The Red Mansion

Chapter 91: Marriage with Yuanchun
Under the scorching sun, the Nine Classics and Three Affairs Hall is immersed in a dazzling waterfall of light. The yellow glazed tiles on the double-eaved hip roof reflect spots of light like broken gold. The white marble Sumeru pedestal has been sun-dried to a warm ivory color, and the relief of "The Picture of Farming and Weaving" appears lifelike in the sunlight.

After finishing their meeting with Emperor Jingning, Emperor Taishun and Prince Zhongyi walked out of the hall one after another. Suddenly, they saw an old lady wearing the imperial attire of a first-rank duke's wife. It was none other than Lady Jia.

Grandmother Jia had just arrived from Ningchun Hall, seeking an audience with Emperor Jingning. Suddenly, seeing Emperor Taishun approaching, she was startled and quickly bowed deeply, "Your Highness, your humble servant, Jia Shi, respectfully greets you!"

In front of the emperor, a lady of imperial decree belonged to the category of "minister". Combined with her gender and the word "woman", she became known as "minister's wife".

Jia Shi?
Emperor Taishun stopped in his tracks upon hearing the voice, and, letting Lady Jia lie flat on his back, he cast his gaze upon her wrinkled face. After a brief survey, he forced a smile and asked, "It has been a long time since I last saw you, old lady. Why have you come here today?"

Grandmother Jia looked a little embarrassed.

She came this time to ask Emperor Jingning to arrange Yuanchun as Emperor Taishun's concubine, so it was not convenient to tell Emperor Taishun about this in person.

She hesitated for a moment, then replied respectfully, "I'm here to pay my respects to the Emperor."

Emperor Taishun was slightly puzzled after hearing this. A woman from outside the imperial court paying her respects to Emperor Jingning in the Nine Classics and Three Affairs Hall? This kind of thing wasn't common, so he assumed Lady Jia must have something to ask of Emperor Jingning.

Emperor Taishun did not ask any further questions. He just nodded slightly, smiled faintly, and said, "Thank you for your kindness. In that case, you can go." After that, he left with Prince Zhongyi.

Grandmother Jia heaved a sigh of relief and bowed again, saying, "Your Highness, I respectfully send you off."

Only after Emperor Taishun and Prince Zhongyi had departed did Grandmother Jia stand up and gaze towards the Nine Classics and Three Affairs Hall, her heart agitated. She knew her request for an audience with Emperor Jingning was ostensibly to request that Yuanchun be made a concubine for Emperor Taishun, but in reality, it was to ensure the prosperity and longevity of the Rongguo Mansion. She knew the undertaking was difficult, but she still had to give it a try.

……

……

The Hall of Nine Classics and Three Affairs.

indoor.

Emperor Jingning sat on a Luohan bed with a panel embossed with cloud and dragon patterns and a cushion covered with bright yellow satin embroidered with golden dragons, and looked at Lady Jia who had entered the room.

Dressed in the attire of an imperial decree, Lady Jia walked slowly but with dignity, bowing respectfully: "Your Highness, your humble servant, Lady Jia Shi, respectfully wishes the Emperor the best of health!"

Emperor Jingning smiled slightly and said in a gentle tone: "Get up."

Grandmother Jia stood up as she was told, looking respectful.

Emperor Jingning offered him a seat again, but Lady Jia did not take it. She said respectfully, "It has been a long time since I last saw the Grand Emperor. He looks better and better, which shows that he is living a long and healthy life. This reassures me."

Emperor Jingning smiled and said, "Although I am old, I am still in good health. How about you? Have you always been in good health?"

Grandmother Jia quickly replied, "May the Emperor live long and prosper, and may your wife be in good health."

Emperor Jingning picked up a teacup, its body as thin as paper and its glaze as jade-colored, and the aroma of tea wafted in the air. He took a sip and asked Lady Jia, "Why have you come to see me today?"

Grandmother Jia paused and said, "First, I haven't seen the Grand Emperor for a long time and I miss him very much; second, I have a favor to ask."

Emperor Jingning put down his teacup, looked at Lady Jia with disdain, and asked, "Oh? What do you want?"

In fact, he had already guessed that Lady Jia's visit might be about Yuanchun's selection of concubines. Although embarrassed, Lady Jia still mustered up the courage to speak: "The Emperor is selecting concubines recently. I, your humble servant, have come to ask the Supreme Emperor for the favor. I also ask the Supreme Emperor to consider my master's loyalty to you in the past and ask if Yuanchun can be made a concubine of the Emperor?"

Emperor Jingning looked displeased, and his tone turned cold: "Have you asked the Empress Dowager about this matter?"

How could Grandmother Jia dare to lie? She answered truthfully, "I just went to see the Queen Mother, and she said it would be useless to ask her about this matter, and that I must get your approval."

Emperor Jingning's brows thickened with frost and snow as he sternly chided, "Since Jia Daishan's passing, your Rongguo Mansion has been on a downward spiral, declining day by day! I recently issued decrees to severely punish Wang Ziteng and Jia Zhen, even deposing the Ningguo Mansion's hereditary nobility and, as a result, canceling Yuanchun's appointment as the Emperor's consort. You should have taken this as a warning and remained within your proper bounds. Yet, driven by your greed for fame and fortune, you forced Yuanchun to become the Emperor's consort, even banging the gong with the Empress Dowager, and you still refuse to stop. You even have the nerve to come to me in the Nine Classics and Three Matters Hall to plead your case for this matter? Do you have any sense of shame?"

Upon hearing this, Lady Jia became even more embarrassed, her face pale as ashes, her heart filled with fear as if she had fallen into an abyss. She lowered her head and dared not continue to plead.

Emperor Jingning waved his hand and said in a cold tone: "You can leave."

Grandmother Jia was disheartened and could only bow tremblingly, her voice barely humming like a mosquito: "I, your humble wife, shall take my leave."

After she finished speaking, she slowly withdrew, her steps heavy, as if each step was stepping on her heart. She lamented in her heart, "This is God's will, what can I do? Master, if you were still alive, how could our Rong Mansion have fallen to this point? Putting aside other things, let's just talk about Yuanchun. If you had just asked the retired emperor for help, wouldn't Yuanchun have easily become the emperor's concubine?"

When she got outside the hall, she looked up at the sky and saw the scorching sun shining brightly in the sky, but her heart was filled with dark clouds and a chill penetrated her bones.

……

……

After Lady Jia left, Emperor Jingning began to hesitate.

It's not that he was hesitant about whether to make Yuanchun the concubine of Emperor Taishun, but he was hesitant about whether to marry Yuanchun to Jiang Nian.

Just now, when Emperor Taishun asked for permission to marry Yuanchun to Jiang Nian, Emperor Jingning hesitated and did not agree.

However, after another moment of hesitation, Emperor Jingning changed his mind. He was already growing tired of Lady Jia's requests for an audience, and his disdain for the Rongguo Mansion had grown. So, he simply agreed to Emperor Taishun's request, believing it made sense. Yuanchun was indeed suitable for Jiang Nian's marriage.

Thinking of this, Emperor Jingning immediately ordered the eunuch to summon Emperor Taishun.

The eunuch took the order, bowed and retreated, and in a moment he was outside the hall and heading towards Dan Ning Residence.

Not long after, Emperor Taishun returned to the Nine Classics and Three Affairs Hall and respectfully saluted Emperor Jingning. "I wonder why your Majesty summoned me?"

Emperor Jingning said slowly, "After careful consideration, I feel that Miss Jia is indeed suitable for marriage with Yuan Yi. The Emperor does not need to choose another suitable candidate. I will order Yuan Yi to marry into the Rongguo Mansion."

Emperor Taishun: "..."

He pretended to be calm on the surface, but was surprised in his heart.

What's going on? My father hadn't agreed just now, so how come he agreed in the blink of an eye?
Emperor Taishun's mind raced, and he speculated that Emperor Jingning's sudden change of mind in agreeing to marry Yuanchun to Jiang Nian was probably related to Lady Jia's request to see Emperor Jingning. He just didn't know what the reason was.
Oh, Lady Jia came to Changchun Garden today, originally to ask the Empress Dowager to arrange Yuanchun as the concubine of Emperor Taishun. After she rang the wooden bell with the Empress Dowager, she came to ask Emperor Jingning again, which annoyed Emperor Jingning so much that he changed his mind and agreed to marry Yuanchun to Jiang Nian!

The Sacred Heart is unpredictable!

The world is unpredictable!

(End of this chapter)