The Splendor of the Red Chamber

On the way back to the city, Jia Lian specially changed to a carriage and called all the accompanying officials onto the carriage to understand the situation.

Hearing the word "traitor" almost slip out of the Marquis of Nan'an's mouth, one can tell that the nobles are quite dissatisfied with their choice to side with the emperor, violating the covenant of neutrality.

Prince Bei Jing might not dare to do anything to Jia Lian, but if these low-ranking officials were to report to him in person, Prince Bei Jing might just use it as an excuse to make a fuss.

Rather than being forced into a passive situation of making an example of someone, it would be better for the Second Master to first gather and organize all the intelligence, and then meet with the Prince alone at the Prince's residence.

As they continued their conversation, Jia Lian gained a deeper understanding of the case.

Most tombs of kings, nobles, and generals are located north of the capital, but the Nan'an Prince's Mausoleum, named after the name "Nan'an," is located south of the capital, so there are basically no other tombs of the same rank nearby.

Apart from the Prince of Beijing, the other princes of different surnames were granted titles after three generations, and the royal mausoleum contains the remains of three generations of Princes of Nan'an.

The most central location is the tomb of the first Prince of Nan'an, while the tombs of the second and third Princes of Nan'an are located on the east side.

The tomb of the third Prince of Nan'an, which was robbed, was naturally closest to the eastern wall, with a distance of only about seven or eight zhang (approximately 33-40 meters).

The place where the tomb robbers broke in was in the southeast corner of the underground palace. It wasn't the weakest point in the tomb, but it was relatively easy to breach.

The entrance to the tomb was located in a grove of trees more than 60 feet away, separated by a stream. As a result, the tomb had to be reinforced and supported in the middle.

Based on the situation at the scene, the group of tomb raiders should be between 6 and 10 people, and they had ample means of transportation.

Because all the burial objects in the southeast side hall and the main hall of the underground palace, including heavy and bulky items, had been moved out, it would have been difficult to do this without enough people or means of transportation.

But that's also what makes this case so strange.

Despite having enough manpower, transportation, and time to empty the two underground palaces, the tomb raiders did not touch the other tombs, nor did they follow the clues to break into the tomb of the second Prince of Nan'an.

Instead, they deliberately severed the heads of three generations of Nan'an kings.

This person has been dead for more than two years. Even if he hasn't completely turned to bones, he's just a shriveled head. What's the point of taking this thing away?

Were they afraid that the crime of robbing royal tombs wouldn't be serious enough?

Or are they worried that the government's investigation isn't thorough enough?

The criminal judge of Shuntian Prefecture proposed the hypothesis of "revenge" based on this, speculating that the thieves' real target may not have been the burial goods, but rather the head of the Prince of Nan'an from the beginning.

Taking the burial goods was simply a way for the thief to avoid leaving empty-handed.

This analysis does seem to make some sense, but this Prince Nan'an, Jia Lian, is someone I know. He was a spoiled brat from a young age, and after the death of the second Prince Nan'an, he indulged in pleasure every day.

Not only was he obsessed with all sorts of potent drugs to enhance pleasure, but it was also rumored that he had some ambiguous relationship with his birth mother, Princess Yi'an.

After a few years of trouble, he too went after the second Prince of Nan'an.

Although he was an absurd prince, he was also a typical homebody, mostly entertaining himself behind closed doors. He neither held any official position nor participated in any factional or court struggles.

Logically speaking, there shouldn't be any enemies, especially not the kind of deep-seated hatred that would lead to digging up someone's grave and beheading them.

Of course, Jia Lian only heard these things secondhand, so he could not completely rule out the possibility that it was his enemy venting his anger.

The time was delayed because we asked questions along the way.

Jia Lian arrived at the Prince's residence a quarter of an hour later than the Marquis of Nan'an. The gatekeeper of the Prince's residence had already received instructions and directly led Jia Lian and the others to the outside of the main hall.

Jia Lian instructed the other officials to wait outside, and went inside alone.

In the spacious hall sat about ten people, most of whom Jia Lian recognized as core figures in the Four Kings and Eight Dukes system.

However, these people now stand by and watch with indifference, showing no trace of the closeness that comes with family ties.

The three people seated at the head of the table were the Princess Consort of Nan'an, the Prince of Beijing, and the Duke of Qi. The Marquis of Nan'an stood quietly behind the Princess Consort of Nan'an, showing no trace of the eccentricity he displayed at the royal tomb.

Jia Lian walked to the center and bowed deeply, saying, "Jia Lian greets His Highness the Prince, the Empress Dowager, the Duke, and all my uncles and brothers."

"Hmph~"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a cold snort came from the left, which was made by Shi Guangzhu, the head of the Duke of Shanguo's mansion.

The second-generation Duke of Shan and the third-generation Prince of Nan'an died in the same year, and he has only recently ended his mourning period.

When the second-generation Duke of Shan was still alive, he strongly advocated that the nobles stick together for mutual support. During the rebellion of Prince Yizhong, he was the first to advocate neutrality and the first to express his recognition of the current emperor's victory.

Because of this incident, when Shi Guangzhu received his title, the emperor specially promoted him by one rank, granting him the title of First-Class Viscount.

Shi Guangzhu was very proud of this and naturally became a loyal supporter of this neutral system, so he looked down on traitors like Jia Lian the most.

Immediately afterwards, Prince Bei Jing spoke up calmly: "According to my rough calculations, the Imperial City Guard has not recruited any sons of nobles for more than thirty years. Brother Jia is truly enjoying a unique honor."

On the surface, it is a compliment, but it emphasizes the words "one of a kind," and anyone who hears it can sense the irony in it.

This was also within Jia Lian's expectations. He bowed respectfully and said, "Jia Lian is a man of no talent or virtue. Last year, I was fortunate enough to receive the blessing and guidance of my ancestors, and I came to understand the principle of loyalty to the emperor and serving the country. Now, I am honored by His Majesty's extraordinary favor. I can only give my life and die for the country."

He was directly bringing up his ancestors and the emperor in a confrontational manner. When it comes to closeness and nobility, one can never surpass one's own ancestors; when it comes to hierarchy, how could you, Prince Bei Jing, possibly surpass the emperor?

Upon hearing this, Prince Bei Jing nodded coldly and said, "Loyalty to the emperor and serving the country is certainly good. The Rongguo Mansion is full of heroes who died without hesitation, and I have always admired them greatly."

If we go back forty years, the Rongguo Mansion could truly live up to the saying "a family of heroes, dying without hesitation," but now...

It's more like some kind of veiled curse.

Clearly, Prince Bei Jing, as the initiator of this alliance of nobles, also deeply resented Jia Lian's betrayal.

The atmosphere became somewhat tense for a moment. At this moment, the Duke of Qi suddenly sighed and said, "In the end, you still have to take the imperial examination. Back then, your uncle and your uncle-in-law were both top talents among the nobles. It's just a pity that one was obsessed with cultivating Taoism and the other died young. Otherwise, you wouldn't have needed to come out and risk your life."

Prince Bei Jing couldn't help but glance at Duke Qi.

The Duke of Qi's words made sense, but they were somewhat out of place.

Many noble families have the idea of ​​switching from military to civil service. In the past, the Rong and Ning families were the most successful in this regard, and now Qi Heng of the Qi family is the closest to success.

Everyone is now united against Jia Lian, this traitor, so why is the Duke of Qi suddenly jumping out and talking about the proper path of the imperial examination? What exactly does he mean by this?

Just to show off that you have a good son?

At this moment, Princess Nan'an also spoke up: "Our two families have been friends for generations. Let's not talk about official jargon and formalities. Let's talk about the case first."

Princess Nan'an was theoretically of the same generation as Lady Wang and Lady Xing, but in reality she was only in her early thirties, about seven or eight years older than Jia Lian.

However, in terms of dignified and solemn demeanor, she was far superior to Madam Wang and Madam Xing.

"Your Highness is right."

Jia Lian curtsied and then recounted everything he knew.

The nobles couldn't help but discuss it, and many of them thought it was about revenge, since the case didn't seem like a simple tomb raiding.

"The Prince was a kind and gentle man; he would never have had such an enemy." The Princess Dowager of Nan'an directly refuted this guess, then asked, "But how do you intend to investigate?"

Jia Lian also inquired about this along the way.

He immediately began to speak eloquently: "The first thing to do is to find the inside accomplice. Usually, in such major cases of tomb raiding, there is always an inside traitor involved. The villagers and mountain dwellers nearby may also be able to provide some clues."

Originally, the Imperial City Guard was supposed to detain all the suspects as soon as they arrived at the royal tombs, but the Marquis of Nan'an insisted on personally interrogating them by torture. As a result, by the time Jia Lian left the royal tombs, they hadn't managed to get a single useful sentence out of him.

"The next step is to investigate the stolen goods. All the government offices have already gone to silver shops, gold shops, money exchanges and pawnshops to inquire according to the list of burial items provided by the Marquis. If the stolen goods can be found, we can naturally follow the clues to find out the identity and whereabouts of the thief."

Upon hearing this, Shi Guangzhu couldn't help but nitpick, "What if the thieves traveled south by boat, or went to the northwest or southeast? Could we really launch a nationwide crackdown?"

"Your Excellency is right."

Jia Lian didn't argue with him directly, but instead offered a third solution: "So in addition to recovering the stolen goods, we should also offer a reward for information. As the saying goes, a generous reward will surely attract brave men..."

"It's all the same old thing!"

At this moment, the Marquis of Nan'an, who was standing behind the Dowager Consort, could no longer hold back and loudly questioned, "What if your three tricks fail and instead scare the thieves away?"

Jia Lian replied without hesitation, "Then please have the Dowager Princess and the Marquis submit a memorial impeaching the relevant yamen. Those who deserve punishment should be punished accordingly; we have no objections!"

These words sounded righteous and awe-inspiring, but anyone with discerning eyes could see that Jia Lian was trying to shift the blame.

If you want to impeach someone, go impeach the relevant government office. What does it have to do with me, a fifth-rank official who hasn't even officially taken office yet?

In short, you can be a scapegoat, but if you're going to take the blame, find someone else.

If someone has no background, the nobles can force him to sign a pledge.

But behind Jia Lian stood the Rong and Ning mansions, Grand Commandant Wang, the Virtuous Consort, and the current Emperor.

He doesn't stick to his pans, who can force him to?

For a moment, everyone, including the Prince of Beijing, fell silent. Only the young and impetuous Marquis of Nan'an wanted to retort, but his mother stopped him.

Princess Nan'an earnestly said to Jia Lian, "The Marquis and I are most afraid that the people investigating the case will not do their best. Now that you are in charge of the investigation, the Marquis and I can rest assured. If there is any progress in the case, please remember to come to the Prince's Mansion to inform us, so that my son and I will not feel uneasy."