The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 203 Disagreement
Early the next morning.

A row of carriages had already been parked at the entrance of the Jia family mansion, waiting for the masters of the mansion to come out. The Wang family had also sent people in advance to greet them. The people on both sides made the entrance quite impressive.

After a short while, Aunt Xue and Wang Xifeng came out, each in a four-person sedan chair. The Jia family also had a large eight-person sedan chair, but according to imperial regulations, only Grandmother Jia could ride in it.

Jia Baoyu happily boarded a jade-canopied, pearl-embroidered carriage. He was already overjoyed to learn that he was going to his uncle's house to play today. However, neither his grandmother nor his sister Lin were going. If only his sister Lin could go!

Then several young ladies, including Baochai, Yingchun, Tanchun, and Xichun, boarded other carriages, while the remaining maids, such as Ying'er, Wenxing, Siqi, Xiuju, Daishu, Cuimo, Ruhua, Caiping, Tongxi, and Tonggui, crowded into half of the street with carriages and horses.

Jia Zheng was also in a sedan chair, while Wang Xin and Xue Pan rode horses. In addition to Jia Zheng's attendants, Wang Xin also led several young guards to escort the women of the mansion.

Jia Baoyu was riding alone in the carriage and felt bored. He lifted the curtain and saw Wang Xin riding a horse outside. His desire to ride a horse vanished in an instant, and he sullenly lowered the curtain.

Since Lin Daiyu returned from Yangzhou, she has become much more sensible. Unlike when she was a child, she no longer likes to play and can even stay in the house alone for several days.

A few days ago I went to see Lin Daiyu. Lin Daiyu, who was like a fairy, was actually doing arithmetic. Arithmetic is the most boring thing, and it is completely useless. It would be better to do Taoism. In the end, I learned from Zijuan that she was helping Wang Xin. Jia Baoyu did not like this person.

However, this person held a high position in the household, and he dared not offend him, so he could only avoid seeing him and keeping quiet.

Wang Xin rode his horse beside Jia Zheng's sedan chair, discussing some trivial matters of the court. They chatted idly to pass the time. After a while, when they had nothing more to say, Wang Xin slowed down his horse and gradually fell behind to bring up the rear.

Xue Baochai and Xiangling were sitting in a carriage. When they heard the sound of horses' hooves, they carefully lifted the curtain and peeked out through a crack. It really was him. Like Lord Ye who loved dragons but was afraid of them, they first wanted to see him, but when they actually saw him, they were startled.

Xiangling laughed and said, "Look how frightened the young lady is. I want to see who it is."

Upon seeing the person outside, Xiangling, who had been with Aunt Xue, had never seen Wang Xin before and asked curiously, "Who is this person?"

Xue Baochai whispered, "The people in the manor call him Master Xin."

"Ah, is that him?" Xiangling looked over again.

"Be careful, don't let him see." Seeing Xiangling's movements were too big, and the curtains were pulled open quite a bit, Xue Baochai, who was usually calm and composed, suddenly became anxious. Xiangling asked curiously, "So what if he sees it? Miss didn't do this before."

Xue Baochai didn't know how to explain, was too embarrassed to say it, and couldn't tell anyone. "The past is the past. Just don't let him find out."

"Okay." Xiangling drawled out her words and obediently put it down.

The roads in the capital were straight, and the coachman was a servant of the Jia family, so the carriage was driven very steadily. The carriage returned to silence. Xue Baochai thought about how the man had ridden the horse earlier, and also about what her cousin had said and her uncle's arrangements.

Taking advantage of Daiyu's invitation to dinner, she dared to make contact, but didn't say much. Xue Baochai sighed. For the sake of the family's interests, as long as he was good to her, she had no other requests.

She hadn't considered the argument that she wouldn't marry, and as for the love stories in novels and stories, she thought they were all fake; she had only been curious earlier.

Xiangling quieted down. The young lady was really dull. Bored, she quietly lifted the curtain again.

We finally arrived at the Wang family's residence.

The women had their own places to go. Wang Ren came out to greet Jia Zheng, Wang Xin, Xue Pan, and Bao Yu. Bao Yu could stay in the garden in the Jia family mansion, but there was no such rule outside.

When the group arrived outside the courtyard, Wang Ziteng was already there to greet them at the door.

"Uncle," Baoyu called out first. Wang Ziteng looked serious, dressed in casual clothes, and did not respond. Jia Baoyu was used to this; in his memory, his uncle rarely smiled.

Moreover, he was very afraid of him. Not only was he afraid, but Xue Pan was also afraid. After Xue Pan got closer, he bowed and whispered, "Uncle."

Wang Ziteng paid no attention to the younger generation, but instead sized up Wang Xin.

"Brother Wang, this is Wang Xin," Jia Zheng said with a smile.

Wang Xin took the initiative to cup his hands in greeting and said, "Your Excellency."

Wang Ziteng nodded and went inside first, instructing, "Go in, everyone."

Once inside the hall, everyone took their seats. The butler and servants carried tea trays and carefully placed teacups filled with freshly prepared tea on the table.

"You've kept a low profile since returning to Beijing, and you've done a good job," Wang Ziteng praised, as if he were an elder.

If a mild-mannered person were to praise him, Wang Xin would be humble. However, knowing Wang Ziteng's temperament, Wang Xin did not feign humility but instead gave a restrained smile, which was considered an admission of Wang Ziteng's words.

It was the first time the two had met, and Wang Ziteng didn't pay much attention. He then asked Jia Zheng about matters in the imperial court.

Jia Zheng answered all his questions, including truthfully informing him of Lin Ruhai's plans.

Upon hearing Lin Ruhai's name, Wang Ziteng's attitude visibly stiffened. Wang Xin noticed this and understood that there seemed to be some old, unresolved relationship between Wang Ziteng and Lin Ruhai that he himself had never heard of.

Wang Ziteng seemed unwilling to hear Lin Ruhai's name, interrupting Jia Zheng and turning his gaze to Wang Xin.

Jia Zheng's heart skipped a beat. He knew that Wang Ziteng wanted to ask Wang Xin, and Wang Xin had not shown any intention of backing down in his communication with him. Jia Zheng's heart tightened immediately, and he didn't know what to do.

"The matter between you and Feng Yong isn't complicated. Many people believe the court is waiting for Fatty Feng to return to the capital. Do you think so too?" Wang Ziteng asked. Wang Ziteng bringing this up indicated he knew more.

Wang Ziteng had served as the military governor of the capital garrison, had connections with the emperor, and was a son of a founding meritorious official. Putting aside other aspects, his access to information was certainly superior to that of many others.

This was where he was inferior to him, and Wang Xin understood this clearly.

However, the conflict between himself and Feng Yong was not simply a conflict between themselves and Feng Yong, but rather a conflict between the Beijing garrison and the local field armies.

Historically, the Beijing garrison and local field armies have been more competitive than comrades-in-arms, especially when interests are involved, in which case the two are often at odds.

When the Beijing Garrison is strong, the imperial court is strong; when the Beijing Garrison is weak, the imperial court is weak.

vice versa.

The conflict between myself and Feng Yong was inevitable. Either I would be subdued by Feng Yong, or I would overthrow Feng Yong, or a stable stalemate would be formed. Now that I have overthrown Feng Yong, the court certainly does not want there to be another Feng Yong.

Wang Xin speculated, "The imperial court probably wants to strengthen its control over Datong, but it is not prepared for this, so the resolution has not yet been issued."

Wang Ziteng frowned and asked, "Who told you that?"

Wang Xin shook his head and smiled, "No one told me that I had been staying at the Jia Mansion these past few days, met the Empress Dowager, went to Hexi, and then came to the Wang Mansion."

Jia Zheng can testify to this matter; Jia Zheng is currently lost in thought.

I never thought of that before. After Wang Xin explained it to me, many things I didn't understand became clear. It turned out that it wasn't Lin Ruhai's plan that was flawed, but rather that the court wasn't prepared.

That makes sense. Feng Yong had been stationed in Datong for many years, but who knew he would be so easily overthrown by Wang Xin?

Many people expected Wang Xin to be suppressed by Feng Yong, but based on Wang Xin's past performance, he should be able to protect himself and hold Yanmen Pass. If Yanmen Pass could hold off the Hu people, it would ensure the stability of Daizhou and other areas. As long as this was achieved, the court would have a means of checks and balances in Datong.

Wang Ziteng couldn't help but sigh inwardly. If this kid really figured it out himself, his scheming was just like Lin Ruhai's.

Thinking of this, Wang Ziteng became even more restless. Wang Xin's surname was Wang; surely he wouldn't actually consider him one of Lin Ruhai's men, would he? That would be utter nonsense. Wang Ziteng stopped beating around the bush and asked directly, "If that's the case, why don't you want me to go back to Datong?"

Although the opportunity to have Wang Xin make the suggestion to the retired emperor was missed, there will be other opportunities later.

Wang Xin sipped his tea. Wang Ziteng was a smart man, but sometimes he was too self-centered. Did he really think everyone had to revolve around him? After all his hard work, he had to risk speaking up for him and fighting for his interests.

In fact, when interests align, it's not always impossible.

It should be a win-win situation. According to Wang Ziteng's plan, Wang Xin could not see a win-win situation. He only saw that Wang Ziteng wanted to stand up for him. Perhaps this is the true appearance of a noble son.

On the contrary, Jia Zheng and Lin Ruhai, having studied and witnessed the cruelty of the imperial examination system, had shed their airs of nobility.

If Lin Ruhai were the same kind of person as Wang Ziteng, I wouldn't have cooperated with Lin Ruhai in the first place.

Jia Baoyu was initially keeping his eyes down and mind at ease, not daring to make a mistake in front of his father and uncle, waiting to finish dealing with the matters at the front so he could go play in the back. But gradually he sensed something was wrong; when did the atmosphere become so heavy?

Wang Ren hesitated to speak, and Jia Zheng was helpless.

Wang Ziteng never expected that Wang Xin would dare to act this way in front of him, especially since he was just a minor guerrilla general.

Wang Xin sighed. If he were a smart man, he wouldn't have continued to pressure Wang Ziteng. Why was Wang Ziteng so extreme about this? Wang Xin said helplessly, "How could someone like the Emperor Emeritus listen to me? If we want the Emperor Emeritus to agree, we must first do things well from below, in accordance with the Emperor Emeritus's interests, and then things will fall into place naturally."

Upon hearing this, Jia Zheng was stunned.

What Wang Xin said seems to make sense. The retired emperor has always been unfathomable, and many people have been helpless against him. How did Wang Xin know this?
The anger on Wang Ziteng's face vanished, leaving only surprise and doubt. Upon careful consideration, what Wang Xin had just said made more and more sense. He quickly asked, "Did you also deduce this?"

Wang Xin did not hide anything and truthfully replied, "Lord Lin revealed it."

No matter how clever the retired emperor was, all the clever people in the world had been studying him for so many years. There would come a day when they would figure out a way to deal with him, and that he would not be able to detect it, or even if he did, he would not be able to refuse it.

This is why Lin Ruhai is popular on both sides.

So how does this person's brain work?

He had no intention of currying favor with the retired emperor; he was merely acting out of a sense of public duty. It was just a lucky coincidence. Wang Xin put down his teacup, unconcerned about Wang Ziteng's displeasure.

Since we're here, we're prepared.

Sometimes, it's better to separate than to force ourselves to work together. As for the impact on myself, I'm currently in a favorable position. Many people in the four major families are people I don't want, and I might even want to get rid of them, or simply choose some people for myself.

Wang Ziteng's face darkened. It seemed that this boy had truly sided with Lin Ruhai. Unconsciously, Wang Ziteng clenched his fist. No wonder he wouldn't budge on supporting his return to Datong.

(End of this chapter)