The Red Mansion.

Chapter 93 Jia Zheng is fresh and refined
Yesterday, when Lady Jia returned to Rongguo Mansion from Changchun Garden, she has been in a bad mood.

When Lady Jia returned to Rongguo Mansion from Changchun Garden today, she seemed to be under a spell, her face dazed. She refused to mention her audience with the Empress Dowager, but instead hurriedly ordered her servants to summon Jia Zheng back, saying they had something urgent to discuss. Although Lady Xing, Lady Wang, Wang Xifeng, and others inquired about her, Lady Jia remained silent, like a clam.

Jia Mu's appearance scared everyone in Rongguo Mansion, and even Wang Xifeng had no mood to make jokes.

Jia Zheng was on duty at the Ministry of Works. When he learned that Lady Jia had urgently summoned him, he quickly put down his duties and hurried back to Rongguo Mansion.

So, Lady Jia, Jia She, Lady Xing, Jia Zheng, Lady Wang, Li Wan, Jia Lian, and Wang Xifeng gathered in Rongqing Hall in Lady Jia's courtyard, and the girls and servants were all sent away.

Everyone's eyes met, all filled with worry, waiting for Lady Jia to tell them about today's audience with the Empress Dowager.

Grandmother Jia finally spoke: "The Empress Dowager summoned me to Changchun Garden to have an audience today. It was originally about the eldest daughter's marriage."

Everyone was curious, but no one was eager to ask, because judging from Lady Jia's behavior after returning home, it should not be a good thing.

Grandmother Jia continued, "The Thirteenth Prince asked the Queen Mother to arrange for the eldest daughter to marry the young man named Jiang Nian, and the Queen Mother agreed."

When these words were spoken, everyone in the hall was either shocked or suspicious.

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Wang was struck by lightning. Her ears seemed to ring, and she suspected something was wrong with her ears. Normally, she pretended to be calm and composed in front of Lady Jia, but now she couldn't help but cry out, "Who did he point it to? The one who harmed my brother... the one who sued the East Palace and brought disaster upon it?"

Grandmother Jia sighed and said, "It's him."

Jia Lian frowned and said, "How can you point the finger at him? The disasters of the Wang family, the Xue family, and even the East Palace are all related to him."

Grandmother Jia sighed again, her expression complicated. "This is what the Thirteenth Prince asked the Empress Dowager for, and she has already agreed. I'm also wondering why the Thirteenth Prince is so close to Jiang Nian."

Mrs. Wang's face turned pale, and she was extremely anxious. She muttered to herself, "What should I do? What should I do..."

Jia She and Lady Xing exchanged a silent glance, each of them secretly gloating. As the first wife, they had already been outshined by the second wife in the Rongguo Mansion. If Yuanchun became a concubine, the first wife's power would surely decline further. Now it was ridiculous. Not only could Yuanchun not become a concubine, but she was instead betrothed to that disgusting young man, Jiang Nian.

At this time, Jia Zheng spoke solemnly, "Yuanchun's inability to serve His Majesty is a blessing to our family. However, since the Empress Dowager has arranged a marriage for Jiang Nian, we must obey her orders. The Empress Dowager's permission for the marriage is already a great favor from heaven, so how dare we have other thoughts?"

When everyone heard this, they all fell silent and the hall was filled with silence.

Jia Zheng added, "Yuanchun's marriage to Jiang Nian may not be a bad match."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the hall looked at Jia Zheng as if he were a fool.

This second master is really "fresh and unworldly"!

Whether Jia Zheng cared little for the strange looks from the crowd, or simply couldn't see the strangeness in them, he continued, "The Wang family, the Xue family, and the East Palace have all suffered disasters. Although they were all implicated by this boy Jiang Nian, a closer look reveals that it wasn't his fault."

Everyone looked at Jia Zheng as if he were a fool.

Mrs. Wang was depressed and wanted to tell Jia Zheng to shut up immediately.

Of course she didn't dare.

Jia Zheng continued, "I recently heard that Jiang Nian, who was only fifteen years old, was granted the rank of third-class imperial guard by the emperor."

This statement was like a bolt from the blue. Everyone in the hall, except Lady Jia, looked shocked.

Everyone in this room was familiar with the position of imperial guard. Wang Ziteng was a former guard.

In addition, the second generation Duke Rong, Jia Daishan, also started as a guard and entered the court!

Jia She was so shocked that he couldn't help but exclaimed, "Is this really true? He was only fifteen years old and was awarded the title of third-class guard?"

Before Jia Zheng could reply, his mother interrupted him, saying, "It is indeed true. The Queen Mother mentioned it to me herself today."

Jia She remained silent.

Jia Lian sighed, "This is truly remarkable. To be awarded the rank of Third Class Guard at the age of fifteen is truly rare. But why is the Emperor so gracious to him?"

When Jia Daishan was fifteen years old, he was not even promoted to a third-class guard.

Grandmother Jia sighed softly and said, "This was also given to him by the Thirteenth Prince."

Jia Lian couldn't help but blurt out, "The Thirteenth Prince is being too kind to Jiang Nian. Why are they so close? He's treating her like his legitimate son."

Wang Xifeng suddenly had an idea and thought to herself, "Could it be that Jiang Nian is actually the Thirteenth Prince's illegitimate son?"

She only dared to think about such speculations in secret, but did not dare to speak them out loud in such an occasion.

Grandmother Jia looked solemn and said to Jia Zheng, "Please take a day off recently. Let's send a letter to Jiang Nian and invite him to come to our house so that we can all meet him."

Although Jia Zheng was considered "fresh and unworldly," his mother agreed with one of his earlier statements. That is, since the Empress Dowager had arranged for Yuanchun's marriage to Jiang Nian, the Rongguo Mansion should naturally comply with her order. With the Rongguo Mansion now in decline, how could it possibly resist the Empress Dowager's will?
Since I am powerless to resist, I can only obey my fate.

Grandmother Jia wanted to meet Jiang Nian, to see what he looked like and what kind of character he had, and to see what kind of boy had pulled out the peony she had carefully cultivated, or whether it was going to be stuck in a pile of cow dung?
Officials in the Ming Dynasty had a ten-day rest system, that is, one day off each in the first, middle and last ten days of each month.

Officials in Daqing did not have a ten-day rest system, and their rest mainly depended on festival holidays, closed periods and temporary leave.

There are holidays for New Year's Day, Longevity and other festivals.

The sealing period is from around the 20th day of the 12th lunar month to the 20th day of the 1st lunar month every year. The government "seals" and stops working, and officials can enjoy a long vacation of about a month. This is the most important continuous holiday in Daqing.

In addition, Daqing officials can also rest by asking for leave (personal leave, sick leave) or leaving work early after completing official duties.

There are no festivals or holidays in the near future, let alone a lockdown period, so Grandmother Jia asked Jia Zheng to take a day off.

Jia Zheng nodded and said, "It's okay."

He also wanted to meet Jiang Nian.

Mrs. Xing, Mrs. Wang, Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng who were present all wanted to meet Jiang Nian out of curiosity.

Even Li Wan wanted to, but she knew it was inconvenient for her to see him.

Wang Xifeng was not in a position to see him, but she was not Li Wan, a young widow who remained adamant about her husband's virtues. She had immediately decided that when Jiang Nian entered the Rongguo Mansion, she would see him with her own eyes. Neither Lady Jia nor Lady Wang would blame her for this, and as for her husband Jia Lian, why should she care?

Only Jia She didn't want to see Jiang Nian. A sneer crossed his lips, and he thought to himself, "Why would I see that brat? If I have this free time, I might as well drink and have fun with my concubines. Wouldn't that be more enjoyable?"

(End of this chapter)