Chapter 387 Private Treasury Given to Jia Lian and His Wife
Not long after Wang Xifeng returned to the Rongguo Mansion, it was Grandmother Jia's birthday.
This banquet at the Rongguo Mansion served two purposes: firstly, to celebrate the patriarch's birthday, and secondly, to send a signal to the outside world.
From then on, the management of the Rongguo Mansion was completely handed over to Jia Lian's wife, Second Madam Wang Xifeng.
As for the power to manage the household, Wang Xifeng had it long ago; she had long been the head of the household. However, no one expected that she had kept such a secret: the private treasury of the previous generations of dukes in the family contained all the real valuable things, which had always been in the hands of the old lady.
Originally, the old lady intended to leave these things to Baoyu, but after a series of events in recent years, she finally understood.
Leaving these things to Jia Baoyu wouldn't necessarily be good for him; on the contrary, keeping them for the family would allow Jia Lian and his wife to create greater value from them.
Perhaps the Rongguo Mansion can regain its former glory in the future!
When the old lady handed over the person in charge of the private treasury and the key to Wang Xifeng, Madam Wang realized that there was such a place in the house. She was so angry that she almost collapsed, but was supported by Madam Xing who was standing to the side, so that she did not make a fool of herself in front of so many people.
"Sister-in-law, you're not angry at all?" Madam Wang felt a mix of emotions when she saw Madam Xing's calm expression.
She knew her sister-in-law well; she was extremely greedy. How could she remain completely unmoved and unmoved upon learning that there was such a private treasury in the family?
Madam Xing looked at Madam Wang as if she were a fool.
"No matter what, they still have to call me mother. What difference is there between my own son and daughter-in-law getting this and me getting it myself? Why should I be angry?"
Madam Wang was taken aback; she really hadn't expected this.
When Wang Xifeng first married into the family a few years ago, they were aunt and niece for several times. Wang Xifeng respected her aunt very much. Even though Madam Xing was Wang Xifeng's mother-in-law, the relationship between the two was extremely awkward.
Firstly, because Lady Xing was a second wife, and Jia Lian's birth mother had already passed away. Secondly, because Lady Xing was not well-regarded by Grandmother Jia and Jia She.
Therefore, Wang Xifeng treated Madam Xing as if she were invisible, and became closer to her own aunt, more like a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
However, with the changes in Wang Xifeng over the past few years, her relationship with Madam Xing has become better and better, a complete transformation compared to before.
Although Madam Xing was dull-witted, she could still tell who was sincere and who was not, so she reciprocated Wang Xifeng's kindness in return.
In recent years, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law have become increasingly close, leaving Mrs. Wang, the aunt, out of the picture.
Madam Wang was very indignant and somewhat regretful.
If this incident hadn't targeted Wang Xifeng, and if Wang Xifeng hadn't gone to live in the original mansion, would the old lady have even thought of giving all the private treasury to Jia Lian and his wife?
The old lady has kept quiet about this for so many years, clearly indicating that she has no intention of making this matter public. In the end, these things will belong to the people the old lady cherishes most.
The old lady cherished only two people the most: Lin Daiyu and Jia Baoyu!
Lin Daiyu was a girl from the Lin family. Even if she was the old lady's granddaughter, she was still considered an "outsider," so there was no way she could inherit the Jia family's private treasury.
That leaves only one candidate to inherit the private treasury.
That was her son, Jia Baoyu...
When Madam Wang realized this, she felt dizzy and eventually fainted.
The old lady had actually informed Jia Lian beforehand about the matter of giving money to the private treasury.
Jia Lian was unsure whether to accept the offer, and on Wang Xifeng's advice, he even went to ask the master.
Jia She himself thought that the family's income had been insufficient to cover expenses over the years, and that the property left by his ancestors had probably been spent long ago. Little did he know that there was such a large amount of property.
Since the property was legitimately acquired, it was rightfully theirs to inherit as the eldest son's property. Even though the old lady bypassed him and gave it directly to his son, he was still happy!
Look, this time the old lady didn't favor her second brother's son, Baoyu, and she even thought of his son!
Jia She was secretly delighted and immediately decided to buy back all the fans he had previously set his sights on. After all, who knew how much wealth was in that private treasury? He had only taken a few fans; how could Jia Lian dare not buy them for him?
This time, Jia She formally sent an invitation to the fan's owner for tea and explained his intentions. The fan's owner was also willing to part with it, giving the fan to Jia She for eight hundred taels of silver.
Unexpectedly, when Jia She sent someone to withdraw the silver, he was stopped at the first checkpoint.
He angrily prepared to go find Jia Lian, but before he could go, Jia Lian and his wife arrived.
"Master, I heard you want to buy a fan worth eight hundred taels?" Wang Xifeng asked bluntly.
Seeing her so confident and self-assured, Jia She suddenly felt a little guilty.
“Father, eight hundred taels is about 30% of the combined income of all our estates in Changbai Mountain. If we continue as before, our family will starve for four months just because of your fan.” Jia Lian went to the estates in Changbai Mountain this time to investigate these matters. There are more than a dozen estates there, large and small, and they only paid a little over two thousand taels of silver in a year.
Given the Rongguo Mansion's past situation of spending more than it earns, it is true that Jia She's single fan consumed several months' worth of the family's income.
However, it's unlikely they'd starve; Jia Lian exaggerated a bit to intimidate Jia She.
For the first time, Jia She actually felt somewhat ashamed.
But then he glared at him.
"The old lady is going to give you her private treasury, which is full of gold and silver. I only bought a fan, which is less than a drop in the ocean."
"You've been to that private treasury, do you know what's inside?" Wang Xifeng found it strange. The old lady had said that since the old Duke passed away, neither the eldest nor the second master had been to that private treasury, only the old lady would go there.
"Of course I know! The other day, the old lady had someone send you those bracelets. They were from her private treasury! Although those bracelets were of good quality, there are even more precious treasures in her private treasury!"
Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng exchanged a glance and decided to put the topic aside for the time being, and discuss everything after they had been to the private treasury.
"Master, what kind of fan is worth eight hundred taels? Let me broaden my horizons so I can have something to brag about at banquets in the future, right?"
Wang Xifeng's words were so pleasing that Jia She couldn't help but pick up the precious box beside him.
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