Chapter 51

The young Daoist to the side listened impatiently to Liu Bi's rambling.

He stepped forward and said, "I am Qingluan, a disciple under Zhang Zhang Tianshi. My master knows that Young Master Jia was robbed by thieves and is worried, so he specifically sent me to visit."

As he spoke, he took out a dark, heavy tablet: "My master is about to return to Mount Longhu and asked me to give this Nine Palaces Dao Tablet to Young Master Jia to form a karmic connection."

Jia Cong took the tablet, somewhat confused; it was heavy in his hand, and it was engraved with complex and exquisite talismans, Bagua, and other seal scripts, as well as words like "Shangqing Zhengyi Palace."

The young Daoist saw his confusion and said, "This Nine Palaces Dao Tablet is not given to people casually. With this tablet, you can perform rituals and stay at any Zhengyi Daoist temple in the world."

"You can stay for three or five years without issue. In the future, whether you are traveling for study or staying as a guest, if you encounter difficulties, go find them, and as long as it is within their power, they will help."

Jia Cong was shocked in his heart; wasn't this Dao tablet a permanent VIP gold card of later generations? Did he really have such face to have Zhang Zhang Tianshi bestow such an object?

The young Daoist saw his expression and felt somewhat proud, but seeing the bloodstains on his back, he frowned again, his eyes showing unbearable sympathy.

He blinked and said, "Is your family's punishment meant to beat people half to death? How could the elders in the family be so vicious?"

Jia Zheng was again embarrassed; he should have let him see the guests alone after finishing his talk with Jia Cong just now. He regretted why he had to stay.

Jia Zheng was secretly angry seeing this young Daoist being so unruly.

Speaking of Hearing Zhi Shao, Aunt Zhao cried again, saying: "I, an old thing, am truly useless. With the young master not at home, I didn't help the young master protect the people in the room."

He couldn't reprimand this disciple of the Heavenly Master, so he just coughed to the side to show his dissatisfaction.

"There are many fun places on Mount Longhu; wouldn't it be carefree?"

He went to beg Aunt Zhao to let this Ma Daopo come over to perform rituals to drive away evil for him; this matter was known to many in the East Courtyard.

Jia Cong persuaded Aunt Zhao to stop and asked about the situation of Wang Shanbao's wife.

But there was no need to care about this evil slave, Wang Shanbao's wife; since she was still alive, let her pay with her life!

Hearing this news, Jia Cong's face was cold; he had known the origin of the matter from Guo Zhigui the day he returned to the mansion.

He seemed to have thought of something, so he kept this matter in his heart.

Now that Jia She was away, he kept getting caught in the crossfire.

"If you are not living well at home, why not follow my master to Mount Longhu? My master never beats people, and you have caught his eye."

His own elders were still present, yet he was enticing Jia Cong to go to Mount Longhu to become a Daoist; did he really think his Jia family was easy to fool?

So he wanted to find a divine path to drive away evil for himself, because he heard that Ma Daopo of the Zuoni Nunnery east of the city was somewhat effective, and she was also the godmother of Second Master Bao, and on good terms with Aunt Zhao.

Aunt Zhao also said that Wang Shanbao's wife knew Hearing Zhi Shao had jumped into the river and died, which scared her quite a bit; because she had a guilty conscience, she had nightmares every night since then, suffering unspeakably.

Regarding Jia She and Lady Xing, Jia Cong still had some misgivings and could only wait for a suitable opportunity to erupt.

It was said that because Jia Cong had no one to take care of him now, the maid Ping'er by the side of Second Grandmother Lian had someone call her over.

Aunt Zhao said that Wang Shanbao's wife didn't die at Hearing Zhi Shao's hands, but just broke her head and bled quite a bit; she rested at home for a few days and then came back to life.

Liu Bi was holding back laughter to the side, feeling that this young Daoist was truly funny.

Ma Daopo! Jia Cong's heart jumped; wasn't she the sorceress who instigated Aunt Zhao in *Dream of the Red Chamber* and almost killed Feng Jie and Baoyu with witchcraft paper dolls?

If Wang Shanbao's wife hadn't received Jia She's orders that day to go to the storehouse courtyard to scold and force Hearing Zhi Shao, Hearing Zhi Shao wouldn't have been driven to despair and jumped into the river.

After finally sending away the guests, Jia Zheng returned to Rongqing Hall, and Jia Cong's wet nurse, Aunt Zhao, came in from outside.

Rongqing Hall.

Jia Mu was still somewhat anxious; that grandson had never been favored by her since childhood and hadn't been by her side many times, so naturally, there was no closeness at all.

Just seeing how many things had happened to him during this period, she knew this wicked obstacle was not like the ordinary descendants of the family.

He knew his father was fierce, yet he risked being beaten half to death to stand up to him; none of the nephews in the family had such a temper.

Hearing from the old women who knew the matter, he was beaten by his father until he was almost out of breath, yet he didn't utter a sound and never begged for mercy; this heart was hard enough and cold enough.

Although she had her second son tell him those words and rewarded him with a pretty maid to soothe his heart, this wicked obstacle didn't look like someone easy to handle.

If he still had that temper of twisting against his father, holding resentment in his heart, and still shouted about things in front of outsiders, there would be no way to stop him this time.

Jia Mu was feeling depressed and uneasy, and seeing her second son return to Rongqing Hall, she hurriedly asked about the situation of meeting the guests earlier.

Jia Zheng told her about Jia Cong's thoughtful words and his consideration for the overall situation when meeting the guests, his face showing a sense of relief.

Lady Wang saw her husband's expression and also smoothed the atmosphere, saying: "Old Lady, please rest assured. Although that child is somewhat stubborn, he still knows the limits."

Jia Mu breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

She asked again: "That old man Liu Yanxiu, why did he come up with the idea of letting him go to some academy to study?"

"The Jia family has a clan school passed down by the ancestors, so why is there a need to study outside? What does it mean if it gets out?"

The reason Jia Mu said this was because the Jia family had established a clan school since the first generation of Dukes, specifically to provide education for the descendants of the family.

Unless there was a legacy quota for the Imperial Academy to be used, they would let the descendants leave the clan school and go to the Imperial Academy to study.

In previous years, Jia Jing and Jia Rong of the East Prefecture, and Jia Zhu of the West Prefecture, were all examples of this old precedent, except that Jia Jing and Jia Zhu were sincere about studying, one passing the imperial examination and the other passing the scholar examination.

People like Jia Rong were purely going to mix for the name of an Imperial Academy student.

But the Imperial Academy quota of the Jia family was only passed down among the legitimate sons; concubine-born sons like Jia Cong with no prominent background shouldn't even think about it.

So according to the normal path, someone like Jia Cong should go to the clan school to study.

If he went to an outside academy to study without permission, where would that put the clan school left by the ancestors? That would be an unfilial act, and he would have to go to the ancestral hall to receive family punishment.

Jia Zheng smiled bitterly: "Old Lady, you might not know, but before the New Year, the eldest brother notified Elder Dairu in the school to expel Brother Cong from the clan school's register."

"Master Jingan just happened to know about this, and he felt Brother Cong was a talent worth molding, fearing he would delay his studies, so he recommended him to study at Qingshan Academy."

Jia Mu looked puzzled: "Why on earth would he want to expel him and not allow him to study in the school?"

Jia Zheng's expression was also awkward, thinking it absurd, and said: "The eldest brother said he was unworthy of studying, so he expelled his name from the school."

Fortunately, Jia Zheng still looked after his eldest brother's face, and with Jia Mu and many female relatives in the hall, he didn't say the words Jia She used about Jia Cong being base, vulgar, and wasting study money.

Jia Mu felt a wave of powerlessness in her heart; that boy could write good calligraphy and composed lyrics that everyone said were good, yet he was still considered unworthy of studying.

How on earth did her son become so stupid as to come up with this absurd idea, expelling him from the clan school, only to let outsiders grab the opportunity to organize a big academy for him to study in?

Isn't this letting people slap the Jia family in the face, saying the Jia family has no eyes, and the source of this slap was sent up by her own son?

Jia Mu patted the embroidered stool powerlessly, her heart filled with depression, so angry she almost wanted to shed tears.

"Truly enemies don't meet by chance. In the future, I don't want to hear about such brainless things again; let them make a scene."

Jia Zheng hurriedly said: "Old Lady, please don't think too much. Master Jingan is a master of literature of a generation; being able to recommend Brother Cong to study at Qingshan Academy..."

"That is a good thing that others can't even beg for; it truly gives my Jia family great face. Old Lady, just let Brother Cong go study."

Jia Mu was not senile; of course, she knew this was a good thing, but why did this good thing make people feel so awkward and miserable?

(End of chapter)