King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 773 Night comes and dreams suddenly return home

Jiao Xing waited in the study for more than ten minutes before she saw her husband appear with a gloomy face.

"Master, why did you call me here?"

Entering the study, Jia Yucun asked coldly, "Did you accept anything from someone?"

Jiao Xing guessed that it was this, so she answered, "It's just some books. They brought so many things, and I didn't take anything else... In the end, I couldn't resist, so I left a few boxes of books behind!"

"Then do you know...what's in the box?"

Jiao Xing replied: "I have seen them all. They are all newly printed books, and they still smell of ink!"

She was still very cautious. After opening the box and checking that there was no problem, she kept the worthless book.

"Hmmmm...Have you checked all the boxes?"

"This... I saw two!"

"How many are there in total?"

"Three...four!"

Sitting on the chair with a cold face, Jia Yucun said coldly: "The box under the couch has a letter at the bottom, a book and a banknote. Did you know this?"

"Is this really true?" Jiao Xing was shocked.

But looking at her husband's expression, Jiao Xing knew it was true.

Having been an official's wife for so many years, she knew what this meant, so she knelt on the ground and apologized.

"Master, I..." Jiao Xing started crying before she even started talking.

Jia Yucun wanted to curse a few words, but when he saw his wife's expression, he swallowed back the words that were about to come out of his mouth.

Seeing her husband remained silent, Jiao Xing raised her head and asked worriedly, "Master...what...should I do?"

Sighing, Jia Yucun stood up and reached out to help Jiao Xing up.

"Forget it. They haven't left yet. Send someone back now and get it done today... You know which families they are, arrange for them to go now!"

To be honest, Jiao Xing has always been cautious and thorough in doing things, so Jia Yucun is very confident in her. Today's situation is essentially an accident.

"Yes...I will definitely get it done!"

"Well...you go first!"

To him, a disciple of the crown prince and the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, what had just happened was just a trivial matter. What troubled him the most was how to judge the case.

After thinking for a while, Jia Yucun gradually came to an idea.

Tomorrow I will ask the Crown Prince for instructions and submit the list of charges. I will give you my suggestions and let His Highness handle it...

This is actually a stupid move, but sometimes when people think about a problem for too long and consider too many factors, they lose track of the priorities.

Simply put, those involved are confused!
Of course, he could also submit his proposed proposal to his superior for approval, but he knew without a doubt that the old fox would definitely not sign it and would ask him to submit it directly to the cabinet for a draft.

In a blink of an eye, a few days passed and Jia Yucun finally sorted out everything. As a procedure, he showed it to his superior first, but he took the manuscript to the "Prince's Residence".

Half an hour later, Jia Yucun entered the mansion, but learned that Zhu Jinghong was not in the mansion, but living in a villa outside the city.

Compared with the hardworking old emperor, Zhu Jinghong obviously knew how to enjoy life better, so he went out of the city to have fun.

Now, half a month has passed since he returned to Beijing. It has been an extremely busy period.

So early this morning, he made a sudden decision to leave Beijing for vacation, and initially planned to stay for two to three days.

Now that he was here and it was still early, Jia Yucun hurried out of the city. He had to finalize the matter today.

Another hour later, Jia Yucun arrived at the heavily guarded prince's villa. After being led into the mansion and explaining his purpose, he could only wait quietly.

The villa covers a large area and the scenery is very different from the mansion in the capital. It is a great place for leisure and entertainment.

This time when he left the house, Zhu Jinghong brought his wives, concubines, and children with him, and they are now in the forest behind the villa.

Some people are flying kites, some are painting, some are playing chess under the shade of trees, and some are playing with their children...

Apart from a few serving palace maids, there were almost no extra people on the scene, and the guards and garrison troops were further away.

"I'm not coming anymore, I'm not coming anymore...let me go!"

In the mountains and fields, the horses are galloping.

Crown Princess Baochai was wearing a short jacket and a horse-faced skirt. She was screaming with nervousness at the moment, and Zhu Jinghong was sitting behind her.

"You can't fall down, stop screaming!"

"Wait a moment, wait a moment..." Baochai was so anxious that she was about to cry.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Jinghong said: "Hurry up, we need to speed up..."

Then Baochai's voice became even louder. Fortunately, there was no one else around, otherwise she would have lost all face as the Crown Princess.

In the distance, Yu Hai was chatting and laughing with Deng An, and they were much more intimate than before.

Originally there were three general managers in the Prince Xiang's Palace. Now Deng An went to the East Factory, Zhang Ping'an went to the Imperial Stables, and only Yu Hai remained in the palace.

Therefore, in the past two years, Yu Hai has been rather lonely. The other eunuchs are of lower seniority than him, which makes it difficult for him to even find someone to talk to.

As the saying goes, when one person succeeds, everyone around him will benefit. Not only Zhu Jinghong was overshadowed by Dugu, but his subordinates also had this trend.

Deng An came to report the situation today. After finishing the work, he was not in a hurry to leave, so he started chatting with Yu Hai.

When the two were chatting happily, a young eunuch came in to report that Jia Yucun had come to pay a visit, and also to inform Zhu Jinghong that Yu Hai had gone in person.

Deng An was a smart man. After listening to the young eunuch's explanation of Jia Yucun's purpose and combining it with the intelligence he had received in recent days, he guessed the purpose of this guy's visit.

At this time, Yu Hai had already said goodbye and left, riding a horse to find Zhu Jinghong.

Ten minutes later, Yu Hai came back, so Deng An asked him what happened.

"Your Highness asked me to find a copy of the Great Ming Law and send him away!"

After nodding slightly, Deng An said, "I'll go with you to meet him!"

When the two eunuchs went to the villa, Zhu Jinghong and his wife were riding on the same horse in the mountains and forests on the other side, but their speed had slowed down.

"You are a Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, but you can't even do your job well? Why should I come to you?" Baochai looked unfriendly.

Zhu Jinghong said: "It's because he doesn't want to offend people. This is not surprising. Anyone in that position would be in trouble!"

Baochai said: "Only by facing difficulties can one show loyalty. If he can't share the worries of his emperor and father, what's the point of supporting him with a high position and generous salary?"

Zhu Jinghong sighed: "Do you think the world is full of Wang Pei'an? This Jia Yucun is already the tallest among the short ones. We can only use him if we can!"

There is no way around it. Unless we recreate a new class of beneficiaries, we will have to rely on the literati to rule the country.

Let’s talk about Deng An and the other person. At this moment, they came to the reception room and met Jia Yucun who had been waiting for a long time.

"Master Jia, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said that the judgment of the case is the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice, and you should make the judgment according to the law. He also specially asked me to bring you a book!"

After saying that, Yu Hai waved to the young eunuch behind him, and the latter walked up to Jia Yucun with a tray.

This was a gift from the prince. Jia Yucun did not dare to be negligent in the slightest and immediately bent his waist and took it carefully.

Seeing that it was actually a volume of "The Great Ming Law" was indeed beyond Jia Yucun's expectations, and it made him think of many things.

While he was thinking, Deng An smiled and said, "Master Jia, His Highness gave you a book. Do you understand its meaning?"

"Ming...understand!"

Deng An still had a smile on his face and said, "Lord Jia is a smart man, but sometimes being too smart is not necessarily a good thing... Let me remind you, don't be too smart!" Deng An is no ordinary person now. He is the second-in-command of the East Factory, second only to the eunuch Cheng Ying.

So judging from status alone, Deng An is no lower than Jia Yucun, and he is very confident in teaching him a lesson.

"If a person does not work for himself, he will be punished by heaven and earth. But if he only considers his own gains and losses and forgets about his master... such a person will not last long!"

These words were like a sharp sword piercing Jia Yucun's heart. At this moment, he had completely come to his senses and truly understood how stupid a thing he had done.

While Deng An was talking and giving advice on the country's affairs, Yu Hai, who was standing beside him, was thinking about more.

Jia Yucun was too smart, but did Deng An, who was full of vigor and vitality, overdo it? Yu Hai watched all this silently.

Jia Yucun left, and Deng An and the other returned to the enclosure.

On the way, Yu Hai asked, "Why did you tell him so much?"

"As servants, we have to consider our masters more. Especially the East Factory where I work. We monitor the officials and report on their affairs. We have to keep an eye on these officials for the Crown Prince!"

"Today, Jia Hua brought the case file here, hoping that Your Highness would take the blame for him. His heart is worthy of death... Your Highness is kind and magnanimous, we cannot let Your Highness suffer any loss!"

As a eunuch, even if he was the chief secretary of the Imperial Household Department or even the seal bearer, his power and status came from the trust of the monarch, and political loyalty was the lifeblood of the eunuch.

After a few moments of silence, Yu Hai replied: "I think it's better to talk less and do more!"

With a sigh, Deng An replied: "I am different from you. The three of us... are all different!"

Deng An said this out of his own feelings, and the so-called differences are not innate, but are caused by the development of the situation.

Simply put, Zhu Jinghong positioned the three of them differently, which led to them being in different positions and having matching styles of doing things.

To be honest, Deng An was actually very reluctant to do dirty work back then, but he had no choice.

Seeing Yu Hai was silent, Deng An half-jokingly said, "Brother Yu, Zhang Pingan and I actually envy you!"

A few days passed quickly, and on the eighth day of July, the Ministry of Justice announced its verdict on the officials involved in the case, which was submitted to the Ministry of Public Security by Jia Yucun, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice.

The officials involved in the case were distributed in eleven provinces in the north and south. According to the law, 28 officials were sentenced to beheading and property confiscation, 86 were sentenced to property confiscation and exile, and another 172 were sentenced to property confiscation.

After the work of the Ministry of Justice was completed, the next busy part was the Ministry of Personnel, because there were so many vacancies to be filled, and some of the lucrative positions were naturally coveted by some people.

After the Ministry of Justice submitted the memorial to the Cabinet, Chief Minister Zhao Yushan personally drafted it for approval, and then sent it to the Emperor for his approval.

In order to deal with so many officials at one time, the emperor ordered a court meeting, and all six ministries of the cabinet were present to discuss the matter, including the crown prince Zhu Jinghong.

Logically speaking, the emperor could have approved it directly. The reason for this court discussion was entirely a show directed by the old man.

As the main actor, Zhu Jinghong followed the emperor's instructions and expressed his opinions on the verdict at the court meeting, hoping that those who were sentenced too severely could be given leniency.

Zhu Jinghong's suggestion was to execute and confiscate the property of those who had committed heinous crimes, while the rest would be exempted from the death penalty and confiscation of property, and allow the officials involved to take half of their property and go to the new land of Southeast Asia to spread the king's rule.

Compared with beheading, confiscating property and exiling, although going to Southeast Asia is also very dangerous, it is relatively hopeful. After all, they are not criminals and they have huge wealth.

The suggestion was made by Zhu Jinghong, and it could be considered as a favor he was doing to the literati, although this favor was also quite strange.

Several ministers agreed with this, but the chief minister Zhao Yushan had some reservations. In his opinion, anyone who obstructed the land survey should be put to death.

Of course, Zhao Yushan was not stupid. He did not show any dissatisfaction at all. Instead, he was the first person to praise the "Prince's kindness."

So the Ministry of Justice re-convicted the person, and Jia Yucun was still in charge of the matter, but he felt even more upset.

In the blink of an eye, another half month had passed, the officials had made arrangements for the situation, and July was coming to an end.

Zhu Jinghong said he was busy. Every day, apart from reading the cabinet's approval, he would hang out in the military camps and workshops, but he did not miss out on any enjoyable things.

In comparison, Emperor Zhu Xianming had a much harder time. Now the land survey in the south has been completed halfway, which is a very gratifying achievement.

His current idea is that if he quickly accomplishes this important task, he can pass the throne to Zhu Jinghong and enjoy a peaceful life, so Zhu Xianming arranges his daily schedule fully.

At night, Zhu Xianming, who was tired after a day's work, strolled to the Imperial Garden. While thinking about the real situation in various places, he heard a pleasant laughter.

The voice seemed very familiar to him, and it made him want to explore, so he followed the sound and went looking for the place.

Who would be in the garden at this time?

After passing through a doorway, the scene in front of him made him very confused because it was different from what he remembered.

There was another thing he hadn't noticed. It had been dark when he had been taking a walk just now, but now it was already broad daylight.

There is a pond in front of the doorway, and on the other side of the pond is a palace. At this moment, the window is open and a bright-eyed girl is dressing herself.

When he saw this girl, Zhu Xianming was stunned, because that person... was the one he had been thinking about day and night!
"Qing...Qingyin?" Zhu Xianming's voice was weak, for fear of disturbing the woman inside the window.

But no matter how soft his voice was, it still startled the woman in the window. The girl, who was drawing her eyebrows in front of the mirror with a brush, turned her head and looked at Zhu Xianming.

When their eyes met, Zhu Xianming was stunned for a moment, and memories kept emerging in his mind.

He remembered that this was Qiu Shuang Zhai in the back garden of Prince Jing's Mansion, which was the princess' favorite residence.

Didn't Qingyin leave? Why, why... Zhu Xianming was confused at the moment, but he kept staring at his wife, fearing that he would lose his beloved again.

He didn't dare to speak, didn't dare to disrupt this rare encounter, but the woman in the window smiled slightly and called out very affectionately: "Silang!"

The next moment, the woman stood up, walked towards a house on the side, and disappeared from Zhu Xianming's sight.

“Qingyin, Qingyin…”

After shouting twice, Zhu Xianming followed the direction he remembered and ran towards the gate of Qiu Shuang Zhai. His steps were staggering but he did not slow down at all.

After he entered Qiu Shuang Zhai, he searched anxiously throughout the main hall and the side halls, and finally saw his wife in the study in the back corridor.

The girl was sitting behind the desk, with her head down, writing. When she saw Zhu Xianming suddenly come in, she raised her head.

After confirming that it was the wife in his memory, Zhu Xianming staggered forward again, and this time the girl Yang Qingyin also stood up.

"Shiro, you're back!"

"Qingyin, what's wrong with you?"

Yang Qingyin came closer, looked up at Zhu Xianming, then reached out and touched his face. His old face and gray temples made Yang Qingyin look surprised.

"Shiro, why...are you so old?"

The girl's voice was like a silver bell, and Zhu Xianming was already very old. At this moment, he stared at his wife intently, fearing that he would lose her again in the next moment.

"Qingyin, you're back? Are you really back?" This was the question that Zhu Xianming cared about most, so he asked it twice in a row.

He was lonely and many times in the middle of the night he woke up in dreams, missing his first wife who was still alive. He never expected that his dream would come true.

Yang Qingyin had a smile on her face, which warmed Zhu Xianming's heart and greatly healed his lonely heart.

"I've always been here and never left you!" Yang Qingyin said slowly.

At this moment, Zhu Xianming suddenly felt that being an emperor was meaningless, and that staying with his first wife for the rest of his life was undoubtedly more important.

So he had made up his mind to go to the Fengtian Hall to convene a court meeting and pass the throne to the Thirteenth Prince.

However, at this moment, a baby crying was heard from somewhere, which made Zhu Xianming deeply confused.

"It's Yuan'er crying, I'll go check it out!"

"Yuan'er?"

"You even forgot about your son?"

After saying this, Yang Qingyin turned and walked towards the compartment, and Zhu Xianming immediately followed.

(End of this chapter)