The Cloud Feather of the Red Chamber: A Marriage Arranged with Gong Yuanzheng at the Start

Grandmother Jia was trembling all over, and her eyes were filled with venom as she looked at Jia She.

"Madam, let's check the accounts."

Xia Li smiled and took out several IOUs from his sleeve, handing them to Grandmother Jia.

Grandmother Jia's lips twitched. She didn't want to accept these things, but how could she refuse something handed to her by the Grand Eunuch?

He tremblingly accepted the stack of IOUs.

Xia Li withdrew his hand. "Madam, the total is six hundred thousand taels of silver..."

Xia Li was interrupted by Grandmother Jia before he could finish speaking.

"Six hundred thousand taels? Wasn't it only three hundred thousand taels? How could it be six hundred thousand taels!"

Xia Li's smile remained unchanged. "Isn't this for your birthday banquet? General Jia specially borrowed 300,000 taels of silver from the national treasury."

Jia She also took out an account book, his face beaming with the most respectful smile, and his words struck a nerve with Grandmother Jia.

“Mother, this is for your birthday banquet, the cost of renovating Rongguo Mansion, and the ingredients purchased for entertaining guests.”

"The ledger is right here, and you can check it anytime."

Grandmother Jia slapped the account book out of Jia She's hand, her usually kind and gentle expression turning ferocious.

"Don't try to fool me! I may not go out often, but I'm not some deaf, blind, or stupid idiot!"

"Do you think I, an old woman, don't know the prices in the capital? Even in the palace, repairing palaces and holding birthday banquets wouldn't cost this much money!"

Jia She merely raised an eyebrow, his expression remaining respectful.

"Is the old lady implying that someone in the palace is embezzling?"

Xia Li's voice rang out softly.

Grandmother Jia then realized that in her anger she had spoken without thinking. Just as she was about to explain herself, Xia Li continued:

"I have remembered the old lady's reminder. When I return to the palace, I will definitely report to His Majesty and have the Imperial Household Department thoroughly investigated!"

Grandmother Jia's face was almost deathly pale.

Jia Yuanchun was never favored in the palace, and she only managed to get by by bribing the Imperial Household Department.

Now that she has offended the entire Imperial Household Department, they will naturally no longer do her any favors in the future.

Then it will be even more difficult for her to gain favor, let alone help Baoyu in the future.

Xia Li was too lazy to waste any more words with her. He flicked his whisk and said, "The total amount of silver in the manor is 48,674 taels. General Jia has already handed it over to the national treasury."

"Madam, please open the storeroom. We are in a hurry to report to His Majesty."

Grandmother Jia's face twitched, and the veins on her hand gripping Yuanyang bulged.

Yuanyang bit her lower lip, enduring the pain in her arm, and dared not utter a sound.

Only she probably knows how furious Grandmother Jia is right now.

Meeting Xia Li's ambiguous smile, Grandmother Jia took a deep breath, her face completely frozen.

It's not that she doesn't want to laugh, it's that she really can't laugh.

As for etiquette and respect, she no longer cared.

"Please wait a moment, I'll have someone come and move the things right away."

She insisted on opening the warehouse herself and deciding which items to send to the national treasury; this was her final insistence.

Gong Zishang leaned tightly against the back of her chair, gasping for breath. Ruthless! Truly ruthless!

As expected of a mother and son, they know each other's weaknesses and strike right where it hurts most.

What Grandmother Jia cared about most was her reputation, her private savings, and Jia Baoyu.

He couldn't touch Jia Baoyu, but Jia Mu lost all his reputation and private savings in a single day.

Which of these women in a large family isn't shrewd and capable?

Even she could tell that the memorial submitted by Grandmother Jia must have been written by Jia She. How could the women not have noticed?

The discord between the Jia family mother and son may have been rumored for some time, but in front of outsiders, they at least maintained the facade of a loving mother and filial son.

However, Jia She, at the height of Jia Mu's fame, cruelly ripped off her dignity, causing her to lose all face.

If this had happened in the past, people would have accused Jia She of being unfilial.

But now that the emperor has been on the throne for a year, Jia She has changed his ways and returned to the court.

Under these circumstances, when Jia She did such a thing, everyone could only speculate about what terrible things Grandmother Jia had done to make Jia She bear the infamy of being unfilial and still do such a thing. They would also think about when Jia She began to become decadent.

They were all people confined to their homes; even if they didn't know the specific truth, they could guess about 70-80% of it.

After that, when others mentioned Grandmother Jia, all they could think of was her ruthlessness.

As a son, filial piety is paramount. If he were to sue Grandmother Jia, even if he had a valid reason, his future would likely be ruined.

This method might not be as harmful to Grandmother Jia, but it would be extremely damaging to Jia Yuanchun and Jia Baoyu.

After all, they were all raised by Grandmother Jia.

Who knows how much of Grandmother Jia's teachings they might have inherited?

In the future, Jia Yuanchun will face even greater difficulties in the palace. If Jia Baoyu works hard and takes the imperial examination, he might be able to secure a future for himself.

But judging from Jia She and Jia Min's attitudes, it's clear that this path is a dead end.

Jia Xichun is a young lady from the Ningguo Mansion, while Jia Yingchun is Jia She's biological daughter and now lives with Wang Xifeng.

They are still young now, and it won't have any impact when they grow up in a few years.

It's a pity for Jia Tanchun; having grown up under the care of Grandmother Jia, her future marriage prospects are likely...

Gong Zishang sighed softly. Is this the method of a powerful family?

Revenge doesn't necessarily mean killing someone; it means destroying their spirit.

The cruelest way to take revenge on someone is not to kill them, but to destroy everything they care about.

Even if he were to die, he wouldn't be able to close his eyes in peace.

That's ruthless, really too ruthless.

She had always felt that her relationship with Gong Liushang was too strained.

Only now do I realize that I and Gong Liushang are the epitome of a loving father and a filial daughter!

She made up her mind; after she finished looking at the painting, she would go visit Gong Liushang!

Boxes of gold, silver and valuables were carried out of Grandmother Jia's storeroom, but in the end, tens of thousands of taels of silver were still short.

With trembling lips, Grandmother Jia looked at Jia She, her eyes clearly conveying her hope that he would hand over the remaining silver.

Jia She, however, seemed unable to understand her gaze.

"Mother, don't you still have some antiques and estates? Take them out."

Grandmother Jia almost fainted, but she knew she couldn't faint, otherwise she feared she wouldn't be able to keep the things she had hidden in the storeroom.

Some of these things are things that cannot be shown to others; handing them over would mean certain death.

Some of them were her most precious antiques and books that she had kept for Baoyu; she really couldn't bear to hand them over to the national treasury.

She gritted her teeth, had Yuanyang bring out several land deeds, and handed them to Xia Li with trembling hands.

"Steward Xia, with these two estates, that should be enough."

Xia Li glanced at the land deeds in his hand; they were all in prime locations on the outskirts of Beijing. He smiled with satisfaction.

"That's enough, of course it's enough."

As he spoke, he put away the land deed and addressed the other women present:

"The old lady is very wise and knows that the Qing Kingdom is in danger. There are floods in the south, famine in the west, and barbarians in the north who are eyeing it covetously."

"Today, she generously donated money to make up for the government silver owed by the Jia family, truly a model of womanhood!"

The women all had different expressions; who couldn't tell that this was a battle of wits between the Jia family mother and son?

However, since the palace has stated that Grandmother Jia acted voluntarily, then it must have been voluntary!

At the same time, they all became more vigilant.

They all owed the government money to varying degrees, and they were generally aware of the amounts owed.

It's not that they can't afford the money, they just don't want to be a fence-sitter.

Now that the Jia family has taken the lead, they have no reason to hesitate any longer.

The debt must be paid off as soon as possible using public funds; they would not be willing to use their own dowries to make up for it.

Xia Li left, and Grandmother Jia could no longer hold on and collapsed onto Yuanyang.

Yuanyang couldn't hold on to her and was pinned to the ground.

"Quick! Help the old lady up! Quick, go and fetch Physician Wang!"

The maids and servants of Rongxi Hall were instantly thrown into a flurry of activity.

Jia She stopped the servant who came to fetch the doctor.

Yuanyang glared at him, her eyes wide with anger: "What do you mean by this, sir? The old lady is already in such a state, are you going to kick her while she's down?"

Jia She glanced at her sideways and said, "As expected of the old lady's maid, she is indeed quick-witted."

"But I dare not accept such a serious charge."

"You went to fetch Physician Wang as soon as Steward Xia left. Are you afraid others won't know that the old lady has fainted?"

All of Yuanyang's anger was suppressed.

The debtor had barely paid the outstanding amount when he immediately summoned the imperial physician; this was a blatant slap in the face to the imperial court.

Jia She's words silenced the women who were about to take their leave.

Yes, they left right after Xia Li left; their purpose was far too obvious.

Ignoring Yuanyang's unpredictable expression, Jia She flicked his sleeves, hummed a little tune, and left Rongxi Hall.

Young Master Xue was somewhat puzzled. Isn't it only natural to pay back debts?

Why does this old lady look so devastated?

He looked directly at Gong Zishang and saw that she looked terrified. He couldn't help but ask, "Zhi Ren, what's wrong?"

Gong Zishang waved his hand, somewhat sighing, "This master's methods are truly too ruthless!"

Young Master Xue was still somewhat confused, but he humbly asked, "Zhi Ren, can you tell me about it?"

Gong Zishang was naturally happy to answer his questions and explained the reasons to him in detail.

After hearing this, Young Master Xue couldn't help but rub the goosebumps on his arms.

Gong Zishang was still lamenting, "Before holding the birthday banquet, Jia She borrowed a large sum of money from the court. Although the money was supposed to be for the old lady's birthday banquet, it all went into his pocket."

"And this large sum of money was all paid back by the old lady. Judging from her face, she probably emptied all her savings."

"Looking at the faces of those women in the inner quarters, I'm afraid no one in the national treasury has ever repaid the money. The Jia family has set such a good precedent."

"The other families can't refuse anymore, and they should all come to repay the money next."

"Jia She's move not only helped the court solve the crisis of an empty treasury, but also allowed him to legitimately transfer Grandmother Jia's private savings to his own name."

"Brilliant! Truly brilliant and ruthless!"

Young Master Xue was dumbfounded. After a long while, he finally asked a fatal question.

"Are all officials appointed by the imperial court this heartless?"

Gong Zishang's lips twitched, and Gong Yuanzheng put down the book in his hand and looked up at him.

Xue Zhongzi sighed and silently stood in front of Xue Gongzi.

Young Master Xue also realized what was happening, and he quickly waved his hand to explain, "I didn't mean that Lord Lin and Young Master Jiao are heartless!"

Gong Zishang and Gong Yuanzheng: "..."

Yukishigeko: "You should go read storybooks instead."