The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Everyone present was shocked and gaped when they heard Emperor Ningkang's decree.

But it also seems reasonable.

First of all, it is almost common knowledge that Jia Lian is the grandson of the retired emperor.

Thus, Emperor Ningkang's elevation of Jia Lian to the imperial lineage and inclusion in the family genealogy was merely an acknowledgment of Jia Lian's bloodline.

As for being enfeoffed as the King of Pingliao.

Now that Jia Lian has been adopted by the Empress and become her heir, what does a mere prince count for?
Strictly speaking, the Empress's adopted son is also a legitimate son, and it would not be excessive for him to be granted the title of Prince.

Therefore, what is most shocking is Emperor Ningkang's decision to have Jia Lian adopted by the Empress.

Jia Lian's status and achievements were already quite remarkable.

The emperor's decision has now removed the only stain on his reputation—his status as an illegitimate grandson.

As the Empress's only heir, his status can no longer be simply described as noble!

But then again.

The Empress had no heir, and Jia Lian was a close relative of the imperial family, being Emperor Ningkang's nephew, and both his parents were deceased. It seemed quite reasonable to adopt him to the Empress.

Everything is reasonable.

But when put together, it just doesn't feel quite right.

Some people who valued etiquette even subconsciously looked towards the Fourth Prince.

The fourth prince is the crown prince, but he is not the legitimate son.

It can be said that Emperor Ningkang's decision has even shaken the foundation of the fourth prince.

Unfortunately, they didn't see the scene they wanted to see: the fourth prince panicking or looking gloomy.

At this moment, the fourth prince, like most people, had his mouth slightly open, clearly shocked by the sudden turn of events.

At this moment, Jia Lian naturally had the energy to observe the reactions of others. After standing up, he immediately knelt down before the Empress at the head of the table and kowtowed three times: "Son greets Mother."

Jia Lian used the word "mother" instead of "empress dowager".

The purpose was also to distinguish them from the other princes.

Although being adopted by the Empress and being adopted by Emperor Ningkang are essentially the same thing, there are still differences if you look closely.

Before confirming Emperor Ningkang's true intentions, Jia Lian would not actively seek to become a prince.

He instinctively sensed the political risks behind this matter and was intentionally trying to avoid them.

At this point, the Empress was completely unaware of the difference between her mother and her mother-in-law.

She became very excited when she heard Jia Lian call her "Mother".

She stood up almost helplessly, took Jia Lian's arm, and said in a choked voice, "Quick...get up, good boy, okay..."

The Empress looked at Jia Lian with red eyes.

More than twenty years have passed since her son died young, and she has no motherhood.

Although the child in front of him was not his biological child, at least legally speaking, he had become his only child.

She was also his only mother.

The Empress had once considered adopting a child into her own family.

However, firstly, Emperor Ningkang himself did not have many children, and secondly, she did not want to be someone who stole someone else's child.

Consort Yi died young, leaving behind a son and a daughter.

Unfortunately, Princess Zhaoyang was the Empress Dowager's darling, so there was no doubt about it.

The only one left was the fourth prince.

That little one, let's just forget about it, she's afraid she'll drive herself crazy.

Besides, the Bai family only has this one grandson, so they probably wouldn't be happy about it.

As for choosing from one's own family...

Stop dreaming. How could the imperial family allow someone else's bloodline to be included in their family tree?

It wasn't until he saw Jia Lian that he realized how much Emperor Ningkang cared for and liked a child.

Coincidentally, this child is a close relative of the imperial family.

She was immediately smitten.

Therefore, after coming down from Iron Net Mountain, she almost without thinking, tentatively proposed the idea of ​​adopting a son.

However, Emperor Ningkang refused.

Unexpectedly, only a year later, Emperor Ningkang brought up the matter on his own initiative.

Judging from his swift and decisive granting of a princely title to Jia Lian, Emperor Ningkang was clearly not acting on a whim, but rather had planned it for a long time.

Perhaps Emperor Ningkang didn't truly reject her last year, but rather there were still some things he hadn't figured out.

Now that I've figured it out, I naturally want to grant her wish.

Thinking of this, the Empress felt extremely grateful to Emperor Ningkang.

As Emperor Ningkang's first wife, she felt deeply guilty and remorseful for not being able to continue his bloodline.

However, Emperor Ningkang never criticized her for this, nor did he deliberately neglect her.

For an emperor, he was truly a man of great compassion and loyalty.

There is even a possibility that Emperor Ningkang knew his days were numbered because of his health condition, and therefore wanted to find someone to rely on before he passed away!
The more this happened, the more complicated and saddened the Empress felt.

Jia Lian had no idea what the Empress was thinking.

Seeing the Empress's inexplicably excited face, Jia Lian couldn't help but be moved as well.

I feel that perhaps accepting this mother as a mother is not simply a matter of exchanging benefits.

So he took the Empress's arm and comforted her, saying, "Mother, don't cry. Today is your birthday, and you've had such an excellent son. You should be happy."

"Yes, yes, Mother should be happy."

The Empress wiped away her tears, and as she turned to sit down, she still didn't let go of Jia Lian's hand, just staring at him.

She thought that if her son were still alive, he would probably be about the same age as Jia Lian.

Hmm, it should be bigger.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty." Princess Zhaoyang stepped forward to offer her congratulations at the opportune moment.

The others also realized what was happening and congratulated the Empress in unison.

Whether genuine or feigned, everyone wore a smile.

Perhaps the only unhappy person present was Madam Xing.

Although Jia Lian wasn't particularly caring or filial towards her, he would always think of her when he had something good.

Now that Jia Lian has climbed up the social ladder, she can no longer rely on him at all.

Faced with everyone's congratulations, the Empress's worries turned to joy, and she responded to everyone's greetings one by one.

Emperor Ningkang found the noise bothersome and instructed Princess Zhaoyang and the Fourth Prince to arrange for Jia Lian to be promoted to the imperial family and to complete the related adoption procedures within three days.

Princess Zhaoyang knew that Emperor Ningkang had requested three days because Jia Lian was going to fight in Korea, so she dared not be negligent and solemnly agreed.

Emperor Ningkang nodded; he truly didn't have the energy to deal with such trivial matters now.

After informing the Empress, he prepared to return to the palace.

Before leaving, he heard Jia Lian address him as "Your Majesty" just like everyone else.

He stopped and said unhappily, "From today onwards, you should also address me and the Empress as Father and Mother, just like Zhaoyang and the others."

Uh……

Jia Lian hesitated for only a second before saying again, "Yes, Your Majesty, I respectfully see you off."

……

Emperor Ningkang is gone, but the turmoil he left behind is far from over.

Jia Lian naturally became the focus of attention. However, no one dared to casually try to curry favor with him, because a more influential figure had approached him immediately.

The fourth prince immediately perked up after Emperor Ningkang left. He walked over to Jia Lian, bumped Jia Lian's arm, and laughed:

"Hehe, Jia Lian, from now on we're real brothers."

Hmm, but it's hard to arrange them by size.

You're older than me, so shouldn't my and Lao Wu's generational order be moved back a bit?

The fourth princess and the fifth prince also came over at this time, observing their new elder brother with curiosity and shyness.

Jia Lian replied, "The order of seniority between the Crown Prince and the Fifth Prince should remain unchanged."

"I am merely the Empress Dowager's adopted son, not a prince. From now on, you may address me as Your Majesty."

The Empress, who was standing nearby, nodded secretly upon hearing Jia Lian's words.

As expected, Jia Lian was very sensible and knew when to advance and retreat.

Although Jia Lian was adopted by her, he nominally gained the status of a legitimate son.

Emperor Ningkang also acknowledged his son's identity.

But don't forget that at any time, the right of inheritance always goes to the biological children, taking precedence over that of non-biological children.

In other words, it was the Fourth Prince who spoke; otherwise, his suggestion to "move a little" could have been seen as a test of Jia Lian.

Jia Lian did not become arrogant because of the emperor's favor. He immediately denied his status as a prince and asked the other princes to call him "brother king" instead of "emperor brother".

This means that he had no intention of competing with the fourth prince for the throne, nor was he qualified to do so.

This pleased the Queen.

She didn't want today's events to incite Jia Lian's ambition, that would be undesirable.

This also betrayed Emperor Ningkang's good intentions.

So he beckoned to Jia Lian and said, "My son, come here..."

Jia Lian was stunned for a moment before realizing that the Empress was calling him, and he quickly went back.

The Empress gestured for him to kneel down, touched his shoulder, and said with a smile, "Today we become mother and son, and in this haste, I haven't prepared a gift for you."

Today happens to be my birthday, and I've received so many gifts from you all.

Here's what we'll do: if you don't mind, just pick a few items from the Empress Dowager's congratulatory gifts; consider it a gift from her as a token of her changing her address to you.

The Empress's eyes crinkled with laughter as she spoke, making no attempt to conceal her affection for Jia Lian.

Jia Lian replied, "Look at what Mother Empress said. It should be your son who prepares a gift for you. I haven't prepared one, so how can I accept a gift from you, Mother Empress, especially a birthday present?"

The Empress had already ordered Xia Shouzhong to bring over all the congratulatory gifts he had selected, and also to bring over the gift list.

Upon hearing this, she said, "Your gift, isn't it a painting that you and your wives made together? Your mother has already received it and likes it very much."

Now is the time for Mother to express her feelings.

If you don't choose, I'll have your wives come up and choose for you.

As she spoke, the Empress called out to Daiyu and Baochai beside her, "You two, come here quickly."

Daiyu and Baochai were shy, but faced with the Empress's call and the urging of Grandmother Jia and others, they obediently stepped forward.

The Empress immediately abandoned Jia Lian, took the small hands of Baochai and Daiyu, and praised them with a kind face: "What a good child, so handsome."

"Quickly, don't be polite with Mother. Choose whatever you like."

At this moment, the Empress perfectly embodies the idea of ​​loving someone because of their loved ones.

However, Baochai and Daiyu were not Jia Lian, and they were still somewhat reserved in front of the Empress.

Even if they could tell that the Empress genuinely wanted to bestow a reward, how could they dare to actually choose from the Empress's congratulatory gifts?

So they all looked at Jia Lian with pleading eyes.

Jia Lian smiled and stood up to help them out: "Since Mother is so sincere in wanting to reward you, then I will not stand on ceremony with you."

"Steward Xia, bring me the gift list."

Xia Shouzhong happily handed over the gift list, and then saw Jia Lian walk up to the gifts and start selecting them one by one.

He was picking very slowly, and it didn't seem like he was just going through the motions.

The Empress was overjoyed and told him not to be shy and to take everything if he liked it.

Jia Lian replied that he understood while continuing the selection process.

He finally managed to pick out a satisfactory gift from among the many available.

The Empress frowned slightly as she looked at the painting Jia Lian had brought over.

She remembered the painting; it was a birthday celebration painting personally drawn by the Fifth Prince…

Although the sentiment is good, in terms of value, it is probably the least valuable of all the birthday gifts.

It is far inferior to Jia Lian's work.

Even disregarding Jia Lian's fame, the sheer size and excellent painting skills alone would be worth a considerable sum of money.

As for the Fifth Prince's painting... aside from the Fifth Prince's status, it's uncertain whether it's even worth the price of the paper.

Jia Lian, however, was very satisfied with the painting.

As he unfolded the painting to look at it, he couldn't help but nod: "I'll choose this one."

Although there are many birthday gifts for the Empress Dowager, in my opinion, this one is the best.

First of all, this must have been drawn by the fifth brother himself, which is enough to prove his filial piety towards his mother.

Secondly, look at this immortal, how full and abundant the heavenly court is, it's clearly brimming with blessings and longevity.

This is both my fifth brother's most sincere blessing to Mother, and my greatest expectation for her.

Your son will take this painting back and frame it, praying daily to the two deities of Blessing and Longevity, asking them not to be stingy and to bestow abundant blessings upon my mother.”

The person who was happiest when Jia Lian said this was the Fifth Prince.

He prepared such a gift for two reasons. Firstly, he and his mother were not wealthy enough to prepare anything too precious.

Secondly, like Jia Lian, they felt that a gift made by hand was more likely to express their feelings.

But he knew after all that what he was giving away wasn't valuable, and he was afraid of being ridiculed and looked down upon.

He never expected to be praised by Jia Lian in public. His face turned red, and he felt that all his efforts in preparing for so long and drawing so many discarded drafts were worthwhile.

At the same time, he felt a great deal of goodwill towards his new elder brother, Jia Lian.

Although the Empress was somewhat dissatisfied with Jia Lian's choice of only one gift, she couldn't press the matter further because Jia Lian's explanation was plausible and the birthday banquet was about to begin.

Since Jia Lian was unwilling to choose from her birthday gifts, she decided to prepare a proper gift for him later.

So he invited everyone to take their seats.

Because of the fine weather, the banquets were all held in the garden, taking advantage of the scenery of the Imperial Garden, making it both lively and elegant.

The Empress couldn't bear to part with Jia Lian, so she kept all the princes to dine with her.

Except for the fourth prince.

The fourth prince was sent by the empress to the east to attend to the members of the imperial clan.

Although those who came today were all juniors, we should not neglect them.

Therefore, although they are called princes, there are actually only two: Jia Lian and the Fifth Prince.

The fifth prince is too young to be considered.

Thus, amidst a scene where all he could see were eunuchs and women, Jia Lian finally deeply understood the feeling of being loved by an elder, just like Jia Baoyu.

Although the Rongguo Mansion was a family of scholars and officials, it had a large number of women.

However, compared to the Royal Gardens today, it can only be considered a small-scale event.

After all, even excluding the palace maids, the Imperial Garden today encompasses almost all the noblewomen from both inside and outside the capital, as well as the most elite ladies from high-ranking families.

Jia Lian had no idea how happy Jia Baoyu would be if he came here. (End of Chapter)