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

Chapter 65 Jia Zhen's Plan

At this time, Lin Daiyu was confused about the future. With Lin Ruhai's instructions, she got on the carriage to Rongguo Mansion.

In a restaurant far away from the pier, Jia Jue sat leisurely in a window seat. After taking a look at the pier from afar, he watched Lin Daiyu get on the carriage of Rongguo Mansion.

Zhang Han said respectfully as he attended to the side.

"My Lord, as per your instructions, I have bribed Lai Da, the steward of Rongguo Mansion."

"If there's any disturbance in Rongguo Mansion, your subordinates will be the first to know."

"As for Miss Lin's safety in Rongguo Mansion, you can rest assured. I have made perfect arrangements, and nothing will go wrong."

Jia Jue nodded slightly and said.

"Very good, you must protect Miss Lin."

"By the way, how's Ningguo Mansion doing lately?"

After hearing this, Zhang Han bowed and said.

"Master, rest assured. Miss Lin will never make a mistake. If anything goes wrong, I will bring my head to you."

"As for the Ningguo Mansion, even if you didn't tell me, I was planning to report it to you. I think Jia Zhen is quite careless."

Jia Jue looked at Zhang Han gently and said.

"Alright, what's with the idea of ​​bringing my head with me? It hasn't come to this. I trust you to handle the matter."

"As for Jia Zhen, what's wrong with him? What's going on again?"

Zhang Han said with a slight smile.

"He's busy looking for a concubine."

Jia Jue said with a hint of surprise.

"That's not the case. His son has only been dead for a few days."

Zhang Han smiled and said.

"I also thought it was a bit exaggerated, so I checked it out. Yes, he is indeed looking for a concubine, and he already has a favorite target."

Jia Jue immediately asked.

"Oh, really? Who is it?"

"Your Majesty, please look here. Here are the details of the family that Jia Zhen has chosen."

After Zhang Han finished speaking, he handed Jia Jue an envelope.

After Jia Jue opened the envelope and took a look, a playful smile appeared on his face.

This envelope contains the information of Qin Ye, the Construction Officer of the Ministry of Works.

When it comes to Qin Ye, many people who are not familiar with the Dream of the Red Chamber don’t know much about him, but when it comes to his daughter, everyone knows her.

Qin Ye's daughter is Qin Keqing, one of the Twelve Beauties of Jinling.

As for Qin Ye, he was just a small official.

The Director of the Ministry of Works was a sixth-rank official who was responsible for the construction and repair of the royal palace and mausoleums.

The Ministry of Works has always been a place where large amounts of money pass through. However, Qin Ye worked in the Ministry of Works for decades. In the end, he had to scrape together money from all over to raise a twenty-tael silver dowry for his son Qin Zhong. This shows how honest Qin Ye was.

In the original novel of A Dream of Red Mansions, Qin Keqing is the wife of Jia Rong, the eldest son of Ningguo Mansion, and later has some beyond-ethical relationships with Jia Zhen.

However, at this time, Qin Keqing was still a virgin waiting to be married.

The Qin family had a very hard time. Qin Ye was now over sixty years old, and in order to get some money and food, he had to report to the Ministry of Works every day.

In fact, from the perspective of being well-matched, even though the Ningguo Mansion has declined to this extent, there is still a huge difference between the Qin family and the Ningguo Mansion.

The reason why Jia Zhen fell in love with the Qin family was not just because of Qin Keqing's beauty.

After Jia Jue reorganized the Beijing camp and dealt with Jia Lian and Jia Rong who took the lead in resisting the emperor's will, Emperor Yongping issued another decree to reprimand the Ning and Rong mansions. Not only were the titles of the two families demoted by one level, but several years of their property and income were also confiscated.

The Rongguo Mansion was relatively better off. It originally had the title of a first-class general and marquis, and after being downgraded one level, it was still the title of a second-class general and marquis of Guannei.

The Ningguo Mansion was in a miserable situation. Starting from the second generation of the Ningguo Mansion, the title had been downgraded from Duke to Marquis.

Now it has been passed down to Jia Zhen, and it has been passed down for another two generations. Below Che Hou is Guannei Hou, and below Guannei Hou is the first-class earl.

In addition, his title was downgraded by one level, and now Jia Zhen has become a second-class earl. His title and property were cut in half again, and the income of the mansion plummeted.

In addition, after the death of his eldest son and the grand celebration at Ningguo Mansion, Jia Zhen could no longer sit still. He knew that if he did not work hard to increase his income, Ningguo Mansion would probably start reselling his ancestral property in a matter of minutes.

If things really came to this, anyone could see that the Ningguo Mansion's reputation had completely collapsed and it no longer had any dignity.

No matter how much Jia Zhen loves pleasure, he dare not be careless when facing the survival of Ningguo Mansion.

However, Jia Zhen only had an honorary title and no real power, so he had no good channels to gain benefits.

After sorting out the entire network of relationships in Ningguo Mansion, Qin Ye came into Jia Zhen's sight.

Qin Ye still has a bond of affection with the Ning and Rong families.

In the past, the second generation of the Jia family was appointed by the emperor to supervise the construction of sea ships in Jiangnan. At that time, Qin Ye was a minor official in the Jiangnan Shipyard.

Because Qin Ye was quite talented in construction, the Jia family promoted him at that time.

It was because of this relationship that Qin Ye was selected by the Ministry of Works to join the Construction Department after supervising the construction of sea ships.

When the second generation of the Jia family was alive, Qin Ye would visit the Ning and Rong mansions during the holidays. After the second generation of the Jia family passed away, the visits became very rare.

Today, the Ningguo Mansion is hated by everyone. The few interpersonal relationships left by Duke Ningguo have basically been ruined by Jia Zhen.

After much thought, Jia Zhen decided that the person he was most confident in being able to control and use should be Qin Ye.

Although Qin Ye held a low official position, he was good at building palaces, gardens, and mausoleums, so the projects he was responsible for often cost tens or even hundreds of millions of taels of silver.

With so much silver, if just a little bit of it slipped out, it would be enough to cover the expenses of Ningguo Mansion.

Originally, Jia Zhen was still thinking about how to quickly improve the relationship between the two sides. However, when he saw Qin Ye's adopted daughter Qin Keqing, the lustful Jia Zhen's eyes widened instantly, and the idea of ​​getting both money and beauty came into Jia Zhen's mind.

If he took Qin Keqing as his concubine, not only would the relationship between the two families be closer, but he would also be able to win the beauty. Wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone?

Next, it will be much easier for me to get involved in the Ministry of Industry’s projects.

In addition, Jia Zheng is also the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Works. It can be said that he has the right time, place and people. It is hard for him not to be rich.

As for whether Qin Ye would reject him, Jia Zhen had never thought about it. In his opinion, no matter how poor the Ningguo Mansion was, it was not comparable to a peasant like Qin Ye.

He was willing to take Qin Keqing as his concubine, which was already a great honor for the Qin family.

At this time, Jia Zhen had already had a beautiful dream. He was just waiting for the success of taking a concubine, and then he would join forces with Rongguo Mansion to undertake the projects of the Ministry of Works and make a fortune from it.

If Qin Keqing could give birth to a fat boy and solve the inheritance problem of Ningguo Mansion, I would be so happy that I would die.

After reading the information compiled by Zhang Han, Jia Jue showed a playful smile.

At that time, the Ning and Rong mansions joined forces to oppress him and seize his property.

At that time, due to the situation, he only took revenge on the Rongguo Mansion, allowing the Ningguo Mansion to be at large for so many years.

He killed Jia Rong just to get back a little interest.

The old fellow Jia Zhen actually wanted to take the beauty Qin Keqing into his room to get both her wealth and her life. This BYD is really like a toad playing with a frog, playing with the ugly one for the flower.

After thinking about it for a while, Jia Jue decided to see what Qin Ye thought first, and then decide how to deal with this matter.

In the evening, a banquet was held in Rongguo Mansion and a grand welcome ceremony was held for Lin Daiyu.

In order to plan for the Lin family, Old Lady Jia and Mrs. Wang really staged a good show. Lin Daiyu's mother passed away not long ago before she reached the age of marriage. Apart from her father, her blood relatives were her grandmother, Old Lady Jia, and her two uncles, Jia She and Jia Zheng.

After seeing Mrs. Jia's love and care for her that was beyond words, Lin Daiyu also showed her true feelings and burst into tears in Mrs. Jia's arms.

Let’s not talk about the bloody drama at Rongguo Mansion for now, and let’s talk about Guanjun Hou’s Mansion. At this time, Jia Jue was lying on the couch with his arms around Wang Xifeng.

Wang Xifeng's face was slightly flushed as she nestled in Jia Jue's arms, with indescribable charm between her eyebrows.

Jia Jue said after giving Wang Xifeng a light kiss.

"Feng'er, I've neglected you these days. I'll make it up to you today."

Wang Xifeng said tenderly, "My Lord, what are you talking about? You and my two sisters are newly married, so it's only natural that we should stay overnight at their place."

"As long as the Marquis has me in his heart, I am content."

Jia Jue said as he gently stroked Wang Xifeng's soft lips.

"Don't worry, I will treat you well."

"Your two sisters have been praising you to me these days, saying that you are smart and capable. You handle a lot of things and chores in the mansion, which saves them a lot of worry."

Wang Xifeng said with a smile.

"I'm just helping the two sisters. They're the ones who are in charge, and I'm just following their advice."

"My husband and my two sisters are saying this, and I am blushing."

Jia Jue smiled meaningfully and said.

"Why, it can be redder than before."

"Oh, my husband, please stop making fun of me."

Wang Xifeng couldn't help but look shy.

After some tenderness, Jia Jue looked at Wang Xifeng and said.

"Feng'er, there's something you need to worry about."

Wang Xifeng immediately asked.

"Husband, what's wrong?"

Jia Jue said with a chuckle.

"Don't be so nervous, this is it."

"I severed all ties with the Ning and Rong families back then, and even erased my name from the family tree."

"Before I returned to Beijing in triumph a few years ago, I sent people to my hometown in Jinling to remove the remains of my ancestors from the Jia family's ancestral tomb and enshrine them in Yuqing Temple."

"But this is not a long-term solution."

"I've already made up my mind. I'm going to choose a piece of Feng Shui-worthy land near the Divine Capital for our ancestors to rest in peace."

"The site for the Imperial Observatory has already been chosen, and all that remains is to build the ancestral tomb and mausoleum."

"Also, I plan to build a shrine in the mansion, and all of this requires skilled craftsmen."

"During this time, please arrange for someone to take my name card to the Ministry of Works and ask them to send the official who is most experienced in this matter to take charge of this matter."

"This is our family's private matter. Remember, all expenses should not be paid through the Ministry of Industry. We will pay for it ourselves."

"Do you understand me?"

Wang Xifeng nodded and said.

"Don't worry, my husband. I understand."

"Because of the Jiangnan Salt Administration case and the reorganization of the Beijing camp, my husband has offended many people."

"There must be a lot of people eyeing our mansion right now. I will never give them a handle just for a small gain."

Jia Jue gently held Wang Xifeng in his arms and kissed her pretty red lips and said.

"I knew you were smart, so I'll leave this to you."

"Also, don't forget to inform your two sisters."

Wang Xifeng smiled and said.

"Even if my husband doesn't tell me, I will definitely tell my two sisters, unless my husband specifically tells me not to tell them."

Jia Jue put his arm around Wang Xifeng's slender waist and said with a smile.

"You've learned to draw inferences from one instance. You're so good at making your husband worry less. Shouldn't your husband reward you?"

Wang Xifeng said shyly, lowering her head.

"My husband knows how to bully me."

Then Jia Jue kissed Wang Xifeng, and soon after, the primitive rhythm in the room sounded again.

There is no need to elaborate on the romantic night. The next day, in the Shendu Imperial Examination Hall, the examiner Wang Wenzhen and the deputy examiner Lou Taifu were discussing things together.

Wang Wen said after bowing respectfully.

"Taifu, I have sorted out all the problematic test papers."

Master Lou said calmly.

"Sheng Jia Sanlang's paper is among them, right?"

Wang Wen nodded and said.

"Don't worry, Grand Master. I've been keeping an eye on Mr. Sheng's paper since he copied it under his own name. It's absolutely foolproof."

"The only pity is that Erlang of the Sheng family was completely unmoved and ignored the people I sent from beginning to end. If he had fallen into the trap, this matter would have been much easier to achieve."

Master Lou said indifferently.

"It's okay, having Sanlang from the Sheng family is enough."

"The Champion Marquis has been so popular lately. It's time to put a damper on his prestige."

"I want to see what he can do this time."

In the afternoon, inside the Ministry of Works, Minister of Works Liu Zhiyuan was thinking about something.

That morning, the Minister of Works came to report the news, saying that someone had come from the Marquis of Guanjun's Mansion and hoped that the Ministry of Works could select a capable official to be responsible for the construction of the Marquis's ancestral tomb and ancestral hall.

Liu Zhiyuan originally thought that this was a good opportunity to curry favor with the Champion Marquis and wanted to choose someone close to him to be in charge of this project.

However, Liu Zhiyuan was worried that if his confidant's ability failed to meet the requirements of the Marquis of Guanjun, he would end up making things worse.

After thinking about it, Liu Zhiyuan reluctantly gave up the idea. Then he ordered the clerk to go and call for help.

Not long after, an old man with white hair and dark green official uniform came to the duty room of Minister of Works Liu Zhiyuan, bowed respectfully and said.

"Your humble servant, Qin Ye, the Minister of Works, greets His Excellency the Minister."

Liu Zhiyuan said calmly.

"Qin Ye, please excuse me."

"Thank you, sir. I wonder what instructions you have for me."

Liu Zhiyuan said with a slight smile.

"Qin Ye, you have been in the Ministry of Industry for more than 30 years, right?"

Qin Ye nodded and said.

"Your Excellency, I have served the Ministry of Works for thirty-eight years."

Liu Zhiyuan said with a chuckle.

"This is truly a case of the Ministry of Works being constantly changing, with the Ministry of Works remaining forever."

Qin Ye hurriedly said after hearing this.

"Your Excellency is making fun of me."

Liu Zhiyuan said with a gentle smile.

"Okay, don't think too much. I summoned you here today because I have something good to offer you."

"The Marquis of Guanjun's Mansion wants to build a mausoleum and ancestral hall, and has sent people to the Ministry of Works."

"After much thought, I think the person who is best at this in the Ministry of Works is you."

"I intend to send you to the Marquis' Mansion to take charge of this matter. What do you think?"

(End of this chapter)