The Overlord of the Red Mansion

Chapter 266: Only focusing on the present, no future

Wang Xifeng: "Uncle!"

Miss Wang: “Father!”

Mrs. Wang and Aunt Xue: "Brother!"

After Wang Ziteng died, Jia Yuanchun took Wang Xifeng and Xue Baochai to visit the family, and they were all very sad.

Wang Ziteng is not only Wang Xifeng's uncle, but also the uncle of Jia Yuanchun and Xue Baochai.

Everyone mourned in front of the mourning hall for a while.

Aunt Wang wiped her tears and said to Jia Yuanchun and others:
"Thank you for coming to pay your respects, my lady. But my master is not very lucky. I still remember that when he came back that day, he drank three glasses of wine in a row and smoked more than a box of cigarettes."

"Although the master didn't say anything that day, everyone in the family knew that he was very happy. He was so happy that he couldn't sleep. I didn't expect that he would fall ill in the wilderness just a few days after he left. There was no village in front of him and no shop behind him. He just died like that!"

Aunt Wang cried sadly.

Everyone comforted the widow.

"Don't worry, aunt. The emperor knows how hard your uncle has worked, and has granted the earldom a hereditary title for one more generation."

Aunt Wang quickly wiped away her tears and said happily, "Thank you, Madam!"

Without Wang Ziteng, the Wang family is no longer as top-notch as before, but it is still an upper-middle-class family.

Jia Yuanchun, Wang Xifeng and Xue Baochai are all relatives of the Wang family.

Jia Yuanchun stayed for a while, and soon Mrs. Wang said, "Your Majesty, tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival. There are many things to do in the palace. We will take care of this place. Your Majesty should go back to the palace to take care of the affairs of the royal family."

Aunt Wang also said, "The Wang family is very grateful that the queen came here in person. We must not let these small matters of our family delay the queen's big matter."

Jia Yuanchun nodded, "Then we'll leave first. You can visit the Holy Palace more often in the future."

Jia Yuanchun just said a polite word, but the polite words were naturally remembered by the Wang mother and daughter, and they hurriedly expressed their gratitude.

Jia Yuanchun looked at Jia Baoyu again. Jia Baoyu failed the exam this year and was sent to the capital by Jia Zheng to learn some craftsmanship. Unexpectedly, he arrived at Wang Ziteng's funeral.

"Baoyu, you should help more with your uncle's funeral. You are not a child anymore, you should be sensible."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Jia Baoyu agreed respectfully.

Jia Yuanchun continued, "The Emperor has issued an order that all officials who are serving in other places and have children in Beijing can send their legitimate sons to attend the banquet in the palace. During the one-year mourning period, they can also attend on behalf of their deceased husbands. You should prepare tomorrow and go there in the evening."

Jia Baoyu and Prince Wang both knelt down and kowtowed to express their gratitude, "Thank you, Madam! Thank you, Your Majesty, for your great grace!"

Although people generally do not go out to attend cocktail parties during the mourning period, Jia Rong is the emperor. The emperor asked the descendants of his subordinates who sacrificed their lives for the country to go to the palace for a banquet to receive rewards, and to know his father's colleagues and bureaucrats. It was obvious that he wanted to take care of these people.

If you refuse out of filial piety at this time, you would be absolutely stupid and foolish.

Although Wang Ziteng was dead, the wives of Miss Wang and Mr. Wang were both choosing beautiful clothes for their husbands.

Women were not allowed to attend banquets in the palace as there was a limit on the number of people allowed, and they also had to stay at home to observe mourning.

Only Wang Ziteng's son from the Wang family could go to the palace for the banquet, and Jia Baoyu went to the banquet to test the medicine on behalf of Jia Zheng.

Not only were the ministers preparing for the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, but even the princes who had been playing in the capital for almost a month began to discuss things again.

"The King of Japan has arrived!"

The five princes stood up upon seeing this and saw a young man about thirty years old walking in.

The King of Japan came in and bowed quickly, "Greetings, Father! I pay my respects to you, Father, and to my uncles."

The older Zhenxi King smiled and said, "No need to be like this, you are a prince now, sit down and talk."

Everyone smiled and sat down to talk.

The father, the King of Donghai, said: "There are many people you don't know. Your brother is incompetent and can only inherit my throne. Now let me introduce them to you. This is the King of Shu and the King of Liao. They are both about your age."

The King of Dongying greeted the King of Shu, who was older than him, and the young King of Liao.

Both sides got along very politely and looked at each other's releases.

Everyone has short hair, just like the emperor.

The King of Donghai introduced them, “These are the King of Xijiang and the King of Yunnan.”

These two are old princes. Although they are also princes, they are very distant relatives and their fiefdoms are remote, so they have never been summoned several times.

Although he avoided a lot of things, he was still looked down upon.

He was originally kept in captivity by the royal family and had no military or political power. After Jia Rong ascended the throne, he did not raise the prince's salary, so his life was not easy.

The few princes who lived well were those who were willing to serve the country or work for Jia Rong. That was why they received official positions, high salaries, and more ways to make money.

"This is the King of Zhenxi." The King of Donghai introduced the refined man with short silver hair. "The son of the King of Zhenxi was crowned the King of Tianzhu during the Mid-Autumn Festival last year. He is a new king like you."

The King of Zhenxi said with a smile, "The King of Tianzhu is still suppressing the untouchables of Tianzhu this year. The journey is long and he was afraid that something might happen so he didn't come. He will come to report to the emperor next year when everything is stable. It would be good for you young people to meet him then. We are all serving the emperor."

There were seven princes in total who came to Beijing: the King of Shu, the King of Liao, the King of Donghai, the King of Dongying, the King of Zhenxi, the King of Western Xinjiang, and the King of Yunnan.

King Tianshan surrendered to the alien race. Even if he came back alive, he would not be recognized. Everyone hoped that he would die outside and cut off this lineage.

The King of India is guarding India and cannot come here due to official business.

The King of Zhou refused to come himself and only asked his son to come.

The King of Dongying asked, "I heard that King Zhou got into trouble, but is that true?"

The Prince of Zhenxi turned cold and said, "That useless bastard, when the emperor asked him to come to the capital to take over the throne, he refused no matter what. After the emperor turned the tide and stabilized the world and killed the assassin, he jumped out to stir up trouble again."

"Don't waste time talking to Prince Zhou in the future. If Prince Zhou says anything, you must tell the emperor. Now the emperor is in charge of the Jinyiwei, the Beijing military camp, and tens of thousands of ministers and millions of people in the capital are all subject to the emperor. We, the royal family, must follow the emperor's lead." "Whatever the emperor tells us to do, we, the princes, must do it. When we are in the fiefdom, we must also pay attention to the servants in the palace and not go against the local government officials, so as not to alarm the emperor."

The King of Japan knew that the princes of the royal family now all listened to Jia Rong.

"Yes, I will follow my uncle's instructions."

There was no doubt that the princes all stood on Jia Rong's side instead of following that useless Prince Zhou to cause trouble.

Even if it is not King Zhou, but any other prince at present, the other princes will not follow.

If I succeed in my rebellion with the prince, will I no longer be the prince?
Even if one of our own family becomes the prince, what can it do?
The late emperor had only died a few years earlier, and even the emperor emeritus was not many years away from now.

Everyone knows how the imperial court treats these princes. Basically, they are treated like pigs and are strictly guarded.

Nowadays, everyone doesn’t want their own family members to become emperors or princes, and thinks that Jia Rong is good enough.

Besides, it is impossible to win the battle. Both the imperial court and the local governments are more accepting of the rule of the Holy Emperor. Jia Rong does not have many famous generals under his command, but he has a lot of money and soldiers.

After talking about King Zhou, several princes started discussing the tribute.

"Have you prepared your tribute?"

"Everything is ready. Someone has already sent it over."

Giving gifts is a must during festivals. There are currently three festivals that require giving gifts.

Spring Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival

The Spring Festival is a time when local officials, governors, and nobles pay tribute and present gifts.

Because Jia Rong ascended the throne on May 1st, Dragon Boat Festival gifts are usually delivered on May 1st.

Of course, giving gifts to the emperor cannot be just any random thing, and those who are qualified to give gifts are not ordinary people.

Jia Rong cancelled his birthday ceremony and combined the coronation day, birthday and Dragon Boat Festival ceremonies into one, thus reducing the burden on the local authorities and nobles.

Because it was a day of universal celebration, foreign envoys and surrendered foreign nations had to send gifts, which was considered a day of tribute.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is relatively simple and has nothing to do with the size of the official position. First of all, the relatives of the emperor should be honored, and then the ministers.

Giving gifts during festivals is a necessary way for princes, nobles and ministers from all over the world to express their loyalty and respect, and it is also one of the ways to maintain the relationship between the monarch and his subjects.

Especially for the great noble princes from all over the country, presenting gifts to the emperor was an important part of political life.

Inadequate gifts or no gifts at all could be seen as disrespect or even treason, leading to serious political consequences.

Therefore, princes usually treat it with caution and ensure that the gifts and etiquette are in compliance with the requirements in order to maintain their own status and family interests.

It is foolish to test the emperor with the future of your own family.

In every dynasty, there have been people who were punished for giving unqualified gifts. During the Han, Tang, Song and Yuan dynasties, there were princes and ministers who used gifts to express their dissatisfaction with the court.

Therefore, being sentenced to death and demoted for giving gifts with the wrong attitude was considered politically correct in the feudal era. The emperor would impose severe punishment out of consideration for his own ruling power.

When Jia Rong was calculating chemical formulas at home, Jia Tanchun came over with the palace maids.

Jia Rong continued to reason at his desk and asked casually, "What's the matter?"

Jia Tanchun came over with five palace maids, each of whom was holding a scroll containing several kilograms of books.

"Your Majesty, the princes and ministers from all over the country have sent many gifts. Now the treasury is somewhat full. The Empress is overwhelmed, so please have a look at it, Your Majesty."

Jia Rong casually said, "Keep the food for later use, and use the food that can be used tomorrow, or give it to some ladies to take home."

"As for antiques and treasures, send them to the Forbidden City Museum. I can go and have a look at them when I'm bored."

"Don't eat the rare animals. Send them to the zoo for care."

Jia Tanchun nodded and said, "As you wish, there are still many furs and medicinal herbs."

"All furs and medicinal materials are stored in the warehouse." Jia Rong needs a lot of medicinal materials. It just so happens that all the wild animals in this world belong to Jia Rong, so it is convenient to study them.

Jia Rong looked at the female messenger standing in the study again.

"Have the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Right Prime Minister inform officials from all regions to send less gold, silver, jewelry, and antiques, and more local minerals, metals, and medicinal materials. It would be best if they were newly discovered unknown minerals and medicines, and to note their sources."

"As you wish." The female official quickly went out to pass on the message.

Jia Rong reduced the difficulty of gifts given by officials, mainly requiring local crops and newly discovered minerals.

Looking at the good emperor who was working diligently on the table and caring for the people, Jia Tanchun prayed for him in her heart and admired this heroic figure very much.

However, the next day was Jia Rong’s favorite Mid-Autumn Festival reunion party.

Jia Rong didn't know what he had done.

He posted so much stuff!

Give exquisite food boxes, money, promotions, cigarettes, alcohol, and medicine! !

With the congratulations from the ministers of the nine frontier states, seven princes, a dozen dukes, hundreds of royal relatives, and tens of thousands of ministers, Jia Rong and everyone else raised their glasses and drank together.

"Long live my emperor! Long live! Long live!"

This Mid-Autumn Festival passed peacefully, and nothing happened until the next day at noon when several princes left the capital one after another.

Everyone feels that the victims of the Third Teachers case deserve to die.

(End of this chapter)