King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 36
Xue Mansion, the sun is setting to the west.

In the inner house, the three members of the Xue family were frowning, because they received many invitations today.

These greeting cards were all sent by the local officials of Jinling, and the content in them was concise and to the point, all of which were to persuade Xue Pan to withdraw his appeal.

While exhorting with good words, there is also a warning in the greeting post, saying that they should not meet each other in the future.

Most of these officials are of the sixth and seventh ranks, and Xue Pan is not afraid at all on weekdays, after all, his family has connections in the court.

However, this time was different. When he stood on the opposite side of the Jinling officialdom, the nature was completely different.

He has people in the court, so there are no more officials?

"What should I do!" Aunt Xue turned pale, obviously frightened.

Faced with this situation, Baochai was also unable to do what she wanted, so she could only reassure her mother that the matter had not yet reached an irreversible situation.

"The supervisor of ceremonies sent another message today, asking us to buy food and military equipment as soon as possible. No matter how difficult things are, we will come together!"

It was good that Xue Pan didn't speak, but when he opened his mouth, Aunt Xue's roar exploded, and she scolded him again on the spot.

Xue Pan knew it was unreasonable, so he could only bear it silently, thinking how to slip away!
Everyone in the Xue family was frowning, and Hu Jin'an, who was also a party involved, was also drinking to relieve his sorrow at the moment.

He never thought that Xue's family would sue him in court, and he didn't covet his family's money, did he?

Because the news was opaque, Hu Jin'an didn't know the inside story. He planned to go to Xue's house to find out, but it was a pity that Xue Pan didn't see him at all.

"My lord, the chief secretary is in the council, Mr. Qian is here to visit!"

Hearing the servant's report, Hu Jin'an felt a little puzzled. He thought he had no friendship with Qian Ruiming, and it was abnormal for the other party to come over at this time.

"Please serve tea in the front hall, I'll come over after changing!"

"Yes!"

When Hu Jinan came to the front hall, he saw Qian Ruiming standing with his hands behind his back, looking up at the paintings on the wall.

"The humble job is late, please don't blame me, my lord!"

"Master Hu, this painting 'Picking Chrysanthemums Under the Eastern Fence' has quite the charm of Tao Yuanming, but why hasn't it been signed?"

Qian Ruiming turned around and looked at Hu Jinan full of doubts.

While beckoning Qian Ruiming to sit down, Hu Jin'an said at the same time: "To tell the truth, this is just a handicraft made by a subordinate official to decorate the facade. Wouldn't it be ridiculous to sign the money!"

After the first person sat down, Qian Ruiming signaled Hu Jinan to sit down too, and said at the same time: "Using my own paintings to decorate the door, Mr. Hu really has a breeze in his sleeves!"

Although this was his own home, Hu Jin'an still seemed extraordinarily humble, and sat in the guest's seat in a daze.

He knew that Qian Ruiming's coming here must have a deep meaning, so he said along the topic: "Even so, there are villains who make trouble from it and pour dirty water on the humble job!"

"I've also heard about your case. This is really an innocent disaster. All the colleagues in Jinling are complaining about you!"

"The world is going downhill, and the humble position has been dismissed by the crown prince. I'm afraid this interrogation will be inevitable!"

Hu Jin'an's speech progressed very quickly, and he mentioned interrogation without foreshadowing, just wanting to get a word from Qian Ruiming to see if the interrogation could be avoided.

Seeing through his thoughts, Qian Ruiming said slowly: "This time, it's not as simple as you think. This case involves the entire Jinling officialdom!"

Next, Qian Ruiming explained the details of the matter in detail, and only then did Hu Jin'an fully understand the situation.

"So, you have to go to court for this case, and confront the prince openly!"

"Behind you are your colleagues in Jinling's officialdom and Prince Rui. We may not lose this lawsuit!" Qian Ruiming slowly explained.

After listening to all the analysis, Hu Jin'an finally understood the situation, and at the moment he felt both relieved and uneasy.

Although there will be many people helping him, as a veteran of the officialdom, he is well aware of the risks of this lawsuit.

As the spokesperson who was launched, he is likely to become a victim no matter what his side wins or loses.

But in the face of these, Hu Jin'an had no choice but to let the general trend push him forward.

"My lord, have you ever been to the Xue residence?"

Qian Ruiming said calmly: "The Xue family has no choice just like you, but we have put pressure on him, so the Xue family will not be too difficult!"

But it was difficult for Hu Jinan to convince Hu Jinan, because as a pawn, he could understand the situation of the Xue family better at this moment.

Next, the two discussed the details of the trial.

…………

Luoyang, the capital of the gods, and the inner city that wraps the imperial city, is the place where the rich and powerful live together.

The mansions of the nobles and senior officials of the royal family occupied all the places in the inner city, including Rongguo Mansion, one of the four kings and eight princes.

Under the afterglow of the setting sun, the Rongguo Mansion was quiet and peaceful, and the servants and maidservants were busy walking around, serving the meals and daily life of the masters and masters of the mansion.

In the second room to the east of Rongxi Hall, there is a middle-aged man in a brocade robe, frowning at the letter at the moment.

This person is the person in charge of the palace, Jia Zheng, who is currently a member of the Ministry of Industry, and sitting beside him is Mrs. Wang.

"This bastard really ate the heart of a bear and the guts of a leopard..."

"What kind of thing is he? He actually messed with the Thirteenth Master. Isn't this bastard looking for death?"

Hearing her husband yelling violently, Mrs. Wang didn't dare to answer for a while, and could only silently wait for her husband to calm down.

Even she didn't dare to speak, and Sanchun and Jia Huan who were sitting in the room were even more silent at the moment.

"You all go out!"

Hearing this, Yingchun and the four of them hurriedly left after getting up and saluting as if they were receiving an amnesty.

After calming down her husband's anger, Mrs. Wang said: "Pan'er is really messing around, sir, you have to find a way, after all, my sister is the only son!"

"Nonsense? Do you still think this is nonsense?" Jia Zheng's suppressed anger was burning again at this moment.

"He's looking for death. It's not enough to harm the Xue family, but now he wants to implicate us!"

"The Thirteenth Master didn't pursue it, why should the master insist on this matter!" Mrs. Wang's tone was dissatisfied.

"The Thirteenth Master cut him down with a knife, and our house is clean!" Seeing that his wife was really stupid, Jia Zheng didn't intend to talk to him, so he got up and went outside.

This matter involved so much that even Jia Zheng couldn't make up his mind, so he wanted to go to Wang's house.

When her husband left, Mrs. Wang became more and more annoyed, and finally said angrily: "Hmph, it's just that I don't like it, why use Pan'er as an argument!"

Besides, when Sanchun and others left Rongxi Hall, Jia Huan went back to Aunt Zhao's residence, while Sanchun rushed to Jia's mother's courtyard.

It was already dinner time, and seeing that the three granddaughters hadn't come yet, Mother Jia had already sent someone to remind her several times.

Knowing that she was listening to the training at Jia Zheng's office, Jia's mother gave up, and ordered the maids to stop passing the meal and talk to Baoyu and Daiyu.

"The girl is here!"

The children and women outside shouted, and after a while, Sanchun came hand in hand, standing in front of Jia's mother to salute and say hello.

After paying their respects, everyone entered the table one by one, with Jia Mu at the top, Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu on the left and right.

Both of them are only eleven or twelve years old, and their bodies have not yet developed. They look like children, sitting next to Jia Mu without taking up space.

"Why did you stay with you for so long today?"

Jia Baoyu couldn't help asking questions, and the petite Lin Daiyu was also curious, hoping to hear something new.

Only Tanchun replied: "The aunt of the Xue family in Jinling sent a letter, saying that the eldest brother of the Xue family was fighting for slaves in the street, and was beaten up by the thirteenth master!"

"Master Thirteen?" Jia Baoyu looked puzzled.

If it was a child of another Xungui family, he would know who it was just by hearing these three words, but the Jia family did not have such tutors.

On the contrary, Jiamu, who was sitting at the top, frowned tightly at this moment, waiting for Tanchun to continue talking.

"It is the No. 13 Son of the Holy One!"

(End of this chapter)