Red Mansion: After being expelled from the family, I was granted the title of Marquis of Mobei

Chapter 113: Changing Attitude, Jia Zheng's Doubts
Sheng Changbai nodded and said.

"Then I won't be polite to you."

Then Sheng Changbai told the whole story.

Sheng Changbai came here this time not for his own business, but for his good friend Gu Tingye.

Sheng Changbai and Gu Tingye both participated in this imperial examination.

Sheng Changbai passed the exam, but Gu Tingye did not.

In fact, considering Gu Tingye's literary talent, it should be no problem for him to pass the imperial examination and become a Jinshi.

But there is discord within the Gu family, and Gu Tingye and his elder brother Gu Tingyu have a deep hatred for each other.

In his early years, Gu Tingye was young and frivolous. He once felt sorry for Yang Shenming, a student who was deprived of the qualification to take the imperial examination by the retired emperor, and lamented that the retired emperor was too narrow-minded.

Only the eldest brother Gu Tingyu knows about this.

In order to ruin Gu Tingye's future, Gu Tingyu gave a gift to Dai Quan, a eunuch in Daming Palace, and asked him to report the matter to the emperor.

The result was that not only was Gu Tingye's imperial examination results exempted, but the emperor also issued an edict that he could only take the imperial examination after he turned fifty.

Sheng Changbai couldn't help but feel very emotional when he said this.

"Brothers fight against each other, and brothers kill each other."

"After Zhong Huai learned the truth, he was furious and injured his eldest brother. He also had a huge quarrel with Ning Yuanhou."

"Marquis Ningyuan kicked Zhong Huai out of his home."

"That's not all. Zhong Huai's concubine, upon seeing that he was frustrated, ran away with all the money."

"Zhong Huai is very depressed now. If this continues, he will be ruined."

"He has no hope of passing the imperial examination. I thought you have a deep military background, could you let him join the army?"

Jia Jue said after thinking for a while.

"Arranging one person is nothing, but the northern border is stable, and there won't be any war in the next 20 to 30 years."

"Even if he goes, he will just live in confusion and will hardly achieve anything."

"How about this, Changbai, you discuss it with him. If he just wants to live a carefree life, let him go to Northern Frontier."

"If he wants to achieve great things, then I do have a place for him to go, but the risks are quite high. Let him consider it himself."

Hearing this, Sheng Changbai nodded slightly and said.

"Okay, I got it. I'll tell him."

After the two of them discussed the matter, they chatted for a while.

After lunch at noon, Sheng Changbai left the Marquis' Mansion.

In the evening, in Rongguo Mansion, Xue Baochai and her daughter were discussing something.

Ever since Mrs. Xue Wang handed over 300,000 taels of silver and a batch of treasures to Mrs. Wang, she has been looking forward to her beloved son returning to her side as soon as possible.

However, for several days, there was no movement in Rongguo Mansion.

This made Xue Wangshi extremely anxious. She asked Mrs. Wang twice, but Mrs. Wang evaded her question with a few words both times.

Xue Wangshi said anxiously at this time.

"Oh, if I keep waiting like this, I'm going to die of anxiety."

"Your aunt is really something. She said this matter can't be rushed and needs to be done slowly. How can I not be anxious?"

Seeing that Xue Wangshi was feeling uneasy, Xue Baochai hesitated for a moment and then said.

"Mother, I sent people to secretly check these past two days, and the Rongguo Mansion didn't send anyone to the Beijing County Prince's Mansion at all."

Xue Wangshi said in surprise.

"No way."

Xue Baochai nodded and said.

"It's true. I arranged for my men to keep watch outside the Rongguo Mansion and the Prince of Beijing's Mansion. No one from the Rongguo Mansion has been there."

When Mrs. Xue Wang heard this, she could no longer sit still and stood up and walked out.

Xue Baochai hurriedly grabbed her mother and said.

"Mom, what are you going to do?"

Xue Wangshi said indignantly.

"I'll go ask your aunt what's going on."

Xue Baochai shook her head and said.

"It will be useless to ask. You have a thousand and ten thousand excuses to delay."

"We can't rely on this alone."

Xue Wangshi said helplessly.

"I secretly went to see your uncle, and he said that it was not his place to take care of this matter."

"I think it would be better if your aunt persuaded the old lady to ask Prince Beijing to come forward and handle it."

"Now, besides your aunt, who else can we rely on?"

Xue Baochai said calmly.

"Mother, we have a relative in the Marquis of Guanjun's mansion."

Xue Wangshi said curiously.

"Relatives, what relatives?"

Xue Baochai lowered her voice and said.

"You forgot, my cousin from the Wang family is in the Marquis's Mansion. I sent someone to inquire about it, and it is said that the Marquis of Guanjun is quite fond of my cousin. She is very favored and is in charge of the affairs of the Marquis' Mansion."

After hearing this, Mrs. Xue Wang was surprised and quickly waved her hand and said.

"No, no, Wang Xifeng was abducted into the mansion by the Marquis of Guanjun. The Rongguo Mansion couldn't defeat them, so they suffered this loss."

"If we go to her for help, wouldn't that be like giving your aunt a loud slap in the face?"

"If your aunt finds out then, your brother's situation will become even more difficult."

Xue Baochai said with a hint of helplessness.

"Mom, it's obvious now that Auntie isn't really interested in helping us save people, she's just taking advantage of the opportunity to make money."

"If we don't find a solution, we'll just have to deal with it. What if the Champion Marquis loses his patience and secretly takes care of my brother? Then we won't even know where to cry."

"Besides, I won't go to the Marquis' Mansion with a bang to look for my cousin. I will definitely act in secret."

Xue Wang said after a moment of thought.

"I'm afraid your cousin might not be willing to help us."

Xue Baochai said immediately.

"Even though my cousin can't speak in front of the Marquis, she can at least help us find out whether my brother is dead or alive, and what his condition is."

"It's better than waiting here like idiots with no news at all."

"Mom, you still have to take care of your own affairs. It's as difficult as climbing to the sky to rely on others."

After listening to what Xue Baochai said, Mrs. Xue Wang was a little unsure of what to do.

Seeing this, Xue Baochai knew that her mother had wavered, so she quickly struck while the iron was hot and continued speaking.

"Mother, the night is long and dreams are many. The longer my brother stays in the mansion, the more suffering he will suffer."

"If anything happens to my brother, our family will be completely finished."

"To be frank, as long as I can rescue my brother, it doesn't matter if I offend the Rongguo Mansion."

"After all, we are imperial merchants. If all else fails, we can turn to the Marquis of Guanjun's Mansion. My uncle has already turned to His Majesty, and with my uncle mediating, and the fact that the Marquis of Guanjun and the Rongguo Mansion are at odds, how can the Marquis of Guanjun just sit back and watch the Rongguo Mansion do whatever it wants to our family?"

Xue Baochai added fuel to the fire and completely convinced Mrs. Xue Wang.

After all, no matter how terrible it is to offend the Rongguo Mansion, it is not as terrible as the consequences of Xue Pan's death.

After Xue Baochai's repeated persuasion, Xue Wangshi finally nodded and said.

"Okay, Baochai, I'll listen to you."

"I'm too big a target to meet your cousin."

"This matter has to be left to you."

"Remember, you must do it in secret and never let it leak out."

"Otherwise, if the Rongguo Mansion deliberately does something bad, it will be terrible."

Xue Baochai nodded and said, "Don't worry, mother. I know my limits."

After Xue Baochai and her daughter made up their minds, Xue Baochai immediately made arrangements.

In the courtyard of Rongguo Mansion, Mrs. Jia and Mrs. Wang were chatting together.

Old Lady Jia looked at Madam Wang and asked calmly.

"How is it going? Is the Xue family still stable?"

Mrs. Wang nodded slightly and said.

"She came to ask me several times, but I sent her away each time."

Mrs. Jia said indifferently.

"Don't worry, take your time."

"The Xue family has been an imperial merchant for so many years, and their foundation is very solid."

"Xue Pan is the lifeblood of them, mother and daughter. He must not be lost."

"Wait a couple of days longer, then go find her and tell her that things are looking up, but you don't have enough money. Ask her to scrape together some more."

Mrs. Wang said after a moment of thought.

"Mother, how much do you think is appropriate for her to take out?"

Mrs. Jia said calmly.

"Take another four hundred thousand taels."

"Then take out 200,000 taels from the 400,000 taels and send it to Prince Beijing, and ask him to come forward and inquire about the situation."

"This way we can be considered worthy of her."

"Whether Xue Pan can be rescued in the end depends on their luck."

Mrs. Wang agreed and said.

"Mother, I understand."

I have to say that this old lady Jia is treating the Xue family like fat pigs to be slaughtered.

But this is normal, because the Xue family is the weakest among the four major families, but the richest.

If one only has wealth but lacks the power and authority to protect it, then this wealth is nothing more than a temporary deposit for those in power.

These treasures can be taken away at any time as long as there is a need.

After discussing the Xue family's affairs, Mrs. Jia looked at Mrs. Wang and said.

"By the way, has Lin Ruhai made any moves recently?"

Mrs. Wang sighed and said.

"Prime Minister Ke Xiang has submitted two consecutive resignation memorials. Currently, Right Prime Minister Xiao Qinyan is in charge of implementing the new policies in Shendu."

"Lin Ruhai is now in charge of the entire cabinet's core work. Judging from the current situation, after Prime Minister Ke retires, the position of Prime Minister will sooner or later belong to Lin Ruhai."

"Although he hasn't made any moves yet, we probably need to make plans early. If we wait until he makes a move before making preparations, it will probably be too late."

Hearing this, Mrs. Jia's expression became somewhat gloomy and ugly.

"I always thought that I had overestimated this son-in-law, but now it seems that I have underestimated him."

"The matter is settled. It will be extremely difficult to ease the relationship."

Seeing that Old Lady Jia was frowning but had no ideas to offer, Mrs. Wang knew that the old lady had run out of ideas.

There are thousands of people in a family, but only one person is in charge.

Now that even Old Lady Jia, the head of the household, has no idea what to do, Mrs. Wang naturally feels even more uneasy.

Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Jia were not the only ones who were worried and upset.

In Prince Zhongshun's palace, Prince Zhongshun looked at the palace chief with an annoyed look and said.

"Why, haven't you found the person yet?"

The chief historian said tremblingly.

"Your Highness, I have sent people to look for Officer Qi for two or three days, but there is no trace of him."

"Trash, a bunch of trash, what's the point of me keeping you?"

Prince Zhongshun scolded the Chief Secretary.

It’s no wonder that Prince Zhongshun was so angry. To Prince Zhongshun, this Qi Guan was not just an actor.

In the 33rd chapter of the original version of Dream of the Red Chamber, the Chief Secretary went to Rongguo Mansion to ask Jia Zheng for the whereabouts of Qi Guan, also known as Jiang Yuhan.

When the Chief Clerk was talking to Jia Zheng, he relayed Prince Zhongshun's words.

If it were any other actor, a hundred of them would be fine; but this Qi Guan responded promptly, was cautious and honest, and this is exactly what I, an old man, like, so I absolutely cannot do without him.

Prince Zhongshun was the head of the imperial clan and the younger brother of Emperor Yongping, who was born of the same mother.

How could such a person value a mere actor so much?

This requires us to talk about the part-time jobs of male dan actors like Qi Guan.

As mentioned in the previous article, boy catamites were very popular in ancient times. Generally, wealthy families would keep several boy catamites, not only for their own use, but also to entertain guests.

The so-called pedophiles are beautiful young boys who were treated as women and played with by the powerful in the past.

As a male dan, Qi Guan is undoubtedly handsome.

In the past, male dan actors usually played the role of pedophiles.

Therefore, his relationship with Prince Zhongshun is naturally self-evident.

Now that he saw that the boy lover he had kept had disappeared without a trace, Prince Zhongshun was naturally unhappy.

Seeing that Prince Zhongshun was becoming more and more furious, the chief historian hurriedly spoke.

"Your Majesty, please calm down. Your Majesty, please calm down. Although I and others haven't found Qi Guan's whereabouts, we haven't gained nothing."

"I've learned that Jia Baoyu, the second son of Jia Zheng, the second wife of the Rongguo Mansion, has been in close contact with Qi Guan over the past few months."

"The disappearance of Qi Guan is most likely related to this person."

Prince Zhongshun sneered after hearing this.

"Rongguo Mansion, what a great Rongguo Mansion."

"It would have been fine if I hadn't bothered to cause trouble for them, but they actually came to me on their own."

"Go to Rongguo Mansion tomorrow and bring Qi Guan back to me."

"If you can't find it this time, don't come back."

The chief historian nodded repeatedly.

"I understand, Your Majesty, please rest assured."

Prince Zhongshun waved his hand impatiently and said.

"Go down."

"Yes Yes."

Then the chief historian left the study.

After sending away the chief historian, Prince Zhongshun looked at the letter in front of him and fell into deep thought.

The next day, the chief historian arrived at Rongguo Mansion early in the morning.

In the study, when Jia Zheng was reading, the servant came into the room, bowed and said.

"Master, someone has come from Prince Zhongshun's mansion and wants to see you."

After hearing this, Jia Zheng felt a little confused. Normally, there was no contact between Rongguo Mansion and Prince Zhongshun, so why did someone come to Prince Zhongshun's Mansion?

Although he was confused, Jia Zheng hurriedly ordered the servant to invite the visitor to the main hall.

Not long after, in Rongxi Hall, Jia Zheng and the Chief Clerk of Prince Zhongshun's Palace were talking together.

After the two of them exchanged a few simple greetings, Jia Zheng asked tentatively.

"Sir, I am usually very busy with official duties, and I have never had the opportunity to visit the palace and pay my respects to His Majesty."

"I wonder why you came here today, sir?"

The chief historian said calmly.

"I have not come here to build the Tan Mansion without your permission. I have come here on the king's orders to ask for a favor. For the sake of the king, I would like to trouble you to make the decision. Not only is the king aware of this, but I, too, am deeply grateful."

(End of this chapter)