The housekeeper left the warehouse and dared to wipe the sweat from her head. She was frightened just now. She had never seen the lady lose such a temper.
To be honest, she originally thought that this time it was a fat job and she could get something out of it, but now it seems that it is good if she can get it right, and there is no way she dares to get anything.
Zhang ordered the housekeeper to be tied up and led them to the lobby of the Baolinghou Mansion. At this time, Shi Nai was reading leisurely with Ben Xian's book.
Shi Nai was shocked when Mrs. Zhang entered the lobby in a menacing manner. In the decades since he and Mrs. Zhang had been married, he had never seen Mrs. Zhang lose such a temper.
Mrs. Zhang used to hold back her temper even if she lost her temper, and then secretly exerted herself down there, unlike now.
"What's wrong with you? Are you so angry?" Shi Nai quickly stood up, walked to her side, helped her to her seat, and personally brought a cup of tea to Mrs. Zhang.
After Mrs. Zhang sat down, she still felt angry, "Do you know that that slave of yours has gone to heaven?"
Mrs. Zhang was also a little bit shy, and she even talked about your home and my home.
Shi Nai was very angry when he saw her, so he quickly comforted her and said, "If you have something to say slowly, is there any need to lose your temper?"
"Do you know that your housekeeper has already sold almost all of Xiangyun's mother's dowry?" Mrs. Zhang was angry and helpless now. The family was already short of money, and now she had to make up for the dowry for Shi Xiangyun no matter what.
superior.
Shi Nai's face darkened after hearing Zhang's words, and he shouted angrily: "What a dog slave, it seems that he doesn't even want to lose his face for a few lifetimes. Where is this dog?"
"Bring this slave in and let your Lord, Lord, punish him personally." Madam Zhang shouted out the window.
People outside heard this and immediately pressed the housekeeper into the lobby.
The housekeeper was now as limp as mud. He lay down on the ground as soon as he entered the lobby and could no longer stand up.
Shi Nai glanced at me with disgust and said, "I treat you well, so why would you do such a thing?"
The housekeeper couldn't answer now. He collapsed on the ground, shivering and couldn't speak for a long time. He seemed to be frightened.
Shi Nai looked at you and asked me what I was talking about, and said to Mr. Zhang: "Sell the whole family to a black brick kiln. This will save us the trouble of seeing each other."
As soon as the housekeeper heard this, his fear just now was forgotten. If the family arrived at the black coal kiln, they might never see the light of day again. The man might have to work until he died of exhaustion, and the women at home would
I'm afraid I will become the plaything of these sooty people.
"Master Marquis, I confessed on my own initiative. For my sake, please spare me this time and leave a way for my family to survive?" After saying that, he lay on the ground and kowtowed to the ground, with few strokes on his forehead.
I've already seen blood.
While kowtowing, he told the merits of his ancestors: "Sir, you have forgotten that my father followed the old Marquis and went through life and death. In the last battle on the slope, it was my father who endured the intestinal tract that came out in order to convey a message to you.
I lay in the mound for three days, waiting for reinforcements to arrive, and then I left after passing word."
Shi Nai felt a little emotional when he heard this. At that time, the housekeeper's father was also a soldier of the old Marquis. He was not young yet, and he followed the old Marquis through life and death. In that battle, because he was entrusted by the old Marquis,
In order to survive, he did not drink water for three days and three nights, and ate human flesh when he was hungry. Finally, when reinforcements found him, he had already been out of hiding for several days. He only had time to talk to Rongguo Gong Jia Daishan and the old marquis.
He passed away after giving his last instructions.
Now that the steward was begging him for mercy due to his merit, Shi Nai could no longer give orders.
Mrs. Zhang couldn't bear to see this, "Why don't we just wait and see if his family's finances can make up for Xiangyun's mother's dowry before making any plans."
Shi Nai couldn't bear to see the housekeeper kowtow in front of him. After all, this man's father had been with his father for many years, and he had watched him grow up. He was considered an elder, and in the end he died of loyalty. He just didn't look at the monk's face.
, you can’t be so heartless when looking at the Buddha’s face.
So he nodded and sat aside without saying a word.
The housekeeper, who was kneeling on the ground, breathed a sigh of relief now. He knew his family's property well, and it was more than enough to pay for Xiangyun's mother's dowry.
Not long after, the housekeeper who ransacked the house came back, followed by a group of family members from the old housekeeper's house.
The housekeeper entered the hall, kowtowed to Shi Nai and Zhang first, and then said: "Master Marquis, madam, the servant found more than three thousand taels of silver in the housekeeper's house, and there is also a small village with more than 300 acres.
The land deed, and then more than fifty pieces of gold and silver jewelry." After saying this, he raised a list high above his head.
Shi Nai got angry when he heard this. If all these things were exchanged for cash, they would be more than all the silver in the Marquis's house.
The housekeeper was about to get angry when he saw Shi Nai. He hurriedly knelt down and took a few steps forward and said to the two of them: "Master Marquis, madam, we have saved these things over many lifetimes. They are not all obtained from the house. You have to see it clearly."
Then he paused again, and then said: "Sir, you may know that this lot of money is my father's dead fortune on the battlefield."
But Shi Nai doesn't believe what he said now. This little slave will never be able to save these silver coins even if he works for a few more lifetimes.
What he is thinking about now is that his family is in such a difficult situation. I am afraid that the family does not have as many housekeepers as this one. Even though his father has made great contributions to his family, he has enjoyed the glory and wealth for so many years and it is time to pay off his family's debt.
"Find someone to sell their house to a black coal kiln." Shi Nai wasn't so kind now.
Does Mrs. Zhang want to say to Shi Nai: "Master, no matter what, it was the housekeeper who took the initiative to confess. If we are so unfeeling, no one in the family will dare to tell us if they make mistakes in the future. I think it is better to be given a lighter sentence and be punished."
Return their family's deeds to them and just kick them out of the house."
Shi Nai heard the same truth when he heard it. Moreover, the father in charge was indeed a bowler for their family through life and death. He had to look at the old man's kindness, so he said to the people below: "Get these bitches out of the house."
, I am not allowed to see him again from now on."
The boy on the floor immediately agreed, and four or five people came up and dragged the housekeeper out. Immediately afterwards, the cry of women and the sound of children calling for their mothers were heard in the courtyard. After a while, these people were driven out of the house.
Linghou Mansion.
Zhang had finished the matter and turned to Shi Nai and said: "Xiangyun's mother has lost most of her dowry. What do you want to do next? Let me tell you, we have to make up for her at least, otherwise we will let others know.
What are the words?"
"What you said is very true. If Xiangyun marries the uncle of Rongguo Mansion in the future, she will be regarded as our supporter in Rongguo Mansion. We must not wrong her. If you have any ideas, let me hear it." Shi Nai didn't know for a moment.
Knowing what to do, I could only ask Mrs. Zhang for advice.
Mrs. Zhang pondered for a moment, and then said: "I think it would be better to supply the small village with 300 acres of land to Xiangyun. She also has an income every year in Beijing. Let's take the money we just copied to Ren, in case you have any
What do you think, no matter what kind of management we can do, we can keep the capital of our family at bay?"
After hearing this, Shi Nai felt that Zhang's method was really good. Not only did he have an explanation for Shi Xiangyun, but he could also be more relaxed when he took office.
"That's it. You can tell Xiangyun about this later. Don't let her feel uncomfortable and say that we took advantage of her mother's dowry."
"Don't worry, sir. I'll tell you now. Otherwise, we'll miss the time and have to send her to the Rongguo Mansion in a day or two." Mrs. Zhang immediately stood up and walked back with the contract for the three hundred acres of land.
go.
When Mrs. Zhang left the main hall, there was a hint of cunning in her eyes.
It turns out that she had heard about Aunt Lai in Rongguo Mansion a long time ago, but she had always thought that her family was relatively poor, and those housekeepers didn't have much money. However, some time ago, Mrs. Zhang occasionally heard that this housekeeper had someone outside.
After getting the land, he paid attention to it.
So people made a secret investigation and found out that the housekeeper's food and clothing expenses at home were no worse than that of the marquise. From this, it became obvious.
So today, Mrs. Zhang used Shi Xiangyun's mother's dowry as a breakthrough and ransacked the housekeeper's house. Not only did her family have the money to go to Jiangnan, but Shi Xiangyun's dowry was also paid for her. It was really killing two birds with one stone.
As for Shi Xiangyun, she has been doing pretty well these days. The sewing work assigned to her at home has now stopped, and even the food for each meal is much better than before. But Shi Xiangyun is not happy, she knows that these are for her own benefit
In exchange for his youth, although Shi Xiangyun was open-minded by nature, he was never mentally prepared for taking a concubine.
Today, Shi Xiangyun had just finished his meal and was sitting in the room feeling sad, feeling sorry for himself.
Suddenly she heard a noise outside, and then her maid Cuixi's voice rang out: "My maid Cuixi has sent her greetings to Madam."
Shi Xiangyun knew that Mrs. Zhang was coming as soon as she heard the voice, and quickly stood up and went out to greet her. But as soon as she reached the door of the embroidery room, Mrs. Zhang had already opened the curtain and came in.
Shi Xiangyun quickly gave Mrs. Zhang a blessing, and then said, "Auntie, why are you here?"
"Hey, something happened at home and it's related to you, so I came over to tell you."
When Shi Xiangyun heard that Zhang's tone was a little bad, she felt happy. Could it be that her marriage had changed? If that was the case, it would really be Amitabha.
As a result, Zhang's next words completely dampened Shi Xiangyun's happiness, "Today I went to the warehouse to check your mother's dowry, and I found that most of it had been resold by our housekeeper."
Shi Xiangyun has lived in poverty since he was a child, and is still very sensitive to money matters. As soon as he heard that the dowry his mother left for him was gone, he immediately became anxious.
"Auntie, what should we do about this?" Although Shi Xiangyun said she was relatively cheerful, she was still a teenage girl after all, so she didn't have any ideas now.