Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

However, Jia Cong didn't bother to care about Youshi. He just let Keqing get into the bed and examined her carefully from head to toe and front to back.

Keqing saw that there was no lust in his eyes, but rather he was very serious, as if he was looking for something, so she asked shyly, "Uncle, what are you looking at?"

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Of course I wanted to see if Ke'er was different from ordinary people. I didn't expect her to be so perfect, without even a single scar or birthmark. She looks like she was carved out of white jade by the Emperor of Heaven."

You Shi secretly sneered behind her. What a joke! You are not a virgin, why are you so precious? Isn't my body white? You dirty thing.

Keqing covered her mouth and chuckled: "Uncle, you are too kind to praise me. I don't deserve it. I hope you will have mercy on me."

These words were so captivating that Jia Cong almost turned into a wolf in an instant. Fortunately, he had a strong will. His eyes slowly moved to his ankles and he suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

"what is this?"

But I saw two small brown scars on the inside of Keqing's left ankle, with spikes and corners, exactly the same, very strange, and definitely not natural.

Keqing lowered her head and took a look, then smiled and said, "These two stars seem to be birthmarks. I have had them since I was a child."

"So that's how it is." Jia Cong nodded slightly, his heart already filled with turbulent waves.

The current emperor is named Sun Jing, the fourth in line; Prince Yi Zhong is named Sun Xing, the second in line. They are of the same generation, and their names are derived from the word "日".

Two stars!

Is there anything clearer than this?
Qin Keqing must be the descendant of Prince Yi Zhong! And Ningguo Mansion did have some connections with the deposed crown prince, and was even a close minister, otherwise Prince Yi Zhong would never have entrusted his beloved daughter to him.

Now that Prince Yi Zhong's lineage has not been cut off, his eldest son Shuo is still alive and has inherited the title of prince. Why hasn't he found Qin Keqing after all these years?

Since the plan failed, why didn't they send away the only prince, but instead sent away their daughter? This is totally against common sense. Why?

"Uncle... do you dislike my ugly birthmark?" Keqing saw that he had a serious expression and didn't know what he was thinking, so she pouted and said angrily.

Jia Cong quickly tucked her soft and tender legs back into the quilt and said with a smile, "If it were someone else's, it would be a flaw, but on Ke'er's feet it would make them even more beautiful."

"You're so annoying. You only know how to coax people." Keqing pulled at his collar and said in a disgusting voice, almost pulling Jia Cong's soul out.

"Ahem, sister-in-law, why don't you come over and help Cong undress?"

Keqing couldn't help but sneer and quickly buried her head in the quilt and turned her back, fearing that Youshi would be embarrassed.

After more than an hour, Jia Cong finally regained his composure and stood up from the embrace of Youshi and Keqing's fair legs and snow-white buttocks. He hugged the two of them and talked to them.

"Uncle, my brother brought me a letter the other day, saying that he is now grown up and can't concentrate on his studies in the academy. He knows he has no hope of passing the imperial examination, so he wants me to find him a job to settle down. What do you think..." Keqing leaned on Jia Cong's chest and said lazily.

Jia Cong smiled and said, "How difficult is that? Can his romantic and amorous nature be changed?"

You Shi spat, "You still talk about others, but what's the point of you hugging women left and right? Oh, you are so cruel."

Jia Cong pinched her hard and said with a smile, "I have this ability, but does Zhong Ge have it?"

Keqing smiled and said, "Don't worry, uncle. Zhong has been working hard in the village for several years and has studied in Mingde Academy for two years. He is no longer a nobody.

Although he is no longer successful, he has become much calmer and is no longer the reckless young man he was before. "

"Well, now is the time to use someone. Let him follow Jia Ge'er to manage the affairs of the Fairy Wine Shop first, and gain some experience before deciding what to do. How do you think?"

Jia Cong also knew that with the current education level, Qin Zhong was definitely considered a high-level intellectual.

Keqing said happily, "That couldn't be better. I will ask Miss Feng to give him more advice. I don't worry about him not making progress."

"That's it, dear Ke'er, how do you thank me?" Jia Cong said with a wicked smile.

Keqing looked at me charmingly and said in a sweet voice, "I belong to you completely, so you can do whatever you want."

Jia Cong was itching to do it, and was considering whether to continue playing tricks, when he suddenly heard Youshi's advice: "Brother Cong, although you are young and strong, you must stop at the right time. Be careful not to hurt yourself. Keqing can't get away anyway."

Jia Cong was surprised: "My sister-in-law actually cares about me."

Youshi blushed and said, "You have no conscience. Now that this is the case, how can I still care about other men?"

In fact, she was mainly afraid that Jia Cong would have too much fun here and would not be able to complete his mission when he returned, and would be hated by Ruyi, Baochai and others.

"Haha, good. Since the eldest sister-in-law has spoken, I will follow her advice and fight again another day."

Thinking about Li Wan, Jia Cong came out of Xiaoxiang Pavilion and went to Daoxiang Village.

When he passed Zilingzhou on the way, he thought of Yingchun and walked in.

Yingchun was playing chess with Xing Xiuyan in the room. When she heard he was coming, she hurried out to greet him.

"How is Second Sister these days?"

"Okay, third brother, how come you have time to come to my place?" Yingchun smiled, gave him a seat and poured him tea.

Jia Cong greeted Xing Xiuyan again and said, "Second sister, have you forgotten what I said last time?"

Yingchun was stunned for a moment before she realized what Jia Cong meant. She hurriedly went to the desk and fetched a stack of papers. She whispered, "Third brother, please take a look. This is the text I wrote recently. It is very crude."

Jia Cong took it with a smile and casually flipped through the questions:

"If you care about small benefits, you will lose big benefits." "A man who can follow the law must be strong and resolute." "The general principles of man." "Those who follow selfish principles will cause chaos, while those who follow the law will bring order."...

There are comments from Baochai and Daiyu on every article, and it is obvious that they both put a lot of effort into it and did not dare to be negligent.

"Well, these articles were indeed written by Han Fei. Second sister didn't just do it perfunctorily." Jia Cong said with a smile.

Yingchun said shyly, "I know I can do nothing. If I don't work harder, I will be letting down my third brother's efforts."

"It's good that Second Sister understands."

Xing Xiuyan was surprised and said, "Second sister actually studied criminal law? It's true that women are just as good as men."

Yingchun waved her hands awkwardly and said, "Thank you for the compliment, sister. I was just looking around to kill time."

Jia Cong said with a smile: "Sister Xiuyan, you might as well take a look. You have read a lot of Confucian classics. Maybe you can get a sudden enlightenment by reading the Legalist thought. Tell me about it when you have time. I can't understand this nonsense." After saying that, he stood up. Yingchun and Xiuyan hurriedly smiled and saw him out.

"Let's go back. Don't send me off. I'm going to sit with my eldest sister-in-law."

Jia Cong waved his hand. Seeing Siqi following him closely and respectfully escorting him to the outside of the courtyard, he understood something and stopped, saying, "What's the matter?"

Seeing Jia Cong's sharp eyes that seemed to pierce people's hearts, Siqi hurriedly lowered her head, hesitating and not knowing what to say.

"But for your cousin Pan...Pan..."

"Pan Youan, please show mercy, Duke." Siqi said hurriedly.

Jia Cong thought for a moment and said, "Serve me well. When the second young lady gets married, I will help you two get married. I will also give you a dowry and let you be the housekeeper's wife. How do you think?"

Siqi was overjoyed and quickly knelt down to express her gratitude.

Infatuated man and resentful woman, Jia Cong shook his head and left long ago.

"What do you want, sister-in-law?" Jia Cong walked to Daoxiang Village. His nose was filled with the unpleasant odor of chicken and duck manure. He couldn't help but frowned slightly.

When I read the original novel before, I praised the life taste and style of Jia Zheng, Jia Zhen and others. They chose a rustic wine shop and raised some chickens, ducks and geese, which perfectly integrated with the architectural style of Daoxiang Village and created a vivid farmhouse atmosphere. In Jia Zheng's words, it "aroused his desire to return to farming."

Now Jia Cong suddenly realized that most of the interests of literati and scholars were nonsense. They had clean and tidy villas but instead lived with poultry, were surrounded by the stench of feces all day long, and were woken up by the crowing of roosters in the middle of the night. Isn't this a problem?
The seemingly down-to-earth arrangement is actually out of touch with reality and self-righteous. It's a pity that Li Wan could endure it for several years.

"I dare not give you an order. Please come in, Third Brother." Li Wan saw his expression and understood what he meant. She smiled and said, "Third Brother has lived in a luxurious house for a long time, so naturally he is not used to my humble home in the mountains. You will get used to it after coming a few more times."

Jia Cong raised his eyebrows and said with a smile: "Since my sister-in-law has spoken, I will obey her. But, if my sister-in-law invites guests, she must give them some benefits, so as not to let them go in vain."

Li Wan was caught off guard by his teasing. She felt embarrassed and annoyed. She stamped her feet and spat, "Cong'er, be careful. If you dare to talk nonsense again, I will tell the old lady."

Jia Cong saw that she was about thirty years old, with black hair like clouds, skin as white as cream, no makeup on her face, delicate eyebrows and eyes, red lips and white teeth, and she had a quiet and elegant aura. At this moment, she turned away with a little shyness and anger, as if waiting for him to apologize.

Because it was interesting, I couldn't help laughing and said, "The old lady doesn't care about these things. Anyway, the meat is rotten in the pot. Isn't this a common thing in aristocratic families?"

"You! Bastard!" Li Wan felt humiliated, and her heart was filled with anger and grief. Her eyes turned red, and she turned around and went into the house, ignoring him.

When Jia Cong heard her crying voice, he secretly regretted his words. He was so busy joking that he accidentally hurt Li Wan's self-esteem, so he hurried in to apologize.

"Sister-in-law, I was blinded by greed for a moment and said something without thinking, which offended you. I hope you will forgive me." After saying that, he bowed to the ground.

Seeing that Li Wan ignored him and just wiped her tears, Jia Cong said again: "I respect my sister-in-law like a god in my heart. How dare I have any evil intentions? Sister-in-law, please don't wrongly accuse a good person."

Seeing Jia Cong apologize so softly, Li Wan felt relieved and decided not to go too far. She spat, "Listen to what you are saying. I am the one who wronged you."

Hearing her speak, Jia Cong knew that his anger had subsided, so he smiled and said, "I have never been good at speaking, and I say what I mean, sister-in-law knows it. Sister-in-law, your room smells good, but the yard stinks. Why don't you send those chickens and ducks to the kitchen and slaughter them?"

Li Wan rolled her eyes at him and changed the subject, saying, "The layout of Daoxiang Village was decided by the master. How dare I change it at will?"

Jia Cong laughed and said, "This is what a scholar is like. He studies hard and lives a life of luxury. What does he know about peasant cuisine?

If we send these chickens and ducks to his yard, I guarantee he will never want to return to farming again. Come on, kill all the poultry and give them to the servants in the mansion as a meal, and don't raise them anymore in the future."

"Yes." Li Wan's maid Suyun was delighted when she heard this and quickly ordered the maids to do it.

The old women were also thankful that they were finally spared the trouble of cleaning up the feces every day.

Li Wan glanced at him with some annoyance and said, "You like to take on too much responsibility. This is my place, and you are acting on your own without even asking me."

"Thank you for the compliment, sister-in-law. This is one of Cong's few strengths." Jia Cong said with a smile.

"Bah, you are just bragging about yourself. I don't know what other strengths you have besides being violent and domineering." Li Wan spat.

"Sister-in-law, you have to ask Bao-jie and Pin-erh. Anyway, it is very long." Jia Cong said with a smile.

Li Wan was an experienced person, and seeing his smirk, she understood everything. Her face turned red, and she wanted to scold him but was afraid that it would leave traces, so she pretended that she didn't understand and cursed him "dirty bastard" seventeen or eighteen times in her heart.

Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit awkward, Jia Cong quickly brought up the topic: "Let's get back to the point. Is there something that the eldest sister-in-law wants to see you for?"

Li Wan was stunned for a moment, then came to her senses. She had almost forgotten her business because of this frivolous guy's disturbance. She hurriedly said, "Brother Cong, Lan'er has been in Mingde Academy for more than half a year. I thought he would come back for the New Year, but he had his own ideas. He wrote to say that he had passed the county exam with 80% score, and he will take the exam in February next year. If everything goes well, he will take the prefectural exam in April, and he will not come back until he passes the prefectural exam."

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Brother Lang is quite ambitious, which is a good thing. What is your sister-in-law worried about? As for the county examination, I think the magistrate of Chang'an will not dare to interfere because of the name 'Jia'.

Not to mention the prefectural examination, now Shuntian Prefecture Governor Li Chao is the nephew-in-law of Lord Ruhai, so are you still worried that Brother Lang won't make the list?"

Li Wan smiled bitterly and said, "How can you men understand the suffering of women? I just want to go and see him. I don't know how he is doing alone out there. I don't know if he has enough food, clothes, or money, and how he sleeps."

Jia Cong laughed in silence: "Parents are so pitiful. Well, since the eldest sister-in-law misses her son so much, I will go to the academy with you in a couple of days when I have some free time. By the way, I will ask Jun'er and Zhi'er's parents if they want to bring anything with them."

Li Wan was overjoyed and said, "Okay, I'll ask someone right away."
-
During the days when Jia Cong returned triumphantly, as it was near the end of the year, the government office was also idle. The necessary food and fodder and military officers had all arrived, and the Jinyiwei did not have many cases to deal with, so he stole a few days of leisure, stayed at home happily every day, and left everything to Pang Chao to take care of.

However, the aftermath of his return to the capital was far from subsiding. The Liao vassal state was weakened, the other vassal states were shaken, and King You and King Ji were frightened half to death.

In terms of soldiers, horses, money and food, they are far less powerful than the King of Liao, and in terms of strategic passes and dangerous passes, they are not as high and steep as those in Liaodong. They are still stationed near the capital, and hundreds of thousands of elite troops from the capital and the official troops of the garrisons are eyeing them covetously, ready to attack at any time.

He thought that he could enjoy himself if he returned to Beijing. Anyway, the foundation laid by his ancestors was still there and he had nothing to worry about. He also thought that the emperor would not dare to do anything against him. After all, he still had tens of thousands of soldiers at home. It would be meaningless to kill a prince like him without any troops. Instead, he had to treat him with courtesy in order to gain the trust of the world.

Therefore, the two kings gave up resistance, presented a letter of thanks, and set out in obedience to the imperial edict.

This news spread quickly to the other six princes, and they were all terrified. They didn't know what magic the court had used to weaken one princedom and subdue two princes in the blink of an eye. They were all undecided for a moment, wondering whether they should ask for the throne and return to the capital to serve their loyalty.

If he does not take the initiative and offends the majesty of heaven, he will suffer a great loss if he follows the footsteps of the King of Liao; if the imperial court has no such intention, he will be a sucker for nothing, so he is reluctant to give up the power of a local emperor.

As for the civil and military officials in the court, most of them were paying attention to the huge amount of information contained in the new Shao Bao. After politely congratulating Jia Cong, they all secretly inquired about the opinions of each other, trying their best to guess the emperor's intentions, attempting to clear up the fog in the court, avoid the vortex of struggle, and find a way to promotion.

Niu Jizong, Wang Ziteng, Liu Fang and other members of Jia Cong's faction naturally celebrated and their power soared. With Jia Cong's honor as Grand Guardian and Duke of the State, who in the army dared to compete with him?

Even the Grand Commander Li Meng had to retreat and did not dare to challenge him lightly.

As for the Right Commander Wang Ning, he came from a poor family and had a shallow foundation, so he did not dare to be the first to stand out.

After the Imperial Palace forwarded the memorial from the Prince of Nan'an County recommending Shi Ding, the Marquis of Zhongjing, to the Five Military Commandery, Jia Cong approved it with a "yes". Li Meng and Wang Ning knew the relationship between Jia, Shi, Wang, and Xue, and because of the face of the Prince of Nan'an, they had no objection, and the Marquis of Zhongjing went to Gansu smoothly to take up his post. (End of this chapter)