OBS Chapter 330 Everyone has their own plans
Chapter 330 Everyone has their own plans
The chief eunuch immediately bowed, withdrew, and then told everyone near the door to step back a few steps before personally guarding the doorway.
After the man had left, the Emperor raised the blueprint in his hand and smiled:
"What are you two old fogies up to? This blueprint isn't worth you two being so cautious."
The Emperor opened the blueprint in his hand, looked at it, and then looked up and said:
"Speak, what brings you two here? It can't just be about this blueprint, can it? And judging from this blueprint, it seems to be unfinished, right?"
Jia Daishan smiled and said:
"Nothing can be hidden from Your Majesty's discerning eyes."
The Emperor laughed and scolded:
"Alright, alright, if you had spent all that time flattering me, you could have finished getting things done long ago. Sit down, sit down, just say what you need to say directly, don't beat around the bush with me."
Jia Daihua and Jia Daishan sat down with smiles, and Jia Daihua said directly:
"Your Majesty, I have discovered that someone is training a private army at the saltworks."
The emperor, who had just sat down, suddenly stood up.
"What did you say!?"
Jia Daihua and Jia Daishan both stood up. Jia Daishan said:
"Your Majesty, everything my elder brother said is true."
Seeing their solemn expressions, the Emperor lowered his voice and said:
"You two, didn't you take Hu'er to the salt field today and then draw this picture?"
How did you discover that someone was training troops? Tell me everything, step by step, in detail.
Jia Daishan recounted the entire story in detail, including his conversation with the manager at the saltworks and the differences that Hu'er later discovered.
Upon hearing this, the Emperor slammed his fist on the table and roared:
"They must have eaten the heart of a bear and the gall of a leopard to dare to raise a private army!"
Jia Daishan continued:
“Your Majesty, we were also very surprised that someone dared to train troops without permission. Fortunately, we discovered it early. If Your Majesty were here now, wouldn’t it have put Your Majesty in danger?”
Jia Daihua said:
"But so far, this is all based on what we've seen this time; there's no concrete evidence yet."
The emperor's face was gloomy.
"How could I not trust the two of you? If the two of you dare to say this, there must be something wrong with you. Even if you're not private soldiers, there's definitely something wrong with the saltworks."
I immediately sent people to investigate.
The emperor was filled with rage, but the reason he hesitated to act was because he was worried about his son.
Furthermore, the Dowager Empress of the Zhen family had been kind to him, and if he were to act too harshly, he would inevitably face criticism. At his age, he doesn't care about anything else, except for his reputation.
He had been thinking about this before, and after arriving, he found out some things. What he kept thinking about was how to convict the Zhen family and what kind of crime to convict them of.
If this was indeed done by the Zhen family, then the Zhen family absolutely cannot be allowed to live.
The emperor and his two companions then discussed the matter further. The emperor sent people to investigate and instructed Jia Daishan and Jia Daihua to continue their pretense and publicize the credit for Hu'er's drawing.
They told the emperor that he was very pleased and was just waiting for the work to be completed before rewarding Jia Hu.
After arranging the matters, Jia Daihua said:
"Your Majesty, I have been troubling you these past few days by staying in this courtyard to protect you."
The emperor said:
"No need. If you move in, wouldn't that arouse suspicion, just like always?"
"Even my Zhen family wouldn't dare raise an army. If they were to raise troops, it's probably for my good-for-nothing son."
After confirming some things, Jia Daihua and Jia Daishan returned.
Jia Hu and Jia Zhen were playing inside when they saw their grandfathers return, and they quickly gathered around them.
Jia Hu asked:
"Grandfather, grandfather, what did the Emperor say?"
Jia Daishan sighed.
"His Majesty will investigate this matter thoroughly. We can continue as usual."
Although Jia Hu already knew the answer, he still asked it aloud.
"Grandfather, do you think the Emperor will let the Zhen family off the hook because of the Imperial Concubine and the Eighth Prince?"
Jia Daishan smiled and said:
"You little brain can't even figure out that the emperor would let someone who trains troops on his own go unpunished."
Besides, the Emperor is not such a merciful person; the Zhen family will certainly not escape this time.
Jia Hu thought for a moment and asked:
"If the Zhen family's property is confiscated, what will happen to Consort Zhen and the Eighth Prince?"
Jia Daishan shook his head.
"Grandfather doesn't know either. It's just that the Imperial Concubine and the Eighth Prince are both members of the royal family. Once they marry into the royal family, they have no connection with the Zhen family anymore. The Eighth Prince is also the Emperor's son. How to deal with him depends on what the Emperor thinks."
Having reached this point, Jia Hu couldn't help but think,
After all the twists and turns, the Zhen family still couldn't escape the fate of having their property confiscated. And because of the fact that his butterfly wings were so many years too early, the contrasting character Zhen Baoyu, who was supposed to be Jia Baoyu, hadn't even been born yet. It seems that this time, there will never be a Zhen Baoyu.
The book previously only mentioned that the Zhen family's property had already been confiscated, yet they were still able to send people to the capital to deliver goods to the Jia family. They even asked Lady Wang to hide several boxes of goods for them.
The fact that the Zhen family was able to hide treasures away at that time suggests that their downfall was not as sudden as the Jia family's. The Zhen family must have received the news long ago, or perhaps they were already aware of the situation after the Dowager Empress passed away.
The Zhen family hid treasures, hoping to make a comeback someday, but this time it seems unlikely.
Jia Hu remembered that Madam Wang had hidden valuables for the Zhen family, and suddenly realized something.
【Oh right! How could I have forgotten about this? I kept thinking, what could my family possibly have to do with the Zhen family? But when I looked into it, I realized the relationship is quite deep.】
Yuan Chun entered the palace, and it was probably with the help of the Dowager Consort that she was suddenly granted the title of Virtuous Consort.
Madam Wang's act of hiding valuables for the Zhen family may seem like a display of kindness and righteousness, but in reality, it sowed the seeds of future trouble for her own family.
Moreover, her grandmother must have known about the hidden silver at the time, so even if her second aunt was bold, she wouldn't have dared to secretly accept it herself.
The grandmother agreed to accept the Zhen family's belongings, so she must have thought there was no problem. In her view, even though Jia Rong's wife, Qin Keqing, was fine after using Prince Yizhong's coffin, it was a serious crime to privately possess the property of an official. But given the Jia family's status, they should be fine too.
When Grandmother heard about the confiscation of the Zhen family's property, she must have been affected and realized the crisis facing the Jia family, but her desire to avoid the issue prevented her from facing it.
Moreover, given Second Aunt's personality at that time, it was a pretense that she was hiding things for the Zhen family; her real intention was to swallow the things after the Zhen family was finished. Even if Grandmother knew, the things were with Second Aunt, and Second Aunt had plenty of ways to keep them for herself.
It's safe to say this serves as a stark contrast: in one case, the Dowager Empress passed away, and the Zhen family's property was confiscated; in the other, Yuan-chun passed away, and the Jia family's property was confiscated.
Jia Hu was filled with emotion.
The book didn't explain why the Zhen family's property was confiscated, but now it's all clear. With the Zhen family's downfall, our family no longer has anyone to compare against, and our fate has been completely changed.
Jia Daishan and Jia Daihua, listening from the side, were also filled with emotion, thinking, "Yes, things are different now."
Jia Daishan frowned. After reading it, he would definitely find someone to explain the law to his wife and daughters-in-law. This was very important, and he would make sure they all remembered it.
Jia Daihua thought to himself, "That Jia Rong must be my great-grandson. How dare he! What kind of status could his great-daughter-in-law possibly have, daring to use a prince's coffin? Isn't that courting death?"
At first, Jia Zhen listened, thinking it had nothing to do with him and he didn't quite understand it. But when he heard Jia Rong's name, he remembered that Jia Rong was his future son.
How infuriating! I'm going to have to take the blame for this son who hasn't even been born yet, all because of him. The way my grandfather looks at me is like he's about to spank him again.
Jia Zhen silently shifted his position, moving closer to Jia Hu and pulling on Jia Hu's arm to block his grandfather's view before he felt relieved. He was still just a child; what did his son's affairs have to do with him? Besides, he thought Jia Rong's name was bad and would change it when he had a son.
If we're going to make progress, then let's all make progress together.
"Grandfather, grandfather, when we get back, we must tell Grandmother and the others about the Zhen family, so that they will remember that our family must walk the right path in the future."
“That’s for sure. Not only that, Grandfather also plans to have someone preach the Dharma to your grandmother and the others.”
Jia Daishan agreed.
"Yes, from now on, our family can't have anyone holding us back."
Jia Daihua agreed, saying that family education is very important. Although his family is not afraid, they cannot be lawless.
Jia Daihua grabbed Jia Zhen, who was hiding, and pulled him over.
"What are you hiding for, do you hear me?"
Jia Zhen realized he couldn't escape it, so he decided to spank his son three times a day from now on.
"I heard you, I will definitely study hard from now on!"
After receiving Jia Zhen's loud assurance, Jia Daihua felt much better. It seemed he would have to take good care of his health in the future so he could see his great-grandson and personally educate him.
In the study of the second branch of the Zhen family, Zhen Chenyao was restless and finally decided to go to the Seventh Prince.
Zhen Chenyao secretly sent a message to the Seventh Prince, inviting him to meet him in the courtyard where they had met last time.
When the message was delivered, the Seventh Prince was listening impatiently to Zhou's advisors.
If this person hadn't been sent by my brother, I wouldn't have given him any face and let him chatter on and on beside me. I would have kicked him out long ago.
Zhou, the advisor, was also in a difficult position. He had received his master's orders, so what could he do? He could only follow the Seventh Prince every day and occasionally mention that he should keep the Seventh Prince away from the Zhen family and make sure he didn't get involved with them.
"Alright, you don't need to tell me. I'll make my own judgment on this matter. You need to remember that you're just an advisor, and you should give your master advice. It's not your place to make decisions for me."
The Seventh Prince was extremely impatient. The Zhen family was clearly a piece of fat meat delivered right to his mouth, but he could only look at it and not eat it. How could he be in a good mood?
The Seventh Prince felt that nothing went as he wished during his southern tour. He failed to kill Jia Hu and instead got himself tainted with a bloody reputation.
This good thing has come to my doorstep, but I can't swallow the Zhen family whole. What was the point of my trip to the south? Was I just here to amuse myself?
Furthermore, his elder brother had instructed him that the Emperor wanted to take action against the Zhen family, but in his view, this was nothing but a baseless rumor. Hadn't the Zhen family received enough praise and rewards already?
It looks like something bad is about to happen there, and even if something does happen, is Consort Zhen in the palace just sitting around doing nothing? Can she just stand by and watch her own family get into trouble without lifting a finger?
In his view, what could the Zhen family do if they made another move? At worst, they would be dismissed from their posts, and even if they were dismissed, as long as Consort Zhen was around, it would only be a matter of time before they were reinstated.
“My lord, I am not making decisions for you, but merely offering my opinion. It seems that the information provided by the Sixth Prince is correct.”
The Emperor is clearly going to return to the capital for the festival, but he is delaying his departure. He has already finished dealing with matters here, so why is he still not leaving? This is an omen.
Now that we've received advance notice, if our master truly wishes to contact the Zhen family, wouldn't it be the same to wait until this period has passed before making contact?"
Zhou's advisors earnestly advised him.
The Seventh Prince snorted coldly:
"Hmph, you make it sound so easy. If someone puts food right in front of you and you don't eat it, what will happen when you want it later? They'll just turn their attention elsewhere, and you'll just be creating another enemy for yourself."
I'm telling you, my brother isn't here right now and doesn't know the situation clearly, which is why he's been influenced by others' judgments. But now that I'm here, I'm here to secure this advantage for my brother.
"I know that Master is thinking of His Highness the Sixth Prince and our great cause, but since His Highness the Sixth Prince has spoken, shouldn't we be more careful?"
There was really no other way, so Zhou's advisor could only retreat in order to advance, and first try to persuade the Seventh Prince not to rush into it in a moment of impulse.
"That's why I'm saying, even though you've read a lot, you're not very bright. Do you think that if I agree to him now, I'll definitely do it?"
Hearing this, Zhou's advisor felt somewhat calmer.
"I can agree to it first, as long as no evidence is left."
"You don't need to teach me that."
The Seventh Prince replied.
Just then, there was a knock at the door. The two became alert, and the Seventh Prince asked:
"Who?"
The head eunuch at the door said:
"Master, this servant has something to report."
The chief eunuch entered the room and reported to the Seventh Prince that Zhen Chenyao had asked him to meet.
The Seventh Prince knew that Zhen Chenyao couldn't sit still any longer since he hadn't given a reply, so he immediately agreed.
Zhou’s staff begged:
"Please, Master, take me with you."
Although the Seventh Prince was reluctant, he knew that these were his own people, so he agreed to take them with him.
Zhen Chenyao arrived a step ahead of time, but this time he wasn't in the mood to prepare any food or drinks. He had a gut feeling that something was wrong with his elder brother. Given his brother's personality, he shouldn't have been so afraid of the Jia family going to the salt field today; his brother had seemed even more anxious than his father.
When they found out he was alright, his older brother breathed a sigh of relief, which startled him.
Zhen Chenyao paced around the room, needing an answer today; otherwise, he would turn to another organization. He had too few connections, and he learned things too late. If his father didn't tell him, he wouldn't know. To have his own strength, he needed help.
Zhen Chenyao pondered what he was going to say, and his mood calmed down a bit. Then the Seventh Prince arrived.
The seventh prince entered, looked at the empty table, and laughed:
"Is there not even any food or drink this time?"
Zhen Chenyao came forward and smiled:
"I was in a rush today and didn't prepare anything. If the Seventh Prince wishes to enjoy fine wine and food, I'll invite you to Jin Yu Tang, the best restaurant in the city, after we finish our business. And who is this gentleman?"
Zhen Chenyao looked at Zhou's staff behind him.
"Oh, this is my aide. I brought him along this time so he could meet with you."
Zhen Chenyao frowned.
"Seventh Prince, our matter is of utmost importance, isn't it?"
The Seventh Prince asked everyone to sit down.
"You can rest assured about my people."