Dream of the Red Chamber: Madam, please have some self-respect!

Meanwhile, Jia Zhen barged straight into Rongqing Hall.

He disregarded the presence of Madam Xing, Madam Wang, Wang Xifeng, and other female relatives, and he cared nothing for propriety or hierarchy.

Jia Zhen, feigning concern, stumbled and fell to the bedside of Grandmother Jia, his knees hitting the ground with a thud, tears streaming down his face before he could utter a word.

The way he was crying and snotting was seven-tenths forced.

Jia Zhen yelled at the top of his lungs:

"Grandmother! Grandmother! You must do justice for your poor grandson!"

That shout startled everyone in the room.

As Jia Zhen beat his chest in frustration, he blurted out his carefully crafted lie with great emotion: "Grandmother! The one who injured my grandson wasn't some outsider or thief at all! It was...it was that ungrateful, despicable little beast Jia Yun from the west wing!"

With a "hum," a chorus of shouts and whispers filled the hall.

All eyes were fixed on Jia Zhen.

Jia Zhen desperately tried to throw the dirty water on Jia Yun, his words earnest as if he had truly suffered a great injustice: "That evening, I was feeling down and wanted to go to Tianxiang Tower to clear my head, but who knew... who knew that I would run into that scoundrel Jia Yun and... his daughter-in-law Qin Shi, pulling and tugging at each other near Tianxiang Tower, their behavior was utterly disgraceful!"

As the clan head and an elder, how could the grandson not be enraged by this act that disgraced the family and defied human ethics? He immediately stepped forward to rebuke him. Who would have thought that the little beast, enraged and humiliated, would rely on his brute strength to viciously attack his grandson!

"Look at this wound on my head... The doctor said if I had waited any longer, I would have died! Qin Shi... she was too ashamed to face anyone, so she made up some story about Lu Zu appearing in a dream and hid at the Xuanzhen Temple! Ancestor, such beastly behavior, if not severely punished, will ruin the century-old reputation of our Jia family! Your grandson begs Ancestor to enforce family discipline and uphold family honor!"

This basin of dirty water is both vicious and poisonous.

They directly pinned on two charges that would have ruined Jia Yun: "having an affair with his sister-in-law" and "beating an elder."

The expressions of the people in the hall varied. Madam Xing looked shocked, but thought to herself, "I can't really believe anything Zhen-ge'er said."

Wang Fuze silently twirled her prayer beads.

Sister Feng raised an eyebrow without speaking, a cold smile playing on her lips: "What a convenient excuse! Who doesn't know what you, Jia Zhen, are thinking about that Qin Shi? You're probably just desperate because you were caught in the act!"

Grandmother Jia immediately sent a servant to the west corridor to invite Jia Yun over for a confrontation.

When Jia Yun first heard this, he was stunned. After the servant repeated it tremblingly, he felt an uncontrollable rage rush to his head!

He never imagined that Jia Zhen could be so shameless and vicious. He had done such a beastly thing, yet he was the one who filed the false accusation!

"Bang!" Jia Yun slammed her fist hard on the desk in front of her.

The finest Duan inkstone and Huzhou brush were shaken to the ground, and the ink splattered onto the hem of his robe.

Jia Yun's chest heaved violently, his eyes were bloodshot, and a surge of resentment was stuck in his chest, almost bursting out of his body.

"How dare he? How dare he frame me like this?!" Jia Yun roared inwardly. "Isn't he afraid of being exposed? Aren't he afraid of being confronted by Qin Shi? Aren't he afraid of being struck by lightning?!"

Immediately, a flash of inspiration struck Jia Yun, and he instantly understood all the schemes.

He's figured it out!

Jia Zhen's actions were not intended to make anyone believe his lies; he was using his own title, reputation, and the face of the Ningguo Mansion to force Grandmother Jia to comply!

Yes, Jia Zhen is a third-rank noble general, the head of the Jia family. He risked losing his title and shame to stage this elaborate scheme.

In order to maintain the "stability" and "reputation" of both mansions, and to prevent the shocking scandal of "the clan head falsely accusing his nephew of adultery with his daughter-in-law" from spreading and becoming a laughing stock of the entire Jia family, which even drew a reprimand from the imperial court.

Grandmother Jia had to "believe" Jia Zhen, at least outwardly, and go along with the mistake, pinning the blame on herself!

Jia Zhen was gambling on Grandmother Jia's "consideration for the greater good"! And Jia Yun's innocence was insignificant in the face of the family's overall interests!

Having figured this out, Jia Yun felt a chill in his heart, and his anger subsided.

He knew that he couldn't back down now, otherwise he would be acting like a guilty thief, which would play right into Jia Zhen's hands!

After much deliberation, Jia Yun immediately sent a handwritten letter and a copy of the Tao Te Ching, which Prince Xin had entrusted to someone to give him, to Qin Shi at Xuanzhen Temple through Qingwen.

Then Jia Yun suddenly turned around and strode straight towards Rongxi Hall, which was like a dragon's den and a tiger's lair.

Inside Rongqing Hall, the atmosphere grew increasingly somber.

Looking at Jia Yun, who was kneeling in the hall with his back straight, and then at Jia Zhen, who was crying and wailing to the side, Grandmother Jia had her own judgment.

Having lived most of her life, how could she not see through Jia Zhen's despicable thoughts and the ulterior motives in his words? Nine times out of ten, this good-for-nothing wanted to force himself on Qin Shi, but Jia Yun caught him and stopped him, so he held a grudge and turned around and bit her.

But... she couldn't point it out.

No matter how despicable Jia Zhen may be, he is still the heir of the Ningguo Mansion and the clan head.

Jia Zhen's reputation, to some extent, represents the reputation of the Jia family. If he were exposed in public today, he would be enraged and recklessly cause a scene...

This title is likely in jeopardy, and the Ningguo Mansion will soon become the biggest joke in the capital, further damaging the reputation of the Rongguo Mansion.

This is one example.

Secondly, and more importantly, Jia Yun has been "restless" lately.

This kid's gotten too big for his britches; he's even thinking of starting his own business outside the Jia family and breaking free from their control.

This is something she absolutely cannot tolerate! Today, she will take this opportunity to give Jia Yun a good scolding and break his newly grown wings.

Jia Yun needs to understand that in this Jia family, his entire fortune, honor, disgrace, rise and fall, must be in the hands of his matriarch!

He needs to know that without the Jia family's support, he is nothing!

Even if he is innocent today, he must endure this suppression!

This is power, this is the rule!

"Yun-ge'er," Grandmother Jia said slowly, ignoring the anger and defiance in Jia Yun's eyes, "what do you have to say about Jia Zhen's accusations against you?"

"Your Majesty! Master Zhen's words are pure slander and fabrication!"

Jia Yun suddenly looked up, his gaze like lightning striking Jia Zhen, and shouted sharply, "Jia Zhen! Do you dare to swear right now, in front of the Ancestor and all the uncles and aunts, before the ancestral tablets of the Jia family, that everything you just said is true, and if even a single word is false, may you be struck by lightning and, after death, fall into the eighteenth level of hell, never to be reincarnated?! Do you dare or not?!"

This solemn oath, like a thunderclap, sent a shiver down Jia Zhen's spine.

His eyes flickered as he subconsciously avoided Jia Yun's sharp gaze. His lips moved as he stammered, but he couldn't bring himself to utter the word "dare."

Seeing his state, everyone in the hall understood perfectly and shook their heads.

Jia Yun turned to Grandmother Jia, his tone resolute: "Grandmother, you are wise enough to know! My relationship with Sister-in-law Rong is completely innocent, as the sun and moon can attest! There is absolutely no such thing as what Master Zhen claims! What happened that day was nothing like what he says! I wish to invite Sister-in-law Rong out so that we can confront her face to face and recount the events of that night clearly in this Rongxi Hall! Let all the elders present judge for themselves!"

Seeing that everyone had different thoughts, Jia Yun suddenly raised his voice and continued, "If the matriarch and all the elders think that their grandson is guilty and that his unclean status has tarnished the family's reputation, then there is no need to use family law. Their grandson will leave this mansion right now and go straight to the Shuntian County government office to beat the drum and appeal for justice, asking the upright judge to make a fair judgment! Let the law distinguish right from wrong, loyalty from treachery! Their grandson is willing to face the court, endure the scrutiny of the yamen runners, and suffer the torture of being tortured, just to clear his name and to clear Sister-in-law Rong's name!"

Jia Yun spoke almost word by word, his gaze finally settling on Grandmother Jia's face, with an almost tragic stubbornness: "I, Jia Yun, am upright and honest, and I will never allow this stain to be placed upon me! If this household cannot tolerate the word 'innocence,' if it cannot restore my purity, I would rather smash my head against a pillar in Rongxi Hall and die, using my burning passion to prove my resolve!"

These words were truly earth-shattering!

Report it to the authorities? Or prove your innocence with your death?

This is tantamount to completely tearing away the fig leaf of the Jia family, airing their dirty laundry in the public eye! It's about trampling the dignity of this century-old noble family underfoot!

You, Jia Zhen, can threaten the old matriarch, but I, Jia Yun, cannot?

If you're going to make a scene, make it big!

"Nonsense! Framed? I, a dignified third-rank general of the Wei Lie clan, the clan chief, would I frame a mere child like you?" Jia Zhen jumped up and down like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, shouting, "You...you still dare to argue!"

Grandmother Jia's face turned extremely ugly.

Jia Yun's fierce resistance, especially his threats to "report to the authorities" and "prove his innocence with his death," violated her greatest taboo!

Family scandals should not be aired in public!

Moreover, the resolute determination that Jia Yun displayed at this moment, willing to fight to the death, completely confirmed to her that this boy was no longer someone she could easily control or manipulate!

He had developed his own will, even at the cost of breaking with his family! This further strengthened her resolve to take this opportunity to severely suppress him!

Jia Rong was also standing nearby at this moment, and he was truly blushing with shame as he listened.

Although he was cowardly, he was not completely stupid. How could he not know what kind of person his father was?

Hearing his father slander his wife and cousin in such a way, Jia Rong felt his face burning with embarrassment and wished he could disappear into the ground.

Just then, Jia She, who usually shunned meddling, surprisingly spoke up. He stroked his sparse beard, his tone laced with a hint of schadenfreude: "Mother, this matter… cough cough, seems a bit suspicious. Although Yun-ge is young, he's been handling things quite steadily lately. The charge of 'adultery' is a bit too harsh. Without solid evidence, it'll be hard to convince the public. Zhen-ge, not that I'm criticizing you, but this injury on your head… is there any other evidence?"

He didn't necessarily like Jia Yun, but he was, after all, someone from his own household. Besides, Jia She was happy to annoy Jia Zhen and, incidentally, show off his "insight."

Jia Zheng frowned deeply. He always valued uprightness and integrity. Although he felt that Jia Yun's words were inappropriate and offensive to his elders, he felt that Jia Zhen's words were too outrageous and contrary to the teachings of the sages.

At this moment, he also spoke up: "Mother, what my elder brother said makes sense. Framing a nephew and smearing his reputation is a practice that cannot be allowed to continue. Why not investigate thoroughly before making a decision? Since Brother Yun'er dared to say he would report it to the authorities, perhaps there is indeed a grievance..."

Jia Zheng genuinely felt that this matter was absurd and did not want his family to be smeared with such a disgrace, thus tarnishing the reputation of a family of scholars and officials.

Sitting upright on the couch, Grandmother Jia heard her two sons subtly speaking in support of Jia Yun, and the anger in her heart rose even higher!

A fierce glint flashed in her cloudy old eyes. Those two idiots!

What do they know?! The key issue right now isn't whether Jia Yun and Qin Keqing had an affair!

The truth was already crystal clear in her heart!

The key now is to maintain the "stability" of the family and her own authority!

It was to suppress Jia Yun, this wild horse about to break free! It was to protect Jia Zhen's precarious position as clan head and nobleman, lest the complete collapse of the Ningguo Mansion affect them!