Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 198: True and False Friendship

Ningguo Mansion, the ancestral hall of the Jia family.

At the ceremonial gate, Jia Cong was holding a black-based silver-decorated tablet, followed by two maids from the Ningguo Mansion, each holding a red oil tray containing the imperial decree, pearl crown, and court robes.

In the ancestral hall, the descendants of the Jia family's side houses in Beijing each stood in their seats. Among them were many descendants of the Jinling Jia family who had come to Beijing to worship their ancestors. The huge courtyard was filled with people.

Everyone saw him with a dignified and composed demeanor, holding the spirit tablet in his hand, walking among the young men of the Jia family as if he were nothing, as if he was the only one walking in the huge ancestral hall.

Although most of the descendants of the eight branches of the Jia family in Shenjing have never dealt with him, everyone knows him now.

The main reason is that he has done too many eye-catching things in the past two years. He was the top candidate in the young exam, was granted the seventh rank, was famous in Jinling, his poems were well-known in the south of the Yangtze River, and his mother was awarded the title of Xiaoxun. Any one of them attracted attention.

It was also said that he looked like his mother and was born too proud. He was eye-catching wherever he went, standing out from the crowd, and people couldn't help but remember him.

And today, because of such a big disturbance caused by the matter of placing the deceased mother's shrine in the ancestral temple, it has become the focus of everyone's attention.

The young men from different families looked at him with different expressions, ranging from amazement, admiration, jealousy, contempt, to indifference, and so on.

When he walked into the main hall holding the spirit tablet, Jia Zheng, Jia Zhen and others all breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that the disaster had finally been resolved.

It was the first time that Jia Jing met Jia Cong. His eyes, which had been blinded by the dream of immortality, suddenly brightened up when he saw Jia Cong's outstanding demeanor.

Under the guidance of the master of ceremonies of the ancestral hall, Jia Cong carried the tablet of Mrs. Du into the inner hall. In the middle of the inner hall was a several-story spirit pavilion, on which were placed the tablets of the nobles and imperial decrees of the Jia family throughout the dynasties.

The positions in the Ling Pavilion are arranged according to seniority and are extremely strict.

The master of ceremonies was instructed by Jia Zhen that the placement of the spirit tablet must be flawless and there must be no fault to be found, and he was also afraid of this.

Following the master of ceremonies' instructions, Jia Cong solemnly placed Mrs. Du's spirit tablet in the designated position in the spirit pavilion.

Mrs. Xing, Mrs. Wang, Mrs. You, Wang Xifeng and others in the inner hall all witnessed this scene with their own eyes. Each of them had mixed emotions and all kinds of different feelings.

In the main hall, Jia Zheng asked his servants to lead the people who were delivering the sacrifice to the side hall for tea. However, when these people saw Jia Cong leading the spirit into the inner hall, they did not stay and left one after another.

The Jiamen Spring Festival Ceremony, which had been interrupted halfway, resumed.

The concubine's brothers in the courtyard remained the same as before. After all, the troubles of the main wife and the legitimate son had little to do with them.

However, the mood of the descendants of the Ning and Rong families in the main hall and the female relatives of the Ning and Rong families in the inner hall when they knelt down to worship their ancestors was completely different.

Madam Xing, Madam Wang and others knelt down in front of the spirit pavilion. Although they were kneeling in their hearts to the ancestors of Lord Ning and Lord Rong, the shrine of the Du family on the spirit pavilion seemed to be looking down on them, and the female members of the family also kowtowed earnestly.

Mrs. Wang, Wang Xifeng and others thought that it was a good thing that the old lady was not feeling well just now and was helped by Yuanyang to rest, otherwise she would not be able to bear it.

It was almost like kneeling down and worshipping that woman.

After those who had offered sacrifices left the Ningguo Mansion Ancestral Hall, news of what had happened at the Jia Family Ancestral Hall spread quickly through various channels.

……

Not long after Jia Cong left Muni Courtyard, Wu'er and Daiyu took a carriage back to the mansion and entered through the back corner door next to Qingzhizhai.

Wu'er received Jia Cong's instructions and acted cautiously so as not to attract anyone's attention.

Jia Cong was busy with the spring festival affairs in the ancestral temple. When he returned to Qingzhizhai, he found Daiyu talking to Zhishao and Wu'er.

He knew that Daiyu was concerned about the ancestral hall and had been waiting for news from him here.

Seeing him come back, they all asked about welcoming the spirit back to the ancestral temple. Jia Cong told them the general situation and result. A big event was finally accomplished, and Daiyu and others were happy for him.

Daiyu thought that there was always something that could be used to criticize her third brother. No matter how outstanding he was, he would always be picked out and criticized by those ignorant people. Wasn't that the case with Wang Ziteng's wife?

Now that the status of Third Brother’s biological mother has been determined, there will be no more gossips from others inside or outside the two residences, and there will be no more disputes like this in the future.

Zhishao only wanted Jia Cong to be happier and free from worries, which was enough for her. Everything else was not a problem.

Wu'er didn't have too many thoughts. The Third Master had gone through so many difficulties in the past, and now things were much better than before. Even if there were some twists and turns, they would eventually pass. As long as she could always stay by his side, it would be fine.

……

That evening, the Jia family's spring festival family dinner was held as usual. Grandmother Jia forced herself to stay awake and show up, otherwise her embarrassment at the spring festival would have been confirmed.

He forced a smile and said a few more words, then sat for a while and left.

However, Lady Wang, Lady Xing, and Lady You dared not leave early. After the Spring Festival, the whole family gathered together, and the head of the family always had to take charge. After Lady Jia left, Tanchun saw that Jia Cong had overcome another great difficulty, and she was very happy for him, so she wanted to ask the secretary to invite Jia Cong to the inner seat.

Tanchun is smart and capable, and she gets along very well with Jia Cong. She is affectionate and always wants to help her brother. She thinks that since her third brother's mother has been granted an imperial decree to enter the ancestral temple, he should have the same status as the other brothers.

During the Chinese New Year and other festivals, a teenager is always left at the outside seats. It looks awkward at all and he should be with sisters of the same age.

Although the old lady left the table, Tanchun's action was still somewhat bold.

Everyone knew that the old lady never arranged for Jia Cong to sit in the inner seats.

Unexpectedly, Mrs. Wang agreed with a smile and said that you sisters should get together more often and laugh. Mrs. Xing on the side didn't say anything.

Jia Cong was brought into the inner seat by the secretary and sat at the same table with Baoyu and other sisters, but he felt a little strange in his heart.

However, he did not expect that such a big thing happened in the ancestral hall today, which really overturned the cognition of these women in the inner house.

Although he did a lot of outstanding things this year.

But in a noble family like the Jia family, which has been luxurious for generations, the women in the inner court like Lady Jia and Lady Wang all feel that literary talent is just the icing on the cake.

Of course it's good to have it, but it's not worth it if you don't have it.

If one has a huge amount of money at home and can inherit a title, one can become an official. Jia She, Jia Zheng, and Jia Zhen all had this experience.

However, there was a Jia Zhu, who was exhausted to death by studying hard. This was a critical blow to them. After all, it was not like a rich family would study hard while a poor family would.

Therefore, although Jia Cong's success in winning the case and being granted an official title was somewhat glorious, in their eyes, it could not compare to the glory of the Jia family inheriting noble titles for generations.

If she didn't have this idea, how could she have brought up Baoyu so spoiled?

But what happened in the ancestral hall today was beyond their imagination.

The old lady's delay in placing Jia Cong's biological mother's spirit tablet in the ancestral temple actually caused such a big disturbance.

Women like them don't understand the idea that the Holy Heart is as strong as iron.

I just know that at the critical moment there were so many officials helping him out. This kid's background is really too strong.

They all come from noble families, so naturally they all understand these connections and backgrounds, which are more valuable than a ton of gold at a critical moment.

Mrs. Wang thought again about how she had tricked her sister-in-law into falsely accusing Jia Cong. As a result, the scholar who had made the accusation was stripped of his official title, and her sister-in-law was imprisoned in a Buddhist temple, which was no different from being dead.

Now even the old ladies...

With such a hard and unlucky fate, anyone who gets in his way will have a bad end!

Although Mrs. Wang had many secret thoughts of suppressing Jia Cong in her heart, she was frightened after seeing what happened today, and changed her mind. No matter what she had in mind, she dared not show it on her face.

When Tanchun wanted Jia Cong to sit at the inner table, she went along with it and did him a favor, with a kind and benevolent look on her face.

But in Jia Cong's eyes, compared with Tanchun's bright and charming frankness and innocence, Mrs. Wang's kindness and generosity are always mixed with something uncomfortable.

But Mrs. Wang's subtle change in attitude made him realize that the incident that happened in the ancestral hall today had caused many people to re-examine him.

At least the old lady has set the best example by preventing her biological mother from entering the ancestral temple. In the future, there will definitely be less inexplicable secret suppression in the inner house.

The women rolling around in the mansions are not fools. They have a heart for wealth and fame, two snobbish eyes, and an abacus that works loudly and meticulously.

He could also spend more days with a peaceful mind. After all, he felt uncomfortable and had no interest in engaging in palace fighting with women.

With Jia Cong's presence at the banquet, Tanchun, Yingchun, Xichun and others became more excited and the atmosphere became more lively.

Tanchun said, "Madam just said that Aunt Xue's family from Nanjing will be coming to the capital in the next few days. It's great that Aunt Xue has a sister named Baochai. It will be great to have more sisters to keep us company."

Mrs. Wang smiled and said, "Baochai is a very good child. She has loved reading and writing since she was young. From now on, you sisters will be able to live in harmony with each other."

Baoyu had long heard Mrs. Wang muttering that her cousin was the most outstanding girl in the world, and he wondered how she compared to Sister Lin.

Jia Cong thought of the beautiful girl with green eyebrows and red lips in the Xue family mansion in Jinling. His poems were sung in Jinling, and tracing back to the source, they were somewhat related to Baochai.

(End of this chapter)