Daiyu from the Red Mansion is also arguing with people today

Chapter 227: Suffering in silence

Lai Shangrong was used to being a tyrant at home, and now that he had donated money to become an official, he was naturally arrogant. In his opinion, a low-ranking official still needed him to beg and fawn on him?

Thinking of this, he straightened his back and introduced himself directly: "I was about to leave Beijing for my new post, but I didn't expect to be attacked by those unruly people. All the banknotes I carried with me were robbed by them. I want to report a crime!"

The officer didn't buy it. Seeing that Lai Shangrong had no intention of giving way, he turned around and ran towards the city gate.

After a while, a captain dressed in the uniform of the Jinyiwei came over with several officers and soldiers, all with serious faces.

Lai Shangrong almost knelt down when he saw the person coming. In front of the Jinyiwei, what was a small county magistrate like him?

Before the captain could speak, Lai Shangrong apologized with a smile, changing his arrogant attitude: "Sir, this is a misunderstanding! I don't want to stand in the middle of the road. It's true that a cart came from nowhere and knocked our carriage into the middle of the road! If you don't believe me, you can ask other people!"

He looked around and found that apart from his servants, the captain and his men were the only ones left.

There were quite a few people at the entrance of the alley in the distance who were secretly looking over here, but when they saw Lai Shangrong looking over, they immediately shrank back.

The captain was not a greedy and cruel person. He ordered his men, "Go to the city gate and call two servants to clean up the place and make way for them."

Then he looked at Lai Shangrong and said, "Come with me to the South City Military Affairs Office."

"I am the victim! Why should I go to the government office?" Lai Shangrong resisted instinctively, but the sharp look from the captain instantly softened his momentum. "But... I have to hurry to take up my post!"

The captain sneered, "You don't have to go. As the saying goes, if the people don't sue, the officials won't investigate. So let's just pretend nothing happened at the city gate today."

Lai Shangrong weighed the pros and cons in his mind: those who robbed the banknotes had already disappeared without a trace. He was sitting in the car at the time and didn't even see the other party's figure clearly, and the driver didn't know anything. Even if he went to the government office, he might not be able to find the person, not to mention that if he went to the government office, he would definitely have to spend money to bribe them.

Thinking of this, he gritted his teeth and could only swallow this loss for the time being and go back to his father to find a solution.

He took off his purse, took out fifty taels of silver with heartache, and quietly put it into the captain's hand.

"Thank you for your hard work, sir. I'll use this money to buy you and your brothers a cup of tea. I'll have someone clean up the place right away and make sure it doesn't affect you!"

Seeing Lai Shangrong was so tactful, the captain put his hands into his sleeves and collected the banknotes. When he lowered his head, he saw the lantern of Rongguo Mansion lying at his feet, so he kicked it and sneered.

"What courage! Let's go!" Following the captain's order, the officers and soldiers left one after another.

The farce on the street finally stopped, but the aftermath of the storm was far from over. Unbeknownst to the Lai and Jia families, a rumor was quietly spreading...

"Have you heard about it? A county magistrate took tens of thousands of taels of silver with him when he took office. He is so generous! Whose son of a high-ranking official is this?"

"What high-ranking official's son? I know the inside story!"

"Don't be tricky, just say it!"

"That county magistrate's position was donated!"

"You're buying an official position with money? A man like this can be a county magistrate. It's really ridiculous!"

"This is nothing. What's even more ridiculous is that the county magistrate's ancestors were all born into a wealthy and powerful family!"

"I was born in a lowly family. How can I take the imperial examination? And yet I can become an official!"

"Tsk, that's nothing. I've also heard that even if you're dismissed, you can still be reinstated. And there are many officials in the court who are appointed by imperial favor."

This topic was widely discussed in teahouses and restaurants in the capital.

After the officials left, Lai Shangrong called a bullock cart on the street, took his wife, and hurried back to his father's house. As for the remaining mess, he naturally threw it to the driver without looking back, and did not leave him any money.

Without the excitement to watch, Daiyu smiled meaningfully. She whispered to Bai Shao, "It's time to let the people over there take action."

"What kind of riddle are you playing?"

Daiyu winked at Yingchun playfully and said, "Don't worry, when there's a good show to watch, I will definitely not leave you out."

Ever since Jia Ling was forced to sign the IOU, he has been entangled by those two friends who lend money at high interest rates.

The days after that were not peaceful. They came to collect the debts every day, and even seemed to eat and drink at Jia Ling's house.

He was forced into a corner and had no choice but to shamelessly ask Mrs. Wang for help.

At that time, Mrs. Wang was also worried about the lack of money in the mansion. When the two parties met, one provided the capital and the other had "connections", she started to make plans in her mind.

It became natural for them to "partner" to lend money at high interest rates.

Like many idle young men in the Jia family, Jia Ling often embezzled money when he was assigned to work in the mansion. This time, he took advantage of the opportunity of lending money and became even more greedy and unscrupulous.

In the first month, Jia Ling paid off all his debts with "his own" ability.

The name of the Jia family still had some deterrent power in front of the lower class people. Jia Ling relied on this to make a lot of money in just half a year, but the interest he handed over to Mrs. Wang was greatly reduced.

Whenever Mrs. Wang asked about this, he would use the excuse that he was short of staff and had difficulty collecting the money.

Mrs. Wang actually believed his lies and arranged for Jia Chang to go along and help him collect the money.

Jia Ling was initially skeptical about Jia Chang's joining, thinking that Lady Wang didn't trust him. But he changed his mind and realized that he often hung out with Jia Chang, so he quickly put this skepticism behind him.

On this day, Jia Ling went to Lady Wang's courtyard to deliver the month's income as usual, and ran into Jia Zheng walking out of the inner courtyard.

Jia Ling was startled and was about to turn around to avoid it, but was stopped by Jia Zheng.

"Who are you? Why do you run away when you see me?" Jia Zheng frowned and looked at the man in front of him.

He remembered what Aunt Zhao had said in his ear about Jia Baoyu. The more he looked at the young man in front of him, the more he felt that he looked like Baoyu. Every time he saw him, it was like a mouse seeing a cat.

Jia Ling replied hesitantly, "I am Jia Ling from the back street. I came to... to ask the Second Madam for a job."

His mind was working quickly, and he knew very well that Jia Zheng hated people who were idle the most, so he came up with this excuse to deal with Jia Zheng.

Jia Zheng nodded and began to speak at length: "Well, a man should find a decent job, otherwise it would be disgraceful to hang around in the inner house all day long..."

Jia Ling pretended to be submissive and obedient, as if he was listening attentively, and it seemed that he was about to fool Jia Zheng.

But the person lying on the roof was waiting for such an opportunity, so how could he let it go!

Seeing that the time was right, the man took out a small stone, mobilized his internal strength, and smashed it accurately at Jia Ling's knee.

Jia Ling was caught off guard by the blow and fell into Jia Zheng's arms with a plop.

Jia Zheng seemed to be entangled by something dirty. He immediately pushed Jia Ling away with a look of disgust on his face.

This sudden change made Jia Ling panic, and he even forgot to hold his sleeves tightly.

Then, an account book slipped out and fell at Jia Zheng's feet.