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Lai Dajia was a trusted confidant of Jia Mu. Jia She chose their family because he was dissatisfied with Jia Mu: if it weren't for your favoritism, if it weren't for secretly helping Madam Wang deal with his daughter-in-law, how could Madam Wang possibly have the ability to harm his eldest son and daughter-in-law? This dissatisfaction overshadowed his original foolish filial piety. Jia She decided to sever Jia Mu's influence, making it clear to everyone that he was the true head of Rongguo Mansion, and let Jia Mu understand the profound meaning of "a husband dies and the son takes over."
Jia She, accompanied by a group of subordinates, stormed into the back alleys of Ningrong Street, causing chaos everywhere. Jia Zhen, the clan leader, was supposed to intervene and stop Jia She's actions. However, upon seeing the piles of silver being carried out by Lai Dajia, Jia Zhen lost his composure. Lai Dajia had embezzled nearly a million taels from Rongguo Mansion; as his brother, did Lai Sheng also embezzle a significant amount from Ningguo Mansion? With this thought in mind, Jia Zhen cast a sinister glance at his family's chief steward.
Upon hearing the news of the Lai family being raided, Jia Mu was so furious that she nearly fainted, continuously cursing Jia She as an unfilial son. Unfortunately for her, she was now powerless; Jia She had leveraged the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Revenue to clear out almost all of the second branch and her trusted aides. Without any support, she became just an ordinary old woman unable to suppress her suddenly rebellious eldest son.
Jia She triumphantly returned to the mansion of the First-Class General—yes, you read that right; the Jia family was no longer Rongguo Mansion but rather the mansion of the First-Class General. When officials from both ministries came to conduct the raid, they noticed many irregularities. Given Jia She's respectful and attentive demeanor, these officials offered some guidance. Jia She broke out in a cold sweat and quickly ordered corrections to be made. When the plaque of Rongguo Mansion was taken down, Jia She's heart finally felt at ease; this mansion truly belonged to him.
As soon as Jia She entered through the main gate, Yuan Yang approached to report—Yuan Yang had not yet become Jia Mu's right-hand maid but was still just a third-rank servant running errands—"Master, the old lady wants you to see her immediately upon your return!"
Jia She chuckled: "I almost forgot about Lai Mama and Lai Da Xifu as two fish that slipped through the net. Lin Zhi Xiao, take two people with me into the second courtyard to tie them up!"
He took out an account book from his first pouch of silver and swaggered toward Jia Mu's courtyard.
"The master has arrived!"
Just as Jia She lifted the curtain and stepped inside, a teacup came flying toward him: "Unworthy son, what have you done? Quickly release those people and return their belongings!"
Jia She glanced at the mother-in-law pair kneeling nearby in tears and coldly smiled as he raised his voice: "Lin Zhi Xiao, why aren't you coming in to tie up these traitorous servants so they don't obstruct the old lady's view?"
"Unworthy child, how dare you show off in front of me!" Jia Mu was furious and grabbed another teacup to throw.
Jia She dodged again and handed over the account book: "Mother, please take a look at this account book so you won't be deceived by these servants."
Jia Mu knew about Lai Dajia's embezzlement but turned a blind eye because Lai Mama had been her trusted aide for decades. However, she never expected that Lai Dajia had amassed more wealth than Rongguo Mansion's total earnings over ten years from what was seized. No wonder Rongguo Mansion was living hand-to-mouth year after year; it turned out all their money had been embezzled by these damned servants. A breath caught in her chest; she couldn't believe she had been deceived for so long—was she really getting old?
"Mother, please take care not to let a few servants harm your health!" While saying this, Jia She's expression revealed his satisfaction, causing Jia Mu to faint from anger.
Jia She's actions alerted Jia Zhen; soon enough, he would raid Lai Sheng's household as well, seizing wealth comparable to that taken from Lai Dajia's family. This caused a stir among wealthy families in the capital; if just one household could be raided like this by chance, then what about others? The continuous raids on several wealthy households raised suspicions that their own servants might also be embezzling substantial amounts from them. Thus began a movement in the capital to investigate servant assets. Many servants fell into misfortune during this investigation while their masters profited significantly. Those with some insight realized that after Rongguo Mansion was forced to repay debts to the Ministry of Revenue, they too owed money and thought that surely the emperor wouldn't have a good impression of those who owed him money. Consequently, they attempted to repay part of their debts. The Ministry of Revenue became pleased with this influx of funds; its minister reported these proactive repayments to the emperor. Naturally delighted, the emperor issued decrees praising these families and even granted them tangible rewards, leading more families to repay their debts. As for Jia She—the instigator behind this repayment event—the emperor also considered compensating him by urging the Ministry of Justice to swiftly convict his enemy Madam Wang. Thus, Madam Wang—once so prominent in Dream of the Red Chamber—was early retired from her role.
"How pitiful are that wicked woman's children!" sighed one passerby in a teahouse. "I heard her eldest son is on death's door; after this incident with their mother broke out, that girl's family withdrew their engagement. How unfortunate! It won't be easy for them to find another daughter-in-law!"
Another passerby remarked: "I heard that Eldest Son is dying?"
Passerby C: "Yes, the imperial physician has said that the child is troubled in heart and has suffocated himself like this. Sigh, you adults have made mistakes, yet it affects the child. Such a sin!"
Is Jia Zhu going to die? Jia Lan hasn't even been born yet!
Bai Tang threw the melon seeds back into the plate and tossed a piece of silver before leaving the teahouse. Soon after, she appeared outside Jia Zhu's door. It wasn't that she was a saint, but a mission to save Jia Zhu had suddenly appeared on her system panel. How could she not accept it? This game system she carried with her was different from other exploitative systems; it only occasionally emerged to assert its presence and the missions it issued were not difficult to complete. Bai Tang had a good impression of it and was willing to accept the tasks it provided.
Jia Zhu lay alone in the room, and the servants seemed to have disappeared. Bai Tang didn't want to comment on the snobbishness of the servants in Jia Mansion. She pushed open the door and saw a boy of about fifteen or sixteen lying on the bed, his face as pale as snow, weak as if he could leave at any moment. A sense of urgency rose in Bai Tang's heart; if this were modern times, this child would still be just starting high school!
Bai Tang walked in and startled the sleeping boy awake.
"Who are you?" the boy asked laboriously, though he did not seem panicked by the intrusion.
"The person who will save your life!"
"Hah!" The boy laughed, "Even the imperial physician couldn't cure me; how can you save my life?"
The boy was trapped by his own thoughts; as long as this knot remained unresolved, his illness would not improve. He believed that since his mother caused his cousin's death, he should pay with his own life to repay his uncle.
Without hesitation, Bai Tang took out a Peiyuan Pill and stuffed it into the boy's mouth. The pill melted instantly; although he wanted to spit it out, he found he couldn't. He felt a warm current flow into his abdomen and spread throughout his body with his blood. The boy immediately felt much lighter and regained some strength.
The boy was astonished; such an effective medicine—why would this person give it to him? What connection did he have with the Jia family?
"I know you want to die because of your mother's situation, but have you thought about what will happen to your father and grandmother if you die? Do you want them to send off a black-haired person with white hair? That would be unfilial!" Bai Zhu pressed him with this point of filial piety.
"I..." The boy was at a loss for words.
"If you don't want your elders to worry about you, then hurry up and get better! You are the eldest in your family; your younger siblings need you to take care of them. You must take on the responsibility of being an older brother," Bai Tang continued to press Jia Zhu with the weight of responsibility.
"...I understand now!" The boy finally came to terms with it; although he was still sad, at least the knot in his heart had been untied.
The system indicated that the mission was complete. Bai Tang looked discontentedly at an extra book titled "Taijiquan Manual" that had appeared in her backpack. Ugh, this clearly wasn't meant for her! Bai Tang glared at it; "Taijiquan Manual" remained snugly in her backpack, so she had no choice but to take it out and hand it over to the boy.
"This manual records exercises for health and fitness. If you practice according to it, even if you can't live for a hundred years, you'll at least be able to live healthily into old age!"
Jia Zhu held the fist manual in both hands, tears of gratitude streaming down his face. The person before him was Madam Wang, the only one who had been kind and genuinely helpful to him after the incident, aside from his father, grandmother, and sister.
"Master!" The young man knelt on the ground and respectfully bowed to Bai Tang nine times. "May I ask for your esteemed name, Master?"
Having learned someone else's skills, he naturally wanted to honor them as his Master.
"My name is Bai Tang!" Bai Tang stared at the words on the screen indicating successful apprenticeship and sighed. Had she just taken on another disciple? Looking at her second disciple, who seemed weak as a chick, Bai Tang took out a bottle of Clearing Elixir from her backpack and handed it to the young man.
"I heard you really enjoy studying and want to take the Imperial Examination. This potion is for you; drink a sip before each exam, and it will ensure your mind is clear and your writing flows effortlessly, helping you achieve good results!"
"Thank you, Master!" The young man was very happy; with only three months until the provincial examination, this potion came at just the right time.
"Don't just bury yourself in books; remember to balance work and rest!" Bai Tang advised the young man. In the original story, this child had indeed exhausted himself from studying too hard.
"Yes!" The young man nodded obediently. Bai Tang couldn't help but pat his head; he was truly a well-behaved child!
"Ding! Changing Jia Zhu's fate completed. Reward: One Time-Space Gate Fragment." After the system's voice faded away, a one-foot-sized fragment of unknown material appeared in Bai Tang's hand. She had intervened to alter Xue Pan's fate, and Jia Min had also escaped an early death due to starvation; the system rewarded her with a similar fragment. Bai Tang speculated that as long as she changed the fates of the four major families, the system would reward her with Time-Space Gate fragments. Once these fragments could be combined into a Time-Space Gate, she should be able to return to modern society.
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