The head of the Red Mansion

Chapter 15: Vengeance

If he could, Jia Zhen really wanted to find an excuse to go with Uncle Zheng.

Mother didn't give Uncle Zheng any face today, which shows that yesterday's matter is not over yet.

He spared Lai Sheng's family...

Jia Zhen's calves were twitching.

It's not that his mother doesn't hit people; when she really gets angry, even his father has to give in.

How to do?
"Mother!"

Jia Zhen dared not run away, fearing that running away would only make her angrier.

Thinking of the danger of yesterday, he rubbed his face, went in with a smile, and personally served Shen Ning a cup of tea, saying, "You are this one."

Jia Zhen gave a thumbs up, "Uncle Zheng was really frightened by you today."

"...Don't give me that frivolous look." Shen Ning waved to Qingzhu and the others, signaling them to leave. "I'm asking you, why doesn't your Uncle Zheng allow Jiao Da to enter the school?"

what?
Isn't this obvious?

The Jia family's decision to abandon martial arts and pursue literature was a path their ancestors had laid out for them long ago.

Jia Zhen stared with somewhat foolish eyes, but ultimately didn't dare to say it directly.

When he was young, his mother would test his studies, but later she stopped interfering. This was because his maternal grandfather said that his father had succeeded in the literary world and was by the side of the crown prince, so he could just be a proper heir to the Ningguo Mansion.

Any more than that is greed, which leads to certain death.

just now……

Jia Zhen felt that his mother was testing him again, "Because...because of our agreement with the Wang family?"

In order to put the superior's mind at ease, Jia Jia had no choice but to withdraw from the army on the surface.

But secretly they have already helped Wang Ziteng rise to prominence, and in a few years, Wang Ziteng will surely be able to reach the position his grandfather was in back then.

He tentatively asked, "Did Second Aunt come here because of this too?!"

"He's not hopelessly stupid."

Hearing her mother-in-law's sigh, Madam You regretted not having left with her earlier.

The less you know about such important family matters, the safer you are.

Shen Ning ignored her and said softly, "Zhen'er, ask yourself honestly, if you were Wang Ziteng, and had tasted the power your grandfather had back then, would you still be willing to give it back to your former family?"

Jia Zhen: "..."

He fell silent.

He wanted to say that his family also had his second aunt from the West Mansion.

Moreover, Wang Ziteng has no son.

Although his brother Wang Zisheng has a son named Wang Ren, he is spoiled and Wang Ziteng could not help him even if he wanted to.

Moreover, compared to Wang Ren, aren't his younger sister's sons Jia Zhu and Bao Yu more worthwhile investments?

In a flash, Jia Zhen sighed, "Mother, aren't you and Second Aunt being too sensitive?"

Women tend to overthink.

“Our family’s guards can still be sent to the army.”

"The guards?"

Shen Ning almost laughed out of anger, "Can the guards of the prefecture compare to the sons of the Jia family?"

At most, a member of the Prefectural Guard could rise to the seventh rank through the Jia family's connections; the rest depended on their own luck. However, as long as a member of the Jia family possessed the martial arts skills of a Prefectural Guard, and with the connections they had made in the army, they would at least reach the sixth rank with real power.

"Don't tell me you have no idea about the intricacies of it all."

Jia Zhen: "..."

He knows that, but the problem now is that the Jia family won't send any of their sons to join the army!
Ugh!
That second aunt is really something, doesn't she know her mother has been in a bad mood these past few days?
Why did you have to come and crash into it?
"In this world, accidents can happen anywhere."

Shen Ning sighed, "Just like back then, who could have known that Prince Yizhong would ruin things?"
Jia Zhen frowned.

Seeing his expression, Shen Ning knew that she couldn't persuade him in a short time, so she couldn't help but rub her temples. "Fine, I don't care about what happens outside. I only want to ask you, why are you treating Lai Sheng's wife so leniently? In your heart, are your brother and sister less important than Lai Sheng?"

"Mother!"

Jia Zhen was shocked.

How can this be compared?
"You've completely wronged your son."

He said urgently, “It’s one thing to beat a servant, but a hundred or a thousand of them are not worthy of being compared to our own family. My son only thought that the Lai family was loyal and devoted. Although Lai Sheng’s family had its faults, we just kicked them out for the sake of their ancestors.”

Noticing Shen Ning's displeasure, Jia Zhen quickly added, "If you think your son did something wrong, I'll have someone tie her up and bring her here right now."

How big of a deal?

If all else fails, he'll secretly give the Lai family some compensation later.

Jia Zhen had plenty of private savings and didn't care at all. He immediately called out, "Come here..."

"Shut up!"

Shen Ning interrupted abruptly, "What do you mean, 'come here'?"

"hey-hey!"

Feeling that his mother wouldn't hit her anymore, Jia Zhen smiled ingratiatingly, "Mother, I knew you wouldn't really hit her. Don't worry, I will definitely have a good talk with Lai Sheng and make him control his wife."

"...You are indeed a man of loyalty and righteousness."

"You raised our son."

Jia Zhen tried to appease his mother, saying, "Lai Sheng has been with my son since he was a child and has been beaten a lot by my father. You told me back then to treat Lai Sheng well. Now that his wife has made a mistake, I can't just ignore her and beat her to death."

At this point, he sighed, "The eldest branch of the Lai family is just like ours, with few offspring. It's rare that this woman gave birth to three sons for Lai Sheng. Out of respect for the monk, out of respect for the Buddha, the sons were spared from her beatings."

"Looks like you didn't do anything wrong?"

Shen Ning's voice was cold, and her eyes were icy.

This?
Seeing that his mother's face hadn't softened at all, Jia Zhen gave You Shi a pleading look, but she was looking down as if studying the patterns on her clothes. He could only bite the bullet and say, "Mother, I'll say it again: if you think I'm wrong, I'll have someone tie up Lai Sheng's wife right now."

Fighting is possible.

However, Lai Sheng was also implicated, like other family members who made mistakes, and his entire family was sent to the village...

Jia Zhen simply couldn't bring himself to say it.

After all, he was a meritorious steward with a family bond from his ancestors, how could he be compared to an ordinary servant?
"There's no need to tie her up."

Shen Ning sighed inwardly, "Do you really think the Lai family is loyal?"

Is not it?
Jia Zhen frowned slightly. "Mother, do you think the Lai family is disloyal?"

"The Lai family must have been very loyal before."

Shen Ning leaned back in her chair. "But that may not be the case now."

She looked at her eldest son and said, "The Lai family's stewards have a long lineage. Your great-grandfather had Lai family members by his side, your grandfather had Lai family members by his side, and your father and you are the same. Lai family members have been with you since childhood, and they can be said to be your right-hand men. But, does Rong-ge have any Lai family members by his side?"

Jia Zhen: "..."

He couldn't find a rebuttal for a moment.

But when the Lai family asked for favors back then, he also told his mother.

“In the past, the Lai family didn’t have many sons, but they still followed their master. Now that they have three sons, they can’t bear to let any of them follow Rong-ge’er. Is it because Rong-ge’er is not worthy?”

This is taking out one's anger on others!

Jia Zhen sighed inwardly, seriously suspecting that his mother wanted to beat him but couldn't bring herself to do it, so she punished the people around him instead.

"Mother!" he could only coax, "Who doesn't want their children to be well? The Lai family has been with the Jia family for generations. Now that he wants to ask for a favor, then give it to him. It's not like Rong-ge'er is without anyone by his side."

(End of this chapter)