This scholar is a bit cruel

Chapter 255 The Demise of the Jia Family

three days later.

The news of the Blissful Manor spread throughout the entire city of Lin'an.

People were utterly shocked.

The streets and alleys were abuzz with discussion, and the entire imperial court was also shaken.

The officials involved in this incident have all been severely punished.

Some were killed, others were exiled.

The Prince of Nanhe was stripped of his title, and his entire family was exiled to a desolate land, with no possibility of ever returning to Lin'an.

Because of this case, the Jia family was stripped of all their titles and official positions.

Because Jia She and Jia Zhen directly invested in the company, they not only lost the titles they inherited from their ancestors, but were also imprisoned and faced five years in jail.

If it weren't for Consort Jia and Jia Tanchun, the entire Jia family would have been wiped out.

When Jia Tanchun helped Luo Zijun investigate Lai Da, Luo Zijun had promised her that she would try her best to plead for the Jia family. So when the Jia family was sentenced to have their property confiscated and the whole family was to go to jail, Luo Zijun rushed to the palace and pleaded for them in front of the Queen. In the end, the rest of the Jia family was spared.

Several other families, except for the Bai family, were implicated and punished.

From then on, of the four major families in the inner city, only the Bai family remained standing; the other three families all began to decline.

Of course, everyone knows that the case at Bliss Villa was just a prelude.

Long ago, many people sensed that the imperial court was about to take action against the four major families, and had already begun to do so, just like boiling a frog in lukewarm water, step by step.

The sudden emergence of the shocking case of the Blissful Manor, in which several families, led by the Jia family, were involved to varying degrees, provided the imperial court with the perfect opportunity to completely turn against them.

This time, the imperial court received more than one million taels of silver from these powerful families, which was just enough to alleviate the financial crisis caused by the recent Rebellion of the Seven States.

The Jia family suffered the most.

Because of the construction of the Grand View Garden, the Jia family was already strapped for cash. Now, with most of their land, houses, and shops confiscated, along with tens of thousands of taels of silver, this already crippled family was completely rendered powerless.

Moreover, the Grand View Garden, which they had spent a great deal of money and effort to build, was confiscated before Consort Jia even returned to visit it.

This day.

When Grandmother Jia gathered all the members of the Jia family and personally inventoried all the remaining assets of the Jia family, she trembled and her face was filled with despair.

She was forced to make a painful decision.

Most of the maids, servants, and guards were dismissed, with each person allowed to keep only one maid.

Five guards and ten servants were left behind for each of the two mansions.

Even so, it probably won't last long.

When the servants of the Jia family heard this decision, they were all struck dumb, as if the end of the world had come, and they were terrified.

The mansion was filled with cries and pleas.

After all, many servants had lived in the mansion since childhood, were used to a life of luxury, and had long lost other life skills. Now that they had been driven out of the Jia family, how were they supposed to survive?

The man was alright; he could make a living by doing manual labor.

What should be done with those maids and nannies?

After giving her instructions, Grandmother Jia heard weeping coming from all over the mansion. Thinking of the hard times to come and the past glory of the Jia family, she felt a tightness in her chest, spat out a mouthful of blood, and fainted.

Yuanyang and the others hurriedly helped her to the back to rest.

Jia Zheng forced himself to stay alert and began to deal with the servants in the mansion.

"Sir, please, don't send us away..."

"Miss! Miss! I'd rather die here than leave you..."

"Madam! Please, I want to stay here and serve you..."

In an instant, all the maids and nannies in the mansion knelt on the ground, kowtowing and begging repeatedly, and some even fainted from crying.

However, what's done is done, and no one can change anything.

Starting with Grandmother Jia, all the masters of the Jia family began to dismiss their maids and nannies.

Grandmother Jia kept only Yuanyang and one nanny.

Madam Wang, Madam Xing, Aunt Zhao, Wang Xifeng, and others all began to take action.

When Jia Tanchun went to the backyard, the maids and nannies, including Shishu and Cuimo, knelt in the courtyard, crying and begging.

The maids and nannies of Jia Baoyu and Jia Xichun also burst into tears.

Lin Daiyu stood to the side, wiping away her tears with a handkerchief, and her maids and nannies also began to cry.

Zijuan, Xueyan, and Chunxian cried and said, "We would rather die than leave our young lady."

In fact, when Lin Daiyu brought these maids and nannies here, she brought with her more wealth than they could ever spend in a lifetime. However, all the money she brought was spent by the Jia family in building the Grand View Garden. Now the Grand View Garden has been taken away, and the Jia family has collapsed. She is helpless.

After crying with her maid for a while, Jia Tanchun came to Lin Daiyu, took her hand and said, "Daiyu, you don't need to let your maids and nannies leave. The old matriarch said that even if our Jia family only has one bite to eat left, we will not let you down."

As Lin Daiyu cried, she began to cough and vomited several mouthfuls of blood.

Zijuan and Xueyan hurriedly helped her into the house and onto the bed. Lin Daiyu was unable to get out of bed until dark, and she looked extremely weak.

After one night, she turned pale and became even more ill.

Upon hearing this, Grandmother Jia hurriedly sent someone to fetch a doctor. After examining the young lady, the doctor shook his head and sighed, not daring to prescribe any medicine. After leaving the room, he said, "Alas, let's prepare for the young lady's funeral."

Upon hearing this, everyone burst into tears.

However, the Jia family had various matters to attend to at this time, and after everyone cried for a while, they all left.

Only Jia Tanchun and a few maids wiped away their tears and stayed by the bedside.

Lin Daiyu lay on the bed, her eyes open, her breath faint, coughing up blood continuously.

The Jia family had already dismissed many maids and nannies yesterday, but some refused to leave, kneeling on the ground and weeping all night.

The maids of Jia Tanchun, Jia Xichun, and others were unwilling to leave.

Two of Jia Baoyu's maids left, crying.

Helpless, Grandmother Jia began to take drastic measures.

"If they insist on staying here today, drag them out immediately and throw them outside... It's not that we're heartless, we simply can't afford to keep them..."

Jia Zheng sighed and agreed.

Jia Tanchun went to plead on behalf of her maid, but was scolded instead. Dejected, she returned to the backyard and wept bitterly.

Upon hearing the news, Jia Yingchun hurriedly returned with her maids and nannies to visit the family.

Seeing the Jia family's current miserable state, she couldn't help but cry.

When Grandmother Jia saw her, she cried, "Yingchun, you're so lucky! You found someone to rely on beforehand..." The maids and servants who followed Yingchun, including Siqi and Xiuju, seeing the tragic fate of the other maids and servants in the Jia household, secretly rejoiced: "Luckily, our young lady was sold by the master; she's turned misfortune into blessing and ended up with Young Master Luo..."

Jia Yingchun cried for a while in front of Grandmother Jia, and then went to Lin Daiyu's place.

Seeing that Lin Daiyu was so ill, and hearing that the doctor had told her to prepare for her funeral, she burst into tears.

Jia Tanchun also came over and cried.

Lin Daiyu forced herself to stay awake, her eyes glazed over, and said weakly, "This is my fate, what can I do? I'm afraid I won't make it through the night... It would be better if I left like this, but what about you all...? Alas, Second Sister is alright, she has Young Master Luo to rely on, but Third Sister, Baoyu, Xichun, Yun'er... what will become of them..."

Jia Yingchun suddenly remembered something, quickly wiped away her tears, stood up, and said in a tearful voice, "Daiyu, don't talk nonsense, you'll be alright. I'll go find Sister Liu and ask her to ask Young Master Luo for help..."

Upon hearing the name "Young Master Luo," Lin Daiyu's dim eyes brightened slightly, but she gave a bitter smile and said, "Young Master Luo has already foreseen my fate... Such is destiny, who can change it..."

Jia Yingchun ignored her and quickly left with her maids and nannies.

at the same time.

Luo Zijun and Miss Bai were riding in a carriage, coming out of the palace.

Today, the Queen urgently summoned him and told him that she had received news last night that, as he had predicted, the armies of Wu and Chu suddenly changed direction and rushed towards Daliang. Fortunately, she had listened to his advice and had already stationed troops on the border, ready for battle, which was why they were able to withstand the enemy's sneak attack.

The Queen talked with him for a morning, listened to most of his opinions, and began to store large amounts of grain in Lin'an. She also moved the old, weak, sick, and disabled to places like Luoyang, while armies from all over the country began to gather in Lin'an...

At the same time, the queen also gave him a reward.

The Jia family's confiscated Grand View Garden, more than 20 acres of farmland, several manors, and shops were all given to him as a reward, and he was allowed to enter the palace at any time to discuss war matters.

"Brother-in-law, congratulations!"

"Is the carriage inside?" Bai Qingtong said with a smile.

Luo Zijun asked, "Is there any news about Lai Shangrong?"

Bai Qingtong said, "On the day that Bliss Manor was wiped out, Lai Shangrong fled with his family. As for where they went, there is still no news."

Luo Zijun hesitated for a moment, then asked, "How is the Jia family doing?"

Bai Qingtong sighed: "I wanted to go and see yesterday, but the Jia family wouldn't let me in. Tan Chun... she didn't come out either. I guess she's resenting us."

Luo Zijun also sighed: "Miss Tanchun has helped me a lot. This time, the Jia family's troubles were indeed caused by us. It is only natural that they resent us."

Bai Qingtong hesitated for a moment, then looked at him and said, "Brother-in-law, should we help them? I went there yesterday and saw many servants kneeling at the door crying, and many maids kneeling there, being chosen by others..."

Luo Zijun thought for a moment and said, "Then Miss San can recruit some maids to the Bai residence if needed. As for the others, if they really don't want to leave the Jia residence, they can temporarily live in the Grand View Garden next door."

"Grand View Garden?"

Bai Qingtong was taken aback.

Luo Zijun said, "The Queen bestowed the Grand View Garden upon me, and I have no use for it for the time being. Since I'm just sitting here anyway, let them move in."

Bai Qingtong frowned slightly and said, "Brother-in-law, so many people will cost money to support."

Luo Zijun said, "I only want the young lady and her maid; I don't want anyone else."

Bai Qingtong: "..."

"Third Miss, what kind of look is that? I don't mean anything by it. I just think that those young ladies and maids don't have any life skills. If they are really kicked out, their fate will be very tragic."

To be honest, he really just wanted to change the tragic fate of the names in the book.

"Oh, and Miss Shi, she can also come in and stay with her maid."

Luo Zijun clearly remembered that Shi Xiangyun's fate seemed to be not very good either. Although there were several versions, the Shi family had declined, so how good could a girl like her be?

Bai Qingtong raised an eyebrow: "Sister Yun'er is tall and has long legs. I knew my brother-in-law wouldn't forget her."

Luo Zijun said, "What are you talking about? It doesn't cost much to support these people. The land, manor, and shops that Her Majesty the Queen bestowed upon me, and the silver I receive each month, are more than enough to support them."

Bai Qingtong said with a half-smile, "Oh right, there's one more person. My brother-in-law definitely hasn't forgotten her. He's probably already thought about taking her in."

Luo Zijun was speechless: "Who?"

Bai Qingtong snorted and said, "Of course it's your gentle and weak Lin Daiyu."

Luo Zijun sneered: "If the Jia family is going to drive even Miss Lin away, then they are truly worse than beasts. Without the family fortune that Miss Lin brought, they wouldn't have lasted this long."

Bai Qingtong sighed softly and said, "It's not that we need to drive them away, but at this point, I reckon Tan Chun, Xi Chun, and Dai Yu will all be forced into marriage by the Jia family..."

Luo Zijun didn't say anything more, but lifted the curtain and looked at the street outside.

Bai Qingtong asked, "Brother-in-law, shall we go to the Jia residence now?"

Luo Zijun looked outside and said, "You go alone. It's not good for me to go. I bet the Jia family wants to kill me right now. Just let me off when we get to the street ahead."

Bai Qingtong asked, "First impression of the bookstore?"

Luo Zijun hesitated for a moment, then said, "Bao'an Hall, I'll go buy some medicine."

Bai Qingtong asked, "What medicine? Is your brother-in-law sick?"

Luo Zijun did not answer, but suddenly looked at the entrance of the shop in front of her, a look of surprise on her face.

"Senior sister!"

He quickly stuck his head out and shouted.

At the entrance of Baoan Hall, a tall and beautiful senior sister dressed in a white dress was standing with Jia Yingchun and Liu Chujian, preparing to board a carriage by the roadside.

Jia Yingchun appeared to be wiping away tears.

Upon hearing his voice, everyone turned to look at him.

At this moment, Bai Qingtong suddenly came over and leaned her head out to look in that direction with him.

The window wasn't very big, and the two of them looked like they were embracing.

As soon as Bai Qingtong poked her head out, she suddenly felt a pair of cold eyes looking at her.

The first thing she saw was that tall figure wearing a plain white dress.

Because the other person was too striking, too beautiful to be ordinary.

The figure stood there, aloof and quiet, yet like a flawless, rare gem, shining with the most dazzling brilliance in the sunlight, making everything around it suddenly pale in comparison.

She had only ever seen this dazzling brilliance in her older sister.

It's so beautiful, a beauty that touches the soul.

Even the phrase "a celestial being descended to earth" is insufficient to describe the beauty emanating from that figure at that moment.

She stood there stunned for several seconds before asking blankly, "Brother-in-law, who is that person...?"

Even as she spoke, she couldn't bear to look away.

She probably never imagined that one day, a woman would suddenly make her lose her composure.

(End of this chapter)