Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 116: Feeling Relaxed After the Event

As soon as Jia Cong returned to the Jia Mansion, Wu'er and Qingwen curiously asked him about matters in the palace.

Jia Cong naturally chose some new and interesting things to talk about, which made the two little girls very interested.

Not long after, he was called over by Jia Zheng and asked about going to the palace to meet the emperor.

Jia Cong naturally did not mention the question asked by Emperor Jia Zhao. This topic was a bit sensitive, so it was better not to talk about it.

It only said that the emperor wanted to inform Li Shouzhong, the chief academic officer of the Imperial Academy, to allow him to attend lectures at the Imperial Academy in Nanjing while he was in Nanjing, so as to prevent him from delaying his studies.

Jia Zheng was of course delighted to hear this. The emperor not only conferred an eighth-rank official title on Cong, but also showed concern for Jia Cong's studies. This was such a thoughtful and thoughtful attitude. It really showed the emperor's great grace and it seemed that he really valued Cong.

As for the reason behind this matter, since Jia Zheng never attended court and had a rather straightforward personality, it would be difficult for him to figure it out unless others told him.

I just feel that I have always cared about Jia Cong's studies, which can be regarded as foresight. I always feel a little emotional in my heart, and a little melancholy when I think of myself.

Jia Cong also said that he met his elder sister Yuanchun in the palace. Jia Zheng sighed when he heard this, as he had not seen his eldest daughter since she entered the palace six years ago.

He had disagreed with his daughter entering the palace for selection, but his mother and wife were very optimistic about it, so he did not insist. Now he regrets it, but it's too late.

……

During this period, Wang Ziteng shamelessly visited the Jia Mansion twice. He did not want to lose the favor and connections of the Jia family unless he was at his wit's end.

The first time Jia Zheng claimed to be sick and did not go out, this would have been impossible to happen in the past. For a loyal and honest man like Jia Zheng, this was extremely disrespectful.

Later, unable to resist Mrs. Wang's nagging, Wang Ziteng went to her house for the second time and finally met her.

The two talked about some awkward topics, and everyone felt very awkward. Wang Ziteng still tentatively mentioned the matter of controlling nine provinces.

At that time, Guo Lin said in Rong Xi Tang that Wang Zhang might be the mastermind behind the prosecution of Jia Cong.

Guo Lin is close to the emperor. He would not say this for no reason. It is 80% to 90% true.

But this matter was not exposed in the open. Wang Ziteng naturally did not mention it in front of Jia Zheng, and Jia Zheng also avoided mentioning it.

After all, his wife was a daughter of the Wang family, so there was no need for everyone to quarrel again, but everyone knew the truth in their hearts.

No matter how pedantic Jia Zheng is, he is not a fool after all. How could he possibly contribute to the Wang family now?

Moreover, Wang Ziteng was really promoted to the post of Commander-in-Chief of Nine Provinces and Military Governor of the Capital Camp, and from then on, this position had nothing to do with the Jia family anymore.

After Wang Ziteng met Jia Zheng, he wanted to go to visit the old lady again. Yuanyang came out and said that the old lady was not feeling well these days and could not see outsiders for the time being.

Then Yuanyang went to the back hall to count the chips for Jia's mother, because Jia's mother was playing mahjong with Youshi from the East Palace and a few other maids.

I don't know how much of the truth behind Guo Lin's heart-piercing words in Rong Xi Hall was revealed by Lady Jia, but it is irrefutable that the Wang family had behaved improperly towards the Jia family.

This was enough to make Grandmother Jia feel disgusted and distant from the Wang family, as if the Jia family had raised an ungrateful person.

Wang Ziteng left the Jia Mansion in frustration. The relationship between the Wang family and the Jia family was over. The stupid woman in the family had done great harm to people, and no amount of chanting for the rest of her life could redeem her.

However, neither Wang Ziteng nor Jia Zheng could have known that the split between the Wang and Jia families was just a trick played by Emperor Jia Zhao.

Compared to the bad guest Wang Ziteng, some acquaintances also came to congratulate him.

Classmates such as Cai Xiaoyu, Cui Anzhi, and Liu Xiaoping came to congratulate him and even took him to Chunhua Tower for a meal.

Xiao Jindong, He Jizhen, Zhou Xizhe and others also sent some calligraphy and paintings as gifts.

Prince Jiashun sent Wang Dong, the chief eunuch, to bring him a special gift, a black satin-colored Dayuan horse. He said that the prince knew that he was going to travel far to Nanjing, so he sent him a good horse to travel.

The BMW is worth thousands of gold, this gift is not light, but he got it on an official ship this time, so he can't use the BMW for the time being.

……

Jia Cong had already scheduled a trip to Jinling, which would take half a year, so he could no longer go to Qingshan Academy to study.

Therefore, the introductory courses assigned to him by Liu Jing'an became extremely important.

The next day after leaving the palace, he went to Liu's house again and continued his unfinished homework with Liu Jing'an. He stayed there for another two days. Only after he finished his homework did he return to the Jia Mansion.

He spent another half a day going to Wenhan Street to buy all the necessary books according to the list of books compiled by Liu Jing'an, preparing to take them to Nanjing to study and lay a good academic foundation for future policy essays.

Nowadays, everything is of inferior quality. An ordinary family would almost go bankrupt to support a scholar, and buying books is a major expense.

Although Jia Cong was a son of a Duke, he could not buy many books with his monthly allowance of two taels of silver.

Fortunately, he and Qu Hongxiu are now running a perfume business, and the Xiuniang Perfume Shop is booming and earning a lot of money.

Jia Cong was in charge of perfume extraction technology, and often came up with ideas for promoting perfume. He just let Miss Qu handle everything else on her own.

Qu Hongxiu gave him two hundred taels of silver for pocket money every month. Knowing that he would be in Nanjing for half a year, he even took out two thousand taels of silver notes from the account at one time.

You have to know that as a noble lady of the Wang family, Mrs. Wang came with a lot of dowry shops, and the monthly interest was only two hundred taels.

Nowadays, even without counting the money from the Jia family's public treasury, everyone has plenty of private money. Jia Cong is one of the richest people in the Jia family, so buying a few books is naturally no problem for him.

Of course, he would not reveal a single word about the perfume business. On the surface, it was only Qu Hongxiu and her five children who were doing it.

Among the wealthy and powerful families, the children who have not set up their own households, or the families who have separated and established themselves, are not allowed to privately own property. Once discovered, they will be punished according to the clan rules and regulations, and their property will be confiscated and made public.

This is the iron law of the patriarchal society. Even someone as bold and daring as Wang Xifeng only dared to use the public money to lend at high interest rates, but would never dare to open a private shop outside to make money.

After finishing all the chores, he stayed at the mansion for the remaining few days. Every day before dawn, he would rush to the small courtyard in the west of the city to practice sword. Qu Hongxiu would stay by his side and give him careful guidance.

The rest of the time he spends with his sisters at home.

He wrote poems and couplets with Daiyu, practiced calligraphy with Tanchun, and played go with Yingchun.

Or a group of people would play cards, admire flowers, drink tea and chat. Even little Xichun would come to join in the fun, and Jia Cong would accompany her to paint a few strokes.

In the last two days, Shi Xiangyun was picked up by Lady Jia. In fact, it was her second aunt who told her that Jia Cong was going to Jinling, so Xiangyun asked someone to bring the message to Lady Jia.

However, Shi Xiangyun was also very clever. She just said that she missed the old lady and made Lady Jia happy, and only then did she come.

As for why the second aunt specifically told her about Third Brother Cong's trip to Jinling, Shi Xiangyun was only a girl after all, so she naturally wouldn't think too much about it.

After all, she was still young and had only met him a few times, so she didn't have any ideas about Jia Cong. She just thought that this third brother Cong was more magical and refreshing.

With Shi Xiangyun's presence in the garden, it became more and more lively.

In the past few years, Jia Cong has been studying hard at Qingshan Academy and seldom returns to the Jia Mansion. Although he misses his sisters at home, he does not spend much time with them.

These last few days were actually the most carefree time for Jia Cong in the past two years.

(End of this chapter)