The Red Mansions

Chapter 496 Abandoned as a common man!

Chapter 496 Abandoned as a common man!

Chonghua Palace

The night is as cool as water, everything is silent, and the evening breeze is coming. In the southeast corner of Tihe Hall, the willow tree with wet trunk and green silk ribbons seem to be unable to bear the raindrops. They fall on the green bricks with a clattering sound. , Through the glass window, it is transmitted to the palace from a distance, making it more and more quiet and unspeakable on a rainy night.

And King Zhongshun, who was kneeling under the eaves of the corridor outside the hall, seemed to realize something was wrong, raised his drooping eyelids, stared at the bright and bright, and suddenly fell into the strange and quiet Temple of Body, it seemed that every passing breath was perceived by King Zhongshun, Live like years.

In the palace, the Supreme Emperor slightly opened his eyes, staring closely at Emperor Chongping with his old eyes, and said in a deep voice: "The matter has come to this, and the truth has come to light. How does the Emperor think it should be dealt with?"

This is asking about Emperor Chongping's attitude.

Emperor Chongping's face sank like water, and he said in a cold voice: "The matter involves the safety of my father's auspicious land, and my father can decide it with one word."

The Supreme Emperor was silent for a moment, then suddenly said: "Bring Chen Rong in! I want to ask him!"

King Zhongshun's real name was Chen Rong.

The inner eunuch gave an order, and then ran towards the outside of the hall.

King Zhongshun was kneeling on the ground, anxiously waiting for the movement in the hall, hearing what the eunuch said, he said loudly: "Father, my son and minister are wronged, wronged."

However, his voice was hoarse and weak, and he was short of breath. Just when he stood up, there was a hissing sound, and his knees and calves were painful, and the numbness was not his own.

Xu Guan shook his head and ordered: "You guys, help the prince go in."

Several young and strong inner eunuchs were ordered to step forward to support King Zhongshun.

At this moment, the old king couldn't even stand stably, he was almost thrust into the body and hall by the inner guard's arm.

In the hall, the lights were bright, and the shadows of people gathered around, looking at King Zhongshun, who was already ashen-faced and barely able to do anything.

"Father, my son was wronged, wronged." As soon as King Zhongshun entered the palace, he could see clearly the bright hall illuminated by candlelight. Emperor Chongping, Emperor Taishang and others almost lay their hands on the ground, crying.

"Injustice?"

The Supreme Emperor sneered, and said angrily: "Now that there are all witnesses and evidence, why are you still crying out for injustice? Chen Rong, have you lived your entire life on a dog?"

King Zhongshun was stiff and pale, and was about to open his mouth to defend himself.

"This is the criminal evidence from the search in the secret room of your home! It's written in black and white, clearly!"

As he spoke, he threw the booklet in his hand on the ground suddenly, and "swiped" on the smooth floor tiles to slide in front of King Zhongshun.

King Zhongshun raised his eyes and saw the blue-covered account book, his pupils shrank sharply, his heart sank to the bottom of the valley in an instant, he walked a few steps on his knees, and cried bitterly: "Father, Jia Heng's child has a long-standing grievance with his son-in-law. This is him. Taking advantage of the mechanism, I want to put my son and minister to death! This book is fake! Fake! It must have been forged by Jia Heng!"

Jia Heng frowned, and ignored it, because Gein's sophistry was too feeble at this moment, almost not worth refuting!

On the gorgeous jade face of the eldest princess of Jinyang, there was a hint of frost covering her cheeks. She glanced at King Zhongshun who was still sophistrying, and her heart sneered coldly.

With such a rhetoric, is it true that everyone present is an idiot?

Sure enough, Emperor Chongping sneered, "Shut up!"

The middle-aged emperor, with a complexion like iron, and disappointment in his eyes, said coldly: "Up to now, you are still denying and entangled! The one who supervised the construction of the Gongling Mausoleum is now the mausoleum collapsed due to an earthquake. Your internal affairs The staff members of the government also personally identified you as involved in the case, and the Jinyi government even searched your home to find criminal evidence. At this time, you just said that Ziyu framed you. Could it be that he can still prepare the books in advance, so that the prophet will not succeed? Absolutely ridiculous! "

Even if he knelt down and begged for mercy, he would not be so disappointed. Now that his behavior has been exposed, he is still covering up his mistakes and trying to pour dirty water on others, which shows that he has never repented!

King Zhongshun: "..."

"Father, this is all handled by the people below, and my son doesn't know about it. No matter how stupid my son is, I don't dare to do it on my father's auspicious soil..."

King Zhongshun became anxious, and turned to change his direction.

"enough!"

The Supreme Emperor let out a deep cry, and the old and indifferent voice resounded through the hall, causing all the inner eunuchs to hang their heads, and at the same time, blocked all the words of distinction from King Zhongshun in their throats.

King Zhongshun's forehead was dripping with cold sweat, his hands and feet were cold, and he looked at the emperor sitting on the Arhat's bed in horror.

I only heard an old and cold voice from the hall: "Chen Rong is greedy, contemptible, mad, and stupid. He supervised the construction of the imperial mausoleum and made his wisdom faint. Because of the death of Gongling, the whole world was shocked. It is sincerely said that there is no king, no father, no father, no father. Loyal and unfilial people, people and gods are indignant, and the punishment of God is in response! Chen Rongyu is now removed from his name, abolished as a commoner, and sent to Gongling to atone for his sins! The imperial edict is issued for officials and people at home and abroad, to serve as an example, and several vassals will be aware of his evil ,learn a lesson!"

When he went to Gongling to repair the mausoleum, he was punished with hard labor. He was expelled from the jade spy and deposed as a commoner. This almost completely deposed King Zhongshun.

As for the wrath of man and god, God responded, that is to say, the earthquake shook the collapse, and I really can't understand this kind of unfaithful and unfilial people who deceive the upper and lower. This also put an end to some "prophetic" rumors.

Jia Heng listened to the Supreme Emperor's words of disposition, and thought to himself, this emperor who has been in power for more than [-] years is very vigorous and resolute.

And the treatment seems to be stricter than the conquest and confinement he wanted.

If you win the title and be imprisoned, you can still be raised as a pig in the palace, but the jade spy will be removed from the name and be deposed as a commoner.

Dying in fear and panic is the final outcome.

In fact, as for expecting death, it is impossible at all.

Because generally speaking, unless it is the crime of treason, death will be given, and the punishment will be repeated.

But now, most of the lineage of the Zhongshun Prince's Mansion does not remove Jue Jue Si, but his sons are reduced to the successors of the county kings, and the rest of the sons are successively demoted to the generals of the country.

This is called "Special Inheritance" in the Dahan Huidian. If the inheritance is interrupted due to crime or extinction, the descendant will be selected to inherit the title.

However, these are all the graces bestowed by Emperor Chongping to show the greatness of the emperor's grace and the harmony of the clan. At least it will take three to five years for the dust to settle.

King Zhongshun heard that he was abolished as a commoner, and he was stunned on the spot, then he raised his bearded head, his face was pale, his voice began to tremble, and he said with tears: "Father, my son knows Wrong, I know I was wrong, please forgive me..."

If he is abolished as a commoner, it is okay to confine him, but now he is still required to do hard labor?

Empress Dowager Feng glanced at King Zhongshun, opened her mouth, and swallowed her pleading words.

Hands and feet on the mausoleum have already touched the bottom line.

Emperor Chongping waved his hand, not wanting to hear King Zhongshun crying and repenting there, and signaled Dai Quan to take him down.

"Father, Your Majesty, brother, I..."

After a few inner eunuchs dragged King Zhongshun down, in the wind and rain outside, the begging for mercy gradually ceased to be heard.

Empress Song narrowed her beautiful eyes, and clutched the handkerchief in her jade hand hidden under the table.

She doesn't really like this elder brother who is arrogant and domineering.

Princess Jinyang pursed her cherry lips, her face was indifferent, and she couldn't help but glance at the boy in the python suit.

But he saw that the boy in the python suit had a calm face and a calm expression, he didn't look like a boy who was younger than a weak crown.

Secretly thought, it's not in vain for Bengong to waste his time.

Well, with this thought, I suddenly felt that it was a bit blasphemous to have this thought in such a solemn and solemn palace, but my heart jumped again.

But for a while in the hall, the atmosphere was oppressive, almost breathless.

Emperor Chongping's face was gloomy for a moment, then he turned his cold eyes, looked at Jia Heng and Dai Quan, and said in a deep voice: "Jia Qing, Dai Quan, Jinyi Mansion and Neiwei will investigate the case thoroughly, and will not allow extrajudicial adultery. All the officials involved in the case have stolen money and money, and their family assets must be seized to make up for the shortfall!"

Dai Quan hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "Your maid obeys the order."

Jia Heng also surrendered.

The Taishanghuang's disposition is the personal depose of King Zhongshun, but it does not mean that he has given up other responsibilities for the Palace of Zhongshun, confiscated property, and made up for the shortfall. These must be followed up.

King Zhongshun has been in charge of the House of Internal Affairs for many years. For personal enjoyment, he has been greedy for a lot of official money. Whenever there is a deficit, the property of the king's house must be filled.

As for the foreign officials such as the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, I am afraid that many heads will be lost. After all, a vassal king has been deposed as a commoner.

After ordering, Emperor Chongping's face was obviously a little tired. He obviously tossed about for a day, and the earthquake, and the investigation, and thinking about the court situation, and he was a little tired. He waved his hands and said: "Go and investigate." The case is over."

"Your Majesty, I will take your leave." Jia Heng's complexion changed, and he took the order to leave.

While speaking, Jia Heng strode out of Chonghua Palace.

At this time, the night was dark and the rainy night was cold. Jia Heng stood under the eaves in front of the palace and looked up at the dark night of the palace. The palace lanterns hanging from the eaves illuminated the palace. In the middle, it seems like a quiet picture scroll is slowly unfolding.

The cold wind came slowly, making Jia Heng's heart tremble.

So far, King Zhongshun has fallen, and the rest is to get rid of the evil, and bring in the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Households, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

With this in mind, without further delay, I walked towards the palace gate with a slightly brisk step, guided by the two inner eunuchs.

However, as soon as he stepped out of the covered bridge of the Hall of Tihe, suddenly, a familiar voice came from behind him.

"Sir, stay."

Jia Heng's heart was slightly different, and he turned his head to look, only to see a slender, bright and beautiful girl with a delicate figure, like a snow lotus standing on the top of an iceberg, in the dimly lit place, desolate and beautiful.

Princess Xianning wore a long blue dress and held an octagonal palace lantern in her hand. Behind her were two female officials who came with slender steps while she was talking. The bright eyes beside the mole of tears are even more sparkling.

"Your Highness." Jia Heng couldn't help but soften his gaze, looked at the girl, smiled and asked, "Your Highness, why didn't you have dinner in the hall and came out together?"

"I'm not very hungry. The gate of the palace is probably locked at the moment. I thought it would be inconvenient for Mr. to go out, so I came to see you off." Princess Xianning's voice was as clear as water, and her cold voice was as soft as water. But the voiceless sound is like ice, and it just has an indescribable strange charm.

Jia Heng nodded and said: "Then I will thank you, Your Highness."

The two then walked along the covered bridge with umbrellas. At this time, the cool wind hit, and the willow branches and leaves under the rockery in the distance danced.

"Has the injury on Mr.'s shoulder healed?" Princess Xianning held a lantern to illuminate the road, and the rainwater could be seen on the stone bridge. The vermilion wreath palace lanterns approached and moved away, like clusters of peach blossoms that bloomed and withered.

Jia Heng smiled and said: "His Royal Highness is worried, after applying the medicinal wine, the situation is much better now."

At this moment, I couldn't help but think of the pair of jade hands gently kneading on the shoulders.

"Just now I heard from Eunuch Dai that the Ministry of Internal Affairs and others have done it?" Speaking of medicinal wine, Princess Xianning's cheeks turned slightly red, but fortunately Rushui Yelu was considerate, covering up the girl's crimson face, and Qing Ling's voice carried a touch of Trembling, said: "It sounds a little dangerous."

This girl is usually not good at words, and she has zero emotional experience. Now she is walking with Jia Heng and wants to say something, but she doesn't know where to start. There is only... clumsy concern.

Jia Heng said softly: "Actually, it's okay, there's not much danger, I took advantage of people's unpreparedness, made a surprise attack, and cut it under the sword."

Princess Xianning Yurong was stunned for a moment, she understood Jia Heng's meaning, she couldn't help laughing, Zang Xingyunyue's eyes curved crescent, and said: "But sir, you still need to be more careful. .”

Jia Heng stared into the distance and sighed softly: "I am not the son of a rich man, my honor and disgrace are bestowed by the Holy Majesty, and I will go north to fight for the front in the future, so how can I hesitate to move forward because of the danger at this moment."

When Princess Xianning heard this, her heart was shaken slightly, her clear eyes were dewy, she looked at the young man, and said: "Mr. is really a loyal and righteous man."

He is really loyal to her father.

"It's just the salary of eating the king, it's all for you to share your worries." Jia Heng's voice was clear and clear, the more understatement, the more it made Princess Xianning and the following eunuchs feel an indescribable heartbreak.

Jia Heng said again: "By the way, His Highness said earlier that he would lead the army to go out. If you have free time, you can go to the Beijing camp to observe the soldiers for training."

"Is this...really?" Princess Xianning was looking at the side face of the young man herself, she was quite surprised when she heard this, her heart couldn't help jumping with joy, and there was a look of joy in her clear eyes.

Fortunately, he still remembered what she said earlier.

Jia Heng nodded and said: "It's just that there is no war at this time. The Beijing camp is still training after weeding out the old and the weak. Your Highness will just take a look."

Princess Xianning smiled and said, "Then I'm looking forward to it, sir? Do you often go to Beijing camp?"

"Of course, I will visit the Beijing camp regularly. If you drop by, you can go together." Jia Heng raised his eyes and looked into the distance, and said softly.

Princess Xianning nodded her head, her heart moved slightly, she was a little lost in thought for a while, and only heard a "da" under her feet.

"Well, Your Highness can watch the road, there is water on the ground." Jia Heng said softly, holding Princess Xianning's arm.

It turned out that Princess Xianning was more or less careless and stepped on the stagnant water.

Princess Xianning was stunned when she heard the words, looked down at the accumulated water on the ground, frowned and said: "This..."

Looking at the frowning young girl, Jia Heng couldn't help laughing, and said jokingly: "I don't concentrate on walking, maybe the shoes are full of water?"

Perhaps it was Jia Heng's chuckle that relieved the girl's embarrassment, but the joke was intimate. Princess Xianning's cold voice was already very rare, and said: "It's all your fault, Mr. Lost for a moment..."

Different from those who are good at using beauty as a means to deal with straight men, coquettishness is just a conventional weapon in their arsenal. As the noble princess of Xianning, it is obvious that she does not need to use it, but it is precisely this, this coquettishness has changed from the past, Even more tantalizing.

Jia Heng gently opened the girl's arm, smiled without saying a word.

Princess Xianning's Xue Yan couldn't help but blushed, and said in a whisper: "There is some water in the shoes."

Jia Heng said softly: "Then go back and change later, the soaked shoes are uncomfortable to wear."

This time it was the girl's turn to smile and remain silent, with her eyes downcast and her heart full of shame.

Maybe there are always such scenes in life, suddenly from formulaic dialogues to daily concerns, just like turning from a straight, boring, flat and grand highway to a country road with mountains and flowers, villages and farmhouses, not only It is during the up and down, left, and right bumps that the mood is more agitated, and even the plants, trees, bricks and tiles in the field of vision are also alive and bright during the twists and turns of the journey.

Jia Heng said softly: "By the way, Your Royal Highness, in fact, you really don't have to keep calling me Mr. You deserve it."

"Before, I was grateful to Mr. for pointing out the historical theory, and please give me more advice in the future." Princess Xianning said softly.

This should be... her unique title, right?

Jia Heng nodded and said, "Then follow Your Highness."

Fortunately, it's not... I will give you more advice for the rest of my life.

While the two were talking, they had already reached the gate of the palace.

Even though Princess Xianning slowed down her pace on purpose, she still made it to the palace gate. Looking at the red lantern hanging in front of the palace gate, the girl inevitably felt a little lost.

"Your Highness, just send it here, I'm going back." Jia Heng paused slightly, turned to look at Princess Xianning, and said gently.

Princess Xianning pursed her cherry lips, handed over the octagonal palace lantern in her hand, and said softly: "Sir, hold the lantern for better lighting."

Jia Heng was stunned for a moment, nodded, reached out to take the palace lantern that he had never taken before, and left the palace gate without further words.

Princess Xianning watched the young man leave until she could not see the figure or the lights clearly, when the breeze came, blowing a strand of hair on the young girl's forehead, the hair swept over the tear mole at the corner of her eye, and shook her eyelids, Only then did he turn around.

"Your Highness, it's late at night, let's go back." The female officer Zhi Xia whispered from the side.

Princess Xianning sighed quietly, and gave a soft "hmm".

Headed towards the palace, but just arrived at the harem, when she raised her eyes, she saw Princess Jinyang, feeling faint, and said in surprise: "Auntie, I've had dinner."

Princess Jinyang sized up the girl, her beautiful eyes were rippling, she smiled and said: "Xianning, did you send Jia Ziyu out just now?"

Princess Xianning gave a soft "hmm" and asked, "Auntie, father, mother, queen, and grandfather, have you finished your meal?"

"I'm going back now. It's a mess inside and out today. I'm a little tired. I'm going back to rest."

"Where's aunt?"

"I plan to talk to your imperial grandmother for a while, and I won't return tonight. By the way, is Chanyue with you?" Princess Jinyang asked.

Princess Xianning said: "Sister Chanyue went to sit with concubine mother for a while, she should be back now."

Princess Jinyang smiled and said, "Your sisters usually have a lot to say about themselves, let her stay with you for a few more days."

Xianning's thoughts, she is very clear, do you want to think of a way to stop her thoughts?

"Chanyue said that there are many rules in the palace, and it's a bit boring. How about I often go to live with my aunt for a few days." Princess Xianning said in a clear voice.

Princess Jinyang: "???"

After thinking for a while, he said softly, "I've been a little busy these days. Just now, your father asked me to keep an eye on the Ministry of Internal Affairs' business and help check the account books. I have to be busy with this matter these days."

When Princess Xianning heard the words, her heart moved slightly, she nodded and said, "That's fine."

After all, she is...the one who came later. It's better not to mention some things.

……

……

(End of this chapter)