The Overlord of the Red Mansion

Chapter 187 A loving father and a filial son
Jia Rong soon entered the palace with eight boxes of ruby cooling ointment that were divided from a bucket.

We kept four boxes at home as backup. In previous years, we couldn't even use up one box of this stuff. This year, there are more children and a lot more people, so we kept a few more.

It was exactly seven o'clock in the afternoon when Jia Rong arrived at the palace, and it was not yet completely dark.

When the guards at the palace gate saw that it was Jia Rong's car, they did not stop it or search it.

There will be no search when entering or when leaving.

What if something is found out?

Anyway, it was the emperor himself who ordered that there be no need to investigate King Zhongxiao, so if something goes wrong there will be an explanation.

Jia Rong soon arrived at the Qianqing Palace, where the emperor greeted him at the door.

"Isn't my royal brother at home refining medicine? Why are you here at this time?"

Jia Rong came over carrying a bundle, "The materials for alchemy are all ready. I will officially go into seclusion to make medicine in seven days. I have made some ointments to reduce heat and relieve itching these days. Your Majesty, apply some every day. The injuries on your face will heal faster and you will sleep more comfortably at night."

The emperor was deeply moved and went into the house with Jia Rong.

"Thank you for your hard work, my brother! Since I ascended the throne, I have sometimes felt like a lonely person, and I am always worried. Fortunately, every time I think of my brother, I can calm down and no longer feel panicked."

Jia Rong said politely, "Your Majesty is too polite. Lie down on the bed and I will help you apply the medicine. This is the first time I need to personally check it to prevent any problems with the efficacy of the medicine. From now on, I will leave this matter to the eunuchs."

The pockmarked emperor had unconditional trust in Jia Rong's medical skills and quickly took off his clothes and lay on the bed.

Jia Rong couldn't bear to see this, so he asked the eunuch to put his pants back on.

"Your Majesty, please remember that these things are medicines. You must not apply them to your private parts, otherwise you will be worse than death."

Jia Rong kindly reminded him, firstly because he didn't want to apply medicine down his body, and secondly because he had some professional ethics.

Jia Rong's professional ethics were much stronger than his personal ethics. It was true that he did not treat patients for fear of damaging his reputation, but he also did not do things recklessly when treating patients.

After all, when treating illnesses, we use science and reason, but when being a human being, we just do what we think.

The emperor said, "I will remember this."

Jia Rong took out the ointment and began to apply it. At this time, the emperor looked at Jia Rong's legs.

"Why don't you carry a knife today, brother? What if you run into a bad guy? I've always heard that brother is always accompanied by a coachman when he goes to and from court, and sometimes he rides a horse in and out without a coachman."

The emperor invited him, saying, "Why don't you live in the palace? I will have someone build a large courtyard for you, or build you the largest palace next to the palace."

Jia Rong doesn't want to go to work, and even more so doesn't want to live in the company.

"This is absolutely unacceptable. The emperor is the emperor and the minister is the minister. The emperor calls me his brother, and I am grateful to him. How can I mess up my duty?"

"And rest assured, Your Majesty, I have already secretly arranged for people to open shops near the streets where people go to and from the court. If something happens, I will quickly hide in them."

"I have lived in the same place for more than 20 years since I was a child, and I still like it. I appreciate your kindness, but I am sorry that I cannot obey your order."

The emperor sighed and said, "Then I won't force it."

Jia Rong quickly applied medicine to the emperor, who quickly clenched his hands and felt a tingling and itchy sensation on his face.

Fortunately he held back.

Because of trust!!
This trust is not without reason.

First of all, Jia Rong is very good to the emperor.

No matter how many immoral things Jia Rong did, he did them all in private. On the surface, not only did the retired emperor think that Jia Rong was loyal and filial, but the emperor himself thought so too.

When the Emperor was still the Crown Prince, he and the Crown Princess both thought that Jia Rong was a flatterer.

After getting to know him more, I found that he is a very loyal and filial person!

It is not only good for the emperor, but also for the queen.

At first, the queen herself didn't take this seriously and thought it was the flattery that a subject should show.

It was not until the Queen was almost deposed and suffered great pain before her death from illness that she received constant help from Jia Rong and began to cherish this friendship.

Even in his last will and testament he did not forget to praise Jia Rong.

The emperor himself was unfaithful and unfilial. He did not fulfill his filial duty when the retired emperor and the empress dowager died one after another. When he was at the critical moment of his life and death and had lost all hope, he was rescued and comforted by Jia Rong.

See the truth in trouble!
The emperor endured it for more than a minute at first, and when he finally got through it, he felt comfortable all over his body, and even his face was no longer itchy.

Jia Rong asked, "How does the emperor feel?"

The emperor replied: "It's a little hot, but not uncomfortable. It's like this on my face. My hands just got hot at first, but they quickly became itchy and then stopped itching after a while."

Jia Rong said, "This is normal, which means there is no problem. Just apply some before going to bed at night and during lunch break. Does the emperor have any problems recently? If not, you can stop attending court every day, or you can let your ministers do the work."

The emperor closed his eyes and enjoyed the comfortable feeling coming from his body. He smiled and said, "I want that too, but if I don't attend court right after ascending the throne, the ministers will have objections."

Jia Rong didn't want to go to court all day, nor did he want to go to the palace for meetings every day after he came out of seclusion.

"Your Majesty is confused. The most important thing now is to give birth to a prince. The world is stable now, but natural disasters and man-made disasters will still occur. Your Majesty should give birth to the child before that."

"The Emperor had several children before he ascended the throne. Even though he suffered misfortune later, he did not think about the overall situation."

"I am the same. I started a family first and then established a career. Only after I had children did I rise to prominence."

"Now the treasury is full, the country is peaceful, and the emperor is young and energetic. If he doesn't have a child, it will be a waste of these years."

"I suggest that the emperor expand the harem. The palace is too deserted now. Without concubines living in it, many eunuchs and palace maids have become lazy and have nothing to do all day, which will lead to trouble."

The emperor thought about Jia Rong's proposal and found that every word was wise and reasonable.

"My brother is right. When I was dying of smallpox, I planned to ask my uncles to come over because I had no offspring. But they refused to come, and almost left my father without a successor."

"I really should give birth to the child first, so that if anything unexpected happens in the future, I hope my brother will help my son."

Jia Rong said politely, "Don't worry, Your Majesty!"

The emperor quickly looked at Jia Rong, "I remember that Ningguo Mansion still has an unmarried daughter."

Seeing that his grandson was still thinking about his daughter, Jia Rong hurriedly said, "Xichun's fate is to bring misfortune to her father, mother, husband, and son. Her mother died when she was born, and her father became a monk. I also sent her away to be raised. Now that she has returned, she has been practicing Taoism at home. When the empress dowager passed away at the beginning of the year, I did not let her out."

The emperor quickly dismissed this idea and asked, "How many daughters does Jia Zheng have? I heard that there is another one besides Jia Yuanchun, but I didn't see him last time."

Jia Rong said: "Your Majesty, you don't know that the girl is a concubine's daughter."

The emperor said directly: "I don't mind these. Even if she is a daughter of a commoner, it's fine as long as she is a good person."

Jia Rong said: "Her mother is a murderer. She secretly colluded with a witch to curse her brothers in order to seize the family property. Later, she was executed. Another brother is also a good-for-nothing. Because of jealousy, he got into a lot of trouble. I sent him to the countryside to farm and live a down-to-earth life."

The emperor was puzzled. "I remember now. I did hear about the poison last year or the year before last. It turned out to be in Rongguo Mansion. Why are there so many things going on there?"

Jia Rong said: "I am not afraid of the emperor laughing at me. People say that there are two Jias in Ning and Rong Street. Ning Mansion is prosperous, and Rong Mansion is dirty. It means that my Ning Mansion is prosperous, while Rong Mansion is dirty."

"It is said that apart from the two stone lions at the gate, there are few clean people in Rongguo Mansion."

"Although there are many people with the surname Jia in Ningrong Street, and there are several branches of the surname Jia in Jinling, and there are also many in other places, I also know that it has nothing to do with the surname of a good person or a bad person. If someone with the surname Jia does something wrong, Your Majesty must not forgive them because of my relationship with him. You must deal with them strictly and help me clean up the mess."

The emperor smiled and said, "Don't worry, my brother. You are my brother now and have nothing to do with those people."

Jia Rong smiled and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty. Why don't we choose a concubine from the people? First of all, the people will definitely choose the pretty ones, unlike the daughters of officials who are always selected based on their connections."

"I am an experienced person. Giving birth depends on the woman's body. Girls from official families are too weak. Also, if they are pretty, the emperor will be happy."

The emperor laughed so hard that his face became pockmarked. "My brother is indeed an experienced person. Let's do as you say. Why don't you choose for me? I can just accept a few and you can keep the rest for yourself."

Jia Rong was touched by the filial piety! "I do want to, but there are too many things going on recently. Your Majesty should select the concubines first. Tell the ministers about it when you go to court tomorrow. The ministers don't object to this matter."

The emperor looked at Jia Rong and said, "Brother, please help me explain this when we go to court tomorrow. I am a little embarrassed to say this."

Jia Rong said: "The emperor first talked to the ministers in the imperial study, and then they understood the meaning themselves. Those people are smart and not that stupid."

The emperor had also received education in this area, but he still smiled and said, "Brother, please help me. Is there any reward you want? I will give it to you as well."

Jia Rong said politely, "Your Majesty, you don't have to give me rewards all the time. If you give me rewards every time I come here, it would be too formal. My family lacks nothing. It would be tiring for Your Majesty to think about giving me rewards all day long."

"We are all relatives, so it is our duty to help."

The prince was only seventeen years old, still a very young man. After hearing this, he said solemnly: "Okay! I will keep it in mind!"

Jia Rong said, "Your Majesty, please go to sleep. You have to attend court tomorrow. I will go and see the Queen."

The emperor's medicine contained a relaxing potion. After chatting with Jia Rong for a while, he also felt sleepy. He nodded and said, "My brother, you should rest in the palace today. We will go to court together tomorrow."

"Yes."

Jia Rong quickly retreated, took one box to find the queen, and gave the rest to the eunuch for safekeeping.

Because of the acne, the queen spent most of her time alone in the room. Even when she went out for some fresh air, she would sit in a sedan chair or wear clothes that covered her arms and neck.

After Jia Rong came in, the palace maids tactfully left.

Not to mention when the queen is sleeping, even when she is taking a bath there is nothing wrong.

Moreover, the palace maids themselves were afraid of seeing the queen's face and body, so naturally they did not believe that Jia Rong would do anything rude to such a queen.

Jia Rong really didn't know how to do it, but the Queen herself made strange noises when applying the medicine. After Jia Rong dropped a few more drops of cooling oil, she became obedient.

When the palace maids and eunuchs came in, they saw the queen, who was naked, biting her handkerchief with her mouth, sweating all over and making sounds of agony.

The palace maids and eunuchs suspected that the Queen had been sentenced to death by the Emperor, otherwise she would not have rolled around on the bed in such pain and loudly, her hair wet with sweat, as if she had drunk a highly toxic poison.

Jia Rong, however, stood by and said, "It's okay. Just bear with it and it will pass. This is very effective for recovery. Don't look at it. Just turn your back."

The palace maids and eunuchs quickly turned their backs to the queen, not daring to look at the woman on the bed who was covered in pimples and crying and shouting.

After more than an hour of struggling, the queen fainted from exhaustion.

Jia Rong waited for her to wake up and fed her some salt and sugar water. When he was sure that she was fine, he went to sleep in the next room.

The emperor woke up early the next day. Before Jia Rong got up, he learned about what happened last night from the eunuch and was immediately very confused.

During the meal, the Emperor asked Jia Rong, "Brother, what did you do when you went to the Queen's place last night? I heard that the Queen screamed and almost died."

Jia Rong replied, "The queen has more toxins, which were transmitted from the original source of the disease. The emperor's is a weakened infection, so using the medicine used to treat the emperor to treat her will not be as mild."

"Your Majesty and Empress can go out for a walk every day and get some sun. This will help the injuries on your face and body to heal, but don't do it too much and don't be exposed to the sun directly. It's best to go out with an umbrella."

The emperor nodded, "I see. My brother, don't worry about it. If it can't be cured, forget it."

The emperor obviously plans to change the queen and doesn't want to see the queen's face anymore.

After the smallpox breaks out, the face will be disfigured even if it is cured. The emperor is very familiar with this highly toxic disease, including all its sequelae.

Jia Rong also wanted to go back and rest, so he agreed.

Ever since the court stabilized, the queen has been no different from being banished to the cold palace.

She can wander around the harem, but she cannot go to the emperor because the emperor doesn't want to see her at all.

Jia Rong is the emperor's personal physician. Unless the emperor allows, the queen has no right to summon Jia Rong.

She can only see Jia Rong when Jia Rong himself wants to go.

Jia Rong has the power to walk around in the harem.

The current emperor not only recognized the privilege granted by the late emperor, but also allowed Jia Rong to enter the palace for inspection at will without any reason.

You can even enter the Queen’s place.

This privilege was granted during the smallpox outbreak and has not been taken back yet.

Jia Rong was too lazy to patrol the harem, so after helping the emperor bring up the matter of the beauty contest, he started talking about his own affairs.

"Your Majesty, I will go back to seclusion to refine pills after I leave the court today. Because the medicinal materials are not fully prepared this year, and many medicinal materials were used to prolong life and replenish the body when smallpox was rampant, I will probably come out of seclusion in June and refine 100 pills."

The emperor nodded and said, "Thank you for your hard work, my brother. Why is the tribute of medicinal herbs from Liaodong so much less this year?"

The Minister of War stepped forward and replied, "Your Majesty, in recent years, many foreign merchants have purchased medicinal materials from Liaodong, causing the tribute from the people to be replaced by silver money instead of medicinal materials."

The emperor said angrily: "How can this be possible! Who could have done this?"

Jia Rong replied, "I know about this. It seems to be the work of the Jinzhou merchants. I also want to buy some high-quality medicinal materials from the Jinzhou merchants. Medicinal materials are scarce in Jiangnan and near the capital, and the quality is not good enough. Those Jinzhou merchants control the medicinal materials in Liaodong and Liaobei, and are waiting to sell them at a high price."

The emperor became even angrier.

"How dare you ruin my plan! I order the Governor of Liaodong to arrest all the Shanxi merchants in the territory and kill them without mercy!"

"Order the soldiers of Datong Prefecture and Taiyuan Prefecture to surround the den of these treacherous merchants and traitors, confiscate their property and bring them to justice!"

Everyone noticed that the emperor was a bit fierce, just like his father.

But it is better to kill some foreign businessmen than our own people.

The Shanxi merchants also had backers in the imperial court, but unfortunately their rank was not high enough and they did not have the courage to come forward and negotiate terms with the emperor.

Jia Rong quickly stood up.

“Your Majesty, I think that since you have just ascended the throne and have been blessed by God to have survived the extremely toxic smallpox, you should celebrate with the whole nation to show your benevolence. Why don’t you allow the place where you selected the beautiful girls to enter the palace to admit ten more Jinshi this year? These places will not take up the rest of the quota and are all extra.

"It just happens to fill the vacancy and show the emperor's great grace."

Everyone else thought that Jia Rong was pleading for the Shanxi merchants, but they didn't expect it to be such a strange thing.

The emperor said happily: "Approved!"

If Jia Rong didn't want to get involved, the emperor really wanted to give the pen to Jia Rong and let Jia Rong write the imperial edict himself.

The others couldn't object.

Because many things happened at the beginning of the year, this year's imperial examinations have not been held yet.

Now that Jia Rong can ask the emperor to create more vacancies, it is a good thing for everyone.

There are indeed too few officials in the court and they need to be replenished, and the emperor has already agreed.

Soon Jia Rong returned home to seclude himself, while the emperor killed people and confiscated their property, and at the same time announced the selection of concubines in all regions except Jiangnan.

It is entirely voluntary and no local government is allowed to interfere. Just like the imperial examinations for men, families from all over the country also began to bring their daughters to Beijing to take the exams.

The Jia family does not get involved in such matters, so there are no girls to marry.

Wang Ziteng's daughter also participated, but was easily eliminated.

The last words of the retired emperor were that Wang Ziteng would be replaced in a few years, and it would be troublesome if he became a foreign relative.

Moreover, the emperor felt that if Jia Rong supported it, he would have mentioned it long ago. Since he didn't say it, it meant that he didn't support it.

(End of this chapter)