The Heavens Begin with Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 179: Master Lian Wants to Remarry
However, after returning home, Master Zhan began to prepare for Sanchun's concubine ceremony.

Originally, Xichun had already done it, but at that time, Lady Jia was still alive, so she didn't openly make Xichun a member of the Zhan family, and only held a private ceremony.

Now that Yingchun and Tanchun are going to be concubines of Master Zhan, Xichun certainly can't run away!
It would be a good idea to give Xichun a clear way out and have the three sisters marry together and emulate Ehuang and Nvying. It would also be a beautiful story!

Unexpectedly, before he could get started, the imperial edict arrived.

The steam engine and a series of corresponding products he had presented before, after being tried out in different industries by the Ministry of Industry for a period of time, were highly valued by the current emperor and important officials of the court.

In particular, the combination of the steam engine and the previous blast furnace iron smelting allowed the smelting technology to make a further leap forward.

Today, the embryonic form of industrialized production has been initially demonstrated in the workshops under the name of the imperial court. The armor, swords and other weapons produced daily have piled up into mountains, enough to replace all the troops of the Daqing Dynasty.

Since there are too many weapons that cannot be used, those workshops have now switched to making farm tools, such as pots, pans, shovels, forks, and plowshares. Everything is beginning to transition to iron.

Some industries corresponding to smelting also quickly promoted the steam engine. Mines such as coal mines and iron mines were very welcoming to the use of this new machine.

On the contrary, the construction of railways was not taken seriously by the imperial court. They only approved the trial construction of a section of railway between Beijing and Tianjin to see the results first, and then make another decision.

But even if we don't consider railways, just looking at the wide application prospects of steam engines in other industries is enough to make the emperor very happy and reward his ministers.

As the main hero with the most outstanding contributions, Lord Zhongliangzizhan naturally also deserved rewards.

Master Zhan had been mentally prepared for this day, so he ordered the incense table to be set up, the main door to be opened wide, and eunuch Xia Shouzhong and others to come in to announce the imperial edict.

Xia Shouzhong entered the courtyard, stood in front of the audience, took out the imperial edict and read it aloud.

"…I hereby confer the title of Viscount Zhongliang on Zhan Nian and raise his title to the next level, to Earl Zhongliang, and grant him one hundred ounces of gold and one thousand pieces of brocade…"

After the imperial edict was read, Xia Shouzhong handed it over, then revealed a warm smile, and bowed to Master Zhan and congratulated him:
"Congratulations, sir. Congratulations, sir. You are now in your prime and have become an earl. Your future is limitless!"

Master Zhan smiled and took his hand, stuffed a stack of banknotes into his hand, and invited him into the courtyard, saying politely:
"It is all the grace of your majesty. I have done my best to serve you. I do not deserve your praise."

When Xia Shouzhong felt the thickness of the silver note, the smile on his face became more sincere.

He liked people like Mr. Zhan, who were generous and loved to spend money. Every time he came here, he earned more than he would have if he had gone to other places several times.

The two chatted and laughed as they entered the living room. After some drinking and socializing, Master Zhan sent the old eunuch away.

Master Zhan always keeps his word and takes great care of his adopted sons. In the memorials submitted to the court requesting merit, no one who should be listed was left out, including Jia Rong, Baoyu, Jia Huan, Qin Zhong, and even Zhao Guoji and Xing Zhong, who had been appointed to official positions before.

Not a single person who should not be listed was written, for example, Jia Lian, Jia Lian, Jia Lian, etc.

Although Jia Lian gave Master Zhan a Ping'er, the credit for this went to his wife Wang Xifeng. Although Yingchun was his biological sister, she was given by the deceased Master She, so the credit could not be attributed to him.

Mr. Zhan is very observant and will definitely not let the credit go to waste. It is not okay to falsely claim the credit.

Especially since Lian Er actually divorced Feng Lazi, this made Master Zhan very unhappy, so poor Master Lian Er was just abandoned like this.

In the imperial edict, Zhao Guoji and Xing Zhong, two people who had no connections, got a small official position in the Ministry of Works. In the newly established Steam Institute of the Ministry of Works, one became a deputy of the eighth rank, and the other became a secretary of the ninth rank.

Although the grade has not been upgraded, this time it is a real job, which is a qualitative change.

Although this might be the highest official position they could hold in their lifetime, Zhao and Xing were not ambitious people. To have obtained an official position with real power was already a great honor for their ancestors, and they did not dare to ask for more. All they felt was ecstasy.

Normally speaking, for someone who is not from an imperial examination background, the greatest achievement in his life is most likely to be a clerk, as it is very difficult to obtain an official position.

Even if you want to be a minor official like the deputy director or chancellor of the Ministry of Works, you have to be a juren to have a chance, and you also have to have strong connections and make arrangements with people above and below you.

Therefore, the people from the two mansions were so envious and jealous of Zhao Xing that their eyes turned red, and they hated themselves for not having a beautiful daughter.

Originally, the fact that a young lady like Tanchun became a concubine of Master Zhan would make those gossipers talk about it for a whole year. However, because Zhao and Xing's rise to fame was too enviable, and Master Zhan's title was also elevated, the tide of discussion was completely reversed, and most people now spoke in envious tones.

Except for Zhao and Xing, Baoyu and the other two also received rewards.

Knowing that Baoyu did not like being an official, but could not resist Mrs. Wang's various pleas, Mr. Zhan compromised and asked for a reward for Baoyu to study at the Imperial College.

After all, Mrs. Wang still wanted her son to take the imperial examination. She also felt that her son was talented and would definitely become the top scorer in the future, so she would definitely like this reward.

Although Baoyu hates those corrupt scholars, he can skip classes in the Imperial College!

With Mr. Zhan's help, Baoyu could skip all classes, but Mr. Zhan didn't care whether he would be beaten with a stick by Mr. Zheng.

Oh, by the way, Master Zheng is now paralyzed in bed, so Baoyu doesn’t have to worry at all!

Jia Huan, Jia Rong and Qin Zhong were all given the same reward, a sixth-rank loyal and distinguished captain.

This is an honorary title. Apart from being able to receive salary on time and having an official position, it has no other value.

In the original novel, after Qin Keqing died, Jia Zhen paid 1,200 taels of silver to donate a fifth-rank Dragon Guard to Jia Rong, which was something similar.

But his was donated, and this one was awarded for meritorious service. They are different in nature, so there is some difference.

This honorary title also has its advantages.

Jia Huan and Qin Zhong are scholars now. If they become real officials, they will not be able to continue to take the imperial examinations in the future. However, the honorary title will not affect their future examinations.

But Jia Rong had already started to act like a loser, and instead wanted to get a real job so that he could make money easily.

Logically speaking, he is from the Jia family and has connections in the court. He had no merit before and could not do anything about it, but now that he has merit, he can easily make arrangements to get a real job.

But the problem is that now everyone in the court knows that the Jia family has displeased the current emperor, and even the Empress Yuan in the palace is not favored by the emperor. Jia Rong is not a young talent, and he probably has no future, so naturally no one wants to help him.

Jia Rong was not aware of these secret calculations, but he was unhappy because he did not get the real job. He muttered a few words, but when he saw that no one in the mansion paid attention to him, he withdrew the silver in a huff and went out to have fun with his friends.

Although he had no status in the mansion, he was very popular in his small circle. First he was awarded the title, and now he was rewarded for his meritorious service. I don't know how popular he was.

However, he knew in his heart that all this came from the big, thick-legged Master Zhan that he was hugging. While feeling proud, he was also very glad for his original choice. At the same time, he also began to wonder whether he should take a concubine to Master Zhan to express his gratitude.

Baoyu had already privately consulted with Mr. Zhan and knew that he could skip classes in the future, so he didn't care about studying in the Imperial College.

Jia Huan also felt confident. How did his uncle Zhao Guozhong get an official position in the Ministry of Works? Wasn't it because of his sister's face?

With my sister whispering in Mr. Zhan's ear, even if he fails to pass the imperial examination, it will not be too late to become a military officer then.

Qin Zhong had known about the affair between his sister and Master Zhan for a long time, and he was also very confident, but he kept it a secret from his father Qin Ye.

Old Qin Ye was now over seventy years old. He had toiled all his life and had finally become a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Works. After receiving the imperial decree of reward, he knew that his son had made it, and he laughed out loud in the court. However, his joy turned into sorrow, and he lost his breath, rolled his eyes, and fell backwards.

Everyone rushed forward to rescue him, but by the time the imperial physician arrived, it was too late. Old Qin Ye died.

Qin Zhong had no choice but to change the originally planned wedding into a funeral, and held both the celebratory banquet and the funeral banquet together.

He had never done these things before, so in the end he had to ask his sister Keqing for help, and Master Zhan sent the butler Yang Yougong to help, so that the matter was completed smoothly and without any setbacks.

After this incident, Qin Zhong simply stopped living in his own house and moved to Ningguo Mansion to live with his sister and "brother-in-law", thinking that he would be the first to get any benefits.

Those who were famous in the imperial edict all had their own happiness, except Master Lian, who was the most miserable.

He has been practicing hard these days, hoping that one day he would suddenly become enlightened and understand the mysteries of martial arts, and his strength would improve by leaps and bounds. Even if he couldn't reach the pinnacle like Xichun, even half of his ability would be enough to make great achievements on the battlefield.

But he didn't know what was going on. No matter how much he practiced, he didn't make much progress.

It would not be accurate to say that he had none at all. At least he now had a lot of muscles, was a little stronger, and felt much more energetic. But who could he compare himself with? Not to mention Xichun, he could not even compare with the master in the mansion who taught him the skills of boxing, kicking, archery and horse riding.

He has been training hard for so long, but he can't even beat those military generals. I'm afraid he can't even beat the thugs on the street.

After the novice benefits period, he felt that he had made no progress at all these days and seemed to be standing still.

He was not a man of strong will. The reason he was able to endure for so long was that he was stimulated by things like the death of his father, the loss of his title, the decline of his family, and the fickleness of human nature. He worked hard for a period of time.

But most people in this world work hard intermittently and then continue to be in a bad state. Jia Lian is no exception.

After enduring such hardships for such a long time, if there had been any positive feedback, perhaps he could have held on for a while longer. But now that the positive feedback has disappeared, all that is left is all kinds of hardships. His will quickly collapsed and he could not hold on any longer.

This imperial edict became the last straw that broke his back.

Seeing Baoyu and Jia Rong, who had no hard work and were lazy all day, but were blessed with merits. Outsiders did not know about the so-called "merits", but was he not clear about it?

Baoyu has never even been to the workshop. Every day he just lets his grandfather Li Gui go around to do things for him. What kind of skill is that?

What made him most indignant was, of course, that it was not Baoyu and the others who had made this contribution. After all, all crows are the same, and who are not of the same kind?
What annoys him most is that everyone else has it but he doesn’t!

It would be fine for Jia Huan, but his sister is going to be Master Zhan's concubine, so it's not easy for him to compare with her.

But Baoyu and Jia Rong had never done anything good for Master Zhan, so why did Master Zhan write their names down but leave out Lian Er?

If you really think about it, he also gave his beloved concubine Ping'er to Mr. Zhan, which was quite sincere. It was better than Baoyu and Jia Rong!

The more Jia Lian thought about it, the more suffocated he felt. He always felt that what Master Zhan did was wrong, so he dropped his stone lock, sword and bow, took a bath, changed his clothes, and rushed to the Zhan Mansion to ask for an explanation.

But as soon as I went out, I saw a lot of traffic outside the door. There was a long queue, but none of them were coming to visit my house.

He grabbed a guard and asked:

"Where does this long line come from?"

The guard said sourly:

"Second Master, you don't know that these are all dignitaries who went to visit the Zhan Mansion on the next street. They are officials, businessmen, and noble families... There are all kinds of people. It's just that there are too many people, and the line on that street can't be filled, so it extends to our door."

"I asked my wife whether we should kick him out. She said that we are all family friends and we will be a family in the future, so we shouldn't worry too much."

After listening to this, Jia Lian looked at the long convoy and recalled the same situation when his family was in glory. He felt mixed emotions and once again deeply realized how different things have become and how much people have changed. His desire for power grew even stronger.

However, the original idea of ​​going to the Zhan Mansion to demand an explanation was completely gone. He was silent for a moment, turned back to the mansion, and then asked someone to prepare a generous gift, ready to go to the Zhan Mansion to congratulate Master Zhan.

Although they were both guests, the relationship between the Jia family and the Zhan family was different. Before he could even hand over his visiting card, the doorman immediately recognized him and welcomed him with a smile:
"Second Master, you are here, why are you still sending me a visiting card? Isn't that too formal?"

"Please wait a moment. I will go and ask Manager Yang Yougong to come over."

Seeing how considerate this family was, Jia Lian felt a little relieved. Looking back at the officials and nobles who could only line up at the door, he suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of superiority.

See, my relationship with Master Zhan is extraordinary!
After a while, Yang Yougong came out, also very politely, and solemnly invited Jia Lian to go directly into the living room to serve tea, and said with a smile:
"My master is entertaining guests now. Please sit for a while, Mr. Lian. I will invite you over after the guests leave."

Jia Lian smiled and sat down, drinking his tea leisurely.

Not long after they sat down, Yang Yougong brought another person in and asked him to wait here.

Jia Lian looked up and found that it was not a stranger, but his ex-brother-in-law Wang Ren. He immediately stood up and bowed to greet him.

Wang Ren was surprised to see Jia Lian here, but he didn't say anything. He just bowed and said a few polite words.

Yang Yougong said to them very apologetically:
"You two gentlemen are both honored guests. Originally, I should have met you two directly, but a guest came first and was meeting with me. It was inconvenient for me to get away. I had to ask you two gentlemen to rest here and wait for a while."

The two of them smiled and waved their hands, "It's okay, we are old acquaintances, and we haven't seen each other for many days. It's a good opportunity to borrow your precious place to have a good chat."

After Yang Yougong left the room, the two glanced at each other, looking disgusted with each other, and sat down to drink tea, ignoring each other.

Back when Wang Xifeng was still Jia Lian's second sister-in-law, Wang Ren already looked down on the Jia family and had little contact with Jia Lian. Naturally, Jia Lian was too lazy to try to please others.

But at that time, there was still a marriage relationship, so at least everyone could still save face and have daily interpersonal interactions.

But now Wang Xifeng has divorced Jia Lian, and the two of them are too lazy to even put on a show, let alone say a word.

After drinking a few cups of tea, Yang Yougong finally knocked on the door again. Jia Lian smiled and stood up, and walked out. Unexpectedly, Yang Yougong smiled and said:
"The master was delighted to hear that you two distinguished guests were coming, so he sent all the other guests back and will only entertain you two tonight."

"A banquet has been set up in the front hall. Please come, gentlemen."

Jia Lian's face froze, but he couldn't say anything, so he had to go to the front hall with Wang Ren.

Mr. Zhan was already waiting here. When he saw the two of them coming, he stood up and greeted them with a smile, waving his hand and saying:

"Come on, we are all family, let's not be pretentious, everyone sit down, let's have a few drinks."

The two of them smiled and sat down, raising their glasses to congratulate Mr. Zhan.

Mr. Zhan had dealt with many visitors today, and his smile was so stiff that his face became stiff. When he saw them coming, he took the opportunity to reject the next visitor and relax. Now that he saw them being so polite again, he frowned and said:
"I've heard so much congratulations today, I don't want to hear any more. We are all family, so let's just have a drink and chat like before."

The two were both playboys who didn't like to flatter others. After hearing what Mr. Zhan said, they burst out laughing and stopped talking about it. They only talked about jokes they had heard from the market and interesting things about the court.

After three rounds of wine and five dishes, seeing that Mr. Zhan was in a good mood, Jia Lian wondered whether he should mention his own family affairs.

Before he could even open his mouth, Wang Ren smiled and raised his glass, saying:
"Brother Zhan, I came here to ask for something."

Master Zhan waved his hand and said:

"Brother Wang's affairs are my own affairs. Just tell me and I will do my best."

Wang Ren glanced at Jia Lian beside him and sighed:
"To be honest, I came here because of my sister's matter."

"Since my sister got divorced a few years ago, I have also been a matchmaker for her and introduced some unmarried men."

"But just like what I said to you last time, those men with good conditions don't like my sister, a married and divorced girl, and those with poor conditions don't like me either."

"As a result, after such a long time, most outsiders knew about my sister's situation and were unwilling to act as a matchmaker for her."

"Anyway, my Wang family doesn't need a pair of chopsticks from my sister. If she doesn't want to marry, then she won't marry. It's no big deal."

"But my sister can't sit still. She gets sick easily when she's idle."

"Last time when we were drinking, I remember Brother Zhan said that he was willing to give the position of the suit maid supervisor in the mansion to my sister. I wonder if she is still doing the job now?"

Mr. Zhan immediately patted his chest and took the responsibility:
"Don't worry, brother Wang. I will keep my word. Sister Feng can come anytime she wants."

"The weavers in my house are all women. They have their own large courtyards. Women are in charge of their food, clothing, housing and transportation. No man is allowed to enter."

"Don't worry, brother. I will never ruin Sister Feng's innocence!"

Wang Ren was overjoyed when he heard this, and immediately made the decision:

"That's great. I'll send my sister over to report in a few days."

The two of them were talking animatedly, but Mr. Lian next to them was not happy about it.

Doesn’t he know what kind of character Mr. Zhan has?
Dogs can’t change their habit of eating shit!

The three beauties in the Jia family are all going to become his concubines now. If Wang Xifeng enters his house, can she get away unscathed?
So what if there is no man in the yard? If Mr. Zhan wants to do something, won’t others pretend not to see?

Although he and Wang Xifeng have divorced and have nothing to do with each other, saying such things in front of her, isn't that a lie in public?

This can't happen!

He opened his mouth and wanted to stop it, but immediately realized that he had no right to stop it!
How can he stop it?

Why should he stop it?
After a brief hesitation, Jia Lian spoke under the influence of alcohol:

"Brother Wang, to be honest, the divorce was purely the old lady's idea. I personally didn't want to."

"Now that the old lady has passed away, I'm thinking, should I just remarry Feng'er?"

In fact, Jia Lian didn't really plan to remarry. He knew Wang Xifeng's personality. It was Wang Xifeng who wanted the divorce in the first place, and it was impossible for them to remarry now. He just wanted to mess up the matter.

"Ok?"

Hearing Jia Lian's words, Master Zhan and Wang Ren immediately turned their heads and looked over.

Jia Lian, oh Jia Lian, if you say so, then your path will be narrowed!

The two people were talking nicely, but then you intervened. That's not appropriate!
Thanks to book friend "KenDing" for the reward of 703 coins!
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(End of this chapter)