389 Preposterous (2)
In short, the closer one was to the palace, the higher their status.
Liu’er Street was neither far nor near.
The minister was at the second rank. Under normal circumstances, he could have moved in.
However, Hong Jianzhang was only a Hanlin in the beginning and was not from the capital.
Even if he relied on the Yue family to climb up, his foundation was there. Even if he had money, he did not dare to move to a better location.
The residences inside were so expensive, and the salary of the officials was transparent, especially since he was in a sensitive position like the Ministry of Revenue. If he moved, it would be equivalent to telling others that he was corrupt.
There were countless people watching him in the court. If he didn’t want to be investigated, he could only hide in Liu’er Street.
He was hoping that one day, Emperor Chong’an would be happy and reward him with a house. Unfortunately, he did not manage to wait until that day.
However, he was not someone who would suffer. At first, he bought a two-in-one residence.
Later on, when he became the Minister of Revenue, he bought the house next door and removed the middle wall to create a three-in-one house.
His salary was enough to buy a residence. No one would be able to call him out for any wrongdoings.
The residence was even larger than Shen Yijia had imagined.
Inside was a large courtyard. There was a row of rooms on the right, a kitchen, and a well beside the kitchen.
There was a study on the left and an adjacent room. In the middle was a greenish-gray stone path that led straight to the main hall.
From the left, they passed through the weeping flower door and entered the inner courtyard. There were corridors on three sides. There were rows of bamboo planted outside the corridor, and the courtyard was filled with rock arrangements.
Doors opened on both sides, leading to a small courtyard. In the middle was the main courtyard, and each courtyard had its own small kitchen and well.
A pomegranate tree was planted in the east courtyard, covered in fruits that were gradually turning ripe.
There was a cinnamon tree planted in the west courtyard.
There was a small garden in the third entrance. There was a small building in the last row. There was a well in front of the house that could be used to wash clothes. There was also a way to dry clothes beside it.
The original gate became a back door.
There were so many rooms that they could each have a room. Putting aside whose house this was previously, Shen Yijia was simply too surprised.
Most importantly, it was free!
Eunuch Deng dutifully brought his men around and returned the money he owed Shen Yijia before leaving. In total, it was 511 taels of silver.
The house had been unoccupied for too long. Moreover, it had been a little messy when he raided the house back then. He felt that if he stayed, he would definitely be instructed by someone to clean up the house.
Even if it was just instructing the people he brought to work, he was unwilling. They wouldn’t pay him anyway.
Shen Yijia was in a good mood. She did not think about that for the time being.
The garden had been neglected for too long and was already overgrown with weeds. She was prepared to turn this place over to plant vegetables. In the courtyard, she moved the fake boulders for Brother Hao and the others to practice martial arts.
As soon as she thought about it, the entire family agreed.
Looking at the smiling faces, Song Jingchen sighed. Emperor Chong’an had finally done something human.
Emperor Chong’an probably didn’t realize that to Song Jingchen, he had become such an unscrupulous person. Just because he saved money on renting a house, he actually thought that Emperor Chong’an was acting like a human.
The house was big, but it was really troublesome to clean up. The furniture inside was complete and there was a lot of dust. Shen Yijia had no choice but to get Rooster to call Pinellia and the others over to clean up.
It took them a day to clean up the house they wanted to stay in.
She even bought steamed buns from outside for lunch and dinner.
After cleaning up, the beds and blankets were still in the carriage. They could only buy ready-made ones first. There was a market not far from Liu’er Street.
However, Shen Yijia only wanted to use it for a few days, so she bought the cheapest ones.
There weren’t many rules at home. It was similar to Xiagou Village. Song Jingchen and Shen Yijia lived in the east courtyard. Madam Li said that pomegranates were a blessing for couples to have many children.
Because of the misunderstanding in Xiagou Village, she had no idea that the two of them had yet to consummate their marriage.
Brother Hao and the other two boys stayed in the west courtyard, while Madam Li stayed in the main courtyard with Sister Huan and Lin Miaomiao.
Rooster and the others could stay in a room in the front courtyard. Mo Yuan lived in the back courtyard.
Summer in the capital was much hotter than in Xiagou Village. Shen Yijia secretly took a cold shower. Just as she returned to the house, she was covered in sweat again.
Therefore, when Song Jingchen entered the inner room after taking a shower, he saw Shen Yijia naked. She was only wearing her undergarments.
One couldn’t even call it proper undergarments anymore, because Shen Yijia found a pair of scissors from somewhere and cut off the legs of the pants, revealing her thighs.
