Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

Chapter 775 Assassination of Jia Cong
"Hey, Si Niang loves reading so much? She even carries a book with her." Jia Cong said with a smile.

While fixing her hair, Yang Siniang said, "I forgot to tell you that I met a poor scholar from Shandong in the inn the other day. He said he had written a wonderful storybook, but he couldn't afford to print it because of his poverty.

Because you helped the victims of the disaster when you put down the rebellion in Shandong, and you were known for your generosity and generosity, and you were also a well-known talent, he wanted to try his luck at your house. I felt sorry for him, so I agreed to pass it on for him.

Jia Cong sneered: "How can such a thing be compared with our "Swordsman" and "The Return of the Condor Heroes"?
Let's eat first. I'll take a look later. If it's one of those clichés that the old lady denounces, where there are thousands of books that all come out in one story, and a young lady from a wealthy family must fall in love with a poor scholar, and there must be a maid to act as a matchmaker, then I won't mention it."

Yang Si Niang smiled when she heard this, put the book away and said, "Okay, I'll ask all the ladies to judge for it later."

At that moment, after the two girls got dressed, they helped Jia Cong change his clothes. When they arrived at the flower hall, they saw that several tables had already been set up with bowls, chopsticks, cups and plates, and everyone was looking at them with smiles.

"Si Niang, Qiu Wei, come and sit over here." Baochai and Daiyu walked over with a smile and brought the two girls, who were still full of youth and shy, to the main table.

Ruyi rolled her eyes at Jia Cong and said, "You've been busy all day. Are you hungry?"

All the women laughed quietly.

Jia Cong looked up to the sky and laughed, saying, "Just now, Si Niang, Qiu Wei and I were in the study room talking about the suppression of the rebellion in Shandong. When we mentioned Shandong, Si Niang happened to pick up a book of stories written by a Shandong scholar on the street the other day and brought it to me for appreciation. I forgot the time. We are all hungry, so serve some food."

"Yes." Qingwen hurriedly went out with a smile, and soon dozens of maids came up with trays in their hands.

Most of the women were educated people, and when they heard about the new storybook, they were curious and asked about it.

Baochai smiled and said, "What kind of rare storybook is this that makes even a great novelist like you, Cong'er, so fascinated by it?"

Xiangyun asked hurriedly, "Is it comparable to the martial arts stories we wrote before?"

Daiyu chuckled and said, "You are crazy, little girl Yun. You are so proud of your childhood games. If you don't know me, you would think you are a great scholar who has written books and articles."

Jia Cong had no idea what kind of storybook it was, so he coughed dryly and said vaguely, "Although it is not as good as your writing skills, it does have some good points."

"Why don't you take it and have a look?" Daiyu asked hurriedly, as she loved reading novels.

"I was just about to ask Madam to appreciate it." Yang Siniang hurriedly presented the book.

Daiyu took it, opened the title page and glanced at it. Her eyes, as clear as an ice spring, showed a hint of strangeness. She read the book very quickly and turned over a dozen pages in a moment. Her starry eyes were shining brightly and her face was full of admiration.

Xiangyun, who was standing behind her and watching, couldn't help but admire: "What a good article! Congge is really ignorant. He said that his writing skills are not as good as ours. I think he is far better than us."

Baochai laughed and said, "Could it be that another talented scholar did this?"

Daiyu closed the book and nodded, saying, "This is a truly wonderful article. Brother Cong has taken it lightly and almost buried such a good book."

Jia Cong laughed dryly and said, "My eyes are not good, so I ask you ladies to judge for me."

Baochai stood up and walked to Daiyu, saying with a smile: "Let me see what kind of article it is."

After reading a few pages, he smiled and nodded in praise, "It is indeed a good article. Although it is a short story, it is concise and compelling, and it is very incisive. It inherits the strange stories of the Jin Dynasty and the legends of the Tang Dynasty, and the writing style and meaning are incomparable to the sequels of later generations. Very good."

After hearing her say "good" three times in a row, Jia Cong hurriedly asked, "Is it really that good? Bring it here so I can take a look."

Daiyu said: "This book describes the love of the world deeply, and criticizes the current ills with a sharp and cold tone. The author must have felt that his talent was not appreciated and was unhappy, so he wrote this book of loneliness and indignation."

"That should be the case." Baochai and Xiangyun both nodded in agreement.

"Is it that mysterious?" Jia Cong didn't believe it and took the book. He saw three words "Ghost and Fox Stories" written on the cover and thought it was some kind of ghost story. There were many such books in previous dynasties and it was not new.

As soon as I finished reading the first short story "Testing the City God", I understood why Sister Bao and Pin'er praised it so highly, it turned out to be because of this book.

Jia Cong shook his head and laughed. The author of this book was indeed from Shandong. He should have thought of it earlier. If there were any wonderful vernacular books in Shandong in this era, there would be no one better than this one.

He pretended to flip through a few pages and said with a smile, "It is indeed a good book. If it were not for the discerning eyes of you ladies, I would have almost missed it. Fourth Lady, what does that person look like? What is his name?"

Yang Si Niang said, "He is just an ordinary poor scholar, tall and thin, about fifty years old. I heard that he tells ghost stories in the teahouse every day and earns a lot of money as travel expenses. His name is Pu... Pu... something else."

"Pu Songling." Jia Cong interrupted.

"Yes, that's the name. Hey, how did you know it?" Yang Si Niang asked curiously.

Jia Cong opened his mouth to explain, then smiled and said, "I heard Kong Xinghe say before that there was a great talent in Shandong named Pu Songling. Last time I went to Shandong to quell the rebellion, I was in a hurry and didn't meet him."

Yang Si Niang laughed and said, "Weren't you in a hurry to go to the capital to marry the princess, Miss Bao, and Miss Lin? How could you care about any talented scholar?"

The three girls all laughed, and Jia Cong said with a smile, "That's true." After thinking for a while, he ordered the maid to bring pen and ink and write the inscription on the back of the title page.

"This book is excellent. I'll give it the name 'Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio'. I'd like to ask Brother Xinghe to help with the publication."

Baochai looked at it and laughed, "Why did you choose this name?"

Jia Cong laughed and said, "You don't know that Mr. Pu was very smart. When he was young, he ranked first in the county, prefecture and province examinations, but he never passed the imperial examination. I don't think he will ever pass the examination in his lifetime. His study is named Liao Zhai."

Ruyi asked curiously, "If you are such a talented person, why did you fail the exams so many times?"

Jia Cong smiled and said, "I have heard Feng Yuan say this. Writing contemporary essays and writing storybooks are two different things. Storybooks can be free to express one's own ideas, but eight-part contemporary essays must be refined and every move must be made up, without any falsehood.

I guess Mr. Pu spent more energy on his novels and less energy on the eight-part essays, so naturally he didn’t score as well as others.”

"Ah? Is a man of such talent as Mr. Pu going to live a miserable life?" Xiangyun pouted her cherry lips slightly, looking very indignant.

Seeing that all the girls were showing pity and sympathy, Jia Cong spread his hands and said, "Why are you looking at me? He himself cannot pass the imperial examination, so what can I do?"

"Brother Cong, if you could help him, it would also strengthen the cultural heritage of our country." Daiyu said.

All the women echoed the voice, wanting to stand up for the injustice.

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Forget it. Since the ladies have given the order, how dare I disobey it?"

Because he also wrote on the book: Pu Songling, a scholar from Shandong, has made great contributions by presenting books. I love him for his talent and grant him the same status as a Jinshi and reward him with a thousand gold coins. The country has no shortage of Jinshi and Juren, but only a Mr. Liaozhai.

In ancient times, there was a noble man who had a plum blossom wife and a crane son. You are friends with ghosts and foxes, which is not inferior to me. When I was young, I once had a dream where a god taught me martial arts. Since then, my spiritual knowledge has been greatly opened. Do you think it can be included in the book? I hope you will accept it.

Xiangyun clapped her hands and laughed, "Great! This way there will be fewer parasites in the country and more famous people. Brother Cong, ask him to write me into the book as well."

Baochai laughed and said, "You, a lady from a noble family, are not afraid of being laughed at by others. How can you expect Mr. Pu to write?"

Jia Cong smiled and said, "That's fine. Anyone who wants to be the protagonist of Mr. Pu's novel can sign up and write down their requirements, and Si Niang will give them to him."

All the girls cheered and clamored to sign up.

Ruyi said hurriedly, "I want to be a sword fairy chivalrous woman who slays demons and monsters. Let him write a good story about it. If it's well written, there will be a big reward."

"Yes." Yang Si Niang quickly agreed.

All the girls laughed, and each of them thought about what kind of character they wanted to be. Qingwen had already taken Jia Cong's seal of Prince Jing, and the bright red seal fell, and the life trajectory of a generation of novelists quietly changed.
-
As the night deepened, a faint suppressed moan could be heard from the bed curtains of Princess Beijing, followed by heavy breathing. It took a long time for the room to calm down again. The two maids who were on duty outside had already been knocked out by a pot of tea with added ingredients, and they knew nothing about it.

"Why don't you get up? How annoying." Wang Fei and Jiang Yuechen spat.

I only heard Huasheng laugh and say, "Princess, how heartless you are. Are you going to destroy the bridge after crossing it?"

"Bah, you bastard, you're so ungrateful after getting the advantage, and you always make me so tired." Jiang Yuechen said angrily.

Huasheng smiled and said, "If the Majesty is not happy, I will not come here again."

"You dare!" Jiang Yuechen pinched him, "If you don't come, I won't forgive you."

Huasheng chuckled and said, "Forget it. If the queen has any orders, I will serve you willingly."

"Disgusting." Jiang Yuechen blushed and said angrily.

Huasheng took advantage of the moment of passion to greedily explore her delicate body, and asked casually, "It seems that some of the guards in the palace have been withdrawn these days. Does your majesty know about this?"

Jiang Yuechen was being caressed by him until his muscles and bones felt numb as if he was electrocuted. He didn't care at all and said casually, "I didn't notice it."

Huasheng thought so too. Why would she care about the movement of a few personal soldiers? He smiled and said, "I guess the prince might want to deal with someone. Does the princess know?"

Jiang Yuechen murmured, "I don't know. He never told me."

Huasheng secretly thought that Prince Beijing was very strict, but he still didn't give up, and asked, "Did the prince and the queen tell Prince Jing?"

Jiang Yuechen was repeatedly interrupted by him after the afterglow of bliss, frowned, glared at him, and said: "Why do you always mention him? Didn't I tell you long ago that he rarely comes to my room, why mention Jia Cong?"

Huasheng said: "I just want to serve the prince. I have been in the palace for many years, but I have not made any contribution. I always feel uneasy."

Jiang Yuechen chuckled, put his arm around his neck, and said in a tender voice, "Aren't you serving the prince now?"

Huasheng laughed, no matter how chaste and brave the princess is, she still has to submit to me, there is no difference between her and an ordinary woman.

Yin said: "This is a service for the queen, but it has nothing to do with the prince."

Jiang Yuechen rolled his eyes at him and said, "Since you are so eager to make a contribution, I will ask for you tomorrow."

"No." Huasheng said hurriedly. With Jiang Yuechen's intelligence, I'm afraid that King Beijing will see through him as soon as he opens his mouth.

"Why?" Jiang Yuechen looked puzzled.

Huasheng said, "If you rashly ask the prince, he might become suspicious and think that I am recommending myself with bad intentions. Wouldn't that backfire?"

"What should I do?"

Huasheng hesitated for a moment and said, "Please ask the prince tomorrow to tell him that there are many new faces among the guards when he leaves the palace recently. Where did those old men go?"

"Then what?" Jiang Yuechen nodded.

"No matter what the prince says, your majesty has only one thing to say. I heard that there is a guest official from Japan in the palace. He is more agile than anyone else in the palace. If the prince has anything to do, he can be sent to do it.

This way, even if I am recommended, I won't attract attention." Huasheng said.

Jiang Yuechen glanced at him unhappily and said, "You're full of evil ideas."

Huasheng lifted her chin and said with a smile: "If I didn't have any evil ideas, how could I have kissed the beauty of the queen? I would be willing to die if I could have the favor of the queen."

Jiang Yuechen blushed and spat at him. Thinking of how he had pushed her too far again and again and how she finally broke down and had sex with him, she felt ashamed and annoyed, and felt embarrassed.

The next day, Prince Beijing summoned Huasheng as expected.

"How have you been these days, sir? I have been busy with official duties recently and have not consulted you. Please don't be offended." Prince Beijing was still courteous and gentle.

Huasheng bowed and said, "I have been blessed by the prince's kindness. I have been eating and drinking for free in his house for many years. He has also given me rewards from time to time, but I have never given anything in return. I am really ashamed."

"Sir, you are too polite. The information you have found out for me is more than enough to compensate for this small gift. Instead, I am getting a huge advantage." Prince Beijing said with a smile.

"It's just a trivial matter, not worth mentioning." Huasheng smiled proudly, "When I was in Japan, I made a living by being hired killers. I killed countless generals and daimyos with my sword. What's the big deal about gathering some information?"

Prince Beijing's eyes lit up, and he clasped his hands and said, "My lord, I am guilty of using a butcher knife to kill a chicken! Please forgive me, sir."

Huasheng waved his hand and smiled, "Your Highness, this is not your fault. It's because I didn't report it earlier. I have been wandering for a long time and miss my homeland. I am bidding farewell to Your Highness."

Prince Beijing was surprised and asked, "Sir, you want to leave? But what am I missing? Please forgive me, sir."

Huasheng bowed and said, "Your Majesty has been very kind to me. I cannot repay you even if I die a thousand times. I wish to emulate Guan Yu and make great contributions before I leave."

Prince Beijing hesitated for a moment and said, "I do have something I would like to ask you for help with."

"Your Majesty, please speak freely."

"But everything is not settled yet. How about you wait a few days?"

Huasheng smiled and said, "Your Highness is too careful. I can easily kill generals in Japan. Even if Your Highness wants to kill a prince or minister, I can sneak into his mansion tonight and take his head and present it to him. Why wait?"

Prince Beijing smiled and waved his hand: "This person is not a trivial person. The mansion is heavily guarded. It would be bad if we alert the enemy. It is better to make proper plans."

"Well, since the prince has given the order, I will obey it." Huasheng bowed, with some vague guesses in his mind.

One night more than ten days later, Prince Beijing summoned the commander of his personal guards in his inner study.

"Xiao Wu, are all the people ready?" asked King Beijing.

Cha Wu bowed and said, "In reply to your Highness, our family and the two prefectures of Xining and Dongping have prepared a total of 500 elite soldiers, who have been divided into groups and have infiltrated the houses and shops on both sides of Chang'an Street."

These days, the Three Princes' Palace has already sent people to secretly buy or rent, and has taken control of many shops and houses, and quietly lurked its troops there.

Prince Beijing nodded and said, "Why I didn't tell you a few days ago is because this matter is very serious. Once it is leaked, we will all be dead without a burial place. Although you are all reliable people in the mansion for several lifetimes, it is always better to be careful."

"We are willing to die for the prince." Cha Wu said in a deep voice.

"I naturally trust your loyalty, otherwise I would not have picked you out to do the job." King Beijing smiled and said, "Now I can tell you, I and the two kings of the East and the West are going to kill someone!"

"Please give me your instructions, Your Majesty."

"This person is... Jia Cong!" Shui Rong spat out two words coldly.

Cha Wu's expression was as majestic as an eternal rock, without the slightest fluctuation. He only said, "If the bid is not successful, then I will die."

(End of this chapter)