The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Noticing that Emperor Ningkang was not in good spirits, the Empress took the initiative to bring Jia Lian and the other man back to Kunning Palace to discuss the remaining trivial matters.

Seeing the Empress and Princess Zhaoyang discussing how to quickly move him into the capital, Jia Lian spoke up:

"Mother, I think there's no need to rush into moving into the new palace."

With the Korean envoy about to arrive in the capital, I must devote all my energy to the expedition.

As for relocation, we can discuss it after my triumphant return.

Jia Lian didn't know much about the Prince Yun's mansion.

However, judging from the mansion that Emperor Ningkang built for the fourth prince, its scale and splendor could not have been much greater.

Perhaps they might not even be able to surpass the Ning and Rong mansions.

Moreover, because it was a place where Prince Yun had lived, Jia Lian did not have a strong desire to move there.

However, since this was Emperor Ningkang and the Empress's decision, Jia Lian couldn't very well ask them to retract their order and instead grant him another piece of land.

Therefore, he felt that he was living quite well in the Grand View Garden. The large study that had just been built according to his own wishes had not been used for very long.

There's absolutely no need to rush into moving into the capital now.

The Empress looked worried upon hearing Jia Lian's words.

She hadn't been able to express her opinion in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, but now that she had, she finally remembered and advised, "Your father has already said that you are now a prince and don't need to lead troops personally. Why wouldn't you be happy to have some peace and quiet?"

Jia Lian patiently explained: "Firstly, this is something that I discussed with Father Emperor and the court officials beforehand. It concerns the major national plan and cannot be easily reversed."

Secondly, if I were merely a person who indulged in pleasure, lacked ambition, and did not think of serving my country and sovereign, how could I possibly live up to the love and affection that my father and mother have for me?

Seeing Jia Lian deliberately smile at her playfully, the Empress smiled back, but inwardly she was filled with emotion.

There is no such thing as love without a reason in this world.

She originally only wanted to choose Jia Lian because she saw that Emperor Ningkang favored Jia Lian and Jia Lian was indeed outstanding, so she wanted to choose him to take care of her in her old age and see her off in death.

Even after meeting him many times, she still felt that Jia Lian was indeed a likable child.

Now, she finally understood why Emperor Ningkang liked Jia Lian so much, and even made some decisions that were not in line with the nature of an emperor for Jia Lian's sake.

Although she did not value the country and its people as much as Emperor Ningkang did.

But she was also the Empress of the Great Wei, the mistress of the entire country.

Given her position, it would be difficult for her not to like a minister who prioritizes the nation's interests.

In other words, if Jia Lian continues to make great contributions to the country after becoming her son, she will also feel honored and even benefit from his achievements.

When later generations mention her name, they will think she had great insight.

People at their level are unlikely to be indifferent to their posthumous reputation.

The empress was no exception.

So, at that very moment, she felt proud to have a son like Jia Lian.

So he nodded and approved: "Good. Since my son has such ambition, I am naturally pleased."

As you wish, we will discuss the relocation after your triumphant return.

During this time, the Empress Dowager will send people to tidy up your mansion and renovate any areas that need repair.

By the way, palace maids and eunuchs are easy to arrange; the Empress Dowager can directly assign them to you from the palace.

However, you still need to choose an official to be in charge of the Prince's affairs.

"Does my son have someone in mind?"

Jia Lian knew that the Empress was asking about the selection of the chief secretary of the Prince's mansion.

Although the Chief Secretary of the Prince's Mansion was there to serve the prince, he was also a real official appointed by the imperial court and was temporarily assigned to the Imperial Clan Court.

Its initial purpose was not without the intention of monitoring the princes for the imperial court.

However, generally speaking, unless the princes had a bad relationship with the palace or were suspected by the emperor, the emperor would not embarrass himself.

Therefore, the position of Chief Secretary was usually promoted and recommended by the prince himself, and then appointed by the imperial court.

Of course, besides the chief secretary, the Prince's mansion also had some other subordinate officials.

However, these minor officials are not worth the Empress's attention. After appointing the Chief Secretary, he can build his own team according to Jia Lian's wishes.

Well, if we consider the Prince's Mansion as the imperial court, then the Chief Secretary is equivalent to the Grand Secretary.

Before today, Jia Lian had never imagined that Emperor Ningkang would suddenly bestow the title of prince upon him, nor had he considered the selection of a chief secretary.

He intended to let the Empress make any choice, but suddenly remembered someone and said to the Empress with a smile, "If we're talking about candidates, I do have one."

He is Gu Min, a former Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) and now the magistrate of Qinghe County, who has only been in office for a year.

If possible, I wish to have him transferred back to the capital to serve as my chief secretary.

Upon hearing this, the Empress frowned and said, "He's just a county magistrate, isn't his experience a bit too limited...?"

Jia Lian knew that the Empress disliked Gu Min because his rank and seniority were too low, and he couldn't uphold the prestige of the position.

Indeed, even in the Prince's mansion, the Chief Secretary held the official rank of fourth grade.

Appointing a seventh-rank county magistrate as chief secretary is equivalent to a promotion of several ranks.

Although it was a promotion that seemed to come out of nowhere, Jia Lian knew that Gu Min might not be very willing to become his chief secretary!

He's a proper scholar who passed the imperial examinations, and he's young, yet he's already a local official.

If you follow the established path in the future, your future will certainly be bright.

However, once someone becomes his chief secretary, although their rank rises dramatically, they are also branded as a "retainer" from then on.

From the past, glory and wealth were intertwined with the royal palace...

Whether it's a profit or a loss is really hard to judge.

However, Jia Lian thought that given their friendship, the other party probably wouldn't refuse.

So he said, “Mother, don’t underestimate him because of his lack of experience. In fact, when I was working in the Military Affairs Department, he was already serving as my advisor in the office.”

Your son has great faith in his character, and therefore is willing to promote him.

Upon hearing this, the Empress naturally said no more. After dismissing Princess Zhaoyang, she ordered the Ministry of Personnel to issue a document to recall the man for service.

After finishing this matter, Jia Lian added, "By the way, Mother, there is one more thing I would like to ask you to decide."

"What's the matter?"

"Now your son has returned to the imperial family and has been granted the title of King of Pingliao."

Shouldn't the Jia family's title be returned to them?

The Empress then remembered that Jia Lian had always held the hereditary title of the Jia family.

Now that Jia Lian has been elevated to the status of a member of the imperial family, the Jia family's rightful title should indeed be returned to them.

Before she could speak, Jia Lian added, "And the title of nobility of the Ningguo Mansion..."

Given the scandal involving Jia Zhen and his son from the Ningguo Mansion, the imperial court had every reason to strip the Ningguo Mansion of its noble title.

However, the current situation is that the title will be inherited by Lady You's son.

As a father, Jia Lian certainly couldn't neglect his eldest son.

Originally, the succession of titles was managed by the Imperial Clan Court, with the emperor making the final decision.

Now that the emperor is too busy to manage affairs, he has asked the empress to handle such matters on his behalf, and Jia Lian then informed the empress.

The Empress replied, "You can discuss this matter with Zhaoyang. Doesn't she still hold a position in the Imperial Clan Court?"

"Once you two have discussed it and agreed, just submit the memorial to the palace."

Thus, the matter of the succession of the title, which was of paramount importance to the Jia family and concerned the honor and wealth of the two mansions, was left to the Empress to decide without even being given a second thought.

The beginnings of the two wielding power in the empire were beginning to emerge.

……

Now, let's talk about the Rongguo Mansion.

After Grandmother Jia and others returned home and brought back the news of Jia Lian's ennoblement as a prince, the Ning and Rong mansions, and even the eight branches of the Jia family, were immediately in an uproar.

After obtaining the consent of Grandmother Jia and others, Jia Zheng immediately had a plaque inscribed with "Prince Pingliao's Mansion" carved, replacing Jia Lian's "Duke Rongguo's Mansion" plaque with lightning speed.

Then, Grandmother Jia and the others discussed something privately. In any case, after they finished their discussion, none of them left; they all went to Jia Lian's study to wait for him to return to the mansion.

There was no other way; they had something extremely important to discuss with Jia Lian as soon as he returned to the mansion.

But they no longer dared to instruct their servants to have Jia Lian questioned at Mengpo Studio or Rongqing Hall as soon as he returned to the mansion, just like before.

Their waiting on Jia Lian's territory was a sign of the respect due to Jia Lian, the newly appointed prince.

In the CEO's office of Baochai and Daiyu, Grandmother Jia accepted the tea offered by Baochai and looked at the spacious hall, the neatly arranged filing cabinets, and everything else, which was all very well-organized.

He couldn't help but sigh, "Prince Yuandao just found you a place to pass the time, but I didn't expect you to make it so impressive. Not bad."

Jia Zheng and his wife, along with Madam Xing, had similar expressions to Grandmother Jia.

Although they had all heard that Jia Lian had set up several businesses outside, firstly, they were all noble people who considered themselves superior, and secondly, they heard that they hadn't set up any particularly large businesses, so they didn't pay much attention to it.

Hearing that Jia Lian had entrusted the matter to Baochai, they assumed it was just a minor incident.

Surprisingly, it seems to make a lot of sense now.

At least this CEO's office is more authentic than Jia Zheng's Mengpo Studio.

It's just that Madam Xing and Madam Wang didn't have the same ambition for officialdom as Sister Feng; otherwise, they would probably both envy Baochai's life of wielding great power.

If the offices of Daiyu and Baochai are like this, then Jia Lian's study next door will naturally be no less impressive.

However, it was Jia Lian's private territory after all, and without Jia Lian's permission, neither Grandmother Jia nor the others could go in for a visit.

This is also why Jia Zheng, like Jia Baoyu, lingered among a group of women.

They didn't have to wait long; Jia Lian finally returned to the mansion as dusk approached.

After receiving the obeisance of his personal guards and servants, Jia Lian heard that Grandmother Jia and others were waiting for him in the main study, so he came directly over.

Just past the passageway, a large group of people emerged from his study.

They descended from the platform and came to the courtyard, where they all bowed in unison:

"Welcome back to the Prince's residence..."

Jia Lian strode forward and helped Grandmother Jia up, then smiled at the others and said, "We're all family, there's no need for this. It makes us feel distant."

When Grandmother Jia saw Jia Lian, she still treated her with the same respect as always, and said with great joy, "The proper etiquette cannot be abandoned. Although we are family, from now on, there is a distinction between ruler and subject."

According to the etiquette of the Great Wei Dynasty, even a prince is a ruler, and officials should kneel on formal occasions.

(Referring to the original novel, at Qin Keqing's funeral, Jia She, Jia Zheng, Jia Zhen, and others knelt and bowed to Prince Bei Jing.)

Jia Lian laughed and said, "Even if etiquette cannot be abandoned, how can we make our direct elders kneel and bow? Others can kneel, but the old lady, master and mistress absolutely cannot."

Unless, you no longer consider me a member of the Jia family.

Upon hearing Jia Lian's words, Jia Zheng and the others' eyes lit up.

The reason they hurriedly hung up the plaque for the Prince of Pingliao's residence was because they were afraid that after Jia Lian joined the imperial family, he would become estranged from them.

By hanging up the Pingliao Prince's Mansion, they were showing Jia Lian that the Jia family didn't mind at all allowing Jia Lian's mansion to continue to be located between their two mansions.

Jia Lian's words now can be considered an admission.

Even though he is now a prince, he is still willing to acknowledge his identity as a member of the Jia family.

This is undoubtedly fantastic news.

Grandmother Jia couldn't stop smiling, and Lady Wang looked at Jia Lian with a loving expression. It seemed that at this moment, Jia Lian was more pleasing to the eye than her own son.

At this moment, Jia Lian's gaze had already passed over Grandmother Jia and the others, and was looking behind him.

There are so many characters, including Daiyu, the three sisters, You Shi and her mother-in-law, Aunt Xue, and so on. You can't possibly see them all at a glance.

It can be said that almost every respectable person from both governments was present here.

Everyone had a smile on their face.

The way they looked at him was filled with admiration and flattery.

Jia Lian smiled inwardly.

This explains why he rejected Kong Si's unreasonable demands and insisted on recognizing his new parents.

Who could resist the feeling of instant success and the envy of thousands?

Unable to make eye contact with everyone looking at him, Jia Lian lowered his head and said to Grandmother Jia and the others, "Grandmother, you must have something important to tell me, since you've come all this way to wait for me here."

"Let's go to my study to talk."

"Yes, Your Highness's decree."

The group waited until Jia Lian lifted his leg and walked up the steps before daring to follow.

During this time, Grandmother Jia gave Lady Wang a look. Lady Wang hesitated for a moment, then turned to Aunt Xue beside her and said, "Sister, go to the hall with Bao'er for tea first. I'll come back to talk to you after I've finished discussing business."

"Oh, okay, sisters, you go ahead with your work."

Aunt Xue stopped walking, looking slightly embarrassed.

In fact, with her keen eye, she should have known that the Jia family had important matters to discuss, and it was inappropriate for her to follow them.

But there was nothing she could do; Jia Lian was radiating golden light at that moment, and she couldn't help but follow his shadow.

When Aunt Xue stopped, even those who were slow to realize what was happening dared not follow. They all stood still in front of the platform, watching as Grandmother Jia, the two ladies Xing and Wang, and a few others, including Jia Zheng, followed Jia Lian into the study.

……

After the maids brought over the stools, Grandmother Jia and the others couldn't wait to send the maids out.

So, only Jia Lian, Grandmother Jia, Jia Zheng, Lady Wang, and Lady Xing remained in the room.

Looking at Jia Lian, who was sitting behind the table, waiting patiently for them to speak, Grandmother Jia spoke first:
"Your Highness has been in the palace for so long, have all the relevant matters been settled?"

Jia Lian nodded.

After leaving the palace, he and Princess Zhaoyang went to the Imperial Clan Court again and handled the relevant matters in the simplest way possible.

The only thing left is to go to the palace again tomorrow and hold a formal adoption ceremony under the supervision of officials from the Ministry of Rites and the Court of State Ceremonial, so that he can be considered the Empress's legitimate son in name and in fact.

However, Jia Lian was somewhat worried that those guys from the Ministry of Rites wouldn't be very cooperative.

After all, Jia Lian himself knew that, given that Emperor Ningkang already had a biological son, it was somewhat against the rules to give him up for adoption to the Empress.

But there's nothing to worry about, since the pressure is all on Emperor Ningkang anyway.

Emperor Ningkang is currently ill; if they have the guts, they can try to force the emperor!
Moreover, there are so many officials in the Ministry of Rites. If Kong Si doesn't cooperate, aren't there other people who can take charge?

They all want to play the non-cooperative game.

At worst, we can just replace them with another batch of hardworking and ambitious people.

When Grandmother Jia and the others saw Jia Lian nod, they knew that the matter was settled.

Whether it's Jia Lian being granted the title of prince or being adopted by the empress, it's all a done deal.

Although they had no more doubts in their hearts, they all looked at Jia Lian, wanting to say something but holding back.

Jia Lian knew, of course, what they cared about most, and had no intention of teasing them.

Seeing that they were too embarrassed to ask, Jia Lian took the initiative to say, "I am now blessed by His Majesty's grace and have been granted the title of Prince of Pingliao, which is considered a royal title for a member of the imperial clan."

Therefore, the title that originally belonged to the Rongguo Mansion was automatically relinquished to me.

Upon hearing Jia Lian's words, Grandmother Jia and the others immediately became excited.

Especially Jia Zheng and his wife, who unconsciously swallowed.

Although Jia Zheng almost never coveted the title, who would complain about obtaining one legitimately?

Needless to say, Madam Wang was no exception.

As long as Jia Lian no longer needs this title, whether it falls to Jia Zheng or her precious son, it would undoubtedly be a great stroke of luck for her.

Not only will she no longer have to worry about her son's future, but she might also be promoted to a higher rank.

Originally, Madam Wang didn't have much of an obsession with being promoted to a higher rank.

But who can blame her? Over the years, her niece, Wang Xifeng, has risen through the ranks with lightning speed, her title of imperial concubine skyrocketing as if it were free.

Now, the extraordinary status of becoming a princess is about to fall into her lap, making it impossible not to feel a pang of envy in her chest. (End of Chapter)