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Chapter 212 Extra Chapter—The Decline and Fall of the Jia Family…

On the seventh day of the ninth month of the eleventh year of Yonghe,

The Jia family's property was confiscated.

The reason for mentioning the Jia family is that not only the Rongguo Mansion, but also the Ningguo Mansion next door were all raided. In fact, the Ningguo Mansion was raided first.

After all, the trouble started in Ning.

It is common knowledge what kind of person Jia Zhen is. Apart from the two stone lions at the gate, there is not a clean place in Ningguo Mansion. In addition, the servants of both mansions are like spitting air. How could Emperor Yonghe not know the inside story?
Previously, considering that both families were descendants of founding heroes and had the support of the retired emperor, and most importantly, that their crimes, while serious, were not so outrageous as to defy the heavens, the authorities had simply turned a blind eye. Furthermore, later on, it was said that they were reincarnated as gods or spirits.

At the same time, there has been no opposition to the new policy.

Therefore, they did not investigate the Jia family further.

Until recently, when the whole country was being purged, it felt inappropriate to skip them. People might think that he was afraid of the reincarnated deity Shenying Attendant and that group of monsters. So Emperor Yonghe simply dealt with the four founding kings and eight dukes at the same time. After all, it was just a side matter!
Now he holds real power and military authority.

There's absolutely no need to worry about anything going wrong.

Although both families were somewhat distressed and pleading, they were completely helpless, and the search and interrogation process was completed smoothly in no time. With Ding Shui's help, there was no problem that couldn't be solved by asking questions, and if they really couldn't get any information, they could be pulled out of their memories, even things they themselves had forgotten.

It can also be dug out from their deepest memories.

Humans are amazing; their brains are large enough to allow them to remember everything they see, but most people have limited brain development, so it seems impossible for them to do so.

But in reality, the brain has already memorized it.

It's just that you can't remember.

Therefore, Ding Shui could easily obtain accurate information about what bad things they had done, where their secret stash of money was hidden, and so on. Then, after temporarily ignoring a series of non-essential or minor issues, he focused his trial specifically on the more serious illegal and criminal acts committed by the Jia family members.

It is precisely because the investigation was too thorough that the trial could not be strictly conducted according to the law. According to the law, filial impiety is a serious crime, including a son of a concubine who insults his legal mother.

How could Jia Huan not grumble a bit in private after being wronged?
Jia Lian disliked his stepmother, but he couldn't say it to her face. Couldn't he at least say a few words about her in private? Isn't that right?
This was said in private.

The thoughts in their minds are undoubtedly even dirtier.

If these are considered crimes, then Old Madam Jia should be beheaded, since she has often gossiped about her mother-in-law in private and even harmed her illegitimate sons and daughters.

Otherwise, wouldn't there be no illegitimate sons or daughters in the family?
Therefore, in the final trial, some things that are too far in the past, some things that can be turned a blind eye to, and some things that can be pretended not to know if no one reports them.

Ignore them all for now.

We only consider some clearly defined criminal offenses.

This is why the Rongguo and Ningguo mansions were not completely raided and exiled, but they still suffered heavy losses. The Ningguo mansion was left with only Jia Rong as a master, and because he himself had committed many transgressions, Emperor Yonghe directly stripped his family of their titles.

His purchased official rank of fifth-grade Imperial Guard was revoked.

He was only allowed to pack some personal belongings and clan land.

He was then expelled from Ningguo Mansion.

Therefore, of the entire Ningguo Mansion lineage, only Jia Rong remains, and he has also become a commoner.

Women count too, so let's add Aunt Xichun as well.

Jia Xichun is Jia Rong's aunt and lives in the Rongguo Mansion.

The situation at Rongguo Mansion is slightly better.

Jia Zheng's lineage was mostly unharmed. Although they were fined because of Lady Wang, they ultimately didn't have to be exiled or beheaded. Jia She's lineage, however, suffered greatly. Jia She himself was gone, his son was exiled, his daughter-in-law was executed, and his title was also lost because it offset Jia Lian's death sentence. Only Jia Cong, Jia Yingchun, and Qiao Jie remained.

In addition, Xue Pan of the Xue family was exiled three thousand miles away.

The rest are basically fine.

Fortunately, although the Rongguo Mansion lost its title, Emperor Yonghe ultimately gave Grandmother Jia some face and did not kick them out, allowing the whole family to live there until after Grandmother Jia's death and the funeral.

Of course, the words weren't said so directly.

But that's the general idea!
The marriage prospects of the Jia family's children were already not good because most of them were spirits or monsters descended to earth.

Now it's naturally even more difficult.

Two months later, seeing that Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu, Xue Baochai and others were getting older, although Grandmother Jia was somewhat saddened by the death of her son and the exile of her grandson, she still forced herself to start planning marriages for her children and grandchildren for the sake of the family line.

For example, he tried to matchmake Lin Daiyu and Jia Baoyu.

Xue Baochai could become a concubine.

However, before Grandmother Jia could even begin preparing for this idea, her plan was completely ruined. In the second month after the nationwide purge was completed, Emperor Yonghe, guided by Ding Shui and using extensive statistical data as parameters, and most importantly, to suppress powerful relatives and limit intermarriages among nobles, promulgated a new marriage law.

Marriage is not only prohibited between immediate family members.

Collateral relatives within three generations are also not allowed.

Jia Baoyu's father, Jia Zheng, was the older brother of Lin Daiyu's mother, Jia Min. Jia Baoyu's mother, Lady Wang, was the sister of Xue Baochai's mother. By blood relation, they were definitely second-generation collateral relatives.

Both fall under the category of prohibited marriages.

For those who are already married, divorce is not mandatory.

However, it is also advised to separate if possible.

Grandmother Jia was undoubtedly a step too slow, so her carefully planned marriage alliance fell apart before it even began. Aunt Xue was also extremely worried at this time. Originally, she wanted to go to her son's place of exile as soon as possible after marrying off her daughter to take care of him.

Now we're going to waste a lot of time again.

Most importantly, she really couldn't find a family she could trust to entrust her daughter to in a short period of time. In this day and age, whether a woman can live a good life after marriage depends not only on whether there is affection between the husband and wife, but also, most importantly, on whether the woman's family has any support.

High-ranking families are judged by whether they hold official positions, titles, and real power.

For those with low social standing, it depends on whether they have brothers in the family.

Their family, though nominally one of the four great families of Jinling, was essentially a merchant household, the money bag for the other three. Leaving aside the risks of marrying into a higher social class, even marrying into a merchant household of equal standing would mean being bullied. After all, their only male heir had been exiled, and whether he would return alive was uncertain; it was practically the same as having no descendants. Countless people were probably eyeing their family, wanting to exploit them.

They would rather have their daughter become a concubine than not marry her to Jia Baoyu, because they simply couldn't find anyone better.

At the same time, she and Madam Wang were, after all, sisters.

Even if Lady Wang might be a little greedy, she felt that she shouldn't be too ruthless towards close relatives. Her daughter's future safety would definitely be guaranteed after marrying into the Jia family and marrying Jia Baoyu.

Only in this way can she leave with peace of mind.

Go find your son without worry.

Now that her daughter cannot marry Jia Baoyu, Aunt Xue was truly at a loss and did not know what to do.
"Mother, I'll establish a female household and find a son-in-law to live with us." After many twists and turns, Xue Baochai no longer wanted to place her hopes and future on others. Things had come to this point; even if the situation worsened, how much worse could it get? It would only mean death...

It is said that she was the reincarnation of a spirit from a blessed land.

If you can go back after you die, then you're even less afraid of dying.

"This...this won't do..."

Aunt Xue was undoubtedly unwilling to accept this, feeling that the situation hadn't reached that point yet and that her daughter could still be married off. However, Xue Baochai was unusually resolute this time, stating decisively:
"Mother, don't be so naive."

Now that I'm this old, what good family can I find? To put it bluntly, even if a poor scholar were to ask me for marriage, he'd most likely be after my family's wealth. The same goes for a provincial graduate. As for a metropolitan graduate...

There's basically no chance he'll marry me.

"I was somewhat unhappy when you asked me to marry Jia Baoyu as a concubine, but I couldn't say anything. Now that it hasn't happened, it's made me see things clearly. I don't want to be a concubine, and I don't want to place my future hopes on someone else anymore. I want to establish a female-run household and start a business."

"I don't know what's going on with my brother. Mother, if you're worried, go and take care of him. I can handle the rest myself. I'll find a more obedient man to marry into the family, and then I'll just go about my business normally. Almost everyone in the capital with a bit of power knows that I'm a reincarnation of a spirit, so I think they won't hurt or bully me unless absolutely necessary."

Starting a small business shouldn't be a problem.

Aunt Xue had never really made up her mind, but after Xue Baochai's strong persuasion, she finally agreed to the matter. Lady Wang was somewhat unwilling, but Xue Baochai could no longer be with Jia Baoyu, as it was illegal, so she had no reason to refuse.

They could only watch helplessly as a large sum of money flew away.

After leaving the Jia family mansion, Xue Baochai decisively established herself as a female householder and officially took over all of the Xue family's business connections. Aunt Xue originally wanted to wait until her daughter found a husband to marry into the family before taking care of her exiled son, but because Xue Baochai said that a suitable husband needed to be carefully examined and it would be difficult to find one in a short time, she could only take care of her son first.

Three years later, Xue Baochai successfully preserved the Xue family's status as imperial merchants and even became one of the top ten imperial merchants. However, what truly made her famous was that she redeemed an unmarried male prostitute from a brothel in the capital.

And he made him marry into the family, becoming a son-in-law.

It successfully made up for the regret that since ancient times, only men went to brothels to redeem courtesans and take them back as mistresses or concubines, while no women went to redeem male prostitutes.

She did this with a clear purpose.

Firstly, that guy is indeed good-looking, and Xue Baochai herself likes him quite a bit. Secondly, she doesn't have any powerful backers right now, so she can only rely on her fame as a backer, whether it's infamous fame or any other kind of fame, it's still fame.

With such a series of actions, everyone in the capital knows her, and anyone who tries to harm her will inevitably cause a heated public debate.

The important thing is to marry a son-in-law who came from a male prostitute background.

Even if the other party has ambitions, it will be difficult for them to cause any trouble. Their birth alone is enough to determine their fate. They will stay at home and take care of the children in the future.

However, this move also led to a complete break between the Jia family and her.

When Aunt Xue found out, she wrote a letter to scold her, but she couldn't break ties because most of the Xue family's assets were now in Xue Baochai's hands, and she and Xue Pan were now completely dependent on Xue Baochai for support.

So after Xue Baochai threatened to cut off her money.

Aunt Xue had no choice but to pretend to be blind and deaf.

Compared to Xue Baochai's fame throughout the capital, the Jia family was much more well-behaved. Jia Jing's daughter, Jia Xichun, who was born late in life, became a nun after the mourning period ended.

Jia Cong married the daughter of a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations.

With the help of her grandmother's previous marriage ties and the Shi family's connections, Jia Yingchun married a hereditary commander of a thousand households.

Jia Tanchun also relied on her military connections.

She married the second son of a fourth-rank military officer.

A few years later, Jia Huan, through Xue Baochai's connections, married a concubine's daughter from a wealthy merchant family. Compared to Jia Cong's marriage to the daughter of a scholar, Jia Huan's dowry was much larger.

This shows that the Jia family had truly declined.

Jia Baoyu always wanted to marry Lin Daiyu, but due to policy restrictions, he never married and instead took in several maids. Lin Daiyu, on the other hand, moved to the imperial estate after he took in maids and, like Xue Baochai, established a female household. However, instead of engaging in commerce, she focused on researching how to cultivate superior offspring.
July 4th, the 19th year of the Yonghe reign.

Grandmother Jia passed away.

After a month of arranging Jia Mu's funeral, the entire Jia family had no choice but to move out of the Rongguo Mansion. After all, the Rongguo Mansion was actually a gift from the emperor to their family, not their private residence. Moreover, even if it were their private residence, their family members were no longer entitled to live there, as it would be an absolute overreach.

Having no titles or ranks, they had no choice but to leave and live in the houses they owned.

November 3rd of the same year.

Jia Baoyu had a profound awakening and shaved his head to become a monk.

In the twenty-first year, Jia Lan passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, but a mere scholar could hardly help the Jia family's decline. Those large families that hadn't declined much, or whose decline wasn't particularly severe, were actively expanding overseas, while the Jia family had completely missed this trend.

Although Jia Lan passed the provincial examination, he never passed the imperial examination. He had the opportunity to go overseas or to a remote place to become a county magistrate, but his mother was worried about him and was unwilling to let him go far away.

In the end, he could only manage to get a minor official position in the Ministry of Works in the capital, thanks to his grandfather Jia Zheng, who had remained in the fifth rank for many years. He was a truly low-ranking official, a mere ninth-grade sesame seed.

Jia Zhengxun came from a noble family and was never well-liked.

The Jia family has fallen into such a state of decline.

He has tried his best.

With Jia Zheng's death from illness on April 18th of the thirty-third year of the Yonghe reign, the only remaining member of the Jia family with an official position was Jia Lan, who had barely climbed to the eighth rank.

But after all, a lean camel is bigger than a horse.

This is probably what is meant by the poverty of the rich – they can still make enough to eat for three years by sweeping between the bricks. As for the decline of a large family, as long as it doesn't involve confiscation of property and extermination of the clan, no matter how much it declines, it won't completely disappear in one or two generations.

On the contrary, Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai fared quite well.

Xue Baochai is no longer one of the top ten imperial merchants, but one of the top ten merchants in the entire Qianlong era. She actively participated in overseas expansion and trade, and followed Emperor Yonghe's footsteps without wavering, which made her assets expand rapidly.

Although she was still a merchant, not an official, many of her businesses were now operated in cooperation with Emperor Yonghe, so her social status was still quite good, and she also participated in the formulation of commercial taxes.

Most people treat her with great respect.

We can't treat her like an ordinary businesswoman.

Lin Daiyu, on the other hand, made considerable achievements in the cultivation of superior varieties. Her identity as the Crimson Pearl Fairy in her previous life may have indeed brought her some blessings, but these blessings were not directed towards crops such as rice and wheat. Furthermore, with Ding Shui personally promoting superior varieties, Lin Daiyu abandoned the idea of ​​forcibly cultivating superior varieties and began to cultivate flowers, fruits, and vegetables.

This has greatly enriched the flower market and people's grocery baskets.

She was granted the title of Marquis of Huaguo when she was thirty-four years old.

A proper marquis, not some county princess or imperial consort.

At the same time, because she never married and made significant contributions, and because she was always referred to as the Crimson Pearl Fairy, after her death, the people spontaneously built a temple for her and worshipped her as the Goddess of Abundant Harvests of Flowers and Fruits.

Her nickname is Huaguo Niangniang (Flower and Fruit Goddess)!