The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 373: A Sentimental Young Man and a Loyal Prefect

Yi Hong walked out of the prison of the Pacification Division calmly. A jailer brought a basin of water. Pacification Envoy Lei Zhengfa hurriedly took it and skillfully handed it to Yi Hong for him to wash his hands.

If outsiders saw this scene, they would be shocked. They would not have thought that Lei Lao Hu, who had a rough appearance and a domineering style, would be so servile and flexible in front of Yi Hong, turning from a tiger into a cat. The scene was really funny and shameful.

Yi Hong put his bloodstained hands into the basin to wash them clean, and lazily ordered: "Old Lei, sort out the confessions of those old guys, and give me a detailed account of the property confiscated during this period."

Lei Zhengfa said respectfully, "As you command, all the confiscated property has been registered. I will personally deliver it to you for your inspection later."

Yi Hong patted Lei Zhengfa on the shoulder and said in a serious tone, "As the saying goes, a horse cannot grow fat without night grass, and a man cannot get rich without unexpected wealth. In the past, it would not matter if the brothers worked hard and got a little more. But now Liaodong is spending a lot, and the treasury is tight. The emperor is worried about this day and night. There is a saying that when the master is worried, the minister is humiliated, and when the master is humiliated, the minister dies. You and I are deeply blessed by the emperor, and at this time we should do our best to share the worries of the emperor. Old Lei, what do you think?"

Lei Zhengfa had a slight layer of cold sweat on his forehead and said cautiously, "That's right, that's right."

"Yeah!" Yi Hong nodded, turned around and left. Lei Zhengfa wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his eyes uncertain.

Yi Hong had just returned to his temporary office and had just sat down when a Jinyiwei came in and reported: "Sir, Master Huan San is outside asking to see you."

"Jia Huan?" Yi Hongdu's eyes flashed with surprise, and he waved his hand and said, "Bring him in."

Yi Hong has always wanted to win over Jia Huan, but the latter's attitude was always lukewarm, as if he didn't want to have a close relationship with him. It was a bit surprising that he came to him today on his own initiative.

After a while, Jia Huan was brought in. He was calm as always, bowed and said, "I am Jia Huan, honored to meet Master Yi!"

"Oh, Brother Huan, there's no need to be so polite. Come and sit down!" Yi Hongxiao came forward with a smile on his face and pulled Jia Huan to sit down. His enthusiasm was as if he was meeting old friends who had not seen each other for many years, which made Jia Huan a little "flattered".

In fact, half of the enthusiasm shown by Yi Hong was not fake. He was really happy to make friends with Jia Huan. There was no other way. This kid's performance was so evil. It could almost be said that Kang Dayong and his gang were wiped out by Jia Huan. The fact that Yi Hong was able to successfully complete the task assigned to him by Emperor Qiansheng (to overthrow Prince Yi Zhong) was also largely due to Jia Huan. This boy was so young, but so outstanding in all aspects. His future was absolutely limitless. No one dared to underestimate him, naturally including Yi Hong.

"Master Yi, you are too polite." Jia Huan glanced at Yi Hong, who looked very happy, and said with a smile, "Master Yi has come to Jinling from Yangzhou. It seems that the case has been almost solved. His triumphant return to Beijing is just around the corner!"

Yi Hong laughed and said comfortably: "It's almost done. The evil spirits involved in the Yangzhou smuggling salt case have been basically eliminated. It's all thanks to Brother Huan. If you hadn't saved Kang Lingcheng and obtained the crucial account book, and saved the witnesses and evidence, I'm afraid we wouldn't have been able to force out the big fish behind the scenes in the end."

"I just happened to be there. I don't dare to take credit for it. It's all thanks to Lord Lin and Lord Yi's good command. You two lords deserve great credit." Jia Huan said modestly.

Yi Hong felt relieved when he heard this, secretly thinking that Jia Huan was a wise guy, and laughed, "To be honest, Brother Huan played an indispensable role in the annihilation of Kang Dayong's gang and the successful resolution of this case. I have also recommended Brother Huan for merit in the memorial to the emperor, and I believe that the emperor will reward him in the future."

Jia Huan said with joy: "I don't deserve it. Thank you, Lord Yi, for your support."

"Hehe, Brother Huan, are you being too formal? We are friends who have lived together for life. If I don't help you, Brother Yi, who will I help?" Yi Hong looked at Jia Huan sincerely, but it was a pity that the one-eye was still a little creepy.

In fact, Yi Hong did mention Jia Huan in the memorial he submitted to Emperor Qiansheng, but not much, just a passing mention. He was cruel and ruthless, but also narrow-minded. Even if he intended to win over Jia Huan, he would not truly support him unless the latter was obedient and served as his younger brother.

As for Lin Ruhai, he really wanted to promote Jia Huan, but considering Jia Huan's age and status, it was not appropriate for him to come forward too early, so he also glossed over what Jia Huan had done in the memorial written to Emperor Qiansheng.

In other words, Lin Ruhai and Yi Hong did the same thing, but their purposes were very different. Lin Ruhai wanted to protect Jia Huan, while Yi Hong was worried that Jia Huan would steal his credit.

Let's get back to the point. After Yi Hong pretended to be friendly with Jia Huan, he asked Jia Huan about his performance in the provincial examination. Then he smiled and said, "Brother Huan, did you come to see me this time for something else?"

Jia Huan nodded and said, "There is indeed something I would like to ask Master Yi for help."

A barely perceptible light flashed in Yi Hong's eyes, and he asked with great interest, "What's the matter? Brother Huan, just tell me. Brother Yi, I will help you if I can!"

Jia Huan cupped his hands and said, "Master Yi must also know about the Xue family's affairs in Jinling, right?"

Yi Hong nodded and said with a playful tone, "Of course I know. A few days ago in Yangzhou, Uncle Feng even pleaded with me for the Xue family. I heard from Lao Lei that Brother Huan also approached him for this. Later, Lao Lei also released Uncle Xue and unsealed all the properties under the Xue family's name. Hehe, could it be that Brother Huan is still not satisfied with this?"

Jia Huan said bluntly: "I am indeed not very satisfied."

Yi Hong almost spit out a mouthful of tea, obviously not expecting Jia Huan to be so direct, but the words were already out, and he couldn't take them back, so he could only cough twice and said: "Brother Huan, what else are you dissatisfied with?"

Jia Huan pretended to be angry and said, "Although Governor Lei gave Jia Huan some face for the sake of Lord Yi, he finally released Master Xue and unsealed the Xue family's properties."

Yi Hong glanced at Jia Huan and thought, you know that Lao Lei is doing this for my sake, right?
Jia Huan continued angrily, "But Lei Zhenfu bullied the orphan girl and widow of the Xue family, embezzled 80,000 taels of silver from them, and refused to return it. This is really shameful and outrageous. Although the Xue family is wealthy, 80,000 taels of silver is all they have, and now they can't even afford to eat. Jia Huan really can't stand it, so I shamelessly asked Lord Yi to do justice."

There was a barely perceptible cold light in Yi Hong's eyes. He knew that Lei Zhengfa had extorted money from the Xue family, but the latter reported to him that the amount was 40,000 taels, which was half less. In other words, Lei Zhengfa actually embezzled 40,000 taels.

It is said that when Jia Huan was talking to Lei Zhengfa, he originally planned to forget about the 80,000 taels of silver to avoid a quarrel with each other, and just consider it as a loss of money to ward off disaster, and also to teach Xue Fan a lesson. However, when he learned that the 80,000 taels of silver was actually all the treasury silver of the Xue family, and even forced Baochai to give away all her personal ornaments, he changed his mind and determined to get the 80,000 taels of silver back, so he came to Yi Hong today.

Of course, Jia Huan also knew that both Lei Zhengfa and Yi Hong himself were ruthless people. It would be harder than climbing to the sky to ask them to spit out the fat they had eaten. But even so, he still decided to give it a try.

Yi Hong stared at Jia Huan with his single eye for a while, and asked in a playful tone: "Brother Huan, do you want Lao Lei to return the 80,000 silver coins to the Xue family?"

Jia Huan nodded and said righteously, "That's right. Since Mr. Xue has been acquitted, the 80,000 taels of silver seized should be returned in full."

Originally, the 80,000 taels of silver were sent by the Xue family to Lei Zhengfa, which was a bribe, so when Jia Huan said it was "confiscated", the nature of the money was naturally different.

Yi Hong looked at Jia Huan's calm and self-righteous expression, feeling both annoyed and a little amused. It turns out that besides being cunning, you are also quite shameless. However, compared with those self-righteous Confucian scholars, this kid is more pleasing to the eye.

Yi Hong was born a military man with little education. Although he was the head of the Jinyiwei, he was often despised by civil officials in the court. Therefore, he had no good feelings towards literati, especially those self-proclaimed sour scholars.

"Brother Huan, do you think a tiger can spit out the meat it has eaten?" Yi Hong continued to look at Jia Huan with interest.

Jia Huan shook his head and said, "Of course not."

Yi Hong chuckled and clapped his hands, saying, "Old Lei's nickname is Lei Lao Hu."

"That's in front of others. In front of Master Yi, I'm just a house cat."

Yi Hong couldn't help but laugh out loud. Although he knew that Jia Huan was deliberately flattering him, he was still very pleased and said with a smile: "Brother Huan, you think too highly of me."

Jia Huan said softly, "Could it be that Lei Zhengfa still dares to disobey Master Yi?"

Yi Hong stopped smiling and said calmly: "Xiao Jia, you don't have to flatter me or try to provoke me. Since you want me to put pressure on Lao Lei, you'd better come up with a price that will make me excited. It's useless to just talk."

Jia Huan pondered for a moment and said, "Then consider it as Jia Huan owing Master Yi a favor."

Yi Hong sneered and said, "Brother Huan, do you really think that one favor of yours is worth eighty thousand taels of silver?"

Jia Huan said confidently: "Of course it is worth it. If Lord Yi thinks it is not worth it, you might as well think about what happened in Yangzhou City last month."

Yi Hong's face darkened when he heard this. On the night of the seventh day of July, Ji Jinxiao and others suddenly launched an attack on the Salt Inspectorate's Office. If Jia Huan had not left a backup plan, he would have lost his life. Taking into account the time when he went out to sea to pursue Kang Dayong, strictly speaking, Jia Huan saved him at least twice.

Yi Hong's expression changed for a long time, and suddenly he smiled and said, "Okay, deal, I'll take this favor from Brother Huan."

"In that case, I'll have to trouble you, Lord Yi!" Jia Huan bowed calmly, as if he was sure that Yi Hong would accept this condition and was not surprised at all.

At this moment, a Jinyiwei came in and reported: "Mr. Jia, the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture, is here to visit."

Jia Huan's heart moved, and he took the opportunity to stand up and said, "Master Yi is busy with official duties, Jia Huan will take his leave first, and I will host Master Yi for a drink another day."

Yi Hong smiled and said, "No problem, Xiao Lu, please see Brother Huan off for me." Jinyiwei Captain Lu Youwei flashed in from outside the door and said with a smile, "Master Huan San, please come in!"

Yi Hong watched Jia Huan leave, with a hint of enlightenment on his face. After a while, the captain Lu Youwei returned and asked in confusion: "Why did you agree to Jia Huan? Can a favor like this be worth 80,000 taels of silver?"

Yi Hong sneered and said, "No matter if it's worth it or not, I have paid off what I owed him. Now it's the other way around, and it's that guy who owes me a favor, hehe."

Lu Youwei gave a thumbs up and complimented: "Great!"

Yi Hong sneered again and said, "Jia Huan is quite amorous. He has an ambiguous relationship with the young lady from the Lin family, and now he is flirting with the girl from the Xue family and is willing to stand up for the Xue family. How interesting!"

Lu Youwei smiled and said, "Since ancient times, heroes have been unable to resist the temptation of beauty. The young lady from the Lin family is indeed as beautiful as a fairy, rare in the world. Although I have never seen the young lady from the Xue family, I think she must be no bad either. I heard that this girl is very capable, much better than her useless brother."

On the night of the seventh day of the seventh month, the office of the Salt Inspectorate was breached and everyone finally hid in the Buddhist temple. Therefore, Yi Hong, Lu Youwei and others saw Lin Daiyu's true appearance and witnessed with their own eyes how Lin Daiyu vomited blood in anxiety because Jia Huan did not escape from the fire in time. Her feelings were so sincere that anyone who was not stupid could see it.

At this time, Yi Hong said with a little emotion: "Jia Huan is a cunning boy. He is very knowledgeable at a young age. He is flexible and resourceful. He is always calm and composed. He is also very lucky. He can accomplish anything. If he becomes an official in the future, his future will be limitless."

Lu Youwei echoed, "Indeed, the key is that this boy is too young. If he can pass the provincial examination this time and obtain the title of Jinshi next year, he will enter the officialdom at the age of less than fourteen. If nothing unexpected happens, he can slowly gain experience in the future and enter the cabinet. Moreover, this boy is so smart and talented, and the possibility of him entering the cabinet and becoming a prime minister is very high. In this way, his favor may not be worth 80,000 taels of silver."

Yi Hong smiled smugly and said, "Do you think I will agree to his request?"

Lu Youwei said admiringly: "Your Excellency is indeed far-sighted!"

It is worth mentioning here that Yi Hong’s smart “investment” this time will save his life in the future. Of course, this is a later story and we will not discuss it here for now.

When Jia Huan was leaving, he happened to meet Jia Yucun on the way. The latter was following a Jinyiwei silently, looking like he was worried about something.

Jia Huan had never liked Jia Yucun, this traitor. Moreover, this time he accepted Baochai's money, did not help her and disappeared, so his impression of him became even worse. Just as he was about to pass by him, Jia Yucun recognized him and blurted out, "But is it Brother Huan?"

Jia Huan had no choice but to stand still and pretend to be surprised and said, "It turned out to be Lord Jia. I didn't recognize him at first."

Jia Yucun's eyes flashed with a trace of imperceptible surprise, and he stroked his beard and smiled, "Four years have passed in the blink of an eye. Huan'er has grown a lot taller and more outstanding. Now he has become a handsome young man. I almost didn't recognize him."

Back then in the Jia Mansion, Jia Huan went to Jia Zheng's study to borrow a book and happened to run into Jia Zheng meeting Jia Yucun in the study. That was the first and only time the two met. It had been almost four years since then, so Jia Huan was a little surprised that the other party could recognize him at a glance. Although this idiot was easily ungrateful, his memory for other things was not bad.

At this time, Jia Yucun looked Jia Huan up and down with admiration, and said with a smile: "The mountain is near and the moon is far away, so the moon seems small, and people say that the mountain is bigger than the moon. If someone had eyes as big as the sky, he would see that the mountain is high and the moon is wider.

When I heard this poem, I predicted that Huan'er would be extraordinary in the future. Sure enough, in the following boy's examination, Huan'er won three first places in a row, becoming the legend of the Little Three Yuan. Now his reputation has spread far and wide, and his future is limitless. "

Jia Huan said calmly, "Master Jia, you are too kind. Commander Yi must still be waiting, so I won't waste your time."

Jia Yucun's expression froze for a moment, but he recovered in the blink of an eye, smiled and nodded, saying, "Then we'll talk again another day."

Jia Huan bowed slightly, turned around and walked away. Jia Yucun was a traitor who was very good at changing his ways according to the situation. He was able to be reinstated only by clinging to Wang Ziteng. Now that he saw that Prince Yi Zhong had been overthrown and the emperor's family was at a disadvantage, he immediately went to visit Yi Hong. Was he going to betray someone again?

In the original novel of Dream of the Red Chamber, Jia Yucun is an ungrateful character who is extremely good at opportunism. In the beginning, he relied on the Jia family and the Wang family to rise to power, and his official position became higher and higher. But later he betrayed the Jia family. It can be said that the downfall of the Jia family is inseparable from him. This guy is an out-and-out traitor.

As for Jia Yucun, he watched Jia Huan walk away, then frowned, looking as if he was thinking about something.

There is no doubt that those who are good at opportunism are often good at observing words and expressions. Although Jia Huan behaved politely just now, Jia Yucun was still keenly aware of Jia Huan's indifference to him, and even a hint of contempt!
"How strange, I don't seem to have offended this kid. Could it be... because of the Xue family's matter? Yes, it is most likely so!" Jia Yucun was a cautious and suspicious person, so he couldn't help but make random guesses at this time.

"Mr. Prefect, please!"

Just as Jia Yucun was daydreaming, they had arrived at a door. The Jinyiwei who led the way stopped at the door and raised his hand as a gesture of invitation.

Jia Yucun came to his senses, straightened his clothes, and then walked into the house.

In the hall, Yi Hong sat there with his arms and legs spread out. He did not stand up to greet people, but just held the teacup and sipped tea leisurely.

You have to know that the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture is a third-rank official. Yi Hong's behavior is undoubtedly extremely rude. If it were any other civil servant with integrity, he would have walked away in anger. However, Jia Yucun did not change his expression. Instead, he quickly stepped forward, bowed and said, "Your humble servant greets Lord Yi!"

In fact, the rank of the Jinyi Guards was only the third grade. In other words, Yi Hong's level was the same as Jia Yucun. If we take into account the respect for civil officials and the inferiority of military officials, Yi Hong's status was actually lower than Jia Yucun's. However, Jia Fuyin was so humble that he called himself a "subordinate official" without batting an eyelid.

Yi Hong was stunned for a moment, then showed an expression of "you are awesome", and was obviously impressed by Jia Yucun's shamelessness. He teased, "I dare not. Your Excellency the prefect has stepped on this humble land. It is really an honor for us. Please take a seat!"

Jia Yucun remained calm and continued to sit down with a smile on his face.

While Yi Hong ordered people to serve tea, he secretly guessed Jia Yucun's purpose.

Jia Yucun rose to power with the help of Wang Ziteng and also had contacts with Prince Yi Zhong. Yi Hong naturally regarded him as a member of the emperor's family. He was currently preparing to take advantage of the Yangzhou smuggling salt case to take down Jia Yucun. Unexpectedly, Jia Yucun came to him on his own initiative at this time, which made Yi Hong a little confused.

The two exchanged a few pleasantries, and Yi Hong finally couldn't help but ask, "What brings you here, Lord Jia?"

Jia Yucun coughed lightly and glanced around deliberately. Yi Hong became even more curious and waved away his attendants.

Jia Yucun then lowered his voice and said, "This humble official came here to report a confidential matter to Master Yi."

Yi Hong's heart moved, and he looked at Jia Yucun vigilantly with his one eye, waiting for his next words.

Jia Yucun felt a little daunted by the stare, and he coughed lightly and said, "I heard that the Wang family renovated and expanded their ancestral tomb last year, which was suspected to be beyond the regulations, but I don't know whether it is true or not."

Yi Hong's eyebrows jumped: "Which Wang family?"

Jia Yucun smiled and said, "Besides the King of Jinling, which other Wang family is there?"

Yi Hong was secretly delighted and said with a half-smile: "I heard that the Minister of War Wang Ziteng is the benefactor of Lord Jia. Why did Lord Jia want to report the Wang family at this time?"

Jia Yucun said righteously, "Lord Yi is wrong. Even the grace of parents in raising children is not as great as the grace of heaven. I am deeply blessed by the emperor and I put loyalty first. How can I be disloyal to the emperor just because of personal favors? The destruction of the Wang family's ancestral tomb is a heinous act. Since I know about it, how can I conceal it?"

Yi Hong clapped his hands and cheered, "Great! If all the ministers in the court were like Lord Jia, loyal to the emperor, there would be no need to worry about the prosperity of the Great Jin Dynasty. Hehe, why doesn't Lord Jia personally write a letter to impeach Wang Ziteng?"

Jia Yucun said calmly, "I only heard about this matter and have not verified it on the spot, so I reported it to Lord Yi. I believe that with the ability of the Jinyiwei, it will be easy to verify this matter."

Yi Hong chuckled and said, "Lord Jia is impartial and loyal, and is truly a model of a loyal subject. I will send someone to investigate. If it is confirmed that the Wang family's ancestral tomb has indeed been damaged, Lord Jia will be credited with reporting it."

Jia Yucun hurriedly shook his head and said, "I don't deserve it. I just did what I should do. If it is verified, the credit will naturally go to Master Yi. Please don't mention me."

Yi Hong looked at him with a playful look and asked, "Is Lord Jia worried that the Wang family will retaliate against you?"

Jia Yucun said with emotion: "If it is beneficial to the country, life and death are of no concern. Since I dare to expose the truth, I am not afraid of retaliation. However, Wang Ziteng has helped me after all. If we can save some face for each other, it will be good in the end."

Yi Hong sneered and nodded, saying, "Since Lord Jia is unwilling to come forward, I will not force him to do anything."

Jia Yucun secretly breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly thanked him. After about a cup of tea, he stood up and said goodbye and left.

"This Jia Hua has a keen sense of smell. I guess he guessed that I was going to use him as a scapegoat, so he actually betrayed his benefactor in order to protect himself. Hehe, he is indeed cruel and shameless. But it's okay, I was worried that I had no reason to bring down Wang Ziteng." Yi Hong smiled and was in a good mood.

(End of this chapter)