Yesterday, I wrote some, but found it too fussy and long-winded to wrap up, so I never posted it. Today, I rewrote over 4,000 words.
On the sixth day of the first month in the sixteenth year of Guangde, the Emperor passed away. The Grand Heir ascended the throne and changed the era name to Long'an.
As the Retired Emperor had been bedridden by overwhelming grief, the Empress and Crown Princess oversaw the court and ruled from behind the curtain.
On the twenty-fourth day of the third month in the first year of Long'an, the late Emperor was buried, and the entire realm emerged from mourning.
On the first day of the fourth month, the new Emperor ascended the throne and granted a general amnesty. Jia Zhen, formerly General of Fierce Valor, and his eldest son Jia Rong were among those pardoned.
By then, father and son had been detained for nearly half a year. When they walked side by side out of the Ministry of Justice prison and saw the long-lost morning sun and bustling streets, they could not help embracing and weeping in the street.
After crying for a long while, Jia Zhen and Jia Rong finally boarded the carriage at Zhou Rui's urging.
When they reached Rongguo Mansion and met their clansman Jia Zheng, there was naturally another round of joyous reunion and heartfelt sighing.
Afterward, Jia Zheng laid out a welcome-back feast in Rongxi Hall. Only when Jia Zhen asked about Jia She during the banquet did he learn that Jia She had not been included in the amnesty—Wang Xifeng had found him shameless and deliberately instructed Sun Shaozong not to save him.
The drinking continued from ten in the morning until two in the afternoon. Father and son both drank themselves senseless. By the time