The Splendor of the Red Chamber

Lin Daiyu naturally thought of the concept of reincarnation, but as a daughter, she couldn't bring herself to say it.

After all, Qin Keqing's son was already a grandson by right.

The two looked at each other in silence for a long while. Finally, Jia Lian came to his senses first, raised his hand and patted Lin Daiyu's head, saying, "Don't think too much about it. If you feel that things are just a coincidence, then you should take better care of that child in the future."

Lin Daiyu nodded without speaking, but silently handed the letters from Jia Zheng and Feng Jie to Jia Lian.

Jia Lian comforted her a couple more times before going to a quiet place to open the letter.

In his letter, Jia Zheng rambled on about a lot of random things, but the most important thing was this year's capital inspection, which resulted in a large number of fourth and fifth-rank officials being purged.

Even the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture was dismissed, and Qiu Jing, the Assistant Prefect, took his place.

These vacancies will likely need to be filled by people transferred from local areas, and it's hard to say how many will be happy while others will be sad.

The whole thing boils down to four words: anxiety about gains and losses.

Jia Zheng clearly wanted to take this opportunity to climb the ranks, after all, he hadn't been promoted in over a decade, yet he was too proud to admit it openly.

My second uncle.

They have absolutely no insight into the overall situation in the court.

Jia Lian then opened Wang Xifeng's family letter. Wang Xifeng didn't mention Qin Keqing's son at all in the letter, but instead found another reason to make sarcastic and sarcastic remarks about Jia Lian in the letter.

When Jia Lian read the letter, he could imagine how furious Feng Jie was inside, but could only force a smile in front of others.

Looks like I'll have to shut her up when I get back.

From that day onward...

Lin Daiyu and Sheng Minglan each developed a heartache, which they couldn't share with outsiders, so they could only huddle together for comfort, which brought them even closer as a result.

Seven or eight days passed in a flash, and it was early October of the eighth year of Guanglong. Old Madam Xu from the second branch of the Sheng family also came to Yangzhou Prefecture, preparing to take Minglan back to Dengzhou.

Minglan had already tearfully bid farewell to Lin Daiyu, but a letter from home disrupted her plans to return north.

Thanks to the grand plan of the capital inspection, Minglan's father, Sheng Hong, received a transfer order and would soon be going to the capital to serve as an assistant minister in the Ministry of Works.

Therefore, he specially sent a message to the old lady and Minglan, telling the two of them not to rush north, but to wait until he had settled in the capital first, and then go to the capital to reunite with the whole family.

The two sisters were happy about this, so they stayed at the funeral hall to keep each other company.

By late October, Lin Ruhai's body had been lying in state for forty-eight days.

Considering that his uncle Jia Zheng's birthday was approaching, Jia Lian wrote another letter, detailing his upcoming trip to Suzhou to escort the coffin and preside over his uncle Lin's funeral.

Then he prepared a generous gift for Jia Zheng and asked Long'er to send it to the capital to celebrate his birthday.

Long'er counted the days on the way, arriving on the morning of his birthday.

After reading the letter and the list of gifts, Jia Zheng couldn't help but say to Lady Wang, "My nephew is becoming more and more promising. Even your brother [Wang Ziteng] praised him as a born general. After he finishes handling Ru Hai's funeral, he will surely make a name for himself when he returns to the capital."

Madam Wang smiled and nodded in agreement, but inwardly she was secretly annoyed. As the saying goes, "Two tigers cannot share one mountain," so how could the Rongguo Mansion possibly accommodate two auspicious creatures?

If Jia Lian truly made a name for himself in the army, would Bao Yu still be the only favored child in the family?

She couldn't help but say, "Actually, Baoyu has made progress recently, and the old gentlemen all praise him for his extraordinary talent."

"Hmph~"

Mentioning Baoyu, Jia Zheng's face immediately turned cold, and he said angrily, "No matter how talented he is, he still needs to be willing to walk the right path! It's all because you spoiled him. I'll definitely find a way to teach him a lesson!"

Lady Wang, having been rebuffed, dared not boast about Baoyu's talent any longer. Just as she was about to change the subject and talk about something happier, an imperial envoy was suddenly sent from the palace.

Startled, Jia Zheng and his entourage were bewildered by the news. They quickly stopped the opera, cleared away the banquet, set up an incense table, and knelt down to receive the imperial edict through the central gate.

Early on, the eunuch Xia Shouzhong, who was in charge of the six palaces, arrived on horseback, followed by many eunuchs on all sides.

Xia Shouzhong did not carry the imperial edict. He dismounted before the eaves, his face beaming, and walked to the hall. He stood facing south and said, "Special decree: Summon Jia Zheng to court immediately for an audience with His Majesty in the Linjing Hall."

Having said that, he didn't drink any tea, but instead rode off on his horse.

Jia Zheng was unaware of what this omen meant. He could only hurriedly change his clothes and go to court.

Now is a time of great turmoil. With Jia Zheng gone, the outcome is uncertain. From the old lady down, everyone is filled with anxiety and torment. They cannot sit still in the hall, so they all stand in the corridor of the main hall.

Wang Xifeng deliberately added at the end, instructing Ping'er and Siqi to clean up the mess.

Although the plan to have her sister-in-law help manage the household failed, Jia Yingchun's head maid, Siqi, was quick-witted and capable, which caught Wang Xifeng's eye, and she has been frequently summoned to her side to serve her recently.

As she was being instructed, Fengjie turned around and bumped into You Shi talking to Qin Keqing.

No one knew what Madam You said, but Qin Keqing just gritted her teeth and shook her head.

At this moment, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law also saw Wang Xifeng. You Shi gave Wang Xifeng an awkward smile and hurriedly went to the outer corridor.

Before Fengjie could ask, Qin Keqing took the initiative to explain, "She wanted to take me and the child back to Ningguo Mansion for the New Year, but of course I refused."

"Hmph~"

Wang Xifeng had nothing to say to her, and with a cold snort, she walked out of the hall.

Both sides are now caught in a dilemma, fearing that Wang Xifeng might betray Jia Lian by having an affair with Jia Zhen; Qin Keqing, on the other hand, is constantly on guard against Wang Xifeng killing her to silence her.

"Auntie."

Qin Keqing grabbed her arm and whispered, "When will Uncle Lian be back?"

In fact, Lady You had just mentioned something else: Jia Zhen had secretly threatened that if Qin Keqing and her unborn child did not return to Ningguo Mansion for a long time, he would inform his father, Jia Jing, and choose Jia Qiang as the heir to Ningguo Mansion.

Qin Keqing would never agree to that.

If she had no one to rely on, that would be one thing, but now that she has given birth to Jia Lian's son, Jia Lian is her natural ally, and she naturally hopes that the Second Master can come back to support her as soon as possible.

However, if Keqing hadn't asked, it would have been fine, but as soon as she did, Wang Xifeng's eyebrows shot up and her phoenix eyes widened.

Before the child was born, Sister Feng could comfort herself by saying that the child would not end up in the Rongguo Mansion anyway, and would eventually return to the Ningguo Mansion.

But when the child was born, and she heard that he was a big, healthy boy weighing six pounds and eight ounces, Sister Feng immediately broke down in her guard.

She and Jia Lian have been married for six years now, and they only have one daughter, Qiao Jie.

Qin Keqing had only been close to Jia Lian for a few days, and yet she had already conceived a son?!

Is there no justice or law left?!

Sister Feng gritted her teeth and endured it all to avoid going to the door and tearing down the roof of Zhiwei Pavilion, but Qin Keqing still dared to grab her and ask when Jia Lian would return to the mansion.

How could Sister Feng possibly tolerate this?

He immediately grabbed Qin Keqing's arm, pretending to help her up, but secretly, using his body as cover, he grabbed the half of the "posthumous child's" body and kneaded it hard like dough.

Qin Keqing, who was breastfeeding, was in so much pain that her face turned pale. She hurriedly pushed Wang Xifeng away and saw that her front was already soaked.

Wang Xifeng's eyes were cold and sharp, but her face was kind and gentle as she said, "Your second uncle Lian must be too busy to think straight. He has sent several long and rambling letters, and he even asked about the lapdog he keeps in the back alley."

They didn't mention Tang Ge'er (his posthumous nickname) at all. I'll have to give him a good talking to later. Even if we're not within the fifth degree of kinship, he's still a relative of the same clan. How can we just ignore him?

Feeling the burning, throbbing pain in her chest, and hearing Wang Xifeng's sarcastic mockery, implying that her son was less important to Jia Lian than even the lapdog in the back alley.

Qin Keqing was naturally furious.

But instead, he chuckled and covered the marks on his chest, saying seriously, "Auntie, you don't understand. People from the same clan are not like us outsiders. They are blood relatives who are connected by blood even if their bones are broken."

Uncle Lian didn't mention Tang-ge in his letter, perhaps because he was worried about upsetting Auntie. After all, we held the ceremony together, and in the end... oh dear!"

At this point, she exclaimed again, covering her mouth, and said in a affected tone, "Auntie, look at me, I brought up the very thing I shouldn't have—they say pregnancy makes you stupid for three years, please don't hold it against someone as dumb as me."

Hearing her emphasize blood ties and mock herself for not being able to have a son, I was struck by her reversal.

Wang Xifeng was so angry that she wanted to go up and fight, but Qin Keqing had already anticipated her move. She quickly stepped out of the hall, wrapped her cloak around the water stains on her chest, and deliberately stood next to Madam Xing.

In front of her mother-in-law, Wang Xifeng naturally dared not act presumptuously. She could only grit her teeth and make a fuss about Qin Keqing before silently standing beside Madam Wang.

The women, each with their own thoughts, waited anxiously in the corridor for over an hour before finally receiving a report from the chief steward, Lai Da, that Yuan Chun of the palace had been promoted to the position of Shangshu of Fengzao Palace and given the title of Xiande Consort.

Upon hearing this, Grandmother Jia and the others felt greatly relieved, and then their faces lit up with joy.

So everyone hurriedly dressed up according to their imperial titles, and Grandmother Jia led Madam Xing, Madam Wang, and Madam You in four large sedan chairs to the court to express their gratitude.

Jia She and Jia Zhen also changed into their court robes and, along with Jia Qiang, accompanied and served Grandmother Jia.

Upon hearing the news, everyone in Ning and Rong was overjoyed, their faces beaming with pride, and laughter and chatter filled the air.

Wang Xifeng also temporarily put Qin Keqing's matter out of her mind and hurriedly sent someone south to inform Jia Lian of the good news.