The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Dai Quan came in with a basin of hot water, placed it on the washstand, and soaked a snow-white cotton face towel with velvet in it. Then he looked in the direction of the sickbed.

The empress, dressed in casual clothes, was stretching Emperor Yongchang's muscles with her own hands.

After a long time, the empress covered Emperor Yongchang with the quilt, then she sat down on the bed, supporting her aching waist, and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Dai Quan quickly wrung out the face towel from the basin and took it over.

The queen took the towel and wiped her face, asking, "Is the medicine ready?"

Dai Quan bowed and replied, "Director Li is watching it personally."

The queen nodded and asked, "Where is the crown prince?"

Dai Quan took the face towel and replied with a smile, "I'm reviewing my lessons in the warm room."

The queen also smiled and was about to say something.

The eunuch in charge of Kunning Palace walked in quickly and silently and reported to the queen: "Your Majesty, the crown prince has awarded the position of commander of the Southern Pacification Division to Wang Ren."

When the queen heard this, she was stunned for a moment.

Dai Quan also frowned.

The eunuch in charge said: "I also heard that the prince gave the task of reorganizing the Southern Pacification Office to Wang Ren."

The queen moved slightly, trying to get up, but ended up sitting still.

Dai Quan and the eunuch in charge both had complicated expressions. The Queen had to "clean up the mess" for the Crown Prince again.

The queen sighed silently. She understood the prince's intention. He wanted to win over Wang Ziteng and influence or even control the troops in the northern foothills of Yinshan Mountain. But did Wang Ziteng have the ability to do that? Besides, a fence-sitter like Wang Ziteng didn't need to be won over. As long as the news got out, he would stick to him.

Furthermore, the means to win over the border troops is very simple. As long as the prince ascends the throne and issues an edict of reward, he can naturally use his power to win over the world and win over the hearts of the troops.

In addition, the Jinyiwei had an unwritten rule that, except for the commander-in-chief and the deputy commander of the Northern Pacification Division, other positions could be inherited by their families if they passed the assessment as long as they died in battle, including the commander-in-chief of the Southern Pacification Division.

One of the Zhen family's father and son died in battle, and the other was seriously injured. Without even saying hello, the position of the commander of the Southern Pacification Division was given to Wang Ren. What would the Zhen family think? What would the court officials think?
Although Zhen Baoyu of the Zhen family will definitely not pass the test, there is no such thing as doing things this way!
What on earth did he learn from those corrupt scholars?

A hint of disappointment flashed across the queen's eyes. She pinched her brows and said to the eunuch in charge, "Tell the cabinet about this. Also, have the cabinet draft an edict to transfer Zhen Yingjia from the Minister of Rites to the Minister of Personnel, add the title of the Crown Prince's Tutor, and allow him to wear a bullfighting suit!"

Dai Quan quickly replied, "Your Majesty, when Zhen Yingjia was conferred the title, he was awarded a dragon robe to wear!"

No more rewards?

The queen was startled for a moment, then sighed and said, "Then give Zhen Fu a dragon robe."

The eunuch in charge said, “Yes.”

"Let the post of Minister of Rites be appointed by the Crown Prince himself," the Queen added.

The eunuch in charge bowed and retreated.

Hearing the sound of the outer hall door closing, Dai Quan said softly: "Madam, I dare to say something. Some things are better to be settled as soon as possible, so as to avoid more trouble at night."

The queen was stunned at first, but then she realized that Dai Quan was reminding her that before the prince ascended the throne, her words were still effective and the matter of the crown prince should be settled.

"You can be said to be trained by me, so you should at least fight for my honor, do you understand?" The prince was half lying and half sitting on a recliner beside the desk, wrapped in a quilt, and said to Jia Yucun who was kneeling in front of the desk.

Jia Yucun kowtowed repeatedly, saying excitedly: "I kowtow to thank His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for his grace!" The Crown Prince smiled and said: "Go and do your work."

"Yes." Jia Yucun kowtowed again, then stood up, bowed and walked out.

Just as Jia Yucun left, Zhao Tong came in with a bowl of medicine and said softly, "Prince, the medicine is ready."

The prince sat up straight, took the medicine and drank it in one gulp.

Zhao Tong handed over another cup of warm water and helped the prince rinse his mouth. He said, "You gave the Minister of Rites to Jia Yucun. What will the Zhanshi Mansion say?"

The prince snorted coldly and lay back down. "What can I say? They really think I am a three-year-old child and let them lead me by the nose! I can reward them, but they can't ask for it, and they can't fool me with it!" At this point, he could no longer suppress the anger in his heart, "They deserve death!"

Zhao Tong's heart sank. Was he murderous?!

The prince said: "I don't have to use them! The court has many candidates waiting for vacancies in the two lists of Jinshi. Tomorrow I will summon the second and third place candidates to the palace to draft imperial edicts and records for me."

As soon as he finished speaking, the eunuch on duty hurried in.

The eunuch on duty said, "My Lord, I just heard that Marquis Zhongjing Shi Ding, following the order of the Empress, has selected elite soldiers from the Imperial Guard to form the Yongwei Battalion, with Duke Lu Li Hu as the commander and Chief Dai as the supervisor."

So anxious to pave the way for the Crown Prince!

The prince's face looked a little grim. He was just in poor health, not going to die immediately!

The prince snorted and stood up in annoyance. He walked to the window and looked at the falling leaves outside. After a while, he said, "Tell the cabinet to send another official document to each province to urge them to immediately send famous doctors from all over the country to Beijing to treat the emperor."

"Yes." Zhao Tong understood that the prince did not want to die.

At this time, there was a sound of footsteps outside, and a red-robed eunuch from the Imperial Household Department came in, bowed to the Crown Prince, and then reported: "Your Highness, the news just came from West City that Wang Ren was beaten by people from the Duke of Lu's Mansion."

The prince turned around and asked, "What's going on?"

The red-robed eunuch said, "It is said that when Wang Ren was returning home, he happened to see the carriage of the eldest daughter of the Xue family. Wang Ren stopped the carriage and asked the eldest daughter of the Xue family to stay and keep vigil. She did not need to return to the Xue family and should stay as his concubine. He also said that he was now the commander of the Southern Pacification Division and that it was a blessing from her previous life that the eldest daughter of the Xue family could be his concubine. She should not be so shameless. The two sides started fighting."

The prince frowned and asked again: "Didn't they say that they were beaten by Li Hu's men? What's going on here?"

The red-robed eunuch said, "The eldest daughter of the Xue family was accompanied by four soldiers from the Duke of Lu's mansion in plain clothes. They were the ones who did the beating. If it weren't for the persuasion of the Marquis of Baoning and the Prince of Nan'an, Wang Ren would have been beaten to death."

The prince sensed something was wrong: "What is the relationship between this eldest daughter of the Xue family and Li Hu?"

The red-robed eunuch was silent for a moment, then replied, "I heard that the eldest daughter of the Xue family is the concubine of Duke Lu."

The prince said: "Nonsense, Duke Lu has no wife, so how can he have concubines?"

The red-robed eunuch said, "She is a concubine who has never been married."

The prince's expression became serious: "Are you sure?"

The red-robed eunuch said, "It was the personal guards of the Duke of Lu's mansion who said that."

Zhao Tong's face also became serious. Things were getting difficult. This was not just teasing the eldest daughter of the Xue family, but a slap in the face of Li Hu!

Not only did Wang Ren receive this beating for nothing, he also had to give an explanation to Li Hu. But Wang Ren had just joined the crown prince, so how could he be punished at this time? It was difficult!
He cursed Wang Ren again in his heart. This loser couldn't control the two taels of meat in his crotch even at this time. This was his brother's funeral!
Thinking of this, he looked at the prince.

The prince was silent for a moment: "Wait. Wait until Li Hu makes his move." (End of this chapter)