The head of the Red Mansion

Chapter 81: Vengeance

Jia Zheng was so scolded that he couldn't lift his head.

He didn't dare to look up, afraid that if he did, he would see disappointed and contemptuous eyes. His body swayed, and just as he was about to fall, his wife, Wang, wailed, "What is my sister-in-law doing? Are you trying to force my husband to his death?"

If they were to stand up for Jia She like this and actually let her succeed, would their second branch of the family still have a chance to survive?

Wang was going crazy. She tried desperately to shake off Xing and You and rushed towards Shen Ning, but her son suddenly cried out, "Father!"

Jia Zhu called out to his father as he hurried over.

When Wang turned her head in alarm, she saw Jia Zheng's body go limp and he collapsed to the ground.

"Ah~~~~~"

She let out a bloodcurdling scream, and this time she truly rushed forward, crying out, "Master, Master, what's wrong with you? Master, you can't leave us behind!"

Grandmother Jia was also very anxious. No matter how bad her son was, he was still her own flesh and blood. "Zheng'er, Zheng'er~~"

"Quickly! Invite Manager Chen!"

While calling out to Manager Chen, Jia Rong hurriedly ran out to fetch people.

No matter what, we cannot let Grandpa Zheng die in his house today.

Li Wan and Wang Xifeng, who were hiding in front of the passageway, heard the cries of pain inside but were confused. When they saw him running over like that, they were both flustered and shocked and had no choice but to go over and see what was going on.

Unexpectedly, as soon as they arrived at the front hall, they saw the eldest aunt grab the teapot and pour all the unfinished tea into the face of the father-in-law (second uncle).

"are you awake?"

Shen Ning glared angrily at Jia Zheng.

"Shen, what are you doing?"

Grandmother Jia hurriedly tried to pull her away, fearing that she might smash the teapot on her son's head in a fit of anger.

"Sister-in-law..."

Jia Zheng collapsed in his son's arms in a disheveled state. Fortunately, when he opened his eyes, he did not see the disappointment and contempt of his relatives. His wife, his son, his old mother, and even his elder brother showed a hint of concern in their eyes.

He wiped his face and burst into tears, "Zheng was wrong, but he wasn't as you say, not as you say..."

“I forced him to live in Rongxi Hall.”

With tears streaming down her face, Grandmother Jia helped her son finish the sentence he couldn't say, "It was also me who forced She'er to move. If I was wrong... it's all my fault."

The words Shen used to scold Zheng'er were truly malicious.

If it's not repaired, how will her second son ever be able to face anyone again?

"..."

Shen Ning closed her eyes briefly, afraid that the old lady would interfere. "What are you standing there for? Help the old lady downstairs!"

"I do not go."

Seeing that Jia She, Jia Zhen, and Jia Rong, who had run back again, were trying to help her leave, Grandmother Jia panicked, "Niece-in-law..."

“Don’t worry, Auntie, we’re still family,” Shen Ning took a deep breath and looked at the old lady. “Would I want to beat him to death? I just want to… scold him awake.”

The most incompetent and selfish person in Dream of the Red Chamber is Jia Zheng.

He seemed to be the most virtuous man in the Jia family, but the chaos in the Rongguo Mansion began when he secretly occupied Rongxi Hall.

He took his mother's favoritism for granted, and took his brother's incompetence and jealousy for granted. He and his large family treated the eldest son's family as the watchdogs of the Rongguo Mansion.

Yet everyone says he's good.

But what's so good about him?

He doesn't care about family matters; he spends his days chatting with guests, as if he's blind.

Those who held official positions were even more difficult to describe.

When Yuan-chun came to visit her family, the Emperor deliberately delayed her, not giving her a specific time. The whole family waited from morning till night, but they were not alarmed at all and continued to enjoy themselves day after day.

You could say this whole family are idiots.

Shen Ning was furious. Since she couldn't hit Jia Zheng anymore, she smashed the teapot in her hand onto her own son.

wow~
"Ouch~, Mother!?"

Jia Zhen was caught off guard and was startled.

At this moment, he was terrified of his mother.

I feel like his mother's sharp tongue is more powerful than his father's big stick.

A big stick only hurts for a while, but a damn sharp tongue can kill a person.

And even in death, one dies with sin.

"My son is wrong."

Jia Zhen suddenly knelt down on the ground.

Before kneeling, he cleverly swept his foot away to avoid the broken porcelain shards.

“As the head of the Jia family, you are indeed wrong.”

"Grandmother, don't be angry!"

Seeing that his grandmother was indeed very angry, Jia Rong quickly came over to support her.

Shen Ning pressed her liver, which was aching from anger, and said, "Your father and I weren't home. If your second uncle is ten parts wrong, then you are twelve parts wrong."

"Yes!"

Jia Zhen lowered his head and said, "Son, son, go kneel in the ancestral hall and kneel in the ancestral hall with Uncle Zheng."

I don't know what the old lady said to his mother that made her so angry.

But now that his mother has had a seizure, Uncle Zheng can forget about pretending to be sick to avoid it.

In fact, Jia Zhen felt quite wronged.

Although he is considered the head of the Jia family, his father is still alive.

Besides, the people in the Western Mansion are all elders.

Uncle She himself dared not disobey the decisions made by his elders, so how could a junior from another household possibly speak up?
When my parents returned and saw the state of the West Mansion...

Thinking of his parents' heartbreak and their retreat to the Taoist temple, and how they finally managed to return for the New Year, only to find that his two uncles in the West Mansion were living in such a state, and how his parents were about to speak up only to be met with criticism from the old lady and Aunt Zheng, who had been promoted and demoted, Jia Zhen was also very angry.

That time, after returning home from the West Mansion, my parents went back to the Taoist temple the very next day.

"And Uncle She, you should come too!"

Uncle She was useless too.

The old lady is so biased, why don't you say something?

They moved out without saying a word, but they were still resentful and would occasionally cause a scene that started strong but ended weakly. What good did that do?

People will just say he's become even more of a slacker.

This is also why his parents were never able to speak up for him.

“Your younger brother made a mistake, so you should have disciplined him.”

"……Yes!"

What can Jia She do?
Busy and honestly agreed.

My sister-in-law is terrifying. Those political idiots can't stand her and might bang their heads against the wall. What if they do that?
He was always worried that his second brother would run into the wall, not because he was afraid he would die, but because he was afraid that if he died, his mother would go crazy, and then his sister-in-law would not be able to bear it.

“Mother, sister-in-law, Jia She is at fault, but we cannot blame my second brother entirely.”

Jia She walked toward his younger brother, "Zhu'er, help your father up, and you come with us into the ancestral hall."

"……Yes!"

Jia Zhu sensed something was wrong, but at that moment, his mind was filled with his aunt's words about his 'incompetent father,' 'Yang Guozhong,' 'sponging for his parents,' and 'sponging for his children.' His legs went weak, his heart trembled, and his mind was not as clear as usual.

My uncle told him to kneel in the ancestral hall, and he really should.

As the eldest grandson of the Rongguo Mansion, he was unable to share the burdens of his grandmother and parents, nor could he show affection to his siblings...

Jia Zhu couldn't imagine what his aunt would say to him.

He'll really be verbally abused to death.

Going to the ancestral hall would also allow me to hide from my aunt.

"Father, let's go to the ancestral hall."

If he goes to the ancestral hall, his father can still save his life.

don't go...

We don't know what kind of storms and tempests await us.

Jia Zheng covered his face and, with his son's help, got up. Just as he was about to leave, Wang Shi grabbed him. "Wait a minute," she said, looking at Shen Ning with pleading eyes. "Sister-in-law, we're all family. Even if we're wrong, Yuan Chun is innocent. Please, help her!"

The daughter was talented and beautiful, and had powerful connections with the Jia, Wang, and Xue families, as well as the Shi family.

If the emperor had eyes, he would never refuse her daughter.

Now that we've already been scolded by the Shen family so much, we can't let it go unpunished.

Once Wang Shi made up her mind, not even nine oxen could change it.

In her mind, now that the whole family had apologized, they probably wouldn't be able to stay in Rongxi Hall anymore. If her daughter couldn't rise in rank, what would be left for their second branch of the Rongguo Mansion?

On the contrary, as long as their daughter can gain favor with the emperor, based on their family's merits, she will surely become one of the four imperial concubines.

If she could have another son or daughter, even Madam Shen would have to plan for her daughter's future.

"Please, help her..."

"Stupid woman!"

Madam Shen took a step back. "Do you know why Min didn't marry into the royal family? If you don't know, just ask your aunt."

Jia Mu: "..."

The old lady's expression changed. She had indeed harbored ambitions towards the royal family.

However, the Duke absolutely refused to agree, insisting that if Min'er married into the royal family, not only would Min'er be in danger, but their family would also be in danger.

He unilaterally arranged for Min'er to marry Lin Ruhai.

“It’s different, it’s different.”

Of course, Lady Wang knew why Jia Min had not married into the royal family.

The retired emperor had many sons.

The crown prince's position is as solid as a rock.

Jia Min's status is worthy of the Crown Prince, but the age difference between them is too great. By the time she grows up, the Crown Prince will have already been married off to his wife, concubines, and other high-ranking officials. She can't possibly marry the Crown Prince and become a concubine, can she?

Although other princes were also options, and could even become the principal wife, the father-in-law and the eldest uncle were both cautious and feared arousing the crown prince's suspicion, so they cut off this path for the younger sister-in-law from the very beginning.

But she...

Her parents did indeed plan things out for her.

Unfortunately, she ultimately failed and missed out on some people. She had no choice but to marry Jia Zheng. Otherwise, Jia Zheng, who was the second son who could not inherit the title, would not have been a good match for her at all.

"Now that the Emperor is on the throne, Yuan Chun married the Emperor, not a prince!"

With their support, the emperor's position will only be more secure.

Lady Wang believed that the Emperor would understand this.

“Sister-in-law, this is just a matter of mentioning it to you, you…”

slap~
Shen Ning gave her a slap she'd wanted to give her for a long time. "Wang, of all the people in the family, you're the most cunning." She didn't even call her sister-in-law anymore. "Don't think I don't know that many of the stupid things my second brother has done have your shadow behind them. What? You're feeling wronged marrying Zheng? So you've been keeping the old lady in check, making her treat the second branch of the family and your children differently?"

"Ahhh~"

Wang was stunned for a moment after being hit, but upon hearing this, she burst into tears, "You...how could you wrong me like this? Ahhh~~~, I don't want to live anymore!"

She's going to commit suicide.

"Mother!"

"Mother……"

"Second Aunt~"

Jia Zhu, Li Wan, and Wang Xifeng rushed to stop them.

"Stop! Let her die!" Shen Ning hissed angrily. "If she doesn't die today, our whole family will die tomorrow."

"..."

"..."

Everyone present was stunned by her.

Wang turned around angrily, "What have I done? Why do you so desperately want me to die?"

"What did you say you did?"

Shen Ning gritted her teeth and said angrily in a low voice, "What's the deal with Baoyu's jade? Even if it was truly something he was born with, you should just keep it to yourself. Why do you have to spread it throughout the entire mansion? Are you afraid that the Jia family won't have enough punishment for being beheaded?"

what?
Everyone's heart skipped a beat.

Jia Zhu turned pale and took a step back.

"You think this is good for Baoyu? Let me tell you, you've ruined him. Not only have you ruined him, you've also ruined Zhu'er. You've forced the royal family to be afraid to use them, to make it difficult for them to be used. Even if those brothers are incredibly learned, once they find out about that jade, how far do you think they can go?"

Wang: "..."

She stared blankly at her eldest son.

From her eldest son's face, she seemed to understand something, then everything went black, and she truly collapsed.

"Dead yet?"

Shen Ning looked at Li Wan and Wang Xifeng, who were supporting Wang Shi, and said, "If she's not dead, help her into the ancestral hall so they can think things through in front of the ancestors!"

Did you think that just fainting was the end of it?

She wanted to faint.

But would she dare?

She fainted because she still had something to rely on.

She was convinced that her family would never kill her.

"today……"

Just as Shen Ning was about to say that this was the end of the day, a wailing sound suddenly rang out from outside the courtyard. The sound was so sharp that it seemed to pierce people's eardrums.

Jia Qin's mother was crying and shouting outside, trying to break through Qingzhu and the others' blockade. "Grandma, Aunt, help! Please, save my Qin'er!"

"..."

Shen Ning was so irritable that she wanted to kill someone.

"Mother, don't be angry, I'll handle it."

Madam You rushed off in a hurry.

"Grandma, are you tired? Go back and rest!"

Grandma must be exhausted after a long day, and Jia Rong felt very sorry for her.

At this moment, he also understood that if the news of Uncle Bao's magical jade got out, it wouldn't be a good thing for their family.

It's a pity that he used to be curious about that jade and coaxed Uncle Bao to show it to him.

"Grandma, you must be tired after a long day."

Shen Ning turned to Grandmother Jia, who was also greatly shocked, and said, "We can talk about this tomorrow."

She still has to submit her nameplate to the palace early tomorrow morning.

All Shen Ning wanted to do was go back, hold her daughter, and get a good night's sleep.

She used to take a nap in the afternoon, but she's been very busy all day.

"……it is good!"

Grandmother Jia never knew that the precious jade her grandson was born with would also bring disaster.

Fortunately, wealthy families often had jade. Later, she would retaliate against Wang Shi, saying that in order to win favor, she had specially gotten a piece of jade for Baoyu, pretending that it was something he was born with, to fool this old lady.

“Those who should go to the ancestral hall, go to the ancestral hall. Feng girl, you come back to the mansion with me.”

We need to bring Baoyu over so we can take another look at the jade.

Fortunately, the child never wanted to wear the jade.

"Yes!"

When Jia Zhu helped his aunt up, Wang Xifeng let go and rushed over to help the old lady. Unexpectedly, Jia Qin's mother rushed in, crying, "Old lady, aunt, please save my Qin'er!"

She cried her eyes out, and only after she finished shouting did she realize that everyone present looked upset.

The masters of the East and West mansions are all here, and she...

"Please, sir! Please, sir, save my Qin'er!"

She kowtowed to the ground again, begging Jia She, Jia Zheng, and Jia Zhen.

"What happened to Qin'er?"

Jia Zhen glared at You Shi, who had rushed back from behind, and tried his best to ask her questions.

"Qin'er, Qin'er..."

The woman cried, “Qin’er has been captured by the people from the God of Wealth Gambling House. They’re holding him at the back door. They’re saying that if we don’t pay five hundred taels of silver to ransom him, they’ll cut off two of his fingers and sell him to a black kiln to mine.”

After saying that, she kowtowed several times, pleading, "Please, please save him!"

Shen Ning stopped in her tracks, "...Does the other party know it's our family?"

"Yes!"

The woman cried, "They only gave me some time to come and beg for help because it's our family. Aunt, you must save him."

"..."

Shen Ning frowned. "Zhen'er, find out the details and deal with it."

Today is my daughter's one-month celebration.

The streets of Ning and Rong were frequented by the powerful and wealthy.

Although the gambling den was arresting people at the back door, for some reason, she always had a feeling that the other party was targeting her family.

After all, Jia Qin's family couldn't possibly come up with five hundred taels of silver, so his mother had no choice but to seek help from the two mansions.

Jia Zhen quickly went out, and after a while, Xing'er came in and said, "Reporting to Madam, that gambling den was opened by Lu Kun, the God of Wealth of the West. He not only opened a gambling den, but also two money shops."

Money exchange?

Something occurred to Shen Ning, and she couldn't help but ask, "Is the Western God of Wealth from Shanxi?"

"Yes!"

Most of the money shops in Beijing were run by people from Shanxi.

“Tell your uncle that from today onwards, any member of the Jia family who dares to gamble will have two fingers chopped off from each hand.”

Shen Ning glanced at the terrified woman and said, "Anyone who gambles again will have both hands cut off. If they gamble again... their feet will be cut off as well."

"Aunt..."

Jia Qin's mother was terrified and was about to cry out, but she was frightened by Shen Ning's indifferent gaze.

"If you cut off fingers, hands, or feet, write it into the clan rules."

After saying this, Shen Ning, supported by Jia Rong, ignored everyone else and walked away.