When Baoqin heard this, he pondered.
Xue Wu was an ordinary businessman. After the death of the old master of the Xue family, the shopkeepers all had their own ideas.
It was not surprising that this would happen.
In the past few years, despite Xue Wu's efforts to mediate, the Xue family still closed a few shops and sold two farms in the suburbs.
If this continued, the Xue family would be completely ruined. It was only a matter of time.
He stretched out his white fingers and slowly rubbed the edge of the teacup. It was smooth and warm, like jade to the touch. "I heard that next spring will be the first selection of concubines for the new Emperor?"
Xue Wu didn't realize what Baoqin wanted to do at this time, so he answered naturally, "That's right. The new Emperor has been on the throne for two years. The harem is empty. There is only the Empress and two or three old men who live in seclusion.
It's time to choose a virtuous woman to fill the harem. "
Baoqin asked again, "I heard that when Baochai's sister and her family went to the capital, it was also for the selection of concubines?"
Xue Wu nodded and said, "That's right. But Baochai's sister's name has been removed. She can't be selected again."
Bao Qin asked, "What is it for?"
Xue Wu looked at Baoqin and said strangely, "Sister, did you forget?
Xue Pan's brother killed someone. Although the case was closed, when Baochai's sister signed up, this matter was still brought up.
As a result, her quota was revoked. Because of this, she was very depressed for a period of time! "
Baoqin said, "Then, what is her plan now?"
Xue Wu said, "Now their family doesn't live in their old house in the capital. Instead, they live in the Rongguo Mansion.
Although they didn't say it explicitly, I'm guessing that they're planning to tie the knot. "
Rongguo Mansion, this name, so familiar … Baoqin suppressed the feeling of déjà vu in his heart and said, "Brother, let's go to the capital."
Xue Wu was stunned. "What are we going to do in the capital?
Our family business is in Jinling. If we leave, who will take care of it? "
Baoqin stretched out his jade-like fingers and tapped the table rhythmically. He said slowly, "Brother, in your opinion, if our family business continues like this, won't it be ruined?"
When Xue Wu heard this, a layer of red appeared on his handsome face. It was as if he had drunk alcohol. "… It's my fault for being useless and implicating my little sister."
Baoqin shook his head and said, "It's not my fault. Everyone has something they are good at and something they are not good at. How can you blame my brother?
I know you've done your best. "
Xue Wu sighed and said, "I've only done my best and left the rest to fate …"
Baoqin said, "I remember that you used to like reading. Why don't I see you going to the study now?"
Xue Wu smiled bitterly and said, "I'm a businessman. What's the use of reading?
I won't make a fool of myself … "
Baoqin said, "Brother, I have an idea. I want to discuss it with you."
Xue Wu said, "Little sister, go ahead. I'm listening."
Baoqin stood up and walked to the window. He pushed open the green screen and looked at the ripples outside. He said softly, "Little sister wants to participate in next year's draft. She wants to go to the richest and most dangerous place in the world to fight for a future for our Xue family."
With a bang, Xue Wu accidentally knocked over the teacup. The tea and tea leaves splashed all over the table.
His face was full of shock. He said involuntarily, "Little sister, how can you have such an idea?
Do you think the days in the palace are good?
No, I won't agree!
'Are you hurt because of what happened to the Mei family?'
Listen to me. With little sister's talent and ability, it won't be difficult for you to find a better family. Don't be impulsive and harm yourself for the rest of your life … "
Baoqin turned to look at Xue Wu and smiled like a flower, "Brother, how can you think like that?
What is the Mei family? Is it worth it for me to be sad?
I made this decision after careful consideration. It wasn't an impulsive decision.
Brother, tell me the truth. With our family's status as a declining merchant, can we really find a better family than the Mei family?
Even if we look, we'll still find a merchant family like ours.
Our descendants will continue to be merchants, and they'll always be merchants with low status in the eyes of others.
Brother, are you really willing to accept this? "
What Baoqin said was the truth.
When Xue Wu heard this, he couldn't help but sit down dejectedly. A pained expression appeared on his face, "Brother is useless. Little sister is such a talent, but because of our low status, we're being looked down upon …"
Baoqin walked to Xue Wu's side and put his little white hand on his shoulder, saying, "Brother is starting to blame himself again. How can I blame you?
When we're born, can we choose our own parents?
We can't choose, but we can choose for our future generations so that they can have a better background.
This way, we won't waste our time in this world.
When we bring the Xue family to greater heights, our parents in the underworld will be deeply gratified. "
After hearing Baoqin's words, Xue Wu couldn't help but hesitate.
When he was young, he also liked to study, but he was stopped by his father. He said that a merchant family didn't need to be talented. They only needed to be able to understand accounting books.
Because of this, he gave up on studying and suppressed his ambitions. Every day, he went around the shops and villages, turning himself into a merchant through and through.
Even so, how could he not feel sad when he saw other people looking at him with contempt?
It was obvious that the other party had nothing to show for it, yet he could look down on a rich man like him. It was all because the other party was a scholar, while he was just a businessman.
No matter how much money he earned, he couldn't buy a noble status.
It was fine if he was like this, but did his future generations have to suffer this kind of vexation?
Moreover, since his parents died one after another, it was indeed a bit difficult for him to manage this huge family business.
He could only watch helplessly as the Xue family declined bit by bit in his hands.
In his sister's words, if this continued, the Xue family would be completely destroyed. That was just around the corner.
Now that the brother and sister were standing on the edge of a cliff, if they didn't give it their all, were they really waiting for the day to come when they would fall and be smashed to pieces?
Baoqin saw that Xue Wu's expression was becoming more and more hesitant, so he smiled and continued to try to persuade him.
Finally, when the sun set and the lake was filled with golden ripples, the Xue family brother and sister had agreed to go to the capital to participate in the Consort Selection!
Since they had already decided, they had to hurry because the Consort Selection would begin next spring. Before that, there were many things that needed to be done.
For example, the quota for the Consort Selection wasn't something that could be obtained by Xue Baoqin.
It was easy for a girl from an official's family to obtain a quota, but for a girl from a merchant family like Xue Baoqin, it would take a lot of effort.
During this time, it would take a lot of money to get through the connections.
Xue Wu said that their cousin, Xue Baochai, had spent tens of thousands of taels of silver to obtain a quota.
It was a pity that he had been eliminated at the last checkpoint, and that money had been wasted.
However, their family was an imperial merchant family, so they were much more well-off than Xue Wu's family. They could still afford to lose tens of thousands of taels of silver.
As for the properties in Jinling, the two siblings decided to leave the land behind and sell all the shops and other things.
Once they left, there would be no one to manage the properties. Wouldn't the people below try their best to take advantage of them?
Instead of feeding those heartless people, it would be better to sell the land. They could make a sum of money and use it to get through the connections for Baoqin's Consort Selection.
There was no need to worry about having too much land. The more land there was, the better.
This was especially true for fertile land. Other than those who desperately needed money and had nowhere else to go, no one would be stupid enough to sell it.
Even if most of the production was taken away by the landlord, the land would still be there. It was a fixed property that wouldn't lose money.
For example, when Baochai's family left Jinling, they also sold the shops and left behind the farmland. This was the normal way of doing things.
It took the brother and sister more than a month to deal with all kinds of chores.
When they left the Ru Mansion and set foot on the road to the capital, it was already late autumn and winter was about to come.
This was the first time Baoqin had taken a carriage in his previous life. At the beginning, he felt that it was a novelty. Later, he only felt that his muscles and bones were sore. He wished that he could grow wings and fly to the capital.
The Xue family left a few trustworthy old servants to look after the house and take care of the tombs of the Xue family's Master and Madam. The brother and sister left their personal servants behind. The rest of the servants were all given contracts to sell themselves and some money to settle down. They were dismissed.
This kind of behavior was considered a good deed. Everyone was deeply grateful and didn't mention it.
Half a month later, the brother and sister of the Xue family finally arrived in the capital and arrived at the gate of the Rongguo Mansion.
When Bao Qin entered the mansion and saw the magnificent Grand View Garden, and then saw his cousin Xue Bao Chai, who was as beautiful as a flower, he finally remembered. Damn, wasn't this the famous novel that was widely circulated in his previous life and had raised a large number of people?
I actually came to a novel!
Can this be good?!
At this time, Baoqin was sitting in the front hall of Hengwu Garden. Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai were sitting opposite him. Xue Pan had gone out.
Baochai saw that his cousin was absent-minded and hurriedly asked, "Are you tired from the journey?
Do you want to quickly wash your face and go to bed to rest? "
Baoqin heard this and suppressed the waves in his heart. He smiled and said, "No need. My muscles and bones are just a little sore. Maybe tomorrow, I'll be fine."
Baochai asked again, "I also didn't expect that you and your brother would sell your shops and come to the capital.
Our family first came here because of the murder case my brother committed. Second, it was because of my consort selection. Why did you come here? "