Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Jinling, Rongyufang, Zhen’s House.

People began to hang white banners inside and outside the mansion, and servants who came and went wore mourning belts around their waists. The whole house was filled with a sad atmosphere.

Zhen Fangqing was wearing a plain dress and a white flower hairpin. She was pretty and elegant, with an outstanding and charming demeanor.

She was busy running back and forth, directing the servants to set up the mourning hall and arranging for the reception of relatives and friends who came to pay their respects.

At this time, Liu Xian's wife from the second house came to say that Weiyuan Bo of the Jia family came to the mansion to mourn the third son.

Since the news of Zhen Shiwen's death, the Zhen family has been in chaos.

When Mrs. Zhen heard the bad news, she was so angry that she fell ill.

Zhen Shiwen is the eldest son of the eldest branch of the Zhen family. He holds a special and noble status among the aristocratic families and is the future heir of the Zhen family. However, no one expected that he would die young.

And the story doesn't end there. According to news from Yingtian Prefecture, Zhen Shiwen died in the bed of a concubine's wife. When he was killed, he was committing an affair with that woman...

It would have been bad enough that the eldest son of the eldest branch of the Zhen family died an untimely death, but the way he died was so appalling that it really brought shame to the Zhen family in Jinling.

When Old Lady Zhen heard that her eldest grandson had died, she was already extremely sad, and now she learned that he had died in such an ugly way.

The old lady, who had lived a dignified and respectable life, was so ashamed and angry that she was lucky not to die immediately.

Zhen Shiwen's father, Zhen Yingjia, was a third-rank official and the president of Jinling Tiren Academy. He always prided himself on being noble and honest.

After hearing about his son's ridiculous death, he might have felt more ashamed than sad and angry, but after yelling at his son for being a rebellious son, he hid himself away, too embarrassed to see anyone.

Upon hearing the news of her son's death, Mrs. Zhen fainted several times from crying and is now unconscious.

When Zhen Yingwen's wife heard that her husband had died in his mistress's bed, she almost wanted to live again. Now a group of maids and old women are watching over him all the time, fearing that someone else would die.

The only remaining peer of the Zhen family is Zhen Baoyu, who looks just like Jia Baoyu.

But he was a good-for-nothing who only knew how to hang out with maids, feel sad about the passing of time, and moan without reason, just like Jia Baoyu. Naturally, he could not do anything.

Therefore, Zhen Shiwen's funeral was taken care of by Zhen Fangqing, an unmarried girl, and the servants.

On the surface, this noble family seems wealthy and powerful, but at the slightest sign of trouble, the incompetent, weak and shriveled inner selves of their children are revealed, which is really sad.

Zhen Fangqing handled the funeral as a young lady, and the housekeeper arranged for people to receive old relatives and old friends in the officialdom who came to mourn.

However, when she heard that Jia Cong had come to pay his respects, she asked Liu Xian's wife to invite Jia Cong to a quiet side hall and she wanted to meet him in person.

Liu Xianjia was slightly stunned when she heard this. The third young lady, as a woman, took care of the third young master's funeral. In order to avoid suspicion, she did not see any outside guests who came to mourn.

But she ignored the suspicion and wanted to meet the young man Weiyuanbo in person. After all, she treated him differently.

……

Liu Xian brought Jia Cong to a quiet side hall in the outer courtyard of the Zhen Mansion, asked the maid to serve him fragrant tea, and then left.

After a while, Jia Cong saw Zhen Fangqing come in.

Jia Cong saw that she had changed into men's clothes and looked haggard, but still beautiful and graceful. Her snow-white and crystal face had a slight dimple, and she looked very charming and beautiful.

Zhen Fangqing said: "Thank you Yuzhang for coming to my house to mourn my brother."

Jia Cong replied, "Miss, you are too polite. The Jia and Zhen families are old friends. It is proper to come to your house to express condolences on your brother's death. Miss, please accept my condolences."

Zhen Fangqing asked, "I heard that a few days ago, Yu Zhang and the Jinyiwei went out of the city and wiped out a private firearms workshop on the outskirts of West City?"

Seeing that Zhen Fangqing had only exchanged a few pleasantries, Jia Cong suddenly changed the subject and asked about the key point, and he had already guessed what she was thinking.

"Yes, and the Royal Guards also seized some unused Ottoman fine iron from the workshop and confirmed that this batch of fine iron came from the Zhen family's Haiyun Pavilion warehouse."

Zhen Fangqing didn't expect Jia Cong's words to be so direct. She was slightly shocked and stared at him for a moment with her bright eyes. Seeing that his eyes were calm, gentle and peaceful, her face couldn't help but blush slightly.

She immediately understood that Jia Cong was not here just to mourn the deceased, and she couldn't help but feel a little tender in her heart.

But he said: "This batch of Ottoman fine iron was indeed stored in the Haiyun Pavilion warehouse, but it was robbed many days ago.

My brother has suddenly met with misfortune, and I feel that something is a little strange. What can Yuzhang teach me?"

Jia Cong hesitated for a moment, but his eyes looked towards the door of the side hall.

Zhen Fangqing understood immediately and said, "This side hall is quiet. I have asked Uncle Xian to dismiss the servants. Yuzhang, feel free to speak up. Don't hesitate."

Jia Cong said, "I heard from people in Yingtian Prefecture that although a woman's gold and silver jewelry were stolen from the place where your brother was killed, it sounds like a murder for money.

But your brother and that woman were both killed by a single blow, so clean and neat that they didn't even have time to call for help. Ordinary thieves would never have such means.

I think your brother must know something that makes people afraid, and he was probably silenced!"

Zhen Fangqing turned pale after hearing this. Although she was very smart, she was just a woman after all, so she would naturally feel scared after hearing this.

Moreover, she could probably guess the reason why Jia Cong wanted to kill people to silence them. The third brother of the eldest wife must have been involved in the private workshop that manufactured firearms, and he must know all the details.

Therefore, once a private firearms workshop was raided by the government and the fine iron in the workshop was seized, someone would kill him to silence him, fearing that he would leak the secret.

Although this is just speculation, the third brother of the eldest son of the family has repeatedly smuggled muskets and hidden Ottoman fine iron that can be used to make gun barrels, and there was also the strange fire in Haiyun Pavilion.

There is a vague connection between these things, which is definitely not groundless, and there are not so many coincidences in the world.

Jia Cong said: "Because of your brother, the Jinyiwei has been investigating the connection between the Zhen family and the private manufacture of firearms, but I believe that with the wisdom of the third lady, she will definitely not get involved in such a hidden disaster.

Now that your brother has passed away, the Royal Guards have lost any clues to his involvement.

Throughout history, there have always been children in wealthy and powerful families who behaved badly and brought hidden disasters to the family. Now is the time to make amends.

The Third Miss is in charge of the Zhen family's business, so it's a good opportunity to eliminate the old malpractices in the Zhen family's business, so as to avoid giving others a handle if something goes wrong."

In fact, Jia Cong was the Director of the Firearms Bureau, an official appointed by the imperial court, and the Zhen family was suspected of being involved in the private manufacture of firearms. His words just now had crossed the line.

……

He came today in the name of mourning just as a test, and he only said this because Zhen Fangqing came out to meet him in person.

Ge Zhicheng has ulterior motives and keeps pressing Jia Cong. Jia Cong realizes that the Zhen family is gradually falling into the vortex of the storm.

Perhaps in the near future, the Zhen family will face a catastrophe because of this...

The graceful Zhen Fangqing reminded him of Zou Min'er, who had once been in a miserable situation.

This was because once the Embroidered Uniform Guards found evidence to frame the Zhen family, the crime of privately manufacturing muskets would be tantamount to treason, and the family would inevitably be exterminated and their property confiscated.

By then, a woman like Zhen Fangqing, no matter how outstanding she is, will surely have a tragic fate like Zou Min'er did back then, and will not have a good ending.

He didn't want Zhen Fangqing to follow Zou Min'er's old path one day.

By chance, he helped Zou Miner escape from her miserable fate, but such a thing can only be encountered once and will never happen again.

Perhaps it was because of this woman of extraordinary talent that he had always felt a sense of sympathy for her.

Or perhaps it was the apparently vague idea of ​​arranged marriage mentioned in Yingchun's letter that made him feel an inexplicable pity.

In short, he reminded Zhen Fangqing of these words, which helped to calm the hidden impulse in his heart and make his thoughts clear.

Zhen Fangqing's beautiful eyes were as bright as water. He knew that given Jia Cong's identity and position, it was a great act of loyalty for him to say these words to him.

Ever since the family had been planning the arranged marriage, and Jia Cong's outstanding character, Zhen Fangqing had long been attracted to him.

But she and Jia Cong didn't interact much, and she had feelings for him but didn't know what he felt.

The two of them met today, and it turned out that he also cared about her. Thinking of this, Zhen Fangqing's heart trembled, her emotions turned into tenderness, and she was happy in her heart.

Looking at Jia Cong, he said, "Yu Zhang's good words are righteous, and the friendship between us is deep and lasting. Fang Qing will always remember them in her heart."

After Jia Cong finished saying what he wanted to say, he said goodbye and left Zhen Mansion. Zhen Fangqing looked at him leaving and felt uneasy.

……

Jinling, Fuyuan Inn.

The upper room on the second floor of the inn has been booked for six or seven days.

The innkeeper knew that the guest staying in the upper room was a nobleman from the capital, with a very wealthy family, and he always ordered the best food.

For the innkeeper, the more guests like this, the better. However, there are some peculiarities about the guests in the capital.

Since this man checked into the inn, he seldom left his room. Outsiders could not tell whether he came to Jinling for business or to visit relatives and friends.

Every day his followers would go in and out of the room several times, and then leave the inn to do something unknown.

This situation continued for a few days, and the innkeeper and the waiters all turned a blind eye to it.

It is common for some big merchants who travel from north to south to be wealthy and powerful to behave in an arrogant and eccentric manner.

The shopkeeper naturally didn't know that the guest staying in the room on the second floor was not a big merchant with quirks at all, but Liu Yong, the chief official of the Beijing Prince's Palace in Shenjing.

……

At this time, in the room on the second floor, a man dressed as an attendant entered the room and said to a man in the room:
"Chief Secretary, news has spread in the city today that Zhen Shiwen, the eldest son of the Zhen family in Jinling, was killed in his outer house on Xiuchun Street. The incident has caused a big uproar, and people from Yingtian Prefecture and the Jinyiwei have been dispatched.

The Zhen residence is in chaos."

When the man heard this, his expression changed slightly, and he paced back and forth in the room, seeming to be thinking and hesitating.

The attendant asked, "Changshi, you have not shown up since you arrived in Jinling. Now Zhen Shiwen has died. After all, he is the princess's brother. Should we go to the mansion to pay our respects?"

Liu Yong and Guo Lin left Shenjing on the same day, and they arrived in Jinling one after the other.

As soon as he arrived in Nanjing, he met Guo Lin announcing an imperial decree at Taiping Gate, and then there was constant turmoil in the city of Nanjing.

Liu Yong was able to become the chief secretary of Prince Beijing's Palace, so he was naturally very shrewd. Facing the turbulent situation in Jinling City, he changed his plan to meet Zhen Shiwen and just waited in the inn to see what would happen.
After listening to his subordinates' reminder, he said with a wandering look, "Absolutely not, the more this situation occurs, the more we cannot show up.

At this critical juncture, if people from Prince Beijing's Mansion choose to go to Nanjing, outsiders will definitely implicate and suspect the prince, which would be a dangerous situation.

You should immediately prepare your carriage and pack your luggage and leave Jinling today as if we had never been here.

Something has happened to the eldest grandson of the eldest branch of the Zhen family. The storm will not subside. Let's speed up and return to the capital as soon as possible! "The innkeeper was asking the kitchen to prepare exquisite dishes, which were ordered in advance by the wealthy guest in the room on the second floor.

Such a generous guest is a favorite of the shopkeeper, so he is served with great care.

When the shopkeeper was busy, he saw the customer's entourage coming over to pay the bill, which surprised him for a moment.

After a while, the innkeeper saw the guest in the upper room hurriedly get on the carriage. Surrounded by five or six mounted guards, he left the inn and disappeared into the city of Jinling as the sun was setting.

……

Shenjing, the palace of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Qianyang Palace.

In the early autumn of the capital, one can already feel a distinct chill, unlike Nanjing, thousands of miles away, where there is still some residual summer heat.

In the empty hall, the bronze crane in the animal tripod exhaled wisps of burning incense, which smelled like orchid and musk, making people feel more refreshed and focused.

After Emperor Jiazhao attended the morning court and returned to the Qianyang Palace, a eunuch presented him with a memorial from Guo Lin, the imperial envoy who was to announce the imperial decree.

Emperor Jiazhao was slightly cheered up. According to the round trip journey, Guo Lin had only been in Nanjing for a few days when he sent back the memorial.

This can only mean that the Jinling Water Supervision Bureau's major case has made tremendous progress, and even reached the point of complete success, otherwise Guo Lin would not have reported it so quickly.

Emperor Jiazhao unfolded the memorial, read it carefully, and a look of joy appeared on his face.

The voice of Emperor Jia Zhao echoed in the hall, full of praise: "Jia Cong lived up to my expectations. In less than two months, he investigated the Jinling case and arrested all the main culprits!"

Because Guo Lin went to Nanjing to convey the imperial eunuch, the eunuch serving in Qianyang Palace now is just a sixth-rank eunuch under Guo Lin, named Yuan Jing.

It was his first time serving in Qianyang Palace, so he felt a little nervous.

In the past, after the morning court session, Emperor Jiazhao would concentrate on reviewing memorials until late at night.

Except when ministers came to the palace to make comments, the emperor rarely spoke.
Not to mention such joyful mumbling, it was also the first time that Yuan Jing heard it. Out of curiosity in his heart, he immediately noticed Jia Cong's name.

He had heard from palace servants that Jia Cong was a descendant of the Jia family of Rong State and the youngest earl in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

When Emperor Jiazhao saw the last part of the memorial, his brows furrowed and his face showed anger.

Yuan Jing, who was serving on the side, was secretly frightened when he saw that the emperor's face turned gloomy in an instant after he had just looked happy.

Suddenly he heard the emperor speaking to him: "Send me a letter from the Imperial Household Department to write it!"

Yuan Jing responded respectfully and hurried out to tell someone to come. After a while, the eunuch in charge of recording imperial edicts from the Imperial Household Department entered the hall.

Emperor Jia Zhao said: "Convey my order: the Jinling Water Conservancy Bureau has thoroughly investigated all matters in the major case, and all the principal and accomplices have been arrested. I highly commend you and order Guo Lin and Jia Cong to return to the capital to report back.

The emperor ordered the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice to send personnel to Nanjing in the south to deal with the main and accomplice criminals in major cases, to clarify the legal code and to rectify the country's policies.

Ge Zhicheng, a captain of Jinling Jinyiwei, was negligent in his duties, which led to the main culprit of a major case in Jinling being assassinated by bandits in the downtown area. The Jinling Jinyiwei Commander-in-Chief issued an order to reprimand him.

He is given ten days to arrest the murderer and bring him to justice. If he fails to do so within the time limit, he will be dismissed from his post and investigated... "

When the eunuch finished writing the imperial edict, Emperor Jiazhao, probably because he spoke in a hurry, could not help coughing a few times, and his breath seemed shaky and short.

He said to Yuan Jing beside him: "I have been in a bad mood recently, and I often have shortness of breath and cough. Please call Li Chengming from the Imperial Hospital to come into the palace to check my pulse."

Yuan Jing said: "Your Majesty, I just went to the Imperial Household Department to ask for a message and happened to see Li Chengming, the director of the Imperial Hospital, heading towards the Qinghe Palace. He must be here to diagnose old Concubine Zhen.

I will go and invite him right away."

Emperor Jia Zhao frowned and asked, "Has the old Concubine Zhen been in poor health recently?"

Yuan Jing replied: "Your Majesty, it is said that the old Concubine Zhen caught a cold a few days ago and has been ill for a long time. The Imperial Hospital has treated her several times, but the disease has not been cured.

During this period, the former emperor would visit the old concubine at Qinghe Palace every day."

After hearing the reason, Emperor Jia Zhao's eyes narrowed slightly and he said, "So that's how it is. The old concubine is over eighty years old and it's not easy to take care of her. There's no need to call Li Chengming. Let him concentrate on treating the old concubine.

Go to the Imperial Hospital and find me another imperial physician..."

……

Rongguo Mansion, Rongqing Hall.

Early in the morning, Grandmother Jia called Baoyu over to have breakfast with her.

After a while, Mrs. Wang brought Aunt Xue and Baochai to Rongqing Hall to sit and relax.

Baoyu and Jia Cong are the same age, and will be fifteen after the Chinese New Year. According to the rules of the Jia family, when a young master turns fifteen, he will be arranged to have two people in the house, and finding relatives will also be put on the agenda.

So recently when Mrs. Wang and Aunt Xue came to Rongqing Hall to pay their respects, they would definitely bring Xue Baochai with them.

Although Aunt Xue was attracted by Jia Cong's power and future, she knew that her daughter was unlikely to be a match for him, so she pretended to be ignorant of her sister's behavior and always left a way out for her daughter.

Although Baochai is smart, she is still young and not as worldly-wise as Lady Wang and Aunt Xue. Greeting elders is a courtesy, so she will naturally come.

After they had talked for a while, Yingchun came in from the East Palace, bringing Daiyu, Tanchun, Xichun and other sisters to greet Lady Jia.

The atmosphere in Rongqing Hall suddenly became lively.

When Grandmother Jia saw Yingchun bringing her sisters over, she felt that her second granddaughter was well-behaved and sensible.

……

Yingchun wore a light blue top with broken branches embroidered on it, a white cross-collared midi underneath, and a white pleated skirt.

Yingchun is the oldest among the sisters. She has grown into a graceful and elegant girl, looking more and more youthful and charming.

Now, Grandmother Jia likes Yingchun more and more.

My second granddaughter has been shy and introverted since she was a child. She is taciturn and doesn't even cry out in pain when pricked by a needle. No wonder the servants in the mansion call her "Wooden Head" behind her back.

But in the past few years, maybe because I've grown up and become more intelligent, I've become a little different.

Especially after Yingchun moved to the East Palace and became her brother's home, she seemed like a different person.

Although he still doesn't talk much in daily life, his manners and speech are becoming more and more elegant, calm and graceful, which is very different from the shy and reserved child, and Lady Jia likes him.

Last time, the eldest granddaughter in the palace sent her trusted maid to the mansion to deliver a birthday gift. Yingchun's words and responses were so decent and appropriate that they really impressed Grandmother Jia.

Everyday the ladies in the West Palace would talk about things in the East Palace, saying that the servants there were diligent and strict with the rules, and were a bit better than those in the West Palace.

Although I heard that the servants in the East Palace were carefully selected from the south, the palace was well organized inside and out, and it was also thanks to the hard work of my second granddaughter.

When Grandmother Jia thought about this, she felt even more that her grandson was a man of good fortune.

The second girl, who used to be inconspicuous in the West Palace, was taken to the East Palace by him to be raised, and she suddenly became smart and capable.

He took good care of his mansion and let the kid do whatever he wanted outside without him having to worry about anything.

In the past, the granddaughters that Grandmother Jia valued the most, apart from Yuanchun, who had been in the palace for eight years, were the third girl, Tanchun. However, she did not expect that the second girl, who had always been quiet, was actually a real treasure.

……

When the sisters had sat down, Grandmother Jia asked Yingchun, "Has your brother in Jinling sent any letters? Is everything okay over there?"

Don’t offend your relatives in Jinling like you did in the past two years and bring me a bunch of gossip.”

Yingchun smiled and said, "You worry too much, old lady. After Brother Cong went to Nanjing, he sent letters back to the two mansions. Everything is fine in Nanjing.

Moreover, this time, Brother Cong was ordered to go to Jinling to handle the daily affairs of the Ministry of Works, which had nothing to do with those old relatives in Jinling, so how could it give rise to gossip for the old lady? "

Madam Wang on the side turned the rosary in her hand and said with a smile: “Cong-ge’er is a capable man, he can do extraordinary things wherever he goes.

Two years ago, when he went to Jinling, he also copied scriptures for the late Empress Dowager at the beginning. It sounded like a more comfortable job than this time.

Later on, things changed, like solving cases and catching thieves, making quite a big fuss."

After hearing what Mrs. Wang said, Lady Jia also felt that it made sense.

After hearing what Mrs. Wang said, Yingchun felt strange, but she didn't know how to respond.

However, Daiyu could hear a sarcastic tone in her second aunt's words. On the surface, she said that her third brother was capable, but secretly she was saying that he would cause trouble.

Although Daiyu was unhappy, she was Jia Cong's cousin after all, so she didn't say much to avoid giving Jia Cong gossip.

Suddenly, a pleasant and crisp voice sounded in the hall: "The last time Third Brother went to Jinling, he had a great success. When he came back, the Emperor gave him an official title, and Third Brother's aunt was posthumously conferred an imperial title."

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was Tanchun who was speaking. She was holding a teacup and drinking tea. It seemed that she was just chatting casually. However, her face was slightly flushed, making her look charming and attractive.

Tanchun felt a little dissatisfied after hearing what Grandmother Jia said. She thought about how her third brother had brought so much honor and glory to the Jia family when he went to Jinling a few years ago.

However, the old lady only remembered the complaints from a few Shi family relatives. Even after several years, she still feels resentful about it.

Although the old lady's attitude towards the third brother has become much softer over the past year, she still doesn't like him deep down in her heart. No matter how outstanding the third brother is, she always sees his bad side.

……

Daiyu felt a little worried after hearing this. Her sister Tanchun was usually very smart, but she was so protective of her third brother that she forgot this reason.

But he didn't know that it didn't matter if he praised his third brother's abilities in front of the old lady.

The only thing that cannot be mentioned is that my third brother’s aunt was posthumously awarded an imperial decree, as that is a concern for my grandmother.

After so many years in the Jia Mansion, Daiyu had long heard the stories about Jia Cong's biological mother and knew that this was the biggest knot in her grandmother's heart. Even when her grandfather suddenly died, she blamed it on this matter.

The reason why my grandmother was so cold to my third brother since he was a child was because she hated his biological mother.

Sure enough, after hearing Tanchun's last words, Jia's mother's face looked a little unhappy, but it was just a casual remark of her third granddaughter, so she didn't want to show it too much on her face.

He said: "Brother Cong has already obtained a title and a family business. In my opinion, he doesn't need to run around all year round like this.

It would be better to keep quiet, like my Baoyu, and live a peaceful life at home without taking those risks outside, so that everyone can have less worries.

It is a peaceful time now, unlike the time of the old master, when we had to conquer countries and expand our borders. If he makes great achievements again, can he still earn the title of Marquis or Duke?"

As Jia's mother was talking, the maid outside came to report that the second master had just returned home from the government office and had just entered the inner courtyard. She said she had some happy news to tell the old lady. (End of this chapter)