Red Mansion and Crimson Pearl

Chapter 221 The County Lord Checks the Accounts

Within two or three days, two of the new servants were cunning, lazy and found fault, so they fell into Chu Kai's hands and were driven out with sticks without saying a word.

Finally, the situation calmed down and the clan got the news. The old clan leader sent someone to ask. Lin Daiyu smiled and asked Ni Er to deliver the invitation: "I was just about to invite the clan leader to come and sit with us."

The Lin clan leader originally sent someone to invite the little girl to his home to show off his respect for the elders. But the invitation sent by Ni Er was clearly signed "Princess Zhaoqing".

He was horrified and asked what happened.

Ni Er was very proud, but he didn't dare to say anything nonsense. He simply told him that the girl from the Lin family was conferred the title of Princess by the Supreme Lord himself.

The old patriarch twirled his beard in silence for a long while before he tentatively asked, "Then, shall I take my wife and grandchildren with me to meet the princess?"

Ni Er's face suddenly turned cold, and he said with a fake smile: "That's not necessary, our princess has a cold temperament, and she means business when she talks about business.

"Old Patriarch, please go and sit down first. We will discuss other matters later."

The old patriarch nodded awkwardly.

Ni Er said goodbye.

When he got back, he whispered to Jia Yun, "This old man is trying to take advantage of others again! This is no different from the Jia family in the capital! Will the princess be bullied when she comes back?"

"How can that be different?" Jia Yun smiled. "Although a powerful dragon cannot suppress a local snake, the young lady is now the hope of study for many poor children in the Lin family, so they dare not.

"Besides, at most we can just cut off a piece of the land left by the Marquis and sell it. When the money is brought back to the capital, it will have nothing to do with the Gusu Lin family anymore. Who do you think is heartbroken?"

Ni Er chuckled: "You are still tough."

"It's not me who is tough, it's the princess who is tough. You said she was bullied in the Jia family, but from the beginning to the end, except for our Second Uncle Bao, has she ever let anyone in the Jia family go?"

Jia Yun sighed, patted Ni Er who was stunned, and said with a smile, "Our Aunt Lin never tolerates any injustice. Remember what I said, if you are unfaithful once, you will never be trusted again."

Ni Ermeng nodded: "My daughter told me the same thing. The princess and the county lady have been very careful in the past. If you are not the most loyal, you can never win their favor."

"That's exactly what I mean! Second brother, your daughter is a pearl, you must never give her away easily! Ask the princess and the county lady to choose a good one for her!" Jia Yun put his arm around his shoulder and became more and more intimate with him.

Ni Er smiled with his eyes narrowed: "Thank you for your good words!"

The two men walked away, and a woman came out from under the wall behind them, her eyes full of calculations. She threw away her handkerchief and ran quickly to the west wing.

When the old patriarch came to visit the next day, Lin Hun went forward to greet him with a warm smile, and escorted him inside, muttering to himself all the way.

When they reached the second gate, the woman from yesterday came forward with a big smile on her face: "Greetings to the old clan leader. Best wishes to you. Please come this way." Then she asked in a low voice, "Did our wife tell you?"

The old patriarch just nodded thoughtfully when someone stopped him.

The two looked up and saw that it was Xueyan.

Xueyan pulled the corner of her mouth and looked at the woman with a half-smile: "Sister Lin, the princess said it herself, your job is to sweep and clean outside the main courtyard. Other things have nothing to do with you.

"You have overstepped your bounds. Go to Chu Neiguan and get a slap in the face. Then do what you are supposed to do. If you are not satisfied, leave the Lin Mansion. Don't let the princess punish you personally, or you will hurt Jing Bo's face."

When the woman heard the last sentence, her timid expression immediately turned into arrogance: "Well, a little girl like you is trying to take credit and act big!

"When our uncle was serving the late marquis, your father didn't even know whether he had been reincarnated! Not to mention you, even if it's the princess, you have to call me sister-in-law when talking to me..."

"Pa!" Xueyan didn't even wait for her to finish and slapped her in the face!

Without waiting for her to speak, he coldly ordered the two sturdy women who followed him: "Gag him, tie his hands and feet, and send him to Chu Neiguan."

The women roared in unison: "Yes!"

He came up and covered the woman's mouth with one hand, clamped her hands and feet like a penis, and dragged her away!

The old patriarch was first frightened by Xueyan's slap, and then by the woman's tiger roar. Finally, when he saw Xueyan smiling and extending her hand to invite him, he felt a chill on his back and couldn't speak clearly:

"You are Miss Xueyan, aren't you? It's only been a few years, I couldn't see it, I couldn't see it, haha, I couldn't see it!"

Xueyan resumed her innocent smile: "Old Patriarch has a good memory! I had almost forgotten about you, but you still remember me!"

The old patriarch was so choked by these words that his face almost turned the color of liver.

When they arrived at the flower hall, the old patriarch looked up cautiously and was relieved to see that Lin Daiyu was not wearing the crown and clothes of a princess.

However, before he could relax halfway, he saw Aunt Meng standing next to Lin Daiyu, wearing a female official's uniform, with a stern face, looking at him coldly.

The old clan leader understood, and stepped forward with a stiff smile, bowing and saying, "Greetings, Princess. May you be well and safe."

Lin Daiyu smiled and stood up, bowing slightly: "I don't deserve it, please take a seat, clan leader. Come, have some tea."

Qingwen, wearing a gold hairpin and gold bracelets, came up to serve tea and snacks, then left without a sound. However, she had almost blinded the old patriarch.

"I heard that the princess came back three or four days ago. Is she settled now?" the old patriarch began to greet.

Lin Daiyu smiled and said, "Yes." Then she went straight to the point, "My old housekeeper showed me the account book. In the past four years, a total of 229 students from the clan were sponsored.

"I want to meet these people. If I can't come in person, my family can come."

The old clan leader's face darkened immediately. No matter how much he wanted to take the other party's status as a princess into consideration, he could no longer hold back and snorted:

"Is the princess here to check the clan's accounts, or is she trying to win people's hearts?!"

"I sponsored people and wanted to hear their thanks. If that doesn't work, then starting next year, I will tell them that since they didn't even say thank you, I will withdraw all my sponsorship and ask them to pay me back.

"As for this person, no matter who you help, you can't help those ungrateful people who pretend to be noble, right?" Lin Daiyu smiled, "So I advise the old clan leader to pass on this message for me and let me check this list."

The old clan leader had a dark face and said, "This matter is handled by the third branch of the clan. I will let them report the princess's words themselves tomorrow! I'll take my leave now."

Stand up, shake your sleeves and go.

Lin Daiyu smiled slightly: "That won't do. My housekeeper received the order from you, so naturally you have to accompany him to check it.

"Otherwise, if the third room comes to me and complains about the injustice, saying that the list they gave you didn't have so many people and you took all the money, what would you let me do?

"Do I have to personally deal with them one by one? That would be too embarrassing for our Lin family, right?"

The old patriarch seemed to be fixed at the door, his heart beating fast: the bastard in the third room who eats nails and shits hard, might be just like that!