Chapter 209: Liquidation
In Rongguo Mansion, a group of young girls are worrying about how to graze the cattle.
This is not their area of expertise.
However, no matter how unskilled they are, they know that cows are good things for farmers.
"Cousin, when you drew the cow and added the ox, you actually thought of this, right?"
Min Mei asked Lan Zhi secretly, and from her bright eyes one could tell that she was also happy that the cow had become a trouble for Jia Zheng and his wife.
"Some things are just for knowing, why do you need to tell them out loud?"
Lan Zhi nodded her cousin's head and said, "Think of it this way. I divided the cow because I didn't want to give it to them cheaply. I added the cow because of my grandparents."
“Oh~~”
Min Mei couldn't help laughing, "I know."
The reason why her father dared to treat them like that was also related to her second uncle and aunt who used to be in charge of the family.
After moving into the Rongguo Mansion, although her second uncle and second aunt were always unlucky, they were not as hard and desperate as she and her mother had experienced.
Min Mei hated them.
I've always wanted to find an opportunity to make things worse for them.
Unfortunately, she never found the opportunity.
Now...
"Cousin, my aunt from the East Mansion sent over a plate of snacks. I'll give them all to you."
"All for me?"
Lan Zhi laughed, "Am I the one who needs your plate of snacks? You want to thank me, right? Did you see it?"
She raised her foot and said, "My boots are a bit old. Get me a new pair."
"……become!"
Min Mei looked at her boots, "Do you want sheepskin or deerskin?"
Considering that my second uncle and second aunt will suffer for the rest of their lives, she should just bleed once!
"Let's have a pair too!"
Lan Zhi was merciless in squeezing her cousin, "I'll supply half of the goods for your fur shop later."
Ah? Min Mei was overjoyed, "It's a deal!"
In order to make a living, their family opened a fur shop.
However, there are many such shops in Beijing, and good sources of goods cannot be obtained without connections.
"nature!"
While the two sisters clapped their hands in pledge and happily completed the deal, in Lixiang Courtyard, Aunt Zhou and Aunt Zhao gathered together, also happily doing needlework.
When the master and the mistress are not at home, they no longer have to set rules or serve them all the time.
"It's really warm in here."
Aunt Zhao put away the last stitch in her purse and said with a smile, "In previous years, we two would take turns lifting the door curtain."
In summer, you should lift the bamboo curtain, and in winter, you should lift the cotton curtain.
The former is fine, their bodies can hold on, but in winter...
It is very easy to get sick if you alternate between cold and hot.
"Yes, now... this is the life that people live."
You will never have to serve anyone again.
Aunt Zhou is very satisfied with her current life.
In this family, it is not her turn to serve the old lady, and she can barely be considered a half-elder to the grandpa and grandma.
Besides, grandpa and grandma were very polite. They took good care of her because she was honest and decent. They even gave her a pair of silver earrings as New Year jewelry.
There weren't many things, but Aunt Zhou was very satisfied.
"When the master and mistress are not at home, the eldest master is the head of the family." She glanced at Jia Huan who was sleeping on the kang, "When he comes back, bring Huan'er over and ask him to call her brother more often."
"I know."
The wife likes to bully people and likes to deduct their things, but the grandmother is kind.
Aunt Zhao asked, "Didn't you see that I brought Huan'er here every day these past two days?"
Since the master can't be relied upon, naturally the one to be relied upon is the uncle and the great-grandmother.
"Alas~"
She sighed with a smile on her face, "I don't know if Madam can take good care of that cow."
Hum~ You used to rub her? Now it's fine, right? She's going to be rubbed by a cow.
When she first heard the news, Aunt Zhao was stunned for a long time, then she covered her face and laughed out loud in the room. She was so happy.
The two of them were smiling happily here, but Jia Zhu could only sigh.
"Now that we have made the decision, we can't think about it anymore."
Li Wan advised him, "Master and Madam must slowly adapt to the present life. In fact, as long as we can get through this initial period, things will get better later."
"I know."
Jia Zhu lowered his head, "But knowing is one thing, worrying is another."
He is a son, he lives a good life, orders servants around, but his parents...
Jia Zhu felt bad.
"I don't know if they knew to put more firewood at night. If they didn't... they might freeze."
"……rest assured!"
Li Wan was speechless. "A heated kang can't cool down all of a sudden. When it feels cold, the master and mistress always get up and put more firewood."
"Yeah?"
Jia Zhu had never done this before, and a hint of hope appeared in his eyes when he heard this.
That night, Jia Zheng and Wang Shi were actually woken up by the cold.
They forgot to put in the firewood.
It's not so easy to start a fire again.
It was not easy to light the flint, and after finally lighting it, the flammable straw was not delivered in time.
The couple trembled and worked together in a panic. It took them more than half an hour to warm the kang again.
When they lay down again, neither of them wanted to talk.
However, I couldn't fall asleep for a while.
How did their lives become like this?
Jia Zheng was puzzled.
Wang was thinking about her brother Wang Zisheng, wondering if he knew about her current situation.
If I knew, could I secretly bribe someone in this village to take care of their daily lives?
If the eldest brother was at home, he would definitely do this, but the second brother...
Wang couldn't do anything about her second brother, so she could only blame her eldest son Jia Zhu, who had already grown up, and Yuanchun, who had married off.
Blame them for not knowing how to adapt.
How can they sleep peacefully when their parents are living a hard life?
"What's that sound?"
Jia Zheng heard the rustling sound and reacted immediately. He turned over and sat up, staring and shouting, "Oh no, the old cow peed again."
…
The Queen's reward revealed a special kind of closeness.
Shen Ning got a share of everything from shark fins, abalone, sea cucumbers, blood swallows, to all kinds of furs and homemade jewelry.
This was the largest reward the palace had given to the outside world since the fall of the retired emperor.
Originally the Queen didn't want to make it such a grand ceremony, but when the Emperor heard about it, he specifically asked her to add some more to make it more grand and send it out this morning.
These days, many people in the court knew that the sky of Dazhao had gradually changed.
The Emperor and Empress have always been stingy, and now they are like this...
The leaders of various departments and the censors of the Censorate raised their eyelids and passed by without taking it to heart.
Madam Shen of Ningguo Mansion is the least threatening person to them. If the Emperor and the Empress want to reward her, then let them do it!
Everyone understood that the fact that the most noble couple in the world could turn the tables and become the masters was related to the identical deaths of Jia Jing and the prince.
In fact, it is better for the emperor to have a stroke than for the capital to fall into chaos again.
Everyone has been living in fear these years, really afraid that one day they would be killed by a sword or an axe.
According to historical records, whenever two dragons were in power at the same time, there would be bloodshed.
Besides, the emperor is really old and confused.
He had abdicated long ago, but he still clings to power.
Your Majesty...it's not easy!
The leaders of various departments kept the Ningguo Mansion in mind, and after knowing that the emperor and empress were thinking about their family, they focused their main attention on Zhen Yingjia who was about to come to Beijing.
The Zhen family owed the most money to the national treasury.
After their meritorious service, both their father and grandfather were close ministers to the emperor. When Concubine Zhen entered the palace and Prince Jin gained power, the Zhen family had absolute power in Jiangnan.
Although their treasury was in a debt of silver, mostly due to the emperor's southern tour, it is undeniable that the Zhen family also benefited greatly from it.
Besides, isn’t it also compensation for the retired emperor to let Zhen Yingjia inherit his father’s position?
In addition to the salt tax, the Zhen family had to slack off on all other taxes in Jiangnan. So, shouldn't they save money and then pay it back to the national treasury? However, after so many years, they have saved money but have never paid back a single ounce of silver owed to the national treasury.
They put all their treasures on the King of Jin, but they didn't think about whether the King of Jin was the kind of person who could be helped up. Jia Jing's death touched the reverse scale of many people.
This is not because they have a close relationship with Jia Jing, but because they are frightened by the King of Jin's cruelty...
There were two dynasties that perished in the second generation. How many noble families and common people were dragged down with them?
If it weren't for the Crown Prince's anger, Prince Jin would most likely have inherited the throne.
If it weren't for Jia Jing's second fire, with the emperor's confusion, the Prince of Jin would have gone crazy when he felt he had no hope of getting the throne.
Who would dare to say that they were lucky by then? Impeachments against the Prince of Jin and the Zhen family flew onto the emperor's jade table like snowflakes.
The emperor was very happy.
It’s just that the old man just fell down. If he is too impatient, it would seem like he is not a filial son.
He kept the memorial concerning the Zhen family, but temporarily put aside the memorial concerning Prince Jin.
The King of Jin must be dealt with, but it must be done after the New Year.
The emperor temporarily regarded these as minor matters. What he was concerned about now was how to deal with the Japanese.
The Prince of Jin dared to collude with the Japanese pirates. No one knows how many troops the Japanese pirates have, and they are eyeing the capital covetously.
This was something he couldn't tolerate.
"emperor!"
Dong Xiaoquan, who was summoned, saw the emperor looking at the map and thought, "Are you planning to implement a policy to control the Japanese?"
"good!"
The emperor nodded and said, "Now that the north is at peace and Wang Ziteng is in charge of the south, it won't be long before the treasury is filled." Everyone knew that he had no money. In the past, he had no power and no money, so he could only endure it and work hard to coordinate. But now that his father has fallen, those who once relied on the old man, the smarter ones have begun to pay back the money.
He doesn't have to worry about the money in the national treasury now.
He voluntarily paid it back because he remembered the contributions of their fathers and grandfathers and the emperor.
Not taking the initiative...
After he's done with this busy period, I'm sorry, but we'll have to settle the accounts.
Anyway, the emperor has already planned to liquidate the Zhen family.
As soon as the decree to let Zhen Yingjia go to Beijing was issued, he issued several decrees in succession. There was a group of people who openly targeted the Zhen family, and he had another group of people who were targeting the Zhen family secretly.
"The policy of conquering Japan is beneficial to the country and the people, and should be implemented."
Which emperor doesn't want to leave a strong mark in history books? The emperor also has his own ambitions. "My intention is that you should formally propose it at the grand court tomorrow, let everyone debate it first, so that everyone can have a clear idea, and then make it clear to the world in the spring of next year."
This? No wonder he suddenly rewarded Madam Shen so much.
Dong Xiaoquan thought about it and said, "Yes!"
"How are you guys investigating the Japanese pirates?"
Since they have decided to take action over there, they have to capture more Japanese pirates.
The emperor asked Dong Xiaoquan, "Don't tell me, I still don't have any clues."
“…It’s easy to get clues.”
Dong Xiaoquan was not used to the emperor's temper, "The emperor asked me to interrogate the Prince of Jin."
Those men in black are his people.
"You won't let me conduct the trial, and you're making me search like a headless fly. Isn't this embarrassing for us in Shuntian Prefecture?"
Being pushed into a corner, he quit his job as an official in Shuntian Prefecture.
Dong Xiaoquan has been suffering a lot these days.
The emperor fell down in front of him.
Although he reported all serious matters, but...
Overall, the retired emperor was quite nice to him, the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture.
Dong Xiaoquan felt very guilty these days, so he endured the trouble caused by Prince Jing and others.
But he didn't want to endure it towards King Jin.
This man has no king, no father, no country, no family, and is extremely shameless.
He just closed the clan house and raised him in a nice way. He couldn't swallow this breath, "Your Majesty, do you know that you are boosting his arrogance and may even cause an accident?"
Now that we have captured him, we should use thundering means to crush him completely.
This is because the Prince of Jin was arrested in the palace, otherwise...
Judging from the momentum of Prince Jin against the Jia family, Dong Xiaoquan guessed that he might have secretly hidden an army and launched a mutiny overnight.
"Come on, have a drink of water."
The emperor was scolded, but he poured him a glass of water in a gentle voice, "I know that I was not decisive enough in dealing with some things. But, you must understand me, my dear ministers. I dealt with the King of Jin right after the emperor passed away. Not only did I not appear to be too cold-hearted, but I also..."
At this point, the emperor sighed in embarrassment, "The death of Jia Jing reminded the emperor of the prince. Once this matter is investigated... it will be a shocking case."
He needs stability at court.
The prince has only one daughter, and there is no threat to his throne. He is willing to investigate, but if he investigates..., although the court will be purged, I am afraid that none of his royal brothers will escape.
Could he kill them all?
"You can check, but I have to tell you that for now, we can only leave it to King Jin."
"…temporarily?"
Dong Xiaoquan knew the emperor's concerns and got to the point.
"yes!"
The emperor said, "In the case of the crown prince, my brothers were probably involved. Please give me two years, and then I will do whatever I want based on the severity of the case."
At that time, it will be justifiable to demote him.
I'm afraid my brothers in the Imperial Court all hope to just demote him.
"In that case..."
Dong Xiaoquan thought for a moment and said, "Then I will go to the clan house first."
“…Don’t be impatient!”
The emperor held him back again and said, "We can try him, but it's almost the New Year."
"Your Majesty, do you still remember the Hetao area?"
Dong Xiaoquan stared into his eyes and said, "The emperor gave up a great opportunity because of his illness."
emperor:"……"
"Cha Jin Wang, it doesn't conflict with the emperor's New Year celebrations."
Dong Xiaoquan stood with his head held high. "Your Majesty, what do you think?"
He? What else can he say? This old guy can always beat him back no matter what he says.
The emperor did not want to humiliate himself, "Yes, yes, my dear, you are right."
He sighed in his heart, "Alright then, you can investigate however you want, my dear."
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