Dream of the Red Chamber: I can see the hidden labels of the beauties.

The east side hall of Ningguo Mansion.

Sisters Gu Fangling and Gu Fangrui, carrying Jia Can's letter, entered the Ningguo Mansion without incident. A maid led them to sit down in a side hall and said:

"Please have a seat, ladies. Second Master Can said he will be here to see you soon."

Gu Fangling politely bowed in thanks and then sat quietly to wait.

Gu Fangrui couldn't help but walk around the hall, looking at the furnishings and decorations around her and marveling at them:

"Tsk tsk tsk... Sister, look at all these furnishings! Every single one of them is priceless. It truly lives up to its reputation as the Duke's mansion. We sisters have really broadened our horizons. We can go back and have a good talk with our parents about it."

Seeing this, Gu Fangling shook her head helplessly:

"Little sister, can you please calm down? This only makes us look like country bumpkins with no manners or upbringing. Please sit down."

Gu Fangrui, however, replied while holding her sword:

"So what if I'm just a country bumpkin? Humph, we're just people who travel the world, why should we be so particular?"

As he spoke, he approached Gu Fangling and said:

"Sister, don't put on airs. No matter what, it doesn't change the fact that we're just ordinary folks."

Upon hearing this, Gu Fangling blushed and scolded:

"Stop talking nonsense. If you ruin our important plans, I'll tell my parents what I'm going to say when I get back."

Gu Fangrui was immediately frightened and could only obediently sit down and put the sword on the table. But after sitting for a while, she became restless again, sometimes peeking outside and sometimes looking up at the roof beams.

Seeing this, Gu Fangling could only sigh helplessly and let her be.

Suddenly, Gu Fangrui seemed to realize something and abruptly looked at Gu Fangling, her eyes filled with wariness.

"Sister, do you think this young master Jia might be a bad person? He seems gentle and refined on the surface, but in reality, he's a hypocrite who deliberately lured us here to harm us!"

Upon hearing this, Gu Fangling was both amused and exasperated.

"Sister, what are you thinking? If Young Master Jia wanted to harm us sisters, why would he go through all this trouble? He should have had those soldiers arrest us the day before yesterday, and he wouldn't have been so polite as to invite us to his mansion to wait."

Gu Fangrui pouted, "Sister, you must know that the world is dangerous. You can know a person's face but not their heart. He might be doing this on purpose to lower our guard. Once we completely trust him, he will make his move against us."

Hearing her say that, Gu Fangling couldn't help but slap her forehead:

"Enough, Fangrui. If you say another word, you can leave now. Don't you think about what Young Master Jia wants from us if he's trying to harm us?"

"As you can see, the furnishings in this mansion are all very valuable. The maid who led us in was quite pretty. If Young Master Jia were truly after money and women, a noble young man like him wouldn't need to go through all this trouble."

After listening, Gu Fangrui realized she had overthought things. She said "oh" and then fell silent.

Seeing this, Gu Fangling then said gently:

"Sister, there are many bad people in the world, but even more good people. It's quite a coincidence that we had this relationship. If Young Master Jia and Lord Yu hadn't mentioned the scoundrel who killed someone, we wouldn't have had any dealings with him."

Gu Fangrui thought it made sense, completely casting aside the random thoughts that had just arisen, her eyes shining, and she began to look forward to seeing Jia Can again.

Seeing that her younger sister had calmed down, Gu Fangling breathed a sigh of relief and remained seated, waiting quietly.

After some time, footsteps sounded outside, and the two sisters turned to look at the door.

A moment later, Jia Can's handsome figure appeared, instantly captivating the two sisters' attention.

After Jia Can led Xiang Ling in, he glanced at the sisters and said politely:

"Gentlemen, we meet again. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

Xiangling, who was following behind him, was quite puzzled. She wondered why Jia Can had brought her to see these two girls and curiously looked at the Gu sisters.

Gu Fangling and Gu Fangrui hurriedly stood up to greet them:

"We have met Young Master Jia. We sisters did not have to wait long. It is already an honor for us that you remember us."

Jia Can waved his hand:

"No need to be so polite. Since I promised you, I will certainly keep my word."

As he spoke, he turned to the side and introduced Xiangling:

"This is the person you're looking for; her name is Xiangling."

Upon hearing this, the Gu sisters finally shifted their gaze from Jia Can and noticed that there was someone following behind him. Feeling ashamed, they quickly and carefully examined Xiang Ling.

The two sisters were stunned at first glance, because the beauty mark between Xiangling's eyebrows was so conspicuous that it was practically her anti-counterfeiting mark.

After a long pause, Gu Fangling stared intently at Xiangling, her voice trembling as she asked:

"Miss Xiangling, you...you were born in Changmen, outside Suzhou in Jiangnan?"

Seeing the sisters looking at her with excited expressions, Xiangling was secretly surprised and suspicious. When Gu Fangling asked about her birthplace, she immediately became alert and subconsciously shook her head in response.

"I...I don't remember."

Gu Fangrui said anxiously, "Miss, how can you not remember? Aren't you surnamed Zhen? Originally named Yinglian? Were you kidnapped when you were three years old? Was it...?"

As she spoke, Gu Fangrui wished she could get close to Xiangling.

Upon hearing this, a long-buried memory was unlocked in Xiangling's mind. Her expression changed drastically, the color drained from her face, her whole body trembled slightly, and she subconsciously took a half step back, shaking her head repeatedly.

"I...no, I don't know...please don't ask anymore, miss."

Jia Can's eyes flashed, and he thought to himself that the Gu sisters had indeed come to see Xiang Ling. Although Xiang Ling vehemently denied it, Jia Can understood that the information the Gu sisters had given matched up.

Seeing Xiangling's expression again, a pang of tenderness flashed in his eyes. He knew that the experience of being abducted back then was definitely a painful memory that Xiangling did not want to recall.

To save money, the kidnapper would only give her the basic sustenance. As she grew a little older, he would force her to work. During this time, she would be resold several times, and being hungry, cold, beaten, and scolded was a common occurrence.

The bitterness, grievances, misery, and grief she experienced are probably only known to Xiangling herself; outsiders can hardly imagine them.

Thinking of this, Jia Can suddenly felt even more sorry for Xiang Ling. He subconsciously reached out and helped Xiang Ling, who was backing away, and said:

"Miss Fangrui, don't worry, ask me one question at a time."

Gu Fangling also noticed something and quickly and seriously reminded him:

"Little sister, don't frighten Miss Zhen."

Gu Fangrui realized she had gotten a little too excited and quickly bowed her head to apologize:

"I'm sorry, I was too reckless."

Jia Can replied, "Alright, you all go to the study and wait. I'll talk to Xiangling first."

As he spoke, he called out to the outside:

"Someone, lead the two young ladies to the study."

Gu Fangling quickly replied, "Thank you, young master. We'll go to the study to wait."

After saying that, he gave Xiangling a deep look before leaving with Gu Fangrui and the maid who had come in.

After the sisters left, Jia Can helped Xiangling to a chair to the side.

"Xiangling, it's alright now. You can sit down comfortably."

Xiangling originally felt like a lone boat on the sea, which could be swallowed by the wind and waves at any time, but Jia Can's support made her instantly feel a strange power surging into her heart and body.

This force not only made her feel warm, but also instantly calmed her down, making her feel less precarious and helpless than before.

She instinctively gripped Jia Can's arm tightly, looked up at him, her lips trembling as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.