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

Even Sister Feng couldn't care less about the 100,000 taels of silver at this moment. She turned to look at Jia Zheng, her face showing some concern.

Although the relationship between Wang Ziteng and Madam Wang was not as close as before due to the rift between them.

But since they were still considered her family, she didn't want anything to happen to Wang Ziteng!

Faced with the eager gazes of the crowd, Jia Zheng hesitated for a moment before replying:

"Baoyu's uncle was unharmed; the ones who died were the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief, the Director of Ceremonial Affairs, and several officials from the Ministry of War."

Upon hearing Jia Zheng's words, Lady Wang, Aunt Xue, and the others breathed a long sigh of relief, their hearts finally at ease.

Only Yuan Chun's plump face showed a hint of seriousness. She frowned, her beautiful eyes filled with worry, and asked again:

"My uncle is in charge of the Beijing Garrison. Now that such a big mess has broken out there, I'm afraid he'll be held accountable by the imperial court, won't he?"

Upon hearing this, Madam Wang's face paled even further, and she said in a trembling voice:

"This...this can't be, right? Wasn't it said that Brother Zhen forced the camp general to rebel?"

"Baoyu's uncle has always been meticulous and steady in his work; this has nothing to do with him!"

Madam Wang's voice grew softer and softer as she spoke, clearly indicating that she herself felt guilty about her statement.

Tan Chun's expression was solemn, her brows furrowed slightly, and she said:

"With the turmoil in the Beijing garrison, my uncle, as the chief officer in charge of the reorganization, is likely to bear a heavy responsibility!"

"However... if Uncle can quickly quell the rebellion, he might be able to atone for his crimes!"

Upon hearing this, Madam Wang hurriedly said:

"Yes! Yes! Yes! That makes sense! Baoyu's uncle is capable! A little trouble won't faze him!"

After speaking, Madam Wang looked at Jia Zheng, hoping to hear a positive answer from him!

"Capable?!"

Jia Zheng's expression was somewhat strange. He stammered, unsure of how to respond to the gazes of the others.

Seeing Jia Zheng's behavior, which was exactly like Jia Huan's, Lady Wang was both angry and anxious, and urged him to ask:

"Master, what happened? Tell me!"

Jia Zheng had intended to cover for Wang Ziteng, but now that Minister Xia was also present, he decided to speak frankly:

"Baoyu's uncle led troops to quell the rebellion, but suffered a crushing defeat!"

"Now, His Majesty has issued a decree to arrest and prosecute him along with Zhenge'er!"

Upon hearing this, Madam Wang felt as if she had been struck by lightning, as if the sky had collapsed.

Her body swayed, her vision blurred, and she said in a trembling voice:

"Baoyu's uncle is also going to be arrested and questioned? This...this is truly a bolt from the blue..."

"presumptuous!"

Before Madam Wang could finish speaking, she was interrupted by Xia Shouzhong's shrill voice!

Xia Shouzhong's face hardened, and he stared at Madam Wang, saying:

"Both thunder and rain are acts of imperial favor! Prince Teng was hasty in organizing the army and incompetent in leading it. Your Majesty's punishment of him is in accordance with law and human sentiment."

"How dare you, a mere woman confined to the inner quarters, speak so rudely and make such unfounded accusations!"

Xia Shouzhong's soft voice was full of sternness, which immediately made the atmosphere in the hall heavy.

After suppressing her grief, Madam Wang belatedly realized that she had said the wrong thing.

To describe the court's questioning and punishment of Prince Teng as a sudden calamity is surely an indication of harboring resentment!

Faced with Xia Shouzhong's cold and stern gaze, Madam Wang's eyes glazed over, as if she had lost her parents.

I felt as if a great disaster was about to befall me, and my heart was filled with fear.

Fortunately, Grandmother Jia was a woman of the world. She first glared fiercely at Lady Wang and then angrily rebuked her:

"Ignorant and foolish woman, what are you doing spouting nonsense in broad daylight!"

Grandmother Jia was furious at Lady Wang's several "nonsense remarks" today, as this daughter-in-law used to seem to have some sense.

But looking at it now, it's not much better than the first wife's!

I was so blind back then, how could I have married such scum for both of my sons!

Faced with Grandmother Jia's scolding, Lady Wang could only kneel down, her face pale, and beg for forgiveness:

"That's not what my daughter-in-law meant. I meant the Beijing garrison mutiny was an unexpected disaster, not a criticism..."

"Alright!"

Grandmother Jia interrupted Lady Wang's explanation.

She knew that explaining further at this point would be useless, regardless of whether you were criticizing the Emperor's intentions.

But it's enough that what you said does have that suspicion!

The key now is to ask Chancellor Xia for a favor and make this matter seem less serious!

Thinking of this, Grandmother Jia smiled at Xia Shouzhong, whose face was grim:

"Old Minister, the women in the inner quarters are ignorant of etiquette. In the heat of the moment, they spoke rudely, but had no intention of disrespecting you."

"Please be magnanimous and don't stoop to her level!"

Xia Shouzhong glanced at Madam Wang with his narrow eyes and said in a sinister tone:

"You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want! Even in front of me, your second wife dared to speak 'inappropriately'."

"It's clear that she lacks a sense of reverence in her daily life! If it were anyone else, based on just this one sentence, I could have charged her with the serious crime of disrespecting the Emperor."

"However..."

At this point, Xia Shouzhong paused, then looked at Grandmother Jia.

His tone softened, and a warm smile appeared on his face as he said:

"Your family is indeed different from others. Duke Jing has rendered meritorious service to the country, and we greatly admire him."

"This time, out of consideration for him, I'll let it slide! But Madam will have to keep a close eye on her daughter-in-law in the future!"

Xia Shouzhong gave a series of warnings and then gently dismissed the matter, quietly letting it go!

This both upheld Emperor Jingsheng's authority and saved face for Jia Jing!

Of course, the most important thing is that these words were spoken by Madam Wang.

Xia Shouzhong knew that Jia Jing did not like Lady Wang and had once cursed her as an ignorant and stupid woman, which was why he made such a show of speaking and acting.

If it had been any of Jia Jing's close sisters or his grandmother, he would most likely have assumed he was just temporarily hard of hearing and hadn't heard it.

This is also his accumulated experience in dealing with people: that is, to adopt multiple standards for different people.

When Grandmother Jia saw that even the eunuchs around the emperor were telling her to give face to her unfilial grandson, a complex expression appeared on her aged face.

After bowing, Cang Sheng said:

"Yes, yes, yes! Thank you for your understanding, Elder Minister! When Jing-ge returns, I will have him treat the Elder Minister to a meal as a token of my gratitude!"

Xia Shouzhong waved his hand, his smile growing even warmer, and said:

"This is such a small matter, how could I dare trouble Duke Jing to make the request? I'm just glad he knows of my good intentions!"

Just a moment ago it was a "grave offense of disrespecting His Majesty," but in the blink of an eye it has become "this trivial matter."

Xia Shouzhong's sudden change of attitude, from arrogance to obsequiousness, left everyone in the Jia family completely dumbfounded!

It's not surprising that Xia Shouzhong's attitude towards Jia Jing was overly humble, even bordering on obsequious.

No one knew better than him, the personal eunuch, how much Jia Jing meant to Emperor Jingsheng!

There was even something he kept to himself and never told anyone: he had heard Emperor Jingsheng muttering Jia Jing's name in his sleep several times after he fell asleep!

This scene of someone being so concerned about a letter that they even dreamt about it was something he had never seen in any other minister or even prince.

It's chilling to think about!

Therefore, even though he was Emperor Jingsheng's personal eunuch since the time he was a prince, he still had to treat matters concerning Jia Jing with respect and caution!

This is truly a great favor from the Emperor!