The Second Master of the Red Chamber

In the south study, Dai Quan came back to report.

"Did Zhaoyang accept everything?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, Her Majesty the Princess has accepted them all. When the slave passed by, Her Majesty the Princess was talking with the Queen Mother and the old lady. The Princess liked the things His Majesty gave her very much, and she asked the old slave to thank Her Majesty for his favor."

"Oh, the Queen Mother is here, what did she say?"

"The queen mother... By the way, the queen mother asked about the Marquis of Zhenyuan."

Emperor Ningkang hurriedly said: "Oh?"

"I didn't say anything specifically, but the Queen Mother seemed quite satisfied after hearing that His Majesty gave the Marquis of Zhenyuan a generous seal."

Emperor Ningkang was slightly surprised, and then laughed too.

Speaking of which, Emperor Ningkang also hesitated in his heart about whether to grant Jia Lian the title of Marquis.

After all, although Jia Lian made a lot of contributions this time, he also acted according to his wishes.After all, Jinjue is a big deal. According to his original intention, it is almost enough to give Jia Lian a rank of Jinjue, so other people in the court can't say anything.

But after playing against Jia Lian, he finally decided to break the rules and directly promoted Jia Lian's title to Marquis.Only one step away, four ranks, and he caught up with his ancestor, first-class Rong Guogong.

Among them, of course he has his own considerations, for example, to completely subdue Jia Lian for his use, and another example, to win over the old noble forces headed by the four princes and eight princes.

In fact, there are also some relationships with the Queen Mother.

Ever since he let Princess Zhaoyang get married, although the queen mother hadn't done anything drastic on the surface, every time she saw him, she really didn't have a good face.

Although Emperor Ningkang was an emperor, he didn't like to look at people's faces.But he also knew why the queen mother was like this, not only knew, but also felt guilty.

Especially after the government and the public learned that the marriage with Wala was just a conspiracy of Prince Wala, Emperor Ningkang became more and more aware of his own mistakes, so he could only silently endure the cold attitude of the Queen Mother.

I don't want to go on like this forever, so the only way is to resolve the empress dowager's dissatisfaction.

He knew that as long as Princess Zhaoyang returned to Beijing safely, most of the empress dowager's anger would disappear.Again, he also remembered the promise he made to the queen mother at the beginning, when Jia Lian was a little older and had some qualifications and merits, he would reward him heavily.

In this way, as long as the queen mother knows that he has kept Jia Lian as promised, she will naturally accept his favor.

As for Zhaoyang...

Originally, Emperor Ningkang also thought about inviting her to the imperial court to talk and talk about comforting the relationship between father and daughter.But I also felt sorry for the inconvenience of seeing each other, so I only asked Dai Quan to send some luxurious and expensive things from the House of Internal Affairs, hoping that she would be more lenient and not blame him too much for his old father.

Dai Quan looked at Emperor Ningkang, and he could guess three parts of Emperor Ningkang's thoughts in his heart.

Suddenly remembered something, he deliberately smiled and said: "I heard that when the Marquis of Zhenyuan was leaving, he had a happy face, and solemnly kowtowed to the South Study Room before leaving.

Thinking about it, in Zhenyuanhou's heart, how grateful he is to His Majesty's Long En. "

Emperor Ningkang changed his mind and couldn't help showing a smile on his face.Jia Lian's reaction after leaving the South Study Room has already been reported by the eunuch who delivered Jia Lian's robes.

He was fine with that.

Although the monarch rewards the courtiers, it is to make the courtiers work harder for them.

But kindness comes from above, the monarchs naturally don't want their courtiers to have too much desire.A courtier who can be grateful to Dade is a good courtier worth cultivating.

"However, if Your Majesty rewards the Marquis of Zhenyuan this time, I'm afraid that the adults in the court will criticize the Marquis of Zhenyuan..." Dai Quan said.

Do you have any objections to the Marquis of Zhenyuan?

I'm afraid it's not just for Marquis Zhenyuan.

Perhaps those people would still say that Emperor Ningkang favored and trusted him, which is unfair!

But he doesn't care.

All he cares about is whether he can get what he deserves in return for doing so.

As for Jia Lian being criticized and even pushed out by the courtiers...

Jia Lian himself was an honored minister, and he relied on his kindness, so he didn't need the approval of those civil servants in the first place.

He wouldn't be happy if those civil servants bowed their heads and ears to a minister.

However, although Jia Lian has the hereditary title of Duke Rong as his foundation, he was promoted to marquis after only a few years in the court. I am afraid that not only the courtiers, but even the generals in the army will feel jealous and injustice.

But this, perhaps, is just what he wants.

Jia Lian is young, energetic, capable, and comes from a deep-rooted lineage of old honored ministers. This is a sharp sword he intends to use to break the court situation.

Since it is a sharp sword, of course it should be used by him alone!
The four princes and eight princes had too much influence in the army, he just wanted Jia Lian to be a benchmark, and he didn't want to foster another leader among them.

Therefore, it is a good thing for Jia Lian, the grandson of Duke Rong, to have some rifts with the generals in the army.

What's more, he has another worry.

Most of those honorable ministers listened more to the Supreme Emperor, and Jia Lian also came from an old honor, and it was rumored that the Supreme Emperor and the second generation Rong Guogong were still playmates when they were young.He was also afraid that if one day the Supreme Emperor had a whim and summoned Jia Lian to show him kindness, he was afraid that the peaches he had worked so hard to cultivate might be picked by the Supreme Emperor.

Although he knew the possibility was low, it was not impossible.

And as long as the Supreme Emperor knows that Jia Lian is his favorite minister, and the rank is not obtained entirely by merit, then the pride of the Supreme Emperor will definitely not look down on a courtier who is so charming like Jia Lian.

Of course, Emperor Ningkang did not reveal these considerations to Dai Quan, but just casually said that people with no talent and virtue would be jealous, so don't pay attention to it.

……

Jia Lian went directly to the side door of Lin's mansion, and entered the mansion familiarly.

As the residence of the seal official of Lantai Temple, Lin Ruhai's official residence is very elegant.

However, this time the entire Lin family looked more deserted than before. Along the way, they didn't even see a few servants.

After asking the butler, the butler sighed: "Since the master became seriously ill, he ordered this old slave to send away all the redundant servants in the house."

Jia Lian understood that when Lin Ruhai went to Beijing to become an official, he did not bring a few servants of the Lin family with him.

Most of the handymen in the mansion were recruited later.

Now that Lin Ruhai has made up his mind to resign, he will naturally not keep these people.

"How is uncle's condition?

I learned from His Majesty that uncle submitted his resignation letter to the court last winter? "

"Oh, I dare not hide the second master, my master's illness, I'm afraid...

In the past few months, even the imperial physician in the palace has visited several times. They all said that the master's illness is an old illness accumulated over the years, and he became sick from overwork. Apart from taking good care of him, it can be cured by non-medicine stones. "

After hearing this, Jia Lian didn't know what to say.

Everyone has their own persistence and choice. At the beginning, he did his best to ask Lin Ruhai for the favor of returning to his hometown to recuperate.

Who knew that Emperor Ningkang couldn't help restarting Lin Ruhai after only half a year because of the lack of available people around him.

And Lin Ruhai, who was still recuperating from his illness, saw the great kindness of Jun, so he rushed to the capital with a few people.

This is Lin Ruhai's choice, and he cannot interfere.

It's just a pain for Daiyu, if Lin Ruhai's illness can't get better this time, she will feel the pain of bereavement again.

"Well, this old slave would take the liberty to ask, has Second Lord really been promoted to Marquis?"

Xu Shi saw that Jia Lian was as friendly as ever, and he didn't put on airs just because he was a servant, so Lin Youquan dared to ask.

When Jia Lian heard the words, she smiled slightly, and raised her sleeves, "Second-class Marquis of Zhenyuan, it's guaranteed to be fake. If Uncle Quan doesn't believe it, next time I put on clothes, come and show Uncle Quan again?"

"Hehehe, Master Hou was joking."

Lin Youquan was very moved. In Jia Lian's capacity, he was flattered that he was willing to surrender himself to make fun of him.

So he said with a smile: "Xu heard that Master Hou returned to Beijing today, and our master's complexion has improved a lot today, but he didn't expect that Master Hou would come to visit at this time.

Our master is waiting in the warm pavilion now, Lord Hou, please come in. "

……

Although he had expected it in his heart, seeing Lin Ruhai again, Jia Lian also felt inexplicably sad because of his thinness and haggardness.

It is a pity that a generation of Tanhualang has come to the end of his life when he knows his destiny at a young age.

Lin Ruhai himself didn't feel any sadness. Leaning on the kang, he looked at Jia Lian for a while, and then said with a smile: "That's right, after going out for a while, I really learned from my experience, and I became more and more like the old Duke." Grandpa's demeanor."

Jia Lian just smiled at this, still concerned about Lin Ruhai's condition.

"You don't have to worry about me.

All my life, the old man has been selected as the editor of the Imperial Academy from the Chinese Academy of Sciences Examination, step by step, and now he is an official to a second-rank minister.

The nobleness of the people and ministers has almost reached the end. Even if the ice melts and disintegrates now, there is nothing to regret.

only……"

Lin Ruhai seemed to have something to say, and Jia Lian didn't urge him, but after waiting for a while, he didn't see Lin Ruhai's next words. Instead, he asked, "I heard that His Majesty has promoted your title, and now you are a Marquis?"

Jia Lian nodded respectfully: "Thanks to His Majesty's grace, I bestow the title of second-class Marquis."

"Okay, very good, in this way, Lord Taishan can be regarded as a successor..."

As the son-in-law of the Rongguo Mansion, Lin Ruhai has naturally seen the demeanor of the Rongguo.

Rong Guogong is also one of the few people Lin Ruhai admires.

Nodding and laughing for a while, Lin Ruhai couldn't help feeling sad again.

There are successors in the Rongguo Mansion, but his Lin family has almost lost their heirs now.

I still remember the ecstatic appearance of his old father when he won the first class in Chunwei.

Later, he was favored by Duke Rong of the current dynasty, and married his prostitute daughter to him in a high-profile manner, which made many people envious.

Now that decades have passed, the old man is gone, and Lin Ruhai is destined to step into the path of his predecessors.

Unwillingness is not counted, but there are some regrets after all.

But the most regrettable thing is that I still hate myself for not finding a satisfactory marriage for my daughter with all my heart for so many years.

Thinking of this in his heart, his eyes kept falling on Jia Lian who was always sitting with hands down, humbly holding the etiquette of the juniors.

Even in Lin Ruhai's eyes, Jia Lian, who was seven feet long, with red lips and white teeth, and a jade-like face, couldn't find any faults.

In addition, now that he is the Lord Marquis, it secretly adds an inviolable noble temperament to him.

It's a pity that I discovered such a young talent a bit late, otherwise I might have made him the son-in-law of my Lin family.

The daughter of the Wang family is also lucky. Although she is also an orphan who lost her parents, she is married to a good husband.

At the beginning, the Queen Mother wanted to give Jia Lian a marriage, although he was trying to persuade Jia Lian not to go against the sky, but in his heart, he still liked Jia Lian for his kindness and trustworthiness, and he was very fond of Jia Lian's wife who would not go out of court.

Only such a man who keeps promises and keeps promises can be worthy of such a reputation as a hero of the country!

After inquiring about Jia Lian's various matters during this trip, Lin Ruhai didn't care too much about his current situation, and soon the topic turned to what was on his mind.

"By the way, when you picked up Yu'er from Yangzhou, you promised me that you would take care of me for a while.

Now I have something I want to ask you. "

"Uncle, please tell me."

"In these years, your sister has been in your house, besides you and Baoyu, have you seen any men from other relatives and friends?"

Now that Lin Ruhai has arrived, he doesn't have as many worries as before. He wants to know the specific situation of Daiyu in Jia's house in the past few years.

Seeing Jia Lian's suspicious expression, he explained, "You don't have to worry too much, I have no other intentions.

It's just that with my current situation, I'm afraid I won't last much longer.Therefore, I want to make arrangements for your younger sister Lin's lifelong affairs while I can still be a director, so that after I go, she will have nothing to rely on in this world. "

When Jia Lian heard this, his heart was shocked, but facing Lin Ruhai, he still replied in a calm voice: "Uncle, sister Lin has been raising my old lady all these years.

My family has many members and many rules, and sister Lin has a pure temperament. If you want to take it easy, apart from me, Baoyu, and the two young brothers in the family, I am afraid that I will not have the opportunity to meet other young men. "

When Lin Ruhai heard this, although he knew it was unlikely, he still refused to make mistakes and asked Jia Lian about the other two younger brothers of the Rongguo Mansion.

With Jia Lian's keenness, it was natural to see that Lin Ruhai really wanted to choose a son-in-law for Daiyu.

Although I don't know why even Jia Cong and Jia Huan Lin Ruhai are concerned, but they immediately tell the situation of the two of them.

Speaking of which, with the situation of these two bastards, there was no need for Jia Lian to smear them deliberately. He only needed to highlight some places that Lin Ruhai might care about, and it really made Lin Ruhai look suspicious.

Obviously, based on Lin Ruhai's understanding of her own daughter, it was impossible for these two mediocre, even inferior children to fall into Daiyu's eyes.

However, according to what Jia Lian said, if Daiyu could see it, she could only be a direct descendant of the Jia family.As the century-old prince of Jia's family, and as Jia's mother's wife, it is impossible for a foreigner to easily see Daiyu.

Therefore, what Jia Lian said must be correct.

But if it wasn't one of Jia Baoyu, Jia Cong and Jia Huan, who would it be?
In a trance, Fu Ruhai came to her heart, Lin Ruhai immediately looked up at Jia Lian.

Could it be that he was dark under the lights?
But if this is the case, it will be difficult.

Lin Ruhai fell silent.

After Jia Zheng and his wife refused to get married, he actually didn't want to uphold sectarianism at all.I thought, if my daughter really has a sweetheart, she might as well fulfill her.

Even if the other party was a commoner, he recognized it.

But if Jia Lian...

He didn't think that Jia Lian would divorce his wife and remarry for his Lin family because of Jia Lian's temperament of daring to resist even the marriage offered by the heavenly family.

While his mind was changing, he suddenly said: "Brother Lian, I heard that you haven't taken a concubine yet?"

Lin Ruhai felt that he must be dazed, why would he ask this at this time.

In fact, he just thought of many things about Jia Lian, and suddenly wondered why Jia Lian had never taken a concubine.

After all, even if everyone envied him and the prostitutes of the Duke's Mansion back then, and the daughters of the gods and gods, because of the heirs, after a few years of marriage, they took in two concubines.

It was his wife Jia Min who took the initiative to arrange for him.

However, he knew that Jia Lian had no children, but had never taken a concubine, which made him quite curious.

But as soon as he asked, he knew it shouldn't be.In normal times, as an elder, he can ask questions casually.

But just now he mentioned to Jia Lian that the marriage of the little girl has not been settled. Wouldn't it be misleading to ask at this moment?

When Jia Lian first heard Lin Ruhai's words, his heart skipped a beat, and he was overjoyed immediately.

But out of years of caution, he calmed himself down immediately. He knew that the things he had kept in his heart for many years were not that simple.

Sure enough, seeing Lin Ruhai's next expression, he knew that he probably misunderstood.

My heart suddenly sank again.

Without opening his mouth immediately, his brain started working quickly.

His thoughts on Daiyu, as he watched Daiyu grow up in front of him over the years, becoming more and more like a little fairy, he has already become clearer.

Therefore, these years, he has been taking care of Daiyu openly and secretly, showing concern everywhere.

Therefore, he was granted the title of marquis this time, and he didn't even have time to return home, so he came to visit Lin Ruhai first.

Because he knew that if he had any inappropriate thoughts about Daiyu in the past, it would be ridiculed and make him lack confidence.

Then, when he was promoted step by step, from obtaining the title of title, to now being promoted to Marquis, and becoming the marquis that everyone is eye-catching, he felt, it seemed, that he had such a sliver of qualifications.

Speaking of which, Jia Lian is actually not a self-centered person.

Although he likes Daiyu, he didn't want to possess her from the beginning.

He had also considered that if Daiyu was really destined to be with Jia Baoyu, even if he was "in the way" in the middle, Daiyu would still like and admire Jia Baoyu, so he might as well be a flower protector, Just keep her safe forever.

That's why he didn't try everything to prevent Jia Baoyu and Daiyu from living in the same courtyard.

He just did his best, listened to God's will, told Daiyu about the differences between men and women, magnified Jia Baoyu's shortcomings as much as possible, and let Daiyu know, that's all.He felt that he was already a gentleman.

The facts are developing in the direction he expected.

Although in these years, Daiyu has never shown him any affection beyond that of his cousins, but he can tell that the little girl must have a different feeling towards him.

At least, it is closer, trusting, and stronger than Jia Baoyu!
That being the case, he will naturally not talk about the style of a gentleman.

The opportunity was already given to Xiao Baoyu, but he couldn't grasp it, so he couldn't blame his brother for being clever.