Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 594: Extra level for being brave

Shuntian Mansion,
In the main hall of the Yamen,
Zhang Jinyu pretended to be majestic and shouted sternly.

"This is the Shuntian Mansion Yamen, where cases are heard. No noise is allowed for no reason. Otherwise, don't blame me for telling him to get out."

Zhang Jinyu glanced angrily at the people sitting in the hall. After being scolded by Marquis Luo Yun, the officials immediately stopped talking and did not dare to express their anger.

Seeing that everyone was quiet, Mr. Chang, the Minister of Punishment, knocked on the table and continued to ask Jia Zhen who was standing below,
"Jia Zhen, is everything you just said true?"

"Of course everything is true."

Jia Zhen showed no weakness and answered in the affirmative.

Zhang Jinyu suddenly sneered and interjected,
"Since every sentence is true, I have to say, you said that Master Meng and your Jia Rong have not been on a blind date, which means they did not agree. It is not a major relationship and there is no need to avoid it. But, Mr. Chang, Marquis of Xiangyang, What do you two say?"

"What the Marquis said is that the so-called blind date is not an engagement. It has no relationship and does not count."

Chang Zuo shook his head and denied,
Looking at the Marquis of Xiangyang again, he shook his head. This matter is untenable.

"Then since he doesn't count, Mr. Feng has to ignore it. With a matchmaker as guarantee, a marriage contract, and a relationship, how can he still sit on the high platform."

"This is the court, where the court's face is. The matter is of great importance. What we are looking at are the testimonies of witnesses. We cannot just talk nonsense. What do you say, Lord Marquis?"

Zhang Jinyu was speechless when he heard that the civil servants could not hold their ground and were so useless.
"quiet,"

"Dare, the matchmaker who is the guarantee is Yu Lan, the big shopkeeper of the Red House in the capital, the matchmaker of the guarantee,"

"Okay, in that case, where is the scribe? Now record this and sign it!"

Before Zhang Jinyu could finish speaking, Jia Zhen rolled her eyes, pointed directly at Feng Yongwen, who was sitting in the far east, and asked,

"Master Hou, it doesn't count."

"That's right, Jia Zhen, since you said that there is someone to protect the matchmaker in the marriage, do you dare to ask her to come forward to prove it? If it is true, according to Dawu law, Lord Feng must avoid suspicion. If not, Jia Zhen, you must first remember The last rant in court.”

Jia Zhen's words were unashamed and she didn't feel inappropriate at all, which made the presiding judges on the high platform in the hall look extremely unhappy.
Meng Li felt that the opportunity was too good to miss, so he slapped the table and said hurriedly,
"There's not even a marriage certificate. How can we say it's a marriage contract between two families? Is it just random fabrication to disturb the court? Jia Zhen, don't be so arrogant. We will find out the right and wrong."

Who can believe it?
She looked at Jia Zhen again, how to explain it. Jia Zhen was standing in the hall, suddenly speechless. It seemed that only the matchmaker was the guarantee. Then the family was short of money, so they postponed the engagement for a few days, and did not write the marriage letter. She hesitated and made excuses. road,
"Because time was too urgent, it was just a verbal agreement and no marriage contract was written, so no."

"What are you referring to there at random? Is it the trial case of me or your Jia Zhen trial case?"

Meng Li hurriedly yelled at her, hoping that Jia Zhen would shut up, cover up the marriage, and let Feng Yongwen escape. Jia Zhen saw that Meng Li was anxious and insisted that the marriage was true.

Zhang Jinyu couldn't stand Jia Zhen's arrogance, and she couldn't torture her in front of so many officials. Jia Zhen's case involved so many things that it really tied her hands and feet.
Jia Zhen took her hand back,
"Justice lies in the heart of the people."

The prince couldn't stand it any longer, so he shouted loudly.

"Well, justice is in the heart, so I asked, now that the engagement has been made, do you have the marriage certificate between Feng Yongwen's daughter and Jia Rong? As the saying goes, engagement is not a child's play. The exchange of marriage certificates after making a marriage contract has been around since ancient times. It is impossible to make empty promises. Come on, if anyone says they are engaged to someone, wouldn't it be a mess? "

This question made Feng Yongwen look extremely ugly, and also made Meng Li's heart tremble. He didn't know if Brother Feng himself could find someone to deal with the matchmaker.

Zhang Jinyu raised her eyes and looked at Jia Zhen in the hall, looking at him to see if he was suitable or not.

Jia Zhen looked at the person presiding over the trial on the high platform. There were three officials. How dare Marquis Luo Yun dare to risk the world and cooperate with the civil servants to take away his title? How could he gain a foothold among the nobles? But as soon as he spoke, I can't take it back,

Chang Zuo, Marquis of Xiangyang, and Kang Mengyu all looked at it suspiciously, wondering if there was something hidden inside.

"Okay, since it doesn't count, Master Meng can still sit here, there is no objection to this!"

The three Marquis of Xiangyang thought about it and realized that the Marquis was right. Since ancient times, a marriage contract has been written in a marriage letter as a proof of engagement. It contains the date of birth of the betrothed, the date of the marriage, etc. It was settled with empty words and white teeth without any evidence.

"Yes, Lord Marquis."

The scribe hurriedly changed a new piece of paper, then finished writing quickly, came to Jia Zhen with the ink pad, and handed it over.

Jia Zhen took the paper and read it from beginning to end. There were no hidden words. She felt uneasy and touched the paper with her hand, but it was no problem. She took the ink pad, made a fingerprint, and then returned the paper. At that time, I suddenly had a bad premonition in my heart, but I didn't know what the problem was.

The clerk put the paper on the desk, and the adults lost interest in it. After all, it had nothing to do with the case and it was not a serious crime, so they didn't care.

But Zhang Jinyu doesn't think so. A little adds up to a big thing, and once the impression is bad, it will be difficult to turn back, so it is better to keep the confession.

"Come here, bring Yu Lan, the manager of the Red Mansion,"

"Yes, Lord Marquis."

The guards had already gone out to deliver the order, which made Jia Zhen and his son stunned. What was going on? The person had arrived long ago. How did they know about it.

It turned out that after discussing with Shopkeeper Yu of the Red Mansion that day, Zhang Jinyu remembered that he would interrogate Jia Zhen in the afternoon. Strike while the iron was hot, so he arranged for someone to notify Shopkeeper Yu to come out to prove it and protect Mr. Feng. Therefore, when they arrived at the Shuntian Mansion Yamen, Shopkeeper Yu acted first, and also It's coming.

Others didn't know, so they were a little stunned.

At this moment,
From the back hall,
A woman dressed in red walked in. Her figure and temperament really captivated the eyes of many officials, who couldn't take their eyes away.
A gust of fragrant wind blew by, and shopkeeper Yu Da came to the court, stood on the seat between Yan Cong and Jia Zhen, and saluted all the adults.
"A commoner girl, Yu Lan, has met all the great lords,"

"Well, you are the shopkeeper of Red Mansion, Yu Da. What does Red Mansion do?"

Zhang Jinyu asked questions knowingly, as if meeting this person for the first time.

Yu Lan smiled slightly and took a look around. There were many high-ranking officials. It seemed that Marquis Luo Yun had really taken action against Jia Zhen of Ningguo Mansion. The master's previous idea might not really work.
"Returning to the lord, the daughter of the people is the matchmaker, and the Red Mansion naturally makes a living by connecting the young talents of the capital with the rich ladies of various provinces."

"Oh, there is such a place. Since you are a matchmaker, do you know the people around you, as well as these two people." Zhang Jinyu followed up and pointed at the three people.

Yu Lan turned her head and glanced at the three of them, leaned down and smiled.

"Sir, of course you know about it. General Zhen from Ningguo Mansion, as well as Lord Feng and Lord Meng,"

"That's weird, how do you know these three people?"

"Back to the eldest sir, Master Feng and Master Meng both have a daughter. They also sent stewards to the Red Mansion to marry their daughters. As for General Zhen, he also has a son. Don't you also want to choose a mistress in the Red Mansion? How about this back and forth? Don’t recognize it.”

A conversation between Zhang Jinyu and Shopkeeper Yu made many people in the hall understand the inside story. They looked at the three of them thoughtfully, and Jia Zhen looked smug. Let’s see if you two can still sit still in the end. Zhang Jinyu saw From Jia Zhen's look, you could roughly guess what Jia Zhen was thinking, and she sneered secretly,
"Well, since you are a matchmaker, it is obvious that shopkeeper Yu is aware of the marriage and engagement. I would like to ask you, can Jia Zhen ask you to go to their house to arrange marriage and make an engagement for one of them? Is it possible? This matter!"

"this,"

Yu Lan hesitated for a moment and asked at the critical moment. Everyone around them looked over to see if this was the case, especially Jia Zhen, who stared at Yu Lan, fearing that she would say no.

Yu Lan pondered for a while and replied,

"Back to you gentlemen, General Zhen asked me to go to the two lords' houses to discuss marriage matters. Lord Meng's daughter is well-educated and sensible, but he wants to find a pious disciple of a saint, so he didn't agree. As for Lord Feng's daughter, Not only is he handsome, but he is also heroic. I heard Master Feng say that he wanted to catch his son-in-law under the title of Enke this year, but he didn't agree. He meant to shirk it. I have been a matchmaker so much that I couldn't tell, so I had to go back. "

"What? You are talking nonsense. You said that day that you had already made an appointment with Mr. Feng's daughter. Why are you regretting it here?"

When Jia Zhen saw the matchmaker, she also regretted it. Knowing that someone had set her up, how could she hold back? The prostitute wanted to rush over.
Unexpectedly, Ningbian had been prepared for it. He ducked into the hall and kicked Jia Zhen away. People from the Imperial City Department had already pressed Jia Zhen to the ground. Seeing this, Zhang Jinyu felt so happy.
"Bold, Jia Zhen, you dare to commit murder in court. Do you want to kill people and silence them after your conspiracy is exposed?"

Yu Lan was also startled and hurriedly hid aside.
"Marquis Luo Yun, are you putting pressure on me from behind? You arranged all this. The engagement has been made long ago. How can I regret it? How can I believe that bitch's words?"

"Haha, Jia Zhen, you don't even think about it. You said the engagement yourself. You asked for witnesses' testimony. How can you blame me? The engagement you mentioned is just you sending a matchmaker to propose marriage. Who knows whether it will be successful or not? As I said, it has been a custom since ancient times to write a marriage certificate for engagement. You have no evidence. How can I and the others protect you? Yes or no!"

"you."

Jia Zhen was furious, but couldn't find a reason to refute, so she was speechless for a while.

The Marquis of Xiangyang did not expect that Jia Zhen could do such a thing. Didn't he offend Master Meng and Master Feng to death? Suddenly a word came to his mind, mud cannot hold up a wall.

"Yu Lan, this matter has nothing to do with you, but do you dare to sign the testimony you just gave?"

"Go back to the Marquis, a daughter of the people dares to do so. The Marquis is right. When making a marriage agreement, you must exchange your horoscopes and write a marriage letter. How can you be so hasty and make a marriage at will? You are not an ordinary person. How can it be a child's play."

Yu Lan was frightened and angry just now. She said this deliberately. After hearing this, all the officials in the hall couldn't help but nodded secretly. For this reason, marriage is not a trivial matter.

Then Yu Lan signed and stamped the confession that the clerk took, and Zhang Jinyu waved her hand to let him go.

Meng Li and Feng Yongwen on the high platform took a deep breath. Fortunately, nothing went wrong. Especially Feng Yongwen, they were completely grateful to Marquis Luo Yun. Otherwise, they would not be able to get off the stage today, causing a joke among the officials in the capital, and their future would not be guaranteed. It also affects the whole family.

Zhang Jinyu asked Ning Bian to make a pot of tea, then poured a cup of tea and took a sip. After talking so much, her mouth was dry and her tongue was dry. Jia Zhen was a dead pig and was not afraid of boiling water.

Master Chang looked at Jia Zhen who looked unconvinced, knocked on the table with his hand, and continued to ask,

"Jia Zhen, it's already clear that this matter is just a figment of your family. That's it. Let's go ahead and answer the question just now. There is also the matter of Wu Jinxiao, the owner of Ningguo Mansion, smuggling out of the customs. What do you think? explain."

Jia Zhen snorted coldly,
"I, Jia Zhen, am a descendant of the Ningguo Mansion. How could I engage in smuggling for small profits? There is no such thing. As for causing trouble in the capital, it is even more nonsense. The general just wanted to cultivate his moral character and have no selfish motives. This crime, No."

"Jia Rong, do you have anything to say?"

Jia Rong, who had been frightened for a long time, was suddenly asked and shivered all over.
"My lord, I have nothing to say. My father has not been out of the house these days, and there is no cholera in the capital. He is just practicing Taoism and refining elixirs in the house. As for the smuggling outside the customs, there is no such thing. The treasury of Ningguo Mansion is now empty. There are records of money coming in and out, which can be checked at any time. Please check it with your Lordships."

Seeing Jia Rong's well-founded reply, Zhang Jinyu couldn't help but take a second look. This guy is not simple either.

Looking at Yan Cong standing aside, Marquis Luo Yun asked;

"Yan Cong, you are the plaintiff, what else do you have to say?"

"Back to the Marquis, my lords, I am doing this for no other reason than for the imperial court and for the sake of the scholars in the world. Although Jia Zhen does not admit it, I believe that what Jia Zhen of the Ningguo Mansion has done is to harm the imperial court and endanger the world." Your Majesty, what qualifications does such a person have to be in the court, and how can he face his ancestors? He is ashamed of his father, and his ancestors. If he were a lower official, he would have no face to live in this world! "

Yan Cong's words were still so sharp and shocking, shocking everyone.

Zhang Jinyu looked at Yan Cong more and more differently, looking at the weather outside it was already getting late, and this was the end of the day, and Jia Zhen couldn't go back.

"Okay, since everyone has no objection to what he said, let's take a look at the confession just said, and then sign and stamp it. As for how to check it later, you will have your own conclusion. I will interrogate both parties in accordance with the Dawu Law. These confessions still need trouble. Mr. Chang will verify it again and submit it to His Majesty for reading."

After a pause, he ordered again,

"There is still one person who has not arrived in this case, that is the demon. The people from the Imperial City Department must hurry up and hunt down. As for General Jia and your son, Ningguo Mansion cannot return until the charges are proven. Prince Wang, please escort Jia Zhen and his son to prison. , Haosheng is in good hands.”

"Yes, Lord Marquis, there will definitely be nothing wrong."

The Duke and the Duke agreed, and the others had no objections. Even the Marquis of Xiangyang did not dare to guarantee that Jia Zhen was innocent and did not object.

When Jia Zhen saw that Marquis Luo Yun had added insult to injury and sent herself to the imperial edict, how could she get there? She hurriedly shouted,

"Marquis Luo Yun, you don't want to die a good death, you dare to avenge your private revenge, you, you, you"

"Put it down!"

With the wave of the prince's hand, the people from the Imperial City Department had already escorted Jia Zhen and his son away. The others watched the scene with trepidation. No matter whether they were civil servants or nobles, their expressions were complicated, and there was always an indescribable sense of ambiguity.

It's not that the Marquis of Xiangyang never thought of protecting Jiazhen, but the Marquis's approach clearly chose the latter. He wanted to protect the title but not the person. Alas.
(End of this chapter)