The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Just when Li Hu was about to arrive in Luoyang, the second prince returned to the capital.

After returning after a long absence, the second prince walked into Guang'an Gate with a bit of joy and a bit of emotion.

The capital city is still the prosperous and bustling capital city, and the people continue to live a stable life, but he is no longer the same person. He has entered a new stage in his life, Prince Fu. He understands the emperor's mind and hopes that he can enjoy a happy life, which shows that he feels guilty.

So before returning to Beijing, he submitted a letter of confession to the emperor, hoping to go to the mausoleum to keep vigil for his mother!
Only by leaving the capital and staying away from the sight of the Queen and the Crown Prince could he recuperate and start over.

He suddenly thought of the third brother, who had nothing but an empty title of prince, and was still imprisoned in the palace by the Southern Pacification Division. No, Concubine Shu had begged for him on her knees and got a favor, that he could enter the palace to have meals with Concubine Shu on the first and fifteenth day of every month, and return to the palace before dusk.

Today is the fifteenth day of the lunar month, and the third brother can leave the cage and go to the palace again.

Thinking of this, he looked up at the sky. If by chance, he might run into the Third Brother in the palace. He didn't know what he looked like now. He probably didn't look as noble as before. He despised the Third Brother's fake noble look.

Thinking of this, he squeezed his legs together, spurred his horse and galloped straight to the imperial city. He would go into the palace to kowtow to the emperor, say a few soft words, and try to go to the imperial mausoleum tomorrow.

Ten imperial guards hurriedly rode their horses and followed the second prince.

Concubine Shu's Palace
The food on the table lay cold.

The seats in front of the two pairs of chopsticks and two bowls of rice were desolately empty.

At this time, Concubine Shu was standing quietly in front of the door, looking at the palace gate in the distance.

Finally, footsteps were heard outside the palace gate.

The eunuch in charge came over in a hurry and reported to Concubine Shu: "Your Majesty, the prince is ill."

"What? Prince Kang is sick?" Concubine Shu asked in surprise.

"Yes." replied the eunuch in charge.

Concubine Shu looked anxious: "How is it? Has the imperial physician been summoned?"

The eunuch in charge said: "It has been passed on."

Concubine Shu asked anxiously, "What did the imperial physician say?"

The eunuch in charge replied hesitantly, "The imperial physician said that the prince is suffering from depression and anger in his chest. As long as he takes good care of himself and rests well, he will recover. Please rest assured, Your Majesty."

Concubine Shu was silent. She had never sought wealth and honor in her life, but only wanted to live a peaceful and stable life. However, she married an unstable prince and gave birth to a son who made her most unstable.

Maybe this is what life is like. If you aim for the best, you get average. If you aim for the average, you get below average. If you aim for the worst, you get nothing. It really is all determined by fate and we have no control over it!
Thinking of this, Concubine Shu closed her eyes. Seeing her son becoming more and more depressed day by day, her heart was broken, but she could do nothing! She was not a virtuous concubine, she did not have the emperor's favor, and she was not the queen, so she could only watch and suffer in her heart.

At this time, the eunuch in charge hesitated for a moment and said softly: "My queen, the second prince is back."

Concubine Shu looked at him.

The eunuch in charge said: "I heard that the emperor approved the Second Prince's request to go to the West Hill to keep vigil for the virtuous concubine."

Wake?

There was a glimmer of light in Concubine Shu's eyes. Perhaps this would allow her son to leave the cage. This was the only thing she could do for him. She could also be free and no longer have to live so cautiously every day.

Thinking of this, Concubine Shu walked straight out.

The news also reached the Yangxin Palace. Emperor Yongchang was silent for a moment, then said to the eunuch on duty, "Tell the Imperial Hospital to take the patient's pulse carefully and provide attentive care."

The eunuch on duty said: “Yes.” He bowed and walked out.

Emperor Yongchang sighed, picked up another memorial, unfolded it, and began to review it.

The pile of approved memorials grew higher and higher. Emperor Yongchang put down his pen, stretched himself, picked up the tea bowl as usual, opened the lid, but it was already dry. He called out as usual, "Dai Quan."

A young eunuch walked in quietly, went straight to the compartment, picked up the copper kettle, and brewed tea in front of the imperial desk.

Emperor Yongchang: "What time is it now?"

The young eunuch said: "Your Majesty, it is not yet noon now."

Emperor Yongchang: "You don't need to serve me here. Go out of the palace now and call your ancestors back."

The young eunuch could hardly believe it, and stared at Emperor Yongchang blankly: "Your Majesty, are you asking me to summon our ancestor, Chief Steward Dai, back to the palace?" Emperor Yongchang: "Hurry up and go."

The young eunuch immediately knelt down and kowtowed, "Yes." Then he stood up and walked out.

Emperor Yongchang picked up the tea bowl, took a few sips and then put it down again.

The imperial mausoleum is quite far from the capital, and even with a fast horse, Dai Quan would not be able to return to the palace until dawn the next day.

Thinking about this, Emperor Yongchang sighed silently. He really couldn't live without Dai Quan by his side. But he hated Dai Quan's betrayal. Actually, it wasn't a betrayal. The Queen's words were right, "Father and son are one body." Besides, Dai Quan didn't listen to the Queen and the Prince on everything. He just helped the Queen and the Prince on some small matters.

Otherwise, he would not have let Dai Quan go to the imperial mausoleum for only two months.

At this moment, a red-robed eunuch from the Imperial Household Department came in holding an urgent letter with chicken feathers stuck on it: "Your Majesty, this is an urgent letter from Yinshan Mountain, which has traveled 600 miles!"

Emperor Yongchang took the urgent letter, tore open the seal and read it. His face turned ugly and he cursed, "Fukangan, you rubbish!" Then he snorted and asked, "Where is the crown prince now?"

The red-robed eunuch said, "Your Majesty, the prince seems to be in the cabinet right now."

Emperor Yongchang stood up and said, "Let's go to the cabinet!"

The eunuch in red hurriedly followed him out.

In the cabinet duty room, the prince sat on the couch on the south side, and the two cabinet ministers sat on chairs by the window. They all looked at Jia Lian who was holding a stack of official documents.

Jia Lian: "The 100,000 dan of rice and 10,000 dan of fodder are ready and can be shipped outside the Great Wall at any time. In addition, the Ministry of Revenue has sent letters to Shandong, Jiangxi, Sichuan, and Huguang, asking them to take out some surplus funds from their respective provincial treasuries or allocate some surplus grain from their respective official warehouses to Henan, Anhui, and the Huai River regions to help the people affected by the disaster survive the first half of the year. In this way, the court can fully deal with the situation outside the Great Wall."

The prince smiled with satisfaction and nodded.

The two university scholars looked at each other and nodded at the same time.

Suddenly, the eunuch's unique voice came from outside the door: "The emperor has arrived~"

The Crown Prince and the two Grand Secretaries stood up together.

The door curtain was raised, and Emperor Yongchang strode in with the urgent letter and sat down on the other side of the couch. "No need for the formalities." He shook the urgent letter and said, "It came from Yinshan Mountain six hundred miles away. Fu Kang'an was defeated again."

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, how could they be defeated so quickly? !

Emperor Yongchang: "Draft two decrees: First, confer Xie Jing the title of General of the Northern Expedition, fully responsible for the battle on the northern front of Yinshan. In addition to the garrisons in Suiyuan and Guihua, the troops of the six Yinshan towns, as well as the troops of Datong and Xuanfu towns, will all be under the command of Xie Jing! Second, remove Wang Ziteng from the post of General of Henan and appoint him as Deputy General, Xie Jing's deputy."

The two university scholars looked at each other and replied, "As you wish."

Emperor Yongchang was silent for a moment. "The positions of the first and second assistant ministers of the cabinet have been vacant for nearly a year. It is time," he pointed to the two university scholars, "the two old gentlemen are loyal and have worked hard for great contributions. You should take on this responsibility for me."

Old Sir! The two scholars looked at each other, what else could they say? They could only kneel down and kowtow to express their gratitude.

Emperor Yongchang smiled and nodded: "There are still three vacancies." Suddenly he glanced at Jia Lian and asked, "Is your father in good health?"

Jia Lian was both surprised and happy. Could it be that the Emperor wanted to employ the master?

Jia Lian knelt down immediately and said, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. My father is in good health."

Emperor Yongchang interrupted him and said, "That's good. Let Jia Jing join the cabinet. As for the other two, you discuss with the officials below and submit a list."

The new cabinet's first and second assistants answered in unison: "Yes."

Emperor Yongchang nodded, and said to the prince, "The third brother is ill. Send someone to see him and tell him to take good rest and recover well." After that, he stood up and walked out.

Looking at the receding figure of Emperor Yongchang, Jia Lian felt a sense of loss.

The prince seemed to see through Jia Lian's thoughts and said with a smile: "No one can enter the cabinet unless he is a Jinshi from the two lists."

Jia Lian thought about it, smiled bitterly and nodded.

The prince said: "You are different. When you are promoted to the Minister of the Six Ministries, you can change to the Cabinet Scholar through concurrent positions, gifts, and coordination between various parties. When you have a certain level of qualifications, you can be promoted to the Associate Grand Secretary. As for the Grand Secretary, there is no other way."

Jia Lian was startled at first, then he knelt down again and said excitedly: "Thank you, Your Highness, for your grace."

The prince smiled and nodded, but he was puzzled: Why did they suddenly let Jia Jing into the cabinet? Didn't they say that this person can't be trusted? ! (End of this chapter)