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

Jia Yi frowned: "Jiangnan? There shouldn't be floods at this time of year, so where did these disaster victims come from?"

"I have investigated and found that it is not a natural disaster, but a man-made one," the Imperial Guard said in a deep voice. "The powerful and wealthy forced the people to convert rice paddies to mulberry fields, causing them to lose all their land, their families to be destroyed, and forcing them to flee north to beg for a living."

Jia Yi remained silent, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"Third Master..." Qin Keqing's eyes suddenly reddened, her voice trembling, "Can I go and distribute porridge? With my dowry... I want to save them..."

Tears rolled down, crystal clear, and shattered on the bluestone slab, breaking into pieces that evoked heartache.

"Silly girl." Jia Yi raised his hand to wipe away the tears from the corner of her eyes, his tone both doting and possessive. "Between you and me, what's the point of distinguishing between you and me? Yuanyang, prepare the provisions, take the personal guards, and accompany the lady to distribute porridge—every day from now on!"

"Yes!" Yuanyang responded and left.

"You," Jia Yi turned to the Imperial Guards, his eyes icy, "send men to protect the Madam closely. If even a single hair is lost, you will be held responsible!"

"Yes, sir!"

The Imperial Guards received their orders and withdrew.

Jia Yi stood in the courtyard, his gaze deep and unfathomable.

Disaster victims, the White Lotus Rebellion, chaos... This is clearly a golden opportunity!

Get rid of Jia Zhen, then conveniently shift the blame to the White Lotus Sect, all without anyone noticing.

Once the thought was made up, he immediately summoned the Eighteen Riders of Yanyun, whispered the secret order, and a murderous intent surged within him.

At the same time, the Embroidered Uniform Guards also quickly presented the intelligence to the Emperor Emeritus.

"You insolent fools!" The Emperor Emeritus slammed his fist on the table, his face contorted with rage. "Who dares to touch the farmland? Who?!"

Reports indicate that there are over 10,000 refugees outside the city, all from Jiangnan, dressed in rags, with corpses of the starved scattered everywhere.

"The name of the mastermind is still unknown..." the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard said, bowing his head, "but... it is most likely the work of the Zhen family of Jiangnan."

At this point, the Embroidered Uniform Guard abruptly stopped, daring not to say another word.

How could the retired emperor not know? He slowly slumped onto the dragon throne, his face ashen.

The Zhen family... was the family of his wet nurse, and the relatives of his most beloved Consort Zhen.

It cannot be touched.

If he takes action, the world will condemn him as ungrateful; if he does not, he will lose the hearts of the people and his country will be shaken.

In my old age, I am bound hand and foot by my family, which is extremely frustrating!

"Father," Emperor Yuankang strode in, his golden boots clicking on the ground, "where did the refugees outside the city come from?"

In fact, he knew perfectly well what was going on outside.

The reason for asking this question was simply to see how the retired emperor would make this move.

The retired emperor stood up and paced back and forth in the hall. His dragon robe swept across the gold bricks, and his footsteps were so heavy that they seemed to tread on people's hearts.

Finally, gritting his teeth, he coldly uttered a few words: "Let Jia Yi handle it."

Emperor Yuankang's eyes flashed, and he was secretly delighted—was his father finally going to make a move? He was determined to take action against the Zhen family!

"Why bother Jia Yi?" he immediately replied, his tone tinged with eagerness. "Just send the Jiangnan Grand Camp south, confiscate the Zhen family's property, and it'll be a clean and efficient operation!"

"Even confiscating property requires a pretext." The retired emperor's voice was low, his gaze sharp as a knife. "Without evidence, the people of the world will be cursing me, not you."

He paused for a moment, then added, "This matter will be handled by Lin Ruhai and Jia Yi together."

Emperor Yuankang's pupils contracted, and he instantly understood.

What a brilliant move to use someone else to do the dirty work!

Jia Yi is a reckless man who is not afraid of offending people. If he finds solid evidence, he will dare to draw his knife and kill. Lin Ruhai, on the other hand, is a tough guy who is impartial and will definitely investigate to the end.

With the two of them working together, none of the Zhen family members will be able to escape.

But here's the problem—

"But how can we get Jia Yi to lead his troops south? We can't just mobilize a large army for no reason, can we?"

The retired emperor stood with his hands behind his back, his brow furrowed.

They couldn't disturb the deeply entrenched powerful families in Jiangnan, yet they had to send troops there with a legitimate reason...

As he paced back and forth in deep thought, Emperor Yuankang suddenly smiled, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes:

"Father, why not start with the Jiangnan camp?"

"Just say that the White Lotus Sect has infiltrated the camp."

He curled his lips into a smile, his tone flippant yet venomous.

Anyway, that Jiedushi, Yongyi Hou Anze, is no good either. Wouldn't it be great to take him down in one fell swoop?

The retired emperor nodded slowly, his voice as cold as ice: "Then someone has to die."

"Died at the hands of the White Lotus Sect."

"He has to be someone of sufficient stature."

Emperor Yuankang was taken aback and began rapidly calculating the names in the capital. There were too many suitable people, and he couldn't decide for a moment—who should be the unlucky one to be the "sacrifice"?

The thought hadn't even finished processing—

A young eunuch stumbled in, his face deathly pale, and knelt down with a thud:

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened!"

"Jia Zhen, a third-rank general of the Ningguo Prefecture... was killed by the White Lotus Rebellion!"

"The Duke of Qin has led his men in pursuit of the traitor!"

The hall fell silent instantly.

The retired emperor and Emperor Yuankang exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of shock in each other's eyes, followed by—uncontrollable elation.

Jia Zhen... his death was too coincidental!

It's like a stepping stone sent by God!

"Outrageous!" The Emperor Emeritus slammed his fist on the table, his voice filled with grief and indignation. "That despicable White Lotus vixen dared to murder a court official!"

He clutched his chest, staggered a few steps, and sat heavily back on the dragon throne, as if in excruciating pain.

Emperor Yuankang almost rolled his eyes—it's just the two of us in the hall, who are we putting on this show for?

But he immediately realized what was happening, wiped his eyes, and his voice trembled:

"Alas... General Jia, loyal to his country, suffered such a cruel fate; it is truly a tragedy for our Great Qian Dynasty!"

Having said that, he raised his voice and shouted, "Guards!"

"Imperial decree! Issued to the Ningguo Prefecture: Third-Class General Jia Zhen has been murdered by bandits; he shall be buried with the honors due to a First-Class General! His son, Jia Rong, shall inherit the title of Third-Class General. This is the imperial decree!"

The retired emperor nodded with his eyes closed.

Although Jia Zhen was a scoundrel, he was still a nobleman, so his death was a convenient way to do him a favor.

"That Jia Rong got off easy," Emperor Yuankang sneered, his eyes filled with disdain.

He knew that kid very well—a good-for-nothing, a complete waste.

An imperial edict, carried by a young eunuch, was rushed to the Ningguo Mansion.

At this moment, the entire Ningguo Prefecture was in complete chaos.

Guests gathered, and the sound of weeping shook the heavens.

Jia Rong knelt before the coffin, crying his heart out, his face covered in snot and tears, as if the sky had fallen.

—Father! You're finally gone!

He was overjoyed.

Originally, he planned to go with Qin Keqing to distribute porridge outside the city this morning to do good deeds and accumulate merit, but he turned back halfway and heard the terrible news as soon as he entered the door - his father had died suddenly.

Immediately afterwards, the imperial edict arrived.

From the son of a third-class general, he rose to become the heir of a first-class general in one step, and even gained the reputation of being a "filial son".

This is a huge profit!

"Amitabha... thank goodness." Grandmother Jia sat in the main seat, patted her chest, and breathed a sigh of relief.

If Jia Rong can inherit the title, then the Ningguo Mansion is safe.

She looked up and saw Qin Keqing standing at the back of the crowd, and immediately waved: "Good child, come to your grandmother quickly."

"Grandmother." Qin Keqing stepped forward gracefully, her smile gentle and her demeanor proper.

All eyes fell on her, and the people made no attempt to curry favor with her.

Just then, the eunuch delivering the imperial edict arrived.

The entire hall fell silent, and everyone knelt down in unison.

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Jia Zhen, a third-rank general of Ningguo Prefecture, was loyal, diligent, and cautious, but unfortunately was murdered by the White Lotus sorcerers… He is hereby granted the rites of a first-rank general for burial, and his son Jia Rong shall inherit the title of third-rank general. This is the imperial decree!"

Jia Rong received the imperial edict, his hands trembling.

It's not because of grief.

It's because of excitement.

He's never been this glamorous in his entire life!