Dream of the Red Chamber: Rising from Refugees to Sweep Across the Land

Chapter 13 The Law of the King, the Law of the Royal Family

Lin Ruhai did not walk out of the second hall until the sun was high in the sky.

I hadn't walked more than three or five steps when I heard the sound of a bench falling over behind me.

Lin Ruhai turned around after a long while, his legs dangling in mid-air, swaying slightly.

His mind was in complete chaos; the salt commissioner's dying words were incredibly revealing. He even suspected that the commissioner had told him all this on purpose, as revenge.

"master."

Lin Ruhai snapped out of his daze and looked at Uncle Lin who had walked in.

"Sir, Mr. Wang and his entourage are outside requesting an audience."

Lin Ruhai didn't reply, but ordered, "Open the city gates and lift martial law."

"Open the city gates?" Uncle Lin asked in surprise.

"The mastermind is dead. Just arrest people according to the list. As for the rest..."

Lin Ruhai looked up into the distance, paused, and said, "Wait for the imperial decree."

"What about the accomplices who assassinated you?" Uncle Lin wanted to ask more, but Lin Ruhai ignored him and walked straight out.

Uncle Lin's heart skipped a beat. What had happened now?!

At the entrance of the yamen, the seven major salt merchants, led by General Manager Wang, paced back and forth anxiously, craning their necks to look inside, their hearts filled with unease.

Finally, footsteps came from inside the door.

Before Lin Ruhai could emerge, General Manager Wang and his group quickly stepped forward, blocking his path, kneeling down, and bowing deeply in respect: "Greetings, Your Excellency!"

Lin Ruhai glanced at them indifferently, left a sentence saying "The imperial court will not wrong an innocent person", and then turned around and got into the sedan chair.

Watching the sedan chair disappear into the distance, General Manager Wang sighed heavily, his expression grave.

The expressions of General Manager Jiang and the others standing to the side varied. Some looked terrified, some tried to remain calm, and some seemed indifferent.

Before Mr. Ma could react, he exclaimed, "Why is everyone hanging their heads? Everything's alright, isn't it?"

General Manager Huang gave him an annoyed look: "There's another sentence after that!"

"The next sentence?" Mr. Ma scratched his head. "What's wrong?"

Huang and the others ignored him and turned to look at Wang, waiting for him to make a decision.

Mr. Wang sighed, "This matter has blown up. Stop wasting money on bribes and just wait for the court to deal with it."

Mr. Jiang and his group nodded and hurriedly left.

Mr. Ma was still muttering to himself, "We haven't done anything immoral, what's there to be afraid of..."

Mr. Wang wearily rubbed his temples and left.

"Hey, wait for me!"

......................

In ancient times, it was common for wealthy families to enshrine Guanyin statues in their inner quarters. In addition to praying for the protection of their home, peace and prosperity, and the continuation of their lineage, there was an even more important reason: believing in Buddhism and enshrining Guanyin was seen as a sign of the lady of the house being kind, virtuous, and capable.

The lady of the house observes a vegetarian diet, worships Buddha, and practices meditation, which is also an important symbol of the family's dignified family tradition and elegant family style.

Jia Min set up a small Buddhist shrine in her courtyard to enshrine Guanyin Bodhisattva.

Lin Ruhai escaped danger and was blessed with good fortune, so Jia Min naturally went to the Buddhist hall to offer incense.

As soon as Jia Min stepped out of the Buddhist hall, she saw Granny Wang standing outside the courtyard gate.

"What is it?" Jia Min walked over.

Granny Wang: "The doctor said he has done everything he could. Whether he can pull through this depends entirely on his fate."

Jia Min silently prayed, "May the Bodhisattva protect us," and then instructed, "Send several maids and servants to take turns serving us. Make sure someone is always watching over us and never leaving our side."

"Yes."

Granny Wang helped Jia Min walk out, sighing as they went, "If you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, you couldn't have imagined such a story even in a play. It's truly an incredible stroke of luck!"

Jia Min nodded. Originally, she was worried about Lin Ruhai's safety, so she specially asked Wang Bantou to lead people to provide support, but by a twist of fate, she saved Liu Feng, who was barely alive.

Fortunately, Liu Feng was lucky; his mind was a little biased, otherwise that shot wouldn't have killed him on the spot.

Jia Min thought for a moment and said, "Let's go and take a look at the side room."

Liu Feng's single room was small and poorly ventilated, so Jia Min had him moved to an inner wing room for easier recovery.

Seeing the hesitation on Wang Mama's face, Jia Min asked, "What's wrong?"

Granny Wang paused for a moment, then continued, "Just now, the young lady went to the side room..."

Jia Min paused, and Granny Wang quickly added, "The young lady didn't go in; she just stood outside the back window. Xueyan went in and took a look."

Jia Min frowned and continued walking towards the side room.

Granny Wang followed behind and continued, "Xueyan gave a ginseng root to the doctor so that Liu Wuchang could make a ginseng soup... The young lady said she was grateful to him for risking his life to protect the master."

Jia Min nodded: "It's only right to do our part."

Granny Wang smiled and said, "The young lady has been kind-hearted since she was little, with the heart of a bodhisattva. She can even shed tears over a single leaf falling from a tree."

Jia Min said irritably, "That's called being sentimental and melancholic. I don't know where you learned that habit."

Wang Mama was momentarily embarrassed, her flattery backfiring. Just as she was thinking of changing the subject, she saw Lin Ruhai walking over from the side room.

"Master." Granny Wang hurriedly stepped forward and curtsied.

Jia Min also gave a curtsy: "Master."

"Madam," Lin Ruhai bowed and returned the greeting.

"Is the master finished with his work?"

"More or less..."

Granny Wang was very perceptive and quietly withdrew.

"I just went to see Liu Feng. His condition isn't good. He's barely clinging to life with ginseng soup..."

"Good people will be rewarded, and the Bodhisattva will surely protect him."

Lin Ruhai remained silent for a moment, then turned and walked towards the study.

Jia Min noticed that he seemed preoccupied and followed him.

"Do you still remember Prince Yizhong?" Lin Ruhai suddenly asked.

Jia Min suddenly stopped and looked at Lin Ruhai.

How could she not remember that deposed crown prince? Because of him, her father died, her eldest brother was deposed, her cousin hid in a Taoist temple outside the city, and her family fell from the top nobility to an ordinary middle-class family overnight.

Lin Ruhai said in a deep voice, "The Salt Commissioner is his man."

"What? The deposed crown prince was supposed to have been..." Jia Min suddenly realized, "That child isn't dead?"

"The rumors are probably true."

Lin Ruhai paused for a moment, then told Jia Min everything the salt commissioner had said to him.

Jia Min became increasingly alarmed as she listened, her mouth slightly agape, her eyes wide with disbelief.

Lin Ruhai gazed into the distance and sighed, "Now I know why he told me all this... He wanted to use me, no, he wanted to use the Emperor. Once the Emperor finds out about this, he will definitely thoroughly investigate and punish those who passed the imperial examination in the twenty-sixth year of the Longxing reign. Seventeen years have passed; those people have long since risen to high positions and wielded great power."

A major purge will erupt, implicating the cabinet, the six ministries and nine departments, and even local governors and viceroys; the entire country will be thrown into chaos in an instant!

Jia Min understood: "Hidden from them?"

Lin Ruhai nodded slowly: "This matter can only be kept from the Emperor... There is another matter that must also be kept secret."

"What is it?"

"The men who ambushed me on the way were the personal guards of the Prince of Jin."

Before Jia Min could speak, Lin Ruhai added, "The ten-year period is almost up."

After ascending the throne, in order to avoid repeating the disaster of the previous dynasty's struggle for succession, he temporarily postponed the appointment of a crown prince. However, he could not delay for too long, so he set a ten-year deadline at which time the appointment would be made.

Jia Min was extremely astute; he immediately guessed why the Prince of Jin's men had appeared in Yangzhou.

The palace coup ten years ago had already taught all the princes a lesson: to succeed, one must hold military power. Since raising their own army was impractical, they had to win over military commanders, and all of this required money—massive amounts of money.

"We can only pretend we don't know anything about this. They say there's no father or son before imperial power, but they are still father and son. Maybe if Prince Jin cries a couple of times and bows his head to admit his mistake, this matter will be over..."

As he spoke, Lin Ruhai suddenly burst into laughter.

"Master..." Jia Min's face was full of worry.

Lin Ruhai turned and looked towards the capital: "The Salt Commissioner is right. The law is the law of the emperor, the law of the royal family! Execute nine generations of relatives? Who can possibly execute the emperor's nine generations of relatives?!"

"master......"

"That's enough. Life is only a few short decades. Why take everything so seriously?"

Jia Min looked at Lin Ruhai with deep worry. His usually straight back suddenly collapsed, as if something supporting him had been forcibly pulled away.

"I'm going to write a memorial to the throne." Lin Ruhai walked straight into the study.