Red Mansion: Incense and God Road, starting from the City God of Shenjing

Chapter 99: Gold, Stone, Bamboo, Silk, and Painting
Shenjing City

The coldest days of winter are approaching and the New Year is approaching.

The civil unrest in Shandong this year has brought a large number of refugees to the capital city of Shenjing.

But for many powerful families in Shenjing, life has not changed much.

Daqian had been in chaos for a hundred years since its founding.

But it is far from reaching the point where the country is on the verge of collapse.

The twenty-first day of the twelfth lunar month.

The Queen Mother’s birthday.

The country governs the world with filial piety.

According to custom, each family's imperial edict must enter the palace to celebrate the birthday.

The emperor would also hold a banquet in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and together with the heads of civil and military nobles in the court, pray for the empress dowager and congratulate her.

The previous queen died early after giving birth to Crown Prince Li, and the harem has been without a leader.

Empress Dowager Zhang was not originally outstanding in Emperor Kaiyuan's harem.

Most of the time, they eat vegetarian food and chant Buddhist scriptures all day long.

She was promoted to empress dowager only after Emperor Shunde ascended the throne.

But if you underestimate this person because of this, you would be very wrong.

Women are weak, but mothers are strong.

After Emperor Shunde ascended the throne, Empress Dowager Zhang seemed to have not changed much on the surface.

In fact, over the past few years, he had been secretly working together with Queen Zhou to firmly grasp the power of the 24 departments in the palace.

There are some things that the Queen is not convenient to do, but she, the Queen Mother, can do it.

In addition, she was one of the wives and concubines who accompanied Emperor Kaiyuan in the fight for the throne.

For decades, he has not fought or competed in the palace.

Now that he was going to fight for his son, Emperor Kaiyuan had to turn a blind eye to it.

There was singing and dancing in the Cining Palace.

The long banquet table extended all the way to the entrance of the hall.

The royal family's female members and hundreds of people with imperial titles from various families gathered together.

The most beautiful one is Yingchun.

Ever since Jia Cong subdued the Jiangnan gentry and went to Shandong to quell the rebellion.

Under the instruction of Emperor Shunde, imperial decrees were constantly transmitted from the palace to the Jia Mansion.

Today the Queen bestowed a headdress, and tomorrow the Imperial Concubine bestowed jewelry.

The next day, the Empress Dowager was grateful that Yingchun got along well with her and gave her some clothes.

To sum up, it can be said that there is a small reward every three days and a big gift every five days.

Today Yingchun wore the clothes bestowed by the Empress Dowager.

He wore a phoenix crown and a golden pheasant robe.

The only difference is that the Zhai bird pattern on the Zhai robe was changed to the Shang bird pattern, which looks like a phoenix and symbolizes good luck and fortune.

The earrings, bracelets, necklaces and other jewellery she wore were all the finest of fine items bestowed by the palace.

In the past, only a very small number of people such as the Empress Dowager, Empress, and Imperial Concubine were qualified to wear it.

Far beyond the regulations of ordinary county lords.

Even the princesses and the eldest princess present were overshadowed by Yingchun.

"Princess Roujia presented a hand-copied copy of the Diamond Sutra and three coral ornaments to wish the Empress Dowager good health and a long life."

"The Nan'an Palace presents the Queen Mother with rare treasures from the South China Sea, wishing her happiness as vast as the East Sea and a long life as long as the Southern Mountains."

"The Duke of Wei's Mansion presents a jade toad from the Kuannan Sea for cooling off, and a pair of red agates from the Changbai Mountain for heating!"

"This is presented by the Duke Dingguo Mansion..."

……

The ladies of each family in the hall presented birthday gifts in turn, first the women of the royal family, and then the imperial edicts of each family.

But Yingchun seemed a little absent-minded.

There is no good without reason.

The more favor the royal family showed to the Jia family at this time, the more difficult Jia Cong's mission outside would be.

"Second sister, we are coming to our house!"

At this time, Tanchun beside her pushed Yingchun and reminded her in a low voice.

After the Duke Ding’s Mansion of the Kaiyuan lineage, it was the turn of the Duke Rong’s Mansion to present birthday gifts.

After the royal family heard that Jia Cong attached great importance to his sisters.

Tanchun and Xichun also received a lot of rewards.

Yesterday, the Empress Dowager personally issued an imperial decree, allowing him to enter the palace to celebrate her birthday.

For other young ladies from noble families, this is an honor that they could not even imagine.

"Okay!" Yingchun nodded slightly, thinking of the instructions that Jia Cong had sent back a few days ago.

After presenting the gift to Duke Dingguo's family, he stood up and walked slowly into the hall.

Bow and salute.

"The Rongguo Mansion and the Ning'an County Lady Jia Yingchun present four great Confucian treasures: a gold and stone brush, bamboo and silk paper, a square inch inkstone, and ink for painting!"

"The Queen Mother is in good health and may her family be happy."

"Buzz!"

After the congratulatory speech, there was an immediate uproar in the Cining Palace.

"Four great Confucian treasures, Princess Ning'an is really willing to give them up."

"Having a great scholar's treasure by your side can greatly increase the chances of enlightenment in Confucianism and Taoism. Can the Jia family not live like this?"

"At least thirty years of wealth and prosperity. It's given away as soon as I say it."

"Marquis Zi Yi is so courageous!"

"Gold, stone, bamboo, silk, square inch, painting..."

"Wonderful!"

No one expected that Yingchun would be so generous.

The first thing he gave was four great Confucian cultural relics as gifts.

Who else would be willing to do that?

Many of the officials present were well-read, and after careful consideration, they were immediately amazed by Yingchun's birthday gift.

The allusions to metal, stone, bamboo and silk come from "Autumn Village" by Lu You, a great scholar in the Southern Song Dynasty!
"Loyalty can move metal and stone, and hard work can make achievements that will be recorded in history."

Fang Cun comes from the poem "Sending Zhang Jianfeng of Xuzhou Back to His Town" by Li Shi, a great Confucian scholar in the Tang Dynasty!
"Loyalty is in the heart, and I am grateful for the words of gratitude."

As for the last painting, it is the famous poem by Wen Tianxiang, the last great scholar of the Southern Song Dynasty.

"Since ancient times, no one has died, and his loyalty will be remembered by history!"

……

Four cultural relics of great Confucian scholars would be fine.

The most important thing is the meaning contained in the name of this great Confucian cultural treasure.

When Jia Cong was leading his troops outside, he did not forget to send his family members to show their loyalty.

Allusions to leaving a loyal heart to shine through the history have come out.

Today is the Queen Mother's birthday, a day of great joy.

It can be said that there is no better gift for the royal family than this loyalty.

It was impossible for everyone not to feel emotional.

These days, undercurrents are surging in the court.

However, many noble officials such as the Imperial Academy submitted memorials to impeach Jia Cong.

Behind it are also the shadows of high-ranking officials in the court and even cabinet ministers.

It's not just aimed at Jia Cong.

A hundred years after the founding of the Daqian State, a system in which civil power controlled military power was about to take shape.

No one wants something to go wrong at this time and allow a military general to rise.

But after what happened today, one can imagine how displeased Emperor Shunde must have been with those civil officials who impeached Jia Cong.

Since ancient times, civil officials have used their pens like knives to kill people without shedding blood.

Today, Jia Cong taught everyone a lesson in public.

Not only can the butcher knife in his hand kill countless people in Jiangnan.

It is an invisible sword that can also attack and kill political enemies in the court.

……

"Okay, good boy!"

"Come, girl, sit next to me."

Sure enough, the Queen Mother smiled widely and kindly invited Yingchun to come closer to the Phoenix Throne.

This honor is unique in the entire temple.

"Thank you, Queen Mother!"

Yingchun bowed and walked up the stairs.

"Humph, you are just a lucky guy, there is nothing to show off."

When passing by the seat where the women of the royal family were sitting, he heard a low murmur.

The sound was not loud at first, but it came at a time when the hall was quiet.

In an instant, all the eyes of everyone in the Cining Palace were focused on him.

After seeing clearly the person who had just started mumbling, everyone showed a look of watching a good show.

(End of this chapter)