Red Mansion: After being expelled from the family, I was granted the title of Marquis of Mobei

Chapter 114: A Clever Plan, Xue Baochai Comes to the Door
Hearing this, Jia Zheng became more cautious.

Although the Chief Clerk's words were polite, Jia Zheng could easily tell from his tone that Prince Zhongshun's Mansion must have found some weakness in the Rongguo Mansion, otherwise they would never have come directly to his door.

Jia Zheng said cautiously.

"Since you have come here on the king's orders, I wonder what instructions you have. I hope you will make them known so that I can follow them."

The chief official sneered and said upon seeing this.

"There's no need to undertake it. Just a word from the adults will be enough."

"There's a young actress named Qi Guan in our mansion. She used to be very kind, but now she hasn't been home for three or five days. We've been looking for her everywhere, but we can't find her whereabouts. So we've been investigating everywhere. Eight out of ten people in this city say she's been getting along very well with the young man who holds the jade in his mouth."

"I have heard that your house is not like other houses where we can enter and take things without permission. Therefore, I would like to inform you, Your Highness."

"The prince said that it's fine to give ordinary actors to your residence."

"But this Qi Guan is very clever and is very much loved by the prince, so I can't let him go."

"Therefore, the prince has sent this humble official here. I beg you to tell your son to release Qi Guan. This will, on the one hand, appease the prince's sincere request, and on the other hand, save me the trouble of searching for him."

After hearing this, Jia Zheng felt a tingling sensation on his scalp, and his anger towards Jia Baoyu reached its peak.

This beast actually dared to touch the people around Prince Zhongshun. He is really challenging the emperor. He is simply fed up with life.

Jia Zheng hurriedly bowed and said.

"Sir, I'm not entirely clear on this situation."

"How about this, I'll have my son come over right now. If he truly knows where Qi Guan is, I'll have him tell you, sir. Please wait a moment, sir."

The chief historian nodded slightly and said.

"Then it'll be hard work."

After the Chief Clerk had finished speaking, he leisurely drank his tea, while Jia Zheng hurriedly ordered the servant to go and call Jia Baoyu.

In Jia Baoyu's bedroom in the courtyard, Jia Baoyu was lying on the bed resting. He was pale and looked panic-stricken.

Mrs. Wang, who was standing by, looked at her son like this and said with great distress.

"Baoyu, are you having a nightmare again?"

Jia Baoyu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said in fear.

"Mom, I dreamed of Mingyan. He was harassing me with a ferocious look on his face, asking why I wanted to kill him."

"Mom, am I being haunted by an evil spirit?"

As mentioned in the previous document, Mingyan was a servant beside Jia Baoyu.

When Jia Baoyu stayed overnight at Zidan Fort and was stirring up trouble with Qi Guan Jiang Yuhan, Jiang Yuhan suddenly convulsed and died in the room.

The servant Mingyan helped Jia Baoyu deal with Jiang Yuhan's body and handle the aftermath.

After returning to Rongguo Mansion, Jia Baoyu hesitated for a long time but finally told his mother, Mrs. Wang, about this matter.

After all, this involves a murder case, and Qi Guan is an actor kept by Prince Zhongshun's mansion. No matter how stupid Jia Baoyu is, he understands the interests involved.

After learning about this, Mrs. Wang immediately began to help Jia Baoyu deal with the aftermath. The first person to be dealt with was naturally the servant Mingyan.

He is a participant and insider in the whole thing.

In order to ensure her son's safety, killing a servant was no pressure for Mrs. Wang.

But after dealing with Mingyan, Jia Baoyu had nightmares every night, dreaming that Mingyan came to take his life.

This made Jia Baoyu very frightened. He couldn't sleep at night and was extremely exhausted.

Seeing that Jia Baoyu had become extremely thin over the past few days, Mrs. Wang held Jia Baoyu's hand with heartache and said.

"Baoyu, don't be afraid, mother is here."

"Well, tomorrow, I'll take you to Qingxu Temple and ask Immortal Zhang to exorcise the evil spirits for you. Then, with a few magical talismans, everything will be fine."

Hearing this, Jia Baoyu nodded slightly and felt a little relieved.

Just as Mrs. Wang was comforting Jia Baoyu, the maid Xiren came into the room anxiously and said.

"Madam, Second Master, something bad has happened. The Master has sent someone over to ask Second Master to hurry to the main hall."

Mrs. Wang asked curiously.

"What does the master want Baoyu for?"

Xiren said hurriedly.

"The servant said someone from Prince Zhongshun's mansion came and said the Second Master had hidden an actor from the mansion, and they were here to take him back."

Mrs. Wang and Jia Baoyu couldn't help but feel a pang of anxiety in their hearts, as if they were being tormented by a hundred claws.

But Mrs. Wang quickly calmed down and spoke as if nothing had happened.

"I see. Go tell the servant that Baoyu is leaving after changing his clothes."

"The slaves obey."

While sending Xiren away, Mrs. Wang looked at Jia Baoyu with a serious expression and said.

"Baoyu, I guess you can't hide your relationship with that Qi Guan."

"If they ask you where Qi Guan is, tell them frankly."

"But if they ask anything else, just say you haven't seen him in a few days and you don't know much."

"Don't say anything else except this, understand?"

Jia Baoyu nodded and said.

"Don't worry, mother. I'll remember it."

After giving Jia Baoyu instructions, Mrs. Wang called a maid to help Jia Baoyu change his clothes, and then she left Jia Baoyu's room.

Not long after, in the main hall of Rongguo Mansion, Jia Baoyu pretended to be calm and came into the hall, bowed and said.

"I have met my father and the adults."

"I wonder what instructions my father has for me."

Jia Zheng didn't waste any words and simply explained the matter briefly, then asked sternly.

"Damn you slave! It would be fine if you stayed home and didn't study, but how could you do such lawless things! That Qi Guan is currently serving the Zhongshun Prince. How dare you, a worthless person, provoke him out for no reason, and now bring disaster upon me."

"Hurry up and tell the Lord his whereabouts, otherwise I will not forgive you."

Jia Baoyu's legs went weak after hearing Jia Zheng's words, and he spoke tremblingly.

"Father, I do know Qi Guan, but I'm not very familiar with him. I just asked him to be my playmate when I was drinking and having fun with the young men from the noble families."

"I haven't seen him for many days."

The chief official sneered after hearing this.

"Sir, you are just teasing me when you say this."

"If I hadn't figured out the situation, I wouldn't have come here rashly."

"Sir, you said you are not familiar with Qi Guan. Then I would like to ask you, what is the explanation for the sweat towel around your waist?"

"Is it possible that a stranger would give you something as intimate as a handkerchief, and yet you actually wear it all the time?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Baoyu was so frightened that his face turned pale, and Jia Zheng was even paler. He kicked Jia Baoyu in the abdomen and knocked him to his knees.

"You beast, even at this point, you still dare to tell lies. If you don't tell the truth, I'll show you how I'm going to deal with you."

The Chief Clerk said calmly upon seeing this.

"If the old man wants to teach your son a lesson, there is no need to rush, and there is no need to do it in front of me."

"Please tell your son about Officer Qi's whereabouts, so that I don't have to waste my breath. If I make His Majesty anxious, it will be my dereliction of duty."

Jia Zheng was horrified when he heard this and quickly looked at Jia Baoyu and said.

"You beast, tell me quickly, where is Qi Guan?"

After being kicked by his old father, Jia Baoyu gasped in pain.

Seeing his old father's face becoming increasingly ugly, Jia Baoyu hurriedly spoke.

"Since you know all about him, how come you don't know about something as important as his purchase of a house? I heard he has a Red Sandalwood Fort in the eastern suburbs, twenty miles from the city, where he has bought a few acres of land and a few houses. I wonder where he is."

After hearing this, the Chief Clerk glanced at Jia Baoyu and said, "So, I think it must be there. I'll go look for it. If I find it, that's fine. If not, I'll come back and ask for your advice."

After the chief historian finished speaking, he left in a hurry.

After the Chief Clerk left, Jia Zheng instantly went into full-fire mode and launched a crazy attack on Jia Baoyu.

After hearing the news, Mrs. Wang rushed over to dissuade them, which naturally caused another round of chaos, which needs no elaboration.

As for the Chief Secretary, two streets after leaving Rongguo Mansion, the carriage he was riding in was stopped by someone.

The driver suddenly pulled the reins, and the whole carriage stopped abruptly. The chief official in the carriage almost fell off.

After barely stabilizing himself, the chief official cursed angrily.

"Lao Zhang, what do you do for a living?"

"How can anyone drive like you?"

The driver, Lao Zhang, said with great grievance.

"Sir, someone suddenly rushed out and blocked the carriage. If I don't stop quickly, I will hit him to death."

After hearing this, the chief official was so angry that he lifted the curtain of the carriage and cursed.

"Who, who is so blind, dares to block the carriage of the palace?"

If Jia Baoyu were here at this time, he would definitely recognize the person who stopped the carriage.

The person who stopped the car was none other than Jia Baoyu's servant Mingyan.

At this point in the story, some people may wonder, wasn't Mingyan eradicated by Mrs. Wang? Why is he popping up again now?

In fact, whether it was Mingyan's resurrection or Qi Guan Jiang Yuhan's sudden death, they were all manipulated by Jia Jue behind the scenes.

After Zhang Han reported the matter between Jia Baoyu and Jiang Yuhan to Jia Jue, Jia Jue had been thinking about how to make the matter bigger.

If the fact that Jia Baoyu was hiding Jiang Yuhan was simply exposed, at most Jia Baoyu would be beaten and the matter would be over.

Prince Zhongshun's palace would not make a big fuss about this matter.

Things will only get out of hand if Jiang Yuhan dies.

So Jiang Yuhan died at the hands of Jia Baoyu, and it was all orchestrated by the Shadow Secret Guard.

As for Mingyan's resurrection, it was entirely because the person sent by Mrs. Wang to silence her was too careless.

They originally planned to strangle Mingyan to death with a rope, but they only strangled her until she was in shock, tied her to stones and threw her into the lake.

The Shadow Secret Guard secretly rescued Mingyan and used drugs during the treatment process, making Mingyan feel like she was dreaming.

After rescuing Mingyan, the Shadow Secret Guard threw Mingyan to the shore downstream of the lake, making him feel as if he had floated to the shore naturally.

What happened next was simple. After Mingyan woke up and survived the disaster, she was obsessed with revenge on the Rongguo Mansion.

But anyone who can be a personal servant still has some useful brains.

Mingyan knew very well that if he confronted the Rongguo Mansion head-on, the end that awaited him would be death again.

After thinking about it, he made up his mind to tell the Prince Zhongshun's Mansion about Jiang Yuhan's death. In this way, the Prince Zhongshun's Mansion would definitely not let the Rongguo Mansion off easily. Jia Baoyu had killed someone and must pay with his life.

However, he walked around Prince Zhongshun's Palace several times but could not find an opportunity to meet with the palace manager.

So he could only wait near Prince Zhongshun's palace.

Until today, he finally discovered that the chief historian went straight to Rongguo Mansion. He was overjoyed and followed him all the way. He finally waited for the opportunity.

Just as the chief official was cursing, Mingyan quickly walked to the front of the carriage and said.

"Sir, are you looking for the whereabouts of Qi Guan? I tell you, don't look for him anymore. He was killed by Jia Baoyu."

The Chief Clerk was very shocked after hearing this, and looked at Mingyan in surprise and asked.

"You, who are you?"

Then Mingyan told the whole story.

After learning the truth of the matter, the chief historian sneered and said.

"Well, Rongguo Mansion is great. Let's wait and see. Come on, follow me back to the mansion to meet the prince."

The Chief Clerk took Mingyan to Prince Zhongshun's mansion, and a storm was inevitable.

At the same time, in a quiet courtyard in the Marquis of Guanjun's Mansion in Dongcheng, Wang Xifeng was leisurely waiting in the side hall.

About a cup of tea later, under the guidance of Ping'er, Xue Baochai came to the side hall.

After coming closer, Xue Baochai bowed and said.

"Cousin, long time no see."

Wang Xifeng stood up and took Xue Baochai's hand and sat down.

"Okay, Sister Baochai, don't be polite, we are all family."

"If I'm not mistaken, you came to me because of your brother Xue Pan."

Xue Baochai nodded and then sighed.

"Sister Feng, you know what my brother is like.

"My father passed away early, and my mother doted on my brother too much, so he was always arrogant."

"I didn't expect that I would hit a wall this time, offend the Marquis, and cause such a devastating disaster."

"My younger sister and mother are really at their wit's end, so we can only come to my sister for help."

Wang Xifeng said after a moment of thought.

"Don't you live in Rongguo Mansion? What did they say?"

Xue Baochai said with a hint of helplessness.

"There were some misunderstandings between Rongguo Mansion and Hou Mansion before, so my aunt and the old lady were concerned about it."

"Sister Feng, I know that you are very much favored by the Marquis, so I took the liberty to ask for an audience. I hope Sister Feng will not blame me."

Wang Xifeng waved her hand and said.

"We're family, so we shouldn't talk behind each other's backs. Your mother is my aunt, and we're all blood relatives."

"But my sister also knows that my position in the Marquis's Mansion is awkward. I am a concubine."

"It's just that I'm quite capable, so the Marquis and the two ladies look up to me."

"It's impossible to say how much weight my words carry."

"Ever since your brother was brought to the Marquis's residence by the Marquis, I have been secretly visiting him."

"The Marquis didn't allow anyone in the palace to torture him, so he didn't suffer any physical injuries."

"At the moment, there's no danger to their lives."

After hearing that Xue Pan's life was safe, Xue Baochai breathed a sigh of relief. Then she looked at Wang Xifeng with a pleading face and said.

"Sister Feng, could you help us find out what the Marquis is thinking?"

"Don't worry, I will never let my sister's hard work be in vain."

Wang Xifeng said after holding Xue Baochai's hand.

"Okay, sister, that's not what I meant."

"You also know that the Marquis was successful at a young age and was crowned a marquis at the age of twenty."

"Furthermore, since entering the court, he has always been firm in his words and ruthless in handling matters."

"Such a decisive and ruthless person, yet he was provoked by your brother. Isn't this just looking for trouble?"

"The Marquis is determined to deal with him."

"During this period, he was imprisoned in the Marquis' Mansion and was only given two steamed buns a day to fill his stomach."

"I went to see him two days ago. He was so hungry that he was just skin and bones, and his face was pale and emaciated."

"I couldn't bear it, so I wanted to ask the servants to improve his food."

"Who knew that the servant didn't listen to me and turned around to tell the lady and the marquis. For this, the marquis scolded me and said I was ungrateful."

(End of this chapter)