The Overlord of the Red Mansion

Chapter 227 Undercurrent
In front of the gate of the Rongguo Mansion, the servants hung up lights and decorations.

The yard was cleaned several times, gold and jade decorations were brought in, and carpets were laid out with colorful lights for guidance. A central lobby was reserved to entertain guests, and several rooms were cleaned up near the front yard for retreat.

A festive occasion is naturally complete without theatrical troupes and music of flutes, pipes and drums, and Jia Zheng quickly arranged for Jia Baoyu and the other men in the Jia family to get busy.

There are many members in the Jia family, especially the Ning family. Although they seem to be a single-lineage line, they actually have many side branches, and they have already spread out over generations.

For Jia Zheng, a third-rank official, he has no shortage of servants, helpers, or money. His only regret now is that his children and grandchildren are not up to standard.

Fortunately, my daughter and grandson are doing well.

Jia Zheng had just sat down to rest for a while when his concubine handed him some tea and before he could take two sips, a servant ran in from the door.

"Master, the Minister of War is here to pay you a visit!"

The servant's tone was full of joy.

My master is the Minister of Works among the Six Ministries, and he has a very good relationship with the senior officials of the court. It is also prestigious to work under such a high-ranking official.

"Hurry! I'll go!" Jia Zheng quickly put down the cup and went out to greet him in person.

During these years as an official, Jia Zheng was very nervous at first, but Jia Rong had a lot of things to do in the first half of the year and was busy with his own affairs, which resulted in Jia Zheng having a good time for several months. Now he is not afraid when he sees the officials from the Ministry of War coming to visit him.

Jia Rong doesn't look for trouble every day, just like a flood or a monster doesn't appear every day.

The emperor, the prince, the high-ranking officials, the Jia family, our own family, and the perpetrator, even if there are only six choices, everyone can take turns to rest for a long time.

Besides, Jia Rong is not very diligent. He is still busy moving and writing famous quotes recently, and has no mood to go out for a night run.

"Master Jia!"

"Lord Yun!"

The Minister of War smiled and bowed to Jia Zheng in congratulations, "I heard that your mother is celebrating her eightieth birthday, so I came here uninvited with my wife and children. Please don't blame me, Lord Jia."

Jia Zheng smiled and said, "No, no, please come in. Originally, the third day of August was the birthday celebration. The original intention was to celebrate from the third day to the fifth day. The old lady also planned to keep it simple and celebrate for three days. But she didn't expect the prince to come tomorrow, so she hurriedly asked people to prepare more things."

The two senior officials brought their people into the house, sat down, drank some tea and chatted for a while before going to pay a visit to the old lady.

Soon the Minister of War stayed for dinner, and Wang Ziteng of the Wang family also came with his wife and children.

The female members of the family went to the garden to rest and eat, accompanying Lady Jia, while the men drank and chatted in the outer courtyard.

Mrs. Yun, the wife of the Minister of War, smiled and said, "May I ask how the following days of the birthday are planned? It happens that I have nothing to do these days. My son and daughter are playing naughty at home. It happens that I have nothing to do at home, so I brought them over to help and join in the fun."

The old lady smiled, and Miss Wang next to her took the initiative to say, "The original appointment is no longer valid. Yesterday, the princess said that the prince will bring the princess over tomorrow, so tomorrow will be the honor. Then tomorrow morning, we will invite the royal family, the prince consort, the princess, the county lady, the princess, the king, the queen, the lady, etc."

King is one of the titles for women of noble birth, and her status is below that of princess. Usually, she is demoted from princess, or promoted from king to princess. Most of the time, it is used for foreign women who surrender or join.

As the capital, Beijing already had foreign envoys and their ladies. Due to the frequent exchanges with the south in recent years and the two mad dogs' determination to waste money on war, a lot more envoys came.

After everyone chatted for a while, Miss Wang stood up and said, "Grandpa, I'll go talk to the Second Master and ask him to write a few more letters to explain the agenda to all the royal relatives, so that we don't fail to inform the distinguished guests and let them come to inquire."

The old lady smiled and nodded, "Okay."

The old lady boasted to the wife of the Minister of War, "My granddaughter-in-law is good at handling affairs, managing the household virtuously and thoughtfully. She is the most proud one among my granddaughters-in-law!"

After being praised like this, Miss Wang just smiled faintly and quickly went down to deal with the specific matters.

Who are the old lady’s granddaughters-in-law?
Li Wan and Wang Xifeng.

Miss Wang and Wang Xifeng are cousins.

The three young ladies from the Wang family all entered the Jia family, but they were unable to take over the Jia family's bodies.

It’s because the current Jia family is just a pendant on the leg hair of King Zhongxiao.

The person the Wang family really wants to curry favor with is Jia Rong, now the King of Loyalty and Filial Piety.

Jia Baoyu and others soon got busy, responsible for purchasing various wild game.

Jia Zheng was busy at home, so the Minister of War tactfully left first, leaving his son, daughter and wife here for a while while he went to work at the yamen.

After the Minister of War left, Jia Zheng quickly called the housekeeper to question him.

"We will have quite a few guests tomorrow. Have you prepared all the food and drinks? Don't lose face by using ordinary food. Find some good wild game."

The butler replied, "Master, everything is ready. They are all similar to those in the prince's house."

Jia Zheng was very clear about the food standards of Jia Rong's family, especially the standards for female relatives and guests, which had always been the best in the capital.

"Oh? Where did you buy it from? Was it a gift from the prince's family?"

Jia Zheng first thought of Jia Rong’s gift.

Jia Rong has never lacked money since he was a child, and he has always been willing to spend money. Not only is he generous, but he also has many supporters among the Jia family's side branches and the common people.

This kind of thing is indeed something Jia Rong can do. He will generally help with things he can help with. If he can't help, it means he can't help at the moment, and he will always make it clear.

The housekeeper replied, "We bought them from several wealthy families in the city. The emperor has just gone south for two days, and the wild game sent from all over the country has nowhere to go. Ordinary people are reluctant to buy them, and the rich are afraid that something bad will happen if they use them, so only our family can use them."

Jia Zheng stroked his beard gently, thinking, "So that's how it is. This is easy to handle."

There are some things that not only Jia Zheng can notice a little bit, but anyone with a normal mind can also notice that there is a problem.

Soon, on the occasion of the old lady’s 80th birthday, court officials and royal relatives all came.

Even the two princes, the King of Liao and the King of Zhou, risked their lives and came to the capital again.

More than a dozen princes also came, and in the end it soon became the main venue for the nobles and royal relatives. Jia Rong and Wang Ziteng, the King of Liao, the King of Zhou, the Chief of the Imperial Clan, the Five Military Commanders, the Minister of War and others went to Wang Ziteng's house for dinner.

Wang Ziteng quickly asked all the servants to leave, leaving no one behind.

Jia Rong and others seemed not to notice.

Jia Rong smiled and said, "Why are the King of Liao and the King of Zhou here too? I was outside just now so it was difficult to ask, and now there are no outsiders, so let's eat and chat."

The King of Liao glanced at the food on the table and said, "These are all royal tributes."

Of course, everyone at the dinner table knew that this was a royal tribute and that it was all top-quality delicacies.

Jia Rong smiled and said, "Yes."

King Zhou reminded him, "I knew I couldn't hide it from King Zhongxiao. Who doesn't know that King Zhongxiao eats these in the palace every day?"

Jia Rong smiled and said, "Yes, ever since I became the retired emperor, I have often slept and eaten in the palace. Since then, whenever I am here, I don't need to find someone to test medicines and poisons."

Jia Rong picked up the chopsticks, picked up a piece of meat for himself and ate it, laughing and joking with the others.

"It's non-toxic, so you can eat it without worry."

The poison has nothing to do with Jia Rong.

Seeing that Jia Rong was not getting the point, the King of Liao said directly: "The King of Loyalty and Filial Piety is extremely wise, how could he not know what we mean? I already know it. It was the King of Loyalty and Filial Piety who advised the Emperor to move the capital!"

Jia Rong said angrily, "I'm telling you the truth. The emperor wanted to move the capital back then. Do you really think I reminded the emperor? The emperor asked me to go to Jiangnan to investigate the situation there, but he planned to take it slow. I didn't expect that he would leave after just a few years."

"You all know how many things the emperor has encountered in the less than two years since he ascended the throne. Does he need me to remind him to run away from the Forbidden City? I was forced to do it. I didn't want to cooperate during the court session that day, but the emperor waited for me for more than half an hour and wouldn't let me leave unless I said something."

Jia Rong told a white lie. Anyway, it was the emperor's fault, so Jia Rong was a good person.

Jia Rong continued, "My family is all in the capital, and my profitable business is in the suburbs. I just built a new house in the capital, and I also have a farm in the north. If the emperor leaves, who will listen to me? I'm going to Jiangnan, but it's not as comfortable as in the capital!"

"Everyone has gone to Jiangnan, and no one wants to rent my house!"

King Zhou and King Liao frowned.

Jia Rong's words were very convincing. After all, moving the capital would not do Jia Rong any good. Jia Rong had so many houses in the capital and his family was all here. It was impossible for him to move such a large family business just like that.

Everyone ate the meal the emperor had eaten and thought about what to do next.

The Imperial Household Department, the Imperial Kitchen, and the Palace Guards usually eat the emperor's meals. Once the emperor is no longer here, they can no longer accept tributes in the name of the emperor.

Not only the Imperial Household Department cannot do without the emperor, but the soldiers standing guard in the Forbidden City and the court officials cannot do without the emperor either.

Without the emperor, who will pay the wages?

Everyone has set up a system to collect money. In name, the emperor collects the money, but in reality, they divide the spoils among themselves.

Now that the emperor has gone to the south, before leaving he designated Jia Rong to receive the tribute, which caused problems to arise in the palace.

The problem is not serious now. After all, it has only been two days. The Mid-Autumn Festival tributes are still being sent to the capital, and various government affairs are basically handled in the capital.

It will take at least a few days after the New Year for the situation to become serious.

The power to appoint officials in Jiangnan was also transferred to the emperor. Taxes from Jiangnan would remain in Jiangnan, and even grain would not need to be transported to the capital, directly cutting off the chances of a large group of people engaging in corruption.

Wherever the emperor is, there is the court.

If the emperor stays in Jiangnan for too long, there will definitely be trouble in the north.

Power will inevitably be concentrated, and those below will inevitably elect a representative who can protect themselves for their own interests.

The North-South problem will become more and more serious.

By then, even if the princes in various places did not want to be emperors, there would be a group of people forcing them to become emperors and refuse to move the capital.

The emperor's base is composed entirely of northern cavalrymen. If he were to establish his capital in the south, he would be abandoning his family business and establishing his own country. All of them, whether they are members of the royal family or meritorious nobles in the north, would rebel against him.

But it doesn’t matter, Jia Rong is very free.

Jia Rong never had any idea of pleading for the people, nor of being a righteous hero, or of helping the corrupt officials under him and the emperor above him to expand the territory.

He dares to beat anyone, and he will beat or mess with anyone he doesn't like.

A widow’s money can be stolen, but as for the emperor’s women, as long as he likes them, he can touch them or have sex with them whenever he wants.

How the common people live has nothing to do with Jia Rong, as Jia Rong never goes to provide disaster relief.

Although he is nice to his subordinates, he will not care about anything when he is happy.

He doesn't have much sense of responsibility towards his family...otherwise he wouldn't always do things like killing nine generations of his clan.

There is nothing I would not want to give up. Even the brand of miracle doctor is good enough for me. I no longer pursue 100% perfection.

In short, Jia Rong is here in the capital.

If the people revolt, Jia Rong will definitely kill them, regardless of whether they are right or not.

The princes and ministers wanted to support the wise ruler and force Jia Rong to become emperor, which ruined Jia Rong's plan of canonization. So Jia Rong killed these troublemakers.

At the dinner table, Jia Rong said to the princes, "Now that the world is peaceful, we have made enough money and have considerable power. It's enough for us to just live a peaceful life. Why do we have to think so much?"

What Jia Rong said made everyone feel ashamed and their faces turned red.

(End of this chapter)