2.34 Xue Baochai: Escorting Sister Qin to the Lin Residence

Rongguo Mansion, Jia Mother’s Courtyard.

From the rear courtyard all the way to the main gate, the entire premises were cleared of servants, obviously having been meticulously emptied out.

In the main hall, only the senior maid, Yangyang, stood silently a little behind and to the side of the chief seat.

"An imperial decree?" Looking at her daughter before her, Lady Jia looked completely bewildered. "Preparing for what?"

"Although your daughter has witnessed the household receiving imperial edicts many times in the past, far too much time has passed since then, and besides, those were from the Retired Emperor." Jia Min nodded, looking rather puzzled by her mother's state of mind. "Now that the reigning Emperor is in power and managing state affairs, I wonder what the protocol is?"

"This..." Lady Jia looked extremely awkward. "It should be more or less the same, shouldn't it?"

"More or less?" Jia Min was even more perplexed. "How did our household used to receive them?"

"Our household—" Lady Jia did not dare to meet her daughter's gaze. "Hasn't received an imperial edict in quite some time."

Jia Min: ......

"Does Mother know what she is saying?" After a long silence, she laughed out of sheer exasperation. "The Rongguo Mansion can't even receive an imperial edict? What kind of absurd talk is this? When Father was alive, even on ordinary days with nothing special happening, gracious edicts and rewards were never lacking. How many years has it been since then?"

"The current Emperor does not value military merits and has always been close to civil officials." Lady Jia was not entirely ignorant of everything. "When there is nothing going on during ordinary days, why would the palace bother issuing edicts? Besides, our family is not the only one in this situation. Which of the other noble houses is any better off?"

"Of the Eight Dukes and Seven Marquises, I am afraid we are the only Jia family left without a substantive official post today." Jia Min's cold tone caused the old dowager to visibly falter. "Mother, although your daughter spent over a decade in Yangzhou, I have not completely lost touch with news from the capital.

Among the other six families, the Niu family boasts a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, the Liu family a Vice Minister of a Board, the Chen and Ma families are Garrison Commanders in the capital, and the Hou and Shi families also hold military commands elsewhere in the metropolitan area. Only our Jia family closes its front gates, unable to produce even a single man with a real official title."

"Your second brother—" Lady Jia's face showed flashes of anger.

"The rank he holds was requested by Father on his deathbed. More than a decade after leaving the capital, when your daughter returns, he still holds that exact same rank." Jia Min's face wore a look of bitter mockery. "Not only has he not been promoted, but he has even lost his original good position. As a mere director in charge of mausoleum repairs and expense verification, what real authority can he possibly wield?"

Such duties had to go through the Imperial Household Department or the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs, and outsiders could not possibly meddle in them.

"Enough!" Lady Jia interrupted the conversation stiffly. "You must have other matters to discuss?"

"I originally intended to inquire about current protocols, but now it seems I thought too much of it." Knowing it was impossible to continue that thread, Jia Min shifted to another topic. "When I was previously managing the household, I employed quite a few capable servants who were entirely at my disposal. Looking at them now, they are all left idle.

Since my quarters have just been re-established and the courtyard is terribly empty, and since our household has no particular use for them anyway, you might as well give them all to me. With my good sister-in-law in charge, they would do nothing until the day they die except consume idle meals at the expense of the mansion; keeping them here is a waste."

"Pick them out and submit a name list to me." Lady Jia nodded, knowing she was not speaking falsely.

"Then there are the maids." Jia Min did not stand on ceremony at all. "When I was in Yangzhou, it was inconvenient to make things too conspicuous, so I only kept Mother Wang, who had originally accompanied me there, to wait on me. Regrettably, after that incident... my quarters have remained vacant ever since.

Furthermore, both Yu'er and Anping have very empty rooms. Your daughter has always known that the maids raised by Mother are exceptionally well-trained, so this time I would like a few to fill the vacancies. Anping had previously suggested that we could simply purchase some from the outside, but your daughter still feels that people from one's own household are more trustworthy."

"Hearing those words warms my heart." A satisfied smile appeared on Lady Jia's face. "Very well, I indeed have quite a few maids here. Just select two to take with you; I cannot spare any more than that. If that is not enough, your original staff includes hereditary bondservants, so you can go and pick from them yourself."

...

"As Mother says." Jia Min hesitated slightly before nodding in agreement.

"Yangyang, go call Qingwen and Yingge over here!" Lady Jia gave instructions immediately, taking the opportunity to dismiss the senior maid. Watching her leave through the door, she explained, "The former was sent by the Lai family and possesses exquisite needlework skills, though her temperament is rather fiery.

She did not go by that name when she first arrived; Baoyu saw her and changed it. I originally intended to train her well before assigning her to him. The latter has been with me for many years; she is quiet, never speaks much, and is an honest child. Take her with you to serve whoever you please, and she will surely prove useful."

"Thank you, Mother!" Jia Min rose to give a bow, then sat down to wait for her to speak.

"As long as you don't disdain them." Lady Jia paused after saying this, only to speak hesitantly after a long moment. "Min'er, you asked about the etiquette for receiving imperial edicts earlier. Is there something happening in the family that I am unaware of?"

"Mother does not know?" Jia Min was taken aback.

"Know what?" Lady Jia did not catch her meaning.

"When did the news in our household become so isolated to this extent?" Jia Min found it completely incomprehensible. "The matter regarding Ruhai has already been finalized, personally arranged by Her Majesty the Empress herself a few days ago. With so much time having passed, word must have already spread. Yet Mother knows nothing of it, let alone my two brothers."

Lady Jia froze on the spot.

"Ruhai's affair?" After a moment, she asked awkwardly, "What affair?"

"His funeral rites do not need to be grandly celebrated; let it be as though they were already concluded in Yangzhou." Jia Min did not press further about the isolation of the news, letting out a soft sigh before continuing. "He has been posthumously granted the title of 'Junior Vice Minister of the Board of Revenue,' and the posthumous name 'Wuzhong' may be used to honor his achievements."

"Such profound imperial grace!" Lady Jia's face was full of joy.

"The man is already dead, what is the point of all this?" Jia Min looked thoroughly dispirited, a single sentence rendering the old dowager completely rigid. "Mother, when your daughter came over today, aside from the matter of the servants, there is one more thing I wish to ask about. What is the situation with Wang Ziteng?"

"Wang Ziteng?" Lady Jia finally relaxed, a satirical smile appearing on her face. "Wasn't he favored with an imperial appointment outside the capital and made a high-ranking official of the Lower Second Rank? The entire Wang family must be overjoyed."

"Mother, your daughter knows the Wang family is restless, but do not forget that the 'Jia, Shi, Wang, and Xue' families of Jinling are inextricably linked." Jia Min rubbed her temples helplessly. "Now that he has been shifted from a substantive post to a nominal one and driven out of the courtly halls, it means our four families have completely lost our last voice of influence."

"What use would he be even if he stayed in the capital? He certainly wouldn't speak up for our Jia family anyway." Lady Jia's tone grew cold. "If he were allowed to say too much, it would be hard to tell whether our Jia family would even be permitted to speak at all."

"So our household has done nothing at all, simply watching him get banished to the Nine Border regions?" Jia Min had already abandoned all hope. "Fine, things have reached this point, and it is too late to say anything else. Originally, Anping went through great trouble to connect with the Xue family, but now it seems the outcome is unpredictable."

"How does the Xue family come into this?" Lady Jia was startled.

"How could it not?" Jia Min truly could not comprehend the old dowager's train of thought. "The four great families of Jinling forged their alliances by ancestral decree: the Jia family in the military, the Shi family as imperial aides, the Wang family in the imperial court, and the Xue family in commerce. We supported one another across generations—when one falls, all suffer; when one prospers, all share the glory.

Today, our Jia family has long since distanced itself from the imperial court, and the Shi family fell into the Retired Emperor's disfavor because of the former Prince Yizhong's attempted military remonstrance, leaving only two useless empty titles. Now that Wang Ziteng has left the court from a real post to a nominal one, if we also lose the Xue family's financial backing, how are we supposed to go on living?"

Lady Jia was rendered utterly speechless by the rebuttal.

"In any case, the Xue family's money was never given to us anyway." After a long silence, she offered a rather forced defense.

"When Father was still alive, the Xue family provided the Rongguo Mansion with one hundred thousand taels of silver every year, and the Ningguo Mansion received fifty thousand taels." Jia Min struck back relentlessly. "Now that we cannot offer any help, simply sitting back and watching them struggle in Jinling, on what grounds can we still expect to receive their silver?

When we were in Yangzhou, Anping used Ruhai's banner to align with the Xue family's second branch. Taking advantage of their commercial routes, he earned a considerable sum and also helped the Feng Brand resolve troubles in that region. Although they never handed it over openly, the seasonal gifts at the end of every year were never stingy."

"What on earth are you trying to say?" Lady Jia was beginning to show signs of anger and embarrassment.

"Nothing." Jia Min looked at her with disappointment, slowly rose to her feet, and bowed gracefully. "Your daughter simply wanted to ask about a few matters. Now that I have asked, I dare not disturb you any longer and will return to continue my packing."

"Min'er!" Lady Jia stood up in a flurry. "What is there left for you to pack over there?"

...

"Ruhai's funeral cannot be held properly, but today is a most auspicious day to lay him to rest." Jia Min sighed softly, only to hear the old dowager's complexion change drastically. "Anping has already escorted the coffin outside the city for burial. To avoid drawing any unnecessary trouble, neither Yu'er nor I accompanied them."

"Ruhai has... also been brought back?" Lady Jia was utterly dumbfounded.

Jia Min, however, said no more and turned directly to leave.

For she understood that no matter what happened in the imperial court, the Jia family was beyond redemption.

"Greetings, Honorable Aunt!" To her surprise, the moment she reached the moon gate, Yangyang came forward accompanied by two timid-looking maidservants. Evidently, she had returned earlier and, knowing it was inappropriate to intrude, had waited right here.

"Are these the two? Come with me!" Jia Min did not ask further. "You heard what I was discussing with Mother just now. Take this list, match it up, find the contracts of indenture for all of them, and bring them over with you in a couple of days."

"Rest assured, Honorable Aunt!" Yangyang nodded hastily.

Only then did Jia Min lead the two bewildered maidservants away.

Jinling, the Xue Family Estate, Rear Courtyard.

Slowly lowering the letter in her hand, Xue Baochai wore a gentle smile.

"My dear child, what is it now?" Lady Xue, who had just entered the room, looked utterly exhausted.

"Mother, who were you playing mahjong with this time?" Xue Baochai asked with helpless resignation.

"Just a few old friends. My luck was good for a while, so we played a bit longer. By the time I headed back, the sky was already turning bright." Remembering how she had swept the board the previous night, Lady Xue was in high spirits. "Why did you call for me?"

"This was sent back by Sister Qin; it arrived just today." Xue Baochai picked up the letter paper, handed it over, and explained directly, "Older Brother Rui of the Lin family has secured a post in the Ministry of War. The official seal and credentials have already been issued to him—a Principal of the Fifth Rank."

"Oh?" Lady Xue's face brightened as she scanned the letter from top to finish in one glance. "Splendid, simply splendid!"

"Mother, viewed in this light, the Lin family has managed to steady its footing." Xue Baochai then voiced her own thoughts. "On the contrary, our own side is facing increasingly troublesome affairs. Do you remember what I mentioned before—"

"Going to the capital?" Lady Xue immediately furrowed her brows. "My dear Bao, our business in the metropolitan area is already gone; you sold it all to the Lin family. What could we possibly accomplish by going there now? It would be far better to remain here in Jinling. Our roots have been here for generations, and in any case, it is much more convenient."

"This was sent by Zhang Dehui." Xue Baochai smiled bitterly and handed over another letter.

Lady Xue hurriedly began to read it.

"Everything has been lost?" After merely a brief moment, she could not help crying out. "How long has he even been out there? Tens of thousands of taels of silver, and all that remains is the phrase 'lost everything'? What on earth is Zhang Dehui being paid for?"

"He tried to dissuade him, but older brother insisted on doing it anyway." Xue Baochai tapped the letter paper lightly.

"This... what do you think we should do?" Lady Xue immediately dropped the subject.

"Mother, this is no way to live." Xue Baochai rubbed her temples with a headache. "For now, I can still consult with Second Uncle, but his health is growing worse by the day, and he has even sent Sister Qin into the Lin family estate. Meanwhile, we—"

"Sister Qin? What do you mean by sending her into the Lin family estate?" Lady Xue was stunned.