Chapter 250

Lady Rongguo Prefecture, Rongqing Hall.

"What did you say? Zhen Ge'er is dead? What exactly happened!"

Jia Mu's face was full of terror, looking at Zhang Zhang Youshi, who was sobbing on the ground, and Qin Keqing, who was kneeling silently beside her; she almost couldn't believe her ears.

Early this morning, Zhang Zhang Youshi and Rong's wife went to see Jia Zhen and his son, who were being escorted to Qiongzhou, off.

But until the sky turned dark, they did not return; Jia Mu was flustered and was about to have the steward Lin Lin Zhixiao send servants out to look for them.

Just then, their group returned to the mansion, but the news they brought shocked everyone in the hall.

They had clearly gone to see Jia Zhen and his son off, so how could Jia Zhen suddenly die?

Jia Mu asked anxiously, "Zhen Ge'er's wife, tell me quickly, how could he just die when he was perfectly fine?"

Zhang Zhang Youshi sobbed and said, "Today, Rong's wife and I went to see them off; Rong Ge'er knew he was exiled to Qiongzhou for thirty years."

At that time, the few escorting bailiffs were just watching the fun from the sidelines, keeping a distance from Jia Zhen and his son; they only heard the father and son complaining and wrestling with each other.

……

He unified his story with those escorting bailiffs and Zhang Zhang Youshi.

Jia Zhen and his son wrestled together; after all, Jia Rong was younger and stronger, and finally managed to subdue and pin Jia Zhen down.

He also bumped into his recurring hidden illness; his body was already weak, and under the depression of his mood, his heart was suddenly attacked by fire, and he just passed away like that."

In the end, it was Jia Cong who realized the seriousness of the situation and made proper arrangements before reporting it to the government.

Because they did not know about the Ningguo Prefecture's affairs, they did not hear clearly what specific words Jia Rong had cursed that could make Jia Zhen vomit blood and die.

Jia Zhen died suddenly due to his illness being beyond cure, suffering from hidden ailments, and being emotionally agitated after hearing about his son and daughter-in-law's separation; it had nothing to do with anyone else.

"He didn't want to implicate Rong's wife, so he wrote a letter of separation for her; the Master... the Master didn't agree and cursed Rong Ge'er a few times."

Because the prisoner died unexpectedly before being escorted out of the Divine Capital, the escorting officials had to bear the responsibility; although it was not a capital crime, they would likely lose their official jobs.

"As a result, he vomited blood and died. Brother Cong had someone notify the government office, and the coroner examined the Master's body, saying that after the Master was imprisoned, his body was already hollowed out."

But Jia Cong was sharp-eared and sharp-eyed, and knew the bottom of the matter well; even though Jia Rong only cursed in a low voice in Jia Zhen's ear, he still heard the content clearly.

At this time, they did not notice that the sobbing Zhang Zhang Youshi looked behind Jia Zheng, where Jia Cong was standing silently.

The bailiffs and Jia Cong and the others at the scene heard Jia Rong cursing in Jia Zhen's ear, which actually made Jia Zhen vomit blood and die.

Jia Cong recalled the situation at the scene, which was truly beyond everyone's expectations.

The few escorting bailiffs naturally had no objections to this statement.

Zhang Zhang Youshi sobbed and finished telling the story; Jia Mu, Jia Zheng, Wang Lady, and the others in the hall were all stunned—a living person just died so inexplicably?

It was nothing more than describing his relationship with Qin Keqing in an extremely unbearable way, to mock and stimulate Jia Zhen, but he did not expect that it would actually make Jia Zhen die of anger.

Their eyes met, Jia Cong seemed to nod imperceptibly, and Zhang Zhang Youshi lowered her eyes.

The bizarre scene of Jia Zhen's sudden death shocked everyone present.

Jia Rong mentioned his and Qin Keqing's names in his words, so Jia Cong had roughly guessed the content.

Jia Cong's statement cleared them of their crimes, and these bailiffs were naturally very willing; besides, the family of the deceased did not pursue it, so they were naturally even happier to be good people.

Jia Cong also explained the pros and cons to Zhang Zhang Youshi: if the facts were reported to the government, Jia Zhen died due to wrestling and verbal abuse from Jia Rong, then Jia Rong would be guilty of the major crime of patricide and would surely not escape death.

Only by saying it this way could Jia Rong escape a disaster; otherwise, the father and son of Ningguo would be guilty, one killed by his own son, and one executed for patricide—the Jia family's foul reputation would spread throughout the world.

For Zhang Zhang Youshi, upon learning of Jia Zhen's filthy thoughts of coveting his daughter-in-law, she felt extremely ashamed and hateful; the only bit of husband-and-wife affection she had was gone, and she wished this old beast would die sooner.

Although Jia Rong was not born to her, she was his legitimate mother; even if Ningguo had fallen, Jia Rong still had a legitimate son, which counted for something.

Therefore, she did not want Jia Rong to pay with his life for that old beast.

Otherwise, the legitimate line of Ningguo would be cut off, leaving only a widow, which would be too miserable and unbearable.

Moreover, if the truth were exposed, the Jia family's reputation would surely be greatly damaged.

Jia Mu and the other clan members would surely harbor resentment toward Jia Zhen and his son, and who would treat her, this Ningguo widow, well in the future?

How would she stand in the Jia family and live in the future?

Therefore, Zhang Zhang Youshi completely accepted Jia Cong's statement; after returning to the mansion, she reported it to Jia Mu and the others with the same story, turning a big matter into a small one, and then into nothing.

……

After handling the aftermath, Jia Cong had the bailiffs urgently report the accident to the Court of Judicial Review.

The coroner of the Court of Judicial Review examined Jia Zhen's body and found that his body had long been decayed and unbearable.

Because he had always been hollowed out by wine and lust, his foundation was already ruined, and he was old; two months of prison suffering, eating and sleeping like a pig, and being terrified all day long, had left him with old illnesses and serious diseases.

He was already at the end of his rope and could not withstand external stimulation; this was why he died of a sudden shock to his heart and mind, causing his blood to flow backward and his internal organs to collapse.

This was basically consistent with the statements of everyone at the scene.

Ningguo had been stripped of its title and raided; for those in power, it had long been used up of all its value and was no longer worth wasting any more energy on.

Only Jia Cong and Zhang Zhang Youshi knew the truth.

If it weren't for Jia Zhen, even at the point of death, still trying to stop Jia Rong from separating from Qin Keqing and still holding onto the strong desire to covet Qin Keqing, he wouldn't have ended up like this—he deserved to die!

……

And the reason Jia Cong handled the matter this way was not specifically to save Jia Rong's life.

It was because once the truth was exposed, although Jia Rong would not escape death, he would re-enter the interrogation process of the Three Judicial Offices before being executed.

With Jia Rong's base character, he would likely confess the deal between him and Jia Cong in prison, which would put him and Qin Keqing in a difficult situation.

Only by handling it this way could he minimize the possibility of this happening.

And the final result of the matter indeed developed according to Jia Cong's plan.

After the coroner of the Court of Judicial Review examined the body, combined with the consistent statements of everyone at the scene, the cause of Jia Zhen's death was quickly determined.

Jia Zhen's body was sent to his family for cremation and burial, and his funeral arrangements were made.

Because of Jia Zhen's matter, the hour was late, so Jia Rong would be escorted to Qiongzhou early tomorrow morning as usual.

For everyone from the Emperor above to the officials of the Three Judicial Offices below, the Ningguo Prefecture case had long been settled.

A descendant of a stripped noble, a thief and prisoner who had committed many evils—his life was no different from that of a pig or dog.

If such a person died, he died; he couldn't even stir up a ripple.

……

When Jia Mu learned of the cause of Jia Zhen's death that she was allowed to know, she couldn't help but weep again; no matter what, he was a descendant she had watched grow up.

She also had Feng Feng Jie handle Jia Zhen's funeral and select Ningguo descendants who could get things done to help out.

At this moment, everyone's eyes in the hall were focused on Qin Keqing.

Jia Mu had originally thought Qin Keqing was good in every way and was the most satisfactory of all her great-granddaughters-in-law.

But now, looking at her again, Jia Mu's gaze already held much that was unusual.

This new bride in her teens had a beauty that was rare in the world, but she seemed to be an inauspicious person.

Only a few months after she married into the Ningguo Prefecture, Ningguo was stripped of its title and raided.

Because Jia Rong wanted to separate from her, he actually caused Jia Zhen to die of anger.

Jia Mu had been accustomed to wealth and pleasure for these years, and her judgment of matters was superficial, always involving some absurd reasons.

She did not delve into the cause of Jia Zhen's death, but instead felt that Qin Keqing had a fate that brought disaster.

Jia Mu thought of this and couldn't help but glance at Jia Cong, who was standing quietly in the hall, feeling a bit strange in her heart—wasn't this the same path as this evil obstacle?

But at the moment, what Jia Mu cared about was not this, but the matter of Jia Rong and Qin Keqing's separation.

If Qin Keqing were really allowed to separate and leave the mansion, then the scandal of Jia Zhen being died of anger would surely spread.

Because Ningguo had been raided, the Jia family had already been severely damaged and could no longer afford any turmoil that would damage its reputation.

As the matriarch of the two mansions, Jia Mu did not want such a thing to happen.

In Jia Mu's view, the best way was for the Jia family to have one more widowed woman.

Then there would be no gossip about the cause of Zhen Ge'er's death, and after a long time, everyone would forget...

(End of chapter)