The Overlord of the Red Mansion

Chapter 161 Efforts

The next day, more than 2,000 people in Ning Mansion were busy and anxious.

At this moment, I just hate that time passes so quickly and it’s dawn before I know it.

A maid ran into Tianxiang Tower, "Grandma, the master has woken up and said he would go to court after dinner."

Before Jia Yuanchun could say anything, Wang Xifeng scolded her, "Slap! I'll teach you a lesson! What did I tell you to do yesterday? How should you call me Grandma?"

The maid quickly reached out and slapped herself hard on the face twice, then knelt on the ground with tears in her eyes, "Madam! Second Madam! I know I was wrong!"

Jia Yuanchun said directly: "Get up, I just hope that when I am with the Queen, you will not come to call me, what will happen if something goes wrong!"

Jia Yuanchun was extremely nervous, and what was even more tragic was that when she told Jia Rong about her feelings, all she got in return was Jia Rong's ruthless ridicule.

The maid slowly stood up and said, "Thank you, Madam. Aunt Ping asked me to come and tell you that the fire barrel used for lighting at night has been cleaned. The charcoal used at night was counted and may be insufficient, so I have sent someone to buy some."

Jia Yuanchun nodded and said, "Let's go eat. Tell the maids and servants in the mansion to behave properly when eating. Don't get your clothes dirty. If they get dirty, change them immediately!"

"Yes! Madam!"

After the maid left, Jia Yuanchun, who was sitting on the couch, said to Wang Xifeng, "I am still very worried."

Wang Xifeng consoled her, "Sister, this isn't your first time meeting the Empress. You've been to the palace frequently over the years, and you should have met the Empress and the Crown Princess several times. Why are you so nervous?"

Jia Yuanchun shook her head. "This is different. The emperor is here in person this time. If we don't treat him well, it will definitely affect the master. We can't be careless."

If Jia Rong were here, he would definitely laugh at her!

Wang Xifeng understood Jia Yuanchun's nervousness and added, "Madam Tai can't help either. She won't come out these two days."

Yin Cai walked in quickly at this time, "Madam, grandma, the madam said she was not feeling well and wanted to take a leave."

Jia Yuanchun said quickly: "Where do you feel uncomfortable? While the master is still here, go and ask him for help!"

Yin Cai said, "The Madam said that she would be fine after a good sleep, and she also said that she was afraid of infecting the Queen with a cold, so she would not come out today."

Wang Xifeng stood up and said, "She must be pretending to be sick! Sister Yuanchun, please don't tell her. I'll go and say something to her and call her out!"

Jia Yuanchun nodded and said, "Thank you for your help, Sister Feng."

Wang Xifeng quickly went to call for help, and after more than an hour she finally called the reluctant Youshi over.

Jia Yuanchun looked at the time. It was almost ten o'clock.

"Madam, it's almost afternoon now. Are you feeling well?"

Yu Shi sat down with a bitter face and said, "I don't go to the palace every time. I can't talk to the queen. She is just a concubine who is a few years older than you. This time I am really not feeling well."

Pretending to be sick was something Youshi often did. At first, it was Jia Rong who asked her to do so in order to refuse to interact with other people. Later, after Jia Rong became an official, Youshi still pretended to be sick from time to time to refuse activities in the palace.

Anyway, Jia Yuanchun was in charge of everything, so she didn't want to make any trouble at all and went to receive the Queen as the highest seniority in the Ning Mansion.

When going to the palace to meet the Queen, a large group of people would go to the Queen's residence to pay homage. Now that the Queen is coming over to have a private conversation, the difficulty is completely different.

Jia Yuanchun knew that Youshi was pretending to be sick to shirk responsibility, so she usually went along with her, but not today.

"Madam, please understand me. Now, besides you and me, there are only Xichun and the master in Ning Mansion. The rest may seem like a large group of people, but in the end, they are all concubines and maids."

"If Madam hides in the back, Master is busy, and Xichun is staying in the Taoist temple, I can't go out alone to welcome the Empress, the Crown Prince, and the Crown Princess."

The old lady, Tanchun, Yingchun and others were all unrelated people. When they came to welcome the emperor this time, they found that there were very few real family members in the Ning Mansion, and the number of people who could be sent out was less than five fingers.

Wang Xifeng said helpfully, "That's right. Madam has been busy all day and all night and has slept for less than an hour. If Madam doesn't come out to help, what will happen if Madam gets exhausted? Where can you find such a good daughter-in-law?"

Youshi rolled her eyes at Wang Xifeng and said helplessly, "Alright, alright, I'll just follow you."

Wang Xifeng said to Jia Yuanchun, "Madam, please get some sleep. I estimate that they will arrive after dark. If you don't take a rest now, you won't have the strength to hold on for another day and night."

Jia Yuanchun sighed, "Sorry to bother you, sister. I'll just sleep here for a while. Madam, go put on your makeup and put on your phoenix crown and bridal robe. Amber, go and help the Madam dress up."

Youshi stood up and dressed up with the help of the old lady's maid.

Wang Xifeng, along with a group of maids and wives, and Aunt Xue, Madam Wang, Madam Xing and others, started to work and inspected the mansion several times.

It was a very busy morning.

When Jia Rong was strolling in the harem in the morning, he saw a lame dog. He suddenly felt kind and helped the dog set its bones, letting the dog enjoy the treatment of the emperor. He also fed the puppy eggs and milk. After he finished all this, he remembered that he had things to do at home.

But I was not in a hurry, so I went home leisurely. I really didn't want to be bothered by that group of anxious women.

As soon as I arrived near my home, I found that there were people everywhere. At least a thousand people from the palace were waiting outside the door.

When Jia Rong entered the small door, he saw Yuanchun's wet nurse and her maid walking quickly towards him.

The nurse complained anxiously, "Master! You are finally back! You said the Queen would arrive after dark, but she arrived half an hour ago. Madam was so unprepared that she almost fainted again."

After hearing this, Jia Rong showed a puzzled expression, took out his gold pocket watch and looked at it. It was just past three o'clock.

We arrived at about two o'clock. Including the time on the road, it took us half an hour to get to the uncle's place? Or ten minutes?
"That's strange. Didn't you go to the uncle's place?"

Jia Rong asked curiously, but he still acted as if nothing had happened.

The nurse's face turned red with anxiety, "Master, please go in quickly. Master Zheng and Master Bao are both accompanying His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Jia Rong walked in and quickly went to the main hall.

The prince was chatting with Jia Baoyu, but the prince was not very good at poetry.

With Jia Zheng around, Jia Baoyu couldn't chat with him about romantic jokes, and overall it was very boring.

Everything felt much more relaxed when Jia Rong came in.

The prince took the initiative to stand up and said, "Duke Ningguo!"

Jia Rong smiled and said, "Your Highness, let's go for a walk outside. I have built a relatively flat cement road in my yard. I usually let children play with scooters on it. Some girls also like to play with it. Of course, I like this myself. I'll take you to have a look."

"Okay." The prince followed Jia Rong out, and the seventh prince was also with them.

Because of the avoidance of suspicion between men and women, the prince had to live separately from the queen when he grew up, and they had not spoken much over the years except for paying their respects.

Even if they come out together this time, they will definitely not live in the same courtyard, and they will be treated separately after entering the Jia Mansion.

Jia Rong quickly threw a few hand scooters to the two brothers to play with, while he asked Jia Zheng about the situation.

"How's Yuanchun doing?"

Jia Zheng said nervously, "I don't know."

The more nervous you are, the more likely something will happen. The seventh prince, who was riding a scooter, lost his balance and fell to the ground.

A group of eunuchs and palace maids rushed over, and more than a dozen people rushed up to check the situation.

"Imperial Physician!" A eunuch immediately called out to the imperial physician. This group of people took everything with them when they went out. The entire ceremonial team had two to three thousand people. There were twenty-eight people carrying the queen's sedan chair alone, sixteen people for the crown prince, and twelve people for the crown princess.

The emperor has thirty-six people, and they were used once during the funeral of the old empress dowager. After the attack, the emperor personally ordered it to be sealed and not used anymore.

There will be people holding umbrellas near the sedan chair, and each person will hold an item just like moving house.

Jia Rong not only has to take care of the food and water for these two thousand people, but also has to prevent several key figures from getting into any accidents.

Seeing the Seventh Prince and a group of eunuchs and maids crying after falling, Jia Rong walked over and said, "Seventh Prince, don't cry. If you cry, the Queen will know and won't let you play with these dangerous things."

"If you don't cry, the Queen will say you are a man. I will give you three cars so you can go back and play, okay?"

The Seventh Prince, who was crying loudly, soon stopped crying after hearing this.

Jia Rong said with a smile, "Get up and continue playing. It's nothing for a boy to stumble and fall. Don't cry like a girl when you encounter something wrong."

The prince smiled and said, "Duke Ning is right. Mother dotes on you too much. If you cry again, she will call you over and then there will be no fun."

The Seventh Prince angrily pushed away the maid and eunuch who were supporting him, "Get lost, I don't want you to care about me."

Jia Rong ignored the brat and said to the prince, "Let's go to the Queen Mother and have the Seventh Prince follow behind."

The prince nodded and said, "Okay."

The two men were walking in front, and the seventh prince was walking behind them, holding on to a hand-held scooter with both hands. He gradually overtook the two men and ran out.

The eunuchs and palace maids ran after him as if they were chasing puppies.

The prince said, "I just looked at the Ningguo Duke's garden. It seems a little too shabby. Why don't you spend more money to improve it?"

Jia Rong asked curiously, "Is it shabby? I think it's very big, and there are rockeries and gardens, and I bought a lot of birds and flowers to put in it."

The prince smiled, as if he was helpless and couldn't explain it.

"Has Duke Ningguo never been to the Imperial Garden?"

Jia Rong replied, "I seldom go to places where there are few people. I usually go to places with many houses when I see a doctor. I have been to the Imperial Garden a few times, but there are too many rules there so I am too lazy to go there."

The prince nodded and said, "I see. I just went to my uncle's house. As soon as I entered the gate of the garden, I could see all the beautiful scenery. The entrance of Ningguogong is a straight road, and there are some servants' houses. After entering the waterside pavilion, the scenery is okay, but there is nothing that will catch your eye."

Jia Rong explained: "There is a reason for this. I often have to go out to the palace in the middle of the night, and a straight line is the fastest. Therefore, the study room in the front yard in the east and the back house in the garden in the west leading to the main gate are as straight as possible."

"As for the beautiful scenery, we can just renovate the Rong Mansion next door in the future. But I don't have time to appreciate it myself. I only give it to the women and children at home to play with."

The prince nodded. In fact, there were other shabby aspects, such as only Jia Rong's mother and wife were present to receive the emperor, making the Ningguo Mansion seem sparsely populated. By Jia Rong's generation, it was as if the family was about to be wiped out.

The scenery is not that important, what is important is the people.

The king's uncle's family could quickly send out hundreds of people to greet him, but Jia Rong only had a few people here.

The two soon arrived at Tianxiang Tower, where the Queen was sitting behind a curtain talking to her concubines.

When the Empress saw Jia Rong coming in and bowing, she said, "Please stand up. What can the Duke of Ning do for you?"

Jia Rong said, "Nothing."

At this time, the seventh prince ran in and went directly behind the curtain.

"Mother, I just fell down, but I didn't cry. Duke Ningguo gave me three scooters."

The Queen smiled and said, "So that's how it is. With Duke Ningguo here, there will naturally be peace and tranquility."

Jia Yuanchun, wearing a phoenix crown and a red robe, stood at the side and smiled at the Empress, saying, "Your Majesty, we have prepared a troupe."

The Queen smiled and said, "No hurry. I heard that Lady Ningguo's grandmother and mother are also nearby. Why not call them over to join in the fun."

Jia Yuanchun said quickly: "Yes!"

The Queen Mother looked at Jia Rong again and said, "Duke Ningguo, don't you have any sisters?"

Jia Rong replied, "Your Majesty, I am the only son in my family, and my father was also an only son."

The Queen Mother originally wanted Jia Rong to invite some girls from the clan to come and have some fun, and maybe arrange some marriages at the same time.

But seeing that Jia Rong is not very smart, it would not be good to order something too obvious.

A group of women quickly went to listen to the opera. This time, the queen mainly had three things to do.

One is to come to Ningguo Mansion on behalf of the emperor.

The second is to help Jia Rong maintain order and give him the right to preside over the funeral of the three kings.

The third is to see if there is a place to live outside.

It was okay for several concubines to go out to visit their parents. Although none of them stayed overnight, many of them came back in the middle of the night.

The emperor couldn't take the risk himself, so he asked the queen to try. Of course, the queen had no idea.

In the Queen's view, the third one was to comfort Princess Jinling who had lost her parents and brothers.

Princess Jinling behaved very normally. She was well-educated, gentle, beautiful, and quiet, like a lady in a painting.

However, after dinner in the evening and moving into the enclosed courtyard, the lady princess immediately started talking without thinking.

"Empress! I really like Duke Ning! Please help me, ask the Emperor to grant us marriage!"

Late in the night, there were naturally only the Queen's confidants, the Crown Princess and others in the room, and no one from the Jia family.

The Queen looked at the royal daughter kneeling in front of her in disbelief and scolded, "How disgraceful!"

The Crown Princess also said, "My sister, Duke Ning is already married, and they are living in harmony. Why are you doing this? There are good men everywhere in the world."

Princess Jinling burst into tears and knelt on the ground crying, "Where can I find a better man than him? Master Jia is so brave and virile at a young age, he is also very knowledgeable and kind to women."

The Queen said anxiously: "Slap him!"

Princess Jinling didn't wait for others to take action, but slapped herself twice with her hands, which immediately scared away the palace maid who was about to take action.

Princess Jinling continued, "I can't walk when I see him! You are all women, don't you have the feeling of seeing the man you love? I will marry him in this life!"

The Queen said angrily: "Shut her mouth!"

The next morning, the Queen and others left without saying a word.

Jia Yuanchun had no idea what was going on. She just felt like the sky had fallen and she had not treated the Empress well.

After Jia Rong, who was resting at home at noon, was summoned to the palace by the eunuch, Jia Yuanchun and others became even more anxious.

After running around all that time, in the end not only did I not get any credit for my hard work, but I also got into trouble!
(End of this chapter)