Dream of the Red Chamber: After being exiled, I went on a killing spree in Liaodong.

Niu Jizong's eyes were like knives, his anger almost tangible.

"Yi-ge'er has committed such a heinous act, naturally..."

Jia Zheng hurriedly stepped forward, his face filled with grief, as if his heart was bleeding.

The words had barely left his mouth when Niu Jizong cut him off with a cold laugh—

"Bullshit! The Emperor Emeritus not only didn't punish him, but also rewarded him with gold, silver, silk, imperial wine, and a whole bunch of other precious items!"

He gritted his teeth and said, enunciating each word clearly: "Prince Zhongshun and his son are to be confined to their residence for a year! They will be locked up and forced to reflect on their actions!"

"What?"

The room erupted in uproar, then fell completely silent.

The heads of all the Jia family members went blank, as if someone had poured a bucket of ice water over their heads.

The retired emperor didn't punish Jia Yi? Instead, he rewarded him handsomely?

What were they doing just now?

To kick out a marquis who was personally praised by the retired emperor?

Are you kidding me?! This is like walking into a knife's edge!

Niu Jizong surveyed the entire room, a mocking smile playing on his lips, his eyes so cold they could freeze.

"I'll come personally to add Brother Yi's name back."

Before he finished speaking, Jia Zhen rushed forward and snatched the wolf-hair brush from Jia Dairu's hand. His hand moved so fast that it almost left a blur. With a few quick strokes, the two characters "Jia Yi" reappeared in the family genealogy.

"Oh, Uncle Niu, you've misunderstood!" Jia Zhen laughed, his face crinkling with wrinkles. "We just noticed the ink on the names had faded, and we were worried our ancestors wouldn't be able to read them clearly, so we gathered the ancestral hall to rewrite them—we had no intention of removing anyone from the list! Haha, absolutely not!"

"Yes, yes, yes! It's just a little something to supplement!"

"Our Jia family values ​​blood ties most; how could we possibly expel the Marquis?"

"The ink's faded, hehe, it's purely a matter of handwriting..."

Everyone was talking at once, with smiles plastered on their faces, as if the "expulsion ceremony" had never happened.

Only Grandmother Jia sat in her armchair, her face as black as the bottom of a pot.

Hmph! They're just using me as a pawn and then discarding me!

Now it's all good, no need to bother trying to win over that wicked grandson, we've offended him to the core!

"Oh? Is that so?"

Niu Jizong sneered and flicked his sleeve fiercely—

"A bunch of filthy things, utterly disgusting."

He turned and left, his back view radiating disdain.

The ancestral hall became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"Mother, Second Brother, I told you not to rush, not to rush!"

Jia She patted his chest, looking pained and indignant, but his eyes held an barely suppressed smugness. "You all had to pull this stunt!"

"What do we do now? How are we going to face everyone when Yi-ge comes back?"

Everyone in the clan turned their heads, their gazes all falling on Grandmother Jia and Jia Zheng.

If these two hadn't started this trouble, who would have thought they'd run into a brick wall?

Jia She was overjoyed.

Brilliant! The entire clan is dissatisfied with this mother and son, and the power of the Rongguo Mansion is one step closer to me!

Grandmother Jia and Jia Zheng glared at him, their eyes practically spitting fire.

Why didn't you say anything then? You only come out later to act all high and mighty!

—Pure hindsight!

Inside the palace, golden tiles gleamed.

"Jia Yi, you did a great job this time!"

Emperor Yuankang was overjoyed, his eyebrows dancing with delight. "In the future, if you encounter any of those纨绔 (sons of wealthy and powerful families) who commit evil deeds, feel free to take action! I will back you up!"

He really enjoyed it.

That treacherous and wicked Prince Zhongshun was banned from entering the palace for a year, finally giving me some peace and quiet!

"Your Majesty, rest assured." Jia Yi grinned, patted his chest, and said, "I will handle things efficiently."

Xia Shouzhong stood aside, silently lighting an eternal lamp for all the dissolute youths of the capital city.

From this day forward, the elite circles of Beijing are about to change.

With a killing god above their heads, who would dare to walk sideways?

Emperor Yuankang rewarded him with a pile of official kiln porcelain, a jade belt, and a brocade robe, then waved for him to leave.

"call--"

As he stepped out of the palace gate, Jia Yi looked up at the sky, a smile playing on his lips.

"Mission accomplished."

Meanwhile, news from the palace had already spread like wildfire throughout the entire capital.

At first, the people thought that Jia Yi was doomed this time, or at least that he would be demoted and exiled.

The results of it?

They were unharmed, but Prince Zhongshun and his son were ordered by the Emperor Emeritus to be locked in their residence for a whole year!

At Mark Chao's residence, his staff gathered, all with solemn expressions.

He originally intended to use the Jia Yi incident to disrupt the court and embarrass Emperor Yuankang.

Unexpectedly, the retired emperor made a surprising move, launching a counterattack that caught everyone off guard.

"Prime Minister, what should we do next?"

Everyone turned to look at Mark Chao, the atmosphere tense.

Mark Chao paused for a moment, then slowly began to speak:

"Stop trying to take advantage of Jia Yi."

His gaze was deep, and his tone was almost a whisper:

"This person... is probably already regarded by the retired emperor as a pillar of the state."

"What? Impossible!"

The room erupted in uproar; everyone shook their heads in disbelief.

Even if a young marquis has some skills, he shouldn't have gone to this extent!

Mark Chao simply sneered.

"How is that impossible?"

"Don't you guys understand yet—"

"The storm has only just begun."

"Do I need to waste my breath describing Jia Yi's military prowess?"

"Being dim-witted makes them easy to manipulate; that's the kind of person the court loves—tell me, how could someone like that not be favored?"

Mark Chao spoke slowly, his voice as cold as a knife scraping across ice.

Zhao Lu, the governor of Liaodong, listened with a livid face. The foolish boy who was once a laughingstock under his command had now risen to become a first-class marquis, overshadowing him!

It felt like my heart was being cut repeatedly by a dull knife, and I was so frustrated that I almost vomited blood.

By what right? How can a mentally challenged child rise to such a high position?

If I can't touch you, Jia Yi, then I can certainly deal with the rest of the Rongguo Mansion.

For example... Jia Zheng.

If Jia Yi knew of this thought, he would probably slam his fist on the table and burst into laughter.

—Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! You have a true understanding of the art of revenge!

On the other side, Jia Yi had just stepped out of the palace gate when he bumped into Niu Jizong, whose face was as black as soot and whose eyes were so fierce they could spit fire.

"Uncle, whose explosives did you eat? At least ten tons, right?" Jia Yi teased, raising an eyebrow.

Niu Jizong glared at him fiercely: "Don't even mention it! Your family members are so stupid they're making my liver cramp!"

"Oh?" Jia Yi's eyes narrowed. "Could it be that Baoyu has caused another major scandal?"

"You still have your eye on Baoyu?" Niu Jizong sneered. "You're still not done with beating Prince Zhongshun and his son to a pulp! And what happened? Instead of going to the palace to plead for you, they're going to open the ancestral hall—to erase your name from the family genealogy!"

"When I got there, the pen was already dipped, and the name was almost crossed out! I had to stop them on the spot to get it added back!"

At this point, the disdain in his voice was almost palpable:

"With a foundation built over a century by four kings and eight dukes, how did your Jia family end up with such a disgraceful speck?"

"Oh."

Jia Yi chuckled lightly, but a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

You're pretty quick, aren't you? I beat someone up, and you're kicking me out the next minute?

Okay, that's really good.

"Yi-ge'er, be more careful from now on." Niu Jizong lowered his voice and patted his shoulder heavily. "Don't let your own people turn on you. If anything happens, go directly to His Majesty, or come to me."

After saying that, he turned and left, his back view exuding a murderous aura, as if he were going to wipe out the entire family.

Jia Yi watched his departing figure and murmured:

"Tsk, strangers are more reliable than your own parents."

He shook his head and smiled, then walked forward with his hands behind his back, his steps steady, heading straight for Ningrong Street.

At the street corner, Lai Da and Lai Er, along with a group of servants, waited expectantly, their faces beaming with smiles, looking just like clay bodhisattvas welcoming guests at the entrance of a temple.