The head of the Red Mansion

Chapter 74 Major Case (Three-in-One)

When I woke up, the lights in the room were on again.

Shen Ning was confused for a moment, then suddenly remembered something, "Someone come here!"

Qingzhu immediately agreed, "You're awake?" She was overjoyed, "Are you hungry? I'll get right away..."

Shen Ning grabbed her hand, "Where's Zhen'er? How is he?"

"Don't worry, Madam!"

Qingzhu's eyes were full of smiles, and her voice was clear and crisp. "Grandpa is doing well. He woke up at 1:45 am and insisted on being carried over to see you. He gave each of us two top-quality red envelopes. He not only ate all the ginseng stewed chicken that Aunt Li made for him in our yard, but also ate several lucky eggs."

Is that so?
Shen Ning couldn't help but smile. "He was just injured, he can't eat that much, can he?"

“He ate the yolk and gave the egg white to Grandma,” Qingzhu laughed. “So there wasn’t much.”

"..."

Shen Ning was speechless. "Oh right, what about Rong-ge'er? What book did he memorize yesterday?"

I didn't have the energy to yell at him yesterday, but I can't today.

I can't even recite the Three Character Classic properly, what am I going to do in the future?
"Please don't scold Rong-ge'er, he was terrified yesterday."

They were all terrified, let alone him, a child.

Qingzhu said, "Not only did I not sleep all night, but I also had to take care of the whole family this morning. I even went to the ancestral hall to announce the good news to the ancestors on behalf of my uncle. As a result, I was so tired that I fell asleep there. My grandmother had someone carry him to bed, and he still hasn't woken up yet."

To avoid upsetting her mistress, she didn't mention that the second mistress of the West Mansion wanted to take their daughter away, and that it was Rong-ge'er who stopped her.

If they told him, his wife would be furious.

"...Did you ask Manager Chen to take a look at him?"

"Watching it is exhausting."

"..."

Shen Ning's heart felt both sour and hot.

She took too much of a risk yesterday.

"Don't worry, Madam. Manager Chen said Rong-ge'er will be fine after a nap. Are you hungry? Have something to eat!"

As she spoke, a maid brought up the toiletries. Qingzhu gently helped her lean against the soft pillows and served her personally. "Miss has been nursed by the wet nurse several times, but no matter how she nurses, she can only feel at ease when she wakes up and comes to your side."

The girl is still young, so her mother must take good care of her.

"Bring her here, let me see her."

How could Shen Ning possibly hold back?

Not long after she finished washing up, she brought the little bundle of joy to her.

Shen Ning took it. The little girl had a slightly upturned nose, slender eyebrows and eyes, and thick, slightly upturned eyelashes, just like Rong Ge'er's. Needless to say, she also had a pair of peach blossom eyes full of affection.

Perhaps he smelled her scent; his little nose twitched, his mouth slightly parted, and he smiled in his sleep.

In an instant, Shen Ning's heart melted.

She couldn't help but kiss her daughter's forehead. "Has Zhen'er seen his sister? What did he say?"

uh~
The maids exchanged glances and couldn't help but smile. "The master hugged her and said she was ugly. He said he'd save up for her dowry."

"Grandma even argued with Grandpa several times because of this."

The maids' smiling words reassured Shen Ning.

She was afraid that Jia Zhen would blame his misfortune on the child.

Although she did not die as in the original story, if Jia Zhen disliked the child, it was still her fault.

"Aren't all newborn babies like this?"

Shen Ning gently tapped her daughter's little nose and said softly, "If your brother dares to say anything bad about us again, you can also say he's ugly."

God, she's not dead!
Only then did Shen Ning feel like a fish returning to the sea.

Without the sword of Damocles hanging over my head, I can really like anything I see.

"Have you caught the person who tried to assassinate the old man? Who is he? What about Jiao Da?"

"The one who assassinated the old man was the dwarf assassin Xie Zhenghu."

Qingping said, "The people from Shuntian Prefecture and the Five Cities Military Command are investigating. We don't know their background yet. Master Jiao stayed up all night with them last night. He's rested well today, so he's taken his men out of the prefecture to look for the murderer."

Shen Ning nodded, handed the baby to Qingzhu, and ate her postpartum meal. "Who came to the West Mansion yesterday? What did they say? If something happened in the mansion, who from the clan came to help?"

As Qingping and Qingzhu exchanged a glance and began to lavish praise on Jia She and his wife, Grandmother Jia in the West Mansion was also reprimanding Jia Zheng behind closed doors.

"I asked you to come with me to the mansion this morning, but you were a step too late and couldn't go. It's been so long now, why are you still at home?"

Grandmother Jia was furious.

Although they and the East Mansion are considered family, and they don't need to care too much about those formalities, there should still be some social interactions.

The East Mansion had a tough time yesterday; even that scoundrel She'er stayed up all night.

As a result, neither of them showed their face, and although the other went, he couldn't keep his mouth shut and kept offending people.

“My son has already asked around, and many children from the Wang and Cao generations in the clan have gone.”

Jia Zheng was still baffled by his mother's anger, thinking, "Why don't they just take care of things in the outer courtyard?"

He's a generation older than Jia Zhen.

"The clan school is closed today because of them."

Jia Zheng said, "Mother, do you know how many people will say behind those people's backs that they are sycophants?"

He was adamant about not going. “Although my sister-in-law has been granted the title of First Rank Lady, she is still a woman. How can I, her younger brother-in-law, come and go as I please? If you want excitement, then go. If you want peace and quiet, then let Wang and the others go and take a look.”

There are a lot of servants in the house. It's fine to keep them around normally, but if something happens, wouldn't it be more appropriate to do it?
Does he, the old man, have to go?
Jia Zheng argued vehemently, "Besides, do you know that Xie Zhenghu hasn't been brought to justice yet? My son still needs to go to court. What if that person sets his sights on him?"

Jia Mu: "..."

Her hands trembled repeatedly.

Although I knew before that this son was not good at worldly affairs, it was always others who fawned over them, and they never fawned over others.

She thought her son was a good person, and this wasn't a big problem, but she never expected...

At this moment, the old lady finally understood why her son had been sitting on the sidelines in the Ministry of Works for so many years.

This is utterly ignorant!
She patted her chest, waved her hand, and told him to get lost.

She was afraid that if she stayed any longer, she would get angry and hurt herself.

"Someone, go and summon Lin Zhixiao."

The deaths of the Chen and Wang families were actually related to salt merchants in Jiangnan.

Grandmother Jia couldn't help but worry.

It's a pity that her eldest son is unreliable, and her second son is the same way. Her two capable grandsons are one studying at the Imperial Academy and the other far away in Jiangnan.

If any of them were home, she wouldn't be so worried.

Grandmother Jia was very upset.

If only Baoyu were a little older.

Although Rong-ge'er was young, he held up the Ningguo Mansion after Zhen-er collapsed.

"Madam, Lin Zhixiao went out with the master to apprehend the criminal and hasn't returned yet."

The young maidservant reported cautiously, "It's Lin Zhixiao's wife who's here, you..."

"pass!"

Grandmother Jia, reclining on the couch, waved for Lin Zhixiao's wife to sit down and speak after she had finished her greetings. "Do you know what's going on with the Chen and Wang families?"

"I don't know much, but I've heard that Chen Chong resents our Jia family for being too aggressive. Just then, some family members of salt merchants from Jiangnan came over. They were also wary of Lin, so they conspired together to plot a vicious scheme."

Lin Zhixiao's wife said, "The Chen and Wang families lost lives, and they paid money to frame our Jia family."

They simply framed the Ningguo Mansion.

But in fact, Lin Guye is the son-in-law of the Rongguo Mansion.

Do you know how much silver the salt merchant paid?

"I don't know!"

Lin Zhixiao's wife shook her head, "But Chen Chong was arrested last night, so it won't be long before Shuntian Prefecture finds out."

Sure enough, early the next morning, a large number of people gathered outside Shuntian Prefecture.

The Chen and Wang families were already unlucky enough, with many injured and many dead. Everyone on Fulong Street knew that the Jia family was involved. But before Jia Zhen could be found, the authorities arrested Master Chen.

Isn't this blatant bullying of Master Chen because his official rank is too low?
If even an official like Master Chen is like this, what would happen if ordinary people like them encountered this situation? Wouldn't they risk the lives of their entire families?

The people's concern caused chaos, and upon hearing that the Shuntian Prefecture was holding a public trial for this case, they gathered there early in the morning.

However, once they gathered, everyone noticed something amiss. Among those who came to hear the case were many people dressed in rich clothes. Judging from their appearance, they were either servants of powerful families or wealthy merchants.

The twenty-odd people at the front were whispered to each other and quickly left with the money they had bought, as if in a dream.

Wow, who would have thought that just getting up early could earn me dozens of taels of silver?

Those who saw this felt heartbroken that they hadn't run faster earlier.

"Look, those are people from the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce, those are people from the Shanxi and Shaanxi Chambers of Commerce, and over there are people from the Tianjin and Guangdong Chambers of Commerce..."

Some people have a wide circle of acquaintances, and the more they look at these people, the more something seems off.

Before long, Li Haizhong was brought in.

When Chen Chong, who was also brought up, saw him, his expression changed drastically.

His shoulders slumped down immediately.

His face was as pale as paper.

Li Haizhong only gave a small portion of his silver to the clan. Once it's discovered, he... his family might not even be able to get back into their ancestral graves.

"Crack~"

"Majestic!"

With a slam of the gavel, the bailiffs on both sides pounded their fire and water sticks and glared angrily at the people kneeling in the hall. Anyone with a weak heart would be terrified by this one slam.

"Who is in the hall?"

Lord Dong, exuding official authority, startled Chen Chong with a sharp shout, causing him to tremble.

He knew he was finished.

To put up a stubborn resistance will only lead to a more miserable death.

"This humble official is Chen Chong, a principal officer in the Ministry of Works."

He suddenly shouted, "Sir, I want to accuse Li Haizhong of luring me with 100,000 taels of silver, causing me to commit an irreparable mistake!"

He did share some silver with the Chen and Wang families, but all in all, it was less than five thousand taels.

Of the five thousand taels, the majority was distributed among the clan elders, while the aggrieved family only received one hundred taels.

But if they were to implicate them all today, countless people from both families would be implicated, and their families would truly be doomed.

Instead, he took on all of this himself, and the elders, with little effort, might secretly help him out.

Chen Chong went all out and revealed everything about Li Haizhong taking the money and how he sent people to kill his relatives and wife's relatives to frame the Jia family.

In any case, there's only one theme: he was blinded by the prospect of 100,000 taels of silver, which led him to commit such a despicable act.

An uproar erupted both inside and outside the venue.

Li Haizhong was going to be driven crazy by him.

He pulled strings, bringing together members from several chambers of commerce to bolster his reputation, put pressure on the government, and collect money to smooth things over.

The Li family is wealthy and doesn't care about such a small amount, but Chen Chong's outburst makes it seem as if he is the mastermind.

"My lord, I'm innocent!"

Li Haizhong cried out his innocence, "I had no idea he was going after the Jia family. I only gave him money because he was a powerful official in the Ministry of Works. I came to the capital after separating from my family to find another way to get some work from the Ministry of Works!"
He promised to entrust me with the dam construction project along the Huai River! That's why I gave him 100,000 taels of silver to help with the dredging.

He was also afraid of dragging the Li family into it.

He considered the 100,000 taels to be his own, so no matter how things turned out today, it would be his own business.

As long as the family exists, his brothers will always take care of things for him.

slap~
Lord Dong slammed his gavel and said coldly, "Nonsense! Why should a mere clerk in the Ministry of Works be given a project that can earn you well over 100,000 taels of silver? Guards, give him thirty strokes of the cane first."

The national treasury is short of silver.

The wealthy merchants of Jiangnan were all richer than a country.

Where did they get the money?
The tax revenue from farmland in Jiangnan has been decreasing in recent years.

As for commercial taxes...

Lord Dong knew that the Zhen family, the family of Consort Zhen, was also involved in this matter.

When the retired emperor was trying to maintain a balance of power, he promoted the princes of Consort Zhen, which is how the Zhen family rose to prominence. Later, in a moment of impulsiveness, he gave the throne to the least prominent prince in the court, and then vaguely regretted it, which allowed the Zhen family to grow even larger. All the merchants in Jiangnan have some connection with the Zhen family.

We let it go before since we hadn't offended him, but how can we let him get away with it now?

"Chen Chong, quickly tell me everything about how he met with you that day and how he tricked you into killing someone."

A minor official in the Ministry of Works can earn at most five hundred taels of silver from the projects he can assign to others.

That was when the national treasury was full; where is there any silver in the national treasury now?
Therefore, Li Haizhong's statement is completely untenable.

Both inside and outside the venue, those who received a secret message from a certain esteemed figure, wanting to lend a helping hand, all fell silent.

Those with more vivid minds even thought about Jia Zhen's assassination attempt.

If Jia Zhen's assassination was also related to the Li family, then the Li family would be completely finished.

The Ningguo family made great contributions to the country. Although their descendants were somewhat arrogant, this was also due to the excessive actions of the Chen and Wang families.

I heard that the Emperor bestowed upon Madam Shen the title of First-Rank Imperial Noblewoman early this morning, which shows that the royal family still cares about her.

and so……

The person who just spent money to get a seat in front is now quietly backing down.

Even if the Li family manages to escape unscathed after this incident, they will be severely weakened, and someone will have to take over their business.

If you make arrangements early, you'll definitely get a larger share.

Lord Dong Xiaoquan watched these people leave without making any comment.

In just two days, thanks to Li Haizhong, everyone in the Five Cities Garrison and the entire Shuntian Prefecture has been bribed.

The Emperor's request was simple: dig, dig slowly, and it would be even better if more merchants could be brought over.

Therefore, all he needed to know was who was sending the money.

At this time, the onlookers were unaware that a shocking case was slowly unfolding, and that it was about to trigger a major event that would affect their lives.

……

At Ningguo Mansion, Shen Ning finally saw her eldest son again.

Although the blood loss cannot be replenished immediately and his complexion is not very good, he looks about the same as before he was injured.

"Let's follow Jiao Da and toughen up our muscles and bones some more!"

It's so pitiful that he was stabbed so many times.

Shen Ning said, "Also, have the people below add another layer of sheet metal to the cushions in the carriage."

If such an incident were to occur again, at least no one would be able to touch me directly.

"Yes, I'll do whatever you say."

Jia Zhen held his younger sister, who did nothing but eat and sleep, and said, "Mother, why does my sister seem even fairer?"

"...Do we have any ugly people in our family?"

Shen Ning was speechless. "This morning, your sister cried. I was about to hug her and comfort her when Rong-ge'er came over. He thought I was going to hit her, so he snatched her away and insisted that his aunt was too young and he would take the beating for her."

Jia Zhen: "..."

“He said that no matter how ugly she is, she is still his aunt.” Shen Ning looked at her eldest son. “It’s because his father and he are too good-looking that they have overshadowed his aunt’s beauty. If I have anyone to blame, it’s you and your son.”

what?
Jia Zhen was dumbfounded.

The maids and servants standing nearby couldn't help but turn around and chuckle.

"Cough cough~"

Jia Zhen was disgusted by his son, who was always causing him trouble. "He's actually quite filial," he thought.

It's hateful that this filial piety wasn't directed at him.

Holding the sister who had stolen his mother, wife, and son, Jia Zhen felt extremely aggrieved.

Can't it be bigger?

When he's a little older, he can stretch out his hand and hear the sound.

"Oh? Mother, look, she's smiling."

When its toothless little mouth stretches out, it makes a smiling face.

Although he was still ugly, Jia Zhen was overjoyed when he saw him smile.

"Yes, he's a child who likes to laugh."

Shen Ning was also happy.

Xi Chun in Dream of the Red Chamber is so pitiful. Although she is surrounded by people, she is always all alone.

now……

"By the way, I've picked out several names, take a look and see which one is better."

By involving Jia Zhen in all aspects of his sister's life, their relationship can develop more strongly.

Otherwise, what could siblings with such a large age gap possibly say to each other when they get together?

"Isn't her name... Xichun?"

Jia Zhen was stunned. "When ranked among the younger sisters from the West Mansion, her name happens to be Xichun."

Shen Ning felt very uncomfortable. "...Who told you this name?"

“When Uncle Zheng came to see me early this morning, he said that the old lady also hoped that the sisters would live long and happy lives, and that they would both be named after spring.”

Although the name is common, it has a very good meaning.

Jia Zhen asked, "Mother, don't you like this name?"

"dislike!"

Shen Ning stated bluntly, "Why should our child be ranked according to their family's ranking?"

Let's start changing the fate of girls with their names!
"Furthermore, don't you think there's something wrong with the word 'cherish' they used?"

What's wrong?

Jia Zhen thought and thought, but couldn't come up with any problem with the word 'cherish'.

Cherish spring, cherish spring, cherish beauty, isn't that a good thing?

“Your eldest sister is named Yuan Chun, your second sister is named Ying Chun, your third sister is named Tan Chun, and our child is named Xi Chun. Put them together, and the four characters Yuan, Ying, Tan, and Xi sound like Yuan Ying Tan Xi (originally meant to sigh)?”

This?
Jia Zhen was startled.

"It's laughable that your second uncle still considers himself a scholar."

The more Shen Ning learned about Jia Zheng, the more she looked down on him. "A piece of utter nonsense, and he wants to name my daughter?"

She glared at Jia Zhen, "Do you know where your Second Uncle Zheng was when our family was going through the toughest time? He was at home cuddling his concubine. It was your Uncle She who was busy running around, taking care of Rong'er and the family. From now on, you should stay away from Jia Zheng."

"...Son knows."

Jia Zhen carefully held his younger sister, no longer daring to call her Xichun. "Mother, didn't you just ask me to choose a name for my sister? Bring it here, let's choose together."

"Look!"

Shen Ning gestured for Qingzhu to take the paper filled with her names. "You are all of the 'Wang' generation, so your names all contain the character 'Wang'. Although your sister is a daughter, in my heart, she is the same as you. Therefore, I think her name also contains the character 'Wang'."

Jia Zhen nodded.

His sister is the legitimate daughter, so it's normal for her name to follow theirs.

Just like Aunt Min from the West Mansion, she was born in the Wen generation.

only……

He looked up at the names: 琗, 琡, 琣, 琦, 琪, 听, 琳, 琼, 瑄, 瑕, 瑛, 瑶…

Each one seemed alright, but he couldn't make up his mind about any of them.

"cough~"

Jia Zhen cleared his throat. "With so many names, my son needs to take them back and study them. Please wait a few days."

Or you could write to your father and ask him what would be a good name for your sister.

Perhaps his mother brought so many names so that he couldn't make up his mind and would look for his father.

"Let's do it!"

Shen Ning had no idea where her son's mind was wandering, so she nodded and said, "We must get everything ready before the full moon, so you'd better hurry."

"definitely."

Jia Zhen nodded vigorously.

He sensed that his mother was a little tired, so he quickly handed his younger sister back to the wet nurse beside him, saying, "Mother, you rest first, I'll come to see you again later."

"Not urgent!"

Shen Ning gestured for him to remain seated, then hesitated before asking, "Where's Jiao Da? Did he go to investigate the assassin?"

"Yes!"

Jia Zhen nodded. "My son originally thought that he was getting old and should rest at home, but he refused, saying that he could eat three bowls of rice in one meal and still had plenty of energy."

It's as if he has no energy at all.

Jia Zhen felt that this injury made the old man look down on him.

That day, all the guards who accompanied him were also looked down upon by the old man. Even though they ultimately saved him, the old man still gave them fifty lashes each, and he would finish the beatings in five sessions once this busy period was over.

Jia Zhen was also helpless. "Forget it, I can't persuade him. Let him do what he wants. Fortunately, he's here. No matter what he does, I'm at ease."

Shen Ning: "..."

She sighed softly, "He's getting old, so it's understandable that he's a bit stubborn. Let's be more tolerant of him!"

The old man didn't even dare to meet her.

After thinking for a moment, Shen Ning added, "From now on, the manor's provisions for him will be increased by 30%, and two additional pulse diagnosis sessions will be added every month." She said to Jia Zhen, "Having an elder in the family is like having a treasure. You should treat him with more respect. If your grandfather and great-grandfather knew this in the afterlife, they would be happy."

"My son knows."

Because of his grandfather, Jia Zhen never confronted Jiao Da directly, thinking, "My son will definitely treat him well."

This time, he was able to escape with his life from Xie Zhenghu thanks to Jiao Da's consistent training of the guards.

Otherwise, given Xie Zhenghu's skills, if it had been any later, his life would have been in real danger.

Jia Zhen wholeheartedly acknowledged Jiao Da's abilities, saying, "This time, I instructed the accompanying guards that if they encountered Xie Zhenghu and got into a fight, killing the enemy was important, but Jiao Da was even more important."

If you can't kill it the first time, you can do it a second time, a third time.

But once Jiao Da is gone, he's truly gone.

Jia Zhen was also worried about the old man's competitive spirit. "Mother, what do you think about me having him find someone from his newly acquired group of boys to take as his formal adopted son or apprentice?"

"to make!"

Shen Ning nodded.

She knew that the ancients valued this point.

Jiao Da wanted to take him in before, but Jia Jing and the others disliked him because of his temper, and no one was willing to truly acknowledge him as their godfather or master.

But things are different now; she will restrain Jia Zhen and Jia Rong.

Jiao Da is also worthy of being treasured by the Jia family.

“As long as he is willing, the people he takes in don’t necessarily have to be from our Jia family. Didn’t I give him a shop? We’ll give him a nice courtyard later so he can enjoy the happiness of being surrounded by his children and grandchildren.”

Even if those people only fawn over Jiao Da because of these things, as long as it makes the old man happy, it's all worth it.

Jia Zhen nodded.

As he left his mother's courtyard, he heard Xing'er running up to him with shining eyes, telling him about the trial proceedings in Shuntian Prefecture.

The Li family of Jiangnan!
A ruthless glint flashed in Jia Zhen's eyes. "Do we have anyone in Jiangnan?"

"Have!"

Xing'er hurriedly said, "The military officers stationed over there have some connections with our mansion and the West Mansion. This was prepared for Mr. Lin by the old master of the West Mansion when he was still alive."

"Write a letter! Write a letter to Lian Er."

Anyone who dares to lay a finger on his property will be skinned alive first.

Jia Zhen had long heard of the wealth of the salt merchants in Jiangnan, and this was a perfect opportunity to have Lian Er make a fortune from them.

After we've finished hitting them, there's still time for a more intense attack.

"Grind the ink quickly!"

Jia Zhen instructed the men carrying him to hurry up, "We can't let them get desperate and do something rash."

With such a big commotion in the capital, the news must have already spread. If they realize they can't afford to offend them and choose to seek refuge with the Zhen family, then it will be difficult to get them to cooperate.

Thank you to the readers I am Sister, Linglong Chengying, April and May, bestapple, Windless Willow, Long Road to Learning the Qin, 160919133554657, Lonely Pigeon Mangosteen No. 1, and Butterfly Jojo for their generous donations! Thank you! Thank you again for your support on this 6,000-word chapter!

(End of this chapter)