The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

There was peace in the bedroom of Kunning Palace. The little palace maid came in quietly and saw the queen sitting on the couch, wearing the embroidered robe as usual.

She walked over quietly and whispered a few words in the queen's ear.

The queen paused, then stood up, put the robe away, turned around and walked out.

At the same time, Emperor Yongchang walked into Kunning Palace with his hands behind his back.

As soon as they saw the emperor, the nearest few eunuchs who were picking up fallen leaves on the ground immediately knelt down, followed by all the eunuchs and palace maids who were on duty near and far.

The square, the steps, and the corridors were filled with eunuchs and palace maids kneeling everywhere.

The eunuch in charge who got the news came out in a hurry and knelt down to Emperor Yongchang: "Your Majesty."

Emperor Yongchang waved his hand: "Where is the Queen?"

The eunuch in charge said: "In reply to the emperor, the queen is in the west warm room."

Emperor Yongchang nodded and walked straight towards the west warm pavilion.

As soon as he stepped through the door, Emperor Yongchang was startled.

At this time, the queen was squatting beside a flowerpot under the window, trimming the flowers in the pot with a pair of scissors.

Emperor Yongchang was stunned for a moment, but he still walked over lightly and said with a smile: "The queen is in a very elegant mood."

The queen was startled and her hand trembled, and she cut off a flower with a "click". When she turned around and saw that it was the emperor, she stood up and saluted.

Emperor Yongchang waved his hand and said, "It's just the two of us here, so there's no need for those empty formalities." Then he lifted the corner of his robe and tucked it into his belt, squatted down beside the empress, picked up the flower, looked at it, and said with a smile, "This is my fault."

The queen smiled.

Emperor Yongchang: "You say, and I'll cut." Then he took the scissors from the empress.

The Queen was not polite and ordered Emperor Yongchang to trim it.

While pruning the branches, Emperor Yongchang asked the empress, "Have you noticed that the flowers sent by the Flower and Tree Bureau recently are very bright and have a long blooming period?"

The Queen cleaned up the cut branches and leaves and said with a smile: "The Emperor is busy with state affairs, so he doesn't have the energy to pay attention to these things. I took a look at it on a whim and naturally felt that there were great changes. However, the flowers in the Flower and Tree Bureau have indeed improved a lot in the past year."

Emperor Yongchang smiled and said, "To be praised by the Queen shows that the people in the Flower and Tree Bureau are serious about their work. I will ask Dai Quan to reward them with something later. Oh, by the way, how is the Queen feeling recently?"

The Queen smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. Dean Li took my pulse this morning and said it's much better than the past two years. He told me to start taking medicated food and slowly recuperate."

Emperor Yongchang coughed and said, "I have also asked Li Yuanzheng about this, and he said that the Queen only needs to take good care of herself and rest well."

The Queen looked at Emperor Yongchang tenderly.

This look made Emperor Yongchang feel uneasy, and he hurriedly changed the subject: "I am undecided about something, and I want to hear the Queen's opinion."

Queen: "What is it? If it is a matter of the court, Your Majesty should discuss it with the ministers of the previous dynasty."

Emperor Yongchang: "Li Hu's matter."

Queen: "What about Li Hu? What happened to him?"

Emperor Yongchang put down the scissors and helped the queen up: "Li Hu is back."

The queen nodded: "I heard about it."

Emperor Yongchang: "I first asked about the government outside the Great Wall, and then talked about the war in the Central Plains. This guy is not honest and always speaks vaguely. This makes me feel uneasy and worried that the war situation in the Central Plains will deteriorate."

The Queen's eyes flickered: "The Emperor wants Li Hu to go south to quell the rebellion?"

Emperor Yongchang: "I have this idea. However, you also know the conflict between Prince Zhongshun and Li Hu. They both hold grudges. Disharmony between generals and commanders is the most taboo on the battlefield. The main force of the Ruishi Battalion is still on the way back to the capital. It will arrive in the capital at the earliest by the end of next month. Prince Zhongshun has just made military achievements. I cannot transfer him back to the capital at this time."

The queen sneered in her heart. The main force of the Five Army Camps should have entered the territory of Dongchang Prefecture by now. It is entirely possible to let Li Hu go south to lead the Five Army Camps to quell the rebellion. She was still on guard against Li Hu, no, she was on guard against the Crown Prince's hand reaching into the Beijing Camp.

Emperor Yongchang: "Besides, this kid's words and deeds show that he is unwilling to go south and has no ambitions!"

The queen smiled and said, "Young people have a natural disposition. It would be great if they could get married and have a family."

Emperor Yongchang thought for a moment and said, "Just listen to the queen. Wait until he gets married and has a family before entrusting him with important tasks."

The queen smiled. Suddenly, the clock in the corner rang!
Emperor Yongchang took a look and then said to the empress, "There are still some things to deal with in the upper study, so I won't stay any longer."

Queen: "Yes."

Emperor Yongchang: "No need to send it." He glanced at the flowerpot, turned around and walked out.

The queen stared at the flowerpot for a moment, then called out, "Someone come."

The eunuch in charge came in in response.

The Queen: "Send this pot of flowers to Concubine De and tell her that the Emperor trimmed them himself."

The eunuch in charge was somewhat unhappy: "Madam."

Queen: "Send it!"

The eunuch in charge said, “Yes.” He called on two young eunuchs to take the pot of flowers out.

The queen walked to the window, opened it, and then went out.

Emperor Yongchang walked out of Kunning Palace, and the eunuch waiting at the door hurriedly followed him.

As they were walking, Emperor Yongchang suddenly stopped and said, "Go to the Imperial Hospital and ask Li Yuanzheng to send the medical records of the Empress, Concubine Wu, and the Crown Prince to the Western Warm Pavilion of the Yangxin Palace."

Chief eunuch: "Yes."

Emperor Yongchang: "Don't let anyone know." After saying that, he walked straight towards the Yangxin Palace.

Li Hu watched Jia Lian's sedan chair go away, smiled and shook his head.

Jia Lian was really unlucky to have such a bad brother-in-law like Wang Ren. If the emperor didn't want to use him, it would be very difficult. Reporting his own brother-in-law is really unbelievable. But it's normal to think about it. In the original novel, Wang Ren was so cruel that he sold Qiaojie to a brothel, so what's the big deal about betraying Jia Lian?

Wang Xifeng was also a pitiful person. Jia Lian said that she was so sick that she couldn't even get out of bed. Physical illness is easy to cure, but mental illness is hard to cure! Perhaps only when Wang Ren died could her mental illness be cured.

Thinking of this, Li Hu turned and walked towards the gate.

Suddenly, there was a burst of rapid horse hoofbeats.

Then came Kong Qingxiang's shout: "My Lord!"

Li Hu turned around and saw Kong Qingxiang leading two foreign soldiers on horseback galloping towards him.

Kong Qingxiang pulled the reins suddenly, and the horse raised its front hooves into the air, sneezed, and stopped abruptly.

Li Hu smiled and said, "This horse is good."

Kong Qingxiang got off the horse, stroked the horse's head, smoothed its mane, patted its back, and said with a smile, "These are the imperial horses presented by the Jurchens. There are a total of ten horses given to me by the emperor." He threw the reins to a guard beside him, walked up to Li Hu, and lowered his voice, "I am responsible for monitoring the group of people who won the top three in the imperial examination."

Li Hu smiled secretly, the emperor's character is indeed hard to change!

Kong Qingxiang: "There is one more thing. Kong Xiaoer asked for peace. He actually agreed. It turns out that no one in the second branch is a good person!"

Li Hu was also surprised. Are the people in Yanshenggong Mansion so crazy?
Kong Qingxiang: "I've thought about it carefully. This is good for us. First, it will let the Marquis know the other party's conspiracy in advance, so that he can respond in advance and kill those bastards. Also, if we can get the handle on that person, it will be as stable as Mount Tai to abolish his position as the Crown Prince!"

Li Hu looked at him and wanted to say "You know nothing", but he still smiled and nodded.

Kong Qingxiang: "Since the Marquis has agreed, I will go back and prepare."

Li Hu: "You need to disclose some information to the palace appropriately, understand?"

Kong Qingxiang smiled and said, "Don't worry, Lord Hou. I know what I am doing."

Li Hu: "I just came back and I still have a lot of things to deal with, so I won't keep you here."

Kong Qingxiang: "I will host a banquet at Taihe Tower some other day and invite you to have a drink and watch opera."

Li Hu: "Okay."

Seeing Kong Qingxiang disappear on the street, Li Hu turned around and walked into the gate. He sent the girls away. It was time to go and talk to Lin Daiyu about his feelings. And, by the way, let her fulfill her promise! (End of this chapter)