Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

On the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival in the 13th year of Xifeng, with the promotion of Jia Cong and Li Meng, the marriage between the two families was successfully held. All the famous nobles and officials in the capital came to celebrate, not to attend Baoyu's wedding, but to witness the union of the two giants of the country's military.

According to folk customs, the groom should carry the bride's sedan chair into the house. When the curtain of the sedan chair was opened, Jia Cong, Jia Lian, Xue Pan and others almost laughed out loud when they saw the bride who was big enough to hold two Baoyu.

Baoyu's face turned even paler, as if he had lost his parents. Several young masters of the Li family beside the sedan chair were grinning with glee.

Amid the sounds of firecrackers, congratulations, laughter and praises, Baoyu gritted his teeth and stepped forward to carry the load.

Jia Cong tried to hold back his laughter and winked at Lin Zhixiao. Lin Zhixiao was very smart. Seeing that the bride was quite large and might be too much for Master Bao to handle, he quickly directed four strong women to help. They half carried her on their backs and half lifted her up, and finally got her into the gate and stood on the red carpet that had been laid out.

Baoyu finally breathed a sigh of relief. His cheeks, which had turned red due to excessive exertion, slowly turned pale again. Like a walking corpse, he followed the master of ceremonies' instructions and walked into Rong Xi Hall with the bride.

Jia Cong was not interested in the subsequent ceremony of worshiping heaven and earth. He ordered Jia Lian and others to greet the guests, while he led the nobles to the East Palace for a drink. The West Palace was specially used to entertain civil servants. Anyway, since Jia Zheng was at home, there was no need to worry about no one to greet him.

The nobles followed Jia Cong back to the East Palace and sat down according to the same seating arrangement as last time. They talked and laughed at the table and congratulated Li Meng and Jia Cong.

This banquet was a wedding banquet, and everyone was much more harmonious and friendly than last time. After tonight, I think the conflict between the Wu Hou lineage and the Guo Gong lineage will be significantly eased.

Unless it is necessary, no one wants to start a war. It is better to make money through peace.

Jia Cong and Li Meng naturally took the first seat. They smiled at each other. Jia Cong stood up and raised his glass, saying, "Thank you all for coming. I am grateful for the favor of Duke Anguo. From now on, I and Duke Anguo are relatives. This is a great joy for my family. I have prepared some wine. Please be a witness and drink to victory!"

"Drink victory!"

"Congratulations, Your Majesty. Congratulations, Duke Anguo."

"The prince and the duke are happily married, and we are all happy about it."

"Let's get some good luck too. We won't go home until we're drunk tonight!"

Everyone smiled and toasted.

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Everyone, please do as you please. No one is allowed to leave unless they are drunk."

"As you command." Everyone laughed and started toasting each other.

Li Meng whispered, "Your Majesty, I have a few useless sons at home. Although they have learned some martial arts and military tactics, they know nothing about new firearms and tactics. If it is convenient, you can let them go out and gain experience if you see where they are needed, so that they don't have to stay at home all day."

Jia Cong's heart moved, and he looked at him with a smile, saying: "Duke Anguo is also a commander of troops, he can handle such a small matter himself, why entrust it to me?"

Li Meng said: "I am a lowly general with limited knowledge and I myself have no skills. Wouldn't it be true that the students I teach are inferior to the previous generation?
Your Majesty is a man of extraordinary talent. If I can learn even a fraction of your skills, I will be able to bring honor to our family. Please, Your Majesty, for the sake of our close relationship, do not refuse."

Jia Cong said: "Duke Anguo, you also know that although you can gain fame and honor by joining the army, the risks are also not small.

Not to mention the distant past, the two sons of the Linchuan Earl and Dingyuan Earl died for their country at a young age. The other day, the Tenth Prince led his troops on a western tour, and I didn't dare to guarantee in front of the Empress Dowager that he would be fine.

Your son was entrusted to me because my brother trusted him. If he succeeds, we will all be happy. But if he fails, how can I explain it? Let's just forget it."

Li Meng hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, how can I be a person who cannot distinguish right from wrong? I am a noble family, and fame and fortune can be achieved immediately. Besides, a man born in this world should hold a three-foot-long sword and make immortal contributions. How can I hide at home and be afraid of death?

I'm going to put this on the table today. We will obey your orders, no matter what happens, no matter if we live or die, and we will never complain. If you go against my words, you will be punished by heaven and earth."

Jia Cong knew that he deliberately sent his son as a hostage in exchange for his forgiveness, which showed his great sincerity.

Yin bowed and smiled, "Since Brother Shi said so, it would be unkind of me to refuse. Well, let your son join the second phase of the new military academy training first. After he finishes his training, I will make arrangements for him. How do you think?"

Li Meng said happily: "Thank you, Your Highness. I only ask that Your Highness not give them leniency for my sake, and beat them when they should be beaten, and scold them when they should be scolded. The more rigorous the training, the better, and the more difficult and dangerous the use, the better. Let them all do their best for the court and the country, and then my family will be forever grateful for Your Highness's kindness."

Jia Cong sighed inwardly, wondering why the Wu Hou lineage was so prosperous, their educational philosophy was far superior to that of the Guo Gong lineage, they were really willing to let their children go through hardships and experience.

"Since Brother Shi said this, I will do my best." Jia Cong nodded and said, "Now that General Wang has gone to the Western Regions, the capital should be rectified. Let's also deal with the Tusi issue we discussed last time."

Li Meng said: "Your Majesty is right. I will obey your order."

Jia Cong smiled and said, "We'll discuss this later. Today we won't talk about official business, but only about the wedding wine. I'll toast you all again. From now on, the nobles must love each other."

"We will follow the prince's instructions." Everyone raised their glasses in response.

That night, the two cities, east and west, were bustling with traffic and brightly lit.

The next day, Jia Cong did not go to the yamen. He stayed in the mansion with his wives, concubines, old lady and others to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival and eat the big crabs sent by Xue Pan.

The banquet was held in the Grand View Garden, and Baoyu also brought his new wife to the banquet. Jia Cong saw that he was unsteady and shaky on his feet due to some kind of torture he had suffered, so he forced a smile and asked him to sit down.

Feng Jieer, Li Wan and others enthusiastically took the bride Li Xiao to a seat, chatted with her cheerfully, and introduced the situation of the Jia family's inner quarters.

Jia Cong took the full shell of crab roe that Baochai had peeled, dipped it in ginger vinegar and ate it, praising it highly: "Sister Bao's crabs are the best in the capital."

Baochai smiled and said, "You are too flattering. There are so many crabs in the market, all of which are similar. Why are my crabs so unique?"

Daiyu said sourly: "No matter how ordinary the crab is, when it is peeled by Sister Bao herself, it is naturally far better than dragon liver and phoenix marrow. In my opinion, it is not an exaggeration to say that it is the best in the world, not only in Shenjing."

All the girls laughed. Baochai said coquettishly, "You little girl, you are talking nonsense again. I will peel one for you to see if it tastes like dragon liver and phoenix marrow." After saying that, she peeled one and handed it to Daiyu.

Daiyu took it with a smile and said, "As the saying goes, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. It may seem like an ordinary crab to me, but in Brother Cong's mouth, it is like dragon liver and phoenix marrow, isn't it?"

"If you tease me again, you are not allowed to eat crabs from my house." Baochai spat shyly.

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Pin'er, peel one for me too, so I can taste what dragon liver and phoenix marrow taste like."

Daiyu laughed and said, "I won't peel it for you. Whoever owns the crab should peel it."

Jia Cong embraced Baochai and laughed. Qingwen and Qianxue had already peeled a plate for him and brought it to him. Just as he was about to eat, they saw Baoyu's worried look and said with a smile, "Groom, you feel uncomfortable after just one visit to the bridal chamber? Do you want to ask Mr. Ye to treat you?"

Upon hearing this, all the women covered their faces in shame and spat at him in unison.

Baoyu's face flushed red, and he said, "Brother Cong, please stop slandering me. I... I'm just in a bad mood." As he spoke, he glanced at the next table and lowered his voice.

"I understand." Jia Cong patted his shoulder and whispered, "You are also sacrificing your life for the family, which is worthy of our ancestors. Well done, I am optimistic about you." Baoyu smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Don't tease me. If it weren't for you, I would have wanted to complete the mourning period for my wife."

Jia Cong laughed and said, "There are different things, big or small, important or urgent. I was in mourning at home, but I was still reinstated because of my feelings. Which is greater, your personal filial piety or the benefit to the family?
If you don't like her, you can just treat her with respect in the future. What's the point? There are good people in your room. Xiren is good enough. Yuanyang, tell the old lady to give Xiren to Baoyu as his concubine.

"Yes." Yuanyang smiled.

Baoyu felt a little relieved and sighed, "Now that things have come to this, what else can I say?"

Baochai watched coldly and saw that although Li Xiao was tall and fat, and not very handsome, his speech and behavior were very methodical and polite, and it was obvious that he had been well educated.

Yin said, "Baoyu, how can you judge a person by her appearance? Miss Li comes from a famous family with a profound family background. You must not look down on her."

If it were in the past, Baoyu would have ignored her advice. But now that Baochai was the concubine of a prince, he could only bow his head and accept her advice helplessly: "Yes, I will follow my sister-in-law's instructions."

Seeing that he was not convinced, Baochai shook her head and said with a smile, "Let me tell you a story."

When Jia Cong heard that there was a story, he smiled and said, "Great, it's just right for drinking. Sister Bao, tell it now."

Baoyu also became interested and listened attentively.

Baochai opened her mouth softly and said, "A New Account of Tales of the World records that during the Three Kingdoms period, there was a famous official in Cao Wei named Xu Yun. When he was young, his family arranged for him to marry the sister of Ruan Kan, the governor of Henei.

On the wedding night, he saw that his wife was extremely ugly, so he ran away and never entered the bridal chamber again.

Jia Cong smiled and said, "It's not surprising that there are such accidents in a blind and dumb marriage."

Baoyu also nodded and said, "Who wouldn't run? Cong, do you think you will run?"

All the girls snickered.

Jia Cong glanced at the women and laughed dryly, "How can a real man escape from the battlefield? However, if he is too busy with official duties to put personal interests aside, forget about food and sleep, and neglect his wife, then it is understandable.

After all, I have pledged my seven-foot body to the country, so why should I pledge it to you?"

"Pooh! Cunning!" Baoyu said, "But it is a good idea, but it's a pity that I don't have any official business."

Baochai rolled her eyes at the two of them and continued, “One day, the famous scholar Huan Fan came to visit Xu Yun’s home. When his wife heard about it, she said to the maid, “Don’t worry, Huan will persuade him to come in.”

Sure enough, Huan Fan said to Xu Yun, since the Ruan family married you the ugly girl, there must be a deep meaning, you should understand it. Xu Yun thought about it, and then went back to the bridal chamber. When he saw his wife, he wanted to run away again..."

Baoyu sneered and said, "Look, Cong'er, even the famous ministers in ancient times loved their appearance, let alone me."

Jia Cong glanced at the girls, coughed dryly, and said, "I am different from them. I love souls. Your sisters-in-law can testify to this."

"Pah." The girls all laughed and spat in unison.

Qingwen asked, "Madam, what happened next?"

Baochai continued, "When his wife saw Xu Yun was about to run away again, she was sure that he would never come back, so she hurried forward and grabbed his collar.

Xu Yun asked her: "A woman has four virtues, how many do you have?" His wife retorted: "The only thing I lack is appearance. However, a scholar has a hundred virtues, how many do you have?"
Xu Yun replied, "I have everything." His wife said, "Virtue is the most important of all virtues. You are lustful but not virtuous. How can you say you have everything?"
Xu Yun felt ashamed when he heard this. From then on, he respected his wife very much and no longer judged people by appearance. "Baoyu, why don't you see the virtuous and emulate them?"

Baoyu looked ashamed, and he bowed and said, "Baoyu will teach you."

Jia Cong said hurriedly: "Sister Bao's story is thought-provoking. Baoyu should learn more from the ancients and stop liking pretty maids all day long. Don't treat your wife badly, otherwise the master will not forgive you."

"I understand." Baoyu nodded with a wry smile.

Jia Cong tried hard to suppress his laughter and stood up, saying, "You guys eat, I'll go to another table." As he spoke, he saw an opportunity, slipped over to Baoqin's table, and sat down next to her.

"Qin'er, is your mother feeling better?"

Baoqin saw him pretending to be serious, and couldn't help but roll her eyes at him. She smiled and said, "Thanks to Divine Doctor Ye, my mother's illness has improved a lot."

"That's good." Jia Cong smiled, and seeing that no one was paying attention to this side, he whispered: "It is not appropriate for you to talk about marriage now during the mourning period, but we can settle our relationship first. I will ask the eldest wife to mention it to my aunt someday."

Baoqin's face flushed immediately, and she spat in a low voice: "Why are you telling me all this? I'm too lazy to care about you."

Jia Cong chuckled, and when no one was paying attention, he pinched her thigh.

Baoqin's hand suddenly trembled, and a large crab fell onto the plate. Seeing that everyone was looking at her, she hurriedly smiled and said, "My hand slipped."

Jia Cong didn't know what politeness meant. He picked up the crab roe that Bao Qin had just peeled and ate it, praising it repeatedly: "Good crab."

Baoqin glared at him and said unhappily, "How did you steal mine? Didn't you try the hairy crabs from Yangcheng Lake when you went to Jiangnan?"

Jia Cong smiled and said, "It was the wrong season when I went to Jiangnan. Next time, let's go to Yangcheng Lake to eat."

"That's what you said." Baoqin said happily, "There are many delicious foods in Suzhou."

Jia Cong whispered, "Haven't you heard that beauty is a feast to the eyes? Even if we eat coarse food with Qin'er, it's still a delicacy in the world."

"Hateful." Baoqin's face turned red when she heard it. Seeing that no one heard it, she gave Jia Cong a sidelong glance.

Jia Cong laughed, drank a glass of wine, then went to Miaoyu's table and sat between her and Xing Xiuyun. Knowing that Miaoyu was a vegetarian, he placed vegetarian food in front of her.

"Miao'er... well, Miaoyu," Jia Cong saw that Miaoyu was a little angry, so he quickly changed his words. He knew that she was very proud, so he had to give her some respect in front of outsiders. "As the saying goes, wine and meat pass through the intestines, but the Buddha remains in the heart. How about you try some too?"

When Xing Xiuyan and others saw Jia Cong break open a crab and hand it to Miaoyu, they all smiled softly.

Miaoyu blushed and said, "You can eat your own food, you won't get any merit from the bad guys."

"Okay, okay, it's obvious that your cultivation is not good enough, so you blame the crab. Fourth sister, you eat it." Jia Cong took it back embarrassedly and stuffed the crab into Xichun's bowl.

Xichun held the bowl with both hands, thanked him and took it. Now she dared not mention the words of sudden enlightenment and tranquility. (End of this chapter)