The Red Mansion

Chapter 224 Jing Ning's Medical Consultation, Jiang Nian's Release

With Yuan Li's assassination, Yangzhou was in a state of panic.

Following Jiang Nian's arrest and interrogation, Ren Pijiang, Dai Shijiao, and others who had accompanied him south to Yangzhou were also interrogated.

Lin Ruhai, Zhan Tanlin, Guo Xia, and other Yangzhou officials were all tried.

Even Tang Chengyu and Abbot Jicheng of Tianning Temple were tried.

Jicheng was investigated not because Yuan Li drew an ominous fortune stick at Tianning Temple, but because the ominous fortune stick Yuan Li drew was too accurate, which aroused suspicion.

Even Prince Zhongshun and Yuan Xi were tried.

The reason Prince Zhongshun was tried was that he had secretly visited the Shen residence. During the interrogation, he did not confess to asking Shen Chuan'en for 100,000 taels of silver as a reward, nor did he confess to his ulterior motive of wanting to ask for the fish's reflection.

Yuan Xi was tried because he was suspected of vying for the throne—with Yuan Li dead, he would have a chance to become the crown prince.

Jiang Nian was imprisoned, while Ren Pijiang, Dai Shijiao, Lin Ruhai, Zhan Tanlin, Guo Xia, Tang Chengyu, Ji Cheng, Prince Zhongshun, Yuan Xi, and others were not imprisoned.

Because Dai Quan filed a private complaint, the chief eunuch Wei Geng was also investigated.

Although Wei Geng did not confess voluntarily, a bag of precious treasures was found in his room, and those around him confessed to related information. Therefore, he had no choice but to admit that he had accepted generous gifts from Shen Chuan'en in order to arrange for Shen Chuan'en and Yu Zhaoying to meet the emperor.

In a fit of anger, Emperor Jingning demoted Wei Geng, the trusted eunuch who had served him for many years.

After losing power, Wei Geng harbored deep hatred for Dai Quan.

Jiang Nian spilled the beans, confessing everything in detail. In any case, he hadn't personally murdered Yuan Li, and he knew he had spies around him, so hiding it would be better for him.

He was ordered to go south to Yangzhou to reorganize the salt administration. He worked diligently and effectively, and this time he obtained nearly five million taels of silver for the court, yet he remained honest and incorruptible. As for Shen Chuan'en's bribes—not to mention gold and silver treasures, he did not even touch Yu Zhaoying's beauty.

However, Yuan Li himself couldn't control himself and suffered misfortune because he became infatuated with Yu Zhaoying. Who can he blame?

……

……

After Yuan Li was assassinated, the retired Emperor Jingning, in his grief, temporarily stayed in Yangzhou to personally oversee the case.

Fu Qi and Lei Xiaochen, two important officials, one a civil official and the other a military officer, were ordered to conduct a thorough investigation.

As a result, in addition to Jiang Nian being detained and interrogated, many other people were also interrogated.

Therefore, in addition to the hundreds of guards and soldiers accompanying Emperor Jingning on his southern tour and the local troops stationed in Yangzhou, Emperor Jingning also issued an edict to transfer Huo Tianpei, the deputy military governor of Jingkou, and his two thousand Yuan troops to Yangzhou.

Yangzhou was even placed under lockdown.

However, several days passed, and the mastermind behind the murder still could not be found.

Although some assassins were captured, these assassins were nothing more than ants, and they knew nothing about Fang Wu's background. They only knew that they were ordered by Fang Wu to assassinate a big shot, but they did not know who was behind Fang Wu.

Fang Wu was the square-faced, burly man who led the assassination that day. He personally finished off Yuan Li and Yu Zhaoying, but he escaped that day.

Although Emperor Jingning failed to identify the mastermind behind the scenes, he did manage to ascertain some of the circumstances.

After Emperor Jingning visited Shugang that day, the vast Shugang was left undefended.

Therefore, Fang Wu and his hundred-plus assassins disguised themselves as ordinary people and dispersed to infiltrate Shugang.

The Shen residence was located on the shore of Baozhang Lake outside Yangzhou City, where defenses were lax and it was close to Shugang Hill.

During the assassination attempt, hundreds of assassins disguised themselves as ordinary people and sneaked into the Shen residence.

Yuan Li was having a secret rendezvous with Yu Zhaoying at the Shen residence, accompanied only by a few attendants including Li Ji and Zhang Qian.

Yuan Li's personal bodyguard, Yu Xiang, led a group of guards to protect Yuan Li. However, Yuan Li forbade these guards from approaching the Shen residence, clearly to prevent news of his secret meeting with Yu Zhaoying from spreading.

This made assassinations by the assassins much easier.

……

……

It was March 21st, and the city of Yangzhou, which had been under lockdown for several days, finally had its restrictions lifted.

The investigation into Yuan Li's assassination has reached a dead end after several days. Yangzhou is a key hub for the Grand Canal and a major center for salt merchants. If the city is closed and its gates locked, trade routes may be cut off, the people's livelihood may be impoverished, and the news of Yuan Li's assassination may spread even more widely.

After careful consideration, the retired Emperor Jingning had no choice but to lift the ban.

Let’s talk about Jia Lian.

When Jia Lian arrived in Yangzhou with a group of servants from the Rongguo Mansion, he booked an inn in the city to stay.

Time flies, and more than two months have passed in the blink of an eye.

Not long ago, another beautiful woman moved into the inn; she was Yu Mei, the beautiful concubine of the merchant Liu Zhongfang.

Liu Zhongfang was personally beheaded by Jiang Nian, his family property was confiscated, and Yu Mei, as his concubine, was also stripped of her official position.

Therefore, Jia Lian pleaded with Jiang Nian to secretly give Yu Mei to him out of personal favoritism.

Jia Lian had assumed that no matter how stern Jiang Nian was, she would at least consider his feelings and wouldn't refuse such a small matter. However, he was once again met with Jiang Nian's firm refusal.

However, after Liu Zhongfang's family and servants were confiscated, they were sold off locally in Yangzhou. At this time, Jiang Nian made a slight exception for Jia Lian, allowing him to purchase Yu Mei with silver.

If it weren't for this delay, Jia Lian would have already set off for the capital. After all, Lin Ruhai's illness had improved, and his plan to seize Lin Ruhai's property had failed.

A few days ago, Jia Lian learned that Jiang Nian had been imprisoned by order of the retired Emperor Jingning, and also learned the shocking news that the fourth prince Yuan Li had been assassinated. He became worried, fearing that he would be implicated.

These past few days I've been hurriedly packing my bags and getting ready to go.

Upon hearing that the ban on Yangzhou City had been lifted early this morning, Jia Lian felt as if he had received a pardon. He hurriedly took Yu Mei and the servants of Rong Mansion and bid farewell to Lin Ruhai, leaving this place of trouble.

Before Jia Lian left the capital, Grandmother Jia instructed him to bring Lin Daiyu back to the Rongguo Mansion.

Now it is inconvenient for Jia Lian to bring Lin Daiyu back, because Lin Ruhai's illness has not only improved, but he is also about to be transferred to the capital to await his appointment. Lin Daiyu will naturally go to the capital with Lin Ruhai.

At the Grand Canal dock, Jia Lian urged his servants to move the chests and boxes: "Hurry up!"

Yu Mei, wearing a veil, followed behind Jia Lian.

The group boarded the boat and cast off the mooring lines.

The fleet parted the waves and headed towards Shenjing.

……

……

It is already March 24th.

Jiang Nian has been detained for ten days.

The retired Emperor Jingning was already old and ailing. The assassination of Yuan Li was a great blow to him, and he became even more ill and haggard. The imperial physicians who accompanied him took turns to treat him, but it was like a drop in the ocean, with little effect.

Fortunately, three days ago, the renowned physician Su Tianshi from Suzhou arrived in Yangzhou by imperial decree to treat Emperor Jingning, and the emperor's health began to improve.

On this bright and sunny spring day, the West Garden Palace of Tianning Temple was filled with the chirping of orioles and the fragrance of flowers.

The crimson gauze window of Emperor Jingning's bedchamber was half-closed, allowing a beam of golden sunlight to slant in and illuminate Su Tianshi, who was administering acupuncture to the emperor. Su Tianshi was dressed in a plain white robe, with a blue cloth medicine pouch hanging at his waist. Although he was nearing sixty, his hands were still quite fair and slender, with distinct knuckles.

At this moment, Su Tianshi was holding a three-inch silver needle, calm and composed. Before inserting the needle, he would close his eyes and concentrate his mind.

Emperor Jingning lay supine on the couch, his complexion much rosier than it had been in the past few days.

As Su Tianshi was applying acupuncture to the Baihui acupoint, he suddenly heard Emperor Jingning say, "You truly deserve to be called a divine physician of our time. Speaking of which, my connection with you is thanks to Jiang Nian."

Su Tianshi paused slightly in his hand holding the silver needle, then quickly steadied himself and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty flatters me. I am merely smattering of medical knowledge, adhering only to the four principles of 'observation, auscultation, inquiry, and palpation'."

In fact, he intended to take the opportunity to plead for Jiang Nian and ask Emperor Jingning to release her. However, he knew that he was of lowly status and was just a common doctor who happened to treat the retired emperor. How could he dare to make irresponsible remarks about politics?
He had no choice but to swallow his words and concentrate on tending to the silver needles.

Emperor Jingning suddenly spoke again: "In the past, when the imperial physicians performed acupuncture on me, I always felt soreness, numbness, swelling and pain. But every time you insert acupuncture needles, it is like a gentle breeze on my face, and I feel nothing at all."

"Your Majesty," Su Tianshi said, his wrist dangling slightly, "the key to acupuncture lies in just three words: 'light, slow, and even.' It's like spring rain falling silently at night, nourishing all things without a sound."

Before he finished speaking, the silver needle had already quietly pierced the Hegu acupoint.

At this moment, Dai Quan, who was standing by, approached to serve with a teacup decorated with lotus patterns, but Emperor Jingning raised his hand to stop him, his gaze fixed on Su Tianshi with a deep look: "The physical illness can still be cured, but I don't know how to cure the heart ailment? Do you... have a good remedy?"

The needle in Su Tianshi's hand suddenly stopped in mid-air. Looking up, he saw that although Emperor Jingning had a smile on his lips, his cloudy eyes were as lifeless as a dry well.

After a long silence, Su Tianshi slowly said, "The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic says, 'Grief, sorrow and worry agitate the heart, and when the heart agitates, all the internal organs are shaken.' I believe that the way to heal the heart is to follow its natural course. Just like spring grass after frost, it will sprout again when the east wind comes."

Emperor Jingning seemed to be deep in thought and said nothing more.

After the acupuncture was completed, Su Tianshi instructed on how to take the medicine: "This medicine must be boiled with water from a rootless place. After taking it, you must lie quietly for an hour." He hesitated for a moment, then added: "If you have nightmares again at night, you can burn benzoin incense to calm them down."

……

……

After Su Tianshi withdrew, Emperor Jingning suddenly felt his mind clear, and the pent-up emotions in his chest seemed to have been somewhat dispelled by the silver needles. He immediately summoned the two ministers, Fu Qi and Lei Xiaochen, for questioning.

When Fu Qi and Lei Xiaochen entered the hall, they saw Emperor Jingning leaning against a yellow boxwood couch, with an apricot-yellow python-patterned pillow behind him. Although his face still looked sickly, his eyes shone brightly like cold stars.

The gilded lion-shaped incense burner was filled with the fragrant aroma of agarwood, and as the sunlight shone through, the hall was illuminated as if it were a dreamlike realm.

"Ten days have passed. Have you found out who's behind this?"

Emperor Jingning's voice was neither hurried nor slow, yet it carried an unyielding authority that brooked no perfunctory response.

Fu Qi and Lei Xiaochen exchanged a glance and knelt down on the ground.

Fu Qi's silver beard trembled slightly: "This old minister is incompetent; to this day... the truth remains elusive."

"Still not found out?" Emperor Jingning snorted coldly, his knuckles tapping the edge of the bed with a dull thud. "Even if the mastermind cannot be found, can't even the informant be found out? Are those assassins some kind of reincarnation of Zhuge Liang, able to predict Li'er's whereabouts?"

Lei Xiaochen pressed his forehead against the blue brick: "We have questioned all of the Fourth Prince's close attendants, but still have no clues."

Emperor Jingning's gaze was sharp as a knife, inadvertently sweeping over Dai Quan, who was standing to the side.

The old eunuch Dai Quan lowered his head and looked demure, his whisk in his hand as steady as a rock, only the fine whisk trembled slightly, like a spider web covered with dew.

Little did they know, Dai Quan was an inside man!
Dai Quan learned of Yuan Li's whereabouts at the Shen residence through Zhang Qian, the eunuch who served Yuan Li.

Zhang Qian was killed by assassins that same day, and even the gold ingots that Dai Quan had recently given to Zhang Qian were secretly taken away by Dai Quan.

The truth is right there, yet it seems to be separated by a layer of paper that can never be pierced.

"Alas!" Emperor Jingning suddenly sighed, "Continue the investigation!"

Fu Qi and Lei Xiaochen felt as if they had been granted a pardon and were about to bow and retreat when Emperor Jingning said again, "Wait."

The two quickly turned around and stood at attention.

Emperor Jingning stroked the jade thumb ring on his thumb and said slowly, "Although Jiang Nian has made mistakes, his crimes are not serious. He has been imprisoned for some time. Let him go and bring him to see me."

Fu Qi and Lei Xiaochen accepted the order and left.

After the two left the hall, the sleeping quarters became empty and deserted.

The ticking of the clock suddenly became clear, each note seeming to strike the heart.

Inside the gilded lion-shaped incense burner, the smoke from agarwood still lingered...

……

……

Inside the palace, in a meditation room, a plaque bearing the inscription "Enlightenment and Realization of Nature" hangs above the door, gleaming in the sunlight.

The meditation room is furnished very simply: a meditation couch, a low table, and a futon.

Jiang Nian has been detained there for ten days.

He didn't suffer much hardship; Emperor Jingning didn't treat him harshly, and Fu Qi didn't arbitrarily use private punishments.

Jiang Nian's face had not thinned, but she had not bathed or changed clothes for ten days, and her guard uniform was somewhat dirty and disheveled, and she looked unkempt.

He was sitting cross-legged on a futon, his eyes closed, lost in thought.

Suddenly, the door to the meditation room creaked open.

The blinding sunlight shone directly in.

Jiang Nian opened her eyes and felt the sunlight was too bright, so she squinted.

In the play of light and shadow, Fu Qi stepped through the door and solemnly said, "Guard Jiang, the Emperor Emeritus has granted you a special pardon. Now come with me to meet the Emperor."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Nian slowly rose from the futon. Because he had been sitting cross-legged for a long time, his legs were a little sore and numb when he stood up, and he almost stumbled. He steadied himself and only moved his muscles and bones slightly before bowing to Fu Qi and saying, "Thank you for your trouble, Minister Fu."

His voice was slightly hoarse, but it exuded a calm and steady quality.

Fu Qi nodded slightly. Over the past ten days, he had interrogated Jiang Nian several times. He had originally thought that this young man was just a ruthless official who acted recklessly because of the emperor's favor. However, after several exchanges, he was secretly surprised. Although the young man was indeed ruthless as rumored, he was also resourceful and, more importantly, incorruptible. He was an anomaly in this corrupt world.

Immediately, Fu Qi and Jiang Nian left the meditation room one after the other.

Upon arriving outside the meditation room, Jiang Nian saw ancient cypress trees standing tall in the courtyard, their verdant branches and leaves gleaming in the sunlight, like jade carvings. Jiang Nian looked up at the sky again; the sun hanging in the sky was so golden that it stung his eyes. He squinted, then strode after Fu Qi.

Fu Qi glanced back at Jiang Nian and saw that although the young man's official clothes were dirty and his hair was disheveled, he walked like a pine tree after a snowfall, upright and straight as a sword. In particular, his eyes seemed to be three points brighter than the sunlight on the top of an ancient cypress tree.

"What a remarkable young man! He's only just been released from prison, yet he's already so composed!"

Fu Qi secretly praised him.

Upon arriving at the imperial bedchamber, Emperor Jingning was still leaning against the yellow boxwood couch, with an apricot-yellow python-patterned pillow behind him.

Jiang Nian stepped forward and performed a deep bow, his forehead touching the ground with a resounding thud: "This sinful subject, Jiang Nian, respectfully wishes the Emperor Emeritus good health."

His voice was as clear as gold and jade, and there was no trace of dejection left.

Emperor Jingning scrutinized Jiang Nian closely, noticing that although her official robes were dirty and disheveled, they could not conceal her unyielding spirit. Despite her unkempt appearance, her eyes shone brightly.

Emperor Jingning secretly praised it in his heart.

(End of this chapter)