Chapter 147

Baichai's hand holding the paper trembled, and she made no sound.

Xue Yima sighed:

"Mother, as someone who has been there, how could I not understand the thoughts of you young ladies? With an outstanding peer like Brother Jing nearby, how could you not be moved!"

"You've had your brother gathering those books and official reports these days, reading them over and over, surely just to be able to speak a few more words with Brother Jing, right?"

"Good girl, it's not that Mother doesn't want you to marry him; we simply can't afford such a high match."

"If we force ourselves to rise above our station, not only will people look down on us, but we'll also be inviting trouble."

"Someone like him, without even mentioning marrying a princess or a commandery princess, at the very least needs to be a daughter of the highest-ranking noble or official family to be a match."

Baichai lifted her gaze; there was a hint of faint bitterness in her eyes, but more so clarity:

"I understand what Mother said! Let's not talk about him for now; Mother, it's more important to settle Brother's marriage first."

"Brother is no longer young; he should settle on a good marriage, establish a household and career, only then can he bear the responsibility of our family's estate."

Baichai let out a quiet sigh from the depths of her heart, first employing a delaying tactic, yet what she kept thinking of was that tall, slender figure.

After the two women chatted a while longer, once Xue Yima left, Baichai sat alone in the room, pondered for a moment, and took out a knee guard she had embroidered a few days earlier.

The knee guard was made of plain-colored silk, embroidered with a stalk of sweet flag; its leaves were slender and graceful, simple and pure.

Baichai examined it for a long time, then suddenly rose and called out:

"Ying Er."

Ying Er walked in from the outer room and said:

"Miss, is there something you need?"

Baichai handed the knee guard to her and said:

"Take this… to the Jingwu Yuan and give it to Third Brother."

Ying Er startled, took the knee guard, glanced at it, and whispered:

"Miss, this is…"

She had seen this knee guard before; it was something the young lady had woven over several days, originally thought to be for Xue Pan, but unexpectedly it was to be given to the marquis.

Although the marquis had told the young lady to call him brother, in truth there is no real familial relation between them; is it appropriate to send this at night?

Baichai said lightly:

"Third Brother said today he would give us sisters a foal as a New Year gift; I should also return the favor."

"This is something I embroidered recently for fun; it's merely a token of my feelings, not worth much—just send it over."

Ying Er nodded; she had also just heard the conversation between Aunt Xue and Baichai, and in her heart she had a slight guess about the meaning of her young lady sending knee guards at this time.

Her young lady has never given anything to another man before; this time she probably really has fallen in love……

After Ying Er left, Baichai turned and came to the window, pushed open a slit, the wind blew in, and the candlelight flickered.

Baichai disregarded the biting night wind, merely staring blankly toward the direction of Jingwu Yuan.

…………

In the main hall of the front courtyard of Jingwu Yuan, Jia Jing sat behind the case, reviewing the military reports of Bashang Daying, while Zhu Que sat on the chair below, reporting the results of the mansion's rectification.

"My lord! Following your orders, the homes of the Lai, Wu, Shan and other powerful slaves in the mansion have all been searched."

"In total, we seized 348,274 taels of silver, 186,428 taels in silver notes, 16,579 taels of gold, plus countless household items, land deeds, field deeds, shops, jewelry and ornaments; the total value roughly calculated exceeds 700,000 taels."

According to the gold-silver exchange ratio of the Da Han Empire, in the early Han it hovered roughly between one to four and one to seven.

But now, the gold-silver exchange ratio has reached one to ten, even one to twelve.

Gold not only holds its value better and is easier to store and carry, but its existing quantity is also small, so wealthy families are more willing to hoard some gold.

Jia Jing already had a rough idea of the wealth of these slaves' households; hearing this figure now did not surprise him.

He nodded, speaking in a low voice:

"Hmm! Take a portion out to compensate the people oppressed and harmed by these wicked slaves, and put the rest into the treasury, registering it in the ledger."

"Also send five thousand taels of silver and twenty personal guards to the Third Young Lady's side; from now on, the mansion will be managed by the Third Young Lady, and let the personal guards help out a bit."

Jia Jing paused after saying that, then asked:

"Have all the other spies in the mansion been cleaned out?"

Zhu Que's face showed a hint of weariness, and she said:

"Following your lord's orders, aside from the agents of the Imperial City Secretariat, the spies from the other several households have all been arrested."

"The lackeys and maidservants who colluded with outsiders have also all been executed."

Jia Jing thought for a moment, then spoke in a low voice:

"Hmm, don't move the Imperial City Secretariat's agents; we'll just pretend we don't know."

"As for the spies placed by the Prince of Zhongshun, the Jingnan Wuxun, and the secret guards, after interrogating them, see if there's a chance to turn them; if not, kill them all."

"Furthermore, not reciprocating is impolite! Arrange for the Embroidered Uniform Guard to infiltrate their mansions; from now on I want to know every move they make."

The various spies in the Jia Mansion are mainly divided into four factions:

They are respectively the Imperial City Secretariat of Emperor Jing Sheng, the secret guards of the Retired Emperor, and the Jia Mansion servants secretly bought by the Jingnan Wuxun, as well as the spies placed in the Jia Mansion by the Prince of Zhongshun.

Needless to say, for Emperor Jing Sheng and the Retired Emperor, important civil and military officials' households in Shenjing basically all have their ears and eyes.

The Jingnan Wuxun, due to its recent conflict with Jia Jing, wanted to grab his handle, and bribed several Jia Mansion servants to pass information to them.

As for the Prince of Zhongshun, he has been at odds with the Duke of Xianrong, Jia Codeshan, since earlier they had a feud, causing him to always be hostile toward the Jia Mansion; placing spies to gather Jia Mansion information is also ill-intentioned.

In the original work, after the actor Jiang Yuhan from the Prince of Zhongshun's mansion fled, the mansion's chief secretary hurried to the Jia Mansion to investigate, and actually learned the private details of Jiang Yuhan giving a sweat towel to Jia Baoyu, thereby revealing the Prince of Zhongshun's mansion's ability to grasp intelligence on the Jia Family.

Zhu Que nodded, clasped her fists, and said:

"Yes! My lord, rest assured."

Jia Jing put down the report in his hand and said with concern:

"I see you look a bit weary. You now command the Embroidered Uniform Guard, also have to oversee the training etc. of Bashang Daying, and you also need to handle some household affairs of the mansion; indeed it is somewhat burdensome for you."

You may, at your discretion, promote a few trusted men on the Embroidered Uniform Guard's side to share some of the pressure; it's been almost three months now, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard should no longer be short of manpower.

Zhu Que, clasping his fists, said:

"Thank you, Lord Marquis, for your concern. On the Embroidered Uniform Guard side, I have already selected Xuanwu as my deputy to help handle intelligence."

"His ability is no less than mine, but he still needs a period of training."

Upon saying that, a faint smile appeared on Zhu Que's face, his spirit also lifted considerably, and he said in a deep voice:

"Now the Embroidered Uniform Guard has secretly expanded from five hundred to two thousand members, recruiting a large number of brothers of unblemished background."

"In the Two Capitals of Great Han, the thirteen provinces, as well as False Qing, Annam, the Northwest and other regions, we already have our strongholds."

"Although the time has been short and we haven't gathered any significant intelligence, at least we have managed to set up the necessary framework."

"If you give me another one or two years, I guarantee the Embroidered Uniform Guard will develop even better than the Imperial City Office."