The Splendor of the Red Chamber

Wang Ren stayed in Yangzhou Prefecture for five or six days before leaving.

He claimed he was helping Jia Lian, but in reality he was always out indulging in debauchery. In the end, he even brought the bills from his prostitution to the Lin family mansion, demanding that they be paid for by the Lin family's funeral expenses.

Lin Ruhai had only been dead for seven days, and this behavior was utterly outrageous, completely disregarding the proper decorum between relatives.

If the outside world finds out, the Jia, Lin, and Wang families will likely become a laughing stock in the Jiangnan officialdom!

In the past, Jia Lian might have chosen to settle things peacefully and have the Lin family's public account cover the cost—after all, it wasn't his own money.

But now Jia Lian is most afraid of his relatives causing trouble, so why would he tolerate Wang Ren's bad habits?

He sent the bill directly to Wang Ziteng, suggesting that Wang Ziteng keep Wang Ren under his wing to discipline him, so that he would not cause trouble in the capital in the future.

As for whether Wang Ren will hold a grudge...

If the Second Master can't even keep his brother-in-law in check in the future, how will he gain any say in the Rongguo Mansion?

Early that morning, Jia Lian sent Wang Ren on his "road of no return" and, as usual, inspected the Lin residence.

During this time, as expected, he encountered Li, who was helping out in the inner quarters.

Seeing Li Shi approaching with expectant eyes to greet him, Jia Lian casually handed her a book, saying, "I borrowed this novel from the Sheng family to pass the time, but I was so busy that I forgot about it until I saw it by chance last night. Now it's finally back to its rightful owner."

Li was confused and didn't know many words, so she could only nod and agree. She then hurriedly took it to Sheng Wei for a look.

Sheng Wei took it and glanced at it. It turned out to be a copy of "Journey to the West". He flipped through it briefly and found that a page was folded in the middle. He unfolded it and read it carefully. It was the story of Sun Wukong learning his skills on Fangcun Mountain.

Sheng Wei immediately understood and whispered, "This must be the young master hinting that he'll come through the back door at midnight tonight!"

Li's heart finally settled down.

He immediately abandoned all pretense of maintaining appearances at the Lin family home, made up a random excuse, and returned to the three-courtyard house. He grabbed Shulan and sternly instructed her to be more uninhibited that night.

Shulan recalled her experience in the inner study that day. She did not agree with her mother's statement, but she had been blindly obedient to her mother since childhood, so she did not want to refute her directly.

She could only verbally agree, but secretly made up her mind to continue with her usual reserved and shy demeanor, and see how the young master would break her down.

Let's talk about Jia Lian later.

In the morning, he entertained a group of mourners. At noon, while having lunch with Daiyu, he broke down and explained to Lin Daiyu the intricacies of welcoming and seeing off guests over the past few days.

Initially, he approached Lin Daiyu with some ulterior motives, but after spending the past six months together, he had come to regard this clever and quick-witted girl as his own sister, and even loved her like a daughter.

Seeing that Daiyu was somewhat distracted, Jia Lian turned his chopsticks around and gently tapped Lin Daiyu's hand, scolding her: "I know you like poetry and songs and are impatient with these mundane matters, but these things are the key to survival in a large family."

Even if you do it for no other reason than to gain your second aunt's favor when you return to Beijing, you should still patiently learn the ins and outs of this.

Upon hearing this, Daiyu's ears turned red, and she said something that didn't reflect her true feelings: "What does my learning these things have to do with my aunt? Brother, are you still going to teach me or not? If not, I'm leaving!"

"Teach, teach, of course we should teach."

Jia Lian smiled and advised, "You can also consult Minglan from time to time. She may not be as good as you in other areas, but she has some methods for handling household affairs."

"Minglan is better than me in more than just that; she can also play polo!"

"Haha, when you're feeling better, I'll teach you how to play polo too."

[PS: Lin Daiyu will definitely be taken down later, but the groundwork needs to be laid so that the takedown is reasonable and logical.]

At this stage, regardless of the state of Lin Daiyu's relationship with Jia Baoyu, given her personality and background, she would never develop any romantic feelings for Jia Lian, who is already married with children.

If that were the case, would she still be the sensitive, suspicious, and aloof Lin Daiyu?

Since it's fan fiction, I can't say it's a perfect match for the original characters, but it should at least have some semblance of the original, right?

…………

That night.

Because she didn't trust anyone else, Li personally guarded the back door.

They waited and waited, and finally, around midnight, they heard the sound of horses' hooves outside.

Disregarding her dignity and safety, Madam Li pushed open the door, lit a lantern, and peered out. She saw a man jump down from a tall horse; who else could it be but Second Master Lian?

"Young Master!"

Madam Li exclaimed in surprise and quickly invited Jia Lian inside.

While Jia Lian was tying up the horse, she said cautiously, "Shulan is remarrying, so we dare not ask for anything else. We only hope that if she has a son or daughter in the future, they can be recorded in the Jia family genealogy."

Children of concubines are usually not allowed to be included in the family genealogy, but there are usually exceptions.

Jia Lian was, after all, the future head of the Rongguo Mansion and one of the most respected people in the Jia clan. Once he took power, it would only take him a word to include his illegitimate son in the family genealogy.

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

Jia Lian laughed and said, "Our family is small, how could we let the child wander outside? Making her a concubine first is to prevent Shulan from being restrained. If she really gets pregnant, I will definitely bring her into the family openly and honestly."

"That's great! That's great!"

These words, especially the term "mother-in-law," made Li Shi overjoyed, and she happily led Jia Lian to Shulan's boudoir.

Hearing the noise, Shulan blushed and opened the door. She was too shy to look up at Jia Lian, so she simply stepped aside to let him in.

"You silly child!"

When Madam Li saw that she hadn't done as she had instructed, she stomped her feet in anger, but she couldn't say much in front of Jia Lian. She could only instruct her, "Be sure to serve the young master well!"

Shulan responded in a barely audible voice, then quickly closed the door.

Turning around, I saw Second Master Lian staring at me and laughing.

Shulan's face grew increasingly hot, and although she opened her mouth, she couldn't utter a single word.

Jia Lian liked her embarrassed and shy appearance, so he immediately hugged her and kissed her on the lips, then half-dragged and half-carried her into the inner room.

Once inside, there was an apricot-colored curtain hanging on the east wall, bulging inside, its contents unknown.

Jia Lian was curious and was about to go up and uncover it to take a look.

"Young Master!"

Shulan became a little anxious and tugged at Jia Lian's hand, saying, "Mother insisted on putting these things here, and they're not anything good, so please, please don't look at them."

The more she said that, the more curious Jia Lian became.

Pretending to withdraw his hand, he waited for Shulan to lower her guard before suddenly lifting the lid. In the center was a golden statue of Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, and on either side were five or six strangely shaped objects.

Jia Lian picked up something that looked like a waist support, and seeing a painting of five sons passing the imperial examinations on it, asked, "What is this?"

Shulan, afraid that he would misunderstand, hurriedly suppressed her embarrassment and explained, "These are all folk remedies for having a child that my mother found. I felt ashamed and never brought them to the Sun family. I only used a few prescriptions secretly."

"What's this called?"

"Let's call it 'Five Sons Passing the Imperial Examination'."

Shulan lowered her head shyly and said, "Mother said, she said that if you put it under your body, it will be easier, easier to get pregnant..."

That makes some scientific sense.

Jia Lian whispered in her ear, "You didn't want to use it before, but are you going to use it now?"

Shulan was extremely embarrassed, her cheeks burning red, but she finally nodded—after all, Sun Zhigao was chosen by her parents, while Jia Lian was someone she had willingly chosen herself.

Jia Lian laughed heartily. Seeing her shy and bashful expression, he suddenly had an idea. He pulled down the curtain and gently covered Shulan's head in surprise.

"Young Master, this..."

"Just call me Second Master from now on."

Jia Lian embraced her and led her to the bed, saying, "Even without the nuptial wine, there must be a veil—I'll give you the ceremony when you officially become my concubine."

"Second Master~"

Sheng Shulan instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck and asked excitedly, "Would you be willing to take me into your family?"

"Of course, but my wife has a fierce temper, and I'm thinking..."

Jia Lian repeated what he had said to Li Shi to Sheng Shulan. Hearing that he was so considerate of her, Sheng Shulan became even more willing.

Jia Lian placed her on the bed, gently lifted the veil, and then leaned over to press himself against her, saying, "My dear wife, the night is too short, let's rest early."

"Wait a moment!"

Just as she was about to be pinned down, Shulan suddenly shouted to stop. She picked up the Five Sons Passing the Imperial Examination that Jia Lian had thrown aside, placed it neatly in the center, and then closed her eyes, letting Jia Lian do as he pleased.