The Overlord of the Red Mansion

Chapter 223 Provocation
The joy of people cannot be shared with each other.

Although she was also the woman who shared the same bed with Jia Rong, Lin Hongyu could not understand Jia Rong's joy.

"It was the Emperor who summoned all the princes." Lin Hongyu smiled and said, "Not just the eight princes, this time the Emperor summoned all the princes to Beijing to attend the funeral of the retired emperor, and also asked them to bring more princes, grandchildren, and princesses, and then they will be given titles of prince, duke, crown prince, and princess."

Jia Rong frowned, "No wonder they all came. I remember there are fifteen princes now, fourteen if I don't count them."

In fact, not many princes died in these years. At most, even if those who died from earthquakes and illness were counted, there were only a little over ten.

Lin Hongyu only felt that the future would be very lively, and the gathering of princes from all over the world would definitely be an unprecedented event!
What makes him happiest is that his master is respected and close to the other princes of the royal family. Among the fourteen princes, eight have written letters and sent gifts to him. In a few days, maybe all of them will come to visit him.

Lin Hongyu couldn't help feeling proud when she thought about the fact that her master was accepted by the royal prince, that she was his concubine, and that she had given birth to a child for him.

"I heard that this time the Emperor has specially allowed all the princes to bring their troops to the capital. By then, with more than a dozen princes and tens of thousands of elite soldiers, they will definitely not be afraid of that assassin! He will be scared to death! "

Jia Rong frowned.

Are these princes so arrogant?
Although it was Xiaohong who said that, Jia Rong felt that the princes thought the same way.

"Okay, go down, I understand."

Seeing that Jia Rong was still as calm and composed as usual, Xiaohong couldn't help but sigh that this was the true demeanor of a superior.

"Yes, sir."

Xiaohong retreated respectfully and put the gifts into storage as usual, or asked Jia Yuanchun to handle some food gifts that could not be stored for long.

After Lin Hongyu left, Jia Rong quickly cleaned up the laboratory.

"Qingwen!"

Qingwen, who was chatting with Musk Moon at the door outside, heard this and quickly got up and went in.

"Master, what are your orders?"

Qingwen thought it was just like usual, just some simple little things.

Jia Rong looked at Qingwen with a serious expression, making Qingwen feel as if she had done something wrong.

"In a month, the emperor will be buried. I will concentrate on refining the elixir to send him a gift. From today on, I will abstain from sex and live a pure life. All of you can go out. Just bring food in through the window on time every day. Unless it's a big deal, don't bother me while I'm cultivating."

Qingwen knew that Jia Rong was going to formally go into seclusion, "Yes!"

Soon Qingwen walked out of the laboratory and said to Sheyue Xiren, who was sitting on a bench at the door, "Get up and pack your things. The prince is going to retreat to make the elixir. Women are not allowed to get close to him when he is making the elixir."

Musk Moon Xiren quickly packed her clothes, as well as the desserts, tea sets, fans, small mirrors and other things on the small table next to her.

Everyone began to check the house one by one, drove out the maids who were working, packed up the various things that had been put down recently, closed the door and left.

When Qingwen was locking the door, she saw Shi Xiangyun and Lin Daiyu coming over.

"Qingwen, I'm here to play with big brother. Isn't big brother here?"

Qingwen smiled and said, "The prince is going to retreat to make the elixir. Just like in previous years, he won't see outsiders during this period."

Shi Xiangyun frowned, "Am I an outsider?"

Seeing that Shi Xiangyun was unhappy, Sheyue smiled and said, "There are so many outsiders here, including men, women, old people and children. It's not just Aunt Yun, but even the princess and the second wife have to come here according to the rules at this time every year. Even the emperor and the emperor emeritus will not come to disturb us at this time!"

Lin Daiyu laughed secretly and said, "It's like this every year. As a result, our Aunt Yun has just been a family member for a few days and she already minds calling me an outsider. In the future, you, Musk Moon, should be more careful. You can't call me an outsider. You should say I don't see you~"

Shi Xiangyun said shyly, "I'm just asking, you're the only one who talks too much! Since big brother is in seclusion refining the elixir, we won't disturb him. We'll come over to play later."

Lin Daiyu smiled, and then asked Sheyue and Qingwen curiously, "Why do you want to go into seclusion all of a sudden?"

Qingwen said unhappily, "A dozen princes from other places are coming to Beijing. They sent a lot of gifts today and will come to visit in a while. The princes have been waiting for the hottest days to start refining the elixir, so it will be around this time."

"After the elixir is refined this time, the prince who came to the capital will definitely come to ask for the medicine. By then, the princesses from all walks of life will definitely come too. I don't know how lively it will be!"

Bi Hen suggested at this time: "There's nothing to do here, why don't we go and see if there are any rare gifts? Broaden your horizons?"

Shi Xiangyun nodded readily, "Okay! Let's go and take a look!"

Qingwen followed him out, "Sisters, wait for me, I'll go take a look too."

Musk Moon stopped at this time and said, "Then I'll watch from here. I'll be busy if anything happens."

"Okay!" Qingwen agreed casually.

After a few people walked out of the yard with umbrellas, Musk Moon moved a lounge chair and sat in the shade under the eaves to take a nap.

Lin Daiyu, Shi Xiangyun, Qingwen and others walked forward, with maids holding umbrellas for them.

Lin Daiyu asked Qingwen, who was dressed more like a young lady than a young lady:
"Qingwen, don't you and Sheyue have a bad relationship? Why do you seem to be doing well?"

Shi Xiangyun also became curious, because she had heard that Qingwen and Sheyue had fought before and often quarreled.

Before Qingwen could speak, Xiren smiled and said, "They both have bad tempers. If they quarrel, they quarrel. They still have to work together. It will get better slowly."

Qingwen glanced at Xiren in anger and said, "You are such a talkative person. If you seduce the master again next time, I will spank you!"

Xiren did try to seduce Jia Rong several times, such as when he was taking a bath and making his bed at night, and now she was blushing with shame and embarrassment.

Lin Daiyu smiled and said, "I understand. Qingwen and Sheyue are both outspoken people. They quarreled and didn't take it to heart."

A few of them chatted and laughed and went to see the gifts.

In fact, Lin Daiyu didn't see clearly that Qingwen and Sheyue had a good relationship because they both knew that they would work with Jia Rong for the rest of their lives.

It would be bad for both sides if the dispute continued.

Qingwen was most afraid of being kicked out, but she didn't want to bow to Sheyue.

Musk Moon herself was afraid of being driven out, and wanted to join the others, but no one cared about her. The other ladies had no shortage of maids, and they did not dare to win over the people around Jia Rong.

Wang Xifeng has Ping'er and Xiaohong, so there is no need to win them over.

Jia Yuanchun didn't need to do such a thing. Yinglian was raised by her since she was a child and was considered her goddaughter.

Among Jia Rong's maids, Yinglian has always had the highest status, not Ping'er or Yuanyang.

Yinglian's words can better represent Jia Rong and Jia Yuanchun.

Since Youshi was surrounded by Jia Rong's people, how could she dare to go against his will and bribe Jia Rong's maid?

In fact, Musk Moon is more helpless than Qingwen. Fortunately, Jia Rong provided jobs for both of them. When they work together, as long as one of them shows a little kindness, the other will naturally take over.

Women themselves are easy to reconcile with. No matter what they think inside, at least they are easy to reconcile with on the surface.

Another thing is that Qingwen was very envious of the treatment of other aunts, but the aunts in the front yard were paid the same amount but had much fewer maids.

Since the number of maids could not be increased at will, Qingwen also wanted her own maid to serve her, so she accepted Musk Moon and Xiren.

Bihen has already joined Xiaohong.

The trio were counted as Jia Rong's maids and their salaries were paid by Jia Rong, but they usually worked with the others, so naturally they needed a backer with whom they had a good relationship.

It is normal to form cliques and factions, and Jia Rong doesn't mind it.

Jia Rong didn't care about the gold, silver, jewelry and rare antiques, but started exercising after a long time.

Not to mention the hundreds of women in the family, even if the emperor's hundreds of women were given to Jia Rong, it would not be able to suppress Jia Rong's brave heart!

Official title, wealth, beauty, children, family...

Dreams, strength, unprecedented heights, indomitable courage, freedom...

Take a big step forward from the trivial household chores!

At this time, Jia Rong, who was working hard to prepare for the battle, finally discovered that people with dreams are happier!
"Your Majesty!"

"The ten princes, Prince Fu, Prince Ning, Prince Liao, Prince Zhennan, Prince Zhenxi, Prince Zhenhai, Prince Donghai, Prince Weihai, Prince Shu, and Prince Zhou, have all arrived outside the city to camp and gather together, and have sent their crown princes to wait outside the palace for an audience."

"Twenty princes including the Prince of Beidai, the Prince of Lingbo, the Prince of Beiyuan, the Prince of Cangshan, the Prince of Daze, the Prince of Xiangyang, and the Prince of Nanjun have entered the city."

"In addition, the King of Guangnan is too busy conquering the Kingdom of Nanyue to come, the King of Tianshan is too far away, the King of Xijiang is unable to come because of bandits causing chaos in his territory, and the King of Yunnan is at home in mourning and unable to come."

The emperor frowned, thinking that he must have deliberately not come to mourn. But he couldn't say anything, after all, the previous King of Yunnan died while coming to mourn.

Anyway, what is supposed to come has come, so there is no need to worry too much.

"Okay! Have you arranged for food, clothing and other necessities outside the city?"

The Right Prime Minister replied, "Your Majesty, we have already arranged the place and made proper arrangements in advance. There are as many as a thousand civilians helping to cook every day, and there are soldiers in the army who are responsible for cooking to help. The 20,000 elite soldiers brought by the princes have also been arranged."

The emperor nodded and said, "Okay, send someone to reward these soldiers who came from afar, and give each of them five taels of silver."

The right prime minister knew that the emperor was rich, so he threw away the 100,000 silver coins without hesitation.

"According to the order."

The emperor was very happy and said, "Appoint the Beidai County Prince as a prince! Tell Lingbo County Prince, Beiyuan County Prince, Cangshan County Prince and others that I will appoint several more princes and reward them all after the funeral!!"

This was something that had been decided long ago, and the Right Prime Minister said respectfully, "As you wish."

The emperor asked again: "Has Prince Zhongxiao come out of seclusion?"

The Right Prime Minister is also concerned about this matter and naturally knows about today's report.

The left and right prime ministers set up by the imperial court had different responsibilities.

The Left Prime Minister had a higher status and was usually responsible for more important government affairs, such as the formulation of major national policies and the appointment and removal of important officials.

In front of the emperor, the left prime minister had greater voice and decision-making power.

The right prime minister usually assisted the left prime minister in handling government affairs and was in charge of some specific administrative affairs, such as finance, military affairs, etiquette, etc.

The duties of the right prime minister are relatively specific, and are more executive-level work.

Jia Rong's matter was both a small matter and a big matter. It was something that princes from all over the country and the emperor would ask about every day, so the right prime minister had to listen to his subordinates report on the situation at the Prince of Loyalty and Filial Piety's Mansion every morning.

"Your Majesty, we have just entered the beginning of the dog days of June, and the heat is rising. It is the time to concentrate on refining the elixir in front of the fire. Prince Zhongxiao has been in seclusion since last month and has not seen anyone. He can only come out after the summer heat is over."

"It will take at least forty-six days before we can leave the country."

The emperor sighed, "My brother, you have worked so hard. I get hot after sitting in the palace for a while, but you have to sit in front of the stove in the alchemy room for several months, even when it is the hottest."

Not only did the emperor think that Prince Zhongxiao Jia Rong worked hard, but many officials in the court also thought so.

Many people lacked effective means to escape the heat, and had to wear heavy official uniforms all day to maintain etiquette. They did not even cut their hair long. Naturally, they could not understand Jia Rong's ease, and always thought that Jia Rong was as hard-working as they were.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. Everything will be fine next year."

The Emperor asked curiously, "Why do you say that? What will be different next year?"

The right prime minister was a little hurt. This emperor had no respect for his subjects at all and refused to even call him "my dear minister".

"Reporting to the emperor." The right prime minister smiled and said, "I heard from the Ministry of Works that the Zhongxiao Palace has expanded a lot of space, and reserved two secret rooms under the specially built Baicao Hall. It is said that one floor is used to store ice, and the other floor is used to store medicinal materials."

"Once there is more ice stored in the winter, it will definitely be much cooler when King Zhongxiao makes elixirs in the summer."

The emperor showed disdain, "I have used a lot of ice, but it is still so hot every day. How can these ice cubes relieve the summer heat?"

The Right Prime Minister could never please the Emperor, and flattery was a technical job.

“I don’t know…” The right prime minister discovered that it was not easy to be a loyal minister or a treacherous minister.

The emperor quickly waved his hand and said, "Go down."

"As you wish." The right prime minister retreated reluctantly.

After the right prime minister left, the emperor, who was feeling extremely hot, quickly went to the Yude Hall, a special place for bathing, to take a bath.

Because the emperor had drowned before, he could not go swimming in the river as casually as Jia Rong did.

Building a bigger pool is not a good idea either, as people will accuse you of building a world of debauchery.

You can't take a bath too often, otherwise the eunuchs and palace maids working will definitely remind you.

The emperor just wanted to take a nap in the bathhouse, but his subordinates refused.

The concubines cannot get close to him when he is taking a bath. After all, safety is the most important thing. This is a dangerous period for the emperor and the princes, so they must be extra careful!

So he asked the eunuch to help solve the problem.

One of the main reasons why Jia Rong did not want to be emperor was that he did not like to use eunuchs.

Secondly, being an emperor is too troublesome and there are too many useless things.

At this time, the entire palace was under heavy guard, and many soldiers from the Firearms Battalion were on duty in the palace rooms all day.

As long as the thief appears, we must shoot him!

Countless people have worked together over the years just to deal with that daring old assassin!
Not only is the emperor surrounded by elite soldiers from the Firearms Battalion, but several princes are also equipped with elite soldiers and generals.

Rather than using muskets and artillery, these people prefer to use manpower, such as sword and shield soldiers wearing heavy armor.

If artillery were useful, everyone would have used it long ago.

Everyone knows that artillery can only be used to attack cities, and there is no way to stop the assassin who comes and goes without a trace.

The musket is just for show. It's OK for fighting wars and suppressing bandits, but in reality, neither the emperor nor the princes and ministers count on this thing. They just spend money to feel at ease.

Many princes have been in Beijing for a long time and have become familiar with each other. They drink together, reminisce about the past, and play with women. It is very lively.

Even the few princes who came here to take refuge in the empty rooms at the beginning were exhausted by the hot summer weather.

After seeing that everyone else was living a life of debauchery, they naturally joined in.

In fact, the mourning period had ended long ago. The emperor himself had a child during the mourning period. How could the other princes obey the emperor's face?

Of course, I can’t control my lower body either.

There was no shortage of noble sons in the capital who wanted to curry favor with these princes. During the period when the princes, the crown prince, and the ministers from other places came to observe mourning, the prostitutes raised their prices.

That night, the moon was dim and the stars were sparse. The earth was as bright as day, but also seemed to be covered with a layer of dark blue gauze.

The skylight of a house in the Prince Zhongxiao's Palace was opened.

After a few seconds, a figure jumped out and disappeared like the wind.

Jia Rong quickly looked around and quickly chose a place where people gathered and ran to it.

Less than twenty minutes later, Jia Rong came back.

The skylight was gently closed, as if the demon had returned to its cave.

***
After three or four hours, a eunuch followed Yuanyang and quickly arrived at the door of the pharmacy.

"Your Highness! The Emperor has ordered you to come to the palace immediately. The King of Beidai was murdered last night! The Princes of Cangshan, Xiangyang, and Nanshan in the same courtyard, as well as the Prince of Donghai in the neighboring courtyard, were also murdered! A total of two princes and four county kings were killed!"

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

The eunuch knelt at the door and shouted for three or four minutes before Jia Rong shouted through the door: "I am in the critical period of refining the elixir these days. I can't go out. Besides, it's useless for me to go out!"

"Go and tell His Majesty that the assassins are gone. It's useless for me to leave. If His Majesty doesn't need to make an elixir to pray for blessings, I will leave. Everything is up to His Majesty. I will follow His Majesty's arrangements."

Soon the eunuch went back to pass on the message.

In the Yangxin Palace, the emperor was scared to death.

But after hearing Jia Rong's words, he nodded and breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's useless for my brother to come out. Let him continue to pray for me. Besides, several princes have died now. It will definitely be more troublesome to call them over to hold a funeral later."

"Send an order! Have everyone get ready. Do not put down your weapons or sleep. Wait until tomorrow to rest after the burial! Quickly prepare for tomorrow's burial. Let the princes and dukes rest during the day, but do not leave the barracks at night without permission!"

The emperor quickly arranged the decree and kindly said, "Allow the prince to take refuge in the palace... Forget it, let them continue to stay outside!"

The emperor gave up the idea of gathering together and no longer wanted to be with those princes.

(End of this chapter)