Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 317: The Trouble with Wealth

At this time, words like "second-class Weiyuan Earl" and "hereditary succession" were still circling in Lady Jia's mind...

It was indeed a surprise to Grandmother Jia that her grandson could be conferred the title of Earl.

But that was all. The Jia family was a family of dukes, and although the title was inherited in a lower rank, his son's title was downgraded from duke to super-class marquis, and he also inherited the military rank of a first-class divine general.

This is several ranks higher than the second-class earl and cannot be compared at all. However, the second-class earl is still no match for him, and the title comes with hereditary succession.

Jia's mother was no stranger to hereditary succession, because her mother's family's title of Marquis of Baoling was hereditary.

Her other nephew, Shi Ding, also inherited the title of Marquis Zhongjing because of his meritorious service to the current emperor.

In terms of long-lasting nobility, the Shi family has long surpassed the Jia family.

Therefore, Grandmother Jia knew better than anyone the huge impact such a title could have on a family.

If Jia She's marquisate is downgraded through three generations, it will no longer be on par with the second-class earl, and after three generations, it will continue to be downgraded...

Jia Cong's title of second-class earl was hereditary, and even if it was passed down for ten generations, he would still be a second-class earl.

Grandmother Jia could clearly foresee that if the Jia family continued for three generations, Jia Cong's concubine branch would become the indisputable main branch.

In the future, the respected Madam Taigao in the family ancestral temple will become your mother of humble origins, Jia Cong.

By that time, who would still remember her, the lady of the state who once held the highest rank of the imperial family?

Thinking of this, Grandmother Jia felt a mixture of sadness and joy, and a sense of loss.

This made Grandmother Jia think of Jia Cong's biological mother as if possessed by a ghost.

That woman has been dead for many years. When she was carried into the East Courtyard, I was so ashamed and angry that I didn't even go to see her until she died of childbirth.

No one even knew what she looked like... In the whole mansion, only Yu'er's mother, who was young and naughty at that time, went to the East Courtyard to peek a few times...

……

Aunt Xue said, "Madam, your Cong is truly extraordinary. At such a young age, he is already a hereditary earl. The Jia family has two earls in one family. How honorable it is."

Grandmother Jia usually likes to play cards and chat with Aunt Xue because Aunt Xue has an advantage that others don't have.

He is very good at talking, and his words of praise always touch Lady Jia's heart.

The words "one family with two titles" hit Lady Jia's heart.

Along with this, the melancholy about the future decline of her direct bloodline was also greatly reduced. After all, that was her affair after her death. At present, having two nobles in her family was her real dignity.

There is one good thing about Lady Jia's personality, which is that she won't waste too much time thinking about things that make her unhappy. She will just think about them for a while and then forget about them. All that remains is happiness...

Mrs. Li, the wife of Marquis Zhongjing, was also a shrewd person. When she saw the expression of her sister-in-law Chen, how could she not know what she was thinking? Anyway, her family had not raised a legitimate daughter, so she didn't have any thoughts.

She also knew that her second sister-in-law had raised the eldest daughter of the eldest house since she was a child and treated her as her own daughter, so she was also willing to help her sister-in-law to cheer for her.

Besides, she had met Jia Cong once in Rongqing Hall that year. His appearance and character left a deep impression on her. And his current title was indeed impeccable.

Li said half-jokingly:
"Auntie, Cong is too conspicuous. I think we should find a good match for him among the old nobles as soon as possible, otherwise the door of the Jia family will be squeezed out by people, haha."

As soon as these words were spoken, the eyes of several old ladies in the hall flickered. Aunt Xue felt discouraged. She wanted to look for honors among the old relatives, but there was no honor in the Xue family...

After hearing this, Baochai just wanted to escape from Rongqing Hall as soon as possible to avoid the uncomfortable feeling of being pricked by needles and scratched by a cat in her heart. However, she was a junior and it was not convenient for her to leave early.

Grandmother Jia glanced at the hopeful look in Chen's eyes. She certainly knew what her second niece-in-law was thinking. She still cared about Yun girl and probably had already taken a liking to that boy.

Originally, Grandmother Jia felt that Jia Cong was not worthy of Xiangyun, but now that the imperial edict has been issued, she no longer has the confidence to think any differently.

Now she was thinking that marrying a relative might be a good thing...

However, she had been a first-rank official all her life and had seen a lot of things happening to the children of officials, but she knew that this matter was not so easy.

She said calmly, "Before Cong was granted the title, I, his grandmother, could make the decision on his marriage, but things are different now.

He was conferred the title for his military merits, and he is still young. After a few years of adulthood, there might be an imperial decree from the palace. This kind of thing is common, and I, an old woman, dare not make decisions for him blindly."

Li and Chen were both marquis ladies, and they understood the affairs of the wealthy families best. When they heard this, they immediately realized that the aunt was very experienced and that this was about an arranged marriage!
The emperor grants marriages to his trusted ministers themselves or their children. This is the most common method used by the emperor to win over his ministers!
This Cong'er has been granted the hereditary title of Earl by the Emperor at such a young age. He is truly favored by the Emperor. Besides, he is not yet of age, so he will definitely be granted marriage in the future.

Li and Chen looked at each other and both understood what the other meant. Their third master was a loyal follower of the emperor.

As long as the third master goes to the emperor and asks him to grant a marriage between Cong'er and Yun'er, one is a loyal minister and the other is favored by the emperor. They are a match made in heaven.

After all, Aunt Xue was the wife of an imperial merchant, not a member of the circle of lords and ladies, and did not understand the mystery.

I just felt like the old lady and her two nephews' wives were playing a game of charades. What on earth were they talking about...

But Baochai is much more knowledgeable than her mother and is also extremely intelligent.

Just now she heard the old lady say that since Brother Cong had been conferred a title, it would be difficult for her to make the decision on his...marriage. She also said that there might be an order from the palace, and that this was a common occurrence.

Looking at the shining eyes of the two ladies of the Shi family, Baochai suddenly understood and her face gradually turned pale.

Two words lingered in my mind: arranged marriage, Xiangyun...

No wonder Yun girl was suddenly sent to the Jia family to stay for a while, and I heard that she was eager to see Brother Cong enter the city. Every time she talked about Brother Cong, she couldn't hide the pride in her eyes...

Grandmother Jia just looked at the expressions of her two nephews' wives, but she knew everything in her heart. However, she would not express her opinion and let them do whatever they wanted. It would be good for the Jia family anyway. As for her original intention to match Jia Cong and Baochai, she had already thrown it aside.

……

On the second day after Jia Cong was conferred the title, Qin Ye, an old acquaintance of Jia Cong and a doctor in the Ministry of Works, came to visit him.

After not seeing each other for more than half a year, Qin Ye hasn't changed much, and the lack of news from his daughter doesn't seem to cause him much trouble.

But the look in his eyes when he looked at Jia Cong was somewhat complicated. This young man who had gone to Jinling with him on official business was only a minor official of the seventh rank at that time.

Now he is a second-class earl. Thinking back to the past, he and his daughter had an unclear relationship. It can be said that his daughter has a very good vision.

Qin Ye came here this time because the emperor gave the original Ningguo Mansion to Jia Cong to live in.

However, Ningguo Mansion was built by imperial decree to be the residence of a duke, and the existing duke system in the mansion needed to be downgraded to earl system, otherwise it would be an usurpation of power, which could not be taken lightly.

The Construction Department of the Ministry of Works, as the yamen of the Construction Department, was an official authoritative agency in charge of downgraded regulations.

The two had been colleagues in Nanjing for half a year, so they should have had a close relationship.

However, after the incident with Keqing, Jia Cong developed a strong prejudice against Qin Ye's character, even though Keqing is now fine and is still helping him manage Xinchunhao in Jinling.

But this did not change his alienation and coldness towards Qin Ye.

In Qin Ye's opinion, Jia Cong was probably rich and powerful now, and looked down on him as a lowly official.

Now that the Ningguo Mansion has been confiscated and his title has been stripped, and his daughter has divorced and disappeared, the relationship he had worked so hard to build with the Jia family has completely gone down the drain.

Although he felt somewhat helpless, he was still very concerned about helping Jia Cong to lower the regulations of Ningguo Mansion, and he wanted to use this matter to build a good relationship with Jia Cong.

Many nobles like luxury and wealth, and perhaps this newly promoted young earl also has this preference.

If he was allowed to retain some of the extravagant regulations of a duke, as long as it was not a major overreach, Qin Ye would be happy to do him a favor.

The areas in Ningguo Mansion that needed reform were mainly the specifications of the main hall, the size of the gate, the decoration of the eaves, the height of the threshold, and even the specifications of the lions guarding the door.

These must be changed from dukedom to earldom.

Further in, there are the regulations of the Yimen Zhengdao and the scale of the main hall Conglutang, all of which need to be reduced in size to a certain extent.

The two of them walked into Ningguo Mansion. Since Ningguo Mansion was confiscated, all the servants in the mansion had been dismissed.

The huge Ningguo Mansion was empty, with dust and cobwebs everywhere, revealing an air of decay.

Fortunately, Ningguo Mansion has only been vacant for about half a year, so after a careful cleaning, it can be restored to its former vitality.

Along the way, Qin Ye and Jia Cong pointed out the areas that needed to be reformed and the specific specifications that needed to be changed to, and they were very detailed.

As a Langzhong of the Ministry of Construction, Qin Ye's ability as a master craftsman is still convincing.

Along the way, Qin Ye was waiting for Jia Cong to make concessions and retain some of the original luxury regulations of the Duke, so that Jia Cong would do him a favor.

Qin Ye had been a Langzhong in the Ministry of Works for many years and was used to seeing such things.

Unfortunately, the reality was different from what he hoped.

Jia Cong suddenly said, "Sir Qin, the emperor has shown great favor and granted an imperial decree to build Ningguo Mansion for Yu Cong. All the duke regulations in the mansion must be completely revised without leaving a single trace!
In addition, some of the overly extravagant features in the mansion should be changed to be elegant and simple. I need an impeccable Earl's mansion to live up to the grace of His Majesty. Please take care of it, Lord Qin!"

Jia Cong saluted Qin Ye with his fists, then said goodbye and left, leaving Qin Ye standing there in surprise.

……

Jia Cong knew that now that he had been newly conferred the title of Earl and had been granted the Ningguo Mansion, he was now under the spotlight of everyone. There were countless old and new nobles in the capital city who were staring at him.

At this juncture, he would certainly not leave any room for anyone to use against him in the restructuring of Ningguo Mansion. Simplicity and low-keyness were what he should embody most at this moment.

After announcing the decree yesterday, he wrote to Qu Hongxiu and Qin Keqing in Jinling, asking them to buy him a group of honest, loyal and trustworthy slaves in the south of the Yangtze River.

With Qu Hongxiu's experience in the underworld and Keqing's meticulousness and carefulness, they will definitely help him sell the most useful person.

Now, the two of them are also Jia Cong's most trustworthy people outside the mansion.

He would never dare to buy domestic slaves in the capital, let alone call on people from the Rongguo Mansion.

If this is the case, there will be a lot of sand mixed in among these people, and among them there will be spies from the China Railway Corporation.

As for transferring personnel from Rongguo Mansion, Grandmother Jia must be very willing.

The result was that not long after, a person like Lai Er appeared in the Earl's Mansion, but Jia Cong was not stupid enough to do that.

As soon as he entered the second gate of Rongguo Mansion, he met a messenger who said that the old lady wanted to talk to Master Cong Sanye in Rongqing Hall.

　Jia She’s title of First-Class General of Divine Power was just a military position, which was different from the title of nobility.

　　Jia She's courtesy name is Enhou, and this name cannot be chosen casually, otherwise it would be an act of usurpation.

　　The original novel did not write that Jia She was demoted and inherited the title after the Jia family was convicted. It was just the imagination of the online writers.

　　According to the setting of this article, the normal downgrade from Duke is Super Marquis, which is naturally much higher than Earl.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)