Emperor of the Red Chamber

Chapter 153 Execution of Wei Erniu

Wei Erniu immediately suppressed the anger on his brow.

He smiled meaningfully at Lu Liang, but his smile was full of daggers: "To be honest, just today, your daughter and son-in-law came to me together, saying that they owed more than a thousand taels of silver in gambling debts and couldn't pay them back. They asked me to persuade you to move out of the imperial city. The young couple was crying and it hurt me to see it."

Lu Liang knew that Wei Erniu had deliberately set up a trap for his daughter and son-in-law again. Last time, Wei Erniu deliberately set up a trap to make his daughter and son-in-law owe a large amount of gambling debts, causing him to embezzle two thousand taels of silver from the accounting department, in order to make him join the gang. This time, Wei Erniu set up a trap again, with the purpose of forcing him to move out of the imperial city.

But Lu Liang doesn't care much about this kind of thing right now.

Following Yuan Qingbai's instructions, Lu Liang deliberately asked Wei Erniu, "You are so corrupt and pervert the law, aren't you afraid that Jia Zongguan will find out and punish you? Or, has Jia Zongguan known about it and is he colluding with you?"

This is the issue that Yuan Qingbai cares about most.

For Yuan Qingbai, Wei Erniu's corruption and abuse of power was not a big deal. However, if Jia Zhu and Wei Erniu were in cahoots with each other, and Jia Zhu was also corrupt and abused power and deliberately protected Wei Erniu, that would be a big deal.

Wei Erniu didn't know that Yuan Qingbai was hiding in the inner room at the moment, nor did he know that Yuan Qingbai deliberately asked Lu Liang to ask this question. Instead, he subconsciously thought that Lu Liang was intending to report him to Jia Zhu.

The anger that had just been suppressed reappeared between Wei Erniu's brows and spread to his entire face.

Wei Erniu said angrily, "What? Do you want to report me to Jia Zongguan? Don't forget that you also embezzled two thousand taels of silver! Don't seek trouble for yourself! Even if you are not afraid of trouble, you should think about your daughter, son-in-law and precious grandson, and don't drag them down!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Yuan Qingbai, who was hiding in the inner room, understood that Jia Zhu was not in cahoots with Wei Erniu, otherwise Wei Erniu would not have said that.

Wei Erniu immediately restored his friendly expression and said, "Now you have two paths in front of you. One path is bad and leads to disaster, and the other path is good."

"As long as you move out of the imperial city, you can live in a mansion outside the capital with your daughter, son-in-law, and grandson. You can also receive two thousand taels of silver from me as a filial gift. After paying off the debts of your daughter and son-in-law, there will be a lot left. You can enjoy your old age in peace."

"In addition, when your grandson is a few years older, I will arrange for him to attend the official school of Xian'an Palace. If he can achieve academic success, that would be great. If he cannot pass the imperial examination and enter the official career, I will arrange for him to be a scribe in the future, which still has a good future."

If Lu Liang hadn't suddenly met Yuan Qingbai today, and Yuan Qingbai was hiding in the inner room.

Then, when Lu Liang heard what Wei Erniu said, he would most likely be moved and agree.

Lu Liang has always loved his only daughter, and he loves his grandson even more.

Before Lu Liang could respond to Wei Erniu, Yuan Qingbai's majestic voice came from the inner room: "Wei Erniu, you are so brave!"

Wei Erniu was very familiar with Yuan Qingbai's voice. He recognized it the moment he heard it. He was immediately startled and turned to look at the door of the inner room. He saw Yuan Qingbai walking out of the inner room with a gloomy face. He was so frightened that he was stunned and his whole body froze.

Lu Liang hurriedly knelt on the ground, but Wei Erniu remained stiff.

Yuan Qingbai snorted coldly and stared at Wei Erniu with sharp eyes.

Wei Erniu's face was pale, his body trembling, and he knelt on the ground with a thud: "Your servant...your servant kowtows to the Holy...Your Majesty, may you be well."

One of Wei Erniu's personal servants was squatting at the door of the main hall and was startled by the unusual noise inside the house. The servant turned his head and took a look inside, and saw Wei Erniu kneeling in front of Yuan Qingbai. He shuddered with fear, paused for a moment, and was about to turn around and run away, for fear of getting himself into trouble.

This scene fell into the eyes of the imperial guard Guo Han, who hurriedly said to Yuan Qingbai: "Your Majesty, someone escaped."

Yuan Qingbai decisively ordered: "Catch him!"

"Yes!"

After receiving the order, Guo Han quickly rushed out of the main room and chased after Wei Erniu's servants.

Guo Han was a strong man with good martial arts and was good at running. The servant was very nervous, and the gate to the courtyard was closed, so it took him a long time to open the gate. As a result, he was caught by Guo Han not long after he ran out of the gate.

Yuan Qingbai ordered Lu Liang: "Go and get a group of soldiers from the Guard Battalion over here!"

"Yes!"

Lu Liang hurriedly took the order and passed it on to someone else.

The periphery of the imperial palace is guarded by the Guard Battalion, and the current commander of the Guard Battalion is the veteran general Qi Zizhang.

Wei Erniu was so frightened that he kowtowed and cried, begging, "Your Majesty, I know I was wrong. Although I was corrupt, it was not a large amount. Please forgive me for my many years of service to the late emperor."

Yuan Qingbai ignored him.

Soon, Lu Liang led a team of officers and soldiers from the guard camp over.

The military officer leading the team was named He Jisheng, a third-rank lieutenant general of the imperial guards.

He Jisheng and Yuan Qingbai do have some connection.

Yuan Qingbai once won the top prize in military examination, and He Jisheng was the top military scholar in that examination, so he could be considered as Yuan Qingbai's classmate.

Later, Yuan Qingbai served as the Minister of the Imperial Guard, and He Jisheng often followed him on errands.

After Yuan Qingbai ascended the throne, he personally promoted many military officers he was familiar with. Because He Jisheng was both civil and military and had a good character, Yuan Qingbai promoted He Jisheng to the rank of Lieutenant General of the Guard.

In this way, Yuan Qingbai can feel more confident about the Guard Camp, and He Jisheng can also gain experience in the Guard Camp, laying the foundation for his future promotion to the frontier.

Because of these connections, and because he could do errands for Yuan Qingbai today, He Jisheng excitedly knelt down and said to Yuan Qingbai, "Your Majesty, I, He Jisheng, wish you the best!" Yuan Qingbai felt a little friendly when he saw that it was He Jisheng that Lu Liang had summoned, and immediately ordered He Jisheng to tie up Wei Erniu and his servants and put them under custody.

Yuan Qingbai naturally no longer had the heart to chat about the past with Lu Liang, nor did he have the heart to stroll in the rain. He immediately returned to the Palace of Tranquil Longevity in the imperial palace and summoned Jia Zhu to meet him.

When Jia Zhu came to the Yangxin Palace, he didn't know why. After listening to Yuan Qingbai's personal account of the whole story, he couldn't help but get nervous and knelt on the ground: "I am guilty!"

Yuan Qingbai asked in a deep voice: "Wei Erniu was so corrupt and abused his power. Did you know about it beforehand? Or did you deliberately go along with him and protect Wei Erniu?"

Jia Zhu said respectfully, "Your Majesty, I had no prior knowledge of this, so how could I have dared to go along with it? However, as an official of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, I have indeed been guilty of negligence. Your Majesty, please punish me."

Yuan Qingbai had confirmed this matter before, and now seeing Jia Zhu's frank look, he concluded that what Jia Zhu said must be true.

"Be flat."

Yuan Qingbai's expression relaxed, and when Jia Zhu stood up, he discussed the matter with Jia Zhu in detail.

During the reign of Emperor Chengtai, he rectified the administration of officials and severely punished corruption, but there were some omissions.

For example, Emperor Chengtai had been in power for many years, but he had never been strict in regulating the Imperial Household Department, which led to serious corruption in this area.

After Yuan Qingbai ascended the throne, he was busy with other affairs and made limited efforts to revamp the Imperial Household Department.

The Imperial Household Department had a complex organization and numerous affairs. Jia Zhu had only been in charge of the Imperial Household Department for half a year and had not yet had time to vigorously combat corruption. He also did not dare to make any major moves in the Imperial Household Department without authorization.

Jia Zhu indeed had no idea that Wei Erniu was so corrupt and committed injustice.

Wei Erniu was good at taking precautions and was very clever in covering up his corruption. In addition, due to his special background, Jia Zhu, like Yuan Qingbai, also believed that Wei Erniu was a trustworthy person.

Yuan Qingbai was eager to launch a serious anti-corruption storm in the Ministry of Internal Affairs immediately.

However, considering the overall situation, this matter is currently inconvenient.

However, Wei Erniu was to be executed this time to serve as a warning to others.

Yuan Qingbai asked Jia Zhu to pay close attention to the corruption in the Imperial Household Department from now on, and also strengthened his idea of ​​personally selecting and appointing officials to the Imperial Household Department and supervising them from time to time.

As for Lu Liang, although he had made merit by reporting Wei Erniu today, he had indeed been involved in corruption before. He was also old and frail, so Yuan Qingbai had no intention of re-employing him.

Considering Lu Liang's meritorious service in reporting the crime and their past friendship, Yuan Qingbai asked Jia Zhu to solve the gambling debts of Lu Liang's daughter and son-in-law, and to ensure Lu Liang's future life so that Lu Liang could have a good end.

……

……

Because of Jia Yun's matter, Jia Zhu had planned to get off work on time today, go to Ningguo Mansion in the evening to have dinner with Jia Yun, and give Jia Yun a lecture.

But I didn't expect that the incident of Wei Erniu's corruption and abuse of power would suddenly come to light today.

In order to deal with this matter, Jia Zhu worked overtime today and did not return to Rongguo Mansion until dark. Jia Yun had already been waiting there.

After Jia Zhu paid his respects to Jia Zheng, Jia Yun led him to the Ningguo Mansion next door.

Jia Yun had already set up a banquet in Ningxiang Hall, the main house in the Ningguo Mansion.

The head of Ningguo Mansion usually holds a banquet in the hall of the outer house to entertain guests.

In Jia Yun's view, Jia Zhu had a special status and was regarded by him as a noble benefactor, so every time he invited Jia Zhu to Ningguo Mansion for a meal, if there were no outsiders present, the banquet would be held in Ningxiang Hall.

Moreover, Jia Yun had already learned in advance today that Yuan Qingbai had appointed him as the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Internal Affairs because Jia Zhu had recommended him to him. For him, this was both a great favor and a great friendship.

At this moment, although the banquet set out in Ningxiang Hall was not simple, it was not luxurious either, because Jia Yun knew that Jia Zhu never liked extravagance, and today there were only Jia Zhu and him two people at the table.

Jia Yun respectfully invited Jia Zhu into Ningxiang Hall, and then asked Jia Zhu to take a seat.

Unexpectedly, Jia Zhu suddenly said, "Please sit down now. Before you sit down, I have something important to give you."

Jia Yun was puzzled: "I wonder what it is?"

Jia Zhu smiled faintly and immediately ordered someone to bring the calligraphy written by Yuan Qingbai. After Jia Zhu respectfully took it, he walked to the center of the hall and said to Jia Yun, "The emperor has written a calligraphy for you."

Jia Yun was shocked when he heard this, and without Jia Zhu's reminder, he immediately knelt on the ground with a plop.

Jia Zhu was pleased with Jia Yun's respectful attitude, and immediately unfolded the calligraphy and read aloud: "You should be honest and self-disciplined!"

After reciting it, Jia Zhu loudly conveyed to Jia Yun Yuan Qingbai's admonition to Jia Yun today, and asked Jia Yun to carefully frame the calligraphy and hang it in Ningxiang Hall.

Then, Jia Yun knelt down respectfully and crawled forward, taking the letter from Jia Zhu's hand. He could not help but read it again and again, his heart pounding.

"I, Jia Yun, will soon be a deputy minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the emperor has bestowed this calligraphy upon me before I even take up my post!"

(End of this chapter)