The Overlord of the Red Mansion

Chapter 320 The most ruthless imperial family
The fifth year of the Holy Dynasty, the twenty-first day of the twelfth lunar month
It snowed heavily outside today. We will be busy with the New Year preparations in a few days, so let's just be quiet for a few days.

Everyone was eating and resting in their own rooms. If they were bored, they could go down to the warm living room to play cards and chat.

Some people go out to do things, prepare New Year's goods for relatives, or visit Fengzao Palace and Tianxiang Palace, or go to Cihang Temple behind to burn incense and pray.

Those who had children would play with them in the house, or go to the nursery palace where the princes lived to inquire about their homework progress.

Aunt Xue was tasting tribute tea in the Hengwu Pavilion on the third floor of the Nuanxiang Palace. She sat on a warming mat, leaning against the armrests of the couch, with her legs stretched out and a maid was massaging her feet.

Xue Baochai is twenty-five years old this year. When Aunt Xue first arrived in the capital, she was only in her early thirties, and now she is in her early forties.

Her son had been dead for several years, and the past was over. Now Aunt Xue had no worries about food and drink in the palace, and with her daughter and the daughters of various relatives as companions, she was content.

There is no need to worry about the issue of retirement. There is everything in the palace now. All you need to do is think about how to have fun every day.

Aunt Xue is not the only one who has this idea, many people do too.

The door outside was quickly pushed open and a man walked in.

The man walked into the living room from the entrance corridor and saw Aunt Xue drinking tea.

Aunt Xue also saw Jia Rong and quickly knelt down and said, "Your Highness!"

Jia Rong smiled and said, "It's alright, come and play. No need to let Baochai come out. I'll talk to you first."

How could Aunt Xue dare to refuse? She could only kneel with her legs apart, looking up at Jia Rong with an embarrassed look on her face.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Xue Baochai, who was about to come out of the room, was now standing behind a curtain a few meters away, unable to come out and not knowing what to say.

Besides Xue Baochai and Aunt Xue, there were other palace maids in the room, but they all lowered their heads quietly and did not dare to look any further.

Normal people would avoid outsiders when doing immoral things, but Jia Rong is not an ordinary person.

Because the house was well heated, Jia Rong and Aunt Xue wore relatively little.

Jia Rong was wearing casual short-sleeved shirt and shorts, without even underwear.

Aunt Xue was dressed rather conservatively, wearing normal spring clothes, but she didn't look like a woman in her forties at all. She looked more like a lady in her early thirties.

Jia Rong sat down where Aunt Xue had just sat. After he sat down, he smiled and said, "My bottom is still warm. It must be my mother-in-law who warmed it for me."

Aunt Xue's face turned red. After all, she was a normal person and still had some sense of shame.

"Yes..." Aunt Xue tried hard to force a smile.

Jia Rong smiled and said to the maids, "You go guard the door. Last time, a maid couldn't help laughing when I was talking to someone else. According to the palace rules, it is a capital crime, but of course I didn't do that."

"I simply sent some silver to Luosha Country. After all, there are some things in the palace that are not suitable to be made public. If I send them back to their hometown, they will inevitably talk nonsense again."

"Go out and don't get yourself into trouble."

The maids knelt down quickly and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Soon the palace maids went out one after another and carefully closed the door.

After the maid left, Jia Rong smiled at Aunt Xue who was kneeling on the ground and said, "How are you doing in the palace, mother-in-law? I see that your face is moist and your skin is smooth. You must be comfortable with your food, drink, clothes and dressing."

Aunt Xue knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, I am doing very well, thanks to your grace! Thank you for your grace!"

Jia Rong smiled and said, "Thank you is not just a token of my gratitude. I heard that you have been learning to dance recently. Please perform for me."

Aunt Xue looked at Jia Rong in astonishment. She had not learned to dance.

"Your Majesty..." Aunt Xue wanted to explain that she had not learned any dancing skills. She was already old, so how could she learn dancing?

But under Jia Rong's gaze, Aunt Xue did not have the courage to resist and could only whisper: "Today... I am not feeling well..."

Jia Rong smiled and said, "So it's my aunt who's here. It seems that Aunt Xue is in good health. She can still have her period even at her old age."

Aunt Xue endured this humiliation with embarrassment and didn't even dare to lower her head to avoid it.

Jia Rong seemed to be in a good mood. He held out his hand to Aunt Xue and said, "Get up. Come, let's sit down and talk."

"Thank you, Your Majesty..." Aunt Xue breathed a sigh of relief.

Compared to arguing with Jia Rong, Aunt Xue was more afraid of Jia Rong's mouth.

Physical offense will not have much impact on dignity and face, but Jia Rong's words are like a knife, which can hurt people.

Jia Rong hugged Aunt Xue and said with a smile: "For a woman, the most important thing is to be innocent. I am not interested in a forty-year-old woman like you. It is better for you to return to the Xue family's old house to retire."

Aunt Xue said hurriedly, "I still want to stay in the palace to take care of Baochai and His Majesty."

Jia Rong nodded and sighed, "Yes, I'll just have to endure it for a few more years. Besides, we don't see each other every day. When you get older and less attractive, I'll naturally stop talking nonsense to you." Aunt Xue didn't dare to argue.

Jia Rong stood up and touched her head, "I'm going to play with Baochai."

Aunt Xue breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "Yes! Your Majesty, go play with Baochai. I won't disturb you."

It’s not that Aunt Xue doesn’t want to use honorifics, it’s that Jia Rong really likes not using honorifics.

Jia Rong was not so easy to deal with. He grabbed Aunt Xue's ear with one hand and said, "Baochai and I are not doing anything shameful. It's better to have parents watching us! Aunt Xue, please come in too. Otherwise, it would be embarrassing for me to go in alone."

Aunt Xue was like a grandson and had no choice but to follow in.

Xue Baochai in the room seemed to have not heard what was happening outside. She was embroidering something with her maid by the bed. When she saw Jia Rong come in, she stood up happily as if she had just seen him.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you! Long live the Majesty!"

Jia Rong and Aunt Xue entered the room together, and Xue Baochai also knelt down to pay her respects with two maids.

"Get up, let's talk on the bed."

As Jia Rong said this, he sat down beside Xue Baochai's bed.

Xue Baochai, who was kneeling on the ground, turned around, moved to the edge of the bed and knelt down to help Jia Rong take off his slippers.

"Why did His Majesty come here today?" Xue Baochai smiled and raised her head, her bright almond eyes wide open and asked curiously, "Usually he is busy downstairs, or he goes to Baicao Palace to have fun. In the past few years, he has only come to my place alone a few times."

Jia Rong replied, "I have nothing to do during the New Year, so I just want to take a look around. I plan to build a better house for you to live in next year, so I came to take a look."

Xue Baochai bent down and stood up, helping Jia Rong to put his legs on the bed and lie down. Then she took off her coat and lay down in her underwear, leaning against Jia Rong.

"I see. But I'm fine living in this house right now, so I'm not in a hurry to move."

Jia Rong said, "I have a lot of money. I must find a place to spend it. It won't cost much to repair the area around the palace. The money I earn myself should be spent on myself."

There is indeed too much money to spend recently, but Jia Rong doesn't want to spend it on others. He will feel uncomfortable if others are comfortable.

Xue Baochai smiled and said, "Your Majesty is right. Would you mind if I could help you clean your ears?"

Jia Rong said, "No, I was busy when I went to Daiyu's place this morning. Daiyu's nurse is old, so I'll have her sent back to Suzhou to settle down."

"I see your mother is getting older, and there are many rules in our palace. I'm afraid she won't be able to get used to living here and handle interpersonal relationships well, so you can send her back to the Xue family's old house in Jinling, or to the Wang family. If that doesn't work, you can send her to the Jia family in Jinling to keep your aunt company."

Aunt Xue was standing by the bed, watching Jia Rong and Xue Baochai lying together and discussing her funeral arrangements.

"Your Majesty! I want to stay... I can handle the interpersonal relationships here well..."

Aunt Xue knew Jia Rong's character very well. After leaving the palace, she would never be able to enjoy her current standard of food, clothing and entertainment.

Xue Baochai actually wanted Aunt Xue to leave, but after hearing what she said, she could only lean against Jia Rong's chest and say, "Your Majesty, please have mercy and let me stay with my mother, so that I can fulfill my filial duty!"

Jia Rong is a good man. "Okay! Of course there is no problem! Although your mother is not my mother, I am not a bad person. From now on, your food, clothing and other expenses will be the same as Youshi's."

Aunt Xue breathed a sigh of relief and said hurriedly, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Jia Rong looked at Aunt Xue and said, "Do you have to stand to thank me?"

Aunt Xue couldn't climb onto the bed to express her gratitude, so she knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace! Long live the emperor!"

Because her daughter Xue Baochai was the emperor's concubine, Aunt Xue was given the title of Madam, but she was indeed a concubine.

The wives of other ministers also referred to themselves as "concubine" when facing Jia Rong.

"Chenqie" is not only an expression of respect and obedience to the emperor, but also a humble recognition of one's own status.

In the context of the strict hierarchy of ancient society, this way of referring to oneself reflected absolute obedience to imperial power and recognition of one's own lower social status.

Jia Rong and Xue Baochai were lying on the bed, looking at Aunt Xue who was kneeling on the ground.

Xue Baochai must be feeling bad at this moment, so Jia Rong touched Xue Baochai's butt with one hand and comforted her by saying, "It seems that your mother would rather stay in the palace than go back to her hometown to enjoy a good life. Just like Old Lady Jia, she is reluctant to leave."

Snapped!
Jia Rong slapped Xue Baochai lightly on the butt, but it felt like a hard slap on the face of both women.

Seeing that her mother wanted to stay in the palace so much, and just as Jia Rong had said, she would not leave no matter how humiliated she was, Xue Baochai no longer felt sorry for her.

How could Aunt Xue dare to oppose the Holy Emperor's words? Even if she was humiliated, she had to endure it and could only kneel beside the bed and serve.

Jia Rong was very happy and said to Xue Baochai, "When I come here next time, let your mother serve you like you did today. Your mother is an experienced person and she can tell you if you did something wrong."

Aunt Xue, kneeling on the ground, wanted to go back to her hometown and didn't want to live in the palace anymore, but she was speechless at the moment. She really didn't dare to offend the supreme emperor on the bed.

The royal family is ruthless. In the face of absolute power, there is no family affection! !

(End of this chapter)