Red Mansion Royal Cat

Chapter 281 Cause and Effect
As soon as Jia Cong entered the gate of Yanshenggong's mansion, he saw a man in a ritual robe that was only worn when offering sacrifices, with a long beard and white hair, looking dignifiedly at himself and his party outside the Yimen.

Just as he was about to take a step forward, he saw a man in a fine attire step forward in the crowd and yelled: "Vulgar warrior, if you don't quit, this Confucian Temple's Yimen is also for you and other warriors to leave?"

"Mencius Ten Thousand Chapters" contains, "Husband's righteousness is the way; etiquette is the door. Only the gentleman can go through the way, and the way in and out is the door."

There are Limen and Yilu in front of the Confucian Temple, which is the respect for Confucius and the recognition of the orthodox status of Confucianism.

According to the rules since the former Song Dynasty, only gentlemen who conform to Confucian moral standards can walk on this road and enter and exit through this door.Those who do not meet the conditions cannot take this path.

When the founding of the country, the Emperor Taizu held his nose and recognized this rule, so Jia Cong naturally wouldn't be foolish and stubborn.

He waved his hand to stop the soldiers beside him clenched on the hilt of the saber, untied the Yanling Saber and Yujian from his waist, and handed them to Jia Shishi.

Afterwards, he straightened his clothes, smiled slightly, entered from the Yimen Gate, and headed for the Confucius Temple.

When he came to the pile of firewood, Jia Cong saluted with Confucian courtesy: "Jia Cong, a Confucian student, has met all the elders."

"Vulgar warriors" are not allowed to enter Yimen, so he, an orthodox Confucian student, can enter.

That's right, Jia's child is the only disciple of Liuyuan Wenkui Xu Jin and Xu Qingteng. Although he has no fame, he can really call himself a Confucian student.

They really have no reason to stop Confucian students from coming to the Confucian Temple.

Moreover, Jia Cong's etiquette and words are impeccable. Originally, seeing that everyone who passed through the gate of Yi was choked and had nothing to say, he could only face him coldly.

Everyone turned their attention to the purple-robed old man who was the leader. Jia Cong probably guessed the identity of this person from his unique purple sacrificial attire.

Kong Xiang'an, the person with the highest seniority and the best knowledge in the Kong family, has a very high prestige among the scholars.

Apart from being a little pedantic, this man has noble morals and has spent most of his life advocating self-denial and reverence for propriety.

Don’t receive rice from the Confucian family, don’t live in the Confucian family’s house, don’t accept the Confucian family’s money, passed the scholar’s ​​examination at the age of 15, passed the examination at the age of 19, won the imperial examination at the age of [-], and then resigned as an official and returned to his hometown to continue studying the saint classics.

If it weren't for his status as a concubine, Kong Renxuan's father would never have had the chance to inherit the title of Duke Yansheng.

Emperor Taishang once told Jia Cong that Emperor Taizong originally wanted to cultivate Kong Xiang'an well in order to divide the Kong family.I don't want Kong Xiang'an to say in the Fengtian Hall that he did not take the imperial examination all the way to become an official, but for the money and food from the court, so that he can live comfortably and study with peace of mind.

As for whether the Kong family was extravagant or not, he, Kong Xiang'an, was not rewarded for his meritorious deeds, so he felt uneasy.

The upright Kong Xiang'an made Emperor Taizong dumbfounded. He awarded him the third-rank loose title as the sacrificial officer of the most sincere ancestor, and ordered him to be in charge of worshiping at the Confucian Temple in Qufu, and gave him back the gold.

After Kong Xiangan returned to his hometown, he went deep into the book and read the classics of the sages hard. He wrote "On Dreams and Sages" at the age of 30, "Four Books Today" at the age of 42, and "Zhaowu Zhiyao" at the age of 56...

He has written books for 30 years, covering scripture annotation, classics, teaching, governing the country and many other aspects. The unique small courtyard in Qufu City has become one of the most yearned-for holy places for Confucian students after the Confucius Temple and Confucius Forest.

Kong Xiang'an once made many Kong family members hate him to death because of re-annotating the Four Books, but no one dared to take action against him.

Because there are often two volumes of books on the Taishanghuang's desk, Kong Xiangan's "Four Books Today" and "Zhaowu Zhiyao".

"Mr. Whitey, the students are being polite."

Jia Cong respectfully bowed to the old man, the solemn look on Kong Xiang'an's face eased a bit, he smiled back and said: "Sincerely, the sacrificial officer, I have seen the imperial envoy."

"Mr. Huai Li, why do you salute such villains? The eunuchs have already said it, and he was the one who instigated him..."

The people next to him were very excited, and they were about to continue talking, but Kong Xiangan raised his hand to stop him: "The matter of punishment and prison will be decided by Qiu Guan. I have already said that setting up a court privately violates the rules and regulations. Not to mention what Er and others have gained through torture and torture, it is difficult to distinguish between true and false."

woo woo woo woo...

Jia Cong looked for the sound, and on the tall firewood pile, the gagged Xia Jiang looked angrily at the Confucian scholars in front of the Confucian Temple, and the murderous intent in his eyes could be seen by fools.

Kong Xiang'an's words naturally won't be approved by this group of people. The eunuchs hold grudges the most, but they beat him to pieces and put him on the firewood pile.

Handing over the court's hawks and dogs to the court for trial, isn't this letting the tiger go back to the mountain?
Almost everyone spoke convincingly, saying that they had collected a complete set of witnesses and physical evidence during the interrogation, but Kong Xiangan never said a word, and instead chatted a few gossips with Jia Cong.

Jia Cong seemed thoughtful, glanced at Xia Jiang who was humming on the firewood, and finally smiled helplessly.

"Mr. Huai Li, Xia Jiang is a servant in the palace. His Majesty ordered him to come to Shandong to put an end to the rebellion and investigate the burning of Yansheng Gong's mansion. But I don't know why he offended everyone and was burned to death in front of the Confucius Temple?"

Before Kong Xiang'an could respond, someone next to him couldn't sit still. A middle-aged man jumped out, pointed at Jia Cong and scolded, "You still dare to ask? If it wasn't for your instigation, he, an eunuch, dared to destroy Kong Lin. Disturb the saint's mausoleum?"

"Renshu, step back!"

"Uncle..."

"I'll let you back off!"

Kong Xiangan sternly shouted him away, and the rest of the people did not dare to face Mr. Huai Li, who was obviously annoyed, and encouraged each other one by one, trying to push others to come forward.

"Well, Deputy Envoy Jia forgives me. It is true that Konglin was destroyed, and the people's grief and indignation are hard to understand. The eunuch Xia ordered people to dig the ground, destroy the forest, and disturb the holy tomb. It was seen by all eyes. His crime is inevitable. I hope that Deputy Envoy Jia can be truthful. Report to the court."

This idiot...

Jia Cong really wanted to say that it would be fine to just burn this guy to death, but for the sake of the royal family's face, he had to stand up and save this dog's life first.

Fortunately, the Kong family also has Kong Xiang'an who is very respectful of etiquette, otherwise it would be really difficult.

Jia Cong bowed to him to thank him, and promised to escort Xia Jiang to Beijing, and invite the emperor's three divisions to interrogate him.

"No, eunuchs are powerful, what if your officials protect each other?"

Jia Cong looked at the speaker, and asked calmly, "What's the name of this gentleman?"

"Confucius Kong Renwen."

"Well, Kong Renwen, right? Then tell me, what do you want to do?"

Returning to Confucianism... Heh!

Although Kong Renwen saw Kong Xiangan's dissatisfaction, he ignored it. He exchanged glances with the people around him, and finally pointed at Xia Jiang and said, "The eunuch deserves to die. The evidence of his crime is conclusive. He must die to apologize."

"Yes, you must apologize with death!"

All of a sudden, the crowd became excited, and Xia Jiang, who was on the firewood pile, put away his resentful eyes in fright, and looked at Jia Cong pleadingly.

woo woo woo woo……

Jia Cong ignored Xia Jiang's whining, and after a moment of silence, he said to the crowd: "Since you are worried about letting him go back to Beijing to stand trial, why don't we try this case in Qufu?"

Ok?
"Then who will preside over the trial? You can't do it yourself, can you?"

Jia Cong shook his head and chuckled: "Of course it won't be my official, but it won't be you, Kong Renwen either. My official sent someone to invite Mr. Chen Baoliang, the procurator of Shandong, and Mr. Song Zhaolin, the censor of Shandong. In addition, this officer and Mr. Huai Li are jurors, and Shandong sages and elders Confucianism are invited to watch the trial. I don’t know if this may satisfy everyone?"

"How can this be?"

Kong Renwen was sent to the army by Jia Cong, everyone whispered here, some people questioned a few words in a low voice, but no one echoed.

Jia Cong sneered in his heart, being open, fair and fair, the young master has prepared these three aspects for you neatly, what else can you say to question me?

"The old man thinks this is a very appropriate move. With the inspector and censor as the presiding judges, he can take care of both reason and law. Deputy Minister Jia, this old man agrees to you on behalf of Kong."

"Uncle..."

Kong Renwen still wanted to dissuade him, but Kong Xiangan gave him a cold look: "Yan Shenggong is not here, and brother Xianglian has not returned from the capital. As the sacrificial officer of the most sincere ancestor, I can't be this family? Retire !"

Several members of the direct branch of the Kong family wanted to stand out, but they were quietly held back by the elders beside them.

Because Jia Cong had already taken off the Panlong Golden Token from his waist, and looked at them coldly.

Seeing that no one objected any more, the coldness on Jia Cong's face gradually dissipated, and he put on a smile after receiving the gold order: "Since everyone thinks my suggestion is good, then let's do it this way. In this way, Xia Jiang is temporarily detained in Qufu County Prison, I will order the imperial guards to take care of it, and everything will be discussed after the two adults Chen and Song and all the sages come."

……

The Kong family had a "traitor" Kong Xiang'an, which made Jia Cong a lot easier.

However, Xia Jiang's reckless move forced Jia Cong to change his original plan for the Kong family.

He rejected Kong Xiang'an's invitation, and booked the largest inn in the county, and lived here temporarily.

After Jia Cong wrote several official documents and letters, Jia Shixi, who went to the prison to question Xia Jiang, returned to the inn.

"Xiao Sanye, Xia Jiang doesn't want to say. He said he won't see Xiao Sanye, so he won't say a word."

"Then let him not say anything, wait to die!"

Let him go to the prison at this time, I don't know what kind of rumors are spreading. Is Xia Jiang really stupid or fake? I can't even see this point clearly?
Jia Cong packed the letters and official documents on the table, and called for his own soldiers to send them out quickly, without mentioning Xia Jiang's matter at all.

On the contrary, Jia Shixi reminded: "The subordinates feel that Xia Jiang is insidious and cunning, and he will not have a backup. At the meeting before noon, the brothers discovered that there were many people hiding in the dark around the left and right outside Yanshenggong's mansion. They should be insiders. The people of the government department."

"It's only natural, the head of the dignified inner mansion, how could he be easily burned to death by the Kong family..."

"Then why did the third master come forward to protect him?"

Jia Cong untied the imperial dagger from his waist, and handed it to Jia Shishi: "Because he was scared, and he was afraid that he would die without a burial if he confronted the Kong family directly. It seems that our Xia Shouzuo found out. The unbelievable thing will scare him so much that he dare not let his own people save him directly."

"Uncle Eleven, take Yu Jian over there. Tell him, if you don't want to die, just hand over everything he found. I don't have the patience to play silly games with him."

Before nightfall, Jia Shiyi returned to the inn exhausted.

When Jia Cong took a bundle from him, he found that the bundle was stained with blood.

"What's going on? Uncle Eleven, are you injured?"

Jia Shiyi shook his head: "It's not me, it's someone else's. According to Xia Jiang, I went to a farmer's house outside the city to pick up these things. I didn't want to be attacked on the way back to the city. Fortunately, the brothers were alert, except for two The first brother suffered some minor injuries, but the thief did not succeed."

"Then... what about those thieves? Are there any survivors?"

"They're all dead men. The brothers originally wanted to catch someone alive, but unexpectedly, this group of people all had poison in their mouths."

Although Jia Cong regretted it, it was within his expectation.Apart from the Kong family, who else in Qufu has the guts to intercept and kill the imperial envoys?
He shook his head and untied the bundle.

There are not many things in the baggage, an exquisite wooden box, an account book wrapped in oiled paper, and a few letters in blank envelopes.

The wooden box was locked, and Jia Cong rummaged through the bundle, but couldn't find the key.

click!
Jia Xiyi slashed down, and the exquisite wooden box split in two, revealing the contents inside.

Both Jia Cong and Jia Shishi were taken aback for a moment, and then turned pale with shock.Especially Jia Shishi, muttering: "It's so dangerous, it almost made a big mistake!"

"This... this... this seems to be a jade seal!"

"Little San Ye, there are five dragons engraved on it, very much like the legendary Jade Seal of Chuan Guo."

I saw a yellow cloth covering the cracked wooden box, and there was a jade seal, four inches in diameter, green as blue in color, moist and lustrous, with five buttons on the back.

Jia Cong's hands trembled a little, he held it up and observed it carefully, the jade was not made of any material, and there were seal characters on it: "Ordered by the sky, you will live forever!"

"Young Master, do you know him?"

"I don't know, this should be Qin Zhuan."

Jia Shishi's shock subsided a bit, and he couldn't laugh or cry: "Then the little third master read this..."

"The eight seal characters are just for the occasion."

Jia Cong looked at it over and over for a long time, but he couldn't tell whether the seal was true or not. Except for the missing corner filled with gold, which was indeed recorded in historical records, the rest was not something he, a half-hearted scholar, could judge.

The contents of the account book are rather simple. It records the income and expenditure of the Confucian government's money and food from Zhaowu 41 years to the present.

However, it is impossible to judge the source and destination of the money and food expenditure based on the account book alone, so Jia Cong had to put it aside first, and opened the letters to read.

"Interesting, it turned out to be the head of the Zhen family, Zhen Yingjia..."

I don't know if it was fate, but the first letter Jia Cong opened turned out to be a letter from Zhen Yingjia to the previous generation Yan Shenggong.

The letter should have been written shortly after the loyal king Liu Wei was born, and the Zhen family was willing to use a sea route in exchange for the Kong family's support for the Zhen family and Liu Wei's seizure of the throne.As for the sea route, the letter did not specify.

Jia Cong opened another one, heh, it's Zhen Yingjia again...

This letter is even more interesting. Not only did the two go out to sea for trade privately, but they also discussed how to divide the accounts, and the matter of the Zhen family buying a manor in Nanzhili for the Kong family.

"The good land of the Kong family in Songjiang Mansion was actually bought by the Zhen family. This Zhen family is really a coward. Most of the land in Songjiang Mansion is the army station of the Songjiang Navy. Zhen Yingjia is not afraid that the saint will cut him down. ?"

Jia Cong scolded angrily, no wonder the soldiers of the Songjiang Navy had no fighting spirit a few years ago, someone dug up the roots of the Songjiang Navy!
Monthly ticket recommendation ticket

　Writing today is difficult, Calvin.Let’s update [-] words first, I’ll think about how to write this piece more roundly, and I’ll continue to update it tomorrow.

　　good night!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)