The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

The Jinling clan will send some of its members over in a while to study at the clan school.

The Second Master Zheng then handed over the matter to Jia Huan for detailed instructions.

In short, we must treat them well, and we must also ensure that the young members of the Jinling clan truly learn something.

That's enough!

Jia Huan chuckled. It seemed that Xue Pan would still need to come and oversee the clan school for a while.

The scions of the Jinling clans were probably just like those in the capital; they were extremely disrespectful and resentful of Jia Huan, the illegitimate son of the Rong Mansion.

Jia Huan didn't have time to get entangled with them, so it might be more effective to let Xue Pan, the notorious tyrant of Jinling, handle it.

After all, this guy was quite famous in the playboy circle when he was in Jinling.

Once he had an idea, he immediately wrote to Xue Pan, who was far away in the south, asking him to return to the capital as soon as possible, as there was something he needed to do to help stabilize the people's hearts at the clan school.

That's right, Xue Pan was not in the capital at this time, but had gone south by ship.

This guy is getting old and has come of age, so naturally he yearns for the outside world.

The conflicts between the martial arts world in the capital and Tongzhou did not interest him much.

I don't know if it's because I'm used to things going smoothly in the capital, but I suddenly had the idea of ​​going to Nanjing.

In his words, it's called 'returning home in glory'!

You must be out of your mind to have such thoughts. Aren't you worried about being left behind in Nanjing and never being able to come back?

Will the collateral branches of the Xue family in Jinling think that he is going back to try to regain control of the clan?

Once such doubts arise, the outcome becomes unpredictable.

After all, when Aunt Xue, Xue Pan, and Xue Baochai and her son left Jinling, they were in a rather disheveled state.

Leaving aside the loss of power, the financial losses alone amounted to millions of taels of silver, and probably more!

For the sake of clan power and the Xue family's property in the south, the Jinling branch is probably capable of anything. Is Xue Pan unaware of this?

Of course I know, otherwise, in the original Dream of the Red Chamber, this guy went to a dangerous place like Ping'an Prefecture to do business and never returned to the south, which shows how dangerous it was.

This time, Xue Pan must have been out of his mind to insist on going back to check on things.

He was surrounded by a large number of guards, easily over a hundred. As long as it wasn't a fair fight, such a large force should provide sufficient protection.

Fortunately, this guy wasn't completely out of his mind and didn't actually enter Jinling City.

Not only that, he would also write a letter to his mother and Jia Huan every two weeks to let them know he was safe and sound.

That's how Jia Huan found out the guy's exact location and was able to send the message immediately.

When Xue Pan hurriedly returned from the south, his second uncle's family was with him.

Jia Huan did not go to Tongzhou Wharf to greet him, but met Xue Pan at the Ningrong Street branch.

This guy was noticeably thinner, but he did have some handsome features. After all, he was Xue Baochai's older brother, so he couldn't be too bad-looking.

She used to be a little chubby, and since she was also a bit of a simpleton, she didn't look very eye-catching.

This time, he exuded a more composed aura, and the smile on his face showed a more mature side. Jia Huan could tell at a glance that this guy was still the same domineering tyrant.

Upon seeing Jia Huan, the guy beamed with joy, clearly quite happy.

He introduced the fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy beside him to Jia Huan; he was his cousin, Xue Ke.

"You little rascal, you finally understand the power of numbers!"

Upon seeing Xue Ke, Jia Huan immediately understood what was going on and couldn't help but chuckle.

"Yes, after spending several years in the capital, if I haven't made any progress, wouldn't I have wasted my life?"

Xue Pan didn't take it seriously and laughed, "My cousin does have some talent. Let's see if he can succeed by first studying at the Jia family academy."

"no problem!"

Jia Huan waved his hand and said, "As long as you follow the rules, that's fine. I called you back because I have something to ask of you!"

It wasn't anything shady, and Jia Huan didn't care that Xue Ke was right next to him. He simply explained the situation: "After all, you have some reputation in Jinling, so it's easier for you to communicate with the guys from the Jinling clans. You also know that sometimes it's not effective for me to intervene!"

"What if members of the Jia family from Jinling don't follow the rules?"

Xue Pan asked curiously, "Does it mean I have to teach them a lesson myself?"

Upon hearing this, Xue Ke, who was following behind, was startled and hurriedly tugged at Xue Pan's sleeve. How could such a thing be said so casually?

"What did you say?"

Jia Huan smiled lightly and glanced at Xue Ke indifferently. This kid is quite clever.

"I understand!"

Xue Pan ignored his cousin's reminder and nodded with a light laugh: "I have a lot of ways to deal with a few unruly playboys!"

"You handle this yourself!"

Jia Huan waved his hand and said, "You must have just gotten back. Spend more time with Aunt Xue and your sister. I won't keep you for dinner!"

"Tch, it's not like I'm particularly interested in the medicinal cuisine here. The taste is really not good!"

Xue Pan chuckled, turned around and greeted the acquaintances on this side of the gang, then left with his bewildered cousin Xue Ke, causing a murmur of discussion.

After all, Master Xue Pan is a big shot in the gang.

Although he himself had no martial arts skills, he had plenty of money.

In the early stages of the expansion of the branch, it was thanks to his financial and labor contributions that the branch was able to expand so quickly and reach its current scale.

In addition, the reason why the canal gangs in Tongzhou and Tianjin stopped their activities openly was that the Xue family's cargo volume through the Grand Canal was quite large, and as a major financial backer, they still had a lot of face.

In any case, Xue Pan was one of the most influential figures in the Beijing-Tianjin area.

The heroes of the martial arts world here naturally have a great fondness for Xue Pan, a big spender who is 'helpful' but doesn't directly participate in martial arts affairs.

Who knows, they might need Xue Pan's financial and manpower support when they start their businesses outside.

On the other side, after Xue Pan left with Xue Ke, Xue Ke couldn't help but ask, "Cousin, was that the man you always talked about, the Third Young Master Huan of the Rong Family?"

"nature!"

Xue Pan smiled and said, "This kid is only ten years old, but he's an incredibly capable fellow!"

"Truly impressive, to be able to command the respect of so many江湖 heroes!"

Xue Ke nodded in agreement, then changed the subject, saying, "But cousin, the Jia family's affairs are ultimately the Jia family's own business. Isn't it inappropriate for you to interfere rashly?"

"What's wrong?"

Xue Pan sneered, "You must have heard a lot about the situation of the Jia family's Jinling branch!"

"To put it bluntly, they're all people who are good at eating, drinking, and having fun!"

"Once we get to the capital, he'll probably behave for a while at first, but it won't be long before he reverts to his old ways. That's for sure!"

"Instead of asking Brother Huan for help, I'd rather lend a hand myself. I'll certainly repay you in the future!"

At this point, he glanced at his younger cousin and chuckled, "Cousin, you should know that Brother Huan's favors aren't so easy to obtain!"

"If it weren't for that scoundrel Jia Yucun tricking me before, I would probably have already regained my ancestral position of 'Ziwei Sheren' by now!"

"That idea was also suggested by Brother Huan, and the timing was quite right!"

"Now, unless you directly offer a million taels of silver as a tribute, you can dream about getting such benefits!"

"Remember, the rules here in the capital are different from those in Nanjing. It's all about having immense power and influence, not about being rich and powerful!"

"No matter how rich you are, you're just a fat sheep when you're up against the big shots in the imperial court!"

"If our Xue family's main branch hadn't relied on the Rong family, do you think we'd still be doing well now?"

"Of course, you're still young, you don't need to worry about these complicated things!"

"Remember to study hard when you get to the clan school. I've heard that the teachers there are quite learned; they're scholars who were invited from Jiangnan!"

“In the past, if our family wanted to hire a tutor like that to teach us carefully, we would have to pay a huge price; otherwise, who would be willing to teach us wholeheartedly?”

"Your cousin doesn't have high expectations for you. As long as you can pass the imperial examination and become a scholar, I'll find a way to get you an official position in the future. That's much better than being a court merchant!"

"Don't be fooled by your glamorous public image. In the Ministry of Revenue and the Imperial Household Department, even a minor official can make you bow and scrape like a grandson. It's a truly unpleasant experience!"

After chatting and rambling all the way back to the Rong Mansion's Pear Fragrance Courtyard, Xue Ke greeted Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai before leaving to return to the Xue family's residence in the capital.

"You wretched child, not only did you bring your second uncle's whole family to the capital, but you also put on an act of carefully nurturing your cousin. What are you thinking?"

After Xue Ke left, Aunt Xue's face immediately fell, and she complained irritably.

Aunt Xue is not very shrewd; you can refer to Madam Wang for an example.

As for Uncle Xue, his experiences show that he must have been suppressed by Xue Pan's father.

Otherwise, wouldn't it be better to do business in Nanjing or other prosperous southern towns? With the help of the Xue family, it would be easy to become a local tycoon.

The idea of ​​going to the open sea to experience exotic customs is all nonsense.

Even in modern times, the risks of international trade are incredibly high. One wrong move and you could lose your life outside the country. Only those with immense power or those willing to gamble with their lives would do it.

To put it bluntly, he was forced into this situation by Xue Pan's biological father, who made it impossible for him to even establish himself in the Great Qian Dynasty, which is why he had no choice but to wander overseas.

She was lucky; she didn't get sick while adrift at sea and even had a son and a daughter.