Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 453 The First Battle between the Xue Family's Twin Pearls

Imperial City, Hall of Supreme Harmony,

The nights at the beginning of summer were a bit hot, but a shower in the early morning made everything quiet, just like the atmosphere in front of the palace now.

Although the search and seizure of Rongguo Mansion happened late at night yesterday, by the time the court was about to go to court, all officials still had a general understanding of the cause and effect from various channels.

As one of the most prominent dukes of the time, the confiscation of Rongguo Mansion caused quite a stir.

Everyone began to speculate on the emperor's intentions, trying to figure out whether Emperor Longyou was sending out some signal.

With the fall of the noble Jia family, the other four kings and eight dukes will inevitably be implicated to some extent.

The delicate balance between civil officials and military generals in the court may also be broken by this turmoil.

If Emperor Longyou intends to purge the nobles, wouldn't today be a good opportunity for the civil officials to rebel?

All the officials in front of the palace were aware of what had happened, and they began to think about the countermeasures to be taken in the court today.

After all the officials paid their respects, the atmosphere was still depressing.

Emperor Longyou sat in the imperial court and was not in a hurry to report to the six ministries. Instead, he explained the accident of last night first.

"Have you all heard about the Beijing troops sealing off the Rongguo Mansion last night?" The Emperor Longyou's voice was like cracking ice, causing the jade chimes under the imperial desk to hum.

As if it was rehearsed in advance, the Minister of Works, Situ Mingyuan, was the first to step out, bowed, and said, "I have submitted the draft of the renovation of the Rongguo Mansion's guest house to the Dali Temple. There are many places that are usurped. The golden plaque is inscribed with 'Treasure Land of Heavenly Fairies', the main hall is built in imitation of the palace, and there are more than 300 items such as enamel paperweights and cloisonné enamel screens that were given to the Zhen family by the previous emperor during his southern tour. This is an unforgivable crime!"

Before he finished speaking, there was a commotion among the military attachés, and everyone looked unhappy.

Of course, the four kings and eight dukes are in a relationship where they all prosper and suffer together. Now that the Jia family, which is a family with two dukes, has fallen into such a predicament, they will not have a good life either.

The generals' anger was more easily revealed, and veins bulged on the backs of their hands that were clenched tightly around the jade scepters, but they all suppressed their anger and looked at Prince Beijing's expression.

Shui Rong, who was dressed in a four-clawed python robe, remained calm. After a few breaths, the Prince of Nan'an suddenly stepped out and knelt on the ground, "Your Majesty, please allow me to report this! Mr. Rong has been guarding the border for many years and has been a shield for our dynasty. Later, he fought a bloody battle with the northern barbarians and fell ill and died before he could recover. Although his descendants are not very capable, the imperial concubine in the palace is quite wise, and all the court officials know it. I hope Your Majesty will have mercy on her..."

Yue Ling was also standing in the military officer queue, side by side with the four kings of different surnames, but he was at the innermost side, and he happened to be the one watching this great show.

Moreover, there was no need for him to say anything more, as Emperor Longyou seemed to have prepared all this long ago.

"Beijing Camp Commander Wang Ziteng!"

Emperor Longyou called out, and then Wang Ziteng came out tremblingly and bowed down.

"The minister is here."

"Read out the evidence of Rongguo Mansion's crimes!"

Wang Ziteng took out an account book from his sleeve and said with a slight movement in his throat, "A total of 343 pieces of red gold jewelry, 159,200 taels of silver, 3,000 taels of red gold were confiscated. Although there is not much cash, there are a large number of IOUs, as well as a large number of luxurious utensils and royal items..."

Wang Ziteng shook out the account book, and found a roll of paper almost touching the ground. It would take him several quarters of an hour to finish reading it.

Emperor Longyou waved his hand and said, "There is something else important."

Wang Ziteng nodded repeatedly, "After investigation, it was found that Jia Shi used the seal privately and falsely passed on the handwritten letter from Duke Rong to induce Duke Ning Jia Daihua to rebel. He also used his mansion to secretly trade with the barbarians many times. This is a policy of treason."

"Before the Zhen family in Jiangnan was confiscated and exterminated, they gave a large amount of dirty silver to the Rongguo Mansion. It was still Jia Shi who interfered and embezzled the money to repair the magnificent villa for the imperial visit."

Emperor Longyou was deeply distressed and could not bear to listen any further, so he added in a stern voice: "Duke Rong was garrisoned on the frontier with only four words: 'honest, upright and strict'. With a shortage of food and wages, he went to the fields to farm with the soldiers, and ate and dressed the same as the soldiers, which resulted in him falling ill."

"Despite this, he still dragged his sick body and fought back fiercely when captured by the enemy. How can I tolerate such a loyal and righteous act, but the inner court is dragged down like this and the reputation of Duke Rong is ruined?"

"Duke Rong has treated me well. If his spirit is still in heaven, he would want me to correct the mistakes and restore his glorious name!"

"His Majesty!"

Liu Fang from the Duke of Liguo Mansion pleaded, "The Duke of Rongguo Mansion may have been deceived by an adulterous woman. I hope Your Majesty can forgive the descendants and protect the incense of the old Duke."

When someone spoke up, someone else echoed, "I beg Your Majesty to show some leniency and preserve the ancestral temple of the Rongguo Mansion..."

"Enough!" Emperor Longyou stood up suddenly, closed his eyes tightly, and said lightly, "Xia Shouzhong, announce the decree!"

The imperial edict was spread out, and the drizzle outside the palace suddenly turned into heavy rain.

Xia Shouzhong couldn't help but clear his throat and said in a sharp voice: "Investigate the Jia Shi family of Rongguo Mansion, who usurped control of the garden, privately stored imperial property, colluded with the enemy and plotted treason, and bent the law for personal gain..."

Every time a crime was read out, the faces of several people in front of the hall became even more gloomy. When the words "remnants of King Kang" were read out, many people felt panicked.

In the old days, Emperor Longyou burned the letters between the ministers and Prince Kang in front of all the ministers. But where can we find these letters from the Jia family now?
No matter whether they were civil officials or military generals, the situation was unclear at the time and everyone had to bet on both sides. But if the reckoning really came now, no one present would be spared.

In particular, the four kings and eight dukes who held military power were actually involved in King Kang's rebellion.

Yue Ling carefully measured the expressions of the people in front of the hall, hoping to find some flaws in some people before Emperor Longyou's purge.

Apart from the military generals who led the troops, Yue Ling thought that the even stranger thing was King Kang's huge wealth of unknown origin.

Especially after he reported the confiscated wealth to Emperor Longyou, Emperor Longyou was shocked and even regretted that he had accidentally given so much treasure to Yue Ling in one go.

As a result, there is nothing left to reward now. Just a few hundred or thousands of pieces of cloth are just a drop in the bucket compared with the previous rewards. Emperor Longyou does not have the face to embarrass himself.

King Kang's wealth was enough to prepare a complete set of armor and weapons, and he had more than one million taels of silver left. If he said he had no business of his own, Yue Ling would never believe it. But now he had not found any clues.

Could it be that it was presented as a gift by the officials in front of this palace?
There must be someone behind King Kang, and this is exactly what Yue Ling was thinking.

"Jia Shishi's crimes are extremely serious and he will be executed in the autumn. The rest of us who are over 15 years old will be exiled to Qiongzhou."

At this point, Xia Shouzhong paused, looked up at where Yue Ling was, and said, "However, the three girls of the Jia family, Yingchun, Tanchun, and Xichun, were meritorious in reporting the crime. They can be regarded as great loyalists. According to the Dachang Law, the first person to report the crime can be exempted from the status of a slave and can be pardoned."

"I consider the young age of the other young men of the Jia family, and I also feel that the old Duke has devoted his whole life to the country until his death. I intend to pardon the crimes of those who are under the age of majority and demote them to commoners. I decree this!"

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

The hawk-like gaze of the civil official in front of the palace swept across the ranks of nobles, and finally fell deeply on Yue Ling, making Yue Ling, who was also bowing, feel very uncomfortable.

The next moment, Emperor Longyou said something shocking, "There are many people in the court who are deeply involved with the Jia family. If anyone can report himself in the case of the Jia family, his crime will be exempted..."

……

"Miss Xue, Miss Xue?"

Ni Ni ran quickly to Xue Baochai's courtyard, looking for Xue Baochai's traces back and forth. Early in the morning, after Ying'er and Xiangling served Xue Baochai, they went to the Buddhist temple to study scriptures early.

And Xue Baochai was also happy with the peace and quiet. She thought it was great that they could acquire a lot of knowledge or improve their body and mind through hard work, but even knowing more words was a great thing.

So after seeing them off, Xue Baochai locked herself in the study and began to seriously consider what path the Feng family should take next.

Relying on Changlu Salt, Fengzihao opened up sales routes to Liaodong. Later, it sold local vegetables and cotton from Cangzhou and opened shops in Liaodong, making Fengzihao flourish everywhere.

Over the years, the weather has been good and the Feng family's business in Liaodong has grown steadily. Even the second branch of the family, which sells parallel goods, has benefited greatly from it. This is something that Xue Baochai is very proud of.

At the moment, in response to Yue Ling's needs, she kept all her attention in the capital and took care of that shameful business. Even if it was not what she wanted, she took very good care of it.

Despite this, if there is a chance, Xue Baochai still wants to hand over this business.

Her reputation in the capital has been so bad recently that she has even been given the title of "Golden Boy and Lustful Girl", and she is even showing signs of catching up with Yue Ling.

This really gave Xue Baochai a headache, and she even didn't want to go out.

The small enclosed study room just gave her some sense of security.

"Miss Xue, Miss Xue, are you there?"

Ni Ni searched around again before finding the entrance to the study and knocked gently.

"Huh? Who?"

Xue Baochai put down the paper and pen, rubbed her eyes, stood up and walked to the door.

"Miss Xue, Miss Xue, someone is looking for you outside."

"Looking for me?" Xue Baochai frowned slightly, not happy in her heart, "What are you looking for me for? Is it someone from Fenghao?"

Ni Ni poked her chin with her finger and said, "It seems like it, but it also seems like it's not. She said she was Miss Xue's sister and also from the Xue family. She didn't introduce her purpose, but just asked me to let Miss Xue know."

"what?"

Xue Baochai's eyes widened in surprise, "You said someone who claims to be my sister is here?"

Xue Baochai held Ni Ni's shoulders and shook her so hard that she seemed to have stars in her eyes.

"Hey, hey, Miss Xue, stop wandering. The man is right in front of the door. You'll know if you go and take a look."

For a moment, Xue Baochai felt as if the sky had darkened.

However, in fact, it was just that her eyes went dark.

"Sister, sister? Why don't you come out to see me? I'm coming in now."

Before Xue Baochai could react, Xue Baoqin, a playful girl with double buns and a pear blossom skirt, walked in with her hands behind her back.

He looked around, as if he was curious about everything in the room.

"Wow, sister, the place you live in is really nice. It is worthy of being the mansion where the emperor lived in the past. Even this room can only be lived in by a concubine, right?"

"Sister, you don't know that I live on the boat all day, exposed to the sun during the day and drifting at night, so I can't maintain such good skin as yours."

Baoqin came in front of Xue Baochai, humming a sweet song.

Ni Ni stared at Bao Qin, and said, "Girl, you are too modest. Your skin is also very good, as white as snow."

Baoqin smiled slightly, took out a silver ingot from behind her, held it in her palm and asked, "Do you have this snowflake silver?"

Ni Ni's eyes sparkled with gold, and she nodded repeatedly, "Yes, of course, it's worth more than this silver."

Baoqin lifted Ni Ni's hand and placed the silver in her palm, "Little girl, you are so sweet. This is a reward for you and thank you for leading the way for me."

Ni Ni said repeatedly, "No thanks, no thanks. The girls can chat. If you need anything, you can find me in the back hall inside the second gate."

After saying that, Ni Ni took the silver and ran away.

Xue Baochai held her forehead helplessly, "This is the Duke Dingguo's mansion, don't use your little tricks. If the Duke Dingguo finds out, I will definitely sue you for bribery."

Baoqin didn't care. "What's the big deal? We both agreed. I thanked them for their help and I didn't do anything wrong. Why did the Marquis punish me? The Marquis is not like my sister who can't tell right from wrong, okay?"

Xue Baochai also responded sharply, "How can it be right? You are an outsider, and you went straight into the inner house. Of course it is wrong."

Baoqin blinked and looked up and down at Xue Baochai, "Oh? So, sister is still living with the Marquis all day long. Has she married into the mansion?"

"you!"

Xue Baochai was so angry that her cheeks turned red. She sat back in her original seat with a sullen look on her face, not wanting to pay any more attention to Baoqin.

Baoqin followed him into the study room on her own, walked around in the room, and continued to observe the surroundings.

As he walked, he kept saying, "Let me think about it. Why does my sister, who used to love me the most, dislike me so much now?"

Xue Baochai smacked her lips and said, "Since you know I don't like you, why don't you get out of here quickly?"

Baoqin seemed to have heard nothing and said leisurely, "Sister's name has been well-known in the capital recently, but it's a pity that it's not a good reputation. If I were in your shoes, I would also want to lock myself in this small study and not go out."

Baochai glared at him, "You!"

"No, no, I haven't finished yet. Sister, maybe you are afraid that I will please the Marquis and make him ignore you?"

Baochai could no longer bear it and pushed Baoqin out, "What nonsense are you talking about? Regardless of the relationship between me and the Marquis, you are still engaged."

"What kind of engagement is that? I came to the capital this time to cancel the engagement, and then... live here in my sister's place!"

Baochai said helplessly: "Okay, okay, but don't think this place is too easy. Now it is Sister Lin who is the housekeeper. Even if I want to keep you, I have to get Sister Lin's consent."

"Lin Daiyu, the beloved daughter of Yangzhou Salt Inspector Lin? Of course I've learned about her. She's a girl who sympathizes with the poor and the weak and doesn't like to refuse others. I think my chances of staying here are very good."

Baoqin said this, Baochai really had no way to refute, so she could only say: "Okay, then go and ask, I won't plead for you."

Baoqin grabbed Baochai with her backhand and pulled her out, "Come on, sister, take me with you to find Sister Lin, otherwise I won't know which one it is."

(End of this chapter)