Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

Chapter 49: Granting titles and titles
  At that moment, the leading prince came out and said, "Jia Cong, do you know who you saved from the tiger's mouth tonight?"

"I don't know Cong."

"She is the youngest princess under the father's knee, Princess Ruyi."

Jia Cong took a breath and hurriedly apologized: "Cong didn't know that Her Highness the Princess was in person, and her words were very offensive. Please forgive me, Your Highness."

"He who doesn't know is not guilty, that's all." Princess Ruyi snorted, her pretty face blushing slightly. You brat is not only rude with your words, but you dare to hug me and press me under you. Huh, take it easy in the future. Settle accounts with you.

"Hey, it's rare that Ruyi is so generous today. Has the sun come out in the west?" the last young prince teased.

Princess Ruyi spat, shook Emperor Xifeng's arm, and said coquettishly: "Father, if I don't obey, look at Lao Shi bullying me again."

Emperor Xifeng smiled and patted her hand, and whispered: "Don't act wild, Jia Cong is still down there."

Princess Ruyi turned her head and rolled her eyes at Jia Cong, pursed her lips slightly, and sat down again.

Jia Cong hurriedly lowered his head and bowed to admit his defeat. He couldn't afford to offend him.

Emperor Xifeng pondered for a moment and said: "Jia Cong, I have heard of your name in the palace for a long time..."

"Cong is terrified."

"If I don't speak first when spring comes, no insect dares to speak. This poem is quite powerful. But I love the other two lines more: It means that the cold stars are not visible, I recommend Xuanyuan with my blood, and the spirit of loyalty and righteousness makes tigers powerful, Worthy of the glorious queen."

"Thank you for your compliments, Your Majesty. I'm ashamed to say that I don't deserve it."

Princess Ruyi's eyes flashed with brilliance. She already knew these lines of poems and loved them very much. However, seeing the pride in Jia Cong's eyes and pretending to be humble, she unconsciously gave him a sideways glance, pretending to be coy. It's so annoying when a villain succeeds.

Emperor Xifeng waved his hand and said: "There is no need to be too modest. At your age, with such poetic talent and such courage, you can be considered to be both civil and military. What do you want?"

"Thunder, rain, and dew are all God's grace. How dare Cong dare to overstep his limits and ask for it?"

"Well, what are your ambitions?" Emperor Xifeng nodded slightly when he saw that Jia Cong answered appropriately.

Jia Cong tried his best to suppress the excitement in his heart. He knew deeply that the emperor asked you what your ambitions were, and this was the rhythm of taking off. He hurriedly replied in a deep voice: "Cong has no ambitions. He only wants to inherit his ancestral legacy, fight for your majesty on the battlefield, and repel foreign enemies. Punish those who are rebellious and those who are disobedient!"

Emperor Xifeng nodded and said: "Okay, your ambition is commendable. Here's the message: Jia Cong of the Rongguo Mansion, a loyal young hero, kills a fierce tiger with his own strength and sacrifices his life to protect him. I highly commend him. I will bestow upon him the title of Cavalry Lieutenant to reward his merits." "

"I thank your Majesty for your kindness." Jia Cong was overjoyed and prostrated. Although the rank of Enqiwei was not high, only the seventh rank, and could not be passed down from generation to generation, he was a real lord and qualified to raise ten soldiers.

Princess Ruyi rolled her eyes at him. She had never seen the world. Does a little seventh grader need to be so happy?
  "Do you have a cousin?" Emperor Xifeng asked.

"I haven't expressed my name yet."

"Then I will give you one. Well, since you want to fight on the battlefield, then just call yourself 'Zilong'. Don't let me down."

Jia Cong burst into tears of gratitude and hurriedly thanked him: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the words. I can only live up to the word 'Zilong' if I work hard and move forward courageously."

"Just go."

"My minister retire."

Seeing Jia Cong retreating, the tenth prince smiled and said: "This Jia Cong is quite interesting. He is not as mediocre and incompetent as ordinary noble sons. It's just that his father gave him the title of Zilong. Is it too much of a compliment? The sons and ministers are a little bit offended." In terms of bravery, he may not be able to defeat his son, so why did he just give Zilong to him?"

All the princes chuckled. Only Lao Shi dared to talk to his father like this, because his father liked his straightforward and simple temperament.

Another prince said: "Although the appearance is beautiful, it also depends on whether he can match it. The word "Zilong" is not only a compliment from his father, but also an invisible pressure. He will urge him to study hard day and night and not dare to slack off. This is what his father said. The emperor hopes that he will succeed."

Everyone nodded and said: "Second Brother (Second Brother) is right."

Emperor Xifeng stroked his beard and nodded.

Princess Ruyi glared at the tenth prince and said: "You are always boasting. I have been hunting all day today, but I haven't seen you hit a tiger. If it were you tonight, I think the tiger will have a feast."

Everyone laughed.

The tenth prince smiled and said, "It's true that girls are outgoing. I'm your brother. Why are my elbows turned outward?"

Princess Ruyi felt ashamed when she saw her brothers looking at her meaningfully. She pulled Emperor Xifeng and said angrily: "Father, you see they are all bullying me." Emperor Xifeng smiled and said: "Okay, you guys are brothers. No joking is allowed. You were also frightened today, so go back and rest early. You are not allowed to leave the camp alone in the future."

Princess Ruyi hummed to everyone, bowed and left.

Early the next morning, military craftsmen sent several carts to transport Jia Zhen's body. One of the cars was filled with cut and pickled tiger meat, tanned tiger skin, washed, washed and dried tiger bones, tiger tendons, etc.

Jia Cong was overjoyed. He thought the tiger had been confiscated, but unexpectedly it was returned to him and was taken care of.

Immediately, he rewarded the visitor heavily, ordered the servants to wrap up Jia Zhen's body, and sent someone to fly quickly to return the message. Then he changed into plain clothes, bid farewell to Feng Ziying and others, and slowly left the camp and returned to Shenjing.

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Rongqingtang

Everyone in the East and West mansions had received the news sent back by the horse and the verification documents from the clan mansion. They all mourned Jia Zhen's untimely death, and You even fainted from crying several times on the spot.

Everyone hurriedly invited the imperial doctor, gave her ginseng soup, etc., and continued to persuade and comfort her. The crying finally stopped, and the whole room in Rongqing Hall was filled with misery.

Jia Mu wiped her tears and said, "Brother Zhen and daughter-in-law, don't be too sad. This is how our distinguished family is. To outsiders, it looks rich and respectable, but in fact only you know how much suffering you have.

Not to mention that it is common for soldiers to die on the battlefield. Even in peaceful years, lives are still in danger. Fortunately, this time, Brother Zhen was killed while serving the Holy Master during the siege. He was considered loyal to His Majesty, and it was better than dying on the bed of illness in a more honorable manner. "

"I know you are worried that Brother Zhen is gone and you will have no one to rely on in the future. If you think so, you are confused. You are the wife of Dongfu and you are bound by a royal decree. Who dares to disrespect you? Brother Rong..."

Jia Rong hurriedly stood up and agreed. He lowered his hands and stood waiting for instructions.

"Your father is gone, and you will be the one to make the decision in Dongfu from now on. I don't care what you do. I only want to say the word 'filial piety' to you. In the future, you must serve your wife with filial piety. Otherwise, not only will I not obey you, but also the master and his wife will not obey you." You and the imperial court don’t follow you either, do you understand?”

Jia Rong hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed: "Rong will follow the old lady's teachings. From now on, she will abide by the principles of loyalty and filial piety. She will double her filial piety to the old lady, the old lady, all the masters, wives, uncles and aunts, and never dare to be disrespectful in the slightest." Otherwise, wouldn’t it mean that you are secluded from your ancestors and from the imperial court?”

"Get up, it's good if you can understand these principles." Jia Mu said to Youshi again: "I know it's hard for a widow to be unemployed. From now on, if you have nothing to do, come over more often. We ladies will talk and laugh. It’s over.”

You stood up slowly with tears in her eyes, threw herself at Jia Mu's knees, and cried: "My granddaughter-in-law thanks the old lady for showing her love. From now on, she will be filial to the old lady and the two other ladies from that day and night. I just ask the old lady to take care of herself. Don't do anything." Keep your granddaughter-in-law in mind, otherwise Brother Zhen will not be able to rest in peace even if he is under the fire."

"Pick it up quickly." Jia Mu raised her hand and sighed.

Jia Rong, Wang Xifeng, Li Wan and others rushed up to help Youshi up and comforted her for a while.

Jia's mother has been used to troubles for a long time, so the death of Jia Zhen is not a big deal, but how to take care of the funeral now and not lose the family etiquette is the most important thing.

After thinking for a while, he said: "Brother Zhen and his wife, the most important thing now is the matters behind Brother Zhen's death. Do you have any rules?"

Youshi said: "My granddaughter-in-law is now so confused and out of her mind that it is really difficult for her to do anything. Everything is decided by the old lady."

Jia Mu nodded and said: "Brother Rong will take care of the external affairs, and Lian'er and Qiang will help with it. The internal affairs are a bit tricky. Now Brother Zhen's daughter-in-law is mentally ill, and Brother Rong's daughter-in-law has been lying down for a long time." On the sick bed, the eldest wife and the wife are old and have low energy..." As he spoke, his eyes swept over and fell on Wang Xifeng.

"I think Brother Feng is in charge of everything in the past few days. The ladies are always there to help with anything. If there are any capable brothers or wives in the family, they will recommend them to help with the affairs."

"I obey the old lady's instructions," everyone said.

Mrs. Wang pondered for a moment and said: "Old lady, Brother Feng is young and has little knowledge, and has never experienced such a big event. I'm afraid he won't handle it well and will make a fool of himself. It's better to choose another capable person."

Jia Rong said hurriedly: "My grandson guessed what the wife meant, because she was afraid that the second aunt would have to work hard. If you say that the cooking is not good, I guarantee that it will be done well. Even if you are a little wrong, others will still think it is good."

When my father was still alive, he often said that when he was little, his second aunt would make fun of him, and he would make the decision to kill him. Now that he has left the cabinet and is working in the government, he has become more experienced and mature. I don’t think there is anyone else except the second aunt. My wife doesn’t care about her grandchildren or their wives, she only cares about my father’s family! "

Jia Mu also nodded and said: "I think Brother Feng is quite suitable. No one can do big things right away. If you don't know how to do it, you have to learn how to do it. Now there is no one more capable than Brother Feng in the house. Madam has time to go Just help her keep an eye on it."

Then he looked at Wang Xifeng and said, "Brother Feng, don't make your own decisions in everything after you go over. If something happens, send someone to ask your sister-in-law. If you don't understand anything, just ask the two ladies."

Mrs. Wang said: "Girl Feng, since the old lady has ordered your general, you can go. But now your sister-in-law is not very well, Brother Rong is young and ignorant, and Brother Rong's daughter-in-law is sick again. You The couple should pay more attention after they get there and don't be lazy."

Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng hurriedly said: "Old ladies, ladies, don't worry, we should do our best and don't dare to covet comfort."

(End of this chapter)