The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

Instead of fighting tooth and nail for a dozen or so spots in the martial arts examination, it would be better to just spend money to join the Imperial Guard. Even at the lowest rank of seventh-grade Imperial Guard, Jia Cong's martial arts skills and appearance would allow him to easily rise through the ranks.

Don't forget, before Jia Rong went mad, he was a fourth-rank leader of the Imperial Guard.

The Ning family was very clear about the ins and outs of the Imperial Guard.

Every so often, the Dragon Guard holds martial arts competitions, and the top performers get promoted directly.

With Jia Cong's martial arts skills, getting promoted would be a piece of cake.

However, being born into a guard family is a rather unpleasant background. Once you reach the fourth rank, it's not so easy to get promoted further; you also need the emperor's favor.

Putting aside other matters, even with the Ning family's intervention, they could only secure one spot for a military officer.

Jia Huan was naturally unhappy. To hell with it! He didn't want his brothers to be suppressed because of these unspoken rules.

Fortunately, Jia Cong displayed his prowess at the gate of Prince Zhongshun's mansion, single-handedly fighting against the four guards of the mansion and managing to hold his own, which caused a sensation throughout the noble circles.

Jia Qiang smiled and said that it was also thanks to Uncle Cong's hard work that those families relented.

He was given the opportunity to compete for the top three spots, but of course, he had to have real skills to get it.

"This is perfect!"

Jia Huan laughed and said, "In a real fight, how many people could beat Cong-ge'er?"

“Uncle Huan, I’ve already spoken with Eunuch Dai. If Uncle Cong can achieve the top three in the martial arts examination, he will recommend him to the Emperor if he finds an opportunity!”

"If you get a military rank, you'll at least be a centurion, what do you think..."

At this point, Jia Qiang spoke cautiously, afraid that Jia Huan would become dissatisfied and turn hostile.

"Not bad!"

Jia Huan said leisurely, "It would be best to find a garrison commander who is qualified to lead troops to suppress bandits!"

"I'll try my best to communicate with Grandpa Dai, there shouldn't be any problems!"

Secretly relieved, Jia Qiang immediately patted her chest and assured him, "It definitely won't cause any problems!"

"Yes, that's good!"

Jia Huan nodded slightly and changed the subject, talking about the marriage between Jia Cong and Xue Baochai.

"This is a good thing!"

At this moment, Qin Keqing spoke up: "I've met Miss Xue before; she's a rare and intelligent person!"

"And she's quite beautiful, Uncle Cong..."

"Hehe, it's her and the Xue family's good fortune that she was able to marry Cong-ge!"

Jia Huan interrupted Qin Keqing, saying leisurely, "With my support and the resources of the Ning Mansion, once Cong-ge'er performs well in the martial arts examination, he will immediately soar to great heights!"

"Miss Xue is indeed outstanding, but she is still somewhat influenced by her family's traditions. She likes to calculate everything, but does she ever consider that there are some people and things that she can't possibly scheme against?"

Shaking his head, he chuckled and said, "When it comes to arranging the marriage, it would be best if the Ning family could give it a push. Master She's temperament is indeed hard to fathom, so it's better to be on the safe side!"

After saying all that, he didn't linger and left without a word.

When Jia Qiang returned after seeing the person off, Qin Keqing asked curiously, "Uncle Huan's words just now seemed to have a deeper meaning!"

"What's the point of having any profound meaning?"

Jia Qiang sneered, "I know about this. Miss Xue has some feelings for Uncle Bao."

"I guess she was optimistic about Uncle Bao's future, and Aunt Xue had some ulterior motives and ideas, so she made some vague promises, and Miss Xue took them seriously!"

"However, this time, Uncle Bao went a bit too far. Miss Xue has probably given up hope, which is why she's considering marrying Uncle Cong!"

At this point, he said disdainfully, "Uncle Huan is probably not in a good mood, so it's normal that he sounded a bit sarcastic when he said that. If it were me, I'm afraid I would have said something even harsher!"

"Just the legitimate daughter of a royal merchant, does she really think she's some kind of precious princess?"

Qin Keqing rolled her eyes at this guy, feeling that his words were somewhat veiled.

Of course, she didn't take it to heart, but asked curiously, "Uncle Bao doesn't seem like a playboy, so why does he act so unreliably?"

As the saying goes, good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels fast. Naturally, the Ning Mansion heard the rumors about Jia Baoyu.

Qin Keqing was quite disdainful, and planned that when she invited the women of the Rong Mansion in the future, she would definitely not let Jia Baoyu sneak in. She figured he probably wouldn't think much of anyone now.

"Hehe, she's been too well protected and spoiled!"

Jia Qiang's words were incisive, and he sneered, "You're not young anymore, but you still have the temper of a child. You do everything according to your whims. If this goes on for long, something bad will definitely happen!"

"Luckily, Huan-ge stepped in in time and resolved the matter easily. If we had let it escalate for a while, it would have been hard to say how things would have turned out!"

Qin Keqing's beautiful eyes sparkled as she chuckled, "Uncle Huan really has some nerve, leading people to cause a scene at the gate of Prince Zhongshun's mansion. I wouldn't even dare to dream of such a thing!"

"I don't even dare to think about it, let alone go into the Prince's mansion and speak to Prince Zhongshun face to face!"

Mentioning this, Jia Qiang couldn't help but show his admiration: "With that kind of courage, I can't even imagine how far Huan-ge'er will grow in the future!"

After leaving the Ning Mansion, Jia Huan went straight back to his residence to await Jia Lian's good news.

Jia Lian did not delay. After leaving the yamen the next day, he first informed Wang Xifeng.

"Oh, who knew Second Master had a talent for matchmaking!"

Wang Xifeng teased, "This is rather sudden. How much did the Xue family give Second Master?"

"Hmph, we'll only benefit after it's all done. This was something Huan-ge and I discussed!"

Jia Lian said irritably, "After I've spoken to the master, you should also speak to the madam!"

"Is there anything else I need to do?"

Wang Xifeng exclaimed in surprise, "If there's no benefit to it, then don't bring this up!"

"After this is done, will the Xue family spare you any benefits?"

Jia Lian chuckled and said, "Besides, with your abilities and the money to pave the way, persuading Madam would be a piece of cake. She doesn't want anything to go wrong!"

"What, is someone trying to steal it?"

Wang Xifeng said with a charming smile, "If such a thing really happened, that would be really fun!"

"Isn't it all because of your aunt? She's got her eye on their money and's been using Baoyu to string Xue's daughter along. Who knows if she'll do something wicked behind the scenes?"

Jia Lian said irritably, "With all the messes Baoyu has made, which girl would dare to marry him?"

At this point, he deliberately lowered his voice and said, "I heard from Xue the Fool that your good aunt took at least more than 300,000 taels of silver from Aunt Xue!"

"Tsk tsk, who wouldn't admire this skill of getting something for nothing?"

"Don't worry, Second Master. Since this matter involves my dear aunt, I definitely won't let her have her way!"

Wang Xifeng's eyes turned as sharp as knives, and she sneered repeatedly, "This time, I'll make my good aunt taste what it's like to lose both her lover and her money!"

As she spoke, she gently stroked her slightly protruding belly with her right hand.

She's been through a lot lately, all thanks to Madam Wang's schemes.

Wang Xifeng was not a woman of good temper, so naturally she would look for an opportunity to retaliate.

She might have some reservations about other things, but she could easily get involved in Xue Baochai's marriage, since she was Jia Cong's sister-in-law.

After persuading Wang Xifeng, Jia Lian acted swiftly and went directly to see Master She.

Following Jia Huan's suggestion, Master She laughed heartily and agreed. He also stated that he would definitely attend the wedding and would invite his second son to be a guest.

This guy is really something. Jia Cong is his son, after all. Now that they're getting married, he hasn't mentioned the bride price at all, as if it never even existed.

Jia Lian didn't remind him and left the East Compound directly after completing the task; he wasn't particularly happy to come over.

As for what methods were used to persuade Master She, it was naturally by using Master Zheng as a goading tactic.

If Jia Lian could easily handle Master She, then Wang Xifeng would naturally find it even easier to handle Madam Xing.

Upon receiving the news, Jia Huan immediately invited a well-known official mediator and sent gifts to the Xue family's door.

He didn't come alone; he was followed by thirty-six strong and muscular men, each one a formidable opponent.

When the gatekeeper of the Xue family saw such a scene, his face turned pale.

Xue Pan hurriedly came out to greet them, and seeing the commotion Jia Huan had made, he complained irritably, "We're all brothers, why make such a big show of it?"

At a glance, they were all familiar faces from the martial arts school!

"You rascal, aren't you trying to impress your mother and sister?"

Jia Huan said irritably, "Otherwise, people would think that Cong-ge and I have really fallen on hard times!"

Xue Pan nodded to indicate that he understood; his mother was indeed a bit snobbish.

If he were to be slighted because of Jia Huan's status, it would be no laughing matter; he would feel embarrassed to go out in the future.

In fact, Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai were indeed startled by the commotion Jia Huan made.

Upon hearing the maid's report, they exchanged bewildered glances, yet dared not slacken their efforts in the slightest—this was the most obvious change.

With thirty-six men sitting in the gatehouse, even the host would feel uneasy.

Regardless, you have to carefully consider your own capabilities and whether you can afford to provoke them.

If Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai knew that these men were all acquaintances of Xue Pan, but did not inform them in advance, would they have put aside their own family for the greater good?

There's not much to say about the marriage process; it's been pretty much the same throughout history.