Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 184: Encounter with Secrets

Gu Yankui and Shi Ding saw that the young man who had just spoken eloquently, citing numerous references and full of energy and enthusiasm, showed a rare hesitation on his face, as if he didn't know how to respond to the emperor's question.

"Your Majesty, it's just some minor matters at home, so I haven't returned home yet in a hurry."

Emperor Jia Zhao smiled and said, "A small matter? Not necessarily. I heard that you went to Jinling this time and not only gained a great reputation for your talent, but also a reputation for being a romantic man.

You actually searched for beauties in nunneries and even brought a beautiful nun back to the capital. I guess the lady in the mansion dislikes your behavior and that’s why you are not allowed to enter the house.”

Jia Cong was also shocked when he heard this. How could such a rumor be able to spread into the palace?

He searched for nuns in all the major nunneries in Jinling. This story had already spread in Jinling. Later, he was assassinated in Suzhou. People from Yingtian Prefecture and Jinyiwei all saw him and Jinghui being intimate with each other.

How could these dozens of big mouths not be ostentatious? The story about his affair with a beautiful nun from Gusu had long been spread throughout Jinling.

In the past few months, officials from various government offices in Shenjing have frequently traveled between Shenjing and Nanjing, and his "fascinating" reputation has spread to Shenjing to some extent. However, even so, it is impossible for it to spread to the Forbidden City so quickly.

The reason why Emperor Jia Zhao knew so much was because of the secret report on the assassination case in Suzhou submitted by the Ministry of Rides, which contained a detailed account of the attendant's hunting for beauties at the Panxiang Temple in Suzhou.

Gu Yankui and Shi Ding, who were standing by, also had their eyes light up after hearing this. Everyone has a desire for curiosity, and important officials of the court are no exception.

I didn’t expect that this official, at such a young age, was so talented and amazing, and his romantic and absurd behavior was also so... outstanding.

At this time, when he looked at Jia Cong, there was a little more teasing in his eyes. It was normal for young people to be a little romantic. Gu Yankui and Shi Ding were both from aristocratic families, and they all did a few ridiculous things when they were young.

Jia Cong had been a shameless man in his two lives, but it was still quite embarrassing for him to be accused of his romantic behavior by the emperor in front of the court officials.

He quickly explained the matter and said, "Your Majesty, the nun with long hair that I brought back to the capital was actually my personal maid, who was forced into a coercion in the mansion two years ago.

He was unwilling to surrender and committed suicide by jumping into the river. Fortunately, he was rescued by the abbot of Panxiang Temple. Because he was traumatized by falling into the water, he had forgotten everything that happened before, so he became a monk and practiced Buddhism. I accidentally found him during my trip to the south of the Yangtze River and brought him back to the capital.

My grandmother had a misunderstanding because she was instigated by a servant. "

Emperor Jia Zhao was surprised and said, "So that's the case. I thought you were Liu Jing'an's disciple and shouldn't have done such a ridiculous thing. It's okay if there is a reason for it.

But the Rongguo Mansion is a family of nobles for generations, and they follow the family rules and regulations. How could they force someone to jump into the river?"

Jia Cong bowed his head and said, "My maidservant was slightly better looking than others, which is why she brought disaster upon herself. This matter involves the elders in the mansion, and the relatives are hiding it from each other. Jia Cong dared not speak out, please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Gu Yankui and Shi Ding were both worldly-wise people, and they were quite confused when they heard this. They dared not speak for themselves what Jia Cong had said, but in fact, he had made it as clear as could be.

He said that his maid was prettier than others and was forced to jump into the river. No one could guess what happened.

Everyone in the court knew that Duke Rong had two sons. The second son, Jia Cunzhou, was upright and honest. Although his talent was mediocre, he behaved magnanimously and had the demeanor of a gentleman.

The eldest son, Jia She, inherited the title and became a rich but idle official. Moreover, he was licentious and lascivious, and everyone in the capital knew about it.

And Jia She is Jia Cong's biological father. Isn't it that relatives are hiding the truth? It must be that Jia She was attracted by the beauty of his son's maid and forced her to jump into the river.

I didn't expect that the emperor's idle talk would bring up such an ugly affair of a wealthy family.

If Gu Yankui and Shi Ding could think of it, how could a scheming person like Emperor Jiazhao not think of it?

Jia Cong only heard an inaudible cold snort from the throne, which was full of sarcasm.

Then I heard Emperor Jia Zhao say: "Your advice this time was meritorious, and the firearms strategy you proposed was grand and detailed, and it was very much to my liking.

Now that you are staying in the inn, I don't want to see you unable to return home. However, you are not yet twenty years old and have not been given a real job, so according to the rules, I cannot grant you a house.

I will have the Queen inform the Ministry of Internal Affairs to bring the palace flowers, hairpins and skirts to the Rongguo Mansion and give them to your old lover Zhishao to show her chastity. "

At first glance, Emperor Jiazhao's arrangement seemed a bit abrupt, but officials like Gu Yankui and Shi Ding knew everything about it and immediately understood Emperor Jiazhao's intention.

The look he gave Jia Cong was full of amazement, and even a bit of envy. Rather than saying that this young man was valued by the emperor, it would be more appropriate to say that he had a bizarre fate.

According to the regulations of the Great Zhou Dynasty, only officials with actual duties were eligible to be awarded a mansion by the emperor. In Jia Cong's case, he was indeed not eligible to be awarded a mansion.

However, the emperor, in the name of the empress, gave gifts to Jia Cong's old lover Zhishao, which was a great favor to Jia Cong, even more than the honor of giving him a house. You should know that the reason why Jia Cong was rejected by Mrs. Jia was because he brought Zhishao, who was a monk, back to the mansion.

Now the Queen has sent people to Rongguo Mansion to present gifts to Zhishao, which is an imperial recognition of Zhishao's status as a Buddhist nun. How can Rongguo Mansion have the courage to stop Jia Cong from taking her back to the mansion?

This seemingly gentle act actually contains an unspeakable contempt and arrogance.

Grandmother Jia stopped Jia Cong from bringing Zhishao, a Buddhist nun, into the palace, but Emperor Jia Zhao insisted that the palace give her gifts in the name of the empress.

Apparently, Emperor Jia Zhao thought Jia Cong had made great contributions through his advice and could not bear to see him living in an inn, so he tried to get him back home smoothly. This was a gesture of kindness from the monarch to his subjects.

But in reality, it was a disregard for the so-called family rules of the Rongguo Jia family, and a blatant slap in the face of the Rongguo Lady Dowager.

Giving gifts to Zhishao, who committed suicide by jumping into the river, was a display of chastity and righteousness, which was to denounce the heir of the Rong state as unfaithful and unrighteous, and Madam Jia as a poor parent and ignorant.

Even someone like Jia Cong, who was unaware of the situation, could vaguely sense Emperor Jia Zhao's disdain and disgust for the Ning and Rong Jia family.

……

Among those present, the one who knew the inside story best was Marquis Zhongjing Shi Ding.

He knew very well the root cause of Emperor Jiazhao's actions. Emperor Jiazhao ascended the throne because he suppressed the rebellion of Prince Wu.

At that time, the two princes were fighting each other. Not to mention the four kings, the eight gentlemen headed by the Ning, Rong and Jia families just watched the tigers and did not help either side.

In the fight for the crown prince, sometimes not taking the right position will make the final winner despise you more than taking the wrong position.

Moreover, all the old friends in the court knew that before the two kings fought, the Ning Rong Jia family and the King of Wu had always been close.

When Emperor Jiazhao was in the palace, he was an unknown prince. Only Shi Ding, who had not yet become famous, was close to him by chance. Apart from him, Emperor Jiazhao had no other supporters.

When the emperor has gone through many hardships and firmly sits on the throne, how can he have any good feelings towards the Ning Rong Jia family, who are not even fence-sitters?

In the first year of Jiazhao, not long after this official was born, the second wife of Rongguo Mansion gave birth to Baoyu, and rumors spread from the delivery room that the baby was born with a jade in his mouth, which was an auspicious sign.

At that time, the emperor had not yet firmly established his throne and was still trying his best to use the Court of Judges to eliminate dissidents.

At this time, people inside and outside the court were dissatisfied with the King of Wu. They believed that the new emperor had not come to the throne legitimately. All kinds of rumors were growing, and the government was in chaos.

At this time, news of auspicious signs of the coming of a saint came from the Ningrong Jia family. How would the emperor feel at that time?

History books say that in troubled times, the tragedy will inevitably lead to the advent of strange phenomena.

On the contrary, strange signs from heaven are a sign of impending chaos.

This is the most taboo thing for the king, and there is even the risk of being issued an edict of guilt.

My aunt was also confused back then. How could she let such nonsense come out of the delivery room at that critical moment?

He also let Baoyu wear the jade on his chest every day and walk around everywhere, as if he was afraid that others would not know about it.

If it weren't for the fact that the Holy Emperor's throne was unstable at that time and he had to consider the dignity of the retired emperor, and if Lord Daishan had not suddenly passed away that year, the Jia family would have been on the verge of defeat.

Maybe His Majesty has already found a reason to get angry.

Although he now disdains the Jia family, the resentment in his heart is hard to erase.

Fortunately, the Jia family now has Jia Cong, who has somewhat restored the emperor's impression of him.

It's a pity that my aunt doesn't like Jia Cong, which is simply self-defeating.

All the nobles in the capital knew that their aunt only loved Baoyu, who was born with a jade in his mouth, and boasted that the jade was her lifeblood, but they didn't know that this was causing trouble for the emperor.

Although the emperor was unwilling to make trouble for this, his disgust for the Jia family was growing day by day.

(End of this chapter)