The Red Mansion in its bustling glory

The one who responded to the emperor's words was the eunuch in charge of recording the emperor's daily activities.

Since the founding of the dynasty by Emperor Taizu, the position of the recorder of daily life has no longer been held by a real official, but by a eunuch.

Historians compiled the history of the dynasty based on the daily records of the emperor's activities sent from the palace.

And it is precisely for this reason that, although on the surface it is still said that it is "writing impartially and truthfully", the emperor can correct most of the content.

Just as Jia Jue had heard in his previous life—history is written by the victors.

The emperor sat down again only after the retired emperor had been gone for a long time.

However, he did not approve any more memorials. Instead, he beckoned an old eunuch to come.

This old eunuch is named Dai Quan. He is the current Grand Eunuch in charge of the palace, and can be considered the head of all the eunuchs.

This Eunuch Dai had watched His Majesty grow up, and therefore enjoyed his trust. Moreover, he was highly capable, so he naturally held a prominent position.

Don't underestimate him just because he's a eunuch. Once he steps outside these walls, even a prince would have to give him some respect.

The emperor then asked Dai Quan, "My lord, what do you think of Jia Jue?"

Having served the emperor for so many years, Dai Quan had long since figured out his thoughts, so he naturally investigated the young men recruited by Li Ren. Among them, Jia Jue was the most distinguished, and since the late Duke of Rong had a past relationship with Eunuch Dai, he received special treatment from Dai Quan.

At that moment, Dai Quan said, "Although Jia Jue is still young, he is exceptionally intelligent. He knows his limits and acts cautiously but without being overly restrained. Given time, he will surely become a pillar of the nation."

The emperor nodded and said, "Judging from Wei Xiang's memorial to me, this is indeed the case. I originally thought that the virtuous and upright character of the Ning and Rong dynasties was fading away, but I never expected that a Jia Jue would emerge."

The Emperor pondered for a moment, then asked, "I am aware of the current state of the Rongguo Mansion—Marquis Jia En possesses the talent of his late father, the Duke of Rongguo, but lacks virtue; he has no ambition and spends his days in debauchery; Jia Cunzhou possesses the virtue of his late father, the Duke of Rongguo, but lacks talent; he is rigid, pedantic, and ignorant of practical matters. And that Taoist priest outside the city is even worse. My lord, who do you think taught him?"

Dai Quan could only reply, "Your subject does not know."

The emperor then said, "Neither the Grand Eunuch nor I know..."

At that time, Jia Jue was naturally unaware that his name had been mentioned by the emperor within the palace walls.

All he knew was that he needed to review his lessons.

But just when he wanted to review, one problem after another came knocking on his door.

Today is the birthday of his maternal uncle, Prince Teng's wife, Lady Yuan.

As his nephew, he certainly couldn't not go.

Early in the morning, he was woken up by Musk Moon. He put on a brand-new blue and gold-embroidered arrow-sleeved robe, covered with a light blue and snow-white fur-collared cloak, and carried the purse given to him by Daiyu. He then went with Baoyu, Lady Wang and the maids.

Today, Baoyu was also wearing brand new clothes, brightly colored, with bright red and gold, which made him look like a fireball from a distance.

Upon arriving at the Prince's mansion, there were no elderly ladies of high seniority like Grandmother Jia. Madam Yuan was the highest-ranking person in the inner courtyard, so the birthday banquet was held with exceptional grandeur.

Lady Wang was led by her maid to the inner courtyard to talk with Lady Yuan and other noble ladies, while Jia Jue and Bao Yu were led to the outer room.

It turned out that Prince Teng had invited many people over on the occasion of Madam Yuan's birthday.

Originally, the Wang family was only on good terms with the Jia and Shi families in the capital. However, after Wang Ziteng took over the family business and rose to a high official position, he also had close exchanges with the other noble families.

Of those who came today alone, Jia Jue saw people from the Shanguo Mansion and the Xiuguo Mansion.

When the results of the county examination were announced and Jia Jue came out on top, these two families were the first to send congratulatory gifts. They also immediately reconciled with the Jia family and continued to send people to visit them from time to time.

And coincidentally, these two mansions are among the most severely declining members of the Four Kings and Eight Dukes.

The situation is most dire in the Duke of Shan's household. Before the old Duke passed away, all his sons died young, leaving only his grandson Shi Shouye to inherit the title. There is no one else in the household who can be of use. This young general is now only about the same age as Jia Lian.

Although the Xiuguo Mansion is not as sparsely populated as it is now, it has almost no power, with only one head of the household currently serving in the Ministry of Rites.

Jia Jue thought to himself – to put it bluntly, these two families are like fence-sitters, neither of whom can be offended, and there is no cost to offending either.

Therefore, seeing that Jia Jue was gaining momentum, he immediately came to curry favor.

The other dukes' mansions are still observing – after all, although the Jia family has received great favors from their ancestors, there is a serious lack of successors in the next two generations.

Who can guarantee that this new generation of scholars in the Jia family will continue to be a model of education?

Little did they know that Jia Zhu's example was right before them.

Jia Jue thought to himself, "If we want the Jia family to regain its position as the leader of the noble families, what we need most is the recognition of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. The reason is simple: the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion still holds military power and is the most powerful among the four kings and eight dukes."

As for the two people in front of me—it doesn't matter.

The Duke of Shan's mansion is the least useful, but the Duke of Xiu's mansion might be worth using, since his family also has people working in the Ministry of Rites.

With that thought in mind, Jia Jue walked over.

The man who came from the Duke of Xiu's mansion was named Hou Liang. In fact, he was of the same generation as Jia Jue, but he was already thirty years old.

Now, he is the one in his family who works at the Ministry of Rites.

His official rank was similar to Jia Zheng's, both being assistant ministers. However, he was adept at social maneuvering, moving among various high-ranking officials and having a wide social circle.

Befriending Jia Jue will also benefit his future career.

"Brother, how have you been?"

Jia Jue spoke first.

Hou Liang turned around and saw that it was Jia Jue. He said, "My worthy brother, you've just passed the imperial examination with top honors. You are indeed radiant and have an extraordinary appearance!"

"Not at all," Jia Jue said with a smile. "Brother, you are the one with the most outstanding talent. I admire you greatly."

After the two finished praising each other, they started arguing.

Jia Jue said, "It's been a long time since I've seen my elder brother visit the mansion."

Hou Liang then said, "I've been so busy with worldly affairs lately that I've neglected to pay my respects to the Old Madam. I only had time yesterday, so I sent someone to her residence."

Jia Jue then smiled and said, "Brother, you have lofty aspirations, and you are often entangled in mundane affairs in officialdom. However, I still hope that you will not forget to visit each other more often. Our two families have been friends for more than a hundred years since the founding of this dynasty, and naturally we cannot let this friendship fade away."

Hou Liang laughed and said, "Of course, of course."

After a short while, he added, "I wonder if you are confident about the upcoming prefectural examination?"

Jia Jue smiled and said, "I wouldn't dare say I'm still number one."

The two looked at each other and burst into laughter.

Through their tentative conversation, Jia Jue had already determined that if he were to seek his help in the future, he would most likely be willing to lend a hand.

Now that they were already here and had spoken with Hou Liang, Jia Jue naturally also exchanged a few words with Shi Shouye.

This elder brother truly lives up to his name. As Jia Jue spoke with him, he thought to himself, "He's someone who can protect the family business."

When Jia Jue returned, Jia Baoyu was nowhere to be found.