Corrupt official in the Red Chamber

Chapter 372 It’s settled

Jia Zheng in Hainan was very proud of himself during this time.

Although Hainan is just a small and remote place, Jia Zheng can't stand the fact that he is the leader, so he had a very happy time during this period.

On this day, he had just returned to his private residence from the Yamen. Aunt Zhao who followed him immediately offered him a cup of tea.

Now Aunt Zhao is also rising. In Hainan, she is equivalent to Jia Zheng's wife. Aunt Zhao is the first in the entire circle of noble ladies in Hainan.

This was a treatment that could not be enjoyed in Rongguo Mansion before, so Aunt Zhao only had one thought, that is, Jia Zheng would never return to Rongguo Mansion, so that she could always be the hostess in the mansion.

"Sir, a letter came from the inn in the afternoon."

"Where did the letter come from?"

"As a woman, I don't dare to ask. I only know that he is from Beijing."

"Bring it over and let me take a look."

Aunt Zhao hurried into the study and soon came to Jia Zheng with a letter.

When Jia Zheng took the letter and read it, he immediately became serious.

It turned out to be a letter from Jia Rui to him. Did something happen in Beijing?

Jia Zheng opened the letter in a panic, and he breathed a sigh of relief after reading it.

"Master, where is the letter from? What is it about?" Aunt Zhao asked from the side.

After Aunt Zhao came to Hainan, she became more and more like a hostess.

Jia Zheng put the letter on the table and said, "It's Baoyu's business. Brother Rui said that Baoyu is old enough and can't delay it any longer. He asked me to write a letter and go back to arrange Baoyu's marriage."

Aunt Zhao breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it belonged to her precious son Jia Huan, everything else was not a big deal.

"What should I do? It turns out to be Baoyu, but he is indeed quite old. It's time for him to start a family and have a wife to take care of him." Aunt Zhao said casually.

Jia Zheng tapped his fingers on the table and said while thinking: "Baoyu has indeed reached his age, but I still want to let him gain fame before we get married."

As Jia Zheng's official position became higher and higher, he was more able to get along in the officialdom than before. However, when talking to his colleagues, he always felt the slightest contempt from others.

Because everyone else was a Jinshi, he was the only one who became the governor of Hainan through connections.

There was no hope in his generation, so he focused his hope on Jia Baoyu.

After hearing this, Aunt Zhao said disdainfully: "Baoyu is smart, but he was spoiled by the old lady. If he wants to pass the exam, he may have too much time!"

Jia Zheng sighed after hearing this. He also thought that Jia Baoyu was spoiled by the old lady. If he had been taught by himself, Jia Baoyu would have been a scholar long ago.

Didn't you see that Jia Zhu's qualifications were far inferior to Jia Baoyu's? Wouldn't he still be a scholar?

If it weren't for Jia Zhu's poor health and his death, he would at least be a Jinshi by now.

Jia Zheng sighed, and then said a bit sarcastically: "Baoyu was harmed by the old lady's doting."

"Master, why don't we just let him get married? Once he gets married, he will be an adult. How can he still act like before?"

Jia Zheng's eyes lit up. If he could repent after getting married, Jia Baoyu would have a bright future at his age.

"Okay, that's it, I'll write a letter now."

As Jia Zheng said this, he immediately spread out the letter paper and started writing on it. After a while, three or four pieces of paper were written.

This letter is not for Jia Mu, but for Jia Rui.

In the letter, Jia Zheng entrusted Jia Rui with full authority to take charge of Jia Baoyu's marriage and subsequent education issues.

It was particularly emphasized that if Baoyu disobeys, just beat him. As long as he is not beaten to death or disabled, Jia Zheng will be responsible for everything else.

Of course, in addition to Baoyu's matter, Jia Zheng also wrote in the letter, asking Jia Rui to look after Jia Huan, if there is any chance, Jia Huan can also get some light.

Although Jia Huan is a concubine, Aunt Zhao has been blowing the wind, and Jia Zheng is also concerned about this concubine.

In this way, the letter passed through the official post and was delivered to Jia Jia Rui half a month later.

Jia Rui looked at the letter in his hand and smiled slightly.

Jia Zheng delivered the letter to himself instead of to Jia Mu, which shows that Jia Zheng no longer believes in Jia Mu.

It seems that Jia Zheng was very dissatisfied with Jia Mu's method of educating children and grandchildren, but due to filial piety, he could not express it openly, so he sent Jia Baoyu to Jia Rui in a roundabout way.

So just with this letter, he simply brought Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu to his house, under the euphemistic name of accepting Jia Zheng's entrustment and supervising Jia Baoyu.

As for Jia Baoyu's fame, it is even a trivial matter.

Maybe Jia Rui is more cautious when it comes to big things like taking exams, but when it comes to taking the scholar exam, Jia Rui doesn't need to do it himself.

As long as Jia Baoyu just gives a little hint and writes a few words on the scroll, he can become a scholar.

"Let's go to Rongguo Mansion to discuss Baoyu's matter with the old lady." Jia Rui smiled and said to Xue Baochai, who was looking forward to it.

It should be said that when Xue Baochai lived in Rongguofu before, he regarded Lin Daiyu as a competitor. Later, he and Jia Rui got engaged, and their relationship became closer.

Now a few years have passed, Xue Baochai has regarded Lin Daiyu as his half-sister, and he cares deeply about her.

In fact, this is because there is no conflict of interest between the two parties, and Lin Daiyu is indeed a smart and transparent person. Associating with such a person will make people feel happy involuntarily. "Then wait a minute, I'll clean up." Xue Baochai said a word and went to the back room to change clothes.

Then the couple went out together. At the second gate, Jia Rui got on his horse and Xue Baochai got on the sedan. They left Dingxihou Mansion together and entered Rongguo Mansion through the side door.

The arrival of the two of them naturally alarmed the ancestors in Rongguo Mansion. Although Jia Mu didn't know what was going on with their sudden visit, she still asked Jia She to greet them at the second gate.

"Why did Brother Rui come here at this time? Is there something urgent?" Jia She stepped forward and asked as soon as he saw Jia Rui dismounting.

"Uncle, there is something happy in Rongguo Mansion."

"Where does joy come from?"

"Haha, Uncle Zheng wrote a reply from Hainan. He said that Baoyu is not young anymore and asked him to get married as soon as possible, and then he can study in peace and take the exam for fame."

When Jia She heard this, he no longer cared.

Now Jia She has put all his energy on his three grandchildren.

Especially the eldest grandson Jia Ping is simply the apple of Jia She's eye.

As for the matter of the second room, Jia She didn't want to hear it.

Therefore, Jia She stopped asking questions and instead smiled and talked with Jia Rui about the funny things on Ningrong Street.

In this way, the two people came to Jia Mu's Rongqing Hall while chatting and joking.

When I came in, I saw, good guys, everyone who can come is here.

Only Wang Xifeng and Yuanyang were seen standing beside Jia Mu. Jia's mother was sitting in the middle, with Mrs. Xing and Mrs. Wang on both sides, and below them were the girls from the Jia family.

As for Jia Baoyu, at this time, he did not dare to appear in front of Jia Rui.

If Jia Rui knew that he was absent from class again, he would inevitably be punished again.

After entering the house, Jia Rui and Xue Baochai first bowed to Jia Mu.

After that, Wang Xifeng smiled and pulled Xue Baochai to sit down next to Mrs. Xing.

Jia She and Jia Rui also sat down.

After this, there was a period of pleasantries.

"Brother Rui, what's the matter with your visit this time?" When Jia Mu saw him, she had just finished talking and brought the topic to the main topic.

Jia Rui smiled and took out the letter from his arms and said to Jia's mother: "Second Uncle Zheng has sent a reply letter from Hainan."

Jia Mu was stunned for a moment after hearing this. If Jia Zheng didn't write to his own family, why would he write to Jia Rui?

Although she had doubts, Jia Mu still asked Yuanyang to bring the letter to her. She took the letter and looked at it carefully.

After reading it, Jia Mu fell into deep thought.

Although there was not a single word of blame on himself in this letter, there was dissatisfaction with his pampering of Jia Baoyu between the lines.

In the past, Jia Zheng would not have had the courage. It seems that now that he has become a big official and has his own thoughts, he no longer takes an old lady like himself seriously.

Although Jia's mother felt a little sad, she thought it was a good idea after thinking about the content of the letter. In this way, Jia Baoyu and Jia Rui would get closer, and their career would be smoother in the future.

After thinking about the pros and cons, Jia Mu had made up her mind to follow Jia Zheng's letter.

From this, we can see Jia Mu's doting on Jia Baoyu. As long as it is for her grandson's good, she can endure anything.

Then Jia Mu said with a smile: "Two days ago, some old relative told me that Baoyu was old and it was time to get married. I was just about to write to him, but I didn't expect that he had come back to write."

While talking, Jia Mu asked Yuanyang to hand the letter to Mrs. Wang, who was sitting beside her like a wooden figure.

Mrs. Wang had a bad premonition after hearing what Jia Mu said just now. When she took the letter and read it, she felt a little unhappy on her face.

I don't know if it was due to the injustice in her previous life, but Mrs. Wang has always looked down upon Lin Daiyu.

A few years ago, she brought Xue Baochai to Beijing just to make Xue Baochai and Baoyu a couple.

But later, Xue Baochai climbed a high branch and married Jia Rui. In the end, somehow, Jia Baoyu actually got engaged to Lin Daiyu?

This made him, a mother, unhappy all the time, so he kept pressing the marriage between Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu.

She just thought that if she pressed on, Lin Daiyu would go to the underworld by herself, and then her Baoyu would be able to find another sweetheart.

"Old lady, Uncle Zheng has made it very clear in his letter. Do you think we should settle this matter?" Although Jia Rui was asking, his tone was very firm.

Jia Mu blinked and said with a smile: "This is a great thing, of course it must be settled."

Wang Xifeng, who had been watching from the side, smiled and said to Lin Daiyu who was sitting next to her: "Second Grandma Bao, this is a great event for you, can you reward us?"

At this time, Lin Daiyu, who was sitting next to her, also knew what happened from everyone's tone. She glanced at Wang Xifeng with a blushing face, and then hurriedly asked Mother Jia to resign.

Mother Jia smiled and asked Yuanyang and Zijuan to help Lin Daiyu back to the house.

(End of this chapter)