The head of the Red Mansion

Chapter 37 Silencing
Jia Zhu felt very uncomfortable during the meal.

His mother always felt he was hungry and kept putting food on his plate. He didn't dare to say that he had already eaten the "bitter memories meal" at school, so he could only force himself to eat it.

That's not all. He was stuffed and uncomfortable, but his wife barely ate anything. She had to serve his mother and take care of him. When his mother put down her chopsticks, she had to put down hers too.

What his mother had suffered at his grandmother's hands was now being doubled on his wife.

He couldn't plead for mercy; if he did, he'd be finished.

"Mother," Jia Zhu said, rinsing his mouth as he could only ignore his daughter-in-law, "I had made plans with my classmates to go to the bookstore to see if there were any new books, you..."

"go Go!"

Wang enjoyed her meal very much, but as she waved her hand, she suddenly remembered something, "Hey, wait a minute."

She hurried into the inner room and came out a moment later. “Here,” she said, stuffing two silver notes into her son’s hands. “Buy whatever you want when you see it.”

Jia Zhu: "..."

Two light one-hundred-tael silver notes suddenly felt as heavy as a thousand pieces of gold.

"Mother, is so much really necessary?"

Rumors are circulating that the Lai family has fallen, while the Jia family has profited immensely. However, having already repaid the national treasury over ten thousand taels of silver, even with some remaining, the family, with so many members, must be cautious and practice frugality.

“My son also receives a monthly allowance from the government.”

A monthly allowance of ten taels of silver was neither high nor low, but it was more than enough for him.

"Just take it if it's given to you, why be so polite with your mother?"

Yesterday, Wang was quite worried about money, but today, she has no such worries at all.

If Jia Zhen falls, it's the same as the East Mansion falling. Jia Rong is still young, and Shen Shi's unborn child is even younger. Whether they can grow up safely depends on her.

After all, the Eastern Mansion has always had few heirs, so it's not impossible that their lineage could suddenly end.

As for the You family...

Just lock her up in any courtyard and let her worship Buddha.

By then, everything in the East Mansion will belong to her family.

With the old lady around, she wasn't worried about losing her family's property.

Wang estimated that the East Mansion's silver reserves were several times greater than their own.

Besides having few offspring, with only women marrying into the family and none marrying out, the eldest son's family also manages a lot of clan land.

"Mother's money all belongs to you brothers."

To be precise, they all belong to the eldest son, since the old lady's belongings all belong to the youngest son.

Once the clan's land is recovered, the profits will belong to Yuan Chun.

Anyway, those idiots in the clan shouldn't expect to get everything without giving anything in return.

If anyone wants to benefit from her daughter's success, they must hand over the profits from the clan's land to bribe her.

Wang believed herself to be fair and just, saying, "As long as you don't squander the money, anything goes."

After a long pause, Jia Zhu finally accepted the silver his mother had forced upon him.

But after leaving the mansion, he didn't go to find his classmate. Instead, he seemed to be taking a shortcut through the side gate of the Lai family mansion.

My grandmother and father were waiting for my uncle, but he didn't come home. There was only one possibility: he was hiding here.

knock knock...

"Who?"

The old woman who opened the door saw him and exclaimed, "Uncle Zhu?!"

She glanced behind him in alarm, but thankfully the old man had only brought a servant with him.

"Yes, go tell your uncle that your nephew has come to pay his respects!"

"This... please wait a moment."

The old woman hurriedly ran off, but returned shortly afterward to open the door for him. "Master is fishing over there," she said, pointing to a spot not far away. "You can go that way."

Jia Zhu cupped his hands in greeting and strode away.

Shh!

From afar, Jia She made a gesture of silence.

Jia Zhu paused for a moment, then tiptoed forward. Just then, ripples appeared on the water.

"Haha, they've arrived as expected."

Jia She reeled in his line, and a beautifully fished carp, more than half a foot long, was pulled up. "For the sake of this fish, I'll give you a chance to speak, but there's one condition: you can't persuade me to go home."

"..."

Jia Zhu sat down next to her with a smile, "Uncle may not have to go home, but Grandmother may be able to come here."

Ok?
Jia She was somewhat discouraged. "Are you going to team up with your grandmother and father to pressure your eldest uncle?"

"No."

Jia Zhu shook her head. "I wanted to tell my uncle that if I can find this place, my grandmother and father can find it too. Rather than waiting for them to come and cause trouble, you should go further away."

Huh?
Yes, it is.

Jia She smiled, "You also think your uncle did the right thing?"

"nature!"

Jia Zhu said, "Zhou Rui not only violated family law, but also the law of the state."

As for those who say the Jia family is blind, he can just listen to them and leave it at that.

The Jia family had enjoyed two generations of prosperity, from his great-grandfather to his grandfather, which was already quite impressive.

The fact that the descendants of the Jia family no longer enjoy the glory of their ancestors is perhaps what some people want to see.

Jia Zhu gave her uncle some advice, "Go away and hide for a few days, and his verdict will be handed down soon."

At that point, Grandma and Father will be helpless.

As for the mother...

Jia Zhu felt that without Zhou Rui and his wife, if her uncle could step up and take control of their management, her mother would be less likely to make mistakes.

"You should find someone to keep an eye on the rent for the spring and autumn seasons. If you don't want to get involved in Zhou Rui's family's affairs, then let your second sister-in-law handle it."

Wang Xifeng, who was both a cousin and the sister-in-law of the second brother, was not without her own thoughts about the rights and interests of the eldest son's family.

"Or we could just break it up, with the eldest aunt managing one part and the second younger brother's wife managing the other."

Jia She: "..."

The suggestions you made were all very insightful!
only……

“Your aunt is no good.” He sighed. “She’s just not cut out for it.”

He tried it in his own backyard.

She couldn't even manage such a small courtyard, let alone the entire Rongguo Mansion.

If you really hand over the sewing room and such to her, Xing Shi and her maids will almost certainly not be able to hold onto it.

At that point, it would actually benefit the Wang family.

“If I hand it over to her, your grandmother and your mother will make a fuss with me. Rather than that, it’s better to hand it over to your second brother’s wife.”

Although his daughter-in-law was Wang's niece, she was also the legitimate matriarch of the Rongguo Mansion.

If the affairs of the household were handed over to her, neither her mother nor her second brother's wife would have the face to accept them.

"Oh~"

Jia Zhu laughed, "Since Uncle has already made his decision, what are we waiting for?"

Jia She: "..."

He looked at the grinning brat and couldn't help but laugh too. "Fine, you go first, and then I'll storm off in front."

This way, he won't be caught out in the future, and he won't get a double beating from his parents when he gets home.

Although Wang Shi would not actually hit him, Jia She had been tormented by his mother and had developed psychological trauma. He knew that the invisible condemnation and verbal beatings were even worse than physical violence.

"In that case, I thank you very much, Uncle."

Jia Zhu smiled and bowed as he left. Sure enough, not long after, Jia She stormed off from the villa.

After waiting and waiting, Grandmother Jia's patience ran out. Just as she was about to call for a carriage and sedan chair to go to her son's villa, a servant rushed over in a hurry.

"Master, something terrible has happened! The eldest master has left the villa and said he's heading out of the city."

what?
Jia Zheng was furious.

"Doesn't he know the old lady is here? What are you all doing? Go, hurry up, send someone to chase after her."

He didn't care about Zhou Rui's family, but the fact that the blind man used him was something only his elder brother could have done.

Meanwhile, in the Shuntian Prefecture prison, the food box sent by Zhou Rui's mistress was finally opened in the cell.

Although he was imprisoned in the Shuntian Prefecture jail, and although the Grand Master of Ceremonies said that he would be prosecuted according to the law and not allowed to be released, Zhou Rui's life was still quite good thanks to the care of Madam Wang.

The food box was opened layer by layer. Today there was a whole chicken, a plate of stir-fried pork, a plate of stewed cabbage, and a plate of peanuts.

Zhou Rui looked down and found a small pot of wine.

He happily poured himself a glass, tore off a large chicken leg, and added a few peanuts. Mmm, not bad.

With the entire Wang family, and even most of the Jia family, standing behind his wife, Zhou Rui wasn't afraid. He didn't care how long he was going to be imprisoned here.

After all, only he knew the specifics of the money his wife had lent out.

Zhou Rui was only worried about what he would do after returning from prison.
The magistrate has caught him red-handed, so he's definitely not going to be the one collecting rent anymore.

If he loses such a large sum of money, his wife won't forgive him.

Zhou Rui was drinking and eating while trying to think of a solution, but as he ate, a sudden, sharp pain shot through his stomach...

(End of this chapter)