Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 177: Rumors Cause Trouble

Rongguo Mansion, Rongqing Hall.

As New Year's Eve is approaching, the New Year atmosphere is becoming increasingly apparent. As is the annual custom, the elderly relatives in each family begin to visit each other more frequently.

The Jia, Wang, Shi and Xue families have been intermarrying for generations, and after many twists and turns, they are almost all relatives. It has always been common sense that people of the same blood are related.

Not to mention the distant past, just the three generations of matrons of the Jia family in Rongguo Mansion include the legitimate daughters of the Shi and Wang families, which is a good example.

Among the four great families of Jia, Wang, Shi and Xue, if we talk about their power and status, the Jia family, with two dukes, should be the best among them.

But when it comes to deep roots and abundant talents in the capital, the Jia family is not as good as the Shi family.

There are a total of twenty branches in the Jia family, but only eight are in Beijing. They are all descendants of the old country. It's just that over the past sixty or seventy years, they have gradually become alienated.

When the Jia family reached the Wenzi and Yuzi generations, the only ones still serving as officials were Jia She and Jia Zhen, who inherited the title, and Jia Zheng, who was the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Works. No one from the rest of the family had an official, and the family was clearly in decline.

The Shi family has a total of eighteen branches, twelve of which are in Beijing. The reason why so many branches were able to move to the capital was that

This is because, except for the direct descendant of the Shangshu Ling of Baoling Marquis, other concubines of the Shi family have repeatedly left the capital for many years and moved their families to the Shenjing.

The aristocratic families are most particular about the prosperity of their descendants, and they form a powerful force in the officialdom.

Wildfires cannot be extinguished; spring breeze will bring new life. Even if the Baolinghou lineage is destroyed, the Shi family can still stand firm relying on the foundation of the branch lineage.

From this point of view, the historians are far superior to the Jia family.

Therefore, in recent years, people like Jia Mu and Jia Zheng, who have some worldly knowledge, have also attached great importance to interacting with the old relatives in the various branches of the Shi family.

Among the women of the four major families, Lady Jia was the oldest and had the highest imperial title, so naturally the wives of the other families were willing to come and get close to her.

This is just a common social routine of aristocratic families. In their spare time, they accumulate causes and effects and keep things cold. But at the critical moment, you never know which branch will bear fruit.

A few days ago, Mrs. Baolinghou came to the mansion and talked about Jia Cong's glorious deeds in Jinling. Although Grandmother Jia was not close to her grandson, she thought it was decent, so she did it.

Today, several wives of officials from the concubines of the Shi family came to visit again, and Lady Jia and Mrs. Wang were drinking tea and chatting with them.

Although these housewives were not the direct descendants of the Shi family, and their official positions were not as noble as those of a marquis, the men in their families were all officials in various ministries and halls in the capital, and they were considered the best among the twelve branches of the Shi family in Shenjing.

At the end of the year and during the New Year holidays, the topics of conversation among the women in the inner house are nothing more than trivial matters at home, and eventually the topic turns to the sons and nephews of each family. It is natural for women to discuss children, which has been the same since ancient times.

Among them, of course, there was the mistress of the Shi family who knew Lady Jia's thoughts. She flattered Lady Jia by praising Baoyu's handsomeness and all the good qualities he had, which made Lady Jia feel very happy.

But the topic eventually came back to Jia Cong. It was because Jia Cong had done so many glorious things this year that whenever the elders talked about their younger generations, Jia Cong seemed to be an unavoidable topic.

Grandmother Jia was always a little annoyed about this matter. The one she disliked the most was causing trouble every other day and even outshining her own Baoyu.

But today, when these ladies from the Shi family talked about Jia Cong, there was some dissatisfaction in their words. Grandmother Jia was worldly-wise and could naturally taste the meaning.

"The old ancestor may not know that several of our relatives who stayed in Jinling have suffered a great disaster recently."

The one who suddenly spoke was the mistress of the seventh branch of the Shi family in Shenjing. The master of the family, Shi Zhe, was currently a doctor in the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Finance. He was a member of the top three official ranks and had only moved to Shenjing ten years ago.

Grandmother Jia was surprised and asked, "What happened in Jinling?"

Madam Shi Zhe said, "Recently, a major case occurred in Nanjing, implicating many people in the officialdom. Several of our Shi family's sons who are officials have also fallen into trouble and have been imprisoned by the Jinyiwei."

In terms of seniority, they are all my cousins, and they are all outstanding younger generations of Jinling historians. Now that something has happened, I can't just stand by and watch them die.

The man in charge of the family over there heard that Cong'er was a capable man. He had done several great things in Jinling City and had a say in the official circles. The Jia and Shi families were close relatives.

So he went to seek help from Brother Cong, but this brother said he was recuperating from his injuries and would not see guests, and he didn't even let him in.

As a result, after a few days of delay, a young man from the fourth branch of Jinling died in prison because he could not withstand the torture of the Jinyiwei. If Cong Ge'er had been able to help him deal with it, it would not have been the end of it. "

Speaking of this, Mrs. Shi Zhe's eyes turned red, because the man who died in prison was her master's nephew, and she had watched him grow up since he was a child.

Although Mrs. Shi had no intention of being a bad guest today, she could not find any fault with Jia Cong's words, as he did not care about family affection, except for the depression in her heart.

"There really is such an unreasonable thing!"

Grandmother Jia's face suddenly turned cold. All her life, she attached great importance to the respect between relatives. People of the same blood should protect each other, which is also the most basic rule among old relatives.

Now, in front of so many people, after hearing what Mrs. Shi Zhe said, he couldn't face it and was angry.

Why does this evil creature always cause trouble wherever he goes? Even if he can't do anything, he has to pretend to do something. Now he is talking about it in front of me. If this gets out, people will say that my Jia family is unkind to our elderly relatives and didn't help them when they were dying. We will lose all the face and favors we have accumulated in these past lives.

Mrs. Shi Zhe realized that her words had humiliated the old lady, so she stopped talking. Her husband was only a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Revenue and could not do anything to Jia Cong.

However, if he set a fire with the old lady, Jia Cong would be in trouble when he returned to Beijing. This was his own grandmother, and no matter how capable he was, he would be helpless. He also had to vent his anger on the brother of the Shi family.

For the rest of the time, the wives of the Shi family chatted about some irrelevant things and then left.

After all the guests had left, Grandmother Jia was still feeling irritated.

Madam Wang on the side said, "Brother Cong was careless this time. Last time he was unwilling to help Pan'er, but this time it's a matter of life and death.

He should at least save some face for the sake of the old lady."

Grandmother Jia said angrily: "Don't say anything about me. Now that he has been appointed as an official and has been sent on an imperial mission, he is so frivolous. How can he look down on others?"

At this time, Sister Feng came in from outside and said, "Grandfather, a letter came from the old house in Jinling, saying that Brother Cong set out from Jinling four days ago. According to the time calculation, he will be able to return home in the next few days."

Grandmother Jia replied angrily: "If he comes back, he comes back. What's the point of it?"

After hearing this, Fengjie was puzzled. Why did the old lady have such a bad temper today? It was as if she had just eaten ginger. Why was she so hot and spicy?

She also talked to Mrs. Wang about the arrangements for the New Year in the mansion. Seeing that Lady Jia looked uncomfortable, Fengjie didn't say anything else and found an excuse to leave.

When he returned to his own courtyard, he saw Jia Lian coming back from outside, so he told him what had just happened in Rongqing Hall.

Jia Lian sneered and said, "I can probably guess the cause of this matter. According to the news from the south in the past few days, there have been a series of major cases in Jinling.

Several scions of the Shi family in Nanjing were implicated and thrown into the Jinling Prison. The Shi family members went to ask the third brother to help them find ways to rescue them, but the boy was so cold-hearted that he ignored them completely.

As a result, a member of the Shi family died in the Jinyiwei prison. How could he not be hated after such an incident? The member of the Shi family who died was the nephew of Shi Zhe, the seventh branch of the Shenjing family.

Today, Shi Zhe's wife came to visit the old lady, so she must have mentioned this matter. The old lady cares most about her dignity, so she was naturally very uncomfortable after hearing these things. "

Wang Xifeng understood the reason this time and said, "Your brother is really a troublemaker. He can stir up trouble wherever he goes. If this is the case, the old lady will definitely not be happy when he comes back this time."

Jia Lian said with a strange look on his face: "The old lady has been treating him badly for a long time. It's not a new thing. And this is not the only case. There are even more bizarre ones."

Wang Xifeng asked curiously, "Why, this one incident is not enough, he has also caused other troubles?"

Jia Lian replied, "In the past few days, many people from the various government offices in the capital have returned from business trips to Nanjing. Among them, several are close friends with Brother Zhen. They gathered together for a drink yesterday, and Brother Zhen also asked me to join them.

They said that the third brother fell in love with a nun in Jinling. After searching all over Jinling for her, he ran to Gusu and found her. No one knew what means he used, but the nun actually followed him back home.

How could I not have realized before that he is such a person? It is really incredible. Just wait and see. Now he wants to bring her back to the mansion, and the old lady still obeys him. That will be a good show."

Sister Feng spat, "You men are really bad. How old is this brother Cong? He does such a ridiculous thing, messing with the nuns in the temple. He is not afraid of losing his fortune. I really misjudged him."

At this time, Ping'er's crisp voice came from outside the house: "Auntie Zhou, why are you here? Grandma is in the room, come in and sit down."

When Wang Xifeng heard the voice, she knew that Ping'er was reminding her. She was moved and came out of the house to greet her.

This Zhou Ruijia is the mistress's confidant and concubine, and even she has to give her some face on weekdays.

Zhou Ruijia smiled and said, "Second Madam, Madam sent me to ask if the batches of satin you mentioned the other day have been found. We need to make some clothes for the old lady and the girls for the New Year."

Wang Xifeng smiled and said, "I found it in the storehouse this morning. I'll have Ping'er send it to Madam for her to review later."

Zhou Ruijia chatted a few more words before leaving.

Wang Xifeng asked Ping'er, "How long did you watch her just now?"

Ping'er had been in the mansion for more than a day or two, so she naturally knew the ins and outs, and replied, "I came over just now and saw her standing outside the window, she didn't look like she had just arrived.

That’s why I just greeted her, to prevent grandma from hearing what she said.”

Wang Xifeng sneered, "It's not good for us anyway, so it doesn't matter if she hears it. But if Cong Lao San comes back in a few days, I'm afraid he won't have a good time."

Ping'er was startled and asked, "What happened to Cong?"

Wang Xifeng smiled, with a hint of gloating:
What could possibly happen to him? He went to Nanjing and not only got promoted, but also did some romantic things. Don't ask me, just wait and see in a few days."

(End of this chapter)