Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 320: The Trick to End the Evil

In the north of Shenjing City, there is Chunhua Tower.

In the private room by the window, Sun Shaozu, with a look of attentiveness on his face, poured wine for a slightly plump young man sitting opposite him.

Although Sun Shaozu did not get a real job in the Ministry of War, his recent marriage to the Jia family was a good thing for him.

What surprised him even more was that not long after he got engaged to the Jia family, Jia She's son Jia Cong was conferred the title of Weiyuan Earl by the emperor for his military achievements in Liaodong.

The second young lady of the Jia family, whom he was going to marry, was the elder sister of the newly promoted Earl of Weiyuan. It was said that the two siblings had a very close relationship.

This made Sun Shaozu feel that this marriage was a perfect opportunity and gave him a huge advantage.

With the relationship with the second lady of the Jia family, he will be able to firmly cling to the currently powerful Earl of Weiyuan, and it will be easy for him to gain a foothold in the capital in the future.

Perhaps it was because he was in a good mood, he had been enjoying himself for the past few days and had been hanging out in the official whorehouse on the 16th floor of the Jiaofangsi.
He was a tyrannical and licentious man who had been dissolute since childhood. He favored the wives of officials who were convicted and forced to serve as prostitutes to satisfy his own dirty and twisted hobbies.

The sixteenth floor was an official brothel under the Jiaofangsi, where officials and civilians feasted and had fun.

But not everyone is like Sun Shaozu, who comes here just to indulge in debauchery.

After all, it was set up by the government and was much more orderly than ordinary brothels. Therefore, officials and students would often come here to drink, chat, sing and dance to entertain themselves.

It was just a coincidence that Sun Shaozu met the same person several times when he went to the 16th floor frequently in the past few days.

Overhearing this man talking to his friend, it turned out that he was the third son of Cabinet Grand Secretary Cai Xiang. By chance, he got to know the third son of Cai Xiang.

Sun Shaozu wanted to get a position in the Ministry of War in order to gain a foothold in the glamorous world of Shenjing, so he was obsessed with making friends with the powerful people in the capital.

Now that he had encountered such a godsend opportunity, how could he easily miss it? Naturally, he tried his best to show his courtesy to the third son of the noble family, Mr. Cai.

He is the son of a scholar in the cabinet and one of the most outstanding civil servants in the dynasty. Compared with the nobles of the Jia family who only have empty titles, his power is probably even greater.

Originally, as a soldier from a frontier garrison, he was considered a soldier by the children of officials and dignitaries, and was always looked down upon.

What made Sun Shaozu feel fortunate was that Mr. Cai San did not despise him. Although his words were not warm, he was willing to interact with him, which really made Sun Shaozu flattered.

The day before yesterday, he heard that Mr. Cai was fond of gourmet food, especially the wine and food at Chunhua Tower, so he invited him to a banquet to please him.

……

After three rounds of drinks, they were both a little tipsy and their conversation became more relaxed.

"Brother Sun, I heard that you got married recently?
When Sun Shaozu heard the other party mention marriage, his face was slightly proud, and he said: "Brother Cai, please forgive me for laughing. I just got engaged to the second young lady of the Jia family of Rongguo."

Although he was much older than Mr. Cai San, he did not dare to act arrogantly even though he was a little drunk, and continued to call himself a younger brother.

The slightly plump young man suddenly slammed the table, his expression seemed exaggeratedly sad: "Brother Sun, you did a stupid thing, you really shouldn't have gotten married."

Sun Shaozu valued the marriage with the Jia family the most. It was a crucial matter for him to gain a foothold in the capital. Even though he was a little drunk, he became excited when he heard the other party's words.

"Brother Cai, why do you say that?"

"Brother Sun's marriage is decided by Master Enhou of Rongguo Mansion."

"Of course. He is the biological father of the second young lady of the Jia family. He is a family friend of my father and my uncle. He thinks highly of me."

The slightly plump boy took a bite of the food, chewed it with a crunching sound, and said, "This is even worse."

The other party's vague words made Sun Shaozu feel uneasy, and the drunkenness in his body was completely gone.

He had known Mr. Cai San for many days and knew that he was a man of great talent and shrewdness. He was indeed a young master of a wealthy family. Such a person would have something to say and would not speak without reason.

He quickly took the wine pot and filled the other person's glass, saying, "Brother Cai, I have just arrived in the capital and am not familiar with the social order here. I hope you can teach me something. I will definitely reward you handsomely."

The slightly plump young man said, "Brother Sun, do you know that Master Enhou has a son named Jia Cong?"

"Of course I know. This Master Jia is quite remarkable. He has been newly conferred the title of the hereditary Earl of Weiyuan by the Emperor. Everyone in the capital city knows about this. In fact, he is still my brother-in-law."

The young man's face flashed with disdain, and immediately replaced with a solemn expression: "Brother Sun really doesn't know how powerful he is, it's this brother-in-law who is fatal!" Sun Shaozu's face changed: "Brother Cai, what do you mean by this, how can a good Weiyuan Earl become fatal."

The slightly plump young man sighed slightly and said, "Brother Sun has just arrived in Shenjing, so it is understandable that he does not know the details of the wealthy families.

To tell you the truth, Brother Sun, although the Earl of Weiyuan and the Marquis of En are biological father and son, they are like enemies. They hate each other and live in the same prefecture like strangers. Everyone in the wealthy families in the capital knows this!"

Sun Shaozu looked surprised and asked, "How can the relationship between father and son be like this?"

The slightly plump young man sighed, "It is said that Jia Cong's biological mother was of humble origins and was not favored by the Lady of the Jia family, which caused Master Enhou to lose his title to inherit the mansion.

So Master Enhou took his anger out on Jia Cong, beating and scolding him since he was a child. It was a horrible sight and he almost died.

Mrs. Jia was afraid that her grandson would be beaten to death by her son, so she moved Jia Cong from the east courtyard of the Jia family to the west palace and handed him over to the second branch of the Jia family for upbringing. From then on, the father and son became strangers.

Since Jia Cong moved to the West Mansion, he and the second young lady are siblings from the same father and are blood relatives.

Since childhood, he has been deeply loved by the second young lady. His clothes, socks, shoes, and the cold and hot weather were all taken care of by the second young lady herself. The relationship between the siblings is very deep.

Jia Cong once said that his eldest sister was a noble lady from a noble family, elegant and virtuous, gentle and noble, and that in the future only a man of culture and nobility would be her match, and the rest of them were not worthy of his attention.

Brother Sun is the descendant of a frontier general, which goes against the wishes of the Earl of Weiyuan.

And this is not the worst. Brother Sun happens to be on good terms with Master Enhou, so he arranged a marriage for the second daughter of the Jia family. Brother Sun is acting in a very dangerous way.

According to the date, Jia Cong was still serving in the army in Liaodong at that time, which meant he was out of reach, otherwise he would definitely have obstructed this marriage!

Now that the marriage is almost a done deal, how can Jia Cong not hate Brother Sun? He must be a ruthless person to have killed generals and enemies in Liaodong, otherwise how could he have achieved military exploits.

Forgive me for being blunt, but Brother Sun, this is not a marriage, it's more like an enemy!"

……

After hearing what Mr. Cai San said, Sun Shaozu's face turned pale. The marriage he was so proud of turned out to be such a situation behind the scenes!

How could he have known that the Jia family would have such a mess, and that father and son would become enemies!

The slightly plump boy looked at Sun Shaozu with an unpleasant expression, his eyes rolling around with an indescribable cunningness.

Then he continued, "These are not the most fatal things."

After hearing this, Sun Shaozu's legs were shaking. This was not terrible enough, there was something even more terrible. I just got married, what sin did I commit...

The little fat man didn't seem to notice Sun Shaozu's expression, and continued: "I heard from Brother Sun that there is a vacancy in the Ministry of War, but there is no real job for the time being.

Brother Sun, you know that the current Minister of War and Governor of Nine Provinces, Mr. Gu, admires Jia Cong very much. He not only recommended him to the Ministry of War to observe government affairs, but also recommended him to the emperor as the Counselor of the Governor of Nine Provinces.

This was a sign of great respect. Because of this, Jia Cong had the opportunity to make achievements in Liaodong and was awarded the title of Weiyuan Earl. Now, everyone knows the connection between Jia Cong and the Ministry of War.

There have been rumors these days that Jia Cong might be assigned to the Ministry of War because he is familiar with military affairs. He has now been awarded the title of Yinqing Guanglu Dafu, a third-rank official, so he will definitely be assigned to an important position in the Ministry of War.

Brother Sun has made an enemy of him, so it will be difficult for him to wait for a vacancy in the Ministry of War.

Jia Cong is now a well-known and popular upstart in Shenjing. If people knew that Brother Sun had an enemy with him, I'm afraid everyone would avoid you. How would you be able to gain a foothold in Shenjing?

It might even lead to some trouble. Right now, the Ministry of War is investigating corruption in the Datong border army, and Brother Sun happens to be the commander of the Datong Army…”

The words of Mr. Cai San were like sharp blades that pierced Sun Shaozu's heart, making him feel a chill on his back because it was soaked with sweat...

The slightly plump young man showed a bit of drunkenness and said, "I really drank too much today, and I lost my temper. I said everything. Don't blame me, Brother Sun. I drank too much..."

When the two men walked out of Chunhua Tower, the chubby boy was full of food and drink and was picking his teeth, but Sun Shaozu was in a daze and said goodbye absent-mindedly.

When the young man saw Sun Shaozu walking away, he did not leave immediately. Instead, he looked around, turned around and went back into Chunhua Tower, and quickly went up to a private room on the second floor.

(End of this chapter)