Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 416: Unbearable, Jia Jing's Death
With a bang, the door was pushed open. Jia Lian, who was about to start eating hot pot, silently put down his chopsticks and looked at the person at the door.

Before lunch, Right Censor Wang Chong came in a hurry. He didn't dare to act like a superior, probably because he knew that Jia Lian would ignore him even if he did.

Jia Lian stayed here deliberately, just to wait and see who would come. After all, tomorrow is the Lantern Festival, and the five imprisoned censors will also go home to celebrate the New Year.

"Lord Wang is a superior official. Why didn't he inform anyone of his arrival? Jia Lian should go and greet him." The words were very polite and the etiquette was very appropriate. Jia Lian was really cautious.

"Master Jia, we are all censors. The Wucheng Bingma Division is under the supervision of the Inspectorate. Why did you lock up Xu Lin and others without showing any mercy?"

Wang Chong has been very restrained and speaks very politely, but from his expression, it can be seen that he is not here to have a good talk.

Jia Lian stepped forward slowly and said, "Yes, Xu Lin is the censor, and Fang Song is also the censor. Why Xu Lin could gather a crowd to beat Fang Song? I really don't understand. Can Lord Wang explain it?"

"This..." Wang Chong was speechless for a moment and had no way to refute Jia Lian.

Since you have come to my door, Jia Lian will not let him go. He continued, "According to investigation, Lord Wang and Xu Lin are both from Shanxi, and the Xu family is a major shareholder of Jinshang Bank. Xu Lin is usually generous and entertains his colleagues every now and then. The Dragon Guard has records that Xu Lin is a frequent visitor to Yixiang Garden. He has paid more than 5,000 taels in fines alone, and a lot of it was paid on behalf of his colleagues."

In the capital, Jia Lian had a good relationship with the Dragon Guard and controlled a group of local tyrants, so it was difficult for him to find out the details. In just one hour, Xu Lin's family tree was almost dug out.

As for the relationship between Wang Chong and Fang Song, just look at the case in which Wang Chong asked Fang Song to supervise the trial of the Imperial College. It is a den of trouble and no one wants to get involved with it.

After hearing this, Wang Chong's face turned green. How did Jia Lian know so much?
Jia Lian continued, "Sir Wang, I'm giving you face and I advise you to go back. Don't make everyone unhappy because of such a small matter. As long as they don't make a fuss, it won't take more than three days."

Wang Chong saw that Jia Lian was a relatively neutral person. He did not take sides. He was just maintaining the prestige of his government office on his own turf.

Otherwise, if he really wanted to punish someone, he had ten thousand ways to deal with Xu Lin and others in Jia Lian's territory.

"No matter what, let him go first and let him go home to celebrate the Lantern Festival. His whole family is waiting for him." Since reasoning didn't work, Wang Chong changed his strategy and appealed to his emotions.

Jia Lian smiled and replied, "Fang Song is still in the clinic and hasn't gone home yet. I don't know if Lord Fang will spend the Lantern Festival in the clinic this year. Xu Lin is a colleague, but Fang Song is not? The one who beats someone goes home to celebrate the festival, while the one who was beaten stays in the clinic. What kind of logic is this?"

The words were spoken gently, but they were like an invisible slap in Wang Chong's face. Seeing that Jia Lian was unmoved, Wang Chong used his last trick: "General Lin is only one step away from entering the cabinet, don't make trouble!"

Just this one sentence made Jia Lian's smile disappear. He immediately frowned and said, "Whether General Lin can enter the cabinet depends on his personal efforts and the appreciation of His Majesty. What does this have to do with it? What does it have to do with Xu Lin? If you have nothing to do, go home for the New Year. Don't look back and see that if Xu Lin can't go home for the New Year, you can't go home for the New Year either."

Wang Chong was really anxious. He had too many unclear relationships with the Xu family. If he couldn't save Xu Lin, he would lose all his face.

Wang Chong also had a fierce look on his face and said coldly, "Why, Lord Jia, do you want to lock me up as well?"

Jia Lian sneered, "That's not the case. It's just that Lord Wang came here to confuse right and wrong, and what he did was to make me abuse my power and bend the law. If he does this kind of thing too often, I'm afraid the spring thunder will fall on the street before the Waking of Zhe. It's a small matter if it strikes Lord Wang, but it's a big matter if it strikes innocent people passing by!"

"You...!" Wang Chong was so angry that his beard stood up. He raised his hand and pointed at Jia Lian with trembling hands, but he couldn't say a word.

"You wait!" Wang Chong turned around and left, not daring to look back, for fear that Jia Lian would say something even more unpleasant, which would be too embarrassing.

Jia Lian looked at his back and shouted, "You wait too! You rely on your superior status to come to the Wucheng Bingmasi to show off your power and force me to break the law. Wait for you to be impeached!"

After listening to this, Wang Chong was stunned for a while, his face looked as if he had lost his parents, and he left in a hurry.

We have to take the initiative when we go back, organize people and impeach Jia Lian. Isn't it just the Lantern Festival? No one can have an easy time.

Jia Lian also couldn't wait to prepare paper and pen. It was just lunch, he wouldn't starve to death if he ate it later. If he didn't write a memorial to impeach Wang Chong now, he wouldn't be able to enjoy the meal.

Jia Lian, who was quicker in action, naturally sent the impeachment letter to the emperor first. He did not lie, but told the truth, secretly emphasizing that Xu Lin and others were very domineering and refused to cooperate with the investigation. Wang Chong, as the Right Censor-in-Chief, was very domineering. He went to the Wucheng Bingmasi to show off his power and force him to release the people. He also threatened Jia Lian and told him to wait. What was he waiting for? Impeachment! This job was unbearable. At worst, he would resign and go home.

After reading the memorial, Emperor Chenghui, who had been preparing to celebrate the Lantern Festival and was in a good mood, suddenly became very angry.

Li Yuan and Li Heng happened to be present, so Emperor Chenghui handed the memorial to them and said, "Look, this is the so-called clean stream!"

After Li Yuan and Li Heng read the impeachment, Li Yuan, who read it first, spoke with a heavy expression, "Father, Wang Chong did something wrong, but as a superior, he was anxious to save his colleagues from prison and made a slip of the tongue, which is understandable. But Fang Song, the Chief Censor, as a censor, flattered his superiors blindly, and his proposal to punish the silver is indeed a policy that will bring disaster to the country and the people."

After hearing what Li Yuan said, Emperor Chenghui looked at him with a smile, then asked Li Heng with a smile: "Third brother, tell me!"

Li Heng pondered for a moment before saying, "It seems very simple. Xu Lin gathered a crowd to beat up the Chief Censor Fang Song in the street. It was extremely bad for a mere seventh-rank censor to beat up his superior. As his superior, Wang Chong not only did not correct his mistakes and urge him to make corrections, but also threatened Jia Lian to release him immediately afterwards. This is no longer a matter of disregarding the law of the country, but a matter of low moral standards and domineering behavior. As for Jia Lian, judging from his actions, he wanted to keep things quiet at first, lock up Xu Lin and others for a few days, give Fang Song an explanation, and the matter would be over. This memorial should have been made because he was angry. Therefore, the so-called harmony among the people has been achieved by Lord Jia, but Xu Lin and Wang Chong, who rely on the power in their hands, are rampant. Especially Xu Lin, who can disrespect his superior today and dare to disrespect his father tomorrow."

Li Yuan's expression was calm at first, but the more Li Heng spoke, the more he felt something was wrong. This is not only a violation of the law, but also a lack of morality. Xu Lin and Wang Chong threw your child into the well. You want to kill them.

"Third brother, stop, stop!" Li Yuan said quickly. Li Heng stopped and turned his head, smiling and looking at him: "Second brother, what do you have to say?"

Li Yuan saw that the emperor looked unhappy, so he quickly explained: "It's not that I'm asking for advice, I just think you've gone too far. As superiors, we should follow our father's benevolent governance and not be too demanding in everything."

After this round, Emperor Chenghui, as the referee, was disappointed with Li Yuan again. For the first time, he had an idea: if the second son inherits the throne, it would be hard to say who has the final say in the court.

Civil servants talk about benevolence, righteousness, and morality all the time, do you really believe it?
In contrast, the third brother's words were serious, but they also showed the essence of mutual protection among officials. Even Jia Lian actually followed the principle of mutual protection among officials, so Xu Lin was only detained for three days. If it was a noble son who caused trouble during the New Year, he would be detained for a month, memorized the Beijing security regulations, and collected several fees before being released.

"Second brother, this world belongs to the Li family. As a family, we must protect the country our ancestors built and cannot allow these officials to cause trouble."

"Third brother, what are you talking about? Civil officials are ministers of state. They represent the face of the court and shepherd the people for the emperor. They are also our people and the cornerstone of the court."

"Second brother, who are you referring to when you say people? You can't say that officials and gentry are people, but common people are not people? Local officials claim to be the emperor's shepherds, but don't take it seriously. Common people make up the majority of the world, and the court's taxes are basically borne by them. They are the cornerstone of the court."

When the conversation between the two brothers became more and more heated, Emperor Chenghui coughed, interrupted the conversation, and said lightly: "Go back! Tomorrow is a festival, come early."

The two brothers stopped arguing, said goodbye, and went home.

While Emperor Chenghui was rubbing his brows and worrying about his two brothers, Qiu Shi'an came in to report that a bunch of memorials had been sent in from the Ministry of Public Administration, all of which were impeaching Jia Lian.

Emperor Chenghui was immediately furious and slammed the desk fiercely: "I just want to have a comfortable Lantern Festival, and they won't let me go? This is outrageous!"

Qiu Shian smiled and said, "Saint, let's wait and see what they say."

Emperor Chenghui suppressed his displeasure and had the memorials delivered in a thick stack. The two Zhongshu Sheren on duty each held a stack.

Emperor Chenghui casually took out a copy and took a look at it, impeaching Jia Lian for harming his colleagues and putting people in jail for a trivial matter.

Emperor Chenghui turned around and asked Qiu Shian, "Go and see if the person is locked up in the prison?" Qiu Shian said, "Hey, there are no prison cells in the Wucheng Bingmasi. There are two rows of houses in the backyard, which are used to temporarily lock up people. How can there be a prison?"

Emperor Chenghui picked up the next one and impeached Jia Lian for contradicting his superiors, disregarding the law, and making up excuses to collect money (generate income). The Five Cities Military Department was a scourge to the capital, and the people had suffered from it for a long time!

"The writing is not bad, but it's full of nonsense. After Jia Lian took over, the security of the capital was greatly improved. Should we go back to the past, when the streets were full of the children of the rich and powerful, and there were troubles every now and then? This person can actually be a censor. How does the Ministry of Personnel select officials?" Emperor Chenghui was defeated and started to criticize directly. The Wucheng Bingmasi was Jia Lian's political achievement, and also the emperor's political achievement.

Qiu Shian said something very true: "Unfortunately, Lin Ruhai is far away in Sichuan and cannot reach him."

Emperor Chenghui slammed the table and stood up: "Wang Chong, as the Right Censor-in-Chief, knew the law but broke it, formed a clique for personal gain, oppressed the inferiors, and bullied the minority with the majority. His moral corruption is outrageous." Why did he mention morality? This was the impression left by Li Heng. It was also something that these officials talked about all day long. They used morality as a weapon to attack others at every turn.

All I can say is that the damage from a boomerang comes late but arrives late.

"How about I summon Jia Lian?" Qiu Shi'an asked in a low voice. Emperor Chenghui waved his hand and said, "No need. Leave it here. When Lin Ruhai comes back, let him handle it."

Qiu Shian knew that Wang Chong was finished, and Emperor Chenghui did not take action now because he really did not want to dirty his hands.

The people at the Wucheng Bingmasi were quite humane. When the family members of the five censors came to deliver food, they did not stop them. Not only did they not stop them, they also allowed them to meet and talk.

The Lantern Festival was over, and Lin Ruhai, who was far away in Sichuan, also set out to return to Beijing. After being away for such a long time, Lin Ruhai was eager to return home. He got up early and went to bed late, always on the road.

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As for the group of criminal officials, Lin Ruhai sent soldiers to escort them and slowly drove them to the capital.

The verbal battle between Jia Lian and Wang Chong seemed to have come to no avail, but he didn't care about it. There was no loss anyway.

On the 16th day of the first lunar month, when he had just woken up in the morning and was still immersed in the festive atmosphere of yesterday, Jia Rong rushed in excitedly: "Uncle, grandpa is gone!"

Jia Lian was stunned, and Jia Rong quickly changed his face to a sad face: "Last night, my grandfather was refining the elixir, but the operation was not done properly and the water leaked, burning half of Xuanzhen Temple. He was not rescued and was burned beyond recognition. When I went there, most of the people in Xuanzhen Temple had fled, leaving only a few Kun cultivators who had nowhere to go."

Looking at Jia Rong's expression, Jia Lian wanted to say, "If you can shed two tears, I believe you are really suffering." Are you suffering? You are excited to take care of a few Kun Xiu. You have to change your preference. You used to like the ones left by Jia Zhen, but now you even like your grandfather's double cultivation partner. No wonder Jiao Da said that there is nothing clean in the East Mansion except the stone lions at the door.

"Oh, Uncle Jing is so unfortunate. The Lantern Festival has just passed, otherwise the wedding would have turned into a funeral. By the way, have you notified the ancestors?"

Jia Lian asked quickly, if Lady Jia really didn't notify him, it would be too much, how could she come to Jia Lian to report first?

"Qin is gone!" Jia Rong's eyebrows jumped, Jia Lian's face was slightly hot, and he said calmly: "That's good, I'll go and inform my father, you go back and take charge, rescue the wounded, and prepare for the funeral."

Jia Rong hurriedly said goodbye and went back. Jia Lian suddenly thought, it seems that he forgot something? Oh, Jia Zhen, I forgot to ask Jia Zhen, if I forgot, I forgot, it’s not a big deal.

When he asked Xiren to change into dark clothes and prepared to express his condolences to Jia Jing, he suddenly thought of Qiu Shian's meaningful words.

What was that sentence? I didn't understand it at that time.

Now Jia Lian seemed to understand that Jia Jing thought he was smart, but in fact it was a way to his own death. Serving the emperor is like serving a tiger, because tigers eat people.

Now if someone says that Jia Jing’s death has nothing to do with the palace, no one would believe it even if Jia Lian was killed.

Jia Lian's happiness disappeared in an instant, and his steps became heavy. His understanding of the imperial power was strengthened again.

The Zhen family was only confiscated and the people were still alive, but Jia Jing was burned to ashes.

Thinking of the Zhen family, Jia Lian couldn't help but think of Miaoyu and Zhen Huan. The two sisters lived in Mantou Temple one after another, and they had a deep connection with the Jia family. And who had the Zhen family's things? Was it Jia Jing who hid them, or Miaoyu, or did Miaoyu know where the things were hidden? These things must be worth a lot of money, otherwise Jia Jing would not have taken the risk and lost his life.

"Come on, prepare the horses!" Jia Lian called out and went out quickly without bothering to inform Jia She. After going out, he went straight to the west of the city. When he arrived at Mantou Temple, he saw that the door was closed, so he went forward and knocked on it.

After a while, a woman with long hair came out. Seeing that it was Jia Lian, she frowned and said, "The abbot went to the mansion with his disciples. Why are you here?"

Jia Lian said calmly, "I came to see your mistress and ask her if she can help me."

The woman struggled for a moment and said, "The food and clothing here are a bit poor. My master doesn't like it, so he has been living off his savings these days. If Lord Jia really wants to help, let me go and report it."

Jia Lian wanted to laugh when he heard this, but he still held back and waved his hand, saying, "Go!"

The woman closed the door before leaving. Jia Lian was not angry at her rudeness. He thought of the Eight Banners children who, after their families fell into poverty, still carried bird cages while shopping, drank tea in teahouses, and left the tea leaves to dry for use next time.

After Emperor Chenghui took action against the Zhen family, Miaoyu and the people around her must not have had much stuff with them. After all these days, they have not had any income. Isn't life difficult?

It's ridiculous that when facing Jia Lian, the person they can rely on, the people around Miaoyu still put on airs.

Not long after, the door opened again, and Miaoyu appeared with a cold face. She was only twelve or thirteen years old, but she looked old and gave people the feeling that she was pretending to be detached from the world. If you really want to detach from the world and practice cultivation, don't use snow or dew to drink tea. You are so particular about life. You say you are a monk, but do you believe it?

"Layman, thank you for your courtesy!" Miaoyu's attitude was much better this time and she was the first to bow.

Jia Lian responded by saying, "Excuse me, is it convenient for us to talk for a few minutes alone?"

Miaoyu looked back and saw that no one around her had expressed an opinion, so she nodded: "Please follow me!"

Miaoyu went straight out of the gate and walked up the hillside behind. Jia Lian followed slowly behind her. After walking about fifty meters, Miaoyu stopped and turned back to ask, "Layman, let's talk about this."

Jia Lian looked into her big eyes and said, "Last night, there was a fire in Xuanzhen Temple and Jia Jing is dead."

After all, she was still a thirteen or fourteen-year-old child. Miaoyu's eyes flashed with panic, but she tried to remain calm: "Really? It's a pity, please accept my condolences!"

Seeing this, Jia Lian comforted her and said, "It's no secret that you are practicing here. Those who should know have always known it, even when you were in Suzhou and Jiangning, everyone knew it."

Miaoyu was completely panicked. She took two steps back and looked at Jia Lian in horror: "What are you saying? I don't understand."

Jia Lian took a step forward and continued to put pressure on him: "It doesn't matter if you don't understand, as long as you know why Jia Jing died!"

Miaoyu became even more flustered when she saw him approaching, and kept asking, "How can I know whether he is dead or alive? What does it have to do with me?"

(End of this chapter)