Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 904: Jia Zhen Dies
Jinling prefectural government office,

In the back hall,
The maids in the room were serving tea and water. Many officials were gathered together. The originally harmonious scene was shocked by the words of a person standing outside the inner hall.

No one can trust this person. This person is so bold that he dares to question his superiors before he takes office. This is disrespectful. Questioning Shen Wanhe in this way means that he is dissatisfied with Eunuch Yang.
Jia Yucun saw the man coming and met Shen Wanhe. Although he was happy, it was not the right time yet. He was about to persuade him, but Shen Wanhe smiled and said,
"The two county magistrates have just arrived in Jiangnan and don't know Mr. Shen yet. This is understandable,"

"Report your position!"

Xu Changwen did not give this man any face at all. In such an occasion, all officials were in their official uniforms, but this man was sitting here in silk and satin. If he was an official, it would be disrespectful to the court. If not, he would not be here.

Seeing that the visitor was really angry, those who couldn't figure out the relationship kept silent. Even Lord Jing narrowed his eyes and looked at the visitor, not knowing what he was thinking.
Shen Wanhe was stunned. He never thought that the person who came would target him. Was it someone in the court who ordered him to do so? Or was he targeting Eunuch Yang? He was cautious, but not afraid. He was still needed for the disaster relief in Jiangnan. He smiled and said;

"I am Shen Wanhe, and I used to do business for the Jiangnan Weaving Bureau."

"So you are just a businessman,"

Xu Changwen was not polite and pressed forward step by step.
"Even if it is!"

Shen Wanhe agreed casually, and also wanted to see what the intention of the person who came was.
"The Great Military Officers' Regulations clearly state that merchants are not allowed to wear silk and satin. How can you say that you are sitting in the government office wearing this gorgeous dress?"

Xu Changwen had already memorized the Dawu laws and official documents by heart, and he just wanted to find out more about this person. Xu Dong seemed to understand what he meant, and stood aside without saying a word, but his eyes were like those of an eagle.

"Haha, Magistrate Xu hasn't even taken office yet, but he already has such great authority. This really stumped me. It seems like no one has said this for a long time. He is really from the capital, and he is one level higher than the official he meets."

"Understand the reply!"

Xu Changwen continued to ask with a cold face,
"Okay, Master Xu, don't worry. Dawu law forbids merchants from wearing silk and satin, but I wear it. Why? Of course, it's because I'm the same as you. In May of the eighth year of Yuanfeng, the Jiangnan Weaving Bureau reported to the Imperial Household Department that the weaver Shen Wanhe was diligent and had made outstanding contributions. The Imperial Household Department presented it to the emperor and specially awarded Shen Wanhe a sixth-rank crown and belt, and appointed him as the head of the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau. You can hear it clearly."

Shen Wanhe still had a smile on his face, but many officials in the hall did not dare to say much. This was a different time. Shen Wanhe was the richest man in Jiangnan, and many people were involved with him. But deep down, everyone was more jealous. These officials, who all studied hard and passed the imperial examinations to get their official positions? It was so easy for them to get such an official position. How could people not be jealous?

"Ahahaha, what a strange news! It turns out that the imperial court has a special case of awarding merchants with official titles and robes. Hum, no wonder Lord Shen is unwilling to wear this official uniform. All of you are candidates for the imperial examination. You are the only one who is a special case. How can you wear the official uniform? Is that right, sir?"

After Xu Changwen finished speaking, he clasped his fists towards the many officials, but the officials who were signaled dared not respond and all lowered their heads to avoid him.
"Xu Zhixian is right. Although this honor is a special gift from heaven, I, Shen, never dare to wear casually on weekdays. After all, it is not in line with the official system of the Dawu Dynasty. Since the court and Your Majesty have awarded me this honor, I am not just a businessman. It is reasonable for me to wear these. As for why I am here, I have to ask all the gentlemen present. The rice in Shen's more than 30 grain shops is only enough for the victims for 30 days. I don't know if the people in the city have enough to eat."

Shen Wanhe changed the subject and immediately told the content of the discussion.

Xu Changwen was alert, thinking that the government seemed to have something to ask of him.
"The court's disaster relief is the court's business. You just said that granting official positions is not in line with the Dawu court's control. If it is not in line with the control, how can you still sit here?"

"Then I wonder why you, Lord Shen, the County Magistrate, don't wear your official uniform and come here to seek special treatment."

As the saying goes, even clay people have tempers. Facing the questioning, Shen Wanhe was also angry in his heart. He refuted, but was interrupted by another county magistrate Xu Dong outside the door;

"You are wrong. Although we are officials, we have not entered the main door of the back hall. Moreover, we are new officials. The documents are here, but we have not presented them. It is not wrong for us not to wear official clothes. Since you are an official appointed by the court, it is disrespectful to the court to be idle in the hall like this. Can you accept that?"

Seeing that the other person was not someone to be trifled with, several adults in the hall could no longer sit still, so Jia Yucun quickly tried to smooth things over.

"Two county magistrates, since you are new here, you can rest for a few days. I have received the documents from the Ministry of Personnel. Xu Changwen will be appointed as the county magistrate of Chunyang County, and Xu Dong will be appointed as the county magistrate of Yongning County. You can take office at any time. However, the flood outside the city has just passed, and disaster relief is urgently needed. As for food, Shen Wan and Lord Shen have rice for disaster relief, and they are discussing it here. Otherwise, you can go back and rest first."

He waved his hand and asked the attendant to take the document from the Ministry of Personnel. Jia Yucun reviewed it for a moment, then stood up and went to the court. He took the prefect's seal and stamped it. This was considered as receiving the document. From then on, the two of them were the county magistrates of the two counties.

But the two of them didn't leave and stood by the door. When they didn't know what to do, Lord Jing spoke.

"Someone, please add a seat for the two county magistrates."

"Yes, Lord Jing."

Beijing,

After the morning,

In Luo Yunhou Mansion, Zhang Jinyu got up early for the first time today. After having his meal, he rested in the west room. Today was the day when Jia Zhen was escorted out of Lingnan from the imperial prison.
After receiving the news, Zhang Jinyu ordered the people outside the city to prepare for action. After everything was settled, he waited for news in the mansion and asked the maid to serve some tea and snacks, which he sipped slowly.

After a while,
Waiting a little annoyed, asked,
"Do you think Shen Baoan and the others will succeed today?"

"My Lord, Shen Baoan sent someone to tell me this morning that Jia Zhen has packed up and left the city. He will take action at the agreed location. After killing the person, he will send another person to follow him south. When he reaches the south, he will say that the person is gone on the way, so that he can have an explanation."

Ning Bian reported behind him that everything had been arranged long ago, and Jia Zhen would not survive no matter what.
"Well, it's good to have Duan Hong watching. If it doesn't work, let him do it to prevent future troubles. By the way, how is Jia Rong doing in the Nantou courtyard?"

Everyone says that Jia Rong is a coward, but it seems not. After returning from the imperial prison, without Jia Zhen's suppression, Jia Rong seemed like a different person. He dared to bring people to empty out half of the Ningguo Mansion, and he even dared to bring his three concubines with him. He was really amazing. I wonder how he is doing in the mansion.

Ning Bian paused, thinking about the report from Guan Yan and his men, it seemed that there was nothing else.

"My Lord, Jia Rong is now living in seclusion. I heard that he took his servants to renovate the house and threw out a lot of broken things. I also learned from the observation that four shops in Xishifang belonged to Jia Rong. He went to Sihai Money House and exchanged several thousand taels of silver and brought it back to the mansion."

"Oh, my goodness, they are living better after the division of the family. It seems that Jia Zhen is really not a good father. He didn't even go to see his only son off."

Zhang Jinyu was shocked because he heard that a servant in Ningguo Mansion dared to spit on Jia Rong, the legitimate heir. He thought it was a joke, but now it seems that it may be true. Jia Zhen is still in prison. As a son, he should go to the prison to take a look. Now thinking about it, it is really a deep love between father and son.

"Yes, Lord. The time of the escort was kept secret. I'm afraid the old lady didn't know. We left early in the morning so no one saw us. Jia Rong has not left the house these days. He has bought a lot of things. He has not been to Ningguo Mansion or the Imperial Prison."

Ning Bian was actually also curious about why such a thing happened and thought that Jia Rong did it on purpose. After investigation, he found out the inside story. He couldn't understand what was going on in the Jia family.

"It was a blessing in disguise for him,"

Thinking of the ending of the Jia family in the Dream of the Red Chamber, I feel a little melancholy.
It seems that

The first person to jump out of the Jia family circle was actually Jia Rong. He was demoted to a commoner, stripped of his title and divided into two families, leaving only his surname. This was considered a separate family tree, so even if the family property was confiscated, he would not be found. Tsk tsk,

"My Lord, since he won't send it, what should we do with the order you made before?"

I remembered that the Marquis had told me that if Jia Rong went with them to see them off and followed them out of the city, he would be killed as well.
"Forget it. God has let him live. Let him live. Who knows, he may be useful in the future. However, Jia Zhen..."

"My Lord, you will not survive the morning."

outside the capital,
On the official road south of Nanshan Mountain,

Four men from the Imperial City Bureau escorted Jia Zhen on horseback. This so-called escort was not like the escort of civilian prisoners by the Shuntian Prefecture government, where they were just put on shackles and set off on the road. For nobles or prisoners of the imperial court, four people formed a team, with one carriage and two horses, so the speed was much faster.
Jia Zhen sat in the carriage with shackles on his face, looking resentful. He wanted to lean his head against the window from time to time to see if anyone from the Jia family came to see him off and bring him some silver. Without silver to feed these minions of the Imperial City Bureau, it would be difficult for them to survive on the journey. However, there was no one on the official road, not even his rebellious son.
Instead, the four escorts had strange expressions on their faces, looking at Jia Zhen as if he were a dead person.
"General Jia, there is no need to look outside. We left early in the morning and now we are at Nanshan. There is no one around, so no one will come."

The person sitting with him was a small flag officer from the Imperial City Department, who had a rather gloomy look on his face. Jia Zhen smiled ingratiatingly and said,
"Your Excellency is in too much of a hurry. You should walk slower and send someone to inform Rongguo Mansion. This way, you can get more money. It would be fine if you could just send a message to my rebellious son," Jia Zhen said sincerely, as if he hoped that the official would change his mind. However, the flag officer sneered and said,
"General Jia, don't waste your time on this. Rongguo Mansion has now become a royal family and is busy congratulating them. How could they care about you? Also, your son Jia Rong has already separated from the family and opened a family tree. The affairs of Ningguo Mansion have nothing to do with him, but..."

The flag officer smiled and continued;
"Your son is filial. I heard that he took the three concubines from Ningguo Mansion back to his own house to serve them. His filial piety is commendable."

Who knows, before the words have even finished,

Jia Zhen's face turned pale and red, and he cursed angrily.

"Damn you, you bastard, you're like this, like this."

He was furious. He thought about the three people he had married into the family, all of whom were the most chosen courtesans. If he had not tried too many new things later and had not been in poor health, how could he have been so cold to the three of them? When he thought about how Jia Rong was the boss and he was trapped in the conspiracy, he became more and more resentful. But he was being escorted, so what could he do? He didn't know whether the Tang family in Qiongshan County would recognize him. If they did, it would not be a big deal.

The Lingnan area is full of miasma and dense forests, not to mention poisonous insects and unruly people. The Tang family was stationed there because of their lack of strength. Although it is a bit hard, there are no noble families in the Lingnan area. In the blink of an eye, more than ten years have passed.
I wonder if the incense and love I had in my early years can still be used.

The car was quiet for a moment. Jia Zhen was now thinking about exile. As for the Jia family in the capital, he was afraid that he would never be able to return. He could find a place to eat and live in Lingnan, and have a beautiful concubine to serve him, and live out the rest of his life there.

Just thinking,

Suddenly the carriage stopped.

The whole team fell into dead silence. It turned out that there was also a carriage waiting on the official road outside the car. The driver was none other than Shen Baoan, the captain of the East City Gate. He had been waiting here for a long time with three people from the Imperial City Bureau.
The two teams faced each other and nodded. Shen Baoan pointed at the carriage, and then the escort knocked on the window.
The flag officer understood, got off the carriage and walked to the other side, then quietly changed the carriage. Then the flag officer went in and saw a prisoner in shackles. He smiled and shouted;

"Continue on your journey,"

"Yes, my lord."

With a response, the carriage that was replaced slowly headed south.

Jia Zhen was a little confused in the carriage, wondering why it stopped. He wanted to lean against the window to listen to the movement outside, but there was no sound. When he was about to take a step further, the carriage started moving, and a strange-looking man walked in from outside.
"Who are you, the flag officer?"

There was arrogance in his voice.
But Shen Baoan sneered and took out a bottle of poison from his arms.
"Humph, you are still stubborn even when you are about to die. Come on, take action."

With a loud shout, two people quickly came in from outside the car and held Jia Zhen down. Shen Baoan grabbed Jia Zhen's hair, pinched his mouth, and poured poison into his mouth. Even if Jia Zhen struggled desperately, it was of no use.
"Please spare my life, my lords. We have no grudges against each other. I am from the Jia family in the capital. Why don't you let me go and go to Rongguo Mansion to collect the silver?"

But the person who had captured him did not move at all. Shen Baoan shook his head.
"General Jia, there is no point in talking any more, let's get going,"

They pried his mouth open and poured the rest of the poison into his mouth. Jia Zhen felt a bitter taste spreading in his mouth and he couldn't vomit. After a while, his stomach felt like it was being stabbed by a knife. He covered his stomach with both hands, rolled on the ground, his eyes bulged out, and he screamed in pain. Then, his face gradually turned blue and purple, his breathing became weak, and white foam kept coming out of his mouth.

After a violent twitch, Jia Zhen's body gradually stopped moving and became extremely stiff. Seeing this, Shen Baoan put his hand on Jia Zhen's neck. Seeing that there was no sound, he nodded.

"Everyone, forget about what happened today. Since you are here, you are all family from now on. Don't say anything more."

"Yes, my lord."

Just as they were about to change their route and find a random place to bury Jia Zhen, they heard the sound of horse hooves from a large number of cavalrymen outside. Several people's faces changed. Shen Baoan quickly stuck his head out and looked outside. He saw a group of cavalrymen following closely behind him. They seemed familiar.

They were the Marquis's men. They quickly stopped the carriage and waited until the cavalry approached and surrounded the carriage frame. Duan Hong, dressed in armor, rode over carelessly. When he saw Shen Baoan's face, he smiled and asked;

"Brother Shen, this is just a small matter, but you are covering it up. I can't see it clearly, so I have to come and see it in person."

Shen Baoan understood, thinking that the Marquis was worried and secretly sent people to come, but it was too direct, a cavalry chased after him, what if someone saw him?

"General Duan, rest assured. This is the only way to deal with it cleanly. There will be no more questions. Jia Zhen is dead. He is in the car."

Duan Hong got off the horse and got on the carriage. He lifted the curtain and saw a body lying on the ground. It was Jia Zhen. He walked over and tried it, then smiled with satisfaction.

"You guys are really good at handling things. I don't want to know about all the twists and turns in this matter. This matter is over now. It's up to you to finish it. This is the remaining part of my gift. Keep it."

I don't know where Duan Hong found an envelope from, but he handed it to Shen Baoan, then got off the carriage, got on the horse, took out the whip and waved it.
"Brothers, go back and drive."

"drive!"

The sound of horse hooves left, and the originally lively place became deserted again. Fortunately, there was no one here. A small flag officer beside him was a little scared and asked;

"Sir, what should we do?"

"Go to the nearby valley, bury the body, and then go back to divide the money. Do it more cleanly."

The two were overjoyed when they heard this, and they clasped their fists and said;
"Don't worry, sir. I understand."

Then, the carriage slowly drove away from the official road, entered the small road and went into the valley. After carrying Jia Zhen's body off the carriage, the flag officer took out a long knife and cut Jia Zhen's face several times, and then buried him on the spot. After everything was done,

The few of them then boarded the carriage and rushed to the capital.

Duan Hong led his men back to the camp and immediately sent someone to the marquis's mansion to deliver the message.

Zhang Jinyu waited in the west room for a long time, but there was no movement, so he found a few storybooks and started reading them. The so-called storybooks were made up by scholars with extra pocket money, mostly stories about love and romance, plus some folk rumors.
But it was impossible to stop the young ladies from the rich families from liking these books. It seemed that Lin Daiyu had these books and paintings in her study, which were good for killing time when she was bored.
"Report, Lord, General Duan has sent someone here,"

"Quick pass."

Zhang Jinyu put down the storybook in his hand and thought to himself, the matter has been done, but I don't know who did it. Seeing a soldier coming to the door, kneeling down,

"Greetings, Lord. I am here on the orders of General Duan to deliver your message. The matter has been settled."

"Okay, get up and take the reward. By the way, who did it?"

Zhang Jinyu casually threw the silver over, and his mind was clear. Jia Zhen was dead, and the affairs of Ningguo Mansion were over.
"My Lord, it was Lord Shen who did it. General Duan went to check it out personally and also delivered the silver that the Lord had asked him to give."

The messenger did not dare to neglect and reported the truth. Only Zhang Jinyu was a little stunned. He was really reckless. Why did he have to come forward himself? It would be fine if he could clean up the mess.

"Okay, when you go back, tell Duan Hong to pack up the camp. I think the news from the south will arrive soon."

"Yes, my Lord, I will obey your orders!"

(End of this chapter)