The Red Mansion

Chapter 90: Grandmother Jia hits the wooden clock

Before Emperor Jingning abdicated and became the Supreme Emperor, he managed his daily affairs in Changchun Garden at Danning Residence.

The main hall of Changchun Garden, the Jiujing Sanshi Hall, was mainly used for court meetings, major ceremonies, receiving foreign envoys and other grand events.

When Emperor Jingning became Empress Dowager, he used Danning Residence as the residence for Emperor Taishun's daily administration and sleeping quarters. Emperor Jingning himself mainly handled government affairs in the Nine Classics and Three Affairs Hall, and sometimes he would also handle government affairs in the Qingxi Study in his bedroom.

Clearly, Emperor Jingning did this to demonstrate that he, the retired emperor, still held considerable power. He used the main halls of the inner court, the Qianqing Palace, and the main hall of Changchun Garden, the Jiujing Sanshi Hall, to demonstrate his authority.

The "Nine Classics" refer to the nine core classics of Confucianism, which are an expansion of the "Five Classics", covering "The Book of Songs", "The Book of History", "The Book of Rites", "The Book of Changes", "The Book of Zhou Rites", "The Book of Etiquette and Ceremonial", "The Zuo Zhuan", "The Gongyang Zhuan", and "The Guliang Zhuan".

The "three things" refer to the rectification of virtue, utilization of resources, and improvement of people's livelihood in the Book of Documents.

Emperor Jingning named the main hall of Changchun Garden "Hall of Nine Classics and Three Affairs" with the intention of declaring three points: first, to use Confucian classics as the program for governing the country and strengthen cultural orthodoxy; second, to attach importance to both moral education (Nine Classics) and people's livelihood and economy (Three Affairs); third, to highlight that the monarch must be familiar with the classics and practice them in person in order to achieve peace and order in the world.

The Hall of Nine Classics and Three Affairs is located inside the main palace gate of Changchun Garden. It is seven bays wide and five bays deep. The double-eaved hip roof is covered with yellow glazed tiles. Seventy-two gilded bird-scare bells are hung on the eaves, symbolizing the "seventy-two seasons" of farming seasons.

The base of the hall is more than nine feet high, and the white marble Sumeru pedestal with a relief of "Pictures of Farming and Weaving" echoes the plaque "Nine Classics and Three Affairs" inscribed by Emperor Jingning himself, highlighting the idea of ​​"giving priority to agriculture and respecting culture".

There are five rooms in each of the east and west side halls, connected by corridors. The corridor walls are inlaid with the bluestone engraving of "Imperial Admonitions to Scholars", with the characters filled in gold.

……

……

Emperor Taishun and Prince Zhongyi carefully reviewed the twelve strategies proposed by Jiang Nian, selected seven feasible ones, and formulated an implementation plan.

It was a hot summer morning with the sun shining brightly in the sky.

Emperor Taishun and Prince Zhongyi brought Jiang Nian's "memorial" and the implementation plan of the seven strategies to the Nine Classics and Three Affairs Hall to ask Emperor Jingning for instructions.

Emperor Taishun presented the memorial and the plan with a respectful look.

Emperor Jingning once again carefully reviewed Jiang Nian's memorial and the seven strategies for implementation. After reading it, he nodded, looked up at Emperor Taishun, and said in a calm tone, "These seven strategies can be implemented to help clear up the deficit."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Taishun and Prince Zhongyi were both delighted. Implementing these seven strategies would greatly facilitate the investigation of deficits, making the previously difficult task much easier.

"Yier has done a great deed this time! This boy can really bring me good luck!"

Emperor Taishun sighed in his heart.

Thinking of this, Emperor Taishun said to Emperor Jingning: "Your Majesty, I have previously ordered you to arrange a marriage for Yi'er, and I have already chosen a suitable person."

Emperor Jingning was curious: "They found a suitable candidate so quickly? Which family is it?"

Emperor Taishun replied, "Ms. Jia, who is by the Empress Dowager's side, would be the appropriate match for Yi'er."

Emperor Jingning couldn't help but be dumbfounded: "..."

Immediately, Emperor Taishun explained the reason in detail, saying that the Rongguo Mansion was already a declining noble family, and Yuanchun was beautiful, well-mannered, virtuous, filial, talented, and of suitable age...

After hearing this, Emperor Jingning looked hesitant.

He and Yuanchun's grandfather, Jia Daishan, had a deep friendship between emperor and minister. Moreover, even though the Rongguo Mansion had declined, it was still a founding duke and a noble. He had originally planned to arrange Yuanchun as a concubine for Emperor Taishun, but he abandoned the plan because of the successive failures of Wang Ziteng and the Ningguo Mansion.

Even though he had some appreciation for Jiang Nian, a commoner grandson, he didn't want Jiang Nian to marry into the Rongguo Mansion. After hesitating, Emperor Jingning finally said, "Yuan Yi is not suitable for marriage into the Rongguo Mansion. The Emperor will choose another suitable candidate."

Emperor Taishun replied respectfully, "Yes, Father."

For him, this matter was not a big deal. Since Emperor Jingning disagreed, he would not argue for it and would just choose another candidate.

……

……

That morning, while Emperor Taishun and Prince Zhongyi were discussing matters with Emperor Jingning in the Jiujing Sanshi Hall, Lady Jia of Rongguo Mansion was seeking an audience with the Empress Dowager in Ningchun Hall in Changchun Garden.

In Ningchun Hall, the Empress Dowager sat in the main seat, wearing a pearl and jade phoenix crown and a brocade phoenix robe. Although she was over sixty years old, she was energetic, kind, and majestic.

Yuanchun stood beside the Empress Dowager, like a fairy in a painting, with her own elegance even while standing still.

Lady Jia sat at the bottom, deliberately dressed in the attire of a first-rank duke's wife. She was over sixty years old, with gray hair and wrinkles on her face. She usually looked energetic in Rongguo Mansion, but at this moment she seemed uneasy.

The Empress Dowager smiled slightly and asked Lady Jia, "I wonder why you want to see me today?"

In fact, she had guessed that Lady Jia's trip was mostly for Yuanchun's selection of concubines, but she pretended not to know.

Grandmother Jia glanced at Yuanchun, her expression hesitant, and said respectfully, "Empress Dowager, can you ask Yuanchun to step aside?"

When the Empress Dowager heard this, her eyes flashed with understanding, confirming her own guess, but she deliberately said to Jia Mu: "Yuanchun does not need to retreat. If there is something that even Yuanchun cannot hear, there is no need to speak up."

Oh, the retired emperor Jingning had informed her and stopped Yuanchun from choosing concubines. In this case, no matter how much Lady Jia begged her, she couldn't change the matter.

At the moment, she deliberately did not let Yuanchun retreat, and deliberately hinted to Lady Jia not to ask Yuanchun to choose concubines. Doing so would be like hitting a wooden bell, which would cause embarrassment.

After hesitating for a moment, Grandmother Jia finally couldn't help but speak. She asked the Empress Dowager, "I came to ask the Empress Dowager to make Yuanchun a concubine of the Emperor, but I learned that the plan has been dropped. I wonder why? Could it be that Yuanchun has displeased the Empress Dowager?"

This is asking knowingly.

In fact, she already knew that it was the retired Emperor Jingning who gave up on this matter. Because Emperor Taishun was currently selecting concubines, she was very unwilling and anxious, so she shamelessly came to Changchun Garden today to ask for an audience with the Empress Dowager.

Yuanchun, who was standing beside the Empress Dowager, couldn't help feeling embarrassed.

The Empress Dowager, feeling disgusted, feigned calmness and said, "Because the Wang family and the Ningguo Mansion messed things up and angered the Emperor, he ordered that this matter be dropped."

Although Lady Jia had already learned about this, she was still very depressed when she heard it from the Empress Dowager herself.

After a pause, Grandmother Jia pleaded, "Could the Empress Dowager help me with this matter? If Yuanchun is chosen as a concubine, she will serve the emperor wholeheartedly."

The Empress Dowager was even more fed up, and her tone became distant: "It is useless to ask me for this matter. The Emperor must allow it."

Yuanchun felt increasingly embarrassed, her heart aching. She knew there was no turning back, yet seeing her grandmother plead so earnestly, she felt a pang of pain.

Grandmother Jia's heart moved, and she thought to herself: "Since the Empress Dowager can't help me, I will shamelessly ask the Supreme Emperor for help. Maybe it will work."

(End of this chapter)