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

"As a descendant of Rong and Ning, since I have taken on the responsibility of bringing prosperity to the family, I will do my best to care for my family and relatives."

"As long as your household follows the rules I set, I can at least guarantee that you will not suffer any disasters, if not bring glory to your family."

"Just as the old lady said, for our noble family, the most important thing is loyalty—loyalty to His Majesty! Loyalty to the court! Loyalty to the affairs of the king!"

"On the one hand, we should share the burdens of the court and make contributions. On the other hand, we should be honest and upright in our conduct, manage ourselves and our families well, and prevent them from violating the laws and regulations of the court and acting recklessly."

"His Majesty is an extremely wise and capable ruler. As long as his subjects remain loyal, upright, and diligent, how can they not ensure their family's prosperity and lasting wealth?"

Upon hearing this, Grandmother Jia sighed softly.

That troublesome bastard, once she went along with his wishes, immediately went from being senile to being reasonable. The speed of this change in attitude caught her completely off guard.

Fortunately, this scoundrel still knows that loyalty comes first and never forgets to praise His Majesty.

If this respectful attitude can be maintained, even if it offends many court officials, it should not lead to the confiscation of property and extermination of the entire clan.

If the Lai family is gone, then so be it!

It's better than something happening to your own family!

I'm getting old, and I don't ask for anything else. I just hope my children and grandchildren can live without worry and I can enjoy my old age in peace. That would be good enough!

Why bother fighting for the power to manage the family? Even without the Lai family, who would dare to insult their ancestor?

From now on, I can spend my days listening to operas, playing dominoes, and enjoying the company of my grandchildren. Why should I worry about these descendants?

Children and grandchildren have their own children and grandchildren!

This wicked grandson was sent to the army by me, and now he's suffering the consequences of his own actions. Who else can I blame but myself?

Grandmother Jia could only console herself, thinking that taking a step back made her feel more at ease and relaxed.

At this moment, Jia Jing had already given a deep order to Zhuque:

"Go and gather all the servants in your household at the Jingwu Academy, especially Lai, Wu, Shan, and Zhou."

"Also, arrest all the servants of the Ningguo Prefecture who have committed crimes, including Lai Er. Don't let a single one escape!"

"Furthermore, send your personal guards to surround the residences of the Lai and Wu families outside the city, and await my orders to confiscate their property and arrest their inhabitants!"

"Have the guards on high alert! Give the mansion a thorough cleaning today!"

"Your subordinate obeys!" Zhuque, without looking away, understood perfectly and bowed to accept the order.

He had already thoroughly investigated the situation of the servants in the mansion, and he knew exactly who should and shouldn't be punished.

Now that the Marquis and the old lady of the Jia family have reached an agreement, dealing with the servants has become much simpler.

Immediately, Zhuque waved his hand, and ten guards standing in the hall rushed out of the hall with their swords drawn, exuding a dignified and awe-inspiring aura.

When the two wives of Xing and Wang, along with Fengjie, Youshi, and others in the hall saw this scene, they were shocked.

They sat upright, their hearts filled with unease, all knowing that the household was about to undergo a major upheaval unseen for over a decade.

Madam Wang's face was gloomy as she secretly pondered: the other servants were all fine, but she still needed to see if she could find a way to save her personal maid, Zhou Rui's wife.

This was her trusted confidant; if he were to be lost this time, her power in the household would be greatly limited in the future.

Given the current situation, even the old lady has compromised, so what can she do?

If I speak rashly, I might get a few unpleasant words from that illegitimate son of the eldest son's family, and lose face.

It seems that the reorganization of the mansion is now unstoppable.

However, after the rectification, it is not impossible to seize the power of the steward.

In the future, the inner quarters of the mansion will definitely still have to be managed by these women. The eldest son of the concubine doesn't spend much time at home on weekdays, and he hasn't gotten married yet, so it's impossible for the men to personally manage the household.

He might make decisions and set rules on major issues, but he couldn't possibly manage the trivial matters of the household.

This rectification is nothing more than adding another "emperor emeritus" to the heads of their housekeepers!

The person in charge of managing the household must be either her or Feng Yatou; no one else would be suitable. So it seems that it's not impossible to make a plan.

Seeing that Feng'er has already become entangled with this illegitimate son and has developed ulterior motives, it seems there is no way to salvage the situation!

It seems the only thing we can do is take advantage of what Zhou Rui's family found out about a few days ago...

If Feng'er also makes a mistake or breaks the law, then the power to manage the household will just have to return to the second branch of the family.

We can't exactly let Madam Xing manage the household, can we?

From this perspective, having the eldest son of the concubine bring down the Lai family and other confidants of Grandmother Jia, and reshape the power structure of the mansion, might not necessarily be a bad thing for the second son's family.

There are also the hundreds of thousands of taels of family wealth belonging to the Lai family, the Wu family, and other servant families. This is a considerable sum. If some of it were allocated to the second branch of the family...

He'll be the bad guy, and I'll reap the rewards!

Madam Wang twirled the prayer beads in her hand, and an idea came to her mind.

Wang Xifeng also began to make plans in her mind at this moment.

She thought that if she could bring down Wu Xindeng and the others, it would be a victory. She never expected that Jia Jing would actually be able to persuade the old lady to carry out a major purge of the servants in the mansion.

If even the long-serving servants of the Lai family and Zhou Rui's family were to fall from grace, and she were to appoint her own people to these important positions, then she would truly have absolute power in managing the household and be able to make decisions without question.

The thought of hundreds of people in her mansion bowing and scraping before her filled her with overwhelming excitement.

However, the relationship with the third brother needs to be handled properly, as the old lady has now made it clear that the third brother will be in charge of matters in the household.

As long as I can win over my third brother, I can do whatever I want in the Rong and Ning mansions!

And we'll have to figure out how to recover the money from this crackdown...

At this moment, Jia Jing was looking at an account book, which contained information about the mansion that the Embroidered Uniform Guard had collected over the past few days.

The records clearly detail what each servant did, what laws they broke, how much money they embezzled, and how much property they owned.

Within two or three months, the Embroidered Uniform Guard had thoroughly investigated the Jia family.

"After the servants have finished their reorganization, the family rules should be revised. The stewards of the Lai family, who have broken the law and committed huge embezzlements, should definitely have their property confiscated and be beaten to death as a warning to others."

"And those traitors who betray their own people and pass on messages to the outside should also be severely punished as a warning to others!"

"As for those servants who rely on their seniority, are incompetent, and love to gossip, they should all be sent away. This will not only save the household expenses but also rectify this unhealthy atmosphere."

"Furthermore, the selection of this butler needs further consideration!"

"The newly established family rules should reshape the atmosphere. While being strict, they should also provide incentives. While punishing evil, we must not forget to encourage loyal and talented people."

"Fighting within a family is different from fighting outside. You can't just use force; you have to win people's hearts. You also need to clearly define responsibilities, set benchmarks, and ideally, establish a supervisory mechanism. This is delicate work."

Jia Jing pondered these matters in his heart, and he already had a plan in mind.

By combining rectification and education, and punishment with incentives, we can thoroughly eradicate the unhealthy practices within the Jia family.