novelAbuy Chapter 37 This is not an unserious novel
Chapter 37 This is not an unserious novel
"So, this huge house will be ours from now on? We can even turn the Han residence into a royal mansion?"
"Yes, that's what Han Tong meant, but he wants us to take care of Han Wei in the future. If Han Wei does anything stupid that is detrimental to us, he wants us to let it go for the sake of our family relationship."
At night, Wang Jun and his son Wang Lu were chatting in the study.
"This is the Prime Minister's residence! Zhao Kuangyin felt indebted to Han Tong, which is why he gave this official residence to Han Tong as a private gift to show his gratitude."
Within Kaifeng city, beside the Golden Scale Pond, it's not far to walk to the palace. It's a grand four-courtyard mansion. In the entire Northern Song Dynasty, there were only a few four-courtyard mansions in Kaifeng Prefecture.
"Even the crown prince Zhao Guangyi only lives in Zhao Kuangyin's old residence, which only has three courtyards. This house is so big you could raise horses and let them run around. It'll be ours from now on? That doesn't seem right."
"What's wrong with that?"
"You, a low-ranking official of the ninth rank, and I, not even a ninth rank, living in such a nice house, isn't that a bit... ostentatious? In the future, when your superiors come to your house to ask you for favors, will they be too afraid to even enter?"
"My only superior is Zhao Guangmei. What's so scary about that? Even with such a large house, there must be at least a hundred servants and maids to maintain it. The expenses are quite considerable."
"What are you afraid of? You've already hoarded goods for speculation, what's the shortage of money?"
"Go to hell! Did I want to hoard goods for speculation? I didn't dare to earn a single penny. Earning this kind of money would only lead to moral decay. This matter must be resolved. If it isn't, I won't be able to sleep well."
"Didn't Han Tong say he'd find someone to handle things for you? Who is he planning to ask? Who in the world is more powerful than Zhao Guangyi? He can't possibly ask Zhao Kuangyin, can he?"
"I don't know, but hopefully... he can handle it. If he can't... we can just secretly sell all the grain. We can't let things continue like this."
Wang Lu scoffed, "What's the point of secretly selling the grain? What you're doing now is no different from distributing porridge and grain relief."
The imperial court also had special soup kitchens in the south of the city for disaster relief. Zhao Kuangyin was indeed a good emperor; he genuinely used military rations to provide relief to the people. Even if it was just for show, why didn't others put on this show?
"But even so, the price of grain is still slowly rising. Is this a joke? Even if you're hoarding and speculating, how can you hoard grain while simultaneously providing relief?"
Logically speaking, grain prices should have fallen long ago. Since they haven't, it has little to do with hoarding.
"To put it bluntly, Kaifeng doesn't produce its own grain. The city's residents eat grain transported from the Bian River. The amount of this grain that can be transported into the city each day is limited."
Everyone was frantically buying grain, buying as much as they could get. The grain transported by canal couldn't keep up with the demand, so naturally, there wasn't enough. Ultimately, it was a matter of public sentiment; the people lacked confidence in the Song Dynasty.
Wang Jun: "Zhao Kuangyin did a very good job. In the end, it still takes some time. There is no other way."
"Ah, there's no other way..."
For some reason, Wang Lu thought of Zhao Guangmei and those soldiers who banged on the door in the middle of the night.
Is there really no other way?
As they were talking, Han Ling'er knocked on the door and came in, carrying some snacks that she almost put on the table.
"My lord, Lu Lang, please have something to eat."
"Thank you, Madam."
"Thank you, Sister Ling."
Seeing Han Ling'er's strange expression, Wang Lu asked with a smile, "Sister Ling, is something the matter? Do you want me to avoid you?"
"No need for that, but I do have something to attend to."
"What is it?"
"I heard this house... is going to be left to us? My father is going to Luoyang?"
"My father-in-law does indeed have this intention, but there shouldn't be any rush to go to Luoyang."
"Then...my mother...doesn't want to go to Luoyang."
"Which mother?"
"My dear mother, he doesn't want to go to Luoyang. He's playing around with my father and has even fallen ill."
"Ah~"
"Husband, could you please let my mother stay? She really doesn't want to go to Luoyang, and she can't bear to leave me. Could... could you let her stay at home?"
"Living at home? You mean, your father-in-law went to Luoyang, and your mother-in-law stayed to live with us?"
Han Ling'er nodded repeatedly, her eyes full of anticipation: "My mother is just my father's concubine. My father has married more than a dozen wives in total, so my mother is no different."
"This..." Wang Jun hesitated, "Your mother is that age, and I'm this age... I'm worried about what people will say?"
Han Ling'er was somewhat disappointed and lowered her head: "Ah...that's true. Since my husband thinks it's inappropriate, then I'll try to persuade her again."
Wang Lu suddenly said, "A clear conscience fears no accusation, and upright conduct fears no crooked shoes. Father and Grandmother are not despicable people, so what's there to be afraid of? Are we going to let some petty rumors prevent Sister Ling'er from fulfilling her filial duties?"
Wang Jun turned around and glared at Wang Lu, who wasn't afraid of him and glared back directly: "Did I say something wrong?"
"Alright, if my father-in-law agrees, I have no objection."
"Could you please tell your father?"
"Yes." Wang Jun nodded.
"That's wonderful! Thank you, my husband! Thank you, Lu Lang!" Han Ling'er was overjoyed. She hugged Wang Jun's head and kissed him, then hugged Wang Lu and kissed him before leaving happily.
"Tsk."
Wang Lu wiped the drool off his face, looking somewhat smug.
"Why did you keep her mother here? Also, next time your sister Ling'er tries to kiss you, you should dodge her. You're not really Twelve."
"I'm twelve years old, and I can't even raise the flag yet. I'm not even in puberty."
"Alright, let's get down to business. Your father-in-law is still alive, and it's not appropriate for a son-in-law to be living with his mother-in-law."
"What's inappropriate about it? My grandma is a year younger than me, isn't she? Hehe, she's still quite charming. She's like a young grass to an old man like you. If it were a mother and daughter together... tsk tsk tsk, just thinking about it is exciting."
"Damn it, can't you be serious for once? Have you been reading too many erotic novels? Aren't you supposed to be a proper online novelist?"
"Ahem, alright, I'm not kidding anymore. I just think that if we really lived in this four-courtyard house, such a big house would need at least a hundred servants."
Han Tong left us so many retainers; someone has to help us manage the household affairs. My adoptive grandmother is quite suitable; isn't she currently in charge of the household kitchen?
"Your sister Ling can manage things too."
"Sister Ling, although she's always knitting and playing with dolls, I can tell she's actually career-oriented."
"We're both officials these days. It's only natural for military officers to do business outside the military. It would be strange if we didn't have any business. We sold the brickyard to my uncle, so we need to do something else, right? We can't rely entirely on those two outsiders, Pan Wu and Liu Hou'er."
"It's just some gossip. Even if you did have something happen with her, so what? This is the early Song Dynasty. There are at least seven or eight Grand Commandants with clear records of abducting women."
Other corrupt practices are too numerous to mention. If you are truly clean and honest, you'll be out of place with them. What are you afraid of people saying?
"Unless... Dad, you still don't want to be a military general, you still want to be a civil official, right?"
Let me remind you, only if you become a military general will our father and I have a chance to go back. Ah~, now that you've married a young wife, you don't want to go back anymore, right? Oh~, my poor dear mother, so pitiful~”
"Stop!" Wang Jun quickly stopped him, smacked him on the back of the head, and cursed, "You little brat."
"I'm leaving. I'm going back to my room to cuddle with my wife and go to sleep. You, stay in the study and study. Aren't you going to take the imperial examination? How can you take the imperial examination if you don't study?"
As he reached the door, he turned back and added, "Focus your time on studying, taking the imperial examinations, or even the prodigy examinations—that's the right path. If you pass, you can legitimately enter officialdom, and that will give you an excuse to stay away from Zhao Guangmei and Zhao Dezhao."
You know history better than I do. Your father might not have accomplished anything during the reign of Emperor Taizu. But if we were to go to the reign of Emperor Taizong, we might be branded as part of the Qin Prince's faction and implicated in Zhao Guangmei's rebellion, leading to the annihilation of our entire family.
Wang Lu frowned, feeling a bit irritated: "I know, I know, you don't need to tell me that. Stop worrying about me and go to bed with your little wife."