The Overlord of the Red Mansion

Chapter 165 Royal Heritage
The emperor came in and asked, "What's the matter? I heard from the eunuch that you were waiting here early in the morning, so I dismissed the court."

The prince added: "I originally planned to come here after discussing things, but a lot of things have happened in the past few days, and I can't finish talking about them all in a short time."

Everyone went to the inner room and sat down. The emperor said directly: "Serve the meal. Lord Jia, please sit down and tell me what is the matter."

Jia Rong said, "Let's talk about it after dinner, otherwise I might not be in the mood to eat. Your Majesty's health is the most important thing, and I'm hungry too."

The emperor frowned, thought for a few seconds, and then said to the eunuch, "Eat first."

The three of them had dinner together, the emperor at a separate table, and Jia Rong and the prince at another.

If the prince was not present, Jia Rong would usually eat with the emperor.

After finishing the meal, the emperor asked, "Tell me, what is the trouble?"

Jia Rong said, "Your Majesty, please ask the rest of us to leave. It is better for only three people to know about this."

The emperor did not hesitate and waved his hand to let the others leave.

After everyone else had left, Jia Rong walked to the bedside and whispered, "I suspect that the assassin was not a man."

The emperor frowned, "Woman?"

Jia Rong shook his head. "It could be a woman, or it could be a eunuch."

The emperor was shocked and indeed had no mood to eat.

"really?"

After sitting down, Jia Rong took out another white hair that he had secretly obtained from the old lady.

"Someone slapped me on the face while I was sleeping today." Jia Rong stretched out his hand and waved it, making the same sideways movement he had used when he hit the emperor before.

The emperor's teeth were not knocked out by a direct slap. Jia Rong was afraid that his head would be hit off, so he gently used the back of his hand.

Sure enough, the emperor's eyes were fixed on Jia Rong's hand. That posture was indeed the same as when he was beaten.

The emperor has never told anyone about this!
Jia Rong continued, "I thought it was a family member at the time, but soon I felt something was wrong. After all, the maids and concubines at home didn't dare to hit me in the face. When I suddenly woke up, I saw a figure wearing a black cloth. The man smiled at me and left, leaving only a white hair to prove his identity."

The emperor clenched his fists. Although he said nothing, countless evil words wanted to burst out of his mind.

The prince asked carefully, "Why didn't he beat the Duke of Ning?"

Jia Rong explained: "For someone who can kill people at will, killing people is boring. He wants to show off his strength and try to gain satisfaction by proving that he can abuse and intimidate various princes and nobles at will."

"Because I have found some traces of him before. This kind of villain is not afraid of death or trouble. He is just afraid that others don't know how powerful he is and what he has done."

"Think about it, Prince. This kind of person is very powerful. In the past few years, when there were internal and external troubles, we needed good generals. If he is willing to serve the country, why worry about not being able to ennoble his wife and children?"

"I couldn't figure it out before, but after this incident, I feel that this thief probably has no son, is mentally twisted, and has a lot of skills but is physically disabled or has some problems."

"Maybe he's a disabled eunuch, or an old palace maid who can't get married. Otherwise, why would he stay in the capital when the world is so big? It would be nice to go out and relax."

The emperor nodded, his eyes were extremely deep, and he quickly thought of several old eunuchs or palace maids around him.

Jia Rong continued to sit and said, "When I was in the Imperial Hospital, it was inconvenient for me to investigate this. Although I often walked around in the harem later, there were people watching me, so I didn't find anything in the past year."

"However, when the Queen came to visit her parents this time and encountered the assassin showing off his power, I suddenly thought of many things that I had not noticed before. Many of these things are related, but I did not think about this matter back then."

The emperor quickly asked, "What's the matter?"

Jia Rong explained: "When my father was assassinated, the old emperor was out of the palace for fun, and many people from the palace were out at that time."

"The subsequent incidents all occurred when there were a lot of people moving around in the palace, such as during Chinese New Year, ancestor worship, funerals, etc."

"That thief obviously knows the princes and nobles in the city, especially the many princes and the only sons of the nobles in the city."

"He committed crimes frequently during the Chinese New Year, and his crimes became more serious after the death of the Grand Emperor and the old Concubine Dowager. He killed people many times. He must be a lonely person."

"Anyone with a happy family, sons and daughters, and many wives and concubines would not do such a boring thing!"

The emperor said, "My dear minister, you are right! This person has a twisted heart and is causing chaos in the government and human relations. He is definitely not an ordinary person. I should have thought of this long ago. This kind of person cannot be among the people!"

If the assassin was a eunuch or a palace maid in the palace, then the emperor being kicked in the balls would be an easy explanation, after all, there have been cases of palace maids assassinating emperors.

The profession of emperor is different from other jobs. In history, if a queen seized power, even if the dynasty changed, subsequent emperors would be on guard against this.

If an emperor was really killed by a palace maid, even if the dynasty changed, the palace maid would not be allowed to stay in the place where the emperor slept, not even if she was a concubine.

When it comes to absorbing safety experience, the rulers are very open-minded. They will correct their mistakes and never stick to their own ideas.

The prince asked, "What should we do now?" The emperor looked at Jia Rong, "What do you think, Lord Jia?"

Jia Rong said: "It doesn't really matter what the thieves are like. What matters is the safety of the Emperor and the Crown Prince."

The emperor nodded and said, "My dear minister, what you said is consistent with what I think. If that person is willing to leave, I will forgive him and send him to live out his days elsewhere."

Jia Rong said: "This matter cannot be investigated openly, nor is it appropriate to make it public. I have thought of a way to prevent the assassin from doing anything even if he knows where I am."

The emperor urged, "Speak quickly, my dear minister!"

Jia Rong said, "That person is old. Although he can leave the palace at any time, where else in the world is there a more prosperous place than the capital, and a better place for palace maids and eunuchs to retire? I think that person is probably used to the life in the palace and doesn't want to leave."

The emperor clenched his fists and wanted to smash the table to vent his anger.

Jia Rong continued, "Your Majesty, why not give the maids and eunuchs a little less money? Giving out money is a good thing, but it can easily lead to comparisons. It's not the lack of money that is a problem, but the imbalance of money. It can easily arouse the hatred of those eccentric people, and it's a thankless task."

The emperor frowned, having never thought about this before.

Jia Rong continued, "I am not sure whether she is a eunuch or a palace maid. I originally thought she was a eunuch, but I found that her height is much shorter than the door of my house. She may have deliberately put something under her feet. And her hair looks more like a woman's."

The emperor looked carefully at the hair on the table and quickly said to Jia Rong, "Investigate this matter secretly and don't make it public."

"Yes!" Jia Rong said again, "That man is old. If the emperor wants to punish him, he should punish the young ones. There are not many old people in the palace. Keep him for the time being. Don't worry about him even if he makes mistakes. Wait for two or three years until the thief is old, then it won't be too late to make plans."

"I have often heard that the eunuchs and maids in the palace are ranked according to seniority, that senior eunuchs bully junior eunuchs, and that senior maids abuse new maids. Everyone has suffered a lot and gradually become a mother-in-law after years of hard work. In recent years, the emperor has been too lenient and magnanimous to the newcomers, which has made the old eunuchs and maids who have suffered even more distorted."

"This man seems to be brave enough to attack the emperor and the princes, but he doesn't dare to attack the eunuchs and palace maids."

The emperor was puzzled and asked, "Why not? He dared to attack me, so why not teach the palace maids and eunuchs a lesson?"

Jia Rong replied, "Because he is a mortal after all, he knows that it is easy to dodge an open attack but difficult to guard against an arrow from the dark. The maids and eunuchs he usually uses do things for him according to the rules."

"If the servants are pushed into a corner, even if he has the strength to defeat ten thousand enemies, he will not be able to resist someone poisoning him. Apart from anything else, he can't just steal food every day. In the end, he still has to eat according to the rules of the palace."

"I'm sorry to say that. He may be more afraid of the other eunuchs and maids than of you, the emperor. Even if he is insulted and humiliated by the eunuchs and maids, and his monthly salary is deducted and he is assigned to do dirty and tiring work, he only dares to vent his anger on the people outside. Everyone outside is busy celebrating the New Year, so he can rest and sleep a little longer."

The emperor could not help but curse, "This is ridiculous! I am the ruler of a country, the Son of Heaven, and yet I am treated like a fool!"

Jia Rong stood up and said, "This is just a guess. I didn't mean to be disrespectful to Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please understand!"

The emperor quickly said, "I'm not talking about you, my dear minister. Thanks to you for your secret investigation, otherwise I would never understand it until I die, and I would bring shame to my ancestors if I went there in a muddle!"

Jia Rong said, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. I also want to continue investigating this matter in the palace, but now that the thief has noticed me, I can no longer accept any position in the palace except that of imperial physician, so as not to alert the enemy."

The emperor nodded and said, "My dear minister, you are right. We should take our time in this matter. I said I would not investigate, but those useless people ignored them all these years. Only you, my dear minister, insisted on investigating secretly and worked hard for me."

Jia Rong held his head high and read out the poem:

"If I have little strength and a heavy responsibility, I will be exhausted for a long time. If I am exhausted again, I will definitely not be able to support it. If it is beneficial to the country, I will not avoid it because of misfortune or fortune!"

After the emperor heard this, his emotions became more profound as he understood the poem.

"My dear! I was not able to overcome the opposition and let you become the number one scholar. It was my fault. Now it is too late to regret it!"

The emperor felt deeply guilty and regretted not letting Jia Rong become the top scholar.

Jia Rong actually liked the third place winner more, and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, don't blame yourself. My mentor Lin Ruhai was a third place winner, and I have been with my mentor's daughter, Miss Lin, for nearly ten years. I want to marry Miss Lin, but I am worried that it is against etiquette and the etiquette officials will accuse me of taking the daughter of a meritorious official as a concubine, which will bring shame to Your Majesty."

The emperor sneered, "How can my reputation be ruined by those rubbish? Don't worry, since you and your mentor's daughter love each other, I will not separate you. Go back and wait for good news. I will grant you a marriage!"

Jia Rong said, "Yes! Thank you, Your Majesty, but there is no rush for this matter. Miss Lin is still young, so why not wait a few years until the rules are set? By then, it won't be considered a violation of the rules for me to have two wives. What's more, I have known my junior sister since childhood, and she is an orphan. No one else will say anything then."

"Girls are bound to care about what others say. If they behave in an upright manner and in accordance with the rules and laws, they can live happily and peacefully. Otherwise, they will be worried and frightened, and it is inevitable that they will become depressed and sick."

The emperor sighed and said, "Lord Jia is such a good man. No wonder so many women like him. If you didn't have someone in your heart, I would have wanted to marry my daughter to you."

Jia Rong had seen the emperor's daughters before, and found none of them aesthetically pleasing. He said hastily, "I have many wives and concubines at home, how can I be worthy of Your Highness the Princess!"

The emperor smiled and said to the prince calmly, "Please remember this matter. If I can't remember it in a few years, you can grant the marriage."

The prince was sweating profusely now.

"Father...I will remember this."

Before he knew it, the prince was almost reaching the age where he could withstand pressure.

(End of this chapter)