The Red Mansion

Chapter 94 A Gift for the Queen Mother
That afternoon, Jiang Nian woke from his nap to find Xiangling carefully dressing him. He Yun suddenly arrived at his bedroom, motioned Xiangling to leave, and said to Jiang Nian, "Master, Guard Ren has arrived to deliver the emperor's instructions."

Again!
Jiang Nian was not surprised.

Jiang Nian and He Yun hurriedly welcomed Ren Pijiang into the main hall.

Ren Pijiang walked to the center of the hall, stood facing south, and said to Jiang Nian, who was kneeling, "Send Jiang Nian to Changchun Garden to see you immediately."

Jiang Nian said respectfully, "I obey your instructions and thank you!"

Then he knelt facing west.

When Jiang Nian stood up, Ren Pijiang bowed to him and said respectfully, "Greetings, Master Nian."

Jiang Nian returned the greeting: "Thank you for troubling Guard Ren again."

Ren Pijiang said respectfully, "I am only following orders and cannot complain about my hard work. But considering that you have been summoned by His Majesty many times recently, I am truly honored and congratulated."

Indeed, Emperor Taishun has summoned Jiang Nian to Changchun Garden for an audience several times recently.

Ren Pijiang could see from this that Emperor Taishun was rapidly becoming interested in Jiang Nian, a commoner prince, and he also felt that there was some hope for Jiang Nian to be recognized as a prince.

Ren Pijiang whispered to Jiang Nian, "Your Majesty has specifically instructed me to remind you that the Empress Dowager wishes to see Master Nian today, so you should prepare a gift as a token of your respect."

Jiang Nian was delighted, both because he was happy to see the Empress Dowager and because Emperor Taishun had asked Ren Pijiang to remind him, using the word "filial piety", which showed that Emperor Taishun had already recognized him as a son.

As for the gift for the Empress Dowager, Jiang Nian didn't need to make any last-minute arrangements; he had already prepared it...

Immediately, Jiang Nian changed into the official hat and uniform of a third-class guard, and He Yun also put on the official uniform of a fifth-rank Dragon Guard. The two of them rode away on horseback with Ren Pijiang. The sound of horse hooves rang out, and dust flew up as the three of them ran towards Changchun Garden together.

……

……

Changchun Garden. Danning Residence.

Emperor Taishun sat cross-legged on the rosewood Arhat bed.

Jiang Nian stepped into the room and bowed respectfully: "Your Highness, I, Jiang Nian, respectfully greet you."

Emperor Taishun didn't immediately ask Jiang Nian to stand. Instead, he stared at her and said, "You are already fifteen years old, and it's time to discuss marriage. I have petitioned the Empress Dowager, and she has graciously approved your marriage to her daughter, Jia. This daughter, from the Rongguo Mansion, is virtuous, filial, talented, and a perfect match. You previously offered advice on clearing up the financial deficit, a service to the state. This marriage is my reward."

After hearing this, Jiang Nian was surprised.

Jiang Nian was not surprised by Emperor Taishun's arranged marriage, as it was within his expectations.

Surprisingly, the person being arranged to marry was Jia Yuanchun from Rongguo Mansion.

He thought that since he had come to the world of the Red Mansion, his marriage partner should be the golden hairpin in the original novel. Among the golden hairpins in the original novel, the only one suitable for him to marry was Jia Yuanchun.

Jiang Nian kowtowed in gratitude, "Your Majesty, I am deeply grateful for your grace. I will repay your kindness with all my loyalty and wisdom."

Emperor Taishun nodded slightly and said, "To conceal your background, this is under the pretext that Prince Zhongyi is begging the Empress Dowager to arrange a marriage for you. You cannot claim that it was arranged by me."

Jiang Nian understood: "I will keep it in mind."

Emperor Taishun continued, "The Empress Dowager has learned of your life story and wishes to summon you. I have ordered Ren Pijiang to remind you to prepare a gift of filial piety. Have you done so?"

Jiang Nian said respectfully, "I have prepared it. Since it is inconvenient to bring it in without permission, I have entrusted it to Guard Ren for safekeeping." Emperor Taishun was curious: "What are the gifts?"

When Jiang Nian heard Emperor Taishun ask what kind of ceremony was prepared, he was secretly happy but kept a straight face.

In fact, even if Emperor Taishun didn't ask, Jiang Nian would have told him.

Rather than him speaking proactively, it would be better for Emperor Taishun to ask and then he would answer. This would prevent Emperor Taishun from thinking that he was deliberately using the prepared gifts to please Emperor Taishun.

Jiang Nian replied respectfully, "I know Your Majesty governs the world with filial piety and respects filial piety. Therefore, ever since I passed the Shuntian Prefecture provincial examination, I have been copying the Heart Sutra and the Infinite Life Sutra daily, so that when I have the honor of meeting the Empress Dowager one day, I can present these handwritten sutras to her. I pray that she will be healthy and live a long and blissful life. This is a small token of my filial piety. I have already copied the Heart Sutra forty-nine times and the Infinite Life Sutra once, and I am bringing them here to present to the Empress Dowager."

In fact, Jiang Nian copied the scriptures with the intention of giving them to the retired Emperor Jingning. But now there is no need to give it to the Emperor Jingning, so it can be used as a gift to the Empress Dowager.

In addition, there is another point that Jiang Nian is not in a position to state clearly.

Empress Dowager Wu gave birth to three sons, one of whom died young. The other two were the fourth prince of Emperor Jingning (Emperor Taishun) and the fourteenth prince of Emperor Jingning.

The Fourth Prince and the Fourteenth Prince, brothers from the same mother, were enemies in the "Nine Princes' Struggle for the Throne".

Although the fourth prince was born to Wu, he was raised by a noble concubine at the time. According to the rules of the Daqing imperial family at the time, Wu was of low rank and was not qualified to raise her own son. The noble concubine who raised the fourth prince was later canonized as the third empress by Emperor Jingning. This empress died the day after her canonization.

This is one of the reasons for the hostility between the Fourth Prince and the Fourteenth Prince.

The Fourteenth Prince was once a member of the "Eighth Prince Party". Before Emperor Jingning abdicated, the two princes with the greatest hope of inheriting the throne were the Fourth Prince and the Fourteenth Prince.

Compared with the fourth prince, Wu preferred her youngest son, the fourteenth prince, whom she raised personally.

As a result, the fourth prince ascended the throne and became Emperor Taishun. Although Wu was enthroned as the empress dowager and she and Emperor Taishun appeared to be in harmony on the surface, there was actually a hidden rift between them.

Although Jiang Nian was an illegitimate son of Emperor Taishun, when he first met the empress dowager, he presented her with the Heart Sutra and the Amitabha Sutra that he had copied by hand as a gift, which could dilute the cold feeling of the power struggle and replace it with the warmth of "grandparents and grandchildren".

Even if this move cannot improve the mother-son relationship between the Empress Dowager and Emperor Taishun, it will at least make Emperor Taishun satisfied.

At this moment, Emperor Taishun was satisfied after listening to what Jiang Nian said, so he summoned Ren Pijiang to bring in the gifts prepared by Jiang Nian.

Ren Pijiang held a package in his hand and presented it respectfully. For safety reasons, he was the one who opened the package.

Emperor Taishun discovered that the package contained a stack of handwritten Buddhist scriptures, which were neatly arranged. They were thick and solemn, and consisted of forty-nine copies of the Heart Sutra and one copy of the Amitabha Sutra.

The entire text of the Heart Sutra consists of only over 200 words, and the forty-nine recitations total over 10,000 words. In Buddhism, "forty-nine" means "perfection," which fits the ultimate desire to pray for blessings and longevity.

The full text of the "Amitabha Sutra" is nearly 20,000 words. Copying it once is enough to show your sincerity. If you offer the long sutra repeatedly, it will seem redundant.

The forty-nine recitations of the Heart Sutra and one recitation of the Infinite Life Sutra were both copied in the official script of the Daqing court, symbolizing Jiang Nian's strict adherence to etiquette and piety.

In addition, Jiang Nian deliberately used imitation magnetic blue paper and silver-mixed gold mud.

Magnetic blue paper is a type of paper with an indigo or dark blue base and a surface coated with glue and alum. It has a thick texture and a calm color. It is often used for copying Buddhist scriptures in the palace and binding official documents.

Gold leaf is made by grinding gold foil into extremely fine powder and mixing it with glue. It has a gorgeous luster after writing and is mostly used for writing scriptures, plaques or gilding paintings.

The palace and government workshops mastered the production technology of top-grade magnetic blue paper and the extremely pure "nine-grinding and nine-drifting" gold mud production technology, which were exclusively supplied to the royal family. They were difficult for the public to obtain and were subject to etiquette constraints.

(End of this chapter)