The Splendor of the Red Chamber

[Seeking votes on Monday]

In the days that followed.

Jia Lian was busy with funeral arrangements during the day and with flood control at night.

Every day, either Qin Keqing and Ping'er would block her from the front and back, or Wang Xifeng and Qin Keqing would fight separately—on the fourth day, after Baozhu recovered from her injuries, the mistress and servant began to work together again.

It's fortunate that Master Lian has now obtained a golden finger, making him a man of steel; otherwise, how could he withstand it?

Speaking of which, Wang Xifeng and Qin Keqing are two typical examples of hypocrisy.

A person who appears outwardly bold and straightforward, but inwardly rigid and reserved.

She appears gentle and delicate on the outside, but is actually quite cunning and unpredictable on the inside.

Jia Lian didn't dare to be too presumptuous the first night, but later, seeing that Ke Qing had taken the initiative to learn the methods, he realized that she was a teachable talent, so he opened up dozens of terabytes of his knowledge base.

Immersed in this gentle embrace, before they knew it, it was the night of Jia Rong's seventh day memorial.

As usual, Jia Lian summarized the accounts and then discussed with You Shi: "Sister-in-law, things will be less busy after the seventh day after death, so we should also thank our family friends who came to help."

For the younger generation, Qiang-ge and I will handle the reception; but for the older generation, I'm afraid we'll have to ask the two gentlemen and Brother Zhen to accompany them personally.

"Of course."

Madam You quickly stood up and gave a curtsy: "I will discuss it with your elder brother Zhen later, and ask the two gentlemen if it is convenient for you. As for the younger generation, Qiang is young and inexperienced, so we can only rely on him."

Jia Lian nodded and handed over a list that listed the officials and nobles who had frequently visited Ningguo Mansion or provided extra assistance in the past few days.

Each and every incident clearly reveals the closeness or distance of relationships.

"It turns out that the Lian brothers had made preparations long ago."

Lady You was increasingly impressed and couldn't help but secretly envy Wang Xifeng's good fortune.

Although Jia Lian was intelligent before, he was lazy and only put in half of his effort. Now he has been transformed and is now thorough and diligent in his work. No one can find any fault with him.

"Second Master Lian".

Just then, a maid came in to report: "The old lady just sent someone to tell Second Master to come to her room when he's done with his work, saying she has something to discuss."

The old lady has something to discuss?

Jia Lian immediately thought of escorting Lin Daiyu south, but he had been so busy day and night these past few days that he had completely forgotten about it.

I have no idea what the old lady's purpose is in summoning me over this time.

At this moment, Madam You hurriedly stood up and said, "Since the old lady has summoned you, brother, you should go home early today."

"Alright, I'll go and say a few words to Brother Qiang and then I'll leave."

Jia Lian then got up to take his leave.

Lady You saw him to the door and couldn't help but stare at him for a while, but this time it wasn't about Jia Rong.

Let's not even mention her.

Now, Jia Lian, having entrusted the task, went directly to the old lady Jia's room.

Upon entering, one sees Jia Baoyu standing to the side, pouting and tilting his head as if he is sulking with the old lady.

Jia Lian stepped forward to greet the old lady and asked with a smile, "Brother Bao, what's wrong? Usually, even if he wants the stars and the moon, the old lady has never refused."

"Sigh~"

Grandmother Jia sighed and said helplessly, "This old woman is unlucky, having to be stuck with this pair of lovable little devils."

It turned out that Lin Daiyu, because of Rong'er's death, was thinking about her father Lin Ruhai. As a result, she had been unable to eat or drink for the past few days. She was already thin, but now she was even more emaciated.

Jia Baoyu was originally hoping that Lin Daiyu wouldn't leave.

But now that he sees her losing so much weight, Baoyu is getting anxious and upset again. Today he even went to the old lady and said he wanted to personally escort Lin Daiyu south.

The old lady was unwilling to agree.

Only then did he order someone to invite Jia Lian over.

"Your uncle told me you want to go to the army for training as soon as possible, which is a good thing, and I agree—but besides you, who else in this household can your uncle, aunt, and I trust? And who can your uncle entrust things to?"

With the old lady having put it this way, Jia Lian knew he couldn't escape this situation.

He immediately laughed and said, "I had just woken up at the time, and my brain wasn't quite working yet. Now that I think about it, going south would be a good opportunity to settle down and hone my martial arts skills. When I join the army, I'll make a name for myself. It's like sharpening your axe before chopping wood."

"Okay, okay~"

Upon hearing this, Grandmother Jia burst into laughter, praising without reservation, "Our Lian'er has indeed improved! No wonder your uncle and your sister-in-law Zhen have been praising you to me! This is truly a blessing from our ancestors..."

"Ancestor!"

At this moment, Jia Baoyu rushed over, hugged the old lady's leg, and said in a spoiled manner, "Since Brother Lian is watching over me, you don't need to worry about me running around on the way. Let me accompany Sister Lin south!"

"My darling."

The old lady said with a headache, "Your second brother Lian is busy with important matters, how can he have time to keep an eye on you? If something happens to him outside, how will your mother and I live?"

The grandmother and granddaughter remained deadlocked for a full fifteen minutes, but the old lady still refused to give in.

Baoyu then started pestering Jia Lian again.

Jia Lian finally managed to escape, and when he returned to his own Wutong Garden, Wang Xifeng and Ping'er had also returned from Ningguo Mansion.

Because she had worked on flat land the night before, Wang Xifeng was well-rested. As soon as she entered the room, she started arranging for a bath and a change of clothes, clearly implying that Jia Lian should hand over the grain tax.

Jia Lian wrapped her in his arms and told her about the old lady's insistence that he escort Lin Daiyu south.

I thought that Feng Lazi would definitely be reluctant to part with it.

Unexpectedly, Sister Feng said, "Second Master should make the trip. Uncle Lin is the Salt Commissioner. I heard that the Lin family doesn't have many close relatives. If Second Master goes to the south, he will be the backbone. He can at least get some benefits."

It turns out they had their eyes on the Lin family's money.

Jia Lian slapped her increasingly plump buttocks and said irritably, "How many times have I told you? I'm currently thinking about ways to make money. Don't get any more ideas about crooked ways!"

Wang Xifeng had heard this a lot lately, but she just didn't believe it: "Does the blessing from our ancestors tell you how to get rich?"

"Who says you can't?"

Jia Lian brought out the Four Treasures of the Study and drew a simple diagram of honeycomb briquettes.

He hadn't read many online novels in his later life, but he had watched some time-travel short dramas and comics, so he was familiar with several ways time travelers could make money.

The simplest of these is the honeycomb briquette.

He had originally planned to try to make his first fortune by producing honeycomb briquettes after the seventh day after her death, but now that he was escorting Lin Daiyu south, he naturally had to entrust the task to Sister Feng.

After Jia Lian explained, Feng Jie remained skeptical: "If yellow mud is added, can this coal still be used?"

"So we need to find the best ratio."

Jia Lian held her and coaxed her like a child, saying, "I dare not say that this product will make a fortune every day, but it is good because it is a steady stream of small profits and high sales. We can make money honestly and uprightly. Isn't that better than taking chestnuts out of the fire ten or a hundred times?"

Besides, I intend to make a name for myself in the future and earn you an official title. If I were to lose that title due to greed for petty gains, wouldn't that be a pity?

"Tch~"

Wang Xifeng was delighted to hear this, but said aloud, "Even if you don't try to earn it, I'll eventually become a third-rank noblewoman."

This refers to the fact that Jia Lian will inherit the title of Third-Class General of Might and Valor in the future, and she will also be granted an imperial title.

After a pause, she continued, "Since you're going south, won't your plan to become a martial arts apprentice fall through? How about this, I'll go back and ask my father for a letter, which you can take to your second uncle, and ask him to help you find a good instructor."

Jia Lian pecked her forehead and laughed, "I knew you were the most considerate and caring towards me."

"Hmph~"

Wang Xifeng snorted and then put on a stern face, instructing, "This time you are escorting Lin Daiyu south. Even if you don't consider your own interests, you must take care of Lin Daiyu's reputation."

"If you dare bring home any of those 'slender horses' from Yangzhou or 'fat horses' from Hangzhou, tarnishing Lin Daiyu's reputation, not only will you not get past your great-aunt, but your grandmother will also be furious with you!"

Having fully experienced Jia Lian's current fighting prowess, she no longer expected him to behave himself outside, but she still couldn't tolerate him bringing back those dirty and smelly things.

"What are you saying?"

Jia Lian hugged and kissed her, jokingly saying, "With a wife as beautiful as a fairy at home, why would I look at those ordinary women outside?"

"Hehe~"

Wang Xifeng sneered, "You men are always so fickle, do you think I don't know that?"

Jia Lian chuckled without saying a word, but simply increased the intensity of his movements.

"Ouch!"

Wang Xifeng quickly pushed him away, urging, "Go take a bath first, or don't even think about touching me!"

Jia Lian then went to the bathtub to undress.

Because Wang Xifeng didn't trust the other maids, and Ping'er was really not in good spirits, she simply took it upon herself to scrub him with a loofah.

As he rubbed, he suddenly murmured, "I wonder if that slut is pregnant or not."

"I don't care about all that."

Jia Lian pretended not to care and said casually, "But you, since giving birth to Qiao Jie, haven't had any luck for several years. I think you might be overworked."

"Since I'm going south this time, I might as well talk to the old lady and the madam and ask you to temporarily relinquish your housekeeping duties so you can recover your health. When I return, we'll try for a son!"

Since suspecting that Wang Xifeng might be the cause of the collapse of the empire.

Jia Lian had been trying to persuade her to stop being greedy for money and power, and the promise of becoming a titled lady and having a son were the magic weapons he had specially brought up.

Wang Xifeng hesitated upon hearing this. Of course, she wanted to have a son, but that would mean giving up her right to be the head housekeeper...

"Didn't you just teach me the Eight Pieces of Brocade?"

In the end, she couldn't let go of her lust for power and replied perfunctorily, "Besides, I'm used to handling these things. I was too young to handle things before, but now who would dare to act recklessly in front of me? Using only seven-tenths of my strength is enough."

"Then reduce it to five points."

Seeing that he couldn't persuade her immediately, Jia Lian had no choice but to compromise: "It just so happens that Yingchun will be fifteen after the New Year, and she should learn how to handle household chores. You can let her do those less important things."

"At that time, I'd like to ask the old lady and the wife to each send one of their trusted servants to help her, so she can learn on the job. That way, it will also show your virtue as her sister-in-law, won't it?"

Currently, the Jia family has three legitimate daughters: Jia Yingchun, born of a concubine in the first wife's household; Jia Tanchun, born to Aunt Zhao in the second wife's household; and Jia Xichun, born of the legitimate wife in the Ningguo Mansion.

Yingchun is Jia Lian's younger sister, and as her older brother and sister-in-law, they had to teach her some things, and no one could find fault with that.

So this time, Wang Xifeng readily agreed.