The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

Lin Ruhai is about to become the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, a position of the second rank. Can't we at least give him the respect he deserves?

If Master Zheng Er knew about this, he would probably be furious!

He was hoping that Lin Ruhai's arrival would help him share the pressure from his colleagues in the imperial court.

If you encounter someone with a bad temper and a narrow mind, the Rong family's behavior alone will offend them, and in the end, you'll have to shift the blame onto them.

On this day, Jia Lian and Jia Huan rode in a carriage, accompanied by many strong and imposing guards, along with the two sons born into the Rong family, and left the city early to head to Tongzhou.

Speaking of the Rong family's servants, after the incident at the Prince's Mansion gate, the Second Master Zheng gave them a severe dressing down, almost causing a major upheaval.

That time, it wasn't just Prince Zhongshun who lost face, but also the Rong family's servant.

The fact that a child was born into the Rong family was simply not publicized. This time, those loose-lipped fellows within the Rong family subconsciously helped their colleague cover it up.

It's no wonder that Master Zheng was furious. Both of them fought with the guards of the Prince's Mansion, but the thugs that Jia Huan brought not only had a better record, but also managed to escape with four of them.

Then look at the Rong family sons who also participated in the fight; they were all wiped out in the first instance.

With this kind of performance, can we still count on him when we encounter similar situations in the future?

The Second Master Zheng simply took stock of all the servants in the outer courtyard of the mansion, which greatly angered him.

The servants in the manor all looked respectable, but when asked to lift an 80-pound stone lock with one hand, they could only manage a little over half of it.

What else is there to say? Those who don't pass the test will be sent directly to the estate for further training.

This really stirred up a hornet's nest!

Ahem, guess who those house slaves who can't even lift an 80-pound stone weight with one hand are?

That's right, either they have connections or powerful backers. They are considered to have a relatively high status among those who have children at home, and they are the kind of people who manage things and prepare for the future.

The fact that Master Zheng Er wanted to send most of them to the estate in one go naturally caused a great upheaval.

In the end, even the old lady was frequently alarmed and had to personally step in to suppress the matter before it was finally settled.

As for the Second Master Zheng's previous statement, it was completely ignored by the old lady.

Not only did they not send any of the servants to the estate, but they also summoned Master Zheng to Rongqing Hall and gave him a good talking-to.

It's a bit much for Master Zheng to send these servants directly to the estate, given that they've been well-behaved for many years and just haven't had much exercise.

If the servants harbor resentment, the consequences could be severe.

In short, the message is that the Second Master Zheng should not cause trouble and should maintain the dignity and stability of the mansion!

That time, it really infuriated Master Zheng!

The old lady actually made him look bad because of a bunch of her servants. Does she know how serious the consequences will be?

The servants in the manor were already quite spoiled, and now that this has happened again, will they still have any respect for the Second Master Zheng, the head of the family?

When Jia Huan learned what had happened, he was also dumbfounded!

I've seen weirdos before, but I've never seen anything this weird!

He could actually guess what the old lady was thinking: she just didn't want to make a fuss.

As people get older, they just want to enjoy life peacefully and have no desire to cause any trouble.

Only if her control over the household is shaken will it provoke a strong reaction from the old lady.

To disregard everything else in order to enjoy a comfortable life is simply baffling.

What does it mean to have maintained a respectable lifestyle for many years?

Could it be that a bunch of servants who can't even meet the basic physical requirements can talk about dignity with their masters? Aren't they afraid of being laughed at by outsiders?

In short, from then on, apart from the servants and attendants who had grown up with him, there were basically no other servants born into the family around Master Zheng.

Jia Huan found Wang Xifeng and selected a dozen honest and simple men with some martial arts skills from among the descendants of the guards on the estate to serve as the bodyguards of Master Zheng.

He told Master Zheng about his arrangements and received Master Zheng's tacit approval.

As a result, a group of guards from the estate appeared in the main study, becoming a thorn in the side of the servants in the manor, yet they were helpless to do anything about it.

The old lady heard this but didn't utter a sound, nor did she whisper anything to Master Zheng.

To put it simply, the timing isn't right right now; with the old lady in charge, it's difficult to cause a big commotion.

But when the old lady no longer has the energy to deal with matters outside of Rongqing Hall, most of the servants in the mansion will definitely be eliminated, and Master Zheng is holding a grudge.

There are plenty of servants on the estate who want to work in the manor. Even if they were all swapped with the servants in the manor, there would still be many who didn't get a turn.

There's absolutely no need to worry; the large number of servants in the manor are causing trouble!

The eight estates outside the city can accommodate a considerable number of servants!

Jia Huan was just watching the show. Anyway, after he came of age and left the manor, he would at most take a few of the servants who were good-looking and of good character with him. As for the others, he would get as far away as possible.

In the past, Jia Lian and Jia Huan would rarely bring guards when they went out.

But times have changed, and there are some things we must be wary of!

For example, the Prince Zhongshun's family, which they had offended, who knows if the Prince Zhongshun had a personality flaw?

If someone is resentful about what happened before and wants to find an opportunity for revenge, and happens to see Jia Lian and Jia Huan alone, no one knows what the consequences will be.

In addition, it was also to guard against the White Lotus Sect members launching sneak attacks and assassinations!

Although it's certain that Ma Yuan, the former Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue who fled, was unaware that it was Jia Huan who was secretly plotting against him, there were simply too many madmen in the White Lotus Sect.

Recently, there have been frequent reports of local officials being assassinated by members of the White Lotus sect.

Nobody knows whether there are any White Lotus sect lunatics hiding in the capital.

If you're not careful and get attacked by a madman from the White Lotus Cult, you'll have nowhere to cry.

In addition, Jia Huan was also worried that the White Lotus Church would use its current control over the artificial waterway to track him down!

Chapter 145: Creatures of the Bureaucracy (Please Subscribe)

Jia Huan and Jia Lian sat together in the carriage, and naturally they chatted for a while.

"Brother Huan, those thugs under your command have been acting all high and mighty in Tongzhou lately!"

Jia Lian said with a smile, "You actually managed to crush the forces of the Canal Gang's branch. That's quite a show of bravado!"

"Hehe, Second Brother Lian, don't talk nonsense!"

Jia Huan chuckled softly and shook his head, saying, "We can only call each other friends, not subordinates!"

"How could someone my age possibly have any thugs as his underlings?"

"As for the martial arts conflicts in Tongzhou, I've heard about them occasionally. They're just normal power struggles, nothing special to say about them!"

"Why worry about so much as long as the normal order of the canal is not affected?"

Jia Lian squinted and said with amusement, "No need to explain to me. That's what everyone thinks anyway. You can't deny it even if you want to. Just keep these guys in line and make sure they don't do anything too outrageous!"

"Don't worry, Second Brother Lian, I made myself clear beforehand!"

"They can make enough money off the canal to live a comfortable life in the future!"

"If that's still not enough, and you insist on committing crimes, then don't blame me for turning ruthless!"

"There are plenty of guys who want to climb the ranks, and plenty of people to keep an eye on them. If anything goes wrong, we can just eliminate them!"

Jia Huan said calmly, "If I can help them rise, I can also make them fall into the abyss!"

"You kid..."

Despite wearing a smile, Jia Lian was deeply shocked.

If it weren't for the fact that the person sitting opposite him was indeed Jia Huan, he would have suspected that the kid had had his internal organs replaced.

It's truly terrifying that someone could speak so casually yet utter such cold and ruthless words.

In any case, Jia Lian was certain that he had been stunned just now.

This kind of cold-blooded ruthlessness, which disregards human life, is something I've only ever seen in storybooks.

"It's up to you to decide!"

That's all I can say.

Jia Lian had already made up his mind to stay out of Jia Huan's affairs from now on.

Noticing the subtle change in Jia Lian's expression, Jia Huan revealed a strange look.

What's this guy thinking now?

He had his own methods for dealing with the thugs under his command.

There is basically no direct monetary exchange; instead, profits are obtained through profit sharing in cooperative business ventures.

Regardless of whether this is a pointless and unnecessary act, if we really encounter trouble from officials, at least we can make excuses on the surface and give ourselves more time to react.

Of course, as mentioned before, the Ningrong Street gang does not encourage its thugs to actively expand their territory.

If the thugs under their command are too enthusiastic and ambitious, they will naturally be responsible for managing and operating the territory they have established through the gang, and the gang will not interfere, only providing a fixed share of the profits.

He will not have any subordinates who control a vast territory or wield excessive power.

All Jia Huan needed was for these guys to become local tyrants and ensure the smooth operation of his business.