Chapter 308: Expel the Clan Chief from the Register!

The Jia Matriarch on the high couch, hearing Jia Jing's somewhat pointed remarks, froze in expression, her heart a mix of joy and worry!

Naturally, the joy was hearing a compliment from this wicked grandson—a rarity—that instantly made her feel a surge of honored surprise!

For a moment she even doubted: could this third grandson have changed his ways, knowing to speak soft words to this old lady?

The worry, however, was that his words were obviously not finished.

Raising granddaughters is commendable—so who isn't?

Besides a few granddaughters, the only one she kept by her side was her most beloved grandson, Baoyu.

This seems to carry a hint of pointing at the mulberry while cursing the locust!

Lady Wang, seated on the chair below, tightened her grip on the prayer beads slightly, and a flash of anger suddenly appeared in her usually indifferent eyes beneath her brows.

This hateful eldest son of the main branch, just returned to the mansion, hadn't even spoken a few sentences before he started using our own Baoyu as a raft!

Simply hateful to the extreme!

Has our Baoyu become someone he can freely disparage and slander?

Lady Wang's face grew stern and stern, wanting to speak up and question him.

But seeing Jia Jing's stern profile, she ultimately swallowed her words, choosing to temporarily suppress her anger.

And the Jia Matriarch on the couch, after a flicker of embarrassment crossed her face, ultimately dared not stand to defend her precious grandson, decisively choosing to change the subject.

She asked in a hoarse voice another matter weighing on her mind:

"Jing'er, did you hear from Baoyu's father that the matter over at the East Mansion has been settled?"

"You pleaded for Zhen'er, and Zhen'er was spared the death penalty, sentenced to exile and military service?"

The Jia Matriarch did not mention the Ningguo Mansion affair, for fear she could not help but feel resentful.

When the Jia Matriarch said this, Lady Wang, Xue Yima, Feng Jie, and others all turned their inquisitive gazes toward Jia Jing, hoping to obtain some firsthand court information from him.

Of course, they were not concerned about Jia Zhen, but about Wang Ziteng!

Jia Jing's face turned slightly indifferent, and he nodded, saying:

"Not bad! After the banquet dispersed, His Majesty specially sought me out to discuss the case of Jia Zhen and his son."

"Originally, according to the Three Judicial Offices' verdict, Jia Zhen should have been sentenced to death, awaiting execution; but His Majesty, seeing that I had just returned victorious, thought it improper for relatives to witness bloodshed, spared Jia Zhen's life, changed the sentence to exile and military service in Qiongzhou, and barred him from future office."

"Jia Zhen, as the head of our Jia Clan and the inheritor of the Ningguo Mansion title, frequents pleasure quarters during mourning, neglects virtue, engages in corrupt practices, and acts recklessly."

"This led to a mutiny in the Capital Garrison, causing the wrongful deaths of dozens of court officials and countless garrison soldiers, with extremely negative impact."

"Originally, if it were up to me, such a person who disgraces his ancestors' reputation and ruins the clan's name ought to commit suicide to apologize to the world!"

"Although he has escaped death, our Jia Clan, a hundred-year-old ducal household, cannot tolerate such a wretch who acknowledges neither sovereign nor father!"

"I have already decided that in a few days I will convene a clan assembly and expel the two of them from the Jia Clan register, to serve as a warning to future generations!"

Jia Jing's words were full of coldness, causing everyone's faces in the hall to drastically change!

In today's clan-based society, expulsion from the ancestral register is no empty talk,

but rather signifies social death, facing a total blockade of economics, career, marriage, and spiritual belonging.

This is not only internal family punishment, but also a systemic exclusion capable of destroying a person's entire life.

Once the name is struck from the genealogy and removed, one will lose all real guarantees bestowed by the clan:

First, economically, those expelled will lose clan property dividends and relief.

Like the Jia Family, such a large clan often owns public fields, charitable estates, ancestral halls, and land; the income supports clan members' education, weddings and funerals, and disaster relief—those expelled henceforth have no right to any of these resources.

Second, they will be barred from participating in ancestral worship and clan activities.

Ancestral worship is not merely a ritual; it is the core of maintaining identity. Excluded, one is declared 'not of our kind,' and neighbors and fellow villagers will likewise avoid them.

Third, the path of marriage is completely blocked.

Traditional society emphasizes 'matching families'; the genealogy is a crucial credential for marriage. Those without a traceable record are seen as 'of unknown origin,' no one wishes to marry into them, and their descendants also struggle to find matches.

Furthermore, in terms of career, in today's examination era, native place and family background are key to eligibility review; those expelled from the clan are equivalent to losing legitimate identity credentials:

Exam registration requires 'year, native place, three generations' information; if one cannot provide a verifiable family background, they are easily deemed 'false registration' and stripped of their qualifications.

Even if one luckily gets to take the exam, once discovered to have been expelled from the genealogy, lightly they lose eligibility, heavily they are barred for life.

Of course, what people today fear most is not these worldly safeguards, but rather the inability after death to enter the ancestral grave or have a spirit tablet placed in the ancestral hall:

While alive they cannot worship ancestors; dead they cannot enter the shrine, seen as 'severed bloodline, soul without reliance'—this complete severance from the ancestor-worship system is a fundamental denial of personality and meaning of existence.

Most expelled persons are reviled by contemporaries as rootless ghosts without ancestors, making it hard for them to establish themselves in the world!

Thus one can see how severe a punishment expulsion is for an individual!

Of course, given that Jia Zhen and Jia Rong have already been exiled to military service, the harshest aspect of expulsion for them is:

First, the clan will not help them return to the capital Shenjing, nor will it pull strings to let them live comfortably in Qiongzhou!

Second, henceforth they cannot outwardly claim to be Jia Clan members, and after death they cannot enter the ancestral shrine!

And Jia Jing's decision to expel them also stems from deeper considerations.

First, to discipline the clan by setting a negative example: the clan head who violates law and order is expelled, so others can weigh their actions.

Second, to lay the groundwork for not rescuing Jia Zhen and Jia Rong in the future.

If they were not expelled, wouldn't the two later be able to act lawlessly under the Jia Clan name, and even, under Jia Jing's current influence and power, perhaps live more comfortably in Qiongzhou than in the capital Shenjing?

How could Jia Jing allow such a thing to happen!

As for whether expelling the two will draw criticism that he is cold-blooded and unfeeling toward kin, Jia Jing thinks it will not.

On one hand, Jia Zhen's survival is entirely due to the emperor's favor; he has already exerted effort on this!

On the other hand, in the clan-law era many large clans had provisions to expel those who violate law and discipline; this is not Jia Jing's invention!

For example, Bao Zheng's family precept strictly orders: 'Descendants who serve as officials, if they commit corruption, shall not be allowed to return to the family home; after death, they shall not be buried in the grand cemetery.'

That is, corrupt officials are expelled not only in life but also after death cannot return to the clan, losing both career and posthumous honor.

The Minnan Chen Clan Genealogy also records that those who commit illicit sexual relations, violate ethics, and collude with bandits are directly stripped of clan membership, with the expulsion documents entered at the end of the genealogy volume to warn later generations to strictly observe family customs.

In other words, many clans with strict family traditions have a rule to expel lawbreakers; now Jia Jing is merely making the Jia Clan's previously lax customs strict!

As Jia Jing's words settled, Jia Mu's complexion suddenly filled with disbelief!

She never expected that Jia Jing would, from the clan's perspective, impose such a harsh punishment on the two.

Expelling the clan head?

This is unheard of, even overturning her whole worldview!