80 080 Seeking the Way
◎Nothing else, just the stubbornness of a cuckold.◎
Ningguofu’s elder Jia Jing has been a monk in Xuanzhen Temple on the outskirts of the city for three or four years.
Although every New Year and his birthday, the sons and grandsons of Ningguofu’s Jia Zhen, Jia Rong and other younger generations would go to Xuanzhen Temple to invite him, but no one ever really expected him to respond.
Because this elder’s response was really too simple and rough. No matter who went, whether they kowtowed to pay respects, chatted casually or made sincere requests, even if Jia Zhen and the others cried out loud, Jia Jing basically had only one response, that is, no response.
He would not hit or scold anyone, but he also had no expression of joy or sadness. He was always indifferent, just like the clay sculptures and wooden sculptures in Xuanzhen Temple, just a breath longer than a dead person.
Jia Jing's standard world-weary look really wore down people's willpower. Even his biological son Jia Zhen, who was most determined to invite him back to his house, finally gave up after two or three years of diligent invitations. In
fact, Jia Zhen and others still had illusions at first, thinking that their family's eldest master just wanted to be quiet and alone - there was a reason behind it, and everyone who knew would understand. But
what they didn't expect was that Jia Jing was determined not to come back this time.
He was probably deeply hurt by the mundane affairs in the world, so he inevitably had some negative and worldly thoughts. Especially when the things that hurt him were so disgusting, he felt even more uncomfortable and was too lazy to get involved in the world.
Since he was in this mood, he would inevitably want to seek some comfort at this time, and seeking immortals and medicine was the most suitable thing.
In fact, Jia Jing didn't really want to become a monk at first. He just felt depressed and wanted to go to the Xuanzhen Temple to find some familiar Taoist priests to talk about Taoism. Later, he gradually got into it and became a standard Taoism enthusiast.
This can't be blamed entirely on him, because those few years were indeed the darkest moment in his life.
Imagine that this old man Jing Da studied hard for most of his life under the brunt of his father, the famously irritable Xianning Duke Jia Daihua. He finally passed the exam and was about to enter the officialdom. He finally had a chance to make a name for himself, but then his father died.
It's like you worked hard for a long time and finally found a job you wanted, but you found that you didn't like it at all. That's fine, at least everyone said this job was good, but the parents who forced you to find this job are no longer around.
Even because of your parents' death, this job fell through.
So what did you work so hard for?
You feel empty and confused.
After all, this goal was not what you wanted in the first place, and the object of your filial piety is no longer around in order to paralyze yourself by saying that you are trying to achieve this goal...
It is really a tragedy in the world.
Jia Jing couldn't accept it at the time.
The most terrifying thing is that during the funeral, a fire broke out in the back house.
His wife, who was over 40 years old, was pregnant.
Of course, the child was not his.
Although the Duke Xianning was not very good to him, he was his biological father after all. How could he have the mood to sleep with his wife when his biological father was dead?
Although Ding You said that he had to observe mourning after the death of his parents and therefore postponed his official duties, Jia Jing at the time was really mourning for his father Jia Daihua with great grief.
Although he himself may not understand the relationship between him and Jia Daihua, it is actually quite easy to understand for Mo Yu. This is the control of a father who is extremely controlling over his son in all aspects.
Jia Jing is obviously the eldest son of the Ningguo Mansion. In fact, he can be promoted to a noble title without studying or taking the imperial examinations.
But Jia Daihua was crazy about making him study hard and take the imperial examinations.
It is estimated that he wanted to drive Jia Jing to the path of imperial examinations to make a fortune. I don’t know if he wanted to compete with their old relatives, the Suzhou Lin family.
The Lin family also has a long history of succession to the title. Although Lin Ruhai is the sixth generation, the five generations before him were all successful in succession - this is terrifying in itself. After all, the succession to the title usually lasts for three generations at most, and then there is no more.
Not only did the Lin family not get downgraded after three generations, but they even extended their status after the fourth generation.
In fact, if Lin Ruhai had failed the imperial examination, he might have been able to follow his ancestors' path and enter the officialdom.
But Lin Ruhai was a top student, and he had both English and English. Not only was he very good at the imperial examinations, he was younger than Jia Jing and had better grades than him, and he even passed the imperial examinations more smoothly than Jia Jing.
With such a comparison, Jia Daihua would have been even more angry, and the stick he swung at Jia Jing would have been even more powerful.
The key point is that after Lin Ruhai passed the imperial examinations, he was also smooth sailing, and he thrived in the officialdom.
If Jia Daihua had lived to this day, he would have been even more angry.
But all this is just a hypothesis. In fact, Jia Daihua was so happy when he saw Jia Jing pass the imperial examination that he left without a single breath.
This old Duke of Ning not only did not see Jia Jing's dominance in the officialdom, but he even set a big trap for him - he failed the imperial examination right after passing it. None of the more than 100 imperial examinations on the same list were like this. So
what? So what?
It just so happened that Jia Jing had studied hard for the imperial examinations for many years and was actually a little tired. He could take this opportunity to take a break and spend more time with his wife and children...
In order to study, he basically didn't manage the household. His first wife had been married to him for more than 30 years, and the two of them really treated each other with respect. After giving birth to the eldest son Jia Zhen, no other children were born.
And not only did he not have any legitimate children, he did not even have any illegitimate children.
Regarding this point, there are also vague rumors like this in the various gossips about the Dream of the Red Chamber that System 006 provided to Mo Yu.
Jia Jing is not fond of women by nature ().
And he does not love children either.
Simply put, he has some psychological problems, which is different from ordinary people.
Also, who can become a monk for no reason? It must be a person with "wisdom".
No offense, this is not to say that he is so bad, but the reason why he became like this must have a profound reason.
At Mo Yu's request, System 006 made an irresponsible guess and estimated that Jia Jing was scared by Jia Daihua. There are also rumors that his eldest brother Jia Fu was beaten to death by Jia Daihua.
Under this psychological shadow, he had no other thoughts except to study hard.
What's the point of having so many children?
It's just to make them suffer.
Jia Daihua's dominance and control have reached a very scary level. Even if he doesn't want to care about his son Jia Zhen's education, Jia Daihua will definitely take over.
This was particularly obvious when Jia Zhen was still young.
It was only once that Jia Zhen was almost beaten to death by Jia Daihua that his grandmother, Jia Daihua's wife, stopped him and barely saved his life.
But not long after that incident, the wife of the Duke of Xianning fell ill due to excessive fear, and died after being bedridden for a year or two.
Jia Zhen thus saved his life and no longer had to study so hard every day - with his appearance, he was really not cut out for studying.
Jia Daihua became more and more weird, no longer forcing his grandson, but forcing his son to study hard, and then constantly stuffing people into his room.
This is very interesting.
It seems that he wanted his only son to study hard and have children - basically, he wanted to torture Jia Jing to death.
It was as crazy as if he wanted to drain him dry and then train someone else to be the one to finish the job.
It's really terrifying when you think about
it. Most people would have died young if they were treated like this.
It was amazing that Jia Jing could hold on for so many years, so isn't it normal for him to have a mental breakdown?
Therefore, it is normal for a newlywed couple to not want to have any more children after giving birth to their eldest son Jia Zhen, and even basically not touch women, and only focus on reading books of saints and sages...
Well, this does not seem normal, but it is also possible that they did not get pregnant after touching women.
In short, because of Jia Daihua's suffocating operation, Jia Jing grew up crooked, and Jia Zhen was not any better.
Although Jia Daihua wanted to educate his grandson Jia Zhen for his useless son Jia Jing, the old lady of their family did not allow it.
The old lady said that this was the only grandson of their Ningguogong Mansion, and he was born legitimately. If anything happened, she would not let Jia Daihua go even if she became a ghost.
The old Ningguogong's wife was gentle and dignified all her life, and she had never had a quarrel with Jia Daihua. This was the first time she lost her temper.
The key point is that not long after she lost her temper
, the old lady fell ill. Then she never got better and died. It is estimated that the old Duke of Ning was very upset.
Although she restrained herself a lot afterwards, the damage had been done. The most terrible thing is that Jia Zhen was sensible at that time and of course knew how special his status was. He gradually developed in the direction of a playboy.
The entire Ningguo Mansion was rotten, but this was not the end.
After the culprit Jia Daihua died, Jia Jing had not yet recovered. His wife, who had been cold to him all his life, was pregnant.
When he learned the news, he was guarding the coffin at Tiejin Temple.
His wife fainted during the funeral at Ningguo Mansion. It happened that among the guests who came to pay their respects was the imperial physician from the palace. He hurriedly asked for an on-the-spot diagnosis and found that she was already a month pregnant.
Others congratulated him in person, but they couldn't help but secretly laugh at him.
Some said that Master Jing was really amazing. He was still so vigorous at this age. He was preparing for the exam while being affectionate with his wife.
Others said that they didn't expect that Master Jing and his wife had such a good relationship. They were truly a couple for life...
That's right. They have been married for nearly 30 years. They are in their 40s and 50s and they can still have another legitimate child. Regardless of whether it is a boy or a girl, it is a good story.
Moreover, the child was born before the old Duke Ning passed away, and it was not considered an overdue birth during the mourning period. It did not break the rules and was not a bad thing.
Very good.
If this was really Jia Jing's child, then of course it would be very good.
Unfortunately, it was not.
Others did not know, but Jia Jing and his wife knew it very well.
His wife's fainting must have been related to this matter.
But Jia Jing was also a ruthless man.
After receiving the letter, he was stunned for a moment, and an expression of sadness and joy appeared on his face. He did not say anything and sent the messenger back.
He continued to stay in Tiejin Temple to guard the spirit, and he was still silent and did not say much. People thought he was too happy and wanted to talk to the old lady, the late Duke Ning, Jia Daihua.
But after a while, he found something wrong.
It should be just a formality to keep vigil at Tiejin Temple, but Jia Jing stayed there for more than half a year, and did not return home until the day his wife passed away.
Jia Jing's wife died of a difficult labor.
I don't know if it was because of too much pressure or because she was too old, but Jia Jing's wife was not very stable during this pregnancy, and she gave birth prematurely at just over seven months.
Not only was it a premature birth, but it was also a difficult birth. After several days of torment, the baby was finally born, but she was dead.
Jia Zhen and his first wife, who was still alive at the time, went to Tiejin Temple repeatedly to ask Jia Jing to come back, while the other stayed at home to take care of her mother-in-law. It was really a chaotic time.
Fortunately, Jia Jing was finally persuaded. After all
, human life was at stake. Even if he had some grievances, she was still his legal wife who had been married for many years, gave birth to his legal son, and also took care of his mother-in-law. Even
without love, there was always family affection. Hearing that his legal wife was in a bad condition and estimated that she could not hold on, Jia Jing finally softened his heart.
Unfortunately, this softening came too late.
When Jia Jing followed Jia Zhen back to Ningguo Mansion, his legal wife had already passed away.
In the main room, only the sad cries of the female relatives and the weak cries of the newborn baby were left.
Jia Jing stood at the gate for a while, ignoring Jia Zhen's crying voice as she knelt down to ask "Please let me take one last look at my wife." He just quietly looked at the main room where he and his wife had lived together for more than 30 years, and then turned and left amid the strong smell of blood and the tragic crying.
This time he did not return to Tiejin Temple, but wandered aimlessly for an hour, and somehow ended up at Xuanzhen Temple.
He never came out again.
This is the story of how Jia Jing, the elder of Ningguo Prefecture, transformed from a newly-appointed Jinshi and the heir of Ningguo Prefecture to a lay Buddhist practicing in Xuanzhen Temple.
It must be said that the story is full of ups and downs, but the ending is a bit lost, and it has the flavor of the current "click" literature.
When Mo Yu came back to his senses from System 006's narration, he still felt a little complicated. It turned out that this elder Jing was really a very difficult character to comment on.
If you only read the original work, of course almost all readers have no good impression of him.
"It is said that the unworthy are all honored,
and the beginning of the conflict is actually Ning." Although this sentence is about Qin Keqing, why is it not about Jia Jing?
Even if the verdict didn't hint clearly enough, the twelve songs corresponding to the Twelve Jinling Ladies, Qin Keqing's "Good Things End", also pointed it out directly - "The family's decline is all due to Jing, and the family's demise is mainly due to Ning."
This "Jing" refers to Jia Jing.
It even uses the allusion of Zhu Youtang, the famous "one life, one world, one couple" emperor of the Ming Dynasty, pointing out that the problem of Ningguo Mansion is that Jia Jing has too few children and has not left a suitable heir for Ningguo Mansion.
Regardless of whether Jia Jing's relationship with his legitimate wife is that good, the fact that only one son can inherit the family business is the same as Zhu Youtang.
And Jia Zhen, the only child, is as ridiculous as Zhu Youtang's only son Zhu Houzhao.
In addition, Jia Jing became a monk and his wife died. The huge Ningguo Mansion was ruled by only Jia Zhen, a playboy. How could he be so powerful?
Sure enough, this Zhen Da Ye alone took away the Ningguo Mansion's accumulation of several generations.
Although Jia Zhen was the one who did it, it was still the responsibility of Jia Jing, the previous heir.
You said you don't want to take over, then try to have more children.
In this way, they can choose the best one to inherit the family business, just like the Rongguo Mansion next door. If the eldest son Jia She is not good enough, at least the second son Jia Zheng has the possibility of rectifying the chaos. However, if Jia She is the only son, it will be just a replica of the tragedy of Jia Zhen and Ningguo Mansion.
Because of this, many people will sigh after reading the original novel that this old man Jing Da neither has more children nor cares about raising children well. He only cares about his own sorrow, seeking immortals and medicine, and being happy. He doesn't care about the affairs in Ningguo Mansion. His complete inaction is the fundamental reason for the chaos in Ningguo Mansion.
But no one cares why he has become like this.
There must be something pitiful about a hateful person. Although this sentence is not objective and universal, it is obviously very applicable to Jia Jing.
For example, after Mo Yu learned about the past, when facing Jia Jing again, he was a little bit at a loss for words.
He is indeed unreliable and irresponsible, but he was not like this at the beginning.
In short, he is just a person who was played a joke by fate. All these seemingly abnormal, rebellious, and irresponsible behaviors are nothing more than the stubbornness of a cuckold.
So, why did this Master Jing suddenly come back from the Xuanzhen Temple on the outskirts of the city today?
Could it be that there is something more important than the death of the late wife or the high school entrance exam of the next-door cousin or the entry into the palace, which requires him to make such a trip in person?
Mo Yu raised his head with suspicion, and stood at the door with Lin Ruhai, Jia She, Jia Zheng, Jia Zhen, Jia Rong and others, ready to welcome this legendary Master Jing.
[Author's words]
Thank you to the little angels who cast the Overlord vote or irrigated the nutrient solution for me during 2024-01-30 00:18:51~2024-01-31 23:50:32~ Thank you
to the little angels who cast mines: 1 breeze and drizzle;
thank you to the little angels who irrigated the nutrient solution: 1 bottle of Su Yan;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!