"Madam."

"Is the master in there?"

In the east wing of Rongxi Hall, Mrs. Wang walked into the room and greeted Jia Zheng. Jia Zheng asked her About Jia Lian.

Mrs. Wang told Jia Zheng about the situation in Rongqing Hall.

After hearing this, Jia Zheng hurriedly asked: "Did you tell me when Lian'er will return to Beijing?"

It has been nearly half a year since Jia Lian left Beijing with the decree, especially at the border. The change made this Yuanwailang, who was at the center of the Six Ministries, really worried.

Not only are they worried about Jia Lian, the best nephew in the family, but they are also worried that Jia Lian will bear the responsibility for such a major event and implicate the family.

Someone in the court had impeached Jia Lian before, and he knew about it.

"I didn’t say when he would return to Beijing. I just asked Feng Yatou to report to the elders of the family that he was safe. Thinking about it, since he has the emperor’s orders, he does not dare to act on his own initiative. He has to listen to the imperial court. Arrangements."

Jia Zheng pondered for a long time after hearing this, and finally said: "That's all, it's good to know that people are safe."

While speaking, he glanced at Mrs. Wang again , said slowly: "How have you considered what Ruhai told us before?"

When Mrs. Wang heard this, her face turned gloomy and she didn't speak for a while.

"What, you don't want to?"

"It's not that you don't want to. We have watched Girl Lin grow up, and her appearance and temperament are both excellent. .

However, I have a few words here that I would like to tell you, please refer to them for details.”

After hearing what Mrs. Wang said, Jia Zheng was not in a hurry. He asked, holding up the tea cup and slowly sipping the tea.

"Although our Jia family has many members, the number of male heirs in our two houses, East and West, is really small. Especially after several changes, the number of people in the two houses is really poor.

The same is true even for the master.

Although Baoyu is more naughty, he still has some aura in him. In my opinion, only Baoyu can inherit the mantle of the master in the future. .

Although Lin Yatou is good in everything, the only thing is that she is too weak. I am afraid she will not be lucky in the future..."

"She is weak. I'm not afraid of that. I just need to take good care of him in the future. It's really not good for the heirs. In the future, I'll just put two more people in the Baoyu room. That's nothing." Jia Zheng interrupted.

"What the master said is true, but besides the children, I have other considerations.

"The master usually doesn't care about the trivial matters at home and doesn't know about the children's affairs. Temperament.

Baoyu and Lin Yatou have had a lot of conflicts over the years, and even the old lady was alarmed several times. In my opinion, both of them are actually very unforgiving people. If they get together, I'm afraid there will be trouble in the future.

I know what the master means. Lin Yatou’s mother passed away early, and now her father is seriously ill. The master feels sorry for his niece and wants to get the two children married so that we can take care of her in the future.

This is my good intention, but I am afraid that if they cause trouble in the future, they will complain about us instead. This would be a failure of my hard work.

In addition, I still have a little selfishness.

Now in our family, Lian'er has inherited the title of his ancestors, and he has become an official himself, which can be regarded as shouldering the lintel of the former eldest master.

But the master’s lineage seems to have not been settled yet.

I know that the master wants Baoyu to pass the imperial examination and become an official. But from ancient times to the present, has it been so easy to enter the imperial examination? "

Jia Lian nodded silently. He was not willing to listen to Mrs. Wang's other words, but he still felt that these words were very sympathetic.

He had missed Jia Zheng since he was a child. He is diligent and studious, and even the old prince likes him and thinks that he is a talented person. However, after studying for thirty years, he is still a little short of becoming an official in the imperial examination?

In the end, The old Mr. Guo couldn't bear it anymore, so he wrote a legacy before his death, praying for grace to help him enter the officialdom.

This also caused him a lifetime of regrets. In fact, he felt that if the old Mr. Guo had been If he lives for another three years and is given another chance to take the scientific examination, he is still sure to pass it...

He is still like this, let alone Baoyu's naughty character.
< br />　“What do you want to say? "

"Master, what I want to say is that if Baoyu can pass the exam in the future, it will be good. If he fails the exam, we have to make other preparations for him. Even if it doesn't work, we can also leave a way out for him so that he can follow the path of the master and enter the officialdom from Enyin in the future.

In my opinion, Baoyu’s sister is a noble concubine in the palace, and his direct uncle is in the first rank. It will not be difficult to find an official position for him in the future.

However, the master should also know that this kind of person cannot compare with those who have passed the formal imperial examination. If no one helps me, it will be difficult for me to become an official in the future.

So I was thinking, should we be more serious about Baoyu’s marriage, think more about it, and try to find a capable wife for Baoyu, so that we can help him in the future..."

As Mrs. Wang said, she noticed that Jia Zhengzhi frowned, and said hurriedly: "I don't think the Lin family is bad. The Lin family, like ours, is also a century-old family. Lin Yatou’s fatherHe was born as a serious Tanhualang and was a second-rank official.

Speaking of which, he is willing to marry us, which is a blessing to us.

It’s a pity that the Lin family is sparse, and Miss Lin’s father is in poor health. The Lin family is now supported by him alone. If he does anything good in the future, the Lin family will be completely destroyed. "

Mrs. Wang stopped talking here. She knew that such words should not be said too bluntly and harshly. Jia Zheng had been an official in the center for many years, so it was impossible for him to not be able to distinguish the interests of the marriage. , the best so far.

Sure enough, Jia Zheng has fallen into deep thought.

He is a Confucian scholar and advocates knowledgeable people. Among the relatives of the Jia family, In terms of knowledge and influence in the scholarly community, no one can surpass his brother-in-law Lin Ruhai.

Therefore, deep down in his heart, he both respected and envied Lin Ruhai.

So when Lin Ruhai vaguely proposed to marry him, he immediately wanted to agree.

After all, it takes only three years for the country to have one beauty queen, and his own son can be the queen. As a quick son-in-law, as a father, he naturally has face.

But now that Mrs. Wang reminded him in such a different way, he had to think more about it.

If the eldest son Jia Zhu is still alive, he naturally does not need to think too much. Considering that the eldest son has become a scholar at a young age, if he does not die, he will definitely be able to support him in the future.

Unfortunately, the eldest son has to Died young.

Perhaps with Jia Zhuzhuyu in front, he is very dissatisfied with the two remaining sons.

One is stubborn and lazy. The other is stubborn. He is mediocre and dull, with a wretched temperament.

But in comparison, he still prefers his second son Jia Baoyu.

After all, compared to useless materials, imperfect jade is more Worth carving!

Therefore, the fact that he hit and scolded Jia Baoyu was actually a sign of his eagerness to have a successful son.

What’s more, as Mrs. Wang said before, the eldest brother There are successors in Jia She's lineage...

He, Jia Zheng, is such a proud person. What he despises the most in his life is Jia She, who is a model of a drunkard and a womanizer. I hate that God is unfair, and Lian'er is so sensible. Give him a progressive son!

Jia Zheng feels that at this point, he really cannot and should not lag too far behind his elder brother. Otherwise it will be unfair.

Jia Lian is now After raising the lintel of the first house, his second house must also work hard to build momentum. Otherwise, how can he live up to the achievements that took him fifty years to suppress his eldest brother!

With these thoughts in his mind, he also felt that he should be more cautious about Jia Baoyu's marriage.

As a representative of the Jia family, one of the four major families, he certainly knows how important having a capable wife is to a person's future.

Let’s just say that for so many years, many of the things he has been unable to resolve were all helped by his brother Wang Ziteng...

Although Lin Ruhai is quite prestigious in the court, However, they are only civil servants after all, and wealth and honor are all tied to official positions. Once one dies or becomes an official, all the glory and holy family will disappear.

This is what people call tea to cool down.

Mrs. Wang only knew that Lin Ruhai had been ill for several months, but she did not know that Lin Ruhai had submitted her resignation to the court due to poor health half a month ago, but Emperor Ning Kang had not approved it for the time being. .

Lantai Temple is a leisurely yamen, and it won’t be a big deal if the chief seal officer is slack for a few days. Perhaps Emperor Ning Kang wanted to wait a little longer to see if Lin Ruhai's illness could get better.

But according to his observation, it is difficult.

Based on the current situation of the Lin family, once something unexpected happens to Lin Ruhai, the Lin family can be considered to have completely bid farewell to the upper class scholars.

Jia Zheng frowned and saw that Mrs. Wang next to him had a slightly happy face. Knowing that she was happy to persuade him, he couldn't help but feel a little unhappy and asked: "What's the use of telling me this, old man?" It’s not like you don’t know what the madam means. Since you don’t want to agree to this marriage, how will you respond to the old lady?”

Mrs. Wang knew that Jia Zheng was persuaded by him, but she just I don't want to disobey Jia Mu and let her solve these troublesome problems.

She had known that Jia Zheng was useless on these issues, and all she asked was for Jia Zheng not to hold him back.

"Of course I understand what the old lady means. But the old lady loves Baoyu the most, how can she not understand the reason?

In my opinion, for such a long time The reason why the old lady has not made this matter clear since now is because she has these worries and considerations in her heart.

After all, even if the old lady feels sorry for her granddaughter, there is no need to promise her to her. Baoyu. When Lin Yatou grows up in the future, it would be a better choice to find another husband for her.

What do you think, sir?"

"You are both If it works, I won't care about this matter." Jia Zheng shook his sleeves and agreed with Mrs. Wang's statement.

The couple talked about some details again, and Jia Zheng suddenly said: "Now that the garden at the back is about to be completed, there is no time to delay it. Lin Zhixiao told me today that Kuli He has finished paying out his money again and asked me where to transfer the money next. I have nothing to say back to him for the time being..."

"Master, please don'tAnxious, Zhen's daughter-in-law in Dongfu agreed and gave us the remaining 30,000 taels of silver in the treasury for our use. She expected to count them and deliver them in the next two days. ”

　“Hmm. "Jia Zheng nodded, flicked his sleeves and walked out of the house.