Hearing the Second Madam’s words, Jia Lian hurriedly spoke up: “Madam, even if I purchase an official position, I will still handle the family affairs. It won’t cause any delays.”
Wang Xifeng added: “Yes, that’s exactly right.”
Although Second Madam Wang didn’t really want Jia Lian to purchase an official position, both Jia Lian and his wife were very determined.
Even if it was a minor position, even if it was just a nominal post, even if such a nominal post couldn’t secure an imperial conferment title for the legitimate wife, they still wanted to purchase an official position—it would look much better when going out.
Moreover, even after purchasing the official position, it wouldn’t prevent Jia Lian from continuing to help with the Jia household affairs.
On this point, both Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng shared the same view—let go of the power in the household?
Not a chance.
Grandmother Jia also felt that purchasing an official position sounded better. As for the silver, this wasn’t a problem for the Jia family. Even though she hadn’t attended the Lin family’s banquet, she knew that the situation there must have stimulated Wang Xifeng, which was why she came back talking about wanting to purchase a position.
Grandmother Jia felt somewhat uncomfortable in her heart, yet was helpless.
She only instructed Wang Xifeng to take the Three Springs and Daiyu out more often to play together and build good relationships.
In the future, she would also frequently invite Daiyu to come stay at their residence, but with that old lady of the Lin family around, it probably wouldn’t go very smoothly. Since that was the case, she would have her granddaughters go there instead—in any case, they needed to deepen Daiyu’s relationship with them.
With Grandmother Jia’s word, the matter was settled. Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng were beaming with joy.
Second Madam Wang watched with a pained heart but had no good way to stop it.
Purchasing a position not only required connections but also silver, and this was no small sum. If given to Yuanchun, it would be enough for her to make arrangements at the palace for quite a while.
Returning to her own room, Second Madam Wang sighed and lamented. Zhou Rui’s wife understood her thoughts and came forward to console her: “Madam, this really isn’t such a bad thing. If the Second Master purchases an official position, it will be more convenient when he represents the Jia household in outside affairs.”
If you want the horse to grow well, you still need to feed it good fodder—otherwise, how can it grow plump and strong enough to work hard?
Second Madam Wang listened and sighed without responding. Then she sat up—today’s upsetting matter had made her forget that she still needed to go see Baoyu.
When she arrived, Baoyu was joking around with the maids. Second Madam Wang saw that he was fine and felt relieved, then couldn’t help but sigh again. “When your injuries heal, you must study properly and not anger the Master again.”
As soon as she mentioned the Master, the joy on Jia Baoyu’s face disappeared. He shrank back a bit, extremely distressed: “Mother, I understand.”
Hearing him say this, Second Madam Wang took it as his promise and became happy. She then repeatedly inquired about his food and daily needs, whether there was anything unsatisfactory…
Only after hearing these words did Jia Baoyu’s face relax again.
The official position purchase went through Wang Ziteng’s connections.
In official circles, it wasn’t uncommon for sons from families who were neither accomplished in civil nor military affairs to spend silver to purchase a position.
Before long, Jia Lian purchased a fifth-rank Assistant Magistrate position.
When going out, he could now be addressed as “Your Honor.”
At the Lin household, the two Wu sisters became frequent guests.
The Wu family was only happy that their daughters could become friends with the Lin family daughters. Not only would they not prevent it, they would provide convenience.
The Old Madam wouldn’t stop it either. Her granddaughters didn’t need to be too calculating about their friends’ backgrounds and status when making friends—as long as their family backgrounds were clean, that was sufficient.
Moreover, these two had returned to the capital for the first time since birth. The Old Madam wished they could make several more friends.
In the future, they might be able to help each other.
If possible, the Old Madam hoped they could all marry and live in the capital in the future, without having to travel outside.
If serving as officials in other places, it would be fine if they went to prosperous areas, but if they went to the frontiers or the barbarous lands of the southwest and accompanied their husbands to their posts, that would be going to suffer hardship.
The Wu sisters were both daughters of concubines. The elder was called Wu Jingqian, the younger Wu Jinghui. The elder was already engaged, the younger still awaited marriage.
Because the Wu family was not in the banner system, they didn’t need to participate in the imperial selection.
Marriage matters could be decided by the family elders.
Men and women were different. Each time they came, they went directly to the inner courtyard. Chen Yu also knew to avoid impropriety—as long as there were guests at home, he wouldn’t go over to prevent accidents from happening. On this point, after attending several banquets, he had gained deep understanding.
By not going, he could avoid many possible “accidents”—peace of mind.
Daiyu was a bit younger and had her own close friends. They would often split into two groups, each playing their own games, but the arrangements were all handled by Ying Yu and Luo Yu.
While the younger generation in the capital was opening up their social circles, Lin Ruhai was in no hurry.
Previously, when the First Prince’s people had been aggressively trying to win him over, arriving in the capital was just as he had anticipated—at the foot of the Son of Heaven, whatever one did required caution. He had regained his long-missed tranquility and carefully observed the relationship between the Crown Prince and the First Prince.
Lin Ruhai was not optimistic about the First Prince. Although his refusal had already offended him, it wouldn’t necessarily lead to major trouble for now.
The First Prince had a reputation for courage and martial prowess, and was the Great Qing’s warrior hero, but being an emperor didn’t require outstanding martial ability.
The Crown Prince had legitimate status and was born with the advantage of righteousness.
However, he wasn’t entirely without flaws either.
Thinking of some rumors about the Crown Prince he had vaguely heard, Lin Ruhai didn’t want to board either the First Prince’s or the Crown Prince’s ship.
Being a pure minister loyal only to the Emperor was best.
The Emperor had too many princes.
There were also too many accomplished princes.
Moreover, the Emperor currently looked vigorous and spirited. No one could say how long he would live. On this point, Lin Ruhai believed his mother’s words were very reasonable.
If the Emperor could live another five years, then he might be anxious to establish his heir, but if the Emperor could live another fifteen or twenty years, would he be anxious about the succession?
The more those below jumped around, the less the Emperor could tolerate it.
That was competing with the Emperor for power.
If it really was as the hypothesis his mother proposed, then those now gathering around the First Prince and Crown Prince, waving flags and shouting for them…
Even though he was the Emperor, he was also a father.
If the situation truly deteriorated and the two did something irreversible, given how much he doted on the Crown Prince as his own flesh and blood, he would certainly blame others, believing that others had led his princes astray.
On this point, Lin Ruhai, also being a father, could understand. If his sons fought among themselves, he would certainly be angry at their lack of accomplishment, but he would also blame the servants around his sons for not guiding them back to the right path in time.
And the Emperor was not only a father but also an emperor. Who could bear his fury?
And who could bear his displaced anger?
It was just unfortunate that being in this great dye vat, the higher one’s position, the more directly one faced the dangers within.
It was only in the capital, with various powers entangled, that surface calm could be maintained. He didn’t know where he would go next.
Now it seemed better to be in the capital, where the princes didn’t dare go too far, but if he went outside, if it was a place without the influence of the two princes, life wouldn’t be bad. However, he had already served as an official outside for many years—it was time to return to the capital.
Unfortunately, there was only one position for each post. Without a vacancy opening up, his hope of staying was slim.
Unless someone stepped down…
After arriving in the capital, due to the capital’s intricate and complex relationships, Yun Shuyao’s external social engagements greatly decreased. She spent more time on cultivation and the spiritual mirror, and also more time on flowers and plants.
She had no say in the imperial selection, only knowing that the Old Madam wanted exemption and was working on connections, but there was no news, which suggested it wasn’t going smoothly.
Regarding the selection, when Yun Shuyao learned that the Lin family belonged to the Han Banner, she had anticipated it wouldn’t be easy to avoid.
If they couldn’t avoid it, then they would face it properly.
She couldn’t decide which household the person at the top would arrange for her daughter, but after it was decided, if that household treated her daughter badly, she had methods.
She couldn’t decide who her son-in-law would be, but if the man had major problems, Yun Shuyao could make her daughter a widow, or have her daughter fake her death and live with a different identity.
She still had confidence in this.
As long as she didn’t enter the imperial palace, everything would be manageable.
Even if she entered the palace, as long as she was strong enough, it would still be manageable.
Personal strength couldn’t solve everything, but it could solve most of the people who created problems.
Unexpectedly, Lin Ruhai’s transfer order came down, though this wasn’t long-term but temporary.
He would go to Fengtian as an imperial commissioner along with others.
If things went smoothly, he could return in two to three months. If not, he might need to stay there for about half a year.
Yun Shuyao had people pack his luggage and prepare things for the journey.
Father and son would go together this time.
Lin Ruhai wanted to take his son to see more of the world, and Chen Yu also wanted to see other places.
He wouldn’t be gone long.
Even if Lin Ruhai needed to stay there longer, he would return before the new year, then head to Gusu to participate in the county examination.
The only two men in the household were both going out. The Old Madam repeatedly checked their luggage and originally wanted Physician Zhou to go with them despite the hardship, but Lin Ruhai refused.
He hadn’t wanted to bring anyone, but couldn’t resist his mother’s insistence, so he hired a physician in the capital at great expense to accompany them.
For this trip, the two of them wouldn’t bring any women. The Old Madam was somewhat worried the young servants wouldn’t take good care of them, but she didn’t insist.
It was said that an imperial prince would also accompany them on this trip, so being more careful was good.
With their departure, while the Lin household couldn’t be said to close its doors to guests, the Old Madam did reduce her interactions with the outside world.
However, she didn’t restrict her granddaughters’ socializing.
Every so often, when the house wasn’t lively, she would inquire with concern.
On this day, the green cloud plants in the garden bloomed. The three sisters discussed it and decided to invite their young lady friends over to view the flowers.
They sent invitations to the Wu sisters, the Zhou sisters, and the Jia sisters.
The Wu sisters were relatives of the Old Madam, the Zhou family was Lin Ruhai’s fellow disciples under the same master, and the Jia family were relatives by marriage.
Upon receiving the invitations, no one declined, and they arrived on time in their sedan chairs.
When the Three Springs received the invitation, they were delighted. However, before leaving, the Old Ancestress summoned them and gave them instructions, which dampened their mood.
The Old Ancestress was again asking them to invite Daiyu to come stay at the Jia household.
It wasn’t that they hadn’t invited her, but they had invited her several times and been put off each time.
Each time this happened, the Old Ancestress was unhappy. Yet since Daiyu wouldn’t come, they couldn’t force her. Daiyu’s grandmother said she couldn’t be parted from Daiyu and wanted her to fulfill her filial duties—what could they do?
If they continued returning without success like this, they truly feared the Old Ancestress wouldn’t let them go out anymore.
Moreover, this time… the Three Springs had complicated feelings. This time they were also bringing along a guest, Wang Xifeng’s cousin from her maternal family. She was also a relative, so visiting the Lin household as a guest wasn’t inappropriate, but to bring someone over so presumptuously was ultimately not quite proper…