Through the Ring of Red Mansions

Chapter 38

Because the third wife wanted to think about it first, and she had a refreshing temperament, so she put aside the matter of meeting her, and went back to the mansion to eat, drink and have fun. Seeing the sky, he just eats fast and recites Buddha, as if he is very pious. Yuanchun is in the deep palace, and he and the third wife will not see each other for a while. He also refused to take care of the face of the third wife, it would not be too late for Jia Huan to come up with his own countermeasures.

At the same time, Jiangnan Road and the Metropolitan Procuratorate’s impeachment of Jiangnan Zhen’s family were sent to the imperial study like snowflakes. Several academicians were divided into two factions, and they had different opinions. Those who are close to each other don't advocate strict punishment, because the two kings' party has just lost some momentum. If they take out Jiangnan Zhen's family at this time, the hearts of the people in the south of the Yangtze River will inevitably be shaken, and many people will return to the two kings' tents. The other clan relatives, Qingliu, have always disdained to associate with these aristocratic families, so they insisted on strict punishment in order to suppress the government.

Seeing that Shui Lang had already made up his mind, Jia Huan just wanted to see the reactions of his neighbors, so he pretended to be Xu Shu who had entered Cao Ying, and just listened beside him without saying a word.

Just this day Shui Lang went to the harem to visit the Empress Dowager, and there were only Jia Huan and Bai Shichen in the imperial study, and Bai Shichen sighed, "It's so easy to take the Ministry of Households back into my hands, and I just want to make a fortune by copying Zhen's family this time. Who knew it would be so troublesome, hmph, just wait until a few days later when the harem is drafted, the household department will come and cry poorly."

Jia Huan couldn't help wondering, "Didn't it mean that the concubine passed away for less than three years, so this year's draft will be exempted?"

Bai Shichen said, "That was then, and now is now. At that time, the affairs of the Zhen family hadn't happened so fast. Now, once the Zhen family is copied, the three noble concubines in the harem will be gone. First, they disappeared last year. Concubine Wu, the Concubine Wu in the palace is already weak. If the Zhen family falls again, Concubine Liu will not be as good as before. Only the one in your family will be left. Don't you think about the temper of the Holy Majesty, would you put down one The Zhen family, is it impossible to help the Jia and Wang families who have a thicker chassis? Wang Ziteng has been promoted to the nine provincial inspectors, and you have such a promising appearance, what do other people think?"

Jia Huan was speechless for a moment, Bai Shichen smiled and said, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't tell you the truth, you are naturally thinking about your family's well-being."

Jia Huan said, "You are wrong. I would like to seek a prosperous family. The family will not worry about food and clothing, and they can be honest. Don't look at the scenery of Ningrong and Rongfu. Maybe it's not the second Zhen family."

Bai Shichen laughed quickly, "It's really my fault, and I'm telling you what you said. As long as you are here, how can he not show favor to your family?" Jia Huan thought to himself the most. It's better not to show sympathy to our family, but to me, but I can't tell Bai Shichen, so I laughed and left.

In the blink of an eye, it was the end of August, and an order was issued to Jiangnan Road to question the Zhen family, use Luo to weave party members, take bribes and pervert the law, and punish the common people with confiscation of their property, and transfer them to Beijing for punishment.Also, since the Empress Dowager Wu left, the old sage was deeply saddened and was not in good spirits, so he lived in secluded places in the palace and had just begun to improve. Worrying about this, he seldom had time to rest with Jia Huan, and left the entire imperial study to Jia Huan.

When Jia Huan was still awake that day, he suddenly heard two people talking in a low voice outside, and a little girl's voice asked, "Is that young Tanhua in there? We all heard that Tanhua had a very good life, but it's a pity." I haven't seen it before. Does it look like Lady Jia?"

The other is Xiao Kouzi, a young eunuch serving in the imperial study, who begged there, "My good sister, put down the soup cup sent by Miss Wu and go quickly. How can you stay here? If it weren't for our past I have a good relationship with you, and I dare not let you in!!"

The little maid said, "I don't know, it's better if you are left alone. Those powerful eyes, hmph! When the first concubine was still there, everyone flattered us, and now they have picked up the high-ranking ones. The branch flew away."

The two chattered a few more words, only to hear a burst of footsteps going out, and for a while someone leaned against the curtain and stood quietly for a while, Jia Huan knew it was Xiao Kouzi who was afraid that he would come in to serve him when he woke up. , didn't speak, turned over and went back to sleep.

The next day Shui Lang went to visit the Empress Dowager's Palace after lunch, although he didn't say anything, but these days he went so frequently, Jia Huan also knew that the Empress Dowager might not be well, so he couldn't help worrying for Shui Lang.I didn't expect Shui Lang to come back very quickly this time. Just as Jia Huan was about to fall asleep in a daze, he heard Xiao Kouzi crying outside, "...I really dare not lie, Xiao Tao stood inside the door yesterday. , The servant didn't dare to let her in, let alone other things, he didn't even let her see Mrs. Jia..." As he spoke, he heard the sound of kowtow.

Shui Lang lowered his voice and scolded outside, "If you weren't slaves who were idle and lazy, how could you be like this? If you have a full staff of servants outside, you will naturally be very argumentative. Now you are the only one, what use can you be?! "

Jia Huan couldn't help being very puzzled, and quickly got up and went out. Seeing that Director Shan was also standing very cautiously in a corner and dared not speak, he couldn't help asking, "Why are you so angry all of a sudden?"

Shui Lang paused for a while, Xiao Kouzi knelt and crawled over to hug Jia Huan's legs as if seeing a life-saving straw, crying, "Lord Jia, save me! Miss Xiaotao... Miss Xiaotao from Wu Guifei's palace who came yesterday is dead! !"

Shui Lang's face darkened, and Director Shan hurriedly pulled Xiao Kouzi away and said, "What a daring dog, why don't you just tell Mrs. Jia what these horrible things are, and get out quickly." At the same time, he ordered two guards to put him up quickly gone.

Jia Huan was taken aback, and hurriedly said to Shui Lang, "What serious crime did Xiao Kouzi commit? I heard him say a few words to a little palace daughter in a daze yesterday, and he didn't say anything bad. That Why did the little maid die?"

Shui Lang took him to sit down and said, "It's not to punish him, but I think these servants are very slack, they have to beat and beat, otherwise they all forget what to do! The maid died by herself. It has nothing to do with that."

Jia Huan took a closer look at Shui Lang's expression and said with a smile, "Are you coaxing me again? There must be something wrong, otherwise you won't be like this anymore, but I'm here to guard you every day. Could it be that you lost something?"

Shui Lang smiled and said, "Who dares to come to the imperial study to steal things?! It's because Xiao Kouzi is too unruly to collect things indiscriminately, so he will be punished."

Jia Huan didn't believe it in his heart. Hearing the tone of the little maid yesterday, they would often come to the imperial study to deliver some soup when Concubine Wu Guifei was favored. Shui Lang is not such an obvious person in everything, even if he is really tired of Wu Concubine, I will definitely not lose my temper over this.But since Xiao Kouzi said that a little maid died, it must be related to the secret case of the palace, Jia Huan knew that Shui Lang didn't want him to know, so he stopped asking as soon as possible.

Shui Lang just went with Jia Huan to gossip there, and after a while a little eunuch came in to ask Jia Huan to see him. Director Shan looked at Shui Lang's face and had to order someone to come in. The words didn't go smoothly anymore, and he said tremblingly, "Director of the House of Internal Affairs... Zhou, please... Master Jia, go over and talk."

Jia Huan wondered, "Why did Manager Zhou find something to do with me?"

Shui Lang said lightly, "Let Zhou Zhi come to the Imperial Study Room to see him."

The little eunuch was taken aback for a moment, then quickly kowtowed and left.Jia Huan couldn't help but said helplessly, "Director Zhou is also a third rank, how can he ask to see me? You are really strange today."

Shui Lang smiled slightly and said, "If there's something going on outside, I'm still here."

Just as he was talking, Zhou Zhi, the head of the House of Internal Affairs that Jia Huan had never seen before, ran over sweating profusely. He saw Shui Lang first, and then turned to Jia Huan to exchange greetings. Then he asked Jia Huan seriously, "I have a few words to ask you, Mr. Jia, please don't take offense."

Jia Huan hurriedly said with a smile, "Master Zhou, please ask."

Only then did Zhou Zhi take out a silk bag from his sleeve, and when he opened it, there was a pouch inside, and he handed it to Jia Huan, "Does Master Jia recognize this thing?"

This purse looks very familiar to Jia Huan, and seeing the words "Jia Huan" embroidered on one side, he smiled and said, "This is the purse that my mother gave me during the Chinese New Year. I have it with my second brother and sisters at home. It’s just that it’s in Master Zhou’s hands somehow?”

Zhou Zhi picked up the purse again without answering, and asked again, "Master Jia, do you know Xiaotao, the maid in Concubine Wu's palace?"

At this time, Jia Huan had made a series of today's events, and vaguely guessed that Xiaotao's death had something to do with him, so he quickly raised his spirits, "When Eunuch Kou from the Royal Study mentioned it, I only knew that there was Xiaotao. do not know."

Zhou Zhi nodded, and said again, "Lord Jia, forgive me for asking, have you ever...uh..." He really saw that Jia Huansheng was as beautiful as pearls and jade, because he didn't wear court clothes when he didn't go to court, but the clothes were very homely He wore a thin brocade robe with purple floral patterns, and looked like an exquisite young man, so he couldn't say the word "aggression". After holding back for a while, he said with difficulty, "Have you...have you ever treated Xiao Tao lightly?"

Jia Huan was startled, and hurriedly said, "Where did you say that? I have never seen her before, so how could I be contemptuous of her?" Suddenly he came back to his senses, looked back at Shui Lang and said, "You knew about this a long time ago. , but didn’t tell me at all, you suspect that I really did something shameless, so you want to see how I react, don’t you?”

After asking this question, other people didn't feel anything, Zhou Zhi felt the sweat on his forehead again, and thought to himself, no wonder everyone said that Mrs. Jia is very holy, even the lady Jia in the palace can't compare , now it can be seen that it is true.This is actually questioning the Holy Majesty in person!

Shui Lang calmly pulled Jia Huan to his side, and said to Zhou Zhi who was a little stunned, "Have you finished asking?"

Zhou Zhi hurriedly wiped off his sweat and said, "It's over! It's over!!"

Jia Huan wanted to shake Shui Lang's hand away, but it was held tightly, and he couldn't shake it off for a while, so he simply let him hold it and sneered, "I haven't answered yet, why did I finish asking? Even if the others don't answer, this You must answer this sentence! I have never disrespected the maid named Xiaotao. She must have died and carried my purse on her body. You will suspect me, but I have never brought this purse since my mother gave it to me. , I live in another villa outside the city, and all these rewards are placed with my mother..." Before he finished speaking, he suddenly realized why the rewards he had placed in Jia's mansion suddenly appeared in the palace?Could it be that Rong Mansion is already so unsafe?

He also heard Shui Lang say to Zhou Zhi, "Go down and thoroughly investigate this case, and find out who dared to frame the important officials of the court!!"

Zhou Zhiru was pardoned, kowtowed his head in a hurry, and retreated as if fleeing. At the same time, he thought that he had been judged as "an important official who framed the court" today, and this job should be handed over to the Ministry of Punishment...

Jia Huan never thought that such a trumped-up crime would appear on him, and even implicated a young life in order to frame him without blinking his eyes. He couldn't help feeling a little scared, and couldn't help but glanced at Shui Lang and said, "You Are you suspicious of me?!"

Director Shan hurriedly stepped forward with a wink and said with a smile, "Lord Jia has wronged the emperor too much. If he is really suspicious, why is he so disregarding Lord Zhou's decency?!"

After all, Jia Huan was a little uneasy, and asked, "Since you didn't suspect me, why didn't you say anything just now?"

Shui Lang smiled and said, "I told you that I was there, and I didn't want you to know a word about this shit, but you're so smart, you figured it out right away."

Jia Huan sneered, "It's not that I'm smart, it's that he wants to harm me. That person didn't expect us to be so close, but if our relationship is more ordinary, I'm just a new favorite of the emperor, so I have to get involved because of this matter." of!"

Seeing Jia Huan's indiscriminate expression in anger, Shui Lang couldn't help but hugged his thin body, which was still tall, and leaned close to him, and said with a smile, "According to you, how can we get along?"

Jia Huan couldn't help but blushed, and gritted his teeth hard, saying, "Why are you like this? I'm being plotted against. I don't care if this matter is too sexual. Just watch it!"

Shui Lang stretched out three fingers and smiled, seeing that Jia Huan was puzzled, he said, "It's the third time, think about it, I'll take it back sooner or later." Jia Huan was embarrassed and said nothing. In the palace, he hurried back to the villa, and asked Bai Shichen to sue for seven days of sick leave in one breath, just waiting to avoid the limelight of this incident.