The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 226 Madam Wang's Scheme Against Lin Daiyu
Jia She felt he was incredibly unlucky. In this family, good things never happened to him, but bad things always seemed to happen to him.

When Grandmother Jia was in charge of the household, she favored the second son's family and didn't take him, the rightful heir to the Duke's mansion, seriously.

Now that we've finally managed to wrest power from the old lady, there's Jia Jing above us and Jia Zheng in the household.

In addition, given the seniority of the Jia family, they could scold him, their son, whenever they wanted. It can be said that his status has remained almost unchanged, both in the past and now.

For example, right now, even though Jia Jing was the one who made the decision, and it was Jia Lian and his wife who caused the trouble, he was the one who ended up getting scolded.

Thinking of all this, Jia She couldn't help but feel sad, but since it was his own mother who was scolding him, there was nothing he could do.

He could only explain, "Mother, it's not that your son is incompetent and couldn't stop the family, but taking Lian's wife to Shuntian Prefecture is an imperial decree, and your son has no way to stop it."

With a stern face, Grandmother Jia said, "I don't care what your difficulties are, I only know that your men's affairs should not involve us women. As for what Lian-ge'er did, let him bear the consequences himself, and don't let his wife be implicated."

It seems that the old lady also believes that Jia Lian's matter yesterday involved Wang Xifeng, which is why the Shuntian Prefecture came to take him away.

But Jia Jing knew that what happened last night wasn't enough to warrant such a large involvement; something else must have occurred. So he said:
"Aunt, we still don't know the specific reason why Shuntian Prefecture sent Lian's wife over. However, since it is an imperial decree, we can't stop it, otherwise it might cause even more trouble."

The old woman still wouldn't listen, saying only, "What's the connection? I'm not afraid. I'm not like you, who can't even protect your own family members."

Even someone as thick-skinned as Jia Jing found these words hard to accept, and he directly said:

"We don't know what happened yet, but judging from the constables who came to bring people over, it shouldn't be anything serious. Perhaps Lian's daughter-in-law is just going through the motions."

Grandmother Jia said, "Even a perfunctory visit won't do. If a woman comes into a place like that, people will gossip."

Jia Jing stared wide-eyed, thinking to himself, "If it weren't for your mother making such a big fuss, maybe not many people would know. Now that you've made such a scene, even if we don't go to Shuntian Prefecture, our reputation is already ruined."

However, as Wang Xifeng's elder, he couldn't say these things directly, so he could only say:

“Aunt, the officials from Shuntian Prefecture are waiting outside the gate. If they don’t see anyone, they might come in and arrest people, and then things will get really out of hand.”

If it were true that officials from Shuntian Prefecture were to forcibly break into Rongguo Mansion and arrest people, it would be a disgrace to the Jia family.

Grandmother Jia was naturally aware of these consequences, so she fell silent when Jia Jing spoke of them.

While Jia Jing and Grandmother Jia were talking, Wang Xifeng was so concerned that she forgot to cry for a moment.

When she noticed that Grandmother Jia was silent, Wang Xifeng panicked and burst into tears again.

"Grandma, you have to stand up for me! I would never dare to go to a place like yours."

Seeing this, Grandmother Jia could only comfort her again: "Feng'er, don't worry, I won't let you go through this."

After saying that, he said to Jia Jing and the other man, "Since this order comes from the palace, I will personally go to the palace to plead for it. I will go to see the Emperor Emeritus and the Empress Dowager. I do not believe that with the loyalty of my Jia family for generations, we cannot even ask for this little bit of favor."

Grandmother Jia did this not out of ignorance or arrogance, but because such things had happened since the beginning of the dynasty.

In the past, the royal family and the nobility had a close relationship, especially during the reigns of Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong, when the emperors valued the nobility highly.

Because of this widespread affection, even the wives of noble families held considerable prestige.

Therefore, during the reigns of Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong, there were instances where noblewomen entered the palace to plead for leniency, thereby mitigating the punishment of their family members.

However, when the retired emperor came to power, the relationship between the noble families and the imperial authority was not as close as before, and there were even instances of them vying for power.

At this point, let alone ladies of high rank, even the respectable male monkeys of various households no longer enjoyed such prestige.

With the current emperor's ascension to the throne, this situation has only intensified. We haven't seen the current emperor trying to weaken the influence of the nobles as soon as he took the throne.

If Grandmother Jia were to run to the palace to plead for mercy at this point, she would lose all dignity.

What's more, his earlier statement about going to plead with the retired emperor and empress dowager was simply adding fuel to the fire.

It's important to understand that the relationship between the Emperor, the Retired Emperor, and the Empress Dowager within the current imperial palace is not as harmonious as it appears on the surface.

If you try to use the retired emperor and empress dowager to suppress the emperor, you're just asking for trouble.

So Jia Jing quickly said, "Aunt, this matter hasn't reached the point of needing to go to the palace to plead for mercy. If you're worried about people gossiping, you can simply send a few more people to follow Lian-ge's wife."

Besides, it's still unclear why the Shuntian Prefecture summoned Lian's daughter-in-law. Aunt, how can you plead for her if you go to the palace?"

That's true. If you don't even know the situation, how can you plead for mercy? Even if the Emperor Emeritus and Empress Dowager wanted to help you, they wouldn't know where to begin.

Thinking of all this, Grandmother Jia was furious and scolded, "This won't do, that won't do, you all just don't want to take responsibility and only want to let Feng'er get away with it."

Jia Jing said with a bitter face, "The emperor's decree is as firm as a mountain; there's nothing we can do about it."

Nevertheless, Grandmother Jia turned her head away, clearly not wanting Wang Xifeng to go.

Upon seeing this, everyone froze for a moment, unsure of what to say.

After a long while, Madam Wang, who was standing to the side, spoke up in a low voice:
"Grandma, I have an idea, but I don't know if I should say it?"

Upon hearing this, Grandmother Jia immediately said, "At this point, what is there that cannot be said? If you have any solutions, please tell us quickly."

Upon hearing this, Madam Wang immediately said, "Old Madam should know that our two families have now pledged allegiance to Prince Su, and we have been working diligently for him on a daily basis."

"If something happens now, perhaps we can ask Prince Su for help. Even if we can't get the palace to rescind its order, we can at least find out some information, which is better than being completely blind right now."

Upon hearing this idea, Grandmother Jia immediately perked up and said:

“Your idea is good. Since our family is now with Prince Su, he will surely not refuse this matter. So you should go and see Prince Su now and ask him to intercede on your behalf.”

The second half of Grandmother Jia's sentence was addressed to Jia Jing and Jia She.

Upon hearing this, Jia Jing said, "I also have this plan, but Prince Su lives in the palace. It would take a long time to see him, and the constables from Shuntian Prefecture are waiting at the gate. I'm afraid it will be too late."

Grandmother Jia said, "Then go and plead with the officials to wait a while."

Jia Jing said helplessly, "Normally, our Jia family would naturally give us this face, but today the officials are here on the Emperor's orders. They dare not disobey the imperial decree, so naturally they will not give us this face."

In the end, Wang Xifeng still needs to go to Shuntian Prefecture.

At this moment, Madam Wang interjected, "Old Madam, if it were an ordinary person going out to plead for them, these constables might not necessarily do him a favor. However, we have someone in our household who can help us. If he goes out and pleads, these constables will definitely show him some leniency."

Upon hearing this, Grandmother Jia was astonished to find that such a person existed in her own household. However, after thinking it over, she realized that the most influential person in the mansion, besides the masters of the two mansions, was herself. Who else could be more influential?

But seeing Madam Wang's confident expression, she was a little confused, so she asked:

"Second brother's wife, who is this person you're talking about?"

At this moment, the others also had some questions in their minds, and they all stared intently at Madam Wang, wanting to hear who she was talking about.

Only a few people vaguely guessed who Madam Wang was referring to.

Jia Jing was one of them. He guessed who Madam Wang was going to talk about and wanted to stop her.

But then he thought, if he stopped Lady Wang from saying the name when Grandmother Jia was here, Grandmother Jia would definitely not let it go. So he could only keep a straight face and see what Lady Wang would say.

Seeing everyone looking at her, Madam Wang didn't hesitate and said directly:
"Grandma, the person I'm talking about is none other than right here in front of you, your dearest granddaughter Daiyu."

Grandmother Jia asked in surprise, "You mean Daiyu?"

Everyone else was also very surprised, looking at Madam Wang, wanting to hear her reasons.

However, Lin Daiyu remained calm, her head slightly lowered, seemingly unaware of what Madam Wang was saying.

Seeing this, Madam Wang said directly, "It's Lin Yatou. Old Madam, think about it, Lin Yatou is not only your granddaughter, but also the Princess Consort of Su."

"Given Lin's current status, if she simply speaks to those constables, would they dare to force their way in and arrest anyone, even if they had the guts? This would give them ample time to ask Prince Su to intercede."

You know what, aside from some overly presumptuous ideas, Madam Wang's idea is actually quite good.

But she never considered that doing so would make Lin Daiyu appear to defy the imperial decree.

Even if Lin Daiyu had already married into the family, she would still dare to disregard right and wrong, stand up for others, and defy the imperial decree. She would probably never become the Princess Consort of Su.

Normally, with Grandmother Jia's shrewdness, she would have seen through the inappropriateness of Lady Wang's words, but today, her concern clouded her judgment, and she was grasping at straws in her desperation.

Upon hearing Madam Wang's analysis, she actually looked at Lin Daiyu and said, "Is it really alright to send this girl?"

Lin Daiyu pretended not to hear, keeping her head down and seemingly lost in thought.

Madam Wang said, "Why not give it a try? It's good to buy some time."

Upon hearing this, Grandmother Jia looked at Lin Daiyu again, her gaze filled with urgency.

Seeing this, everyone looked at Lin Daiyu.

Even if Lin Daiyu was very clever and didn't want to pay attention to these words, she was still a young girl, and she couldn't keep up the act when so many eyes were on her.

In particular, Jia Yuanchun said something at this time.

"Please, Lin sister, help your second sister-in-law. She has taken good care of you ever since you came to the manor."

This simple statement can be quite damaging.

Lin Daiyu knew that if she didn't speak up now and clarify the matter, she would likely be labeled as ungrateful and cold-blooded.

So she said, "If I can help Sister-in-law Lian, I would be more than willing..."

After saying the first half of her sentence, she wanted to make a turn and find a way to say that she couldn't do it.

But before she could finish saying "but," a voice urgently said:
"No, this is absolutely unacceptable."

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look and discovered that Jia Zheng, who had gone to the yamen for his morning roll call, had somehow appeared at the entrance of the passageway.

However, Jia Zheng was in a rather disheveled state at this moment. Perhaps he had been walking too fast, as he was covered in sweat and his clothes were in a disheveled state, which showed that he had indeed been running very fast.

Seeing his disheveled appearance, everyone in the Jia family felt a pang of anxiety, wondering if something terrible had happened again.

It's not that they're making a fuss, but the events of the past two days have made them wonder.

Grandmother Jia asked anxiously, "What's wrong with you?"

Jia Jing also asked, "Is there any news from the court?"

After resting briefly at the entrance of the passageway, Jia Zheng caught his breath, straightened up, tidied his clothes, and then walked over.

He said to Grandmother Jia, "Mother, I'm fine. I was just worried about things at home, so I got a little anxious."

Hearing his words, everyone understood that Jia Zheng must have heard about what had happened at home, which was why he rushed back in such a hurry.

Upon seeing this, Jia Jing asked again, "Has the news of what happened in your household reached the court?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Zheng nodded, and Jia Jing's expression turned even more unpleasant.

However, he quickly realized that in the capital, even the smallest thing could spread far and wide, let alone such a major event happening in the mansion of a duke like Jia Jing.

Given the people of the capital's love of watching a spectacle, they must have been dressed up everywhere by now. It seems inevitable that the Jia family will lose face this time.

Thinking of this, Jia Jing sighed deeply, unsure of what to say.

Jia Jing remained silent, but Jia Zheng spoke up: "Brother Jing, I just overheard Mother wanting Lin to intervene. Why didn't you stop her?"

Jia Jing said helplessly, "Auntie is so concerned that she loses her composure. I tried to persuade her from the beginning, but she wouldn't listen, and there's nothing I can do."

Upon hearing this, Grandmother Jia was displeased and angrily said:

“You bunch of grown men, instead of stepping forward to take charge, now that I, an old woman, am protecting my own, you’re not happy about it.”

Upon hearing this, Jia Zheng understood what had happened. He stopped blaming Jia Jing and instead said to Jia Mu:
“Mother, the fault for today’s events lies with Lian’s wife. Having Lin’s daughter intervene will not only be unhelpful, but will also add fuel to the fire.”

Upon hearing Jia Zheng's words, Jia Jing quickly asked, "From what you're saying, do you know what mistake Lian-ge'er's wife made?"

Jia Zheng nodded, clearly aware of the cause and effect.

(End of this chapter)