The Black Chamber Dream: Daiyu's Revenge

To everyone's surprise, Daiyu laughed and said, "Sixth Brother's idea is not bad, but there are too many people at Yuntao Academy. It would not be appropriate to invite them all to the palace."

Daiyu thought that inviting only Jia Lan would be a bit too conspicuous, and it would be better to invite a few more of the Sixth Prince's classmates.

“Sister-in-law, I know I can’t invite too many people, but can I invite a few of my friends who I usually get along with?” Xiao Tingyu knew very well that his status had already caused trouble for the headmaster of Yuntao Academy. If he made friends indiscriminately without considering the consequences, his father would definitely not be happy. Therefore, the few people he usually got along with were basically from some background.

Daiyu asked him how many people were there, and when Xiao Tingyu said there were four in total, Daiyu smiled and nodded, saying, "Then I'll have to trouble Sixth Brother to write the invitations to the classmates you want to invite. As for the birthday banquet arrangements, once we've planned them out, we'd like Sixth Brother to give us his opinion, would that be alright?"

Xiao Tingyu immediately stood up happily and bowed to Daiyu: "Then I will thank you in advance, Third Sister-in-law."

Consort Lu quickly smiled at Daiyu and said, "This child is very straightforward, Your Highness, please don't mind him."

"Don't worry, Your Highness, Father and Mother know about this. It's nothing to worry about." Daiyu had already experienced Lu Zhaoyi's caution firsthand.

At the Rongguo Mansion, Baochai hadn't paid any attention when a maid came to report: "I heard that Lan-ge'er received an invitation from the Sixth Prince and is going to the palace."

Baochai was stunned: Ever since the Xue family had their troubles and her mother had suffered a stroke, followed by the Zhang family, the maternal family of the Princess of Rui County, Baochai had been busy with everything, organizing the remaining shops and property of her family, and hiring a maid to take care of her mother. In short, she had been so busy that she forgot to pay attention to Jia Lan and his mother.

Originally, they thought that since Princess Qingjia was from the Rongguo Mansion, the Emperor might reward the Rongguo Mansion for her affairs, but nothing came of it.

Ironically, it was because of this incident that the third prince and his wife were made crown prince and crown princess. Baochai was so angry that she fell seriously ill again. Her congenital illness relapsed, and it was only after many days that she remembered to take the Cold Fragrance Pill and felt better.

Furthermore, Baochai placed even greater emphasis on maintaining contact with Jia Lian and his wife in Ping'an Prefecture: Jia Huan had been dismissed from his position in the Imperial Household Department, while Jia Lian had been promoted two ranks due to the year-end performance review, becoming the prefect of Ping'an Prefecture, a powerful fourth-rank official. She had just marveled at Jia Lian's shrewdness in officialdom when, unexpectedly, Jia Lan received an invitation from the Sixth Prince, which greatly surprised Baochai.

When Jia Lan first went to Yuntao Academy, it was Princess Yijun who helped him—oh, she's now the Crown Princess. But Baochai never expected that Jia Lan would be so familiar with the Sixth Prince.

If that's the case, then we should show concern and express our gratitude to this aunt.

After thinking for a while, Baochai immediately asked Wenxing to prepare a few things and take them with her to Li Wan's place.

Chapter 176 Jia Lan Establishes Authority and Punishes the Maid

Baochai's sudden visit surprised Li Wan: although Baochai had not been harsh to her and her son since taking over the household, she never came to their courtyard.

Li Wan quickly had her maid serve tea.

Baochai smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, please don't be shy. I was thinking that since Lan-ge'er went to the academy, you must be bored at home alone, so I came over to chat with you."

While dealing with the situation, Li Wan tried to guess Baochai's purpose for coming today: In the past, in order to please her mistress, Li Wan was more enthusiastic towards Baochai than towards her other sisters. However, after too many things happened, Li Wan finally saw Baochai's true colors.

Baochai's visit today could not possibly be as simple as she claimed, just some idle chatter.

They chatted about needlework for a while, then reminisced about the old days when the sisters would compose poems together. Baochai's casual conversation only made Li Wan more certain that Baochai must have come for a reason.

However, Baochai was more patient than Li Wan had imagined. After chatting for almost an hour, when she heard the maid say that Lan-ge'er had returned, Baochai's smile finally became genuine.

Li Wan did not miss Baochai's slight change in expression, and felt very uneasy.

When Jia Lan entered, he paused slightly upon seeing Baochai, but then calmly stepped forward to greet her.

Baochai was quite surprised when she saw Jia Lan. Had it been too long since she had looked at Jia Lan closely? In her memory, he was still a child. When did he grow up to be so tall? The boy was slender and tall, but his eyebrows and eyes had a somewhat aloof look, which reminded Baochai of the phrase "lush green bamboo".

Baochai first asked a few questions about the study at the academy, and Jia Lan answered them all in a serious manner. Finally, Baochai smiled and said, "I've always known that Lan-ge'er is the best at studying. Now that he's gone to Yuntao Academy, he'll definitely be outstanding in the future. I'm usually quite busy, and today while tidying up, I found an octagonal Duan inkstone with a fish and water pattern and a lid, a Shoushan stone brush holder with a scholar under a pine tree, and a Zitan scroll-shaped armrest. Since no one in the family needs them, I brought them to give to Lan-ge'er."

As she spoke, she asked Wenxing to bring in the items, each one of which was of the highest quality. For example, the Duan inkstone was made from Duan stone from the Song Dynasty pit. The inkstone was octagonal in shape, with a circular inkwell. The edge of the inkwell was recessed to form a ring channel, which served as an ink pool. On the wide rim of the inkstone, there were shallow relief carvings of waves, carp, and seahorses.

Jia Lan bowed and thanked her, saying, "Auntie, you are too kind. I can't accept just one item. I already have an inkstone and a pen holder, so I'll keep this sandalwood scroll-shaped armrest."

Baochai was initially surprised by Jia Lan's directness, but then she admired him, noting that at such a young age, Jia Lan knew how to refuse while leaving room for maneuver.

After some conversation, seeing that Jia Lan still insisted on accepting only one item, Baochai didn't want to force him. Besides, since he accepted one item, it was already a compromise between them. So, after a few more casual words, Baochai took her leave.

Jia Lan's face immediately darkened after Baochai left. He gestured for all the maids to leave and spoke privately to his mother, "Auntie, you must have heard some news today, right?"

Li Wan, on the other hand, hadn't reacted yet: "Your second aunt is indeed the kind of person who won't do anything without a profit, but what could she possibly have?"

After saying that, she suddenly realized something: "Could it be that she knows that the Sixth Prince invited you to his birthday banquet?"

Jia Lan nodded: "Nothing else has happened these days, I'm afraid this is the only thing." After saying that, she looked at her mother seriously and said, "Now we still need to keep our courtyard under control. The maids and servants in our courtyard must keep their mouths shut."

Li Wan recalled the messages she had sent to the Crown Princess several times, and upon careful consideration, she realized that her son's words made sense—Baochai's side was clearly not on the Crown Prince's side. Therefore, she and her son naturally had to be extremely careful in their actions.

"Today has served as a reminder to us. I will investigate this matter. Mother, you need not concern yourself with it. Once the matter is clarified, the punishment will be carried out naturally." Jia Lan thought it over. Apart from Tao Shu, only two maids knew about her receiving the invitation from the Sixth Prince. One was her mother's maid, Su Yun, and the other was her maid, Cai Yue.

Su Yun has been by her mother's side for many years and is the most discreet person. So it must be Tao Shu or Cai Yue.

Tao Shu and Cai Yue had been with her for many years and had always been very dedicated to their work, so Jia Lan decided to be direct.

So before dinner, Jia Lan directly asked the two men if they had told anyone about receiving the invitation from the Sixth Prince.

Caiyue immediately knelt down and kowtowed several times in one breath: "Did I cause trouble for you, Master? I didn't mean to. I was just chatting with some of my sisters. They asked me if you were good at studying. I didn't know, and I just blurted it out without thinking. It's all my fault."

Seeing her sincere attitude, and considering that it was her first offense and that she was usually very well-behaved, Jia Lan immediately said, "I haven't explained the rules to you clearly before, but from today onwards, I will explain the rules to you more clearly."

Then Jia Lan rattled off five rules in one breath. The rules were few and short, but every word was clear.

He then personally wrote down these rules: "Not just the two of you, but everyone in this courtyard must abide by these rules."

It's best if Mother herself explains things clearly to her maids and servants. Jia Lan decided to show the written rules to her mother tomorrow.

“As for Caiyue, although you didn’t mean it, you have to be punished for doing something wrong.” Jia Lan looked at Caiyue and thought for a while. He had never punished anyone before. Caiyue was usually very diligent in her work. So he said, “You are punished to make a purse before my mother’s birthday.”

The punishment wasn't severe, but Caiyue understood its meaning: the eldest mistress had said that the girl talked too much, and that if she talked again, she would sew her mouth shut.

Making her do needlework now was partly a warning against her talking too much. Having served Jia Lan for many years, she knew him well. Although young, he was methodical in everything he said and did. Now that he had set the rules, she had to abide by them, or she would be severely punished.

Li Wan and her son tidied up the courtyard without Baochai's knowledge. She was pondering how to get closer to Li Wan and her son, thinking that perhaps it would come in handy someday.

But Baochai never expected that while Jia Lan accepted the Sixth Prince's invitation, officials from the Ministry of Justice would arrive at the Rongguo Mansion.

The official from the Ministry of Justice was Guan Huai, a clerk there. Although he was only a sixth-rank official, he brought his own entourage, which caused panic throughout the Rongguo Mansion.

Upon hearing that the Ministry of Justice specifically requested to see General Jia She, Baochai was even more puzzled: her uncle was not an official in the court, and his title of General Jia She was merely an inherited one; in principle, he shouldn't have committed any wrongdoing.

Jia She himself was completely baffled.

Chapter 177 Old Case Unsolved, Yu-Cun Dies

When Jia She was summoned to the Ministry of Justice, his heart skipped a beat when he heard that the inquiry was about the "Shi Daizi Fan" incident.

He remembered the events of that year very clearly—at first, he only asked Jia Lian to find a way to buy those fans, but who knew that Shi Daizi would rather starve to death than sell them.

Originally, Jia She had already given up, there was nothing he could do, no one was willing to sell. However, not long after, Jia Yucun came to the door and brought a small box. When Jia She opened it, he found that it contained Shi Daizi's fans, but there were only ten, not twenty.

This already delighted Jia She, who immediately hosted a banquet to entertain Jia Yucun. Jia Yucun then proudly recounted the entire case to Jia She—he had been falsely accused of owing government silver, taken to the yamen, and forced to sell his property to make up the debt, which resulted in the confiscation of the fan.

In Jia She's eyes, this was a trivial matter. Moreover, so many years had passed, he never imagined that the Ministry of Justice would "invite" him here for such a trivial matter.

However, Jia She was quick-witted; with the Ministry of Justice mobilized, things were no longer simple.

So when he spoke, he was very cautious: "I am not aware of this matter. Jia Yucun did give me ten fans, but I know nothing else."

He insisted that he had absolutely nothing to do with the matter, and that he had only accepted Jia Yucun's fan.

Besides, it wasn't a gift I received, it was a gift I bought.

"At that time, I even paid two thousand taels of silver, because Jia Yucun said that was the official price." Jia She remembered that he had indeed given money at the time. He had marveled at Jia Yucun's quick thinking. Once money was given, the nature of the transaction changed—if no money was given, it would be considered accepting a bribe; if money was given, it would be a legitimate transaction.

The officials from the Ministry of Justice recorded every word Jia She said and then inquired about the relationship between the Jia family and Jia Yucun.

Jia She quickly replied, "He originally had no connection with my family. It was only when the Crown Princess came that we met. He was her tutor. I found him to be quite eloquent, so we became acquainted. But that's all."

Jia She was unaware that the case was being handled by the Crown Prince in the Ministry of Justice, so he deliberately brought up the Crown Princess. He thought back to when the Crown Princess got married, he had given her many good things, and as her niece, she should remember their past relationship. As the Crown Princess's maternal uncle, the Ministry of Justice should think twice about what he did.

Seeing that the Ministry of Justice officials, upon hearing the Crown Princess's name, only asked two questions before sending Jia Sheli out of the Ministry, Jia Sheli immediately thought that the people in the Ministry of Justice really didn't want to offend the Crown Prince and Crown Princess.

He had no idea that they had simply asked all the questions they needed to ask. As for sentencing, their subordinates didn't have that kind of ability.

The interrogation results were submitted, and Minister Liu Zhizhang immediately inquired about the Crown Prince's opinion.

Seeing that Jia She's confession was not problematic, Xiao Tingjun asked Liu Zhizhang instead, "What do you think I mean? Should I send someone to Liangjiang to arrest Jia Yucun and bring him back to the capital? His case is not just about the fan. What do you think, Lord Liu?"

Liu Zhizhang and the others had all seen the Crown Prince's efforts these days. Seeing that the Crown Prince had no intention of protecting the Crown Princess's maternal grandparents' family, they were all quite convinced.

Upon hearing the Crown Prince's question, Liu Zhizhang bowed and said, "Your Majesty is quite right. However, I fear that this first-class general of the Jia family should also be punished to appease the public."

"Judging solely from this case involving the fan, we still need to hear Jia Yucun's testimony." Although Xiao Tingjun loathed the Rongguo Mansion, judging from Jia She's answers and the descriptions from Shi Daizi's family, Jia She himself had never appeared. Therefore, it seemed that he did not have a major crime—after all, it was Jia Yucun who forced Shi Daizi's family to ruin.

Liu Zhizhang agreed with the Crown Prince's words and said nothing more. Instead, he heard the Crown Prince ask when the people sent to summon Jia Yucun could escort Jia Yucun to the capital.

"It will probably take more than half a month to travel from Jinling to the capital." Liu Zhizhang issued an order to the Liangjiang region, instructing local authorities to escort Jia Yucun to the capital.

But no one could have predicted that Jia Yucun would die suddenly on his way to the capital.

This made things complicated—the culprit was dead, and many clues were lost.

Liu Zhizhang hadn't expected this, and neither had Xiao Tingjun. After some thought, Xiao Tingjun made a decisive decision: "Since this matter occurred when I was in the Ministry of Justice, then I am the one who is most at fault, and I will personally apologize to His Majesty."

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhizhang and the two vice ministers of the Ministry of Justice rushed to confess their crimes, realizing that they had underestimated the situation.

"You don't need to rush to confess. This matter should be left to His Majesty's discretion." A name flashed through Xiao Tingjun's mind: the current Governor-General of Liangjiang, Wang Ziteng. Yu'er had said before that although the Jia family had secured an official position for Jia Yucun, it was Wang Ziteng who had been supporting Jia Yucun all along, and Wang Ziteng also appreciated Jia Yucun more.

When Jia Yucun was dismissed from his post, it was Wang Ziteng's doing—sacrificing a pawn to save the king. Now, if the Ministry of Justice investigates Jia Yucun again, it's likely that Wang Ziteng will also be implicated.

But this is just my conjecture; there is no empirical evidence.

The most urgent task at present is to go to the Emperor to apologize. Xiao Tingjun went to see the Emperor alone that very day.

When the emperor saw his son kneel down as soon as he arrived, he was stunned for a moment. After hearing Xiao Tingjun recount the case in detail, the emperor was not angry at all, but rather quite gratified.

This case was deliberately uncovered by someone sent by the Emperor—Jia Yucun was the Crown Princess's tutor and had deep ties with the Rongguo Mansion; he wanted to see how the Crown Prince would react.

This matter can not only test the Crown Prince, but also serve as an opportunity to teach the Rongguo Mansion a lesson—of the original four kings and eight dukes, there are not many who are still standing strong.

Therefore, the Emperor paid close attention to every step of the Ministry of Justice's case. Seeing that Xiao Tingjun showed no intention of protecting anyone, the Emperor was very satisfied.

The fact that problems have arisen is within the emperor's expectations.

So the emperor personally reached out and helped his son up: "You are still too naive. Let me ask you, Minister of Personnel Li Su once served as Governor-General of Liangjiang. Would you like to go and ask him about it?"

Xiao Tingjun really hadn't thought of that: "It was my recklessness."

“You were indeed reckless. Sometimes, matters concerning the Ministry of Justice are not solely handled by the Ministry of Justice. It would be even better if the Six Ministries or other departments could understand and cooperate.” The Emperor naturally had his own judgment. Some people and some things were not yet ready for a thorough reckoning.

"With Jia Yucun dead, this case will be settled for the Shi family, and those who deserve compensation must be compensated." The Emperor did not intend to punish the Crown Prince for this, "However, Jia She of the Rongguo Mansion still needs to be punished."

Chapter 178 Jia She is punished and loses his title

With the Emperor's words, "Jia She of the Rongguo Mansion must still be punished," Xiao Tingjun understood that the Emperor still harbored many grievances against the Rongguo Mansion.

"But this matter, though seemingly unrelated to him, doesn't appear to be very significant on the surface." Jia Yucun is dead, so there's no one to testify against him. Even if Jia She ordered Jia Yucun to do this, it would be impossible to verify anything now that he's dead.

"It's not just this one thing. Over the years, he has inherited the title of First-Class General, but he has accomplished nothing. Many of his relatives have also made mistakes, not to mention his sordid deeds over the years. He deserves severe punishment." The Emperor was determined to punish these inactive noble families, and Jia She's case was the entry point for the Rongguo Mansion.