Chapter 151 Initial Investigation

As a First-Class Defender of the State General, Jia She was fully qualified to enter the imperial palace and have an audience with the Emperor. Perhaps due to Yang Xin's illusion, or perhaps because Jia She was simply exhausted and wanted to shift the heavy responsibility of preserving the Grand Mansion of Rongguo onto Yang Xin's shoulders, or perhaps out of utter disgust for the filthy and despicable affairs within the Rongguo Mansion, or purely out of a desire to deeply disgust the Second Branch...

Upon hearing Yang Xin's words, Jia She immediately set off for the imperial palace. Of course, Yang Xin did not let Jia She go empty-handed; instead, he provided him with the formula and finished samples of penicillin.

Putting aside the civilian value of penicillin for a moment, let us consider its military value alone. At this time, soldiers overwhelmingly died not from blade wounds, but from infections. With penicillin, Yang Xin could guarantee a seventy percent reduction in the casualty rate among armies in this world.

Yang Xin firmly believed that the person sitting on the imperial throne was not blind and would undoubtedly recognize the immense value of penicillin.

Why did Yang Xin go to such lengths? The reason was simple: to secure his noble title. Inheriting a title without any military merits meant the title would be demoted! This Great Qian Dynasty was somewhat like the Ming Dynasty and somewhat like the Qing Dynasty; its peerage system similarly shared characteristics of both. Since Jia She held the title of a First-Class Defender of the State General, if Yang Xin inherited the title without any achievements, he might risk being dropped straight down to a Third-Class Light Chariot Commandant, or perhaps face an even worse fate.

This was because both the Ning and Rong Mansions had backed the wrong side. During the current Emperor's succession struggle, the two mansions had not stood with the Emperor, but rather with the Crown Prince's faction. As the saying goes, with a new emperor comes a new court. If Yang Xin inherited the title without merits, and if the reigning Emperor chose to be even harsher, he might only be granted the hereditary rank of a Fifth-Class Cloud-Riding Commandant.

Naturally, the higher the noble title, the better.

Between the Ning and Rong Mansions, the reason the Rong Mansion managed to overshadow the Ning Mansion was entirely because Lady Shi of the Jia clan held the rank of a First-Rank Lady of Honor. One could say that the entire framework of the Rongguo Mansion relied solely on Lady Shi to prop it up. This was also why Lady Shi favored the Second Branch to an outrageous degree, leaving Jia She utterly powerless to do anything about it.

After Jia She departed, Yang Xin returned directly to his quarters, investigated the overall situation of the Rong Mansion, and synthesized his findings.

First, using his All-Seeing Eyes, Yang Xin conducted a comprehensive, three-dimensional observation of the entire Rong Mansion.

Three-fifths of the finest living quarters in the estate were occupied by the Second Branch, one-fifth of the premium quarters was kept by Grandmother Jia for her own use, and only the remaining one-fifth of substandard quarters fell to Jia She. Moreover, right next to Jia She's outer study stood the horse stables—which was precisely the origin of his moniker, the "Stable General."

As a special note, Jia She's residence was not only remote and poorly conditioned, but it was also quite "aromatic." The moment one stepped out of the courtyard gate, one was face-to-face with the horse stables. One could only imagine that during the summer months, with a gentle breeze blowing past, the fragrance would become even more potent.

Astonishingly, his own dwelling was not even located in the same courtyard as Jia She's. Instead, one had to pass through the Hall of Rongxi, reach the rear of the Hall of Rongxi, and then traverse the back building, the warm alcove hall, the wide north-south alleyway, and the western corner gate before finally arriving at his small courtyard.

Such a layout made it blatantly obvious that the Second Branch treated Jia Lian like a menial runner, summoned at a moment's notice. Furthermore, if Jia Lian's predecessor wanted to visit Jia She without walking through the Hall of Rongxi, he would have to take a massive detour just to reach Jia She's courtyard. The malicious intentions of the Second Branch were as obvious as Sima Zhao's plots—known to everyone on the street.

Regrettably, neither Jia Lian nor Wang Xifeng felt any shame; on the contrary, they took it as a badge of honor. One must remember that Jia Lian was the legitimate, eldest son of the primary lineage of the Rongguo Mansion, the rightful heir to the title, whereas Jia Baoyu was merely the legitimate son of Jia Zheng from the Second Branch. Strictly speaking, Jia Baoyu was no more precious than Jia Lian, yet Lady Shi favored the former to an absurd extreme. She was treating Jia Baoyu as if he were the true heir of the Rong Mansion, while reducing Jia Lian to the status of a common errand boy.

Perhaps calling Jia Lian an errand boy was putting it mildly; to put it bluntly, he was treated merely as a dog kept by the Second Branch. Whether it was Jia Lian or Wang Xifeng, they bore all the blame while the Second Branch reaped all the benefits.

Secondly, regarding the questions of whether the former Jia Lian was popular and what his actual status was, Yang Xin utilized a skill acquired from the Marvel universe: listening to all things. By eavesdropping on the idle chatter of the servants in the Rong Mansion, Yang Xin compiled a clear ranking.

At the very top was Lady Shi, also known as Grandmother Jia or the Old Dowager. In second place were Jia Zheng and Lady Wang. Third was Baoyu. Fourth was Wang Xifeng. Fifth was Jia She. Sixth was Jia Lian. Below them came Jia Lan, Tan Chun, Ying Chun, Xi Chun, Jia Huan, Jia Cong, and so on.

Looking at the overall hierarchy, the First Branch was comprehensively disadvantaged at the bottom. The only one with a decent status was Wang Xifeng, yet although she was the daughter-in-law of the First Branch, she was a bone fide lapdog of the Second Branch.

This issue of hierarchy directly dictated the order of priority for everything else in the Rong Mansion, such as the number of attending servants, daily expenditures, and even the quality of meals from the kitchen.

Overall, the First Branch had suffered a total defeat.

Yang Xin shook his head, genuinely feeling a sense of deep injustice for the First Branch. Jia She, representing the First Branch within the Rongguo Mansion, was in a position of absolute disadvantage, pathetic to the point that even his son, Jia Lian, and daughter-in-law, Wang Xifeng, were not truly his to command, raised in vain only to work for outsiders.

The ultimate root cause determining all of this was Grandmother Jia. As the sole matriarch with a transcendent status in the Rong Mansion, she practiced blatant favoritism between her two sons, displaying her likes and dislikes so overtly that it severely distorted the judgments and attitudes of all the servants in the estate.

For instance, the legitimate eldest son and rightful heir, who deserved basic respect from others, as well as Jia Lan, the fatherless eldest grandson of the Second Branch who deserved even greater care and pity, received none of the treatment they were due.

Of course, this was merely theory. As for reality, Yang Xin needed to put it to the test. Thus, he casually summoned a young page boy and instructed him to go to the accounting office to draw one thousand taels of silver.

One thousand taels of silver was neither a huge sum nor a small one. Yang Xin had calculated it based on the former Jia Lian's past expenses for food, clothing, and regular allowances, setting it two to three times higher than usual.

The page boy hurriedly asked Yang Xin for the reason behind withdrawing the funds, only to be told there was none. The page boy immediately fell into despair. If Jia Baoyu were the one withdrawing money, let alone one thousand taels, even two thousand or five thousand would be handed over by the treasury instantly. But with Yang Xin making the request, the page boy furrowed his brow; he didn't even need to test it to know he would simply be chased out by the accountants.

Yet, this page boy did not dare to provoke Yang Xin, since Yang Xin was still his master. Obediently, the page boy went to the accounting office to relay the message, and as expected, the accountants showed no intention of releasing the funds and even proceeded to lecture him severely.

"You open your upper and lower lips and expect to take money just like that? Do you think you're special, or do you think I'm that generous? This is one thousand taels of silver, not a single tael! Is this something a mere page boy can just ask for and receive? Even if Jia Lian came in person, my answer would remain the same: I need the Second Mistress's consent before a single cash of this money can be disbursed," Wu Xindeng, the head of the silver treasury, mocked unceremoniously.

The page boy had anticipated being mocked like this, but imagining it was one thing; actually hearing the insults directed at him was quite another. Trembling with rage and his face flushed red, the page boy ran back to make a complaint to Yang Xin.

Yang Xin was neither annoyed nor angry. Instead, he asked the page boy for his name, learning that he was called Caiming, a boy assigned by the elder Lady Wang of the Second Branch to assist Wang Xifeng. Wang Xifeng had taken charge of the Rongguo Mansion, but since she was illiterate, Lady Wang had arranged for an educated page boy to assist her.

A cold smile crossed Yang Xin's mind. "Nominally to assist, but actually to spy. Well well, this matter has likely already reached the ears of the elder Lady Wang in the Second Branch, and no doubt they are sitting back waiting to make a fool of me."

"Who is my personal page boy?" Yang Xin suddenly asked.

"Second Master Lian's personal page boy is Xing'er," Caiming replied, casting an inexplicable look toward Yang Xin.

Yang Xin paid it no mind whatsoever. He simply instructed Caiming to summon Xing'er, and the three of them leisurely made their way toward the estate's treasury.