The head of the Red Mansion

Wang Ziteng thought that he would be fine once he drove Lu Kun away and returned what he owed, but he didn't expect that before he arrived, his brother had already offended Madam Shen and Jia Zhen from the Ningguo Mansion to the point of death.

Oops~
In the past, he would at most get angry and scold his younger brother, but not now!

"Are you a pig brain?"

While scolding his younger brother, he also glared hatefully at his stupid brother-in-law.

Both of them are idiots!
"What is Lu Kun anyway? Let alone the fact that they're not even officially in-laws yet, even if they were, there's a proper order of arrival."

His sister is stupid too.

Even though they know the Shen family is not to be trifled with, they still provoke them every time.

Wang Ziteng was furious with the three of them. "Your own sister and niece are right here. The Jia family is your proper in-law. Why are you protecting a so-called in-law you just met yesterday instead of protecting this side?"

He just can't move his legs, otherwise he would have jumped up and kicked him a few times already.

Are the Shen family members easy to mess with?
As the saying goes, a barking dog doesn't bite; just look at her strategies for dealing with the Japanese pirates, they're truly...

Wang Ziteng was both impressed and afraid. He always felt that if she were to target him, he might not even know how he died.

"Men, tie up the second master."

If he doesn't apologize for this mistake soon, Wang Ziteng feels like he won't be able to leave the house at all.

The case of the startled horse from last time has still not been solved. He suspects that his second brother must have offended someone like the Shen family somewhere, which led to this.

Otherwise, how come we couldn't find even the slightest clue?

Anyway, Wang Ziteng investigated his possible suspects but found nothing, so the problem must be with his second brother.

"Brother~"

Madam Wang instinctively stepped forward to stop him, saying, "Second Brother has only just recovered from his illness."

They escaped death.

"Tie me up, let him tie me up. If you're so capable, tie me up to death."

Wang Zisheng was furious. He felt that he had been implicated by his elder brother and had barely survived. Everyone in the family should give in to him. "Tie me up and see how you explain this to our parents."

Not only could he not explain it to his parents, but his son would also not forgive his elder brother.

"You say I don't care about my sister and Feng'er? How have I not cared? The Lu family is rich, and my family is powerful. Now that Lian'er is in the Armory, your return to the Capital Garrison is a done deal. Our family is rising in power. Jia Zhen is just a junior. Why can't he consider the bigger picture and give way to us?"

Wang Zisheng felt he was right. "He is the key to this case. As long as he is willing to go to Shuntian Prefecture to help close the case, it will be useless for the higher-ups to keep an eye on the Lu family."

We can't just rob someone alive.

"Brother, it's just a broken leg, how come you've lost all your wolfish spirit?"

Should we tie him up again?
Is the intention to tie him up and make him apologize to Jia Zhen?

Does Jia Zhen even deserve to be called a worthy person?

"No, I'll go find my in-law Lu right now."

The dowry was worth millions.

As he spoke, Wang Zisheng was about to leave.

"Stop right there, Wang Jin! What are you all standing there for?"

Wang Ziteng was furious. "Tie him up!"

Wang Jin and the others dared not delay any longer. They quickly grabbed the ropes they had brought and tied up the second master in no time.

"Brother, are you crazy?"

Wang Zisheng was so angry he almost cried. "Do you know how awful the things Shen Shi and Jia Zhen said today? They even forced my brother-in-law to go to the ancestral hall to reflect on his actions. If he didn't, they threatened to make him unilaterally sever ties with the Ningguo Mansion."

So there's such a thing as severing ties and going to the ancestral hall?
Wang Ziteng gasped for breath, "Give him a gag."

If you don't shut him up, his second brother will keep calling him that.

If he could, he would also like to throw him into the ancestral hall.

"Brother-in-law, let's go to the ancestral hall!"

Wang Ziteng looked at Jia Zheng, who seemed like a refined gentleman, and was also quite upset.

Everyone else kneels in the ancestral hall when they are young, but this brother-in-law is different. Everyone praised him when he was young, but now that he is quite old and the children are well-behaved, he still has to kneel in the ancestral hall at the drop of a hat. "This matter... is indeed your mistake."

Jia Zheng: "..."

He glanced at his unruly second brother-in-law, then at his eldest brother-in-law who looked like he had a headache, swayed slightly, and said nothing.

"Brother~"

Wang wanted to cry to her eldest brother, "It's always like this, how are we supposed to live? Can't we just do what my second brother said and let Jia Zhen help close the case?"

Their family has done this kind of thing many times before!
Why doesn’t it work now?

"As you know, Yuan Chun is about to marry the Marquis of Xinping, and Lian'er has grown up in our family since she was little. Let's have a word..."

"They're confused, and so are you."

Wang Ziteng gulped down several mouthfuls of tea. "Why was Yuan Chun able to marry the Marquis of Xinping? It was because of Shen Shi's help." Although the marriage wasn't of a very high rank, it wasn't too bad either. Shen Shi had put a lot of effort into her niece's affairs.

"Lian'er has only just taken office, and her position isn't even secure yet. As for me, my return to the capital seems like a sure thing, but I haven't actually gone back yet, have I? We're walking on thin ice, so how come you're all so arrogant just because we're here?"

Isn't that utter nonsense?

Wang Ziteng was furious with them. "Now that the Prince of Jin is under house arrest and the court is gradually stabilizing, it is the perfect time for the Emperor to work hard and govern the country. If you go to cause trouble at this time, you are courting death, and leading your entire clan to their doom."

As the saying goes, a barking dog doesn't bite.

Everyone says the emperor is just a puppet, a long-term laborer, but judging from his desire to recover the Hetao region, he also has absolute ambition.

The reason they appear weak is actually because they have learned from the lessons of the Crown Prince's past.

But the emperor persisted in upholding what he believed in.

They just did it so subtly and quietly.

As the retired emperor grew older, his energy waned. As long as the emperor didn't go too far, the court would likely turn a blind eye for the sake of stability.

Wang Ziteng has been staying at home lately, thinking about the two people mentioned above every day. It would be a lie to say he wasn't shocked.

However, he was also glad that he had discovered this.

"Second brother, it's not that I want to embarrass you or make things difficult for you."

Wang Ziteng patiently explained to the still unconvinced Wang Zisheng, "I just received news that the Imperial Guards are about to surround the Lu family. It's clear that it's either a matter of giving up money or risking your life." The fact that the Imperial Guards could be mobilized means the Emperor Emeritus must also support them. "Lu Kun has no choice at all. He wants to form a marriage alliance with our Wang family, and he's after Jia Zhen. However, with Shen Shi around, he absolutely cannot get anything out of Jia Zhen."

"Waaaaah~, waaaaah~~~"

“Brother, before you came, the Emperor Emeritus and the Emperor of Ningguo Mansion had already given gifts to Sister-in-law and Zhen’er.”

what?
Wang Ziteng felt a pang of resentment. "Then what are you waiting for? Do you want to twist someone's thigh with your own arm?"

What evil had he committed?

"Hurry up, go to the ancestral hall and apologize."

Wang Ziteng made the final decision: "You all need to be sincere."

"Woooooo~~"

Wang Zisheng wanted to argue, but Wang Ziteng suddenly smashed the cup not far in front of him.

A shard of porcelain flew up and grazed Wang Zisheng's eye, drawing out a lot of blood.

"Hurry~"

Wang Ziteng was extremely anxious, and Madam Wang hurriedly rushed over, shouting out the words her elder brother couldn't say in his haste, "Quickly, go and call the imperial physician."

……

At the same time, Shen Ning and Jia Zhen had just seen off the Emperor Emeritus and the Emperor's men when they were greeted by the idle Grandmother Jia.

"Let Zhen'er go and inform the ancestors at the ancestral hall."

The old lady was pleased and said, "Niece-in-law, keep this old woman company and talk to her."

"……OK!"

Shen Ning waved to Jia Zhen, helped the old lady up, and showed her the rewards for the day.

The retired emperor bestowed upon him a set of jade jewelry made in the imperial palace, along with two jade pendants and two sets of gold jewelry.

The Emperor bestowed many gifts, ranging from nourishing sea cucumbers, shark fins, bird's nests, cordyceps, and deer antlers to tea and thirty-eight kinds of desserts from the Imperial Kitchen—a whole host of things. The main point was that he was very enthusiastic, but it didn't involve any gold or silver.

Shen Ning suspected that the Emperor was still poor.

Moreover, they were so poor that they didn't even have a few coins on them.

So they used readily available items from the palace to do favors.

“These things don’t keep well, so Auntie, take whatever you like home with you.”

"Hmm, the almond Buddha's hand, crispy apple, and sesame biscuit are quite good."

Grandmother Jia used to eat this often when she went to the palace, but she hadn't seen it for many years. Now that she saw it again, her eyes were filled with joy.

In fact, when the royal family bestowed gifts, they did not care about the amount of gold or silver, but rather about the dignity of the gift.

Especially since the emperor's gifts may seem worthless, they represent his affection for the emperor.

“This,” Shen Ning pointed to the other side of the pastries, “this braised pork glutinous rice cake, red bean paste cake, coconut cup, and mandarin duck roll, I remember you loved to eat these too, Auntie.”

"Haha, then I'll take half."

Grandmother Jia was very pleased.

Although she has two daughters-in-law, even they might not be as generous as her niece-in-law when they receive rewards.

Moreover, when Shen received the reward, she did not act smugly in front of her, but remained as filial as before.

"Qingzhu, pack a portion of the bird's nest and sea cucumber for the old lady as well. Also, take two pieces of each of the pastries to Ningxi Pavilion. Send the rest to the First Madam of the West Mansion in the same way." "Yes!"

Qingzhu busied herself leading the maids in their work.

However, when Grandmother Jia heard that there were eldest daughters-in-law but no second daughters-in-law, she remembered that Shen Shi and Jia Zhen had gone to Pear Fragrance Courtyard and asked her to go as well. She paused for a moment and thought, "Did Wang Shi make you angry again?"

"Hmm~"

Shen Ning nodded straightforwardly.

"You're the sister-in-law."

When Grandmother Jia saw her expression, she couldn't help but laugh. "If you want to punish someone, just do it. Why do you need to call me?"

She was willing to give her that power.

Moreover, the old lady didn't believe that Shen Ning, in her anger, would care about her and not punish her second daughter-in-law.

She dared to strip Jing'er of her Taoist robe and splash tea all over Zheng'er's face right in front of her. What else wouldn't she dare to do?
"Can not be done!"

Shen Ning helped the old lady sit down on the chair and said, "I'm not only angry with my second sister-in-law, but Zhen'er and I are also angry with my second brother."

"Ah~"

The old lady took the tea offered to her and sighed, "I don't know how Zheng'er turned out to be like this."

He's not even as good as She'er.

If it weren't for the fact that Min'er, Yuan Chun, Zhu'er, and Bao Yu were all so good, the old lady would have suspected that she had corrupted them.

"Maybe I spoiled her too much back then!"

But back then he was just a child, while she and the Duke were in their prime.

What about now?
The Duke and his elder brother have both passed away.

One misfortune after another befell her family. If it weren't for a bit of luck, and if Shen hadn't taken precautions, her Min'er, grandson, and granddaughter might all be gone.

“If he makes a mistake, you can just hit him and punish him. I will never say a word of ‘no’.”

My daughter has been talking with me these past few days, and we've even checked out the school.

“Yesterday, your sister Min told me that once it’s not so hot, she’ll let Chang’an go to the clan school.”

The old lady also thought about some things. "I was thinking that when Chang'an goes to the clan school, I would have Baoyu go with him."

She kept it at home for two reasons: first, she was afraid of spoiling the child again; second, she was afraid that her second son and his wife would treat the child badly again because of that jade.

"Zheng'er and his wife are both troublesome. They treat Baoyu like a stepfather and stepmother."

But can we blame the child?

It was clearly the Wang family who committed this evil deed.

“Sure, if others can endure hardship, our kids can too.”

Especially Baoyu.

Shen Ning had always wanted to send him to school.

"Although the 'bitter memories and sweet taste' meal was hard to eat, you haven't heard of any child getting sick from it, have you? Moreover, since the reform of the clan school, the number of times the children have taken sick leave has decreased by two-thirds."

Children should run and jump around, releasing all their pent-up energy. No matter how heavy their studies are, they won't have time to get involved in all sorts of messy things.

"We'll send the two cousins ​​to school together later. Once Baoyu sees his second brother and sister-in-law less, things might gradually get better."

This whole family doesn't know how to teach children.

It might be better to be guided by a teacher in a classroom.

"I hope so!"

The old lady looked at Shen Ning and said, "What stupid thing have Zheng'er and his wife done this time? Tell me."

"...Then promise me you won't get angry."

"rest assured!"

The old lady laughed, "Your auntie knows better how to take care of herself than you do."

When the Duke passed away, he told her that she should live a long life and that things would gradually get better for the family once the grandchildren grew up.

Just as her daughter said, as long as she, the Duchess of the highest rank, is alive, even if the Jia family falls into decline, it will still be the Duke's Mansion.

So the old lady is very good at taking care of herself.

If there's nothing fun to be had, she'll find something to have fun with.

He was happy every day, eating and drinking as he pleased, unlike Shen, who would take an extra half-circle around the garden after eating a little more.

Grandmother Jia strongly suspects that Shen Ning reduced the amount of food served in the mansion mainly because she dared not eat too much, fearing that she would not be able to resist the temptation.

Even if a meal consists of three or four dishes and a soup, no matter how delicious it is, after a few bites, it's just so-so, and you won't overeat.

"You said it yourself!"

Although Shen Ning wanted Yuan Chun to have a peaceful marriage, she couldn't stop Jia Zheng from making trouble time and time again!

In the novel *Dream of the Red Chamber*, the crime of rigging up property and engaging in litigation is mentioned.

If this point isn't controlled from top to bottom, and something else happens, it certainly won't just be Jia Zheng's family that suffers.

Besides, what did Li Wan and Tan Chun do wrong?
They were also inextricably linked to Jia Zheng and Lady Wang.

Therefore, Shen Ning still prefers to keep the couple in check.

"Do you still remember when Yue'er turned one month old, Jia Qin was arrested by the God of Wealth Gambling House and forced to pay back the money?"

"Remember!"

I'll never forget this in my lifetime.

Leaving aside the stupid things the son and daughter-in-law did, the incident itself was extremely bad.

As the pillar of the Jia family, Grandmother Jia knew that on such an important day, the God of Wealth Gambling House's actions were a slap in the face to everyone in the Jia family.

So when Shen angrily changed the clan rules, she didn't utter a sound.

"Could it be that Zheng'er went to the gambling den?"

If that happens...

The old lady was in a dilemma.

No matter how badly Er'er performed his official duties, he was still an official at least.

With that official around, the second wife wouldn't have been reduced to a commoner.

"His hands and feet are hard to cut off, so you can have someone cut off Wang's!"

Shen Ning: "..."

She didn't expect that the old lady would give her a solution immediately after just frowning slightly.

So no matter what, the son is still family, and the daughter-in-law will take as much blame as she can.
"no!"

Shen Ning quietly exhaled a breath of stale air and said, "We've found the assassin who tried to kill Zhen'er back then, and the other party has a close relationship with the God of Wealth Gambling House." She quickly told them everything about the underground passage and Lu Kun's apology and silver offerings. She and her son felt that the silver was too much, and they told them about Jia Zhen's entry into the palace.

Grandmother Jia had no idea there was so much going on.

Twenty-two hundred thousand taels of silver!

But thinking about Jia Zhen, Shen Shi, and Xiao Yue'er's fate... the old lady calmed down.

No matter how much money you have, it's not as good as having a good life!

If the Li family could secretly frame the Jia family, then the Lu family is most likely connected to the assassin.

The steward who went to Shuntian Prefecture to turn himself in was most likely a scapegoat pushed out by the Western God of Wealth.

"...Lu Kun knew things were not going well, so he went to the Prince of Jin's residence first. The Prince of Jin was under house arrest, so he probably didn't pay any attention to him. But Lu Kun inquired about our family's connections and then arranged to become related to the Second Master Wang through marriage, wanting to give his daughter to Wang Ren as a concubine."

She paused for a moment, then continued, "You know Master Wang the Second, he's the most shameless and the kind of person who won't get up early for nothing."

Shen Ning recounted how Jia Zheng had summoned Jia Zhen and how the other party had presented gifts. "After reviewing the gift list yesterday, I had someone inquire about it. The God of Wealth usually presents gifts with silver. However, Master Wang Er, along with him, only gave Brother Zheng a chicken-blood stone seal. He spoke up for the other party because of that chicken-blood stone seal."

"..."

Grandmother Jia's face twitched.

The anger in his eyes gradually intensified.

That second son is incredibly stupid.

While everyone else was causing trouble at his niece's full-month celebration, he was still blinded by a chicken-blood stone seal.

Does the Rongguo Mansion lack official seals?
There are several pieces of Tianhuang stone.

The most despicable one is Prince Sheng. He is called the brother-in-law, but does he show any respect for his brother-in-law?
The old lady was shrewd and experienced; one could imagine how much favor Wang Zisheng had received from Lu Kun, and how she had gossiped about her second son.

Otherwise, my niece-in-law wouldn't have kept emphasizing that bloodstone seal.

Grandmother Jia was also furious.

“Aunt, my second brother Zheng is so easily swayed, it’s really time we had to stop him.”

Shen Ning said, "So this time, I gave him two options: one is to go to the ancestral hall to reflect on his actions, and the other is to sever ties with our Ningguo Mansion."

Jia Mu: "..."

They're not even going to fight anymore?
The old woman's eyes couldn't help but plead.

"...Aunt, it's not that I want to give up on my second brother Zheng, I'm just really scared."

Shen Ning sighed, "For the sake of saving face and maintaining good relationships, Second Brother Zheng isn't even protecting his own nephew. Who knows if he'll take on any wrongdoing just because someone says a few nice words, or use the Jia family's name card to take on lawsuits for others?"

This?
The old woman's heart trembled uncontrollably. (End of Chapter)