The Red Mansions

Chapter 830

Jinling, Jinyi Mansion, Zhen Fusi
Welcomed by a group of generals in brocade clothes, Jia Heng entered the official hall, sat down behind the case, and stared at the governor Liu Jixian.

"According to the command of the governor, the experience department has sent people to interrogate. Zhen Yingjia has listed an account, but some things have not been recorded because of the age, and the humble official is still sending people to check." Liu Jixian clasped his hands.

This reflects the difference between Zhen Yingjia and Guo Shaonian. During the transfer envoy of the Lianghuai capital, the latter recorded the amount embezzled from the Lianghuai salt storage silver in each of Emperor Longzhi's southern tours. Prevent liquidation in the future and keep a clean reputation.

But the Zhen family was fascinated by wealth and splendor, and it was too late to cover up and destroy the criminal evidence, let alone a detailed record.

Jia Heng nodded and said: "Interrogate slowly, don't worry, have all the officials of the Tiren Court been arrested?"

"Back to the governor, people have been sent to arrest the relevant criminals." Liu Jixian said softly.

Jia Heng said: "The corruption of the Tirenyuan is not only the Zhen family, but also several other families. They must be carefully checked."

Liu Jixian clapped his hands and said yes.

"Captain, just now, the letter was sent by Feige from the Beiping Mansion." Liu Jixian said.

As he spoke, he took out a piece of paper from his sleeve.

Jia Heng took out the note paper from it, flipped through it, his face moved slightly.

According to the news from Beiping, Jurchen sent an envoy, intending to use the peace treaty and presenting gifts as bargaining chips to exchange Prince Yu Duoduo back.

After Jia Heng finished reading, he put away the paper, his gaze was uncertain, thinking about his next step.

He has not been in Jiangnan for a long time, and he needs to go back to deal with the constraints from the courtiers.

Undoubtedly, there must be peace advocates in the Qi Party and Zhejiang Party, and he just wants to identify and kick out these weak bones.

Moreover, it is necessary to further influence Emperor Chongping to prevent the emperor from being deceived by slander, and beheading the head of Prince Jurchen is the first step to making the great man great again.

Jia Heng nodded, took the book that recorded the text, and returned to a study in the back hall, which is usually used for official business.

Jia Heng read it once, handed it to Princess Xianning, and said: "Xianning, you can take a look, every account book on it is very clearly recorded."

Princess Xianning's jade face, which was as cold as iceberg snow lotus stamens, paused slightly, and asked curiously, "Sir, what is the amount of embezzlement?"

Jia Heng held the booklet and said softly: "Received the emperor six times, and each tour to the south cost a lot of money. In the nine years of Longzhi, the total cost of the reception was as high as 340 million taels, which is not even salt. There are silver taels from merchants’ donations and repayments, in addition to the filial piety from all over the palace.”

Is the Zhen family guilty?In fact, it is just one of the decadent and degenerate upper classes.

Li Chanyue had a bit of concern in her brows and eyes, she came close and said softly: "Mr. Jia, can I get back the money?"

Jia Heng said: "If we can't catch up, even if the Zhen family copied all of them, it would be difficult to make up for this huge shortfall. We can only look forward."

According to his estimates, the Zhen family's financial background probably has tens of millions of assets. Of course, this is based on the premise of including real estate, gold and silver jewelry, and antique calligraphy and paintings.

The so-called filling up the shortfall before just means filling up the state money of the Zhen family's corruption over the years, not filling up the expenses of the Supreme Emperor's southern tour.

Jia Heng handed the account book to Princess Xianning and Li Chanyue, and said softly: "Xianning, you and Chanyue will watch here first, and I will go to see Duoduo."

Since Duoduo was captured, he had never seen this Duogege again, except that Jinyi Mansion kept him under strict supervision.

It's not that Duduo didn't think about committing suicide. He hit his head against the wall a few days ago, but was quickly stopped by the Jinyi Mansion Guard who was watching day and night. After being rescued by the Jinyi Mansion Guard, his will to commit suicide weakened somewhat.

Princess Xianning put down the book, looked at Jia Heng, and said, "Sir, I will go with you."

She also wanted to be inseparable from her husband in Henan, instead of letting her cousin take her place now.

Jia Heng nodded and asked, "What about Chanyue?"

Li Chanyue pursed her pink lips, looked at the two of them, and said softly: "It's fine if I stay here, you and your cousin can go."

Jia Heng looked at the girl with clear eyebrows and said softly: "It's so boring for you to be here by yourself, just wait outside the imperial prison later."

Xianning and Chanyue have become a bit clingy now, following the rhythm of where he goes, and compared to Xianning's direct demands, Chanyue actually wants his care and attention more implicitly.

Li Chanyue said "Mmm", her bright eyes lit up, and her heart was full of joy.

prison, prison

A few days after being captured alive, Doduo climbed his knees and sat on a clump of withered grass, with a hunched figure. Through a small window in the southeast of the prison, the light leaked down. It can be seen that the Jurchen prince is disheveled and has a piece wrapped around his forehead. The son was wearing a bright red cloth with blood on it, his cheeks were sunken, and his eyes were bloodshot.

Accompanied by the sound of the iron door being opened from a distance, Duoduo followed the sound, his eyes were gloomy.

He was too familiar with the familiar sound of footsteps, it was Jia Heng!
Sure enough, a young man was surrounded by a few guards of the Jinyi Mansion, coming from the dark corridor, the whole journey was eerie and quiet, in front of a Jinyi governor like Jia Heng, there was no talkative leader.

Jia Heng looked at Duduo behind the fence. At this moment, in order to prevent Duduo from escaping, the prince had been shackled and chained.

"Clatter..." The sound of the iron chain dragging the ground sounded, and Duoduo stared at the young man with resentment in his eyes.

"Jia Heng!" Duoduo almost gritted his teeth and squeezed out two words.

At this moment, Jia Heng pressed the Tianzi sword on his waist, looked at Duduo who was opposite him, and asked, "Duoduo, are you here all right?"

When he came to Yangzhou, the Jurchen prince began to assassinate him, and now he is a prisoner.

Duoduo didn't say a word, and looked at the boy through the iron fence.

The two looked at each other for a moment, Duoduo sneered, and said, "Even if you are lucky enough to win a game today, you are a big man who governs corruption, corrupt officials are rampant, and the people are miserable, what can you do by yourself?"

Jia Heng smiled, and said: "What year are you talking about the great man? Now the great man's ruler is bright and his ministers are wise, and the internal strife is gradually disappearing. On the other hand, since Jurchen, Huang Taiji has ruled out dissidents and used cronyism many times since he became the captive leader. The heroes of Hebei, Shandong and other places have suffered a lot from the captives of our Han people. They all hate to eat the flesh and drink the blood of the captives! You Jurchen are savage beasts, a small country, treacherous, and your destruction is the way of heaven."

He is not afraid of anyone when it comes to verbal fights.

Duoduo said coldly: "You just relied on the advantage of firearms to win a few matches by chance, but the monarchs and ministers of the Han Dynasty are too peaceful, jealous of the virtuous and capable, even with Yue Fei's ability, it is difficult to escape the trap of Qin Hui and other traitors. I will wait below you!"

The prince is indeed familiar with Han history.

Jia Heng said: "Then we will see you on the battlefield. I heard that your country intends to send envoys to exchange you for a peace treaty."

He also wanted Duoduo to be sent to the Taimiao in the capital to offer prisoners, but he couldn't be allowed to die, as the head of the Jurchen Prince would be less effective.

When Doduo heard this, his eyes flashed.

Jia Heng smiled and said, "We can make a bet. Since you said that the Han monarchs and ministers are peaceful, you can see that it is now that our Han officials are talking about peace and war."

Dodo frowned, his eyes moved slightly.

According to the history books, the disposition of the Han court would definitely choose to make peace, and he would indeed have a glimmer of life, but at that time he would not be able to return to Jurchen, but would have to exile himself.

He Duoduo, a majestic man, would rather be a soldier, shrouded in horse leather, than die in prison!
Jia Heng looked at Duoduo, saw that he had acquiesced, turned and left without saying a word.

After leaving the prison, Princess Xianning walked towards him, seeing the young man was thinking, and asked in a worried tone, "Sir, how are you doing?"

"It's nothing, go back to Ningguo Mansion." Jia Heng said in a low voice: "I've packed up recently, it's time for us to go back to Beijing."

On the carriage carriage, Princess Xianning once again inquired about Duduo's situation, while Jia Heng briefly described the matter of Jurchen's selection of envoys, and said in a low voice: "The political situation in Beijing and China will be turbulent again, the Holy Majesty..."

Princess Xianning said softly: "Don't worry, my father will never make peace with you. These years, the Jurchens have invaded the borders and plundered the people. I don't know how many times my father got angry because of this. This time, I finally felt proud. Isn't it true?" Will you let the Jurchen prince go?"

Jia Heng said: "I'm not worried about the Holy Majesty, but there will be disturbances in the court situation, and I need to go back to Beijing to sit in charge."

Emperor Chongping was still very firm on this point, but other courtiers were not necessarily. Huang Taiji was originally good at fooling around and was as cunning as a fox.

Li Chanyue cast her clear eyes on the young man's face, and said softly: If Mr. Jia returns to Beijing, what will happen to the Zhen family in the south of the Yangtze River? "

Jia Heng said: "For the raiding of the house, there are special personnel in Jinyi Mansion and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. After Zhen Yingjia has calculated the approximate figures, they can go to the public to clarify the matter. It's okay for the eldest princess to stay in the south of the Yangtze River for a while. You and Xianning will go back with me."

In fact, he was just doing ideological work for the Zhen family, and he didn't have to do the rest of the specific work of copying the house himself.

As for Jinyang, if there is a child, it is actually more suitable to have a baby in the south of the Yangtze River.

Back in Beijing, three or four months later, she will show her pregnancy. How can she go in and out of the palace with her big belly?If Empress Dowager Feng sees it, she will definitely ask who the child's father is.

There is also the emperor's mind, his own sister is... probably going to be messed up by the wind.

So it is better to stay in Jiangnan for a while.

In the spring of next year, if the war against the captives breaks out as scheduled, he seizes the opportunity and wins another brilliant victory, Jinyang will almost pass the pregnancy test.

At that time, even if the emperor knew who the child's father was, he would probably pretend not to know, and at that time he would not take the initiative to ask who the child's father was.

At that time, Jinyang was not in a hurry to return to the capital.

Li Chanyue nodded and said softly: "That's fine."

As he said that, he couldn't help but secretly glanced at the young man with a pensive look on his face, and the bright eyes under the black eyebrows were a little lost in thought.

When Mr. Jia was concentrating on thinking, he was quite...

Princess Xianning leaned her head against Jia Heng's arms, and said in a low voice: "Sir, I haven't seen Sister Yun and Sister Tanchun for many days, and Chanyue and I will stay in Ningguo Mansion for a few days?"

Li Chanyue blinked her starry eyes, and said with a light smile: "There is a foreign girl in the mansion, my cousin has always wanted to go and have a look."

Jia Heng said softly: "there are more girls in the mansion, you go to have lunch, and I will take you back to the princess mansion later in the evening."

Xianning and Chanyue insisted on going to join in the fun, and they didn't know what twists and turns would happen to Chaidai, so they decided not to take the risk.

Then I couldn't help but think of the king of Chu, who hid in the post house at this time, probably Mopan didn't know what kind of pain he was feeling.

It was not easy for him to comfort him under the watchful eyes of everyone.

Ningguo Mansion, the inner hall of the backyard.

Zhen Xi had already received the news that Jia Heng went to Zhen's house to search, and with a look of concern on his face, Baochai comforted him and said, "Brother Heng should have something to do, sister Xi'er, don't worry too much. .”

Others are also trying to persuade Zhen Xi.

Zhenxi spent many days in Ningguo Mansion, and has long been acquainted with a group of girls. They are all girls of the same age, and they almost talk about everything when they get together. Heng's special relationship.

There were tears in Zhenxi's aura-like eyes, she slightly pursed her pink lips, and said softly, "Brother Heng, hasn't he come back yet?"

"I've sent a nanny over there to inquire, and I'll let you know when there's news from the front yard." Daiyu took over the conversation and said softly.

And it was a coincidence that just as Daiyu finished speaking, a nun walked quickly into the hall and said happily: "Miss Lin, Miss Bao, the uncle is back."

And all the hairpin skirts and jackets in the hall turned to joy, got up and left accordingly, and were immediately taken aback.

But Jia Heng not only came back by himself, but also brought two girls by his side.

Baochai's eyebrows were condensed, her moist apricot eyes sparkled and fluctuated slightly, and her expression was slightly surprised.

Secretly, why are they?
Baochai had met Princess Xianning and Princess Qinghe before going south with Princess Chang's boat.

As for Daiyu, in fact, she also knew Princess Xianning and the little princess, and the two had been guests in Ningguo Mansion in the past.

Xiangyun and Tanchun looked at Princess Xianning and Li Chanyue who were beside Jia Heng. Xiangyun smiled brightly on Apple's round face, went forward and called, "Sister Xianning, Sister Chanyue, I haven't seen you for a long time. Why don't you come here to play?"

Princess Xianning also had a soft smile on her face, looked at Xiangyun kindly, and said, "Sister Yun, Sister Tanchun, there are many things in the house these days, so I haven't come here."

Among the sisters in Jia's family, because Xiangyun has a cheerful and cute personality, and Tanchun has a heroic spirit, Princess Xianning is even closer to her.

However, the relationship between Princess Xianning and Baochai is mostly polite, and they can't play together, which may be because Baochai's ideological burden is a bit heavy.

As for Daiyu, it's actually okay, but Daiyu is much closer to the gentle and quiet little princess.

Baochai looked at the young man and said softly, "Brother Heng, you're back."

Jia Heng looked at the girl with emerald eyebrows and moist almond eyes, and said softly: "I'm back, the Zhen family's business is almost done."

As she said that, she turned to look at Zhen Xi, who was dejected, and met those eyes brimming with tears, with aura like streams, and said in a warm voice, "Sister Xi'er, are you still thinking about it?"

Zhen Xi wanted to cry in her bright eyes, raised her head, fixedly looked at Jia Heng, and said softly, "Brother Heng, how is your family?"

Jia Heng handed the cloak to the mandarin duck on the side, sat down, took the fragrant tea from Qingwen, and said with relief: "Actually, it's nothing, your elder sister and second elder sister are comforting the female relatives in the mansion. The middle-aged man is now in prison."

Upon hearing this, Zhen Xi saw a look of concern on that soft and pretty face, and asked, "Brother Heng, where is Third Sister?"

It has to be said that the girl is tearful, and the pear blossoms are raining, with a kind of desolate beauty, like a weak rose flower on the side of the road after the rain.

Jia Heng pondered for a moment, then said: "Your sister Lan? She encountered a bad thing. When she comes over, you can ask her again."

Xiang Yun was curious about the baby's appearance, and asked, "What's the matter? Brother Heng?"

Tanchun took La Xiangyun's little hand, and said angrily, "Sister Yun likes to ask the bottom line."

Princess Xianning on the side took over the conversation and said in a clear voice: "It's the Fang family who had made an appointment, but seeing that the Zhen family is in trouble, they want to come over and withdraw the engagement."

Although Princess Xianning hadn't witnessed the whole process before, when she went to Zhen's house, she happened to see Fang Kuang who was being attacked by Jinyi's guard, so she found a guard to ask what happened.

"The Fang family is too hateful." Anger gradually surged on Xiangyun's rosy Apple face, and the little fat girl was obviously filled with righteous indignation.

Baochai also frowned secretly, and said to herself, how can such a change of mind be made in this agreed upon marriage.

Baoqin Xiuli frowned slightly, and there was a touch of anger on her snowy pear-rui face, and said: "This Fang family is also a scholar, why is it so treacherous?"

Earlier, her father also said that she would marry the scholars of the Hanlin Academy. Why are these scholars so virtuous?
Tanchun frowned, and said in a low voice, "Every time Zhengyi slaughters more dogs, most of them are scholars who are ungrateful."

Zhen Xi raised her beautiful eyebrows, anger was also seen in her misty eyes, and she pursed her slightly pale pink lips, her heart was complicated and inexplicable.

My sister's marriage is back?What will my sister do in the future?
Princess Xianning said in a cold voice: "There is something even worse, the Fang family still wants to change their wife into a concubine, it is really shameless!"

As soon as this remark came out, Daiyu was startled, and said softly: "Change your wife into a concubine?"

Baoqin raised her white and greasy face and said: "This Fang family is so shameless, why should they be allowed to make trouble like this?"

"The third miss of the Zhen family tore up the marriage certificate, and the engagement has already been done." Princess Xianning said in a clear voice.

"That's how it should be, how can you marry such a family?" Xiang Yun said softly.

Tanchun nodded, and said with emotion: "Sister Lan has a strong heart."

If it was her, she would not only tear up the marriage certificate, but also throw the paper in the face of Fang's family.

In the past few days, Zhen Lan and Tan Chun have been congenial in temperament, and they can be regarded as... sympathetic to each other.

Princess Xianning said softly: "And that Fang family's words are rude, sir has already taught that Fang family a lesson."

Because it involved the relationship between Zhenxi and Jia Heng, Princess Xianning did not go into details.

Jia Heng took the teacup, looked at Xianning who was getting along with the Jia sisters, took a sip of the tea, and glanced at the expressions of Daiyu and Baochai.

Chai and Dai both looked normal, listening quietly, showing sympathy from time to time.

Well, everything is fine.

At this time, Tanchun looked at Jia Heng, with worry in Yingli's eyes, and asked, "Brother Heng, is this Fang family well-known in Jiangnan official circles?"

I don't know if brother Heng's actions will cause an uproar among the scholars in the south of the Yangtze River.

Jia Heng put down the teacup, met the eyes of everyone, and said: "The Fang family is one of the top streams in the south of the Yangtze River, and they are well-known among scholars, but they are obviously not worthy of virtue. Even if this matter is spread, it probably cannot be justified. If you leave it alone, the Fang family will not take the initiative to publicize it, and even cover it up."

"Earlier, sister Wen and Uncle Li from sister Qi's family, wasn't it the Guozijian sacrificial wine?" Xiangyun's eyes moved, and he suddenly remembered something, and said in a waxy voice.

In the past few days, Li Wen and Li Qi were not in the Ningguo Mansion, because Li Shouzhong said a few words, the Cao family could only let Li Wen and Li Qi return home, and already planned to go to Shenjing to join Li Wan.

Wait for everyone to discuss this matter.

Zhen Xi looked at the boy in the python suit, and asked: "Brother Heng, Uncle, Uncle and the others are in jail, so it's okay."

Jia Heng said softly: "It's nothing."

At this time, Xiangyun took Zhen Xi's little hand and said softly: "Sister Xi'er, brother Heng is here, so don't worry."

Zhen Xi nodded, glanced at the young man with a clear face, and felt relieved for the time being.

The way Brother Heng treated her before...should, perhaps, not stand by and watch the family.

Looking at the bustling people, Dai Yu's bright starry eyes flickered under her smoldering eyebrows, and she said softly: "Brother Heng, it's already noon, the princess and princess are still here, everyone may as well first Let's have lunch."

Jia Heng looked at Daiyu, who was suddenly looking like a "big woman", nodded and said, "Okay, I happen to be a little hungry too."

Xindao, listening quietly just now, just waiting for this encounter after accumulating energy?This sense of territory...

Well, this sudden ladylike demeanor is full of charm, but it is somewhat strange to match Daiyu's weak and timid appearance.

Princess Xianning stared at the girl with black eyebrows like willow smoke, her clear eyes flashed, and her face was thoughtful.

This Miss Lin seems to have spent a lot of time going south with her husband?

(End of this chapter)