Chapter 108: Troops March to the Mansion

Given Jia Jing's current status, truly wanting to stop Wang Ziteng's scheme is entirely doable.

Jia Jing thought for a moment, then shook their head.

They don't care about Wang Ziteng; they mainly consider Jing Sheng Di's thoughts.

It must be said, Zhu Shi's words are spot on: even if Jing Sheng Di trusts him even more, he could not place the entire 200,000 troops of Shenjing under the command of the founding line's Jingnan Wuxun!

If he actually did that, it would not be trust but a move detrimental to the founding line of Jingnan Wuxun!

The true way to safeguard ministers is to keep them in balance—never give a minister a chance to become too powerful!

Otherwise, a minister's great power or achievements could eclipse the ruler, and gaps will arise between sovereign and minister.

Once such gaps appear and trust is lost, that marks the start of reckoning.

Jia Jing's expression grew solemn as they spoke slowly:

"Reorganizing the army benefits the state; it is inevitable! If we obstruct it, how are we any different from Jingnan Wuxun?"

"Moreover, once this is done, His Majesty will inevitably be displeased with me! We should not do something that harms others and ourselves!"

"However, Wang Ziteng wants to manipulate the Jia family's personal ties, and I cannot let him go without a lesson!"

"Reorganizing the army concerns the vital interests of the founding line's Jingnan Wuxun; he thinks a few letters from Jia Zheng will make people cooperate easily—far too simplistic!"

"If I hadn't unexpectedly slain Lord Linchuan, captured Lord Zhongqin, and taken most senior officers of the Bashang Daying, how could the reorganization have succeeded so easily?"

"He tries to imitate Dongshi's frown, but he'll only bring trouble on himself! Conflict over interests is not a friendly dinner; it's life‑or‑death, blood‑shed!"

"He is merely a civil official, with no personal troops or confidants in the army; achieving this would be as hard as scaling the heavens!"

"So, you arrange some men into the Jingying... then let him offend people while reorganizing, and we quell the chaos and reap the fruits! This will satisfy His Majesty, and satisfy us!"

Jia Jing whispered instructions to Zhu Que, who instantly stretched out a thumb, his face alight with excitement, and said:

"Excellent! Still, Lord is excellent! This time he'll try to steal a chicken and end up losing the rice!"

Jia Jing composed themselves and continued:

"Now that the Bashang Daying has achieved preliminary training success, the next step is continual intensified training, and after the new year, anti‑bandit campaigns with bloodshed!"

"A army that hasn't faced fire and blood cannot be called elite! Let Ma Guocheng oversee this side, and we return to the mansion!"

"If we don't return to tidy up, the mansion will be turned upside down by them!"

"Take the gathered intelligence and ledgers with you; this time we will thoroughly clean out the mansion!"

Jia Jing said this and walked outward, Zhu Que following closely, bowing and saying:

"Understood!"

A moment later, a squad of elite cavalry sped out of Bashang Daying, heading straight for Shenjing City.

At 2:30 p. m., Jia Jing and the party arrived at Ningrong Street.

What he didn't expect was that someone was already waiting at the Rong Guo Mansion gate.

"Lord!"

"Lord, you have returned!"

The old women and young servants kept shouting.

"Honored Lord! Second Madam said you might return today, so she sent me early to wait for you here!"

At that moment, the graceful Ping'er, accompanied by a few maidservants, stepped forward, her jade‑like face smiling as she spoke.

Jia Jing frowned; Feng Jie was clearly impatient!

First sending someone to report news, then having personal maid Ping'er waiting at the gate to greet him.

Jia Jing dismounted without hurrying back to his courtyard, and asked Ping'er:

"How are Miss Lin and Second Lord? Where are the elderly ladies now?"

Hearing this, Ping'er's bright face lit up with a smile as she approached Jia Jing and said:

"Lord, rest assured, the imperial physician has already examined them; Miss Lin and Second Lord are both fine, just need some convalescence!"

"The elderly lady is now with the Madam and Grandmother in Rong Qing Tang; I guess they've just woken from their noon nap and are chatting leisurely!"

"By the way, the Madam and Grandmother from Dong Fu are also here; they heard Second Lord and Miss Lin were ill, came to visit, and were kept by the elderly lady for a talk!"

Jia Jing's expression turned cold as they addressed Zhu Que:

"Take men with me to Rong Qing Tang, order the mansion to be surrounded, and let no one slip away!"

Having said that, ignoring his armor and dust‑covered appearance, he led Zhu Que and dozens of personal soldiers straight toward Rong Qing Tang.

The remaining personal soldiers, under Zhu Que's orders, rode out with swords and surrounded Rong Guo Mansion.

Seeing this, Ping'er's complexion changed drastically; although she knew Jia Jing's return might involve action, she hadn't expected it to be so direct and fierce.

He brought personal soldiers straight to Rong Qing Tang, which is the inner residence, the elderly lady's courtyard.

Now the matter is bound to flare up!

Grandma thought of the Lord and the second branch confronting each other; she feared there would be no chance to profit! Such strong men wouldn't let you take advantage!

At this moment inside Rong Qing Tang,

Jia Mu, Mrs. Xing, Lady Wang, Feng Wan, Aunt Xue, You Shi, Qin Keqing, San Chun, Baichai, Baoyu and others were present.

Some were sipping tea, some chatting, some watching the maids' lip rouge.

Jia Mu wore a hint of worry, feeling uneasy inside; after pondering, she couldn't help ordering the gathered people:

"Do not spread today's events, and especially don't discuss them with Brother Jing; he has a strong temperament, acts harshly, and has a hard heart."

"If we stay out of trouble, I will just burn incense; we must not tempt his bad luck!"

Having said that, she then addressed San Chun and the others:

"Today's remarks from the Madam are all jokes! Don't take them to heart; continue to interact with Brother Jing as before, understand?"

San Chun and Shi Xiangyun felt a bit displeased, but still nodded in agreement.

Lady Wang's expression darkened upon hearing this; she now realized her earlier words were inappropriate.

However, even though Jia Mu vetoed it in front of everyone, they still felt a bit embarrassed.

Besides, is that concubine son of the main branch really that scary? It seems we dare not provoke him!

Wait until my older brother becomes Minister of War, the highest-ranking official, then we'll just wait and see!

Jia Baoyu, in Jia Mu's arms, hearing this, became even more unhappy, his face full of displeasure, his body constantly wriggling, acting coquettishly towards Jia Mu!

Jia Mu patted his hand and said:

"Other things can follow you! But Jing Ge'er must not be provoked! We ourselves at home enjoy ourselves, don't go provoke that evil star!"

"You don't like my courtyard's Qing Wen? Tomorrow I'll give her to you, let her serve you in your room!"

Jia Mu's words finally let Jia Baoyu calm down a bit; getting Qing Wen would not be bad; this is a maid he has longed for a long time.

Just as everyone was chatting, suddenly a surprised voice came from outside Rong Qing Tang: Xia Pozi's surprised voice.

She, for delivering a message to Jia Mu and Lady Wang with merit, let Jia Baoyu avoid a beating, was summoned by Jia Mu and rewarded with silver, now playing in the courtyard, hasn't left yet!

"Marquis! This is the inner quarters, it's not convenient for you to bring your personal troops in!"