The Red Mansion in its bustling glory

To Jia Jue, Musk Moon was clearly not a minor figure.

She accompanied him throughout his childhood and remains loyal to this day.

Subconsciously, Jia Jue had already regarded Mushe as his family.

To put it simply—among Jia Jue's three head maids and Yinglian who was just with him, Musk Moon holds a unique position in his heart—even though the other three seem to be more beautiful and charming than Musk Moon.

But this kind of feeling is something they never had.

Therefore, when Jia Jue saw Jia Chi coercing Musk Moon, he was already extremely angry.

Just as Musk Moon was unique in Jia Jue's heart, Jia Jue was undoubtedly the only one in Musk Moon's heart.

It was precisely this uniqueness that made Musk Moon believe that she had caused trouble for Jia Jue.

It was this inexplicable tacit understanding that led Musk Moon to guess the truth about Jia Chi's death without any apparent reason.

Everyone present is smarter than Musk Moon. If it weren't for Jia Jue's actions, she would have remained in the dark forever—at most, she would have had some suspicions, but she would never have known who the real culprit was.

However, because it was Jia Jue who made the move, under this strange tacit understanding, Musk Moon guessed the real culprit.

When she guessed correctly, Musk Moon's feelings were extremely complicated.

On the one hand, she realized that she held a unique place in Jia Jue's heart, and her heart was filled with sweetness and happiness.

On the other hand, she did not want Jia Jue to become extremely tyrannical in the future, nor did she want him to be indifferent to human life.

Most importantly, she didn't want Jia Jue to get into trouble because of this.

So when she guessed that the murderer was Jia Jue, she instinctively opened her mouth, but ultimately couldn't say anything more.

Qingwen, who was standing nearby, witnessed the entire process of Musk Moon's changing expression, and naturally she knew that Musk Moon had guessed the truth.

Qingwen had no idea how Jia Jue had gone to Jia Chi’s courtyard alone to kill someone, or what actions he had taken to make everyone not recognize him, leading to rumors that Japanese pirates had committed the murder.

Because she had never seen such skill before.

So when she suddenly woke up at night and saw Jia Jue standing by the door with a chilling murderous intent, she was prepared to follow his decision no matter what.

She had never felt murderous intent before, but at that moment, she felt that this was murderous intent.

Seeing Jia Jue return safely, she naturally felt relieved.

Her feelings were similar to those of Musk Moon.

She believed that since Jia Jue was willing to kill for Mushe, he would naturally be able to do the same for her. Even if he didn't kill, she would still feel safe.

This sense of security is something you can't experience with other masters.

Thus, under the influence of psychology, this sense of security transforms into a sense of belonging.

However, Qingwen was also afraid that Jia Jue would get into trouble.

He's only thirteen, and he just achieved the top score in the prefectural examination. He's at the height of his career, full of vigor and ambition, with a bright future ahead of him. But what if he's branded a "murderer" because of this?

But now it's considered a stroke of luck.

Seeing the uncertain expressions on everyone's faces, Jia Jue smiled and said, "It's very late now. The dead cannot be brought back to life, and the living are more important. Let's rest for now. There will probably be many things to do tomorrow, and I'm sure I'll have to trouble you all then."

-

The next day, early in the morning.

Jia Jue arrived at Jia Chi's courtyard early. By then, Jia Chi's body had already been placed in the coffin, and many servants were hammering nails into it.

This coffin wasn't made of any good wood; it was just something borrowed temporarily. There was no other way. If someone had died naturally or from illness, at least their body would be whole and could rest somewhere. But Jia Chi's body was now severed, head and tail separated—how could he be laid to rest like that? It looked terrifying!

Now that Jia Chi is dead, it has become a difficult question who will handle his funeral arrangements.

The reason for this was that Jia Chi's first wife had died early, and he had not remarried. His family had taken over the Rongguo Mansion, leaving him without a leader.

Although Jia Xiao and Jia Dun's first wives had long since passed away, they each had a young second wife. Now, both women wanted to hold their own celebrations, and before long, they were competing with each other.

The servants in the house dared not offend either side, so they had to listen to both, but ended up pleasing neither.

In the end, Jia Dun, remembering his brother's kindness, let Jia Xiao's wife handle the matter.

Coincidentally, the Jia family was also using this pretext to move into the Rongguo Mansion.

Seeing the Jia family bustling about, Jia Jue couldn't help but ask Jia Jue, "Are you really that calm?"

Jia Jue sneered, "Who do you think Jia Chi was able to take over the Rongguo Mansion three years ago? If it weren't for the father-son relationship, would he have been able to toy with me like that?"

After saying that, he paused, then said to Jia Jue, "You can just focus on your work. You don't need to worry about this. You don't need to wait until the funeral is over before Jia Xiao falls ill from overwork and becomes unable to move. At that time, the Rongguo Mansion in Jinling will fully support Jue-ge'er—no matter what you do."

At this point, Jia Jue's eyes suddenly wandered, and his gaze seemed to return to the smiling little girl from the Shi family, his childhood sweetheart.

After hearing this, Jia Jue suddenly felt as if he had gotten to know Jia Jue all over again. He realized that the person in front of him was so crazy and so obsessive.

He was willing to use his brains and schemes to take control of the family because he wanted to marry the girl from the Shi family back then, and he wanted to give her a respectable marriage.

Now, he is using his wits and schemes again to take over the Rongguo Mansion in order to repay Jia Jue for his revenge.

If Jia Jue were to judge Jia Jue—to put it nicely, he was deeply in love; to put it bluntly, he was love-struck.

Fortunately, Jia Jue was someone I could use.

"Sigh—" Jia Jue patted him on the shoulder, "You'll have to figure it out yourself!"

After saying that, he stepped forward, lit two sticks of incense, and then went out.

He still had other matters to attend to; preparations still needed to be made for praying for the Dowager Empress. However, the events that had occurred also needed to be reported to the court.

-

Before we knew it, another half month had passed.

Jia Chi's funeral had already been held, and as Jia Jue had said, Jia Xiao could no longer stand up the moment the funeral was completed.

Overwork has made him ill and unable to move.

These are the words of the doctor Jia Jue invited.

The news of what happened in Jinling had already been sent to the capital by express messengers.

His Majesty was reportedly furious upon seeing the letter, believing that the Japanese pirates' blatant entry into the homes of meritorious officials and the killing of their relatives was a grave dereliction of duty by the dynasty.

With another wave of his hand, he added three thousand anti-Japanese soldiers to General Weiwu's army, vowing to wipe out the Japanese pirates and restore peace and tranquility to the world.

As for the matter of praying for blessings, since Jia Jue was tainted by the aura of death, he was no longer in charge of this matter.

This would allow him to return to the capital after the rebellion is quelled.

Before returning, he oversaw all matters related to the blessing ceremony.

As for this matter, of course, someone else will be chosen.

Jia Jue knew this person.