The turmoil at the Manzhou Banquet on a bright autumn night was over as the people involved didn't mention it after they returned to the Duke's mansion.
Three days later, it was Wang Qingqian's birthday.
Qiu Yilan brought Jiang Jingkun and Jiang Jinglang to the house as promised, and the Lian family received them warmly. At the birthday banquet, Wang Lian took an opportunity and asked quietly: "I heard that Princess Lexin's death falls in the same month as the Longevity Festival?"
"Exactly." Qiu Yilan knew what she meant, "After the matter of the eldest princess, it will be His Highness the King of Wei."
Wang Lian was relieved. Wang Qingqian was accidentally selected as the princess, but she could not collect the dowry first. This was finally solved after confiscating the Duan family. Then the Empress Dowager Gu and the late emperor both died. On the advice of important ministers, King Wei Three years of filial piety lasted; after the period of filial piety, Wang Qingqian was inexplicably slandered... In the past few years, the Lian family had been worried about this marriage. It was difficult for the King of Wei to pay filial piety, and Wang Lian's family I wish my daughter would leave the cabinet soon to avoid further complications!
Now that I heard Qiu Yilan's words, I made a calculation in my mind. Although July has already arrived in the second half of the year, it may not be too late to hold a big wedding in the remaining months. Especially the eldest princess Yongfu, the biological daughter of Empress Dowager Jiang, was two years older than Wang Qingqian. Wang Lian thought that she was afraid that her daughter's youth would be delayed again, and she thought that the queen mother would also make plans for eldest princess Yongfu. So if nothing unexpected happens, Wang Qingqian should be able to go out this year.
Thinking like this, Wang Lian made up his mind and asked Qiu Yilan for advice on what to wear during the Holy Birthday Festival.
After returning from the Lian family's banquet, Qiu Yilan changed her clothes, and the group of Shan'er, Xian'er, and Juan'er who were in front of Shuijin were now married, and the four newly-dressed people who had been brought in by Shuijin. The maids still took the names next to the character for female, which were Shan'er, Jiao'er, Jie'er, and Yuan'er. Headed by Shan'er, they came over to report: "My young lady, please ask the nineteenth young lady to come over and talk!"
"What's the matter?" He Shuijin has always been a busy person. Especially now that she has a son and has to guard against He's mother-in-law, she is even busier. In the past year, nothing has happened to her confidants directly. When passing the news, Qiu Yilan was rarely asked to go over for an interview. At this moment, Qiu Yilan couldn't help but wonder if something happened again
Sure enough, Shan'er said softly: "It seems to be related to the fact that some young men in Kui County want to escort Miss Da Sun to Beijing."
"Counting the days, the eldest brother and the eleventh brother have already paid filial piety, and Huizhi is already twenty. It's time to return to Beijing together." Qiu Yilan followed Shan'er to the third room, and when she saw He Shuijin, she asked, "This matter... is there any change that needs to be discussed?"
He Shuijin glanced around, waited for everyone to exit, and then said: "It would be fine if only the grandchildren of the eldest family came back with their great-grandchildren, but this time, people from the second and fifth families are also coming together."
"Oh?" Qiu Yilan was slightly surprised, "Aren't these two houses not for official work? Are you coming to Beijing... just for a look?"
"That's great, but think about it, although Kui County is much richer than before because of our Jiang family, no matter how rich it is, can it be compared with Jingli?" He Shuijin shook the tea bowl in front of him and said seriously. , "Even if they really came here to broaden their horizons, after seeing this colorful world, can they really continue to control it and not stay? We all know my grandfather's attitude towards my great-uncle's family! At the beginning, the second and fifth families were not allowed to serve as officials. It was my great-uncle's wish. Now that my great-uncle has passed away, he did not stay with me until his death. If the second and fifth bedrooms are not allowed to work in the future - do you think my grandfather would be soft-hearted if the two families begged to marry him? "
"Moreover, even if they don't bring up the idea of becoming an official, they just stay in Beijing eating, drinking and having fun..."
He Shuijin spread his hands and said, "It's not that I'm stingy, but as you know, my brothers and sisters, there are quite a few people in our family who just spend money and don't care about their income! Your fourteenth brother is one of them! Although I'm a little bit In the end, there is no magic touch in managing the industry. It’s okay to maintain the current situation, but if we really add a few more that can be spent, it will be really unbearable!”
"To put it bluntly, our third bedroom is currently taking care of the property of the Duke's Mansion. But in the future, when the family is divided, your fourth bedroom and the eighth uncle's bedroom will all have a share in it, and the other bedrooms will be taken care of. There is no reason to reach out - the first house has been living with his grandfather for decades, and it is enough to provide them with food, clothing and shelter. If the second house and the fifth house also take advantage of the Duke's mansion, then... "
Obviously, He Shuijin does not welcome people with second or fifth bedrooms to come to Beijing!
After all, the property she is in charge of now will be divided into four shares in the future, with the third bedroom getting two shares, the fourth bedroom and the eighth bedroom each getting one share - that is to say, without considering the gifts Qin Guogong will give to his nephews before his death, and Half of the assets that Shuijin is worried about now are for the fourth and eighth houses.
Even if Sanfang can take two shares as the eldest brother, Jiang Yaheng is not the only male heir of Sanfang. The property of Sanfang has to be divided into four more shares. The late Jiang Ya’s lover will receive two shares. Jiang Yayi and Jiang Yaheng each received another share. Even considering that He Shuijin has been in charge of them for many years, Jiang Yaheng can get more, but it may not be more than Jiang Yaqing's share!
Under such circumstances, it is reasonable to have to supply outsiders again, and to have a grudge against Shuijin. Who wants the property that he has worked hard to accumulate to be squandered by someone who comes out of the blue without any concern
"And this is only considered from the perspective of family assets. From the perspective of the political cake, even if the second and fifth families are currently serving as officials, it is impossible for them to achieve high positions, but what about in the future? Even if Qin Guogong may not be able to delay for a few years, the second and fifth families will He is a member of the male branch of Kui County. In the past, men from the second and fifth families in Kui County were not allowed to serve in official positions, not only to not infringe too much on the interests of his nephews, but also to appease Jiang Tianao's grievance and anger. Now that the male talents in Kui County have passed away, the second and fifth families have died. The people followed Dafang back to Beijing, saying how could it be possible without Dafang’s permission?”
Qiu Yilan thought in her mind, "Dafang is not someone who cares about brotherhood. They must have some agenda for doing this - could it be because Jiang Yayue passed away and there are not enough trustworthy manpower, so they plan to recruit from the second room and Did Wufang get help? "
From the perspective of the head of the Jiang family, Qin Guogong, Qin Guogong didn't like Mrs. Han, but the second and fifth wives of Mrs. Han were also of the blood of Kui County men. When Jiang Tianao and Jiang Tianyuan were wronged, the second master Jiang Tianju and the fifth master Jiang Tianjun were still young and were not instigated by their mother to bully their half-brothers and sisters, so Qin Guogong's impression of these two nephews was not bad. .
The two families stayed in Kui County for decades. No matter how prominent the Jiang family in Beijing was, they could only stay with their old father and work as squires in their hometown - they had completely taken the blame for their mother. No matter how you thought about it, Qin Guogong would have some pity for them.
As for the second- and fifth-fang families themselves, they were required not to serve in official positions, and they were not allowed to go to Beijing to take exams again if they were able to study. Their fame was artificially limited to the level of being a candidate. Even if the ban on serving as an official is lifted, it will not be able to develop in a short time. And because they had been living in Kui County for many years, they had never gotten along with their relatives, Duke Guo of Qin and Marquis of Jibei, and had little relationship with them.
In contrast, although Dafang had many grievances with them, he was still closer in blood, and the children of the same branch had many contacts. When they join the officialdom, if they don't follow Dafang, who else can they follow
"I really didn't expect that Jiang Tianao would make such a choice after my father passed away - this move is equivalent to scoring points for magnanimity in front of Duke Qin." Qiu Yilan pursed her lips and said slowly: "It's just that they said that Come on, we can’t say we don’t want them to come, right?”
"The fourth brother's family is under the second uncle's knees, and the fifth brother's family is under the fifth uncle's knees. It can be said that all the people in Kui County who know how to pay filial piety are here, except for the married daughter." He Shuijin took a sip. Tea, "Fourth brother has the reputation of being a civil servant. Not to mention all the girls under his knees, the only male heir, Jing Mu, is only eleven years old. Do you think he can try the spring exam when he comes? If he fails in the spring exam, he may continue to take the exam. I have already inquired about our fourth brother’s style..."
He spread his hands and said, "It's somewhat similar to myna."
Okay, no need to say anything else, Qiu Yilan already knows the character of this fourth brother whom he has never met before.
"Even if I win, I am not saying bad things about Bage, but think about it, brothers and sisters. Do you think Bage is a person who is willing to leave Beijing and live abroad even if he has the title of Jinshi?"
Of course it's impossible - Jiang Yadan accompanied Jiang Qizheng to Shazhou before, which was his only advantage and that he valued his brothers and sisters. Moreover, at that time Jiang Yadan thought that he could return to Beijing after going to Shazhou and never planned to go to Shazhou. How long should Shazhou stay? If it were for other things, asking him to leave the bustling capital would probably kill him!
"It just so happens that Jing Mu is at this age when he is studying. The fourth brother can talk to him. He doesn't feel at ease if he is not taken with him when he goes out. Also, if he is taken with him, he is afraid that there are not many scholars in the capital outside, which will delay him!"
Therefore, after the Fourth Young Master Jiang Jingzhao and his family arrived, unless he was willing to leave, there was basically no possibility of driving him away.
"Besides, Fifth Brother—Fifth Brother didn't have many children, just two sons. After Jing Zhan died, his wife, Xiao Jin, was in shock and pain. She committed suicide by hanging herself. My brothers and sisters also know the news."
"Now the fifth brother's family is called a family, but in fact it is just the fifth brother, his wife and his youngest son Jingman. Jingman is two years older than Jing Mu, and is only thirteen!"
"Fifth brother is not interested in studying, but I heard that he has a lot of experience in having fun. When he was in Kui County, he never spent hundreds of gold on daily expenses! This is because Kui County is just a county after all, and it is prosperous. It’s limited! I really don’t know what kind of expenses I can afford when I come to Beijing.”
He Shuijin sighed, "Father Xiao, I heard that Jing Zhan was similar to the fifth brother when he was alive - Jing Man is still young, but I think he should be similar to his father and brother? Do you think that if this is true, how will we live our lives in the future? ?”
Qiu Yilan knew that the Duke's mansion could actually afford such a level of squandering - but why!
He couldn't help but frown: "Don't they plan to bring any expenses to Beijing?"
After the rise of the Jiang family, although Beijing's side made countless gains, Kui County's side followed suit and made a lot of money. Otherwise, how could Jiang Ya be allowed to spend hundreds of gold in one day
"For so many years, Dafang's food and expenses have gone to the public accounts of our Duke's office. It is said that it was Grandma Dou who started it during her lifetime." He Shuijin sneered, "With them as an example, the second-fang and fifth-fang were brought to the capital by them. , Do you think you won’t take advantage of this? In their eyes, they have been in the countryside, but they have been wronged! After all, we should pamper them!"
"When the time comes for them to visit their grandfather, he will most likely let them stay in his house..."
After moving in, people asked for money in various ways, but did not mention giving money. Qin Guogong was still alive, and he was in trouble with Shui Jin. How could he still ask for it
Qiu Yilan rubbed her forehead and said thoughtfully: "Or, my sister-in-law will say that there is something wrong with the accounts now and reduce the expenses of everyone except grandparents? When the time comes, these two families will come. Compared with our reduced share of entertainment, we can’t say that we are slow to deal with other expenses. My sister-in-law just pretends to be confused and lets them figure it out on their own? "
It seems like this is the only way. You can't just drive people away, right