Rongguo Mansion, because Jia Lian left the banquet early and there was no show in the courtyard.

Simply eating wine would inevitably be less interesting, so the members of the clan soon dispersed.

On the other hand, the women inside knew that Jia Mu liked to be lively. After the meal, most of them went back to Jia Mu's Rongqing Hall to chat about their parents.

Suddenly, everyone came in happily and said loudly: "Old lady, Second Grandma Lian, I'm so happy.

The Queen Mother, and our mother-in-law, please give me all the gifts. Here comes the reward!"

Jia Mu and others were startled for a moment, and then became happy.

After a while, I saw a group of eunuchs from the palace, carrying and carrying various red goods, walking from the corridor outside.

The two leaders were both wearing bright red eunuch robes.

One of them is Xia Shouzhong, the eunuch of the Sixth Palace. After this person was granted the title of imperial concubine in Yuanchun, he often came to Jia's house to convey orders and request gifts, and Jia's mother and Mrs. Wang were all familiar with him.

It’s just another person whom they don’t recognize.

The other women in the hall had already made room for the eunuchs so that they could carry all the things in.

"Old lady, ladies and gentlemen, please be polite."

Xia Shouzhong stepped forward, bowed, and said with a smile.

Jia Mu and others also stood up to greet him and responded, their eyes falling on the old eunuch beside Xia Shouzhong.

Xia Shouzhong saw this and introduced with a smile: "This is the eunuch general consul of Weiyang Palace, Eunuch Zhou."

Although Jia Mu and others would come to the palace every year for a banquet And so on, but basically they meet the Queen more often and the Queen Mother very rarely, so they don't know the manager of Weiyang Palace.

When I heard this, I looked busy and respectful.

The eunuch named Zhou was not arrogant at all. He just smiled and said a few polite words, and then said: "The old slave sent these things to your residence in accordance with the order of the Queen Mother. I took the opportunity to pay homage to him. The Marquis of Zhenyuan said congratulations."

Jia Mu and others were about to kneel down to thank the Holy Grace. After being called up, they looked at the valuable goods laid out on the ground. They were secretly shocked and couldn't help but ask. He said: "I dare to ask my husband, why does the Queen Mother give such a reward?"

Every festival in Yuan Chun, she would give some valuable things to the house, and Jia Mu and others did not find it strange. .

But what Yuanchun gave today was obviously a foil. They could all see that it was mainly a reward from the Queen Mother.

Eunuch Zhou smiled and said: "This time, the Marquis of Zhenyuan escorted the princess back to Beijing safely, and the escort was well done., the Queen Mother was very happy and specially sent such a reward. "

Sure enough, Jia Mu and others thanked her hurriedly, and asked people to invite Jia Lian over.

But when Eunuch Zhou heard that Jia Lian was not in the house, he did not Determined to meet Jia Lian, he said not to bother, and returned to the palace with Xia Shouzhong to resume his duties.

In Rongqing Hall, the women in other rooms saw the Queen Mother and the noble concubine. The hall was full of rewards, and everyone was envious of them and said congratulations one after another.

Even Aunt Xue couldn’t help but feel envious when she looked at the wealth in the hall.

There is no shortage of these goods in the family, but the wealth rewarded by the Heavenly Family is always different from the wealth earned by the family's business.

Knowing that the Rongguo Mansion will be busy counting these things next, She also got up, said goodbye to Jia Mu and others, and left with her daughter Baochai.

As soon as she left, it was inconvenient for others to stay, and they all left one after another.
< br />Soon, only her family members were left in the Rongqing Hall.

Mrs. Wang looked at Wang Xifeng, who was leading several maids and servants to count their belongings in the hall, and tilted her head to talk to him. Jia Mu said: "Old lady, although the garden behind is basically completed now, there are still a lot of expenses to welcome the queen back home to visit her relatives.

Now the money left in the treasury has basically gone somewhere. After the New Year's Day, there are still several gifts that need to be given that have not yet been received. Now that there are rewards from the palace, maybe they can handle it. ”

When Jia Mu heard this, she immediately understood what Mrs. Wang meant.

Her expression was a little unhappy.

First, she was unhappy. Mrs. Wang bothered her with things like this. She had long since stopped caring about family affairs.

The second reason was that she was dissatisfied with the fact that her family was guarding such a huge family property, but they were still so busy, and now she was planning on these things. .

But then Jia Mu’s expression softened.

She also understood that the family had spent too much money on the garden in the future.

Almost every available space inside and outside the home was used.

Even she spent tens of thousands of private expenses on this!
>
She also understands Mrs. Wang’s difficulties.

And she also knows that since the east cross courtyard was opened and the two houses were combined into one, this kind of thing is inevitable.
/>
It stands to reason that since we are a family, our income and expenses should be unified.

But with so many people in a family, shouldn’t we really be indifferent to each other?

For example, if others honor Jia Mu with some good things, she must also give them out and share them with everyone, right?

This is unrealistic.

Therefore, according to the past practice in the family, the goods obtained by individuals are naturally distributed among individuals.

The farms and shops in the mansion, as well as the gifts and exchanges between each family, are all recorded and paid out by the officials.

In the past, it was totally fine for Jia She and Jia Zheng to have separate accounts. Both sides discuss their own issues.

But now, the family is one again. However, both Jia Zheng and Jia Lian can make things happen outside, so it is inevitable that there will be disagreements.

For example, in the past, Jia Zheng was the head of the family alone, and other people could keep the things they received for their own use, or send them to the officials for storage in the name of him or Mrs. Wang.

For another example, Yuanchun's rewards, if they are not designated to Jia Mu or anyone else, will go directly to the official treasury.

But things are different now.

The money in the official treasury needs to be used jointly by Jia Lian and Jia Zheng.

If Jia Zheng’s colleagues or friends send gifts to the house, will Mrs. Wang allow them to become officials?

Obviously not.

Mrs. Wang has done the same thing this year.

Wang Xifeng did exactly this.

In the past few years, Jia Lian has received various rewards one after another. Others gave Jia Lian gifts. Wang Xifeng basically received them quickly and kept them at home for his own use.

In this way, everyone has their own plans. The official income is too much and the income is too little. Naturally, it is difficult to make ends meet.

The disadvantages have not appeared before. After all, it is supported by the foundation of the government for a century. Nowadays, the construction of a Grand View Garden has made Guanzhong bear a burden that it cannot bear.

The prosperity fades away, revealing its true appearance.

Now, Mrs. Wang is in trouble.

Wang Xifeng doesn’t care. No matter how difficult it is in the officialdom, her private treasury will still be fertile, so there is no need to worry at all.

It’s no wonder that Mrs. Wang is interested in these things awarded by the Queen Mother, and wants to ask Jia Mu to see if they can be used as official gifts.

In Mrs. Wang’s view, as long as Jia Mu agrees, Wang Xifeng will not disagree.

Mrs. Wang even secretly resented that Wang Xifeng had obeyed her in the past, but since Jia Lian became powerful, Wang Xifeng had become more obedient and submissive to her. But Wang Xifeng is very smart and smooth, so she can't hold back the pain.

Mr. WangHow do people know that the reason why Wang Xifeng no longer listens to her is because Jia Lian blows the wind on her pillow day and night.

Under Jia Lian’s repeated reminders, Wang Xifeng also realized that the former Mrs. Wang was indeed suspected of taking advantage of her.

Taking advantage of her jealousy, she prevented Jia Lian from having concubines, and since she herself could not give birth to a son, Jia Lian's title would most likely go to the second wife in the future.

In addition, when he was condemned by the Queen Mother and almost expelled from the Jia family, Mrs. Wang, the aunt, did not help her. On the contrary, it was Jia Lian who never left her. Comparing the two, she naturally knew who to rely on.

"Old lady, we have counted them. Take a look. If there is anything you like, just take it."

Wang Xifeng is a good person and knows that everyone sees it. Her eyes were hot, and she turned around and wanted to bribe Jia Mu.

Jia Mu took the list and glanced at it, but she really didn’t want to speak.

Actually, there seemed to be a lot of things, but they were only worth two to three thousand taels of silver in total. In the past, this small amount of money was really beyond her reach.

"Girl Feng, you are in charge of the house now, and you also know the situation at home.

Just now your wife said that after the New Year, there will be several mansions The gifts are not ready.

Nowadays, the house is not as good as in previous years, and there is no other place to collect money.

These things are all fresh. If you take them home, they will be wasted. It's a pity, it's better to stay in the official position and control it."

If the eunuch hadn't said that it was the Queen Mother who specially rewarded Jia Lian that week, Jia's mother would not have been so embarrassed.

Even if everyone knows that it is because of Jia Lian, as long as the Queen Mother does not say anything, it can be treated as a reward from the Queen Mother to the Jia family. It is natural for such things to be sent to the officials.

Wang Xifeng was stunned, but she reacted quickly and immediately said with a smile: "My wife is right, I naturally know the situation at home.

Let's do this, let's All the gifts given by my mother-in-law should be sent to the officials. I think it will be enough to prepare gifts for several families."

People like Wang Xifeng judged the situation almost instantly and threw away the car to save the commander.

After all, Jia Mu has spoken, so it’s not okay if she doesn’t give in.