Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Upstairs, the Fourth Prince said indignantly, "These Jia family members are truly ungrateful! It's an immense honor for the Jia family that Second Brother Lian ended up in their family. Countless families in the capital envy their extraordinary luck, yet some of them still dare to try and smear Second Brother Lian!"

Although the Fourth Prince was usually very rude to Jia Lian, he actually respected Jia Lian a lot in his heart.

When Jia Lian escorted Princess Zhaoyang to the border last time, he said that if Jia Lian could safely deliver her sister, he would recognize Jia Lian as his brother.

Although he didn't call him that verbally later, he regarded Jia Lian as an elder brother in his heart.

Now that Jia Lian's true identity has been revealed, he naturally feels less pressured to acknowledge this elder brother, which is why he calls Feng Jie "sister-in-law".

Now that he saw the Jia family trying to "bully" Jia Lian, he immediately jumped up in anger.

In the Fourth Prince's mind, he could scold his brothers, be impolite to them, and even hit them, but if anyone else dared to utter a sound, he would smash their head in.

As the ancestral worship ceremony came to an end, the Fourth Prince rushed down to the pavilion and found Jia Lian, saying, "If you ask me, you might as well stop staying here and suffer in silence. Let's just move out."

"If you don't have money, I can ask my father, the Emperor, to grant you a mansion, or you can simply live in my palace."

Although he didn't understand why the Fourth Prince was so agitated, Jia Lian was still quite moved by the Fourth Prince's eagerness.

"It doesn't matter, there are still many foolish people in the world."

The appearance of people like Jia Qin was unexpected by Jia Lian, but it did not make him feel angry.

There are many foolish people in this world, let alone the lowly Jia Qin and his son.

In comparison, both Yuan-chun and Grandmother Jia understood the situation clearly.

In fact, even to this day, Jia Lian himself still doesn't understand which identity would be more advantageous for him.

Previously, they didn't want to get involved with the retired emperor because of the huge political risks involved. However, after a period of "cutting their losses," and with the retired emperor's retirement now a certainty, the risks are gradually diminishing.

Along with this comes the potential benefits that his royal status might bring him.

This was, after all, a feudal dynasty, a family-run empire. Whether one was a member of the royal family or not would have drastically different effects on many important matters, and might lead to drastically different choices.

This is why Jia Lian did not deny his status as a "grandson of the emperor" when questioned privately by Daiyu and others.

However, given Emperor Ningkang's attitude, regardless of what he was thinking, at least on the surface, he should firmly maintain his identity as a descendant of the Jia family and a meritorious official of Ningkang.

We cannot allow the likes of Jia Qin to spread openly in the Jia household, as that would make Emperor Ningkang think he harbors ulterior motives.

On the surface, they pledged allegiance to him, but in reality, their hearts were with the retired emperor.

This is also why he had to severely punish Jia Qin and his son.

Not wanting to dwell on the topic with the Fourth Prince, Jia Lian answered briefly, then looked behind the Fourth Prince and asked, "Where's your sister?"

"She went to the back with your pretty maid, saying she wanted to see some female guards."

Seeing that Sister You obeyed Sister Feng's every word, the Fourth Prince thought that Sister You was just a maid in the Ningguo Mansion.

He didn't even consider that a maid could be qualified to form a female guard.

Jia Lian offered no explanation, but led the Fourth Prince to wait in the side hall of the Ningguo Mansion.

"Really, listen to me. There's no need to suffer indignities at the Jia family's. Just leave the Jia family, and then the world will naturally know your true identity. Even if Father Emperor doesn't want to acknowledge it, he'll have no choice but to let you return to your ancestral home."

Moreover, I think Father Emperor just doesn't want you to acknowledge your ancestral lineage for now. Once he has dealt with those who oppose him, he will naturally restore your identity.

"My sister and I will put in a good word for you then, hehe, getting you a princely title won't be difficult at all."

The Fourth Prince's words made Jia Lian smile, but he couldn't help but look at him again.

Not bad, he seems to have improved. He's even developed political acumen, knowing that Emperor Ningkang would at least eliminate all his opponents before restoring his status as a member of the imperial clan.

Why are you staring at me like that?

The Fourth Prince noticed that Jia Lian's gaze towards him changed from being moved to being gratified, and finally became quite meaningful, making the Fourth Prince feel a chill run down his spine.

He knew that many nobles in the capital were fond of homosexuality, especially handsome men like Jia Lian, who were known for their promiscuity.

Jia Lian laughed and said, "If I want to become a prince, I'm afraid I can only wait until Your Highness ascends the throne."

The fourth prince's expression froze on his face. After a long while, he said dejectedly, "My sister really didn't lie to me. You really want to put me in that position."

"Does Your Highness not wish to?"

"What's so good about that position? For it, Grandfather ordered Uncle's execution; for it, Father and Grandfather turned against each other; for it, Third Brother even killed Eldest Brother with his own hands..."

The fourth prince muttered to himself, looking lost and bewildered.

At this moment, the fourth prince was no different from an ordinary, clueless young boy, appearing lonely and weak, showing no signs of being a ruler.

But Jia Lian was very pleased.

Isn't it precisely because the Fourth Prince is this kind of person that he was able to befriend the Fourth Prince without any reservations, despite refusing the Crown Prince's offer and ignoring the Third Prince's goodwill?

Although he did not plan to end up in this situation, it is actually the best outcome for both him and the Fourth Prince.

"Do you really want to watch a villain, a treacherous man who plotted to kill his brothers, one day rule the world?"

The fourth prince murmured, "I don't know..."

"What if one day he feels you pose a threat to him and tries to harm you?"

"I have no idea……"

"What if he lays a hand on your elder sister?"

The fourth prince's eyes flashed with a sharp light: "He dares!"

Jia Lian shook his head and sighed, "You said it yourself, your grandfather killed your eldest uncle for that position, and he also killed your eldest brother for the position of crown prince. Do you think there is still any brotherly or sisterly affection in his eyes?"

You should be able to tell that your elder sister has the beauty of a phoenix and is destined to be extraordinary.

"Leaving aside the fact that your elder sister has already offended him, what if one day he does something unjust again, and your elder sister intervenes and is retaliated against? If you don't have the power, how will you protect your elder sister then?"

Jia Lian thought he had found the point that the Fourth Prince cared about, but he did not expect that the Fourth Prince was not so easy to fool.

"Don't think I don't know, my elder sister did all this for you!"

The fourth prince glared angrily at Jia Lian.

He knew, of course, that his elder sister was not only cultivating power in the princess's residence, but also constantly asking the emperor for jobs to further strengthen her influence.

His elder sister was raised by the Empress Dowager since childhood. She was originally a very calm and carefree person, but ever since she met Jia Lian, she has become stupid and easily ordered around by him!

It's infuriating! My elder sister has never listened to a word I said since I was a child. She either beats or scolds me.

Jia Lian did not deny what the Fourth Prince said: "Even so, I am a person who is unwilling to be ordinary. If I ever 'offend the Emperor's face' in the future, your elder sister will certainly not sit idly by."

What will you choose then?

These words were clearly somewhat shameless, and the Fourth Prince said unhappily, "You two just want me to obey you so that you can seize power over the world through me in the future!"

It's fortunate that these words came from the Fourth Prince; if it had been any other prince, Jia Lian would have switched allegiances without a second thought.

He paused for a moment, then slowly said, "Your Highness is joking. How could someone who rules the world be controlled by anyone?"

At that time, His Highness's word was law, and a single word could decide the life and death of millions.

"I only hope that Your Highness will not forget the kindness we have shown each other today and will turn your weapons against me when the time comes; then I will be content."

Jia Lian's disheartened tone made the Fourth Prince uneasy.

He was just saying it in anger; how could he possibly suspect that his elder sister only wanted to turn him into a puppet? Seeing Jia Lian's reaction, he also realized that he might have gone too far and hurt Jia Lian's feelings.

After all, he was the one who benefited the most from Jia Lian and his elder sister's idea.

"Um, I just said it offhand, don't take it seriously..."

However, I am really not suited to be emperor... How about we choose the fifth prince? Yes, let's choose the fifth prince. The three of us will work together to send the fifth prince to that position!

You don't know, the fifth prince loves reading the most. He's a little bookworm. Even if he doesn't turn out well in the future, he won't be a cruel and heartless emperor.

With our assistance, he'll definitely be able to stabilize the situation!

The fourth prince seemed to have found a new rhythm, and the more he spoke, the smoother his words became, and the brighter his eyes grew.

Jia Lian remained silent for a long while, then smiled at the Fourth Prince and said, "Your Highness's words make sense."

However... the Fifth Prince is only just over seventeen years old, how could he possibly be a match for your Third Prince?

Therefore, whether for the sake of the greater good or to protect His Highness the Fifth Prince, from now on, we hope His Highness will devote more effort to this matter.

The fourth prince's words suddenly reminded Jia Lian that if he wanted to bring down the third prince, he could indeed bring the fifth prince into the fold.

This not only gives us a two-on-one advantage, but also prevents a situation where the snipe and the clam fight and the fisherman benefits.

If we take a more conspiratorial approach, would Emperor Ningkang really dare to pass the throne to the Third Prince if the Fourth and Fifth Princes both became his adversaries?

Was he not afraid that as soon as he fell, the Third Prince would slaughter his two remaining young sons?

Lessons from the past, the teacher behind the car.

Jia Lian never considered investing in the Fourth Prince a risky move. On the contrary, given his cautious nature, he made the decision that was most advantageous to him only after he had a good grasp of Emperor Ningkang's character and after learning the truth about the Third Prince killing his brother.

He felt the chances were very good.

Although Princess Zhaoyang said that she knew from Emperor Ningkang that he still wanted to pass the throne to the third prince.

But can the heart of an emperor be judged from appearances alone?

In Jia Lian's view, if Emperor Ningkang truly favored the Third Prince, then when Princess Zhaoyang revealed her "ambition," Emperor Ningkang should have severely reprimanded her and her brother, and then suppressed them.

However, as things stand, none of this is currently the case. The Fourth Prince remains carefree as Prince Xiao, and Princess Zhaoyang continues to be active in the court and among the people.

Doesn't this show that Emperor Ningkang's mind wasn't actually that firm? At least, he had considered the kind-hearted fourth prince.

The fourth prince genuinely believed that Jia Lian agreed with his opinion, and immediately went to Jia Lian's side to ask for his advice on how to help the fifth prince ascend the throne.

Jia Lian was just being perfunctory. After several such exchanges, the Fourth Prince realized that it was too early to talk about these things now, and he couldn't help but think back to his earlier thoughts.

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

But looking left and right at Jia Lian, he still couldn't bring himself to speak about the young man's feelings, and the atmosphere suddenly became quiet.

Jia Lian seemed completely oblivious to the Fourth Prince's unusual behavior. After silently drinking his tea for a while, he saw the Fourth Prince sitting there blankly and politely invited him to have some tea, then began to explain the history of the tea.

The atmosphere in the hall was broken by a burst of laughter.

You Sanjie was chatting and laughing with Princess Zhaoyang, but when she entered the hall and saw that the Fourth Prince was also there, she sensibly took her leave.

Judging from his affectionate manner towards Princess Zhaoyang before leaving, it's not hard to imagine that he has been won over by Princess Zhaoyang.

This did not surprise Jia Lian at all. You Sanjie, who came from a rural family, was a match for the famous princess of the court. As long as the princess was willing, it would be a piece of cake for her to win her over.

After Princess Zhaoyang entered the hall, she sat down next to Jia Lian and chatted with him with a smile about You Sanjie and her dozen or so female soldiers.

Amidst their cheerful conversation, the loneliness of the fourth prince across from them became all the more apparent.

The fourth prince naturally realized that he was being a third wheel. He tried to sit there for a while, but when he found that his older sister didn't even turn around to look at him, he finally couldn't sit still anymore.

"It's getting late, we should go!"

The Fourth Prince's words were laced with anger. Originally, for some reason, he wanted to change his attitude towards Jia Lian and try to please him.

However, firstly, Jia Lian didn't seem to have that intention at all, and secondly, he really couldn't stand his elder sister being close to Jia Lian.

Just like Jia Lian, who probably couldn't stand the Fourth Prince's affair with Yingchun!

Princess Zhaoyang turned around, displeased, and said, "What's the rush?"

"Hmph, if you don't want to leave, you can stay. I'm leaving. If Father asks about it later, don't expect me to lie for you."

Seeing the Fourth Prince's firm attitude, Princess Zhaoyang realized that the Fourth Prince was truly angry.

She began to feel conflicted.

After all, she had only achieved half of her goal for today.

But she had come disguised as the Fourth Prince's maid, so if the Fourth Prince left first, she would be in a difficult situation.

Just as the Fourth Prince threatened, if word got out that she had met with Jia Lian in private, it would have a great impact on both her and Jia Lian.

Even though Emperor Ningkang had never said anything, and had even tacitly approved of it before, his attitude would certainly change once Jia Lian's true identity was revealed.

He hadn't said anything before because of the father-daughter relationship, but if she continued to be disrespectful and challenge her father's authority, she and Jia Lian would surely face his wrath.

Jia Lian could naturally see Princess Zhaoyang's predicament, and he was just about to persuade Princess Zhaoyang and the Fourth Prince to go back first.

Jia Lian also felt that now was not the best time for Princess Zhaoyang and Daiyu to meet.

Just as he was about to speak, Ah Qin came in to deliver a message, saying that Prince Teng had come to request an audience.

Jia Lian then turned to the Fourth Prince and asked, "I wonder if Your Highness was serious about what you just told me?"

"What is it?"

The fourth prince subconsciously asked a question, but when faced with Jia Lian's suggestive look, he realized that it was about the previous topic of ascending to the throne.

Glancing at Ah Qin beside him, the Fourth Prince wisely refrained from speaking directly, simply nodding and saying, "Of course I'm serious."

"It's good that you're serious. Your Highness may not know this yet, but Prince Teng has been appointed by His Majesty as the new regent of the cabinet. In the future, Prince Teng will surely have a place in the court."

If we don't act, such a trusted advisor might be won over by the other side in the future, which would be a great loss for us.

"The Fifth Prince is still young, and there are many things he cannot do. As the Fifth Prince's elder brother, shouldn't Your Highness take on this responsibility and proactively bring Lord Wang under your wing? At the very least, you should try to win him over to prevent Lord Wang from switching sides."

The Fourth Prince asked in surprise, "Prince Teng is going to join the cabinet?"

Even princes cannot ignore high-ranking officials who have entered the cabinet.

Seeing Jia Lian nod, the Fourth Prince asked hesitantly, "What do you mean?"

"I would also like to trouble Your Highness to receive Lord Wang on my behalf. This will allow Lord Wang to see how much Your Highness values ​​him, and Your Highness can also use your persuasive skills to let Lord Wang know what is justice and what is evil, so as to prevent him from choosing the wrong side in the future."

The fourth prince's face fell. Like Jia Baoyu, he also dreaded dealing with "corrupt officials" like Wang Ziteng.

Back in the Imperial Study, he received no shortage of criticism from his teachers!

But what Jia Lian said actually made some sense... Who told him to just confidently say that the three of them would work together to help their fifth brother ascend to the throne?

"And what about you?"

"I'm taking your elder sister to see someone."

"Who is it?"

"Someone Your Highness doesn't know."

The fourth prince felt like he was being treated like a fool, but seeing his elder sister smiling and remaining silent, he knew that they must be keeping some secret from him!

He snorted coldly and stormed out, but turned back before leaving the hall, saying, "You're not allowed to bully my sister again!"

After saying that, he seemed embarrassed and quickened his pace.

Not to mention the Fourth Prince, even Jia Lian and Princess Zhaoyang were slightly embarrassed by his words.

Clearly, the Fourth Prince knows something.

Seeing Ah Qin beside him barely able to suppress her laughter, Jia Lian said, "Take Young Master Wei to see Lord Wang. Remember to have someone guard the gate and prevent unrelated people from overhearing their conversation."

"Yes."

As soon as Aqin left, Princess Zhaoyang asked with a smile, "What did you and Ling'er talk about that made him willing to see Prince Teng?"

Jia Lian briefly recounted what the Fourth Prince had said earlier, prompting Princess Zhaoyang to sigh and ask, "Do you really agree with him?"

Jia Lian looked at Princess Zhaoyang, and Princess Zhaoyang looked at him in return.

Jia Lian laughed: "This isn't child's play. Do you think you can just give way whenever you want?"

When that day truly arrives, with the arrow already on the bowstring, even His Highness will have no choice.

Princess Zhaoyang smiled, and felt at ease.

She didn't have Jia Lian's foresight. In her opinion, if they were to compete, it would be best to let her own younger brother take that position.

She slowly approached Jia Lian, nestled into his arms, and enjoyed the broad and warm embrace of her beloved.

Jia Lian seemed to know what she was thinking, and stood still, simply holding her in his arms with one hand.

After a long while, Jia Lian even began to wonder if Princess Zhaoyang had fallen asleep in his arms, before patting her shapely bottom and softly asking, "Didn't you say you wanted to see Lin Yatou?"

Princess Zhaoyang was startled by Jia Lian's slap and immediately jumped out of his arms, covering her buttocks with her hand, her pretty face flushed red as she glared at Jia Lian.

Jia Lian found this very strange.

How daring this girl was back then! She even dared to play the game of female thief with him when they were in the borderlands.

Jia Lian's gaze reminded Princess Zhaoyang of the outrageous things she and Jia Lian had done during their passionate courtship. She hadn't thought much of it then, considering it merely a matter of passion and whim.

However, as Jia Lian's true identity came to light, her feelings about looking back changed.

In order to prevent Jia Lian and herself from delving into the matter further, Princess Zhaoyang quickly composed herself, smiled, and shook her head at Jia Lian.

Under Jia Lian's questioning gaze, she slowly extended two fingers.

"Erlang is mistaken. Before, you only wanted to see that Lin family girl, but now, there's another one."

Faced with Princess Zhaoyang's playful smile, Jia Lian's expression turned wooden.

……