Red Mansion: After being expelled from the family, I was granted the title of Marquis of Mobei

Chapter 57: Countermeasures, Go to Cheng Mansion
Jia She nodded and said.

"Mother, I understand. After I settle down, I will leave for Gusu."

After discussing for a while, everyone in Rongguo Mansion returned to their rooms with their own thoughts. Only Mrs. Wang was called to her bedroom by Old Lady Jia.

After arriving at the bedroom, seeing the gloomy look on Old Lady Jia's face, Mrs. Wang spoke cautiously.

"Mother, I..."

Old Mrs. Jia waved her hand and said.

"Okay, you don't have to be so cautious. We had discussed what happened back then. Now that things have come to this, I have nothing to regret."

"Min'er is like this now, it's her fate."

"I asked you to come here because I wanted to discuss with you what to do next."

Mrs. Wang said after hesitating for a moment.

"Mother, I'm afraid Brother-in-law Lin's health has completely collapsed this time."

"According to the person who reported the news, Brother-in-law Lin has been bedridden for many days and doesn't even have the energy to handle the funeral."

"I'm afraid even if I force myself to stay in my seat, I won't be able to hold on for much longer."

"Mother, what should we do?"

Old Mrs. Jia sighed and said.

"Now that things have come to this, what else can we do?"

"I asked your eldest brother to go first this time just to test his attitude and see what he means."

"If he is willing to entrust Daiyu to his family, then everything will be easy."

"If he doesn't want to, then let's do as we agreed."

Mrs. Wang nodded and said.

"Mother, I understand."

After some discussion, Mrs. Jia continued.

"By the way, the Xue family's contribution for this year should be delivered soon."

"They haven't made any movement yet. I think they've probably got other ideas in mind."

"I'll leave this matter to you. You should know what to do."

After hearing this, a hint of hesitation flashed across Mrs. Wang's face, but she quickly spoke respectfully.

"Don't worry, mother. Your daughter-in-law knows."

Only then did Mrs. Jia nod in satisfaction and let Mrs. Wang leave.

After Mrs. Wang left, Mrs. Jia's expression was extremely complicated, and her heart was filled with emotion. In the end, she could only let out a long sigh.

Inside the Qianqing Palace in the imperial palace, Emperor Yongping looked at the secret memorial sent by Lin Ruhai with a look of regret on his face.

A thousand troops are easy to get, but a general is hard to find.

Emperor Yongping attached great importance to Lin Ruhai. Even though he knew that Lin Ruhai was born in Rongguo Mansion, Emperor Yongping valued Lin Ruhai's talents and still promoted him to the position of Lantai Temple Doctor, and entrusted him with the important position of inspecting the salt affairs in Jiangnan.

Lin Ruhai did not disappoint Emperor Yongping's expectations and came up with a set of effective salt administration reform measures, which effectively solved the problems of salt administration in Jiangnan.

Emperor Yongping had originally thought about promoting Lin Ruhai to the central government after the salt administration reform in Jiangnan was completed.

However, the sudden death of Lin Ruhai's wife caught Emperor Yongping off guard.

As a trusted minister, Emperor Yongping naturally knew about Lin Ruhai's situation.

Even though the emperor was ruthless, he couldn't help but feel sympathy for Lin Ruhai's miserable family.

At this time, Emperor Yongping knew clearly that Lin Ruhai had lost all hope.

If it weren't for his daughter Lin Daiyu who was still alive, Lin Ruhai would probably have thought of committing suicide for his wife.

After thinking for a while, Emperor Yongping put down the secret memorial and said.

"Xia Shouzhong."

"The servant is here."

"Draft an imperial decree to posthumously confer the title of First Rank Imperial Consort on Lady Jia, the wife of Lantai Temple Grand Doctor Lin Ruhai."

"The slaves obey the order."

After arranging the funeral for Mrs. Lin Ruhai, Emperor Yongping also had a headache.

The death of Mrs. Lin Ruhai disrupted Emperor Yongping's subsequent series of arrangements.

Emperor Yongping had to rethink how to plan his strategy.

The next day, in front of the mansion of Quling Marquis, Quling Marquis Cheng Shi and his wife Xiao Yuanyi were waiting respectfully at the gate.

Not long after, a carriage came from the east and stopped in front of Quling Hou's mansion.

Upon seeing this, Cheng Shi and Xiao Yuanyi hurriedly stepped forward, then bowed and spoke in unison.

"Welcome, Lord Marquis and Princess."

Then Jia Jue and Zhang Guifen got out of the carriage together.

Jia Jue said after smiling slightly.

"A virtuous couple need not be so polite."

Cheng Shi said very respectfully.

"The arrival of the Marquis and the Princess has brought honor to my humble abode. Marquis, Princess, please come and speak to me."

Surrounded by everyone in Quling Hou Mansion, Jia Jue and Zhang Guifen came to the main hall of Quling Hou Mansion.

Zhang Guifen and Xiao Yuanyi went to the back house to talk, while Cheng Shi and Jia Jue drank tea and chatted in the main hall.

Cheng Shi said very humbly.

"Is everything settled in the Marquis's mansion?"

Jia Jue said with a chuckle.

"I've just gotten married, and the house has been quite busy. I'm sorry to have kept General Cheng waiting for so long."

Cheng Shi waved his hands repeatedly and said.

"My Lord, you are truly humiliating me."

"I haven't thanked you yet for what happened last time."

"If it weren't for the Marquis's reminder, I'm afraid that my entire residence would have been caught up in a huge turmoil."

Jia Jue said calmly.

"Care leads to confusion."

"I have also heard General Wan mention General Cheng's life story. General Cheng is extremely filial to his mother and doesn't want to make her sad. I understand."

Cheng Shi said with emotion.

"My father passed away at a young age, and my mother raised the three of us brothers alone, enduring great hardships."

"Although my uncle is truly unteachable, I still want to save him, but human power is limited."

After hearing this, Jia Jue was speechless.

Good guy, I'm just being polite to you, but you really think I'm praising you for being filial.

For the sake of a stupid uncle and your foolish mother, you dare to get involved in the arms case. You are such a idiot.

Now Jia Jue finally understood why Cheng Shi had a sworn brother like Wan Songbai and was also a brave and skilled warrior, but after more than ten years of suffering in the northern border with his wife Xiao Yuanyi, he was still only a captain.

If Cheng Shi had been smarter and more organized, he wouldn't have wasted so many years.

You have to know that Wan Songbai is the deputy general of Jia Jue's father-in-law, Duke Ying, and is definitely the number one in the Zhenbei Army.

Even with such a person protecting him, he still hasn't received any decent promotion for all these years. This shows what level of ability Cheng Shi has.

Thinking of this, Jia Jue suddenly felt bored and didn't want to chat with Cheng Shi anymore.

Originally, Jia Jue was willing to come because he wanted to take another look at Cheng Shi's background and see if he was a useful talent.

After all, whether it was within the Imperial Guard or the Praetorian Guards, Jia Jue needed some confidants to help him control the overall situation. At the age of 21, Jia Jue had already walked a path that ordinary people could not complete in their lifetime. The biggest drawback of suddenly occupying a high position was his lack of foundation.

Most of Jia Jue's confidants are in the Zhenbei Army. Although Jia Jue has arranged for a group of people to return to Shendu to serve during this period, the Zhenbei Army is also Jia Jue's base. Now there are also a lot of Jia Jue's industries in the northern border. It is impossible for Jia Jue to transfer everyone to Shendu, so Jia Jue is still short of people.

Cheng Shi has a relationship with Wan Songbai, who is the direct descendant of Jia Jue's father-in-law, Duke Yingguo, so he is also one of their own.

That's why Jia Jue wanted to investigate Cheng Shi.

But now it seems that there is really no hope.

At this time, Cheng Shi obviously did not realize that he had been passed by Jia Jue. He was still talking about how difficult and tough his mother's life was.

Jia Jue became a little impatient after hearing this, and said calmly after waving his hand.

"General Cheng, your mother's life has indeed been very difficult, but things are getting better now."

"By the way, the last time I saw your daughter at my farm outside the capital, she was seriously ill. I wonder if she has recovered."

Cheng Shi nodded slightly after hearing this.

"Thanks to your concern, my daughter has recovered as before."

Jia Jue said with a calm smile.

"That's good. My dear, these past few years have been very difficult. It must have been really tough in General Cheng's mansion."

"Your daughter is a lady from the royal family, but you can't even go to school and have to support yourself on the farm."

"Now General Cheng has also been conferred the title of Marquis, and His Majesty has bestowed upon him many gifts. I will give them to your daughter in due measure."

Cheng Shi's face turned red after hearing Jia Jue's words, and he didn't know how to answer Jia Jue.

Everyone in the family knows their own business. The Cheng family did not have a good life many years ago, but since Cheng Shi married Xiao Yuanyi, Xiao Yuanyi brought a lot of dowry, and the Cheng family crossed the class barrier and became small landlords.

Later, Cheng Shi and Xiao Yuanyi both joined the army. With the help and support of Wan Songbai, the Cheng family became prosperous and had everything from farmland to shops.

The reason why Cheng Shi's daughter Cheng Shaoshang had such a rough childhood was entirely because Cheng Shi's mother, Old Lady Cheng, listened to the instigation of Ge, the second wife's daughter-in-law.

But family disgrace should not be made public, so Cheng Shi could only bow and say.

"My Lord, you are absolutely right. I will definitely compensate my daughter well."

Just as Jia Jue and Cheng Shi were chatting intermittently, in the backyard, Old Lady Cheng and her daughter-in-law Ge were also talking.

Mrs. Ge looked at Old Lady Cheng angrily and said.

"Mother, I have made sure everything is clear. The one who came to our house today is the Champion Marquis."

"My eldest brother had already gone to the Marquis of Guanjun's mansion to beg him to rescue my uncle. But Cheng Shaoshang had seen the Marquis of Guanjun before in the suburbs of Beijing and exaggerated the situation, perhaps even doing something shameful. That's why the Marquis of Guanjun ignored the matter, and in the end, my uncle died tragically in the imperial prison."

After hearing this, Mrs. Cheng flew into a rage.

"What are you saying, are you telling the truth?"

When Mrs. Ge saw Mrs. Cheng's reaction, she quickly struck while the iron was hot and spoke.

"Mother, how could it be false? When my eldest brother went to the Marquis of Guanjun's mansion to plead for mercy, his face turned pale when he came back. He kept saying that we were mistreating that bitch."

"And have you forgotten that your uncle would not have been caught originally? It was because that bitch showed the way to the Jinyiwei who came to arrest him that your uncle was caught."

"She must be holding a grudge against us and is planning to do something bad to us."

"Judging from what the Champion Marquis is saying, he might be bewitched by this bitch."

"Otherwise, why would he condescend to come to us?"

Mrs. Cheng said in a panic when she heard this.

"Ah! What shall I do?"

Ge said after hesitating for a moment.

"Mother, let me tell you, there's a good opportunity right now."

Old Mrs. Cheng said doubtfully.

"What good opportunity?"

Ge then said.

"Princess Yong'an is right here in our house. That bitch wants to rely on the title of Marquis Guanjun to rise up. We might as well cut off her path to success."

"Let's do this..."

After Mrs. Ge whispered a few words to Old Lady Cheng, Old Lady Cheng hesitated for a moment and then said.

"This, this is okay, nothing will happen."

Ge waved her hand and said.

"Don't worry, mother. Nothing can happen."

"Think about it, ever since Big Brother and Sister-in-law came back, Big Sister-in-law and that bitch have been taking you less and less seriously."

"Brother is also a soft-hearted person. If you continue like this, you will have no place in this family in the future."

"If that bitch gets ingratiated with the Champion Marquis again, we won't be able to have a better life."

After hesitating for a while, Old Mrs. Cheng nodded and said.

"Well, then, okay, let's do as you say. Let's go."

Then Old Lady Cheng and Madam Ge set off with two maids.

A quarter of an hour later, in the main hall of Quling Hou's mansion, just as Jia Jue and Cheng Shi were drinking tea and chatting about their military life in the Zhenbei Army, a servant came into the hall in a panic.

"My Lord, my Lord, something bad has happened."

Cheng Shi was stunned for a moment when he saw this, then frowned and said.

"What nonsense are you talking about? What's wrong?"

"My Lord, please go and take a look. The Madam is fighting with the Second Master's family, and the Princess is so angry that her face is livid."

Jia Jue was also surprised after hearing this. What the hell, let the Cheng family members fight, but why did his wife become so angry that her face turned blue?

Cheng Shi didn't have time to think too much at this moment, and hurriedly looked at Jia Jue and said.

"My Lord, let's go over and take a look."

Originally, Jia Jue was not suitable to go to the Cheng family's backyard, but when Cheng Shi heard that Zhang Guifen seemed to be involved, he didn't care about it anymore.

After Jia Jue nodded, the two of them went to the back house.

When Cheng Shi arrived at the courtyard where Xiao Yuanyi lived, he was shocked to see that his sister-in-law Ge had been beaten by his own wife with blood all over her face, and even old lady Cheng was lying on the ground in a miserable state.

Zhang Guifen, the magistrate of Yong'an County, was standing aside with a look of anger and resentment on her face.

Cheng Shi hurried forward and pulled his wife away.

Jia Jue also quickly came to Zhang Guifen and asked in a low voice.

"Ma'am, what on earth is going on? Why did they start fighting?"

Zhang Guifen said with a hint of resentment after seeing Jia Jue.

"My husband is really, really kind and merciful."

Jia Jue was confused after hearing this and asked in confusion.

"What? What does this have to do with anything? How does it have anything to do with me?"

"Fen'er, stop playing dumb with me. What's going on?"

Zhang Guifen said in surprise when she saw this.

"No, husband, you really don't know what's going on. Don't you have any relationship with the woman from the Cheng family?"

Jia Jue was stunned for a moment and was a little confused. What kind of relationship could there be between him and the woman from the Cheng family?

When they were in the Zhenbei Army, Cheng Shi’s wife Xiao Yuanyi was famous for her beauty. Even in her middle age, she still had charm.

However, although Xiao Yuanyi is very beautiful, she is more than ten years older than Jia Jue, and she has a husband.

Since Jia Jue had no ambition to inherit Cao Wei, he naturally had nothing to do with Xiao Yuanyi.

(End of this chapter)