Chapter 280 New Year's Day
The entire East Mansion was filled with laughter and joy that night, and the servants in the front yard were setting off firecrackers with a crackling sound, which never stopped all night!
It was not until dawn that Jia Zhong brought the servants from the mansion to pay their respects to Jia Cong and others.
Originally, this should have been done before half past midnight, but the master Jia Cong was not there at the time, so it was postponed until dawn.
Now there are about two hundred servants, maids and old women in the East Palace. Although they were purchased this year, they are much better than before under Jia Zhong's personal training. At least, there are no more cases of them cheating their masters. In addition, the public treasury and accounts of the palace are all in the hands of Youshi, Keqing and Yuanyang, so these people dare not play tricks easily.
Jia Cong was not a stingy person. In the past few months, the business had been launched and the East Palace was making a lot of money. The public treasury, which was not rich to begin with, had an extra 200,000 or 300,000 taels of silver. Therefore, the housekeepers of Youshi were naturally very relaxed. After all, a good cook cannot cook without rice, just like Wang Xifeng before. Even if she tried her best, she could not do anything in the face of the gradually empty public treasury.
When everyone came to pay their respects, Jia Cong simply waved his hand and gave everyone three months' salary. Jia Zhong and other housekeepers in the mansion were given 10 or 100 taels of silver. Jia Cong was not stingy with the personal soldiers in the mansion. All the families of the personal soldiers were given supplies and food in the same way as . Before the New Year, each family was given 10 taels of silver.
Although money is not everything, it can represent many things. Moreover, with all his brothers working for him, how could Jia Cong be reluctant to part with just a few gold and silver?
After dealing with the greetings from the servants in the mansion, Jia Cong took Yuanyang to the West Mansion to pay his respects to the old lady.
As for Xiao Que'er and the others, they had been tossing and turning all night, and now they were already fast asleep! Even Qingwen had been taking care of them all night, but Jia Cong didn't want her to toss and turn, so he just let them sleep together.
When they arrived at the old lady's courtyard in the West Mansion, they happened to meet Jia Zheng, who was bringing Lady Wang, Baoyu, Tanchun, Li Wan, Jia Huan and Jia Lan to pay their respects to the old lady.
"Meet Second Uncle and Second Madam!"
Mrs. Wang looked indifferent, not wanting to pay any attention to Jia Cong. Jia Zheng happily stepped forward, took Jia Cong's hand and said, "You went to the palace yesterday? When did you come back?"
Jia Cong smiled and said, "I just came back after midnight. I met my elder sister in the palace yesterday and chatted with her for a while. My elder sister even asked me to say hello to my second uncle on her behalf!"
"Okay!" Jia Zheng nodded.
"How is Second Brother Bao doing in the clan school recently?" Jia Cong asked Baoyu with a smile, "I specifically instructed the clan school that Second Brother Bao should be taught by the last disciple of Duke Yansheng. He followed his master's order to study all over the world. I asked my master to help write a letter, and he has just come to our clan school to teach for a few months."
"Although Jiao Tian has not taken the imperial examination, his knowledge is very good and he is well-known throughout Jiangnan! Many people say that if Jiao Tian were to take the exam, he would almost certainly get a first-class A! Second Brother Bao is already very smart, and with the guidance of such a learned person, I think he will definitely improve a lot."
"If I wasn't so busy on weekdays and had to go on a mission, I would have gone to the clan school to study hard with this teacher."
Jia Cong's words made Jia Zheng's face turn pale with shame, but Baoyu was still unaware of it and muttered in a low voice, "What kind of disciples of Yansheng Duke are they? Aren't they just filthy people who pursue fame and fortune?"
"Evil creature!" Jia Zheng shouted angrily. In fact, he had been in a bad mood throughout the first month of the year.
The clan school was closed after the twelfth lunar month. In the last month's assessment, Baoyu got the lowest grade again! On weekdays, when people from other prefectures came, almost everyone would mention their own children. Those who got the highest grades were naturally happy, while those who got the lowest grades were just rubbing their hands and preparing to go back to "teach their children at the gate".
Jia Zheng was very concerned about his reputation, but whenever someone asked him about Baoyu's knowledge, he could only stammer and talk about Jia Lan.
After all, although Jia Lan was young, he was indeed quite capable in studying and ranked among the top in the civil service exam. Even Jia Huan, whom he used to look down upon, ranked last in the civil service exam, but he ranked first in the military exam, which was also quite impressive. Only this legitimate son ranked last in both, which made Jia Zheng lose face.
Now that Cong Ge'er is asking questions, how can he not be angry if this evil boy dares to say such nonsense?
Jia Cong hurried forward and held Jia Zheng, "Second Uncle, please don't get angry on this important occasion. Besides, Second Brother Bao is still young and likes to play. In just one or two years, are you still worried that Second Brother Bao won't be able to pass the imperial examination?"
Jia Zheng looked at Baoyu and could only sigh. He was still young? Who was younger than Cong? Who was younger than Lan? Besides, after the New Year, Baoyu would be seventeen years old. How could he still be considered young?
Not wanting to bother with this disappointing son, Jia Zheng took Jia Cong's hand and said, "Brother Cong, you mentioned before that you could let Lan'er enter the Imperial College. Is that true?"
"How dare I deceive my uncle about such a thing?" Jia Cong said with a smile, "I have already arranged the relationship. After the New Year and the first month of the lunar year, I will personally send Lan'er and the kid from the Qin family over there."
"If even a child from another family can get in, there's no reason why your second brother Bao can't enter the Imperial College!" Wang on the side suddenly said.
Jia Cong said calmly, "Second Madam, it's easy to let Second Brother Bao go, but how easy is it to get into the Imperial College? Even though I asked my master for help, I was given a place, and he still needs to pass the assessment. Second Brother Bao is different from Lan'er and Qin Zhong."
"Even if Lan'er fails the exam, she is still young and no one will say much. If Qin Zhong fails the exam, others will only say that our family is kind, but they will not say anything about our Jia family. However, Brother Bao represents the dignity of Second Uncle. If he passes the exam, it will be fine. If he fails, won't Second Uncle become a joke among his colleagues?"
After a pause, Jia Cong continued, "My second uncle is an honest man. I originally thought that my second uncle would not be very interested in the Ministry of Works, so I wanted to ask Your Majesty for a leisurely position like the Minister of Education. However, because my second uncle had never taken the imperial examination, Your Majesty refused. Even so, Your Majesty did agree that my second uncle's rank could be slightly improved."
"It's just that time is too tight this year, and there is no suitable position! His Majesty said that there may be a promotion next year, so Second Uncle needs to wait a little longer."
Jia Zheng was delighted and grateful when he heard this. His nephew had quietly asked the emperor for an official position for him. If it had not happened by chance today, he would not have known about it. This nephew... was really thoughtful!
