newbobooks Chapter 15 Interrogation of the Old Woman
Chapter 15 Interrogation of the Old Woman
Just now, Grandmother Jia sent someone to tell Zhang Shi to rest well today and not to go to Pear Fragrance Courtyard. Zhang Shi knew that it was because she was pregnant and Grandmother Jia was kind and did not want her to travel back and forth, so she let the two boys go to Wang Shi's courtyard by themselves.
When the two arrived at Wang's place, Wang immediately came up to them and asked:
"How did you sleep last night? How was your meal?" Jia Hu and Jia Zhu answered in turn.
Madam Wang then asked, "Have you gone to pay your respects to your grandfather?"
Jia Hu replied, "Knowing that Grandfather was injured, he must need to rest well today. Since Grandfather was exempted from paying his respects yesterday, I thought I would go later."
Wang asked again, "Have you visited your mother?"
Jia Hu then said:
"Already gone."
Wang then said, "Then come with me to pay our respects to your grandfather."
Although I was exempted from the morning greetings, such a serious incident had occurred, and I should have been by my mother-in-law's bedside. It was already a sign of my parents-in-law's kindness that they allowed me to come back and rest.
After saying that, he was about to take Jia Hu and Jia Zhu to Pear Fragrance Courtyard.
Jia Hu wanted to persuade his grandmother not to let his aunt go to pay her respects, but seeing that Wang was in a hurry to go, he was just thinking about what to do when the maid who came to deliver the message from Grandmother Jia arrived.
Upon hearing this, Wang could only instruct the maids and servants to keep a close eye on the two individuals.
Upon arriving at Pear Fragrance Courtyard, they found Grandmother Jia and Jia Min already accompanying Jia Daishan, but Jia She and Jia Zheng were not seen. Grandmother Jia, seeing them approach, said:
“He’er and Zheng’er kept watch all night, so I let them go and rest.”
Everyone praised Grandmother Jia for her loving heart towards her children.
No sooner had she finished speaking than Jia She and Jia Zheng entered the room, and Grandmother Jia said:
"Didn't I tell you two to go back and rest? Why have you come back again?"
Jia She scratched his head and chuckled, saying:
“I won’t be able to sleep if I go back, so I might as well stay here and keep watch over my father.”
After their meal, the two felt they needed to keep an eye on Jia Daishan, otherwise they wouldn't feel at ease, so they returned. Jia Daishan smiled and said:
"I know you mean well, but I'm fine now, so you should get some rest."
Jia She said, "My son is young and it's alright. Father, please let me stay here. Otherwise, I won't have peace of mind."
Jia Zheng nodded in agreement.
Jia Daishan realized that his serious injury had frightened his two children. He felt a pang of sadness. As parents, they should take good care of their children, but he also wondered if he had been too protective in the past. He thought that it was not good to frighten his children so much when he was in trouble. After all, he was getting old and didn't know how many more days he could protect these children.
Before he knew it, the guard came to report. Jia Daishan took the letter handed to him, read it for a while, and then sneered, saying:
"Go, bring that old woman up here. We're going to interrogate her today!"
"Speak," he said, looking at Jia Hu and Jia Zhu.
"You two brothers go play in the side room for a while."
The children are too young; he doesn't want them to see these things.
Grandmother Jia also said:
"Go, go, go to the side room to play. I'll have the old women find you some toys, and I'll also give you some snacks and delicious fruit."
Jia Hu didn't really want to leave. He also wanted to know why someone would try to harm him at such a young age, but seeing the adults' resolute expressions, it was clear they wouldn't let him and Jia Ru listen in. So he pulled Jia Zhu aside and obediently nodded, saying:
"My brother and I went to play first."
The crowd smiled and waved to him, signaling him to hurry up.
Jia Hu, somewhat dejected, led Jia Zhu to sit down in a side room. Jia Zhu then pestered him to tell him a story. Jia Hu was uneasy and couldn't eavesdrop, so he could only continue telling him the story from the previous night.
The old woman was dragged from the woodshed by two burly servants. As soon as she saw Jia Daishan, she knelt down and cried out, "Lord Duke, I am innocent! I am innocent! Please help me!"
Seeing her stubbornness, Jia She got so angry that he kicked her. Although he, the great master Jia, was a scoundrel, he never hit women. However, this old woman almost killed his son, which made it hard for him to suppress his hatred.
Jia Daishan said in an unfriendly tone:
"You're innocent? What makes you innocent? Tell me, why did you take Hu'er to the lakeside!"
The old woman then said, "It was the eldest young master. Seeing that the eldest mistress was feeling stifled in her room, he offered to pick some flowers and bring them to her."
Jia Daishan, no longer wanting to listen to her nonsense, said:
"You have a younger brother in Qingshan Town, right?"
Upon hearing this, the old woman, who had been kneeling on the ground, immediately raised her head, staring intently at Jia Daishan, and said:
"It has nothing to do with my brother, I did it all, it has nothing to do with my brother!"
Jia Daishan then laughed and said, "Do you think I would let your brother off after what you've done? If you don't tell the truth, I'll bring your brother's whole family here. I heard your brother just had a new grandson, who's as cute as a snowball!"
Upon hearing this, the old woman kowtowed repeatedly and said:
"It's all my fault, it's all my doing, it has nothing to do with my brother! Your Excellency, you can't do this!"
Jia Daishan frowned, slammed his hand on the bed, and roared:
"Why can't I do this? You can lay a hand on my grandson, so why can't I? You watched Hu'er grow up, how can you be so heartless?"
Seeing Jia Daishan's agitation, Grandmother Jia quickly stepped forward to comfort him, saying, "Master is still injured; you mustn't touch the wound again."
When everyone saw the old woman kowtowing repeatedly until her head was bleeding and the ground was stained with blood, they felt no pity. They thought to themselves, "Your child is a child, but aren't our children children too?"