Dream of the Red Chamber: Start by gaining Zhao Yun's martial prowess, and be ennobled in a sin

In the blink of an eye, seeing the ground covered in crimson blood, Lai Da was about to kowtow to his death.

Jia Jing remained cold and expressionless as he watched, his face showing no emotion whatsoever.

Everyone present, whether masters or maids, felt a chill run down their spines at the sight of that upright figure.

For the first time, the entire Jia family truly felt the majesty of the Marquis, who had fought countless battles and was ruthless and cold-blooded, and boundless awe rose in their hearts.

Just as everyone present was beginning to feel the oppressive atmosphere, Jia Jing finally spoke slowly:

"Let's drag this out! I always keep my word! If I spare Shang Rong's life today, it will be telling everyone that ancestral laws can be violated, corruption can be encouraged, and violations of laws and regulations can be forgiven."

"Once this precedent is set, the authority of family discipline will be completely destroyed. I hope you will all take this as a warning: family discipline is ruthless, so don't say you weren't warned!"

Jia Jing gave the order!

Lai Da tried to speak, but the guards struck him in the mouth with a scabbard and took him and Lai Er outside the courtyard to be executed.

Amidst the sounds of blows and screams, Jia Jing spoke again:

"Wu Xindeng, Shan Daliang... you and more than a dozen others have embezzled a huge amount of money, stealing from your master, and your crimes are compounded."

"You have committed many illegal acts in the past. Considering that you have been staying in our household for so long, we will not send you to be executed by slow slicing. Instead, drag you away and beat you to death! Confiscate your property!"

At Jia Jing's command, another seventeen or eighteen people were dragged out of the courtyard to be executed.

The entire room fell silent, and no one harbored any hope of a lucky break.

At this point, no one in the entire courtyard dared to speak or discuss anything casually.

Zhou Rui's wife, Granny Fei, Granny Zhao, and the others who were still kneeling on the ground were trembling like little chicks, afraid that they would follow in the footsteps of Lai Da and the others.

"Granny Zhao, for deceiving her master, shall be beaten to death! Her whole family shall be sold off!"

"Old Lady Fei bullied others by relying on her power, stirred up trouble, and spoke rudely. She was given twenty strokes of the cane and her whole family was sold off."

"Zhou Rui's wife, who abused her power, embezzled, and monopolized lawsuits, was punished with twenty strokes of the cane and her property confiscated, and her entire family was expelled from the mansion, since no murder had occurred.

"Is there anyone here who wants to protest their innocence? If you believe you have been wronged, speak up in front of everyone, lest you accuse me of abusing my power!"

Jia Jing glanced at the people kneeling on the ground and asked indifferently.

Upon hearing that she was to be beaten to death, Granny Zhao fainted.

Zhou Rui's wife and Granny Fei breathed a long sigh of relief. In any case, it was good that they had survived.

Only then did Zhou Rui's wife dare to slightly raise her head and glance at Madam Wang sitting in the seat in front.

She couldn't understand how the mistress could tolerate the eldest son's unbridled behavior without uttering a word.

As the maidservant of the second wife, she was actually dragged from her home and brought to this courtyard to await her fate.

This was a scene she never dreamed of, yet it actually happened in reality.

Even if the eldest son and the youngest son gain power, they should still be separated from their own side by a house.

Even if the old lady wanted to punish herself, it should have been the wife who did it, not this blatant and forceful approach.

Of course, by this time, the Lai family, who were the old lady's maids, were all finished, and she knew that she was probably doomed.

However, she wanted to see what Madam Wang's attitude was.

She was stunned when she saw it.

She saw that Madam Wang, who was usually kind-faced, dignified and proper, was also looking at her.

He then subtly gave her a meaningful look and gestured to Feng Yatou beside him.

As Lady Wang's trusted maid, Zhou Rui's wife was naturally very perceptive of Lady Wang's thoughts.

Seeing her point at Feng, he quickly understood what Madam Wang meant.

Is this a scheme to drag Feng Yatou down with him and make her lose her power as the head of the household?

These days, the madam has been secretly competing with Feng'er, and has even instructed me to secretly investigate whether Feng'er, the housekeeper, has done anything wrong.

At this moment, seeing the eldest son's wife gaining more and more power, the wife was bound to become restless!

Zhou Ruijia's eyes darted around, and she immediately made a decision.

Being kicked out of the mansion is not terrible. As long as I help my wife secure her position as steward, I can get her favor in the future and live a comfortable life in the capital.

Zhou Rui's wife gritted her teeth, crawled a few steps on her knees, and stepped forward to shout loudly to Jia Jing:

"My lord! Your military and legal system is upright and just; your servants dare not disobey!"

"But you said you would govern the household with military discipline, Lord Marquis? I wonder if this includes the masters of this household? If any master of this household breaks the law, will they be punished?"

Zhou Rui's words immediately sparked a murmur of discussion in the courtyard.

"What? Even our master breaks the law?"

"Who is it?"

"Could this be a backlash against the Second Madam? Zhou Rui's wife is the Second Madam's personal maid; she must know a lot of her secrets!"

Grandmother Jia's face was gloomy. She hadn't expected that Jia Jing's words would actually come true. The punishment of the servants had actually led to a report of the master breaking the law and violating discipline!

Fortunately, Zhou Rui's wife was only reporting the matter to the master of the mansion. If she had been kicked out and then reported it to the imperial court, the situation would have been much more serious!

Just as his unfilial grandson said, the Jia family is currently in a precarious situation. If someone with ulterior motives uses these matters to their advantage, it could cause another uproar.

But who is this person who broke the law and violated regulations?

Baoyu's father was always upright and honest. Although he was a bit old-fashioned, he would never do anything illegal or disorderly.

Baoyu rarely leaves the manor; he is young and naive, and would never do anything bad!

Grandmother Jia first ruled out the two she cared about most!

Could it be that the wicked servant has turned against his master, and Zhou Rui's wife is about to accuse Bao Yu's mother?

If that's the case, this unruly servant cannot be allowed to live!

A cold glint flashed in Grandmother Jia's eyes.

Madam Xing and Madam Wang remained calm on the scene. Madam Wang knew that Zhou Rui's wife must have understood her meaning.

Madam Xing was completely bewildered. Although she was somewhat greedy, she had never done anything illegal, nor did she have the ability to do so.

But she felt a little strange. She couldn't very well report it to the magistrate, could she?

As far as she knew, the master did have some shady dealings behind the scenes, but he was on his deathbed, so what was the point of reporting him now?

At this moment, Sister Feng was still fantasizing about how much silver she could get from the house raid, completely unaware that Zhou Rui's wife was going to accuse her.

After all, she kept everything extremely secret, whether it was lending money at exorbitant interest rates or other shady dealings; only her confidante Ping'er and her maid Laiwang's wife knew about it.

Jia Jing glanced thoughtfully at Wang Xifeng, who was still beaming with delight, and said in a deep voice:

"According to the Great Han Law, if a slave accuses his master, even if the accusation is true, the master will not be punished. Instead, the slave will be sentenced to 'one hundred strokes of the cane and three years of penal servitude'."

"If a servant falsely accuses his master, he will not only be punished according to the principle of false accusation, but may also be sentenced to hanging for 'causing the death of a close relative,' and half of his property will be confiscated to compensate the falsely accused."

"Have you thought this through?"