Red Mansion Royal Cat

Chapter 545: A Troublesome Headache
The imperial edict of enthronement was announced by the Crown Prince himself and his entourage in the evening, and was soon spread to various parts of the capital by the spies who had been keeping an eye on the Jia family.

Madam Rong of Ningguo Mansion has been recorded in the Royal Jade Butterfly, which clearly tells the world that she is now the apple of the eye of the retired emperor. None of those who spread rumors before can sit back and relax now.

It was almost curfew time, but the capital city was unusually lively.

In a place that never sleeps like Nanchifang City, when night falls, there are already several small groups of all sizes secretly gathered together.

They are no longer discussing any conspiracies, but are just trying to keep each other warm.

After all, compared to the current emperor who is relatively reasonable, the old saint in the Dragon Head Palace is really willing to kill people in droves.

Most of these people were from the officialdom or low-ranking officials in the court. They had some fame and power, but were far from being able to understand the royal secrets.

So when the imperial edict from the palace was delivered to the Jia family ancestral hall, these people's legs were trembling.

It’s over, the entire nine clans are in danger!

"Brother Cong..."

After the dinner at Ningguo Mansion, Jia Cong and Daiyu were walking back home.

Baoyu ran over breathlessly and called out to Jia Cong.

Jia Cong looked back curiously, and saw Baoyu stealing a glance at Daiyu, hesitating to speak.

It was the first time that Daiyu saw Baoyu in this state. Although she was very curious, she still nodded to Jia Cong and walked towards the West Mansion with her maid.

After Daiyu left, Baoyu actually breathed a sigh of relief, pulled Jia Cong aside, and when no one was around, he said, "Brother Cong, there is something I want to ask you for help..."

……

On summer nights, even though there was a curfew in the capital, one could still feel people’s restless hearts.

Jia Cong and Baoyu rode forward on horseback. In the courtyard with the gate tightly closed, they could hear laughter and quarrels. In the past, the two of them might have stuck to the wall to gossip.

But tonight, they had no interest in the topic.

"Brother Cong, we're here!"

Baoyu led Jia Cong southward to Yibeifang in the south city.

A small courtyard with two entrances is particularly inconspicuous under the shade of lush trees.

Jia Cong had some bad thoughts in his mind. He held Baoyu's shoulders and said very seriously: "Second Brother Bao, you are not keeping a concubine, are you? Listen to my advice. We already have enough flowers and plants at home. We don't want those women outside who we don't know the background of..."

what?
"what are you talking about?"

Baoyu was stunned at first, then his face turned red, not because of embarrassment, but because of anger.

He stamped his feet and retorted angrily: "Am I that kind of person? How could I do such a thing?"

Jia Cong really wanted to reply with a yes, but then he changed his mind and realized that although Baoyu was lustful, he would never do such an outrageous thing.

Just then, the gate of the courtyard creaked open and a head poking out from the crack startled Jia Cong.

"Sister Xianglan? Why are you in the capital?"

……

Jia Cong looked at Shi Xianglan and Shi Xianggui, the brother and sister sitting opposite him, and felt like his head was about to explode.

Shi Xianglan is fine, but Shi Xianggui's appearance in the capital at this time is like a bomb that can take the lives of all nine members of the Shi family at any time.

The emperor's treatment of Shi Jia was lenient because of the consideration for Jia family and the old lady.

The male members of the Shi family were exiled, while the female members were settled by the Jia family back to their hometown in Jinling. This was already a great favor from heaven, otherwise all three clans would have been killed and executed at Caishikou.

But how dare Shi Xianggui return to Beijing without permission? Isn't this disobeying the emperor's order?
"Second Brother Bao, when did you know that the siblings were returning to Beijing? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Jia Cong doesn't even have to worry about whether anyone knows that the two have returned to Beijing. Even in the palace, no secrets can be kept. There are so many eyes and ears in the capital who are watching the Jia family. What secrets can Baoyu keep?
There is no doubt that the masters of the Ning and Rong mansions were the last to know about this matter.

Before Baoyu responded, Xianglan spoke first.

"Cong'er, Baoyu is not to blame for this. Xianggui and I just returned to Beijing a few days ago. I wanted to go to the mansion to ask my great aunt for help, but... you know Gui'er's situation. I am afraid that taking him there will cause trouble for my great aunt and you."

Shi Xianglan is quite cautious, but not much.

Jia Cong sighed and said with a wry smile: "Gui'er has returned to the capital. Whether he goes to the mansion to see the old lady or not, trouble is inevitable."

After all, the old lady's surname was Shi. Based on the relationship between the Jia and Shi families, Shi Xianggui, a child less than ten years old, was able to return to Beijing secretly from Lingnan. Anyone could blame the Jia family for this.

Shi Xianggui must have suffered a lot. The noble young man from the marquisate is now dark and thin, and his new clothes are obviously too big, like a big cloth bag on a bamboo pole...

"My father did everything he could to get Gui Ge'er on a ship and had him sent to Nanjing. There was originally a secret letter hidden in Gui Ge'er's clothes..."

When Xianglan saw Jia Cong, she felt like she had seen a savior. She took out a worn-out piece of clothing and tore it open, and sure enough, there were sealed letters inside.

When Jia Cong took the letter and read it, he felt annoyed again.

"The criminal Shi Nai respectfully presents this letter to Your Majesty!"

This was a secret report from Shi Nai to the emperor. Jia Cong suppressed his irritability and curiosity and stopped the urge to open the letter.

He looked at Xianglan and her brother and asked, "What happened to my uncle? Why did he suddenly write this secret letter to His Majesty? Do you know the contents of the letter?"

When asked this question, Xianglan's eyes immediately turned red, and Xianggui even burst into tears.

"My father was murdered! My second brother is also dead. The reason why Gui Ge'er is still alive is that my father promoted him to a centurion. He secretly found a sea merchant and stuffed Gui Ge'er into the ship..."

Xianglan's explanation was fragmentary and Jia Cong had no idea what had happened.

Fortunately, Xianglan had a letter from Shi Nai in her hand. Jia Cong took it and read it, then he breathed a sigh of relief.

But he felt his head hurt even more!
What is going on? None of these relatives of the Jia family can make people worry-free.

"My uncle should still be alive..."

What a joke this brother and sister are. Only the younger one is ignorant and can understand. Xianglan is already sixteen years old, how come she doesn't even have any analytical ability.

Shi Nai was exiled to Lingnan and became a criminal, but as long as the Ning Rong Jia family was there, even if the person was dead, Lingnan would send a letter to the capital by express horse, and also submit an official document to the court to explain the whole cause and effect in detail.

Now, there is no news from Lingnan, either officially or privately, which proves that Shi Nai is fine for the time being.

However, his condition should not be very good, and it can even be said that he is on the verge of death at all times.

"Sister Xianglan, our family has not received any news of death from Lingnan, and the court has not received any news either, which proves that my uncle and the others are still alive..."

Jia Cong's words were like a shot of cardiotonic. Xianglan and her brother, who were about to collapse from crying, suddenly raised their heads and stared at Jia Cong with their red and swollen eyes, hoping to seek comfort and peace of mind from him.

Baoyu had already understood the meaning of Jia Cong's words. He slapped his forehead and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Look at my brain, how could I have forgotten all this? I was so scared that I dared not tell anyone, for fear that my ancestors would not be able to bear it if they knew!"

This is why Baoyu was so reluctant and insisted on dragging Jia Cong here secretly. He did not trust Master Zheng and only felt that Jia Cong was capable of handling this matter.

The old lady is old. If she knew that her second nephew was killed by her third nephew, she would probably be so angry that she would die.

Jia Cong rolled his eyes at Baoyu. It was fine to be alive, but if the old lady were to be told about this, it would probably be enough to choke her to death.

Who could have thought that Shi Ding, the third son of the Shi family who was exiled to Lingnan, was still unwilling to give in and insisted on colluding with Shui Rong and the ambitious people in the south, trying to borrow the power of the southwestern chieftains to start a rebellion.

To say that they are launching a rebellion is somewhat insulting to the word rebellion, but anyone with a little common sense should be able to see that the last thing the court is afraid of right now is using the sword.

The soldiers in the Beijing camp have been almost sick from holding back for the past two years.

They all wanted to make merit and were clamoring for it every day. Even the Southwest Tusi had so few troops that they were not enough for this group of people.

However, Shi Nai's situation was indeed not optimistic. Shui Rong had actually left a secret agent in Lingnan early on. The Guanghaiwei commander Zhou Yunchao was actually the Shui family's accomplice.

Compared with Shi Ding's madness, Shi Nai is much wiser.

He openly agreed to Zhou Yunchao's request, and he and Shi Ding wrote letters to the chieftains of Guangxi, Guizhou and Yunnan.

However, he secretly sought help from a captain of Guanghaiwei and stuffed his youngest son Shi Xianggui, who was carrying a secret letter, into a ship heading north...

According to what Shi Nai said in the letter to his wife, for the sake of his wife, children and the lives of the Shi family, he would not join the rebels and would completely cut off ties with the third wife.

Therefore, his and his son’s lives could not be saved.

Fortunately, a centurion was promoted a few years ago, giving the youngest son a chance to escape, so the incense should not be cut off...

"I don't know what to say. Is Shi Ding brainless? Shui Rong has gone to Japan to live a miserable life, why is he going crazy?"

At this moment, Jia Cong really wanted to pry open Shi Ding's head to take a good look at what the hell was inside that made him think of rebelling against others.

With the old lady in the Shi family, even if they are exiled to Leizhou, they don't have to suffer any hardship and can live a peaceful life. After more than ten years, when the prince ascends the throne and grants amnesty to the country, can't they return to their hometown in Jinling or return to Beijing?

Rebellion against Shui Rong? Shui Rong is now the Supreme King of Wa!
Shi Nai did not explain much in the letter to his wife and daughter, and Jia Cong did not have the courage to open the secret letter to the emperor.

He paced back and forth in the room anxiously for a long time before he slammed the table in the expectant eyes of Xianglan and her brother.

"I can't make the decision on this matter. You and Baoyu should go back home first..."

Baoyu hesitated and said, "But what about the old lady? If she knew about this, she would be so angry that she would die."

Jia Cong was also troubled by this matter. This matter certainly could not be kept secret, but the old lady was old. If she knew that the third son of the Shi family was going to rebel against Shui Rong, she would be scared to death.

According to the rules, rebellion would result in the extermination of all nine clans, and the Jia family was one of the nine clans.

"Let Sister Xianglan and Brother Gui live in my mansion first. How can they live in South City? I guess many people will know about them as soon as they arrive in the capital."

Jia Cong put away the two letters and waved to the door.

"Uncle Eleven, take Brother Bao and his siblings back to the Marquis' Mansion and settle them down. Don't disturb the old lady. Then go find Sister Lin and tell her that I'm going to the palace..."

……

After the palace gates were locked, no one could open them unless something earth-shattering happened. Jia Cong was put into a basket and carried up by the imperial guards on the tower.

The emperor was waiting for Jia Cong in the Qinzheng Hall. After reading Shi Nai's secret memorial, his face looked very bad.

"Shi Ding's title was originally given to him by my father despite the criticism from the court. Even though he made mistakes and brought huge losses to the court, I still showed mercy to him for the sake of the late Mr. Shi and your old lady and spared his life. This is how he repaid me..."

Bang!
The emperor finally couldn't hold back. If the paperweight hadn't been made of wood, it would have broken into eight pieces.

Jia Cong asked tentatively: "Your Majesty, did Shi Nai's letter say what Shui Rong and Shi Ding were going to do?"

"What else can we do? Rebel!"

Uh……

The emperor's anger was indeed quite frightening, but Jia Cong had to speak again: "To be honest, under the wise and powerful leadership of your majesty, the country is no longer afraid of any threats. Not to mention that Shui Rong is still a wild monkey in Japan, even if he returns to Daxia, he can't stir up any waves. They want to unite with the chieftains to rebel, which is a huge joke in my opinion!"

"Ah……"

The emperor glanced at Jia Cong and said, "Do you think I don't know this is a joke? But this will put my policy of converting the natives into commoners into trouble!"

The emperor was very pleased with the words "wise, wise and brave". Although he was angry, he still accepted Jia Cong's opinion.

With the current strength of the imperial court, let alone Shui Rong, even if the four foreign kings were all alive and rebelled at the same time, it would not cause too much turmoil in the imperial court.

Things are different now. Today, Daxia is no longer afraid of any threats!
However, this matter involved the chieftains in the southwest. The imperial court was deeply implementing the policy of converting chieftains into officials. At this time, Shui Rong asked Shi Ding to use his old connections in the Shi family to win him over, which would indeed cause great trouble to the imperial court's implementation of the policy.

Unless the imperial court can be ruthless and use force.

"The reform of the chieftain system has not been completed halfway, and the Dragon Guards have made a secret report earlier. Those chieftains do not trust the court. The late Shi Gong and the old Duke Li Guo had managed the southwest for many years. If Shi Ding uses this to persuade those chieftains to rise up against the court, I will have no choice but to use military force."

Wars cost lives, wars cost money, and wars will slow down the court's pace of reforming the local people...

The emperor didn't want to see either one.

But the situation in the southwest is very complicated, which is really troublesome.

"Why not let my brother-in-law, Liu Xianglian, the first-class son of the Duke of Liguo's mansion, go there. Shi Ding is just a criminal, but my brother-in-law is a first-class son personally appointed by His Majesty. I think those chieftains also understand the gap in power between them and the court. What they want is nothing more than money and power. We just give them..."

Why did those chieftains resist the imperial court's policy of converting chieftains into officials? To put it bluntly, they were worried that they would lose the power that had been passed down for hundreds or thousands of years.

Another reason is that throughout the ages, the Central Plains dynasties have been wary of, suppressing and discriminating against minority areas in the southwest.

The difference between Chinese and barbarians is very simple in Jia Cong's view. Minorities are also Chinese people. Aren't Huangdi and Chiyou both ancestors of the Chinese?
In this way, as long as the chieftains were willing to respect the emperor as the master of the world, it would be fine for the court to give them power. The chieftains would be transformed into county magistrates, and the court would send assistant officials to assist them in implementing the court's orders one by one, allowing the ethnic minorities in the southwest to integrate into the big family of the country.

In less than ten years, there will be no more barriers in the world. Regardless of the local chieftains or the ethnic minorities, they will all be the people of Daxia and the subjects of the Emperor!
Monthly ticket recommendation ticket

　It turned out to be Yang, with a high fever and pain in the bones.

　　I was in the hospital with an IV drip and slept for two days. I feel much better today and I am starting to update again...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)