Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 60: The Trap Will Pay

Jia Cong was suddenly called by his grandmother to the East Courtyard for questioning. Daiyu, Tanchun and Yingchun were all a little worried. The East Courtyard has always been Jia Cong's nemesis. Going there for questioning might not be a trivial matter.

So they all followed Jia Cong to the East Courtyard, because they had to know what was going on so that they could feel at ease.

Baoyu actually didn't want to get involved in Jia Cong's affairs. Jia Cong had already gained a reputation as a good reader in the Jia family and was also appreciated by his father, which made him feel that Jia Cong was not of the same kind and he could not feel very close to him.

Originally, he wanted to stay and find a chance to talk to Wu'er or Qingwen, but since Jia Cong had left, it would be inappropriate for him to stay.

Besides, since Sister Lin was going to go to the East Courtyard with him, he had no choice but to follow her. In the past, only his second and third sisters were good friends with Jia Cong, but how come Sister Lin also started to care about Jia Cong's affairs?

The other sisters were fine, but Sister Lin was the only one on his mind. Now that she was involved in Jia Cong's mundane affairs, Baoyu felt a little uncomfortable.

As soon as the group reached the main entrance of the east courtyard, a maid came to stop them, saying that there were outsiders inside and it was not appropriate to let the girls in. The old lady would be in big trouble if she knew about this.

Yingchun had lived in the East Courtyard for several years since she was a child and was familiar with the route, so she led her sisters around the west corridor, passed through a corner door, and arrived at the green gauze cabinet behind the main hall.

As soon as Jia Cong entered the main hall, he saw a large group of people. Everyone's eyes were on him. Among them, he recognized Liu Binfang, the prosecutor of Zhen'an Prefecture.

Last time, it was this person who accompanied Zheng Yingquan, the chief magistrate of the Court, to inquire.

When Lady Jia saw Jia Cong come in, her expression froze. She thought that Jia Cong was causing trouble again, but it turned out to have nothing to do with him. She felt a little embarrassed.

No one expected that when Wang Shanbao saw Jia Cong, she screamed like crazy: "I know, it's him! It must be this bastard who plotted to harm me. He hates me for forcing his maid to death!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the room was frightened and they all looked at the young man who had just entered.

Daiyu, Tanchun and other sisters in the green gauze cabinet behind the screen were also shocked when they heard this.

Why did the old lady ask Third Brother Cong to come over for questioning? Before the old lady even opened her mouth, Mrs. Wang Shanbao spoke first and said that Third Brother Cong had harmed her. What was going on?

Wang Shanbao had been domineering in Dongluyuan for many years, but he had never been as miserable as he was today. Suddenly, government officials came to his house for no reason and accused him of witchcraft.

Moreover, the people who were harmed were the second master and the mistress of the mansion. How could she have the courage to do such a thing? Now all the dirty water is thrown on her head.

Just now, she saw that the two masters were furious, and even the old lady came over, pointing at her and cursing her until she fainted. The official from Zhen'an Prefecture looked at her with eyes like knives.

Even the wife who had always been her support was so frightened that she dared not say a word for her. Even when she was slapped in the face by the master in public, she did not dare to say a word.

Although she was a woman in the inner court who did not have much experience, after seeing all these scenes, she knew that the crime of witchcraft was horrifying. If she was not cleared of it, then her life would be over, and most likely she would not die a good death.

She was a secretive and vicious person to begin with, and she couldn't explain why Ma Dao Po wrote those things in that book.

If she wants to survive in this chaos, with her brain and temperament, what else can she think of except to rely on others.

Jia She could give his wife a slap in the face and put the blame on her, but who could she dare to blame among those people in the hall? No matter who she blamed, she didn't know whether she could survive.

Her whole family will surely die!

It just so happened that Jia Cong, a weak target, came in. Besides, it was also a matter of fact that he had forced his maid to death. If he didn't get involved with him, would he just sit there and wait to die?

Housekeeper Wang Shanbao had already been in a state of panic over what had happened today. When she saw Jia Cong coming, she suddenly became as naughty and crazy as before and shouted without caring about anything.

Jia Cong's eyes flashed. He didn't expect that this old woman had guessed it right. But if she forced Zhishao to death, she would be dead today!

He said in surprise: "Auntie Wang, what are you talking about? When have I ever harmed you? I have been recuperating in the West Mansion all this time and have not been to the East Courtyard. How could I have harmed you?" Housekeeper Wang Shanbao was a selfish and vicious person. In order to save her life, she had long since disregarded everything. She also felt that Jia Cong was easy to control, so once she had started talking, she started talking nonsense.

"You must be mad at me for forcing Zhishao to jump into the river. You...you and that horse thief...colluded with each other and framed me for using witchcraft to harm the Second Master and Second Mistress."

Even Mrs. Wang couldn't stand to listen to this. Ma Dao Po was Baoyu's nominal godmother, and she usually only went to the second room and the old lady's place.

Mrs. Xing had never had much contact with the eldest son's family. She didn't even know Ma Dao Po. How could Ma Dao Po know Jia Cong, the illegitimate son who was always looked down upon in the East Courtyard?

But no one could have imagined that Jia Cong did not know Ma Dao Po, but knew where her seven-star lamp, straw paper dolls, and the small account book were kept.

If Mrs. Wang could think of it, the old lady could naturally think of it too. She stared at Wang Shanbao, whose face was covered in blood, and her eyes seemed to be spitting fire.

This bitch is about to die, but she still wants to drag the descendants of Jia family into it. She wants to ruin the reputation of our Jia family until her death. She is really despicable.

Jia Cong shouted angrily, "This is nonsense. How could I know Ma Dao Po?"

Then he turned around and bowed to Jia Zheng and the old lady, and asked, "I don't know what the old lady wants to ask me when she calls me here. Is this Aunt Wang crazy? How have I ever hurt her?"

Grandmother Jia felt a little embarrassed. She thought he was the one causing trouble again, and she had called him over to find fault with him, but now he was the one who spoke the truth.

Jia Zheng, who was standing by, said, "Don't be alarmed, Cong-er. It was that wicked woman who did the harm herself. When she saw she couldn't get away, she randomly blamed others."

He also recounted how the government arrested Ma Dao Po and found evidence of Wang Shanbao's secret murder in her account books.

Jia Cong bowed deeply to Grandmother Jia with an indignant look on his face, "Madam, Jia Cong was born in a humble family and could hardly survive in the East Courtyard. It is thanks to the support of the Second Master and Madam that I am where I am today.

"I have been thinking about repaying a great favor, but it is not enough. How could they have evil intentions to harm them? This is really nonsense and extremely vicious. Please, old lady, help Jia Cong!"

Grandmother Jia knew that although this grandson was born to a lowly mother and she had always disliked him, she knew very well that this grandson was actually very smart, otherwise how could he be so highly regarded by so many people outside.

He was disliked by his eldest son in the East Courtyard and was almost beaten to death. If his second son had not liked him and wanted to study, how could he have lived a peaceful life in the West Courtyard?

His second son was his support in the Jia family. He was a smart man, so how could he be stupid enough to harm him?

Not only Lady Jia thought so, but Mrs. Wang also had the same idea. It was even more impossible for Jia Zheng to believe that Jia Cong would harm him.

At this time, Grandmother Jia had already determined that it was Wang Shanbao who did the evil. She was the eldest daughter-in-law's companion, so she naturally knew the eldest daughter-in-law's resentment towards the second wife. She might even have been assigned by the eldest daughter-in-law to harm the second wife.

Although the eldest son is not very ambitious, the old lady is still somewhat on his side. If such a family scandal happens, she will most likely blame her daughter-in-law.

Just as Lady Jia was about to speak, Liu Binfang, the magistrate of Zhen'an Prefecture, spoke first.

"For a case like this involving witchcraft, it is not appropriate to make random inferences. What matters is the evidence. My officers have already gone to the woman's residence to search for evidence. If they find anything, it will be clear at a glance. It will be useless to argue any further."

Liu Binfang watched coldly for a long time, and couldn't imagine how a teenager like Jia Cong could be involved in this witchcraft incident.

He had tried countless cases and was knowledgeable. Wang Zhang accused Jia Cong of murdering her, but his words were confusing and full of loopholes, and he even had to think while he was compiling his words.

It is ridiculous that she wants to deceive the magistrate of Zhen'an Prefecture with such stupid and shrewish tricks.

In his mind, he had already determined that Wang Zhang was guilty and all he had to do was wait for the yamen runners to find the evidence so that he could bring the case to justice.

(End of this chapter)