The head of the Red Mansion

Chapter 298 Game
Xiaodong was running back and forth, reporting what was happening outside.

The Angry Dragon Gang brought not only the dead and the living, but also weapons and some small jars salvaged from the ship.

"...The jar got wet, but after examination by the prefectural physician and the doctors from Jishetang, it was found that burning the contents would produce a large amount of toxic fumes."

Xiaodong said, "This servant also went to smell it, and it smells exactly the same as the one we smelled the other day."

Very good, as long as it's confirmed they are enemies.

Shen Ning waved her hand, telling her to continue watching.

After a while, she ran back and said, "Madam, Prefect Qi had the reward of five thousand taels of silver brought out on the spot. You have no idea how happy the people watching were."

Shen Ning actually knew a little bit.

Even though she was in the inner quarters, she could hear a lot of cheers.

As expected, the real money reward, coupled with the sense of national duty, is more likely to move people's hearts.

"How many people from the Angry Dragon Gang have come?"

Five thousand taels is no small sum. If there are too few people, it would be bad if something unexpected happened on the way back.

"More than sixty people."

Xiaodong guessed that his wife was worried about the safety of those people. At first, she was also worried and even asked, "Don't worry, Madam. The three leaders and deputy leaders of the Nujiao Gang have also come. It is said that their martial arts skills are very high."

"That's good."

Shen Ning nodded. "What's the situation with those four Japanese assassins we captured? Has Prefect Qi questioned them in court about who ordered them?"

"...Prefect Qi was unable to ask questions."

Xiaodong hesitated for a moment, "Although those four people were alive, after the Nujiao Gang captured them, they didn't let them onto the boat at all. They tied them up and dragged them all the way from Weishan Lake to here with a fishing net."

Shen Ning: "..."

"There was also a woman among them."

Xiaodong said, "She looked so frail at the time. The doctor that Lord Qi invited was going to examine her, but the leader of the Nujiao Gang said that a woman who could be an assassin, especially the only female assassin among dozens of men, must have extraordinary abilities. Her so-called frailty was just an appearance."

He suggested to Lord Qi that once she was better, he should sever the tendons in her hands and feet.

"……Then what?"

Shen Ning's goodwill towards that gang leader increased significantly.

Although we don't know what the woman looks like yet, 'weakness' can be a superb weapon if used well.

"Lord Qi has agreed."

Xiaodong laughed, "They even said they committed a capital crime, and as long as they're kept alive for now, it's fine."

At this moment, Kaneda Shoji, who was not immediately dead, was dragged into the government jail by the yamen runners like a dead dog.

The floor in the prison was cold, but still wanting to live, he tried to climb further into the pile of broken straw.

Hirota Takamoto and Nami Kurosaki were also planning to climb there.

As for Uno Hideharu, who was the most seriously injured, after injuring several members of the Angry Dragon Gang, he was submerged in the water and hit several times with a blunt object. He was then dragged all the way by water and was already delirious from the fever.

Even if Kaneda Shoji wanted to help him, he was powerless to do so.

The straw had a musty smell. As he climbed up, panting heavily, he saw a whole family of rats hurriedly moving their belongings.

'Chirp~'

A piercing cry from a baby mouse made him turn his head.

But then, Kurosaki Nami twisted the baby mouse's neck with one hand and sucked its blood.

This?
Shoji Kaneda's throat bobbed as he watched the family of rats scurry away with regret.

"Do we... still have a chance?"

Hirota Hashimoto asked the two people beside him with great difficulty.

"No one can say we have no chance until the very end."

Looking at the most delicate Kurosaki Nami, she said softly, "Our delegation is about to enter the capital."

They came with the Russian delegation.

"Even if Lord Ishii and the others don't care about us, as long as we recover, we might still be able to escape."

What is the Angry Dragon Gang?
If they hadn't resorted to underhanded tactics and scuttled their ship first, the outcome would have been uncertain.

Kurosaki Nami deeply resented those people for ruining her great opportunity to take revenge and serve her country.

"Yes, and Lord Ishii too."

Hirota Hashimoto closed his eyes, trying to rest.

But it would have been better if they hadn't mentioned Lord Ishii, because when they did...

Shoji Kaneda, who had remained silent, sighed inwardly.

Lord Ishii once said that if their mission fails, they should run as far away as possible.

He would tell the Emperor of Zhao that they were another radical force in the court, and that they did not want Zhao to negotiate with the Russians; they wanted the war between Zhao and the Russians to continue.

Only by continuing the fight can both sides possibly suffer heavy losses.

Only if both the Great Zhao and the Rakshasa Kingdom are severely weakened can they profit from the chaos.

Shoji Kaneda knew very well that, regardless of whether they won or lost this operation, they were just a dish on Lord Ishii's negotiating table.

He snuggled closer to Hirota Hashimoto, hoping to get a little warmer.

……

At Rongguo Mansion, Grandmother Jia finally learned about what had happened in Xuzhou.

She lay lazily on the couch without saying a word.

“Old lady,” Granny Lai said with a worried look, “I heard that she hasn’t written home yet.”

She wasn't actually worried; she wished the whole family had died over there.

Unfortunately, this wish is obviously impossible to fulfill.

Then all we can do is fulfill our responsibilities.

"Let them go!"

She's too old to manage anymore.

Grandmother Jia believed that Lady Shen was a person of good judgment, as for why Jia Zhen didn't write home...

She had a vague guess in her heart: Madam You was pregnant, and although the pregnancy was stable, it would be better to find out a day later.

After all, if you write a letter here, you have to write one to there.

But now...

Grandmother Jia suspected that Lady You was about to find out, or already knew.

She sighed inwardly, deciding not to interfere further. "I'm getting old. It's better for me to be a little deaf and blind to some things."

What good is knowing everything?
We worry endlessly about them, but what's the result?
The second son is already gone, and Zhu'er is in that state. Baoyu and the others are still young, so they should all rely on their eldest uncle for survival.

If she says or does too much, She'er will still resent her for being biased.

It would be even worse if she took her anger out on the children.

Grandmother Jia has been thinking a lot lately.

Why did the Emperor value the Eastern Mansion so much? Besides the fact that Lady Shen was indeed capable, the main reason was that she was safer to use than Jing'er.

Xifu...

Neither of her two sons was capable, but her eldest son's former wife was quite capable, though she died young.

All she can do now is take care of herself and watch her children grow up.

"Alright, I'm fine now, you should go and rest too!"

Granny Lai was loyal to her, but not to the East Mansion…

Grandmother Jia waved her hand, telling her to go back, "You don't need to come over for the next few days. Stay home and spend time with the children."

The old lady certainly didn't want anything to happen to Ms. You.

It's safer for us to separate.

“…Yes!” Granny Lai dared not insist. “This old servant will take her leave.”

With Qingwen by her side, she wasn't afraid that the old lady would forget about her.

Anyway, since things aren't going well for the Shen family, it's worth it for her to go home and have a drink to celebrate.

Granny Lai knew very well that in this lifetime, her family could never do anything to the East Mansion.

Grandmother Jia watched her leave the courtyard and sighed inwardly.

Some things are beyond our control; we can't fight fate.

Although Shen's assertiveness won her the favor of the Emperor and Empress, it also became an eyesore to others.

Now it's just the Japanese trying to assassinate her, but who knows how many more will try in the future...

Dongfu.

The stewards, Minmei, Yingchun, Tanchun, Daiyu, and others, have been placing even greater emphasis on restraining the maids and servants these past few days.

The second sister-in-law had already told them about the news from outside.

It would be a lie to say I'm not worried, but as my second sister-in-law said, since my eldest aunt (maternal uncle's wife) entrusted the family to them, they have to keep an eye on my sister-in-law's affairs.

We can't let anything happen to her again.

Just in case, a batch of pregnancy-preserving medicine is prepared every day and kept on hand. "Don't worry, no news is good news."

Seeing her daughter's worried face after school, Jia Min couldn't help but hug her and say, "Your older cousin from the East Mansion isn't so kind."

If anything were to happen to his sister-in-law and Yue'er, the Lin family, being in Jiangnan, would definitely be the first to ask for their help.

While seeking help from her husband, she should also inform her in advance.

No, not now...

“The Japanese and Russians are colluding to negotiate peace with the Great Zhao. Your aunt has also been assassinated. Reporting this to the Emperor would be the best solution.”

There must be a game being played here that outsiders are unaware of.

"It was probably your aunt's idea to only report to the Emperor and not to your family."

"Is...is Auntie really alright?"

Even just writing a note to let me know you're safe would be good!

"And there's little Yue'er, she's still so young."

This little sister was someone Daiyu watched grow up.

She also taught her to call her "sister" many times.

As it turned out, she really did call me "sister" first.

"Yue'er will probably be a little frightened."

There's nothing we can do about it.

Don't even mention that the child is too young; even Daiyu would be frightened if she encountered such an assassination attempt.

"However, she's usually quite resilient, so she'll probably be fine after taking the medicine for a couple of days."

Jia Min has witnessed firsthand her sister-in-law's skill in raising children.

Since her daughter Daiyu started attending school at the East Mansion, she has only been slightly ill twice.

"...She must miss me."

The thought of her little sister laughing and jumping on her still made Daiyu feel a little sad.

"Then when she comes back, you can pamper her more."

These kids are kids themselves, and they're raising an even younger sister...

Jia Min had also noticed the process of them raising their younger sister.

They really fed each other bite by bite.

The little girl seemed to enjoy her older sisters' food even more.

Wet nurses are practically unused.

"Don't worry, your aunt is your biological mother, not your stepmother."

Jia Min was amused by her daughter's worried expression.

“But she’s so young.” Daiyu frowned. “Children don’t remember things. What if she comes back and forgets us?”

"Hahaha~~~"

Jia Min couldn't hold back any longer. "Your aunt takes care of her every day, she must be tired of it by now. When the time comes, she'll throw her out of school for a couple of days, and then you'll have your turn to be annoyed."

What an unfounded worry.

Human joys and sorrows are not shared, even between mothers and daughters.

While Daiyu was worried that her younger sister had forgotten the older sisters who had watched her grow up, Jia Min was more concerned about her older brother.

Several times, she wanted to go over and tell her older brother, "Don't do anything and just stay put."

But she turned around outside Rongxi Hall several times, pretending to admire the scenery.

The entire Dong family was assassinated. It would be a mistake for her eldest brother to do nothing.

The Emperor was in such a hurry to send Lian'er back to tell her elder brother...

Jia Min had a vague suspicion in her heart.

There are some things that the emperor cannot do, but the Jia family can.

The joint delegations from both countries are putting pressure on Da Zhao.

Some people in the court probably don't want to fight on multiple fronts, but given their actions... Jia Min felt that if her elder brother did nothing, he would be unworthy of being a descendant of the Duke's family.

The fact that the eldest sister-in-law didn't write home might even be a sign that she was letting her eldest brother have his way.

In the palace, the emperor received a secret report from An San.

As he flipped through the pages, his bad mood of the past few days improved considerably.

Sure enough, he preferred the Jia family's approach.

If there's a grudge, I'll take revenge immediately.

Try to report it.

Even if I can't get a refund, I'll still try to annoy you.

"Someone, summon Jin Muchuan."

Jia She needs more help, so... he'll send him an extra portion.

The emperor specifically checked the resume of this general, who had been trained by Jia Daihua and Jia Jing, and confirmed that he had maintained good relations with missionaries, Portuguese, French and other foreigners in Guangdong.

The taxes collected from those people have been increasing year by year.

They constantly provoked trouble, and Jin Muchuan always managed to suppress them perfectly.

The emperor liked people with such abilities.

……

In Xuzhou Prefecture, early in the morning, Shen Ning picked a beautiful orchid for her energetic daughter and taught her how to put it in her hair.

The little girl was overjoyed; back at home, her older sisters all loved flower arranging.

But none of them wanted her to insert it.

Although she is small, she can still get angry.

Now her mother is letting her insert it.

The little girl's eyes curved into crescent moons as she carefully placed the orchid into her mother's hair, following Aunt Peilan's instructions.

"Wow, it's so beautiful."

Shen Ning took the small mirror, examined herself carefully, and praised her little girl.

"Kekeke~~~"

Jia Yue was incredibly happy.

Just then, Xiaobei rushed over and said, "Madam, one of the assassins didn't make it last night and died."

Ok?
Shen Ning smiled; indeed, today was a day to be happy about.

"How did Lord Qi handle it?"

"Just like yesterday, they hung it on the city wall."

Yesterday, several more Japanese pirates were caught at each of the four city gates.

This was requested by their wives later.

Was the deceased a man or a woman?

"man."

"..."

Shen Ning raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you say that woman also had a high fever yesterday? How are they now?"

"The doctor gave them fever-reducing pills yesterday, and I heard that all three of them are feeling better today."

"Since you're feeling better, let's go ask Lord Qi if it's time to proceed with the trial."

Shen Ning wanted to know who else was behind those people.

I want to see how those people try to justify themselves.

"Please ask them, Lord Qi, if they have any connection with the delegation that is about to enter the capital."

Even if there's no connection, you have to make it seem like there is.

The Great Zhao is not a place where they can run wild and act recklessly.

"Yes!"

Xiaobei left in a hurry again.

At this moment, Qi Zixiu was also having a headache.

Giving up the back office is nothing.

His official rank is higher than his.

But he didn't want to start the trial immediately.

If the trial goes well, all is well; if it goes poorly… the Emperor will likely blame us.

The Japanese delegation is coming to the capital!

The best course of action for the Japanese prisoners is to transfer them to the capital and hand them over to Lord Dong of Shuntian Prefecture.

"Someone come here!" Qi Zixiu stood up abruptly. "Let's go inspect the river embankment."