Red Mansion and Crimson Pearl

Chapter 324: Ganlu Palace's Attitude

The Supreme Emperor pondered for a long time and shook his head: "I know about this matter now. Let's ignore it for now and let the Emperor worry about it."

After a pause, he asked Dai Quan, "The Empress Dowager told you to keep the transcript of Liao's confession and give it to the Emperor when you return to Beijing. Did you give it to him?"

Dai Quan's heart trembled: "I am old and have forgotten it! I will send it to the emperor right away!"

"Humph! Have you forgotten?" The Supreme Lord glanced at him, touched his nose, and said with a gloomy face, "I will not indulge them any more if they do something that shakes the foundation of the country!"

Pointing at Dai Quan, he said, "You should deliver it to the emperor right away, and then tell him: I... I am extremely tired after this trip to Jiangnan, and I need to rest for a while.

"Don't send me any court affairs from now on. If he wants to come, just come and have a meal with me and listen to a play. Forget about anything else!"

Dai Quan was surprised when he heard this. He clapped his hands and laughed, his eyes moistened. "Oh my God, you finally want to take a break! I'll tell the emperor right away!"

He turned around happily, walked out slowly but quickly, and wiped his eye sockets with his sleeve.

Tai Shang looked at his back and cursed with a low laugh: "Old man! You only know how to do these things like giving birth to a son!"

Emperor Zhaoming returned to Xuanzheng Hall and breathed a sigh of relief. He turned around and asked Tao Xingjian, "The Cining Palace has not been occupied for more than 20 years. Ask someone from the Ministry of Works to take a look secretly and calculate how much silver it will cost."

Tao Xingjian was stunned for a moment, then he reacted and tried to dissuade him with a smile: "The Supreme is fine, why are you calculating this?"

"Just keep it quiet and don't make it public. Even if the Supreme Lord knew about it, he would understand my filial piety and he wouldn't be angry." Emperor Zhaoming smiled and waved his hand, telling Tao Xingjian to go about his work without worry.

Tao Xingjian understood, smiled and bowed.

Who knew that before leaving the hall, he saw Dai Quan walking towards him. He hurriedly stepped forward and saluted with a smile: "Why did Prime Minister Dai come here in person? If you have something to ask, you should call me over!"

"I asked you to go over to deal with our matter, but you dare not tell His Majesty what the Supreme Lord has told His Majesty!"

Dai Quan smiled and gave him a fake hand, then walked to Emperor Zhaoming, bowed, presented Feng Ziying's copy of Liao's confession, and conveyed the emperor's words. Finally, he bowed with a smile on his face:

"During this trip to Jiangnan, His Majesty saw the true colors of some people. As a result, he felt very sorry for Your Majesty.

"But now he is unwilling to interfere in other people's affairs, fearing that it would lead to the malicious intention of the rumors and bring down the prestige of Your Majesty.

“So I was so angry that I wanted to arrest them, but the Supreme stopped me, saying that if His Majesty already had a comprehensive plan, it would be bad if Ganlu Palace acted rashly and added unexpected events.

“So if Your Majesty wants to show off his skills now, you don’t have to worry about Ganlu Palace.

"I have to go out soon and call those operas that His Majesty used to like to listen to to Taiji Palace, so that the Empress Dowager and the concubines can enjoy them together."

Emperor Zhaoming's heart was slightly moved: "The concubines?"

Dai Quan nodded with a smile, then frowned and muttered softly, "When we left Beijing, Imperial Physician He said that Concubine Lai didn't have much time left. How come after more than a month, she's recovered?"

Emperor Zhaoming glanced at Tao Xingjian.

Tao Xingjian took a step forward and said with a smile: "After the emperor and the queen mother left, we couldn't guard them every day, so Concubine Xiao went to Concubine Lai's palace at 3:30 am every day to give her a lecture...

"In the first two days, Concubine Lai was so angry that she vomited blood. But later, she even asked about diet.

"Doctor He said that the blockages in the blood vessels were unexpectedly cleared. Afterwards, Concubine Lai became more calm and well-maintained.

"Two days after His Majesty returned, Imperial Physician He went to take her pulse and came back to report that if Concubine Lai had no accidents, she would live to be a hundred years old."

Dai Quan's eyebrows almost flew up when he heard this.

Tao Xingjian smiled, took a step back and said no more.

Seeing that he seemed to have something else to say, Dai Quan had no choice but to take his leave from Emperor Zhaoming with full of doubts.

Emperor Zhaoming was looking down at the confession letter and raised his hand casually: "Old Tao, send him off."

Tao Xingjian agreed with a smile and walked out with Dai Quan.

After leaving the hall, Dai Quan glanced at Tao Xingjian and asked him directly, "What's going on? Tell me!"

Tao Xingjian then chuckled and said, "In fact, the defense of Taiji Palace suddenly relaxed after the departure of the Supreme Lord.

"You also know that His Majesty is young and it is embarrassing for him to put too much effort into managing the concubines in that palace.

"Who would have thought that someone would pass on a message to Concubine Lai before she could keep an eye on him. She said that her entire family had been released into slavery by the Jia family, and that her nephew had now become a sixth-rank judge.

"Perhaps Concubine Lai suddenly has something to look forward to, so she perks up again."

Tao Xingjian smiled bitterly and spread his hands.

Dai Quan also understood, sighed in understanding, and nodded, "Forget it. It will rain, and my mother will get married. The Supreme Lord was just indulging in it for a while.

"If she wants to die, let her do it.

"So what about the Northern Mansion? So what about the Rongning Mansion? I haven't seen the Supreme Lord show any intention to protect them, let alone her?!"

Tao Xingjian nodded happily, understanding the attitude of Ganlu Palace. He sent Dai Quan to the palace gate to get on the carriage, and then turned around to go to the Ministry of Works.

Seeing that the Queen Mother was hiding and refusing to see her and Tanchun, Daiyu simply called Aunt Meng and left the palace to go to the Jia Mansion.

Grandmother Jia felt better last night after a good sleep. She took some medicine this morning and recovered for a while. Her complexion is getting better and better.

When she heard that Daiyu had come with Aunt Meng, she was even more delighted. She quickly sat up, asked Yuanyang to comb her hair, put on a warm hat and wrapped herself in a cloak.

When Daiyu entered the room, she saw Grandmother Jia, who had come back to life, leaning against the head of the bed and holding out her hand to her: "My dear granddaughter is here!"

Daiyu felt relieved, her eyelids slightly blinked, a little wet, and she walked up with a smile, first bowed and greeted, then sat on the edge of the bed, and rebuked in a tearful voice:

"You don't take care of yourself! You almost scared me to death yesterday!"

Grandmother Jia's eyes turned red, and she pulled her hand to coax her: "Yes, grandma is wrong. You shouldn't lose your composure just by listening to a few words from outsiders. From now on, I won't listen to anyone, I won't believe anyone, I will only listen to my good granddaughter, okay?"

Mrs. Xing, Wang Xifeng and others all rushed over. Seeing the grandfather and grandson being so intimate, they were very happy and decided not to disturb them. They just waited outside, chatting and laughing in low voices.

Aunt Meng came up to check the patient's pulse and said that the prescription given yesterday was suitable for the condition, so she gave him another acupuncture treatment. It happened to be time for lunch outside, so Mrs. Xing and Wang Xifeng took the opportunity to invite them to a banquet, and Aunt Meng did not refuse.

On this side, Daiyu stayed with Grandmother Jia and served her lunch together with Yuanyang, and then the two of them had a private conversation.