"It's a tough bone, right? Let me chew it!"
Zhou Jie pushed away the eunuch who was trying to stop him, stood up straight, straightened his appearance, waved his hand, and his men held his arms and led him to the water dungeon.
In the spacious cell, a waterwheel was turning slowly. Zhou Jie decided to teach Yao Wenyuan a lesson first. "That brat likes digging graves, doesn't he? Cut off his hands."
The heavy wooden stick hit Yao Wenyuan's arm again and again, making a cracking sound, as if someone had stepped on a branch and broken it.
The jailers carried Yao Wenyuan towards the waterwheel, one holding his head and the other two supporting his limbs.
Yao Wenyuan was like a dead fish, not moving at all. He had fainted at this moment.
When he woke up again, he had been tied to a waterwheel. The jailer shook the waterwheel, and Yao Wenyuan's head was soaked in water. The cold water covered the tip of his nose, and Yao Wenyuan woke up all of a sudden.
Zhou Jie crossed his arms, his sharp eyes were like steel knives, his eyes were fierce and vicious, and his voice was as cold as ice that had not melted for thousands of years.
"I'll be locked up in the water dungeon for ten days, and no one is allowed to visit me."
"You bastard, you dare to dig up my ancestral grave? You must put me in the water dungeon."
"Don't worry, Master Zhou. I will definitely keep an eye on him."
"No one is allowed to escape or get lost. Send more people to keep an eye on them."
Zhou Jie left the cell and returned to his home. Old Mrs. Zhou was bedridden. When she heard that Zhou Jie had caught the tomb robber, she told Zhou Jie to find her husband's burial objects.
"Nothing else matters, but this one thing must be found."
"Grandma, please tell me, and I will remember it."
"When I was engaged to your grandfather, your grandmother spent a fortune to buy a set of cold jade chess pieces from the Hu Territory. Your grandfather was obsessed with chess and he had to retrieve the jade chess pieces. Otherwise..."
In the middle of her words, Madam Zhou started coughing violently. The maids were busy wiping her mouth. Zhou Jie unfolded her handkerchief and saw that it was stained with blood. Madam Zhou had already died.
"Grandma, please stop talking and take care of your health."
"No, I have to say that if I don't say something, I will never have the chance to say it again."
"Purchase land and set up a clan school as soon as possible. The Zhou family's current position is too high and it is too eye-catching."
"The Zhou family has passed the stage of seeking wealth and glory. What we need now is to seek change, innovation, and retreat."
Zhou Jie listened quietly. None of the maids and servants in the room made a sound.
Zhou Jie's daughter-in-law brought their son and daughter to serve at the bedside. Old Madam Zhou held Zhou Jingyi's hand and gave her earnest instructions.
"Jingyi has been eye-catching since she was young. She should find an ordinary person to live with. She must not follow the example of the daughter of Minister Gu who once tried to associate with a rich and powerful person."
Zhou Jingyi lowered her head and sobbed, and Mrs. Zhou pursed her lips impatiently.
My daughter is about the same age as the eldest prince. Besides, Zhou Jingyi's wet nurse and the eldest prince's wet nurse are sisters. I can ask Li Ma to make some connections. Even if Jingyi cannot become the queen, she can still get the position of the main wife.
Minister Gu has fallen, but the daughters of the Gu family are more capable than each other. One is the empress dowager and the other is the imperial concubine. What's wrong with that?
Their daughter Jingyi is extremely beautiful. When she reaches the age of 15, she will surely become famous in the capital.
Old Madam Zhou muttered to herself for most of the night and fell asleep quietly in the second half of the night. Zhou Jie, who was on guard, dozed off in his chair.
When he woke up, he was shocked to find that Madam Zhou had passed away. The entire upper room was brightly lit and the sound of crying was deafening.
Mrs. Zhou took Zhou Jingyi's hand and taught her her philosophy of life.
"Jingyi, did you remember everything your grandmother said to you yesterday?"
"My daughter remembers it."
"You don't have to remember what she said. Forget it all. But you must remember what your mother is saying to you now."
Zhou Jingyi was puzzled. "Why did I forget? Could it be that what my grandmother said was wrong?"
"She's right, but it doesn't apply to you."
Zhou Jingyi raised her big watery eyes and stared at Mrs. Zhou. Mrs. Zhou took her hand and advised her softly.
"Daughter, do you know how much the monthly allowance of a concubine in our house is?"
"Madam Bai received one tael of silver, and Madam Yang had a miscarriage last month. Father loved her and gave her two taels of silver as a monthly gift."
"Mom, let me ask you again, how much do you and your brother earn per month?"
"My monthly salary is three taels a month. I haven't calculated my brother's monthly salary carefully. Yesterday, he gave 500 coins to a servant next to him and asked him to buy him "The Exploitation of the Works of Nature". I think his monthly salary must be more than mine."
"Why is mother asking about the monthly salary? Could it be that my daughter has been spending too much money lately?"
"No, you have to spend what you should spend. You have been a noble and noble person since you were a child. You have seven or eight maids around you and a room full of servants at your beck and call. You even have special sedan chair bearers when you go out. But if you marry an ordinary family, you will lose everything you have now."
"There's something behind what my mother said."
Mrs. Zhou took Zhou Jingyi's hand and walked to her bedroom. Behind her bedroom was a row of neatly arranged large cabinets. The cabinets were made of rosewood and were filled with all kinds of clothes.
"Mother, what are these?"
"These are my dowry."
Zhou Jingyi held up a lamp with a brand new candle on top. She often came to her mother's bedroom, but she didn't know that there was a secret room behind her mother's bedroom. The secret room was filled with boxes of all sizes, cloth for making clothes, spices for making incense, various porcelain and tea sets, as well as jewelry, silver hairpins, silver necklaces and other items.
"They are my dowry, and they will be your dowry in the future."
"Mother."
Zhou Jingyi threw herself into Mrs. Zhou's arms, and Mrs. Zhou gently patted her back.
"My dear daughter, my sweetheart."
"Your mother has been able to hold on to her position as the wife of the Minister of Justice for many years, relying not only on my face, but also on the influence of your grandmother's family and your mother's dowry."
"Only with a generous dowry and capable servants around me can I raise you and your brother safely. No matter how many concubines your father has, no matter how young and beautiful they are, they still have to depend on me and rely on the little gold and silver that slips through my fingers to survive."
Mrs. Zhou opened the wardrobe, took out a newly made kesi cloak and put it into the box. The rosewood box was full of expensive clothes. There were so many clothes that Mrs. Zhou pressed them down with her hands, then put a layer of gauze on it, covered the box, and locked it with a small golden lock.
"Mother has high hopes for you. Don't let her hard work go to waste."
Zhou Jingyi held the key and felt that it was heavy in her hand. At this age, she was still too young to understand the meaning of her mother's words.
Although she couldn't remember what her mother said, she had a rough impression of it.
“To make love, you must first make a living, and the money you have must be firmly in your own hands.”
Zhou Jingyi seemed to understand, "Thank you, mother, for your teaching. I understand now."
Zhou Jingyi followed Mrs. Zhou out of the bedroom and felt that everything in front of her was unreal, like a dream. Her mother's bedroom was full of dowry boxes, and there were red wedding characters in the wooden boxes.
But the outside was all plain, with white lanterns hanging under the eaves and white silk flowers tied on the plaque.
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