The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

Instead of feeling relaxed, I felt even more frustrated.

She was genuinely worried that after Jia Baoyu arrived at the Ning Mansion, something would happen that would make her feel awkward or even extremely embarrassed.

Soon, the day of the Plum Blossom Banquet arrived, and the women of the Rong family made preparations well in advance.

Originally, there was a small gate directly connecting the Ning and Rong mansions.

Unfortunately, the last time the old lady ordered Granny Lai to do something, she almost killed Qin Keqing, which directly caused a fierce conflict. In a fit of anger, Qin Keqing sealed the small door.

Therefore, if the old lady and her entourage of women from the Rong family wanted to come over, they had to go around through the main gate.

Of course, since they either had carriages or sedan chairs to ride in, they didn't find it particularly troublesome.

In the old lady's opinion, it was already quite good that the relationship with the Ning family could be eased, so she didn't care about anything else and was in a very good mood.

Not only was she in a good mood, but Madam Wang and Madam Xing were also in a fairly good mood.

After all, Qin Keqing's status was what it was, and who knew if she could be of any use in the future? Madam Wang's little scheme was in full swing.

Whether Qin Keqing would agree to help was not even a consideration.

The three sisters, Lin Daiyu, and Xue Baochai were in even better spirits; they were happy to be able to go out and have fun.

They were also miserable. The old lady and Madam Wang basically never went out, and Madam Xing had no one to go out with, so she didn't know where to go if she wanted to.

Aunt Xue's situation was also quite awkward. After all, she had been away from the capital for many years, and the close friends she had formed during her teenage years had basically lost contact with her. It would be quite impolite to contact them rashly.

The only people who could move around were the Rong family and the Wang family; even the Ning family was visiting for the first time.

Under such circumstances, expecting Xue Baochai to have any social circle is simply a joke.

Lin Daiyu, lacking female elders to care for her, could only stay at home and entertain herself.

That's why I'm always very happy to be able to go out, just like during a holiday.

This time, Shi Xiangyun happened to be a guest at the Rong Mansion and came along as well.

Needless to say, Jia Baoyu followed along eagerly, and the Ning Mansion certainly couldn't stop him from entering.

However, when Jia Baoyu saw Jia Huan and Jia Cong appear, he was quite surprised and asked directly, "You two, what brings you here?"

That's a question that makes it sound like the two brothers aren't qualified to even enter the Ning residence.

Jia Qiang, who was accompanying them, turned pale and hurriedly said, "I invited them!"

"They're all relatives, the more people, the more lively it will be!"

He was quite annoyed. Did Jia Baoyu even understand a little bit about human relationships?

If he hadn't been there, the Ning family wouldn't have even known what had happened after being tricked.

"Brother Bao, you look to be in great health!"

The two brothers first greeted the elders and peers, then smiled and said to Jia Baoyu, "Cong-ge and I are just making up the numbers, we won't bother you!"

"Perfect timing! I was just discussing with Lin Daiyu about starting a poetry club!"

Jia Baoyu clapped his hands and laughed, "You're always skipping things, you can't just not participate this time, can you?"

What the hell are you trying to do?

If Jia Huan hadn't known that Jia Baoyu was such an 'innocent and naive' person, he would have suspected that Jia Baoyu was trying to play a trick on him. Didn't he know that his brother never got involved in these kinds of things?

"No, no, no, Brother Bao, please spare me and Cong-ge!"

Jia Huan waved his hand and laughed, "You guys do your thing, Cong-ge and I will just watch from the sidelines!"

"Boring!"

Before Jia Baoyu could speak, Shi Xiangyun, who was standing next to him, exclaimed, "Huan-ge'er and Cong-ge'er, you and Ai-gege are all studying at the clan school, so why is there such a big difference between you?"

"Haha, Cong-ge and I prefer martial arts, so it's normal that we can't compare to Bao-er-ge!"

Jia Huan spoke strange words in a serious tone, words that only Cong Ge'er could understand.

Jia Qiang's eyelids twitched wildly as she stood to the side, and she almost burst into tears. Was it really necessary to be so dramatic?

Why does it feel like there's a hint of hostility in the air when we're just talking?

He was quite dissatisfied with Shi Xiangyun for stirring up trouble, and at the same time, he gained a deeper understanding of Jia Baoyu's 'shamelessness'.

Damn it, what kind of crap are you learning from your clan? Do you think I don't know?

If we're really comparing academic performance at the clan school, Jia Baoyu is far inferior to Huan-ge and Cong-ge.

As far as he knew, Huan-ge was one of the best students in the clan school. According to the teacher, he was already good enough to take the imperial examination for the title of Tongsheng.

As for Cong-ge, he is also a key member of the senior class.

Although their grades are not outstanding, they have a solid foundation and considerable room for growth.

In contrast, Jia Baoyu is still stuck in the middle class, in the same class as his own nephew, Lan Ge'er, which is simply embarrassing.

If he hadn't been so attentive to the situation at the clan school, he might have been fooled by Jia Baoyu.

Chapter 211 Everyone Has Their Own Little Thoughts (Please Subscribe)

Shi Xiangyun is quite an oddball!

Do you really think that no one else can see her little secret feelings for Jia Baoyu?

He was about the same age as Jia Huan, and both were over ten years old. Whenever they met, he would say "I love you, brother." I heard that Lady Wang was quite unhappy about this.

Those who don't know the situation might think that Shi Xiangyun is engaged to Jia Baoyu just because of her title.

Of course, the girl was pretty and had a very nice personality, so no one paid much attention to her.

However, sometimes his words are not so pleasing, which is quite obvious from Jia Baoyu's perspective.

In other words, no one from the Shi family's Shuanghou residence came. If they heard Shi Xiangyun mocking Jia Huan, they would probably change their attitude, for fear of offending Jia Huan.

Both of the Marquises Shi are currently powerful generals in the army, especially the Marquis of Baoling, who is a battalion commander in the Beijing Garrison. Both of them were secured through Jia Huan's advice and help.

At this time, the two Shi families were living quite well.

There was no need to pretend to make the girls in the family do needlework, and Shi Xiangyun's life became more comfortable, naturally reducing some of the complaints that made people speechless or even angry.

She's been visiting the Rong residence less often, but I haven't seen her complain about anything.

All we can say is that the little girl has gone a little astray, but no one knows how the problem arose.

Jia Huan and Jia Cong didn't care about Shi Xiangyun's sarcasm; they just laughed it off.

Jia Qiang, on the other hand, was a little annoyed. While chatting and laughing with the two brothers, he also muttered a few words about Shi Xiangyun.

Jia Huan pretended not to hear. Seeing Qin Keqing warmly welcoming the Rong family, with everyone smiling radiantly, the atmosphere in Huifang Garden also became joyful.

The scene was similar to that described in the original novel, allowing him to experience a rare moment of relaxation and comfort.

Jia Huan showed no intention of joining in the fun, and the old lady and the others made no move to greet him.

When the banquet began, the opera troupe arrived, and for a time, there was a lively atmosphere with music and singing.

From a distance, one can see Jia Baoyu looking quite pleased with himself beside the old lady; at this moment, he is the focus of everyone's attention.

After drinking a few glasses of fruit wine, his cheeks flushed, and he moved closer to the girls, occasionally cracking a joke, which made the increasingly beautiful girls giggle.

Jia Qiang, Jia Huan, and Jia Cong huddled together, recounting recent events and discussing their views on the future situation.

Be careful lately!

Jia Huan cautioned, "Don't be shy about earning money you deserve, but don't recklessly take money you shouldn't!"

"Huan-ge'er, is something about to happen again?"

Upon hearing Jia Huan's reminder, Jia Qiang's heart tightened and he asked curiously, "I haven't heard of any unforeseen events!"

"You'll find out soon enough!"

Waving his hand, Jia Huan chuckled and said, "It's just my guess; whether it's accurate or not is another matter!"

"Don't worry, the Ning family has been keeping a low profile lately and has basically not been involved in any matters concerning the imperial court!"

Seeing Jia Huan's resolute attitude, Jia Qiang did not press further, but said slowly, "It's just that there are no suitable candidates in the manor to enter officialdom, and all these great resources are being wasted!"

"You intend to promote a member of your clan?"

Jia Huan immediately realized what was going on and said calmly, "That doesn't matter. The key is that the chosen members of the clan must be reliable, otherwise there's no going back!"

Jia Qiang nodded silently, without saying anything more.

It is a fact that few of the able-bodied members of the clan have achieved anything of note.

Furthermore, it's unclear whether they will become completely different after they become officials; no one can guarantee that.

But Ning Prefecture had to do this; it needed to have capable officials on hand, not to guarantee Ning Prefecture's status, but to protect Ning Prefecture's interests.

While the two were talking, Jia Cong remained silent, quietly eating the exquisite dishes prepared by the Ning Mansion, and was easily overlooked.

Given his current height and build, no one could truly ignore him.

Even the old lady was surprised when she suddenly saw it.

There's no way around it; with his growth rate, he'll probably be over two meters tall when he grows up—a true giant.

I wonder if the old lady ever thought to herself, "This is the future of a great general in the army?"