The head of the Red Mansion

Chapter 14 The Words of the Sage
At Ningguo Mansion, after breakfast, Shen Ning listened to Madam You's report on Jia Zhen's achievements overnight while taking a leisurely stroll in her courtyard.

On the pomegranate tree in the corner, two magpies chattered and flew up and down freely.

"Was Lai Shengjia the one who was dismissed from his post?"

Shen Ning took the booklet from Madam You, flipped to the last page, and threw it back at her, saying, "Who are you trying to fool?"

Everyone else was punished and their families were sent back to the village, but Lai Sheng's wife escaped unscathed.

In her opinion, of the Jia family's Ning and Rong mansions, the Lai family was the biggest parasite.

After the Grand View Garden was built, Granny Lai's family also had a nice courtyard, with servants at their beck and call, and her grandson even bought an official position. In the end, even Jia Zheng had to borrow money from them, but ironically, they still refused to lend him any.

If it's like this at the Rong residence, it's even worse at the Ning residence.

Shen Ning discovered that Lai Sheng's three sons had also been granted a reprieve from slavery at birth, which is why Jia Rong had no members of the Lai family around him.

The Lai family must have given up on the Jia family a long time ago, right?

It's laughable that her eldest son still thinks she's so loyal.

"Qingzhu, take..."

Just as she was about to ask Qingzhu to bring the ruler that Jia Jing often used, Qingping hurriedly entered the courtyard, "Madam, the Master of the West Mansion has arrived."

Sure enough, it came.

Shen Ning raised an eyebrow. "Has the Second Madam arrived?"

The Wang family, which is preparing to take over most of the power in the Jia family army by having the Jia family members learn martial arts, should be the first to feel uneasy.

Although the second wife, Madam Wang, was always a bit slow to react, she was meticulous and would think things through when she got home that night.

And Jia Zheng...

Shen Ning slowly exhaled a breath of stale air. "Let's go and greet them."

Madam You rushed over to help him up.

Since they're all from the Jia family, there's no need to be overly cautious about avoiding suspicion.

The ceremonial hall outside the second gate has a front and back partition. When Jia Jing was still doing well, Jia Zheng often came to ask him for advice, and Wang Shi would come over every time. Naturally, it is still there now.

"Sister-in-law!"

Jia Zheng accepted the offer early on.

He was in his forties with a short beard and wore a light green floral robe. When he bowed, his face was calm but his voice was unusually gentle. Anyone who didn't know him would definitely think he was a gentleman as refined as jade.

In terms of appearance, Jia Zheng was far superior to Jia She.

No wonder that some people like Grandmother Jia, who is obsessed with looks, doted on her second son the most.

"Second brother, second sister-in-law, please sit down!"

As Wang Shi bowed, Shen Ning helped her up, saying, "There was a commotion at the school yesterday, so I guessed my second brother would come."

Jia Zheng's expression softened slightly. He raised his hand to You Shi, who was bowing, and said, "Sister-in-law, I have heard about the school reform from Wang Shi." He had just glanced at the new school rules and reward and punishment system that Jia Zhen had come up with, and felt that they were not bad. "However, following Jiao Da to practice martial arts... is extremely inappropriate."

"inappropriate?"

Shen Ning asked him with a smile.

"That's not appropriate!" Jia Zheng said, "Sister-in-law should have heard from Brother Jing that the reason why all of our brothers' names contain a character is because of the decision of our ancestors, and we brothers all study literature. How can we let Jiao Da teach martial arts in such an important place as the academy?"

"A school ground?"

Shen Ning smiled enigmatically, “Second brother, you know what kind of mediocre Jia Dairu is, don’t you? Even if you didn’t know before, since he took charge of the school, not a single member of the clan has achieved anything. You should know that he is not suitable for the school.”

Why pretend to care?
Why did you go early?
Mencius said, "When Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a person, it first tests their resolve, strains their muscles and bones, and starves their body."

Shen Ning looked at him and said, "Even the sage said so. Why can't the children spend half an hour with Jiao Da every day to toughen their bodies and strengthen their physiques?"

Jia Zheng: "..."

He had countless rebuttals, but under Shen Ning's saintly words, he couldn't utter a single word.

"Or does Second Brother look down on Jiao Da and think he's a lackey?"

"How dare you!"

Jia Zheng repeatedly said he dared not. Jiao Da had saved his great-grandfather, the Duke of Ningguo.

"But my sister-in-law also knows the current situation of the Jia family."

He glanced at the servants at the four stations. Qingzhu and the others bowed and withdrew as Shen Ning waved her hand, saying, "It was agreed back then..."

"What did you say?"

Shen Ning interrupted him coldly, "It's just letting the children learn martial arts to strengthen their bodies, not sending them to the army. What's there to say? Or is it..." She glanced at Madam Wang, "that the Jia family has given up everything in the military, and from now on, even running is wrong for the clan's children?"

The Jia family's power in the military was ultimately seized by Wang Ziteng.

What does this mean in the eyes of those in power?
Wang Ziteng was a military general who had been promoted and was at the peak of his career. Why did he die of an illness?

If she were the one in charge, she wouldn't have let these people off the hook either.

"Everyone unanimously agreed yesterday that if Second Brother disagrees, then Baoyu and Huan'er won't need to go to school, and that annual donation of five hundred taels..."

Shen Ning paused for a moment, then said, "Zhen'er, write a notice and post it at the clan school. Baoyu and Huan'er are not included in it."

what?
Jia Zheng and Lady Wang's expressions changed.

Neither of them expected that their sister-in-law would suddenly be so disrespectful.

They even posted a public notice?

How will the clansmen view them as a couple? How will they view Baoyu?
Neither of them paid much attention to Jia Huan.

Madam Wang never considered giving him those five hundred taels of silver.

"This? Second Uncle..."

Jia Zhen is now extremely afraid of his mother.

As soon as Madam You came in, she gave him a meaningful look, clearly indicating that his mother was very dissatisfied with how Lai Sheng's family had been treated.

"Sister-in-law, I didn't say I disagreed."

Jia Zheng's face was already a little pale. "I just came to ask."

Did he mean it?

That's not what he meant at all!

For the first time, Jia Zheng found this sister-in-law difficult to deal with.

"Just ask!"

Shen Ning twirled the jade bracelet on her wrist, her face breaking into a smile. "It seems I misunderstood my second brother and sister-in-law." Her voice softened. "I know my second brother is a scholar, and it might be hard for him to accept that Jiao Da is having the children learn martial arts. But my second brother should know that the county examination, the prefectural examination, the academy examination, the provincial examination, the metropolitan examination, and the palace examination—except for the palace examination—each examination takes a considerable amount of time. Without good health, any one of these examinations can be incredibly taxing."

This?
Jia Zheng sighed.

He longed to take the imperial examinations, but although he was not eligible, he knew that every year many students would faint from exhaustion and miss the exams.

“The children have grown up in luxury and have never experienced hardship.”

Shen Ning gently reminded them, "They don't know how difficult the exam is, but we, as elders, cannot ignore it."

If they had planned ahead and paid attention to Jia Zhu's health, perhaps he wouldn't have died.

From the original owner's memories, she knew that Jia Zhu and Yuan Chun were both carefully raised.

As long as Jia Zhu lives, he will always be a source of support for the daughters of the Jia family.

"Sister-in-law said yes."

Jia Zheng hadn't thought of his son Jia Zhu. Right now, he was thinking of the returning scholar Shen, and he was somewhat impressed by Shen Ning's foresight. "Today, I... was rash."

"We're brothers, why are you being so rash?"

Shen Ning smiled and said, "My second brother is concerned about the clan and the school, that's why he came to ask. It's good that you've found out. Second sister-in-law, don't you think so?"

"……Yes!"

Madam Wang raised the corners of her mouth and smiled gently.

Looking closely, Madam You silently lowered her head. She always felt that the look between her mother-in-law and second aunt was full of fighting spirit.

(End of this chapter)