Red Mansion and Crimson Pearl

Chapter 107 Zhitong

The main hall of Qingqiuyuan.

Tao Xingjian and Aunt Meng stepped out from the rooms on the left and right, looked at each other, nodded and smiled at each other as a greeting.

Seeing Lin Daiyu's exhausted face, Tao Xingjian couldn't help but feel distressed and said, "Why do you have to be angry yourself? It's no different if you let the third daughter of the Jia family do it."

"Of course it's different." Lin Daiyu stood up and let Xiaohong come over to put on her cloak and warm pockets, saying, "My second uncle is stubborn and unyielding, but he is her biological father. How can she bear the pressure of filial piety?

"I'm different. My last name is Lin, and theirs is Jia. We're already far apart after the split of the mansion. Plus, there was a fight in the front yard, and if we talk about it here again, my second uncle will already feel guilty, and he won't dare yell at me in front of the old lady.

"Besides, Zhou Ruijia probably isn't afraid of the third young lady, but because of her uncle, she will be very afraid of me. Zhou Ruijia will answer whatever I ask, and will tell me everything she knows, so that there won't be any other twists and turns."

Aunt Meng had a thick stack of papers in her hand. Xiaohong brought the box over and locked it all in. Xiaohong followed behind with the papers in her hands.

There were two middle-aged women who were obviously skilled in martial arts, and they followed behind the four men, escorting Zhou Ruijia, who had his hands tied, his mouth gagged and his eyes blindfolded.

A group of people walked out slowly.

When they arrived at the gate of Qingqiu Courtyard, they ran into Tanchun and Shishu who were about to go in.

When Tanchun saw Tao Xingjian, she was startled. She quickly glanced at Daiyu and Aunt Meng, then knelt down with her knees bent and said, "Your servant, Jia Tanchun, greets the great eunuch Tao."

"Yes, you are indeed smart." Seeing that she did not pretend not to recognize him, Tao Xingjian knew that she was a smart person, and nodded with a smile, "No need to be polite, Third Miss."

Daiyu helped Tanchun up for Tao Xingjian and said, "Take a rest first."

Then he walked out with Tao Xingjian, whispering about what had just happened: "Now I can only hope that my grandmother will not change her mind after she returns..."

Tao Xingjian no longer looked at Tanchun and Shishu, but just whispered to comfort Daiyu:

"No. The old lady of the Jia family will only lose her mind when she meets her beloved grandson. Otherwise, she is more sober than most people.

"When Concubine Jia entered the palace, I heard that she tried to stop her. But it was a pity that Concubine Jia also wanted to enter the palace to gain wealth and fame, so she didn't stop her.

"Besides, Madam Wang just went to that room and saw Aunt Meng. She will definitely tell this matter when she returns.

"How could Mrs. Jia have the guts to go back on her word in front of Aunt Meng? Don't worry, I estimate that there will be news in a day or two."

"This matter will only get worse if we wait longer. It's better to make a decision and deal with it early so that we can all live a peaceful life." Daiyu sighed softly.

Before they were sent to the second gate, the brothers Lin Zhixiao and Lin Zhijie had already driven over in two cars.

Tao Xingjian took the box from Xiaohong, told Lin Daiyu to rest more, and got on a car himself; the two middle-aged women took Zhou Rui's wife on another car.

The two carriages turned a corner and quietly went out from the corner gate of the Lin Mansion. They changed the drivers and horses, and went around the group of houses where the servants of the Lin Mansion lived, found a busy intersection, and blended into the street.

When Lin Daiyu and others came back, they saw that Tanchun had not gone back, but was waiting for them not far away.

Daiyu smiled and comforted her: "Don't worry. I have taken care of everything. There will be news soon."

Tanchun bit her lip and nodded, her eyes sparkling. She quickly wiped it with her hand and said with a smile, "Sister Lin is exhausted today. Go and rest! Aunt Lin and I will take care of the rest."

Lin Daiyu smiled and said she had worked hard, then went back to sleep and didn’t mention it anymore.

Tao Xingjian first sent Zhou Rui's wife back to his own residence. Seeing that the housekeeper Lao Hou took over, he went straight into the palace carrying the box.

The box was presented to Emperor Zhaoming.

Emperor Zhaoming looked puzzled: "What is this?"

"Our eldest lady of the Lin family has been slowly laying the groundwork and unraveling the mystery for more than a month. Today, at a banquet, she not only demolished the Ningguo Mansion, but also tore apart the most solid in-law relationship between the Jia and Wang families."

Tao Xingjian pointed to the box and said, "Confession."

Emperor Zhaoming was full of disbelief. He opened the box and looked at the thick pile of papers. He couldn't help but frowned: "So much? Whose nonsense is this?"

"This was secretly recorded by Aunt Meng. Don't worry, given her personality, she won't talk nonsense." Tao Xingjian put his hands in his pockets, very confident.

Emperor Zhaoming had no choice but to pick it up, flipped to a random page, and read: "From the sound, Wang was crying, rolling, and crawling. I wonder if she was scared to pee because of the knife..."

Tao Xingjian opened his mouth wide!

Wha, what, ghost?!

How come even this kind of thing is written on the paper to be presented to the Emperor! ?

Emperor Zhaoming looked at him like a fool.

Tao Xingjian shrunk his shoulders in dismay and bowed his head deeply: "You'd better think of it as Aunt Meng writing a storybook."

Emperor Zhaoming chuckled and started reading from the beginning.

Half an hour later, the sound of broken porcelain was heard from the imperial study.

Emperor Zhaoming was shaking with anger. He paced back and forth in the study. He stood in the middle of the room, took a deep breath, pointed back at the confession thrown on the imperial desk, and cursed for a quarter of an hour.

Tao Xingjian called a eunuch in, and he quietly picked up the broken old porcelain tea set on the ground and left.

After a while, there was no third person in the room, and Emperor Zhaoming stopped cursing, panting. Tao Xingjian advised:

"Hasn't the Emperor already concluded that the men of the Jia and Wang families are no good? He just found out about a few more of their dirty deeds."

Emperor Zhaoming strode back, angrily poked the pile of papers with his finger, and asked: "Can't you see? Ah? They are not just calculating, they are killing people!

"Moreover, they kill everyone! Without restraint!

“I have already told you that when Ru Hai was a doctor at Lantai Temple, although he was a censor and seemed to have offended many people, it actually did not matter!

"But he had just taken over the Jiangnan Salt Administration, and he hadn't left the capital yet. When we went there again, didn't you notice that his family had changed four or five servants?

"I'm telling you! I absolutely don't believe that Ru Hai died of illness! And his wife, his son! I absolutely don't believe it!"

Emperor Zhaoming stood in the room with his hands on his hips, his nostrils flaring, his breathing rapid, and he squinted his eyes and thought for a long time, then suddenly looked up at Tao Xingjian, who was completely frozen:

"Do you still remember a monk named Zhitong? He was from Yangzhou, and was a prosecutor at the Dali Temple before he became a monk?"

Tao Xingjian took a long time to recover and nodded subconsciously: "I remember. That prosecutor was good at judging old cases. He cleared half of the backlog of cases in the Dali Temple in just half a year.

"Later, it was because he offended the family of the Crown Princess at that time... well, he was criticized by the deposed Crown Prince in every possible way, so he angrily shaved his head and resigned."

Emperor Zhaoming felt cold all over. He stretched out his hand to straighten his collar, which had just been loosened. He said in a deep voice, "Send the order to find the talented man from that year: Master Zhitong. I want to confer him the title of Grand Master of Protecting the Nation and let him live in the capital!"