Dream of the Red Chamber: I can upgrade my entries!

Chapter 31 The Nanjing Murder Case: Jia, Shi, Wang, and Xue Control the Sky!
In early March, the scenery in Jiangnan is at its best.

In the Southern Zhili region, a murder case occurred at the Jinling Prefectural Government, attracting the attention of many people.

"Upright and just official."

“I am a servant of the Feng family, and the person who was beaten to death was my young master.”

"It was because I bought a maid from a human trafficker that day, but I didn't expect she was kidnapped and sold."

“This kidnapper took my money first. My master originally said that the third day would be the auspicious day before we would bring him in.”

“This kidnapper sold the person to the Xue family again. When the young master found out, he went to find the seller. However, the Xue family was arrogant and domineering, relying on their wealth and power. Xue Pan ordered his servants to beat my young master in public. My young master was beaten until he was barely alive. He died when he returned home.”

"After the Xue family beat me, they fled and disappeared. I searched for them for a year, but no one paid any attention."

"I beg Your Honor to arrest the culprit, eliminate evil and eliminate wickedness, and save the widows and orphans. My young master, if he has a spirit in heaven, will be eternally grateful!"

The servants of the Feng family, kneeling on the ground, were in tears as they denounced Xue Pan as a heinous villain. The surrounding people, upon hearing this, were all filled with righteous indignation.

"boom!!!"

Sitting in the hall was Jia Yucun, wearing a black gauze hat and a dark scarlet official robe with cloud and goose patterns. He was tall and broad-shouldered, with a wide face, square mouth, sword-like eyebrows, bright eyes, a straight nose, and prominent cheekbones. He suddenly slammed the gavel, startling everyone present.

"That's unreasonable!"

"They killed someone and just left without a trace."

"Such a thing exists in the world! Guards!"

After reviewing the complaint, Jia Yucun was furious and was about to issue an order to have Xue Pan arrested and brought in for questioning.

"Cough cough."

Unexpectedly, the doorman coughed softly, attracting Jia Yucun's attention. Jia Yucun put down the divination stick with some suspicion, slammed the gavel again, and shouted, "This prefect is aware of this case. After ordering someone to investigate, we will proceed with the decision. Court adjourned."

"mighty!"

The bailiffs on both sides shouted in unison, and the court hearing, which started strong but ended weakly, came to an end, leaving only the Feng family servants kneeling on the ground with blank expressions.

After the court session ended, Jia Yucun gave the doorman a look, and the two of them went into the inner room one after the other, closing the doors and windows, leaving the room completely closed off.

"The lord has always been promoted and rewarded, and has forgotten about me in the past eight or nine years."

The doorman stepped forward, bowed, and smiled.

"He looks somewhat familiar, but I can't quite place him right now."

Jia Yucun glanced at the doorman several times, but couldn't recall any connection between him and the doorman.

"Sir, you are truly a person of high status who has a bad memory. You have even forgotten where you were born and what happened at the Gourd Temple back then."

The doorman couldn't help but smile.

‘Boom! ’

Upon hearing this, Jia Yucun stood there dumbfounded, as if struck by lightning. It took him a long time to come to his senses and recognize the gatekeeper. This person was actually a little novice monk from the Gourd Temple. Who would have thought that he would now be a minor official in the Jinling government?

"Oh, it's you."

Jia Yucun's face then softened, and he took his hand and asked, "How did you end up here after the fire at Gourd Temple?"

"Don't hide it from your lord."

The gatekeeper dared not sit down, and waited until Jia Yucun sat at the head of the table before he began to explain: "After the great fire at Gourd Temple, I originally planned to seek refuge in another temple, but the ancient temples and Buddhist statues were too desolate and boring, so I grew my hair out while I was young, and through some connections, I came to the government office to work as a gatekeeper."

Such is fate.

Jia Yucun smiled, saying nothing more, but his eyes seemed to see right through people as he stared intently at the doorman: "Now that we're in this private room, it's better to make some things clear."

"Yes."

The gatekeeper trembled, suddenly realizing that the person in front of him was no longer the down-on-his-luck scholar he once was, but now a high-ranking official of the fourth rank in the imperial court, the prefect of Jinling, who held the power of life and death over hundreds of thousands of people in Yingtian Prefecture.

"Why did you stop me from issuing the visa just now?" Jia Yucun asked in a deep voice.

The gatekeeper slowly explained: "This place is different from other places. Emperor Taizu established his capital in Nanjing in his early years. Therefore, Southern Zhili is also known as Nanjing Province."

"Now that you have become the Prefect of Jinling, surely you have obtained a protective talisman from this province?"

"What is a protective talisman for officials? Why have I never heard of it before?"

Jia Yucun couldn't help but show a puzzled expression.

"I have offended you."

The doorman apologized and continued, "If you, sir, don't even know about the Protective Talisman, how can you rise so high in rank?"

"Whenever someone takes office in a local area, the emperor must first prepare a private list, which records the names of the most powerful, wealthy and noble families in the province."

"If one is unaware of this and offends such a family, not only will one lose all official rank and title, but one's life may also be in danger. This is why it is known as the 'protective talisman for officials'."

"The servant of the Feng family just now reported that it was the Xue family of Jinling. Why would you want to get involved in such trouble, sir?"

As he spoke, he took out a transcribed 'protective talisman' from his pocket and presented it with both hands.

"Ok?"

Filled with curiosity, Jia Yucun took a look and sure enough, it was full of local proverbs and tales of prominent families and officials, clearly written down, with annotations below listing the official titles and lineages of the founding ancestor.

"Jia is not false, his halls are made of white jade and his horses of gold. The Epang Palace, three hundred miles long, cannot house one Shi from Jinling. The East Sea lacks a bed of white jade, so the Dragon King invites the King of Jinling. In a bountiful year, there is heavy snow, pearls are like dirt and gold is like iron."

As the doorman recited a few common phrases, the four most prosperous families in Jinling appeared in Jia Yucun's mind, sending a chill down his spine.

The descendants of the Dukes Ning and Rong; the descendants of the Marquis of Baoling and the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, Shi Gong; the descendants of the Grand Commandant and the Earl of the County, Wang Gong; and the Xue family, ranked last, are descendants of the Ziwei Attendant Xue Gong, who currently manages the Imperial Treasury and is the royal family's money bag.

Even now, the Xue family is not someone that a mere prefect of Jinling can afford to offend.

"The four families of Jia, Shi, Wang, and Xue are all related by marriage. They share the same fate, and they support and protect each other."

"There are quite a few Xue family members who have been friends and relatives for generations and are living elsewhere. If we don't use the favors of the other three families, who will you turn to now, sir?"

The doorman shook his head, saying meaningfully.

"call!"

Jia Yucun exhaled a breath of stale air, his expression complex, and said, "According to you, how should this case be concluded, and where is the murderer?"

'Getting it right!'

Upon hearing this, the doorman's eyes lit up. He knew that Jia Yucun understood his meaning, so he simply revealed everything: "Reporting to Your Excellency."

"This matter is somewhat complicated; it's not just something I know about, but the adults also know about it."

'? ? ? '

Immediately, Jia Yucun was even more confused.

"Let's start with the defendant, the Feng family. The Feng family was just a minor gentry family under the jurisdiction of Jinling. They had a son named Feng Yuan, whose parents died when he was young and who had no brothers. He lived alone with his meager property. When he was eighteen or nineteen years old, he developed a strong liking for men and a strong aversion to women."

"By sheer coincidence, I encountered a girl being sold by kidnappers. I took a liking to her at first sight, paid the cash, and bought her as a concubine. I vowed never to associate with men again, nor to marry another. We agreed to marry in three days."

"This kidnapper is unethical. He secretly sold the person to the Xue family, intending to abscond with the money from both families and flee to another province."

"But he didn't know that neither of them were easy to mess with, and he was captured and beaten to death by both of them."

"Young Master Xue is known for his domineering ways in Jinling and is called 'Dumb Tyrant.' However, he is not an unreasonable person. He ordered someone to fetch silver and give it to Feng Yuan to settle the matter."

"Feng Yuan refused, only wanting that girl, which angered the young master of the Xue family. He ordered his servants to teach him a lesson, beating him to the point of near death. Who would have thought that Feng Yuan would die just a few days after being carried home?"

'.'

Jia Yucun rubbed his temples; this was truly a mess.

(End of this chapter)