The Heavens Begin with Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 150 Shi Xiangyun is in hand

Because of the fight between the eldest and second houses, the Jia Mansion had been in turmoil for many days. Unfortunately, the head of the family, Grandmother Jia, had been in poor health recently and had been recuperating most of the day, not taking care of things. As a result, no one in the mansion suppressed the situation, and it became increasingly serious, to the point where it was difficult to back down.

Until this day, Lai Da came running and reported:

"Madam, the residence has been completed. All the interior decoration and garden decoration are in place. Please go and inspect it."

After hearing this, Jia's mother was immediately refreshed. She forced herself to sit up and asked:

"Have the eldest and second masters ever been to see it?"

Lai Da said:

"This old servant has delivered the news to the old lady first. The two masters have already known about this matter and are waiting for the old lady's order."

Grandmother Jia smiled and waved her hand:

"I haven't been feeling well lately, so I'll let them take a look first. If there's anything that needs to be revised, do it now. When everything is done, call me back."

Lai Da bowed and withdrew, first went to find Jia She, then went to find Jia Zheng, and asked them to go and check separately.

Jia She didn't have the energy to care about these things. He just took a quick look and approved it.

Jia Zheng alone called a group of retainers and brought Baoyu with him, planning to go into the garden and write plaques and couplets to hang them up.

Baoyu has been working for Master Zhan lately and has been leading a leisurely life. He is not willing to follow his master to socialize, so he evades the question:

"Sister Lin once heard someone say in a prophetic dream that the imperial residence would be named 'Grand View Garden'. Although I don't know who named it, it sounds very good, so let's use that as the name."

Jia Zheng knew that he was trying to be lazy, so he glared at him and said:
"There are many places in this garden, not just the courtyards that need to be named. There are many pavilions, towers, courtyards and residences inside, and couplets and plaques must be hung everywhere."

"When the queen returns to visit her parents in the future, if she sees any good words, won't she bring them back to the palace?"

"If by chance it reaches His Majesty's ears, it will be of great benefit to you!"

"Master is creating an opportunity for you. You must behave well later. If you dare to act naughty and make a fool of yourself, be careful that Master will slap you in the face!"

Baoyu shuddered and dared not refuse anymore, so he had to follow Jia Zheng out to show off.

He just wasn't interested in fame and fortune, but he had some talent, and writing couplets was not a difficult matter for him, he just felt tired.

After a whole day of hard work, they finally finished all these things. However, Jia Zheng did not let him go and brought him to ask Lady Jia for the final inspection.

People feel refreshed when they are happy. With this good news, Jia's grandmother's spirits improved a lot, and she had someone carry her in a sedan chair to enter the Grand View Garden to inspect it.

Mrs. Wang knew that Lady Jia liked pomp and circumstance, so she asked someone to notify the young masters and young ladies in the mansion, and they accompanied her into the Grand View Garden in a lively manner.

Grandmother Jia led everyone in through the main gate, walked along the gravel road, and then changed to a small boat to go by water. She walked through the yard. After seeing the garden full of flowers, she felt that the Jia family was as prosperous as the Grand View Garden, and would surely have a bright future. She immediately became happy.

But who would have thought that just as he came out of the Grand View Garden, he saw someone running towards him in a panic, shouting:
"Madam, it's bad, something happened to the Shi family!"

This Lady Jia was originally the daughter of the Shi family. When she heard that something happened to the Shi family, her heart skipped a beat. She sat up quickly and asked:
"Which historian is it? What happened?"

The messenger gasped and called out:
"It's the Bowling Hou family!"

"Today, an imperial decree suddenly came, confiscating the Baoling Marquis Mansion!"

"Now everyone in the Baoling Marquis's mansion has been arrested and imprisoned. The mansion has sent people over to ask the old lady to help rescue him!"

After hearing this, Grandmother Jia was suddenly struck by lightning. She fell back and slumped in her chair.

Yuanyang and the others hurriedly patted her chest and back, and the whole place was in chaos. Jia Zheng also hurried over to comfort her and said:
"Don't panic, old lady. The court has been arguing for a long time because of the matter of Baoling Hou. The two factions have been arguing endlessly and each has their own opinion."

"In my son's opinion, this time there must be a villain who framed him. Once he can contact the loyal and righteous people in the court and plead for mercy, there may be a chance for a turnaround."

After hearing this, Jia's mother waved her hands again and again, and hurriedly urged:

"Then why don't you go quickly!"

Jia Zheng left home and quickly went to the homes of close officials in the court to inquire about the news.

You won't know the result until you ask. Once you ask, you will be shocked. It's not just the family of Baoling Hou Shi Nai who are unlucky this time. Even the family of Mei Hanlin, who suddenly changed their attitude before, was also raided.

In addition to these two families whose properties were confiscated, more than a dozen officials of various ranks were dismissed, including both civil and military officials, and of high and low ranks.

Judging from the charges announced by the imperial court, most of these officials were suspected of corruption, the evidence is solid and they deserved their punishment.

But Jia Zheng was not a fool. He clearly discovered that the common feature of these guilty officials was that they were all the people who had previously submitted memorials to protect Shi Nai.

Jia Zheng felt afraid only now, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead, because he had also tried his best to protect Shi Nai in the first place!
It's obvious that you're on the wrong side!
Fortunately, after he carefully investigated, he found that not all those who tried to protect Shi Nai were punished. Only some of them were dismissed from their posts, and the only two unlucky families, Shi and Mei, had their property confiscated.

so far so good!

Now Jia Zheng no longer cared about whether they were relatives by marriage or not. He turned around and went home in a hurry, not daring to interfere in this matter any longer.

If it was just a matter involving Baolinghou's family, then the problem wouldn't be serious. If they gathered some followers and begged for mercy, the court would probably give them some face and give them a lighter sentence. But now it has almost become a major case. Who would dare to show up at this time?
Even if he wanted to continue looking for someone, others might not give him face.

Grandmother Jia is not an ordinary person. After all, she has lived to such an old age and has seen a lot of the world. After Jia Zheng came back, he told her the seriousness of the matter. Grandmother Jia immediately knew that the Baolinghou family was finished!
"Wow... My poor nephew, why does he have such a miserable life..." Grandmother Jia burst into tears and never mentioned rescue again.

Jia Zheng and others hurried forward to comfort the old lady, fearing that she would hurt herself by crying.

After a long time of effort, they finally persuaded the old lady to come over. With Yuanyang's care, she fell into a deep sleep.

Originally, today was a good day for the completion of the Grand View Garden. Not to mention setting off firecrackers to celebrate, they also had to set up a banquet to show their appreciation. But now that something like this had happened, they were in no mood to do so and each went back home.

After Jia Zheng had walked for a while, he turned around and found Baoyu following behind him with a worried look on his face, his head lowered. He did not know what he was thinking about. He became angry and shouted:
"You little bastard, what are you thinking about again!"

Baoyu was startled and waved his hands hastily:
"Master, please calm down. I'm not thinking too much. I just... I just thought of my sister Xiangyun. I don't know how she is doing now, and I'm a little worried."

"Humph!" Jia Zheng snorted coldly, then softened his tone and sighed, "When the nest is overturned, no egg can be left unbroken. The Baoling Marquis's Mansion has collapsed, so what can a little girl do?"

"So I want you to study hard, take the imperial examination and become an official in the future, and become a high-ranking official. I am not harming you, but to prevent your family from being destroyed for no apparent reason!"

Baoyu, however, was impatient with this. After hearing Jia Zheng's words, he did not reflect on it at all, but instead muttered in a low voice:

"Aren't the Shi family also officials? Didn't their family fall apart?"

"In my opinion, it is much safer not to be an official."

Jia Zheng heard this and immediately raised his eyebrows. He stretched out his palm and slapped him, cursing:
"You bastard!"

"If a person does not hold an official post, any county magistrate can wipe out his entire family. Where is he safe?"

In the past, Baoyu was as quiet as a cicada in front of his master, and he didn't dare to refute anything at all. But today, for some reason, he got angry again and said with his neck stiff:
"The Mei Hanlin family was a high-ranking official, and they were also from the imperial examination system, but didn't they also end up in an inexplicable way?"

"I have come to realize that this world is corrupt. No matter whether you are an official or a businessman, whether you live a good life has nothing to do with your family. It all depends on luck!"

"Everything in this world is like a dream, like dew or lightning, all are illusory. I should become a monk, and live out my remaining life with a green lamp and an ancient Buddha..."

Jia Zheng was originally very angry, but when he suddenly saw his son's madness relapse and he began to talk about becoming a monk, he was horrified and did not dare to beat him any more. He just shouted angrily:
"What nonsense are you talking about becoming a monk!"

"When monks and Taoist priests see the rich and powerful, they all bow their heads. Do you think there is really a peaceful place in this world?"

Baoyu, however, had dull eyes, muttered to himself, and walked out of the mansion.

When Mrs. Wang saw this, she hurriedly had someone hold him back, shouting:
"My son, why are you talking about becoming a monk out of the blue?"

Baoyu groaned in a daze:
"In this world, fame, honor, wealth, and splendor are all fleeting, fake, and false..."

"Since it will disappear sooner or later, why bother with it now?"

"Go rest, go rest..."

Seeing that her son's condition seemed to be quite serious, Mrs. Wang hesitated for a moment, gritted her teeth, and ordered:

"Go and have someone call the imperial concubine over to comfort Baoyu. We must not let him talk nonsense about becoming a monk again!"

Choose the lesser of two evils. Since they are already having an affair, let the beauty of women resist the power of Buddha for now!
The others didn't know what was going on, so they obediently asked Li Wan to come over.

Li Wan came here with a confused mind, but as long as her affair with someone is not exposed, nothing else will be a problem.

Li Wan then took Baoyu's hand and led him to her courtyard, saying soothingly:
"Madam, don't worry. Baoyu has been somewhat shocked. I will take him to my room to rest for a while. When he wakes up, he will probably be fine."

Mrs. Wang was extremely unhappy, but at this critical moment, she could not speak to stop it, so she closed her eyes and pretended not to see it, waved her hands randomly, and said with a gloomy face:

"I have already told this evil creature not to read those Buddhist and Taoist books, as they only mess up his mind!"

"Take him back first and give him some good advice. I'll have someone tidy up his room and get rid of all those unnecessary books. Then let him come back."

After saying this, Mrs. Wang turned around and vented all her anger at Baoyu's personal maid, Qianxue.

"How many times have I told you that you can't always follow Baoyu's wishes in everything. You have to keep an eye on him and report everything to me. What did you do?"

Qianxue didn't dare to say anything back and could only kneel down and kowtow to admit her mistake. She then let Mrs. Wang scold her for a long while before the matter was resolved.

As for Baoyu, after being taken away by Li Wan, after repeated questioning, she finally found out what was irritating Baoyu, but she had no way to deal with it. After thinking about it, she had to let Suyun go to Mr. Zhan for help.

When Master Zhan arrived, he first hugged Li Wan and kissed her affectionately, then he went to Baoyu's room, hit him on the head with his fan, and shouted:

"Foolish child, why don't you wake up? Let me show you how I can save your sister Xiangyun!"

If you say anything else, it may not be useful to the infatuated Baoyu, but as soon as you mention women, Baoyu immediately becomes sober.

He stared blankly at Master Zhan, then suddenly jumped up and shouted:
"Brother Zhan, you came just in time. Now only you can save Sister Xiangyun. My master and his family are now hiding from the Shi family's affairs and no one is willing to help."

Master Zhan waved his fan and said with a smile:
"Brother Bao, don't worry. Your sister Xiangyun has just been imprisoned and has not yet fallen into the hands of the Jiaofang Bureau. It is easy to rescue her. If it is later, after the list of people is recorded in the Jiaofang Bureau, it will be troublesome."

"Let's set off without further delay."

Baoyu immediately became happy, followed Mr. Zhan out the door, got in the car and went straight to the Ministry of Justice prison.

There are four main prisons in the capital, namely Shuntianfu Prison, Ministry of Justice Prison, Dali Temple Prison, and Tianlao.

The Shuntian Prefecture was mainly responsible for the criminals in the civilian population, but officials were not given the chance to take charge here. After all, there were many officials in the capital, and the Shuntian Prefecture could not afford to offend anyone.

The Ministry of Justice Prison is the main place for imprisoning and trying criminals, while the Dali Temple Prison is mainly for serious criminals and those who need to be reviewed or tried. But in fact, the powers and responsibilities of the Dali Temple often overlap with those of the Ministry of Justice. It all depends on how the court arranges it.

As for the Heavenly Prison, it was the emperor's private prison, also called the Imperial Prison. The East and West Factories, the Embroidered Uniform Guards, each of them had one prison, and they were all considered Heavenly Prisons. When they arrived at the gate of the Ministry of Justice, the two men got off the car, and Master Zhan strode forward and walked in. The gatekeeper had always been discerning, and he knew at a glance that this man had come from somewhere, so he smiled and greeted him, saluted and asked:
"May I ask what orders this sir has for coming to this prison?"

Master Zhan waved his hand, and the silver opened the way. He threw a silver ingot into the man's arms, and then he said:

"Sir, I have an old relationship with the Bowling Marquis family whose property was confiscated. I heard that he was in trouble, so I came to see him."

The doorman took the silver and immediately smiled. He stepped aside to lead the way, "Sir, please come this way. I'll take you in."

Walking around the corridor in front and passing through several layers of guards, Master Zhan threw silver to everyone he saw, turning the guards who were standing straight into hunched shrimps.

After entering the prison, the environment inside suddenly became terrible. The air was filled with the stench of feces and urine, as well as various moldy and spoiled smells, which mixed together and made people feel nauseous.

Mr. Zhan was fine as he could control his body and switch to internal breathing. However, this was the first time that Baoyu encountered such a terrible environment and he immediately started to dry heave.

"Then, Baoyu, you wait for me outside, and I will go over by myself."

Baoyu hesitated for a moment, but refused resolutely, and just shook his head and said:
"I have read about this prison in books before. It is the darkest and dirtiest place in the world. I thought it was exaggerated in the books before, but now that I have seen it, I know it is true."

"Knowledge gained from books is always shallow. One must experience it in person to fully understand it. I must see this kind of place in person."

After hearing this, Mr. Zhan smiled and shook his head, saying disapprovingly:
"This is just the beginning. There are many places in this world that are much dirtier than this. If you want to see it, there will always be a chance in the future."

Baoyu pinched his nose and forced himself to follow him inside.

After turning a few corners, they saw a large cell filled with people. The guard smiled and pointed inside, "Sir, all the prisoners in the Bowling Mansion are here."

Seeing someone coming, there was a commotion in the cell. A group of people rushed to the cell door, grabbed the door with both hands, and howled outside:

"It's unfair, sir, I'm innocent..."

"I'm just a servant, I don't know anything..."

"I want to report it, I want to turn myself in, I want to make a contribution..."

Master Zhan frowned, took a step forward, and shouted loudly:

"shut up!"

"I'm not an official from the Ministry of Justice. Who cares if you're wronged or not?"

"Is Uncle Shi Nai here?"

Baoyu didn't care about the dirt and stench, he rushed to the door, looked inside and shouted:

"Sister Xiangyun, I'm here to see you. Are you okay?"

When everyone heard that he was not an official from the Ministry of Justice, they immediately lost their temper, shrank back into the corner, and began to cry.

Shi Nai was originally sitting in a corner with his head down. When he heard someone calling him, he struggled to get up and came to the door. When he saw Master Zhan, he burst into tears immediately. He reached out and grabbed Master Zhan's arm, and said with great emotion:

"My nephew Nian Si, since I was imprisoned, all my relatives have avoided my family like snakes and scorpions. Even my fellow Shi family members are unwilling to pay attention to me. My nephew Nian Si is willing to come here. He is indeed a man who values ​​friendship and loyalty. I am very grateful to him."

Before he could continue asking for help, Master Zhan interrupted him with a wave of his hand:
"Uncle Shi, we have known each other for a long time, and I was taken care of by you in the past. If I were to avoid you now because you are in prison, would I still be considered a human being?"

"It's a pity that what my uncle did this time has angered the emperor. Outsiders can't change the outcome, and my nephew can't save you either."

Shi Nai had never held out much hope in the first place, and being rejected was just what he expected. However, he was unwilling to accept the result, and he immediately cried:
"My Shi family has two marquises and has always made contributions to the country. How come we have suffered such a misfortune now? Can't even our family be saved?"

Mr. Zhan sighed and advised:
"Uncle, if you want to rescue the Shi family, I can't do anything, but if you just want to save Miss Xiangyun, I still have some ideas."

When Shi Nai heard this, he was shocked and pleaded hurriedly:
"My son is still young, if my nephew..."

Master Zhan interrupted him hastily:

"It's easy to rescue Miss Xiangyun. All I need is for my uncle to sign a contract with me and make Miss Xiangyun my concubine. Then Miss Xiangyun will no longer be a member of the Shi family, but a member of my Zhan family."

"Besides, Miss Xiangyun is just a woman, not the main culprit, so the court won't care much about it."

"As long as I spread some money, I can do something and get Miss Shi out."

"But if this man wants to be rescued, it will be difficult for me."

After hearing this, Shi Nai suddenly became hesitant and looked at his niece hesitantly.

As a historian, it would be too beneath his status to let a girl become someone's concubine.

Although the Shi family has fallen now, the officialdom is ever-changing. Who knows, someone who falls today may rise again tomorrow. As long as people are alive, everything is possible.

Besides, I will not die. Even if I am exiled in the future, there are 18 branches in the Shi family. Can't they take care of a girl? Why entrust her to an outsider?

Baoyu and Shi Xiangyun were crying and hugging each other across the prison door. When they heard what Master Zhan said, they quickly spoke up and said,

"That's right. Brother Zhan has always been a kind and compassionate man. Uncle Shi can just entrust Sister Xiangyun to Brother Zhan. With Brother Zhan's help and care, Sister Xiangyun will never suffer."

This Shi Xiangyun is also one of the Twelve Golden Hairpins, so Master Zhan is also jealous, so he continues to persuade her:

"Everything can be done now while the court has not yet issued a decision. If Miss Xiangyun is sold to the Jiaofang Bureau after everything is settled, her name will be included in the list of the Ministry of Rites, and it will be difficult to escape."

When he heard the three words "Jiaofangsi", Shi Nai's body trembled suddenly.

He only thought that his family might be exiled with him, but he forgot that there was also the possibility of being sent to the Jiaofangsi.

For a woman, exile is actually a good thing compared to being sent to the Jiaofangsi.

If my niece were to enter the Jiaofangsi, the Shi family would not be able to help take care of her, and that would be truly disgraceful.

Rather than letting his daughter take this risk, it would be better to seize the opportunity as soon as possible and let Master Zhan rescue her so that she can suffer less.

He immediately shuddered and nodded in agreement:
"My dear nephew, everything will be up to your will. I will give Xiangyun to you as your concubine."

"If my dear nephew can save Xiangyun, even if Shi Nai is in the afterlife, he will have done justice to my deceased brother."

"Please take good care of Xiangyun in the future. If the Shi family can make a comeback in the future, I will definitely reward you generously."

Mr. Zhan stopped talking and directly took out the contract and writing materials that he had prepared long ago from his sleeve and handed them to Shi Nai.

Shi Nai took a quick glance at it and then picked up his pen to sign his name on it.

After Master Zhan took back the deed, he called the jailer over, threw a silver ingot to him, and ordered:
"This cell is too cramped. How can so many people live together?"

"I know you must have a single room here. You can arrange a single room for Baoling Hou and his men. Just tell me how much it will cost."

The jailer knew that the visitor was the famous God of Wealth, Mr. Zhan, and he immediately bowed and said with a smile:

"Since the Lord has given the order, I will do it for you immediately and will not let your money go to waste."

They were quite efficient. They immediately opened the prison door, found another single room, and invited Shi Nai's family and Shi Xiangyun to go in. Master Zhan handed over another banknote with satisfaction and instructed:

"Prepare all the good food and drinks. Take this money and spend it first. If you run out of money, just go to Viscount Zhongshun's mansion and tell him, and someone will naturally send it to you."

The jailer's eyes were immediately blinded by the silver bill. He bowed and kowtowed repeatedly, promising to serve the Baolinghou family well.

Master Zhan then bowed and said goodbye to Shi Nai:

"Without further delay, I will go and handle the rescue. Uncle, please have a good chat with Miss Shi and talk about the family relationship."

After saying this, Master Zhan dragged Baoyu, who was reluctant to leave, out. As soon as he took a step, he heard someone shouting from the other side of the prison door:

"Master Zhan, please stay!"

"Please save me, Master Zhan!"

Mr. Zhan stopped curiously and turned his head to look. He saw a man in another cell door with dishevelled hair and a dirty face. His appearance could not be seen.

When the man saw Master Zhan stop, he hurried to the prison door and wiped his face vigorously with his sleeves several times. Master Zhan then recognized that this was clearly Jia Yucun, the former governor of Shuntian Prefecture.

Previously, in order to protect his own official hat, Jia Yucun defined the kidnapping of Wang Xifeng as a personal revenge, which pleased the officials in the court at that time. If it weren't for Master Zhan's meddling, he would have succeeded.

But Wang Xifeng's rescue was originally part of the play, and how could Master Zhan allow him to ruin it? So he blatantly intervened and directed a scene in which Xue Wenlong went up the mountain to suppress bandits.

After everything was exposed, Jia Yucun's previous tricks were exposed. After the officials realized that they had been fooled, they secretly hated Jia Yucun and began to act according to the law and strictly investigate Jia Yucun's dereliction of duty.

Jia Yucun's backers are mainly the Jia family and the Wang family, with the civil officials group as a supplement. But in this matter, he offended all three parties. If he doesn't fall, who will?

Naturally, Jia Yucun's entire family was imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice, even earlier than the Baolinghou family!

Seeing that Master Zhan recognized him, Jia Yucun bowed and said flatteringly:
"Master Zhan, Yucun saw that the Lord was helping others out of righteousness and helped Baoling Hou rescue his daughter, so he also dared to ask the Lord for help to rescue her."

"Hehe... Do you have a daughter too?" Master Zhan looked at him with a sneer and stayed away from him, afraid of being smelled by him.

Jia Yucun, however, paid no attention to Master Zhan's indifference, and only bowed his head and smiled humbly:

"Yucun has no daughter, but he has a wife, and he is willing to entrust her to Master Zhan."

"My wife's name is Jiao Xing. She is from the Zhen family and is quite pretty. If you think about it, she has some affinity with Xiang Ling, the concubine in Master Zhan's mansion."

"Yucun has always known that Mr. Zhan is a man of unparalleled loyalty and righteousness, and that he is willing to sacrifice his wife and son for him. Therefore, I am bold enough to ask Mr. Zhan to record this."

"Huh?" It was the first time that Mr. Zhan heard such an outrageous thing. He couldn't help but look at Jia Yucun intently. Just by looking at the cunning flash in Jia Yucun's eyes, he knew his purpose.

Jia Yucun's crime can be very serious or very minor, the key lies in whether there is anyone speaking for him.

He was originally a person of official descent, so even if he was dismissed from office, he would have a chance to be reinstated in the future.

In name, he was offering his wife and son for the sake of his own success, but in reality, he was selling his wife for fame and fortune. As long as he could get a hold of the relationship with Lord Zhan, even if Lord Zhan was unwilling to speak well of him this time, when he wanted to get reinstated in the future, at least he would have a reason to come to him for help, and he wouldn't end up carrying a pig's head and unable to find the temple gate.

However, Mr. Zhan was a picky person. After his eyes swept over the face and body of the woman who was shrinking timidly beside Jia Yucun, he lost interest.

This Jiao Xing is not one of the Twelve Golden Hairpins and her appearance is not particularly pretty, so what is the use of her?
"Humph! The qualifications of the master's concubine are very high. How can just any Tom, Dick or Harry be able to enter the mansion?"

Mr. Zhan snorted coldly and left, not bothering to continue talking nonsense with Jia Yucun. Jia Yucun was so anxious that he kept jumping up and down and shouting, trying to keep him.

(End of this chapter)