While Zhou Shaojin was busy changing the maids, Grandma Zheng was sitting in front of the dressing table with a tired look on her face.
Hongrui brought in some fermented rice and eggs, and gently advised Grandma Shi: "My brother is only nine months old. If you keep on like this, your body won't be able to handle it! Besides, the old ancestors and Old An are hoping that you can have more children for the Cheng family, so you must take care of yourself!"
Grandma Shi smiled bitterly.
Looking at the plump and fair face in the mirror, which was wearing a bright red burnt cloth vest but looked a little old, he said helplessly: "I have no choice. I have to do what Old An told me to do!" After saying that, he turned around and saw that there was no one else in the room, so he lowered his voice and said, "In my opinion, it is really not easy to anger the eldest house at this time. But what Old An said makes sense. If we don't break one arm of the eldest house while the ancestor is still alive, when Cheng Jiashan becomes powerful and the eldest house fully supports Cheng Jiashan, where will our uncle have a foothold? If our uncle wants to gain a foothold in the Cheng family, he can only help Cheng Jiashan like a green leaf. Think about it, how arrogant is the uncle. If you ask him to help Cheng Jiashan, it will be more uncomfortable for him than killing him!
"By then, the only thing waiting for us is a life of depression and frustration.
"So I thought, it's already like this, it can't get any worse. Old An has been through so much, if I listen to her, maybe I can find a way out!
"Besides, we have our ancestors behind us to support us. If things really get out of hand, they can just say 'nonsense' and it will be over. What I'm afraid of now is that..." She suddenly stopped talking at the end.
Hong Rui asked in confusion: "What are you afraid of?"
Zheng was afraid that all the mistakes would be blamed on herself.
Although she and Cheng Shi were married, she was not sure if Cheng Shi would disobey his parents for her.
Fortunately, she still had two sons, and she was the eldest son. If her reputation was tarnished, the reputation and future of her two sons would also be affected. She only hoped that Lao An would clear her of the affair for the sake of her two children... Even if he didn't clear her of the affair, he could still save her.
But she couldn't say this to Hongrui.
Grandma Shi paused and said, "I'm afraid that if we anger the eldest branch of the family, they will turn against us."
Hong Rui breathed a sigh of relief and said, "But you can't disobey Old An's advice!"
"Yes!" Grandma Shi sighed, "It's a pity that I don't know why we have a grudge against the eldest branch. Otherwise, I would be willing to cede land and pay compensation for the sake of my two brothers."
The reason why the Third House has never been able to escape the reputation of being a merchant is because of the joint suppression by the First House and the Second House.
If the eldest son uses the same old tricks again, it will be troublesome.
But these are all old grievances, and she couldn't find out the reason even if she tried to investigate. Maybe the ancestor would only explain it clearly before he died.
Hongrui naturally didn't dare to ask more questions.
She said, "Grandma, drink this fermented rice wine quickly. It won't taste good if it gets cold."
Grandma Shi nodded, picked up the bowl and drank a few sips, then put it down absentmindedly and said, "Did Master send a letter?"
"Not yet." Hong Rui smiled, "Didn't you just receive the letter from the master two days ago? I thought it wouldn't be that fast!"
The grandmother's expression became even more depressed.
Hong Rui advised, "Didn't the old ancestor say that he has asked his old friend to take care of the old man. The old man will be fine. You don't have to worry."
Grandma Shi frowned and said, "I always feel uneasy. Logically, we should keep an eye on Cheng Jiashan, but why do I feel that the old ancestor cares more about Master Chi Si. It seems... it seems that if Master Chi Si is controlled, the eldest house is not to be feared at all... I don't know if this feeling is right... I want to discuss it with the eldest master. At first, I just thought that Mrs. An wanted to embarrass the eldest house, and Hanbi Shanfang has been praising the second cousin of the fourth house these days. I wanted to embarrass her and make the eldest house unhappy, but I never thought that the old ancestor knew about it and sent Aunt Liang to ask about the poetry meeting... If I did something wrong, the old ancestor would not scold me, but he would also give me a few words in a tactful way; if I did the right thing, he should also give me a few hints. But he didn't say anything. Is he afraid that the news will leak out from me? I am a little confused now, and I don’t know what to do!"
Hong Rui hesitated and said, "How about you write another letter to me and see what I say?"
Grandma Shi was silent for a long time.
She tried to test Old An, but she just played Tai Chi with her. But she couldn't ask too quickly. After so many years, even if her mother-in-law was confused, she should know something about the grievances between the two families. Her husband always respected Old An. Instead of risking alarming Old An and writing to her husband, she might as well try to get some information out of her mother-in-law.
She made up her mind and felt relieved. She told Hongrui, "Don't worry about this matter. I have my own ideas."
Hongrui felt relieved.
She had been serving Grandma Shi since she was a child, so naturally they had a special bond. However, when it came to matters involving family secrets, the less she knew about it, the better.
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In Jiashu Hall, Old Madam Guan, Madam Mian, and Cheng Mian sat in silence, and the atmosphere was depressing.
Mrs. Guan thought for a moment and said to her son and daughter-in-law, "I think we need to talk to Shaojin about this. This child is very careful. If she hadn't reminded us, we wouldn't have known that the situation had become so serious."
Cheng Mian quickly stood up and said, "Then I'll go back to the study first."
He is the head of the family. When his mother talks to Zhou Shaojin, his significance here is different.
Old Mrs. Guan nodded.
After Mrs. Miao saw her husband off, she immediately told the maid to call the Zhou sisters over.
Old Madam Guan closed her eyes and rested, twisting the 18-bead agarwood Buddhist beads in her hand one by one. She didn't open her eyes until Zhou Shaojin and his sister came over. She motioned to Madam Mian to close the door and said bluntly, "Shaojin, I asked the housekeeper to check the income of the eldest branch's public school. I heard from a manager in the account office that the income of the Jiuru Lane public school is 2,000 taels of silver per year, and the sacrificial land is only 500 taels. The rest of the income comes from a lacquer store on the main street outside the Tianjie Temple. This lacquer store was divided when the eldest, second and third branches separated. After the Fourth Master took charge of the general affairs, the eldest branch became the major shareholder of Yutai Bank, and began to get involved in salt permits and shipping. Life has been getting better day by day."
Zhou Shaojin looked confused.
Old Madam Guan now attached great importance to Zhou Shaojin's words and said, "There are no outsiders here, just say whatever you want to say."
Zhou Shaojin then said, "Then do you know how much the annual dividend of Yutai Ticket House is?"
"Your eldest uncle went to check." Old Madam Guan said, "Our family gets five thousand taels per year, and the eldest family gets ten thousand taels per year."
"This is impossible!" Zhou Shaojin thought of the furnishings in Hanbi Villa. "The Guo family also suffered a disaster at that time. When Madam Guo got married, the Guo family could not have bought a large dowry for her, and Uncle Chi could not have used Madam Yuan's dowry. Even if the annual income of the eldest house is 12,000 taels of silver, you can see how the food, clothing and daily expenses of the eldest house do not look like they have become wealthy in the past few years... Let's not talk about anything else, just look at the jewelry that Madam Guo gave me. Each piece is a fine product, and ordinary families can have it as a family heirloom. Even if you have money, you can't buy it at any time. It is obvious that it was saved or purchased in the early years."
Mrs. Miao could not help but nod repeatedly, and looked at Zhou Shaojin with a little more appreciation, and said: "Your uncle is just like you, suspecting that the eldest branch of the family has another income. But this income can't be found out. If it is said that the things were purchased by the old man of the eldest branch after he entered the officialdom, how much money did the old man of the eldest branch embezzle to buy all this family property? But the old man of the eldest branch is famous for his integrity, which is recognized by all the officials who have worked with him. If a person wants to embezzle, there must be a source, right? It is impossible to hide it from everyone if you can hide it from one person, right
“So your uncle went to check the properties of the second and third wives.
"The second branch of the family has not acquired any other property over the years except for the farm and shop it received when the family was divided. However, it is a major customer of Yongfusheng, the largest silver shop in Beijing. Yongfusheng sends its chief shopkeeper to pay respects to the old ancestor every year. Even if the second branch of the family is a manager and needs to go to Beijing for business, Yongfusheng will send someone of the shopkeeper level to accompany him.
"The third branch, on the other hand, not only turned the medicine shop they had when they split up into a large one with 13 branches, but also owned restaurants, pawnshops, oil presses, and pastry shops... It was very diverse, involving almost all money-making industries.
"Your uncle meant that if there really was such income, it would definitely be shared by the first and second houses, with no share for the third house. Moreover, eight or nine out of ten of this income was in the hands of Master Chi Si, who was in charge of the general affairs.
"Now the Second House is declining, while the First House is flourishing. Youyi and Jiashan have reached the point where they need to spend money. The Second House is probably afraid that the First House will take all the profits, so they have conflicts with each other.
"Since there is no way to trace this income, we don't know whether the eldest house did something to cause the second house's misunderstanding or whether the second house was just worrying and making random guesses..."
Mrs. Miao's mouth opened and closed, but Zhou Shaojin and Zhou Chujin were already dumbfounded, and they didn't come back to their senses for a long time. Especially Zhou Shaojin, his heart was surging, and he couldn't calm down for a long time.
What other secrets does the Cheng family have
Is the confiscation of Cheng family’s property related to these secrets
The five families in Jiuru Lane are of the same mind. Why would the eldest and second branches hide this from the other three branches
Zhou Shaojin suddenly felt dissatisfied.
When they enjoy good times, the first and second houses are all alone, but when they are in trouble, the fourth house will suffer along with them. How can it be so easy!
This time, she must pick the fourth room out.
Otherwise, everyone will be in trouble!
Moreover, it is much easier to save only four houses than to save the entire Jiuru Lane.
She said, "Grandma, if that's the case, why don't we move out? Jiuru Lane is too complicated, I'm afraid our fourth room will suffer!"
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Sisters, today's extra update.
PS: Today I went to work, and my colleagues asked me if I had cooked Laba porridge. I just realized that Laba Festival had already passed... When I write, I feel like a caveman, celebrating festivals with the characters in the book... O(∩_∩)O
※(To be continued)