The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

What frustrated her most was that although her aunt, Madam Wang, invited her to visit, she didn't explicitly say anything.

It's as if she were just Jia Baoyu's playmate.

One incident after another seemed to confirm Jia Huan's previous disdain for the Xue family.

This situation naturally made her extremely unwilling, yet she was helpless.

In the capital, the only two relatives of the Wang family were related to the Xue family. The Wang family had ulterior motives, while the Xue family seemed to exist as if they didn't exist at all, with no contact whatsoever.

They only exchange gifts and gossip during holidays and festivals. There's no other substantial assistance between them.

Jia Cong, whom I used to look down on, has become a military graduate and may soon become a military scholar.

It's impossible for me not to feel any regret.

Unfortunately, it's already a bit too late to say all this now.

Although it was a military examination to become a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), it was quite easy for Jia Cong.

His martial arts skills at this point were about 35% to 40% of the level of the former Duke of Ningguo, which was quite remarkable. He could handle any kind of military martial art with ease.

He achieved excellent results in almost every subject!

After all the exams were over, Jia Huan met Jia Cong at the entrance of the examination hall. The guy was full of energy and had a ruddy complexion, clearly very confident in his exam results.

"Okay, okay, take a good rest. Once the results come out, there probably won't be much time to rest!"

Jia Huan laughed heartily, quite satisfied, completely ignoring the surprised looks from the other candidates.

In fact, he has reason to be proud.

Jia Cong can be said to have been cultivated by him, and he spent a lot of resources and effort on him.

How could I not be happy with the fruitful results I have achieved?

"No need to rest, just continue exercising as usual!"

Jia Cong was also overjoyed and said directly, "I feel that my martial arts skills may be in a phase of rapid improvement recently, so I shouldn't waste it!"

"what ever!"

Jia Huan waved his hand and laughed, "As long as you don't slack off, you'll soon have a chance to prove yourself!"

After saying that, the two brothers returned to the martial arts school together.

The brothers from the branch who stayed behind, as well as acquaintances from the clinic, came one by one to congratulate him, as if Jia Cong had already passed the imperial examination for military officers or even achieved the highest rank.

In fact, everyone in the martial arts school was full of confidence in Jia Cong's performance.

According to one of the underlings, "If someone like Cong Sanshao can't pass the martial arts examination, who will be qualified to pass it in the future?"

"Anyway, if even Young Master Cong fails the exam, I will absolutely not accept it!"

The other underlings laughed heartily, sharing the same thought.

Most of them had personally witnessed how hard Jia Cong trained!

If these underlings had even a tenth of the diligence of Young Master Cong, they would be able to secure a place in the martial arts world.

It's important to know that the martial arts school has plenty of training resources; on the contrary, it's quite abundant.

As for martial arts training methods, the martial arts school has at least a dozen or twenty different kinds. Anyone who has made some contribution to the school can freely choose to practice any of them.

The martial arts school can provide all other training facilities, equipment, medicinal meals, and baths needed for training, all at a very low cost.

It can be said that although this place does not have a sign, it is actually similar to those famous martial arts sects, capable of training a large number of martial arts masters.

They can even learn military tactics here, which is quite astonishing.

The Rong family's estates outside the city provide opportunities for them to practice riding and archery, and even teach them some basic military knowledge, which can be taught by the veteran soldiers recuperating at the estates.

If you're determined, you can make a name for yourself whether you're in the underworld or in the military.

There are quite a few examples like this!

Otherwise, how did the two canal wharves in Tongzhou and Tianjin become the top players?

In fact, relying on these two strongholds, many brothers with high martial arts skills made a name for themselves in the area.

Those who wanted to join the army for wealth and status, or those who wanted to gain a good social standing, also had connections in the Beijing Garrison.

Whether he can make a name for himself in the future depends on his own abilities and luck.

I've heard that the most successful one has become a centurion in the Beijing garrison.

That's also true; the gang recruits more than just thugs and petty criminals.

In fact, the number of thugs remaining in the gang is already very small.

There's no other reason than that the rules here in the gang are too strict, just like in the military. How could those undisciplined thugs possibly stand it?

It was fine when the gang was expanding rapidly, but once things stabilized here, most of the real thugs went to Tongzhou and Tianjin.

Those who remained at the temple were mostly respectable people from neighboring families who had no other options.

Most of them are ordinary people who joined after hearing the news.

Living in the capital is not easy!

This is no joke; it applies to any dynasty.

In particular, the continuous natural and man-made disasters in the previous years, and the drastic fluctuations in food prices alone, made life extremely difficult for ordinary people in the capital.

Joining the Ning Rong Street branch offers a promising future, naturally attracting many ambitious young people to join!

Chapter 252 A Ridiculous Guess (Please Subscribe)

In fact, the rankings were already determined as soon as the martial arts examination ended.

The saying goes, "In literature, there is no first place; in martial arts, there is no second." The strength of one's martial arts skills is directly demonstrated during the examination process, making it difficult to fake.

In addition to the ability to understand military strategy and tactics, this represents the candidate's overall strength.

Basically, it's unrealistic to try and pull any tricks!

The reason for the internal distribution of resources was to provide various noble families with the opportunity to privately cultivate their own talented offspring or to recruit outstanding candidates, under the guise of "replenishing fresh blood."

As long as the candidate is truly strong enough, it is not difficult to pass the military examination even without relying on any noble family. Of course, it is not easy to become one of the top three.

In fact, what the examiners really cared about was the ranking of the top three.

They immediately sent the candidates' rankings to the emperor's desk for his personal selection.

"Hmm, Jia Cong, who ranks third, is a member of the Rong family, and he's only thirteen years old?"

In addition to the rankings, the emperor also saw detailed information about the candidates.

When he saw Jia Cong's introduction, he was quite surprised.

The chief examiner, who was also the Minister of War, hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty, that is indeed the case!"

"Is his martial arts skill really that strong at such a young age?"

Some people today are skeptical, muttering, "Isn't that a bit too exaggerated?"

"Your Majesty, the candidate Jia Cong is exceptionally skilled in martial arts among all the soldiers!"

The Minister of War reminded him, "Just recently, he fought fiercely with the four guards of Prince Zhongshun's mansion and managed to escape unscathed. His strength is beyond doubt!"

"Oh, now that you mention it, I remember. It seems the Rong family has indeed produced a military talent!"

The emperor suddenly realized this and raised no further questions, directly approving the decision with his imperial brush.

As for why Jia Cong was only a martial arts third-place winner, it was naturally because he was too young.

At least, he did not demonstrate overwhelming strength in the martial arts examination that allowed him to crush the other candidates.

Neither the examiners nor the emperor were particularly pleased that a member of the Rong family would become the top martial arts scholar; it was that simple.

Even so, the effects still appeared, and that night the emperor chose Yuan Chun's concubine.

Upon seeing Yuan Chun, who was dressed in a dazzling and beautiful manner, the Emperor was even in a good mood and enjoyed dinner with her, jokingly saying, "The Rong family has produced a formidable military general, but I wonder if he has inherited his grandfather's style?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Chun was greatly encouraged!

A military general who can be ridiculed by the current emperor must be no ordinary person.

The problem is, she has no idea who the powerful general the emperor was talking about is.

The next day, after the emperor left, Yuan Chun immediately sent her eunuch out of the palace to Rong Mansion to inquire about the matter. She was quite excited.

She now understood that the reason why the emperor was able to rest at her place last night was thanks to that unknown military officer from the Rong family—a truly unexpected stroke of good fortune!

It should be noted that her living conditions in the palace were only so-so.

If the emperor could come once a month, that was already quite a favor; sometimes, one wouldn't even see the emperor for months at a time.

Fortunately, she has a biological daughter to keep her company, otherwise she would be bored to death. At such a young age, she is living a life like being in a cold palace. If this goes on for a long time, she might develop psychological problems.

The Rong family produced a military general who caught the emperor's eye, and he came over immediately that very day.

This is what she's getting – the influence of her maternal family and the benefits it brings her.

At this moment, Yuan Chun had a very clear and profound understanding of whether her family had any influence, and whether they had the power to make the emperor take them seriously.

However, the trusted eunuch she sent out did not bring her any good news upon his return.