The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

What if it were another court official who came to visit next time? Would they also be humiliated and thrown out of the mansion?

No matter how much Prince Chungshun guarantees, no one in the court can accept the possibility of such a thing. It would be better to join forces to bring down Prince Chungshun and save trouble later.

He was furious and wished he could kill Prince Zhongshun!

He had finally made it this far in pressing for the recovery of the national treasury's debts, but Prince Zhongshun's actions were directly going against him. How could he not be angry?

Damn it, if you don't want to pay back the money, you could just say so quietly beforehand and then find an excuse to get away with it. Why do you have to choose such an extreme and humiliating method?

In particular, the fact that the second-in-command, speaking as a victim, requested the exemption of the 1.3 million taels of silver owed by the Prince of Zhongshun's treasury is something that cannot be easily agreed to now.

That's 1.3 million taels!

Damn it, Prince Zhongshun has only been out of the palace to build his own residence for a short time, yet he has already borrowed 1.3 million taels of silver from the national treasury. Is he really using the national treasury as his own private treasury?

If we don't teach Prince Chungshun a lesson this time, he might still think the throne is made of paper!

The current emperor, in a fit of rage, rushed to the palace of the retired emperor and then issued an edict to give the ministers and the second emperor a satisfactory answer, with astonishing speed.

The title of Prince Zhongshun has been downgraded by one rank, and he will now be Prince Zhongshun of the Second Rank.

The Prince's Mansion must repay the national treasury in full, without missing a single penny, within three months!

In addition, the heir of Prince Zhongshun publicly apologized to Jia Zheng in court and paid him 3,000 taels of silver in compensation for medical expenses, etc.

The Chief Secretary of the Prince Zhongshun's Mansion was eccentric and violent. He not only physically assaulted the imperial messenger but also verbally humiliated him. He was immediately dismissed from his post and never to be employed again. He was sent back to his hometown and detained.

As for the guards from the Prince's Mansion who participated in the fight, the thugs led by Jia Huan, and the servants of the Rong Mansion, they were not even mentioned at all and were simply ignored.

In fact, the high-ranking officials of the Imperial Household Department and the Imperial Guards, who were responsible for training the guards of the Prince's Palace, were severely reprimanded by the Emperor and almost lost their positions.

There's no other reason why, given the equal numbers, the Prince's guards couldn't subdue Jia Huan and his thugs in a short time—that was the biggest dereliction of duty!

Fortunately, the one who fought with the guards of the Prince's Mansion this time was Jia Huan, who had insulted his own father at the Prince's Mansion. If it had been an elite member of the White Lotus Sect, wouldn't they have been able to storm the Prince's Mansion and capture Prince Zhongshun alive?

They certainly won't listen to the Prince's guards' grievances now; incompetence is incompetence!

He didn't think that Jia Huan, a mere child, could have any ability to influence the outcome of a fight.

It really works!

However, even the guards of the Prince's mansion wouldn't think that way; they simply assumed the kid had exceptional accuracy when throwing eggs. They wouldn't consider anything more of it.

See? This is the advantage of being able to calculate with intention but not intention.

Jia Huan chose eggs, rather than smaller, rounder ones that could hold more stones, to mislead his opponents.

After all, throwing eggs and throwing stones evoke different feelings!

Throwing eggs at people usually feels like a prank, and at least it doesn't cause much harm.

However, if he throws small stones, it gives the impression that he did it deliberately, and that Jia Huan has a special talent for it.

In fact, if Jia Huan had simply been throwing eggs, instead of protecting Master Zheng, he could have easily helped his thugs wipe out an equal number of guards from the Prince's mansion.

As for the servants, they were just there to make up the numbers; we'll take our anger out on them when we get back to the manor.

Leaving aside the turbulent events at court, the Rong family was shrouded in gloom and despair.

When Master Zheng returned in a disheveled state that day, he frightened everyone in the Rong family. Even Master She came to visit him.

There was no other way, so he grabbed the servants who accompanied him. Their faces were all bruised and swollen, and they were groaning in pain. It was clear that Master Zheng had suffered a great loss on this trip.

Jia Huan escorted Master Zheng back to his study, then turned and slipped away.

Next, the old lady, accompanied by the second wife, Madam Wang, came to visit in a grand procession. He didn't want to be in the way, and this time he really tricked Jia Baoyu, the phoenix egg, quite badly.

Who would have thought that witnessing his own father being thrown out by the guards of the Prince's Mansion would not have caused him to fly into a rage and charge forward to fight, but instead he would have stayed behind and remained motionless like a stone?

What a fucking idiot! Even if you didn't have the guts to charge in yourself, you could have called your servants and attendants. Nothing happened at all. Have you lost your mind?

In any case, Jia Huan saw deep disappointment in Jia Baoyu in the eyes of the second master.

Judging from his appearance, it would be difficult for the Second Master Zheng to value the Phoenix Egg again unless he felt ashamed and made outstanding achievements in the imperial examination.

Unfortunately, judging from Jia Baoyu's expression, it's unlikely he'll be able to react in a short time.

This guy is something else. He was obviously a bit frightened outside and came back somewhat dazed.

As a result, the old lady and Madam Wang saw it and kept calling out "Grandson!" They were almost scared to tears, but they managed to bring the boy back to his senses.

Then, like a frightened little rabbit, Jia Baoyu stayed by the old lady's side and wouldn't go anywhere.

The old lady was quite alarmed. While inquiring about the condition of the Second Master Zheng, she hurriedly called Li Gui, Jia Baoyu's personal attendant, to her side for a detailed inquiry.

After finding out what happened, the old lady's expression became quite complicated.

No matter how much she loved Jia Baoyu, she couldn't possibly lie to him and say that he hadn't done anything wrong this time.

What a joke! It was her youngest son, Master Zheng, who was humiliated by the Prince's mansion. Jia Baoyu's stunned reaction at that time was worlds apart from Jia Huan's fearless bravery.

Of course, the old lady had her suspicions about Jia Huan's intentions when he asked Jia Baoyu to go out with him.

However, after thinking about it, Jia Huan couldn't possibly have foreseen the actions of the Prince Zhongshun's mansion, so how could he have dug a pit for Jia Baoyu to jump into beforehand?

Just by listening to Li Gui's account, the old lady could understand how urgent the situation was.

If Jia Huan hadn't led his men to charge forward and fight the guards of the Prince's Mansion, the Second Master Zheng and the Rong Mansion behind him would have definitely lost face big time.

The Jia family was different from those civil officials; sometimes, when faced with provocation, they had to bare their fangs.

Jia Huan did the best; he rushed in and started a fight without thinking.

Regardless of winning or losing, at least it lets outsiders know that the men of the Rong family still have backbone and are not so easily bullied.

The old lady didn't say much. She glanced around but didn't see Jia Huan. She could only comfort the somewhat distraught Master Zheng, saying that this matter was definitely not over yet.

She was furious. The Prince Zhongshun's Mansion had gone too far, showing no regard for the Rong Mansion or the Jia family in the capital.

The old lady's influence was still quite astonishing; the living old nobles in various mansions, as well as the old imperial concubines in the palace, were all her connections and networks.

Once it's launched, even the current emperor will have a headache.

This is also one of the reasons why Prince Chungshun was dealt with so quickly; the current emperor is feeling the pressure.

Jia Huan wouldn't give up so easily; this time, things were quite dangerous.

If it weren't for his already high level of physical fitness and increasingly refined and skillful use of hidden weapons, he would have suffered a silent loss at the gate of the Prince's Mansion this time.

So, at his urging and encouragement, and because the Second Master Zheng himself was also full of resentment, he simply submitted a memorial to apologize.

He first admitted that he had not done a good job and that his first attempt had ended in failure, and requested that the emperor punish him accordingly.

After saying all that, he changed the subject and asked the emperor to forgive the Prince Zhongshun's Mansion for the debt of 1.3 million taels of silver.

The memorial clearly stated that, judging from the attitude of the Prince Zhongshun's family, they believed that as relatives of the emperor, it was only right for them to take some silver from the national treasury, and that it would be excessive to ask for repayment.

After much agonizing reflection, the Second Prince Zheng realized that Prince Zhongshun's idea was not without merit, so he simply submitted a memorial to the Emperor, requesting a decision.

This is Chiluoluo's eye drops!

Let's see how the current emperor handles this, and then Lord Zheng will decide whether to continue being the dangerous debt collection ambassador!

Not to mention the Second Prince Zheng, even the other court officials were stunned. That Prince Zhongshun is truly an oddball; he's chosen to be the first to stick his neck out, making himself the target of everyone's ire.

However, although the current ruler has dealt with Prince Zhongshun swiftly and decisively, the troubles of the Second Master Zheng have not disappeared.

In the imperial court, there were quite a few memorials impeaching him for his incompetence, and many ministers also submitted such memorials.

Their reasons for impeachment seemed somewhat reasonable. They felt that Lord Zheng Er's decision to target Prince Zhongshun as his first target was clearly too stubborn and not the way one should act.

If someone with stronger abilities were chosen, they would definitely pick on the weakest target to quickly gain an advantage!

Upon hearing the news, the Second Master Zheng was so depressed he almost vomited blood. While writing a memorial to defend himself, he felt quite disheartened and was severely discouraged.

The key point is that simply writing a memorial to defend oneself is useless.

Some court officials impeached others verbally during small court assemblies, and naturally, one had to personally refute them in person.

The Second Master Zheng was not known for his sharp tongue. He was nearly driven to despair by the criticism he received at the small court assembly. It can only be said that he lacked experience in attending such assemblies and was not thick-skinned enough.

Fortunately, he had listened to Jia Huan's advice and asked the Marquis of Baoling from the Shi family to return to the city temporarily to help deal with the situation at the small court meeting.

Even so, the two of them together were no match for the professional trolls in the court, and they spent every day washing their faces with spittle.

Chapter 138 The True Colors Are Revealed (Please Subscribe)

After suffering indignities at court, the Second Master Zheng naturally wouldn't be in a good mood when he returned.

The entire Rong Mansion was shrouded in a low-pressure atmosphere, making it quite unbearable.

The old lady, accustomed to a life of luxury, was the first to lose her temper. She summoned the Second Master Zheng to Rongqing Hall and declared domineeringly, "If it really doesn't work out, you should quit your official post. Otherwise, you'll be subjected to constant mistreatment, and even this old woman will live in fear because of you. How can we live like this?"

The Second Master was completely dumbfounded, looking at his mother with disbelief.

He has indeed suffered quite a few setbacks recently, but he hasn't been so badly affected that he wants to resign.

After spending so much effort to finally climb to the position of Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, a fourth-rank official, how could he possibly resign before even making his mark?

"Mother, I still wish to continue serving the current emperor and the court, so please don't say such things!"

This time it was the old lady's turn to be dumbfounded. Seeing the Second Master Zheng's confident demeanor, her face immediately darkened: "Then why are you always looking so gloomy?"

"Mother, the task assigned to me today is putting me in a very difficult position!"

When Master Zheng said this, he suddenly remembered a bad idea that Jia Huan had inadvertently suggested once, and subconsciously said, "Mother's connections are unfathomable. Could you help your son smooth things over and get those big debtors to pay back some of the national treasury's debts? That way, your son can have something to show for it!"