The head of the Red Mansion

Upon hearing that the marriage proposal had failed, Sun Shaozu frowned.

Are historians not important enough?
This shouldn't be the case!
unless……

The Jia family already had a prospective son-in-law, but the other party had not yet taken a liking to their second daughter.

Yes, that must be it.

Otherwise, with such good conditions...

Sun Shaozu was furious and decided to find out who the Jia family had chosen as their son-in-law.

He can't openly do anything to others, and he can't do anything secretly either?
Having made up his mind, Sun Shaozu immediately instructed his steward to investigate.

However, before he could find anything, a senior official in the Ministry of War, whom he knew, sent word to him asking if he had offended someone and been removed from the list of candidates for vacancy.
Sun Shaozu immediately became anxious.

The Great Zhao fought for several years and grew stronger with each battle.

The Ministry of War has good vacancies, but they've already been taken by those who have made meritorious contributions.

He finally managed to get in after a long wait...

Sun Shaozu rushed to the Ministry of War, but to his surprise, he met with Vice Minister Yuan, whom he had been seeking an audience with for a long time. However, instead of being greeted with gentle words and smiles, he was met with a sudden storm.

Several impeachment memorials were hurled at him.

"Look at the good things you've done."

Lord Yuan looked at him coldly, "You have disgraced the Ministry of War and your ancestors."

What does it mean to return to one's hometown to observe mourning?
Shit.

This bastard, taking advantage of his position as commander of the raid, committed several major crimes after returning to his hometown.

They seized other people's farmland, abducted wives and daughters, committed murder, and preyed on the people...

Relying on the fact that the county magistrate also had a past relationship with the Sun family, he killed two people who wanted to sue him.

This tragedy resulted in the deaths of all five members of one family.

"Just wait until your house is ransacked!"

what?
With trembling hands, Sun Shaozu picked up one of the impeachment memorials, which listed all his crimes in the village.

This this?

Sun Shaozu's legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground.

How can it be?

They were clearly covered up tightly.

How could this have been leaked?
"My lord, my lord, you've been wronged!"

He hurriedly knelt down to plead his innocence, but to his surprise, Vice Minister Yuan waved his hand, "The evidence is conclusive, it's too late for anything you say now. Guards, strip him of his official robes and take him to Shuntian Prefecture."

"No, sir, sir, I'm innocent, sir, I'm innocent!"

But it's too late.

Two burly soldiers rushed in and dragged him away.

Sun Shaozu never imagined things would turn out this way.

Finally, he saw a familiar clerk. "Brother Chen, Brother Chen, save me! Save me!"

But it seemed that Chief Clerk Chen didn't see or hear anything; he hurried away.

"No, no, no~"

Even after being thrown into the Shuntian Prefecture prison, Sun Shaozu was still somewhat disoriented.

Who did he offend?
Who would want to harm him like this?

He could write a self-defense memorial!

What do you mean by encroaching on other people's fertile land? He's clearly buying it.

What kidnapping of someone's wife and daughters? It's obvious that the man owed them money and was using his wife and daughters to pay off the debt.

What about personal gain and human life? They're just preying on the villagers...

He can argue his point!

After much pleading and begging, his old steward finally arrived, and Sun Shaozu learned that a powerful figure had investigated him and sent the evidence directly to the Censorate.

He had just left home for the Ministry of War when his house was raided.

The old steward escaped this ordeal because his married daughter used her connections to redeem him from his servitude.

"No, how could this be? Who could it be?"

Sun Shaozu was always kind to everyone in the capital and rarely made enemies. "Uncle, please ask the Rongguo Mansion and the Baoling Marquis's Mansion for help, I..."

"Sir, this old servant has already gone."

The old steward felt like the sky had fallen. "The Rongguo Mansion wouldn't let this old servant in, but the Shi family of Baoling Marquis let me in. However, as soon as they heard you were imprisoned in Shuntian Prefecture, they immediately kicked this old servant out!" Sun Shaozu: "..."

He was trembling all over, wondering which deity he had offended.

"Go, go find Registrar Chen. He must know who's behind this in the Ministry of War."

The key is to know who he offended.

Only then can they find a way to exonerate themselves.

"Hurry, hurry up. As long as he can be exonerated and go home, I'll give him 60% of his family fortune."

He still carries the official title.

How many government officials are clean?
Even if all the charges are proven, as long as one person can speak on their behalf to the Emperor, they will surely receive a lighter sentence.

With this wish in mind, Sun Shaozu gave the old steward a location—an ordinary house, but he had buried some gold and silver in the courtyard.

A few days later, the old butler arrived.

He carried two food boxes, one to the jailer and the other to Sun Shaozu.

"uncle!"

The old steward saw Sun Shaozu, as if released from a starving prison, grabbing a chicken leg and gnawing on it, seemingly wiping away a tear as if in great distress. "This old servant has already found out that it was Steward Xing of the Ningguo Mansion who did it."

what?
Sun Shaozu was stunned.

After returning to the capital, he wanted to curry favor with the Ningguo Mansion, but Jia Zhen was too busy, and he never found an opportunity.

He had never offended him!
"I...I haven't offended the Ningguo Mansion."

"Ning and Rong are one."

A glint of light flashed in the old butler's eyes. "Sir, do you think you might have accidentally offended someone elsewhere?"

He knew that their master wanted to marry the second daughter of the Rongguo Mansion.

But he dared not say those words aloud.

But... it's not impossible.

The old man was still obsessed with the second daughter of that household, so it was perfectly normal for people to investigate.

If the old steward could think of it, how could Sun Shaozu not have thought of it?
He slowly put down the chicken leg in his hand, wishing he could beat himself to death for speaking to Jia She that day.

"Go and beg...beg Jia She of the Rongguo Mansion."

He was scared; he dared not do it again.

Now he only hopes that the Jia family will let him off the hook.

But now that she had caught Sun Shaozu doing evil, how could Shen Ning let him go?

In less than half a month, the verdict was handed down. His hereditary status was gone, his family property was confiscated, he was given twenty strokes of the cane, and exiled to serve in Nanghar Guard. Unless he made a great contribution, he would never be allowed to return.

Before leaving, Sun Shaozu thought the old steward would come to see him off, since he had a considerable amount of gold and silver hidden away.

However, no one came when we waited for the first time, and still no one came when we waited for the second time.

Sun Shaozu was furious.

But at this time, his buttocks were still oozing blood, and no one came to see him off.

By the time Jia She learned about Sun Shaozu's situation from Jia Zhen, the man had already been on his way to exile for a month.

He returned home in a daze, and with lingering fear, told Xing about Sun Shaozu.

Xing was dumbfounded, and then told Wang Xifeng about it.

A few days later, Siqi told Yingchun everything she had found out.

"If we had known that bastard was so wicked, we should have talked to the escorts and made him suffer more on the way."

Siqi was filled with resentment.

How dare such a piece of shit covet the second young lady?

“…What nonsense?”

Yingchun picked up the "Zizhi Tongjian" from the table. Ever since Shen Ning gave it to her, she had read it every single day. "Wasn't the twenty lashes before leaving a punishment? Besides, is Nangharwei so easy to treat?"

She had never met Sun Shaozu, but after hearing his name that day, she dreamed of a man who kept bullying her.

But she herself was weak and incompetent.

She woke up in anger from her dream.

There's a saying: "Life is worse than death!"

From being a high-ranking official waited on hand and foot to his current state, the suffering he has endured along the way, and the suffering that will continue for the rest of his life, is his retribution. (End of Chapter)