The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

To put it bluntly, the founding nobles were an out-and-out military aristocracy, who rose to power based on their genuine military achievements.

Regardless of whether they want to change their career path later, or how many generations have passed, military merit remains the most valued trait.

As long as the family has not successfully transformed itself, it must emphasize the importance of military merit!

Don't let Jia Huan's young age fool you; he's incredibly skilled in combat, a skill that no noble or powerful figure can easily underestimate.

To have achieved so much at the age of fifteen, who knows how far he will go in the future?

There's no need for speculation; it's certain that this guy will become a core leader of the founding noble group in the future.

At this time, taking advantage of their young age and the opportunity to rise to prominence, it is quite important to establish good relations, and giving them face is not an incomprehensible thing.

After discussing with the heads of the Ning and Rong mansions, it was decided that Jia Huan's investiture banquet would be jointly hosted by the two mansions.

That day was truly bustling; from the morning onwards, horse-drawn carriages came and went in an endless stream along Ningrong Street.

The servants of the Ning and Rong mansions, dressed in new clothes, followed their stewards and warmly greeted each distinguished guest, not daring to be negligent in the slightest.

Chapter 350 Bullying the 'Old and Young' (Please Subscribe)

"Be careful, everyone, don't make any mistakes!"

Lin Zhixiao, who was not usually talkative, reminded the servants of the Rong family who were gathered around him: "Anyone who offends or disrespects a noble person will either be sold to a slave trader or sent to the estate to become a farmer!"

Seeing the dismissive expressions on the faces of some of the servants, he sneered, "Don't think I'm exaggerating. Many of the distinguished guests here are heads of powerful and noble families, people that even the old lady wouldn't dare to neglect. How many of you have the brains to mess with?"

"Don't try to scare us, Manager Lin!"

One of the servants, a young man, said dismissively, "Just how powerful is the Rong family right now?"

"Even if we make some mistakes, the guests won't hold it against us too much because of the master of the mansion. Don't scare yourself!"

Although the other servants didn't speak, the agreeing expressions on their faces spoke volumes.

"Hehe, Third Master Huan has the ability to make all the guests look at him with new respect, do you have that ability?"

Lin Zhixiao sneered, "Don't try to act tough. If something really goes wrong, no master will vouch for you. You'd better save your breath and behave yourself!"

"Also, the Ning family is attending the banquet this time. We don't want the Ning family's performance to completely overshadow ours. If that happens, the old lady will lose face, and even the kindest woman won't hold back!"

After a combination of intimidation and threats, Lin Zhixiao finally managed to subdue his group of servants. He secretly wiped the sweat from his forehead.

The servants in the manor are becoming increasingly arrogant and difficult to control!

Sometimes, he even missed the days when Second Madam Lian was in charge of the household. Although she was stricter, she saved him a lot of unnecessary trouble, unlike the chaos he had now.

Since Madam Wang took over managing the household again, the atmosphere in the mansion has become increasingly unbearable.

On the one hand, Madam Wang herself had limited abilities, and it was already quite good that she could barely maintain the situation. Not to mention that she was getting old at this time and had become powerless to manage the household.

However, she was unwilling to share the management of the household with her eldest daughter-in-law, Li Wan!

There's a saying that makes a lot of sense: Power never disappears, it only changes!

In fact, Madam Wang didn't have the energy to manage the household, which resulted in her housekeeper having more say.

Especially Zhou Rui's wife, who was her most trusted confidante, was practically the number one person after Madam Wang. Even the top stewards in the mansion had to give way to her when they faced her.

Zhou Rui's wife was not capable either; on the contrary, she was very selfish and had some character flaws.

After she gained power, the Rong family's internal affairs gradually became chaotic, and the atmosphere also became problematic.

In summary, the servants in the Rong family have become increasingly lazy, each one arrogant and unrealistic, acting as if they were the true masters of the Rong family.

If not for fear of unforeseen circumstances, Lin Zhixiao would not have wanted to play the villain and give a warning to his subordinates, the sons of the Rong family, before Jia Huan's investiture banquet.

He was genuinely worried that something bad would happen and he would get involved!

Just as Lin Zhixiao said, the quality of the distinguished guests who came to visit was much higher than that of the old lady's 80th birthday celebration. In particular, the heads of the founding noble families did not come in person for the old lady's birthday banquet, but sent their wives or juniors.

Fortunately, the thing I was worried about didn't happen!

The Rong family's sons are all snobbish, but that has one advantage: they know their place.

Before the head of the founding noble family, the servants of the Rong family dared not be negligent and behaved very well, as if they were completely different people.

In addition, the fact that the Second Master Zheng personally received them was also one of the main reasons why the servants were well-behaved and obedient.

Jia Huan didn't show up; he didn't really like these kinds of occasions filled with insincere politeness!

The Second Master and the Old Madam didn't mind. They were naturally much more tolerant of a young talent like Jia Huan, which was only human nature.

Besides, what's wrong with a young person being a little arrogant and conceited?

If Jia Huan were to appear perfectly adept at navigating social situations, that would be truly terrifying, and no one would dare to become close to him.

After the extremely lavish banquet, the group of founding nobles and dignitaries tacitly stayed behind.

Of course, their wives didn't leave either; instead, they stayed in the back courtyard, chatting and laughing with the old lady.

Meanwhile, Jia Huan's colleagues from the Beijing garrison, as well as his military officers, also stayed behind.

In short, it creates the impression that Jia Huan is about to do something big.

In fact, he really is going to do something big!

The place where he spoke with the nobles and powerful figures was the Mengpo Studio, the main study of the Second Master Zheng.

Even the act of hiring people was done in the name of the Second Master Zheng.

They are all heads of noble families, so no one will suspect anything in the short term.

Honestly, if it were any other noble family hosting a grand banquet and many powerful figures came to visit, they would certainly invite them for a chat; it would be a perfectly normal thing.

Normally, to avoid suspicion, we wouldn't dare to hold such a blatant small gathering!

In fact, the small gathering at Mengpozhai did not last long before it ended.

When the many nobles and dignitaries left, they did not show any unusual expressions.

They're all old foxes; how could they possibly reveal their true intentions and let outsiders see through their scheme?

But in my heart, waves of emotion surged and I was deeply shaken!

There was no way they could ignore what Jia Huan had told them; in fact, they were quite worried.

At Mengpo Studio, Jia Huan didn't stand on ceremony at all, directly expressing his concerns and ideas for remediation, stating that he needed the support of many family heads.

This matter concerns the fate of the entire founding noble group; which noble leader would dare not take it seriously?

Jia Huan's reminder was like a wake-up call, waking up most of the nobles and bigwigs.

Indeed, with the fall of the Prince of Nan'an, they will be nothing more than meat on the chopping block.

This is certainly not a situation they want to see, and they must find a way to salvage it.

Jia Huan was willing to go directly to the southwest to provide assistance, and he demonstrated sufficient ability. Upon careful consideration, he really was the best candidate.

However, Jia Huan needed them to offer tangible benefits, which made them hesitate.

They knew in their hearts that Jia Huan was forcing them to pledge their loyalty!

They have to provide money, food, or manpower; they have to provide something of the same kind. Otherwise, how can Jia Huan feel at ease? And if there are benefits to be gained in the future, how can he be at ease playing with them?

Making a decision is easy, but you have to take responsibility for it afterward!

Once you get involved in some things, it's not so easy to get off the boat.

In addition, Jia Huan raised a rather troublesome issue, which was to ask everyone to put pressure on the Prince of Nan'an's mansion to help the heir ascend to the throne as soon as possible, and incidentally contribute resources from the southwest.

This is another troublesome matter; it feels like they are bullying an orphan and a widow!

It wasn't that I felt pity for the Prince of Nan'an's mansion, but rather a sense of sadness that I felt for something of the same kind.

Who knows if my family will encounter similar troubles or decline in the future? Just thinking about it makes it hard to feel good.

But sometimes, villains still have to do what they're supposed to do, unless they're willing to see the enormous profits of the Nan'an Prince's Mansion in the southwest go to waste.

Jia Huan made a very good point: the worst move the Nan'an Prince's Mansion made was clinging to the defeated and captured Nan'an Prince, as if the Nan'an Prince's Mansion would be finished without him.

It's not that exaggerated.

The Prince of Nan'an was in his early thirties, in the prime of his life, and was indeed the only legitimate son of his generation!

However, he already has several children, the oldest of whom is about ten years old. He is also the eldest son of the legitimate wife and has already been granted the title of heir apparent by the imperial court!

After the defeat in the southwest, the best course of action for the Prince of Nan'an's mansion is to directly pass the throne to his heir!

Putting everything else aside, whether it's to rescue the Prince of Nan'an or to minimize losses in their southwestern stronghold, these are all perfectly normal actions.

At that time, the founding nobles group would definitely provide full support.

Of course, while providing support, they will also arrange for trusted confidants to go and get a share of the profits.

There's a saying that goes: "Don't let the good stuff go to outsiders!"

The idea was wonderful, but unfortunately, reality didn't go as they expected.

The Dowager Princess of Nan'an was truly 'deeply in love with her son' and had no intention of abandoning the defeated and captured Prince of Nan'an.

The old lady has already told Jia Huan that her attempt to persuade him has failed!

Then there's nothing more to say, just ask the founding nobles to collectively exert pressure!

Damn it, it's not like she didn't step in to rescue the defeated and captured Prince of Nan'an. I wonder what the Dowager Princess of Nan'an is planning.