Chapter 116: with translation of chapter title

As a descendant of Rongning, having taken on the duty to prosper the family, I will spare no effort to love and protect my clansmen and friends.

If the household follows my regulations, at least we can guarantee we won't encounter disaster, even if we don't talk about bringing honor to the family.

Just as the old lady said, for our noble family, the first thing is the character 'loyalty': loyalty to the sovereign! loyalty to the court! loyalty to royal duties!

On one hand, to relieve the court's worries and achieve merit; on the other hand, to behave properly, manage oneself and one's household, not let them violate court laws and regulations, act recklessly.

The current emperor is an extremely wise and capable ruler; as long as subjects can be loyal and dutiful, upright in conduct, and enterprising, what worry is there that the family will not prosper and wealth continue?

Hearing this, Jia Mu let out a long sigh.

This thoughtless turtle-grandson, by yielding to his wishes, instantly turned from an old muddlehead into a sensible person; the speed of his attitude change left her utterly unprepared.

Fortunately, this turtle-grandson still knows that loyalty comes first, never forgetting to praise the emperor.

If he can maintain this respectful attitude, then even if he offends many officials, he won't end up with the fate of having his property confiscated and clan exterminated.

Let the Lai family be gone if it's gone!

It's better than our own family meeting disaster!

I'm old, I ask for nothing else—just that my descendants be free of worry and I can enjoy my twilight years in peace; that would already be good!

Why fight over the authority to manage the household? Even without the Lai family, who would dare bully this old matriarch?

From now on I'll just listen to opera, play with bone tiles, indulge in sweets and play with my grandchildren, enjoying myself; why trouble myself for these later generations?

Children and grandchildren have their own blessings!

This wicked grandson is the one I sent to join the army; now that he suffers backlash, it's his own doing—who else can I blame?

Jia Mu could only console herself inwardly; stepping back, the more she thought about it, the broader and more at ease she felt.

At this moment, Jia Jing already spoke in a low voice to Zhu Que:

Go gather all the household servants in the Jingwu Yuan, especially the Lai, Wu, Shan, and Zhou families.

Also, Lai Er from Ning Guo Fu who handles affairs, arrest all the guilty servants; don't let a single one escape!

Furthermore, send the personal troops to surround the Lai and Wu families' residences outside, awaiting my order to raid and seize them!

Have the personal troops stand guard; today we will thoroughly cleanse the household!

Your orders shall be obeyed! Zhu Que looked straight ahead, understood instantly, and bowed to receive the command.

He had already investigated the household servants' situations inside out; who should be taken and who should not, he knew as well as the lines on his palm.

Now that the marquis and the old lady of the Jia mansion have reached agreement, handling the servants afterward has become rather simple.

Immediately, Zhu Que waved his hand; the ten personal soldiers standing in the hall drew their swords and rushed out, emitting a stern, awe-inspiring presence silently.

The Madams Xing and Wang, Feng Jie, and Yushi, etc., in the hall saw this formation.

They sat upright with solemn expressions, hearts uneasy, all knowing the household was about to face a major upheaval unseen in over a decade.

Lady Wang wore a grim face, secretly calculating: the other servants are fine, but my personal maid Zhou Rui's family still needs to see if we can find a way to save them.

This is her confidante; if she suffers loss this time, her authority in the household will be greatly restricted thereafter.

But now that even the old lady has compromised, what can she do?

If she rashly speaks up, she might instead be insulted by the eldest branch's bastard son for no reason, losing face.

As things stand now, the household's rectification is unstoppable.

But after the rectification, the authority over household management might not be impossible to seize.

In the future, the inner quarters of the household will surely still need to be managed by these women; the eldest branch's bastard son spends little time at home and is still unmarried, so it's impossible for the men to personally handle household affairs.

At most he can decide on major matters and set regulations; he cannot truly manage the household's trivial affairs.

This rectification merely adds another 'grand emperor' above the matriarchs who manage the household!

The person in charge of household management will either be her or Feng Xiatou; others are unsuitable, so plotting is not out of the question.

Feng Xiatou sees that she's already become entangled with that bastard son, developing a divided heart; it seems unlikely she can be won back.

It seems we can only make use of that matter uncovered about the Zhou Rui family a few days ago...

If Feng Xiatou also commits a mistake, violates law and discipline, then the household management authority would still have to revert to the second branch's hands.

We certainly can't let Madam Xing take charge of household management, can we?

Thus, letting the eldest branch's bastard son topple Lai and the others, Jia Mu's confidants, and reshape the household power structure might actually benefit the second branch.

Moreover, the Lai, Wu, and other servant families possess hundreds of thousands of taels in wealth—a sizable sum; if we allocate some to the second branch...

He will play the villain, I will reap the rewards!

Lady Wang turned the prayer beads in her hand, and an idea formed in her mind.

At this moment, Wang Xifeng also began to calculate in her mind.

She originally thought that overthrowing Wu Xindeng and a few others would be victory, but she didn't expect Jia Jing to actually convince the old lady to launch a major purge of the household servants.

If even the Lai and Zhou Rui families, the household's long‑time senior servants, are toppled, and she then places her own people in those key positions, then from now on she will truly hold the reins of household management, her word final.

Imagining the scene of hundreds in the household bowing and obeying her, her heart could barely contain its excitement.

But the third brother still needs to properly handle relations; the old lady has now made it clear that household affairs are to be decided by the third brother.

As long as we win over the third brother, we will still be able to act freely in the Rongning Second Mansion!

And there's the silver recovered from this rectification; we need to figure out what to do with it...

At this moment, Jia Jing was holding a ledger, in which were recorded the information gathered these days by the Embroidered Uniform Guard about the household.

It clearly and accurately records what each servant did, what laws they broke, how much money they embezzled, and how much property they hold outside.

In just two or three months, the Embroidered Uniform Guard had already investigated the Jia mansion inside and out.

After the servants are rectified, we should reestablish the household rules. Those like the Lai family who have committed serious violations and massive embezzlement will surely have their property confiscated and be beaten to death, as a warning to others.

Also, those servants who betray the household by passing information to outsiders deserve strict punishment, to serve as a lesson for those who come after.

As for those who rely on seniority, are redundant, and love to gossip, they should all be dismissed; this will not only save the household expenses but also correct this unhealthy atmosphere.

Furthermore, the choice of who will manage the household still needs careful consideration!

The newly established family rules should reshape customs; while being strict, they should also provide incentives; while punishing wrongdoing, they must not forget to encourage loyal and talented people.

The infighting within the family differs from that outside; one cannot rely solely on force, but must pay attention to winning people's hearts. Moreover, responsibilities should be clearly defined, benchmarks set, and ideally a supervisory mechanism established—this is meticulous work.

Jia Jing silently pondered these matters in his heart; he already had a plan for them.

Rectify and educate, punish and encourage—two-pronged approach—to thoroughly sweep away the unhealthy practices of the Jia Mansion.