Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

After the banquet, everyone filed out. Jiang Feng walked to Sun Can intentionally or unintentionally, chatting casually and asking about the customs and folkways of the Western Regions.

Sun Can knew that every move of these big guys had a deep meaning, so he quickly answered with a smile.

After walking for a while, the crowd gradually thinned out. Seeing that there was no one around, Jiang Feng whispered, "Second Prince, the young master is in mourning now, and the situation in the court is turbulent. It is better to be quiet and not to move. Be careful not to be taken advantage of by villains. Be invincible first, and then wait for the enemy to be defeated."

Sun Can was startled, and nodded slightly, saying, "Thank you, Prime Minister Jiang, for your reminder. I will learn from your teaching."

Jiang Feng smiled and twirled his beard, saying, "I'll discuss the customs of the Western Regions with the Second Prince some other day." After saying that, he bowed and left.

Sun Can watched him leave, then turned around to look for Sun Chi and said, "Brother Chi, what happened to Brother Cong?"

Sun Chi hurriedly told him about recent events, saying, "Recently, Cong seems to have repeatedly angered my father, and his authority in the Imperial Guard and the Beijing Camp has been stripped. My mother has also strictly ordered me not to visit him, fearing that he might be hated by villains. You have just returned from a great achievement, so be careful."

Sun Can frowned and said, "You and I are friends of gentlemen, so who are we afraid of?
This trip to the Western Regions was greatly helped by his care. Now that his father has just passed away, should I pretend that I don't know?

I will go to his house tomorrow and see what he can say."

Sun Chi clapped his hands and laughed, "If that's the case, then I'll go too. If the Queen Mother blames you, you'll take the blame anyway."

Sun Can said with a smile: "You little brat, if the Queen Mother blames me, you will be punished."

The next day, the two of them visited Jia Cong together.

After Jia Cong received the report, he hurried out to welcome the two men into the study and scolded them, "Second brother, why did you come to my place after just returning to Beijing? Don't you know what's going on here?"

Sun Can smiled and said, "Don't worry too much. You and I are brothers and we are honest and upright. Who should we be afraid of? If my father and mother ask, I will tell you the truth."

Jia Cong smiled bitterly. This was not a question of truth or falsehood, but a question of political stance. He sighed and said, "Second brother, I am deeply grateful for your friendship. However, in the capital... Alas, this is a time of trouble. You must be careful and cautious."

Sun Can said: "Don't worry, Cong, I understand."

Sun Chi Anwei said: "Don't worry, Cong'er, you have made great contributions to the country. Father is wise and will remember your kindness in the future. When your mourning period is over, you will definitely be reinstated."

Jia Cong shook his head and said, "Brother Chi, I only hope to save my life and property now, and I dare not even think about being reinstated.

The emperor is naturally wise, but there are many petty people in the court, and they don’t want me to come back.”

Sun Can and the others knew that he was telling the truth, and they consoled him, "Being an official is tiring, and being a free and easy Duke is also good. With your prestige, connections, and the fact that you are the son-in-law of the imperial court, who would dare to underestimate you?"

Jia Cong smiled and said, "My two brothers have hit the nail on the head. As long as no one offends me and I don't offend anyone, it would be best if we all live in peace."

The three of them chatted for a while, and then Jia Cong invited Ruyi to talk. The three brothers and sisters were very happy to see each other.

Jia Cong suddenly asked, "Brother, have you gained anything from your long journey to the west?"

Sun Can pondered for a moment and sighed, "No wonder the ancients said that reading ten thousand books and traveling ten thousand miles is the best way to travel. Only after traveling west did I realize how vast the world is. I almost became a frog in a well."

Sun Chi's eyes became red as he rubbed his hands and said, "One day I will ask my father for permission to go to the Western Regions to explore the border, to see the beauty of the smoke in the desert and the sunset over the long river, so that I can live up to my life."

Ruyi attacked mercilessly: "You are like a horse without a bridle. Once you go out, you will be so excited that you don't know who you are. It's strange that the emperor will allow you to do so."

Sun Chi said with a smile: "If my father doesn't allow me, won't I run away quietly? I might as well stay out for a few more days. I heard that the Western Regions are rich in beauties. I will find some sisters-in-law for you."

Everyone laughed.

Ruyi spat, "You filthy son of a bitch, you're bringing shame to the Heavenly Family. You'll have your day when you come back, and don't expect me to plead for you then."

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Brother Chi is a real hero. If I were not in mourning and had family burdens, I would really like to travel with you to the frontier and teach the men of the grasslands the methods of our heroes in the Central Plains."

Sun Chi smiled and said, "It's a deal. When you take off your mourning clothes, we'll go together. Ruyi is not allowed to stop us."

"Bah! Why are you leaving? Do you want to just leave this family alone?" Ruyi glared at Jia Cong.

Jia Cong smiled bitterly and spread his hands, saying: "Look, life is bitter."

Sun Can smiled and said, "It's not too hard. Although Cong has not come to the Western Regions, his romantic deeds have long been spread there. Even the great beauty known as the Iceberg Snow Lotus on the grassland has called you. What does it matter whether you go to the Western Regions or not?
I saw her once before I came back, and her belly was so big. Calculating the date, she was about to give birth."

Sun Chi smiled evilly and said, "You are quite smart. You left an ambush in the Western Regions long ago. I admire you."

Jia Cong glanced at Ruyi and laughed dryly: "The love between the seabird and the fish was just an accident, an accident."

Ruyi sneered, "You are so affectionate to everyone, leaving orphans and widows behind. Aren't you afraid of losing your fortune?"

Sun Can said hurriedly: "Ruyi, you don't know that grassland women are not as weak as Central Plains women. Miss Fa has a large tribe under her command. Many grassland women who have lost their husbands raise their children alone. It's not a strange thing."

Ruyi stared with wide eyes and said, "Will that child not study when he grows up? Will he become a barbarian?"

Sun Can laughed dryly and said, "Let's talk about this in a few years. The baby hasn't been born yet, so why should he study? OK, Cong."

Jia Cong said hurriedly: "Second brother is right. Bring her to the capital in a few years and let you teach her in person."

Ruyi rolled her eyes at him and said with a ladylike demeanor, "You want to separate the mother and child just to take the child back? How can you bear it?

Well, I will have my own idea when the time comes. If Fatini is willing to come back, she can come back. If she doesn't want to leave her homeland and her people, let her and her son live together.

We can send some teachers from the capital to teach them. We can make arrangements when the children grow up."

Jia Cong praised: "Yan'er is thoughtful, magnanimous and kind. Her husband can rest assured."

Ruyi blushed and spat in a low voice: "There are people here, what are you talking about?"

Sun Chi laughed and said, "Second brother, I didn't expect Ruyi to be so good at being a housekeeper. I thought she was going to make your family a mess."

Seeing that Ruyi's eyebrows were raised and she was about to get angry, Sun Can quickly rebuked her, "Tenth Brother, don't talk nonsense. Ruyi has been well-educated, steady and generous since she was young. Don't we know that she is her own sister? It's getting late, let's go back first." After saying that, he stood up.

Sun Chi quickly agreed and ran away with Sun Can.

Jia Cong smiled and sent the two out. He turned around and saw Ruyi with a slightly angry look on her face. She looked very cute when she was staring at the two men viciously. He hugged her and said with a smile: "Chi'er is talking about naughtiness. How could he know that my Yan'er is gentle and lovely."

Ruyi's face turned red, and she didn't know where her anger had gone. She stamped her feet and said, "It's all your fault. You ruined my reputation and made them laugh at me."

Jia Cong quickly protested: "I have never said a bad word about you."

"Bah, I don't believe it." Ruyi said coquettishly.

Seeing her charming and attractive appearance, Jia Cong couldn't help but get excited. He leaned close to her ear and blew air, saying, "Good Yan'er, don't you understand my heart? I love you so much, even if you want me to say something bad about you, how can I say a word?"

Ruyi sneered and said, "If you are smooth-talking, you will deceive people."

"Good smoke, I think..."

Ruyi quickly pressed down his unruly hand and blushed as she refused, "No, you are still in mourning..."

"We're just practicing, we're not going to have a baby, what are we afraid of?"

"Bah! Dirty seed, don't stay here, go back to your room."

"Yes, sir. Hey, I'll teach you a new way." "Hateful..."
-
The next day, Li Shouzhong got up early as usual and inspected the students' morning classes in the Imperial College.

As soon as I arrived at the entrance of Ruexing Hall, I saw students sitting together in groups of three or five, talking loudly without reciting scriptures. I wondered what they were doing?
Yin walked in and frowned, saying, "A day's plan begins in the morning. Why are you wasting your time playing and laughing?"

All the students stood up and listened to the lecture. Someone said, "Your Excellency, when we came to the classroom this morning, we found a few booklets on the table. We thought they were the articles that the teacher asked us to study, but when we opened them, we found that they were not the articles, so we discussed it."

"What kind of text is that?" Li Shouzhong frowned. If it was some book in the market that encouraged obscenity or theft, it would have to be thoroughly investigated.

"It is this article. It is written in a mature and penetrating style, with a strong ancient style." A student hurriedly handed over a booklet.

Li Shouzhong was shocked when he saw the three big words "Foundation of the Country" written on the cover. Who dared to discuss state affairs in the Imperial College and involve the "Foundation of the Country"?
I hastily opened it and saw the following at the beginning:

I have observed that since ancient times, when rulers have ruled for a long time without a sincere heart that cares about the people, even though they have not imposed tyranny and cruel punishments on the people, the world has always been in chaos.

Since the Qin Dynasty, the longest reigns included Emperor Wu of Jin, Emperor Wu of Liang, and Emperor Ming of Tang. These three emperors were all wise, resourceful, and meritorious rulers.

The country has been in power for a long time, with no internal or external troubles, but the country has been complacent and has no sincere compassion for the people of the world. It is only concerned about the present without making long-term plans. It thinks that disasters will not affect it, but often it is too late to regret when disasters occur.

The most urgent problem in the world today is the foundation of the country; the most important person in the foundation of the country is the crown prince; the most important factor in distinguishing the crown prince is the distinction between legitimate sons, illegitimate sons, and the elder and younger.

The second prince, Can, is the eldest son of the Yuan family. He is filial, respectful and frugal, intelligent and wise, and kind to the people and to all things. Moreover, his battle in the Western Regions made great contributions to the country.

If the emperor wants to rectify his name and position, please do not be too fussy. It is better to obey the request of millions of people and enthrone Yuansi as the Crown Prince to establish the foundation of the world. Then the hopes of the subjects will be satisfied and the celebration of the clan society will last long. There are ten great benefits...

Li Shouzhong quickly flipped through two pages and felt cold sweat on his back, his vision went dark, and his hands were shaking so much that he could hardly hold the book.

If the Second Prince takes over the throne, it would be a natural thing and no one would say no. However, this article is clearly intended to manipulate public opinion to force the emperor to abdicate. This is extremely bad. It is not speaking for the Second Prince at all, it is clearly intended to put him to death!

Such a thing happened in the Imperial College under his jurisdiction. Can he still keep his head?

"Sir..." The students didn't realize how serious it was. Seeing his pale face, they thought he had a relapse of his old illness and hurried over to support him.

Li Shouzhong took a deep breath, managed to calm down, and asked, "How many volumes are there in this book?"

"Five or six volumes were found in the Ruxing Hall."

“Is it all this article?”

"Yes."

"What about the schools of cultivation, sincerity, justice, ambition and expansion of studies?" Li Shouzhong asked in a trembling voice.

He already understood that someone had deliberately written a letter to harm others. If a student had been impulsive and wanted to discuss state affairs, he would never have copied several copies of the letter.

"This... I'll go ask right away." Several students hurriedly went out to ask, and came back after a while, saying, "Sir, each hall has found this article, and I don't know who wrote it."

Li Shouzhong's heart sank. Six or seven doctors and teaching assistants had hurried over and said, "Sir, someone is secretly spreading the evil book in the Imperial College!"

The students were shocked and looked at each other. It was reasonable and legal to ask the second prince to be the crown prince, so how could it become a weird book?
Li Shouzhong asked hurriedly, "Have you searched and confiscated everything?"

"They have all been confiscated. Please have a look, sir."

Li Shouzhong waved his hand and said, "Order all the academic officials and doctors to interrogate the students one by one. Anyone who dares to privately keep the evil book or discuss the government will be expelled from school and stripped of his academic title. In addition, all the evil books will be destroyed immediately."

"Yes." Several older doctors knew how serious it was, and hurriedly agreed, then left with a stack of "demon books".

"My lord, something bad has happened. The spies from the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard have obtained two volumes of the evil book and have been released from prison." An assistant teacher ran in with a panicked look on his face.

Huh?! Li Shouzhong's heart was shaken, and he was so angry that his blood boiled. His eyes went dark and he fell backwards.

"My lord, my lord!"

"Call the doctor quickly!"

The news of the appearance of the evil book in the Imperial College spread throughout the city like the wind.

Not only did everyone in the officialdom know about it, it had also become the hottest topic of conversation in restaurants and teahouses. Now that he was over fifty years old and had been on the throne for more than ten years, with so many adult princes under his wing, it was indeed a bit unreasonable not to appoint a crown prince.

If something unexpected happened, wouldn't the world be in chaos? Ordinary people didn't care who was the emperor, they just wanted an emperor. With an emperor, the world would be stable and the people's lives would be better.

"Sir, how should we deal with this matter?" Upon learning about this, Jia Cong hurried to the outer study.

Pang Chao was holding the article "On the Foundation of the Nation" in deep thought, and slowly said, "Here it comes. Sure enough, someone couldn't help but take action, and once he took action, it was so vicious."

"What do you mean, sir?"

Pang Chao sneered, "The people behind the scenes published this article just to create momentum to praise and kill the Second Prince, so that even if the Emperor wants to make him the Crown Prince, it will be impossible, because the Emperor cannot succumb to public opinion, otherwise where is the dignity of the Emperor? This is one reason.

Secondly, if we think about it more deeply, who would benefit the most if the second prince fell out of favor? Naturally, the eldest prince.

Everyone, including the current emperor, will inevitably suspect that the eldest prince is secretly competing for the throne. He cannot clear himself even if he jumps into the Yellow River. Do you think he still has a chance?

Tsk tsk, a demon book ruined two princes, amazing."

Jia Cong said in a deep voice: "Sir, what you said is very true. Who is the person behind the scenes? The New Party?"

Pang Chao said: "It is still unclear at the moment. The only thing that is certain is that after taking down the first and second princes, the chances of the other illegitimate princes inheriting the throne will definitely increase dramatically. Brother Cong, the storm is coming."

Jia Cong nodded slowly: "Yes, the storm is coming, and it will soon sweep me in."

Pang Chao's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he asked, "Did Li Jijiu get into trouble?"

"Just now the Embroidered Uniform Guard reported that the emperor was furious upon hearing the news and has ordered the Eastern Depot to conduct a thorough investigation. Li Shouzhong and others have also been arrested and taken to the factory prison." Jia Cong sighed.

Pang Chao said: "As the chief priest, he cannot escape blame for something like this happening in the Imperial College. This is not surprising. I am just afraid that the two governments will be implicated."

Jia Cong said, "Needless to say, someone will definitely use this matter to pin it on me."

Pang Chao said: "It's the same old saying, use stillness to control movement, and remain unchanged in the face of ever-changing situations, so that the person behind the scenes can come out on his own. The more you do now, the more guilty you appear.

Thinking that you can take your life and property based on such a piece of evil writing is too much of a joke."

Jia Cong said, "Cong understands. But... as for Li Shouzhong... should we save him?" After all, he is Li Wan's biological father. If he can be saved, he still wants to save him.

Pang Chao shook his head and said, "Someone is clearly using him as bait to catch a big fish like you, but you still insist on bumping into him?"

Jia Cong smiled bitterly: "They are all close relatives, it is not good to watch them die without helping. It is not easy to meet at my eldest sister-in-law's place."

Pang Chao said calmly, "Brother Cong, forget what you said. For the sake of the family, there is no one who cannot be sacrificed. A mere Li Shouzhong, what's the point of mentioning him?"

Jia Cong was speechless and sighed, "Teacher, you are right. I am grateful for your advice."

Pang Chao said: "The most urgent thing is to get in touch with the Queen and listen to her opinion. You must not go out. Please ask Her Royal Highness the Princess to come to the palace to pay her respects. So and so..."

Jia Cong said: "I understand. I will arrange it right away." (End of this chapter)