The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

"Look, Brother Cong set off again a few days ago. If he gets a few more merits, he might be promoted directly to a general of the third rank or above. How old is he?"

"Don't tell me that Brother Cong's rapid rise has done you no good!"

"Have you noticed that the spoiled rich kids you've encountered lately are a bit more polite to you?"

Looking at the bewildered Jia Baoyu, I felt a mix of envy, jealousy, and resentment.

Jia Cong's rapid rise to prominence presents a tremendous opportunity, yet Jia Baoyu seems oblivious to it.

As a son of a military family, how could he not know that the rise of a general in the army would benefit a whole host of people, who would either be promoted or become rich?

If I could follow Jia Cong early on, who knows, when Jia Cong becomes a high-ranking general, I might also be promoted to a mid-level officer for my merits, which would be wonderful.

I wonder how many noble sons in the capital are plotting the same thing as him!

As a result, Jia Baoyu, a direct descendant of the Rong family, had little concept of this.

I wonder if Jia Baoyu truly didn't understand, or was he pretending not to?

Ironically, he had previously planned to ask Jia Baoyu to act as an intermediary so that he could directly join Jia Cong's ranks, starting as a member of the personal guard and gradually rising through the ranks.

Who would have thought that Jia Baoyu had such thoughts?

He was so unhappy that he didn't even attend the celebration banquet because he was so pleased with Jia Cong's success and the attention he received from his family.

It's hard to imagine how Jia Baoyu would react if I were to rashly offer my idea.

It's unlikely they'll completely fall out, but a period of coldness in their relationship is inevitable.

The problem is, Feng Ziying can't afford to delay.

Just as Jia Huan and Master Zheng said, there are too many clever people in the capital, and with the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet still around, it's definitely not easy to take advantage of others.

Once you miss this promotion, who knows if you'll have another chance?

Otherwise, how could there be a saying that "a well-fed man doesn't know the hunger of a starving man"?

"If you hadn't said anything, I really wouldn't have noticed!"

Jia Baoyu felt a little embarrassed, but upon careful reflection, it really was true.

His face immediately darkened, and he said irritably, "Why would I need to benefit from his fame?"

Feng Ziying remained silent, then chuckled lightly, "Brother Bao, that's just how the world is. I don't even have a chance to benefit from it!"

"If it's possible, Brother Bao, could you introduce Ruolan and me to Brother Cong?"

Chapter 290 Refusal to Back Down (Please Subscribe)

Jia Huan certainly didn't know what Jia Baoyu said to his friends while they were drinking outside.

If they had known, they would have given Jia Baoyu some face and reluctantly accepted Feng Ziying, Wei Ruolan, and others as his underlings.

It is said that the noble sons of Feng Ziying and Wei Ruolan's small group were generally quite upright in terms of character and conduct. In other words, they did not act recklessly or cause harm to the common people.

His martial arts skills and military knowledge are quite good, so taking him in wouldn't be a burden.

At present, Jia Cong does indeed need to take in some qualified sons of noble families to help him. It is certain that he will not have a good end if he tries to take all the credit for himself.

However, things are too hasty these days. Before Jia Cong could even rest for a month, he was sent out again.

This time, it's specifically targeting bandits and mountain thieves in the Central Plains region.

Of course, it would be best if Jia Cong could, like last time, seize evidence of cooperation between local forces and bandits.

The imperial court could not only openly and legitimately rectify local officialdom, but also gain a lot of wealth during the confiscation of property. Only a fool would easily give up such a win-win situation.

During the less than one-month break, through the connections of the two marquises of the Shi family and Lord She, many young men from the eight founding dukes and twelve marquis families quietly came to become Jia Cong's helpers.

As military bigwigs, these noble families would certainly react no slower than juniors like Feng Ziying and Wei Ruolan.

As long as his abilities were decent, Jia Cong would accept any shortcomings in other areas.

He was also aware of his own shortcomings, such as his ability to communicate with officials and his social skills, which were rather weak. These could be left to his sons of noble families.

In this way, Jia Cong could focus all his attention on the war and avoid any unexpected situations.

This time, Jia Huan didn't go along!

After all, Jia Cong had already been given a good demonstration, and enough martial arts instructors had been provided as special operations personnel. If Jia Cong still had problems under such circumstances, then it would mean that his own abilities were insufficient.

Jia Huan stayed in the capital, observing the political situation up close while preparing for the military examination.

After the clan banquet at Ning Mansion, Jia Qiang did not intend to stay in the capital for long. A few days later, he set off directly to take up his post in a local area.

When he left, Jia Huan sent several martial arts instructors to help him.

Sometimes, underworld methods are far more effective than conventional methods.

Jia Qiang accepted the offer with a smile and expressed his hope that once he had established himself firmly, he would send more people from Jia Huan's gang to set up branch gangs, as he needed stronger support.

This is good enough!

If you need help, just say so. Don't keep it to yourself and make Jia Huan guess!

I'm not someone who can read minds. How could I possibly guess what they're thinking?

Perhaps sensing something amiss, or perhaps seeing some clues, Jia Qiang was able to ask for help without hesitation. Jia Huan, too lazy to guess, agreed directly.

Just a few days after Jia Qiang left, news reached Jia Huan from the Rong Mansion that the public finances between the eldest and second branches of the family had been completely separated.

In other words, from now on, the eldest son's wife will take care of his expenses, and the second son's wife will take care of hers!

I heard that the old lady was quite dissatisfied with this and even threw a tantrum.

Unfortunately, neither the first wife nor the second wife showed any intention of backing down this time.

In reality, it was just that Madam Wang and her niece Wang Xifeng were determined to separate, and with Jia Lian secretly supporting them, the old lady couldn't object even if she wanted to.

To put it bluntly, the old lady's extraordinary status was all thanks to her sons and daughters-in-law.

If her son and daughter-in-law ever disobeyed her, the old lady would have no choice but to accept it.

I also heard that Madam Wang and Wang Xifeng almost had a falling out over the division of the public treasury's silver reserves.

In the end, Wang Xifeng compromised and agreed to a 70/30 split to completely sever financial ties with the second wife's family.

That means the second wife received a full 70%, while the first wife only received 30%.

Regardless, from then on, Wang Xifeng no longer needed to concern herself with the troubles of the mansion, and could focus all her attention on the East Courtyard where the main house was located.

Upon hearing the news, Jia Huan naturally knew what had happened.

Sure enough, a few days later, he received a drinking invitation from Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng.

He gladly went to her door, and the first thing he said to Wang Xifeng was a teasing remark: "Sister-in-law Feng, you certainly have a great spirit!"

"What kind of spirit is that?"

Wang Xifeng rolled her eyes and said irritably, "If I could, I wouldn't even consider dividing the finances."

Jia Huan didn't respond to that, and chuckled, "Isn't it much easier now? You don't have to worry about those trivial matters anymore, so you can focus more of your attention and energy on Zhuo-ge'er?"

"What you say is true!"

Wang Xifeng smiled slightly and nodded, saying, "With such a small place as the East Courtyard, managing it properly is a piece of cake."

Jia Huan just chuckled; there was no need to respond.

It is said that when Wang Xifeng was in charge of the public affairs, her biggest headaches were the managers below her and the various reasonable and unreasonable purchasing requests from the second branch of the family.

The managers used a variety of methods, and in short, they had developed a process for making money.

Whenever public funds flow out, they can get a good share of the profits!

Especially when they realized that the old lady would never allow the mansion to continue confiscating the steward's property, it wouldn't be easy for them to stop their embezzlement, even if they didn't become even more frenzied.

Wang Xifeng always had ideas to curb the arrogance of these managers, but each time it required a lot of effort and the final results were not significant.

The second branch's purchasing needs mainly consisted of Master Zheng purchasing stationery, as well as various paintings, calligraphy, and ancient books that he valued.

The price of this thing is not fixed at all, and there are also accomplices who collude to make a fortune, wasting a lot of money.

Wang Xifeng wasn't very clear about the intricacies of the situation, but she knew that Master Zheng was spending an astonishing amount of money.

There were other troublesome matters, as well as some deliberately difficult demands from Madam Wang. In short, Wang Xifeng was kept extremely busy and exhausted, but in the end, she still didn't get any benefits.

Her reputation in the household was extremely bad; she was practically cursed as a living devil by the servants.

Given Wang Xifeng's personality, how could she possibly tolerate this?

If it weren't for the consideration of the elders' thoughts and feelings, I probably would have taken drastic measures long ago.

Now that they have completely severed financial ties with the second wife, they only need to manage the affairs of the first wife's side, and there are no elders to suppress them. Wouldn't that make life wonderful?

These inside stories from the Rong family were naturally revealed by this person during a visit to Aunt Zhao.

Aunt Zhao also complained that the second branch of the family was managing their own affairs, but they also had to manage most of the Rong Mansion's affairs. She estimated that Madam Wang would not be able to handle it, and that she, as the concubine, might suffer financial losses in the end.

What can Jia Huan say?

He directly stated that he would provide Aunt Zhao with an extra twenty taels of silver each month as a monthly allowance, so that Aunt Zhao would not have to be frugal with her food and drink, and that the key was to eat well, drink well, and live comfortably.

Aunt Zhao happily accepted the first month's tribute, her face beaming with joy.

In fact, she was not short of money. Not to mention that she could get involved in the purchase of rouge and powder and the sale of embroidery, the profits from these transactions alone were enough for her to live a very comfortable life.