Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 250 Who will the heaven spare?

Rongguo Mansion, Rongqing Hall.

"What did you say? Brother Zhen died. What on earth is going on?"

Grandmother Jia's face was full of fear. She looked at Youshi who was kneeling on the ground and sobbing, and Keqing who was kneeling beside her in silence. She could hardly believe her ears.

Early this morning, Youshi and daughter-in-law Rong'er went to see off Jia Zhen and his son who were being escorted to Qiongzhou.

But until it was dark, no one came back. Grandmother Jia was worried and was about to ask the housekeeper Lin Zhixiao to send a servant out to look for him.

It happened that they were returning home, but the news they brought frightened everyone in the hall.

He was clearly going to see Jia Zhen and his son off, so how come Jia Zhen suddenly died?

Grandmother Jia asked anxiously, "Brother Zhen, daughter-in-law, please tell me, how could someone die out of the blue?"

While sobbing, Youshi said, "Today, Rong'er's wife and I went to see him off. Rong'er knew that he was exiled to Qiongzhou for thirty years.

He didn't want to drag down his wife Rong'er, so he wrote a letter of divorce to her. The master... the master didn't agree and scolded Rong'er a few words.

As a result, he vomited blood and died. Brother Cong asked someone to inform the government office. The coroner examined the master's body and said that the master's health had been poor since he was imprisoned.

Then his hidden illness relapsed, and he was already weak, depressed, and anxious, and he died just like that."

Yu Shi finished telling the story while sobbing. Lady Jia, Jia Zheng, Mrs. Wang and others in the hall were all stunned. How could a living person just disappear inexplicably like that?

At this time, they didn't notice that the sobbing Youshi looked behind Jia Zheng and saw Jia Cong standing there without saying a word.

The two people's eyes met, Jia Cong seemed to nod slightly, and Youshi lowered her eyes.

……

Jia Cong recalled the situation at the scene at that time, which was really beyond everyone's expectations.

Jia Zhen and his son wrestled with each other. After all, Jia Rong was younger and stronger, so he finally subdued Jia Zhen.

The yamen runners and Jia Cong and others present heard Jia Rong muttering and cursing in Jia Zhen's ear, which made Jia Zhen so angry that he vomited blood and died.

At that time, several escorting yamen runners just stood by and watched the excitement, keeping a distance from Jia Zhen and his son. They only heard the father and son complaining and fighting with each other.

Because they were not clear about what was happening in Ningguo Mansion and did not hear clearly what Jia Rong specifically cursed, they were able to anger Jia Zhen to the point of vomiting blood and dying.

But Jia Cong had sharp ears and eyes, and knew the details of the matter very well. Even though Jia Rong was just whispering insults in Jia Zhen's ear, he still roughly heard what was said.

Jia Rong mentioned his own and Keqing's names in his words, so Jia Cong roughly guessed the content.

He simply described his relationship with Keqing as extremely unbearable in order to mock and provoke Jia Zhen, but he did not expect that he would anger Jia Zhen to death.

The strange scene of Jia Zhen's sudden death frightened everyone present.

Finally, Jia Cong came to his senses and realized the seriousness of the situation. He quickly made proper arrangements before reporting to the police.

He shared the same story with the escorting bailiffs and Youshi.

Jia Zhen died suddenly because he was terminally ill and had a hidden illness. He was also upset when he heard that his son and daughter-in-law were getting divorced. He had no one to blame.

The escorting yamen runners naturally had no objection to his statement.

Because the prisoner died accidentally before being escorted out of the capital, the escorting officer must bear the responsibility. Although it is not a capital crime, he will most likely lose his job in the government.

Jia Cong's words absolved them of guilt, so these yamen runners were naturally willing to do so. Moreover, since the victim's family members would not pursue the matter, they were naturally more willing to be good people.

Jia Cong also explained the interests involved to Youshi. If they reported the matter to the police based on the facts, and Jia Zhen died as a result of a fight and verbal abuse with Jia Rong, then Jia Rong would be guilty of the felony of patricide and would certainly not escape death.

Only with this explanation can Jia Rong escape the disaster. Otherwise, Ningguo would be convicted of both father and son, one would be killed by his own son, and the other would be executed for killing his father. The infamy of the Jia family would spread throughout the world.

For Youshi, learning about Jia Zhen's despicable behavior of coveting her daughter-in-law made her feel extremely ashamed and resentful. The only affection they had as husband and wife was gone, and she wished that the old beast would die soon.

Although Jia Rong was not her son, she was his legal mother after all. Even though the Ning Kingdom had fallen and Jia Rong would never return, she still had a legitimate son, which gave her some hope.

Therefore, she did not want Jia Rong to lose his life to that old beast.

Otherwise, the direct bloodline of Ningguo would be extinct, leaving her as a widow, which would be too miserable and embarrassing.

Moreover, if the truth were to be exposed, the Jia family’s reputation would be greatly damaged.

Grandmother Jia and other members of the clan must be resentful of Jia Zhen and his son. Who would like her, the widow of Ningguo, in the future?

How can she survive in the Jia family in the future? Therefore, Youshi completely accepted Jia Cong's words, and after returning home, she reported to Jia's mother and others, also using the same caliber to minimize the big incident.

……

After everything was settled, Jia Cong asked the yamen runners to report the accident to the Dali Temple.

After the coroner of the Dali Temple examined Jia Zhen's body, it was discovered that Jia Zhen's health had already deteriorated.

Because he had always been addicted to alcohol and sex, his foundation was already bad, and he was also old. After two months of suffering in prison, he had wasted his food and sleep, was frightened all day long, and was plagued by old serious illnesses.

He was already in a state of exhaustion and could not withstand any external stimulation at all, which led to his death from sudden trauma to his mind, reflux of qi and blood, and rupture of his lungs.

This is basically consistent with what everyone at the scene said.

Ningguo had been stripped of his title and his property had been confiscated. For those in power, all its value had already been used up and it was no longer worth spending any more time and energy on it.

Only Jia Cong and Youshi knew the truth.

If Jia Zhen had not been trying to stop Jia Rong from divorcing Keqing when he was about to die, and had not still harbored a strong desire to covet Keqing, he would not have ended up like this. He deserved to die!
……

The reason why Jia Cong handled the matter in this way was not because he particularly wanted to save Jia Rong's life.

But once the truth is exposed, although Jia Rong cannot escape death, he will be re-interrogated by the Three Courts before his execution.

Given Jia Rong's despicable character, he would most likely confess the transaction between him and her in prison, which would put himself and Keqing in trouble.

Only by doing this can we avoid this situation to the greatest extent possible.

And the final outcome of the matter did develop as Jia Cong had imagined.

After the coroner from the Dali Temple performed the autopsy and combined it with the unanimous statements of the people at the scene, he quickly determined the cause of Jia Zhen's death.

Jia Zhen's body was sent to his family to be cremated and buried, and to take care of the funeral arrangements.

Due to the delay caused by Jia Zhen's matter, it is already late, and Jia Rong will be escorted to Qiongzhou as usual tomorrow morning.

For the officials from the emperor to the three judicial officials, the Ningguo Mansion case had long been settled.

A deposed nobleman, a thief who committed countless crimes and was imprisoned, his life was as worthless as that of a pig or a dog.

People like this will just die and won't cause any waves.

……

When Grandmother Jia learned what she knew about the cause of Jia Zhen's death, she couldn't help but burst into tears again. After all, he was the son she had watched grow up since he was a child.

He also asked Feng Ji to take care of Jia Zhen's funeral and select capable young men from Ningguo to help.

At this moment, everyone in the hall's eyes were focused on Keqing.

Grandmother Jia originally thought that Keqing was perfect and was the most proud one among her great-grandsons' wives.

But when she looked at her again now, there was something strange in Grandmother Jia's eyes.

This bride, who was only 28 years old, was extremely beautiful and charming, but she seemed to be an ominous person.

Only a few months after she married into the Ningguo Mansion, Ningguo was stripped of his title and his property was confiscated.

Jia Rong wanted to divorce her, and he angered Jia Zhen to death.

Grandmother Jia has been accustomed to wealth and pleasure over the years, and her investigations and judgments are superficial, always involving some ridiculous reasons.

She did not delve into the cause of Jia Zhen's death, but felt that Keqing was destined to be punished.
When Grandmother Jia thought about this, she couldn't help but glance at Jia Cong who was standing quietly in the hall. She felt a little strange in her heart. Wasn't this the same type as this evil creature?

But at the moment, what Grandmother Jia cares about is not this matter, but the divorce between Jia Rong and Keqing.

If Keqing was really allowed to divorce and leave the house, the scandal of Jia Zhen being angered to death would surely spread.

The Jia family had already been severely damaged by the confiscation of Ningguo, and could no longer withstand any turmoil that would damage their reputation.

As the old lady of the two mansions, Grandmother Jia did not want such a thing to happen.

In Jia's grandmother's opinion, the best way is to have a widow in the Jia family.

There was no gossip about the cause of Zhen'er's death, and as time passed, everyone forgot about it...

(End of this chapter)