Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 463: Do the Right Thing When Giving a Favor

It was already afternoon when Jia Rong returned. Aunt Xue and Baochai were with Grandmother Jia, accompanied by Lady Wang and Wang Xifeng, listening to his detailed account of the situation.

"It is said that it is the same as last time, the crime of selling opium. Think about it, the housekeeper of the second prince secretly planted some opium, and the second prince did not protect him. So it is reasonable that he was caught by Xue Pan later. This time is a little different. The one who did it is the Governor-General of Liangjiang, the former cabinet minister Sun Huazhen. Everyone has heard of his style in Liangjiang. He holds the imperial sword. No matter whether they are gentry or officials, they will be killed without mercy. There are only a few prefects and county magistrates in Liangjiang, and eight of them lost their heads. Now in this situation, if you want to rescue people, you must first make up the silver for discussing the crime. I asked the Ministry of Justice how much silver I should pay, and they said that we have to wait for the cabinet minister Sun in Liangjiang to convict the crime before dealing with it according to the rules. Even if they want to sentence, they don't have the courage to collect the silver and release the people. They can't afford to offend the cabinet minister Sun."

After Jia Rong finished speaking, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Aunt Xue stopped crying and just looked anxious: "What should we do?"

Mrs. Wang asked her, "Where is your wife? Why didn't she come with you?"

Aunt Xue looked annoyed: "I was so anxious at the time that I didn't care where she went. I would say it would be best for her to cancel the engagement and go back to her parents' home."

When Grandmother Jia heard this, her eyebrows immediately stood up: "How dare she? Do you really think that the Jia family is just a decoration?" The old lady, who was full of confidence, asked Wang Xifeng after saying this: "Where is Lian'er? Why don't you see him?"

"He said he was not feeling well and wanted to lie down and rest for a while." Wang Xifeng said perfunctorily. She had no way of saying that Aunt Xue and Baochai came too early and woke Jia Lian up.

Grandmother Jia hesitated for a moment, but still spoke: "Feng Lazi, this matter still needs Lian Ge'er to make the final decision. I'm afraid others don't have that ability. No matter what, get the person out first, and then we can talk about other things."

Baochai stood up and said, "I'll go and ask my second brother for help!"

Baochai's behavior was inappropriate according to etiquette, but no one stopped her at this moment and let her go.

Baochai felt sad for herself silently. What a pity! I am just a girl. No matter how good I am for my family, I can never be half as good as my brother.

Wang Xifeng wanted to stop her, but Mrs. Wang pulled her sleeve, so she shut up.

The atmosphere suddenly became a little awkward. Seeing this, Jia Rong quickly said goodbye and left.

Later, Mrs. Wang found an opportunity to explain to Wang Xifeng: "You are the daughter-in-law of the Jia family. It is acceptable for you to side with your mother's family, but what about side with the Xue family?"

"No..." Wang Xifeng had no way to explain. She couldn't say that she was worried that the little vixen would seduce Jia Lian. After all, there were not many of them in the house. It was given by the old lady and has always been with her. I brought it.

After Mrs. Wang understood, she whispered a reminder: "If the Jia family wants to expand, the first branch of the family depends on Lian Ge'er."

Wang Xifeng felt that she was both a human and a ghost.

After all, isn't it because her parents' family is not strong enough? Not to mention Wang Xifeng, even Mrs. Wang can't be strong anymore. I'm afraid that one day Jia Lian will argue with the second wife about whether they should move to another place.

If that day really comes, even Lady Jia won’t be able to protect him, and that would be considered a complete rift.

Thinking of the incident of Jia Lian drowning, Mrs. Wang felt a little uneasy. She had no bad intentions, but she couldn't stop some servants from acting on their own to please her.
When Baochai arrived at Jia Lian's courtyard, Qingwen, who was on duty, was kind-hearted. She asked her to wait for a moment and went in to pass on the message immediately.

Jia Lian, who had caught up on his sleep, was full of energy. He did not get angry when he was woken up. He hurried to wash up and told Qingwen to ask someone to come in and wait. How could she be a relative standing at the door?
When Baochai came in, she felt more and more uneasy when she saw Jia Lian's smiling reception. She had figured out a pattern: the more Jia Lian smiled, the harder it was for her to refuse.

As expected, after Baochai finished telling Jia Rong the news, Jia Lian still had a smile on his face, but something was wrong with his eyes, and they became a little more serious.

"This matter is not easy to handle. I'm afraid you don't understand, so I'll put it this way. There are two possibilities. One is that Lord Sun simply wants to crack down on opium smuggling, and Wenlong ran into the knife edge. The other possibility is that he went after General Wang. He took half of Annan's territory and actually made Jiaozhi Duke. Now there are many people in the court who are so angry that their eyes are about to bleed. If it's the former, it's not so bad. The latter is very troublesome. I heard that seven or eight of the Wang family's children were also arrested. I'm afraid it's the latter. The former is not a big problem, it's just a matter of some silver."

Baochai may not understand what political struggle is, but since Jia Lian said it so solemnly, it is obvious that this matter is extremely dangerous.

In a hurry, Baochai stood up and said, "Second Brother Lian, is there no solution at all?"

Jia Lian smiled bitterly and said, "If Wenlong had only been arrested in Liangjiang, things wouldn't have come to this. There is always room for maneuver at the local level. Unfortunately, he fled back to the capital, and the cabinet has been alarmed, so it can't be suppressed at all. Even if we want to suppress it, what should we do if His Majesty asks about it?"

Baochai's heart sank, her mind was in a mess. In a hurry, she looked at Jia Lian's still calm face, took two steps forward, grabbed her collar with both hands, and said tremblingly: "As long as my brother can be rescued, I, I, I am willing to enter the Jia Mansion and be my second brother's concubine."

Jia Lian's face changed slightly when he heard this: "What kind of talk are you talking about? If this gets out, will I be able to go out again in the future?"

Baochai regained consciousness, her face flushed, she lowered her head and said nothing, before she realized it, tears were streaming down her face, she raised her head again and said, "Baochai was confused for a moment and said the wrong thing, please don't blame me, brother."

Jia Lian wiped her tears with his own hands, saying, "You and Tanchun are both girls. It's a pity to be girls. If you were boys, you would definitely be able to achieve something."

Baochai didn't react at first, and after being rubbed a few times, she subconsciously dodged. Jia Lian withdrew his hand and laughed twice: "Excuse me, excuse me, I couldn't help myself at the moment."

Baochai said: "Brother, don't blame yourself. I don't blame you!"

The atmosphere suddenly developed in the direction of the female frequency. Jia Lian quickly stopped and coughed: "Well, I will do my best. You go back and persuade your aunt to make her feel at ease. I dare not say anything else, but I guarantee that Wenlong will come out safe and sound, it's just a matter of sooner or later."

Baochai bowed and said, "Baochai thanks my brother and mother on behalf of my brother, second brother!" After a short pause, she added, "I am serious about what I said just now."

After saying this, he turned around and left without giving Jia Lian a chance to speak. At this time, Baochai's mind was filled with the scene of Jia Lian wiping her tears. Baochai couldn't describe the feeling of skin contact. If she could explain it clearly, it should be like this: it was like an electric shock.

Baochai returned to Grandmother Jia and relayed Jia Lian's words. Grandmother Jia immediately became excited: "Amitabha, the Jia family's face is still useful."

Wang Xifeng didn't say anything, but she was muttering in her heart, "That's the master's face. Without the master, the Jia family will have no face at all."

As for whether Jia Lian had done anything to betray the noble group, Wang Xifeng could not remember.

If you want to do a favor, you must do it in the right way so that the person has nothing to say.

Jia Lian went out immediately. Wang Xifeng, who had just returned, chased after him: "Dinner is in half an hour, why are you still going out? The old lady didn't show up, and she complained. She said something about her beloved grandson not being close to her, but I couldn't accept that."

Jia Lian smiled and turned back and said, "Tell the old lady to save her face."

With that, Jia Lian walked straight out the door. Wang Xifeng looked at his back, feeling mixed emotions of pride and loss.

She was proud that she had married this man and was very glorious in front of others. But she was sad that now that Jia Lian's status had risen, she had to hold back on even the few words she said, lest she offended him and let some other vixen snatch him away.

Jia Lian went to the cabinet before leaving his shift and found Zhang Tingen, who was working overtime there. Naturally, he was not happy to see him.

"Jia Buqi, you think your teacher is not busy enough, so you want to make trouble for me, right?"

The teacher's tone was unfriendly, but Jia Lian smiled and said, "Look at what you said. If you have anything to ask, I will do it. However, this matter concerns the student's reputation, so you have to help."

After Zhang Tingen finished handling a piece of official business, he put down his pen and said casually, "Tell me about it!"

Jia Lian stepped forward and whispered, "It's still about Xue Pan. His mother and sister came to my house to cry. It's too difficult for me to let Jia bend the law for personal gain. After thinking it over, it's better to do this. I will be the guarantor and pay a sum of money to get him out of the prison first. I will take over the trial and sentence later. His mother is in poor health, and I'm afraid she will cry to death in my house."

Seeing Zhang Tingen's unfriendly expression, Jia Lian added another sentence.

"I can't make the decision on this matter. You should go and kowtow to His Majesty." Zhang Tingen actually agreed, but he couldn't take the lead in undermining discipline. After all, the Great Zhou was not a beacon, and the deposit system had not yet been introduced. The implication was that as long as His Majesty spoke up, the cabinet would not object. It wasn't a big case anyway. The seriousness of smuggling opium, in Zhang Tingen's view, was just a crime of leaking taxes. Of course, the crime of smuggling contraband items was different for different people, wasn't it? After all, he was an imperial merchant, so there was no question of any contraband goods, right?

It would be best for the emperor to speak up about this matter. Jia Lian went to Zhang Tingen first because he was afraid that there would be objections from the cabinet. If the emperor agreed, Zhang Tingen would have no way to object. How could he save face?

After obtaining permission, Jia Lian handed over a sign requesting an audience with the emperor.

Emperor Chenghui hadn't seen Jia Lian come to the palace to ask for an audience for some time, so he readily let him in.

When Jia Lian arrived, Emperor Chenghui was walking in the courtyard. Seeing him, he took the initiative to ask, "What's the matter? Lord Jia Buqi, why are you taking the trouble to come here?"

This is just sarcasm, saying that you, Jia Lian, haven't been around much recently and have become distant!
Other favorites all revolve around the emperor, but you, on the other hand, would rather not enter the palace if possible.

"A little private matter!" Jia Lian said this first, and then he bowed solemnly to Emperor Chenghui and knelt on the ground to speak. Emperor Chenghui was quite surprised, because he usually didn't do this, just bowed normally. Besides, in the Zhou Dynasty, there was no requirement for the emperor and his ministers to perform formalities. The royal family still gave scholars basic dignity.

Although he was surprised, Emperor Chenghui did not stop him and asked him to kneel down and explain the origin of the matter. After Jia Lian finished speaking, Emperor Chenghui couldn't help but ask curiously: "It shouldn't be! Just because of this, you can't do this step."

The meaning is very clear. I know who you are, Jia Lian. You would not come here to pay homage to the emperor and ask him to do something for such a small matter.

Jia Lian stood up angrily, but Emperor Chenghui still did not stop him. He just wanted to see what evil things this guy had to say.

"Well, his daughter said that she is willing to be my concubine after the man is rescued." Jia Lian was a little embarrassed. Emperor Chenghui suddenly realized and raised his hand to point at Jia Lian, looking like he didn't know what to say. Finally, he shook his head helplessly: "I knew that you are incurable. With your attitude of hating opium, I don't believe you can do this. You even guaranteed him and didn't send him to Caishikou, which is considered to be merciful. OK, you are really good! You like the girl! You, that's all you can do. Is it so difficult to ask me for a woman you want?"

When the emperor said this, Jia Lian hesitated and pinched his fingers: "Forget it!"

Emperor Chenghui saw that there was still some gossip. He was tired from work, so he just wanted to gossip and relax. He quickly said, "No, just tell me. I like to hear it."

Jia Lian sighed and said, "It's a pity that when I went to Jiangnan, my aunt and uncle were all in poor health. I used a folk remedy to cure my aunt and uncle. It was all due to me. But my cousin from the Lin family has been attached to me ever since. Every time my aunt and uncle see me, they remind me not to harm their daughter. I didn't want to do that, but my cousin fell in love with me. I really can't do anything about this. My wife was married to me in a formal way, and we have a good relationship. I can only let my cousin down. It will be fine in a few years."

Emperor Chenghui really didn't expect that he would get to eat this melon. Lin Ruhai, that guy with thick eyebrows and big eyes, couldn't actually decide on his daughter's marriage.

Talking about what happened today is actually very simple. Jia Lian is a man who values ​​friendship and loyalty, and he is not really a lustful person.

If it was simply lust, he should have tortured Xue Pan to death in private and pretended to help him in public. In the end, he would have gained both the man and the money. Wouldn't that be wonderful?
There is also the matter of Lin Ruhai's daughter. Jia Lian's wife is a daughter of the Wang family. In theory, the Wang family is not as valuable as the Lin family nowadays. However, Jia Lian is unwilling to divorce his wife and remarry. He just feels embarrassed.

Having said all that just now, I finally decided to give up asking for mercy from me and let my cousin suffer.

People are like this. I can be ruthless, but I hope that the people around me are loyal and affectionate.

A heartless and profit-conscious person, no matter who you are, you will only care about profit. If you meet him when you are free, you will definitely stay away from him.

"I can't help with Prime Minister Lin's family affairs, so just bear with it. As for Xue Pan's matter, I have approved it and I will prepare the paperwork for you!"

Jia Lian smiled happily and started grinding ink himself. Qiu Shian looked at him with disgust. This shameless guy fell in love with the girl, and his diligence was disgusting.

Emperor Chenghui quickly wrote a handwritten note, handed it to Jia Lian, and said with a smile, "Get lost!"

Jia Lian knelt down again, kowtowed repeatedly, and then left. Emperor Chenghui watched him leave, smiled and shook his head: "You bastard, that's all you can do!"

Qiu Shian said, "This person always has problems. This is the problem that Master Jia has been stuck in all his life."

Emperor Chenghui laughed out loud: "Hahaha!" After a while, he calmed down and said lightly: "This is a good thing!"

In the cabinet, Zhang Tingen saw Jia Lian coming back, and without saying anything, he pushed a piece of letter in front of him and said, "It's ready for you, take it, and get out!"

Jia Lian was not polite at all. He picked it up without even looking at it and left directly.

Zhang Tingen packed up and prepared to leave, but Qiu Shian came and asked him to come over. The emperor wanted the prime minister to have dinner with him.

The emperor and his ministers sat and drank together. Emperor Chenghui mentioned Jia Lian's affairs as a joke. Zhang Tingen said, "He didn't tell me the truth. He said he was afraid that Xue Pan's mother would cry to death in his house."

Emperor Chenghui was stunned, and for some reason, he felt secretly happy.

"I think he doesn't dare to say it because he is afraid of Zhang Xiang, the strict teacher." Emperor Chenghui also said to comfort him.

Jia Lian held two documents in his hands and made his way to the Ministry of Justice. He threw the documents to the official on duty and said, "I'll be the guarantor. Release him first!"

This official was not familiar with Jia Lian, so he took a look cautiously. He opened the first seal, which was the seal of the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, indicating that Jia Lian had guaranteed the prisoner, so he should be released first. If anything went wrong, there would be no problem of not being able to find the person responsible.

The official's heart skipped a beat and he picked up the second copy, thinking: This can't be the emperor's imperial edict.

As soon as he opened it and took a look, he was so scared that he put it back immediately. It was true, but it was the personal seal of His Majesty. The meaning was the same. Jia Lian guaranteed that he would release the person first, and Jia Lian would be responsible if anything went wrong.

Xue Pan drank with Jia Rong. When Jia Lian came in, he was lying in a pile of straw and snoring.

Jia Lian pinched his nose in disgust and kicked. Xue Pan sat up, glared and was about to get angry, but when he saw that it was Jia Lian, he immediately knelt down.

"Second Brother Lian, why are you here? It's all my fault. I made you suffer so much." Xue Pan was so overjoyed that it was hard to describe.

He only saw Jia Rong. Although he felt relieved and knew that his life was saved, it was still a long way to go.

Now that Jia Lian has come, it means that the matter can be settled in a few days at most, and then the people can go out. What does this mean? It means that Jia Lian still has a crush on Xue Wenlong.

Jia Lian was too lazy to waste time talking to him and said directly: "Get up and follow me!"

Xue Pan was stunned for a moment, then he was ecstatic, and hurriedly climbed up using his hands and feet. Jia Lian had already gone out. Xue Pan hesitated for a moment, then hurried to follow him, but found that the jailer did not stop him and walked even faster. He thought to himself: How dare you doubt Second Brother Lian's ability?
"Second brother, wait for me?" Xue Pan shouted from behind and trotted after him.

Jia Lian said without even turning his head, "You, go back and kowtow to your mother and admit your mistakes. Don't do anything wrong again. If she hadn't cried to me so early in the morning, I really wouldn't bother to care about your little things."

Xue Pan fell behind, bent his back, and answered carefully: "Brother, you are right! Brother, you still recognize me as your younger brother. I am so grateful to you!"

Jia Lian stopped and turned around, angrily saying: "What nonsense, what do you mean I still recognize you? We have always been relatives, but there are some things I can't tell you about, because if I tell you, I'm afraid you will think I'm harming you."

Xue Pan was so moved that he burst into tears. He wiped his tears as he walked, "I'm really confused!"

Jia Lian softened his tone and said, "You really need to take good care of your wife. If the husband loses his authority, it will not only bring shame to you, but also to your mother."

(End of this chapter)