Corrupt official in the Red Chamber

Chapter 464 Temporary compromise

That night, Jia Rui did not leave the palace, but rested temporarily in Yongshou Palace.

The next day Jia Rui left Yongshou Palace, first went to see Xue Baochai, and then went to the main hall to review the day's memorials.

Halfway through the memorial's approval, Qin Shun slipped in again.

Lao Li, who was standing next to Jia Rui, glanced sideways at Qin Shun, with a hint of viciousness in his eyes.

This little kid Qin Shun doesn't care about our family anymore, Lao Li thought to himself.

In the past, Lao Li was still a little afraid of Qin Shun, because Qin Shun controlled the only intelligence agency in the empire.

Therefore, Lao Li had to give Qin Shun three points in many places.

But since Lao Li took control of the intelligence agency handed over by the Zhen family, Lao Li slowly let go of his vigilance towards Qin Shun, and even had the idea of ​​​​confronting him.

Qin Shun also felt Lao Li's unkindness. He raised his head and glanced at Lao Li, then smiled and didn't care at all.

Jia Rui finished approving one memorial and picked up another. At the same time, the imperial pen in his hand was stained with ink on the inkstone.

Taking advantage of this time, Qin Shun came to Jia Rui and said:

"My lord, my slaves have been busy all night and finally got these guys to reveal their accomplices."

It turned out that after taking the person yesterday, Qin Shun started the interrogation without stopping, and he really got a lot of information overnight.

After hearing this, Jia Rui was a little curious and put down the imperial pen in his hand.

"Oh, what did you see again?"

"My lord, this is a confession."

While talking, Qin Shun put a thick stack of paper in front of Jia Rui's eyes.

This stack of paper is twice as thick as the one delivered yesterday. It seems that more people were arrested today.

Jia Rui frowned. With such a thick stack of paper, when should he see it?

Jia Rui impatiently said to Lao Li who was waiting on the side: "Take a look for me and tell me if there is anything wrong."

Lao Li bent over and came forward, picked up the stack of confessions, and then read each page carefully.

Qin Shun glanced at Lao Li, with a hint of coldness in his eyes.

This guy is at odds with me. Will he take advantage of this opportunity to put eye drops on himself in front of his master?

Qin Shun stared at Lao Li while thinking about it, which meant that he should be more sensible and not cause trouble for himself on this important matter.

Old Li was not afraid at all. It took him about two hours to carefully read all the thick stack of confessions in front of the lamp at night.

At this time, Jia Rui had already returned from strolling in the imperial garden.

After lunch, Brother Ying pestered Jia Rui to go for a walk in the Imperial Garden. Although Jia Rui wanted to take a nap, he had no choice but to accompany her because he was being pestered by this girl.

In the afternoon, I walked around the imperial garden, met several of the emperor's concubines, and admired their dances, and then came back satisfied.

I was planning to go back to Yongshou Palace after dinner, but at this juncture, Lao Li came over.

When Jia Rui saw the stack of confessions in Lao Li's hand, he knew that Lao Li had seen a problem.

Because, with Jia Rui's sharp eyes, he had already seen the top few papers on the stack of confessions. The ink on them was not dry yet, which should be the fault that Lao Li picked out for Qin Shun.

This phenomenon is exactly what Jia Rui is happy to see.

"My lord, I have read these confessions and generally there is nothing wrong with them. However, there are still a few points that I would like you to pay attention to."

"Okay, is there anything wrong?"

Lao Li picked up the top few pieces of paper and held them in front of Jia Rui with both hands.

"My lord, the list above is for the slaves. The ones I just sorted out are the local officials at all levels and the local wealthy families."

After hearing this, Jia Rui also became serious, and then he took the pieces of paper and flipped through them page by page.

He stood up from the kang anxiously and walked back and forth in the Yangxin Hall.

Jia Rui also didn't expect that he only dealt with a minister, a few ministers, and some middle-level officials, but he could involve so many families.

If Jia Rui had followed the previous strategy, none of these people would have been able to escape, and they would have all had to be beheaded at Caishikou.

But if this happens, the world will be in chaos.

Jia Rui closed his eyes and was silent for a long time, and finally said: "Rearrange your confession and ignore the people on this list for the time being."

Lao Li took a peek at Jia Rui, saw Jia Rui and said nothing else, and quickly went out with the confession.

Jia Rui sat back on the kang, and Brother Ying quickly put a backrest behind Jia Rui.

Jia Rui leaned on the backrest, picked up the name in his hand and read it again.

These people are all suspected, and they are all members of the emperor's faction. They cannot be kept in the future, but they cannot be disposed of all at once. In this case, the world will inevitably be in turmoil.

Boil the frog in warm water to eliminate the danger bit by bit.

Jia Rui put the list on the table and said to Hua Lan, who was standing silently beside him: "Aren't some of your people quite talented? Help me collect some folk poetry and songs." Hua Lan nodded.

After Jia Rui stretched, he carefully folded the list in his hand and handed it to Hualan.

“The Lord gathers these, leaving neither those who were before nor those who are to come.”

Hua Lan respectfully took a few pieces of paper, then I opened it and read it carefully, and then handed it back to Jia Rui with both hands.

Even after just reading it once, Hua Lan had already memorized all the names on several pieces of paper.

This is due to the training Hualan received since childhood and her own talent.

"Okay, that's it for today. Let's prepare dinner. After eating, I have to go back home." Jia Rui remembered what he promised Xue Baochai yesterday and decided not to stay in the palace today and go back home.

With Jia Rui's words, the eunuch below quickly went out and ordered the imperial kitchen to prepare dinner.

Soon, more than a dozen delicacies were served in the imperial dining room.

Jia Rui ate a few bites and a few bowls of rice to fill his stomach.

The next step was to wash Jia Rui. After Jia Rui finished washing, he asked Brother Ying who was holding the basin:

"Have you eaten at Baochai's place? The food you ate today seems delicious."

"Grandma has already eaten at her place. The food was delicious. She ate half a bowl of rice more than usual."

Jia Rui was very satisfied. Now Xue Baochai was not eating alone. She also had to give supplements to the child in her belly.

"Okay, let's not delay any more and go back home quickly."

After saying that, Jia Rui did not go back to see Xue Baochai, but turned around and left the Yangxin Hall. Outside, Lao Li had already prepared the ceremony of leaving the palace.

Jia Rui got on the eight-carriage sedan, then left the palace surrounded by eunuchs and guards, and then passed through Yu Street and turned to Ningrong Street.

There is still some chaos outside Ningrong Street, but once you enter Ningrong Street, it is like a paradise, everything is still so quiet and peaceful.

When Jia Rui returned to his house, he went to the old man's place to invite the old man An as before. When nothing happened, he returned to the back house.

But now that Xue Baochai was recuperating in the palace, he could only sleep with Aunt Zhen.

Aunt Zeng relied more on Jia Rui for her family's affairs, so she served Jia Rui very comfortably. When she woke up the next morning, Jia Rui felt some pain in her waist.

After breakfast, Jia Rui came to the front study.

After sitting firmly, Wangcai immediately came to serve Jia Rui.

The current status of Wangcai has declined somewhat, because Jia Rui is now surrounded by a group of eunuchs, among whom Lao Li and Qian Shun are the best.

Wangcai was unable to enter the palace due to his status, so now he pales in comparison to Lao Li and Qin Shun.

Of course, this is just an outsider's opinion. In fact, Qin Shun also has hundreds of martial arts masters who have been specially trained by Jia Rui. Most of these people are Jia Rui's personal soldiers.

Once these people are dispatched, even if there are only a few hundred people, it is enough to change the outcome of a battle.

If we fight guerrilla warfare, these hundreds of martial arts masters can give a huge empire a headache.

"Is Baoyu still coming every day these two days?" Jia Rui asked while eating the snacks on the table.

"Master, Second Master Bao still comes over every day to see Second Grandma Bao of Rongguo Mansion." Wangcai lowered his head and replied respectfully.

Jia Rui nodded and sighed, saying that the love between Baoyu and Daiyu was indeed true, but Jia Baoyu's character made Jia Rui feel that he and Lin Daiyu would inevitably quarrel in the future, and even separated like this, I'm afraid it would be inappropriate. There will be less.

"Go to Rongguo Mansion and take a look. If the political master of Rongguo Mansion hasn't taken up his post yet, ask him to come over to my place."

Upon hearing Jia Rui's words, Wangcai immediately bowed respectfully and then withdrew.

Jia Rui took a fantasy novel from the bookshelf that he had not finished before, and casually flipped through it while drinking tea and eating snacks, just to pass the time.

He hadn't even turned through twenty pages of the book when a eunuch from the other side came in to report.

"My lord, the government of Rongguo wants to see you."

After hearing this, Jia Rui put down the book in his hand, then stood up and walked out the door.

When at home, Jia Rui still gave Jia Zheng face.

After all, the first stepping stone for him to become prosperous was Jia Zheng, and now he is in a high position of power and power. You can't let others call you a white-eyed wolf.

Jia Zheng, who was standing at the door, was very satisfied when he saw Jia Rui coming out to greet him personally.

In the entire Jia family, or even in the entire world, I am probably the only one who can receive such courtesy from Jia Rui.

The two exchanged pleasantries at the door, then Jia Rui took the lead, followed closely by Jia Zheng, and the two entered the study, and then the guest and host took their seats.

"Uncle, the Xiangyun incident has been going on for some time. Although there are some rumors in the capital, it has passed. We have to consider her future." Jia Rui said straight to the point.

Hearing this, Jia Zheng felt a little blushed, and at the same time he felt angry in his heart. It was all the trouble caused by Jia Baoyu's unsatisfactory thing, which made his reputation among scholars drop a bit.

In fact, Jia Zheng had no reputation at all among the scholars. He had never taken the imperial examination, so he insisted on joining other people. On the surface, people were polite to him because of Jia Rui and his official position. In fact, Jia Zheng had no reputation among the scholars. I don't think highly of him in my heart.

"My dear nephew, the old lady in our mansion also received a letter from the boss of the Shi family a few days ago. He said that you have full authority to decide on Xiangyun's marriage."

(End of this chapter)