In order to eat, I signed a contract with the system

Jia Zhu's untimely death brought the Jia family not only the sorrow of losing an adult male, but also the panic hidden beneath the sorrow. Jia's grandmother could not sleep for long for several nights in a row, because every time she fell asleep, she would dream about the ending that would have happened if Jia Lang had not chosen to leave the capital and had been raised as a woman in the Jia family.

The dream had not deceived her, Jia Zhu was really gone, and if it hadn't been for Jia Lang, the Jia family would have fallen in less than twenty years...

Grandmother Jia had a panic in her heart that she couldn't tell anyone about. She couldn't help but start thinking about what the dream seven years ago had foreshadowed. Jia Zhu was gone, and Jia Yuanchun had entered the palace now. She must have thought that Yuanchun had also entered the palace in the dream.

But there was no news about Yuanchun twenty years later, so was it that something happened to Yuanchun and she was unable to successfully marry the Fourth Prince, or... the Fourth Prince was unable to ascend the throne?

Grandmother Jia couldn't help but calculate various possibilities in her mind. Even though Jia Lang's dream had already implicitly told her in advance that the Jia family could only survive by placing their hopes on herself, it was obvious that for Grandmother Jia or for the four kings and eight dukes who had enjoyed the merit of following the dragon, how could it be easier to expect their younger generations to pass the imperial examinations and become officials than to gain power by taking shortcuts?

Because of this, even though in this life Jia Mu and Jia She chose Jia Lang because of a half-believing and half-doubting dream, they still did not give up on relying on the women in their family to get to the top. This is the so-called betting on both ends, just like betting on both ends by Rongguo Mansion and Ningguo Mansion in "Dream of Red Mansions".

Not long after, the Fourth Prince married Miss Zhen, and Jia Yuanchun officially entered the palace. However, unlike what had been agreed upon, after entering the palace, Jia Yuanchun was not selected by Concubine Zhen to enter her own palace. Instead, she was sent to an unmanned palace in the harem to manage books.

After the second wife got the news, she was extremely anxious and ran to consult with Jia Mu. After listening to the second wife's words, Jia Mu was calmer than the second wife thought, perhaps because she had a premonition in her heart.

"Madam, Yuanchun is the legitimate granddaughter of the Rongguo Mansion, she is extremely noble, how can she really be the Minister of Fengzao Palace in the palace, unable to see the emperor or the empress?"

The Second Wife actually wanted to ask Lady Jia why the Royal Concubine of the Zhen family did not keep her promise, but she did not say it directly for fear of losing Lady Jia's face.

Although the Zhen family and the Jia family are old relatives and family friends, they are still far away from each other. Currently, only Grandmother Jia can contact Concubine Zhen in the palace. The second wife herself is a junior and her status is not high enough.

"The Fourth Prince is the son of Concubine Zhen, so the position of the Fourth Prince's wife will naturally be left by Concubine Zhen to the Second Miss of the Zhen Family. How can Yuanchun compare to Concubine Zhen's niece?"

"Yuanchun was not chosen by Concubine Zhen. I think there must be some gap. No matter how favored Concubine Zhen is, she is not the queen. I think Yuanchun may have been implicated by Concubine Zhen."

"In my opinion, since Concubine Zhen has already spoken out of turn, rather than letting Yuanchun waste time in the palace for who knows how many years it will take to succeed, why not ask the Empress to allow Yuanchun to return home?"

Grandmother Jia naturally understood, but she now knew that the Zhen family might not be stable either. She wanted to call Jia Yuanchun back. Since she already knew that Jia Yuanchun would not be able to bring any rewards to the Jia family after entering the palace, after all, she was her granddaughter whom she had loved for more than ten years. It would be better to call her back and find a good family for Jia Yuanchun before the Jia family fell into too bad a state.

"Madam, it was not easy for Yuanchun to enter the palace, and it has been less than half a year. Our family is begging to call her back. Isn't this making the people in the capital laugh at the Jia family?"

Unfortunately, Lady Jia's good intentions could not convince the Second Wife. Although the Second Wife also loved her daughter, she would rather her daughter become an imperial concubine or marry a prince, to bring glory to the Jia family, or to their second branch.

"At least ask Yuanchun to learn more about the rules in the palace, and then call her back after some time when no one talks about this matter anymore!"

What Lady Jia meant was that Concubine Zhen might not be able to make it, and it was unknown what the consequences would be if Jia Yuanchun stayed in the palace any longer. However, the Second Lady only understood half of it. She felt that the old lady did not believe Yuanchun could make a name for herself in the palace. For this reason, the Second Lady suppressed her inner dissatisfaction, and with a smile she rejected Lady Jia's suggestion to ask Jia Yuanchun to go home, saying that she wanted Jia Yuanchun to learn the rules.

For this reason, Grandmother Jia could only sigh and follow the Second Madam's wishes.

That was Yuanchun's biological mother and the housekeeper of the Jia family. What could she do? Grandmother Jia knew that even if she found Jia Zheng about this matter, he would probably have the same plan as the second wife. After all, she was old and could not control her descendants who had long been dazzled by wealth and glory.

The plot in the capital seems to be developing normally, and not much has changed after the disappearance of the wooden-headed Jia Yingchun. But in fact, because of the disappearance of Jia Yuanchun, the appearance of Jia Lang has brought different changes to Jia Mu and Jia She's hearts.

In the current Jia family, after Jia Zhu passed away and Jia Yuanchun entered the palace, all eyes are on Jia Baoyu. However, unlike the doting that Grandmother Jia had on Jia Baoyu in his previous life, Jia Baoyu in this life is still favored but not to the extent of doting. As for Jia Baoyu's habit of liking beautiful maids, Grandmother Jia no longer indulges him, but instead corrects him more.

Since Jia Baoyu was young, he could only roll around on the ground and cry to ask his elders to agree to his requests. But as long as the elders no longer felt sorry for his crying, he would slowly change this habit.

Time passed quickly, and in a blink of an eye it was the day for Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng to get married. Jia Lian was already quite old, and the reason why he had waited until now to get married was to wait for Wang Xifeng to reach the age of 15. Now Wang Xifeng had just reached the age of 15 and had married into the Jia family at the age of only sixteen.

Although Jia Lian now has signs of being lustful, he is still thinking about his sister Feng and does not show it. What's interesting is that before Jia Lian got married, the Jia family sent a special letter to Jia Lang, in which Jia's grandmother invited Aunt Li to bring Jia Lang back to Beijing to attend Jia Lian's wedding.

In fact, Jia Lang didn't care whether he returned to Beijing or not. After all, he had officially started his enlightenment. Although he had some understanding of the things he needed to learn before, he had never studied systematically. The imperial examination was not an easy thing. Even though Jia Lang had been an emperor, he still couldn't guarantee that he could pass the exam easily.

However, Aunt Li attached great importance to Jia Lang's return to Beijing. She already regarded Jia Lang as her son from the bottom of her heart, so naturally she had to consider Jia Lang's future.

Even if Jia Lang is really gifted, between an ordinary Jinling clan member and a real young master of Rongguo Mansion, the one who would have a smoother path to the imperial examination is naturally not the clan member, but the real young master.

There are so many clansmen living in Rongning Eighth Street, most of them are illegitimate sons of Jia Daishan's generation who were separated from the mansion. In all these years, except for Jia Dairu who passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, is there anyone else who passed the examination?

Among the real young masters of the Jia family, Jia Jing was a Jinshi, and even the deceased Jia Zhu was at least a Juren. Is it because the brains of illegitimate sons are not as good as those of legitimate sons?

Of course not. It is obvious that this is more due to the difference in resources. As the daughter of a scholar, Aunt Li is naturally aware of this, so for Jia Lang, even if she is said to be shameless, she will do her best to maintain the relationship between Jia Lang and the Jia family.