Chapter 240

Jia Cong had gone to great lengths back then to let Prince Zhongshun know about the ugly affair between Qi Guan and Jia Rong.

It was because he knew clearly that in the Xiuniang incense shop case, he designed to incite public opinion, which could topple Zhang Shouan, who was from a humble background, but might not be able to topple Jia Zhen and his son, who possessed a hereditary title.

Because in the Xiuniang incense shop case, under his timely intervention, no human lives were lost, and no consequences that were difficult to clean up appeared.

Zhang Shouan, as an official of the imperial court, could not escape the crime of harming the people with his official position.

But as hereditary nobles, Jia Zhen and his son might at most be fined by the Imperial Clan Court or demoted by an imperial decree in the end.

This was also the reason why Jia Cong wanted to involve Prince Zhongshun; on the scales to topple Jia Zhen and his son, he added a weight with substance.

Whether it was from hearsay in the Jia mansion over the years or from his understanding in his previous life, Prince Zhongshun had always harbored resentment toward the Jia mansion, and was even a political enemy of the Jia mansion.

And the facts proved that he took the right step; the role Prince Zhongshun played in the whole matter had far exceeded his expectations.

……

And Jia Cong had also heard of Jia Cong's various anecdotes over the past two years.

Jia Jing remembered that day when this young man held his birth mother's spirit tablet and faced the different gazes of hundreds of clansmen, stepping into the Ningguo ancestral hall as if no one was there; who in the Jia clan could compare to that heroic spirit and demeanor.

Jia Cong was slightly disappointed; he realized that Jia Jing, in his indignation, blurted out something, which must have been some inside information he didn't know, but was stopped by Jia Zheng in time.

When Jia Cong walked into Rongqing Hall, apart from seeing Jia Mu, Jia Zheng, and other people in charge of the Rong Prefecture, he also saw an old man with gray hair and beard, wearing a green silk Daoist robe and a Nanhua scarf on his head.

"Cong Ge'er, such a big thing has happened at home now, Zhen'er and his son are trapped in the Grand Court of Justice, and their life and death are unpredictable; among the Yu-generation of the Jia family, only you are serving as an official in the government.

Causing an uproar in the imperial court and among the people, Cong suspects that someone is pushing the waves behind the scenes…."

That his cousin could raise such a son, he always felt it was inconceivable….

Seeing that Jia Mu seemed to have automatically skipped over the life and death of Jia Zhen and his son and only asked if the title could be preserved, Jia Cong felt that the affection in a noble family was thin, and in the end, wealth and power were the first priority.

Jia Mu looked at Jia Jing with dissatisfaction and asked: "Cong Ge'er, I ask you, can the Ningguo title be preserved?"

And having entered the palace many times to report, you have some foundation of knowledge; the old matriarch called you over just to ask you, in your opinion, is there still any room for maneuver in the matter of Zhen Ge'er and his son."

He had seen this person once at the Ningguo Prefecture spring sacrifice; he was Jia Zhen's father, that Jia Jing who was obsessed with longevity.

Seeing Jia Cong come in, Jia Zheng showed a gentle smile on his face; Jia Zhen and his son were so immoral and ruined the hereditary title of the Ningguo line, which really made Jia Zheng heartbroken.

Hearing this, Jia Jing's face showed indignation, and he blurted out: "It must be that Prince Zhongshun is manipulating behind the scenes, wanting to put Ningguo to death; back when the Emperor ascended the throne…."

In the final analysis, it was because of the evidence provided by Prince Zhongshun; not only were the witnesses and material evidence complete, but it even involved several human lives; the more tricky part was that the victims happened to accuse them at this time.

Seeing Jia Cong walk into Rongqing Hall, Jia Jing saw that he was handsome, upright, and had a deep and calm demeanor, which seemed to make the whole hall shine.

Jia Cong replied: "Old Matriarch, Master, if it were just the matter of the Xiuniang incense shop, because Cong timely saved the shopkeeper and clerk in the shop, the matter didn't become unmanageable.

Only by seeing Jia Cong did he feel some comfort in his heart; after all, the Rongguo Prefecture hadn't completely declined, and there were still descendants like Cong Ge'er.

He sighed in his heart; if the Ningguo line could produce such a descendant, how could it have fallen to this point.

Even if Zhen Big Brother and his son were found to be the masterminds by the Grand Court of Justice, their crimes wouldn't reach the point of death; now that the situation has changed so drastically, it has nothing to do with the Xiuniang incense shop.

Jia Jing also realized it all at once and hurriedly swallowed the words behind, but his old face was full of gloom and unwillingness.

Jia Zheng suddenly shouted: "Big Brother, be careful with your words; now that the family is in trouble, how can such words be spoken out loud, lest you cause trouble!"

"Old Matriarch, now the momentum is irreversible; even if the Emperor and the ministers of various ministries want to show some leniency to Ningguo, they have to consider the overwhelming public sentiment inside and outside the court."

"In Cong's opinion, I'm afraid the Ningguo title cannot be preserved; if the title is stripped, I'm afraid they will also be raided and sealed…."

Hearing the four words "raided and sealed," Jia Mu's old face suddenly lost its color, her whole body trembling; fear seemed to make her lose her reason, and she pointed at Jia Cong and shouted angrily:

"You evil obstacle, you are simply talking nonsense; the two prefectures of Ning and Rong are founding nobles and have great merits to the country, it's just that the descendants are unworthy, how could it reach the point of being raided and sealed!"

Jia Zheng's face was also extremely ugly; Ningguo was the head of the Jia clan; if the title was stripped and the house raided, the power of the Jia clan would be cut off by more than half, and the Rongguo Prefecture would also be as precarious as an egg.

"Cong Ge'er, it shouldn't reach this point, right."

Jia Cong replied: "Master, the evidence provided by Prince Zhongshun has caused the situation to spiral out of control.

The Emperor is wise and sagacious, governing the country with an eye on the overall situation; benevolence does not command troops, and feelings do not establish affairs; the Emperor knows this principle well; to show justice to the world, I'm afraid stripping the title is hard to avoid."

Jia Cong remembered that when Zhi Shao couldn't enter the mansion, the Emperor specially bestowed palace flower hairpins and skirts;

His birth mother's spirit tablet was difficult to enter the ancestral hall, and Prince Ning and many officials coincidentally offered sacrificial gifts, which was nothing more than receiving hints from the Emperor.

Every one of these things could taste the Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao's contempt and abandonment of the Jia family.

Jia Cong absolutely did not believe that in such a heaven-sent opportunity, Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao would still treat the Jia family of Ningguo lightly.

……

Hearing this from Jia Cong, Jia Mu and the others all turned pale; after all, they were all from great families, not comparable to small households, and still had some knowledge.

Naturally, they heard that what Jia Cong said was definitely not talking nonsense; although there was still luck in their hearts, their spirit had already died by more than half, and Jia Jing was even more like a mourning son.

Jia Cong also said: "Now there are still You Saozi and Qin Miss living in the prefecture; once the Embroidered Uniform Guard comes to raid, I'm afraid they will collide with the female family members.

Second Sister-in-law can remind them to pack up their dowry and valuables early, and once the incident happens, they can move to the West Prefecture to take refuge temporarily."

In Jia Cong's heart, the first priority in the East Prefecture was Keqing, which was why he found an excuse to remind them.

Hearing that he had even thought of the response to the house raid, everyone was a little shocked and surprised; Jia Mu wanted to scold him again, but after thinking about it, she couldn't scold him.

If they really wanted to raid the house and let those Embroidered Uniform Guards touch the female family members with a finger, the Jia family would lose even the last bit of reputation and face, so it was just to be on the safe side.

She only hoped that these were all alarmist talk by this kid, and when they luckily passed the hurdle, she would spit on this kid properly.

Hearing Jia Cong say Qin Miss, Wang Xifeng felt a little strange in her heart; everyone in the prefecture called her Rong eldest young mistress, why did Cong Lao San call her Qin Miss, this was so strange.

However, Wang Xifeng didn't think much about it, just thinking he had a slip of the tongue.

Wang Xifeng looked at Jia Zheng again, and Jia Zheng sighed: "Cong Ge'er's words are reasonable; the female family members cannot have any deviations; to be on the safe side, you go and handle it."

Seeing Wang Xifeng about to walk out of Rongqing Hall, Jia Cong suddenly said:

"Second Sister-in-law, let the female family members of the East Prefecture only pack their own dowry and valuables, immediately seal the silver treasury of the East Prefecture, let You Saozi keep the keys, and do not take a single bit!"

Hearing this, Wang Xifeng felt a chill in her heart, because when Jia Cong mentioned the female family members of the East Prefecture just now, she first thought of whether to transfer the silver in the East Prefecture's silver treasury.

There were at least tens of thousands of taels of surplus silver in there; if the house was raided, it would all be cheap for others.

Jia Cong said to Jia Zheng in a deep voice: "Master, now the Jia family is facing a crisis; since someone has collected the evidence of the Ningguo Prefecture in advance, it is inevitable that they will make trouble in other matters.

The silver treasury is a place of heavy silver flow in the prefecture and is the most concerned by others.

If it is really as I unfortunately predicted, once raided, if the silver treasury is lost, transferring property from a raided house is another serious crime, so we must be cautious!"

Jia Jing, who was originally the person in charge of the East Prefecture, was already in a state of chaos, his three souls were lost and his seven spirits were wandering, and he couldn't come up with any ideas.

The person in the hall who was the most sober was Jia Cong; although Jia Zheng was also in a state of chaos, he understood that Jia Cong's words were very reasonable, so he just let Feng Jie handle it.

Wang Xifeng secretly scolded Cong Lao San for being oversensitive; they didn't need to move it all, just move a small part, who the hell would know.

Just as she was walking out of Rongqing Hall with some frustration, she suddenly bumped into an old woman head-on; Wang Xifeng raised her willow eyebrows, what a blind slave, just about to open her mouth to scold people.

Only to hear the old woman panting and shouting: "Old Matriarch, something big is wrong, an imperial envoy has come to the East Prefecture with an imperial decree, and there is a large army, saying they are here to raid the East Prefecture!"

(End of chapter)