The head of the Red Mansion

Chapter 94 Writing a Letter
Jia Zheng, who had taken the initiative to request a move, was not given the east wing he wanted. Instead, he was saddened by the disappointment of Lixiang Courtyard. What saddened him even more was that even after he had compromised so much, his mother and elder brother did not offer him a way out, but instead said they would not go to the ancestral hall.

If they won't tell, then he...

"Mother, I've been on leave for so many days. I'm afraid the officials at the ministry aren't happy about it. And Zhu'er, he has a lot of schoolwork to do. If this continues..."

"Didn't Pearl already move the books to the ancestral hall?"

Jia She was very pleased. His nephew had become a bit smarter and knew that the adults had something to talk about. Under the pretext of seeing the guests off, he quickly left and did not get involved again. "He read to the ancestors there, and the ancestors were happy too."

"..."

"..."

Jia Zheng and Wang Shi's faces contorted uncontrollably.

"Mother, it's getting late, we should go to the ancestral hall."

Jia She seemed not to notice the couple's expressions. He bent down and was about to return to the ancestral hall.

"Brother~"

Jia Zheng broke down and suddenly shouted, startling the hesitant Grandmother Jia, "We've already admitted our mistakes, what more do you want? Are you going to confine us to the ancestral hall for the rest of our lives, or are you going to kill our whole family?"

"...I was wrong too, so I'll kneel down with you."

Jia She paused for a moment, then sighed, "As for how long to kneel, Zhen'er is the clan leader, he will know better than us."

"..."

"..."

This left not only Jia Zheng and Wang Shi speechless, but even Grandmother Jia found it difficult to speak up.

Jia Zhen is not a threat, but he has Shen Shi behind him.

She has just been granted the title of First Rank Imperial Consort.

After Jia Zheng and Wang Shi had repeatedly clashed and suffered heavy losses, they dared not provoke Grandmother Jia anymore…

The old lady was afraid that her niece-in-law would force her to divide the family property again, so she hadn't dared to go to the East Mansion recently. Therefore, she could only watch helplessly as her children and grandchildren continued to suffer.

She clutched her chest and lay down on the couch.

It's bad enough that her two sons are good for nothing, but at their age, they're still incredibly naive.

Especially Zheng'er, who would rather cry and wail in front of her than take the initiative to persuade Jia Zhen. As his uncle, if he were willing to lower himself and Jia Zhen agreed, Shen Shi would certainly not say anything more.

Can……

This guy is just bullying his own family by taking advantage of his mother's status!

Grandmother Jia closed her eyes briefly.

Ever since hearing about her eldest granddaughter's experiences in the palace, she felt as if the Duke had just passed away, suffering a tremendous blow.

The old lady always thought that when Consort Zhen entered the palace and gained favor, she and her sister from the East Mansion had helped her. The Emperor Emeritus also treated Consort Zhen differently because of their relationship. Compared to other concubines, Consort Zhen should remember their past relationship and take care of her granddaughter.

Who knew they would take such good care of me?
The old lady smacked herself twice, lamenting that she was now powerless to do anything about it.

With her children and grandchildren proving useless, and her granddaughter's path to bringing glory to the family completely blocked, what can she do now besides swallow her anger?

Grandmother Jia was filled with sorrow and grief.

It seems that the Jia family still has to rely on the East Mansion these days.

Although Jia Zhen is incompetent, Rong-ge'er is clearly almost an adult, and given that Shen-shi is young, she will be able to take care of the Jia family for a few more years than she can.

Oh well, let them be!

Kneeling in the ancestral hall and learning a lesson is better than being made a fool of outside.

Grandmother Jia had also experienced some things, and she knew that since Consort Zhen's people had already instigated trouble in the family, they would not only do so once.

So many people believe rumors because they are either fools or because the rumors serve their interests.

Er'er and Wang Shi are both stupid. They only got provoked once, and they're already jumping up and down in a rage. What will happen if they get provoked again...?

The old lady suspected that her niece-in-law from the East Mansion wouldn't be able to stand it and would directly have them beaten.

Nowadays, people are no longer without imperial titles.

"Someone, bring me the inventory list from my warehouse."

The silver and gold in the public treasury were confiscated from the Lai and Zhou families. Although the other properties were also valuable, they were not easy to liquidate.

These past few days, Grandmother Jia has been calculating the household expenses, constantly worrying about the future of her children and grandchildren.

Especially Baoyu, that poor child.

"Grandma, this is a list that was just compiled."

The maidservant hurriedly brought up the order form.

Grandmother Jia put on her reading glasses and turned the pages one by one.

During the years she was in charge of the household affairs, the Jia family was at its most prosperous, and she accumulated a great deal of wealth.

What the mother-in-law originally had was given to her eldest son; what she had...

The old lady still preferred to give everything to the second wife.

However, since She'er has moved to Rongxi Hall, she, the old lady who is to be cared for by him, cannot show too much favoritism.

The old lady was looking for things that looked good but were actually impractical.

……

In front of the ancestral hall at Ningguo Prefecture.

As the place of suffering drew ever closer, Jia Zheng's legs trembled.

His knees are really about to give out.

“Zhen’er…”

Seeing Jia Zhen arrive, Jia Zheng hurriedly said, "Tomorrow is an auspicious day, suitable for breaking ground and moving. I've already spoken with the Old Madam and your Uncle She about moving out of Rongxi Hall. So, regarding the matter of kneeling in the ancestral hall, could we postpone it for now...?"

"Master~"

Before Jia Zheng could finish speaking, Lin Zhixiao rushed over and said, "Your and the Second Master's study have both been robbed."

what?
The two brothers turned around at the same time.

Lin Zhixiao bowed to Jia Zhen and asked, "Sir, do you know who did this?"

"I don't know!"

Jia Zhen shook his head, "I only sent Xing'er to check on my side because I saw that my side had been ransacked."

"Your study too..."

Jia She was extremely surprised.

"Yes!"

Jia Zhen nodded, "Someone's causing trouble again."

"Where is Jiao Da?"

Jia Zhu, with a serious expression, asked the most crucial person.

“He took men to chase the thief.” Jia Zhen sighed. “He hasn’t returned yet, and I doubt he’ll find anything.” He looked at Lin Zhixiao. “We’ve already increased the number of patrols in our mansion. You should also send more people to the West Mansion, especially at night, where you should be extra vigilant.”

"Yes!"

Lin Zhixiao readily agreed.

"no!"

Jia Zheng finally found an opportunity, "With such a big incident, how can we not be at home? Brother, don't you have any important letters in your study? If you don't have them, I do. I have to go back and see what's missing."

As he spoke, he turned around and said to Jia Zhen, "Zhen'er, let's stop here at the ancestral hall!"

He might not be able to say so, but pausing is definitely an option.

"Alright, uncles, go back and check the letters and such, and we'll meet at the ancestral hall again tonight."

"..."

Jia Zheng stumbled and almost fell.

"master!"

Wang helped him up, then shook her head at her husband, "Please take it easy."

He was signaled to stop talking for the time being.

The elder brother-in-law, Jia She, and this nephew spend every day with them; they probably have other ideas up their sleeves.

When it was mentioned before that Rongxi Hall was being rebuilt, my brother-in-law seemed completely unsurprised.

When Jia Zhen heard this, he wasn't surprised at all.

Clearly, the two men were using the kneeling at the ancestral hall to force the second branch of the family to voluntarily relinquish Rongxi Hall. But now that their goal has been achieved, they still refuse to let go...

Wang was overthinking things, fearing that her husband might accidentally fall into their trap.

"Father, go back and check the letter first."

Jia Zhu was very worried that his father might have lost some important letters, which would bring disaster to the family.

Too many things have happened in the past two months. First, the eldest uncle's horse was startled, then Brother Zhen was assassinated, and someone outside framed the Jia family.

They've even started stealing from homes now...

"If the thief puts something else he shouldn't have, that would be terrible. Uncle, Brother Zhen, you should also check what's missing or what's been added, especially the latter... you must investigate thoroughly."

From now on, places like the study should never be left unattended.

"Hmm~, I've already checked, there aren't any more at the moment."

Jia Zhen always carried his official seal with him.

It's not so easy for outsiders to just throw something in and frame someone.

At this moment, the skinny monkey, who had finally escaped the pursuit, sneaked into the God of Wealth Gambling House through the secret passage, where Wu Rubao was already waiting.

"Only greetings from Lin Ruhai and Jia Jing?"

He looked at the two letters he had brought back with considerable dissatisfaction.

One of the two letters was written by Lin Ruhai and Jia Min to the entire Jia family during the New Year, but it was kept in Jia Zheng's study. The other was written by Jia Jing a few years earlier to Jia She, saying that he felt the Taoist magic was profound and asked him to help collect some ritual implements.

"Yes!"

The skinny monkey was also helpless. "I searched through three studies. I found these two letters in Jia She's study and Jia Zheng's study. As for Jia Zhen... his outer study was just for show. Several ink sticks were cracked and had been there for a long time. The only one that had been used was only worn down by a tiny bit. I'm afraid it couldn't even write a hundred words with that much ink."

We can't let him despise us any more.

Even Jia She is better than him.

Although the ink sticks of other people haven't been touched, they look high-end and are well-preserved.

Then there's Jia Zheng, whose ink is all top-quality Huizhou ink, and his desk is covered with a large stack of writings. Although he doesn't have many letters, it's clear he's a scholar.

It's infuriating that their study is the easiest place to go.

He searched from beginning to end without being discovered. He was exposed in Jia Zhen's study, which was completely for show. If he hadn't run fast, he might have lost his life.

"...Do they have any inner study?"

Wu Rubao glanced at the other two unrelated letters that the skinny monkey had casually picked up, and found that they were all empty pleasantries. He frowned and said, "Didn't you check them again?"

"It's not that I don't want to investigate."

The skinny monkey was also helpless. "The outer courtyard of the Jia family, apart from the Ningguo Mansion, is not well guarded. However, the inner courtyards on both sides are guarded, probably because there are many women. There are not only patrolling old women, but also many maids. It would be too easy for a man like me to be exposed."

"Can't you go at night?"

"Isn't this what His Highness needs urgently?"

The skinny monkey complained, "Besides, Master Wu, you were urging me too much!"

Wu Rubao: "..."

He frowned, slapped the letter down, and said, "Go again tonight."

"I'm afraid not!"

The skinny monkey shook his head. "The guards of Ningguo Prefecture haven't been disbanded yet. I almost didn't make it back today."

"Discovered?"

Wu Rubao was surprised.

"Yes!"

The skinny monkey said, "The guards of Ningguo Prefecture chased me in several groups, and the Five Cities Garrison joined them along the way. It took me a lot of effort to shake them off and return through the secret passage."

That's it!
Wu Rubao sighed, "Alright then!"

What if it doesn't work?

"Go to Jia Jing's place tonight. I heard that the Taoists there have a habit of doing morning prayers. Go and check his room."

"……Yes!"

Skinny Monkey agreed without hesitation.

He quickly changed his clothes, added two small mustaches, and then swaggered out of the gambling den.

At this moment, he had no idea that Jiao Da was in the teahouse diagonally opposite.

"Uncle Jiao, that person's back view looks a bit like someone else's. Should we investigate?"

"Check? Can you outrun them?"

Jiao Da is really tired today.

He is getting old after all.

But...

He looked at the gambling den across the street. "Shen Judao," he called to a young man he had just hired this year, "you and Ma Yong are young, so you won't attract attention normally. Go and follow him, see where he goes. Remember, if it's that thief, under no circumstances should you alert him."

"Yes!"

The two boys exchanged a glance and hurried downstairs.

"other people……"

Jiao Da stared at the gambling den, narrowing his old eyes. "Check the businesses and households in this area for me, and see who has any connection with the Prince of Jin's Mansion or Lu Caishen."

A cunning rabbit has three burrows.

Is there no other 'door' for this gambling den besides the front and back doors, so that one can escape secretly?

……

Ningguo Mansion, Shen Ning Courtyard.

Hearing that Jia She and Jia Zheng's study had also been burgled, and that one of the four missing letters was from Lin Ruhai and another from Jia Jing, she was still very uneasy, even though both letters were ordinary correspondence.

Although Jia Jing is detached from the court and currently claims to be a devout Taoist who intends to become a monk, he remains the Jia family's hidden pillar of stability.

Lin Ruhai was Jia Min's biggest help to the Jia family outside the home.

Take their letters...

The other party has a huge appetite!

We've visited everyone at home, how could we forget the Taoist temple?

Thinking of the letter she wrote criticizing Jia Jing, Shen Ning felt even more uneasy.

It's unknown whether Jia Jing burned it or not.

He was the one who started the fire in his study; he wanted to destroy some letters that he didn't want to be seen by others.

So, her letter probably wasn't something she could easily show to others, right?

After all, he had already taken action against Wang Ziteng because of that letter.

The original owner's memories of Jia Jing showed him to be a cautious person who would definitely destroy the letter, but things could change, and Shen Ning couldn't rest easy until she had definite news.

She paced around in the yard until the wet nurse brought her daughter over.

Seeing her daughter's pretty face, Shen Ning breathed a sigh of relief. "Someone, prepare ink."

She kissed the little girl's hand. "Our Yueyue hasn't met your father yet, right? We'll go write him a letter in a little while."

What?
The wet nurse and Qingzhu were both a little stunned.

How can such a young girl write a letter?

"Judging from your expressions, I can tell you're underestimating Yueyue."

Shen Ning chuckled and carried her daughter inside. "I'll show you how she writes letters."

When I entered the room, the maid had already ground the ink and laid out all the letter paper.

Shen Ning picked up her daughter's little hand, dipped it into the ground ink, and then pressed it onto the letter paper.

After quickly finishing the left hand print, they moved on to the right hand print.

Then I took off my shoes and socks and imprinted my little feet on them as well.

However, thinking that she needed to give this to Jia Jing, she quickly printed a copy for herself as well.

"Go, have Xing'er come over here."

After sealing the letter, Shen Ning immediately called for help.

(End of this chapter)