Chapter 62: Madam, please save some money.
Cong Ying sat under the lamp, looking through the account book of income and expenditure of the Jiang family, and found that the family was already spending more than it was earning.
In the past, when my grandfather was alive, we had the salary and bonus from the court, a few acres of farmland and a few good shops. Also, because the Cai family was strict and fierce, the servants in the mansion did not dare to embezzle money openly, so the Jiang family lived a prosperous life.
Now the Jiang family has stopped receiving tribute and has sold off their good shops, leaving only a small amount of land.
Cong Ying has been busy traveling outside recently and has no time to manage government affairs. Zhao is unable to take charge of the household expenses, which has led to the servants' rampant embezzlement and even the account books are recorded in a sloppy manner. For horse feed alone, there is a difference of three taels of silver between last month and this time last year.
What's more, her good brother, Jiang Congqian, the future pillar of the Jiang family, often stole some of the mansion's property to gamble. Recently, he became more and more daring. He even colluded with Zhou Ma and others to steal the key to the storehouse, replaced the wild ginseng with rhubarb roots, and replaced the grandfather's collection of calligraphy and paintings with inferior fakes. He was simply unscrupulous.
To these servants, perhaps Jiang Congqian was the master of the Jiang family, and she, Jiang Congying, was just a girl who would not stay in the family for long.
Rather than letting her hold onto the family wealth and use it all for her own decorations in the future, it would be better to make the young master happy so that she can also make some money from it.
Cong Ying closed the account book and wrote down a few names in his mind. He thought that since he was not busy with other things in the next two days, he had to tidy up the Jiang Mansion first.
At night, moonlight streamed through the windows, its soft glow, like melting snow and ice, illuminating the half-bronze mirror on the small window table. The grayish, rustic mirror glowed with an ochre-golden luster, as if the sound of falling pearls hitting water rippled across the room.
Cong Ying turned over, lifted half of the green curtain, looked for a while, suddenly got down barefoot, picked up the handkerchief and gently wiped the mirror.
I can still remember my last dream clearly.
She was absent-minded for a while, then turned back to sleep. Unexpectedly, she had a dream that night that was closely related to the present moment.
At the turn of spring and summer, flowers were in full bloom. She walked along the pavilions and corridors and stopped by the side window of a flower hall.
In the flower hall, Mrs. Xie and Xie Xuanlan were talking.
"...Aying has just been ill. If you go and talk to her now, aren't you deliberately trying to irritate her?" It was Mrs. Xie's voice.
Xie Xuanlan scoffed, "If I don't tell her, won't she know?"
Madam Xie said, "She doesn't have to know. Madam Jiang deliberately avoided her when she came to see me because she was concerned for her health and hoped that I wouldn't tell her. One thousand taels of silver isn't a lot. Since Madam Jiang promised me that she would discipline her young son strictly and never let him go out to gamble again, we should help settle the debt this time. Even if we don't consider our relationship as relatives, we should also consider Ah Ying's dignity. Otherwise, how would she feel if this matter came to her?"
Xie Xuanlan was silent for a moment, then his attitude softened. "My mother-in-law doted on my young son, which is why we're in trouble today. I'm afraid the strict discipline of the Yan family alone won't be enough."
Mrs. Xie asked, "What do you want?"
Xie Xuanlan said, "Transfer Jiang Congqian to the Yanqi Guard. He'll patrol the city gates for six hours a day, and eat and sleep for six hours. The guardhouse is strictly managed, and he won't be able to slip away to gamble. Let's try it for three months and see how it works."
Madam Xie hummed, "Teaching and guiding his wife's brother is also the right way."
Cong Ying stood by the side window, sneering in his heart at one moment and feeling sad at another.
Her mother, Zhao, truly understood her noble character and knew she would not tell Madam Xie about the family disputes. She avoided her and even said something like, "Consider her health." She had previously worried that after marrying into the Xie family, her eldest uncles and aunts would take advantage of the opportunity to get close to her. She had never expected that the first person to tear apart her dignity would be her own mother.
Cong Ying was not worthy of disturbing Madam Xie, so she turned around and left quietly. Ten days later, she asked Ji Caibing to go to Yanqiwei to inquire about the news.
Ji Caibing had an acquaintance in the Yanqi Guard, who vented his frustrations to Ji Caibing: "...The Yanqi Guard isn't a lucrative government. What on earth was the commander thinking, shoving this spoiled brother-in-law in here? No one's happy about that."
"When we're on duty at the city gate, we have to stand as straight as a pine tree, our hands never letting go of our swords. But that brother-in-law only stood there for half an hour before he started crying out for help and tried to hide under the parapets. The captain couldn't say anything, relying on the fact that he's the commander's brother-in-law. When we're not on duty, we have to run ten miles, but my brother-in-law can only run ten steps! The brothers took turns supporting him, and he ran so slowly that it took him two hours!"
"Also, he complained about the coarse food and asked me to ask his mother to stew chicken and bird's nest for him. He also complained about us grinding our teeth and snoring while we slept and asked us to wait until he fell asleep before closing our eyes, otherwise he would cry...Alas, all I do all day is count wooden beams with my eyes open."
After Ji Caibing finished retelling the story, he held his stomach and almost laughed to death.
Cong Ying was even more angry and laughed: "His face is worthless, what about the Third Young Master?"
Cong Ying decided to solve the matter without telling Xie Xuanlan and Madam Xie.
She took Jiang Congqian away from Yanqiwei in the name of Mrs. Xie Sanshao, saying that she would give him two days off. Jiang Congqian was indeed happy. He promised to go home, but his legs were drawn to the underground gambling house by the gambling addiction that had been suppressed for ten days.
Seeing that he was indeed like this, Cong Ying turned around and went to find Du Rupan.
At the time, Du Rupan had just been appointed Junior Magistrate of Yunjing, tasked with improving the morals of the people and maintaining public order, and needed a fresh start. He had heard from a firefly that a large, underground gambling den existed in Yunjing, operating in broad daylight and colluding with servants of wealthy families to defraud young men of their money. In a rage, he stormed the table, led by Jingzhao Prefecture yamen runners and two hundred men borrowed from the Dali Temple, and raided the gambling den.
All the money from the gambling house was stuffed into the treasury, and all the scholars who participated in the gambling had their titles and degrees revoked.
Du Rupan had never expected that one of them was his mentor's only grandson. Seeing Jiang Congqian, who had been caught in the act and was crying and regretting, Du Rupan looked at Congying in disbelief.
Cong Yingyun said calmly, "Since the Emperor has praised Brother Du for his integrity and impartiality, Brother Du should change his punishment for his teacher. Otherwise, you will betray the Emperor's grace and be ashamed of your friendship with your teacher. Brother Du, what do you think?"
Du Rupan hesitated for a long time, and finally gritted his teeth and sentenced Jiang Congqian to confiscation of his property and expulsion from Yunjing.
On the day the Jiang residence was sealed, the osmanthus tree in front of the gate was cut down. Her mother, Zhao, embraced Jiang Congqian and fainted several times on the doorstep from crying. It was said that it was Madam Xie who took them away and provided them with shelter. It was unknown how she consoled them or how much silver she gave them, but she eventually escorted them out of the capital and back to Xuzhou, Zhao's hometown.
It was already August when the dust settled. Cong Ying stood in front of the gate of the former Jiang family, closed her eyes and imagined the scene of the bright and fragrant osmanthus flowers.
Xie Xuanlan had just come out of the palace and came here to look for her.
"In just six months, he was promoted from Shao Yin to Fu Yin, and from the sixth rank to the fourth rank. Du Rupan's rise is truly like riding a cloud."
Xie Xuanlan looked at her back, his tone dark and unclear: "You don't trust me, but you trust him. You would rather sacrifice your younger brother to give you a bright future. Jiang Congying, I didn't know you were so affectionate."
Cong Ying smiled.
As Mrs. Xie said, she placed too much importance on her reputation and dignity. So even after all this, she still didn't want Xie Xuanlan to know. She had a bad relationship with the Jiang family, and she couldn't afford Xie's love.
She was sad and tired, and had no intention of arguing with him, so she just said, "Yes."
Unfortunately, this time Xie Xuanlan was not angered by her and left. Instead, he dismounted, untied his cloak, and put it around her shoulders from behind.
Even in dreams, the faint and distant warm fragrance of the sunken water still stirs my heart, but his tone is cold and his smile is thin, and it is hard to tell how much is sarcasm and how much is affection in his low voice.
He said, "It's a pity that no matter how glorious Du Rupan is, you can only go home with me. There's no reason for the Xie family's young lady to stand in the wind and rain until midnight for him."
＊
Before setting off, Ji Caibing checked again to ensure that everything was safe.
"Let's go to the gambling house and meet Zhi Guanyin first. When Jiang Congqian, that unfilial son, enters the gambling house, point him out to Zhi Guanyin. We'll take Madam Zhou away and have Zhi Guanyin play with the brat. With Zhi Guanyin's skills, within half a day, we'll be able to coax the brat into writing an IOU and mortgaging the Jiang family house to the gambling house to pay off his gambling debts."
"After the task is completed, pay Zhi Guanyin a reward of five hundred taels. I will keep the house deed for you first, and return it to you after your mother brings Jiang Congqian back to Xuzhou. Is that so? ... Ah Ying? Ah Ying!"
Cong Ying suddenly woke up from her trance: "Ah, this is the plan."
"You always said that one must remain calm when facing great events. Why are you so absent-minded today? What are you worried about?"
Cong Ying rubbed his temples and said, "I didn't sleep well last night, it's okay."
Cong Ying was just thinking about last night's dream.
The Lord of the Crimson Cloud Crown told her that the Mirror of Illumination reflects the cause and effect of past lives, but how could there be so many differences between past lives and this life?
In her previous life, her relationship with her mother broke down only after she got married, and her brother developed a gambling addiction only after she got married. Did some causal changes cause certain events in this life to happen earlier?
Even more strange is her relationship with Xie Xuanlan.
In the dream, they clearly loved each other, but refused to speak. Sanlang actually had the leisure to be jealous of Du Rupan. Hadn't he always been most wary of His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin...
Oh, yes, King Jin.
In these two dreams, Prince Jin did not show up, nor was he mentioned by Sanlang.
Wasn't she familiar with Prince Jin in his previous life?
Many questions lingered in Cong Ying's mind, making her already heavy heart even more clogged. She couldn't figure it out for a while, so she had to put them aside temporarily and concentrate on the matter at hand.
After waking up from Ying, she was deeply distressed by the fact that the Jiang family's house had been confiscated and used as a stepping stone for Du Rupan. So she changed her plan slightly. Instead of disturbing Du Rupan, she used Ji Caibing as a way to connect with the gambling house's young owner, "Zhi Guanyin", and conspired with her to swindle all the Jiang family's wealth and then return it to her own hands.
Actually, the inspiration for this mischievous tactic of "opening the door to welcome thieves" came from an anecdote told by His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin on Ghost Crying Peak.
...I haven't seen you for a long time. I wonder if His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin is doing well?
"Hey, why is Third Young Master Xie here?"
Ji Caibing's words startled Cong Ying so much that she snapped back to her senses. She felt as if someone had grabbed her head, and subconsciously dodged out of guilt, quickly closing the bamboo curtain on the window.
Then he realized his loss of composure, slapped his forehead, and felt secretly annoyed.
Xie Xuanlan rode his horse to the window and lifted up the bamboo curtain that Cong Ying had covered. He looked at Cong Ying with a half-smile, "I'm not trying to steal you to be my wife, so why are you hiding, young lady?"
Cong Ying's eyes wandered, not meeting his gaze: "Why is Sanlang here?"
"I was just about to go to the Jiang family to look for you, and I want to send someone to you."
After he finished speaking, he raised his hand and snapped his fingers. His followers picked up a young man with droopy eyebrows and droopy eyes like a chicken. It was Jiang Congqian.
Xie Xuanlan said, "When I was passing by Huipingfang, this kid jumped out and called me brother-in-law. I saw that it was my brother-in-law. I said I would take him to the garrison to play, but he asked me to borrow 1,000 taels of silver."
"One thousand taels, enough to get into the business of eating, drinking, whoring and gambling. This kid has a sweet mouth, but a bit of a wild heart. Ah Ying, take him to me for two days, and let me, your brother-in-law, teach him a lesson, how about that?"
Ji Caibing took a sip of tea and quietly rolled his eyes.
Cong Ying looked at Jiang Congqian.
Jiang Congqian dared to call Xie Xuanlan brother-in-law, but at this moment he didn't have the courage to look his sister in the eye.
He knew that his sister would never be as gentle and gullible as his mother. She hated her younger brother and only liked the fool Ah He.
He felt that his sister would look at him with that calm but disappointing look, and reprimand and discipline him with a quiet but unhappy tone.
But this time, my sister actually smiled gently.
She took out a handkerchief and wiped the cold sweat from Jiang Congqian's forehead. She scolded Xie Xuanlan, "What nonsense are you talking about? Don't ruin my brother's reputation. He is so young, what does he know about eating, drinking, whoring and gambling?"
Xie Xuanlan was stunned: "He is almost ten years old and still young. At this age, I am already -"
Before he could finish the words "leaping horse fighting cock", Cong Ying glared back at him.
Xie Xuanlan, under Cong Ying's meaningful gaze, embarrassedly changed his words: "Yes, still young, still young."
Cong Ying asked the attendants to let go of Jiang Congqian, and then reached out to Xie Xuanlan: "I was in a hurry to go out, and I didn't bring any money."
Xie Xuanlan smiled wryly as he pulled out an embroidered bag from his bosom. Inside was a three-hundred-liang silver note. He handed it to Cong Ying, "Here is all my salary for this month. I hope you will be frugal and manage the household well. If you don't leave money for me, at least leave some for yourself to buy your dowry."
Congying didn't listen, she took it out and stuffed it into Jiang Congqian's pocket: "Can you exchange the banknotes yourself?"
Jiang Congqian's mouth opened wide in astonishment, as if his teeth had been knocked out by this golden coin that had fallen from the sky. His eyes were filled with the white banknotes, and he nodded ecstatically, "Yes, yes, yes!"
Cong Ying smiled and pushed him: "Okay, go play."
Jiang Congqian pocketed the banknotes and ran, stumbling and almost tripping, as if he was afraid someone would snatch them away.
Looking at his back, the smile on Ying's face gradually disappeared.
Xie Xuanlan stopped playing along and looked at her and asked, "You've known for a long time that this guy is addicted to gambling, haven't you? You refused to accept the betrothal gift before, saying that you had unresolved family matters. Is this what you were referring to?"
At this point, Cong Ying had no choice but to admit, "Yes."
"Are you setting up a trap to catch the thief in the act?"
Congying nodded.
Xie Xuanlan chuckled and said, "Why bother with all this trouble? This brat has just been bored out of his mind and developed this bad habit. Why don't I take him to the garrison and lock him up for three months to straighten his bones."
Zong Ying remembered what happened in her dream, frowned and refused, "No."
What virtue and ability did Jiang Congqian have to deserve Sanlang's sacrifice of his authority to take care of him?
She said to Xie Xuanlan solemnly, "This is my family affair. Others should not interfere. You and I are not married yet. I hope Sanlang will give me some leeway."
"Okay, okay, I shouldn't have mentioned that."
Xie Xuanlan thought he had been too talkative and offended her, so he quickly backed off: "Then be careful about everything. If you need anything, come to me immediately. Is that okay?"
Cong Ying's eyebrows curved slightly: "Thank you, Sanlang."
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