Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 357: Sacred Heart Judge

Rongguo Mansion, Rongqing Hall.

The Jia family is a wealthy and luxurious family. They pay great attention to how to preserve their health and maintain their appearance. Especially since Lady Jia is old, they pay more attention to her daily routine and maintenance.

In winter, because the nights get longer, she tries to take fewer naps for fear of affecting her good sleep at night. But in midsummer, because the days are longer, she will definitely take a half-hour nap.

At this time, only one or two little maids would be left to look after Lady Jia. The older maids, such as Yuanyang and Amber, would also have some free time, and could either find a place to chat or go back to their own rooms to clean up.

Yuanyang returned to her room, took out the small package she brought from Yingchun, took out the half-finished pair of autumn boots, and began to make the shoes stitch by stitch in the afternoon sunshine outside the window.

Thinking of the day when Jia Cong took out a folding fan to shade him from the sun when he came back from the East Palace, the corners of his mouth raised slightly, revealing a hint of a smile, and the needlework in his hands became more dexterous.

In fact, she did have feelings for Jia Cong, but she knew that Jia Cong was not an ordinary man in the mansion.

At such a young age, he is both talented in literature and martial arts, and his reputation is already so loud. He has also been conferred a title and rewarded with a mansion by the court. Such abilities are no more than those of the old Duke in the past.

It is hard to find another person like him in the world. Although he is a joy to watch, he is also increasingly difficult to reach.

I am just a servant girl, there is a huge gap between our statuses, and the obstacles in this mansion are so complicated.

She and Qingwen, Wu'er and other maids who have served Jia Cong since childhood are completely different things. There is a difference in the closeness between them. Even if she has thoughts in her mind, most of them are delusions and are destined to be nothing.

But it is a great pleasure to be able to see him from time to time and talk to him for a few words.

As long as the old lady is still alive, she can live in peace in this mansion. There are still quite a few years left. Even if it is just a daydream, it would be good to dream for one more day.

So for the mandarin ducks, it is good to keep it like this for now. As for what will happen in the future, they might as well just let it go and not think about it to avoid trouble.

At this moment, footsteps were suddenly heard outside, and someone outside the door asked, "Is the girl in the room?"

Yuanyang recognized the voice as her sister-in-law's and couldn't help but frown and quickly stuffed the autumn boots in her hands under the quilt.

Her sister-in-law was used to currying favor with the powerful and fawning on others, so Yuanyang had always looked down upon her, thinking that her sister-in-law was just someone who was in charge of selling camels to the nine countries.

Now she's worked as a hairdresser in the old lady's room, but there are still some shortcomings. She often goesssips among the maids and old women.

He doesn't even look for a place to cool down in the middle of the day. He comes to my door in a hurry, so it's probably not a good thing.

When he saw Jin Wenxiang's wife coming in, he frowned and asked: Sister-in-law, why are you here now when you are not busy in front?

Jin Wenxiang's wife smiled and said, "I am here to ask the girl to come, but there is a great happy event. Let me tell you in detail. Just now, the eldest wife came to me and your brother and said that the eldest master has taken a fancy to you.

I want to marry you as my concubine. Listen, this is a great thing. Only a girl like you can have such a blessing."

When Yuanyang heard this, a chill ran down her face. Just now she thought that as long as the old lady was around, she could stay at home in peace, which was a very good thing.

Just in the blink of an eye, her sister-in-law told her such a disgusting thing. The eldest master in the mansion was the most lustful and licentious. His hair and beard were all white, and he had married a bunch of concubines. Normally, when the mandarin ducks saw them, they had no time to hide.

I don't know how I caught his eye, and now he wants to humiliate me. My sister-in-law looks so excited, as if she had picked up a huge gold ingot.

Thinking of this, Yuanyang's pretty face turned red with anger, and she cursed: "Stop your rotten tongue, selling your sister to be someone else's concubine, and you call it a happy event, I'm not as shameless as you!

The old lady, out of consideration for my service, let my brother and you take jobs in the room. This was enough for the family to live on, but you were still not satisfied and actually listened to others' instigation and asked me to become someone's concubine.

You envy other people's daughters for being concubines and mistresses. The whole family is shameless and takes advantage of their power. You are jealous and want to push me into the fire pit.

If I am humiliated as a concubine, you can think of climbing higher and higher without fear of falling to death. If I am humiliated and defeated, you can just shrink your turtle necks and it is none of your business whether I live or die.

I advise you to give up this idea as soon as possible. If you want to be a concubine, just go by yourself!

Even if I never get married or die, I will never do this. No matter what you say, just go ahead and answer it!"

……

That day, Jin Wenxiang and his wife were called to the East Courtyard by Mrs. Xing, who told them that the eldest master wanted to take Yuanyang as a concubine. The couple came back and discussed it, and they were going to tell Yuanyang about it that day.

As luck would have it, Lady Jia was not feeling well those two days and could not leave Yuanyang for a moment, so the matter was delayed for two days. It was not until Mrs. Xing urged them that Jin Wenxiang's wife took the opportunity at noon to come.

She was originally full of hope, thinking that there was nothing impossible about this, and Yuanyang would definitely be willing. That idiot would not be a concubine but a servant. However, she never expected that Yuanyang would be like this.

After all, she is Yuanyang's sister-in-law. She was scolded by her sister-in-law and was worthless. She lost all her face.

However, she was far inferior to Yuanyang in eloquence and quick wit. Although she was so angry that her face turned red, she could not find any words to retort.

Moreover, her family relied on Yuanyang for their power, so she didn't dare to really break off relations with this little girl.

Jin Wenxiang was feeling very embarrassed. He glanced around inadvertently and suddenly saw a corner of something sticking out from under the quilt on the bed. It was clearly a pair of men's boots.

Just now, when Yuanyang saw someone coming in, she hurriedly stuffed the half-finished pair of autumn boots into the quilt, but accidentally did not cover them tightly.

Jin Wenxiang's wife had just been scolded harshly by Yuanyang, and was feeling extremely ashamed and angry. Now that he had suddenly found out his weak spot, he couldn't help but step forward and lift the quilt.

A pair of half-finished men's boots stood out on the embroidery bed. The stitching on the uppers was fine and delicate, and the silver needles stuck in them had not yet been removed.

When Yuanyang saw her sister-in-law suddenly lift the quilt and let her see her private parts, her face turned pale.

Jin Wenxiang's wife sneered and said, "The girl made these boots for that master. There are more than ten maids in Master Bao's room, so naturally there is no need for others to do it. The girl will not step on the second wife's brazier.

I know that the young lady has always been very proud, and only the man from the East Mansion can catch her eye.

If what the girl said just now was true, I would admire her toughness, that would be fine, but check your conscience, are you telling the truth?

It's not that you don't want to be someone's concubine, you just don't want to be the master's concubine. Look, you even make shoes for him.

Just now, the eldest wife said that she saw you and Third Master Cong together. Your brother and I didn't believe it and even said good things for you. What can the girl say now?

I have a piece of advice for the young lady. Everyone knows that the master in the East Palace is a gold nugget, but it is beyond the reach of people like us.

The girl asked us to give up this idea, but I advised her to give up this idea, so that the old lady and the master would not hear her words and she would suffer in the future.

I can't do anything about this matter. If the first wife doesn't ask, it's fine. If I ask, I'll just let the first wife tell you herself, humph!"

Seeing her sister-in-law leave angrily, Yuanyang sat down on the bed, staring blankly at the unfinished pair of autumn boots, tears streaming down her face.

……

Yang Hongbin sent the news of his failure in capturing Zhou Zhengyang by a fast horse that could travel 800 miles a day. However, by the time the news reached Shenjing, it was three days slower than the news delivered by the Xinchun by Feiyu.

When Ai Li's two female disciples went to Shenjing, they not only brought a dozen trained wild pigeons, but also a Saker Falcon that Ai Li brought from Liaodong.

This time when she accompanied Jia Cong south, in addition to the Saker Falcon named Yingnu that she carried with her, she also had two other Saker Falcons that she had trained since childhood. This time, she asked her two female disciples to take one of them with her.

Although wild pigeons fly quite fast during the process of using their flying feathers to transmit messages, they still have natural enemies in the air and often become prey of large birds of prey such as hawks and falcons.

But the Saker Falcon has no such worries at all, and its flying speed is faster than that of wild pigeons.
The reason why a precious Saker Falcon was deployed in the southern signal battle was to deliver the most urgent message, and this time the information transmission was just a practical exercise conducted by Qu Hongxiu.

...The palace city of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Qianyang Palace.

In the empty and gloomy hall, there were two people standing and one person kneeling in front of the imperial desk. The atmosphere was extremely solemn, and it seemed to be suffocating.

One of the two standing men had gray hair and beard and was over fifty years old, but his aura was still strong despite his age. He was the Minister of War, Gu Yankui.

The other man was in his thirties, with a gaunt face, regular features, a beautiful short beard, and a dignified appearance. If Jia Cong saw him, he would definitely recognize him.

This person is none other than the famous Chief Judge of the Court of Magistrates, Zhou Junxing.

The man kneeling on the ground was Wei Guanyao, the Minister of Dali Temple.

Emperor Jia Zhao read the express report sent from Nanjing over 800 miles away and learned that the Dali Temple and the Five Military Commandery had gone to Nanjing to question Zhou Zhengyang, but he had managed to escape. He was furious.

He urgently summoned the Minister of War Gu Yankui and the Minister of the Supreme Court Wei Guanyao to the palace to make reports. Originally, he should have summoned the Central Army Commander of the Five Military Commanders' Office who was in charge of the Jinling Guard to the palace, but was automatically ignored by Emperor Jiazhao.

He has always been a cunning man. This time, before the people from the Dali Temple and the Five Military Governor's Office arrived in Nanjing, Zhou Zhengyang was able to escape calmly. Needless to say, he had learned the news from Shenjing in advance.

The serious criminal captured in Liaodong was taken in and detained by the Dali Temple, and evidence was also obtained through interrogation by the Dali Temple.

The Dali Temple Minister Wei Guanyao even went to the palace in person to ask for permission to arrest Zhou Zhengyang.

Therefore, neither Wei Guanyao, the Minister of the Dali Temple, nor Yang Hongbin, the Left Chief of the Dali Temple, had any reason or motive to leak the secret.

But it is hard to say about the people in the Five Military Governor's Office. Now, the Five Military Governor's Office has become a place for the old heroes to retire, and it is full of people who just eat and wait to die.

Who could believe that these old heroes of the previous dynasty had no resentment towards the emperor?

The major case of Jinling Water Supervision Bureau was reopened, and this time it involved Zhou Zhengyang, the commander of Jinling Guard, which was under the jurisdiction of the Central Army Commander of the Five Military Commanders' Office.

Once Zhou Zhengyang is arrested, who knows what deadly inside information he will reveal.

As the superior administrative office of Jinling Guard, it was difficult for the Five Military Commandery to avoid being involved.

Under such circumstances, there is undoubtedly a great possibility that the news was leaked in advance from the Five Military Commandery, allowing Zhou Zhengyang to escape calmly and avoid being caught, which would backfire on him.

Whether it is the Minister of War Gu Yankui or the Supreme Court Minister Wei Guanyao, they are both experienced people in the officialdom and naturally can think of this reason.

This time, the emperor summoned them to the palace to report, but did not summon the officials of the Five Military Governorate involved in the incident into the palace, which showed that Emperor Jiazhao had become suspicious of the Five Military Governorate.

This made Dali Temple Minister Wei Guanyao feel somewhat relieved. With this reason, the Dali Temple and Yang Hongbin would be less responsible for their failure to capture the criminal in Nanjing.

But this time, they went to Nanjing to arrest Zhou Zhengyang and investigate the suspicious points of the Water Conservancy Bureau case. The Dali Temple was the main government office in charge of this matter. Zhou Zhengyang escaped early, so the Dali Temple could not escape blame.

Therefore, as soon as Wei Guanyao entered the Qianyang Palace, he knelt down and confessed his guilt. He had to put on a proper attitude so as to calm the emperor's anger.

However, when they saw the people who were summoned to the palace to make an answering statement at the same time, including Zhou Junxing from the Court of Judges, they all took a deep breath in their hearts at the same time, realizing that the matter was not as simple as they thought.

……

Everyone in the Zhou Dynasty knew that Zhou Junxing was a famous cruel official, and people inside and outside the court called him Zhou Yanluo.

When Emperor Jiazhao first ascended the throne, the political situation was turbulent and hidden dangers arose frequently. He put a lot of effort into stabilizing the situation, and it is said that Zhou Junxing made great contributions to it.

Therefore, even though this person had a bad reputation for personal morality, had falsely accused his superiors and coveted his beautiful concubine, and was criticized by others, Emperor Jiazhao still tolerated him again and again.

But later Zhou Junxing offended too many people and was impeached several times by court officials.

Finally, in order to quell the public anger, Emperor Jia Zhao had no choice but to make him a cannon fodder and sent him to Dezhou to be a military officer. In fact, this was a move that spared his life.

Four years ago, Emperor Jiazhao intended to re-activate the semi-abandoned Court of Inquisition, and transferred Zhou Junxing from his post as a military officer in Dezhou to the post of Court of Inquisition.

During the time of the previous emperor, the Court of Inquiry was first established. Its powers were outside of the Three Departments. It was responsible for investigating secret and important cases, and had the special permission of the emperor to investigate all cases.

When Emperor Jiazhao first ascended the throne, his foundation was weak. He was restrained by the remnants of the King of Wu at home and caused chaos by the remnants of the Hidden Sect outside. In order to stabilize the situation, Emperor Jiazhao used the Court of Inquiries to clear away obstacles.

Although the Tui Shi Yuan had rendered great service to the emperor, it was also cruel and ruthless. Countless civil and military officials died at the hands of the Tui Shi Yuan. At that time, the three words "Tui Shi Yuan" could stop children from crying at night in the capital.

Later, when Emperor Jiazhao was firmly on the throne, all the officials in the court were deeply afraid of the disaster caused by the Court of Inquiries. Government officials colluded with each other, formed cliques and formed factions, and jointly submitted a petition to abolish the court.

Emperor Jia Zhao wanted to quell the internal and external disputes, and at this time the Court of Inquiry had already accomplished its mission and it was time to sheathe its sword.

As a result, the powers of the Court of Inquisition to investigate cases, conduct criminal trials, and conduct espionage were divided up among the Three Departments, the Five Military Governorates, and the Ministry of War.

The Magistrate's Court became a scabby dog ​​with its claws and fangs pulled out. For six or seven years, it became an idle government office with no sense of existence.

However, by the time Emperor Jiazhao had been on the throne for ten years, his throne had become as stable as Mount Tai, the whole world was in submission, and his holy heart could weigh the whole world.

Therefore, he implemented new policies to enrich the country and strengthen the military, surpassing the previous kings and fulfilling Emperor Jiazhao's ardent ambition.

Reopening the Magistrates' Court became an indispensable part of his governance...

Ever since Zhou Junxing took the position of Magistrate of the Court, he has spared no effort to place spies in various government offices in the capital, recruit talents, and cultivate confidants.

Although the Court of Inquisition has been advancing steadily in recent years and has not shown the brutality it once had, its strength has been growing day by day with the support of Emperor Jiazhao.

Whether it was cooperating with the Dali Temple to go to Nanjing to deal with the aftermath of the major case of the Water Supervision Bureau, or to rectify and sort out the officialdom of Nanjing, the secondary capital.

In order to promote the implementation of the new policy, five high-ranking officials above the fourth rank were arrested and convicted overnight, in order to intimidate the old party officials and gentry inside and outside the court who criticized those who resisted the new policy.

All of this shows that the Magistrates' Court has regained its former glory and demonstrated its strong execution and lethality.

Those old officials and old friends who had experienced the ups and downs of two dynasties seemed to smell a familiar smell of blood from this brutal and ruthless government office that had experienced several ups and downs.

……

Now that the Dali Temple's attempt to capture Zhou Zhengyang in Nanjing has failed, the leakage of important information has become obvious, and the Five Military Commandery has aroused the suspicion of Emperor Jiazhao.

Although Dali Temple Minister Wei Guanyao and Dali Temple Left Chief Yang Hongbin were able to clear their suspicion.

However, the news of Zhou Suqing’s confession was first released at the Dali Temple. Who can guarantee that other people in the Dali Temple are not suspects?
In this matter, the Dali Temple itself was criticized and its power of investigation and punishment had lost the initiative.

Whether it was Gu Yankui or Wei Guanyao, they all knew very well that Emperor Jiazhao had summoned Zhou Junxing to the palace at this time.

That is to use the power of the third-party court to investigate the leak of secrets by the Five Military Commandery and the Dali Temple.

This was also announced by Emperor Jiazhao to the court and the outside world.

The Magistrate's Court, which has been silent for a long time, will regain the power of investigating cases and conducting criminal trials that was once divided up from the three judicial officials!
Emperor Jiazhao was always good at using the power of others to defeat them in his administration. The failure of the Dali Temple and the Five Military Commandery in arresting Zhou Zhengyang this time turned out to be an opportunity for the Court of Inquisition to rise again.

Both Gu Yankui and Wei Guanyao felt a heavy pressure in their hearts.

(End of this chapter)