The Overlord of the Red Mansion

Chapter 162 The Value of the Princess

Jia Rong soon arrived at the imperial study.

After coming in, I found that there were only the prince and the emperor here.

The emperor's expression was not very good. When he saw Jia Rong coming in, he said, "Sit down and talk."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Jia Rong sat on the chair opposite the couch.

Only the emperor was sitting on the couch, while Jia Rong and the prince were sitting on chairs in the distance.

Jia Rong took the initiative to ask, "I wonder why the emperor summoned me?"

The emperor said: "The queen came back in a hurry, not because you didn't entertain her well, but there are some things you don't know."

Jia Rong knew it, of course he knew it.

The prince asked Jia Rong, "What does Duke Ning think of Princess Jinling?"

Jia Rong replied, "The princess is pure, gentle, shy, virtuous, and extremely beautiful. She is depressed all day long because of the tragic death of her father and brother. I have always told my family to treat the princess well and not to neglect her."

The emperor was silent.

Pure as ice and jade...meaning that she can't walk when she sees a man.

Shy and timid...refers to kneeling down before the queen and asking to marry a married man who can make her happy and become a god.

Jia Rong saw that the emperor and the prince were silent.

"Your Majesty, are you asking these questions? Are you planning to grant marriage to the princess? I wonder which family is so lucky to marry a good woman like the princess."

The prince was embarrassed and didn't say anything.

The emperor sighed and said, "It's alright. It's time for my niece to become a nun and recite scriptures for her father."

For the emperor, he did not kill this woman because she was a princess of the royal family and the only daughter of his younger brother, not because of any deep affection for her.

Jia Rong asked curiously, "Why? I dare to plead for the princess. She is only 28 years old and has suffered misfortune. If the emperor lets her become a nun, I am afraid people will talk about her."

The emperor had also considered this matter, but after hearing what Jia Rong said, he became undecided.

The prince asked Jia Rong, "What does Duke Ning think of the princess?"

This time Jia Rong asked, "Are you planning to grant me a marriage?"

The emperor saw that he had made it clear, so he asked, "My dear, do you think this is okay? I know you have a wife, and this kind of thing is not forced."

Jia Rong thought for three seconds and quickly said, "I have known my wife for fifteen years and have raised many children with her. I do not want to divorce her."

The emperor waved his hand and said, "Forget it, it's okay."

Jia Rong continued, "Speaking of marrying a wife, I remember one thing."

"I have been to Jiangnan before and found that there is a strange dual-heir system there, which has been repeatedly banned."

The Emperor and the Crown Prince listened to what Jia Rong said and were curious about what he had to say.

Jia Rong told a story and said, "In the folk, people often lose their inheritance because they don't have a son. In the folk, families without sons are easily wiped out."

"This kind of thing often causes conflict, but because it is an internal matter of the clan, it is difficult for the government to intervene."

"Some local big families often cause cross-county disputes over heir issues."

"If there are no offspring, we will choose to adopt one, just like our ancestors in past dynasties, so as not to let the family die out."

"On the basis of adoption, the practice of one husband and two wives emerged to cope with more complex family needs."

"Jian means at the same time, and tiao means sacrifice."

"A stepchild needs to live with his stepparents and inherit their property and incense."

"A stepchild does not sever ties with his biological parents, but a stepchild does."

"The Emperor had previously issued an order to let my wife's descendants inherit the Rong Mansion. At that time, I wanted another branch of descendants to inherit my Ning Mansion. This would also be considered to restore the relationship between our ancestors, the Ning and Rong Dukes, who were as close as one family."

"After I went to Jiangnan and found out that this kind of thing had already happened, I felt as if it was God's will. If the Emperor grants the marriage, it should naturally be my line."

After hearing this, the emperor opened his mind and asked, "How many such cases are there among the people?"

Jia Rong replied, "Yes, they are mostly poor people who lost their children in middle age. In order to avoid being wiped out in the future, they help their relatives to marry wives so that they can support both branches in the future."

"There are three important kinship relationships in the ancestral system:
"The relationship between the ancestral son and his biological parents is still the child of his original parents, so he will not be less cared for. The parents take care of the children, and the children will take care of the parents in the future. It does not affect filial piety."

"The relationship between the son and his parents is like having two more godfathers and godmothers. In the future, they have to be filial to them. Usually, the parents of both families are from the same clan, so there is a natural bond."

"The legal status of a wife married after the son of the emperor is, for example, if I marry a wife, then the descendants of this wife will belong to the line to inherit. In the future, she will still be the grandmother of this family, and the descendants will also have the right of inheritance. This is etiquette."

"To put it simply, the Emperor thought that Duke Rong had no heirs and his descendants were unfilial, so he granted me a marriage with the daughter of the Rong Mansion to inherit the Rong Mansion."

"If I marry another wife in the future, it will be two wives in two houses, not one wife in one house."

The emperor frowned and said, "I'm afraid some people won't be able to justify it."

Jia Rong said: "There are only two men in Rongguo Mansion now. One of them, Jia Baoyu, is in poor health and cannot have children."

"Another Jia Lan had gone insane before and went out to kill people. After I rescued him, he became desperate and I'm afraid he won't live long. My wife has been supporting those useless relatives and can't bear to see that there is no one to worship their ancestors."

"The princess is as pure as ice and jade, a noble and extraordinary person who is one in a million. I dare not marry her." The emperor thought of the royal woman who could not walk when she saw a handsome man.

"I hope it's just one in a million." The emperor hoped so.

The prince thought a lot and said, "Father, there are similar cases among the uncles who were killed this time. If we can justify it, it will definitely solve a lot of problems."

The emperor nodded and said, "I'll think about it again. Call the princes and clan elders from the capital."

Too many princes have died recently, and the royal family has also encountered the problem of succession.

Adoption means losing a son. It is no problem for those who have many children, but some families with close relatives don’t have many children of their own and are reluctant to give the child.

Children of a few years old may not necessarily grow up, otherwise there would not be a family extinction.

It is difficult to adopt a child who is too old.

So naturally there was such a thing as marrying a wife to someone and having children to inherit the family tree, and the wife had to be a close relative.

Combine the strength of the two families and then divide them into two more, instead of merging them into one family and then being wiped out.

Jia Rong had no intention of marrying the Princess of Jinling, a woman he had sex with just after meeting her for only half a day.

He's just using her as a stepping stone to free up the spot for wife for someone else.

As for who to give it to, Jia Rong of course let them fight among themselves.

Soon several princes and ministers came to discuss matters.

Taking into account that too many people had died in the prince's family recently and that they were worried that their own family would be extinct and their royal fiefdoms would be revoked, everyone naturally agreed to this system that was born out of the people.

If the royal family agrees, the ministers will naturally not object to this proposal that is supported by both the royal family and the people.

In order to prevent being assigned a marriage, Jia Rong expressed before the emperor granted the marriage that he liked people who were pure, conservative, reserved and virtuous, which made the emperor feel uncomfortable to grant the marriage.

After Jia Rong returned home, Jia Yuanchun and others hurried into the house to question him.

"Master, what does the emperor want to see you about? But the queen is angry?"

Jia Rong then remembered the matter of the Queen, "No, you came to me to discuss state affairs and formulate national laws."

Jia Rong sat down and looked at the people who were relieved. "Yuanchun, you are exhausted. Take a good rest. Sister Feng, take a good rest for a few days. After the first month of the year, go to Prince Xiao's mansion to take care of some things. I have already invited the Queen to come and give you face for so many years. Now you can rest assured and do your work, right?"

Jia Yuanchun, Wang Xifeng, Youshi, the old lady, Mrs. Wang and others looked at Jia Rong with their mouths open, their eyes wide open.

Yu Shi was surprised and asked, "You invited me?"

Jia Rong smiled and said, "Of course, I wanted to invite the Emperor to dinner, but the Emperor was very busy during the New Year and had no time, so I asked the Crown Prince and the Queen to come over for her."

"Didn't you see the emperor's carriage, with twenty-eight people in it? That's not the standard for an empress."

Jia Yuanchun was almost crying because of Jia Rong, "Why didn't you say so earlier!!"

Jia Rong scolded, "Didn't I tell you earlier that you could do better? You're still like this? I told you to just do it, but you didn't listen. If I had to tell you, you'd probably not even be able to stand still!"

"Forget it. I won't argue with you old ladies anymore."

"I'm going to go and have a good time with the girls during the Lantern Festival. Don't worry about me."

Jia Rong stood up under the gaze of the old lady and others and accused them harshly.

"These past few years have been good times for our family, but you guys have been making such a fuss that it looks like our family will be torn apart at any moment!"

"The Queen and the Crown Prince and his wife are here, but I can't let you guys feel at ease, right? What else do you want me to do to make you feel more normal?!"

"You just worry about me all day long. If you have time, think about it more. Is it a problem of me as a duke, or a problem of you women?"

"You just know how to make me angry. I'm just too nice to you guys!"

Wang Xifeng said hurriedly, "Master is teaching us that we worry too much. Look, isn't everything fine? You know our master's ability. Stop looking so sad and smile to have some fun with the girls."

Yu Shi laughed and said, "What else are you talking about? You've made such a big fuss with your mouth that we're all scared."

Wang Xifeng smiled and said, "It's my fault, isn't it? There are still a lot of delicious food and drinks left. I'll have one more drink later!"

The old lady laughed and said, "One cup is not enough, at least three cups!"

Wang Xifeng begged for mercy: "Grandfather! Please forgive me~"

Jia Yuanchun also forced a smile at this time, "Sister Feng, don't drink too much, she is pregnant again."

The old lady said hurriedly: "I just found out about this. Rong Ge'er is really promising!"

Hearing everyone praising him, Jia Rong was no longer angry, and the group of people happily returned to Tianxiang Tower.

After everyone entered the courtyard of Tianxiang Tower while chatting and laughing, the girls who were squatting or sitting in the courtyard quickly stood up.

Ping Erh said happily, "What good news is this? Why are you all so happy?"

Wang Xifeng smiled and said, "It's nothing, it's nothing, let's have some fun, now everything is done, let's have a happy holiday, I'll give you some money tomorrow!"

"Thank you, Second Madam!" A group of maids thanked her happily.

The festive atmosphere was quickly restored. After having been worried for the entire morning and afternoon, everyone began to smile again when they saw that everything was finally alright.

(End of this chapter)