Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 204: A Few Words Containing Life and Death

"Madam, what you said is too much!"

Now that Jia Cong is nominally kept in the second house, Lady Wang is almost equivalent to his biological mother, although Lady Jia also feels that what her daughter-in-law said just now about sending the maid away is a little inappropriate.

But after hearing what Jia Cong said, his face sank. Jia Cong's words were a bit too harsh to the elders. The noble families paid the most attention to filial piety and etiquette, and this already seemed to be disobedient.

Even Jia Zheng, who always sided with Jia Cong, felt that there was disrespect in Jia Cong's tone and frowned.

Mrs. Wang also looked a little unhappy and asked, "What do you mean, Cong-ge?"

"Tell the old lady and the madam that Yinglian has no bond and is not a slave. She is not a maid of the Jia family at all. How could she send this word?"

"Yinglian was originally the only daughter of Zhen Shiyin, a local squire in Suzhou. She had a clean background but had been unlucky since childhood. She was kidnapped before she was three years old. I saved her in Jinling and helped her find her biological mother.

Her mother entrusted her to me, so I cannot let her suffer any loss. Madam, please do not mention the idea of ​​sending a maid away."

Grandmother Jia asked in surprise, "Don't bluff me. Isn't she the maid you bought from Jinling?"

Jia Cong replied, "Old Madam, I didn't spend a penny to buy Yinglian. I did save her from the kidnapper and helped her find her family. Her biological mother is now in the capital."

What Jia Cong said was absolutely true. He spent seven hundred taels of silver to buy seven hundred Japanese jade bottles from Dong Laoer. Yinglian was just an extra part of those bottles, so he really didn't spend a penny.

From this point of view, Yinglian was indeed not bought by him, but was "cheated" from Dong Laoer.

Grandmother Jia asked again, "You said her mother entrusted her daughter to you?"

Jia Cong replied calmly: "That's true."

Mrs. Wang, Wang Xifeng and others understood why Grandmother Jia asked this. Yinglian's biological mother entrusted her daughter to Jia Cong, and the two were of similar age. According to common sense, this was equivalent to a matchmaker's appointment.

Although Jia Cong, a descendant of the Rongguo Mansion, might not be able to marry Yinglian as his principal wife, it was certain that he would have her as a concubine in the future. This girl was almost considered half a member of the Rongguo Mansion.

No wonder Jia Cong protected her so much and did not allow others to speak disrespectfully of her. He even wanted to contradict Mrs. Wang just now for her.

Originally, Mrs. Wang was a little annoyed by Jia Cong's rude remarks, but after hearing Yinglian's background, she could not say anything and just felt depressed.

Jia Cong then said to Jia Zheng, "Master, there is actually another incident behind Yinglian. I have never had the chance to tell you because I am afraid you will be angry."

Jia Zheng was surprised and said, "Brother Cong, feel free to speak frankly. We are all family here, so there is no need to be shy."

Jia Cong said in a deep voice: "According to Yinglian's mother, Jia Yucun's family was in decline and he ended up living alone in Gusu Hulu Temple, where he could barely get enough food and clothing.

Thanks to the care of Yinglian's father Zhen Shiyin, he was able to live in Suzhou. Later, Mr. Zhen gave him clothes and fifty taels of silver as travel expenses for him to go to Beijing for the imperial examination.

This is how he was able to pass the imperial examination and enter the official career. Yinglian's father was truly a great help to him."

Jia Zheng sighed, "I didn't expect that this girl's father is such a righteous gentleman. He is respectable and admirable! Cong'er, you saved his daughter. It can be said that God has a vision. Good people will be rewarded."

Jia Zheng has always loved scholars the most, and he sponsored scholars in times of distress and helped them pass the imperial examinations. This was exactly in line with his idea of ​​respecting the wise and humble, and helping the weak and the needy, and it was simply the most perfect thing in his mind.

It's just that he didn't encounter such an opportunity, otherwise he would have been able to do this heroic act of saving a talented person from danger, wouldn't it have been wonderful.

I couldn't help but feel that I was a close friend of this righteous gentleman Zhen Shiyin.

Jia Cong continued, "When Jia Yucun passed the imperial examination and was appointed an official, he returned to Gusu. He happened to see Yinglian being kidnapped, the Zhen family's house being burned down, and Mr. Zhen lost his beloved daughter.

He did not think about how to find his benefactor, but instead took Madam Zhen's personal maid as his concubine, and from then on he ignored the Zhen family. "

Jia Zheng was furious when he heard this: "How could he do such a heartless and ungrateful thing!"

"Things haven't come to this yet. When he dealt with Xue Pan beating Feng Yuan to death in Jinling, he tried to make a small matter out of a big one in order to please the Jia and Wang families. Let's not talk about it for now.

The nephew learned from someone who knew the situation that one of his runners was the gatekeeper of Hulu Temple back then and knew the whole story.

This told Jia Yucun that Xue Pan killed Feng Yuan just to win Yinglian. He knew that the matter involved his benefactor's daughter, who had been abducted for ten years, but he turned a deaf ear and pretended not to know.

It is nothing more than exposing this matter and letting people know about his past poverty and cold behavior, which will damage his family's reputation and hinder his official career.

Moreover, saving Yinglian would be disadvantageous to him for letting Xue Pan go, and it would also go against Xue Pan's intention to seize Yinglian, leaving a rift, which would not have lost the original intention of pleasing the Jia and Wang families. If his nephew had not rescued Yinglian in time, he would have certainly allowed Xue Pan to take Yinglian away.

The capital city is thousands of miles away from Suzhou, and Yinglian's life experience will never be known to the public, and a country gentry's daughter will become a slave for the rest of her life.

This person is so cold-hearted, mean, and ungrateful. He is truly a wolf, and it is outrageous!"

Every word of Jia Cong's was as sharp as a knife, full of sarcasm, and made the ladies present, including Jia Mu, feel cold in their hearts.

Women naturally value their children the most. The thought of their children being kidnapped and their whereabouts being kept secret by such evil people, making them slaves for the rest of their lives and never being able to find them again, is shocking.

Wouldn't the mother be dying in pain?

Jia Zheng's face was filled with anger. He asked, "Is everything Cong said true?"

When Jia Zheng first saw that Jia Yucun was well-educated, had elegant conversation, was handsome, and had a chance to pass the imperial examination, he admired him very much. Otherwise, he would not have helped him get such a lucrative position as the prefect of Yingtian.

I really couldn't accept in my heart that the person I respected was such a treacherous and evil person.

Jia Cong replied: "What my nephew said is all true, and it is not a secret. Yinglian's mother is a witness.

The Jia family has more than ten families of disciples in Jinling. The master only needs to find a reliable person, a yamen runner from Yingtian Prefecture, and use some bribes to get to the bottom of the matter.

If you don't want others to know about this world, then don't do it. The law of nature is clear. In the end, who will be spared by God? "

The women in the hall saw that he had a cold expression on his face and spoke eloquently, analyzing Jia Yucun's dark deeds in great detail and in a shocking way. He even had very appropriate arrangements for investigating and verifying the facts.

Thoughtful and sharp words!
Knowing Jia Yucun's behavior, the Jia family would never dare to support such a sinister person.

From then on, his relationship with Jia Yucun would definitely be severed, and for Jia Yucun, his connections, good reputation, and foundation for his official career would be gone.

Killing without blood, life and death can be determined by just a few words!
It was just that the maidservant around him was treated badly and it implicated the Xue family's relatives, so the old lady asked him to come and ask a few questions.

He took advantage of the situation to implicate a high-ranking official of the fourth rank who was supported by the Jia family, thus cutting off his chances of official career. If Jia Yucun fell as a result, Xue Pan's murder case might be overturned...

The officialdom has always been dangerous. Once you go downhill, there will be a large group of people waiting to step on you when you are down, and all your old accounts will be dug up.

Although the people in the hall could not fully understand the mystery, they could vaguely sense its power. When they looked at Jia Cong again, they all felt horrified.
Grandmother Jia looked at the young man in the hall with a complicated expression. The boy was not very old, but he was good at judging people and was shrewd and scheming. Her son, who had wasted more than ten years in officialdom, was far inferior to him.

If only my Baoyu could be half as capable as he is, it would be easy for him to set up his own household in the future. But it is still not possible, and I sighed in my heart.

Jia Zheng was so angry that his face turned red: "What a shameless villain, he actually did such a wicked thing. My Jia family actually recommended such a person to be an official. Isn't this helping the tyrant!

It is imperative to make amends as soon as possible. I will report this to the court tomorrow. I have good colleagues in the Censorate who will impeach him for his immoral behavior. We will never allow such people to occupy official positions and use their power to harm the people!"

"Master, please calm down for now. Many people now know that it was my Jia family who recommended Jia Yucun to be the prefect of Yingtian. Now that the Jia family has reported and impeached him, I am afraid that this will arouse criticism and suspicion, and it is inevitable that there will be complications."

Although Jia Cong wanted to suppress Jia Yucun and implicate Xue Pan's old case in order to teach the fool Xue a severe lesson.

But when Jia Zheng came forward to report Jia Yucun, things became very bad. You have to know that the Jia family had asked Jia Yucun to bend the law in the case of Xue Pan, and Jia Yucun would definitely have left behind some correspondence.

If Jia Zheng were to report Jia Yucun, he would probably end up shooting himself in the foot. This is obvious, and even if Jia Zheng is straightforward, Mrs. Wang will definitely stop him.

He didn't care about the elders of the Jia family, except Jia Zheng, who was always kind to him and treated him sincerely.

As long as Jia Zheng is around, he can avoid a lot of family conflicts. No matter what his purpose is, he doesn't want anything to happen to Jia Zheng.

"What Cong said makes sense. I am so angry that I am confused. Can we just let this evil villain go?"

"Master, rest assured. Jia Yucun is a greedy and immoral man who does many unjust things. How can such a person last long? One day he will commit suicide and die a miserable death.

However, from now on, the Jia family will sever ties with him and will no longer help him in his career, lest he turn against us."

Jia Zheng said to his mother with shame on his face: "Madam, my son is incompetent and was deceived by such a villain. He supported such a person to be an official. Not only did he not help the Jia family, but he also planted hidden dangers."

(End of this chapter)