The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 426 Wang Qi
Although he had known that Prince Yi Zhong would "ruin things", Jia Huan still breathed a sigh of relief after reading the court report. After all, in feudal society, offending a prince was a very terrifying thing. What's more, he had personally killed Prince Yi Zhong's great-grandson Xu Wenhan. If Prince Yi Zhong didn't die this time, he would be in big trouble.

Fortunately, this time, not only did Prince Yi Zhong die, but all his descendants were gone, which is the so-called confiscation of property and extermination of the clan. This means that Prince Yi Zhong's branch of the royal family has been completely exterminated. It can be seen that Emperor Qiansheng knew how to cut the grass at its roots. Since he wanted to touch Prince Yi Zhong, he would not leave any source of trouble for himself.

Since ancient times, the imperial family has been the most ruthless. The struggle for imperial power throughout history has been so cruel, and what Prince Yizhong did was indeed worthy of death. However, the retired emperor Kangping behind him should probably bear 70% of the responsibility. After all, Prince Yizhong was just his white glove.

Of course, Emperor Qiansheng could not directly target his own father, Emperor Kangping, so whether it was the Jinyiwei or the three judicial departments, they tacitly stopped at the link involving Prince Yi Zhong and did not pursue the matter further.

In addition, the prince was not mentioned in the court gazette. It is estimated that Jinyiwei commander Yi Hong concealed the fact that the prince was involved in the case and did the future emperor a favor. Yi Hong undoubtedly understands investment, but I don't know whether this guy actually sold himself out.

Although Jia Huan denied having seen Kang Lingcheng's account book at first, Yi Hong was not an idiot and was obviously unlikely to believe it. If this guy told the prince that he might have seen the account book in order to please the prince, then the matter would be serious. Becoming a thorn in the eyes of the future crown prince would undoubtedly be more terrifying than offending Prince Yi Zhong.

Thinking of this, Jia Huan couldn't help but recall the murderous intent in Yi Hong's eyes when he said goodbye to him in Yangzhou that day. At first, Jia Huan thought Yi Hong was targeting him, but now he thinks it's more likely that he was targeting another person - Wang Ziteng.

That’s right, it’s Wang Ziteng!

Because not long after Jia Huan left Yangzhou by boat, the official gazette broke the news that the Wang family had renovated their ancestral tomb in violation of regulations. A few days later, the news that Wang Ziteng had voluntarily resigned from his post was also reported in the gazette.

This was obviously not a coincidence. With the Jinyiwei's well-informed information and Yi Hong having stayed in Nanjing for such a long time, he probably knew about the violation of the rules in the Wang family's ancestral tomb a long time ago, and then he impeached Wang Ziteng through the Inspector Jiao Fang.

Therefore, Jia Huan guessed that the murderous intent in Yi Hong's eyes was most likely directed at Wang Ziteng. At that time, the Yangzhou smuggling salt case had been proven to be a solid case, and Prince Yi Zhong would definitely not be able to escape. If Wang Ziteng, the remaining Minister of War, fell because of the violation of the ancestral tomb, it would be equivalent to completely abolishing the left and right arms of the emperor...

"Jia, what are you thinking about? You haven't forgotten what you promised me last night, have you?" Mandarin bit Jia Huan's ear and asked in a low voice. Her warm breath brought Jia Huan back from his thoughts.

Jia Huan put down the newspaper in his hand and said with a smile: "Of course I didn't forget, but it snowed heavily last night, and the snow piled up three feet. I'm afraid it's not suitable to go out today. It's better to stay at home."

Mandalin was very disappointed because Jia Huan had promised her last night that he would take her for a walk on the street today. She was also looking forward to seeing the capital of the Jin Dynasty. However, the weather was not good and it snowed heavily all night.

Jia Huan smiled and said, "Let's wait until the weather clears up before taking you out to the street."

Mandalin shrugged helplessly: "Okay, then I'll go learn needlework from Sister Ping'er." After that, she kissed Jia Huan on the cheek and walked away swaying her sexy pear-shaped figure.

Jia Huan walked to the window and pushed it open. A biting cold wind immediately hit him. He saw a thick layer of snow in the yard outside the window. All he could see was white, as if he had entered a fairy-tale glass world.

Although the snow scene in front of him was beautiful, Jia Huan couldn't help frowning. This heavy snow fell at the wrong time. He wondered where Bao Sister's boat was. If the canal was frozen, the journey would be delayed for several days.

…………

In Lady Jia's room, the charcoal fire in the stove was burning very brightly, but the old lady still felt cold and asked someone to put on a large shawl. The red light of the charcoal fire reflected on her old face with wrinkles, flickering.

After a long while, Grandmother Jia sighed and asked, "When did Prince Yi Zhong die?"

Lai Dajia said sternly, "I heard that it was yesterday at noon, when Prince Yi Zhong passed away, and the Emperor's decree arrived, and all the people in the mansion were taken to prison, and all the princes and grandchildren were demoted to commoners and executed on a chosen day, and the maids and slaves were demoted to lowly status and confiscated to the Music Bureau."

Although Lady Jia was also a person who had experienced many storms, she was also silent at this moment. The room seemed to be even colder, and the faces of the senior maids such as Yuanyang and Amber were all pale.

After a long while, Grandmother Jia sighed and said, "It has just snowed heavily. It is cold and slippery. Tell Baoyu not to go to school today and stay at home for a few days. Also tell Huan'er not to run around outside for no reason and to study hard to prepare for the next year's spring exam."

"Yes!" Lai Dajie blessed him and stepped back.

At this time, in the Rongxi Hall of the Rongguo Mansion, Jia Zheng, Jia She, Jia Zhen, Jia Lian, Jia Rong and other adult men of the Jia family gathered together. Everyone looked solemn and uneasy.

"Master, has there been any news from the palace?" Jia Zhen asked anxiously.

Prince Yi Zhong is gone in an instant, and naturally the most feared ones are the noble families like the Jia family. The power of God is unpredictable, who knows who will be the next unlucky one!
Jia Zheng frowned and shook his head to indicate that there was no news yet. Everyone became even more uneasy, especially Jia She, because one of the crimes Prince Yi Zhong was involved in was reselling salt permits for profit, and Jia She had also done this kind of thing. Although the profit was not much, once it was discovered, he would probably be in trouble. Now the civil service group headed by the Donglin faction is in high spirits, and taking advantage of that momentum to frantically attack the old noble group. It is said that the impeachment memorials have piled up like a mountain.

Among those present, Jia Zheng was the most senior official, so everyone was waiting for him to make a decision. However, Jia Zheng was a mediocre person, so he didn't have any good ideas at the moment. He pondered for a long time before admonishing, "During this period, everyone should try to stay out as little as possible, be cautious and low-key, and don't argue with others. Wait until this extraordinary period is over before making a decision."

Jia Zhen, Jia Lian and others all agreed solemnly and left Rong Xi Tang nervously.

…………

Jia Huan's worries were not unnecessary. After a heavy snowstorm, the canal was indeed frozen, and the Xue family's boat was trapped in a river about fifty miles away from Tongzhou City. Fortunately, after some inquiries, they learned that there was a small town nearby, so they decided to abandon the boat and go ashore, leaving only a few servants to look after the property on the boat, and the rest of the people all stayed at the inn in the town.

Due to a heavy snowfall last night, the snow was knee-deep and the road was extremely difficult to walk on. Although the town was not far away, it still took everyone half a day to reach the inn in the town.

After Aunt Xue, Baochai, Baoqin and others checked into the inn, they were all exhausted. They ate dinner in a hurry, washed up a little and went to bed.

The next day, Aunt Xue called Chaiqin and the other two girls into her room and said with a worried look on her face, "This heavy snow is coming at a bad time. If it had come a day later, we would have arrived in Tongzhou now, and now we would be in the middle of nowhere and have no place to stay. We don't know what to do."

Baoqin comforted her, "Don't worry, Auntie. The snow might melt and the canal might thaw once the sun comes out. You might as well stay in this small town for a few more days." Aunt Xue smiled bitterly and said, "Look at the weather. I don't know when it will clear up. If there is a few more rains and snows, the canal might freeze completely. Then you won't be able to leave even if you want to. Alas!"

Baochai said gently, "Mom, it's useless for you to worry. The snow is knee-deep now and the carriage is not working. We are lucky. At least we have an inn to stay in. If we were trapped on the boat, we would be helpless."

Aunt Xue smiled and sighed, "Forget it, just wait here for a few days and hope that the weather will be good."

So, the Xue family settled down temporarily in the town, and they stayed there for five days. It was not until the sixth day that the weather cleared up and the snow on the ground began to melt, but the canal was still frozen hard, and it would probably take a few more days of drying in the sun.

On the twenty-eighth day of the winter month, Xue Pan ran into the room with a copy of the imperial newspaper and shouted, "It's bad, it's bad!"

Aunt Xue was startled and asked, "What's wrong? Could it be that our boat was stolen?"

Since the whole family was moving to Beijing, the Xue family took almost all the valuables they could carry with them. If they encountered thieves, the losses would be very heavy.

"It's worse than our ship being stolen. Something bad has happened to Prince Yi Zhong!" Xue Pan said in horror as he handed over the palace report.

Xue Baochai hurriedly took the official report and looked at it. Her pretty face changed color slightly. Xue Baoqin also covered her mouth. Aunt Xue was illiterate and asked hurriedly, "What's wrong?"

Xue Baochai read the news in the palace newspaper softly. Aunt Xue also turned pale after hearing it. She said with a trembling heart: "This... that's the prince, this... oh, I hope it won't implicate your uncle and aunt."

Xue Baochai shook her head secretly. In fact, as early as when she was in Jinling, she had predicted that Prince Yi Zhong would not end well. However, the execution of his entire family still shocked her. After all, he was a prince-level figure, but he ended up dying and his entire family was wiped out. However, the charges listed in the court bulletin were indeed shocking.

Xue Baoqin sighed softly, "I watched him build a red building, I watched him entertain guests, and I watched his building collapse."

Xue Baochai glanced at Baoqin. This was exactly the sentence that Huandi said in the ending of "Peach Blossom Fan". It was just right to describe the ending of Prince Yi Zhong.

Wang Ren, dressed up as a foreigner, had been blending in with the Xue family and sailed to Beijing on the same ship. Now he was staying in this inn. After learning that the entire family of Prince Yi Zhong had been executed, he was terrified all day long. He even said goodbye to Aunt Xue and others, rode a fast horse on his own, entered the capital that night, and went straight to his uncle Wang Ziteng's house to seek refuge, because he was worried that the Jinyiwei would arrest him.

Besides, since Wang Ziteng was impeached, he took the initiative to submit his resignation and closed the door to visitors at home in order to protect himself. However, the recent fall of Prince Yizhong and the execution of his entire family still frightened him a little. The ruthlessness of Emperor Qiansheng was beyond his expectation.

Of course, Wang Ziteng is an old bird in the officialdom after all. He has experienced many ups and downs. Although he was frightened, he did not panic. He continued to hide at home and monitor the direction of the court through his own network of contacts.

At this moment, Wang Ziteng was pondering over a game in the study room when the housekeeper suddenly came to report: "Brother Ren is back and wants to see the master!"

Wang Ziteng frowned and ordered, "Bring him here."

Soon, Wang Ren was brought there, and he fell to his knees, crying, "Uncle, save me!"

Wang Ziteng said coldly: "Get up, how did you get to Beijing?"

Wang Ren said with a sad face: "The Jinyiwei wanted to arrest my nephew, but fortunately my aunt protected me and mixed in with the Xue family's team. I was able to escape and return to Beijing. I hope my uncle can save me."

Wang Ziteng scolded: "Why are you panicking? Let me ask you, how did you renovate the ancestral tomb?"

Wang Ren then recounted the entire process of renovating his ancestral tomb. Wang Ziteng then asked in detail about the scale, dimensions, materials used, etc., and Wang Ren answered his questions one by one.

Wang Ziteng heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this, and said calmly: "According to what you said, although there is suspicion of violating the regulations, it is not serious and can still be remedied."

Wang Ren was stunned for a moment, and said with a chuckle: "Isn't this... serious?"

Wang Ziteng snorted coldly and said, "With just these, those sour guys can't do anything to me."

Wang Ren felt relieved after hearing this and said with a smile, "I was scared to death. Bao girl said that this matter could be a big deal or a small one. If I had known, I would not have run away."

Wang Ziteng scolded, "If you weren't an idiot who acted on your own, it wouldn't have come to this. Bao girl is right to worry. This matter can be serious or minor. Fortunately, you were not caught on the spot. When the time comes, you can just deny it and say that the craftsman misunderstood your meaning, which led to the violation."

Wang Ren was surprised and delighted and asked, "So, I made the right move this time?"

Wang Ziteng nodded and said, "If you fall into the hands of the Jinyiwei in Nanjing, I, your uncle, will be out of reach. Once the Jinyiwei tortures you, I'm afraid you will confess. Now that you are in Beijing, I, your uncle, can use my connections to protect you and try to make a big deal out of a small matter!"

Wang Ren was delighted when he heard this: "Thank you, uncle. I knew you would be able to protect me."

At this moment, the housekeeper hurried in again and handed a note to Wang Ziteng. When the latter took it and looked at it, his face suddenly changed, his beard trembled, and he gritted his teeth and said, "What a Zhao Mingcheng, what a vicious Yi Hong, they are trying to kill me!"

It turned out that Wang Ziteng had just received a terrible piece of news. Jinyiwei commander Yi Hong reported to the emperor that royal aura had appeared in the Wang family's ancestral tomb. The reason why the Wang family renovated the ancestral tomb was to change the original layout in order to better gather royal aura.

(End of this chapter)