The Red Mansion Big Liar.

Chapter 449: Soulless
"I said...I said!"

While Mrs. Wang was content, Jia Zheng, who was far away in the south of the Yangtze River, was shocked.

Faced with a group of ferocious Jinyiwei, he collapsed to the ground powerlessly, water stains spread out from under his body, and a strong smell of urine filled the air.

"I really don't know what the Zhen family did. They just asked me to pass a message to Jia Yucun... I was also instigated by the students to write the letter..."

"Snapped!"

The Jinyiwei standing nearby swung the whip in his hand and shouted, "How dare you talk nonsense! The news has spread in Zhejiang. You sent away the memorial before the students came to your house."

"Don't! Listen to my explanation... Listen to my explanation... Don't use Xing anymore!"

Jia Zheng, with a look of panic on his face, looked at Mei Lian, who was covered in blood and dying not far away from him. Trembling, he explained the whole cause and effect in detail.

Seeing how cowardly he was, several Jinyiwei were too lazy to tease him. The Jinyiwei sitting in front of the desk wrote furiously until he finished recording the confession.

After asking Jia Zheng to sign the document, Fang pinched his nose and dragged him into the cell like a chicken.

Emperor Zhengqing was determined to punish the offender severely this time, and before leaving, he specifically instructed Lu Bing that no official involved should be let off without fail.

He also handed over all the previous memorials to Lu Bing.

Because Jia Zheng's memorial was given to Zhang Yun逸 in advance, Lu Bing had heard about it and verified it, but when he went to look for it, he could not find the impeachment memorial.

For a moment, I was a little confused, so I only gave him a light punishment and a slight scare, but no severe punishment.

However, has Jia Zheng ever experienced such an experience?

There were also people like Mei Lian, who were placed there as ready-made examples, and they had already been frightened out of their wits.

Because of the arrangements made in advance by the Qin King's faction, the chain of evidence is very clear.

Seeing that the Jinyiwei surrounded the Zhen family and other powerful families, the people who were usually oppressed were no longer afraid and boldly reported and exposed the crimes.

Fortunately, Jia Yucun and Lu Bing had both received instructions from the emperor to close the case as soon as possible so as not to delay the Emperor's birthday celebration.

Therefore, he first sorted out and summarized the evidence at hand and the results of the interrogation, and then delivered the evidence of the crimes of a group of officials and wealthy families such as the Zhen family, together with Jia Zheng's confession, to the emperor.

"Good! Good! You lie on my body and suck my blood, and yet you dare to slander me! Killing them is not enough to appease the public anger. All those who participated in the land annexation will be killed and executed on the spot! The Zhen family will also be confiscated, and the ill-gotten gains will be used for disaster relief on the spot! Among the officials involved, the main offender Mei Lian will be executed on the spot, and the rest will be demoted and investigated, and severely punished!"

At this point, Emperor Zhengqing grabbed Jia Zheng's confession again, and laughed in anger: "In order to pursue fame and fortune, he did not hesitate to follow the trend to frame others, and even left his post without permission. Since you don't want to be the academician, then don't do it! In addition, Rongguo Mansion's title is downgraded to a third-rank general, and Jia Shishi's imperial edict is revoked for not educating his son strictly, as a warning to others!"

As Zhengqing's order was issued, the guards and eunuchs who delivered the order rushed to various places to announce it, carrying the imperial edict.

After the previous dynasty had dealt with the matter, he said, "Send an order to the harem, Zhen... strip the title of Imperial Concubine, and Prince Ning will be demoted to Prince of a County!"

……

Rongguo Mansion, Rongqing Hall.

A month had passed since the last Hundred Days Banquet, and Grandmother Jia had also heard news that the Imperial Guards were heading south for a thorough investigation, and she became increasingly worried.

She leaned against the bed and sighed, "Oh! My right eye has been twitching a lot lately. Is there something wrong?"

Madam Wang on the side blinked and said, "The old lady's birthday will be in a few days. How about we celebrate your birthday to celebrate your birthday?"

The purpose was fake to celebrate Lady Jia's birthday, but the real purpose was to invite Zhang Yun逸 to come over. Since she had tried to please him last time, there had been no news from him. Mrs. Wang couldn't figure out his attitude and couldn't help feeling worried.

Grandmother Jia waved her hands and said, "In this situation, how can I still have the heart to celebrate my birthday?"

Mrs. Wang's plan failed, so she came up with another one and continued, "It's no use for us to be so anxious, why not take this opportunity to see if we can invite Yun Yi over... If he's willing to come, we'll have a grand ceremony, but if he's not willing to come, then we'll keep it simple and have a meal together as a family!"

Grandmother Jia's eyes lit up: "This is a good idea!"

As she was speaking, she suddenly heard a maid outside shouting, "Madam! Someone has come from the palace, asking everyone to go to the front to listen to the decree!"

Jia's mother felt something was wrong, so she put on her shoes quickly, and with the help of her maids, she called the whole family and tremblingly came to the front yard. When they were kneeling on the ground, the eunuch who was delivering the imperial edict unfolded it and said in a hoarse voice: "By the will of Heaven, the Emperor summons..."

Before the eunuch's order was finished, Jia's mother felt as if struck by lightning. Her whole body began to tremble uncontrollably as if it were sieved by chaff.

After the decree was read out, Jia She received it, but she could not stand up at all. Madam Xing and Madam Wang hurried forward to support her.

But Jia She turned around and said viciously: "Look at what the second brother has done!"

After saying this, he glanced at Madam Xing and Jia Lian, then turned away.

"I gonna go see!"

"Hurry, I'll help you back, but don't disturb the fetus!"

Mrs. Xing and Jia Lian were already unhappy about being implicated, and seeing Jia She's attitude, they each found an excuse to leave.

Grandmother Jia was so angry that she trembled and said in a trembling voice: "Evil creatures! Evil creatures! What's the point of blaming each other at this time?"

The speaker may not mean it, but the listener may take it seriously. Tanchun, who was standing behind, couldn't help but look at Yuanchun.

Madam Wang, who was standing by, seized the opportunity and said quickly, "Madam, I'll go and invite Yun Yi right away!"

This opportunity is rare. Having said that, she got up and left without waiting for Lady Jia's consent.

"Come back! What's the point of you going?" Jia's mother hurriedly called out, "This matter is all caused by the second son, so don't go and make trouble. I'll go there myself!"

Firstly, Mrs. Wang is Jia Zheng’s legal wife after all, and Grandmother Jia is worried that Zhang Yunyi will hate her and her family as well.

Secondly, she didn't know that the Zhen family and a number of wealthy families and officials in the south of the Yangtze River would also be punished together with the Rongguo Mansion.

Only when the emperor saw that the emperor had not made any statement after the last warning, he started to increase the stakes again.

Apart from her, no one else knew the inside story, and going there would only cause more trouble.

Although Mrs. Wang wanted to explain herself, she didn't know where to start, so she had to stop.

She thought about it, and then she said, "How about I go with the old lady?"

Grandmother Jia shook her head and said firmly: "If you go, it will only cause more trouble. Only if I go alone can there be room for maneuver. Wait at home!"

She had made up her mind that she would ask Zhang Yunyi for his consent even if she had to beg him, and there was no need to delay any further.

However, letting Yuanchun become a concubine was already embarrassing enough. If her family knew that this was the result of her begging for mercy, it would be truly humiliating.

At this moment, he didn't have the energy to think about the ceremony anymore. He just asked the servants to make some cover for him, and with the help of maids such as Yuanyang and Amber, he came to Ning Mansion.

"Brother Yi hasn't left yet, I'm afraid I'm waiting for him. How about I ask him when he comes back and then give him a reply?"

Jia's mother was afraid that Zhang Yunyi would avoid her again, so she was unwilling to go back and said hurriedly, "No need, I'll wait here!"

Yu Shi had no choice but to place her in a side hall, served her tea, told a few maids to take care of her, and then turned and left.

Grandmother Jia looked at Yuanyang and the others who were accompanying her in the hall, and was stunned. After a moment's hesitation, she waved her hand at them and ordered, "You go back first. I'll have the talk later, and you can come and pick me up!"

"old lady!"

Grandmother Jia slammed the table and shouted, "Are you still not satisfied with the jokes? Do you want to see me, an old woman, humble myself?"

The situation now is like a louse on a bald head. Instead of trying to cover it up and making the people below panic, it is better to confess it proactively and cover it up.

……

(End of this chapter)