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

Inside Rongqing Hall.

With the arrival of the personal guards, the atmosphere became somewhat solemn and heavy.

"General Lu is here! Where is Jing-ge'er?"

With Yuanyang's help, Grandmother Jia was the first to enter the hall, facing Xuanwu directly, and greeted him in a slightly worried voice.

Xuanwu's surname is Lu, and his public identity is the commander of Jia Jing's personal guards after Zhuque. Therefore, Grandmother Jia calls him General Lu.

Jia Zheng stepped forward at this moment, his previously ashen face softening slightly. He cupped his hands and greeted him:

"General Lu!"

Although Xuanwu's official rank was not high at the time, everyone knew that he had a bright future, after all, anyone who could command personal guards must be Jia Jing's confidant.

Moreover, the example of Zhuque is there; Zhuque was once a retainer of Jia Jing's family, but now he is a high-ranking military officer in the imperial court.

Xuanwu cupped his hands in greeting to Grandmother Jia and Jia Zheng, and without further ado, said in a deep voice:

"Madam, Second Master, the Duke has just been summoned to the palace by His Majesty and is not currently in the mansion."

He heard that Jia Baoyu in the West Mansion had gone mad again, violated the prohibition, smashed his jade, and caused unrest throughout the mansion.

"He ordered me to come and detain him in the ancestral hall so that he could kneel before the Rong and Ning ancestors and properly reflect on and repent for his mistakes."

"Tomorrow we will gather the clan and deal with the unruly members together, to cleanse the clan of its evils and eliminate its corrupt practices!"

Xuanwu's words were resounding and immediately caused a drastic change in the expressions of everyone in Rongqing Hall.

Kneeling in the ancestral hall? Should the clan be summoned to handle this?

Although everyone guessed that Jia Jing had sent his personal guards to deal with Jia Baoyu's smashing of the jade, they even thought that this time he might not be so easily forgiven as he had been given ten lashes last time.

But no one expected that the punishment would be so severe as to make the child kneel in the ancestral hall!

It's important to understand that kneeling in the ancestral hall is not a simple form of corporal punishment like being beaten with a cane.

At home, being spanked only causes physical pain, nothing more!

Kneeling in the ancestral hall not only requires kneeling in front of the ancestral tablets for a long time without speaking or eating, but more importantly, it damages one's reputation.

As before, they would punish each other at home, whether it was Jia Zheng disciplining his son as a father or Jia Jing disciplining his brother as an elder brother.

That was all part of the family's education and did not harm Jia Baoyu's reputation!

As the ancestral hall is the most sacred place in a clan, being forced to kneel before the ancestral tablets as punishment means that Jia Baoyu has already been "named" at the clan level.

This stain will be recorded in the clan, affecting Jia Baoyu's future inheritance of the family business and participation in clan affairs.

Even if something good or bad happens in the clan in the future, the clan members can use this as evidence to talk about it.

And this matter will inevitably spread, and all the wealthy families in the capital will know that Jia Baoyu has been punished by his clan.

This will hinder your future marriage and friendships, and it can be said that your reputation will be truly tarnished from now on!

Upon hearing Xuanwu's words, Grandmother Jia was devastated, her mind reeling. Her face turned ashen, her limbs felt icy cold, and her heart sank to the bottom.

She never expected that after all the hard work of getting past Jia Zheng, her third grandson would be even more ruthless and merciless.

If Baoyu were forced to kneel in the ancestral hall, he would be firmly branded as disrespectful to his elders and frivolous and unfilial.

She couldn't hide it even if she wanted to, and her reputation in the clan would be completely ruined!

Grandmother Jia opened her mouth, looked at Xuanwu with a cold and hard expression, and said urgently:

"General Lu, Baoyu is still a child! It's just a little squabble between siblings, nothing serious."

"Jing-ge must have misunderstood. Could you please not take him away yet? I'll talk to him when he comes back."

"Even if he scolds or beats us, let him be. How can we disturb our ancestors over such a small matter..."

At this moment, Grandmother Jia's face showed fear, and her voice was low and pleading.

Unlike when facing Jia Zheng, Grandmother Jia was able to exert some restraint based on her status as a mother and her filial duty.

She truly had no way to deal with Jia Jing!

Because Jia Jing is not only a Duke, but also the person in charge of the Jia family's external affairs. More importantly, Jia Jing was recently elected by several elders of the clan as the new clan leader of the Jia family!

As the embodiment of clan order, the clan chief has every right, rule, and reason to make any disobedient member kneel in the ancestral hall.

Even though Grandmother Jia was an elder, she couldn't stop it, let alone allow someone from the inner quarters to openly interfere in the affairs of the clan outside!

Lady Wang, who was standing to the side, was also pale. Her body swayed as Li Wan supported her. She felt as if her heart was being torn apart and she could hardly breathe.

She couldn't understand what was going on.

Why is it like breaking a divine law just because someone is smashing their own precious jade?!

Not only did the master threaten to kill him, but that eldest son of a concubine actually wanted him to kneel in the ancestral hall, and the clan would be summoned tomorrow to deal with him.

How could such a small matter have caused such a huge uproar?

Of course, after Jia Zheng's reprimand earlier, Lady Wang didn't dare to interrupt again!

Meanwhile, Fengjie looked at Madam Wang, whose legs were almost paralyzed, and a hint of pleasure and relief appeared on her charming face!

I was right after all. Things are different now; everyone is taking this seriously!

Although the third brother usually doesn't pay much attention to the old lady and Wang's antics, once they cross the line he has drawn, they will definitely be met with a heavy blow!

It seems that the old lady and Madam Wang still think that Baoyu smashing the jade is a small matter! Little do they know that this small matter was a taboo that the third brother had explicitly stated he would never allow to be repeated!

Therefore, this is no longer just a matter of whether it's a big or small matter, but rather a complete disregard for what the third brother said.

If you're so eager to go against your third brother, who else should we punish but you?

Inside the side room,

Yuan Chun pressed her cherry lips tightly together, her plump and beautiful face bearing a touch of sorrow.

When she heard that Jia Baoyu was to be taken to kneel in the ancestral hall, tears welled up in her eyes, and she could no longer hold back. Her beautiful face, as lovely as a hibiscus in full bloom, was covered in tears.

Although she knew in her heart that Jia Baoyu was spoiled rotten and should be severely punished,

But after all, he is her own younger brother whom she raised since childhood, and they are like mother and son. How could she not feel heartbroken to see him suffer such torment?

Seeing this, Tan Chun stepped forward, took Yuan Chun's arm, handed her a handkerchief, and advised:

"Elder sister, if second brother can learn from this experience, it might not be a bad thing!"

Yuan Chun's heart was filled with sorrow. She clutched her handkerchief tightly and said sadly:

"In all these years I've been in the palace, I never imagined Baoyu would be so spoiled. He wasn't like this before..."

At this moment, Baochai pursed her cherry lips, paused for a moment, and whispered:

"Brother Bao is still young and inexperienced. Although Third Brother Jing punished him, it was for his own good."

"Learn from this experience, study hard from now on, and stay on the right path!"

After Baochai finished speaking, Daiyu, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but furrow her brows slightly!

That sounds... rather harsh!