Dream of the Red Chamber: Starting with winning over Daiyu's favorability

The Prince of Jin and the Queen reacted differently upon hearing the voice. The Queen seemed to have seen a savior and wished she could immediately hide beside her for protection.

The Prince of Jin, however, suppressed all his emotions and respectfully addressed the newcomer:

"aunt."

This woman's sudden appearance gave the Empress a sense of security, and for the first time, she voluntarily released her youngest son from her arms.

The little prince suddenly left his mother's warm embrace, his little face full of confusion, but he didn't cry or make a fuss. He just stood obediently on the ground, led by the empress.

The woman raised her hand and pressed it down, signaling the Empress to calm down, and explained her purpose:

"His Majesty has been seeking immortality for more than a day or two, and his health has been deteriorating in the past two years. He has listened to slander and consumed a lot of 'elixirs'."

The Prince of Jin, who had previously offered advice but was banished far away, would dare to offer any more advice after this incident.

The Empress showed a hint of understanding, but was still somewhat uneasy:

"And what about His Majesty..."

"Don't worry, Mother. Your Majesty's affairs are handled by me and my aunt."

Given the current instability at the border, this action is taken to prevent anyone from using the younger brother as a pretext for their actions.

The Empress was finally relieved to learn that the Grand Princess was involved in the palace affairs. She dared not say anything else, but the Grand Princess was highly respected among the imperial relatives and cherished the royal bloodline.

With the Grand Princess around, there was no need to worry about her youngest son's life being in danger.

As for the exact cause of His Majesty's death, she had no ability to investigate it further, as long as it did not affect her and her child.

After all, if a piece on a chessboard is incompetent but insists on jumping around, it will only be exploited by some ill-intentioned people.

……

Lin Ruhai stood at the front of the civil officials, quietly watching the newly enthroned emperor.

This prince, who had a reputation for virtue in his early years, seemed to have become a different person after being banished to a distant border by His Majesty. He no longer had the gentle and refined demeanor he once possessed.

His experience of living and working alongside his soldiers, enduring hardships and snow, tempered him into someone as hard as iron.

The Prince of Jin has been out of their sight for too long, and now no one can be sure what kind of person he has become.

The new emperor's first decree after ascending the throne was even more unexpected. He neither promoted his cronies as most people had guessed, nor did he suppress the important officials from the time of the deceased emperor.

The newly enthroned Prince Jin had no children of his own, so he issued an edict appointing his young sixth son as Crown Prince!

The imperial edict caused an uproar among the officials. The late emperor had not established an heir before his sudden death.

The fact that the new emperor immediately designated an heir upon ascending the throne left these ministers dumbfounded, considering that the new emperor was only twenty years old!

Even if he doesn't have his own biological child right now, there's no need to be in such a hurry, after all, he's still very young.

After this bombshell was dropped, the reaction to the new emperor's next edict also left these ministers completely baffled:

「奉

Tianchengyun

The Emperor decreed:

I believe that for the prosperity of good governance, we must first strengthen the bonds between the nine clans; for the beauty of royal rule, nothing is more important than kinship… Grand Princess Sun Junyue’s virtue surpasses that of the six marriages, and she should be given special honors to express our extraordinary favor.

She was given the honorific title of Grand Princess Lucheng!

The Grand Princess was already the most senior member of the royal family at this time. Although she did not have much power in the court on the surface, no one dared to underestimate her.

When the late emperor was just an ordinary prince, this eldest princess sold almost all of her family's wealth to help her father and, with the help of several extraordinary people, raised countless amounts of money and grain to send to the border where supplies were scarce.

This resolved the army's supply concerns and ensured a stable supply for the army in the days that followed.

Once the situation stabilized, the emperor did not bestow any honorary title upon her, but instead granted her the authority to manage the emperor's private treasury.

He also declared that the Grand Princess should go all out and do whatever she wanted, and that any losses would go into her private treasury, while any profits would belong entirely to the Grand Princess.

This practice has continued to this day, and the emperor's private treasury has always remained full, so no one knows exactly how much the Grand Princess is worth.

The new emperor not only continued this precedent, but also bestowed upon the Grand Princess the honorific title of "Grand Princess".

This is undoubtedly a move that elevates the Grand Princess's prestige to an unprecedented level.

The new emperor took in the commotion among his ministers in the hall, and only spoke after they had calmed down and processed the news:

"I have been stationed at the border for a long time, and I will have to rely on you all from now on."

The ministers looked terrified and immediately knelt down:

"Your Majesty is too kind!"

"This is the duty of a subject."

The emperor may be polite to you, but if you take it seriously, you're doomed.

As a trusted and loyal minister of the late emperor, Lin Ruhai had just been promoted to the rank of governor, a second-grade official, and was inevitably filled with apprehension.

"It's better for Daiyu to stay in the capital; nowhere is as safe as the capital."

However, even after the grand court assembly ended, the emperor did not mention these former officials, only saying that everything was in accordance with the arrangements of the late emperor.

All the subsequent arrangements were as if the emperor had not been changed, but the emperor sitting on the throne was no longer the weak one.

He was young and strong, with a healthy wheat-colored complexion. Although he spoke somewhat coldly, he acted with extreme gentleness.

They were two completely different emperors.

The tangible impact of this court assembly on Lin Ruhai was that his departure date was set, and with less than half a month to go, Lin Ruhai began to have a real sense of the change of regime.

This arrangement reveals that the new emperor is a decisive and efficient person who doesn't care about formalities and always yields to political matters, regardless of the procedures involved.

Lin Ruhai said with a hint of melancholy, "Only twelve days left."

Upon hearing Lin Ruhai's words, Lin Daiyu handed him a towel soaked in hot water while replying:

"Twelve days is enough time to do many things. Does Father really want to waste such precious time on sentimentality?"

Lin Ruhai carefully wiped his hands clean, paused in his movement as he picked up the teacup, and said with a smile:

"Yes, my daughter has really grown up. She can even teach her father how to do things now."

"How can this be considered teaching Dad how to do things..."

"Hehe..." Lin Ruhai chuckled twice, took a sip of the tea brewed by Lin Daiyu, and immediately felt refreshed.

The slight melancholy I felt earlier vanished instantly. Yes, it's not like I'm going through some kind of hell.

The new emperor seems to be a kind and generous person; it's not too late to make plans after he has stabilized the situation there.

Now that Daiyu has a senior nanny who has served the Empress Dowager and the Empress, no one will dare to gossip about her anywhere.

Thinking of Rong Momo, Lin Ruhai couldn't help but think of the late emperor who had already passed away.

Whether the late emperor wanted to relieve Lin Ruhai's worries and let him work with peace of mind, or he genuinely cared for his ministers, he effectively solved Lin Ruhai's problem.

Lin Ruhai's tone also carried a hint of sadness:

"We are currently in a period of national mourning, so please have everyone in the household be mindful of their conduct."

Lin Daiyu's eyes narrowed, and she naturally understood that this matter was no small thing.

Although the Lin family is always well-behaved, at this juncture, no amount of caution is excessive.