Red Mansion: After being expelled from the family, I was granted the title of Marquis of Mobei

Chapter 146 Returning to Beijing
Seeing this, the British Duke sheepishly took two steps back and said nothing more.

Then, Lady Liu, the Duchess of England, looked at Zhang Guifen and asked her a question.

"Fen'er, have you and your husband chosen a name for your child yet?"

Zhang Guifen shook her head and said.

"My husband didn't give the children formal names, but he did give them nicknames. He said that if it was a boy, he would call him Pingge'er, and if it was a girl, he would call her Anjie'er."

The British public listened thoughtfully and said...

"Peace and safety, it seems this kid doesn't have high expectations for the child, he just hopes he can be safe and sound."

Zhang Guifen nodded slightly and said.

"My husband said that for parents, it is already a great blessing to see their children live a peaceful and smooth life."

"As for whether a child is talented in both literature and martial arts, that depends on the child's natural abilities."

"As long as the child can keep a pure heart and not go astray, that's already very good."

Liu smiled and said.

"That's true. Alright, then let's call him Ping-ge'er. As for his formal name, we'll talk about it when your husband comes to his senses."

"Old man, didn't you say your son-in-law would be back soon?"

The Duke of England said with a chuckle.

"The military report has already been sent to the capital. The Western Sea has been a great victory, and all the barbarian tribes in the Western Sea have been pacified. He will return to the capital after he has finished overseeing the final arrangements. He should be on his way back now."

"This silly boy doesn't even know he's a father. If he did, he'd probably want to sprout wings and fly back home."

Zhang Guifen said with a hint of reproach after hearing this.

"Father, what do you mean by 'silly boy'? My husband is not silly at all."

The British Duke, seeing this, said with a hint of helplessness.

"Look, look, look! No wonder people say that a married daughter is like water spilled from a bowl. Can't I even say a word? Is that it?"

Zhang Guifen blushed slightly.

Lady Liu, the Duchess of England, smiled and said.

"Alright, you two stop being so dramatic. Fen'er, you just gave birth, you need to rest."

"Let's leave the child with the wet nurse for now."

"Old man, let's go first, so as not to disturb Fen'er's rest."

Afterwards, the British Duke and Duchess left the room, while Zhang Guifen continued to rest.

In the evening, inside the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Yongping was reviewing memorials when, shortly afterward, an old eunuch entered the hall, bowed, and said...

"This servant is Gao Ming, greetings to Your Majesty."

Gao Ming is the newly appointed chief eunuch of the six palaces by Emperor Yongping. The previous chief eunuch had been executed by Emperor Yongping for leaking secrets.

Upon seeing Gao Ming, Emperor Yongping spoke calmly.

"What's the matter?"

"Your Majesty, Lady Zhang, the wife of the Marquis of Champion, gave birth to a son today. Both mother and child are safe and sound."

Emperor Yongping listened thoughtfully and said...

"The imperial decree stipulates that the son of the Marquis of Champion shall be named Zhou Xianping and included in the imperial family register."

"Your Majesty, I obey your decree. By the way, there is one more thing: the treasonous rebels have been located."

Emperor Yongping snorted coldly.

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard has been investigating for so long, and various prefectures have assisted in the manhunt and search, yet it has only now that they have found the traitors' whereabouts. Tell me, where are they?"

Gao Ming hurriedly said, trembling with fear.

“It is my incompetence. The Embroidered Uniform Guard tracked them all the way and found that the rebels, led by Consort Yue and Prince Zhongshun, had fled to Donghai County.”

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard has already located their whereabouts, and if nothing unexpected happens, they should have been captured in one fell swoop by now."

"This servant would like to ask Your Majesty how these rebels should be dealt with."

Emperor Yongping said calmly.

“Kill them all, preserve their bodies properly, and send them back to the capital.”

Gao Ming hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Your Majesty, what about the Second Prince?"

Emperor Yongping gave Gao Ming a meaningful look and said.

"Don't you understand what 'total extermination' means?"

"Yes, ma'am! Yes, ma'am!"

Emperor Yongping waved his hand impatiently and said.

"Go down."

"promise."

After Gao Ming left the hall, he felt that Emperor Yongping's divine might was unpredictable and elusive.

The very next day, the Marquis of Champion's residence received an imperial edict from Emperor Yongping bestowing a name upon the newborn child in the residence.

Zhang Guifen and the others were not too surprised by this.

After all, Jia Jue had already been included in the Imperial Clan Records by Emperor Yongping before this.

According to convention, Jia Jue should have changed his surname to Zhou.

However, Emperor Yongping decreed that Jia Jue could retain his original surname.

Since Jia Jue was a member of the imperial clan, it was only natural that his son would also be a member of the imperial clan and take the surname Zhou.

While the Marquis's mansion was celebrating the newborn, a thousand miles away from the capital, Jia Jue was galloping towards the capital.

According to the expected delivery date, Jia Jue had calculated in advance that his wife's due date should be in the next two days.

Having lived two lives, this is Jia Jue's first time becoming a father. His longing for his wife and children makes him eager to return home, and he is on his way at full speed.

After a day's journey, the group checked into the inn in the evening.

After a quick wash, Jia Jue and Gu Tingye were drinking and chatting together in the room.

Gu Tingye poured Jia Jue a glass of wine, then picked up his own glass and said...

"General, I'd like to offer you a toast."

Jia Jue said with a calm smile.

“Zhonghuai, I see you seem rather hesitant about returning home.”

"What, are you still worried that your father's anger hasn't subsided?"

"Don't worry, I have some connections with Marquis Ningyuan. It won't be a problem for me to help you and your son make peace."

"You two are father and son, what can't you talk about?"

"Moreover, you have made great contributions in assisting me in pacifying the Western Sea. After we return to the capital, I will have already secured a bright future for you in front of His Majesty. With that, you still have no fear that Marquis Ningyuan will not let you into his home."

Gu Tingye sighed and said.

"General, for so many years, my father and I have always had conflicts, but I know that my father cares about me."

"When I failed the imperial examination, my father seemed indifferent to me, but he still secretly inquired about the reason for my failure."

"What troubles me is that the three of us brothers are from my father's three wives, and all of us are legitimate sons."

“I didn’t understand what went wrong before, but after being away from home for more than half a year, I’ve figured out a lot of things.”

"All the conflicts in the Marquis's mansion revolve around one issue: who will inherit the title in the future."

"According to the Marquis's family's legal system, it is natural for my eldest brother to inherit the title."

"But he was frail and sickly, and it was not long for him to live to a ripe old age."

"Then the title will have to be contested between my third brother and me."

Jia Jue said thoughtfully after hearing this.

"I understand now. Great treachery can appear as loyalty, and great falsehood can appear as truth. No wonder all the nobles in the capital say that Lady Qin, the second wife of Marquis Ningyuan, is virtuous and kind."

"It seems the problem lies with you, my stepmother, isn't it?"

Gu Tingye nodded and said, "That's right, I really don't know what to do."

Jia Jue said calmly.

"A true man, wielding a three-foot sword, can accomplish any great feat."

"Even if you inherit the title of Marquis of Ningyuan, with your large family, it won't be so easy for you to live a quiet life."

“I’ve heard Changbai say that your maternal grandfather was a wealthy merchant in Yangzhou who left you a fortune.”

"Now that you have military merits, why not break free from that cage?"

"When you come back, I'll arrange a meeting with your father. You two can talk things out and clear things up."

"It's just a marquisate. As long as you're willing to serve under me, I guarantee you'll be more prominent than the Ningyuan Marquis's family in less than ten years."

“You know the situation of the Ningyuan Marquis’s mansion better than I do. With your third brother’s character, even if he inherited the title, he wouldn’t be able to keep the family business.”

"Just wait and see what happens."

Upon hearing this, Gu Tingye bowed and said.

"I am grateful for your kindness, Commander, and I am willing to serve you with all my might."

Jia Jue said with a calm smile.

"Alright, don't worry about such trivial matters. Come on, let's drink."

The two then began to toast each other.

The next day, the group embarked on their return journey, heading towards the capital city.

Time flies, and another ten days have passed in the blink of an eye. A somber atmosphere pervades a mansion in Donghai County of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

The huge mansion is now completely empty of living people.

Three people were lying sprawled out in the main hall. If any noble or powerful person in the capital were present, they would recognize them at a glance as Consort Yue, Prince Zhongshun, and Marquis Xiaoyue.

Although these three people were dead, their eyes were still wide open, and they looked terrified.

Meanwhile, the mansion also houses the eldest son of Prince Zhongshun, the eldest son of Marquis Xiaoyue, and the second prince born to Consort Yue.

Without exception, they all became corpses.

When they fled, in order to maximize their chances of success, Consort Yue and the others only took three people with them. The rest of the families of Prince Zhongshun's Mansion and Marquis Xiaoyue's Mansion were all abandoned and became victims.

After the capital was restored, all their families were captured and executed by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Now that Consort Yue and others have also died here, it can be said that the achievement of wiping out the entire family has been accomplished.

After cleaning up the house, the Imperial Guards escorted the six corpses back to the capital.

Fortunately, it was freezing cold, and it was early winter. If it were midsummer, the corpse would probably have started to rot before they could even walk ten miles.

Two flowers bloom, one branch each.

Inside the Marquis of Shen Du's mansion, Zhang Guifen, who was in confinement after childbirth, held her son with a loving expression and was breastfeeding him.

Sheng Minglan, who was sitting to the side, subconsciously touched her stomach as she watched this scene unfold.

At this time, Sheng Minglan was already more than seven months pregnant, and she would give birth soon.

A maternal glow emanated slowly from behind the two women, creating a harmonious atmosphere in the room.

After Zhang Guifen finished breastfeeding, the little one fell into a deep sleep.

After Zhang Guifen handed her son to the nanny beside her, the nanny carefully placed him on the crib.

Sheng Minglan smiled slightly at Zhang Guifen and then spoke.

"Sister, how does it feel to be a mother?"

Zhang Guifen said after a moment of thought.

“Minglan, I don’t know what to say, but I just feel it’s amazing that I gave birth to a little person. When I look at him, I can’t help but feel happy, and I wish I could give him all the best things in my life.”

Sheng Minglan said meaningfully.

"If you compare your husband to your children, do you love your husband more or your children more?"

Zhang Guifen said with some hesitation after hearing this.

"Ugh, how am I supposed to choose?"

"Then tell me, how would you choose?"

Sheng Minglan said with a chuckle.

"Actually, I don't know how to choose either, but my husband talked to me about this before."

“At that time, I asked him, ‘If we had a child, would you love the child more or me more?’”

"That's what my husband told me at the time."

My husband said that men feel differently about children than women do.

"A child is something a woman gains after ten months of pregnancy and childbirth, after a brush with death, so women are naturally inclined to have a deep affection for their children."

“Men are different. A man’s love for a child depends on two aspects: one is his love for the child’s mother, which is a matter of loving the house because of the child.”

"Secondly, the man accompanies the child as he grows up day and night, and in this process, he develops fatherly love."

"Furthermore, if the child's mother loves the child more than her husband, she will naturally interfere when her husband disciplines the child, causing conflict between the couple, which may lead the husband to feel disgust towards the child and even towards his wife."

Zhang Guifen smiled and said after hearing this.

"I have a feeling that my husband's words have a different meaning."

Sheng Minglan asked with some curiosity.

"Oh, what do you mean?"

Zhang Guifen said with a chuckle.

"Is my husband worried that once we have a child, he will focus all his attention on the child and become indifferent to him?"

Sheng Minglan then waved her hand and said.

“That’s definitely not it, sister. Have you forgotten that this huge manor is not just for the two of us sisters? Surely our husband doesn’t lack someone to care for him?”

"I think the more likely reason is that my husband is worried that a doting mother will spoil her son, which is why he communicated with me like this."

Just as the two sisters were chatting, a maid came into the room, smiled, and bowed.

"Ladies, the Marquis just sent word that he has returned to the capital and is now going to the palace to meet His Majesty. He will return to his residence later in the evening."

Upon hearing this, Sheng Minglan and Zhang Guifen were overjoyed and immediately arranged for the people in the mansion to make preparations.

Not long after, inside the Qianqing Palace, Jia Jue arrived at a side hall of the Qianqing Palace, bowed, and said...

"Your Majesty, I am back."

Emperor Yongping smiled slightly as he looked at the travel-worn Jia Jue and said...

"It's good to be back. Please have a seat."

After the emperor and his minister sat facing each other, Jia Jue looked at Emperor Yongping before him and felt a pang of emotion.

Jia Jue was already aware of what had happened in the capital during this period.

I remember when I left the capital, Emperor Yongping had a full head of white hair but was in good spirits.

Emperor Yongping's hair is now quite gray, and he looks much older.

It is clear that this rebellion had a significant impact on Emperor Yongping.

Jia Jue looked at Emperor Yongping and said.

"Your Majesty has lost a lot of weight recently. I hope Your Majesty will take care of your health."

Emperor Yongping said with a calm smile.

"I am past the age of knowing Heaven's will. Although I am the Son of Heaven, I am still a mortal being, unable to resist birth, aging, sickness and death, which is beyond human power to reverse."

"Don't worry, I've weathered all sorts of storms over the years. This little thing is nothing to me."

"By the way, you haven't returned home yet, have you? Do you know that you've become a father?"

Jia Jue was very happy to hear this.

"Although I have not yet returned to the manor, I have calculated the date of my wife's delivery, and it should be around these days."

(End of this chapter)