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

The implication in Grandmother Jia's words seemed to be that she had never looked down on Jia Can, nor had she ever intended to bully him, thus absolving herself of any responsibility.

Jia She shuddered upon hearing this, muttering something under his breath:

"Back then... I did ask for your opinion..."

Although she spoke very softly, Grandmother Jia heard her clearly and retorted sharply:

"How dare you talk nonsense? When did I agree to you doing these things? What did you say back then? That there was no one to manage the East Mansion, so you went over to help out for a few days, and that would be the end of it after the funeral."

"If I had known earlier that you were plotting to adopt Baoyu and seize control of the East Mansion, how could I have allowed you to act so recklessly? You've already harbored greed, and now you're trying to implicate others. You're truly becoming more and more useless as you get older!"

Upon hearing this, Jia She was utterly speechless, his head drooping, completely devoid of his former imposing manner.

Grandmother Jia stared at him again, her eyes filled with not only anger but also disappointment and disgust. She took a deep breath and continued:

"Now that things have come to this, it's all because of your greed and selfishness. Instead of thinking about how to make amends, you want to shirk responsibility. But there's no such thing as a free lunch. There's no such thing as getting all the benefits without suffering any losses in this world. Since you've done it, you have to bear the consequences."

"I know you simply don't have enough money to pay for the funerals of Zhen-ge'er and Rong-ge'er. You've been spending extravagantly all these years, throwing money away like water. I know exactly how much money you have left."

"But I don't care about any of that. Whether you borrow from someone or pawn something, you have to raise the money yourself and get the funeral done!"

"Of course, we can use funds from the West Treasury to cover the initial expenses, but you can forget about receiving your monthly allowance and other payments after that!"

"From today onwards, all your monthly allowance and extra expenses will be deducted until the advance payment to the public school is paid off."

Upon hearing these words, Jia She's face turned even more ashen than before, feeling as if he were being killed.

Over the years, he has become accustomed to extravagance and debauchery. Now that his source of income has been cut off, how could he be happy?

She instinctively wanted to argue, but when she looked up, she met Grandmother Jia's cold eyes, and swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

Grandmother Jia's attitude was already very clear. Seeing that things were not going well, she directly switched sides and stood on the opposite side, scolding him to his face until he was completely humiliated, showing him no mercy, and cutting him off completely.

When the mother and son conspired, there was no third party present. Even if Jia She were to reveal it now, no one would believe him. They would only think that he wanted to drag his mother down with him, and he would only be burdened with the serious crime of being unfilial.

Faced with this situation, Jia She had no chance to resist and could only accept it reluctantly, though his eyes were still full of resentment and his eyes were red.

Seeing that he remained silent, Grandmother Jia took it as tacit agreement. She glanced at Jia Zheng, who had been standing silently to the side, her expression softening slightly, and instructed:

"Second son, go and tell your wife that we need to transfer some money from our public funds to the East Mansion for emergency use."

"At least the guests who come to pay their respects should be able to have a cup of hot tea. The incense and eternal lamps before the coffins must not be extinguished. The bodies of Zhen-ge'er and Rong-ge'er are not even cold yet. If even the lamps are extinguished, what kind of image will that be? Outsiders will surely laugh at our family to death!"

Jia Zheng felt that Grandmother Jia had handled the matter fairly, so he dared not say anything more and quickly bowed in response:

"Yes, Mother, I will take care of it right away."

After saying this, she glanced at Jia She with a complicated look in her eyes, sighed softly, turned around and quickly left the main hall to discuss the matter of transferring the money with Madam Wang.

Grandmother Jia watched Jia Zheng leave, then glanced at the dejected Jia She in the hall, snorted, and ignored him. She called in a maid and gave her instructions:

"Go and invite Second Master Can and Madam Zhen from the East Mansion. Tell them I have something to say to them."

The maidservant quickly responded and immediately went to deliver the message.

Grandmother Jia intended to appease Lady You and Jia Can in front of Jia She, and to return power to the two of them in person.

So that everyone can see clearly how she upholds justice and how she turns the tide, silencing the gossips from the outside world.

Soon after, Jia Can and Madam You arrived.

Upon entering, they couldn't help but glance at Jia She.

Seeing Jia She standing dejectedly to the side, Jia Can's expression remained unchanged. He only glanced at her briefly before looking away. A complex look flashed in You Shi's eyes before she lowered her gaze.

The two of them respectfully bowed to Grandmother Jia, who was seated at the head of the table.

"Grand-nephew and his wife pay their respects to the old lady."

Grandmother Jia, with a kind expression, waved her hand slightly:

"No need for formalities, please have a seat."

As he spoke, he first glanced at Madam You and nodded slightly as a greeting, then his gaze fell on Jia Can, scrutinizing him.

Jia Can remained calm, his young and handsome face showing no sign of resentment, as if the various events that had occurred in the past few days were nothing more than a farce that had nothing to do with him.

Grandmother Jia was secretly surprised and suspicious. Things had escalated to this point. Jia She had been scolded mercilessly, Jia Zheng was frowning, and the whole household was in a state of panic. How could Jia Can, as the victim who had been deprived of his inheritance rights, remain unmoved?

Is it cowardice and incompetence, passively accepting everything, or is it composure in the face of change, possessing wisdom and composure without showing it on one's face?

Upon entering, Jia Can appeared composed, poised, and dignified, without the slightest hint of timidity or sleazy.

Such composure is something that even the most well-educated young masters from noble families might not possess, let alone an unloved illegitimate son.

Grandmother Jia gave Jia Can a deep look, her aged eyes flashing with a sharp light. She felt that the latter was more likely. This illegitimate son of the East Mansion, whom she had never taken seriously before, was definitely not simple!

I really underestimated him before.

After a long while, Grandmother Jia withdrew her gaze, a hint of shame appearing on her face. She sighed and slowly said:

"Brother Can, daughter-in-law of Brother Zhen, I truly did not know that your master would do such a despicable and shameless thing, causing you to suffer injustice. I feel really bad about it and apologize to you here."

As she spoke, Grandmother Jia braced herself against the back of the chair and prepared to get up to apologize.

Jia Can and Madam You dared not accept such an offer and hurriedly stood up. Madam You spoke first:

"Madam, you're too kind. This matter has nothing to do with you, so there's no need for you to apologize to us. We wouldn't dare accept such an offer."

Jia Can chimed in, "Yes, it has nothing to do with you."

After hearing this, Grandmother Jia sat down again, and pointed to Jia She, who was still standing to the side, and said indignantly:

"This is all because your master was blinded by greed and lost his mind, which led him to do something that everyone condemns. Don't worry, I have already scolded him severely and ordered him to immediately return the token to the East Mansion."

"Furthermore, he will personally bear all the expenses for the funerals of Zhen Ge'er and Rong Ge'er to make up for the injustice done to you."

"As for the title and property of the Eastern Mansion, without a doubt, they will all be inherited by Can-ge'er. No one else should even think about getting their hands on them. From now on, the Eastern Mansion will be under your control, Can-ge'er. With me here, no one will dare to bully you orphans and widows!"