A stew of the Red Chamber

Chapter 22: A Stone Stirs Up Waves

Wang Qing was unaware that this was entirely a self-directed act by the Liu family mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and he simply assumed that Wang Xifeng was unwilling to give up on the Liu sister-in-law line.

He just didn't want Wang Xifeng to have any leverage over him, but he was happy to see what tricks she had up her sleeve and what kind of schemes she could pull.

So he deliberately ignored the timing chosen by Sister Liu, and instead patiently watched her busy herself on the bed.

He would even occasionally pretend he didn't have time to look away, deliberately creating two openings so that Wang Xifeng wouldn't mistake him for a virtuous gentleman if she saw that he was hesitant to take the bait.

After a while, Sister Liu became more and more confident.

……

You should eat your food one bite at a time.

Wang Qing led his team to raid the gambling den, earning his first pot of gold. The recruited personnel have arrived and a vigorous cleanup has begun. The preliminary investigation is also proceeding in an orderly manner.

However, neither a thorough cleaning nor a preliminary assessment can be accomplished overnight.

Furthermore, whether his actions in injuring the "Flying Thief" and his reconnaissance work were effective remains to be seen and needs time to develop and prove.

At this stage, he only needs to consolidate the existing achievements, and Wang Qing is not in a hurry to move forward with the next plan.

It is worth mentioning that he did not shy away from using public office for private gain. Instead, he used the Ning and Rong mansions as the starting point for the major cleanup, which then radiated outwards in all directions.

On the one hand, the more than 3,000 recruits, plus the extra personnel originally in charge of the main thoroughfares of the West City Military Command, only amounted to a mere 4,000 people.

If each area is divided equally among the entire western part of the city, not to mention whether some tasks can be completed by one person, if it takes too long, the sense of novelty and impact will be diminished.

On the other hand, since they were going to use the Jia family's name, they had to put on a complete show.

As the saying goes, "ducks are the first to know when the river warms in spring," and in just three to five days, the area around Ning and Rong mansions was completely transformed.

……

That day.

As Jia Zheng left for his official business, he lifted the curtain of his sedan chair and saw the busy figures all over the street. He frowned and said, "Which sycophant is it now, insisting on wasting people's money and resources! What's wrong with these fallen leaves? Why do they have to make such a fuss and sweep away all the little bit of autumn that has been accumulated?"

Which of the scholars and gentlemen he kept wasn't a sycophant, full of flattery? When did Jia Zheng ever utter a single complaint?

Jia Baoyu lamented the passing of spring and the coming of autumn; was he not merely indulging in refined tastes?

The first sentence merely expresses concern for the country and its people, while the second sentence is a direct expression of one's feelings.

The attendant following behind dared not refuse to answer, and said rather awkwardly, "Master, you may not know this, but it was all arranged by the newly arrived concubine, Master Qing."

Jia Zheng hadn't expected the insults to fall on his own family, and said awkwardly, "Where did this concubine's son come from?"

"They say he's the old lady's great-aunt's grandson, and he's just started working at the West City Military Command."

"They're all cut from the same cloth, neglecting their duties and engaging in all this empty talk!"

Although Wang Qing was considered to be from the perspective of Grandmother Jia, while Xue Pan was considered to be from the perspective of Lady Wang, they were still both sons of the Rongguo Mansion.

Jia Zheng already had a bad impression of Xue Pan, who was guilty of murder and caused trouble for no reason, and unconsciously categorized Wang Qing in the same way.

They didn't even bother to ask his surname, and with a disgruntled remark, they lowered the sedan curtain.

The servants knew he was unhappy, so naturally they wouldn't dare to provoke him.

……

Ningguo Prefecture.

Jia Zhen walked with his hands behind his back into You Shi's room.

"Master!"

Madam You quickly got up to greet her.

Before she could even bow, Jia Zhen asked, "Have you heard that a great-aunt named Wang Qing has come to visit the old lady?"

"I've heard, I've heard!" Madam You said with a beaming smile, as if showing off a treasure. "Recently, the patrols and cleaning outside our mansion have all been arranged by this Brother Qing!"

"If you knew, why didn't you say so sooner?"

Jia Zhen's face darkened, and he said coldly, "Did I tell you to go to the West Mansion more often just to serve tea and meals and show filial piety to the old lady?"

Madam You's smile instantly froze, and she said with a wronged expression, "I have never heard the old lady mention it before. I only found out by asking the servants after seeing how bustling it was outside these past two days."

Thinking that they were probably not important relatives, and that they lived a long way away...

Halfway through her sentence, she seemed to remember something and changed the subject, asking, "I've heard of all of the old lady's sisters, but I've never heard of such a grand-aunt?"

Jia Zhen sneered, "The Shi family has twenty branches in the capital alone. Let alone us, even the Western Mansion might not be able to keep track of them all. They're probably some collateral branch..."

Madam You nodded and said, "If you feel this is inappropriate, sir, I will prepare some small gifts..."

Originally, Jia Zhen thought that Wang Qing was not a very important relative, but he suddenly asked about him, probably because he wanted to return the favor after making those arrangements for him outside.

Unexpectedly, Jia Zhen retorted irritably, "Stop with your petty, lowly attitude! He sought refuge with the West Mansion without first coming to our mansion to pay his respects, and now you're troubling me, Master, to clean up his mess and even give him gifts. What kind of logic is that?"

Yu asked, puzzled, "A mess?"

"A while ago, under the pretext of hunting down thieves, he raided several gambling dens."

Jia Zhen sneered, "He doesn't even know what kind of place the capital is. If those gambling dens didn't have some kind of background, would he even be able to get a turn? It's probably because he heard about this connection and is using his family's influence to ask me to act as a peacemaker."

Wang Qing had never concealed his relationship with the Rong family, and he launched a massive purge around the Ning and Rong families. How could the forces behind the gambling den not know about this relationship?

Madam You looked suspicious and said, "But we're still separated from him by the West Mansion, why don't we go find Lian Er?"

"Why didn't you look for it?"

Jia Zhen grinned wickedly, "I don't know what got into Feng'er, but she sent Lian Er to the outer study. How could he possibly have the mind to deal with such trivial matters? It's a win-win situation for me, I've gained a favor for free!"

Those scoundrels deserve to die, but the confiscated silver and the usurious loans must be pursued.

Wang Qing is only a sixth-rank military officer. If he didn't have a powerful background, he might have gotten himself into serious trouble. Since he knows about the Rong family's relationship with them, he should at least give them some face.

However, Jia Lian gets angry whenever he hears Wang Qing's name. He'd love for Wang Qing to make a mess so he can kick him out of the mansion. He has no intention of cleaning up Wang Qing's mess.

Since gambling dens are not respectable businesses, the gentlemen were too embarrassed to approach Jia She and Jia Zheng directly, so the task naturally fell to Jia Zhen.

Still uneasy, Madam You hesitated and said, "Could there be something else going on? I heard that when Brother Qing raided the gambling den, he even injured a thief..."

"Oh? Is that so?"

"Of course..." Madam You hurriedly recounted all the information she had gathered, then added, "If it really is related to the thief, why should we get involved in this mess?"

"Muddy waters?" Jia Zhen blew his beard and glared. "He's the one who offended people, and the West Mansion is the one who took the blame. I acted as a peacemaker, got the man out of trouble, and recovered the silver for them. How could I not give them something in return? I'd love to have muddy waters like this every day. As for the thief..."

Jia Zhen scoffed, "Don't even mention that he's only injured and not caught yet. Even if he were caught, does that mean he's real? He's probably just hiring someone to impersonate a thief, putting on a show!"

He wasn't making baseless accusations. In the past two months, Yingtian Prefecture had claimed to have arrested quite a few people, but upon investigation, they were either imposters or copycats.

In contrast, Wang Qing's injury without arrest has fueled even more speculation.

Madam You dared not offer any further advice, and could only go along with it, saying sullenly, "That's true. The capital has been in an uproar for over two months, and they haven't caught anyone. How could they possibly catch him before he's even had a chance to warm his seat?"

"However, this is a good starting point."

Jia Zhen pondered for a moment, then said with a wicked smile, "He raided so many gambling dens just to make a profit for himself. If he doesn't know what's good for him and thinks he can get away with it just because of the old lady's favor, then someone will have to test his skills and expose his boasting."

"I'd like to see how he can keep up his act without the thief as a cover."

Upon hearing this, Madam You felt a pang of anxiety and quickly advised, "After all, he is the old lady's aunt's grandson. We can't let him look too bad. If he gets hurt anywhere, it will be difficult to explain if the old lady asks about it."

"Do I need you to teach me the principle of 'courtesy first, then force'?"

Jia Zhen waved his hand impatiently and said, "You go to his house in person tomorrow and tell him that I have invited some brothers to my house for drinks and a play the day after tomorrow. I just happened to hear that he is coming, so I invite him to come over for drinks and introduce him to some old friends."

……