Red Mansion: After being expelled from the family, I was granted the title of Marquis of Mobei

Chapter 98 The Fearful Xue Family

After the follower agreed, he went to the pleasure boat.

At this time, the young man in brocade clothes was still cursing and looking unruly.

When the manager of the pleasure boat saw the entourage coming, he hurried over as if he had found a savior and said.

"Butler Sun, you're here. If you don't come, I really won't be able to help you."

Butler Sun nodded slightly, then walked up to the young man in brocade clothes and said.

"Sir, we have already booked this pleasure boat. We are so sorry, but please be kind and we are still waiting to board."

After hearing this, the young man in brocade clothes took out a few banknotes from his pocket with an impatient look and threw them on the ground.

"What do you mean by 'you've got it covered'? That's not the case anymore. Take the banknotes and get out of here."

Seeing this, Butler Sun felt a little unhappy.

As a close confidant of Marquis Zhongjing, no one in Jinling City dared to treat him like this.

In addition, Jia Jue was still waiting on the side, so Butler Sun looked at the young man in brocade clothes and said without showing any weakness.

"Sir, there is always a first come, first served rule in everything. You should keep this banknote for yourself."

"You can't get on this pleasure boat today."

Upon hearing what Butler Sun said, Young Master Jinyi instantly became furious.

"Bah, who do you think you are? Go around Jinling City and ask around to see who dares not give face to me, Xue Pan."

"Come on, beat this blind bastard for me."

When Jia Jue heard the young man in brocade clothes introduce himself, a playful smile suddenly appeared on his face.

Wow, it turns out this guy is Xue Pan, no wonder he is so arrogant.

Those who are familiar with "Dream of the Red Chamber" know that Xue Pan is the heir of the Xue family, one of the four major families, and Xue Baochai's biological brother.

The first time Xue Pan was mentioned in the original version of Dream of the Red Chamber was when he ordered his evil slaves to beat Feng Yuan, a local landlord, to death in Jinling in order to snatch Xiangling.

In the end, the Rongguo Mansion asked Jia Yucun, the then prefect of Jinling, to make some arrangements, and finally allowed Xue Pan to escape the law.

Despite causing a murder, Xue Pan still did not learn his lesson and did not restrain himself in the capital.

Later, because of jealousy between Xue Pan and Captain Qiu's son for the most popular prostitute in a brothel, Xue Pan beat Captain Qiu's son to death.

This time no one could save Xue Pan, and he was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve.

Jia Jue's evaluation of people like Xue Pan is that they are stupid, bad, and have no brains at all.

However, this kind of person is quite easy to use. Seeing Xue Pan ordering his men to take action, he went straight to Butler Sun.

After Jia Jue gave a wink, seven or eight of his personal soldiers rushed forward.

The Xue family is just a family of royal merchants, a family of businessmen, so how capable can their guards be?

As soon as they encountered Jia Jue's personal soldiers, they were defeated in an instant.

Soon, all of Xue Pan's guards were knocked down by his personal soldiers.

Xue Pan was also carried up by two personal soldiers.

When Jia Jue came closer, Steward Sun said with a look of shame on his face.

"Sir, I'm truly sorry. It's my fault for not making good arrangements."

Jia Jue waved his hand and said.

"It's okay. There are always some ignorant people out there. Just teach them a lesson."

Although Xue Pan had been framed, he still looked unruly.

"You son of a bitch, you're blind, how dare you let someone beat me up?"

"If you know what's good for you, let me go immediately and kowtow and admit your mistake."

"Otherwise, I will not allow you to leave Jinling."

After hearing this, Jia Jue smiled calmly and said.

"Okay, I want to see how you can keep me from leaving Jinling."

"Come on, throw these bastards into the Qinhuai River."

"As for this bastard, tie him up and drag him onto the pleasure boat."

The manager of the pleasure boat nearby was so frightened that his face turned green. He hurried over and spoke in a low voice.

"Master, Steward Sun, you have caused a great disaster. Xue Pan is a local bully in Jinling. How can we afford to offend him?"

"I didn't know it was him just now, and it's too late now. You should leave quickly. If you're late, you'll get into big trouble."

After Butler Sun looked at Jia Jue and saw that Jia Jue had no intention of leaving, he spoke calmly.

"It's just the Xue family of Jinling, what's that? Okay, forget about it and get ready to sail."

Seeing that Jia Jue and his group looked indifferent, the manager of the pleasure boat knew that either this group of people had a great background, and Xue Pan had hit a wall this time.

Or maybe these people have no idea how powerful the Xue family is, so they are so unscrupulous.

No matter what, I am still single and I don’t want to suffer any loss. I just have to go along with these old men.

Then the steward hurriedly ordered the boat to set sail. After Jia Jue and his party boarded the boat, Steward Sun did not follow them, but went straight to find Zhongjing Hou Shi Ding.

Shi Ding was originally enjoying himself and was very unhappy about being interrupted by Butler Sun.

When Shi Ding heard that Xue Pan had actually done such a thing, he immediately became angry.

"He's rebelling against Tian Gang. Who the hell does Xue Pan think he is? When will it be his turn to bully others in this small piece of land of Jinling?"

"Old Sun, take my name card to the Jinling government office immediately and ask the prefect, Lord Zhou, to seal up all of the Xue family's assets in Jinling. If the government office is short of manpower, mobilize troops from the Jiangnan camp."

Butler Sun said after hesitating for a moment.

"Ah, my Lord, it's not good to make such a big noise."

Marquis Zhongjing said calmly.

"What's wrong with that? Tell Lord Zhou that the Xue family was sealed off because they were found to be involved in reselling smuggled goods and were involved in the Qiantang Customs smuggling case."

"If he dares to neglect his duties and tip off the Xue family, let him handle it on his own."

"I understand, my lord. Don't worry, I'll go right away."

Steward Sun bowed and left. Marquis Zhongjing had no mood to play anymore, so he got up and went to the Jiangnan camp.

At this time, Marquis Zhongjing was filled with rage. It was originally a good thing for him to host a banquet for Marquis Guanjun, and everything had been arranged perfectly.

You, Xue Pan, insist on trying to deceive me at this time. Just wait and see. If you ruin my plans, I will kill you.

After Marquis Zhongjing made some arrangements, the night in Jinling instantly became lively.

Although Jinling Prefect Zhou Yixiu couldn't understand why the four major families were fighting among themselves, he could still tell who was strong and who was weak.

To put it bluntly, the Xue family is a merchant family, and they have to curry favor with me.

But Marquis Zhongjing is different. Not only is he a marquis, he is also the commander-in-chief of the Jiangnan camp. In Jinling and the entire Jiangnan region, he is a man who can make people tremble with just one stomp of his foot.

In addition, since he was accused of customs smuggling, Zhou Yixiu naturally had to cooperate fully.

If I fail at this moment and end up getting myself implicated, it would be more trouble than it is worth.

After all, Yuhang was a place where many people were killed because of this case. Jinling was only about 400 miles away from Yuhang, so Zhou Yixiu could faintly smell the blood coming from there.

Zhou Yixiu immediately ordered all the yamen runners of the Jinling government office to go out, and the Jiangnan camp also dispatched two thousand soldiers to jointly seal off the Xue family's shops and properties in Jinling City.

At this time, Jia Jue was sitting on a pleasure boat, drinking and enjoying the scenery of the Qinhuai River.

As for Xue Pan, he was in a miserable state. His hands were tied and he was hung at the stern of the pleasure boat. He was dragged on the water and swallowed a mouthful of water from time to time.

The Qinhuai River was already a bit chilly at night, and the icy water soaked his clothes. Xue Pan felt extremely regretful at this moment. He had never suffered such a hardship since he was a child.

Xue Pan was already sad enough, but those who were even sadder than him were naturally his mother and sister.

When the government office and the Jiangnan camp jointly sealed off the Xue family's property, the Xue family's servants had already hurried back to the Xue family to report the news.

In Xue Baochai's boudoir, Xue Baochai's mother, Xue Wangshi, looked extremely worried.

"Oh my, what's going on? Why are they seizing our property for no reason?" "We're not the only ones reselling goods from overseas merchant ships. Every wealthy businessman in Jiangnan does it. Why are they targeting us?"

"We've given Lord Zhou a lot of money in the past, but now he doesn't even say hello. He's really an ungrateful person."

While Mrs. Xue Wang was complaining, Xue Baochai was lost in thought.

After thinking for a moment, Xue Baochai looked at her mother, Xue Wangshi, and said.

"No, mother, something is wrong this time."

"It's strange no matter how I think about it."

"If it was just a matter of smuggling goods from overseas merchant ships, the government office wouldn't have made such a big fuss."

"He knows the background of our Xue family. He would never target us."

"And just now the servants said that there were soldiers sealing up the shop."

"The only military camp in Jinling is the Jiangnan Camp, and its commander is Marquis Zhongjing of the Shi family. The Jinling prefect is only a fourth-rank official. How could he possibly mobilize the Jiangnan Camp?"

"We have offended someone."

"And it must be related to Lord Zhongjing."

Mrs. Xue Wang was surprised when she heard this.

"This, this can't be possible. Although we don't interact much with the Shi family, we are still indirect relatives."

"How could we possibly offend Lord Zhongjing?"

Xue Baochai said with a gloomy expression.

"I think this matter is most likely related to my eldest brother."

"How many times have I told you not to indulge him like that?"

"I'm afraid he's created a huge hole for the family this time."

Hearing this, Mrs. Xue Wang was also shocked.

"This, this is impossible. No matter how stupid your eldest brother is, he wouldn't offend Lord Zhongjing."

Xue Baochai sighed and said.

"You think everyone else is as ostentatious as my brother? Besides, with my brother's character, I wouldn't be surprised if he did anything."

Xue Wangshi said hurriedly.

"Baochai, what should we do now?"

Xue Baochai said after a moment's thought.

"The closure of the property is a foregone conclusion. Let the shopkeepers and employees cooperate with the closure honestly to avoid causing further chaos."

"Also, quickly send a capable steward to visit Lord Zhou with a generous gift to test his opinion."

"Mother, please go to the Zhongjing Marquis's mansion in person and ask to see the wife of the Zhongjing Marquis to find out what's going on."

"Then I quickly sent someone to find my eldest brother to see what he had done."

There are thousands of people in a family, but only one person is in charge.

Under Xue Baochai's orderly arrangements, Xue Wangshi calmed down a little, and then hurriedly made arrangements according to what Xue Baochai said.

After tossing and turning until the early hours of the morning, Mrs. Xue Wang returned to the Xue family with a look of despair on her face.

Xue Baochai looked at her mother's ugly face and immediately had the answer in her mind.

"Mother, is it possible that Lord Zhou and the wife of Marquis Zhongjing don't want to see us?"

Xue Wang nodded helplessly and said.

"Yes, Baochai, our family is in big trouble this time."

"How is your elder brother? Have you found him?"

Xue Baochai shook her head and said.

"I searched all the brothels and gambling dens, but couldn't find my brother."

"But I heard from people in Qinhuai River that someone seemed to have seen my eldest brother and his men getting into a conflict with others at the dock in the evening, and a fight broke out."

“No one knows what happened next.”

"I think this is most likely the problem."

Xue Wangshi said anxiously when she heard this.

"Ah, what's going on here?"

"If anything happens to your elder brother, how will we survive, mother and daughter?"

Xue Baochai sighed and said.

"Now that things have come to this, let's take it one step at a time."

"Master Zhou refused to accept our gift, which means he didn't dare to accept it. He must have been threatened by his superiors."

"As for the fact that the Zhongjing Marquis' Mansion refused to see us, it's probably to keep us at bay."

"If they really wanted to torture us to death, they would have come and raided our house long ago."

"Well, it's too late now, you should go and get some rest."

"When it's daybreak, go to the gate of the Marquis of Zhongjing's mansion and ask to see the Marquis's wife."

"She will definitely come to see you when the time comes."

Xue Wangshi said with some concern.

"What if she doesn't see me? And your elder brother is nowhere to be found. What's going on?"

Xue Baochai said after a moment's thought.

"If things really come to that, then we'll have no choice but to ask my aunt and uncle for help."

"As for my eldest brother, let them continue to look for him. We will do our best and leave the rest to fate. That's all."

Hearing this, Xue Wangshi could no longer hold back her tears.

The mother and daughter sat opposite each other in the room, silent.

There was no book all night. The next day, on the official boat at the dock, Marquis Zhongjing said with a guilty look on his face.

"My Lord, I am truly sorry to have disturbed your interest with this dandy."

Jia Jue said calmly.

"It's just a trivial matter, nothing worth mentioning."

"Marquis Zhongjing caused quite a stir in Jinling City last night."

After hearing this, Marquis Zhongjing hurriedly said.

"Don't worry, my Lord. This matter will definitely not involve you."

"No matter who asks, it's because the Xue family is involved in a customs smuggling case. My Jiangnan Camp is under the command of the navy, and it is our duty to combat smuggling."

Jia Jue said with a chuckle.

"Alright, I know what you mean. The Shi family is one of the four great families in Jinling. Sooner or later, the Xue family will turn to the Rongguo Mansion and the Wang family for help. It will be difficult for you to be caught in the middle."

"As for you, put it off for a few days. When the time is right, tell the Xue family the whole story."

"If they have any problems, please let them come and talk to me. I'm waiting for them in the Divine Capital."

"As for this Xue Pan, I will take him away. It seems that this boy is not a good person."

"I think he's a bully who usually bullies men and women in Jinling."

"He has fallen into my hands this time. How can I not take good care of him?"

"Alright, I've already stayed in Jinling for a day, and His Majesty is still waiting in the Divine Capital for me to return to the capital and report."

(End of this chapter)