Chapter 124 Baoyu gets beaten
Jia Cong returned to the front yard and saw that all the disciples in the mansion had arrived. Most of them were extremely happy and respectful towards Jia Cong's arrival, except for Jia Qiang and a few others who looked at him with extremely unfriendly eyes.
However, Jia Cong didn't care. They were just a few jumping clowns. If they fell into his hands, he would just deal with them easily.
"Hahaha, Brother Cong!"
When Jia Cong heard the voice, he turned around and saw Xue Pan walking towards him with a big laugh. Perhaps as Aunt Xue had asked him to do, he was wearing a simple and elegant outfit today.
"Brother Xue!"
"I heard that you are going to become the head of the family? Congratulations, I came in a hurry today, I will prepare a generous gift for you tomorrow..."
"Brother Xue, you are too polite. It is just a request from our ancestors, and it is not a happy event."
As he was talking, Jia Zheng came over and said, "Brother Cong, what should we do about the coffin?"
"It's hard to say! We have some ready-made in my family's lumber shop. There is also a good board called mast wood, which is a good wood from Tiewang Mountain. It is said to last for ten thousand years. It was originally prepared for Prince Yi Zhong, but unexpectedly it broke and was never used. Why not give it to Master Jing?" Xue Pan said.
"This is not appropriate. If it is used beyond the limit, I would like to trouble Brother Xue to have someone fetch three sets of top-quality fir wood planks!"
Jia Cong thought, even if the death was normal, the Jia family would not use it, let alone because of such a bad thing? If it was used, wouldn't it be a direct thorn in the heart of the royal family? Jia Cong had made up his mind for this funeral. In addition to following the regulations, the simpler and more low-key the better.
Jia Zheng, who was standing by, nodded repeatedly when he heard this, "Cong- ge'er is right!"
"Okay, I'll have someone do it right away. They're all ready and will be shipped over later..."
The people from the Guanglu Temple have already been here. They have chosen a date according to the regulations. Three days later, the funeral will be held and the obituary will be sent to all the old relatives and acquaintances. Then, the body will be kept for 49 days!
Jia Cong asked Jia Lian to invite a group of monks and Taoists to come and prepare to pray for the souls of the dead and hold a 49-day ritual to resolve grievances and cleanse karma! Other monks and Taoists also set up an altar and performed rituals in Huifang Garden.
Three days later, all matters were arranged! Jia Cong was the person in charge, so he was busy almost day and night. Fortunately, with Jia Zheng's help, he could take a break. Otherwise, Jia Cong would not be able to bear it.
Jia Lian was quite active, especially in rushing to handle all purchasing matters. Jia Cong knew that he was corrupt, but he could not care about the money at this time.
Jia She rarely showed up, and Baoyu only came on the first day and did not come on the other two days.
On the fourth day, people from various mansions began to come to pay homage. The first to arrive were the brothers Wang Ziteng and Shi Ding. Not only did they come, they also brought many servants with them to be employed by Jia Cong.
The servants in the East Palace were also busy under the leadership of Lai Sheng, but they could not leave the palace easily.
When the imperial edicts from various mansions arrived, Jia Cong also asked Mrs. Xing to come and help welcome them. Wang Xifeng was also asked by Jia Cong to help with the affairs of the inner house. After a few days, most of those who were supposed to come to pay their respects had arrived, and Jia Cong had a lot more free time.
One day, Jia Cong had someone harness a carriage to send Jia Zheng, who was almost fainted from exhaustion, back to the West Mansion. However, he bumped into Baoyu, who had just returned from outside the mansion.
Jia Cong's eyelids twitched violently. Baoyu was chatting loudly with a few servants. It was obvious that he had drunk some wine. Moreover, he was wearing a bright red robe...
As luck would have it, Jia Zheng, who had been drowsily asleep in the carriage, was also awakened. He opened the curtain and looked outside with some anger.
The father and son looked at each other... The air seemed a little quiet at this moment...
"Evil creature!" Jia Zheng shouted, and in an instant, all the fatigue on his body was swept away. He got off the carriage and shouted angrily, "You guys, take Baoyu to me, and bring me a big stick! I will beat this evil boy to death today and save the whole family from losing face!"
"Uncle!" Jia Cong hurriedly supported Jia Zheng, "Second Brother Bao... Second Brother Bao may have suffered from hysteria, so he lost his manners..."
Jia Cong really couldn't come up with any good excuse. The whole family is preparing for a funeral, and it would be fine if you didn't help, but you are walking around everywhere in a red dress. Isn't this insane?
"Brother Cong, you don't have to persuade me! What's the point of keeping such a foolish and evil son who doesn't know how to be loyal and filial and doesn't get along with his brothers!"
It's no wonder that Jia Zheng was angry. If such a thing were to spread, the family would be known as a discordant family, and even Jia Zheng, the father, would be in trouble. If an censor who was keen on doing good things came across the matter and reported it directly, the Jia family would become a huge joke.
Jia Zheng shouted angrily and asked the servant behind him to take Baoyu away, and then rushed to Mengpozhai! Jia Cong gestured to the guards behind him.
This matter cannot be spread all over the house...
After arriving at Mengpo Zhai, Jia Zheng had Baoyu pinned down on a bench and rushed over with a big stick.
Jia Cong persuaded people not to let the big stick fall on Baoyu while waiting for support from the backyard. Of course, he would let Jia Zheng hit him every now and then to vent his anger. Baoyu kept wailing. If you didn't know better, you would probably think he was going to be beaten to death...
Fortunately, Lady Jia and Wang are both in the West Mansion today, so they arrived quickly!
"My Baoyu!" Wang wailed and threw herself on Baoyu. Then Jia's mother came and knocked on his cane. "Who told you to hit my Baoyu? Don't you just dislike us mothers..."
Jia Cong on the side rolled his eyes. This old lady was an extremely shrewd person. She was gentle when she should be gentle and domineering when she should be domineering. However, when it came to Baoyu, her IQ dropped sharply to negative numbers.
Seeing his mother angry, Jia Zheng immediately fell to the ground and said, "Mother, this wicked son has dressed carelessly during these days and even dared to drink and make trouble. If this gets out, will his reputation be ruined? Can't my son be punished for such a thing?"
When Jia's mother saw Baoyu's red clothes and the smell of alcohol, her eyelids twitched. Fortunately, Wang Shi hurriedly said, "Master, Baoyu has always been on good terms with his elder brother Zhen from the East Palace. How could they be at odds with each other? He just had hysteria because he was inexperienced, so he lost his manners."
"Yes, yes!" The old lady beside her nodded hurriedly, "My Baoyu is just suffering from hysteria!"
"Madam, I'll let my personal soldiers take away the servants that followed Brother Bao..."
"How dare you!" Wang said angrily, "Do you need to interfere in Baoyu's affairs? What do you want to do by taking Baoyu's servant?"
"You stupid woman, why don't you shut up!" Grandmother Jia scolded speechlessly, "Could it be that you want those bastards to ruin Baoyu's reputation?"
"Brother Cong, you should lock up those servants first and make your own decisions after a few days! They dared to seduce my Baoyu and make trouble, they should be beaten to death."
