Whose Evil in the Red Chamber

In the current prosperous age, the days of war and chaos are long gone, so when a large number of troops suddenly poured into Weiyang City, there was bound to be panic among the people.It was simply night at this time, and the people who were awakened by the sound of horseshoes just locked their doors and locked their doors, and occasionally looked out through the windows for the courageous, but did not cause any disturbance.

The Weiyang government office had already heard the news from the city gate guards, and rushed over in a hurry. At this time, Zhao's father and son had divided their forces and surrounded the mansions of Huan Yi and Shui Rong. , Bean-sized drops of sweat fell on his forehead.

Ever since the imperial court reorganized the salt administration, the territory in Jiangnan was not very stable. Coupled with the murder of Xue's father and son a while ago, the entire officialdom in Jiangnan was somewhat shaken.After all, the matter of Xue's family was not cleared because the murderer could not be caught, and the prefect was still breathing. Who knows what's going on in Jiangnan Daying, and he didn't even say hello in the middle of the night. directly entered Weiyang City.

Fu Yin was originally unhappy when he heard the news, but when the city guard told him that General Zhao opened the city gate with an imperial gold medal, his soul was almost scared away. What's the matter? At this time, I squeezed to the side of the general Zhao Mengjia, and asked tremblingly: "I don't know what the general has to do when he enters the city late at night? If there is something that the lower officials can do their best, I just ask the general to order it."

Zhao Mengjia waved his hand: "I'm here to arrest people according to the order, so don't bother the idlers. Swords don't have eyes. If you accidentally hurt someone, everyone's face will be ugly."

When he was young, General Zhao followed the former nine princes to station in southern Xinjiang. He was upright and not good at words. When he saw the governor came to pay a visit, he didn't say anything, but he ordered him to maintain Wei Yang. The order of the city is not allowed to be disturbed by irrelevant personnel.

Fu Yin got the order, but he didn't care that General Zhao's speech was not pleasant, so he hurriedly ordered his officers to go to the city to maintain order. The common people didn't dare to act rashly, because they were afraid that those aristocratic families would come out to join in the fun based on their foundation. Therefore, Fu Yin also asked the officials under him to focus only on these famous families, and told them not to inquire about the news indiscriminately, and be careful not to be caught in an unnecessary disaster.

At this time, the officials of other yamen, large and small, also got wind of the news, and all of them were dressed neatly in the government office, not daring to join in the fun in front of the general, so they all surrounded the Fu Yin to inquire about the news.It's a pity that Fu Yin only knew that General Zhao was here to take someone, but he really didn't know who it was.These two big houses lived in local squires, and I never heard of any evil deeds that required the dispatch of the imperial army. How could it be that these two houses were surrounded by water?

Some people have some knowledge in their hearts, but they are so scared by their own size that they turn pale and refuse to open their mouths no matter how others ask.At this time, Lin Ruhai also rushed over. He was appointed by the emperor himself as the censor inspector. He was different from others. He was regarded as an imperial envoy. Yes, it must be that Huan Yi, Prince Zhong'an and Prince Beijing, have melted.Except for these two, there must be no one who is worthy enough to dispatch the most proud general in front of the emperor.

Thinking of this, Lin Ruhai's eyes could not help revealing a trace of anxiety. He was not afraid that he would dissatisfy the emperor by concealing the fact that Huan Yi and Shui Rong were both in Weiyang, because he also had his own difficulties and reasons for doing so. .The Yanzheng in the south of the Yangtze River has been a mess in all dynasties, and there is no other reason than Lier.The huge benefits of private salt are placed here, which makes it difficult for this salt department to get rid of it.

He figured this out when he accepted the position of Xunyan Yushi. Now the situation is more complicated. Several major forces in the court and China have intervened in the Jiangnan salt administration. It is extremely difficult to take a single step, and the whole body is affected by a single hair.

He naturally understands the emperor's determination to clean up the salt affairs, but the current situation in the court is different. Although the emperor has abdicated and rarely interfered in the government affairs in recent years, in the hearts of everyone in the court, this is still a situation where two saints are coming to court.Whether it is Huan Yi or Shui Rong, the forces behind them were all supported by the emperor back then, and there are some signs of disagreement with the new emperor.Compared with these deep-rooted families, today's power is still too weak.

This is also the main reason why Lin Ruhai turned a blind eye to allowing Shui Rong and Huan Yi to stay in Weiyang without reporting it. He was afraid that the emperor would rush forward if he got the news, which would cause unpredictable consequences.As a son of an aristocratic family, Lin Ruhai is very aware of the strength of these families.

What's more, the emperor is also in Weiyang City!Because the emperor avoided seeing him, Lin Ruhai really couldn't figure out the intention of this man who came to Weiyang, so he dared not act rashly. How could he know that Zhao Mengjia's army came to suppress the situation?He didn't get any news beforehand, and he knew that this was the emperor's distrust of him. Thinking of this, Lin Ruhai felt his whole heart was blocked.

"Master Lin." Zhao Mengjia saw Lin Ruhai at a glance, with a look of coldness on his face: "Master Lin must be very clear about who this general came to the city this time!"

Huan Yi and Shui Rong stayed in Weiyang City for such a long time, but they didn’t see Lin Ruhai’s report to the emperor. It was obvious that they had defected. What a good look.

Lin Ruhai frowned, sighed, and cupped his hands and said, "General Zhao is safe and well, Lin has a reason for this matter, and he should personally express his feelings to His Majesty, there is no need for the general to bother."

General Zhao snorted coldly, stopped arguing with Lin Ruhai, and sent an order: "Search for me!"

At this moment, the main door of the mansion surrounded by soldiers opened wide, and Huan Yi walked out neatly dressed in a brocade robe, with a somewhat arrogant expression on his face, not alarmed when he saw the soldiers around him, He sneered at General Zhao and said, "I didn't expect to mobilize the troops so much. Will the general be safe?"

As the prince's son, Huan Yi's title is higher than that of Zhao Mengjia, so it is reasonable to be so arrogant. Zhao Mengjia took a look at Huan Yi, who looked confident and confident, and said without changing his face: "Zhao has a holy edict with him. ,excuse me."

Huan Yi's face remained unchanged, and he sighed: "It's my fault for leaving the capital privately. Since the general came in person, I will go back to Beijing with the general."

Huan Yi was really fearless in his heart. Leaving Beijing privately was indeed a crime of deceiving the emperor according to the law, but for princely children like them, who would report to the emperor in the next Jiangnan?If the emperor wants to punish him for this reason, then the government and the public will blow up the sky?

At this time, Zhao Qi also "invited" out of Shui Rong to join his father. Unexpectedly, the second time he saw Shui Rong was in this situation, Huan Yi and Shui Rong looked at each other. They didn't speak to each other, but they both understood the meaning clearly: you want to convict the two of them of deceiving the emperor so hastily, hehe, you are still too naive, emperor!

Originally, the alliance between Zhong'an Palace and Beijing Palace was on the verge of being broken due to the unequal division of the Xue family's interests, but it became stronger when faced with a behemoth emperor who did not hesitate to dispatch an army.

The father and son of the Zhao family who knew the truth looked coldly at the two eldest sons who looked confident, and sneered unanimously in their hearts, but they didn't show any strangeness on their faces.

Shui Rong and Huan Yi were naturally treated politely. After all, they had not been convicted yet, and their identities were not unusual. Even if the Zhao family father and son wanted to see them no longer, they would not lose their sense of restraint in this matter, but for their subordinates Those staff and confidantes, Zhao Jiajun is not so polite.

Regardless of whether you are a descendant of the Hou Mansion or a well-known prison student, all of them were taken to one place by these soldiers, squeezed into the same carriage in threes and fives, and assigned special personnel to guard them, and the most lethal of them... The one with the glasses belongs to Jia Yucun who was found from Huan Yi's house.

It was also unlucky for Jia Yucun. He was also very cautious on weekdays, and would not come here to meet Huan Yi easily, and most of the time he passed the message through someone close to him.But tomorrow is the day when Huan Yi returns to Beijing, Jia Yucun thought for a long time before deciding to come to say goodbye to Huan Yi in person, and by the way, test Huan Yi's arrangements for him.During this period of time, he has made a lot of efforts secretly for Huan Yi, and what he plans is his future. Now that Huan Yi is going back to Beijing, his future depends entirely on Huan Yi.

Unexpectedly, it was just such bad luck, just when Jia Yucun got a hint from Huan Yi and knew that he was about to become famous and have a bright future, the house was surrounded by soldiers.When Jia Yucun was captured by soldiers and brought in front of everyone, Jia Yucun only felt that there was darkness in front of him, and his future was really hopeless.

Weiyang's dignified officials are all gathered here, and Lin Ruhai is standing at the front. When Jia Yucun was taken out of the gate of Huan Yi's house, countless pairs of eyes were fixed on him. As Lin Ruhai Very useful staff, Wei Yang and other officials are no strangers to Jia Yucun, seeing him staying in the territory of Prince Zhongan late at night, these people's eyes on Lin Ruhai have changed.

Is it because of Lin Ruhai's incompetence that all his most useful cronies and staff have defected to Prince Zhongan's side, or is Lin Ruhai simply on the side of King Zhongan?

No, Lin Ruhai's wife is from the Jia family, isn't she from the family of the King of Beijing?

Also, Lin Ruhai is the imperial censor, shouldn't he be the emperor's confidant?

For a while, countless thoughts turned in the minds of everyone present, and the sights that fell on Lin Ruhai also had various unknown tastes. Originally, Lin Ruhai was very anxious because of tonight. People searched out from Huan Yi's house, and immediately the expression on his face could not be maintained, and his face was covered with dark clouds in an instant, and seeing Zhao Mengjia's expression of undisguised suspicion, Lin Ruhai only felt a tightness in his chest, Almost vomited blood.

The monk can't run away from the temple. Although Jia Yucun was taken away by Zhao Mengjia and escorted to the capital, his family and wife, Xiao Ke, are still in Weiyang City. People searched Jia Yucun's house and brought his wife and children to Lin's mansion.

After reading the exchanged letters between Jia Yucun and Huan Yi brought back by Lin Gui, Lin Ruhai's face turned green and then pale, obviously very angry. That Jiao Xing was not a woman of Ayutthaya at all, but Jia Yucun taught her No matter what, she just copied the gourd.Now that I heard that Jia Yucun was taken away by the army, it was as if the sky had fallen. How dare I lie in front of Lin Ruhai? When Lin Ruhai asked, she told everything she knew, including how she obeyed Jia Yucun's orders and those who sow dissension in front of Mrs. Xue have all been explained.

Lin Ruhai was already very angry because of Jia Yucun's betrayal, but when he heard Jiao Xing's words, he felt his eyes darken for a while, so he didn't faint. Jiao Xing and Jia Yucun's son took care of it, took a Shunqi pill mixed with hot water and told Lin Ruhai to take it.It took a long time for Lin Ruhai to recover from this.

"The matter has come to this, I think the master has stated it according to the table, and I believe the emperor can understand the painstaking efforts of the master. Jia Yucun is just a villain with wolf ambitions. Now that there are these letters as evidence and his wife's statement, I am not afraid of him coming It's time to bite back, and you should relax a bit." Seeing Lin Ruhai's gloomy expression, Jia Min hurriedly persuaded him.

Lin Ruhai let out a long sigh: "Ma'am, Your Majesty, I am not very worried about this matter. I feel ashamed of Xue Gong now! From what the woman said, Jia Yucun's vicious scheme is not a matter of a day or two." The scene can be imagined, it can be seen that it has been planned for a long time, it is expected that the Xue family will encounter a catastrophe, I am afraid it is not a simple disaster, and there is no guarantee that the thief will be involved in it."

Jia Min was shocked when he heard that, the husband and wife looked at each other for a while, and then Jia Min said with difficulty: "Master, why don't you call Jingxuan's child back and ask, I think he may know something inside and say No."

Lin Ruhai nodded stiffly, and in desperation ordered someone to call Jing Xuan back to the mansion, who knew that the person sent there would come back soon and reply, saying that Jing Xuan left Weiyang with the army last night and went to Beijing together. The rest of the matter, this person also knows nothing.Lin Ruhai also had no choice but to temporarily suppress the myriad of thoughts in his heart, went to the study to ponder for a while, and wrote an excerpt to defend himself.

Jia Min was a little worried about whether her natal family would be involved in the matter of the prince of Beijing, and wanted to ask Lin Ruhai, but seeing that he was already exhausted, she had to bear it for the time being, but last night was in chaos, and she couldn't take care of her for a while. Daiyu had signs of illness again, so Jia Min's thoughts were all on her daughter, and she temporarily put aside her natal family affairs.

Not to mention how these people in Jiangnan searched for ways to inquire about news in Beijing, but just said that Jing Xuan entered Beijing with the brigade, and the group traveled by water, escorted by the navy along the way, and there was also a large ship newly developed by the shipyard, which not only did not bump , On the contrary, it is much more comfortable than staying in the carriage all the way.

The weather is beautiful, with the help of the wind along the way, the fleet arrived at Tianjin Ferry half a month earlier than expected, changed the carriage here, and arrived in the capital within a few days. Quietly, the brigade entered the city in mighty force.

At this time, the Zhong'an Palace and the Beijing Palace had already tried their best to inquire about the news. Even the Queen Mother in the palace didn't know about the Xue family, let alone others?Therefore, even now, the two palaces still think that something was discovered about the two families in the Jiangnan salt affairs department, which made Long Yan furious and arrested the elder sons of the two families.

This time even Shui Rong was folded in, most likely the person who caused the trip was someone from the Zhongshun Palace, the two princes thought so, following this line of thought, they thought about how to use their own allies in the court to make things happen Younger, he was also very dissatisfied with King Zhongshun, and made King Zhongshun very dissatisfied.

Years ago, the old Zhongshun King passed away, and his son En succeeded to the throne, and now he is keeping his filial piety.The young King Zhongshun had a good relationship with the former tenth prince, the current King Zhongping Huanqian, so the Prince Zhongshun sided with the new emperor since he became the prince.This time when Jiangnan was cleaning up the salt affairs, he was even more obedient and spread out his family's old bad debts directly in front of the emperor. He was so obedient, the emperor was naturally very satisfied, and let him go back to the mansion to observe his filial piety with peace of mind.

The young prince did exactly that, and he didn't get involved in Jiangnan's affairs at all. Who knew that sitting behind closed doors, the disaster came from the sky, and the Zhong'an Palace and the Beijing Palace didn't know what kind of gunpowder they had eaten. He thought it was him who plotted against the eldest sons of the two families, and like a mad dog, he rushed up and bit him, but this man was very angry.

Even though this young new prince is very obedient in front of the emperor, he is actually a master with volatile temper. When he was the son of the prince, just because his concubine touched his favorite actor at that time, he almost killed him with a whip. Abolishing people, there was a big commotion back then. Although there is a difference between the concubine and the concubine, it is still unjustifiable to hurt one's own brother because of something. I can't sit still.

Zhongshun felt very unhappy when he was detained by the two palaces this time, but he was not the insider of the two princes being arrested, so he couldn't figure out what the emperor meant, so he restrained himself Unhappy mood, but I have made a note of both factions in my heart.After seeing the situation clearly, it is not too late to settle accounts after autumn!

At the moment when everyone's eyes in Beijing were fixed on this matter, the emperor decreed that Shui Rong and Huan Yi should be taken to the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, and ordered the three divisions of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, Dali Temple and the Metropolitan Procuratorate to interrogate the two suspected of colluding with bandits and killing The case of Xue's father and son conspiring to seize family property.

When this imperial decree was promulgated, everyone was a little overwhelmed, colluding with bandits?Murder Xue's father and son?Where is this going? Didn't you agree that you are involved in the Jiangnan Salt Administration?

If it is really involved in the Jiangnan Salt Administration, although the involvement is extensive, most of the aristocratic families are still willing to contribute to the two palaces. After all, no one's hands in the Jiangnan area are clean.But if it involves murder for money, the Xue family, which is one of the four major families, will make these families feel a little uncomfortable.After staying for a few days, the various methods of how these two gobbled up the Xue family in the south of the Yangtze River were uncovered, which aroused the hearts of these families in the capital. They felt that the relationship between the two families was too ugly. There was a suspicion of sorrow for the death of a rabbit and a fox.

Although Xue's family is only an imperial merchant, they are also the four major families born and raised in Jinling. Different from ordinary merchants, the two royal residences attacked Xue's family, which is too dishonest!All of a sudden, the power of the aristocratic family that had previously helped the two palaces in the court and faintly contended with the emperor collapsed in an instant.The families attached to these two families also began to feel uneasy, thinking about finding another way out.Whoever had more fun in the past would regret it more now.