Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 426: Recognizing the True Face of the Jia Family
Rongguo Mansion, in the Mengpozhai study,

The brothers Jia She and Jia Zheng dismissed the guests and sat opposite each other at the tea table, discussing the important affairs of the Jia family.

Right now, apart from Yuanchun's visit, Rongguo Mansion has nothing else to prepare for.

But this one thing was enough to make them anxious.

Especially not long ago, the two brothers pulled Lady Jia off the throne in Rongqing Hall and locked her up in a Buddhist temple, under the pretext of resting her body and mind, but in fact she was confined to a room.

But after Yuanchun returns and understands the matter, she will surely be able to see the reason.

No matter how you look at it, this is an act of filial piety, and Jia Yuanchun was raised by her grandmother since she was a child. She is filial and loyal, and will definitely support her grandmother.

By then, Jia She and Jia Zheng’s good days will be over.

"Is the old lady still in the temple today?"

Unable to get over this hurdle, Jia She decided to go see Lady Jia first to see if he could reason with her.

Jia Zheng sighed, "Today, the daughter of the Xia family came to the garden to enjoy the flowers. She is accompanying the old lady to visit the garden to comfort her."

Jia She nodded, very much approving of Jia Zheng's approach, and even agreed with him, "Second brother, you have a good idea. If this can make the old lady less defensive, it will be a good thing."

Sighing, Jia She could not help but sigh: "If the old lady had understood the situation from the beginning and stopped saying those words that would provoke Duke Dingguo, she would not have to suffer the punishment she has today."

"Who wants to be labeled as unfilial?"

"We two brothers have no selfish motives and are wholeheartedly working for the safety of the mansion, but the old lady doesn't understand. We are stuck in the middle and suffer from both sides. It is really unbearable."

Jia Zheng also felt the same way and responded, "The old lady has grown old and her temper has become more stubborn. She will not allow anyone to refute her decision. Right now, Duke Dingguo is in the limelight, but he still wants to offend her by saying things like "the prosperity will turn into decline" and "powerful officials will ruin the country."

"Obviously, by relying on the relationship with Lin Ruhai's daughter, we can get some help from Duke Dingguo and gain some benefits, but now it seems that it is a good thing not to offend him."

Jia Zheng beat his chest and stamped his feet, sighing, "The Xue family has benefited greatly from just a little connection, making a fortune every day. If it were us, what would our situation be like now?"

"Besides, when my father was alive, he had exactly the same idea..."

Jia She took a sip of water, feeling very depressed in his heart. All the good opportunities had been missed by his grandmother, and now she was still holding a grudge in her heart, leading the Rongguo Mansion into a path of no return. How could he not be annoyed?

"But, having said that, the girls are all having a great time in the mansion, and Duke Dingguo has no intention of sending them away. He even readily agreed to invite them to the garden to enjoy the flowers. Brother, do you think there is still a chance for our two families to reconcile?"

Jia She stood up, with his hands behind his back, frowning and thinking, "That's true. If not, given Duke Dingguo's temper, he would never have any dealings with us. It seems that sending Miss Sanchun over is a good move. Even if Duke Dingguo is not interested in them, he has to accept it for the sake of face."

"How about we reserve the first seat for Duke Dingguo at the family dinner next time?"

Jia Zheng was a little embarrassed, "But the old lady will definitely show up at that time, and if the two meet, there might be trouble again."

Jia She added: "If we don't express our views, we are doing these things out of respect for Duke Dingguo. What should we do if the eldest girl turns away from you?"

Jia Zheng was shocked when he heard this and said, "After all, she is my daughter. She won't embarrass me as a father, will she?"

Jia She shook his head. "It's not easy to trust the love between a son and a daughter. Moreover, she entered the palace when she was young, and she didn't spend much time with you. Don't you know that few of the letters she sent back home were for you? Most of them were for the old lady."

Jia Zheng's palms were sweating and he couldn't help but get nervous.

"Alas, even our children cannot give us peace of mind."

Jia She was still sighing here when a servant came in stumbling in with news, with big beads of sweat on his forehead and a look of panic on his face.

"Master, this is bad, this is bad!"

"Why is it bad? Am I not sitting here just fine?"

Jia She leaned back in his armchair and looked at the visitor with impatience.

"It's not the master who is in trouble, it's the outside. The second master Lian has caused a big trouble. He bid 100,000 taels to buy the courtesan for one night in Zuixianlou. The second master Lian doesn't have that much money, and now Zuixianlou has caught the second master Lian and is coming to our door!"

Upon hearing this, Jia She couldn't sit still and almost fell off his chair.

"What did you say?" Jia She's eyes widened, staring at the servant who reported the news in disbelief. "How dare he do such a thing? One hundred thousand taels, that's one hundred thousand taels! It's the annual income of the mansion now!"

Jia Zheng was also frightened and immediately stood up and said, "Let them come in and talk, don't block the door and let outsiders watch the fun!"

Looking at Jia She who was very upset, Jia Zheng sighed, "Brother, now that things have come to this, it is not the time to be upset. I just don't know which government is behind this Zuixianlou. Can we find some way to let them spare Lian'er this time?"

"This good-for-nothing, at what time did he dare to cause such a disaster? Why didn't he just poke a hole in the sky?"

Hearing Jia She's complaints, Jia Zheng seemed to understand something and asked anxiously, "Could it be that, brother, you know the backers behind this Zuixian Tower?"

Jia Zheng nodded and said weakly, "Behind this Zuixian Tower is the Prince Zhongshun's Mansion. If we don't have 30,000 taels of silver today, I'm afraid it will be difficult to end it."

"What? It's Prince Zhongshun's mansion?"

Military officers were generally divided into two factions: one consisted of the four kings, eight dukes, and twelve marquises, who were the founding heroes; the other consisted of the royal relatives and nobles.

Prince Zhongshun has always been at odds with the nobles, and this time when a conflict arises, he will not easily resolve it.

Jia Zheng must have known the ins and outs of this, and he had no time to care about why Jia She knew this matter so clearly. At this moment, his face became more and more ugly, "This... What should I do?"

"I just looked at the accounts of the mansion not long ago. Now there are only a few hundred taels of silver left. The flowers, plants and trees that were decorated in the courtyard of the imperial visit were all donated by the Xia family, so that it could be completed on schedule."

"The spring rent has not yet been collected. One hundred thousand taels is already an astronomical figure for our mansion!"

Jia Zheng, who was not very good at handling affairs, was even more panicked at this moment.

Jia She slammed the table in anger, stood up and said, "No, I'm going to go out and beat this beast to death. It will be my last resort!"

Jia Zheng hastily tried to stop him, saying, "Even if we kill Lian-ge'er, it won't be enough to pay for the money. Brother, don't be impulsive. If you cause unrest among the whole family, it will give the old lady a reason to offend us."

Under such circumstances, the servant must have been very frightened. He knelt on the ground with his forehead against the bluestone slab, his body shaking constantly.

"Master, Master, the messenger who came back also said..."

After all, there was still something to say, and the servant had to speak again, lest his master offend him.

"Speak! Why are you still hesitating?"

Jia Zheng scolded angrily.

"It was also said that Second Master Lian had gone to Fengxue Pavilion to seek help, and happened to run into the three girls playing inside."

Hearing this, Jia She and Jia Zheng both thought that things were turning around for the better, and their eyes brightened.

"only……"

"only?"

"It's just that the three girls ignored Master Lian and sent him away, telling him to go back home. The people from Zuixianlou saw that Master Lian had no backers, so they dragged and beat him and brought him here."

"Mr. Lian is already covered in bruises and swollen all over his face. If he continues to be beaten, I'm afraid he will..."

Jia She's eyes were red with anger, and he said angrily: "How could this happen? After all, they are siblings, why didn't they save him? They sent Lian'er away without even asking him a question?" "Even if he did something wrong, as sisters, should they just stand by and watch?"

Jia Zheng also nodded, "That's right, it's too inhumane."

Jia She was furious. "They have lived in the Duke Dingguo's Mansion for a while, so they think they are from the Duke Dingguo's Mansion and don't recognize this family anymore."

After pacing back and forth in the hall, Jia She hesitated for a moment, and finally said, "This involves the affairs of Prince Zhongshun's mansion. We can't plead for him. Duke Dingguo can only come forward."

"I remember that when Duke Dingguo was guarding the capital, he saved Prince Zhongshun's life. Prince Zhongshun will definitely give me face."

Jia Zheng also nodded repeatedly, "Yes, it happened. The military situation was urgent at the time, and any victory news would be spread throughout the capital and known to everyone."

Jia She made up his mind and ordered, "Go get some ink and brush. No matter if we can borrow their help or not, we have to ask. If they won't give me face for Lian'er, I'll see if they will give me face for myself!"

……

Dingguo Gongfu,

After entering the palace today and learning a huge amount of information, Yue Ling returned to his house and couldn't help but sit in a daze, thinking about it infatuatedly.

According to Emperor Longyou, the Jinyiwei had long since discovered that there were several forces secretly entangled in the capital, which would occasionally cause trouble. Whether it was government affairs or people's livelihood, they would never allow the people to live and work in peace and contentment and the country to be prosperous.

Their ultimate goal is still unknown, but Emperor Longyou believes that the time has come to purge the evildoers.

And the first heavy hammer was the Jia family.

However, to be honest, Yue Ling shouldn't be surprised by this situation.

After all, the final ending of Dream of Red Mansions is also "The vast white earth is so clean."

The decline of the Jia family was only a matter of time.

But this time it seemed even more cruel. Yuanchun did not wait until she died in the palace, but met with a devastating disaster on the day she came to visit her parents.

It was like a roller coaster soaring to the highest point and then rapidly dropping to the lowest point.

This is not exciting, and no one can bear this kind of change.

Yue Ling could vaguely hear a wailing sound in his ears.

He put a piece of candied fruit into his mouth. As he chewed it with his teeth and felt the sweet taste on his tongue, Yue Ling couldn't help but think of the girls from the Jia family.

Yingchun was tortured to death by a wolf from Zhongshan, Tanchun married off to a vassal state and her life or death is unknown, Xichun became disillusioned with the world and became a nun, and Shi Xiangyun was even more pitiful, becoming a boat girl.

And now, they are about to be affected again, leading to an even more tragic ending.

The sudden decline of the Jia family did not give them any time to change. I am afraid that their final fate would be to be sent to the Music Bureau, where they would suffer both mental and physical torture, which might be worse than the original trajectory.

It would be fine if they had no contact with him, but Yue Ling is not a saintly person who wants to save everyone.

But after such a long time of contact, I found that they were all kind-hearted girls. It would be too pitiful if they ended up like this because of the evil deeds of the Jia family.

"Ah, maybe saving them is just a matter of asking for mercy from His Majesty. But saving them in this way of pity is not only unkind in front of His Majesty, but also a humiliation to their self-esteem."

Yue Ling poked the candied fruit with his finger, made a hole with a little force, and put it on his finger.

"Hey, General Yue, if you don't want to eat it, please don't destroy the food."

A maid quickly stepped over the threshold and saw Yue Ling sitting there in a daze, poking at the cakes as if for fun. She couldn't help but take two quick steps towards him, lifted up her hair, bent down and put the candied fruit on Yue Ling's finger into her mouth.

The slippery touch of the tongue sliding across the fingertips woke Yue Ling up suddenly.

Looking closely, I found that it was Xueyan, the foodie, who had run back.

Yue Ling shook his head helplessly, took out a handkerchief and wiped the saliva off his fingers, and couldn't help thinking secretly, "According to Xueyan's age, she should have been in college in her previous life. Why is she still so silly and cute? Her mind is full of food, which is different from other girls."

“I have to say, it’s really refreshing.”

When he saw her bending down and then raising her body, her breasts were rolling. Yue Ling was speechless and turned his head away.

"She's still just a little kid, why should I worry about her?"

Seeing that Yue Ling seemed to be avoiding her, Xueyan immediately brought all the plates over.

"General Yue, you don't want to eat? I ate it all."

Yue Ling sighed: "No, no, just eat it."

"By the way, didn't you go out with Sister Lin to play? Why are you back?"

Xueyan pouted and chewed something while saying in a disappointed tone, "Don't mention this matter. I only had two meals, morning and lunch, and I was just waiting for that hot pot."

"But...but, unexpectedly, we ran into a jerk from the Jia family, and the girls lost their appetite for dinner, so they all came back."

"The bastard from the Jia family?"

Yue Ling was slightly surprised and repeated it.

"What the hell?"

Xueyan raised her eyebrows, waved her pink fist angrily, and said, "You made me miss my meal, aren't you a bastard?"

Yue Ling poured her a cup of tea, handed it to her, and said with a doting smile: "That is indeed very asshole."

After gulping down the drink, Xueyan wiped her mouth and nodded, "Yes, I knew General Yue would understand me."

Yue Ling asked again: "Is that person Jia Lian?"

Xueyan frowned and thought for a while, "It seems to be called this name. I heard that a brothel is chasing debts and wants the girls to pay money. The girls of the Jia family are reluctant to spend money when they go shopping in the market, but he wants the girls to pay 100,000 taels?"

Xueyan counted on her fingers and said, "One hundred thousand, that's, one hundred... a lot of money, I don't know how many chestnut cakes I can buy with it."

Yue Ling was amused by her funny appearance, "There are no more girls in the Jia family. He just wants me to come out."

Xueyan rolled her eyes and said, "General Yue won't come out, so who is going to be the scapegoat?"

Yue Ling smiled and nodded, pinched Xueyan's round cheeks and said, "You're right, if there are 100,000 taels, we have to give Xueyan her favorite cakes."

Xueyan nodded comfortably, sat on a small stool beside her, and leaned against Yue Ling's legs.

Just at this moment, Lin Daiyu and a group of sisters walked into the hall, looked around, found Yue Ling's location, and walked straight over.

Seeing that the table was a mess due to Xueyan's mess, he guessed that Yue Ling already knew what was happening outside.

Without saying much, Lin Daiyu blinked and said, "Today, the sisters were looking forward to having hot pot together in Fengxue Pavilion. I wonder if we can make it in the mansion now that we are back home?"

Looking around at the dejected eyes around him, Yue Ling nodded without disappointment, "Of course..."

(End of this chapter)