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

Chapter 58: Tangled Decision, Shocked by Bad News

Seeing that Jia Jue looked completely clueless, Zhang Guifen's face suddenly became even uglier. She lowered her voice and whispered to Jia Jue about what had just happened.

It turned out that not long ago, Zhang Guifen was chatting with Xiao Yuanyi.

Zhang Guifen was a descendant of a military family. His father and brother were both brave generals who fought on the battlefield, so Zhang Guifen had a longing for the battlefield since he was a child.

However, Zhang Guifen was the daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Yingguo when they were old. The family treated her like a treasure and naturally were reluctant to let her join the army.

Therefore, Zhang Guifen could only bury her desire to join the army in her heart.

Xiao Yuanyi is a true heroine who has fought on the battlefield and is as brave as any man.

The reason why Jia Jue brought Zhang Guifen here today was because Zhang Guifen had heard about the deeds of the female general Xiao Yuanyi, and specifically asked Jia Jue to bring her here.

The two of them hit it off right away and had a very happy chat.

Just as Zhang Guifen was listening with relish to Xiao Yuanyi talking about military affairs, Old Lady Cheng and her daughter-in-law Ge rushed directly into the side hall.

Old Lady Cheng scolded Xiao Yuanyi and accused her of raising a fickle daughter. Mrs. Ge kept apologizing to Zhang Guifen, saying that it was unfortunate for her family to have a woman like Cheng Shaoshang who dared to seduce the Marquis of Guanjun.

The two of them sang the same tune, adding fuel to the fire, making the story of Cheng Shaoshang seducing Jia Jue sound very detailed.

Zhang Guifen has been spoiled and pampered since childhood. She is neither good at nor interested in intrigue.

After seeing Old Lady Cheng and Mrs. Ge acting like this, my head started buzzing instantly.

Xiao Yuanyi was completely furious. She never expected that her mother-in-law and sister-in-law would act like troublemakers at other times, but they would actually do something bad at a time like today.

Xiao Yuanyi knew very well how important today was to the Cheng family.

If he could take this opportunity to establish a good relationship with the Marquis of Guanjun's Mansion, then with the support of the Marquis of Guanjun in the future, Cheng Shi would definitely be able to have a good development in the army.

So Xiao Yuanyi started preparing for this matter early, hoping to leave a good impression on Jia Jue and his wife.

As a result of the quarrel between Old Lady Cheng and Mrs. Ge, everything was over.

Xiao Yuanyi was almost going crazy with hatred. New and old grudges were intertwined together. Xiao Yuanyi attacked Ge without saying a word.

Xiao Yuanyi was a female general who had fought in the battlefield, so she was naturally well-equipped to beat up a shrew like Ge who only knew how to gossip and talk.

Old Lady Cheng wanted to take advantage of her seniority to mediate, but was overthrown by Xiao Yuanyi with a wave of her hand.

After listening to Zhang Guifen's words, Jia Jue gently held Zhang Guifen's hand and said.

"Okay, don't be angry. This is someone else's family affair. Just treat it as a show today."

Zhang Guifen nodded slightly.

At this time, Cheng Shi finally pulled the furious Xiao Yuanyi away, and then the maids hurriedly helped Old Lady Cheng and Ge out.

Xiao Yuanyi also calmed down at this time, and couldn't help but regret his previous behavior. The couple looked at Jia Jue with extremely complicated expressions on their faces, not knowing what to say.

Jia Jue said calmly.

"Today, this marquis has finally opened his eyes, but I still hope that the Quling marquis will properly control his family."

"As for my daughter's reputation, I don't mind it, but your daughter is still unmarried. If such rumors were allowed to spread, I'm afraid her innocence would be ruined."

"Okay, goodbye."

"My Lord, I..."

Mr. and Mrs. Cheng Shi wanted to say something but hesitated. They wanted to try to keep her but didn't know how. The scene was extremely awkward.

Needless to say, the chaos that followed in the Quling Marquis' Mansion was a mess. Now, let's talk about Jia Jue and his wife. After leaving the Quling Marquis' Mansion, they got on the carriage.

Zhang Guifen said indignantly.

"Husband, that old lady from the Cheng family is so abominable. She actually dared to use me as a borrowed knife to kill someone."

"They even fabricated that her husband had an affair with her granddaughter. Do they have any brains? How could they throw mud at their own family like that?"

After hearing this, Jia Jue chuckled and hugged Zhang Guifen and said.

"Alright, alright, it's not a big deal, why are you so angry?"

"Not every family is like yours in England, where brothers are friendly and respectful to each other, and the family lives in harmony and happiness."

"I've heard people say before that the Cheng family is not peaceful. The second wife is a fierce and aggressive woman, not someone she can easily deal with."

"Cheng Shi had three sons and one daughter. When he went to the Northern Frontier to join the army, he took his three sons with him. Old Madam Cheng insisted on keeping his daughter, Cheng Shaoshang, instead. She said a fortune teller had told her to keep her to ward off bad luck."

"A few years ago, I went to the outskirts of Beijing to inspect the farm that His Majesty had given me. I passed by the Cheng family's farm and heard people chatting about the Cheng family."

"Cheng Shaoshang fell seriously ill years ago, but Old Madam Cheng and Madam Ge actually abandoned her on a farm in the countryside and left her to fend for herself."

"It's also because Miss Cheng Si is lucky that she managed to survive on her own."

"I also couldn't stand it after hearing about it, so when Cheng Shi visited the Marquis' Mansion before, I gave him a few words."

"I didn't expect that Old Madam Cheng and Madam Ge would actually say that Fourth Miss Cheng and I had an affair."

"I swear to God, I've never even met that Fourth Miss Cheng."

After hearing this, Zhang Guifen nodded slightly, then leaned on Jia Jue's shoulder and said.

"My dear, Minglan and I have both said that our family connections are thin. Now that my dear has achieved success and fame, it is only right that we have children and a long line of descendants."

"If my husband has a favorite woman, as long as she has good character, we will definitely help him manage the affairs of the concubine."

"If my husband really is having an affair behind our backs, it would make us sisters seem intolerant. I'm worried about that, so I was a little unhappy just now."

"Husband, please don't think too much."

Jia Jue kissed Zhang Guifen lightly on the forehead and said.

"I know. To be honest, I was really worried that you might have followed Xiao Yuanyi in attacking Ge. That would have been a bit of a misstep."

Zhang Guifen said indignantly after hearing this.

"If I wasn't worried about people saying that our Guanjun Marquisate was bullying others, I would have torn that bitch's mouth off. She even brought her husband into the mix with all this nonsense. How despicable."

"After all, he comes from a humble family, so he's just short-sighted."

"They don't even understand the principle of shared prosperity and shared loss, and they've even exposed their internal fighting to the public. What complete idiots they are."

Jia Jue said with a chuckle.

"That's right. Unlike my Fen'er, she is dignified and elegant."

Zhang Guifen's pretty face suddenly turned red and she let out a coquettish cry.

"Oh, that's annoying. You just know how to coax me."

After chatting and laughing for a while, the couple returned to the Marquis' Mansion.

In the evening, in the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Yongping was looking at a list and thinking about something.

Since the reorganization of the Beijing Camp, the position of Jiedushi of the Beijing Camp has been vacant. The Beijing Camp is under the command of Jia Jue, and Ningyuan Marquis Gu Yankai is the deputy Jiedushi of the Beijing Camp. Emperor Yongping is currently considering the candidate for the position of Jiedushi of the Beijing Camp.

The status of the Beijing Camp is extremely important, and the generals who are nominated are naturally high-ranking generals in the army.

Currently, because of the position of Jiedushi of Beijing Camp, both the harem and the court are ready to fight.

The two most competitive people were General Wang Chun and Marquis Xiaoyue.

The wife of General Wang Chun was Wen Xiujun, who was the younger sister of Empress Shen.

Xiao Yuehou is the younger brother of Concubine Yue.

The selection of a military governor of the Beijing camp once again triggered a new round of war over the struggle for the throne.

Emperor Yongping himself seized the throne by controlling the army and launching a palace coup, so Emperor Yongping was naturally very wary of the selection of the Jiedushi of the Beijing Camp.

Therefore, neither General Wang Chun nor Marquis Xiaoyue was destined to be the governor of the Beijing camp, so as to prevent the eldest and second princes from following suit and staging a palace coup like Emperor Yongping in the future.

But apart from these two, who else can take on the role?

Originally, Emperor Yongping thought of appointing Ling Buzhi, but because of the arms case, Emperor Yongping chose to take back the military power of the Beijing Camp instead of pursuing the arms case to the end. This made Ling Buzhi very difficult to accept, so he simply gave up and returned home to refuse visitors.

This left Emperor Yongping helpless.

Ling Buyi is too upright and lacks flexibility. He would rather be straight than bend. If he were a general, he might be fine. But if he were a commander, he would act on impulse and easily cause disaster.

Therefore, Emperor Yongping had no choice but to cross Ling Buzhi's name off the list.

As Emperor Yongping screened the list one by one, he couldn't help but shake his head. These people either lacked prestige and ability, or were too old.

After screening a list, Emperor Yongping couldn't even find a suitable candidate.

After much thought, Emperor Yongping felt helpless. Could it be that the position of Jiedushi of the Beijing Camp also had to be given to Jia Jue?

In this way, all the troops near the capital will be in Jia Jue's hands. Isn't this too much power?

However, after a little thought, Emperor Yongping himself felt that his idea was a little ridiculous.

Powerful ministers will emerge when the ruler is young and the country is in doubt. Not only is Jia Jue in his prime, but he nominally controls the imperial guards and the Beijing camp, but most of the generals therein were promoted by himself.

Just relying on the title of commander of the imperial guards and governor of the Beijing camp, could Jia Jue really rise up in rebellion?

First of all, Jia Jue does not have the ability to rebel, and secondly, he has no motivation to rebel.

Moreover, since I have been promoting and using Jia Jue so much, and he is a man who values ​​friendship and loyalty, he would definitely not have any inappropriate thoughts.

Even if it really exists, I can suppress it.

After making up his mind, Emperor Yongping no longer hesitated and immediately ordered people to start drafting the edict.

After making the arrangements, Emperor Yongping felt a little emotional. If he had a more reliable daughter, he would have directly granted her marriage to Jia Jue to avoid all the trouble.

Emperor Yongping felt a headache whenever he thought of his daughters. None of them was worry-free.

If she really married Jia Jue, Emperor Yongping was worried that Jia Jue would rebel.

The next day, in the Marquis of Guanjun's mansion, Jia Jue was a little confused after receiving the imperial edict.

I actually have to serve as the governor of the Beijing camp concurrently. What is going on?

Jia Jue was a little confused about Emperor Yongping's train of thought. My friend, you really don't have any suspicion of me at all.

First it was the Praefectus Urbi, then the Capital Army. Wow, there were only 200,000 troops near the capital, and they were all handed over to him.

If you do this and don't suspect me at all, how can I have a reason to rebel? Wouldn't all my military spirit inheritance be wasted?

Jia Jue never expected that there would come a day when he would be too embarrassed to turn the table because his boss gave him too much.

After sending away the eunuch who came to deliver the imperial edict, Zhang Han, the commander of the Shadow Secret Guard, came to the study in the marquis's mansion.

Zhang Han said after bowing.

"My Lord, there is something going on at Rongguo Mansion."

Jia Jue asked immediately after hearing this.

"What happened?"

Zhang Han said respectfully.

"Your Majesty, yesterday Rongguo Mansion received a letter from Gusu stating that the wife of Lantai Temple Doctor Lin has passed away. Master Lin has sent a letter announcing the death."

"And Lord Lin is in very poor condition. His wife's death was a great blow to him, and he has been seriously ill. Lord Lin plans to resign and return home after completing the Jiangnan Salt Administration reform."

"After hearing the news, the Rongguo Mansion was unwilling to let Lord Lin return home to take care of his family. Old Madam Jia arranged for Jia She to go to Gusu to attend the funeral, hoping to persuade Lord Lin to reconsider. She also planned to bring Lord Lin's only daughter, Lin Daiyu, to the Divine Capital."

"I suspect that the Rongguo Mansion may have had some inappropriate thoughts after seeing Lord Lin's decline."

Jia Jue said with some emotion after thinking for a moment.

"Alas, things have changed. Last time in Yangzhou, I had a great conversation with him, but I didn't expect that in just two months, he would have experienced such a huge change in his life."

"Zhang Han, you did a great job. These people in Rongguo Mansion are only interested in profit and must have harbored evil intentions."

"Well, arrange a team of people to secretly accompany Jia She south to see what they are up to."

"Also, a loser like Jia She is incapable of doing anything serious. Have someone closely monitor Lord Lin and see if there are any people with ulterior motives around him. Find a way to protect Lord Lin and Miss Lin."

Zhang Han said after bowing.

"I obey my orders."

"Well, back off."

After Zhang Han left, Jia Jue walked to the window and looked towards the south, feeling a little sad.

Jia Jue didn't have any feelings for Lin Ruhai at first.

After all, there is very little space for Lin Ruhai in the back building, and there is no in-depth description.

However, after actually coming into contact with Lin Ruhai, Jia Jue really admired Lin Ruhai.

As the third place in the imperial examination, Lin Ruhai's appearance was naturally impeccable. He was gentle and elegant, a truly handsome man.

Otherwise, Lin Ruhai would not have been able to successfully win the heart of Jia Min, the legitimate daughter of the Duke, and marry her.

However, appearance is probably Lin Ruhai's most common advantage. Lin Ruhai is a man of strategy and is definitely a talent for being a prime minister.

Most scholars of the Dream of the Red Chamber believe that the deaths of Wang Ziteng and Jia Yuanchun represent the complete decline of the Rongguo Mansion.

But in Jia Jue's view, Jia Yuanchun, an unfavored imperial concubine, and Wang Ziteng, a marginal figure who was transferred to an idle position, are simply not comparable to Lin Ruhai, a close minister of the emperor who served as a doctor in the Lantai Temple.

It's a pity that such a genius with extraordinary talent has such a rough fate and suffered many setbacks. Jia Jue couldn't help but sigh for this friend regardless of age difference.

(End of this chapter)