Red Mansion: After being expelled from the family, I was granted the title of Marquis of Mobei

Chapter 136 The Changes in the Western Sea
Upon hearing this, Old Madam Jia's expression changed drastically. She never expected that Madam Wang would reveal this matter.

This was probably the deepest secret hidden in Old Mrs. Jia's heart; only Madam Wang and Old Mrs. Jia knew about it.

Before this, Old Madam Jia still had a sliver of hope, thinking that she could rely on the last bit of family affection to fight for a chance of survival for herself and the Rongguo Mansion.

However, after Lin Ruhai gritted his teeth and revealed the truth about Jia Min and the child's deaths, the old lady Jia was utterly devastated.

She knew very well that her son-in-law, Lin Ruhai, was not someone who could be easily fooled.

The reason why the Rongguo Mansion was always successful in scheming against the Lin family was not because Old Madam Jia and Madam Wang were exceptionally intelligent, but because Lin Ruhai never imagined that his mother-in-law would scheme against his wife and children.

In this situation, everything is over.

Looking at the silent Old Mrs. Jia, Lin Ruhai's eyes flashed like lightning.

"Say it, you used to love talking, why aren't you talking now?"

Mrs. Jia sighed and said.

"Since you already know, I have nothing to say. Min'er is my own daughter, how could I not love her?"

"But compared to the safety of the Rongguo Mansion, I have no choice but to sacrifice her."

"Ru Hai, I am willing to give my life for yours, I only beg you to show mercy for your father-in-law's sake, and not let the Rongguo Mansion's lineage end."

Lin Ruhai gave Old Madam Jia and Madam Wang a meaningful look before speaking.

"Don't worry, I never intended to kill you."

"You gave me such a generous gift, so in return, I will naturally give you a gift as well."

Aren't you all curious about where Jia Baoyu went?

After hearing this, Madam Wang quickly looked at Lin Ruhai and asked him.

"What do you mean? You sent people to kidnap Baoyu?"

Jia Jue on the side said with a faint smile.

"Don't misunderstand, I'm the one who arrested him."

“I sent him to the Prince Zhongshun’s residence.”

"you you,"

Madam Wang's eyes widened in anger, and Old Madam Jia's face was also filled with resentment.

It's not surprising that Lady Wang's emotions fluctuated, and the reason why Old Madam Jia was like this was naturally because she still cared deeply about Jia Baoyu.

At first, Old Madam Jia felt that even if she sacrificed herself, she couldn't protect Jia Baoyu, so she finally compromised.

Originally, Old Madam Jia planned to wait until the turmoil subsided before secretly helping Madam Wang and her son.

However, Old Madam Jia did not expect that Madam Wang was so vengeful. Before Old Madam Jia could find an opportunity, Madam Wang actually wiped out almost the entire Rongguo Mansion.

Upon hearing Jia Jue say that Jia Baoyu had been sent to Prince Zhongshun's mansion, both Lady Wang and Old Madam Jia felt a pang of unease.

Prince Zhongshun had a very bad impression of Jia Baoyu. Because of Jiang Yuhan's affair, Prince Zhongshun secretly manipulated things and almost killed Jia Zheng.

Now that Jia Baoyu has fallen into the hands of Prince Zhongshun, how could he possibly fare well?

Lin Ruhai smiled calmly and said.

"Why do you all look like that? In fact, you should thank the Marquis of Champion properly."

"That good-for-nothing Jia Baoyu is fond of male lovers. Now Prince Zhongshun is keeping him in his mansion and plans to send people to train him to be a male concubine to entertain guests."

"This can be considered making the best use of resources."

"You, you guys are going too far."

Old Mrs. Jia was so angry that she was trembling all over.

Lin Ruhai glanced at Old Madam Jia with disdain and then spoke.

“Mother-in-law, this is all the retribution you deserve. This is the retribution for your scheming against my Lin family.”

"Don't worry, I won't stomp you all to death. This is just too boring."

“I will expose all the despicable things you have done.”

“You will be despised by the entire Jia family. Everyone will remember that the Rongguo Mansion was destroyed because of you two wicked women.”

“Mother-in-law, I will strip you of all your honors. You will be nailed to the pillar of shame of the Rongguo Mansion. As long as the Jia family continues to exist, you will be cursed every day.”

"This shame will haunt you for all eternity, even after you die. This is my punishment for you."

"You will witness firsthand how the Rongguo Mansion, a family with a history spanning hundreds of years, will be utterly ruined."

Jia Jue also looked at Old Madam Jia and Madam Wang and smiled calmly.

"Gentlemen, my money isn't so easy to spend."

"Alright, good luck to you all in the days to come. Just don't die easily, or I'll be very disappointed."

"Uncle, let's go."

Lin Ruhai nodded slightly, gave Madam Wang and Old Madam Jia a meaningful look, and then left Rongguo Mansion together.

On the way back in the carriage, looking at Lin Ruhai, whose eyes were filled with the satisfaction of avenging his great enemy, Jia Jue was also quite emotional.

The Rongguo Mansion is a prime example of how a promising enterprise squandered its advantages.

If the Rongguo Mansion had simply stayed out of all the fuss and focused on developing its core business, winning over Wang Ziteng and Lin Ruhai, then with their combined abilities, protecting the Rongguo Mansion for another few decades wouldn't have been a big problem.

Because of the evil thoughts of Madam Wang and Old Madam Jia, the Rongguo Mansion was ultimately brought to ruin.

If one's conduct is not upright and one's mind is not pure, then wealth and honor will vanish like fleeting clouds.

After thinking for a while, Jia Jue looked at Lin Ruhai and said with concern.

"Uncle, are you alright?"

Lin Ruhai nodded slightly and said.

"Don't worry, now that I've avenged my great enemy, what could possibly happen to me?"

“I am no longer the person I used to be. Now I have Daiyu.”

"Revenge is my goal, and I've already accomplished most of it. Once the Rongguo Mansion is completely destroyed, my only goal for the rest of my life will be to protect Daiyu."

Jia Jue and Lin Ruhai exchanged a smile; men need not say more.

Jia Jue was simply worried that Lin Ruhai would have no more attachments after taking revenge, which would be quite bad.

In retrospect, Lin Daiyu's previous choice was correct, as it gave Lin Ruhai the motivation to live in this world.

The next day, inside the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Yongping was reading an urgent military report sent from the Western Sea front.

After reading the military report, Emperor Yongping gave a cold laugh.

As expected, trouble broke out on the Western Sea front. The barbarian tribes along the Western Sea launched an undeclared war, capturing five border cities in just three days and plundering extensively along the Western Sea border, causing widespread uproar.

Emperor Yongping then acted according to plan, and immediately convened the cabinet to discuss countermeasures for the war in the Western Sea.

After some discussion, the Duke of Nan'an, formerly the Prince of Nan'an, was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Western Sea Army and was ordered to rush to the Western Sea to quell the rebellion.

In order to quell the rebellion with overwhelming force, Emperor Yongping specially dispatched 30,000 imperial guards and 50,000 elite troops from the capital garrison to the Western Sea to provide support.

On that same day, Jia Jue moved his entire family to a mountain villa on the outskirts of Beijing to escape the summer heat. Afterward, Jia Jue disguised himself and boarded a merchant ship to travel south.

Time flies, and half a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

On that morning, the Yuqing Temple on the outskirts of Beijing was cleaned and its courtyard was refusing to allow worshippers to come and offer incense.

The reason for this is that today, Consort Yue has come to Yuqing Temple to offer incense and pray for the success of the Western Sea campaign.

After the Imperial Guards cleared the Yuqing Temple, Consort Yue began her prayer ceremony. Once everything was settled, Consort Yue went to rest in a guest room in the backyard of the Yuqing Temple.

Shortly after Consort Yue entered the guest room, a middle-aged man appeared inside.

If someone familiar with the powerful and influential people of the capital were to recognize him at a glance, they would immediately recognize this middle-aged man as Prince Zhongshun.

At this moment, Prince Zhongshun looked at Consort Yue with a complicated expression and said...

"Your Majesty, why do you have to be so harsh on me?"

Consort Yue calmly took a sip of tea and then spoke.

"Now that you're here, I won't say anything more."

"Given the current situation, that vile Empress is already itching to do something to harm me and Yunwen."

"If I don't pressure you, they'll pressure me to death."

"Think it over carefully, whether you want to follow my plan or not."

Prince Chungshun said helplessly.

"Your Majesty is so wise and mighty, you mustn't do anything foolish."

"Furthermore, the Marquis of Champion is indeed remarkable. He has forged the Imperial Guards into an impenetrable fortress. With my current control over the Imperial Guards, I am simply not capable of cooperating with your plans."

Consort Yue gave a cold laugh and then said.

"I'd also like to wait until the time is right before taking action,"

“But in a few months, Yunwen will be going to his fief.”

"If we wait until that time, everything will be over."

"So I can't wait any longer. You and I are in the same boat."

“If you want to see my son and me make a fool of ourselves, then I will definitely drag your entire Zhongshun Prince’s Mansion down with you and die together.”

"Whether you choose to gamble everything or go home and wait to die, it's up to you."

"Of course, killing me here is also an option."

After Consort Yue finished speaking, she stared at Prince Zhongshun as if she wanted to see right through him.

Seeing this, Prince Chungshun sighed and said.

"Don't forget, the Marquis of Champion is still in the capital."

"His Majesty may reinstate him at any time; I am merely temporarily assuming the position of Commander of the Imperial Guards."

"With the Imperial Guards firmly behind him, the moment the Marquis of Champions shows his face, these Imperial Guards will probably surrender without a second thought."

"You should reconsider this matter; the success rate is simply too low."

Consort Yue smiled calmly and said.

"The Marquis of Champion, the Marquis of Champion is no longer in the capital. His Majesty has sent him to Jiangnan."

Prince Chungshun asked, puzzled.

"That's impossible. Isn't the Marquis of Champion taking his family to a mountain resort in the suburbs of Beijing for a summer retreat?"

Consort Yue said confidently.

"That's just a smokescreen. His Majesty has a secret mission for him, and he has been away from the capital for several days."

"This is something I secretly observed and witnessed myself; there's no faking it."

"As for why you don't have enough control over the Imperial Guards, I also have a way to solve that."

"You'll have your chance to shine then. Just transfer those members of the Imperial Guard that you can't win over out of the palace."

"Well, this isn't too difficult for you, is it?"

Prince Chungshun said with great surprise.

"You, you were prepared all along, weren't you?"

Consort Yue said calmly.

"If I didn't have some certainty, do you think I would do something so dangerous?"

"Anyway, I've said everything I needed to say. If you still refuse to help me achieve my great goal, then I'll have no choice but to drag you down with me to the death."

After pondering for a long time, Prince Chungshun sighed helplessly and said.

"Okay, I'll do as you say. So when are you planning to make your move?"

Consort Yue waved her hand and said.

"Take this time to cultivate your loyal followers. I'll send someone to inform you when it's time to make a move."

"Alright, this place is not safe to stay any longer. You wait here for a while, and I will take my leave now."

Consort Yue then got up, left the guest room, and returned to the palace.

Prince Chungshun was left sitting alone in his guest room for a long time before finally letting out a sigh.

Prince Zhongshun never expected that his momentary carelessness back then would lead to him being plotted against by Consort Yue.

Now that they are at the mercy of others, Prince Zhongshun has no choice but to obey.

On the other side, at the front line of the Western Sea, the Duke of Nan'an was also beaming with pride.

The incident in the Western Sea was something that the four kings had discussed in advance.

In order to incite a rebellion in the Western Sea, the four kings deliberately created friction on the border. They then used some generals who were not on good terms with their own faction as cannon fodder and assigned them to towns on the Western Sea border that bordered the Western Sea foreign states.

Under the combined machinations of the four kings, who were caught off guard, the generals of the five cities were unwittingly killed, and the five cities were subsequently conquered by the Western Sea barbarians.

At this moment, the Duke of Nan'an was full of pride and joy, watching the singing and dancing in the Western Navy's command tent.

As for quelling the rebellion of the Western Sea barbarians, the Duke of Nan'an did not take it to heart.

In his view, the Western Sea barbarians were not worth worrying about at all. If it weren't for his own intentions, they wouldn't have been able to hurt even a finger of his.

Therefore, the Duke of Nan'an intentionally allowed the Western Sea barbarians to run rampant on the border, while simultaneously reporting their brutality and requesting the court to quickly increase the logistical supplies for the Western Sea army.

This time, the Duke of Nan'an planned to take advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune, both to solidify the status of the four kings and to cause a major drain on the national treasury in order to make up for the losses he had incurred from implementing the new policies.

It must be said that this time, the four royal families were determined to give Emperor Yongping a hard time and even planned to use this opportunity to directly seize control of the Western Sea, turning the Western Sea Army into an army actually controlled by the four families, so that Emperor Yongping would be hesitant to act against them and would no longer dare to have any other thoughts about them.

Late at night, in the Western Navy camp, Gu Tingye quietly slipped out of the camp and came to the woods next to the camp.

Not long after, a man dressed in black clothes came closer.

Seeing this, Gu Tingye became very wary and asked in a low voice.

"The Rebellion in the Western Sea".

"Eradicate all evil."

After hearing the man opposite him answer the code, Gu Tingye breathed a sigh of relief, bowed respectfully, and said...

"Is this brother here on the orders of the Marquis?"

The man removed his mask and smiled slightly as he spoke.

“Gu Qianfan, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, is the same person as Lieutenant Baishan.”

Baishan was Gu Tingye's alias.

After Gu Tingye fell out with the Ningyuan Marquis's family due to his failure in the imperial examination, Sheng Changbai came to the Champion Marquis's mansion to ask Jia Jue for help, hoping that Jia Jue could help his friend.

(End of this chapter)