Chapter 516: The Evil Heart is Full of Poison

In the blink of an eye, the twelfth lunar month was coming to an end. With auspicious snow promising a bountiful year, New Year's Eve was approaching, and the fourteenth year of Emperor Jia Zhao was about to complete its course.

The festive atmosphere in the East and West Prefectures grew increasingly heavy. Old relatives and family friends of the Jia family in the capital came to visit one after another, as they did every year.

Only this year, the number of people coming to the mansion for New Year's greetings was more complete than in previous years, and the popularity was even more boisterous.

Since the passing of Jia Daishan, the Rongguo Prefecture's power and influence had faded year by year, but now it seemed to be manifesting its distinct outline once again...

The reason for this was that the previous title-holder of the Jia family had passed away, and the imperially built Rongguo Prefecture had seen a change in the heavens, producing a family head who held two titles in one body.

All the high-ranking families in the Love Shenjing had long heard of Jia Cong's name and knew that this young family head was not a dissolute person like his father.

Although he was only near the age of twenty, his various outstanding achievements had long been famous far and wide.

Everyone believed that with him inheriting the Rongguo hereditary title, the Jia family in the Love Shenjing, which had been gradually decaying, would surely radiate signs of a revival.

The last time Jia Cong was granted the Rongguo title by imperial decree, it had caused quite a stir among the noble families in the Love Shenjing, making the Rongguo Prefecture full of guests, bustling and noisy.

But at the same time, the major families in the Love Shenjing were not without the intention of watching and examining.

Because every prestigious family knew that the rise and fall of a family had always been that new nobles are easy to establish, while old forces are difficult to remove.

Although Jia Cong inherited the title by imperial decree, his second uncle, Jia Zheng, was still in the hall, and Jia Zheng was still the previous head of the Jia family, residing in the Rongxi Hall, the legitimate source of Rongguo.

In the eyes of others, the Rongguo Prefecture would inevitably have a drama of uncle and nephew fighting for power and family business in the future.

But the facts were greatly unexpected.

Jia Cong inherited the Rongguo title, and in less than ten days, Jia Zheng and his wife still occupied the Rongxi Hall without moving.

No one expected that such a family matter would attract a joint impeachment from the four major government offices of the court, and the number of officials following suit was astonishing.

After the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Clan Court visited the Rongguo second branch, Jia Zheng and his wife moved out of Rongxi Hall in a panic and even had to move out of the Rongguo Prefecture. This situation turned so strangely that all the noble families watching the show were stunned for a time.

Everyone knew that although Jia Cong was young and outstanding, he did not have such great appeal in the court.

Later, news spread in official circles that Sun Shouzheng, a censor of the Yongzhou Circuit of the Censorate, was the first to impeach Jia Zheng for illegally occupying the Rongxi Hall.

Sun Shouzheng was only a Grade 7B censor, and he did not even have the qualification to impeach in court.

It was such an inconspicuous impeachment memorial that, after being passed through the Tongzheng Office and the Directorate of Ceremonial, it reached the Emperor's presence.

Yet it happened to attract the attention of the current Emperor. The Emperor did not comment on Jia Zheng occupying the Rongxi Hall, but praised Sun Shouzheng for being upright, daring to speak, and adhering to ritual.

The Emperor even broke the rules to grant Sun Shouzheng a special examination, promoting him one level to a Grade 7A censor. This matter was like a stone causing a thousand waves.

This led to the later joint impeachment by the four government offices, setting off a huge storm of the uncle-nephew dispute over ritual legitimacy.

Every noble family and scholar-official, in order to protect their own wealth and longevity, would deeply investigate the roots of the court's ups and downs.

At this point, who couldn't see that the root cause of this storm was simply the direction of the Emperor's heart.

Those high officials of the four ministries were just grasping the Emperor's pulse through Sun Shouzheng, using this to cater to the Emperor's heart, and shouting and waving flags.

Jia Cong could be granted a title at a young age because he was outstanding in both literature and martial arts. Being able to hold two titles in one body was his chance, and he had great fortune.

But to be able to get the current Emperor to stand and support him like this, that is truly being in the Emperor's heart, with heavy imperial grace!

Thinking about how old Jia Cong is now, it makes people feel that his future is limitless. Now that he has inherited the Rongguo title, the signs of the Jia family's revival in the Love Shenjing are as stable as Mount Tai.

Also because of such deep-seated reasons, the noise of noble officials and relatives visiting during the New Year was no less than the grand occasion of congratulations when Jia Cong inherited the title.

However, visits before the New Year were mainly by the female relatives of noble families, and male guests from various families would mostly come to pay New Year's greetings after New Year's Eve.

Therefore, for the past few days, Jia Mu's Rongqing Hall had been full of noble ladies every day, with fragrant wind, hairpins and jewelry, cloud-like hair and brocade skirts—how lively it was.

Jia Mu privately speculated and compared, feeling that the grand occasion of high-ranking guests visiting before the New Year today was even higher than in previous years.

Jia Mu loved wealth and enjoyment all her life, and naturally, she was very satisfied with the red and brilliant scene in Rongqing Hall.

However, Jia Mu knew in her heart that the reason why this year was better than the past was mostly because of that grandson in the East Prefecture, who had attracted popularity for the Jia family.

As the saying goes, the sun rises in the east and rains in the west; flowers planted inside the wall are fragrant outside.

Jia Mu thought of Jia Cong's glory, and then thought of Baoyu's downfall and Jia Lian's plight, feeling somewhat regretful.

However, she was ultimately a person who loved high-level enjoyment. This slight haze and depression only swirled in her heart for a moment before being thrown to the back of her mind.

Soon, she was immersed in the joy of being surrounded by the noble ladies of various families...

And among these noble ladies and wives visiting during the New Year, many also brought their unmarried daughters.

Their move was not like in the past, calculating Jia Cong as prey for marriage.

Since the last time Jia Cong caused a huge scene of imperial marriage and snatching a bride, these noble ladies had seen clearly that Jia Cong's authority was growing daily, and the palace was paying attention to his marriage. In the future, I am afraid it would not be without the ceremony of imperial marriage.

With his status, marrying a wife was not something that could be easily accomplished by the matchmaking of old relatives, and there was no need to waste effort on this.

Besides, Jia Cong was currently in the mourning period for his father and could only marry three years later. But there were no girls of age in the families, so how could they catch up with him?

The reason why these noble ladies brought their unmarried daughters to visit was out of another consideration.

Noble families interact and form alliances, and it is inevitable that there will be interaction and intimacy between wives and daughters, and there is no lack of handkerchief friendships between young ladies.

Just like when Jia Mu was in the boudoir, she once formed a handkerchief friendship with the Empress Dowager Yizhang, who was also a young lady of a noble family, which became a past event that Jia Mu could boast about.

Of course, this handkerchief friend of hers, whether she was the mother of the world or the Empress Dowager, was cautious and shrewd, did not involve herself in political affairs, and did not bring any real benefits to Jia Mu. That is a separate topic.

The reason why these noble ladies brought their daughters to visit was that they heard the Earl of Lord Weiyuan of the Jia family was very doting on his sisters and was also very loved and liked by the Jia sisters.

They also heard that although the Earl of Lord Weiyuan's biological mother was posthumously granted a title, her background was really not prominent, and she was once deeply despised by Jia Mu Shi, so the Earl of Lord Weiyuan was not very close to his grandmother.

Now, the close connection between the East and West Prefectures of the Jia family was mostly due to those few sisters of the Jia family, who played the role of a bonding link.

Therefore, the noble ladies of various prefectures brought their daughters to visit, which was to let them get along well with the Jia sisters. This kind of private inner-chamber friendship was both intimate and convenient, and not ostentatious or explicit.

Inside, however, it was to indirectly befriend the young family head of the Jia family, adding another layer of intimate family connection between noble families.

Therefore, during these days of New Year visits, Jia Cong rarely came out to meet guests because of the etiquette of avoiding men and women.

Yingchun, Daiyu, Seeing Tan Chun, Xichun, and others had to come out to accompany guests from time to time, which added a lot of strange busyness.

Since Lady Wang moved to the side courtyard from Rongxi Hall, she had been lying in bed with illness for several days, saying she couldn't even get out of bed. In fact, it was not that serious; it was just that her heart was not smooth, and she was putting on a show for the outside.

When the end of the year arrived, old relatives came to visit one after another, and guests were full in Rongqing Hall. Jia Mu asked someone to call Lady Wang to meet guests together.

Although Jia Mu looked down on her daughter-in-law for her stubborn and uncalculating nature in the matter of Jia Zheng moving out of Rongxi Hall, for the sake of her beloved youngest son, she had to let Lady Wang appear in Rongqing Hall so that he could maintain his status after losing the position of family head and have face in front of old relatives.

Fortunately, although Jia Cong was the master of Rongguo, he had not yet married.

Otherwise, with the mistress of Rongguo in power, how could it be Lady Wang's turn, as a side-branch aunt, to receive the female relatives of noble families in Rongqing Hall? Although Lady Xing, as Jia Cong's legitimate mother, also had this status, she had a rare stroke of luck in her old age and was able to move back to the Rongguo Prefecture from the East Courtyard.

It's just that now that things have changed, she is a widow, neither liked by Jia Mu nor supported by a son, so she naturally stands on the sidelines.

Lady Wang learned that Jia Mu asked her to go to Rongqing Hall to meet guests, and naturally understood the old lady's intention. She was quite pleasantly surprised, her illness was cured immediately, and her spirit was full.

From then on, she dressed up early every day and went to Rongqing Hall to accompany Jia Mu to receive guests.

As long as Lady Wang entered Rongqing Hall and saw this prosperous scene of noble ladies, her already dim heart seemed to be able to stretch instantly, as if she had returned to the days of managing the Rongguo family business...

Whenever she saw the young ladies visiting Jia Mu with their elders, among whom were several girls whose family background and appearance were top-notch, Lady Wang was quite moved.

Although she favored Baochai's blood relative in her heart, wouldn't it be more decent if her Baoyu could be matched with the daughter of a high-ranking official? It's just that every noble lady who visits is a human spirit in the back house, and who doesn't know Lady Wang's current situation? Although they maintain etiquette on the surface, they don't put her in their eyes inside.

For the words like "our Baoyu" that Lady Wang mentioned from time to time, no noble lady went to pick up the conversation. Now who doesn't know Baoyu's background? The Emperor's golden words have made his reputation terrifyingly big...

These noble ladies often mentioned Jia Cong, praising him desperately in front of Jia Mu, saying that the old lady was blessed to have raised such an amazing grandson, which was truly enviable.

Similar dramas happened several times every day during the process of receiving guests in Rongqing Hall, which frustrated Lady Wang to the extreme.

But even so, she had to endure it and occasionally smile along with the conversation to fulfill the way of the host and guest. Otherwise, even the status of receiving guests in Rongqing Hall would be gone, and wouldn't the second branch be even more down-and-out in the Jia family?

On this day, Lady Wang sent away several noble ladies who visited on behalf of Jia Mu, and left Rongqing Hall with a depressed mood.

However, her brain seemed to be filled with magic sounds, and the harsh voices of the two noble ladies praising Jia Cong kept circling: talented scholar, double-degree winner, outstanding in both literature and martial arts...

She took the maid Caiyun and passed by Rongxi Hall from afar. She saw Lin Zhixiao's wife shouting and directing, and maids and old women carrying many furniture and antiques, frequently entering and exiting Rongxi Hall.

At the entrance of Rongxi Hall stood a young woman, wearing a smoky pine green embroidered long coat with fur trim and a dark blue long skirt embroidered with magnolia branches.

Her dark and soft hair was pinned with a red treasure jade dangling hairpin. Her beautiful, soft, and moist face, under the reflection of the sunlight, was as delicate as a willow and as graceful as an orchid, which was very eye-catching.

Lady Wang naturally recognized that this was Jia Cong's maid, Wu'er, and her brows couldn't help but wrinkle tightly.

The delicate and beautiful Wu'er did not make Lady Wang feel any pleasure, but rather an unspeakable disgust.

She said to Caiyun beside her, "Go and inquire about what they are making a fuss about. Making such a scene in Rongxi Hall in broad daylight—what does it look like!"

Caiyun went over for a while and came back quickly, saying, "Lady, I just asked Lin Zhixiao's wife. She said that Rongxi Hall is now empty, and Cong Sanye Cong said he might move in any day."

"She received instructions from Miss Wu'er and is adding furniture and decorations to the hall, as well as various daily necessities, so that Cong Sanye Cong can live in comfortably and steadily."

Lady Wang was almost angered to death upon hearing this. A lowly daughter of a kitchen servant can now be the master of the Rongguo Prefecture and decide the layout and furnishings of Rongxi Hall! You must know that Rongxi Hall is the main hall of the Rongguo Prefecture, and its status is one level higher than Rongqing Hall. In the past, only she had the qualification to do such things. When was it a lowly slave's turn!

Lady Wang thought of how the kitchen's Sister-in-law Liu had once had the idea of getting her only daughter Wu'er to work in Baoyu's room, attempting to climb the high branch of her Baoyu.

At that time, she couldn't stand it. This dead girl actually looked a bit like Daiyu, so she stopped it in time and took the opportunity to send this girl to Jia Cong as a maid.

It saved this enchanting thing from harming her Baoyu. She didn't expect that only a few years had passed, and this dead girl had actually cultivated into a spirit.

Lady Wang felt regretful in her heart, blaming herself for being too merciful that day. She was actually muddled and gave such a woman to Jia Cong as a maid.

She should have matched this cheap girl with a small servant in the outer courtyard that day. Where would there be the hateful situation of her acting like a demon in the mansion today?

Although Lady Wang was angry and unbalanced, in her current situation, she really didn't have the name to reprimand Wu'er. Otherwise, if she provoked the master behind her, she was afraid she would have more trouble.

That kid had always been a person who didn't eat soft or hard, and it was said that he doted on this Wu'er very much...

In the past few days in Rongqing Hall, all the visiting female guests were praising that kid, and her Baoyu, who was originally the phoenix of the Rongguo Prefecture, was now ignored by no one.

A hairy girl by that kid's side could act like a tyrant in the mansion. Thinking of these, shame and anger surged endlessly in her heart, but what other way did she have?

Now her only reliance in the Jia family was her son Baoyu. Besides counting on him, who else could Lady Wang count on?

Thinking of this, she turned and walked towards Baoyu's courtyard.

When Lady Wang arrived at Baoyu's courtyard, Xi Ren was doing needlework in the room. Seeing Lady Wang enter the main room directly, she was more experienced after all and saw that the Lady's face was not very good.

She thought of the recent events in the mansion, where the suppression of the Lady was a bit harsh, and the Lady was very uncomfortable. Seeing this face coming over, she couldn't help but feel a little anxious.

Seeing that Baoyu didn't come out to meet her, Lady Wang frowned and asked, "Why is Baoyu nowhere to be seen? Where did he go wandering again? You don't advise him daily."

Seeing the hidden hostility in Lady Wang's words, Xi Ren couldn't help but feel vigilant.

She said, "Today, several noble ladies came from the old lady's side, and two of them brought young ladies to visit. The old lady asked Second Sister, Miss Lin, and Third Sister to take people to visit the garden."

"Now the guests have just left, and the three sisters haven't returned to the East Prefecture. They are all sitting in Third Sister's room. Bao Er Ye Bao went to talk to his sisters when he got the news."

Hearing this, Lady Wang was somewhat dissatisfied. She knew her son well; he wasn't looking for his sisters to talk, he was specifically looking for Miss Lin to talk.

Lady Wang knew very well about Baoyu's feelings for Daiyu.

It was hateful that Miss Lin went in and out of the East Prefecture every day, instigating Third Sister to only be close to and flatter that kid, and to ignore her Baoyu. It was truly hateful to the extreme.

She was an inauspicious person who lost her mother. If it weren't for the old lady's extra pity, with her delicate and sickly body, how could she have lived until today? Now, I am afraid even her bones would have turned to dust...

Lady Wang suddenly remembered the delicate and beautiful Wu'er at the entrance of Rongxi Hall just now, who looked quite similar to Daiyu and was also disgusting and troublesome. A wave of evil fire surged in her heart.

She said to Xi Ren in a deep voice, "Go and call She Yue, Qiu Wen, and Bi Hen in. I have something to say!"

Xi Ren and the others were called by Xi Ren and entered the room with some unease. They all noticed that Lady Wang's face was not good, and they all lowered their heads and stood by.

Lady Wang said in a deep voice, "You are all first-class maids serving Baoyu. Baoyu's daily sitting, lying, walking, and moving are all looked after by you. Many things have happened in the mansion recently, and you all know it."

"My only reliance now is Baoyu. I have handed him over to you, and you must serve him with all your heart and not make any mistakes. Protecting him is protecting me."

"If you serve with all your heart, I will naturally not treat you badly. Whether you go out or stay in the future, I will give you a good future."

"But there is one thing: if you are lazy and cannot serve with one heart, and Baoyu gets into trouble, I will not forgive you!"

When Xi Ren and the other maids heard Lady Wang's words, their hearts turned slightly cold. Although these words did not contain evil words, the severity and threat were self-evident.

The meaning was nothing more than saying that if they did not serve Baoyu with all their heart and let Baoyu make any mistakes, the light ones would be sent to the outer courtyard to be matched with a small servant, and the heavy ones would be beaten to death with a family staff.

After Lady Wang finished speaking, she asked strictly, "Recently, Baoyu's daily life and studies, and everyone in the courtyard—is there anything inappropriate?"

Xi Ren said first, "Bao Er Ye has been very good recently, and there is no inappropriate behavior."

Lady Wang looked at She Yue again. She Yue shivered slightly and said, "Bao Er Ye Bao is very good, everything is smooth, he listens to our advice every day when eating and sleeping, and there is nothing inappropriate."

Seeing that the two of them spoke with one voice, Lady Wang frowned slightly and looked at Qiu Wen and Bi Hen.

Bi Hen was afraid in her heart and lowered her head, not daring to look at Lady Wang at all.

Qiu Wen's eyes shone slightly, with a look of wanting to speak but stopping.

Lady Wang scolded with dissatisfaction, "If you have something to say, just say it! Don't be hesitant!"

She suddenly thought of Xi Ren and She Yue's reply just now, and her heart moved. She said, "You all go out, Qiu Wen stay."

Xi Ren lowered her face and just said "Yes" softly. She Yue on the side had a slight change in her face, and a deep worry arose in her heart... (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 517 =====

She Ren's expression drooped, and she only softly replied, "Yes." Beside her, She Yue's expression changed slightly, and a deep worry arose in her heart... (End of chapter)