The Heavens Begin with Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 153 The oriole is behind
As the sky was getting light, Mrs. Wang woke up from her sleep, turned over lazily, and suddenly her body stiffened, and she felt the hot body beside her.

He regained consciousness quickly and remembered the crazy scene of last night. His face turned red with shame. He quickly got up and put on his clothes in a hurry.

"Why are you so shy, madam?"

"Did Madam not rest well last night?"

Hongye also climbed up with a smile, but did not rush to put on her clothes. Instead, she came up and made some moves on Mrs. Wang.

When Mrs. Wang was reminded by Hongye, she suddenly remembered that she slept well last night and did not have any nightmares at all.

She was stunned for a moment, then reached out to swat away Hongye's claws that were groping around everywhere, and said angrily:

"You are such an ignorant girl. How can you be so disrespectful?"

Hongye hugged her, bit her earlobe, and whispered:

"My wife likes it the most. If she behaves like this, I'm afraid she won't be happy on weekdays!"

After being treated like this by Hongye, Mrs. Wang felt hot all over again and almost took off the clothes she had just put on.

Fortunately, she still had her sanity and remembered to go out to attend the funeral, so she quickly jumped off the bed and hid far away from Hongye.

"Madam, why are you like this? I'm not a monster and I can't eat you." Hongye giggled, making Mrs. Wang want to stay away even further.

Seeing that Madam Wang looked panic-stricken, Hongye did not force her too much. She just got up and dressed. When Madam Wang went out, she followed behind her with a smile and whispered:

"I will go back to Lixiangyuan now. If you want, you can ask someone to call me at Lixiangyuan at any time. I will come back and serve you well then."

Mrs. Wang's face turned red, she lowered her head and walked quickly, not daring to answer anything.

What happened last night was too absurd and beautiful. For her, who had been following the rules all her life, it was too much of a shock. She was so frightened that she didn't know how to deal with it.

The following day was once again busy with various things, such as welcoming and seeing off guests. There were so many things to do that Mrs. Wang forgot what happened last night.

At night, Mrs. Wang returned to her own courtyard, washed up, and lay down on the bed. In a daze, she returned to the scene of her mother's murder that day.

"My dear wife, what good things have you brought for me..." Grandmother Jia stared at Mrs. Wang with a pair of black holes in her eyes and her white bony gums knocking up and down, gradually approaching her.

"what……"

With a scream, Mrs. Wang woke up from her nightmare again and sat at the head of the bed, breathing heavily.

In order to prevent her talking in her sleep from being overheard by others, she had sent the little maid who was accompanying her in bed to the outer room long ago. Now sitting alone in the dark room, Mrs. Wang always felt that in the depths of the darkness, there was a pair of eyes staring at her.

She shivered, quickly got into bed, pulled the quilt over her head and covered herself tightly.

However, suspicion arose, and after hiding under the quilt, not only did I not manage to block out the feeling of being watched in the darkness, but I felt that the eyes were getting closer, as if they were outside the quilt, right on the bed.

"Amitabha, may the Bodhisattva bless you..."

Mrs. Wang clasped her hands together and chanted incessantly, reciting various scriptures for the salvation of the dead souls one by one, but unfortunately it did not work. Instead, the more she chanted, the more afraid she became.

Suddenly, she remembered the good dream she had last night. After a little hesitation, she closed her eyes and put her hands between her legs.

But in this gloomy environment, she had no interest at all. She worked manually for a long time and exhausted herself, but she was still nervous and couldn't sleep at all.

After another night of torment, as soon as the sky brightened, she impatiently got up from the bed and called the maids and old women in to serve her. She didn't dare to stay alone in the dark room anymore!

After another busy day, when Mrs. Wang returned to her cold little house, she began to hesitate.

After hesitating for a long time, Mrs. Wang finally gritted her teeth, called Caiyun over, and ordered:

"Go lie down in Lixiangyuan and tell her that I feel a little tired and I want to borrow Miss Hongye to give me a massage."

Caiyun went out as ordered.

As soon as she left, Mrs. Wang felt a little regretful. She always felt that her family was too frivolous and dissolute to do such a despicable thing.

But whenever she thought of Lady Jia's dead face, her heart started beating wildly again and she ignored everything else.

Not long after, Hongye came in with a smile, and when she saw Mrs. Wang, she teased:

"Oh, Madam has already taken a bath. It seems that Madam can't wait any longer!"

Mrs. Wang glared at her fiercely, waved her hand to drive Caiyun out, then put on a dignified look and said:

"Your massage technique last time was very good, and it made me sleep very comfortably. You have to give me another massage tonight. Remember, you are only allowed to massage, and you are not allowed to do anything extra."

Hongye had seen through her true intentions long ago, and was not afraid of her pretense at all. She just agreed with a smile, and reached out to the core position.

"W-What did you do?"

Mrs. Wang was startled and quickly shrank back.

"I am here to give you a massage, Madam!"

As Hongye spoke, she pulled out the silk belt again, shook it in the air, grabbed Mrs. Wang's hands, and began to tie them up.

"Don't...just massage, nothing else..."

Mrs. Wang tried to dodge, but was pushed down by Hongye, who held her hand and slapped her on the butt several times.

When Mrs. Wang reached out to cover her red cheeks, Hongye gave her a "backhand massage" and then leaned over with a smile and teased:
"Madam, you may not know that there are many types of massage. Tonight I will give you a Japanese massage, which was taught by my master himself and is most suitable for women!"

Mrs. Wang was both ashamed and angry, but she dared not say anything loudly, so she had to let her play with her.

Hongye quickly stripped off Mrs. Wang's clothes, put them on the table, and started to eat with relish.

Mrs. Wang was angry at first, then shy, and soon she was bewildered. Finally, everything turned into comfort. She trembled all over and had long forgotten what day it was and who she was.

Since her marriage, she has only had one man, Jia Zheng. Unfortunately, Mr. Zheng is an old scholar and a conservative person. Even the things in bed are boring. In addition, scholars are generally thin, so their strength and duration are below average. She has never seen the level of outsiders for many years, so she just thinks that some things are just like that.

However, Hongye was Master Zhan's right-hand man and had become an expert in this field over the years. For her, dealing with a newbie like Madam Wang was easy and pleasant. She completely conquered her without any effort.

I won’t go into detail about the beautiful night. On the second day, Mrs. Wang woke up from her sweet dream. She moved her body slightly and felt the bindings on her body. Her face flushed. She kicked the red leaves beside her with her legs and whispered while biting her red lips:

"It's dawn, time to get up, why don't you take this thing off me?"

Hongye turned over, yawned, rubbed her sleepy eyes, and looked down at Mrs. Wang, who had become much more docile. However, she did not untie her. She simply lowered her head and lay on top of her, opening her mouth to look for food, humming:

"Don't worry, let me have breakfast first!"

Mrs. Wang was teased by her until her whole body turned red, but she could do nothing but close her eyes and let her take advantage of her, so that she could relax for once.

After eating and drinking from head to toe, Hongye was finally satisfied. He untied the belt, but not completely. He just changed the route, changing "Back Hand Fu" into "Gui Jia Fu".

When Mrs. Wang saw this, her face flushed and she cried out:

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"I have to go to the funeral home during the day to observe mourning. I can't do anything stupid!"

"If you want... then let's talk about it tonight. Everything is up to you."

Hongye smiled and helped her up, helped her put on her clothes and shoes, put the silk belt under her clothes, and said:

"This is a rope garment, it can be used to ward off evil spirits. Wear it under your clothes and you won't have to worry about that damned ghost, Jia Mu, coming to trouble you. It's good!"

When Mrs. Wang heard Hongye call Lady Jia a "dead ghost", she frowned subconsciously and felt unhappy. But when she thought of the crime of "matricide" she had committed, she felt deeply guilty and thought that she was really a sinner who deserved to go to hell. Even if she became a little more degenerate, it didn't matter.

Hongye helped Mrs. Wang get up, wash, and eat, and then went out to the mourning hall to mourn.

Only after she took the first step did Mrs. Wang realize the benefits of this "item to ward off evil spirits". She felt that with every step she took, her mind and spirit were moved. She didn't know whether it could ward off evil spirits or not, but it did make her have evil thoughts.

She wanted to go back to her room to get rid of this thing, but Hongye next to her held her arm and kept walking forward, making it impossible for her to turn back.

Hongye even put his mouth close to her ear and gently reminded her:

"Madam, you have to be careful. There are so many people coming and going around here. Who knows, someone might be staring at you!"

"If you really can't bear it any longer, just throw yourself into my arms and pretend to be sad. I will cover for you and no one will notice anything."

After hearing this, Mrs. Wang bit her lower lip and glared at Hongye fiercely.

Hongye was not afraid of her. Instead, she covered herself with her sleeves and pulled up the silk belt with force.

"what……"

Mrs. Wang was stimulated by this sudden attack and couldn't help but let out a soft moan, which attracted the attention of everyone around her.

This time, Madam Wang was frightened. Her face turned pale and her core tightened automatically. She felt the silk belt more and more clearly.

Fortunately, the people around her couldn't see what was hidden under her clothes, so they just glanced at it and ignored it.

After this incident, Mrs. Wang didn't dare to provoke Hongye anymore. She knelt obediently in the mourning hall, knowing what to do and spent an exciting day in fear.

And in the court, the censor hired by Jia Zheng finally began his attack.

When the court meeting was about to end, a man stepped out, bowed and began to speak:

"Your Majesty, I impeach Jia She, the first-class general of Rongguo Mansion, for allowing his daughter-in-law to lend money at high interest rates. After something went wrong, he threw his daughter-in-law out to pay off the debt and sent her back home. He also continued to instruct his servants to lend money. Now he has even angered his mother to death. This is extremely unfilial. He should be severely punished to serve as a warning to others."

The censors were used to biting people everywhere, and all the civil and military officials knew it, but everyone knew more clearly that unless they were mad dogs, there were rules for biting everywhere. Now that someone impeached the noble relatives of Rongguo Mansion, they knew that there must be someone behind it, so everyone looked sideways, waiting for the follow-up.

The emperor glanced around and saw that no one stood up to plead for Jia She. He knew that everything had been colluded long ago, so he did not express his opinion and just waved his hand and said:

"Order the Ministry of Rites to send someone to verify. If the situation is true, they will be severely punished."

The Minister of Rites bowed in response, and the court meeting was adjourned.

After the Minister of Rites returned to the yamen, he saw that no one had come to intercede, so he realized something and sent someone directly to the Rongguo Mansion to investigate.

The people from the Ministry of Rites arrived at the Rongguo Mansion with great fanfare, and without caring that a funeral was going on there, they swaggered in.

When Jia She and his companions heard this, they hurried out to greet them.

Jia Zheng had known what was going on for a long time, so he was not panicking. But when Jia She heard that they were going to investigate him for lending money at high interest rates and also ask about the cause of Jia's mother's death, he immediately flew into a rage and pointed at the clerk and started to curse:

"Blind dog!"

"Where do you think this place is?" "This is Rongguo Mansion!"

"Even if you are the Minister of Rites, you have to be polite when you come here. How can you be so presumptuous?"

"Look at the signatures on all these wreaths. Which one is not a hundred times more noble than yours?"

"If you know what's best for you, go back and say a few nice words to your master. I will be magnanimous and forgive you today. Otherwise, be careful that you will be unavailable in the future, or I will make you pay!"

The clerk who came to do the work had already received orders, so he was not afraid of him. He appeared to be submissive, but he still asked all the people he needed to ask.

No matter how angry Jia She was, he did not dare to stop them from investigating.

When it came to Jia Zheng's turn, he behaved like a brother and was respectful to his younger brother. He denied all the questions and only blamed the matter of the usury on the servants. He also said that Jia's mother's death was due to her old age and had nothing to do with outsiders.

But when it came to the managers and servants below, the answers to this question became varied, with all sorts of things said.

The petty clerks did not ask any further questions. They just recorded the answers and then took the records back to the yamen.

As soon as the people from the Ministry of Rites left, Jia She became impatient and hurriedly left all the affairs to Jia Lian, then went out to visit his good friend's house to inquire about the news.

In recent years, Jia She has become increasingly incompetent. He only looks at the benefits of everything he does. His position is not firm at all. His position is completely inconsistent with that of the four kings and eight dukes' families, which makes people from different families annoyed with him.

Nowadays, whether judging from the official position or the work done, Jia Zheng is obviously more decent than Jia She and his son. Even for their own interests, there is no reason for each family to continue supporting Jia She.

So each family only promised him that they would speak well of the Jia family in front of His Majesty, but never mentioned that it was Jia Zheng who was behind these things.

After getting everyone's promise, Jia She returned home in a high mood, thinking that he could rest easy.

A few days later, at a court meeting, the emperor asked about this matter, and the Minister of Rites replied:
"Your Majesty, after investigation, it was found that Jia She, the first-class general of the Jia family, did have bad conduct. In addition to lending money at high interest rates, he also committed many illegal acts. Although his mother was not angered to death by him, the mother and son often quarreled, so he was indeed unfilial."

The emperor heard this and waved his hand:
"If that's the case, then punish him according to the law."

The Minister of Rites said:

"According to the rules of our dynasty, Jia She should be stripped of his title of first-class general and exiled a thousand miles away."

"Accurate."

As soon as the emperor said this, Prince Beijing Shui Rong stood up and pleaded:

"Your Majesty, Jia She has bad conduct and is ignorant of filial piety. He should be severely punished. However, Dukes Ning and Rong made great contributions to the country. Your Majesty, please consider their friendship and show your kindness."

After hearing this, the emperor raised his eyebrows and said with a fake smile:
"Then according to Shui Qing's family, how should this matter be punished?"

Water soluble toilet paper:

"Jia She's personal morality is flawed, Your Majesty can punish him severely to serve as a warning to others. As for the title of general, Your Majesty may as well show mercy and allow his son Jia Lian to inherit it by lowering his rank to show the emperor's great grace and kindness to the descendants of meritorious officials."

This is as it should be. Anyway, the title will be downgraded after two generations at most and then it will automatically disappear. There is nothing wrong in doing a favor.

Just as the emperor was about to agree, the censor who had impeached Jia She jumped out again and shouted:
"No!"

"Your Majesty, Jia She had previously instructed Jia Lian's wife Wang to lend money outside. This shows that Jia Lian and his father are birds of a feather and have low moral character."

"After the incident, he and his son pushed the blame onto a woman named Wang. This shows that Jia Lian is irresponsible and unworthy of inheriting the title."

After hearing this, Prince Xiping next to him also stood up and suggested:

"Since Jia She's branch is useless, then we should choose another branch to inherit. They are all descendants of Duke Rong. Whoever inherits the title will be honored by the emperor."

"I have known Jia She's younger brother Jia Zheng for a long time. He is a decent person. He is now a deputy minister of the Ministry of Works. He usually does things well. He is also the biological father of the imperial concubine. If he is allowed to inherit the title, there is no need to worry about his character."

So everyone unanimously praised it.

Behind the imperial desk, the emperor watched coldly as the people below put on a show, sneering in his heart.

By now, of course, he had already seen through everyone's plans.

This was because they saw that Jia She was incompetent, so they planned to let Jia Zheng replace Jia She's title and let the Ning and Rong factions continue to follow in the footsteps of the four kings and eight dukes and take a united stand against the outside world.

The current emperor had previously expressed his intention to win over the Rongguo Mansion, and even promised the position of imperial concubine to one.

As a result, when it came to the matter of Baoling Hou, Jia Zheng did not understand the emperor's intention at all. He was determined to protect Baoling Hou and went against the emperor, which made the emperor very dissatisfied.

A few days ago, when he saw someone trying to impeach the Rongguo Mansion, the Emperor originally wanted to take advantage of the situation to deal with Jia Zheng, but now he knows that everything was planned by others.

The group of people below sang the same tune and had already paved the way for Jia Zheng. They only needed him to nod, and Jia Zheng would get a title out of thin air.

With such benefits, wouldn't he be determined to follow the four kings and eight gentlemen until the end of the world?

The current emperor might as well let Jia She go and let this fool continue to be in charge of Rongguo Mansion. This is better than letting Jia Zheng and the four kings and eight dukes take advantage of it.

But he had just approved the request of the Minister of Rites. Now that the emperor was speaking, it would be embarrassing if he wanted to take it back.

But if Jia Zheng were to obtain the title according to the arrangements made by the four kings and eight dukes, he would feel very embarrassed.

He glanced at the faces of his ministers, hoping that someone would jump out and help him solve this problem.

But this incident happened too suddenly, and the ministers were not prepared in advance. In addition, Jia Zheng was indeed the biological father of the imperial concubine. The ministers secretly guessed the emperor's thoughts, wondering whether His Majesty had hinted at someone to do today's incident. For a moment, they were very cautious and only lowered their heads to carefully study the floor tiles, not daring to speak carelessly.

Otherwise, just revoke the title and don’t give it to anyone!
The emperor was furious and thought, what could I do even if I didn't show him any kindness?

At worst, people will scold me behind my back for being mean and ungrateful!

It’s better than letting the power of Rongguo Mansion continue to follow the four kings and eight dukes to cause trouble for me!

The emperor's eyes flashed, and just as he was about to issue an order, he saw the eunuch Xia Shouzhong next to him come over and whisper something in his ear.

When the emperor heard this, he was overjoyed and immediately smiled and said:
"What you all said makes sense."

"Jia She has bad conduct and is not filial. He must be severely punished. So we will strip him of his title and exile him to the frontier after Lady Jia's funeral."

"But what Shui Qing said is also very reasonable. After all, Dukes Ning and Rong have made great contributions to the country, and their titles should not be cut off so easily."

"But Jia Lian's conduct is not good, and he is not worthy of this imperial title. This second-class general cannot be given to him."

"Jia Zheng is a decent person, so it's fine for him to inherit the title. But he is a relative of the emperor, so we have to avoid suspicion. I can't give him the title."

"However, fortunately, the descendants of the second master Ning and Rong are not limited to him. There is also one named Jia Rong, who is a descendant of the Ning Kingdom. Because the title was downgraded, it happened to be gone in his generation. He was only granted the title of Cloud Cavalry Lieutenant, which is of no rank or grade. It is really pitiful."

"Since we are all descendants of the Jia family and share the same mother, I will simply show mercy and give this second-class general to Jia Rong, so that the title of Ningguo can continue for two more generations to show the grace of the court."

"What do you think, gentlemen?"

After hearing this, Shui Rong and others' faces turned green.

They all knew what kind of person Jia Rong was. If the title fell into Jia Rong's hands, it would be better for Jia She to have it!
Shui Rong hurriedly stepped forward and bowed, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid it's not appropriate to give the title of Rongguo Mansion to Ningguo Mansion, right?"

After hearing this, the emperor looked at him with a smile and said, "Then according to Shui Qing's family, who else can be given the title of Rongguo Mansion?"

"Uh..." Shui Rong was also a little speechless.

Your Majesty has already said that Jia Zheng, the designated candidate, cannot be given the position in order to avoid suspicion. So who else can it be given to?
This kind of royal family avoiding suspicion is the most legitimate reason. If outsiders knew about it, they would praise Your Majesty's benevolence and righteousness, and they, the court officials, could not force it.

If I had known this would happen, I shouldn’t have pressed Jia Lian so hard!

These are Jia She's biological sons and the most legitimate heirs to the title, but they were excluded from the very beginning. Otherwise, it would not have been Jia Zheng's turn.

Now, the emperor inexplicably wants to give the title to Jia Rong. What is he thinking?
They couldn't help but turn their gaze to the eunuch Xia Shouzhong who was standing beside them with his head lowered. It must be his words just now that caused the bad things.

Seeing that Shui Rong had nothing to say, the emperor laughed and waved his hand, and ordered:

"Since all the ministers have no objection, then this matter is settled. The cabinet will draft the decree."

"If there is nothing else, then let's adjourn the court!"

The emperor flicked his sleeves, stood up and left with a smile. Xia Shouzhong followed closely behind him with his head down and small steps.

After returning to the back hall, the emperor laughed loudly and said:

"How ridiculous! These parasites only thought of their own benefits, but in the end, they benefited from Jia Rong!"

"Just looking at the shocked faces of these people at the end, I don't know how happy I felt!"

"I wonder if Jia Zheng will continue to be indecisive this time. If he knows what's best for him, I'll give him another chance. If he doesn't, haha..."

Xia Shouzhong smiled and said some flattering words to make the emperor happy.

After finishing his shift, Xia Shouzhong took a sedan chair back to the mansion. As soon as he entered the door, he saw the housekeeper coming over and said:
"Master, the loyal and obedient Lord Zhan sent another 10,000 taels of silver to thank you for speaking well of Jia Rong in front of His Majesty."

Xia Shouzhong took the stack of banknotes, counted them with a smile on his face, and then laughed:
"Master Zhan is really generous. Just one sentence is enough to give 20,000 taels of silver. What a good deal!"

Originally, Master Zhan had nothing to do with this matter, but it was Madam Wang who leaked the matter to Aunt Xue!
If Aunt Xue knew about it, it meant that Mr. Zhan knew about it.

When Mr. Zhan found out, he wanted to get involved.

These days, under the instigation of Aunt Zhao, Tanchun has been seducing Mr. Zhan many times, trying to make the matter a fait accompli.

Of course, Mr. Zhan also took this opportunity to enjoy Tanchun from head to toe. Except for the last level, he had tried many tricks.

The little girl Tanchun thought she was smart and capable, but in fact she had already been played around by Master Zhan and her aunt.

This was when Jia Zheng didn't even have a title, but Aunt Zhao was already so impatient. If Jia Zheng really got a title, maybe Aunt Zhao would dare to ask Master Zheng to come and force a marriage!

This is not possible!

Master Zhan is still plotting against someone else's wife, so how can he let Master Zheng continue to have an easy life? Of course he has to interfere and make sure the title falls into the hands of someone else.

However, he also knew that it was not his turn to speak up in such matters, so he went to the eunuch Xia Shouzhong, gave him 10,000 taels of silver first, and asked him to act accordingly, and would give him another 10,000 taels after the matter was accomplished.

It is true that money makes the world go round. Xia Shouzhong took the silver and learned the truth of the matter from Mr. Zhan, and then began to make preparations.

When no one else knew why the censor wanted to impeach Jia She, Xia Shouzhong already knew everything, but he deliberately kept silent and did not tell the emperor, allowing the emperor to be caught off guard by Shui Rong and others. Then he took the opportunity to speak up, not only completing Mr. Zhan's entrustment, but also doing the emperor a favor and making the emperor happy.

Win-win!

He won twice!
Thanks to the book friend “妖怪敲门” for the reward of 100 coins!
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(End of this chapter)