The Overlord of the Red Mansion

Chapter 291 Value

temple
The ministers stood on the wide steps of the parliament hall, forming a conical fan facing forward.

Jia Rong's original design was indeed a fan shape, but his craftsmen modified it into an open, curved Buddha's hand shape, which also resembled a red wine glass, so the design was adopted.

The whole building is not flat, and the supreme throne is much higher.

The entire building is built very luxuriously, with fine craftsmanship from the outside to the inside.

On the nine-layer white marble platform, vermilion columns support the gilded double eaves like towering trees. On the hip roof, glazed gargoyles raise their heads to the sky, emitting emerald green glow under the sunlight.

The golden brick floor between the coiled dragon columns reflects mottled dragon shadows, and the silent bronze crane incense burner seems as if it will flap its wings and cry at any time, weaving the green smoke of ambergris into the warp and weft of imperial majesty.

The emperor is not here.

"The Queen has arrived! The Prince has arrived!"

At the eunuch's loud singing, everyone bowed in worship.

"Long live the Queen, long live the Crown Prince!"

Since he was not the emperor, he did not need to kneel down and kowtow in the court.

Only the emperor kneels in the court. This is a rule established by the Holy Emperor to prevent the harem from interfering in politics.

The Holy Emperor has never had much trust in women. For details, please see "Poems of Sheng Rong".

When everyone bowed their heads, Empress Shenggong and Empress Shengren climbed up from the special passage to the back of the throne of the Emperor, and sat down on the temporary curtained phoenix couch that had been used for four months.

The prince walked to Jia Rong's seat and sat down.

Although as the crown prince he could sit here, it was not so appropriate for himself and others.

For those who are truly qualified to sit there, there is nothing wrong with just lying on the desk with their legs resting on it and listening to people arguing below.

The prince sitting upright on the dragon throne was, in everyone's eyes, just a child wearing ill-fitting clothes and sitting in an inappropriate position.

"Ministers, please take a seat."

The prince said what he had been saying for a long time. In the past four months, the prince might have felt that he had gotten used to it and adapted to the affairs of the court, and felt that he could be the master of his own house.

"According to the order."

Many ministers and royal relatives went back to sit down, only a few people who had something to do continued to stand in the middle aisle.

The King of Donghai raised his head and looked at the Crown Prince and the two queens behind him.

"Excuse me, Your Majesty, when will the Emperor come out of confinement?"

Neither the left prime minister nor the right prime minister said anything, as they were not surprised by the King of East China Sea's behavior.

The first person to know about the admiral's letter was Jia Yuanchun. Because the admiral's system was not responsible to the cabinet, the letter took a different route and was delivered directly to the Holy Palace.

The prince wanted to turn around and ask his mother, Jia Yuanchun, how to answer. His mother was Empress Shenggong, one of the two queens.

Empress Shenggong, Jia Yuanchun, was Jia Rong's original wife, but Jia Rong inherited two lines, not only the line of King Zhongxiao, but also the line of the late emperor, so he married the emperor's former queen as Empress Shengren.

There was no formal marriage, it was simply a fait accompli.

However, the ministers in the court supported this approach. The previous emperor had no descendants, and Prince Zhongxiao was the emperor's brother, so it would be more legal for him to marry the queen.

Empress Shengren was of the same generation as Jia Rong, so she was not the Empress Dowager, but the Empress.

Because she was the previous emperor's empress, when Jia Rong inherited the throne within the royal family and took the empress in, he could not give her a concubine position, so it was natural that there was one emperor and two empresses.

Having one emperor and two empresses is more in line with the order, ethics and legal system of the feudal dynasty than taking them as concubines.

Moreover, Jia Rong had never been married in a formal way, so everyone just tacitly accepted the matter.

Empress Shengren was more suitable to be the empress than Jia Yuanchun, and was also the foreign affairs official appointed by Jia Rong to handle state affairs.

"The Emperor has been in a bad mood lately. He is busy with things he wanted to do when he was young but was delayed because he had to deal with state affairs and family matters."

"You have served your country and family for twenty years, doing the work of a saint and benefiting the world. Now you are thirty years old and want to quietly do something that Your Majesty likes. Why does the King of the East Sea always ask and disturb you again and again?"

The King of Donghai bowed his head and said respectfully, "I just didn't see the emperor during the Mid-Autumn Festival. The emperor has been in seclusion twice this year, so I am a little worried about the emperor. It's not intentional to disturb him."

Empress Shengren said calmly, "Prince Donghai, please go back and sit down, and listen patiently."

"As ordered." The King of Donghai tactfully withdrew and went back to sit at the Prince's table. The Left Prime Minister felt strange. The King of Donghai would definitely ask about the Emperor, but the tone of Empress Shengren was a bit tough today.

Although Empress Shengren was behind the government, the Crown Prince was incapable of expressing his opinions on state affairs, and usually it was Empress Shengren who was in charge of the overall situation.

As the empress of the previous dynasty and the empress of the current dynasty, this empress has twice ruled the country from behind the curtain.

When Jia Rong was handling state affairs as regent, the queen was like a mascot. She had to do whatever Jia Rong said, and everything revolved around Jia Rong.

Now that Jia Rong is not around, he is able to take charge of the overall situation, giving people a feeling that Jia Rong is even more powerful.

"The Emperor doesn't want to be in a crowd, and now he plans to give the Crown Prince a chance to grow. He also hopes that the Crown Prince will grow up quickly so that he can take care of his own affairs."

"It's just that the Crown Prince is still young and unstable. He is not familiar with the ministers appointed by the Emperor, nor is he clear about the various engineering studies planned by the Emperor."

"There are some things that only the emperor understands. We are all half-understanding. Since the emperor personally arranged for us to sit here, then all the ministers should follow the emperor's instructions."

Everyone stood up quickly and responded, "As you wish!"

The two empresses and the crown prince were indeed led to the court by Jia Rong and sat down.

Jia Rong did not disappear suddenly. Instead, he proposed that the two Empress Dowagers rule the country from behind the curtain and that the Crown Prince attend court, and then he went into seclusion.

All the necessary procedures had been followed, so even if he went into seclusion twice a year and hadn't shown up for three or four months, no one dared to ask any more questions.

"Sit down." Empress Shengren said calmly, "The Emperor thought it was not easy for us, so he ordered some appointments and plans for the court."

"Deliver the emperor's letter to the Minister of Works, the Minister of Personnel, the Minister of War, and the Minister of Revenue."

The eunuch walked down with a tray and presented the letter to the Minister of Works.

After reading it, the Minister of Works quickly handed it to the Minister of Personnel.

After the four ministers read it, Empress Shengren said, "Circulate it to the cabinet ministers and the prince who came today."

Several princes of the royal family, the left and right prime ministers and others had seen Jia Rong's letter.

The handwriting was indeed that of Jia Rong. The scholars were very familiar with the emperor's handwriting and would not make a mistake.

The style of writing appointments and arranging things is also Jia Rong's casual yet meticulous style.

Although Jia Rong will not offer sacrifices to his ancestors or take charge of the overall situation this year, some of the heroes in the previous five years have been appointed, and some engineering plans have also pointed out new directions.

There was also an arrangement for foreign wars.

Although only a few things have been arranged, once these things are handled, the country will be able to operate normally and deal with the remaining minor problems on its own.

After Jia Rong's few pages of letters were brought out, the court suddenly became stable, and no one questioned the prince and the two queens anymore.

After the court session, Jia Yuanchun breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at Empress Shengren, saying, "Thanks to my sister, otherwise I really don't know what to do."

Empress Shengren smiled and said, "Sister, just be quiet and don't say anything. The Emperor had already told you when he left that it's okay for you not to go to court, and it's okay for you not to care about the affairs in the palace. Just live your life peacefully. The Emperor and I will take care of everything in the court."

"These days I see my sister is always busy and can't sleep well. There are some things I couldn't say before, but seeing that my sister is still looking for trouble, I can only say something that will make my sister angry."

"Sister, if you do nothing or just play with the other sisters, you will be showing the greatest consideration to the Emperor."

Jia Yuanchun couldn't laugh...

She really wants to be a good wife and mother, and a virtuous and helpful wife.

But Jia Rong always denies her efforts and her self-worth.

Empress Shengren had become bad along with Jia Rong a long time ago. Seeing Jia Yuanchun not saying anything, she smiled and said, "If you want to take charge of things, then how about entertaining the princess and the lady during the New Year and handling state affairs during this period?"

Jia Yuanchun was not capable of handling these things, and after feeling that she was being laughed at, she ended up awkwardly handing over most of her power.

It was not that Empress Shengren seized power, but that Jia Rong never arranged anything for Jia Yuanchun from beginning to end and just made her a mascot.

Jia Rong's requirements for his women have always been simple.

Don’t worry about what’s happening outside, don’t meddle in things at home, and don’t think about showing off.

It’s best not to care about anything. It’s even better if you don’t have any family or relatives. Just focus on pleasing men.

(End of this chapter)