Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 310: How to Become the Lord of Ning State

Rongguo Mansion, Tanchun Courtyard.

"You don't know, today Third Brother Cong was so majestic, riding a tall horse into the city, followed by countless cavalry guards, he really looked like a great general."

"The armor of those cavalrymen was shining with gold, dazzling everyone's eyes, but these soldiers were just guarding the way for the third brother. That scene was really rare."

The sisters in the room were talking with great interest around a person. The person was in his teens, slim, with black hair, nimble hands and feet, a slender waist, and a lively and agile look.

She was wearing a long cross-collared jacket with a bright red background and a golden bamboo leaf pattern, and a white pleated skirt with dark patterns. She looked like a bright red crabapple flower. She was none other than Shi Xiangyun, who had just arrived at the Jia Mansion.

Xiangyun has started to grow up in the past two years. In addition, she is lively and active, with a cheerful and broad-minded personality, and she has become more and more pretty and sweet.

Today, the sisters in the garden are in a good mood.

Because news has come from outside the second gate that Jia Cong had arrived in Shenjing in the morning and entered the city through Xiande Gate. Now he is going to the palace to pay respects, and he will probably be able to go home soon!

When I left, I was told that I would be back in March when the spring came, but I ended up not returning until the beginning of summer, so I was gone for a full half a year.

It just so happened that Shi Xiangyun was taken to the Jia Mansion by Grandmother Jia for a short stay today. Unexpectedly, as soon as she entered the garden, she started yelling with her sisters about meeting Jia Cong at Xiande Gate today, and she immediately became the focus of everyone's attention.

Among the sisters, Shi Xiangyun had the best eloquence and was the most fluent in her speech. She spoke crisply and fluently without stopping, and her descriptions were very vivid, which immediately mesmerized the sisters.

"Also, today there were many young ladies and wives gathered at Xiande Gate. They heard that Third Brother had made great achievements when he was young and he was also very handsome.

Everyone rushed over to see what was happening. You didn’t see it. These people stared at Third Brother without blinking. Their eyeballs were about to fall to the ground. They really have no shame, humph!”

Daiyu and Tanchun couldn't help giggling when they heard what Xiangyun said was so funny.

Tanchun suddenly blinked her eyes and asked, "How did you know, little girl Yun? She was so excited that her eyes almost fell to the ground."

Shi Xiangyun blurted out: "My carriage was parked there, too. I saw it with my own eyes. Humph!"

Tanchun suddenly laughed and said, "Tell me the truth, you took the car to Xiandemen so early in the morning. Did you go to see your third brother? You looked so much that your eyes fell out."

Shi Xiangyun's pretty face turned red, and she said angrily: "You good Third Girl, come here quickly, let me tear your mouth apart!"

The two of them played around in the room, and clear laughter filled the air. It took a while for Tanchun to beg for mercy, and Shi Xiangyun finally calmed down.

Daiyu asked curiously, "Girl Yun, how did you know that Third Brother would be back in the city today, and why did you go to Xiande Gate so early to watch the excitement?"

Shi Xiangyun was quite proud and said, "Yesterday I heard from my second and third uncles that Brother Cong arrived at the military post fifty miles away yesterday and will enter the city at Xiande Gate today.

I told my aunt that I wanted to stay with the old lady for a while, and she was very happy. She sent someone to tell the old lady that I would leave early today and deliberately drive through Xiande Gate... "

In fact, Shi Xiangyun felt a little strange. In the past two years, when she said she wanted to stay with the old lady for a while, her aunt seemed to be eager to see her go, and always hurriedly packed up the carriage to send her over, which was very strange.

Tanchun joked again: "Yun girl, you are so cunning. You use this method to see how rare your third brother is."

Shi Xiangyun smiled complacently, shook her head and said, "Humph, this is not called cunning, this is called wisdom, it's called a mountain man has his own clever plan..."

"I also heard from my second uncle that Third Brother Cong has made great contributions in Liaodong, and the emperor may confer a title on him. Third Brother is so young, it would be amazing if he could be conferred a title."

Tanchun said, "Third brother, not everything is good right now. There is one thing that is very difficult."

As soon as Daiyu heard it, she knew that Tanchun was talking about her third brother being adopted into the Ningguo lineage. Her grandmother even submitted the adoption document to the clan office, so this matter was probably not clean.

Daiyu and Tanchun, the sisters in the boudoir, had no say in this matter, but Daiyu knew Jia Cong's character very well. She was very proud in her bones and hated being manipulated by others.

Shi Xiangyun asked curiously, "Brother Cong is so capable, what difficult things could he possibly encounter?"

Tanchun didn't want to talk about this at first, but when she thought about Jia Cong's return, everyone would know about it.

Then he said, "My family wants my third brother to be adopted into the Ningguo family."

Shi Xiangyun looked puzzled: "Aren't ordinary children chosen for adoption? How could the old lady be willing to let the most outstanding son in the family go out to be adopted?"

……

When leaving Qianyang Palace, Jia Cong still felt a chill on his back.

He had no idea beforehand that the Jia family would actually make a fuss about having him adopted by the Ningguo family at this critical juncture.

The emperor asked this question suddenly, and I was surprised, but I finally responded quickly and gave the emperor a satisfactory answer.

If I were as stupid as those people in the Jia family and foolishly wanted to change my clan name to inherit the throne, I would probably be regarded as worthless by the emperor.

Perhaps he would be awarded a small title, but for the rest of his life he could only stay where he wanted.

Because with Emperor Jia Zhao's mentality, he would not employ a fool who couldn't even see his position clearly.

While they were thousands of miles away and had no idea about this matter, the Jia family went to the clan house to submit a letter to transfer the clan name.

He doesn't take me seriously at all. I feel like an object being tossed around at random. It's really...!
But after discussing the issue in Qianyang Palace today, he and the emperor had actually reached an implicit agreement.

As for that ridiculous Ningguo title, it had become a thing of the past forever from the moment the Ningguo Mansion was confiscated.

The emperor wanted to downplay the influence of the emperor emeritus and completely control the military power of the Zhou Dynasty. In addition to cultivating his own military backbones, such as Gu Yankui and Shi Ding.

In addition, the old honors such as the Four Kings and Eight Dukes were continuously weakened. Once the Ningguo title was removed, it was destined that it would never be revived, otherwise how could the majesty of the imperial power exist!

Once the title of Ningguo is restored, it will set a bad example for the Four Kings and Eight Dukes. They will only think that their old merits are precious, and if they are weakened but not killed, and destroyed but not resolved, it will only increase their arrogance!

Jia Cong was even certain that even if someone from the Ningguo clan was determined to join the army and make meritorious contributions, he would probably die in the army for no apparent reason.

As long as the emperor leaked a little information, countless people would line up to help the emperor do this dirty work. Jia Mu was a figure in the harem, but her understanding of political affairs was not much different from that of other mediocre women.

If we continue to do foolish things like this, sooner or later the Rongguo Mansion’s property will be lost...

There is also Jia She, who has inherited the title of Rongguo. His mediocre talent is a good thing, as it can allow Rongguo Mansion to continue to be prosperous for a few more years.

But the worse he got, the more he loved to play. Jia Cong thought of how Jia She instigated Jia Qiang to enter the firearms workshop, and guessed that Jia She must be doing something restless outside.

In his opinion, compared with Jia She, who was a potential troublemaker, Jia Lian was a safer candidate to inherit the title, because apart from fooling around with women, Jia Lian basically did not seek death in other aspects.

After leaving the palace, Jia Cong rode his horse straight to Rongguo Mansion in Judefang.

There was also a horse-drawn carriage following behind him, which was loaded with Liaodong specialties sent by Liaodong generals, as well as gifts for his sisters and Zhishao and others.

I wonder how Lin Daiyu has been doing in the past six months, and whether she has been taking care of her body according to the methods I taught her.

My third sister originally said that she would wait for me to come back so that they could fly kites together in the spring of March, but when I came back it was already early summer.

Also, I haven’t played chess with my second sister for a long time. I wonder if she is doing well now...

As for the personal maids in Qingzhizhai, I can ask Sister Lin and Third Sister to help look after them when I go out. Everything should be fine.

When he saw the towering eaves of the imperially built Rongguo Palace from a distance, Jia Cong felt a complex mixture of stagnation and joy in his heart.

……

Rongqing Hall.

Today, not only Lady Jia, Mrs. Wang, Aunt Xue and others are present, but also Jia Zheng, Jia Jing and Jia Xiao.

The news of Jia Cong's return to Beijing today caused quite a stir, and naturally everyone in the Jia family knew about it.

Jia Zheng was naturally filled with joy. Before Jia Cong set out, he gave him the blue rhinoceros armor passed down from his ancestors of the Rong Kingdom. Now it has become a story similar to giving a sword to a hero.

When Cong Ge'er went to Liaodong, he unexpectedly achieved such a great feat. He destroyed thousands of troops in one battle and wiped out the three powerful guards of the Jurchens. Even when his ancestor Rong Guo was in power, there were few such achievements.

When people in the future talked about this war, they would naturally mention the story of Cong giving his father the family heirloom armor before he went to the battle. Thinking of this, Jia Zheng was very happy. This child is doing well!
However, seeing the expressions of Jia Jing and Jia Xiao who were present, Jia Zheng couldn't help but frown.

For Jia Jing and Jia Xiao, they cared more about Jia Cong's return to Beijing than the people in Rongguo Mansion.

Because Grandmother Jia had submitted the document to the clan office for Jia Cong to be the heir.

Jia Cong inherited the Ningguo lineage, and only had the finishing touch left. How could Jia Jing and Jia Xiao not be nervous?

They had heard that Jia Cong did not go back home directly when he returned to Beijing today, but went to the palace to meet the emperor first.

They were worried that Jia Cong would be conferred a title by the emperor on the spot when he met him. If that was the case, it would be difficult for Jia Cong to succeed Ningguo.

Whether it was Jia Jing or Jia Xiao, for them, whether Jia Cong was granted a title was secondary. What was important was that he could inherit the Ningguo throne and be granted the title of Ningguo.

Only in this way can Jia Jing's ambition to restore the title of Ningguo Lord be truly realized, and Jia Xiao and his ilk will have the big tree of Ningguo Lord to encroach upon and enjoy.

What about restoring the glory of ancestors' achievements, what about the Ning and Rong bloodlines being of the same blood, Jia Jing may still have some faith in this, but to Jia Xiao and his ilk these are nothing but lies to cover up their shame.

When the news of Jia Cong's return home came from outside the second gate, everyone in Rongqing Hall was cheered up, and Grandmother Jia quickly asked someone to call Jia Cong in for questioning.

When Jia Cong entered Rongqing Hall, everyone saw that he had been gone for half a year and his face looked weathered.

His fair skin became slightly darker, with a light bronze color, and he became much thinner, but he grew a lot taller. It seemed that he had suffered a lot during the half-year war in Liaodong.

When Jia Zheng saw Jia Cong wearing the blue rhinoceros armor, his eyes became even warmer and he said, "Brother Cong has been away for half a year and has made great contributions to the country. It's great that he has returned safely."

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, Master. I should also thank you for giving me this blue rhinoceros armor. It saved my life on the battlefield. Otherwise, I might not have come back."

Jia Zheng was shocked when he heard this, and went forward to take a closer look, and found a new deep knife scar on the blue rhinoceros armor, located on the chest and abdomen.

He said with lingering fear: "It was really that dangerous. Swords and spears are blind on the battlefield. Fortunately, I gave you the Blue Rhino Armor. It's a blessing!"

Mrs. Wang, who was standing aside, looked at Jia Cong with a twinkle in her eyes: This kid is really lucky, but fortunately he is going to be adopted to Ningguo, so he won't be a problem anymore.

Grandmother Jia looked at Jia Cong seriously, sighed slightly, and said, "It would be the best thing if you come back safely.

I asked you to come here today to tell you something important that will be of great benefit to you. Jing'er and I have discussed it and decided that you can be adopted by him as his heir.

This way you can become the legitimate heir of Ningguo Mansion and the head of Ningguo in the future. Now that you have made military achievements, there is hope that Ningguo will be restored to its title, and in the future Ningguo will be your family property."

What Grandmother Jia said still sounded somewhat tempting. Lady Wang on the side felt a little jealous after hearing it. My Baoyu couldn't even become the head of Rongguo, but this kid has made it to the top!

Jia Zheng was originally reluctant to let Jia Cong be adopted by Ningguo, but after listening to what his grandmother said, Jia Cong could be transformed from a concubine to a legitimate heir and would be able to rule Ningguo alone in the future.

This is a great thing for Cong'er. He no longer has to bear the label of a bastard, and he is willing to do so.

At this moment, no matter what mentality the people in the hall had, they all felt that Jia Cong would definitely agree to this matter. In their view, this was obviously a huge benefit.

Even Jia Jing, who had always lacked confidence in Jia Cong's succession, relaxed at this moment, thinking that the old lady was very experienced and could explain the opportunity clearly in just a few words.

No illegitimate son of a family could resist such a temptation. Thinking of this, Jia Jing could not help but twirl his beard lightly, and regained his otherworldly composure, waiting with a smile for Jia Cong to agree.

But Jia Cong, who was standing at the bottom, said loudly: "Old lady, this is absolutely not allowed!"

(End of this chapter)