Chapter 648 Daily Life in the Sun Residence (Part 9)
No conversation along the way.
When Sun Shaozong arrived at his main hall, he saw Ruan Rong scanning a red-wrapped gift list. He frowned and asked, "Who sent this gift again? Didn't I say it's not good to accept gifts these days?"
This new official has taken office and is in charge of the power to review all prison cases in the country. It is inevitable that some people will use their connections to come to him and seek to overturn the verdict.
Therefore, Sun Shaozong instructed his family early in the morning that even if gifts were sent by relatives and friends, they should be returned in their original state.
"The Xue family on Zijin Street sent some fresh shrimps and crabs. It's a tradition over the years, so it would be inappropriate not to accept them."
Ruan Rong stood up from the table and handed the gift list to Sun Shaozong for review. She then helped him take off his coat and handed it to Shi Liu.
When Sun Shaozong heard that the shrimps and crabs were sent by Xue Pan, he felt relieved.
Because the Xue family operates more than a dozen fishing boats in Jinmen Prefecture, they have sent many fresh seafood to the Jia Mansion, the Wang Family, and the Sun Family over the years, and this has long become a routine exchange.
However, when Sun Shaozong glanced at the gift list, he noticed something strange.
"Sixty-six Songjiang perch? There was this thing two years ago?"
"I heard that it was brought by the young master of the Xue family, so I sent some over as well." Ruan Rong helped him wash up while she replied casually, "They were afraid that our chef wouldn't be able to make it, so they sent a recipe."
Brought it by Xue Ke?
Sun Shaozong pondered for a moment, then ordered the kitchen to cook a few pieces according to the recipe.
When the four-gilled sea bass was served, he picked up some tender meat with chopsticks, rolled it in the sauce beside it, chewed it carefully for a long time, and nodded, "It really tastes like this."
When passing through Jinling, Wang Ren hosted a banquet for him. There was a dish of sea bass on the table that was extremely delicious, which won Sun Shaozong's praise.
Xue Ke was also sitting nearby at the time. He must have remembered the recipe at that time, and later he specially looked for the recipe and sent these sea bass over from afar.
He really meant it.
You have to know that the current situation is different from that of later times. The cost of transporting perch from Songjiang is enough to ruin the homes of several ordinary people.
Not to mention that this is the restaurant's signature dish. If you want to buy the recipe, you may not be able to get it even with a hundred taels of silver.
"What's the matter?"
Sun Shaozong took a bite of the fish and then stopped to think about something, unlike his usual voracious eater style.
Ruan Rong also tasted it carefully and found that apart from the delicious taste, there was nothing wrong with it. So she couldn't help but wonder, "Is there something wrong with the cousin of the Xue family?"
"That's not wrong."
Sun Shaozong shook his head and said, "His family has had some conflicts with the Zhen family in Jiangnan recently. Maybe he needs my help."
At this point, seeing some regret on Ruan Rong's face, he smiled again and said, "This has nothing to do with my job at the Dali Temple, so I'll just accept it. Besides, Xue Ke is a person of character, so as long as the matter is not too troublesome, doing him a favor is not a big deal."
After hearing this, Ruan Rong breathed a sigh of relief, but still did not dare to take it lightly, so she continued to inquire why the Xue family had a conflict with the Zhen family.
"If we really talk about it, the two families are related, so why did they come to the capital to make trouble?"
"It's true that we are related."
Sun Shaozong picked up some crab meat and dipped it into the seasoning. He swished it in one hand and said incoherently in the other hand, "But the Zhen family is in big trouble now, so they can't care about the relationship between distant relatives and close neighbors."
If Ruan Rong had asked about this matter one day in advance, Sun Shaozong might not have been able to answer it - in fact, even Xue Ke himself couldn't understand why the Zhen family suddenly became so ruthless.
However, after listening to the report from the Left Temple Deputy Chen Jingde today, Sun Shaozong suddenly figured out the whole story.
Chen Jingde was assigned yesterday to investigate the sudden death of Lu Haoran, the Censor of the Ministry of Revenue. It turned out that before his death, Mr. Lu was secretly investigating the arrears of the national treasury.
Sun Shaozong didn't even need to investigate, he dared to conclude that the Zhen family must be at the top of the debt list!
After all, the story of the retired emperor's six tours to the south of the Yangtze River and the Zhen family receiving him four times has been circulating in the circle of nobles in the capital for more than 20 years.
That would cost more than a million?
Even if the Zhen family had more savings, they could not afford such a mountain of gold and silver, so most of the money was borrowed from the national treasury.
Later on, I never heard of his family making any move to repay the money.
I think the Zhen family also heard that the court intended to clear the arrears - although it was a secret investigation, considering the Zhen family's business in recent decades, it was normal to hear some rumors - so they panicked.
Although the money may not be recovered from his family because he has the Emperor Retired as his guardian, the Emperor Retired is over 80 years old after all. If he dies one day...
Especially since the Long Gen case, the differences between the retired emperor and the emperor have been increasing day by day. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the current majesty will never rest in peace with the reputation of "following the rules of Xiao and Cao"!
That was why the Zhen family wanted to plug this hole as quickly as possible to avoid being dragged into the past - and since lives were at stake, they naturally would not care about distant relatives or close neighbors.
Of course, the complexity of this matter cannot be explained in a few words, and there is no need to explain it in too much detail to my wife at home.
So he explained it briefly. Seeing that the three girls at the table seemed to understand, Sun Shaozong changed the subject again and pointed at the plate of Songjiang perch with his chopsticks and said, "Remember to send a cook to Li Xian's house tomorrow to cook it for them and their son to taste."
"Master is still thoughtful."
Ruan Rong smiled and said, "I was thinking about sending some shrimps and crabs over, but I forgot that no one in his family knows how to cook these things."
Knowing that Sun Shaozong valued this "disciple" very much, Ruan Rong would always send him some gifts during the holidays. As time went by, she gradually got to know Li Xian inside and out.
Intelligent, filial, knowing when to advance and when to retreat, knowing etiquette...
The most important thing is that at the age of fourteen, he won the title of Juren!
Such young talents must be vigorously supported and attracted.
Seeing that the topic caused by Songjiang perch had been almost discussed, Sun Shaozong was about to shake his cheeks and offer a sacrifice to his internal organs first.
Unexpectedly, just as the chopsticks poked the roast suckling pig, a little maid came in and reported that the eldest lady had sent Si Qi to deliver a message.
Everyone at the table stood up to greet her - Si Qi had been promoted to concubine last year, but she was still serving Jia Yingchun.
Although the concubine from the first wife's house is not worth much, since her status is different, people cannot treat her badly.
Sun Shaozong said "please", and then Si Qi rushed into the room. She exchanged greetings with Sun Shaozong and told him in vivid detail what had happened in Rongguo Mansion.
Finally, she added, "Master Bao asked our wife to pass on a message, saying that when the Second Master is on leave, he will bring Third Master Huan to apologize."
After hearing Jia Baoyu's words, especially those about Qingwen, Sun Shaozong couldn't help but laugh and said, "He has really made a lot of progress in the ways of the world in the past two years."
Si Qi waited for a moment, and seeing that he had no other words, she said to Ruan Rong and others beside her: "Sisters, Madam brought Miss Xing back from vacation, and said she wanted to keep her for a few days. Because the room is a mess, she is afraid that it will pollute her eyes and ears, so she wants to invite you to come over and talk to her."
Although Si Qi also praised her as a concubine, she obviously did not treat herself the same as those playboys and dissolute women.
Ever since she gave birth to her eldest son Sun Chengsi, Jia Yingchun's status in the backyard has been unmatched. Now that she has spoken, Ruan Rong and others could not refuse, so they all nodded and agreed, saying that they would go and sit down later.
After Si Qi left in a hurry again, the family sat down again. Sun Shaozong picked up his chopsticks, ready to complete his unfinished "business".
But suddenly, Ruan Rong said in a sour voice, "By the way, speaking of this, there is a person in our woodshed who refuses to eat or drink. What should we do with her? Master, please make a decision. We can't let her die in our house, can we?"
This is naturally referring to Caixia.
It seems that I slept with two girls that day without thinking, and it still made her jealous.
Sun Shaozong took out a few pieces of honey-glazed barbecued pork from the belly of the roast suckling pig and stuffed them all onto Ruan Rong's plate. He smiled and said, "This was indeed my fault for being drunk. I won't do it again, never again."
"snort!"
Ruan Rong snorted coldly, "They are just two maids. If the master wants to employ them, who can stop him? But the master should at least choose the one he likes, so as not to cause trouble for nothing!"
"Look at you."
Sun Shaozong knew he was in the wrong, so he pointed at his children at the small table and said, "The children are right in front of you, what are you talking about?"
Without waiting for Ruan Rong to respond, he said to Xiang Ling in all seriousness, "In a few months, my eldest brother will be three weeks old. By then, I will leave the responsibility of teaching the elementary school to you."
These words really diverted Ruan Rong's attention. She didn't even bother to eat and focused on discussing the plan for her son's upbringing with Xiangling.
Sun Shaozong took the opportunity to fill his stomach, then quietly left the main room and went straight to the woodshed in the front yard.
