Dream of the Red Chamber: Start by gaining Zhao Yun's martial prowess, and be ennobled in a sin

If it weren't for him being a variable, Emperor Jingsheng would have wanted to win over the founding line of Wu Xun.

The only way to win over and appease the people of Wu Xun's lineage was through marriage alliances with the daughters of Wu Xun's family, that is, by bestowing titles upon Yuan Chun and others as imperial concubines.

However, as he gradually became a general commanding 100,000 troops, it gradually became impossible for Yuan Chun to be made a concubine.

During the early years of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Taizu arranged numerous marriages with founding heroes in order to consolidate his power.

Since the reign of Emperor Chengzu, this situation has greatly decreased.

Most of the empresses and concubines in the Han Dynasty were selected from low-ranking officials or even ordinary families. The core purpose of this was to prevent the interference of the empress's relatives in politics.

It was especially rare for a daughter of the Wu Xun family, who held military power, to enter the palace.

Emperor Jingsheng had only recently ascended the throne and was eager to win over and appease the hearts of the founding line of the Wu Xun, which is why he chose a girl from the Wu Xun family to enter the palace.

Even so, most of the candidates who were rumored to be made imperial concubines came from noble and military families with nominal titles but no real power, such as the Jia family, which previously only held the empty title of first-class general.

The nature of this conferment of imperial concubine status was extremely subtle; it was more like a means of political appeasement than a simple act of favor.

However, since Jia Jing gradually gained control of the military, this method of winning over through marriage became inappropriate, so the news that Yuan Chun was to be made a concubine gradually disappeared.

Even if Emperor Jingsheng trusted him, it was impossible for him to simultaneously allow him to command 100,000 troops outside the palace while also making his sister a concubine inside.

If Emperor Jingsheng really did this, it wouldn't be because he trusted Jia Jing, but because he was wary, suspicious, and even wanted to settle scores with the Jia family.

The reason Jia Jing brought up Yuan Chun's matter at this time was not to make her a concubine as in the original story.

Instead, they wanted to take advantage of Emperor Jingsheng's reduction of palace staff to find a way to bring Yuan Chun out of the palace.

In fact, ever since Jia Jing returned to the capital and took control of the 100,000 troops in the Ba Shang camp, he had the idea of ​​bringing Yuan Chun out of the palace.

Although Yuan Chun was only a mid-to-low-ranking female official in the palace, she was still "a person in the palace".

According to the rules of the Han Dynasty, after being selected to enter the palace, only a very few were promoted due to the emperor's favor.

Most of them were destined to serve the royal family in the palace until their old age, and even after death they could only be buried in the capital. It was quite difficult to bring them out of the palace.

If he acted rashly, it would easily arouse suspicion about his motives, which is why Jia Jing waited for an opportunity.

When Jia Jing heard that Emperor Jingsheng wanted to reduce palace expenses and lay off palace staff, he knew that his opportunity had come.

As for why Jia Jing wanted to bring Yuan Chun out of the palace...

The main reason is that Yuan Chun's presence in the palace will not only fail to help him in his career, but will instead become a political weakness and obstacle for him.

He wasn't worried that Emperor Jingsheng might suddenly decide to favor Yuanchun, then make her a concubine and have a child, putting him in a difficult position.

Emperor Jingsheng was an extremely rational and diligent emperor who had never indulged in women since ascending the throne.

There was only one empress and two concubines in the harem. The eldest son of the emperor was also born to the empress. He was both the legitimate son and the eldest son, so there was no opportunity for court officials to participate in the political speculation of the struggle for the throne.

His main concern was the retired emperor, who was a restless figure who had once used the Duke of Cao to win over Jia She.

If news of his victory in the Northwest campaign reaches the court, the retired emperor may once again consider winning him over, and Yuan Chun would be the best entry point.

Although Yuan Chun is now in the Empress's palace, it is not easy for the Emperor Emeritus to make a move against her, but not easy does not mean impossible.

If the Empress Dowager were to bestow Yuan Chun upon the Emperor Emeritus or one of his sons, even Emperor Jingsheng would find it difficult to stop her.

After all, Yuan Chun was a person in the palace, and the Empress Dowager and the Empress had direct authority over her.

In addition, Lady Wang and Prince Teng were also restless people; their intention in sending Yuan Chun to the palace was to curry favor with the royal family.

If they were to take advantage of Jia Jing's absence on campaign, they could collude with the Emperor Emeritus.

Using Yuan Chun to send out some wrong signals about taking sides would put him in an unfavorable political situation.

Another reason is that Yuan Chun herself was not actually happy in the palace.

This can be seen from the scene in the original novel where Yuan Chun returns home to visit her family and gathers with them in her private room.

Yuan Chun cried as she spoke, describing the imperial palace as a "place devoid of interest" and "where one cannot see anyone," as if she had just emerged from a place of confinement and imprisonment.

The glory and wealth that the Jia family admired was nothing but an abyss for Jia Yuanchun, a woman with no relatives or friends in the palace, where she suffered greatly.

Since keeping Yuan Chun in the palace would be beneficial to both Jia Jing and herself, it would be better to take this opportunity to bring her back to the Jia family.

Xia Shouzhong was somewhat surprised to hear Jia Jing deny his guess, and laughed:

"What is it? Marquis Jingwu, please speak frankly. Since I have accepted your money, I will not refuse to do anything that I can."

This is Xia Shouzhong's usual tactic: he won't refuse what he can do, but he'll say no if he can't.

Jia Jing raised his eyes to look at the tall, deep palace walls in the distance, his gaze unfathomable, and slowly said:

"What I want to ask the Grand Chancellor is not to promote my eldest sister or make her a favorite, but to have him take advantage of the recent staff reduction in the palace to send her out of the palace."

"To be honest, my grandmother is getting old and has been talking a lot lately about how she hasn't seen her eldest granddaughter, who works as a lady-in-waiting in the palace, for many years."

"These past few days I've been so worried about it that I haven't been able to eat or drink, and I've been bedridden."

"It is only by His Majesty's grace that we intend to reduce the number of palace staff. If we can obtain the assistance of the Inner Chancellor to preserve family harmony, I would be extremely grateful."

Jia Jing naturally couldn't reveal his true intentions, but instead used the pretext of Grandmother Jia missing her granddaughter.

The Han Dynasty ruled the country with filial piety, and using the name of filial piety was a very appropriate reason.

It is true that Grandmother Jia is bedridden, but it's not because she misses Yuan Chun, but because... she's getting old and her headaches have flared up again, so she's resting at home.

Jia Jing tried his best not to get too involved in the matter of welcoming Yuan Chun out of the palace.

He had already mentioned this to Grandmother Jia during the Lantern Festival, and Grandmother Jia was initially reluctant.

After all, the Jia family had spent a lot of money on Jia Yuanchun over the years, hoping that one day Yuanchun would be promoted to the rank of imperial concubine, leading the Jia family to prosperity and becoming a noble family related to the imperial family.

As a result, Jia Jing said he would take her out, and all her hopes and efforts over the years vanished in an instant, which she found hard to accept.

However, after Jia Jing clearly explained the pros and cons, especially the potential risks to Jia Baoyu and Jia Zheng, he concluded that...

Grandmother Jia sensed Jia Jing's "good intentions" and hesitated for a long time before finally agreeing through gritted teeth. It was also on that day that Grandmother Jia's headache flared up again.

Hearing Jia Jing's words, Xia Shouzhong breathed a sigh of relief.

If Jia Jing was asking him to arrange for Jia Yuanchun to be favored by Emperor Jingsheng and to gain the status of a powerful maternal relative, then...

Even if he could do it, he wouldn't agree, because it would be too risky and could easily offend the Empress and the Imperial Concubine.

However, if he were merely using this opportunity to reduce the number of palace staff to send Jia Yuanchun out of the palace, it would be a trivial matter for him.