The head of the Red Mansion

Chapter 92 King Jin
Grandmother Jia, disregarding her children and grandchildren in the ancestral hall, returned to her residence with a heavy heart.

For an elderly woman of her age, separating from her family was like the sky falling down.

But they won't separate...

The old lady was so worried that she didn't eat much at noon, nor did she eat much in the evening, and she also suffered from insomnia at night.

She dared not and did not want to separate. If they really separated, many things would probably not be as Shen had said.

Although She'er seems good now, is it certain that he will remain the same in the future?
Grandmother Jia was not sure.

However, it would be acceptable to set aside money for the children's weddings and funerals first.

The Rongguo Mansion today is no longer what it was when the Duke was alive.

If we don't plan ahead, She'er and Wang will keep spending money, and when the children grow up, it may really be difficult for them to get married.

"Grandmother!" Yuan Chun came to pay her respects and saw that the old lady had severe dark circles under her eyes and looked haggard. She couldn't help but feel sorry for her. "Is something troubling you?"

She knew that the old lady had gone to the East Mansion and had been restless ever since she returned.

Needless to say, he was worried about his uncle and father in the ancestral hall.

Of course, my main concern is for my father.

Can……

Yuan Chun suppressed her sadness and said, "Tell me, and I'll think about it with you."

"..."

The old lady patted her eldest granddaughter's hand. "May 15th is an auspicious day. The Marquis of Xinping will definitely make a move." Lin Zhixiao's wife had already found out that they had hired an official matchmaker and were going through the entire formal ceremony of marriage. "It's just that your father and the others are still at the ancestral hall!"

At this point, the old lady sighed, "I don't know if I'll be able to get out then."

"...Brother Zhen went to the palace to express his gratitude, didn't he leave the ancestral hall?"

Yuan Chun paused for a moment, then said, "And our family also received the imperial decree; my uncle and father also left the ancestral hall."

Jia Mu: "..."

She looked at her granddaughter, her eyes filled with a hint of curiosity.

For her dowry, the household contributed three thousand taels of silver, and she added an extra two thousand taels. In addition, there were many good things in the family storeroom. So, not counting the gifts bestowed by the Emperor Emeritus, her dowry amounted to more than ten thousand taels of silver.

Therefore, the family did not mistreat their granddaughter.

Why now...

“Grandmother, my parents, brother and uncle are in the ancestral hall.” Yuan Chun’s eyes reddened. “I know you are worried about them, and I am too, but… some mistakes, if made in one’s own family, can still be corrected, but some mistakes… once made, will implicate the entire family.”

Baoqin was also a servant in the household, and through her these past few days, Yuanchun has learned about everything in the family.

Although the elders usually avoided people when they argued, Yuan Chun still managed to guess most of it by considering the timing and the events.

It would be a lie to tell my father I wasn't disappointed.

With so many things happening in the family, my father either does nothing, or... it would be better if he did nothing at all.

Yuan Chun never imagined that her father, whom she once admired, would be such an irresponsible, unfilial, and unkind person.

It's impossible for my grandmother to discipline my father anymore.

It's rare that the eldest aunt of the East Mansion was able to keep all of them in check through her eldest brother Zhen when her eldest uncle was not at home.

Then we can't hold others back.

She couldn't delay, and neither could her grandmother.

Yuan Chun said cruelly, "Grandmother, do you know? I actually met the Emperor in the palace a long time ago. On the two subsequent occasions, he seemed to admire me. But on both of those occasions, I met Prince Jin the next day."

what?
Grandmother Jia was so shocked that she forgot everything.

There are some things that are absolutely forbidden to get involved in by the royal family!

"Consort Zhen always said she would take care of me, but..."

Yuan Chun's tears fell. "But do you know? Every time she says she'll take care of me, my life gets a little harder."

In the past, people only reported good news and not bad news.

but now……

Yuan Chun felt that if she didn't explain some things to her grandmother, her grandmother might become as confused as her mother in the future.

……

At Ningguo Mansion, Shen Ning was taking care of her daughter while also worrying about Jia Min's trip to the capital.

Judging by the time, Jia Min should be setting off soon.

It's unknown whether Jia Lian received the letter his eldest daughter wrote to him, or the letter she later wrote after catching up with him.

If he receives it, what will he do?
Are we really going to do nothing?
If the Li family hadn't been so powerful, Jia Lian probably wouldn't have used his influence to bully others.

Just like in the Dream of the Red Chamber, he wouldn't force Shi Daizi to take the fan.

Jia She punished him with a beating, but he never regretted it.

However, this time it was the Li family that initiated the attack on the Jia family.

If Jia Zhen couldn't swallow that insult, could Jia Lian?
He's still young, and young people usually can't control their temper.

Shen Ning's only worry now is that the Li family will detect the crisis early and take action against Jia Lian and his group first.

"Someone, go and ask if Xing'er has returned yet."

After learning that Xing'er had complained in the street, both she and Jia Zhen felt that he was someone who could be cultivated.

During this time, Xing'er and Lin Zhixiao were outwardly investigating the assassin who killed Jia Zhen, but in fact, they were already investigating the powerful backer of the Li family.

Every salt merchant in Jiangnan had a powerful patron in the imperial court.

The Li family was one of the top ten salt merchants, and their backing was undoubtedly powerful.

The fact that Li Haizhong could set his sights on the Jia family suggests that the powerful figures behind him must also harbor hostility towards the Jia family.

Moreover, if she could guess that the Emperor was going to take action against the Li family, how could the other side not know?
Shen Ning now only hopes that the person is not the Prince of Jin.

But the possibility that it isn't is also very small.

The Prince of Jin was the grandson of the Zhen family.

"Mrs!"

Xing'er hurriedly entered the courtyard and bowed early, "This servant has just returned and was just about to come in to report..."

As he spoke, he glanced to his left and right.

Qingzhu and the others, being quite perceptive, withdrew.

"Say it!"

"The Li family is backed by Prince Jin."

Xing'er still had sweat on his forehead. "However, it seems that Prince Jin is not very familiar with them. Li Haizhong came to the capital and targeted our family on a whim. His main purpose was to bypass the Zhen family, get acquainted with Prince Jin, or find a few more backers."

"..."

Shen Ning's expression changed slightly. "Do you have any evidence?"

"Wu Rubao, the steward of the Prince of Jin's mansion, went to the Shuntian Prefecture prison twice to see Li Haizhong."

Xing'er said, "However, he went in as a friend." He paused for a moment, "In addition, I also found out that the Prince of Jin's Mansion also has shares in the God of Wealth Gambling House, and Wu Rubao is in charge of the God of Wealth Gambling House."

Shen Ning: "..."

"On the day that Young Master Qin was forced to return the money, Wu Rubao was at the God of Wealth Gambling House."

On their young lady's best day, coming to ask for money is clearly an attempt to annoy them.

"...Keep a close eye on him."

"Yes!"

Xing'er said, "This servant has already spoken to Master Jiao, and Master Jiao said he will send someone to keep an eye on things."

Shen Ning nodded, "You've worked hard, go back and rest!"

As she spoke, she clapped her hands, and Qingzhu quickly came in. "Give Xing'er a reward of five taels."

"Thank you for the gift, Mrs. Xie."

Xing'er was overjoyed.

"Your uncle is not able to come right now, so you'll have to run around a lot more for things outside."

Shen Ning said, "Starting today, you will go to the Ministry of Justice three times a day to inquire about the assassins and press them."

There's absolutely no way to fool them.

Shen Ning knew that the current head of the Ministry of Justice was a man of Prince Jin.

Even within the imperial court, many officials are Jin Prince's men. They were instrumental in bringing down the Crown Prince, and now…

"And gambling dens..."

Shen Ning spun around in place. "When you leave, please have Jiao Da come in."

"Yes!"

Xing'er left in a hurry.

This time, Jiao Da came instead.

Ever since that incident, the old man has been somewhat embarrassed to see Shen Ning.

After all, what she asked for was a fake sob story—a broken leg—but he almost made it real, costing the old man his life.

"Madam! You called me?"

"sit!"

Shen Ning watched as Qingzhu served tea to the old man before waving her away. "Has Xing'er already told you about the Prince of Jin?"

"Yes!"

Jiao Da frowned and nodded in agreement.

The incident involving the Crown Prince back then still haunted him.

The old man didn't want the Jia family to have any further involvement with any of the royal princes.

Especially the Prince of Jin.

He was someone who dared to challenge the Emperor, relying on the fact that he was the retired Emperor.

“Lu Kun, the God of Wealth from the West, not only runs a money exchange but also a gambling den. With him around, Prince Jin will never lack money,” Shen Ning tried to ask. “Do you know anyone in the underworld who knows how to gamble?”

what?
Jiao was stunned. "What Madam means is..."

"Without exposing the Jia family, secretly send someone to cause trouble."

Shen Ning said, "If there's someone who knows how to gamble, it would be even better to win their money fair and square. But if not... well, someone like the dwarf assassin Xie Zhenghu is probably also short of money, right?"

"...This, this servant will have to think about it carefully."

"If it can be done, then do it; if it can't be done... then forget it."

Shen Ning said, "I'm just a little angry." She seemed to be quite young. "However, it's completely unnecessary to drag the Jia family down because of them."

"Yes!"

Jiao Da relaxed slightly, "Without a foolproof plan, this servant will not act rashly."

The Jia family is the one he wants to protect.

However, their desire to devise a foolproof plan before making a move through the gambling den does not mean that the Prince of Jin is willing to be disliked by others.

slap~
After reading the letter, the Prince of Jin swept the entire tea set off the table with a flick of his sleeve.

"What a Lin Ruhai! What a Jia family!"

The Li family is finished.

He didn't care whether they were finished or not.

Even if the Li family isn't there, there will always be other families.

The key issue now is that Jia Lian's outburst at the Li family caused Li Haimu to hesitate for a moment, resulting in the entire Li family being wiped out by the Emperor's men.

Take them all in one go!
The thought that all of the Li family's wealth would fall into the Emperor's hands was unbearable for Prince Jin.

Why does that younger brother who used to be so timid in front of him dare to look at him with his head held high?
If it weren't for his father's reckless actions, he wouldn't be in this situation.
He was clearly his most beloved son. He had followed the Crown Prince in observing politics for many years and was more experienced than anyone else after the Crown Prince. How could the Emperor so casually hand over the throne to someone else?

The Prince of Jin paced back and forth in his room, agitated.

He was only one step away from the top position.

Why is this step so difficult?

Now that the Emperor has acquired the Li family's wealth, wouldn't it be much easier for him to do whatever he wants in the future?
Prince Jin knew very well that, despite his efforts over the years, his younger brother, who lacked both money and manpower, was able to control the court more easily than him because of his status as emperor.

He kept trying to come up with a solution.

They devised schemes in the imperial court and also in the harem.

once……

Thinking of Yuan Chun, who had just been betrothed and left the palace, Prince Jin became even more agitated.

His mother kept telling him not to rush and also kept Yuan Chun in check, all for that final step.

But now it's all over.

Did the emperor know something and take precautions in advance, or... was it because of the Ningguo family's mother and son's gratitude that an accident occurred at the source?
What were Old Madam Shi and Madam Wang doing?
They wanted Yuan Chun to follow in her mother's footsteps so badly, so how did Shen manage to make things fall apart halfway through?
The Prince of Jin was furious. "Someone, go and investigate what's going on at the Rongguo Mansion."

"Yes!"

The servant acknowledged and left. Not long after, Wu Rubao came in and said, "Your Highness, I know about the Rongguo Mansion."

"you say!"

“The Rongguo Mansion now has four masters, all of whom are imprisoned in the Jia family ancestral hall.”

what?
The Prince of Jin was stunned. "Jia Jing is back?"

impossible!

Of the entire Jia family, the only one he could be wary of was Jia Jing.

Even though he is a nobody now.

But when Jia Jing stood there, for some reason, the Prince of Jin felt a sense of oppression.

This sense of oppression was different from the one his elder brother, the Crown Prince, gave him, but it was even more unsettling.

They had a history of fighting each other.

However, even this son, whom his father loved most, lost six out of ten times.

The Emperor was strict with his elder brother, the Crown Prince. When they clashed, the Emperor would protect him eight out of ten times. But he treated Jia Jing differently; he truly treated him like a nephew.

"No no."

Wu Rubao hurriedly shook his head, "Jia Jing is still obediently staying in the Taoist temple. Although Jia Zhen is now in charge of the Ningguo Mansion, he listens to his mother, Madam Shen, in everything. Now that she is a first-rank imperial consort, she has more say in the Jia family."

This servant has learned that on the evening of May 8th, Jia She, Jia Zheng, their wives, and children were imprisoned in the ancestral hall. They briefly emerged when the Emperor Emeritus bestowed the marriage, but then went back in and haven't come out since.

Prince Jin: “…”

He was thinking about the Shen family.

I think her name is Shen Ning?

The daughter of Scholar Shen.

She had once been acquainted with his princess.

Later, Jia Jing went to the Taoist temple looking dejected, and she went with him.

just now……

Thinking of what had happened at Ningguo Mansion in recent months, Prince Jin's face twisted in pain.

I remember now, she was the one who repaid the national treasury first.

If she hadn't returned the treasury silver, where would the Emperor have gotten the money to provide disaster relief?
If it weren't for that idiot Li Haizhong's attack on the Jia family, which gave Old Man Dong of Shuntian Prefecture a handle to use against him, why would the Emperor have taken action against the Li family?

The more he thought about it, the more heavily the Prince of Jin breathed.

With Jia Jing gone, has this guy surnamed Shen jumped out again?
So brave.

"Go check it out!"

He gritted his teeth and said, "Go check whether Shen and Jia Jing have been in contact."

That supposed 'seeing through the illusions of the world' thing, so Madam Shen stripped him of everything...' might just be a smokescreen for the couple.

It's just to fool those people.

"Bring me all of Jia Jing's letters."

He wanted to see if he was a human or a ghost.

If he finds even the slightest clue, he will definitely petition the Emperor to completely destroy them.

"And Lin Ruhai."

The Prince of Jin, thinking of something, added, "Investigate his correspondence with the Jia family."

The last time the Emperor mentioned Lin Ruhai, his expression was very strange.

"I've found them all. Bring them to me."