The head of the Red Mansion

Chapter 53 Doubt

In the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Emperor Xiaomu held the secret report handed to him by his bodyguard and remained silent for a long time.

His men couldn't find the person who attacked Wang Ziteng; the other party had covered everything up too thoroughly.

This person is very capable!

But who?

Even if the Emperor's people had a conflict with Prince Teng, they wouldn't be so ruthless. As for his other brothers, at least for now, their people are far from being able to replace Prince Teng. As for his side... even if those few wanted to make a move, they couldn't do it so subtly.

Who could it be?

Emperor Mu was not afraid of those who acted openly, but rather those who acted covertly.

"What's been happening in the last couple of days... from each family?"

It's just those few companies.

The guard hesitated for a moment, then said, "...None!"

what?
Are they all just watching and waiting?

Or is it none of their business?

Emperor Xiaomu frowned deeply and picked up the secret report again to look at it.

Wang Ziteng has no capable brothers, and the Wang family has no capable descendants. These past few days, it's Jia Zhu from the Rongguo Mansion who's been busy running around. He's quite concerned about the Wang family's affairs, but…

"Jia Zhu returned home to seek help, but the men sent by Jia Zhen of Ningguo Mansion only circled the streets once before returning to the mansion?"

"Yes!"

The guard's voice betrayed a hint of joy.

With the two families at odds, these bodyguards could sleep more soundly, let alone with the Emperor.

"Good good..."

Emperor Xiaomu seemed to realize something, his gaze sharpening. "I've heard that Jia Zhen is extremely filial, and the discord between the two families is all because of Lady Shen, isn't it?"

"should be!"

The guard's voice rose slightly, "Madam Shen's reputation as a shrew spread from the Rongguo Mansion. Later, Madam Wang said she was there to apologize to Madam Shen, but instead of carrying the thorn cane, she didn't offer any thanks. It's said that Madam Shen ignored her and had her daughter-in-law, Madam You, see the guest out."

"..."

Emperor Mu was very pleased with what he heard.

Madam Shen of the Ningguo Mansion is truly a remarkable person.

"You still need to investigate this matter."

After putting down the secret report, Emperor Xiaomu took a sip of tea. "This time, let's start with the capital garrison and see how many big fish are lurking in this murky water."

The murky water makes it easier for some people to drink alcohol and eat meat.

"We don't need to care how they eat or kill, but there's one rule: whoever tries to attack our troops again, kill them all."

Unlike at the founding of the nation, people in the Beijing garrison can be replaced by anyone, but not military horses.

The imperial court is still short of horses!
Emperor Xiaomu said, "Send two of your newly trained disciples to the capital garrison to keep a close watch on them."

"Yes!"

After bowing respectfully, the guard vanished in a flash.

The emperor sipped his tea and then reviewed his memorials.

However, his face soon darkened.

slap~
Emperor Xiaomu, in a fit of rage, slammed down the memorial, gathered his strength, picked it up again, and headed straight for the Longevity Palace where the retired emperor resided.

After a long while, the retired emperor finally put down the memorial in his hand.

"How are you doing?"

"Wokou (Japanese pirates) certainly existed, but Xie Jie, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat during the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty, pointed out in his book 'Qiantai Wozuan' that 'pirates and merchants are the same people; when markets are open, pirates turn into merchants, and when markets are closed, merchants turn into pirates.'"

Emperor Xiaomu looked at his father and said, "I wholeheartedly agree. The national treasury is empty now. It is the right time to reopen maritime trade, which will not only replenish the national treasury but also strike at those real Japanese pirates."

One of the reasons why Emperor Taizu was able to succeed in driving the Manchus, who had invaded the Central Plains, out of Shanhaiguan Pass was the enormous profits from the sea.

But the Emperor forbade it...

"We'll discuss the maritime trade matter later."

The retired emperor frowned. "As for these 'bandits'..." He thought for a moment, "Whether they're real bandits or not, they're all very wealthy." He rarely gave his son a word of advice, "Let's find someone to wipe them out first!"

"……Yes!"

Emperor Xiaomu was slightly taken aback. "Father, do you intend to use the Prince of Nan'an?"

The Emperor Emeritus: "..."

If he wanted to use the title of Prince of Nan'an, he would have just asked.

"Didn't this 'bandit' cause trouble right under Nan'an's nose?"

The people temporarily replacing Wang Ziteng in the Beijing garrison are still his men.

The retired emperor was somewhat satisfied with his obedient son and was willing to give him a little reward. "He has been over there for many years, but he is becoming less and less able to control the situation. You should choose someone else to handle the task of suppressing the bandits!"

what?
Emperor Xiaomu steadied himself and bowed deeply, "Yes!"

He walked quite a distance from the Longevity Palace before turning back to look at the place where his father, the emperor, resided.

Finally, he got a little more!

Emperor Xiaomu felt a mixture of joy and regret. As he turned around, his steps became firm again.

……

At Ningguo Mansion, Shen Ning first read the February official gazette that her eldest son had subscribed to.

She seemed quite intrigued by the thin booklet of the official gazette.

Turning to the first page, 'In the second month of the sixth year of Emperor Xiaomu's reign, forty-three imperial edicts were issued. One edict addressed to the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture: "Outside Guangning Gate in the capital, there has always been a charity hall for the elderly, the sick, and those without support..."'

The words, strung together, were very difficult for her to read.

Through a combination of guesswork and speculation, of the forty-three imperial edicts issued in February, eight concerned spring plowing, while the most numerous were the three addressed to the Imperial Medical Academy, revealing his deep concern for the retired emperor. The edicts also covered a wide range of topics, from the reinstatement of officials to the nine border garrisons.

It also includes the Kaifeng snow disaster issue that Shen Ning had previously been concerned about.

Emperor Mu not only exempted Kaifeng and the four surrounding counties from taxes this year, but also urged officials at all levels to send seeds.

Unlike other places where borrowed seeds must be repaid twice, in Kaifeng, all seeds were free.

He seems like a decent emperor!

Shen Ning breathed a soft sigh of relief. As long as the Jia family's descendants don't act recklessly in the future, out of respect for the four dukes of two generations, the Jia family's daughters will surely not end up in such a tragic situation.

"Mrs!"

Qingzhu curtsied. "Xing'er, who is by your side, just said that the teacher from the school has arrived, so you won't be coming over for lunch."

"The teacher at the school?"

Shen Ning raised an eyebrow. "Then tell the kitchen to add two more dishes for the old man."

"Yes!"

With a single glance from Qingzhu, the maidservant waiting to run errands hurriedly ran out.

"By the way, Qingping sent birthday gifts to the West Mansion early this morning, why haven't they arrived yet..."

"Madam, I'm back."

Qingping hurried through the side gate. "Someone from the Wang family just came to tell the old lady of the West Mansion the good news that Second Master Wang has woken up."

never mind?
Shen Ning nodded slightly, "It can be considered a happy occasion."

On Madam Wang's birthday, Prince Sheng woke up and will surely give himself the title of a blessed person.

hum~
Shen Ning hummed inwardly, "How is Lord Wang's leg?"

If she could, she really wished that Wang Ziteng's leg could be repositioned so that he could no longer be a military officer.

Leaving the Beijing garrison and keeping a low profile will make it safer for their families.

"It should be alright. I heard that Lord Wang is being particularly careful, and now he has four personal guards protecting him at all times."

At the same time, the Wang family.

Jia Zhu looked at the twelve personal guards that his eldest uncle had transferred from the Beijing Garrison and felt that something was amiss.

Although his uncle's status was enough to arrange personal guards, he recognized at least five of the twelve men.

He had never been to the Beijing Garrison.

These five people... seemed to be young, following Lian Erdi and Wang Ren Cousin as they climbed over the wall to the back of the Wang family's long-abandoned courtyard.

All three of them were beaten back then.

Jia Zhu was a good child from childhood to adulthood, and the number of times he was beaten could be counted on one hand, so the memory was particularly deep.

But back then, the Wang family was the first to disband the prefectural guards; if…

Jia Zhu was very worried.

He suddenly realized that his uncle's heart might be much bigger than he had thought.

"Pearl, thank you for your help these past few days."

Wang Ziteng, who was carried over on a bench, looked at his capable nephew and asked, "I heard from your mother that you're going back to the Imperial Academy tomorrow?"

"Yes!"

Jia Zhu nodded, "We originally planned to invite Mother until after her birthday."

"...In this investigation of your second uncle's case, you've probably already caught the eye of many people with ulterior motives."

The only person who could have been so familiar with the Beijing garrison and the temperament of his family could have orchestrated such a coincidence in the case of the startled horse.

These two... are not many.

Over the past few days, Wang Ziteng has been thinking things over and over again, and he has suddenly developed a lot of distrust towards the Jia family.

The Beijing Garrison was once the domain of the Jia family.

Jia Zhen was ignorant and incompetent; he couldn't have done something so flawless, but Jia Jing could.

“The Rongguo Mansion’s guards have been disbanded. Go and ask your brother Zhen to assign you two guards.”

"Ok!"

Jia Zhu nodded in agreement.

He's thinking very well. He's already asked the guards for the prefecture's security, so Brother Zhen will be even more concerned about the safety of the two prefectures.

“By the way,” Wang Ziteng asked as if he had just remembered, “do you still correspond with your Uncle Jing?”

“Starting from the second half of last year, Uncle Jing stopped replying to my letters.”

Jia Zhu was very disappointed.

Although Uncle Jing did not inherit the title, he knew very well that he was the pillar of the Jia family.

Unfortunately, from the increasingly rare letters, Jia Zhu could see that his uncle was going further and further astray in his study of Taoist doctrines.

"Hmm~" Wang Ziteng frowned slightly. "I heard that the old lady asked him to go down the mountain, so he did, and he even agreed to many unreasonable demands from Madam Shen?"

Jia Zhu: "..."

Why is his uncle asking him about matters concerning his elders?

"Among our generation, this is the uncle you respect the most!"

Wang Ziteng gave a thumbs up, "Every officer in the Beijing Garrison who has met your Uncle Jing has praised him."

He felt helpless; to gain those people's approval, he could only mention Jia Jing again and again.

"Speaking of which, your great-grandfather entrusted him with most of the military affairs of the Beijing Garrison in order to train him."

Jia Jing, who chose literature over martial arts, used his pen and silver tongue to subdue all the troublemakers in the Beijing garrison.

Even during military exercises, the battalions he commanded directly overwhelmed their opponents, leaving them with no chance to retaliate.

Such a Jia Jing is not someone to be overly concerned with; the more one thinks about it… the more frightened Wang Ziteng became.

He helped him get to the position of military governor of the capital, but didn't hand over everything to him. Was he wary of him from the beginning?

He was wary of him at the Beijing garrison, and as for the Wang family...

Wang Ziteng had reason to suspect that the maid who died after hitting the pillar was someone Jia Jing had been targeting since he set up a spy for the Wang family.

He just didn't dare say this to his nephew.

If all his guesses are correct, then Jia Jing's sudden attack on him most likely means that he has discovered his scheme from some time ago.

Wang Ziteng couldn't help but struggle, "I've gotten to where I am today... all thanks to you, Uncle Jing."

It hasn't been easy for him to get to where he is today. He lost his leg, and his second brother almost lost his life. Isn't that enough?
Without him, it wouldn't be easy for the Jia family to find another person to support in the current Beijing garrison.

Wang Ziteng touched his broken leg. "I heard that Madam Shen didn't leave him a single penny. My heart... is really aching."

As he spoke, he took out a purse and handed it to her. “Zhu’er, after thinking it over, I feel that you should go to the Taoist temple to see your Uncle Jing and at least take care of him.”

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Also, the novel "The Big Boss" will be available for purchase on August 20th. I will try to update it as often as possible then to thank everyone for their continued support!