Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

Jia Cong smiled and said, "No need to be so polite, Third Sister. I will scold Sister Feng for you to vent your anger later."

Tanchun covered her mouth and laughed, "Absolutely not. How dare I ruin the friendship between Third Brother and Sister Feng for my own selfish reasons? Sister Feng will hate me to death."

When the girls heard this, they all pretended not to hear it, turned their heads away and smiled secretly.

Jia Cong glared and said, "Don't talk nonsense. My brother is a man of integrity, a man of stern conduct, and a man of impartiality. Don't you know that?"

Tanchun sneered and said, "Of course I know, I'm just worried that Third Brother will have a hard time."

Jia Cong sneered, "If you can't even settle this little thing, how can I command thousands of troops? It's a joke. Oh, come on, tell Lin Zhixiao that I rewarded Mingyan with twenty military sticks, and don't say anything else."

The secretary was stunned, and quickly nodded and agreed to go out and pass on the message.

"Why does Third Brother suddenly want to punish Mingyan?" Tanchun asked curiously.

Jia Cong waved his hand and said, "I have my own reasons."

Tanchun stopped asking.

After a while, Ai Guan was brought back. Jia Cong saw that there were marks on her hands and her eyes were red and swollen like walnuts. Apart from that, there was nothing serious. Yin Cong comforted her in a gentle voice: "Don't panic, Ling Guan has already told me."

Ai Guan's face turned red and he quickly knelt down and kowtowed.

"Forget it, get up." Jia Cong waved his hand and ordered her to leave.

At this time, Feng Jieer and others came upon hearing the order, and brought two old women with them.

"Cong'er, what happened?"

Seeing the mess on the floor and Jia Cong sitting behind a rosewood marble desk with his horse and sword in his hands, Feng Jieer looked unhappy and glared at Wang Shanbao.

"What did I just say? I told you to behave yourself, but you turned the Third Miss upside down like this. How disgraceful! Why don't you kneel down and apologize?"

Seeing Jia Cong looking at her coldly, Wang Shanbao was so frightened that her whole body was weak. She kowtowed and begged for mercy: "My Lord, please understand. I was acting on the orders of the two ladies and that is why I offended the third lady. Please have mercy on me."

Jia Cong waved his hand and said, "Take her out and give her twenty strokes of the cane. You are the first wife's companion, so I will spare your life for now. Stay in the East Courtyard from now on. If you dare to step into this place again, I will kill you!"

"Thank you, Duke." Wang Shanbao breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that his life was saved. He kowtowed several times and was pulled out by several strong women.

Jia Cong glared at Wang Xifeng and asked, "What did you find out?"

"Look." Sister Feng waved her hand, and the two maids behind her hurriedly presented a pile of things.

"These handkerchiefs belong to Ai Guan, and these belong to the two old women." Sister Feng pointed at the package and said.

Jia Cong picked up the handkerchief and took a look. It was indeed embroidered with a pornographic picture, but the embroidery was crude.

Then he looked at the several horns of different sizes, lengths and styles and sneered, "You two are quite naughty, even with two heads. Hey, you can handle something this thick? Really impressive."

All the girls blushed and lowered their heads, pretending not to understand.

The two old women, who were in their thirties and forties, were so frightened that they knelt down and begged for mercy.

Jia Cong waved his hands and said, "Food and sex are human nature, and this is normal. However, there are many unmarried girls in the garden. You are happy to bring these in. Aren't you afraid of damaging the reputation of the girls?"

"We know we are wrong, and we beg the Duke to show mercy."

"Give them twenty severe blows and send them out to do their work. Don't allow them to enter the garden anymore." Jia Cong said.

Hearing that their jobs were saved, the two old women thanked them profusely and went out happily to receive their punishment.

Jia Cong saw something in the bundle that he didn't recognize, so he whispered, "What is this bunch of grapes?"

Feng Jieer blushed, and with her back to the crowd, she spat softly, "You filthy bastard, you have to ask me at this moment, so that the three girls can hear that you are shameless. I still want more."

Jia Cong smiled awkwardly and gave up.

Soon, Yingchun, Li Wan, Xichun, Xiangyun, Baoqin, Youshi, Keqing, Xiuyan and others came with their maids and servants, and the huge group of people filled Qiu Shuang Zhai.

Tanchun was busy preparing and greeting everyone.

Jia Cong stood up to greet them and said with a smile, "I only asked the maids and servants to come, why are you here too?"

Xiangyun smiled and said, "I heard that Jia Shaobao is going to try a case at night. It's such an interesting thing, so we naturally want to come and see it."

Baoqin nodded and said coquettishly, "You are not allowed to chase us away. We haven't even seen the official try a case yet."

"Yes, yes, we can work as constables for you, so powerful." Xiangyun puffed out her chest and belly and shouted, making everyone laugh.

Jia Cong laughed loudly, scratched her straight nose with his curved finger, and said, "You've watched too many plays. If there was a pretty police officer like you, would the official still have the heart to try a case?"

Seeing everyone's strange expressions, Xiangyun's pretty face suddenly turned red. She quickly took a step back, stamped her feet and said angrily: "Why are you so clumsy? Aren't you afraid of being laughed at?"

Jia Cong also realized that he had said the wrong thing, and he coughed dryly and said, "You guys find a place to sit, and the maids and servants come in." After that, he went back to the desk and sat down.

"Greetings to the Duke." Everyone came in and knelt down in an orderly manner.

"Well, there is nothing else to do today. Our eldest daughter is coming back to visit her parents thanks to God's grace. You know that."

"Yes, this slave knows."

"There are quite a few people in the garden now, not to mention the wives and daughters-in-law. They are in their prime, and I'm afraid there is no one who doesn't miss a man on a daily basis.

Girls, many of them are getting older and gradually understand the world, and you never know when they will be tempted by love."

These words made everyone blush and they all lowered their heads, not daring to raise them.

"Although it's human nature, if something goes wrong, losing your heads won't be a big deal, but it will ruin our family's tradition and reputation. Especially before and after the visit, there must not be any rumors!"

"Yes." Everyone kowtowed.

"So, I'll give you three incense sticks of time to go back and check your boxes and cabinets. If you find anything that shouldn't be in the garden, hand it over to me!

"I have made a promise today that those who voluntarily hand it in will be given a lighter sentence. If anyone tries to take chances and is found out later, he will be beaten to death!" Jia Cong said coldly.

"Yes." Everyone agreed quickly, and many of them trembled slightly, obviously having something to hide.

"Just go."

All the servants went away tumbling and crawling. Even those who had nothing to hide had to go back and keep an eye on their own boxes and trunks to avoid being framed.

Li Wan said, "Third brother, this is a very good idea. Now it's time to clean up the garden. Otherwise, if the queen comes back and there are still some messy things, it will be very disrespectful."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Jia Cong ordered the maid to set up a large iron pot in the yard and put the confiscated items into it.

Baoqin accidentally saw those horns and was curious. She couldn't help but quietly ask Xiangyun: "What are those sticks?"

Xiangyun took a look and didn't know either, so she asked Li Wan beside her in a low voice.

Before Li Wan could say anything, she saw Jia Cong above her couldn't help laughing. She felt embarrassed and glared at him. She whispered, "Girl, what are you doing? Instead of saying you didn't see it, you asked about it. Don't ask, or you'll be laughed at."

"Oh." Xiangyun knew she had said the wrong thing, stuck out her tongue, and turned to tell Baoqin.

Jia Cong suppressed his laughter and said, "Food, sex, and love are the greatest desires of human beings. The girls are not young anymore. If there is anything you don't understand, you can ask the two sisters-in-law privately later. It's not a big deal. There are maids in the palace who teach these things."

"Yes." The girls understood a little more and bowed shyly with red faces.

After a while, the old women and maids came back, many of them carrying packages of varying sizes.

When the girls saw one of their own was inside, their faces darkened. It was embarrassing for the servants and the masters were ashamed.

Jia Cong said, "Throw all those things into the big pot."

Everyone hurriedly threw it away. "You will be deducted three months' silver and rice. If you do it again, I will punish you severely."

"Yes, I thank you for your grace, Lord."

"What are the remaining things? Bring them to me." Jia Cong said lightly.

Siqi was the first to come out and presented a small package to Jia Cong.

"what is this?"

"To answer your question, this is a letter my cousin wrote to me."

Jia Cong glanced at her and thought that the letter was just some bullshit, so he waved his hand and said, "Throw it away."

"Yes." Siqi hurried out and put the package into the pot.

Another girl came out and said, "This is the clothes I made for my brothers at home."

"threw."

"These are the shoes and socks I made for my father."

"threw."

"This is... a sweat towel given by my cousin."

"threw."

……

After seven or eight maids, all of whom made clothes or delivered daily necessities, Jia Cong did not blame them and just asked them to throw them away.

Suddenly, Ruhua came out, holding a small package, and said hesitantly, "My Lord, this is the reward my brother got over there. My uncle and aunt were drinking and gambling, so my brother was afraid that they would spend it, so he gave it to me."

Jia Cong saw a bag of brand new clothes, shoes and socks, as well as a bag of silver ingots, about thirty or forty in total, which had obviously been kept for quite some time.

I asked Sister Feng, "Is Ruhua's brother with me?"

Feng Jieer said, "Yes, it's the boy at the gate named Defu, who follows Wangcai around all day long."

Xichun couldn't hold it in any longer and said decisively, "I didn't know. How can this be tolerated! Third brother wants to beat me or punish me, but I don't care. Just take her away so that I can have some peace and quiet."

Feng Jieer smiled and said, "Not really. If it really is her brother's stuff, and she keeps it temporarily, it can be forgiven if it comes from a clean source. But she shouldn't have sent it in privately.

This can be passed on, so why not? This is the fault of the person who passed it on. If you dare to deceive the Duke, if it was stolen, you will not live!"

Ruhua knelt and cried, "I dare not lie! Grandma, just ask the butler of Dongfu Wang tomorrow. If he says it is not a reward, then kill me and my brother together without complaint!"

Jia Cong nodded and said, "Of course I have to ask clearly. If it is true as you said, it is the messenger's fault. I will forgive you."

Xichun said, "Brother San, please don't let her go. There are so many people here. If you ignore her, who knows what will happen if the older ones hear it. Brother San, even if you want to give in to her, I won't!"

Jia Cong glanced at her, frowned slightly, and said, "No one is perfect. I heard that Ruhua served diligently. Even if she has no merit, she has worked hard. I will just give her a small punishment and a big warning."

Yingchun saw that Jia Cong was somewhat unhappy with Xichun's behavior, so she hurriedly took her hand and advised: "Fourth sister, the ancients said, 'When a wise ruler makes laws, he must measure the severity of the crime and sentence it accordingly.' Third brother also said that entering the painting is a minor offense, and there is no need to make a big fuss."

Xichun sneered, "Since Second Sister is so wise, why don't you deal with Siqi first and then teach me."

Yingchun wanted to say something but stopped herself, let go of her hand, sighed softly, and remained silent.

Jia Cong looked at Xichun and said calmly, "Fourth sister, do you think I am not able to make a clear judgment?"

"Xichun dare not." Xichun did not dare to lose her temper with Jia Cong, so she quickly stood up and bowed her hands.

Jia Cong ignored her and said, "Put away the things that belong to Ruhua first and deal with them after investigation. Burn the rest for me."

"Yes." Several old women were busy pouring kerosene into the pot and lighting it.

"Anyone who passes private items in or helps pass them in will be deprived of two months' silver and rice. If they do it again, they will be severely punished," said Jia Cong.

"Yes. I will obey the Duke's order."

"Everyone, go down and serve them well. The eldest daughter will come to visit her parents soon. If there is any trouble in the garden, we will not forgive it easily."

"Yes." Everyone hurriedly retreated.

Jia Cong glanced at everyone and said, "It's getting late, everyone go back and rest."

The girls hurriedly stood up and said goodbye.

"There are so many dirty things going on at home. I'm sorry to have embarrassed Yun, Qin, and Xiuyan." Jia Cong saw her out.

The three girls blushed and shook their heads.

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Fortunately, this kind of thing happens a lot in wealthy families, and we are not the only one. Fortunately, it's okay."

The third lady couldn't help laughing and said, "You are good at comforting yourself."

“This is the spirit of revolutionary optimism.”

The three girls were startled and whispered, "Be careful what you say."

Jia Cong reacted and said quickly: "It's just an analogy, don't take it to heart." In this era, mentioning the word revolution is equivalent to rebellion, no wonder the three people were scared.

The three girls didn't dare to say anything more and hurriedly said goodbye and left.

Sister Feng came up from behind and asked, "Are we going back?"

"Let's go." Jia Cong said hello to Tanchun and went back with Fengjie.

"Go back and tell Ping'er to arrange a marriage between Ai Guan and Ming Yan as soon as possible. Tell Ming Yan that he has made a mistake once. If he dares to do it again, I will kill him without mercy."

Feng Jieer rolled her eyes, guessing a little, and said with a smile: "Mingyan and Ai Guan... this kid is just a thief. Well, since you are helping me, I will ask Ping'er to do it when I go back."

"Good sister, can you tell me about that naughty idea now?" Jia Cong suddenly said with a wicked smile.

Seeing that it was late at night and there were only a few maids and servants around, Sister Feng spat at him and said, "You think about these obscene things all day long."

Jia Cong laughed and said, "This is strange. If it is an obscene thing, my sister knows it, but I don't. I don't know who is obscene."

"You want to be beaten!" Feng Jieer sneered and scolded, "If you keep talking nonsense, I won't talk to you anymore."

"Okay, I won't say anything. Just tell me now."

Feng Jieer whispered, "That's called a 'Myanmar bell'. The one just now was just a model. The real exquisite ones are filled with mercury, airtight. The mercury is very heavy, and the slightest bump will cause it to roll endlessly."

Jia Cong was confused and asked, "How can I use this trick?"

Sister Feng glared at him unhappily, leaned close to his ear, and laughed softly, "What a fool! Where has your former cleverness gone? Of course it's... left there, silly boy."

Jia Cong sighed and said, "Sister, you are a scholar of heaven. I admire you so much."

"Bah. You are the only one who doesn't know. I saw one at Sister Zhen's place last time. It was really exquisite." Sister Feng scolded with a smile.

Jia Cong's eyes lit up and he stopped.

"doing what?"

"I suddenly remembered that I have something to ask my elder sister-in-law for advice. Sister, you go first." After saying this, Jia Cong smiled and turned away.

Several maids hurriedly chased after him.

Wang Xifeng watched Jia Cong's figure disappear into the darkness quickly. She could not help stamping her feet and cursing in her heart, "What a heartless thing! Why are you running away? Making a fuss about nothing. Don't I have any money?" (End of this chapter)