The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Chapter 791: Asking for forgiveness

Outside the Rongguo Mansion, the luxurious carriage slowly stopped.

A burly man jumped off the carriage and looked at the "Imperially Built Rongguo Mansion" in front of him.

Behind him, a middle-aged lady came down with the help of a maid.

"Master, is it not a good idea for us to visit you at this time?"

The middle-aged lady looked up and saw that it was getting dark, and spoke again with some hesitation.

The sturdy man in fancy clothes was a little impatient and cursed, "Stupid, Lian'er has just been conferred the title of Duke, and I don't know how many people want to see him at this time. If you don't come at this time, how can you be sure to see him?"

Although the lady was scolded, she still expressed her concerns.

"The master is different from other people. If the master comes in person, no matter how busy Lian'er is, she will definitely meet him in person.

Besides, the master is the elder and a marquis. Even if Lian'er is granted the title of Duke, why should the master be so humble..."

The sturdy man slowly turned his head and looked at her with vicious eyes, which made the middle-aged lady immediately feel afraid and subconsciously took a step back.

From the sturdy man's eyes, she had no doubt that if it hadn't been in the wrong place, she would have been slapped in the face.

Shi Ding looked at his stupid wife and coldly said, "Have I ever told you that if it weren't for Lian'er's help, I would have been beheaded long ago?

If I die, what good will happen to you?

Are you blind and unable to see what happened to the Qian and Sun families?"

Shi Ding's words finally made the noble lady look fearful and terrified.

The four commanders, one chief and three deputy commanders, who had served in the Cavalry Battalion with her husband, were all granted the title of marquis and enjoyed a very glorious life.

However, to this day, except for her husband, one of the other three was ordered to commit suicide at home, and the remaining two families were executed!

Among them, Liu Sheng, the Marquis of Loyalty who was ordered to commit suicide, was able to save the lives of his family because he stayed in the imperial city and did not accompany the emperor to Tiewang Mountain. He also did not act rashly when the incident in the capital occurred.

"So, don't forget what I told you. Be polite and smart when you go to visit the old lady. Don't say stupid things or do stupid things.

Also, remember to go visit Xiangyun, be nice to her, and if possible, bring her to our house to live for a while.

Humph, Xiangyun's parents died early, and you, as her aunt, have not taken care of her for so many years, and you have ignored her. How dare you do that?"

The lady listened attentively to the previous instructions, but after hearing the latter part, she couldn't help but complain.

I would like to take care of her, but you and your brother have been at loggerheads over the years, and the girl is living with your brother and his wife. How can I take care of her?

And how dare you, old man, say that? It’s true that I’m your aunt, but you’re also your uncle. Have you taken care of your niece?

Of course, he would never dare to say such words. Even if he did, the other party would definitely make an excuse that he was leading troops outside and guarding the palace. If he got angry out of humiliation, he would be punished again.

The husband is the head of the wife and no disobedience is allowed. This is the attitude and rules these noble gentlemen give to women.

Perhaps for this reason, Jia Lian's behavior of still supporting Feng Jieer with all his strength after he had achieved success was so brilliant in the eyes of all the women in the family, young and old.

Seeing that the woman finally agreed, the man in gorgeous clothes nodded. Just at this time, the gatekeeper of Rongguo Mansion came over to ask, so he straightened his sleeves and asked someone to go back and pass on the message.

Jia Lian was having dinner with Wang Ziteng in the hall. When he heard that Shi Ding and his wife came to visit, he was speechless.

Wang Ziteng came in the afternoon after all. You came here after dark at dinner time. Don't you really have no manners at all?

Although Shi Ding was rude, his status and position were there after all, and Jia Lian didn't want to leave him alone, so he went out and welcomed him in.

Who knew that after Shi Ding entered the house, another evil guest came.

Zhang Jian, the assistant commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, came forward with seven or eight thousand soldiers, commanders, and centurions to apologize.

Of course Jia Lian was not polite to these people and directly replied with two words.

"not see."

When Wang Ziteng saw the notorious Jinyiwei coming to Jia Lian to apologize, he hurriedly asked the reason.

When Jia Lian told Wang Ziteng about the blackmail of the Xue family by the Jinyiwei, Wang Ziteng's face immediately turned black.

You have to know that he had been the governor of the Beijing Camp for more than ten years. At that time, it could be said that if he stomped his feet, the capital would tremble.

He has only been away from the capital for a few years, and yet a mere Jinyiwei dares to bully him?

He didn't think that the Jinyiwei didn't know the relationship between the Xue family and the Wang family!

But after thinking about it carefully, Wang Ziteng felt relieved again.

As the saying goes, a new emperor appoints his own ministers. In the eyes of those Jinyiwei who support Emperor Ning Kang, Wang Ziteng is just a person who is destined to sit on the bench. What is there to be afraid of?

Just like this time, why did these Jinyiwei come to Jia Lian to apologize instead of going to him?

There was no other reason, because Jia Lian was made a duke, and seeing that the emperor still favored him could affect their future. In the past few days, even if they knew that Jia Lian was the emperor's grandson, the Jinyiwei would still ignore Jia Lian!

Wang Ziteng was not discouraged. Rise and fall were common. As long as he could successfully take the position of cabinet elder this time, those Jinyiwei who only knew how to change their attitude according to the situation would just avoid him in the future.

Wang Ziteng didn't say anything when his sister was bullied, but Shi Ding, who had just sat down, jumped up.

"Well, these damned henchmen actually dared to bully our four major families!

Brother Lian, you don't have to worry about this matter. When I get out, I'll have my guards arrest them and give them a good beating to vent the anger of the Wang family sister!"

Unlike ordinary civil and military officials who were afraid of the Embroidered Uniform Guards, Shi Ding, who came from the Imperial Guards, naturally looked down on the Embroidered Uniform Guards.

The so-called emperor's personal army is nothing more than a paper honor given by the emperor when he needs the help of the Jinyiwei to do some not-so-clean things.

In fact, it is the Royal Guards that the Saint truly trusts.

Otherwise, why would the saint always have the Imperial Guards stationed with him whenever he traveled, instead of the Embroidered Uniform Guards?

Therefore, all the imperial guards had a natural psychological advantage when facing the Jinyiwei. As the trump card of the imperial guards, the deputy commander of the Cavalry Battalion, and the former trusted general of the emperor, Shi Ding certainly would not take the Jinyiwei seriously.

Naturally, his proposal was stopped by Jia Lian and Wang Ziteng.

The highest-ranking person who came was just a deputy commander. He bullied these middle and low-level officers and lost his status for nothing.

In fact, in the entire Jinyiwei, only Zhao Quan was barely equal to the three of them present.

"Second Master..."

The gatekeeper who was delivering the message came back and said in a somewhat prudent tone: "Those Jinyiwei officials refused to leave. They said that they came to sincerely apologize to the Second Master. If the Second Master refuses to see them, they will kneel outside the mansion gate until the Second Master is willing to see them..."

"Okay, these bastards dare to threaten Brother Lian!"

Seeing Shi Ding jump up again to defend Jia Lian, Wang Ziteng looked at him speechlessly.

Even though Lian'er saved your family's lives this time, there's no need for you to fawn on her like that. Where's your dignity and reserve as an elder?

Thinking of this, Wang Ziteng took the wine jug next to him and poured Jia Lian a glass of wine where Jia Lian couldn't see.

Well, I have not taken office yet. Once I enter the cabinet, I won’t be able to pour wine for others...

Putting down the wine pot, Wang Ziteng said slowly: "Why not let them come in and take a look. After all, the current situation is special, and it is better to avoid conflicts with the Jinyiwei if possible."

Jia Lian nodded in agreement.

At present, Emperor Ning Kang still needs to make extensive use of the Jinyiwei, so this is indeed not a good time to conflict with the Jinyiwei.

In fact, as soon as these people arrived, Jia Lian knew that they were sent by Zhao Quan.

The reason why he said he wouldn't meet him was, firstly, to maintain his attitude, and secondly, he was dissatisfied with Zhao Quan's request to give him an explanation, but in the end he only sent one of his subordinates to come over.

"Let them come to the front of the hall."

Following the doorman, a middle-aged officer wearing special armor of the Jinyiwei came to the front of the hall with seven young officers with their hands tied, naked upper bodies and whips on their backs.

"Your Majesty!"

Following the order from the middle-aged officer, seven people knelt in an orderly manner on the steps in front of the hall.

During this process, Jia Lian and the other two in the hall waited in silence.

The middle-aged officer glanced inside the hall, then stepped forward with a smile on his face, bowed in front of the hall door and said, "I am Zhang Jian, the commander of the Jinyiwei, and I pay my respects to the Duke of Rong and the two adults."

Shi Ding snorted coldly, while Wang Ziteng glanced at him and turned back to drink in silence.

Jia Lian asked, "Did Zhao Quan send you here?"

"Reporting to Lord Rong, it was indeed my Lord Commander-in-Chief who sent me here. This morning, Lord Rong reminded my Lord Commander-in-Chief that someone in the Jinyiwei was abusing his power for personal gain and oppressing the good people in the city.

My master took it very seriously after hearing this, and ordered me to investigate after returning, and indeed found the problem. "

As he spoke, Zhang Jian turned around and glared at the seven people below the stairs, and then continued: "It was these few useless guys who took advantage of the turmoil in the city a few days ago and became greedy, and had evil intentions on the imperial merchant Xue family.

My husband was very angry and wanted to throw these bastards who disregarded the law into jail to await punishment by the law.

But then he thought again, the victim Xue family was Rong Gong's closest relative. If his closest relative was bullied, Rong Gong must be furious.

Therefore, my master ordered me to escort these people here first and wait for Lord Rong’s decision.

My master said that the Jinyiwei had these disappointing things because of his lack of strict discipline. He told Lord Rong not to save face for him. No matter if he lives or dies, as long as Lord Rong is relieved of his anger, my master will be at ease. "

As soon as Zhang Jian finished speaking, Shi Ding sneered, "How ridiculous! How can Zhao Quan have the face to ask Lord Rong not to consider his face? Is he worthy of it?"

Zhang Jian looked unhappy, but he did not know Shi Ding. He just thought that anyone who could be Jia Lian's guest must have a high status, so he pretended not to hear it.

Jia Lian just smiled and said nothing.

Zhang Jian was unsure of Jia Lian's meaning and added, "My master also said that he was deeply sorry for not being strict in discipline and causing his men to offend the Xue family and frighten the mistress of the Xue family.

For peace of mind, my master has prepared a small gift, and I hope Mr. Rong will pass it on to the Xue family as an apology from my master. "

Zhang Jian took out a light wooden box from his sleeve. Seeing that there were no servants in the hall, he held it in both hands, bent down, and respectfully placed it on the table.

The man has knelt there and offered apology. His attitude has been revealed. Whether it is hostile or friendly depends on Jia Lian.

Facing everyone's gaze, Jia Lian sat up straight, took the box, opened it and started checking it as if no one was around.

After checking the amount, Jia Lian said with a smile: "Your master is quite generous."

Zhang Jian bowed and said, "It's all as I should..."

Jia Lian chuckled, closed the wooden box, called the housekeeper, and ordered: "Send this to the Xue family and say it is an apology from Lord Zhao of the Jinyiwei."

The housekeeper took the wooden box and went out without saying a word. Zhang Jian, Wang Ziteng and Shi Ding all looked slightly moved.

Zhang Jian knew the exact amount, after all, it was the life-saving money that these seven people paid out in order to survive.

It is said that this money is an apology to the Xue family, but isn't it obvious who it is for?

Unexpectedly, Jia Lian just took a look at the amount and sent the things away intact.

As expected of him being the grandson of the emperor, he has taken over the mansion of a duke. He has such high standards that he looks down on even this.

Zhang Jian thought that Jia Lian had broad vision, but in the eyes of Wang Ziteng and Shi Ding, Jia Lian was just a man of high righteousness and gentlemanly demeanor.

They all admired Jia Lian more. After all, the four major families were closely related. If Jia Lian was so righteous to the declining Xue family today, he would be similar to the other two families tomorrow.

After hearing the apology and accepting the compensation, Jia Lian should of course express his position.

He finally stood up, walked to the front of the hall, and looked at the seven low- and middle-level officers of the Jinyiwei who were asking for forgiveness.

Among these seven people, there was the young commander who kicked the Xue family’s steward and angrily scolded the patrol officer of the West City Military Department that day.

But at this moment, he no longer had the arrogance he had that day. When Jia Lian's eyes swept over him, he could only lower his head obediently.

"As a member of the Jinyiwei, the personal army of the emperor who monitors the world for His Majesty, I feel sad for you and also feel it's not worth it for His Majesty."

"Is the salary the court gives you not enough?"

"Or did your commander-in-chief embezzle your salary and silver?"

If it was Jia Lian's first question, the seven Jinyiwei officers could still criticize Jia Lian for being easy to talk, but the latter two questions made them look at each other in bewilderment. "If it's the former, I can write to the court on your behalf and ask the court to increase your salary."

"If it's the latter, I can also make the decision for you and write a letter to His Majesty to impeach Zhao Quan."

As soon as Jia Lian said this, Zhang Jian's face suddenly changed. He glared at the seven people kneeling and told them not to talk nonsense.

Because Zhang Jian could see that Jia Lian really dared to do this and he was qualified to do so.

Not only Zhang Jian could see it, but the seven people below could see it as well.

For a moment, some people who were usually dissatisfied with the distribution of interests in the Jinyiwei began to wonder whether what Jia Lian said was true or not.

Among them, Captain Chu Liang was the most interested, because although he had participated in extorting the wealthy in the city before, he had never been to the Xue family.

Just because the group of people who went to the Xue family were under his command, he was forcibly escorted here and forced to pay the lion's share of the compensation.

He simply didn't accept it, because if that was the case, Zhang Jian was still his superior, and Zhao Quan was still Zhang Jian's superior...

He also understood that the official positions of the other six people were too low, and they needed him, as a thousand households, to suppress their weight, but he just wouldn't accept it.

Why do they get the biggest share when it comes to eating meat, but push him out when something goes wrong and they get beaten?

Although I had a strong urge to overturn the table, after thinking it over, I felt that the risk was too high and I suppressed it.

So he kowtowed to Jia Lian and said, "Thank you, Lord Rong, for your consideration, but this matter has nothing to do with our commander. It is because we were blinded by greed and did something that humiliated the reputation of the Jinyiwei and violated the law of the country.

We are willing to wait for the Duke's decision and swear to change our ways and never commit the same mistakes again."

Seeing the eldest brother expressed his stance, the other six cooperated and kowtowed to the ground, as if they were prostrating themselves.

It's no wonder that they are so obedient, because they all know in their hearts that if they can't make Jia Lian calm down, Jia Lian will report the matter to the emperor in a rage.

They didn't know whether their commander-in-chief would be in trouble by then, but in order to calm everyone's anger, Zhao Quan would definitely push these instigators out to take the blame.

“There’s no need to punish him.

I just want to warn you all that if you become officials just to make money and exploit the people, you should be prepared as soon as possible.

Take a good look at the piles of heads of people being killed in the city these days. Maybe in the future, you and your family will be among them."

After saying these polite words, Jia Lian was too lazy to pay attention to these minions. He waved his hand and the Jia family guards came forward and asked them to leave.

Zhang Jian originally intended to take the opportunity to make friends with Jia Lian. This was not only his idea, but also Zhao Quan's instruction.

But seeing that Jia Lian seemed difficult to approach, he had no choice but to prepare to say goodbye.

Who knew that just as he raised his foot, Jia Lian said, "You stay."

After saying this, Jia Lian apologized to Wang Ziteng and the other man in the hall, "My two uncles, please enjoy your meal. I have something to do so I have to leave you for the moment."

"If you have something to do, just go ahead."

Jia Lian glanced at Zhang Jian, then turned and walked towards the side hall.

Zhang Jian hesitated for a moment, but still followed Jia Lian's footsteps and followed him to the side hall.

Who would have thought that when Jia Lian arrived at the side hall, he changed from his previous dignified and unapproachable demeanor to a warm and amiable expression.

He even poured a cup of tea himself and said, "This is the pre-rain Longjing tea bestowed by His Majesty. Sir Zhang can have a taste."

Zhang Jian suddenly felt flattered. He quickly bent down to take it, but he didn't dare to drink it. He just looked at Jia Lian with a worried expression.

"Drink."

"Yes……"

He didn't care that it was scalding hot and drank half of the cup in one gulp. He didn't even bother to taste the saltiness and just glanced at Jia Lian.

Seeing Jia Lian just smiling, he actually felt terrified, so he drank it all in one gulp, put the teacup aside, knelt down and said: "Duke Rong, what are you doing? Just tell me. As long as I can do it, I will do my best to do it for you.

Even if I cannot do it, I will report it to my commander..."

When Jia Lian saw that Zhang Jian didn't say a word, he was so scared that he knelt down in a hurry. He thought that he was indeed from the Jinyiwei and his concept of class was different.

If it were any other fourth-rank official, he would not kneel down at every turn.

So he smiled and said, "I want to ask you about someone."

"May I ask who Lord Rong wants to inquire about?"

"The eldest son of the Mei Hanlin family in Juxianfang."

When Zhang Jian heard this, his expression changed and he began to think.

Jia Lian did not urge him and just drank tea while waiting for him.

"May I ask, Lord Rong, do you have any history with the Mei family?"

"That's right, what's wrong?"

“Nothing… I dare not hide it from Lord Rong. The eldest son of the Mei family, Mei Qi, is currently imprisoned in the Northern Pacification Prison because he was involved in the Crown Prince’s treason case.

Because of your majesty's magnanimity, you have ordered the Northern Pacification Office to investigate all those involved in the case in accordance with the law. We must not tolerate evil, but we must also not kill anyone wrongly.

After investigation, it was found that Mei Qi just happened to follow the Crown Prince to Tiewang Mountain and did not participate in the rebellion, and he did not even know anything about the rebellion. Therefore, he has been put on the list of the next batch to be released by the Northern Pacification Office..."

Jia Lian smiled when he heard this: "Did they investigate or did the Mei family show some magical power to make your Northern Pacification Office agree to release the person?"

Zhang Jian's face was slightly choked, but he thought that Jia Lian was no rookie in the officialdom, so if he wanted to make friends with him, he had to be sincere.

So he said, "I dare not hide it from Lord Rong. Although the Mei family used many connections to find us, if Mei Qi really participated in the treason, even if I had ten thousand guts, I would not dare to condone it and risk the death penalty.

In fact, if it weren’t for the decree issued by Your Majesty yesterday, all those who did not directly participate in the treason or were implicated would be given a lenient sentence. We would never dare to release an accomplice like him who was captured from the Crown Prince’s palace…”

As Zhang Jian spoke, he blinked at Jia Lian, hoping that Jia Lian could understand the secret.

How could Jia Lian not understand?

All those who should be killed, or those whom Emperor Ning Kang wanted to kill, were taken care of at the first opportunity.

After all, the so-called prince's treason was just an excuse for Emperor Ning Kang to cover up his mistakes.

They didn't dare to release them before because they didn't know the Emperor Ningkang's intention. Now that Emperor Ningkang has said that most of them have been killed, the rest should be released, so naturally the people under him will not hesitate to exchange these people for some reasonable benefits...

In fact, according to Jia Lian's inquiries, Emperor Ning Kang was still relatively restrained this time.

Apart from executing a few typical families to intimidate the entire court, Emperor Ning Kang did not wield the sword against other civil and military officials who were loyal to the emperor.

Perhaps Emperor Ning Kang is still hoping to win over as many of these people as possible and use them for his own benefit.

Of course, if you really want to die and jump out, you can't blame others.

As for unlucky people like Mei Qi, of course they would not be heard by Emperor Ning Kang. Seeing that the situation was gradually easing, the Mei family naturally had an opportunity to redeem the people.

"Well, you don't need to explain. I was once in charge of the West City Military Department, so I naturally know some of the ins and outs.

The reason I called you here is because I have something to ask of you."

Seeing that Jia Lian finally got straight to the point, Zhang Jian said hastily, "Mr. Rong, please give me your orders, and I will do my best to follow them."

"It's like this, I took the eldest daughter of the Xue family as my second wife, and she..."

"Congratulations, Lord Rong, congratulations, Lord Rong..."

Zhang Jian thought to himself that it was no wonder that Jia Lian cared so much about the Xue family's affairs, and in his excitement he hurried to flatter him. But when he looked up he found that Jia Lian was looking at him unhappily, and then he realized that he had interrupted Jia Lian's speech, so he could only smile apologetically.

"She has a cousin who was originally promised to Mei Qi.

This time, her mother brought her all the way from Nanjing to Beijing, originally intending to discuss marriage with the Mei family.

It’s just that the Mei family despised the decline of the Xue family in recent years and wanted to cancel the marriage, but they repeatedly refused to see her, leaving her stranded in Beijing for a long time..."

Zhang Jian said angrily, "How could this be possible! The Mei family is a noble family after all, yet they are so snobbish. I am ashamed to associate with such people."

"Who would have thought that because Mei Qi was involved in the Crown Prince case, the Mei family tried to use this marriage to coerce the Xue family, and then asked me to come forward and help them save Mei Qi's life.

After being rejected by me, she even threatened to make me, her younger sister-in-law, a widow for the rest of my life."

If Zhang Jian was just pretending before, he was really surprised now.

He didn't think Jia Lian would use such a trivial matter to deceive him, so he said angrily: "There is such a shameless family in the world. If the Mei family is really so despicable, I have some doubts whether Mei Qi is really innocently implicated..."

"May I ask Lord Rong, do you want to use this humble official to teach Mei Qi a lesson?"

Zhang Jian felt that he probably understood Jia Lian's meaning and boldly tried to test it out.

“There’s no need to teach him a lesson. I won’t bother with a cowardly scholar.

But I am ashamed to become a brother-in-law with such a person, so I want to get the marriage certificate back from the Mei family.

But I have just been conferred the title. If I go directly to the Mei family to ask for the marriage certificate, it would be fine if the Mei family understands. But if they don’t, I will inevitably be suspected of bullying them by taking advantage of my power.

So I want to ask you, is there any way to get the Mei family to come to me to discuss this matter?"

Jia Lian winked at Zhang Jian.

Zhang Jian understood immediately.

In fact, he felt that Jia Lian didn't need to go to so much trouble. Didn't he just want to cancel the engagement? If he went to the Mei family to ask for it with Jia Lian's status, would the Mei family dare not refuse?

Even if the Mei family is a bastard, can't Jia Lian deal with the Mei family with his methods?

One can only sigh that a nobleman like Jia Lian has a different style of doing things from those rough people like them.

Perhaps this is also the reason why they can sit so high, even if they do such a small thing, they don't want to leave a stigma on themselves...

"I understand Lord Rong's intention. If it is other matters, I may not be able to help Lord Rong, but it happens that I am in charge of criminal affairs in the Northern Pacification Office. I don't even need to discuss this matter with Lord Zhao. I can do it for Lord Rong directly.

Please rest assured, Lord Rong. Within three days, I will definitely ask the Mei family to come to you personally and kowtow to you to admit their mistakes."

"Thank you very much, Master Zhang."

Jia Lian signaled to Zhao'er beside him, and Zhao'er immediately went down to prepare.

Zhang Jian felt extremely happy when he heard Jia Lian say "Master Zhang". This was the first duke of the dynasty, and it was rumored that the emperor wanted to recognize him as his grandson...

Then Zhang Jian realized that he had been kneeling the whole time.

It was very awkward for a moment. It was clearly Jia Lian who asked him to do something, so why did he kneel down and listen to the whole thing?

So he looked at Jia Lian with grievance.

Jia Lian seemed to have just realized this, and hurriedly said, "Master Zhang, why are you still kneeling? Please stand up quickly."

After Zhang Jian got up and drank half a cup of tea, Zhao'er also presented a thank-you gift.

Zhang Jian immediately shook his head like a rattle when he saw this: "Mr. Rong, please forgive me. It's just a small matter. How can I let you spend so much money?

If Lord Rong has no other instructions, I will take my leave first."

Seeing Zhang Jian retreating out of the hall, as if the thank-you gift in Zhao'er's hand was some kind of monster, Jia Lian did not force him to do anything, and said with a smile: "Since that's the case, Sir Zhang, please go. From now on, Sir Zhang is a distinguished guest of my Rongguo Mansion, and I welcome Sir Zhang to visit me at any time."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jian suddenly felt that his future was bright. He immediately knelt down and kowtowed to express his gratitude before reluctantly leaving Rongguo Mansion.