The head of the Red Mansion

Looking at the dishes on the table that were almost finished, Wang's lips twitched slightly.

She didn't compete with Jia Zheng for the last two bites.

Jia Zheng is in better health than her, so he should eat more.

"My lord, we've been husband and wife for so many years, how can you bear to watch me die?"

Wang made one last effort: "I really can't go on without taking the medicine. Please share the medicine the old lady gave me with me, so I can at least get through this."

slap~
Jia Zheng slammed his chopsticks on the table. "Wang Shi, do you know what you're saying? What do you mean by 'the old lady gave you the medicine'? Did the old lady hand it over to you? Do you really think that just because you cook a meal, I'll forget everything?"

He pointed to the plate of food with a little soup left on the table, "What did I eat before, sir? What do I eat now?"

At this point, Jia Zheng's eyes turned red with anger. "It's either too salty, too bland, or the taste is just wrong."

He's like a pig eating swill now.

But I won't eat it...

Going to the toilet is too difficult.

After suffering several hardships, Jia Zheng started to eat whatever he could find.

Especially now that my body has suffered so much, I need to eat well to make up for it.

"I've been cooking for so long, and you still can't cook well. What am I supposed to do with you?"

Now he can cook, and he can manage to make the dishes, albeit with some difficulty.

Although it was either too salty or too bland, at least it was still usable.

"...Can you blame me if the taste is wrong?"

Wang realized that the man she had shared a bed with for so many years was truly hoping for her death.

ho~
Wang sneered inwardly, but put on a wronged expression. "We only bought so little cabbage. If we don't mix in some dried wild vegetables, are we supposed to eat nothing but dried wild vegetables for our next meal?"

Dried wild vegetables don't taste good; they're bitter and astringent.

But it's so cheap that many farm children dig it up in large quantities during the spring and summer.

In years of famine, it can be eaten as a vegetable or as a staple food.

Although it doesn't taste good, it can save your life.

When she and Jia Zheng first moved here, they didn't have much money, and since vegetables were too expensive in winter, they bought a lot of dried wild vegetables.

Some time ago, Jia Zheng earned some money, so they ate less.

But now...

I'm out of money again!
The Shen family took all their money.

She knew perfectly well how important the silver and the ox were to them, yet she still took them away.

Wang did not appreciate her kindness.

She even suspected that Shen was doing it on purpose.

She pretended to bring Zhu'er over, claiming that she had saved their lives so that Zhu'er wouldn't hate her, the old lady wouldn't resent her, and Baoyu and Yuanchun would treat her like their mother.

But in fact?
Doesn't Madam Shen know how ruthless the old lady is?

Would the old lady and Jia Zheng be willing to give her such a small amount of medicine?

Haha~
They conspired together to drive her to her death!
She's dead, so Jia Zheng will be happy, right?

Stop dreaming.

If she dies, Jia Zheng will not live either.

They died together, and her daughter only had to observe three years of mourning.

"So you just have to talk back to me, huh?"

Did Jia Zheng not know about the situation at home?
He glared at Wang and angrily rebuked her, "Why did you mix in dried wild vegetables? Don't I earn enough money to buy vegetables?"

You can buy meat, lots and lots of meat.

Even if you only eat chicken every day, you can eat it for several days.

"You good-for-nothing..."

Jia Zheng was so angry that he wanted to hit her.

He gets screwed over by this woman no matter where he goes!

"She harms her husband and children."

Jia Zheng gritted his teeth and said, "If I were you, I would have no face to live in this world long ago. There is a river and a pond to the west, and there is no cover there. There is a hemp rope in the kitchen. You can tie it with a stool."

Wang: "..."

She stared blankly at Jia Zheng, tears falling from her eyes.

Heaven is my witness, she never intended to harm Jia Zheng or her children.

She tried her best to plan for them.

Wang wiped away her tears. "Now you blame everything on me? Who did I do it for? The title isn't yours. I tried so hard to please the old lady. All three of my children were taken away by her right after they were born. I'm not sad..."

"How many wealthy families aren't like this?"

Jia Zheng found her unreasonable.

His older brother was also taken away by his grandmother at birth.

"Besides, you stay home with the old lady every day, so you can see the children, right?"

What's the difference between this and her raising it herself?
"Is it wrong for the old lady to feel sorry for me and value my child?"

Jia Zheng roared, "If I really entrusted you with raising them, what kind of character would they turn out to be?"

The women of the Wang family...

Next time Lian'er comes to see him, he must tell her to be wary of the women from the Wang family.

If you can't bear to let her rest, then let her live in a small Buddhist shrine and never let her come out to see anyone for the rest of her life.

“My pearl…you have ruined it all.”

I was supposed to be able to take the exam this year!
Now everyone in the Jia family looks down on him, isn't it just because their second branch of the family doesn't hold any official positions?
His official position...

Jia Zheng felt sorry for him because he hadn't done a good job as an official in the past.

His elder brother schemed to suppress him.

They finally stripped him of his official position.

Once the official is gone, they can deal with him with renewed confidence.

If the official were still alive, who would throw him here?

"Get out, get away from me, I don't want to see you right now."

Enraged, Jia Zheng pointed at Wang and told her to get out.

"...I'll go wash the dishes."

Wang felt the pain in her abdomen was still lingering, so as soon as she finished washing the dishes and boiling water, she made herself a large bowl of ginger and brown sugar water.

I've heard that rat poison usually takes about half an hour to take effect.

She has to stay home and watch over things.

Fortunately, they are in poor health now, and Jia Zheng may not realize that she has drugged them.

Wang's stomach began to cramp slightly, but she tried to hold it in and boiled a large pot of water. It wasn't a good time to take a bath, but she could still wipe herself down.

……

In the capital, even ordinary people are discussing the day's events at court.

Legend has it that Imperial Censor Xiang walked to court and was carried off the court, along with another person who was carried off the court with him.

In court, he spoke at length about those not of our race, saying that their hearts must be different.

It is said that after the old servant took over Liaodong, he first killed the poor and then the rich. After two massacres, only two out of ten Han Chinese in Liaodong survived.

Those who survived were either leatherworkers, carpenters, tailors, or actors and performers.

After the Qing army entered the pass, it goes without saying what happened next.

Wherever it goes, whose house remains intact?

The stains of blood and tears are still there, so why should the Great Zhao help them?

They should be killed, killed, killed until peace and tranquility prevail.

Keeping them alive will cause unrest for countless wronged souls and unrest for the people.

Xiang Li launched into a tirade in the imperial court, accusing anyone of killing prisoners of war of being an ominous sign. He claimed they were descendants of the surrender faction from back then, and his insults escalated to include his ancestors, his entire clan, and eventually, even questioning his lineage.

You should know that even the wife of their strategist, Mr. Fan, was once stolen.

Anyway, the emperor had a great time today.

He sat upright on the throne, his eyes shining.

I suddenly really like Lord Xiang, who was transferred back to the capital from the countryside.

However, keeping Suo Jin and others in check and securing Mongolia is the current national policy.

The only thing to do is shout loudly and quickly pull him back when he is about to die trying to stop himself from hitting the pillar.

The fact that ordinary people can participate in discussions today is mainly due to the fact that he had palace servants spread the word.

He wanted to make Suo Jin and his ilk increasingly afraid.

Then give them a sweet date.

Anyway, he'll try it out since he'll be obedient from now on.

unruly……

With Imperial Censor Xiang's remonstrance to the death as a foundation, there's no way he'll lose out.

In fact, the people from the Huitong Hall had the most detailed information. After hearing it, Suo Jin and the others couldn't even eat lunch.

Their journey to seek help wasn't like this at the beginning. When Woshe arrived, he didn't expect it to turn out this way, and neither did they.

now……

"Your Highness, Prince Zhongshun has arrived."

The guards rushed in with an urgent report.

Suo Jin and the other two dared not delay and hurriedly went out to greet them.

……

In the Rongguo Mansion, Grandmother Jia's right eyelid was twitching particularly badly.

She couldn't help but call for Granny Lai again.

This morning, she called Granny Lai, but they couldn't come to a conclusion.

A twitching left eye means good fortune, while a twitching right eye means bad luck!

The old lady always felt that keeping Wang Shi around was a disaster.

But to take action...

"You've seen Pearl's place, what do you think of her now?"

If it weren't for the worry that her eldest grandson couldn't handle it, the old lady would have wanted to send Granny Lai on another trip right away.

This time, it was she, as the mother-in-law, who dealt with Wang Shi alone.

“I think the master has come to terms with it,” said Granny Lai. “Didn’t the royal physician Wang, whom we invited, say that with proper rest and recuperation, he will get better?”

"Ah~"

The old lady sighed, "My right eyelid has been twitching all day."

Granny Lai: "..."

She sighed as well, but said nothing more.

To be honest, Granny Lai was secretly pleased that the Second Master Jia Zheng and the Second Madam had ended up like this.

So what if you're high and mighty?
Even now, we still have to earn our own living.

"Do you think there's still something going on with Zheng'er?"

"Second Master?"

Granny Lai frowned slightly. "The Second Master and Second Madam have caused such a huge disaster. They should behave themselves for a few days."

The Wang family will probably cause trouble again.

However, she could cause trouble anywhere else...

Granny Lai wasn't entirely sure.

It's none of her business anyway.

She listens to the old lady in everything.

"If you're worried, you might as well inquire about the Wang family again. See if they've gone to the Second Madam's place."

Granny Lai said, "If you're still not at ease, have the servant go again, or tomorrow, this old servant will go over there to take a look."

She said she was going to take a look that morning.

But the old lady was worried that the master would misunderstand, and also worried that if the eldest wife of the East Mansion found out, she would be heartbroken, so she didn't let her go.

Granny Lai knew very well that the old lady was old and the second master was not at home, so she could only rely on the master. Therefore, she was very considerate of the master's opinions now.

As for the eldest wife of the East Mansion…

Granny Lai dared not utter a single word about her.

The old lady values ​​the master, but she values ​​the first wife of the East Mansion even more.

As a servant, if she dared to say anything...

Granny Lai suspected that she would never be able to enter the Rongguo Mansion again.

The monthly pension might very well be embezzled by some manager.

Just like what her son and nephew used to do.

Now her eldest grandson, Lai Shangrong, is also studying.

They should have gone to study at the Jia family school.

But originally..., the children and grandchildren didn't value the clan school.

Who would have thought that after being dealt with by the Shen family, things would change so quickly?

"Wait a little longer~"

Grandmother Jia had no idea how much thought her trusted Granny Lai had gone through, and only said, "She just went yesterday, and now she's going again... Zheng'er's mind will be restless again."

She knew her son.

If you show too much concern, you might immediately start crying and begging for help because life is tough.

She can't help him!

"...Grandma, are you still worried about the rumors?"

Convinced that the old woman wouldn't dare, Granny Lai was disappointed, but she couldn't help feeling a little contemptuous. "When I came from home, I heard many people talking about how Imperial Censor Xiang died remonstrating with the Jurchens, wanting to kill all the Jurchens until the world was peaceful and prosperous."

If that's the case, what will happen to the princess?
Are you still worried about this?

"The princess is in the palace; it's none of the Jia family's business to worry about her."

Grandmother Jia never really worried about Jia Wen.

After all, she didn't live in the mansion.

If anything happens, the Emperor will protect you, and Lady Shen will keep an eye on things.

"As for killing them all..."

Grandmother Jia shook her head. "The Emperor probably wouldn't be able to do that."

Even if Imperial Censor Xiang were to die remonstrating, it would be to no avail.

"Besides, if we kill them, the Mongol Tatars will never submit to our Great Zhao again."

As the Duchess of a State, she certainly possessed this level of political acumen.

As for Imperial Censor Xiang...

Those who serve as censors all aspire to leave their mark on history.

In any case, it is the emperor who makes the decision.

He made a name for himself and made an impression on the emperor, which will surely make his future career smoother.

“Our family is no longer in the military, so we don’t need to worry about this anymore.”

The Shen family is already in charge.

If their whole family were to get involved...

What if Suo Jin and his ilk resort to desperate measures?

Grandmother Jia didn't want to end up like Shen Shi, being chased and killed in her home when she got old.

"Isn't Second Master Lian at the Armory?"

Granny Lai truly never imagined that Jia Lian would have such good fortune.

They all died in the second wife's house.

"The armory and the army are still some distance apart."

Grandmother Jia was unwilling to talk to Granny Lai about this grandson.

Jia Lian is extremely busy these days.

Although Granny Lai was a good person, the eldest son did not like the Lai family.

Grandmother Jia didn't want to cause trouble for her grandson. "There's war going on everywhere these days, and he's very busy. He came back last night, glanced at Zhu'er, and then left again."

"Are you referring to the war between the Southern King and Annam?"

"...He is a capable man."

Speaking of Wang Ziteng, Grandmother Jia's idea of ​​executing Wang Shi wavered again, "If we really take him down, he'll be a marquis no matter what."

"Ah~"

Granny Lai sighed on behalf of the old lady.

The Jia and Wang families went from being in-laws to enemies, so naturally they didn't want them to rise again.

Fortunately, Master Wang has no son.

Yes!

Grandmother Jia was somewhat relieved and chatted idly with Granny Lai to calm herself down.

After a while, just as her right eye stopped twitching, a commotion came from outside. Yuanyang scrambled in, shouting, "Grandma, Second Master... something's happened to Second Master!"

what?
Grandmother Jia's mind went blank for a moment. When she stood up, her vision went black and she almost collapsed.

Granny Lai helped Yuanyang up and asked, "What exactly happened to the Second Master? Did the physician go? Does the Master know? Did you keep it from the Eldest Master?"

"It was the village chief who came to report that the second master and second mistress had both... had taken rat poison and were dying."

what?
Shen Ning was also very surprised to hear this news.

Rat poison?
Did you eat rat poison together?
how could it be possible?
"Zhen'er, report this to the authorities immediately!"

If we don't deal with this quickly, what if people start to suspect her?
Wang said those things to her, and Jia Zheng didn't stop her. She found out yesterday, and today both she and her husband are dead.

If this goes wrong, people will really start to doubt her.

Shen Ning immediately ordered the police to be notified. (End of Chapter)