Dream of the Red Chamber: Start by gaining Zhao Yun's martial prowess, and be ennobled in a sin

Firstly, as people get older, they tend to be more sentimental about the past. Granny Lai was someone who had been by her side for most of her life, and she cherished that bond.

Secondly, the Lai family were her most trusted confidants in the Rongguo Mansion.

If she is severely punished, she will lose all her own people in the household and become deaf and blind, which will be extremely detrimental to her control over the inner quarters.

With a hint of hesitation and difficulty on her face, Grandmother Jia slowly began to speak:

"Jing-ge'er, I think we should only deal with Lai Da. Lai Er is the steward of Ningguo Mansion, and it's not appropriate for us in the West Mansion to interfere in the personnel matters of the East Mansion!"

"Granny Lai is an elder of this household, having served it for generations. If we were to severely punish the entire Lai family, some might say we're being too heartless!"

"As for Zhou Rui's wife and Granny Fei, they are close associates of the First and Second Madams. Let them go back to their rooms and issue a warning; we will deal with them accordingly!"

"You're the man in the front, after all. It's not appropriate for you to directly interfere in the trivial matters of the inner quarters. It wouldn't be good for your reputation if word got out!"

"I think it's best if you take charge of all matters outside the household from now on; I won't interfere!"

"The affairs of the inner quarters should be handled by us women. Men are in charge of external affairs and women are in charge of internal affairs. This is an unchanging principle since ancient times."

"I always let you handle things in the clan and with Zhen Ge'er as you pleased, and I didn't interfere."

"I, along with Baoyu's mother and Fengjie, will handle the affairs of managing the inner quarters of this mansion. What do you think?"

Grandmother Jia's words were both persuasive and reasonable. She pointed out that for the sake of Jia Jing's reputation, the Lai family and Zhou Rui's wife and others had made mistakes and should be punished, but not severely, and it was not appropriate to involve their family members.

In addition, the distinction between the inner and outer quarters was clearly defined. External affairs would be managed by Jia Jing, while matters concerning the inner quarters, which were not for men to interfere with, would be discussed and decided by the women.

After all, even in the royal family, it was the empress who managed the inner palace; I've never heard of an emperor interfering in the internal affairs of the inner palace.

This time, Jia Jing didn't give Grandmother Jia any face and replied coldly:

"No wonder people say, 'When a woman manages the household, the house collapses!' Even now, the old lady is still trying to smooth things over and is unwilling to severely punish these lawless and unruly servants!"

"This is just getting old; they can't tell what's important anymore!"

"To punish only Lai Da is utterly absurd! Not to mention that the rest of the Lai family are also guilty and should not be let off lightly."

"The Lai family, as the most trusted servants in the household, are well-versed in all the household's secrets, financial dealings, and connections."

"If others don't handle this, once they harbor resentment or want to protect themselves, they might collude with outside officials and betray my Jia family in the blink of an eye."

"A moment of weakness now may not only fail to earn you a good reputation, but could also sow the seeds of future internal strife, by which time it will be too late to regret!"

"You..." Grandmother Jia was dumbfounded, her face flushed red from Jia Jing's few words, and her head began to ache again.

She had hoped that handing over the power to handle the Rongguo Mansion's external affairs to Jia Jing would earn her grandson's gratitude, but instead she was met with a curt "you're senile."

How many years!

From the moment she was born, she was the legitimate daughter of a marquis's family. After marrying into the Jia family, she gradually rose from the head of the household to become the matriarch of the Jia family.

She had never been criticized to her face like this before.

When a woman is in charge, the house collapses?

Getting old?

Can't tell what's important?

Absurd argument?

These words were just like Jia Jing's earlier insults to Lady Wang, showing that he didn't respect her, his grandmother, at all.

I was very careful and deliberated in expressing my opinion, but I still ended up losing face!

He only wanted to protect his trusted concubines; how could he not understand the importance of things?

And at this age, isn't he just calling himself senile?

Seeing that Grandmother Jia's face had changed color with anger, Yuanyang, who was standing behind her, quickly stepped forward and gently patted her back.

At the same time, she looked at Jia Jing with pleading eyes, hoping that he would soften his words.

As Jia Jing uttered these words, the others in the hall were also shocked.

Just now, Lady Wang was scolded by Jia Jing as a stupid woman, a scene that the Rongguo Mansion had not seen for many years.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, Grandmother Jia was even accused to her face of not knowing what was important!

Given that Lady Wang is Jia Jing's aunt, and considering Jia Jing's current prominent status, it's understandable that she would criticize him a bit!

But Grandmother Jia is Jia Jing's grandmother and the widow of the late Duke Rongguo, holding the title of a first-rank noblewoman. Her status and position are absolutely higher than Jia Jing's!

Grandmother Jia was not only of noble status, but also the embodiment of filial piety that everyone in the Jia family had to respect.

Regardless of whether Jia Jing's words were right or wrong, or reasonable or not, they could absolutely be considered extremely unfilial and rebellious!

In everyone's opinion, even if what Grandmother Jia said was wrong, as her grandson, you should have offered kind advice instead of making such blatant accusations!

Etiquette, law, and filial piety are rules that everyone must abide by. How can you be so presumptuous!

For a moment, you could hear a pin drop in the hall. Qin Keqing and Madam You were so frightened that they didn't even dare to raise their heads.

A hint of coldness and joy flickered across Madam Wang's fair face. The boy was so arrogant and rude, and he didn't know how to restrain himself. He was probably not far from getting his comeuppance!

Sister Feng also stared in astonishment at Jia Jing, whose face was cold and hard.

How dare my third brother use such a cold tone to directly criticize the old lady in Rongqing Hall?

However, this cold, hard, and fearless language also made Sister Feng feel a sense of "I should be like that too".

She felt her breathing quicken and her heart race. Her slender legs, hidden beneath her brocade jacket, involuntarily pressed together, and she shifted her stance.

Jia Jing didn't care what others thought; his tough stance was to convey to everyone that rectifying the family's conduct today was imperative, and no one could stop him!

It was absolutely impossible for Grandmother Jia to negotiate with him and save the Lai family's servants.

As for criticizing Grandmother Jia for not being able to distinguish between important and trivial matters, he considered it a minor issue.

Today, everyone in the hall, if they dare to obstruct his will, will face his merciless retaliation.

He has no time to play these petty, unspoken power struggles with these women in the inner quarters!

In addition, Jia Jing was also using this method to tell everyone who would be in charge of the Jia family in the future.

Ultimately, the control of power comes down to the obedience of people's hearts, not to the idea, like that of Grandmother Jia, that a single sentence can divide internal and external responsibilities.

What he wanted was not the power to manage the household inherited from Grandmother Jia, but genuine respect and awe from everyone.

As the matriarch of the household, Grandmother Jia already held supreme authority in everyone's hearts.

At this point, Jia Jing would try to establish his own prestige in the household by undermining the authority of Grandmother Jia.

Jia Jing paused, then continued in a deep voice:

"Old Madam, disciplining the servants in this household is no small matter concerning the inner quarters! It is a matter of life and death for the Jia family!"

"These unruly servants have been involved in many illegal and disorderly activities outside! If we don't handle these matters properly..."

"If the imperial censors hear of this and report it to the emperor, an impeachment for 'allowing a servant to abuse his power' would be a disgrace to our family and a great calamity that would damage the emperor's favor!"

"Old Madam, you wouldn't want to see your household suffer because of the servants, would you?"