The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

After all, it has reached the high-level political stage, and it is not so easy to interfere.

Furthermore, judging from the official positions of the two marquises in the Shi family, it's possible that they haven't considered it either.

At this time, according to the official power rankings, the Ning and Rong families had fallen from the second position among the four major families of Jinling to the third position.

This was absolutely unacceptable to the old lady.

Given the old lady's temperament, there will likely be many ups and downs in the future. How could she not cause some trouble?

In reality, the Rong family still holds the most power!

However, as time goes by, if the Second Master Zheng does not become a true third-rank official, the decline of the Rong family will be irreversible.

Of course, it would be fine if the Ning family suddenly rose to prominence, but the old lady probably wouldn't be too happy about it.

It can only be said that the current situation of the four major families in Jinling is grasped quite accurately!

With just a few simple tricks, they planted a hidden pit that made the Jia family quite uncomfortable.

Right now, of course, there are all sorts of celebrations, and the Ning and Rong mansions are in a state of jubilation.

As for what happens in the future, we'll talk about that later.

Because of the matter of repaying the national treasury debt, the Ning and Rong mansions are showing signs of being ostracized by the founding nobles, so even if there is something good, it is not appropriate to hold a grand celebration at this time.

An internal celebratory banquet was naturally indispensable. The old lady, beaming with joy, calmly accepted the congratulations from all the daughters-in-law and mothers-in-law, as if she had been in charge of the whole affair.

Of course, the old lady took out 200,000 taels of silver in one go, which was quite a great contribution.

The celebrations at the Ning residence are another matter, but the Rong residence has been quite lively lately.

Jia Huan benefited from this, attending several days of banquets and eating until his face was glistening with oil.

If I hadn't exercised properly, I probably would have gained ten pounds.

Rarely, the old lady showed him leniency and allowed him to have some fun with his sisters and cousins.

Unfortunately, Jia Huan wasn't familiar with the three sisters, Lin Daiyu, or Xue Baochai, and didn't know what to say. He couldn't very well use his flirting skills from his past life.

Even with Tan Chun's help in trying to steer the conversation, the atmosphere remained quite awkward.

Fortunately, Xue Baochai was quite capable; she directly discussed business matters with Jia Huan.

There were also various interesting anecdotes, which Jia Huan could naturally talk about, and even had some insights to share.

As for Lin Daiyu, this young lady was indeed somewhat lacking in physical attributes. At this time, she was not even nine years old, yet she was a full half a head shorter than Jia Huan.

As for her figure, she has lost more than a lot of weight, looking like she would fall over with a gust of wind. It's really hard to bear to see her like that. I don't know how she grew up like this.

Chapter 132 An Out-of-place Rotten Wood (Please Subscribe)

Even at a young age, Lin Daiyu possessed remarkable charm; she was undoubtedly a beauty in the making.

You could even say she's a stunning beauty.

However, she is indeed a bit young, and her figure is as thin as a bean sprout.

I don't know how the protagonists in those fanfictions could have such evil thoughts about such a young girl?

According to Jia Huan, they were a bunch of beasts.

Although I didn't pay special attention, I did notice that Lin Daiyu, despite her young age, already possessed a strong aura of aloofness, a kind of coldness that kept people at a distance.

Tsk, I reckon his life in the Rong Mansion was only so-so.

This is assuming Lin Ruhai is still alive. If Lin Ruhai were to suddenly pass away, his fate would probably not be much different from that in the original Dream of the Red Chamber.

In the original story, the Rong family took and spent all of the Lin family's assets, leaving them with no way to repay their debts.

If Jia Baoyu, as the legitimate son of the same generation, did not marry Lin Daiyu as his principal wife, then Lin Daiyu would only have one path left: death.

Even if Jia Huan wanted to replace Jia Baoyu, it would be impossible; the Rong Mansion could not withstand the overwhelming public opinion.

The main reason is that the old lady and Lady Wang would absolutely not allow Jia Baoyu to be attacked by rumors and gossip.

In the end, Lin Daiyu was destined to die!

Unless Jia Huan forcibly takes people away, but under what pretext would he do such a thing?

It's possible that even Lin Daiyu herself wouldn't be happy about it!

He didn't try to talk to Lin Daiyu, but he had a lively conversation with Xue Baochai.

"How about the sisters go visit Pear Fragrance Courtyard, and Huan-ge'er comes along too?"

Xue Baochai was quite happy. She had a lot of business ideas and methods, but she couldn't have a deep conversation with anyone in the Rong Mansion's backyard, not even her mother, Aunt Xue.

Unexpectedly, after only a few words with Jia Huan, I felt a strong sense of kinship with him.

Don't overthink it. Given Xue Baochai's current mindset, how could she possibly be interested in Jia Huan, who is an illegitimate son?

The girls all responded enthusiastically, even the youngest Xichun spoke up, so Jia Huan naturally agreed.

So, after speaking with the old lady who was receiving congratulations from the families of visiting officials at Rongqing Hall, and with a group of beautiful women, including Jia Huan, they went to Lixiang Courtyard.

Ahem, Jia Baoyu is Jia Baoyu. He was called to the main study by Master Zheng to meet with guests and couldn't get away for the time being. Otherwise, this kid would definitely throw a tantrum.

This time, the Ning and Rong mansions enjoyed a great deal of glory. Although they may have had conflicts with the noble families, in the eyes of the middle and lower-ranking officials in the capital, it was a good thing to repeat the glory of their ancestors.

Even though the Rong family held a low-key family banquet to celebrate, it couldn't stop the endless stream of officials who came to offer their congratulations.

In this setting, Jia Huan's appearance was naturally inappropriate and gave people a rather strange feeling.

With the old lady and Lady Wang giving their instructions, and since Master Zheng had not given up on Jia Baoyu, the phoenix egg, he took him along to experience the trials.

This kid really puts on a good show in front of outsiders, something even Jia Huan has to admit.

A stranger as fine as jade, a gentleman unparalleled in the world!

To be honest, Jia Baoyu, who behaved well in front of outsiders, had quite the air of a refined gentleman in a corrupt world, and in short, he was admired and envied by many.

The Second Master Zheng also enjoyed hearing this; even if it only brought him some satisfaction, it was still good enough.

A group of girls, the oldest no more than twelve or thirteen years old, plus Jia Huan who was just there to make up the numbers, arrived at Pear Fragrance Courtyard in a grand procession and were warmly received by Aunt Xue.

As luck would have it, Aunt Xue happened to return from the old lady's place and was overjoyed to see a group of young girls and Jia Huan arriving.

Her warm greetings and words of concern made the girls feel her enthusiasm and care, just like that of a real family member.

Didn't you see that even the aloof Lin Daiyu called her "Auntie" so affectionately?

It must be said that everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses.

Aunt Xue herself wasn't very capable, and she was easily influenced. To put it bluntly, she was a rather traditional housewife who needed to rely on her family's wealth to make a comfortable living.

But she is really good at dealing with people, especially when it comes to creating a family atmosphere.

The group of girls easily became friends with her because of her warmth and care.

Even Jia Huan felt the overwhelming enthusiasm and was almost ready to join the Xue family in enjoying their delicious snacks and drinks.

In fact, Jia Huan found it somewhat amusing!

Aunt Xue is being a little too enthusiastic towards me.

There was even a hint of subtle flattery in it, though I wasn't sure if my perception was wrong.

In short, Aunt Xue's warm hospitality made him feel at home in a short period of time.

Of course, the snacks and drinks provided by the Xue family were also of excellent quality and taste.

Before long, the girls next to me automatically and consciously started reciting poems in response.

Seeing these little girls, all under ten years old, playing word games with eloquence and reciting poems on the spot, even if their poetry was only so-so, still stunned Jia Huan.

Damn, are these girls just naturally gifted, or are all young ladies from noble families in ancient times like this?

Jia Huan felt that at this moment he was a complete semi-illiterate!

He had read and memorized some of the allusions the girls mentioned in books, but it was impossible for them to use them so readily and spontaneously.

He wasn't even familiar with the names of some word games!

Wow, that's awesome! That's all he could say in his heart right now!

Look at Xue Baochai, the three sisters, and Lin Daiyu, having so much fun, each of them speaking eloquently and fluently. Then look at myself and Aunt Xue, we're just like two pieces of rotten wood.

Clearly, even someone as thick-skinned as Aunt Xue couldn't stand being treated like a piece of rotten wood at this moment.

Noticing Jia Huan's strange look, she smiled and pulled him outside to talk, as the two of them couldn't stand being stuck in the house any longer.

After exchanging a casual greeting, Jia Huan and Aunt Xue left the small flower hall and went to the main room outside.

"Huan-ge'er, is there any way to let Pan'er benefit as well?"

Once outside, Aunt Xue's expression became even more enthusiastic. While urging Jia Huan to drink tea and have some snacks, she whispered, "It doesn't matter how much silver it costs, the main thing is to get some official benefits!"

Jia Huan naturally understood that Aunt Xue was referring to the matter of repaying the national treasury's debts.

Seeing that the Jia and Shi families had both benefited greatly, it would be impossible for the Xue family not to be envious.

Even in private conversations with her two children, she would severely berate Wang Ziteng's wife, who remained in the capital, and Wang Xifeng's brother, Wang Ren.

Such a good opportunity was missed; even if the Xue family wanted to hitch a ride, they wouldn't have had a chance.

Aunt Xue was naturally unaware of Jia Huan's role in the matter, but Xue Pan vaguely knew something about it and easily let it slip when talking at home, which led Xue Baochai to notice some clues.