Red Mansion and Crimson Pearl

Chapter 153 3 Jinshi

The speed at which Prince Beijing left the capital was extremely impressive!

He received the imperial edict on the first day, went to Taiji Palace to bid farewell on the second day, and on the third day he took the first batch of disaster relief funds allocated by the Ministry of Revenue, and sailed down the canal on the two-story ship of Prince Beijing's Palace.

During such a tense day, he even asked the chief secretary of the palace to spread the news, warmly inviting the new scholars: those who were about to take up office, those who were returning to their hometown to worship their ancestors, and those who were waiting for a vacancy to travel, could all go with him!

He covers the travel expenses, food and accommodation!

You can also "talk to each other" to increase your knowledge, which can not only relieve the loneliness of the journey, but also benefit you, killing two birds with one stone!

There were indeed those who had obtained official positions in counties along the way and who wanted to save trouble and money, as well as those who were dissatisfied with their official positions and wanted to take the opportunity to attach themselves to others. They flocked to them like flies to a piece of stench.

Prince Beijing was very proud and set off with a boat full of more than a dozen Jinshi.

After three or five days, I discovered two very interesting ones.

One of them was Cao Yu, the half-brother of Cao Feng, the official of the Ministry of Personnel. He took the exam three times and only got the last place in the second class. The other one was a Jinshi from Ezhou, named Ouyang Bao, who ranked only one place higher than Cao Yu.

Cao Yu's name sounds similar to Prince Yu's, and he has been complaining for three years because of this one reason. Ouyang Bao is a man who only knows how to cling to his mother and wants to work near his hometown. He is very unhappy about being assigned the job of Jiangnan County Lieutenant.

But after two or three times of enjoying the river breeze, drinking wine under the moon, and chatting, the two of them became fans of Prince Beijing and were willing to confide in him everything.

Only the chief official of Prince Beijing's Palace felt it was a pity: "It would have been better if we had left ten days later."

"The second young lady of the Rong Mansion is nicknamed Er Mutou. She won't even utter a cry even if she is stabbed with ten needles. Even if she gets married, what good will it do to take her and her husband all the way south?

"I can neither control the Rong Mansion, nor restrain the Imperial Concubine, nor win over the newly-appointed Jinshi. The loss outweighs the gain. It's just right that I missed it.

"Otherwise, I have to take the young couple to Jinling to see Jia Zhen, so as not to be impolite." Prince Beijing was very disdainful and did not want to waste his energy.

At the same time, Wang Xifeng came to see Daiyu.

"Everything else about my second sister's marriage has been settled. I originally wanted to hold it at home, move the Grand View Garden to the outer courtyard, and keep it quiet.

"Who knew this son-in-law was so stubborn, insisting that this would be like marrying into the wife's family. He refused. The eldest and second masters took turns to persuade him, but it was no use.

"I also thought of building a small courtyard outside. I also built it. But then, someone told my son-in-law that it was Zhou Rui's house..."

Wang Xifeng looked troubled.

Lin Daiyu was puzzled: "Sister Feng! Second Brother Lian is so capable, but he gave a deadline of half a month for the marriage! It didn't take Brother Zhen that long to decorate Xiaohuazhi Lane!

"Now, spend a few hundred taels to buy a new courtyard as a dowry for the second sister. When they return to Beijing in the future, they will have a place to stay. Buying a new son-in-law as a token of gratitude, isn't that good? Why do you want to save even these few silvers?"

Wang Xifeng sighed, "I do want to, but a clever wife can't make porridge without rice. There are only three thousand silver coins in the treasury, and the master wants to look good, so he insists on a dowry of two thousand silver coins.

"Now there is only one thousand taels left. I have to prepare dowry, buy headgear, and hold a wedding banquet. Everything needs money. The eldest master is angry and wants the son-in-law to pay a betrothal gift of one or two thousand..."

Lin Daiyu was so angry that she sneered, "Ha! If we weren't from a poor family and the marriage was not granted by the imperial decree, with the reputation of the Rong Mansion, which scholar with a bright future would be willing to marry into the family?

"He only has this one daughter after all, and the emperor has to save his face. Who is he trying to impress by being so stingy? Is he holding a grudge against the emperor or is he trying to intimidate the new son-in-law so that he won't have any contact with her forever?"

Wang Xifeng was told what Jia She was thinking, and could only sigh: "Sister, don't be angry..."

"How can I not be angry?" Lin Daiyu felt the blue veins on her forehead twitching.

To the outside world, this marriage could be said to be requested by Jia Yuanchun, or it could be said that the emperor was giving honor to the Rongguo Mansion, but deep down, it was the emperor giving himself face.

It was actually ruined like this!

Lin Daiyu's face turned cold: "I have given the betrothal gift for the new son-in-law! The new son-in-law will use my front yard as the courtyard for the wedding! The new son-in-law will take my second sister to take up his post and will also leave from here!

"My second sister's dowry has been brought here! No matter who you send, bring the three thousand taels to me in full!

"If there's a penny missing, I'll ask Supervisor Tao to go to the main room with me and have a good talk with my uncle!"

Eyebrows raised: "Show him away!"

He didn't even give Wang Xifeng a chance to speak and kicked her out directly.

Wang Xifeng left the house in a huff. Before she even walked out of the second door, she saw Qingwen, Xiaohong and Xueyan passing by her with their skirts lifted up, and then ran off in three different directions!

"He must be rushing to arrange the second girl's wedding."

Holding Ping'er's shoulders with regret, Wang Xifeng smiled self-deprecatingly, "In this family, the only one whose heart is still in her chest is Sister Lin."

Ping Er hesitated for a moment and whispered, "To be honest, you shouldn't have let the eldest and second masters quarrel over this matter. The eldest wife was so angry that she went to complain to the old lady.

"Even though we are bothering Miss Lin now, everything can be solved easily. But after Miss Lin has finished with the matter of the fourth lady, do you think she will still take care of our family?"

Wang Xifeng glanced at her, smiled, patted her hands, and said softly, "How could I not know this?!

"Second Miss, it's best for you to accept Miss Lin's kindness instead of the Rongguo Mansion's kindness. In the future, it will be said that the new son-in-law also received help from Miss Lin.

"What his father-in-law did is bullshit!

“That’s the best way!”

He smiled and walked back home staggeringly.

Ping'er couldn't figure it out, so she had to lower her head.

When Lin Daiyu's words were reported, Grandmother Jia was naturally unhappy. She called Jia She and asked Wang Xifeng to repeat her words in front of her, and then asked him:

"Is our family really that poor? Then tell me, don't complain about being poor to Miss Lin!

"Who are you talking to, the second girl, the queen, or the emperor? I thought you understood something, why are you confused again?"

Jia She was silent.

Yingchun was crying in the room and couldn't even lift her head. No matter how Siqi tried to persuade her, she couldn't stop crying. She was so angry that she had a headache.

After leaving the house, he saw Yingchun's wet nurse Wang Mama eating melon seeds and gossiping with her daughter-in-law. He couldn't help but get angry, sneered, and immediately ordered:

"Come on, invite them to the madam's place!"

Mrs. Xing was already furious and crying every day, always saying that it was my poor daughter. When she heard about this, she finally had a place to vent her anger.

They searched the house from head to toe and found several pawn tickets, all of which were items on the register in Yingchun's room.

There was even a silk and gold phoenix necklace that all three sisters owned, which she also pawned for gambling money.

As for her son and daughter-in-law, they also acted recklessly in their respective businesses by relying on the fact that they were Yingchun's brother and sister-in-law.

Mrs. Xing was furious. She confiscated the whole family and sold off all their belongings. She got a total of five or six hundred silver coins, which she stuffed into Yingchun's pockets as a private stash. "Don't bother with your bastard father! I'll take care of it for you!"