Red Mansion Royal Cat

Chapter 600 Another Death
Never believe that officials of the Celestial Empire would really only pursue the way of benevolence and righteousness. The role of a sage inside and a king outside was played to perfection by Mr. He, the old minister of rites.

He was able to use the most benevolent words on the surface to suppress the foreign nations so much that they could not even raise their heads, and finally they obediently delivered boxes of gold, silver and jewelry to the treasury of the Ministry of Revenue.

The relationship between countries is based on friendship when the country is weak, but when powerful ships and guns are at the doorstep of the other side, it is all about naked interests.

Now that Tianchao is at the top of the food chain, in Mr. He's eyes, he should sit at the dining table and use the knife in his hand to cut out the biggest piece of meat for Tianchao to eat.

Jia Cong had only sent an invitation, but Mr. He arranged a troublesome matter for him, and he walked out of the imperial city with a lawsuit on his head.

"Eh? Brother Cong, why did you go out?"

Just as Jia Cong was thinking about the negotiations with France in his mind, a strong hand patted his shoulder.

Jia Cong, who was feeling a dull pain in his shoulder, raised his eyes and saw the person coming clearly.

The dark-haired Xue Pan was grinning at him, showing his big white teeth.

"You black bastard, can you be a little gentler next time? You almost beat me to pieces."

Jia Cong rubbed his aching shoulders and asked in confusion, "Why? Not on duty today?"

Xue Pan also realized the power of his slap. He scratched his head and replied apologetically, "I was originally on duty, but my uncle suddenly sent someone to call me... Since you are here, please go with me. I am a little scared."

Lord Wang called Xue Pan over?
No wonder this black guy, who was able to tear a black bear apart with his bare hands, was so timid in front of the palace gate and so excited after seeing me.

This shows the deterrent effect that Lord Wang has on Xue Pan.

Jia Cong didn't want to go at first, but Xue Pan looked at him with pleading eyes, and forced him to get on the horse as if he was begging for help.

"You haven't told me why the prince called you?"

Xue Pan explained: "From what the servant said, it seems that Wang Ren got into trouble again and implicated his brother-in-law..."

……

After Wang Ziteng returned from the Japanese island, he basically left the power center of the dynasty. He only held the title of Minister of War, recuperating at home and taking care of the children.

In the war against Japanese pirates, Wang Ziteng was awarded the first place in merit, but he was also criticized by corrupt scholars for killing prisoners of war.

In addition, he also intended to play a trick on the emperor and exchange his military achievements for favors for the next generation of the Wang family. Not only did he resign from all his actual positions, but he also asked for his own disposal, directly resigned due to illness, and imprisoned himself at home.

Jia Cong and Xue Pan walked into the gate of Ningyuan Marquis' Mansion. As soon as they entered the inner courtyard, they saw a person hanging on a tree branch.

"Woo~"

Wang Ren, with his mouth blocked and his body covered with whip marks, bulged his eyes and kept twisting his body towards Jia Cong and the others, making whimpering cries for help.

"Hey, isn't this our Uncle Wang? Why are you playing the bondage game?"

"Woo~"

Jia Cong walked forward and saw a horsewhip next to him, so he picked it up and snapped it twice.

"If you want to hit me, go ahead. Just think of it as teaching this useless guy a lesson for me."

Wang Ziteng's voice came from the study. Jia Cong turned around and saw Marquis Wang, holding a baby, standing in front of the study door, looking coldly at his nephew who was twisting and struggling on the tree.

Jia Cong loved this request!
Without hesitation, he raised his hand and whipped Wang Ren so hard that his eyes almost popped out and he let out a dull cry.

This is not just a personal vendetta. From the information obtained from Xue Pan, it is known that Wang Ren did something that made Jia Cong furious.

"You really have not changed your bad habits. You dare to do such a heartless thing as kidnapping and selling people!"

Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!
Jia Cong whipped him hard with the whip without holding back at all.

Wang Ren deserves to be beaten to death for what he did.

After more than ten whips, Wang Ren was beaten unconscious. Jia Cong then threw away the whip in his hand and followed Xue Pan into Wang's study.

Not only were Wang Ziteng and the little girl in the study, but also Jia Cong's second sister-in-law Wang Xifeng was present.

Wang Xifeng had obviously just cried. Even though Wang Ren was a worthless person, he was still her brother.

Now he has committed the serious crime of kidnapping and selling people. According to the law, he should be hanged.

Her second uncle, the head of the Wang family, has already reported to the Ministry of Justice. Once the Wang family has dealt with their private affairs, they will be sent to the Ministry of Justice's prison and will never show favoritism or protect their own people.

In other words, as long as the officials completed the procedures, Wang Ren's death was already certain.

"This time, I won't protect him anymore. The future of the Wang family does not depend on him. I want to use the remaining years to prepare everything for Ji Ge'er!"

This was Wang Ziteng's attitude, and he also told Wang Xifeng and Xue Pan about it. As for Jia Cong who came uninvited, Lord Wang also gave a special explanation: "Wang Ren, the beast, opened a brothel in the south of the city, and borrowed my name card to let the people of the Western Regions Protectorate turn a blind eye, and deceived many women from there..."

hiss!
All I can say is that the methods of making money are all written in the criminal law.

Compared with women in the Central Plains, women in the Western Regions have rougher skin, but they are more famous than women in the Central Plains and more attractive to people who are looking for novelty.

Wang Ren actually figured out this business. He first borrowed Wang Ziteng's reputation as the killing god of the Western Regions to suppress the officials of the Protectorate of the Western Regions, making them dare not easily investigate the Wang family's caravan.

These Hu women, who were lured from the Western Regions to the capital by Wang Ren in the name of recruiting female workers, were thrown into brothels as soon as they arrived in the capital. They used their unique looks and traditional singing and dancing skills to please the "distinguished guests" in the capital.

What amazed Jia Cong the most was that Wang Ren was indeed a good businessman and he even knew how to make choices.

Although Hu Ji was forced, Wang Ren never withheld the silver that Hu Ji deserved. He only took 30% of it.

Lord Wang originally thought that his nephew went to the brothel every day just because of his nature, and since he didn't cause any trouble, he turned a blind eye.

It was not until he accidentally heard that the man behind the brothel was his niece's son-in-law He Chong that he began to have doubts.

How could He Jiazi open a brothel?

If He Chong dared to do this, He Yaomin would definitely personally behead his grandson to thank the world.

"This beast was afraid that I would know that he was running a brothel, so he took advantage of Ji Ge'er's one-year-old celebration to get Bao Yatou's son-in-law drunk and secretly used the private seal that He Chong carried with him."

It’s no wonder that Wang Ren’s idea was absurd but extremely useful.

Who is He Chong? He is the eldest grandson of He Yaomin, the minister of the imperial court. This identity is much more useful than his nephew, the outdated Ningyuan Marquis.

With the document stamped with He Chong's private seal, rumors began to spread, whether true or false, saying that the person behind the brothel was from the He family. As long as he neither admitted nor refuted it, few people would have the courage to offend a prime minister.

Even the He family only asked a few questions about this mysterious thing, clarified a few statements, denied it twice, and then did not take it seriously anymore.

The people below did not dare to go to the He family to verify, so Wang Ren really made money safely for nearly two years.

It was not until Wang Ziteng saw his nephew going to brothels every now and then and his pockets becoming increasingly rich that he became curious and sent someone to investigate carefully.

This investigation almost led to the death of Lord Wang, and the eldest grandson of the prime minister of the imperial court was made to take the blame. Did they think the Wang family would live too long?

"Why didn't Mr. He tell me?"

"That's because I went to the He family last night to apologize and promised that I would never show favoritism this time!"

The more Wang Ziteng spoke, the more gloomy his face became. Just last night, he had apologized to the He family and taken away half of the Wang family's property.

This does not include the inheritance that will be divided among the clansmen. He originally planned to leave it to his nephews and grandchildren. After calculation, it is less than 30% of the previous amount.

"Pan'er, I asked you to come here because I want you to do my uncle a favor..."

Wang Ziteng stuffed the baby into Jia Cong's arms, then went to the bookshelf and took a small box from it.

He placed the small box in front of Xue Pan, and when he opened it, there was a thick stack of silver bills inside.

"This is a hundred thousand taels of silver. It is the last thing I can leave for the Wang family. Consider this as your request today. These silver notes will be the capital for the Wang family to invest in the Xue family's business. Leave Ji Ge'er a chance to make a living in your business."

Xue Pan was almost frightened to death by his uncle bowing to him. He quickly jumped to the side and reached out to help him up.

"Uncle, please don't scare me..."

Not to mention Xue Pan, even Jia Cong was shocked by Wang Ziteng's behavior.

It is a great sin for an uncle to worship his nephew.

He turned his gaze to Wang Xifeng who was wiping her tears, and happened to see the small box beside Wang Xifeng.

As if she felt someone was looking at her, Wang Xifeng also turned her head to look over. The uncle and sister-in-law looked at each other and nodded slightly.

It seems that this time Wang Ziteng has completely placed the future of the Wang family on the shoulders of the Jia and Xue families, which also proves that Wang Ren has no future at all.

His death is certain today.

Jia Cong was a "bad guest", but he also became a witness to this incident.

In front of Jia Cong, Wang Ziteng reconnected the Wang family and the Xue family, and with an act of entrusting an orphan to his care, he tied the Jia, Wang, and Xue families together again.

Even if the Wang family becomes a vassal of the Jia and Xue families in the future, it still gives the Wang family hope for a stable and prosperous future.

By the time Xue Baochai and her husband He Chong arrived, Wang Ziteng had already thrown Wang Ren out of the gate and had him escorted to the Ministry of Justice.

Jia Cong escorted Wang Xifeng's carriage slowly forward, looking back at the gate of Ningyuan Marquis' Mansion from time to time.

Today's melon is a bit big!

"Don't look at it. It's not easy for Second Uncle to hold on until now. When I rushed to the Marquis' Mansion, there was still blood at the corner of Second Uncle's mouth."

Ok?
"Sister Feng, are you saying that Lord Wang was so angry that he vomited blood?"

Wang Xifeng lifted a corner of the carriage curtain with a complicated expression.

"Although I'm not sure, you've seen how my second uncle looked today. This is no different from entrusting an orphan to someone else."

She also raised the small wooden box in her arms and explained to Jia Cong: "One hundred thousand taels of silver notes allow me to give Ji Ge'er a share of the profits from our family's business. Together with the share from the Xue family, it should be most of the property that my second uncle left to Ji Ge'er."

The two children he entrusted to others were his niece and his nephew, and each of them was given 100,000 taels of silver.

The Wang family of Jinling, which is currently dividing its family, probably won't have anything left for the little kid except for this mansion bestowed by the court.

Jia Cong also realized Wang Ziteng's idea. Although he said that he would use his last few years to pave the way for his nephew and grandson, he even gave his last silver to the Jia and Xue families. He must be worried that he would not be able to survive.

……

The development of events eventually confirmed Wang Xifeng's guess. Wang Ziteng, who had been scheming all his life, eventually died at the hands of his own nephew.

He didn't even survive Wang Ren who was about to be sentenced to death by hanging. Jia Cong was still thinking about asking the imperial physician to check Wang Ziteng's pulse the next day, but he didn't expect that his second brother Jia Lian knocked on the door before dawn.

Someone came to the Ningyuan Marquis' Mansion to report the death. The head of the Wang family, Wang Ziteng, the Ningyuan County Marquis of the Guochao Dynasty, began to vomit blood just after the hour of Yin. After forcing himself to explain the matter to his niece-in-law and the housekeeper, he fainted.

From then on, the head of the Wang family, who had been strong and scheming all his life, never woke up again and died of illness at the end of the Yin hour.

Because the only adult male heir of the Wang family was still imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice, and the future heir to the Marquisate was only a two-year-old baby, according to Wang Ziteng's final arrangement, the housekeeper personally came to invite his nephew-in-law Jia Lian and nephew Xue Pan to go to the Wang family to take charge of the situation.

Even Jia Cong, the witness, became a part of Wang Ziteng's final plan. He was invited to the Marquis' Mansion to take charge and prevent the Wang family's side branches from taking the opportunity to cause trouble.

"My Lord, this is the letter my master left for you..."

The housekeeper respectfully handed a thick letter to Jia Cong. When he opened it, he found not only a letter but also a memorial.

"Lord Wang has really been scheming for his entire life, and he even figured this out."

That memorial was the will that Wang Ziteng had prepared long ago, and he trusted no one but Jia Cong.

The letter told Jia Cong three things. First, he asked Jia Cong to present his will to the palace after his death. Second, he asked Jia Cong to keep an eye on the Wang family for him, so that no one would bully Ji Ge'er, as they were comrades in arms. Third, there was a list of names left for Jia Cong as a thank-you gift.

"Brother, take this. You will definitely need it in the future."

That list contained the connections and influence that Wang Ziteng had accumulated in the military over the years, including dozens of military generals, both large and small, in Beijing and in the local areas.

To be honest, if this list fell into the hands of someone else, they could push someone to the position of general even if they forced it.

Jia Cong looked down on him because his future path had basically been determined. He would be the head of the six ministries, the cabinet, and all officials, and would also hold the golden mace and supervise the world.

He handed the list to Master Lian, went to the main hall of the Marquis' Mansion to warn the Wang family members, then stuffed Wang Ziteng's will into his arms and rode his horse to the imperial city.

The death of a military commander with outstanding military achievements is definitely a matter that cannot be underestimated.

The palace had also received the news of Wang Ziteng's death. In the main hall of the East Palace, several bigwigs from the Governor's Office and the Cabinet were already sitting in the hall, discussing Wang Ziteng's funeral with the Crown Prince Regent.

"Your Highness, this is the last will of Ningyuan Marquis..."

After entering the palace, Jia Cong hurriedly presented Wang Ziteng's posthumous letter. Before he could even catch his breath, he heard old man He Yaomin speak first.

"According to the rules, the Ministry of Rites must not only quickly send someone to preside over the funeral, but we must also quickly discuss a suitable posthumous title."

After all, he was a veteran who had presided over the affairs of the Ministry of Rites. Although Wang Ziteng's death was sudden, Mr. He still pointed out the most important thing at the moment.

Everyone knows what Wang Ziteng has done. During the most chaotic years of the fight for succession, Wang Ziteng caused a lot of trouble for the current emperor.

But what posthumous title to give Wang Ziteng is a delicate matter...

Monthly ticket recommendation ticket

　Thanks to Brother Pang, who is still so fat, for the reward!
　　I’ll stop here tonight and continue tomorrow. Good night!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)