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Jia Min took the Red Medicine and Peiyuan Pill, and the symptoms of severe bleeding stopped, restoring color to her face. The Old Doctor was astonished after checking her pulse.
"Lord Lin, where did you find this miraculous medicine?" the Old Doctor asked Lin Ruhai.
Lin Ruhai countered, "Is my wife alright?"
"Not just alright; she's doing exceptionally well! Your wife's health is even better than before her pregnancy. In a year or two, she will surely bear you one or two more sons or daughters!"
"Really?" Lin Ruhai was overjoyed and felt even more grateful to Bai Tang, almost regarding her as a second parent.
After sending away the Old Doctor, who was eager to inquire about the source of the Elixir, Lin Ruhai went to the Cinnamon Osmanthus Courtyard to thank Bai Tang.
Bai Tang waved her hand, saying, "Lin brother, it's still the same old saying; it was just a small effort on my part, nothing to mention!"
"It may be a small effort for you, but it's a great kindness for my Lin family. Your benevolence is selfless, and I can only remember it in my heart. I will definitely repay you when I have the chance," Lin Ruhai said solemnly.
Bai Tang's face turned slightly red; she truly did not expect such serious gratitude from Lin Ruhai for simply wanting to help Lin Mei Mei. She quickly changed the subject: "Lin brother, when you came to find me today, you mentioned that Sister-in-law would give birth today. How did it suddenly happen without any warning, and such a dangerous process? Could someone be causing trouble?"
Many fanfictions of Dream of the Red Chamber depict Jia Min's difficult childbirth and injuries as being caused by Madam Wang's schemes, while others suggest it was a royal conspiracy. Bai Tang leaned towards the first theory; if the royal family wanted to plot against Lin Ruhai, they wouldn't target his wife's childbirth, right? Now she wanted to remind Lin Ruhai that if he could find evidence of Madam Wang's interference, Jia Min would surely not spare Madam Wang and would definitely refuse Jia Mu's plan for their two children to marry.
Upon hearing this, Lin Ruhai's expression became serious: "Thank you for the reminder. I hadn't thought of that. Looking back now, it's certain that someone wanted to harm my wife. I will send someone to investigate thoroughly!"
The investigation revealed something alarming: there were actually two factions from the Jia Family lurking in his backyard. Jia Mu's people had secretly drugged several of Lin Ruhai's concubines and maidservants to ensure that Jia Min maintained her status. What comforted Lin Ruhai was that Jia Min was unaware of this; he felt it best to keep this matter confidential so as not to upset his wife. As for those who executed Jia Mu's orders, he directly sent them back to the Jia Family, believing that Jia Mu would understand his anger and would not dare send anyone else.
Lin Ruhai was merely angry about Jia Mu's interference in his backyard, but he was extraordinarily furious with Madam Wang for harming Jia Min and their children. He beat those responsible nearly to death and had his subordinates return them to Madam Wang while also writing a letter of accountability to Jia Zheng. Little did he know that this letter would bring Madam Wang down from grace.
Lin Ruhai did not hide the matter regarding Madam Wang and told Jia Min. Without the postpartum weakness, Jia Min's body could withstand the news that almost made her bite through her silver teeth.
"How pitiful that my second brother married such a vicious woman!"
When she was a girl, her relationship with this sister-in-law was indeed not good. Compared to Madam Wang, who could not even recognize a single character, she naturally preferred her elder sister-in-law from a scholarly family. Unexpectedly, this second sister-in-law was so malicious that she even plotted against her after she got married. If it weren't for Young Master Bai's help this time, her life would have been plotted away by her sister-in-law. How could this woman still believe in Buddhism? Isn't she afraid of karmic retribution?
Jia Min could not swallow this anger. She had been away from home for ten years and could no longer do anything to Madam Wang, but she could still find ways to annoy her. Jia Min wrote a complaint letter to Jia Mu and suggested that although they could not divorce Madam Wang for the sake of the children, they could find a virtuous concubine for her second brother to help him educate the children, so they wouldn't be led astray by their biological mother.
Madam Wang was completely doomed. As for how she would meet her tragic end, that would come later.
Jia Min's health was getting better, and Lin Mei Mei had also grown up, chubby and adorable. If nothing unexpected happened, she would definitely not grow up to look like a sickly beauty. After attending Lin Mei Mei's full moon banquet, Bai Tang took her leave from Yangzhou. She traveled while enjoying herself, exploring the mountains and rivers of the Great Shun Dynasty and tasting various local delicacies. Although ancient seasonings were not as rich as modern ones, the fresh and nutritious ingredients made the food taste much better than today's offerings. She bought many interesting souvenirs and purchased two backpack expansion charms to fit everything in. Not only did she travel throughout the Great Shun Dynasty, but Bai Tang even made a trip to the Qianxiang Kingdom, known for its spices, adding many precious spices to her backpack.
By the time Bai Tang arrived in the capital of the Great Shun Dynasty, a year had passed. At this time, the reputation of Rongguo Mansion was still widely discussed among the people in the capital. Every time Bai Tang went to a teahouse, she would order a pot of good tea and a plate of sunflower seeds while listening to gossip about Rongguo Mansion.
It turned out that Lin Ruhai's two letters had completely stirred up the Jia Family. Jia Zheng, who valued propriety and face-saving, immediately wanted to divorce Madam Wang upon receiving Lin Ruhai's letter but was stopped by Jia Mu. Jia Mu loved her daughter and was very angry upon receiving Jia Min's complaint letter; however, she had to consider Rongguo Mansion's reputation and the future of her three granddaughters. Rationally, she advised her second son against it and instructed the servants to prepare a Buddhist hall to confine Madam Wang there. Madam Wang immediately sought help from her brother Wang Ziten, but what could Wang Ziten do? How could his sister reach into her sister-in-law's household and plot against her sister-in-law and her children? If such matters were to spread, it would disgrace the Wang family. Who would dare marry into the Wang family again? It should be noted that there were still many unmarried girls in the Wang family; Wang Ziten even had one daughter who had yet to marry. How could he allow one Madam Wang to tarnish the reputation of other young women? The outcome of Madam Wang being confined in the Buddhist hall was inevitable; however, at this moment, Jia She raised doubts. Since Madam Wang could plot against her sister-in-law, would she also target the elder sister-in-law? He had always felt that his wife's death was somewhat suspicious; after all, how could someone lose their life over just a cold?
To appease her eldest son, Jia Mu had no choice but to agree to investigate the cause of death of the eldest daughter-in-law again. This investigation turned out to be serious; not only was the eldest daughter-in-law harmed by Madam Wang, but even their eldest grandson Jia Hu was also killed by Madam Wang's schemes. At this point, Jia Mu wished she could strangle Madam Wang; although she did not like her eldest son or his wife very much, Jia Hu was the eldest grandson of the Jia Family and represented their bloodline—no outsider should be allowed to harm him.
Jia She was completely enraged; he shouted and demanded that Madam Wang pay with her life and threatened to report it to the authorities. To calm Jia She down, Jia Mu had no choice but to let Jia Zheng move out of the main courtyard and give his courtyard to Jia She.
Madam Wang would never be able to leave the Buddhist hall in this lifetime; Wang Ziten directly removed her from their family tree as well. He never expected his sister to be so bold and ruthless.
Jia She benefited from this situation and stopped causing trouble. However, there is an old saying: "There is no wall that does not let wind through." Just as Jia Mu was arranging for Jia Zheng to marry a virtuous concubine, someone reported them to the Ministry of Justice. The person who reported them was a daughter-in-law from Jia She's courtyard; she was originally a maidservant accompanying Jia She's first wife. After hearing about the truth behind her former master's death and seeing how the Jia Family covered it up without standing up for their master, she angrily ran to report Madam Wang and the Jia Family!
The Jia Family was caught off guard, wanting to control the family of that daughter-in-law to change her testimony, but the people from the Ministry of Justice took her family out of the Jia Mansion first, claiming it was to protect the loyal servant's family. Madam Wang was captured by the Ministry of Justice, and when the Constable searched her room, a stack of promissory notes for illegal loans was found. At this moment, everyone in the Jia Family was stunned! Engaging in such immoral activities could lead to a complete downfall! Did Madam Wang want to wipe out the Jia Family?
Jia Mu cried out, "Our family is unfortunate," while Jia Zheng shouted that he wanted to divorce Madam Wang. Except for Jia Baoyu and Tanchun, who were still children, the entire third generation of the Jia Mansion was deeply affected. Jia Yuanchun hid in her room crying, unable to believe that her seemingly loving mother could be such a person. This girl, who was approaching marriageable age, regretted having such a mother; with her reputation tarnished, finding a good husband would be impossible, and even attracting suitors became questionable. The proud girl thought about how other young ladies would mock her and refused to leave her room. Jia Zhu was expelled from the National University of the Study of Classics, which was a significant blow to him as he loved studying. Yet this dutiful child still worried about his mother in prison; although he knew she had committed an unforgivable act, as a child, he could not turn against his elder. The most affected was Jia Lian, who realized he had been living with a thief as a mother for over ten years; he felt guilty towards his deceased mother and elder brother. At this moment, if Madam Wang were in front of him, he would have wanted nothing more than to kill her.
Madam Wang was ultimately sentenced to death; she single-handedly brought down both the Jia and Wang families. Ever since the Ministry of Justice discovered her promissory notes in her house, the Ministry of Revenue set its sights on the Jia Family: if you had money for illegal loans, how could you still owe money to the Ministry of Revenue? Thus, it was as if the Jia Family had been preemptively raided; Madam Wang's private assets and the treasury of the Jia Mansion were directly taken back by people from the Ministry of Revenue and Ministry of Justice, leaving the Jia Family with a note demanding repayment.
Faced with an empty treasury, Jia She turned his attention to several high-ranking stewards within the household. Why? Because after raiding Madam Wang's right-hand man Zhou Ruijia, they found silver and goods worth tens of thousands of taels—far exceeding what was recorded in Rongguo Mansion's public accounts. How could a servant possess so much silver? It must have come from embezzlement from the master’s household. If one steward could embezzle so much, what about the others? Were they all just being taken advantage of? Therefore, on a fine day chosen for auspiciousness, Jia She led a group of trusted aides to raid other households! The first target: the Lai Family!
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