The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 34 Discusses Jia Jing's Breakthrough in the Royal Situation
The gates of the Hall of Supreme Harmony were not opened again until after dinner.

The emperor left with a face full of anger, as if his anger towards his sons had not yet subsided.

After the emperor left, the five Tu brothers came out one by one.

As they left the Hall of Supreme Harmony, everyone pretended to rub their knees, as if they had really been kneeling all afternoon.

The palace, though seemingly heavily guarded, was actually a sieve. In just one night, the events that had occurred in the Hall of Supreme Harmony during the day spread like wildfire throughout the capital, becoming the talk of the town in every prefecture.

The Jia family, which had been quiet for a long time, was also discussing the emperor's teachings to his son. However, this time they were not at the Jia mansion, but hiding in the Taoist temple outside the city where Jia Jing had become a monk.

The heads of the east and west mansions of the Jia family. Jia Zhen of the east mansion, Jia She of the west mansion, and Jia Zheng sat around Jia Jing.

Jia She then recounted to Jia Jing everything that had happened in the Jia family recently.

After Jia She finished speaking, he drank tea and rested. Jia Zheng then took over the conversation, asking, "Brother Jing, you now know what has happened to our Jia family recently. For some reason, the new emperor seems to have a prejudice against our family. Since ascending the throne, besides dealing with a few insolent civil officials, the first noble family he has targeted is ours. However, we have been thinking about this at home, but we still don't know where our family has offended the new emperor. Brother Jing, with your understanding of the emperor, do you have any guesses as to why?"

After listening to Jia Zheng's words, Jia Jing thought for a moment and then said, "This matter is not the fault of the manor, nor is it your fault; it is my fault."

Jia She asked, "But what was the cause of the commotion that night?"

Jia Jing nodded and said, "It is indeed related to the turmoil that night."

Jia Jing's words did not exceed what Jia Zheng and the others in the mansion had guessed, but they had great doubts in their hearts. At this moment, Jia Zheng asked them: "Brother Jing, before the turmoil, you had already resigned from your position in the Crown Prince's mansion for two years. During these two years, you closed your doors to guests and never interacted with the outside world. So why did you suddenly go out to see the former Crown Prince that night?"

Jia Jing sighed and said, "For those two years, I seemed to remain detached from the court and uninvolved in anything. But in reality, I was never truly out of that vortex."

Jia Zheng asked, "Why is that?"

Jia Jing said, “It’s because I’m too deeply involved in this situation; I’m no longer in control of my own destiny. As you all know, when the former Crown Prince was first established, the Emperor Emeritus sent me to assist him in governing and educating him. Later, the former Crown Prince moved out of the palace and established his own residence outside the palace. I naturally became his strategist, offering advice and strategies behind the scenes. At the time, my uncle and I thought that as long as we assisted the former Crown Prince well, our Jia family would enjoy decades of wealth and honor. Therefore, I devoted all my efforts to helping the former Crown Prince establish an unshakeable position. Who could have predicted that more than two years ago, Prince Ping suddenly emerged to vie for the throne? Originally, it was normal for princes to vie for the throne, and I didn’t take it to heart. However, what I didn’t expect was that in a short period of time, Prince Ping had amassed considerable power in the court, almost threatening the former Crown Prince’s position. At that time, I felt that there must be something fishy about this. Because I know the Emperor Emeritus too well, without the Emperor Emeritus’s secret support, Prince Ping could not have gained such power in such a short time.”

After saying so much, Jia Jing's mouth was dry. He picked up his teacup, drank some tea, and thought about what to say next.

At this moment, Jia Zhen, who had been sitting beside him without speaking, asked, "Father, so you're saying that the struggle for the throne was deliberately orchestrated by the Emperor Emeritus?"

Jia Jing put down his teacup and continued, "It was indeed the Emperor Emeritus who did it on purpose. I noticed this at the time and knew that the Emperor Emeritus must be plotting something. And for the Emperor Emeritus to use two princes as bait, it must be something very big. Alas, it's just a pity for the former Crown Prince, who was turned into a pawn by the Emperor Emeritus."

Jia Jing sighed deeply, seemingly lamenting the loss of the former crown prince, or perhaps reflecting on how his life's work had been wasted.

After expressing his feelings, he continued, "Knowing the Emperor Emeritus's scheme, I knew that assisting the former Crown Prince was futile. So, I used the excuse of being unwell and needing to recuperate to resign and return to my residence, closing myself off from visitors, hoping to escape the vortex of the court. But after serving as the Crown Prince's subordinate for so many years, I was already deeply involved. Neither the former Crown Prince nor the Emperor Emeritus was willing to let me leave. In order to protect our Jia family from being implicated by the former Crown Prince, I could only hide in my residence, secretly helping the former Crown Prince while also reporting his whereabouts to the Emperor Emeritus."

The other three were stunned when they heard what Jia Jing said. They were amazed that Jia Jing could be so adept at navigating between the Emperor Emeritus and his son.

Ignoring the three men's surprise, Jia Jing continued, "I was caught in the middle between the Crown Prince and the Emperor Emeritus, which was already difficult. But at this time, the noble families in the capital also noticed the Emperor Emeritus's secret plot, and each family, in order to protect their own interests, joined in. Their arrival made the whole situation even more complicated. The former Crown Prince felt that the situation was very unfavorable to him, and, instigated by others, he thought of raising an army for a final gamble. I was at home when I heard the news of the Crown Prince's rebellion, and I rushed over to stop him, but the former Crown Prince was determined to rebel, and no matter how I tried to persuade him, it was useless." Hearing Jia Jing say this, Jia Zheng asked in confusion, "Since Brother Jing had already tried his best to stop the former Crown Prince from rebelling, why did the Emperor Emeritus blame Brother Jing afterwards?"

Jia Jing replied, "Although I did not agree with the Crown Prince's rebellion and even tried to stop him, it was a good thing for the nobles at the time. So I had my own selfish reasons and failed to inform the Emperor Emeritus in time about the Crown Prince's rebellion. This caused the Emperor Emeritus to be caught off guard and had to abdicate in order to quell the situation."

According to Jia Jing, he was largely responsible for the Emperor Emeritus's abdication. No wonder Jia Jing didn't even go home on the day the Crown Prince's rebellion failed; he slunk away to a monastery outside the city to escape the Emperor Emeritus's wrath.

But while Jia Jing could hide, the Jia family couldn't hide so easily. Some time ago, the Jia family was thoroughly humiliated by the emperor, becoming the laughingstock of the capital, all because of a single statement from the retired emperor: that a daughter of the Jia family could become the crown prince's consort.

Having grasped the connection, Jia Zheng felt both sorrow for his daughter and worry about the future of the Jia family. With a vengeful retired emperor lurking in the shadows and a scheming new emperor stirring up trouble ahead, the Jia family was doomed to decline sooner or later.

Jia Zheng sighed and said, "What should we do?"

Jia Jing said, "You don't need to worry too much. If I'm not mistaken, there's still a glimmer of hope for both our families."

Upon hearing that there was still a chance of survival, Jia Zheng hurriedly asked, "Brother Jing, where is this chance of survival?"

Jia Jing said, "The only hope is that the eldest maid didn't become the Crown Princess."

Jia Zheng asked in confusion, "Is it a good thing that the eldest maid didn't become the Crown Princess?"

Jia Jing said, "Originally, I also thought that sending the eldest daughter into the palace, whether she became an empress or the crown princess, would provide the family with more support as long as she was associated with the royal family. In addition, with Prince Teng in the court working for the family, we might be able to save both households."

Jia She then interjected, saying, "When we discussed this at home, we thought the same thing, so we asked many old connections and ran around everywhere. Fortunately, it didn't work out at the time."

Jia Zheng echoed, "This can be considered good luck for both our families, but I still can't understand why this is happening."

Jia Jing replied, “At first, I didn’t think much of it, but later, when I learned that it was the Emperor Emeritus who proposed betrothing the eldest daughter to the Crown Prince, I felt that things were not so simple. Based on my understanding of the Emperor Emeritus, if he harbors a grudge against someone, he will only suppress that person to the end and will never help them in the slightest. From this, I knew that the Emperor Emeritus’s proposal of the eldest daughter as the Crown Prince’s consort must have been malicious. Later, after careful consideration, I suddenly realized that the Emperor Emeritus had two plans for doing this. First, he wanted to make our Jia family arrogant, so that our two households would gradually lose their vigilance and expose more of our weaknesses. Second, he wanted to elevate our household’s status, deliberately placing us above other noble families, thus isolating our two families from the nobility. At that point, no matter what status the eldest daughter held in the palace, or what high official position Prince Teng held, it would be no match for the Emperor Emeritus’s word, and the day would come when our Jia family would be wiped out.”

Jia Jing and the retired emperor were of similar age, and the Jia family were founding heroes. Therefore, they often spent time together when they were young, so Jia Jing was quite clear about the retired emperor's thoughts.

Therefore, the other members of the Jia family were convinced by what Jia Jing had just said.

Jia Zheng then asked, "Since Brother Jing knows about the Emperor Emeritus's plot, why doesn't he send someone back to the mansion to inform him, so that the family can avoid falling into its current predicament?"

Jia Jing replied, “By the time I figure out the Emperor Emeritus’s plan, you will have already fallen into his trap, and it will be too late for me to tell you. Furthermore, since the Emperor Emeritus has his eye on your household, he will not overlook my presence. When he finds out that I am secretly giving you advice, my household will immediately be enraged.”

After Jia Jing finished speaking, his son Jia Zhen asked, "Father, I have another question. Since the Emperor Emeritus wanted to use my younger sister to enter the palace to plot against our two families, why did he later prevent her from entering the palace?"

Jia Jing replied, "There are two reasons. First, Empress Dowager Cixi unexpectedly interfered, disrupting the Emperor Emeritus's plans. Second, the Emperor discovered greater benefits and temporarily abandoned his idea of ​​punishing our two families."

(End of this chapter)