Chapter 90: Jia Zhen: Rong'er, where is your wife?

It was early winter, but for a duke's household like Ning Guo Fu, naturally there was no need to worry about severe cold.

Inside the main hall, flues were laid beneath the floor; outside, maidservants and old women constantly burned charcoal, the heat and smoke circulating through, warming the entire main hall floor and rooms.

The whole interior was not only not cold, but rather warm and cozy.

Jia Zhen wore a valuable gray jacket, stepped on a small foot warmer, and was leisurely drinking a little wine.

Jia Rong came in at this moment, stood to the side, and dared not speak to disturb Jia Zhen's mood.

After the time it took to finish a cup of tea, Jia Zhen set down his wine cup,

He glanced sideways at Jia Rong, who had been standing respectfully in the hall for a while, let out a slight snort of contempt, and asked:

"Is it true that the bastard son of the West Manor has been thrown into prison?"

He had always had Jia Rong keep watch on the palace's movements; once Jia Jing was blamed by the emperor, he was to report immediately.

Jia Rong's legs felt a bit weak; hearing Jia Zhen's question, he hurried forward a few steps, smiling apologetically, and replied:

"Sir, the third uncle……has not……!"

Before Jia Rong could finish speaking, Jia Zhen exploded in anger:

"Damn little beast! You don't even recognize relatives? What kind of third uncle is he?"

Jia Rong was startled into a jump, and hurriedly said:

"Yes! Yes! Jia Jing……Jia Jing has not been blamed by the emperor; on the contrary……"

Jia Rong hesitated for a moment, not knowing how to phrase it to avoid angering Jia Zhen.

Who would have thought, this delay caused Jia Zhen to spit a mouthful of thick phlegm onto his face, shouting:

"Damn little beast! Can't you speak? Or you didn't take my orders to heart, just thinking how to fabricate excuses to fool me?"

Jia Rong had phlegm smeared on his face, yet dared not wipe it off, and hastily replied:

"I dare not deceive you, sir! Rather, things turned out unexpectedly! Jia Jing's son has not been blamed by the emperor!"

"On the contrary, the mansions of the Prince of Linchuan and the Prince of Zhongqin have been confiscated by the court! Even the Duke of Cheng has been thrown into prison……"

"What!!!" Jia Zhen widened his eyes, full of disbelief!

"You say Jia Jing's son killed the Prince of Linchuan yet faces no punishment, while the Duke of Cheng and others who went to seek justice were instead thrown into prison?"

Jia Zhen, startled, knocked the wine cup on the table to the floor, his face shocked with a hint of fear.

Jia Rong said helplessly:

"Jia Jing is not only unharmed, I heard the emperor even granted him the title of Vice Minister of War!"

Jia Zhen stared, his face grim.

Is there still any king's law? Is there still any heavenly principle?

Jia Jing's son openly killed a second-rank prince of the court, yet the emperor not only did not blame him, but also bestowed an additional title to show his trust.

Could I possibly be dreaming?

Jia Zhen looked suspiciously at Jia Rong, or else this little brat is trying to deceive me!

Jia Rong felt his heart tremble under Jia Zhen's gaze, and hastily said:

"I dare not deceive my father; the facts are indeed so!"

"I personally witnessed the Prince of Linchuan's mansion being confiscated; I heard all the men were to be executed, the women sent to the Imperial Music Bureau, and even the Prince's head was to be displayed at the nine frontiers."

"I too find it unbelievable, but the facts are indeed so……"

Jia Zhen, fearful yet enraged, slammed the table and cursed:

"Are the Jingnan War Merit all cowards? Weren't they supposed to storm the palace? Weren't they supposed to let Jia Jing's son die or be maimed this time? A bunch of useless weaklings, and this is the result? Damn it! Damn it……"

Seeing Jia Zhen's angry expression, Jia Rong felt a bit frightened, thought it over, and tried to console:

"Father, why must we oppose Jia Jing's son? He's a fierce man; we have no conflict of interest with him—wouldn't it be better to enjoy ourselves?"

Jia Zhen lifted his eyes to Jia Rong; his fierce gaze made Jia Rong feel chilled, and Jia Zhen snapped:

"Am I the one provoking him? Did he not, in front of many people in the ancestral hall, berate me like a slave—don't you see that?"

"You blind beast! He has insulted me like this—how could I not retaliate?"

Jia Rong quietly wiped the phlegm from his face, gave a bitter smile, and said:

"But what can we do now? He is high and powerful, and now the whole clan praises him; if the words you spoke today at the West Manor were known to him, I fear……"

"…fearing another scolding, Jia Rong dared not say that out loud."

Jia Zhen's face flushed red; thinking of his own grandiose remarks today in the Rong Qing Tang—saying Jia Jing could not escape blame, cursing him as arrogant, and wanting to halt clan relief efforts——

Not knowing whether it was anger or embarrassment, his eyes flickered, his breath weak, he said:

"Afraid of him? I am the master of the East Manor, the head of the Jia Clan, his elder brother—afraid of him? I merely said a few words; could he possibly kill me?"

Jia Rong understood his father well; seeing Jia Zhen's appearance, he knew his words were insincere, and at this moment his heart was surely filled with great fear.

After all, Jia Jing even kills princes as he pleases; what are you, a mere nominal third-rank general, worth?

But he dared not show the slightest oddity on his face; he too feared his father to the bone, and could only echo in agreement:

"Exactly, exactly, exactly! Sir, you make sense!"

"What sense, with your mother's logic! You probably wish your father would meet misfortune so you can inherit the manor's rank and property! Unfilial seed, black-hearted wicked thing……"

Jia Zhen vented all his anger onto Jia Rong, scolding him until he was drenched in dog's blood, then finally stopped.

After a long while, Jia Zhen collected himself, then asked again:

"Any news from the West Manor about Jia Jing's son? When will he return?"

Jia Rong hurriedly replied:

"I heard he is currently drilling troops at Bashang Daying and will not return to the manor for a short time!"

Hearing this, Jia Zhen let out a long sigh of relief, then ordered:

"Go tell your Aunt Feng to keep the servants' mouths shut, and not spread idle gossip."

"I haven't been to the West Mansion today, nor have I said anything about Jia Jing's son; get her to help me hush this up—don't let Jia Jing's son find out!"

"I expect that once he returns after a while, this will blow over."

Jia Rong said with difficulty:

"The servants in the mansion, Aunt Feng can manage them, but the old lady, the madam, and those aunts from the West Mansion—I'm afraid..."

Jia Zhen glared and said:

"The old lady won't gossip about it! Go tell everyone else one by one; even if you have to beg each person, you must get this done for me!"

"You damn beast, still making excuses over this trivial matter—if you can't handle it, I'll skin you alive!"

Jia Rong felt contempt inside, but knew he'd lose his temper if he spoke up—he was as afraid of his third uncle as he would be of his own father. He didn't dare show it, and quickly agreed.

"Yes, yes, yes! Master, rest assured—I'll go take care of it right away!"

After saying that, Jia Rong wanted to retreat, but the pressure from Jia Zhen was too great—he didn't want to spend another moment with his father.

"Wait!" Jia Zhen glanced sideways and called out to Jia Rong.

"Master, is there anything else you need to order?" Jia Rong asked cautiously.

"Jia Rong, where is your wife? Why didn't she come to serve today?"

In Jia Zhen's sunken eye sockets, his eyes rolled, as if revealing a beautiful, flower-like charming woman.

Since Qin Keqing married into the East Mansion, he has lost interest in the other maidservants and concubines in the household.

On the contrary, he developed improper thoughts about this charming daughter-in-law, repeatedly using the pretext of his father-in-law to summon Qin Keqing to attend him.

The more they interacted, the harder it became to suppress the urge in his heart.