84_84041The old lady spent all her savings on an ancient painting and even asked the old man to appraise the price and buy a few jade articles on the spot. Only then did she collect 120,000 taels for the person to take away.
Seeing the old man leaving with a huge amount of banknotes, the old lady really wanted to arrange someone to rob him. She had saved money all her life, but it was all taken away by a broken painting. She couldn't accept it! She really couldn't accept it!
She didn't think much about it, and she started to get angry with Feng Yuheng, staring at Feng Yuheng, and kept roaring and cursing in her heart. Don't think she doesn't know that the shop is said to be owned by the Yao family, but it is not run by Feng Yuheng. As long as Feng Yuheng says a word, the 120,000 taels can definitely be exempted.
Unfortunately, Feng Yuheng did speak, but every word she said was the opposite of what she said. Without her words, the Feng family might have continued to delay, but with these words, who would have the nerve to do that?
Do you have any shame in asking your ex-wife for money to marry a new wife?
Feng Yuheng looked at the old lady staring at her, and couldn't help but say another sentence: "Grandma, don't feel bad. When your son gets married, a mother should take full charge of the arrangements and give him some money. This is called a loving mother and a filial son."
The old lady groaned fiercely, no longer wanting to sit in this room. She held onto Madam Zhao's hand and stood up, "Let's go back!"
Nanny Zhao quickly helped people back to Shuya Garden, leaving a room full of concubines and young ladies.
Looking at the gold and jade wares in the room, everyone's faces were not very good, even Chenyu was unhappy. The old lady was like this, she wanted more after getting benefits, and no one expressed any appreciation for receiving the imperial decree. I gave her so many good things and banknotes, but she still wanted more today! Zhenzhen is really a wolf that can never be fed.
However, Han felt even more unhappy when she looked at the things in this room. She thought about how favored she was in the past, but Feng Jinyuan didn't give her any real benefits. Her room was so shabby.
Everyone left with their own thoughts. On the way back to Tongshengxuan, Huang Quan couldn't stop laughing, "Miss, it's really enjoyable. Did you see Old Madam Feng's face? She was so angry that she turned purple."
Feng Yuheng shrugged, "This is the first time I've seen such a shameless family. From top to bottom, they are all from the same nest."
"Of course not." Huang Quan said, "I heard that things sent to Old Madam Feng never come back. This time she has spent a lot of money. I am afraid she will be sick for a while. But Miss, you are really accurate in your calculations. You just asked someone to mention to Prime Minister Feng that the Princess Qianzhou likes Fan Zhongtian's paintings, and Prime Minister Feng really bought them. I don't know how he became the Left Prime Minister. I heard that he got the first place in the imperial examination that year. Wow, it's really a miracle."
Feng Yuheng smiled bitterly and said, "I heard that Feng Jinyuan is very clear about what he does in the court, including his trip to the northern border to suppress disasters. If he hadn't done things so neatly and beautifully, the emperor wouldn't have given him such a high evaluation. If he hadn't already been promoted to the first rank, I'm afraid he would have been promoted. This is enough to prove that he is not stupid, but he is indeed lacking in handling matters in the inner courtyard of the house. As a man, intrigue is definitely not good. In addition, there has been no decent mistress to control his family for these years, and he has such a greedy mother who has no position and collapses at the slightest touch. It would be strange if there is no internal strife."
Feng Jinyuan returned to the mansion that night, and as soon as he entered the mansion, he was directly invited by He Zhong to the old lady's Shuya Garden. Along the way, Feng Jinyuan felt a headache after listening to He Zhong's rough account of what happened during the day.
He had never been in charge of the household expenses, and he had never been very precise about how to spend money. In addition, there were so many things going on recently that he couldn't even remember how much money he had taken out. How could he have known that he wouldn't be able to raise the last sum of 120,000!
As soon as he entered Shuya Garden, he felt that the atmosphere was not right. Although all the servants still bowed to him, he didn't know if it was a psychological effect, but he felt that these maids looked at him with contempt. When he thought that it was all because of Qibaozhai that he was embarrassed again, Feng Jinyuan secretly gritted his teeth and prepared to go to Tongshengxuan to make a scene.
The old lady saw him in her bedroom. Due to the huge loss of money, she was so angry that she fell ill on the bed, with a hot cloth on her head, groaning all the time.
Feng Jinyuan ran to the old lady in two steps. Before he could say anything, he heard the old lady shout with full force: "Rebellious son! Kneel down!"
He was stunned and looked at Aunt Zhao who was standing next to him. He felt a little embarrassed and did not kneel.
The old lady was so angry that she slapped the bed and cried, "You don't want me as your mother before your daughter-in-law even gets married. My life is so miserable! I am a first-rank imperial lady, but I am going to be abandoned by my own son, Aunt Zhao! Tomorrow you will help me kneel at the palace gate. I want to ask for justice from the emperor! No! Not tomorrow, go now!"
The old lady struggled to get up, and Zhao Ma hurriedly held her down, saying in a hurry, "It's already night, and the palace gates have been locked. It's useless for you to kneel until dawn!" Zhao Ma was very good at reading people's expressions. Seeing Feng Jinyuan's stubbornness, she knew it was because of her presence, so she said, "Old lady, if you have something to say, please tell the master. There is no knot between mother and son that cannot be untied. I will guard outside the door."
Seeing that the old lady stopped making a fuss, Nanny Zhao hurried out and closed the door from the outside.
Feng Jinyuan no longer cared about it and knelt down in front of the old lady's bed, "My son has caused trouble for his mother."
The old lady was so angry that she almost fainted - "It's not the trouble I'm afraid of!" If it were just the trouble, it would be fine, but what she was worried about was the money!
"There's nothing I can do, son. This is all for the emperor to see!" Feng Jinyuan was afraid that the old lady would be upset, so he quickly brought the emperor out again.
Unexpectedly, the old lady didn't fall for it: "Why does the emperor care how much you buy for your new daughter-in-law?"
Feng Jinyuan was helpless: "The emperor doesn't care. After all, his son is marrying the eldest princess of Qianzhou. I'm afraid my mother doesn't know how important Kang Yi is to the king of Qianzhou. The king's biological mother passed away early, and it was Kang Yi who basically brought him up. An elder sister is like a mother, not to mention that this elder sister helped him sit on the throne! How can the emperor not value this marriage?"
The old lady's expression eased a little after hearing what he said. Feng Jinyuan quickly continued, "Because the prince of Gu Shu is seeking marriage, the emperor knows that the longer the night, the more dreams there are. Once the marriage is changed, the marriage between Gu Shu and Qian Zhou will be extremely disadvantageous to our Da Shun. That's why he set his son's wedding date in the first month of the year. Qian Zhou is too far away from Da Shun. It is said that we should send a betrothal gift, but there is really nowhere to send it. That's why his son bought some more things and placed them in Tianxiangyuan. At least it's our attitude."
"You mean, those things you bought are considered as betrothal gifts?" The old lady pondered for a while and said, "Normally, marrying a princess and spending hundreds of thousands of taels on betrothal gifts is not a lot, but betrothal gifts are for the husband's family. If you add them to her courtyard, what will you do when Qian Zhou's people come in the future?"
"Don't worry, mother. Kang Yi has already said that Qian Zhou does not want any betrothal gifts. Moreover, the journey is long. It is too late for us to send them in time, and it is impossible for them to come and pick them up."
The old lady nodded, "That's true. But if you're talking about betrothal gifts, what about her dowry?"
Feng Jinyuan knew the old lady was going to ask this, so he quickly added, "The emperor has already sent a handwritten letter to King Qianzhou, and it is estimated that he will not be able to make it in time for the wedding. From the time the letter arrives to the time someone comes, it will take at least two or three months. Kang Yi said that King Qianzhou values her the most, and he said long ago that if the emperor sister marries again, no matter who she marries, she will not be given a betrothal gift, and the dowry will be extremely generous."
The old lady finally came to her senses, she sat up from the couch and asked Feng Jinyuan: "What you said is true, but have you ever thought about how your family will survive if all the money in the public treasury is taken away by you? Also, I paid for the 120,000 yuan for the ancient painting." She deliberately avoided the fact that the painting had been torn up.
Feng Jinyuan comforted her, "Don't worry, mother. We can always get by even if we are tight on money. Each courtyard always has some surplus, and the servants' monthly wages were all paid before the New Year. As for your 120,000 yuan, your son will return it double when Kang Yi's dowry arrives."
"Double?" The old lady became excited again, "Can you really control Kang Yi?"
"Of course I can do it. Kang Yi and Ru Jia treat mother very well. Even if mother doesn't want them, they will not deprive her of any benefits."
"That's good, that's good." The old lady was finally relieved. After thinking for a while, she asked again, "For such a big event, the emperor should personally preside over the wedding, right? Oh! That would be the supreme honor! Should I make a more decent dress?"
Feng Jinyuan said: "The emperor is not in good health and has not left the palace for many years. Although the emperor cannot come in person this time, he has sent the prince to preside over the ceremony. Mother does not need to make any extra preparations for the dress. According to my son, your first-rank imperial court dress is the most suitable."
When he said that, the old lady remembered, yes! No matter how expensive the fabric is, it is just fabric, but the court dress truly represents her status as a royal concubine. "Then wear the court dress!" She looked happy, but she was a little worried when she thought about the eldest prince coming to preside over the wedding. "Jin Yuan! You have to keep a close eye on the situation now, think more about it, although the third prince has been chosen, but you are still alive! The emperor values the third prince so much now, you have to think carefully, whether the third prince is still worth helping."
Feng Jinyuan nodded and said, "Son understands, please be at ease, mother."
The old lady sighed, "As a woman, I can't say much about the affairs of the court, but you must remember that your choice is related to the rise and fall of the entire Feng family. It doesn't matter if you make a mistake, the most important thing is whether you can correct it in time. Now Kang Yi is about to get married, since you said that she has the means to help your younger brother ascend the throne in Qianzhou, then you two should discuss it with each other. It would be best if she can give you some good ideas."
Feng Jinyuan said: "Mother, you are right. I will learn from your teachings."
The old lady didn't say anything for a long time, and no one knew what she was thinking. Feng Jinyuan stood up and poured her a cup of tea. When he brought it over, the old lady finally spoke again: "The expenses on the wedding day are not a small amount. You are the prime minister, and the eldest prince will personally preside over the wedding. Even those officials who disagreed with you in the past must come here to show their respect. You have to think of a countermeasure. Where should this money come from!"
This sentence blocked Feng Jinyuan's heart again. Yes! The banquet on the wedding day was not a small amount.
But it's not that there is no way out. After all, he is the left prime minister, so it will be no problem for him to find someone to help him.
Time flies like a horse passing by the window. The Feng family is busy and the 28th day of the first lunar month soon arrives...
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