The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 572 Jiaofang Division

The people from the Jiaofangsi were very "dedicated" and even impatient. They set up a "stall" outside the Ministry of Justice's prison early on and were responsible for registering and receiving the wives, daughters, concubines and maids of the convicted officials. It was truly a seamless connection.

Because there were so many criminal officials, a long queue formed in front of the "stall" of the Jiaofangsi. At a glance, old, young, beautiful, and ugly, all of them were the wives and maids of the criminal officials. They were all terrified and crying, as if they were walking towards the underworld. No, to the wives and daughters of the criminal officials, the Jiaofangsi seemed more terrifying than hell.

The Jiaofang Division sent ten clerks to be in charge of registration and three to be in charge of screening, but they were still very busy. The head of the Jiaofang Division was Si Ye, a sixth-rank official, who also came to take charge in person. Seeing that the "business" was so prosperous, he was very happy.

The wives and daughters of the convicted officials who had been registered would be sent to the Jiaofang immediately. Old women over seventy years old were basically worthless and were just thrown aside to die. Those who were over thirty and unattractive would be sent to do rough labor, such as the Laundry Bureau or the Firewood Bureau, in short, chopping wood, fetching water, washing clothes, cleaning toilets, etc. The young and beautiful ones would be focused on "training and educating" and then taken to entertain clients to earn money.

At this time, Wu Sangui brought Jia She and Jia Zhen's family members to the outside of the Ministry of Justice. When the Director of the Music Bureau saw that there was a "business" coming, he immediately greeted them warmly and said with a smile: "General Wu, you have worked hard. Whose family is this?"

"The families of the two Rong and Ning mansions, and the criminal officials Jia She and Jia Zhen." Wu Sangui replied as he handed over the list.

The Director of the Jiaofang Division took the list and took a look at it, and asked doubtfully, "There are more than just these few people in the Rong and Ning mansions, right?"

Wu Sangui said: "Jia Zheng, the second son of Rongfu, did not participate in the rebellion and is not on the list. Jia Zhen and Jia She had already raided their house once, so they don't have many servants under their name."

"I see. Well, there are still a few outstanding ones." The Director of the Jiaofang Bureau took a quick look, his eyes quickly swept over Jia Yingchun, Qin Keqing, Wang Xifeng and other women, and returned the list to Wu Sangui and said, "Thank you for your hard work, General. Imprison the men in the prison and keep the women."

Wu Sangui took back the list, whispered something into the ear of the Director of the Music Bureau, and pointed at Jia Yingchun in the team.

The director of the Jiaofang Division's eyes lit up, and he nodded and said with a smile, "I understand. I will send it to Prince Min's palace as soon as I get back."

Wu Sangui raised his thumb and smiled silently, then escorted Jia Lian, Jia Cong, Jia Rong and other male members to the Ministry of Justice prison, while the female members of the Jia family stayed behind to register and enter the prison.

The Director of the Jiaofang Department sat down behind the desk and ordered, "Bring the women of the Jia family here, I will register them myself."

The runners hurriedly brought all the family members of the Jia family over. The Director of the Music Bureau glanced at Madam Xing, who was at the front of the line, and shook his head, saying, "She is too old. It would be a waste of rice to keep her. I'm afraid she can't do the work of emptying the nightshade or cleaning the toilet. Send her to the laundry. Next!"

When Qin Keqing was registered, the director of the Jiaofang Bureau's eyes lit up. Based on his experience, this type of person is particularly popular. Although she is not perfect, she can still be a cash cow if packaged.

After Qin Keqing came Jia Yingchun. The Director of the Jiaofang Division took a look and asked, "What's your name?"

Jia Yingchun burst into tears and said in a trembling voice, "I am Jia Yingchun, the concubine's daughter of the criminal official Jia She."

The Director of the Jiaofang Department nodded and asked, "Which maid is serving?"

Jia Yingchun was a little confused, but she still told him the names of the maids who usually served her. The director of the Jiaofang Department ordered Xiu Ju and other maids to come, and then said: "The Prince of Min's Palace is in need of servants, so this girl will be sent to the Prince of Min's Palace immediately."

Before Jia Yingchun and several maids could react, they were immediately sent away, without even having time to say hello to other people.

The Director of the Music Bureau sent Jia Yingchun and her servant away, shook his head and sighed, "Alas, after all the hard work, a young and beautiful girl came, but she was chosen by His Royal Highness Prince Min. But this girl is lucky."

As they were talking, another group of criminals' family members were brought in. The director of the Music Bureau was sharp-eyed and spotted at first glance a stunning girl among them, about sixteen or seventeen years old. Although her face was covered with tears and her expression was sad, her dignified, elegant and gentle temperament made people very impressed at first sight. This type of lady from a noble family was also very popular. With some training and packaging, she would definitely be a cash cow at the level of an oiran.

"Auntie, Miss Bao!" The maids in the Jia family suddenly cried out in surprise.

It turned out that the people who were brought here at this time were Aunt Xue's family, and the woman that the Director of the Music Bureau fell in love with at first sight was none other than Xue Baochai.

Although Xue Pan was not a high-ranking official, he led the troops of the East City Army to defend Chaoyang Gate, which was the main attack direction of the rebellion army. Countless people died in the battle, so Xue Pan was naturally on the first list of rebels, and the Xue family was doomed. The Xue and Jia families met here, and they felt sorry for each other. Those who knew each other couldn't help but cry.

When Aunt Xue asked, she learned that Jia Zheng's family had been exempted from punishment. She was envious and burst into tears. She hugged Xue Baochai and cried bitterly: "My child, it's all your fault that you were bewildered and selfish. You wanted your elder brother to be successful, so you didn't strictly order him to resign. This led to the disaster of destroying our family today."

Xue Baochai sighed softly, "Mom, please stop talking. It has come to this. What's the point of talking any more?"

Aunt Xue burst into tears upon hearing this and regretted her decision.

The people in the Music Bureau had seen this kind of scene many times, so they had no sympathy at all. They shouted at the Xue family to line up for registration, and then forcibly sent them to the Music Bureau, where they were inevitably beaten up and separated. Aunt Xue held Baochai's hand tightly and refused to let go, as if it was a farewell of life and death.

…………

Xiaoxiang Pavilion.

Jia Huan took the tea that Zijuan had brewed and handed a box back to her. Inside was the deed to the Lin family's farm in Suzhou, which he had found in Jia She's room not long ago. He said, "Sister Zijuan, please check and see if there is anything missing."

Zijuan took it and counted it twice, then nodded happily: "Nothing is missing, they are all here."

Jia Huan smiled and said, "That's good. You can keep it for Sister Lin. Don't be foolish and give it all away in the future. It's worth more than 200,000 taels. Our garden is not worth that much."

Zijuan chuckled and looked at Lin Daiyu. The second half of Jia Huan's sentence was obviously directed at Lin Daiyu.

Lin Daiyu rolled her eyes at Jia Huan. She had never cared much about money. In order to save people, she gave all the land deeds to Mrs. Xing without any hesitation, without caring about how much they were worth. Now, thinking about it, given Mrs. Xing's greedy nature, maybe even if she only gave a few thousand taels, or ten thousand taels or something, the other party would probably agree to release Ping'er.

"Sister Lin, thank you, otherwise Sister Ping'er..." Jia Huan gently held Lin Daiyu's soft hand and said with emotion.

Lin Daiyu felt sweet inside and said lightly, "Why are you thanking me?"

"That's right!" Jia Huan smiled.

Xueyan said with a smile: "Why don't you keep these deeds for the young lady? After all, what belongs to the young lady is yours."

As soon as these words were spoken, Lin Daiyu's cheeks flushed immediately. She glanced at Jia Huan with her beautiful eyes, but did not express any objection. In fact, when she was in Suzhou, she gave the land deed to Jia Huan for custody, but the latter refused because he was afraid that the Jia family would boycott him after returning to Beijing and give people a reason to criticize him.

Zijuan was a smart woman. Seeing Lin Daiyu's reaction, she knew what she meant. She handed the box to Jia Huan and said with a smile, "Xueyan is right. It's safer for you to keep these deeds."

Jia Huan hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay, then I'll keep it for Sister Lin temporarily."

Now that his relationship with Sister Lin is confirmed, and he basically has the final say in the mansion, without Jia She and Jia Zhen causing trouble, he is not afraid of boycotts or criticisms from others.

When Lin Daiyu saw Jia Huan accept the Lin family's land deeds, she was both embarrassed and happy. After experiencing the "storm" just now, the relationship between the two was undoubtedly closer. Now that Brother Huan did not shy away from keeping the Lin family's wealth, the meaning was self-evident.

Next, Jia Huan spent some time with Lin Daiyu before leaving Xiaoxiang Pavilion and returning to Yueweiju. Ping'er and Qingwen had already prepared sumptuous wine and food to welcome him.

(End of this chapter)