Red Mansion and Crimson Pearl

Chapter 291 Understand the Abacus

Tanchun and Daiyu did not stay long. After the slapping in the front hall and the plan in the backyard, the two of them left the same way they came.

Sitting in the carriage, Qingwen, who had been feeling pent up for a long time, could not help but ask, "Since you have already decided to ask Madam Zhen to take care of the Jinling Jia family, why did you tell me that in the morning?"

Daiyu smiled and said, "Silly girl, you have been reading novels for so many years, but you still don't understand what it means to do things in two ways?"

Qingwen suddenly understood.

The carriage swayed back to the back door of the weaving government office, then quietly picked up an old lady dressed like an ordinary wealthy family and headed towards the Qinhuai River.

Aunt Meng danced excitedly in the car.

Yesterday she had two imperial guards as bodyguards, and those two happened to be some of the most successful playboys in the capital. She had both money and courage.

The three of them had a great time eating, drinking and having fun!

Not only did he call two singers, he also called a group of singers and dancers to come and watch! He didn't return to the palace until three o'clock in the morning.

She tiptoed back to the inner room and fell asleep, expecting to be scolded. But Daiyu and Tanchun encountered such a bad thing.

The Queen Mother did not scold her, but instead caught her and asked her what she had done yesterday that made her so ambitious.

Aunt Meng described the situation with great concern, and the Queen Mother immediately became interested!

Daiyu smiled and had a secret discussion with the Empress Dowager before she decided to sneak out today.

"I am also traveling incognito to understand the people's sentiments. How can this not be possible?" The Queen Mother said this in a pretentious manner, feeling happy herself.

Daiyu covered her mouth and laughed.

Aunt Meng cooperated by laughing non-stop.

A few people disguised themselves and went to Qinhuai River to play for a whole day.

In the evening, Gu Yong, the weaving doctor, finally finished his work and went home. Before leaving, he wanted to pay his respects to the empress dowager, but was politely stopped by the imperial guards:

"The Queen Mother is in a bad mood today, so she won't see Doctor Gu."

Gu Yong left awkwardly.

But just as he turned a corner from the government office and headed towards his private residence, he saw a large carriage coming back with several guards in tow!

Gu Yong frowned.

This kind of pomp and circumstance definitely does not belong to the county princess who was born in Jia family, but must be the Princess Zhaoqing who has always acted recklessly.

"Mr. Lin's good reputation for kindness, elegance, diligence and integrity that he had built up over the years has now been passed down to this daughter!

"No wonder His Majesty dislikes Jia. A good girl was corrupted by this extravagant and arrogant uncle!"

Gu Yong glared at the carriage through the curtains with great dissatisfaction. The two carriages passed each other and went home.

Daiyu had no idea that she was once again being evaluated a little lower in the eyes of one of her father's old friends.

The next day, early in the morning, someone came to the Taishang Palace. It was Ding Mingyi's personal guard - the one who delivered the letter to Daiyu.

Daiyu knew that this must be Ding Mingyi's confidant, so she introduced him to the Queen Mother with a smile:

"I didn't know the restaurant belonged to the Zhen family, and I said that although the food was delicious, it was a bit expensive.

"It was this man, with sharp eyes. When I met him, he told me that it was his mistress's dowry. He invited me to lunch on behalf of his governor and also sent a dinner to the Queen Mother."

Then he smiled and said to the guard, "The Queen Mother ate your food and praised it highly. It's a pity that her stay is short, so she has to try a few more dishes. Otherwise, I'm afraid she will order dishes from your restaurant again!"

Seeing the empress dowager's kindness and Daiyu's presence, the guards were flattered and kowtowed hurriedly. They suppressed their nervousness and replied with a smile:

“In fact, our mistress likes to cook herself, so even though she is not as knowledgeable as the empress dowager, princesses, and county ladies, she does have some taste.

"Especially our Governor-General also has a great appetite. There are few good dishes in Jinling City that our mistress doesn't know about!

"If the Queen Mother wants to appreciate Jinling's famous dishes, our mistress will definitely be the most competent guide!"

"Bah! Good monkey! Climbing up the pole!" Daiyu scolded with a smile, and then she stopped talking when she saw that the Queen Mother was also smiling with her eyes narrowed.

The Queen Mother smiled and said, "We'll discuss this later. You came from the temporary palace. Is it the Ding family's business or the Queen Mother's business?"

The guard bowed his head and saluted: "It was yesterday evening. When the emperor came back from patrolling the river, he heard that Jia Rong of the Jia family was so rebellious and bastard, and he was very angry.

"Originally, I was going to bring people to punish him. But yesterday, there was some corruption on the north bank, so Prime Minister Dai advised that one person's affairs should not be compared with the affairs of the whole county.

"Besides, he's just a silly kid, there's really no need to get too angry.

"The Supreme Lord asked our Lord the Governor to find two men who can carry out executions with sticks, and have Princess Yimin take them to teach Jia Rong a lesson.

"I received the order last night. The Governor told me to come back this morning so as not to disturb your rest."

The Queen Mother nodded: "That's right! Did the Lord say how many strokes to take?"

The guard looked at the ground and said, "The Supreme Lord said that at least twenty blows should be given, and the county lady can increase the number depending on the situation.

"If he's really a bastard, beating him to death is no big deal."

These are serious words.

Daiyu was a little surprised. She glanced at the Queen Mother and saw that she acquiesced. Then she smiled and asked:

"Who is the Highness so angry with? Why is he so angry? But no matter what, he can't vent his anger on Jia Rong!"

The guard still lowered his head, but remembered what his governor had said to him: That princess is very perceptive, just tell her the truth. You don't have to hide a single word of what she wants to know.

He immediately replied calmly: "The corruption on the north bank was caused by Yangzhou. But after a thorough investigation, it fell on the head of the King of the North.

"It just so happened that the governor of Suzhou had just sent over a letter of apology from the Northern King yesterday, in which he listed all the people he had interacted with in Yangzhou.

“Finally, Jia Rong was mentioned.

"The Northern King said that he had not noticed or cared about Princess Lin's visit to Jiangnan.

"But he was entertaining guests that day, and Jia Rong sent someone to bring him the news that the princess had arrived in Suzhou.

"In front of all the guests, the Northern King couldn't save face, so he rushed to Suzhou and did such a ridiculous thing.

"The more the Supreme watched, the angrier he became. He shot all the arrows in one breath, and his fingers were bleeding from the bowstring."

The Queen Mother's face darkened, she snorted, and immediately raised her hand: "Yi Min, take him with you!

"Give him twenty slaps in the face to punish him for his foul mouth!

"Give him twenty more lashes to punish his dirty heart and lungs!

"Give him forty strokes of the stick and forbid him from ever setting foot outside of Jinling for the rest of his life!"

Tanchun stood up, sighing in her heart, but had no choice but to obey the order and set off.

The offense was directed at Daiyu, and it was the Emperor who was angry, but it was the Empress Dowager who decided how to beat her.

But in the end, it was she who carried out the punishment.

In terms of blood relationship, she is the person closest to Jia Rong in Jinling City.

The sins committed by the Jia family will be repaid by the Jia family.

Tai Shang's calculations are really clearer than anyone else.