Chapter 2 The Current Situation of Jia Mansion
"What was the noise outside just now?" After finishing their meal, the master and servant brought stools to the yard to chat! The weather in early summer was already a bit sultry, and Xiao Que was fanning Jia Cong.
"I heard from Sister Xiao Jixiang that the wife of the Xue family brought the master and young lady of the Xue family into the mansion, so all the masters in the mansion went to see them."
"Do you want to go over and see him, Third Master?"
The Xue family moved into the palace? So Xue Pan had killed someone for Xiangling, and his family moved from Jinling to Shenjing.
Jia Cong patted Xiao Que'er's head and chuckled, "What kind of status does your Third Master have? Why would he join in the fun like this? Wouldn't he be annoying if he went?"
"Hmph!" Xiao Que'er snorted crisply, "The Third Master is also the master of the mansion, why can't he go?"
That being said, it's clear that he doesn't have much confidence!
Jia Cong smiled and ignored the little girl's resentment. Instead, he changed the subject and chatted casually with the little girl.
The leisurely half day passed in a flash. Dinner was almost the same as lunch, except that there was obviously no soup! The two of them took advantage of the cool breeze in the evening to eat in the yard. After chatting for a while, they went into the house to rest.
The little maid first skillfully made the bed for Jia Cong, then helped Jia Cong put on his coat and lie down, then she tidied up the small couch beside her and wrapped her small body in the quilt.
Soon, the little girl's snoring could be heard from the couch, but Jia Cong was not sleepy at all.
In this world of Red Mansions, the imperial court is called Daqian, and now the fourth emperor, Longxing Emperor, is in power. At the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, the Mongolian cavalry marched southward, and the Han people lived in dire straits. The Taizu Emperor of Daqian rose in the south of the Yangtze River, recruited heroes from the world, drove out the Tartars, and then sat on the throne of the world.
The first generation of four kings, eight dukes and twelve marquises were ennobled for their contributions to the founding of the country! These were the nobles of the founding lineage, and Dukes Ning and Rong were among them. After Taizu died, Taizong succeeded to the throne. Taizong had followed Taizu in his conquests, so he was also a capable emperor. Taizu conquered the world, and Taizong cleared out the local tyrants in Daqian, making the world stable.
When Emperor Taizong passed away, the third emperor, Emperor Yuanping, succeeded to the throne. With the family fortune left by Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong, Daqian was relatively stable. However, later when the Tatars in the northwest invaded the border, Emperor Yuanping led the army three times in person to fight for decades of peace. He then conferred titles on his meritorious officials again, and Daqian became a new force in the court, known as the Yuanping lineage.
The second generation heirs of the Ning and Rong mansions, Jia Daihua and Jia Daishan, also followed Emperor Yuanping to the northwest. Jia Daishan made great contributions and inherited the title of Duke without being demoted, but Jia Daihua was defeated. Fortunately, the Jia family had made great contributions for generations, so the court did not punish him, but Jia Daihua's title was demoted to the first-class general.
However, as the second-generation heirs of the two mansions gradually passed away, the Ning and Rong mansions now have the title of duke, but they have lost their former majesty.
After the death of Jia Daihua of the East Palace (Ning), Jia Jing became the head of the family. Jia Jing was a talented scholar who passed the imperial examination and was a Jinshi. However, for some unknown reason, he became a monk and practiced Taoism. The current head of the East Palace is Jia Zhen, the son of Jia Jing! Jia Zhen inherited the title of a third-rank general. He was absurd and lived a life of luxury.
He had a son named Jia Rong, who married Qin, the adopted daughter of Qin Ye, a clerk in charge of the palace. Jia Rong was handsome but cowardly by nature. Although he was the eldest in the mansion, he looked down upon even the common servants. Moreover, he was as licentious and shameless as Jia Zhen.
In addition, Jia Jing has a young daughter named Xichun, who has been raised by the old Lord of the West Mansion.
Compared with the East Palace, the situation in the West Palace (Rong) is slightly better!
The eldest wife is Jia Daishan's eldest son Jia She, who is also the adopted father of this status! Jia She inherited the title of first-class general, but he did not manage the family. Instead, he lived in the East Road Courtyard in the southeast corner and enjoyed antiques and buying concubines all day long.
Jia She's eldest son, Jia Hu, died young, and his second son, Jia Lian, was greedy and licentious, so he married Wang Xifeng, the eldest daughter of the Wang family, one of the four major families!
Next is Jia Cong, the third master of Jia. In addition, there is a concubine named Yingchun above Jia Cong, but she is not very close to Jia Cong on weekdays.
The second wife is Jia Zheng, the second son of Jia Daishan. Jia Zheng is a rigid person who likes to read books. However, before Jia Daishan died, he wrote to the emperor to ask for a job as a deputy minister of the Ministry of Works for his second son. Although he is pedantic, he has a good reputation and is honest and upright.
Jia Zheng's eldest son was named Jia Zhu. He married Li Wan, the daughter of Li Shouzhong, the chief priest of the Imperial Academy. Jia Zhu imitated his father's hard work, but died of illness before he was 20 years old, leaving behind a posthumous son, Jia Lan. Jia Zheng's second son was Jia Baoyu, who was born with "Baoyu" in his mouth! Jia Baoyu was the same age as Jia Cong, but he was only two or three months older than Jia Cong. He had a bad temper, but he was the old lady's favorite and one of the most honorable masters in the mansion.
Jia Zhu and Baoyu are both sons of Jia Zheng's wife, Wang, who gave birth to a daughter named Yuanchun, who was sent to the palace to serve as a female official about five or six years ago. Another concubine named Zhao also gave Jia Zheng a son and a daughter named Tanchun and Jia Huan.
Nowadays, there are about a thousand maids, old women and servants in these two duke's mansions, but there are only a handful of real masters.
Thinking about the information in his mind, Jia Cong on the bed couldn't help but sigh! As a bastard, it is really difficult to make a name for yourself!
In this era, if you want to make a name for yourself, you can only go into politics, the military, or business. First of all, merchants have no status in such a world. Although they are rich, their status is slightly inferior to that of ordinary good people! Moreover, even if Jia Cong has the memory of later generations, it is not advisable to earn some silver. Before he has status, no matter how much silver he earns, he must hand it over to the government.
Children have no private property. Unless they separate and live separately, filial piety is above all else, and their parents can take away all their possessions with just a word.
As for joining the army... Jia Cong is only twelve and a half years old now. Although he is not thin, he is not strong either. With such a small physique, it is hard to say when he can make a name for himself in the army.
Apart from this, the only way left was to join politics. However, given his status, his family would not spend thousands of taels of silver to donate an official position for him. As for the imperial examination, Jia Cong claimed that he was not a fool, otherwise he would not have been able to pass the college entrance examination in his previous life. However, Jia Cong had no confidence in the imperial examination, which was more difficult than the college entrance examination...
Just like this, Jia Cong sighed with melancholy, not knowing where the road ahead was! After a while, Jia Cong fell into a deep sleep accompanied by the snoring of the little girl beside him. The first day he traveled to the world of the Red Mansion passed peacefully.
