The predecessor who was scumbag by me was the emperor

When Shen Jia woke up the next day, she felt more energetic. The traditional Chinese medicine took effect slowly, but it was not a big problem if it was right.

The entourage of the Qin Zhangyuan invited him over, saying that the prefect Yao had come early in the morning and was about to wait for Shen Jia to come over to have breakfast together.

When Shen Jia passed by, she saw Qin Zhanyuan and Yao Zhifu having a very happy conversation, they were about the same age, and the Yao family was a nobleman in Chang'an, presumably the two had contacts before.

Seeing Shen Jia coming in, Prefect Yao looked at him without any concealment, Qin Zhangyuan smiled and introduced to him: "Zi Ran, this is this year's number one scholar, he is only 20 years old, he can write good poems Good writing and proficient in arithmetic, he is really a rare all-rounder."

Ziran is Yao Qiran's word, he smiled appreciatively, and praised: "Master Shen is indeed a rare young talent, my nephew Yao Zhan once mentioned Master Shen in a letter, saying that Master Shen has won the trust of the emperor, miss us At his age, he didn't even win a Jinshi."

When Shen Jia heard him mention Yao Zhan, his eyes flickered. He bowed to the two adults, and then said: "Shen Jia still has a lot to learn, not to be praised by the adults."

Knowing that the imperial envoy was going to inspect, Yao Zhan must have written a letter to his uncle in advance. I don't know if Yao Zhan disclosed his relationship with Zhao Zhang to Yao Zhifu, but Shen Jia felt that Yao Zhan should not have the guts.

But for a shrewd person like Yao Zhifu, as long as Yao Zhan reveals a little clue, he can guess one or two.

Daming Mansion is the focus of their trip. This is something that even the Qin Zhangyuan didn’t know about. Among the prefectures he found the problem when doing the data, Daming Mansion had the biggest difference. He and Zhao Zhang also communicated in private. This time The main thing he wanted to investigate was the Daming Mansion.

The Yao family is the emperor's confidantes, but people's hearts will change. Because of Conglong Zhigong, the Yao family has been thriving in the past few years, and the position is high, and people's ambitions may also be fed. It is not surprising that they will do something illegal .

Of course, Shen Jia didn't convict the prefect Yao right now, she had to investigate to find out.

Because of the relationship between the Qin Zhangyuan, the relationship between the two sides is much easier. It can be seen that Yao Qiran is not nervous at all. Not only does he eat three meals with them, but he doesn't shy away from them even on official business. If they want to check the accounts, they will be taken to the warehouse to pick up the account books. , as if not afraid of them finding out the problem.

After reading the accounts for two days, Shen Jia knew why the magistrate Yao was so relaxed. The account books of the Daming Mansion were perfect. Not only did the general ledger and ledger match up, but every expenditure seemed reasonable. There is a separate ledger for food, and each expenditure has five signatures, which is easy to trace.

Shen Jia was a little puzzled, since Daming Mansion's accounts were so perfect, why did the data in the household department let him see the problem?Did they take the wrong number when they took it?

Shen Jiayou copied the important data and took it out late at night to check it with the account books he had read today. After half a night of calculations, he finally figured out where the difference was.

He Yan brought him a midnight snack, and asked in a low voice, "Master, there are people walking around outside, it feels like they are spying on us."

Shen Jia put down her pen, stretched her waist, shook her head and said, "It might not be surveillance, we are outsiders after all, it doesn't matter if the prefect Yao is cautious, maybe it's just the servants in charge of guarding our courtyards."

He Yan scratched his head, pouted, and said, "I'm the one who can't be bothered. Prefect Yao seems to be a kind person. He looks a lot like Commander Yao."

The Yao family members all have square faces with Chinese characters, and they look very simple and honest. This kind of people take advantage of it, and generally bad things are not easy to think of them. In addition, Yao Zhan is familiar to them, so he is indeed a simple and honest person. My second uncle, Shen Jia would definitely not speculate on him with the greatest malice.

"The accounts have been calculated clearly. The discrepancy at the beginning was due to omissions in the account book. The figures are exactly the same. It seems that it is not a problem with the Daming Mansion, but a miscalculation during the data reporting process."

He Yan grew up with Shen Jia and knows how to count. He is in charge of the Shen family's accounts, so he nodded and said: "With such a large amount of data, it is understandable that there will be mistakes. Don't you have to stay in Daming Mansion for too long?"

Shen Jia said: "I heard from Qin Zhangyuan that he wants to spend the new year in Daming Mansion before leaving, and it will only be ten days. Daming Mansion is going north, and it is freezing cold. If you are delayed on the way, this year will be over. It's too miserable, not bad these days."

He Yan breathed a sigh of relief, "That's great, this is the second year we have passed since we left home. Last year you were busy preparing for the exam, so you didn't have a good year. This year, you have been an official, but this year is still not good. , that is too tragic."

Shen Jia knocked him on the head with the account book, and scolded with a smile: "I don't feel miserable, but you can't bear this suffering, right? I really spoiled you by this young master. You can see who's servant can be like you If you're so lazy, hurry up and learn from Qin Tong, if you can be half as capable as him, I won't have to worry about going out in the future."

He Yan hugged his head and dodged it, and said awkwardly: "Master, I am still young, I am 20 years younger than Uncle Qin, and I am also very capable. Didn't I arrange it for the young master when we went all the way to Chang'an?" ?"

Shen Jia teased him: "Yes, it would be even better if I didn't lose my wallet twice, get on the wrong boat once, and be cheated a few times."

He Yan hurriedly packed up his things and left, leaving behind a sentence: "Master, rest early." Then he ran away with the wind on his feet.

Shen Jia packed up the ledger and his draft paper, then turned off the lights and went to sleep.

When it was completely quiet here, the people outside the courtyard quietly left and entered the study in the main courtyard.

In the next few days, Shen Jia stopped checking the accounts so hard, and followed Qin Zhangyuan to look around. The Daming Mansion is a big city, much more prosperous than the prefectures and counties passing by before, and the shops on the street are very busy as New Year's Eve approaches. Well, there are also a lot of shopkeepers traveling all over the world, and the taste of the new year is very strong.

What Shen Jia likes most in Dajin is the Chinese New Year. It is an atmosphere that was not there in the previous life. Everyone tries their best to enjoy this New Year, even if they don't have much money and can't buy many things.

Qin Zhangyuan was also infected by the atmosphere, and said with a smile: "Let's go, let's go and see if there are any good things. It's a good idea to send them back after buying them. Besides, we are in the Daming Mansion for the New Year, and we have to prepare some for the mansion. Gift."

Shen Jia agreed, he really missed Zhao Zhang, since he can't go back, then give him a New Year gift.

The two walked along the busiest commercial street. They first bought a new set of clothes for themselves and their entourage to wear during the New Year, and then picked out a few bolts of good-quality cloth. The court picks are all the colors that women would wear.

Shen Jia observed carefully that the gifts prepared by Qin Zhangyuan are not only for their children, but also for their wives. These days, there are very few men who buy gifts for their wives. Qin Zhangyuan should be regarded as a caring family. good man.

Especially when he heard that when Lord Qin's daughter asked to leave the palace, Lord Qin agreed without much hesitation. He has never regretted it in the end, and Shen Jia believes that he is a good father who can do this for his children.

When visiting the jewelry store, Qin Zhangyuan was hesitant to enter. Generally, this kind of place is for entertaining female relatives, and a big man always feels embarrassed to break in. It was Shen Jia who saw his intention and walked in on his own initiative.

There are men and women in the shop. Seeing Shen Jia coming in, a male waiter immediately came up to him, "Excuse me, what do you want to buy? We have all kinds of beautiful jewelry in Linglong Pavilion, and it's great for giving away for yourself." .”

Shen Jia didn't want to buy it at first, but seeing that Qin Zongyuan had already picked it up on the shelves, he also went to the men's jewelry shelf to look, and then he fell in love with a jade finger ring at a glance.

He knew that Zhao Zhang had the habit of wearing a finger ring. When the two of them were in a strong relationship, Shen Jia gave him a ring. Because it was made of gold, Zhao Zhang hated it, but Shen Jia shared his own ring. , Said to be a couple model, and Zhao Zhang has been wearing it since then.

Until they parted and reunited, both of them lost that ring on their fingers, his one was thrown into the river by him, and Zhao Zhang's one must also be gone.

There were too many customers in the store, and the staff were too busy. Seeing that Qin Zhangyuan had selected several women's jewelry, he knew that this was a big customer, so he left Shen Jia to serve Qin Zhangyuan.

Shen Jia was not in a hurry, and walked over to help the Qin Zhangyuan refer. The jewelry of this era is actually not very gorgeous, and gold can't even reach a thousand pure gold. It looks a little dull, and the slightly more delicate styles are extremely expensive treasures. , but it also has the advantage that there are no fakes, especially those gems and pearls, and the pure natural ones are beautiful.

Qin Zhangyuan originally wanted to give a copy to every female family member in the family, but when he asked the price, he found that he couldn't afford these at all, so he had to choose a few pairs of earrings, and small things like rings.

Shen Jia picked three thin gold bracelets from the counter. The bracelets were dressed in agate and turquoise. They looked fresh and lovely, and they were very suitable for young girls. They recommended them to him, "What do you think of this, master? The price is moderate, and the price is moderate. The kids will definitely love it."

Qin Zhangyuan picked it up and looked at it, then asked the price, and nodded in satisfaction, "It's still you young people who have vision."

The guy didn't expect that this very rich-looking gentleman would only buy such a few things, and his complexion turned ugly immediately, and his attitude was not as enthusiastic as before.

"The master just fell in love with these three bracelets and those two pairs of earrings, didn't he?" The clerk forced a smile and took him to pay the bill, but when it was time to pay, Qin Zhangyuan found that he didn't bring out his purse.

As an attendant, Qin Tong also brought money, but only a small amount of money. Large sums of money such as buying jewelry were kept by Qin Zhangyuan himself.

Qin Zhangyuan was in a dilemma immediately, and asked the guy: "Can you send the things to the magistrate's office? I will pay when the time comes."

The guy's face turned dark, the shopkeeper's business was just right, and he waved his hand impatiently when he met someone like this: "Let's go, why don't you buy jewelry if you don't have money? Why don't you tell us to send it to the palace? Are you the emperor himself?"

Shen Jia's face darkened when she heard this, "The most important thing in doing business is to make money in harmony, and it is inconvenient for anyone to go out. Since the shopkeeper refuses to pay on credit, it's fine to just say so, why insult people like this?"

"I don't have time to argue with you. Our Linglong Pavilion is the leading jewelry store in Daming Mansion. How have we ever done anything to deceive customers? But everyone in Daming Mansion knows that we don't pay on credit. Since the two masters don't bring money, please Go out and bring it back next time." When the shopkeeper said this, he didn't even lift his head, and the clerk at the side also mocked: "Do you two masters really not know or not? Our Linglong Pavilion is the dowry of the magistrate's wife Shop, if you ask us to go to the magistrate's office to ask for money, doesn't that mean you ask us to ask the owner for money? What if you are not a liar?"

Shen Jia really didn't expect such a coincidence, it seems that there is a reason why the business of this shop is so good, just for the magistrate's face, rich people will come here to patronize.

But he didn't want to show the prefect Yao's face, so he said with a smile, "In that case, let's change to another one." Shen Jia took out her purse, opened it, took out a stack of bank notes, and randomly picked out a few to hand over. To Qin Zhangyuan, "Master, use mine first, just go back and return it to me. It's not like we can't afford it, so why bother to suffer here."

The purse on Shen Jia's body was given to him by Zhao Zhang in private, and I don't know what Zhao Zhang thought, but he always felt that he would not have enough food and clothes to keep warm, so he had to stuff some valuable things for him from time to time, and sometimes he would just give it to him directly. Real money, knowing that he was going out this time, he even prepared a silver ticket of 1 taels. When Shen Jia found this in the suitcase, she was so frightened that she didn't dare to let the suitcase out of her sight all night.

Qin Zhanyuan was extremely embarrassed. In Chang'an, he was a celebrity when he went out. The shopkeepers of all major shops knew him. Occasionally, he would directly pay on credit if he didn't bring enough money. Unexpectedly, when he came to another place, his face would be useless. .

He sighed, took Shen Jia's banknote, and agreed, "In this case, let's change to another one and not disturb the shopkeeper's business."

The shopkeeper and the clerk were already stunned. The stack of banknotes that Shen Jia pulled out was at least twenty. They saw so many banknotes like this that they could tell at a glance that they were 100 taels. Ordinary people go shopping If you can bring 100 taels, you are considered a big customer, but Shen Jia has a stack of 100 taels.

Where did this rich man come from? Really... The shopkeeper glanced at the thick cotton coat on Shen Jia's body, and felt that he was about to go blind.

The shopkeeper rushed out to stop them, bowing his knees and said: "Masters, it's a villain who can't see Mount Tai. Please go back and take a look, gentlemen. The jewelry just now will be considered as a gift for you."

"No need, my lord doesn't think those kinds of jewelry are too good-looking, so let's leave it at that." After Shen Jia finished speaking, she walked away with her head held high, and the Qin Zhangyuan even disdained talking to such a villain.

The shopkeeper and his assistants chased after the shop entrance, and before they got close to Shen Jia, they were stopped by two vicious guards. Only then did the shopkeeper realize that these two had gone out with a dozen guards, but they hadn't entered the door before. , he didn't find out.

People who can take so many guards out must be either rich or expensive, and the shopkeeper has been in the Daming Mansion for decades, but he has never seen these two. They must be from other places. Such a noble person is a big customer, but because of him In one sentence, he lost a large order of business, and the shopkeeper's intestines were green with regret.

On the second floor of Linglong Pavilion, two young girls watched Shen Jia leave, their faces were blushing, they had been stunned, and it took a long time to wake up.

"Sister... who is that son? When did our Daming Mansion produce such a handsome young man?"

"Bah bah, how could all of us girls know a gentleman? If you want to know, my sister will ask someone to find out for you."

The younger sister pushed her elder sister and joked: "It's as if my sister is not moved. Isn't mother looking at people for my sister? I think the people she likes are far inferior to the young man just now. Seeing him make such a move." Dafang knew that his family was quite rich, and he was dressed so plainly, which showed that he was a low-key and introverted person. Looking at his respect for the old man, he must have good character. Such a family is fine even if the family background is poor. "

The elder sister was taken into consideration, her pretty face blushed, she bit her lip and explained to the big maid next to her, and then led them downstairs.

The shopkeeper was still annoyed at the loss of two big customers. When he saw his two young ladies coming down, he hurriedly greeted them and asked obsequiously: "Miss and Miss, do you have any jewelry you fancy? I'll pack it for you two if you like it." Send it to the mansion."

The eldest lady snorted coldly, and accused: "No need, this is how the shopkeeper usually treats customers? People who don't understand still think that our Yao's shop is a big bully. No wonder we often hear some gossip. , the shopkeeper might as well replace it with a new person.”

As soon as the shopkeeper heard it, he knew that what happened just now was seen by the two young ladies. The second young lady didn't say anything, she was a concubine after all, but the young lady was the eldest daughter of the Yao family, so the wife would definitely listen to what she said.

The shopkeeper was very anxious now, he knelt down and begged for mercy, Miss Yao saw that the customers in the store were pointing at them, she bit her lip and ran away, it was really embarrassing.

After Shen Jia and the others went out, they went to the next jewelry store. From Shen Jia's point of view, the products in this store with much less traffic were not worse than Linglong Pavilion, and the prices were much cheaper. It can be seen that the good business of Linglong Pavilion is indeed moist.

Shen Jia helped Qin Zhangyuan choose a few small ones, all of which were elegant and lovely. Qin Zhangyuan was also very satisfied, paid the money, and said to Shen Jia: "I will return the money to you when I get back."

Shen Jia didn't refuse either, although he wanted to send Qin Zhangyuan to him, but he knew that a refined scholar like Qin Zhangyuan would not want to owe money to others.

Qin Zhangyuan had also heard about Shen Jia's background before. He was the son of a squire in Baoning Mansion of Shu Prefecture. He came from a small family. He never expected such a wealth of money.

He didn't think that Shen Jia's money came from being corrupted by an official. How long has he been an official?In the Qingshui yamen like the Imperial Academy, they couldn’t receive gifts. Later, they entered the household department. I heard that they didn’t even gain real power at first. But they had agreed in private that they would not accept anything, even if Shen Jia accepted it, she would not dare to show it in front of her.

In fact, Shen Jia was not willing to use the money Zhao Zhang gave him. He divided the 1 taels of banknotes into five parts and put them in different places on his body. of silver.

It can be seen that this person still has to live for face.

After shopping around for a long time, Shen Jia and the others went back with big bags and small bags. They came across a carriage outside the government office. From the decoration, they knew that it was a female family member. Walk.

They have been at Yao's house for a few days, but they have been busy with business for the past few days, and it was Yao Zhifu who entertained them, and they have never seen any of the female family members in the backyard.

Suddenly there was a delicate voice from inside the carriage, "Stop, Miss Ben's hairpin is lost, hurry up and see if she lost it on the road?"

The coachman stopped in a hurry, and soon, two servant girls jumped out of the car, searching the ground with their eyes, but from the corner of their eyes, they glanced at the place where Shen Jia was standing, and said to the lady in the car: "Miss, I didn't see your hairpin, I don't know Did it fall on the way?"

"How good is this? It's a gift from my father. It's very meaningful. No, I'll come down and look for it." The curtain of the carriage was lifted, and a girl in a pink bikini jumped out of the carriage, seemingly unexpectedly. There was still a group of people standing by the side of the road, who were so frightened that they covered their faces with their sleeves and turned their backs.

Qin Zhangyuan said to Shen Jia: "Since they have something to do, let's go in first."

Shen Jia also agreed, and led the people into the mansion. Miss Yao turned around and stared at Shen Jia's back obsessively. As I said, there are imperial envoys from the imperial court. I didn't expect such a young and handsome imperial envoy, and I don't know if he has a family.

On the carriage, Second Miss Yao saw Eldest Sister's obsessed eyes, and a sneer sneered at the corner of her mouth. Her maid was also in the carriage, and whispered, "Miss, you don't mean to make Eldest Miss and that..."

"It's a good idea. I heard that my mother is already planning to appoint the eldest grandson of the General Secretary's family for her. The family is right. As long as my father nods, I will start the ceremony. Such a good marriage, why don't she take advantage of me?" ?”

"But this marriage was decided by Mrs. Madam, so what if Missy doesn't agree?"

"What if she climbed up to this imperial envoy? Seeing that this adult is almost twenty years old, he must have a family already at home. If she relies on him, it is impossible for her father to marry a broken flower and a willow to Tong The political secretary, right? I’m begging at that time, maybe there’s still a chance.”

Seeing that Eldest Miss Yao finally regained her senses outside, Second Miss gave the servant girl a warning look, lowered the curtain, and the smile on her face became timid and shy.

After Shen Jia and the others went back to their room, they first tidied up the things they bought, packed up the things that should be sent back, and put them away in different categories. It is suitable for their status, and it is not good to give it expensive.

Before they could send out the presents, they received a wave of presents first. Qin Zhangyuan ordered his attendants to open the gift boxes in public, keep the suitable ones, and return the unsuitable ones in person. There is no reason to talk about it. They are imperial envoys, accepting heavy gifts is equivalent to accepting bribes, and they should be impeached by the censor if they spread the word.

Miss Yao never forgot about Shen Jia after she went back, first she sent her personal servant girl to the front yard to inquire about the news, and when she learned that Shen Jia was a fifth-rank doctor in the household department, or the number one scholar, she felt as beautiful as if she had eaten honey.

Second Miss Yao mentioned Shen Jia in front of her from time to time, all of which were good words of praise, and said shyly: "If you can marry such a handsome man, this life will be worth it."

Miss Yao glared at her, as if she wanted to eat people, and scolded bitterly: "Who do you think you are? Don't even look at your own identity. Master Shen is also something you can imagine?"

Miss Yao's eyes turned red, and she said aggrievedly: "Sister, I don't mean anything else, it's just... just..., our marriage, the order of our parents, the words of the matchmaker, I can't choose by myself, my sister is just talking nonsense. That’s all, I know that my status is not as valuable as my sister’s, so the people my mother shows my sister to are high-ranking court officials, and I heard that they are the envoys of the General Secretary, who are in line with our family, and my sister can’t even envy her.”

Second Miss Yao heard this news accidentally from Mrs. Yao's personal nurse, and it happened to stimulate Miss Yao.

Sure enough, when she heard that her mother was going to choose a candidate for herself, Miss Yao became anxious, and left Miss Second to go find her mother.

Second Miss Yao looked at her going back and lowered her head and laughed, thinking to herself: such an impatient and stupid woman, why should she marry better than her?