Jia Lian fell into a deep sleep. As he was wandering around the lake, he noticed something touching his eyes and nose.
"Nanny, please take the eldest sister away and let the Marquis have a good rest."
This was Wang Xifeng's voice. When Jia Lian opened his eyes, he saw a pair of big, wide eyes, staring at him with childlike interest and curiosity.
Jia Lian suddenly smiled, turned over and sat up, waving to the little girl in front of him: "Come here and give me a hug for dad."
She is the daughter of him and Wang Xifeng. The little girl has pink makeup and is very delicate both in appearance and dress. She is obviously the little princess of the family.
Seeing Jia Lian waving to her, the curiosity in the little girl's eyes faded, and she hesitated a little, then leaned against the nurse behind her.
Seeing the embarrassment on Jia Lian's face, the wet nurse couldn't help but smile and said: "Don't mind, Mr. Marquis, the eldest sister is still young and hasn't seen Mr. Marquis for a long time, so she is a bit disappointed."
Of course Jia Lian wouldn't mind. When he left Beijing, Sister Qiao couldn't even walk on the ground. Now that more than half a year has passed, I'm afraid her impression of him is even worse.
Speaking of which, Grandma Liu should have helped me come up with the name Qiao Jieer, which corresponds to the birth date of the Qiao Qiao Festival on July 7th.
However, Grandma Liu has not yet entered the Grand View Garden and has not met Qiao Jieer yet, so Qiao Jieer does not have a maiden name yet.
Jia Lian had thought about giving Sister Qiao another nice name, but then she thought about it and didn't think so. Anyway, most people at that time came up with names for girls late. If he missed Grandma Liu's naming, he would be a father.
Just add the name "Qiaojie".
Wang Xifeng, who was touching up her makeup in the back room, heard Jia Lian's voice and walked out. She saw that Jia Lian was barely able to hold Sister Qiao with the help of her wet nurse. She immediately laughed and said: "Who told you not to go home for more than half a year?
When the eldest sister is recognizing someone, she naturally doesn't get close to you now, and you can't blame anyone else."
Jia Lian smiled and asked, "Can you speak now?"
He just saw that the little girl could walk on her own.
"It's true that she can talk, but she has a coy personality, which is nothing like me. It took a long time to coax her to open her mouth."
Wang Xifeng said with a smile, and then taught Sister Qiao, who was forcibly held in Jia Lian's arms: "Quick, call daddy, ask your daddy to buy you something fun..."
Xu Qiaoqiao still had some impression of Jia Lian, so she only struggled for a moment and then stopped. She raised her head and glanced at Jia Lian for a few times. When she saw that Jia Lian was looking down at her with a smile, she looked shy and hid under Jia Lian's elbow.
, and did not respond.
"You little girl, why don't you call me daddy? It's only been more than half a year and you don't recognize me anymore?"
Wang Xifeng came forward and urged.
She didn't want Jia Lian and Sister Qiao to get separated.
"It doesn't matter, I won't be traveling far away for a short time after I come back this time. There is plenty of time for her to talk, so there is no rush."
Jia Lian was very open-minded. He picked up the little girl, teased her for a while, and winked at her. Soon, the little girl's eyes rekindled the look of joy and she started to giggle.
Seeing this, Wang Xifeng rolled her eyes, waited for a while, and then said to the wet nurse: "You can take the eldest sister down. The Marquis and I have something to say."
The young wet nurse took Sister Qiao from Jia Lian's arms with a smile and took her out.
"I heard from Lin Zhixiao's family. Instruct them to gather people from both houses and gather in the front yard at Xu Chu?"
"Um."
"To give everyone reward money?"
At noon, when Jia Lian came back in a hurry, she also asked briefly if it was such a big happy event and she would give everyone some reward to make everyone feel happy.
Jia Lian just told her not to worry about it, he had already made arrangements.
"That's one thing, but I have something more important, and I just need your help."
Jia Lian said and took the opportunity to discuss with Wang Xifeng.
Although Wang Xifeng was surprised by Jia Lian's idea, she had no objection. She just said: "Speaking of it, now there is no distinction between the eldest master's side and the second master's side in the house. The two sides are combined into one.
For things like giving out rewards for happy events, you should be receiving money from the official, but you are selfless and do it out of your own pocket."
Wang Xifeng calculated the accounts very clearly in her heart. Seeing that Jia Lian didn't take it seriously, she immediately said: "You don't know. In the afternoon, the empress in the palace and the empress dowager gave you a reward. My wife also said that now the official
I don't have enough money, so I want to use all those things as official gifts.
I also instigated the old lady, if I hadn't reacted quickly, those things would have been put into the official treasury by now."
Jia Lian raised his eyebrows: "Then how did you deal with it?"
Wang Xifeng briefly talked about what happened at Rongqingtang.
Jia Lian saw that Wang Xifeng still looked a little aggrieved, so he took her hand, asked her to sit on the kang, and said with a smile: "As expected, our Second Grandma Feng is smart. Even the old lady and the madam can't compete with you. She does it beautifully."
Wang Xifeng was not willing to wear such a high hat, and said anxiously: "Why can't you beat me? The old lady and my wife don't look at it for your sake. They all know that you are the one who can earn the most money in the family now. They all
Afraid of getting too worried, we decided to separate.
However, the family is indeed no more wealthy now than before.
Last winter, as soon as the money from Zhuangzi in various places was handed over, it all went to its own destination.
Also, you don’t know, the garden at the back was built to perfection under the supervision of the master. I went in and took a look a while ago, and it really felt like I had entered a fairy home.
However, it was built so well that the money spent greatly exceeded the budget.
Not only has the general’s money been almost exhausted, but my wife also borrowed 80,000 taels of silver from Sister-in-law You in Dongfu, so that she can cope with it till today!”
"Eighty thousand?"
Jia Lian was surprised at first, saying that the garden at the back was basically completed and only needed decoration.
According to Jia Lian's calculations, if Jia Zheng, a kindhearted gentleman, was given full authority to supervise the production, it would be strange if the slaves below him were not greedy for ink.
Therefore, the previous budget should not be enough.
However, after he came back, he did not find that his family had become poor. On the contrary, just from the celebration banquet held for him, he knew that his family was as wealthy as ever.
It turned out that he borrowed the money from Dongfu Branch.
"Yes, a total of 80,000 taels! When I started short of money, my wife asked Sister-in-law You to borrow 50,000 taels, and later she borrowed 30,000 taels."
As Wang Xifeng spoke, his eyes lit up.
Eighty thousand taels of silver, in the past, was a figure that he could not even imagine.
After all, based on her dowry and the hard work she saved in the first two years of marrying Jia Lian, the total cash in her hand was less than 8,000.
But now, she doesn't really care.
Now, she has over 100,000 yuan of ready-made gold and silver in her hands, not to mention other valuable belongings and some fixed assets.
This money came from different sources, but it was all the wealth that naturally accumulated in the family after Jia Lian became successful.
Nowadays, she feels that her yard is too small. Because, in addition to the main house, the few empty houses in the backyard are now filled with all kinds of valuables!
She is a real rich woman.
And she also knew that not all of Jia Lian's assets were in her hands.
If nothing else, she knew that there was a lot of Jia Lian's private money in the room between the Aqin sisters.
There must also be that guy Zhao'er. They even opened a restaurant like Zuixianlou in Xicheng behind my mother's back.
She didn't see any money transactions there.
She didn't care too much about this, she praised: "At first I thought Sister-in-law You was a stuffy talker, timid and without scheming.
It’s unbelievable that she has the courage to lend us the entire Ningguo Mansion’s treasury.”
Wang Xifeng was surprised, but Jia Lian sighed secretly.
As one of the people who knew You best, Jia Lian couldn't understand why You was willing to lend this silver and so much.
It was just an act of desperation.
Nowadays, there is not a single male in Ningguo Mansion.
And the You family itself has a weak foundation. If they want to keep Ningguo Mansion, they naturally dare not offend Rongguo Mansion.
Therefore, even if it costs all the official treasury, she has to borrow it.
After all, even if Rongguo Mansion is short of money, it is only temporary and will naturally recover in the future.
By then, given the dignity of Rongguo Mansion, it is unlikely that the money borrowed will not be repaid.
But if you don’t borrow...
Now the Rongguo Mansion is working hard to build the Grand View Garden. At this time, the Ningguo Mansion obviously has money and will not help. If the Ningguo Mansion has something to do in the future, the Rongguo Mansion will probably not help.
It's impossible for You, a woman, to see these things clearly, so she borrowed them very decisively and generously.
He immediately won the great favor of a group of people headed by Jia Mu and Mrs. Wang.
Of course, Jia Lian also knew that Youshi was not afraid that Rongguo Mansion would not return the money, and there might be his reasons.
She was pregnant with his child, and the Ningguo Mansion's money was the money of their orphans and widows. Even if the Rongguo Mansion didn't want to pay it back, I'm afraid Jia Lian wouldn't agree.
If You really thinks so, Jia Lian will be even happier.
"Since she is affectionate and righteous, if our house recovers in the future, the money will naturally be returned."
Without saying anything more on this point, Jia Lian returned to the previous topic.
"As for the fact that my wife wants the Queen Mother's reward to go into the official treasury, it doesn't matter even if you didn't stop her at the time.
The reason why I don't use the official money this time is because I have my own plan.
But if they are jealous of even a little reward, then I will naturally not be polite to them."
When Wang Xifeng heard this, he immediately asked: "How much money did you take out this time?"
"About eight thousand taels." Jia Lian didn't hide it and said it bluntly.
"so much!"
When Wang Xifeng heard this, she felt a little regretful. In the Rongguo Mansion, she should have asked Mrs. Wang to take the reward from the Queen Mother. In that way, they could immediately withdraw eight thousand taels of silver from the official. Wouldn't it be a profit instead?
She felt a little distressed: "Actually, whether you want to distribute reward money, or compensate those who died in the war, or build some kind of 'Loyalty Shrine', it is all considered official business. Official affairs must be handled by the public. We should still get the money from the officials."
Take it.”
Wang Xifeng persuaded her seriously, and there was a shadow of a money-lover on Honglan's face.
Jia Lian couldn't help but pinch her nose. It happened to be early, so he explained to her in detail.
"First of all, although the two houses in the mansion are now living together, the master and I are both officials in the court after all, so there must be conflicts in some places.
Now I am willing to let my wife and the others do it, just like the old lady, I want to maintain the stability of the family.
However, it does not mean that I will give up my right to speak in charge.
Nowadays, in order to build a garden, the family has spent almost all the official money. Even the old lady and her private husband have spent a lot of money.
We are different from them. What they save is worth every cent less, but we are still young and will have plenty of opportunities to make money in the future.
Whether it's distributing reward money to everyone, or subsidizing the guards, or building the Loyalty Shrine, this is a time to win people's hearts, and I don't want my wife to get involved.
Secondly, there is a shortage of money among officials nowadays. If you want to withdraw money from the officials, you will have to fight with the master and his wife, which is troublesome and you will not be able to get enough money.
As for the pension of personal guards and other matters, it is related to my prestige. I don't want anything to go wrong, so it is better for us to provide the money ourselves.
third……"
Speaking of the third one, Jia Lian laughed.
"Aren't you always thinking about my private lover who is hiding outside? I have no intention of asking you to pay for it this time. All I use is my private money.
I've run out of money, doesn't it just make it easier for you to control me?"
Wang Xifeng was listening attentively, but when she heard the third point, her eyebrows suddenly raised, she sat up and stared at Jia Lian.
"Tell me clearly, when did I want to control you?
You earned most of the money in this family, I have never denied that. Moreover, since you became an official, when have you ever asked for money without me ever saying no?
Now that you say such words, you are clearly trying to gouge out people's eyes.
Don’t you want me to take care of the family’s money? Just say it directly, don’t use such roundabout curses!”
Wang Xifeng sat next to Jia Lian, her eyes burning with anger and unspeakable grievances.
Irritability is Wang Xifeng's nature.
And the grievance is that Wang Xifeng now feels a little less secure in his heart.
Although the former Jia Lian was ineffective, he was still under her control. She was not afraid that Jia Lian would not want her.
Nowadays, if Jia Lian changes his mind, he can just wave his hand and kick her away.
That's why it's a little more sensitive.
Jia Lian originally just wanted to make a joke with Wang Xifeng.
I didn't take money from Wang Xifeng before, it was just for convenience. Now I just make fun of Wang Xifeng. Who would have thought, this woman is too worried.
Looking at her tearful eyes, Jia Lian could understand a little of Wang Xifeng's thoughts, so he held her in his arms and said with a smile: "Okay, okay, I'm just joking with you. Why, you still want to cry."
Can’t do it?”
"Who wants to cry?"
Wang Xifeng threw her elbow in Jia Lian's arms and didn't break free.
"Now you say it's a joke, but just now I saw that you were serious.
I'm not joking with you. If you dislike me, just say so. I'm not that shameless and I have to rely on you."
That said, but when I think about how I was intimidated by the Queen Mother and disliked by the people of the Jia family, and now being held by Jia Lian, feeling the warmth of her husband's chest, my heart, no matter how hard it is, can't help but become weak, and I can't help but fall.
shed a few tears.
Who can understand her heart?
She was happy that Jia Lian had earned her a phoenix crown and harem, but sometimes when she calmed down, she felt that with every gain, there would be a loss.
She is very possessive. In the past, Jia Lian basically belonged to her alone. Although the current Jia Lian has become so good and even perfect, it is difficult for him to belong to her alone.
She understood it and had a good premonition.
For example, when Jia Lian came back last time, he brought back a pair of sisters from the grassland.
This time I returned to Beijing and brought one with me.
It happened to be a reward from the princess, and she was not even qualified to refuse.
She was even very knowledgeable and didn't ask any questions.
It was like this before, but now that Jia Lian has been granted the title of Marquis, how many more things like this will happen in the future?
Does she know that besides having the advantage of being married to Jia Lian, she has no other advantage?
Let's just say that the princess wanted to snatch the bride and caught her for the crime she committed. If Jia Lian hadn't protected her, she wouldn't be the Marquis's wife now, and it's not certain whether she would have survived.
"Hahaha, are you really crying?" Wang Xifeng cried, but Jia Lian laughed instead.
He held her pretty face and joked.
When Wang Xifeng saw this, he was furious. When he refused, he turned over and wanted to stay away from Jia Lian.
How could Jia Lian do as she wished and see his beloved wife with new red makeup, extremely charming and beautiful?
Before, he was just teasing with the little girl and had never taken any serious action. He no longer had to endure it. He turned over and pressed Wang Xifeng on the kang.
Although Wang Xifeng had been mentally prepared, she was still shocked at this moment.
This is an outdoor heated kang. What if someone comes in and sees it?
"Don't worry, isn't Ping'er outside? She will be watching the door."
Sure enough, Wang Xifeng raised her eyes and saw that Ping'er, who was playing with cups and saucers in the tea room, had disappeared without knowing it.
But the curtain that was originally rolled up at the door has already fallen down.
Now, Wang Xifeng felt a little relieved and allowed Jia Lian to peel off the clothes she had just tried on, piece by piece, and gradually scattered them all over the floor.