Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 103 Agreed
Listening to the two younger ones talking back and forth, they decided the matter. Naturally, the other people in Rong Xi Tang had different thoughts.

The eldest master, Jia She, slammed the table and said, "Nonsense! This is Ru Hai's dying wish. How can we be bound by family prejudice? Although Yuan Ge'er is talented, the provincial examination is like a carp passing through the dragon gate. Only one or two out of a hundred can pass! Ru Hai passed the Juren exam at around thirty, and the Jinshi exam at thirty-six. Your niece wants Yuan Ge'er to pass the Juren exam in the next exam. Isn't this too harsh?"

Since the Song Dynasty, civil officials and military officials have had different paths. Civil officials look down on the nobles who have benefited from their ancestors' influence, and the nobles naturally look down on the poor.

Generally speaking, the first two generations of emperors who founded the country, one used nobles to conquer the world, and the other watched nobles conquer the world. These two generations of emperors were more familiar with nobles, so they naturally had fewer doubts about using them.

The situation was different when it came to the third generation of emperors. Most of the third generation had grown up in the inner palace and were not familiar with the noble families. Instead, out of sensitivity to power, they were wary of them.

At this time, the country was at peace, and for the sake of imperial power, the emperor had to use civil officials to restrain the nobles. Over time, the nobles were suppressed, and by the fourth generation of emperors, the civil officials had become the only ones in power.

The Dashun Dynasty saw that the former Ming Dynasty had bred a lot of termites, and that the royal family and nobles were the fastest to surrender when the country was destroyed and the family was ruined. Therefore, when the country was founded, it simply decided to reduce the system of hereditary nobility to the second level.

By the time of Jia Daihua and Jia Daishan, the Jia family had lost the title of Duke. By the time of Jia Zhen and Jia She, they had become third-class and first-class generals.

The Jia family saw this and feared that Jia Daishan and Jia Daihua had been plotting something. Thus, Jia Jing passed the imperial examination and became a jinshi, while Jia Zheng passed the juren examination. Later, they were granted jinshi status and appointed as officials in the Ministry of Works.

The next generation, Jia Zhu, passed the imperial examination at the age of fourteen! This demonstrates the Jia family's continued efforts to cultivate a family tradition of poetry and literature. However, for unknown reasons, Jia Jing retreated to a Taoist temple outside the city, and Jia Zhu died young. From then on, the children of the two families were left without supervision.

In the East Palace, Jia Rong and Jia Qiang are dissolute, in the West Palace, Jia Lian has achieved nothing, and Baoyu is spoiled beyond recognition.

Regardless, the Jia family had previously been transforming towards a family tradition of passing on poetry and literature, so they were naturally familiar with the imperial examinations.

According to the Ming Dynasty system, there were only about 100,000 scholars in existence, and just over 10,000 juren. Shuntian Prefecture was relatively okay, with a scholar admission rate of barely one in a hundred. But in Jiangnan, even that rate couldn't be achieved!

Calculated based on the population ratio, out of a million people, only six can pass the imperial examination. And then, after spending their entire lives studying for these six, only two can become juren. You can imagine how outrageous this acceptance rate is!

Jia She said this for his own sake, but it was also the truth.

Grandmother Jia, who was sitting in the hall, had originally been gloomy, but upon hearing this, she perked up and said, "Master, what you said is completely unreasonable. Who knows how many exams it will take for Brother Yuan to pass? If it takes more than ten years, does that mean Yu'er will have to wait forever? If he never passes, does that mean Yu'er will have to wait for him forever?"

Jia She stood up and bowed, saying, "Mother, I see my niece says the marriage certificate is genuine. Yuan'er and Yu'er, standing together, are a perfect match. Let's forget about family differences and finalize the marriage today."

Grandmother Jia was so angry that she was shaking all over and almost picked up her cane to beat her unfilial son Jia She to death!
At this point Daiyu added, "If my uncle insists on this, I'm afraid we'll have to discuss this with Mr. Yucun. My father entrusted important matters to you before he died."

"This..." Jia She was in a dilemma. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that he was just using this incident to embezzle the Lin family's wealth. Jia Yucun didn't even think highly of Baoyu, so how could he agree to such an unequal marriage?
At this moment, Madam Wang repeatedly gave Jia Zheng a look. Jia Zheng considered this and coughed softly, saying, "I think it's better to follow my niece's suggestion. This way I can explain it to Ruhai and Yucun later."

The eldest master, Jia She, was speechless, so Grandmother Jia made the final decision: "Then it is settled. If Brother Yuan passes the Autumn Examination before Yu'er reaches the age of marriage, this letter will be the marriage certificate; if Brother Yuan is delayed, then the matter is dropped."

Daiyu bowed to Lady Jia and said, "I will obey you, Grandmother."

Chen Siyuan also bowed and said, "Junior understands."

Grandmother Jia sighed, her face no longer sad, and she just waved her hand and said, "Forget it, you two little ones can go down first."

Sister Feng came to her senses, took two steps forward and said, "Wait a minute, Grandfather, I'm afraid this matter must be covered up for the time being. First of all, if it gets out, I'm afraid it will damage Sister Lin's reputation."

This inhumane agreement made Daiyu appear extremely snobbish, so it was not easy to spread it.

"Secondly, Grandpa, please don't forget Brother Bao. He's the type who doesn't care about anything when he gets angry."

Jia Zheng frowned and said, "Baoyu is indeed lacking in discipline. If he makes trouble again, I will definitely give him a good lesson!"

Grandmother Jia looked at Jia Zheng and said, "Master, what good thing are you going to give Baoyu? Why not give me something good too?"

"Mother!"

Grandmother Jia glanced at Jia Zheng sideways, and out of filial piety, Jia Zheng could only sigh and remain silent.

Afterwards, Grandmother Jia heard, "Feng'er is right. I think we should keep this matter under wraps for now. We can talk about it later when Yuan'er actually passes the provincial examination."

Chen Siyuan had no objections. This was a truly remarkable turn of events. Originally, he had never had the confidence to touch Daiyu, believing that Lady Jia would suppress the matter through filial piety. Unexpectedly, Daiyu actually agreed, even though the conditions were extremely harsh.

There's a saying that goes, "Everything depends on one's own efforts." Even if I fail the provincial examination in the future, by marrying into the Jia family, I can at least follow Fu Shi's example and enter the official career; if I'm really lucky enough to pass the provincial examination, it would be a great opportunity!
Not to mention the Lin family's fortune that Daiyu carried, the box of rare and valuable books alone was worth a fortune. That would have been fine, but the more important thing was that Daiyu was of noble birth.

The Lin family had been marquises for generations, and Lin Ruhai, a top scholar in the imperial examination, was a close confidant of the emperor, yet he died in office in Yangzhou. Not to mention the connections he left behind in the officialdom, the mere guilt he felt towards the emperor was worth countless!
If he really married Daiyu, the emperor would feel guilty when he heard that he was marrying Lin Ruhai's orphan daughter, and he would say a few words to save Chen Siyuan decades of suffering.

Moreover, Daiyu already has an ethereal appearance at this time. How stunning and charming will she be after she reaches the age of 15?
Because Chen Siyuan was very happy at this moment, he immediately bowed and said, "I know about this, but I will definitely not spread it."

Grandmother Jia nodded and said with a gloomy face, "There's nothing else to do here. Yuan'er and Yu'er can go back first."

The head maid, Amber, took two quick steps and opened the door for them. Chen Siyuan and Daiyu reached the screen together. Chen Siyuan followed behind and extended his hand, saying, "Sister Lin, please."

"Brother Yuan, you are too polite. I'd rather go first."

Chen Siyuan, no longer modest, was the first to leave Rongxi Hall. A cold wind blew against him, and Chen Siyuan paused in the Rongxi Hall's porch, hands behind his back, taking a deep breath. Turning around, he saw Daiyu about to emerge, Zijuan and Xueyan hurried over to serve her.

Chen Siyuan shook his hands and fished out a long box from his sleeve. He handed it to the maid, who was either Zijuan or Xueyan, and said, "This is our first meeting, and I don't know what to give you, sister. I happen to have some crafts, so I made one casually. If you don't mind, you can keep it and play with it."

Daiyu was startled for a moment, then bowed hastily, saying, "Then I'd be very sorry to refuse. I didn't know you were going to meet Brother Yuan today, but I brought some gifts with me. I'll have Xueyan give some to Brother Yuan later. I hope you won't mind."

Chen Siyuan smiled and said, "It's a give and take, all right. I'll be leaving first, and we'll see you later."

After saying this, he bowed and said goodbye, then turned and walked away with long and leisurely strides. Daiyu looked at him for a few times, and when she saw him turn around and pass through the inner ceremonial gate, she said to Zijuan and Xueyan, "Let's go, let's go back too."

Baoxiali was not the place for conversation. The master and two servants turned to the corridor. Zijuan couldn't help but ask, "Miss, was that Master Yuan just now?"

"Yeah." Daiyu was feeling uneasy at the moment and only responded with one word.

Zijuan said, "He looks quite handsome... By the way, young lady, did the old lady just ask about the master's situation?"

Daiyu glanced at her and shook her head slightly, saying, "It's hard to say now."

She was the one who shouldered the responsibility of supporting the Lin family lineage. Although Baoyu had a pure heart, he didn't seem like someone who could shoulder the responsibility. It was good to have Chen Siyuan around at this time, so that he wouldn't be confined to the Rong Mansion with no room for maneuver.

Xueyan was holding the long box at the moment. Upon hearing this, she said, "Miss, why don't we open it and take a look? I wonder what that Mr. Yuan gave us."

Daiyu already had a guess in her mind, so she said, "If you want to see it, then open it."

Xueyan laughed playfully, quickly pulled open the box, and exclaimed, "Look, girl! It's so exquisite!"

Daiyu took a quick look and saw that it was indeed a blue and white porcelain statue of a woman. The woman had beautiful eyebrows and eyes, and she carried a small flower hoe on her shoulder with a brocade bag hanging on the hoe. She looked lively and playful, and immediately she understood Daiyu's thoughts.

Daiyu was delighted, but because of her agreement with Chen Siyuan, she took a quick glance before saying, "It's nothing special. It looks almost the same as the one I bought."

Xueyan said, "Young lady, you have high standards, so naturally you won't approve of it. I, however, think it is very beautiful. Look at the eyebrows and eyes, I am afraid it is even more exquisite than the one given to Miss Bao."

Daiyu remained silent, feeling a complex mix of emotions. She didn't know whether to hope Chen Siyuan would pass the high school entrance exam or to wish him a wasted life...

In Rongxi Hall.

As soon as Chen Siyuan and Daiyu left, the room became quiet again.

Grandmother Jia was very depressed. After a long while, she said, "Let's put Yu'er's matter aside for now. This visit cannot be delayed."

Mrs. Wang then said, "Madam, the public treasury has only about a hundred thousand taels of silver. Counting the fifty thousand taels I have in the Zhen family, I still need at least half of it."

Grandmother Jia looked at Jia Zheng and asked, "What did the master say?"

Jia Zheng bowed and said, "Dr. Qin has passed away, and there is no one to take over the construction department. I am afraid we can't expect it this year."

Jia She, who was standing by, brought the teacup and said, "Mother, why don't you take some out of your own pocket? A few hundred thousand would be enough."

Grandmother Jia said, "How much money do I have in my pocket? Besides, I have to save some for Yingchun, Tanchun, and Xichun's dowries."

Mrs. Xing said, "How much is the dowry? Ten thousand taels for each of the three girls. The old lady is well-off, so she can at least squeeze out thirty thousand taels, right? The rest will definitely be enough to build a garden."

Grandmother Jia cast a sidelong glance at Madam Xing and snorted coldly, "This is a family matter of great importance. You can't rely on my confidant."

Mrs. Wang then bowed and said, "Madam, I had a dispute with my sister the other day and am really short of cash. How about borrowing some money from the Xue family and paying it back tomorrow?"

How could Lady Jia not know what Mrs. Wang was thinking? How did the rumor of a "golden jade match" spread in the mansion? Baoyu had a jade, and Baochai had a gold necklace. And the words on it matched the words on the jade. How could it be such a coincidence?
Hundreds of thousands of silver coins are not a small amount. The expenses of Rongguo Mansion have become increasingly tight in the past two years. How can they save money to pay it back?
If this money cannot be paid back, will it be counted as Xue Baochai's dowry in the end, and then the golden marriage will become a reality?
Grandmother Jia, a shrewd woman, immediately shook her head and said, "No, no. Even close brothers should settle accounts clearly. If you borrow money from the concubine's family, should you charge interest later? If so, how much interest should be charged?"

Mrs. Wang could only say, "What the old lady said is true, but I have no other ideas at the moment, so this matter still needs the old lady's decision."

Grandmother Jia glanced over. Jia She and Madam Xing were making eye contact, the couple seemingly plotting something. Jia Zheng frowned in silence, while Madam Wang silently twirled her Buddhist beads. The two younger children, unable to get a word in on such matters, huddled together, whispering to each other.

Grandmother Jia sighed and said, "Or, let's move Yu'er's property first. After all, Yu'er is still young and can't use it for the time being. When the family can be more frugal in the future, I will use my own money to make up for the shortfall."

As soon as these words were spoken, Jia She was the first to jump out and shout, "No! How can we use our niece's property to cover our Jia family's affairs? What will happen if the news gets out? If others say that our family is bankrupt, I'm afraid we won't be able to defend ourselves!"

Jia's mother gritted her teeth, forcing herself not to expose Jia She's thoughts. She threw away her cane, turned her head away, and said, "This won't do, and that won't do. I think the master should just make the decision himself!"

Jia She was stunned for a moment and said, "Why... why is mother still angry? The visit must be discussed by everyone..."

"You two can discuss it!" Grandmother Jia stood up with the help of the handrail and ordered, "Yuanyang, Amber, help me go back!"

At once, Jia She, Jia Zheng, Lady Xing, Lady Wang, Jia Lian, and Wang Xifeng all stood up to see them off.

With a cold face, Grandmother Jia turned around the screen without saying a word and actually returned to Rongqing Hall.

Only Jia She and his wife, and Jia Zheng and his wife, were left. As for Jia Lian and Feng Jieer, they could only obey orders.

Jia Zheng said, "Brother, why do you have to contradict mother? I think what mother said just now makes sense. If you take away my niece's property, you can make up for it in the future. You don't have to pay interest."

Jia She curled his lips and said, "That's nice to say, but don't you know what the situation is like at home? Hundreds of thousands of dollars of family property. Even if we live frugally, how many years will it take to pay it back?"

Mrs. Wang then said, "Master, the eldest master is right. I think it would be better to transfer some from the Lin family and borrow some from the Xue family. The concubine is my sister, and she has already agreed not to charge interest. That way, if either family needs help in the future, we will have a buffer. A few tens of thousands of taels of silver, if we pool our money, we can always find a way to get it together."

Jia Zheng nodded when he heard this, and looked at Jia She and asked, "What do you think, brother?"

Jia She would love to use all of the Xue family's money, so that the Lin family's property would not be touched at all. In the future, he would find a way to help Yuan Ge'er pass the imperial examination. Wouldn't that money all belong to his eldest master?
But the visit could not be delayed, as it involved the wealth of the Rong Mansion. Jia She hesitated for a while and finally said, "Then it will be like this. I'll give less to my niece and borrow more from the Xue family. I'll take care of the visit first and talk about it later."

(End of this chapter)