The Overlord of the Red Mansion

Chapter 18 Cheap Father-in-Law
For the next three or four months, Jia Rong was busy making money to support his family while taking care of his wife and concubine who were about to give birth.

One day, I was about to go home from my shop when I heard someone talking behind me.

"A good son-in-law!"

"A good son-in-law!"

Jia Rong heard it, but he felt it had nothing to do with him, so he ignored it.

"A good son-in-law!"

"Uncle Rong!"

Jia Rong turned his head in confusion and saw an old man dressed as a wealthy man standing beside him.

"Ok?"

Jia Rong looked at him.

Qin Ye hurriedly said, "Uncle Rong, is my daughter okay?"

Only then did Jia Rong remember who the old man was. It was Qin Keqing's father Qin Ye.

"Very well, uncle, don't worry!" Jia Rong answered generously.

Qin Ye whispered, "Why don't you reply to my letter? You can send someone to tell me. My family has been fine for the past few months. I don't know if the thief was caught or if I moved to a new place and everything is fine."

"It must be my friend who helped. The money was not wasted!" Jia Rong said quickly, "Let's talk inside. Many of the shops here belong to me."

Jia Rong took Qin Ye into the back room of a pawnshop and began to talk about what had happened in the past few months.

It turned out that because the daughter was delayed for three years, the son could not go to the Jia family's school, so he went to a random private school.

After taking the silver given by Jia Rong, Qin Ye also followed the example of Meng Mu and moved three times to a place far away from his original residence.

Jia Rong asked, "So the place has been sold?"

Qin Ye said embarrassedly: "No, I found a buyer a while ago, and then he secretly asked someone and found out what happened there. I didn't want to continue, so I returned the deposit and didn't arrange it anymore."

The house was covered with erotic pictures, which often attracted a lot of idle people. The neighbors nearby were all deeply affected and were unwilling to hide the truth for him.

Fortunately, the area nearby is full of residences of officials. Although they are all minor officials and small families, they attach great importance to their reputation, which has kept the house prices down.

Jia Rong quickly said, "It just so happens that I also need an outer house. Can you sell it to me?"

Qin Ye smiled and said, "If Master Rong likes it, just take it. Why be so polite? How is my daughter? Why didn't you send me a message?"

Jia Rong looked embarrassed.

"To be honest, I had intended to treat her with courtesy when I returned that day, but when I was helping Miss Qin introduce the situation in the mansion, Miss Qin also told me about her misfortunes over the years."

"Miss Qin said she was scared to be alone, and asked me if I hated her bad reputation and refused to touch her."

"Then it was like that, and then I got pregnant. It's been several months now. I thought she sent someone to tell you."

Jia Rong described Qin Keqing as being very proactive, as if it was Qin Keqing who seduced him.

Qin Ye felt so ashamed at this moment. He originally felt that it was unfair to his daughter to let her become a concubine, but now he just felt that it was a good thing that she became a concubine so early so that someone could take care of her.

"My daughter lost her mother when she was young and lacked discipline. Uncle Rong, please keep an eye on her and don't let her show her face in public. Women should stay at home."

Qin Ye didn't want to contact his daughter anymore, and even asked Jia Rong to keep a close eye on her and prevent her from doing anything immoral.

Jia Rong said, "That's easy. My uncle is an official in the Ministry of Works. I remember he was in charge of construction?"

Qin Ye nodded, feeling a little embarrassed.

The Ministry of Works among the Six Ministries had a Construction and Repair Department, and the Construction and Repair Officer was a minor official in charge of the construction and repair of the royal palace and mausoleums. He was a low-level technical official.

This kind of petty official has no status, no money, and no power. It is considered marrying above his station for his daughter to become a concubine in the Ningguo Mansion.

Jia Rong said, "I think there is still a lot of time before winter comes. I happen to have a design for a fire pit. Can you help me see if it is feasible?"

Qin Ye said: "That's good, where is the blueprint?"

Jia Rong said, "I will prepare it when I get back. My uncle and I will come to my house tomorrow after the court session. If it is feasible, I will let my master Zheng present it."

"Okay!" Qin Ye felt it was a good thing, so he agreed.

After returning, Jia Rong started drawing the blueprint of the heating room that he had been thinking about for a long time.

Jia She, who is greedy for money and lustful, has taken a lot of aphrodisiacs recently and his health is not as good as before.

Jia Zheng, on the other hand, is able to keep himself clean. He doesn't have much ability, but he is a good guy. He just can't do good things.

It is easy to cause problems if he is made a high-ranking official, especially if he is an official from another place who needs to deal with cunning people.

Among the six ministries, the Ministry of Industry is the lowest of the low. Relatively speaking, it is composed of a group of long-lasting craftsmen who are more likely to live a stable life.

Rather than letting Jia Zheng be deceived elsewhere, it is better to let him develop well in the Ministry of Works.

Jia Zheng is currently a Yuwenlang of the Ministry of Works.

The high officials of the Ministry of Works are: Shangshu, Shilang, Langzhong, Yuanwailang, Zhushi

The Shangshu was of the first rank, and was elegantly called the Grand Marshal.

Second rank

Doctor of the fifth rank

Yuanwailang from the fifth rank
The rest are minor officials below the sixth rank.

Jia Zheng is Jia Yuanchun's father, and Qin Ye is Qin Keqing's father. Both are minor officials of the fifth or sixth rank. In order to get his two fathers-in-law to help him, Jia Rong helped them first.

They were so busy that when it was time for dinner, Jia Yuanchun, who was pregnant, and Qin Keqing, who was also pregnant, came into the study together.

"Master, it's time to eat. What are you busy with?"

When Jia Yuanchun walked by and saw the blueprint of a house on the table, she couldn't help but ask curiously why.

Qin Keqing also came over and stood aside watching.

Seeing his two lovely wives who had given birth to his children coming over, Jia Rong said with a smile, "I am helping your father achieve some political achievements so that they can be officials more smoothly."

Jia Yuanchun was a little surprised, "Who is my sister's father?"

Over the past few months, Jia Yuanchun had always thought that Qin Keqing was a woman that Jia Rong bought from somewhere, so she had never asked about her specific origin.

Qin Keqing also did not mention anything about her family, for fear that others would know about her family's reputation.

Even if her husband doesn't care, her daughter doesn't want people to know the rumors and she even stops contacting her family.

Jia Rong said, "Her father is from the Ministry of Works and is a colleague of your father. I have designed a special warm room for the emperor and the military ministers to discuss matters. I will call them over to discuss it tomorrow, and if it is suitable, I will submit it to them."

Both Jia Yuanchun and Qin Keqing knew that this was a good thing.

Jia Yuanchun said quickly, "Then I'll ask the kitchen to prepare some good wine and food for you tomorrow."

"No, just four dishes and a soup will do. We are not wasteful people." Jia Rong said seriously, "You two can just sleep and rest in the room. You don't need to come out tomorrow. You won't understand what we are discussing."

"Yes, sir." The two women really didn't understand what was going on. When they heard Jia Rong speak, they just agreed and didn't dare to disturb these men who were discussing business.

As night fell, men from Jinling brought a girl into Ningguo Mansion.

"Master, after all the hard work, I finally found the girl with the rouge mark on her forehead!"

Jia Rong looked at the other person and asked, "Where did you find it?"

The man smiled and said, "I found it from a child kidnapper. I spread the word that I wanted to find a lucky person with something between his eyebrows. I waited for a year before he showed up!"

Jia Rong asked, "Where is the child?"

The servant quickly said, "The girl is eating breakfast at the gatehouse. She is about ten years old. I wonder if she is the one you are looking for, Master."

Jia Rong nodded, "What about the kidnapper?"

The man quickly said, "I took the girl, paid the money and left, and then another brother came over and killed the woman."

"Okay." Jia Rong solved a problem that was bothering him and looked at the man kneeling on the ground.

This man was a thug trained over the past seven years, and like a dozen other men, he was specifically used to do dirty work.

"You take three days off to visit your wife and children. I will also give her three days off. You can use all your strength and then go back to your hometown in Jinling to continue working."

"Your six-year-old son has already entered the school, and your wife is doing light needlework in the mansion. When you are away from home, she will wait for you to come back at home. With me watching over her, she will naturally not provoke other men, nor will she be bullied or harassed by others."

"You work for me for another ten years. When your son grows up, I will find a way to turn your family from slaves in the south into citizens of the capital, and then find you a job in the capital."

The man kowtowed quickly, "Thank you, sir!"

Jia Rong quickly went to the gatehouse and saw a ten-year-old girl standing by the table, eating steamed buns and stew provided by the gatehouse with chopsticks.

There were not only men in the gatehouse, but also old men in poor health and old women who came to watch the fun and inquire about news from their hometown.

"Sir!" The men and women in the concierge greeted quickly and respectfully.

Jia Rong nodded, walked closer and looked at the little girl who had put down her chopsticks.

There is a small red dot under the little girl's eyebrows, which makes her easy to remember. She looks gentle and careful, weak and miserable.

"This is your home from now on. You will work by my side. My name is Jia Rong, and I am the master of this place."

Jia Rong reached out and took the little girl's hand, and asked, "What's your name?"

The little girl looked at the handsome man and knew that this was the man who bought her.

"My name is Yinglian."

Jia Rong asked, "Do you still remember where your original home is?"

Yinglian shook her head and didn't dare to say that she remembered.

Jia Rong comforted him, saying, "Don't worry. No one here will beat or scold you. Come with me. I will take you to meet some people. Someone will teach you how to read and write, and how to do needlework. Let's go inside first."

Yinglian looked at the tall and handsome man next to her. He had been abducted and beaten since childhood, but this good man did not look like a bad person.

It was dark outside, but I wasn't that scared.

Just when Yinglian was lost in thought, Jia Rong suddenly said:

"After you were kidnapped, your mother searched for you in the countryside for many years and suffered a lot. She works in the mansion. You should go see her first. I may be busy these days. After you are familiar with the things here, you can come to my room to be a maid."

Yinglian stared at this person in a daze.

Jia Rong did not explain to her why he knew all this. In fact, he had already found Yinglian's mother Feng, but he spent a lot of time looking for Yinglian.

The scene where mother and daughter meet is too touching, and somewhat out of place for a person like Jia Rong.

After Jia Rong went to visit Youshi, he felt much better.

(End of this chapter)