usatvline Chapter 233 No Need for Such Blessing
Chapter 233 No Need for Such Blessing
The emperor was slightly surprised: "The old concubine likes Xue Baochai so much?"
Dai Quan smiled: "Isn't it! It seems that she is more favored by the old concubine than Jia's maid!"
The emperor didn't take it seriously and chuckled, "How much good have you received from her, old man?"
Dai Quan had no intention of hiding it from the emperor, so he said frankly, "It's not much, just five hundred taels of silver."
"She only brought a few thousand taels of silver when she entered the palace. She is willing to spend five hundred taels on you, which is considered giving you face."
Dai Quan said flatteringly: "This servant's face is all thanks to the emperor, otherwise who would be willing to look down on me!"
As for the controversy surrounding Xue Baochai's entry into the palace for selection, the retired emperor simply thought that the Xue family had changed their minds halfway through and did not think deeply about it.
His focus was on something else: "Have you found out who in the palace is on good terms with her?"
"To answer the old saint, those female officials and eunuchs had all received favors from the former palace official, Dian Zheng, and they were just protecting her from being bullied."
Upon hearing this, the Emperor raised his eyebrows slightly: "Oh? This Xue family member is actually related to the sixth-rank female official in the palace?"
Although his tone was calm, Dai Quan could hear the displeasure in it.
Dai Quan quickly explained, "Of course they don't have that ability. Dian Zheng has asked to leave the palace and was given to the daughter of the Salt Inspector Lin as a nanny."
The wrinkles on the emperor's face finally smoothed out: "Lin Ruhai!"
"That's right. When the Xue family girl first came to Beijing, she also lived in the Jia family. She didn't return to the Xue family until before the selection."
The emperor glanced at him and pretended to be angry and said, "You old man, just say what you want to say, don't keep us in suspense!"
Dai Quan chuckled and secretly looked at the expression of the retired emperor. Finding that he was in a good mood, he secretly wiped his sweat in his heart and spoke in a rhythmic manner about the absurd things that the Xue family did in the Jia family.
"Hahaha!" The emperor laughed happily after hearing this.
Xue Baochai did not feel sorry for having such a brother. Instead, he felt that a woman like this who had no roots in the previous dynasty would be easier to use.
"This year, on the old concubine's birthday, let's give the girl from the Lin family a favor and let her enter the palace to attend the birthday banquet."
Dai Quan looked troubled: "I'm afraid it's impossible. In another twenty days, she will have to return to Yangzhou to take off her mourning clothes."
The joy on the emperor's face gradually disappeared: "That means she herself is not blessed. What a pity."
Daiyu doesn't need this kind of blessing! She was flipping through the booklet sent by her subordinates.
The booklet records all the imperial gifts registered in the Jia family’s warehouse.
In the early years when the first generation of Duke Rong was alive, he received countless rewards and even more spoils of war. But now, ordinary rewards like silk and satin are almost gone.
What shocked Daiyu even more was that her men who broke into the large warehouse found that many items in the warehouse had been replaced with inferior goods, and some were simply fakes.
Daiyu picked out the item that was easiest to copy from the items in the book and told Bai Shao, "This is it. Once you have copied it, pawn the original."
Let's choose the pawnshop on Fuchengmen Street. They are backed by the Zhongshun Palace, which is not on good terms with the Jia family. They also have connections that can find the files recording the imperial gift, so it would be most appropriate to send it to them. Remember to ask Steward Huang to do it cleanly and not to reveal his tracks."
After Bai Shao left, Daiyu looked out the window at the bright sunshine and said to herself, "I don't know if I can make it in time."
If the imperial censors were a little slower, they might not have collected all the evidence before she set off. Then Daiyu would have to send someone to guide her.
On the first day of June, there was a grand court meeting.
On this day, even officials like Jia She and Jia Zheng who were on secondment had to stand guard in the imperial city for a day.
The two men stood behind a group of officials, looking drowsy.
Suddenly, a loud voice came from the Fengtian Gate, breaking the silence: "Your Highness Wen Xinghong, the Left Censor-in-Chief, impeaches General Jia She and Works Deputy Minister Jia Zheng for allowing their servants to resell the items bestowed by the Emperor. This is a crime of great disrespect!"
This sudden impeachment was like a thunderclap, instantly waking up a group of deserting officials, and they all looked towards the Chengtian Portico.
His eyes not only fell on the emperor on the throne, but also on the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, Dai Quan, who was standing beside him.
For a moment, the small square in front of Chengtian Gate was silent, and all the officials held their breath, waiting for the emperor to speak.
After a long while, the emperor stared at Wen Xinghong and asked indifferently, "Do you have any evidence? If not, I will punish you for accusing me of lying!"
"Of course I have evidence!" Wen Xinghong was calm. He took out a memorial and a stack of evidence from his wide sleeves, held them high above his head, and placed them in front of the porch.
The emperor glanced at him, and a young eunuch stepped forward and placed the memorials and evidence on the imperial desk one by one.
He flipped through the documents and listened to Wen Xinghong's report, while other officials listened and secretly glanced at Dai Quan's expression.
Unfortunately, Dai Quan still maintained that calm and smiling expression, even the curve of his eyes did not change.
"Right now, the evidence is outside the Meridian Gate, on my carriage!"
Wen Xinghong finished speaking in one breath and stepped aside respectfully.
The officials in the corridor began to whisper to each other: This matter is very simple and clear, either he was framed by someone, or he did not manage his family well, and it was not unfair for him to be convicted.
"Slander! This is slander!" Jia Zheng also reacted at this time.
He shouted, took a few steps forward, fell to his knees with a plop, and crawled to Chengtian Gate. Jia She secretly cried out "bad luck" and followed him.
The two men, one in front and one behind, left two long trails on the ground. The hems of their official uniforms were worn to tatters, but at this time they no longer cared about such trivial matters, and only wanted to prove their innocence to the emperor.
Jia Zheng continued to defend himself, "Your Majesty, please be wise! The respect our Jia family has for you is evident to all, as is the heavens and the earth, the sun and the moon. This must be slander!"
Jia She also added: "Your Majesty, please understand! We have carefully stored the things bestowed by the emperor in the storehouse. With the storehouse manager and the internal and external managers jointly supervising us, how could we possibly condone our servants to do such a treasonous thing!"
After hearing this, the other officials shook their heads in their hearts and secretly cursed Jia She as an "old fox".
Everyone in Shenjing City knew that Old Lady Shi was the most partial. She sent her eldest son to live in the East Courtyard and even left the housekeeping affairs to her second daughter-in-law.
What he meant was to shirk responsibility, saying that this matter had nothing to do with him. But he forgot that if one prospers, all prosper, and if one suffers, all suffer. If he was really convicted, how could he be immune?
"Present the evidence."
Wen Xinghong's face lit up with joy. Since the emperor had spoken so and was not blindly biased towards the Jia family, it meant that he was already halfway to success.