Chapter 226 Xue Baochai
In the Rongguo Mansion, in the Xue family courtyard, Aunt Xue was looking at the letter sent by the housekeeper from the capital, feeling hesitant.
She wanted to discuss it with her son, but he had to go to school and finish his homework when he came back in the evening. After raising him for so many years, this was the first time Aunt Xue saw her son being serious. She cherished this time for him, so how could she bear to waste his time with trivial matters? So, the letter came into Xue Baochai's hands.
Hengshudian? Xue Baochai knew that this was her family's pawnshop.
But how many carts of stuff did the Zhen family pawn into her pawn shop? "Mom, this isn't right."
Xue Baochai became anxious all of a sudden. "I heard that the Zhen family also came to the Jia family, but my cousin had them kicked out directly. It is obvious that the Zhen family is guilty. I am afraid that their property... has long been in the eyes of someone with ulterior motives."
"I also thought about this and felt uneasy."
The pawnshop could use the excuse of ignorance and say that they had received the property, but they only pawned it for 500 taels of silver, which was worth tens of thousands of taels, and the pawn period was three years. This was obviously wrong.
The practice of using pawnshops to conceal property is an old tradition.
Therefore, the imperial court also supervised pawnshops.
This batch of stuff...
"Mom, let Manager Lu file a record with the court immediately!"
Baochai said, "Let's say he was greedy for a bargain at the time, and then thought about it and felt something was wrong. He vaguely saw the two people who pawned the things from a distance at the Zhen family in Jiangnan."
That's how it is.
It’s just that the stewards of the Zhen family used to be very powerful, and they probably didn’t expect that two years ago, when Manager Lu got good things from the capital and sent gifts to the Zhen family on behalf of his family, he would meet them.
"He went to the court to file a report. If anything happens, it will have nothing to do with Heng Shudian and our family."
"Can……"
Aunt Xue knew that what her daughter said made sense.
But Manager Lu has been in the Xue family for many years. He is not only the manager of Hengshudian in the capital, but also the chief manager of Hengshudian in various places.
There is nothing to complain about his vision and loyalty.
After my husband passed away, Hengshudian is the only business that still makes profits similar to before.
"If Manager Lu files this case with the government, his reputation will be ruined..."
"Mom, is his reputation more important, or is the life and death of our family more important?"
Baochai asked anxiously, "Besides, if the Zhen family sends their items to a pawnshop like this, no matter which one, the final result will be the same. This has nothing to do with word of mouth or anything like that. We can ask Manager Lu to use his connections to inform all the pawnshops in the capital, which is equivalent to saving everyone's lives."
This? It seems so.
"Then I'll have someone tell him right away."
Aunt Xue went to call for help immediately.
But Baochai was still very uneasy.
Although their family took the initiative to file a record with the government, the word "official" has two meanings, so one cannot get involved even if he has no money.
In the past in Jinling, various government offices in Jinling could get a lot of benefits from their family every year.
Now in Beijing...
"Mom, let me go tell my cousin!"
Where is the Duke's Mansion?
Even if my cousin only sent a small manager over there, it might make a difference to their family.
"Go ahead!"
How could Aunt Xue not be unwilling to help her daughter share her worries? So, not long after, Wang Xifeng found out that the Zhen family had sent the things that did not enter the Jia family to the Xue family's pawnshop.
"Since it has been registered with the government, it should be fine."
Wang Xifeng couldn't help but look at her cousin again, "Don't worry, as long as the business is legitimate, Shuntian Prefecture will not make it difficult."
"The Zhen family's things..."
"Nine times out of ten it will be confiscated."
Wang Xifeng said, "The five hundred taels I gave out probably won't be returned."
"The Zhen family... is it going to fall just like that?"
Xue Baochai still found it somewhat unbelievable.
Everyone in Jiangnan knows how powerful the Zhen family is.
In order to maintain the title of imperial merchant, the Xue family alone had to pay tens of thousands of taels of silver every year.
Not only do you give people money for free, you also have to use your connections to build relationships.
Unexpectedly...
"What else?"
Wang Xifeng sighed, "Their hands are too long. There were many memorials impeaching the Zhen family in the court. The emperor originally only wanted Lord Zhen to go to the capital to plead his case, but the Prince of Jin rebelled... I heard that the order to confiscate the family's property was issued that night."
The same is true in the capital.
Two more stores were raided today.
The emperor is cleaning up the court bit by bit.
Wang Xifeng suddenly understood the main reason why none of the four aunts of the Jia family married into the royal family.
No wonder my aunt-in-law made such a prompt decision to bring Yuanchun back to marry.
"…But isn't Concubine Zhen in the palace?"
Baochai still didn't understand, "The royal family doesn't care at all..."
"First of all, Concubine Zhen is protecting her son."
How could the emperor read this? From her experience as a housekeeper, Concubine Zhen had caused countless troubles for the emperor and the queen in the palace.
Wang Xifeng experienced this when she first became a housekeeper.
Although the mother-in-law is your step-mother-in-law, you can’t control others or make things difficult for her… Don’t be too easy on her.
Similarly, if Concubine Zhen gets favor from the retired emperor, the empress will suffer injustice.
"Secondly, because Prince Jin was unfilial, the emperor was so angry that he had a stroke."
Wang Xifeng said, "Based on this alone, Concubine Zhen is guilty."
This cousin is going to be selected to enter the palace.
Royal...
Wang Xifeng didn't want her family to be involved in royal affairs because of their relatives.
It is actually safer to be a good subject.
"Sister, you come from Jinling, so you may not know how many people are convicted in the palace every year."
Wang Xifeng sighed, "It's actually quite impressive that Concubine Zhen has come this far."
Concubine Zhen and the Zhen family are actually interdependent.
"But you see, now that the emperor has fallen, no matter how capable she is, she will have no place to use her abilities."
Xue Baochai: “…”
After coming out of Wang Xifeng's room, she found a secluded path and walked back, feeling very sad.
Her cousin was actually trying to persuade her not to enter the palace.
But if she doesn't enter the palace, her family...
My mother is weak-willed and my brother can't stand up for himself.
Among the four major families in Jinling, the Xue family seems okay, but every year when they send gifts to the Zhen family, they have to involve the relationships of the Jia, Wang, and Shi families.
Since you want to borrow someone else's relationship, of course you have to give gifts.
A lot of them are given away every year in my hometown.
Although they will also give gifts in return, what kind of gifts will they give in return...
Baochai sighed softly.
She stopped, thought for a moment, and turned towards Lady Jia's courtyard.
It was getting dark and Yingchun and her classmates were about to finish school.
Baochai wanted to spend more time with them when it was convenient, but she didn't expect that Shen Ning called all the little girls over just to see her dough figurines and the Nancheng paper-cuts she had just bought today.
These things were full of wild fun. Except for Minmei and Daiyu, who had come all the way from Jiangnan to Beijing and gained a lot of knowledge, Yingchun and Tanchun really enjoyed them.
Tanchun pulled Shen Ning's sleeve and said, "Aunt, I want to make a dough figurine, too."
"And me."
The third sister pulled the sleeve of her aunt, and Daiyu pulled hers, "Aunt, when you go out tomorrow, take me with you!"
The little girl looked eager...
Not to mention both of them, even if it was just one of them, Shen Ning couldn't stand it, "I can't go out."
Huh? The girls are so disappointed.
"But..."
Shen Ning kept it a secret, "I plan to invite the dough figurine maker to my home."
Huh?
"Aunt, you are so kind."
Daiyu immediately cheered.
Min Mei, who was holding little Yueyue, couldn't help but laugh.
"I also want to invite the woman who is good at paper cutting to come over."
Shen Ning couldn't wait for her daughter to paint the Grand View Garden.
Anyway, there will be no Grand View Garden in the future.
Cutting them out and preserving them well is also a very meaningful thing.
"How about letting her cut you all in when the time comes?"
"…The characters she cut aren't very good?"
Daiyu glanced at the Nancheng paper-cut and said, "There are no eyes or nose."
"Hahaha!"
Shen Ning laughed and took the opportunity to rub the girl's smooth face, "You dislike me for not having eyes and nose, then help me fill them in!"
"I'll do it, I'll do it."
Tanchun volunteered, "The teacher said that my eyes and nose were well drawn."
When she was learning to paint, she received more praise than Lin Daiyu.
"Yeah, are you that awesome?"
Shen Ning praised her generously and touched her little face, "Then I will send it to Ning Cui Xuan tomorrow and let the teacher watch you draw the nose and eyes."
"Uh-huh!"
Tanchun nodded vigorously.
"You guys help me with the work, then let's have dinner here tonight!"
Shen Ning knew that they would not object, so she said to Qing Ping, "Go tell the old lady in the West Mansion that the girls will have dinner with me today."
"yes!"
Qingping left with a smile, and the little girls chattered around Shen Ning's little dough figurine.
They look forward to seeing a smaller version of themselves.
Jia Yue was sandwiched between her sisters and was also moaning "Ahhhhhhh" happily.
Upon hearing that the girls would not be coming back for dinner, Baochai, who was invited to have dinner by Lady Jia, was a little disappointed.
She also hopes to join there.
But there is still no good reason.
Mrs. Shen is a scholar, so does she dislike merchants? "Fortunately, I have Baochai here."
Grandmother Jia stared at Qingzhu with a smile.
She was unhappy because of her parents' family, but Baochai was a considerate and coaxing child, and told her many interesting things about Jinling, "Next time your wife tries to rob someone, either take me too, or let me have half of them."
“Puff~”
Wang Xifeng, who was serving here, almost laughed out loud, "Did you hear that? The key is that I didn't snatch the old lady away. The old lady got jealous."
"Aren't you going to make me jealous?"
Grandmother Jia failed to pretend to be a tiger, and laughed, "Qingping, go back and tell your wife this. The next time you try to steal my fun, I will kill her and knock her on the head."
“Hey~”
Qing Ping laughed very cheerfully, "I promise to tell you everything without missing a word. Old lady, just wait. Our wife will definitely give you a chance to rush over and let you knock her on the head."
“…You, you!”
Grandmother Jia couldn't sit still and laughed, "What are you talking about?"
"It was our wife who said it herself. She said that even at her age, she is still blessed to have elders to take care of her."
"Ha ha……"
The room was suddenly filled with laughter.
Baochai discovered that Mrs. Shen from the East Palace was really a person who knew how to coax people.
The selected maid was also good at speaking. She came to report something and in the end not only did she get a reward, but the old lady also asked her to carry a large food box, saying that it was a snack for her.
Wow~ That’s amazing, she needs to learn from this.
After dinner, they talked for a long time before Baochai hurried home.
Xue Pan has already gone back.
Today, he was beaten again.
Because the ink I ground stained my classmates' books.
Finally, the teacher taught him how to grind ink.
His family was rich and had plenty of servants, so Xue Pan didn't understand why he had to grind his own ink.
He wanted to tell the teacher that he didn't need to take the imperial examination and didn't need to learn such an annoying thing as grinding ink.
What’s hateful is that Mr. Wu from Ningguo Mansion was standing outside the window at that time.
He didn't dare say it.
But he didn't grind the ink carefully. He used too much force and broke the ink stick, and the ink got all over the gentleman's face.
Finally, the teacher said that his attitude was not right and hit his left hand three times with a ruler.
Woo~ Xue Pan wanted to cry, but he didn’t have time to cry.
Today, Mr. Wu from Ningguo Mansion said that he did not stand in horse stance properly, so he punished him with a meal to remember the bitter past and think of the sweet present.
That thing...
Xue Pan didn't even know how it could be eaten by humans.
He had the nerve to not eat it.
He observed yesterday that there were snacks in the school in the afternoon. He had been holding back for a long time, but he didn't expect that the snacks were also limited and each person in their Meng class could only have one piece.
Xue Pan had no choice but to endure it. He was now extremely hungry.
He had never suffered such hardship in his life.
When Aunt Xue saw her son eating voraciously, she thought he had suffered a lot again and tears flowed down her face.
When Baochai returned home, she saw her brother eating with big mouthfuls of food while shedding tears.
Her heart suddenly tightened.
When we know the whole story...
Baochai took the maid to fetch water and clean the faces of her mother and brother. "Brother, father once said, 'People grind ink, and ink grinds people'. It refers to the process of grinding ink. When grinding ink, the impetuous heart should slowly become calm. Only in this way can you write good characters. Grinding ink is also a process of cultivating the mind and cultivating the character."
Unfortunately, my brother didn’t remember what his father said.
The mother would just cry.
"Come to the study. I'll grind the ink for you to see."
It is not a good thing that the father died too early and the mother spoiled the child blindly.
now……
Baochai suddenly discovered that after three years, the teacher's enthusiasm in disciplining her brother might really be different.
“There are three years ahead.”
She threatened her brother who still wanted to make her mother cry, "You have to write every day, brother, you don't want to be beaten every day, right?"
Xue Pan: “…”
"How could that be? Wasn't he yesterday..."
Aunt Xue wanted to speak to her son.
At least he wasn't beaten by his master yesterday for grinding ink.
But Xue Pan turned his face away.
Baochai understood, "Did you use your classmate's ink yesterday, or did your classmate help you grind it?"
"He...grinds a lot."
Xue Pan wanted to shout loudly.
"Brother, he can't grind every time. You have to learn this."
There are also many requirements for grinding ink.
"By the way, how many big characters do you have today?"
"Five!"
That's fine.
Baochai nodded, "Then there's plenty of time, let's do it now!"
“…”
Xue Pan looked at his mother, and finally followed helplessly.
“It is better to use less water rather than more when grinding ink. If it is too thick, just add water and grind it even thicker.”
Baochai taught while saying, "The posture of grinding ink must be correct, with moderate strength, speed, and keep the ink vertical and flat. Make circles vertically on the inkstone, don't grind it diagonally or push it straight, and don't grind it randomly. If you use too little force and too slow speed, you will waste time and the ink will float; if you use too much force and too fast speed, the ink will be coarse and produce bubbles, and the color will also be dull."
She pushed with her fingers, and said slowly, "It should be like this, push with your fingers, with a certain amount of pressure."
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