Chapter 179: Arrogant Slaves

After Jia Cong set off from Jin Ling, he passed through Gusu to pick up Feng Shi, passed through Yangzhou to thank Lin Ruhai, and then went north all the way.

He was not in a hurry to rush on his journey. On the way, if he encountered good scenery, he couldn't help but take Jing Hui, Wu'er, Qingwen, Zhen Ying Lian, and others to visit.

On this day, the group finally arrived at the Hongde Gate in the west of Shenjing city. A servant sent by Jia Zheng had already received the news and returned to Rongguo Prefecture to report.

But Jia Cong did not return directly to the Jia residence, but several carriages went directly to the Ministry of Rites yamen.

He was ordered to go to Jin Ling to handle official business this time. Returning to the capital without entering his home and first reporting to the Ministry of Rites was the right way, and this was also the basic etiquette in the officialdom.

And he copied twelve volumes of Buddhist scriptures according to the imperial list this time. It was not that everything would be fine after copying, but it also needed to be verified by high monks selected by the Ministry of Rites and the Monk Registration Office to be considered truly completed.

For example, Abbot Xuming of Anding Temple was one of the high monks responsible for verifying the scriptures.

In the documents Jia Cong submitted to the Ministry of Rites to report the mission, it included the verification records and seals of these high monks.

Because it involved the grand ceremony of etiquette and the dignity of the royal family, and involved various procedures, it had to be very rigorous and not allowed to be wrong in the slightest.

The old people in the residence had all seen this posture; this was the style of rectifying the mistakes of women and servants in the inner chambers.

She was a slave maid accompanying Lady Wang, so she naturally knew her master's mind best.

Jia Zheng's servant received the news of Jia Cong's entry into the city at Hongde Gate and hurriedly returned to report to Jia Zheng. Not long after, the news of Jia Cong's return to the residence spread throughout Rongguo Prefecture.

On the carriage, Jing Hui's expression was a bit uneasy, because this time she was really going "home" with Jia Cong. What kind of place should that be? Her heart was full of confusion.

It was just that now seeing Jia Cong was about to be unlucky, she lost her scruples in her heart. Whether it was gloating or everyone pushing a falling wall, all kinds of low and dark thoughts were endless, and all kinds of states were reborn.

More than ten years ago, a maid of the Old Duke behaved improperly, and she was tied up by the Old Lady sending a few old women, and she was beaten half to death with a board, and she died in a few days.

Just now, I saw Mother Zhou taking five or six old women to the west corner gate.

After handling the handover, they took a carriage back to the Jia residence.

Jia Cong saw the expression on her face and knew that she was a bit uneasy in her heart, so he smiled and held her hand, telling her that she didn't need to worry about anything.

In the past two years, Jia Cong had become more and more outstanding, and he had the support of the Second Old Master in the residence. These people usually didn't dare to show disrespect on the surface.

These shocking deeds first appeared in the discussions between Jia Zheng and the guests, and then spread by word of mouth, and even the maids and old women below knew everything.

The Old Lady was truly angry, saying that she wanted to rectify the family style and not let this Cong Sanye be so absurd, and absolutely not let a woman of unknown origin enter the Jia family gate.

This Mother Zhou was this kind of person, seemingly gentle and enthusiastic, but actually the most humble and vicious behind her back.

This was a sign that something big was going to happen. This Cong Cong Sanye had only been proud for a few days. If the Old Lady rectified him like this, he would probably be beaten back to his original shape. How could he raise his head in the Jia family in the future?

Jia Cong spent nearly an hour clarifying the various matters and documents of the imperial mission with Liu Jizu, the Director of the Ministry of Rites, and then he was free to return to the Jia residence by carriage.

The Old Lady was the sky of the Jia residence. Who among the servants in the residence didn't look at the Old Lady's face to act? The superiors acted and the inferiors followed. Among them, those who were shallow and snobbish naturally looked down on Jia Cong for being born of a prostitute and having a low status.

Wu'er smiled and comforted him on the side: "What is there to worry about? With the Cong Sanye here, there will be long good days in the future."

Besides these good things, the maids and old women below also knew that this Cong Cong Sanye had done another incredible thing, actually hooking up with a nun from the temple and wanting to bring her back to the residence.

When she sent Wu'er to Jia Cong's room as a maid, she was ordered by Lady Wang to check Jia Cong's background.

Afterward, she was instructed by Lady Wang to take advantage of visiting Wang Yi, who was frightened at Wang Ziteng's house, to deliberately give Wang Zhangshi a hint, borrowing a knife to kill, which led Wang Zhangshi to start the poisonous plan of reporting Jia Cong.

A few days ago, she also overheard from Wang Xifeng that Jia Cong was going to bring a nun back to the residence. She knew Lady Wang's mind, so she went to Lady Jia in the blink of an eye and became a reporter.

Now Lady Jia didn't bother with other things and let her take the strong women and old women to the west corner gate to do things.

When Jia Cong's carriage arrived at the west corner gate of Rongguo Prefecture, he felt that the atmosphere was a bit wrong as soon as he got off the carriage. The few gatekeeper servants who originally guarded the main gate and the west corner gate avoided him from afar, and their eyes were a bit strange.

Although he was a bit puzzled in his heart, he didn't take it to heart. If they were sitting in a small sedan chair, they would usually be carried into the corner gate and get off outside the second gate.

However, they were sitting in a carriage, so naturally, they had to get off outside the corner gate and enter the residence.

The few gatekeeper servants had long heard the rumors that Cong Cong Sanye had found a nun to enter the residence, and also knew what the Second Lady's accompanying maid was doing with the old women guarding outside the second gate.

They were only responsible for guarding the main gate on weekdays and didn't have the status of the servants around the inner chamber ladies, so they had always been wise and protected themselves, and didn't dare to offend any master easily.

Even a concubine's son like Jia Cong, whose background was not obvious, was not someone they could easily provoke, so they just hid far away to watch the fun and didn't dare to get involved in the affairs of the inner chamber masters.

At this time, everyone saw a few maids get off the carriage, with beautiful appearances and exquisite clothes; only the big maids around the inner chamber masters had such a bearing.

Finally, they saw Cong Cong Sanye helping a very pretty nun down, wearing a Miaochang bun, a moon-white plain-sleeved jacket, an outer coat with a blue satin-edged long vest, and an autumn-fragrance-colored silk ribbon on her slender waist.

A group of gatekeeper servants were stunned. The words spread from the inner chamber were indeed true; this Cong Cong Sanye really brought a nun into the gate.

I heard that Cong Cong Sanye was a scholar at a young age, and there were some rumors in the past that he was not easy to provoke. Now there is a good show to watch.

Jia Cong brought Jing Hui and others to the second gate, and saw Mother Zhou leading a few old women blocking the door, looking at him with a rather condescending spirit, and couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly.

Mother Zhou was Lady Wang's trusted maid. Jia Cong knew that this woman was gentle and enthusiastic on the surface, but she was not a good person in her bones.

Mother Zhou said with a fake smile: "Cong Cong Sanye, I received the Old Lady's instructions to ask the Cong Sanye to go to Rongqing Hall immediately. The Old Lady wants to ask questions."

"The Old Lady also specifically instructed that women of unknown origin must not be brought into the residence, so as not to ruin the Jia family's family style!"

She pointed at Jing Hui in her Buddhist robe and shouted at the few old women beside her: "You take this woman into custody and wait for the Old Lady to deal with her."

She turned her head to Jia Cong and forced a smile: "Cong Sanye, don't delay; the Old Lady is still waiting."

Jia Cong's face suddenly darkened. Jing Hui behind her was pale, and Zhen Ying Lian on the side was supporting her with worry.

Wu'er stepped forward and said: "Mother Zhou, this is not an outsider; she is the Cong Sanye's former big maid, Zhi Shao."

Mother Zhou mocked: "Wu'er, do you think I'm a fool? Fooling me in broad daylight. Who in the residence doesn't know that the maid named Zhi Shao jumped into the river and died two years ago? Who are you trying to fool with this ghost talk!"

Zhi Shao was not a servant born in the Jia family, but was bought from outside to serve Jia Cong since childhood.

Because Jia Cong was disliked by Lady Jia since childhood, he had always been detained in the East Courtyard's warehouse and grew up, and almost never came to the West Prefecture.

As his personal maid, Zhi Shao naturally never showed her face in the West Prefecture, so Mother Zhou had never seen Zhi Shao, only knowing her name after Zhi Shao's incident.

Actually, don't say Mother Zhou hadn't seen Zhi Shao; even Daiyu and Xichun hadn't seen her.

It was Yingchun and Seeing Tan Chun who had seen her.

It was on New Year's Eve that year that they took Wang Dong of the Prince Jia Shun Prince's residence to the warehouse courtyard to send New Year's gifts to Jia Cong, and it was Zhi Shao who opened the door for them, so they saw her once.

The few old women brought by Mother Zhou were also from Lady Jia and Lady Wang's side, so naturally, they hadn't seen Zhi Shao either. Seeing Wu'er come out to speak, they hesitated for a while.

Mother Zhou urged impatiently: "What are you still stunned for? Why don't you take the person into custody first!"

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 180 =====

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