The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

It can only be said that Jia Baoyu, through his own actions, had long since severed all possibility with them.

Even if Consort Yuan in the palace had any ideas, she wouldn't dare to act rashly.

It is said that Consort Yuan in the palace has been living a very comfortable life lately.

The current emperor comes to her palace to stay overnight about every ten days.

While such a frequency of imperial visits to the emperor was not comparable to that of favored concubines in the palace, it was still considered quite prestigious.

The other concubines in the harem were naturally filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred.

Why is it that Yuan Chun is almost thirty years old, and no matter how well she maintains her appearance, she can't compare to those fresh and tender young girls, so how could she possibly regain the favor of the current generation?

Yuan Chun herself was both surprised and delighted.

She only has one little princess; it would be even better if she could give birth to a prince.

Even if Yuan Chun gave birth to a prince, she would not have any ambition for the throne.

The current emperor has too many children; the eldest, second, and third sons are already adults.

Even if the current emperor is at the height of his power and can remain on the throne for another twenty years, it is still unlikely that the prince born to Yuan Chun will be chosen.

The main reason is that having a prince by one's side ensures a completely stable life in the harem.

Furthermore, when the princess grows up, she will have someone to rely on when she gets married.

Since the Song and Ming dynasties, the married lives of royal princesses have not been very good.

Because the imperial son-in-law was not allowed to participate in court affairs, his status as a prince consort became increasingly questionable.

They were mostly selected from the sons of the powerful and wealthy, and they were the kind of people who lacked ambition.

Such people are usually riddled with flaws, big and small, and you have no idea whether they are human or ghost before you get married.

If a princess were to marry without a brother to help her, it's hard to say how she would fare.

Many of the melodramatic plots in traditional Chinese novels could actually happen in the Prince Consort's mansion!

For the sake of her child's future, Yuan Chun's desire for more security is understandable.

Now that such an opportunity has presented itself, it's only natural to seize it.

Yuan Chun is a smart person. Just look at the intelligence of the young ladies in the Rong family and you'll understand. She is the best among them. As long as she doesn't get stuck on trivial matters, she can see things clearly.

Why has the current emperor suddenly shown her more favor?

At first, Yuan Chun was naturally confused and puzzled. She certainly didn't think that her beauty could completely captivate the current emperor; that was impossible.

The imperial harem is never short of any kind of beauty!

Through snippets of conversation during my stay, along with some of my own analysis and speculation, I eventually figured out what really happened.

It turns out it was the work of the Jia brothers, Jia Cong and Jia Huan!

Yuan Chun suddenly realized, feeling an indescribable sense of relief, yet also quite complicated feelings.

Well, the fact that she was able to rise from a lady-in-waiting to a concubine at a crucial moment was also thanks to her family.

After further investigation, it was discovered that Jia Huan played a significant role in the affair.

The mere fact that the Second Master Zheng urged the collection of the debt owed to the national treasury made the Emperor feel quite pleased for a long time.

It was around that time that Yuan Chun became a concubine and gave birth to a princess!

Unexpectedly, her family is now helping her, giving her a huge advantage in the harem.

Indeed, if concubines in the harem wanted to live a comfortable and carefree life, they not only needed to possess extremely high qualities themselves, but their families outside the palace also had to be equally capable.

Otherwise, even if the emperor was temporarily blinded by lust, he could not possibly remain truly devoted for a lifetime!

It becomes clear when you think about it: both Jia Huan and Jia Cong are rising stars in the military.

At a time when the military was facing a shortage of capable generals, their performance naturally attracted the emperor's attention.

Simple rewards are only one aspect; giving other forms of recognition, such as giving Yuan Chun dignity in the harem, is another way of showing importance.

Yuan Chun could only accept this with pleasure; otherwise, how could she object?

However, my feelings are still quite complicated.

Both Jia Huan and Jia Cong were illegitimate sons of the Rong family.

They all performed so well, but what about her own brother, Jia Baoyu?

As far as Yuan Chun knew, Jia Baoyu hadn't even passed the imperial examination to become a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the lowest level of the imperial examinations) at this time!

Compared to Jia Huan and Jia Cong, there is simply no comparison between them.

Yuan Chun was quite helpless about this. Her own younger brother was useless, and she, who was valued by the emperor in the palace, still needed the help of her two half-brothers. It was really unreasonable.

Unfortunately, Madam Wang, the mother, was somewhat clueless.

When speaking in the palace, he would often bring up his half-brother Jia Huan, and in general, he never said anything nice about him.

According to Lady Wang, it seems that Jia Huan's achievements are entirely due to her teaching!

But Jia Huan didn't care much about the household or his stepmother.

If it weren't for Aunt Zhao's presence, Jia Huan would almost never have wanted to enter the Rong Mansion's backyard.

As for contact with Madam Wang, he avoided it as much as possible. Their relationship wasn't bad, but it was characterized by coldness, which Madam Wang was quite dissatisfied with.

She believed that Jia Huan had become successful on his own, but had not helped his brothers!

Yuan Chun felt helpless about this. After so many years of investigation, how could she not know what kind of person her own younger brother, Jia Baoyu, was?

It's his own unwillingness to improve, how can you blame it on Jia Huan?

Even without Jia Huan's help, the mansion's resources were all geared towards Jia Baoyu. As long as he had a little ambition, it wouldn't be difficult for him to rise to prominence.

The key issue is that Jia Baoyu himself is useless.

At times, Lady Wang even made some very difficult requests to Yuan Chun regarding Jia Baoyu's affairs, which strained the relationship between mother and daughter.

Yuan Chun felt utterly helpless. One was her biological mother, and the other was her own younger brother. She couldn't bring herself to be heartless and cold-hearted towards her family, and sometimes she felt exhausted.

Even more absurdly, when Jia Huan fought fiercely with the nomadic cavalry on the northwestern frontier, Lady Wang actually said that Jia Huan was too ungrateful and didn't even recognize his uncle, Prince Teng.

Chapter 369 Making a Stupid Move (Please Subscribe)

Are you kidding me?

Do you really think the inner palace was so oblivious to the details of such a crucial battle in the Northwest?

Lady Wang had no idea that this battle was a rare major conflict between the Great Qian Dynasty and the nomadic cavalry beyond the Great Wall, and detailed accounts of the battle had long circulated within the palace.

It's unclear who spread this rumor, but Yuan Chun was quite aware of the war situation in the Northwest.

How could Jia Huan not acknowledge Wang Ziteng as his uncle?

It's safe to say that without Jia Huan's help, Wang Ziteng would definitely have been in big trouble.

The battle situation clearly demonstrates just how passive Wang Ziteng was.

As one of the generals of the northwestern frontier, Wang Ziteng had a heavy responsibility!

However, even Yuan Chun, after reading the battle reports, knew that his military command ability was mediocre.

If it weren't for Jia Huan's outstanding performance, the border troops commanded by Wang Ziteng would have been in a truly unsatisfactory state and would certainly have been subject to harsh criticism from the imperial court.

It can be said that Jia Huan's appearance helped Wang Ziteng escape a disaster.

Is this not enough of an emphasis? Then what would it mean to be an emphasis?

Given Madam Wang's style and habits, she wanted to control everything. Did she expect Jia Huan to be obedient and subservient to Wang Ziteng?

Putting aside others, Yuan Chun would never agree to it!

Despite being disappointed by Madam Wang time and time again, she never expected Madam Wang to be so foolish.

Can't she see that if the Rong family wants to rise to prominence and takes the military route, the first person they need to surpass is their uncle, Wang Ziteng?

Putting everything else aside, at the very least, we should make Wang Ziteng relinquish his position as the head of the four major families in Jinling!

Just like the Ning and Rong families at their peak, the Ning and Rong families were undoubtedly the core of the four great families of Jinling.

In the face of family interests, what does Wang Ziteng, this uncle, count for?

Besides, given Wang Ziteng's abilities and performance in military command, would he have achieved his current status without the strong support of the Rong family?

Madam Wang's mind has truly gone mad.

Uncle Wang Ziteng has become successful, and how much has he helped the family?

Yuan Chun has had plenty of free time in the palace these past few years, allowing her to gradually gather relevant information and learn about the development of her household and the four great families of Jinling.

The final conclusion was something she found hard to accept!

The Wang family rose to prominence because of their uncle, Wang Ziteng, but the other three of the four great families of Jinling did not benefit at all. On the contrary, they were exploited by the Wang family and fell into dire straits.

In other words, the Ning family reacted quickly and broke free from Wang Ziteng's manipulation.

Otherwise, the revival of the Ning and Rong mansions will not be so easy at present!

Of course, it's normal for Uncle Wang Ziteng, as the head of the Wang family, to have his own selfish motives!