Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 777 People Died Just Like That
Rongguo Mansion,
In the main hall of Liyuan,
Lai Wang's kneeling made Wang Xifeng's heart skip a beat and her eyelids twitch.
Seeing Ping'er coming in later, he calmed down and asked;

"What's going on? You're shouting so loudly that the whole courtyard can hear your voice. Didn't you send Master Jing to the palace in the early morning? Why are you back now?"

It would have been fine if she hadn't mentioned Jing Lao Ye, but when Lai Wang heard his grandmother mention Jing Lao Ye, he couldn't hold it in anymore and started to cry.
"Grandma, respect to the old man, respect to the old man, he, he"

He hesitated and was anxious but couldn't explain clearly.
Wang Xifeng saw that Lai Wang was confused by some of his words, so she reached out and picked up the tea bowl and poured it directly on Lai Wang's face. It was not known whether it really worked or not. He wailed in pain.
"Second Madam, Master Jing is dead. He was hit and killed in front of the Meridian Gate, on the stone platform where the drum was held. His blood was all over the ground. Woo woo"

With a crisp "click" sound, the tea bowl in Wang Xifeng's hand fell and shattered in an instant.
His face was pale and full of disbelief. He was fine when he left the house in the morning, but now he just left without saying goodbye.
"You little dog slave, do you know that this matter involves serious matters? You must not speak nonsense. Let me ask you again, is what you just said true?"

"My dear, I guarantee with my life that I am not talking nonsense. In the morning, after I finished my meal, I drove the carriage outside the door. After Master Jing got in the carriage, he told me to go to the Meridian Gate of the Palace. I drove there. Before I got off the carriage, Master Jing gave me a bag of silver coins."

After choking for a while, Lai Wang wiped the tears from his eyes with his sleeves and continued;

"Not long after, Master Jing went to the Meridian Gate and struck the drum to announce the news. Then someone came over and said a few words before entering the palace.
After an incense stick of time, he came out of the palace again, and I don't know what he said. Suddenly, Master Jing broke the Dengwen Drum, and then hit his head on the Dengwen Drum stone platform and died. I didn't dare to go forward, so I could only come back to report the news.

After saying that, he kowtowed to the ground again!

He knelt there, not daring to raise his head.
Wang Xifeng, who was sitting in the chair in front, suddenly felt weak. Ping'er, who was beside her, was quick to help the Second Lady up.
"Grandma, grandma, you can't do this."

In a panic, he actually hugged the Second Grandma.

Ping'er's subconscious behavior also made Wang Xifeng's face hot, and she immediately gained strength. The two women were still hugging each other. She thrust her waist and pushed Ping'er away.

"Got it, grandma. I'm fine. I was just scared. Now go tell the old lady how to deal with this matter."

This is the most important thing. No matter how much you respect the elderly, their bodies cannot be left exposed in the open. No matter what the final outcome is, the family members have to collect the bodies.

"Yes, grandma,"

Ping Erh responded and helped Second Madam Wang Xifeng to stand up.

"Laiwang, get up and follow me. I have something to ask you."

"Yes, grandma, I'll follow you."

He climbed a few steps, stood up and followed closely behind.

The people in the yard heard the wailing sound clearly, but they didn't understand what was said. Several maids gathered together and talked carefully. When they saw the door of the main house opened and the second wife left the house, they immediately shut up and scattered.

Wang Xifeng was in no mood to scold, so she hurried out of the yard, with Ping'er and Lai Wang following closely behind her.

That's it.
After the people left, the women gathered together again, gossiping.

"Hey, did you hear me just now? The manager wailed a few times. I don't know what happened?"

"Who says it's not true? I heard it too, and I was shocked just now."

"You guys, didn't you see the person in charge behind you? His eyes are still red. He just cried. I wonder what happened?"

The sound of several people talking also made several maids prick up their ears and listen. When the old woman who was talking heard it, she cursed;

"Just get back to work, why are you listening to anything? There are no rules."

Several maids stirred and cursed in their hearts, "It's you old guys who are talking about it, why are you pretending?" They ignored them and turned away, leaving the angry old women muttering again.

Outside the hospital,

After turning a few corners, I went straight to the southeast corner. The leveled and demolished yard was bare, which made me upset. I went north along the road, passed the central courtyard, and arrived at Rongqing Hall.
Stop and

Wang Xifeng suddenly felt nervous. She looked at the courtyard she had been to countless times before and laughed at herself. She still had no power. She didn't think about it anymore and walked into the house.
The people waiting at the porch, get up quickly,

"I've met Second Grandma. I hope she's doing well."

Normally, Wang Xifeng was a very strict housekeeper, but not too harsh. She would answer questions immediately. Today, when they asked how the Second Mistress was doing, no one answered. No one dared to say anything.

In this way, he walked all the way into the inner room and around the screen. The waiter shouted from behind the curtain:

"Madam, Madam, the second grandmother comes in."

inside the house,

Jia She and Lady Xing sat at the east end. The first seat on the west side was occupied by Jia Zheng and his wife from the second house. Sanchun sat at the bottom. Correspondingly, Jia Zong and Jia Huan sat at the east end. Although they looked decent, a cunning look could still be seen in their eyes.
Sometimes he moves his body, touches this and that, and it is obvious that he cannot sit still.

Grandmother Jia was a little tired, half lying on the kang. When she heard the maid shouting that Feng had arrived, she felt better for a moment and sat up. Yuanyang and Amber, who were waiting by her side, helped her sit up and leaned against the quilt. As soon as she sat down, she saw Wang Xifeng, Ping'er and Laiwang walking in.

Seeing that he seemed anxious, hurried, and even a little flustered, Jia's mother asked;
"Feng girl, you are in such a hurry, what happened?"

The old lady was just discussing the Ningguo Mansion with Jia She and Jia Zheng. Even if they saved the Rongguo Mansion's Jia Zhen and his son, how should they be arranged in the future? After all, it would be inconvenient for Zhu's daughter-in-law to go there.

Before we had time to talk in detail, Feng girl came first. Seeing her anxious look, was there any news from outside?
Wang Xifeng looked at the old lady with a grief-stricken expression, wondering how she could explain the news.
When the Second Wife saw this, her heart trembled. She looked at Lai Wang who was following behind her. Didn’t he send Master Jing to the palace? Why was he here? Could it be that Master Jing...
The others seemed to be thinking about something, their eyes wandering around the people who came, and they also found that several of them were not in a good state, especially Grandmother Jia, who had seen countless storms and waves, both those that could be avoided and those that could not be avoided.

Looking at the miserable faces of the three people, sadness suddenly emerged in my heart, and I said unconsciously:
"Did something happen to Jia Jing? After breakfast this morning, I asked you to prepare the carriage and take him to the palace. It should be about time. Tell me, what happened to Jia Jing?"

It would have been fine if Jia Jing had not been mentioned, but when he was mentioned, Wang Xifeng knelt on the ground in agony, and Ping'er beside her also started to cry. Even Lai Wang, who had come with her, kowtowed and wailed.
Everyone in the room was shocked by this scene. Even Jia Huan and Jia Zong, who were unable to sit still, were too frightened to move. They stared at the people in the hall, not knowing what to do.
The other people's reactions were similar. Jia Zheng frowned, somewhat confused. When he left in the morning, he was fine.

Grandmother Jia frowned, patted the table, and asked,
"Feng girl, stop crying first. Tell me what happened. He was fine when you left this morning. Could it be that he disappeared in the palace?"

Jia She sat there with a stern face and shook his head. Although he did not care about worldly affairs, he knew that he could not enter the palace and could not see the emperor. How could he plead for mercy?
Then he looked at Feng girl kneeling on the ground, he didn't understand either. At worst he could think of other ways, why was he crying?
Who knows,

Wang Xifeng hadn't said anything yet, and no one knew who had given Lai Wang the signal.
Lai Wang, who was kneeling at the back, suddenly raised his head, crawled forward a few steps on his knees, and cried bitterly,
"Old lady, Madam, all the masters, I sent Master Jing to the palace and waited at the intersection. Finally, a man came out of the palace. I don't know what he said, but when he saw Master Jing, he actually broke the Dengwen drum and hit his head on the Dengwen drum stone platform. He was covered in blood and fell there motionless. I can't get through, so I came back to deliver the message first, wuwu!"

A whimpering cry and wailing sounded like a thunderbolt, shocking everyone so much that they were stunned for a moment, as if they were frozen in place.
I don't know who started to wail and cry first, but the house was in chaos.
Especially Lady Jia, her face was pale, her mouth was trembling, and it was unclear what she was saying. Yuanyang and Amber hurried over to support her, but Jia Zheng and Jia She looked incredulous, muttering to themselves, "It's impossible."
Jia She's face turned grim, and he asked sternly;

"You are just a bunch of nonsense, you little slave. In the morning, Brother Jing left peacefully, saying he was going to the palace to see the emperor. How did he end up in front of the Meridian Gate? Even if he couldn't get in, he should have come back and told us so we can discuss it. How come you are saying something so ridiculous?"

Jia She's words were extremely harsh, and made others suspicious.
Jia Zheng also asked anxiously,

"You little dog slave, tell me what's going on. If you tell me anything false, I'll take you away and beat you up!"

Lai Wang didn't even dare to raise his head.
"Master, Second Master, everything I said is true. When Master Jing arrived there, he struck the drum for reporting, and then an official came over, spoke, and then entered the palace. Half an hour later, the man from before came back again. In that short while, I don't know what he said, but Master Jing actually rushed over, broke the drum for reporting, and slammed his head against the stone platform, and there was no more movement. So many people saw this and can testify. I dare not lie!"

Every word he said was true and clear, and it didn't seem like he was lying.
On the contrary, because what he said sounded so real, the people in the room felt even more overwhelmed.
"Old lady, what should we do? The palace has punished us."

Mrs. Xing was most worried. If the palace really punished someone, she didn't know whether Rongguo Mansion would be implicated.
However, no one in the room paid any attention to her. At this moment, the key point was not here.

Although Grandmother Jia was sad, she also knew what was important and what was urgent. What she had to do now was to contact her old relatives and prepare for Jia Jing's funeral.
"Second brother, write a letter immediately to inform the old relatives and nobles. Send a letter to the Prince of Beijing's Mansion and the Prince of East's Mansion as well. If there is anything that needs to be conveyed, you stay at the mansion to respond. Explain what should be said clearly, and don't say a word that shouldn't be said. I understand!"

Grandmother Jia didn't care about her sadness and ordered seriously,
"Yes, mother, the son knows what to do,"

Jia Zheng nodded. The nobles were one family, and it was impossible for other dukes’ houses to turn a blind eye to what happened to the Jia family!
at this time,

Grandmother Jia looked at Jia She, who was sitting at the east end, and gave him some instructions.
"Boss, you stay at the mansion and prepare the things needed for the mourning hall. The people from the Imperial City Division have already withdrawn from Ningguo Mansion. Have them start setting up the mourning hall. Hang up the white sails at the gate of the Duke's Mansion. Prepare a good coffin and leave it in the main hall. Notify the clan members of the Jia family to come and mourn, especially the elders. Tell them that the master family has fallen, and what good can they do?"

He spoke in a rather heavy tone, and after thinking for a while, he gave another order for safety reasons.
"Tell the servants and maids in the mansion to find some white cloth and cut the mourning clothes first. Feng girl, you should leave the mansion immediately and go to the Meridian Gate to see if Jia Jing is really as he said. If so, come back and report immediately. We should take action now."

"Yes, old lady."

Then, the people in the room dispersed with heavy faces.

The Palace of Mental Cultivation,
Eunuch Yun's face was pale. He had messed up what his godfather had asked him to do, and he was even accused of killing Jia Jing by the censor, Lord Zhong. This was also what Eunuch Yun thought. After all, he was being chased so closely, and in just a short while, the man who was fine just now committed suicide in the blink of an eye. If it wasn't him who killed him, who else could it be?
So, when they returned, they asked two eunuchs to take him back, one on the left and one on the right.
Arriving at the door of the Imperial Study,
Xiao Yunzi took a deep breath.

Pushing the door open,

As soon as he entered the door, he knelt down, crawled in, and wailed.
"Your Majesty, I am late."

This movement made the three people in the study room look up at the same time.
Dai Quan's eyes narrowed. Seeing his godson's appearance, he was afraid that something had happened, so he spoke up for the emperor.
"Why are you so flustered? What's going on?"

"To answer the Governor, I just led people out to chase the Censor, but I was a step too slow. As soon as I left the palace gate, I saw Jia Jing from Ningguo Mansion lying in a pool of blood. The Censor also fainted. When I asked the captain of the Imperial Guards, he said that he didn't know what Lord Zhong had said to Jia Jing. Suddenly, he rushed over, broke the drum, and hit his head on the stone platform."

Xiao Yunzi swallowed his saliva, his face full of fear.

"He was hit to death. I sniffed his breath and found no, he was dead."

After saying that, he quickly knelt on the ground and didn't dare to look up.
But don't know,
Emperor Wu and Prime Minister Li Chonghou's faces changed drastically. Disaster was coming.

"Where is that bastard Zhong Yugu? I want to ask him what he said."

Zhou Shihong's eyes flashed fiercely, and he shouted angrily,
"Your Majesty, I have brought Master Zhong here."

"Why don't you bring that bastard in here?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Hearing the Emperor Wu's roar, Xiao Yunzi kowtowed repeatedly in fear, and crawled out again, ready to bring Master Zhong in.

Only Li Shoufu, who was sitting there calmly, was a little frightened. How could Jia Jing be so stubborn and do such a thing?
How could those nobles in the court let it go? They also thought of Wang Ziteng who led the troops in southern Jing, and were afraid that there would be trouble. Another point was why His Majesty chose to take action at this time, but was he bewitched by someone, was it Lu Wenshan or Gu Yichen?
While I was thinking, His Majesty's voice came,
"Li Shoufu, how do you think we should deal with this?"

"Your Majesty, this incident happened suddenly, but it did happen after all. First, call Censor Zhong to find out the reason. Then, you should issue an order to inform the Jia family to collect Jia Jing's body and try to appease the nobles. As for Censor Zhong, he can only appease the Jia family."

Although he said few words, they were mature and prudent words for the state. No matter who was behind the scenes, it was nothing more than a discord between the civil and military officials. Once this happened, the military officials would definitely make a fuss. The only way was to appease the Jia family first. Others were just waving flags and shouting. As for some civil officials who wanted to take the opportunity to cause trouble, I am afraid it would only cause a backlash. Your Majesty would never let the court be in chaos.

"I still think Prime Minister Li's words are more pleasing to the ear. That's all,"

Emperor Wu sighed. He had thought of so many ways, but he did not expect that the Jia family would make the most resolute response. Although the descendants seemed weak, there would always be people who stood up. What the two old dukes left behind would not necessarily be small.

It seems that some of the previous plans are no longer feasible!

Looking toward the door,
Xiao Yunzi was seen walking in front, and behind him, several eunuchs were carrying the Imperial Censor Zhong in. Zhong Yugu was now filled with fear, his body was shaking, and his legs were out of control. He could only let others carry him in.

Seeing Zhong Yugu's expression, Emperor Wu opened his mouth but couldn't bear to speak.
When the Prime Minister Li Chonghou saw His Majesty's expression, he turned around and asked,
"Master Zhong, I want to ask you, tell me, how could Jia Jing from Ningguo Mansion commit suicide in such a short time?"

Hearing Li Shoufu's question,

Zhong Yugu finally reacted and suddenly cried loudly,

"Your Excellency, I took the memorial back and told Jia Hanlin that His Majesty did not want to see him. I did not say much, but for some reason, Jia Hanlin suddenly laughed and rushed towards the drum. It was so sudden that no one knew that Jia Hanlin would be so stubborn. I really do not know why,"

suddenly,

As if remembering something, Zhong Yugu broke free from the eunuchs around him, knelt on the ground and kowtowed;

"Your Majesty, Prime Minister, I really didn't say a word, let alone take action. The surrounding imperial guards saw it all, and I was not lying. In a moment, Eunuch Yun led his men to chase us, but I stayed where I was, not daring to move."

As if he had found a clue to save his life, he knelt down and spoke frantically. In an instant, his forehead turned red.

This look,
Prime Minister Li was very puzzled. If that was the case, why did Jia Jing insist on seeking death? After all, it was in broad daylight and many people saw it. Even if he wanted to lie, it was impossible. All he could say was that Jia Jing had already thought of it when he came.

Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong, who was sitting behind the desk, was still a little confused. Jia Jing should know the rules of three invitations to enter. But he was so resolute after only one invitation. It was obviously not an impulse.
In addition, breaking the report drum can also relieve my worries. Although the report drum must have caused grievances, the bold censors in the court are all ready to make a move. If someone else beats the drum and opens the door, the palace and the court will be in turmoil. Therefore, Jia Jing's action is to share my worries.
Hey!
Pity!
He waved his hand,

"Someone, send him to the Imperial Prison!"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Several eunuchs were not polite and directly grabbed Master Zhong who was still kowtowing and dragged him out.

"Your Majesty, I am innocent. I am innocent."

The sound gradually faded away,

"Dai Quan, prepare according to Prime Minister Li's instructions,"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

(End of this chapter)