Dream of the Red Chamber: I can see the hidden labels of the beauties.

Seeing Jia She suddenly raise his eyebrows and sense his suspicion, Jia Can raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself that Jia She's intuition was really sharp. It seems that he is not as muddle-headed and lustful as he appears.

He remained outwardly calm, keeping his head down and hands clasped, seemingly unaware of Jia She's suspicions.

Madam You only moved her lips, hesitant to speak, unsure how to respond.

Seeing this, Jia She frowned and pressed for an answer:

"What, is there something you're worried about? Now that Zhen-ge'er is gone, what is there that can't be said?"

Madam You looked up at him, her eyes full of hesitation, then immediately looked away. After a moment's hesitation, she finally spoke:

"Your Excellency, this matter... involves some unpleasant things concerning our Eastern Mansion..."

Jia She frowned even more deeply and said in a deep voice:

"What unpleasant thing is it? Speak out! Zhen-ge'er is dead. This matter must be investigated thoroughly. We must not only give the court a satisfactory explanation, but also give the entire clan a satisfactory answer. Speak quickly!"

Instead of responding immediately, Lady You turned to look at Grandmother Jia at the head of the table, as if asking her if she should speak.

Seeing You Shi's expression, Grandmother Jia vaguely realized something—it must be an unspeakable scandal.

But then I thought, since Jia Zhen is already dead, and death is the end of everything, what is there to hide?

Rather than hiding it and arousing suspicion, it's better to lay it all out in the open to shut everyone up. So he waved his hand lightly and said:

"Zhen's daughter-in-law, you should speak up. It will clear up any doubts and prevent people from gossiping and causing trouble."

After hearing this, Lady You took a deep breath before truthfully saying:

"Alright, since the old lady says so, then I'll say it..."

Then, she revealed some secrets that were unknown to everyone present.

Earlier, Jiao Da was drunk and cursing outside the ceremonial gate, shouting out absurd things like incest and keeping a younger brother-in-law, and even yelling that he was going to the ancestral hall to cry to his ancestors.

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhen was furious and ordered his men to beat Jiao Da with a board and then make him kneel in the ancestral hall as punishment.

To everyone's surprise, Jiao Da not only showed no remorse, but was filled with resentment. He pulled out a knife from somewhere, cut the ropes and escaped. He found out that Jia Zhen was with Jia Can, so he rushed in and poisoned him.

Grandmother Jia, Jia She, and the others were shocked and looked at each other, speechless for a moment. They naturally understood that since Jiao Da dared to say such a thing, it meant that it was true and not just a rumor.

They had all heard rumors, more or less, about Jia Zhen's lust for his daughter-in-law Qin Keqing, but they never took it seriously. Even if they had, they would have pretended not to know.

Now that it came out of Jiao Da's mouth and was confirmed by You Shi herself, it was no longer possible to pretend not to know.

For a moment, the expressions on their faces were complicated, and no one spoke, and the room fell into a brief silence.

After a long silence, Grandmother Jia broke the silence and slowly said:

"Jiao Da dared to spout such nonsense, no wonder Zhen Ge'er wanted to punish him severely. It's just a pity that this old servant not only didn't know his mistake, but also became wicked and resentful. He cut the rope and killed Zhen Ge'er."

On the surface, these words were a rebuke of Jiao Da, but in reality, they were a definitive conclusion about Jia Zhen's death, stating that it was all because Jiao Da harbored resentment and committed the crime. That was the sole reason, and there was nothing else.

Grandmother Jia knew the principle that family scandals should not be aired in public. If these words were spread, the Jia family would be disgraced, its century-old reputation would be ruined, and the ancestors would have nowhere to put their faces.

Now that Jia Zhen is dead, and the dead cannot be brought back to life, further investigation will only uncover more scandals and make the Jia family even more embarrassed.

Now that the facts are basically clear, the witnesses and the murder weapon are all there, and Jiao Da's motive for committing the crime is plausible, the matter can be concluded.

If we continue to pursue this matter to the end and investigate the so-called "instigator," it will not benefit the Jia family at all, and it will probably uncover even more shocking scandals.

Grandmother Jia was aware of some of the sordid and secretive affairs within the Ningguo Mansion, but she simply chose not to interfere.

In addition, the entire Jia family is now on a downward spiral, and the outside world is not peaceful. Given the more stable options available, they naturally choose to weather the storm.

As the saying goes, it's better to avoid trouble. As long as this matter can be explained and both superiors and subordinates can be satisfied, that's fine.

Although Jia She, Jia Zheng, and others still found the matter shocking and harbored some doubts, they felt they should investigate it thoroughly and find out the possible instigator.

But Grandmother Jia had already set the tone; as the matriarch of the Jia family, her word was law, and they couldn't say anything more.

Jia She opened his mouth, but ultimately did not speak. He simply snorted heavily with a sullen face, while Jia Zheng sighed slightly and shook his head.

After a moment of silence, Jia She finally spoke:

"Since the old lady says so, then let's settle on this for now. However, we must bring back Jiao Da, the murderer, and make him receive the punishment he deserves, so as to comfort Zhen Ge'er's spirit in heaven."

Jia Zheng nodded in agreement: "Indeed, a life for a life is a matter of course, and Jiao Da's crime is unforgivable."

Grandmother Jia nodded slightly and said no more. The truth about Jia Zhen's death was thus settled within the Jia family, and a consensus was reached.

At the same time, through this incident, everyone also glimpsed the tip of the iceberg inside the Ningguo Mansion.

Jia Zhen frequently beat maids to death, coveted his daughter-in-law, and even forced his half-brother to spend all his savings to buy antiques to please him, which shows the chaotic and corrupt atmosphere in the Ningguo Mansion.

Jia Can's miserable situation made Grandmother Jia and others feel ashamed and sympathetic. Although he was an illegitimate son, he was still the son of Jia Jing and a proper master of Ningguo Mansion, yet he lived such a miserable and humble life.

The courtyard was old and dilapidated, the door had been kicked down, and the entire family's possessions amounted to only twenty-odd taels of silver. There wasn't even a decent maidservant in the house.

This doesn't act like a master at all; he's not even as good as a high-ranking servant in the mansion.

Although Grandmother Jia never paid much attention to the situation of her illegitimate children, she never mistreated them.

The illegitimate sons Jia Huan and Jia Cong in the West Mansion received all the treatment they were entitled to, including maids and nannies, monthly allowances, and meals.

Seeing Jia Can in such a state, Grandmother Jia couldn't help but feel a little guilty. After all, he was a member of the Jia family, how could he have come to this?

However, despite their sympathy, none of the Jia family members expressed any opinion on the matter publicly. Discussing the treatment of an illegitimate son in such a setting would be inappropriate.

After everyone had left, Grandmother Jia kept You Shi behind to speak with her, whispering a few words of advice to her. She told her to be kinder to Jia Can and not be too harsh on him. She should still give him his due share of the allowance, so as not to upset others or let outsiders think that the Jia family was mistreating their illegitimate children, which would damage the Jia family's reputation.

Ms. You felt quite ashamed, her eyes reddening, and she repeatedly agreed:

"Don't worry, Madam. It was my oversight before that I failed to take care of Can-ge'er. I will definitely improve his treatment in the future and try my best to make him reach the quota of the masters in the mansion. I will never let him be like before."

After hearing this, Grandmother Jia nodded slightly, said nothing more, and dismissed her.