Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

"By the way, I was able to escape unharmed today thanks to the brave commander of the military garrison who risked his life to save me."

However, since I am disguising myself to leave the palace today, in the eyes of outsiders, he only rescued one of your maids, so it is not appropriate to reward him too much.

"Alright then, go and invite him to the literary gathering this afternoon. Then, please thank him properly on my behalf."

When the Empress Dowager suddenly said such a thing, the clever Princess Zhaoyang immediately understood the other meaning.

Earlier at the foot of the mountain, I did see a young general, full of vigor and spirit, but at the time I was worried about my grandmother's safety, so I didn't think much of it.

When she saw that her grandmother had asked her to help express her gratitude, she couldn't help but suspect that her grandmother's true intentions were not what they seemed!

Since he's a general, why can't the eldest prince just promote him? Why do I have to ask someone for help?

Thinking about this, my subconscious instinct was to refuse...

But then I thought, looking at its appearance... I might as well give it a try!

So he pretended not to understand the implied meaning and nodded.

After Zhaoyang left, the Empress Dowager, supported by others, entered the inner palace. An elderly nanny quietly entered and reported:

"Your Majesty, I have made progress on the matter you asked me to inquire about."

Tell me about it.

"The commander of the Western City Garrison is named Jia Lian. He is twenty years old this year and is the eldest grandson of the Rongguo Mansion in the capital."

He was originally an unknown young nobleman in the capital.

In the third year of Ningkang, because of a conflict with the heir of Prince Duan, he beat the heir of Prince Duan so badly that he was bedridden for half a month at the Fourth Prince's residence!

Later, in order to quell the matter, His Majesty sent him to the border for training. Unexpectedly, he turned out to be a natural-born general, fighting bravely and making great achievements on the battlefield, which earned him His Majesty's appreciation and high regard!

At the end of last year, because his father was seriously ill and incurable, His Majesty showed mercy and summoned him back from the border to serve him, and promoted him to the rank of fourth-grade military commander!

After his father passed away last month, he inherited the family title and was personally appointed by His Majesty as "Second-Class General Zhenyuan".

It can be said that this Lord Lian now holds an official title and his reputation in the capital is growing day by day.

Just now, I sent someone out to inquire, and they came back saying that it's rare to find someone who doesn't know his name.

The Empress Dowager nodded in agreement; Jia Lian's situation was as she had predicted.

It's absolutely impossible for such a young general not to have a special background!

As for his bravery and skill in battle, and his numerous military exploits, this may not be entirely accurate.

Upon hearing Jia Lian's background, the Empress Dowager roughly guessed that Emperor Ningkang needed the support of the founding nobles to vigorously cultivate his own power within them!

However, the fact that he was chosen by Emperor Ningkang speaks volumes.

However, she was somewhat surprised that he had dared to attack the Prince of Duan's heir.

"What was his reason for attacking the Crown Prince of Duan?"

The old nanny deliberately left things unsaid, but when she saw that the Empress Dowager had indeed asked, she quickly smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I have also inquired. It is because the Prince Duan's son acted recklessly and publicly insulted the eldest master of the Rongguo Mansion, who is also the biological father of this Master Lian."

Therefore, in a fit of anger, he pinned the Prince of Duan down on the martial arts stage and beat him severely.

If there hadn't been a specific reason, and the Crown Prince had been severely injured in public, His Majesty, no matter how much he valued him, would not have let him off easily.

Moreover, according to others, if His Highness the Third Prince had not been present that day, the Prince Duan's heir would probably have lost his life.

The Fourth Prince is someone who loves to watch a good show; if it were him, he certainly wouldn't stop it.

When the old nanny mentioned the son of her niece, whom she considered like a sister, the Empress Dowager's face showed a hint of helplessness.

That brat...

The old woman was right; she really was someone who loved to watch the drama unfold!

Seeing that there was nothing wrong with the Crown Prince's actions, the Empress Dowager finally asked the most crucial question: "Has he ever been married?"

Upon hearing this, the old nanny immediately understood the Empress Dowager's meaning.

The Empress Dowager is truly devoted to Prince Zhaoyang. Upon seeing an outstanding young man, she can't help but consider whether he is a suitable match for Prince Zhaoyang.

Because this was certainly not to the Empress Dowager's liking, the old nanny did not try to be clever and pretended not to understand the implied meaning. She smiled conventionally and said, "It is said that he married a few years ago. He married the eldest daughter of the Wang family, one of the four great families of Jinling."

Although it was expected, the Empress Dowager still frowned slightly upon hearing that it was indeed the case.

The old nanny seemed completely oblivious to the Empress Dowager's thoughts and continued, "Your Majesty may not know, but the two blood ginseng roots that Prince Zhaoyang sent you the other day were actually a gift from this Lord Lian to the Fourth Prince."

Then the Fourth Prince presented it to Prince Zhaoyang as a birthday gift.

Today, he has again been fortunate enough to save the Empress Dowager's life, which shows that this Lord Lian is truly a man of great fortune.

The Empress Dowager glanced at this old-fashioned connoisseur who was good at selling things, nodded slightly, and didn't pursue the matter any further.

……

After leaving the Empress Dowager's bedchamber, Princess Zhaoyang felt increasingly uneasy.

How could a princess like herself invite a foreign official to her birthday celebration?

Even if he looks better, he's not worth this princess's effort to curry favor with!

Just then, I remembered the gift my good-for-nothing younger brother had given me last time—a blood ginseng that I had obtained from someone called "Jia Lian of the Rongguo Mansion."

I didn't pay much attention to it at the time, but now it could be a breakthrough point.

So he called his unlucky younger brother over.

To everyone's surprise, when the Fourth Prince saw her, he said, "I don't know what happened outside. Your horse got spooked, but you're fine. You just dropped a maid. Why did the hunt suddenly end like that?"

I haven't shot enough prey yet!

I heard that my eldest brother has also ordered the literary gathering this afternoon to be canceled. Although I don't like that kind of thing, it's really quite a downer.

Princess Zhaoyang never considered herself to have a bad temper, but she always got angry easily when she saw her unlucky younger brother.

"What do you mean I'm fine? You actually want something to happen to me, huh??"

Seeing his hot-tempered elder sister's unfriendly expression, the Fourth Prince quickly smiled and said, "Elder sister is joking, how could that be?"

When I first heard about it, I was so worried that I even abandoned the deer I was chasing and turned around to look for you, only to find out that you had gone to rescue some maid.

Hey, I knew right then and there that with my royal sister's brilliant and skillful horsemanship, there would be absolutely no problem, which is why the hunting competition was restarted.

Suddenly, the Imperial Guards came out and chased people away...

Given the current situation, everyone is secretly speculating about what major event has occurred, except for my careless younger brother, who is still thinking about hunting!

Taking a deep breath, Princess Zhaoyang suppressed the urge to hit her younger brother and gently and tactfully asked him to help her invite someone.

Who would have thought that the fourth prince, who was slow-witted in other aspects, would suddenly become shrewd at this moment.

Upon hearing that his older sister was going to invite Jia Lian, his eyes immediately lit up.

"Hey sis, you don't actually have your eye on Jia Lian, do you?"

Let me tell you, he seems to be married a long time ago, so even if you like him, it's hopeless.

"We members of the royal family must not do such a despicable thing as stealing another woman's husband!"

The fourth prince spoke in a tone that was almost like lecturing someone.

It's all because his elder sister always uses his grandmother to bully and oppress him, and she's always lecturing him, telling him to behave properly.

Today we finally got the chance to teach them a lesson!

Hmph, what nonsense about saving your maid? You were just after her good looks.

"hehe."

Princess Zhaoyang no longer needed to hold back. In a flash, she accurately grabbed the Fourth Prince's pig ear. As he turned around to beg for mercy, she kicked him in the buttocks, sending him flying out of the room.

"If you don't see him this afternoon, you better watch out."

Also, don't say I sent you to invite them, or else... humph!

He said those two sentences and slammed the door shut.

The fourth prince rubbed his sore bottom, his little face scrunched up like a scrunched-up mess.

"Hmph, still denying it? If it weren't true, why are you getting so angry?"

The fourth prince exuded an air of certainty that he had seen through everything.

Reflecting on her older sister's cruelty towards her over the years, she deliberately spoke to the door, saying, "Let me tell you, Jia Lian and I are brothers. If you really fancy him, you'd better curry favor with me. If I put in a good word for you, maybe he'll even take a violent woman like you as a concubine or something..."

Before he could finish speaking, he heard a noise at the door, which startled him so much that he turned and ran away.