The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 104: National Affairs, Family Affairs, and World Affairs

This year is the most tiring year for the servants in the Jia family in all these years.

No one got a good rest.

After visiting her parents, Concubine Jia returned to the palace. The next day, she met the emperor to express her gratitude and report back on her return. The emperor was very pleased and distributed colorful satin, gold, silver and other items from the treasury to give to Jia Zheng and other officials in the imperial court. There is no need to go into details.

It took three days just to clean up the Guangrongning and Ning mansions, as well as all the furnishings in the garden.

Tired from top to bottom.

Only Wang Xifeng has many things to do and heavy responsibilities. Others may be able to hide away in peace, but she cannot. She is also strong-willed and is afraid that others will say that she is not doing her job well. She pretends to be fine every day, but in fact she has to endure the hardships by herself.

This day.

When Jia Lian returned home, he didn't feel sorry for his wife. He ordered, "The master has said that Tuobi Villa should be left to Brother Wang. When he returns to the capital, he will still have accommodation there."

Wang Xifeng finally had some free time and drank a sip of tea. She never saw Jia Lian on weekdays, and she couldn't help him for even a moment. When he came back, he still had to order people around. She was dissatisfied, but when she heard that it was about Wang Xin and the Wang family, Wang Xifeng's anger subsided.

"Master was wrong in this matter," Wang Xifeng complained. "I live well and am not in the capital, yet you insist on disturbing Tuobi Villa. Fortunately, I haven't returned yet. Otherwise, even if Master asked, I wouldn't stay with my stubborn personality."

The uncle only sent a verbal message, but nothing else. Wang Xifeng didn't know what her uncle Wang Ziteng was thinking, so she could only do what she wanted.

The supplies in the mansion were all first-rate, but Wang Xin's personality was not like that of an ordinary person. He always had his own ideas. When Zhou Rui's wife came to ask for advice, Wang Xifeng asked Zhou Rui's wife to do things according to Wang Xin's instructions.

It was also because of Wang Xifeng's attitude that the servants in the mansion were all polite.

Jia Lian didn't care about these things. He had too many banquets to attend every day, and there were also some headaches. His father often asked him to run errands. Jia Lian was impatient, but he had to be patient. In fact, he had been unhappy for a long time.

Hearing Wang Xifeng's words, Jia Lian sneered, "What do you, a woman, know?"

Wang Xifeng felt very disappointed.

Everyone in the Jia family is arrogant. If there was anyone capable, Wang Xifeng would not have to work so hard. Relying on the harvests from a few farms and the salaries of a few masters, the whole family would have starved to death long ago.

The status quo cannot be overthrown, and everything must be done in a top-notch and glorious manner.

However, the number of people from other places who send gifts and money is decreasing year by year. General Yuehai, who used to send gifts to the palace on time in previous years, only sent a few gifts last year, and the amount of silver was more than half less than in previous years. He said it was due to the Japanese invasion.

Now.

The Japanese invasion is just one pot.

The people below were all pretending to be rich, and Wang Xifeng had seen through it long ago. If this continued, within two or three years, the Jia family would be out of money and would have to start selling off their family property. The expenses of the Jia family were simply too high.

Although Lai Dajia is the elder of the mansion and the housekeeper for several generations, the back garden of Lai's house is actually half the size of Jia's.

The masters of the Jia family did not take it seriously and thought they were being given face.

Have a look.

The servants in our house are all so prosperous.

Yes.

Wang Xifeng admitted that the Jia family could be like this before. At that time, the Jia family had two dukes in each country. But now, Wang Xifeng was very upset. Jia Lian's words made her so angry that her heart ached.

When Jia Lian saw Wang Xifeng's face change, he knew that this woman was not easy to deal with. "It's incomprehensible." He flicked his sleeves, left a message and left.

Wang Xifeng sat upright, looking at the empty door curtain, trying hard to hold back her tears, her face full of dissatisfaction.

Even so, after a while, Wang Xifeng called Zhou Rui's wife.

The servants in the Jia family are fearless, except for a few masters. Some of them are not even afraid of their masters. They dare to confront anyone else, but they are all submissive in front of Wang Xifeng.

Zhou Ruijia stood respectfully. Seeing that the tea in Wang Xifeng's cup had gone cold, she took the initiative to pour out the cold tea and then added hot tea.

Wang Xifeng smiled and said, "I haven't seen Qingwen for a few days. How is Qingwen doing recently?"

Zhou Ruijia heard this and replied with a smile, "Qingwen is at Miss Lin's place. Miss Lin doesn't make things difficult for her, so I think it's all good."

Qingwen was given to General Wang by the mansion and served him at Tuobi Villa.

Everything was fine until they heard that General Wang was looking for a house outside. A few days later, a war broke out in the south and General Wang was in a hurry to leave. Miss Lin went to the ancestor to ask for help, so Qingwen was left at Miss Lin's place until General Wang came back to settle her down.

Then the eldest daughter of the family came to visit her parents.

The Grand View Garden was divided among the young men and women to live in. When she heard that Tuobi Villa was going to be renovated and heard what Wang Xifeng said, Zhou Rui's wife wondered if something had happened again.

"Go ask Qingwen what she needs, talk to her nicely, and let her come to me again."

After not seeing her for so long, Wang Xifeng said a few nice words before revealing her true intention: "As for Tuobi Villa, let Qingwen go back when she has time and tidy up what needs to be cleaned up. When General Wang comes back, he will be dissatisfied if it is fine when he left and a mess when he returns. We in the Jia Mansion have treated our guests poorly."

"General Wang is returning to Beijing?"

Zhou Ruijia asked curiously, then laughed, "That's right. I heard that they won a great victory in the south, and I guess they will be back soon. I wonder how great the achievements of General Wang are, and how he usually acts in the village."

Zhou Ruijia approached Wang Xifeng. Wang Xifeng glanced at Zhou Ruijia. Zhou Ruijia's face looked like a village woman. She smiled slyly and said, "I haven't seen the Second Madam before. She is really different."

Wang Xifeng scolded, "Sister Zhou, what nonsense are you talking about?"

Zhou Ruijia stopped talking at this point.

Zhou Ruijia is Lady Wang's companion, brought from the Wang family. Wang Xifeng trusts her very much and sometimes calls her "sister", which shows that they have a very close relationship.

Wang Xifeng wasn't angry either. After Zhou Ruijia's teasing, her depression actually subsided by about 70%, and she felt much better. She sighed, "I don't know if General Wang is coming back. If he is, why would the master give such special instructions?"

Zhou Ruijia chatted for a few more words before going out to look for Qingwen.

that side.

Jia Lian left in a hurry. At the beginning, he found his wife beautiful and strong-willed, which was rare. But as time went on, Jia Lian could no longer keep her. She wanted to be strong in everything. Who was the real man?
After passing through the moon gate and walking along several corridors, I arrived at the study.

There was more than one person in the study.

Jia She, Jia Zheng, and Jia Zhen were all there. Jia Lian walked into the room with his head lowered, not daring to speak loudly. Seeing him come in, Jia She hurriedly asked, "Have you explained everything to your wife?"

"It's settled." Jia Lian stood with his hands hanging down, like a servant.

Jia She suddenly shouted, "If something goes wrong, you will be held responsible."

Jia Lian was startled and grumbled aggrievedly, "You weren't in a hurry to clear out that farm in the first place. It's not like we were short of a place. Why did you have to rush? And now you've changed your mind."

And you dare to talk back.

Jia She went up and slapped him in the face.

Jia Lian was beaten so hard that he almost cried.

"OK OK."

Jia Zhen, who was standing by, came to persuade him.

Jia Zheng shook his head and sighed, "This capital is becoming less and less of a place to stay. I'm planning to find an opportunity to hide away for a few years."

Jia Zheng could hide because he chose a different path.

Studying is hard.

Jia She didn't choose it back then, and Jia Zhen would definitely not choose it.

But we have to admit that studying is indeed a good path, and Jia Zheng is indeed very hardworking. Not only does he study himself, he also urges his son to study. Now that he has grandsons, they also have to study from an early age. Not only do they have to study, but they also have to study hard and check themselves at all times.

Jia Zheng usually doesn't beat his son, he just scolds him.

The only thing is that when it comes to his son's studies, if he is lazy, he will take action.

People like them were born into a wealthy family, but how many of their children can concentrate on studying? They really need to be like Jia Zheng.

Jia She asked himself if he had Jia Zheng's hardworking heart or Jia Zheng's patience in educating his children. He could only rely on the relationship with the Jia family and work hard to maintain the old relationships, hoping to establish a foundation in the army.

Isn't that what happened to the Jia family back then? The two brothers served as officers in the Jinling Army and relied on their military exploits on the battlefield to reach their current status.

He didn't need to do the same as his ancestors. After all, the Jia family had a high status, so he could rely on the Jia family's influence to win over the military leaders. Even if he were their leader, the effect would be the same.

The closest one at the moment is Pyeongan Prefecture.

Anzhou of Baoding Prefecture, known as Ping'anzhou by the locals, although not a Beijing camp, is the army closest to the capital. It is a disguised way of taking back the original things of the Jia Mansion, but just moving them away.

Everyone wanted to hide away, Wang Ziteng and Jia Zheng did the same.

But I can't.

If I leave the capital, I will have nothing.

Jia She said calmly, "As the common people know, a nest of gold or silver is not as good as your own doghouse. No matter how the capital changes, I will not leave it, and step by step, I will restore the Jia Mansion to its original state."

Jia Zhen's eyes lit up, what Jia She said made a lot of sense.

Jia Zheng sighed.

My eldest brother has been dissatisfied with me for a long time, but I can't just ignore him. I still have to tell him some things. Whether he listens or not, I have no way to deal with it.

"The emperor is trying so hard to win over our Jia family, and the conditions he offers are too generous, but you and I both know that no one dares to displease the emperor, but you and I also know that the emperor will still be in charge in the future." Jia Zheng thought as he spoke.

The ancients said: There can be no two masters in a family, and no two rulers in a country.

This is undoubtedly the truth.

In their Rongguo Mansion, the two brothers are not on good terms, and the same is true in the Zhou Dynasty court. The emperor emeritus is unwilling to give up power, but the emperor is getting more and more powerful. With two emperors, the world will not be at peace.

The same is true for their Rongguo Mansion.

I don't want to fight.

But I have no choice.

Wang Ziteng stretched his hands too far, and his attitude over the years finally made him give up. Only after he married his niece to the eldest wife did the attitudes of the two brothers soften a little. But the root cause was the decline of the Jia family. Otherwise, how could outsiders interfere in the affairs of the Jia family?

Just like this court.

No matter who you support, the outcome will be miserable.

Supporting the emperor now means failing to get past the retired emperor, because the retired emperor is too powerful. The great victory against the Japanese pirates has left no way out for everyone. Similarly, the retired emperor scolded the emperor in front of all the civil and military officials in the court a few days ago, which revealed an unusual meaning.

But who knows how long he can live?

If the emperor is gone.

The more people support the retired emperor now, the worse off they will be in the future. Many people will have no way out, such as the Prime Minister Zhou Daofeng. Everyone says that he is smart and no one can escape his calculations.

So can he escape the Emperor's plan?

As early as twenty years ago, the emperor had trapped him.

The more he thought about it, the more discouraged he became. What effect could words have? After Jia Zheng finished speaking, he didn't say another word.

really.

After Jia Zheng finished speaking, Jia She looked disapproving. The second brother was just saying the same old things. Who wouldn't understand the truth? The reality was, did the Jia family have a way out? The emperor praised your daughter so highly, and now you, Jia Zheng, just walked away. What would happen to your daughter?
Even though I often beat and scold my son, in fact, everything I have worked hard for is ultimately for my son.

It’s you, Jia Zheng.

You are so hard-hearted that you don't care about your daughter's life or death in the palace. It was you who sent your daughter into the palace. You look righteous and upright, but in fact you are the most heartless.

Jia She didn't trust his younger brother at all.

(End of this chapter)