Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 262, Disaster Arises from War

Upon entering the Jia mansion, Cheng Dun first greeted Jia She, saying:
"Greetings, Lord Jia. I apologize for the sudden visit. I apologize for disturbing you."

Upon hearing this, Jia She returned the greeting with a forced smile and invited Cheng Dun into the hall.

Although Jia She had heard of Cheng Dun, he had no dealings with him in daily life. Today, Cheng Dun's sudden visit, coupled with the recent case, made his purpose quite obvious.

“Bring tea!”

Jia She gave the instructions.

The two sat down, and servants served them freshly picked tea.

Cheng Dun took a sip, savoring the lingering fragrance, and exclaimed, "Excellent tea!"

Jia She smiled and said, "This is a gift from His Highness the Prince of Wu."

Cheng Dun's expression changed slightly, and he said, "Lord Jia is highly regarded by the King of Wu!"

Jia She smiled modestly, said nothing more, and asked:
"I still do not know what brings Lord Cheng to my humble abode today?"

Cheng Dun said, "To be honest, sir, I have some private matters to attend to."

As he spoke, he glanced at the servants attending to him on either side.

The implication was clear: Jia She should dismiss his attendants and discuss the matter privately.

However, Jia She did not cooperate, saying:

"Lord Cheng, please speak freely. They are all my servants, loyal stewards, who have followed me for many years."

Cheng Dun was annoyed when he saw that Jia She was not cooperating.

"This matter concerns the young master's younger brother, Lord Zheng!"

"Oh!" Jia She was startled upon hearing this. Was Jia Zheng involved in this?
But he calmed down in a short while. He knew his second brother's character well; he was a pedantic man who always kept the teachings of the sages in mind and dared not even go to places of ill repute, let alone engage in corrupt activities. He figured Cheng Dun must have tricked him.

Jia She then said:

"The law of the land is impartial and cannot tolerate favoritism. If he has done anything that would betray the Emperor's grace, I hope Lord Cheng will inform him as soon as possible, and I will certainly not let him off lightly."

Seeing Jia She's attitude, Cheng Dun guessed that Jia She probably wouldn't cooperate.

However, he still took out what he had prepared beforehand.

However, these were several documents concerning the misappropriation of funds and materials for the construction of the Emperor Emeritus's mausoleum, all signed by Jia Zheng.

Cheng Dundao said, "Yesterday, someone anonymously reported these documents to me. That person said that the masterminds behind the Wanping silver donation case were Luo Rulin and Wang Chengzuo."

As he spoke, Cheng Dun took out a stack of land deeds from his sleeve and placed them on the table, saying:
"These are all shop deeds from Qianmen Street and Dongsi Archway in the capital, a total of thirty-four. They were all provided by that person for the embezzled funds of Luo Rulin and Wang Chengzuo. I was afraid of delaying an important case, so I came to inform you. What do you think?"

Cheng Dun pushed the land deed and documents to Jia She, the meaning of which was obvious.

The land deed was a bribe.

The document is a threat.

If Jia She agrees to close the case, the documents will be destroyed and the land deed will be taken into his possession.

Otherwise, if the investigation continues, Jia Zheng will also suffer.

Jia She picked up the document and examined it.

These documents are genuine, signed by Jia Zheng, and the procedures were correct; it's just that they were turned into a corruption case when they reached the lower levels.

As for the crime, it could be minor or serious. If it's minor, it's just a matter of negligence, which would result in demotion and a pay cut. If it's serious, it would be a major corruption case, which would be dealt with severely, and it would also involve the face of the imperial family, so confiscating the property wouldn't be surprising.

However, in the past, Jia She might have taken a second look, but now, well...

Regardless of whether the document is genuine or not, even if it is, so what?
It's just misappropriating some funds meant for the retired emperor's mausoleum. What's the big deal?
As long as the money misappropriated wasn't intended for the construction of King Wu's mausoleum, it's fine.

He's just an emperor emeritus, so it's alright.

Back then, he personally drew a map that revealed the emperor's whereabouts, which was far more serious than this incident.

Thinking this, Jia She put down the documents, without even glancing at the land deeds, and said:

“This matter is of great importance, and I, Jia, need to avoid suspicion. Lord Cheng, please send these things to the Censorate. As for those land deeds, since they are illicit funds, I will report them to my superiors. I ask that Lord Cheng witness this.”

Upon hearing this, Cheng Dun knew that Jia She had explicitly refused, so he glared at Jia She with resentment.

He thought to himself, "He's completely unresponsive, he's asking for it, this is forcing him!" If he hadn't been forced into this situation, Cheng Dun really wouldn't have wanted to kill Jia She.

Anyone could see that Fang Yong was behind Jia She, so killing Jia She was tantamount to slapping Fang Yong in the face.

However, Jia She was unyielding and determined to drive him to his death.

Cheng Dun gritted his teeth and said:

"In that case, I shall take my leave."

Jia She said, "Please."

Cheng Dun stood up and suddenly knocked over the teacup in front of him.

The teacup fell to the ground and shattered into pieces with a loud bang.

The three men outside, Sha Dulong, Shan Ehu, and Li San, had already infiltrated the Jia mansion. Upon hearing the signal, they immediately rushed in.

The three men were dressed in black and masked, and each held a steel knife.

Sand Poison Dragon bumped into a maid and slashed her to death with his sword.

His ferocious appearance terrified the others, who cried out in alarm.

Cheng Dun feigned panic and asked:
"What do you do?"

Dan Ehu said, "Jia or not, they have a hall of white jade and horses of gold! We three brothers are notorious bandits from the western mountains. We have heard of the Jia family's reputation and have come to borrow some money to spend."

This was a pre-arranged explanation by the group, intended to exonerate Cheng Dun.

Whether others believe it or not is one thing, but at least there's a fig leaf covering it up on the surface, so it's not completely exposed.

Cheng Dun then presented the land deed he had just received, saying:
"These are all top-quality shop deeds. Please accept them, sir, and spare our lives."

Sand Poison Dragon tucked the land deed into his robes and said:
"Since you know what's good for you, I'll spare your life. But this damn contract isn't worth anything. Give us brothers some more gold and silver!"

Having said that, he looked at Jia She.

While Cheng Dun was talking to the thieves, Jia She secretly moved towards the west side of the hall. There hung a precious sword there, which belonged to the old Duke and could be considered a weapon for self-defense.

Sha Dulong saw through Jia She's intentions at a glance and quickly swung his knife to strike.

Jia She lunged forward and drew his sword.

Clang! Clang! Swords clashed.

After only two rounds, Jia She's wrists were already aching from the shock.

That Sand Poison Dragon, known as the Ghost Hand King, possessed immense arm strength.

Jia She retreated unwillingly, saying:
"Damn it, I haven't practiced martial arts in so long, I've become rusty! If it were before, would you petty thieves dare to act so presumptuously here?"

Jia She was not exaggerating. He was the eldest son of a duke and had served the crown prince since childhood. He was proficient in military affairs, politics, and martial arts.

At the time, the Crown Prince was at the height of his power and was highly favored by Emperor Kangning, who designated him as the sole heir apparent. Emperor Kangning even personally cultivated a faction around the Crown Prince, demonstrating his trust in him.

Back then, Emperor Longqing and Prince Zhongshun were both useless princes who were raised like pigs, and they had no ability whatsoever to compete with the crown prince for the throne.

Things were initially going well; a group of young people were full of ambition, waiting for the crown prince to ascend the throne so they could make great strides.

But they waited and waited, one year, two years, ten years, twenty years, thirty years...

The young crown prince grew into a middle-aged crown prince, and then into an old crown prince. He became stooped and his beard turned white, but Emperor Kangning remained robust and full of energy.

The crown prince was already sickly, and his complexion was getting worse and worse. It seemed that he would not outlive his father.

You can't be the crown prince forever.

He was unwilling to accept that, and neither were his subordinates.

So the uprising began.

Then they were defeated.

Jia She and others were labeled as members of the princeling faction, and some died while others were exiled.

Although Jia She was spared exile due to his father's influence, he never had the opportunity to enter politics for the rest of his life.

(End of this chapter)