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

Baochai's hand holding the note trembled, but she remained silent.

Aunt Xue sighed:

"Mom has been through this before, how could I not understand what you young girls are thinking? With such an outstanding peer like Jing-ge by your side, how could you not be tempted!"

"These past few days you've had your brother collect those books and official gazettes, reading them over and over every day, probably just so you can have a few more words with Jing-ge!"

"My dear daughter, it's not that I don't want you to marry him, it's just that he's not good enough for you."

"Forcing yourself to get ahead will not only make you look down on, but it will also cause you trouble."

"A man like him, let alone marrying a princess or a noblewoman, would at least be worthy of the daughter of a top-ranking prince or minister."

Baochai raised her eyes, a faint trace of bitterness in them, but mostly clarity:

"I understand everything you've said, Mother! Let's not talk about him for now. The most important thing is for you to arrange my brother's marriage first."

"My brother is getting on in years. He should get married soon, settle down, and start a family so he can take over our family business in the future."

As Baochai spoke, she sighed softly in her heart, first using the tactic of stalling, but in her heart she was still thinking about that tall and slender figure.

The mother and daughter chatted for a while longer. After Aunt Xue left, Baochai sat alone in the room, pondered for a moment, and took out a knee pad that she had embroidered a few days ago.

The knee pads were made of plain-colored silk, embroidered with a sprig of angelica, its branches and leaves delicate and elegant.

Baochai examined him for a long time, then suddenly stood up and called out:

"Oriole".

Ying'er walked in from the outer room and said;

"Miss, is there something you need?"

Baochai handed her the knee pads and said:

"Go and take this... to the Martial Arts Academy and give it to Third Brother."

Ying'er was taken aback, took the knee pads, looked at them, and whispered:

"Young lady, this is...?"

She had seen these knee pads before; they were knitted by her own daughter over several days. She had originally thought they were for Xue Pan, but she never expected them to be given to the Marquis.

Although the Marquis made his daughter call him "brother," there was actually no real kinship between them. Was it appropriate to deliver this so late at night?

Baochai said calmly:

"My third brother said today that he would give each of us younger sisters a horse as a New Year's gift, so I should give him a gift in return."

"This is something I embroidered for fun a while ago. It's just a small token of my appreciation, nothing special. You can just send it to me."

Ying'er nodded. She had overheard Aunt Xue and Baochai's conversation and had some idea of ​​what her young mistress meant by sending knee pads.

My daughter has never given anything to any other man before, so this time she's probably really fallen for him...

After Ying'er left, Baochai turned around and went to the window. She pushed open a crack in the window, and the wind blew in, causing the candlelight to flicker.

Ignoring the chilly night wind, Baochai stared intently in the direction of the Jingwu Academy.

…………

In the main hall of the front courtyard of the Jingwu Academy, Jia Jing sat behind a long table, reviewing military reports from the Ba Shang camp, while Zhu Que sat on a chair below, reporting on the results of the reorganization within the mansion.

"My lord! As you ordered, the homes of the powerful servants, including the Lai, Wu, and Shan families, have all been searched and confiscated."

"A total of 348,274,000 taels of silver, 186,428,000 taels of silver notes, 16,579 taels of gold, as well as countless pieces of furniture, land deeds, farm deeds, shops, jewelry and other valuables were seized. The total value is roughly estimated to be over 700,000 taels."

Based on the gold-silver exchange rate during the Han Dynasty, it was roughly between one to four and one to seven in the early Han period.

However, nowadays, the gold-to-silver exchange rate has reached one to ten, or even one to twelve.

Gold is not only a better store of value and easier to store and carry, but its quantity in existence is also limited, so wealthy families prefer to store some gold.

Jia Jing already had a general idea of ​​the wealth of these servants' families, so he was not surprised to hear this amount.

He nodded and said in a deep voice:

"Hmm! Take out a portion to compensate the people who have been oppressed and harmed by these wicked servants, and put the rest into the warehouse and register it."

"Send another five thousand taels of silver and twenty personal guards to my third sister. From now on, my third sister will be in charge of the household, and the guards will help her out."

Jia Jing paused here, then asked:

"Have all the spies from other households in your mansion been dealt with?"

Zhuque looked somewhat tired and said:

"As per the Marquis's orders, apart from the spies from the Imperial City Guard, all the spies from the other families have been arrested."

"The servants and maids who colluded with the outsiders have all been executed."

Jia Jing thought for a moment, then said in a deep voice:

"Okay, Imperial City Guards, don't touch him. Let's pretend we don't know anything."

"After interrogating the spies from the Prince of Zhongshun's Mansion, the Jingnan Military Commander, and the secret guards, see if there's any chance of turning them into rebels. If not, kill them all."

"Furthermore, it is only polite to reciprocate! You arrange for the Embroidered Uniform Guard to infiltrate their residences, and I will know their every move from now on."

The spies from other families within the Jia household were mainly divided into four factions:

These were the Imperial City Guard of Emperor Jingsheng, the secret guards of the Retired Emperor, the servants of the Jia family secretly bribed by Wu Xun of the Jingnan Campaign, and the spies planted in the Jia family by Prince Zhongshun.

Needless to say, Emperor Jingsheng and the retired emperor had spies in the homes of almost all the important civil and military officials in the capital.

Wu Xun, the commander of the Jingnan Army, wanted to find fault with Jia Jing due to a recent conflict with him, so he bribed several servants in the Jia family to pass on information to them.

As for Prince Zhongshun, he was at odds with the late Duke Rongguo, Jia Daishan, and they had a past feud, which led to his constant hostility towards the Jia family. His act of sending spies to collect intelligence about the Jia family was also malicious.

In the original novel, after Jiang Yuhan, an actor from the Prince Zhongshun's mansion, ran away, the chief steward of the mansion quickly went to the Jia family to investigate and learned the private details of Jiang Yuhan giving Jia Baoyu a handkerchief, which showed the Prince Zhongshun's mansion's ability to grasp intelligence about the Jia family.

Zhuque nodded and cupped his hands in greeting:

"Yes! Rest assured, Your Excellency."

Jia Jing put down the report in his hand and asked with concern:

"You look a bit tired. You are now in charge of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and you also have to take care of the training of the Ba Shang camp and some family affairs. It is indeed quite difficult for you."

"You can promote a few trusted confidants to relieve some of the pressure on the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Now that almost three months have passed, the Embroidered Uniform Guard should not be short of manpower."

Zhuque clasped his hands and said:

"Thank you for your concern, Your Excellency. As for the Embroidered Uniform Guard, I have already selected Xuanwu as my deputy to help with intelligence processing."

"His abilities are no less than mine, he just needs more experience."

At this point, a smile appeared on Zhuque's face, and his spirits lifted considerably. He said in a deep voice:

"Now the Embroidered Uniform Guard has secretly grown from five hundred to two thousand men, recruiting a large number of brothers from respectable backgrounds."

"We already have strongholds in the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Han Dynasty, as well as in the puppet Qing Dynasty, Annam, and the Northwest."

"Although it's been a short time and we haven't gathered any important intelligence yet, we've at least managed to set up the necessary framework."

"Give me another year or two, and I guarantee I can make the Embroidered Uniform Guard even better than the Imperial City Guard."