Chapter 84 Reminiscence of the Past
In Shoukang Palace, the retired emperor met Jia Zhen in person.
Looking at the fear-stricken young face, the emperor sighed in his heart.
The Jia family is loyal.
Therefore, like his father did in the past, he chose the most capable Jia Jing from the Jia family as the crown prince early on.
Thinking that they will be able to get along well with each other as king and subject in the future.
Maybe it was because he was getting old, or maybe he felt a little regretful, but last night he dreamed of the prince who once rode a horse in fine clothes.
How happy and proud he was when he saw the prince at that time!
The fatigue of the day would always dissipate because of the prince. When he was sick, the first person he would see when he opened his eyes would be the prince. When he was recuperating, the prince would accompany him in his bedroom with his endless government affairs, just like the emperor's son now. He would handle the simple things for him first, and then ask him about the difficult and indecisive things.
He never worried that the prince would not be able to do the job without him.
At that time, Jia Jing was always by the prince's side.
It’s like there’s always Er Jia by his side.
But they are all gone.
After the crown prince died, he also neglected the two Jia brothers. The two of them became ill due to worry that year, and their old injuries broke out, and they died one after another.
So many people died that year!
The emperor closed his eyes and said gently, "Please sit down!"
"...Thank you, Your Majesty!"
When he realized they really had to chat about family matters, Jia Zhen felt very nervous.
He didn't know what to talk about.
There's nothing outstanding about the house.
"You are the head of the Jia family now. Can you handle the affairs of the family well?"
The retired emperor actually knew that the Jia family was ruining the child.
He once told the prince that the people in Ningguo Mansion had been around them for three generations in a row, and when it comes to the fourth generation, they should pay attention.
However, the prince said that among all the family members, the Jia family knew when to act and would never do anything to embarrass the royal family.
Sure enough, this child is just like Dai Ru’s eldest son, neither good at literature nor martial arts.
"Just...just barely okay."
Jia Zhen was so scared that sweat broke out on his forehead.
He was not qualified to be the clan leader. "If I don't understand, I will ask my mother."
As soon as he finished speaking, Jia Zhen knelt down again, "I thank the emperor for giving my mother honor!" On this point, he was really grateful to the emperor, so when he kowtowed, he kowtowed sincerely and made a lot of noises, "I only hope that the emperor can live a hundred years..."
When this 100-year-old man came out, Jia Zhen was so frightened that he broke out in a sweat. "I just hope that the emperor will live long, long, long, long!"
"Sit down!"
The emperor was tired of hearing "Long live the emperor" at the end. In ancient times, emperors often had short lives. He only hoped that he could live a hundred years. "I have known your grandfather and great uncle since childhood. We drank together, rode horses together, and encountered danger together."
They were older than him and had always been protecting him.
After his three older brothers either died in battle or were poisoned, he, the only son of his father, was protected by two generations of the Jia family.
Duke Ning and Duke Rong were in charge of domestic affairs, respectively, and together with their son, they really protected him like an iron barrel.
The emperor was very emotional, "Long live your life, that's all I can say, a hundred years is good enough."
This child is an honest person.
"Back then, your uncle died of illness when he was less than ten years old. Your grandfather cried a lot in front of me."
The old man must have never gotten over the pain of losing his son until his death.
So, although his prince was gone, Jia Jing was still alive.
"Now that you have a sister, have you told your grandfather?"
"Yes! Your son has announced the good news to the ancestors at the ancestral hall on my behalf."
Jia Zhen's eyes were a little red.
Although he thought that the emperor might chat with him, he didn't expect him to say these things.
"That day I was assassinated and on the verge of death. My mother was also struggling for life in the delivery room. Thanks to the Queen who sent a female doctor to save my mother and sister's lives." After saying this, Jia Zhen kowtowed again, "My whole family is grateful!"
"The Queen is indeed very good."
The retired emperor had never expected that the daughter-in-law he had chosen for his son would be the best one among his many daughters-in-law.
Being able to help him remember his old ministers, I think the prince has said a lot about it in front of her.
At this moment, the retired emperor was unusually satisfied with the emperor's son and daughter-in-law who were accompanying him in the palace. "Speaking of assassination, has the assassin been found?" He had remembered it at first, but later forgot it due to many things. Now that it was mentioned, he naturally had to ask.
"…Not yet. I only know that it is related to the remnants of the previous dynasty."
Those who need to cry should cry.
This was what his grandfather taught him when he was still alive.
The old man was afraid that he and his father would not be able to control their strength and would accidentally beat him to death.
Jia Zhen said pitifully, "Your Majesty, they wanted to destroy my family when they took action at that time!"
His son is still young.
"I went to the Ministry of Justice to urge them the other day, and the officials there were very critical of me, saying that they were already trying their best to investigate. But my friend in the Wucheng Military Department said that the case might be left unsolved. They simply didn't take it seriously as they did at the beginning, and now they are in the middle of whether to investigate or not."
Jia Zhen couldn't swallow this humiliation.
He almost died.
So, after seeing the good face of the emperor, she couldn't help but complain again.
"Is there such a thing?"
The emperor frowned, "Someone, go to the Ministry of Justice and ask that old official Fu what's going on."
"……yes!"
The young eunuch who was attending the ceremony glanced at Jia Zhen and left quickly.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for taking charge of this matter for me."
As he said this, Jia Zhen kowtowed again.
The emperor waved his hand, "Your son's name is Rong Ge'er?"
"yes!"
Speaking of his son, Jia Zhen smiled and said, "He is more promising than me. He has already read Mencius and said that he will win the first prize in the imperial examination. I will come to kowtow to you and report the good news to the ancestors in the ancestral hall."
The Emperor: “…”
He was slightly stunned for a moment, then thought of Jia Rong's age reported by the secret guard, and slowly smiled, "Then I will wait for him to win the first prize in the imperial examination, kowtow to me, and report the good news to his ancestors."
It seems that he still has some life left.
The emperor was quite satisfied. He felt that although Jia Zhen was useless, he was quite sweet. "By the way, since he is more promising than you, as a father, you can't beat him at will, right?"
Duke Ningguo beat his son like he was beating a thief.
The retired emperor saw with his own eyes how Duke Ningguo beat Jia Daihua. He beat him lightly every three days and heavily every five days, which made him terrified.
But later, Jia Daihua beat Jia Jing in the same way, and once even scared the prince.
The prince ran up to him and said, "Father, you are so kind."
It was so good back then! "...I..." Jia Zhen hesitated, "He has his grandmother to protect him, so I have never been able to hit him."
He hasn't hit his son in a long time.
Jia Zhen felt a little regretful.
The brat got much less beaten than him!
“Hahaha~”
The emperor understood the expression on his face and couldn't help laughing. "I still remember when you were a kid, you fell down while climbing a tree in the palace. Your grandfather thought you couldn't even climb a tree properly, so he whipped you and chased you back up the tree."
This pitiful child was not only beaten by his grandfather, but also often beaten by Jia Jing.
"It was your grandmother who came and rescued you home, wiping away tears."
"Your Majesty, I was only six years old at that time."
When talking about the past, Jia Zhen couldn't help laughing.
Unfortunately, my grandmother passed away too early.
Otherwise, he would have not only his mother's protection, but also his grandmother's.
However, since his grandmother passed away, his grandfather rarely beat him.
If he could go back in time, he really hoped that his grandfather could still beat him, and that his grandmother would still jump out to protect him every time.
Dai Quan, who had rushed back from Concubine Zhen's palace, heard the retired emperor laughing happily from afar. He frowned slightly and hurriedly quickened his pace.
At this time, the emperor rarely cared about the queen.
The salt fields that Shen had Lin Ruhai experiment with were so effective that the secret guards in Jiangnan had already sent a letter back. It would be a shame not to give him a favor.
But it was obvious that my father wanted to suppress it, and he, as the emperor, couldn't give it even if he wanted to.
I can only make a promise that seems very heavy.
Although he felt that Shen was a smart person and her demands would not be too outrageous, the emperor had nothing and could not help feeling guilty.
"emperor!"
Eunuch Liu came over happily, "Little Sanzi just reported that Madam Shen asked the Queen to let Lady Jia Yuanchun go home."
Oh? The emperor slapped the table in delight.
"I don't know what they said. The Queen now wants to act as a matchmaker for the Marquis of Xinping."
Xinping Hou? The emperor thought for a moment and nodded slowly, "Indeed, he is a good match!"
My father is also worried about this matter.
He stood up all of a sudden and said, "Let's go to Shoukang Palace."
It would be best to let the emperor grant the marriage.
Otherwise, the longer the night goes, the more trouble there will be, and it would be bad if Concubine Zhen ruined it.
The emperor had suffered too many losses at the hands of Concubine Zhen, so he made up his mind that once he made a decision, as long as he was 30% sure, he would do it immediately and there would be no delay.
In Kunning Palace, Shen Ning asked the Queen about the health of Xinping Marquis Cheng Luo.
After confirming that he had all his limbs intact, was a little weak due to family changes, had no concubines around him, and would never go to the battlefield in the future, he agreed on the spot.
He was afraid that if he responded too late, Yuanchun would be abused by Lady Jia and Wang when she returned home.
One of them is her grandmother and the other is her biological mother, and they have more say in Yuanchun's marriage than she does.
What if Wang was foolish enough to win over someone for the Wang family and promised Yuanchun to a military general? That would be the end of them.
"It seems that the Madam is quite satisfied with this son-in-law."
The empress was also very happy that Bao's matchmaking satisfied the girl, and she said, "I'll talk to the emperor later and see if he can issue an edict to grant the marriage."
"That's even better."
Shen Ning thanked, "Thank you for everything, Queen."
"Haha, what trouble? Their marriage is done, and our two families are considered relatives now."
The emperor was very sad about Princess Baofeng's affairs.
That was his sister who once took care of him.
Because of the emperor, the queen naturally paid more attention to Cheng Luo's affairs, "In the current Cheng family, Cheng Luo only has one half brother."
Another one, who was about the same age as Cheng Luo, was also taken away by Princess Baofeng.
In fact, according to the Queen, Princess Baofeng was too kind-hearted. Since she had done it, she should have taken the old woman from the Cheng family and her favorite grandson away with her.
The life of a princess only took away two lives.
This forced Cheng Luo to respect the old woman out of filial piety.
"There aren't many people in the Cheng family." The Queen said, "When the incident happened, the Emperor was very angry and wanted to divide the family property among them. Unfortunately, something happened in the end and he didn't get to divide it."
The old woman followed the path of the Concubine Nan'an, and the Concubine found Concubine Zhen, who then said something wrong to the Emperor. The word "filial piety" suppressed all of them.
"Wait until Cheng Luo gets married..."
"For the safety of my daughter, I will watch and try my best to separate them."
Shen Ning was all smiles.
Even if there is no opportunity, you can create one.
Although she has no experience in palace fighting, she has watched quite a few palace fighting dramas.
Yuanchun has been able to survive in the palace until now, perhaps if she is just given a little hint, she will know what to do.
"Ma'am, have some tea!"
The Queen likes people like Mrs. Shen who are smart and have bottom lines.
I even just found out if Cheng Luo has any other hidden illnesses.
Obviously, if things go wrong, she might turn against us.
The Queen admired him very much.
It is really rare to give up such a heavy promise and do this for a niece from the next room.
"This is the new Mingqian tea this year. If you feel good, take a few cans back."
"In this case, it is better to obey than to be respectful."
Shen Ning and the Queen smiled at each other.
The two of them didn't know yet, because they had been talking for too long, a little palace maid had already gone out to report the news.
Concubine Zhen had already read the letter that Wang had sent to the palace at a large sum of money.
She originally didn't care whether Yuanchun could get close to the emperor.
After all, she is far from being able to compare with her.
The Emperor loves the Empress the most. Yuanchun wants to follow his example and become a favorite concubine... but it's impossible.
The Jia family is on the decline, their children are not good enough, and they cannot compare with the Zhen family.
However, no matter how declining the Jia family is, they still have some connections in the military.
Concubine Zhen has been waiting, wanting to see all the cards Yuanchun and the Jia family have to play.
Only when you see clearly can you master it.
Although the emperor's health is still good, the emperor has gradually gained a foothold in the court, and it would be very difficult to bring him down again.
Concubine Zhen had an immature idea, but this idea really required Yuanchun's cooperation.
She could only wait until she ran into obstacles everywhere in the palace.
"Your Majesty, the Emperor is here to see the Emperor again."
The palace maid came in and reported in a low voice.
"Know what?"
"I don't know, but the emperor looks very happy, as if he is happy about something."
"Then go and find out."
Concubine Zhen thought of something, "By the way, has Jia Zhen left?"
"not yet."
The palace maid shook her head, "I heard that the emperor has laughed several times because of him."
What? Concubine Zhen stood up suddenly, "Why didn't you report it earlier?"
As his wife, she knew that the emperor, as he grew older, liked to reminisce about the past more and more.
The protection between the two generations of the Jia family has always been in the heart of the retired emperor.
If it weren't for the incident with the crown prince, her son would have to depend on Jia Jing's mood.
"Let's go and take a look."
Speaking of which, the Zhen family and the Jia family are also relatives in a distant way.
One of her sisters-in-law is from the Shi family.
Although he died early, if you really want to, you can still reach him.
When Concubine Zhen and her men hurried there, they didn't know that the Emperor had already mentioned the marriage of Cheng Luo and Yuanchun to the Emperor Retired with a smile on his face.
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