The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Chapter 774: Honoring the Country

Chonghua Palace is still as majestic and magnificent as before.

But without the busy scenes of palace maids and eunuchs coming and going, it seems much more deserted.

The eunuch who led the way brought Jia Lian to the outside of Chonghua Palace, and then waited respectfully in the corridor, while the eunuch stationed at the door announced the matter loudly.

Soon, Jia Lian came into the hall.

There were almost no strangers in the huge hall, only an old man sitting on the most important dragon throne.

Seeing this, Jia Lian couldn't help feeling a little sad.

Thinking back to the time when the Supreme Emperor was so high and mighty, he ruled the world for nearly sixty years, and once he spoke, everyone in the world obeyed him.

Even though he was enjoying a life of luxury in his later years, he was just a high-ranking eunuch who came out of his palace. He dared to look down on all the civil and military officials in the court and did not take the Prime Minister of the Daming Palace seriously.

But now that he has lost his power, he can only sit alone in this gloomy hall like an ordinary old man.

Of course, Jia Lian believed that Emperor Ning Kang did not intend to treat the retired emperor harshly.

In the previous situation, Emperor Ning Kang never showed any murderous intention towards the retired emperor, which shows that Emperor Ning Kang's goal from beginning to end was only to seize power.

He probably had no intention of taking revenge on the emperor.

It's just that he is too busy now. Perhaps after imprisoning the retired emperor in the Chonghua Palace and replacing all the previous palace servants and guards, he has not had time to arrange for more servants to come in.

"I, Jia Lian, your humble servant, kowtow to the Emperor, and wish him good health and a long life."

Jia Lian kowtowed respectfully to the emperor.

Not to mention that the retired emperor might be the blood grandfather of this body, the retired emperor was actually quite nice to him at the beginning.

Even the opposition to him and Zhaoyang seemed reasonable now.

"Be flat."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

The retired emperor's voice no longer had the hysteria of the day of defeat, and he had regained his former composure.

"You are my grandson, so you should call me Grandpa like other princes."

"I dare not..."

"Are you afraid that if you get close to me, he'll be unhappy?"

Jia Lian glanced at the retired emperor and thought, why are you asking if you already know everything?

The emperor was a little displeased. He was silent for a while and said, "Come up closer. I am tired of talking from such a distance."

"Yes."

Jia Lian then walked forward, stepping onto the red carpet steps.

"Closer."

Jia Lian had no choice but to move closer.

The emperor looked him up and down and sighed, "You are so handsome. Seeing you makes me sigh that time flies like a flash."

Seeing that Jia Lian didn't say anything, the emperor realized that his current closeness to Jia Lian was a little cheap, so he changed his way of speaking.

"I heard that he stripped you of your military power and even your official position?"

"Yes……"

"Do you regret it?"

Jia Lian raised his eyebrows and shook his head, saying: "Thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all grace from the emperor. Since the official position I hold was bestowed by Your Majesty, it is only natural that Your Majesty wants to take it back now.

Besides, His Majesty told me that he just wanted me to go home to recuperate for a while and take the opportunity to observe mourning for my father."

"You believe him?"

"Your Majesty's words are as good as gold, and I naturally believe them."

The retired emperor frowned, as if he thought Jia Lian was too naive, and seemed jealous because Jia Lian trusted Emperor Ning Kang so much.

He curled his lips and said, "That's fine. Now that you have no power, he naturally has no need to attack you.

In this way, you can live your life in peace, which is better than others."

The retired emperor's eyes were filled with sighs and reminiscence, and it was unknown which people or things he was thinking of.

"Do you blame me?"

"Why does the emperor say this?"

The sudden question from the retired emperor made Jia Lian look a little surprised.

The emperor said nonchalantly, "I blame you for not recognizing you all these years, leaving you and your son adrift. I blame you for suddenly revealing your background that day, causing you to lose your bright future?"

“The Emperor is worrying too much.

My father and I were not wandering around, but grew up in the Jia family, leading a wealthy life with fine clothes and delicious food.

My father was a first-class divine general, and I was also favored by His Majesty and was conferred the title of marquis. Both in terms of wealth and status, I am above millions of people.

So I don’t know what my father is like, but I certainly don’t blame the emperor, because I know that the emperor must have been paying attention to the four of us, father and children, over the years.

As for letting me lose my future, that is out of the question.

On the contrary, I was bold enough not to follow the Emperor's orders that day, so please don't blame me."

Jia Lian's words were reasonable, but also revealed a sense of alienation.

The emperor was well aware of this.

Originally he made a solemn promise that day, asking Jia Lian to follow him to resist Emperor Ning Kang, and he was very angry when Jia Lian rejected him without hesitation.

But in the past two days, his anger has subsided.

In addition, he felt lonely living in the deep palace with almost no one to talk to. He couldn't help but think of his blood grandson Jia Lian. He felt that he owed him something, so he wanted to meet him.

His original intention was to get closer to Jia Lian.

After all, Jia Lian was far superior to his other grandsons in both character and talent. In addition, his special background gave him a somewhat different position in his heart.

But Jia Lian's attitude made it clear to him that it was a little late to say this now.

He knew that this was the downside of being smart.

If Jia Lian was born a little stupider, given his status, as long as he was willing to recognize him and showed a little politeness, the other party would be submissive and respectful.

Just like other juniors.

"I'm glad you think so. In fact, after I ascended the throne, the country was troubled by internal and external troubles. I really didn't have the energy to focus on other things, so I did neglect your father.

Perhaps it was because of my negligence that he became like that.

When I work hard to govern the country and bring peace to it, I have thought about bringing your father back to the royal family.

But at that time, your father had already grown up and was very naughty, and most of the things he did were condemned by others.

In the end, I did not do this for the sake of my family's reputation."

The emperor seemed to be explaining.

Jia Lian also nodded repeatedly, seeming to believe what the emperor said.

But he didn't care at all. The seeds of evil were originally sown, and the emperor might not have enough time to cover it up, so how could he openly welcome Jia She back to the royal family? Isn't this guiding the world to dig up explosive materials about him?

Therefore, the so-called naughty and unruly behavior was probably just an excuse. Otherwise, his reputation over the years should have been pretty good, so why didn't he clear his name?

"I had already completely given up on your father, but I never expected that he would leave you to me... the three of you siblings.

Especially you, your talent and ability, I admire you very much.

I have actually thought about it and will find a suitable opportunity for you three siblings to recognize your ancestors. That is why I personally gave you a test at the birthday banquet last year. "

Jia Lian's eyes showed a sentimental look, and he sighed, "It's a pity that things in the world are unpredictable. If this incident had not happened, my second sister, brother Cong and the others would have flown to the branches and become phoenixes from now on."

The retired emperor looked slightly stunned.

In fact, the only person he cared about was Jia Lian. He didn't even know the names of Jia She's other children. After all, he had so many grandchildren, at least one or two hundred.

In fact, if Jia Lian hadn't mentioned it repeatedly, he would not have mentioned Yingchun and Jia Cong at all.

He did have the intention of recognizing Jia Lian before, but it was definitely not the intention to reveal the truth to the world as Jia Lian "thought".

He was thinking that he should first express his favor for Jia Lian, and then let one of his sons adopt Jia Lian as his adopted son, so that he could legitimately bring Jia Lian to his side and educate him.

In this case, no one else has anything to do with it.

In the eyes of this high and mighty emperor, only a grandson like Jia Lian, who has good looks, talent and ability, can be accepted by him and make him want to recognize his bloodline.

It’s hateful that Lao Liu is so scheming and rebellious, and he actually dares to rebel against him!

It’s hateful that Jia Lian is so realistic. When he saw him fail, he actually didn’t care about the closeness of his grandfather, his blood relative.

"In short, in my heart, you are different from my other grandchildren.

I cannot leave this Chonghua Palace now, and I don't want to go out anymore. Since he thinks I am wrong, I will let him do whatever he wants. When he gets tired one day, he will understand my helplessness.

Forget it, I won’t talk about him anymore.

If you are willing, you can come to the palace to see me when you are free. If you dare not come, I can tell your sixth uncle and ask him to give you a token to enter and leave the palace at will."

"This……"

"Hmph, don't worry. I have handed over the whole world to him, and he will not refuse even such a small request from me.

Go back, I am tired."

Jia Lian hesitated slightly: "Yes... I will take my leave."

……

After coming out of Chonghua Palace, the eunuch who had been serving him took him back to the Nan Study.

Emperor Ning Kang was still reading the report. When he saw him come in, he asked without raising his head, "This is the first time you two have met since you recognized each other. Why did you come back so soon?"

"The Emperor is not in good spirits. After talking to me for a few words, he felt tired, so I will take my leave."

"Really? What did he tell you?"

"Nothing much, just talking to me about some old stories, and asking me to visit him more often in the palace if I have time... The emperor looks quite lonely..."

Jia Lian's words made Emperor Ning Kang silent for a moment, and he suddenly turned around and said to Dai Quan, "Have you arranged all the eunuchs and maids in Chonghua Palace that I asked you to arrange?"

"Reporting to the Emperor, due to the complexity of the palace affairs recently, manpower is needed everywhere, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs cannot spare too many people at once.

Yesterday, I personally arranged for 28 eunuchs and 28 palace maids to be sent in. The rest of the people will probably be arranged tonight."

Emperor Ning Kang then said nothing and looked at Jia Lian again.

Jia Lian also responded calmly.

No matter what, the retired emperor was still his grandfather. If he just avoided suspicion and didn't dare to say a word for the retired emperor, I'm afraid Emperor Ning Kang would look down on him and even think he was treacherous.

As expected, Emperor Ningkang only glanced at him twice, then lowered his head and picked up a bright yellow imperial edict from the table. He looked at it carefully, put it on the table, picked up the imperial seal from the rosewood and gold-inlaid box next to it, held it with both hands and stamped it.

After putting the imperial seal back, Emperor Ning Kang picked up the imperial edict again, took a look at it, and handed it to Dai Quan: "Give it to him."

Jia Lian was still suspicious when he saw Dai Quan walking towards him cheerfully, saying with a smile, "My Lord, please accept the order."

Jia Lian knelt down in front of Emperor Ning Kang.

"The imperial edict said:

Jia Lian, Marquis of Zhenyuan, is a man of both virtue and integrity, dedicated to the country. Since he took charge of state affairs, he has been diligent and conscientious, achieved great success, and won my heart.

Now, he has been rewarded for his numerous merits and is specially promoted to the third-class Duke of Rong, and is allowed to ride a royal horse into the palace.

I hope you will work harder in the future and don't let me down.

Admire this. "

Hearing the words "Duke Rong", Jia Lian was stunned for a moment, but still immediately bowed to express his gratitude.

After taking the imperial edict from Dai Quan's hand, Dai Quan smiled and said without waiting to read it, "This servant greets Duke Rong. From now on, you are the number one duke among non-Dukes."

Jia Lian stood up, raised his brows slightly, and felt a little excited.

He thought that Emperor Ning Kang would reward him. Not to mention the minor achievements before, he was the first to make a contribution at Tiewang Mountain, it would be unreasonable not to reward him!

But no one expected that Emperor Ning Kang would be so generous as to directly confer the title of Duke on him.

This is not the founding of a country, but the Duke of Taiping!

In the world today, apart from those half-baked dukes in the royal family, and those pretending to be dukes in the dependent small foreign countries, there is no real duke!

There are many marquises, but the duke...he is probably the only one!

Although this might be taking advantage of the ancestral title, even so, once it is publicized to the world, it will still cause quite a stir.

Just like Shui Rong, the first and only king outside the same family.

Seeing the rare excitement on Jia Lian's face, Emperor Ning Kang snorted, "He is not a foreigner at all.

Well, I have given what I should give, so that no one will curse me in their heart anymore."

After hearing what Emperor Ning Kang said, Dai Quan pretended to slap himself on the mouth, then looked at Jia Lian with a smile.

It seems that Your Majesty regards Jia Lian as a member of the royal family, so conferring him the title of Duke is nothing big.

However, if that is the case, why did Your Majesty choose to bestow the title of Duke Rong on Jia Lian? Wouldn't this just confine Jia Lian to the Jia family again?

"Your Majesty, you are joking. How dare I curse you in my heart? In my heart, your Majesty is like a Buddha in thousands of families. You are the only guiding light in my mind..."

Jia Lian was delighted and was ready to flatter the emperor. However, facing the cold and unyielding look of Emperor Ning Kang, he had to take back the rest of his words.

"Since the Emperor has asked you to visit him often, just remember that. I will send an order to the Imperial Palace Guards to allow you to enter and leave the Imperial Palace.

Also, although I allow you to ride into the palace, you must not barge in without knowing the rules. When you arrive outside the Linjing Gate, you must dismount before me!

Later, ask Dai Quan about the palace rules. If... humph, don't blame me for not reminding you."

"Yes, I understand."

Jia Lian didn't think it was a big deal. Emperor Ning Kang was probably afraid that he was young and frivolous, and there were many nobles in the palace, and he might bump into them if he wasn't careful.

But putting aside the fact that he had long passed his frivolous days, he had never intended to go to the palace often.

Do you really think he wants to talk about the family relationship between grandfather and grandson with the emperor?

If Emperor Ning Kang had not forced the emperor to abdicate, there would be a solution.

Seeing that Emperor Ningkang seemed to be fine, Jia Lian couldn't wait to say goodbye and leave the palace.

"Wait. Now that you are already in the palace, go to Fengzao Palace and check on your sister for me."

"Uh, I obey your order."

……