Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

"You saved the emperor at the Royal Stables that day."

I originally intended to bestow upon you a great reward, but His Majesty said that you are still young, yet you are already a fourth-rank official with a title. It is not appropriate to bestow too much reward upon you, lest it be detrimental to your foundation.

"I have heeded His Majesty's advice."

The Empress Dowager said calmly.

In response, Jia Lian thought to himself: What do you mean by it being detrimental to my foundation? It's just that you sneaked out of the palace to play and didn't want the world to know, so it's not good to reward you, right?

It seems like I saved you for nothing, and didn't get any benefit in return.

"Your Majesty, you flatter me. It is my duty to be loyal to the Emperor and to receive his salary. I would never dare to seek any reward."

Although Jia Lian's words were eloquent and flawless, perhaps because the Empress Dowager had been trying to understand his feelings since he entered the hall, she could sense a hint of resentment in his heart and suppressed a smile, saying:

"Although you do not seek any reward, it is not the style of our royal family to fail to reward those who have done us a favor. It just so happens that I have a connection with your sister, so yesterday I discussed with His Majesty the matter of promoting your sister, Consort Jia, to the rank of Imperial Noble Consort, which would also bring glory to your Jia family."

Jia Lian's heart stirred. If that were the case, it would be a decent reward.

But Yuan Chun should have been promoted to Imperial Concubine in the first place, so why is the credit now being attributed to her?

That's fine too. Yuan Chun was originally Jia Zheng and his wife's biggest trump card when facing him. Now their trump card has also benefited from him. Let's see how they can still act recklessly towards him.

So he quickly thanked the Empress Dowager for her "kindness".

After finishing her opening remarks, the Empress Dowager gestured to her attendants, who understood and quietly signaled to the rest of the palace to leave.

Then the Empress Dowager raised her arm, and a female official helped her up and down the steps.

After a while inside the hall, Jia Lian's eyes had adjusted, and the beaded curtains could no longer obstruct his view.

Now that the Empress Dowager has stepped down from her seat, she can see things much more clearly.

A wide, floor-length palace dress, a majestic phoenix crown, a gorgeous shawl, and gold-inlaid and jade-encrusted finger guards—all these extremely noble garments were worn by a tall, graceful, and stunningly beautiful woman.

For the first time, Jia Lian truly felt what it meant to be the majesty of an empress!

She only took a few steps, yet she gave Jia Lian a slight sense of pressure, making him unable to look her in the eye.

This feeling is completely different from the woman I met that day!

Is it that your clothes are different?

No, there's also mindset.

That day, he had no idea that the woman was the Empress Dowager; he simply thought she was a beautiful royal woman.

The Empress Dowager made no attempt to conceal her imperial power. She dismissed the extra palace servants and stepped down from her seat because she did not want too many people to hear what she was about to say.

She walked up to Jia Lian and slightly parted her lips: "I summoned you here today because there is another matter I want to discuss with you."

As she spoke, the Empress Dowager peered through the curtain in front of her to closely observe Jia Lian's demeanor and appearance.

Indeed, it's different from the others.

No wonder, this picky girl can reject anyone else outright, but when it comes to this guy, she hesitates and refuses to tell the truth.

"Your Majesty, please speak. As long as it is my duty, I will certainly comply."

"It's my duty?"

The Empress Dowager keenly sensed the problem with Jia Lian's words and felt somewhat displeased.

Do I need to discuss your own duties with you? This kid is actually quite cunning.

However, it's useless to try to be clever in front of me.

"I ask you, what do you think of Princess Zhaoyang?"

"Princess Zhaoyang possesses a valiant and heroic bearing, her elegance surpassing that of the royal family. She embodies the spirit of ancient heroines and is truly a peerless figure, not someone a foolish subject can presume to comment upon."

The Empress Dowager frowned slightly.

Although it was just a simple test between them, she had already discerned that Jia Lian seemed to have no intention of climbing the social ladder.

"You saved my life, and I wish to betroth Zhaoyang to you. Would you be willing?"

After all, she was the Empress Dowager, and she couldn't possibly abandon her plans just because Jia Lian was a little unwilling.

Jia Lian remained silent for a while before saying, "Your Majesty may have misunderstood. I married several years ago, and we have a harmonious marriage. Therefore, please forgive my ignorance; I am unworthy of Your Majesty's kindness."

"Hmph, a harmonious marriage? Is that really true?"

The Empress Dowager seemed somewhat annoyed by Jia Lian's direct rejection.

"As far as I know, that Wang is just an orphan girl, uneducated and ignorant of etiquette."

I've been married to you for several years, but you've never known how to be a good wife and mother; all you do is compete and strive for dominance.

I've also heard that he even wrestled and struggled with you in front of the servants. Can this really be considered marital harmony?

Hearing the Empress Dowager say so much in one breath, Jia Lian's heart sank slightly.

It seems that the Empress Dowager really came prepared.

If it were anyone else, Jia Lian would naturally have countless words to refute them, but when it comes to the Empress Dowager, everyone would have to be careful!

Jia Lian then cupped his hands and said, "Please forgive me, Your Majesty. The relationship between husband and wife is like a fish drinking water; only the fish knows whether it is hot or cold."

What others say is not reliable.

Like a fish drinking water, only it knows whether it's hot or cold...

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager seemed to be moved.

But what she was planning concerned the life of the person she loved most, so she couldn't afford to be too concerned about other people's feelings.

"Are you really unwilling? Do you know how many sons of powerful and wealthy families in the capital deeply admire Zhaoyang, yet cannot obtain her?"

I only bestow this favor upon you because you are a rare talent and have done me a favor.

In other words, few people in the world dare to disobey my decisions.

"The fact that I am discussing this with you now does not mean that I cannot do anything to you."

The Empress Dowager was not lying at all.

Although stealing someone else's husband is not a glorious thing, the royal family must have some privileges.

Putting aside everything else, if the Empress Dowager were to speak to Emperor Ningkang, even if Emperor Ningkang, as her "son," did not want to bear a disgraceful reputation, would he really disobey the Empress Dowager and be branded as unfilial?

As for Emperor Ningkang, if he really wanted his ministers to marry his daughters, he could find them even if they were just married men or even if they hid in the deep mountains to become monks!

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. I am unworthy of such a favor and beg Your Majesty to rescind your order."

"you……!"

Looking at Jia Lian, who was frowning and bowing with his fists clasped, clearly stubborn, the Empress Dowager's composed face finally revealed a look of annoyance.

He seemed to have something harsh to say, but after thinking about it, he didn't. Instead, he looked at him for a long time, then waved his hand and said, "Alright, you can leave now."

This time, it was Jia Lian's turn to be stunned.

He glanced up at the Empress Dowager to make sure she wasn't joking, then nervously bowed and took his leave.

As soon as Jia Lian left, the palace maids and eunuchs in the hall couldn't help but look at each other.

What an eye-opener today! Someone actually dared to refuse the Empress Dowager to her face, and it seems the Empress Dowager isn't too angry!

"Come out."

With the help of a female official, the Empress Dowager returned to her phoenix throne and sat down, then spoke softly.

As she spoke, a slender figure emerged silently from behind the large screen behind the phoenix chair.

The Empress Dowager beckoned to her, and the woman came over and nestled into the Empress Dowager's arms.

"What's wrong? Are you unhappy?"

The Empress Dowager asked with a smile.

Princess Zhaoyang shook her head, trying to hide her inner emotions.

Although she had previously opposed her grandmother's actions, being actually rejected still caused her pride to feel inexplicably frustrated.

"Grandmother, I think he's right. 'Only the fish knows whether the water is hot or cold.' Since he loves his wife so much, we don't need to be the villains who break up other people's marriages."

Your Zhaoyang isn't really unwanted...

Hearing that this girl was actually blaming her, the Empress Dowager pinched her cheek in annoyance.

"You have the nerve to say that? If it weren't for your pickiness, saying this one has bad character and that one is not good-looking, and I finally managed to pick one for you, you would complain that he is too quiet and boring!"

"If that weren't the case, would you expect me to be the bad guy?"

The Empress Dowager was furious. In the past month or so, she had arranged for at least three or four groups of promising young men to enter the palace, trying every means to create opportunities for Zhaoyang, but this good-for-nothing girl just wouldn't take it seriously.

She painstakingly selected a few, but she still found fault with them and crossed them out.

Only when Jia Lian was mentioned did Zhao Yang hesitate. As someone who had been through it all, how could the Empress Dowager not understand that she had taken a liking to Jia Lian!

That's why things have turned out this way.

She made many preparations for this...

Helping Yuan Chun be promoted to Imperial Concubine was just an initial tactic for her to win over the Jia family. If things went well, she had many supporting plans that would ensure the Jia and Wang families wouldn't have much to say.

Unexpectedly, Jia Lian encountered an accident right from the very first step.

That kid seemed shrewd, but who knew he was just a hothead who dared to reject her suggestion in public!