The head of the Red Mansion

Chapter 303 Intercession

Chapter 303 Intercession
We've finally arrived in Jinling.

Xing'er, who was sent back last year, greeted them early on.

The layout of the old house in Jinling City is almost the same as that in the capital. If there is any difference, it is that it is larger, especially the garden at the back, which is almost a third larger.

That makes sense, since there was no royal family in Jinling, the Jia family was the most powerful and influential.

"Mother, mother~~~"

Jia Yue, who had just learned to walk, came over, wobbling unsteadily.

Shen Ning couldn't help but smile as soon as she saw her.

There's a saying, something like, "The person who smiles the moment they see you, the person who smiles the moment they see you."

I'm so glad that there are people in this world who make me smile the moment I see them.

"This is our home, our home~"

Shen Ning took the little girl's hand and taught her to say the word "home".

Home, what a simple and ordinary word!
However, Xichun in Dream of the Red Chamber seems to have two homes, but neither of them is her home.

So much so that at such a young age, she so resolutely chose the path of becoming a nun.

"Hee hee~"

The little girl tilted her head, her eyes crinkling with laughter, but she refused to repeat what she was saying.

"You lazybones!"

Shen Ning tapped her little nose, "Just wait, your older sisters will take care of you someday."

"Sister~~"

Jia Yue clearly missed her sisters too, and looked around when she heard this.

Unfortunately, there were no older sisters, only a nephew who rushed in with great fanfare.

"Grandma, Auntie~"

Rong-ge'er strode in, "Grandmother, guess how many people have been arrested in Jinling recently?"

How many people will be arrested?

Shen Ning was slightly taken aback, then realized, "Japanese pirates?"

"Yes!"

Rong-ge nodded vigorously, "Six were caught."

Six?

Shen Ning frowned. "Have you investigated what they're doing in Da Zhao?"

"It's all about buying and selling!"

Rong Ge'er said directly, "They did business with the Portuguese along with several managers from the Xue family. Ironically, the business had nothing to do with the Xue family, but the Wang family received a share of the profits."

Shen Ning: "..."

How normal!

The Wang family was the root cause of the downfall of the four great families in "Dream of the Red Chamber".

"So how were you arrested this time?"

Shen Ning asked with a hint of curiosity, "Aren't the Wang family relatives doing anything about this?"

"The prefect of Jinling was afraid because of the matter with Prefect Qi, so he asked them to leave the country as soon as possible. But they refused to leave because of the Wang and Xue families. Xing'er was afraid that something might happen, so he took our family's invitation and went there. Then the prefect imprisoned them."

Rong-ge'er was still indignant. "The Wang family and the Xue family are both involved. They've been busy working for them these past few days. They even asked two grandfathers from the Ninth and Tenth branches to plead with Dad."

"Didn't your dad give those guys a good beating?"

A hint of murderous intent flashed in Shen Ning's eyes.

The Jia family prospered for a century, originally from twelve branches of the clan. If even one of them rose to prominence, the Ning and Rong mansions would inevitably lend a helping hand.

In the Dream of the Red Chamber, the clansmen in the capital were thinking all day long about how to profit from the Ning and Rong mansions.

The same stuff comes from the place of origin.

After Ning and Rong became wealthy, they thought they would one day return to their roots, so they acquired a lot of property here.

In the capital, Jia Zhen would distribute New Year's gifts to his clansmen at the end of the year. The same was true in their ancestral home, except that the gifts didn't go through his hands.

But now, the Ninth and Tenth Branches are facing a crisis because outsiders are disregarding the life and death of the Ningguo Mansion lineage...

"He has already been asked to leave the residence."

It's not a good time to hit someone when you've just come back.

Rong-ge said, "But I feel they will come again tomorrow."

Many female relatives from the clan wanted to visit today, but he and his father declined on her behalf, saying that their grandmother was tired.

"Come on in, since we're relatives, there's no reason not to visit."

A look of disdain flashed in Shen Ning's eyes.

This is Jinling, which also has another name—Nanjing.

You want to betray your country, huh? She'll show those traitors why the sun is red.

Shen Ning suppressed her anger and waited patiently for tomorrow.

In fact, things haven't been peaceful in the twelve branches of the Jia family these days either.

Ever since Shen Ning reformed the school and expelled Jia Dairu from the capital, many of the older generation here have been saying that she has been too arrogant.

They only say these things in private.

After all, that was the eldest branch of the family, and with Jia Jing and Jia Zhen around, they dared not put anything out in the open.

By the time Jia Jing died, she was already a first-rank imperial lady.

Even if they cricket in private, it's only at home.

The Wang and Jia families in the capital have fallen out, but here, things haven't turned around.

They all had intermarriages with each other.

So they had always lived in the capital and never interacted with each other, but in Nanjing, they were very close.

The ninth and tenth families are divided into two groups: one has a favored daughter who married into the Wang family, and the other has a beloved young son who married a daughter of the Wang family.

The in-laws came begging to their door, and their children were also egging them on...

Shen Ning doesn't deny that there are people over there who are capable of being human, but if they want to be human, they should go back to their own countries; this land doesn't need them.

The next morning, right after breakfast, members of the clan began to arrive one after another.

Moreover, they are basically all family-run businesses.

The men were entertained by Jia Zhen and Rong Ge'er in the main hall outside, while the women were entertained by Shen Ning in the flower hall on this side.

Unlike the hustle and bustle outside, everyone in the flower hall was simply drinking tea and talking about things related to the Rongguo Mansion.

They didn't even dare to mention Princess Rongguo.

Shen Ning waited for them to spout nonsense so she could unleash her ultimate move.

Even the old ladies from the ninth and tenth houses were unusually polite to her this time.

Shen Ning was stunned for a moment, then, thinking of her reputation, she quickly adopted a more amiable attitude towards them.

She held back her temper yesterday and didn't call Jia Zhen over to give him a good scolding, all so that she could unleash her full power today and deal with some of these so-called relatives.

hateful!

Even small children are exceptionally well-behaved around her.

Shen Ning gradually grew impatient.

Finally, I couldn't resist serving tea and telling them to leave.

Just then, a maid ran in and said, "Madam, the master wants to kick out the men of the ninth and tenth households, and he wants the ladies of the ninth and tenth households to leave as well."

what?
Shen Ning glanced at the wives and grandmothers of the ninth and tenth households.

The two old ladies from the ninth and tenth houses quickly stood up, their expressions instantly turning pleading.

"Sister-in-law!"

Wang, the tenth daughter-in-law, quickly bowed and said, "Please, sister-in-law, have mercy. Among the Japanese prisoners detained by the authorities this time, there is one who saved my father's life. He is an honest businessman, and he has been with my family for many years..."

"The Wang family or the Jia family?"

Shen Ning calmly interrupted her.

"...both the Wang family and the Jia family were involved."

Wang hurriedly looked at her mother-in-law, "Mother-in-law~"

The eldest daughter of the Wang family in the capital married her sister in the second branch of the Rongguo Mansion. She had two sons and a daughter. Her daughter married into the Marquis's Mansion and became the Marquis's wife. However, this sister-in-law slowly molded her into that kind of person.

Little Wang was really scared.

The tenth old lady was unsure of what to do, but before she came, the Wang family sent her two shops, a manor, and five hundred taels of silver.

Thus, the assets of their ten branches increased considerably. For the sake of her children, Yao, who was not much older than Shen Ning, hurriedly said, "Niece-in-law, Ito Rui is truly a very honest businessman. If you don't believe me, go and ask around. There are few people in Jinling City who don't know him. He couldn't possibly be an assassin. You can't generalize and condemn everyone, can you?"

"Yeah yeah!"

The old lady from the ninth branch hurriedly chimed in, and as she spoke, she smiled and looked at her sisters-in-law from the fifteenth and sixteenth branches, "Fifteenth sister-in-law, sixteenth sister-in-law, say something!"

We usually play mahjong together, and we get along very well.

Just as the fifteenth and sixteenth households were in a dilemma, the Ninth Master outside was already shouting angrily, "Aren't you leaving yet? What are you waiting for? Who are they, and who are we? Do we have to be chased away with a broom before we leave? Bah!"

He spat out a mouthful of phlegm, "Taking advantage of his status, he bullies his clan, can't distinguish right from wrong, and thinks he's something special?"

Bang~
When Shen Ning got up, she swept the cup next to her onto the floor.

"Someone is coming,"

She shouted, "Get that self-important bastard out of here!"

Having already received their orders, Qi Youding and the others who were waiting hurriedly grabbed brooms and rushed over, throwing dirt at Old Master Jiu.

"Shen family, how dare you! How arrogant you are!"

Old Master Jiu jumped up and down, "I'm your uncle, I'm Jing'er..."

"Is Ninth Master going to see my Jia Jing?"

Shen Ning walked out of the flower hall and through the hanging flower gate, looking at the man who was jumping up and down. "I want to tell you that he was forced to his death by the Japanese pirates. If you want an explanation from him, then go die."

"you you you……"

The Ninth Master was furious.

He's getting older and is now being very cautious about it.

But when it comes to Shen Ning...

Seeing her imposing manner, the old man felt inexplicably short of breath. He angrily shouted at Jia Zhen, who had also come over, "Zhen'er, are you still the head of the clan?" He was a grandfather, and Jia Zhen was a grandson. Even if Jia Zhen was the clan head, he was still superior to him. "You think you can just let a woman..."

"Jia Zhen, don't make me look down on you."

Shen Ning's voice was cold as she stared at Jia Zhen.

Jia Zhen's forehead was covered in sweat.

He suddenly felt that his mother wanted to hit him again.

But the matter of Ninth Master really had nothing to do with him!
"What are you all standing there for? Get out of here right now!"

He shouted loudly at Qi Youding and several others.

"No, not so much..."

The clansmen nearby quickly surrounded them, all trying to plead for leniency, saying, "We're all one family!"

No matter how powerful the direct line is, it's only a matter of a few days.

They just turn around, dust themselves off, and leave, never to return for eight or ten years.

They, on the other hand, need to support each other.

"Mr. Shen, you should say less."

The fifteenth master wanted to reconcile them, "Ninth brother, you..."

"If the broom won't work, what about the stick?"

As his mother's complexion worsened, Jia Zhen yelled for a stick, "Don't you dare talk nonsense to me! My father was forced to his death by the Japanese pirates, and my mother, my sister, my son, and I myself almost died at their hands in Xuzhou. Anyone who pleads for me now is my enemy."

He kicked aside a clansman next to him and roared, "People from the ninth and tenth branches, get them out of here!"

With those words from him, Qi Youding and the others no longer held back. Even without sticks, the brooms they used to whip people were extremely painful. The Ninth Master cried out "Ouch!" several times and had no choice but to hurry outside.

"Did you hear that?"

Shen Ning turned to the group of women and said, "Please have the people from the ninth and tenth households leave our house."

Xiaodong and the others quickly stepped forward, staring at them menacingly. "Please!"

Ninth and Tenth Households: "..."

What else could they say?
The men ran close to Old Master Jiu, and the women hurried to follow.

“Zhen’er, go to the prefect’s office and tell Prefect Yang to thoroughly investigate all the Japanese activities in Dazhao, and to imprison all those who colluded with them and committed treasonous acts.”

Shen Ning's voice was cold, "Da Zhao doesn't need traitors, and the Jia family even less so. From now on, the Ninth and Tenth Branches are not allowed to touch a single thing belonging to my Ningguo Mansion."

"Yes!"

When Jia Zhen loudly agreed, all the maids and servants bowed.

……

The news of what happened in the Tianjin prison reached the capital in less than a day.

Only then did the emperor understand why soldiers were sometimes called "soldier ruffians."

Jin Muchuan's move was brilliant.

Jia She is indeed incompetent!
No wonder even someone like Jia Zheng could kick him out of Rongxi Hall.

"...What if someone is unwell and dies?"

After reading everything the Emperor shared, the Empress chuckled, but couldn't help feeling a little worried.

"Don't worry, these people know their limits when they fight," the emperor laughed. "As long as the two chief officials are alright, the rest of the attendants, if they die, they die."

Those Japanese still want to take advantage of him?

Given that they came with the Rakshasa people, the chances of a peaceful resolution are almost nonexistent.

Actually, making a bigger scene and extinguishing some people's hopes might be better.

"Then... how long do you think it would be more appropriate to keep them locked up?"

If she wanted to keep them locked up for a longer period, she would have Princess Rongguo summon a few members of the Jia family as a subtle hint.

"Wait a minute, there's no rush!"

The emperor hadn't decided yet.

In the imperial court, no consensus had been reached.

Anyway, he's not in a hurry right now.

“You’re not in a hurry, but the Jia family… to be on the safe side, they might have to leave first.”

It's not impossible!
Jia She was not very bold.

Although Jia Lian was a man of action, he also had many things to consider in his position.

"Hmm, that's a problem."

The emperor pondered for a moment, but before he could make up his mind, Liu An rushed in with a memorial, saying, "Your Majesty, Jia Zhen has a memorial to submit."

Jia Zhen?

Another memorial?

The emperor and empress were worried that something had happened again.

The emperor took the memorial and read it quickly, skimming through it.

He was increasingly pleased as he read it, and quickly shoved the memorial into the Empress's hands, asking Liu An, "Where is the document?"

"It was sent to the Ordnance Bureau."

We dare not bring that thing into the palace.

Liu An has been very dedicated to this.

For eunuchs, all their honor and disgrace depended on the emperor.

To be honest, many eunuchs in the previous dynasty were actually derelict in their duties.

Too many emperors from the previous dynasty died mysteriously.

"Let's go and take a look!"