After finishing the meal, Jia Heng took the gold basin handed to him by Yuanyang, washed his hands, and dried them with a towel.
Just like when Lin Daiyu first entered Rongguo Mansion, the tea she gargled with after meals was not tea for drinking. Jia Heng did not do anything new and only gargled her mouth.
Then, another servant removed the food and served tea.
At this time, everyone sat down again, and this was the time for formal speeches.
Jia Mu smiled and said: "Brother Heng, you have succeeded in suppressing the bandits this time. You are in danger, right?"
Jia Heng said in a clear voice: "Although there is a shock, there is no danger. It is better than Ning Rong, the Duke of the two countries, to work hard and work hard, so that we can have a family with bells and pans, a family with poems and books, and a hairpin. He who thinks of its trees and drinks of its flows remembers its source.”
When Jia Mu heard this, the smile on her face froze. When she came across this opening, it was the Second Duke Ning Rong. She was often confused and had a headache.
He is dignified and difficult to get close to...
People who are difficult to get close to are often difficult to handle.
Daiyu looked at the young man standing in Yuanting, wondering if she was being careless. She always felt that Brother Heng was deliberately trying to make fun of her grandmother.
Jia Heng glanced at Jia Mu. He naturally wanted to end the "warmth" atmosphere and make the conversation a little more solemn.
Otherwise, if Jia Mu thought that he could wear colorful clothes and entertain his bride like Baoyu, she would have made a mistake.
As the saying goes, if you are close, you will not be inferior.
Jia Mu continued to look kindly and said with a smile: "Brother Heng, when you came back from your meritorious service this time and went to meet the Holy Spirit, did the palace say anything? You won such a big prize, and the Holy Spirit didn't say anything?"
As soon as these words came out, all eyes in the Rongqing Hall turned to Jia Heng.
Mrs. Ruwang's eyes were twinkling and her ears were pricked up to listen.
This young man is now a fourth-grade official. When he comes back this time, how many levels can he advance to?
Third grade, second grade?
Even so, she can't compare to Baoyu and her uncle.
As for the title, Mrs. Wang had never thought about it.
"The Holy Spirit gave me a few words of encouragement, but didn't say anything else. He asked me to come back and listen to the decree." Jia Heng thought for a while and felt that it was best not to spread the decree since it was not issued.
This will happen in future generations. The superiors have just talked about it and asked Jia Jia to shoulder the burden. Before the official document is officially issued, you will publicize it everywhere. It is a stupid move.
However, these words made Jia Mu feel a little disappointed. She thought...
Yes, how can it be so easy to become a knight?
Her husband back then had never come back seriously injured, but looking at Brother Heng, his skin didn't seem to be even touched.
A look of relief appeared on Mrs. Wang's fair face. She looked at the young man in brocade clothes, and then at Baoyu beside him, and thought: "Baoyu waits for another two years, and practices with his uncle again, and he may not be able to get an official position." Half-time.”
Jia Zheng was twirling his beard with his hands, his elegant face was thoughtful, but he couldn't figure out the connection.
"How much credit does this deserve? I'll have to go to the Ministry of Industry tomorrow to find my colleagues and ask."
Jia Mu suppressed the matter for the time being, and said with a smile on her face: "Brother Heng, there is something I want to talk to you about. Don't be upset for now. It is during the time when you are gone. Some rumors have arisen at home for some reason, and they have spread to my house. If you go back to Dongfu and hear a little bit of gossip, don't take it too seriously, I have asked Feng Yatou to deal with it."
A smile appeared on Sister Feng's pretty and bright face, and she said: "Brother Heng, these rumors are all caused by the drunken woman in Hu Qin. I have asked Ping'er and Zhou Rui's family to lead them. The human hair has fallen, Brother Heng has a lot of it, so it’s better not to worry about it. As for the rumors, let’s not talk about them. There is no need to say them anymore to offend others.”
Jia Heng said calmly: "Actually, I can guess a thing or two even if I don't tell you. They are just words of villains who viciously cursed me for the unexpected things that happened to me. I know who spread it! I can only do it if I don't dare to tell you. Making vicious curses like a madam in the dark is nothing more than a sneaky trick that doesn’t go on stage and only makes people laugh!”
As soon as these words came out, everyone in Rongqing Hall had different expressions.
Mrs. Wang glanced at the young man and frowned. She really couldn't stand the young man's arrogant look. He couldn't be like her precious jade...
His eyes swept over Baoyu, and he saw that Baoyu was holding a maid's hand, as if looking at the rouge on her nails.
He didn't seem to have much interest in the young man's chat with his grandmother.
Mrs. Wang rubbed her brows, picked up the tea cup on the side, took a sip, and suppressed the unknown fire in her heart.
Sister Feng pursed her lips and looked at the boy who was scolding her father-in-law. A hint of amusement flashed deep in her eyes under her curved eyebrows.
For the most part... there was no fluctuation in my heart, and I even felt like laughing.
Daiyu's bright eyes blinked, and she just glanced at Tanchun.
Tanchun didn't notice it at all. He looked at the young man without moving and listened to his words.
Jia Zheng sighed and said, "Mother, some of the servants in the house are really outrageous."
Mother Jia looked back, nodded, and feigned anger: "Girl Feng, you should be more careful in the future. You can't let this guy eat too much, drink too much, gossip, and make trouble over nothing."
Sister Feng: "..."
After going around in a circle, can it still go around her head?
However, a smile appeared on young woman Hua Xin's face, and she said: "Old ancestor, just look at it, this kind of thing will never happen again in the house."
At this moment, Jia Heng said: "As for the servants, there are some slaves in my Jia clan. They have been bullying their masters for more than a day. They range from spreading rumors about their masters to bullying men, dominating women, and murdering relatives. How can such lawless bastards behave like slaves? The old lady has always been merciful, but she has become increasingly indulgent in making some slaves ignorant of the world, full of desires, and no master in her eyes."
Jia Mu was shocked when she heard this, her old face showed hesitation and said, "Brother Heng, where did you say this?"
Not only Jia Mu, but also Li Wan and Tanchun in Rongqing Hall looked at Jia Heng.
Tan Chun looked at the young man in brocade with shining eyes, and she had a vague feeling that this young man had other intentions.
Jia Heng's face was solemn and he said: "Before I took the emperor's order to go to Cuihua Mountain to suppress the bandits, I checked the Dongfu account books and found many problems, especially that Lai Sheng took advantage of his position as the governor of the capital to enrich his own pockets and was greedy for me. The clan leader has a lot of money, and I heard that his slaves are more honorable than the masters of the East and West mansions, how can this evil slave not show off his arrogance to others!"
As soon as these words came out, Jia Mu frowned and her heart moved slightly.
Sister Feng Danfeng narrowed her eyes and looked closely at the young man, suddenly remembering what the young man had said to her before leaving.
"Could it be that... you want to investigate the Lai family?" A bright light flashed through Sister Feng's heart. She was looking at the young man, but at this moment, she met Shen Jingruyuan's gaze. That sharp, knife-like look seemed to have a lot of meaning. Deep meaning.
Sister Feng's heart suddenly suddenly dropped, and she quickly lowered her eyes. However, being "winked" in front of so many people in Rongqing Hall, she actually felt like her heart was pounding and she couldn't breathe.
"Why should I be panicking? It's not because of Mother's flirting, but this Jia Heng actually wants to touch the Lai family. His family is very respectable. In the past few days when Lai Er came in, Grandma Lai also went to the house to ask for help several times. , were dismissed by the old lady’s kind words, and now you want to pull out the carrots and bring out the mud?”
Sister Feng lowered her beautiful eyes and quickly calculated the consequences.
With Jia Heng's "ruthless" temperament, it is impossible to say that he can really accomplish this.
Yes, Sister Feng's evaluation of Jia Heng has evolved from "stubborn" to "ruthless".
"I don't know how many people have been killed by the bandits, but they are very powerful right now." Sister Feng thought about this, rolled her eyes, glanced at the young man in brocade clothes, and thought about it.
Jia Heng picked up the tea cup on the side, took a sip, and said calmly: "Evil slaves like Lai Sheng have been imprisoned for colluding with bandits, and the evil they have done is made public, such as helping Jia Zhen occupy the house of a common woman. Concubine, I instigated Jia Zhen and other princes’ children to gather for gambling, and her evil deeds are too numerous to write down...and the above are severely punished by national laws, but if Lai Sheng takes away the money from our Duke Ning, we, the Jia clan, must personally pursue it!"
Now returning with a great victory, he is invincible. In front of Jia Mu, he is about to use the excuse of checking Lai's promotion to investigate the Lai family.
[To be honest, I have been reading books recently to catch up on updates. I can switch sources and read aloud with many sounds. It can be used on both Android and Apple. 】
"Lai Sheng, it's really outrageous." Jia Mu said softly after being silent for a moment.
"I'm about to invite the old lady. Tomorrow, in the name of the clan leader, I will strictly investigate the Lai family's embezzlement of money from my Jia family in the east and west mansions in recent years!" Jia Heng said in a deep voice.
When Jia Mu heard this, her heart was shocked. She looked at the young man opposite with a troubled face and said in a loud voice: "Brother Heng, you don't know something. Aunt Lai is an old man in the house and she also served Xian Rongguo." Lord, if you touch Lai Sheng, that's the right thing to do. If you implicate the Lai family again, wouldn't it mean that my Jia family is bullying an old servant?"
Aunt Lai had served the wife of Duke Rong Jia Yuan, who was also Jia Mu's mother-in-law, so her reputation in the Jia family was greater than that of some young masters.
Even Jia Qiang, a decent great-great-grandson of Ning State, would call out to Lai Da when he saw him.
When Aunt Lai went into the house to see Mother Jia, Sister Feng could only sit aside.
Jia Heng said in a deep voice: "Old lady, if you say that only one person, Lai Sheng, is guilty, and the Lai family is not involved at all, who would believe it? Just pull out the carrot and bring out the mud, and severely punish this evil slave! Otherwise, these evil slaves will be like blood-sucking locusts. They usually parasitize my Jia clan, Jia clan, ask Sister-in-law Feng, what is the current situation of the public’s money balance in Xifu?”
"Being unable to make ends meet!" Jia Heng suddenly looked at Sister Feng with an aggressive look.
Sister Feng's heart was shaken, and when she met the eyes of Jia Mu and others, she just nodded and said, "My father-in-law has a lot of money, and he has been losing money since a year ago."
If she hadn't kept usury money outside, how could such a big family maintain such pomp and dignity.
Of course, these words were kept deep in my heart and were not suitable to be said in front of everyone.
Hearing this, Mother Jia sighed heavily.
As for Jia Zheng, Mrs. Wang also looked at each other.
No money...
Jia Heng looked at this scene and his heart settled.
He just wanted to make mental preparations for Jia Mu, Jia Zheng and others in advance, otherwise, just relying on his name as the patriarch, Zhaxi Mansion's accounts would be suspected of being overstepped.
As the leader of the clan, he can reorganize this three-acre area of Dongfu. This is only natural and natural!
However, if Xi Mansion was not involved in family affairs, he forcibly purged them, which was somewhat unfair.
This is why he vaccinated Sister Feng before...well, he informed her in advance.
Even if he can't get Jia Mu's support, he still needs to get acquiescence, no support or objection, so that he can investigate the matter of Lai Sheng and see the account books in Xifu.
By the way, let's see if we can try to catch all Wu Xindeng, Shan Daliang and the like!
In fact, after he took charge of Ningguo Mansion, the situation had changed unconsciously.
Naturally, the methods used to deal with Xifu need to be more flexible, and they need to pay attention to some strategies that use both soft and hard tactics.
Let's give Mother Jia some air in advance so that she can be mentally prepared.
When the imperial edict is issued tomorrow, he can use his grand momentum to investigate and rectify the Lai family.
This is exactly what he said to Emperor Chongping in the beginning, using huge external victories to gain impetus for internal innovation.
As for dealing with Niu Jizong, Qiu Liang and others, internal purges and external battles can be carried out simultaneously without delay.
While Jia Heng was thinking about this, Sister Feng on the side also suppressed the smile on her face. For a rare moment, she answered seriously: "My ancestors have always treated me kindly. I am afraid that in the eyes of some people, I will feel weak and can be bullied. I It seems that Lai Sheng in Dongfu is not a good person. If he hadn't instigated it, Brother Zhen wouldn't have... By the way, ancestors heard that when Grandma Lai came last time, she said she wanted to go after she left. Go to Jingzhao Yamen to fish out her son?"
When Jia Mu heard this, she looked stunned for a moment and said in surprise: "Brother Zhen...how can she get it?"
After all, considering that Jia Heng was here, Jia's mother changed her tune in her eagerness.
Obviously, it has gradually become a tacit understanding in the Jia family to not say anything about Zhen when Heng is around.
Mrs. Wang and Jia Zheng looked at each other, and also looked at Sister Feng. They were also puzzled, how to solve the major case designated by the imperial court?
The bright eyes under Tan Chunying's beautiful eyebrows were condensed. She listened to the side and felt a thrilling feeling. Was this going to investigate the Lai family?
Thinking of this, he looked at Daiyu who was holding a handkerchief to cover up.
Daiyu met Tanchun's gaze and shook her head gently, meaning, don't ask me, I don't know.
Sister Feng said: "Well, I heard from a young man who often goes to Lai's house that Grandma Lai has prepared one hundred thousand taels of silver and is planning to spend it all up and down. I don't know what she is doing."
Jia Heng narrowed his eyes and said in a cold voice: "Don't just try to control the jailers, and try to fake your own death to escape. If you think so, it is the crime of deceiving the emperor. I am directing people in Jinyi, how can I tolerate such a young man?" If you do this, old lady, the Lai family will become a nest of snakes and rats, and the national law will not tolerate it!"
Everyone in Rongqing Hall: "..."
Jia's mother was also surprised when she heard this, and said in surprise: "Girl Feng, are there any foundations for these rumors? How come her family has one hundred thousand taels... so much silver?"
Even if you don't care about secular affairs, you still know how much money one hundred thousand taels is.
Jia Heng said with a calm expression: "The Lai brothers are in charge of the stewardship of the East and West mansions. The money they handle is gone to the sea. Whenever these two brothers go to their own houses, their mouths will be full of oil."
When Jia Mu heard this, she was silent.
Jia Heng said: "The old lady has a kind heart and thinks about old feelings without any criticism. It's just that such evil servants don't know the order of the world and have hard to satisfy their desires. If things go on like this, things like Lai Sheng's deception of the master may not happen again in Xifu!"
In fact, it happened again.
In the original work of Red Mansions, Jia Zheng once prayed to the Lai family because he was short of travel expenses, but the Lai family only gave him fifty taels of silver.
Chapter 145: When Heng is here, don’t say anything precious
