Chapter 7: Asking for Silver

Jia Cong's injuries finally healed. In the past few days, he began to move his body in the room. Having lain for half a month, his hands and feet were a bit stiff.

Now that his injuries had just healed, his body appeared even weaker, and he would be a bit out of breath after moving a little.

So he began to use some methods of fitness from his previous life.

Zhi Shao discovered that the Third Master had many strange actions again, often lying on the ground to support himself, and running in circles in the narrow granary courtyard every morning and evening, not stopping until he was covered in sweat.

That day, Zhi Shao went to ask Wang Shanbao's wife for the monthly allowance, and Wang Shanbao's wife reported it to Lady Xing immediately. Later, the Liu woman in the kitchen was severely scolded by Wang Shanbao's wife.

Lady Xing was greedy for wealth. As the eldest daughter-in-law, although she couldn't manage the West Prefecture, the East Road Courtyard was her world. The monthly allowance for everyone in the courtyard had a fixed number, and the public treasury also issued it according to this fixed number every month.

Anyway, these people ate and lived in the courtyard, so they didn't need monthly allowance silver to open the pot, and there was someone like Jia Cong who was not decent and had no waist. How could Wang Shanbao's wife not make moves on the monthly allowance?

She originally followed Lady Xing's secret order, chose a soft persimmon, deducted and intercepted, helping Lady Xing collect wealth, and she herself slipped some soup from the edge of the pot, which also made her sit more firmly on Lady Xing's side.

Zhi Shao was forced to come to the door to ask for the monthly allowance because Jia Cong needed silver for his recovery, which uncovered the lid. Not only was Wang Shanbao's wife slapped in the face, but Lady Xing also didn't look good there. How could she not hate it in her heart?

Later, when Zhi Shao went to the kitchen, what she brought back was cold leftovers, and the portion was deliberately reduced.

Whether Jia Cong was angry or crying, she felt it was normal, but he smiled at her at this moment.

Was this evil seed born of a prostitute beaten stupid, or was he driven crazy? Jia Cong's smile looked very clean, but it made her feel a bit hairy in her heart.

This made Wang Shanbao's wife feel more and more uneasy, feeling that she had seen a ghost, being held by a child, and feeling a bit ashamed and angry in her heart.

Jia Cong took out a money bag from his body and handed it to Wang Shanbao's wife without expression: "I spent two qian of silver to buy things in the past few days, and the rest is all here."

Before Jia Cong could deny it, Wang Shanbao's wife shouted with a fierce face, taking the initiative: "Young Master, don't say there isn't that ten taels of silver. Your Mama showed off to the Xia woman, and many people heard it."

The Liu woman's Wu'er was also nowhere to be seen. It was said that she was grounded at home by her mother. Jia Cong knew that Wang Shanbao's wife had received Lady Xing's words and was making trouble there.

She saw that Jia Cong didn't have a trace of the anger and grievance she had imagined, just looked at her calmly with deep eyes, and the gaze was actually a bit hot, which suddenly made her feel a bit empty.

Wang Shanbao's wife breathed a sigh of relief and sneered secretly, despising Jia Cong even more in her heart. A few words scared this goods born of a prostitute to death. A soft-boned person, and he still obediently handed over the silver.

Jia Cong smiled bitterly. Zhao Mama saw that his calligraphy was valuable and was happy in her heart. She must have been proud and bragged to her fellow villager. The Jia Prefecture had many people and loose lips, so how could it be hidden?

Wang Shanbao's wife's face, which had no two taels of meat, deliberately put on a fierce look: "The Mistress said she would help you keep it. You don't need a single wen for chewing in the courtyard, lest you hide silver and learn to be bad. Hurry up and take it out!"

The atmosphere at the scene became oppressive, and Zhi Shao behind him turned pale, her small hands pinching the corners of her clothes tightly, her bright eyes staring at Jia Cong worriedly.

Jia Cong suddenly smiled, which startled Wang Shanbao's wife.

The silver box in the room had long been empty. Fortunately, the couplet he gave to Zhao Mama was exchanged for ten taels of silver, so he didn't starve to death. Every day, Jia Cong slipped out to buy some food to subsidize.

She gritted her teeth and said: "This is not what I said. The Mistress personally ordered it. If you don't take it out, I'll let the Mistress come and collect it herself."

Just when Jia Cong was looking for ten taels of silver, which was enough for him and Zhi Shao to eat for half a year, Wang Shanbao's wife suddenly came to the door and mentioned the ten taels of silver in his hand with a fake smile.

She didn't feel ugly either, and counted the silver in the money bag in front of Jia Cong to see if it was really two qian less.

She was busy counting the silver with her head down and didn't see that although Jia Cong's face was calm, a coldness flashed in his eyes, carrying a bone-chilling chill.

Jia Cong knew he couldn't keep this money. If he didn't hand it over obediently, Lady Xing would naturally come up with more ways to humiliate him.

She was his legitimate mother, just saying she would help the child keep the silver, not saying she wanted it. On the surface, there was no fault to pick.

The principles of filial piety and righteousness were there. With the patriarchal law and etiquette in front, as long as he showed the slightest disobedience, he would be labeled with the evil name of unfilial, and from then on, he would have no foothold in the Jia family and would be even worse than now.

Since the silver was taken away by Wang Shanbao's wife, eating became a problem. Zhi Shao had a small appetite and didn't feel much after eating a little.

But Jia Cong was exercising his body every day now, and his consumption was large, so he was so hungry every night that it was difficult to fall asleep.

Reborn into the Jia Prefecture, which had two dukes in one family, Jia Cong felt that his technology was still okay, but he couldn't even eat his fill, and he could actually be so miserable.

However, he saw through Lady Xing. As the Great Mistress of the dignified Jia Prefecture, she was greedy and stingy to this point, even scraping away the ten taels of silver of an illegitimate son.

And that Wang Shanbao's wife's face, master and servant were both goods that couldn't be brought to the table. Except for these trivial things, they couldn't do any big demons. No wonder the Old Mistress didn't like the eldest branch.

The books sent by Tan Chun mentioned Wang Mojie, letting Jia Cong know that in this timeline, Wang Mojie was one of the few famous scholars who hadn't been wiped out by the side road of history.

Here, he was still the "Poet Buddha" famous all over the world for his poetry and painting.

Jia Cong specially wrote three poems by Wang Mojie, preparing to wait for Zhao Mama to enter the courtyard to take them to the bookstore for consignment. The matter of the couplet last time made him understand the value of his calligraphy.

This time, he had to ask Zhao Mama to keep her mouth shut, otherwise, if she got the silver, Lady Xing would scrape it away again.

It was just that for several days, he didn't see Zhao Mama's figure. Later, he heard that she had been sent to the laundry room by Lady Xing, saying that Jia Cong was older and didn't need a wet nurse anymore.

Jia Cong sneered in his heart. This was cutting off his hands and feet, wanting to trap him to death, but it couldn't scare him. At worst, he would think of another way.

Early the next morning, Jia Cong went out of the East Road Courtyard, preparing to go to Wenhan Street himself to find a calligraphy and painting shop to consign the three pieces of calligraphy he wrote.

Just after he went out, Zhou Changyan in a green shirt entered the Rongguo Prefecture.

As the eldest legitimate son who inherited the title, Jia She should have inherited the imperially granted Rongguo Prefecture by right; according to patriarchal law and ritual, Jia Zheng, as the second son, should have moved out to a separate residence.

But he didn't expect that the one who was moved out to live separately was the eldest son Jia She, which was just a word from the Old Mistress.

The Old Mistress disliked her eldest son for being absurd and playboy, only letting him inherit the title but not letting him live in the prefecture. Others couldn't say half a word.

It can be seen that at this time, filial piety was greater than patriarchal law. Jia She, who was absurd and cruel, could only obediently listen to his mother's arrangement and didn't dare to have half a word of complaint, otherwise, it would be eternal damnation.

Jia Cong saw all this in his eyes. Although he lived in humiliation, he knew deeply that the filial piety and patriarchal law of this world could not be easily violated, and he could only plan slowly and discuss from a long-term perspective.

The strange phenomenon of the two sons of the Jia family inheriting the title was rare among the nobles in the Divine Capital. Although the heads of each family knew the reason, they would never gossip everywhere. Whose family didn't have some filth? They all left face for each other.

And in the Jia family, this clan was an hidden illness that was taboo. People up and down never dared to chew their tongues and touch it, even someone as lowly as Lady Xing, although she hated it in her heart, never dared to say half a word outside.

Zhou Changyan was just a guest under someone else's door, so he naturally didn't know these twists and turns of the wealthy family. Jia Cong was the grandson of the Duke of Rongguo, so he naturally went to the Rongguo Prefecture to look for him, but he didn't know there was an East Road Courtyard with a separate door.

(End of chapter)