The head of the Red Mansion

Chapter 307 Never being able to eat four dishes in a lifetime
Shen Ning didn't know how corrupt the officialdom in Jiangnan was, but she knew that if it wasn't rectified, the Japanese pirate raids of the previous dynasty would soon be revived in Dazhao.

The so-called mission of the Japanese was just taking advantage of the fact that Jiangnan was an important source of tax revenue for the imperial court, and that some ministers had to tolerate some of their unreasonable demands for the sake of the overall situation of tax revenue.

If you don't run into her, fine. But if you do, and happen to be caught in her clutches, then of course you have to do something about it.

Thirty strokes of the cane didn't kill Ito Rui and the other six, but they were publicly displayed at the yamen entrance, with a notice board next to them listing their crimes...

Over the years, these people have been polite, and many people in Jinling City still have a good impression of them. However, seeing the notices on the bulletin board, Sanshan Street, Dagongfang Street, Wuyi Lane, and even Pingshi Street...

In particular, the massacre of a family in the back alley of Ping Shi Street has been a long-standing rumor for three years, with people saying that the place is haunted. Last year, a night watchman was even scared to death. Because of this, most of the families in the alley have moved away.

Unexpectedly, the entire alley is now in the hands of Ito Mizuki and Matsumoto Shuhei.

There, a large amount of grain and medicinal herbs were stockpiled.

Because of the war in the south and the north, grain prices this year are nearly 40% higher than in previous years.

Many families in the city have started to tighten their belts and make ends meet.

But I didn't think about it...

Upon closer inspection of the notices, many residents discovered that nearly a third of the grain shops in the city were registered under the names of these individuals.

And every time grain prices are raised, it's their shops that take the lead.

Ugh, some of the previous cases didn't even have solid evidence, and they just looked at them and that was it. But how can we tolerate this?
With soldiers around, adults can't throw things at people, but children can!
The pebbles on the roadside were quickly picked up.

Children may be small, but with so many stones coming from all directions, even a healthy person would be unable to withstand it, let alone Ito Mizuki who had been beaten thirty times.
Although the bailiffs showed leniency in administering the beatings because of Wang Zipeng, Jia Zhen was watching closely, and after thirty strokes, their buttocks were completely bruised and battered.

Ito Rui made a firm decision in his heart: he must go to Kyoto and complain to Lord Ishii and Lord Nakamura.

As for the cases in Gulou Street and other areas...

What does it have to do with them?
They spent money to buy houses and secret formulas, but those people wouldn't sell to them. So they asked their friends to intervene, but their friends were too ruthless, and the friends were the ones who were guilty.

Ito Rui endured the pain in his buttocks, waiting for more people from the Wang family to arrive.

Now that the Jia family has retired, Prefect Chen should at least give them face and let them go back to rest and hire a doctor.

What he didn't know was that someone from the Wang family had already requested an audience with Prefect Chen through the back office.

When Prefect Chen saw this, he accepted what he was supposed to accept, but by then he had already instructed his wife to pack up and, under the pretext of visiting relatives, leave Jinling with the children.

He felt that his time as an official had come to an end.

The main reason was that he hadn't expected that a few Japanese people would hoard so much grain and medicine without him noticing.

One-third of the grain shops in Jinling City still belong to them.

What do they want to do?
None of them have family members here yet.

hiss~
I dare not think too deeply about the problems here!
He himself was a complacent official, but this time, he hoped that Madam Shen could be a bit more capable.

As for what he received...

Let's not talk about the past; as for now, Prefect Chen has instructed people to put everything away properly.

Of course, he had already drafted the memorial to apologize in his mind.

Now all that's left is for Madam Shen to get fed up with those pleading for her life and then shut them down.

But would anyone dare to go to her place?
They all went to find Jia Zhen.

Everyone wanted to invite him to the Qinhuai River, but he was still in mourning for his family.

There was also a formidable old mother. It was said that if his mother told him to go east, he wouldn't dare go west; if his mother told him to chase the dog, he wouldn't dare chase the chicken.

So, tea drinking, storytelling, opera performances, and subtly inviting his supposedly beautiful concubine's daughters and maids to meet him... all were arranged.

Of course, Xing'er and the others who followed were also given a lot of good stuff.

In the past, Jia Zhen would definitely have lost control upon seeing a woman who would flirt with pleasure at the mere mention of "Master," but now...

The Japanese had a blood feud with him for killing his father. His father died so tragically that if his mother hadn't arrived in time, he would have died there too.

His parents were a loving couple, but after his father passed away, his mother suffered several serious illnesses...

Jia Zhen feared that she might die of anger before she could have him beaten to death in her rage.

He suppressed his lust and felt a growing hatred for those who were trying to plead for the Japanese and Prince Peng in a roundabout way.

In the battle of Xuzhou, if it weren't for the guards of my household and the dedicated efforts of the hired bodyguards, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Especially his mother's side.

My little sister is still so young. If anything happens to her, I'm afraid her mother won't be able to handle it.

Jia Zhen got busy.

He's all smiles and laughter with everyone during the day, but then he turns around and investigates every detail about that person.

Time flies by. April 16th is an auspicious day for offering sacrifices, praying for blessings, seeking offspring, breaking ground, preparing a coffin, moving a coffin, burial, and breaking ground...

This day was the day Jia Jing was buried.

Almost all the monks and Taoist priests in Nanjing were invited.

Jia Jing's tomb had been built long ago. Jia Zhen went down into the tomb himself and carefully placed the sealed books one by one.

These books cover a wide range of topics, and many are rare, unique copies found only in the family.

Although the ones that were put in were copied separately, each one was worth a fortune in the eyes of connoisseurs.

The Jia family members who came along couldn't help but glance at the person burning paper money with his daughter when they saw that the burial goods were all books.

Compared to the older generation, the burial goods are worlds apart!

The Ninth and Tenth Masters were also among them. The two old men exchanged a glance, both looking at each other with disdain.

No wonder, this woman took all of Jia Jing's private savings.

While he was alive, Jia Jing was under her control and didn't even have a concubine. As a Taoist priest, he had to carry manure and farm the land himself.

This guy is dead...

What burial goods were given?

There wasn't a single piece of real gold or silver. Was it because they were afraid he'd have too much fun down there and find another ghost bride?

hum~
They believe that burning things from the past is something the ghosts can use, but so are the burial goods.

They are made of real gold and silver.

Without this real money...

When their relatives were adding soil to the grave, the two old men each dropped a few large coins and a jade ring they had never worn before.

Both houses are now poor.

Moreover, the profits from the sacrificial fields will not exceed those of their two branches within the next thirty years.

That woman, Shen, is too ruthless.

At this time, those who participated in adding soil would leave behind large sums of money, silver, ornaments, or other valuables.

It all depends on who's willing to give it up and who's not.

Shen Ning burned paper money with her daughter, and her eyes were red from the smoke.

Although she didn't shed a single tear while the women of the tribe were crying, she was considered by some to be the most heartbroken.

This is truly a cry from some people, and it's hard to put into words.

That rhythmic cadence...

After shedding a few tears, Rong-ge'er came over to keep his grandmother and aunt company.

"Grandmother, Father asked me to take you and Aunt back to the mansion first."

"...Let's go!"

Shen Ning took one last look at the grave mound, sighed, and got into the car.

The tomb of Jia Jing was filled with books, which she left to posterity.

All the books had custom-made covers, then wrapped in oil paper, and finally sealed with wax by professionals. They should last a very long time.

Shen Ning hopes that the Jia family can preserve these graves, and that a hundred years from now, the world will be different.

As the sun sets in the distance, its reflection on the water makes the water appear to be mostly dyed red.

Almost everything that needed to be collected has been collected. These past few days, the Wang family has been the most enthusiastic.

Even Prince Sheng wrote a letter from the capital.

As far as Shen Ning knew, people from all the prefectures and counties around Jinling went to the prefectural jail to visit Wang Zipeng.

I heard it's very lively there.

ho~
Wait!
No matter how Rong-ge'er teased his little daughter, Shen Ning simply closed her eyes to rest.

I've been staying up late every night writing The Return of the Condor Heroes these past few days, and I'm really exhausted!
……

Capital City, Imperial Palace.

The emperor has been in a bad mood for the past few days.

He saw the letter of apology from Prefect Chen of Jinling, and he also saw the letter from Jia Zhen.

Along with anger, there was also lingering fear!
In particular, there were two secret passages in the grain pile, which were discovered during a careful inspection the next day.

Although he immediately issued an edict to all prefectures in Jiangnan to strictly investigate the Japanese, confiscate their property, and report everything in detail, his heart still felt a bit blocked.

"Your Majesty, Anwu has reported!"

Seeing that the emperor's expression had turned sour again, Liu An hurriedly presented the letter that An Wu had just delivered.

Recently, the Emperor has only felt a little bit happy with letters from Anwu and memorials from Prefect Yu of Tianjin.

Last time, Anwu said that Prefect Yu ordered people to sell water and food to the Russian delegation at high prices.

In his memorial, Prefect Yu said that he could not allow people to starve to death in Dazhao. He wanted to use all the hard work and resources of the garrison soldiers to buy another cannon for Tianjin.

The emperor agreed.

Although the money was not fully in place, the emperor agreed to let him owe it for now.

Judging by the time it takes, he'll probably have drained the entire Rakshasa delegation of their resources.

Anyway, Anwu said that the Japanese in the prison had been emptied out.

To make things even cleaner, Prefect Yu also released the boatmen.

One of them was clearly not a boatman, but he treated him as one and let him go.

Then the man indeed unloaded the goods from the ship to sell for silver, and even the ship's workers were organized by him to do hard labor to support the people in prison.

Moreover, it seems they have recently received some financial aid, and Prefect Yu is investigating the source of this aid.

The emperor hoped that Prefect Yu could find out the truth as soon as possible.

Unexpectedly, Anwu's first words were that the Rakshasa Kingdom's delegation was selling guns.

Haha~
The emperor blinked, and sure enough, the corners of his mouth turned up.

That's about enough; those people can go ashore now.

After all, pushing someone too far can easily lead to a backlash.

Therefore, the two officials from the Ministry of Rites who understood the Russian language went to Tianjin overnight.

Bazel Ackerman and Iris Roberts were at their wits' end.

They can't possibly sell all their clothes, can they?
He had almost completely lost all the gold and silver he had on him.

If we don't sell guns, will we just die of thirst and hunger?
After so much time, they've figured it out: these guys are trying to wipe them out.

After all, the Japanese in front had already been selling off their ship's cargo.

ho~
General Iris Roberts, who has spent his entire life bullying others, is now being bullied like this...

For two days, he decided to endure the humiliation and tried to go without food or water.

He did indeed do it, and he lost a lot of weight.

But anyone who tries to starve to death knows what it's like.

In the end, he couldn't take it anymore.

Although he has eaten and drunk his fill, his frustration is indescribable.

He was wandering around on the deck in the middle of the night.

Unexpectedly, the garrison on the shore was brightly lit today.

Soon, the flag bearers waved torches and led them to the shore.

This this?

docking?

real or fake?

Iris Roberts thought she was seeing things and hurriedly rubbed her eyes, but the soldiers on watch recognized the flag signal and cheered.

They were finally able to get ashore.

Prefect Yu personally accompanied the two Vice Ministers of the Court of State Ceremonial.

Although he was woken up in the middle of the night, Vice Minister Bazel Ackerman was not angry at all.

He hurriedly shaved, trying to make himself look presentable.

At the very least, we can't embarrass our Rakshasa Kingdom.

After a brief exchange in broken English, Prefect Yu, looking apologetic, bowed to them on the spot, but made it clear that it wasn't his fault; the blame lay mainly with the Japanese, who were involved in assassinating several important figures of the dynasty.

Two of them have already confessed, and although they couldn't withstand the torture and died of illness in prison, they still cannot release the Japanese delegation for the time being.

The negotiations can either be conducted by Russia and the Great Zhao, or we can wait for Japan to send another delegation.

Yu Zhijian hasn't found out who secretly funded the Japanese mission yet, so how can he release them?

In any case, the emperor only sent someone who understood the Russian language.

Barzel Ackerman and Iris Roberts could hardly wait for Japan to send someone again.

They've delayed for so long; the Zhao army has probably already driven back all the places they needed to attack.

The two immediately stated that they had no connection with the Japanese delegation; they had simply met on the road and were traveling together.

The next morning, the group of people, finally cleaned up and no longer smelly, headed to the capital amidst the curious gazes of the city's residents.

They walked very fast, but Tomoko Mizuno, who was in the crowd, couldn't be happy.

He hurriedly went to inquire why the Russians had left and why the Japanese delegation had not made any moves, only to find out that they had been abandoned.

Prefect Yu refused to release them, and it seemed the Emperor of Da Zhao had also forgotten about their delegation.

How does this work?
Mizuno Tomoko then hurriedly slipped money into the prison cell and cried to Ishii and Nakamura.

"My lord, what should we do now?"

"..."

"..."

How to do?
Nakamura Keiya clutched his chest, nearly vomiting blood.

Those people from the Rakshasa Kingdom are so uncouth.

They didn't even ask them a question; they just accepted whatever they were told.

Son of a bitch!
Shameless!
You might never eat four dishes in your entire life.

He had recently heard this phrase often from the three burly men in his cell.

I deeply believe that a person who can't afford four dishes in their entire life is miserable, poor, and incompetent.

"...Go and see Prefect Yu, and tell him that you have asked on my behalf whether to send a message to our country requesting that our country send another delegation."

Ichiro Ishii said slowly and deliberately, “If the other party says they don’t have it yet, please ask them to send a message as soon as possible.”

"But my lord..."

Tomoko Mizuno was in a dilemma. "What if he says that he is just the local official in Tianjin and that such important national affairs are not under his jurisdiction?"

Several officials are in prison; they have no idea how difficult Prefect Yu is to deal with.

Having suffered a lot lately, Mizuno Tomoko could only ask the question under the unfriendly gazes of several adults.