The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Chapter 263 Rewards
In Daming Palace, Emperor Ningkang was also thinking about how to reward Prince Teng after he returned to Beijing.

Wang Ziteng was an important minister in the period of the Supreme Emperor. Although he had never opposed him during the process of seizing the heir, he had never shown favor to him either.

Therefore, Wang Ziteng belonged to ordinary courtiers in his heart.

Even because the four big families represented by Wang Ziteng had a bad impression in his mind, he also had some instinctive grudges against Wang Ziteng.

This is also one of the reasons why he didn't want to use Jia Lian even if Lin Ruhai recommended him that year.

Back then, the Four Kings and Eight Dukes and some people in the Founding Marquis' Mansion really didn't have a good vision!
The Jingying Jiedu envoy is related to the safety of the capital and is the most important thing. Since it has been taken away from Wang Ziteng, Emperor Ningkang will naturally not return it to him.

But Wang Ziteng didn't make any mistakes during this trip, only merits, no rewards, not enough to convince the public.

"The Queen Mother invites Your Majesty to Weiyang Palace."

Emperor Ningkang was a little surprised when a servant from the Eastern Palace suddenly came to summon him.

Although when he was still king of Chang, the Empress Dowager Bai had already entered the harem and was his legal aunt.

After all, because of the age difference between the two, there is no intersection.

Even if he became the Son of Heaven now, he would have to go to the East Palace to pay respects to the Emperor and Empress Dowager every three days, but it was just a formal greeting through the heavy curtain.

It was rare for the Empress Dowager to specially summon him like this.

So he didn't dare to delay, and hurriedly drove to Weiyang Palace.

Since the Supreme Emperor decided to retreat, he carved out a large part of the East Road of the Imperial Palace, rebuilt the palace, and set up the front and back halls.

It is the Chonghua Palace, commonly known as the East Palace, where the Supreme Emperor and his concubines lived.

During the two years when Emperor Ningkang came to the throne, those veteran ministers even moved state affairs to the Chonghua Palace for the Supreme Emperor to dispose of, making the Chonghua Palace seem like a dynasty in the middle of the court.

Those two years were also the most difficult for Emperor Ningkang.

Fortunately, the Supreme Emperor seemed to have figured it out completely later, and ordered that his courtiers not be allowed to bother him with state affairs, and the emperor and the cabinet were asked to discuss important matters of state affairs.

It was also from then on that Emperor Ningkang was considered a real emperor.

Entering the Chonghua Palace and arriving at the Weiyang Palace, Emperor Ningkang got off the dragon chariot in front of the palace gate and brought only a few attendants into the palace.

"Concubine, I have seen Your Majesty."

As soon as he entered the palace, a concubine with an extraordinary appearance in a blue palace attire greeted him together with several palace people.

Emperor Ningkang frowned and asked, "Why are you here?"

"The courtiers and concubines came to listen to the Queen Mother's teachings. When they heard that His Majesty was coming, they came here to welcome them."

Emperor Ningkang naturally recognized his new concubine, and thought that since this person was close to his biological mother, the concubine, he should have nothing to do with the queen mother, why did he suddenly appear in the queen mother's palace?The female officer next to her explained: "The Queen Mother heard that Concubine Jia's piano skills are superb, so she specially invited Concubine Jia to come and talk to her about piano lessons."

Emperor Ningkang narrowed his eyes. Based on his experience, he subconsciously felt that all abnormal things were not as simple as they appeared on the surface.

But he still nodded and said: "Since the Empress Dowager called you, you should serve well, and don't be proud or slack."

"The minister and concubine follow the order."

So Emperor Ningkang ignored Yuan Chun and strode into the hall.

"It's inconvenient to talk through the curtain, you all come in."

Accompanied by the Queen Mother's voice, the palace people on both sides opened the bead curtain, revealing the golden camouflage arrangement inside.

Emperor Ningkang's eyes were calm. After entering, he saluted the empress dowager above him first: "My son, see the empress dowager."

"You sit down."

"Thank you, Empress."

After Emperor Ningkang thanked him, he took a seat on the golden nanmu chair next to him.

Pausing for a while, Fang cupped his hands and asked, "I don't know why the queen mother called her son to come here?"

The queen mother also took a look at Emperor Ningkang.

The Taishanghuang's princes, whose teeth are relatively forward, are all many years older than her, and it is inevitable that they will feel a little uncomfortable when they meet each other.

So, if it is not necessary, she will not see her.

"It's not a big deal. I called you here because I want you to reward someone. Are you willing?"

Emperor Ningkang was a little surprised when he heard the empress dowager's straightforward words, and looked up at Yuan Chun.

In this situation, he naturally thought that Yuan Chun had won the favor of the queen mother, and wanted him to be more favored.

"The Empress Dowager has an order, and the ministers must obey it. Is there any saying whether you are willing or not? Please tell the Empress Dowager clearly, who do you want the ministers to reward?"

Emperor Ningkang said very sincerely.

The Empress Dowager has no heirs, and has been quiet and peaceful for so many years. If she can please her, let alone asking him to reward a concubine, no matter how difficult it is, it is worth trying.

"Oh, then I just said it bluntly. The one I want you to reward is Jia Lian, the second-class Zhenyuan general."

The Queen Mother said calmly.

This……

When the emperor heard that it was not Yuan Chun but Jia Lian, he subconsciously showed doubts, then remembered something and felt relieved.

"I don't know how the Empress Dowager wants her ministers to reward him?"

"If I knew, I wouldn't bother you. He is your subject, and the rewards and punishments are naturally up to you."

The Empress Dowager spoke casually, but it was especially useful to Emperor Ningkang.

For his subjects, rewards and punishments should be decided by him, which is the core power of the emperor.

Although the Empress Dowager seems to have just said it unintentionally, it is enough to show that the Empress Dowager has no intention of intervening in politics.

So he smiled back and said: "Report to the Queen Mother, if not, how about asking the House of Internal Affairs to prepare a generous gift and send it to his house?"

The Empress Dowager heard the words and said: "If this is the case, this Palace can also be the master. Although this Palace Weiyang Palace has nothing else, the various annual gifts and festivals sent by the people below are innumerable."

Seeing this, Emperor Ningkang finally felt a little tricky.

Since the Empress Dowager did not want to send Jia Lian away with money, the most effective rewards for courtiers were probably officials and nobles.

Officials and nobles are important weapons of the country, something that Emperor Ningkang attached great importance to, and he didn't want to make an exception easily.

Of course, it was rare for the queen mother to speak to him, and it was impossible to refuse.

So he explained: "Qi told the Empress Dowager that it was not because of the ministers who were reluctant to give extra rewards, but this Jia Lian, who was not yet young enough to be crowned, has already taken the post of commander of the army and horses.

Moreover, he has recently inherited the title of the family, which can be said to be the time when he is in the limelight.

Under such circumstances, if there is no sufficient reason, even if it is a son-in-law, I am afraid it will not be easy to show kindness..."

The queen mother said: "There is no reason? Could it be that saving the palace is not a reason?"

"My son doesn't dare!"

Emperor Ningkang saw that the empress dowager looked unhappy, so he hurriedly stood up.

The favor of the Supreme Emperor to the Empress Dowager has lasted for nearly 20 years and has not diminished. For those who are in the center of power, they are already used to it.

Therefore, even if the queen mother occasionally made some outrageous actions, no one dared to raise criticism.

For example, the last time the Queen Mother mixed with Zhaoyang's maids and went out to play in the city, others might not know, so naturally he, the emperor, was not concealed.

For him, such a queen mother is harmless.So he naturally wouldn't interfere, instead he pretended he didn't know, and just told the prince to send heavy troops to protect him.

Unexpectedly, the crown prince is incompetent, and almost caused trouble to the queen mother.

Fortunately, nothing happened in the end, otherwise he would not have been able to predict the consequences.

(End of this chapter)