The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

After bidding farewell to the second master, Jia Huan leisurely went out to the clan school.

He still had to put on a show. Besides, the historical materials at the clan school were very comprehensive, and he would look through them whenever he had free time, which was also a way for him to learn and improve himself.

After reviewing a lot of historical materials, he also discovered some problems with his own understanding.

In particular, their understanding of officialdom and the imperial court differed significantly from that of the feudal imperial era, stemming from their values ​​and perspectives formed in modern society.

It's not necessary to reverse the situation; just understanding the differences is enough!

Otherwise, the occurrence of certain events and subsequent changes may be completely different from one's own understanding and perspective, which can be very damaging to one's self-confidence.

It was afternoon, and the clan school was quiet.

On the Cuju field, it was rare to see no students sweating it out.

Come to think of it, even if young people have a strong ability to recover, apart from Jia Huan, how could the other students withstand the huge exhaustion of playing football every day?

At a glance, you could see Xue Pan's tall and portly figure chatting and laughing with Xiang Lian and Yu Ai, two elementary school students, in the corner of the courtyard. He would occasionally make these two rather effeminate girls giggle and tremble.

Tsk, this guy clearly doesn't learn his lesson; he's already forgotten the painful experience of being ganged up on by a bunch of elementary school students when he first came to the clan school.

"Brother Xue, come over and have a chat!"

Jia Huan called out at the entrance of the clan school. You could clearly see Xue Pan, who had been so smug, stiffen up and then quickly turn around and jog over.

As for Xiang Lian and Yu Ai, they darted into the classroom like startled rabbits and disappeared without a trace.

The other students who were chatting in the courtyard chuckled softly upon seeing this, but only glanced at Jia Huan without making any move to come over.

"Brother Huan, what are your orders?"

Xue Pan was quite tall; he was at least three heads taller than Jia Huan.

He was also quite obese, at least twice and a half the size of Jia Huan.

However, he showed no arrogance whatsoever. Standing in front of Jia Huan, he was even more cautious, deliberately lowering his voice as if afraid of disturbing Jia Huan.

There was no other way. Unless he wanted to be beaten every day at the clan school, he could only do what his cousin Jia Baoyu did and find all sorts of ways and reasons not to come to the clan school.

Jia Huan had no intention of indulging him. If Xue Pan dared to skip school, he would have Jia Rui, the head of the clan school, conduct a home visit that very day and inform Xue's aunt, the parent.

Although Xue Pan was not a good person, he was quite filial and also loved his younger sister very much.

How could he bear the disappointed looks in his mother Aunt Xue's and sister Xue Baochai's eyes, and their sorrowful expressions with reddened eyes and tears about to fall?

In the end, he had no choice but to obediently come to the clan school to report and become Jia Huan's underling!

They had considered having the servants outside secretly put a sack over Jia Huan's neck and beat him with a stick.

Before the plan could be implemented, he was knocked unconscious and taken away by some unknown strongman, and then enjoyed an afternoon of tiger bench treatment at a small martial arts gym.

Now he was completely subdued; he simply couldn't win.

Jia Huan naturally didn't allow Xue Pan to do anything illegal or criminal. In fact, he kept him confined to the clan school and the small martial arts hall all day long, forbidding him from going out and making friends with bad people.

At least for now, Xue Pan hasn't gotten to know the Jia family members who live on Ningrong Street.

It's impossible for him to reveal his true colors as a nouveau riche, and he was led astray by a bunch of unscrupulous members of the Jia family, turning into a 'poisonous person'.

As for why they did this, there are strong indications that it was a thankless and arduous task.

Jia Huan smiled slightly. On the virtual light screen formed by his golden finger, the number representing luck had increased by a full seven points since he had strictly restrained Xue Pan.

Given such a huge windfall, he couldn't possibly ignore it.

Chapter 76 Buying People (Please add to your favorites)

"What about the thing I asked you to inquire about before, is there any result?"

Jia Huan squatted down on the threshold of the clan school gate and asked slowly.

"I've found out, it happened in the last few days!"

Xue Pan lowered his head and answered softly, "Shall we go take a look now?"

"Can we see it now?"

Jia Huan was somewhat surprised and asked curiously, "When did the yamen become so efficient?"

"I don't know this!"

Xue Pan shook his head and said, "The scouts said it was quite a tragic scene over there, with cries echoing through several streets!"

“Those servants and maids who used to be in the households of officials were strung up on ropes like cattle and horses and sold directly on the streets!”

As he spoke, something seemed to come to mind, and his round face darkened.

"Then let's go take a look, and bring enough silver!"

Jia Huan stood up, patted off imaginary dust from his clothes, and reminded him, "You might need it sometime. Consider it a loan from me, no interest!"

"How could I possibly charge interest? Brother Huan, aren't you trying to embarrass me?"

Xue Pan's face lit up at this moment; when it came to money, he was more confident than anyone else.

"Let's go then, and come back as soon as possible!"

Jia Huan didn't stand on ceremony and said with a light laugh, "Let's go there sooner; we might even get some unexpected gains!"

The two left the clan school together, met up with their respective servants outside, and headed to the district where the Ministry of Justice was located. On the way, they stopped at the Xue family's shop to get some silver notes for emergencies.

It's clear that because Xue Pan hasn't been completely corrupted, and with Jia Huan's strict discipline, he hasn't started spending money like water and being treated like a rich fool, and hasn't yet aroused the resentment and resistance of his subordinates.

Not only did he readily accept the money, but he also kindly inquired what Xue Pan wanted to do with it.

Seeing that Xue Pan was getting impatient and was likely about to say something reckless, Jia Huan took over the conversation and said, "Recently, quite a few officials have had their homes raided. Let's go see if we can find any good maids or wives!"

After seeing off the satisfied shopkeeper, the group quickly arrived at their destination.

Sure enough, from a distance, one could hear continuous sobs and shouts, and the surrounding air seemed to be filled with a sorrowful atmosphere.

Turning the corner, you'll see a long line of maids and servants, strung together like cattle and sheep, standing on both sides of the street for people to look at, choose, and buy.

Some of the maids and wives were quite attractive at first glance.

Previously, they might have been favored maids or steward wives in some official's mansion, but now they are filled with numbness and fear, unsure of what the future holds.

At this moment, the people sizing up and selecting on the street were all accompanied by burly guards, and it was clear at a glance that they were not good people.

Just from their sinister eyes and undisguised cold laughter, they didn't give off a good impression. In short, Jia Huan didn't like them.

Even Xue Pan frowned and avoided him with some disdain.

This guy's complexion hasn't been good since he turned onto this street.

I don't know what bad thing she was thinking about, her face turned white and then green. I guess it's not something good. I wonder if she's thinking about me.

That's actually quite possible!

I heard that when this guy was in Jinling, he was a lawless and unruly bully!

If they can do something like beating a local gentry's son to death in the street without hesitation, what else wouldn't they dare to do?

It's important to understand that since the Yuan and Ming dynasties, the power of landlords and gentry in the south had expanded to an unbelievable level. Otherwise, where would they have gotten the audacity to resist taxes in various ways, and even directly incite the people to beat and kill tax officials sent by the imperial court?

Even an insignificant landlord or gentry might have some connection with a powerful gentry through kinship or other means.

In other words, the son of the local gentry whom Xue Pan killed was an orphan with no powerful relatives to help him, which allowed Xue Pan to escape smoothly. Even so, he still had to stay in prison for a while.

If it were an ordinary person, how could such a thing happen?

Even so, the other branches of the Xue family took advantage of the situation to launch an attack, forcing Xue Pan's main branch to abandon its southern businesses and flee to the capital to seek refuge with the Rong family.

If things get any worse, he could really end up in jail, which would eventually affect his mother and sister as well.

"You little rascal, it seems you've gained some insights!"

Jia Huan chuckled, startling Xue Pan from his reverie, and said leisurely, "This is the capital. Even if you hold a high position, one wrong move could lead to your family's downfall and your property being confiscated!"

"Look at those maids and wives who are quite beautiful and have a good temperament. In the past, they might have been respectable members of official families, but now they are being sold on the street like cattle and sheep!"

"You better watch your step when you're out in the future, or you might accidentally offend some powerful figure and it could affect your mother and sister. That's no laughing matter!"

Xue Pan nodded subconsciously, his expression even more unpleasant than before.

Judging from his appearance, he had clearly taken it to heart.

If you ask Jia Huan, he should call Jia Baoyu (the phoenix egg) to come and see the terrible state of things here.

Doesn't he like pretty older sisters? If he's so capable, why doesn't he buy all the pretty maids on the street?

As the sons of noble families, they should understand that there are some things they can do and some things they cannot do.

If a major taboo is broken, the sisters and pretty maids in the household may all suffer.

That's right, Jia Huan was referring to the matter of Jiang Yuhan from the Prince Zhongshun's Mansion!

If the Prince Zhongshun's mansion hadn't been so weak, the Rong family would probably have been in deep trouble that time.

At that time, the Second Master Zheng was so frightened that his face turned ashen and he was covered in cold sweat. This not only showed that he himself lacked courage, but also revealed that the Rong family was outwardly strong but inwardly weak.

If they had encountered a ruthless and powerful figure, the Rong family would probably have had a hard time escaping that time.

Leaving aside the idle talk, Xue Pan came to his senses and stopped thinking about it. Instead, led and guided by the servant, he and Jia Huan headed straight for the street, where a dozen or so women, clearly a family, were huddled together, with a young lady and a boy in front of them.

"The Huan brothers, that's them!"