Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Chapter 735 Rescuing the Emperor Emeritus from Danger

Inside the imperial palace, Emperor Ningkang's mood finally improved considerably.

After defeating the retired emperor's forces and restoring communications, everything was back under his control.

Emperor Ningkang's reaction naturally made his close confidants even more overjoyed.

"Your Majesty, the Marquis of Zhenyuan requests an audience."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Ningkang's expression softened further, and he said, "Let him in."

Some observant officials noticed the change in Emperor Ningkang's expression and knew that the young marquis was increasingly winning the emperor's favor. So they all laughed and said, "The Marquis of Zhenyuan's timely assistance in turning the tide this time is truly indispensable."

"Yes, His Majesty has a discerning eye for talent, appointing the Marquis of Zhenyuan to command the firearms battalion, which is why our Great Wei has such a formidable force."

This is a blessing for His Majesty, a blessing for the Great Wei!

Upon hearing this, Emperor Ningkang feigned displeasure: "He is still young, though slightly better than the other incompetent ones. He doesn't deserve such praise from you all."

The ministers exchanged knowing smiles.

Taking advantage of the moment Jia Lian entered, the ministers, who wanted to liven up the atmosphere, couldn't help but laugh and say to each other, "Compared to Marquis Zhenyuan, Xie Jing's blockhead is really useless."

He arrived with the Marquis of Zhenyuan, and they split their troops into two groups. His forces were several times larger than the Marquis of Zhenyuan's, but they still haven't been able to get up the mountain.

Compared to the Marquis of Zhenyuan, he is utterly hopeless.

"Hahaha……"

The officials on Emperor Ningkang's side, whose fate was now sealed, were in good spirits.

"That's not quite right. I heard that when Lao Xie first attacked the mountain, he was quite fierce. It was only later that the Crown Prince personally went to recruit him. This simpleton's few words ignited the Crown Prince's anger, causing the Crown Prince to mobilize troops to besiege him at all costs, which is why he was trapped at the foot of the mountain."

But things are better now. With the support of the Four Horses Battalion and others, I believe it won't be long before he can capture the Crown Prince and bring him before His Majesty to apologize.

"Haha, so you're saying that Marquis Zhenyuan was able to climb the mountain so quickly and achieve the greatest merit thanks to Old Xie provoking the Crown Prince?"

"Indeed."

"The Marquis of Zhenyuan is a lucky general."

……

When Jia Lian entered the palace and paid his respects, Emperor Ningkang asked him what was on his mind.

Jia Lian said, "Your Majesty, I have important matters to report!"

"explain."

Jia Lian paused for a moment, then took out the bright yellow silk that Shi Ding had brought from his bosom and had Dai Quan present it to Emperor Ningkang.

This scene not only made Emperor Ningkang raise an eyelid, but also made the other ministers pay close attention.

This silk of this color is extraordinary; could it be...?

While Emperor Ningkang remained silent as he examined the contents of the silk scroll, Jia Lian knelt on one knee and said, "Your humble servant received the Emperor Emeritus's summons and, knowing the matter was of great importance, dared not delay and came to see Your Majesty immediately."

Emperor Ningkang's brows were now completely furrowed.

The fact that the retired emperor secretly summoned Jia Lian was not entirely unexpected.

His father, the emperor, seems unwilling to admit defeat at all, resorting to such low-level tactics again and again.

But did he really think he was an incompetent person who could be easily turned against everyone around him?

Thinking this, he looked at Jia Lian, who was kneeling before him in armor with a solemn expression, and nodded gently, saying, "Get up."

Immediately, his thoughts returned to the contents of the silk.

He knew that the relationship between the retired emperor and Jia Daishan was quite good, so he could understand why the retired emperor was using Jia Daishan as an example to get closer to Jia Lian.

However, what he didn't understand was the secret between the retired emperor and Jia Daishan, and specifically, the secret concerning Jia Lian...

As fellow emperors, Emperor Ningkang knew that even if the retired emperor was at his wit's end, he wouldn't speak nonsense.

"Are you aware of what is written on the silk scroll, and what is your opinion?"

Emperor Ningkang looked at Jia Lian, but his expression was unreadable.

Jia Lian knew that this was Emperor Ningkang testing him.

To be honest, he had considered hiding the silk scroll, because it was deliberately vague and ambiguous, and if it fell into the hands of Emperor Ningkang, he would inevitably have doubts.

Jia Lian even suspected that this might be the effect the Emperor Emeritus wanted to achieve. Was the Emperor Emeritus being too petty? Just because he had ruined his plans, he would resort to such a despicable scheme to harm him?

After much deliberation, he decided to be frank with Emperor Ningkang.

Firstly, he didn't know if Shi Ding had seen the contents of the silk. If he had, and he had hidden it, wouldn't that have given Shi Ding a handle to use against him?

In addition, he was worried that the retired emperor would use this to blackmail him in the future.

Since that's the case, it's better to be honest; perhaps that will make Emperor Ningkang see his loyalty even more.

"Your Majesty, I do not know what the silk scroll says, and I am not even sure if it was truly written by the Emperor Emeritus..."

Your Majesty, I suspect that this might be a fabricated edict by someone with ulterior motives, intended to confuse the public and harm me.

The question and answer between Jia Lian and Emperor Ningkang left everyone around them confused, wondering what was written on the silk.

However, those who served Emperor Ningkang knew that he was very strict when discussing serious matters, and none of them dared to act rashly.

Emperor Ningkang nodded upon hearing Jia Lian's explanation, without suspecting anything.

Although he could confirm that the imperial edict did indeed come from the retired emperor, firstly, the writing on the silk was very cryptic, and secondly, since Jia Lian dared to hand the silk to him voluntarily, it showed that he had no ulterior motives.

So he placed the silk in the drawer of his desk, without showing it to the officials.

He was pleased and pleased that Jia Lian had performed another service. However, disseminating the contents of the silk scroll would be detrimental to Jia Lian's reputation, so it was best to wait until things were cleared up before taking any action.

Looking up and seeing that Jia Lian hadn't left, he frowned slightly: "Is there anything else?"

Jia Lian bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the one who delivered the silk to me was Marquis Zhongjing, Shi Ding."

He originally intended to persuade me to pay homage to the Emperor Emeritus, but I was instead convinced by his profound and subtle words.

He has come to realize that his previous actions were utterly treasonous and has been wanting to apologize to His Majesty in person, but he has not been able to find the opportunity.

Now, after being persuaded by your humble servant, he has decided to abandon darkness and embrace the light, just like General Pei.

He was kneeling outside the hall, awaiting His Majesty's summons.

When Jia Lian said this, all the officials were in an uproar, especially the generals who were leading troops.

"Your Majesty, you must not! Shi Ding only decided to surrender because he was afraid of death after seeing that the overall situation was settled. He is completely different from Pei Fengnian."

Although General Pei made a mistake, it was only because he was coerced by the Crown Prince, and it did not cause much harm.

But Shi Ding was different; he led the Imperial Guard infantry battalion and charged towards His Majesty's temporary palace.

Last night, countless brave young men from the Imperial Guard and the Imperial Bodyguard were killed innocently at the hands of this scoundrel!

Your Majesty, this man must not be let off lightly.

"Yes, Shi Ding is different from Pei Fengnian. His death would not be enough to comfort the spirits of the thousands of loyal soldiers in heaven..."

The military officers stepped forward to stop Emperor Ningkang from pardoning Shi Ding.

Emperor Ningkang also had a gloomy expression.

Those "marquises" in the Valiant Cavalry were all staunch loyalists of the retired emperor. It was precisely because of their existence that he had been unable to interfere with the Valiant Cavalry for so many years...

Moreover, Shi Ding's previous attack on the palace had indeed angered him.

Therefore, even if this fellow's surrender would be of some benefit to him, he would not accept it, because he did not want to forgive the other party's sins.

Just as he was about to reprimand Jia Lian for expressing his opinion, a trusted civil official boldly approached him and whispered, "Isn't Your Majesty just worried about not having a reason to take action against them? Now is the perfect opportunity."

"Um?"

Emperor Ningkang's expression shifted, and he looked at the other party.

The elderly civil official leaned closer and whispered something to Emperor Ningkang, which gradually eased the emperor's expression. He then said, "Let him in."

Seeing this, Jia Lian, who was originally about to explain the pros and cons to Emperor Ningkang, swallowed his words.

It seems he's not the only clever one. I wonder what reason this old man used to persuade Emperor Ningkang so easily.

"Your Majesty, I, Shi Ding, pay my respects. Long live the Emperor!"

Shi Ding entered the hall and bowed deeply, but after a long time he did not hear the word "rise." He did not dare to raise his head and simply prostrated himself on the ground.

"Lord Shi?"

"Your subject dares not..."

The sudden respectful address from Emperor Ningkang made Shi Ding, whose nose and forehead were pressed against the floor, tremble, and his body became even more submissive.

"You don't dare? Is there anything you, Lord Shi, wouldn't dare to do? When you led your troops to storm my palace and slaughtered the soldiers around me, you were quite daring."

"I shall be punished by death, I shall be punished by death!"

Shi Ding almost couldn't help but want to defend himself, but fortunately he remembered Jia Lian's words, which said that in front of Emperor Ningkang, one only needs to confess one's crimes, and there is no need to say anything more, nor should one say anything more.

If you want to plead his case, he'll speak on his behalf.

As expected, Jia Lian said at the right time: "Your Majesty, although Shi Ding is guilty, considering that he was only acting under orders, and Your Majesty is currently in need of capable people, you might as well spare his life for the time being and allow him to atone for his crimes by performing meritorious service."

Your Majesty, the Crown Prince's rebellion and the infighting between the Imperial Guards and the Capital Garrison have already caused our Great Wei to lose a large number of elite soldiers.

Although the overall situation has been stabilized, there are still many remnants of soldiers inside the palace.

Especially those thousand-plus elite cavalrymen who did not participate in the battle from beginning to end. His Majesty must be well aware of the might of the elite cavalrymen after last night's battle.

In order to quell the rebellion as soon as possible and reduce the number of casualties among the soldiers of our Great Wei, we beg Your Majesty to show mercy and allow Shi Ding to atone for his crimes through meritorious service.”

Although Emperor Ningkang had a good idea of ​​what was going on, he couldn't help but glance at Jia Lian and said, "How come I didn't know that a defeated general could play such a significant role?"

Shi Ding seized the opportunity and said, "I know that I am guilty of grave sins. If Your Majesty would be so merciful as to grant me a chance to atone for my sins, I would be willing to return to that side and act as Your Majesty's inside man."

Your Majesty, the more than three thousand elite cavalrymen who escorted the Emperor Emeritus to Iron Net Mountain were commanded by me and Marquis Zhongyong, Sun Jia, and were mostly our trusted confidants.

I am confident that I can persuade them to lay down their arms and surrender voluntarily at the crucial moment.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Ningkang showed a slight change of interest.

But then he said, "No need. I don't need you to be an inside man. I just want you to do one thing."

"Your Majesty, please speak."

Emperor Ningkang's gaze slowly swept over the group of his trusted confidants in the hall.

Although Shi Ding's proposal was somewhat tempting, because if successful, it would minimize his casualties during the final assault.

However, regardless of whether Shi Ding exaggerated or not, he needs Shi Ding to do something else right now.

After several twists and turns, fortunately, the final result was positive.

He is already considering how to handle the aftermath.

It is conceivable that his use of force against the retired emperor will bring him great criticism.

The reason no one has bothered him yet is because he gave orders from the beginning not to let anyone bother him. Even so, there were some tactless individuals who, when things were a little peaceful on the mountain, caused trouble in front of his palace gates.

This is true now, and it will be even more so in the future.

Therefore, he needed some good pretexts, pretexts that even if everyone present knew were false, could still be used to silence public opinion.

"I have heard that the Crown Prince's rebel army has stormed into the Emperor Emeritus's palace and taken him hostage. I wonder if Minister Shi would be willing to accompany me to rescue the Emperor Emeritus from this perilous situation."

……