Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 34: Shocking News at Jia Mansion
The Grand Chancellor of the Ministry of Works is Yin Xiangxian, a veteran minister of three dynasties. He is old, and the current emperor is lenient towards old ministers, so Shangshu Yin spends half a year a year recuperating at home.

The Ministry of Works was actually presided over by Minister Li Dekang. After Yin Xiangxian retired, Minister Li was sure to take over.

Minister Li Dekang was a serious and taciturn person. In terms of official duties, there was a difference in rank between the Minister and the Deputy Minister, so naturally there was nothing much to talk about.

In addition, Jia Zheng is ignorant of the ways of the world and only knows how to bow and kowtow. He sits there all day long, like a clay sculpture. He is the least outstanding among his colleagues and has a weak sense of presence.

Minister Li usually didn't pay much attention to him. At most, he knew that he was a descendant of Duke Rong, and that was all. They had hardly spoken to each other in the same yamen for many years.

Now he specifically called him over to talk. Why else could it be? Of course, it was for his nephew who had become famous at the Nanxi Literary Conference.

In official circles, apart from one's own career, the most important thing is whether there are outstanding sons and nephews in the family, which is whether there is someone to succeed.

The larger the family, the more it values ​​this, because the legacy of ancestors will eventually run out, and officials will always encounter ups and downs in their careers.

Once a family is demoted and loses its official position, it loses its protection and has no successors in the family. A prosperous family will fall into decline in the blink of an eye.

Therefore, all wealthy families attach great importance to the cultivation of reserve children, which is also the foundation for a family's long-term prosperity.

The previous generation's failure in officialdom was only a temporary low point. If there are outstanding sons in the family, there is no need to worry about not being able to restore the family reputation.

The Jia family, with two dukes, is the most distinguished of the eight dukes, but its influence in the government and the public has been declining in recent years.

Perhaps there are some unspeakable reasons, but the bottom line is that the Jia family is in a predicament of having no successors.

In Rongguo Mansion, the two brothers Jia She and Jia Zheng, one is a dissolute villain, and the other is mediocre and has no talent.

Jia Zhen of Ningguo Mansion is also a character similar to Jia She. He rides a horse and flies like an eagle. He is obscene and extravagant. He is three times worse than Jia She.

As for the next generation of Jia Lian, Baoyu, Jia Rong and others, they could not ride a horse, lift a gun, hold a pen, or write anything. They were completely useless.

None of the two Dukes of Jia's family were able to take over the connections they had left in the army, so the benefits benefited Prince Teng of Jinling instead.

The Wang family married two daughters into the Jia family in exchange for the high positions of Jiedushi of the Beijing Camp and Commander-in-Chief of Nine Provinces.

Jia She only inherited the empty title of a first-class general, and Jia Zheng only became a fifth-rank official based on a memorial.

This incident has already become a laughing stock among the powerful people in the capital. The Jia family's children are so incompetent that they have brought shame to the two Lords Ning and Rong.

Now that the Jia family has an outstanding young man who is both talented in poetry and literature, he immediately attracted everyone's attention.

It is said that Jia Cong was highly regarded by Prince Jiashun, and his poem about plum blossoms was praised by Emperor Wenzong Liu Jing'an as being able to be passed down for centuries.

At such a young age, he is already valued by the nobles. His future is destined to be bright. I am afraid that within a few years, the Jia family may regain its reputation.

Considering the rich background of the Jia family as a family of two dukes, it is not an exaggeration to say that the child has a bright future.

Moreover, there have been rumors in the palace recently that the emperor recently liked a newly published Buddhist scripture, which was said to be written by this son of the Jia family.

This news is a bit scary, and it may touch the hearts of some old-timers in official circles even more than the poem about plum blossoms at the Nanxi Literary Meeting.

It is better to warm up the cold stove early and make good connections for the future. A person like Minister Li naturally has such strategic vision.

But Jia Zheng was only a fifth-rank official with limited talent and sophistication, and he had not yet thought of such a deep level.

He chatted for a cup of tea in Li Dekang's official residence, and the topic of their conversation involuntarily turned to Jia Cong.

Minister Li, who is usually serious, had a smile on his face and seemed a little amiable today. In short, the atmosphere of the whole conversation was very good.

Jia Zheng left Li Dekang's official residence in a daze. He was still immersed in the joy of having a beautiful daughter at home and was reluctant to extricate himself.

Suddenly, a servant came to report that someone from the Jia Mansion was looking for Yuanwailang, and it seemed that there was something urgent. Jia Zheng hurried out to see, but it turned out to be the family servant who came to report that Guo Zhigui, who had sent Jia Cong out yesterday, came back early in the morning and said that something had happened to the Third Master Cong.

Jia Zheng's face changed drastically, and he felt like he had fallen from the clouds to the ground.

……

In Rongqing Hall, the fifteenth day of the lunar month had just passed yesterday. There were many old relatives and old friends of the Jia family, and the social activities had not stopped since the second day of the new year.

On that day, Lady Jia did not see several nobles and dukes, and there were also younger ladies from the Wang, Shi, Xue and other families who came to visit her.

She didn't relax until after the Lantern Festival. During these days, after lunch, she would take time to chat with her grandchildren in Rongqing Hall, with Lady Wang and Li Wan also accompanying them.

There was also someone like Wang Xifeng who was good at making fun of people, who would tell jokes from time to time and make the whole room laugh. Grandmother Jia was very happy and only went to sleep when she was tired.

But Wang Xifeng was nowhere to be seen. There was a commotion in the small hall outside. Grandmother Jia said to Yuanyang, who was massaging his legs with a beauty mallet, "What's going on outside? Go and have a look."

After a while, the mandarin duck came back, his face a little pale.

She said, "Madam, the maid outside said that Guo Zhigui, who sent Master Cong to the literary gathering yesterday, came back alone this morning with injuries. He said that Master Cong was robbed by thieves!"

Grandmother Jia's face changed, and she straightened up from her couch, asking anxiously, "How could we be robbed by thieves? What happened?"

Yuanyang said: "The master was questioning people in Songxuan Hall just now. Guo Zhigui was injured. I heard that a servant who went with him broke his arm. They were all injured by the thieves.

The master was furious, saying that they all deserved to die for abandoning Third Master Cong and coming back alone. He was making a scene right now, and the maids and servants in the mansion heard it. "

After hearing this, everyone in the hall turned pale with fright. Jia Cong was actually robbed by thieves, and the people who followed him were all injured. No one knew whether he was still alive.

Tanchun was so frightened that her face turned pale and tears rolled down her cheeks. Yingchun was shaking all over as if her soul had been taken away.

Daiyu and Jia Cong were not very familiar with each other, but when she thought of the ancient and elegant Xizhou poem in Tanchun's room, and the gentle and calm figure of the young man in Rongning Hall that day, her eyes became red.

Baoyu was also frightened and felt sorry, thinking that he should not have attended the literary gathering. He was really implicated by these traitors and greedy people. It showed that my usual judgment was correct.

Grandmother Jia ordered Yuanyang: "Go and ask the master to come over, I will ask what's going on."

After a long while, Jia Zheng walked into Rongqing Hall with a haggard look on his face.

When Lady Jia asked, Jia Zheng repeated what Guo Zhigui and others had said.

That night, Guo Zhigui ran with two servants for a while. One of them heard the noise and finally stopped and gave him a ride.

The three of them chased over a mountain pass and were about to catch up with the carriage when the bandit suddenly shot a small arrow, killing Guo Zhigui and the servant's horse. The servant fell off the horse and broke his arm.

Due to this delay, the carriage disappeared. The three men searched for it randomly, but when they found nothing, they came back to report.

Jia Zheng said, "Just now I went to the East Courtyard to look for my elder brother, but he was out for a banquet. I wanted to ask my elder brother to report to Zhen'an Prefecture, so it would be more appropriate to ask the government officials to look for him.

But the eldest wife said that she would wait for the eldest brother to come back before making a decision. However, saving a life is like putting out a fire, because he is their own son, alas.

When I came back, I met Sister Feng, and asked her and Lian'er to send some of the old Chen people and bring more young servants out of the city to look for him. "

Grandmother Jia clapped the embroidered cushion, making it bang loudly: "They are all such troublesome people. They are still waiting for that evil creature to come back and make the decision. Don't they know that he will forget his ancestors when he gets drunk? By the time he makes the decision, we will be dead.

The ancestors of the Jia family were all military heroes who rode horses and wielded swords. Now one of their descendants has been kidnapped by a petty thief. If we don’t find him quickly, or something bad happens, we will lose all our reputation. "

(End of this chapter)