Chapter 794

Count's Mansion, Inner Courtyard Back Garden.

Jia Cong left Rongqing Hall and accompanied Baochai all the way back to Lixiang Courtyard before crossing the wind-and-rain corridor connecting the two mansions alone.

When he stepped into the Eastern Mansion, the small paths in the garden wound, the water pavilions were soft and bright, the pavilions and towers were as ethereal as immortals, and the thick, green fragrance of winter permeated the air.

When this familiar scene rushed toward him, the haze and unhappiness suppressed in his heart gradually dissipated.

Although he inherited the Rongguo hereditary title and had become the master of the Jia family's Rongguo, he was still accustomed to staying in the Eastern Mansion and was unwilling to walk around in the Western Mansion when there was nothing to do.

Because this magnificent and spectacular Rongguo main mansion, even though it was deep, grand, and luxurious, exuded a decaying and absurd atmosphere that made him truly dislike it and unwilling to stay in it for long.

The newly renovated Rongxi Hall, although carefully managed by Xiaohong, was bright and brand new inside and out.

But Jia Cong rarely walked around in Rongxi Hall except for receiving guests during the New Year, and he had never stayed there overnight, which wasted a lot of Xiaohong's effort.

The once glorious Duke's mansion was not taken seriously in his eyes, but in the eyes of others, it was the place of noble honor.

Jia Mu was content with luxury and wealth in Rongqing Hall, while Jia Baoyu was reluctant to leave the Western Mansion, obsessed with love and lust, and mourning the spring and autumn.

Lady Wang was even more ambitious, frequently walking in and out of the Western Mansion, stirring up trouble, and showing off her power, dreaming of letting the second branch turn the tables.

Originally, Jia Cong did not want to worry about these broken things; he lived his own life in the Eastern Mansion, and it was fine if he didn't see them.

In any large and powerful family, an old lady who is confused and partial like Jia Mu, a useless piece of trash like Jia Baoyu, and a restless woman like Lady Wang are not too rare.

Looking at the ties of affection with Jia Zheng and Tan Chun, it was just spending some silver to support them; even if they tossed about, they could not make any waves.

Although Jia Mu was old, she was not completely confused; since he inherited the Rongguo hereditary title, the old lady had faced reality and tried her best to ease the relationship between grandson and grandmother.

Even if Jia Baoyu ignored clan laws and etiquette and stayed in the Western Mansion without leaving, Jia Cong was originally too lazy to care.

But because he was obsessed with Lin Meimei and refused to give up, and his words and actions were absurd, it was inevitable that people would be annoyed.

Whenever he had various matters, from passing the imperial examination and receiving guests to family affairs and Ping'er entering his room, Jia Baoyu dared to speak wildly and provoke him unreasonably.

He was lazy and shameless without knowing it, and everywhere he peddled that set of "moth of the salary" rhetoric.

He could not even read the Four Books, yet he ridiculed him, a successful imperial scholar, which really made people laugh and cry.

He even heard rumors that Wuer was managing the house in the Western Mansion, and Jia Baoyu still wanted to take the opportunity to provoke her; these had worn out Jia Cong's patience and made him unable to bear it any longer.

Compared to Jia Baoyu's absurdity and ridiculousness, Lady Wang's behavior was more risky; he had already spoken that the Jia family must not provoke the matter of the Zhen family's hidden silver.

Because of her greed for wealth, Lady Wang still wanted to hide the Zhen family's private silver in the Eastern Courtyard and even severely injured Tan Chun who spoke out to stop her.

She even had whimsical and daring thoughts, actually coveting the business of the Xin Chun Firm, wanting to get a share of the profits, and even instigated Jia Mu to come forward to mediate.

A woman of the collateral branch with corrupt morality, arrogant, insidious, insatiable, and arrogant; if she is not taught a lesson and does not know how to restrain herself, she will surely become a disaster for the family in the future.

If one turns a deaf ear to it, as time goes by, resentment will be born, and accidents will surely happen.

Therefore, today in Rongqing Hall, he said a series of sharp words to completely cut off Lady Wang's delusions and also give a warning to the inside and outside of the Jia family.

And by using the excuse of reading and studying, he broke the matter of Jia Baoyu moving out of the Western Mansion and cut off Lady Wang's thoughts of clinging to the Western Mansion.

If it were not for the ties of affection with Jia Zheng, he would definitely have been more ruthless.

Although Lady Wang had narrow and insidious thoughts, she only had some inner-chamber tricks, and Jia Baoyu was even more of a useless mouth-piece.

His methods today were enough to tie their hands and feet, making them unable to cause any more trouble.

……

But even so, Jia Cong felt depressed in his heart and could not dissipate it for a while.

Ten thousand miles of mountains and rivers, available for galloping, how pleasant; instead, there was haze in the family, entanglement of resentment, and constraints in words and actions, unable to be happy.

After entering the back garden, the sun in the sky set in the west, the clouds were like fire, and the colorful clouds filled the sky; he walked along, and without knowing it, he walked to the front of Lin Daiyu's courtyard.

Pushing the door and entering, the bamboo shadows in the courtyard rustled, and the small stone paths shone brightly, making the depression in his heart dissipate a little.

The sweet, soft fragrance of rouge floated in the air, sweet and delicate, making people feel slightly intoxicated.

The circular lattice window facing south in the main room was hung with a bird cage inlaid with purple copper, on which a snow-feathered yellow-crowned parrot was perched, looking very interesting.

Lin Daiyu's figure appeared at the window, wearing a light gold peach-red floral jacket, with snow-white fur on the collar and sleeves, making her face look like a hibiscus, beautiful and eye-catching.

"Hearing Zi Juan, quickly bring food and water and bird food; I want to feed the parrot."

Seeing the figure moving at the lattice window, Jia Cong saw Hearing Zi Juan holding a small copper pot and a small white porcelain jar with painted flowers.

She said, "The young lady is too mischievous; why give it such a name, calling it 'Yingge' and taking me for a joke."

Jia Cong could not help but laugh secretly; there was a reason for Hearing Zi Juan saying this, because she was originally a second-class maid of Jia Mu and was called Yingge, and only changed her name to Hearing Zi Juan after following Lin Daiyu.

Lin Daiyu smiled and said, "Who wants to take you for a joke? Your original name sounds good; it was only changed because you served me, and it would be a pity to leave it unused."

"This little thing is a parrot; calling it Yingge is both good-sounding and intimate."

The master and servant were laughing and talking, and Lin Daiyu just saw Jia Cong enter the courtyard and walk toward this side.

She smiled and said, "Third Brother is here; you returned from the office so early today; I was just thinking of finding you to talk, and you happened to come."

The parrot also joined in the fun on the side, shaking its head and tail and calling out, "Third Brother is here! Third Brother is here!"

Lin Daiyu and Hearing Zi Juan were giggling, and Lin Daiyu kept adding water and food to the bird cage, coaxing, "Call again, call again."

Unfortunately, the parrot was a stupid bird and was not that clever, only busy pecking at the bird food; being urged by Lin Daiyu, it could only mimic: "Call again, call again."

Lin Daiyu could not help but feel a bit discouraged, while Hearing Zi Juan was amused and could not stop laughing; seeing that although Jia Cong was also laughing, he seemed to be in low spirits.

She asked curiously, "What is wrong with Third Brother? Could it be that someone has provoked you? Why do you look so uncomfortable?"

Jia Cong smiled and said, "It seems that I really have no city walls; I am a little unhappy, and you have seen it."

Lin Daiyu smiled and said, "Hearing Zi Juan, quickly go and brew tea for Third Brother; I will go to the study with Third Brother to talk."

"Third Brother, you returned to the mansion at this hour; did you get angry at the office? Tell me and let me hear; who else has the ability to make you angry? Let me hear something rare."

Lin Daiyu smiled and pressed him into a chair; Hearing Zi Juan just brought in the tea tray, and Lin Daiyu personally took the teacup and put it in Jia Cong's hand.

Jia Cong said, "How could it be because of the office? It's just that there was a troublesome matter in the Western Mansion; although it is easy to solve, it is still troublesome."

Seeing Lin Daiyu's watery eyes staring at him, waiting for him to continue, he told the story of what happened in Rongqing Hall just now.

……

Lin Daiyu sighed, "I really don't understand; the Second Aunt is also a wife of an official family and has the title of a Grade 5 lady; she should be someone who has seen the world."

"Although the second branch moved to the Eastern Courtyard, they are supported by the public treasury of the Western Mansion, and the Second Aunt's maiden family also has a foundation; a lifetime of wealth and glory is more than enough."

"Why are they still calculating these silver and business matters, and even wanting to share wealth from the hands of the younger generation? It sounds quite unbearable, and they have lost the decency of a great family."

"Moreover, the Xin Chun Firm was founded by Third Brother; logically, it is the industry of the first branch itself; for the aunt to get involved and seek profit across branches is also a great taboo in noble families."

"What does the Second Aunt need so much silver for? It would be better to teach Jia Baoyu more and let him be more sensible and successful; that is the most important thing."

Jia Cong smiled and said, "The Second Aunt has been the mistress of the house for more than ten years and feels that Rongguo should belong to the second branch; she probably feels that I snatched Jia Baoyu's things."

Lin Daiyu curled her small mouth and said, "If there is such a meaning, it is truly ridiculous; with Jia Baoyu's temperament, if he were given the Rongguo hereditary title, how could he bear it?"

"If he took the title and caused some trouble, and then said those blind words attacking nobles, it would not be just him suffering; the whole family would be guilty."

"Now that Third Brother is supporting the family, everyone in the family is living peacefully; since Jia Baoyu cannot read, living at home with plenty of food and clothing is also excellent; everyone is at peace."

"The Second Aunt is also a person of experience; she should see these foundations clearly; it is also groundless to be blindly competitive."

Jia Cong smiled and said, "If everyone were as transparent as you, the family would truly be peaceful inside and out, and I wouldn't need to tighten my face to speak."

"There are also the ties of affection with the Master and the Third Sister; I can't be too light or too heavy, and doing things is very uncomfortable; I'm just afraid that the Second Aunt won't be willing to stop and will cause trouble again in the future."

Jia Cong said with some fatigue, and suddenly felt cool, soft fingers reach his temples on both sides and rub them gently.

He smelled the clear, sweet, and soft fragrance on Lin Daiyu's body, which was refreshing and made his soul drift, and his whole body seemed to relax.

He heard Lin Daiyu laugh softly in his ear: "It is good that these family affairs are handled; they can't make any waves; Third Brother doesn't need to worry too much; save your energy for the big things outside."

"I saw Lingguan press Third Brother like this last time; you looked so comfortable; you really know how to enjoy yourself."