Emperor of the Red Chamber

Chapter 156 Qingbai pays tribute to his father
Jia Zhu is indeed a hardworking man.

The workload of the Imperial Household Department and the Imperial Observatory was already heavy.

Yesterday, the Wei Erniu corruption case broke out again. The case was tried by Jia Zhu, the Minister in charge of the Imperial Household Department. A group of corrupt Imperial Household Department personnel were involved, which made it a bit tricky.

But today, there was news that Jia Zhen's concubine and Luan had escaped, and Jia Zhu speculated that it was most likely related to Jia Rong.

It’s really tiring, both physically and mentally.

Jia Zhu knew that Wei Erniu's corruption case was a top priority, and Yuan Qingbai ordered him to try the case as soon as possible.

But for him, the matter of Jia Rong and Xie Luan could not be delayed at all. These two people could not be allowed to go against the will of nature and ruin the reputation of the Jia family, especially for fear that it would affect the reputation of Queen Yuanchun and Jia Zheng.

Jia Zheng's reputation is also important.

Jia Zheng was not an official who came from an imperial examination background. He was originally granted the position of head of the Ministry of Works by Emperor Jing'an because of his father Jia Daishan's will on his deathbed.

After Yuan Qingbai ascended the throne, he promoted Jia Zheng to the second-rank Minister of Rites, which caused a lot of criticism, as people believed that Jia Zheng did not have the qualifications or ability to do so.

Because the Jia family was so unusual and Jia Zheng had become the emperor's father-in-law, no one at that time submitted a memorial to the emperor to persuade Yuan Qingbai about this matter.

After the incident of Jia Zhen taking a concubine in violation of filial piety broke out, several people submitted memorials saying that Jia Zheng was not worthy of being the Minister of Rites.

The Ministry of Rites is in charge of etiquette and morality.

As the Minister of Rites, how could Jia Zheng's family have such a mess of moral ethics?
In Jia Zhu's opinion, if Xie Luan's escape was really related to Jia Rong, and the two of them had an affair, once the news spread, it would have a significant impact on Jia Zheng.

Someone will definitely submit a memorial to impeach Jia Zheng, and maybe someone will advise him at the imperial meeting. This will not only embarrass Jia Zheng, but also Yuan Qingbai, who may even demote Jia Zheng.

Therefore, Jia Zhu felt that he needed to deal with the matter of Xie Luan quickly.

……

……

The day after Xie Luan escaped, although Jia Zhu went to the Imperial Household Department to be on duty as usual, he sent a trusted servant to secretly follow Jia Rong.

This servant was quite clever in his work, and Jia Rong had just succeeded in getting Xie Luan, so he couldn't wait to ride to the eastern suburbs to have a secret meeting with Xie Luan, and didn't return until the afternoon.

Jia Rong thought he was acting secretly, but he didn't know that his whereabouts today had been spied on by Jia Zhu's servants.

That afternoon, the servant hurriedly reported the situation to Jia Zhu.

Although the servants failed to enter the courtyard house in the eastern suburbs, failed to see Xie Luan, and certainly failed to see the secret meeting between Jia Rong and Xie Luan, Jia Zhu was almost certain that Xie Luan's escape was related to Jia Rong, and was almost certain that the two had really done something against the will of nature.

So Jia Zhu went off duty at around three o'clock in the afternoon.

After finishing his shift, Jia Zhu did not return to Rongguo Mansion, but took a carriage directly to the eastern suburbs and came to the courtyard where Xie Luan lived.

Outside the courtyard, Jia Zhu personally went forward and knocked on the door. From inside came the voice of the maid Zhuang'er asking, "Who is it?"

Jia Zhu deliberately said, "Master Rong sent me here."

Zhuang'er asked again, "Why did Master Rong send you here?"

Jia Zhu said, "This is an urgent matter, and it is inconvenient to talk about it outside the door."

Zhuang'er was puzzled, but after hesitating for a moment, she opened the gate.

This detail reflects Jia Zhu's wisdom. If he hadn't said this on purpose, Zhuang'er would not have opened the door.

As soon as the courtyard gate opened, Jia Zhu rushed in, followed by his two trusted servants, which immediately scared Zhuang'er.

Zhuang'er asked nervously: "What are you going to do?"

Jia Zhu said in a gentle tone: "I am Jia Zhu from Rongguo Mansion, and I am Jia Rong's uncle."

Upon hearing this, Zhuang'er became even more nervous and looked flustered. Although she was a maid that Jia Rong had recently bought and had only served Xie Luan for one day, she had already heard Xie Luan talk about Rongguo Mansion and Jia Zhu.

When Jia Zhu saw Zhuang'er's expression, he became more certain of his guess.

He stared at Zhuang'er, his expression becoming serious: "Is Xieluan here?"

Zhuang'er became more and more flustered, hesitating: "I... I don't know..."

At this time, Jia Zhu heard a "bang" sound coming from the main room. He looked towards the south window of the main room, then walked quickly to the main room, came to the bedroom, and found Xie Luan had fallen under the south window.

It turned out that Xie Luan was peeping through the south window of the bedroom just now, and was so frightened when he found Jia Zhu coming that he accidentally fell from the kang under the south window to the ground, making a "bang" sound.

When Xie Luan saw that Jia Zhu had entered the bedroom, he could not help but curl up on the ground, his face ashen. He looked at Jia Zhu nervously, then lowered his head in shame.

Jia Zhu sighed: "Get up now."

Xie Luan did not move. He was hurt from the fall and his body was weak from fear.

Jia Zhu glanced at Zhuang'er who followed him into the bedroom and ordered, "Help her sit up."

This voice is intimidating without any anger.

Immediately, Zhuang'er stepped forward, helped Xie Luan up, and let Xie Luan sit on the couch.

Jia Zhu sat opposite him, deliberately waiting for Xie Luan to calm down before asking questions.

After a moment, Xie Luan said to Zhuang'er, "Serve tea to Master Zhu." Zhuang'er hurriedly poured a cup of tea, held it respectfully with both hands, and handed it to Jia Zhu.

Jia Zhu took two sips of tea, turned his head and stared at Xie Luan, saying: "Why did you run away? How did you escape? What is your relationship with Rong Ge'er? Tell me the truth. You should know that you can't hide it now. Confess and you will be lenient. Tell me now, and I may find a way out for you."

In Xie Luan's eyes, Jia Zhu was a majestic figure. Being young and naive, she subconsciously did not dare to resist Jia Zhu's questioning.

When she saw Jia Zhu today, Xie Luan was really frightened and thought she would not survive. But now Jia Zhu said that he could find a way for her to survive, giving her, who was afraid of death, a chance of life again.

So, despite her shame, Xie Luan told Jia Zhu the whole story, including how Jia Rong instigated her to escape and how she had an affair with Jia Rong.

Jia Zhu had anticipated this, and now that it was confirmed, he was not too surprised. He just felt a tightness in his chest. Alas, the Jia family had indeed made another scandal!

No, we can’t let this scandal spread, we must do our best to cover it up!
Fortunately, this matter did not violate the law, and covering it up was not illegal, so Jia Zhu did not feel guilty towards Yuan Qingbai because of this.

As for how to deal with this matter, Jia Zhu had already thought about it before coming to see Xie Luan today.

In Jia Zhu's view, Xie Luan was a miserable woman. She was first bought to Jia Zhen as a concubine by Lai Er. After Jia Zhen ruined the relationship, she was confined in a shabby room, where she fasted and chanted Buddhist scriptures and was treated harshly. In order to live a good life, she escaped at the instigation of Jia Rong and had an affair with Jia Rong.

Jia Zhu did not think Xie Luan was completely innocent, but he did not think that his crime deserved the death penalty.

She cannot be driven away. If Xie Luan is driven away, she will inevitably have affairs with other men, bringing shame to the Jia family, and her affair with Jia Rong may be exposed.

Moreover, Xie Luan's household registration was still under Jia Zhen's name, and she was Jia Zhen's concubine. If she was driven away, she would be equivalent to a refugee. Such a beautiful and delicate female refugee, who could not see the light of day, might have a miserable fate in this world.

Of course, Jia Zhu would not help Jia Rong and Xie Luan to be a couple.

After thinking it over again and again, there is only one solution...

That day, Jia Zhu quietly took Xie Luan back and told Jia Mu and Jia Zheng the whole story.

Both Jia's mother and Jia Zheng were shocked and angry.

Jia Zhu proposed his own solution, which was recognized by Lady Jia and Jia Zheng.

The solution was to transform a small nunnery in the large backyard of the Rongguo Mansion, imprison Xie Luan in it, and let her practice Buddhism with her hair uncut from then on!

Jia Zhu kept his promise and allowed Xie Luan to live, but she would not live a good life...

As for Jia Rong, Jia Zhu has no good way to discipline him now, so he just admonishes him, hoping that he will not bring harm to the Jia family in the future.

……

……

After quickly dealing with the Xie Luan incident, Jia Zhu then moved on to investigating Wei Erniu's corruption case.

In just a few days, the case was thoroughly investigated.

In this case, in addition to Wei Erniu's serious corruption, many other officials from the Imperial Household Department who were in cahoots with him were also involved.

In accordance with Yuan Qingbai's order, Wei Erniu was executed by beating on the third day of the second lunar month.

The place of execution was somewhat special; it was at the gate of the Accounting Department outside the Xihua Gate of the Imperial Palace.

On that day, many officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs gathered in the Accounting Department and witnessed the scene of Wei Erniu being beaten to death. This was also Yuan Qingbai's order, and the purpose was obviously to set an example.

Jia Zhu personally supervised the execution.

On that day, it suddenly started raining in the sky of the Shenjing City. It was not a drizzle or a light rain, but a heavy downpour.

Although it was already early February, this heavy rain brought with it the chill of late winter, as if it had suddenly pulled the recent spring climate back to winter.

It was during this heavy rain that a crowd gathered in front of the Accounting Department, and officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs gathered to watch Wei Erniu being beaten to death.

The heavy rain made the execution by beating seem even more solemn.

bang bang bang...

Crackling...

The sound of the sticks hitting each other and the sound of rain falling mixed together.

The atmosphere at the scene was very solemn.

At this time, Emperor Tianlong Yuan Qingbai was in the Fengxian Hall in the imperial palace, which was the ancestral temple of the Great Zhou royal family. He was standing in the back hall, facing the tablet of the late Emperor Chengtai.

"Father, Wei Erniu was your trusted servant when you were in the vassal state. He served you closely for many years and was deeply loved and respected by you. Unfortunately, he failed to live up to your kindness and committed the crime of corruption that you hated all your life. Now he is being beaten to death outside Xihua Gate."

"Father, when you were the emperor, you were most concerned about rectifying the administration of officials. You devoted all your energy to this cause, working day and night, and in one stroke you reversed the corrupt atmosphere during the later years of my grandfather's reign. This is your greatest achievement. I remember this in my heart, and I also know the importance of official administration."

"However, I am determined to reform, so I must be steady and prudent in governing. It has not been a year since I ascended the throne, so it is not convenient for me to make a big fuss to reform the administration. This time, beating Wei Erniu to death is just a small test."

"May the spirit of my father in heaven examine my heart. I will do my utmost to rectify the administration of officials and severely punish corruption in the future, so as to continue the prosperity of the Great Zhou created by my grandfather and father, so that our Great Zhou will be peaceful and prosperous, and the people will be safe and powerful throughout the world!"

Yuan Qingbai stood there and sighed softly.

After sighing, he burned incense and bowed in front of Emperor Chengtai's tablet.

Outside the palace, it was raining heavily and the air was freezing cold...

(End of this chapter)