frightfiction Chapter 966 [Ashes of Love: Red Mansion Tribulation 36]
Chapter 966 [Ashes of Love: Red Mansion Tribulation 36]
Grandmother Jia slowly said, "You are just a weak scholar. What can you do if you go out like this? You are not like your elder brother. As a military commander, he is naturally qualified to join the army and serve the country. As for you, you only know how to deal with those officials all day long. Apart from that, you are simply useless! Now, perhaps our Yuanchun can help you. You know, our Jia family has a relationship of prosperity and loss. Yuanchun must understand this truth in her heart. Only when our entire family prospers can she live smoothly in the palace. Therefore, she will definitely do her best to help."
When Mrs. Wang heard this, she quickly responded, "Mother, you are right. I will go and contact Sister Chun right away."
Grandmother Jia nodded slightly to show her agreement, and said softly, "Well, that's great, go quickly."
At this moment, Jia Zheng's heart was filled with excitement. All the words he had said before were forgotten. Perhaps his precious daughter really had the ability to see through everything and could help him return to the officialdom and realize his ambitions.
Yuanchun, who was far away in Fengzao Palace, received a letter from her mother. As she didn't know what happened at home, she took the letter with joy at first, thinking it was just an ordinary letter of greeting. However, when she opened the envelope with great anticipation and read it word by word, the smile on her face disappeared instantly, replaced by a solemn expression.
Yuanchun was extremely anxious and kept pacing in the magnificent palace. She knew that the situation was critical and if she continued to wait, the consequences would be disastrous. So she decided not to sit and wait for death, but to take the initiative to find a solution to the problem.
Yuanchun first ordered the maid beside her to go to the kitchen to prepare a bowl of carefully cooked duck soup. After the duck soup was ready, she carefully picked up the soup bowl and led the maid straight to the Qianqing Palace. Along the way, she secretly thought about how to talk to the emperor and how to make the emperor understand and support her.
Arriving at the gate of the Qianqing Palace, Yuanchun saw Liang Jiugong waiting outside from afar. She hurriedly quickened her pace, showed a friendly and flattering smile on her face, and went forward to say: "Eunuch Liang, I wonder if the emperor is free to see me now? I specially brought him his favorite old duck soup."
As a close attendant to the emperor, Liang Jiugong naturally knew a lot about the affairs of the palace. Moreover, not long ago, he learned some information when he accompanied the emperor to court. In addition, he just received news from the secret guards that the empress had just received a letter from home. In this way, with a little association, he could guess the purpose of Yuanchun's visit.
Thinking of this, Liang Jiugong also responded with a smile on his face: "My lady, it's really unfortunate that the emperor is busy with government affairs at the moment and really can't spare the time to meet you. How about this, your lady, please move to the side hall and wait for a while. When the emperor finishes dealing with the affairs at hand, I will go and report to him. Please go in and see him."
Yuanchun thought for a moment and felt that there was no better way at the moment, so she nodded and said, "Well, then I'll have to trouble Eunuch Liang. I'll go to the side hall and wait. Oh, by the way, Eunuch Liang, please pass this soup to the emperor." As she said that, Yuanchun handed the soup bowl in her hand to Liang Jiugong.
Liang Jiugong respectfully took the bowl of steaming soup from the palace maid, then turned to his disciple Xiao Dezi who was standing beside him, winked, and whispered, "Xiao Dezi, take Empress Yuanchun and her entourage to the side hall to rest, and entertain them well."
After receiving instructions from his master, the clever Xiao Dezi hurriedly stepped forward, bowed slightly to Yuanchun and others, and said respectfully: "Empress Yuanchun, please follow me to this side hall." After that, he led everyone towards the side hall.
At this time, Yuanchun moved her lotus steps lightly and slowly followed Xiao Dezi into the side hall.
On the other side, Liang Jiugong, who stayed where he was, looked down at the bowl of soup in his hand and shook his head gently. He thought to himself, how great it would be if he could have such a delicious and nourishing old duck soup! However, when he thought of the rules and etiquette in the palace, he sighed helplessly and decided to follow the established procedures. So, he carefully picked up the bowl of old duck soup and walked towards the inner hall.
When Liang Jiugong stepped into the inner hall, the emperor, who was busy handling government affairs, simply raised his head and glanced at him, and asked casually: "Is she gone?"
Liang Jiugong hurriedly stepped forward and replied, "Your Majesty, Empress Yuan has not left. I saw that Empress Yuan would not give up until she saw you, so I took the initiative to arrange for someone to invite Empress Yuan to the side hall to wait for a while."
The emperor nodded slightly after hearing this, indicating his approval of Liang Jiugong's approach, and then said, "Well, it's well done. In that case, I'll give you this soup as a reward."
Hearing the emperor's words, Liang Jiugong was overjoyed and knelt down to kowtow in thanks: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace. I am grateful!"
After receiving the reward, Liang Jiugong should have left. But at this moment, he hesitated and stood in the center of the inner hall without moving. The emperor did not care at first and was still focused on the memorial at hand. But after a while, the emperor looked up by chance and found that Liang Jiugong was still standing there, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated. Seeing this, the emperor put down the red brush in his hand, smiled, and said in a calm tone: "You damn slave, what do you want to say? You are so shy, don't you want me to ask you in person?"
"I'm afraid I'll say something wrong and displease the emperor." Liang Jiugong said tremblingly, with a thin layer of sweat on his forehead. He knew that serving the emperor was like serving a tiger, and the slightest mistake could lead to death.
"It's okay, just say it, I won't get angry easily." The emperor smiled slightly and waved his hand to let Liang Jiugong rest assured. After all, Liang Jiugong was an old servant who had been with him for many years, and the emperor still trusted and tolerated him.
After getting the emperor's permission, Liang Jiugong took a deep breath and mustered up the courage to say, "Then I will speak frankly. Since Your Majesty already knows that Concubine Yuan is coming to see you, why doesn't he meet her? And he wants her to wait in the side hall. Wouldn't it be better to just let Concubine Yuan go back to the palace with you?" After saying these words, Liang Jiugong felt uneasy, fearing that he would anger the emperor.
However, the emperor did not get angry. Instead, he looked at Liang Jiugong with interest and deliberately joked: "Oh? So, could it be that you, a servant, have been bribed by Princess Yuan? You actually spoke for her!"
Liang Jiugong was so frightened when he heard this that he immediately knelt down and kowtowed, saying in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, please understand! How dare I sell myself out for such a small profit? I only care about your Majesty!"
Seeing Liang Jiugong so frightened, the emperor couldn't help but laugh: "Alright, alright, get up quickly, I was just joking with you. In fact, the reason why I didn't see Princess Yuan was naturally my consideration."
Hearing the emperor say this, Liang Jiugong breathed a sigh of relief, got up from the ground and stood up, and asked respectfully: "I wonder what the emperor means, can you tell me something?"
The emperor hesitated for a moment and said slowly: "There are some things that you cannot know. You just need to do your part."
Liang Jiugong nodded in understanding: "Yes, I understand. I will take my leave now."
"Well, go ahead. Also, remember to ask someone to bring in another pot of new tea." The emperor ordered.
"Yes, sir. I'll do it right away." Liang Jiugong responded and hurriedly left the room to arrange for someone to serve tea.