Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 297 Li Xiang is in danger

Jia Jing had met Jia Cong several times and was very impressed by his character and ability. It was naturally a great thing to have such a good boy adopted by him.

The most important thing is that Jia Cong had just made great military achievements, but failed to inherit the title in Rongguo Mansion, so he must have felt aggrieved.

Under such circumstances, inheriting the Ningguo lineage in order to restore the title was simply a match made in heaven.

As long as this is accomplished, Ning Guojue will be resurrected in his hands, and Jia Jing will no longer have to feel guilty about his ancestors when he is buried.

Therefore, he was extremely enthusiastic about accomplishing this matter. He stared at Lady Jia, hoping that the old lady would agree to it.

In fact, Grandmother Jia was basically willing in her heart. It would be a honor for her if her grandson could get a title.

But she was not completely senile after all, and said: "Jing'er, it stands to reason that adopting a son can help Ningguo regain his title, so I naturally agree.

But if you adopt someone like Huan, I can have the final say, but it’s different for Cong.”

When Jia Jing and Jia Xiao heard Grandmother Jia talking about Jia Huan, they both had strange expressions on their faces. Why would they adopt Jia Huan, a strange kid, and waste rice to raise him?

Grandmother Jia continued, "Although Cong is young, he is not an ordinary young man. He is now a fifth-rank official, an official in the court, and a person who listens to the emperor.

He has his own ideas too. It's not that simple for him to be adopted by another family. Even if I talk to his master, it won't count.

Most likely he will need the approval of the Imperial Clan Court and the palace, and he also needs to know it himself. This matter is not urgent, so let's wait until he returns from Liaodong before discussing it."

Jia Jing and Jia Xiao were somewhat disappointed after hearing this.

Jia Jing was anxious to recover his ancestral business, fearing that things would get more complicated if the time passed. A talent like Jia Cong was unique in the clan, and now was a golden opportunity.

It is said that he is now leading an army in Liaodong to suppress the Jurchens. If he makes military achievements again and is further conferred an honor by the emperor, the old lady will never let such a son leave the house to be adopted, no matter what.

However, Jia Xiao's family was barely making ends meet, so he hoped to accomplish this task so that he could get more profits. Naturally, he was as anxious as Jia Jing.

However, they also knew that what Lady Jia said made sense. This was not about adopting an ignorant child, but about appointing a fifth-rank official to the imperial court. It was not something that could be accomplished by just talking.

So in the end, he could only say goodbye and wait for Jia Cong to return from Liaodong before discussing it again.

……

After Jia Jing and Jia Xiao left, Aunt Xue happened to come over and gave Lady Jia some gifts that Xue Pan brought back from his business outside, including some high-quality furs and some aged ginseng.

After thanking her, Lady Jia chatted with Aunt Xue for a few words and said that your brother now knows how to make a living outside, which shows that he has become more sensible as he grows older.

Aunt Xue naturally reciprocated the favor and said some nice and helpful words.

As usual, she praised Baoyu for a few words, and suddenly talked about Jia Cong, saying that it was all thanks to the old lady's good teaching that she raised such a capable grandson, who became a high-ranking official at such a young age.

After hearing this, Grandmother Jia felt strange and somewhat embarrassed. This could be considered as good teaching from her side...

……

The gate of Lixiangyuan faced the back street, and people were coming in and out. The servants of the Xue family carried in boxes of gifts, put them in the hallway, and then left.

The old woman from the Xue family moved the things back to the main hall of the inner courtyard.

Xue Pan had Feng Yuan beaten to death in Jinling. Jia Yucun, who was corrupt and committed injustice, pretended that Xue Pan had died of an acute illness and let him go unpunished.

But at the same time, it also turned Xue Pan into an "illegal household". In official documents, he, Xue Dashazi, was already a dead man.

It didn't matter if he usually spent his time drinking and carousing and visiting women, but he couldn't do anything that required a legitimate business identity verification.

Later, I heard from a friend that there was a way to get to Datong in Ping'an Prefecture. That place was not like Shenjing, which was under the emperor's feet. It didn't have so many requirements and it was easier to do business and make money.

Xue Pan was feeling a bit bored staying in the capital, so he went there with a few friends. Although he didn't make a lot of money, he still made some money and got to see the world.

When he came back, he brought a lot of gifts for his mother and sister. Aunt Xue felt that her son had become sensible and was very happy. She didn't care whether he made money or not.

The boxes of gifts that were carried into the main hall were opened one by one, revealing the finest apricots, berries, millet, hazel mushrooms, fungus, furs, and medicinal herbs.

There are also stationery items such as paperweights, pen holders, inkstone boxes, and a whole box of Bahrain seal stones made of high-quality elm.

Baochai was helping Xue Pan sort out the gifts, giving some to the sisters in the garden, and of course one to Qingzhizhai.

Xue Pan suddenly asked, "Sister, have you heard anything about Cong recently?"

Xue Baochai was a little curious: "Brother Cong is so far away in Liaodong, and I heard that he only wrote to my uncle. Why are you asking about him suddenly?"

Baochai knew that her brother and Jia Cong had always been at odds with each other because of Yinglian's matter, so why did he suddenly talk about him today?

"Sister, you don't know, but I heard about Cong's story as soon as I came back to Beijing. It's really spread all over the capital."

When Baochai heard her mention Jia Cong, she smiled and asked, "Tell me what you said."

"It is said that he fought a great battle with the Jurchens in Liaodong. He was very powerful. He led a few hundred cavalrymen and dared to charge and kill thousands of Jurchens. He also killed a Jurchen vassal king with one sword.

I heard that the prince was ten feet tall, ten feet wide at the waist, and wielded a large golden-backed machete. He was brave enough to defeat ten thousand men, but he was still killed by Cong Ge'er with just one blow.

Isn't he a scholar? Why haven't I heard of him being so great before... "

Ying'er, who came in to serve tea, chuckled when she heard this: "Young master, there is no one who is ten feet tall and has a waist ten feet thick." Baochai was also smiling as she heard this. She had heard the sisters in the garden talk about Jia Cong in the past few days. They said that he had made the greatest contribution in Liaodong and was even granted an official position by the royal family.

He was actually much better than what he had seen with his own eyes. Not only was he a man of amazing literary talent, he was also a master of both civil and military affairs. It was incredible that there were such outstanding people in the world.

Although Baochai knew clearly that Jia Cong had no feelings for her and was probably thinking about someone else...

But she still couldn't help thinking about him, and when she heard about how outstanding he was, her heart couldn't help but feel sweet. She used to be able to control herself, but now she seemed like she was possessed.

I just hope he can come back soon. I haven't seen him for a long time.

……

Xue Pan turned his head to glance at his sister and said, "Sister, mom is not here today, tell me honestly, are you attracted to Congge'er?"

Baochai was so angry that her face turned red. She spat, "How can a brother say such nonsense to his sister? I'll tell mom."

Xue Pan was usually most afraid of his sister getting angry, so he quickly begged for mercy: "Okay, okay, I won't say anything."

Baochai asked curiously, "That's strange. Don't you usually dislike Brother Cong? Why do you keep mentioning him today?"

"He and I are just because of that girl Suyun. It's not a big deal. He is more handsome than me and more popular with women than me. If Suyun wants to be with him, I accept it."

When Baochai heard what he said, her face turned red again. She said that he was trying to please women, but wasn't she a woman herself?

"I admire heroes the most. Brother Cong took the head of a general in the army of thousands of horses. Isn't he a hero? I admire people like this."

As Xue Pan spoke, his eyes lit up, as if he was brought into the scene, as if the majesty of taking the general's head was the great fool Xue himself.

Seeing her brother acting so recklessly again, Baochai shook her head with amusement.

However, Baochai was still very happy that her brother no longer resisted the Cong brothers.

As the two siblings were talking, Aunt Xue came back with a gift.

"Pan'er, I just came back from your aunt's place. She heard from your uncle that things are not peaceful in Datong, Ping'an Prefecture, and the Mongolian Tartars have been invading the border recently.

The governor of nine provinces is patrolling the border there. I heard they are catching soldiers cheating. It's very noisy and chaotic. You are not allowed to go there again! The family doesn't need the hundreds of taels of silver you earn.

You should stay at home and be content. I don't think you can get along with someone like Cong. You should hang out with Baoyu and Jialian more often. They are your real relatives after all."

Xue Pan curled his lips and said, "Baoyu has also invited me to drink together before. As for Second Brother Lian, I'd better stay away from him to avoid getting into trouble."

Aunt Xue asked curiously, "What did Jia Lian do to you? How could he bring you trouble?"

Xue Pan said mysteriously, "Mom, have you never heard that Brother Lian also went to Ping'an Prefecture several times?"

Aunt Xue asked curiously, "I did hear people talking about it in the garden, so what? Didn't you also go to Ping'an Prefecture?"

Xue Baochai, who was standing by, also looked over curiously, knowing that her brother must have something to say.

"Oh my god, how can Jia Lian's going to Ping'an Prefecture be the same as my going there?"

"I was in Datong this time, drinking with a few friends. They said that the eldest master of the Jia family is now sending sea salt, tea, and iron pots to Datong, and he has made a lot of money!"

"Brother Lian went to Ping'an Prefecture several times. Maybe he went there to do these kinds of business. How dare I associate with him?"

Aunt Xue's face changed when she heard this. She had been married to a merchant for half her life, so she was not an ordinary woman in the inner chamber and was considered to be well-informed.

Naturally, we know that things like sea salt, tea, and ironware are banned in the Nine Frontiers. If they are obtained by the Tartars outside the Great Wall, it would be a crime of treason and punishable by death.

"You evil bastard, how dare you say such nonsense? I will beat you to death!"

Aunt Xue picked up the feather duster and started hitting him on the head, but she couldn't bring herself to really hit him, as most of the time it was just a lot of noise but little results.

Baochai, who was standing by, also turned pale when she heard this. She naturally knew the severity of her brother's words.

Xue Pan looked aggrieved: "Oh my god, I'm not making this up. My friends told me about it when we were drinking. It's very detailed."

Aunt Xue said angrily, "You are such a loser. You just drank a few cups of yellow wine and spread these nonsense that can lead to death. What will happen if it gets out?

If something goes wrong, how can we, the Xue family, live like this?"

Baochai, who was standing by, also complained, "Brother, you really don't know the seriousness of the matter. If these words get out, something terrible will happen.

You shouldn't have listened to these words, and if you did, you should have kept them to yourself. How can you spread them around? Who else have you said these words to? "

Xue Pan looked annoyed: "I'm not a fool. I know the importance of this matter. I just told you guys. I didn't say a word to anyone else."

Aunt Xue said angrily: "From now on, forget these words. If you dare to talk nonsense outside, I will strangle myself to death to avoid being angered to death by you!"

Xue Pan was shocked when he heard this. Although he was a playboy and absurd, he was very good to his mother and sister. He immediately swore and vowed that he would never say such words again.

Baochai's heart was beating wildly. She was the daughter of an imperial merchant and had more experience than the average girl in the boudoir.

Of course she knew these things. If she wasn't careful, it could be a capital crime. The eldest master of the Jia family was her biological father. Should she tell him about this?
Maybe it’s better not to tell him. He is still in Liaodong now. It will not do him good if he knows. He might be implicated if something happens in the future.

(End of this chapter)