Earl’s Mansion, Yingchun Courtyard.

Jia Cong saw that the first official on the left side of the prince hosting the banquet in the painting looked vaguely like his teacher Liu Jing’an.

Although the person in the painting is much younger than Liu Jing’an today, he is described as upright and dignified, with a calm and elegant demeanor, revealing the capable spirit of an incumbent official.

But Jia Min’s painting is quite vivid. The facial features, expression and temperament of the person in the painting are exactly the same as Liu Jing’an, which makes it easy to tell at a glance.

Daiyu replied, “Third brother, you are not mistaken. This is Lord Jing’an. He was the Grand Master of the Ministry of Rites and the chief examiner of the imperial examination that year.”

She laughed again and said, “In terms of seniority in the imperial examinations, Master Jing’an was my father’s teacher. If we use this method, my father and my third brother can actually be considered to be from the same school.

Third brother, you are a good master. Your seniority is a bit scary. I am so sorry for your disrespect. Hehe…”

Jia Cong laughed and said, “What’s so strange about this? Every time I stay at my teacher’s house, there are a bunch of nephews who are older than me.

Liu Bi and I have been close friends since childhood, but whenever I went to Liu’s residence, he would find an excuse to hide away and would only meet me outside.

Because in front of the teacher, he has to call me Junior Uncle, he thinks it is too shameful, so he avoids it if possible, haha…

Fortunately, he has gone to Nanjing to serve as an official, so he doesn’t have to face this embarrassment anymore.”

Jia Cong laughed again and said, “Actually, this is nothing. Let’s just talk about our own things. Sister, don’t hide from me in the future. I don’t need you to call me Junior Master Uncle.”

Daiyu was amused by him and laughed out loud, and gently hit him on the arm.

Tanchun, who was also looking at the painting carefully, pointed at the man in the crimson five-clawed dragon robe and asked, “Which prince is this host?”

Jia Cong also looked into the painting. Judging from the man’s age and the fact that he was wearing a prince’s robe, he was most likely of the same generation as the current emperor.

The painting is signed with the words “Yong’an 21st Year”, which is the year when Lin Ruhai took the imperial examination.

The prince who presided over the banquet was most likely the prince of Emperor Yong’an. Only a prince of this status was suitable to host the Banquet of Grace and Honor on behalf of Emperor Yong’an.

However, the prince who presided over the banquet had an outstanding appearance and bearing. He was not the current emperor who was the King of Qi in the palace, nor was he the Prince Zhongshun whom Jia Cong had met.

This was a very unfamiliar face to him. If this person was a prince back then, he should not be so unknown.

Daiyu listened to Tanchun’s words and said casually, “When I was a child, I saw this painting. He was wearing a crimson dragon robe and I thought he was very majestic and beautiful. I was a little envious.

I asked my mother who this was. She said he was the third son of the late emperor and was given the title King of Wu. I wanted to ask other questions, but my mother refused to pay any attention to me.

Because I was really curious, I once asked my father about the origins of the Red Robe Prince. My father always doted on me, but that time he looked unhappy.

He also scolded me for being an ignorant child and for asking questions about everything. I still remember it because I was rarely scolded by my father.

But I was still young at that time, and children don’t have much patience, so I forgot about it and never dared to ask again. “

……

When Jia Cong heard this, his heart skipped a beat. He had heard the title King of Wu many times when he was investigating the Du Hengxin case in Jinling.

At that time, Du Hengxin was a member of the Jinling Du family. For unknown reasons, he reported that his own head Du Hengchang was colluding with the Hidden Sect and intending to cause chaos.

As a result, the Jinling Du family was exterminated, and Du Hengxin exchanged the destruction of his family for the dawn of his own career.

Not only did he join the King of Qi in his private residence, he also followed the King of Qi back to the capital, after which the King of Wu’s Rebellion broke out.

As a result, the capital city was in great change, and many civil and military officials were implicated. The lighter ones were dismissed from office and demoted, the medium ones were exiled to remote areas, and the worst ones had their entire family wiped out.

However, the information Jia Cong had access to in Jinling was limited, and he did not meet anyone who knew about the incident that year, so this was all he knew about the incident.

But he thought that elders like Jia Zheng and Liu Jing’an would probably know the story of the Wu King’s Rebellion.

But in his interactions with these elders, he also keenly sensed the strangeness of this matter.

Jia Zheng had always thought highly of him and admired his talent for academic achievement. When they had free time on weekdays, the uncle and nephew would often chat in the study.

The two of them talked about random and casual topics, including stories about the capital, anecdotes about scholars, and family past. They talked about almost everything.

But Jia Zheng never mentioned the King of Wu, not even the royal family members.

This may be because the children of aristocratic families have been taught since childhood, and have unconsciously formed certain taboos in their speech.

……

But teacher Liu Jing’an’s attitude made Jia Cong more confused.

He had been taught by Liu Jing’an for many years. The old man had very high expectations of him and treated him as his own son.

Not only did he impart all his knowledge to him, he also knew how to guide him step by step. He often analyzed the court situation for him, commented on people, and helped him to open up his thinking and broaden his horizons.

The master and the disciple closed the door in their study and talked about the current affairs of the court. Except for the current emperor and Emperor Jiazhao, Liu Jing’an would not easily touch on the subject due to their respected status.

Liu Jing’an would now talk about important officials in the court and royal relatives, and would give precise comments on them, which benefited Jia Cong a lot.

Jia Cong had been an official for several years. Whenever he faced official affairs, he was able to handle them with ease, protect himself and not be implicated. This was all thanks to Liu Jing’an’s teachings.

People who had frequent contact with Jia Cong, such as Emperor Jia Zhao, Guo Youchang, and Shi Ding, were well aware of his calmness and maturity beyond his age.

They would all conclude in their hearts that Jia Cong was just a little fox taught by an old fox…

……

But over the years, Liu Jing’an has mentioned the heads of all departments in the court.

Even the current princes such as Prince Zhao and Prince Ning, as well as several princes such as Prince Kangshun and Prince Zhongshun were mentioned.

But the King of Wu was never mentioned, as if he did not exist. Now that Jia Cong thought about it carefully, he felt it was even more strange.

The princes who were appointed to host the Banquet for Jinshi were all people who were highly valued by the emperor.

Even the current emperor, who was the Prince of Qi in the palace at that time, did not receive such an honor, which shows the importance of the King of Wu in the heart of the retired emperor.

Teacher Liu Jing’an hosted the Enrong Banquet with King Wu in those days, and the two must have been very close.

Even if the King of Wu later did something bad, Professor Liu Jing’an, who was his favorite student in his later years, should not have said a word about this man when he was teaching him and answering his questions, using history to guide the present.

So, no matter what the reason was, Jia Cong was certain in his heart that the teacher was deliberately avoiding this person and not mentioning him in front of him.

……

Now, he heard Daiyu casually mention that when she was a child, she saw the King of Wu in a painting. The King had a handsome figure and bright clothes, and she once asked her parents about it out of curiosity.

Even though she was the apple of her parents’ eyes and was doted on in daily life, Jia Min would still be vague in her words, and Lin Ruhai would even change color and get angry.

It seems that in the minds of the older generation, the King of Wu is a taboo topic. Everyone is afraid of it and no one wants to touch it.

Could it be that this ambiguous attitude is just because there was a turmoil in the capital that year and the King of Wu was involved in treason?
It seems to be the case, but it also seems not to be the case.

After the incident involving King Wu, the emperor who was at the peak of his power suddenly abdicated and lived in seclusion in the palace, and the current emperor ascended the throne.

From Jinling to Shenjing, a series of major changes seem to be unrelated, yet seem to be secretly entangled. No matter how you try to distinguish them, they seem confusing.

According to the information about Scales and Claws that Jia Cong knew, the former Jinling Commander Du Hengxin was the key to uncovering the events of the past.

Even Emperor Jiazhao was extremely cautious about this person, and he sent his trusted eunuch Guo Lin to travel thousands of miles to Nanjing to investigate Du Hengxin’s guilt, and also secretly bring him back to Beijing for a private trial.

But in the end, something unexpected happened. He captured Du Hengxin by water, but he was killed in the downtown area while being escorted by Jinyiwei…

……

The whole matter was confusing. Even with Jia Cong’s meticulousness, due to his limited knowledge, there were too many obscurities and concerns that made it difficult to sort out for a while.

But he could sense that within the context of the whole incident, there were vaguely several different forces entangled and fighting with each other.

This struggle is not just happening now, it seems to have started a long time ago…

Even though Jia Cong was curious about the cause of the matter, that was all he wanted to do and he had no intention of getting to the bottom of it.

Because this matter goes back very far, it seems to have nothing to do with him. Even predecessors such as Liu Jing’an and Lin Ruhai are very secretive about it and are unwilling to touch on it.

He seemed to have no reason to take the initiative to find out the truth, and even got into unforeseen trouble.

Yingchun and other sisters were attracted by Jia Min’s old work. The exquisite depiction, prosperous scene and brilliant colors in the painting made them talk about it and admire it.

Even though Daiyu cared about Jia Cong, she did not know what happened to Jia Cong in Jinling and did not expect that this old painting would evoke such a flood of thoughts in Jia Cong’s heart.

……

Since the matter of the Zhen family’s private silver was settled, Jia Cong returned home early and had half a day to relax.

He put the matter of the old paintings aside for the moment and just chatted and laughed with his sisters.

The room is full of remaining ice to cool off the summer heat, and the fragrance of the jade-like face and skirt reflects the time.

When the sun was setting, Yingchun had dinner set in the yard and asked Jia Cong to eat before returning to his own yard.

Everyone sat around the table, chatting and laughing while eating, and they were having a great time. When dinner was over, it was already dark, Jia Cong and his sisters drank tea to digest their food, and Tanchun got up to leave.

Yingchun said, “Third sister, it’s still early. Please sit here for a while until everyone leaves.”

Tanchun smiled and said, “I haven’t been back to the East Courtyard for a long time. Tomorrow the master will have a day off, so I plan to stay there for two days and chat with him. Now I’m going back to pack my things.”

Yingchun smiled and said, “This is serious business. Go back and stay for a few days. Remember to send the maid to come and go so that I can arrange a carriage to pick you up.”

Since Jia Zheng moved to the East Courtyard, his concubine’s son Jia Huan and eldest grandson Jia Lan moved with him.

But Jia Huan spent his days chasing chickens and dogs, was idle, naughty and mischievous, and often made Jia Zheng angry.

Although the eldest grandson Jia Lan is well-behaved, Li Wan is very strict in disciplining her son.

She witnessed Baoyu’s dissoluteness and laziness and Jia Cong’s brilliance and ambition, which shocked Li Wan.

Perhaps he was worried that Mrs. Wang would teach her son bad things, and he didn’t want to let go of the reins and let his son fool around with his uncle Jia Huan, so as to prevent him from being led astray at such a young age.

Therefore, Jia Lan was kept in the house by her to study every day. Apart from the necessary family etiquette, he rarely visited his grandparents.

Originally, Jia Zhu died early, and Baoyu was the eldest son of Jia Zheng. In an ordinary family, he should be a filial son and a pillar of the family.

Unfortunately, Lady Jia doted on Baoyu extremely much, and Mrs. Wang had other ideas, and both did not want Baoyu to settle in the East Courtyard.

Baoyu was afraid of Jia Zheng and was afraid that he would not be able to avoid him. He also disliked the dullness of the East Courtyard, which was not like the West Courtyard where he could get close to his sisters. So he always lingered in the Main Courtyard and refused to leave.

Jia Zheng had many children and grandchildren, but now he is almost fifty years old and family affairs have changed. He is left with no children to take care of him. It is really sad to talk about it.

Tanchun was a shrewd and generous person, and she saw all of this.

Baoyu has lived in the West Palace for a long time, and I have to live in the East Palace. It seems inappropriate to outsiders, and I feel guilty about it.

Although she was reluctant to leave Jia Cong and her sisters at home, she thought about moving back to the East Courtyard.

But Jia Zheng knew that his daughter was born out of wedlock, and now the second branch had become a secondary branch, so her future marriage foundation would be even weaker.

For the sake of long-term planning, he would rather his daughter stay in the East Palace more often, so that in the future she can be like Yingchun, with the help and support of Jia Cong to raise her status, and also have a decent home.

Tanchun was grateful for her father’s hard work, so she would return to the East Courtyard to stay for a while every once in a while.

One is to fulfill my filial duty as a parent, and the other is to discipline my spoiled younger brother…

Jia Cong and Yingchun knew what Tanchun was thinking, and they felt even more pity for this third sister. A playboy is not fit to take care of things, but a girl has to worry about household affairs and filial piety.

Every time she returned to the East Courtyard for a short stay, Jia Cong and Yingchun would calculate the time to pick her up.

……

Just as Tanchun was about to leave, Daiyu smiled and said, “The third sister has left. Let’s go home today and come over early to talk tomorrow.”

Everyone thought it made sense, so Jia Cong sent Daiyu, Baochai and Tanchun out.

At this time, the sunset glow was low, the sky was dim, and there was still some warmth in the air, but the night breeze was blowing and soon blew away the remaining heat.

Jia Cong, accompanied by three pretty girls, walked along the bluestone path in the garden. The evening breeze was charming, carrying the pleasant fragrance of girls, which was intoxicating.

Baochai said: “The Zhen family is just like ours, they are also a prominent family in Jinling for generations.

I heard from my mother that although his family did not have a hereditary title, his ancestors were also ministers of the founding of the country, and there was a hereditary official position of the president of the Ti-Ren Institute in his family.
The Zhen family has become extremely wealthy due to their business dealings in Jiangnan over the years, and has earned the nickname “Jinling Zhen Half City”, which means they are a family with a lot of financial resources.

Even though this family seemed so prosperous and wealthy, it has now fallen into decline just because the eldest son of his family did something wrong.

It can be seen that for a family to prosper, it takes several lifetimes of hard work, but it only takes a day to destroy the family and the business. It is really scary to think about it. “

Tanchun said: “Sister Bao is right. If our children don’t make progress and strive for excellence, our family business will be as fragile as an egg and will collapse in a matter of days.

Fortunately, our family has our third brother to take over the family business. Now our family business is prosperous and we don’t have to be afraid of any storms, no matter how big they are. I think we are much luckier than the Zhen family.

Tanchun became a little discouraged and said, “Although my second brother doesn’t like to study, fortunately, although he is a little idle, he is still at home.

Normally, they won’t go out to cause trouble, and there’s no need to worry about getting into trouble outside…”

After hearing what Tanchun said, Baochai felt touched, thinking that Tanchun had a brother, Baoyu, who was a headache.

Don’t I also have a brother who is a cause for worry? Compared to Baoyu who only hangs out in the inner house, my brother can’t sit still at home for a moment.

He goes out every day to call friends and hang out with them. He caused a death in Nanjing, so he moved his family to Shenjing to avoid the city.

Now his brother Xue Pan is careless in his conduct and has not made much progress. He and his mother are worried every day, fearing that he will cause trouble again.

When Baochai thought of this, she couldn’t help but envy Tanchun for having a cousin like Jia Cong. They were brothers and sisters who had always been close to each other and protected each other, so Tanchun would have an extra supporter to rely on throughout her life.

But then I thought, sister Tanchun is not worth envying. If brother Cong really becomes my cousin, I really don’t know what to do…

Jia Cong sent Tanchun back to the courtyard. Because the journey was long, he and Daiyu sent Baochai to the small gate connecting the two mansions. Finally, Jia Cong sent Daiyu back to the courtyard.

……

At this time, night fell, the sky was dark blue, and thousands of silver stars flickered.

Jia Cong and Daiyu walked side by side on the path in the garden, their steps in unison. The night breeze was gentle and the fragrance was lingering, making people feel relaxed and happy.

Daiyu spoke clearly and asked, “Third brother, the Zhen family of Jinling sent silver to the capital, and this kind of thing must be done in secret.

How come you are so well-informed that you learned about it in advance after traveling thousands of miles and even rushed back to the mansion to stop it.

If I am not mistaken, it must be Miss Zhen San who found out about what happened at home and traveled thousands of miles to inform Brother San. “

After hearing this, Jia Cong was speechless for a moment. It seemed that just now in Yingchun Courtyard, when he mentioned the matter of the Zhen family sending silver, no one asked this question for a while.

Or maybe Shi Xiangyun has a straightforward and cheerful personality, and is less sensitive in this regard.

But given Tanchun’s shrewdness, Yingchun’s meticulousness, and Baochai’s intelligence, they may have thought about the reason.

Since they could predict the secret things that I did to the Zhen family, most of them would think of Zhen Fangqing.

But Yingchun is his elder sister and Tanchun is his cousin, so they don’t care about his involvement with other women.

Compared with Daiyu, Tanchun and others, Baochai is much more distantly related to herself, so naturally she is embarrassed to say it out loud.

In the cool night breeze, Daiyu’s voice was light, with a hint of pride and mischief in her voice as she exposed Jia Cong.

“Miss Zhen is really good to you. She didn’t even want her own gold and silver treasures, and she traveled thousands of miles to report the news and protect you.”

“Such a pretty girl is so fond of you, Brother San, are you feeling particularly proud?”

“Ms. Zhen is pretty, but my sister is prettier.”

“Humph, you just say that. You’ve said it many times. I don’t know if you’ve said it to others as well. You can’t fool me.”

“My dear sister, girls don’t need to be so smart. It’s not fun to guess everything. It’s so tiring.”

Daiyu laughed and said, “That won’t work. If I’m not smart enough, I will be fooled by you easily.”

“In fact, I am also happy that someone is on your side. At least my third brother won’t suffer any loss, and the family won’t be in trouble.”

“If she sides with you, I won’t bother to care, but if Third Brother sides with me, I will care.”

“No matter what, sisters are like siblings. We grew up together and are as close as brothers and sisters. We should be closer than others.”

Jia Cong felt that what Daiyu said sounded familiar. He suddenly realized something and couldn’t help but smile.

He reached out and held Daiyu’s soft little hand, and said with a smile: “Girl, you have so many little thoughts, and you don’t feel tired. I don’t have the ability to deceive you.”

Daiyu felt very ashamed and tried to pull her hand back quickly.

She scolded him, “We are still in the garden. Who is pulling you? What’s the point of letting others see you?”

She used some strength, but Jia Cong’s hand was holding firmly.

Seeing that the garden was quiet under the cover of night and few people were walking around, she had no choice but to let him be.

Both of them involuntarily slowed down their pace and were silent for a while.

After a while, Daiyu asked again: “Third brother, the Zhen family is taking risks to transport money abroad, which shows that the family affairs are in danger and something big is going to happen.

Miss Zhen is returning to Jinling now, will she, a girl, suffer along with him…”

Jia Cong heard the words with a hint of worry, and felt a little warm in his heart. He held the slender and smooth hand in his hand tighter.

He said: “The person who delivered the letter today is Miss Zhen’s trusted servant. He said that Miss Zhen went south to Gusu and settled there temporarily, and did not enter Jinling.

She was in Gusu, but she knew what was happening in Jinling, and she sent me a message in time, which shows that she had taken precautions and she would not suffer any loss…” (End of this chapter)