Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 95: The Trial of Jia She

Ningguo Mansion,
The front of the door was decorated with lights and colorful decorations, and the stone lions were tied with big red silk flowers, sweeping away the gloom of the past.

There was a constant sound of singing greetings at the gate, because the prince in the palace had sent someone to deliver a gift not long ago, making the originally desolate Ningguo Mansion become crowded.

Jia Zhen was even more energetic, with a red flower on his chest as well, and he received the guests with a rosy face.

At that moment, a servant came to report, "Master, the bride has been picked up and is on her way here. She will be here in less than an incense stick of time."

Jia Zhen smiled and said, "Okay, okay, I'll go in and get ready too."

After entering the hall, Jia Zhen came to the courtyard and climbed onto the stage where an opera was being performed. He sent the actors aside, cleared his throat, and said loudly to the guests below: "Thank you all for coming to my son's wedding banquet today. If the hospitality is not good enough, please forgive me."

Someone below shouted jokingly, "Master Zhen, why don't you invite the bride over to show us?"

Speaking of the bride, Jia Zhen said proudly, "My daughter-in-law is the apple of the Qin family's eye. She is famous for her beauty far and wide. Naturally, I can't show her to you first. Hahaha, let's have a drink first."

Jia Zheng, who was sitting at the banquet, could not help but sigh. He was truly envious of the grand occasion of the Ningguo Mansion.

The banquet was held, and the face was regained. There was also a gift from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, which was not neglected. Now that the old master is gone, the situation is actually better than that of the Rongguo Mansion.

Moreover, Jia She had been in prison for more than ten days, and no news had been received from him, and they were not allowed to visit him.

"I don't know if my brother-in-law will agree to Lian'er's marriage. The house is so gloomy all day long, and everything I do is bad luck."

The Rongguo Mansion seemed to be stuck in a quagmire at the moment. Jia Zheng really had no idea what to do. It was even more despairing that there was not a single capable young person among the younger generation.

Soon, Qin Ye was invited in and entered the central hall with the wedding procession.

Jia Zhen warmly put his arm around Qin Ye's shoulders and sat with him in the first row of seats.

"My dear relatives, why did you take so long to send the bride off? Are you reluctant to marry your daughter to your house?"

Jia Zhen smiled and joked with Qin Ye.

Qin Ye replied tremblingly: "My daughter was a little homesick, so she stayed at home for a while longer."

Jia Zhen patted Qin Ye on the back and boasted to the guests at the same table, "Great, it's good to be homesick. Only when you are homesick can you take care of your family, right?"

Many people around echoed Jia Zhen's words and cheered.

Qin Ye smiled awkwardly and sat down at the table.

When the bride's sedan chair landed on the red carpet, the curtain was opened amid the cheers of the crowd, and Baozhu, dressed in a red coat, came out of the sedan chair and helped the bride out.

As they walked down the red carpet, the master of ceremonies, led by the elder of the Jia family, said, "The bride has stepped off the sedan chair and onto the saddle. May you live a peaceful life."

Baozhu supported the bride, rolled up her skirt, and stepped over the first obstacle.

Then, the master of ceremonies said, "The bride steps over the fire basin for the second time, and starts a new journey with prosperity..."

The wedding went on in an orderly manner. Looking at his daughter's figure, Qin Ye couldn't help but shed tears.

But when he walked in front of him and went to the stage, Qin Ye was suddenly shocked, "No, that's not right."

Then he hurriedly made an excuse to find Qin Zhong who was drinking, "Stop eating, the one getting married is not your sister!"

Qin Zhong was stunned when he heard this. He thought his father had drunk too much and was reluctant to leave his daughter.

"Dad, we can't joke around in this situation. Who else could it be but my sister?"

Qin Ye angrily slapped Qin Zhong on the head, "That's Ruizhu, can't you see? Quick, go find your sister! If you can't find her at night, we're all done for!"

……

The Ministry of Justice,

Yue Ling dealt with all the matters at hand and left Jia She alone for more than ten days before coming to do the second task assigned by the King of Qin.

Thinking about trying Jia She, Yue Ling felt that he had a strong affinity with the father and son of the Jia family. He had just tried Jia Lian in the Prince of Qin's Mansion some time ago, and he had completely subdued him.

Led by a minor official from the Ministry of Justice, Yue Ling passed through the gate and went straight to the prison of the Ministry of Justice.

The prison in the Prince of Qin's Mansion had a dark, damp and musty smell. The prison in the Ministry of Justice was even worse than that. Not only was it dark and damp, but it was also mixed with all kinds of stinky smells of feces, urine and farts. Once the door was opened, the stench was overwhelming.

The clerk handed over a scented piece, "Master Yue, I'll give you this to block the smell inside."

Yue Ling nodded, took it, and continued walking forward.

The Ministry of Justice generally detains serious criminals, and the more serious the crime, the deeper the cell.

Those near the prison gate are mostly vicious murderers, those further ahead are corrupt officials, and those going deeper are special prisoners who will never have a chance to see the light of day again, such as cult members, spies, and traitors.

At this time, Jia She was imprisoned in the innermost cell.

When Yue Ling stood outside the cell and looked inside through the small window, he saw Jia She slumped against the wall, his head covered with dirt, his face pale and his eyes blank.

Yue Ling asked the clerk beside him, "Can you still reply after seeing this?"

The clerk was very confident. He patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, sir. We check carefully every day and will definitely be able to reply. Most people look like this when they are locked up. A little ice water will be fine."

Yue Ling nodded, "Bring him out, I want to interrogate him."

Yue Ling waited in the interrogation room. Not long after, Jia She was brought in and was poured with three buckets of ice water. As expected, he regained some spirit.

After the strangers left, Yue Ling began his questioning, as if he was back to his old job.

"I am General Xuanwu Yue Ling, a member of the Privy Council, and I am here on the orders of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to interrogate you for treason and collaborating with the enemy. You must answer whatever I ask." "Name?"

"Jia She."

"gender?"

Jia She, with disheveled hair and tattered clothes, looked up in surprise.

"Oh, it's male or female. Just write male. Next item, where are you from?"

"He is from the capital, his ancestral home is in Jinling, and he is a descendant of the Rongguo Mansion, a first-rank duke's mansion."

"Why did you betray your country?"

Jia She seemed to have finally come to his senses. He looked forward and asked in surprise, "Yue Ling? Why is it you?"

Yue Ling nodded, "It's me, tell me how to communicate with the barbarians, or you will be rude to me!"

Jia She laughed foolishly twice, as if he was a little crazy. "What will happen if I tell you? If I don't tell you, I will die. If I tell you, I will die too."

Yue Ling shook his index finger, "No, if you tell me you will die. If you don't tell me I can make you live a life worse than death."

Before Jia She could respond, Yue Ling shouted, "Come here, get on the splint first."

The splint that Yue Ling mentioned was actually the torture. It was a few wooden sticks connected by ropes. Each finger was clamped between the sticks, and then the ropes were tightened.

Traditional Chinese medicine says that the ten fingers are connected to the heart, and torture is painful to the heart.

The two clerks quickly fastened the splint to Jia She, and with a tug, the entire stone chamber was filled with Jia She's miserable cries.

"Say or not?"

Jia She just shouted for a while but did not directly answer Yue Ling's question.

Yue Ling raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "You are such a stubborn person. Come on, castrate me. I want to see if you dare to act arrogant again after I remove your balls."

When the prison doctor came forward, he found that Jia She had fainted from the pain.

"Sir, he is fainted, not unwilling to speak."

Yue Ling thought this scene was familiar, and said helplessly: "Use a needle to wake him up."

Jia She, who was stabbed in the nose, woke up suddenly and found himself still in this hellish scene. He couldn't help but burst into tears.

Yue Ling added: "You can see that we have all the torture instruments here. If you don't confess, I will castrate you first. Anyway, your Jia family is short of people in the palace. If you come to the palace to do some work, you can also help the family."

"How is it? Have you thought it through?"

Jia She looked at Yue Ling tremblingly, as if he had seen a ghost.

Glancing at the big scissors, Jia She suddenly understood. Even if he could not be released from prison, he did not want to die with a crippled body.

"Say, I'll say."

"That's right. If you were so happy earlier, wouldn't you have to suffer?"

Jia She choked up with tears in his eyes and said, "It was the old lady who sent me to Datong Prefecture to deliver a letter. At that time, Prince Kang was still guarding the border in Datong Prefecture. The old master was defeated and captured. The old lady wanted to smooth over the relationship with Prince Kang and make peace with the northern barbarians in exchange for the old master?"

Yue Ling frowned and asked, "Then why did it become that the old general of Ningguo Mansion cooperated with Prince Kang to rebel?"

Jia She added: "After the defeat, Prince Kang will have no chance to compete for the crown prince position. If the Prince of Qin takes the throne, he will definitely not make peace with the Northern Barbarians, and the only way out for the old master is death."

Yue Ling curled his lips, "Stupid, really stupid, it seems like something your Jia family would do."

Jia She was startled and asked, "General Yue, what do you mean?"

Yue Ling said calmly, "The old Duke spent his whole life in the military, and made countless military achievements. He died on the battlefield, having served his country. How could the royal family treat the Jia family unfairly? And they caused this mess. This is really a woman's view."

Jia She opened his mouth but couldn't think of a word to refute.

Yue Ling asked again: "Prince Kang had never shown any rebellious intentions before he went to the border. But as soon as he returned to the capital, he began to plot a rebellion. When you went to Datong Prefecture, did anything happen to Prince Kang?"

Jia She recalled and said hurriedly: "Yes, yes, the one who impressed me most was an aide named Du Ke. He and I had a big quarrel in the hall, which made me a little confused. It seems that it was his suggestion to rebel and return to the imperial city."

"Du Ke?"

Yue Ling silently recited the name and pondered in his mind.

The familiar Wang Changshi was captured along with Jia Daihua, but he had never heard of this Du Ke.

Yue Ling nodded.

"Okay, you have provided some useful information."

Yue Ling stood up and said to Jia She, "Okay, stay inside first. Once I have investigated the matter thoroughly, you may have a chance to get out."

Jia She was surprised and asked, "Really?"

For a moment, he seemed to have forgotten the pain between his fingers.

Yue Ling nodded, "Of course it's not fake. You're just a messenger. If anyone wants to arrest you, it should be Mrs. Jia."

The smile that Jia She had just revealed froze in an instant, and he lowered his head and sighed.

(End of this chapter)