Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 352 The Unworthy Son of the Lin Family

Finally, I can have a good rest for a few days. Jia Lian didn’t go anywhere during the New Year. He either exercised in the yard or played with his daughter.

Qiaojie already knew how to call "Mom", and Jia Lian was very jealous. He taught her for an entire afternoon, but his daughter could only call "Mom" unconsciously.

Perhaps the first word a person learns is "mom".

Apart from the necessary duties during the New Year, Jia Lian rarely had time to relax. Jia She took care of visiting relatives, so he was away from home all day and acted like a Versailles man all day.

Back in the East Palace, Jia Zhen's health was getting thinner and thinner. He hardly went out all winter and was very afraid of the cold.

Jia Lian went to see Jia Zhen once, sat for a while and then left. The gears of fate in the original novel were too powerful, and Jia Zhen did not die despite all the troubles.

Now Jia Lian no longer had the intention to kill him. Without the circle of the four kings and eight dukes, Jia Zhen was nothing. Although he was still the patriarch, no one outside thought he could represent the Jia family.

When no one buys what a person says, talking about power is meaningless.

Power needs to be managed, and relying on the influence of ancestors will sooner or later be exhausted. Many second and third generations do not understand this, and by the time they understand it, it is too late, and their families fall into decline.

On the first day of the first lunar month, there was a big court meeting. The emperor would stand among the crowd to congratulate the emperor, going through the formalities seriously and demonstrating his power through formalities.

On the second day of the New Year, the Wang family in the capital had no elders around, so they could have a good rest for the day, but they had to come out to receive Lin Ruhai's family.

On the third day, many women led by Lady Jia entered the palace to attend a meeting chaired by the Queen.

Don't underestimate this meeting, it is a stage for women to compete. Wang Xifeng cares a lot about it and gets up early in the morning to dress up.

When Jia Lian woke up, Wang Xifeng had already gone out, taking Ping'er and Guixiang with her. The two concubines could not enter the palace and had to wait outside.

This is the current system: two people living under one roof, one of them has the power of life and death over the other.

Don’t talk about fairness, this is the way the world is.

Jia Lian also went out to the south of the city. The twin sisters were overjoyed and hurried over to take care of him.

Compared to their past lowly (lowest class) status that was looked down upon by everyone, the two sisters are very satisfied with the current situation.

I went to Xia Gang's place in the afternoon. I don't have many good friends in Beijing, and Xia Gang is one of them.

During the dinner, Xia Gang talked about the rectification of the central bank before the New Year, and couldn't help complaining: "It's called rectification, but in fact it's just giving officials another chance to make money."

Jia Lian smiled and said, "Isn't there an inspection team?"

Xia Gang shook his head disapprovingly: "What a novelty! The inspection team can't be with you for a long time. If you find people with problems, the extra pits you find are all opportunities to make money, right? And the license, if you find problems and take it back, you can sell it for a second time."

Jia Lian remained silent after hearing this. Many things are truly unchanging. Human nature is too complicated. The system is static, but the execution is done by people.

Emperor Chenghui's idea of ​​refreshing the civil service is good, but if he wants to slow down the rate of corruption, he must ensure frequent refreshing of the system, just like dust, which needs to be wiped off every day.

Emperor Chenghui lived a very comfortable year. First, his power was greatly consolidated. Second, the central government's fiscal revenue increased greatly. Finally, his ideas on reforming the civil service began to be implemented and improved.

Seeing the second and third sons standing in front of the door in an obedient manner, Emperor Chenghui subconsciously looked at Queen Zhou beside him, wondering what she was thinking.

Both princes are outstanding. Although it is too early to consider the issue of succession, Emperor Chenghui still hopes that they can grow up as soon as possible. As for the relationship between brothers, who would want that if they were born in an imperial family?
After the two sons left one after another, Empress Zhou looked at the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, all the ladies of honor gathered this morning, but the three ladies of the Zhou family did not come, claiming they were not feeling well."

Emperor Chenghui knew about this, of course. Although he was unhappy, he did not get angry. He just said calmly, "I am resentful!"

The way the father-in-law and the elder brothers-in-law vented their anger to the emperor was to pretend to be sick. What else could Emperor Chenghui do but to send the imperial physician.

Now even the female relatives are claiming to be ill, the nature of this has changed, it has escalated! This is called resentment in the heart!
It was impossible for Empress Zhou to say that she was not worried. Although the emperor was kind and protective, the ministers had to fulfill their duties first. There were four people in the family, father and son, and now they were not fulfilling their duties.

"Let the second and third brothers go and express condolences on behalf of me and the Queen." Emperor Chenghui seemed a little helpless, after all, that was the Queen's home.

When the Queen's family was not well-off in the past, they were at most middle class. The father-in-law of the king had only one wife at first, and only after his daughter was chosen as the princess did they gradually become wealthy. The four brothers and sisters were born to the same mother.

"My elder sister is like a mother to them. It's all my fault that I didn't teach them well. I am guilty." Queen Zhou saw that her husband was unhappy and quickly stood up to apologize.

"What crime have you committed? Hurry up and get up!" Emperor Chenghui stood up and helped the queen up. The two were a couple who had been through thick and thin together and had always respected each other. With the queen stabilizing the harem, the emperor could display his talents outside.

After Empress Zhou stood up, Emperor Chenghui asked her, "Is everything okay with the Concubine Dowager?"

"The imperial physician has examined her and said that she is old and weak and can only be taken care of slowly. Yuanchun has been visiting the imperial concubine quite often these days, which has relieved Your Majesty of a lot of worries."

When Yuanchun first entered the palace, she was in the presence of the imperial concubine, and later she was transferred to the presence of the queen, who was in a weak position at that time and would not tolerate any rebuttal. Thanks to Jia Lian's appearance, Yuanchun's position would still be awkward.

The emperor, the empress, and Yuanchun all knew this truth, but the Jia family did not understand it so well.

"Yuanchun is good!" Emperor Chenghui gave his affirmation, but there was no follow-up. Empress Zhou continued: "The position of Imperial Concubine in the harem is vacant, Yuanchun can take it, so that I don't have to bear the name of a small person."

The words were neither light nor heavy, and Emperor Chenghui immediately became alert. He looked at Empress Zhou and asked, "What's going on? Is someone spreading rumors? Have you found out who spread them?"

Empress Zhou shook her head and said, "We are still investigating. It is said that it may have come from outside the palace. Although such rumors are not wise, I am still worried that they will affect the harmony of the court."

Emperor Chenghui shook his head and said, "There is no need to worry. Jia Lian has a clear mind and will not be easily shaken by so-called rumors. This incident reminds me that the nobles are in decline now, and we must be on guard. Let's not talk about these things during the New Year. We should have a good rest for a few days."

After dinner, Emperor Chenghui was on his way to Yuanchun, still thinking about the rumors that the Queen had said before. Jia Lian would certainly not have any problems, but that didn't mean that other people in the Jia family wouldn't have any problems either.

You have to use your ministers, but you also have to be on guard against them. It's not easy to be an emperor.

At Yuanchun's place, the little princess was in the courtyard, wearing round clothes and running around clumsily. The palace maid behind her was very nervous and was ready to support her at any time.

"His Majesty has arrived!" After a sharp shout, Yuanchun hurried out to greet him. The little princess did not seem to be frightened. She stood next to her mother and carefully looked at Emperor Chenghui.

"Stand up! The ground is cold!" Emperor Chenghui raised his hand to support her. His eyes quickly looked at the little princess, and his smile became gentle.

The maids carried the little princess away. Emperor Chenghui hesitated for a moment but did not stop them. "I heard that there are rumors in the palace that the position of imperial concubine is vacant because the queen is petty. Have you heard about it?" Emperor Chenghui asked casually. Yuanchun turned pale with fear and stood up quickly.

"Your Majesty, I have heard of it, but I don't know where it came from." It was a very pale excuse. This was Yuanchun's helplessness. She couldn't explain it clearly even if she wanted to.

"Sit down, I'm not that confused, and the Queen is also very sober." After Emperor Chenghui comforted her, Yuanchun slowly sat down, still looking nervous.

Yuanchun was completely relieved when she learned that the emperor stayed here overnight. She hated the rumor spreader even more, but she couldn't doubt others or say who was suspicious. If there was any suspicion, she was the biggest one.

Facing this kind of thing, Yuanchun's best choice is to keep silent, because it is all based on personal conviction and cannot be explained clearly.

The vortex of gossip in the harem is the most terrifying. Just because of a rumor, a person might be forced to death.

Emperor Chenghui would certainly not punish Yuanchun because of such rumors. Instead, he would stay here overnight to clear her name.

The next day, when Yuanchun was helping the emperor dress, Emperor Chenghui said, "In a few months, the young county lord of Jia Lian's family will be one year old. My beloved concubine, please think about what gift to prepare."

After saying this, Emperor Chenghui left without having breakfast here. After Yuanchun respectfully saw the emperor off, she turned around and her heart was churning.

[Your Majesty, are you reminding me that there is something wrong with the other members of the Jia family? Really, it's so frustrating. They can't help at all and still make trouble. ]

Yuanchun naturally wanted to be promoted to a noble concubine, but not in this way. When she was promoted to a concubine, Yuanchun realized that the status in the palace was determined by those outside the palace.

The power of the Jia family now depends entirely on Jia Lian. What does the other elders have to do with it? Whether it is Jia She, Jia Zheng, or Jia Jing, they have actually moved away from the center of power.

[I'd better ask someone to tell my father to go out of town after the new year to seek promotion. It's too difficult to get promoted if he stays in Beijing all the time. As for Jia Lian, there's no chance to contact him.]

Yuanchun thought a lot, but in the end it all fell on her parents, which was too difficult.

No matter how difficult it is, she has to continue her life in the palace. Yuanchun packed up and took the little princess to visit the bedridden concubine. When you are old, no medicine can save you from natural aging.

Others may not visit the concubine often, but Yuanchun cannot. She has to worry about being accused of being ungrateful.

On the eighth day, the government offices resumed work, but for the officials, it was still early in the new year, and the new year would not be over until the first month of the new year, so they were still thinking about having fun.

Jia Lian’s thoughts were not important. After meeting his colleagues at the yamen, they all dispersed and went back to continue celebrating the New Year.

After visiting several government offices for a whole morning, I didn't want to go to other people's homes for dinner, and I felt a little dazed when I left the government offices.

"Holiday syndrome is quite serious!" Jia Lian said self-deprecatingly. When he was about to go to the south of the city, Lin Ruhai's long-time attendant appeared.

After meeting Lin Ruhai, on the way to the Lin family, Lin Ruhai couldn't help complaining: "None of the Lin family's children are capable, but their ideas are bigger than each other."

Hearing this, Jia Lian couldn't help but think of his own family. He shook his head and smiled bitterly, "It's the same with the Jia family. There's not a single person in the clan school who can show off."

Lin Ruhai sighed and said, "That being said, the children of the Jia family are not ambitious, but they don't have that much ambition. Many children of the Lin family donated money to become officials, and they spent a lot of money, but they didn't get any money."

Jia Lian understood and couldn't help but teasing: "It's not that the children of the Jia family don't have ambitions, but they don't have an elder who is a second-rank official. When my uncle enters the cabinet someday, the children of the Lin family will dare to dream even more."

Lin Ruhai had a bitter look on his face: "They all came before the New Year. If we drive them away, their reputation will be ruined. They are not honest even when they live at home. They always go out and have fun."

Jia Lian understood something: "That's not right. Back in Yangzhou, my uncle disciplined the children in our family. How come he forgot the pain after the wound healed?"

Lin Ruhai was about to answer when he arrived at the Lin family's door. He stopped talking and said, "We're home. Let's go into the study and talk slowly. Don't show them a good face when you meet them later."

Jia Lian nodded: "Nephew, don't worry!" Speaking of which, the relationship between the Jia family and the Lin family is a blood alliance. Jia Lian must help Lin Ruhai with this little trouble.

It's not that you can't train family members, the key is to look at the individual. If you forcefully support some useless children, it will not only harm them, but also backfire and hurt themselves.

Especially Lin Ruhai. When he was in poor health, the Lin family members were not polite at all. They all wanted to send a few of their sons to be adopted in order to forcibly seize Lin Ruhai's inheritance.

If Lin Ruhai hadn't been hindered by his reputation, he wouldn't have allowed this kind of relatives to enter his house. If you really helped them, they might not thank you, but if you didn't help them, they would dare to say anything unpleasant when they returned to their hometown in Suzhou.

This is human nature! Relatives and clansmen are often inferior to outsiders.

After entering the door, the mother and daughter came out to greet him, both of them looked unhappy. Lin Ruhai took a look and asked, "Is everyone out?"

Jia Min greeted Jia Lian first and then said, "Two scholars from Suzhou came and invited a few of them to go out and have fun. When they left, they asked me for two hundred taels of silver. I gave them one hundred taels but they were still not happy."

Jia Lian couldn't help but ask curiously, "What kind of relative are you? Are you not satisfied with just a place to live?"

Jia Min said nothing and looked at Lin Ruhai.

"It's cold outside, let's talk inside." Lin Ruhai also looked unhappy. There was nothing you could do about these ignorant relatives.

Arriving at the study, the room was much warmer. Jia Lian took his coat and sat down. Daiyu offered him a cup of tea with both hands and quickly took it, saying, "Thank you for your hard work, sister."

"Brother Lian is being too formal!" Daiyu's words and actions embody the meaning of "a lady from a noble family."

Lin Ruhai looked at Jia Min who was looking worried. After coughing, Daiyu sat aside and spoke: "Three of them, the eldest sons of three cousins. They came to the capital on the day of the New Year's Eve. They said they donated money to become officials and came to the capital to seek real vacancies. They hope to stay at my house and ask me, their uncle, to help take care of them."

After saying this, Lin Ruhai looked at Jia Min, implying that what you say next will work on Jia Lian.

Jia Min glared at Lin Ruhai and then continued, "He was well behaved for the first two days, but on the third day he started to make advances towards the maids. Daiyu scolded him and he didn't behave himself for the whole day. That afternoon he went out on the pretext of visiting friends. They were some candidates from Suzhou who were going to the capital to take the imperial examinations. I asked someone to go with them and see. Including the two candidates from Suzhou, five of them stayed at a theatre troupe that night."

Jia Lian was silent after hearing this. It seemed that he was willing to spend money. When it comes to squandering money, there are three places that young men in Beijing go to most often: casinos, brothels, and opera troupes.

Not to mention casinos, everyone knows that brothels are also a den of money. Opera troupes are slightly inferior, but they also spend a lot of money to support the actors.

The problem is that nowadays, except for Kunqu opera, all other opera troupes have men singing female roles.

Just thinking about Jia Lian gives me a chill down my spine!

(End of this chapter)