Chapter 332 Dividends

Finally, she can go to Prince Helian's Mansion openly. Ye Jiayao has been feeling very depressed for a while. She can't even go to see the ancestors. She can only ask the servants to bring some delicious food over.

However, this time I didn't see Princess Yi De. Xiao Jing said that the Queen Mother was ill, and Princess Yi De had gone to the palace to take care of her.

Ye Jiayao understood that the Queen Mother was a strong backer of the Crown Prince. As long as the Queen Mother was alive, the Emperor would have concerns. She didn't know if Liuli was also in the palace. Normally, since the Queen Mother loved her so much, she should be the one to take care of him.

Xiao Jing sneered: "People like her don't even know if they have a heart, so how can they talk about conscience?"

Ye Jiayao was speechless. Liuli was digging her own grave by doing this.

The two of them went to see the ancestor together. The ancestor seemed to be in good health. Perhaps he was used to all the ups and downs, so he was in a very calm state of mind. He didn't look worried at all and was still chatting and laughing.

Ye Jiayao secretly admired him. After all, he was an experienced and calm man. Just his calmness and composure was enough for her to learn.

　 Marrying into a noble family means being at the center of political power. There is wealth and glory, but also great risks. As long as the throne is not decided, things will not be peaceful. Dangerous things like this one will probably happen again.

After chatting with the old ancestor for a while, the old ancestor went to the Buddhist temple to chant, so the two of them said goodbye and left.

"Have you gone to see Lao Zhao?" Xiao Jing asked.

"Well, I've checked it out. It's nothing serious. He can eat, sleep and talk nonsense." Ye Jiayao said with a smile.

Xiao Jing smiled bitterly: "This time, thanks to the two of them, otherwise I would be at a loss. It's a pity that I can't go to see him."

You still have to avoid suspicion.

"It's okay, he knows. When he recovers from his injury, I'll host a party and we can have a good gathering."

"Okay, it would be great if my brother and Chunyu brother came back." Xiao Jing sighed.

Ye Jiayao couldn't help but feel distressed when she saw his sad face. His relationship was not going well, and now all the responsibility of the family fell on his shoulders. The pressure can be imagined.

When I first met him last year, he was still a sunny boy who didn't know what sorrow was. However, in just over a year, he was forced to shoulder the burden of the family and grew up overnight.

Chunyu still has a chance to come back. Once the bandits are wiped out, he can come back. But what about Helian Xuan? Is he on his way or has he already arrived in the Northeast? The secret letter found on the desk of the Shangshu of the Ministry of War is like a heavy mountain, which makes people breathless. The prince's grievances have been vindicated. Will the emperor still deal with Helian Xuan?
It is a tragedy that a meritorious official with outstanding contributions ended up being rejected by the emperor.

Ye Jiayao forced a smile and comforted him, "Don't worry, your brother is a wise man and won't be defeated so easily."

Xiao Jing smiled and said, "I hope so!"

"By the way, Yaoyao, have you visited Aruan recently?" Xiao Jing asked casually.

Ye Jiayao shook her head: "It's a turbulent time, so I'd better not visit her as much as possible. After all, Prince Yu is quite wary of my identity, and Lin has bad intentions. It would be bad if she used me to embarrass A'ruan. However, my people are in Prince Yu's mansion, and there will be news every day. A'ruan is living a relatively peaceful life."

Xiao Jing's brows revealed a bit of loneliness: "I hope everyone is safe and sound."

When I returned to the dessert shop, I saw Xiangtao there.

Xiangtao rarely goes out, so he must be here for something important.

"Xiangtao, what's the matter?" Ye Jiayao asked after entering the private room.

Xiang Tao said, "My aunt sent someone to come. I was afraid that my aunt had something important to tell me, so I hurried over to tell her."

Ye Jiayao immediately thought of the coal mine. Second Aunt said there would be dividends at the end of the year. Could she be here to give out dividends? This is a good thing!

Without caring about the dessert shop’s business, Ye Jiayao went home.

The person sent by Second Aunt was Manager Qiu, who had come with her to Jinling last time, to present a letter.

As soon as Ye Jiayao pulled it out, she saw a silver note, issued by Datonghui, with an amount of 600,000 taels.

Ye Jiayao was extremely surprised. She and Chunyu had estimated that for a mine of this quality and size, it would be good enough to make back the investment in two years. However, it was all made back in just one year, and this was only a 10% profit. It was unbelievable.

The other was a simple bill, clearly stating this year's investment, output, gross profit, and net profit. In case Ye Jiayao needed money at the end of the year, the dividends were sent to her first. Winter was the peak season for coal sales, and the profits next month would be more substantial. If there was less, they could make up for it, and if there was more, there would be no need to refund it.

Ye Jiayao was dumbfounded. Damn, mining is like digging for a treasure chest. No wonder those coal bosses are so generous. They change luxury cars like changing clothes. They have so much money that they have no place to spend it.

Ye Jiayao absolutely trusted Second Aunt's accounts. Giving her 10% of the shares was equivalent to giving her money. No matter how much Second Aunt gave her, she would still make a profit.

This money came at the right time. She had just spent all her family savings to return it to Zhao Qixuan, and was worried that if the dividends could not be delivered in time, she would have to live in poverty this year.

Ye Jiayao put away the banknotes and read the letter again. It was nothing more than a chat about family matters, hoping that they would have time to visit Shanxi. Ye Jiayao smiled and asked Manager Qiu, "Is everyone in good health?"

Manager Qiu replied, "Everything is going well. The eldest and second young mistresses are both pregnant this year. Madam is so happy that she can't stop smiling, but she keeps missing the dishes you cooked."

"Really? That's really happy news." Ye Jiayao was also happy for her second aunt, but she couldn't help feeling a little melancholy when she thought about the fact that she still had no news for such a long time.

"Madam has prepared gifts for the first lady, the third lady, and all the young masters and mistresses, but she didn't know that the first lady and the marquis went to Hangzhou." Manager Qiu said.

Ye Jiayao said, "I'll accept it for them first. They won't be back until after the New Year. Manager Qiu, do you want to stay in Jinling for a while or go back?"

"I will leave for Shanxi tomorrow. I have many things to do there."

"Okay, it's almost the end of the year and everyone is busy. I'll prepare some gifts and you can take them back and say hello to Master and Madam on my behalf." Ye Jiayao smiled.

He ordered Qiao Xi to get the reward silver. It was not easy for the other person to come all the way here, so of course the reward must be considerable. Fifty taels of silver was required.

Manager Qiu thanked him profusely and went downstairs to have a rest.

Ye Jiayao looked at the gift list sent by her second aunt and also drew up a gift list. She called Manager Zhong and asked him to buy it immediately and have Manager Qiu take it back tomorrow.

He also asked Qiao Xi to deliver the gift for the eldest young master and mistress to the main house.

After lunch, Ye Jiayao took a short nap and then took Manager Qiu to her third uncle's house. It would be better to have Manager Qiu deliver the gift personally while he was there, to avoid Zhou, the fussy person, becoming suspicious and maybe even thinking that she had given less.

When she arrived at her third uncle's house, the servant said that the lady was meeting guests, so Ye Jiayao went to the flower hall to wait. Just as she reached the second door, she saw Zhou and another lady coming out, talking and laughing.

Ye Jiayao looked carefully. Wasn't this the wife of the Minister of Revenue who had caused trouble last time? How did she get involved with Zhou? She couldn't help but be more cautious.

"Oh...Jinxuan is here? What a rare guest!" Zhou giggled when she saw Ye Jiayao.

The assistant minister's wife looked a little embarrassed and nodded and smiled as a greeting.

Ye Jiayao politely said hello.

The assistant minister's wife said goodbye in a hurry.

Zhou said, "I will definitely go tomorrow."

After the Minister's wife left, Ye Jiayao asked casually, "Aunt San, do you have a party tomorrow?"

Zhou said proudly, "Yes, Madam Cui came here today to invite me to her villa to enjoy the plum blossoms. The guests invited this time are all wives of officials from the six ministries. She only sent invitations to other families."

Ye Jiayao had an idea. The noble ladies in Jinling all have their own circles, which are nothing more than alliances of interests. Madam Cui must have invited close personal relationships or people she wants to win over to the plum blossom viewing banquet this time. It would be great if she could also go and take a look.

"Jinxuan, do you have something to talk to me about?" Zhou asked.

Ye Jiayao put her thoughts back and said with a smile, "Second Aunt sent Manager Qiu to Jinling and gave everyone a gift. I brought Manager Qiu here and he is in the front hall now."

"Really?" Zhou was delighted: "Second Aunt is too polite. She comes all the way here. Does she send people to give gifts every year?"

Ye Jiayao sneered in her heart, what? Are you afraid that you will suffer a loss if you didn't receive any gifts in previous years?
"How could that be possible? Shanxi is not close. Maybe Second Aunt just came here this year and she is thinking about everyone."

Zhou's smile became brighter, and she chuckled, "Second Aunt is really thoughtful."

Then he told the people around him to greet Manager Qiu.

Ye Jiayao chatted with Zhou for a while and asked about the plum blossom viewing banquet, but Zhou knew very little about it and could not get any useful information. Ye Jiayao changed the subject and asked about Jinlian's wedding, which was set on the 18th day of the first lunar month.

Zhou advised, "You'd better write a letter to your mother, asking her to come back in the first month of the year. As Jinlian's aunt, she can't miss the wedding."

Ye Jiayao said in embarrassment: "It's rare for my mother to come back to her parents' home. She was originally scheduled to come back in March."

"But Deng Jiacui is so anxious. If we miss this day, it will be several months later." Zhou was anxious, not because she cared much about Jinlian, because Jinlian was not her own daughter. She just wanted Youshi and the Marquis to attend to give herself face and save her face.

"It may be difficult, but I will inform mother. As for whether I can make it back, Third Aunt, don't hold out too much hope." Ye Jiayao said something ugly in advance. Jinlian's marriage is a big deal, but Youshi hasn't been back to her parents' home for more than ten years, which is also very rare. Besides, Chunyu deliberately sent his father and mother away and said he would come back in March. It would be better not to ruin Chunyu's plan.

Zhou couldn't help feeling disappointed. She thought to herself, let the master write a letter to the Marquis. The Marquis never refuses the master's request. When the time comes, when the Marquis comes back, will You dare not come back?
After a while, the steward who went to see Manager Qiu came back. Zhou didn't mention any reward. Ye Jiayao even reminded him that Manager Qiu would go back tomorrow, but Zhou still didn't say anything. Ye Jiayao thought that Zhou was always stingy, so it was okay. She didn't know how to behave, no wonder Second Aunt disliked her.

(End of this chapter)