The Splendor of the Red Chamber

Minglan stayed at the Lin residence with her grandmother for five days before returning to her hometown of Youyang, after being reluctantly seen off by Lin Daiyu.

Grandma He didn't leave, but stayed to take care of Lin Ruhai—besides her compassionate heart as a doctor, the hundred acres of paddy fields must have played a significant role as well.

Even if the quality of paddy fields in Jiangnan is average, they still cost about twenty or thirty taels of silver per mu, so more than a hundred mu would cost three or four thousand taels.

It was only because Lin Daiyu was so devoted to her father and had no attachment to material possessions that she offered such a generous reward.

Enough with the small talk.

Two months have passed in the blink of an eye, and during this time, the power struggle for the throne in the capital has seen new developments.

Some have pointed out that although there is a precedent of succession by younger brother in this dynasty—Emperor Taizong was Emperor Taizu's younger brother—this is an exception, not a convention, much less a rule or regulation.

Especially since the current emperor is in his prime, rather than having his brother succeed him, it would be better to select an elder from the younger generation of the imperial clan to be adopted as his heir, so that he can personally teach the principles of governing the country and ensuring its stability.

This might sound like it's for the emperor's benefit.

But anyone with a discerning eye can see that this is the beginning of the Yan King's faction exerting its influence.

The Prince of Yan was one year younger than the Prince of Yong, but his eldest son was one year older than the Prince of Yong's eldest son, making him the eldest legitimate member of the royal family.

Those who had already expressed their support for Prince Yong naturally refused to agree, so the two sides stuck to their own versions of events, and the conflict escalated.

However, none of this mattered to Jia Lian for the time being. With the Mid-Autumn Festival over and the grand wedding of the Sheng family not far off, Jia Lian prepared to take gifts and make a trip to Youyang County.

At this moment, Lin Ruhai looked quite well.

Upon hearing Jia Lian's request for leave, he instructed, "Take your sister with you. She... cough cough, she must be feeling really bored lately."

Lin Daiyu quickly replied, "How could I be so bored? As long as I can stay by Father's side, I wouldn't feel bored even if I never went out for the rest of my life!"

"Ha...cough cough cough..."

Lin Ruhai laughed and coughed a few times, weakly saying, "Go, go, and please thank Old Madam Sheng again for... cough cough, for her helping hand."

Lin Daiyu then agreed.

After the brother and sister went out to discuss their itinerary, Old Madam He quietly reminded them, "We can be assured of safety within ten days, but if it exceeds ten days..."

It turns out that Lin Ruhai's improved complexion was just a temporary resurgence before death.

Lin Daiyu's eyes reddened, and she wanted to stay and watch over her father.

"Your uncle wants you to be happy."

Jia Lian reached out and rubbed her head, advising, "If you stay here all the time, he'll be worried—anyway, Youyang County isn't far, we can be back in four or five days at most."

Lin Daiyu then gave up her thoughts.

So the next morning, the two cousins, along with more than twenty servants, traveled lightly to Youyang.

Youyang is a county under the jurisdiction of Yangzhou, and it is only about 60 li away.

Before evening, the group had already arrived in Youyang County.

After inquiring along the way, they arrived at the Sheng Mansion. There, they saw a large red silk banner hanging high above the vermilion gate, lanterns on both sides reflecting the auspicious couplets on the gable wall, colorful banners and embroidered balls hanging under the eaves, and more than a dozen servants standing on the steps to welcome and see off guests.

Jia Lian reined in his horse at the steps, instructed Zhao'er to present the name card, and then nimbly dismounted.

As soon as he landed, he noticed someone spying on him. Following that gaze, he saw a carriage and several servants approaching from the opposite direction.

Those prying eyes were coming from inside the car window.

Their eyes met, and the corner of the curtain that had been lifted was immediately lowered.

Inside the carriage, a dignified and beautiful young woman shrank back, secretly marveling at how such a dashing and dashing young nobleman could exist in the world.

Figure:

"What's wrong?"

At this moment, the middle-aged woman next to her asked in a gruff voice, "What did you see? Why do you look like you've been bitten by a dog?"

The middle-aged woman was also dressed in fine silks and satins, but her manners were quite vulgar. Before the young woman could respond, she propped herself up on her thighs and peered outside.

"Mother-in-law!"

The young woman quickly tried to dissuade her, saying, "I was just a little surprised to see that we had distinguished guests."

It turned out that the young woman was Sheng Shulan, the eldest daughter of the Sheng family, and the middle-aged woman was her mother-in-law, Sun Zhao.

"Distinguished guest?"

Sun Zhao sneered arrogantly, "Your Sheng family are just merchants, what kind of distinguished guests could you possibly invite? Even if they are distinguished, could they be more distinguished than my son? My son is a scholar who passed the imperial examination, a potential prime minister!"

[PS: The original storyline involving Sun Xiucai was too absurd, so it was changed to him being a Juren (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations).]

"What my mother-in-law says is true."

Sheng Shulan lowered her eyelids and echoed her words insincerely.

Her husband, Sun Zhigao, passed the imperial examination at the age of 12 and became a scholar at the age of 21. He was a well-known talent in Youyang County, and even a Taoist priest once told his fortune that he would become a prime minister in the future.

It just so happened that the eldest branch of the Sheng family had long been overshadowed by the second branch, and the young men were not academically inclined, so they thought they could turn the tables with their son-in-law.

So he took the initiative to arrange the marriage and even gave away a lot of land and shops, hoping that Sun Zhigao would be able to support his wife's family in the future.

Who knew that a small favor would be appreciated, but a large one would breed resentment? Sun Zhigao, instead, began to despise the Sheng family, feeling that they were trying to curry favor with him. Whenever things didn't go his way, he would beat or scold Sheng Shulan.

However, Sheng Wei, the eldest patriarch of the Sheng family, was reluctant to part with this "investment." Whenever his daughter was wronged, he would choose to settle things peacefully and send some money to Sun Zhigao to ward off trouble.

Gradually, the Sun family mother and son became increasingly unruly.

Meanwhile, Sun Zhaoshi, having given her daughter-in-law a few words of reprimand, was feeling quite pleased with herself when she suddenly noticed that the carriage had stopped and remained motionless for quite some time.

"What's going on?!"

She gruffly lifted the curtain and saw the servants of the Sheng family escorting two carriages into the gate, while her mother, who was a descendant of the prime minister, was ignored by everyone.

"What's going on?!"

Her voice grew even louder as she slapped her thigh and angrily shouted, "Are all your lackeys blind? They ignore their in-laws and swarm to curry favor with others!"

As he spoke, he was about to jump out of the car to confront the servants of the Sheng family.

"Don't worry, Mother-in-law."

Sheng Shulan hurriedly said, "Let me go and ask what happened."

She helped her maid out of the carriage and called out to a familiar gatekeeper, asking, "Who was that young master who was ushered in just now?"

The doorman shook his head: "The master and mistress didn't give any instructions, only that they were the most honored guests and that we must treat them with the utmost care—I heard that even the master and mistress are going out to greet them."

Although Sheng Shulan had long recognized Jia Lian as a wealthy young man, she never imagined he would be of such high status.

Suppressing her curiosity, she instructed the doorman to lead the Sun family's carriage inside, then got into the carriage and said to her mother-in-law, "It seems that we have some very important guests. Even my father and mother have to come out to greet them."

"Hmph~"

Upon hearing this, Madam Sun Zhao remained dismissive: "If you ask me, this is just my father-in-law's shallow-mindedness. No matter how rare he is, he can't compare to my son. My son is a potential prime minister!"

Shulan ignored her and secretly guessed Jia Lian's identity.

At this moment, the carriage arrived at the second courtyard, and a lively atmosphere could be heard from the front, with the faint sound of the father, Shengwei's, exaggerated laughter.

Sheng Shulan was so curious that she couldn't help but lift the curtain and peek out, only to see the young nobleman exchanging pleasantries with his parents.

He was wearing a gold-embroidered hair ornament with a plain jade hairpin, a dark blue autumn silk robe with dark patterns, a delicate jade belt around his waist, and pink-soled black boots with cloud patterns.

With a face as radiant as the autumn moon, clear and bright eyes, and a tall and imposing figure, he possessed the natural bearing of a noble family and an air of elegance.

Whether it was his father, Shengwei, or his mother, Li, they all seemed to shrink in comparison to him, and even their laughter was tinged with flattery.

Shulan became even more curious about the other person's identity.

As they were staring at the young nobleman's back, the man seemed to notice them and suddenly turned to look in their direction.

His gaze was as intense as lightning, and Shulan was so frightened that she quickly shrank back.

Unexpectedly, the mother-in-law, Zhao, was also frightened and shrank back, causing the two to collide.

"Ouch, are you trying to run me over?!"

Sun Zhao cursed, then suddenly remembered something and asked suspiciously, "Were you looking at that pretty boy just now?!"

Shulan was startled and quickly retorted, "What are you saying, Mother-in-law? How could I possibly do such a shameless thing?"

"Hard to say!"

Madam Sun Zhao sneered, "That boy is so slick and effeminate, I can't even look at him... Hmph, you've been married for three years and haven't even laid an egg, you're not even as good as a prostitute. If you dare to have any other thoughts, see if my son won't break your legs!"

Shulan repeatedly said she dared not, but she felt extremely wronged inside.

In recent years, Sun Zhigao felt that he lacked romance in bed, so he took several concubines. Recently, he brought a courtesan to his home, saying that she was pregnant...

He acts with impunity, yet I can't even look at other men twice. How can God be so unfair?!

the other side.

Jia Lian withdrew his gaze and said to Sheng Wei, whose face was full of flattery, "Master Sheng, my sister and I have come to visit you this time mainly to express our gratitude for Madam Xu's kindness. Your family does not need to make such a big fuss. Just treat me as an ordinary guest."

Upon hearing this, Sheng Wei said with trepidation, "How can this be...?"

"If I say it's okay, then it's okay."

Jia Lian interrupted him, taking it upon himself to arrange things: "My younger sister is friends with Miss Minglan, so please have Miss Minglan entertain my younger sister."

As for me, I heard that your son will be serving as an official in the Five Cities Military Command after his marriage. Coincidentally, I also plan to gain military experience, so I'll take this opportunity to exchange ideas with your son.

Upon hearing this, Sheng Wei did not feel that he was overstepping his bounds; on the contrary, he found Lian Er Ye to be approachable.

He immediately echoed loudly, "Didn't you hear Second Master Lian's instructions? To have Minglan and Pinlan entertain Miss Lin; and where's Changwu? Quickly call him out to help me entertain our distinguished guest!"

Seeing his father gesturing wildly as he welcomed Jia Lian into the hall.

Sheng Shulan also took the opportunity to get off the carriage and whispered to her mother, "Mother, who exactly are these two distinguished guests?"

Li, in high spirits due to the joyous occasion, deliberately kept everyone in suspense, saying, "That young lady is the daughter of Salt Commissioner Lin, and as for this young master..."

"Mother~"

Shulan clung to her mother's arm affectionately.

Then, Madam Li lowered her voice and said mysteriously, "You must have heard of the famous Eight Founding Dukes, right? This Second Master Lian is the direct descendant of the Rongguo Mansion. He currently holds a fifth-rank official position and will inherit his ancestors' titles in the future!"

He's actually the heir to the Rongguo Mansion!

Shulan's beautiful eyes widened in surprise.

Her mother-in-law often talked about being a descendant of a prime minister, but that was just self-praise.

This Second Master Lian is indeed a true descendant of a Duke!

No wonder he has such a distinguished air; his demeanor, appearance, and manners far surpass those of Sun Zhigao.