The Rebirth of an Ill-Fated Consort (Chapters 1- 203)

Chapter 176 : The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind

She had spoken so earnestly, much like making a solemn vow, that Jiang Quan was unable to not take her word for it. Indignantly he said, "That imbecile! He is hell-bent on destroying the Jiang family!"

"Laoye, don't be overwrought," Xia Yue thoroughly abhorred and despised how Jiang Quan was always quick to 'blame the gods and accuse others' when matters like this were to arise. Veiling the disdain in her eyes, she said, "I heard that Old Marquis Xia has already entered the palace to seek an audience with the Emperor as this matter is not something to be taken lightly. Setting fire to the military provisions in the warehouse is a big offence, especially when those tens of thousands of soldiers at the border are urgently in need of those provisions and funds. Of all things, Second Young Master had to do such a thing at such a time as this. It would not be hard for others to be highly suspicious."

Jiang Quan became alarmed. Just now he had been busy ranting and raving because he was so infuriated by Jiang Chao's reckless action, but now that he truly grasped the enormity of the situation, fear began to creep in. That's right, there were tens of thousands of soldiers at the border desperately awaiting these provisions, yet Jiang Chao and Xia Jun had burned everything. For something like this to have happened in the middle of the night, if one were to say that it was unintentional, no one in their right mind would believe it. But even if it was intentional, why in the world would an official's di son make such a move. Presently, the war between Great Jin and Tian Jin was a sensitive matter for the Emperor's and for Jiang Chao to make a mess of this was obviously taking a stab at a vulnerable issue; it was almost as if he was forcing the Emperor to think that he (JC) had colluded with the enemy and betrayed their country. Otherwise, why would he burn all of the provisions and have Great Jin soldiers suffer the loss of ammunition and food which they so desperately needed to fight the war.

Jiang Quan was restless, breaking out in cold sweat that seemed to saturate him from his neck down to the middle of his back. The Emperor's suspicions and doubts were like a huge sword suspended above the head of the Jiang fu. However, at this point, he only had this one son, so it was impossible for him not to care.

Suddenly he asked Xia Yue, "Why did Marquis Xia enter the palace?" Although Xia Cheng only had this one grandson, Xia Jun, it did not explain the speed in which he had rushed to the palace to gain an audience with the Emperor. Until everything had been investigated and verified, Xia Cheng would not react without cause. For him to rush to meet with the Emperor, something important must have happened.

Xia Yue looked at Jiang Quan and softly replied, "It was said that last night when Second Young Master Xia went out, he took the Xia family's private army with him. And those soldiers were involved in a fight with the city garrison guards. When the Emperor heard the news, he was extremely furious and had both Second Young Master Xia and Second Young Master Jiang thrown into the imperial prison."

Jiang Quan almost fainted when he heard this. Most high-ranking officials in the city had their own army that were like personal bodyguards and their numbers weren't great. As such it was not considered a big issue to have a private army and the Emperor also tacitly approved of it. But for two people to set out to torch the granary while bringing along their own private troops to aid in setting the fire, this was a greater offence than if it were just the two of them acting by themselves. If it were just the two of them individually, then it could be argued that it was Xia Jun and Jiang Chao's own plans, but once it involved a personal army, then it would immediately implicate the entire fu, making it a bigger issue. Especially when there was a fight against the city garrison guards. This was truly stepping on the Emperor's feet and being brazen about it, so what would the Emperor infer from all this? Naturally he would believe that they had long since had intentions of revolting!