Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Because they were in the royal gardens, even though he was riding with Aqi and had a legitimate opportunity to put his arm around Aqi's strong waist, which he had been eyeing for a long time, Jia Lian still did not act rashly.

Back at the camp, a team was sent to guard the scene, and then it was discovered that the entire royal garden had suddenly become a place of heightened vigilance!

People from the Crown Prince's residence and the Imperial Guards arrived one after another upon hearing the news. Every one of the leaders had a solemn and stern face, as if their own father had died.

When his men inquired, they found out it was indeed about the hunting grounds.

The Crown Prince organized a hunting game for the royal sons and the most outstanding princes and nobles in the capital, within an area surrounded by the Imperial Guards.

Unexpectedly, Princess Zhaoyang and her two maids' horses all went out of control...

Fortunately, Princess Zhaoyang was unharmed, but one of her two maids was injured in the fall, while the other was carried out of control by the horse and broke through the Imperial Guard's protective perimeter.

Since there were only two maids, no one near Princess Zhaoyang paid much attention at the time, as long as the princess was alright.

To everyone's surprise, Princess Zhaoyang seemed to regard the maid as a sister. Seeing her horse foaming at the mouth and lying on the ground, she immediately snatched a horse from a nearby contestant and chased after it like a madwoman...

The information they gathered clearly contradicted Jia Lian's guess.

Upon hearing Xie Jun mention that the spirited and graceful woman who arrived later claimed to be Princess Zhaoyang, Jia Lian began to understand.

It turned out that the beauty had lied to him; she wasn't Princess Zhaoyang! But if she wasn't Princess Zhaoyang, then what was her true identity?

Judging from her age, she doesn't seem to be an unmarried princess or county princess in the royal family, because if princesses were this old, they would all be married by now.

Once married, royal ladies would naturally be unlikely to accompany the princes on outings.

Could she be the Crown Princess? Otherwise, the current situation cannot be explained...

"General Jia, His Highness the Crown Prince summons you to Liufeng Courtyard for an audience immediately."

Suddenly, the Grand Eunuch of the Crown Prince's Palace came to summon Jia Lian in person.

Just as Jia Lian began to suspect that he might have taken advantage of the Crown Princess, he heard the Crown Prince summon him, and he couldn't help but feel uneasy.

Not daring to be careless, they followed the chief eunuch towards the central royal garden.

……

Sure enough, the entire Imperial Horse Stables felt rather tense.

On the way to Liufeng Courtyard, where the Crown Prince resided, Jia Lian encountered four or five checkpoints. Even the usually high-spirited and unrestrained young nobles were all sitting properly in the temporary tea sheds, drinking tea and chatting.

However, upon seeing Jia Lian pass by, they all seemed afraid that he would overhear some secret, and quickly shut their mouths.

After entering Liufeng Courtyard and waiting outside the corridor for a while, I was summoned into the hall.

"This humble general, Jia Lian, greets Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Upon entering the hall, Jia Lian performed the military audience ceremony according to the rules of the Great Wei Dynasty.

It is not appropriate for a fourth-rank commander to refer to himself as a "minor general" in front of the crown prince, but a second-rank general's title is sufficient.

"Get up..."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

After Jia Lian got up, he discovered that besides the Crown Prince, there were several other young men in bright clothes and looking arrogant in the hall.

One of them was the heir of Prince Duan, with whom he had a falling out!

The Prince Duan's heir stared at him with eyes full of jealousy, and when he saw him looking over, he turned his head away in resentment.

Hmph, lucky guy!

The Crown Prince seemed to know Jia Lian to some extent, so he didn't say anything more. After glancing at Jia Lian twice, he asked in a deep voice, "I heard that you saved... saved the maidservant by Zhaoyang's side?"

A maid? If my elder brother says so, then it is.

"Yes, Your Highness."

"What happened at the time...?"

"At that time, the princess's maid was riding fast to the checkpoint that I had set up with my men. I was afraid of hurting her, so I didn't dare to stop her. I could only let her pass first, and then I rode up to catch up with her and helped her control the out-of-control horse."

Later, Princess Zhaoyang arrived and took her back.

Jia Lian would never say that he rolled around on the ground three or four times while holding the other person!

The Crown Prince seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and the gloom on his face dissipated considerably. His gaze towards Jia Lian softened considerably.

"Very good, you did a great job... You've done a great service today..."

The Crown Prince seemed to have something difficult to say, and his speech was hesitant. Finally, he paused for a moment and instructed, "The Crown Prince's residence made improper arrangements today, which caused Princess Zhaoyang to be frightened. I am uneasy about this."

After you leave, dispose of the horse left behind by the princess's maid on the spot. Do not make a fuss, and do not spread the word, lest you cause panic among others. Do you understand?

Jia Lian immediately understood that the Crown Prince was instructing him and his men to keep the secret and not to say anything that shouldn't be said.

"Understood, sir!"

Seeing Jia Lian's resolute decision, the Crown Prince was even more pleased.

He glanced at Wei Xian, the heir apparent of the Prince of Duan, who seemed about to say something, but a eunuch came out from the back hall and whispered a few words to the prince.

The Crown Prince's expression changed slightly, and he immediately nodded. Then he stood up and said to Jia Lian, "You are a rare young talent in this dynasty. You have made another contribution, and I am very pleased."

As long as you remain loyal and devoted, your future will be yours.

As for your past conflict with the Prince of Duan, I am fully aware of it. Right and wrong are no longer important. You two have each learned your lesson.

From this day forward, you should set aside past grievances and wholeheartedly assist this dynasty, for this is the duty of a subject.

When the Crown Prince spoke, Wei Xian, though inwardly wishing he could beat Jia Lian to death, still quickly stood up upon hearing this, but did not speak first, waiting for Jia Lian to speak.

Jia Lian could easily understand his meaning, and bowed to the Crown Prince, saying, "This humble general will obey the Crown Prince's orders."

After speaking, he bowed to Wei Xianye and said, "I was wrong to have hurt the young master because of what happened last year. Please forgive me, young master."

Jia Lian's composure impressed others, but also greatly disappointed Wei Xian.

He had just been thinking, "If Jia Lian doesn't know what's good for him, that would be great. It would be best if he offended the Crown Prince because of this, and then I'll see how I deal with him!"

Bah! He calls himself a filial son, but he's nothing special. He even forgave me for insulting his father...

"Not at all, General Jia, you're too kind..."

With a casual bow, Wei Xian indicated that he was merely giving the Crown Prince face.

The Crown Prince laughed, "Haha, that's exactly right. I've prepared a pot of light tea. These are all rare young talents in our dynasty. Take advantage of this auspicious time and have a good chat."

"I have other important matters to attend to, please excuse me."

So, it turns out that the young talents the Crown Prince considers include people like Wei Xian. Jia Lian suddenly realized that the Crown Prince's earlier description of him as a "young talent" might not have been a compliment...

……

As the crown prince walked out of the palace, the smile on his face vanished, replaced by a somber expression. Without uttering a word, he headed towards the nearby observatory.

Upon arriving at the main building, the Crown Prince saw the Third Prince being led in by a eunuch. The Crown Prince's expression immediately darkened, becoming somewhat unpleasant.

The Third Prince, as usual, saw the Crown Prince and hurriedly stepped forward to bow, saying, "Greetings, Eldest Brother!"

The Crown Prince frowned and stared at the Third Prince for a long while before coldly saying, "Third Brother, I know you are very dissatisfied with me, but isn't it a bit too much to use such methods?"

If anything goes wrong today, no matter how flawless your actions are, both of us will be guilty of a thousand deaths.

"You have some nerve! You'll stop at nothing to get back at me..."

The Third Prince's expression changed slightly. "What do you mean by that, Eldest Brother? Do you think I was responsible for what happened today?"

"Hmph, you know perfectly well whether you did it or not!"

The crown prince flicked his sleeve and strode into the main hall.

The Third Prince's face was extremely ugly. He took a deep breath and followed the Crown Prince inside.

He turned past layers of palace curtains, ignoring the numerous maids and servants standing inside, until he reached the main hall, where he and the Crown Prince knelt down together.

"Grandson has come to apologize to His Majesty..."

……