Chapter 531: Girls' Gathering
"I'd also like to trouble Sister Feng to list the silver that all the sisters have contributed. You all should give out your family savings. Sister Bao and I will remember this kindness and return it double, no matter how much. In addition, everyone has been helping out and taking risks during this period. Except for Sister Bao and me, each of you will receive an additional 3,000 taels as compensation for this period of time."
Wang Xifeng sneered upon hearing this and said, "What? Are you and Bao-ya-tou the only ones who don't like money? Are we all obsessed with money?"
"Don't even mention three thousand taels, I don't want even thirty thousand taels!"
"Miss Lin, what are my expenses in the mansion? What's the use of so much silver? Besides, if I really need money, I can tell the master without any problem. So, I don't want the three thousand taels of silver." Yu Shi said softly.
Keqing also nodded and said, "Miss Lin, I took the silver out of kindness, not to make money. I absolutely dare not accept this silver."
Yuanyang, Muring, and Xiuyan all stood up and said, "Miss Lin, all the food and clothes we eat and wear in the mansion are given by the master, and the silver we take out is also a reward from the master. Regardless of whether we make a profit or a loss, if we take this silver, how can we feel at ease?"
"Sister Lin, Sister Bao, I don't want it either. As long as you do such a big thing in the future, it would be best if you take me with you." Xiangyun said with a giggle.
"My two sisters, I am just a helper and have no merit at all. How can I take this silver?" Tanchun also spoke up.
Daiyu glanced at her sisters, then turned and looked at Baochai. "Since you don't want the money, Baojie and I will remember your friendship! I also know that you are helping me so much not because of Baojie and me, but because of Third Brother. In the future, Baojie and I will let Third Brother repay this friendship."
When the girls heard this and looked at Daiyu's intriguing expression, they couldn't help but feel a little agitated.
Daiyu then continued, "The money for the garden has been stopped, so all that needs to be spent has been spent. Sister Feng has already allocated 500,000 taels, which should be enough to cover the expenses. When the money from the court arrives, we will make up the difference."
"Give the 500,000 taels of silver from the Dongfu Treasury to Keqing and the eldest sister-in-law to make up for it. Give the rest to Sister Yuanyang and return it to Third Brother's private vault!"
At this point, Daiyu stood up and said with a smile, "This time, we sisters have worked together and returned with a great victory. We should definitely celebrate! Sister Feng, Sister-in-law, Sister Yuanyang, let's host a grand banquet in the East Mansion tonight and invite all the other sisters and the sister-in-law from the West Mansion. Since Sister Feng hasn't paid the bill yet, let's treat her lavishly, no matter the money!"
When everyone heard this, they all laughed out loud!
Baochai, standing by, looked at Daiyu with a smile. After this incident, she thought that this younger sister had won the hearts and respect of her sisters, which made all her efforts worthwhile...
The girls were about to disperse and prepare when they saw Jia Zhong coming in hurriedly.
"Greetings, young ladies! The old lady from the West Mansion has sent word for all the young ladies to come over. She says the palace eunuchs have come to pass on the Empress's instructions. Please all the ladies enter the palace. The Empress will serve you a meal!"
Daiyu heard this and immediately stood up and said, "Then let's go first. We can talk about our small banquet tomorrow."
The girls first went to the small courtyard to meet Li Wan, Yingchun, Xichun, Baoqin and others, and then went to the West Mansion.
Li Wan and Yingchun were also aware of this incident. Although they had not called them over at first, wouldn't it have created a rift in the future if they had been cautious? However, the two of them were mainly helping Wang Xifeng check the accounts, assisting Wang Xifeng and Youshi with the affairs of the two mansions, and taking care of the children, so they did not meet with the others.
As for the two younger ones, Baoqin and Xiao Xichun, they were not told. Firstly, they were too young to help, and secondly, they could easily be tricked into telling lies, which would ruin things.
When he arrived at the old lady's courtyard, he saw a eunuch waiting there.
Today, not only did the eunuch come to deliver the message, but the Queen also specially sent a carriage and ceremonial guards to pick them up, and asked the Dragon Guard's soldiers to escort them back and forth, which gave the women a great honor.
The women did not dare to delay and all changed their clothes before heading all the way to the palace.
In Fengzao Palace!
Emperor Longxing reclined on the soft couch, leisurely sipping tea! The war situation in Shu was stable, Chengdu Prefecture was successfully relieved, and the capital city was also settled. It was natural for Emperor Longxing to be able to have such a relaxing New Year's holiday.
"Are you going to give a banquet to those maids today?!" Emperor Longxing asked the queen.
The Queen nodded. "These little girls have risked their lives to help Your Majesty stabilize the capital. Otherwise, Your Majesty would probably still be worried. Since they have made great contributions to the court, how can I not reward them?"
"That's right!" Emperor Longxing nodded repeatedly, "Besides, these little girls are my creditors!"
"Wait until the business brings in some money in the next few months, and the Ministry of Revenue can raise some more. I will pay this debt quickly in the spring of next year."
He was the emperor of the Great Qian Kingdom, but he owed money to a group of young girls. Even if they were his own daughters-in-law, Emperor Longxing felt a little embarrassed.
Looking at the emperor talking to himself, the queen just listened with a smile and did not interrupt, but there was a hint of pride in her eyes.
Her son fought for the country and established his rule in the southwest. Although her daughters-in-law were a group of little girls, they accomplished great things that were difficult for all the civil and military officials in the court to do. Isn't this a dignity for her as the queen?
Moreover, she knew everything about this incident. None of these daughters-in-law were simple. How many people in the world could match their methods, decisiveness, connections, and courage?
Not to mention anything else, just the tens or millions of taels of silver involved would make even an ordinary man feel nervous or even jealous. However, these little girls handled hundreds of millions of taels of silver in an orderly manner . Just for this reason, all the civil and military officials in the court would feel ashamed.
In fact, the reason why Daiyu, Baochai and others were able to accomplish this matter was unexpected but also reasonable.
On the surface, it was just this group of girls making trouble, but how much power was involved behind the scenes?
Most of the manpower and financial resources of the four families of Jia, Shi, Wang and Xue in Shenjing City were invested. Under Xiangyun's coordination, the eight dukes and twelve marquises' mansions and many other dukes' and marquisates' mansions, including the merchants behind the queen, also made more or less moves.
Including the local officials of prefectures, counties and districts involved in these mansions , there are at least hundreds!
Part of the power of the Zhen family in Jiangnan, the Lin family's foundation and connections in Jiangnan, the branches of the four major families in Jiangnan, the Shandong Kong Mansion and the Shandong Camp.
The Ministry of War represented by Wang Ziteng, the Ministry of Revenue represented by Lin Ruhai, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Five Cities Military Department, and several large camps outside the city!
It is no exaggeration to say that even if the emperor wanted to use such power, it would not be easy.
