The head of the Red Mansion

Chapter 316 Dragon Guard

Send the female official to the local area to manage the orphanage and teach the children a skill.

Shen Ning, who was summoned to the palace again, sighed. The problems of the orphanage were not limited to the orphanage. As far as she knew, various places could receive some donations every year. Although the amount was pitifully small, it was still targeted by certain people with connections.

To them, even the smallest mosquito is still meat.

Besides, there are children there.

A business with no initial investment.

Those with good conditions, after training, can be given to or sold to the powerful and wealthy.

Those who are poor can be kept as maids or servants, and even the disabled can be thrown out early to beg for money.

The female officials who were parachuted in didn't have proper protection. Let alone protecting those children, they probably couldn't even protect themselves.

"...Sister Shen, do you think it's not okay?"

Seeing her expression, the Empress's heart skipped a beat. "The Emperor can send someone to escort her."

"You just said that."

Shen Ning put down the plan she had just finished writing and said, "But the people escorting them..."

"I'm just not sure about who will be escorting us."

The empress cannot point at people.

Whether it was the Imperial Guards or the Five Cities Garrison, escorting female officials to their posts was a job with no financial reward for them.

What if one of them harbors malicious intent...

The Empress couldn't control the soldiers, but the Jia family could!

She naturally passed the task to Shen Ning, "Sister Shen, who do you think is more suitable, the Imperial Guard or the Five Cities Garrison?"

"...neither side is necessarily good."

Shen Ning shook her head. "Those of high status won't do escort work, and those of low status... can't control the local people."

This?
The Empress frowned.

Indeed, even after the female official is sent down, she needs to maintain order.

Although the emperor would issue edicts ordering local authorities to cooperate, whether they would truly cooperate or not... was another matter entirely.

What if we just want to fool them for now?

In that time, even her female officials will be lost in those orphanages.

Then she wouldn't be doing a good deed, but rather committing a sin.

"Sister, do you have any way to satisfy both sides?"

Her family background was not prominent, so she couldn't even ask her family for help.

The Jia family, however, is different.

The local garrisons and garrison troops all had to give them some face.

"Use the Imperial Guard!"

what?
The Empress was stunned.

Why didn't she think of that?
The Imperial Guards were royal bodyguards, and even the lowest rank of the third class held the rank of fifth grade.

but……

“If we use the Imperial Guards, then we can only send one Imperial Guard for each female official, which feels a bit too weak.”

"Miss!"

Shen Ning laughed, "You can choose the one you like who's a Dragon Guard who needs a whole bunch of attendants when he goes out!"

Ok?
The Queen blinked.

Originally, the Imperial Guard was composed of 1,480 men, but the retired emperor often bestowed the title of Imperial Guard upon people to show his closeness to his ministers, although he only bestowed the first and second ranks.

This is also a form of subsidy, allowing them to receive an additional salary.

Therefore, the retired emperor rewarded both civil and military officials.

Later, because the rewards became so plentiful, some people started taking advantage of the loopholes and buying them with money.

However, most of the people who could afford to buy their way in had some connection with the retired emperor, so the emperor hasn't dealt with them yet.

Fortunately, most of them were children of powerful and wealthy families. After obtaining the positions, they would still claim illness and not actually take up their posts.

"Let me think about it."

Are those people capable?
According to the Emperor's investigation, most of those people were spoiled brats who couldn't lift a finger.

Let those spoiled brats go to the local area...

Will this cause more trouble?

"Does your sister think they can do it?"

If you're really that capable, you wouldn't need to spend money to buy it!

"Whether they can or not is not important; what's important is that their family can."

In *Dream of the Red Chamber*, after Qin Keqing's death, Jia Zhen, in order to make her memorial tablet look better, donated money to give Jia Rong the position of a fifth-rank Imperial Guard.

Shen Ning sighed inwardly.

"As long as Your Majesty and Your Highness show enough importance, their family will help arrange everything."

This is a perfectly legitimate opportunity to truly become a Dragon Guard Commander.

If you do a good job, you might even win the favor of the Emperor and Empress.

"At that time, we will draw some small teams of three or five people from the Imperial Guard or the Five Cities Garrison to accompany her. Then, the female official will be able to manage the orphanage in many places in a different way."

How to proceed once they arrive at their destination depends on the methods employed by the female officials themselves.

Those who are smarter can take advantage of the situation to dig out the corrupt officials from before and save more people.

"According to your plan, they still have the right to report directly to you, which is good. As long as they can hold their ground for the first two months, the rest will be easier."

"Then... shall we have those people accompany the guards for two months?"

However, a certain amount of allowance is required for business trips.

Although the national treasury has some money now, we still need the Ministry of Revenue to allocate funds to the Orphanage...

The Queen found it difficult.

She'll probably have to cry to the Emperor.

Otherwise, the Emperor wouldn't have had the power to fight so hard against the Ministry of Revenue.

"It will cost a lot of money."

Shen Ning had no idea how the Empress was planning to cry to the Emperor to soften his heart. She said, "However, since the Orphanage has problems, a portion of the assets of the managers can be used to subsidize the officers and soldiers on business trips."

Ok?
The Empress, whose back had been slightly hunched, sat up straight immediately upon hearing this. "This method is good. Quick, write it down."

She instructed the female official to write it down quickly.

Shen Ning glanced at the female official who was writing furiously and stopped herself from saying anything more.

Even if the emperor is short of money, he could use the orphanage as a starting point to conduct a thorough investigation of local areas and confiscate the homes of some people.

But she held back the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

Governing a large country is like cooking a small fish!
Rushing things can easily lead to problems.

Let's leave it at that for now!

On her way back home, Shen Ning saw the sunset again.

The right to speak directly to the Empress is different from the right to speak directly to the Emperor.

However, if this could give the Empress more power...

"Madam, the eldest daughter of the Xi family has arrived."

Yuanchun?

As Shen Ning got off at the second gate, she came to her senses and looked up, and sure enough, she saw Yuan Chun with a slightly protruding belly.

"Uncle mother!"

Yuan Chun wanted to come back yesterday.

I only held back because I was worried that my aunt would be too tired.

She learned this morning that her aunt had been taken into the palace by the Empress again, so she had no choice but to endure it.

Having finally heard that she had returned home, Yuan Chun rushed over, only to find that the Empress had come to fetch her again, and she only saw the rear of the carriage.

"Yuan Chun greets her aunt!"

"We're family. You're on a heavy diet, why are you being so polite?"

As she bent down to pay her respects, Shen Ning caught her, saying, "Perfect timing. Her Majesty the Empress has bestowed quite a few bird's nests upon us. We'll take some home with us later."

"Ok!"

Yuan Chunchao smiled at You Shi, who was also there, and said, "You're too late. My sister-in-law has already packed a package for me."

"..."

Shen Ning gave Madam You an approving look. "Have you packed up all the things you brought from Jiangnan?"

"It's already been cleaned up."

Lady You smiled, "Mother, why has Her Majesty summoned you to the palace again?"

If it weren't for the embarrassed look on Granny Wu's face when she came to pick her up, she would have been worried that something bad had happened.

"Well, we talked about some things related to the Salesian Bureau."

As Shen Ning led them slowly inside, she said, "Her Majesty intends to release a group of people ahead of time to take over the orphanages in various places." "...The problems with the orphanages may not be easy to handle."

Yuan Chun hesitated for a moment and said, "Unless the Emperor sends someone to accompany us."

She had also served in the palace.

Although she lived in constant fear and made no friends, she knew how much the people there suffered.

Finally, the retired emperor was no longer in charge, and Consort Zhen had fallen from grace. With no more issues of factionalism and infighting, they could finally relax. But once they arrived in their new place... if things went wrong, they might not only end up taking over the orphanage, but they might also be sold out.

"Don't worry, the Emperor will have people on his side."

Shen Ning didn't plan to say anything more; in any case, everyone who needed to know would know in a few days.

"How is Cheng Luo doing lately? I heard that he and your uncle contacted quite a few people after our accident last time."

"Isn't this how it should be?"

Yuan Chun didn't take it to heart.

Compared to their biological parents, the couple probably care more about this side of the family. "He and Brother Zhen have gone to the West Mansion to find his elder brother."

Yuan Chun took Shen Ning's arm and said, "Auntie, I was terrified when I heard that you were stabbed in Xuzhou."

She found out even later than her sister-in-law, Madam You.

That bastard Cheng Luo, he's always out running around, but he's kept everything from her.

"Don't you think I'm fine now?"

Shen Ning patted her hand, "Don't worry, I'm still perfectly fine."

Next, she will watch her daughters grow up, watch them start their poetry society, and become the censor of their poetry society.

This time, Wang Xifeng couldn't outdo her.

She had plenty of money to keep them entertained.

It doesn't even have to be limited to the Jia family.

"Pfft~"

Yuan Chun was certain that her aunt was truly kind, and she smiled on the spot, "Seeing you like this, I feel relieved. Oh dear, Aunt, I was worried before that if our children got into a fight, you would get angry and it would hurt your health."

"...What injury would I injure?"

Shen Ning rolled her eyes at her, "You should think about whether I'll beat your kid!"

"Haha! As long as you're willing to part with it!"

Yuan Chun laughed heartily.

She won't care anyway.

"You don't know, I was having tea with my sister-in-law today, and when her stomach moved, my stomach moved too."

I feel like the two kids will play together a lot in the future.

Adding the children of his elder brother and sister-in-law from the Xi family, that makes three.

Yuan Chun could imagine how noisy it would be if three children of the same age and around the same month were together.

"...Is everything alright, like the pulse diagnosis?"

Shen Ning glanced at Madam You and asked Yuan Chun.

Her family had a physician, and Lady You's pregnancy remained stable.

"Everything is fine."

Yuan Chun nodded, "Aunt, since you came back from Jiangnan, didn't you get an extra physician in the manor? Why don't you let me have him?"

When her child was young, she felt more at ease knowing there was a doctor in the family.

"Alright, I'll have Cheng Luo personally invite him later."

It's not a big deal to have an extra physician in the household.

Doctors can't be expected to be on call 24/7.

There are three in total in the two mansions, so they can take turns resting.

But now that the Marquis of Xinping wants it, there's no question about it, so it's fine.

Shen Ning knew that because of their return, the physician Li, whom the manor had hired later, had intended to withdraw.

"Ok!"

Yuan Chun nodded vigorously, "Aunt, the Emperor intends to send Cheng Luo to the south to take a look. After he leaves, I won't be able to go home so easily. When that happens, you must visit me at the Marquis of Xinping's residence often."

Head south?
Shen Ning paused for a moment, then immediately thought of Prince Teng and the army handed over by the Prince of Nan'an.

Cheng Luo... is indeed the best candidate to go there.

"It's done!"

Shen Ning agreed, "If I get lazy, I'll just have your sisters go over there."

Meeting the Cheng family matriarch beforehand will be helpful for their future lives.

That day, Yuan Chun stayed at Ningguo Mansion until very late before leaving.

When I woke up in the morning, I reached out and found that Cheng Luo had already gone to court.

Jia Zhen also went to court.

Shen Ning could imagine how lively the imperial court would be today.

She instructed Jia Zhen to write down all the officials who spoke to the Japanese in Jiangnan, so that she could investigate them when the opportunity arose.

In short, if the Japanese officials couldn't kill them, she intended to have Jiao Da search for them in the martial arts world.

"Madam, Steward Wu is waiting in the flower hall."

Qingping rushed over to report.

"Have all the manuscripts been organized?"

Shen Ning asked Qingzhu and Xiaodong.

"It's all sorted out."

The two maids nodded in unison, and Xiaodong said, "Madam, I'll take it over right away."

"Tell Manager Wu to print as many copies as possible."

With the Legend of the Condor Heroes still going strong, and countless people looking for Mr. Jin Yong, now is the perfect time to release The Return of the Condor Heroes.

Shen Ning said, "Same as always, print them and put them in your great-grandmother's shop."

"Yes!"

Xiaodong picked up the wrapped manuscript and hurried toward the flower hall.

It wasn't until noon that Jia Zhen returned.

Judging from his expression, Shen Ning felt that there was no need to trouble Jiao Da anymore.

really!

"Mother, the Imperial Censor Xiang, who was invited by my aunt last time, is debating with a group of scholars today."

Jia Zhen finally witnessed what it was like for scholars to fight.

You can still throw boots and throw punches.

Oops!

He thoroughly enjoyed it.

"Those people keep talking about the Celestial Empire, the land of gentlemen, and about the previous dynasty... Imperial Censor Xiang was furious. He said, 'Does their longing for the previous dynasty mean they have some dissatisfaction with our Great Zhao? The previous dynasty was destroyed because its virtuous ministers turned into villains. They misled Emperor Sizong.'"

When the mighty emperor, dying for his country, left these dying words: "I have no face to meet my ancestors in the underworld; remove my crown and cover my face with my hair. Let the rebels tear my body apart, but do not harm a single commoner," what were those ministers, who considered themselves gentlemen and moral rulers, doing?

Imperial Censor Xiang is truly upright.

They thoroughly refuted those people.

Finally, he even took off his boots and fought with the man.

Jia Zhen and some military officers went to break up the fight, but they also secretly helped a lot.

"In the end, he scolded two people until they were dizzy and three people until they cried."

The one who cried from being scolded was actually the one who was beaten.

While enjoying his mother's meal, Jia Zhen danced around happily, saying, "In the end, the Emperor asked everyone to raise their hands to vote, and oh my, it passed unanimously."

Shen Ning: "..."

She personally served him a bowl of soup.

Jia Zhen was deeply moved, "That's right, my son probably won't be able to be so free in the future."

"……what are you up to?"

"The Emperor appointed his son as the Deputy Chief of the Imperial Guards."

It's a substantive position of the second rank.

Jia Zhen felt he was not qualified for the position, but his resignation was not an option.

"Mother, what do you think the Emperor sees in me?"

He's never done anything worthwhile in his entire life.

Jia Zhen wanted to say, "If you've taken a fancy to me, I'll change, okay?"

"I actually wanted to be a First-Class Imperial Guard."

The retired emperor once bestowed upon many ministers the titles of First-Class and Second-Class Imperial Guards, which were honorary positions where one did not have to work but could still receive silver.

"Why don't you put in a good word for your son?"