[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-my-life-as-a-rising-force-in-the-red-chamber":3,"chapter-my-life-as-a-rising-force-in-the-red-chamber-my-life-as-a-rising-force-in-the-red-chamber-chapter-59":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","My Life as a Rising Force in the Red Chamber",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2310857,4515,"Chapter 59: The Tragedy of Witchcraft in a Noble Household","my-life-as-a-rising-force-in-the-red-chamber-chapter-59",59,"\u003Cp>Jia Mu’s face turned ashen at these words; witchcraft had always been regarded as a flood or a ferocious beast through every dynasty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Born into a mighty aristocratic family, Jia Mu had spent half her life hearing tales of it—whether in court or among the common folk, witchcraft was loathed with deepest revulsion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the previous dynasty, the imperial palace had suffered two witchcraft uprisings; all those involved were executed without mercy, even imperial consorts and princes were not spared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the Jia family to produce such a filthy affair—how could this be tolerated? She looked at Wang Shanbao’s wife, trembling on the floor, and understood much already.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jia Mu turned on Jia Zheng in fury: “What exactly is going on?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jia Zheng said: “This morning, a victim came to Zhengan Prefecture to file a complaint, claiming his household women had been poisoned by witchcraft and lay near death; the sorcerer was Ma Daopo of Zuo Ni Nunnery.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Lady, standing nearby, turned deathly pale; Ma Daopo was still Bao Yu’s adopted mother.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a witchcraft-casting hag—if this came to light, even the old lady herself wouldn’t spare her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhengan Prefecture’s men immediately arrested Ma Daopo and seized from her home straw effigies, paper figures, clay statues of malevolent gods, and crimson embroidered needles—all instruments of sorcery.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These items had now become incriminating evidence; if word reached the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs, even jumping into the Yellow River wouldn't wash away the stain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the nobles of Shenjing, who didn’t know that I, as the eldest legitimate son of Rongguo Mansion, had inherited only the title, while the vast imperial-constructed Duke Mansion fell to my younger brother?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that, he rolled his eyes and fainted from rage; Jia Zheng rushed to support him and ordered the steward to summon the Imperial Medical Bureau at once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he appeared mild and harmless, the man who held the post of Zhengan Prefecture’s Judge was no fool; his eyes now swept coldly across every face in the hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jia She turned ashen with fear, feeling the judge’s gaze—like a venomous snake—linger on him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as he and Jia She were about to interrogate the accused, Jia Mu arrived right behind them, and Jia Zheng then laid out everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without confronting the accuser or seizing the evidence, Jia Zheng dared not make the matter public; any oversight would bring shame too great to recover from.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Shanbao’s wife pounded her head against the floor, screaming her innocence, then crawled to Lady Xing, clutching her feet and swearing she had done nothing, begging for Lady Xing’s rescue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Witchcraft had always been deemed an heretical art by the court, a flood or a ferocious beast, to be eradicated without mercy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the Retired Emperor in the palace tacitly approved its suppression; who in the outer world didn’t know that I, the eldest legitimate son, had been utterly disgraced by this—and how many years had I not secretly seethed?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside them, dressed in official robes, sat Liu Binfang, Zhengan Prefecture’s Judge, watching coldly from his seat; in matters of witchcraft, he dared not slacken for a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They also found a personal ledger, recording which households had been verified, how much silver was owed, and countless sums received for oil and incense offerings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lady Xing, having spent decades in the grand household, knew full well the danger; she recoiled as if fleeing a ghost, desperate to break free from Wang Shanbao’s wife’s grasp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If she used witchcraft to harm her own brother, wasn’t she herself now under suspicion?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jia Mu’s blood boiled to her scalp; she trembled as she pointed a shaking finger at the terrified Wang Shanbao’s wife: “You vile slave—how dare you stir up such evil?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the heir of Rongguo Mansion, using witchcraft to harm your own brother—this crime of heaven-shaking, earth-rending proportions—deprivation of title and office would be too light; you might well be exiled three thousand li and lose your life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Jia Zheng arrived earlier, he only said he came to question Wang Shanbao’s wife; since the matter involved witchcraft and she was a Jia family servant,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The ledger also recorded fifty taels of silver received from Wang Shanbao’s wife, Zhang Shi, for a curse targeting Jia Zheng and his wife, and Jia Cong.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Shanbao’s wife was my wife’s personal maid; who in the household didn’t know she took orders solely from my wife?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Here, Jia Zheng’s face flushed with fury; he, the legitimate heir of Rongguo Mansion, had been cursed by his own servants—this was the utter ruin of our family’s honor, an unforgivable disgrace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, Jia Mu was revived by a sharp pinch to her philtrum from her personal maid; she slowly came to, but her face was deathly pale—old age could not withstand such rage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jia She stumbled forward and fell to his knees before Jia Mu, wailing: “Mother, please preserve yourself—if anything happens to you because of this, your son will have no grave to rest in.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jia Mu trembled with fury: “Your own servants commit such deeds—do you mean to see your brother die without burial?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tell me—did you lose your mind and entertain thoughts worthy of thunderbolt punishment?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t think I know nothing. When your brother took Cong-er to the Western Mansion to raise, you thought it a loss of face; your wife’s private curses—do you think I don’t know what she said?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jia She’s heart lurched; Jia Cong had indeed been taken to the Western Mansion, and Lady Xing had indeed cursed his brother and sister-in-law in secret.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had called them scheming second branch, flattering the old lady for favor, short-lived, vile creatures—nothing more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A woman’s private grumbling was never kind, but Jia She himself had not been displeased—he’d often secretly relished those filthy words, yet never imagined they’d spread beyond the walls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t know the Eastern Courtyard had become a sieve; even the maid Wu’er had heard Lady Xing cursing the second branch from the kitchen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not to mention Jia Mu, who had ruled the household for half her life—how could such things escape her ears?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now Lady Xing’s curses against the second branch had become proof that the eldest branch had conspired to murder the second!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Jia She was lustful and dissolute, he was no fool; hearing his mother’s words, he instantly grasped their meaning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If even his own mother suspected him, then outsiders must think the same.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He abandoned all dignity, kneeling before Jia Mu and pounding his head on the floor: “Mother, I and my younger brother are blood brothers; even if I am unworthy, I would never commit such a vile act against my own flesh and blood.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I speak a single lie, may my intestines rot, may I die a wretched death, may my ashes be trodden by pigs and dogs.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jia Mu’s expression softened slightly at such a terrible oath; after all, he was her own son, and she believed him seven or eight parts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It must be that wicked slave who lost her mind and committed such a cruel act!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that, Jia She scrambled to his feet and lunged forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Shanbao’s wife was still clinging to Lady Xing, screaming for justice, when Jia She rushed in and slapped Lady Xing across the face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You foolish woman—your own servant did this!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The slap stunned Lady Xing; half her face swelled instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether Jia She spoke from true rage or was using Lady Xing as a scapegoat, no one could tell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He raised his foot and kicked Wang Shanbao’s wife in the face—blood and flesh flew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You wretched slave—how dare you commit such evil? Do you not want to live?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Shanbao’s wife cried out: “Great Master, I swear I never did such a thing! I’ve served the family for over ten years since entering with Madam, devoted entirely to Master and Madam.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I would never betray them—I only asked Ma Daopo to exorcise evil spirits; I did nothing else. Someone with a blackened heart must be framing me!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You vile slave, still dare to lie? If you didn’t do it, why does the rogue’s ledger record it so clearly?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Shanbao’s wife knew she had done nothing, yet had no defense; she could only cry out her innocence over and over. The judge, Liu Binfang, watching, was already nine-tenths certain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Shanbao’s wife racked her brain but could not fathom why Ma Daopo had written this in the ledger; even if she wanted to extort silver from her, what use was it to record it in such a secret ledger?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, footsteps sounded outside; it was Yuanyang arriving with Jia Cong, followed by many others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Yuanyang went to Qingzhi Studio, Jia Cong was with Daiyu, Tan Chun, and the other sisters; they all saw Yuanyang’s grim face, who said the old lady had gone to the Eastern Courtyard’s main hall and ordered Third Master Cong to come immediately for questioning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jia Cong asked a few more questions; Yuanyang said Zhengan Prefecture’s judge had come to see Second Master, and after hearing what he said, Second Master flew into a rage and took household servants with him to the Eastern Courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old lady had rushed there too; why Jia Cong was summoned, Yuanyang did not say—but from her expression, Daiyu, Tan Chun, and the others, sharp as they were, knew it was no good news.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jia Cong narrowed his eyes slightly; he hadn’t expected Zhengan Prefecture to arrive so quickly—this affair had erupted!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1593,"2026-06-20T12:19:54.434Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","8e207fa197d803c09a21d50196fed34208d09edd66e5d084fc6c9d3ad1f7c233","my-life-as-a-rising-force-in-the-red-chamber-chapter-60","my-life-as-a-rising-force-in-the-red-chamber-chapter-58",920,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fmy-life-as-a-rising-force-in-the-red-chamber-cover.jpg"]