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

Chapter 198 : Breaking Off Relations with The Jiang Fu

Translated by : Shl

Edited by : Anks & Ely

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As soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding crowd broke into an uproar. The farcical situation of the Jiang fu a few years ago was common knowledge throughout the capital. At that time, Xia Yan's family background was stainless, and she had a good reputation for her virtue and artistic talent. Later on, after the truth about her shameful morals and conduct was revealed, she had become an object of much disgust. Consequently, upon hearing the words spoken by these two maidservants, it was as if a stone had been abruptly thrown into a peaceful lake, setting off ripples that could not be stopped. Those who were older remembered the former furen of the Jiang fu, Zhao Mei.

Speaking of which, every person who had some impression of Zhao Mei truly had a good opinion of her. Zhao Mei had been a natural-born beauty, with a pure, kind-hearted temperament. When she married into the Jiang fu, she often helped the impoverished. She had never favoured the rich nor disdained the poor, and neither had she put on the airs of a lady from the upper class; she had been so amiable and approachable that it had shocked people. However, in the end, this good reputation had been attributed to Minister Jiang, adding considerable leverage to his official career. Jiang Quan's reputation of incorruptibility at that time might very well have all been due to Zhao Mei.

It was just that as Zhao Mei slowly faded from people's sight, the gentle and virtuous Xia Yan made an appearance, with the reputation for being a talented woman. Moreover, Jiang Quan had deliberately used his authority and power to elevate her status at every opportunity. As a result, people only remembered that the only furen of Jiang fu was Xia Yan, not the original, Zhao Mei. However, now that these maidservants had mentioned it, some people began to recollect the beautiful and kind-hearted woman from back then. There is good in the human heart, and so several people, keen on ensuring that justice was served, opened their mouths to say, "Oh! Which damned creature harmed the former Jiang Furen? The former Jiang Furen was such a good person, so amiable."

The official came forward to receive the petition from Lian Qiao's hands and eyed the crowd. These days, Hong'an Junzhu was a mighty figure[1] in the capital, and had such a huge backer in the Jinying Wangfu. Thus, once he heard Jiang Ruan's name, he did not dare to show neglect in this situation. After calling out a few times for the crowd to not to make a racket, he went back inside with the document in his hands.

[1] 炙手可热 (zhìshǒukěrè) – lit. burn your hand, feel the heat (idiom); fig. arrogance of the powerful / a mighty figure no-one dares approach / hot (exciting or in favour).

Generally speaking, it took a day for the investigation department to start proceedings in court. By and large, ordinary cases went directly to the yamen[2] to be heard. Only when the case involved a great grievance of injustice brought forward by a member of the nobility, and also because there were fears that the power and influence of the accusing party would be so formidable that the yamenofficials might intervene or cause the case to be unfairly resolved, then the case would be sent to the investigation department. This department could also choose whether or not to pursue and try a case. After all, the lives of the rich were full of twists and turns, and a little carelessness might invite disaster upon oneself. However, today, since an official had dared to take on the responsibility of resolving the complaint, it was evident that a superior had given him prior instructions. To receive the petition was to investigate and try the case, so the surrounding crowd knew that there would once again be some fun to watch the following day.

[2] 衙门 (yámen) – government office in feudal China. There are local officials in charge of hearing cases. The yamen servants in the yamen assist local officials in searching for evidence and arresting criminals.