Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

Seeing that he had no doubts at all, Jinse couldn't help but burst out laughing and quickly covered her eyes with her hands. A hint of cunning flashed in her bright eyes. Master Bao was much easier to fool than him.

If he wasn't so weak, I could have asked him to deliver the message directly. But since this involves the eldest master of the Rong Mansion, he might not have the courage to do so. To be on the safe side, I'd better talk to the young guard in person.

Baoyu hurried back to the East Palace, but heard that Jia Cong had not returned from the yamen. He did not want to send anyone to urge him. As it concerned a woman's life and death and reputation, he did not dare to ask Baochai and others to pass on the message. Thinking that he should be loyal to the person who entrusted him with the task, he sat in Shenshi Hall and waited.

Baochai and others sent someone to ask him, but he just said, "I have something to do with Cong, and it has nothing to do with you sisters." The girls knew that he was stupid all his life, so they had to let him go.
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At this time, Jia Cong was listening to Zhuang Qing's report in the Southern Pacification Office.

"Sir, the case is basically clear. Three months ago, Minister Wu promised Ji Xingyi an official post, allowed him to serve as a judge in the Imperial Hospital, and gave him an additional 30,000 silver coins, asking him to secretly frame Empress Yuan.

Two and a half months ago, Ji Xingyi teamed up with the imperial physician Mo Zeming to falsely claim that the Empress was deficient in Qi and blood and needed nourishment. They tricked her into taking "Bazhen Pills", which were actually a heavy dose of cold and astringent medicine, causing the Empress to suffer from cold and dampness and amenorrhea.

After the Empress' menopause, she didn't know why. After taking her pulse, Imperial Doctor Mo said it was due to the previous symptoms and asked the Empress to continue taking the "Bazhen Pills".

She took the medicine like this for more than two months, but the pulse record of the Imperial Hospital showed that it was suspected to be a "pregnancy pulse". Until the day before yesterday, Imperial Doctor Mo prescribed another bottle of "Bazhen Pills" and a bottle of "Baizhu Chuanxiong Pills" for the Empress, and told her to take "Baizhu Chuanxiong Pills" first, but it was actually the extremely heavy "Wenjing Pills".

This powerful medicine warms the meridians and dispels cold, removes dampness and resolves blood stasis, immediately causing the menstrual fluid that has been stagnant for a long time to surge out along with blood clots.

So when the Emperor went to Fengzao Palace, the Empress happened to be having her period, and the other bottle of 'Bazhen Pills' was examined by the Imperial Hospital and was found to be the extremely powerful abortion drug 'Niuqi Pills', which left the Empress speechless. "

Jia Cong listened to the whole thing without saying a word. He was furious and raged. He squeezed the armrests of the armchair until they creaked. He gritted his teeth and said, "Go on."

"Yes." Zhuang Qing observed his expression and said carefully: "Ji Xingyi's confession was reported to Minister Wu, and he cited Imperial Physician Mo. There is also a clerk Wei Gu as a witness, and there are several stolen money as evidence. I think the case is clear and we can arrest the relevant people.

But... Minister Wu is a member of the New Party and the biological father of Concubine Wu. Should we first inform His Majesty..."

"Report it now!" Jia Cong snorted coldly, "If we report it now, wouldn't it alert the enemy and give them a chance to quibble? The emperor will also think that I am helping Princess Yuan to deny it. Send an order to the imperial guards to arrest the criminals immediately!"

"I obey your command!" Zhuang Qing bowed hurriedly.

"Interrogate him thoroughly tonight, write a report on the case and send it to my house." Jia Cong stood up and said.

"Don't worry, sir. I understand and will make sure that the villains will not be able to escape."

"I will report this case tomorrow and ask for it to be transferred to the East Factory for handling. After all, this matter involves Concubine Yuan, so I still have to avoid suspicion. Do you understand?" Jia Cong said indifferently.

Zhuang Qing was very smart and said quickly, "I understand. I will make sure that the evidence is irrefutable and the case is ironclad, leaving our colleagues in the East Factory helpless."

"Yes." Jia Cong nodded, walked out of the yamen and went straight back home.

Baoyu drank seven or eight cups of tea in Shenshi Hall until the sun was setting when he heard that Jia Cong had returned. He hurried out to greet him, took Jia Cong's hand and said, "Brother Cong, you are finally back. I have something to tell you."

Jia Cong was feeling annoyed. He glared at him and said, "Go away. If you have anything to say, wait until I rest for a while." After that, he ignored him and went straight to the inner room to change clothes.

"You..." Baoyu was very anxious, stamped his feet, and hurriedly chased in.

When he entered the inner hall, he was stopped by Qingwen and two little maids.

"What are you doing, Master Bao? I just came back and am taking a rest."

Baoyu said anxiously, "Qingwen, please let me in. I really have something urgent to tell Cong."

Qingwen glared at him, and seeing that he was not pretending, she said, "Wait, I'll go in and ask you if you want to listen." After a while, she came out and said, "Go ahead. You don't want to listen. The ladies are pleading for you to go in."

Baoyu hurried in and saw Jia Cong lying on the Xiangfei bamboo couch to rest, with several basins of ice next to him. Liu Wu'er was fanning him, and Jin Chuan'er was feeding him watermelon that had been cut into small pieces and the seeds removed.

Baochai, Daiyu, Fengjie, Xiangyun and others were sitting and talking nearby.

Seeing him come in, the girls all greeted him with a smile.

Baoyu greeted them with a dry smile. Most of the people in front of him were acquaintances, so it was quite awkward for him to meet them at this moment.

Jia Cong closed his eyes and said lazily: "To make a long story short, I guess you don't have anything serious to do."

Baoyu was furious and said, "I have nothing serious to do, but you seem to be serious. Do you really want me to say it in front of the sisters-in-law? I think it's better to say it in private."

Jia Cong sneered, "Speak. A real man has nothing to hide from others. I am so upright."

Baoyu was so angry that he almost vomited blood. You said that yourself, so he sneered, "Well, what a real man, I'll tell you. I just went to the Beijing Prince's mansion and he had a concubine named Jinse. Do you know her?"

"Jinse?" Jia Cong was slightly startled, then smiled and said, "I know her, she's pretty, hehe." After saying that, he glanced at Daiyu and the others, and quickly added, "Of course, she's still a little bit inferior to your sisters-in-law."

"It's good to know her." Baoyu snorted coldly, "She asked me to tell you that 'she is pregnant with your child, please take her out immediately'"

Huh?! All the girls exclaimed in unison, and then looked at Jia Cong with gloomy faces, what a bastard!
Puff! Cough cough! Jia Cong's watermelon spurted out of his mouth, and he pointed at Baoyu and said, "What? Say it again! What nonsense!"

Baoyu sneered and said, "That's all I have to say. This concerns a woman's life and death and reputation. You can handle it yourself. Goodbye." After saying that, he flicked his sleeves and left.

"You, come back! Explain it to me clearly." Jia Cong shouted.

Baoyu was so angry that he ignored him and left.

Jia Cong smiled dryly and turned back, saying, "Baoyu always talks incoherently, without a beginning or an end, and he doesn't make things clear, which leaves me completely confused."

The women either smiled bitterly, sneered, laughed shyly, or laughed at each other, but no one said a word.

Daiyu snorted and said calmly, "Isn't it Baoyu who should explain it clearly, but some people? We are also confused."

Baochai frowned slightly and said, "Cong'er, since you know that Miss Jinse is the concubine of Prince Beijing, how... Well, if the prince knew about this, wouldn't it be like making an enemy out of thin air?"

Sister Feng sneered, "He must have been blinded by lust. Once he got angry, he didn't care about you, the prince. He even brought his prey to the prince's mansion. His lust is really bigger than the sky.

Is that Jinse woman Chang'e descended to earth or a demon in disguise, and has she seduced your soul like this?"

Jia Cong had a "child" for no reason, and hurriedly cried out for injustice, saying: "Don't listen to slander and frame a loyal and honest person. Am I a person who dares to do it but not to admit it? Jinse and I only met once, and my innocence is clear and can be witnessed by the sun and the sky!"

Chu Chan sneered and said, "Don't bring up 'Tianri'. We still believe it."

The girls all spat at him in unison. Jia Cong swore so many times that it gradually became less effective.

Jia Cong smiled awkwardly and said, "You don't believe it, right? Well, if Jinse and I had sex, God would punish me by making me unable to get an erection for the rest of my life. Do you believe it?"

"Bah! Shame on you! What are you talking about?!" The girls all blushed and cursed.

However, they had no choice but to believe such a cruel oath.

Jia Cong smiled and said, "I have already said it, I am upright and honest, and God will know it."

"There is a god above us, be careful!" Daiyu said angrily, "I will answer the oath next time, let's see what you can do."

Jia Cong hugged her and said with a smile: "Pin'er, are you afraid that I will lose my masculinity?"

All the girls covered their mouths and giggled.

Daiyu's face was ashen, she was ashamed and annoyed, and she pushed him away and cursed, "You filthy bastard, if you have any nonsense, just tell your sister Bao, don't pollute my ears." Baochai was angry and amused, and spat, "Pin'er is scolding me too, and she didn't bring it to me, I really have no place to complain."

Daiyu smiled sweetly and said, "You didn't take good care of him, so of course you are to blame, but I'm not wrongly accusing you."

Baochai retorted, "I only take care of the business outside. You are the housekeeper's wife, and this is your responsibility inside. Some people are strict on the outside but loose on the inside, doting and indulging, and they don't know what others are thinking."

"You! You little precious girl, wait and see, I will forgive you." Daiyu was ashamed and angry, and hurried to catch Baochai.

Seeing this, Jia Cong rolled his eyes and hurriedly slipped to the door, wanting to find Baoyu to ask for clarification. Suddenly, he heard a chorus of voices behind him: "Want to escape? Come back!"

"I'm going to pee..." Jia Cong said weakly.

"Don't give me that crap, explain it clearly first. What's going on with Jinse?" Feng Jieer said.

Jia Cong smiled bitterly and shook his head, then came back and lay down again, saying, "You are so smart, why don't you think about it for me and solve my puzzles?"

Chu Chan pondered and said, "Cong'er, you really have nothing to do with her?"

Jia Cong said: "It is pure and white, clearer than the Qinfang River and whiter than your bodies."

"Go away and stop making jokes." Daiyu said angrily.

Chu Chan said: "Since Jinse sincerely asked Baoyu to convey this message, she must have something important to tell you."

Jia Cong frowned and said, "What could possibly happen to her? Could it be..."

"What?" the girls asked hurriedly.

"Could it be that she heard something unfavorable to me in the palace? She wanted to use this as a token of her loyalty and ask me to rescue her from the palace." Jia Cong said slowly.

Daiyu sneered, "Why would you leave the palace when you are doing well? I'm afraid you are using this as a stepping stone to advance your career and join your army?

You still say you have nothing to do with him, but he would rather betray the prince and vote for you. How can you repay this deep friendship?"

Jia Cong seemed oblivious to her sarcasm and said slowly, "Jinse is very smart. If it wasn't a very important matter, she wouldn't have done this. Someone come!"

"Master, please give me your orders." Cheng Lingsu flashed in from the door.

"Send an order, have the Royal Guards find a way to get Miss Jinse from Prince Beijing's Mansion out to me immediately."

"Yes."

Jia Cong's order was turned into secret words and quickly passed to Prince Beijing's Mansion through several secret spies.

Jinse was sitting in the room, staring at the afterglow outside the window in a daze, when she suddenly heard the door open and a housekeeper's wife came in. The maid hurriedly asked her to sit down and pour tea.

"Mom is here, please take a seat. Shanxing, bring me the good tea that the prince gave me the other day."

"Yes." The girl agreed and left.

The housekeeper's wife smiled and said, "I've come here today to give the young lady the monthly allowance." As she spoke, she took out an envelope of silver from her bosom, put it on the table and pushed it to Jinse.

Jinse's heart was moved, and she said, "Didn't you just receive this month's allotment?"

The housekeeper's wife smiled and said, "This is for next month. Others can certainly send it later, but we only have early ones here, so how dare we send it later. Miss, please give me a nod." As she spoke, she stretched out her hand and patted the cloth bag gently.

Jinse suppressed her joy and said hurriedly, "Of course, what my mother gave me is exactly the same, so there's no need to check."

The housekeeper's wife smiled and said, "Although the young lady trusts us and gives us face, we should be more careful about the money. I have something else to do and will come back to pay my respects to the young lady later."

"Goodbye, Mom." Jinse hurriedly put the cloth bag into her arms and politely saw her out.

Jinse returned to the inner room, sent the little maid away, and opened the package. In addition to the silver, there was also a small note that read:

Tonight at 11:00 pm, I will leave the house through the back door.

Jinse held the note tightly in her hand, her big eyes narrowed into crescents, and it took her a long while to calm down. Thinking about the strict guards in the palace, she became uneasy again. Thinking about the consequences of the truth being revealed, she became even more afraid.

After pondering for a long time, he gritted his teeth and made up his mind to tell Jia Cong the news no matter what, not only for him but also for himself.

Watching the sun slowly setting in the west, Jinse finally waited until it was almost noon before she mustered up the courage and went out with full of anticipation.

"Where are you going, young lady? I'll go with you." said the maid.

"No, it's too hot in the house. I'm going to go to the garden for a walk."

Jinse came out alone, crossed the back garden, went out from the back door of the garden, walked through an alley, and reached the back door of the palace.

It was already dark at this time. With the light coming through the window of the back door room, one could vaguely see that the back door was ajar but not locked.

Jinse was overjoyed. She took advantage of the fact that no one was around and trotted over. She just opened the door and rushed out, thinking that there would be someone outside to meet her.

Just as he stretched out his hand, before he touched the bolt, he saw the door was suddenly pushed open from the outside, and a young man in brocade clothes with a folding fan in his hand walked in, followed by two servants.

"Eh? Where are you going girl?"

"I... I'm not going anywhere. It's stuffy in the room, so I came out for a walk. Has Mr. Jiang just come back?" Jinse said with forced calmness.

Jiang Yuhan glanced at her with a half-smile, and said with a cupped hand: "I just came back from a drink with a few friends, and I happened to run into you."

After saying this, he walked around Jinse and whispered softly, "Girls should not go out alone at night. The streets are not peaceful."

Jinse hurriedly said, "Sir, you're right. I'm just taking a walk and will be back to my room soon." After saying that, she turned around and wanted to leave.

Jiang Yuhan folded his fan and stopped her with his hand. He smiled and said, "Miss, why are you so anxious? I have something to ask you."

Jinse forced a smile and asked, "What's the matter, sir?"

Jiang Yuhan looked back and said calmly, "There is a carriage parked on the side of the street across the street. It has not moved for a long time. It doesn't look like it is soliciting passengers, but rather waiting for someone.

There are suddenly many suspicious people on the street behind the door, and the girl happens to appear here. Are all these anomalies related?"

Jinse knew that the man in front of her was a shrewd and venomous snake. Since she had run into him, she would have no chance of survival. Her heart was filled with despair, but she calmed down and said calmly, "I don't understand what you are saying, sir."

Jiang Yuhan shook her head and smiled, "Then let me explain it more clearly. The young lady has been in the mansion for more than ten years. In these ten years, has she ever walked to the back door alone to relieve her boredom? And she just happened to forget to lock the back door.

There must be something wrong when things are out of the ordinary. Please follow me to see the prince. If you can give me a reasonable explanation, I am willing to kowtow and apologize. "

After saying this, his eyes turned cold and he stared at Jinse's fair and tender face. Two servants beside her walked up to her, staring at her hungrily.

With tears in her eyes, Jinse took one last look at the world outside the door, sighed softly, and went back sadly with her head down. (End of this chapter)