[Red Chamber] Madam's wishes come true

Tanchun was the most understanding among the girls. She noticed the eyes of the two sisters and couldn't help sighing: "But what if we don't pay? We will live at home for many years, male elders No, although the old lady and the others have a dowry, they also spent a lot of money in the process of buying a yard and redeeming some servant girls."

This is the first time Lin Kou heard about it: "The Jia family has been ransacked, and it's hard to protect themselves. Why did you redeem the maid? How much?"

Tanchun glanced at Lin Kou and sighed: "The old lady and the big maids around Baoyu have basically been redeemed. We also left two maids by our side, as well as the woman who cooks and sweeps. A servant boy, a gardener tending a flower garden..."

Tanchun Xu had complained about this for a long time, and said a series of servants.

"But, what can we do?" Tanchun laughed at himself, "The old lady never thought of buying so many servants, but soon we discovered that, apart from being able to read and write, all of us are not working hard. , Waste that does not distinguish between grains and grains, people who do not serve them cannot live at all."

This statement is somewhat absolute.

The pampered masters of Ruorongguo Mansion really don't have any money left, and they will understand what they should understand sooner or later.

But the problem is, they didn't get there.

The old lady and others still have a lot of dowry in their hands. She doesn't want her to be miserable in her old age, and she is willing to take out the dowry to enjoy it. Can these juniors stop it?

Lin Kou nodded and didn't say much.

Seeing that her sister always reacted like this, Daiyu curled her lips and didn't say anything more.

After all, she didn't know much about the foreign ancestor's family.

Tanchun breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, Baochai lived in the Rongguo Mansion for a while, and she knew the situation of the Jia family better than Lin Kou and Daiyu: "Then you girls shouldn't be allowed to use the money you earned from your own house to fill the public house. Cousin and Baoyu are doing well? Baoyu never went to school, and Cousin Lian has nothing to do, so why don’t you ask them to go out and make money? It’s fine if you spend money to support the elders, but why don’t you have to support the two of them?”

Tanchun was a little embarrassed: "Baoyu hasn't been very clear-headed since he ransacked the house. Recently, he has finally recovered and can study. Who dares to let him go out? Lian's second brother is really not very capable, but he has gone out several times. but……"

Baochai:"……"

What's the matter.

Baochai's interest in Jia Baoyu is gone. Even if such a irresponsible man marries him, he may not have a good life in the end.

But Lin Kou remembered one thing: "I remember that Jia Baoyu is very good at making rouge?"

Daiyu was stunned: "Rouge?"

Baochai and the others looked at each other, and nodded in unison for a long while.

Tanchun said: "Baoyu seems to be very talented in this area, but after reading a remnant prescription in an ancient book, he made the rouge on the prescription, and then drew inspiration from various ancient books to give us Made a lot of rouge."

"How's the quality?" Lin Kou asked.

Tanchun looked at Yingchun.

She is young, and most of the rouge she gets is given away, even if she uses it herself...

She doesn't know what the rouge looks like outside.

Yingchun thought for a while, and said: "It is more colorful and moist than the rouge outside, and it is better than the best rouge sold outside."

Lin Kou spread his hands: "Isn't this the ability to make a living? Ask Jia Baoyu to make some rouge, and sell it to Jia Lian, can't it be enough? Since Jia Baoyu likes it, you can let him do it. Don't underestimate the rouge. The reputation attracts those ladies and ladies, this rouge is no worse than other businesses."

According to Jia Baoyu's performance in the book, if he is really forced to study, even if he is admitted to Juren Jinshi in the future, he will probably be able to become a master in the end.

But if you let him do what he likes, it will be completely different.

After all, he hasn't had much contact with Daiyu, so it can't be said that he became a monk for his unswerving love, so as long as there is someone or something in this world that he can remember, how can he be willing to become a monk?

It's not that Lin Kou has any objection to Jia Baoyu's becoming a monk, but Jia Lian is older than him in the Jia family now, if he becomes a monk, how can these beautiful little girls get married?

The girls were all shocked by Lin Kou's words——

Baoyu is the only hope of the Jia family, how can he be led astray?

Only Daiyu didn't think it mattered: "What's the difference between the royal family, officials and merchants, and traffickers and pawns? As long as Baoyu can take responsibility to support his family, it doesn't matter what he does? Even if he goes to be a fisherman, as long as he can fight back When the fish come, that is also very good."

When I said this, few people in the room agreed with it.

But after thinking about it, the little girls couldn't help but feel that instead of letting Baoyu do nothing, it's better to let him do something he likes and earn some money to subsidize the family.

Baochai hesitated to speak, but after thinking about it, this matter had nothing to do with her, so she didn't say much.

Seeing that the girls were still unable to make up their minds, Lin Kou smiled and said, "Even if Baoyu doesn't take the imperial examination, don't you still have Jia Lan and Jia Huan in your family? Good imperial examination seedling. At least Jia Lan really wants to take part in the imperial examination to win glory for his mother, but Baoyu hates official career. Have you ever thought that even if Baoyu passed the Jinshi examination according to your wishes, he would eventually be willing to enter the court as an official? ? Became an official, with his temperament, is he honoring his ancestors or bringing trouble to his family?"

Baoyu's mouth is exactly the same as that of his sister Yuanchun: they don't know how to guard the door, and dare to say anything when they get emotional.

If such a person is thrown into the officialdom, not only will he be eaten by a group of old foxes, but his family may also be implicated.

The Jia family can't afford another toss now.

The little girls broke out in cold sweat instantly, and the last bit of hesitation disappeared without a trace.

Even Baochai couldn't help feeling a little scared——

Thinking that she tried to persuade Baoyu to study and improve, she still felt that Baoyu didn't understand her painstaking efforts and was not worthy of her.Thinking about it now, if Baoyu really listened to what he said, he would really be worthy of him...

That is a great disaster!

Tanchun's eyes were even firmer: "When I go back, I will find Baoyu and ask him to find a way to make some rouge and sell it."

Lin Kou had some thoughts in his heart, but he didn't feel very relieved about Jia Baoyu, so he just said, "Go back and try, if Baoyu is willing to make rouge, you can bring him to me."

Tanchun thought of the experience during this period, and his eyes lit up instantly.

Daiyu hugged Lin Kou's hand curiously: "Sister, sister, do you have any good ideas?"

Lin Kou laughed: "It's not really a good idea, it's just some clever ideas that can make more money in the rouge and gouache business."

Baochai subconsciously looked at Lin Kou.

After getting along for this period of time, Baochai has truly admired the adopted daughter of the Lin family——

She thought that she was good at everything, especially in knowledge, but after getting in touch with Lin Kou, she realized that she was just sitting on the sidelines.If she was as smart and insightful as Lin Kou, even if her elder brother Xue Pan kept holding her back, the Xue family wouldn't be in this state, right?

She wanted to ask Lin Kou for advice, but she couldn't.

Lin Kou noticed Xue Baochai's hesitation to speak, and thought of the plight of these little girls, he paused and said, "Actually, your life in the past years is your most precious wealth, as long as you find the right way to use it, Making money is not so difficult."

"I don't understand the small details, so I won't mention them." Lin Kou said with a smile, "But the top-notch aesthetics, piano, chess, calligraphy, calligraphy and other skills you have cultivated in high-ranking families are treasures that can be realized. Let's not talk about it , you should be able to design one or two of your hairpins, jewelry, fabric patterns, and even clothing styles, right?"

Even the worst batch of what these little girls have worn since they were young, there are so many people want to take out.

For such a girl raised in rich clothes and fine food, it is hard to say anything else, the aesthetics are absolutely online.

And it is in line with the aesthetics of the current rich and powerful.

Several little girls looked at each other, and even Baochai became very happy.

Lin Kou laughed: "Go back and think about it. If you have an idea, then come and find me with Tanchun Baoyu."

Daiyu was not happy: "What about me?"

Lin Kou pinched her nose dumbfounded: "If you like, you can..."

After a pause, she thought of Baoyu.

Lin Kou turned to look at Tanchun: "I'm afraid it's not appropriate for Baoyu to appear with Daiyu and Miss Xue. Tanchun, try to coordinate the time yourself, and remember to stagger Baoyu and other girls."

Tanchun froze for a moment, then nodded quickly.

When Lin Kou and the others were busy with the business of rouge, gouache, costume jewelry, etc., the test finally started.

Nine days and three sessions in a row, the candidates entered the examination room in good spirits, and then left the examination room disheveled.

But there are also a few lucky ones who are also full of excitement when they come out.

Xu Shi was overjoyed. After they found their friends and companions, they couldn't help pulling each other and asking: "Do you still remember the third and eighth questions of Jingyi? I did it in middle school. At that time, I made a mistake, and I was so scared that I immediately memorized the content involved in those questions several times, and now I encountered them in the exam paper! Fortunately, I did those questions, otherwise I would But I'm going to be annoyed!"

The companion is also very lucky: "You know that I write slowly. When I bought it, there were only five days left before the exam, and I will finish a set of test papers. But I am also lucky. The arithmetic questions in that set of test papers are the same as today's. It’s the same thing, I didn’t know how to answer it at the time, and I was so scared that I broke out in a cold sweat, so I had the cheek to ask Weiyang’s xxx to finally know how to do it. When I saw the exam question today, I almost didn’t laugh out loud in the exam room .”

The examinee was annoyed: "So there are questions similar to today's arithmetic question in those test papers? I didn't do it. Today I can only look at that question at a loss!"

"It's already very good. I heard that many people have made several sets of test papers, but today they didn't meet any familiar ones."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, after all, there are so many questions, how could they all be hit? Whether you can meet them depends on luck."

"Then it looks like I'm lucky."

"Of course lucky!"

The two got together and muttered together, but they didn't want their conversation to be overheard by passing candidates.

The examinee happened to have never gone to the Lin Family Bookstore to buy exam papers. Hearing what the two said, he thought it was a leak in the imperial examination, so he yelled on the spot.

The guards in the examination room immediately came over and caught the two of them.

The two candidates were frightened.

"Why did you catch me?"

"I didn't do anything!"

The examinee who called the guard hurriedly recounted the previous conversation between the two, and then said, "I don't think it's right after hearing it. It's obvious that someone leaked the question. You must punish these people severely!"

The two repeatedly complained about being wronged, and immediately told the Lin family bookstore and the exam questions they bought.

"It's true that there are no leaks. It's just that the Lin family has produced dozens of test papers. We happened to meet the ones we did, so we are happy, but we really didn't cheat!"

"That's right, Lin Jiashusi came up with dozens of sets of questions and tens of thousands of questions in one go. We were just lucky to meet them. Many people did more than ten sets of test papers and didn't catch them. This is not the same as cheating and leaking questions. What does it matter? If you don’t believe me, ask the candidates around, there must be many people who bought it.”

When the guard heard this, he asked people to stop the candidates who hadn't left yet.

After verification, what the two candidates said was indeed true.

But the imperial examination is of great importance, and even the smallest things cannot be neglected. Even though the guards knew that this matter had nothing to do with the imperial examination fraud, they did not dare to let him go, so they could only press the two examinees to the Ministry of Criminal Justice.

When the officials of the Ministry of Punishment heard about this, they didn't dare to delay, and took the two of them directly to the palace.

Two candidates: "..."

It's a pity, they shouldn't have gotten carried away and talked at the entrance of the examination room.

Although it is an honor to meet the Holy Majesty, if you meet the Holy Majesty because of bad things, if the Holy Majesty remembers himself, it will be sad to become an official in the court in the future.

Unexpectedly, when the two arrived, they not only saw the pilgrim, but also the Supreme Emperor.

Two candidates: "..."

They really didn't cheat in the imperial examinations, do they want such a big battle?

Fortunately, not long after, the people from the Ministry of Punishment brought all the examination papers of Lin Hai, the Minister of the Household Department, and the shopkeeper of the Lin Family Bookstore, together with a large pile of examination papers.

When the two candidates saw the test paper, they felt relieved instantly.

They really didn't cheat.

The emperor and the Supreme Emperor looked at each other, and finally the emperor said: "I heard that someone cheated in the imperial examination? What's going on?"

The Secretary of the Ministry of Criminal Affairs glanced at Lin Ruhai, hesitated and didn't know what to say: "If you say that there is fraud in the imperial examination, it doesn't seem to be that serious; but if you say that there is no fraud in the imperial examination, I can't seem to find a more appropriate one. Speech. Your Majesty, Your Majesty, let Shangshu Lin tell you what's going on."

The emperor and the Supreme Emperor looked at Lin Ruhai instantly.

The two still had a good impression of Lin Ruhai, so they waited patiently for Lin Ruhai to speak.

Lin Ruhai seemed to have anticipated today's situation, and he didn't panic when he was mentioned by the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, but looked at the Minister of the Ministry of Justice: "It may not be intuitive enough to be told by a mere official. Your Majesty, the Supreme Emperor, you two should have read these exam questions. I understand what's going on."

"These are collected by the Lin family in the past dynasties, and some of the exam questions were created by the minister himself. It really has nothing to do with cheating in the imperial examination."

The emperor and the overlord looked at Shangshu of the Ministry of punishment.

The Secretary of the Ministry of Justice did not dare to delay, and hurriedly sent all the examination questions in front of the two of them.

The emperor took it, and then gave half of it to the Supreme Emperor.

The two quickly began to read.

In less than a stick of incense, the two figured out what was going on.

The emperor looked at the two candidates: "How did you get arrested?"

The two candidates tremblingly spoke out their conversation before the examination room, and then said with a sad face: "We are really just lucky, just before the exam, we have mastered the knowledge points that we didn't master, and after some remedies, Only when I took the exam today will I be impressed with those few questions."

The emperor said gently: "Don't be afraid, just tell me which questions are on it."

The two looked at each other, not daring to hide it, and hurriedly said two scriptures and one calculation.

The emperor and the Supreme Emperor found out the three questions according to their words.

To be honest, even the dictation of scriptures and meanings is not exactly the same.

Of the two scriptural and meaning questions, one is just the content of the same chapter as the exam question on "May [-]", and the other is just a sentence after the exam question on "May [-]".

As for arithmetic problems, it is even more different.

Although the types are the same, both the data and the answers are completely different, and even the reference objects listed in it are different.

It really has nothing to do with imperial examination fraud.

The emperor didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so he hurriedly sent the two examinees away.

The two examinees breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly retreated.

Only then did the emperor look at Lin Ruhai: "Lin Aiqing, tell me, what are these exam questions all about?"

Lin Ruhai didn't hide anything, he told about the books and exam papers collected by the Lin family, and about the little girls in the family who wanted to benefit scholars all over the world.

——Concealing the existence of the examination papers from the previous court was just to prevent impeachment by officials in the court, but he was not afraid to tell the emperor.

The emperor, the Supreme Emperor, and even the Minister of the Ministry of Justice and others were all dumbfounded.

The emperor couldn't help asking: "Are you spoiling your children too much? The collection of books at home is the most precious wealth. In the future, even... your descendants will have better opportunities than others by relying on these collections of books. That's it Don't you feel distressed when the book is printed?"

Lin Ruhai paused for a moment, then smiled open-mindedly: "If Wei Chen was young, he would naturally feel distressed. It is impossible for Wei Chen to let his daughter be so capricious. But after so many years... Wei Chen almost lost her incense a few years ago. If it hadn't been for the turning point later, these books fell into the hands of my daughter. It would be good if I met someone who didn't know the goods, at most I would sell them cheaply, but if I met someone who knew the goods, it would be a disaster for my daughter. I also want to understand that these things are available to everyone in the world, but it is a good thing for my Lin family."

"Even if there is another accident in the future, scholars all over the world should take care of the children of Weichen even if they think that my Lin family has produced so many books?"

"I don't ask for anything else, I just hope that they can save their lives and let them have enough food and clothing."

There are so many scholars, but they can't all be ungrateful and leave the tea cold.

The emperor paused, not knowing what to say.

He also knew the situation of Lin Ruhai's family, so he could understand what Lin Ruhai said.

Even Lin Ruhai's speculation about his own collection of books, whether they were sold cheaply by people who didn't know the goods, or were used as treasures by people who knew the goods, he also believed that it was really possible.

The Supreme Emperor smiled and said, "I'm sorry for your love of daughters."

Lin Ruhai hurriedly said: "It's just what a humble minister should do."

The Supreme Emperor nodded and said nothing more.

The emperor also simply changed the subject: "Speaking of which, you have produced so many exam papers in one go, and they are not related to the exam questions. Can candidates buy them?"

Lin Ruhai was slightly embarrassed: "This... I originally thought so too."

emperor:"???"

"However, the final result exceeded my expectations." Lin Ruhai said cautiously, "It's nothing more than a collection of books, the price is high, and now the sales volume of a book is at most two hundred copies, and it will return to the book. But Exam paper... I heard from my daughter that this month's profit is as high as tens of thousands, and even if my daughter divides it with the other girls, there are still tens of thousands left."

After a pause, he said vaguely, "The candidates are really enthusiastic."

When the emperor spoke, his voice broke: "A month, tens of thousands?"

When the Supreme Emperor abdicated, the national treasury was empty, and all the small things added up to less than a million. Lin Ruhai only sold tens of thousands of exam papers a month?Or profit?

Lin Ruhai hesitated and said: "There should be a reason for the exam. Because the sales of the exam papers were not very good at the beginning, until the teacher of the little girl who also participated in the exam, he discovered some questions that he had mastered in the process of doing the questions. The knowledge points that were not solid enough, immediately cited the test paper as a magic weapon, and then told many close friends, the sales of the test paper increased."

"When the test is over, sales should drop."

The emperor flipped through the examination papers in his hand and snorted: "Isn't there going to be a palace examination next year? Isn't there a county examination and government examination every year? After that, there will be a college examination and a rural examination? Even if the sales volume drops, where can it go? "

Lin Ruhai: "..."

It's not easy for him to accept this.

The emperor was not very happy: "Lin Aiqing, as the Minister of the Household Department, you have such a way to make money, why don't you..."

"Ahem," the Supreme Emperor quickly reminded, "Emperor, pay attention to your identity."

The emperor doesn't care about his status, he just wants to make money! ! !

The emperor looked at Lin Ruhai with burning eyes: "This dynasty has been established for hundreds of years, and dozens of examinations have been held, and a lot of examination papers have been accumulated in the Royal Library. Lin Aiqing, you can take out these examination papers To sell for money?"

Lin Ruhai: "..."

He nodded affirmatively, "Sure! If you can get an inscription written by His Majesty, the sales will definitely increase!"

The emperor immediately clapped his hands and laughed.

The Supreme Emperor: "..."