The Red Chamber: Starting from Saving Xue Baochai

Chapter 93 What Kind of Divine Grace Is This

Shen Yuan was stunned when he heard this and was quite surprised.

Feng Tang also paused, turned around and looked outside the mansion gate, wondering, "Aren't these two people far away in Jinling? How come they suddenly appeared in Shenjing?"

He was not unfamiliar with Jiang Zhongnian and Shi Ding. As they were both important officials in the court, he had met them more than once or twice.

Shen Yuan shook his head, obviously not knowing the reason.

After a while, Jiang Zhongnian and Shi Ding walked out of the carriage.

When Shen Yuan saw the two familiar faces, he was sure that he had not heard wrongly.

He smiled and said hello: "Uncle Jiang, Lord Shi, how come you..."

Jiang Zhongnian said with a smile: "Your Majesty has summoned me, and Marquis Zhongjing and I have come to the capital to pay homage and report to you in person all the affairs of Nanjing."

Shi Ding added: "We just arrived the day before yesterday, luckily we were able to catch your wedding."

When Shen Yuan heard this, he remembered that Qiu'er had told him about this, and he understood.

But the timing is a bit coincidental. Could it be that Emperor Yuanzhen deliberately arranged this time?

He quickly rejected his idea. No matter how much the emperor appreciated him, he would not do this.

In addition, I wonder if Jiang Fan and his sister and Xiangyun already knew that Jiang Zhongnian and Shi Ding were coming to Beijing, or were they planning to give them a surprise for today?

In any case, Shen Yuan was still happy that acquaintances came to congratulate him on his wedding day.

"It's a real surprise that Uncle Jiang and Lord Hou can come. Please come in."

Seeing that Shen Yuan was going to go in with them, Jiang Zhongnian smiled and said, "You should continue to welcome guests here, and we will just go in."

Shen Yuan was stunned again when he heard this. It was obvious that he could hear the hidden meaning of Jiang Zhongnian's words.

Could there be another distinguished guest coming?

Who is it?
At this time, Feng Tang, who was not far away, walked back a few steps, came to the side of the few people, and said with a smile: "What is Governor Jiang keeping in suspense?"

Jiang Zhongnian and Shi Ding both looked over when they heard the voice and saw a familiar face. Their eyes sparkled and they greeted each other at the same time.

"Oh! General Feng."

"I haven't seen you for a few years. How are you, old general?"

Feng Tang was somewhat amused and pretended to be unhappy when he heard this, "It's fine for those youngsters to call me old general, but how can you two have the confidence to call me old? If I remember correctly, you and I are about the same age, right?"

Although he holds a high position, he is not fussy about trivial matters. Shen Yuan has a better impression of this mighty general.

Jiang Zhongnian smiled and said, "This old man is not the same as that old man. It does not refer to age, but a respectful title for a veteran like you who has been on the battlefield for a long time."

"Well, an old man like me can never compare to an old scholar like you in terms of words, so I'll just be an old general."

As they spoke, the three of them burst into laughter and became more familiar with each other.

"Three uncles, please chat inside."

After they chatted briefly for a while, Shen Yuan asked someone to bring Feng Tang, Jiang Zhongnian and Shi Ding into the hall.

He himself continued to wait at the gate of the mansion out of curiosity, guessing who the possible visitors might be.

But no matter how hard I thought about it, I just couldn't imagine who else would come.

His interactions with Jiang Zhongnian were all in Jinling.

In Shenjing, they didn't seem to have any common acquaintances.

Just as he was lost in thought, he heard a servant shout, "Prince Beijing is here to congratulate you!"

The sound echoed throughout Ningrong Street, causing an uproar among the onlookers.

"Mr. Shen and Prince Beijing also know each other?"

“I don’t know!”

"Neither have I heard of it."

If we talk about the previous waves of visitors, they all have their own explanations. The first wave was because the Jia family was related to the Xue family, the second wave was because of Feng Tang, and the third wave was because Shi Ding, Jiang Zhongnian and Shen Yuan were from the same hometown.

Then the Beijing King really couldn't think of any reason, and his arrival was a bit abrupt. Shen Yuan had some guesses in his mind and stepped forward to greet the guest.

Shui Rong got off the carriage and saw the handsome groom in a bright red wedding gown. He smiled and said, "I came here uninvited today. Please don't blame me for being so loyal."

"You are too kind. Your Highness, I am very grateful that you have condescended to come here."

As soon as Shui Rong entered the mansion, servants presented him with generous gifts.

Perhaps because he was afraid that Shen Yuan would think too much, he said, "Today, I am only representing myself. Huaizhong does not need to think about anything else. Just think that I appreciate your talent and virtue and regard you as a friend."

Shen Yuan pondered over what Prince Beijing said. Perhaps he had guessed wrong. Shui Rong might not have been sent by Wu Xun to be won over. Otherwise, there would be no need to explain it this way. He had set the tone right from the start, and it would be difficult to continue talking about winning him over later.

After a moment of silence, he said, "Your Highness, you are worrying too much. How could I think too much? We are all ministers under the emperor. We are only concerned about the revival of the Great Zhou. How could we have other thoughts?"

When Shui Rong heard this, he was stunned for a moment, and then burst into laughter.

"Huai Zhong, haha, you are right. I hope that one day I can realize the revival of the Great Zhou Dynasty with you."

"So do I." Shen Yuan could more or less sense the temperament of this top military hero. He was not a selfish and narrow-minded person.

"Your Majesty, please take a seat inside."

Prince Beijing happily entered the hall.

Shen Yuan was still waiting at the gate of the mansion. He had a hunch that there would be more distinguished guests coming.

What Jiang Zhongnian referred to in his previous words was definitely not Prince Beijing Shui Rong.

Shui Rong's arrival was probably just an episode.

Sure enough, not long after the water dissolved, noisy sounds were heard again on Ningrong Street.

The commotion this time is far from comparable to the previous ones.

"Da! Da! Da!"

A loud sound of horse hooves was heard.

Shen Yuan's heart trembled. He took a few steps forward, came to the gate of the mansion, and looked west.

What caught the eye was a neat and solemn team of Jinyiwei cavalry, and the person leading them was Zhao Quan, the commander of Jinyiwei.

Hundreds of Jinyiwei were seen dismounting from their horses, standing at intervals on both sides of Ningrong Street, standing guard.

Soon, Zhao Quan stopped his horse in front of Shen Yuan, then dismounted and said in a serious tone, "Sir Shen, get ready to receive me!"

The voice was not lowered deliberately, and many people heard it clearly.

Like a huge rock falling into the water, it instantly caused waves in everyone's hearts.

The emperor is here?

The emperor is here in person!

The emperor came in person to celebrate the wedding of his subject. What kind of royal favor is this?
Shen Yuan was also extremely uneasy at this moment. The vague guess in his heart actually became a reality, which made him a little unbelievable.

Originally, he thought that today's wedding would be relatively peaceful. After all, the only people confirmed to attend were the Jia family and General Feng Tang.

And now, Jiang Zhongnian and Shi Ding, who were thousands of miles away, came inexplicably, and Prince Beijing also came without any warning.

What is even more incredible is that Emperor Yuanzhen suddenly came to
Shen Yuan didn't know if there was a precedent, but thought that even if there was, it would be extremely rare.
Before he could think any more, the emperor's royal carriage had already appeared in his sight, with the internal minister Dai Quan following beside the dragon chariot.

Immediately afterwards, Dai Quan's sharp and piercing shout was heard.

"The Emperor has arrived!"

Then there was a crash.
The people on Ningrong Street all knelt down and prostrated themselves.

"Long live my emperor, long live, long live!"

Shen Yuan was no exception. He knelt down to greet them along with Zhao Quan and others.

"Your Majesty, long live your Majesty!"

(End of this chapter)