Dream of the Red Chamber: Rising from Refugees to Sweep Across the Land

Chapter 91 Sitting at home, trouble falls from the sky

What a wonderful day! I met Lin Daiyu, flirted with Feng Qi, and even saw Xue Baochai. I was thrilled.

But the happier a person is, the more likely they are to encounter something that upsets them.

Just as they were about to reach his doorstep, Dai Quan's godson darted out from a nearby alley and pulled Liu Feng inside.

In broad daylight, under the clear sky! You little eunuch, how dare you drag me, a respectable man, into the alley? What do you want to do?

"Godfather, I've brought the person to you!"

Liu Feng looked up and exclaimed, "Wow, isn't that Dai Quan?!"

Dressed like a wealthy gentleman, Dai Quan turned around and casually waved his hand, causing the little eunuch to quickly retreat.

Liu Feng stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting, and said with a grin, "Oh, so you're here incognito?"

"Stop grinning like that." Dai Quan glanced at both ends of the alley. "I'm here to see you on imperial orders."

Liu Feng's lips twitched. Well, this can't be good!

Sure enough, Dai Quan immediately followed up with, "There's a case that I need you to investigate personally."

Liu Feng remained silent, waiting for what was to come.

Dai Quan leaned closer and lowered his voice: "Remember that case in the Ministry of Justice prison?"

'

Liu Feng nodded.

"You'd better remember what I'm about to say, and don't let a single word escape your lips. Understand?"

Liu Feng's heart skipped a beat. Could it be a royal scandal?

"That night, the people from the Northern Garrison didn't go to waste. In the alley behind the Ministry of Justice prison, someone found a burnt lantern with a mark on its handle... it was made by the Imperial Household Department's workshop. All those lanterns were sent to Prince Yong's residence at the time."

The emperor's son? That's terrible!

Dai Quan: "The Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs has been keeping a close eye on Prince Yong's residence these days. They've screened everyone in the residence and circled all the suspects. Please investigate them."

Liu Feng's eyes widened: Why don't you investigate further yourselves?

Dai Quan: "The Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs has several important cases on its hands, and it really can't spare any people..." He couldn't continue making things up, so he paused for a moment, "The Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs has had several leaks before, and the Emperor is worried that someone might take advantage of the chaos to frame Prince Yong."

This trust is better off gone.

Liu Feng thought about it for a moment, then felt this was a hot potato, and tentatively asked, "Um... could we find someone else?"

Dai Quan looked at him, his face clearly saying, "What do you think?"

Liu Feng cursed under his breath, "What bad luck!" He then said, "Then you need to give me the bottom line. How are you going to investigate this case? To what extent are you going to investigate?"

Dai Quan paused for a moment: "We can't involve the Fourth Prince."

Liu Feng pressed further, "What if we get involved?"

"There's no 'what if'."

Liu Feng almost cursed, unwilling to give up: "What if it involves an important person close to the Prince..."

'

Dai Quan stated bluntly: "The Yong Prince's Mansion has only one master, the Yong Prince."

That's incredibly cold-blooded! Liu Feng thought for a moment, then realized, "In a feudal society, where would human rights come from?"

Dai Quan then took out a letter sleeve from his sleeve and handed it over.

Liu Feng thought it was a list, so he casually pulled it out and was stunned. It turned out to be a house deed and a land deed, and it was located just west of the Lin family's residence, in a large five-courtyard siheyuan (traditional courtyard house).

He stared at Dai Quan in surprise.

"Knowing that you have been looking for a suitable residence, the Emperor, recognizing your diligence, loyalty, and bravery, has bestowed this residence upon you."

""

Dai Quan smiled at him and said, "A man needs a decent place to live, otherwise how will he get married and start a family?"

What do you, a eunuch, know?

Liu Feng quickly cupped his hands in thanks and faced the direction of the imperial city to express his gratitude.

Dai Quan then pulled out a list from his sleeve and instructed, "Remember, you must arrange for people you trust, understand?"

Liu Feng nodded.

Before they knew it, the day of the Prince of Jin's burial arrived.

As we entered the eleventh month of the lunar calendar, the capital city grew colder day by day, and the wind was like a knife, stinging our faces.

Before dawn, all the officials in the capital arrived at the Prince of Jin's residence to attend the funeral.

Watching the departing procession, Liu Feng stamped his foot, thinking to himself: In his past life, when he watched Douyin (TikTok), he thought Qin Keqing's funeral was incredibly grand, probably comparable to an emperor's funeral. But after seeing Prince Pu's funeral today, he realized what true royal grandeur is. Compared to this, Qin Keqing's entourage is nothing.

"This weather is so cold!" Liu Feng shrank his neck and blew his hands into his eyes.

Brother Liu.

Liu Feng turned around with a smile. Only Liu Xianglian called him that. Among all the sons of noble families, he was the only one who didn't avoid suspicion and spoke and ate with him.

"Are you going to the martial arts school later?" Liu Xianglian asked.

Liu Feng shook his head: "I'm moving today."

"Moving?" Liu Xianglian gestured towards the funeral procession, as if to say: Aren't you afraid of bad luck?

Liu Feng smiled and said, "It's just moving the blankets from the east courtyard to the west courtyard."

Liu Xianglian nodded: "If you're not going, then I won't go either."

Liu Feng asked with a smile, "How about coming back with me for a drink?"

Liu Xianglian shook his head: "Next time. I have to go see Qi Guan..."

'

He paused, then added, "He was beaten by Prince Zhongshun."

Liu Feng was slightly taken aback: "Why?"

Liu Xianglian sighed, "Alas, it's all because of the title. Prince Zhongshun is unhappy, so he drinks horse urine all day long, and when he's drunk, he beats people to vent his anger."

Liu Feng remained silent. This time, Prince Zhongshun had truly lost both his wife and his army. Not only had he been demoted, but all his efforts to appease the Empress Dowager had also been wasted, and due to the death of the Duke of Cheng'en, he had directly engaged in Buddhist rituals at the Cining Palace. He no longer cared about worldly affairs, and he was no longer going to put on the show of maternal love and filial piety for the Emperor.

Liu Xianglian suddenly leaned closer and whispered, "I heard that someone went to the Censorate yesterday to file a complaint against the Emperor, but was beaten and thrown out."

Liu Feng looked at him: "What does this have to do with me?"

Liu Xianglian: "It has connections with the Jia family, the Xue family, and the Wang family."

Liu Feng wanted to say "What's it to me?" but held back: "What's going on?"

"It's quite a coincidence. One of the censors on duty at the Censorate yesterday was a friend or relative of mine. According to him, the aggrieved party was a down-on-his-luck gentryman from Nanjing, the only son of his family. He had his head broken by a servant ordered by the Xue family head of Nanjing over an actress, and died the next day after returning home..."

Liu Feng understood that this was a accusation against Xue Pan. Without Xiang Ling, Feng Yuan in the original story escaped a calamity, but another unfortunate soul was chosen by Madam Wang and her brother, becoming a victim of their desires.

"The officials of the Censorate happen to have connections with the Wang family; how could they possibly accept the complaint!"

Liu Xianglian paused here, "This matter is actually somewhat related to you as well."

Liu Feng was completely bewildered. What does this have to do with me? Am I Xue Pan's father or mother?!

"I heard that family even sued the Jiangsu Provincial Surveillance Commissioner..."

""

The Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Jiangsu? Isn't that my father-in-law... oops, my former superior?

Liu Feng hurriedly asked, "What's going on now?"

"I've inquired about this for you. The position of Prefect of Jinling is vacant, and the deputy only handles receiving petitions, not adjudicating cases. So the family went to the Provincial Surveillance Commission. At the time, Lord Lin was in Yangzhou raising funds for the army and was not in the yamen. Because of the Jia family's connections, the deputy refused to take the case... The family somehow found out about these ways, gritted their teeth, sold their property, and came to the capital to appeal to the Emperor."

Liu Feng's eyes flashed. Is this something you can just sue someone for? Looks like there's someone behind this!

I've been keeping an eye on the Prince Yong's residence these past few days; I'll go check out the Thousand Household Office first.

"When the officials of the Censorate saw that this involved the emperor's confidants, and besides, your background was no secret, they simply kicked you out and told you to go to the Office of Transmission to file a complaint."

Liu Feng almost spat out a mouthful of blood. Well, he was just sitting at home when trouble fell from the sky!

Liu Xianglian was silent for a moment: "You can't stand idly by in this matter. Once it's sent to the Office of Transmission, it will definitely be sent to the Grand Secretariat, and might even go directly to the Emperor. At that time, Lord Lin will be unable to escape being accused of 'lax management of his subordinates'... If someone takes the opportunity to fuel the flames, charges of 'negligence' can be pinned on you."

Liu Feng nodded: "Thank you."

Liu Xianglian crossed his arms and turned to leave.

Liu Feng thought for a moment, then turned around and took the reins: "Let's go to the Office of Transmission."

The moment he mounted his horse, a thought suddenly popped into his head. Jiangnan is a place that devours people without spitting out the bones; why not use this opportunity to get Lin Ruhai out of his job? What's so great about that lousy official position? I have money; I can afford to support him! Then I can bring Lin Meimei out of the Rongguo Mansion, and the three of us can live our own quiet life...

As he was thinking, he suddenly pulled on the reins.

"I'm not going," Liu Feng turned his horse around, "back to the Thousand-Household Office."

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