Chapter 894: Chaos in the Prison and Marriage Ties

Rongguo Prefecture, Back Street.

The sky was gloomy, the spring chill was biting, and the cold wind whistled, seemingly seeping into the marrow of one's bones, making one shudder with fear.

Seeing the confused expression on Zhou Ping's face, Yang Hongbin said, "Friends need to support each other, and sometimes they need to fulfill each other even more..."

Hearing this, Zhou Ping became even more puzzled, not understanding the deeper meaning of the words.

Yang Hongbin did not explain, because some things were not convenient to say too much to Zhou Ping.

This morning, the Temple Wei Wei Siqing Guanyao had entered the palace to see the Emperor, and after returning to the official office, he had called him in for a talk.

He spoke of entering the palace to report on the military stockpile leak case. Xue Pan was a relative by marriage to the Jia family, and because Jia Cong had led troops on an expedition, the Emperor had originally intended to be lenient toward him.

However, the case of Feng Yuan in Jin Ling had already been submitted to the Three Judicial Offices, and now it could not be covered up at all. Temple Wei Wei Siqing could only brace himself and report it.

The Emperor knew the inside story of this case and was quite furious at the Jin Ling Prefect's perversion of the law. He had already issued an imperial decree to thoroughly investigate the case and arrest Jia Yucun.

After this incident, the Emperor's intention to be lenient toward Xue Pan had also vanished without a trace, making it impossible to fathom; he feared he would be severely punished for the matter.

Constrained by official rules, Temple Wei Wei Siqing did not speak clearly, but Yang Hongbin could taste the meaning.

Initially, when the Emperor wanted to thoroughly investigate the military stockpile leak case, he had issued a decree for Jia Cong to participate in the matter and coordinate with the Dali Temple to finalize the investigation strategy.

At the beginning of the major case investigation, Jia Cong had deduced the case with him and, relying on his meticulous thinking, proposed that Chen Ruichang had major suspicions.

Following the clues, Yang Hongbin followed the strategy proposed by Jia Cong, and the investigation of the military stockpile leak case was able to proceed like a hot knife through butter. In less than half a month, it was successfully completed.

The Dali Temple owed Jia Cong a favor. Now that the major case investigation was settled, they were instead convicting his relative by marriage, and even entering the Rongguo Prefecture to make arrests while he was away on an expedition.

Even someone as upright as Wei Guanyao felt that this matter was somewhat embarrassing. When Jia Cong returned triumphantly from the expedition in the future, it would be difficult for colleagues to speak when they met.

Wei Guanyao had just returned to the office after leaving the palace and explained the matter to Yang Hongbin. Although the meaning was not fully expressed, they both understood it without saying a word.

Moreover, it was Yang Hongbin who had ordered the investigation into Xue Pan's background. He hadn't expected to cause such consequences, and he felt somewhat apologetic toward Jia Cong.

This was also the reason why Yang Hongbin personally arrested Xue Pan; if one wanted to handle some things properly, one could not let others do it.

Yang Hongbin said to Zhou Ping, "You take men to guard the back street and the east and west corner gates of the two prefectures to prevent Xue Pan from escaping. Wait for my order to enter the house from the back street to make the arrest.

Rongguo Prefecture is a Duke's mansion. The former Duke of Rongguo was a founding meritorious official of the nation, with merits to the state, so one cannot be slight.

Jia Cong bears two titles and is a general fighting the Mongols. Entering Rongguo Prefecture to make an arrest requires a justification, otherwise, it will surely cause gossip."

As he spoke, he took out a visiting card and said, "The Count of Lord Weiyuan is away on an expedition, and the person in charge of the two Jia prefectures is the second house's Jia Zheng.

You deliver the visiting card for me, explain our reason for coming, and ask him to meet us in the outer courtyard of Rongguo Prefecture."

Zhou Ping took the visiting card, astonished in his heart. Temple Minister Yang was going to send a visiting card first, explain the reason, and then enter the mansion to make the arrest—he was quite respectful to Rongguo Prefecture.

When the Dali Temple arrested Chen Ruichang, there was no such fastidiousness; they intercepted him halfway, locked him up, and threw him into prison—clean and efficient.

But as he thought about it, he understood the measure of it. Although Chen Ruichang was also a descendant of a Duke, he was the main culprit in the military stockpile leak and could not escape the death penalty.

The Duke of Qi, Chen Yi, was already old and had been sitting on the bench at the Five Military Governor's Office for many years.

This time, he had finally become the Governor fighting the Mongols, but he would surely have to fold his banners and collapse because of his grandson's mistake, and he feared he would never be able to turn things around.

The Duke of Qi's mansion was going downhill and was already a grasshopper after the autumn; it couldn't jump for many days, so there was no need to be fastidious about arresting Chen Ruichang.

The Duke of Rongguo's mansion was quite different. Because of the Count of Lord Weiyuan, Jia Cong, the Jia family had already risen again, like the rising sun in the east, and no one dared to underestimate them.

Temple Minister Yang was also a close friend of the Count of Lord Weiyuan, so entering the Duke of Rongguo's mansion to make an arrest naturally required full etiquette. This was also within the bounds of human reason.

Rongguo Prefecture, East Road Courtyard.

Early in the morning, because of the visit of the Xia mother and daughter, Lady Wang took Baoyu to accompany them to the West Prefecture to pay respects to Jia Mu. Jia Zheng just stayed in the study to kill time.

He was planning to wait until near noon, after the female relatives in the inner courtyard had dispersed, before going to pay his respects to Jia Mu.

He hadn't expected a servant from the outer courtyard to report that the Dali Temple Minister Yang Hongbin had sent someone to deliver a visiting card. Jia Zheng knew of Yang Hongbin and also knew that he was a close friend of Jia Cong.

But he had never had any dealings with him. Why had he suddenly come to visit? However, the other party was a key official of the Dali Temple, so Jia Zheng naturally would not be negligent.

When he entered the outer hall to receive him, he saw Zhou Ping, who had delivered the card, and upon hearing him narrate the ins and outs of the matter, he was greatly shocked.

Jia Zheng had always known that his nephew Xue Pan was a playboy. A few years ago, he had caused a death in Jin Ling, which was why the whole family had moved to the Love Shenjing to hide. It was fortunate that he hadn't caused any trouble in these few years, which could be considered a few years of peace.

He hadn't expected that this nephew would not change his ways. If he didn't cause trouble, it would be fine, but once he did, he would poke a hole in the sky. He was actually involved in the military stockpile leak case. Even if it were an unintentional mistake, the crime was not small.

Thinking of the children in the family, apart from Jia Cong who was successful, the others like Jia Lian, Baoyu, and Xue Pan didn't have a single one who was worry-free, causing trouble every day. Thinking of this, he felt exhausted.

Now that the Dali Temple had come to the door, the second house and the Xue family were relatives by marriage, so he could not sit idly by. He hurriedly went to the outer courtyard of the West Prefecture to meet the guest.

Just as he entered the side hall of the West Prefecture's outer courtyard, he saw Yang Hongbin drinking tea slowly, looking calm and composed, not at all like someone who had come to make an arrest.

Jia Zheng hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Jia Zheng is late, keeping Minister Yang waiting for a long time."

Yang Hongbin hurriedly stood up, "I am a close friend of Yuzhang, so I dare not accept such polite treatment from a senior. Coming here is for official business, which is why I asked to meet you, Master Jia."

Jia Zheng asked, "My nephew Xue Pan is devoid of virtue and is actually involved in the major case of military secret leakage. The family discipline is lax, which is shameful. I wonder how he will be convicted?"

Yang Hongbin said, "Xue Pan introduced others to each other, giving Mongol spies an opportunity. Although it was an unintentional mistake, the poison of the leak case is extremely great.

The law has some leniency, but it is difficult for him to escape the crime. However, judging the crime according to the circumstances, he is not yet an accomplice, so in the normal course of events, the death penalty can be avoided, and it will not reach the point of being unmanageable."

Hearing this, Jia Zheng felt a slight relief in his heart. Although his talent was mediocre and he had spent his days guarding the official office, he was not completely ignorant of everything.

He knew clearly that the military stockpile in the north had been broken, which gave the remnant Mongols an opportunity to break through the Xuanfu Town and eventually lead the army south.

The military stockpile leak case had shaken the court and the public. Xue Pan was involved in such a heaven-shaking major event, and being able to save his life was already a great fortune amidst misfortune.

This time he was arrested by the Dali Temple, which was also his own doing. Let him suffer this bitterness so that he would know the ways of the world in the future.

Even if his wife's sister pampered her son and came to beg for mediation, there would naturally be a reason for it.

Just as Jia Zheng was feeling fortunate, Yang Hongbin said, "It's just that during the investigation process, an old case was accidentally uncovered. I fear Xue Pan's crime will be difficult to end."

Hearing this, Jia Zheng's heart jumped violently, and he said angrily, "Could it be that this beast has committed other evil deeds?"

Yang Hongbin's gaze was cold and clear, and he said, "The Dali Temple noticed Xue Pan was involved in the case, so it sent a document to the Three Judicial Offices in the auxiliary capital to investigate Xue Pan's family background.

It was discovered that three years ago, he had already become a 'dead person.' In Jin Ling, he fought with Feng Yuan over buying a maid, indulged his servants in seriously injuring Feng Yuan, and later that person died of his serious injuries.

To escape the murder case, he faked his death to muddle through. The Jin Ling Prefect, Jia Yucun, perverted the law for personal gain and has now been investigated by the Ministry of Personnel.

I wonder if Master Jia knows the details of this matter?"

After Yang Hongbin finished speaking, his eyes scrutinized Jia Zheng, his gaze solemn and thorough, as if he could see through everything.

Hearing Yang Hongbin mention Jia Yucun, Jia Zheng's face changed drastically. How could he not know the ins and outs of this matter...

Seeing Jia Zheng's expression, Yang Hongbin sighed slightly in his heart. He could almost confirm that Jia Zheng must have been involved in Feng Yuan's case.

He said, "Originally, Xue Pan's involvement in the case could be considered an unintentional mistake, and there was still room for maneuver.

But the Feng Yuan case has been uncovered. Xue Pan's two crimes are combined, involving the clarity of official governance. I fear his life and death are hard to predict.

The Jia, Wang, Shi, and Xue families of Jin Ling are relatives by marriage and have been family friends for generations. I have heard of this long ago. When disciples of the family are convicted, it is human nature for relatives and old friends to lend a helping hand.

I am a close friend of Yuzhang, and I have a word that I don't know whether I should say or not."

Jia Zheng recovered from the shock and said, "What advice does Minister Yang have? Please feel free to say it; Jia Zheng is listening respectfully."

Yang Hongbin said, "The four great families of Jia, Wang, Shi, and Xue have received great imperial favor, and their official titles are noble. Jia Yuzhang is the only choice.

Now he is away on an expedition and is a vital general fighting the Mongols, with merits and career right before his eyes.

This battle against the Mongols stems from the military stockpile being leaked and seized. Xue Pan is a brother of his generation, but he is involved in the military stockpile leak case, which hides deep dangers.

If, out of family and marriage ties, you ask him to come forward to mediate and plead, the court and the public will surely make reckless remarks. What will the Emperor and the officials think?

I have heard a lot that although you and Yuzhang are uncle and nephew, you are like father and son, and you have always supported Yuzhang, which is why he has his achievements today.

You have been an official for many years and know the secrets of the officialdom well. If Yuzhang is involved in this matter, he will surely be criticized. The Emperor has always relied on him.

If the imperial favor is damaged because of this, I fear it will be difficult to recover. Yuzhang has been loyal to the country for several years, and it would all be in vain."

Although Jia Zheng was naturally pedantic and rigid, as the legitimate son of the Rongguo Prefecture, he had been cultivated by the noble household and was by no means a foolish man.

Yang Hongbin's words were clear; he was warning him that if the Jia family wanted to mediate and run around for Xue Pan because of marriage ties,

this matter must not involve Jia Cong. Because he is a general fighting the Mongols, if he is involved in the military stockpile leak case, once it leads to criticism and the imperial favor is damaged, the loss will outweigh the gain.

But the Jia and Xue families have been relatives by marriage for generations; can they really stand by and watch? The most powerful person in the Jia family is Jia Cong. Apart from him, who else can save Xue Pan?

Seeing Jia Zheng's embarrassed expression, Yang Hongbin couldn't guess what he was thinking.

In fact, he knew Jia Cong's character well. Not to mention that he was away on an expedition, even if he were in the Love Shenjing, he would likely not get involved in this matter.

Not only because Xue Pan was a relative of the second house and had no real blood ties with the first house, Jia Cong would definitely not intervene easily.

Moreover, Yang Hongbin was familiar with Jia Cong's wisdom. With his depth of thought and ability to judge the situation, he would definitely not provoke this easily.

Yang Hongbin said these words just to discuss the matter as it stood, leaving a word in Jia Zheng's heart, but in fact, he had other worries in his heart. ===== CHAPTER 895 =====