The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

The key point is that we can see the clues in the original novel of Dream of the Red Chamber: Madam Wang's idea was to swallow it directly and never return it to the descendants of the Zhen family.

Wow, that's some serious stunt. It's practically putting him in a completely isolated position.

Such actions as the Zhen family's dispersed hiding of silver are quite common among wealthy and powerful families!

Especially when involved in the bloody and cruel court struggles, where the risk of having one's home confiscated is ever-present, it is natural to seek out a trustworthy family in advance to hide some silver as capital for a comeback.

This is an unwritten rule within wealthy and powerful families!

If something unexpected happens, the descendants can go to the family that hid the silver to retrieve the money.

You can delay or even give less, but you absolutely cannot swallow it and deny it.

Otherwise, how will he continue to mingle in circles of power and wealth?

It can be said that Madam Wang's actions were completely destroying the reputation of the Rong family!

Logically speaking, as the legitimate daughter of the Wang family, she couldn't possibly be unaware of these intricacies, could she?

There wasn't much Jia Huan could do. Unless he exposed the Zhen family's actions beforehand, there was simply no way to stop them from sending some of the money to the Rong Mansion.

I'm really frustrated. No matter what I do, I'm not afraid of having a powerful opponent, but I'm afraid of having a useless teammate. Just cleaning up their messes is a real hassle.

Knowing about this beforehand wouldn't have been of any use!

Either we refuse when the Zhen family comes to our door, or we can only watch helplessly as things develop.

"Tell the men to keep an eye on things, make sure we don't get caught!"

He gave Cong Ge a piece of advice and told him to put the matter aside for the time being.

Overthinking only makes things harder for yourself. Just let things be as they may!

The reason they didn't intervene was not only because they were afraid of being directly exposed, but also because they knew that Madam Wang's greed was something they couldn't stop.

He managed to stop it once, but could he always detect it and take precautions in advance?

Jia Huan had no intention of killing Madam Wang. Although she had caused a lot of trouble, it was not worth going that far. He also did not want to have the blood of the core members of the Rong family on his hands.

At least, although Madam Wang intended to limit his development, she did not resort to any ruthless methods.

With the implicit support of Master Zheng, Madam Wang's restrictions on him are no longer very effective.

At worst, when I get older, I can find a way to leave the manor and become a member of a collateral branch of the clan.

However, the information revealed by the Zhen family's actions is more important.

The retired emperor is dying!

If the nobility group does not make timely adjustments, the losses will be enormous if the retired emperor suddenly passes away, and they may even be unable to recover.

Jia Huan suspects that the rapid decline of the noble class in the original novel *Dream of the Red Chamber* is related to this.

As one of the retainers in the main study of the Rong Mansion's front courtyard, Master Zheng has not mentioned anything recently, and there are clearly no adjustments being made to the affairs of the nobility group.

The Noble Group is a core force within the Emperor Emeritus's faction!

The retired emperor was able to suppress the current emperor for twenty years thanks to the strong support of the noble clan.

Putting aside everything else, the nobility group was the top military force in the Great Qian Dynasty at that time, and the number of troops they controlled was much larger than it is today, which alone was quite remarkable.

No wonder the current government has always regarded the nobility as a thorn in its side!

In fact, by the later stages of *Dream of the Red Chamber*, the powerful aristocratic class had completely fallen. Otherwise, how could the position of Minister of War have fallen to Jia Yucun, a civil official who had only passed the imperial examination?

One of the main reasons for the Ming Dynasty's defeat was that its army was suppressed too much and had virtually no fighting power. How can we not learn from this lesson today?

They wouldn't have gone to such extremes unless they had been offended too badly!

"Your position determines your perspective," and Jia Huan doesn't care what people think nowadays.

Now that he is a typical son of a noble family, he naturally leans towards the side of the noble group.

He certainly didn't want the aristocratic group to completely collapse, because then he would have to consider the whims of civil officials in everything he did, which would be incredibly frustrating. He simply couldn't accept that.

Consider the treatment of military officers during the Ming Dynasty. A dignified third-rank military officer had to kneel before a seventh-rank county magistrate. How utterly insane!

Imagine if Jia Huan had to kneel and pay his respects to the Imperial Censor of the Western City whenever he went out. He would probably go crazy and would definitely rebel.

After leaving the martial arts school, Jia Huan went straight back to the mansion and came to the main study.

It was unusual for Master Zheng to not skip work and return early; only the scholars and gentlemen were in the study.

"The Third Young Master is here!"

Upon seeing Jia Huan, the group of scholars and gentlemen greeted him, asking, "Is there any new news outside?"

They knew that despite his young age, Jia Huan had a successful business outside and was very well-informed about local affairs, making him one of the sources of information for the study.

"As always, none of the rumors are very reliable!"

Jia Huan casually found a chair and sat down, then said with a smile, "Anyway, I don't believe a single one of them!"

"It's okay!"

The guests didn't seem to care, chatting casually with relaxed expressions, creating a lively atmosphere.

Although they mostly revolve around Master Zheng, they actually reap considerable benefits and advantages.

No matter how leisurely Master Zheng is, he is still the head of the Court of State Ceremonial.

The Honglu Temple alone could generate considerable profits.

These sycophantic gentlemen were quite ruthless. In private, they used the Second Master Zheng's name to rake in plenty of benefits and kickbacks. Although they didn't earn much, they were living much better than before.

Their private actions naturally did not escape Jia Huan's notice.

However, these guys still had some sense of propriety. Whether it was because they were in the capital and had some reservations, or for some other reason, they were not as arrogant as they were after following Master Zheng to take office as the grain transport commissioner in the original Dream of the Red Chamber.

That's why Jia Huan didn't target them; otherwise, he wouldn't have been so polite.

Those who are truly capable will inevitably obtain a rank-based official status once the Second Master Zheng is promoted to the third rank or above. These guys won't dare to act recklessly in secret.

Another group of people were very self-aware, knowing that they were not cut out for officialdom and that their abilities were insufficient, so they simply devoted themselves to teaching and educating people at the clan school.

These guys made a smart choice!

As long as the Ning and Rong mansions remain standing, they will always have food to eat.

Moreover, there are many hidden benefits, and one can even take advantage of this to live a very comfortable life in Beijing.

Finally, there are those who are simply skilled at flattery and praise, and who find amusement in it all.

They are generally mediocre in ability and lack self-awareness. They have many minor flaws and are extremely greedy without any limits. Such beings can be tormented at will without any concern.

Unfortunately, most of the twenty-odd retainers that Master Zheng Er kept were just like that.

It can only be said that Master Zheng's abilities were mediocre, and his judgment of people was also quite ordinary.

The capital city can definitely be described as a place where hidden talents reside, and there are truly too many impoverished scholars and literati.

Many of them are capable, but of course, they need an opportunity to be discovered.

Leaving aside idle chatter, Jia Huan and his group of scholars amused themselves while savoring the exquisite pastries unique to the study, which tasted quite good.

Although the kitchen staff were ruthless, they dared not tamper with the food and snacks prepared for Master Zheng.

Soon, as darkness fell, Master Zheng Er leisurely entered with his servant.

After a few pleasantries and formalities, it was clear that Master Zheng was in a good mood. After sharing some gossip and rumors about the yamen, he chatted with the scholars and gentlemen about poetry and literature.

He had a completely relaxed and contented air about him, quite like a top-tier scholar.

Chapter 180 Unexpected Incident (Please Subscribe)

Jia Huan rarely participated in the so-called poetry recitations and would simply take his leave.

The Zhen family's matter isn't urgent; they're still in Tongzhou right now.

Transporting hundreds of thousands of taels of silver to the capital discreetly is no easy task.

They definitely couldn't use artificial waterways; they could only transport the goods slowly via official roads, without attracting attention, and they couldn't transport too much at once.

Otherwise, if the wheels leave clear marks on the hard road surface, even a fool would know there's a problem!

Besides, the Zhen family is still at the height of its power. So what if the secret of the hidden silver is leaked?

They could easily claim that they had discussed this with their old friends long ago. Could it be that because of this, the current emperor is taking action against the Zhen family before the retired emperor has completely passed away?

Even if the royal family had the guts to do that, they wouldn't agree. Do they really think the Prince Zhen's grandson is made of paper?

The princes of the Great Qian Dynasty still possessed considerable power and influence, far surpassing their counterparts in the Song Dynasty.

Even the emperor faces considerable resistance when it comes to breaking the rules.

Another point is that Jia Huan didn't know if the Rong Mansion had any hidden silver.

If the silver sent by the Zhen family is actually the Rong family's hidden silver, who can say for sure?

If we ask the Second Master Zheng now, we probably won't get any useful information, and we'll only end up troubling the Old Madam.

Thinking of the old lady, Jia Huan sighed softly, not thinking that her judgment was particularly insightful.

On one hand, she is a staunch supporter of the retired emperor, and on the other hand, she has lingering ties with the descendants of the deposed crown prince. It is unclear whether she has taken any private actions to side with the current emperor.

Yuan Chun's situation is rather strange. Whether she wants to curry favor with the emperor or has other motives, no one knows for sure. Only the old lady knows the details of her plans.