The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 652 The Beginning of Factional Strife
A north wind swept across the land, and snow fell in abundance. Prince Qing, Xu Wenye, had just left the palace and returned to his Prince Qing residence, which he had not visited for more than two years. His mood was even more joyful than the swirling snow outside.

As the saying goes, those who survive a great calamity are bound to have good fortune in the future, and Prince Qing, Xu Wenye, seemed to have already seen the "good fortune" beckoning to him—the position of Crown Prince.

Prince Qing is the fourth son of Emperor Qiansheng. Originally, the position of Crown Prince should not have been his. However, more than two years ago, the retired emperor was restored to the throne. The original Crown Prince Xu Wenhong followed suit and committed suicide, and even "sacrificed" almost all the princes and grandsons in the capital. As a result, the current Prince Qing, Xu Wenye, became the first in line to inherit the throne.

In Xu Wenye's view, the fact that his father did not appoint his seventh son, Xu Wenhou, as crown prince during the two years he was under house arrest in Shenyang was simply the will of Heaven. Now that he had returned safely, it was clear that he was destined to be the crown prince, and the position of crown prince that had been vacant for two years was surely his.

Because of his left foot injury, Xu Wenye was initially worried that it would damage his image in his father's eyes. However, not long ago in the Wenhua Hall, his father was so excited that he hugged him in front of the court officials, which shows that his father's love for his son has not diminished.

Furthermore, Xu Wenye also encountered his only rival in the Wenhua Hall—Prince Min, Xu Wenhou. However, the seventh prince was still as useless as before, covered in fat, his face like an over-fermented dough, squeezing his eyes into slits. He would pant after taking just a few steps. No wonder his father had delayed for two years in making him the crown prince. How could such a useless person compete with him? What right did he have to compete with him?

As for Consort Jia's twelfth son, he is only three years old and still needs to be helped to urinate. Xu Wenye doesn't take him seriously at all. In addition, with the support of the Donglin faction, the position of crown prince is a sure thing.

Just as Prince Qing, Xu Wenye, was fantasizing about his future ascension to the throne and ruling the world, the old eunuch Geng Bingzhong reminded him, "Your Highness, the Princess Consort has arrived."

Prince Qing, Xu Wenye, then came to his senses and saw a young woman dressed in luxurious clothes walk in from outside the door, supported by two maids. It was none other than his princess consort, Xu.

Xu Shi was around twenty years old. Although it had been more than two years since they last met, she hadn't changed much. She remained dignified and beautiful, with bright eyes and white teeth—a rare beauty. However, Xu Wenye had never liked Xu Shi from the beginning. Although she was beautiful, she was always too rigid, even in bed. Her excessive formality was rather boring. Therefore, since their marriage, Prince Qing had spent very few nights in Xu Shi's room, resulting in her not having borne any children to this day.

"Your Highness, I pay my respects!" Madam Xu stepped forward and curtsied to Prince Qing.

"My beloved consort, there's no need for such formalities. I've just returned to the manor and still have many matters to attend to. You should return to the inner quarters. I'll meet with you again tonight after I've finished my business," Prince Qing said, waving his hand.

Madam Xu was a virtuous woman. For the past two years, she had been thinking about her husband day and night. When she learned that her husband had returned to the mansion, she broke her usual reserve and rushed from the back of the mansion to the front to greet him with great joy. However, she was unexpectedly met with a bucket of cold water and had no choice but to leave in disappointment.

Prince Qing had never liked Lady Xu, and after marrying the daughter of a Jin minister in Shenyang over the past two years, he felt Lady Xu was far inferior to her. The Jin minister's daughter was also a Han Chinese, named Yang Qiao'er, sixteen years old. Not only was she young and beautiful, but she was also skilled in calligraphy and painting, gentle and kind—far more charming than Lady Xu. She was also very open when serving men, which captivated Prince Qing. If he weren't worried about damaging his image, he would have taken her back to his country as well.

The old eunuch Geng Bingzhong naturally understood his master's thoughts. At this moment, he whispered and advised, "Although the Prince of Min does not pose a threat to Your Highness, please continue to be patient for a while. When the time is right, you can bring back the concubine and her child. For now, Your Highness should get along well with the concubine."

Although the position of Crown Prince is almost guaranteed, the risk will not be eliminated until he sits on the throne. He must maintain a good image of gentleness, humility, benevolence, righteousness, and filial piety. Prince Qing naturally understood this, so he nodded and said, "I understand!"

At this moment, a guard from the Imperial Palace came to the door and reported: "The Grand Eunuch Shi of the Directorate of Ceremonial requests an audience with Your Highness."

"Shi Dayong?" Prince Qing frowned and waved his hand, saying, "I have just returned to my residence and am exhausted from the journey. It is not convenient for me to see him today. Please ask him to go back!"

In recent years, the eunuch faction, led by Shi Dayong, the director of the Eastern Depot, has risen to prominence and gradually created conflicts of interest with the Donglin Party. In particular, Shi Dayong's actions of using the privileges of the Eastern Depot and the Eastern Guard to suppress public opinion have aroused great dissatisfaction among the Donglin Party. It should be noted that the Donglin Party rose to power by manipulating public opinion, and the Donglin Poetry Society is the Donglin Party's propaganda stronghold. Shi Dayong's suppression of public opinion is undoubtedly a suppression of the Donglin Party.

Therefore, the conflict between the Donglin Party and the eunuch party has been intensifying recently. Many Donglin Party officials have impeached Shi Dayong for using his network of mining and tax supervisors throughout the country to extort money. Under these circumstances, Prince Qing is naturally unwilling to get close to Shi Dayong, because he is determined to rely on the Donglin Party to become the crown prince. Even if he becomes emperor in the future, he will still have to rely on the Donglin Party to maintain his rule.

It wasn't that Prince Qing didn't want to have his cake and eat it too, but the Donglin Party members weren't stupid, and there was no shortage of upright and incorruptible scholars within the Donglin Party who deeply hated the eunuch faction. If he became too close to Shi Dayong, these upright scholars would probably point their fingers at him and hurl insults. You have to understand that the Donglin Party was the banner of public opinion, and if he were targeted by these literary fanatics and attacked with public opinion, it would really be a loss for him!

Therefore, Prince Qing wisely chose to keep his distance from Shi Dayong, little did he know that Eunuch Shi was also an extremely petty person!
Shi Dayong excitedly rushed to Prince Qing's mansion to pay his respects, but Prince Qing avoided him. Shi Dayong was so angry that his old face fell. He left Prince Qing's mansion in a huff, not uttering a word the whole way. The eunuchs and guards accompanying him were so frightened that they didn't dare to breathe.

Shi Dayong now controls the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and enjoys the deep favor of Emperor Qiansheng. His power and influence are growing daily. Even members of the imperial family have to give him some face. Many officials, such as Jia Yucun, are trying to curry favor with him.

However, Shi Dayong was well aware that all his power came from the emperor. Once he fell out of favor, given the bad things he had done in recent years, he would probably die without a burial place. But Emperor Qiansheng could not be emperor forever, so Shi Dayong naturally wanted to leave himself a way out and please the future emperor.

Prince Min, Xu Wenhou, was someone Shi Dayong had always been wary of. Fortunately, the emperor had not made him the crown prince. Now that Prince Qing had returned to the court, he had become the most popular candidate for crown prince. So Shi Dayong set his sights on Prince Qing. But when he went to Prince Qing's door to curry favor, he was met with a cold shoulder instead of a warm welcome. Naturally, he was very annoyed.

Despite his anger, Shi Dayong was also quite helpless. After all, the other party was a prince, not an ordinary court official. If it were an ordinary court official, he would have immediately started to collect evidence of his crimes and take revenge. For now, he could only endure it for the time being and make a note of it in his little notebook.

…………

Before he knew it, the Lantern Festival was over. On the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, Jia Huan got up in the early morning to prepare. With the help of his four beautiful maids, Ping'er, Mandarin, Qingwen and Caixia, he washed and dressed and then went to bid farewell to Grandmother Jia.

Jia Huan thought that Grandmother Jia was still sleeping, so he only bowed outside the house and left. However, when he arrived at Grandmother Jia's residence, he found that the lights were on. It turned out that the old lady had not gone to sleep yet and was probably waiting for him.

Sure enough, when Jia Huan entered the room led by Yuanyang, he found Grandmother Jia sitting in her usual armchair, seemingly having not slept all night. At this moment, Jia Huan couldn't help but feel a little moved. He stepped forward, knelt down, and kowtowed three times thoroughly, saying, "Huan'er is here on orders to escort the bride to a marriage alliance. Before departing, I will be unable to pay my respects to Grandmother for a long time. Please forgive your unfilial grandson!"

Grandmother Jia hesitated for a moment, then sighed and said, "Heaven have mercy, Huan'er, please get up. This journey is of great importance and the road is long. Be careful and act with utmost respect, lest you fail to live up to the Emperor's mandate and grace." "Don't worry, Grandmother, Huan'er understands," Jia Huan said calmly.

However, Grandmother Jia was far from at ease. This trip, though seemingly just a wedding procession, actually concerned the very life and fortune of the entire Jia family. Jia Huan had even dared to defy the imperial decree for Lin Daiyu's sake. If any trouble were to occur on the way to the wedding, the entire Jia family would be implicated.

Next, Grandmother Jia gave a few more instructions before letting Jia Huan leave. After leaving Grandmother Jia's courtyard, Jia Huan went to the main house to bid farewell to Jia Zheng and Lady Wang. Jia Zheng didn't open the door, but simply said through the door, "Take care of yourself!"

Jia Huan silently got up and left, unaware that his father, Jia Zheng, was frowning and looking worried inside the room. As the saying goes, no one knows a father better than his son. Although Jia Zheng usually put on a stern fatherly act, he had come to know Jia Huan quite well over the years. He knew that although his son appeared gentle and refined, he was actually ruthless and unruly, as evidenced by his disobeying the imperial edict.

Therefore, Jia Huan's obedient behavior during this period, which seemed to indicate that he had resigned himself to his fate, made Jia Zheng feel deeply uneasy. He was very worried that the boy would cause trouble on the way to the wedding and do something rebellious.

After leaving the main courtyard, Jia Huan made a special trip to Pear Fragrance Courtyard to bid farewell to Aunt Xue. Although she knew Jia Huan had a plan, she didn't know its details, so she was both worried and hopeful. With red eyes, she earnestly advised, "Brother Huan, I know your intentions, but the will of Heaven is unpredictable, and human strength has its limits. If things are impossible, do not force them, lest you bring a great disaster upon the manor. You can only blame Bao'er and Lin'er for their bad luck!"

As Aunt Xue spoke, tears streamed down her face. Jia Huan said firmly and calmly, "Don't worry, Aunt. I will definitely bring Sister Lin and Sister Bao back safely, and I will not implicate the household."

Aunt Xue felt a little relieved and nodded, saying, "That's good. It's getting late. Go ahead and don't be late for picking up Lin'er from the manor."

Jia Huan bid farewell to Aunt Xue and walked out of the Jia Mansion through the east corner gate. At this time, Tie Niu, Man Gui, Jin Bao, and Mu Ye were already prepared and waiting quietly outside the gate.

Upon seeing Jia Huan, the four men immediately greeted him, saying, "Greetings, Third Master!"

Jia Huan nodded, mounted his horse, and said calmly, "Let's go to the Ministry of Rites first!"

Jinbao and Muye led the way with lanterns, Jia Huan was in the middle, and Tie Niu and Man Gui were on the left and right. Although there were only two of them, they were like two copper walls and iron ramparts. The four of them rode towards the Ministry of Rites.

When Jia Huan arrived at the Ministry of Rites, he found the entire ministry brightly lit, indicating that the officials had probably stayed up all night. After all, a marriage alliance was a matter of national importance and could not afford the slightest mistake, so the entire Ministry of Rites was working overtime. The dowry alone filled hundreds of carriages, and there was also a guard of honor with over a hundred people. The princess's residence also had five hundred guards accompanying her, making the entire procession probably around eight hundred people.

"The Minister of Rites requests your presence. Please follow me, Jia Huan!" As soon as Jia Huan entered the gate of the Ministry of Rites, a clerk led him into the duty room to meet the Minister of Rites.

The Minister of Rites was none other than Zhao Mingcheng, the chief of the Donglin Party and one of the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet. The rules of the Great Jin Dynasty were similar to those of the Ming Dynasty. Although the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet were only of the fifth rank, they all concurrently served as Ministers or Vice Ministers of the Six Ministries, making them truly powerful and influential.

"Hehe, Ziming is here," Zhao Mingcheng greeted Jia Huan warmly, beckoning him before he could even offer his greetings. He was very approachable, showing no airs of a high-ranking official.

Jia Huan was naturally not fooled by the superficiality of this seasoned politician. He calmly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Jia Huan greets Your Excellency, Minister."

Zhao Mingcheng stroked his beard and smiled, "Ziming, there's no need for such formalities. Please sit for a while, and I'll introduce you to someone who will be here shortly."

"Thank you, sir!" Jia Huan replied, but did not sit down. How could he take such polite words seriously?

Seeing that Jia Huan did not sit down, Zhao Mingcheng did not force him. After a moment, a middle-aged man with deep-set eyes and a high nose was led in. He first looked at Jia Huan curiously, then bowed to Zhao Mingcheng with his hand on his chest and said in slightly broken Chinese, "Ahmaiti greets Your Excellency."

Zhao Mingcheng nodded and introduced to Jia Huan, "Ziming, this is Ahemaiti, the wedding envoy sent by Hami Kingdom!"

Jia Huan's heart skipped a beat, and he cupped his hands in greeting, saying, "It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Zhao Mingcheng then introduced Jia Huan to the Hami wedding envoy. The latter's eyes lit up, and he asked in surprise, "Jia Huan looks very young. May I ask what position he holds?"

Before Jia Huan could answer, Zhao Mingcheng smiled and said, "Jia Ziming was the top scholar in the imperial examination of the eighth year of the Qiansheng reign of our dynasty, a six-time top scholar, a prodigy who appears only once in a thousand years. Don't underestimate him because of his young age; he has already risen to the position of Governor of Liaodong."

Clearly, Zhao Mingcheng was worried that the other party would think that Jia Huan, who had no official position, was being disrespected by being appointed as the marriage envoy. So he played a trick and deliberately mentioned that Jia Huan had once served as the governor of Liaodong, but concealed the fact that Jia Huan did not hold any official position at present.

Ahemaiti was skeptical. Jia Huan didn't even have a beard yet, and looked to be only fifteen or sixteen years old. It was understandable that he had become the top scholar in the imperial examination, but had he really served as a governor?

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" Ahemaiti laughed and said, "Your country is truly full of talented people. I hope you will take good care of me in the future."

"You're too kind, sir," Jia Huan said calmly. This Ahemaiti was short and unremarkable in appearance, but his eyes revealed shrewdness, as if he were hiding something, and he was clearly not someone to be trifled with.

(End of this chapter)