Chapter 59
Early in the morning, Rong Xiangmian asked Mrs. Wei to call all the subordinates of the royal family to gather in the courtyard in front of the council chamber outside the second gate.
Zhou Xian Yang and Song Mama did not show up, but just sat in the west room of the council chamber and ate cheese.
Mother Wei had ordered someone to put out some tea and let Rong Xuanmei sit in the main hall to talk. She and Feiyun Feixue, Xiao Nan and Xiao Bei stood in order under the corridor.
There are more than a hundred people standing in the courtyard, many of them are having their first chance to listen to Consort Yüeh, and are talking to each other.
Rong Xiangmian looked at the people outside the house and thought to himself, “Do two people need so many people to wait on them?
“Have all the people arrived?” Rong Xiangshi asks. Rong Xiangmi asked.
Mother Wei said, “Only one Jiang XII is missing, why can’t we find anyone.”
A woman in the crowd with a young man kneeled forward and said: “Your Highness forgive me, our family that kills the thousand knife yesterday has not seen people, do not know where to hide to go to gamble and eat wine, slave girl and son waited for him for a night, he came back to tell him to Your Highness to apologize.”
Rong Xiang see see her look is not panic, said: “He will not come back.”
The woman looked bewildered, obviously unaware.
Linlang said loudly to the crowd, “Yesterday, Jiang XII entered the palace, colluded with outsiders, and tainted His Highness. Fortunately, His Majesty was clear-eyed and had him caned to death.”
“Ah?” The woman fainted upon hearing this. Her half-grown son was beside her, calling out for his parents, crying bitterly.
Lin Lang continued, “His Majesty said that the subordinates of the Yuhang Mansion lack discipline. That’s why the princess called you all here today to talk about the rules.”
The crowd, which was originally a bit lazy, suddenly fell silent when they heard this, and their standing posture straightened.
The woman was pinched by a bystander before she woke up. Rong Xiangmei asked her, “Your man committed such a capital offense, do you not know?”
After receiving the sad news of her husband’s death, the woman finally realized that she was also in big trouble. Immediately, she knelt down and kowtowed, “I really didn’t know. If I knew that he dared to do such a thing, I wouldn’t have let him go out yesterday!”
“He took the clothes that I changed with King Yu into the palace, what does that say?”
“Those clothes …… were worn the day before yesterday, right? It was the slave girl who stole it to him. He said that this unusual clothes, Your Highness and Wangfei will not wear it for the second time, so why not take it out and wear it ourselves …… The slave girl is just greedy for some small advantages, and does not know that he is going to take it to do bad things. Wangfei Niangniang …… begged Your Highness and Niangniang to spare their lives.”
Said, mother and son two fierce a burst of kowtow, straight kowtow to the hall in front of the thud.
“Well.” Rong Xiang see can’t bear to make blood dripping, “we newly married also don’t want to create another killing, just this house you can’t stay down, go outside the manor to work on it.”
The woman as if amnestied, again kowtowed to thank.
“Your Highness is kind, have someone go outside the palace gates to pull back Jiang XII’s corpse, you guys follow, after burying your man go out of the capital.”
Mother and son immediately went with a thousand thanks.
The opening scene was about human life, which not only startled the people present, but also frightened Mama Song, who was watching the play, so much so that she even forgot to eat the cheese.
Zhou Xian Yang knocked on the bowl, “Mother Song, this is still a long time coming.”
After Jiang XII is sentenced, Rong Xiangmian asks, “Where is Mr. Zhang!”
The Yuhang Mansion has two big stewards, one surnamed Zhang, extremely old and smooth. One was surnamed Zhang and was extremely old and smooth, while the other was surnamed Tang and was much more reticent.
The Zhang steward stood at the very front, once he heard Consort Yuhang call out to him in this manner, he knew that something bad was happening, and immediately stepped forward to stand respectfully outside the door.
“Senior Steward Zhang is so bold. I don’t know which great man of the heavens in the Ministry of Revenue your family knows, to the extent that you even boast of doing the salt trading for someone?”
Steward Zhang immediately said, “Isn’t the heavenly figure that I know, Your Highness and the Princess?”
“Oh? How come Your Highness doesn’t remember him having any friendships in the Ministry of Households, and what does the salt peddling matter have to do with him?”
“It was someone from the salt merchant Zhao family who approached me last month. Their family lost their fat job due to offending the Minister of the Household, so they asked their slave to find King Yu to say something.”
“You are quite the face.” Rong Xiangmei laughed.
Steward Zhang nodded and hailed, “Isn’t the face of the lackey all rewarded by King Yuh and Wangfei? I heard that a few days ago at the morning court, the Minister of the Household Department also praised His Highness for his meticulousness and rigor, allowing the Household Department’s affairs in Qinzhou to progress smoothly.
Qinzhou is a dangerous place, if it wasn’t for His Highness’s soldiers, how would those students from the Ministry of Revenue be able to do their work? Your Highness is now in a prominent position, if you don’t agree to this, won’t you let others underestimate our Yuhang Mansion?”
Mr. Rong has never seen such a forceful person, “You’re a good businessman, taking the face of King Yuh to fill up your money bag! How much silver did you receive?”
Steward Zhang immediately dared not tell the truth.
“If you don’t say it, are you waiting for me to say it to you?”
Seeing that he really couldn’t cover it up, Steward Zhang had to admit it, “That person promised to seal ten thousand taels of silver to be sent to the royal residence after the matter was completed, and give the servant one thousand taels.”
Rong Xiangshi saw the anger and laughed: “You really know how to make money!” Saying this, he heavily slapped the table, “Fishing for so much money, do you have the life to spend it?”
Zhang Palm kneeled down and did not dare to squeak again.
“Your Highness returned to the capital these days, everything is cautious, one step dare not step wrong. Forgive me, but there are still people who have senated him! How can he withstand you guys passing knives to others!
His Majesty hates it when a prince is involved with a minister in the court, so if something goes wrong, how many heads on your neck will be enough to chop? For you to get this thousand taels, His Majesty will have to submit two petitions!”
Steward Zhang saw the Princess’s anger and realized that she was serious, and kowtowed again and again. His family of six people followed on their knees to beg for mercy.
Rong Xiang see lazy look, commanded down: “He caned thirty, a family are sold out of the capital, never allowed to return to Jinling.”
Wei mother heard, immediately to the outside word, the ordered boy just came up, was stopped.
“Who of you dare to touch me?” This steward is the highest status subordinate in the mansion, and the family population is large, who dares to pull him? The man-tentacled man who had been found beforehand saw this and didn’t dare to take on this hot job either.
Rong Xiang see called a small north, he immediately rubbed a whistle, only to see the second door open, a line of armored soldiers with weapons into the courtyard, the people on the ground screamed in fear.
How steward Zhang’s family struggled and cried and begged for mercy, all to no avail, but instead was tied hands and feet, gagged and pulled out.
Song mom watched in shock, looked back at Zhou Xian Yang’s face, he calmly ate cheese, and smiled and said: “Song mom is not bored? Have some tea.”
The matter at the front is not yet finished. Linlang hand held a stack of paper, in the Rong Xiangmian signaled, took out a read: “Baoxinglong pawnbroker, when the top grade fox skin cloak a, the total amount of silver two hundred taels, limited to six months of funds to pay …….”
Before he finished reading, a middle-aged steward was already kneeling on the ground, not daring to look at people. Mother Wei introduced, “This is Bai Liang who is responsible for watching the garden.”
When Rong Xiang saw that there was a number, Lin Lang immediately picked up the stack of paper and shook it, “There can be all names here.”
In an instant, a dozen or so fell to their knees on the ground.
Lin Lang gasped, “If it wasn’t for the wisdom of His Highness and Wangfei, are you filthy goods ready to empty the Yuhang Mansion!”
“Your Highness is wise! The things that the lackeys pawned off have already been redeemed.” Bai Liang struggled to defend himself.
Lin Lang sneered, “Oh? How did you redeem them?”
“Originally but lacked some silver emergency, now there is no hurry, naturally redeemed.”
“How not urgent again?” Lin Lang lowered her face, “Still not telling the truth?”
Xiao Bei immediately went down and grabbed Bai Liang’s neck, the slightest force on his hand made him howl in pain, “Your Highness spare your life!”
When Xiao Bei loosened his hand, he only cried: “Such as today is just about to heat up, thinking that the cloak Your Highness temporarily not used, it is searching for when the principal of the gambling game, earned money on the redemption.”
Linlang laughed: “You have good luck ah, but how about you guys, can retrieve the capital?”
Those few early scared out of their wits, couldn’t stop pleading for mercy.
Rong Xiangmian shook his head and spat with Lin Lang, “Yuhuangfu is really the most comfortable place in the world, with monthly payments, no need to work, but also take our things to sell out and gamble for money. Are we raising a bunch of lords? Twenty strokes of the cane per person, sold out.”
Another burst of wailing and begging.
Rong Xiangsheng saw and asked: “Which people usually in the house gambling?”
No one below dared to answer.
“Which people have never gambled?”
Only a small half of the people stood out decisively.
Rong Xiangmian said, “Very well. Those who didn’t come forward are also sold out.”
“Your Highness!” A decently dressed, senior-looking woman stepped forward, “Your Highness, this kind of thing is just a way for everyone to pass the time in their spare time. It’s not like we’re stealing from the royal family to make gambling money, is playing with our own silver worth making such a big fuss over?”
“That’s right.” In the crowd, there were already quite a few people talking.
Lin Lang asked, “Where are you guys from?”
The woman’s face was triumphant: “We were originally from the palace to serve the dowager consort, and since the dowager consorts have all gone, this time the Ministry of the Interior has allocated us to serve in the royal residence. Linlang girl, you can’t take what the courtesan in charge of the courtesan’s payment with your Sister Wu.”
Lin Lang only felt familiar earlier, now she remembered, faintly smiled and said, “So it’s someone rewarded by the palace.”
“Yes!” That group of women were emboldened.