Chapter 69 Chapter 69 The Ye family is large and powerful, and the mansion Ye...
The Ye family is wealthy and powerful, and their mansion is very grand.
Shen Xuan's carriage went all the way in and arrived next to the stable. After a while, a maidservant beside Madam Ye brought a stool to the side of the carriage, lifted the curtain and said, "Brother Chen, please get off the carriage?"
"Hey, why is the prince here too?" The maid was obviously surprised because she didn't expect Xue Fenglin and Wu Xin Wuwang to be in the car.
Xue Fenglin got out of the car before Shen Xuan, then took Shen Xuan's hand and walked down and said, "You don't need to serve here, you take these gifts away, I will take Shen Xuan around."
"Yes." The maid looked at Xue Fenglin before taking the gift and turning away.
She hurried back and informed Mrs. Ye that the prince and Shen Xuan had come to the Ye family together.
Mrs. Ye was talking with Secretary Ye and Ye Chen in the main room at this time. When she heard the report from the maid, she felt upset.
Secretary Ye covered her mouth and said, "I didn't expect that Feng Lin would fall in love with such a person? He hasn't even gotten married yet, but he has brought people here to ask for a legitimate status from you, mother."
"Don't you think I will listen to him?" Mrs. Ye said angrily.
Ye Chen said at this time: "I think mother, please stop struggling. You can't persuade the prince anyway, so you might as well let him do what he wants."
Madam Ye then glared at Ye Chen and said, "What else can I say? Your cousin is like this, he is a member of the Xue family and I can't control him. In the future, I will choose your marriage carefully, and choose someone who is both talented and beautiful, and has a good family background."
"I'm going to find Feng Lin." Upon hearing this, Ye Chen quickly got up and ran away.
He has now reached the age to get married and he is not going to take the imperial examinations, so Mrs. Ye has begun to help him find children for many families.
Ye Chen became annoyed after hearing Mrs. Ye nagging him about those young men of marriageable age, and disappeared in a flash.
Madam Ye sighed and said to Secretary Ye: "Your brother is even more troublesome than the prince. I'm afraid he can only ask for an official position in the future. I don't know what will happen to him!"
Xue Fenglin led Shen Xuan all the way to the main courtyard lobby and met Ye Chen halfway.
This was not the first time Shen Xuan had met Ye Chen, and he bowed to him after they met.
Ye Chen nodded when he saw Shen Xuan. After looking Shen Xuan up and down, he said, "Brother Chen, the fried chicken and red oil skewers from your Xiyuan Xianwei are really delicious. I often go there to buy them. But these few days are New Year's Day, and the store is closed, so I can't eat them. I miss them so much. I wonder if you can show off your skills in front of me today and let me enjoy a feast?"
After he finished speaking, Xue Fenglin patted him on the back and said, "It's New Year's Day, how can you ask guests to cook? Aren't there enough food at home for you?
Ye Chen glared at Xue Fenglin and said, "I'm tired of the cook at home. Brother Chen cooks well. Don't eat alone!"
After hearing this, Xue Fenglin ignored Ye Chen and took Shen Xuan away. He had been at Shen Xuan's house these days, and he really didn't want Shen Xuan to cook a meal.
Ye Chen followed them and said, "Brother Chen, walk slowly. Consider my suggestion. I promise to help you speak well of my mother in the future."
Shen Xuan: “…”
Shen Xuan glanced at Ye Chen, and seeing that he had a playful smile on his face, he knew that this person was not reliable.
However, compared to the last time in the paddock, Ye Chen's attitude towards him was very different. It was obvious that because of Xue Fenglin, he had already regarded him as his own, which was why he was so shameless.
After a while, they arrived at the main hall, and Shen Xuan and Xue Fenglin bowed to Madam Ye together.
After that, Xue Fenglin walked to the seat on the left and sat down. Then Secretary Ye on the right stood up and came over, pulling Shen Xuan's hand and walking over together, asking him to sit next to him.
Mrs. Ye knew that it was useless to be angry, and she had already accepted her fate.
No matter what she thought in her heart, she always treated Shen Xuan with a pleasant expression.
At this time, she waved to the maid behind her, took off the string of bodhi beads on her wrist and said, "I got these beads from Fahua Temple more than 20 years ago. A senior monk blessed them and said they can ensure peace for a lifetime."
"I have worn this string of Buddhist beads wherever I go these years, and they are all covered with starch. It's not expensive, but it's a token of my love. I'll give it to Brother Chen today."
When Shen Xuan heard this, he quickly stood up, stepped forward very solemnly, and thanked Madam Ye.
This set of Buddhist beads is certainly not as valuable as the clothes she gave me before, but the meaning is completely different.
Mrs. Ye's willingness to give him her personal Buddhist beads was also a kind of affirmation of him. Shen Xuan took the Buddhist beads and immediately put them on his wrist. He then said to Madam Ye, "These Buddhist beads are so precious. I am grateful to Madam Ye for her kindness. I will wear them every day in the future."
Seeing that Shen Xuan spoke sincerely and truly valued the string of Buddhist beads she gave him, Madam Ye nodded secretly in her heart.
This Brother Chen is indeed very capable in dealing with people, no wonder the prince likes him. ,
As for his identity, it is indeed a little inferior, but the prince just likes him and there is no other way.
Madam Ye asked the servants to bring some snacks to Shen Xuan. This snack was a specialty of the Ye family. It tasted salty and sweet, crispy and delicious. Only the chef of the Ye family could make it.
The snacks had just been served and Shen Xuan hadn't had time to eat when someone suddenly came outside the house.
Mother Han hurried over from outside the hanging flower hall and said to Madam Ye, "Madam, many soldiers and officers have come to the palace, saying that the court is collecting grain. All officials in the court must pay a fixed quota."
"Father has gone to the west of the city to lead the troops, why do we still need to collect grain?" Ye Chen asked in confusion, "Before, when there were generals like us in our family who led the troops, we didn't need to pay grain."
At this time, a fifth-rank official from the Ministry of Revenue came in with a bitter face. He strode into the main hall from the outer courtyard with a team of guards, took out a handwritten note and said to Madam Ye, "Madam Ye, I'm sorry, this is the order His Majesty just issued. The refugees in the suburbs of Beijing are short of food and are on the verge of rioting."
"Everyone in the capital, from the first-rank minister to the seventh-rank minor official, must pay a fixed share of grain according to the order."
Mrs. Ye took the imperial edict and read it. It stipulated that officials from the seventh to fifth ranks in the court should pay ten shi of grain per household, and officials from the fifth rank and above should pay fifty shi of grain. Officials of the third rank and above were required to pay 100 dan of grain per household.
For the wealthy families who all have farms, this amount of grain is not particularly large.
But the bad thing is that food prices soared in the past few days, and many families took the opportunity to sell the stored food on the farms at high prices, leaving only food for their own homes.
If we pay any more at this time, we will have to give away all our own food rations!
Ye Chen snatched the handwritten note and took a look at it, then looked at Madam Ye.
Mrs. Ye then said, "Bring the grain, weigh it and give it to this gentleman."
The official from the Ministry of Revenue was named He. He had been collecting grain along the way and had suffered a lot from the officials' families. It was quite surprising to see the Ye family being so straightforward at this time. He bowed to Madam Ye with great gratitude and said, "Thank you Madam Ye for your generosity. Lord Ye is busy with work in the suburbs, and Madam Ye's family has generously donated money. She is truly a pillar of our court. When I return, I will report this to His Majesty."
After Lord He left, Madam Ye breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Fortunately, we stockpiled some grain in advance because of the locust plague. Although we have paid out 100 dan, we still have more than 20 dan left. If we save some, it should be enough for us to eat."
At this time, Secretary Ye also stood up and said, "I think someone from the Wang family will come to collect the grain. I don't know how my mother-in-law is coping. I have to go back and take a look."
Ye Mi married into the Wang family as a descendant, but the Wang family always treated him with special respect and handed the power of housekeeper to him a long time ago.
Although Secretary Ye also listened to Madam Ye and stockpiled food in advance, he was afraid that his mother-in-law would panic when she saw the soldiers, so he decided to go back directly.
At this time, Ye Chen looked at Xue Fenglin and said, "Why? Don't you need to go back to the Xue family to take a look?"
Xue Fenglin sneered when he heard this and said, "Brother Chen hasn't even had the snacks in the mansion yet, how can I just leave like this? The Xue family has Bai in charge, so they will be well prepared."
Ye Chen shook his head upon seeing this, knowing that he was determined not to interfere in the Xue family's affairs.
And Shen Xuan looked at Xue Fenglin's expression, then picked up the snack on the plate and took a bite.
Since Xue Fenglin is unwilling to take care of the Xue family's affairs, it has nothing to do with him. Anyway, he had already stockpiled some food, enough for him and Xue Fenglin to eat for a year.
At this time, the Xue family's mansion was already in chaos.
Lord Xue was a second-rank official, so people from the Ministry of Revenue led soldiers to collect grain from him early in the morning.
The order to collect grain was issued personally by Emperor Wu of Jin, so it had to be given.
But the Xue family didn’t even have a hundred shi of grain in stock, so they couldn’t hand it over.
Failure to pay grain would be tantamount to disobeying the imperial order. Lord Xue still wants to keep his official hat, so he must pay the grain.
But food is in short supply now, and it’s the New Year, so I can’t find anywhere to buy food even if I want to.
Lord Xue personally went to the houses of the Xue family's side branches to borrow grain, but he didn't expect that after visiting several houses, he didn't borrow a single grain of rice.
Normally these side branches benefited greatly from the Marquis' Mansion and received many benefits, but when they were needed to contribute, they claimed to be side branches of the Marquis' Mansion, having nothing to do with the main family, and refused to contribute a penny.
Out of helplessness, Lord Xue could only go home and think of another solution.
He called Bai and asked, "You have many farms in your family, how come you can't even take out 100 dan of grain?"
Upon hearing this, Bai started to cry and said, "Not all of those farms grow grain. Only three of them produce grain, but every year, apart from what we eat ourselves, the rest is sold as soon as we harvest it."
"We all know that this rice has been stored for a long time, so it is naturally not as expensive as new rice. Who knew there would be a locust plague this year?"
What Bai said was actually the current situation of these famous families in Beijing. Now that the New Year has passed, there is not much rice left in each household. It was very difficult for them to gather 100 shi of grain at once.
"It's New Year's Day, why are you collecting grain just like that? You don't even care about the lives of people like us!" Bai complained with tears and snot.
She has a beautiful face, and I felt pity for her when I saw her crying like that. Seeing this, Lord Xue stepped forward, hugged her and coaxed her, "Forget it, there's no point in talking about anything else now. How much food is left at home? You can keep some for a few days, and give away the rest first."
Bai had no choice but to hand over the remaining food in his home. She looked around and took some sweet potatoes and potatoes to make up the number, and only then did she manage to get together 50 shi of grain.
After handing over these grains, only five stone of grain were left in the house. These grains will have to last until the New Year, and I don’t know if we can buy new food when the rice shops open after the New Year?
In the Xue Mansion's courtyard, Yin Shuang, who was serving Aunt Wen, said softly, "Aunt, it's a mess outside. Madam has been crying, and the master is also worried about paying grain. Should we take this opportunity to take out some of the grain you have stored in advance?"
Yinshuang is Jinzhi's elder sister and has been serving Madam Wen. Later, when Shen Xuan was storing grain, Jinzhi told Yinshuang about it, and Yinshuang told Madam Wen.
After thinking it over, Madam Wen secretly took out her private savings and stockpiled ten stone of grain. Although the number is small, it can help solve some of the urgent needs in the mansion when encountering such a situation.
"What's the hurry?" Madam Wen looked in the mirror calmly and said, "Master is getting anxious right now. If I go up to him and say that I have stockpiled food, Madam will definitely ask me why I didn't inform her. Isn't that a thankless job?"
"Besides, with only ten stone of grain, how many days can it feed so many mouths in the mansion? It's better not to be the first to do this, and save the rations for me and Tian Jie'er."
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