Leaving aside how Sun Shaozong fared at the Crown Prince's Residence.
Jia Yingchun, having received Sun Shaozong's instructions, immediately sent someone racing to Rongguo Mansion to ask Second Master Jia Zheng to take charge.
When Jia Zheng heard that his own elder brother had actually used his niece's name to extort money from his daughter and son-in-law, he was both ashamed and enraged. He ordered someone to retrieve Wang Shanbao's wife, then hurried to the East Wing Courtyard to reason things out with Jia She.
But when he arrived at the East Wing Courtyard, he learned that Jia She had not yet risen. Left with no choice, he could only wait in the hall.
Jia Zheng sent repeated inquiries, yet he still waited nearly half an hour before Jia She finally emerged, clothes disheveled and reeking of alcohol.
Jia Zheng grew even more displeased. He drove the servants attending in the hall away with a glance, then bluntly demanded, "Was it your idea to have Wang Shanbao's wife go to the Sun family to borrow money?"
"So what if it was?"
After Jia Zheng's repeated urging and questioning, Jia She had already known that his visitor came with ill intent. Thus, the accusation did not surprise him. He rolled his eyes upward and sprawled imposingly into an official's hat chair.
Only then did he scratch at his half-severed ear and ask languidly, "Must I ask your permission before borrowing money from my own daughter?"
"You borrowed money..."
Jia Zheng's voice suddenly rose several notches. Then he cast a sidelong glance toward the door and gritted out in a lowered voice, "I have no right to interfere if you want to borrow money, Brother. But you should not have invoked Consort De and the Second Prince!"
"What?!"
Jia She sprang to