Chapter 74 Big Case (Three in One)
When I woke up, the lights in the room were turned on again.
Shen Ning was confused for a moment, then suddenly remembered something, "Someone come!"
Qingzhu immediately agreed, "Are you awake?" She was so happy, "Are you hungry? I'll be right away..."
Shen Ning grabbed her hand, "Where's Zhen'er? How is he?"
"Don't worry, ma'am!"
Qingzhu's eyes were full of smiles, and her voice was clear, "Master is fine. He woke up at 2:02 pm and forced people to carry him to see you. He gave each of us two top-quality red envelopes. He not only ate up all the ginseng stewed chicken that Aunt Li made for him in our yard, but also ate several wedding eggs."
Is that so? Shen Ning couldn't help but curl up the corners of her mouth, "He just got hurt, he can't eat so much, right?"
"He ate the egg yolk, and gave the egg white to Grandma." Qingzhu smiled, "So it wasn't much."
“…”
Shen Ning was speechless. "By the way, what about Rong Ge'er? What book did he recite yesterday?"
I didn't have the energy to scold him yesterday, but I can't do that today.
He even recited the Three Character Classic in a mess, what should he do in the future? "Please don't scold Rong Ge'er, he was scared yesterday."
They were all terrified, let him alone, a child.
Qingzhu said, "Not only did he not sleep all night, but he also had to support the whole family in the morning, and he also went to the ancestral hall to announce the good news to the ancestors on behalf of the old man. As a result, he was so tired that he fell asleep there. The grandmother asked someone to carry him to the bed, and he hasn't woken up until now."
For the sake of her wife's feelings, she did not say that the second wife of the West Mansion wanted to take their daughter away, and it was Rong Ge'er who stopped them.
If they told this, their wives would be furious.
"...Have you asked Shopkeeper Chen to take a look at him?"
"I just feel tired after watching it."
“…”
Shen Ning's heart couldn't help but felt both sour and hot.
She was too adventurous yesterday.
"Don't worry, Madam. Shopkeeper Chen said Rong will be fine after a good sleep. Are you hungry? Eat something!"
As she spoke, a maid brought up some toiletries. Qingzhu gently helped her lean back on the soft pillow and served her personally, "The young lady has been fed by the nurse several times, but no matter how much she drinks, every time she wakes up, she has to be by your side to feel more at ease."
The girls are still young, so their wives have to take good care of themselves.
"Bring her here, let me take a look."
How could Shen Ning bear it?
After a while, she finished washing up and brought the little ball to her.
Shen Ning took it. The little girl had a slightly upturned nose, long and slender eyebrows, and eyelashes as thick and slightly upturned as Rong Ge'er's. Needless to say, she also had a pair of affectionate eyes.
Maybe he smelled her scent, his nose twitched, his mouth slightly opened, and he smiled in his dream.
In an instant, Shen Ning's heart melted.
She couldn't help but kiss her daughter's forehead, "Jane, have you seen his sister? What did she say?"
Uh~ Several maids looked at each other and couldn't help laughing, "The master hugged her and said she was ugly, and he wanted to save up a dowry for her."
"Grandma had a lot of arguments with Grandpa because of this."
The maids' words with a smile made Shen Ning feel relieved.
She was afraid that Jia Zhen would blame his misfortune on this child.
Although she did not die as in the original novel, if Jia Zhen disliked the child, it was always her fault.
"Isn't it like this when a baby is just born?"
Shen Ning gently tapped her daughter's nose and said softly, "If brother dares to say anything bad about us again, you should also say he is ugly."
My God, she is not dead! At this moment, Shen Ning felt like a fish entering the sea.
Without the sword hanging over your head, you can just like whatever you like.
"Has the man who tried to assassinate me been captured? Who is he? Where is Jiao Da?"
"The one who assassinated me was the dwarf assassin Xie Zhenghu."
Qing Ping said, "People from Shuntian Prefecture and Wucheng Bingmasi are investigating now. We don't know what the background is yet. Master Jiao stayed with him all night yesterday. After a good rest today, he took people out of the prefecture to look for the murderer again."
Shen Ning nodded, handed the child to Qingzhu, and ate the maternity meal herself. "Who came to the West Mansion yesterday? What did they talk about yesterday? When something happened in the mansion, who from the clan came to help?"
Qingping and Qingzhu looked at each other and began to praise Jia She and his wife. At the same time, Jia's mother in the West Mansion was closing the door and scolding Jia Zheng.
"I asked you to come with me to visit me this morning, but you were too slow to go. Now it's been a while, why are you still at home?"
Grandmother Jia was too angry.
Although they and Dongfu are family and don't need to care too much about those red tapes, there should always be the necessary interpersonal relationships, right?
Things were tough in the East Palace yesterday; even that bastard She'er stayed there all night.
As a result, this couple did not show up at all, and although one of them went, she couldn't control her mouth and always offended people.
"My son has already asked around, and many of the Wang and Cao generations in the clan have gone."
Jia Zheng was still puzzled by his mother's anger, "Why don't they just support him in the outer courtyard?"
He is a generation older than Jia Zhen.
"The clan school is closed today because of them."
Jia Zheng said: "Mother, do you know how many people will say behind their backs that those people are trying to curry favor with the powerful?"
He was determined not to go. "Although my eldest sister-in-law has been awarded the first rank, she is just a woman. How can a young brother-in-law like me come and go as she pleases? If you want to have fun, go ahead. If you want to be quiet, why don't you let Wang and the others go and take a look?"
There are a lot of servants in the house. It's fine to keep them normally, but if there's something wrong, shouldn't it be the right time to go? Could it be that he, the master, has to go? Jia Zheng argued, "Besides, do you know that Xie Zhenghu has not been brought to justice? My son still has to go to the government office. What if he is targeted by that person?"
Grandmother Jia: “…”
Her hands shook and shook.
Although I knew that my son was not good at worldly affairs, he was always praised by other families, but never by them.
She thought her son was a good person and this wasn't a big problem, but she didn't expect...
At this moment, the old lady finally understood why her son had been sitting on the bench in the Ministry of Industry for so many years.
This is something Siliu doesn't understand! She stroked her chest, waved her hand, and told him to get out.
She was afraid that if she stayed any longer she would get angry.
"Someone, go call Lin Zhixiao over."
The deaths of the Chen and Wang families were actually related to the salt merchants in Jiangnan.
Grandmother Jia couldn't help but worry.
Unfortunately, her eldest son is unreliable, and her second son is like this too. Her two capable grandsons, one is in the Imperial College, and the other is far away in Jiangnan.
If anyone was at home, she wouldn't have to worry so much.
Grandmother Jia felt very uncomfortable.
It would be better if Baoyu were a little older.
Although Rong'er was young, he was able to hold on to Ningguo Mansion after Zhen'er fell.
"Madam, Lin Zhixiao went out with the master to hunt down the murderer and has not returned yet."
The little maid replied cautiously, "It's Lin Zhixiao's family that's here, you..."
"pass!"
Grandmother Jia was leaning on the couch. After Lin Zhixiao's wife finished her greetings, she waved her hand to signal for them to sit down and talk. "Do you know what's going on with the Chen and Wang families?"
"I don't know much, but I heard that Chen Chong hated our Jia family for being aggressive, and the family of the Jiangnan salt merchant happened to come over, and they were also afraid of Master Lin, so they came up with a vicious plan together."
Lin Zhixiao's family said, "The Chen and Wang families lost their lives, and they paid the money to put the blame on our Jia family."
He just put the blame on Ningguo Mansion.
But in fact, Master Lin is the son-in-law of Rongguo Mansion.
"Do you know how much silver the salt merchant paid?"
“I don’t know!”
Lin Zhixiao's family shook their heads, "But Chen Chong was arrested last night. I think it won't take long for Shuntian Prefecture to find out."
Sure enough, early the next morning, many people gathered outside Shuntian Prefecture.
The Chen and Wang families were unlucky enough. Not only were many of their people injured, but many of them also died. Everyone in Fulon Street knew that this matter was related to the Jia family. However, Jia Zhen had just been assassinated and the real murderer had not been caught yet, and the government immediately arrested Mr. Chen.
Isn't this a blatant bullying of Mr. Chen because he is too low-ranking? If Mr. Chen, an official, is like this, then if ordinary people like them encounter this, won't their entire family's lives be at stake?
The people were concerned and gathered around when they heard that Shuntian Prefecture was holding a public trial of the case.
However, when they gathered together, they discovered something was wrong. There were many people who came here to listen to the case, wearing luxurious clothes. Judging from their appearance, they were either wealthy servants of noble families or officials, or wealthy merchants.
The twenty or so people at the front were spoken to in a low voice, and soon they took the silver they needed to buy a seat and left as if in a dream.
Oh, who would have thought that just by getting up early, you could earn dozens of taels of silver?
When the people behind saw this, they felt sad that they didn't run faster earlier.
"Look, those are people from the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce, those are the Shanxi and Shaanxi Chambers of Commerce, and those are the Tianjin Chamber of Commerce and the Guangdong Chamber of Commerce..."
Some people have a wide network of friends, and the more they look at these people, the more they feel something is wrong.
After a while, Li Haizhong was brought up.
Chen Chong, who was also brought up, saw him and her face changed drastically.
His shoulders are slumped.
His face was as pale as paper.
Li Haizhong only gave a small portion of his silver to his clan. Once the money is dug out, he...his family might not even be able to enter the ancestral tomb.
"Pah~"
"Mighty and powerful"
The gavel was slammed, and the bailiffs on both sides glared at the people kneeling in the hall while striking their water and fire sticks. If a timid person was there, he would be so scared that his legs would go weak.
"Who is here?"
Lord Dong was full of official authority, and his loud shout started Chen Chong so much that she trembled.
He knew he was finished.
Resisting the odds will only lead to a more miserable death.
"I am Chen Chong, the director of the Ministry of Industry."
He suddenly shouted, "Sir, I want to sue this Li Haizhong for tempting me with 100,000 taels of silver and making me commit an irreparable mistake!"
He did give some silver to the Chen and Wang families, but all together it was less than five thousand taels.
The five thousand taels were distributed among the elders of the clan, while the victim's family only received one hundred taels.
But if they were all exposed today, who knows how many people in the two families would be implicated, and then their family would really be left without a burial place.
Instead, he took on all of this responsibility himself, and the elders of the clan could, reluctantly, perhaps take care of him in secret.
Chen Chong took the risk and told the whole story about how Li Haizhong took the money, how he sent people to kill his relatives and how he framed the Jia family with his wife's relatives.
Anyway, there is only one theme: he was blinded by the 100,000 taels of silver, so he did something worse than an animal.
For a moment, there was an uproar inside and outside the venue.
Li Haizhong was going to be mad at him.
He used his connections and especially gathered several people from the Chamber of Commerce, just to build up some momentum, put some pressure on the government, and donate some money to get the matter over with.
The Li family is rich and doesn't care about those small things, but Chen Chong made such a fuss, making it seem as if he was the mastermind.
"My lord, it's unfair!"
Li Haizhong cried out in injustice, "I didn't know he was going to deal with the Jia family. I gave him money because he was the head of the Ministry of Works, a powerful official. I separated from my family and came to Beijing to find another way out. I wanted to take some work from the Ministry of Works! He promised me that he would give me the dam repair project in the Huaihe River area! That's why I gave him 100,000 taels of silver to help him dredge the blockage."
He was also afraid of involving the Li family.
He acknowledged that the 100,000 taels were his, so no matter how things turned out today, it would be his own business.
As long as the family still exists, his brothers will always take care of things for him.
Master Dong slammed the gavel and said in a cold voice, "You are talking nonsense. Why would a small official in the Ministry of Works give you a project that can earn you far more than 100,000 taels of silver? Come here, give me 30 lashes first."
The treasury is short of silver.
The tycoons in Jiangnan are all as wealthy as a country.
Where did they get the money? The land tax in Jiangnan has been decreasing over the years.
As for business taxes...
Lord Dong knew that Concubine Zhen’s Zhen family was also involved in this.
When the emperor was trying to balance things out, he supported the prince of Concubine Zhen, and the Zhen family rose to prominence at that time. Later, he impulsively gave the throne to the most insignificant prince in the court, and then he vaguely regretted it, which made the Zhen family grow bigger and bigger.
All these merchants in Jiangnan have some relationship with the Zhen family.
It would have been fine if he hadn't done anything to me before, but how could he let me go now?
"Chen Chong, quickly tell me how he contacted you that day and how he tricked you into killing someone."
A small director of the Ministry of Works could earn at most 500 taels from the projects he was assigned to.
That was when the national treasury was full. Where is the silver in the national treasury now? Therefore, what Li Haizhong said was completely untenable.
Inside and outside the venue, those who received secret messages from a certain adult and wanted to help all fell silent.
Those who are more thoughtful may even think of the assassination of Jia Zhen.
If Jia Zhen’s assassination was also related to the Li family, the Li family would be completely finished.
Ningguo Mansion made great contributions to the country. Although its descendants behaved a little domineeringly in later generations, it was also caused by the Chen and Wang families going too far.
I heard that the emperor awarded Madam Shen a first-rank official position early on, and it is obvious that the royal family still has feelings for her.
so……
The person who had just spent money to buy the front seat is now quietly retreating.
After this incident, even if the Li family can escape, they will be seriously damaged, so someone will have to take over their business.
If you make arrangements early, then... you will definitely get a larger share.
Mr. Dong Xiaoquan watched these people leave without making any comment.
In just two days, thanks to Li Haizhong, both the Five Cities Army and the entire Shuntian Prefecture were taken care of.
The emperor’s request is very simple: dig, dig slowly. It would be even better if more merchants could be attracted.
So, he just needed to know who gave the money.
The onlookers at this time did not know that a shocking case was slowly brewing and had triggered a major event that would affect their lives.
…
At Ningguo Mansion, Shen Ning finally saw Haodaer again.
Although the lost blood could not be replenished all at once and his complexion was still not very good, his condition seemed to be almost the same as before he was injured.
"Follow Jiao Da from now on and strengthen your muscles and bones!"
It's really pitiful that he was stabbed so many times.
Shen Ning said: "There are also pillows in the carriage. Let the people below add another layer of iron sheet."
If I encounter such an incident again, at least I won’t be poked.
"Well, I'll listen to you."
Jia Zhen held his sister, who ate and slept all the time, and said, "Mother, why do I feel that my sister has become fairer?"
“…Is there an ugly person in our family?”
Shen Ning was speechless. "Early this morning, your sister cried, and I was about to hug her to comfort her, but Rong Ge'er came over and thought I was going to hit her, so he snatched her away and insisted that his aunt was too young and he had to take the beating for her."
Jia Zhen: “…”
"He said no matter how ugly she is, she is still his aunt." Shen Ning looked at Haoda'er, "It's because his father and he look so good that they stole his aunt's beauty. If I want to blame someone, I'll blame you and your son."
Huh? Jia Zhen was stunned.
The maids and old women standing by couldn't help but turn their heads and laugh.
“Ahem~”
Jia Zhen admired his son who always caused trouble for him, "He is quite filial."
It’s a pity that this filial piety is not for him.
Jia Zhen felt extremely aggrieved because this person had robbed his mother, wife and son's sister.
Can't it be a little bigger?
When he was older, he could even stretch out his hand and hear the sound.
"Eh? Mother, look, she's smiling."
When the toothless little mouth opens, it looks like a smile.
Although she was still ugly, Jia Zhen was very happy when she smiled.
"Yeah, he's a kid who likes to laugh."
Shen Ning was also happy.
Xichun in the Red Mansion is so pitiful. Although she is surrounded by people, she is always alone.
now……
"By the way, I've picked out several names, see which one is better."
Let Jia Zhen participate in every aspect of his sister's life, and they will have more affection.
Otherwise, what can a brother and sister with such a big age gap talk about when they get together?
"Isn't... her name Xichun?"
Jia Zhen was stunned. "When ranked with the sisters in the West Mansion, her name happens to be Xichun."
Shen Ning felt uncomfortable, "...Who told you this name?"
"When Second Uncle Zheng came to see me this morning, he said that the old lady also hoped that the sisters would live long and hard, and both were named after Spring."
Although this name is vulgar, it has a good meaning.
Jia Zhen asked, "Mother, don't you like this name?"
"dislike!"
Shen Ning said bluntly, "Why should our children follow the ranking of their family?"
The change of the girls' fate begins with their names! "Besides, don't you think the word 'Xing' they gave is problematic?"
What's the problem?
Jia Zhen thought about it again and again, but couldn't think of any problem with the word "xi".
Cherish spring, cherish spring, cherish the beauty, isn’t that great?
"Your eldest sister is called Yuanchun, your second sister is called Yingchun, your third sister is called Tanchun, and our child is called Xichun. Put together, the four characters Yuan, Ying, Tan, and Xi, don't they sound like Yuan Ying's sigh?"
This? Jia Zhen was shocked.
"It's ridiculous that your second uncle still thinks he is a scholar."
The more Shen Ning understood Jia Zheng, the more she looked down on him. "You are such a complete idiot, and you still want to name my daughter?"
She stared at Jia Zhen, "Do you know where your second uncle Zheng was when our family was in the most difficult time? He was at home hugging his concubine. But your uncle She was busy running around to support the family for Rong'er. From now on, you should pay less attention to Jia Zheng."
"…My son knows."
Jia Zhen held his sister carefully, but he didn't dare to call her Xichun anymore. "Mother, didn't you just ask me to choose a name for your sister? Bring it here, let's choose together."
“Look!”
Shen Ning motioned Qingzhu to take the paper with her name written all over it, "You are from the Wang generation, and there is a Wang in your name. Although your sister is a daughter, in my heart, she is the same as you, so I think there is also a Wang in her name."
Jia Zhen nodded.
His sister is the legitimate daughter, so it is normal for her to be named after them.
Just like Aunt Min from Xifu, she follows the literary generation.
only……
He looked at it: Kun, Kun, Kun, Qi, Qi, Wan, Lin, Qiong, Xuan, Xia, Ying, Yao…
Each one looked okay, but he couldn't make up his mind about each one.
"Cough~"
Jia Zhen cleared his throat and said, "There are so many names. My son needs to take them back to study them. Please wait for me for a few days."
Or you can write a letter to your father and ask him what would be a better name for your sister.
Perhaps his mother gave him so many names so that he would be unable to make up his mind and look for his father.
"Okay!"
Shen Ning didn't know what Haoda'er's mind was thinking, so she nodded and said, "It must be done before the full moon, you better hurry up."
"Definitely."
Jia Zhen nodded vigorously.
He felt that his mother was a little tired, so he quickly returned his sister to the nurse beside him and said, "Mother, please take a rest first. I will come to see you later."
“No rush!”
Shen Ning motioned for him to remain seated, and after a moment's hesitation, she asked, "Where's Jiao Da? Did he go to investigate the assassin?"
"yes!"
Jia Zhen nodded, "My son originally wanted to rest at home because he is old, but he was unwilling to do so. He also said that he could eat three bowls of rice in one meal and he still has plenty of energy."
It's as if he has no energy at all.
Jia Zhen felt that this injury made the old man look down on him.
All the palace guards who accompanied him that day were despised by the old man. Even though they saved him in the end, the old man still gave them fifty lashes. He would beat them in five batches after this busy period was over.
Jia Zhen was helpless, "Forget it, I can't persuade him, let him do what he wants, fortunately he is here, no matter what he does, I can rest assured."
Shen Ning: “…”
She sighed softly, "He's old, so it's inevitable that he's a little stubborn, so please be more tolerant!"
The old man didn't dare to meet her.
After thinking about it, Shen Ning said, "In the future, the government will increase his allowance by another 30%, and check his pulse twice a month." She said to Jia Zhen, "An old man in the family is like a treasure. You should respect him more. Your grandfather and grandpa will be happy if they know about it in the afterlife."
"My son knows."
Because of his grandfather, Jia Zhen never confronted Jiao Da directly, "My son will definitely treat him well."
This time, he was able to escape from Xie Zhenghu's hands thanks to Jiao Da's long-term training of the palace guards.
Otherwise, with Xie Zhenghu's skills, if he had been a little later, his life would really be in danger.
Jia Zhen agreed with Jiao Da from the bottom of his heart, "This time I have told the accompanying guards that if they encounter Xie Zhenghu and fight him, killing the enemy is important, but Jiao Da is more important."
If you can't kill him once, there's always a second time and a third time.
But now that Jiao Da is gone, he is really gone.
Jia Zhen was also worried about the old man's competitive spirit. "Mother, what do you think about asking him to find someone from the group of new boys to be his official adopted son or apprentice?"
"become!"
Shen Ning nodded.
She knew that the ancients attached great importance to this.
It's just that Jiao Da wanted to take him in before, but because of his temper, Jia Jing and others disliked him, and no one was willing to really acknowledge him as their adoptive father or master.
But now it's different, she will restrain Jia Zhen and Jia Rong.
Jiao Da is also worthy of being treated as a treasure by the Jia family.
"As long as he is willing, the person he takes in doesn't have to be from our Jia family. Didn't I give him a shop? Then I will give him a neat yard so that he can enjoy the happiness of having children and grandchildren around him."
Even if those people only praise Jiao Da because of these things, as long as they can make the old man happy, everything is worth it.
Jia Zhen nodded.
When he came out of his mother's courtyard, he heard Xing'er running over with shining eyes to talk about the trial in Shuntian Prefecture.
Jiangnan Li family! Jia Zhen's eyes flashed with cruelty, "Do we have anyone in Jiangnan?"
"have!"
Xing'er said hurriedly, "The several garrison officers over there have some relationship with our mansion and the West Mansion. This was prepared for Mr. Lin when the old master of the West Mansion was still alive."
"Write a letter! Write a letter to Lian Er."
If you dare to stretch your claws towards his house, I will peel off a layer of skin first.
Jia Zhen had long heard of the wealth of the salt merchants in the south of the Yangtze River, and this time he wanted Lian Er to make some money from them.
After the knock, there's still time for another hard one.
"Grind the ink quickly!"
Jia Zhen ordered the people who were carrying him to hurry up, "Don't let them get desperate."
With such a big commotion in the capital, the news must have spread. It would be difficult to deal with them if the other party felt that they could not afford to offend them and chose to join the Zhen family.
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(End of this chapter)
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