King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 668: The Three Great Naval Divisions Gather
"Everyone has private conversations. I'm afraid Sixth Sister-in-law will avoid me when she discusses with others!" Zhu Yunsheng said nonchalantly.

Baochai smiled and then asked, "What do you want to talk to me about?"

"Sister-in-law, there is indeed a small matter that I would like to ask for your help!"

Of course Baochai didn't believe this. If even the legitimate princess couldn't solve the problem, it must be not simple at all.

"Don't try to sugarcoat me...just say what you want to say!" Baochai said calmly.

Zhu Yunsheng knew that there was no need to play tricks in front of Baochai, so he said straightforwardly: "Actually, it's the prince consort, he..."

Seeing that Zhu Yunsheng was hesitant to speak, Baochai asked, "What's wrong with the Prince Consort?"

"He wants to...he wants to make great achievements!"

After hearing the four words "achieve great success", Baochai roughly understood the situation.

Seeing Baochai didn't say anything, Zhu Yunsheng could only say: "Now that Thirteenth Brother is leading troops in the southeast, he is in need of people. Liang Yi also has some skills. If he can come..."

"Third sister, these are trivial matters. The prince consort is honored by the court, so why should he strive for fame?"

After a pause, Baochai continued, "Besides... this matter is not quite in accordance with the rules!"

The imperial son-in-law commander does not hold an official position or lead troops. This has been practiced for more than 300 years since Emperor Taizu. Breaking this convention will do no good to the Prince Xiang's Palace.

"Third sister...you know..."

Baochai looked embarrassed and said, "Your Thirteenth Brother is also in trouble. It is better to ask the Queen Mother for instructions on these things that are not in accordance with the rules!"

In fact, before coming here, Zhu Yunsheng knew that the negotiation would not be successful.

If she had not gotten married yet, she would have thought that Baochai was stingy and unwilling to help. Now that she is married, she understands that every family has its own problems.

Zhu Yunsheng knew how many difficulties Baochai had and how many enemies the Prince Xiang's Mansion had.

"Okay!" Zhu Yunsheng was helpless.

After all, they are close sisters. Baochai continued, "But I advise you not to tell these things. First, you are likely to run into a wall. Second, if your father knows about it, I'm afraid it won't be good for your husband!"

The emperor dotes on Zhu Yunsheng, but that doesn't mean he will tolerate his son-in-law. If he thinks Liang Yi has improper thoughts, the latter will have a hard time.

In this world, the only person who can repeatedly break the rules is Zhu Jinghong. In addition to his status as the legitimate prince, it is also due to the right time, place and people.

Zhu Yunsheng also understood these principles, but she could not resist her husband's pleading, so she went to the palace to plead for mercy, but she met Baochai first.

Seeing that Zhu Yunsheng had been persuaded, Baochai smiled and said, "Although he cannot be an official, your son can. In my opinion, the most important thing for you right now is..."

Before Baochai could finish her words, Zhu Yunsheng turned away shyly, saying, "Sister-in-law Thirteen, what are you talking about?"

Although it was half a joke, what Baochai said was true. The son of a princess consort could not only become an official, but also have a very high starting point.

Ordinary children of nobles could join the Dragon Guards after passing the assessment, while the sons of princesses could join the Qianqing Gate and become the so-called imperial guards.

"Alright, alright, go see the Queen Mother first, and remember not to talk nonsense, or you'll get into trouble!"

"Yes!"

There are a lot of messy things happening in the capital, and Baochai, the head of Prince Xiang's Mansion, is busy almost every day.

Yang Jingting, who was thousands of miles away, did not have to work as hard as the princess, but instead enjoyed the treatment of exclusive favor.

Except for the first night when Zhu Jinghong came back a little late, Yang Jingting slept with him almost every day for the next half month.

Only on a few days, she really couldn't stand it anymore and gave the opportunity to Zhang Xiaoyue and Li Huizhen.

It was precisely because of her "humility" that Zhang Xiaoyue and the other two were extremely grateful to her, and they respected Yang Jingting and flattered her wholeheartedly.

Sitting on the couch in the main seat of the living room, Yang Jingting was eating melon seeds and asked calmly, "The prince went out today. Do you know why?"

Zhang Xiaoyue replied, "I heard that he went to inspect the army. Today, the word has spread in the city that the Western Barbarian army is coming again!"

Nowadays, several provinces in the southeast are making every effort to prepare for war, so the situation regarding the Western Barbarians is no secret in Yingtian Prefecture.

Yang Jingting sighed: "I just don't know how long he will be gone!"

"I'm afraid he won't be back in three to five days!" Li Huizhen quickly replied.

Unexpectedly, Yang Jingting smiled and said, "In this way, we can also rest for two days!"

After hearing what she said, Zhang Xiaoyue and the other person laughed, but they didn't dare to continue.

The three were talking and laughing when a maid hurried in from outside and came to Yang Jingting to report: "Madam, the master of the Lin family has passed away!"

Yang Jingting had known for a long time that Zhu Jinghong liked Lin Daiyu, but she had never paid much attention to it before.

But after she came to Yingtian, she realized that Zhu Jinghong was overly concerned about this girl, so she asked Yang Jingting to change his mind.

She was almost certain that if this girl from the Lin family entered the palace, she would most likely skip the level of concubine and be directly granted the title of selected concubine.

Since Daiyu has a good relationship with Baochai, it means that this woman will be her potential enemy.

Precisely because they were enemies, they had to be kept close watch, so she also sent people to keep an eye on the Lin family.

"When did it happen?" Yang Jingting asked.

The maid reported: "Half an hour ago, the Lin family had already set up the mourning hall!"

Yang Jingting didn't rush to answer. After thinking for a while, she said, "Prepare a sacrifice for the Lin family in my name, and then order the guards to prepare... I want to visit them in person!"

Zhang Xiaoyue and the other person belong to Yang Jingting's camp. They are very familiar with the current layout of the palace's inner chambers and understand that Daiyu is on the side of the princess, so they are puzzled by the concubine's behavior.

"Empress, what are you..."

Yang Jingting replied: "The Lin family is valued by the prince, so I should respect them a little bit!"

This was of course just a polite remark, but the more important reason was that Yang Jingting believed that she should find ways to bring Daiyu to her side.

Even if I can't make you submit to me, at least we can improve our relationship and not be enemies. That would be a great thing.

Even if we take a step back and say that her behavior of "loving the house and loving the dog in it" can make Zhu Jinghong happy, it would be a profitable deal.

"Also, send someone to pass on the message immediately, so that the prince can know about this as soon as possible!"

"Go!"

"Yes!" the maid replied.

In fact, Yang Jingting didn't need to worry about passing the message. The eunuchs learned the news first and sent people to convey the message.

Moreover, Zhu Jinghong had already prepared these things before he left, and the sacrificial ceremonies prepared in his name had already been prepared in the palace.

A quarter of an hour later, Yang Jingting learned the full situation, so her share of the sacrifice was exempted, but she still planned to go to the Lin family.

Although she was only a concubine, her trip was very complicated and required careful preparation from both inside and outside.

The Xue family members arrived much faster than her. Xia Yuegui was the first to arrive at the Lin family, and then stayed with Daiyu all the time.

During this period, she helped make decisions on all matters, big or small, while Daiyu nodded in agreement.

Xia Yuegui managed the Xue family in an orderly manner, so it seemed even more easy for her to handle the affairs of the Lin family.

Baoqin came with Xia Yuegui. This girl came to Jinling with Yang Jingting and her group, but she returned to Xue's house because her father was ill. Today, Xia Yuegui came, and Baoqin also wanted to see Daiyu, so she followed her.

When she was in Beijing before, Baoqin had often heard Baochai mention Daiyu, who praised Daiyu as a rare talented woman in the world, which made Baoqin curious.

As the news of Lin Ruhai's death spread, old friends and colleagues came to pay their respects one after another. These people were all received by the elders of the Lin family.

Today, the Lin family is small and there is no one capable of taking charge of the family. Its decline is inevitable.

When people leave, the tea gets cold. It's natural.

So the guests who came simply sat for a while and then wanted to leave.

"Mrs. Jia is here!"

Generally speaking, if the head of the household cannot come, his wife can offer the sacrifice on his behalf and she only needs to be led into the inner house.

"Mrs. Jia?"

Everyone was talking about it. After all, the Yue family of the Lin Mansion was surnamed Jia, so they thought they were from the Jia family of Jinling.

But soon news came out that it was Jia Li, the wife of the new governor Jia Hua.

This Jia Li is actually Jiao Xing, and her original surname is Li.

At this time, someone said: "It is said that Lord Jia is decisive and ruthless... It is rare to see him considerate of others nowadays!"

The person who spoke was no ordinary person. He was Xu Xin'an, the Nanjing Censor. He was also the person with the highest status present.

He and Lin Ruhai did not become Jinshi in the same year, but they had worked together in the Hanlin Academy. The former was an ordinary Shujishi, while the latter was ranked second in the first class and was appointed as an editor.

If Lin Ruhai had not been in poor health and the emperor had not been a little "cruel" to him, his career would have been much smoother. If he had not been one of the six ministries or nine officials, he would have been a vice minister of some ministry.

Now that Lin Ruhai is dead, a sinister villain like Jia Yucun has risen to prominence, which makes Xu Xin'an even more indignant, so he starts to ridicule him.

Lin Ruhai was a noble official, as were Xu Xin'an and others, so the rest of the people spoke in agreement.

Jia Yucun has been acting radically recently and has really offended quite a few people, so it is normal for him to be attacked.

But after everyone had been discussing for a while, news came from outside, and everyone realized that Prince Xiang's concubine had also arrived.

The concubine of King Xiang came here to represent King Xiang.

Who is Prince Xiang? The pillar of the Ming Dynasty and the most beloved son of the Emperor.

The fact that such a person sent his concubine to pay tribute in person surprised everyone present, and they secretly thought that they had underestimated Lin Ruhai in the past.

Only Xu Xin'an knew the inside story and understood that Zhu Jinghong loved Lin Ruhai so much that he praised him so much.

Not to mention what these people were talking about, Yang Jingting from the Lin family was directly carried into the Lin family.

She arrived late, so there were already many noble ladies present, and now everyone came out to greet her.

In the courtyard, more than a dozen women bowed down before Yang Jingting, including Xia Yuegui and Jiao Xing.

As Zhu Jinghong's concubine, Yang Jingting had a transcendent status and deserved to be worshipped by everyone.

Every time this happened, she would think of the past and the "position of princess" that should have been hers.

Of course, she had hidden these thoughts so deeply that she would forget them most of the time, and would only think of them at this particular time.

She saw the situation very clearly, so she knew that the most urgent task was to gain Zhu Jinghong's approval and give birth to a child for him.

"No need to be so polite!" Yang Jingting said humbly.

As she spoke, she had already come to Daiyu and helped her up with her hand.

"Sister, you have suffered a lot!" Yang Jingting said with deep affection and looked at Daiyu with eyes full of pity.

Although the two of them knew each other, there was always a sense of estrangement between them because of the grudge between Yang Jingting and Baochai.

"Thank you, ma'am!"

"Sister, it's strange for you to call me like this..."

As she spoke, Yang Jingting had already grabbed Daiyu's hand and led her to the main hall in front, saying as she walked, "You and I were once ministers in the same palace, serving the princess wholeheartedly. What good sisters we are!"

The ladies present were all shrewd people. They watched Yang Jingting's words and actions, and they naturally understood that the Lin family was not simple and should be taken more seriously.

Only Xia Yuegui saw something different from Yang Jingting's actions.

She was not anxious, but watched silently and thought about reporting the situation to Beijing.

Of course, Baoqin in the crowd also disliked Yang Jingting, because she clearly regarded herself as a princess from her current attitude.

Women's minds are very complicated and often difficult to explain.

Outside the Lin family, Xue Pan also arrived late, and this was the result of Xia Yuegui's quick notification to him.

Xue Pan is also very busy now. Even though maritime trade has been suspended, he still has to do other tasks, and they have to do them better to make up for the gap. His title as the head of the Ministry of Revenue is not a white-collar job.

Jia Baoyu also came with Xue Pan. This guy had wanted to come to the Lin family for a long time, but was dragged by Xue Pan in various ways, so he was not able to go until today.

Lin Ruhai passed away. As a member of the Jia family, Jia Baoyu should have come to pay tribute on behalf of the Jia family in the capital.

But he didn't think about these things at all. At this moment, he only wanted to see Daiyu and say some words of concern and care to her.

But this is the Lin family, not the Jia family. How could a foreigner like him enter the inner house? Moreover, when Yang Jingting arrived at the Lin family, all the doors were guarded by eunuchs and guards.

There was no choice, Jia Baoyu could only follow Xue Pan, listen to the officials present chatting and talking nonsense, and always pay attention to possible opportunities.

His so-called study tour was essentially to come to Jinling to see Daiyu. Now that he has not been able to fulfill his wish, he feels as uncomfortable as if he was scratched by a cat.

However, he didn't know that Brother Xue, who had been treating him so well recently, had also focused most of his attention on him in order to prevent him from doing anything out of line.

"Brother, your uncle Lin has passed away, and you should prepare to write a memorial service!" Xue Pan reminded.

Although Jia Baoyu was now more "steady", he still didn't care much about these mundane affairs. He casually said, "Brother Xue, I don't understand any of this!"

"If you don't understand, you can learn. I'll send someone to go with you and get the things quickly. Otherwise, it would be embarrassing for you to come empty-handed!"

"But I... I really am... short of money!" Jia Baoyu looked embarrassed.

He indeed did not bring much silver with him, and now that he had been expelled from the Jia family, it was not convenient for him to go to the Jia family's ancestral home to withdraw money.

"I'll lend it to you!" Xue Pan said readily.

"Thank you, Brother Xue!" Jia Baoyu stood up and said.

Then Jia Baoyu was sent out of the Lin family, and Xue Pan had the opportunity to talk to the officials in the hall.

About two days later, news of the Lin family reached Tongzhou, and Zhu Jinghong was at the Tongzhou wharf at that moment.

The reason he came here was not to inspect the Jinling Navy for the second time, but because the Liaodong Navy had arrived.

Zhao Chengwu, the admiral of the Liaodong Navy, was reporting the situation to Zhu Jinghong at this moment. They had experienced many dangers on their way from Liaodong.

"It's a good thing that you arrived safely. You've worked hard!" Zhu Jinghong praised.

(End of this chapter)