The Second Master of the Red Chamber

"You, Prince Pingliao, how dare you..."

The fourth prince finally realized what was happening and reprimanded him.

However, Jia Lian didn't take it to heart and walked towards him.

Perhaps because he no longer had a sword, the fourth prince was not afraid of him at this moment, and looked up at him angrily.

"Does the Crown Prince think my method is inappropriate?"

Jia Lian walked up to him and said coldly, "Since everything happened after you released him, let's make a bold assumption that he did all of this."

Therefore, as long as he is eliminated, similar incidents will naturally not occur again.

Your elder sister will no longer be assassinated.

Even if it turns out he didn't do it, my actions today haven't harmed us at all. Don't you think?

"You, you, you... this is robber logic..."

"Do you really value your so-called fairness and justice more than your elder sister's life?"

Jia Lian interrupted the Fourth Prince's rebuttal without any politeness, and said coldly, "Or do you think you will only wake up when your elder sister is actually assassinated?"

I’m very disappointed in you.”

The Fourth Prince was startled; this was the first time Jia Lian had spoken to him in such a stern tone.

He was very disappointed in himself... Did even he feel that he didn't deserve to sit in this position?
However, he quickly realized what was happening, and his dejected expression changed to one of surprise and delight. He asked, "What did you say? What do you mean that my royal sister was really assassinated?"

My elder sister wasn't assassinated. She really lied to me, didn't she?

It turned out that after arguing with Princess Zhaoyang that day, she was assassinated upon returning to her residence, which made the Fourth Prince very frightened and guilty.

But Princess Zhaoyang refused to see him, and Wei Yan said to him, "What a coincidence!"

You just refuted her pride, and she immediately claims she was assassinated.

Maybe she's faking it, trying to frame me and make you feel guilty so you'll listen to her for the rest of your life and become a puppet.

Although he didn't fully believe it at the time, Princess Zhaoyang's continued refusal to see him inevitably aroused his suspicion.

With the Emperor Emeritus's passing and numerous affairs to attend to, he was so busy that he was completely disoriented and at a loss.

Facing the Fourth Prince's hopeful gaze, Jia Lian remained indifferent and said, "The assassination attempt is indeed true; the assassin's body is still there. It's just that your elder sister was lucky this time and avoided a fatal blow."

But if there's a next time, your elder sister might not be so lucky.

If I had returned to the capital any later, I fear your elder sister would have been killed by your stupidity.

You must understand that your elder sister is the prime minister appointed by your father, and she controls the seven battalions of the Imperial Guard.

In principle, she can do whatever she wants as long as her father doesn't object.

She only indulged you because she couldn't bear to contradict your dignity as the crown prince.

It wasn't your reasoning and righteousness that made her back down, but rather that she cared about you too much.

Okay, you can go now. She won't see you until you've thought things through.

The fourth prince blushed and was speechless.

That's how people are.

If someone says something like that to you, you might doubt their intentions and question them.

They even deliberately go against the grain and can find a whole host of legitimate reasons for their actions.

But when others say the same thing, even the most stubborn person will start to reflect.

The fourth prince is an example of this.

He had a vague feeling that perhaps Jia Lian and the others were right.

Such coincidences should not exist in the world.

Everything was fine before, but ever since he released Wei Yan, all sorts of things have happened around him.

And why should I do this to myself?

Why make things so tense with the person you love most and who loves you most for someone you once despised?
He no longer had his previous confidence. He lowered his head and gestured to his men to carry Wei Yan away from the ground for medical treatment to see if he could still be saved.

Since even the Emperor himself was unwilling to bear the guilt of killing his son.

He also didn't want Jia Lian to bear the blame for killing his brother.

"Zhang Bao!"

The chief eunuch Zhang Bao, who was about to leave with the fourth prince, was taken aback, but immediately turned around and said, "This servant is here."

"Later, I will send someone to the Crown Prince's residence to investigate Wei Yan's whereabouts every day after his release from prison, who he met, and what he said."

At that time, please remember to have the staff in the government cooperate.

"I, the King, will eradicate all those who have secretly lurked within the former Prince Yun's ranks, eliminating any future threats."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Bao was at a loss for words.
He wished that the order came from his own master.

He was the Fourth Prince's absolute confidant, so naturally he couldn't disregard the Fourth Prince's opinion and directly obey Jia Lian.

Fortunately, when he looked over, the Fourth Prince nodded at him, so he immediately bowed and replied, "Your Highness, please rest assured, this servant will definitely assist the officials who came to investigate and handle the matter well."

"Ah."

After the Fourth Prince and his entourage left, Princess Zhaoyang also came out of her palace.

Seeing the bloodstains on the ground that the palace servants were preparing to clean up, Princess Zhaoyang said with some worry, "Didn't I tell you not to be mean to him? Why did you hit him? You'll scare him."

Jia Lian turned around, affectionately patted her head, and laughed, "Alright, you can't scare him. He's a man after all."

Princess Zhaoyang pouted, seemingly somewhat unhappy.

But she quickly grabbed Jia Lian's arm and rested her head on his shoulder.

It feels so good to have someone to rely on and be in charge of things.

There were far more people in front of the palace gates than inside the sleeping quarters.

Seeing their princess and the Prince of Pingliao so openly intimate, many people glanced at each other and quickly lowered their heads, fearing that some bad rumors might spread in the future and lead to their purging.

"He is, after all, one of Father's sons. You severed his arm in front of everyone. Do you think Father will...?"

There's an old saying that serving a ruler is like serving a tiger.

That's right, we must be very careful.

Moreover, Jia Lian had actually severed one of the prince's arms.

If Emperor Ningkang were to blame him, it would likely be detrimental to Jia Lian.

"Don't worry, I will explain to Father."

Alright. I need to go to the palace now; there are still many things to take care of.

"The hot water is all ready, why don't you take a bath before going to the palace?"

"No, let's talk about it when I get back."

……

Familiar white stone steps, magnificent palace.

Compared to this, the Joseon royal palace looks rather shabby.

"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty and wishes Your Majesty good health."

Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Emperor Ningkang sat upright, wearing a bright yellow open robe.

He seems to be in pretty good spirits.

"Get up...".

Emperor Ningkang tightened his collar and said, "I have read all your battle reports and the treaties you signed with Korea."

You did a great job again.

According to your plan, it will probably not be long before Korea is completely incorporated into the territory of my Great Wei.

If that's the case, you deserve immense credit.

Jia Lian walked up to Emperor Ningkang and squatted down on the edge of the dragon bed so that Emperor Ningkang could speak to him with less effort.

"Your Majesty, I have done all of this in accordance with your wishes."

Without Father's full support, I would not have been able to accomplish these things.

Rather than saying that I did it, it would be more accurate to say that Father Emperor used me to do it.

Even if the Korean Peninsula is recovered in the future, historical records will still indicate that this was Emperor Ningkang's great achievement. Emperor Ningkang was clearly somewhat uncomfortable with his subjects being so close to him, even his own son.

However, he also understood that Jia Lian was doing this to take care of him.

After hesitating for a long time, she finally realized that she couldn't hide it from Jia Lian, so she stopped pretending to be calm, took Jia Lian's hand in return, and looked at this son she had taken in for the first time at such close range.

He is indeed still very young.

So young it's enviable.

He is also very capable.

He was so capable that even someone as proud as himself had to resort to indirect methods to take him in as his son.

I wish I could live a few more years.

Not too much, just ten years.

Such a great Wei dynasty had a wise ruler like him and a powerful minister like Jia Lian.

Why worry about not being able to achieve the grand vision that Jia Lian once drew up for him?
They marched north to the grasslands to annihilate the Tatars, and south to the oceans to subdue all nations!
At this moment, the Empress arrived and saw Emperor Ningkang and Jia Lian in harmony, which eased the tension on her face.

But she still pretended to blame Jia Lian and said, "My son, I heard that you just came back and you broke one of Prince Yun's arms."
Why were you so impulsive? No matter what, he is your father's son, your brother..."

The Empress spoke to Jia Lian, but her eyes were glancing at Emperor Ningkang.

Emperor Ningkang could easily see through the Empress's thoughts, but he remained silent, wanting to see how Jia Lian would explain himself.

Jia Lian rose and greeted the Empress before saying, "In terms of bloodline, there is no mistake that he is the Emperor's son."

But someone like him is simply not qualified to be the emperor's son.

I don't want to dwell on his past sins, because he has already received the punishment he deserved.

If he were to repent, the Crown Prince, with his magnanimity, might not be unable to allow him to live.

But he was incorrigible and remained ruthless.

It even threatened the safety of Zhaoyang and the Crown Prince.

Under such circumstances, I have no choice but to take action, nor can I refrain from doing so.

Because I am the son of the Emperor and Empress Dowager, and the elder brother of Zhaoyang and the Crown Prince, I have the duty and responsibility to protect them.

As for the crime of killing his brother, I am willing to bear it all on my own.

"This……"

The Empress was quite pleased, feeling that Jia Lian's words were very well said.

However, she felt it was useless and it depended on what Emperor Ningkang thought.

Following her gaze, Emperor Ningkang remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "Well said."

As their elder brother, you have a responsibility to care for and protect them.

I hope you will remember what you said today.

"Your subject will remember this."

Emperor Ningkang was not as naive as the Fourth Prince, nor would he ask Jia Lian what evidence he had to prove that Wei Yan was behind those events.

For emperors, evidence was never the most important thing.

Just as Jia Lian said at the Princess's residence, his father-son relationship with Prince Yun had been completely severed when Prince Yun instructed Wu Tianyou to take advantage of his critical illness to attack the Daming Palace.

The reason he didn't take action himself was simply because he didn't want to, given the pretext of a mutiny and imprisonment of his father.

History will record another instance of him killing his son.

After leaving the Daming Palace, Jia Lian paid his respects before the coffin of the retired emperor, and then went to the camp of the Imperial Guard.

"Your Highness...you were looking for us?"

In a central barracks, two mid-level officers from the guard battalion walked in, looking somewhat reserved.

Jia Lian glanced at them and nodded, saying, "There's something I need you to do... It concerns the case of the former Prince Yun. Are you willing to take it on?"

Upon hearing the name "Prince Yun," one of the officers' faces immediately contorted with hatred.

He was Tian Liang, the brother of Tian Qu, the former deputy commander of the Imperial Guard Battalion.

It was he who risked his life to find Jia Lian and present him with the confession that the Third Prince might have plotted to murder the former Crown Prince, thus helping Jia Lian begin his journey to bring down the Third Prince.

Beside him was his friend, Zhou Xianming, who was also one of the commanders under Hu Jin.

Zhou Xianming was clearly more shrewd than Tian Liang. He pulled Tian Liang aside and immediately expressed his willingness to serve Jia Lian at all costs.

Jia Lian then recounted how he had cut off Wei Yan's arm and ordered them to lead five hundred soldiers to investigate all the people and things Wei Yan had come into contact with since entering the Imperial Clan Court.

Especially during the period after he was taken out of the Imperial Clan Court by the Fourth Prince.

No matter how small the matter, it was thoroughly investigated.

A great man once warned us that we should press on with our remaining strength to pursue the enemy to the bitter end, and not seek fame like Xiang Yu.

The Third Prince was defeated, but he clearly hasn't given up his evil intentions.

Losing one of his arms today is not the end.

He also wanted to take this opportunity to clean up all the remnants of the Third Prince's faction that Emperor Ningkang had previously overlooked.

As someone who has a blood feud with the Third Prince, Tian Liang is very suitable to handle this matter.

Because he is consumed by hatred, he will definitely be extra careful when he does things.

After hearing Jia Lian's words, Zhou and Tian were naturally both excited and full of admiration.

As officers of the Imperial Guard, they were well aware that the deposed Third Prince had taken advantage of the Emperor Emeritus's funeral to rise again.

After all, the fact that the eldest princess and the crown prince had openly confronted each other over him had already been widely known.

But they were of low status and had no influence in such matters.

Unexpectedly, the troublemaker was put to rest as soon as Jia Lian returned.

Not only could he not jump around, but he also lost an arm.

In this era, whether someone survives after losing an arm is entirely up to fate.

Therefore, Tian Liang knelt down with great excitement and kowtowed, saying, "This humble servant thanks Your Highness for your grace in avenging my brother's death."

From this day forward, my life belongs to Your Highness.

"Whatever Your Highness commands, no matter what, this humble servant will obey without question!"

Zhou Xianming also hurriedly knelt down to express his support, but inwardly he cursed his brother.

I thought he was stubborn, but I didn't expect him to be so quick-witted now, knowing how to take advantage of the situation.

In this world today, there are countless people who admire King Pingliao and are willing to risk their lives for him. I never thought this kid would be among them.

You can't have it even if you envy it.

After all, they arrived so naturally, without any sign of trying to curry favor.

Sigh, if only my elder brother had died at the hands of Prince Yun.

Jia Lian smiled, unconcerned by their statements, and simply said:

"I don't want your life."

"Complete this mission well, and ensure the court successfully eliminates the remnants of Prince Yun's faction; that will be your way of repaying me."

As he spoke, Jia Lian took out the gold medal he had prepared earlier and had Zhao'er hand it to Tian Qu.

"This is my identity token. With this token, I may enter and exit the Imperial Clan Court, the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and even the Crown Prince's residence."

I hope you two will handle this matter well. If you encounter any problems you cannot solve, you can come to the Prince of Pingliao's residence or the Jingying Jiedushi's office to find me.

Tian and Qu respectfully accepted the gold medal. They saw that the front was engraved with the three characters "King of Pingliao" and the back had the character "Lian".

My heart was filled with excitement.

Such an obvious identity token, even though Jia Lian had not given prior notice.

They carry out their duties with this token, so surely no one would be foolish enough to disrespect them.

This is a token symbolizing power!

With even greater confidence in completing their mission, they both knelt down and said, "Please rest assured, Your Highness, we two will certainly not fail in our mission."

"Okay, go and take care of it."

...(End of chapter)