Dream of the Red Chamber: Rising from Refugees to Sweep Across the Land

Chapter 39 The Empress Dowager Keeps Male Concubines?

One by one, the young sons of the founding noble families took turns to compete in the willow-shooting contest. Only Wei Ruolan, the son of the Southern Frontier General, managed to get a mediocre score, while the rest all lost.

Liu Feng's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, immediately settled down.

He turned to look at the Jia family's side; no one was going to participate?

Only three people from the Jia family came, as Liu Feng had already found out. The one wearing the official robes of a fifth-rank official with a hypocritical expression was Jia Zheng; the one next to him with a mustache and darting eyes full of scheming was Jia Zhen; and the last one, handsome in appearance, was Jia Lian, who was known for "bringing all the dirty and smelly things into the house."

Liu Feng glanced at the three of them, his gaze finally settling on Jia Zhen. His gossip instincts flared up instantly. Had this guy really cheated on him?

"good!"

A cheer pulled Liu Feng back to reality; another young man on the field had scored a medium grade. He listened closely and realized it was Wang Li, the son of Wang Ziteng.

Does Wang Ziteng have a son?

Soon it was Liu Feng's turn, and he attracted the attention of all the civil and military officials as soon as he appeared.

There was no precedent in the Great Qian Dynasty for officials' sons to be granted positions in the Embroidered Uniform Guard through hereditary privilege. Everyone was full of speculation, wondering why the emperor had sent people from the Embroidered Uniform Guard to the front lines.

Upon recognizing Liu Feng, Zhen Yingjia's mind raced. Could it be that the emperor was planning to renege on his previous promise and marry his daughter to this Jinyiwei henchman who came from humble origins?

That's way too much of a bully!

Liu Feng did not act hastily. He rode his horse around the training ground twice to gauge the location. A moment later, he spurred his horse, and it immediately galloped off.

He leaned close to the horse's back, his gaze fixed on the white mark on the willow branch, raised his hand to draw the bow and nock an arrow, and concentrated his energy.

Just as the warhorse was about to reach the front line, Liu Feng loosened his grip, and the arrow shot through the air, aiming straight for the white spot.

It veered slightly off course, whizzing past the gap between two willow branches.

Liu Feng turned his horse around, drew an arrow from his quiver, drew his bow, released the arrow, and his movements were fluid and seamless.

Everyone thought the arrow would hit its mark, but suddenly a gust of wind blew by, causing the willow branches to sway gently. The arrow grazed the willow branches and flew past, missing its target.

Liu Feng, who had rushed over, froze instantly, his face blank with surprise.

The Daqian dynasty followed the Ming system, allowing each person to shoot one arrow at a time. However, due to the high difficulty of shooting willows, the Taizu Emperor issued an edict to change the system, allowing each person to shoot twice.

Liu Feng came to his senses; had his chance to change his fate just like that?

Studying and pursuing education has always been the most secure way to transcend social classes, especially in feudal dynasties.

Especially skills like military formations and strategies, without personal guidance, relying solely on books for a superficial understanding is ultimately just empty talk, harming both oneself and others.

If one can gain experience in martial arts at the Imperial Guard, one can be transferred to the Imperial Guard in the future. The Imperial Guard is the core elite force personally commanded by the emperor, the most solid support of imperial power, and is completely different from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, which serves as the emperor's henchmen.

The power of the Imperial Guards can be passed down through generations, with military families and noble families passing on their power from generation to generation; in contrast, there are no families that have ever been part of the Embroidered Uniform Guards, which is the biggest difference between the two.

Whether they were royalty, nobles, or civil and military officials, no one present liked the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Some wore expressions of schadenfreude, while others whispered sarcastic remarks.

Liu Feng ignored these people and spurred his horse toward the stands.

Emperor Yankang took out a handkerchief to wipe his forehead and looked at Liu Feng galloping towards him: "His skills are decent, but his luck is not so good."

Dai Quan, standing to the side, lightly waved his ivory folding fan and chuckled in agreement: "Liu Feng is capable, but unfortunately, he lacks good fortune. He needs a benefactor to lend him a hand."

Emperor Yankang's eyes flickered, and he nodded slightly.

Liu Feng walked up to the stands with a sullen face. Before he could even speak, the emperor rewarded him with a bowl of cinnabar, realgar, and calamus wine.

Upon hearing that it contained cinnabar, Liu Feng didn't want to drink it at all, but he had no choice. He cursed the emperor's family in his heart and forced himself to drink it.

Just as he finished drinking, a young eunuch brought him a bowl of cold noodles. Liu Feng was quite hungry, so he ate it heartily.

Those in the stands who were waiting to see Liu Feng make a fool of himself were disgusted, as if they had swallowed a fly.

Now Zhen Yingjia felt even more uncertain.

However, some were secretly pleased. The Jia family had already found out Liu Feng's identity. A deputy commander of the Northern Garrison was nothing special, but being appreciated by the emperor was a completely different story.

Jia Zhen blinked and glanced furtively at Jia Zheng, who was chatting with the heir of the Prince of Nan'an. He then nudged Jia Lian beside him and asked, "When are you going to host a dinner party and invite everyone over?"

Jia Lian hurriedly waved his hand: "Master won't allow it..."

Jia Zhen interrupted him, saying, "Since she is a member of Lin Gu's family, we are related by marriage. As her family, we should do our best to treat her well."

Jia Lian didn't dare to answer.

"Our Jia family is a family of high status and refined tastes, and we value etiquette and manners above all else. If we hadn't known about Liu Feng before, it would have been fine, but now that we know his identity, if we don't take the initiative to treat him well, word will spread and people will say that the Jia family is ignorant of etiquette and treats their in-laws with disrespect," Jia Zhen said.

Jia Lian hesitated for a moment: "Perhaps we should discuss it with the master first..."

"It's settled then. I'll take care of the invitations and gifts. Tomorrow, you and Rong'er will go to pay your respects... Let's set it for the twelfth of May, a day of auspiciousness and good fortune, free from all taboos!" Jia Zhen stroked his beard and smiled.

Jia Lian remained silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Look!" Jia Zhen looked up at the stands.

Jia Lian turned his head and saw Liu Feng kneeling on the ground, expressing his gratitude.

As the saying goes, "When you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head," and given the emperor's incredibly generous reward, Liu Feng had no choice but to kneel down and express his gratitude.

Liu Feng was a member of the emperor's personal guard, and his rations were already more generous than those of ordinary officials. In addition to zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), pastries, calamus wine, and summer silk, he was also given extra fine brocade, good tea, precious medicinal incense, and exquisite fans for the Dragon Boat Festival.

However, Liu Feng had just made a windfall and didn't care about these items at all. What was truly rare was the emperor's final favor, which exceptionally allowed Liu Feng to study at the Imperial Guard Martial Arts Academy in the capital, where he would only learn military strategy and tactics, without having to attend classes every day.

Dai Quan was absolutely right; this is an unprecedented and immense honor.

Looking at Liu Feng's silly grin, Dai Quan shook his head slightly, realizing that he had indeed been too suspicious.

Suddenly, three whip cracks rang out in the distance. Dai Quan looked up and hurriedly said to Emperor Yankang, "The Empress Dowager is coming."

Emperor Yankang gave a faint "hmm" and did not immediately rise to greet her. Only after the Empress Dowager's carriage had crossed the stone bridge did he slowly stand up and lead the civil and military officials to come forward to welcome her.

Accompanying the Empress Dowager were the Emperor's four sons.

Although it was the first time Liu Feng had seen the four people, he could tell their identities just by looking at where they were standing.

The eldest son, King Wu, appears honest and simple, but has a somewhat sullen personality.

The second son, Prince Jin, has eyebrows that resemble those of the emperor.

The third son, Prince Lu, was clearly well-read.

The fourth prince, Yong, had a friendly face, yet he was the most enigmatic.

The Empress Dowager's carriage stopped, but the Emperor stood still, showing no intention of stepping forward to pay his respects.

Liu Feng was wondering what was going on when he saw the carriage curtain be lifted and a man walk out.

Holy crap! How come there's a man in the Empress Dowager's car?

The retired emperor? But judging from his appearance and age, he's not much different from the emperor. Could he be the Qianlong version of "Lao Ai"?

Is the Empress Dowager keeping male concubines?

Liu Feng's gossip-loving spirit was ignited. He secretly glanced at the emperor and saw that his expression was not good. He immediately became interested and sat down to watch the drama unfold!

The man stepped on the shoulders of a young eunuch, slowly descended from the carriage, and walked gracefully to the emperor, casually cupping his hands in greeting: "Your Majesty."

Liu Feng stared wide-eyed. Are all mistresses this assertive these days?!