After the rebellion was successful, I realized that this place was the Red Mansion

Chapter 167 Jia Mansion
Upon entering, a eunuch knelt and invited them into the garden, where they were seated to receive greetings.

Chu Yan casually said, "All formalities are unnecessary. Just go to Rongxi Hall and have the maids and servants in the mansion perform the rites." He then asked Wang Xifeng, "Where is Ping'er? Call her here."

The eunuchs busied themselves making arrangements, and Wang Xifeng also hurriedly called Ping'er over.

Chu Yan entered the main hall and saw that Xiangyun and Baochai had all breathed a sigh of relief and were carefully wiping the sweat from their delicate faces with handkerchiefs. He smiled and said, "Please take a seat and serve tea."

"Thank you, Your Majesty~"

Xiangyun and the others smiled and bowed. After the eunuchs brought the tables and chairs, they took their seats, still in the order of the young ladies sitting in front and the ladies and grandmothers sitting behind.

Xiangyun, Baochai, Daiyu, Tanchun, Baoqin, and others who had entered the palace several times sat in the front, while Yuanchun and Keqing were closest to the front, and Qinghe sat with the other girls.

After everyone was seated, Ping'er entered Rongxi Hall and was about to kneel down when Chu Yan said, "No need. This is not the first time we have met. Besides, you have served me when I went to bed. There is no need to kneel."

Ping'er blushed and bowed to express her gratitude.

Grandmother Jia, Lady Wang, and Lady You all understood the implication: Ping'er had already served the emperor in bed. This was not unexpected for them, as Ping'er had previously received a reward from the emperor.

Chu Yan smiled and said, "Ping'er, how about you come and serve me in my room?"

Upon hearing this, Ping'er glanced at the Second Madam, and seeing that she remained silent, replied, "Ping'er dares not disobey His Majesty's decree."

Chu Yan then asked Wang Xifeng with a smile, "Sister Feng, would you be willing to give Ping'er to me?"

Wang Xifeng quickly stood up and said with a smile, "What do you mean by 'willing' or 'unwilling'? If His Majesty likes her, just take her. Serving the Emperor is something that countless people in the world dream of. How could I possibly be unwilling!"

Chu Yan laughed heartily, "As expected of the eloquent and fiery Feng, she may be unhappy in her heart, but she still flatters me with her words."

Sister Feng froze, realizing that the emperor was playing a trick on her!

However, he remained expressionless and smiled, "Your Majesty is joking. How could I dare to refuse? It is my good fortune as her former master to be able to serve the Emperor. When others find out, how can they not praise my ability to manage people? It is also Ping'er who has made something of herself!"

As she spoke, she glanced at Ping'er with her phoenix eyes and flattered her, saying, "If the Emperor were to bestow his favor and make Miss Ping a concubine, I would be too busy kneeling before her to refuse her now."

Grandmother Jia then laughed and said, "Logically speaking, we are all servants who were banished to the inner palace. It was only by the Emperor's grace that we are allowed to continue living in the mansion. Feng'er cannot make the decision. The Emperor can just send Ping'er to the room to serve us."

Sister Feng quickly replied, "What the old lady says is absolutely right!"

Seeing the two of them like this, Chu Yan realized that in the past, Jia Mu must have had Feng Jie flattering her, and she was indispensable.

He laughed and said, "Never mind, it was just a joke. Ping'er can go wherever she wants. Someone, bring Ping'er a seat."

"His Majesty……"

Ping'er was touched. Although His Majesty was just joking and did not really want her to serve him, he took great care of her.

Offering her a seat in front of all the ladies and young women in the mansion was tantamount to elevating her status to that of the mistresses. From now on, she would no longer need to follow the rules or be treated like a concubine in the palace when she was in front of the mistresses. She would still show respect to the young women.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the eunuch brought over another chair. Ping'er didn't dare sit in the front, so she asked him to put it in the back and sat behind Wang Xifeng.

This time, she no longer sat on one side of her buttocks, but sat comfortably and listened to the emperor speak.

"Congratulations, Lady Ping!" Sister Feng whispered.

Ping'er met her gaze, chuckled inwardly, and pointed to her chest and abdomen.

Wang Xifeng blushed and glared at her fiercely. The little hussy was indeed pleased with herself!

The palace maid came to serve tea.

After taking a sip, Chu Yan asked, "Which one of you is Old Madam Shi and the old lady of the Shi family?"

Grandmother Jia hurriedly put down the teacup she had just picked up and stood up with Shi Xiangyun's grandmother, intending to go to the emperor to report. This was the proper etiquette for meeting the emperor and empress, not the way they had been sitting and talking.

Chu Yan nodded and instructed, "There's no need for you to come over. I'm just here to see you."

Grandmother Jia and Grandmother Shi stopped in their tracks.

Shi Xiangyun secretly smiled at Chu Yan, the meaning of which was unclear; perhaps she was a little embarrassed in front of her grandmother.

Yuan Chun looked at her mother and saw that she was a little nervous, as if she thought the emperor would call her soon.

Yuan Chun couldn't speak at this moment, so she could only wait and see what the situation was like.

Chu Yan smiled and asked, "How are the two old ladies feeling?"

Daiyu glanced over and saw that the emperor, after all, was sitting down and asking the old lady how she was doing, while her grandmother had to stand to answer.

"Thanks to His Majesty's grace, we are in good health," they both said.

Chu Yan then asked, "How is everything at home?"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall wore strange expressions.

Does the emperor not know whether their family is good or bad? You ordered the confiscation of four families' property, and now you're asking about it!

Grandmother Shi hurriedly replied, "Thanks to the Emperor's grace, the women of the Shi family are able to live in the mansion, while the men of the family are away, and we are still managing to get by."

Grandmother Jia then said, "His Majesty raised an army, entered the capital, and established a new dynasty. The Jia family was a meritorious family of the old dynasty. We are now safe and sound thanks to His Majesty's grace!"

After listening, Chu Yan said, "I told Yun'er and Yuan Chun that the Jia family has done no favor to our dynasty, so they are not pardoned. The Shi and Wang families are either loyal ministers or have great prestige in the army, so they are exempted from corvée labor."

The women inside the room all stood up and bowed to express their gratitude.

Chu Yanchao said to Grandmother Jia and Xiangyun's grandmother with a smile, "You have raised several good granddaughters, which I love very much. Even so, the men of your Jia family are still not pardoned and will have to wait three to five years. I am telling you this so that you will not have any doubts and will not have to ask the girls to plead for you."

The group bowed again to express their gratitude and then sat down again.

Regardless of their true feelings, the emperor had already decreed that the Jia family would not be pardoned for the next three to five years; his word was law, and they had no choice but to comply.

Chu Yanchao smiled at Li Wan and said, "Jia Lan is young, so we pardon his crime and allow the palace official to take him in and raise him."

Jia Lan had been in the palace before and had not suffered any punishment, but now that Chu Yan had officially issued the decree, Li Wan was overjoyed. She quickly got up and called Jia Lan in, and the mother and son knelt down to express their gratitude.

Lady Wang and Grandmother Jia, who were Jia Lan's grandmother and great-grandmother, also expressed their gratitude.

Concubine Zhao, having no seat, stood by the door with the palace maids, eunuchs, and other concubines. Seeing Jia Lan being pardoned, she felt resentful and mustered her courage to come forward and kowtow, saying, "Your Majesty, please have mercy! My son, Jia Huan, is still young and is currently in the army camp..."

Tan Chun was taken aback. Why had her mother run out? Didn't she know what time it was?
As she hesitated whether to get up and plead for her mother's pardon, Chu Yan said calmly, "Jia Huan is nine years old, and according to the old law, he is not eligible for a pardon."

According to the old laws, those aged seventy and above but under seven years old are exempt from the death penalty except for treason, and will not be exiled.

In reality, however, most of the criminals had their entire families confiscated by imperial decree and were all registered, because most of those whose homes were confiscated had committed the crime of treason.

Aunt Zhao was about to say something when Tan Chun stood up, "Aunt!"

She shook her head at her as she spoke, and Aunt Zhao reluctantly withdrew. Tan Chun then bowed and apologized.

Madam Wang's expression was not good.

Chu Yan said to Xia Shouzhong, "Tell them to bow. Those who knelt earlier don't need to. The rest of you bow once and then have them leave."

Xia Shouzhong hurriedly went out and told the maids and servants of the Ning and Rong mansions to kowtow outside, but not to go inside to kneel and see the emperor's face.

Chu Yan ordered his men to reward the maids and servants of the Ning and Rong mansions with a purse and five hundred coins, which was equivalent to the New Year's money that the Jia family gave to their servants.

However, the purses were made by palace maids in the Yeting Palace. They were exquisitely designed and made of high-quality materials. Those who received them were overjoyed and kowtowed in praise.

After finishing, Chu Yan said, "I'm going to take a stroll in the garden. You don't need to come with me. There will be another banquet in the Grand View Garden tonight." After saying that, he got up and smiled at Xiangyun and the others, "Yun'er, come with me to stroll in the garden. You can go if you want, or go back and rest if you don't want to."

He had intended to call her Lin Daiyu again, but seeing her frail and delicate appearance, and fearing that she would be tired after all the fuss, he decided to let her do as she pleased.

As the emperor, if Chu Yan asked her, she would definitely do it, even if it meant getting up herself.

As for Baochai, Baoqin, and Yingchun, there are too many of them, and it would be impossible to take care of them all, so we simply asked Shi Xiangyun instead.

Qin Keqing bowed and said softly, "I have not returned to Ningguo Mansion for many days. I would like to ask Your Majesty to grant me permission to go back and visit."

"Go ahead, Yuan Chun doesn't need to come along." Chu Yan looked at Qing He and smiled, "You come along too, and we'll see where you want to stay later."

Xiangyun and Princess Qinghe got along quite well.

After everyone bowed and dispersed, Miaoyu also left silently. She had felt very uncomfortable in the hall and wished she could leave as soon as possible.

After most of the people had left, Chu Yan instructed the eunuch beside him: "Go and tell Li Gongcai to come and serve you tonight."

Baochai, Baoqin, and the others who remained were all taken aback. Daiyu, who hadn't left yet, turned pale upon hearing this and went back to Xiaoxiang Pavilion.

Xiangyun blushed and whispered, "Why does the Emperor say this in public? It's not good to pass on the message in private."

Chu Yan smiled and said, "I originally wanted to say it in front of everyone, but considering the judge's feelings, I delayed it a bit."

Tan Chun watched the eunuch leave, thinking to herself, "I wonder what the ladies will think when they find out that my sister-in-law is going to serve me tonight... Oh well, this day is coming eventually, it's better to know sooner rather than later."

(End of this chapter)