Red Mansion, Ningfu Scholarly Family

Chapter 247 The local emperor of Nanyang.

……

"Brother Rong."

"Brother Rong."

Xue Ke and Jia Yun both bowed to Jia Rong.

"You are too polite, brothers."

"Come on, I've prepared a banquet to welcome you."

Jia Rong was of course generous and gave enough face to Xue Ke and Jia Yun, the two capable assistants who helped him make money.

The two of them were also very tactful and followed Jia Rong humbly.

They all knew very well that the reason why they were able to thrive and hold high positions and make a lot of money in Nanyang was entirely because of the support of Ningguo Mansion behind the scenes.

Without Ningguo Mansion, they would have been caught and divided up in an instant without leaving anything behind.

"Let's toast to Brother Rong with a glass of wine."

"You're so polite. Let's drink together."

After three drinks.

Xue Ke smiled and said, "I heard that Brother Rong was very happy to win the provincial examination in Shuntian Prefecture. I only regret that I could not devote myself to it when I was in Southeast Asia." As he spoke, he took out a brocade box from his sleeve and said, "This came from the West. It's called a diamond. It's very beautiful and sparkling. I'm giving it to Brother Rong today to show my appreciation."

As he spoke, he opened the brocade box, and sure enough, there was a huge diamond inside, shining like a star in the sky!

In the sunlight, Yao's eyes hurt.

Jia Rong took the box without any pretense and said with a smile, "Thank you, brother."

Diamonds are not very valuable in this era, but in the future, the money earned in these years may not be worth the price of this diamond.

Seeing Jia Rong accepting Xue Ke's gift, Jia Yun also hurriedly took out something from behind his back and said with a smile: "Not long ago, I happened to find a foreign painting in Southeast Asia. Today I present it to Brother Rong as a gift. However, I don't know much about calligraphy and painting, so I don't know whether it is good or not."

Jia Rong didn't care. He took the scroll and said with a smile, "It's enough that you have this intention. It doesn't matter whether the painting is good or not."

"By the way, how have you been doing in Nanyang over the past year? Have you had any difficulty acclimatizing? I knew you had never been far away, so I was worried about you for a while."

Jia Yun bowed and said, "Thank you for your concern, big brother. I was not used to it when I first arrived in Nanyang, and I made many mistakes. Thanks to the help of Master Jiao and Brother Xue, I have finally adapted to it. I feel that Nanyang is also very good, with spring all year round... On the contrary, I am not used to it these days since I returned to the north."

Jia Rong nodded and said with a smile, "That's good. It's cold in Kyoto, so remember to put on more clothes to avoid catching a cold."

"Don't worry, bro. I know."

After drinking for a while, Jia Rong saw that it was getting dark and firecrackers were heard outside, so he said with a smile: "The New Year is coming soon, so I won't keep you here to drink any more. Go home and have the reunion dinner, especially Jia Yun, spend more time with your mother."

The two then said goodbye and left.

……

Let’s talk about Xifu Lixiangyuan.

The few people knew that Xue Ke was returning home from Southeast Asia, so they prepared wine and food and waited for him.

Although Aunt Xue was a little jealous that Xue Baoqin could marry into the Ningguo Mansion, Xue Ke had become the Ningguo Mansion's right-hand man.

But I can only watch with envy.

Who told his son to be so disappointing?
In the future, I may have to rely on the second wife.

Especially Baochai's marriage, with the second wife supporting the Xue family's reputation, it would look somewhat better.

Can't find a good one though.

It can’t be too bad.

"Brother, you are finally back."

Baoqin came out the door with a smile.

"Haha."

Xue Ke laughed and said, "Sister has grown taller and more beautiful."

Baoqin covered her mouth and laughed: "Brother has become darker. I almost didn't recognize him just now..."

Xue Ke: “…”

"Maybe it's because it's too dark."

"Giggle."

The two of them went into the house chatting and laughing.

Aunt Xue sat at the top and Baochai sat at the bottom.

Xue Ke stepped forward and bowed: "Hello, Auntie, Sister Bao."

Aunt Xue hurriedly supported him and said with a smile, "My dear, you have suffered a lot outside. You have been traveling all the way. Are you tired?"

Xue Ke shook his head and said, "We all came back by boat, so we weren't tired."

"Ugh!"

"That's good. Now that you're home, we're reunited. Let's eat now." Aunt Xue sighed and said.

Seeing that Aunt Xue was not in a good mood, several people knew it was because Xue Pan was not there, so they did not dare to say much. They sat down and only ate a few bites.

Aunt Xue saw that everyone was uncomfortable, so she put down her chopsticks and said with a smile, "You guys eat. I ate too much at noon, so I'll go inside and take a rest." She then told Baochai, "Have a few glasses of wine with your brothers and sisters." "Yes."

Baochai nodded.

After Aunt Xue left, the two asked Xue Ke about some things in Nanyang. Xue Ke told them one by one, and then took out two brocade boxes and said with a smile: "These were brought over from the foreigners. They are said to be very rare and precious. I got a few by chance. One for Sister Bao and one for my younger sister."

Baoqin couldn't wait to open a box and was immediately surprised and said, "It's really a diamond! How did my brother get such a big one?"

Baochai also opened the box and saw a sparkling diamond inside.

As royal merchants in Jiangnan, both of them knew about Western diamonds and how precious they were. They also knew how hard it was to come by even a small diamond.

Xue Ke smiled proudly and said, "It was given to me by Westerners as a gift. This is not the biggest gift. The biggest gift was given to Brother Rong as a congratulatory gift."

Xue Baoqin didn't believe it and asked, "Really? Brother is so powerful?"

Xue Ke patted his chest and said, "Of course. You may not know this yet, but we have the final say in the entire Nanyang region. Westerners are like grandsons. If you want to do business with us, you have to offer us your best gifts."

Baochai asked with a smile: "You? Besides you, who else is there?"

Xue Ke said: "Our Xue family's company, Jia Yun's Taizhou Trading Company, and Mr. Jiao's guard team."

"Of course, we all listen to Brother Rong."

"Brother Rong is now in Southeast Asia and is the emperor..."

Baochai and Baoqin were startled.

"Shhh! Be quiet."

"Don't talk nonsense."

Xue Ke quickly stopped talking.

After staying in Southeast Asia for a long time, I couldn't help but feel a little contemptuous of the imperial power and no longer cared about it.

If we send their fleet over here and give it a beating, we will also raze the imperial palace to the ground.

Of course, he didn't dare tell his sisters about these outrageous thoughts.

"Ahem, I spoke out of turn."

"I'll have a drink as a punishment."

As he spoke, he raised his head and took a sip of wine.

Baochai and Baoqin then breathed a sigh of relief.

I was thinking:

So Rong Ge'er has become so powerful?
The Emperor of Nanyang...

……

After drinking a few glasses of wine, the Xue Ke siblings said goodbye.

Baochai went inside and looked at her mother. Seeing that her face was a little worried, she smiled and comforted her, "Mom, my brother has married over there and has someone to take care of him. Don't worry about him."

Aunt Xue hugged Baochai and said with a smile, "I'm not worried about him, I'm just thinking about you."

Baochai was puzzled.

"Missed me? I'm not far away."

Aunt Xue said, "My son, a girl should get married when she grows up. Look, Miss Lin and your sister Qin are both engaged. After this New Year, you will be sixteen..."

Baochai lowered her head shyly.

"My daughter doesn't want to get married. She just wants to be with you."

"Silly girl, what are you doing with me?"

"I will stay with you until we grow old."

"Nonsense again!"

Aunt Xue had a stern face.

Sighed again.

"You are still young, so there is no need to rush."

"A few days ago, an old relative of ours wrote to me. Do you still remember Guihua Xia? We used to hang out together when we were little."

Baoqin raised her head and thought for a moment: "I do remember a little bit. Their family is quite small, right?"

Aunt Xue said, "There is only one grandmother and one granddaughter. A few days ago, she wrote to me and said that she wanted to find a powerful in-law for her granddaughter in Kyoto. She originally wanted your brother, but your brother is now... well, let's not talk about your brother... I want to marry her to Baoyu. What do you think?"

"This..." Baochai thought, "I haven't seen you for so many years. It's hard to say what Miss Xia's appearance and character are like. Besides, there are a lot of things going on in the second house, and my aunt is still in the Buddhist temple. I think mother should wait for a while before talking about it."

Aunt Xue nodded.

"I think so too."

"I haven't been to the Buddhist temple in the backyard to see your aunt for a few days. Today is New Year's Day. I will go to see her later. You don't have to follow me. Just rest at home."

"Um……"

……

(End of this chapter)