The Red Mansion

Chapter 142 The King's Shock from the Confiscation of His Property
The sun was scorching hot just two days ago, but today it's a bit cool, as if autumn has suddenly arrived.

In fact, it is already autumn now.

The sky was overcast today, with low-hanging leaden clouds that seemed to press down on the upturned eaves and corners of the capital city. The wind swirled fallen leaves through the streets and alleys, making a rustling sound, as if foreshadowing something ominous.

In the morning, after leaving Changchun Garden, Jiang Nian arrived at the western city of Shenjing and led a hundred infantrymen to carry out a raid on the property.

In fact, this was not the first time Jiang Nian had been in charge of confiscating property. Previously, in Laizhou, Shandong, he had been in charge of confiscating property as an imperial envoy.

Jiang Nian, dressed in the uniform of a guard, rode a fine horse, followed by He Yun, dressed in the uniform of a Dragon Guard officer, also riding a fine horse. A hundred soldiers marched in formation around them, their boots clattering, creating a particularly menacing atmosphere under the gloomy sky, startling many pedestrians on the road who quickly moved aside.

First, they arrived at the Lai family's house. Although it was not as grand as the mansion where Granny Lai and Lai Da lived, it was still quite respectable with its red doors and embroidered windows, and it was larger than the Jiang family's new house in the eastern suburbs.

The two gatekeepers at the entrance were dozing off when they suddenly saw soldiers rushing in like wolves and tigers. They were so frightened that they stared in disbelief, and one of them even tumbled down the steps.

Jiang Nian waved his hand, and the soldiers split into two groups: one group sealed off the gates and surrounded the house, while the other group followed him inside to ransack the house.

……

……

Lai Er has no sons, only a daughter named Lai Shangjuan, who is married to Tao Peng.

After Lai Er was exiled three thousand li away with a hundred strokes of the cane last year, his family had their daughter and son-in-law move into their home. The daughter, Lai Shangjuan, was spoiled and willful, while the son-in-law, Tao Peng, was an idle and lazy man.

At this time, Lai Er's family was not home, but Lai Shangjuan and Tao Peng were.

Lai Shangjuan was furious in the east wing, whipping her maid with a whip, her face turning ashen with rage.

The maid who was beaten was named Shan'er. She knelt on the ground, trembling, her hair disheveled. She had been whipped more than a dozen times, and there were two red marks on her face.

"You shameless little hussy!" Lai Shangjuan shrieked, raising her whip high again. "How dare you seduce a man! I'll beat you to death!"

Shan'er cried with tears streaming down her face, kowtowing repeatedly: "Grandma, spare me! It was...it was my husband who forced me."

Upon hearing this, Tao Peng was startled and quickly retorted, "Don't talk nonsense! You were clearly the one who seduced me!"

With a "crack," Lai Shangjuan lashed Tao Peng with her whip. Tao Peng's eyes flashed with resentment, but he dared not retaliate.

Just then, a commotion broke out outside, with chaotic footsteps, shouts, and screams.

An old woman rushed in, panicking: "Grandma! Son-in-law! Something terrible has happened! Soldiers... soldiers have come to ransack the house!"

Lai Shangjuan was dumbfounded. Although she knew that Granny Lai, the Lai family, and Lai Shangrong had been arrested by the government yesterday, she thought it wouldn't involve her family. At this moment, she was shocked: "The soldiers are here to confiscate...confiscate our house?"

Before he finished speaking, Jiang Nian led a dozen or so heavily armed soldiers into the east wing. One of the officers shouted in a deep voice, "By imperial decree, confiscate the Lai family's property! Arrest all of them!"

Lai Shangjuan panicked, but forced herself to remain composed and said, "Do you know that my family has... has the Rongguo Mansion as our backing?"

The officers and soldiers looked at Jiang Nian, who calmly uttered two words: "Take him down!"

Immediately, three soldiers stepped forward, grabbed Lai Shangjuan, and dragged her away.

Upon seeing this, Tao Peng turned ashen-faced and stammered, "I...I'm not from the Lai family, I just...I just..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was dragged away by the soldiers.

The house was in complete chaos.

The officers and soldiers searched high and low, registering all the valuable items.

Lai Shangjuan was forced to kneel in the inner courtyard, watching helplessly as her belongings were carried out piece by piece, box by box, her heart bleeding.

Tao Peng was in a sorry state; he had lost one of his shoes and his hair ornament was askew. He was no longer the dashing young master he usually was.

Shan'er knelt in the inner courtyard. Although she was also frightened, she felt a sense of pleasure when she saw Lai Shangjuan and Tao Peng, who used to be so domineering, now acting like pigs and dogs. She also remembered how fierce Lai Shangjuan had threatened to beat her to death.

……

……

Under Jiang Nian's orders, ten infantrymen arrived at the mansion where You Shi and Jia Qiang lived.

Jia Qiang was admiring a newly bought parrot in his outer study when he suddenly heard a commotion outside. He went to the window and was immediately startled—he saw several heavily armed soldiers standing in the courtyard outside, their gleaming swords and spears flashing coldly in the dark clouds. His hands, gripping the birdcage, trembled involuntarily.

"Could it be...could it be..."

Jia Qiang trembled, subconsciously thinking that the family was doomed because of the scandalous deaths of Jia Zhen and Jia Rong last month, and that the imperial court was coming to confiscate their property. He had only recently taken over the family as a legitimate great-great-grandson of the Ningguo Mansion, and he didn't want the family to be ruined so soon, nor did he want to be implicated.

Just as he was filled with fear, a servant rushed in and reported: "Second Master Qiang, the soldiers outside say they are here on the orders of Imperial Guard Jiang to arrest the Lai family. They are the son-in-law of the Rong family, and he is here to search the Lai family's property."

Upon hearing this, Jia Qiang breathed a sigh of relief. After forcing himself to calm down, he went out and spoke a few words to the leading military officer before entering the inner courtyard to report to Madam You.

After the violent deaths of Jia Zhen and Jia Rong, Lady You set up a Buddhist shrine in the inner quarters of her home. This was partly because she felt the family's fortunes were bad, and as a devout Buddhist, she hoped to receive the Buddha's protection. It was also because she feared the Jia family might expel or harm her, and she deliberately made this gesture to impress them, including Grandmother Jia.

At that moment, Madam You was chanting sutras in the Buddhist hall when Jia Qiang suddenly came over and reported the matter.

Upon hearing this, Madam You paused in her prayer beads.

She had already heard about the robbery of the Xue family's three thousand taels of gold, as well as Jiang Nian's disturbance at the Rongguo Mansion and her request for the arrest of the Lai family. Now, upon learning that Jiang Nian had been ordered to raid the Lai family's property and had sent soldiers from the infantry battalion to her home to arrest the second son of the Lai family, she was not very surprised, but she couldn't help but feel awe towards Jiang Nian.

She harbored some resentment towards Jiang Nian, as the Ningguo Mansion's current state was closely related to him. However, she felt more fear, mixed with a degree of awe, because she considered Jiang Nian to be a truly formidable young man.

"Grandma," Jia Qiang gently reminded her when she saw Madam You looking lost, "the soldiers are still waiting outside, you see..."

"Qiang-ge'er," Madam You finally spoke, her voice calm, "hand over Lai Er's wife to the soldiers."

Lai Er's wife was scolding two rough maids in the backyard when she suddenly saw several servants and old women rushing over. Before she could ask what was going on, she was grabbed by the servants and old women.

"What are you doing? Are you rebelling?" Lai Er's family shouted sternly.

"I'm sorry," an old woman who had a grudge against Lai Er's family sneered, "the soldiers outside are waiting to arrest you." Upon hearing this, Lai Er's family member turned ashen-faced. In the struggle, the gold hairpin in her hair fell to the ground, and her usually dignified hairstyle became disheveled.

When Lai Er's wife was dragged to the front yard, she saw the heavily armed soldiers, her legs went weak, and she almost knelt down. Suddenly, she caught sight of Jia Qiang and cried out as if she had seen a savior, "Second Master Qiang, quickly go and ask Grandma to come and save me!"

Jia Qiang turned his face away and said only to the leading military officer, "The person has been brought, please make yourselves at home."

The officers and soldiers tied up Lai Erjia's clothes and pushed him out.

Lai Er's family once held a status and power in Ningguo Mansion that was comparable to that of Lai Da's family in Rongguo Mansion. They were used to being imposing, but now their hair was disheveled, their tears were flowing, and they had no dignity left.

……

……

Before the search of Lai Er's house was finished, Jiang Nian ordered He Yun to lead two Jiang family servants to guard Lai Er's house, while she led seventy infantrymen to search the house of Lai Mama and Lai Da.

Three months ago, Jiang Nian carefully selected several people with good character and excellent physical fitness from the salt workers in Laizhou and brought them back to the capital. Now, these people have been trained to become Jiang family servants.

Meng Xiong was guarding the mansion of Granny Lai and Lai Da with a group of yamen runners and strong women from the Shuntian Prefecture.

When the group of yamen runners and strong women from the Shuntian Prefecture saw Jiang Nian leading his infantry soldiers to ransack the house, they hurriedly made way. Jiang Nian ordered them to leave immediately and commanded the infantry soldiers to surround the house like an iron barrel.

Upon entering the house, Jiang Nian ordered Meng Xiong to seal the treasury first. He then led some soldiers to the courtyard where the women were being held.

As soon as I reached the gate of the courtyard, I could hear deafening cries coming from inside.

More than twenty women were imprisoned in the courtyard. Among them were three of Lai Shangrong's concubines, all of whom were filled with fear. An old woman was trembling as she clutched her bundle. Several maids dressed in silk huddled together, weeping bitterly.

Upon seeing Jiang Nian lead the soldiers in, the crowd wept even louder.

A junior military officer shouted in a deep voice, "By imperial decree, we are confiscating your property!"

A concubine dressed in fine silk and with a beautiful face suddenly rushed to Jiang Nian's side, hugged his leg and cried, "My lord, have mercy! I was only bought by Lai Shangrong last year, and I have nothing to do with the Lai family..." Before she could finish speaking, she was dragged away by the soldiers.

Is confiscating property a matter of mercy?
During the search, soldiers suddenly reported that a secret underground chamber had been discovered in Lai Da's bedroom. Jiang Nian rushed over and found that although the chamber was small, it was ingeniously designed, containing two large chests. Upon opening them, she found one filled with gold ingots and the other full of jewelry.

A cold smile appeared on Jiang Nian's lips.

It is estimated that the Lai couple were guilty of embezzling a lot in the Rongguo Mansion and were worried that the Rongguo Mansion would raid their home one day, so they set up a small secret room under the bedroom to hide their treasure.

At this moment, another soldier came to report to Jiang Nian that two secret ledgers had been found under the floorboards of Lai Da's accounting office.

Jiang Nian went to the accounting office and opened the secret ledger. It contained detailed records of all the money that Lai Da and his wife had embezzled from the Rongguo Mansion over the years. It even recorded how they had used the Rongguo Mansion to acquire shops, properties, and land outside the mansion...

Lai Da was skilled in accounting, and he personally recorded these secret ledgers.

"Lai Da is indeed cunning. He has hidden treasures under his bedroom and secret accounts under his study."

"If the old lady and the second master of the Rongguo Mansion saw these two secret ledgers, what would they think? What would their expressions be?"

With these thoughts in mind, Jiang Nian ordered her soldiers to continue the search, determined to seize all of the Lai family's valuables.

The commotion of the raid disturbed several nearby streets and alleys. Neighbors pointed and whispered, some sighing, while others, who had suffered oppression at the hands of the Lai family, clapped and cheered. Someone said, "The Lai family, relying on the Jia family's power, have amassed countless benefits over the years; today they've finally gotten their comeuppance!" Another said, "I heard this was an imperial decree to raid their home; the Lai family might be executed along with their entire clan!"

It turned into a scene resembling watching a play, and the stage at this time was the Lai family mansion.

……

……

The sky was overcast.

Although it was daytime, Rongqing Hall was somewhat dimly lit.

Grandmother Jia leaned against the couch, her prayer beads spinning faster than usual. Madam Xing and Madam Wang sat on either side, while Li Wan stood quietly to one side. The only sound in the room was the ticking of the clock, as if counting the hours.

Suddenly, Jia Lian rushed in. Before he could speak, Grandmother Jia paused in her prayer beads and hurriedly asked, "Have you found out anything?"

Jia Lian said, "Grandma, I went to the Lai family and saw Brother-in-law Jiang... Brother-in-law Jiang has already interrogated them and found out that the Xue family's gold was indeed stolen by Lai Shangrong, and that he conspired with... with Wang Long of the Wang family."

At this point, he glanced at Madam Wang, and seeing her expression change drastically, he quickly lowered his head and said, "The two colluded with bandits and disguised themselves as river pirates to rob the Xue family of their gold on the Grand Canal. Now, Brother-in-law Jiang has been ordered by the Emperor to take full charge of confiscating the Lai family's property. Not only was the Lai family's property confiscated, but the Lai family's property was also confiscated."

Grandmother Jia's face turned pale, and she asked anxiously, "Did Nian-ge'er say whether it will implicate our household?"

Jia Lian paused, then lowered his voice even further: "Brother-in-law Jiang said that His Majesty has not yet punished our household, but whether he will punish us later is still unknown."

Grandmother Jia couldn't help but sigh, filled with regret and remorse, muttering, "If I had known this would happen, I should have agreed to his idea earlier. Now it's too late!"

Although Madam Xing was also afraid of being implicated, a hint of pleasure flashed in her eyes when she saw that the Wang family was involved. She had always been annoyed by Madam Wang's handling of the household, and now that the Wang family was in trouble, she felt a sense of schadenfreude. Her eyes kept glancing at Madam Wang out of the corner of her eye, as if she wanted to see through something.

Wang Ziteng, Madam Wang, Aunt Xue, and Wang Xifeng all belong to the direct line of the Wang family. Although Wang Long is not from this line, he is also a member of the Wang family.

Normally, Lady Wang would not easily mention the Wang family in front of Grandmother Jia, but now, in her panic, she disregarded propriety and hurriedly asked Jia Lian, "Will this matter implicate the Wang family?"

Jia Lian forced a smile and said, "I've already asked Brother-in-law Jiang about this. He said that Wang Longyi's family will definitely be investigated, but as for the Second Madam's family... we don't know for sure right now."

Jia Lian was conflicted about this matter. In his view, if the direct line of the Wang family, including Lady Wang and Wang Xifeng, were implicated, the Wang family would decline, and Wang Xifeng's influence as a "ruthless matriarch" would weaken. However, he also felt that the decline of the Wang family would not be good for the Rongguo Mansion. He also had some filial piety towards Lady Wang and some affection for his wife, Wang Xifeng.

Upon hearing this, Lady Wang was immediately thrown into a state of turmoil and, like Grandmother Jia, began to regret her actions. She sighed inwardly, "We should have agreed to Nian-ge'er's request earlier. If our household had dealt with the Lai family, things wouldn't have come to this."

Li Wan stood quietly to one side, her handkerchief slightly tightened in her hand. She knew how to protect herself wisely, and seeing the panic in the room, she remained silent, only sighing inwardly, "It's gotten to this point." Then, thinking of Jiang Nian's methods, she couldn't help but admire him: "That young master Jiang is truly remarkable!"

"This... Nian-ge'er," Grandmother Jia sighed inwardly, "is truly not someone to be trifled with!"

The thought sent a chill down my spine.

(End of this chapter)