Dream of the Red Chamber: A Refined and Elegant Young Man in a Turbid World

Around noon, Li Rong was ordered to order three or four tables of exquisite food and wine from Dongxinglou Restaurant on West Street, and also to bring several jars of fine wine to place in the hall.

"Commander Jia is a descendant of the Duke of Rong, a son of a military family. We are unworthy of such a title..." The officers, both high and low, put on smiles, some flattering him, others offering toasts.

Jia Cong, using his young age and poor alcohol tolerance as an excuse, feigned compliance before also saying he needed to return to his residence to rest. Only then did he leave the garrison and ride away on Ba Hongchen.

As soon as he entered the gate, he was summoned by Jia She's personal servant. Jia Cong thought to himself, "This cheap father of mine hardly ever does anything. Why did he suddenly think of looking for this son?"

Upon arriving at Grandmother Jia's Rongqing Hall, Jia Cong learned that they were planning to hold his coming-of-age ceremony there. Men are supposed to be crowned at twenty, but many sons of noble families are crowned much earlier.

Grandmother Jia was reclining on the couch, too lazy to even look at Jia She, and a cold breath escaped from her nostrils.

"The parents don't care about their son's life or death. They didn't even care after he entered officialdom. Now Cong'er is working in the garrison with an official title, but he doesn't even have the proper status of an adult. If word gets out, people will just think that the family doesn't even know the rules! Tomorrow, prepare all the necessary rites and hold a coming-of-age ceremony for him, so that he can serve with dignity and not be looked down upon!"

Jia She agreed with a forced smile.

"The old lady is indeed very thoughtful. My son had also prepared something, but he was busy with official duties and it was delayed for a few days."

Jia Cong hurriedly expressed his gratitude. After all, he was not Jia Lian, so his coming-of-age ceremony would not be too grand. He only had a sacrificial ceremony at the Ning Mansion ancestral hall, and invited elders such as Jia Jing and Jia Zheng to pay respects to his parents, ancestors, and elders. After the ceremony, he was considered an adult.

Jia She also feigned a serious and earnest expression.

"Now that Cong'er has come of age, he should be given a courtesy name. Now that he is learning martial arts and entering officialdom, the name 'Jinghuan' would be appropriate."

Jia Cong couldn't make the decision on this matter, but fortunately, although Jia She was addicted to wine and women, he wasn't like Xue Pan. How could a noble son be illiterate?

The name "Jinghuan" is quite fitting. From this day forward, he is considered a semi-adult with a given name, surname, and courtesy name.

The next day, after his shift, he had to report the matter to the Ministry of War. After the clerk took the documents, Zhou Haiyong entered the room with a smile, and Jia Cong quickly stood up to greet him.

"Greetings, Master Zhou."

Zhou Haiyong offered a gesture of support, then pulled Jia Cong to sit down, a cunning look on his face.

"My dear brother, you come from the Rong family. I wonder how the old lady is doing?"

Jia Cong nearly rolled his eyes. Although Zhou Haiyong was considerably younger than Jia She, his constant use of "brother" was taking a toll on him, so he could only force a smile and force himself to smile.

"Our ancestors have blessed us with good health, but I'm getting a bit sleepy as the weather gets colder..."

Zhou Haiyong chatted with him for a while, then suddenly changed the subject.

"I am well aware that your family enjoys the Emperor's favor and is very busy with official duties. My dear brother, from now on, if there is nothing urgent, you may take your duty as you see fit."

While Jia Cong gave a vague reply, he was filled with suspicion. According to the law, the commanders were required to report at dawn, have a meal in the court, and leave work before noon to finish their day's work.

He didn't ask any further questions, only offering a perfunctory bow.

"Since this is such a generous offer from you, sir, I will certainly accept it."

Zhou Haiyong took a sip of tea, put down the teacup, and rolled his eyes.

"I heard that you passed the military examination and achieved third place in the top rank, truly demonstrating your exceptional martial arts skills. I imagine you will be participating in next year's imperial examination?"

Jia Cong chuckled, offering only a vague and ambiguous response.

"Although I am strong, I am not good at policy discussions. I am just going to broaden my horizons. I dare not even dream of passing the imperial examination."

After receiving this answer, Zhou Haiyong didn't ask any more questions, only gave a few polite instructions, and then left.

Jia Cong came to his senses and pondered it carefully again, but still couldn't figure it out. It turned out that Zhou Haiyong and Yang Shaoyan, after some discussion, concluded that he, as a noble son of the Rongguo Mansion, was probably just here to gain prestige from the Thousand Households.

If Jia Cong truly succeeds in the imperial examination next year, according to the laws of the Great Jing Dynasty, the top three will be granted the title of Military Scholar and appointed as Third-Rank Military Commander; the top thirty or so in the second class will be granted the title of Military Scholar and appointed as Fifth-Rank Garrison Commander; and the top one hundred or so in the third class will be granted the title of Military Scholar and appointed as Fifth-Rank Garrison Commander.

Therefore, Zhou Haiyong and the others assumed that since Jia Cong was able to overpower Li Baihu, he must have reached the second or third level of martial arts. With the backing of the Four Kings and Eight Dukes, if he could become a second-class Jinshi next year, he would be a fifth-rank official, on par with Zhou Haiyong, who was a Qianhu. So they came to get closer to him.

Moreover, once Jia Cong passes the imperial examination, a mere Left Thousand Household Office will certainly not be able to accommodate such a bodhisattva. Therefore, the other party will only be here for a maximum of half a year. It would be better to turn a blind eye and let this纨绔 (playboy) be neglectful.

Jia Cong pondered for a long time but couldn't think of this aspect. Since the top leader had spoken, seeing that the meal at the Qianhu Office was hard to swallow, he simply took Li Rong and left work early.

Since he lived in the Grand View Garden and couldn't bear to leave the mortal world to be looked after by the servants in the carriage and horse stables, he now always entered and exited through the side gate, and was led by Li Rong to the Qingyan Hall.

They had only taken a few steps through the side gate when they saw Jia Huan storming past, looking ready to fight. They quickly stepped forward and pulled him back.

"Where is Huan-ge'er going? Why is he in such a hurry?"

Upon seeing him, Jia Huan immediately stopped and grabbed Jia Cong's official robe sleeve, his face full of resentment.

"Cong-ge'er, you've come at the right time! Go and reason with me! They all bully me because I wasn't born to the mistress, and now even the servants are climbing all over me!"

Seeing that Jia Huan's eyes were red and his clothes were wrinkled, Jia Cong knew that he had suffered a real injustice and had never had anyone to back him up in the mansion, which was why he was so agitated. So he helped him up.

"Brother Huan, don't rush, speak slowly. No matter how big the problem is, your brothers are here for you."

Seeing his resolute tone, and remembering that only Jia Cong treated him like a brother, Jia Huan felt a lump in his throat and poured out all his grievances.

It turned out that Lai Shangrong had returned to his home to visit his family the day before. He was entertaining Baoyu in the front courtyard of the mansion when Jia Huan passed by and came forward to greet him. Lai Shangrong only raised his eyelids and gave a perfunctory reply without even offering him a seat. When he turned around and saw Baoyu coming over, he hurriedly put on a big smile, personally went forward to help him up, poured tea and flattered him. In comparison, he treated Jia Huan like a piece of weeds on the roadside.

Even more so, the servants and maids who followed the Lai family, seeing their master's attitude, also looked down on him and gossiped behind his back, saying things like, "The third master, born of a concubine, is not worthy to be compared with the second master Bao." Every word they said was cutting.

Jia Huan was furious and went forward to argue, but was instead interrupted by a servant from the Lai family who said he was "ungrateful and stirring up trouble between master and servant." In the end, no one spoke up for him. Lady Wang just thought he was being petty and didn't even ask him anything. She even sent someone to tell him to behave himself.

"They all bully me because I have no powerful backing, because I wasn't born of the mistress!" Jia Huan said, on the verge of going crazy, yet still managing to put on a show of tantrums.

"Cong-ge'er, you are now an official, a legitimate master in our household. You judge this for me! The Lai family are nothing but servants in this household. Their son dares to disrespect his master just because he bought a minor official position. Is there no law left?"