The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 490 Karma
Jia Zheng was receiving guests in Rong Xi Hall at this moment when he heard that the Jinyiwei had come to arrest someone. He was shocked and immediately apologized and rushed to the east road of Rongguo Mansion. He happened to see Jia She and Jia Zhen being tied with iron chains by the Jinyiwei and escorted out of the living room door. He was immediately frightened out of his wits. He didn't expect that Jia She was also arrested. Could it be a serious crime of confiscating property?
When Jia She saw Jia Zheng, he seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw and shouted, "Brother Zheng, the Jinyiwei are arresting people at random, go find the imperial concubine."

Jia Zheng hurried forward to stop them and asked, "Why are you arresting people?"

Jia Zheng was a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Works. He often attended court and was also the father-in-law of the emperor. Therefore, Zhuge Jin, the commander of the Jinyiwei, recognized him and said politely, "I have been ordered to arrest Jia Zhen and Jia She. These two are involved in reselling salt permits. Please get out of the way, Master Zheng, and don't hinder the Jinyiwei from enforcing the law."

Jia Zheng's heart skipped a beat. Recently, the Donglin Party, led by Zhao Mingcheng, an official from the Southern Study, had incited public opinion and directed their spearheads at the nobles and the Ministry of Revenue, demanding a thorough investigation into the reselling of salt permits. The nobles in the court also united to fight back. They first sought the support of the retired emperor, and then continuously submitted memorials to attack the officials of the Donglin Party. Everyone was engaged in a war of words, attacking each other back and forth. Jia Zheng thought that this situation would continue for at least a while, but he did not expect the emperor to take action today, and he was the first to target the Jia family. Obviously, he did not show any leniency because of Concubine Jia.

"What evidence do you have to arrest him?" Jia Zheng asked stiffly.

Zhuge Jin sneered and said, "Since there is a victim filing a complaint, we will naturally take the defendant back for interrogation. This is how the government handles cases. If Master Zheng has any objections, you can report our Jinyiwei chief to the emperor."

Jia Zheng's heart sank, and he said, "I dare not. I just want to ask, who is the one who filed the complaint?"

Zhuge Jin smiled and said, "What a coincidence! The person who sued Jia Zhen and Jia She for reselling salt permits is none other than your Jia family member, Jia Zhen's adopted son, Jia Qiang!"

"Qiang'er!" Jia Zheng's face changed drastically and he couldn't help but blurt out, "It's too embarrassing for a son to accuse his father."

Jia She was shocked and frightened, and he cursed with gnashing teeth: "Jia Qiang is a rebellious son, worse than an animal. Zhen'er, you have raised him for so many years in vain, and he is actually an ungrateful wolf."

Jia Zhen's face was gloomy and he was trembling all over. He naturally knew why Jia Qiang had reported him, but what he couldn't understand was that Jia Qiang had been submissive for so many years and dared not disobey him at all, so how could he suddenly have such courage to report him on his own initiative? Yes, it was most likely that it was Huan Lao San who instigated him!
Thinking of the fact that Jia Huan had once given advice to Jia Rong and his daughter-in-law, Jia Zhen naturally thought of Jia Huan again. He felt fear and hatred in his heart, so he stared at Jia Huan with vicious eyes.

At this moment, Jia Huan was standing low-key at the threshold of the living room, with no joy or sadness on his face, as if he was just there to watch.

At this time, Jia Zheng finally noticed Jia Huan's presence and frowned, but he didn't have time to care about him at the moment. He just bowed and said to Zhuge Jin: "Since it was someone from our Jia family who reported it, I have nothing to say. I just hope that the Jinyiwei can handle the case impartially and not wrongly accuse a good person."

Zhuge Jin chuckled and said, "No problem. There is another person named Jia Lian. I will also take him back for interrogation. Please tell me where he is, Master Zheng."

Jia Zheng's heart sank even more, and he asked in surprise, "Jia Lian is my nephew. He is now helping me with daily affairs in my house. What has he done wrong?"

"Master Zheng, there is no need to ask any more questions. Just tell us where he is. If we find out that he has not committed any crime, we will naturally release him."

Jia Zheng had no choice but to tell him where Jia Lian lived, and then he said, "My mother is old and cannot stand being frightened. Jia Lian's residence is right next to my mother's. Please let me send someone to call him out so as not to disturb the old lady."

Zhuge Jin did not seem to want to offend Jia Zheng. After all, he was the father-in-law of the emperor, and the imperial concubine Jia was in favor in the palace. Besides, Jia Zheng had not committed any crime, so he nodded and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Master Zheng."

Soon, Jia Lian was called out and taken away by the Jinyiwei along with Jia She and Jia Zhen.

Jia Zheng could not help but sigh and stamp his feet, saying, "This is truly a disaster from heaven!" Seeing Jia Huan standing there, he shouted, "You evil creature, why are you here?"

Jia Huan had long intended to deal with Jia She and Jia Zhen, the two black sheep. Now that he had finally achieved his wish, he was in a good mood. He stepped forward and bowed, saying, "My lord, it was the master who sent me here!"

Jia Zheng frowned and asked, "What does the master want to ask you for?"

Jia Huan said innocently, "Huan'er doesn't know either. Before the Master could even say anything, the Royal Guards rushed in to arrest people. So... Will the Master and Brother Zhen be okay?"

Jia Zheng was a pedantic and mediocre man, and he was a little too honest. He didn't ask further questions, and he was upset at the moment, so he didn't bother to ask more questions. He waved his hand and shouted, "This is none of your business. You should study hard. Although it is the New Year, the Spring Examination will be held soon. Go back and review your lessons. Don't mess around in the garden. If you are naughty like Baoyu and waste your time, I will expose your skin."

"Yes!" Jia Huan agreed and left leisurely. He felt indescribably happy. He had dealt with the two beasts, Jia She and Jia Zhen, at once. It felt great. His second sister Jia Yingchun didn't have to marry Sun Shaozu, the wolf of Zhongshan, and Qin Keqing naturally escaped the clutches of her father-in-law Jia Zhen.

Jia Zhen was imprisoned for the second time. Last time, he was implicated in the incident of injuring the seventh prince, and was stripped of his title and exiled. He was pardoned and returned to Beijing thanks to Jia Yuanchun. If he is found guilty of reselling salt vouchers this time, there is no chance of him turning over a new leaf. In serious cases, he may even lose his head. As for Jia She, this old man, although it is his first offense, he has too much black material, such as robbing Shi Daizi of twenty ancient fans. Anyway, as long as the Jinyiwei puts in the effort to dig, Jia She will definitely be punished, and it is highly likely that he will be stripped of his title and exiled.

…………

At this time, in Jia's grandmother's room, Mrs. Wang, Mrs. Xing, Aunt Xue, Wang Xifeng holding the eldest sister, Li Wan with Jia Lan, and Jia Zhen's wife Youshi were all there. Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu, Xue Baochai, Shi Xiangyun, Xue Baoqin and the three sisters also came to pay their respects to Jia's grandmother. It was a very lively place with all the ladies chatting.

Because she was prevented from entering the palace to pay respects on the first day of the Lunar New Year, Jia's mother was in a bad mood for the past two days, and her right eyelid kept twitching. As the saying goes, "left eye twitching means good fortune, right eye twitching means disaster", so Jia's mother always felt that something bad was going to happen, but now that she saw all her grandchildren, granddaughters, grandnieces, nieces, and great-granddaughters, everyone was gathered together and happy, her mood could not help but improve.

"Yes, why didn't Huan'er come to pay his respects to me? Could it be that he went to the academy to study again?" Only then did Jia's mother realize that someone was missing, and she asked.

If it were in the past, Jia Huan was just an insignificant person in the mansion, and Grandmother Jia would definitely not even bother to ask about him, and it wouldn't matter whether he came or not. But times are different now. As of now, Jia Huan is obviously the most promising of the Jia family's grandchildren. Whether the Jia family can glorify their family name and regain their glory in the future depends on this illegitimate son.

Although Grandmother Jia was over seventy years old, she had a clear mind. Otherwise, when Jia Huan returned to the capital, she would not have sent people to greet him specially, rewarding him with imperial honey and golden pheasant fur coat.

Let's get back to the point. When Jia Tanchun heard Grandmother Jia asking about Jia Huan, she quickly replied, "I heard that the eldest master called Brother Huan for something, and he is probably still with the eldest master."

Grandmother Jia asked curiously, "Why did the master want to see Huan'er?"

Mrs. Xing smiled and said, "Maybe there are guests coming. The master asked Huan'er to accompany the guests. Haha, our Jia family finally produced a champion. It's not easy to show off during the New Year."

Read more latest popular novels at 6.9*shuba!

Everybody laughed, except Mrs. Wang, who felt uncomfortable. But she could do nothing about it, for it was her own Baoyu's fault for not living up to his expectations and not even passing the examination to become a student, while Lan'er passed the provincial examination at a young age.

"How many of the Master's drinking and eating friends are decent? Don't let Huan'er go astray." Grandmother Jia complained, but a smile still bloomed on her old face. She asked, "By the way, Zhen'er's wife, I vaguely heard yesterday that Rong'er was beaten, and the beating was not light. What happened?"

How could Youshi dare to tell the truth? She just made up an excuse to get away with it, and said that Jia Rong's injury was not serious and he would be well in a few days.

After hearing this, Grandmother Jia did not ask any more questions. After all, the Rong and Ning mansions had already separated. Although she was the elder, it was not convenient for her to interfere in the family affairs of the Ningguo Mansion.

At this moment, Wang Shanbao ran in crying and said, "Oh no! The Master and Master Zhen have been arrested by the Imperial Guards!"

Everyone present was shocked when they heard this, especially Mrs. Xing and Mrs. You. They were terrified to hear that their husbands were arrested by the Jinyiwei and asked hurriedly, "Why were they arrested?"

"I heard that it was Brother Qiang who reported the eldest master and Master Zhen, accusing them of reselling salt permits!" replied Wang Shanbao.

Mrs. Xing and Mrs. You almost fainted, and Grandmother Jia's eyes went dark and she fainted on the armchair. Everyone tried to rescue her frantically for a while before Grandmother Jia woke up slowly and asked anxiously, "Where is the master? Where is the master?"

"Don't worry, old lady, the master has not been arrested!" replied Wang Shanbao.

Hearing this, Jia's mother heaved a sigh of relief. Since her son Jia Zheng had not been arrested, his property should not be confiscated. She stamped her feet and sighed, "I knew something was wrong when my right eyelid twitched these past few days. It turns out that disaster is about to happen. What a sin! Zhen'er actually raised an ungrateful person!"

At this time, Youshi was so frightened that her face turned pale. As Jia Zhen's bedside woman, she naturally knew that her husband not only attacked his daughter-in-law, but also his adopted son Jia Qiang. It was indeed a sin, but this sin was committed by her husband Jia Zhen. Alas, now it is just retribution.

At this time, Zhou Ruijia ran in in a panic and reported: "Second Master Lian was also taken away by the Jinyiwei!"

Wang Xifeng screamed and fell to the ground!
(End of this chapter)