Red Chamber 20

Fairy Keqing was horrified: "How could this be?"

But immediately, she recalled the changes in the Lin family and the Rongguo Mansion from when she was still Qin Keqing.

Aside from the Ningguo Mansion, the other families were vastly different from their plans.

Lin Ruhai and Jia Min were alive and well, and their son was growing up healthy.

Lin Daiyu was no longer an orphan; she had a backer and would not die young.

Jia Hu, the eldest grandson and heir of the Rongguo Mansion, was alive and well, had married a princess, was highly valued by the emperor, and was protected by dragon aura, making him immune to all evil; it was absolutely impossible to use sorcery against him.

And with such an outstanding and capable third-generation head of the house like Jia Hu, the Rongguo Mansion would never end up being raided and confiscated.

The fates of the young ladies in the Rongguo Mansion would only change accordingly.

By the time Qin Keqing passed away, the Rongguo Mansion had already begun helping Jia Yingchun look for a suitor.

As for the Xue family, Xue Baochai had entered the palace, her future uncertain. Xue Pan had not beaten anyone to death, as he had been kept in check by Jia Hu and dared not act recklessly; it seemed he would not be thrown into prison again to await execution after the autumn assizes.

It seemed that apart from the Ningguo Mansion where Qin Keqing resided, every other family was getting better and better.

Most of Fairy Jinghuan's schemes had been ruined, so it was no wonder she had suffered a backlash.

Fairy Keqing panicked as well.

If Fairy Jinghuan failed, what would happen to them, the demons and monsters who followed her?

Could the world tolerate them?

Although they styled themselves as fairies, they were nothing more than a group of spirits and monsters.

They were not orthodox cultivators, but spirits walking a crooked path.

If Fairy Jinghuan's schemes failed, the Heavenly Dao would discover them; when that time came, could they escape the punishment of the Heavenly Dao?

In the Taixu Illusion Realm, the group of spirits was in a state of panic.

Those who had committed many sins, such as Fairy Keqing, Yinchou Jinnu, and other confidants of Fairy Jinghuan, were terrified of the impending heavenly tribulation and were all filled with dread.

Therefore, they did not notice that some of the lesser fairies were secretly exchanging glances.

This was an opportunity!

This was the message flashing in the eyes of these fairies.

The fairies of the Taixu Illusion Realm were not all here of their own free will.

Many had been tricked into the Taixu Illusion Realm by Fairy Jinghuan, just like Fairy Jiangzhu, who had only recently attained a human form.

Fairy Jinghuan had coaxed Fairy Jiangzhu into descending to the mortal world to repay a debt of gratitude, and under the guise of guarding her original form, she had brought Fairy Jiangzhu's essence back to the Taixu Illusion Realm.

This made it convenient for her to tamper with Fairy Jiangzhu's original form.

With her source exhausted and her original form withered, Fairy Jiangzhu herself had died.

Fairy Jinghuan had easily eliminated a powerful rival who could have threatened her position in the future.

She used the same methods to deal with other fairies; although she did not use the evil arts she had used on Fairy Jiangzhu's original form, she still used means to keep their original forms in her own hands.

This was the main reason why those fairies dared not resist Fairy Jinghuan.

Now, the opportunity had arrived.

Fairy Jinghuan was severely injured and in seclusion, and her lackeys were so terrified and panicked that they had no heart to watch over their original forms.

This was the best chance for them to steal back their original forms.

As for the restrictions placed upon their original forms, they could help each other break them.

Individually, they were no match for Fairy Jinghuan, but they could cooperate and combine their powers to break the restrictions.

Thus, Fairy Keqing did not receive news of Fairy Jinghuan emerging from seclusion, but instead received news that many fairies had broken Fairy Jinghuan's restrictions, retrieved their original forms, and left the Taixu Illusion Realm.

In an instant, the Taixu Illusion Realm lost half of its fairies.

The remaining fairies were even more panicked.

The fairyland-like Taixu Illusion Realm now exuded an aura of decay and ruin.

Jia Hu knew that Jia Zhen was doomed.

Although the emperor did not care about an illegitimate daughter like Qin Keqing.

She still possessed the bloodline of the imperial family, so how could she be toyed with at will by an old lecher like Jia Zhen?

Although Qin Keqing was no saint either, now that she was dead, the emperor's disgust and fury were directed entirely at Jia Zhen.

Jia Hu would not plead for Jia Zhen, but he felt pity for Jia Rong, the poor fellow who had been cuckolded by his own father.

In this world, Jia Rong had grown up studying alongside Jia Lian and Jia Zhu in the Rongguo Mansion, and with Jia Daishan watching over him, Jia Rong had not become a second Jia Zhen as he had in the original story.

In this world, Jia Rong had also passed the imperial examinations to become a xiucai; although he could not pass the provincial examinations, he still possessed some level of ability.

Jia Hu spoke up to plead for Jia Rong.

The emperor also felt that the fellow who had been cuckolded by his own father was quite pitiful, so he agreed to spare Jia Rong.

The Ningguo Mansion had to be eradicated, and Jia Rong could not remain in the capital.

Jia Hu agreed.

After the funeral of Qin Shi, Jia Hu sought out Jia Zhen for a talk.

Using the affair of Qin Shi to threaten Jia Zhen—though he did not mention her true identity—Jia Hu forced Jia Zhen to agree to let Jia Rong and Jia Qiang separate from the family and leave the capital. He pretended to be unaware of the schemes involving Jia Zhen and Lady Jia Shi, as the Emperor was not yet ready to move against the Four Kings and Eight Dukes.

Because of the incident with Qin Shi, Jia Zhen already found Jia Rong to be an eyesore.

In his eyes, a son was worth less than a woman.

Thus, without much hesitation, he agreed to Jia Hu's demand.

He took only three portions of the Ningguo Mansion's assets, distributed them to Jia Rong and Jia Qiang, and sent them off to their ancestral home in Jinling.

Jia Rong had long harbored resentment toward this father of his, but he had dared not show it due to the demands of filial piety.

Now, being able to get away from such a rotten man was exactly what he wanted.

He did not care about the amount of wealth he received.

Jia Zhen had no other sons; once he died, wouldn't all the assets of the Ningguo Mansion be his anyway?

Yet, he did not know that he would never obtain the wealth of the Ningguo Mansion.

Before they left, Jia Hu called the two of them before him and gave them a long lecture of instructions.

His concern for them far surpassed that of Jia Zhen.

Both men thought to themselves that this was what a true elder should be like!

After finishing his instructions, Jia Hu kept Jia Rong behind and said to him, "Do not think about the title or the assets of the Ningguo Mansion."

Jia Rong widened his eyes, looking at Jia Hu in confusion.

Jia Hu lowered his voice and said, "Your father's actions have offended His Majesty, and sooner or later, the Emperor will confiscate the Ningguo Mansion. I pleaded with His Majesty on your behalf to allow you to leave the capital this time, but the condition is that you can never return to the capital again."

Jia Rong was horrified.

Was the situation truly so dire?

He asked with a trembling voice, "Is it because of Qin Shi?"

Jia Hu asked, "Do you know the identity of Qin Shi?"

Jia Rong shook his head, "I am not clear on what her identity is, but I guessed it was certainly not simple. The dowry she brought was not something a family of a fifth or sixth-rank minor official could possess. My father pushed me to marry Qin Shi, hoping to secure a future, right? It is a pity he failed."

Jia Hu nodded, "Qin Shi was the illegitimate daughter of the Deposed Crown Prince."

Jia Rong was shocked, "He was courting death, and he was dragging the entire household down with him. The Deposed Crown Prince has been dead for over a decade, and the Emperor has been on the throne for many years; his position is secure. For him to think he could help Commandery Prince Yizhong rebel is nothing but a pipe dream."

Jia Hu offered a mocking smile, "Indeed, isn't it? Even you can see this clearly, yet your father naively believed he could succeed. Did he really think he was the only clever person under the heavens?"