Chapter 19: Accumulation of Merit
Jia Zheng, along with two servants, ran madly all the way to Lai's house.
However, after he rushed into the yard panting, he was stunned.
The servants from the two mansions did not fight each other. Instead, they were carrying the boxes happily and excitedly. Not far away, the guards from the East Manor were forcing Lai Da's family to kneel on the ground.
“Woooo ...
Lai Da, whose mouth was gagged with a rag, struggled violently when he saw Jia Zheng. The guards who were holding him simply pressed his head and face to the ground and rubbed them, "Behave yourself."
“Woo woo woo~~~”
Lai Da's tears were streaming down his face.
"Stop, what are you doing?"
Jia Zheng panted heavily, "Stop it, big brother, Zhen'er, the old lady is here, you all stop it! Are you trying to piss her off to death?"
Although he was fortunate that his eldest brother did not fight with Jia Zhen, but when they did this... almost instinctively, he sacrificed his old mother.
"Zhen'er, it's fine if you make trouble in your own house, but how can you make trouble in our house?"
The Rong Mansion is his.
"You want to force me to file a lawsuit..."
"Second brother!"
Jia She shouted, pointing at the small box in front of him, "Come and see for yourself what this is."
Jia Zheng: “…”
He slowly endured it.
A Tang Sancai camel stood quietly in the box.
This this...
In an instant, Jia Zheng's red face, which had just appeared when he ran out, quickly turned pale.
This was a piece of Tang Sancai that his father loved very much. He remembered that he had put it into his father's coffin with his own hands. How could it be here? Jia Zheng turned his head and looked at Lai Da in a daze.
“Woooo ...
The way Lai Da struggled seemed to be saying that this thing was not that thing.
Jia Zheng took a deep breath and said, "Things are similar, let's listen to what Lai Da has to say!"
If my eldest brother and Jia Zhen were really allowed to take down Lai Da, the world at home... would probably change by half.
"Brother, Lai Da grew up with us, can't you just listen to what he says?"
"Huh~"
Jia She was so angry that he laughed, "Okay, this camel is similar, but what about this one? Doucai Seahorse Tianzi Jar, don't tell me, he also has one at home."
In the box on the other side, there are not only Ming Chenghua Doucai Seahorse Tianzi Jars, but also several bottles and jars. They look... Although they are not big, they are really familiar! Jia Zheng suddenly saw a small crab claw pattern plate from Ge Kiln. This was his favorite thing. Originally, this thing was a pair, but Zhu'er accidentally broke one when she was a child, so he put the other away.
Shouldn't it be in his little storeroom?
Jia Zheng couldn't help but pick it up. It really was... the more he looked at it, the more it looked like it.
"Come on, take another look at these two boxes."
Jia She opened a box personally, and in the sunlight, there was a golden glow.
Hiss~ Even though he was born into a wealthy family, the shining golden light in front of him made Jia Zheng so frightened that he didn't know where to stand.
Although the box doesn't look big and is not completely full, a rough estimate shows that it is worth more than a thousand taels.
This this?
Jia Zheng looked at Lai Da again.
Lai Da's face was pale, but he still sobbed and wanted to speak.
"I also seized a small box of this money from Lai Sheng's house." Jia Zhen was originally unhappy, but after seeing the similar amount of property here, he almost dispersed. "If Second Uncle Zheng wants to listen to Lai Da's nonsense, I can ask him to explain."
Jia Zheng: “…”
He stared at Jia Zhen blankly, and finally saw Lai Sheng kneeling in the corridor behind him.
Good god, they are going to wipe out the Lai family! "The old lady is coming, the old lady is coming, my son!"
Nanny Lai ran in crying, but when she saw the boxes in the yard, she rolled her eyes as if she couldn't bear it and collapsed to the ground.
"Jia Zhen, stop it, old lady."
Before Jia's mother got out of the car, she was busy supporting her, but just as Mrs. Wang helped her into the courtyard in a fierce manner, she stopped in her tracks.
So many boxes? How fast do you have to copy them?
Neither of them noticed the small Ge kiln plate in Jia Zheng's hand, and their eyes involuntarily glanced at the two gold ingots that Jia She casually held in his hand.
"Jia Zhen greets the old lady and second aunt."
Jia Zhen bowed politely, "It's not that I don't want to stop, it's just that the Lai family has gone too far." He straightened up, "The Lai family eats my Jia family's food, drinks my Jia family's drinks, uses my Jia family's things, and even steals. Old lady, come and see, they can even steal uncle's burial objects."
What? Grandmother Jia was unsteady on her feet, and Lady Xing and Wang Xifeng, who had come from behind, hurried to support her.
Next came Youshi, who was ordered to come and watch the fun.
"Look at this!"
Jia Zhen glanced at Youshi and said, "Look at how bold these servants are. Now that we've seen this... let's report this to the authorities!"
He originally wanted to beat all these people to death, but thinking about the big scene today, he didn't know how many people outside knew about it.
If all the twenty or thirty people from the Lai family were beaten to death at once, the Jia family would definitely be impeached by the Censorate.
Jia Zhen waved his hand, and the palace guards who were holding Lai Sheng and Lai Da took them to a side room. "Brothers, talk. When you're done, we'll talk again."
“…”
“…”
A group of people were confused.
What else is there to talk about with these Lai brothers?
"Uncles," Jia Zhen seemed not to notice everyone's confusion, "We were able to dig out the treasure in Lai Da's secret room so quickly, thanks to Lai Sheng. I have promised to give him three hundred taels of silver to settle down and release his two younger sons."
“…”
“…”
Lady Jia, Jia Zheng, and Mrs. Wang were all stunned by his action.
But they were stunned, but Jia She moved very quickly. He quickly moved a small box, poured out the various rings inside, and put ten gold ingots in a row. After thinking about it, he grabbed a handful of gold and jade rings and stuffed them in. "I can't let you work in vain."
He stuffed the small box into Xing'er's hands and said, "Zhen'er, thank you for what you did today."
It is right to let Lai Sheng and Lai Da talk.
We can’t let the government know about all this wealth.
The Jia family can't afford to lose face.
After all, if outsiders knew that the Jia family was robbed by servants like this, they would probably laugh their heads off.
“This way…”
Jia She glanced at his mother and said, "For the sake of the old lady, let's leave Nanny Lai and the youngest child behind!"
Grandmother Jia: “…”
She looked at Nanny Lai who had just woken up, and her face twitched.
…
At Ningguo Mansion, Shen Ning, who had eaten and taken a nap, came out to bask in the sun. She saw several carriages parked in front of the yard, and then boxes were carried down one by one. She couldn't help but smile.
"Grandma, this is the list I copied, please take a look."
Jia Rong's eyes were full of excitement. "I sent all the unimportant items to the kitchen and warehouse."
"Well, my brother Rong is capable now."
Shen Ning looked at the list with a smile, but it would have been better if she hadn't looked at it. Once she looked at it...
Written on the first line is one thousand three hundred and twenty taels of gold.
The second line is seven thousand eight hundred and sixty taels of silver.
The third row includes three shops for rent: the grain store on Changsheng Street, the grocery store on East Street, and the Ningrong Back Street.
The fourth row is a hundred miles outside the city, with a small mountain and 68 acres of farmland of varying sizes.
The fifth line...
Shen Ning skimmed through three pages and was shocked.
According to a rough estimate, the amount of money that the Lai family embezzled from the Jia family was more than 100,000 taels.
This does not include the large three-story courtyard house where they live.
No wonder some of the boys from the side branches of the Jia family would call Lai Sheng and Lai Da “Grandpa Lai” when they saw them.
Really...
Shen Ning slowly put down the list in her hand and said, "A lot of people know about today's events, right?"
"……Um!"
Jia Rong hesitated for a moment, "I saw a man wearing the official uniform of the Censorate."
“…”
Shen Ning frowned, "When your great grandfather was in Ningguo Mansion, he borrowed 120,000 taels of silver from the national treasury." She thought for a moment, "Before leaving the government office, Rong'er, take the IOU and ask Jiao Da to take you to hand over the 120,000 taels of silver sealed in the treasury and this gold to the national treasury."
Huh? Jia Rong was stunned.
His great grandfather was so powerful, how could his family, who was so rich, still owe money to the national treasury? "Be good, go quickly before your father comes back!"
At this point, she raised her voice to Jiao Da who was guarding outside the courtyard: "Jiao Da, take your young master and return the money that the old master owes to the national treasury."
"……yes!"
Jiao Da hurriedly bowed and left.
Back then, everyone borrowed money, and not borrowing was considered unsociable.
Jiao Da knew that the gentleman was still thinking about the silver before he died.
Now I can finally fulfill this wish.
"Grandma, this gold..."
Jia Rong was a little hesitant.
"Last year, Kaifeng suffered a snowstorm that happened once in a hundred years," Shen Ning touched her belly. "Grandma is old, and I want to save some fortune for your uncle or aunt. You can donate it to the national treasury for me, and the people above will distribute the disaster relief. Isn't it better than doing it ourselves?"
"Grandma..., I'll go right away."
“No rush!”
Shen Ning thought of something, "Please do one more thing for grandma. I will add some of the silver I have confiscated to make it an even number and donate it to the national treasury. I will ask the superiors to supervise and distribute it to the charity bureaus around the capital."
It's not impossible for an individual to do good deeds, but the Jia family is already a big family that attracts attention, and if they win people's hearts...
Shen Ning felt that it would be better to hand it all over to the emperor.
The emperor emeritus is still alive, but he doesn't have much money, so he can't do anything.
Giving money at this time may not be considered as timely help, but it does show a little loyalty.
Although it will offend those who have not repaid the money, in the long run, there are only benefits and no harm.
Shen Ning waved to Qing Zhu and said, "Go to the room and get two thousand one hundred and forty taels of silver."
"yes!"
Qingzhu hurried in.
"If the elders ask you why you are donating money at this time, just say that your grandmother was cursed and she is worried. You want to accumulate blessings for your uncle and aunt and pray for their safety!"
If you want to hate someone, hate her if she owes you money and hasn’t paid it back!
It was normal for a woman like her to do something abnormal for the sake of the baby in her belly after hearing such a curse.
As for the Xifu next door...
If Jia She was not stupid, he would probably be able to follow.
Anyway, if he doesn't return the silver, I can't keep it.
Jia She has always been proactive in doing things that could make Jia Zheng and Wang Shi unhappy.
(End of this chapter)
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