The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

Who can blame Lin Ruhai for having such a high rank and position at this time!

Who knows when they might be able to give Jia Lian a hand and help him rise to a higher position in the officialdom.

Even Jia Huan, Lin Daiyu's future husband, was someone Wang Xifeng was willing to befriend!

There's no other reason; Jia Huan is good at making money, which suits her taste perfectly!

She was also thinking that she would cooperate more with Jia Huan in the future to make the family business of the eldest son's family more and more prosperous, so as to give her son a good start.

As for Li Wan, there's no need to elaborate further.

Lin Ruhai is a small force within the civil service!

As long as he remains healthy, he can stand in the court for at least another decade or so at his age.

By then, her son Jia Lan had already passed the imperial examination and become an official.

Given Lin Ruhai's status and position, with just a little help, his future would naturally be smooth sailing.

Furthermore, if Lin Ruhai were willing, she could serve as a link to connect with her maternal family.

Of course, Li Wan and Lin Daiyu had always gotten along very well!

Li Wan greatly admired Lin Daiyu's knowledge and level of understanding.

Sometimes, Lin Daiyu could easily answer Jia Lan's questions about his studies.

In short, Li Wan, who came from a scholarly family, greatly admired Lin Daiyu, a talented woman.

Here, all the women of the Rong family, except for Madam Wang who was feeling unwell, came out to entertain Lin Daiyu.

In the study of the outer courtyard, Master Zheng and Jia Huan received Lin Ruhai.

Since we were all acquaintances, there was no need for formalities. We started talking about matters of the court while holding our teacups.

"The current purge of the Emperor's confidants is becoming increasingly drastic; I fear the court will not be peaceful!"

"It doesn't concern us much. As long as we don't actively get involved, there shouldn't be any problems!"

"Brother Cunzhou has just become the Commissioner of the Court of Judicial Review; he needs to be especially careful!"

Indeed, after much effort, just a few days after Lin Ruhai's transfer appointment, Master Zheng Er finally achieved his wish and was promoted to the position of Commissioner of the Court of State Affairs.

This position is both leisurely and important, which is just right for someone like Master Zheng Er.

The Office of Transmission was a relay office for communication between higher and lower levels. Local information would be gathered at the Office of Transmission first, and then transmitted to the Grand Secretariat and the Emperor.

At the founding of the dynasty, the Office of Transmission had a wide range of powers and was one of the intelligence agencies controlled by the emperor.

They even had the power to help screen memorials submitted from local areas, making them a truly powerful department.

However, its power was repeatedly reduced by the cabinet, and it has now become a completely powerless department. When local memorials are submitted, the Office of Transmission simply registers and categorizes them before submitting them verbatim to the cabinet and the emperor.

He was indeed well-informed, but he no longer had much power.

If it weren't for the tradition left over from the founding period, the official rank of the Tongzhengshi would have remained at the third rank.

However, such a leisurely position is quite suitable for Master Zheng.

Having little authority naturally means not having to bear any responsibility!

His rank was evident, and he was a powerful figure who could attend small court assemblies. Local officials and lower-ranking officials in the capital dared not ignore him, which was excellent.

Unlike the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, who was easily overlooked when the Great Qian Dynasty was not powerful.

There were no foreign envoys to entertain them, so they were just bored out of their minds.

The Second Master Zheng was quite pleased with this; had he achieved his goal?

"Brother Ruhai, rest assured, everyone knows the situation of the Office of Transmission. As long as I don't actively get involved in court affairs, no one will deliberately make trouble for me!"

"My lord, the Office of Transmission may not be busy, but they are very well-informed!"

"What's the situation in the Central Plains? Brother Cunzhou, have you had any news lately?"

"It's still the same stagnant pool. On the other hand, Cong-ge'er's bandit suppression is progressing well, and quite a few local officials have been implicated. I wonder what they're thinking?"

"What else can you think? The temptation of wealth gained without effort is too great. If you can't resist, you'll be dragged down!"

"Cong-ge'er is indeed fierce, but we still need to remind him to be careful. It's not the open attacks that are scary, but the hidden ones!"

"Uncle, don't worry. Cong-ge'er mostly stays in the military camp and won't come out unless absolutely necessary. Some people wouldn't even have the chance to scheme against him!"

"We still need to be careful. After all, they're clearly using him as a weapon. Who knows if those local officials being targeted will resort to desperate measures!"

"Yes, official targeting is nothing compared to those sneaky tricks from the underworld!"

"The Grand Canal Gang and the Yellow River Gang are both Jianghu forces that even the imperial court finds troublesome. Their influence in the Central Plains is too strong. It's best to be cautious!"

"Many of the skilled martial artists I have under my command have been sent to support Cong-ge'er, so there's no need to worry too much about that, unless they openly intend to rebel!"

"Alas, the current emperor is already losing patience. It's not an easy task to purge the former emperor's people. There are still tough nuts to crack in the south!"

"If you ask me, it's all because they've been spoiled. Take the south, for example. Just rotate all the local garrisons there and replace them with the border troops or Beijing garrison that we can control now. Let's see which force in the south dares to show its face then?"

"You make it sound so easy. The cost of rotating troops in different locations alone is astronomical!"

"Hehe, Jiangnan is prosperous. Why not ask those wealthy families for alms, especially the salt merchants of Yangzhou? If we confiscate all their property, the imperial court can probably live a comfortable life for many years!"

"The interests of Yangzhou salt merchants are countless. Who would dare to take on such a heavy responsibility? Aren't they afraid that they will be discarded after serving their purpose and suffer a miserable end?"

"Hehe, I was just saying, I'm just afraid I'll regret it later if I didn't force it!"

"What do you mean?"

"It's nothing, sir. What exactly happened in the southwest? Was there a major fight?"

"For now it's just a small-scale clash, but I think things are a bit off. The Prince of Nan'an seems to be getting impatient. I wonder why?"

Chapter 306 Deliberate Exposure (Please Subscribe)

Speaking of the Prince of Nan'an, the Second Master Zheng brought up another matter.

"I don't know what the Prince of Nan'an is thinking. Recently, he has been recruiting ambitious young nobles from our founding noble families to go to the south, saying that there are good things waiting for them!"

"I have a feeling something's not quite right."

"This is a private recruitment of military officers; if it gets leaked, it's a serious crime!"

Speaking of this, Master Zheng's face was full of worry.

No wonder he did that!

The founding nobles were a group of interests. Although there was no shortage of internal power struggles, they always told the same story to the outside world. Otherwise, why would they be so feared by the people today?

As a prince of a different surname who possessed a private army, the Prince of Nan'an was a backbone force within the group of four kings, eight dukes, and even twelve marquises; he was the kind of person who absolutely could not afford to be harmed.

When the Prince of Beijing relinquished his military power, it dealt a heavy blow to the founding nobles.

The other two non-hereditary kings, the Prince of Dongping and the Prince of Xining, have both suffered significant declines in strength. Their territories directly face the nomadic tribes beyond the Great Wall, making it impossible for them to develop.

In other words, the Prince of Nan'an, whose territory was in the southwest, was the most powerful and the true pillar of the group of four kings and eight dukes, the kind of person who absolutely could not be brought down.

However, it seems that the Prince of Nan'an is starting to lose his composure.

Jia Huan and Lin Ruhai exchanged a glance, both seeing a solemn expression in each other's eyes.

This matter is probably not simple.

"Sir, don't you know the specifics of what happened?"

After a moment of contemplation, Jia Huan asked curiously, "The Prince of Nan'an's conscription of noble sons and noble families couldn't possibly have escaped the emperor's notice. Does he really think the Embroidered Uniform Guard is just a bunch of idiots?"

"Brother Huan, you mean..."

Master Zheng was stunned at first, then realized what was happening, his face full of disbelief.

"I suspect this matter has received current approval!"

Jia Huan asked in a deep voice, "What exactly is the Prince of Nan'an thinking?"

His tone was somewhat displeased, and he said coldly, "Doesn't he know that the current emperor has long been unhappy with the members of our founding noble group, yet he still associates with the current emperor?"

It's practically calling him a pig-brain; it's utterly absurd.

Even a fool knows that the interests of the founding nobles and the interests of the present are completely different things.

What's the difference between cooperating with the current government and seeking help from a tiger?

Who knows what they're thinking now, or if they've already dug a pit for the Prince of Nan'an to jump into?

"I really don't know!"

The Second Master's expression grew increasingly grave, and he pondered, "I haven't heard anything from the other families either!"

"Hmph, if he's not taking any action, why is he secretly recruiting sons of noble families?"

Jia Huan said unhappily, "Are you unable to contain your ambition and want to wage war against the neighboring country?"

"impossible!"

The Second Master Zheng's expression changed drastically, and he hesitated, saying, "This is a very serious matter. Surely the Prince of Nan'an wouldn't be so foolish? Qianxiang Kingdom is a small country in the south with considerable strength!"

"If we want to start a national war, we must obtain the permission of the current emperor and the cabinet!"

"But not a single word has escaped from the imperial court!"