Chapter 368 Property Acquisition

Chapter 368 Property Acquisition

The situation in the court is tense, with the princes fighting each other to the death, and some of the ministers have also been drawn into it.

Although Xie Wan's brother-in-law was not one to take sides, he was inevitably affected by the storm under this trend.

As for Jiang Yuan, he knew about Jiang Yuan's situation. With the Marquis of Dingbei and his son caught in the middle, Jiang Yuan was a natural member of the Crown Prince's faction, and it was basically impossible for him not to get involved.

That's why he told Jiang Yuan about the situation in the capital as soon as Jiang Yuan arrived.

Jiang Yuan was very grateful for the Xie family father and son's honesty. Indeed, just as they thought, it was impossible for him to remain uninvolved in this matter. Even disregarding his connection with the Marquis of Dingbei's family, he had to consider the emperor's intention in summoning him to the capital.

After spending the night at the Xie residence, Jiang Yuan and Xie Wanniang got busy early the next morning.

In December, the cold wind swirled snowflakes in the capital, turning the streets and alleys into a pristine white.

After breakfast, Jiang Yuan, along with Lao Qian, Wu Qing, and several other guards, headed to the Ministry of Personnel.

The capital city was bustling and magnificent. Riding a horse through the streets, one would soon encounter a lavishly decorated carriage, an official sedan chair with a retinue of attendants, or a fine horse of great value. Yet, Jiang Yuan remained calm and composed, showing no signs of the nervousness or unease one might expect upon first arriving in the capital.

Officials came and went in a constant stream in front of the Ministry of Personnel. Jiang Yuan handed over the appointment document and identification certificate that had been prepared in advance. After the official in charge verified that everything was correct, he was led to the registration room to file his documents.

"Lord Jiang has risen through the ranks so quickly, becoming a second-rank official at such a young age, which is truly rare. It is evident that His Majesty values ​​you highly," the official in charge said casually as he wrote down the details.

Jiang Yuan bowed respectfully towards the palace, saying, "Indeed, we owe much to Your Majesty's great favor."

As he spoke, he took the filing receipt and said, "I wonder if Minister Li of the Ministry of Personnel is here? I need to report the handover to Minister Li in person."

"Lord Li is here. Please wait a moment, Lord Jiang. I will go and inform him of your presence."

Before long, the official in charge returned and led Jiang Yuan to see Minister Li.

Minister Li, who was over sixty years old with gray hair and beard, smiled and stood up to greet Jiang Yuan, saying, "Lord Jiang."

"Lord Li." Jiang Yuan quickly bowed and handed over the handover documents. "This is a detailed list of the military affairs handover of Dinghai Guard. Please take a look, Lord Li."

Minister Li glanced through the documents and smiled, "The documents are complete. You should go to the Central Military Command to meet your future colleagues and superiors."

"Yes, thank you, Lord Li." Jiang Yuan left the Ministry of Personnel and rushed to the Central Military Commander's Office without stopping.

The current commander of the Central Military Command is surnamed Zhang. When Jiang Yuan arrived at the Commander's Office and identified himself, soldiers immediately took him to Commander Zhang.

Governor Zhang was about fifty years old and slightly overweight, but it was clear that he had not relaxed his long-term maintenance of his physical condition.

His tall and robust physique, the muscles that bulged from time to time as he moved, and his piercing eyes all indicated that he was still vigorous despite his age.

His face was kind, and when he saw Jiang Yuan enter, he immediately stood up with a smile, "You must be Lord Jiang Yuan?"

"It is indeed your humble servant." Jiang Yuan bowed and handed over the handover document from the Ministry of Personnel. "I am Jiang Yuan, greetings to Lord Zhang. I hope you will take good care of me in the future."

Governor Zhang took the credentials, gestured for him to sit down and talk, and then had someone summon the other generals under his command. "Come, come, all of you come and get to know Lord Jiang. From now on, we will be colleagues, all in the Central Military Governor's Office. You must all work together and do your jobs well."

Jiang Yuan took the initiative to introduce himself, and then greeted each of the generals of the Central Military Command.

The group of people were very polite to him, and they exchanged a few pleasantries, creating a fairly harmonious atmosphere.

Afterwards, Lord Zhang named one of the men and asked him to hand over the affairs he was in charge of to Jiang Yuan.

The man respectfully agreed and led Jiang Yuan off to attend to his business.

Jiang Yuan whiled away most of the day there, and it wasn't until it was time to leave the office that he returned to the Xie residence with Wu Qing and the others.

He had already written a memorial of thanks to the emperor before going to bed last night. In addition to thanking the emperor for his promotion and appreciation, he also mentioned that he wanted to meet the emperor.

This is the established procedure for officials from outside the capital to take up their posts or report on their duties. Whether the emperor sees them or not is the emperor's business, but the officials are required to request an audience.

Jiang Yuan estimated that, given the current situation, since he was one of the emperor's supporters for the crown prince, the emperor would most likely summon him to the palace for an audience within three days.

This is why he didn't rest all day and went to the Central Military Command early to familiarize himself with military affairs.

Xie Wanniang didn't notice while he was busy.

The situation in the capital was both complex and tense, leaving Xie Wanniang no room for leisure or shirking her duties.

Not long after breakfast, she met two brokers whom Madam Huang had recommended to her in the small flower hall of her residence in the Xie family mansion.

The brokers used by the Xie family were also commonly used by other wealthy families in the capital. They possessed valuable assets that ordinary brokers could not obtain.

The two men, one surnamed Zhao and about forty years old, and the other surnamed Sun and about thirty years old, both looked shrewd and capable.

The two men brought simple blueprints of five residences for Xie Wanniang to choose from. After paying their respects to Xie Wanniang, they began to introduce the detailed information about the five residences.

Because Xie Wanniang said she wanted to buy a house in a good location with a larger area, the houses they brought were all two- or three-courtyard houses in prime locations.

Zhao Yaren, who spoke first, pointed to one of the blueprints and said, "The first blueprint I brought shows a house with three courtyards. The price is around eight thousand taels of silver. Although it is also located in the eastern part of the city, its location is more remote than that of the Xie family mansion."

Xie Wanniang glanced at the blueprint and noticed the three small characters "Tongyuanfang" written on it. She immediately decided to look at other houses first.

Zhao Yaren was a shrewd man. Seeing that she didn't ask any more questions, he knew that she was not satisfied with the house, so he quickly put out the second set of blueprints he had brought.

"This house is priced at ten thousand taels of silver. It's a large three-courtyard house with east and west wings, located in Huaihua Lane in the west of the city. It's in a good location, and the house itself is quite large and beautifully decorated. However, that area is mostly inhabited by local gentry and wealthy merchants, so you..."

Xie Wanniang shook her head, "I want a house that is close to the palace and the Central Military Governor's Mansion. Price is not an issue."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yaren immediately took out the last blueprint he had brought. "Then I suggest you buy this one. This one is also a three-courtyard house with east and west wings. It is located in Rong'an Ward, close to the capital and not far from the Central Military Governor's Mansion. Moreover, the house covers an area of ​​about four acres, with a reasonable layout and is very well maintained."

He paused, then continued, "The original owner of this house was the previous Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial. After retiring, he didn't want to stay in the capital, so he wanted to sell this house that he had bought at a high price years ago."

After all, the other party had once served as the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, and Zhao Yaren had long been involved with wealthy families, so it was really inappropriate for him to tell Xie Wanniang about his family's scandalous affairs.

Therefore, he did not tell Xie Wanniang that the reason why this retired official wanted to return to his hometown and sell his house was actually because he had raised an unfilial son.

It's bad enough that his son has no talent for studying, but what's worse, he's also someone who can act recklessly and without thinking.

He's already thirty years old, with nearly ten wives, concubines, and children at home, yet this guy suddenly transformed from an ordinary, good-for-nothing playboy into a lunatic obsessed with his widowed distant cousin, going crazy for her, and banging his head against the wall for her sake.

The reason he's called a lunatic rather than a lovelorn man is because his cousin never gave him any reciprocation or hope.

Although she was widowed, she had no intention of abandoning her children and remarrying. Although her marriage to her deceased husband was arranged and their relationship was not good, her parents-in-law always treated her well.

Her uncle and sister-in-law were easy to get along with. The widow and her child lived a pretty good life thanks to her parents-in-law, uncle, and sister-in-law.

Rather than trying her luck at another place, she felt it was better to just stay with her child and live a peaceful life.

Little did the woman know that she had only gone back to her parents' home as usual, and she was unlucky enough to be entangled by her eccentric cousin who happened to be visiting.

Even if this woman didn't want to remarry, she wouldn't marry a man like her distant cousin who already had wives and concubines—she didn't want to be someone's concubine, nor did she want to be a third party who squeezed out someone else's first wife.

However, her cousin seemed not to understand human language. No matter how the woman's parents and brother explained, and no matter how much the woman's husband's family disliked and distrusted him, he went crazy and insisted on breaking into their house to harass them.

This incident caused a great stir among officials in Beijing. Not only did his father, his wife, and his in-laws lose face, but even his children were ridiculed and ostracized by their peers because of it.

His father had scolded and beaten him, but he was still like he was possessed, showing no remorse whatsoever.

The old man had no other choice but to kidnap him and take him back to his hometown.

Since there wasn't anything wrong with the house itself, the broker didn't tell Xie Wanniang about these messy things.

However, he didn't deliberately hide it. Since he had said that the other party was the former Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, it would be very easy for Xie Wanniang to find out about the other party's family situation.

In this way, he neither deceived the buyer nor spread rumors and damaged his reputation, which can be considered a win-win situation.

Although Xie Wanniang didn't like playing games, she had been in the Xie family for so many years and had helped Jiang Yuan socialize for so many years as his wife. So it wasn't hard for her to see through the broker's slight roundaboutness and tact.

She gave Cunyu a wink, and Cunyu understood. He immediately sent two guards to inquire about the former Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial.

Xie Wanniang continued listening to the two brokers introduce the house. After Zhao broker finished speaking, Sun broker took over.

He provided Xie Wanniang with two alternative houses. One was good in other aspects, but the location was relatively remote. If Xie Wanniang and the others lived there, Jiang Yuan would have to get up at the latest before dawn to attend the morning court. The other house, although in a good location, had been abandoned for a long time and was a "haunted house".

Sun Yaren spoke frankly and did not deliberately hide any shortcomings. He told Xie Wanniang, "I have already sold all the better houses I have. If you are not in a hurry, I can help you find one slowly. But if you are in a hurry to move in, I suggest you consider the three houses that Brother Zhao has provided."

Xie Wanniang nodded, and had Cunyu take the reward money to send Sun the broker away. She then followed Zhao the broker to see the three residences he had provided.

After looking around, Xie Wanniang was most satisfied with the mansion of the former Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies.

Unlike the other two houses, this house has no other drawbacks besides its high price.

As for the other party's family matters, just as Zhao Yaren thought, Xie Wanniang didn't care because these matters had nothing to do with the house itself.

In the end, Xie Wanniang bought the mansion for 18,800 taels of silver.

The residence is located in Rong'anfang, which is even closer to the palace than the Xie residence.

Because it was located in the same east of the city as the Central Military Commission, it would be very convenient for Jiang Yuan to go up and down his shifts.

Xie Wanniang also carefully inspected the interior of the house, and it was indeed as the broker had said: carved beams and painted rafters, artificial hills and flowing water, elegant, spacious, bright and tidy.

Xie Wanniang was satisfied after reading it, and immediately sent the guard back to fetch the silver notes.

After paying the rent and giving Zhao the broker a tip, Xie Wanniang went with him to the yamen to complete the legal contract.

Zhao Yaren was grinning from ear to ear as he held the silver.

In all his years as a dentist, he could count the number of customers like Xie Wanniang, who were exceptionally generous with their money when buying things, on one hand.

He also realized that Xie Wanniang's generosity in buying the house proved that she must have even more money in her pocket.

Thinking about it more deeply, since their family has settled in the capital, they will inevitably buy property there in the future.

Zhao Yaren has to be extra attentive to people who are rich and willing to spend money.

He enthusiastically helped run errands and quickly got the marriage contract processed.

After confirming that everything was correct, Xie Wanniang carefully put away the red contract.

After parting ways with Zhao Yaren outside the yamen, Xie Wanniang returned to the Xie residence in a carriage.

Huang didn't expect Xie Wanniang to act so quickly, but after Xie Wanniang told her the specific process of buying the house, she couldn't help but feel that Xie Wanniang should indeed be more decisive.

After all, a house in such a prime location would never have trouble selling in Beijing.

This house had only been released for two days. If Xie Wanniang had arrived in the capital three to five days later, or if she had called the broker over a few days later, the house might not have fallen into her hands.

Of course, the most crucial factor was that Xie Wanniang had enough money and had prepared sufficient funds for buying a house well in advance.

She was both envious and impressed, saying, "You're indeed a shrewd and decisive girl."

Nearly 20,000 taels of silver is indeed a large sum, but it is definitely worthwhile to use it to buy such a house.

Given the current situation of the Great Wei, it is entirely possible for it to prosper for another two or three hundred years.

It can be foreseen that in the future, there will be more and more high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital of the Great Wei, and good houses will become more and more expensive and harder to buy.