The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

"Haha, second brother, you're envious, aren't you?"

Master She burst into laughter, glanced sideways at Master Zheng, and couldn't help but tease, "Lian'er is already a fairly senior official in the Ministry of Revenue, and now Cong'er is about to become a second-class palace guard. Both of the eldest sons of the main branch have made a name for themselves!"

"I just don't know, when will your second son, Phoenix Egg, become the top liberal arts student in high school?"

By the end, his tone had become rather sarcastic.

The Second Master Zheng's face turned bright red, but he couldn't say a word.

He couldn't very well say that Baoyu was born into a distinguished family and would have a bright future, since he himself didn't believe it.

He could only sigh deeply and say with a wry smile, "My older brother is indeed amazing, much better than me!"

Although it was heartbreaking to say this, there was nothing I could do; what could I do when my son was so disappointing?

"Boss, what are you so smug about?"

The old lady was displeased and immediately started criticizing: "It's as if Lian-ge'er and Cong-ge'er's success has anything to do with you. Don't you know any shame?"

"I don't know anything else, but I do know that Lian-ge and Cong-ge are my sons!"

Master She was in a great mood and didn't care about the old lady's displeasure. He laughed smugly and said, "Could it be that these two boys dare not acknowledge me?"

"By the way, old lady, should we hold a banquet at the manor? Just three days, it won't be too conspicuous!"

At this moment, he was really in high spirits, as if his back had straightened up a lot, and he said to himself, "Invite all the old relatives over to have some fun!"

He could also enjoy another round of compliments, which made him feel quite pleased with himself.

The old lady rolled her eyes, helpless against this guy's shamelessness.

Master Zheng and Madam Wang's faces were stiff, and they didn't know what to say.

At this moment, Jia Lian looked troubled and stammered, "Master, word has come from the Ning Mansion that they plan to hold a grand banquet to celebrate Cong-ge'er's passing the martial arts exam and becoming a third-ranked martial arts scholar!"

"What did you say?"

Master She's expression changed, and he said irritably, "Zong'er passed the martial arts exam and became the third-ranked scholar. Shouldn't I, his father, be in charge of organizing a celebratory banquet for him?"

He looked at Jia Lian with a very unfriendly gaze, as if he would turn on him and fly into a rage if he didn't give a reasonable explanation, and he was absolutely capable of doing so.

Jia Lian was startled, and smiled bitterly to himself. He said dejectedly, "The Ning Mansion said that Cong-ge'er is a member of a collateral branch of the clan. He has made great achievements, and the whole clan should celebrate with him!"

"you……"

Master She was so angry he was practically fuming. He roared, "I'm going to the Ning family right now to ask them. They're really showing no respect for me, their great-uncle!"

After saying that, he ignored the strange and subtle expressions on the old lady's face and stormed off.

Not long after, Master She returned with a sheepish look on his face, and said unhappily, "The Qin family went too far. They actually invited Brother Jing over without even informing him beforehand!"

Thinking back to the awkwardness of being stared at by Jia Jing with a half-smile, she felt extremely annoyed.

However, he dared not act recklessly in front of Jia Jing. The Jia family in the capital was the most respected member of the Wen generation, and that was no joke.

The old lady and the others were still expressing their surprise, never expecting that Master She would return so quickly.

"I didn't expect Jia Jing to be back too. It seems Cong-ge'er has passed the martial arts exam and become a top-ranking martial arts scholar. That's quite something!"

Seeing the somewhat uneasy expressions on her two sons' faces, the old lady couldn't help but sigh, "In that case, let's proceed according to the arrangements made by the Ning family!"

At this point, he glared coldly at Master She and said unhappily, "Boss, you better behave yourself!"

"If you make a fool of yourself, I'll make you kneel in the ancestral hall!"

"Old lady, what are you saying?"

Master She, now brimming with confidence, retorted with dissatisfaction, "I sent my son here; is there some problem with that? That would be a real joke!"

As he spoke, he waved to Jia Lian, who was practically invisible, and called out, "Brother Lian, come on, come on, come with me to the General's Mansion. We'll have a private chat, father and son!"

Jia Lian felt a chill run down his spine and felt uncomfortable all over.

He was taken aback by Master She's amiable attitude and reluctantly left Rongqing Hall, leaving behind only the old lady and the second family looking at each other in bewilderment.

"This boss is really arrogant because he's so proud of himself!"

The old lady said with dissatisfaction, "He's just a martial arts novice, what's the big deal?"

"Without the support of the government, how could he possibly advance smoothly in the army?"

Upon hearing this, Madam Wang's eyes flashed, and she thought it was indeed a good idea.

She had remained silent before, fearing that the old lady would ask the mansion to use military resources to help Jia Cong, but now the master's arrogance had ruined that.

My initial nervousness and anxiety vanished in an instant, replaced by bright sunshine and clear skies.

The Second Master Zheng remained listless and said irritably, "Old Madam, you should stop making trouble. It's not easy for the manor to produce such a talented person. Just bring out whatever resources you have!"

"It's understandable that the eldest brother is overjoyed. If it were his son, he would be so happy he'd lose his bearings!"

The old lady paused upon hearing this, and seeing the second master's disheartened expression, she realized he was not being sarcastic.

Feeling a little uneasy, she comforted him, "Don't worry, Baoyu will definitely amount to something!"

"hope so!"

Master Zheng Er rose, cupped his hands in farewell, and returned to his study with heavy steps.

"Go, go and call Lan Ge'er over. Tell him I have something to ask him, and be polite!"

He summoned his attendant and gave him a series of instructions before letting out a long sigh.

Seeing the curious looks on the faces of his retainers, he couldn't help but smile wryly and said, "I'm sure you all already know that Cong-ge'er has passed the martial arts exam and become a third-ranked scholar. I'm quite troubled by this!"

"I've heard that Lan-ge'er is studying diligently at the clan school and making rapid progress, so I summoned him to inquire about it!"

The group of scholars and gentlemen kept quiet, feeling sorry for Master Zheng.

They had seen Jia Baoyu before and thought this second son of the main wife was quite talented.

He disliked the Four Books and Five Classics, but his talent in poetry and prose was quite remarkable.

If properly nurtured, even if he doesn't become the top scholar, he could at least become a second-ranked scholar.

As a result, the old lady and Madam Wang spoiled him too much, ruining a promising student. Now, even the second master of the Zheng family, who had the highest hopes for him, is too lazy to mention him and directly inquires about the studies of his grandson, Lan'er.

The implications are self-evident!

In the future, it's better not to be so enthusiastic and proactive when dealing with Jia Baoyu; it's better to keep a distance.

After all, what good would it do for them and their families to befriend a member of the Rong family who certainly has no future in officialdom? They might even get caught up in the internal strife of the Rong family.

Not long after, Li Wan personally brought Lan Ge'er over.

She was quite excited. She naturally knew what Master Zheng meant by calling Lan Ge'er to the study. It was likely that a lot of resources would be poured into him in the future.

Li Wan had been waiting for this day for a long time. On the way here, she kept reminding Lan Ge'er to speak properly.

After Lan Ge'er entered the study and greeted him, the Second Master Zheng, with a kind face, began to inquire about his studies, trying to get to the bottom of things.

The result was that he was summoned, which surprised even the guests in the study, who were also pleasantly surprised.

Lan Ge'er's studies are quite solid, and although his writing is only average, his accumulated knowledge is quite good for a student of his age.

He gradually became one of the top students in the junior class of the ethnic minority school.

I have already started studying the Four Books of the Four Books and Five Classics, and I am studying very hard. My teacher has given me good feedback.

These are all pieces of information deduced from Lan Ge'er's words.

Even so, Master Zheng was quite pleased and gave Lan Ge'er a set of precious writing implements as a gift.

Although Lan Ge'er is already ten years old, he is still a child at heart. Li Wan has protected him too well, and he has never experienced the cruel environment outside.

When talking about the situation of ethnic studies, I accidentally revealed a lot of information.

For example, Jia Baoyu's inconsistent attitude at the clan school meant that, according to the teacher, he would be able to enter the senior class when he reached the age of seventeen or eighteen.

The so-called "big class" refers to the final stage of preparing for the preliminary imperial examinations.

When they reach the senior class, they need to start preparing for the preliminary examinations, and their learning tasks and workload will increase accordingly.

The family school teacher still thought highly of Jia Baoyu's talent for studying, believing that even if he only studied sporadically, he could easily pass the imperial examination for the first degree by his early twenties.

After all, with his talent, Jia Baoyu could easily memorize some of the books he had been listening to for years.

As he said this, Lan Ge'er could not hide his envy, clearly admiring how easily Jia Baoyu could study and even pass the imperial examination.

But hearing this only made Master Zheng feel worse.

Fortunately, he no longer wants to pay attention to Jia Baoyu. Out of sight, out of mind, he'll let him improve on his own.

Now, Master Zheng Er has also realized that the more he pressures Jia Baoyu, the stronger his rebellious state becomes, so it's better to let things take their natural course.

After all, the Rong family is now thriving, and Jia Baoyu no longer needs to work hard to exert himself in order to wield the influence he deserves in the circles of powerful and influential people in the capital.

Lan Ge'er's diligence and eagerness to learn are exactly what he wants.

However, some things that Lan Ge'er inadvertently mentioned made Master Zheng hesitate.

I wonder if it was the kindness shown by the Second Master that made Lan Ge'er a little carried away.

This kid actually brought up the most mysterious figure in the clan school, namely Jia Huan.

He had overheard the teachers discussing that Uncle Huan's academic level was already outstanding, and he should even have no problem passing the imperial examination for the lowest degree, but unfortunately he wasn't very interested.

Lan Ge'er showed considerable envy and jealousy towards this, because he still had at least five or six years of study to go before reaching that level, and he didn't know when it would end.