Chapter 34

The Grand Minister of the Ministry of Works was Yin Xiangxian, an old official of three dynasties. He was advanced in age, and the current Emperor treated old officials leniently, so Minister Yin spent nearly half a year at home in retirement.

The Ministry of Works was actually presided over by Vice Minister Li Dekang. After Yin Xiangxian retired, this Vice Minister Li was definitely going to take over.

Vice Minister Li Dekang was strict and spoke little. In terms of official business, there was a gap in rank between a Vice Minister and a Vice Prefect, so naturally, there was nothing to say.

Plus, Jia Zheng didn't understand worldly affairs, only knew how to bow and scrape, sat like a clay statue all day, was the least outstanding among his colleagues, and had a very weak presence.

Vice Minister Li usually didn't notice him, at most knowing he was a descendant of the Duke of Rongguo, and that was all. For many years in the same office, they hadn't even said a few words.

Now he was specifically calling him over to talk. What else could it be for? Naturally, it was for his nephew whose reputation was rising at the Nanxi Literary Gathering.

In officialdom, besides one's own career, the most important thing was whether there were outstanding nephews in the family. This was whether there was anyone to succeed.

The larger the family, the more they emphasized this, because the shade of the ancestors would eventually be exhausted, and officials would always have ups and downs in their careers.

Once demoted and dismissed from office, losing the barrier, and with no successors in the family, a prosperous family would decline in the blink of an eye.

Therefore, all families of great wealth and status attached great importance to the cultivation of reserve descendants, which was also the foundation for a family to remain prosperous for a long time.

And Jia She only inherited a nominal First-Class General, and Jia Zheng only became a Grade 5B Vice Prefect based on a legacy memorial.

He chatted in Li Dekang's office for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, and the two's conversation drifted toward Jia Cong involuntarily.

Jia Zhen of the Ningguo Prefecture was also a figure like Jia She, flying hawks and racing horses, lewd and luxurious, even worse than Jia She by three points.

Burning a cold stove early to build a good relationship for the future—a figure like Vice Minister Li naturally had such strategic vision.

That Jia Cong was said to be highly valued by Prince Jia Shun, and his plum blossom poem was rated by Master Liu Jingan as something that could be passed down for a hundred generations.

Added to the rich foundation of the Jia family with two Dukes in one family, it was not an exaggeration at all to say that the child had a boundless future.

And recently, rumors had spread from the palace that the Retired Emperor recently liked a newly released Buddhist scripture, which was said to have been written by this Jia family descendant himself.

The setbacks in the previous generation's official career were only a temporary low. If there were outstanding descendants in the clan, there was no fear of not being able to revitalize the family's reputation.

Now that the Jia family had produced an outstanding descendant who was excellent in both poetry and calligraphy, it immediately attracted everyone's attention.

As for the next generation, Jia Lian, Baoyu, Jia Rong, and others, none could mount a horse, lift a spear, hold a pen, or write an essay; they were thoroughly useless.

The Wang family married two daughters into the Jia family and took away the high positions of the Jingying Military Governor and the Controller of the Nine Provinces.

At such a young age, he was valued by noble families. His future was destined to be extraordinary. I'm afraid that in a few years, the Jia family might be able to restore its family reputation.

This matter had long become a laughingstock for the nobles of the Divine Capital. The Jia family descendants were so incompetent that they had lost all the face of the two Dukes of Ning and Rong.

Perhaps there were some unspeakable reasons, but in the final analysis, it was the embarrassment of the Jia family having no successors.

On the side of the Rongguo Prefecture, the two brothers Jia She and Jia Zheng, one was a dissolute scoundrel, and the other was mediocre and had no talent.

And Jia Zheng was only a Grade 5B Vice Prefect, with limited talent and depth, but he hadn't thought of such a deep level yet.

The connections and shade left by the two Dukes of the Jia family in the army had no descendants capable of inheriting them, but instead benefited Wang Ziteng of Jin Ling.

This news was a bit scary, more capable of stirring the heartstrings of some old gourmets in officialdom than the plum blossom poem at the Nanxi Literary Gathering.

The Jia family had two Dukes in one family, which was the most prominent family among the Eight Dukes, but its influence in the court and the public had been declining day by day in recent years.

The usually strict Vice Minister Li had a smile on his face and looked quite kind today. In short, the atmosphere of the whole conversation was very good.

Jia Zheng walked out of Li Dekang's office feeling a bit dizzy, his whole person still immersed in the joy of having a good son at home, a bit unwilling to pull himself out.

Suddenly, a servant came to report that someone from the Jia Prefecture was looking for the Vice Prefect, and it seemed to be an urgent matter.

Jia Zheng hurried out to see, but it was a servant from home reporting the news. Guo Zhigui, who had sent Jia Cong out yesterday, returned early in the morning, saying that Cong Sanye Cong had an accident.

Jia Zheng's face changed drastically, feeling as if he had fallen heavily from the clouds to the ground.

In the Rongqing Hall, yesterday had just passed the 15th. The Jia family had many old relatives and friends, and the social interactions since the 2nd hadn't stopped.

Jia Mu didn't see a few noble ladies of the Four Kings and Eight Dukes that day, and there were even younger ladies from the Wang, Shi, Xue, and other families coming to pay respects.

It wasn't until after the Lantern Festival that she relaxed. These past few days, she had been chatting and relaxing in the Rongqing Hall after lunch with her grandsons and granddaughters, and Lady Wang and Li Gongcai were also accompanying her on the side.

There was also Wang Xifeng, who knew how to be funny, occasionally telling a joke, making the whole hall laugh. Jia Mu was happy for a while, and only went to sleep for a while when she was tired.

But at this moment, Wang Xifeng was nowhere to be seen, and the footsteps in the small hall outside were a bit messy. Jia Mu said to Sister Yuanyang, who was hammering her legs with a beauty hammer: "What's the noise outside? Go and take a look."

Before long, Sister Yuanyang returned, her face a bit pale.

She said: "Old Lady, the maid outside said that Guo Zhigui, who sent Cong Sanye Cong to the literary gathering yesterday, returned alone this morning, and he was injured. He said Cong Sanye Cong was kidnapped by thieves!"

Jia Mu's face changed, and her body, which was leaning on the couch, straightened up at once. She asked urgently: "How could he be kidnapped by thieves? What exactly is going on?"

Sister Yuanyang said: "Just now the Master was asking questions in the Songxuan Hall. Guo Zhigui was injured. I heard that one of the servants who followed him had his arm broken. They were all injured by thieves."

"The Master was furious, saying that they abandoned Cong Sanye Cong and returned by themselves, and they all deserved to die. They are making a scene right now, and the maids and old women in the prefecture have all heard it."

Hearing this, everyone in the hall was scared pale. Jia Cong was actually kidnapped by thieves, and those who followed him were all injured. They didn't know if he was still alive.

Seeing Tan Chun was already scared pale, and tears rolled down. Ying Chun's body was trembling, as if her soul had been taken away.

Lin Daiyu wasn't very familiar with Jia Cong, but thinking of the ancient and handsome Xizhou poem in Seeing Tan Chun's room, and the young man's gentle and calm figure in the Rongning Hall that day, her eyes also turned red.

Baoyu was also scared, feeling sorry in his heart, thinking that he shouldn't have attended that literary gathering, and was really implicated by this bunch of national traitors and salary-grubbers. It could be seen that his usual insight was correct.

Jia Mu ordered Sister Yuanyang: "Go and invite the Master to come. I want to ask what exactly is going on?"

After a long while, she saw Jia Zheng enter the Rongqing Hall with a decayed face.

When Jia Mu asked, Jia Zheng told the words of Guo Zhigui and others once.

That night, Guo Zhigui ran for a while with two servants. One of them heard the movement and finally stopped to pick him up.

The three chased past a mountain col and were about to catch up with the carriage. The thief suddenly shot a small arrow, which killed the horses of Guo Zhigui and the servant. The servant fell off the horse and broke his arm.

With such a delay, the carriage ran out of sight. The three of them braced themselves and searched around in a mess, and finally returned to report the news when they had no clue.

Jia Zheng said: "Just now I went to the East Road Courtyard to find my eldest brother, but he went to a banquet. I originally wanted to let my eldest brother report to the Zhenan Prefecture, so it would be more appropriate to let the officials find him."

"But the Eldest Lady said to wait for my eldest brother to return before making a decision. But saving people is like fighting a fire, and that is their own son, sigh."

"I met Feng Jie'er on the way back, and I have already let her and Lian'er send some old experienced people, and take more young servants out of the city to find him."

Jia Mu patted the embroidery stool with a thud: "They are all people who don't worry about things. They are still waiting for that bastard to return to make a decision. Don't they know that he can forget his ancestors when he drinks? By the time he makes a decision, the person will be cold."

"The ancestors of the Jia family were all martial nobles who rode horses and wielded swords. Now that a descendant of the clan has been kidnapped by a petty thief, if we don't find him quickly and something happens, we will lose all our old faces."

(End of chapter)