Red Mansion and Crimson Pearl

Jia Rong was beaten so hard that he tilted his body and covered his face. He turned his incredulous gaze from Jiang Yong to Daiyu. Finally, he recovered and shouted angrily:

"Why do you hit me?!"

Jia Zhen's sinister voice sounded behind him: "She is your elder! Even if she wants to kill me, she still calls me Brother Zhen. Who do you think you are? How dare you call her 'Lin'? Who else should I hit if not you?"

Jia Rong was startled and took two steps back, covering his face, revealing Jia Zhen who was standing stiffly behind him.

"Miss Lin seized this opportunity and was determined to punish me even at the cost of alarming the old lady and my father. I wonder what her purpose is?" Jia Zhen's mind was extremely clear at this time. He did not even bother to point out that this was a trap set by Lin Daiyu and directly asked her purpose.

Lin Daiyu looked at him, feeling a little surprised.

I only knew that Mr. Zhen was an absolute beast; I never expected that he was so smart and could guess that I was coming for him.

After hearing her words, Jia Zhen realized that he had guessed correctly, and immediately turned to the people around him and said, "My two uncles and brothers, it is all my fault for not behaving properly and ruining today's banquet!

"Please don't take me seriously. Please go to the banquet hall and take your seat. Don't let the guests be neglected!"

Everyone was stunned.

Jia She understood immediately, a pleased smile appeared on his face, he twirled his beard and nodded, and went out first: "That's right, don't neglect the guests. Let's go."

As he said this, he glanced at Jia Zheng and said, "Second brother, you come too. If you are not in a position, you should not interfere in politics. Have you been an official for so many years in vain?"

In front of a group of juniors, Jia Zheng was scolded by him until his face turned red. He could only smile awkwardly, lower his head and quickly follow.

In just a few breaths, only Jia Zhen, Jia Rong, Daiyu, Qingwen and Xiaohong were left in the main hall of the academy.

Jiang Yong was very knowledgeable and tactful. He acted as a servant to guide Jia She and others and took them back to the banquet hall.

Daiyu gestured, and Jia Zhen sat down again, while Jia Rong stood behind him.

Jia Zhen frowned, looked back at him, and pointed at the last chair opposite: "Go over there!"

Jia Rong hurriedly left obediently.

"What do you want?" Jia Zhen looked at Daiyu indifferently.

"I heard rumors that Qin was the orphan of the deposed prince. Is that true?" Daiyu went straight to the point.

Jia Zhen was shocked and immediately looked up at Jia Rong: "Get out."

Jia Rong stood up with his head lowered, bowed, and walked out.

Seeing Jia Zhen staring at Jia Rong, Daiyu turned around and glanced at Qingwen: "You take Master Xiao Rong to the banquet, and when you come back, take a look around to see if there is any unusual movement."

Qingwen understood what he meant and agreed to go out.

Xue Pan, who was hearing the noise at the rear window and covering his mouth and nose with his hands, immediately realized that he might be discovered, so he quietly got up and tiptoed out.

When Qingwen led the livid Jia Rong inside, they happened to "meet" Xue Pan who was strolling on the way. The two of them forced a smile, pretended to be affectionate, and went home hand in hand.

Qingwen stopped outside the courtyard, watched them go in, sneered slightly, and turned back.

Study in the academy.

"This girl?" Jia Zhen looked at Xiaohong.

Daiyu said, "Lin Zhixiao's only daughter."

Jia Zhen was relieved, and then he asked Daiyu: "Where did you hear this? Why do you want to ask about this? Did Supervisor Tao have any other imperial edicts during your visit?"

"Master Zhen, let's talk about your matter. Why are you asking me about the imperial decree? Can't I use the imperial decree to ask you about these matters... between you and your sisters-in-law?"

At this point, Lin Daiyu's eyes turned slightly red with annoyance.

Seeing her like this, Jia Zhen knew that this was the truth. He pondered for a moment and said, "You San used this plan very well. Although this was a sex matter, it can give people an excuse to attack me.

"Miss Lin forced the elders to deal with me as soon as possible, probably hoping that it would not bring trouble to the whole family.

"But I have a feeling: since His Majesty ascended the throne, although he has given face to our family and taken in the eldest daughter of the West Mansion, he has only shown face to these old nobles and has not shown any genuine affection.

"So, whether I did this or not, I can't escape a miserable ending. Moreover, now that this matter has been exposed, even if I follow my father to make pills and hand over the family business to Rong Ge'er——"

Jia Zhen pointed outwards, his face showing an expression of great disgust, "That idiot bastard will only make things worse!"

"So, what do you think we should do, Brother Zhen?" Daiyu was stunned by his sharpness and clarity, and couldn't help but follow his words and ask.

Jia Zhen pondered for a while and sighed: "In fact, my father didn't want to inherit the title, but wanted to return the title to the court.

"I was greedy and thought I was smart, I thought I could escape the fate of being eaten alive, but I was not as good as my father!

"I will go back and write a memorial to the emperor, and return this Ningguo Mansion to the imperial court! I will take my wife and children back to my hometown in Nanjing to farm! What do you think, sister?"

Lin Daiyu was stunned!

Jia Zhen actually has such courage! ?

“I know that if I don’t mention my guilt when I submit the petition, someone will definitely impeach me. If I do, I’m afraid it will still implicate the West Palace.

"If I tell the truth, can you ask my sister to intercede for me at the Tao Jian? If your majesty is furious, please only exile my father and me, and don't embarrass the women and children, or implicate the West Palace."

As Jia Zhen said this, he bowed earnestly towards Lin Daiyu.

"Mr. Zhen, since you are so courageous, why can't you be more careful with your words and actions? Qin's death is witnessed by all..." Lin Daiyu stopped halfway through her sentence and looked straight at Jia Zhen.

Jia Zhen smiled bitterly and lowered his eyelids: "It is true that Qin and I had an affair. It is also true that she was seriously ill. You probably heard that she hanged herself, which is also true. But I did not force her to do any of these things.

"——She told me the day before that she wanted to fake her death and escape to Jiangnan, where she would spend her life as a fisherman or woodcutter. She also asked me to prepare a boat, a carriage, and some money for her servants. The next night, she suddenly hanged herself!

"I didn't believe it no matter what, and I investigated for more than half a year. Finally, I found out that someone had given her an extremely powerful drug! It can corrode bones and hurt the mind little by little, and make people die without any disease. It looks like it's just a weak disease!

"I think back carefully. By the end of her illness, the flesh on her face and body had dried up. She only had some strength when she ate things like mashed dates and yam to replenish her qi and blood..."

At this point, Jia Zhen fell into reminiscence, and was silent for a long while before adding:

"As for her funeral, it was already unfair to her."

The crown prince was deposed first. Before he was demoted to a commoner, he was first granted the title of a prince, and his daughter was conferred the title of a county princess, the second rank.

A funeral for a lady of the fifth rank was indeed an injustice to her.

Daiyu said softly, "Brother Zhen, Ronger donated the fifth rank, but you wrote "Gongren" on Qin's spirit tablet. Do you know that this is beyond the rules?"

"I donated the Dragon Guard to Rong Ge'er from Dai Quan, the Minister of the Palace of Daming Palace. Do you think he knows more about this than anyone else? Why didn't he remind me?"

Jia Zhen smiled cynically and even crossed his legs. "Four kings, eight dukes, and twelve marquises, how many people came that day? Many of them are our family's century-old friends, but no one told me about this. Guess why?"

"Also, on the day of the funeral, all the prefectures offered sacrifices along the way. Prince Beijing, who was so close to our family and loved Baoyu so much, came in person. Could it be that he didn't see or understand?

“Why didn’t he give us any hint?

"do you know?"