The filial son of the Red Mansion

Wei Ruolan patted Jia Rong on the shoulder and sighed as if to comfort him. Then she asked, "So, you really want to attend the review?"

Jia Rong took a deep breath.

"Uncle Wei, stop trying to persuade me. I want to be a clerk, I want to serve the court, I want to contribute my own strength. I don't want to be a waste my whole life. Even if you tie me up today, torture me on the tiger bench, and drip candle oil on me, I will definitely go to the review."

Wei Ruolan was stunned for a moment, and asked suspiciously, "What is dripping candle oil?"

"Uh...it's a form of punishment."

"There is such a punishment? It's quite interesting. Where did Rong Ge hear about it?" Wei Ruolan's attention was immediately attracted by the candle oil, and she felt eager to try it.

Jia Rong shuddered all over, suddenly remembering that Wei Ruolan was now on duty in the patrol camp.

If Wei Ruolan learned this and really dripped candle oil after catching a thief in the city, the scene would be unimaginable.

He hurriedly said, "My nephew was just talking nonsense, Uncle Wei, please don't take it seriously."

Wei Ruolan was slightly older than Jia Rong, and was also a prince. He smiled and said, "We are not here to persuade you today. Since Rong wants to do it, just go ahead. Whether it succeeds or not, it is better than staying in the inner house. If it doesn't work this year, you can go again next year."

You are not allowed to participate in the review only once.

The palace guards were originally the place for these princes and sons of meritorious servicemen. Every year, if they passed the examination, they would be promoted to regular guards, and if they failed, they would be substitutes.

No one expected that Jia Rong, this fool, was not satisfied with being a substitute guard and insisted on participating in the review.

"Uncle Wei, aren't you afraid that I will be laughed at and embarrassed in front of His Majesty?"

"It's not like I'm embarrassing myself, nor are you making fun of me. Why should I worry?" Wei Ruolan still patted his shoulder and said with a smile, "Don't worry, we are one family, we will definitely not laugh too loudly."

Yes.

Grass!

That makes so much fucking sense.

Damn it, if you can marry Shi Xiangyun in the future, I will no longer have the surname Jia.

Jia Rong didn't want to talk to Wei Ruolan anymore, so he turned around and went to find Feng Ziying.

"Uncle Feng, you must help me this time!"

"What can I help you with? I've never been to the review office."

"No, help me out when I'm hunting. If I lose face during the inspection, at least I can make it back when I'm hunting. Otherwise, my nephew will really become a laughing stock in Shenjing City."

Jia Rong was very depressed. He did not reap any benefits from Ningguo Mansion, but the bad influence of Ningguo Mansion came first. Being surrounded by so many people, even the thickest-skinned person would be nervous.

Feng Ziying's eyebrows twitched, and after thinking for a moment, he whispered, "Didn't Brother Zhen tell you about the Ningguo Mansion's personal guards before?"

Ningguo Mansion has this thing?

"Uncle, you are not talking about the guards, are you? Why would the palace send them to Ning Mansion? The old lady in the west, the wife of a duke, doesn't even have soldiers and officials."

Jia Rong pursed his lips. If the current Ningguo Mansion was still the same as before, there would indeed be four guards. Now there was only an empty mansion without the Duke, so how could they send soldiers to guard it?

Feng Ziying said, "I'm talking about the servants and guards in your mansion. Every mansion should have a few of them. Didn't Brother Zhen tell you about this before?"

Say...what?

Jia Rong slapped his thigh.

Yes, how could such a large Ningguo Mansion not have one or two martial arts servants to protect it? Those little dandies in TV dramas all have several masters around them, so how come I, the descendant of a duke, don't have any?

"Uncle Feng, you guys eat first. I'll go find Butler Lai."

Jia Rong went out and came back cursing after a while.

Manager Lai knows nothing!

Damn it, the Ningguo Mansion is too poor. It can't even afford to support a few servants who are good at martial arts to guard the house. It doesn't have the dignity of a Duke's Mansion at all.

Feng Ziying consoled him, "It's okay. When the time comes, select a few strong and well-known servants from home to go with you. Although there may not be any results, we hope there won't be any mistakes."

The so-called house-born servants are house-born children, who are children born to slaves in their master's house, as distinguished from those bought from outside.

Yuanyang, who was beside Lady Jia, was a family-born child. Yuanyang's parents were both servants in the Jia family. Yuanyang was born and raised in the Jia family and knew the family inside and out, so she could become a maid that Lady Jia trusted.

Lai Da and Lai Sheng were also family-born children. Their mother, Nanny Lai, had once been a maidservant to Duke Rong, so Lai Da and Lai Sheng were also deeply trusted by the two families.

When Jia Rong heard Feng Ziying specifically mention the words "knowing the person's background" and "house-born servant", he immediately understood the pros and cons and gave up the idea of ​​recruiting from outside.

After entering February, time always passes quickly.

This day was February 12th, the Flower Festival.

It is also Lin Daiyu’s birthday.

In addition to practicing riding and archery these days, Jia Rong had someone find some storybooks as a birthday gift for Daiyu, because he knew that Daiyu liked reading.

At first, Daiyu thought it was sent by Qin Keqing. After asking, she looked at the words "Peach Blossom Fan" in the storybook with a strange look.

"Why did you send this?"

Although Daiyu was suspicious, she happily accepted it and watched it in private. However, she refused to wear the incense necklace that Baoyu gave her. Baoyu learned that Daiyu liked reading, so he also asked someone to find a book outside. Later, he found a volume of "Cui Yingying Waiting for the Moon in the West Chamber". This is another story.

The third day of March is Tanchun’s birthday.

Jia Rong also asked someone to find some exquisite handmade items and send them over.

He relied on knowing the preferences of the girls and gave them all gifts in a considerate and appropriate manner, which made several girls praise him for his thoughtfulness.

At the end of March, Jia Rong was no longer in the mansion. He rode a horse and led the four strongest servants in Ningguo Mansion to gather.

"What are you afraid of? With your fleshy body, you can scare them to death."

That's what it says.

The other princes and nobles nearby just tried to hold back their laughter.

"They look good but are useless. They brought four of these people. Ningguo Mansion is truly defeated."

Ok?

Upon hearing the voice, Jia Rong turned around and saw a [Level 4 Treasure Chest] on the head of the young man next to him.

His eyes suddenly lit up, and he quickly bowed and said, "What is your name, brother? I see that you have an extraordinary appearance. If you don't mind, Rong is willing to marry you..."

Chapter 61: Old Grudges and the Review Examination

"Brother Rong, have you forgotten who I am?" The tall young man on horseback interrupted Jia Rong, frowning tightly and looking at Jia Rong as if he was looking at a monster.

"you are?"

Jia Rong looked confused.

His way of recognizing people was very simple. No matter whether it was Jia Zhen's funeral or someone else's funeral, as long as they were people he had seen at the funeral, they were basically related to him.

But the guy in front of him had never come to pay tribute to Jia Zhen, nor had he been seen at any other funeral.

Obviously, they are not from the same circle.

If you are not from the same circle, you can just "make friends" with them and then see if you want to get together by chance.

The young man was obviously angry. He snorted coldly and left with his servants without looking back.

"What do you mean? I really don't know you!"

At least please register your name so that I can come to your house for a feast in the future!

Jia Rong was sighing behind him. Not only did he fail to establish a good relationship with the other party, but he also seemed to have offended the other party.

A bad start!

Feng Ziying, who was coming from behind, almost fell off his horse when he heard this.

"Brother Rong really forgot about him?"

"Is he a very famous person?" Jia Rong asked doubtfully.

Feng Ziying shook his head and said meaningfully, "Not as famous as Rong Ge'er."

Jia Rong glanced sideways at the top of Feng Ziying's head and found that Feng Ziying's treasure chest had been upgraded from level 2 to level 3, and the "upgradeable" sign was gone.

If it weren’t for the low level of your treasure chest, I would really want to bury you.

If Feng Ziying had not entered the official career, Feng Ziying's treasure chest would have been at most level three. Unless Feng Ziying had unmarried sisters at home, he might have been able to upgrade it.

Feng Ziying said strangely: "What is Rong Ge'er thinking? Don't mess with him now."

"why?"

"Because you can't beat him. If he hadn't admired Lian's second sister-in-law when they were young, he wouldn't have stood there and let you and Lian's second sister-in-law fight."

what?

That guy has liked Wang Xifeng since he was a child? He must be buried.

"What's his name?" Jia Rong rubbed his hands in anticipation. Such a person with hidden dangers must not be kept.

Feng Ziying smiled and said, "His surname is Shen, and his given name is Nian. He has some connection with the Wang family. He is also close to our families, but he is not on good terms with you."

"You only have a bad relationship with me, why?"

So you have a good relationship with other people?

Jia Rong vaguely remembered a person named Shen. He was probably the Shen Shixiong mentioned by Jia Baoyu.

Feng Ziying rolled his eyes at him.

"Why do you say that? When he was a child, he admired Feng Ge'er, but he was beaten up twice by you and Feng Ge'er. Later, his family wanted to marry his sister to you, but you said she was a female demon."

What?

Oh my god. This hatred is really huge!

Jia Rong was a little timid, but also felt lucky to have survived. He was just beaten up by the enemy, which was really a stroke of luck.

Feng Ziying sighed, "Anyway, if you meet him next time, be careful. His sister is eighteen years old this year and no one has come to propose marriage to her. Maybe it's you who's responsible. What's worse is that he hasn't married yet."

hiss~

"I will hide from him next time I see him. If he goes east, I will go west; if he goes south, I will go north."

He valued his life very much. After making up his mind, he began to observe the tops of the heads of the people around him.

Unfortunately, there were few young men with a higher level than Shen Nian. When Jia Rong arrived at the Iron Net Mountain enclosure, he was enlightened. From afar, he saw high-level treasure chests.