the uncle's daily medicine can no longer be provided. The daughter-in-law knows that the family is in trouble, so she doesn't dare to make things difficult for the wife, so she has to put the dowry and The things in the house are used as medicine. Even so, it is still not enough, what else can I use to save money?"

Mrs. Wang was also very embarrassed when she heard this. When she was living in Jia's mansion, Jia Zhu's medicine expenses were all paid by the public. It's been on and off.It wasn't totally unbearable in the first place, as long as Jia Zheng's cleanups were dismissed... But according to Jia Zheng's temper, how could he be so...

She didn't know that in Li Wan's mind, she and her husband Jia Zheng were completely different.Jia Zheng insisted on inviting clean guests, regardless of his son's life or death. Could it be that Mrs. Wang only cared about Jia Zhu's illness?In order to save money, Li Wan dismissed all the maids, leaving only two women to take care of them, saving the monthly money of the maids to support her husband. Mrs. Wang still has more than a dozen servants around her, so she really needs to save money. Shouldn't you first think about who has more maids and wives when spending?

Li Wan wept in a low voice, but Jia Zhu was full of anger. As a traditional literati, he didn't hate his parents, but it was different for his younger brother who had barely met.The money in his hand is used to buy medicine and save his life, his younger brother is used to eat, drink and enjoy himself, but now his mother wants him to save the life-saving money for his younger brother to enjoy...

He couldn't say anything about resenting his parents, but he felt more and more chilling towards Jia Baoyu.He still remembered that the snarky woman in the room once said behind his back, "Now that Mr. Zhu is completely crippled, what's the use? The master and wife can only count on the son of Master Bao, Brother Lang You have to point to Master Bao to live."

Why should my son count on him to live?I'm not dead yet, so why do my parents think I'm dead?The more Jia Zhu thought about it, the more angry she became, and she vomited out a mouthful of blood under the suffocation, splashing on the ground, staining it all red.

"Gong Cai," Jia Zhu pushed his wife who wanted to wipe the blood on his lips, "don't talk about it. From next month onwards, I won't be able to withdraw my monthly money from the mansion. I'm already useless. What kind of medicine should I take? If you die early, you may be able to get rid of it earlier, and this money might as well be used to support your younger brother, and also to support your parents."

Hearing this, Li Wan burst into tears, and Jia Lan, who was standing next to her, almost looked at Mrs. Wang in the room with vicious eyes.

"Well, that's not necessary, just take care of it." Mrs. Wang simply threw up her sleeves and went out. As she walked, she felt that the eldest son's family was really not her reliance. What she said was just to save them some money. It's like killing them, just like they won't take advantage of Baoyu's popularity.Compared with the eldest son who became sicker and more temperamental, the younger son was indeed worth relying on.

No matter how money is calculated, it is not enough to spend. Since saving money is not enough, we can only increase income.

It's easy to say, but Mrs. Wang really doesn't have any way to make money with money.She is good at killing chickens and extracting eggs, but she doesn't understand how to raise hens that can lay golden eggs.In the past, in order to increase income, she even came up with the method of killing children and grandchildren by giving loan sharks. It can be seen that she doesn't know the right way to get money.

Seeing that the money in her hands was getting less and less, and even several pieces of her dowry had been pawned, the increasingly embarrassed Mrs. Wang suddenly received a letter from Xue's family.

The head wife of the Xue family is also surnamed Wang, and she is Mrs. Wang's biological sister, so the two families are related by marriage.Although Xue's family is not an official, they have a lot of money. After a few lifetimes, they may have a net worth of millions of taels. Of course, Mrs. Wang, who is obsessed with money, is willing to discuss relatives with Xue's family.

Mrs. Wang didn't read a lot in the past, but she didn't know a single word. After reading the letter with stumbles, she could still understand what the letter said.

The general content of the letter is that her younger sister's son, Xue Pan, relied on his wealth and power to kill someone and caused a life lawsuit in Jinling. Now this lawsuit has been settled by his brother Wang Ziteng, but this Jinling cannot live. It was only then that the Xue family decided to move the whole family to Beijing.

Although it is said that he came to Beijing, it is hard to say that he came here because of evading the lawsuit. It is only said that Xue Baochai, the daughter of the Xue family, is going to Beijing to prepare for the escort of the princess and princess, pretending to be a talented person to praise and be good. The business needs to be adjusted, one is to send the younger sister to be selected, the other is to visit relatives, and the third is to pay the account of the household department, and then enter the capital.

If he rushed to Beijing at this time, the Xue family's house in the capital would have been in disrepair for a long time and could not be cleaned up for a while, which reminded him of the close Jia and Wang families.

It stands to reason that it is not impossible for them to live in Wang's house, but Wang Ziteng has not returned from patrolling the border so far, and Wang Zisheng has never been close to Xue Wangshi, so Xue's mother thought of her sister Jia Wangshi who is more friendly.Thinking that their Jia family has a big business, they should be able to accommodate their family. They should wait for them to free up their hands to repair the house, buy a courtyard, and then move out.

When Xue's family sent such a letter, Madam Wang thought of those belongings of Xue's family.She has been really stretched these days, tearing down the east wall to make up for the west wall, and if she continues to support like this, her dowry may have to be put in.Although there is a saying that Jia is not fake, and white jade is used as a horse, but most of the Jia family's money was used to fill the deep hole of Yuanchun, and the rest of the money fell into the hands of the big house. I really can't change the money, but doesn't this mean a good year with heavy snow, pearls like earth and gold like iron?

The Xue family is so rich, if she can come forward and let them live in the Jia family, wouldn't it be convenient to get some money from the Xue family nearby?The master of the Xue family is gone, and only her younger sister is left with a pair of children. She knows her younger sister, and she has the softest ears. A lot of money?

And her niece, who has not left the court, is only two years older than Baoyu, so she is quite suitable.The old godmother planned to let Baoyu settle down the daughter of the Lin family, but according to Mrs. Wang, Lin Daiyu seemed to be short-lived, and the Lin family had lost their support.If she lived in the big house like this, wouldn't the big house get all the wealth of the Lin family?Even if you really marry Baoyu, there will be nothing left. Wouldn't this mean that you have lost both your wealth and wealth?

But the Xue family's daughter is different, her mother is her own younger sister, so with Xue Wang's temperament, can she shorten her daughter's dowry?When she married Baoyu, the dowry money would not all belong to their second wife, so there was no need to worry about the big house taking the opportunity to reach out.

That's what I said, I think so, but their second room only occupies a pear fragrance courtyard now, such a small courtyard is too crowded to live in by themselves, how can there be room for Xue's family to live in?She has always reported good news to her younger sister but not bad news. Mother Xue didn't even know about the separation of the family. Wouldn't it be embarrassing to say it now?

Even if she was willing to give up a few more rooms in Lixiangyuan to squeeze in by herself, the Xue family would definitely not be willing.But if the Xue family is pushed out, wouldn't her calculation just now be in vain?When she thought that the millions of furniture would be cheaper for others, she felt a pain in her heart.

After thinking about it for a long time, Mrs. Wang really came up with a plan...

Jia Mansion, Rongxi Hall.

Mr. Jia was sitting on the rocking chair in the main hall, stretching his muscles and bones. While rocking the chair leisurely, while admiring the newly-acquired gold and stone antiques, he only felt refreshed for a while, as if he was in a fairyland.At this time, a clever boy came in from the door and quickly saluted the old man.

"What's the matter?" Master Jia gave the boy a look, then turned to look at the seal in his hand.

"Master, I heard that Lixiangyuan received a letter from Xue's family, saying that Xue's family is going to Beijing." The young servant said: "It is written in the letter that Xue's family is here to send their daughter to be a candidate for the princess. The princess accompanied me, and I came to Beijing to visit my relatives. It is said that along the way, there were no more than several boats filled with gold and silver, and several boats were given to the old relatives as gifts."

"The Xue family not only sent a letter there, but also sent a letter to the Wang family early on. Because the Xue family's old house in the capital has been neglected for a long time, I want to ask the Jia family and the Wang family if they can borrow one. The yard is given to them, so that they can take a rest and give them time to tidy up the house."

Hearing that there are so many gold and silver plus gifts, if you say that you are not tempted, it is purely a lie.Although Jia Amnesty dreamed of making the Lin family's fortune, but Lin Ruhai is still alive, no matter how much money there is, it will have to wait a few years.Moreover, if the Lin family's affairs become serious and end up being ransacked, the money probably won't fall into his hands.But the Xue family has cash, if they can get it, wouldn't it be more useful than him waiting for the money from the Lin family?

With that said, Mr. Jia had a new idea.The old relatives that the Xue family needs to visit in Beijing are nothing more than the Wang family and the Jia family. This Prince Teng is not in the capital, he has not returned from patrolling, and he does not know when he will return, so the Wang family may not be willing to keep the Xue family.The second child's place is just a small courtyard, and they are too crowded to live by themselves, so how can they entertain the members of Xue's family...

On the contrary, their big house not only has enough courtyard, but also has a large space, and their daughter-in-law Wang Xifeng is the niece of that mother Xue, isn't this considered a relative?As long as the Xue family can be pulled into the general's residence, their money will sooner or later fall into his pocket...

After thinking about it, he guessed that Mrs. Wang of the second room was also thinking about how to receive Xue's family, but with their little space, how can they entertain their old relatives?Thinking of the benefits of cutting off the second wife, Jia Amnesty nodded quite complacently, very good, very good, as long as the second wife didn't take advantage of it, he would feel at ease.

How did Mr. Jia know that this was Mrs. Wang's plan?Rather than begging the big house to keep the Xue family behind, it would be better for Jia She to keep an eye on the gold and silver of the Xue family.The Xue family is just such a pair of sons and daughters, as long as Xue Baochai marries their family's Baoyu in the future, they can have whatever they want...

Mrs. Wang frowned suddenly. Speaking of a pair of children, she remembered Xue Pan.This Xue Pan is also getting older, and it seems that he has reached the age when he wants to marry. If Jia Amnesty has the idea of ​​​​increasing the marriage and insists on telling Xue Pan about Yingchun, then according to the saying that big families are not allowed to change marriages, Naturally, the marriage between Baoyu and Baochai will be ruined, so wouldn't the Xue family's property become the big house?

The more she thought about it, the more likely it was that although Yingchun was only a concubine, she was also the daughter of a third-class general, and the only girl in Dafang.Back then, the old godly woman was not just a concubine, she could marry the old man and become the wife of the country, so what's wrong with a third-class general's concubine marrying an imperial merchant?

Ever since the usury incident broke out, Mrs. Wang and Da Fang have had a deep estrangement, and they are mutual enemies. Even if it hurts others, she doesn't want Da Fang to take advantage of her!The thought that the big house would take advantage of her made her feel uncomfortable all over.

Even if they get closer, the big house is separated from Xue's family, how can there be her second house and Xue's family.But the daughter is not as important as the son. If Xue's mother is determined to help her son become a good friend of Jia's big house, wouldn't she lose everything for her precious jade?

No, Mrs. Wang gritted her teeth and said that she can't take advantage of Dafang, if the boss doesn't have this idea, it's fine, if she does, she will mess up this matter no matter what she says!

Xue's family entered Beijing just in time for the new emperor's ascension to the throne. When they arrived at Jia's mansion, Mrs. Xing, Wang Xifeng and others greeted them out of the hall and took them in.Because the mother Xue who came was Mrs. Wang's younger sister, Mrs. Xing rarely showed her face, but she let Mrs. Wang sit in the hall and didn't let her in.

When sisters meet each other, they are naturally full of sorrow and joy. After meeting Jia Mu, Jia and Xue's two families have a talk, and then they have to clean up the dust.

Jia Amnesty said during the meeting that he would like to let Xue's family live in Jia's house temporarily, and he would give up a yard for Xue's family to live in temporarily.Of course, Aunt Xue has no reason to disagree. Although she can see that her sister does not seem to have as much status in the Jia family as the letter said, but there is still her niece Wang Xifeng in the big house. Whoever is in charge of Fang and Erfang, it is reasonable for Xue's family to live in Jia's mansion as old relatives.

When Mrs. Wang saw that Xue's family could live in Jia's mansion, of course she tried every means to make Baochai get closer to her second son, but Aunt Xue couldn't understand other things, she still understood who was in power in this mansion.This Jia Amnesty is still a third-class general now, but Jia Zheng has only a ninth-rank official position left, and the two households have separated, and the second household has been kicked out of the general's mansion. Do you want her to be hurt a lot? Chong's daughter marrying the son of a ninth-rank official?It would be better to marry a Jinshi who came from a poor family. Anyway, he has a better future.

Not to mention that her daughter is still young, she is only here as a candidate, if she really becomes the princess's attendant, her status will definitely double in the future, maybe she will be favored by the emperor, prince or something, or marry the descendant of a high-ranking official.Even if her daughter has reached the age at which she must marry, she may not choose to marry Jia Baoyu, even if the child looks very smart, but she is too stupid and stubborn, not as good as her family Pan'er.

The two sisters of the Wang family talked to each other and perfunctory each other, but Xue Baochai was like a fish in water, living a very good life in the general's mansion, usually talking about books and poetry with Yingchun, Xichun and Daiyu, very happy.Jia Baoyu, who was originally loved by his sisters and sisters, turned out to be disgusted this time.

Yingchun was originally the daughter of the eldest house and had always lived in the first house, and had no connection with Jia Baoyu, the son of the second family.Xichun is still young now, even though she is raised by the old lady, she is a child of Dongfu after all, although no one dares to neglect her, but it will not matter how close she is.Lin Daiyu was taught by the nanny to stay away from Jia Baoyu, for fear of being "restrained" by him.As for Xue Baochai, she already had a good look at her, but if she stayed in the big house but played with Baoyu who didn't like the big house, wouldn't she want to offend the master?

Jia Amnesty, Mrs. Wang and Xue Wang, the three of them looked down on each other, but they all thought they were good. Who knew that the turning point came so quickly, and Xue Pan's arrest document had already been posted to the capital!