Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 143 Things to do when returning to Beijing
Jia Zhen's routine is very old-fashioned, but the effect is very good. But one of the maids he had used fell into the wrong hands of Xiao An.

He didn't make any demands, but this was what Guixiang couldn't tolerate the most. With Xiao An's handle, it's a hidden danger.

"It's up to you how to deal with Xiao An." Jia Lian was afraid that he wouldn't be able to bear it, so he left the matter to Guixiang.

"I can't keep even a woman if I can't resist it!" Guixiang was very decisive and not cruel at all. The reality is this. If you don't be cruel, you will suffer consequences in the future. For Guixiang, Jia Lian is everything in her future, and there is no room for neglect.

After hearing this, Jia Lian couldn't bear it, hesitated, and whispered with a guilty conscience: "Let his parents take him back, and get another twenty taels of silver, and do some small business to make a living in the future."

Guixiang looked at Jia Lian and wanted to give some advice, but finally thought of herself. If I made a mistake, would I also hope that the second master would be kinder and not kill everyone? So Guixiang did not persuade her: "Yes, I will obey my orders."

After waiting for Jia Lian to go out to the Ministry of Personnel, Guixiang came to the front yard. When Xiao An saw Guixiang, his eyes showed hope.

"According to my wish, give your parents some money for burial, and the matter will be settled. But the second master is kind-hearted and asked your parents to take you back. He also asked me to give you twenty taels of silver so that you can do some small business when you go back. Health." Guixiang said coldly, the hope in Xiao An's eyes gradually dissipated, and after a flash of disappointment, he revealed a look of deep shame.

Xiao An struggled to get out of bed, kowtowed to Jia Lian's residence, and said, "Thank you, Master, for showing mercy..."

Guixiang also couldn't bear it. She closed her eyes and calmed down before speaking: "Just rest in peace and recover."

Xue Pan invited Jia Lian in with a smile, and explained as he walked: "It is related to the prosperity of the Xue family in the next few decades, and I am worried. I just want to rush along the way, and come to the capital early to prepare everything. Besides, isn't this still with me? Two shared rooms?"

Jia Lian hurried in and saw Li Dong, Lin Ping, and Wu Anzhong. The three brothers were chatting happily. They are all young people of the same age. They can find common topics in a few words and easily get closer to each other.

How should I put it, Jia Lian's situation is still relatively complicated, and we have to wait for further news.

"Sorry, sorry. I went to the Ministry of Civil Affairs to cancel my leave and did some personal business. I wasted time and neglected all my dear friends." Jia Lian looked serious. Lin Ping was about to stand up and return the greeting when he saw Wu Anzhong sitting still with a smile on his face and said: " It’s okay to know that you’re wrong, we’re here to eat the big ones today, you can do whatever you want.”

Seeing him like this, Jia Lian couldn't help but exclaimed: "Hey, isn't this Senior Wu, who is in the same year as the top three? How can I trouble you to come and visit me? Why don't you go back first and I'll book a banquet and bring it to your door?"

After leaving the Xue family's old house, we boarded the car and headed to classmate Xia's residence. There was no prior notification, so I could only hand in a greeting card first and wait for the other party to reply and make an appointment.

People still need correct guidance at certain stages of growth. It was obvious that Aunt Xue could not play much role other than doting. Jia Lian was different. His appearance immediately gave Xue Pan a clear goal in his mind. Xue Pan felt that he would no longer be able to study, but doing a good job in the family business would also make Jia Lian look high on him, right?
It was obvious that Xue Pan enjoyed the casualness and kindness shown by Jia Lian. I feel that I must have done something right to be treated like this by Jia Lian.

Jia Lian first went to the Ministry of Personnel and went through the normal procedures to cancel his leave. Everything went well and he got a reply from the official in charge of the Ministry of Personnel. Three days later, the Ministry of Personnel waited for the receipt and filed a new complaint. Jia Lian, who was not worried about his future, did not use the money in advance.

Only when Jia Lian got home did he realize that two waves of visitors had come today, and they were all waiting in the study drinking tea.

Xue Pan responded with a smile: "Brother Lian, don't worry, my family also has a shop in the capital, and I have been studying and learning to read the account books these days."

Wu Anzhong couldn't sit still anymore, stood up and jumped to his feet: "What's wrong with the top three? The same Jinshi is also a Jinshi. Hum, if it weren't for the imperial examination..."

Jia Lian nodded with satisfaction. It would be beneficial for Xue Pan to come in person. With Xue Pan around, he could make decisions directly on many matters without having to wait for the supervisor below to report the matter and waste time by going back and forth.

"It's good. The capital is not Jinling. It has the most officials and the most powerful people in the world. When you go out, remember to keep a low profile. Don't cause trouble, but someone bullies you and takes my name." Jia Lian was still a little worried. , after all, Xue Pan in the original work is an extremely selfish bastard who only cares about causing trouble and not cleaning up.

His voice became lower and lower as he spoke, mainly because he felt guilty. In fact, Wu An's results in the examination were in the middle range, and there was hope that he could advance in the palace examination. As a result, I was stumped by that question. I searched my memory desperately, and then I found some content from the books I had read and used it to write an essay. The result can be imagined. If the Four Books and Five Classics can guide economic activities, God will really be displeased.

Classmate Xia was not at home, and the housekeeper told him to go to the household department for duty and not come back until evening.

Jia Lian who came in gave him a slap on the back of the head and laughed and scolded him: "What are you doing? Coming to the capital alone, safety issues aside, you don't think the journey is boring? Why don't you come with me?"

"Brother Lian, don't worry, I've remembered it." Xue Pan carefully adjusted the title to make it appear more affectionate. I found that Jia Lian didn't care and felt that I had done the right thing again.

Jia Lian didn't ask much, left a greeting note and left. It was almost noon, and Jia Lian went home for dinner. In these days and months, it is best for foreigners to visit in the morning. It would be rude to visit in the afternoon. Of course, my own family does not have this respect.

Jia Lian looked at this guy's big head and wanted to ask: Are you sure the guy you brought with you will work? How old is this?
Forget it, this guy looks much calmer, presumably his previous education has played some role.

"Okay, I'm just here to take a look. I'll take you to see someone who can handle the matter in a few days. If you can't stay at home, go find Jia Rong and let him take you to play in the capital." Jia Lian was still worried. After all, this guy has a lot of misdeeds and needs someone to watch over him.

The Xue family also had an old house in the capital. Jia Lian went there with the address. When he opened the door, he saw Xue Pan standing at the door with a silly smile.

In contrast, Li Dong was ranked second, mainly due to Jia Lian's influence. During daily contacts, Jia Lian also criticized many practical matters and put forward some opinions. After Li Dong remembered them, he used them in the imperial examination.

The three of them were amused by Wu Anzhong's appearance and laughed loudly. Jia Lian stepped forward, pressed Li Dongzuo's bowing hand, hugged him hard, patted his shoulders hard and said: "You and I are brothers, this is the courtesy of brothers." ." After that, he hugged Lin Ping and Wu Anzhong, and the difference in treatment was obvious. Wu Anzhong was very jealous, but he didn't say anything. After all, he had not performed well before, so he should slowly get closer to each other.

Jia Lian ordered the banquet and wine to be set, and warmly greeted the three of them to take their seats.

During the dinner, everyone talked about recent events. Naturally, Li Dong's side was smashed again, and the lintel of Li Dong's family was changed to Jinshi. Nowadays, the entire Li family is counting on Li Dong to take the lead alone. Every household wanted to give their daughter to Li Dong as a maid, but if Mother Li hadn't stopped them, they wouldn't have been able to stop them. There is also good news from Li Dong, he has a wife.

Jia Lian couldn't help expressing his jealousy after hearing this, and agreed that whether it was a son or a girl, the godfather would make a reservation.

Lin Ping's situation is more complicated. The tribesmen in his hometown have eased relations, but how to tell? It is difficult to return to the past. After all, when Lin Ping had an accident, his mother was the only one running around asking for help, and the clan did not reach out.

Although Lin Ping could understand the fear in the hearts of his people, he could not eliminate the grudge in his heart. So he chose to move to the capital to rent a house. The house in his hometown was entrusted to the clan members to take care of him. It was easy to find an excuse. He wanted to observe the government in the Sixth Department of the capital. When he was released from work in the future, he would take his mother with him. As for the fields donated by his clan members, Lin Ping selectively collected some of them. If he couldn't collect any of the fields, he still had to enter his ancestral graves.

Speaking of his stay in Beijing, Lin Ping also mentioned that his teacher Li Qing helped propose a marriage, and Lin's mother agreed. They are getting married next month, and Jia Lian is specially invited to attend the banquet. Jia Lian naturally expressed congratulations on this matter. Lin Ping did not have the confidence to refuse Li Qing's kindness.

Wu Anzhong's situation was relatively simple. He returned to his hometown to visit relatives, and Guangzong Yaozu returned to Beijing after a long visit. He came back three days earlier than Jia Lian. When I came back this time, my parents forced me to take my daughter-in-law with me. From then on, my freedom was gone. Speaking of this, Wu Anzhong recalled very sentimentally the happy days he spent in the pink land of the capital in the same year after being listed on the list.

Jia Lian couldn't see this guy being angry and reminded him quietly, "The court has laws and officials are not allowed to marry women. I suggest you restrain yourself a little, lest you be invited to tea by Long Jinwei. Then the fine will start at fifty taels. I can There is no money to redeem people.”

Wu Anzhong jumped up again, pointed at Jia Lian and said: "You, you, you..., hum, romantic, vulgar!"

It is a tradition for scholars to travel with prostitutes, claiming that it is an elegant thing! It's just that they have the right to speak, and they can speak black into white.

On this point, the girls from the eight alleys of the Republic of China have the most say.

"For the sake of my wife and my sister-in-law whom I have never met, I won't argue with you!" Jia Lian smiled and intensified the blow.

Wu Anzhong was very depressed after being hit: "Oh, from now on, even if I am sent to serve as an official, I will have to take my wife with me."

In short, we just can’t waste it! For Wu Anzhong, a life that cannot be wasted has lost too much fun.

Lin Ping said very calmly: "It's good to have a wife. If you work as an official, the local gentry will not give you free benefits. If you take the beauty land, you have to do things for the gentry. You won't be tough in words and timid in doing things." Li Dong slapped the case and said, "What Brother Lin said is absolutely true. If we want to make a difference, we need to be careful about such things."

Jia Lian threatened from the side: "Those who are officials in the inland are better off. Those who are officials on the coast, please remember to be careful when you go out to swim. The merchants of Europe bring not only Western silver and goods, but also new types of Fatal flower-willow-disease.”

When mentioning this, Wu Anzhong said "I have a say", nodded and said: "It is true, the West focused on commerce, and once the plague spread, no one in Europe was spared. The number of deaths caused by the Black Death and cholera was no more than that in the last days of the previous dynasty. Few people died. This is why the shipping department at each port drew a circle and prohibited the foreigners from being detained for three months after they landed."

After hearing this, Jia Lian said calmly: "In my opinion, in the future, the imperial court should introduce policies to increase foreign trade at various ports, aiming to increase the tax revenue from foreign trade. Internally, it has been difficult to improve, and we can only seek changes externally. My dear friends, If you are an official at home, you should devote yourself to encouraging farmers, clarifying the law, and promoting culture and education. If you are lucky enough to be an official at a treaty port, you should be careful when contacting Europeans. No Europeans can come to the Great Zhou Dynasty. Da Zhou behaves obediently because Da Zhou is strong enough.”

Wu Anzhong once again expressed his approval: "Yes, Westerners bully the weak and are beasts in human skin at their core."

Seeing what he said, Jia Lian couldn't help but stabbed: "They are all people with two shoulders holding one head, there is not much difference. When it comes to beasts eating people, the Zhou Dynasty was not much better, it was just a cover-up From a civilized point of view, the gentry of the Zhou Dynasty always had to look good, have a higher level of civilization, and have a higher moral bottom line. "

After saying these words, the three people of the same year fell silent. They are all the top intellectuals among scholars in the country. How can there be fools? It's just that people seek advantages and avoid disadvantages, and like to enjoy leisure and work. As long as I live a happy life, I don’t have to care about others.

"It's the truth, but the truth hurts people." Li Dong sighed, and the remaining two people nodded silently.

Lin Ping also added: "The way of man is to make up for what is not enough."

This is the truth. Our ancestors gave the answer two thousand years ago. Human nature has been studied thoroughly for a long time. It is nothing more than a person's IQ and cognitive level.

So, if reading is useless, go to hell. If you don’t read, how can you get knowledge? Without knowledge, how can you see through human nature?
Many people have become cut leeks. Did they study in college for nothing? No, it was precisely because I saw it through that I wanted to take a chance on it. The upward passage is too narrow. After reading so many books, I am not willing to give in. If I have a chance, even if it is very slim, I want to gain a lot. If you succeed, you will become a model, but if you fail, you will work in the sea.

Jia Lian smiled and sprinkled some golden sore medicine on the wounds of these people: "Okay, everyone is already a master, so don't worry about the spring and autumn here and feel sorry for others. As a human being, the most important thing is Be happy. Take care of yourself first, and don’t do things that go against the bottom line of being a human being. If you can’t bear to do anything, just reach out to those who can’t. As the saying goes, a gentleman doesn’t stand behind a dangerous wall.”

This sentence resonated with everyone. Jia Lian would not say anything about going alone even though there are thousands of people.

Hot blood is hot blood, but the results are often not pretty.

Follow the emperor and live a good life, this is Jia Lian's life pursuit.

In fact, the emperor should be the most concerned about the life and death of those at the bottom of society.

After pouring cold water on these brothers who would fight together in the future, Jia Lian's third day back in Beijing passed and he became drunk himself.

When I woke up with a hangover, I realized that Guixiang had arranged for the three of them to sleep in the guest room last night.

While they were exercising, the three of them came over together, saw Jia Lian and said goodbye.

Jia Lian got a reply from classmate Xia. He asked for leave today and stayed at home, waiting for the distinguished guests to come.

After cleaning up, Jia Lian went out. Classmate Xia was waiting at the door to greet him. He was very polite after meeting.

After entering and taking a seat and serving tea, Jia Lian asked Classmate Xia about the specific process and related information of Huangshang.

After hearing this, Classmate Xia said that he would inquire about it and then reply to Jia Lian after asking for details.

Jia Lian did not hide it, and made it clear about the Xue family. He also made it clear that there will be generous rewards from the Xue family, and Jia Lian will also be kind.

Classmate Xia just smiled after hearing this and said that you are welcome, we are all our own people.

Jia Lian naturally understands the rules. Money is of course very good, but from Xia Shouzhong's point of view, he doesn't accept everyone's money. Classmate Xia's position is naturally the same. Without sufficient exchange of interests, there will be many people in the capital who can't find the temple gate with their pig's head.

At noon, classmate Xia was serving wine to entertain the guests. During the dinner, he mentioned that if possible, Qiu Shi'an would try to make some connections. In this way, when Xia Shouzhong and Qiu Shian worked hard together, the effect was not doubled, but amplified several times.

Classmate Xia also mentioned: "Ziwei Sheren has a close relationship with Dai Quan, who is in front of the Supreme Emperor." 】

This sentence makes the essence of the problem clear. Because of Dai Quan's relationship, Xia Shouzhong's help is definitely not enough.

Jia Lian naturally thanked him again and again, saying that the treat would be in a few days and everyone would be satisfied by then.

After the luncheon, Jia Lian said goodbye and headed to a new address. In front of an inconspicuous house, Jia Lian looked at it carefully and was very moved. Who would have thought that Qiu Shian, whom Emperor Chenghui trusted the most, had such a house in the capital? It is an inconspicuous small courtyard with two entrances.

Knocked on the door and was greeted by an old man. He looked at Jia Lian cautiously and asked, "Who are you looking for?"

Jia Lian knew from his voice that he was an old chamberlain, and his tone was a little polite: "Jia Lian, just reply."

The old man was slightly moved after hearing this, clasped his hands and said, "The master is not at home. We will deal with it when he comes back. If there is a reply, someone will send it to the house."

Jia Lian stuffed a piece of silver into his hand and said, "Excuse me, a little money for tea."

The old man accepted it without any courtesy and closed the door.

Feeling sorry for Qiu Shian's low profile, Jia Lian turned around and went to Zhang Mansion. The relationship was so close that Jia Lian didn't need to pick a time and could go in and out of Zhang Mansion at any time.

The master's wife Zhang Wu was very happy when she saw Jia Lian and said: "Your family brought gifts at noon. Why did they arrive in the afternoon?"

"I was delayed by some personal matters. Why don't you see Brother An Zhong?" Jia Lian changed the subject with a smile.

Zhang Wu said: "I'm going to the Ministry of Works to observe the government. The new Jinshi are rotating through the six departments in Beijing to observe the government. The first department is the most important. Most of them will stay in the Ministry of Works as officials in the future, so that's fine. The Ministry of Works is a Qingshui yamen, right and wrong. Not much. The Wu family doesn’t need his salary.”

Jia Lian looked back and asked in a low voice: "My teacher didn't say anything?"

Zhang Wu rolled her eyes and sighed: "Teacher, how can you not be clear? Forget it, marry the chicken, follow the chicken, marry the dog, follow the dog, accept your fate!" Jia Lian nodded after hearing this: "Teacher is indeed an upright official, this is not Are there any students? I'll look for someone later. Brother Anzhong is better off. The capital is a place of disputes and it's not advisable to stay for a long time."

Mrs. Zhang Wu immediately beamed and asked about Jia Lian's marriage to see if she could help.

Jia Lian chatted with Zhang Wu, making her very happy all afternoon. At dusk, Zhang Ting'en went off duty and saw Jia Lian with a bad expression on his face: "Hey, Duke Zhuangyuan, how many days have you been back in Beijing? Do you still know? Come and see your mentor?”

(End of this chapter)