Chapter 366: Beautiful Faces Easily Become Old Hearts

Rongguo Prefecture, Rongqing Hall.

Baoqin said: "The eldest young lady knows that it is the old lady's birthday next month, so she sewed a jade-colored brocade forehead band and a tribute satin cloud-pattern hundred-longevity short jacket for the old lady to celebrate her fortune and longevity."

Jia Mu had a look of joy on her face and hurriedly let Yuanyang collect the package of birthday gifts in Baoqin's hands.

Her eldest granddaughter had been in the palace for many years, and once she had the opportunity, she did not forget to show filial piety to her, which made Jia Mu feel moved in her heart.

After all, she was a granddaughter she had raised by her side since she was a child. Thinking about sending her into the palace for many years, and she was still lonely in the deep palace without any results, Jia Mu also felt some regret in her heart.

Baoqin said again: "The young lady also said that the old lady is wise and loving, so the descendants can have the blessing of surplus, and can produce outstanding descendants like Third Brother Cong who can stand up and support the household.

The young lady also asks the old lady to bestow more mercy and love, and Third Brother will definitely be the person to revitalize the family's reputation and business in the future."

Jia Mu was slightly stunned when she heard this. After thinking about it a little, she understood the meaning of these words. Her eldest granddaughter valued this boy's ability extremely highly and regarded him as the future of the Jia family.

These words had a hint of persuasion to her as the grandmother, which could be considered painstaking.

That day in the palace, Yuanchun had told Baoqin that Third Brother was very concerned about Miss Lin in his words. If they could become a good couple, it would be of great benefit to the future of the Rongguo Jia family.

Jia Mu and the others were also surprised when they saw Yingchun's actions. Her second granddaughter used to have a wooden personality, not even knowing how to shout when pricked by a needle, and was usually silent.

Seeing Tan Chun was sharp-minded and saw Baoqin's thoughts, saying: "Sister Baoqin, this is Sister Lin, the old lady's granddaughter."

That day Yuanchun told Baoqin that in the past few years, the old lady had visited the palace to pay respects, and Yuanchun had seen her several times. The old lady had mentioned Miss Lin and Second Brother Baoyu several times, obviously having the idea of marriage.

Now that this Miss Lin mentioned Third Brother, joy appeared in her eyebrows and eyes. Her young lady was indeed wise and sharp. That day, just by Third Brother's few words, she could guess it accurately.

Whenever Xin Chun Hao produced new goods, Hongxiu and Keqing sent many to Jia Cong for him to use himself or give to his sisters in the family. Now there were quite a few left in the East Prefecture.

In Jia Mu's heart, among the several granddaughters, besides the eldest granddaughter Yuanchun, she valued the third girl Seeing Tan Chun the most, feeling that she was capable and had a bit of the appearance she had when she was unmarried.

Jia Mu nodded secretly when she heard this. Her eldest granddaughter was a person who understood the big picture. Her heart was not only about blood closeness, but she knew how to be gentle with the brothers who had achieved success in the family, and she would be able to accomplish things in the future.

Therefore, the young lady did not dare to easily break the matter between Third Brother and Miss Lin, worrying that the old lady would oppose it and cause more trouble, leading to disaster instead.

Back then, Yuanchun wanted to make two brocade robes to send to her two younger brothers. Baoqin volunteered to make the one for Jia Cong, saying that she had changed clothes for Jia Cong that day and knew his clothing size clearly.

Yingchun smiled: "Sister Baoqin, these are the perfume and soap produced by Xin Chun Hao, and two bolts of new Su embroidery patterns. Please take them to the eldest sister. Using them yourself or rewarding others is good."

Sometimes Seeing Tan Chun would come to help her. Now that Yingchun was doing these household chores, she had become familiar with them.

She also knew that she had to accompany the young lady to live in the deep palace for a long time, and had long ago cut off other thoughts, but now that she was sending gifts to the Jia Prefecture, it was good to see her by the way.

It was only right for Yuanchun to make clothes for her own brother Baoyu. She didn't expect that she would also carefully take care of Jia Cong.

Yuanchun just smiled and didn't say much, just letting her do it with heart.

On the side, Daiyu said: "Third Brother went to the Firearm Department in the north of the city this morning to work. I'm afraid he will be late coming back."

Baoqin said again: "I and the eldest young lady also sewed two brocade robes to send to Second Brother Baoyu and Third Brother Cong. I don't know... is Third Brother Cong at the prefecture?"

Now that she heard Seeing Tan Chun say that this was Miss Lin, she felt a bit dazed in her heart.

Ever since Yingchun moved to the East Prefecture, Jia Cong had become a hands-off manager, throwing all the affairs of the inner chambers to this sister. At first, Yingchun was still a bit unfamiliar.

After exploring for a few months, she gradually became familiar with household chores. Occasionally, Jia Cong's classmates and colleagues would visit the East Prefecture, and Yingchun would arrange for servants to receive and deal with them.

Baoqin was very disappointed when she heard this, full of sadness.

For the second girl Yingchun, Jia Mu had always been a bit neglectful.

Now that the Jia family could have this capability, besides Third Brother Cong, there was no one else.

It was just that she didn't know Daiyu, so she couldn't help but look at her a few more times.

Only a person like Miss Lin could truly be worthy of him.

Baoqin sent the birthday gifts, but because the palace rules were strict, when she went out and when she returned, it would all be registered in the book, so she couldn't stay long.

In fact, as soon as Baoqin entered Rongqing Hall, she noticed Daiyu, because she had seen Yingchun and Seeing Tan Chun when they were young, and could mostly recognize them.

This Miss Lin was born so beautifully, no wonder Third Brother was always thinking about her. When chatting about family affairs with the young lady in the palace, he let it slip in front of the young lady without knowing it.

After a while, Xiuju returned from the East Prefecture, bringing back four bottles of top-grade water jade perfume, two exquisite wooden boxes of scented flower soap, and two bolts of top-grade Su embroidery satin.

That day she undressed and changed robes for Jia Cong, speaking and laughing without restraint, leaving an impression in her heart, and she had been unable to forget it ever since.

Baoqin knew deeply that although her young lady was in the boudoir, her heart was filled with the thought of family peace and longevity, hoping that the brothers in the family could support the household and protect the clansmen.

Lady Wang was a bit unhappy when she heard this. Her daughter valued that boy so much that she actually mentioned him in the same breath as Baoyu. Why didn't she think about the fact that Baoyu was her own proper brother?

Fortunately, she was naturally an introverted and patient person. When she did something seriously, she had enough patience and was never afraid of trouble; otherwise, she wouldn't be tireless and happy on the mere chessboard.

This brocade robe took her a lot of effort, and every stitch and thread was extremely thoughtful and appropriate.

Jia Mu and Lady Wang heard that Yuanchun had made a brocade robe for Baoyu and Jia Cong respectively, and their moods were different.

Baoqin had been in the palace for many years, accompanying Yuanchun through the days of waiting, and rarely saw other outsiders besides palace maids and palace officials.

She had only lived in the East Prefecture for a few months, and she had become so transparent and clever, and her responses and etiquette were so thoughtful and appropriate, really like a different person.

Only Daiyu was a stranger, and she was born with such a rare color in the world, which naturally attracted her attention.

Yingchun asked Baoqin to sit for a while, let someone take the eunuch to the side hall to drink tea, and gave Xiuju careful instructions.

It was just that Jia Mu had always regretted in her heart. It was a pity for her Baoyu. As long as he was half as capable as that boy, would he need his sister to say such things to her?

Today, guests were present, and the eldest granddaughter sent someone from the palace to send birthday gifts. Some etiquette for sending and receiving, she hadn't thought of yet, but this second granddaughter, who had always been shy, thought of it for her first.

And the things she did were delicate and intimate, which really made Jia Mu look at Yingchun with new eyes.

Jia Mu saw this scene, and her second granddaughter was actually managing the house for that boy, which showed that her agreement to let her go to the East Prefecture was very reasonable.

Jia Mu didn't know that Jia Cong had mentioned to Yingchun several times about his meeting and talking with Yuanchun in the palace, and he appreciated the eldest sister very much in his words.

Now that the eldest sister had specially sent a brocade robe from the palace to Jia Cong, Yingchun, as his own sister, naturally wanted to express her gratitude, and she guessed that Third Brother must also like her doing this.

Jia Mu had never thought that Yingchun's original personality was dull and honest because she lost her mother at a young age and her father ignored her, which led to long-term coldness and loneliness, and long-term suppression.

But when a person truly has concerns in their heart and responsibilities that need to be shouldered, a powerful internal drive will make their words and deeds change greatly.

Four years ago, Jia Cong moved into the West Prefecture. Because of blood kinship, because of sympathy for each other, and because of Jia Cong's consistent closeness and care for her.

Yingchun arranged clothes and shoes for this younger brother, calculated cold and warmth, and was meticulous. From that time on, Jia Cong became her greatest reliance and support in her heart.

Yingchun knew that besides reading, this brother went to work every day, and usually was willing to spend time chatting and playing chess with her, coaxing her to be happy.

But since the establishment of the prefecture, he was the only one who had no interest in the household chores of the prefecture.

She, as a sister, naturally had to do it for him. Fortunately, these things were not difficult, and she was not born stupid. If she paid more attention, she could do it.

Baoqin took the gift from Xiuju's hands and hurriedly thanked Yingchun.

When Baoqin left the Jia Prefecture eight years ago, Yingchun was young and couldn't see her personality. She thought that the second young lady was a careful and appropriate person.

She even felt that this was probably the principle that her young lady said, "Not one family, not entering one door." Third Brother was a capable person, and even his own sister was careful and capable.

Lady Wang and Wang Xifeng and others were very surprised when they saw this atmosphere of Yingchun, but they didn't think too much, just feeling that Yingchun was getting older and suddenly opened up, understanding human feelings and worldly wisdom.

Among those sitting, only Seeing Tan Chun had different thoughts. She just felt that her Third Brother was really too magical, and she had never seen such a pair of siblings.

Whenever the second sister encountered something related to Third Brother, she would suddenly become smart, as if she were a different person.

Now that she was the eldest young lady of the East Prefecture, staying with Third Brother every day, she was subtly influenced and became more and more appropriate and capable, actually having a bit of the demeanor of a head wife like Sister Feng.

Here, Baoqin sent the birthday gifts and was about to say goodbye and return to the palace. Jia Mu asked Yingchun, Daiyu, and Seeing Tan Chun to send her to the second gate personally.

She also asked Lin Zhixiao's wife to prepare Lady Wang's carriage at the west corner gate to send Baoqin back to the palace.

The wife of Marquis Cheng Yang and her unmarried third young lady, who had been sitting there, witnessed the whole process of Baoqin sending birthday gifts.

That eldest young lady of the Jia family had been in the palace for eight years, from the age of youth to the age of twenty, but she was still unknown. Almost no one in the major noble families of the Love Shenjing did not know.

There were those who pitied, those who mocked, and not a few who ignored.

In fact, this situation was not rare. The daughters of the Four Kings and Eight Dukes families had been selected to enter the palace for many years, and had always been calm, and Yuanchun was not the only one.

There is no family affair in the imperial family. Which woman the Emperor wants to favor, which woman the Emperor wants to serve in bed, is full of strange power balance when talked about, and it is disgusting to think about.

Plus, the current Emperor was not a person who was intense about female beauty. Those old nobles who tried to sell their daughters for glory and reverse the decline mostly ended up as meat buns hitting dogs.

But the wife of Marquis Cheng Yang just heard with her own ears that the eldest young lady of the Jia family was suddenly valued by the Empress, and even the matter of going out of the palace to send birthday gifts, which violated palace rules, was specially granted grace.

The reason was nothing more than that the Marquis Lord Weiyuan of the Jia family had outstanding military merit and talent, which made the current Emperor appreciate him, so the Empress bestowed grace on that female historian in the palace of the Jia family to show her solicitation.

This young Marquis Lord Weiyuan's favor was so great that perhaps one day, the Emperor would favor this female historian Jia because of this....

Could it be that the Jia family's two titles would add another imperial concubine? Although this idea seemed a bit unbelievable.

But this young man of the Jia family, not yet twenty, was ennobled for the merit of pacifying the Jurchens. Was this not an unbelievable thing? Even if another one happened, it seemed not impossible.

This made the wife of Marquis Cheng Yang feel more and more shocked, and she couldn't help but look at her own delicate and pretty daughter.

Originally, she heard that she wanted to say goodbye, but at this moment, her butt seemed to be stuck to the chair, and she accompanied Jia Mu to say a lot of intimate words.

And Daiyu, Yingchun, and Seeing Tan Chun sent Baoqin away and did not return to Rongqing Hall, but went straight back to the East Prefecture.

Although their identities were different, they seemed to have the same thoughts, unable to see anyone selling women to Jia Cong at will.

Love Shenjing, northern suburbs, Firearm Department construction workshop.

For the past few days, Jia Cong, Liu Shizhen, Ma Delun, and others had been busy debugging the precision of the new type of firearm artillery scale.

Because Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao issued a secret decree to allocate five improved Red-Clothed cannons to equip the coastal passes of Songjiang and Su Zhou.

Because in the past half year, Japanese pirates had often invaded along the estuary.

With the current forging skills, after the artillery molds were melted and out of the furnace, a large amount of manual grinding and adjustment work was needed to make the artillery's firing precision reach the expected effect.

And the ammunition used by the five improved Red-Clothed cannons, compared with the initial test firing effect, could only be mass-produced and stored after two rounds of test finalization.

The number of shells produced and stored must be able to meet the requirement of at least fifty rounds of continuous firing per cannon to ensure the normal use of the artillery upon arrival.

At present, the Five Armies Camp was carrying out routine troop rotation. After the personnel rotation was completed, five hundred soldiers from the Five Armies Camp would be drawn to escort the artillery to Jin Ling.

Artillery instructor Ma Delun would accompany the whole journey. After the artillery was transported to Jin Ling, the Songjiang Guard and Su Zhou Guard would send troops to receive the artillery.

After this batch of artillery was transported out of the capital, Jia Cong's work would be considered finished, and then he would set off for Jin Ling.

Ever since he received the imperial decree to go to Jin Ling on official business, some people in the Love Shenjing also felt that the Emperor's sudden whim to establish a branch of the secondary capital's Firearm Department was a bit abrupt and suspicious.

The connections between the Love Shenjing and Jin Ling are intertwined in a thousand ways, even though the Investigation Court has already uprooted the nails they deemed suspicious.

there were still people with intentions who would link the recent people and things related to Jin Ling with the Zhou Zhengyang case that shocked Jin Ling.

But these people noticed that Jia Cong was unhurried, devoted himself to the debugging of firearm construction in the firearm workshop, and had no sense of urgency about going to Jin Ling on imperial business, and there was no urge from the palace at all.

All these signs indicated that Jia Cong's trip to Jin Ling to set up a branch of the Firearm Department was just a whim of the Emperor.

Moreover, recently, there had been frequent harassment by pirates and Japanese pirates in the coastal areas of Songjiang. Perhaps the Emperor wanted to take precautions and strengthen coastal defense with the power of firearms.

On the tenth day after the imperial decree was issued in the palace, the officials selected by the Ministry of Personnel to rotate to various government offices in Jin Ling had all gone south in batches.

News suddenly came out of the firearm workshop that there had been continuous rain in the Love Shenjing for several days, and a large area of the gunpowder stored in the workshop had become damp, hindering the progress of artillery construction....

And Jia Cong, the supervisor of the Firearm Department, still ran to the firearm workshop every three days, appearing very busy and having no time to attend to other matters.

And those who had paid attention to him, and even he himself, seemed to have forgotten about the need to go to Jin Ling on imperial business.

Thirty miles north of the Love Shenjing, a cavalry team of five hundred people was marching in the jungle with drizzling rain. There were also five or six large carts in the team, covered tightly with rainproof oilcloth.

And this cavalry team of five hundred people was mainly led by three people, all of whom were Jia Cong's acquaintances.

Liaodong Firearm Camp Thousand-Household Commander Wei Yongzhou, Battalion Commander Guo Zhi Gui, and Team Leader Jiang Xiao Liu.

Ten days ago, they received an order from the Five Armies Camp to lead their five hundred firearm soldiers back to the Love Shenjing for rest and rotation.

After traveling day and night, they finally marched to a place thirty miles away from the Love Shenjing today.

Just as the cavalry team of five hundred was about to walk out of the jungle, two riders suddenly flew over in the rain curtain ahead. Looking at their attire, one was a messenger from the Five Armies Camp, and the other was an official from the government office.

Among them, the messenger from the Five Armies Camp was still Wei Yongzhou's colleague.

The two riders galloped to the front of the team. The official from the government office shouted: "I am Wang Fangwei, a main official of the Ministry of War's Department of Military Appointments, acting on imperial decree and the order of the Minister of War to mobilize troops. Please show the military tally of the person in charge of the troops."

Wei Yongzhou looked solemn when he heard this, and hurriedly took out half of the fish tally hanging around his neck, and combined it with the other half of the fish tally in Wang Fangwei's hand to verify each other's identity.

Wang Fangwei then took out the mobilization document from the Ministry of War, and the messenger from the Five Armies Camp took out the mobilization letter from the military camp. The three people checked the two documents to be consistent, and Wei Yongzhou signed and stamped them.

Wei Yongzhou stared at the content of the mobilization order for a moment, unable to hide his surprise in his eyes. After calming down a little, he waved his hand and shouted to readjust the formation.

The cavalry team of five hundred people, including the five or six large carts accompanying them, immediately adjusted their direction of travel, bypassed the Love Shenjing city from afar, and headed south.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 367 =====