Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Upon returning to Ningrong Street, Jia Lian went straight into the Ningguo Mansion, found Jia Zheng, and prepared to tell him about his situation.

After all, the Jia family was busy building the garden. Now that Jia She, Jia Zhen, and others were gone, and he was about to leave the capital, the family's affairs, big and small, would have to be handled by Jia Zheng alone.

At that moment, Jia Zheng was having a discussion with his clansmen. Tomorrow was the day of Jia Zhen's funeral, and most of the family members had come.

After listening to Jia Lian's explanation, they didn't seem to care much about the princess's marriage to a foreign ruler. The only thing they cared about was that Jia Lian's favor with the emperor seemed to have returned!

Indeed, as the heir to the family title, Jia Lian's honor and safety were directly related to the rise and fall of the family.

The rumors that were unfavorable to Jia Lian had made them quite nervous.

When they heard that Jia Lian had been entrusted with an important post by the emperor again, it naturally meant that Jia Lian was still favored by the emperor, and they were relieved.

Jia Dairu stroked his beard and laughed, "Very well, it seems that our family's future achievements will all depend on Lian-ge'er alone!"

I have a suggestion. We've been discussing the selection of the clan leader, but we haven't come up with a solution yet.

In my opinion, there's no need to think about it any further. Among the entire clan, only Lian-ge'er is capable of shouldering this heavy responsibility and leading the family to restore the glory of the Duke.

Therefore, it is most secure for Lian-ge to serve as the clan leader.

What do you all think?

Jia Dairu, as one of the few remaining members of the second generation of the Jia family, is also the helmsman of the Jia family's academic tradition.

He still held considerable prestige, so when he made this suggestion in front of everyone, they all began to think about it seriously.

This problem is actually quite simple.

If Jia Lian were from the eldest branch of the family, they would all support him to become the clan leader without Jia Dairu's suggestion.

Unfortunately, Jia Lian was from the second wife's family.

The eldest son of the family holds the position of clan head, a rule that has remained unchanged in the Jia family for a hundred years. If it is to be changed now, many people still have doubts.

The person who was most unhappy about it was probably Jia Jing.

Therefore, everyone is looking to Jia Jing, the only male descendant of the eldest son's family.

There was nothing they could do; the eldest son's bloodline was dwindling.

Everyone can agree that the foundation of the Ningguo Mansion should be inherited by the male offspring in Lady You's womb. This is a matter of course, and no one has any reason to object.

However, the Jia family patriarchs were unwilling to let a child who hadn't even seen the world yet take the position.

Just as a country cannot be without a ruler for a day, a clan cannot be without a leader for a day.

Putting aside everything else, it will take at least twenty years for Lady You's children to grow up. Is the Jia family going to leave the position of clan head vacant for such a long time?

Seeing everyone looking at him, Jia Jing's expression became troubled.

On one side is the glory and dignity of the eldest son's family, and on the other side is the current situation of the Ningguo Mansion.

If he refuses, these people will definitely demand that he stay and resume his duties and responsibilities as clan leader.

But how could someone who didn't even want the foundation of the Duke's mansion allow a mere nominal position as clan head to imprison his pursuit of the Great Dao? Just as Jia Jing was caught in a dilemma and unable to respond, another clan elder, Jia Daixiu, coughed and said, "The position of clan head has always been held by the eldest son since the time of the founding emperor."

"If we rashly change the rules now, I fear our ancestors will be displeased..."

Jia Dairu immediately looked at his old friend, frowned and asked, "But you know the current situation of Ningguo Prefecture."

If we follow the previous statement and select someone from the close descendants of Ningguo Mansion to succeed as heir, I will not hesitate to say that the successor will naturally become the clan leader.

However, under the current circumstances, Brother Zhen still has descendants alive.

We had already agreed that as long as Zhen's daughter-in-law gave birth to a son, he would inherit the Ningguo Mansion's business.

That's all fine.

But the clan leader is different.

The clan head is responsible for the interests of our entire clan, comprising twenty branches. The clan head is in charge of managing ancestral property and ancestral fields, organizing annual ancestral rites, and providing assistance and relief to clan members.

Are we supposed to wait until ten or twenty years later, when the eldest son's bloodline has grown up, before considering these matters?

Seeing that Jia Dairu had raised his voice, Jia Daixiu also said without hesitation, "The succession sequence cannot be abolished."

Even considering the two Dukes Ning and Rong, Duke Ning was the eldest. Since ancient times, the eldest son has been respected; this is the way of inheritance.

Therefore, allowing the second branch of the family to inherit the position of clan leader would be contrary to etiquette and would invite ridicule if word got out.

Many people secretly agreed with Jia Daixiu's words.

Most of these people are descendants of the Duke of Ningguo.

Of the twenty branches of the Jia family, apart from the twelve branches still in Nanjing, the eight branches in Beijing were all descendants of the two Dukes of Ning and Rong.

Therefore, putting aside the distinction between the eldest and second sons, even considering the characters "Ning" and "Rong," they were unwilling to see "Rong" completely supersede "Ning."

Jia Dairu was the son of the Duke of Rongguo, so he naturally agreed that the Rongguo Mansion should take over as clan head.

However, Jia Daixiu, as the son of Duke Ning, naturally would not agree.

This is the underlying reason for the dispute between the two clan elders, a consideration of their own interests and honor.

Seeing that the family members were about to have another extremely heated debate, Jia Jing finally spoke up.

"I think both elders have a point."

Given the current situation of my Ningguo Mansion, it is indeed not suitable for me to continue to hold the heavy responsibility of clan leader.

Therefore, I have a suggestion.

Why not let Lian-ge'er from the second branch temporarily assume the position of clan leader and be responsible for teaching my unborn grandson?

When he grows up, his talents will be assessed. If he is capable of serving as the clan chief, then Lian-ge'er will return the position to him. This is the proper way.

Fellow clansmen, what do you think?

Upon hearing Jia Jing's words, the Ning family fell silent.

Isn't this essentially handing over the clan leadership to someone else?

Moreover, having the Rongguo Mansion teach the only bloodline of the Ningguo Mansion is, to put it bluntly, a situation where the second branch of the family harbors malicious intentions. Not only could the position of clan leader be usurped, but the Ningguo Mansion's foundation could also be lost.

Of course, they wouldn't dare to say anything reckless under those circumstances.

Jia Jing knew perfectly well that he was essentially entrusting the Ningguo Mansion to Jia Lian.

But what other options are there?

For the past month, clansmen have been urging him to stay home and revitalize the family!

He feared that if he let them continue arguing, he would lose the opportunity to pursue the Great Dao.

As for whether Jia Lian actually bullied his grandson, he thought it was unlikely. Not to mention that there were so many people in the family watching over him, Jia Lian himself was a man with unlimited potential and extraordinary abilities.

I'm afraid they might not be so shameless as to seize the eldest son's property.

In short, he found Jia Lian agreeable and trusted him.

Jia Lian, who had been sitting silently to the side, finally smiled and said when everyone looked at him: "Thank you for your kindness, Uncle Jing. As for taking care of my nephew, I will naturally do my duty without hesitation."

However, it's best to waive the position of clan leader for this generation.

As a military officer, I am about to depart for the borderlands again, and I really don't have much time or energy to do a good job as the clan chief.

Everyone was surprised that Jia Lian would refuse, and they quickly tried to persuade him, saying that being the clan leader didn't require much effort...

They all realized that if they were to find a successor clan leader, Jia Lian would be the best choice.

First of all, he is the heir to the Rongguo Mansion, which already owns a Duke's Mansion, so there's not much to worry about him coveting the Ningguo Mansion.

Secondly, Jia Lian enjoys great favor from the emperor, and with him leading the family, everyone is likely to benefit and enjoy good fortune.

"If everyone insists on choosing a successor for the clan, I have a suggestion."

Why don't you let my second uncle take on this important task?

My second uncle is highly respected and of noble status, and he also serves as an official in the imperial court. He is the most suitable person to serve as the acting clan head.

For Jia Lian, being a clan leader was a dispensable matter.

Being a clan chief is nothing more than an honor. It's a thankless position with lots of work but little pay.

As long as he maintains a smooth official career, he need not worry about his family members not listening to him; he doesn't necessarily need to obtain the position of clan leader.

Therefore, when he saw that Jia Zheng's eyes were somewhat moved when everyone was discussing this issue, he recommended him without hesitation.

Upon hearing Jia Lian's words, everyone fell silent.

Indeed, apart from Jia Lian, Jia Zheng is the most suitable person to act as clan head.

However, Jia Zheng was not the heir to either of the two mansions...

He himself was alright; as the eldest son of the second-generation Duke of Rongguo, he served as the master of the Rongguo Mansion.

But what if he and Jia Lian separate their households in the future?

At that time, Jia Zheng's lineage will simply become the "close relatives of the Rong Mansion," just like everyone else.

At most, he lived a more comfortable life than them because of his connection to the Imperial Concubine's biological father. From the perspective of the greater good of family lineage, Jia Zheng was neither qualified to be the clan head nor capable of bringing them more benefits.

When Jia Zheng heard Jia Lian recommend him, he was quite surprised and somewhat tempted.

He did indeed care about honors like clan leader in a different way. Clan leader, well, you can tell just by the name—the head of a clan!

However, he also knew that he didn't like trouble.

As the clan leader, one inevitably has to deal with some trivial matters within the clan.

He himself was also having some difficulty making a decision, so he had not yet expressed his opinion.

When he saw that few people agreed with Jia Lian's recommendation, he realized that people did not really want him to act as clan leader.

So Jia Zheng stroked his beard and shook his head quite frankly, saying, "I'm getting old, and even the affairs of the Ministry of Works are already quite strenuous for me. As for the affairs of the clan, let you young people take care of them."

Jia Zheng is such a proud and aloof person, and you still think I'm not qualified enough? I'd rather not serve you!

All day long, they steal chickens, walk their dogs, and fight. It's like nobody cares about these unruly young men in the clan.