Chapter Seventy-two

  In the flower hall, Old Master Wang was discussing with his wife about the engagement of their precious daughter, Wang Xifeng.

  The royal family was once prosperous and glorious, but later gradually declined. Especially when it came to his own generation, Master Wang had no particular talent; whether in literature or martial arts, he was inferior to his second brother, Wang Ziteng. As for managing the family business, he was far less capable than his third brother, Wang Zisheng.

  However, this King has one thing that ordinary people don't have. That is, although this King is a person with not many skills, he wins in being magnanimous and also has great self-awareness.

  This King old master is also a character, he knows that his literature and martial arts are not accomplished; so he simply left the capital and lived in the Wang family ancestral home in Jinling, thoroughly handing over the entire Wang family business to his second brother Wang Ziteng to take charge; he himself then leisurely became a absentee owner.

  The four great families of that year - Jia, Shi, Wang, and Xue - were so prosperous and glorious; from ancient times, there was the saying "Jia is not false, white jade for the hall and gold for the horse"; the Afang Palace, 300 miles long, could not accommodate a single Lin family; the East China Sea lacked a white jade bed, and the Dragon King invited the Wang family of Jinling; in years of abundance, there was heavy snow, with pearls like dirt and gold like iron.

  The layout of the four major families in their heyday was arranged in the order of Jia, Shi, Wang and Xue. Among them, the Jia family had the most prestige and influence, followed by the Shi and Wang families, with the Xue family being the last.

  The Jia family originally held the title of 'Duke', the Shi family originally held the title of 'Marquis', and the Wang family originally held the title of 'Earl'. Only the Xue family had no title, but was a specially appointed 'Ziwei Officer' granted by the Emperor. Although the Xue family was far inferior to the Jia, Shi, and Wang families in terms of power and influence, they surpassed them by a wide margin in terms of wealth.

  These four big families have been declining with each passing generation, but as the saying goes, a dead camel is bigger than a horse; even so, in many people's eyes, these four big families are still the crème de la crème of wealthy families; their leg hair is thicker than others' waists... Of course, this is just what ordinary people speculate.

  However, by the time of Wang Lao Ye's generation, the four major families had indeed declined; except for one Wang Ziteng who still had some real power in his hands, he was initially appointed as the Jijing Camp Lieutenant General; later promoted to the Nine Provinces Governor, and then ordered to inspect the border and promoted to the Nine Provinces Inspector-General. The rest of the Jia family, Shi family, and Xue family no longer had even a tenth of their former glory.

  In the original Dream of Red Mansions, Wang Xifeng's husband Wang Ziteng is mentioned vaguely, although he never appears in person; however, he is a key figure supporting the interests of the four families - Jia, Wang, Shi and Xue. He and Jia Yuanchun are crucial to maintaining the balance of power among the four families.

  Until later, with his downfall and violent death, coupled with Jia Yuanchun's sudden death; the Jia family ultimately ended in complete defeat, although there is no description of the final outcome of the Wang family inside; however, it can be guessed that since the Jia family has already declined, will the Wang family still be safe and sound?

  The four families of Jia, Shi, Wang and Xue are intricately connected by marriage; when one family suffers a loss, all suffer a loss, and when one family gains honor, all gain honor.

  Among the four major families, the most powerful and representative of their interests is, apart from the noble and dignified Imperial Consort Yuanchun, only Wang Xiteng, who holds the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Capital Garrison. The Commander-in-Chief of the Capital Garrison controls the troops in the capital area and is a real power holder with military authority and heavy troops; a true military and political leader, and also a core figure among the four major families of Jia, Shi, Wang, and Xue.

  It is precisely this mentality of Wang Lao Ye's Kong Rong letting pear that makes Wang Zi Teng mix in the capital city with a great momentum; and even Wang Lao Ye, who is also living a carefree and happy life like an immortal in his old home in Jinling.

  After receiving a letter from his second brother, Wang Ziteng, Mr. Wang said to his wife, Mrs. Zhou: "My wife, what do you think of the marriage arranged by my second brother for our daughter Feng?"

  The Zhou couple had been married for over 20 years, and the number of times they had a big argument could be counted on one hand; this time it was about their precious daughter's lifelong happiness, so naturally they were discussing it thoroughly.

  Zhou didn't directly express her own opinion to Wang Laoye, but instead asked him a question: "I don't know what different opinions you have about the husband's family that Second Uncle chose for Feng'er this time?"

  This Wang master and Madame Zhou had only one son and one daughter, the son Wang Ren was a weak and incompetent person; compared to Wang Xifeng, the two siblings seemed to have exchanged personalities.

  In the Wang household, one could often hear Master Wang and Madame Zhou sighing about this. It's understandable; their son was weak-willed like a young lady, and he often couldn't make up his own mind. Even the servants could easily take advantage of him.

  But the girl from their own family was strong and rough like a tomboy, not knowing a single character; let alone piano, chess, calligraphy and painting. In the past, Old Master Wang and Madame Zhou were most worried that Wang Xifeng would not find a good husband in the future.

  However, since Wang Xifeng fell seriously ill two years ago, she has changed her personality completely; not only did she start learning to read and write, but also learned all about music, chess, calligraphy and painting; in just two years, she successfully transformed from a woman who gave everyone headaches into a standard lady of elegance.

  The old master stroked his few whiskers, then smiled and said to his wife: "My dear, to be honest with you; I think the husband my second brother has chosen for our daughter is quite good."

  Wang Lao Ye did not hide his views on Zhou Shi, but directly expressed his likes and dislikes.

  Mrs. Zhou had been married to Old Master Wang for over twenty years, and between the two of them, there was still a certain tacit understanding; she pursed her lips, raised an eyebrow, and smiled: "Old Master, is it because the other party is from the Jia family that you're so satisfied with this marriage?"

  Although Zhou's tone was inquiring, the meaning of his words was very certain; with an air of having already known it all along.

  "Only you understand me, my wife!" Old Master Wang stroked his beard with a smile and nodded in agreement.

  It turned out that Wang Teng had already detailed in the letter to his own brother, the object of this proposal for his niece Wang Xifeng; was also a member of the four major families of Jia Shi Wang Xue, the eldest son of the Jia family - Jia Yu!

  It was none other than Wang's own sister who had initially proposed the marriage between the two families; now, as the wife of Jia Zheng and mistress of the second house, Lady Wang, this was a most excellent opportunity for an alliance through kinship; naturally, Wang Ziteng raised no objections.

  However, since Wang Xifeng was not his own daughter but only a niece, Wang Ziteng still wrote a letter to Wang Lao and had his trusted steward deliver it personally to his elder brother in Jinling.

  Mr. Wang had five brothers and sisters in total, except for Mr. Wang himself who stayed in his hometown of Jinling; there were also two brothers, Wang Ziteng and Wang Zisheng, living in the capital city, as well as two younger sisters who had been married for over twenty years; the elder sister was Mrs. Wang, who had married into the Rongguo House of the Jia family and become the lady of the house, while the younger sister had married into the family of the "Master of the Purple Immortals" and become the mistress of the house, Lady Xue.

  Because the Xue family originally lived in Jinling, Aunt Xue and Old Master Wang were relatively close; as a result, they naturally interacted more often, and the feelings between the two siblings became much better than before Aunt Xue got married.

  Mrs. Xue also had a son and a daughter, but they were much younger than Wang Ren and Wang Xifeng; especially the young daughter of Mrs. Xue, Xue Baochai, was only a little girl of a few years old; on idle days when there was nothing to do, Mrs. Xue would take her children back to their maternal grandparents' home for a short stay.

  It's rare to see that Wang Xifeng, who doesn't usually like children, is actually very fond of her own little niece Xue Baochai; this has surprised both Mr. and Mrs. Wang as well as Zhou Shi.

  Wang Gong also jokingly asked Wang Xifeng why she liked Xue Baochai, the younger sister of the Xue family so much. Wang Xifeng's answer was very simple, saying that her younger sister was delicate and lovely like ice and snow, and that her daughter really liked her.

  As a result of Wang Xifeng's response, Aunt Xue took her two children to their maternal grandparents' home every other day, saying that the two sisters were rare to get along and should spend more time together.

  The Jia family has two households. The second household, which lives with Old Lady Jia in Rongxi Hall, is the one led by Baoyu's uncle and his wife.

  Jia Zheng, also known as Zhen Zhou, was a government official who held the position of Deputy Director in the Ministry of Works. He was the second son of Jia Daisan and Lady Wang, and from a young age, he had a fondness for reading books. As a person, he was upright, honest, modest, and kind-hearted; however, he was also overly pedantic due to his deep immersion in Confucianism. While he was filial to his mother, he also strictly disciplined his children, but ultimately failed both as an official and as a father.

  Especially Rongxi Hall was originally supposed to be inhabited by Jia Zhen, who inherited the title of nobility. Unfortunately, since childhood, Jia Zhen has not been favored by Old Lady Jia; After the two houses were separated, Rongxi Hall was occupied by Old Lady Jia with Jia Zheng and Wang Xifeng; It can be said that the magpie's nest is occupied by the dove.

  This time Wang Ziteng intended to propose a marriage for his own niece, and the candidate was Jia Yuanchun's son, Jia Lian!

  It turns out that Jia Lian is also a poor boy. His biological mother, Zhang Shi, died early; and his own father, Jia Zhen, was an irresponsible person. It's a miracle that Jia Lian grew up safely and didn't become twisted.

  The reason why Wang Gong is optimistic about this marriage is largely due to Jia Xian's legitimate status; uh... of course! Here, Jia Xian's unreliable father, Jia Zhen, also has a big part of the reason.

  Jia Yu, also known as Enhou, was the eldest grandson of Rongguo Gong Jia Yuan; the successor to the title of Rongguo Gong Jia Daisan; the eldest son of Old Lady Jia; and demoted to inherit the title of First-Class General.

  It must be said that this is another major reason why Wang Gong looked at Jia Yu with favor, after all, this Jia Zhen was already a hereditary duke; according to the system, if there were no accidents, then in the future, Jia Yu would be the next heir to the dukedom.

  As a parent, it's natural to hope that their children will have a secure future and live a happy, worry-free life! Especially the last four words - peace and happiness! Mr. Wang has the most experience with this, if you don't have certain rights and wealth, talking about peace and happiness is just empty talk.