Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Meanwhile, Jia Lian disembarked from the ship, where his personal guards and the soldiers who had been stationed there the previous night had already finished their duties.

"Did you rest well last night, sir?"

When Zhao'er, Zhao Sheng, and the other officers saw Jia Lian approaching, they all went up to greet him with smiles and asked him questions.

Judging from their expressions, Jia Lian knew exactly what they were thinking. So, maintaining his composure, he nodded slightly and said, "Not very good. After listening to music all night, I found it rather boring."

The guards and other junior officers all laughed.

Although they hadn't been up to the second floor of the ship last night and didn't know what it looked like up there, the music and dancing had been playing almost all night, only stopping briefly before dawn.

This made them both envious of their own master's good fortune and secretly admire Jia Lian's physique.

Good heavens, did the man really spend the whole night indulging in amorous affairs?

Zhao'er was closest to Jia Lian. Seeing that Aqi and Aqin had gone to tidy up the carriage, he stepped forward and flattered, "Second Master, you listened to music all night and still felt bored. We, on the other hand, enjoyed the cool breeze on the river all night."

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian looked at his personal guards. Although they all looked tired from staying up all night, each of them had a playful and genuine smile on their face, and none of them had any resentment.

Although as a military commander, it was common for him to enjoy himself while his subordinates suffered, Jia Lian still felt a little embarrassed.

Then, with a wave of his arm, he said, "Everyone has worked hard. Here's what we'll do: all the brothers who were on duty last night will each receive two months' salary and wages, paid out of my own pocket."

In addition, starting today, the salt merchants will probably behave themselves a lot more, and we will be much more relaxed.

Therefore, for the next three days, you should give each of your men a day off in turn, so they have time to properly explore this bustling Jiangnan water town.

Upon hearing Jia Lian's words, everyone around him, whether officers or soldiers, showed expressions of joy.

Not only did they give them money, but they also gave them a day off?

As men, they naturally understood Jia Lian's good intentions. What was Yangzhou City most famous for? It wasn't the ten-mile-long Yangzhou Road, nor the incredibly wealthy salt merchants, but the infamous "thin horses" (women who slept on slender horses).

If it were before, that would be one thing, but now they all have a considerable sum of money, enough for each of them to go to a decent brothel and have a good time!

Sure enough, it's good to hang out with adults like that. Not only do they give you money, but they also take care of your physical and mental health. Knowing that you've been craving food all night, they immediately give you the chance to find some yourself...

Without a doubt, it's worth risking your life for a superior like that.

"However, you all better make it clear that you are only allowed to wear plain clothes when you go out, and you are not allowed to cause trouble. If anyone causes trouble and brings it to my attention, I will hold you, the leaders, accountable!"

"Rest assured, sir. With you so considerate of your men, anyone who dares to cause trouble for you will have their damn skin ripped off!"

Jia Lian smiled and, not seeing Liu Xianglian, asked a question.

Zhao'er smiled and said, "Second Brother Liu was worried that there wouldn't be enough manpower at the headquarters and something might go wrong, so after you boarded the ship, he took some people back with him."

Jia Lian nodded in agreement; Liu Xianglian was indeed becoming more and more diligent in his work.

Inside the headquarters, the mountain of valuables is still being inventoried and sealed day and night; we need to be extra careful.

After all, the contents of any box are quite valuable.

So he chuckled and said, "When you go out, if you want to go to a brothel but can't find a way, you can call Liu Erlang along. That guy looks like a regular at brothels; he knows the ropes inside very well. If you bring him along, you won't get ripped off."

The guards chuckled at this.

……

In the days that followed, the gates of Yangzhou indeed became quiet.

Jia Lian, having observed that the salt merchants were behaving themselves and actively raising and allocating funds, paid them little attention and focused on dealing with potential troubles from above.

Before leaving the capital, Jia Lian had already made up his mind to break the law by force, which was also the reason why he sought the power of life and death from the emperor.

However, it's easy to use force to deal with the people below, but it's a different story when dealing with the people above.

It's conceivable that he had already spread the news of the Zhao and Wang families' property being confiscated and their members being executed to the capital.

Those behind them, or those who disapprove of their behavior, will not sit still and will try to cause them trouble.

However, he was not entirely unprepared.

The Crown Prince's Residence in the capital.

"What did you say? He really ransacked the Wang family's property and even beheaded Wang Shanxiang in public!"

The crown prince was somewhat angry upon hearing his advisor's reply.

The Wang family is nothing to him; what he cares about is that he clearly gave Jia Lian a heads-up beforehand. Even if Jia Lian doesn't care about the monk's feelings, he shouldn't have done this.

"Besides the Wang family, what else did he confiscate?"

"He also took down the Zhao family, a small salt merchant, the prefect of Yangzhou, the salt transport commissioner of Yangzhou, and others..."

The crown prince was even angrier when he heard this, and he actually confiscated the property from two or three families, including the Wang family!

Someone spoke for the Crown Prince, saying, "This Jia Lian is far too arrogant and domineering. He doesn't deal with the many salt merchants, but he insists on using the Wang family as a pawn. The Wang family pays tribute to the Crown Prince's residence every year. Although they can't be considered His Highness's protégés, they still have some connection with him."

Jia Lian actually killed someone like that; he clearly doesn't respect His Highness the Crown Prince.

"Could it be that Jia Lian is unaware that the Wang family has connections to the Crown Prince's residence?"

"If you were Wang Shanxiang, and someone wanted to kill you, would you still hide your trump cards and not reveal them?"

"Well……"

Once the direction was right, all the advisors in the Crown Prince's residence immediately turned their guns on Jia Lian, verbally attacking him and demanding that he pay the price for his arrogance.

The Crown Prince did not express his opinion, because he always felt that Jia Lian was a smart man and would not do anything to deliberately provoke him.

Especially after his conversation with Jia Lian in front of the Daming Palace that day, he felt that even if Jia Lian was difficult to subdue, he would not become a stumbling block for him.

Of course, in truth, he felt that adding Jia Lian to the enemy list over such a trivial matter would be a weakening and waste of his power. Jia Lian was no longer the insignificant henchman he had met at first, someone who could be easily eliminated.

Jia Lian is currently favored and trusted by the Emperor. Making a move against him at this time could easily arouse the Emperor's suspicion or even hostility.

Whether it's worth it for the sake of a salt merchant family like the Wang family is a question.

"Your Highness, a letter has been sent from the Princess's residence."

"Hmm, why would my royal sister send me a letter?"

The Crown Prince found it strange. He and Princess Zhaoyang had a fairly good relationship since childhood. Princess Zhaoyang was also a free spirit. If she needed to see him, she would most likely ride straight to his residence.

The message was sent in, and upon opening the letter, it was immediately struck by the awkwardness of the first few sentences; they did not sound like Princess Zhaoyang's tone at all.

But gradually, his furrowed brows relaxed, and a smile even appeared on his face.

"What makes Your Highness so happy?"

"Am I happy?"

The prince casually lit the letter, and a eunuch brought over a brazier to take it.

The others laughed.

Whatever the reason, if the master is happy, that's a good thing.

"Alright, let's leave it at that regarding Jia Lian. Don't mention it again."

Hearing the Crown Prince say this, he was quite surprised and hurriedly asked for the reason.

"Hmph, a mere salt merchant not only attempted to assassinate the imperial envoy, but also recklessly tarnished the reputation of my Crown Prince's residence. He deserves to die!"

Next, you should all think carefully about how to deal with the attacks from the upright officials once the evidence of the salt merchants' crimes is presented.

"Heh heh, my third brother is not someone to be trifled with."

As the crown prince spoke, a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

He is already the crown prince, the rightful heir, and yet someone still wants to take his place. Anyone would hate that.

But then, as if remembering something, he suddenly asked the head eunuch beside him curiously, "You know a lot about the palace, but do you know how the Princess has treated Jia Lian since the Empress Dowager bestowed the marriage upon her?"

"This servant is not entirely sure. However, there are rumors in the palace that when the Eldest Princess was sent to marry a foreign ruler last year, the position of Jia Lian's escort was obtained by the Eldest Princess herself, who requested it from His Majesty."

"Hahaha, just as I thought. I'm afraid my imperial sister still has feelings for Jia Lian... uh."

Halfway through his speech, the prince realized something was amiss and stopped, but he still felt a sense of wonder.

He knew his younger sister, the princess, quite well. She was incredibly proud and arrogant, yet even after being rejected, she wouldn't give up and was now acting as a messenger. It was truly...

It has to be said that, since ancient times, even beauties have found it hard to resist the charms of heroes; he was even a little envious of Jia Lian.

The letter that Jia Lian had just sent was indeed entrusted to him by Princess Zhaoyang. It didn't contain much, but it was just that after Jia Lian confiscated the Wang family's property, he heard that the Wang family seemed to have some dealings with people in the Crown Prince's residence. So, in his "fear," he hurriedly sent a letter to ask for instructions and apologize. He also emphasized how flamboyant Wang Shanxiang was and how she was spreading rumors about her relationship with the Crown Prince's residence everywhere.

Therefore, in order to prevent such a villain from wantonly ruining the reputation of the Crown Prince's Mansion, Jia Lian had no choice but to sentence him to immediate execution as a warning to others.

Regardless of how much of what Jia Lian said in his letter was true or false, the Crown Prince, who had never wanted to cause trouble for a mere salt merchant and Jia Lian, immediately let it go.

What he cared about wasn't the Wang family, but whether Jia Lian intended to oppose him.

Now that Jia Lian has made a special trip to the capital to explain to him, he is naturally happy to put this matter aside.

After all, a mere salt merchant could only offer him tens of thousands of taels of silver each year! In fact, it was more than that, but because the Wang family didn't approach him directly, that's all the money he ended up with.

Although tens of thousands of taels of silver is a lot of money, enough for him to cultivate many trusted confidants, he also took a great risk!

Now, the Third Prince is using this as leverage to create trouble for him, and he can't wait to get rid of him.