Chapter 65: The Clan

Since settling in Qingzhi Zhai and having Qingwen apply medicine again, Jia Cong’s back wound had fully healed.

Qu Hongxiu’s medicine was miraculous—after only four or five applications, not even a scar remained.

This crackdown on Wang Shanbao’s wife succeeded only because Qu Hongxiu helped; he could never have done it alone.

He did not know if she still lived in that small courtyard in Xicheng, and though he intended to visit her, he restrained himself.

Last time, when his wound had not yet fully healed, he had Guo Zhigui drive him to Chunhua Tower, using He Jizhen and Zhou Xizhe as cover to secretly meet Qu Hongxiu.

Guo Zhigui was simple-minded and would not suspect anything, and Jia Cong himself believed he had left no trace.

But the matter of Wang Shanbao’s wife was not truly over; he had to be more cautious.

When Liu Bi came to see him last time, she said she would help delay his enrollment at Qingshan Academy, but the delay would not last long.

With the harassment from the two in Donglu Yuan gone, and now having Qingzhi Zhai as a quiet place, Jia Cong finally focused his energy on studying.

He could then build a higher understanding and analysis of life and all things upon the foundational Dao revealed in the Four Books.

Fortunately, he had memorized some of it, and his past work at provincial cultural and historical institutions gave him broad exposure and accumulated insight into classical studies.

After studying the Great Learning, he could then study the Analects and Mencius to perceive their subtle and intricate scholarly threads.

…

After mastering the Four Books and Five Classics, one could take the Tongshi to become a scholar; after scholar came the juren, then the jinshi—people said ten years of cold window study, and for ordinary people, that was no exaggeration.

Though these schemes and tricks could free him from temporary trouble, for long-term survival, given his current situation, only studying and entering officialdom offered a path.

At this moment, Jia Cong began carefully studying the Great Learning, which he regarded as his foundation.

His starting point was actually not low.

He sounded as if he had read half of the Four Books, but for a child his age, reading meant only rote memorization, recognizing a thousand common characters—that was considered sufficient.

Only after integrating and comprehending everything could one finally grasp the Dao of the world as taught in the Doctrine of the Mean, which is why the Doctrine of the Mean was always studied last among the Four Books.

Once the Four Books were mastered, he would proceed to the Five Classics: the Book of Songs, the Book of Documents, the Book of Changes, the Book of Rites, and the Zuo Commentary.

Fortunately, he had the complete set of the Four Books published by Yuwen Xuan, gifted by Xiao Jindong, with key passages annotated in red by renowned scholars, and several collections of commentaries on the Four Books given by Jia Zheng—perfect for immediate use.

Even if he used his future knowledge and skills to become a wealthy merchant, in this official-dominated world, without power to protect him, he would eventually be devoured down to the bone.

Among the Four Books, the Great Learning was the foundation of all methods, summarizing the principles of investigating things, rectifying the mind, cultivating oneself, and governing others.

Moreover, Jia Dairu, who taught at the Jia clan’s school, was himself shallow and unlearned; he likely barely understood the Great Learning and the Doctrine of the Mean, let alone explain their profound meanings to young pupils.

Jia Cong had studied for three years at the Jia clan school, primarily reading the Thousand Character Classic and the Classic of Filial Piety; after memorizing them, he began studying the Great Learning and the Doctrine of the Mean.

Now he only needed to solidify the foundation of his towering structure, reviewing and comprehending from the beginning—years of effort would surely yield results.

On the third day after Wang Shanbao’s wife was arrested by Zhen’an Prefecture, a sixth-rank clerk from the Zongrenfu arrived with two attendants.

He summoned Jia She to the Zongrenfu for questioning regarding the witchcraft incident harming others in the Jia household.

The sixth-rank clerk spoke coldly, with an almost aggressive tone.

The gatekeeper trembled as he reported to Jia She, nearly causing Jia She to collapse in fear—the disaster had come!

It was almost certainly that damned servant who had blabbed in Zhen’an Prefecture, drawing the Zongrenfu to come and arrest him.

Jia She had no desire whatsoever to go to that damned Zongrenfu ; the Zhou dynasty’s Zongrenfu managed the lineage, titles, stipends, moral instruction, and disciplinary actions for imperial clansmen and noble offspring.

Noble offspring summoned by the Zongrenfu never faced good news, but refusing to go was impossible.

The sixth-rank clerk’s expression was icy; Jia She dared not delay, and before leaving, he ordered a servant to immediately inform Jia Mu.

Jia Mu, upon hearing the news, panicked and ordered Lai Da to select a few sharp-witted servants to follow and report any news promptly.

After enduring several hours, until dusk fell, Jia She still had not returned, and the servant who had gone with him came back with word.

The Zongrenfu questioned Elder Lord Jia regarding the witchcraft incident harming others; since the matter was not yet clear, Elder Lord Jia must remain overnight under detention at the Zongrenfu and could not return for now.

Hearing this, the entire household panicked; Jia Mu was frantic—not only because of her deep love for her son, but most crucially because Jia She still held the hereditary title passed down from the old Duke.

If Jia She was truly implicated in the witchcraft plot to harm his younger brother, he would almost certainly be stripped of his title—what then would become of the ancestral title?

The best outcome would be for His Majesty to permit the title to pass to a descendant—that would mean Jia Lian would inherit it.

But the Jia family’s title was not hereditary without reduction; when it reached Jia Lian, the First-Class General title would be downgraded to Second-Class General.

Though the title was reduced, at least it remained—still a stroke of luck.

If His Majesty, disgusted by Jia She’s disregard for human ethics, revoked the Jia family’s title entirely, the Jia family would be finished.

A noble family stripped of its title was no noble family at all—merely a paper tiger, mocked by all of Jingcheng.

If it came to that, Jia Mu would truly wish to die—how could she face the old Duke, or the ancestors of the Jia family, after her death?

Jia Mu endured a sleepless night of anguish; at dawn, she had Yuanyang help her don her official lady’s ceremonial attire and left early by carriage for the palace gate, submitting a petition to request an audience with the Empress Dowager.

Because Qingzhi Zhai was remote, Jia Cong learned of the news only the next morning—he learned Jia Mu had already donned her ceremonial robes and gone to the palace gate.

He heard that yesterday, an official from the Zongrenfu had come with two attendants to summon Elder Lord Jia for questioning, and he had not returned all night—he understood the situation clearly.

Wang Shanbao’s wife must have broken under torture in Zhen’an Prefecture and falsely implicated Jia She and his wife to save herself.

He had met Zhen’an’s Prefect Zhang Shou at Shuyun Villa; this man was slippery by nature, and if he uncovered something he shouldn’t have, he would surely pass this hot potato to the Zongrenfu .

But since the matter involved a First-Class General—a nobleman—mere testimony from a Jia family servant was insufficient as concrete evidence.

Hence, the Zongrenfu official had come with only two attendants to summon Jia She for questioning, not to arrest him with yamen soldiers.

In the end, the Jia family might lose face, but would likely suffer no real damage.

Jia Cong had anticipated this outcome; after all, the Jia family were founding nobles with two Dukes—how could they fall over a baseless accusation of witchcraft?

Jia Mu, first, was old, and second, was not a wise or perceptive woman; though she was a formidable figure in the inner quarters, she could not possibly understand the complexities and intrigues beyond the household walls.

The visit from Zhen’an Prefecture had already shaken her; now that her son had been summoned by the Zongrenfu , her anxiety only clouded her judgment.

Unlike Jia Cong, the true instigator, who could observe coldly and calmly.

(End of Chapter)