The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 59 The mastermind behind the scenes
The cold wind, which had subsided all night, suddenly began to howl.

Outside the gate of Prince Beijing's Mansion, the old butler looked at the empty street anxiously.

Finally, a team of guards came running from the east, accompanying a sedan chair carried by eight people.

The old butler came to greet him.

The large sedan chair arrived at the gate and stopped. When the curtain was opened, Shui Rong came out holding a thick memorial.

Shui Rong said to the old housekeeper: "What's going on? I was just about to go to Xiangyang Marquis's Mansion."

The old butler said something hurriedly in his ear.

Shui Rong's face suddenly turned gloomy, and he strode into the mansion.

The old butler hurriedly followed.

A large fire had been lit in the study room. Shui Rong walked in quickly and threw the memorial on the table. "Who do you think could have done this?"

"I have thought about this carefully. This matter is very puzzling. There are many suspects, including the civil service group and several people in the palace. They all have motives to take action, including the emperor." At this point, the old housekeeper looked at Shui Rong, "Could it be the White Lotus Sect who did it?"

Shui Rong was stunned for a moment, then sat down in front of the desk with a gloomy face.

After a moment of silence, the old housekeeper spoke: "If it was really done by the White Lotus Sect, we have to think about the future. The White Lotus Sect leader is old and can no longer manage the affairs below. If this continues, sooner or later something big will happen!"

Shui Rong immediately nodded in agreement.

The old housekeeper looked at the memorial on the desk and said, "No matter who assassinated Jia Yucun, this joint memorial cannot be submitted. It will only add fuel to the fire and transfer the anger of the emperor and the civil service group to us. Man proposes, God disposes!"

Shui Rong sighed and opened the end of the memorial, which contained the names and official titles of more than a dozen people. The first name was "Jia Zhen"!
The old housekeeper said: "The most important thing now is to quickly cut ties with the White Lotus Sect."

Shui Rong stood up, paced back and forth for a few steps, and then said, "Don't worry. Let's not talk about whether this was done by the White Lotus Sect. Even if it was them, the court will not be able to find them for a while."

At this point, his eyes sparkled, "Since the White Lotus leader is old, let's give up the position and let our people take over and control the White Lotus!"

The old housekeeper said: "But the White Lotus leader has always been wary of us, and there are no people from our group in the upper echelons."

Shui Rong smiled: "Money can make anything possible!"

Just as he finished speaking, he heard footsteps outside, followed by the voice of the captain of the guard: "Young Master..."

Shui Rong closed the memorial and then spoke: "Come in."

The door curtain was lifted, and the captain of the guard in plain clothes came in and reported to Shui Rong, "Young Master, Jia Zhen has indeed left the city and is riding a fast horse towards the direction of Xuanzhen Temple."

The old butler looked at Shui Rong.

Shui Rong sneered: "No matter how powerful Monkey King is, he still can't escape the palm of Tathagata Buddha, let alone a waste who doesn't even dare to go home!"

The old butler frowned but said nothing.

Li Hu guessed correctly. Something big happened in the court. Jia Yucun's experience angered the civil service group, especially the upright officials in the Censorate, Hanlin Academy and Imperial College.

Outside the Qianqing Palace, the ground was packed with all the upright people. Each of them had a look of grief and indignation on their faces, and they knelt with their heads held high in the cold wind!

At the door, the sentry officer led a row of sword-carrying imperial guards who stood like nails on both sides.

From a distance, some eunuchs gathered together to watch and discuss quietly.

Xia Shouzhong appeared and shouted at the eunuchs, "What are you looking at? You have no manners at all!"

Those eunuchs disappeared in an instant.

Looking at that group of upright people, Xia Shouzhong smiled, then turned and walked towards the Daming Palace.

Just then, Dai Quan walked out of the Qianqing Palace.

Dai Quan coughed and said, "Your memorials have been sent to the upper study. What are you still doing here? Are you trying to force the emperor to abdicate?!"

Without waiting for anyone to answer, Dai Quan continued, "The Northern Pacification Office and the Ministry of Justice are investigating this matter. We should wait until the matter is fully investigated before discussing it, right? Why are you in such a hurry to submit a memorial and force the emperor to deal with Wang Ziteng? Do you have any evidence? There must be justice in the world!" After saying this, he turned around and entered the palace without waiting for anyone to react.

The Qingliu officials looked at each other in bewilderment.
Two eunuchs on duty were standing outside the first door leading to the sleeping palace from the main hall of Daming Palace, and Xia Shouzhong came in wearing a cloak.

The two eunuchs on duty knelt down immediately and said, "Your servants pay their respects to the old ancestor."

Xia Shouzhong: "Get up, is the emperor still meditating?"

The two eunuchs on duty stood up: "Yes." Xia Shouzhong: "We don't need you here, wait outside the hall."

The two eunuchs on duty said, "Yes." They walked out of the hall and closed the door from the outside.

Xia Shouzhong walked in, closed the door, and walked towards the second door.

He knelt outside the second door: "The old slave is back!"

"Come in." The voice of the emperor came from the bedroom.

Xia Shouzhong stood up, took off his cloak and hung it on the hanger outside the door, then walked in.

In the bedroom, the emperor was sitting cross-legged on the couch, counting his beads and reciting scriptures silently.

Xia Shouzhong walked quickly and silently to the compartment, picked up the copper kettle, went to the bed and poured tea, and said softly: "Your Majesty, have a cup of hot tea."

The emperor hummed, slowly opened his eyes, picked up the tea bowl, and took a few sips before putting it down.

Xia Shouzhong walked to the couch again, and while clearing the things on the couch, he said, "I checked, the third prince has been reciting poems and playing chess with the Shaanxi scholar named Bai Hongzhi these days. He has not left the house, and his people are staying here honestly."

The emperor thought for a moment and asked, "Could it be someone from the White Lotus Sect who did this?"

Xia Shouzhong shook his head: "No. The Imperial Household Department is looking for them everywhere, they dare not show up."

The emperor was startled: "Who could that be?"

Xia Shouzhong: "This matter seems reasonable, but it is actually confusing. All parties have motives to take action, but they will all be greatly affected, which is the kind of 'killing one thousand enemies and losing eight hundred of your own'. Therefore, who is the biggest beneficiary of this matter? Let me see."

The emperor's eyes lit up, and he stretched out his hand to stop Xia Shouzhong: "Let me think about it."

The rosary in the hands of the retired emperor began to spin rapidly, and suddenly stopped.

The Emperor: "Jia Yucun?"

Xia Shouzhong nodded.

The retired emperor smiled and said, "This matter is becoming interesting. We should think about it carefully, especially Jia Yucun!" After that, he burst into laughter.

Xia Shouzhong also laughed.

The "victim" Jia Yucun didn't know that he was being targeted.

Four eyes looking at each other!
Li Hu looked at Jia Yucun, as if trying to see how much sincerity there was in his words.

Jia Yucun's eyes were full of sincerity.

Li Hu stopped looking at him and casually opened the brocade box on the table. Inside was an old mountain ginseng that was more than a foot long.

Jia Yucun immediately stood up and bowed with both hands: "Thank you, General!"

Li Hu waved his hand and said, "Miss Lin was very worried when she heard that you were attacked and frightened. She asked me to bring this ginseng to you."

"Good, good, good." Jia Yucun was really surprised and said "good" three times in a row.

"Prince, aren't you worried that you might really get hurt?" Li Hu suddenly asked.

Jia Yucun answered subconsciously: "No. That person." When he said this, he was stunned for a moment, then fell to his knees with a thud.

Li Hu stared at him: "Are you still saying it has nothing to do with you?"

Jia Yucun was in a panic, "I, I"

Li Hu stood up slowly, but still looked at Jia Yucun.

Jia Yucun looked miserable: "I just received the oral instruction before I left."

Li Hu interrupted him and said, "No need to tell me, just listen to the prince." After that, he walked out.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince is also doing this for the general!" Jia Yucun shouted at his back.

Li Hu's foot was just crossing the threshold, but when he heard the sudden shout, he stopped there, frowned, and then stepped out.

The prince is involved here, he shouldn't tell the emperor, right?
Thinking of this, Jia Yucun swallowed his saliva, his face flushed abnormally, and cold sweat began to flow from his forehead to his cheeks.
(End of this chapter)