Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Jia Lian's personal guards, along with the Imperial Guards and the Embroidered Uniform Guards, totaled more than two hundred people.

With these personnel, the entire Salt Commissioner's office could be brought under control. Those who were not officials were expelled, and even the necessary yamen runners and servants were confined to their designated areas and forbidden from moving around. A strict order was issued that anyone who disobeyed would be treated as if attempting to assassinate the imperial envoy and executed on the spot.

Therefore, the entire Salt Commissioner's Office quickly became gloomy.

Jia Lian thus relaxed a bit.

Although given his status, it was unlikely that the officials and gentry of Yangzhou would dare to lay a hand on him, since he had decided to do something worthwhile for the emperor, he naturally had to be wary of them resorting to desperate measures.

Jia Lian always preferred to plan carefully before acting, and he certainly didn't want to be caught off guard and suffer a setback. This was also why he detoured through Nanjing to redeploy troops after returning from Suzhou.

There were many garrison troops and yamen runners in Yangzhou, but he didn't trust them to be used.

"Second Master..."

As they entered the inner courtyard, Zhao'er and Xing'er approached. Jia Lian nodded, and they said, "We've changed everything in Second Master's room. You can rest easy now."

In addition, the An family's wife and young lady were also placed in the room by the Second Master, and were being looked after by Aunt Qi and the others.

Second Master, you must be careful. That Madam An is very stubborn. We servants originally arranged for them to bathe and change first, but they refused no matter what. We didn't dare to hurt them, so we could only let them be..."

Zhao'er and Xing'er were originally insignificant servants in the Jia family, but because they were lucky, they were among the first to follow Jia Lian, so now they are considered to be among the more important servants in the Jia family.

Especially Zhao'er, Jia Lian has taken him almost everywhere over the years, which has not only greatly improved his knowledge and conversation skills, but also made him more and more in line with Jia Lian's wishes.

Jia Lian stopped walking towards the main house, seemingly curious: "Bathing and changing clothes? I just wanted to ask them some questions, why would I need to bathe and change clothes?"

"Yes, yes, Second Master really just wanted to ask them some questions... But we servants thought that since they were going to talk to Second Master face to face, and Second Master likes cleanliness, and since a man in their family had died, there was bound to be bad luck, and we were afraid of passing it on to Second Master, so we thought we should ask them to wash up."

Zhao'er, Xing'er, and the others all nodded and bowed, their smiles conveying the message that whatever the Second Master said was right, but they all knew the truth in their hearts.

Jia Lian ignored them and stepped into the house.

There were three people in the main room, all three women. Aqin, dressed in light and practical clothes, was bending over to fold the quilt and make the bed. At the table next to her, Madam Xu and her daughter, dressed in white mourning clothes, stood together, looking anxious and uneasy. However, when they saw Jia Lian enter, they both glared at him with resentment.

"Grandpa's back."

When Aqin saw Jia Lian, she turned around and went to the tea room to get a cup of hot tea.

Jia Lian then sat down, turned to look at the mother and daughter in the corner, and said to Aqin, "They've been standing like this the whole time. Why don't you let them sit down and wait for me?"

Aqin glanced at the mother and daughter, who both looked wary, a hint of amusement and disdain flashing in her eyes. Then she said in a sweet voice, "Master, you've wronged them terribly. I offered them the seats, but they refused and even cursed at me, so I had no choice but to let them have their way."

However, none of them dared to go out, hehe, their older sister was guarding the door!

Jia Lian had only asked casually to ease the tension, and upon hearing this, he dismissed Aqin.

"Yes, then I will not disturb your enjoyment any longer, sir. I wish you a pleasant evening..."

Perhaps still holding a grudge, before leaving, Ah Qin glanced at Madam Xu and her companion and said this.

This naturally caused the mother and daughter's expressions to change again, and Madam Xu even pulled her daughter behind her to shield her.

Her eyes were filled with anger and helplessness. She knew she was doomed to be humiliated tonight, and she was mentally prepared. All she could think about was protecting her daughter from harm.

She had initially thought that Jia Lian would tease her and force her to comply, just like he had done at the funeral hall. However, even after Aqin had been gone for a long time, Jia Lian did not make any move or speak. He simply held his teacup and sipped it slowly, as if he was pondering something.

After calming her restless daughter, Madam Xu finally spoke first: "I am but a plain woman, and the wife of a disgraced official, of lowly status. But you, sir, are an imperial envoy, and I have heard that you also hold the title of marquis. How noble is your status?"

Therefore, sir, why make things difficult for us? Please be merciful.

Madam Xu was afraid of angering Jia Lian, so she tried her best to look at him with a calm expression.

Upon hearing the sound, Jia Lian turned around. Facing Jia Lian's appearance again, even though she felt immense contempt and hatred for him, she couldn't help but sigh, lamenting that such a handsome face had been given to such a corrupt official by Heaven.

"When did I say I was going to make things difficult for you?"

Seeing Jia Lian looking at her calmly, even with a hint of a smile, Madam Xu frowned. "Since you don't intend to make things difficult for me, please allow my daughter and me to leave..."

"There's no rush. Didn't we agree that I have some questions for you two? Once I've finished, I'll let you leave."

"Is your statement true, sir?"

Even though she suspected that Jia Lian was deliberately teasing her, Madam Xu couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope.

Jia Lian then laughed and said, "Of course, if you are willing to offer yourself as my bedmate after the questioning, I wouldn't mind letting you stay."

As soon as Jia Lian said this, before Madam Xu could even speak, Miss An, who was hiding behind her, couldn't help but peek out and angrily curse, "Bah, you corrupt official, you're not allowed to insult my mother!"

It's clear that this girl has been harboring resentment towards Jia Lian for a long time. The fact that she only uttered this one curse is already a result of her great effort to suppress it.

Jia Lian smiled, glanced at the young girl, and then said to Madam Xu, "Your daughter's behavior is so inappropriate. Aren't you afraid of angering me, and that I might deliberately sentence Lord An to a severe punishment, causing all the women of the An family to suffer the hardship of being convicted of official crimes?"

Madam Xu's expression changed drastically; she knew this would happen!

Jia Lian was sent to the south by imperial decree to investigate the salt administration case. If the court determined that there were major flaws in the salt administration, then her husband would be the number one guilty official. Even if her husband was already dead, as long as the court believed he had committed a serious crime, the An family would still be punished.

Whether there were any errors or inside stories in the salt administration, and whether her husband An Siyuan was innocent or guilty of heinous crimes, were clearly all up to Jia Lian, the imperial envoy appointed by the emperor.

As expected, Jia Lian still used this to threaten her and force her to comply.

But what could she do? She had anticipated and prepared for this ever since her husband was ordered by the emperor to be escorted back to the capital.

Her husband was an official appointed by the imperial court. As long as nothing happened, she was a noble lady of the court, a woman of high rank.

If her husband gets into trouble, everyone in the family will be implicated.

The most common and terrifying punishment for the families of officials who have been convicted is to be confiscated and sent to official positions, as Jia Lian just mentioned.

What does it mean to be "served as an official"? It means to be detained and brought to justice, and then forced into prostitution. In the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment district), there were countless women like this.

As for Madam Xu, she herself was fine, but she absolutely could not accept her daughter suffering such torture.

So almost instantly, she resigned herself to her fate, no longer harboring any illusions or thoughts of resistance.

She quickly stopped her daughter and then apologized to Jia Lian, saying, "My daughter was rude. I hope you will forgive her for being young and ignorant."

"If Your Excellency would have mercy and spare my family's life, this sinful woman is willing to obey Your Excellency's every command..."

At this point, Madam Xu felt extremely ashamed. After all, she was a respectable official's wife, not a prostitute. If it weren't for her children, she would rather die than utter such self-degrading words.

Her daughter, An Cai'er, felt her mother gripping her hand tightly. She glanced at her mother and saw the shame in her eyes. Tears streamed down her face.

But she was no longer an ignorant child. She understood what her father's death meant for the family, and she was also terrified by the words "become an official" that Jia Lian had just mentioned. So at this moment, besides shedding tears, she dared not do or say anything more.

Seeing the two of them like this, even Jia Lian, who only intended to put on a simple act, couldn't help but wipe his nose, feeling that he must look very much like a villainous official in a TV series.

So he coughed lightly, finally putting away his playful attitude, and said seriously, "Alright, that was just a joke."

I am an upright and honest official who is strict with myself. How could I possibly do something like deliberately framing my colleagues?

If Lord An is innocent, I will naturally not frame him maliciously.

"But I would like to ask Madam again, was Lord An truly killed by illness, so much so that even Madam didn't notice a single suspicious detail?"

This was the second time Jia Lian had asked this question, and this time, Jia Lian's expression was serious, not at all like someone with ill intentions.

Madam Xu thought for a moment and replied, "That day, the prefect sent someone to return my husband's body, saying that he could not bear the cold of the journey and died of an illness. He also instructed us to properly arrange my husband's body and not to bury it, but to wait for the court to come down and inspect it."

Since you still have doubts about my late husband's death, why don't you open the coffin and examine the body, instead of repeatedly questioning me?"

Madam Xu looked at Jia Lian with great seriousness.

Seeing Madam Xu's expression, Jia Lian smiled. It was good that she was willing to speak.

"Of course I can open the coffin and examine the body, but I think that even if Lord An was murdered, the person behind it dared to kill an official of the court and was not afraid of the court sending people down to investigate, so he must have made full preparations."

Therefore, I'm afraid that even if I were to open the coffin and examine it, I wouldn't find anything.

However, if you, Madam, could provide me with some clues or information, perhaps I could find another way.

Jia Lian spoke naturally, and Madam Xu also put aside her shame and stared at Jia Lian without blinking.

In the end, she shook her head. "Since you've said so, why bother asking me? When the prefect brought my husband's body back, I examined it myself. My husband did indeed die from a cold."

So, the adults are probably overthinking it.

A cold? It seems he froze to death.

Like Lin Ruhai, Jia Lian absolutely refused to believe that An Siyuan had died of natural causes. He was convinced there was something fishy going on with the Jiangnan salt administration, and that those people feared An Siyuan would be exposed before the court after going to the capital, so they had no choice but to silence him.

Even if there were any shady dealings, given Lin Ruhai's long experience in leading the salt administration, he could probably guess them, and Jia Lian also believed that Lin Ruhai's guess was reasonable.

However, since Madam Xu lived with An Siyuan in the Salt Commissioner's office, it was impossible for her to be completely unaware of her husband's affairs.

Why insist that her husband died of natural causes?

"The lady and Lord An's son are not from their maternal grandparents' family, are they?"

Jia Lian suddenly laughed.

Madam Xu was taken aback. "Sir, what makes you say that?"

"If I'm not mistaken, your son should be in Yangzhou right now. And as long as I don't leave Yangzhou, your wife won't be able to see your son. The only way for your wife to ensure your son's safety is to pretend that she knows nothing in front of me."

"I wonder if my guess is correct?"

Upon hearing Jia Lian's words, Madam Xu remained relatively calm, but An Cai'er, who was only shoulder-high beside her, looked utterly shocked, staring at Jia Lian as if he were not human.

"Madam, there's no need to rush to deny it. It's quite simple for me to verify this conjecture."

There are so many people in the Salt Commissioner's office. If I send someone to arrest them all and interrogate them one by one, I don't believe that each of them can keep their mouths shut like the lady.

If any one of them has seen your son in the past four or five years, I will know that Madam is lying.

However, if I were to do such a thing, I would inevitably alert the enemy. For me, it would be a minor matter, but for your son, it would likely be a bad thing.

Therefore, I advise you, Madam, to think carefully about whether to tell me the truth while there are no outsiders here, or to continue to pretend that you know nothing and collude with the villains who are plotting to murder your husband.

I will not hide it from you, Madam. I have already obtained a great deal of evidence that the major salt merchants in Yangzhou are selling smuggled salt. My purpose in coming to the south of the Yangtze River is to do my part for the court to thoroughly reform the salt administration and curb the arrogance of those increasingly greedy salt merchants.

Therefore, since you have chosen to assist me, I may be able to help you as well. However, if you continue to act as an accomplice to evil, I fear the An family will soon face confiscation of their property and extermination.

Jia Lian, after all, was a man who had fought his way through wind and snow and could speak fluently and confidently before the emperor.

Speaking seriously to Madam Xu at this moment, he exuded an air of authority.

Madam Xu's face turned pale. She couldn't understand how Jia Lian, who had previously appeared as a greedy, lustful, and corrupt official, could suddenly transform into an embodiment of justice! He even called her a scoundrel and an accomplice to evil, as if she were a heinous and wicked woman!

She fell silent. People grow through hardship. She used to be a wealthy and honorable lady, but after her husband's accident, she had to shoulder the burden of the family and worry about the future of her family and children.

Her power was too weak, so she could only be used by others.

If the seemingly powerful man in front of her is truly as righteous and selfless as he claims, then could she really seize this opportunity to secure a chance for her family and children to survive?

"Sir, you even know about smuggling?"

"Don't underestimate the imperial court. If they weren't confident, why would they send me down here?"

Since I dared to come, I am confident I can clean up this mess. If even I cannot be trusted, Madam, then you are destined to suffer injustice and humiliation.

He suffered injustice and humiliation!

Yes, they've already reached the point of being humiliated by everyone, so what's wrong with taking a gamble? Even if Jia Lian was deceiving her, the An family will only lose even more completely.

"Bang!"

Suddenly, Madam Xu stepped forward and knelt down naturally, making a loud thud on the ground.

"I beg Your Excellency, please, for the sake of my late husband serving in the same court, save my son."

"If Your Excellency can safely rescue my son, then I will gladly serve you as your slave for the rest of my life!"

Madam Xu kowtowed several times to Jia Lian, her voice filled with sorrow, as if she were grasping at the last straw.

Jia Lian bent down to help her up and said in a deep voice, "Please tell me in detail, Madam."

"Yes, that's how it is... On that day, my late husband was questioned by the court for failing to handle things properly, and was later escorted to the capital by the yamen runners. My two children and I were filled with anxiety and fear that something might happen."

Who knew that before my late husband's tragic death could come, my son would suddenly disappear.

He was on his way to offer incense and pray for his father's well-being when he was kidnapped. We mobilized everyone to search for him, but we couldn't find him.

Later, Wu Zhirong brought her late husband's body back, saying that he had caught a cold on the way and died, which I naturally did not want to believe.

Who knew that Wu Zhirong would send people to threaten and intimidate us, saying that an imperial envoy would soon arrive in Jiangnan, and if the envoy asked us any questions, we should answer according to his instructions.

If anyone dares to disobey him in the slightest, or causes any trouble, I will never see my son again...

"Please, Your Honor, have mercy and save my son. Even if his father has made a mistake, the child is innocent. Please, Your Honor, have mercy and bring my son back. I kowtow to you..."

Madam Xu, weeping, recounted the whole story.

Jia Lian wasn't too surprised. He had previously felt that it was somewhat illogical for the An family to send their only son to their father-in-law's house, so he had put his finger on it.

That makes sense. As An Siyuan's family members, Madam Xu and the others would know something if An Siyuan really had any shady dealings.

For those behind the scenes, silencing An Siyuan was already an act of utter defiance against the world, and the situation could not be easily quelled.

If they were to also silence Madam Xu and the others... anyone in the court with a shred of sense would know that there was something seriously wrong!

Therefore, Madam Xu and the others cannot be killed. But how can they be made to obey and prevent them from becoming the ones who leak information?

Controlling the only bloodline of the An family and forcing Madam Xu to submit was indeed the simplest and most effective tactic.

If Jia Lian hadn't been determined to fight back against the people from Yangzhou and hadn't had the patience to slowly break down Madam Xu's defenses, he probably wouldn't have gotten this news.

It seems that Madam Xu truly knew something about the situation.

Without immediately inquiring about the salt administration, Jia Lian first asked, "How did you determine that it was Wu Zhirong who abducted your son? Did he say it himself?"

"It wasn't that he said it himself, but he had verbally threatened me that day. That night, the people who kidnapped my son sent a threatening letter. Considering their dealings with my late husband, how could I not guess that it was he who kidnapped my son!"

I implore you, sir, to bring Wu Zhirong to justice.

The collapse of the Yangzhou salt administration was largely due to Wu Zhirong.

In order to gain Jia Lian's trust, Madam Xu did not wait for Jia Lian to ask any questions and took the initiative to explain: "Just as you said, the reason why the salt tax in Lianghuai last year was so much less was because those salt merchants were secretly selling large quantities of smuggled salt!"

My late husband had actually noticed this long ago. Firstly, the salt merchants were very discreet and thorough in their actions. Secondly, every time my late husband wanted to summon the censors and salt transport officials to arrest them, either the salt merchants would receive prior notice and leave, or they would be protected and obstructed by Prefect Wu Zhirong and others.

In the worst instance, those people even threatened the lives of my entire An family. Therefore, my late husband had no choice but to submit and dared not conduct any more large-scale inspections of smuggled salt...

With the proliferation of smuggled salt, the supply of government-owned salt naturally decreased, leading to a significant reduction in salt tax revenue.

It wasn't until the final accounting last year that my late husband discovered the salt tax had plummeted by 30%, and he realized the truth was out of the question, becoming anxious and fearful. Before being escorted back to the capital by the imperial court, he made many preparations, saying that if he couldn't hide the truth upon entering the capital, he would expose everything to the court to protect the An family, thus making amends for his mistakes and begging for the court's forgiveness for the An family by sacrificing his own life.

Who would have thought that those people would be so ruthless, poisoning my late husband halfway there…

Mrs. Xu said with a bitter and indignant expression.

Jia Lian listened quietly, believing that Madam Xu was not lying. Lin Ruhai had also said that the new imperial policy required salt merchants to transport grain to the border in exchange for more salt permits.

The advantage of doing this is that the imperial court can save a lot of money, but in return, the interests of the salt merchants will be squeezed.

It makes perfect sense that salt merchants would choose to smuggle salt to avoid salt taxes in order to make more profit.

"Oh, if that's what you're saying, Madam, then Lord An is a clean and honest official who was completely manipulated by Wu Zhirong and the others?"

I'm just curious, Lord An has been in charge of salt administration for two years now, why didn't he report to the court when he first discovered the irregularities? Why did he only decide to expose the large-scale smuggling by the salt merchants at the very last moment?

"This... perhaps my late husband never expected things to escalate to this extent."

Seeing the beautiful woman kneeling on the ground before him, still trying to conceal her true appearance, Jia Lian shook his head and smiled, but did not expose her.

The reason why it wasn't exposed from the beginning was naturally because the salt merchants had given them plenty of benefits!

However, the salt merchants' appetites grew ever larger, making Lord An increasingly uneasy. When he tried to find a way out, he discovered that he was on a pirate ship that was hard to disembark from.

It's a pity that being an honest official is difficult, especially for a lucrative position like the Salt Commissioner.

This further demonstrates Lin Ruhai's capabilities. Having served in the salt administration for so many years, he had never made any major mistakes, and moreover, he had managed to maintain his image as an upright official…

My uncle-in-law must have been quite capable. It's a pity he didn't live long enough; otherwise, I would have had another powerful backer and a capable assistant.

(End of this chapter)