Chapter 401: Jia Mu: I Want to Return to My Ancestral Home in Jinling

Speaking of,

It's also because during these days I haven't seen Jia Jing showing off his power in the mansion; Jia Mu has already almost forgotten how ruthless this third grandson of hers is.

And yet, pleas for mercy have actually come to his doorstep! Jia Mu couldn't help but silently curse her own foolishness!

At the same time, she deeply regretted it; if she had known it would turn out this way,

It would have been better yesterday to let Jia Baoyu's father give him a beating, settle the matter, and not let it escalate to this point!

Right now, she forgot all about smashing jade, about the vital essence, about ill omens; her heart held only regret and fear.

In fact, when people first encounter a situation, they try to avoid the serious and seek the trivial, harboring luck, looking for the lightest excuse to escape.

But the result is often that things don't go as wished; as the bad consequences drag on and grow, becoming impossible to contain, when the iron fist strikes, one either regrets endlessly or flies into a rage.

Jia Mu began incessantly finding excuses for Jia Baoyu: 'He's just a child,' 'You're a duke, why quibble with him?' 'Thirty strokes would kill him,' 'For the sake of my old face,' 'It's all because his mother dotes on him,' 'Without the heir's treatment, how can Jia Baoyu survive?' and so on……

Apart from invoking her deceased husband, all sorts of excuses basically came out, showing that Jia Mu is indeed somewhat anxious!

Yuan Chun beside her also wore a hint of worry; the caning and confinement to the clan school were still fine.

But this cancellation of the heir's treatment... you know, many things once lost are not easy to regain!

Even though their father has only Jia Baoyu as heir, even though Jia Jing says Jia Baoyu will regain it after making progress, outsiders have seen Lan Ge'er more often; would they still recognize Jia Baoyu?

Since ancient times, it has been that fame and instruments cannot be feigned upon people!

Yuan Chun's cherry lips twitched, wanting to speak, but she noticed her elbow being tugged by her third sister.

Startled, she turned her head and only heard Tan Chun whisper into Yuan Chun's ear:

"Elder sister, don't you understand yet?"

Yuan Chun's lustrous, snow-white cheeks stiffened, and she spoke softly:

"Understand what?"

Tan Chun sighed and said:

"Elder sister, you too are anxious and confused; the more you speak up to advise now, the heavier Third Brother's punishment will be!"

"Elder sister, think about it: yesterday Baoyu's second brother smashing the jade was originally a trivial matter; when I found out, I only wanted Baoyu's second brother to apologize and make amends to Lin sister, and then let it go."

"But Baoyu's second brother acted foolish, while Jia Mu and the matriarch coaxed and pampered him, causing an uproar, making a huge fuss, even unreasonably defending him, pushing the blame onto Lin sister and the other sisters, to the point that I had to have someone call the master to handle it!"

"Father originally only wanted to give Baoyu's second brother a beating; in fact, disciplining a son is not a big deal even in ordinary families."

"But Jia Mu and the matriarch said it was just child's play, yet their actions were the opposite."

"They cried and made a scene to stop Father from disciplining the son, and they kept finding excuses to argue, causing the situation to escalate, tossing the entire household into turmoil."

"Precisely because of this, a small matter turned big, the conflict intensified, to the point that later Father and Mother fell out, the legitimate and illegitimate branches estranged, and the whole family descended into shouting for violence and killing."

"Now more than ever we need Third Brother, the current duke, to personally step in and handle this trivial matter!"

"To put it bluntly, the fact that this matter has developed to this point is mainly due to Jia Mu and the matriarch's blind indulgence."

"Originally it was just an insignificant little matter, but because they protected and pleaded for it more and more, the matter only grew bigger!"

"By now, if they still don't wake up, speaking in defense or causing a disturbance is just retreading yesterday's old path."

"I'm afraid the more we do this, the heavier and harsher Third Brother's beating will become!"

"Because in Third Brother's eyes, this is no longer just about Baoyu's second brother smashing jade; it's a serious problem of the family's educational atmosphere and household rules not being enforced!"

Tan Chun, having served as a stewardess for a period, sees this matter even more clearly.

She believes that Jia Jing's heavy punishment of Baoyu is primarily to uphold the dignity of the household rules!

Just as he said earlier, governing a household is like governing an army; under the household rules and clan regulations, no one can be an exception.

If impartiality cannot be maintained, today because this person pleads for an exception, tomorrow because that person uses connections to avoid punishment, then this household might as well be left unmanaged!

Upon hearing Tan Chun's words, Yuan Chun suddenly understood a bit more.

This punishment is not only for Jia Baoyu, but also for Jia Mu and the matriarch who disregard the household rules!

As the third sister said, originally it was just a simple matter, but because of Jia Mu and others' myriad obstructions, it became complicated!

At this moment, the more people plead for mercy, the more likely it is to firmly strengthen Jia Jing's resolve to uphold the household rules!

Thinking of this, Yuan Chun secretly sighed, pursed her cherry lips, held Tan Chun's hand, and chose not to intervene further.

Meanwhile, Jia Mu saw that Jia Jing was unmoved, iron-hearted; all her pleas were in vain, and she angrily slapped her thigh:

"Good, good, good! This old lady of mine now has no face left in front of you, the duke!"

"I know you were also tired of me and Jia Baoyu's mother; you don't have to hit him, and I won't get in your way."

"You Jia Family gentlemen act all high and mighty in the mansion; tomorrow I'll pack up with Jia Baoyu and his mother and return to Jinling, leaving you early so we can all be clean!"

This is also something Jia Mu often says when Jia Zheng beats Jia Baoyu; once she says it, Jia Zheng can only kneel and kowtow to apologize!

In this moment of desperation, Jia Mu blurted it out instinctively, hoping it would have some deterrent effect on the third grandson before her!

After all, even if you are a duke, you still need reputation, right!

If you really force Jia Mu to pack up and return to her hometown, can you save face?

Who would have thought, Jia Jing merely nodded indifferently, his face slightly cold, and spoke calmly:

"Jia Mu may return to Jinling, and Jia Baoyu may come along."

"But from today onward, Baoyu will no longer be a child of our Jia Clan and the Rong Guo Mansion!"

"Second Elder and I will no longer manage him; let him live or die as he pleases, do whatever he wants from now on!"

"Whether he chases flowers and willows or commits murder and arson, it will have nothing to do with our Jia Family!"

"At the upcoming clan assembly I will remove his clan registration, then notify the Jinling clansmen and relatives, declaring that this person is no longer of our Jia Family!"

"That way, we cut ties cleanly, and I won't have to waste effort worrying about this pampered young master, stirring up gossip!"

"You wanted to be clean, didn't you? Expelling his ancestral register and throwing him out of the house—that's what true cleanliness means!"

"Since we say we govern the household by military law, we govern it by military law; by now, Jia Jing cannot possibly retreat a step!"

Upon hearing Jia Jing's such decisive words, Jia Mu felt as if struck by lightning, her head buzzing!

A huge panic surged up in her heart at once, and her whole body felt ice-cold, shivering despite no cold.

Even the corners of her eyes turned red, wronged tears swirling in her sockets, her lips trembling unconsciously!

"You... you..."

Yuan Chun, seeing this scene, her beautiful face froze, her expression slightly startled, and she couldn't help feeling a bit relieved that she had just not spoken up to plead!

What the third younger sister said was indeed correct; at this moment, the more she protected and pleaded, the more she would only invite a fiercer blow from Jingdi!

But Jingdi's stern expression when his face turned cold was truly intimidating, making her feel for a moment as if she had returned to the palace, facing the emperor herself!

Tan Chun, at this moment, her face slightly shaken, her bright and charming eyes fixed intently on the awe-inspiring youth in the hall, her gaze seeming to drift……

At this moment, inside the hall chamber, a profound silence fell, solemn and soundless, so quiet that a dropped pin could be heard!