Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 111: The Secret Book of the Gift

Prince Teng's Mansion.

Among the four great families of Jia, Shi, Wang and Xue in Jinling.

The Xue family has the lowest rank and status. The ancestor of the Xue family was only a fifth-rank Ziwei Sheren. He was originally a noble civil servant, but by the time of his descendants he had fallen into the status of an imperial merchant.

There are eight branches in the Xue family, and now all eight branches are in Jinling. It can be seen that the Xue family is wealthy but weak. They are trapped in Jinling and rely on relying on the Jia and Wang families to survive.

The Wang family once inherited the title of county earl, but after the generation of princes, the title was no longer passed down. Among the twelve branches of the Wang family, eight are in Jinling, and their foundation is far inferior to that of the Jia and Shi families.

Fortunately, the Wang family and the Jia family have a close marriage. Over the past decade or so, two generations of legitimate daughters have been married into the Jia family, replacing the Ningguo branch of the Jia family as the governor of the Beijing camp, which has greatly increased the strength of the Wang family in recent years.

Therefore, it is easy to imagine how much Wang Ziteng relied on the Jia family, even though his wife had lost face in the Jia family and his son had been frightened into incontinence by Jia Cong's knife.

Despite such an embarrassing thing, he did not have any intention of taking revenge on the Jia family. He was able to endure what he could not endure. He is indeed a man of character.

But now his heart was overwhelmed with fear.

Guo Lin was holding a cup of top-quality Laojunmei tea and sipping it slowly.

Wang Ziteng held a secret letter with a gray-white cover in his hand. His face was pale and his hands seemed to be shaking slightly.

"General Wang, this secret letter from the Imperial Chariot Division was originally intended for the Emperor to review, but the Emperor has shown special favor and made an exception to allow you to have a look.

Liu Wenxuan, who falsely accused Rongguo Mansion's Jia Cong of being the son of a prostitute, has a close relationship with the Zhang family of Deqing Mansion. The emperor asked me to ask General Wang whether the Wang family was involved in this matter! "

When Wang Ziteng heard this, he felt cold all over and said palely: "Eunuch Guo, Wang and Rongguo Mansion are relatives by marriage and have always been on good terms. How could I do such a thing!"

"General Wang, your wife and son just had a dispute with Jia Cong, and now the scholar supported by your wife's family went to the Ministry of Rites to falsely accuse Jia Cong, the first place in the imperial examination.

How could such a coincidence happen? No one could doubt it.

The imperial examination is a grand ceremony for selecting talents. A mere scholar slandered the first place selected by the court. This is an act of disrupting state affairs. The crime is unforgivable. This matter is too serious!"

Wang Ziteng was filled with grief and swore to heaven: "Eunuch Guo, I am a minister who eats the emperor's salary. The Wang family will never do such a thing that disregards the law. If you violate this, you will be punished by heaven and earth!"

Guo Lin sighed and said, "General Wang, what's the point of me believing your words? Your Majesty needs to believe them. I will pass your words on to Your Majesty. You can do whatever you want."

Watching Guo Lin leave the palace without looking back, Wang Ziteng slumped in a chair with cold sweat on his forehead, feeling a wave of fear in his heart.

In fact, as soon as he saw the secret letter from the driver, he concluded that it was his wife who did it.

But he could only deny it flatly, otherwise the Wang family would be finished. If he used false accusations to interfere with the imperial examination and let the censors and civil servants know about it, the endless impeachments would ruin his reputation and leave him without a burial place.

But that stupid woman doesn't have such cunningness. How could she do such a thing? She must have been instigated by someone.

He no longer had the mind to think about who instigated his wife. In any case, the Wang family was not free from involvement.

With His Majesty's wisdom, he had already concluded that this must be the work of the Wang family. But why did he not take any action and only sent a deputy eunuch to question them?

His Majesty has kept a huge handle in his hands. Thinking of this, Prince Teng was terrified.

Now is not the time to guess the Holy Spirit's intention. The Holy Spirit's heart is as hard as iron. Even if I guessed it, what would it matter?

The most important thing now is to clean up this matter from beginning to end, so that there will be a way to turn things around if something happens.

"Go and ask the lady to come here immediately. I want to ask some questions!"

……

Rongguo Mansion.

After Jia Cong sent Guo Lin away, he returned to Rong Xi Tang and heard Jia Zheng's angry voice.

"That scholar was actually instructed by your sister-in-law. She wants to destroy Cong and put my Jia family in a terrible situation. How can she have such a vicious heart!"

Madam Wang cried and said, "Master, Eunuch Guo only said that the scholar had a close relationship with the Zhang family, but it doesn't mean that my sister-in-law ordered it. We are all family, so how could it be like this?"

Jia Cong saw that Lady Jia was sitting there, silent but with an ugly look on her face, and there seemed to be frost in her eyes as she looked at her second daughter-in-law.

It was not convenient for him to stay in such a scene. He had already escaped from the predicament. What did the embarrassment and filth in Rong Xi Tang have to do with him?

He simply left quietly, but when he thought of Mrs. Wang's expression, he began to have some doubts in his heart, but he had no basis for them.

Outside Rong Xi Hall, Wu'er and Zijuan both heard the imperial edict being read out in the hall.

They were overjoyed to know that the Third Master was not only not deprived of his fame and honor, but also was given an official position by the Emperor.

Zijuan said that she wanted to go back and tell her girl the good news so that she could rest assured.

Wu'er was standing alone outside the Chuihua Gate, pacing anxiously, waiting for Jia Cong to come out.

Suddenly she felt a figure blocking his view. Turning back, she saw it was Jia Cong. The warm sun cast a shadow on his face, making the Third Master's face a little blurry. Only his gentle and clear eyes were shining, looking at her with a smile, which made Wu'er's heart beat fast.

"Wu'er, did you hear everything just now?"

"Yes, I heard it all. The Third Master was not stripped of his title, but was even given an official position by the Emperor!"

"Now you can rest assured and don't have to sleep restlessly at night."

Wu Er's pretty face turned red: "I know Third Master's ability, nothing can harm Third Master."

The haze of many days was swept away, and Jia Cong felt only the bright sunshine, his heart was filled with pride and joy, and an indescribable joy and ease filled his chest.

Looking at Wu'er's pretty face, he forgot himself a little. He held her soft little hand and said, "Let's go back. I want to drink the Yunwujian you brewed."

Wu Er blushed: "Third Master, it would be terrible if someone saw us in broad daylight."

She struggled a few times with her little hand, but failed to pull it back, so she didn't want to struggle anymore.

In this way, Jia Cong held her little hand and she returned to Qingzhizhai in a daze. She was stared at by some maids and old women along the way, but she didn't care even though they pointed and talked about her.

……

Prince Teng's Mansion.

The doors and windows of the study in the palace were closed. Wang Ziteng was sitting on the armchair with a livid and angry face.

Wang Zhang stood there, not even daring to sit down, her face pale and at a loss.

Although the Zhang family of Deqing Prefecture was a local aristocratic family, they only made their fortune through shipping business in their early years. Although they had some wealth, they were just a merchant family and had no foundation.

It was not until Wang Zhang's second uncle passed the imperial examination and climbed to the high position of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel within a dozen years that the Zhang family became the most prominent scholarly family in Deqing Prefecture.

At that time, Wang Ziteng was obsessed with his official career. Since a right vice minister of the Ministry of Personnel came from the second branch of the Zhang family, he regarded the ordinary daughter of the eldest branch as a rare treasure.

After becoming the son-in-law of the Zhang family, he finally made a name for himself in officialdom by relying on his nepotism with the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. Later, he got the high position of Jiedushi of the Beijing Camp by relying on his relationship with the Jia family.

Otherwise, Wang Ziteng might still be a young man from an aristocratic family trapped in Jinling, or an insignificant official.

But Wang Ziteng was not satisfied with his wife. He felt that she was short-sighted, narrow-minded, obsessed with trivial matters, and unable to see the overall situation.

But for a man like him who is busy in the officialdom, marrying a wife is just marrying for power. As long as he has power in his hands, he will have plenty of women he likes, so this is not a big deal.

At this time, all the servants of the Wang family were sent out by Wang Ziteng and were not allowed to get close to the study.

"You foolish woman, you actually did such an outrageous thing. Are you trying to put the Wang family to death?"

"Master, that whore's son not only humiliated me in public, but also harmed Yi'er like this. Master is the governor of the Beijing Camp, how can our Wang family be bullied like this!"

"Snapped"

Wang Ziteng was so angry that he slapped Wang Zhang to the ground.

"You foolish woman, you still dare to be so arrogant. The scholar you raised has been arrested by the court. The emperor has already known that it was my family who instigated the prosecution of the Yongzhou case and disrupted the imperial examination and state affairs.

You want to cause my Wang family to be confiscated and exterminated!

I don't think you can think of these means. Tell me, who else is instigating this, how many people are involved in this matter, and if there is any lie, don't blame me for not thinking about the relationship between husband and wife!"

Although Wang Zhang was domineering, his second uncle had been retired for many years and died of a long illness last year. The Zhang family had actually lost their support. Since her husband became the governor of the Beijing camp, his power had grown.

Looking at his murderous eyes, she knew she was in big trouble this time. How could she dare to hide anything and told him everything.

"Your elder sister is cunning and sinister. You choose to befriend such a person. Sooner or later, Liu Yuqing will be killed by this cunning woman!"

Wang Ziteng looked at his wife, who was slumped on the ground with a deathly pale face, with disgust in his eyes.

He walked out of the study, locked the door, and took an incense stick of time before returning to the study.

He said coldly to Wang Zhang: "If anyone asks about Qiu in the future, you can say that she had an affair with the groom in the mansion, stole your jewelry and eloped, and the whereabouts of both of them are unknown!

I will have someone build a Buddhist temple in the backyard. From now on, you can stay at home and not go out or see guests without my permission!"

Wang Zhang’s face was pale and terrified, and her whole body was shaking uncontrollably.

Qiu was her maid who came with her dowry. Her husband died last year and she was her most trusted confidant. That day, she was asked to invite her elder sister, and she was also the one who delivered the letter to the scholar Liu Wenxuan.

The master wanted to silence her and spare the life of a groom. What a cruel heart!

Fortunately, she still has her adopted son…

(End of this chapter)