Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Rongguo Mansion, Rongqing Hall.

It is early summer now. The rosewood Arhat bed in the center of Rongqing Hall and the sixteen carved nanmu chairs on both sides have replaced the red satin with gold-woven flowers with soft jade gauze and silk cushions.

The green gauze cabinet partition screens on both sides were changed from heavy rosewood inlaid with shells and landscape screens to cool and delicate cloud-patterned glass screens.

All the curtains and draperies in the hall have been changed from the luxurious and heavy tones of autumn and winter to the simple and soft tones suitable for spring and summer. When the breeze blows, it is magnificent and refreshing.

Ever since Jia Cong inherited the title, became the housekeeper of the first house, and the second house moved into the East Courtyard, the expenditure on Jia's mother's Rongqing Hall has not only not been discounted, but has become more refined and delicate than before.

All year round, the utensils in Rongqingtang are constantly replaced and renewed, making people feel very comfortable when they are there.

The reason for this situation is also the important means used by Wang Xifeng as the housekeeper.

Although the eldest branch has inherited the title and is now in charge of the family, the second branch has moved to a place next to the east courtyard.

But Grandmother Jia has the highest seniority and the highest imperial title in the Jia family. No matter which branch is the head, Grandmother Jia is the face of the Rongguo Mansion.

After Jia Cong inherited the title, Wang Xifeng took over as the housekeeper again. According to Jia Cong's instructions, she gradually cut down on the excessive extravagance of Rongguo Mansion.

Only the expenses of Jia Mu's Rongqing Hall were still in accordance with previous practices. Wang Xifeng even spent a lot of time on it. While the expenses remained the same, the daily necessities were more exquisite.

Because Wang Xifeng knew very well that Lady Jia would feel quite disappointed when the eldest wife inherited the title and took charge of the family. She thought that only by coaxing the old lady could the eldest wife have less trouble in running the family.

Even though my aunt was jumping around, no one could find any gossip about her.

Moreover, every New Year, when noble and elderly relatives came to visit, they would inevitably go in and out of Rongqing Hall to pay a visit to Lady Jia. Rongqing Hall was equivalent to the facade of the Rongguo Mansion, and every penny spent was wisely spent.

Even without Wang Xifeng's explicit explanation, Jia Cong knew clearly in his heart that Lady Jia was the mascot of the Rongguo Mansion. He should just treat her well and ignore her, and everything would be fine.

Besides, the sisters in the family go in and out of Rongqing Hall every day to chat and spend a lot of time there throughout the year. Wang Xifeng has made Rongqing Hall look bright and beautiful, and Jia Cong is also happy to see it.

It was Rongxi Hall, Jia Cong's main hall, because he only lived in the East Palace, unlike Jia Zheng and Mrs. Wang who lived there before and had to support a large group of maids and old women.

Nowadays, Rong Xi Tang is usually empty except for Xiaohong and a few maids taking care of it, which saves a lot of money. Comparing the two, outsiders can't find any fault with it.

Perhaps it is for this reason that, since Jia Cong inherited the title half a year ago, Grandmother Jia has been feeling lost and uneasy at first, and has been quite upset for her son Jia Zheng and grandson Baoyu.

Jia Cong and Wang Xifeng treated her as usual, Wang Xifeng was just as filial and warm, Jia Cong was still polite but a little distant, and Grandmother Jia gradually got used to it.

Grandmother Jia was born into a noble and wealthy family and married into a prominent family. She had seen many things about family background and power.

Now she can see clearly that among the children of the Jia family, the one with the greatest future is naturally Jia Cong.

Among the granddaughters of the Jia family, the one who will be able to marry into a wealthy and powerful family like her in the future must be the second granddaughter Yingchun. It's her fault that she has to have a brother like Cong'er.

Although Yingchun is reluctant to leave her brothers, refuses marriage proposals, and is not very willing to get married, Grandmother Jia thinks this is not a big deal. In a few years, her granddaughter will probably change her mind.

When Grandmother Jia thought about this, she felt that it was a wise move for her to agree to let Yingchun enter the East Palace. Otherwise, how could she have turned stone into gold today?

She said to Yingchun in a amiable manner, "Second girl, I have heard some rumors these days that there will be a major cheating case in the imperial examination this time.

Many successful candidates for the imperial examination were thrown into jail, and even a number of court officials were implicated. The matter seemed to be a very serious matter.

The imperial edict for the successful candidates has been delayed for a long time, and the court hasn't posted it yet. People are saying all kinds of evil things, but it won't affect Cong's fame, right?"

Yingchun smiled and said, "Although this examination fraud case was serious and involved many candidates and officials, it did not affect Brother Cong at all.

Think about it, old lady. The emperor has given Brother Cong such a respectable reward, which shows that the fraud case has nothing to do with him. You can rest assured, old lady. "

Daiyu also laughed and said, "I also heard from my third brother that the cheating case has been going on for quite some time, but now things are almost settled, and the results will be announced again before the end of the month.

Grandmother is waiting to hear the good news. It won’t be long before my third brother passes the imperial examination and becomes a successful Jinshi. What a glorious thing that will be.”

……

After hearing the message from Qiu Wen, Baoyu temporarily put aside the embarrassment and annoyance caused by Musk Moon's words, and picked up the set of Romance of the West Chamber to present the treasure to Daiyu.

He knew that Daiyu was of an elegant and smart disposition, pure and innocent, and not bound by worldly views. She would definitely like a rare book like The West Chamber.

Although he had caused such a great embarrassment last time, and his father Jia Zheng had severely reprimanded him, and Mrs. Wang was planning to arrange a marriage with the Xia family, Baoyu probably knew that there was no possibility for him and Daiyu.

But he had coveted her for many years, so how could he let her go? He found some excuses and was thinking about getting close to her...

He came all the way excitedly with a book in his arms. When he passed the Chuanshan Corridor, the parrots and bulbuls hanging under the corridor chirped, which was not noisy at all to his ears, but rather pleasant to the ears.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of him. Baoyu was walking too fast and couldn't stop. He was hit on the shoulder by the figure and the book in his hand fell to the ground.

He was so angry that he wanted to kick the person, but when he saw that the person came with a slim figure, curved eyebrows, and a refined and elegant appearance, his expression changed immediately.

He smiled and said, "So it's Sister Zijuan. Where are you from? Why aren't you following Sister Lin?"

When Zijuan saw that it was Baoyu, she was startled and subconsciously took a step back. She thought of the last time Baoyu threw a tantrum, which was still fresh in her memory. She was still a little scared when she thought about it now.

Zijuan looked at the books scattered on the ground, which were indeed several copies of Romance of the West Chamber. She was illiterate at first, but after following Daiyu for many years, she naturally learned some writing and could recognize a few words.

She knew that this corridor led to Rongqing Hall, where the girl was now...

He asked, "Second Master, you are in such a hurry, where are you going?"

Baoyu knew that Zijuan was Daiyu's confidante and was also pretty, so he was very polite to her and would never blame her for bumping into him.

As he picked up the book on the ground, he smiled and said, "I got a good book, and I thought Sister Lin would like it, so I'm going to give it to her."

Zijuan couldn't help but feel a headache after hearing what Baoyu said. Didn't Master Bao see that the girl had been avoiding him, so why should he provoke her again?

The girl is very talkative. If her words cause Baoyu to have an attack, it will be embarrassing in front of the old lady...

Zijuan glanced at the West Chamber in Baoyu's hand, her bright eyes turned slightly, and she said, "Mr. Bao's book, young lady also has it, Mr. Bao, you should keep it for yourself."

Baoyu was slightly startled when he heard this. He felt a little unhappy and said, "This book is quite rare and not easy to get. How could Sister Lin have it?"

Baoyu was not talking nonsense when he said this. Although The West Chamber is a wonderful book, in today's world, it is not considered an orthodox classic and is classified as a colloquial book.

It has always been despised by serious scholars and literati, and on the surface only drama craftsmen would talk about The West Chamber with relish.

However, the language of The West Chamber is elegant and melodious, and the story is charming and moving, which has its own appeal. It is not surprising that those scholars despise it on the surface but enjoy it secretly.

Many women from wealthy families were literate and were fascinated by love stories such as The West Chamber. It was common for them to seek out such stories to read as the house was boring.

Therefore, in decent bookstores, although The West Wing was not clearly displayed for sale, every store still had stock of it.

Moreover, all customers who would buy The West Chamber, whether they were opera masters or wealthy daughters, were people with plenty of money, which led to the high price of such books, which were often hard to find.

It took Mingyanhua a lot of effort to get Baoyu's West Chamber, which is why he said what he just said.

Zijuan is Daiyu's personal maid, so naturally she understands what her lady is thinking best. Her heart is entirely filled with the Third Master, and she has no room for anyone else.

Not to mention that Baoyu's words and deeds are ridiculous. Although he claims to be sympathetic to women, he is actually a king in his heart. Others have to rely on him and accommodate him all the time, making people avoid him as much as possible.

Zijuan was loyal to Daiyu, so she naturally wanted to help her fend off the trouble. She said, "Look at what you said, Second Master. The West Chamber is a rare book outside, but it is a common book in the East Palace.

Originally, Miss Lingguan, who was with the Third Master, had it. Once, the girl borrowed it to read. The Third Master saw that the girl liked it, so he bought a set for her. The book was placed on the girl's desk every day. The girl would take it and read it when she had free time. She was very familiar with it, so the Second Master kept the book for himself. "

After hearing what Zijuan said, Baoyu became so angry that his face turned pale. He was filled with frustration and depression. He felt that the heavens were against him and he almost burst into tears.

He finally got a West Chamber, thinking he could use it to please Daiyu, but he didn't expect that Jia Cong had already given it to Lin Daiyu. How come he is everywhere?

Baoyu was filled with grief and indignation. A parasite like Jia Cong would do such a pretentious thing to please Sister Lin and cater to her wishes. How shameless!
Seeing that Baoyu was in a daze again, Zijuan was worried that he would throw a tantrum and the blame would be put on her, so she left in a hurry.

Baoyu stood there, complaining to himself for a while, but he couldn't give up the urge to see Daiyu. He stopped a maid who was passing by and asked her to take the book back to his courtyard, then went to Rongqing Hall.

He had just arrived at the entrance of Rongqing Hall, thinking about what other exquisite topics, besides the Romance of the West Chamber, could he bring up to amuse Sister Lin and let her know that he was no worse than Jia Cong...

The maid guarding the gate saw Baoyu coming and hurried to the door. Baoyu just happened to hear Daiyu's smart and pleasant voice.

"I also heard from my third brother that the cheating case has been going on for quite some time, and now things are almost settled, and the results will definitely be announced again before the end of the month."

"Grandmother is waiting to hear the good news. It won't take long for my third brother to pass the imperial examination and become a successful Jinshi. What a glorious thing."

When Baoyu heard Daiyu's voice, he couldn't help feeling very intoxicated, but his expression changed immediately.

How could Sister Lin say such nonsense? This Jinshi is so rare, yet everyone has to talk about it. It's really vulgar!
Moreover, Daiyu's words were filled with genuine joy and even a hint of pride, which made Baoyu feel as if he was trapped in a nightmare. He felt that he must have heard it wrongly. This was not what Sister Lin said...

……

In the capital, at the magistrate’s office, is the official residence of Zhou Junxing.

Ever since Sun Shouzheng, the censor of the Censorate, impeached the examination fraud in court, Zhou Junxing took advantage of the opportunity and was invincible in the investigation of the examination fraud case. He was arrogant and domineering, and full of vigor.

But in the end, his joy turned into sorrow. He never dreamed that Wu Liang, whom he thought was a coward, would commit suicide in anger when he was testifying to Lin Zhaohe.

Wu Liang's death made all the efforts Zhou Junxing put into the fraud case almost go to waste, and put the entire fraud case into an embarrassing situation. Not only did he fail to achieve anything, but he was also at fault, and was exposed in an instant.

On the day of the incident, he knew the seriousness of the situation, but he hesitated for a moment and was one step behind the Dali Temple, allowing the Dali Temple Minister Wei Guanyao to go to the palace to file a complaint first.

When he arrived at Qianyang Palace, the emperor was already furious. He knelt at the door of the palace for two hours, his legs almost numb, but the emperor still refused to summon him.

In the end, he just sent Guo Lin to scold him and then kicked him out of the palace. He was really in a miserable state. Perhaps it was because of his sincere attitude of apologizing that he was finally able to avoid a disaster.

Originally, he wanted to make an effort to investigate the violations of rules by officials in the Spring Examination and restore his face and credit in front of the emperor.

But he never expected that suddenly 73 candidates jointly filed a complaint, and an appendix to the complaint recording the improper behavior of officials completely disrupted his plan.

Based on the appendix to this petition, the Dali Temple interrogated dozens of officials who had taken the imperial examinations within just a few days, among whom more than 20 were imprisoned for corruption and bribery.

The Dali Temple's swift and decisive actions completely seized the initiative, leaving Zhou Junxing with no room to maneuver.

During the morning court sessions these days, Zhou Junxing observed the situation and realized that the Dali Temple was investigating and correcting the misconduct of officials in the Spring Examination. The situation was escalating and had reached the limit that the emperor could bear.

Thinking of Wu Liang's death, the shock it caused him had not yet faded, and he did not dare to add fuel to the fire or act rashly at this time.

Even though the Magistrates' Court had lost its position as the chief judge of the fraud case, it still had the duty of assisting the Dali Temple as a jury. Zhou Junxing also showed a low-key and retreating attitude, not seeking credit but avoiding fault.

Recently, whether it was the Dali Temple's interrogation of Xu Liangxiong or the interrogation of a group of convicted officials in the Spring Examination, Zhou Junxing rarely showed up, but only let his confidant Zheng Yingquan come forward to handle the matter.

……

That day, he was like usual, handling government affairs in the official residence, somewhat bored. When the setting sun began to shine through the window, familiar footsteps were heard outside the door, followed by the figure of Zheng Yingquan.

Every day at sunset, Zheng Yingquan would return from the Dali Temple and report the day's progress to Zhou Junxing.

Zhou Junxing asked: "Yingquan, what progress has been made in the case today?"

Zheng Yingquan said: "Although Xu Liangxiong has been in prison for many days, he has been complaining in prison and refused to admit that he had committed fraud. It was only because the candidates took advantage of their own tricks that the fraud occurred.

He was a high-ranking official of the third rank, and the Dali Temple did not dare to impose punishment before he was convicted. After Wu Liang's death, the emperor finally lost his patience and issued an oral order to execute him yesterday.

Although the Dali Temple had tortured Xu Liangxiong, he had been locked up in prison for many days and did not know that Wu Liang was dead, so he was hoping for a lucky break. He also knew that if he confessed, he would be doomed.

After a whole day of torture yesterday, he still refused to confess. Today, the palace urged him to do so, and the Dali Temple tortured Xu Liangxiong severely. At noon today, he confessed and signed the confession.

In addition, the Ministry of Rites analyzed the responses of the nine cheating candidates, which confirmed the two.

It has now been confirmed that Xu Liangxiong temporarily took over as the chief examiner. Because he only had one night to prepare the policy essay questions, he hastily borrowed the theme of the earlier drafted questions.

Although the wording was very different, Wu Liang and others who were instructed by him still took advantage of the opportunity. His crime of dereliction of duty and leaking the questions was irrefutable.

Although he had not committed deliberate fraud and had never accepted bribes from examinees, he could only escape death at best, and it was hard to forgive his crime alive. This left assistant minister was finished...

I am a little confused. It is unreasonable that the Dali Temple allowed Xu Liangxiong to escape the death penalty when the fraud case involved such a serious problem."

Zhou Junxing sneered, "Wei Guanyao is an old fox, he is not incompetent. Xu Liangxiong was able to escape the death penalty for a reason.

First, Xu Liangxiong was promoted to the position of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue in the 13th year of Jiazhao, which was the peak of his official career.

A person like him would only work hard to accumulate merits so as to ascend to the top of the six ministries, and would not do stupid things such as corruption and deliberate fraud to ruin his own future. "

It was precisely because he wanted to accumulate and expand his reputation by serving as the chief examiner of the imperial examination to help his future official career that he accepted visits from candidates before the examination so that he could teach them and give them guidance on questions.

After accidentally taking over the position of chief examiner, he was short of time to prepare the questions. In order to avoid mediocre questions and become a laughing stock in the academic circles, he took the chance and used the theme of a question he had prepared before, giving others an opportunity to take advantage of him and bringing about a terrible disaster.

So it is true that he did not commit fraud intentionally.

However, the emperor did not kill him to vent his anger because the fraud case had such a big impact. This was because Wu Liang's death and the inside story of the examination fraud case had aroused criticism and suspicion from the people both at home and abroad.

If Xu Liangxiong is proven to have committed deliberate fraud, in the eyes of the people of the world, the administration of the Great Zhou Dynasty is so corrupt that where will the prestige and reputation of the imperial court be? How can the emperor tolerate this?

Rather than saying that Xu Liangxiong was guilty of such a crime, it would be more accurate to say that the crime was instigated by the emperor and was necessary under the general situation.

His life is of no importance at all, it is not easy for His Majesty to take it away.

Your Majesty needs the fraud case to be settled as soon as possible, put aside with care, and preferably forgotten as soon as possible..."

Zheng Yingquan felt awe in his heart. Although his superior was sinister and unscrupulous in his actions, he was not simply cruel and brutal. He was scheming, had a sharp vision, and was also extraordinary.

……

Zheng Yingquan continued, "Since that day when Lin Zhaohe was taken back to the Dali Temple, for some unknown reason, the Dali Temple invited a doctor to treat his injuries. Although he was interrogated, he was never tortured again.

Yang Hongbin, the chief of Dali Temple, personally led people to Lin Zhaohe's residence for a thorough search, but did not find any evidence of fraud.

Therefore, the Dali Temple ruled that Lin Zhaohe was not guilty because the evidence was false and he will be released in the next two days.

Sir, whether Lin Zhaohe cheated or not is not a question for now, but if you think about the whole thing, this person was imprisoned, but he still did not reveal any flaws and escaped unscathed, which is quite remarkable. "

Zhou Junxing thought of the day in the torture room, a weak scholar who could not even scream under torture, as if he had lost the sense of pain, and the horrible expression on his face when he witnessed Wu Liang's death.

Even though Zhou Junxing was cruel by nature, he felt a chill in his heart...

Zheng Yingquan added: "When the Dali Temple was examining Lin Zhaohe, Yang Hongbin mentioned Zhou Yan. It was Zhou Yan's statement that implicated Lin Zhaohe..." (End of this chapter)