Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

The next day was the 30th of the twelfth lunar month. Jia Cong subdued a group of goblins and became energetic. He went to the Yamen to meet with Lei Tai, Fan Ming, Wen Zhen and others to arrange some official matters.

He also invited the key members of Jinyiwei to have a reunion dinner and arranged generous annual rewards, which were thanked by everyone.

After the meal, everyone was sent away, except Wang Fei.

"Do you have anything to report?" Jia Cong asked.

Wang Fei hurriedly said: "Back to my lord, last time my lord told me to secretly spy on the four leaders, the brothers have been watching carefully. So far, there is nothing unusual.

They often get together when they have nothing to do, and they never talk about the adult. They must be fascinated by the adult's suaveness. "

Jia Cong nodded and said with a smile: "That's good. We are all acquaintances. I still owe them a favor. Please post them for me and wish them a happy life."

"Yes."

"I'll tell you something else... Do you understand?" Jia Cong said calmly.

"I understand, don't worry, sir."

Jia Cong just returned home. Before he entered the house, he heard from Wangcai that the old lady had invited him.

"What's the matter?"

"It's a matter of worshiping ancestors," Wangcai said.

Jia Cong then remembered that today is New Year's Eve, and it's time to worship the ancestors again. This year is a bit special. The ancestors have moved twice, so they have to make arrangements for it.

After the Ning Mansion was removed, the ancestral hall was temporarily moved to Rong Mansion. Now that Jia Cong was granted the title of Marquis and had to return to his original residence, the ancestral hall was naturally moved back. The old place was more spacious and grand, and the small courtyard of Rong Mansion didn't look like much.

When I came to Rongqing Hall, I saw everyone there except the two gentlemen.

Jia Zheng didn't care about anything and only talked about studying. Jia She didn't deal with Jia Cong, and Jia's mother didn't allow him to come.

"The third brother is here," Jia Lian hurriedly handed him a yellow cloth bag and said, "This is the Spring Festival gift I just received from Guanglu Temple today."

It says "Jia Yuan, the Duke of Rongguo, and Jia Cong, the Marquis of Huan, have given two cents of the eternal spring sacrifice as a gift, and the net discount is a certain amount of silver. On a certain year, month and day, they will receive it in the hall with the title of Jia Lian, who is the prime minister of the temple on the occasion of the year."

Below is a vermilion monogram.

It’s the same as last year, except Ning Guogong is missing. Jia Cong sighed slightly, handed the bag to Jia Lian, and said, "Go and offer it."

Jia Lian hurriedly took the order.

Youshi watched from the side, feeling miserable in her heart. Only a year had passed, and Ning Mansion didn't even have a name left.

Jia Cong smiled and said, "What is the old lady's order when she summons me?"

Jia Mu said: "This year is different from previous years. First, something happened in the family, which brought shame to our ancestors;
The second is that you were granted the title of Marquis at a young age, and at least you have an explanation to your ancestors;
Third, you will be the prince-consort as soon as you speak, which is also a great joy, and you must take care of the ancestor worship. "

Jia Cong smiled and said: "The old lady will make the arrangements. Cong just obeys the order. I think Brother Lian is capable of handling these things, so let him do it."

As for internal affairs, let's just work with the two sisters-in-law. There must be nothing wrong. "

Mother Jia nodded and said, "Well, you are right. I think so too. Now that Feng girl is pregnant, she shouldn't be tired. Let Brother Zhu's daughter-in-law and Brother Zhen's daughter-in-law take care of it."

Jia Cong smiled and said, "That's the best thing. Cong doesn't know anything about these things. He just listens to the old lady."

Jia Mu smiled and nodded. This boy is sleeping well today.

Li Wan smiled and said: "Brother Cong, how will the annual payments be distributed between the two governments this year? Do you have any regulations?"

Jia Cong looked at Sister Feng who was bowing her head to Mrs. Wang. She was in charge last year.

Sister Feng smiled and said, "Look at what I do. Now your sister-in-law and the third girl are in charge of the house. I only care about receiving money, not giving it out."

Everyone laughed, and Jia Mu pretended to be angry and said, "Young girl Feng will do mischief. I want you to come back and take care of me, but you shirk it, and now you say some weird words, and I won't accept it."

Li Wan also laughed and said, "Isn't that right? She just wanted to hide and relax, but she also put us incompetent people on the fire to roast. She was still building a bridge to stir the fire."

Sister Feng smiled and said: "Hey, old lady, I am not in my position and do not seek my own government, not to mention that my sister-in-law and the third girl are also in good order.

Your old prince only cares about you, so what troubles do you have to worry about? "

Jia's mother said: "I will be happy if you come to accompany me every day. They are not as good at talking and laughing as you, and they are what I want."

Everyone laughed.

Jia Cong also admired Sister Feng for coaxing Jia Mu into a comfortable state over the years. He looked at Tanchun and said, "What do you think the third sister is doing?"

Tan Chun pondered for a moment and said, "Why don't we just follow last year's rules."

Li Wan and others nodded.

Jia Cong shook his head slightly and said: "Third sister, there is nothing wrong with following the old rules, but don't stick to them. This year Ningguo is gone, and people in both houses are probably in panic. Although I have made a marquis, it can stabilize people's hearts, but what? To stabilize military morale, real money and silver are needed.

If we follow the rules of old years, the servants may not know the value of Marquis Huan.

Well, this year we will double last year’s number, just to say that I reward them extra, which also means that our family is prospering. "

Tanchun lowered his hands and stood solemnly, saying, "Yes, thanks to Third Brother for your guidance, Di has learned a lesson."

Not long after, Jia Lian came in again and said: "Zhuangtou from Heishan Village and Baishui Village in Liaodong came to give New Year's gifts and said that he wanted to meet his third brother."

Jia Cong asked: "How many things did you send?"

"It's slightly more than last year." Jia Lian said.

Jia Cong nodded and said, "You go and send them away. I don't have time to see them. Tell them to take care of themselves."

"Okay." Jia Lian went out again.

Sister Feng sneered slightly, becoming more and more disdainful of Jia Lian's useless appearance.

"Have you given the Queen and the eldest sister their festive gifts?" Jia Cong asked.

Jia Mu smiled and said, "We just came back from the palace for a banquet. Do you want to send it or not?"

Jia Cong said: "How about eldest sister being in the palace?"

"Well, the queen said, thanks to the good relationship between you and Dai Nei, the old concubine looks after you and takes good care of her.

Moreover, because of your consort, the Queen treats her differently. "Jia Mu said with a smile.

When this matter was mentioned, Mrs. Wang's expression softened.

Jia Cong felt relieved and said to Sister Feng: "When you go back later, remember to order someone to give a boxing gift to Manager Dai."

"Sent it away a long time ago. I'm still waiting for your instructions." Sister Feng said with a smile.

Jia Cong smiled and nodded, saying, "How much did you give?"

Sister Feng raised a finger.

Li Wan smiled and said: "Girl Feng, what riddle are you trying to solve? One thousand taels or ten thousand taels?"

Sister Feng laughed and said, "Sister-in-law is just sending beggars. Don't offend others by giving gifts. It's just a waste of a hundred thousand silver."

Li Wan, Youshi and others were shocked. The Rong Mansion had not made more than 100,000 yuan a year, so Sister Feng gave it away in the blink of an eye.

Sister Feng enjoyed the admiration and admiration of everyone, and smiled as if nothing had happened: "Isn't it normal to see you making such a fuss? What's it worth?"

Youshi rolled his eyes at her and said with a smile: "I know you have become a rich man now and have millions of dollars, so don't look down on us.

Now you hold so much money. If we don't have food to eat or money to spend in the future, we can just ask you for it, but you can't call yourself poor. "

Sister Feng smiled and said: "Oh, what did you say, sister-in-law? You took whatever I had, and I said no, my name is written backwards."

Li Wan smiled and said, "Don't listen to her. What difference does it make to her if the words Wang Xifeng are written forward and backward?"

Everyone laughed.

Sister Feng listened to Li Wan's joke that she was illiterate, and she couldn't keep her face. Regardless of her big belly, she got up and went to chase Li Wan.

Jia Cong was startled, rushed up to hug her, and scolded: "What are you doing! Be careful, kid." After that, he pushed her back into the chair.

Jia Mu, Youshi, Tanchun, Keqing and others look strange, and it's hard to tell. My sister-in-law has a big belly. Why are you so anxious? Isn't this just asking for it?

Seeing everyone's expressions, Sister Feng couldn't guess what they were thinking. She blushed and spat: "Cong'er, go and tear my sister-in-law's mouth off for how dare she make fun of me just because she has read a book."

Li Wan smiled and said: "Although Brother Cong is your brother, he is also my brother. Doesn't he only love you as my sister and not his sister-in-law?" As soon as the words came out, he realized that there was an ambiguity, and his face suddenly changed. red.

The "sister" in front of me is no ordinary sister. How can my sister-in-law compare with her.

Sister Feng was a shrewd one, so she simply smiled and said, "Since my sister-in-law has spoken, that's it. Cong'er can just love your sister-in-law some other time, so as not to say sour and jealous words here, making people laugh."

Jia Cong was a little embarrassed, glared at her, and said hurriedly: "Old lady, you guys have a rest first, I'll go check on the ancestor worship." After that, he ran away.

Youshi, Tanchun, Keqing and other keen-minded people laughed secretly when they saw him running away.

Mother Jia glanced at Li Wan indifferently, "Feng Yatou is just shameless, you want to learn from her?" I really thought Brother Cong, this bastard, was easy to get along with. If you wanted to send it to your door yourself, he would be eager to do so.

However, the old lady was inconvenient to bring up this topic, so she just smiled and talked about some gossip and went away. (End of chapter)