Red Mansion: Holding Space and Marrying Like the Sea

That day, Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai secretly conferred in their room. They wanted to solve the murder case committed by Xue Pan. After careful consideration, they decided that Aunt Xue would personally go to the Rongguo Mansion to meet with Lady Wang and ask her to convey the matter to Jia Zheng, asking for his assistance.

Not long after, Aunt Xue arrived at the Rongguo Mansion and met with Lady Wang. She told her the whole story in detail, gave her a box full of banknotes, and said, "Sister, this is a small gift from our Xue family. I hope you will help our Pan'er for the sake of our relationship." Aunt Xue spoke earnestly, her eyes full of pleading.

Mrs. Wang stared intently at the thick box of banknotes before her, her mind recollecting Jia Zheng's solemn warning to her a few days ago. She was clearly hesitant, for this matter concerned a life! However, when she considered her own family's high position and the intricate relationship between the Xue family and hers, her inner balance began to waver slightly.

Mrs. Wang slowly said, "Sister, this is a very difficult matter! Although I can ask the master for mercy, he has always been an honest and upright official. I'm afraid he may not agree to this easily."

Before she had finished her words, Aunt Xue, like a frightened bird, quickly reached out and grasped Madam Wang's hand tightly, tears streaming down her face like a flood. Sobbing, she pleaded, "Sister, you know Pan'er's character best! He's always been reckless, and this time he made such a mistake, it was completely unintentional! If Master refuses to help, then poor Pan'er will be completely hopeless. Don't worry, sister, money is absolutely no problem. Our Xue family may not be as wealthy as a nation, but we are well-off. Besides Baochai and Pan'er, we have no other concerns." As she spoke, Aunt Xue hurriedly pulled a roll of brand-new banknotes from her sleeve and carefully handed it to Madam Wang, adding, "Sister, take these banknotes and use them. Just let me know how much you need."

Seeing this, Mrs. Wang sighed deeply in frustration. Finally, she reached out her hands to take the roll of banknotes, and at the same time comforted Aunt Xue, saying, "Alright, alright, sister, stop crying. You've been so worried. I'll give it a try. As for whether it will work, that's hard to say."

Aunt Xue thanked him profusely and left. Alone in her room, Mrs. Wang pondered for a long time. She knew the situation was fraught with difficulty, but having already accepted the money, she had no choice but to go to Jia Zheng. Once she saw him, Mrs. Wang slowly explained the story of Xue Pan, but she wasn't sure how Jia Zheng would react. Upon hearing this, Mrs. Wang readily agreed, promising to do her best to help.

Soon after, the anxious Lady Wang hurriedly found Jia Zheng, who was pacing in his study, lost in thought. Without even taking a breath, she hurriedly told him everything Aunt Xue had asked for, in detail.

After listening to Lady Wang's account, Jia Zheng's brows, which had been relaxed, furrowed slightly, forming the shape of a "川" (river). With a serious face, he questioned Lady Wang about the whole story, wanting to thoroughly understand the reasons and details.

After Lady Wang finished her account, Jia Zheng lapsed into a brief silence. He clasped his hands behind his back and slowly walked to the window. He gazed out at the swaying branches in the wind, thinking to himself, "To be honest, I really don't want to get involved in this thorny matter. But the other party is a relative. If I flatly refuse, it would seem unkind, and I'm afraid we'll have trouble seeing each other again."

After much deliberation, Jia Zheng finally decided to adopt an ambiguous approach to the matter. Turning to Lady Wang, he vaguely promised, "Well, let's wait and see. After Xue Ke submits his petition to the local county government, we'll see what the local authorities will say. Then, we can discuss how to proceed."

In fact, deep down in Jia Zheng's heart, he was extremely reluctant to pay any attention to this case. You know, he had always been dissatisfied with the useless Xue Pan. Back then, when Xue Pan first came to the capital, he should have taken advantage of his youth and energy to strive for progress and make a difference. However, the fact is that this guy was idle all day long and did not work properly. He was simply good for nothing! What's even more excessive is that he often used the famous name of Rongguo Mansion to do whatever he wanted outside. It's hard to imagine how many unexpected troubles he had caused. Whenever he thought of this, Jia Zheng felt furious, and his disgust for this playboy became stronger and stronger.

Time flew by like a fleeting horse, and a few short years vanished in the blink of an eye. Yet, surprisingly, Xue Pan had shown no progress or growth, remaining idle and unemployed. Who could have foreseen that he would commit such a monstrous act—accidentally beating someone to death? The Jia family, for generations, had been pillars of state, with a strict family tradition. Even if some of their children occasionally exhibited some unruly behavior, they would never treat human life as worthless as Xue Pan did!

Furthermore, it was always Xue Pan who initiated the trouble, stirring up so much trouble. But in the end, what happened? They still had to rely on the power and influence of the Jia family to painstakingly clean up the mess and help him resolve those thorny issues. The thought of this instantly vanished the slight joy Jia Zheng had felt at his career advancement. He felt a wave of irritation, as if millions of ants were scurrying around in his mind, making it impossible for him to find peace.

Without mentioning the countless worries and annoyances Jia Zheng was carrying, let's just talk about Aunt Xue, who hurried back to the mansion without even taking a breath before rushing straight to the pawnshop. She pulled out valuable items from her pocket, handed them to the pawnshop owner without hesitation, and successfully exchanged them for a considerable amount of silver.

Aunt Xue then quickly summoned a servant who appeared to be extremely clever and intelligent, and urged him to take the newly acquired silver and go find Xue Ke as soon as possible. She repeatedly urged the servant to ensure that Xue Ke took the silver and made arrangements to ensure that the crisis could be resolved smoothly.

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, three days had passed. As expected, news soon arrived. Aunt Xue anxiously inquired about the details of the situation from the messenger.

The man bowed respectfully to Aunt Xue and then slowly began, "Madam, the county officials have long known that our Xue family is wealthy and well-off. They've said that the money they sent previously isn't enough, and they need a more substantial gift. Furthermore, someone in the capital will need to mediate and reconcile. Only with this two-pronged approach can we accomplish this. Once this is accomplished, there will be a chance for a review of the case, and we can try to get a lighter sentence. But, Madam, this matter cannot be delayed! If we're even slightly slow, I'm afraid Master will suffer even more in prison."

Aunt Xue's heart tightened when she heard these words. Anxiety surged into her heart like a tide, making it almost impossible for her to breathe. She turned pale, cold sweat dripped down her forehead, and her hands trembled unconsciously.

She waved her sleeves anxiously at the servant, signaling him to leave immediately. After the servant left, Aunt Xue did not dare to pause for a moment and hurriedly set out on the road to the Jia Mansion again. Along the way, her steps were hurried, as if there was a wolf chasing her.

After finally arriving at the Jia residence, Aunt Xue rushed straight to where Lady Wang was. Upon seeing Lady Wang, she grasped her hand as if she had grabbed a lifeline and tearfully recounted the entire story in detail, her words filled with pleading and hope, begging the Jia family to help save her imprisoned son, Xue Pan.

However, after listening to Aunt Xue's sobbing, Jia Zheng showed only a faint expression. He nodded slightly, indicating that he would ask someone to plead with the county magistrate, but when the topic of money and other related matters came up, he kept his lips tightly shut and said no more.

Aunt Xue was filled with deep worry and disappointment when she saw this. She knew that pleading alone would not be enough, so after much deliberation, she decided to seek help from the shrewd and capable Wang Xifeng.

Wang Xifeng had actually known about this for a long time, but compared to Jia Zheng, she had no interest in getting involved in Xue Pan's troublesome affairs. Therefore, when Aunt Xue came to visit, Wang Xifeng, although she smiled on the surface and spoke kindly and caringly, actually rejected her politely and earnestly.

Wang Xifeng said softly, "Aunt, you understand my situation. I'm just a woman. It's hard enough managing household chores, so how can I have the energy to take care of these trivial matters? Besides, Ru Hai is a well-known honest and upright person. Let alone asking him to use his connections, even if I just ask him to say a few good words, I'm afraid he'll lecture me! So as for the matter of Pan brothers, I really don't have any power to help!"

Moreover, since Master Jia has already promised Auntie that he will send someone to intercede with the County Magistrate, given Master Jia's status and position, plus the Empress in the palace, I think the County Magistrate will definitely give him some face no matter what! So, Auntie, please don't feel bad about the money now. Even if it costs a few thousand taels of silver, as long as it can save Brother Pan, it's worth it!

As the saying goes, "Money makes the world go round." As long as we're willing to spend money, this matter will definitely be much easier to handle. Once the money is handed over to the county magistrate, the Pan brothers will naturally be fine.

After hearing these words, Aunt Xue felt a little reluctant, but she really had no other better solution. She could only follow Wang Xifeng's advice and quickly prepare more money so that she could use it to help Xue Pan get through the trouble and try to help him escape this disaster.

Finally, after some twists and turns, the Xue family spent a total of several thousand taels of silver and finally succeeded in bribing the county magistrate.

After receiving the silver, the magistrate immediately reopened the case. However, this time he only ordered Xue Pan to sign a confession based on the charge of accidental injury, and then imprisoned him pending further detailed investigation.

Xue Ke, who had been running around outside trying to gather information, finally figured out the whole story. Upon learning this, he was overjoyed and quickly sent someone back home to deliver the good news. All they could do now was stay put for the time being and wait for further news while also making preparations for atonement.

However, no one expected that, at this critical moment, shocking news would arrive on the road: a noble concubine had suddenly passed away, and the current emperor was so grief-stricken that he even stopped attending court for three days as a sign of mourning. Since this place was not far from the imperial mausoleum, the county magistrate was busy with related errands and paving roads, and had no time to attend to Xue Pan's case, let alone make a final judgment and dispose of him.

Xue Ke thought to himself that living in this place would not help the progress of things in any substantial way, so he decided to go to the prison to visit Xue Pan and tell him to be patient and wait, and he would come back in a few days.

Xue Pan was also very concerned about his mother at home, fearing that she would be overly worried because of his experience. So he specifically asked Xue Ke to take a message home to let his mother know that he was fine. He said solemnly: "Tell my mother that everything is fine here and she doesn't need to worry too much. But for this case, I still have to go to the government office a few more times. After all these connections are opened up, I can go home safely. Remember, don't be stingy with that little money!"

After receiving his brother's instructions, Xue Ke quickly complied. He then carefully arranged for several loyal and reliable servants to stay in prison to look after Xue Pan's daily needs, ensuring they were properly taken care of. Once everything was settled, Xue Ke set out on his journey home.