Red Mansion Taoist

Chapter 224: Eat it all
On the tenth day of the first lunar month, the Qin family received another bad news: Qin Zhong was seriously ill and died.

Jia Qiang learned about it from Feicui after returning from the palace.

He sighed, turned around and left the house, leading people to Qin's house.

Still some distance away from Qin Mansion, I saw people standing in front of Qin Mansion.

"Go and see what happened ahead?" Jia Qiang ordered the steward Lu Xun who was following him.

Butler Lu Xun did not have a good year this year. He was busy at the Qin family until the third day of the first lunar month before returning to Jiahou Mansion.

This time he was asked to take care of it again, but he didn't have any complaints.

From an ordinary servant, through Lao Shuntou's relationship, he was suddenly promoted to the position of steward of Jiahou Mansion. This can be said to be a step to the sky.

He also hopes to have the opportunity to perform. The more Jia Qiang keeps him busy, the more he feels valued.

He quickly went to investigate with two young men, and soon turned around.

"Sir, it's the Qin clan who are blocking the Qin Mansion!" Steward Lu Xun reported the news he had inquired about.

"It seems that this is a desperate situation!" Jia Qiang couldn't help but shook her head and said.

This is a bad tradition that has been around since ancient times.

When a male is missing from a family, fellow clan members and even neighbors will compete for everything in the family in various ways.

In this era where men are the most important thing, the Qin family's approach cannot be said to be right or wrong.

In the view of the Qin family, the house and property left by Qin Bangye are the property of the Qin family, and the only remaining daughter of the Qin family is Qin Keqing, a married woman, so it is appropriate for the Qin family to take back the property.

"Let them get out of the way. Anyone who dares to block them will be arrested!" Jia Qiang ordered lightly.

This time Butler Lu Xun was confident enough, and he took the two boys over again.

"Get out of the way, Mr. Jiahou is here!" Butler Lu Xun came to the outside of the crowd and shouted loudly.

The members of the Qin clan were all startled, and then quickly dodged away.

None of them were officials, let alone the Marquis. Even if ordinary officials came, they would not be able to provoke them.

Butler Lu Xun looked around with disdain on his face, then he stepped aside and stood with his hands tied.

Jia Qiang rode her horse through the passage where the crowd separated and came to the gate of Qin Mansion.

"Which of you is the elder of the Qin clan? Come into the house and speak!" Jia Qiang turned to the Qin clan and said in a deep voice.

Two old men walked out of the Qin clan, with fear in their eyes, but they did not dare to disobey Jia Qiang's orders.

As Jia Qiang, dealing with them is as easy as killing two ants.

At this time, the people inside the gate also heard the noise outside and knew that Jia Qiang was coming.

"Master, you are finally here!" It was Qin Keqing who opened the door. When she saw Jia Qiang, she couldn't help but cry.

She didn't cry much these days, mainly because there were too many sad things, especially Qin Zhong's death, which made her have to be strong.

Otherwise, this family will be gone, and even Qin Zhong’s funeral affairs will not be able to be completed.

But after seeing Jia Qiang, her weakness returned because she had someone to rely on.

The two elders of the Qin clan who were following Jia Qiang were shaking all over. The two elders of the Qin clan were so mature that they couldn't see Qin Keqing's attitude towards Jia Qiang. They also thought that Qin Keqing seemed to be married.

The two Qin clan elders felt chills running down their necks when they thought that they and a group of people had come to persecute Jia Houye's woman.

Who is Lord Jia? The rumored existence of Wenquxing and Wuquxing combined in one person. His reputation of killing more than 100,000 enemies is enough to make anyone feel in awe.

"Something happened to you, why didn't you notify Lu Xun?" Jia Qiang said in a slightly accusing tone.

He had already promised that as long as the Qin Mansion sent a message to Jiahou Mansion, Butler Lu Xun would help.

Fortunately, he also told Jade and asked people to keep an eye on the Qin Mansion, only to find out about Qin Zhong's death and rush over, so the Qin clan members did not really cause any big trouble.

Qin Keqing felt warm in her heart when she heard Jia Qiang's blame. She knew that Jia Qiang was caring about her.

Qin Keqing led Jia Qiang into the hall, where Qin Zhong's coffin was parked.

The Qin Mansion was unlucky enough. It was just a year ago that Master Qin was sent away, and the only young master of the Qin family also left on the tenth day of the new year.

"Lu Xun, call some people from the mansion to help with the funeral affairs. The money will be withdrawn from the mansion!" Jia Qiang gave an order to Lu Xun's housekeeper.

Steward Lu Xun retired and took the others to get busy.

"You find a place where we can talk, and I'll have a word with the two clan elders!" Jia Qiang said to Qin Keqing again.

"The study is next to it, so go to the study!" Qin Keqing pointed to a room not far away and said.

"Two clan elders, come with me, but Qingqing is listening. This is the Qin family's business!" Jia Qiang said to the two Qin clan elders and Qin Keqing.

After entering the study room, it goes without saying that Jia Qiang sat at the head seat, while the two elders of the Qin clan carefully sat half-sitting on the chair below.

The two elders of the Qin clan didn't even dare to touch the tea brought by the servants.

Qin Keqing did not sit down, but stood behind Jia Qiang.

"You choose an adoptive son for Qin Zhong from the Qin family to continue the Qin family's legacy. The Qin family's house and property were originally inherited by this son. Do you have any objections?" Jia Qiang directly stated her request.

He turned to look at Qin Keqing. This matter required Qin Keqing's consent. As for the Qin clan elders, he had expressed his opinions. Would the Qin clan elders dare to refuse?
"Thank you so much for Jingqing!" Qin Keqing knelt down and said while crying.

Adopting a son to Qin Zhong not only prevents the Qin family from being cut off, but also allows Qin Zhong to have an heir. For people of this era, this matter is extremely important.

"Master Marquis, we must choose the most suitable child from the clan to adopt, and we will not delay Qin Zhong's funeral!" One of the Qin clan elders exchanged views with another Qin clan elder, and he bowed and said.

That is to say, Jia Qiang intervened, otherwise in the way of the Qin clan, one person would be adopted, which was not really to continue the Qin family, but to divide the Qin family's property.

All the Qin clan members who come this time will benefit to some extent.

The adopted person is simply the most disliked person among the Qin clan. In the end, it would be good if the adopted person can keep the house. Without property and unable to support the house, the family will completely decline in a short time. .

With Jia Qiang's intervention, the person chosen by the Qin family must be a child. He will not be a child with poor conduct and ability. With everything left by the Qin family, as long as this child works hard, the Qin family can stand up again. Not difficult.

"That's it, you go ahead!" Jia Qiang waved her hand and said.

The two elders of the Qin clan knelt down and kowtowed before exiting the study. "When the adopted child comes, he will be the one to attend to the funeral. It will be no problem if Lu Xun is here. Don't show your face anymore and go back home early!" Jia Qiang finally told Qin Keqing.

Qin Keqing was sent to the Jiahou Mansion in the form of a marriage contract. Although she was not married, she was still considered a member of the Jiahou Mansion.

It is not a good thing for her or the Qin family that she, a married woman, is holding her brother's funeral in her parents' home.

Qin Keqing wanted to say some words of gratitude, but Jia Qiang didn't give her a chance. She turned around and left the study and left the Qin Mansion.

After returning home, Jia Qiang received several heroes who came from the army.

These are the last batch of warriors whom he recalled to serve as his bodyguards. They are all the most special warriors, and each one of them is a warrior and a sharpshooter.

Jia Qiang met seventeen powerful archers in the main courtyard. Each of the seventeen powerful archers held a treasure bow, which was covered with black cloth.

Seventeen treasure bows that have nothing to do with the military are all the treasure bows he can take out.

The seventeen warriors and archers are all selected from the 100% loyal warriors and archers. Each of them is at least a rank four warrior.

Jia Qiang is not worried that the palace will find out about her arrangement of guards in the palace, so what if she knows about it.

In fact, outsiders don't know that all the guards in his house are strong men. As long as the strong guards in his house don't take the initiative to reveal their strength, they can't be discovered by the spies in the house.

Previously, there were a total of twenty-four guards in Jiahou Mansion and Lin Mansion, which was not a large number.

Now with the addition of seventeen guards, compared to Jia Qiang's official position and Lin Daiyu's status as a first-grade military attache, these many guards are far from reaching the number standard of a first-grade military attaché.

Jia Qiang introduced the seventeen powerful archers to Jade, Youshi, and Butler Lu Xun. The public opinion was that the seventeen people were all archers in the army. Joining the Jiahou Mansion as a guard was to enhance the long-range attack power of the manor.

In addition, the training of warriors in Zhuangzi on the outskirts of Beijing has never stopped. Jia Qiang will go there every once in a while to help the warriors practice their general skills.

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Rongguo Mansion was extremely busy. On this rare day, the Daqian court and the cabinet also took a vacation.

Jia Qiang and Lin Daiyu were sitting in the pavilion of Huifang Garden talking with each other, and they could hear the sounds coming from Rongguo Mansion.

"Sister Yuanchun is going back home, and mother has gone to Rongguo Mansion to welcome her!" Lin Daiyu said softly, listening to the excitement in Rongguo Mansion.

"Send someone to tell Mistress, don't wait outside. Today's wedding party won't arrive until dark!" Jia Qiang said with a smile after taking a baby.

"Why is it so late?" Lin Daiyu raised her head and asked in disbelief.

You must know that Rongguo Mansion was prepared early in the morning. If we really arrived at night, we would have to wait all day long.

"The rules in the palace are to worship Buddha, pray for blessings, watch lanterns and have fun together in the afternoon. As a virtuous concubine, Yuanchun must participate. After that, she has to go to the Daming Palace to request orders. In this way, there will be no time until dark!" Jia Qiang! explained with a smile.

The reason why he knows so clearly is not only that he remembers the content in the original work, but also that he knows a lot about the rules in the palace.

Back then, he was a guard in the palace, and he knew more about the affairs in the palace than people outside.

"Then should we tell our ancestors?" Lin Daiyu thought for a while and asked.

Jia's mother was getting older and her body couldn't bear the long wait outside, so Lin Daiyu thought of giving a warning.

"Don't do it. The royal family is actually looking at the performance of the concubines' families. If you don't act nervous, you will feel disrespectful to the royal family. You, the person who reminds me, will not benefit!" Jia Qiang waved and persuaded.

"Then just remind mother!" Lin Daiyu nodded.

She called Xue Yan and asked her to go to Rong Guo Mansion.

Jia Qiang still wanted to have fun in the palace, but just after playing Go with Lin Daiyu for a while, there was news in the palace that he was asked to take Lin Daiyu into the palace.

He looked at the time and saw that it would be noon in a little while. Could it be that he and Lin Daiyu were going to the palace to participate in worshiping Buddha and praying for blessings?

No matter what they thought, Jia Qiang and Lin Daiyu changed their clothes and left Jiahou Mansion in two large sedans with eight carriages.

"Hey, that's Jiahou. Is he entering the palace now?" Jia Lian had been looking into the distance at the door of Rongguo Mansion, waiting for news, but he saw two big heads with eight heads and eight shoulders coming out of Jiahou's Mansion. "Pan," he couldn't help but said curiously.

"How do you know that you have entered the palace?" Wang Xifeng asked back.

"You didn't know this. In the capital, these eight-carriage sedans can only be used when entering the palace and cannot be used at ordinary times!" Jia Lian explained.

"Then how come there are two large sedans with eight carriages? Who else is there besides Lord Jia?" Wang Xifeng asked again.

"It's Miss Lin!" Jia Lian replied.

When Wang Xifeng heard about Lin Daiyu, she looked at the big sedan with envy.

If he were not married to Jia Lian, but to Jia Qiang, then he would be the one sitting in the eight-carriage sedan.

"How could I think of this!" She was suddenly startled, and secretly spat to herself.

She looked at Jia Lian beside her and said that Jia Lian was still very handsome, but he had accomplished nothing so far and stayed in Rongguo Mansion to do some chores.

This also made it impossible for her to have a royal life. On the other hand, at a young age, Lin Daiyu was already engaged to Jia Qiang.

Two large sedans with eight carriages entered the palace gate, and were guided by the young eunuch towards Cining Palace.

Jia Qiang sat in the sedan, looked at the direction of travel, and understood that she was going to see the Queen Mother.

Today, the eunuchs and maids in the palace are very busy, and there are hurried figures everywhere.

Jia Qiang and Lin Daiyu got off the sedan in front of the Cining Palace. Two palace maids came over to clean the dust on their bodies, and brought them warm water to clean their hands and faces before leading them inside.

"What a pair of talented men and beautiful women, a perfect match made in heaven!" The Queen Mother praised Jia Qiang and Lin Daiyu happily when she saw them.

Her eyes stayed more on Jia Qiang's body, looking carefully from head to toe, with a soft light flashing in her eyes.

"Jia Qiang (Lin Daiyu) has met the Queen Mother!" Jia Qiang and Lin Daiyu said since they could not be rude, they both saluted.

"Come on, the Ai family invites you to come over. You probably haven't eaten yet. Come and have dinner with the Ai family!" The Queen Mother greeted with a smile.

Jia Qiang and Lin Daiyu looked at each other, each other's eyes full of surprise.

The two of them were called into the palace during the Lantern Festival just to have dinner together. Who would believe it if I told them.

The Queen Mother told her, so Jia Qiang and Lin Daiyu obeyed and ate with the Queen Mother in Cining Palace.

While eating, Jia Qiang found that most of the dishes placed in front of him were what he liked.

Somehow, when he was in front of the Queen Mother, he always felt like he was facing his elders, not the Queen Mother.

(End of this chapter)