The Military Governor in Dream of the Red Chamber

When it came to matchmaking, Jia Zheng was more than willing to take on the task.

Both he and Qin Ye were fifth-rank officials in the Ministry of Works. However, Qin Ye was in charge of specific construction and repair work, while he mainly managed document issuance and supervision.

The two couldn't see each other every day, but they would always run into each other every few days, so they were fairly familiar with each other.

His intervention was essentially a gesture by the Jia family.

Qin Ye was merely a construction official. Even though civil officials were considered superior to military officials these days, given the Jia family's status, I believe Jia Chen, a centurion, was still a suitable match for Qin Ye's daughter.

"Jia Gan's wife works in Zhu'er's wife's courtyard, so have her go and inform her," Jia Zheng added.

Li Wan was familiar with Jia Shenshi, so she was the first person Jia Zheng thought of.

"Alright, Jia Chen has rendered a great service, and the clan should show its appreciation. Since the wedding is to take place, I think the household should cover the expenses. And shouldn't we also prepare a place for the newlyweds to stay?" Jia She said with a smile.

Qin Keqing's marriage was settled. Although it wasn't perfect, it was the best possible outcome. He was in a good mood and was unusually generous.

"The expenses for this marriage are nothing from the household's own funds, but could you give us a house as a gift? Is that necessary?" Jia Zhen asked, somewhat taken aback.

This is the capital city; even the cheapest traditional courtyard house or quadrangle house costs thousands or tens of thousands of taels of silver.

Especially since their two residences are located in the core area of ​​the capital, the value of their houses is even greater.

For an ordinary person in the capital, the total cost of a wedding, from start to finish, is about 50 taels of silver. If the wedding is slightly better, it's around 100 taels.

In other words, around one hundred taels is still quite a burden for ordinary people.

For an average person, earning 10 taels of silver a year is considered very good, equivalent to ten years' worth of income.

"We'll just let them stay there," Jia She said with a smile.

Hearing this, Jia Zhen nodded and said, "Then there's no problem. The wedding expenses can be left to my nephew. I'm thinking we can't be too stingy, so how about 100 taels?"

The house deed still belonged to the Jia family; they were only granted the right to reside there. Jia Zhen could certainly accept that.

"Isn't this shameful?" Jia She glanced at Jia Zhen, shook his head, and said, "Right now, Jia Chen's marriage is not just his own affair, but also something for the Prince and the others to see."

"Then add some more." Jia Zhen nodded, realizing that it was indeed not enough.

"Prepare one thousand taels," Jia Zheng said.

"Isn't that too much?" Jia Zhen felt a pang of regret.

I just mentioned that he was responsible for the wedding expenses.

From 100 taels to 1000 taels, the amount increased tenfold, far exceeding his budget.

Jia She hadn't expected Jia Zheng to add so much at once. In his opinion, 300 taels was enough, and 500 taels would be very good.

"Not much," Jia Zheng explained. "As my elder brother just said, this matter concerns the opinions of the Prince and the others, so it must be taken seriously. Besides, this matter originally fell to Rong-ge'er, but now he can stay out of it. Isn't that worth a thousand taels?"

"The second brother is right," Jia She said with a smile.

In that case, we'll still have to spend a thousand taels.

Jia Zhen thought about it and agreed; Qin Keqing was someone you couldn't afford to mess with.

Having Jia Chen take over now is a huge relief for him and Jia Rong.

A thousand taels is considered a loss to avert disaster.

Even if the Jia family can't completely escape this disaster, having Jia Chen as a backup will make everyone safer.

"You must take this matter seriously," Jia She said, staring at Jia Zhen.

"Master, I understand. I will handle all of this. This wedding will certainly be a grand affair," Jia Zhen said with a smile.

Now that he was no longer bothered by the thousand taels, his mood improved considerably.

"That Jia Chen is quite capable; he managed to rise to the rank of centurion in the army through his own efforts. I was thinking, could we perhaps offer him some assistance within the army?" Jia Zhen added, "Perhaps he can climb to an even higher position. After all, the Beijing garrison..."

At this point, Jia Zhen stopped and did not continue.

But both Jia She and Jia Zhen understood what he wanted to say.

It's still about Wang Ziteng.

Now that Wang Ziteng has established himself in the Beijing garrison, he doesn't care as much about the Jia family anymore.

The heads of the Jia family were certainly unhappy about this, but they just didn't say it out loud.

Because the Jia family now relies more on Wang Ziteng, how could they care about other things?

"That's not appropriate," Jia Zheng objected.

Jia She frowned and asked, "Second son?"

"Brother, it's not what you think," Jia Zheng sighed.

His wife is Wang Ziteng's sister, a relationship that puts him in a difficult position.

Jia She felt that he was only speaking out because of his wife, but in fact he had other concerns.

"How so?" Jia She asked.

"Our ancestors withdrew from the army, which led to the Jia family's wealth and power. Now, if we interfere in military affairs again, what do you think the Emperor will think? Even if Jia Chen is just a collateral branch, he is still a member of the Jia family, and we must be cautious. Although our Jia family still has some connections in the border army of Datong, after so many years, we all know how strong those connections are. A small matter might be okay, but a bigger one, I'm afraid it won't be. If we really get involved and interfere in military affairs, it could be a big or small matter. Once the Emperor takes notice, the Jia family might face annihilation. Especially since supporting Prince Teng's ascension to the throne caused quite a bit of trouble back then, if it happens again, too many people will be watching us. How will we deal with that then?" Jia Zheng explained.

Jia She and Jia Zhen looked rather grim.

It must be said that Jia Zheng's words made a lot of sense.

The Jia family withdrew from the army too thoroughly, and no capable disciples joined the army afterward.

Thanks to the connections we made with our ancestors, these memories have faded over the years.

People will only give you face on the surface, but behind the scenes, you still have to rely on your strength and interests.

Using the Jia family's power might allow Jia Chen to be promoted a few more ranks, such as deputy commander or commander, but it would be difficult to advance further.

Unless the Jia family pays a heavy price.

However, doing so might attract the attention of the emperor, and the outcome would be unpredictable.

After all, there was already a Prince Teng, and everyone knew that Prince Teng's rise to power was related to the Jia family.

One case is one thing, but if the Jia family wants to do it again, do they think the others are fools?

"That's fine then," Jia She sighed.

Every family has its cupboard.

With the retired emperor and the new emperor ruling together, like the sun and moon shining brightly, these families of meritorious officials were terrified that a single wrong step would lead to utter ruin.

Jia Chen is just a centurion, and others won't care. But if they really want to promote him to a higher position, then the situation will be different.

This will attract a lot of attention, which is not a good thing.

Previously, in order to promote Wang Ziteng to the position, the Jia family had almost exhausted their resources in the military.

Therefore, even with strong support, Jia Chen's position will likely never reach the heights of Wang Ziteng.

Even becoming a brigade commander is probably a long shot.

As for the Jia family, even if Jia Chen becomes a general, it will not change their current situation.

The Jia family is not in a good position right now, so they should avoid doing certain things if possible, because doing so will attract a lot of attention.

If it weren't for Prince Bei Jing personally coming to their door, would the Jia family have gotten involved in Qin Keqing's marriage?

Prince Bei Jing is threatening us.

"Of course, it is commendable that Jia Chen was able to become a centurion on his own. If there is an opportunity, we will naturally provide support," Jia Zheng said.

"Alright, let's leave it at that. It's best to settle this marriage now," Jia She said.

"Let's get this done today, lest things get complicated." Jia Zheng didn't continue talking about Jia Chen's affairs in the army, but smiled and said, "I'll go to Qin Ye's house now, and once it's confirmed, we'll follow up on the other matters here immediately."

"It's still early, hurry up and go. We'll wait here for your good news," Jia She said.

He was, of course, also afraid that things might change if the process dragged on.

This matter must be handled quickly, and the deed must be done as soon as possible. Once the deed is done, even if Prince Bei Jing is dissatisfied, he cannot say anything.