Corrupt official in the Red Chamber

Chapter 352 Rise in status

Brother Ying immediately took Xue Baochai's lead and prepared a seat for Aunt Zhen.

Aunt Zhen glanced at Xue Baochai secretly, and then I lowered my head and didn't dare to sit on it.

At this time, Xue Baochai, who was sitting next to Jia Rui, had a smile on his face, but his eyes became sharp.

Jia Rui saw the scene below clearly. He sighed and said, "Let Aunt Zhen have a seat today."

The smile on Xue Baochai's face became forced, but Jia Rui had already said it twice, and he did not dare to refute. He could only say reluctantly: "Since I asked you to sit down, just sit down obediently."

When Aunt Zhen saw Xue Baochai open her mouth, she dared to take small steps and carefully sat on Xue Baochai's hands.

Third Sister You, who was standing not far from Jia Rui, glanced at Jia Rui displeasedly.

But seeing Jia Rui's serious face, Sanjie You could only stand below holding her breath.

When Jia Rui saw that Concubine Zhen was ready, she said, "Today the Emperor sent me to the palace not for other reasons, but because Concubine Zhen is on her deathbed and she wants to see me one last time."

Aunt Zhen, who was always cautious, immediately became frightened when she heard Jia Rui's words, and then her body began to tremble slightly.

You must know that the Zhen family's current status, in addition to the ancestor, relies on Concubine Zhen.

If Concubine Zhen dies, it will be like adding two Optimus Primes to the Zhen family and breaking one.

Let's be honest, although the ancestor of the Zhen family still has some status in front of the Supreme Emperor, after so many years, the Supreme Emperor's memory of her has slowly faded away.

Therefore, Princess Zhen is more important than the ancestor of the Zhen family.

Jia Rui sighed, "Wanfang, don't be too sad. Concubine Zhen was worried about her when she was dying. I also made a promise in front of Concubine Zhen that I will take good care of you in the future."

Xue Baochai, who was sitting next to Jia Rui, only now understood why Jia Rui let Aunt Zhen sit next to him. It turned out to be Concubine Zhen who was entrusting her.

But even so, Xue Baochai did not relax his vigilance, because among Jia Rui's wives and concubines, Aunt Zhen was the greatest threat to him.

Second Sister You and Third Sister You were from a low background and were not qualified to compete with herself.

But Aunt Zhen was different. She came from a famous family, and she had the huge Zhen family behind her to back her up. Xue Baochai couldn't compare to them in terms of birth or wealth.

Aunt Zhen suppressed her sadness and managed to remain calm, "I believe everything you said."

Jia Rui shook his head gently. Although Aunt Zhen said this, Jia Rui knew that she did not completely believe him.

However, Jia Rui is not prepared to explain anything. Time is the best evidence. Let time speak for itself in the future.

Then Jia Rui said: "In the capital, you are the only relative of Concubine Zhen. You have a good rest today and follow me into the palace early tomorrow morning to keep vigil for Concubine Zhen."

After Aunt Zhen heard this, I nodded, and then Jia Rui ordered the maid to help Aunt Zhen go down to rest.

Then Jia Rui asked the others to go down, and he himself was not going to go back to the back house because it was getting late and he didn't want to continue to bother.

Jiarui woke up when the sky was just getting dark, then got dressed under Wangcai's clothes and came to the study.

If you have something to eat here, ask someone to inform Aunt Zhen.

In fact, Aunt Zhen didn't sleep all night. She packed up early and sat on the bedside crying.

Now Jia Rui, let him go out. Aunt Zhen immediately took several of her personal maids and came to the second door under the guidance of the mothers-in-law.

There were already eight sedans waiting for her here.

Then Aunt Zhen got on the seat and called out from the side door. Jia Rui of the Xihou Mansion was already waiting for her on horseback.

After Jia Rui picked up Aunt Zhen, he went to the palace in a mighty manner under the guard of his own soldiers.

When I arrived at the entrance of the palace, I found that the place was already crowded.

It turns out that as soon as Concubine Zhen passed away yesterday, the Supreme Emperor ignored it and issued an edict to the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, asking their female relatives to come into the palace to watch over Concubine Zhen.

In fact, the Supreme Emperor is also a bit willful. You must know that the female relatives of these civil and military officials of the imperial court have their wives and mothers. Some of them are already in their seventies and eighties. If they kneel in front of the main hall for a day, it will cause trouble. Went with Concubine Zhen.

But at this juncture, no one dared to give advice, because everyone knew the status of Concubine Zhen in the heart of the Supreme Emperor.

If the Supreme Emperor gets into trouble at this time, let alone being unable to persuade him, the Supreme Emperor will lose his life.

That's why Jia Rui came to the palace and saw so many sedan chairs and servants waiting outside.

However, although the female relatives from all the palaces are here, they will not be able to enter the palace for a while because the Supreme Emperor has not specifically assigned someone to be responsible for the funeral of Concubine Zhen. This will have to be discussed between the cabinet and the Supreme Emperor.

Others couldn't get in, but Jia Rui was different, so as soon as he and Aunt Zhen came to the entrance of the palace, the eunuch guarding the door trotted over immediately.

"Master Jia, do you want to see the Supreme Emperor?"

"Hey, this concubine of mine is from the same clan as Concubine Zhen. This is not just me taking her into the palace to kowtow to Concubine Zhen, but it is also a sign of respect for the elders in the clan."

The little eunuch flattered him: "Then wait a moment, I will go in and inform you."

Jia Rui nodded and waited at the palace gate for a while, then a message came from inside asking Jia Rui to go in. Jia Rui quickly dismounted and helped Aunt Zhen out of the sedan. After that, the two of them came to the Dragon Head Palace of the Supreme Emperor under the protection of eunuchs and maids.

It turned out that the Supreme Emperor had returned from Concubine Zhen's palace.

When he arrived at the entrance of the hall, Qingshun was already waiting here. When he saw Jia Rui coming, he winked lightly and then led Jia Rui and Aunt Zeng into the hall.

After entering the main hall, he came to the side room connected to the main hall. The Supreme Emperor was sitting on the kang in the room and weeping.

However, Jia Rui saw that the Supreme Emperor had passed the most exciting and sad period and had now recovered.

Then Jia Rui took Aunt Zhen to kowtow to the Supreme Emperor.

The Supreme Emperor raised his head and saw that it was Jia Rui. For some reason, he felt a sense of grievance, as if he were seeing a relative, and tears burst out of his eyes involuntarily.

All he saw was his trembling hand pointing at Jia Rui, asking him to come to him.

Jia Rui quickly stood up and moved to the side of the Supreme Emperor.

The Emperor grabbed Jia Rui's sleeve and began to sob while describing his relationship with Concubine Zhen.

After a long time, the Emperor's mood slowly calmed down, and then he let go of Jia Rui's sleeves with some embarrassment.

Zhao Jin, who was standing next to him, quickly sent the towel to the Supreme Emperor.

The Supreme Emperor picked up the towel and wiped his tears, then threw it back to Zhao Jin, "I made you laugh."

"I don't dare. I have never seen anyone as emotional as the Supreme Emperor. I once felt that the Supreme Emperor's feelings for Concubine Zhen were deeper than the sea."

Then, Jia Rui began to ask for money when trying to please him, and threw it at the Emperor.

The Emperor was very impressed by Jia Rui's compliment. Although there were tears in his eyes, the corners of his mouth turned up involuntarily.

When Jia Rui had finished speaking, he seemed to have just discovered that Aunt Zhen was still kneeling there.

"Are these Concubine Zhen's children?" the Supreme Emperor asked lightly.

Jia Rui quickly replied: "It is Concubine Zhen's children. Concubine Zhen was the matchmaker back then, and it was only then that I got the beauty back."

After finishing speaking, Jia Rui winked at Aunt Zhen.

Aunt Zhen was already holding back a lot of bitterness, but when she saw Jia Rui's wink, tears immediately flowed out of her eyes involuntarily.

Although he was out of breath from crying, he still expressed his regards to the Supreme Emperor intermittently while taking in his breath.

Normally, this is a very rude situation.

But today's Emperor did not blame Aunt Zhen, but thought that he was showing his true feelings.

"Get up quickly."

After the Emperor's words, two palace maids immediately came over and helped Aunt Zhen up from the ground.

"This child is really filial, and it doesn't deserve her aunt's kindness to her." The Supreme Emperor said with some emotion.

Jia Rui said jokingly: "Your Majesty, you really said it. When Wanfang heard about Concubine Zhen's death at home, she cried faintly several times. This morning, she asked me to come to the palace to pray for Concubine Zhen. The concubine is keeping watch, and it is said that Concubine Zhen has only one niece in the capital. If she doesn't go, who will?"

The Supreme Emperor nodded with emotion, "It's rare for her to be so filial. Qin Shun, take Zhen Wanfang to Concubine Zhen's funeral."

Qin Shun quickly agreed, then carefully came to Zhen Wanfang's side and made a gesture of invitation.

Zhen Wanfang also lived in the palace, and she was very clear about the rules in the palace, so she quickly said a blessing to the Supreme Emperor, and then bowed her body and retreated.

After Zhen Wanfang exited, Jia Rui said again: "Your Majesty, when I entered the palace, I saw many officials' female relatives waiting at the palace gate, preparing to attack and guard the concubine's body."

The Supreme Emperor immediately understood what Jia Rui meant. He was interceding for these people.

Otherwise, these people would not dare to leave at the entrance of the palace, and they might have to wait for a day or even two, which would be a serious crime.

The Supreme Emperor sighed, and then said: "Let them find a place nearby to rest first."

When Jia Rui heard this, he knew that the Emperor had shown mercy.

It is already a great grace to allow these female relatives to find a house near the palace to rest temporarily. As for letting them go home, don't even think about it.

Jia Rui quickly knelt down and said, "On behalf of my colleagues, I would like to thank the Emperor for his grace. Long live the Emperor. Long live the Emperor."

The Emperor closed his eyes tiredly, then waved his hand to let Jia Rui stand up again.

"I'm going to let you preside over Concubine Zhen's funeral. What do you think?"

Jia Rui had a sudden thought in his heart after hearing this. Jia Rui was not proficient in these complicated etiquettes. If something went wrong in the process, it would be bad luck. It would be better to let others take care of this hot potato.

(End of this chapter)