Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

"Master, master, something terrible has happened..."

"What's the matter?"

In the small study of Mengpo Studio, Jia Zheng was having a pleasant conversation about the classics with two or three guests when he suddenly saw his servant rushing in, which displeased him greatly.

"Master, Second Master Lian, Second Master Lian is interrogating Lai Da in the courtyard!"

"Is this really true?"

Jia Zheng's expression shifted slightly.

Lai Da is to Jia Zheng what Zhao'er is to Jia Lian. If it weren't for Jia Lian being the one conducting the trial, but rather a government office, Jia Zheng would probably be terrified.

"What are the grounds for judging him?"

"They say it, they say Lai Da and Lai Da Niang are embezzlers... by nature..."

Upon hearing the word "embezzlement," Jia Zheng frowned slightly, but then relaxed. He stood up from his chair and waved to Zhan Guang and the others, saying, "Gentlemen, please sit here for a moment. I'll go and take a look."

With that, he strode out.

Upon arriving at the courtyard, they found a group of people gathered there. In the corridor of the accounting office, Jia Lian stood upright, while seven or eight steps in front of him, Lai Da and his wife were bowing their heads, their faces filled with fear.

"These are written agreements personally written by various shopkeepers and owners in the capital. They record when, where, and in what place you, Lai Da, negotiated the purchase of what goods, how you took large kickbacks, and how you used the power of the Jia family to suppress market prices."

There are seven documents in total, covering more than forty matters, large and small, that you handled or had others handle, involving embezzled funds totaling more than 38,300 taels.

As soon as Jia Lian said this, all the servants in the courtyard were in an uproar.

Three... thirty thousand taels of silver? That's a lot of money, how dare Lai Da?

Those who already knew some of Lai Da's background sneered and mentioned to the surrounding crowd the facts they had witnessed and suspected of Lai Da's embezzlement. Previously, they had been intimidated by the Lai family's power and dared not offend them, but now that Second Master Lian had personally taken action against them, even if the Lai family didn't die, they would be severely punished, and they no longer needed to fear him!

Lai Da looked at the "petitions" that Jia Lian had thrown down the steps, and resisted the urge to wipe his sweat. He knelt down and walked over to pick them up and examine them.

But he already knew what was going on. He was just shocked that Jia Lian had collected so much evidence of his crimes. So after glancing at only one or two documents, he looked up and began to kowtow, proclaiming his innocence.

He then kowtowed vigorously to the west, for he had already seen one of his powerful backers approaching.

Jia Lian naturally saw Jia Zheng, but since he wasn't going up on stage, Jia Lian pretended not to see him and continued to coldly question Lai Da: "Injustice? Every single incident is written down clearly in black and white. Do you want me to bring everyone here for a face-to-face confrontation?"

"There's no need for that, Lin Zhixiao."

Lin Zhixiao, who had returned to his post at some unknown time, immediately waved to the person behind him upon hearing the sound. Instantly, a dozen or so Rongguo Mansion servants escorted five Rongguo Mansion stewards, whose faces were ashen, and threw them into the courtyard.

Upon seeing this, Lai Da's heart sank even further into despair. This was because these people were the ones he had promoted and trusted most during his years as manager, and each of them knew some of his inside stories.

Master Lian even arrested them, which shows his determination to deal with him.

He couldn't hold back any longer and wiped the fine sweat from his forehead. But he hadn't given up yet, nor did he want to confess, because his two powerful backers hadn't spoken up.

As long as those two don't abandon him, he'll be fine.

For noble families, so-called evidence of a crime is sometimes meaningless. As long as Grandmother Jia and Jia Zheng insist on protecting him, even if Second Master Lian wanted to punish him, he would probably be powerless and would eventually have to compromise and give him a minor punishment as a warning.

Therefore, Lai Da stopped talking and just looked at Jia Zheng with pleading eyes.

Jia Zheng sighed inwardly and walked towards Jia Lian.

"Why are you here, sir?"

"I heard you were interrogating Lai Da, so I came to check it out."

Jia Zheng sighed and looked up, puzzled, and asked, "I don't know what crime he committed that made you so angry?"

He's just a servant. Your status is no ordinary person now, why bother arguing with him? You should take better care of yourself.

Jia Zheng's words, seemingly out of concern for Jia Lian, clearly revealed his desire to protect Lai Da.

As Lai Da had predicted, it was absolutely impossible for Jia Zheng and his ilk to be completely unaware of the embezzlement by their subordinates.

Putting everything else aside, just look at the Lai family's own life. They live such a prosperous and thriving life, and their house is even more impressive than that of ordinary wealthy merchants. Is Jia Zheng a fool who can't see the real reason behind this?

He understood perfectly well, but just as an emperor wouldn't starve his soldiers, Lai Da had done so many things for him; how could he not let him benefit from it?

Now that Jia Lian is determined to seize upon Lai Da's embezzlement and launch a major attack, Jia Zheng naturally wants to downplay the matter and appease Jia Lian's anger.

"As for Lai Da, he has followed me for so many years. Even if he made a mistake, please punish him slightly for my sake and teach him a lesson for next time."

Sure enough, after just one sentence, Jia Zheng immediately pleaded for Lai Da's life.

Many people were extremely envious. Jia Zheng, as the head of the Rongguo Mansion for over ten years, was extremely concerned about his reputation, yet he was willing to plead for a servant in public. In the entire Jia family, Lai Da was probably the only one with such an honor.

Lai Da's confidence soared. Knowing how to assess the situation perfectly, he immediately kowtowed and loudly proclaimed, "Please forgive me, Second Master! This servant knows his mistake. This servant is willing to accept Second Master's punishment and guarantees to repent and reform from now on, never daring to have any greed again. If I break this oath, even if Second Master beats me to death in public, this servant will accept it willingly!"

Lai Da's words were a way of giving Jia Lian a way out.

But can Jia Lian step down?

If he fails to eliminate the Lai family despite his thorough preparations, not only will he feel resentful, but his prestige will also be greatly damaged.

He also understood why Jia Zheng would protect Lai Da. After all, if anyone tried to harm Zhao'er at this time, he would also do his utmost to protect her.

A boss who can't even protect the people he trusts most is destined to fail.

Jia Zheng may not be good at political maneuvering, but as the head of the Duke's mansion, he naturally sensed that he could not easily let others deal with Lai Da.

So Jia Lian bowed to Jia Zheng and said, "I know that your greatness has served my Jia family and has rendered meritorious service to you, sir. If it weren't for a last resort, I wouldn't have gone to such lengths."

To be honest with you, sir, I've been putting up with the Lai family for two or three years now. I've been giving them chances, thinking that as long as Lai Da remembers even a little bit of his mother's loyalty to the old lady and his duty as a servant, and pulls back from the brink in time, I might be able to turn a blind eye for the sake of the old lady and sir.

but!

This lackey clearly mistook his nephew's forbearance for weakness and submission. Over the past two years, his nephew had repeatedly hinted and warned him to behave himself, but he paid no heed and continued to do as he pleased, greedily taking what he wanted.

As you should have heard, sir, the investigation by my nephew alone revealed that Lai Da embezzled a total of over 38,000 taels of silver from the Rongguo Mansion's official treasury!

What a shocking figure this is! Does your master know that even the total silver reserves in the Rongguo Mansion's treasury combined don't amount to this much?

Do you know, sir, that this is only what I had someone investigate, and it's almost all the amount that Lai Da embezzled during the year that the Grand View Garden was being built in my Jia family mansion?

If we trace back to the more than ten years he served as steward, how much must that dog of a servant have embezzled? Does the master understand?

If these treacherous lackeys are not purged promptly to serve as a warning to others, I fear that my vast Rongguo Mansion will be emptied of its wealth by these servants in no time!

Jia Lian's words, filled with anger and resounding with conviction, startled Jia Zheng, who couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Is what Lian'er said true? Is he really so audacious as to act so recklessly?"

Jia Lian snorted coldly and ordered someone to pick up the "petition" he had thrown down the steps and hand it to Jia Zheng to read.

Jia Zheng simply disliked mundane affairs; in fact, he was quite intelligent. Upon seeing these reasoned and well-documented testimonies, he knew they were probably true. Therefore, he couldn't help but feel some anger towards Lai Da, and loudly questioned him, "How dare you!"

Seeing the situation turning sour, Lai Da quickly protested, "Master, please calm down! I am truly innocent. It is true that I lowered the market price as mentioned above, but I did it for the sake of the household. I know that the household has been somewhat strapped for cash these past few years, and the cost of building the Imperial Concubine's garden for her visit home is enormous. Therefore, I wanted to purchase enough materials for the household at the lowest possible price. But rest assured, Master, I have personally inspected everything that I purchased, and there has absolutely been no case of inferior goods being passed off as superior ones."

As for those shopkeepers' accusation that I demanded kickbacks, that's pure slander. They probably resent me for buying their materials at a low price, so they're maliciously accusing me. Please, sir, see the truth..."

"Heh heh heh, so you're saying that you embezzled so much of the master's money because you were thinking of the master's best interests?"

Jia Lian couldn't help but laugh. It was quite remarkable that Lai Da could still find a point of defense under such circumstances.

Hearing Jia Lian's sarcasm, Lai Da dared not speak again. Jia Zheng was also shocked by the evidence Jia Lian had collected and didn't know what to say for a moment. Jia Lian didn't say anything either, and the scene became quiet for a while, as if they were all waiting for something.

……

Lai Dajia, things have long been in complete chaos.

When Jia Lian's personal guards cleared the way and Lin Zhixiao's wife led a large group of servants and women into the Lai family compound, all twenty-odd people in the Lai family were thrown into a panic.

As for confiscating the property, Jia Lian's personal guards, experienced from their trip to Jiangnan, were already adept at it, guarding all the key roads and sending all irrelevant personnel aside for surveillance.

As for Lin Zhixiao's family, having been suppressed by the Lai family for so many years, they already harbored resentment towards them. Now that they had the opportunity, they naturally wouldn't be polite. Those old women who had received her instructions and promised her benefits were like chickens on steroids, rampaging through the Lai family's residence, searching every place they could find.

Soon the Lai family's house was turned upside down.

"Aunt Lin, we've searched all the houses, only Granny Lai's main room is left. Look..."

A maidservant approached Lin Zhixiao's wife and said, "Lai Mama, as a maidservant brought by Grandmother Jia from the Shi family, holds a position of utmost importance. She is second to none among the servants of the entire Jia family. Who wouldn't give her some face?"

If they hadn't known that Jia Lian was backing Lin Zhixiao's family, they wouldn't have dared to raid the Lai family's place.

Lin Zhixiao's wife hesitated for a moment, but then her expression hardened, and she said coldly, "The Lai family is greedy by nature, and Second Master must punish them severely. Second Master has instructed that this time, not a single blade of grass, not a single brick or tile in the Lai family's home should be spared. Confiscate everything!"

"Fine, I've disliked the Lai family for a long time."

The group of old women rolled up their sleeves and were about to rush into Granny Lai's courtyard.

"slow."

A clear and pleasant voice rang out from behind. Everyone turned around and immediately surrounded her, fawningly saying, "Miss Ping, why did you come in? You could have just directed things from outside. There's no need for you to come in. How could we trouble you with these dirty and tiring tasks of rummaging through drawers and cabinets?"

Lin Zhixiao's wife thought that Jia Lian had specially sent Ping'er with her to search the house in order to supervise her and prevent her from embezzling funds. However, she had already received repeated instructions from her husband, and she was also determined to become the head of the inner quarters. Therefore, even though she saw such a huge amount of wealth being found in the Lai family's house, she did not dare to covet it. Thus, she was not afraid of Ping'er's actions and only maintained a facade of respect.

Ping'er saw through Lin Zhixiao's thoughts and shook her head with a smile, saying, "You've worked hard this time, Aunt Lin. Second Master trusts Aunt Lin's loyalty and ability completely."

However, Granny Lai is, after all, the old lady's person, and she's old. If something were to happen to her because of your disturbance, even the Second Master wouldn't know how to explain it to the old lady.

"That's what Miss Yiping means."

Ping'er smiled, offered no explanation, and walked forward.

With such a commotion outside, Granny Lai was naturally aware of it. The people in her courtyard had long been in a panic, and even Granny Lai herself was hiding at the doorway watching the situation.

Having witnessed the ferocity of Lin Zhixiao's family and others, they were immediately saviors when they saw the righteous and peaceful Ping'er.

"Ping-girl, my Ping-girl, what happened? How did she get like this..."

Supported by two maids, Granny Lai rushed out of the courtyard gate and shouted at Ping'er.

As the saying goes, a person's reputation precedes them. Even though Granny Lai had never paid much attention to Ping'er, the "Deputy Steward" of the Rongguo Mansion, she knew that Ping'er was a good person after hearing so many people praise her.

When people are in danger, they always hope that good people will come to their aid.

Ping'er helped Granny Lai up and said, "Granny Lai, don't panic. Nothing serious has happened. Someone just reported Steward Lai for embezzling government funds. Second Master doesn't believe it, so he sent us to investigate. Don't worry, Granny Lai, we're just here to investigate; we won't hurt anyone..."

Granny Lai may be old, but she's not stupid. What verification or confirmation? This is clearly a raid on her home!

She also saw it; those men carrying torches, swords, and armor rushed into her house. They were clearly Jia Lian's personal guards, and she understood that this was Jia Lian's doing. Otherwise, even if Lin Zhixiao's family had a hundred and twenty times the courage, they wouldn't dare to act recklessly in her Lai family's house.

He understood in his heart, but he dared not disobey the ladder Ping'er had given him.

"Miss Ping, my dear girl, but... something happened to Lai Da?" Granny Lai knew that since the mansion had taken action against her Lai family, it must be because of Lai Da.

Ping'er sighed and looked at Granny Lai, who was dressed in noble clothes but looked old and frail, and felt sorry for her. She explained, "Don't worry, Granny Lai, Steward Lai is fine. He... Second Master is interrogating him now."

Granny Lai suddenly cried out in sorrow, a huge feeling of regret welling up in her heart.

Even if her son, Lai Da, is good, he wouldn't stand up to interrogation. Besides, how could she not know what her son had done all these years?

"Grandma, does she know?"

Seeing the hopeful look on Granny Lai's face, Ping'er paused for a moment, "He probably knew. Second Master didn't hide it from anyone; he conducted the trial publicly in the courtyard."

Granny Lai then collapsed to the ground.

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