Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

"A guard was stationed every fifteen steps, and the high walls of both Ning and Rong mansions were completely surrounded to prevent assassins from escaping by scaling the walls."

Upon arriving at Ningrong Street, Jia Lian issued a blockade order and then led his men toward the main gate of Ningguo Mansion.

Just then, Zhao'er and other servants arrived, including several of Jia Lian's guards on their day off, among them Aqi.

She was dressed in her usual smart attire, looking capable and efficient, and calmly approached Jia Lian.

Jia Lian glanced at her, and she simply nodded back at him.

Lai Sheng, the chief steward of Ningguo Prefecture, had sent someone to beat the drum of Shuntian Prefecture's government office. At that moment, he was with a group of servants from Ningguo Prefecture, wandering around the courtyard like headless flies.

Hearing that Jia Lian had arrived with his troops, they were as if they had been saved. They rushed out to greet him, shouting, "Second Master, you've finally come! You must avenge our Master! Our Master... he's gone..."

Jia Lian's expression was stern. After nodding, he said to the people behind him, "Zhang Sheng, Aqi, and Zhao'er, come in with me. The rest of you, stay put and wait for orders. Do not wander in without my permission."

After saying that, he led the three of them into the Ningguo Mansion.

The Ningguo Mansion was indeed in complete chaos, with everyone's face filled with fear and apprehension.

Lai Sheng jogged and led Jia Lian to the front of Ningxuan Hall, where You Shi, Qin Shi, and Jia Rong also came out to greet them.

Their faces, naturally, showed increasing terror and despair, each one crying more heartbreakingly than the last.

Jia Rong knelt down in front of Jia Lian with a thud, crying out in grief, "Please, Second Uncle, do justice! My father, my father died so tragically! Please, Second Uncle, help us find the murderer and do justice for us!"

Jia Rong cried his eyes out, finally showing some semblance of a filial son.

Jia Lian also looked sad. He helped Jia Rong up, offered a word of comfort, and then asked You Shi, "What exactly happened?"

Madam You wiped away her tears and said, "Replying to Second Uncle, we don't know what exactly happened. It was the old women on night patrol who discovered it. They said that when they passed by Tianxiang Tower, they heard a noise inside, so they went to look for it and unexpectedly found your Brother Zhen's body!"

After a brief examination, we determined that your brother Zhen fell from the third floor of the main building of Tianxiang Tower…”

Jia Lian immediately retorted, "What's wrong?"

How could someone fall from the third floor?

Jia Rong quickly chimed in, "My father didn't die from a fall; he was assassinated. Although his body was injured, Lai Sheng and I examined him just now, and there was a huge gash in his chest, like he'd been stabbed with a knife. Waaah, my father is so pitiful..."

When Jia Rong was crying, Qin Shi was also wiping away tears beside him. However, when she glanced at Jia Lian, she couldn't help but feel a hint of shock. But being clever, she quickly chose to lower her head and sob silently.

Without much small talk, Jia Lian entered the hall. Jia Zhen's body, already wrapped in white cloth, had been brought over.

Similar to Jia She before, a group of beautiful women knelt on the ground, each crying their hearts out.

Jia Lian frowned, and You Shi, who was always good at reading people's expressions, immediately stepped forward and chased these women who were affecting his mood away.

Jia Lian then stepped forward, lifted the white cloth, and saw that the body was indeed mangled and gruesome. Clearly, Madam You and the others had chosen not to clean it, fearing that damaging the body would hinder the investigation.

Of course, this bloody scene had no effect on Jia Lian. After briefly checking Jia Zhen's condition and confirming that it was largely as Jia Rong had described, he stood up and said solemnly, "I have already sent troops to surround the two mansions with high walls. As long as the assassin is still inside the two mansions, he will definitely not be able to escape."

The most urgent task is to quickly go to the yamen and summon a skilled coroner to determine the cause of Brother Zhen's death, which will then facilitate the search for the true culprit.

Jia Lian's calm and methodical words gave the bewildered You Shi and the others a sense of direction, and they nodded hurriedly, saying that they had already sent someone to invite the coroner.

Before long, Jia Zheng, along with his peers and elders who lived nearby, also arrived.

Upon confirming the devastating news, everyone wept bitterly, and the Ningguo Mansion was filled with even louder cries of grief.

……

Everyone in the Rongguo Mansion learned of this shocking news immediately.

Because they were all preparing to rest, they moved slowly and arrived later than Jia Lian, who happened to be leading troops on patrol.

Of course, even the Jia family matriarch and others from the Rongguo Mansion could only rush over to add a few people to express their shock and weeping. As for the servants, they could only quietly be horrified and gossip about it.

In the back office of Shuntian Prefecture, the prefect was about to go to sleep with his concubine when he was disturbed by his servants, which made him very unhappy.

"Didn't I say that after 5 PM, whatever it is, we'll report it tomorrow?"

"Sir, this is a very important matter..."

"Hmph, major events? In this vast capital, if two major events don't happen every day and disturb my residence, then I might as well not get any sleep!"

"Master, it's the Ningguo Mansion. Jia Zhen, a third-rank general from the Ningguo Mansion, is dead."

"Dead?"

Prefect Weng Ziqin struggled to sit up.

As the official in charge of the capital, he naturally knew about the Ningguo Mansion and also knew Jia Zhen of the Ningguo Mansion.

He didn't care much, after all, although Jia Zhen was the heir of the Duke's mansion, he was not a very powerful figure in the capital. Even with the legacy of his ancestors, his rank was no more than that of Jia Zhen.

"How did he die?"

"This servant is unaware. It was said earlier that they were assassinated. Their family came to report the case and asked the master to send someone to investigate and seek justice for them," the servant outside the door replied.

Upon hearing that he had been assassinated, Weng Ziqin became much more serious.

He thought to himself, "Although Jia Zhen is nothing special, the Jia family should not be underestimated."

Even a dead camel is bigger than a horse, and besides, the Jia family has now produced a concubine, which is the height of their glory.

If one can take this opportunity to befriend the Jia family, it will naturally be beneficial to one's career.

Moreover, if such a major case were to occur under his jurisdiction and escalate, it would have a negative impact on him. Conversely, if the case could be solved under his supervision, it would be a significant achievement for him.

After some thought, Weng Ziqin tidied himself up and went out. He gathered the people handling the case and sent someone to report to the Ministry of Justice.

Although Shuntian Prefecture was the parent government, and theoretically had to govern everything, the capital was simply too vast, and there were too many powerful and influential people.

They are not qualified to handle many cases.

Therefore, Shuntian Prefecture was actually in charge of "people's livelihood".

He was in charge of matters related to ordinary people, but murder cases involving noble families were usually handled by the Ministry of Justice.

After all, the Ministry of Justice is much more powerful than his Shuntian Prefecture.

When Weng Ziqin arrived with his men, Jia Lian was in the front hall discussing with Jia Zheng and others how to find the murderer.

Upon hearing that the Prefect had come in person, Jia Zheng and Jia Lian hurriedly came out to greet him.

"Regarding our family affairs, we are deeply grateful for your presence, Your Excellency. On behalf of everyone in our household, Jia Zheng expresses our sincere gratitude."

Upon meeting, Jia Zheng habitually engaged in perfunctory polite formalities.

Although being a prefect in the capital is considered by many to be a frustrating job, because there are many higher-ups and powerful figures you can't afford to offend.

However, Shuntian Prefecture was, after all, the most powerful prefect in the land, with great authority and a prestigious position, so Jia Zheng's politeness was entirely reasonable.

After all, setting aside their backgrounds, Jia Zheng was several ranks below them!

"Haha, you're too kind, Elder Zheng. This is simply my duty, and I dare not thank you."

Weng Ziqin responded politely, then instructed the accompanying coroner to begin his work. He then smiled and looked at Jia Lian: "When I came over just now, I saw that the streets here were completely under martial law. I suppose this is General Jia's doing?"

Jia Lian nodded. "Tonight, I led my troops on a patrol of the city. Upon hearing about the incident at home, this action was merely to prevent the murderer from escaping in the chaos. Does Lord Weng think I'm making a mountain out of a molehill?"

"Haha, not at all, General Jia has misunderstood."

I simply feel that with the support of General Jia and the many officers and soldiers of the Military Command, if the murderer is still in the mansion, he will surely have no chance of escaping.

In this way, I am even more confident in solving this case.

Weng Ziqin said very modestly. Although he felt the entourage was too grand, he was merely amazed by the Duke's mansion's grandeur.

Goodness gracious, he arrived fast enough, but who knew they were already on high alert? It seems even if the Shuntian Prefecture doesn't interfere, the Jia family can handle it themselves!

As for the claims that Jia Lian was making a mountain out of a molehill, abusing public power for private gain, or overstepping his authority, he had absolutely no such intention.

The Military Commandery, as a notorious yamen on par with the Shuntian Prefecture, suffered from the same reason: it meddled in too much. Moreover, the responsibilities of the Shuntian Prefecture and the five Military Commanderies overlapped significantly.

The Military Commandery also has the responsibility to investigate and punish criminals within its jurisdiction, so it is reasonable, justifiable, and legal for Jia Lian to set up such a large-scale operation to search for the murderer who killed his family!

He genuinely believed that with Jia Lian's help, solving the case would be much easier.

When Jia Lian saw Weng Ziqin facing him, he took the initiative to reduce his self-reference from "this official" to "this humble official," and his tone, which had been stern because of the murder of his family members, softened somewhat. He said, "Lord Weng, you are too kind."

I never expected that in the capital, right under the emperor's nose, there would be such audacious thieves!

Therefore, Tu Bian found the murderer and brought him to justice.

I have ordered my officers and soldiers to surround the two adjacent Duke's mansions, and instructed the servants of both mansions to light lanterns throughout the area, and then conduct a thorough search in groups of three.

Furthermore, all the gatekeepers, uureading staff, and all suspicious personnel have been arrested and are being prepared for severe interrogation.

Presumably, we'll have a result soon.

Upon hearing this, Weng Ziqin's eyes lit up. In this way, even if the murderer escaped quickly, he would be able to get away before Jia Lian arrived with his troops.

But with Jia Lian's meticulous plan, the murderer will soon be identified, and the rest will not be just a matter of pursuit.

It seems that coming here tonight was the right decision. I believe he can reap the rewards without much effort.

Therefore, Weng Ziqin became even more polite to Jia Lian, and they chatted as they arrived at the place where Jia Zhen's body was kept.

All those who were of no help in solving the case, including Grandmother Jia, had already been arranged by Madam You and others to wait elsewhere.

Within the entire Ning'an Hall, only Jia Lian's men were allowed to move freely. At this time, apart from Jia Lian's men, no one dared to wander around recklessly, for fear that they might inadvertently arouse suspicion from Second Master Lian's men and be arrested and suffer.

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