Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 248: A Book for a Life

Jia Rong asked impatiently, "Uncle Cong, you came to see me. Did the old lady ask you to rescue me?"

Jia Cong smiled coldly: "You and your son have done those things. The three judicial departments have held a joint trial. The emperor has issued an edict. Everything has become a dead end. No one can save you!"

When Jia Rong saw Jia Cong coming to see him, he felt like a drowning man who had suddenly grabbed a life-saving straw, but he didn't expect that in the end it would be poured with cold water.

He kept repeating to himself nervously, "No, I can still be saved, I can still be saved..."

Jia Cong said calmly: "It is nearly ten thousand miles to Qiongzhou. On the way, we will pass through eleven states and thirty-eight prefectures of the Great Zhou Dynasty. It will take five months to travel.

It would take the bailiffs nearly a year to escort you back and forth. They are so unlucky to have to do such a hard job. I think they must be in a bad mood.

You probably won't be treated too kindly along the way, and the states you pass through will have different soil, climate, and food.

Even a strong man cannot be guaranteed to be free from diseases.

But you are a pampered young man, whose body has been hollowed out by drinking and sex. It's such a long journey, and you are being escorted by yamen runners who are as ferocious as wolves.

It would be extremely difficult to reach Qiongzhou alive, and you would probably die on the way without any accident. In fact, we didn’t intend to let you survive by sending you to that place!"

Jia Cong's voice was cold and without any warmth, like a death curse from hell, which aroused the deepest fear in Jia Rong's heart.

Jia Rong was so frightened that he was shaking all over, begging, "No, I don't want to die, I don't want to die!
I will be escorted away the day after tomorrow. Uncle Cong, please save me... "

Although he knew that even if he made it to Qiongzhou alive, he couldn't believe he could survive in such a ghost place for more than 30 years and return to the capital. Even he himself didn't believe it.

But even so, he didn't want to die. Even if he could just survive, he would live one more day.

Jia Cong looked at Jia Rong quietly, his eyes were like sharp needles, which seemed to be able to penetrate Jia Rong's heart. That look made Jia Rong tremble in his heart and feel an unspeakable fear.

"I can find a way to get you to Qiongzhou alive. As for how long you can live in Qiongzhou, it depends on your own fate."

After hearing this, Jia Rong felt a little disappointed, but he also knew that it was wishful thinking to ask Jia Cong to guarantee that he could live in Qiongzhou for more than 30 years.

He was relieved that Jia Cong had managed to ensure his survival and reach Qiongzhou; at least he didn't have to die immediately.

As for whether Jia Cong really has this ability, he has no doubt about it. Not to mention that Jia Cong is now an official and is also valued by the current emperor.

After being imprisoned, he had heard that the Xiuniang Incense Shop that he and his son were plotting to take over was actually the private property of Uncle Cong's mistress. How much silver would he have in his hands then?

The silver alone would be enough for him to reach Qiongzhou alive.

"But I won't save you for nothing. You must do something in exchange for your life!"

"As long as Uncle Cong can save my nephew's life, I will do anything you ask me to do. Uncle Cong, please just give me your orders."

"Write a divorce letter to Keqing, and I will ensure that you can reach Qiongzhou alive!"

Jia Rong was completely stunned when he heard this. After a while, he asked in a trembling voice, "Why did you ask me to write a divorce letter for her? What does this have to do with you?"

He suddenly seemed to come to his senses, and asked in a rather timid voice, "So you've fallen for my woman, or did she take advantage of my hard times and seduce you behind my back?"

Jia Cong sneered: "Now that you have reached this point, what is the point of figuring out these things?

Back then, you were crippled by Chen Xiong at Chunhua Tower. For the sake of your own face, you dared to marry Keqing and ruin her life. You should have died long ago!"

Jia Rong showed a look of horror on his face. Few people knew about this matter and he had concealed it very carefully. So how did Jia Cong know about it?

"Even without this divorce letter, I still have many ways to make Keqing live a good life, but only God knows how many days you have left to live."

This sentence shattered Jia Rong's last bit of pride and reserve.

According to his own thinking, if he did not agree to Jia Cong and the other party used some tricks on him, it would be a problem whether he could get to Qiongzhou alive, let alone walk out of Shenjing alive.

Ningguo Mansion no longer exists now, so why would anyone care about his worthless life?

Although his wife is as beautiful as a fairy, to him, she is just a useless decoration.

Since Jia Cong wants it, just give it to him. What could be more important than your own life?

"Please, Uncle Cong, save my life. I will write, I will write..." Jia Cong waved to Jiang Liu who was standing far away outside the cell. Jiang Liu took out the prepared paper and pen and placed them in front of Jia Rong.

"I read and you write, don't make a single mistake!

Jia Rong, the prince of Ningguo, was sentenced to exile in Qiongzhou for thirty years because he committed a capital crime. His life and death were uncertain. His wife, Qin Keqing, was young and would not interfere with his lifelong happiness.

I am willing to sign this divorce agreement, and I am willing to leave the house and marry someone else, and there will be no disputes. This is my own will, and I am not forced to do so. I am afraid that I will have no basis for it in the future, so I sign this agreement as a basis for it. "

……

The official road in the southern suburbs of Shenjing City.

A carriage with the Rongguo Mansion logo on it was parked at a rest pavilion on the side of the road.

Today, Jia Zhen and his son will be escorted to Qiongzhou.

No one from the eight branches of the Jia family in the capital would come to see them off, and many of the young men from the Ningguo lineage even hoped that Jia Zhen and his son would die sooner.

If they, father and son, had not committed such great sins, how could the Ningguo family be stripped of their titles and fiefdoms, and lose all the wealth and power they had relied on for several lifetimes in one day?

All of them seemed to have forgotten how they had tried every possible way to curry favor with Jia Zhen and his son, just to get more profits from the Ningguo Mansion so that they could live a carefree life.

The world is fickle and the rich are ungrateful. It is just like this.

At this juncture, only the two ladies of Ningguo Mansion had the moral obligation to see them off, and Jia Zhen and his son were destined to never return.

Yushi had been remarried in Ningguo Mansion for more than ten years. Jia Zhen had sex and had affairs with concubines in front of her every day in the mansion. He never took this legitimate wife of humble origin seriously.

The couple had been childless for more than ten years, and had always been very respectful to each other, just pretending to be so in front of outsiders.

Now that Ningguo's title had been stripped and his property confiscated, Youshi was living in Rongguo with her valuable dowry. She was still rich and powerful, and her life seemed no worse than when she was in Ningguo Mansion. She was even freer from worries.

When Youshi came to see Jia Zhen off, it was just as usual, giving him a few pieces of clothes, just to put on an act in front of outsiders, because she would never see him again anyway.

Many people in Rongguo Mansion noticed the coldness that Keqing had shown since Jia Rong's accident.

But even someone like Lady Jia didn't mean to blame her for this because it was understandable.

Keqing and Jia Rong had been married for only a few months, and there were rumors in both houses that Jia Rong treated her very coldly. Now that something like this had happened, Keqing was destined to be a widow for the rest of her life at her age.

This is the most tragic thing for a woman. It's nothing strange to feel resentful.

In the eyes of Jia Mu and others, Jia Rong would definitely never return, so why should they blame a poor woman so harshly.

Treat her well. The Jia family will have an extra chaste woman, which will bring more dignity and honor to the family.

……

According to Keqing's original intention, she would never come to see Jia Rong off. Not only did she despise this dissolute and immoral man, she also had an indescribable disgust for the Ningguo Mansion.

She blamed her father for trying to curry favor with the powerful, and she hated even more that this marriage had ruined her life and prevented her from being with the person she loved.

But Baozhu brought back Jia Cong's words yesterday, which forced Keqing to come today.

When she knew what Jia Cong had done for her, she was immersed in great excitement and joy.

……

She could not forget how she had endured those days in Ningguo Mansion.

She has to spend the rest of her life in the Rongguo Mansion. In terms of seniority, Jia Cong is her uncle, and they can never be together openly.

For the rest of her life, she would have to stay in the mansion and watch him get married, have children, and she would always be just a spectator.

This is a hundred times more cruel than letting her be a widow for the rest of her life!
Now is the best chance for her to escape and get rid of the shackles, and she will never let herself miss it.

By then she would no longer be the eldest daughter-in-law of the Ningguo Jia family, and there would be nothing to hinder them anymore. Perhaps they would have a chance to be together in the future.

(End of this chapter)