Chapter 422 Xia Jingui
Although these two things were not a big deal, Jia Cong took them to heart.
Before going on duty the next day, he asked Lu Feng to inquire about the news of these two families.
These two families were not secretive places, so it was not difficult to find out information from them. Therefore, by the time Jia Cong returned home from his mission, the people Lu Feng had sent out had already returned.
In the front hall, Lu Feng said respectfully to Jia Cong, "The Guihua Xia family has an old lady named Zhou, and she has a daughter named Xia Jingui!"
"Because the master of the Xia family died early, the mother and daughter have been living as widows. Moreover, because she is the only orphan, Zhou dotes on her daughter. With Zhou's indulgence, her daughter Xia Jingui is extremely unruly and cruel."
"According to the information we have gathered, many of the Xia family's servants have been disciplined by Xia Jingui, and quite a few have even been killed or disabled."
"However, this person is extremely beautiful, but has a rather vicious personality."
"Among the Xia family's followers, there is a saying about Xia Jingui that she loves herself as if she were a bodhisattva, and she views others as if they were dirt. She has the appearance of a flower or willow, but she has the nature of wind and thunder."
"The Xia family is indeed extremely wealthy, even more so than the Xue family."
The news about the Xia family of Guihua was basically consistent with what Jia Cong knew, and Xia Jingui was indeed a savage. If such a daughter-in-law entered the family, the Xue family would never be able to calm down.
"What about Zhang Hua from the Zhang family?"
Lu Feng chuckled, "Zhang Hua is just a gambler. Although the head of the Huangliang Farm is not a high-ranking family, he originally had some wealth. However, after his father passed away, he neglected the farm's affairs, so he lost his job."
"The wealth his father left behind was squandered in just three to five years. Now, he has a lot of debts and can barely afford to eat."
Having said that, Lu Feng looked at Jia Cong hesitantly.
Jia Cong laughed and scolded, "When did you learn to stammer? If you have something to say, just say it!"
Lu Feng then grinned and said, "My subordinates found out that this kid owed Juxian Manor more than 300 taels of silver. Because he couldn't pay it back, he was beaten several times by the people in Juxian Manor."
"A few days ago, he was beaten badly, and he said that he had a wife whom he had married since childhood, and he was willing to give her to Juxian Manor to pay off his gambling debts."
"And this boy's childhood sweetheart is the second daughter of the eldest lady's family."
"Puff!" Jia Cong couldn't help but laugh, "This kid is a talent. He can even kill his own wife. He deserves to be beaten to death."
"What is the origin of Juxian Manor? Although some things cannot be stopped despite repeated prohibitions, I have also asked the Military Affairs Department to investigate many cases of forcing women into prostitution. I have never heard of the name of Juxian Manor before."
"I haven't found out the specific person behind it, but I have heard rumors that Juxian Manor has a deep foundation in the Ministry of Revenue. But I don't know which official in the Ministry of Revenue is backing it. If you are interested, I will have someone continue to investigate. I think it won't be a difficult task."
"Ministry of Revenue?" Jia Cong raised his eyebrows, thought for a moment, and said, "Don't investigate this matter yet. If necessary, I will have someone pass on the message to you."
Upon hearing this, Lu Feng immediately responded and left.
Afterwards, Jia Cong went to the backyard. He really didn't take Zhang Hua's matter to heart. If such a gambler was in a bad mood, he would be beaten to death. Is it worth his concern? Even if it was Juxian Manor, would it dare to provoke him?
Even if he had the support of someone from the Ministry of Revenue, his title of Marquis of Champion was not just a decoration.
What's more, the Minister of Revenue probably has no intention of doing such a thing now. Shu Yuze is about to "retire". He would not be short of this little money after being an official for a lifetime. As long as he can retire smoothly and leave a good reputation, it will be enough. Now, even if someone takes money to ask Shu Yuze to do something, he probably won't agree.
Naturally, Lin Ruhai would not do such a thing. If Lin Ruhai wanted to make money, he would have been rich enough to rival a country if he was in charge of the salt administration in Jiangnan. Why would he bother to rely on a gambling house to make money?
Moreover, if it was in cash, Lin Ruhai might not have much. However, this does not mean that Lin Ruhai was poor.
On the contrary, the Lin family has been marquis for generations, and their family background is really not comparable to that of ordinary families.
When Lin Ruhai returned to Shenjing, he brought back several carts of rare books. Any of these books was worth a lot of money. If they were all sold, Lin Ruhai's house would be filled with gold and silver. Therefore, Lin Ruhai was definitely a wealthy man.
Besides, the amount of cash is relatively small. Every year when Daiyu was in Rongguo Mansion, Lin Ruhai brought 10,000 taels of silver to Lady Jia. In recent years, it would be tens of thousands of taels of silver. Even among wealthy families, how many could afford that?
How dare the remaining officials of the Ministry of Revenue, even the Right Vice Minister Liu Shuang, to provoke me?
…
Time passed quickly, and soon it was the ninth day of July.
Lin Ruhai rarely had to go on business, so he got up early in the morning and asked the housekeeper to tidy up the house. In the backyard, Zijuan and Xueyan also carefully helped Daiyu to dress up.
Daiyu had hardly slept the entire night before. Today was the day when the Emperor granted her and her third brother a marriage. How could she sleep? After today, even if it would take another year or two to marry her third brother, she would already be considered his woman.
After all, once the marriage is granted, the royal family will record the names in the golden book, which also means that the matter will not be changed.
At this moment, Daiyu is shy, happy, eager and nervous!
"Where's Daddy?"
"Girl, the master is in the study in the front yard."
"Then send someone to guard the front yard!"
"Don't worry, young lady. The master has already instructed the butler to personally lead people to guard the door. As long as the angel comes, he will send a message to you immediately. There will be no delay."
Daiyu felt a little relieved after hearing this.
…
In comparison, the Lin family was relatively peaceful. After all, Lin Ruhai was able to meet the emperor often and often received various orders from the emperor.
However, the Xue family is different.
Starting three days ago, Aunt Xue had all the servants in the mansion busy.
She cleaned and repaired the house inside and out, not daring to omit the slightest bit. Even though she knew that these things had nothing to do with the imperial edict, Aunt Xue was still busy with the arrangements nervously and happily.
"Is the front yard ready? Where did that evil creature go? He disappeared when we were busy."
