Red Mansion: After being expelled from the family, I was granted the title of Marquis of Mobei

Chapter 30 Rongguo Mansion is in trouble

Three days later, it was the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month of the third year of Yongping.

As the New Year approaches, the entire city is decorated with lights and people are making preparations to celebrate the New Year. The atmosphere is peaceful.

However, the atmosphere in Rongguo Mansion was extremely solemn.

In Rongxi Hall, Jia She lowered his head and said nothing, looking guilty.

Sitting in the main seat, Mrs. Jia's eyes were filled with uncontrollable anger.

Jia Zheng, who was standing aside, looked at Jia She with extremely complicated eyes. As for Mrs. Wang, she looked at Jia She with undisguised contempt.

Mrs. Jia said angrily.

"Jia She, please explain to me clearly, what exactly is going on with Eunuch Dai?"

Jia She said cautiously.

"Mother, I don't know either."

Old Mrs. Jia said angrily.

"You don't understand. The government gave you 60,000 taels of silver and asked you and Zhen'er to go to Eunuch Dai to make arrangements. Why did Eunuch Dai assign Yuanchun to the laundry department to manage those lowly maids?"

“Is this how you operate?”

Jia She said in surprise.

"Laundry Department, how could this happen? How could Eunuch Dai do this?"

Old Mrs. Jia was so angry that she picked up the teacup and threw it. Jia She was so scared that he knelt down immediately.

Old Lady Jia pointed at Jia She's nose and cursed.

"You still have the nerve to ask? If I hadn't sent people to find out by all means, I wouldn't have known that you two bastards were so bold."

"The palace paid out 60,000 taels of silver, 50,000 taels went to Eunuch Dai, and 10,000 taels went to you two bastards as kickbacks. I can accept that."

"Forty thousand taels of silver went into the hands of Eunuch Dai, and twenty thousand taels of silver went to you two bastards as kickbacks. I can barely accept that."

"You two actually gave Eunuch Dai a thousand taels of silver. What were you thinking? Even a pig has more brains than you."

"Eunuch Dai used to be the official in charge of the Imperial Household Department, a dignified Minister of Internal Affairs. Even though the retired emperor has moved to the Daming Palace, even Xia Shouzhong, the current eunuch in charge of the six palaces, is polite to Eunuch Dai."

"You two bastards are really good. You actually gave Eunuch Dai a thousand taels of silver. Aren't you clearly offending him?"

Jia She was stunned after hearing this. Wow, there are masters out there.

Jia She thought that taking a kickback of 20,000 taels of silver was already cruel enough, but he didn't expect that Jia Zhen was even more cruel. He embezzled almost all of the remaining 40,000 taels of silver and gave 1,000 taels of silver to Eunuch Dai.

At this time, Jia She knew that this matter was serious. He could not hide the fact that he had taken kickbacks, but he certainly could not put all the blame on himself. He really could not bear it. He hurriedly looked at Mrs. Jia and said.

"Mother, mother, please calm down, please calm down."

"You know me well. No matter how stupid I am, I can't possibly give Eunuch Dai just one thousand taels of silver for such a big thing."

"Mother, please understand. I only took 20,000 taels of silver. I gave the remaining 40,000 taels of silver to Brother Zhen."

"At that time, I said I wanted to meet Eunuch Dai with Brother Zhen."

"But Zhen said that Eunuch Dai was worried about the crowds and wouldn't be able to meet so many people. In the end, it was Zhen who gave Eunuch Dai the silver alone. I didn't know he was so heartless as to only give Eunuch Dai a thousand taels of silver."

After hearing what Jia She said, Mrs. Jia could no longer suppress her anger.

"You bastard! I think His Majesty's sixty strokes of the cane were too light. How come you weren't killed?"

"Why did I go to great lengths to promote Yuanchun to a concubine? Wasn't it just to give the mansion a foundation to settle down?"

"How dare you take this kind of money? Let's go to the East Palace and find that bastard."

After saying this, Old Lady Jia walked out first, followed closely by Jia Zheng and Mrs. Wang. Jia She struggled to stand up, but the wound from the beating in court had opened again, and Jia She grimaced in pain.

Seeing this, the servant beside him hurriedly helped Jia She up and supported him as he went to Ningguo Mansion.

In the Tianxiang Tower of Ningguo Mansion, Jia Zhen was drinking and having fun with his two sisters-in-law, You Erjie and You Sanjie.

Just when Jia Zhen was having a great time, surrounded by beauties, the housekeeper Lai Er came hurriedly into Tianxiang Tower.

"Master, Master, something terrible has happened."

When Jia Zhen heard this, he frowned and poured a glass of wine on Lai Er's face.

"You bastard, in this new year, can you speak human language? What's wrong with that?"

Lai Er hurriedly wiped the wine off his face and said.

"Master, something really happened. The old lady of the West Mansion, as well as Master Zheng and Master She, are here. They look like they are filled with deep resentment and hatred."

After hearing this, Jia Zhen was stunned for a moment and was confused for a moment.

Just when Jia Zhen was still wondering what was going on, Jia She's scolding was heard outside.

"Jia Zhen, you bastard, get out of here! You've caused me so much trouble."

Jia Zhen didn't have time to think about it anymore. He immediately stood up and sent the You sisters to the back hall. He then stood up and walked quickly to the door, bowed, and said.

"Old lady, Uncle She, Uncle Zheng, no, what's wrong with you? You all have lawsuits all over your heads and faces."

Old Mrs. Jia said in a sarcastic tone.

"We've come here specifically to thank you, Jia Zhen, the great patriarch of the Jia family. You've put in a lot of effort in Yuanchun's matter."

As soon as Jia Zhen saw the expression on Old Lady Jia's face, he knew something was wrong. After hesitating for a moment, Jia Zhen said with a smile.

"Old lady, you are embarrassing me by saying that. We are a family. Please tell me what happened."

"If there's anything I haven't done, just tell me and I'll definitely correct it."

Before Mrs. Jia could say anything, Jia She spoke angrily.

"Don't try to play tricks on me. You know exactly what you did."

"Let me ask you, I gave you 40,000 taels of silver, how much did you give to Eunuch Dai?"

Jia Zhen reacted as soon as he heard it, and then said embarrassedly.

"Well, well, Uncle She, you know that it's easier to see the King of Hell than to deal with the little devils."

"It's not like I can see Eunuch Dai just because I want to."

"Eunuch Dai has quite a few people under his command, and I have to take care of all of them."

"So it's impossible that all of these 40,000 taels of silver will be spent on Eunuch Dai."

Jia She cursed angrily.

"Shut up! It costs thirty-nine thousand taels of silver to get rid of that little brat! You're just kidding me."

"Of the forty thousand taels of silver, thirty-nine thousand taels were spent on sending the little devil away, and the King of Hell only got one thousand taels in the end. You think I'm stupid?"

"You really are the opposite of Tian Gang."

Jia Zhen was completely stunned, his eyes filled with confusion.

He originally thought that his taking a kickback of 12,000 taels of silver had been discovered, but it was no big deal.

After all, the emperor has plenty of hungry soldiers. If you ask me for help, it's normal for me to get some benefits from it. It's acceptable everywhere.

But according to Jia She, Eunuch Dai only received 1,000 taels of silver, which is ridiculous. Jia Zhen hurriedly asked.

"Uncle She, old lady, you must have made a mistake. How could Eunuch Dai only get one thousand taels of silver?"

Mrs. Wang snorted coldly.

"If not, how could our Yuanchun be sent to the laundry department? Isn't this the arrangement of Eunuch Dai?"

"Brother Zhen, you are really amazing. We treat you as a family and trust you, giving you such a large sum of money."

"If Yuanchun can successfully be promoted to a concubine, it will be of great benefit to your Ningguo Mansion."

"I didn't expect you to be so short-sighted as to treat us like this for a few yellow and white things."

Jia Zhen waved his hands repeatedly and said.

"No, aunt, listen to me, there must be some mistake here."

"I personally placed the banknotes in a brocade box and handed them to Eunuch Dai. It was a full thirty thousand taels of silver."

"It's true that Uncle She gave me a total of 40,000 taels of silver. I took care of the eunuchs and treated Eunuch Dai to a meal. The miscellaneous expenses were not small. You can't ask me to pay for it first, right?"

"How come Eunuch Dai only got one thousand taels of silver in the end?"

"Think about it, even if I love money, I can't deliberately mess things up."

"Ma'am, you must be mistaken."

Seeing Jia Zhen's attitude, Mrs. Wang said with dissatisfaction.

"You made a mistake! Do you know how much money we spent just to find out about Yuanchun's situation?"

"Eunuch Dai was furious about what happened last time, and he issued a gag order to the eunuchs and maids in the palace. If anyone dared to have any contact with the Rongguo Mansion and he found out, he would kill them immediately."

"We spent another 15,000 taels of silver before we found out that Yuanchun is actually working in the laundry department."

"This is what you did. Tell me what to do about this matter."

Jia Zhen's scalp was completely numb at this moment. He hurriedly looked at Old Lady Jia and said.

"Old lady, old lady, I really did give thirty thousand taels of silver to Eunuch Dai. This is absolutely true. If I lied, I would be struck by lightning and die a miserable death."

Jia She said with a look of regret.

"Shut up, you might as well fart than swear."

Jia Zhen felt very aggrieved after being scolded by Jia She, but he also realized that the Rongguo Mansion would definitely not do anything without a purpose.

After a little thought, Jia Zhen said solemnly.

"Well, old lady, please give me some time. I'll find a way to confirm with Eunuch Dai and find out what's going on."

Just as Mrs. Wang was about to speak, Old Lady Jia held her back and said.

"Okay, Brother Zhen, you are the patriarch of the Jia family. I believe you will not do something that would alienate yourself from the clan."

"I'll give you three days. If you can't give me an explanation after these three days, I can only ask the elders to administer justice during the annual ancestral worship."

After saying this, Mrs. Jia took her people away, leaving Jia Zhen alone and in a state of extreme confusion.

He really couldn't figure out what went wrong.

But he was clear about one thing: if this matter was not thoroughly investigated, he would not be able to have a good New Year.

Jia Zhen quickly packed up and then tried to find a way to contact Eunuch Dai.

In the evening, inside the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Yongping was still reviewing memorials.

As an emperor, Emperor Yongping was absolutely first-rate in his diligence, working almost all year round.

Not long after, Xia Shouzhong came to the hall, bowed and said.

"Your Majesty, the secret letter from Marquis Guanjun and Lord Lin has arrived from Yangzhou."

After hearing this, Emperor Yongping immediately put down the memorial in his hand.

"Quick, present it."

"promise."

After Xia Shouzhong handed over the secret memorial, Emperor Yongping couldn't wait to open it. As he read it, the smile on Emperor Yongping's face could not be concealed. He raised the corners of his mouth and said happily.

"Okay, okay."

Xia Shouzhong, who was standing by, said with a smile when he saw this.

"Your Majesty is so happy. I guess Lord Lin and Marquis Guanjun's efforts to rectify the salt administration in Jiangnan have been quite successful."

Emperor Yongping said after stroking his beard.

"Lin Ruhai and Guanjun Hou, I think I used them correctly."

"The two of them, one civil and one martial, complement each other perfectly."

"The salt administration in Jiangnan has been plagued by problems for a long time. During the reigns of Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong of our dynasty, the salt tax in Jiangnan was generally between 10 million taels of silver."

"After that, the amount has been decreasing year by year. Last year, after the Ministry of Revenue conducted an audit, the salt tax in Jiangnan was only 1.4 million taels. These people are truly greedy and have gone too far."

"This time, when the Marquis of Guanjun went south, he not only quelled the rebellion without bloodshed, but also captured all the illegal salt merchants and corrupt officials in one fell swoop, completely eradicating the salt merchant family that had plagued Jiangnan for a century."

"Lin Ruhai has reformed the official salt sales system and completely solved the salt administration problem. Good, good."

"Xia Shouzhong, pay attention to the memorials. All recent memorials impeaching Lin Ruhai's title of Marquis of Guanjun will be retained and not released."

"Also, order the Jinyiwei to conduct a secret investigation."

"I also want to see who is the most anxious now that Marquis Guanjun has completely destroyed the Jiangnan salt interest group."

Xia Shouzhong said after bowing.

"The servant understands."

Emperor Yongping thought for a moment and then continued.

"By the way, draft an imperial decree to posthumously confer the title of First Rank Consort on the Marquis of Champion's birth mother. Additionally, award the Marquis of Champion with a thousand taels of gold, one hundred pieces of cloud brocade, a pair of dragon and phoenix heart pendants, and two imperial estates."

"The slaves obey the order."

After Xia Shouzhong left, Emperor Yongping drank some tea and was in a very happy mood.

This time, Jia Jue went south to suppress the Jiangnan riot. Not only did he successfully complete his mission, but he also investigated and prosecuted more than 20 major salt merchants and a large number of illegal officials in Jiangnan. The gold and silver jewelry he confiscated alone amounted to more than 20 million taels of silver. In addition, Lin Ruhai continued to confiscate the land, shops, houses, etc. under the names of these officials and salt merchants. A rough calculation shows that at least 40 to 50 million taels of silver were confiscated this time.

You must know that in order to support the Zhenbei Army in the past three years, Emperor Yongping emptied the national treasury and even his own treasury.

Now that the Xiongnu Rebellion had been quelled, and with the momentum of a great victory, he took drastic measures to reorganize the salt business in the south of the Yangtze River, and finally made a significant recovery in the national treasury and his own internal treasury.

With this money, Emperor Yongping would have more confidence to carry out drastic reforms in the government.

Of course, he must protect his own money-making boy, Champion Marquis.

After all, this time when Jia Jue went south to the south of the Yangtze River, he killed a lot of people in just half a month, including more than one hundred officials and their families, more than twenty salt merchants, and nearly ten thousand people were implicated.

Emperor Yongping knew very well that those whose interests were affected would want to eat Jia Jue alive.

　Dear Yanzu and Yifei, I sincerely ask for your recommendation votes. In addition, I hope that everyone will not keep the book. It is very important to read it every day during the new book period. It is easy to kill the book. Thank you for your support. I bow to all the parents who provide you with food and clothing.
　　

(End of this chapter)