The head of the Red Mansion

Chapter 66 Schemes (Second Update)
In the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Emperor Xiaomu sighed as he looked at the mountain of memorials piled up. Just as he was about to resign himself to his fate and get to work, he heard a soft thud from the roof.

The emperor put down the memorial in his hand, waved to the eunuchs standing by the door, and signaled them to leave.

The two eunuchs left without saying a word, bowed slightly, and then considerately closed the door behind them.

"what's up?"

"Your Majesty, Prince Teng has made a move."

Wang Ziteng?
Emperor Xiaomu's heart skipped a beat. "What did he do?"

"When the Wang family got into trouble, he first transferred twelve personal guards from the Beijing Garrison. Last night, he transferred eighteen more people from the Beijing Garrison. These eighteen people belong to various battalions and are people that the officers of each battalion are very interested in and have decided to include in the training list. According to the secret report of Anqi, they know each other and are likely to be the Wang family's spies in the Beijing Garrison."

The guard didn't waste any words. "Prince Teng probably originally wanted to use the generals to cultivate his own people."

"..."

Emperor Xiaomu frowned. "What's going on now? Why has he changed his mind again?"

"Secret investigator Anwu, who was in contact with Anqi, believes this matter is related to Madam Shen of the Ningguo Mansion."

The guard continued, "The two midwives that Madam Shen was raising had an accident yesterday. Jia Zhen and Jia She of the Ningguo Mansion, along with a large group of Jia family members, smashed up quite a bit of the house of Chen Chong, a sixth-rank official in the Ministry of Works."

Yesterday's melon tastes just as fresh today.

The secret guards discovered that anything related to Madam Shen was beneficial to their master.

Seeing that the emperor's eyes were also shining, he simply began to recount the big news from Fulong Street.

Whether Madam Shen can survive this ordeal is also very important to them.

After a while, Emperor Xiaomu finally heard the whole story. While he despised the Chen family, he couldn't help but worry about Madam Shen's health.

When Prince Teng fell, the people in the capital garrison who temporarily replaced him, although still his father's men, also climbed a small step up the ranks.

Now that Prince Teng has made another move, regardless of whether it's because of Madam Shen's accident, he has transferred back the people he was secretly cultivating for safety reasons. At least with the loss of these eighteen promising individuals, his people have gained another opportunity.

In recent years, Emperor Xiaomu, like Prince Teng, has been placing inconspicuous but promising soldiers in various camps, trying to wait for them to grow up and then silently take control of the entire Jingying (capital garrison).

now……

Where is Dark Five now?

Emperor Xiaomu said, "The Jia family should have hired another midwife, right? Tell him to investigate immediately. If there are any problems..." He made a chopping motion, "Also, find out for me exactly who is targeting the Jia family."

Are they taking advantage of Jia Jing not being home?

Or was he trying to test Jia Jing because he had a grudge against the Jia family?

Was the incident involving Prince Teng's startled horse and the midwife the work of the same person, or did someone think the Jia family was in trouble and wanted to take advantage of the situation?
In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through Emperor Xiaomu's mind: "If Jia Zhen takes any revenge, you can help him if you can, and if appropriate... provide him with some intelligence."

Jia Zhen is indeed no match for Jia Jing, but Jia Jing... is not useful, at least not in this situation.

For two generations, the Ningguo family guarded the capital for the founding emperor and the emperor's father, and their loyalty was beyond question.

Jia Jing was the most outstanding among the nobles.

Therefore, his father betrothed him to his elder brother at a young age.

If his elder brother hadn't met with misfortune, he would certainly have been able to become his brother's right-hand man, just like his father and grandfather.

But something happened to my elder brother.

Jia Jing's close relationship with the Beijing garrison became something that both his father and he were wary of.

If he honestly becomes a Taoist priest, it will be good for everyone.

only……

Emperor Xiaomu also disliked those who took advantage of others' misfortunes.

"If his retaliation is too lenient, you should help him to be more ruthless."

In Emperor Xiaomu's eyes, Jia Zhen's decision not to kill anyone during that conflict and instead sent someone to report it to the authorities showed that he was somewhat soft-hearted.

Living in the imperial palace, the greatest arena of power, the emperor, who rose from weakness to his current position, both admires and laments this.

However, this kind of Jia family member is the most suitable for him and Da Zhao now.

"Remember, don't let anyone see any trace of it. Everything was done by the Jia family."

The Jia family is now the safest.

It can't fall over.

"Yes!"

The guard looked up, and only after confirming that the emperor had no further instructions did he vanish in a flash.

The emperor sat in the hall, thinking about his brothers, the princes from other clans, and even the retired emperor, but he was still confused and couldn't figure it out clearly.

After thinking it over and over, he clapped his hands twice.

The closed palace doors were quickly pushed open, and Eunuch Liu, who hadn't been there, rushed in, "Your Majesty..."

"Tell the Empress that I will have lunch at her place at noon."

"……Yes!"

The Emperor has many things to deal with, so he usually just grabs a quick bite here at lunchtime.

This sudden need to find the Empress...

Eunuch Liu glanced at the huge pile of unprocessed memorials and quickly gave his apprentice a wink.

……

Those who were paying attention to the Ningguo Mansion, intending to attend the banquet, waited until the afternoon without hearing the slightest movement from them. Instead, the midwives who had been invited in were politely escorted out. Oh dear~
The person who made the move was incompetent!
It's pointless to only target the midwife.

There are plenty of midwives in the capital.

Moreover, since they weren't agitated, they might be able to wait until the two midwives recover.

Wang Ziteng, who made a big move, heard that others were still living peacefully, and he was completely upset.

Was he overreacting?

Wang Ziteng's hands were trembling, and his eyes were a little red.

Is it too late to send those people back now?

"grown ups!"

Wang Jin cautiously approached and said, "I just received news that several shops belonging to the Chen and Wang families have run into trouble, and several people have been injured. They have joined forces and hired a lawyer to sue the Jia family."

"...Go ahead and sue me!"

Wang Ziteng used all his strength to control his emotions, "Prefect Dong of Shuntian Prefecture and Jia Jing are the same age."

Even if they weren't born in the same year, little Chen Chong was someone Jia Zhen could just casually appoint.

Since Jia Zhen couldn't find the mastermind behind it all, he had to look for those he could find.

"Alright, there's no need to report anything about the Jia family anymore."

If he had been any later yesterday, he probably wouldn't have called anyone back.

Wang Ziteng now only hopes that the person behind the scenes is indeed very powerful. Although he has lost some people who could control the Beijing garrison, it is not a bad thing to be able to protect his family. "As for the matter of the startled horse, now that Dashan and the others have returned, I will investigate it thoroughly."

"Yes!"

Wang Jin strode out.

Meanwhile, under the guidance of Liu the midwife, Shen Ning continued her daily life.

To take care of Liu the midwife, she even took her on a boat and slowly drifted down the river.

The fresh water drawn from the moat flows through almost every part of Huifang Garden. You can take a boat right from home. Life is pretty good. "When do you think you'll recover, Sister Yan?"

"...She has already returned home to recuperate after childbirth. If she takes good care of herself, she should be doing just like any other person."

Liu, the midwife, glanced at her belly but didn't say anything scary.

"So, Chen Tang... how are you feeling?"

Shen Ning had already asked Wang Pozi and the others who had gone with her, and she had even gone to see Qingzhu. This chaotic fight targeting the two midwives seemed to be aimed at her, but for some reason, she felt that it had nothing to do with her at all.

If someone really wants to target her, they should know that after so much treatment, her health is very good and her emotions are stable.

It's not that a little stimulation will cause a breakdown or a difficult birth; it's that.

But the other party still did it.

Shen Ning felt that something was wrong.

"Mr. Chen is really good to Miss Yan."

Liu, the midwife, sighed deeply. Having worked as a midwife for over a decade, she had seen countless women give birth while men remained indifferent. "When we arrived, he had just broken through the door of the ancestral hall to escape. Although he didn't recognize us, he knew that Kui-ge'er had led us there, and he desperately tried to protect us. Zhong, the midwife, was able to get in because of his desperate protection. Unfortunately, he was hit three times with a stick at the time. Even after Zhong got in, she was no match for the many hands and suffered a heavy blow."

She added gratefully, "It's also thanks to Madam that she invited Manager Chen from Huichuntang; otherwise, none of us would have seen the sun rise today."

"...I was thinking that since Sister Yan was having a difficult childbirth and Brother Kui was physically weak, he could give her medicine in time if needed."

Shen Ning sighed inwardly, "I never expected that even after things had come to that point, the Wang family would still be so despicable."

When she went through all her memories of *Dream of the Red Chamber*, there was no mention of a person named Jia Kui.

It was just a fleeting impulse.

"Chen Chong is a powerful official in the Ministry of Works, so he must have some brains. I wonder what grudge he holds against his eldest son that he would treat him so badly."

The eldest son's future was clearly bright; with just a little help, he could bring glory to the family. Yet, he was treated that way.

Shen Ning felt that something was wrong with the Chen family, and had already asked Jia Zhen to investigate. "But since you all say that the son-in-law is excellent, his things cannot all be given to Chen Chong and the Chen family."

As the son-in-law of the Jia family, he naturally had to fight for what belonged to his mother.

"Your wife is kind-hearted!"

Liu the midwife smiled.

She genuinely felt that this lady was a kind-hearted person.

The Thousand Character Classic was placed there, and any maid in the courtyard who wanted to learn to read could go over and read for a while. As long as they didn't waste the brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone, they could use them freely.

If someone doesn't recognize the character or can't write it, either the head maid will teach them, or she will teach them herself.

These days, she's been memorizing a few dozen more characters.

"There are indeed many unreasonable things about how Master Chen treated his eldest son, unless he was afraid that his son-in-law would become too powerful and come after him later."

But what could make a father so afraid of his son?
Unless his wife did not die a natural death.

Shen Ning took a light breath. "What you said makes a lot of sense." She smiled and said, "Qingping, send someone to visit Kui-ge'er's house and invite Chen-gongye over. I have some questions to ask him."

"Yes!"

Qingping gestured for the old woman to move closer to the shore, and soon a young maidservant ran out.

Meanwhile, when Chen Chong had no other options, he also went to Jia Kui's house.