Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

In Rongxi Hall, Jia Zheng spent the entire afternoon preparing for the garden's construction.

After dinner, just as he was about to go play with Zhao, Lai Da came to report: "Master, the chief clerk of the Prince of Beijing's residence has arrived!"

Jia Zheng hurriedly put aside his other thoughts and came out to greet them.

"I was unaware of your presence, sir. I have failed to greet you properly."

Jia Zheng knew Yang Jun, the chief secretary of the Prince of Beijing's mansion, so when he saw that it was indeed him, he quickly bowed and went to greet him.

Behind Yang Jun, there were six attendants, each carrying a tray covered with yellow silk.

"May I ask, sir, what is this...?"

Jia Zheng was puzzled. His household hadn't been busy these past two days, so why did it seem like the Prince of Beijing's mansion had come to deliver gifts?

"Haha, you're too kind, Elder Zheng. I'm here on the orders of the Prince..."

"I wonder what Your Highness's instructions are; I hope you will clarify them, sir."

Yang Jun smiled as he looked at Jia Zheng, who seemed completely bewildered. Confirming that Jia Zheng was unaware of the matter, he cupped his hands and said, "Congratulations, Elder Zheng! Your family truly lives up to its reputation as a distinguished family, with many outstanding individuals emerging from your household."

Your esteemed second son displayed exceptional talent at today's literary gathering, producing several classic works that have made him famous throughout the capital!

Our lord has been fortunate enough to receive one of these gifts. This is a gift of three thousand taels of silver, presented by our lord as agreed. Please accept it on his behalf, sir.

Upon hearing this, Jia Zheng asked in confusion, "My son didn't go out today, so how could he have done what you described? You must be mistaken..."

Reading with rice balls

Yang Jun knew that the Rongguo Mansion had a second son who was born with a jade pendant in his mouth, so he knew that Jia Zheng had misunderstood and quickly added, "What I am referring to is your esteemed Master Lian, the second young master!"

"Him?? Jia Lian?"

Jia Zheng felt that he must have been overworked and was therefore hallucinating.

As for his son Baoyu, although he was idle and did not study seriously, he was quite intelligent from a young age and had some talent in unorthodox arts and flowery language.

Therefore, if Jia Baoyu were to happen to write something outside, he could barely accept it.

But Jia Lian!

Is this Chief Secretary Yang joking?

Seeing the disbelief in Jia Zheng's eyes, Yang Jun was filled with mixed feelings.

The Prince of Beijing's mansion and the Jia family had a century-long friendship. He served as an official in the Prince of Beijing's mansion and often dealt with the Jia family in the past, so he had a general understanding of the main members of the Rongguo Mansion.

He was quite surprised when he heard about what happened today.

Seeing Jia Zheng's reaction now, he naturally felt even more puzzled.

This Mr. Lian is really good at hiding things; he even managed to keep it from his own second uncle?

"Your Excellency need not find this strange; it is absolutely true. I was not joking with you."

In fact, today is also the literary gathering held by the Crown Prince at his villa outside the city. In addition to our Prince, there are also princes and grandsons of the emperor, as well as princes and young masters from the capital. They have all witnessed the brilliance of your esteemed second young master, Lian!

"If you don't believe me, sir, before I came here, I overheard a few words from a colleague who accompanied the prince. Let me tell you..."

Although Jia Zheng's eyes were bulging out of the same size, he still showed no lack of manners. Seeing this, he hurriedly invited Yang Jun to sit down in the main hall.

……

The Forbidden City, Fengzao Palace.

Emperor Ningkang strode in and sat down on the kang (heated brick bed) in the main hall.

Seeing that Jia Yuanchun had gracefully bowed and was about to offer him tea, he declined, gesturing for her to sit on the other side, and then asked:

"Is Jia Lian your cousin?"

"Your Majesty, yes, he is my uncle's eldest son... Why does Your Majesty ask this? Has something happened to him?"

Emperor Ningkang shook his head, "You don't need to worry, he's perfectly fine..."

"Hmph, I ask you, how much do you know about him?"

Yuan Chun sensed something amiss in Emperor Ningkang's tone and grew even more cautious, pondering as she spoke:

"When I entered the palace to serve the Empress Dowager, he was only eleven or twelve years old, still a completely ignorant boy. Therefore, I don't really know much about him over the years."

However, I have heard that Your Majesty, with your boundless grace, has bestowed upon him an official position as the Commander of the Western City Military Command.

But what did he do wrong to displease His Majesty?

If that's the case, Your Majesty, please consider his youth and ignorance and patiently instruct him. He will surely listen to Your Majesty.

When Emperor Ningkang heard that Yuan Chun had entered the palace, Jia Lian was only eleven or twelve years old. He already knew that he wouldn't get any useful information from Yuan Chun.

"I have some things here, let me show you."

As Emperor Ningkang spoke, he beckoned to his attendants.

Yuan Chun was puzzled, but she still obediently took the things handed to her by the eunuch.

There were several poems. Yuan Chun glanced at Emperor Ningkang first, then looked down at them, carefully examined two or three, and then glanced at the rest. She said, "Although I don't understand poetry, I think these sentences are very well written."

However, I had never heard of it before; it is a recent invention. I wonder where Your Majesty obtained it?

Emperor Ningkang smiled. "If I told you that Jia Lian wrote all of this, would you believe me?"

"this……"

As expected, Yuan Chun's previously calm and elegant expression was immediately taken aback.

But after looking at Emperor Ningkang, she nodded and said, "Your Majesty's words, I naturally believe."

Emperor Ningkang subconsciously twitched his lips, thinking to himself, "This Jia family girl has been in the palace for so many years, yet she is still so cautious and timid. Even now that she has ascended to the rank of Consort, she is still careful with her words."

Although he liked women who were well-behaved and obedient, he couldn't help but feel that they lacked a certain charm.

Moreover, whenever he thought of Yuan Chun, he couldn't help but think of the deal he had made with those old guys in the Ministry of War.

He didn't really like making deals with his subjects.

Moreover, there is another point that still leaves him uncertain.

Originally, he only intended to confer the title of concubine on Jia Yuanchun. As a female official by the side of the Dowager Consort Yuanchun, conferring the title of concubine was already a huge step forward.

However, when he went to pay his respects to the retired emperor, the retired emperor, who was already tending to flowers and fish in Chonghua Palace, suddenly asked about this matter!

"The two late gentlemen of the Jia family made great contributions to the establishment of our dynasty. The late Duke Rongguo, Daishan, was also like a brother to me. A mere concubine title is not enough to reflect the merits of the Jia family."

Since you are so inclined to bestow favor upon her, why not make her a concubine?

These are the Emperor Emeritus's original words.

He didn't dare to ask the Emperor Emeritus why he cared about a Jia family girl in the deep palace, but he didn't dare to disobey the Emperor Emeritus's wishes. So, according to the Emperor Emeritus's wishes, he conferred the title of Yuan Chun as one of the four imperial concubines.

Although this move did indeed gain him favor with the lineage of founding heroes, he always felt a vague unease whenever he thought about it.

This unease stems from anxiety about things that are not entirely under one's control.

Yuan Chun was unaware of Emperor Ningkang's thoughts. Seeing that Emperor Ningkang remained silent, she took the initiative to speak, saying, "However, I really cannot believe that in just eight or nine years, my brother Lian has grown to such an extent that he can write such poems."

If Your Majesty hadn't said it yourself, I truly wouldn't believe it.

There are many people who find it just as hard to believe as you.

In fact, if it weren't for the numerous reports from various sources all offering the same account, even I wouldn't have believed them.

Then, Emperor Ningkang explained the origins of these poems to Yuanchun.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Chun also revealed only three or four parts of her surprise.

"It's truly unexpected. I originally thought that Brother Lian didn't like reading, and I had never heard anyone mention that he had a talent for composing poetry and lyrics."

"You really didn't expect that?"

Emperor Ningkang narrowed his eyes slightly.