Jia's mother was in the back house, holding Jia Baoyu in her arms and talking and laughing, when suddenly she came to report from the front yard.
"Old lady! Master Pardon, Master Zheng, and Second Master Lian in the front yard have all been called into the palace by the emperor!"
Jia Mu was shocked when she heard this: "What did you say? Master, they have all been called into the palace? Have you given any instructions?"
"Replying to the old lady, I didn't. I just said that the emperor summoned me urgently, and the gentlemen didn't have time to bathe and change clothes, so they were taken away by the eunuchs."
Mother Jia's heart suddenly rose to her throat. After all, she had experienced the bloody storm of the old prince's life. Now all the men in front of the Jia family have been summoned into the palace, and no one has left a word. Jia cannot be tolerated.
Mother is not worried.
Many nobles and civil servants were summoned into the palace by the Supreme Emperor and never came out again.
Mother Jia took a deep breath and calmed down: "Go and call all the wives and young ladies in the house to come to me. In addition, send someone to wait on the street. If there is any news, come back and tell me immediately. Go ahead."
Seeing Jia Mu's expression suddenly become serious, Jia Baoyu shook her hand and asked, "Ancestor, what's going on ahead?"
Jia Mu forced a smile and patted Jia Baoyu: "Haha. It's nothing, just some things."
After a while, Mrs. Xing, Mrs. Wang, Wang Xifeng, Li Wan and Jia Lan, as well as Yingchun, Tanchun and Xichun all gathered in Rongxi Hall.
Even several aunts, Jia Cong and Jia Huan were called over.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Jia Mu said, "Just now, the emperor called all the men in the front yard into the palace."
"Old lady, I have some guesses in my mind, but it's not convenient for me to elaborate with you. You can stay at my old lady's place until the old man comes back."
As soon as these words came out, Wang Xifeng was the first to change her expression. Although she and Jia Lian had been having conflicts in recent days, after all, Jia Lian was her only support.
Mrs. Wang sat in her seat with her eyes closed, turning the beads in her hand, chanting sutras and praying.
Although Mrs. Xing's face was full of worry, she did not dare to ask Jia Mu in detail.
Tanchun: "Second sister, do you know what happened before? Judging from the appearance of our ancestors, I'm afraid it's nothing..."
Yingchun half-closed her eyes and said calmly: "Good fortune and misfortune are determined by fate. How can it be changed if people worry about it?"
Xiao Xichun looked at Tanchun and Yingchun with big watery eyes: "Why don't you two sisters tell me? I'm sensible too!"
He touched Xichun's forehead and said, "Yes, yes, you are a little kid but a big kid, you know everything."
In this way, as time went by, the atmosphere in Ronxi Hall became more and more depressing.
Suddenly, a voice came from outside: "General Manager Lai is back!!"
Upon hearing this, Mother Jia quickly walked out of the Hall of Rongxi with the support of Baoyu and Wang Xifeng.
I saw Lai Da leading a group of servants in quickly. When he saw Jia Mu, he immediately knelt down and replied: "In reply to the old lady! Our Jia family is very happy!"
Jia Mu: "Where does happiness come from? Tell me quickly!"
Lai Da: "The servant followed the eldest master, the master, and the second master Lian to the palace. When they arrived at the palace, Eunuch Xia came out to lead the way and said that the eldest lady of our family was named Concubine Lan by the emperor, so he announced that the masters should come to the palace to express their gratitude.
The master ordered the villain to come back and ask the old lady and ladies to quickly enter the palace to meet the queen and express gratitude.
After thanking the Emperor for his kindness, I have already gone to the East Palace to express my gratitude."
Happiness came so suddenly. Just now, Jia's mother was worried about whether her family would be confiscated and her family exterminated. Now, suddenly, happiness fell from the sky.
Mother Jia's hands were trembling with excitement: "Quickly! Go back and take out the old woman's imperial uniform. We ladies will go into the palace to meet the Queen to express our gratitude!"
…
Just after Xue Hong returned to Xue Mansion from Chen Chen's house, she was stopped by Xue Pan.
Xue Pan: "Brother, the eldest sister of the Jia family has been named a concubine. The emperor has named her Concubine Lan. Now the Jia family is having a banquet happily."
Xue Hong: "What did you say? Concubine Lan, Brother Pan, are you sure you remember correctly?"
Concubine Lan is one of the titles of the empress, but she is neither a noble concubine nor an imperial concubine. This is quite different from the original work!
Xue Pan: "How could I remember such a big thing wrong? It's Concubine Lan's title."
Xue Hong half-closed his eyes, thought for a while, and then said: "It's okay, I'm just a concubine, so don't take it too seriously."
Concubines, how can I say the status of concubines in the Ming Dynasty? They are not very high. To put it bluntly, ordinary concubines are the concubines of the emperor. Only empresses, imperial concubines and noble concubines will be included in the royal jade certificate.
Xue Hong estimated that there was a high probability that Emperor Longqing was going to cause trouble, otherwise he would not have suddenly promoted Jia Yuanchun to be his concubine.
Xue Hong only guessed half of it right. It was more to give the Supreme Emperor face and to paralyze the Supreme Emperor.
Although Emperor Longqing pinched his nose and recognized this concubine, Jia Yuanchun estimated that this would be the case for the rest of his life. It was even less likely that Emperor Longqing would favor Jia Yuanchun and let her give birth to Princess Longzi.
Haha, just wait, it would be strange if Emperor Longqing didn't take the next step!
Xue Pan said again: "Brother, Xia Neixiang sent a secret decree from the emperor before, asking us imperial merchants to transport a large amount of materials for building courtyards, pavilions and pavilions to the capital at a low price. As much as is needed, all should be funded by internal funds."
Xue Hong clapped his hands and instantly understood that Emperor Longqing was planning to take action to deal with the nobles! It won't be long before the imperial edict of the Provincial Marriage Council will come down. By then, the price of building materials in the capital will probably skyrocket.
With a decree, you can not only gain a reputation for benevolence, but also make money. What a pure old man!
In fact, when Emperor Longqing conferred the title of concubine on Jia Yuanchun, he also had the intention of giving the Xungui lineage a chance as a final test.
The result? After Jia Zheng asked Emperor Longqing to express his gratitude, he did not leave the palace directly with Jia to pardon Jia Lian, but went straight to the East Palace!!
In addition to the Prince, the East Palace also has the most special palace, the Daming Palace where the Supreme Emperor is located!
It’s strange that Emperor Longqing is happy. Is it reasonable for you to thank my father for being the concubine I conferred? You miss your old master, right?
It's shameless, right? Okay, then don't blame me for not remembering our old relationship!
Believe it or not, I will send you to serve the Supreme Emperor as soon as he leaves? You really think I am easy to bully!
Emperor Longqing was angry and issued another decree: "According to my decree, all the concubines in the harem can go home to visit their relatives during the Lantern Festival next year, but the relatives must live in the provincial relatives' courtyard. There are regulations according to the level and cannot be exceeded."
After Emperor Longqing finished issuing the decree, he called Xia Shouzhong over there: "Xia Daban, have you completed what I asked you to do?"
Xia Shouzhong shook off the dust and said: "The old slave has conveyed His Majesty's wishes to the imperial merchants. I believe that in a few days, the materials should arrive."
Emperor Longqing: "Okay. Since the nobles have a lot of money and use it to drink wine, you might as well contribute it to me!"