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

Aside from Jia Zhen's matter, what other matter warrants Qin Keqing waiting here for so long, and acting as if she's afraid others will find out?

Jia Jing withdrew his gaze, stared intently, and said in a deep voice:

"Come with me!"

After Jia Jing finished speaking, he walked towards the artificial mountain group not far away. This was the work of the stone craftsmen who built the Rongguo Mansion. The rocks were rugged and the shady places never saw sunlight all year round.

Jia Jing pushed aside the withered vines and stepped into a small clearing surrounded by rocks.

Qin Keqing followed closely behind, ordering Ruizhu and Baozhu to stay where they were, while she followed Jia Jing alone into a secluded place isolated by rocks.

Upon entering, they found no one around.

Qin Keqing immediately knelt down, grabbed Jia Jing's robe with both hands, looked up, and pleaded in a mournful whisper:

"Uncle, my niece-in-law is begging you to save her!"

Jia Jing lowered his eyes to look at Qin Keqing kneeling on the ground, his face expressionless, and asked indifferently:

"What happened? Tell me in detail!"

"This..." Qin Keqing's expression froze, and she hesitated to speak.

Although she had rehearsed her words to Jia Jing many times at home, she knew how to persuade her uncle to help her and how to show that it wasn't her fault.

But now that he actually saw Jia Jing, especially his solemn and dignified expression, he didn't know how to start a conversation.

After all, it's not a pleasant thing to say, especially for a woman like her, that her father-in-law wanted to have an affair with her.

Qin Keqing hesitated for a moment, but ultimately reason prevailed over shyness. She bit her red lips and slowly spoke:

"There are some scandalous matters within the inner quarters that a niece-in-law should not confide in a man as upright as her uncle."

"But my niece-in-law was truly driven to desperation by Uncle Zhen; she had nowhere else to turn but her uncle. I don't know who else to ask for help..."

At this point, Qin Keqing paused, glanced at Jia Jing's expression, which remained expressionless.

Qin Keqing pondered Jia Zhen's foul language for a moment, then finally stopped hiding it, mustered her courage, and spoke frankly:

"Uncle Zhen... Uncle Zhen has ulterior motives towards his niece-in-law."

After uttering these words, Qin Keqing's expression relaxed slightly, and she continued:

"Ever since his niece-in-law married into the East Mansion, Master Zhen's attitude towards her has been strange."

"He would often order his daughter-in-law to serve him in his room, acting like a father-in-law, and he would frequently say rude things to her and behave improperly."

"Once, when his niece-in-law was taking a bath in her room, he insisted on barging in. Luckily, Baozhu and Ruizhu desperately stopped him, otherwise..."

"On the third day of last month, Grandpa Zhen was feeling a little better, so he barged into his niece's room while drunk."

He said, “Rong’er is not good enough for me. You might as well go with him. He will never treat you badly in the East Mansion. If you don’t go, there will be no place for me in the East Mansion.”

"After saying that, he took off his clothes, intending to do something improper. Fortunately, he had been punished by the Marquis and his body had not fully recovered. His niece-in-law took advantage of his inattention and escaped."

"These days, my nephew's wife has been hiding everywhere, either going back to her parents' home or coming to the West Mansion, preventing him from finding an opportunity to do evil!"

"But the more he pressured me, the less he cared about my reputation. He would come to my room every day and find a pretext to make my niece-in-law serve him."

"My niece-in-law was forced into this situation! How could her father-in-law and daughter-in-law... If he succeeds, how will my niece-in-law ever have the face to live in this world!"

"Master Kezhen has always been a man of his word in the East Mansion; no one dares to go against his wishes. What can his niece-in-law do?"

"After much deliberation, I realized I had no one else to turn to for help, so I had no choice but to come to my uncle for salvation."

Qin Keqing's fingernails dug into her palms. She closed her eyes, slammed her head heavily to the ground, and pleaded:

"Please save my life, Uncle. I will repay your kindness in my next life."

Jia Jing listened quietly as she finished speaking. He knew some of what Qin Keqing was saying, but not all of it.

Based on Qin Keqing's account and the intelligence reports from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Qin Keqing was likely forced by Jia Zhen, rather than the two engaging in illicit relations.

After all, no matter how powerful Jia Zhen was in the East Mansion, he wouldn't allow Qin Keqing to live a dignified life, abandon her son to rely on her father, and do something shameless.

However, the judgment on Qin Keqing in the original work is quite interesting:

Love's heaven and sea, a body of illusion; where love meets, lust is inevitable. Don't say all the unworthy come from Rong; the true instigator of trouble is Ning.

The word "淫" (yin) is not a good word; it implies a lack of female virtue.

And then there's this absurd statement: "All the unworthy ones come from Rong, and the real source of trouble is Ning." What exactly does this "source of trouble" refer to?

Was the downfall of the Jia family related to the death of Qin Keqing?

Opinions on this matter vary in later generations.

Some interpret this as Qin Keqing having an unusual background.

Not only was she adopted by the Qin family, but she also died in the coffin of the late Prince Yizhong, and her funeral was extremely grand, all of which showed that Qin Keqing was an extraordinary person.

Some say it reflects the secrets of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Jia Jing is not yet fully aware of the hidden story, but based on the intelligence he has gathered...

The affair between Jia Zhen and Qin Keqing was forced upon them by Jia Zhen through repeated coercion, which ultimately led to Qin Keqing's death.

However, regardless of whether there was any instigation or secret involved, Jia Jing would not allow anything that threatened the safety of the Jia family to happen.

Regardless of the circumstances, even if there were no secrets surrounding this incestuous affair, its spread would severely damage the Jia family's reputation.

Xi Chun is a young lady from the Ningguo Mansion. With a brother who commits incest, what will others think of her?

In the original novel, even an outsider like Liu Xianglian knew that only the two lions in front of the Ningguo Mansion were clean.

It is evident that the Ningguo Mansion's reputation has become infamous, and such tarnishing of the Jia family's reputation is intolerable to Jia Jing, who advocates military rule and law in his family.

As Jia Jing thought of this, a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.

Jia Zhen had already warned him to be careful with his words and actions, but he still didn't behave after being beaten. He probably can't be kept around any longer.

Although it's not appropriate to have the Embroidered Uniform Guard take action directly right now, we still need to find a suitable opportunity to eliminate this cancer.

Seeing that Jia Jing remained silent for a long time, Qin Keqing felt uneasy and raised her head to call out softly:

"uncle……"

Jia Jing raised his eyebrows and asked in a deep voice:

"Yes! I already know about this. When did Jia Zhen start this?"

Qin Keqing lowered her head:

"Ever since his niece-in-law married into the East Mansion, I've sensed something's wrong; he's been far too enthusiastic towards her..."

"At first, my niece-in-law thought it might be her imagination, but who knew he would become more and more rude."

Jia Jing continued to ask:

Who knows about this?

Qin Keqing thought Jia Jing didn't believe her, and hurriedly explained:

"My maids Baozhu and Ruizhu both know about this, as does Rong-ge'er. I told him about Master Zhen's rudeness towards me, and he also bumped into Master Zhen holding my hand..."

Qin Keqing's face showed a hint of anger, and her eyes were filled with dejection as she said:

"Rong-ge'er isn't a man!"