The Red Mansion

Chapter 69: Rong Mansion Panic, Keqing Affectionate

Daqing has strict laws and rituals.

According to the law and etiquette, it would not be excessive for Jia Zhen to be stripped of his title, beaten with 80 sticks, and sent to the coastal areas to work and atone for his sins.

However, what Jia Zhen did this time was not uncommon in Daqing, and Jia Zhen himself did not think it was a big deal. It was only because of Jiang Nian's intervention that the matter alarmed the retired Emperor Jingning, and it became a big deal.

Even if the case was alarmed, Emperor Jingning would normally have treated the matter leniently, as the Ningguo Mansion was the mansion of the founding dukes, and was related to the Rongguo Mansion, and Emperor Jingning and Jia Daishan had a deep friendship as monarch and minister.

However, this is really not normal.

Emperor Jingning was indignant!

Qin Ye was murdered by Wang Ziteng, who was then punished by imperial decree of Emperor Jingning. Under these circumstances, just as Qin Ye's funeral was over, Jia Zhen, a close friend of Wang Ziteng, attempted to seize his daughter. This was both excessive and a disrespect for Emperor Jingning!
Furthermore, the Taishun Emperor and Prince Zhongyi, a pair of brothers, were facing a difficult task in clearing up the deficit and urgently needed the assistance of the Jingning Emperor. Recently, the Jingning Emperor was planning to severely punish a prominent nobleman to intimidate other nobles and officials of the imperial clan. It was at this moment that Jia Zhen ran into the crossfire.

Thus, Ningguo Mansion became the first of the "Four Kings and Eight Dukes" to be stripped of their hereditary nobility in the more than 100 years since the founding of Daqing! Without hereditary nobility, Ningguo Mansion, a mansion built by imperial decree, was taken back by the Ministry of Works.

This was a great deterrent to the nobles of Daqing, and it could also intimidate officials and even members of the royal family.

Emperor Jingning ordered the Ministry of Justice to issue a public notice to warn the nobles to take this as a warning, and to warn all the nobles that if they did not cooperate in the investigation of the deficit, they would be severely punished.

Most of the founding "Four Kings and Eight Dukes" had deficits. Jia Zhen's severe punishment could prompt them to make up for the deficits, and it could also prompt other nobles to make up for the deficits...

……

……

Changchun Garden.

In the warm room of Danningju.

Prince Zhongyi said to Emperor Taishun, "Your Majesty has indeed severely punished Jia Zhen. This thunderous measure can truly deter the nobles and even the officials of the royal family, and will help Your Majesty and I to investigate the deficit."

Emperor Taishun sat cross-legged on a rosewood Arhat bed, the five-clawed golden dragon on his bright yellow robe raised its head, ready to take flight. He smiled and nodded, but then lamented, "It's a shame we only reclaimed the imperially built mansion this time, but weren't able to confiscate the Ningguo Mansion's treasures."

Prince Zhongyi couldn't help laughing when he heard this.

He knew that his fourth brother loved to confiscate people's property.

Emperor Taishun feigned anger and raised his hand to nod, "You good old Thirteen! Are you laughing at me again for wanting to confiscate your property? Don't laugh! I was just thinking that the Ningguo Mansion has a lot of wealth. If it could be added to the national treasury, it would help alleviate the financial crisis."

Prince Zhongyi suppressed his smile and said sternly, "Your Majesty is absolutely right!"

Emperor Taishun laughed and said, "From now on, I will often order you to confiscate property. How about that?"

Prince Zhongyi: “…”

The warm room suddenly became quiet.

……

……

Rongguo Mansion. Jiamu Courtyard.

The late spring sunlight shone through the half-open carved windows of Rongqing Hall onto the blue brick floor, and the blue bricks seemed to have turned into golden bricks. However, the sunlight could not dispel the heavy and depressing atmosphere in the hall.

In the hall were Lady Jia, Lady Xing, Lady Wang, Li Wan, Wang Xifeng, and Youshi.

Grandmother Jia leaned on the couch, a string of agarwood Buddhist beads kept moving between her fingers, making a low sound of beads colliding, as if she was praying for something.

Youshi sat at the bottom.

She is Jia Zhen's second wife. She is only in her twenties this year, quite pretty, with picturesque features.

At this moment, her face was filled with sorrow, like a pear blossom ravaged by wind and rain, delicate and helpless. In her hand, a handkerchief embroidered with lotus flowers was wrinkled from being clenched, and still had traces of wet tears on it.

At this moment, Jia Zheng and Jia Lian hurried into the hall. Jia Zheng, still in his official robes, had beads of sweat on his forehead, evidently having just returned from the government office. He glanced around at the others, his voice low but clear: "The Emperor has issued a decree regarding the affairs of the Eastern Palace. Zhen'er has been stripped of his title, his residence has been reclaimed by the Ministry of Works, he has been given 80 strokes of the cane, and has been sent to the coastal areas to serve as atonement for his sins. He must also pay the Qin family's steward 200 taels of silver for medicine. Lai's second-class servants will each be given 100 strokes of the cane and exiled 3,000 miles."

Before he finished speaking, there was already a sound of gasps in the hall.

Yu's face turned pale, and she swayed, nearly falling off the chair. She murmured in a trembling voice, "What...what should I do?"

Grandmother Jia stopped moving her agarwood Buddhist beads and asked Jia Zheng anxiously, "Has our West Mansion been implicated?"

Compared to Ningguo Mansion, she certainly cares more about Rongguo Mansion.

Jia Zheng shook his head: "I wasn't implicated."

Grandmother Jia breathed a sigh of relief, her body slightly relaxed, and she couldn't help but sigh, "That boy named Jiang Nian, he's not to be messed with! The last time the Emperor issued an edict to punish the Wang family and abolish the Xue family's imperial business, it was all related to him, and Bao-ya-tou even promised him as a concubine. This time, in the matter of Zhen-er, it was he who led the Qin family's steward to file a lawsuit, which alarmed the Emperor."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the hall became curious about Jiang Nian, including Wang Xifeng and Youshi.

Immediately, Grandmother Jia kept only Jia Zheng and Lady Wang and dismissed everyone else.

After everyone left, the sound of the clock suddenly became clear, clanging, like flour being sifted in a basket.

Grandmother Jia sighed deeply and said to Jia Zheng, "You just said that our West Mansion was not implicated. I'm afraid you are wrong. I'm afraid the eldest lady in the palace will be implicated!"

Upon hearing this, Madam Wang shuddered violently, and the handkerchief in her hand nearly fell to the ground. "What does the old lady mean?"

Grandmother Jia sighed again and said, "Back then, we predicted that the Fourth or Fourteenth Prince would inherit the throne. Both of these princes were born to Concubine De. To ensure the long-term prosperity of our family, I did my best to encourage the eldest daughter to be chosen as Concubine De's female historian. With the current emperor's ascension to the throne, Concubine De was promoted to Empress Dowager. Earlier, I went to the palace to meet with the Empress Dowager and pleaded for Yuanchun to be the current emperor's concubine. Although the Empress Dowager did not explicitly agree, judging by her intentions, this matter is likely to be accomplished. However, recently, the Wang family, the Xue family, and the East Palace have successively angered the retired emperor and issued orders to punish them. I am afraid that the eldest daughter will be implicated!"

The handkerchief in Mrs. Wang's hand was already wrinkled. She whispered, "What should I do? What should I do..."

I'm afraid that the peony I carefully cultivated will wither in the wind and rain...

……

……

The eastern suburbs of Shenjing City.

The Qin family's small house.

Peng Jizhong, his face still bruised, had just told Qin Keqing about the emperor's decree to punish Jia Zhen. He then said, "This is all thanks to Master Jiang! If it weren't for Master Jiang's help, I'm afraid Jia Zhen would have killed me, and Jia Zhen would have definitely harassed me. We must thank Master Jiang sincerely."

Although Peng Jizhong received a beating, Jiang Nian awarded him five hundred taels of silver. Jia Zhen and a group of his servants were severely punished by the Emperor Jingning, the retired emperor. The emperor even ordered Jia Zhen to pay him two hundred taels of silver for medicine. Even the emperor remembered his name, and it was included in his imperial edict, spreading throughout the court...

This made him really in awe of Jiang Nian!

Qin Keqing's eyes flickered slightly, and she said softly, "We should thank Master Jiang."

I sighed quietly in my heart: "After this incident, it will be difficult for me to marry into a good family in the future! He...he seems to belong to me, and I seem to have feelings for him..."

She had already been attracted to him before.

Although this incident with Jia Zhen damaged her reputation, it gave her a strong sense of being protected and made her feel that he was more mysterious and powerful.

Her heartbeat has transformed into emotion...

The case of Jia Zhen should have been heard by the Ministry of Justice, not the Censorate. This has been revised.

When writing historical articles online, such historical errors are inevitable, and I will try my best to avoid them in the future.

There have been fewer updates in the past two days because I am going to Sanjiang and it will be put on the shelves soon. I am correcting a few minor errors in the previous text and also thinking about and organizing the outline to prepare for the burst of updates when it is put on the shelves and the 8,000 updates a day after it is put on the shelves.

There will be three updates today, and I will make up for it with one chapter.

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(End of this chapter)