CHAPTER 723: CHAPTER 292: THE SWINDLER AGAIN (PART 8)

Jia Zhen was absolutely terrified of his father, Jia Jing, down to the bone.

Even though he had already taken over the family business, he had never been negligent towards the "Supreme Emperor" above his head.

Firstly, filial piety was the foundation of the current dynasty. Hadn’t they seen how the current Saint meticulously served the old Saint?

And families like the Jia family and other nobles, who were the old Saint’s confidants, continued to enjoy wealth and honor because of the old Saint’s care.

If Jia Zhen rebelled against his own father, tsk tsk, wouldn’t that be a death wish?!

Secondly, Jia Zhen was guilty. If he were a capable heir, he could stand tall in front of his own father.

But the problem was, he wasn’t. He had turned Ningguo’s Mansion into a dark and murky place.

Did others not know about those dirty deeds he had done, or did he not have a count in his own heart?

His own father was the most progressive person in the Jia family, the only Scholar.

And him? Let alone studying; even in the ancestral skills of horsemanship, archery, and leading troops, he was incompetent in all.

Being such a good-for-nothing and still acting wildly was only because his father was not around.

Now, as his real father suddenly came before him, Jia Zhen’s first reaction was: Could it be that Grand Master has learned about one of my deeds, and the living ancestor has come to settle accounts with me?!

Jia Zhen was nervous, his mind full of how to deal with his real father, unable to care about the Provincial Villa, and he hurriedly stood up to meet him.

In fact, Jia Jing’s sudden return had not only surprised Jia Zhen but also Madam Jia, Jia She, and Jia Zheng.

Madam Jia exchanged glances with her two sons.

Although Jia She was addicted to wine and women, and Jia Zheng only knew to frolic with the gentlemen of the court, they all understood clearly in their hearts.

In their generation, Jia Jing was definitely the most learned and the most progressive.

Despite turning to alchemy and cultivation midway, to this day, Jia Jing still had the highest "academic qualifications" among the Jia family men.

Jia Zhu, who had been seen as a promising student and was expected to be a great scholar, had only managed to become a Scholar before he died.

Meanwhile, Jia Jing was a Scholar of the Yimao class.

"Not during the New Year, why has Brother Jing come back?" Jia She and Jia Zheng wondered privately.

But Madam Jia had a guess: "Could it be that Brother Jing has also come back because of the Consort’s affairs?"

Leaving aside the many speculations of Madam Jia and others, let’s talk about Jia Zhen, who, holding on to his hat brim and lifting his robes, hurried out to meet him.

Encountering Jia Jing, dressed in a Taoist robe, holding a dust whisk, he quickly bowed and eagerly asked, "Grand Master, why didn’t you inform your son in advance of your return, so I could have come to greet you?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? I need you to greet me when I return to my own home?"

He Tiantian couldn’t help but roll her eyes at Jia Zhen and deliberately spoke such a sentence.

Jia Zhen, shamefaced, didn’t dare to get angry, his already nervous heart became even more anxious.

He smiled obsequiously, nodding and bowing, "Yes! Yes, yes! Father, you are quite right in your reprimand!"

"Today, I’ve gained some insights and calculated that there is an important matter in the mansion that is greatly related to my cultivation practice. Right, you came to West Mansion for the matter of constructing the Provincial Villa, didn’t you?"

He Tiantian, with Student Xiao D’s all-seeing surveillance, seemed to also have been granted God’s Eye View.

Of course, she knew why Jia Zhen had run next door today. She purposefully asked with a confirming tone, also as a pretext for shaping Jia Jing as a Swindler.

"Father, you also know about the Consort going home for a provincial visit?"

Jia Zhen’s heart skipped a beat, and hearing his father speak like that, his thoughts didn’t wander to spirits and ghosts, but he couldn’t stop murmuring: Although Father is far away in the suburbs at Xuanzhen Temple, he seems very familiar with the big and small affairs of Capital City.

Perhaps there were even his father’s spies in "this mansion"!

"Stop talking nonsense! Didn’t I say I specially divined today and knew that there was a major event in the mansion?"

He Tiantian deliberately put on the appearance of an expert with profound abilities.

Jia Zhen did not believe it.

However, no matter what he thought inside, he had to show respect on his face, "Father, your cultivation has indeed advanced! Indeed, a major event is taking place in our Jia family."

Jia Zhen bowed and stood beside He Tiantian, carefully relating how the Saint had permitted the harem concubines to return home for a provincial visit, and that each family could construct a Provincial Villa.

At the end, while watching He Tiantian’s expression, he tentatively said, "Earlier, the old lady mentioned that the Consort’s provincial visit is a major event for our entire Jia Clan, and among them, our two mansions of Ning and Rong hold the highest esteem."

"So for this Provincial Villa, our Ning Mansion—" must also provide some land and contribute some Silver Coin.