Chapter 158 Yuanchun: My uncle is a minister

……

It is warm as spring in Fengci Palace.

The kind-faced Empress Dowager Wei sat high on the phoenix chair, followed by several concubines of the retired emperor, and below them all was Empress Xiao who sat quietly.

Empress Xiao is twenty-eight years old this year. She is naturally beautiful and has an innate noble air that makes people forget the world when they see her.

Next to Empress Xiao stood a girl of about twelve or thirteen years old. She looked 90% similar to Empress Xiao, except that she was less dignified and more lively, especially her eyes. They seemed very elegant, but in fact her eyes were staring at a bird flying and jumping outside the window, and her mind had already flown away with it.

Beside the two men was a female official who was equally stunningly beautiful, but this time she was clearly absent-minded, staring blankly at an old lady who was paying respects to the Grand Prince. She opened her mouth slightly as if she wanted to say something, but immediately realized that it was inappropriate and quickly stopped talking.

At one point, the ceremony was over.

“Everyone, please stand up. There’s no need to be so polite.” The Empress Dowager at the top smiled kindly and raised her hand and said, “Come here, give seats to the Consort Dowager Nan’an, the Consort Dowager Xining, the Princess Beijing, the Princess Dongping, and Madam Jia.”

“Yes…”

Immediately, a young eunuch agreed and brought out five brocade stools. The Fourth Wife and the Princess thanked them and then sat down.

Grandmother Jia was flattered and bowed repeatedly to express her gratitude. Only then did she carefully sit halfway on it.

In the past, only the Fourth Princess had the qualifications to sit in front of the Queen Mother and the Empress, but she didn’t expect that she would have the privilege today too.

Of course, having lived for most of her life, Grandmother Jia knew very well that it was not her status that had increased this year, but that her eldest nephew, Jing’er of Ningguo Mansion, had increased his status. As the old lady of the entire Jia family, her status naturally rose as well, so much so that the Empress Dowager had to give her more face.

The officials from other families looked at the beaming Lady Jia with envy, and they were all filled with jealousy. It would be fine if other people’s mothers were honored by their sons, but you are an aunt honored by your nephew!
Because Jia Jing never remarried, although the Ningguo Mansion had a high status, it had no imperial concubine. These honors that belonged to the imperial concubine could only be given to the old lady of the Rongguo Mansion.

This time, in addition to the Concubine Nan’an, many other families also had ideas.

I heard that Lord Jia had made new achievements in Jiangnan and was highly trusted by the retired emperor. If one could send a daughter to Ningguo Mansion to be Lord Jia’s second wife, she would be directly granted a first-rank imperial decree and be given a seat in front of the empress dowager, which would be truly a step to heaven.

I wonder who is not moved?

One moment, after the banquet.

Everyone left the palace one after another.

Many imperial edicts pestered Lady Jia, and she insisted on going to the Jia Mansion as a guest. This greatly satisfied her vanity, as if she had returned to the time when Duke Daishan was still alive.

Grandmother Jia was very clear about everyone’s thoughts. People say “after marrying a wife, one forgets the mother”. Now that the Ningguo Mansion has no imperial edict, all the honors for Jing’er are on her. If Jing’er marries a wife, these honors will naturally fall on his niece’s wife. How can she have a share?

So, in the face of everyone’s earnest inquiries, Grandmother Jia kept avoiding the topic and did not respond directly. Instead, she took the opportunity to promote her own Baoyu.

Baoyu is in an awkward position now, so Grandmother Jia has to worry in advance and plans to find a daughter of a rich and powerful family as a wife for Baoyu.

In this way, Baoyu will have someone to rely on in the future.

On the surface, everyone smiled and complimented him, saying a few good words about Baoyu, but they were cursing him in their hearts.

This old lady is really shameless.

Who is Baoyu?

She’s not even worthy of a concubine in their family!

Among them, there was a family of imperial edicts who really looked down upon Lady Jia’s “taking advantage of her power” and said with a sneer, “Oh, old lady, can’t you be the master of the East Palace? Then don’t bring out some ugly people, right?”

Amidst the compliments, these words were particularly harsh, and everyone subconsciously looked over.

The lady stood up with a smile, holding a handkerchief in her hand and said, “Instead of talking to the old lady here, I might as well find a matchmaker and go to the East Palace to ask.”

“No need to send me off, old lady.”

Grandmother Jia: I’ll give you a…crooked melon and a cracked jujube!
Don’t even think about entering my house again!

Nan’an Concubine smiled and said, “That’s the wife of the Minister of Industry. She is not of the same kind as us. Please don’t mind, old sister.”

Grandmother Jia smiled and said, “I don’t mind these things. I have lived to such an old age. What kind of people have I not seen? What kind of words have I not heard? If I care about everything, there is no point in living.”

Everyone just laughed it off.

But my mind became active.

It seems that Lady Jia’s approach is not going to work, so she has to quickly invite a matchmaker to the East Palace.

After a while, everyone left, even the Concubine Nan’an, who had always been on good terms with Lady Jia, left.

Before leaving, she also took Huiwen’s belongings with her, meaning that she didn’t need Lady Jia’s help to appreciate them.

Jia Mu: “…”

The friendship of old sisters!

That’s all!

……

Fengzao Palace.

The Empress leaned against the phoenix couch and smiled, “Yuanchun, I heard that before you entered the palace, you were a girl from the Jia Mansion? What is your relationship with our Lord Jia?”

Yuanchun offered the teacup and said with a smile, “To answer your Majesty, Lord Jia is my uncle.”

The Queen was silent for a while, then smiled and said, “So you are from a famous family. I neglected you before. From now on, you will follow me and serve the Emperor.”

Yuanchun was sweating profusely when she heard this, and she knelt on the ground hurriedly: “I dare not have any improper thoughts.”

The Empress personally stepped forward and pulled Yuanchun up, smiling and sighing, “You are always by my side, so you naturally know my current situation. I need you to help me.”

Yuanchun was silent for a while.

She naturally understood that the Queen’s biggest difficulty was that she had no son, only a daughter.

Concubine Wu already had two sons.

“Madam, you are still young…”

“old.”

The Queen touched her face and said self-deprecatingly, “I am getting old and ugly!”

Yuanchun was silent again.

The Emperor hasn’t been to Fengzao Palace for half a year. He always stays at Concubine Wu’s place in Fenghua Palace, or at Concubine Zhou’s place in Shufang Pavilion.

Yuanchun: “But I…”

She didn’t want to stay in this prison at all!

In another year she will be twenty years old and can leave the palace.

“Sister Yuanchun.” The Empress held Yuanchun’s hand affectionately and sighed, “You must know that since the moment you stepped into the palace, your fate has been unstoppable. You can only struggle forward, and there is an abyss behind you!”

“No, my lady!”

Yuanchun suddenly freed her hands and knelt on the ground again: “Your Majesty, please forgive me. I cannot serve the Emperor.”

Queen: “Why?”

Yuanchun raised her head and said, “Because my uncle is a minister.”

This is her confidence.

As long as Lord Jia is around, even the Queen Mother cannot force her.

She has a way out!

The queen smiled.

“Wouldn’t it be better to have the Lord? By then, you will be in the palace, and the Lord will be in the court. Your family will be able to take a step forward and become the top noble family in Daxia. Even the royal family cannot compare with your family.”

Yuanchun shook her head, unmoved.

“One step further… when the water is full, it will overflow!”

“My lady, even if I agree, my uncle won’t agree.”

The Queen: “…”

This is an extremely insightful person!

“You really don’t want to help me?”

Yuanchun said hurriedly: “My lady, I am willing to do my best to help you, but I cannot serve the emperor.”

The Queen was silent for a while, and finally nodded.

Yuanchun was right. With Lord Jia outside, no one could force her, not even the queen.

“Okay, then you help me in the dark.”

“In fact, you are helping me secretly, which is much better than helping me openly.”

Yuanchun hurriedly bowed.

“Thank you for your understanding, ma’am.”

The queen smiled slightly and said, “From today on, you will go to Nuan’er and be the princess’s study companion.”

……

The Hall of Mental Cultivation of Daming Palace.

This was the fourth year of Emperor Anping’s reign.

The first three years were spent in an uneventful manner, and his influence in the court gradually grew.

On the surface, Cabinet Minister Wu Nan, Minister of Rites Li Minzhi, Vice Minister of Justice Si Zhongzheng and others are all people who hold real power and are already his people.

In addition, Lin Ruhai, the Imperial Censor of Salt, was also considered half of his people. Why was he only considered half? Because Lin Ruhai and Jia Jing were together, and Jia Jing was the emperor’s man! So Lin Ruhai could not be considered a complete man of his. Of course.

If he could bear it.

Jia Jing, even Ye Xiang, Wen Ting and others will sooner or later be his people.

After all, it is only natural for a son to inherit his father’s position.

but……

He has endured it for four years!

The old man is still in good health now, and has become healthier in recent years. It seems that he can live another 10 or 20 years.

Does he have to endure for another twenty years?

By that time, he would be half buried in the ground. How many years would he have left to live? How could he display his great talents?
So, he thought…

“Minzhi, it’s been four years since Anping!”

“I want to display my great talent and become the emperor of the ages, and you also want to display your ambition and become famous throughout the ages! If you keep waiting like this, when will it be realized?”

“I don’t want to endure it any longer!”

“Do you have any good ideas to make me stronger quickly?”

Li Minzhi held his beard and thought carefully for a while, then suddenly smiled and said, “Your Majesty, I have a plan.”

“Say it!”

“Your Majesty, who is the most popular person in the court right now?”

“Of course it’s Lord Jia!”

Jia Jing first invented honeycomb coal to solve the problem of charcoal shortage in the court, and then launched a wave of salt tax reform in Jiangnan. Although he encountered a lot of opposition and resistance, he finally succeeded under his strong pressure.

Even though he had always disliked Jia Jing, he had to admit that once the salt ticket system was implemented, it would benefit the country and the people and would be a boon to the country.

When it comes to governing the country, Jia Jing is much better than Ye Gaoqiang, who only seeks stability.

Li Minzhi smiled slightly: “The emperor can choose to marry Jia Gelao!”

“Marriage…”

Emperor Anping muttered to himself.

“Does Lord Jia have a daughter? How old is she?”

Li Minzhi shook his head and said, “Lord Jia’s daughter is too young. The emperor only needs to marry the daughter of the Jia family. It doesn’t necessarily have to be Lord Jia’s daughter.”

Emperor Anping frowned and said, “From Rongguo Mansion? That’s not good enough. Jia She is a waste. He inherited the title but doesn’t know how to serve the country. He is neither good at civil affairs nor military affairs. He can’t help me much.”

Li Minzhi smiled and said, “The focus now is not on Jia She, but on whether we can be related to Jia Ge Lao.”

“Ok.”

Emperor Anping thought about it and finally nodded in agreement: “Then send someone to tell Jia She a message.”

Li Minzhi added: “Your Majesty, it’s not Jia She. Although Jia She has a daughter, she is a concubine’s daughter and is not suitable to enter the palace as a concubine.”

Emperor Anping was stunned.

“Who is that?”

Li Minzhi said: “Jia Zheng, the second wife of Rongguo Mansion, has a daughter who has been a female official in the palace for many years.”

Emperor Anping: “…”

Li Minzhi: “Your Majesty, this matter must be done as soon as possible. It must be settled before Jia Gelao returns to Beijing, and the emperor must think carefully about the words. All we need to do is…”

As he spoke, his voice gradually became lower.

After saying this in one breath, Li Minzhi looked ashamed: “Your Majesty, please don’t blame me. I only resorted to this strategy for the sake of my country. It’s really…”

Emperor Anping waved his hand and said, “I understand your difficulties. For the sake of the country, I can only do this!”

……

Fengzao Palace.

The emperor, who had not come for more than half a month, suddenly arrived. The empress was overjoyed and personally led people to the corridor to greet him.

“I respectfully welcome the Emperor.”

“No need to be polite.”

Emperor Anping walked into the room and sat down, exchanging a few polite words with Empress Xiao.

Empress Xiao was the marriage partner arranged for him by the retired emperor. In recent years, he had rejected the retired emperor and had become more and more disgusted with Empress Xiao.

“I heard that you have a female official named Jia here? I want to meet her!” Emperor Anping said straight to the point.

Empress Xiao was stunned.

“Your Majesty, please wait a moment.”

After saying this, he ordered someone to invite Yuanchun over.

Yuanchun already felt something was wrong at this time.

She was so happy to be out of the cage this morning, but she didn’t expect to be hit hard in the afternoon.

The emperor summoned a palace lady-in-waiting. What else could it be?
She initially thought that the Queen Mother was going back on her word, but when she saw the Queen Mother’s expression, it didn’t seem like that.

Besides, the Queen Mother had already made plans with him, so there was no need to trick him and make them enemies.

Yuanchun couldn’t figure it out, so she stopped thinking about it and there was no time for her to think about it.

“Your humble servant Jia Yuanchun pays respects to His Majesty. Long live the emperor.”

Emperor Anping smiled.

“Be flat.”

“sit.”

Yuanchun didn’t dare to sit down and looked at the Empress with a pale face.

Empress Xiao had no other choice but to smile and say, “Since the emperor asked you to sit, please sit down.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty, thank you, the Queen.”

Although I bowed and thanked him.

But Yuanchun still showed no intention of sitting down.

Emperor Anping did not force it any further.

He knew that Yuanchun must still be a little restrained and a little afraid of him.

But he has absolute confidence.

Yuanchun would not refuse him.

Which woman in the world doesn’t want to fly up to the tree and become a phoenix?
No woman can refuse that position!

He glanced at the queen and took a sip of tea from the teacup.

The Queen Mother knew that she should leave tactfully, otherwise she would displease the Emperor and be labeled as jealous.

She couldn’t help Yuanchun.

The Queen could only give her a look that told her to be careful, and then she found an excuse and left with the maid.

For a moment, there were only two people left in the hall.

Emperor Anping’s plan was simple.

The rice has been cooked.

At that time, the emperor would have no choice but to agree to the marriage for the sake of the Jia family’s face.

In order to save face, Jia Jing had to agree to the marriage.

“Hahaha……”

Emperor Anping laughed for a while, then looked down at Yuanchun and said with a smile: “I will make you the Princess Yuan!”

“You, thank me.”

Yuanchun was suddenly not so scared at this time, and said calmly: “Your Majesty, I am a daughter of the Jia family, and my marriage must be decided by the elders. I cannot make the decision privately, otherwise it will violate the family rules.”

Emperor Anping frowned.

He didn’t expect Jia Yuanchun to be so ungrateful.

“Why should I ask others to decide what I want? Are you going to disobey my order?”

“My daughter dare not.”

“Well, why don’t you come and thank me?”

Yuanchun said, “Your Majesty, you haven’t issued an order yet? Please give the order to the head of the Jia family, and I will obey your order.”

Emperor Anping: “…”

……

(End of this chapter)