The head of the Red Mansion

Chapter 168: Capture
At Ningguo Mansion, in Shen Ning Courtyard, Jia Zhen was still very uneasy.

He paced back and forth in frustration, finally saying, "Mother, how can you believe in Wang Ziteng?"

That's a shameless and untrustworthy scoundrel.

It was agreed that the Jia family would support him in taking over military affairs in the capital, and he would unconditionally stand behind the Jia family. But after the Jia family helped him rise to power, what did he do? He became greedy and wanted everything the Jia family had in the army, which ultimately harmed his aunt's family.

How can you trust someone like that?
"...Or what?"

Shen Ning calmly replied with four words.

Jia Zhen paused in his steps.

"First of all, you have to believe that Wang Ziteng is a smart man."

It's often easier to get along with smart people.

Everyone knows exactly what they want.

"Although he has no son, the Wang family is quite large."

People in this era valued clan.

There are many instances where clan law supersedes national law.

"He won't trade the entire Wang family for my life with the Japanese."

Shen Ning said, "Even if he really wants our lives, he will only do it in another way."

If the use of Japanese people is discovered, not only will Prince Teng be disgraced, but the entire Wang family will be ruined.

Wang Ziteng wouldn't be that stupid.

Putting all that aside, Shen Ning was also more inclined to believe in Wang Ziteng's courage and integrity as a military officer when dealing with foreign affairs.

“Zhen’er, instead of guarding against Wang Ziteng, you’d be better off keeping an eye on the people around your second uncle.”

In this era, many men felt that their wives and concubines were harmonious and enjoyed the pleasures of having multiple wives, completely unaware of the fierce competition between them.

They believe that if a child is lost, another can be born.

If he can't have more children, there are younger ones who can have them for him.

I have no idea to what extent a mother can do for her child.

Even though Aunt Zhou in Dream of the Red Chamber seemed like an invisible person who never did anything in her life, Shen Ning still felt uneasy when she saw her.

"...Son...I understand."

The servants around Uncle Zheng were all servants of the Jia family.

Jia Zhen felt pretty good, but since his mother had said that, he would just pay more attention.

"Alright, nothing serious is wrong here."

Shen Ning shooed him away, "Go to the West Mansion and find your Uncle She. Talk to him about the security issues of the two mansions. Although it's not feasible to establish more guards in the West Mansion, it's not a problem to send more people over to study with Jiao Da. We can't keep borrowing people from here every time something happens."

"Yes! Son will be right there."

Several people from Xifu have already come here to follow Jiao Da.

But they must first follow Lian Erdi.

They couldn't care less about the safety of the manor or about Zhu'er's situation.

Jia Zhen left in a hurry. At this time, no one knew that Wang Ziteng had already circled around Zhengyang Street several times.

“Stop!”

He got off the bus at the intersection, lifted the hem of his coat, and went straight to knock on the door of the house he was most suspicious of.

"Who?"

An old woman's voice.

Judging from the noise inside, she was slowly coming over to open the door.

"Auntie! Can I have a drink of water?"

what?
The old woman inside was slightly taken aback, but seeing the five of them looking tall and imposing, she didn't dare to refuse. "There's water, there's water! Zhu Zi, quick, bring a jug of water. A passerby is asking for water."

"coming."

The man named Zhuzi was about thirty years old and had an honest and kind appearance. He came over hurriedly, carrying a large teapot, saying, "Come, come, brothers, have some water."

He brought only a rough porcelain bowl, filled it to the brim, and said, "Brother, would you like to go first?"

As he spoke, he handed the water to the most imposing Prince Teng, while secretly glancing at a group of soldiers who had just patrolled past. Seeing them, he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

This one action alone made Wang Jin want to back out.

This family couldn't possibly be Japanese.

Not only were the people from Shuntian Prefecture searching this street, but the people from the Five Cities Garrison were also searching it.

He felt that no matter how bold the Japanese were, they wouldn't live here.

"Thank you!"

Wang Ziteng drank the water, thanked him, and handed the bowl to Wang Jin.

Wang Jin didn't dare to delay and quickly stretched out his bowl to wait for the water to be poured.

"Brother, what's going on today? All the people who used to sell water at their stalls have disappeared."

"Ah? You don't know?"

Zhu Zi, his voice brimming with gossip, said, "Last night, a house in Shuntian Prefecture caught fire. While everyone was busy putting out the fire, Lord Dong was assassinated. It's said that the assassin was a Japanese. Those Japanese, because of his so-called 'anti-Japanese' policy, were determined to kill him."

"Are the Japanese really that bold?"

Wang Ziteng looked at the pillar with disbelief, then at the old lady.

"Sigh! Who knows?"

The old lady sighed, "Lord Dong is a good official."

The mother and son didn't look like Japanese people at all, much less like spies.

Wang Jin and his three guards all felt they could retreat.

But Wang Ziteng didn't. Instead, he took the teapot from Zhu Zi's hand and poured water himself, saying, "Then how can you be so sure they are Japanese?"

“I heard what they said,” Zhu Zi blurted out, “that their weapons and martial arts techniques are quite different from ours.”

"Oh~"

Wang Ziteng nodded. "Is that so?"

He chopped at it with a chop to the neck.

With a 'whoosh,' the speed was astonishing.

Although it's a hand chop, anyone skilled in martial arts can tell that even though it has no sharp edge, it can still cut through stone and crack bricks.

Zhu Zi was shocked and almost instinctively leaned back.

However, Wang Ziteng changed his move midway through the attack. He stepped forward and changed his strike from the neck to a direct slash at the abdomen.

Not only that, his right foot was also poised to strike, and his murderous intent was as unstoppable as a tiger descending the mountain.

Everything happened so fast. Just as the old lady was about to cry out for Zhu Zi, Wang Jin's hand covered her mouth.

Their master has already taken action, so they can't just sit idly by no means.

Zhu Zi couldn't care less about the old lady; he was facing a life-or-death situation.

As he leaned back, his body tilted slightly, and while one hand braced himself on the ground, the other foot had already kicked out.

Call ~
The air seemed to explode from his kick; the force was terrifying.

But who exactly is Wang Ziteng?

With a slight turn of the body, the hand shifted from a strike to a grab.

Although the opponent's footwork was fast, he still managed to grab him quickly in a grab and pull.

Knowing something was wrong, Zhu Zi leaped up, using the momentum to thrust forward, his hands transforming into blades, attempting to sandwich Wang Ziteng's head between them.

The scene changed so quickly that it was unexpected.

Seeing that the pillar had revealed his martial arts skills, and that several large knives had suddenly flown out of the carriage, the old woman dared not harbor any more illusions.

These people were determined to kill them.

Although they didn't know what they had done to offend anyone, if they didn't fight back, they would be doomed.

Even if there are soldiers just a hundred feet away, by the time they arrive to rescue them, it will be enough for the enemy to kill them several times over.

That wasn't the main point; they all vaguely sensed that these men had the air of bandits and soldiers about them.

When a thief encounters soldiers... naturally, the instinctive feeling is that he has been exposed, and he panics.

In an instant, the old woman disregarded the pillar, reached out with her right hand to her leg, and thrust a gleaming dagger straight at Wang Jin.

At the same time, more than a dozen willow-leaf throwing knives were shot out of the room one after another.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh~~~~~
The three guards who had just received the broadswords disregarded everything else and hurriedly stepped forward, swinging their broadswords to slash down the flying knives with a series of clangs.

"Where do you think you're going, you Japanese!"

Wang Ziteng knew he had brought too few people, but he had no regrets.

In official circles, when he ate meat, he always made sure others had a bowl of soup.

Otherwise, his precise location of the Japanese might have led some to suspect him of colluding with them.

Therefore, this shout was extremely precise. Upon hearing that it was a Japanese soldier, the surrounding patrol soldiers disregarded everything else and charged forward.

Their martial arts skills were lacking, but their teamwork was unique.

The patrolling soldiers, in particular, were in groups of six, each armed with two swords, two crossbowmen, and two muskets. They were capable of both close-range and long-range attacks, and their firepower was considerable. If they went forward at this time, it would be virtually impossible for the Japanese to escape.

Last night, in particular, they injured four of their accomplices.

Within fifteen minutes, all nine people in the room were captured.

When the news reached Shuntian Prefecture, Dong Xiaoquan immediately sat up in bed.

He was injured, but not as seriously as the rumors suggested.

Can……

"They're hiding at the street corner?"

Dong Xiaoquan was so angry that he spat out words. "What are you all good for?"

The key point is that it was actually Prince Teng, who was unemployed at home, who first discovered those Japanese.

Where does that leave him with his old face?
Where would the Shuntian Prefecture government put its face?
If word gets out, he...

"Tell me, how did Prince Teng discover this?"

"Just look at his hands, the calluses on that guy called Pillar's hands are just like ours, secondly..."

As Wang Ziteng slowly walked in, he said, "Secondly, the room was recently fumigated with mugwort, and there was a strong smell of ginger. On the surface, it seemed like the old lady was doing moxibustion, but there is also the possibility that it was to cover up the smell of blood."

"..."

Dong Xiaoquan frowned. "Isn't Lord Wang afraid of killing the wrong person?"

"Those who haven't practiced martial arts will naturally be too slow to react."

Wang Ziteng smiled and said, "If I can take action, I can also back down."

"So the other party was instinctively protecting themselves?"

"Yes!"

"Hahaha, congratulations, Lord Wang! And thank you, Lord Wang, for helping our Great Zhao defeat these Japanese."

As Dong Xiaoquan bowed in thanks, news of the Japanese being captured quickly spread throughout the capital.

……

At Ningguo Mansion, Shen Ning and Jia Zhen both had complicated expressions when they heard Xing'er say that the Japanese were captured by Prince Teng.

"What is the Shuntian Prefecture doing? The Japanese are right under their noses, how can they..."

"uncle!"

Xing'er hurriedly said, "This servant has inquired and found out that the family used to sell mutton soup. The old couple only had one daughter, and they married a son-in-law. It is said that the son-in-law is capable and filial. They had been married for two years but still had no children. When the family of four went to burn incense outside the city, an accident happened. The old man died, the old woman became paralyzed, and their daughter was frightened and became mentally impaired after developing a fever. So the son-in-law brought his mother over to help take care of her, and then the whole family gradually came."

The neighbors all say that they are good people, taking great care of the old lady and her mentally challenged daughter-in-law.

Especially the two brothers who came; they even went to work as镖师 (bodyguards/couriers) to help the son-in-law support his entire family.

Shen Ning: "..."

Jia Zhen: "..."

"Because of these reasons, no one has ever suspected their family."

Xing'er added, "Besides, Lord Dong has only been transferred from the Censorate to Shuntian Prefecture for three years. How could he have imagined that this family had problems?"

If it weren't for Lord Wang, who would have thought that the Japanese were from that family?

Shen Ning understood his unfinished meaning and couldn't help but sigh, "Now, even if Prince Teng can't return to the capital garrison, the Emperor will surely make other arrangements for him."

In the eyes of those in power, sometimes a person's character doesn't matter at all.

What he wanted were loyal and capable ministers.

Wang Ziteng could barely be considered one.

"Mother, do you think he planned to go find the Japanese?"

"probably!"

"That……"

Jia Zhen wanted to ask, how could he be so sure it was that family?

But considering that he once served as the military governor of the capital, a map of the capital must have been hanging in his house.

It was as if that map had once hung in his house.

Back then, his grandfather and father could send people to arrest people with just a map.

"What?"

Shen Ning looked at her eldest son and said, "If Wang Ziteng didn't have some ability, he wouldn't be able to sit in your grandfather's seat."

Although they didn't sit there for long, someone got in.

In the novel *Dream of the Red Chamber*, he was ordered to inspect the border regions, and was subsequently promoted to Inspector General of Nine Provinces, eventually becoming a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet. On his way back to the capital to take up his post, he fell ill and was killed by a single dose of medicine.

Such a high-ranking official, killed by a single dose of medicine...

It is evident that even though Prince Teng did not have complete control of the Beijing Garrison at that time, the emperor was still afraid that he would cause trouble.

They transferred him away, promoted him again, and then, at the height of his success, crushed him...

Shen Ning sighed inwardly, "Zhen'er, never underestimate others. You should know that when you underestimate others, it may be the time when you are not far from death."

"...Son knows."

Jia Zhen left with a heavy heart.

Similarly, Jia Zhu next door was also feeling very heavy-hearted.

My eldest uncle is a capable man.

But the two families have already fallen out.

after……

Jia Zhu couldn't help but sigh.

"uncle!"

Li Wan brought him a cup of tea, saying, "Don't worry about your uncle's matter."

there is always a solution to a problem.

"Even if he is reinstated, even for the sake of his reputation, he won't do anything to the Jia family."

This?
It is true.

But Jia Zhu sighed again, "If my father hadn't been so muddle-headed, even if my uncle was ambitious, he wouldn't have dared to be so blatant."

That way, their two families can maintain their kinship relationship because of each other's interests.

"Fine, let's leave it at that!"

Jia Zhu tried to rouse herself, saying, "There's no need to tell Mother about this."

My parents are both extremely unreliable.

He couldn't help but worry.

"I know."

Li Wan's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly nodded.

My mother-in-law is such a troublemaker.

"When delivering meals today, Madam slapped Aunt Zhou again."

Li Wan said, "Master, Madam is always like this..."

"Then let the little maid deliver it."

Jia Zhu was very annoyed. "If all else fails, we'll find a fierce-looking old woman to deliver it."

He thought Aunt Zhou was quite nice.

She took very good care of her father.

He does everything personally.

My mother is really going too far by bullying people like this.

"Okay, I'll talk to her tomorrow."

Li Wan would not offer any advice to either her parents-in-law.

If things go wrong, she will not only be disliked by both sides, but she will also alienate Jia Zhu from her.

“Go and talk to her now.”

Jia Zhu said, "Let's go to Father and talk to her. It's good that Father can hear it too."

The father was determined to punish the mother.

Anyway, if he's having a hard time, his mother shouldn't expect to have one either.

My mother is like this...

Then let's go along with Father's wishes.