The Splendor of the Red Chamber

The Forbidden City and the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Inside the solemn and dignified hall, only Jia Lian stood alone with his hands at his sides.

He was summoned directly from the Tiger Guard camp and waited respectfully in the hall for half an hour, but still failed to see the emperor.

There wasn't even a single palace maid or eunuch in sight.

Was the emperor summoning him for an audience?

Jia Lian kept pondering this question, but the answer clearly needed to be revealed by the emperor himself; any further thought on his own would be futile.

But one thing is certain: the emperor had been keeping an eye on him for a long time. Otherwise, he wouldn't have sent someone to summon him the day after he arrived in the capital, let alone send an envoy directly to the Tiger Guard camp.

Could it be related to Lin Ruhai's estate?

Just then.

Jia Lian heard the sound of armor plates clashing outside the palace gate. Although he couldn't see what was happening outside, he could tell that there were four Imperial Guards standing on the left and right sides respectively.

The mystery is finally about to be revealed.

"The Emperor has arrived!"

A moment later, a melodious voice entered the hall.

Jia Lian quickly lifted his robe and knelt down, waiting for the emperor to enter the hall so he could pay his respects.

Soon, a steady footstep entered the hall, but instead of heading towards the throne on the steps, it slowly walked behind Jia Lian, without saying a word, just standing there staring at the back of Jia Lian's head.

Jia Lian felt his hair stand on end from being stared at.

A strange thought couldn't help but pop into his mind: if he suddenly attacked and killed the emperor with three punches, who knows what kind of chain reaction it would trigger.

At this point, the emperor finally spoke: "I heard you defeated Zheng Xiao and Liang Xuan?"

Jia Lian hurriedly bowed deeply and said, "Your subject Jia Lian greets Your Majesty—I would like to inform Your Majesty that I only managed to win by a single move because of my strength and quick reflexes. In terms of martial arts proficiency, I am inferior to the two generals."

"yes."

The emperor uttered two noncommittal words, then after a long pause asked, "How much money was made from the sale of the Lin family's properties in total?"

It really happened!

Jia Lian's heart skipped a beat, and he answered without hesitation: "Excluding the money used for funerals and the rare books that have not yet been sold, Lord Lin left behind a total of more than 683,500 taels."

In any case, the Rongguo Mansion hadn't had time to spend the money yet, and Lin Ruhai hadn't been impeached or arrested during his lifetime, so theoretically this couldn't be considered as harboring stolen money.

Even if the emperor wanted to hold someone accountable, it wouldn't be a serious crime like confiscating property or exterminating the entire family.

"You remember it clearly."

The emperor chuckled and asked again, "It's said that a clean prefect earns 100,000 taels of silver in three years. Lin Ruhai served as the salt commissioner for six years. Do you think his silver was clean or tainted?"

Come here, Second Master, you have a few gold beads on you. Tell me which one is innocent and which one is tainted!

Jia Lian inwardly scoffed, but outwardly replied honestly, "This humble subject does not know."

"So you didn't dare touch a single penny, and you were still giving the Lin family's young lady expense reports every day?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian felt a chill run down his spine. The emperor must have planted a spy in the Lin residence, and one of them must be of high rank.

He hurriedly kowtowed again, saying, "Your Majesty is wise. I do have doubts about the origin of this money, but even if this hadn't happened, I wouldn't have touched it."

"I trust you on that."

The emperor chuckled: "After all, you get tens of thousands of strings of cash as a dowry for a concubine, and your honeycomb briquette business is making a fortune every day. You don't need to make this dishonest money."

Since they had planted spies in the Lin residence, it's not surprising that they knew about the Sheng family's affairs.

"Your Majesty, I am filled with fear and shame."

Although it wasn't uncommon for Jia Lian to take a merchant's wife as a concubine, he still put on a show of trepidation.

Then the emperor abruptly changed the subject, asking, "Do you think I should appoint the eldest son or the most capable person as heir?"

Jia Lian dared not take on this topic, and hurriedly said, "The matter of establishing an heir is entirely decided by Your Majesty. I am young and inexperienced, and have never held any official position..."

"I want you to tell the truth."

The emperor coldly interrupted Jia Lian's perfunctory reply.

I, I, I, you dog-footed emperor!

Jia Lian cursed inwardly, then gritted his teeth and said decisively, "Actually, whether she is older or more virtuous is irrelevant to me. What I hope for most is that Consort Xiande will give birth to an imperial heir to inherit the throne!"

"Hahaha~"

The emperor laughed heartily, finally stepping out from behind Jia Lian and calmly ascending the steps to sit on the dragon throne: "Rise, my dear minister."

"Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty."

Jia Lian knew he had made the right bet, but that also meant he had no other choice.

After he stood up, the emperor said in a low voice, "Since June, I have seen many nobles, both old and young, but they are all listless and dejected. You are the only one who did not play games with me and told the truth."

"Your Majesty, I am filled with trepidation."

Jia Lian hurriedly replied, "I was just young and ignorant, and spoke without thinking."

"I have met several people younger than you."

The emperor chuckled twice and said seriously, "I have seen your accounts. They are well-organized and detailed without being cumbersome. They are in no way inferior to those of some old officials in the Ministry of Revenue."

"It would be a waste of your accounting skills if you went to the Three Guards—you should go to the Imperial City Guard instead, starting as a Captain of the Imperial Household."

The Imperial Guard Commandant was a fifth-rank official.

This means that Jia Lian's rank remained unchanged, but he was transferred from the civil official group to the military general group.

This is usually considered a downgraded call.

However, the Imperial City Guard is different from other places. As a special agency authorized by the emperor, it has always been known for its low rank and high power. Even ten fifth-rank garrison commanders of the Eagle Guard cannot compare to one Imperial City Guard captain.

"Your subject Jia Lian thanks Your Majesty for your great kindness!"

Jia Lian knelt down again and proclaimed, "From now on, I will take Prince Zhongshun as my role model and be a loyal and upright minister who serves the emperor and the country!"

Yesterday, Jia Zheng warned him not to be used as a tool by the emperor like Prince Zhongshun. Today, he said he would take Prince Zhongshun as his role model. Jia Zheng must be furious when he hears this.

But Jia Lian had no other choice.

The emperor appointed him to the Imperial City Guard, clearly hoping that he would take the lead and help suppress the forces that had sided with the Prince of Yong and the Prince of Yan.

He couldn't refuse the emperor's arrangement at all. Rather than being hesitant and indecisive, he might as well just openly serve the emperor as his tool.

At least for now, imperial power is still the greatest common denominator, and in the short term, I can still use it to my advantage.

As for the future...

We'll have to hold out until the emperor passes away first!

"Hehe, you really are a smart person."

The emperor was clearly pleased with Jia Lian's attitude, praising him a few times and bestowing upon him one hundred taels of silver and ten bolts of silk before ordering Jia Lian to leave.

"Oh, right."

As Jia Lian was walking backward, he suddenly heard the emperor say, "You should not interfere with the Lin family's 700,000 strings of cash anymore. I want to see how your uncle will handle it."

What else can be done?

It is estimated that more than half of them will be used for the provincial family residence.

Jia Zheng may still be thinking of making up for it later, but no one in the second branch of the family knows how to make money, so they will probably only owe more and more.

The only possible way to plug this hole is to follow the example of the Ningyuan Marquis's family and "sell their son".

But if Baoyu were to marry someone else, wouldn't that betray Lin Ruhai's intention to entrust his son to him?

But if Baoyu is not allowed to marry someone else, how can such a huge hole be filled?

It's an infinite loop.

While Jia Lian was inwardly complaining, he also secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Although he felt somewhat sorry for the second branch of the family, since the emperor had ordered him to stand aside, he could only let his uncle die rather than his nephew.