The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 224 Jia Lian and Xi Feng meet in prison?
Although he didn't know why the Emperor was making things difficult for the Jia family, Tu Chengyu felt he should still try his best to protect them.

He thought for a moment and said, "Given the Jia family's audacity, they wouldn't dare to kill someone openly in the capital. Besides, Jia Lian brought so many men with him; there was no need to kill someone against just two petty thieves."

The Emperor sneered, "It's a joke that the Jia family doesn't have the guts to kill anyone. They even dared to embezzle materials for renovating the Prince's Mansion, so what's killing two petty thieves?"

Hearing the Emperor's inexplicable words, Tu Chengyu was startled.

He immediately thought of the shoddy construction of the Fourth Prince's Mansion, which was said to have been done jointly by the Jia and Geng families.

This news was reported to the Emperor by Tu Chengyu. At the time, the Emperor did not allow him to check it, saying that he would send someone to check. Could it be that the results have already been found?

Thinking of this, Tu Chengyu quickly said, "Father, the matter at Fourth Brother's residence has been investigated and found out. It really was the Jia family who did it?"

The Emperor nodded and said, "If it's not the Jia family, then who else could it be? These nobles are all incredibly audacious."

It seems that because of this incident, the Emperor not only hates the Jia family, but also has opinions about other nobles.

Tu Chengyu was also furious. The Jia family had just pledged allegiance to him, and now they were doing such a rotten thing, practically trying to ruin him.

Logically speaking, given Jia Jing's cunning, even if he wanted to make money, he wouldn't resort to such crude methods.

Could it be that other members of the Jia family did it behind Jia Jing's back?

Thinking of this, Tu Chengyu said:

“Father, the Jia family is tired of living. Tell me who in the Jia family did this, and I will go and deal with them personally.”

The Emperor glanced at Tu Chengyu and said leisurely, "What, are you still thinking about protecting the Jia family?"

Tu Chengyu felt quite uncomfortable under the Emperor's gaze.

He quickly replied, "Father, how could I possibly protect the Jia family? I simply don't want to be implicated by them and want to handle this trouble myself."

Tu Chengyu spoke with such sincerity that the Emperor couldn't immediately discern whether he was telling the truth or not.

He lost the desire to continue arguing with Tu Chengyu about self-respect, and said;

"I have no interest in dealing with you, and you don't need to worry about this matter. If someone asks you to handle it personally, you don't need to get involved."

From these words, you can see that the Emperor not only found out the truth of the matter, but also figured out how to deal with it.

Upon hearing the Emperor's order, Tu Chengyu naturally had nothing to say.

The Emperor continued, "I heard that some members of the Geng family were in the southern city last night. Are you aware of that?"

Tu Chengyu had no way to hide this question and could only tell the truth:

"Father, there is indeed someone from the Geng family, and the leader is the Crown Princess's elder brother, Geng Chunchen."

After listening to the conversation, he asked, "I heard that this Geng Chunchen works in the Crown Prince's residence, and that the order for him to go out on business last night was also given to him by the Crown Prince?"

Tu Chengyu nodded and said, "Father is right. These people looking for the jewelry were indeed sent by the Crown Prince himself."

The Crown Prince thought that his son had lost something valuable, and out of concern, he sent people to help search for it.

Although various problems arose in the end, the heart remained good.

Tu Chengyu tried his best to shift the focus to brotherly respect and friendship, so that even if the Crown Prince made a mistake,
One could argue that this was done out of the Crown Prince's love for his brothers, and even if he was wrong in the end, his intentions were good.

That way, even if the emperor disapproves, he won't cause trouble for the crown prince.

Seeing how Tu Chengyu was defending the Crown Prince, the Emperor was secretly pleased, but his words said otherwise.

"Hmph, they still have the nerve to put on a show of brotherly love and respect for me. Have they forgotten all the rules of the capital? Wandering around the capital with so many people in the middle of the night, aren't they afraid of being arrested by the patrolling soldiers?"

Tu Chengyu explained embarrassedly, "It's because I was afraid the things would be taken away by petty thieves that I couldn't wait until the next day to arrest them."

The emperor said, "Can't wait and do something stupid? Two groups of people ran over and accomplished nothing, and even got into a big fight. In the end, those two petty thieves don't even know how they died."

Tu Chengyu was a little embarrassed when this was mentioned. Both sides were there to help others and should have joined forces to work together.

In the end, they got into a fight because they didn't know each other, which was really embarrassing.

Tu Chengyu lowered his head, and the Emperor also stopped talking. However, after a short while, the Emperor seemed to have thought of something and asked directly:

"How come I've noticed that the Jia and Geng families are involved in both the withholding of materials and the fight in the southern city? Have these two families become so close now?"

The fact that nobles formed cliques was a major headache for both the retired emperor and the emperor in power.

When the retired emperor was in power, he tried every means to suppress the nobles, but he failed to grasp the right measure and ended up becoming the retired emperor.

The current emperor, upon ascending the throne, immediately sought to eliminate the meritorious nobles.

Therefore, the Emperor naturally did not want these nobles to be too close to each other.

The Crown Princess's family and the Jia family, who have allied themselves with Tu Chengyu, are now frequently appearing together, which is causing the Emperor considerable concern.

If these two families were to reconnect, the Crown Prince and Prince Su would undoubtedly act as matchmakers, given the close relationship between the two brothers and the fact that their subordinates would be working together.

Others might think it's normal, but it's a bit uncomfortable for Tu Chengyu.

Because he had known for a long time that the emperor was very dissatisfied with the involvement of the nobles and had been trying to suppress them.

Therefore, upon hearing the Emperor's speech, Tu Chengyu looked up at the Emperor's eyes, his heart pounding with unease, and said:

"Your Majesty, I have only recently returned to the capital and am not yet aware of this matter. Once I know, I will certainly report it to you."

The Emperor did not delve into Tu Chengyu's answer, but simply said:
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. I need to read the memorials. You may leave."

Hearing that the Emperor did not press the matter further, Tu Chengyu also lowered his voice considerably.

Although he had learned of this news in the morning, the time was short and his knowledge was limited. If the emperor continued to ask, Tu Chengyu would not know how to answer.

After putting this matter aside, Tu Chengyu did not leave. He took the initiative to say:

"Father, I have something to report."

Tu Chengyu had been planning this report for many days, but things had been delayed for the past few days, and he hadn't been able to report it to the Emperor in time.

Now that he has encountered such a good opportunity, he naturally has to mention it to the Emperor.

Upon hearing Tu Chengyu's words, the Emperor paused in his writing, raised his head, and said:

What do you want to say?

As soon as the Emperor finished speaking, Tu Chengyu made his move.

Bowing deeply, bending over, and raising both hands in prayer, he said in a dignified and upright manner:
"Father, please do justice for your son."

The Emperor never expected that Tu Chengyu had come to file a complaint.

Although he knew that Prince Su was not the kind of person who would be bullied easily, and that the fact that he had come to him to complain meant that he must have been wronged, otherwise he wouldn't have done this.

So the emperor asked, "What happened that you want me to take charge of?"

Tu Chengyu said, "Recently, several rumors that are detrimental to your son and the Crown Prince have been circulating on the streets of the capital. I hope that Father will send someone to clarify this matter and give me justice."

As the master of the capital, the emperor should have known about the rumors concerning the crown prince long ago. Therefore, he showed no surprise at all when he heard Tu Chengyu's words.

He said calmly, "Tell me what kind of rumors these are."

Then, Tu Chengyu stood in front of the emperor and recounted what had happened.

Finally, he received a reply saying, "I will send people to investigate the matter; you don't need to worry about it."

Just as the father and son were exchanging words, the Jia family encountered trouble.

After the morning court session, several groups of people dressed in palace robes suddenly appeared on Ningrong Street.

These people came from east to west, but they paid no attention to Ningguo Prefecture when they passed by.

They headed straight for the Rongguo Mansion. The servant guarding the gate saw a group of people rushing towards them menacingly from afar, and had already sent someone back to report.

At this moment, in the Rongxi Hall in the backyard of the Jia family mansion, the Jia family members were also sitting full, discussing matters.

Listening closely, it became clear that they were discussing how to save Jia Lian.

Jia Lian's crime is not a huge crime, but it's not insignificant either. We must find a way to properly rescue him.

But before they could come up with a solution, they heard a maid's voice from outside:

"Reporting to the Old Madam, the gatekeeper has come and says he has something to report."

Upon hearing this, Grandmother Jia, seated at the head of the table, slowly said:

"If you have any problems, go find the master."

Upon hearing Grandmother Jia's words, the maidservant fell silent, whispered a few words to the gatekeeper, and then continued her report:
"Madam, the master hasn't finished court yet."

Since Jia Jing and Jia Zheng had sidelined her through that incident, Grandmother Jia rarely focused on managing the household.

She wouldn't have come out today if she hadn't heard that Jia Lian had been arrested.

So when the maid reported for the second time, he ignored her and only glanced at Jia Jing.

Jia Jing sat upright at the lower end, resting with his eyes closed. It was unclear whether he sensed the old lady's gaze or something else.

Without even opening his eyes, he said, "Let the doorman in."

The maidservant, having received the order, lifted the curtain and let the gatekeeper in.

As a gatekeeper who frequently reports, I am quite familiar with Rongxi Hall.

As soon as he entered, he clearly saw where the Jia family members were standing and sitting.

However, this was not the time for him to concern himself with such things. He quickly turned to Jia Jing and said:

"Master, a large group of people suddenly appeared at the gate. I sensed they were up to no good, so I came to report to the Old Madam and you."

Upon hearing this news, Jia Jing could no longer sit still and immediately stood up, saying:
"Who is coming?"

The gatekeeper said, "Judging from their clothes, they seem to be people from the government office."

What's wrong with people from the yamen staying overnight at my Jia mansion? Does Jia Lian's affairs involve my family?

Jia Jing asked again, "How many people came?"

The doorman said, "There seem to be quite a few, probably around twenty people."

Jia Jing asked again, "Are these people still at the door?"

The gatekeeper said, "I ran over to report before they arrived, and they should be at the gate by now."

Upon hearing their conversation, Rongxi Hall fell silent, and everyone turned to the doorman, wondering what he would say next.

Jia Jing did not continue asking questions, but simply said:
"Let's go to the gate and see who's coming."

After saying that, he took the lead and walked out of Rongxi Hall, and Jia She followed behind him.

When they arrived at the front gate, they saw a group of yamen runners in official uniforms surrounding the gate.

Several gatekeepers stood in front of them, trying their best to stop them; the situation did not look good.

Upon seeing this, Jia Jing said in a deep voice, "Which government office are you from? What are you doing at the Rongguo Mansion?"

The leading constable looked at Jia Jing and said:

"I am here on the orders of Lord Zhu of Shuntian Prefecture to bring people to Rongguo Mansion for questioning."

Upon hearing that they had come to take someone away, both Jia Jing and Jia She were somewhat indignant.

Moreover, the fact that they waited until the master of the mansion arrived before daring to read out the order showed that the person they were taking away must be the master of the mansion.

Thinking of this, both of them became a little nervous. Could it be that Jia Lian had spoken recklessly and implicated their family members?

Jia Jing quickly asked, "Whom do you want to take away?"

The constable said, "The person I need to invite is Jia Lian's wife, Jia Wangshi."

Upon hearing this name, Jia Jing and Jia She exchanged a glance.

The two were probably thinking to themselves, 'As expected, the problem lies with Jia Lian.'

But whether it was Jia Lian who had the problem, or something else entirely.

If Wang Xifeng were taken away from the Jia family mansion, the Jia family would inevitably become a laughing stock among the noble families of the capital.

In all these years since the founding of the nation, I've never heard of a female relative of a noble family being taken away by the government for questioning.

Jia Jing naturally knew all this, so he said with a stern face:
"Lady Jia is a woman in the household who rarely leaves the house. How could she have gotten into a lawsuit? Is there some misunderstanding?"

The constable said, "Master Jia, we are just following orders. As for whether there is a misunderstanding, you will know after you arrive at Shuntian Prefecture and ask around."

Seeing that the constable was unmoved, Jia Jing carefully considered his words and said:
"There must be some misunderstanding here. Could you gentlemen wait here while I go to Shuntian Prefecture to explain to Lord Zhu?"

The head constable replied, "Our orders are to bring the person to Shuntian Prefecture immediately, without any delay. Therefore, I cannot agree to Master Jia's request."

At this moment, Jia Jing was also somewhat annoyed, and he said:
"Since you're here on orders, shouldn't you have some kind of proof?"

Upon hearing this, the head constable said, "Master Jia, we certainly have the proof, but it can only be seen by you alone. Please find a quiet place for us."

What kind of proof is this? Why do I have to hide from people to see it? Is this kid trying to cheat me?

But Jia Jing looked at the constable's serious expression and didn't think he would deceive people.

If it's not deception, then the fact that the constable is protecting the certificate so much means that the certificate has an extraordinary origin.

A certain possibility couldn't help but come to mind for Jia Jing.

(End of this chapter)