Chapter 38: Search and Confiscation

  The next morning

  Kangxi sat high on the throne, his majestic and magnetic voice ringing out in the solemn great hall: "All officials with business to report step forward, those without withdraw from court!"

  The various ministers looked around and discussed for a while. Li Guangdi stepped forward and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, I have something to report."

  "Oh?" Kangxi's eyes lit up, his voice tinged with a hint of curiosity.

  He has been sitting on the throne for too long and has gradually come to realize what it means to be 'lonely at the top'. No one dares to tell him the truth, everyone is filled with reverence and respect towards him, including his own sons and grandsons.

  Such a life is really very lonely! Fortunately, he has already gotten used to loneliness and started enjoying it.

  Every day at dawn, he developed a fondness for watching plays. Seeing the various ministers arguing below, his heart felt a little pleasure. Author: Kangxi, isn't your personality twisted? Kangxi: Hmm, what did you say? I didn't hear clearly, do you have the ability to repeat it? Looking at Kangxi's threatening eyes, the author fell silent! His mouth curled up, and he said with a slight smile, "Li Ai, grant permission."

  "Memorial to the Emperor: General Jia Xue has been in league with outside officials, monopolizing lawsuits, relying on his power to bully the weak, allowing his son to gather and gamble, forcibly occupying the wives and daughters of good citizens who refused him, driving them to death. He has betrayed the imperial favor and disgraced his ancestors' virtues. Please, Your Majesty, severely punish him!"

  Upon hearing this, Yongzheng's head, which had been hanging low, slightly lifted, the corners of his mouth curled up, and a glint flashed in his eyes.

  It turns out that Li Guangdi knew about the Rongguo Mansion because Yongzheng had specifically instructed someone to reveal it to him.

  Because Yinzhen knew that Li Guangdi had gained the trust and favor of Kangxi, he was an upright person, loyal and virtuous. He couldn't bear to see the Rongguo Mansion's filthy and rebellious family. After knowing this, he must have impeached the Rongguo Mansion.

  Rongguo House, a small and insignificant aristocratic family, was looked down upon by the truly powerful families and not worthy of their attention. The smaller families were no match for the combined forces of the four great families of Jia, Wang, Shi, and Xue, so they ran amok in the capital for a long time! Yet they still thought themselves to be quite something, with an air of self-satisfaction! Ningguo House even instigated Rongguo House's people to get involved with the imperial family, offending many people, who were as numerous as the hairs on a cow.

  Hmph, as long as someone takes the lead, I believe that when the time comes, the impeachment memorial will fly to Kangxi's desk like snowflakes.

  In fact, the Rongguo Mansion's affairs, Kangxi had heard more or less. It is known that there are no things in the world that he does not know, only those he does not want to know! However, national affairs kept him busy, how could he have time for trivial matters like this? When he did have free time, it was purely to enjoy himself and relieve boredom.

  Kangxi looked at the ministers below with interest, his elbow on the throne and his right hand supporting his head, saying: "What are your opinions on this matter, gentlemen?"

  Upon hearing this, many officials and ministers stepped forward to offer their opinions.

  "Memorial to the Emperor, when Jia Zheng was appointed as the Grain Intendant of Jiangxi Province, under his indulgence, his subordinates acted lawlessly and openly accepted bribes. Please, Your Majesty, investigate thoroughly and mete out severe punishment!"

  "Memorial to the Emperor: The hereditary third-rank military officer Jia Zheng, a fierce and powerful general, has been luring young men from good families into gambling and has also forcibly taken wives and daughters of ordinary people as concubines. When his daughter refused, he bullied and intimidated her to death. Please, Your Majesty, investigate this thoroughly and mete out severe punishment!"

  "Memorial to Your Majesty, Jia Zheng, during his father's mourning period, unable to bear the loneliness, actually led his son and a group of nephews under the pretext of practicing archery, gathered for gambling and whoring, utterly unbearable. Please instruct Your Majesty to clearly investigate and severely punish!"

  "Report to the Emperor, Jia Zheng has been having an affair with his daughter-in-law Qin Keqing's maid. It is a fact that... Please ask the Emperor to investigate carefully and punish severely!"

  "I humbly report to Your Majesty, the female members of the Rongguo Mansion are taking advantage of their power to extort and lend out high-interest loans. I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly and mete out severe punishment!"

  "I humbly report to Your Majesty, the Rongguo Mansion is in disarray and its internal affairs are not in order! The eldest son, Jia She, lives in a side house, while the second son, Jia Zheng, occupies the main house. Although he holds the title of First-Class General, the plaque of the Rongguo Mansion still hangs, and forbidden items are everywhere within the mansion. I implore Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly and mete out severe punishment!"

  ……

  Gradually, Kangxi's expression also became serious. Although he had heard some things, he didn't know about usury, prostitution and other such matters. Listening to this, it seems that the Jia Mansion is a completely filthy and depraved place, staying there would simply corrupt the imperial court's discipline. It seems that the Ning and Rongguo Mansions can't be kept anymore.

  Kangxi glanced at the crowd below, his eyes flicking over to someone with a stern expression, and his heart skipped a beat. He loved watching Lao Si's facial expressions change, it was truly entertaining! Unfortunately, getting Lao Si to crack a smile wasn't easy, but that's what made it so satisfying!

  "Fourth Brother!"

  "The son is here!" Yongzheng heard the words and came out, with his left leg forward, his left hand on his knee, his right hand hanging down, and his right leg half-kneeling.

  "Take people to search Ning and Rong's two mansions, a group of people were thrown into the big prison, handed over to the Ministry of Punishment for severe examination!"

  "Your son obeys your order!"

  I am the dividing line

  The combined efforts of the four families finally managed to get the red flower-fed chicken into the Fourth Prince's estate. So, Lady Wang sent a small servant to keep watch at the Fourth Prince's estate and instructed him that as soon as there was any movement, he should hurry back to report.

  So when the little servant found out that someone from the Fourth Master's mansion had gone to invite a famous doctor, he immediately returned to Rongguo Mansion to inform Madame Wang. After receiving the news, Madame Wang went to the main house to tell Grandmother Jia.

  So a family was happily chatting in the main room about Lin Qingyu's current situation.

  At this time, the sound of a maid's hurried footsteps came from outside, and she rushed in shouting: "Old lady, second lady, it's not good! It's not good!"

  In Mrs. Jia's eyes, Lady Wang stood up and scolded: "Is there no discipline anymore? Making a racket and causing trouble, is this dignified?"

  That girl suddenly knelt on the ground, her face pale, her whole body trembling, and she stammered: "Back... Second Mistress, outside... came... many... soldiers, surrounded the entire mansion like an iron bucket, saying they want to search and confiscate our Rongguo Mansion!"

  As soon as these words came out, they were like a thunderclap on a clear day, stunning everyone present. The maids were stunned, trembling with fear, crying, and Lady Wang was dazed, while Grandmother Jia's body trembled slightly.

  After two seconds, Mrs. Wang came back to her senses and shouted loudly: "Who dares?!!"

  Searching the Rongguo Mansion is a joke!

  Mrs. Wang didn't believe it from the start, in her mind, apart from the Emperor and the princes, Rongguo Mansion was the largest! The imperial clan, iron-hat princes, and officials above the third rank of the imperial court, they would cry, oh~~ Where did this powerful and majestic Rongguo Mansion come from? Who dares to casually search it?

  By the way, is 'search and seizure' really so casual?

  "Hmph, the daughter of the Wang family, indeed a big character, doesn't know a basket, foolish to the point of no return? In this Forbidden City, apart from His Majesty, who else would dare to investigate and search the residences of officials?"

  Lady Wang was far inferior to Lady Jia in terms of experience and insight. At this moment, she realized that the Jia family was doomed. She was so frightened that tears streamed down her face, and she couldn't even speak a word.

  The whole room was filled with wailing and shouting, and the sound of tables and chairs being overturned, leaving only Madame Wang there yelling.

  In a little while, Mrs. Jia wiped away her tears and stood up, somewhat unsteadily, grasping the hand of the maid beside her tightly, saying: "Don't cry anymore, get up, come with me to see what's going on?"

  Mrs. Wang did not believe it, but after Old Lady Jia spoke up, she followed behind her. When she saw that the entire mansion was surrounded by crowds of people, and the magnificent hall was in a state of utter chaos, with all the servants being held back outside, she felt as if she had been struck by lightning, let out a loud shriek, and fainted away.

  Lady Wang gazed at the main seat in the great hall, her face stern, and saw Yongzheng, dressed in a Beile attire, exuding an aura of coldness that seemed to emanate from his entire body. She felt a sudden darkness before her eyes, her head spinning dizzily, and she grasped Yuyan's hand even more tightly.

  The mandarin duck couldn't help but hum a sound, under her sleeve was already a patch of red swelling.

  Lady Wang thought to herself: The Fourth Prince knows! The Jia family is really finished! Finished! Finished! How am I going to explain this to our ancestors in the underworld?!

  His eyes, as dark as the night sky, glanced at the panicked and desperate crowd in the Jia mansion, his mouth slightly curved upwards, he said to the official sitting below him: "Read it!"

  "Yes! Understood!"

  The official stood up, shook his right hand, and a bright yellow scroll fell out of his wide robe. He read in a loud voice: "All members of the Rongguo Mansion receive the imperial edict!"

  Everyone heard this and knelt down!

  "The Emperor decrees: The Jia family of Rong and Ning prefectures have been lawless and reckless, disrupting the lives of the people, openly accepting bribes, forming cliques for personal gain, exploiting and oppressing the weak, colluding with external officials, monopolizing lawsuits, relying on power to bully the weak, gathering to gamble, forcibly occupying the wives and daughters of good citizens and driving them to death. They have betrayed the Emperor's benevolence and disgraced their ancestors' virtues. Their property shall be confiscated for the national treasury, and all members shall be thrown into prison, to be strictly investigated by the Ministry of Justice! Let this be known!"

  As soon as the words fell, many people fainted and died, more people fell softly to the ground, and some people shouted injustice.

  Yongzheng said to the official who had retrieved the imperial edict: "Order the officials of the Qi Si, together with the Fan Yi, to divide and search house by house, and make an inventory."

  "Yes! Understood!"

  At this time, he took a few servants and led the way to search the house.

  But in a moment, a brocade official knelt down and said: "After checking inside, we found some imperial clothes and many forbidden items, I dare not move them, I will come back to ask for your instructions, Prince."

  Before Yin Zhen could speak, another servant came in and said: "The eastern wing has produced two boxes of deeds to houses and land, and one box of loan receipts, all of which are usurious."

  The boxes were piled up in the hall, and Jia Baoyu looked at those boxes of gold, silver, pearls, and precious antiques. At this time, the Ningguo House had not yet been renovated, and the Jia Mansion still had a lot of goods. Compared to him, this Beile Ye was even more extravagant! Suddenly, his face turned black!

  "Hmm, looks like it's time for a search and seizure!!!"

  The two mansions of Ning and Rong were searched and confiscated in one day, and Grandmother Jia died in prison that same night.

  Later, all the female relatives except Wang Furen were released and returned home with Jia Baoyu and Jia Lian. Jia She and Jia Zheng had their hereditary official positions removed, while Jia Zheng and Wang Furen were sentenced to exile in Ningguta, Liaoning for their crime of usury.

  Yingxuan only had the dark guards give the men in Jia's household who were still alive a infertility medicine after they got out of prison, and also told the dark guards to continue paying attention to Jia's household matters.

  It is known that poor couples suffer from all kinds of hardships!

  Jia's family members, who were used to living in luxury and wealth, would rather drag out a miserable existence in poverty than die too easily.

  Tomorrow, Baozi was born ~~ Dear, what kind of do you like? I personally really like sesame buns ~~