After the family property is settled, it’s time to deal with the people.
Sitting back in the hall, Jia Lian asked people to escort the men and women of the Zhao family over.
Originally, he wanted to follow normal procedures and take the Zhao family into prison to await the court's disposal. But after seeing the women previously detained in the secret room, Jia Lian changed his mind.
"Zhao Tang, Zhao Ji."
Following Jia Lian's voice, the imperial officers and soldiers immediately took Zhao and his son into custody. Zhao Tang, the master of the Zhao family, had long been without a master and could only plead for mercy. However, Zhao Ji, the eldest son of the Zhao family, seemed to be struggling to his death and kept shouting at Jia Lian about who was behind the Zhao family.
Jia Lian didn't bother to listen at all.
If he is the Prime Minister and is responsible for purging officials this time, he may be interested in listening to it so that he can follow the clues and catch them all.
But he's not. It was enough for him to be able to resolve the matter within Yangzhou territory.
After all, those courtiers could be fine if they were one or two, but it would be really difficult to deal with them if there were more of them. At least, it would be difficult to bring down those people based only on the confessions of the Zhao family, but it would be easy to cause trouble.
Most importantly, the ministers who provided shelter to these salt merchants were not necessarily corrupt officials. After all, he himself is not a celebrity who upholds righteousness and has a clean breeze on his sleeves.
After giving the officers and soldiers a casual look to silence him, Jia Lian stood up and declared loudly: "The Zhao family sells illicit salt, embezzles salt taxes, kidnaps and imprisons young girls for music, and also assassinates the king's imperial envoys. The crime is so serious that not killing him is enough." To reveal the principles of heaven.
This officer has sentenced Zhao Tang, Zhao Ji and his son to be executed at noon tomorrow in Dongshi! The Zhao family and his son had twenty-three trusted servants around them, who acted as an aide and took human life lightly and were executed with sticks. "
As Jia Lian pronounced the verdict, both Zhao and his son fainted, and more than two hundred servants kneeling on the west side of the courtyard started wailing all over the place. Several people fainted from fear.
With the Zhao family and his son being imprisoned, the imperial officers and soldiers also pulled out all the Zhao family slaves who had been sentenced to death by Jia Lian and killed them with sticks. In the end, twenty-three people were killed with sticks, and three people were not in the Zhao family and luckily escaped. Jia Lian didn't care, so he just put up a notice and asked the government to arrest him.
The Zhao family was so wealthy that they had countless servants in their name, as well as servants and assistants who took care of various industries. The more than 200 people in front of me are just people living in the main residence of the Zhao family.
Nearly two hundred of them are servants and thugs. There are not many real Zhao family members, only twenty or thirty, and most of them are female relatives.
In fact, considering the crimes committed by the Zhao family and his son, it would not be considered unjust to kill all the slaves around them. It's just that Jia Lian doesn't like to be implicated. These twenty-three were confirmed through the mouths of the Zhao family's housekeeper and others to be the instigators of the Zhao family and his son.
After the people who deserved to be killed were dealt with, the remaining twenty or thirty Zhao family members and a few men were exiled to the army, and all the female relatives were sent to the Jiaofang.
In fact, only the family members of officials were eligible to join the Jiaofang. The family members of wealthy gentry who committed crimes like this were usually packaged and sold to Goulan brothel. One can imagine the treatment that a sinful woman sold at such a low price would receive.
innocent? These female relatives enjoy the wealth of the Zhao family, and naturally they have to bear the sins of the Zhao family.
Not innocent? Half of the dozen or so concubines that Zhao and his son had together were taken from them by force.
In this kind of matter, it is difficult to identify one by one whether someone is innocent or not.
Jia Lian did not have the time or energy to identify them one by one. In the end, he felt a little pity and chose to send them into the classroom. Although the Jiaofang is also in the business of a brothel, after all, the official family is more respectable. There is a relatively sound and humane system in the Jiaofang. The outcome of entering the Jiaofang is likely to be better than selling it to an outside brothel at a low price.
After disposing of the female relatives, in addition to the piles of belongings, there were only more than two hundred servants, maids, slaves and boys kneeling on the ground shivering, waiting for the verdict.
"The Zhao family has committed many crimes, and you all worked for the Zhao family, and you are all suspected of being the accomplices of the tigers. Therefore, it is reasonable for me to implicate you!
But God has the virtue of good life, but I don't want to commit more evils. Now, each person will receive two taels of silver and one thousand coins to use as inventory fees, and everyone can make a living. I hope that after you get out, you can change your past and be a good person.
, if she commits another female crime and falls into the hands of this officer, she will be executed without mercy. "
It has been a law for thousands of years that no eggs are left intact when the nest is overturned. Jia Lian also suddenly thought that in the original work, Jia's house was ransacked, and how many innocent children were forced to fall into the dirt, leaving them completely white. He felt somewhat emotional in his heart, so he treated these low-level servants leniently.
Because according to convention, these people should actually be detained in the inspection station and wait for the government to sell them. Firstly, they can’t be sold for much money, and secondly, with so many people, detention is troublesome and prone to chaos, so it’s better to let them go out and fend for themselves.
As for giving money, it was just because the house was searched without distinction between master and servant, and everything was searched from top to bottom. If you kick them out without giving them any money, on the one hand they will easily cause trouble, and on the other hand many people may not have a chance to make a living.
The dozen or so women rescued from the secret room were also treated in the same way. Even considering that some weak and helpless women would not be able to survive after going out, they could even choose to stay in the Zhao family temporarily, and then join the Zhao family's female family members to join the Jiaofang Division.
After finishing all these things one by one, it was already dawn. Jia Lian couldn't help but sigh. Searching a house is indeed a delicate job. If you want to cook it properly, you need to consider too many things.
When he was about to return home, he suddenly saw an extra carriage behind the team, and Jia Lian asked what was going on.
All the guards looked at each other and smiled. Zhao'er stepped forward and whispered in a sly voice: "Second Master, don't ask, I picked something good for you. I will know when I get back. I guarantee you like it..."
Jia Lian understood something. He had already climbed onto his horse and raised the whip in his hand, intending to give him a whip. After he dodged it, he said, "Say!"
Zhao'er then brought the carriage over and immediately opened the curtain. Sure enough, she could see that there was a beautiful woman in her twenties sitting inside, dressed in colorful clothes!
When she saw Jia Lian, the beauty seemed to be very shy. Sitting in the carriage, she turned her face inward, leaving a beautiful profile to Jia Lian and others outside.
Zhao'er smiled and said: "The second master is so busy and hard working on errands, and there is not even a maid around to serve him. I feel really sad when I see it. So, I specially found someone for the second master to facilitate the time when the second master is on errands in Yangzhou." Every day, I can have someone to take care of me."
These are all nonsense. In fact, it was Zhao'er's keen discovery that when Jia Lian was dealing with this female member of the Zhao family, his eyes stayed on this girl for a moment longer, and he thought that Jia Lian was interested in this girl, but he was just embarrassed to show it in public.
As Ma Zai, he naturally has to understand his master's thoughts at all times. Therefore, he took the decision privately and brought the girl out.
Seeing that Jia Lian didn't speak, Zhao'er immediately said: "Second Master, don't worry, my servant didn't force her. She is the eighth concubine of the Zhao family, and she is also a poor person.
However, I heard from others that she was great in the past. Not only was she a famous oiran lady in Yangzhou, but she also represented Yangzhou in the oiran competition in the entire Jiangnan region and won the reputation of being the best oiran lady in the south of the Yangtze River. Does the Second Master know that the Jiangnan Oiran Competition is held every year, and almost all the famous brothels in Jiangnan will send people to participate. Only the final winner can obtain this title. "
Liu Xianglian also joked at this time: "He is right. This Jiangnan Oiran Competition is an annual event in Jiangnan, hosted by Nanjiofang. First of all, each prefecture will decide an oiran lady to represent the prefecture and Jiangnan. The oirans from other state capitals competed, and finally four were selected, known as the four major oirans in Jiangnan for the year. Then the top one from these four oirans was selected as the number one oiran lady of the year.
Although the four great courtesans change from time to time, everyone who can win the reputation of the first court lady can be called the most beautiful in the world. "
As she said this, Liu Xianglian shook her head, as if she was very sorry that such a beautiful lady was married to someone like Mr. Zhao as a concubine.
Jia Lian didn't have any big reaction after hearing this. He just looked at the beauty in the carriage and asked, "What's your name?"
The beauty seemed to know that life, death, wealth, and honor depended on Jia Lian's thoughts. She bowed slightly when she heard the words, and then whispered back: "My name is Jiang Yun."
"how old are you?"
"Twenty-five~"
Although the beauty tried to keep her expression calm, Jia
Lian's eyes were as bright as a torch, but he could still tell that there was deep humility and fatigue in this woman's beautiful eyes.
Since she was once so prosperous, she ended up marrying someone like Zhao Tang as a concubine, so her youth was full of ups and downs.
So Jia Lian turned to ask Liu Xianglian: "I know that Erlang has not married yet, and I have heard that Erlang once said that he must have a stunning beauty in the world before he can marry. Since Erlang called her a stunning beauty just now, how about I give her to Erlang?"
Liu Xianglian was stunned for a moment, then glanced at Jiang Yun in the carriage, who also looked at him.
My heart was moved for a moment, but I shook my head in my heart for a while. As he said, this woman is stunning. However, firstly, he is not yet eighteen this year, and this woman is much older than him. Secondly, he cannot pass the fact that this woman once married someone like Zhao Tang. .
Moreover, although he had said that he would not marry unless he was a stunning woman, it was all in his early years and he had never publicized it, let alone told Jia Lian. Jia Lian actually knew about it, which made him feel both curious and secretly suspicious. He always felt that Jia Lian knew so much about him that he didn't even know what secrets he had that Jia Lian didn't know.
"It's just a drunken rant, and it cannot be taken seriously. On the one hand, I am still young and have never considered starting a family. On the other hand, since I have followed the Marquis, I have not made any achievements and do not dare to accept this big reward."
Jia Lian was only two or three years older than Liu Xianglian, so he could naturally understand the real reason for his rejection, and he thought highly of Liu Xianglian.
He is a true wanderer. Although he likes beauties, he is not burdened by them.
So he told Zhao'er: "Send it back."
He likes beautiful women, and he also admits that this woman is stunning. If he were to meet her in her prime, he might be tempted to keep her by his side, but for now, forget it.
He had even driven away a young and charming official like Shen Pan'er, so why would he accept a famous prostitute who was married to a businessman?
The skin is very important, but it's not just the skin that he sees. These women are not as fragrant as Sister Lin who fell from the sky.
Zhao'er still wanted to stay, but Jia Lian took one look at her and immediately felt guilty. When he was about to lead the carriage back, he caught a glimpse of the sad look in the beauty's eyes. Suddenly he mustered up the courage and turned around to look at Jia Lian eagerly.
Seeing the displeasure on Jia Lian's face, he did not dare to hesitate and said quickly: "I don't dare to disobey the second master's wishes. It's because the second master didn't like her that she is not lucky... However, I am almost seventeen years old this year. I don’t have a wife yet…”
Zhaoer was a little afraid to ask directly.
Jia Lian understood it immediately and laughed.
He had forgotten that Zhao'er was also old enough to marry a wife. It's just that Zhao'er's body is small and she always acts like a ghost in front of him, so he ignores this.
It's time to arrange for a woman to be placed in the house for him, so that he won't cause trouble. The Jia family has a great business and many servants and maids. It is inevitable that the young servants and maids will secretly be a little contented.
For example, Jia Baoyu's young servant Mingyan, who has a big butt, dares to do good deeds in Ningguo Mansion by following Jia Zhen's maid.
For another example, Zhao'er must have had an affair with Duo's wife, Duo.
However, it doesn't make him feel that grace is too much to ask for.
"You want her to be your wife?"
"Uh, yes, I hope the second master will make it happen!" Although Zhao'er was a little uneasy, Zhao'er also knew that Jia Lian didn't like to act coy, so he knelt on the ground with a thud and replied loudly.
"Did you know that she was a guilty person and was going to be a member of the Jiaofang Division? Do you also know that with her beauty and her skills as the best courtesan, when she arrived at the Jiaofang Division, she could serve the Jiaofang Division How much money do you earn?"
Hearing Jia Lian's question, Zhao'er's face changed from green to red, and finally he said dejectedly: "I know, I'm the one who overstepped my bounds. I shouldn't put the Second Master in trouble. I know my mistake."
Why didn't Zhao'er understand that as a slave, how could he be qualified to enjoy such beauties?
If Jia Lian could choose a slightly more beautiful one from the Jia family's maids and give it to him, he should be grateful. Today was just a coincidence. Jia Lian didn't want it, and Liu Xianglian didn't want it, so he dared to tentatively ask for Jia Lian's permission. Look at Jia Lian
Sure enough, he was angry and immediately apologized.
"You're giving up now? It's a useless thing."
Jia Lian pretended to curse, and then said: "Let me ask you, do you really want to marry her? Don't you mind that she has married someone else, and don't mind that she is many years older than you?"
Zhao'er sensed the turning point and forcefully accepted the offer, saying quickly: "I don't mind, I! I have been with the second master for almost ten years, and I have saved a lot of money for my wife.
As long as the second master can fulfill her wish, I am willing to spend all my money to redeem her life! "
Hearing what Zhao'er said, even Xing'er and others who were a little jealous at first saw that this kid was actually sincere!
Even Jia Lian had no intention of making things difficult, and turned to look at Jiang Yun: "I heard you all, are you willing?"
Although Jiang Yun could see that Zhao'er was just Jia Lian's slave, from the conversation just now, he knew that Zhao'er, this slave, probably had a brighter future than many great young people in the world. What's more, it's rare that he cares about her so much.
Seven or eight years ago, there were naturally countless suitors around her, but today, it is hard to even find a place to stay.
She was originally born in a dusty family, and if she entered the Jiaofang Division as a sin again and wasted her years, she was afraid that the rest of her life would be desolate, so she nodded to Jia Lian.
Jia Lian then said: "In this case, I will help you today. This is your choice. I hope you will cherish this fate, otherwise don't blame me if something goes wrong in the future. As for the money to redeem her life, Don't worry about it. Originally, it was my job to be the master of your wife, but now I can take care of it for you.
But she is a sinner after all, and the rules cannot be broken. You send her back first, and when you come back, I will let you take my name card, go to the Jiaofang Division to redeem her, and send a speedboat to take her to Beijing, and then the matchmaker will marry her. "
Hearing this, Zhao'er was so grateful that she almost cried. She kowtowed to Jia Lian several times, then stood up and sent Jiang Yun back.
"If you are envious, you can choose one. However, the premise is that the other person is not married like Zhao'er, and the other person must be willing to follow you without forcing you. How about it, is it fair?"
After looking around, Jia Lian smiled at Xing'er and his soldiers.
Among the women and maids of the Zhao family, some were indeed well-off. Rather than taking advantage of Jiaofang Si, it is better to take advantage of his people.
Although many people were obviously moved, no one said anything in the end. When it comes to marrying a wife, of course it is better to be clean and innocent. Moreover, as people around Jia Lian, they are not worried about not getting a wife at all.
The most important thing is that not everyone has Zhao'er's dignity. Don't you see the second master taking him with him wherever he goes? Otherwise they wouldn't have the guts to ask for such grace.
