Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 266 A Weird Request
Qingzhizhai.

Last night, the first heavy snow fell since the beginning of winter.

The sky was just getting brighter, and the translucent glazed windows in the main house reflected the gleaming white light of the snow outside.

When Jia Cong woke up, he could still smell the sweet and fragrant fragrance in the bed curtains, which made his heart soft and peaceful. It was left by Zhishao when she warmed the quilt last night.

On the couch outside the bed curtains, a silk quilt wrapped around a slender figure, and on the jade-colored gauze pillow, her dark hair was piled up in a myriad of strands.

Zhishao was sleeping soundly, her cheeks flushed, her breath faintly fragrant, her hair soft and silky, her neck smooth and silky, revealing a piece of skin as white and smooth as jade.

Jia Cong got up gently and took a few steps out of bed, and the person wrapped in the silk quilt was awakened. She moved softly a few times and then sat up.

Jia Cong smiled and said, "I wanted you to sleep a little longer, but I woke you up anyway. You didn't sleep well yesterday."

Zhishao's pretty face turned red. She didn't know who to blame for not sleeping well.

……

As the year draws to a close, the weather in the capital is getting colder and colder. This is Zhishao's first winter back in the Jia Mansion.

These days, when Wu'er and Qingwen were on night duty, they would warm up Jia Cong's bed first, which was a common practice for the maids in the mansions in winter.

Wu'er also told Zhishao that she was the one who did all these things when she was in Dongluyuan.

Yesterday, Zhishao followed suit and helped Jia Cong warm the quilt, but Jia Cong pulled her aside and talked a lot, all about what happened in the East Courtyard before.

In fact, after returning to the Jia Mansion for so long, Jia Cong often talked about the past with Zhishao on purpose, hoping that she could remember the past again.

I don’t know if it’s because of this constant psychological suggestion.

Zhishao's originally vague memory seemed to become clearer after repeated erasures, although many parts were still chaotic.

But she liked listening to Jia Cong say these things. Every word he said was warm and full of immersive peace, which seemed to touch her heartstrings and make her feel an indescribable sense of intimacy and belonging.

She could understand that in Jia Cong's heart, that was their most precious thing.

The two of them leaned against each other, one talked while the other asked curiously, and they chatted for a long time...

When she returned to her bed, she tossed and turned for a while, and finally fell into a deep sleep in the second half of the night.

Zhishao rubbed her eyes, stood up, put on a padded jacket, and quickly tied her long hair into a bun.

She lit the stove in the corridor, boiled some hot water, and went back into the room to help Jia Cong dress and comb his hair.

……

Zhishao looked at Jia Cong in the mirror, looking somewhat dejected: "The Third Master is going to patrol the border at the end of the year. I'm afraid he will be away for another half a year?"

"It would be great if we were to go to Southern Province like last time. I could go with you and visit Master on the way. I received a letter from my senior sister a few days ago.

Master is old, and his health has been poor in the past six months."

Jia Cong thought of Master Xiushan of Panxiang Temple, a Buddhist nun with great virtue. She was not only Zhishao's teacher, but also the one who saved her life.

Ever since leaving Yangzhou, Zhishao has always missed Master Xiushan very much.

Jia Cong comforted him in a gentle voice: "When I come back from Jiubian, we can go to Jiangnan to see your master, or bring your master and sister to Shenjing.

Zhang Youpeng, who treated Yinglian's mother's injury last time, is an excellent doctor, but he recently left the capital to travel.

I will pay more attention to it. If I let him treat the nun, he will definitely be able to cure the disease."

Zhishao said in surprise, "I heard from Yinglian that Doctor Zhang is a very skilled doctor. If we can let him treat Master, he will definitely be cured."

Jia Cong smiled and tidied up some of Zhishao's hair, saying, "I also wanted you to take me to see the plum blossoms on Xuan's tomb. I left in a hurry last time and didn't get to see them..."

The two talked for a while longer, and when the sound of hot water boiling outside the corridor was heard, the door to the main room was opened, and Wu'er brought Juan'er and Si'er into the room with breakfast.

He also called the sleepy Qingwen, and several of them had breakfast together at the table in the main room.

According to the rules of the Jia family, there is a hierarchy and maids are not allowed to dine at the same table with their masters.

If this kind of situation happened in Baoyu's room, I guess Mrs. Wang would say: You have corrupted such a good man.

However, Jia Cong naturally did not have such broken rules. These people had been with him for many years and were the closest to him in the world. Eating and talking at the same table made them feel like a family.

……

After breakfast, Wang Xifeng's maid Ping'er entered the yard.

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Sister Ping'er, why are you here so early today? Maybe you have something to do."

Ping Er smiled and said, "I know that Third Master has to go to the government office every day. I'm afraid I won't be able to see you if I come too late. Our Second Master wants Third Master to come over. He has something to talk about. Is Third Master free now?"

Jia Cong was slightly stunned. He didn't have much contact with this brother, so why did he come to him today to talk about something? "Sister Ping'er, I have time now, so I'll go with you."

On the way, Jia Cong asked curiously, "Sister, do you know why my second brother is looking for me?"

He was a little puzzled that Jia Lian came to him to talk about something so early in the morning. He had to know the whole story first so that he could respond with a clear idea in mind.

He had little confidence in the ways of doing things among the children of the Jia family, and he found many of them difficult to agree with.

Ping'er knew that the man in front of her was now the most proud person in the Jia family. When the imperial edict was announced in Rong Xi Tang to posthumously confer an imperial decree on her deceased mother, it really opened her eyes.

Moreover, this gentleman is not only capable, but also looks rare and proud. However, he is still so kind and gentle in dealing with people, and he always calls her "sister" all the time.

Then he kindly revealed a few words: "It was Brother Qiang who came to see Second Master. It seemed like he had something to ask for, so Second Master asked him to come and ask Third Master. I don't know what it was specifically about."

Jia Cong was a little surprised when he heard this. Jia Qiang had something to ask Jia Lian, and then Jia Lian came to talk to him. He and Jia Qiang had never had any contact with each other, so how could this matter be brought upon him?

When they arrived at Feng Ji's courtyard and entered the main house, they saw Jia Lian. There was also a handsome and elegant young man sitting in the room.

Jia Cong had only seen him from afar a few times during ancestor worship ceremonies. It was none other than Jia Qiang, the great-great-grandson of the Ningguo lineage.

Jia Qiang was a very sensible person. When he saw Jia Cong coming in, he immediately bowed and said, "My nephew Jia Qiang, I greet Uncle Cong."

"It's Brother Qiang. I wonder what Second Brother wants to talk to me about so early in the morning."

Jia Lian smiled and said, "It's not my own business that I'm looking for Third Brother. Today I'm just acting as a middleman to help Brother Qiang ask Third Brother for a favor and see if it's feasible!"

Jia Cong said, "If you have anything to say, please tell me, brother."

Jia Lian said, "Third brother, you also know that the Ningguo Mansion has been confiscated, and the children of the Ningguo family are having a hard time. Brother Qiang is still idle at home and has nothing to do.

He still has some ambition. He heard that his third brother is now the chief official of the Firearms Department and is in charge of a firearms workshop on the western outskirts of the city.

I came to ask my third brother to help me find a position as a workshop manager so that I can have a legitimate livelihood. As the saying goes, brothers are close when fighting tigers. You can be assured when you have your own brothers. What do you think, third brother? "

When Jia Cong heard this, his heart sank.

Which of the Jia family's sons has the ability to fight a tiger? How come he doesn't know...

Ever since the Fifth Army Firearms Battalion came to prominence in Liaodong, the Firearms Department and the Chengxi Firearms Workshop have attracted more and more attention.

During this period, he has received many invitations to banquets and requests.

Many of them wanted to use his connections to get jobs in the Firearms Bureau or firearms workshops.

As for the purpose behind these people, if you think about it simply, it is just to get a job. If you think about it more deeply, it is not surprising even if they have ulterior motives.

The firearms workshop, in particular, was related to military and national secrets, and Emperor Jiazhao attached great importance to it.

In order to keep it secret, I asked for permission to move all the craftsmen's families to Shenjing to reduce the probability of accidents.

If anyone can enter the firearms workshop, then what secrets can there be?

Whether it is the construction of porcelain mines or the modification of Rumi guns, they are not skills that seem like fantasy. They mainly depend on the concept and creativity. People who know the business can learn most of them just by taking a few glances.

And in the future, new firearms technology will continue to be developed...

On this point, a shrewd and calculating man like Emperor Jia Zhao must have understood it more deeply than he thought.

If the person he recommended entered the workshop and something unexpected happened, the first person to be implicated would be himself, the Director of the Firearms Bureau.

He even promoted the gunpowder maker Guo Zheng to be the workshop manager early on just to plug this loophole.

Once an official from the court asks for favors, he will come up with many superficial excuses.

In fact, promoting Guo Zheng to be the manager of the firearms workshop was just a trivial matter in the eyes of outsiders, but he specially submitted a memorial to Emperor Jiazhao, which showed that he had put a lot of effort into it.

Since Emperor Jiazhao had the all-pervasive Imperial Chariot Officers by his side, it would be a waste if he didn't use his talents. They would definitely find out all about Guo Zheng, so that he would feel more assured when employing people.

He knew better than anyone what kind of people the Jia family's children were.

What would the always suspicious Emperor Jia Zhao think when the name of a member of the Jia family appeared in the firearms workshop...

How stupid must he be to do such a thing.

Moreover, the person who made the request was Jia Qiang, who had a close relationship with Jia Zhen.

　The Jianghu is dangerous. I recently read half of it and stopped reading. I asked everywhere if anyone had read Youshi. They sent me chapters and book reviews...

　　Then he posted outside the site saying that the book included Youshi, which was a very low-level way of smearing.

　　I looked it up later and it seemed to be from the same period...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)