The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

The old lady seemed to have given up and thought this was actually quite good.

As for what Lady Wang was thinking, Jia Huan and Jia Cong didn't care much!

Given the current situation in the Rong Mansion, coupled with Jia Baoyu's personality, it's unlikely he can do anything he wants!

Of course, this kid has seen the world, so he can't be as naive as he was back in the manor. He still understands some social etiquette.

At least, when entertaining friends like Feng Ziying and Wei Ruolan, his every move exuded the demeanor of a refined gentleman, and his hospitality was so pleasant that Feng Ziying and his friends were quite satisfied.

If they were contacted through Jia Huan, these guys and Xue Pan would all be considered on the same side.

Not only did they think this way, but Xue Pan also believed it.

Therefore, Xue Pan simply came over to say hello and then went to busy himself with entertaining the other guests.

He hadn't expected that all the noble families in the capital would send representatives, which was quite a prestigious thing.

Even when his maternal uncle, Wang Ziteng, became the military governor of the capital, he wasn't this glorious!

Due to their limited capabilities, the Five Military Commissions and the Ministry of War, which were controlled by the nobility, did not show them much respect.

The other nobles and bigwigs all held important positions in the military, and they could refuse to give face if they wanted to.

But Xue Pan is different!

This guy is Jia Huan's close ally on the surface, and that alone makes him worthy of their attention.

Not to mention, Xue Pan was one of the main logistical support providers for Prince Zhongshun's overseas explorations, and even had a fleet of ships directly involved, which was quite remarkable.

Once Prince Zhongshun achieves his goal and begins to establish a kingdom and bestow rewards, Xue Pan might just be able to obtain a title in a foreign vassal state. Such a figure should not be underestimated.

In short, the Xue family and Xue Pan at this time were many times stronger than they were at the same point in the original Dream of the Red Chamber, and their strength had been recognized by the nobles and powerful figures.

It was also because they sent representatives to the wedding that the wedding was of such a high standard.

Chapter 380 People's Hearts Are Unsettled (Please Subscribe)

When Xue Pan got married, the happiest person was naturally Aunt Xue.

Seeing the distinguished guests who came to offer their congratulations made her feel as if the sun was shining brightly.

The atmosphere of the wedding reached its peak when a young prince from the Prince of Zhongshun's residence came to visit.

She could even vaguely sense the jealousy hidden beneath her sister Madam Wang's calm facade!

That’s right, jealousy!

It should be noted that when Jia Baoyu got married, the most distinguished guest was only the half-brother of the Prince of Beijing.

This was nothing like Xue Pan's wedding, where both the Shi family marquises were present, along with a host of powerful military generals!

If I had known we would have so many distinguished guests, I should have made the event even grander!

Of course, she also understood that many of the distinguished guests came because of Jia Huan and Jia Cong, a fact that Aunt Xue was well aware of.

Aunt Xue was quite satisfied with Yingchun, her daughter-in-law.

Anyway, Aunt Xue got drunk at the banquet that day, which was quite unusual for her.

Xue Pan's married life was quite comfortable, but of course he didn't really put aside his affairs.

Neither the transportation of supplies and personnel from the open sea nor the transportation channels in the southwest can be taken lightly.

Since people were giving him and the Xue family face, Xue Pan naturally couldn't let them down, otherwise he wouldn't have another chance.

Jia Huan was also at the Rong Mansion on the third day after his wife's return visit to her parents' home.

Seeing Yingchun with a rosy complexion and joy in her eyes.

Even the look in his eyes became more lively.

Needless to say, their married life was quite comfortable and they lived a very pleasant life.

Not to mention Jia Huan, the two sisters, Tan Chun and Xi Chun, were all beaming with joy and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

It's true, Yingchun's personality makes her too easily taken advantage of.

Clearly, Xue Pan treated Yingchun quite well, and that's enough.

What Jia Huan didn't know was that shortly after Yingchun and Xue Pan got married, Sun Shaozu, who was stationed on the northwestern frontier, led his soldiers too far into the grasslands and was ambushed and killed by the nomadic cavalry.

This fellow tried to escape, but unfortunately he was sniped and killed by the archers of the nomadic cavalry from beyond the Great Wall in the first instant!

On the contrary, many of his soldiers fought their way out, leaving a bloody path for Prince Teng, who was about to leave the northwest frontier, and gave him a good dressing down.

By the time Jia Huan found out, Wang Ziteng had already successfully returned to Beijing.

He felt no emotional turmoil, but he did feel a sense of wonder about cause and effect, and about fate.

His feeling was that Sun Shaozu from the original Dream of the Red Chamber had forcibly plundered Yingchun's luck.

In any case, Yingchun was one of the evil spirits under the command of Fairy Disenchantment in the Land of Illusion, and her luck was much greater than that of ordinary people.

Of course, Jia Huan wasn't sure if that was actually the case; it was just a guess.

There's no such thing as a honeymoon in the Great Qian Dynasty. Xue Pan quickly withdrew from his idyllic life and became busy with all sorts of matters, big and small.

"Unleash the full power of the Xue family, without holding back!"

This was Jia Huan's explanation: "My and Cong'er's influence is more than enough to ensure the safety of the Xue family!"

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You and the Xue family must seize it. Whether you can completely turn your life around and become a member of the powerful and wealthy depends on how hard you work now!"

"If we do it well, we could even occupy a small island in the open sea all to ourselves!"

Privately, Jia Huan instructed, "Of course, you should keep this to yourself, but don't spread it around, or you and the Xue family will suffer the consequences!"

Xue Pan nodded repeatedly, his face beaming with undisguised joy.

He had been waiting for this day for a long time, and it finally came.

Knowing that Jia Huan is very sentimental, I was right to bet on him!

The social hierarchy of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants was already firmly established, with the upper limit for merchants' social status firmly set!

Otherwise, why would those big salt merchants in Yangzhou be so extravagant, squandering money recklessly and causing a sensation throughout the country from time to time?

It's not that they don't care about money, but that they have reached the limit of their potential and have already achieved the highest level they can reach.

In this world, everything rises to its peak and then declines!

The major salt merchants in Yangzhou, with the exception of a very few, have all changed hands at least once.

In order to maintain their status and strength, when there is no hope of advancement, they can only flaunt their power with money. What else can they do?

The Xue family also encountered a similar situation, which Xue Pan could clearly sense.

At this point, the Xue family was, after all, just a relatively pure imperial merchant family, and its development would eventually hit a ceiling.

In fact, at this time, the Xue family's business network and influence had not yet recovered to their peak when their father was alive.

Unfortunately, Xue Pan's dead father had integrated all the intelligence systems he controlled into his family's businesses, which is why they were able to achieve such a large scale in the end.

To put it bluntly, they're just taking advantage of the royal family's power!

But some things aren't so easy to borrow; in the end, you still have to pay a sufficient price to balance things out.

Putting aside everything else, the Xue family at that time was completely bound to the royal family and could not break free at all.

Xue Pan's adoptive father, in a moment of madness, got involved in something he shouldn't have. If he hadn't acted decisively and committed suicide to atone for his sins, the entire Xue family would have been finished.

Since Xue Pan did not take over the intelligence network controlled by his father, he naturally lost that part of the business.

Later, due to a fierce conflict with the Jinling branch, even the entire commercial network south of the Yellow River was lost, and the commercial resources that the clan could control shrank drastically.

Fortunately, with Jia Huan's help, their commercial network north of the Yellow River developed rapidly and even boosted the development of the Xue family's commercial power south of the Yellow River.

Otherwise, why would Prince Zhongshun give Xue Pan the opportunity to involve the Xue family in overseas affairs?

Since establishing connections with Prince Zhongshun, the Xue family's business network has seen new growth.

Putting aside other matters, the Xue family's business network exists in the most desirable areas of both the north and south.

The amount of food and other necessities that could be mobilized was astonishing, and the amount of other tools such as hoes was also quite large.

The Xue family not only possessed a fleet of ships capable of navigating the open seas, but also a fleet of ships capable of long-distance transport along canals, making them quite powerful.

The number of employees directly employed alone is in the thousands, and the number of employees indirectly controlled is in the tens of thousands.

In some places, they could even manipulate the local economy at will, though they had never actually done so before, which easily attracted the attention and repercussions of the imperial court and local officials.

However, the Xue family's business influence came to an end there.

Taking it a step further is beyond what the Xue family can currently afford.

Even without becoming a member of the upper-middle class, one cannot further expand the family's business influence.

This is also the main reason why Xue Pan actively cooperated with Jia Huan's actions and kept trying to restore his ancestors' glory. There was no other way.

Don't underestimate Xue Pan's grandfather just because he was only a seventh-rank "Ziwei Sheren". He was a red-hat merchant who was directly registered with the emperor and his influence was not to be underestimated.

It's a pity that the best opportunity was to donate money proactively when the national treasury was empty.

However, the entire plan was ruined by the gourd case in Nanjing.

The lesson he learned that time was so profound that Xue Pan seemed to have matured suddenly, and his entire style of doing things and his behavior changed considerably afterward.