The Overlord of the Red Mansion

Chapter 293: Peace Returns
Jia Rong came back quietly.

No one noticed when he left, and no one noticed when he came back.

He did not come back after dark, but jumped over the courtyard wall normally and walked quietly towards Nuanxiang Tower.

Several children were setting off firecrackers in the yard or clearing the snow with the maids.

The palace maids were looking after the children to prevent them from running to the pool or playing outside.

Soon, Jia Rong, who came uninvited, attracted everyone's attention.

Although he had run all the way back and his clothes were quite dirty, the palace maids still quickly recognized the Holy Emperor.

"The Emperor is back! The Emperor is back!"

"The Emperor is back!"

"The Emperor is back!"

The palace maids quickly ran into the house and told the good news to the people inside.

When the children nearby saw their father coming back, they happily gathered around him.

"Father!"

The little boy in a chubby cotton-padded jacket shouted to Jia Rong.

Jia Jian, who was slightly older, shouted quickly, "Your Highness, I pay my respects to you, Father!"

Jia Rong came over and said with a smile, "Go and play. I'm back from outside and I'm very dirty. Tell your mother that I'm going to Baicao Palace to rest. I'll come over for dinner in the evening."

Jia Jian said happily: "Yes! Father!"

Jia Rong felt much better when he looked at his dozen or so children.

"Go find your Lady Feng and get five taels of pocket money each."

Jia Jian and the children were even happier.

"Thank you, Father!"

It was no big deal for the children that Jia Rong hadn't come back for several months.

Because Jia Rong does this every year, the children are used to it.

On the contrary, five taels of pocket money is more practical.

When Jia Rong went to Baicao Palace, a group of children quickly ran to Tianxiang Palace.

Tianxiang Palace is the residence of Wang Xifeng and others. Children are usually not allowed to come in to play, and the gate is always closed to prevent children from breaking in.

A group of children arrived at the gate of the yard.

Before they reached the courtyard gate, Jia Jian and his brothers and sisters were already shouting randomly.

"Mother! Mother!"

"mother!"

"mother!!"

The children also shouted, there are several mothers inside.

Wang Xifeng was drinking tea with You Erjie and You Sanjie in the room. While they were eating snacks and drinking tea, they heard the shouting of a child outside.

"These little bastards are still making trouble even during the New Year!"

Wang Xifeng stood up unhappily and said, "I'll go see what's going on and see if he's in trouble again."

You Erjie and You Sanjie both smiled.

As soon as Wang Xifeng arrived at the door, she saw a group of children crowding in from the courtyard gate.

"Mom! Give us some pocket money, five taels each!"

"Second Mother!" The other children also looked at Wang Xifeng expectantly.

Even though they all came to ask for money, the expectant look in the children's eyes still made Wang Xifeng feel happy and helpless.

"Didn't I give you pocket money during the Chinese New Year? So many people have asked me for pocket money. If your mother knew about it, she would scold me for not giving it to you!"

Wang Xifeng refused with a fierce face.

Although children are cute, they can also easily take advantage of their position.

Tang Er cried out tenderly, "My father asked the queen to give us five taels of pocket money each. I'll take it for my brother."

Wang Xifeng was startled for a moment, and soon looked at the girl holding the zither with a frown.

"Tang'er, don't lie. When did your father ever let me give you pocket money?"

Tang Er said honestly: "Just now, my father came back and he really said that I didn't lie to you."

Jia Jian also said, "Yes! Mother! Father asked us to come here to ask for money."

I don't know when Third Sister You came over and stared at Jia Jian.

"Is your father really back?"

The other children quickly agreed in unison.

"I came back covered in mud."

"My hair is longer than before."

"He said he was going to rest up front, and he also said we'd have dinner together in the evening."

Wang Xifeng and You Sanjie both breathed a sigh of relief.

"Go back quickly, I'll give it to you at dinner time. We don't have it now."

Wang Xifeng wanted to send the child away quickly.

The children were not happy.

“Give it now!”

"Give it to me now!"

"Wait a minute you've forgotten!"

Just as the children were about to make a scene, Wang Xifeng's face turned fierce and she stared at the group of children.

"Get out of here! I said I'll pay you in the evening, so I'll pay you in the evening. If you keep making trouble here, you won't get a penny, and I'll spank you!"

The children were frightened and left in a cowardly manner.

After the group of children were driven out of the courtyard, one of them whispered to Jia Jian, "Your mother is such a vicious person."

Jia Yan was a little unconvinced, "That's better than your mother! I told my mother not to give you pocket money!"

"I...I'll tell my mother!" Ping'er quickly became anxious.

When the children went out, Wang Xifeng happily grabbed You Sanjie's arm.

"It's good that the emperor is back. Hurry up and change into some nice clothes. The emperor must have calmed down. You and Second Sister should keep him company tonight."

"It's not easy for the emperor. We women should be considerate of him."

During the time that Jia Rong was away, Wang Xifeng had deeply realized this.

Third Sister You quickly cried and said, "I know."

You Erjie came over, put one hand on You Sanjie's shoulder to comfort her, and patted her back with the other hand.

"You should be sad that your sister lost her child, but it wasn't easy for the emperor either. We sisters have followed him step by step over the years. To be honest, we haven't helped him at all. The emperor himself has been promoted from a minor official to a prince and then to the emperor."

"If the child is gone, just have another one. You can't keep being unreasonable and say it's the emperor's fault."

You Erjie also spoke for Jia Rong.

This family cannot do without Jia Rong.

Without Jia Rong, not only the women, but even the children would be in big trouble.

Third Sister You wiped her tears and tried to smile and said, "I know. I'll go change into some nice clothes right now."

Seeing that Third Sister You had cheered up, Wang Xifeng also smiled and nodded.

"Yes, we should be more happy. The emperor's return is a great thing. Don't always think about the trivial things in the past. It is right to have another son as soon as possible! You sisters are fighting together. Are you afraid that you can't have another son?"

Third Sister You wiped away her tears and said with a smile: "I am afraid that my second sister's belly will grow bigger before mine~"

You Erjie smiled and said, "Then I'll let you raise the child. We are sisters, so it doesn't matter who gave birth to the child. In the future, all children will go out, so we should stay here to accompany the emperor." At this time, Qin Keqing came down from upstairs and said, "What's going on? Why are you making so much noise? Didn't we say that we can celebrate the New Year casually this year? Someone is coming to pay New Year's greetings?"

Seeing the lazy Qin Keqing coming down, Wang Xifeng rolled her eyes at her.

"Hurry up and clean up. The emperor is back. Let's go over there and have some fun tonight. I'll go change my clothes. Feng'er, tell the kitchen to have more fun tonight and make more of the emperor's favorite food."

When Qin Keqing heard that Jia Rong had returned, she was surprised and asked, "Didn't he say he was in Suzhou a while ago? Even if he came back right away, it would take him a month or two, and he's here in just a few days?"

Wang Xifeng also hesitated for a moment, but soon sent someone to inquire.

"Go to Baicao Palace and ask. If those brats are lying, I'll beat their butts to pieces!"

Not only Wang Xifeng was confused, but Jia Yuanchun also looked confused after receiving the news.

"Why did you come back so soon? And there's no news at all."

Jia Yuanchun was a little skeptical.

Qing Yun affirmed: "It is true that the emperor has returned. This servant really saw the emperor, and the princes also saw him. It can't be fake."

Hearing this, Jia Yuanchun frowned.

"It seems that we still don't know much about many things in the palace. They didn't tell us such important things."

"But it's okay." Jia Yuanchun breathed a sigh of relief, "As long as he comes back safely, it's good. The emperor's itinerary is a confidential matter of the court. If too many people know about it, it will easily cause trouble. It's better not to know."

Jia Yuanchun asked again: "Who is serving in Baicao Palace?"

Qingyun replied, "Yuanyang, Ping'er, Qingwen, Yinglian, and Xiaohong are all serving there, as well as many female officials and palace maids."

Jia Yuanchun nodded and said, "That's good. Go call all the sisters over and ask them to dress up nicely so that they can be happier today."

"Yes, your majesty!" Qingyun agreed quickly.

Jia Rong returned quietly.

The guards had no idea how Jia Rong came back. Even the elite soldiers patrolling the Holy Palace were confused and thought he came back during their shift change.

We certainly couldn't tell anyone outside of such a ridiculous thing as running away from home, so we just said that the emperor had come out of seclusion.

Even if the emperor stayed at home playing with women and did not attend court after coming out of seclusion, it was a great encouragement to all the civil and military officials in the court.

Both the people's morale and the military's morale have stabilized.

In Baicao Palace, Jia Rong had already changed into clean clothes.

The temperature in the room was around 24 or 25 degrees Celsius. Feeling a little hot, Jia Rong quickly took off the clothes that were in the way.

"Your Majesty, the bath water is ready."

"Ah."

Jia Rong, who was naked, sat on a reclining chair and was lifted up by six palace maids, who carried the chair, which was similar to a sedan chair.

Six beautiful palace maids, wearing only bathrobes, quickly carried Jia Rong to the royal bathhouse, which was emitting a lot of steam.

Jia Rong put his hands on the necks of the two palace maids, helped the two beauties with perfect figures and faces to stand up, and stood up easily by pressing on the shoulders of the two beauties.

Soon Jia Rong walked to a leather bed and lay down, enjoying the imperial service provided by a dozen beauties.

Most of the people standing in the bathroom were wives and daughters of the emperor.

The imperial wife has two identities: a palace maid and a married woman.

Yu Niang refers to the maids and orphans who were bought by Jia Rong since childhood, as well as orphans adopted from his subordinates. These people were taken care of by people in the palace when they were young, studied with Jia Rong when they were young, served Jia Rong when they were young, and after they were thirty years old, they would be responsible for the discipline of other palace maids, and then live in the palace as maids until their death.

There is also a small group of girls with clean origins and family backgrounds.

Girls is a new title, belonging to a group of people who are not too old but are qualified to serve the emperor. They are usually from the same group as wives, and some are the daughters of those ladies who have been granted imperial titles.

Most of them came from the group of slaves under Jia Rong.

People like the governors from various places are old men who have been loyal to Jia Rong for more than ten years, and their wives and daughters naturally belong to Jia Rong.

Some things in the feudal era do not need to be explained so clearly. Everyone knows them in their hearts, but they are just afraid of others talking about them.

After Jia Rong became the emperor, many face-saving issues were no longer a problem.

It is an honor for the family to serve the emperor. If anyone asks, just say you are a palace maid.

As for whether the emperor would play with these women... you are not allowed to discuss the emperor. If you are found discussing the emperor, it is a capital crime.

As long as you can shut up, some things will be easy.

Jia Rong's subordinates are usually stationed in one village or one place, and they all hold high positions, so naturally they will not have any rebellious intentions.

As the pinnacle of feudal dynasties, the Holy Dynasty not only absorbed the historical experience of many previous dynasties, but also learned some foreign things that were beneficial to its rule.

Before, the lower classes actually didn’t care who became the emperor. If he changed, it didn’t matter. All they needed to do was win over a few military leaders and court officials.

Most ordinary people are not qualified to participate in politics, nor can they influence the court.

Today, the embryonic forms of the citizen class and parliamentary system have begun to emerge, and more people are actively or passively participating in them.

In the final analysis, it was Jia Rong who gave these people status and face, allowing them to unite and form a force.

Such as the imperial wives, female students, as well as princesses, counties, and noble women sent from all over the country for internships.

These people could not reveal anything about Jia Rong, but they could tell the prince whether he was naughty or incompetent when they returned home.

The people who serve Jia Rong have the power to report directly to the emperor, and Jia Rong will listen to these people's reports and then make his own judgment.

They are loyal to Jia Rong and will support his offspring, but not just one. These groups are more inclined to choose an outstanding heir.

While Jia Rong was taking a bath, the female official who was responsible for recording Jia Rong's daily life came in.

"Meet the Emperor!"

The female official knelt in the wet bathroom, her skirt soaked with water.

Jia Rong was sitting up, having the palace maid rinse the shower gel off his body with a warm shower, and he was looking at the woman nonchalantly.

"whats the matter."

The female official raised her head and answered carefully, "Your Majesty, this year we have prepared some new maids, and there are also princesses and princes from all over the country coming to serve Your Majesty. I would like to ask Your Majesty how to arrange for some of the elderly people in the Holy Palace."

Jia Rong smiled and said, "If you count them up, many of you have followed me for many years. I have been on the throne for four years, but I have lived in the Holy Palace for five years. At that time, it was still the royal palace."

Jia Rong was in a good mood. It was true that life outside was not as good as at home.

There are many reasons why I don’t want to continue going south. First, it feels boring, and second, I don’t want to ride a horse or take a boat.

After sitting on the boat for several months, swaying every day to sleep, I felt very depressed.

The weather was not good in winter, and I felt there was nothing fun to do outside, so I came back.

While enjoying a comfortable life, you naturally have to do something.

"Those who are not pregnant can go out and get married. Those who are too old to find a partner can meet the guards outside. During the Lantern Festival, I will arrange for some unmarried palace maids who should leave the palace to meet unmarried guards. If they can make it, they can go. If not, they can go back home and find a way themselves."

"Those who are married should go home, and be given some rewards, and their families should be exempted from agricultural taxes for 20 years. When they get married or remarry in the future, they should move to a new family to avoid being bullied."

"If you don't want to get married, or can't find the right person, you can go back to your hometown or go to a local Saint Church to take charge of Saint Church affairs, and then leave after you get married."

The older palace maids in the Holy Palace are mainly maids from the early prince’s era. Some women from the Jia family have been arranged out, after all, not all of them are beauties.

Nowadays, all the beautiful women in the Jia family are in the harem. Those who really need to go out are the wet nurses selected from the farms under their control, or some trustworthy people.

These women who left the Holy Palace already had some influence.

Jia Rong said quickly: "I will take a look at them one by one before I leave. If they are women who are stable and can make a living, I will recommend them to some promising people."

The female official said respectfully: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Jia Rong plans to arrange marriages for those artisan-type talents who study science and technology.

These guys actually don’t mind whether their wives are virgins or not, they care more about whether they can live a stable life and support their work.

Women who can't control their lower body are very troublesome to these people. Not only do they bring face problems, but they also become trash cans for women to vent their emotions.

Groups that are not good at getting along with women will easily be stepped on by women.

I won’t say anything else about Jia Rong, but at least he has been trained, so even if he is pretending, he can still act like a good woman.

Jia Rong said again, "If I am the one who grants marriages, I will mostly grant marriages to those scholars and craftsmen who are steady and useful to the country. These people will not hold high positions and will be very busy. Therefore, to prevent the women who marry them from being unruly and losing my people, I will also set up some regular inspection personnel."

"If you behave badly, flirt with other women, are unfaithful and don't know how to have children, I will punish you severely! Send you back to your hometown and become a village woman!"

"Send someone to inform the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Military Palace Department that anyone who is not engaged and has no wives or concubines can go to the palace for a banquet on the Lantern Festival. I will hold an ordinary party to liven them up."

(End of this chapter)