The Rich and the Idlers of the Red Chamber

The Zhang family does not place much importance on beauty. These days, on the one hand, girls with taller births will not be bad in appearance after several generations of genetic improvement; Concubine system, as a mother, I don't want any concubines around me to be an eyesore, but if their daughter-in-law doesn't suit their wishes, they don't mind their son hugging left and right, as long as it can be straightened out, If you don't make the house restless, then there is nothing stupid.

Therefore, the eldest wife has good facial features, no serious diseases, and can give birth to a lively and lovely son, that's fine. Even if she can't have a son, a wealthy family, under normal circumstances, will not divorce their wife because of childlessness. It's normal for a stepbrother's son to be out of the question.

Although Princess Rong Le has not fully grown, she is already a pretty little girl. Looking at her features, she is not an arrogant person. Zhang can understand how many children the old saint has, even if there are a few children who are more favored, However, as a princess, she does not have an advantage inherently.Therefore, they also have to please their powerful brothers and fathers to live. Therefore, even if they have some petty temperament in private, they will not show it on the surface.

What's more, concubine Yu was favored again, even if the old sage abdicated, he didn't expect to raise concubine Yu to a higher position. It can be seen that even if there is any value for her, it is nothing more than that.Don't say anything about shields, for her good, if a man really likes a woman, he will only lift her up.Just like Concubine Zhen Gui, no matter how dissatisfied the saint is with the Zhen family, he treats Concubine Zhen Gui with courtesy, not because of anything else, but because the old saint really cares about Concubine Zhen Gui.

Mrs. Zhang is also middle-aged, and she has met quite a few people. Princess Rong Le is a bit cautious at her age, but she is not enough for Mrs. Zhang. Therefore, it is only the first time to meet Mrs. Zhang. I have a preliminary understanding of Princess Rong Le's temperament.

Princess Rong Le is still favored. Although she is a bit delicate in her temper, she is not a sharp and arrogant person. She looks like a very likable little girl. After all, the Zhang family is a minister's wife. At that time, the princess was officially conferred. In terms of status, she should be comparable to the county king. What's more, when Princess Rongle is married, she will go one step further.Mrs. Zhang could only respectfully salute to such a daughter-in-law who had not been formally confirmed.

Princess Rong Le was quite polite, and looked a little shy. Although Mrs. Zhang lowered her head, she carefully watched some small movements of Princess Rong Le, and then she was determined. No matter what, this princess is nothing. Don't worry.

After Mrs. Zhang went back, she told Ah Shou about this matter. Ah Shou was dumbfounded. He honestly said that his mind is not fully mature yet, although he always heard that among people of similar age, whoever gets married Now, who is engaged, who else is seeing each other now, and who else has met the little lady of another family by chance, and is now motivating the family to propose marriage.

But Ah Shou, to be honest, hasn’t gotten the hang of it yet. Other children at this age are already in love with the opposite sex, and they already have a certain desire for the opposite sex, but Ah Shou is like a standard technical nerd. Hey, he was so motivated that he was so excited that he could sleep in the dark with the things he made, but when it came to women, he didn't have any thoughts at all.

Now that he heard that he had already decided on his future daughter-in-law, Ah Shou's first reaction was to be at a loss.

To be honest, this is actually normal. Many middle school students in later generations fall in love not really first love, or some kind of emotional sprouting. Girls may be very precocious and have gender awareness very early, but for many boys In other words, falling in love is more for the sake of face, and I have to have it if others have it, but to be honest, my so-called girlfriend may not attract my attention more than novels, comics, football and basketball.

For Ah Shou, there is no such thing as being in love or not being in love these days, so he has no intention of relying on this to compare himself with others. Ah Shou has always been the object of envy among his peers. Forgiveness, this father will not restrain him like other fathers, forbid him to do this, not allow him to do that!

Someone in the school took the storybook of talented scholars and beauties at home. Ah Shou glanced at it when he was curious. A handkerchief, a hairpin is enough to pay attention to others, who knows if this handkerchief belongs to a lady or a maid, why is she so focused on her lady!

Ah Shou is a typical man of science and engineering, with very strong logical thinking. He reads a story book from beginning to end. He doesn't have much feeling for the gorgeous rhetoric in it. He is really not very interested in this, but, others As soon as he said that he was in the blah blah blah land, he picked out all kinds of illogical places in it, and now, no matter how many thoughts he had in his heart, he was wiped out in ashes.

At this moment, Ah Shou heard that he would marry a princess in two years, and he couldn't react immediately. In the playbook, the princess would always fall in love with the champion, but in the end, he could actually marry a princess. It made Ah Shou feel unreal.

Therefore, Mrs. Zhang and Jia Amnesty just said that, the husband and wife did not feel that it was such an honor for the princess to marry, nor did they feel that they should suffer any grievances for their son because of the princess, so they just said it lightly , It’s like saying directly to your son, son, you are not young, it’s time to get married at this time, we are parents, we have chosen a daughter-in-law for you, and we will get married directly in two years.

Therefore, Ah Shou just listened to it casually. He never had much expectation for the princess. His thoughts at the moment are nothing more than that. In two years, he will marry a wife too. The choice of wife has already been decided. Come down, and then, it's over.

The identity of the princess is determined. Even if the two are engaged, they cannot be like ordinary unmarried couples. There is no chance to enter the palace, and it is impossible to see Princess Rongle in leisure time. Obviously, Mrs. Zhang is not someone who will pass signs into the palace all day long for her son, and send things to the princess on behalf of her son. Therefore, even if the young couple have to get along in the future Feelings can only be discussed after marriage.

The action of the royal family was very fast, and soon several orders for marriages came down from above, not only Princess Rong Le, but also Princess Rong Jing who had reached the age, Princess Rong Ke's orders for marriages were all issued, and everyone who married It's a noble family.For example, Princess Rongjing, the tenth princess, married directly into the current queen's natal family.

Because the queen's natal family had just ascended the throne as a sage, it was not easy for her Yue family to be compared with her mother's family. Therefore, the Yue family was granted the title of Marquis of Cheng En, and Princess Rong Jing married the queen's cousin.However, Princess Rong Ke married into Uncle Jianyang's mansion, and married to the eldest son of Uncle Jianyang's son.

A few of them sounded like Jianyang Bo's Mansion, but in terms of benefits, Anlehou's Mansion was more affordable.Although Jia She is not meddling with the government affairs, everyone knows that Jia She is the God of Wealth who can turn stones into gold. In the cabinet, several cabinet elders know that Jia She gave up some of the court's financial resources. .The title of Jia Amnesty can be hereditary for three generations. Even if the eldest son Jia Chen is ineffective, he will be a stable Marquis in the future. No matter whose family's daughter is married, she will only enjoy the blessings.

Except when Jia She was young, he didn't know whether it was really absurd or it was rumored to be absurd. Since he came out, he has always been Zhang's wife, and has always been deeply in love with Zhang. Both of them are not mean people, many people were staring at Jia Chen's marriage before, but in the end, the royal family was taken advantage of, but many people in Beijing simply sighed.

Compared with An Lehou, the current Marquis of Cheng'en's mansion actually seems a little out of date. There was an unwritten requirement when choosing a father-in-law for the prince, that is, the real job of the prince's father-in-law should not exceed the third rank. When they got married, Tu Mingyun was among the princes. It's not considered to be outstanding, none of the brothers above is a fuel-efficient lamp, so Cheng Enhou was just a fourth-rank official in the Ministry of Rites at that time, which was similar to a casual job.

Marquis Cheng En was born in Qingliu, his family wealth is not rich, and his background is not deep, and the queen has just entered the central palace. In addition to a serious empress, there is also a concubine Zhengui who is still honored today. Well, the queen has always been a wise person, and the saint's throne cannot be said to be as stable as a rock at this moment, let alone her as the queen.The queen herself gave birth to a son-in-law, so she was relatively calm, and she was not in a hurry to reward her natal family and promote her family. Instead, she told Cheng Enhou's mansion to keep a low profile, not to jump up and down when nothing happened, and to stay in the mansion peacefully. That's it.

Therefore, the Marquis of Cheng'en's Mansion can only be regarded as an upstart in Beijing. The marriage of Princess Rong Jing was also mentioned by the old sage. It was basically to show support for the current sage, and it also meant to value the current queen.

It's just that Princess Rong Jing married not the queen's own younger brother, but a cousin. The queen's uncle doesn't have the title of Marquis of Cheng'en, but he doesn't have a separate family and still lives in Marquis of Cheng'en's mansion. Others say It's still just a family.

As for Uncle Jianyang's mansion, let alone, Uncle Jianyang's lifespan has always been relatively long, and it has always been a typical example of late childbearing. The family has only been passed down for two generations, and now this Uncle Jianyang is almost seventy years old, and their family has already received an edict of favor once before, and it is also because this Uncle Jianyang is dedicated to his duty now that he is not degraded.But now the son of Uncle Jianyang is mediocre, and he has only done a idle job of around the fourth rank, and when his eldest grandson Xijue, I am afraid that there will only be a meager title left.

Princess Rongle is the most favored princess among the few princesses, and she is also considered the best married. The other two are the masters. Many people think that it is bad luck. Princess Rong Le picked a cheap one.

Everyone is a clear-sighted person. Jia She and his family have a simple population and a harmonious family. Jia She has laid a good foundation for their children. It is not a problem for the Anlehou Mansion to be prosperous for a hundred years. Such a family may not necessarily need The Lord adds glory.If the old sage hadn't confirmed that Jia Chen had no intention of becoming an official through the imperial examination, he would not have given him the marriage. After all, for the ambitious and talented, being the Lord is not an honor, but a burden.

After the decree came down, Jia She and Zhang also had to get busy. Although there is no need to worry about the wedding date, even if you are marrying a daughter from the Tian family, you still have to prepare a dowry gift!

There is a fixed process for marrying a royal daughter, and the dowry gifts prepared by each family also have a fixed list, which is nothing more than wild geese, coins, beautiful jade, horses and so on.However, there are naturally problems here. If the family that the princess marries is not rich enough, the regulation will be fine, but there will be problems in quantity and quality.

Nowadays, the geese employed are no longer popular as living animals. After all, if the geese are dragged or struggled or even run away to death, it would be unlucky. Therefore, ordinary people use wooden Carved wild geese, exquisite people, will inlay some gold, silver, pearls and jade on the wood, and some people even use pure gold and silver to make wild geese, but few people can afford such expenses.

The same is true for coins. The dowry gifts of ordinary people are simply gold and silver, but rich people naturally have to play tricks on it.

The same is true for marrying a princess. Although before the princess is married, the royal family has rewards, but apart from silver, most of the rewards are things that cannot be spent as money, such as jade belts, fur clothes, silver saddles, silk, etc. , This is called family.The headline here is also relatively big, the favored princess, the House of Internal Affairs can't neglect it, of course it is good to give it, if it is changed to an unfavored princess, the things have the same name, but can the sable fur and the sheepskin be the same?The reward of silver taels is fixed, directly 1 taels.

But to be honest, if you want to marry a princess, 1 taels of silver is not that expensive.

Jia She is rich and powerful. Everyone knows that he is rich. Therefore, if the dowry is not generous enough, I am afraid that people will talk about it, and even be regarded as neglecting the royal family. You can't be picky about this kind of thing.What's more, the three princesses are going to get married. If Jia She's side is not as good as the other two, then it will be more embarrassing.

Jia Amnesty is not short of money, nor is he short of good things. While opening the warehouse, he directly called the stewards below to go out to buy. .

On Jia Amnesty's side, Princess Rong Le is the youngest. Therefore, although it is almost the decree of marriage from the front and back, in fact, whether it is Na Cai or the subsequent marriage, the days are staggered, but Qin Tianjian is very busy. , Almost all the auspicious days in the past few years were found out for the old saint and the saint to choose.

Another more troublesome thing is the issue of the Princess Mansion, which is also an errand of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. When the country was founded, there was also the matter of building another Princess Mansion. The so-called Princess Mansion was to find a similar official residence in the inner city. Then ask the Ministry of Internal Affairs to rebuild it to meet the princess's regulations, and that's fine.

However, where the princess mansion is placed is also a matter of knowledge.If the princess mansion is more than ten miles away from the married person, then either the son-in-law will have to live in the princess mansion permanently, or the son-in-law will have to travel more than ten miles to meet the princess if he wants to see the princess. It's strange that the relationship between husband and wife is getting better.

Under normal circumstances, the Ministry of Internal Affairs would not do such immoral things. However, it is not easy to get close. After all, it has been so many years since the founding of the country, and those who can live in the inner city are not high-ranking officials or dignitaries. She has fallen, and there are still a few prominent relatives, so you can't go to other people's houses to buy and sell for the sake of building a princess mansion!

Fortunately, in the Iron Net Mountain incident, many people had bad things. At that time, it was considered that there were princes who wanted to divide the mansion, and there were princesses who wanted to marry. It has not been sold, so it is enough to pick out a few suitable areas at this moment.

Princess Rong Le's Princess Mansion is near Jia She's Anlehou Mansion. Although it is not close to each other, it is on the same street. There are only two families in between, so it is relatively close. It's almost time for a cup of tea.For people like them, this is not a distance at all.

While the princess mansion is being built and repaired, it's time for Na Cai.Both Princess Rong Jing and Princess Rong Ke's husband's family have already passed the acceptance ceremony, and the dowry can be regarded as outstanding. Even the Cheng'enhou Mansion, which has the lowest foundation, has some rewards from the empress, and the dowry can also be done. Very respectable, now it's the turn of Anlehou Mansion, how many people are staring at it!

Jia Amnesty's side has also been prepared a long time ago. The pair of geese were carved out of a whole piece of crystal, and the eyes were also inlaid with gemstones. The feathers on the geese were carved out according to the natural color of the crystal. At first glance, apart from being a little transparent, it was actually like a living thing.

As for the coins, Jia Amnesty just used gold to cast money with various auspicious patterns and auspicious words. When they were piled together, people's eyes were almost blinded. Looking at the volume of those coins, the interested people estimated After checking the weight, I immediately knew that the money alone was more than 1 taels of silver.

As for the beautiful jade, Jia Amnesty directly used several kinds, such as mutton fat jade, Hetian jade, and the jadeite bought over there, and carved them into various jade articles and jade ornaments. They looked colorful and brilliant, and they were extremely exquisite. Just can't move my eyes.

Jia She could not do much about the horses. Jia She could not get things like flying sand, but he directly got two Arabian horses that were said to be purebreds. In future generations, they will be able to come up with a long blood certificate, and their worth will have to be calculated in hundreds of millions. A horseshoe can make ordinary local tyrants look up to them.

Jia Amnesty also handled the other odds and ends in an extremely extravagant way. In short, it can be summed up in two words, rich!

The gift for marrying a princess is not carried directly into the palace, but it is the same as the dowry when a daughter is married. It has to be displayed outside the palace gate for people to see.

Jia Amnesty is not afraid to show off his wealth, if he doesn't show off, his superiors will be worried!The sage above did business in partnership with Jia She, although the cooperation is only one or two projects, but that would be a lot of money every day, so that when he was still a prince, he didn't bother about money, he It's just taking a share in it, let alone Jia She, who has a big stall?

Although the life of Jia She's family is not luxurious, and even relatively low-key, if Jia She has no money, then he definitely doesn't even believe in ghosts.Now that there is a princess descending from Anlehou's mansion, if he doesn't show some sincerity, even if he doesn't turn his face at that time, the superiors will hold grudges in their hearts.

Fortunately, Jia Amnesty was very savvy, and the things he brought out were not exceeding the limit. It seemed that he was a bit of a nouveau riche, but he was full of sincerity.What's more, these are superficial, Jia She still has dry goods in private, and he directly offered the method of drying salt.

It is useless for Jia Amnesty to hold this thing by himself, and it will be hot for no reason. After all, salt and iron are sold by the government these days, and those who can do this business are mostly Huizhou merchants and those big salt merchants in Yangzhou. Behind these people Naturally, they are all owned by people. Jia She has many places to make money, so there is no need to get involved in such a terrible thing.

However, Lin Ruhai obviously couldn't hold on as the salt censor in Yangzhou these years. The Zhen family is too powerful. Jia Jing and Jia Amnesty are beyond their reach, and after all, the relationship is a little bit distant. Therefore, seeing that Lin Ruhai has been ignorant, the Zhen family can no longer bear it.

Lin Ruhai was also very troubled. He was the old saint's confidant, but he didn't have much friendship with the new emperor. It stands to reason that when the new emperor ascended the throne, the new emperor should replace himself with his confidant, but the new emperor didn't mean that at all. Lin Ruhai was very upset. Worried that the new emperor wants to directly use himself to death, so he is very anxious.

Lin Ruhai also went to the doctor in a hurry. He has been in Yangzhou for many years, and he has not communicated with Jia She on business matters. What's the matter, but now, the Zhen family is obviously impatient, and their actions are getting bigger and bigger. Lin Ruhai is now under a lot of pressure, so he had to write letters to both Jia Jing and Jia Amnesty, although he didn't say it clearly. , but also made insinuations, hoping that they would help find out the saint's mind, and now he can't wait to resign and return to his hometown.

Jia Amnesty was really confused about this kind of intrigue. He couldn't play with these people, so he had no choice but to draw on the bottom line.

Sun-salt technology has actually been around for a long time, but it has not been promoted, and it is even lost now. After all, it is more beneficial for those salt merchants to use salt households to cook salt, and this will limit the origin of sea salt to the Jiangnan generation. This can better protect everyone's interests.

As soon as the salt drying method came out, the south of the Yangtze River was not suitable for drying salt, because there was too much rain. However, many salt farms could be created in the coastal area, with low cost and high output. One-time construction will benefit a hundred years.

Jia Amnesty directly arranged the method of drying salt and the location suitable for drying salt, which was regarded as the bride price for marrying the princess. Similarly, Lin Ruhai finally didn't have to continue to suffer in the south of the Yangtze River. From now on, the status of the inspector of salt would plummet.

The sage had something to offer, so he was naturally overjoyed. Although he felt that it was his younger sister who married him, which made him a generation lower, it was a little awkward, but he got the benefits, so why would he mention anything else? A princess goes there, as long as Jia Amnesty still has good things in his hand.The emperor, if you want power, money, integrity, etc., don’t want it, anyway, it’s smeared in the history books, there’s nothing to worry about!