The head of the Red Mansion

Chapter 111 Begging for mercy
A strategy to subdue the Japanese pirates?!

What a brilliant strategy for dealing with Japanese pirates!

After seeing Jia Zheng off, Wang Ziteng's heart was in turmoil.

He never expected that the Shen family would come up with such a shameless plan to control the Japanese pirates, but if implemented... it would indeed be a good solution that would solve the problem once and for all.

hiss~
Wang Ziteng couldn't help but wonder about the possibility of the Wang family seizing a title.

The Wang family once controlled maritime affairs, and to this day, the story still circulates in their ancestral home of Jinling: the East Sea lacked a white jade bed, so the Dragon King came to invite the Wang family of Jinling.

Although the Wang family declined rapidly after the maritime ban, there were still many old family members in Jinling who had experience in sea voyages.

No, we have to bring all those people back.

Having decided on this point, Wang Ziteng shouted, "Someone come here!"

Just as he wanted to use this opportunity to restore the Wang family to its former glory, Jia Zheng, who was separated from the Wang family, was in an even worse mood.

My brother-in-law's behavior is strange.

He forgot that he was also a military officer. Military officers thrive on chaos, because if the world is peaceful, they have no room for advancement.

bang~
Inside the carriage, Jia Zheng slammed his hand on the small table. "Go to the Imperial Academy instead."

My in-law, Lord Li, is a civil official, and his son, Jia Zhu, is also quite resourceful. I'll go there first to see my son, and then I'll go find my in-law.

The carriage rolled forward, and Shen Ning, who had returned home from Rongguo Mansion, took a nap and finally saw her eldest son.

"Mother!"

Jia Zhen looked like he hadn't rested well, with dark circles under his eyes, but he was still in good spirits. "The Japanese pirates' ships are anchored at Tongzhou Wharf. My son has already ordered Xing'er to bring them back to our family. Later..."

How many boats are there?

Shen Ning was quite satisfied with Jia Zhen's keen insight.

After all, she sent him to Tongzhou, not Tianjin.

It's rare that he can come up with his own ideas when he notices something is wrong.

"One, please!"

Do you know how old you are?

"We don't know yet, but their horses were all pulled off the boat, so they must be quite large."

Treasure ships that travel by sea are never small; the smallest is at least 32 zhang (approximately 163 meters).

Their starting price is easily over ten thousand taels.

Their family has just struck gold!
"Send someone to find out immediately, and then..."

Shen Ning thought for a moment, "I'll present it to the Emperor."

Jia Zhen: "..."

"Do you think the government won't investigate where the Japanese pirates came from? Do you think you're the only one eyeing their ships?"

From Tongzhou to the capital, there are many people with more power and influence than the Jia family.

"Take the initiative and hand it over to the Emperor. You might get some money for your hard work, but if you wait any longer... you might get impeached by the censor."

"Mother……"

Jia Zhen was reluctant to part with her and was about to persuade her when a maidservant rushed over and reported, "Madam, Master, Steward Wang from the Prince of Nan'an's Mansion has arrived. He says he wants to see you and has something to discuss."

"Did you hear that? Where is the Prince of Nan'an?"

Shen Ning waved her hand, "They've already caught wind of this. If you don't want to be a stepping stone for someone else, hurry up."

"Well... my son is gone."

Jia Zhen, looking dejected, went to deceive the Prince of Nan'an's mansion.

Shen Ning sighed softly and said to Qing Ping, "Go, knock on the door of Ning'an Hall and ask Jiao Da if everything is ready."

"Yes!"

Qingping left in a hurry. Shen Ning leaned against the soft cushion and said, "My aunt will be bringing two children to the mansion tomorrow. Qingzhu, go and pick out a few nice sets of those small jewelry pieces that were made. I want to take a look."

Lin Chang'an's can be quite conventional, but for Xiao Daiyu's, she wants to choose it herself.

For a daughter, we can find another one later, but for Daiyu, she wants to give her the best right now.

"By the way, has the gold lock that you asked Goldsmith Luo to make been finished yet?"

Shen Ning commissioned the renowned goldsmith from the capital to make six gold locks, each with a blessing, ensuring that Xue Baochai would never bring up the gold locks.

"What a coincidence! When you went to the West Mansion, the manager of Hongyun Gold Shop sent over six gold locks."

Qingzhu went into the inner room and quickly brought over a large box. Inside were six cloisonné enamel and jade-inlaid boxes with gold locks. "Look, they are all very beautiful."

Shen Ning reached out and took one. "Hmm, it's very pretty."

Opening the cloisonné enamel and jade-inlaid box reveals an exquisite gold lock inside, with "May you enjoy lasting fortune and prosperity" on the front and "May you live as long as the Southern Mountain" on the back!
The handwriting was simple yet vigorous, as if it had grown naturally from the gold lock. Shen Ning liked it at first sight. "This has a good meaning. I'll give it to Miss Lin."

The little girl's body looks better than in the book.

However, Shen Ning felt that it was already quite good that the little girl hadn't been brought into the mansion lying down after traveling all the way from Jiangnan to the capital, and that a doctor hadn't been called immediately.

After all, at that time, the young Daiyu had already lost her brother and her mother, and was in the midst of mourning.

If it were any other child, following a strange cousin to their grandmother's house, a place they had never been before, they would also feel uneasy.

It's perfectly normal to have some imperfections on your face!
"Yes!"

Qingzhu and her maids clearly sensed that their mistress genuinely liked that cousin. "Then Madam, please choose another one for our young lady."

Shen Ning continued flipping through the pages, “This auspicious and wish-fulfilling one, with flowers in full bloom and a full moon, is for the eldest daughter of the Xi family.”

Although she's getting married, she's still a girl of their generation.

"May everything go smoothly and may your happiness be as boundless as the Eastern Sea for the Second Miss to welcome spring."

Jia She must have some affection for this daughter; surely he couldn't possibly sell her again?
Shen Ning decided to treat the little maid even better, so that Jia She would not dare to underestimate this daughter.

"May flowers bloom and bring wealth and good fortune to the third daughter."

Shen Ning was looking for her biological daughter, "Yes, may our home be prosperous and our children flutter about like butterflies."

There's one left. Keep it, and we can give it to whichever one they like later.

"You made a very good choice, madam."

Although it doesn't feel like everything is going perfectly and everyone is living a life of wealth and prosperity, well, my wife is smiling so happily when she sees this, so let's just leave it at that!
Anyway, the fourth daughter is still young, so she can't protest for the time being.

But what they didn't know was that the gift Shen Ning chose for Jia Yue was her greatest blessing to her.

In the Dream of the Red Chamber, this child never received any love from anyone, and therefore could not love anyone, eventually becoming a nun.

Here, she hopes her youngest daughter will have a harmonious family and a happy life!
……

At Shou Kang Palace, the retired emperor, the emperor, and Lord Dong tasted the salt that Jia Lian had just made, and they were all very excited.

Inferior, low-grade salt has been transformed into high-grade refined salt. The process looks simple, it's really great!
"Is there any particular technique to your control of the heat?"

When Dong Xiaoquan noticed that Jia Lian used a slightly different method when boiling the lowest grade of bitter salt, and after tasting the bitter salt he had previously prepared and finding that it was no longer bitter and should be classified as high-grade salt, he couldn't help but ask.

"Yes!"

Jia Lian couldn't explain the principle, so he followed his aunt's letter: "The reason this salt is bitter is because it contains a toxic substance, but it has a higher solubility than normal salt. So when you boil it again after dissolving it in water, you should scoop out the salt that has already settled before it precipitates out."

He paused for a moment, then added, "If we wait too long, the poison will settle like salt, and if we eat it, it will still taste bitter and be poisonous."

"I see!"

The retired emperor and the emperor exchanged a glance. Knowing this, it would be easier to have professionals study it. "Jia Lian, you've worked hard."

The old man was very pleased; this boy was down-to-earth. "Isn't the Ministry of War's Armory Department short of a lieutenant?"

He looked at the emperor's son.

The emperor nodded quickly, "Yes, the Imperial Warden Li's mother passed away last month, and he needs to return to his hometown to observe the three-year mourning period."

The Prince of Jin's men are watching closely.

Anyway, you can't steal his people.

"That's fine then. Go back and draft an edict." The Emperor Emeritus looked at Jia Lian with a smile and said, "Give this seat to Jia Lian!"

"Yes!"

"minister……"

When the Emperor looked at him with a smile, Jia Lian immediately knelt down and said, "Your subject Jia Lian thanks the Emperor Emeritus and Your Majesty for your great kindness. Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

So he really could become an official?
He was still an official with both money and leisure.

As a descendant of a military family, Jia Lian knew all too well how lucrative the Imperial Arsenal was.

"Get up quickly!" Prince Jin, who was held up by his mother, rushed over from afar and saw the Emperor personally helping Jia Lian up.

Seeing their smiling faces, he knew he was late.

But does that mean he has no other way?
The Prince of Jin approached with a smile. "Father!" He first bowed to the Emperor Emeritus, then cupped his hands to the Emperor. "Your Majesty, what's going on here?"

Hmm? It looks like salt.

He glanced at the plates, a strange feeling creeping over him. "Is this salt?"

"Hmm, it's salt, it's good salt."

The retired emperor was still smiling. After watching Dong Xiaoquan and Jia Lian finish paying their respects to Prince Jin, he said, "Lin Ruhai has done something great in Jiangnan that benefits the country and its people, a feat that will last for generations." He turned to the emperor and said, "You approved all his memorials that day, didn't you?"

"……Yes!"

The emperor was overjoyed.

He had been waiting for this day for a long time. “Lord Lin was chosen by Father and sent to Jiangnan,” he said, flattering his father sincerely. “He and Father are like a fine horse and its discerning judge. Fine horses are common, but discerning judges are rare. Your son… Your son still needs to learn from Father.”

"Hahaha~"

The retired emperor thought so too, but since it was his son who took the initiative to spread it, how could the history books possibly omit him?

The old man felt completely at ease and burst into laughter. "For an emperor, knowing how to use people effectively is the most important task." He then instructed his son, "Take Dong Xiaoquan for example. He's stubborn, ruthless, and has a sharp tongue. He also likes to take everything seriously. If you put him in the position of Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, even your brother Prince Jin would have to behave himself in front of him, hahaha..."

Prince Jin: “…”

Dong Xiaoquan: "..."

"Father, Lord Dong is going to get angry."

The emperor smiled, "Even his son is very obedient in his presence."

"Haha~ Hahaha~~~~"

"Father!"

Prince Jin stepped forward and said, “You mentioned Lord Dong. I just remembered something. There are thirty corpses displayed at the entrance of the Shuntian Prefecture government office. It is said that they were all brought back from Tianjin by the Jia family. The Jia family reported that they were Japanese pirates. But how did Japanese pirates end up in our capital?”

Furthermore, if the Jia family encountered bandits, shouldn't they have reported it to the authorities? How did they end up killing them themselves?

The key point is not the bandits and Japanese pirates, but that the Jia family actually committed murder in secret.

The Jia family members had long since stopped serving in the army, so what skills did they have to kill so many bandits?
Prince Jin hoped that the Emperor Emeritus and the Emperor would be more vigilant and not be deceived by the Jia family's outward appearance.

Prince Jin looked at Jia Lian, "You are a member of the Jia family, do you know what's going on here?"

"...Replying to Your Highness."

The Prince of Jin looked at him with malice.

Jia Lian's heart pounded, but he remained cautious. "Those people really are Japanese pirates. They are reinforcements invited by Li Haifeng, who is on the run from the Li family. They attacked us at the border of Tianjin and Cangzhou. We wanted to report them to the authorities, but under those circumstances, we couldn't spare any manpower!"

He recounted the events of that day when he encountered the bandits.

As for why Father and Brother Zhen rushed to pick her up, it was mainly because Aunt Min had been away from home for many years, and everyone in the family, from the old lady to the eldest aunt of the East Mansion, was very worried about her. In addition, someone from the Li family had escaped outside, so they were also worried and rushed to pick her up.

"So, there are still those Japanese pirate ships sailing around Cangzhou?"

The Prince of Jin was good at grasping the key points, and then asked him a question.

"Well... I'm not quite sure, but Your Majesty can send someone to investigate."

"That caravan that Li Haifeng was disguised as..."

The Prince of Jin asked with a playful look, "Where are they now?"

"Most of the goods in Li Haifeng's disguised caravan were shipped out of Tianjin to compensate all those who died or fought bravely against the enemy."

Jia Lian spoke frankly, “They are hunting us down, so we don’t have much stuff. There are a few valuable items that are hard to sell. Now, at the Tianjin government office, I…” He hesitated for a moment, “I bought a few coral rings and hairpins at cost price.”

He looked at the Emperor Emeritus and the Emperor with a wronged expression, "I bought it too cheaply, I..." He searched his body, "I am willing to make up the difference."

"What supplements? This is all you deserve."

The Emperor Emeritus's face turned cold. "A general in the field may disobey orders, Prince Jin. Don't you even understand this principle? If you had to ask for instructions on everything, how could our Great Zhao be what it is today?"

On that day, the four kings and eight dukes fought on separate fronts, all of which were decided by themselves.

"Li Haifeng's caravan is the spoils of war of the Jia family."

The reason he was able to fight so smoothly back then was because his father never cared about money.

When the country was in trouble, the four kings and eight dukes each did their part.

now……

The Emperor Emeritus's gaze was stern. "What? Does the Prince of Jin not want the Jia family to capture the Japanese pirates, but instead want the Japanese pirates to kill the descendants of our meritorious officials?"

How long has it been since Jia Zhen was assassinated?
The Jia family has withdrawn from the military.

Just as the Crown Prince said back then, the Jia family is the most trustworthy. Among the four princes and eight families, they withdrew from the army the cleanest.

Even if they were completely wiped out, Jia, a woman from a humble family, could still feel indignant about the Japanese pirates and offer her country a strategy to fight them.

This is the foundation of a family with a long history of military achievements.

If Shen hadn't seen and heard so much in the Jia family, how could she have known all that?
"My son doesn't dare!"

Prince Jin was so frightened that he knelt down on the spot, "Son...was wrong, Father, please calm down!"

"..."

The Emperor Emeritus looked at his son, his expression unwavering. "Since you know you've made a mistake, then return to your residence and reflect on your actions for three months."

Three months is enough time for the emperor to finalize the saltworks and the suppression of Japanese pirates.

"Go!"

"...Your subject takes his leave!"

The King of Jin was heartbroken and dejected as he got up and left.

Although he had always known that his father, the emperor, treated veteran officials well, Jia Lian was already someone else's grandson.

He is his beloved son.

How could it be like this?
"Jia Lian, you get up too."

The retired emperor looked at Jia Lian, who seemed somewhat frightened, and felt a deep sense of emotion.

The two branches of the Jia family, the Ning and Rong mansions, still support each other like their ancestors, a stark contrast to the imperial family...

The retired emperor felt a pang of pain in his heart, knowing that the emperor and the Prince of Jin were now just a facade.

In the imperial court, the Prince of Jin's men kept making things difficult for the emperor.

The other princes are all divided and act solely in their own self-interest, helping Prince Jin today and the Emperor tomorrow.

As for the Jia family, as always, even when they were not in the imperial court, Jia Lian was able to truthfully state and present the silver notes that the Li family had presented as tribute, which was quite remarkable.

"Dai Quan!"

"The slave is here."

“Take out the silver that Jia Lian offered in the palace and return it to him; it was earned through his own abilities.”

"The Supreme Emperor..."

Jia Lian had just stood up when he hurriedly knelt down again. "Your Majesty, please spare my life! If I take it home, not only will my father beat me, but my aunt will also beat me, and even my eldest aunt from the East Mansion will definitely punish me by sending me to the ancestral hall."

They really will knock him down.

“That day, after taking the silver and hitting someone, I went home and told my uncle. My uncle had already suggested that I hand it over to the national treasury, and I had also said so in front of the elders. If I take it home, you know, my father has never had such a good thing. He certainly wouldn't object to handing it over to the national treasury, but if I take it myself… he'll definitely be angry with me and find a way to beat me!”

His father is truly capable of such things.

Moreover, on the way back to the capital, Jia Lian felt that his father was looking at him with ill intent.

After all, when his aunt punished people, even his eldest brother, Zhu, had to kneel in the ancestral hall.

He was the only one who escaped.

"Your Majesty the Retired Emperor, Your Majesty, Your subject..."

"Pfft~"

Seeing how terrified he was, the Emperor couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Father, please spare him. As for Jia She... I've heard he's quite a scoundrel."

The Emperor Emeritus: "..."

The old man was speechless at Jia Lian's simple and earnest plea.

What do you mean by saying my dad never had such a good thing? He had no objection to handing it over to the national treasury, but he'd be beaten for taking it himself?
This kind of behavior...

hiss~
The Emperor Emeritus has a toothache; that's quite typical of the Jia family.