Tianliangyuan

Chapter 77 was all a gift from my wife.

Consort Jiang knelt outside the Imperial Study, saying only that she was pleading guilty on behalf of her brother. She neither cried nor made a scene, which made Emperor Yong'an feel awkward about being too harsh.

Moreover, Emperor Yong'an was willing to give Grand Tutor Jiang some face, so as long as the Jiang family knew what was good for them, he might consider sparing Jiang Yanhui's life.

Emperor Yong'an did not say the final result, but after Jiang Taifu went to the palace and returned, he was clearly less worried.

"With the provincial examinations approaching, His Majesty does not wish to disturb the scholars in various regions, so this case will be postponed until after the provincial examinations are over."

Old Madam Jiang didn't understand what she meant: "Is the second son's life saved?"

Grand Tutor Jiang glared at her, said nothing, and went straight to his study.

Jiang Ning, who was standing beside the old lady, quickly said, "Grandmother, Second Uncle's life should be fine. However, the provincial examination is just around the corner, and Second Uncle got his position through the imperial examination, so His Majesty has some concerns."

Madam Jiang clasped her hands together and said, "Amitabha! Heaven has eyes!"

Jiang Ning was speechless at her grandmother's behavior.

What do you mean by "heaven has eyes"? It's clearly because their Jiang family had their grandfather as the pillar of the family that they were able to lose and save their second uncle's life.

If it weren't for my grandfather, the Emperor would have definitely ordered a thorough investigation into the murder of the Ding family. Even if it wasn't my second uncle who killed her, it would have been someone he sent who did it. In the end, the Jiang family would still be unable to clear their name.

With the provincial examination approaching, Sun Qingyang still visited the Jiang residence one evening, but was dismissed less than a quarter of an hour after entering.

Although he didn't dare to stand up straight in front of the Jiang family, Sun Qingyang was still very happy.

If Sun Huaizhi passes the imperial examination, then the spring examination next year will be a sure thing.

Xu Zhaozhao had already ordered someone to exchange that sum of money for silver.

One hundred silver ingots, each ingot weighing ten taels, totaling a thousand taels of silver, which, when converted to copper coins, amounted to a staggering one million.

After asking Mai Dong, Xu Zhaozhao learned that the Xie family had a caravan and escort agency that went to Jizhou, so she planned to ask someone to send the silver to Xie Zheng.

That much silver would amount to a considerable sum as military pay.

Although Xu Zhaozhao was greedy, she still thought it best to spend this ill-gotten money on places where it was more needed.

She doesn't lack money herself, so there's no need for her to hoard these silver ingots. She loves money, but she's not a miser!

Mai Dong never expected her master to be so generous, donating so much money to the army without hesitation. It was truly generous.

“Miss, it will soon be cold in Jizhou, and Jizhou is far less prosperous than the capital. If you allow, why don’t we exchange some supplies and transport them there?”

"It's just that grain prices in the capital are high, so it's not suitable."

“Miss, I used to work with the Xie family’s steward to buy grain. I’m willing to make this trip.”

Xu Zhaozhao thought about it and agreed: "Okay, but we can't spend it all. Spend half and send the other half to Jizhou in case they need it."

"Yes, ma'am."

As for grain, it's definitely cheapest in the Jiangnan region.

However, transporting goods from Jiangnan to the capital was not cheap.

Moreover, the Xie family sends some grain and winter clothes to the border almost every year. Although it's not much, the most important thing is that it ensures that their men are well-fed and warmly clothed.

Mai Dong exchanged the silver ingots for copper coins, and then went directly to the county below to collect sorghum and wheat.

Following Miss's instructions, Mai Dong bought a large quantity of cotton and coarse cloth.

The soldiers' clothing and accessories in the military camp were all supplied by the imperial court, but Xie Zheng also had his own personal guards, so if sending these items was not enough for all the soldiers in the army, then his own family would be prioritized.

Soldiers are different from civilian officials; they want the most direct benefits. Don't expect to be persuaded to risk their lives for you by making empty promises.

Therefore, most of the things that Xu Zhaozhao sent were handed over to Xie Zheng for disposal. As the Commandant of the Zhechong Prefecture, Xie Zheng naturally prioritized the food and clothing of his own family, which inevitably attracted the envy of many people.

These items were delivered to Jizhou a month later. By then, the weather had turned cold, and the place they were stationed in was a windy spot. Those on guard duty, especially at night, were all wearing cotton-padded coats.

"I heard that the young general's men are eating well. Didn't you see the grain that was delivered? It stretched as far as the eye could see, with so many horse-drawn carts and oxcarts. I heard it was being transported in batches. I even saw more than a dozen sheep!"

"Tsk tsk, the young general is certainly wealthy and powerful!"

"What do you know! My second uncle's third cousin's cousin's son also works under the young general. He said that those things were sent by the young general's fiancée. I heard that she also gave the young general some medicinal herbs."

"Wow, that's impressive! I wonder which family your fiancée is from. If it were someone else's daughter, she would definitely use all that money to prepare a dowry or buy gold and silver jewelry."

"That's right! Look at us, we're the only ones who get a share of the spoils every year, while in many places we don't even get to eat meat a few times during the New Year."

"Be content!"

"Alright, that's enough. I'm going to find out how many sheep they have. We're not counting on mutton, but mutton soup would be nice too!"

After seeing these things, Xie Zheng couldn't suppress the smile on his lips.

Xu Junfeng also personally inspected several truckloads of supplies. They were indeed all good stuff; the grain was clean, with no stones or sand mixed in.

"See? My sister is definitely the most generous, isn't she?"

Xie Zheng smiled without saying a word, but what he was thinking was, "That's my wife!"

Xu Junfeng didn't think that this was a gift from his sister to Xie Zheng; he simply felt that his sister cared about him and had specially sent it to him.

As a result, a servant boy came running over: "May I ask if you are Young Master Xu?"

Xu Junfeng sized him up: "It is indeed I, young master. What brings you here?"

"This is a letter from Miss Xu to you, and this whole carload of things is also for you. Please take a look."

Xu Junfeng didn't react for a moment, he was too happy to stop. He was so happy to see his cotton-padded clothes, several jars of wine, medicine and so on. He couldn't stop smiling.

It was someone close to Xu Junfeng who reminded him: "Young Master, the young general has taken all the things."

"what?"

Xu Junfeng turned his head and, sure enough, apart from the car in front of him, everything else had been recorded and put into Xie Zheng's private treasury!

Xu Junfeng was furious and came running over, jumping up and down.

"Xie Zheng, what do you mean? These were all sent by my sister, how did they all end up in your private coffers?"

Xie Zheng didn't even lift his eyelids: "Didn't I already give you the carload that was specially for you?"

Xu Junfeng was stunned, so angry that he wanted to speak but couldn't. He felt that there seemed to be nothing wrong with what was said!

After he took a few steps outside, he felt something was wrong and wanted to argue with Xie Zheng again, but his attendant pulled him back.

"Second Young Master, please don't go. Anyway, you work under the Young General. If he'll take care of things, you'll get what you deserve."

Xu Junfeng looked at him, then nodded seriously: "That makes sense!"