Jiapingguan Chronicle

Originally, Shen Cha was going to leave after asking Mr. Jiang Erye whether he knew about Mian Bai's background, but Mr. Jiang Erye kept her to drink tea and inquire whether Ke Chenyi had any possibility of performing on stage again.

"Go on stage again?" Jin Miaomiao took a sip of tea and waved to Mr. Jiang, "That's impossible."

"Why?" Master Jiang looked at them in confusion, then at Meilin. Seeing them nod in unison, he was even more confused. "This is not a big deal. As long as we count their property and pay three times the price to the victims, it should be fine, right?"

"Extortion is a serious crime, and he is the mastermind. Even if he saves his life, he will probably be exiled." Shen Cha sighed and said, "If he is exiled, he will definitely not be exiled here, usually to the southwest, so..." She shook her head gently, "Although it is a bit regrettable, Second Grandpa, this is the only way now."

"I understand." Master Jiang shrugged helplessly, "I've seen him a few times in the palace before, and listened to his plays. I think he has a good voice and a good figure, which is rare in recent years, so I paid more attention to him."

"In other words, Second Grandfather appreciates his talent more?"

"Hmm!" Master Jiang took a sip of tea, smiled helplessly, and said, "In fact, for people in the palace, listening to operas and music is just a form of entertainment. They don't have the time to really follow any actor, including the concubines in the palace." He looked at Shen Cha, "They all have their own things to do. If those opera troupes hadn't gone too far back then, and some actors hadn't seduced the daughters of wealthy families in Beijing, leading to some murders, the Empress Dowager and the Queen Mother wouldn't have staged that big show with my brother, and we wouldn't have paid attention to him and asked him to help. If it weren't for this favor, he..."

"He is also the only relative the Empress Dowager has in this world, the only person she cares about."

"That's true." Mr. Jiang sighed softly and looked at Shen Cha. "What do you think of this person?"

"Who? Ke Chenyi?" Seeing Mr. Jiang nod, Shen Cha sighed, "It's really hard to put it into words!"

"How can it be explained in one word? Tell me about it."

Shen Cha gestured to Hongye and Meilin, asking them to tell Mr. Jiang what had happened in the court before.

During the whole process, Mr. Jiang's brows were always furrowed like a knot. The more he listened, the colder his face became. Until he heard that Ke Chenyi thought that this teahouse belonged to him and that he should have a share of anything belonging to the royal family, he almost spit out a mouthful of tea.

"Stupid, really stupid. I didn't expect that the Empress Dowager, who is so smart, would have such a stupid and greedy relative." Mr. Jiang sneered, coughed twice, and said, "I didn't expect that Ke Chenyi would be such a person. It's true that you can't judge a person by his appearance. I thought he was an honest man because he looked gentle, but the truth is jaw-dropping."

"The more honest he looks, the more bad things he might do. He can't be trusted with his face." Jin Miaomiao sighed and looked at Master Jiang, "Do you think he can still go on stage in this state?" "Indeed, although he was abducted when he was young and didn't grow up at home, his profit-seeking spirit is still the same as the Empress Dowager." Master Jiang sighed, "If I had known he was such a person, I should have found him earlier. Although it is difficult, there is a way."

"Get it back sooner?"

"Yes, if we had found him earlier, before we started our plans, it might have been easier to deal with that old guy." Master Jiang looked at Shen Cha who seemed to be thinking about something, "Right?"

"Second Grandfather is right. If it had been earlier, maybe everything would have been different."

Shen Cha agreed with what Master Jiang said. The struggles and calculations in the court were no different from their plans and deployments on the battlefield. When they deployed their troops on the battlefield, they always looked for the enemy's weak points to attack. As the saying goes, a single move affects the entire body. If this weak point is breached, the entire formation will undergo major changes. The enemy may be in a panic, or they may be in a panic for a while and then regroup immediately. No matter which one it is, it will be a blow to the morale of the soldiers.

If Ke Chenyi had been found earlier and placed by the side of the Grand Empress Dowager, given his temper, he would have relied on the Grand Empress Dowager's power to cause all kinds of trouble. These troubles could be big or small, depending on how people with ulterior motives guided him. If he got into a serious crime that could be reported to the emperor and be very life-threatening, even if the Grand Empress Dowager was powerful, she would probably not be able to save him.

"Although it won't have a serious impact on her, it can still be used to restrain her and make her distracted and worried about her only relative." She looked at Mr. Jiang, "This is also the main reason why your uncle and you were so active in helping her find someone, right?"

"That's about right!" Mr. Jiang nodded. "At that time, we thought that if we could find this nephew in advance, we might be able to hold him as a hostage. The Empress Dowager cares about this person, so she will be very wary of us. We will have the opportunity to strike back, which is why we were so active at the beginning. Of course, the Empress Dowager may not be unaware of our plan, but she is eager to find this only relative, so she must seek help. Unfortunately, things don't go as we wish, and it's too late after all, making us pay some prices that we shouldn't have paid. Otherwise, if such a stupid and profit-seeking person could be used by us, it would save us a lot of trouble."

"Yes!" Shen Cha also expressed regret, "But I don't quite understand why Mian Bai has tolerated this guy for so many years. The Empress Dowager's favor..." She looked at Mr. Jiang, "Is it really that great?"

"For him, it was a life-saving grace. If the Empress Dowager hadn't saved him, he would have died in that well that year." Mr. Jiang looked at the girls in front of him, "You should know that my brother has only a few concubines, and you can count them on one hand. So, those female officials, palace maids, and even the musicians in the Imperial Music Garden will have some thoughts that they shouldn't have. You have also seen that Mianbai is good-looking. He is somewhat similar to Concubine Hui, which will naturally make some people with ulterior motives feel threatened."

"But he is a man and has never heard of the late emperor."

"What nonsense are you talking about? Those female musicians are targeting Mian Bai because they are worried that he will steal the limelight. It's not because of my uncle. If he becomes popular in front of my uncle, then they will have fewer opportunities to show their faces, and it will be even more difficult to achieve their wishes." Shen Cha patted Jin Miaomiao, "Unfortunately, they made a wrong calculation."

(End of this chapter)