The Eldest Daughter Is Beautiful and Saucy
Chapter 102: friendship
Chapter 102 Friendship
Seeing Bai Qingyan nod, Mrs. Dong patted her daughter’s hand with a look of distress. If her daughter’s grandfather, father and brothers were all there, why would she, a girl, have to worry so much about the family’s future?
She smiled and squeezed Dong’s hand: “Mother knows everything, and I can’t hide anything from you either.”
“But can this wealthy Wei merchant Xiao Rongyan buy so many shops and farms in one go?” Mrs. Dong held her daughter’s hand and calculated carefully, “This is not a small amount of money!”
“This is what I want to tell mother. I’ll let Chen Qingsheng tell Xiao Rongyan that we’ll only use his name to do this, and our Duke’s Mansion will pay for it. This is the only way to transfer all the shops and farms in the Duke’s Mansion to private use, and you’ll still be in control of them.” Bai Qingyan looked at Dong, “I just don’t know… can our Duke’s Mansion give 450,000 taels to the clan members right now?”
Dong paused when she heard Bai Qingyan’s words, and recalled what her younger brother Dong Qingyue had told her yesterday… The reason why the axle of Prince Xin’s carriage was broken was because of the extremely skilled guard beside Xiao Rongyan. Today, Xiao Rongyan also came to the Duke’s Mansion to pay homage early in the morning, and it was the guard beside Xiao Rongyan who rescued the fourth brother’s wife who was about to hit the coffin.
She tightened her grip on her daughter’s hand, “You and Xiao Rongyan, have you met in private? Have you… had contact?! Tell the truth to your mother!”
Dong’s questions were like a string of cannonballs. The more she thought about it, the more she felt that this was the truth. Although the three classes of scholars, farmers, workers and merchants, merchants ranked last, the Great Jin Kingdom was not so lowly. This Xiao Rongyan was not only handsome, but also had a scholarly and elegant temperament! Her daughter’s appearance was extraordinary, could it be that the two of them… had a friendship? Otherwise, how could Bai Qingyan be sure that Xiao Rongyan would help the Duke’s Mansion?
If Bai Qingyan really had feelings for Xiao Rongyan, then she would have to make other plans, and the method she had discussed with her mother, Old Lady Dong, would no longer work.
My daughter’s safety is important, but it is also important for her to have a smooth and happy life.
Right now, the Bai family has the people of the capital standing behind them, and the emperor will not do anything to the Duke’s Mansion for the time being. If her daughter really has feelings for this businessman, she needs to start planning now. Only after she has tested Xiao Rongyan and found out that he is a good person, will she dare to entrust her daughter to him.
How could Xiao Rongyan be a businessman with such a magnanimous demeanor? If he let his daughter marry him, it would not only be marrying down, but it would also be seen by the world as self-degradation and self-debasement!
There was no reason for an ordinary noble family to marry their daughter into a business family, let alone a noble family like the Duke of Zhenguo’s Mansion, which had been glorious for a hundred years and was known to all nations.
In just a moment, Dong’s mind was already in a state of confusion.
Bai Qingyan looked at Dong’s unpredictable expression and said to her openly, “Today, I went to the Willow Pavilion outside the city to see someone off, and I happened to meet Xiao Rongyan and talked to him. However, the reason why my daughter asked Chen Qingsheng to discuss this matter with Xiao Rongyan was not because she felt that she could win Xiao Rongyan’s favor by just talking to him a few times.”
She supported her mother all the way forward, while explaining to Dong in a low voice: “Since Xiao Rongyan entered the capital, mother has carefully thought about Xiao Rongyan’s style of spending a lot of money. What he wants is to become famous in this capital, and even in Jin State, to turn the title of the richest businessman in Wei into the richest businessman in the world, and let the world know that there is such a person as Xiao Rongyan!”
“Now, the Duke of Zhenguo Mansion has attracted the attention of the whole country in Jin State. For Xiao Rongyan…what can help him achieve his goal faster than swallowing up all the shops, farms and fertile lands in the Duke of Zhenguo Mansion in one go?”
When Bai Qingyan first stood in the corridor, he had thought about everything in his mind. Why did Xiao Rongyan say at the palace banquet that he would wait until the fifteenth lantern festival in the capital was over before leaving? He simply wanted to use the lantern festival when scholars from all over the world gathered in the capital to show off his financial strength and make a name for himself as the richest businessman in the world.
But now, because of the funeral in the Duke’s Mansion, this hope is likely to be dashed.
In this case, Bai Qingyan presented the opportunity to Xiao Rongyan. Xiao Rongyan was such a smart man that he would definitely not miss this opportunity to show his financial strength to the world… and make the Duke’s Mansion owe him a favor.
Mrs. Dong looked at her daughter’s reserved and sharp eyes, grasped her cold hand, and asked, “This Mr. Xiao…both in appearance and character are unrivaled. How do you treat him…”
She didn’t react to her mother’s words for a while, and when she did, she was made to laugh and cry by her mother: “Mother, what are you thinking? I know what I am like. I have made up my mind to stay with mother for the rest of my life. What’s more, our Duke’s Mansion is in a difficult situation now. How can I have the room to think like a little girl?”
Before Mrs. Dong could speak, she continued, “Mother, no matter what it is, we will wait until the funerals of our grandfather, father, uncle, and brothers are over.”
Dong’s eyes turned red and she nodded with sobs.
“Madam, young lady.”
I saw Mr. Gu, supported by a servant, coming out. After he bowed, he asked anxiously, “Where is the Fourth Master Qiyun from the clan? Is he gone?”
Mr. Gu Lao is a loyal servant of the Duke’s Mansion. Since his great-grandfather, Mr. Gu Lao’s ancestors have all been in the Duke’s Mansion. It can be said that generation after generation have devoted all their efforts to the Duke’s Mansion.
Mr. Gu has been in charge of the most important accounting office in the mansion over the years. Mr. Gu is in charge of the allocation of silver and money. Therefore, Mr. Gu is very popular both in the Duke’s Mansion and in the Shuoyang clan.
Just now, Bai Qiyun came to see Mrs. Dong in a pretentious manner, so Nanny Qin quietly sent someone to find Mr. Gu Lao to settle the situation. However, she did not expect that Bai Qingyan would come and finalize the matter in a short while, so Mr. Gu Lao was a step too late after all.
“Mother has just agreed to the clan’s request and plans to sell all the shops and farmlands in the Duke’s Mansion to raise the money. My uncle has already gone to the front to burn incense and report to grandfather and father.” Bai Qingyan said respectfully to the old man.
“I’ll go and argue with them!” The old gentleman walked quickly forward, leaning on his crutches and trembling.
“ancient……”
Mrs. Dong was about to call Mr. Gu, but was grabbed by Bai Qingyan. She took a deep look at Gu’s back, then looked at Mrs. Dong calmly and steadily: “Mother, let Gu add some fuel to the fire, that’s perfect!”
The sun has set, removing the last ray of light from the sky.
In front of the mourning hall in the front yard, under the flickering candlelight, Bai Qiyun finally performed the kowtow ceremony in a proper manner.
He knelt on the mat and said, “Uncle, cousin, although you are gone, I am a man of my word. Uncle promised to build the ancestral hall, the ancestral temple, the ancestral tomb and the school for the clan, and I have agreed to all of these!”
When Bai Jinzhi heard this, he followed Bai Qingyan’s instructions and said angrily, “What?! Auntie agreed?!”
Bald author Jun daily autumn moon ticket…