Red Mansion, Ningfu Scholarly Family

Chapter 170 Jia Rong: Being filial to the ruler and father is the duty of an official!

Chapter 170 Jia Rong: Being filial to the ruler and father is the duty of an official!
……

At the end of the first lunar month, Kyoto was hit by a late spring cold snap.

At four o'clock in the morning, light snow fell, and the bluestone road leading to the palace turned white.

"Minister Liu, the road is slippery, please be careful."

"Oh, I am old and can hardly walk."

"Minister Liu is nearly 70 years old and still serves the country. He is truly a role model for our generation."

"Ahem, there is no age limit for sharing the emperor's worries."

"Minister Liu is absolutely right."

The two of them supported each other as they passed through the palace gate. The guards on duty naturally knew the two senior officials from the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Works, and let them pass without any inspection.

The road inside the palace gate had already been cleaned by the eunuchs. Although it was still a bit slippery, it was much better than outside. Going further inside, one could see court officials who had arrived early one after another.

After a while, a handsome young eunuch came to the front of the Huangji Palace and shouted in a shrill voice: "The emperor has ordered that it is cold outside. Please wait in the palace for a while."

Everyone was moved to tears of gratitude and shouted "Long live the king".

This year, a furnace wall was installed in the Huangji Hall, and the coal burned was honeycomb coal produced with the imperial treasury, which burned very vigorously and warmly.

After entering the room, the ministers rubbed their hands and sighed: "With honeycomb coal this year, the palace is much warmer than in previous years."

"Charcoal was limited in previous years. This is all thanks to Lord Jia. It benefits the country and the people!"

"The salt ticket system promoted by Jia Gelao in Jiangnan was amazing. It not only solved the problem of salt merchants, but also filled the national treasury. It was a blessing for the people and the court."

The ministers in the court were talking about it, most of which were related to Jia Jing, which seemed to indicate that Lord Jia had become unstoppable and the most popular person in the court.

Compared with Jia Jing, who accomplished two major things that benefited the country and the people right after entering the cabinet, Ye Xiang, who had occupied the position of prime minister for nearly twenty years, seemed quite mediocre and had done almost nothing.

"The Emperor has arrived!"

Following the young eunuch's loud shout, all the ministers knelt down and saluted, shouting "Long live the emperor".

The Emperor sat down on the dragon chair and held out his hand to support him: "My dear ministers, please stand up."

"Long live thanks."

Everyone stood up.

Wen Ting, the deputy minister of the cabinet, glanced back slightly, and soon an imperial censor jumped out and reported: "In this peaceful and prosperous era, there are white lotus thieves who assassinate the son of Lord Ye. I accuse Wei Jiping, the governor of Yangzhou, of governing poorly, which allowed the white lotus thieves to take advantage of the situation and cause public resentment."

As soon as this statement came out, everyone was shocked!

The emperor looked at Ye Xiang with a look of surprise and doubt, and asked, "Is this true?"

Prime Minister Ye looked calm, and said, "Your Majesty, this is true. My son has returned to the capital and is fine. Your Majesty does not need to worry about this."

"That's good."

The emperor nodded and smiled, "I am afraid that Prime Minister Ye will worry too much and ask for sick leave again. The court really cannot do without Prime Minister Ye."

"Saint Emperor, you are too kind."

Ye Gao suddenly felt sweaty all over.

He had thought so before, which was why he took a step back to advance a few days ago.

But the facts have proved that the court is not the court of one person, and it can function normally without anyone. Even if he fanned the flames from behind, it still had no effect. Instead, he shot himself in the foot and made Jia Jing famous.

He had a premonition that he might not be able to hold the position of Prime Minister for long.

Thinking of this, Ye Gao glanced at Jia Jing beside him and said, "I heard that Mr. Jia was also assassinated in Yangzhou. Is Mr. Jia okay?"

Jia Jing understood what Ye Xiang meant and nodded, saying, "Thank you for your concern, Ye Xiang. It's all right now."

The two of them kept silent about each other, as if nothing had happened.

Ye Xiang now has no ability to deal with Jia Jing, who is deeply trusted by the retired emperor. What's more, this matter was started by his son. He was originally in the wrong. If a fight really breaks out, both sides will suffer and it will only benefit others.

Jia Jing had no intention of pursuing the matter further. After all, his revenge had been taken and Jia Rong was fine.

The most important thing is: this matter cannot be brought to the surface at all, so it is best for both of them to just make a big thing small.

After hearing this, Prime Minister Ye bowed to the Emperor and said, "The White Lotus traitor is rampant. Previously there was an assassination in Kyoto, and now there is an assassination in Yangzhou. If we don't eradicate them soon, they will become a big problem!"

Jia Jing seconded the motion.

The officials below followed suit.

Only Wen Ting seemed a little embarrassed. He really didn't expect that the two people who were already at loggerheads with each other would not only not get more intense after he added fuel to the fire, but instead would turn hostility into friendship.

There are no real enemies or real friends in officialdom, and interests are the only things that are eternal.

In the end, Wen Ting had no choice but to second the motion.

The emperor raised his hand and knocked on the jade table!

"Tell the Ministry of War to quickly formulate a plan to eliminate Bai Lian!"

"The ministers obey the order."

The retired emperor nodded and signaled the eunuch beside him to start the main topic of today's court meeting.

Become a marquis!

This has already been decided, and the Ministry of Rites has also been prepared. Today is just a formality.

The young eunuch walked out of the hall carrying the imperial edict.

In accordance with the destiny, the emperor said:
In the past, Jia Yan, a commoner, stood up in the troubled times and helped Taizu to purify the world and stabilize the country, and was awarded the title of Duke of Ningguo.

Today, Jia Jing, the grandson of Ningguo Duke Jia Yan, is both civil and military, and has a good way of governing the country and inheriting his ancestral business. Thinking of the ancient teachings that great merits must be rewarded and great virtues must be praised, I specially confer the title of Huai'an Marquis on Jia Jing, and grant him a thousand taels of gold, a hundred pieces of brocade, and a thousand hectares of fertile land to reward his efforts. I hope that he will continue to work hard, share my worries, and seek benefits for the people of the world.

Once this order is issued, it will be known to the whole world.

My world, with such loyal ministers and good generals, why should we worry about not prospering? I hope that you and I can build a peaceful and prosperous world together and share the happiness of the world.

Admire this!

As soon as the imperial edict was issued, all the court officials were extremely envious, because although there were many marquises in Daxia, there was no precedent for a civil official to be granted a marquisate.

Although Jia Jing was granted the title of marquis by inheriting his ancestral title, which was a bit of a trick, it was enough for him to become the number one person in Daxia and be recorded in history.

After the court session, people came to Jia Jing one after another to congratulate him. Jia Jing thanked them one by one and returned home.

Even for a top noble family like the Jia family, being conferred a title of nobility was a big deal.

There is no need to say much about the ceremony of conferring the title of marquis, opening the ancestral temple and offering sacrifices to the ancestral temple. In addition, a banquet was held to entertain clan members, old friends, and colleagues in the officialdom, which took ten days to complete. The entire Ningguo Mansion was filled with smiles.

The Rongguo Mansion was also bustling for about ten days. After all, the two mansions prospered together. Jia She and his wife were determined to follow Jia Jing. The more powerful Jia Jing became, the happier they were.

With Jia Jing's current status, some officials who were unable to come and give gifts were accompanied by Jia She and his wife. The status of a first-class general who inherited the title of Rongguo Mansion was basically enough to receive anyone.

As for the female members of the family, since Lady Jia was feeling unwell, it was Lady Xing, the wife of a first-class general, who stepped in to deal with the situation.

At this time, Madam Xing no longer cared about the quarrel with her daughter-in-law Feng Ji, and brought Feng Ji and Xing Xiuyun with her to wait on the imperial edicts from various mansions.

The various mansions had no doubts about Mrs. Xing becoming the head of the household. Instead, they believed that this was the right thing to do.

It is reasonable for the eldest wife to be the head of the household.

The younger ones were invited to the East Palace Garden, where they were received by the sisters Yingchun, Tanchun and Xichun.

The three girls were able to handle the situation with ease.

As Jia Rong was not at home, the rest of the young men were received by Jia Lian, Jia Cong, Jia Qiang and others.

Besides, Jia Lian has been doing very well recently. It is much better to follow his biological father than his second uncle.

The most important thing is that his father now lives in Rong Xi Tang with full legitimacy, so won’t he be able to live there with full legitimacy in the future?

Therefore, Jia Lian was full of energy and took his father's words as if they were an imperial decree.

As for the old lady...

Now I'm afraid only Jia Zheng and his son Jia Baoyu can listen seriously.

In Lady Jia's courtyard.

As Lady Jia had been feeling unwell recently, Jia Baoyu went to the garden outside to pick a few fresh plum blossoms, put them in a vase, and showed them to Lady Jia as if they were a treasure.

Grandmother Jia was immediately overjoyed, hugged her beloved Baoyu, and said with a smile: "Everyone says that I love Baoyu and am partial to him. Look around you and see where you can find such a filial grandson. If I don't love him, who else can I love?"

Several maids and servants hurriedly complimented him, "Yes, yes, Baoyu is the most filial and obedient."

Baoyu rolled around in Grandmother Jia's arms and acted like a spoiled child, saying very obediently, "Grandfather, I still have to go to the clan school to study, and I will come to pay my respects to you in the evening."

"Good, good, good." Grandmother Jia hugged Baoyu's neck and smiled happily: "It's good to study, but you can't get tired. Remember to come back early."

"Uh-huh."

Jia Baoyu nodded and went to school holding hands with his good friend Qin Zhong.

……

Compared with the north which is experiencing a late spring cold snap, the south of the Yangtze River is much more comfortable and is already as warm as spring.

The light rain in Tianjie is as moist as cake.

A light rain in the early morning moistened the city of Yangzhou and also marked the beginning of the bright spring.

Lin Ruhai is destined to be very busy this spring.

After Jia Jing left, the salt tax reform fell entirely on his shoulders.

There were still many obstacles to the new salt tax system. One of them was that officials whose interests were damaged pretended to obey but secretly disobeyed in an attempt to subvert the salt ticket system. In addition, several large old salt merchants were behind the scenes, which led to great fluctuations in the market price of salt.

There is an urgent need for a few new salt merchants who can stand their ground in the storm to stabilize the situation.

However, under the new salt ticket system, the profits from selling and trading salt were not as high as before and could not attract those powerful businessmen for a while. At this time, the second branch of the Xue family had no choice but to become the first of the new salt merchants.

Of course, Xue Li and Xue Ke, the second branch of the Xue family, are now focusing their main attention on smuggling overseas. The salt merchants just use the name of the second branch of the Xue family, with Xue Baoqin as the boss, and most of the people in the inner circle are arranged by Jia Rong.

"Brother Rong!"

Xue Baoqin held the account book and pouted her lips as she asked, "Do you think I'm your servant?"

"How can that be possible!" Jia Rong smiled and said, "You are the boss, and I am the person standing behind the boss. Let's split the money we earn 50-50."

Xue Baoqin snorted softly and said in a barely perceptible voice: "In the end, it's all yours."

Jia Rong: "What did you say?"

"Ah? Nothing." Xue Baoqin threw the account book on the table and said with a smile: "Brother Rong, is there any sequel to the novel you wrote? Write a few more chapters today."

"Gone."

Jia Rong spread his hands.

I have been exploited like crazy by Aunt Lin these days, and The Legend of the Condor Heroes has officially ended.

"How can it end?" Xue Baoqin said unwillingly: "Brother Rong, please continue writing. Didn't the Mongolian Tartars go south? You can write about the hero Guo and the heroine Huang turning the tide and defeating the Mongolian Tartars, just like Brother Rong's ancestors did back then..."

“That’s a good idea.”

Jia Rong ruffled Baoqin's hair and said with a smile, "Why don't you continue writing?"

Baoqin hurriedly held up her hair bun and stepped back, pouting, "Brother Rong always bullies me. I'll go find Sister Lin!"

Jia Rong looked at the door and smiled, "No need to look for him, he is here."

Lin Daiyu, who was eavesdropping outside the house, walked into the house calmly without blushing or beating her heart. She smiled and said, "When I first came here, I heard Sister Baoqin say that Rong Ge'er bullied others. Rong Ge'er, why did you bully my sister Baoqin?"

Jia Rong looked at Lin Daiyu and said sternly, "How do you judge the relationship between generations? You call her Sister Baoqin, and call me Brother Rong in the tone of an aunt."

Lin Daiyu: "Because, I like it!"

Jia Rong: "What do you like?"

Lin Daiyu smiled and said, "I like... calling you Rong'er."

"Sister Baoqin!"

"Sister Lin!"

Xue Baoqin hurriedly stood beside Lin Daiyu.

Lin Daiyu said, "It doesn't matter if he doesn't write. We can go back and continue writing. It will definitely be better than what he wrote."

Xue Baoqin nodded: "Okay!"

The two of them happily walked out of the house hand in hand.

“It’s not impossible to continue writing.”

The two people who had just walked out of the door had their eyes slightly lit up, and they stopped at the same time and looked back at Jia Rong.

Jia Rong then said, "But it's not possible now."

Second girl: “Hmph…”

Then he asked, "When?"

Jia Rong: "We have to sort out the outline."

Lin Daiyu: "Tomorrow?"

Jia Rong rolled his eyes.

"When we return to Beijing."

Baoqin: "When will you return to Beijing?"

Jia Rong thought for a moment and said, "I want to go out and take a look at the geography and mountains of Daxia. I will probably return to the capital in autumn."

The provincial examination will be held next year, and I still have some time this year to travel around and appreciate the beauty of the world.

Furthermore, with Jia Jing in the front as a stable as a rock, it was a great opportunity for him to develop quietly and pave the way for the young cabinet minister to take charge of the world in the future.

As for what the emperor will do when the young cabinet minister takes charge of the world in the future... there are actually many things he can do, such as practicing Taoism, refining elixirs, chanting Buddha's name, eating, drinking, having fun, and indulging in all kinds of sensual pleasures.

Now that you are the emperor, shouldn’t you live a comfortable life?
Naturally, the young cabinet minister will do the hard work.

Being filial to the king and father is the duty of a subject!
Baoqin clapped her hands and laughed, "Why don't I go with Brother Rong? I'm familiar with most places in Daxia, and I've been to foreign countries, so I can be Brother Rong's guide."

Jia Rong was naturally willing to have a girl by his side, especially since Baoqin had several good foreign girlfriends. However, seeing the flash of swords in Aunt Lin's eyes, Xue Baoqin quickly stuck out her tongue and said, "I'd better stay at home with Sister Lin. Traveling outside will make you tanned."

Lin Daiyu pinched Baoqin's pretty face and said with a smile, "Yes, you won't look good if you get tanned."

Jia Rong smiled slightly and did not force it.

"Okay, then you two can stay at home."

"Aunt, study hard, Baoqin, do your accounting, and we will return to Beijing together in the fall."

Lin Daiyu pursed her lips and stepped forward and said, "Since you must go, I won't say anything. Just remember to take care of yourself along the way. We will wait for you to come home."

Jia Rong: "Okay."

I really want to hug my aunt in my arms.

But Baoqin stood by with her eyes wide open. One of them felt embarrassed, and the other had the desire but not the courage, so the matter was left unresolved.

"I'll come to you tonight and tell you in detail."

Jia Rong whispered something in Daiyu's ear.

"Ah."

Lin Daiyu nodded nonchalantly, but her neck turned red.

"What did you say?"

Xue Baoqin came forward and asked.

Jia Rong smiled and said, "You are becoming more and more beautiful."

Baoqin smiled happily: "Really?"

Lin Daiyu nodded: "Yes, Baoqin is becoming more and more beautiful.

Baoqin: "Hehe."

"Sister Lin is making fun of me again."

Daiyu: "It was your brother Rong who said that."