Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 778: Going Out in Mourning
In front of the Meridian Gate,
With the instructions left by Eunuch Yun, the captain of the imperial guards was a little undecided. To drive away the people at the opposite street corner, he would need to mobilize the imperial guards at the Meridian Gate, which would implicate the guards above him, and he would be scolded to death.

Well, these people are enough, so after thinking about it, I went back.

Before the drum,

The open area had already been surrounded by the imperial guards, making it impossible to see the situation inside. Then the remaining imperial guards all walked forward.

When they reached the opposite street corner, the onlookers were also driven away by the imperial guards. Once the crowd dispersed,
After a while,
The imperial guards retreated again, but as more and more people gathered in the distance to watch, they could not be stopped, so the captain of the imperial guards simply ignored them.

in the crowd,
Wang Xifeng, in disguise, took Lai Wang and others to a wine shop or teahouse.
Standing in front of the second-floor window, looking from afar, I saw that there was indeed something unusual going on in front of the Meridian Gate. Listening to the conversations of the diners around me, I thought to myself, “Jin Lao Ye, he really has gone.”

Got the news,

Not daring to linger, he hurried down with a few servants.

He got on the carriage and hurried back.
"Grandma, did you see it?"

Just now, it was Ping'er who asked Lai Wang to spend a lot of money to buy a loft, which led to the previous scene.
"I saw it. There was a pool of blood on the ground, but the person was covered with a white cloth. If nothing goes wrong, that's it."

Although there was sadness on her face, she still had a glimmer of hope in her heart. If Master Jing really passed away, wouldn't Ningguo Mansion be in the hands of her eldest sister-in-law? Then she would be in charge of more than just the power of the entire mansion.
"What should we do, grandma? Will the family be implicated?"

Ping'er was really scared. She had never seen anything like this before. The head of Ningguo Mansion was gone, and the people in the mansion were useless. Even if the title was retained, the guilt would still be there. As a result, Rongguo Mansion would still be rich and powerful in the future.

Wang Xifeng took off her cloak, looked at Ping'er's flustered look, and said something:
"You are such a useless servant, what are you afraid of? I haven't done anything to grandma yet. Just like the Marquis said, we should deal with the enemy with soldiers and block the water with earth. Just follow the old lady's instructions. I think that Master Jing must have thought about it before, all for the lives of Brother Zhen and his son."

As I was talking, I felt a little uncomfortable. This is how it is when a rabbit dies and a fox mourns.
As the carriage slowly moved, the words of the master and servant became heavier.

"Grandma, will the things happening here affect Second Master? After all, he has soldiers with him."

Ping'er muttered the last sentence in a much lower voice. Even she muttered in her heart, "Misfortunes never come alone." These words were imprinted in her mind.
Not to mention that Wang Xifeng's heart was in her throat after hearing Ping'er's muttering, even she knew that the generals leading the troops outside would not be touched at all, no matter how outrageous the things done by the mansion were.

At this time, the palace issued an edict to punish Ningguo Mansion, which was obviously unusual. Unfortunately, the person in charge of the Wang family was not there.
I don't think it will have any impact. If there is any movement from Uncle Wang Ziteng, he will definitely tell the Second Madam before leaving.
"It should be fine. If the court had arranged it in advance, your Second Master would not be able to go to the south, let alone lead the troops. I guess we haven't figured out the inner affairs yet."

Perhaps, someone was instigating this, and this was the strange thing that Wang Xifeng could only think of now.

"As long as grandma is okay."

Ping'er didn't say anything else. She just hoped that everything was fine after following grandma for so long.

"You are full of little thoughts. It is not your turn to worry about the affairs of the mansion. Even if Rongguo Mansion is involved, my good aunt will not stand idly by with my sister-in-law there. The Marquis is also a man who cherishes women. As the saying goes, a night of marriage is a hundred days of love, and a hundred days of marriage is deeper than the sea. We don't need to worry about these things now. We should hurry back to report the news."

"Yes, grandma. I know."

Ping'er agreed and nodded. She thought that her grandmother had already come up with a plan to deal with the situation. If everything went well, the layout of Ningguo Mansion would be a natural thing.

The two of them did not talk any more in the carriage. In less than a moment, the carriage returned to Rongguo Mansion.
The two got off the carriage and hurried into the mansion.

But see,

White cloth had already been hung in the courtyards around, and even more white cloth was left on the inside of the gate. Obviously, the old lady's words had taken effect.

There was no movement in the East Palace. After all, the news had not been confirmed. Although the people from the Imperial City Bureau had withdrawn, it was hard to say who was still watching.

Therefore,
When Jia She ordered the preparation of the white mourning cloth, the chief steward Lai Da came to ask if Ningguo Mansion had hung up the mourning cloth. Jia She hesitated and asked them to wait a while, so he did not send anyone over.
As for the others, they also went down to help with the preparations. Only the old lady stayed in the house, wiping away her tears.

With cloudy eyes, he looked at the beams in the house, and the worries in his heart could not be dispelled for a long time. After this incident, the Jia family had lost the emperor's favor, but the person died unclearly, so there must be an explanation.

It is only right to ask for a facade and cover it up. The matter here still requires King Beijing to put some thought into it.

Rongguo Mansion,
They will definitely not sit idly by, otherwise, in the end, the Jia family will have no face, not to mention a fig leaf, and will become a joke.
"Come on, send someone to check if Feng girl is back?"

"Yes, old lady."

The old woman guarding the door,
After answering, he hurried out to the gate to see if Second Madam had returned. As soon as he left the house, he ran into Second Madam in the yard.

"Second Madam, the old lady was just wondering if you had come back, and asked me, an old woman, to go check on you."

"I understand. You don't have to go back. Call the first and second wives back."

"Yes, Second Grandma."

After Wang Xifeng finished giving her instructions, she ignored Yu and quickly walked into Rongqing Hall with Ping'er and Laiwang.

Entered the house,

Holding back the grief, he sat beside Lady Jia and said;

"Madam, I went to the palace gate, but I didn't see anyone. However, the Meridian Gate was surrounded by a large number of imperial guards. I went up to the attic of the wine shop and saw a figure covered with a white cloth. I think it must be him."

Seeing Feng say this, Jia's mother looked sad, but then she disappeared. She stretched out her hand and suddenly slapped the table hard.
"It is said that the men of the Jia family are useless and only the women are in charge, but no one knows that the men can also be so heroic. In the morning, I felt that something was wrong with Jia Jing, but I didn't expect this result. Now that he is dead and the debt is gone, the mess left behind still needs us to collect."

"Ma'am, what should we do?"

Wang Xifeng didn't understand what the old lady wanted and how to ask for it. She was completely confused.
"What else can we ask for? We should go to the palace and ask for it. This is for the world to see. Jing'er's intention is to save the lives of Jia Zhen and his son. You have to take these."

Grandmother Jia sighed. It had been a long time since she had said the word "Jing Ge'er". It was obvious that she was sad. Wang Xifeng opened her mouth, her expression was agitated, but she didn't say anything.

outside the house,

Then came the second wife, Lady Wang, and the first wife, Lady Xing. As soon as they entered the room, Lady Jia stood up and gave orders without leaving any time for them to leave.

"You just happened to be here, so don't be idle. Put on mourning clothes immediately and get ready to take your maids, servants, and servants with you."

After a pause, he turned back to look at Wang Xifeng and continued;

"You too, let Sanchun stay at the mansion, call out Jia Huan and Jia Zong, let them hold the poles, and we will go to the Meridian Gate. By the way, tell the elders to find some female relatives of the Jia family, wear mourning clothes, and wait in front of the gate of Rongguo Mansion."

"Yes, old lady."

Although she agreed, Wang Xifeng still didn't understand what the old lady meant, but she saw that Jia's mother had already left with the two ladies.
Ping Er asked quietly;

"Grandma, why do you ask the women to wear mourning clothes?"

"What else can we do? Cry and mourn. Let's go and send someone to call for help. Hurry."

"Well, I'll go right away."

Ping'er followed him out in a hurry, leaving Wang Xifeng alone in the room. She picked up the teacup, took a sip of tea, and breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at the empty living room, she couldn't help feeling a little depressed.

As soon as Rongguo Mansion moved,
The noise was loud.
Many people in the alley heard the news and rushed over to help or do work. Even at Ningguo Mansion, tall white sails were erected on both sides of the gate, and white cloth was hung on the walls. The gate that was previously empty was now lined with two rows of servants, wearing mourning clothes and standing there in a solemn manner.
in addition,

Since the old lady had personally given the order and sent people to find the two elders, Jia Dairu and Jia Daixiu, to explain the seriousness of the matter, which involved the Jia family's ancestral foundation, the two elders did not stop them and sent people to pass on the message. As a result, the idle people of the Jia family, young and old, came in groups to Ningrong Street and arrived in front of the Rongguo Mansion.

main entrance,
Lai Da brought people to sew mourning cloth. He never turned away anyone. He made cloth for as many people as he could. Young and old, everyone wore white cloth. As a result, more and more people wore mourning clothes.
Everyone who passed by saw it.

There was a lot of discussion, and most people were speculating whether the old lady of Rongguo Mansion had passed away.

Not to mention Zuixianlou, the group of people from the White Lotus Sect saw it, and several figures flashed in the restaurant, and then left Zuixianlou and walked towards the Ningrong Street intersection not far away.

"Brother, what's going on? The situation in Rongguo Mansion, could it be that the old lady of Rongguo Mansion is dead, just like what those people said just now?"

The one who asked the question quietly was Director Xiang. He looked around. There were more and more people ahead and there was no way to get through.
As a last resort, the hall master Cui Yu grabbed Ren Ze and turned to the tea stall at the entrance of the alley.

"What nonsense are you talking about? The people are just making fun of the rumors. What do those peasants know about the internal affairs? You should think about it. This should be the Ningguo Mansion's business."

The two entered the tea stall and sat down at a table near the inside. Master Ren Xiang raised his hand and shouted to the stall owner;

"Shopkeeper, please give me two bowls of tea and two bowls of rice cakes."

"Okay, gentlemen, wait a moment."

The stall owner took the kettle from the stove, poured the tea into two tea bowls, and added a few tea leaves. That was it. He also took out two pieces of cold noodles, rinsed them in the pot, poured them into the bowls, poured the sauce on them, and stirred them.
Then he brought over a tray, tea and two bowls of rice.

"Enjoy your meal, gentlemen. The tea comes from the tea trees in the northern mountains of Beijing. The leather was also made last night. I added more vinegar for you, gentlemen."

"Good, um, it tastes good, let's see,"

Master Cui took a sip and found the taste was still the same as before, but the aroma this time was extremely mellow, salty with a hint of sweetness, and a hint of meaty aroma, probably because it was cooked with broth.

After praising him, he took out some big coins from his pocket and handed them over.

The stall owner hurriedly took it, thanked him repeatedly, and turned around to go back to work.

But Master Ren Xiang reached out and grabbed his sleeve.
"Shopkeeper, don't leave in a hurry. I want to ask you something."

After the stall owner's sleeve was pulled, he stopped and asked with a smile,
"Sir, what do you want to ask? I'm not bragging, I know almost everything that happens around here."

Seeing the stall owner's boastful words, Cui Tangzhu became interested and took out a few large coins from his pocket and placed them on the table.
"Okay, straightforward. I like straightforward people the most. Tell me, what are these people in mourning doing? I heard from someone passing by that the old lady of Rongguo Mansion is dying."

Then he pointed to the big money on the table and whispered,
"Shopkeeper, if you say it's good, you can take these. If you say it's not good, forget it."

Cui Tangzhu was very skilled in playing hard to get. The stall owner heard this and took the big money on the table with both hands.
"Sir, I don't know what happened in other places, that's right, but I can't hide what happened in Ningrong Street. What you just asked about is just a rumor spread by passers-by. The old lady of Rongguo Mansion is still in good health!"

As he spoke, he raised his thumb. Even if the master of Rongguo Mansion was dying, it would not be the old lady who would get into trouble. Everyone knew that the master of Rongguo Mansion was extremely lustful, and if he didn't take good care of his health, he might be dead one day!
As for the old lady Shi of Rongguo Mansion, she was an old Bodhisattva. Not only was she kind, but her neighbors and relatives also benefited a lot from her. Although there were some bumps and bumps, no one said a word against the old lady.

Hall Master Cui and Xiang Master Ren looked at each other. Although they knew that the old lady of Rongguo Mansion was powerful, they did not expect that she had such a good reputation among the people. She really had a deep background and was worthy of being the leader of the nobles back then.

Seeing the stall owner's slightly exaggerated look, Master Ren Xiang reminded him,
"Shopkeeper, if it's not the one from Ronggu Mansion, how come there are these people?"

Master Ren pointed with his hand, and saw that there were quite a few people on the street, young and old, men, women, and children, coming out of the alleys and streets, wearing mourning cloths.

But the stall owner leaned over and whispered in a low voice;
"My two lords, this is not mourning for Rongguo Mansion, but for Ningguo Mansion. Didn't you see that the white sails are hung in front of the mansion? It is said that it is for the master's family. As for who it is, I can't guess for sure."

After saying that, he smiled, turned around and left, leaving the two of them stunned.
"That's not right, big brother. Didn't you say that? Who are you mourning for?"

I wanted to ask more, but was stopped by the master.

"You are a fool. The stall owner has made it clear enough, but you just don't use your brain to think about it. How many people are there in the Ningguo Mansion?"

"Is there any need to ask? Ningguo Mansion has always had a single heir. Until now, only Jia Zhen and Jia Rong are imprisoned in the imperial prison. Could it be that they died in there? Hiss, this is really troublesome."

His expression changed again and again, and then he smiled evilly. The nobles died in the imperial prison without being convicted. If the military meritorious officials made trouble, the Imperial City Administration would be in big trouble.

"You've used your brain a bit, but you're not right. Ningguo Mansion is not just about Jia Zhen and his son. Do you still remember the brilliant Jia Jing, the former prince's tutor?"

Cui Yu narrowed his eyes and looked back at Ningguo Mansion, which was a very influential figure back then.

Master Ren Xiang fell silent and looked towards the east in disbelief.
"Brother, you mean that Jia Jing went to the capital and died, no way."

After being asked, the two stopped talking and drank tea while staring at the gate of Rongguo Mansion, wondering what the Jia family was up to.

In Hanyuan Hall,

Zhang Jinyu, who was eating and drinking with the three princes, suddenly felt something happen. His eyelids twitched. He looked around and saw nothing unusual. Moreover, his personal soldiers had already started to cook.
Looking back at the hall, everything was normal and quiet. Those who were supposed to answer questions were answering questions, and those who were supposed to inspect the examination were inspecting the examination.
The Marquis' alert look naturally aroused Ning Bian's suspicion. He also looked around, but found nothing, so he asked in a low voice:

"My Lord, what's wrong?"

"Well, I didn't notice anything wrong, I just felt a little nervous and my eyelids twitched. I don't know why."

Zhang Jinyu did not hide anything and spoke out his doubts. As the saying goes, one person's wisdom is short, but the wisdom of many people is long. If he could say one or two, maybe he could guess the answer.

Hearing the Marquis say this, the three princes were a little surprised. The second prince wiped the cake residue from the corner of his mouth and said with a smile;

"My Lord, do you feel uncomfortable? Is it because of hunger at noon? I feel the same way. When I feel hungry, I feel anxious and uncomfortable unconsciously. Wait, after eating, I should feel better, hiccup!"

Before he could finish his words, he burped.

Zhang Jinyu was quite speechless. Looking at the several plates of cakes on the table, it was the Second Prince who ate the most. Besides, he had just eaten a large bowl of rice and drank tea. It would be strange if he was hungry after eating all this.
"That's possible, but Your Highness, we just had breakfast not long ago, so there's no question of being hungry."

Seeing that Marquis Luo Yun refused to admit it, the eldest prince also became interested and asked;

"My Lord, did it come suddenly, or did you feel it before?"

Jin Wang Zhou Ding was also curious, what else could make the Marquis worried? Could it be the examinees in the hall? He looked up and saw nothing was missing.

"No, I was fine while drinking tea, but I felt a little dazed when I put down the tea bowl."

Zhang Jinyu touched the edge of the tea bowl and replied uncertainly, then seeing the sunlight shining in, he seemed to be in a trance.

"Hey, what happened? It should be the sun shining on my head. I feel hot all over and feel uncomfortable."

The second prince Zhou Long twisted his body deliberately, and it was unclear whether he was really feeling uncomfortable or just pretending to feel uncomfortable.

See here,

Zhang Jinyu waved his hand and asked his personal guards to move the tables and chairs. When he got to the inside of the corridor, he felt much better. The unhappiness he had just felt disappeared. Perhaps it was just as the second prince said, the sun was shining.
"My Lord, look, you feel much better now. I was sweating just now."

The second prince moved his body and wiped his forehead with his sleeve. He didn't know whether the sweat was real or not.
"Haha, the Second Prince is still straightforward!"

Zhang Jinyu laughed, and all the doubts in his heart disappeared.

(End of this chapter)