Chapter 117: Grandmother Jia's Decision
Jia Cong was not surprised at all. If Jia Jing was involved in such a matter, he would definitely not survive. Whether it was an insider silencing him or the emperor killing him, Jia Jing, the exposed pawn, was of little use.
After a moment of silence, Emperor Longxing spoke again, "Jia Jing died accidentally while refining the elixir. Jia Zhen and Jia Rong died suddenly of grief after hearing the news! In consideration of their kindness and filial piety, I have granted them a grand burial and granted them the title of prince to go and pay tribute to them."
Jia Cong's expression changed drastically, "Your Majesty!"
Emperor Longxing stood up and said calmly, "I know you are friendly with your clan, but you also need to know that you should be loyal to the emperor and love your country! For such a matter, I will not implicate the entire Jia family, which is already a great favor from the emperor!"
Jia Cong hastily bowed down, kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace!"
"Well, you've been injured after a day of hard work, so go back first! Just remember, as long as you are loyal to me, I will not treat you unfairly."
When Jia Cong left the palace, it was already dark, but Jia Cong was obviously satisfied with this result! The emperor directly eliminated the hidden dangers of Ningguo Mansion, saving himself a lot of trouble. Moreover, the death of Jia Jing and others also directly exposed all the previous filth of Ningguo Mansion. No matter who inherits the title of Ningguo Mansion, it will be a new beginning.
As for Jia Zhen and his father who were implicated, even if this incident was not mentioned, based on their usual behavior, they deserved to die, and Jia Cong would not feel sorry for them at all.
Jia Cong had just returned to the mansion when Jia Lian, who was waiting at the door, said anxiously, "Brother Cong, come with me quickly. The old ancestor is waiting anxiously! What happened? Just now, Xuanzhen Temple sent a letter saying that Uncle Jing of the East Palace had passed away. I wanted to go to the East Palace to report the news, but was stopped by your personal guards..."
Jia Cong waved his hand without saying anything and walked quickly towards Jia's mother's courtyard.
In Lady Jia's courtyard, even though it was already midnight, everyone in the mansion was still there!
"Brother Cong, what happened?" Without waiting for Jia Cong to bow, Grandmother Jia spoke hurriedly. When she saw the bloodstains on Jia Cong's clothes, she became even more panicked.
Jia Cong waved his hand and said , "Grandfather, your grandson is fine! Let father and second uncle stay, and the rest of you can leave first."
Upon hearing this, Jia's mother's face became solemn, and she immediately nodded and said, "You guys leave first!"
Everyone was worried but didn't know how to start, so they could only leave first. Baochai looked at Jia Cong, who just gave her a reassuring look and didn't say much.
After everyone left, Jia She said, "You evil creature, how dare you instigate the guards to surround the East Palace? Do you still know your place of honor? You are destroying the reputation of the Jia family..."
"shut up!"
The old lady was in no mood to pay attention to Jia She, and she directly called Jia Cong to her side, "Grandson, tell me quickly, what happened?"
"My dear, today I led the army to wipe out the Black Tiger Gang, but I never thought that the Black Tiger Gang not only had armor and crossbows, but also had the Eight Ox Crossbow in the army!"
"That would be fine, but when I checked the Black Tiger Gang's accounts, I found that there was a sum of tens of thousands of dollars from Xuanzhen Temple..."
Upon hearing this, Lady Jia wailed and then fainted!
Jia She and Jia Zheng rushed forward, pinching her Ren Zhong acupoint and calling for the imperial physician! However, Jia's mother was only shocked by the sudden news and fainted. Fortunately, she was not seriously injured. After a few people called out, she woke up after a while.
"Evil creature, evil creature! Just practice Taoism properly, why do you have to get involved in other matters! Now, the whole family has become rebellious, and Jing'er is a bastard..."
"Madam!" Jia Cong stepped forward and held Grandmother Jia's hand, "Don't worry, your grandson has gone to see the emperor and asked for his grace."
"Ah!" All three of them looked at Jia Cong, "Grandson, what did the emperor say!"
Jia Cong hesitated for a moment, and then whispered, "Uncle Jing is dead. His Majesty said that he died of an explosion in the alchemy furnace. However, His Majesty also said that Brother Zhen and Rong'er died suddenly of grief!"
"How could this be!" Jia Zheng and Jia She exclaimed at the same time. The old lady's face turned ashen, but she was finally relieved. Although three generations of the East Mansion died, at least the emperor did not make it public, and the title of the East Mansion remained.
The old lady cried and howled for a long time before gradually calming down.
"These evil creatures, why don't they think about the face of their ancestors? Now they have completely disgraced them!" Grandmother Jia is so disappointed!
"My dear Cong, is there no room for maneuver?" Jia Zheng said sadly.
Jia Cong smiled bitterly, "Uncle, it's not that my nephew didn't help, but it's a grace from His Majesty that this incident didn't involve the whole family. You know, every year, the silver is personally delivered to Xuanzhen Temple by Brother Zhen and Rong'er, so they can't escape responsibility. If you want to keep Brother Zhen and Rong'er alive, it's easy. You just need to deal with them according to the law. If there is no direct connection, the most they can do is exile..."
"Then why not follow the national law?" Jia Zheng asked anxiously.
Before Jia Cong could speak, the old lady knocked her cane vigorously and said, "Your Majesty has shown grace in this matter, and no one can talk nonsense! Just do as Your Majesty wishes."
Although Jia Zheng didn't understand, the old lady did! If he was exiled, he could save his life, but he would lose his title in the East Palace. Even if the West Palace would not be implicated , he would be of the same clan as the rebels. Would Jia Zheng still be able to be an official? Would Jia Cong still be able to keep his title? Would his granddaughter still be able to stay in the palace?
In fact, from then on, the entire Jia family had no way out.
Compared with the future and prospects of the entire Jia family, even if she was reluctant, the old lady knew how to make a decision! Does Grandmother Jia feel sorry for the East Mansion? To some extent, she did, after all, she almost raised Jia Jing when he was a child, but when it comes to the entire Jia family, let alone the East Mansion, even if it is her own son in the West Mansion, she can only grit her teeth and accept her fate.
"When will the emperor issue an edict?" Jia's mother asked again.
"Tomorrow morning!"
"Ah!" Grandmother Jia sighed softly. Before the imperial edict arrived, Jia Zhen and his father must die suddenly. Otherwise, when the imperial edict arrived, the father and son were still alive and kicking. Where would the emperor's face be?
"Grandfather, I think the Royal Guards will come to deal with this matter later. I will go over and keep an eye on it myself, so as to avoid scaring Sister-in-law You and Brother Rong's wife! When we have the news, father, second uncle, Brother Lian, Baoyu and others can go over there!"
"Ah!" Grandmother Jia sighed softly, "Now you are the only one who has to help with the hard work."
The old lady felt distressed when she saw the injuries on Jia Cong's body, but now no one in the whole mansion could handle such a thing.
"If you can't stand it, try to rest for a while. Anyway, let your father and second uncle keep an eye on you tomorrow!"
Jia Cong smiled bitterly, "Madam, this is a matter of life and death for our Jia family. Even if I can't bear it anymore, I have to bear it. After all, although the matter is sudden, it has the order of His Majesty, so we just have to follow the rules."
"Also, don't let this matter spread in the West Mansion, so as to prevent the servants from knowing and spreading rumors. As for the East Mansion, I will have my personal guards block the front and back doors, and not allow the servants to enter and leave at will. We will talk about it after these two days."
The old lady held Jia Cong's hand and nodded sadly.
