Chapter 346

Lady Rongguo Prefecture, the study in the east corridor of Rongxi Hall.

Jia Cong had been to this place several times; before he went to Liaodong, it was here that Jia Zheng gifted him that suit of blue rhinoceros armor.

Before Jia Cong went to Liaodong, in Jia Zheng's eyes, he was a junior who still needed instruction, but now, that sentiment was long gone.

Today, Jia Cong has been granted a title and established his own household; among the Jia family's ranks, he has effectively become a presence that can stand on equal footing with the hereditary line of Lady Rongguo.

Although Jia Cong is young, whether it was his handling of the Ningguo Prefecture raid last year or his judgment on current affairs and new policies the day before yesterday, he has already displayed a composure and shrewdness inconsistent with his age.

Although Jia Zheng is somewhat pedantic and rigid in nature, he knows his own foundation, and compared to this nephew who possesses such extraordinary literary depth and composure, he is lacking in many respects.

Once the maid served hot tea, the uncle and nephew began to chat casually, with Jia Zheng asking Jia Cong if he had heard any news recently.

Jia Cong had been busy at the firearms workshop in the north of the city recently, because Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao had issued an imperial decree to supervise the production of fifty improved Red-Clad cannons before the end of the year.

According to information he encountered while observing government affairs at the Ministry of War, a batch of these new-style cannons would be used for coastal defense against Japanese pirates in the two Zhejiang regions.

"Cong'er, you spent the first half of the year in Liaodong, and that major criminal from the Court of Judicial Review was escorted from Liaodong; do you know the root cause of this?"

Therefore, Jia Cong deliberately played dumb, using the name of the Yafu Pass Military Affairs Office to issue an official document directly to the Embroidered Uniform Guard Command in the Love Shenjing.

This was also the extent of what he could do for this matter; once the Military Affairs Office issued the official document, he let himself completely withdraw from the affair.

Of course, this matter involved military and state secrets, so to avoid taboos, he naturally would not explain it in detail to Jia Zheng, only saying that he had been busy with official business at the Firearms Office recently and had not heard any novel news.

Upon hearing this, Jia Zheng stroked his beard and smiled; his position in the Ministry of Works was leisurely, unlike Jia Cong who was busy with practical affairs all day, so he naturally had time to inquire about and understand various news and information as material for refined conversation and commentary.

According to common sense, the location of Zhou Zhou Suqing's crime was Jin Ling, and his jurisdiction fell under the Yingtian Prefecture and the Jin Ling Embroidered Uniform Guard Battalion.

Moreover, Jia Zheng said that it was a major criminal escorted from Liaodong; wouldn't that be Zhou Zhou Suqing, whom he himself had captured at Yafu Pass?

Back then, he personally experienced the major case of the Water Supervision Office in Jin Ling and witnessed the suicide of Zou Zou Huaiyi, a thousand-household official of the Water Supervision Office; at that time, he knew deeply that this case was too deeply entangled, so he withdrew in time, and the same logic applied now.

He also had the Military Affairs Office issue a document to the Love Shenjing Embroidered Uniform Guard Command, explaining Zhou Zhou Suqing's background and the escort arrangements.

He said: "Recently, colleagues in the Ministry of Works who are knowledgeable have said that the Court of Judicial Review is currently interrogating a major criminal escorted from Liaodong, and yesterday, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Wei Wei Guanyao, entered the palace to request an imperial decree."

When Jia Cong captured Zhou Zhou Suqing at Yafu Pass, it was merely a coincidence; afterwards, he locked Zhou Zhou Suqing in the Yafu Pass Military Affairs Office and gave instructions for strict surveillance.

He remembered that day when he and Ai Li sent two Eagle Girls south at Xiande Gate; at that time, he encountered a travel-worn prison cart escorted by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, which looked like it had come from the north.

Jia Cong's heart jumped violently upon hearing this; during this period, he had been running between the workshop and the East Prefecture, and he didn't go out to socialize, so he really didn't pay much attention to outside affairs.

However, although the major case of the Jin Ling Water Supervision Office had come to an end, the remaining doubts were truly numerous, and the Jin Ling officialdom was a small pond with many turtles.

The direction the prison cart was heading was not the Love Shenjing Embroidered Uniform Guard Command, but the Court of Judicial Review; it was likely the major criminal Jia Zheng spoke of.

In Jia Cong's speculation, with Zhou Zhou Suqing escorted back to Jin Ling, who could say for sure whether the sudden death of the garrison eunuch Wang En in the Embroidered Uniform Guard prison would happen again.

It is said that His Majesty appointed the Left Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review as an imperial inspector, coordinating with key officials of the Five Military Commissions, to go to Jin Ling together on official business; it is said that a major case was implicated in Jin Ling.

Zhou Zhou Suqing ran into him, and he could not sit idly by, but that was all; now that he was free from trouble, he naturally did not want to find more trouble for himself.

Therefore, when Jia Zheng asked him if he knew the background of the major criminal from Liaodong, Jia Cong naturally pushed it off, saying he knew nothing.

The two were chatting enthusiastically when suddenly a maid reported from outside that the Master's student, Fu Shi, had come to pay a visit.

Jia Zheng was having an interesting chat with Jia Cong, and suddenly having someone visit was inevitably a bit of a letdown.

However, this Fu Shi was very respectful and sincere to Jia Zheng, and Jia Zheng truly regarded him highly; unlike other students, since he had come to the door, he had to see him, but he instructed Jia Cong to wait a moment, saying he would return shortly.

After Jia Zheng left, the maid came to refill Jia Cong's tea, just when Jia Cong was feeling a bit bored.

Suddenly, he heard a shout from across the courtyard: "Yu Chuan, call your mother and take your sister out!"

Jia Cong recognized that it was Lady Wang's voice, high-pitched and seemingly very angry; otherwise, with her status as a great lady, she would not make such a sharp sound.

The meaning in this tone made Jia Cong's heart jump, and he suddenly remembered a case from his memory....

He also remembered that day in the courtyard, when he had just washed the hair for Zhi Shao and other maids, and happened to run into Sister Yuanyang and others who came to see.

One of the pretty and quick-tongued maids joked: "Qingwen, you are so bold, to actually use such a clever trick to coax Cong Sanye Cong into washing your hair; you are truly dreaming!"

Later, Liu Wuer told him that the one who spoke was Lady Wang's maid, Jin Jin Chuan!

Jia Cong suddenly realized what had happened; it must be that Jia Baoyu had also entered the courtyard just now, and had teased Jin Jin Chuan, only to be caught red-handed by Lady Wang, and as a result, Jia Baoyu fled first....

Back then, because of his appearance, when Zhi Shao had an incident, Grandmother Jia gave Qingwen to him, which allowed Qingwen to escape a disaster.

However, the number of maids ruined in the hands of this Second Master Bao was more than just Qingwen; Jia Cong had already heard that a Xixue had been driven away a few days ago....

He hurriedly left the room and saw someone hurrying away outside the courtyard gate; looking at the back, wasn't it Jia Baoyu? He was truly a pitfall.

Before long, he saw a maid who looked somewhat similar to Jin Jin Chuan, leading a woman, hurriedly entering Lady Wang's room.

Jia Cong took a step into the courtyard and heard Lady Wang's scolding from the opposite room: "Look at the good daughter you raised, get out, get out, get out, take her out and marry her to a boy, so I don't have to see you and feel disgusted!"

Afterwards, he heard the pleading voices of several women, but Lady Wang was in a fit of rage, scolding continuously, and the scolding became more and more unpleasant, including filthy words like "little bitch," which were unbearable to hear.

It was truly an eye-opener for Jia Cong that the always graceful and noble Lady Wang could actually scold such words.

Finally, there was no sound in the room, and the three women walked out in a daze; the woman was crying and even raised her hand to slap Jin Jin Chuan in the face.

This slap was not light, knocking Jin Jin Chuan to the ground at once, both sides of her face were red and swollen, and she looked very disheveled.

When she looked up, she happened to see Jia Cong at the other end of the courtyard, looking at her with cold eyes, seemingly with a trace of pity.

That gaze pierced her heart like a needle, making her feel a piercing pain; the most shameful scene of her life was seen by Cong Sanye Cong, which made her feel even more ashamed and unable to face anyone.

She staggered to her feet and ran out of the courtyard crying, only to bump into someone.

That person let out a delicate cry and almost fell to the ground; it was Qingwen.

Just now, Qingwen had delivered the embroidery patterns to Sister Yuanyang and was returning to the courtyard to find Jia Cong, intending to return to the East Prefecture with him later.

Qingwen scolded: "Jin Jin Chuan, you crazy girl, are you in such a hurry to be reincarnated? Are you trying to bump me to death?"

Jia Cong's expression changed, and he shouted: "Qingwen, hurry and chase after her, she is going to commit suicide!"

(End of chapter)