Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

In the rear hall of Weiyang Palace, Princess Zhaoyang originally wanted to personally lead Madam Zhen and others to Zhaoyang Palace, but the Empress Dowager kept them there.

"Tell me about it."

"What did you say...?"

Princess Zhaoyang diligently massaged the Empress Dowager's shoulders, and upon hearing this, she widened her eyes and asked in return, appearing rather obedient.

"Stop pretending. I sensed something was wrong the moment you offered to invite him. Do you want me to summon all those palace servants and interrogate them one by one? How long do you intend to keep this from me?"

The Empress Dowager was not buying Princess Zhaoyang's attempts to flatter and ingratiate herself, and stared at her coldly.

Seeing this, Princess Zhaoyang smiled and took the Empress Dowager's arm, saying, "I knew it, nothing can be hidden from you..."

"Hmph, then why don't you tell the truth?"

"Alright, Qingran will tell the truth. Because Marquis Zhenyuan saved Qingran's life, we went through life and death in the desert to return to Han land, so now Qingran and he can be said to be friends who have been through thick and thin together."

"friend?"

The Empress Dowager raised her willow-leaf eyebrows and looked at Princess Zhaoyang with considerable puzzlement, but Princess Zhaoyang returned her a bright smile.

The Empress Dowager then realized something. She solemnly said to Princess Zhaoyang, "You are an unmarried princess, and he is a married official. Your statuses are worlds apart. How can you be friends? Even if there is a debt of gratitude for saving your lives, you should maintain a gentlemanly distance. Meeting in private like this...aren't you afraid of being laughed at if word gets out?"

Princess Zhaoyang was unimpressed by this. "First, Qingran is not an unmarried princess. She has been sent to the border for a political marriage. Second, who Qingran befriends and meets is her own business. She has nothing to be ashamed of, nor is there anything to laugh at. Qingran has never been a sheltered young lady from a wealthy family, nor will she ever act like one."

The Empress Dowager suddenly didn't know how to respond.

She had only sensed a slight clue and tentatively asked to probe. Unexpectedly, Princess Zhaoyang seemed to have no intention of hiding anything from her, which made her heart sink slightly.

Unable to bring herself to scold her, the Empress Dowager sighed, "Why are you doing this? You were the one who told me not to make things difficult for him, and now you're the one causing this trouble. I don't know what to do."

Sensing the deep pity in the Empress Dowager's words, Princess Zhaoyang gently rested her head on the Empress Dowager's shoulder and whispered, "The past is the past, and the present is the present. Grandmother doesn't know what kind of person he really is. Nor does she know how heroic and invincible he seemed in Qingran's eyes when he descended from the sky with a troop of light cavalry on the frontier, when Qingran was caught in the chaos of war and about to be imprisoned."

This is Qingran's fate, and Qingran is willing to accept it, so Grandmother doesn't need to worry about me. Qingran is happy in this.

The Empress Dowager was stunned. How could she not know what kind of person Jia Lian was? It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a remarkable man of the time. Otherwise, she wouldn't have tried to choose him as Princess Zhaoyang's consort, even though she knew he already had a wife.

As for Princess Zhaoyang's claim that she encountered danger beyond the Great Wall and Jia Lian led troops to rescue her, although she did not witness it herself, she could imagine it.

Perhaps, it was just like when she was framed and fell from her horse at the Crown Prince's villa, and saw that young general flying towards her.

After thinking for a moment, the Empress Dowager said seriously, "He would never abandon his wife who has shared his hardships. Your willingness is useless; you will only waste your life in vain."

Although the Empress Dowager was Princess Zhaoyang's great-aunt, they were only a little over ten years apart in age. Since Princess Zhaoyang was old enough to understand things, the two had always spoken on an equal and casual basis, and the Empress Dowager rarely acted as an elder.

Therefore, the relationship between the grandmother and granddaughter is like that of a mother and daughter, or sisters, with little generation gap or estrangement.

Princess Zhaoyang smiled and said, "If a lifetime is just about marrying someone you don't like or someone mediocre, and spending your life being a wife and mother, it doesn't seem very meaningful. It's better for Qingran to do what she wants to do while she's young and cherish the time she wants to cherish."

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager glanced at her, slightly speechless. But then she felt that Princess Zhaoyang's idea was unconventional, showing great insight and open-mindedness, and for a moment she couldn't tell whether it was right or wrong.

She even felt lost when she thought about the first half of her life.

"Royal grandmother?"

The Empress Dowager, regaining her composure, asked, "Have any of you crossed the line?"

what……

Even though Princess Zhaoyang was usually quite generous, she was momentarily embarrassed by the Empress Dowager's question and quickly shook her head, saying, "No, no. Look at what Grandmother is saying. Qingran just said that she was only grateful for Marquis Zhenyuan's life-saving grace and genuinely wanted to be his confidant and friend. There's nothing like what Grandmother is saying..."

The Empress Dowager nodded, though it was unclear whether she believed him or not. "That's good. Since you have someone you love, when the time is right, I will personally speak to your grandfather and ask him to arrange a marriage for you."

"Hmph, I'd like to see if he dares to defy me to my face and has the guts to refuse his grandfather's bestowed marriage!"

Judging from the Empress Dowager's tone alone, she still harbored resentment about Jia Lian's resistance to the marriage.

Princess Zhaoyang was deeply moved by the Empress Dowager's words. How could she not see that the Empress Dowager genuinely cared about her happiness, and was even going so far as to invoke the Emperor Emeritus to suppress her stubborn lover?

But she still shook her head and smiled, "No need, Grandmother. Qingran doesn't want to force him, nor does she want to delay him. Let's talk about this later."

Grandmother may not know, but he's very busy these days. Father Emperor values ​​him highly and has given him many tasks, including setting up an artillery battalion and overseeing the construction of new warships in Tianjin.

He had already spoken with Qingran; he wanted to get these two things done as soon as possible, then lead a powerful fleet, set sail, and sweep away all the rebellious forces across the land.

Princess Zhaoyang didn't realize that her eyes were shining as she spoke these words.

The Empress Dowager saw this and remained silent.

From Princess Zhaoyang's tone, it's easy to tell that Jia Lian has lofty ambitions and aspirations that even impress her. She even fears that her grandfather's arranged marriage for her might affect Jia Lian's career.

The Empress Dowager found it strange that in all the years she had been married into the imperial family, she had never thought that the imperial family would act in accordance with the wishes of its subjects.

However, the Empress Dowager knew in her heart that Princess Zhaoyang's concerns were not unfounded. That brat was indeed not one to be easily subdued, although she really couldn't think of any way Jia Lian could resist the Emperor Emeritus's authority.

Seeing that the Empress Dowager was thinking, Princess Zhaoyang, who wanted to get through this quickly, laughed and coaxed, "Alright, Qingran knows that Grandmother is concerned about me. How about this, Grandmother, please pretend you don't know about this for now, and when Qingran has completely won him over in the future, then Grandmother can make a decision for me, okay?"

Presumably, by then, he won't be so stubborn. With his father, grandmother, and grandfather all standing up for Qingran, I don't believe he'd dare disobey. And if Qingran is even more magnanimous, she could let that Wang woman become a concubine, resulting in a happy ending for everyone, how about that?"

Although she understood that Princess Zhaoyang was joking, the Empress Dowager still couldn't help but slap her, scolding, "I don't know what kind of bewitching potion he gave you, do you even know that you are a princess of the imperial family!"

Princess Zhaoyang simply smiled at this. The Empress Dowager was at a loss; she had long noticed that Princess Zhaoyang had changed a lot since returning from the borderlands, becoming increasingly calculating and opinionated.

Fine, I'll just go along with them for now. Anyway, with me here, I doubt that kid would dare to bully my precious granddaughter.

A potential crisis was averted by Princess Zhaoyang's charming coaxing.

As a result, when Jia Lian returned to Weiyang Palace, he felt quite uneasy facing the Empress Dowager, who glared at him coldly and spoke indifferently.

Fortunately, the Empress Dowager did not do anything to him in the end. Instead, she changed the subject and ordered someone to bring out the reward she had mentioned earlier.

The rarity and quantity of the gifts bestowed upon Jia Lian were astonishing.

"These things, besides praising you for pleasing the Emperor Emeritus at the birthday banquet, are more importantly because I haven't rewarded you for bringing Zhaoyang back safely from beyond the Great Wall. Let's settle this once and for all."

The Empress Dowager's voice softened considerably when she spoke this part.

She was indeed very fortunate; if it weren't for Jia Lian, perhaps her Zhaoyang Palace would never have returned! She had long considered rewarding Jia Lian, but firstly, she couldn't bring herself to humiliate him after he had previously done so; secondly, Jia Lian had returned to the capital in glory, deeply valued by Emperor Ningkang, while she had more important matters to attend to. Therefore, she hadn't found a suitable opportunity.

"Your Majesty, these things are far too precious for me to accept."

The Empress Dowager ignored Jia Lian's refusal and instead instructed Su Quan, who was standing nearby, to arrange for someone to deliver the items to the Jia residence shortly. Then she dismissed Jia Lian.

Jia Lian did not leave Weiyang Palace, but waited outside the palace.

Sure enough, a short while later, Princess Zhaoyang strolled out and came to Jia Lian's side.

Seeing that the eunuchs around them were far away, Jia Lian asked in a low voice, "Has the Empress Dowager noticed what's going on between us? She was giving me a hard time just now."

Princess Zhaoyang laughed upon hearing this: "Really? I didn't notice."

Jia Lian didn't even frown: "I trespassed into the Forbidden City before, and then appeared with you. The Empress Dowager must be suspicious..."

"What do you mean by trespassing? Didn't the Empress Dowager say that she summoned you here?"

Jia Lian thought for a moment and asked, "Is that really true?"

"Otherwise what? Erlang doesn't think that I tricked you into coming here by falsely conveying the Empress Dowager's decree, does he?"

Uh... Jia Lian really thinks so.

However, when faced with Princess Zhaoyang's mocking expression, Jia Lian suddenly realized what was happening.

Although Princess Zhaoyang was unconventional in her actions and often went to see him without prior arrangement, upon reflection, she was always very cautious and meticulous in her actions. Inviting him to a private meeting within the Weiyang Palace area in such a crowded and chaotic time did indeed seem rather unwise.

If it was indeed the Empress Dowager who summoned him, and Princess Zhaoyang took the opportunity to meet with him, then that makes perfect sense.

He was grateful when the Empress Dowager told him that he had entered the inner palace on her imperial decree, thinking that the Empress Dowager was covering for him and Princess Zhaoyang. He never expected that it was actually true.

Knowing the situation, Jia Lian's worries were dispelled, and he looked around.

Princess Zhaoyang saw through his thoughts and smiled, "You want to go see your beautiful adopted sister, don't you? Unfortunately, my people just told me that your dear sister was frightened, and Madam Zhen wants to take her home to recuperate as soon as possible. She has already bid farewell to Kunning Palace and may have already paid her respects to the Empress and left the palace."

Jia Lian nodded, glancing at Princess Zhaoyang with a puzzled look.

He sensed the sarcasm in Princess Zhaoyang's words and found it strange that his women would have all sorts of wild thoughts whenever they saw other pretty girls around him, even the generous and upright Princess Zhaoyang was not surprised.

The last time I heard her speak in such a sarcastic tone was when Xue Baoqin appeared.

……

There was no dinner at the Emperor Emeritus's birthday banquet, but the ministers could feast in the Chonghua Hall until the end of the 11 PM, when the sun set.

Jia Lian had no intention of staying until that time. He found the official in charge of the ceremonial procedures at the Ministry of Rites and left the palace early on the pretext of military affairs.

Not far from the palace, on the main road leading from the imperial city to the Xi'an gate, we happened to run into the Zhen family's carriage.

"Whoa~"

Jia Lian rode his horse to the side of the carriage and stopped, bowing respectfully to Madam Zhen who lifted the carriage curtain.

Upon seeing him, Mrs. Zhen's face immediately lit up with gratitude. "So it's Lian-ge'er. Your sister was frightened and has a fever. I was in a hurry to take her home and forgot to greet you, sir. I'm so sorry..."

"You're too kind, Madam. How is Huan'er?"

"Brother Lian Er..."

Beneath the car window, a small, adorable head slowly lifted from Madam Zhen's arms, her voice soft and gentle.

Jia Lian looked closely and indeed found that Zhen Yuhuan's face was abnormally red, which was a symptom of a cold.

In fact, Jia Lian felt that Zhen Yuhuan's health was much better than Daiyu's. If it were Daiyu, falling into the icy pond on such a cold day, Jia Lian couldn't even imagine the consequences.

"My sister is weak and has caught a cold. It would be good for you to take her back as soon as possible and have a doctor examine her."

In that case, I won't bother you any longer.

As Jia Lian spoke, he was about to take his leave.

Zhen Yuhuan suddenly called out, "Second Brother Lian..."

Jia Lian turned around upon hearing the sound.

"You, you promised Sister Lin..." Zhen Yuhuan seemed a little embarrassed, her expression awkward, and her face turned even redder.

Jia Lian understood and smiled, "Your health is the most important thing. There's no rush for the poetry club. Let's talk about it after you've recovered."

Upon hearing this, Zhen Yuhuan's expression turned troubled. She didn't actually think she was seriously injured; it was just that her mother was very worried.

Jia Lian saw through her thoughts, shook his head and smiled, then said to the puzzled Madam Zhen, "Sister Huan'er gets along very well with the sisters in our family, and everyone likes her very much."

They formed a poetry club together, and Huan'er joined as well. The club hasn't officially started yet, so everyone is naturally reluctant to see her leave.

Mrs. Zhen nodded, "I see."

Zhen Yuhuan immediately said, "We had already agreed that we would hold our first gathering today, and the theme would be the crabapple that Brother Lian gave us yesterday."

Even Jia Lian could see it, and Madam Zhen naturally understood her daughter's thoughts as well. She couldn't help but advise, "Silly girl, your health is already weak. You should listen to your second brother Lian. We can talk about the poetry club later."

Otherwise, even if you go with your second brother Lian now, what if you get seriously ill? Not only will it trouble your second brother and the others to take care of you, but your girlfriends will also be worried about you and the poetry club might not be able to continue. Wouldn't that be a lose-lose situation?

As she spoke, Madam Zhen turned and bowed to Jia Lian, saying, "I owe you so much for today's events, Lian-ge'er. If it weren't for you, I really don't dare to imagine how I would explain to her father and the old lady of the house if anything happened to Huan'er."

As Mrs. Zhen spoke, she unconsciously wiped away her tears.

Jia Lian offered a word of comfort, then looked at Zhen Yuhuan, who was clearly disappointed, in Madam Zhen's arms, and said softly, "Go back and take good care of yourself. I'll come to your residence to see you in a couple of days. If you're feeling better, I'll take you to our residence to play with your sisters."

"Is what you said true, Second Brother?"

"It is certainly true."

After Jia Lian finished speaking, he nodded to Madam Zhen and then turned his horse around and rode forward.

As Mrs. Zhen watched Jia Lian and his entourage ride away, her eyes were filled with both gratitude and a strange envy.

She thought to herself how wonderful it would be if he had such an outstanding son. Unfortunately, although her own Baoyu was naturally well-behaved and lovable, he was still born into wealth; otherwise, she would have brought him along on this trip to the capital.

With a man helping her with external affairs, she can relax a lot.

She gave the order to set off, and looking down, she saw her daughter staring in the direction Jia Lian had gone, looking somewhat dazed. She assumed her daughter wanted to go play with the Jia family's sisters, so she lowered the carriage curtain and hugged her daughter to comfort her.