Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 412: Case closed, trouble at Xuanzhen Temple

The trial process of Shen Lie and his students undoubtedly stimulated the sensitive nerves of Emperor Chenghui, reminding him of the capital in the late Ming Dynasty and Chongzhen, who was unable to leave the Forbidden City at the last moment.

The political structure of the Great Zhou was between the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was more centralized, but not to the extent of the Qing dynasty.

It had been only a hundred years since the fall of the Ming Dynasty, and for Emperor Chenghui, the lessons of the late Ming Dynasty were very clear.

After Li Zicheng entered Beijing, he looted the capital and obtained countless silver. Ironically, Chongzhen asked civil and military officials to donate money, and those who responded were not informed.

When Chongzhen hanged himself, there was only one eunuch, Wang Chengen, by his side.

Emperor Chenghui dared to forget everything except this.

From the perspective of Emperor Chenghui, the Imperial College incident was his plan to balance the government, but it was met with a crazy backlash. From Jia Lian's perspective, it was a dispute over interests among the top leaders. It did not involve the fundamentals.

But what can I say? After a hundred years, any dynasty, whether it is reform or change, will hardly touch the fundamentals.

If you want to shake the foundation, you must cultivate a new and powerful class.

Since Emperor Chenghui had the ambition to revive the country, he would certainly not tolerate any challenge to his balanced layout.

Jia Lian doesn't need to do anything, just watch.

Unless Emperor Chenghui could tolerate the imperial power being hollowed out, no other emperor would accept this.

The imperial power could only tolerate powerful ministers for a short period of time. Even Emperor Wanli began to settle accounts after Zhang Juzheng's death.

Now, what Shen Lie and others collectively called "character" was extremely ironic in the eyes of Emperor Chenghui. It was really a mockery of the imperial power, and what was even more exciting was the reaction of the three judges in the joint trial.

You dared to tamper with the interrogation records in front of Jia Lian, who was supervising the trial under imperial order. What else do you dare not do?

Although he felt that he had seen through the true faces of the civil servants, this incident still had a strong impact on Emperor Chenghui.

Emperor Chenghui immediately convened an emergency cabinet meeting, and all the ministers of the cabinet and the six ministries were present. The people from the Dali Temple and the Supervisory Office did not come, not because they did not want to, but because they were not notified.

After everyone arrived, Emperor Chenghui entered the meeting room and without saying anything, asked Qiu Shian to hand over the interrogation records and Jia Lian's materials to Kong Zhao, and said, "Circle them!"

Kong Zhao finished reading it first and passed it down with an expressionless face. Emperor Chenghui was not in a hurry either. He waited patiently until everyone had finished reading it and the two copies of the materials were returned to him.

Emperor Chenghui shook the two documents vigorously. "Now that you have finished reading them, who wants to tell us what you think?"

The scene was dead silent, and no one spoke. Emperor Chenghui changed into a comfortable posture and said calmly: "Aren't you usually very talkative? Why aren't you talking now?"

Continue the dead silence!

Emperor Chenghui looked around coldly, but no one looked back at him. He was not in a hurry, so he just waited.

After about an hour, the Minister of Justice raised his shaking hands. The pressure on the scene was too great and he could not bear it any longer. Emperor Chenghui saw this and said calmly, "Mr. Niu, please speak!"

"As a party to the trial, I was not present and did not know about the interrogation record in advance." Minister Niu is trying to clear himself. I would rather die than let my friend die. The Minister of the Dali Temple should bear the consequences alone.

As Minister Niu opened his mouth, the whole place exploded like a bucket of water poured into a boiling oil pan.

"You bastard! This is clearly a joint trial by the three courts, how dare you shirk your responsibility?" The first to fire the shot was Pan Jixun. He was very angry about this matter. He was infuriated by Minister Niu's shirking of responsibility.

Minister Niu's mourning excuse: "I really don't know! I really don't know! It was the Left Vice Minister who went." To be honest, no one believed him at this time.

Everyone has the same idea. Without your consent, how dare the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice sacrifice his future and break the law knowingly?
Kong Zhao and Liang Daoyuan exchanged a quick glance, and Liang Daoyuan said, "Niu and Ma, they protected the student for the country's protection of talents. They cannot escape their crime, and their situation is pitiful."

After finishing speaking, Liang Daoyuan paused and looked at Emperor Chenghui's expression. Emperor Chenghui leaned back in his chair and listened quietly. When he saw him stop, he said calmly, "Continue!"

Well, Liang Daoyuan hasn’t said how to punish him yet, so why did you stop?
Liang Daoyuan felt a little choked up in his heart, and after taking a deep breath, he continued: "In my humble opinion, Niu and Ma, both of them begged to die, they are both important officials of the court, and they should show due respect."

Emperor Chenghui knew what Liang Daoyuan meant. As a Chief Justice of Dali Temple and a Minister of Justice, both of them had very high ranks. If it turned out to be too embarrassing, it would inevitably cause grief to other loyal ministers.

Of course, the story of the fox mourning the death of a rabbit is just human imagination. In real nature, when a rabbit dies, the fox will definitely eat its meat, so it will not have time to be sad.

In the court, while the rabbit died and the fox mourned, it did not prevent other important officials from dividing up the benefits after the two left. Grief is short-lived, and sharing blood and flesh is the norm.

After Liang Daoyuan finished speaking, Minister Niu's whole body softened, he leaned back in his chair and bowed his head without saying a word. He was a smart man, and when Liang Daoyuan said that he would beg for his bones, he knew that he could not change it.

Even if he wanted to struggle, the cabinet would not let him go, and neither would his colleagues present.

Instead of struggling, it is better to bear it and leave some benefits for future generations.

Emperor Chenghui looked at Liang Daoyuan and asked, "Are you done?"

Liang Daoyuan nodded with difficulty. Emperor Chenghui looked around and asked again, "Do you have any objections?"

There was silence at the scene. Kong Zhao stood up and clasped his hands: "I second the motion!" The others all stood up and followed him, even Minister Niu.

Emperor Chenghui looked at this scene and trembled slightly. He saw clearly again that no matter how much the civil officials fought among themselves, they were still united at this time.

It seems that some things need to be stepped up! Although the current cabinet is quite easy to use, they have also been disgusted by them.

The original purpose of sending Sun, Zhang and Li to serve as governors-general was to allow the current cabinet to implement policies that offend people. Now it seems that the three should be transferred back as soon as possible.

Emperor Chenghui nodded calmly: "That's it!"

The atmosphere at the scene suddenly relaxed with these words, and the expressions of several cabinet ministers changed visibly.

Emperor Chenghui stood up and walked away first, with no expression on his face. The ministers of the cabinet and the ministers of various ministries followed Kong Zhao and said, "Farewell, Your Majesty!"

This voice sounded particularly ironic to Emperor Chenghui.

Dignity, the dignity of an important official of the court, haha! Emperor Chenghui gritted his teeth.

The cabinet acted quickly. The next day, Niu and Ma submitted a petition requesting to retire. Emperor Chenghui approved it straightforwardly without asking for resignation three times. This was a way of giving the two men respect.

The successor soon arrived, and the case in the Imperial College continued to be tried. When the three courts held a joint trial, the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple was not present and was replaced by his deputy. As for the Ministry of Justice, the previous vice minister was also not present and was replaced by Vice Minister You.

Well, the Left Vice Minister also resigned, but Emperor Chenghui did not approve it. He is still waiting to resign twice more to see whether Emperor Chenghui will keep him.

I can only say that Minister Niu was wronged. As the Minister of Justice, he was dragged down by his subordinates. As for Fang Song, he claimed to be sick and stayed at home. The person who came from the Inspectorate was the Right Censor-in-Chief.

The reason why this person could come was not because he was bold and not afraid of disasters, but because the signs that Lin Ruhai would enter the cabinet were very obvious. He had the hope of being promoted to the position of Chief Minister. How could he get promoted without taking risks?
Yes, the officials in Beijing were reminded of Jia Lian’s “disaster star” attribute again. Two more, or perhaps three more, officials had their political careers ruined because of Jia Lian.

As for Fang Song, maybe because of his low status, he is not qualified to be contaminated by the disaster star.

Jia Lian: They committed suicide by themselves, why blame me? The three judges met again, and the process was very fast. Everyone was in court again, and the verdict was announced in court after comparing their previous confessions.

Shen Lie was the leader, and his reputation was revoked, he was exiled to Qiongya, and he will never be employed again! The rest of them were revoked their reputations, and they were not allowed to take the exam again within ten years.

After the result was announced, everyone collapsed to the ground and cried. Shen Lie was stunned and muttered to himself: "How could this be?"

During the whole process, Jia Lian still listened quietly, and after listening, he still took away the interrogation record. This time, no one dared to change a single word.

By the way, a clerk was hanged last night. Yes, the clerk who tampered with the interrogation records "committed suicide".

Judging from the verdict, any educated person would feel that the sentence was too heavy. Emperor Chenghui also asked this question when Jia Lian reported back.

Jia Lian's answer was that the sentence was too light! The others should also be exiled to the frontier.

Emperor Chenghui was curious and asked why. Jia Lian said, "These people are deeply indebted to the country, but they don't think about repaying it. They only know how to abuse their power. However, in the whole world, only Your Majesty can abuse his power."

When Emperor Chenghui heard this answer, he looked at Jia Lian with a complicated expression: "I now believe in your determination to study practical knowledge."

Jia Lian was silent. Your Majesty, do you think I am faking it?
Well, what does it mean? Emperor Chenghui's meaning is, "I know you are not the same as them, but I don't know that you also want to break with them in terms of academics. 】

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As we all know, Jia Lian followed the path of a scholar and was a top scholar in the imperial examination.

Even though many people want to expel Jia Lian from the sage's school, there are still many scholars who believe that Jia Lian is just a son of a noble family who reads the sage's books.

Jia Lian left the palace feeling relaxed. This matter was so simple that it did not require any effort.

Jia Lian decided to continue his vacation and was unwilling to go out to work if anything happened again.

Two days later, Xue Pan came again and told Jia Lian that he was getting engaged, to a girl from the Xia family. He asked Jia Lian if he was free to attend the engagement banquet.

Jia Lian looked at Xue Pan in silence, until he was sweating profusely, then he said calmly: "Take care of yourself!"

Of course Jia Lian wouldn't go, the Xue family doesn't have that much face.

The news that Xue Pan had hit a wall quickly spread throughout the mansion. The next day, the servants were all saying that Mrs. Wang had lost her temper with the maids and servants again, scolding them for a long time over a trivial matter.

Wang Xifeng came to ask Jia Lian angrily whether the story was true. Jia Lian asked her in return: "What if it is true? What if it is not true?"

Wang Xifeng was stunned when she was asked the question back, and her brain was a little confused. Perhaps it was the first time she heard Jia Lian ask a question so impolitely, so she was a little confused.

"After all, they are relatives..." Wang Xifeng stopped speaking halfway under Jia Lian's gaze.

After Jia Lian expressed his attitude, he patted his buttocks and left. Wang Xifeng was alone there, sulking for a while, and Ping'er stepped forward to persuade her: "Second Madam, don't you know who the master is?"

Wang Xifeng stamped her feet in anger: "I am not angry with Second Master, I am just angry that some people are ungrateful and make me suffer from Second Master's displeasure."

Ping Erh was speechless and did not try to persuade him. She only complained in her heart: "You didn't look like this when you came just now. You were so tactful just now. It's strange that the master is happy."

Seeing Ping'er remained silent, Wang Xifeng continued, "What a pity for the Xue family's money. It all went to the Wang family."

In order to express his dissatisfaction, Jia Lian went out to the south of the city, and even asked someone to take a message home, and did not return home all night.

When Jia Lian returned home the next day, Wang Xifeng held Jia Lian's hand, cried for a long time, and said some regretful words. Jia Lian then comforted her: "Don't cry, be careful of the baby in your belly."

Wang Xifeng then gave up, and the matter was over. That day, some servants discussed the matter, and the news reached Wang Xifeng's ears. Wang Xifeng chased away the two gossipers, and the matter was finally over.

Jia She, who had not appeared in the screen for a long time, came to Jia Lian again. When the father and son sat opposite each other, Jia Lian had a cold face. Jia She did not say anything like "unfilial little beast". Instead, he smiled and asked: "Now that Jia Zheng is away, the second wife Wang and Baoyu should also give up the central courtyard."

Jia Lian looked at his cheap father speechlessly and said sarcastically, "If you want to force the old lady to death, go and talk to her."

After hearing this, Jia She looked bored. He stood up and left cursing. After a while, he came back and stretched out his hand to Jia Lian.

Jia Lian was speechless. He took out a note of five hundred taels from the drawer of his desk and gave it to him. Jia She said in dissatisfaction, "Why is it only this little? It used to be one thousand taels."

Jia Lian was not angry either, he looked at him calmly: "Love or not!"

Jia She snatched the banknote and hurried away, continuing to curse.

For Jia Lian, Jia She is just useless. As long as he has enough money to spend, he won't cause much harm. So let's keep him like this for now.

All I can say is that as time goes by, Jia Lian's hostility has not become as severe as it was when he first traveled through time.

That day, Youshi sent someone to invite Jia Lian, and Jia Lian agreed to meet later. Youshi was at Jia Zhen's place, and Jia Lian saw two maids serving Jia Zhen, one feeding him soup and the other wiping the corners of his mouth.

When Youshi saw him come in, she signaled the maid to leave and asked him in a low voice, "How is this place?"

Jia Lian was tempted, but he held back and said, "Don't make trouble out of nothing."

Only then did Youshi give up and invite Jia Lian to her courtyard to talk.

"Rong'er went to Xuanzhen Temple today. Before he left, he asked me to invite you over." Yu Shi started talking about business. Jia Lian asked curiously, "What happened to Xuanzhen Temple?"

Yu Shi stretched out her hand to explore, and said with a sweet smile: "If Kun Xiu heard about it early, I'm afraid something is wrong. Rong'er is unsure."

Soon Yindie also joined in, and an hour passed.

Just after finishing cleaning, Baozhu who was standing beside Qin came. Yindie went to meet her and Baozhu said, "Master Rong is back. Let me come and invite the Second Master."

Jia Lian responded and came out from inside, then he went out of the courtyard gate and saw Qin Keqing waiting at the door with a complicated expression.

Adhering to the principle that I am not embarrassed, but others are embarrassed, Jia Lian greeted calmly: "Why are you here, Keqing?"

When they were together, Jia Lian pretended not to know and asked her her maiden name, and Qin Shi told her. Now that he called her by her name, Qin Shi was shocked and looked around quickly. Fortunately, only Baozhu was there.

Silently rolling her eyes at Jia Lian, Qin walked slowly in front, and Jia Lian followed behind at a leisurely pace.

Jia Rong was working as a donkey at the gate of the courtyard. When he saw Jia Lian, he felt like he had seen a savior. He hurried forward and said, "Second uncle, there is trouble again at Xuanzhen Temple."

Jia Lian said calmly: "Why are you panicking? Tell me slowly."

Jia Rong leaned in closer and whispered, "Before the Zhen family was raided, I asked for a favor."

Jia Lian's heart was slightly moved when he heard this. Could it be Miaoyu? This world line is already messed up. Maybe it's not Miaoyu.

(End of this chapter)