PFC Chapter 81 Jia Zhen
Chapter 81 Jia Zhen
Jia Lian changed his clothes, mounted a horse, and headed towards Ningguo Mansion.
Speaking of which, although the Rong and Ning mansions are adjacent to each other, they occupy a large area and are separated by a long north-south alley, so it takes a long detour to get from the Rong mansion to the Ning mansion.
In particular, after the first half of the eastern section of Rongguo Mansion, namely the eastern courtyard, was separated to become Jia She's courtyard, the eastern corner gate of Rongguo Mansion was replaced by the main gate of the eastern courtyard. As a result, the two mansions could only pass through the western corner gate of Rongguo Mansion, which further extended the distance of passage.
Therefore, the masters of the Ning and Rong mansions usually needed to travel by carriage or horseback to visit each other.
I entered Ningguo Mansion directly from the west corner gate of Ning Mansion, and only dismounted when I arrived at the main courtyard, where I had a servant lead my horse away.
Jia Rong and Jia Qiang had already come to greet them, and Jia Zhen also personally came out of the ceremonial gate to welcome them.
"Haha, I heard that Brother Lian has received His Majesty's reward and is about to lead troops into battle to win glory for the country. As your elder brother, I have specially prepared a small feast and a little entertainment, partly to bid farewell to Brother Lian in advance and to wish him a swift success and a triumphant return."
Secondly, it's been a while since we brothers have gotten together. I haven't had a chance to thank you for the several truckloads of watermelons you sent me last time, so this is a way of repaying your kindness.
Jia Zhen was a middle-aged man nearing forty. His face was slightly thin, and he also looked somewhat haggard, like Jia She, due to the effects of wine and women. He had a beard on his chin and upper lip, which made him look even older.
Upon seeing Jia Lian arrive, he immediately stepped down from the hall, speaking and smiling as he invited Jia Lian inside.
Jia Lian smiled and exchanged pleasantries with him before following him through the ceremonial gate.
From the ceremonial gate, through the main hall and inner hall, then through the inner three gates, and finally through the inner ceremonial gate and the inner hanging flower gate, one finally enters the main hall.
In the courtyard in front of the main hall, a simple stage had already been set up. Jia Zhen led Jia Lian from the covered corridor to the banquet table in front.
"Brother Lian, please..."
"Please, Brother Zhen."
Jia Zhen and Jia Lian exchanged polite greetings, while Jia Rong and Jia Qiang quickly pulled out two chairs for them. After the two elders sat down, they took the silver wine pot from the maid and poured a cup of wine for each of them before daring to sit down in the seats next to them.
Jia Zhen laughed and said, "Brother Lian is awesome! I heard that yesterday you gave the heir of the Prince Duan's mansion a good beating. In the end, you not only got away unscathed, but also won the Emperor's praise and were granted a fifth-rank military officer position."
This has really made our family proud.
Looking at Jia Zhen's beaming face, Jia Lian felt a pang of emotion.
Speaking of which, the relationship between "him" and Jia Zhen was actually quite good!
As the heir to the title of the eldest branch of the Jia family, Jia Zhen, as the head of the Jia clan, was obligated to unite the brothers within the clan.
The other sons of the other branches of the family either had vastly different social statuses or were incompatible in temperament. For example, Jia Baoyu's elder brother, the scholar Jia Zhu, couldn't get along with Jia Zhen. As a result, only Jia Lian, as the future heir to the Rongguo Mansion and the only grown-up and still alive member of the same generation after Jia Zhen inherited the title, could truly enjoy himself with him.
After a while, the two cousins, who shared the same quirks, were bound to get together.
Furthermore, Jia Lian himself lacked sufficient financial resources and sources of beautiful women, while Jia Zhen, as the master of a duke's mansion, naturally had no shortage of such resources. Moreover, he was quite generous to his brothers. It can be said that more than half of the women Jia Lian had previously slept with were obtained through the Ningguo Mansion, and many of them were even personally arranged by Jia Zhen...
Thinking of all this, Jia Lian couldn't help but shake his head.
Logically speaking, if he could, he really wouldn't want to lay a hand on his older brother.
"Brother Zhen is joking. It's not that he was imposing; he was just forced to do it because he was put on the fire stand."
"As for the official position, I did get it by sheer luck, but the official document from the ministry hasn't come down yet, so I don't know what rank it is at the moment," Jia Lian said with a smile.
"Brother Lian, there's no need to be modest. I've already heard that you're going there as our uncle's grain transport officer. Given our uncle's status among military officers, his travels are bound to be quite a spectacle. As someone who manages the grain for him, your rank is naturally quite high as well."
"As your elder brother, I've calculated it for you. Your rank as a colonel will be at least a fifth-grade officer."
As the head of the Ningguo Mansion and the Jia family, Jia Zhen naturally had a wider circle of connections than Jia Lian, who managed the household for Jia Zheng. Furthermore, being nearly twenty years older, he naturally knew more about officialdom than Jia Lian.
Jia Lian then cupped his hands and smiled, saying, "In that case, I'll accept Brother Zhen's kind words."
Jia Zhen smiled and ordered the play to begin. He then invited Jia Lian to drink the first cup of wine. Taking advantage of the wine, Jia Zhen put his arm around Jia Lian's arm and said with a smile, "Speaking of which, I have to envy you as your elder brother. You are so young, yet you have already been granted a fifth-rank official position by His Majesty. Your future is naturally limitless."
Unlike me, who only holds this third-rank position nominally thanks to my ancestors' legacy, I fear it won't be long before you, the younger brother, surpass me.
Jia Lian refused to accept such flattery and quickly laughed, "Brother Zhen, you're joking. A minor fifth or sixth-rank official position is nothing to a family like ours, especially compared to our family's hereditary position. I'm ashamed to say that, Brother Zhen."
Jia Zhen smiled. His words were just polite formalities. Seeing Jia Lian's reaction, he changed his tone and said, "However, my position as a third-rank official may not have much of a future, but it is stable."
Brother Lian, you have to listen to my advice. Serving the country as an imperial official is good, but it's not something people like us, who are used to being rich and powerful, should do. Think about it, that desolate and harsh land is not easy to manage.
I heard that my uncle is going to a place where he will face the barbaric Tatar tribe. This is a life-threatening mission.
If you were just an ordinary member of our family, then there would be nothing more to say. I would be more than happy for you to go to that kind of place, and even better if you risked your life to earn a hereditary title for our family! But you are not. After the patriarch passes away, won't the title in your mansion be yours?
"You might even be ranked higher than me by the time you inherit the title. Why take that risk? In the end, you might as well just inherit the family title directly. What's the point?"
Upon hearing this, Jia Lian simply smiled and said, "Brother Zhen is absolutely right, but the imperial decree is hard to disobey, so I have no choice but to go."
Jia Zhen smiled and nodded: "I'm not asking you to disobey the emperor's orders, but I'm afraid that you're young and might act impulsively without considering other things."
We're just talking privately. Those dangerous, life-or-death situations with thieves should be left to those commoners. You're of high status, so don't get involved with them. It would be best if you found an excuse to come back after your mission is complete. That way, you'll have gotten your share of the rewards, and we brothers can have more fun together. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"
What could Jia Lian say in response to such words? He could only smile and say, "Brother Zhen is right, I'll remember that."
Jia Lian realized that Jia Zhen probably thought he might have a bright future because he had actually obtained an official position from the emperor. Therefore, as the clan leader, he naturally wanted to win him over and improve the relationship between the brothers.
Thus, with Jia Zhen's deliberate efforts to unite them, and with the occasional flattery from the younger generation, Jia Rong and Jia Qiang, the atmosphere was quite harmonious.
Just then, Lady You came in, and Jia Zhen asked her, "What are you doing back here? Don't you need to serve the old lady and the other ladies inside?"
I don't know if it's a tradition of large families, but the men of the Jia family treat their wives worse and worse than the other.
He either speaks harshly to people or wears a stern face, as if only in this way can he demonstrate his status as a man.
Jia Zhen was the same; he was chatting and laughing with Jia Lian, but as soon as You Shi arrived, his face fell.
As Jia Zhen's second wife, Lady You was actually quite young, only three or four years older than her other sister-in-law, Li Wan.
Because of her humble origins, she was fortunate enough to become the mistress of the Duke's mansion, so she was always careful and never dared to offend Jia Zhen.
In this respect, she was similar to Madam Xing, but what made her better than Madam Xing was that she never went around making herself disliked. So, although her influence wasn't deep, she managed to get along well in both households. Even Grandmother Jia was quite satisfied with her niece-in-law.
"The old lady's daughter-in-law is taking care of her, so I came to check on the old man's side..."
Upon hearing You Shi's words, Jia Zhen, for reasons unknown, snorted coldly and said, "What's so interesting about what we have here? Do you think I've neglected Brother Lian?"
"Why aren't you going back? Your daughter-in-law is so frail, and with so many elders inside, how can she manage on her own?"
Upon hearing this, Jia Lian sighed inwardly, realizing that this was the crux of the problem.
If he were an ordinary person, he might have just thought that Jia Zhen favored his daughter-in-law over his wife. But he was a person from later generations who knew some inside information, so his words just didn't sound right.
Qin Shi has only been in the household for less than a year. Could it be that Jia Zhen has already developed lustful intentions towards her?
It must be. After his father became a Taoist priest, Jia Zhen became all-powerful in the Ningguo Mansion, and he was used to doing whatever he wanted. It was only a matter of time before he turned on his daughter-in-law.
If the Qin family were just ordinary people, it would be fine; it would just be another scandal in the world of the wealthy...
However, according to the information he had gathered, Qin's identity was indeed extraordinary... and it was clear that Jia Zhen himself understood this. Yet, Jia Zhen still couldn't control his lust, ultimately leading to Qin's suicide and sowing the seeds of the Jia family's downfall!
It must be said that this is a typical example of being blinded by lust.
However, Jia Lian didn't have a good solution to this, as Jia Zhen's current status and position were much higher than his, and he couldn't interfere with Jia Zhen's actions.
However, he already had a preliminary plan and began to implement it. As for whether it would ultimately work and change the fate of the Qin family, that is, the fate of the Ningguo Mansion, it was hard to say.
Without time to think, he had no choice but to stand up and bow to Madam You as she approached, saying, "Greetings, sister-in-law."
"Brother Lian, please don't stand on ceremony, have a seat..." Madam You was responding to Jia Zhen's words, and because she was nearby, she quickly helped Jia Lian up.
Just as she raised her eyes and met Jia Lian's gaze, a meaning that only the two of them understood involuntarily lingered in her mind. Not daring to be presumptuous in front of Jia Zhen and the others, she quickly turned around, instructed Jia Rong to take good care of the place, and then left with her maid.