Three Wives and Four Concubines in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Page 138

Upon receiving the imperial edict, Sister Feng's eyes were filled with excitement. She bowed her head, agreed, and quickly retreated, feeling her whole body tremble and wishing she could roar to the heavens.

"These old bastards, let's see who dares to be so blind as to run into us!"

They always have to be considerate of the old ladies, but how dare they rely on their seniority to treat me as an equal? ​​A bunch of sons of bitches!

The matter was finally over. When Daiyu and the others came out, they ran into the maids who brought the account books. Grandmother Jia, having calmed down, resumed her smiling demeanor and beckoned Daiyu and the others to take a look.

"Yu'er, did you see accounts like this on the estate?"

The sisters crowded around and passed it around. It contained the false accounts that Dai Liang had made, listing the various kinds of animals and fruits that had been offered to the capital over the past few years.

Tan Chun glanced at them a few times, exchanged glances with Baochai and the others, and couldn't help but look up and ask:

"Ancestor, I wonder how many estates this family sends over every year?"

After thinking for a moment, Grandmother Jia said:

"After the family split up, both my Rongguo Mansion and Ningguo Mansion had seven or eight estates outside the pass. The estates in other places were used for sacrificial fields and selling grain, so they didn't need to be sent up."

"Seven or eight..."

Looking at the number above, which was less than a third of the Gu family's estate, Tan Chun pursed her lips and flipped through the pages again. Just as she was about to speak, Daiyu subtly pulled her hand, and she realized what was happening.

They had all seen the situation of Yu Gege's family, and with the crucial silver treasury also in trouble, they naturally understood that the fifty or sixty thousand that Jia She mentioned was probably an understatement.

But since the master has said so, it is obvious where the rest of the silver went. Why should she be the bad guy and bring it up again, causing chaos?

After thinking for a moment, Tan Chun closed the account book in her hand and sighed:

"I'm afraid this estate is also struggling to survive. I don't think the harvest has been very good in recent years."

Lady Wang and Lady Xing had come to keep them company while they suffered until now. Seeing that even when Grandmother Jia asked Fengjie to deal with the situation, she ignored them, they hurriedly tried to make amends. Upon hearing Tanchun's words, Lady Xing quickly smiled and said:

"Third Sister, you don't know this, but the estate has suffered from disasters for years, so it's normal that they have less food. The old lady is kind-hearted and allowed them to leave enough food to eat, and only the rest was sent to the capital. Their food and drink are not bad at all!"

Years of disasters?

Remembering the Gu family's account books she had seen before, which said that last year's harvest was so great that the storerooms were overflowing with goods, Tan Chun felt a pang of resentment, but she managed to suppress it.

Just then, someone else walked in, and a commotion attracted everyone's attention. It turned out to be Baoyu, who had come after receiving the news.

"Greetings, Ancestor! Greetings, First Madam, Madam, Aunt. Greetings, sisters."

Now that the commotion had subsided, Baoyu saw that everyone's faces were calm, and he relaxed, his usual liveliness returning to his face. Seeing his sisters gathered together looking at something, he couldn't help but smile and say:

"Third sister, what are you looking at?"

With such a scandal unfolding in the manor, everyone felt heavy-hearted. Xiangyun looked at Baoyu, who was still smiling, and felt a sudden surge of anger at his disappointment.

She had advised him to be more ambitious several times before, but Baoyu had ignored her. Now that this incident had happened, she wanted to provoke him, so she said coldly:

"Brother Bao, why don't you take a look? These are the account books for the income from the estates in the manor."

"What? I don't want to see it! What's so interesting about this?"

Upon hearing that it was this thing, Baoyu's face immediately fell, and he went to Grandmother Jia's side to coax her to be happy, looking just like an innocent child.

Are we still children today, just like we were children ten years ago and five years ago?

Xiangyun sighed helplessly. Baoyu was a relative and playmate she had grown up with. For the sake of the old lady's reputation and their kinship, she was unwilling to see Baoyu end up achieving nothing.

But his unyielding attitude finally made her lose all hope, and she no longer cared whether he lived or died.

Thinking this way, and looking at him coldly again, Xiangyun felt that Baoyu's innocent appearance was utterly irritating. No wonder Baochai and Yingchun, who clearly knew Baoyu first, didn't care at all...

"Bad guy..."

Seeing Xiangyun remain silent, then suddenly blush and drift off into thought, Daiyu knew that this girl was definitely thinking about Gu Yu. After all, it's not that there aren't good products, it's that you're afraid of comparing them.

She pouted and secretly pinched her, then pursed her lips, signaling her to be mindful of the occasion, and received a grateful look from the carefree Xiangyun.

From that day on, having received the imperial decree, Sister Feng went on a killing spree in the backyard, severely punishing several old women who had previously been at odds with her and who had been caught red-handed stealing.

Even Zhou Rui's wife, who dared to be sarcastic and sarcastic towards her a few days ago, only dared to fawn over her with an old face these days, and dared not mention the matter of changing the people in the garden again. She also half-jokingly mentioned in front of everyone that she planned to transfer people into the garden in the future, and finally settled the matter.

"Brother Yu has really been a great help..."

Once the storm had completely subsided, Sister Feng couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, inwardly marveling at Gu Yu's contribution.

The thought that even the Embroidered Uniform Guard had been mobilized filled her with excitement and curiosity. After all, for families like theirs, the Five Cities Garrison Command and the Capital Garrison Command were nothing more than troublemakers, but getting involved with the Embroidered Uniform Guard was a serious matter!

Now that Gu Yu actually knows such a person, Sister Feng's mind was filled with thoughts of this matter, racking her brains to think of what benefits she could gain.

Chapter One: My biological brother? I'm more like a lover!

Regardless of the commotion at the Jia family's residence, Gu Yu boarded the ship and headed straight for Yangzhou without stopping.

He had received news in the past few days that Lin Ruhai was still working in the Salt Administration Office, but the Eighth Prince had specially come from Suzhou and was pestering him every day, causing him a great deal of trouble.

On July 27th, Gu Yu finally arrived at the dock. As soon as he got off the ship, he saw a carriage parked in a familiar spot, just like when he first came to Yangzhou.

Gu Yu didn't know how long Lin Ruhai had been waiting there, so she didn't dare to delay and quickly walked over. Looking at Lin Ruhai coming out of the sedan chair, she was filled with mixed feelings.

Compared to six months ago, thanks to Sun Lingxu's care, Lin Ruhai didn't continue to lose weight and still looked like a slender scholar. However, in front of his close friend, the fatigue in his eyes was obvious and undisguised.

Looking at Gu Yu, who came over to bow respectfully, Lin Ruhai smiled faintly, personally helped him up, and after observing him for a moment, spoke:

"You've grown taller again..."

Gu Yu didn't know how to respond, so she could only give a silly smile and then help Lin Ruhai into the car.

How is Yu'er doing lately?

The warm air inside the car made her want to relax, but then Lin Ruhai's words immediately made Gu Yu tense up again. After thinking for a moment, she replied tactfully:

“My cousin has been very happy these days, and she is in good health. The only thing is that she often misses her uncle, but she calms down after a while. I don’t think it will upset her.”

Is this what I'm asking?

Lin Ruhai glanced at the slippery fellow and said with a half-smile:

“It seems my nephew has made great progress... He can really be of great help to me. I won’t hold a welcome dinner for you later. When the Eighth Prince arrives, I will introduce you to him. The matter in the letter is now in your hands.”

Is this the legendary "wanting the horse to run but not wanting it to eat grass"? Not even giving it a meal is going too far!

Gu Yu opened her mouth, but then suddenly remembered that she seemed to have already eaten a lot of grass from his daughter's body. Suddenly, it made sense to her, so she could only nod silently.

"When we get back, I'll have to ask my sister for the money again..."

Seeing that Gu Yu was so honest, Lin Ruhai chuckled to himself, but he felt that something was not quite right. He shook his head and casually chatted with him to find out about his precious daughter's recent situation.

After getting out of the carriage and entering the mansion, Lin Ruhai pointed towards the back courtyard and said:

"The same arrangement as before. Don't rest now, just sit and endure it, and go to sleep at night."

Gu Yu nodded indifferently. Anyway, he didn't need to do anything, so he could just close his eyes and rest.

"Should we bring in those accountants under my nephew's command?"

"No rush, come with me to meet the Eighth Prince first."

Looking at the steward walking towards him with a bitter face not far away, Lin Ruhai sighed softly, already guessing what was going on, and waved his hand to signal Gu Yu to come directly with him.

"Is this eighth prince really that powerful...?"

Gu Yu secretly observed Lin Ruhai's expression. In his memory, Lin Ruhai had never been this troubled when he went to the capital to meet the emperor a while ago.

What used to take a long time to walk now only takes a few steps. Looking at the eaves bells in the distance, which were somewhat blurry compared to her memory, Gu Yu inexplicably thought of the line "All romance is swept away by wind and rain," and her pace slowed down a bit.

Lin Ruhai glanced sideways, then silently slowed his pace. Only after they had passed this section of road and reached the side gate did the two of them recover.

Before even entering, Gu Yu heard a disgruntled voice coming from inside:

"Why hasn't Lord Lin arrived yet? I thought he was a good official, which is why I came all the way from Suzhou to see him. Now, after all this time, all he does is make excuses. Does he think I'm easy to bully?"

"this…"

"Your Highness, please calm your anger. This old minister was busy and failed to arrive in time. I hope Your Highness will forgive me."

Lin Ruhai turned around, casually cupped his hands in greeting, and then gestured for Gu Yu to come forward and pay his respects.

Jiang Zhi was already used to Lin Ruhai's unyielding attitude, and quickly put the matter aside. Suddenly, he saw Gu Yu approaching, and his eyes lit up. He stood up from his chair and glared at Gu Yu menacingly.

Gu Yu had just raised her head when she saw the Eighth Prince staring intently at her. She was taken aback for a moment, then heard the other man coldly snort:

"You're fairly good-looking... but if you're a scheming womanizer, I'll be the first to chop you up!"

"?"

Gu Yu looked completely bewildered. This seemed to be their first meeting. Was this kind of aggressive behavior really appropriate?

Although I know that the Eighth Prince is Mengzhi's older brother, Mengzhi already has three older brothers. Are they all like you?

However, given the vast difference in their social statuses, Gu Yu couldn't gauge Jiang Zhi's temperament, so she decided to hold back for now. She silently cupped her hands in greeting, then stepped back a few paces and stood aside.

Seeing that Gu Yu didn't respond at all, Jiang Zhi pouted and turned to Lin Ruhai to complain:

"Is everyone in Lord Lin's household a block of wood? What's the point of having them all so serious and unsmiling? It's infuriating to look at them!"

Lin Ruhai remained seated, not even lifting his eyelids. He simply took the account book handed to him by the old steward beside him, then passed it to Gu Yu, nodding at him and saying:

"Take a look and see if there are any flaws?"

Gu Yu picked up the account book, sat down, spread it on the table, and flipped through it. He discovered that it was a rubbing from the Changshu County government office, and his heart skipped a beat.

Changshu County is now one of the four major counties in Suzhou. The fact that the authorities are now investigating Changshu's accounts suggests that the situation in Suzhou as a whole is not optimistic.

But all crows are black, isn't the case everywhere? They can only blame themselves for falling into the hands of the Eighth Prince.

After quickly doing some mental arithmetic on the first few pages and flipping through the pages again, Gu Yu thought for a moment, then looked up and said:

"This ledger was specially made, and there shouldn't be any mistakes no matter how you calculate it. It's probably a missing ledger."

Lin Ruhai nodded slightly upon hearing this. He had long anticipated this situation, after all, those who were so stupid as not to even bother with falsifying accounts or to do so carelessly would never be able to sit in that position.

"Looks like we still need to catch the thieves with the stolen goods? I told you long ago, we should lead the soldiers in and ransack the house. We're not worried about not having evidence!"

Gu Yu, who wasn't even a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), couldn't help but grin at the stupidity of the words. He realized that the Eighth Prince seemed to have some serious illness, so he confiscated the property without any evidence. Did he really think his father's chair was too sturdy?

"It's alright. Changshu County is a large county, so it's only right to be careful. I also have account books from other county governments here, so it's impossible to find anything wrong with everything."

Lin Ruhai put away the ledger, and the steward replaced it with another one, but it was from a small county he had never heard of.

"Jiangyin County?"

Gu Yu took it, opened it, and glanced at it. As expected, it was different from Changshu. There was no strange rule that the accounts would be balanced within a few pages. He patiently dipped his finger in tea and gestured while flipping through the pages.

Jiang Zhiben was still lazily leaning back in his chair when he saw that Gu Yu was still calculating. He straightened up and looked at Gu Yu's gestures with great interest, but after looking at them for a long time, he still couldn't figure out what those strange symbols were.

"Could it be some closely guarded secret?"

After watching Gu Yu's swift and skillful movements for a while, Jiang Zhi's curiosity, which had just been rising, suddenly dissipated. He went back to his usual listless self, tilting his head and waiting with Lin Ruhai for Gu Yu to finish calculating.

Chapter Two: This is a typical example of a tyrannical ruler.

After turning the last page of the ledger, Gu Yu closed the teacup lid, wiped the water stains off the table, and looked at Lin Ruhai, who was staring at her, with a furrowed brow.

"The difference in cash alone is more than two thousand taels, and the categories of grain and land tax are even more of a mess. If we were to investigate further, the difference would probably double."

"Oh? Changshu alone has several thousand taels of unpaid debts every year, and that's after the floods of the past two years. If it were a good year, wouldn't it be even more?!"

Jiang Zhi stood up in shock. Although he was considered a favorite and had a grand lifestyle, he didn't usually have much to spend. Hearing that a small county could leak so much silver in a year inevitably ignited a surge of anger in him.

"These corrupt officials! How dare they be so greedy!"

His annual allowance isn't even this much!

"Your Highness, please don't be angry. Jiangnan is the most prosperous place in the world, which is why there are so many of them. And since they are colluding with each other, they are naturally bolder."

Lin Ruhai remained calm and then said to Gu Yu:

"I have other important matters to attend to, so Your Highness, please allow my nephew to receive you. I hope Your Highness will forgive my negligence."

Before Gu Yu could react, Lin Ruhai strode out, and looking at his back, Gu Yu felt a sense of relief.

"..."

Jiang Zhi was already used to Lin Ruhai's disdain for him, and turned to stare at Gu Yu without any embarrassment. Without Lin Ruhai in front of him, he seemed to have released his true nature, no longer caring about etiquette or rules. He sat down casually and touched his chin with ill intent.

"I heard that Lord Lin's daughter and you two grew up together?"

Gu Yu ignored him and poured himself a cup of tea. After so long, he had figured out that the Eighth Prince was a real character, and being around him gave him a strange sense of ease.

Seeing that Gu Yu remained silent, Jiang Zhi snorted and decided to cut to the chase: