Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 661 Major Events at the End of the Year
While Jia Lian was comforting his wife, a palace attendant came to summon him to the palace.

After changing to a different carriage and increasing the number of guards, Jia Lian hurriedly bid farewell to his family and entered the palace by carriage.

Soldiers were everywhere along the way; the outer city was unknown, but at least the inner city was under martial law. Zhu Zi reported from inside the carriage that the case had been taken over by the Shuntian Prefecture and the Dali Temple.

Jia Lian remained silent, then nodded slightly to indicate that he understood.

Upon arriving at the Qianqing Palace, all the cabinet ministers were present, as was Emperor Li Yuan. Seeing Jia Lian arrive, Emperor Li Yuan said, "I am greatly relieved that you are unharmed, sir. With all of you here, I wonder if you have any suspects?"

It was obvious that Li Yuan and the other officials had already discussed this before Jia Lian arrived.

"Where did this humble servant get any suspects? Since entering officialdom, there have been too many grudges. How can I make wild accusations without evidence?" Jia Lian's attitude was very clear: no action without evidence.

Li Yuan then asked, "I just discussed this with you all, and we believe we should conduct a thorough search of the inner city. What are your thoughts?"

Jia Lian said, "Absolutely not! Even if we search extensively, we're unlikely to find anything. It's better to remain calm and wait for the right opportunity."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan couldn't help but sigh and said, "In that case, I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you, sir. The court can't just do nothing except investigate the case."

Lin Ruhai said from the side, "Why not impose martial law in the inner city for three days? And secretly intensify the investigation of the powerful and wealthy families living in the inner city."

Li Qing chimed in, "That's what I think too. These are all elite warriors, not ordinary families that can raise and send out more than ten at once."

Yue Qi and Fang Song shared the same sentiment, demonstrating that the cabinet members are all highly intelligent.

Jia Lian calmly observed the performance of the cabinet ministers and the emperor, and came to a conclusion about what they were most worried about.

Simply put, they were afraid that Jia Lian would launch an indiscriminate and insane revenge. Therefore, everyone was rationally and objectively analyzing the situation, hoping that Jia Lian wouldn't go berserk.

Everyone present knew what the consequences might be if Jia Lian lost his temper.

Fortunately, Jia Lian remained calm and did not intend to retaliate indiscriminately. Otherwise, anyone with whom he had a past grudge would have been his target, and Li Qing and Yue Qi, who were present at the scene, would probably not have dared to go home.

Tell me, are these two suspects? Of course they are.

"Your Majesty, this matter must be thoroughly investigated no matter what. The capital is the most important place. To assassinate a cabinet minister in broad daylight amidst a disturbance is a serious offense that could damage Your Majesty's and the court's reputation if not thoroughly investigated."

Lin Ruhai's words were to say what Li Yuan couldn't say, and at the same time, he took over the responsibility.

Li Yuan appreciated the gesture, but didn't finish. He said calmly, "The authorities must investigate thoroughly, and I have also ordered the Imperial Guards to conduct a secret investigation. In any case, we must give you an explanation."

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian immediately replied, "Your Majesty is wise. In my opinion, this is not just about giving an explanation to me, but also to all the officials in the land."

Li Yuan nodded and said, "What you say is true, sir. I misspoke."

Jia Lian said, "Your Majesty was merely being overly anxious about my concerns; it was not a slip of the tongue."

Li Yuan smiled and said, "In that case, all of you may go about your business. You will be working hard tonight. Sir, please go back and rest well for a few days. I grant you a three-day leave."

Jia Lian took his leave and boarded the carriage expressionlessly. The person sitting opposite him could clearly see that beneath Jia Lian's calm expression lay a barely perceptible, cold smile.

In front of Li Yuan and the cabinet ministers, Jia Lian naturally couldn't escalate the situation, as that would embarrass the emperor.

But behind the scenes, they'll definitely take action. After all, others have already used assassins first, so if they don't retaliate, who knows how many people will take advantage of their kindness.

After returning home, Jia Lian really didn't go out and took a three-day vacation at home.

Three days later, martial law was lifted in the inner city, and everything returned to normal.

The investigations conducted by the Shuntian Prefecture and the Dali Temple naturally yielded nothing. Their reports were, of course, met with severe criticism from the Emperor and the Cabinet for their incompetence.

The media seemed to have fallen silent; not a single newspaper published anything about Jia Lian's assassination attempt. However, the topic was hotly debated in taverns, teahouses, and among the common people.

The investigation yielded no results, and the Minister and Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, along with the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, submitted a memorial to plead guilty.

Li Yuan showed no sign of appeasement, directly dismissing eight officials from the Court of Judicial Review and the Shuntian Prefecture, as well as four key figures including the garrison commander of the Nine Gates, the chief censor of the Five Cities Garrison, and the censor of the Western City. Only after dismissing fourteen officials in one fell swoop did Li Yuan finally stop.

The Ministry of Personnel will once again be busy filling the positions that were dismissed and adjusting various official posts. This time, the Ministry of Personnel has acted very fairly, appearing to be absolutely impartial.

What's really interesting is that none of these newly appointed officials were from Liangjiang or Shanxi, and none of them seemed to have any direct conflict of interest with Jia Lian.

If you really look at their resumes, you'll find they come from southwestern and northwestern provinces, and none of them have experience serving as officials in Shanxi or Liangjiang.

Everyone seemed to be carefully avoiding provoking Jia Lian and causing him to go berserk.

Three days later, Jia Lian went to work as usual, but with twice as many guards around him.

On the first day back at work, Lin Ruhai summoned Jia Lian and, after mentioning His Majesty's angry actions of dismissing officials one after another, sighed, "His Majesty is truly anxious."

Jia Lian said calmly, "It is inappropriate for a subject to discuss His Majesty in private. If Prime Minister Lin has no urgent business, I shall take my leave."

Lin Ruhai hesitated for a moment, then sighed and waved for him to leave.

At this moment, Jia Lian wouldn't easily believe anyone, no matter how much they hinted. Even though Lin Ruhai's hint was highly credible.

Unfortunately, Lin Ruhai chose the wrong way to communicate. He could have called Jia Lian over and spoken to him in the study, saying who was the most suspicious.

The rift in their cooperative relationship was projected onto all their relationships by Lin Ruhai, even affecting their family ties.

It can only be said that Lin Ruhai thought about things too thoroughly; he could have easily kept quiet about it, but he chose to avoid it altogether.

Ten days later, Jia Lian went home after get off work, changed into plain clothes after nightfall, and quietly went to the south of the city. He entered an inconspicuous courtyard through the back door.

"Two experienced coroners from the Dali Temple and Shuntian Prefecture each provided a report. All the assassins had the following characteristics: they had long been active on horseback in the border regions and beyond the Great Wall, and were skilled in archery and horsemanship. Judging from the calluses on their skin, their living environment had changed in the last three years, and the characteristics left by long-term outdoor life were not so obvious. The origins of the assassins can be basically narrowed down to the following types of people: border soldiers, bodyguards who made a living in the areas outside the Great Wall and beyond the Great Wall, and Han Chinese who had lived on the grasslands for a long time."

Fan Ping immediately reported to Jia Lian, who sat back with his eyes closed and a calm expression.

"Based on the analysis of all intelligence, the most suspicious party is undoubtedly the imperial relatives. They have the ability and the motive, and can even shift the blame. My analysis suggests that His Majesty's continuous dismissal of officials likely indicates that the Imperial Guards have reached the same conclusion. Finally, the possibility of framing and collusion cannot be ruled out. The biggest challenge in the investigation is the lack of direct evidence pointing to any one side. The investigation into weapons has yielded nothing; the production of rifled flintlock muskets was far too large. Here is an unexpected finding: several artisans in the arsenals under the Research and Development Bureau were found to be secretly producing key components and smuggling them out, and secretly drawing blueprints to sell, targeting the three kings of the West, North, and East. They have all been apprehended. I request Your Excellency to make a decision regarding the Research and Development Bureau." Upon hearing this, Jia Lian opened his eyes and said calmly, "Pack the entire family up and send them to Tianjin, then ship them to Nagasaki, and next year to the Xinhua Colony. Keep it low-key; publicly announce that they have been transferred to a technical school in the South to work as instructors."

Every skilled worker is valuable, and Jia Lian didn't want to waste their abilities. Left- or right-handed rifled flintlock muskets weren't particularly difficult to manufacture; percussion caps already existed during the American Civil War.

In fact, given the accumulated strength of Western industrialization, Western ironclad warships were all built within the last hundred years of this century.

From this perspective, the development of Da Zhou still has considerable limitations.

Things are different now. Jia Lian is now a cabinet minister. If he launches a large-scale retaliation without evidence, someone will definitely find a pretext to use against him.

This is something we must endure; there will always be a chance to get revenge, unless these people never leave the capital for the rest of their lives.

Even if you don't leave the capital, it's impossible to stay completely indoors. As long as you go out, there's always a chance to create some unexpected situations.

In short, we must not rush.

As time went by, the impact of the event gradually faded, and it was December again, the end of the second year of the Qianzheng era.

Li Yuan, who had a relatively smooth year, was taking a walk in the palace one day when Hu Min hurriedly came up to him and whispered something to him.

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan's expression immediately turned cold, and he suppressed his anger as he asked, "Is this true?"

Hu Min said, "Your Majesty, it is indeed true. The person has been taken into custody by this servant."

Li Yuan did not immediately decide how to deal with it, but instead asked sternly, "How do you, a mere servant, know this?"

Hu Min immediately knelt down and said, "That palace maid had a sexual relationship with a eunuch. When she was violated, she fought back desperately. The eunuch then decided to risk his life to inform me. When I arrived with my men, the palace maid had already been strangled to death because of her struggle. Her breathing and pulse had stopped. After I took control of the situation and investigated, I discovered that many people in Kunning Palace had been violated, but only one person resisted."

Li Yuan's fists were clenched. His previously good mood vanished instantly, leaving only endless anger burning in his chest.

Hu Min certainly concealed some of the truth, using euphemisms and considering the emperor's feelings, which is why he used the phrase "humiliated."

In reality, that scoundrel must have communicated with her privately, and the Empress must have heard something about it but covered it up for him.

"Die abruptly!" Li Yuan shouted, then angrily strode towards the Cining Palace.

After dismissing everyone else, Li Yuan spoke to Empress Dowager Zhou. Empress Dowager Zhou was shocked and whispered, "The Empress should not be in this state. It must be the work of those lowly maids who deceived the Empress."

Li Yuan gritted his teeth and whispered, "I want to depose the Empress! Please support me, Mother!"

Empress Dowager Zhou said, "I naturally support the Emperor, but the outer court needs a plausible explanation. The Emperor should think carefully and not make things too ugly."

Li Yuan remained silent for a long time before saying, "I would like to ask the Empress Dowager to help manage the inner palace. I have neglected it too much in the past two years."

Empress Dowager Zhou remained silent for a long time before sighing and saying, "Let's leave it at that for now!"

The Lunar New Year is almost here, but a series of major events are happening in the capital.

First, the Empress's younger brother, Wang's eldest son, was caught having an affair with prostitutes and died suddenly in his carriage on his way home, becoming a hot topic of conversation in the capital.

Then, on the eve of the Lunar New Year, the Imperial Guards suddenly mobilized and, with the cooperation of the Imperial Horse Administration troops, raided the Prince Zhongshun's residence and two families of the Wang clan.

Jia Lian, who was participating in the ancestral worship ceremony, was summoned by the cabinet and immediately brought to the palace.

Upon arriving at the palace, Jia Lian saw that Lin Ruhai and others had arrived earlier. After paying his respects, he asked, "The people in the western city are in an uproar. Do you gentlemen know what has happened?"

Lin Ruhai and the others all said they didn't know, perhaps because it was related to His Majesty's urgent summons.

Jia Lian immediately lowered his hands and remained silent, refusing to utter another word.

After waiting for half an hour, Li Yuan finally appeared, looking exhausted. He only spoke after the cabinet members greeted him.

"I have received a secret report from the Imperial Guard: Prince Zhongshun, in collusion with several relatives of the emperor, has been using various pretexts to transfer funds from the central bank into private accounts. When they were doing the accounting, they were recorded as having lost money, but this was discovered during an audit. I was furious and immediately ordered the arrest of the suspects and the confiscation of their property. I summoned all the ministers here just to inform them. This case is not small, and the people involved are still under investigation. It is not that I do not trust the cabinet, but rather that this matter is of great importance, which is why I acted first and then informed them."

Lin Ruhai's face immediately turned ugly, and he said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, this will not be allowed to happen again!"

The people were naturally dissatisfied. If such an important matter was not reported before action was taken, what was the point of the cabinet's existence?
Unfortunately, Lin Ruhai spoke first, saying that this was a one-time exception, and the others naturally had nothing to say and lowered their heads in silence.

Li Yuan coughed, and as everyone looked up, Hu Min led two eunuchs carrying trays in and distributed a transcribed investigation report to the cabinet ministers.

After taking it, Jia Lian pretended to examine it carefully, remaining silent.

After reading it, Li Qing exclaimed in surprise: "The central bank is not just a matter of the imperial treasury; the Ministry of Revenue must also be involved. I beg Your Majesty to allow the Ministry of Revenue to send personnel to participate in the investigation."

Li Yuan said with a gloomy expression, "Approved! But it will be hard on all of you trusted ministers; you won't even be able to have a proper New Year."

Yue Qi also said, "Your Majesty, the report also mentions the smuggling of military equipment. The Ministry of War should also intervene in the relevant investigation. Once the facts are clear, those who are guilty should be punished accordingly, and I will not show any favoritism."

As he spoke, Yue Qi glanced at Jia Lian, but Jia Lian remained focused on his report, showing no intention of speaking.

Fang Song also said, "Your Majesty, please allow the Censorate to send personnel to supervise, so as to prevent anyone from showing favoritism during the investigation." This is a more normal attitude.

Li Yuan granted all requests, and finally asked, "Does Minister Jia have anything to say?"

Jia Lian looked up with concern in his eyes and said sincerely, "Your Majesty does not look well. Your health is related to the safety of the nation, so you must take good care of yourself. Please try to be more relaxed about everything."

Li Yuan was slightly taken aback, then smiled wryly and said, "I understand, thank you for your concern, sir."

After the brief meeting, everyone dispersed. On the way back, Fang Song and Jia Lian lagged behind. Fang Song couldn't help but tease in a low voice, "Just now, 'I should have used the term 'dragon's body' to avoid being criticized."

Jia Lian smiled wryly: "I've forgotten the language habits left over from the late emperor's time."

(End of this chapter)