The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

Otherwise, Qin Keqing's funeral in the original Dream of the Red Chamber would not have been so grand.

So what if she was the former crown prince's illegitimate daughter?

A princess who is not included in the Imperial Family's Jade Tablet is not a true royal princess!

Even if a real royal princess were to pass away, her funeral would not be such a grand affair.

It can only be said that the Ning and Rong mansions still wielded considerable power at that time.

When Jia Jing passed away, the scale and grandeur of his funeral had declined drastically.

It may be because Jia Zhen didn't care, but isn't it also the reason for the serious decline of the Ning and Rong mansions?

As for Jia Lian, his calling card was even able to persuade the military governor of Chang'an to help him with the lawsuit at Qin Keqing's funeral, which shows how much influence he had.

Although the four great families of Jinling were no longer at their peak, Wang Ziteng had now been promoted to Inspector General of Nine Provinces, making him one of the most influential figures in the military, and his influence was considerable.

In addition, the Jia family were members of the eight founding dukes, making them a core line of nobles, and their prestige and influence were not to be underestimated.

In many matters, it would be more convenient for Jia Lian to handle them than for the Commander of the Western City.

As for Lai Er, the head steward of the Ning family, he was nothing more than a bully who borrowed power from others.

He's considered a big shot when others give him face.

But if others don't give him face, the West City Commander alone can teach him a lesson.

It can only be said that Jia Lian was not only spoiled, but also severely suppressed, and he rarely interacted with officials.

If he interacts with them more often, he will definitely be surprised to find out.

Even if one is not a member of the officialdom, one's status and position still allow one to do many things, and others have to give them face.

It's quite pitiful, really, because Jia Lian in the Dream of the Red Chamber had almost no close friends among the young noblemen.

In contrast, Jia Baoyu was able to chat happily with young masters of the same caliber as Feng Ziying and Wei Ruolan as soon as he appeared on screen.

A careful analysis reveals a significant difference in how the Rong family raised Jia Lian and Jia Baoyu; in short, it's highly abnormal…

Chapter 45 Seed of a Military General (Please continue reading)

After taking ten taels of silver from Jia Lian, and under the man's resentful gaze, Jia Huan patted his behind and returned to the clan school, still accompanied by his uncle Zhao Guoji.

The Zhao family does have relatives, but their relationship with Aunt Zhao is generally just so-so.

Jia Huan needs a trustworthy person to serve him closely, and for now, Zhao Guoji is the only one who can do the work.

Despite his turbulent activities outside, he still doesn't have much influence in the household.

If they wanted to have an extra servant, Madam Wang, the second wife, would never agree.

The atmosphere at the ethnic studies school is quite good; students do their own things without disturbing each other.

When he saw Jia Huan, he simply smiled and nodded, saying they could talk after school.

Jia Huan sat down in his seat and glanced at Cong Ge'er, who was quietly reading a book next to him.

Sure enough, this kid was reading "The Complete Story of Yue Fei"!

That's why they say interest is the best motivation for learning.

Previously, Congge'er had some difficulty recognizing characters, but now he can read novels on his own.

However, this kid has been neglecting his serious studies lately.

It's obvious that his mind isn't on his studies.

At some point, he began to talk about the great achievements of the late Duke Rong, recounting almost every victory in great detail as if he had personally experienced it.

It's obvious that this kid has developed a strong interest in martial arts!

That's rare, truly rare!

As a top-tier martial arts family, by the time of Master She and Master Zheng, no one in the Rong family had pursued a martial arts career.

As for the members of the Yu generation, none of them had any intention of pursuing a martial arts career.

The original Jia Huan was in the same situation. Even if he wanted to pursue a martial arts career now, it would be unlikely, as the second wife, Lady Wang, would certainly not allow it.

However, if Cong-ge'er wants to pursue a martial arts path, there won't be many obstacles.

After all, the age gap between him and his elder brother Jia Lian was too large, so he posed virtually no threat.

Jia Lian was already an adult and married at this time. It would probably be more than ten years before Cong Ge'er mastered martial arts. By then, Jia Lian would be almost forty years old. How could he possibly have any thoughts or ideas?

They probably hope that Cong-ge'er will achieve something so that he can help his elder brother!

If it were Jia Huan, he wouldn't have been able to do it.

He was about the same age as Jia Baoyu, the legitimate son of the second wife, with a difference of only a year or so.

If Jia Huan performs well and Jia Baoyu fails to control him, wouldn't it make Jia Baoyu, the legitimate son, seem too useless?

It might even shake Jia Baoyu's position in the heart of Master Zheng!

When the family property is divided later, who knows if Master Zheng will lose his mind and give Jia Huan a little more? Wouldn't Lady Wang be furious?

As for Lan Ge'er, the eldest grandson of the second wife, he was practically invisible even more than Jia Huan!

For now, nobody will pay him any attention!

Enough of that, let's get back to Cong-ge.

This kid has been living a very comfortable life with Jia Huan for the past six months.

When he first came to the clan school, he could only eat free meals and ordinary snacks with Jia Huan, but he was quite satisfied with that.

According to this kid, it's much better than the cold rice and dishes that the manor provides from time to time.

Although he lived in the East Courtyard, his meals were provided by the Rong Mansion's main kitchen!

In the entire East Courtyard, only Master She and Madam Xing had a small kitchen where they could cook their own delicious meals.

The cost of the main kitchen was paid by the public funds. The food expenses of the entire East Courtyard were not a small amount. How could Master She be so generous?

Otherwise, although Cong-ge'er from the upper clan school was a year older than Jia Huan, their height and build were about the same.

There's no other reason than the poor quality of the food, which couldn't provide Congge'er with the sufficient nutrition he needed to grow.

To put it bluntly, the meals he received were not even as good as the free communal meals provided by the clan school!

When Jia Huan started to have more money, Cong-ge'er naturally benefited as well!

Any nutritious and delicious food, Cong Ge'er can always get a share.

In addition, given the usual amount of exercise, and after only half a year of attending the local school, his height and physique have both increased significantly.

The Jia family has excellent genes; at least in terms of appearance, they have no problems at all.

The physical prowess of the two founding dukes, who were able to become top-tier generals on the battlefield, goes without saying.

As Cong-ge'er grew up a bit, he not only had thick eyebrows and big eyes, making him very handsome, but his physique was also much larger than that of his peers.

From a modern perspective, barring any unforeseen circumstances, this guy would have no problem growing into a burly man, at least 1.85 meters tall.

Given his young age and strong interest in martial arts, isn't he a natural-born military commander?

With proper training, Cong-ge might just become a representative figure of the Rong family in the military!

To be honest, Jia Huan didn't understand why the Rong family would entrust all their military connections to Wang Ziteng.

When Jia Huan first arrived in the world of Dream of the Red Chamber, he thought that the Jia family was in the army and no longer had any relatives. He thought that he had to hand over his military connections to Wang Ziteng, otherwise these connections might become useless over time.

Inside the mansion, one could only hear praise for Prince Teng; there was no other sound.

But after Jia Huan left the mansion and gained great influence in the clan school, he learned more information and was surprised to find that things were not like that at all.

The Jia family had members in the army, or more precisely, in the Beijing garrison, and there were more than just one or two of them.

He then realized that the original novel of Dream of the Red Chamber provided very little information about these matters.

If you think about it carefully, it's not surprising at all that a member of the Jia family held a position in the Beijing garrison.

The Jia family in the capital had eight branches of the clan, including the Ning and Rong mansions and six other branches!

The ancestors of these six branches of the clan were all descendants of the first generation of the Dukes of Ning and Rong. They were either legitimate sons or illegitimate sons. Otherwise, where would the six branches of the clan come from?

Apart from Jia Dairu, who took the imperial examination route, the other five members of the Dai generation should have all taken the military route.

After all, in the era of cold weapons, the saying goes, "Brothers fight tigers together, and fathers and sons go to war together."

Even when the second-generation Duke of Rong, Jia Daishan, took control of the military, the newly established Daqian Dynasty was not very stable and required strong military control.

They were all male members of the Jia family of the Dai generation, and they were at least officers or colonels in the army, so their status couldn't be too low.

Even with the abrupt end of the reigns of the second-generation Duke of Rong, Jia Daishan, and the second-generation master of the Ning Mansion, Jia Daihua, their brothers in the army would not be easily purged.

Only then did Jia Huan realize that while the Dai generation of the Jia family had either died or grown old, some members of the Yu generation were still serving in the army, continuing their ancestral work.

They were the key factors in maintaining the connections between the Ning and Rong families in the Beijing garrison and the military.

Otherwise, how could the previous rulers of the Ning and Rong mansions, who had been dead for over twenty years, have maintained their connections in the military and easily supported Wang Ziteng's ascension to the throne?

Chapter 46 A Casual Act (Please Read Further)