The Splendor of the Red Chamber

Things went more smoothly than I had imagined.

According to the information provided by Minglan, Jia Lian found the doctor Liao who had treated Aunt Wei in just one day.

This doctor was quite well-known in Yangzhou Prefecture because he specialized in treating pregnant women.

Jia Lian secretly instructed Zhao'er to invite the people to the Lin residence, and then went to the mourning hall to inform Daiyu and Minglan.

Upon entering the mourning hall, they saw Lin Daiyu with red eyes and clenched fists, seemingly angry with someone, prompting Minglan to repeatedly comfort her.

"What happened?"

Jia Lian just asked a question.

Lin Daiyu stood up abruptly, but then slowly sat back down, lowering her eyes and saying, "Brother, I think there's something wrong with the accounts these past few days."

"Yeah?"

Jia Lian, thinking there was truly a problem with the accounts, hurriedly had Zijuan fetch the daily account reports and handed them to Lin Daiyu, saying, "Sister, show them to me. Let's see which wicked person dares to steal them!"

Lin Daiyu shook her head slightly: "It's not that something is missing, but rather that one expense is missing—aren't all of Sister Feng's brother's expenses in Yangzhou supposed to be charged to our public accounts?"

"Does your sister know?"

Jia Lian then understood what was going on, and subconsciously leaned forward again, wanting to explain to Daiyu in a low voice.

Seeing this, Minglan was about to leave when Jia Lian quickly called out to her, "Minglan, I've found the person you're looking for. Let me explain to you, and then I'll accompany you to inquire."

He is now practically Minglan's cousin-in-law, so it's only right that he calls her "sister."

"Thank you very much, Second Master Lian!"

Minglan, unable to hide her excitement, curtsied and then went outside to wait.

"Don't be angry, little sister."

Jia Lian then said to Lin Daiyu, "I was so angry at his rudeness that I sent all those bills to Ningbo. I even suggested that Grand Commandant Wang keep him by his side to discipline him. Given Grand Commandant Wang's temper, he'll probably suffer."

Hearing Jia Lian's decision, Lin Daiyu felt relieved, but she still retorted, "Why didn't you tell me, brother? Didn't you say that as I grow older, I should experience some trials and tribulations?"

Jia Lian readily stood up, bowed, and said, "I was wrong. I will never deceive you again next time."

Then he instructed Lin Daiyu: "I won't ask who told you, but if you think this person is reliable, take him to the capital. Having a informant by your side will prevent you from being deceived or schemed against."

Seeing that he was willing to lower himself to apologize to her even though he was doing it for her own good, and that he was always considering her feelings, Lin Daiyu was secretly moved.

Originally, because Jia Lian quickly finalized the marriage with the Sheng family during his father's mourning period, the naturally sensitive Lin Daiyu had some reservations, but now those feelings have vanished.

After all, compared to Wang Ren's arrogant and disrespectful behavior, Jia Lian's lustful nature was nothing to mention.

Moreover, according to custom, one is not required to observe mourning for one's uncles-in-law, aunts-in-law, or maternal uncles-in-law, nor are they prohibited from attending weddings or banquets.

Now that things were out in the open, Jia Lian prepared to take Minglan to the side hall to consult with Doctor Liao.

Before he could even leave the house, Long'er came out with several letters and reported: "Second Master, letters have arrived from the capital. There are letters from Second Madam and Master Zheng to you, as well as letters from the Old Madam and the young masters and ladies to Miss Lin."

It has been more than twenty days since Lin Ruhai passed away, and judging by the time, the reply from the capital should indeed have arrived by now.

Although Jia Lian was curious about what Jia Zheng and Feng Jie had written in their letters, seeing that Minglan was anxiously waiting beside him, he chose to give the letters to Lin Daiyu first and then took Minglan to the side hall.

We arrived at the side hall.

Zhao'er and Xiao Die were standing guard at the door, one on each side.

When Zhao'er saw Second Master Lian, she quickly stepped forward to inform him of Doctor Liao's condition; Xiao Die, however, seemed at a loss, only secretly glancing at Jia Lian from the corner of her eye.

Jia Lian pointed into the hall and asked Minglan, "Are you going in to ask him alone, or should I ask him for you?"

Although Minglan didn't want to owe Jia Lian any more favors, she was, after all, just a 12-year-old girl, and she was afraid that she wouldn't be able to handle the situation.

After a slight hesitation, he still bowed and said, "Thank you for your trouble, Second Master."

"No problem."

Without saying a word, Jia Lian went into the side hall first.

Minglan hurriedly called Xiaodie to follow closely behind, but after she went inside, Xiaodie was still lingering at the door.

"Sister Xiaodie?"

Minglan sensed something was wrong and stepped forward to ask, "Are you feeling unwell?"

"no."

Seeing that Jia Lian had already taken his seat in the main seat, Xiao Die blushed and whispered, "Madam Li from the main house examined me yesterday and said she wants me to be a maidservant to Miss Shulan, to serve her..."

As she spoke, she couldn't help but steal a glance at Jia Lian.

Minglan initially felt that Li Shi was making a mess of things by matchmaking, but then she thought that Xiaodie was still unmarried at the age of twenty because she was burdened with the stigma of theft and was unwilling to settle.

She was even a year older than Shulan, who had divorced and remarried. It would probably be difficult for her to find a good family to marry into again. If she could become a maidservant to the young master, that would be an excellent outcome.

Thinking this, Minglan quietly asked, "So what do you think yourself?"

"I...I..."

Xiao Die hesitated and couldn't speak, but her eyes kept glancing at Jia Lian.

She had heard from Madam Li that the young master was handsome and dashing, but she thought it was an exaggeration. Only after meeting him did she realize that there was such a noble and handsome young man in the world.

Hey~

Seeing her like this, Minglan knew she had fallen for someone else again, and sighed inwardly, saying, "I'll talk to Sister Shulan later and tell her to treat you well in the future—let's find out about Aunt's matter first, okay?"

Xiaodie then came to her senses and said "I'm sorry" in embarrassment.

For the past five years, she had been holding back her anger, wanting to seek justice for Aunt Wei, but when the time came, she was only focused on men, which was really wrong of her.

Minglan could understand her, after all, her own fourth sister, Molan, behaved much the same way as Xiaodie when she met Qi Heng, who was slightly inferior to Jia Lian.

She led Xiaodie into the side hall, where she saw that Doctor Liao, who had been sitting and drinking tea just moments before, had now stood up with trepidation, his back bent and him looking extremely cautious.

Ta~

Jia Lian casually placed the teacup on the table and called out, "Doctor Liao, answer whatever my sister asks, without any deception. Do you understand?"

"Listen carefully, listen carefully!"

Dr. Liao's back became increasingly hunched, and he dared not even look up at Minglan.

According to the original TV series plot, three years later, when Doctor Liao was invited to the capital by Minglan for questioning, he was quite impatient and even resisted Minglan's questions at first.

But how could he dare to act presumptuously in front of the Second Master Lian of the Rongguo Mansion?

Minglan gripped her handkerchief tightly, her breathing becoming heavy. Composing herself, she asked, "Sir, do you remember what happened that night?"

"Replying to your question, sir."

Doctor Liao hurriedly turned to Minglan and bowed, saying, "After all, five years have passed. I've been thinking about it for a long time but still can't remember. I beg you to give me some more hints."

"this……"

Minglan thought about it carefully and suddenly remembered something: "That's right, I remember when you came to treat patients, a young nobleman had just fallen into the river. There were soldiers all outside my house, and the whole city of Yangzhou was searched."

This young nobleman is actually Gu Tingye, the second son of the Marquis of Ningyuan. He came to Yangzhou to inherit the estate of his maternal grandfather, the Bai family, the richest family in the country, but was assassinated and forced to jump into the river.

The doctor clearly remembered this incident and immediately exclaimed, "I remember now, your family... uh, your household is quite unusual, it's the concubine who manages the household, not the mistress or madam."

Minglan gasped for breath, then nodded vigorously, "That's right, it was my house! Tell me quickly, what happened back then?!"

"Well..."

Dr. Liao tried hard to recall, "The pregnant woman's baby was a bit large, but it wasn't a big problem. I told the housekeeper's aunt that as long as she kept an eye on the pregnant woman, told her not to overdo the nourishment, eat a light diet, and walk around more, she would be fine."

Upon hearing this, Minglan's face drained of all color, and she staggered back two steps.

Just as Xiaodie was about to reach out to help, Jia Lian beat her to it.

Jia Lian helped Minglan up and asked, "Have you already discovered the problem?"

"I...I..."

For the first time, Minglan forgot all etiquette and rules, grabbed Jia Lian's arm with her other hand, and said in a trembling voice, "At that time, my mother... after Doctor Liao left, Lin Qinshuang had many tonics sent to my mother, and also had people watch over her so that she wouldn't move around, saying that my mother was weak and needed to rest!"

"How could this be?!"

Upon hearing this, Doctor Liao, disregarding the fact that he was in front of distinguished guests, exclaimed excitedly, "If this is done, the pregnant woman will most likely experience a difficult labor!"

"My mother died in childbirth!"

As Minglan spoke, she burst into tears.

Jia Lian waved for Zhao'er to see Doctor Liao off, then helped Minglan to a chair. Once she had calmed down a bit, he asked, "What do you plan to do?"

Minglan hesitated for a moment, then rose and bowed deeply to Jia Lian: "Second Master Lian, I am deeply grateful, please accept this bow from me!"

Then she resolutely added, "Second Master has already helped me a great deal. Minglan dares not trouble you any further. I only beg you not to reveal this news—I will one day personally avenge my mother's blood debt!"

This girl is gentle on the outside but strong on the inside.

If she begged Jia Lian for help, Jia Lian would have to underestimate her.

"Alright, since you have your own ideas, then pretend I never heard of this." Jia Lian smiled slightly: "But if you ever need your cousin-in-law's help, I'm sure he won't refuse."

After saying that, he turned and left without a care in the world.

When they returned to the mourning hall, they found Lin Daiyu lost in thought again.

"What's wrong?"

Jia Lian asked curiously, "What did the letter say? Why do you look so distracted?"

"Baoyu said in the letter."

Lin Daiyu said in a daze, "At 9:45 a.m. on the third day of the ninth month, Rong-ge's daughter-in-law gave birth to a boy."

Is it the third quarter of Hai hour on the third day of the ninth lunar month?

Wasn't that shortly after Lin Ruhai's death?

My son is my uncle-in-law reincarnated?!

[PS: The southward journey storyline ends tomorrow; Second Master Lian will be heading home.]