Chapter 779

Rongguo Prefecture, Rongqing Hall.

The hall was as warm as spring, and the fragrance of the Laojunmei tea brewed by Yuanyang was refreshing; Jia Cong drank two cups in a row, and the tea cup was more than half empty.

Feeling a delicate fragrance around him, Yuanyang held the small teapot and had already stood by his side to refill his cup, the two of them smiling at each other.

Seeing Jia Cong and Baochai chatting congenially, and thinking of the wretched state of the second daughter-in-law and Baoyu, Lady Jia sighed involuntarily.

The foundation and ability of these two branches were vastly different; even if Brother Cong had good intentions, with just a few words, Baoyu and his mother couldn't handle it.

After she passed away in the future, she didn't know how the second branch would live; in the future, she could only rely on her own son.

Lady Jia said, "Brother Cong, I know you gave the Imperial Academy quota to Baoyu out of brotherly affection.

But you have also seen Baoyu's situation; I always feel that his body is weak, and I'm afraid he won't be able to handle studying at the Imperial Academy."

Jia Cong laughed inwardly; Baoyu's "heart-wide and body-fat" nature was not something that could be described as weak—if he was considered weak, there was no one strong in the world.

But he wouldn't use these words to confront Lady Jia, not just out of filial piety and etiquette, but because it would be ugly and unpleasant to say, and he really disdained to do so.

He said, "Old Lady, I gave the Imperial Academy quota to Baoyu because the Master has always hoped for his son to become a dragon, and I just wanted to help the Master achieve his wish.

Baoyu is already fifteen years old, and Grandfather Dairu at the school is advanced in age, with limited energy to teach the descendants; the Imperial Academy is a better place for seeking knowledge.

As for whether Baoyu will go to study or whether he can achieve anything, it depends on his own mind and fate.

If the Master agrees to Baoyu entering school late, I naturally will have no objections; the Imperial Academy quota will not run away just by being left there.

Because I hold dual hereditary ranks, according to the court system, both the Eastern and Western Prefectures have one quota for the Imperial Academy.

The Western Prefecture's quota was given to Baoyu, and I gave the Eastern Prefecture's quota to Huan'er. In these few days, I will have people handle the procedures; Huan'er will also enter the academy to study in the spring."

As soon as Jia Cong said this, everyone in the hall was somewhat surprised; linking Jia Huan with the Imperial Academy always made them feel somewhat astonished.

Because Jia Huan was not only born of a concubine, but his personality and behavior were also not likable, far less popular in the mansion than his sister Seeing Tan Chun.

Compared to the highly favored legitimate son Baoyu, Jia Huan had always had a very low sense of presence and was often naturally ignored.

Originally, Jia Cong and Seeing Tan Chun had agreed that Jia Huan would enter the Imperial Academy after the New Year, but because he had received the Master's family punishment, the storm had not yet passed.

For the sake of caution, Jia Cong was worried that speaking of this matter immediately would lead to complications.

At that time, because of the Jin Rong matter, Jia Huan had a bad reputation on Ningrong Street; Jia Cong had long had doubts about this matter, feeling that someone was operating behind the scenes.

Speaking of the Imperial Academy matter immediately, if someone used this matter to make an issue, and the Imperial Academy heard the rumors, the matter would be difficult to handle.

Now, Jia Huan had been recuperating for over a month, and the storm outside had gradually subsided.

Now that the twelfth lunar month had arrived and the time to enter the academy was near, it was not good to delay this matter any longer, and it was time to speak of it.

Yesterday, Jia Cong had specifically reminded Seeing Tan Chun to go to the Eastern Courtyard in these few days to inform Jia Zheng about Jia Huan entering the academy to audit classes.

And today, taking advantage of the discussion about Baoyu entering the academy to study, speaking of this matter in front of Lady Jia and everyone else, Jia Cong also had his own ulterior motives.

Because once the rumors of Jia Huan entering the Imperial Academy spread from Rongqing Hall, some people would have some misgivings.

After all, it involved the reputation of the Jia family, which Lady Jia had always cared about very much, and this was known to the whole clan.

Regardless of whether it was Jia Huang's wife outside or that lame Jin Rong, because they had to rely on the Rongguo Prefecture for protection to make a living, they had to weigh the importance of it and would not dare to act rashly.

Jia Cong naturally would also have people pass messages to warn them, letting them know the severity of it.

Moreover, after a month of buffering, informing Jia Zheng of this matter again—even if he was angry at his son, he would certainly be very willing for him to study and improve.

Jia Cong had also privately pondered and thought about the Jia Huan and Jin Rong matter.

He also learned from Seeing Tan Chun that to calm the situation, Lady Wang had given Jia Huang's wife two hundred taels of silver.

This matter made Jia Cong highly suspicious; Lady Wang had also been a mistress of a great mansion, and the consideration and means she should have had would not be so shallow.

Did she not know that these two hundred taels of silver were not blocking someone's mouth, but simply confirming Jia Huan's guilt in disguise, leaving a huge handle for others!

Jia Cong therefore secretly developed suspicions about Lady Wang because of this matter...

Therefore, letting Lady Jia know about this matter and letting Jia Zheng approve of it would make Lady Wang have misgivings, and Jia Cong's concerns about further complications in the inner courtyard would also be less...

Hearing that Jia Huan was also going to the Imperial Academy to study, Lady Jia felt an involuntary dislike in her heart.

It was one thing for her Baoyu to go to the Imperial Academy, but why was everyone going? Was the Imperial Academy so rare now?

It was just that this thought emerged subconsciously, and she hurriedly suppressed it subconsciously; after all, Jia Huan was also her grandson.

Lady Jia having such thoughts was actually not strange, because Jia Huan had never been liked by her, just like Jia Cong in those years...

She said, "How old is Huan'er? He hasn't reached the age to enter the academy to study yet, right?"

Jia Cong said, "Huan'er certainly hasn't reached the age to enter the academy, but for things like studying, naturally, the younger one is, the easier it is to teach.

As for Huan'er's age, it's not a big problem.

I have some connections in the Imperial Academy, and as long as I explain the reason, letting Huan'er enter the academy to audit classes is not considered formal enrollment, and he can be formally enrolled when he reaches the age."

The Imperial Academy was the court's highest institution of learning; if others said they could pull strings in it, they would mostly be ridiculed for being arrogant.

But that Jia Cong would say such things, Lady Jia and the others were not surprised at all.

Because Jia Cong was not only prosperous and dazzling in his studies, but also a Grade 5 Hanlin Academician of the current court, and every place that studied would have to give him face.

Jia Cong continued, "Third Sister has only one younger brother, Huan'er, and I know she has always had a wish in her heart, hoping that her brother will be successful in the future.

When I was still in the Eastern Courtyard, Third Sister was very caring towards me, sending books and pens; even the Xuelang paper I used for calligraphy practice was sent by Third Sister regularly.

I have always remembered Third Sister's kindness from those years, and naturally, I want to help her achieve her wish.

Baoyu and Huan'er are both my brothers in the same hall, and I have spare quotas for the academy in my hands, so naturally, it is not good to favor one over the other."

Baochai, on the side, hearing this, couldn't help but feel envious of Seeing Tan Chun.

Whether it was Miss Lin or Third Sister, they both had a bond with Brother Cong from childhood to adulthood.

Protecting and guarding each other, childhood sweethearts, with deep affection and loyalty; she didn't have such good fortune, just coming halfway, the bond was ultimately much worse.

Xue Yima and Wang Xifeng, who were present, were somewhat surprised to hear that Jia Huan was also going to the Imperial Academy to study, but they didn't take it too much to heart.

But Lady Jia, hearing this, felt somewhat uneasy and complicated, because her most beloved Baoyu had hated studying and the imperial examinations since he was a child.

Hoping that Baoyu would study and improve, and be as glorious as Jia Cong in the future—even if Lady Jia was a bit senile, she knew it was absolutely impossible.

But just because Baoyu couldn't study and be glorious didn't mean other descendants couldn't; although Huan-xiaozi was a mischievous character and also one who didn't love studying.

But who in the mansion didn't know that Third Sister had been close to Brother Cong since childhood, and she couldn't stop Brother Cong from loving the house and its crow, determined to pull her brother along?

Moreover, Brother Cong himself was born of a concubine, and looking at Huan-xiaozi, who was also born of a concubine, he would only be more pleasing to the eye.

Although he was respectful and polite in front of her, he never mentioned Baoyu, let alone spoke ill of Baoyu to her face.

But Lady Jia was old and shrewd, and she could still clearly feel that this Brother Cong didn't like Baoyu in his heart—this was absolutely true.

He was a person with great ability; if he remembered Third Sister's affection and really put in great effort to teach Huan-xiaozi.

In the end, what he could train that kid into was something that couldn't be guaranteed.

Brother Cong's ability to study was a rarity among ten thousand; even if the Jia family's fortune was great, it was absolutely impossible to produce a second one.

If he taught Huan-xiaozi, even if he couldn't pass the imperial examination, if he passed the scholar examination, that would also be an extraordinary thing.

With the sun rising in the east and rain in the west, comparing the two, Huan-xiaozi would simply overshadow her Baoyu.

According to her son's personality, he would definitely look up to the concubine-born son from now on, and would also be increasingly annoyed by her Baoyu.

Could it be that a case of the concubine-born suppressing the legitimate one in this mansion was not enough, and there had to be a second one?

Jia Cong, born as a concubine of the main branch, rose suddenly to inherit the Rongguo hereditary rank; although Lady Jia had already accepted the fact.

But every time she thought of this matter, Jia Cong inheriting the rank, apart from bringing external glory, made Lady Jia feel lingering fear regarding the subversion of the legitimate and concubine-born within the Jia family.

On the imperial decree for inheriting the rank, that sentence: "His birth mother, Du, is imperially granted a Grade 5 title, her status is solemn, her son is outstanding, worthy of being the legitimate line of the main branch, and can pass on the pure bloodline."

Based on this one sentence, the imperial brush and golden mouth, the imperial power and holy decree, could make the mother noble through the son, and forcefully support a woman of low status into the legitimate line of the Rongguo main branch.

On the second day after the decree was issued, the Ministry of Rites personally sent officials to preside over the replacement of Du Jinniang's spirit tablet in the Jia family ancestral hall, turning the concubine to the legitimate to correspond to the Rongguo hereditary rank.

Everyone in the Jia family knew this, but no one wanted to publicize it, and even less did they want others to mention it easily; the embarrassment of it was difficult to speak of to others.

Lady Jia actually didn't like her eldest daughter-in-law, Lady Xing, but that didn't mean she wanted to see her end up like this; after all, she was the widow of her eldest son.

Since Lady Xing moved from the Eastern Courtyard to the Western Prefecture, she had been living in the inner courtyard, closing her doors and not going out, as if she had evaporated from the world.

Even when she went to Rongqing Hall to pay respects to Lady Jia, it was rare every month, and she always did so when there was no one in the hall.

Not only avoiding sisters like Yingchun and Daiyu, but more importantly, avoiding Jia Cong, to avoid being too ashamed to face anyone if they met.