The Splendor of the Red Chamber

Meanwhile, Jia Lian had finished presiding over Lin Ruhai's funeral in Suzhou.

First, he went to Ningbo to say goodbye to Wang Ziteng, and then took Lin Daiyu back north to Yangzhou to reunite with the Sheng family. In addition to Old Madam Xu, Minglan, and Shulan, Sheng Changwu was also going to the capital to take up his post.

After Jia Lian reunited with the Sheng family, he planned to stay in Jinling for a few days to visit relatives.

Before they could even set off, they received news that Jia Yuanchun had been promoted to the rank of Virtuous Consort. The Rong Mansion servants who were accompanying them were naturally proud of this, but the most excited were Sheng Wei and his wife, Madam Li.

They originally only wanted to climb the social ladder by marrying into the Rongguo Mansion, but who would have thought that the Jia family would suddenly have an imperial concubine!

Jia Lian, however, had no time to rejoice. He grabbed the servant who had come to deliver the news and pressed him for an answer: "Besides our Virtuous Consort, have there been any other changes in the harem?"

"this……"

The messenger paused for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Second Madam ordered me to ride south at top speed. I dared not delay for even a moment, and I really couldn't spare the time to inquire about other people's affairs."

Tsk~

There isn't a single person in this entire household with any political acumen!

Jia Lian had no choice but to let go of the messenger who brought the good news, and then asked Zhao'er to get him a reward.

Without sufficient intelligence, he couldn't understand what the emperor meant, but anything that happened at this time would definitely be related to the struggle for succession and the establishment of an heir.

He was filled with unease, fearing that Jia She and Jia Zheng might have unknowingly gotten into trouble, so he immediately canceled his trip to Jinling and prepared to travel day and night back to the capital.

After discussing it with Lin Daiyu and the Sheng family, everyone naturally left the decision to Jia Lian.

Sheng Wei and Li Shi secretly stuffed a lot of gold and silver jewelry into Shulan's dowry, raising it to 100,000 strings of cash.

With the addition of the Lin family's last batch of valuables, the Rongguo Mansion's ship returned fully loaded.

The journey, which took place day and night, will not be detailed here.

That evening, after arriving in Tongzhou, Jia Lian and Old Madam Xu each sent people to the capital overnight to make preparations for their arrival.

When the news reached the Rongguo Mansion, Jia Baoyu was fooling around with Qin Keqing's younger brother, Qin Zhong, in the outer study.

According to the original timeline, the Qin family father and son, along with Qin Keqing, all met their demise within this year.

Now that Qin Keqing has survived thanks to Jia Lian's help, Qin Zhong was unable to attend his sister's funeral, and naturally had no chance to seduce Zhi Neng'er at Shuiyue Nunnery, thus avoiding the scene where the nun ran away at night and angered Qin's father to death.

Therefore, Qin Zhong did not fall ill due to guilt. On the contrary, he became even closer to Bao Yu. The two often used the excuse of discussing scholarship to have late-night talks in Jia Bao Yu's outer study.

After a while, Xiren and Sheyue began to have some complaints.

"Second Master, Second Master!"

Meanwhile, Mingyan, who had come to deliver the message, shouted a few times under the eaves and waited outside for a while.

Having considered that the study was now "respectable," he went in and cheerfully reported, "Congratulations, Second Master! Congratulations, Second Master! Second Master Lian and Miss Lin have arrived in Tongzhou and should be able to reach the capital by tomorrow morning!"

"real?!"

Upon hearing this, Jia Baoyu was overjoyed. He threw down the brush he had just picked up and instinctively tried to run outside.

He only realized what was happening halfway there, and then, pounding his chest and stamping his feet, he exclaimed, "Why do we have to wait until tomorrow to come back? I haven't seen Lin Daiyu in so long, I can't wait a single moment longer!"

These words made Qin Zhong a little jealous. The two had been inseparable lately, but as soon as Bao Yu heard that Lin Daiyu had returned, he abandoned him and went outside.

So Qin Zhong silently opened the closet and began packing his luggage.

Jia Baoyu was so eager at first that he didn't notice Qin Zhong's actions until he saw Qin Zhong carrying a bundle and about to leave. Only then did Baoyu grab Qin Zhong and ask, "Jingqing, where are you going so late at night?"

"I want to go home."

Qin Zhong's eyes were slightly red, and he lowered his head, saying, "The person you've been waiting for has returned. What business do I have left in this mansion? I'd better go back early so I won't be an eyesore."

As he spoke, he made a move as if to struggle.

"oops!"

Baoyu quickly grabbed his arm tightly and said urgently, "Now that your sister and nephew are both in our household, you are a legitimate relative of our family. No matter who comes, there is no reason for us to send you back!"

The two of them wrestled and pulled at each other, which made Mingyan envious. She thought to herself that other men grew more and more masculine as they grew up, but how come this young master Qin was becoming more and more charming and beautiful with his red lips and white teeth?

Let's not even mention Baoyu and Qin Zhong.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the second branch of the Sheng family also received a message.

When Minglan's father, Sheng Hong, read the letter, he was both happy and worried. He was happy that the Sheng family had reconnected with the Rongguo Mansion; he was worried that his niece had become someone's mistress, which might damage the Sheng family's reputation if word got out.

However, the good news outweighs the bad news in the end.

After all, Sheng Hong had been hesitating these past few days about how to get along with Jia Zheng—the two were now both assistant ministers in the Ministry of Works, and their offices were only a dozen steps apart.

Now that we have this opportunity, it's a natural step to make some connections.

However, how to appear neither servile nor arrogant while making Jia Zheng, the "father-in-law of the emperor," feel sufficiently respected requires careful consideration.

"Someone come here!"

Sheng Hong put down the letter and called out, "Summon Changbai and Changfeng to my study. I have something to tell them."

Sheng Changbai was his eldest son, a man of steady character and exceptional talent.

Tomorrow, when picking up the old lady at the dock, Sheng Hong shouldn't be too enthusiastic, but he can let his son have more contact with the young master.

The second son, Sheng Changfeng, was born to the favored concubine Lin Qinshuang. Sheng Hong usually loved Lin Qinshuang so much that he paid no less attention to him than to his eldest son, and naturally he would not forget him when there were good things.

…………

The next morning.

Jia Zheng then sent Lin Zhixiao to fetch Jia Lian and Daiyu back to the mansion.

Baoyu insisted on going along, and on his own initiative, he also dragged Qin Zhong along to accompany him.

Upon arriving at the dock, the two huddled together in the carriage, whispering to each other, and didn't feel anxious or restless.

Only when the servants could see the official banner of the Rongguo Mansion in the distance did Jia Baoyu excitedly get off the carriage and pull Qin Zhong to the pier to eagerly await its arrival.

As the ship drew closer, unconcerned about being laughed at, he waved and shouted, "Sister Lin, Sister Lin, I've come to fetch you!"

Daiyu was in the middle cabin at the time, talking with Old Madam Sheng, Minglan, and Shulan. She was both surprised and delighted to hear that familiar voice outside.

She didn't care that she was in front of her elders, so she pushed the window open halfway and peeked out. She saw Jia Baoyu holding hands with a young man with red lips and white teeth, jumping and skipping on the pier.

Just then, Jia Lian came in and told everyone to prepare to dock. Lin Daiyu then pointed to the pier and asked, "Brother, who is that next to Baoyu?"

Jia Lian glanced at him through the window and laughed, "That's Rong-ge's daughter-in-law's younger brother. Last year, your sister Feng praised him endlessly, saying he even outshone Bao-yu."

Lin Daiyu's expression immediately darkened, and she asked again, "Was it because of him that Baoyu got into a fight at school the year before last?"

"I can't remember either."

Jia Lian thought for a moment before saying uncertainly, "It seems that someone, relying on Xue Pan's favor, was being jealous and envious in the school, which eventually caused Mingyan, that monkey, to make a big scene. I wonder if Qin Zhong was involved."

"It must be!"

Lin Daiyu, however, was quite certain, and couldn't help but show disgust on her face.

She hadn't thought much about it before, but after a year in Yangzhou and seeing so much, she gradually developed an understanding of matters between men and women.

Recalling the few words I had heard back then, and seeing Baoyu and Qin Zhong holding hands, I couldn't help but have some sordid speculations.

Therefore, she disembarked from the boat with a cold face, ignoring Baoyu, and went straight to the Rongguo Mansion's carriage.

"Lin Daiyu, Lin Daiyu?!"

Seeing that Lin Daiyu looked unhappy, Jia Baoyu didn't care that they were outside. He chased after Daiyu and got into the carriage, saying repeatedly, "Why are you angry again? I've been waiting for you to come back every day!"

"What happened on the way here, or did someone offend you? Tell me, and I'll stand up for you!"

Lin Daiyu, always one to speak her mind and never holding back, immediately lowered her voice and sneered, "Now that you have Dong Xian by your side, why are you still mingling with us girls?"

As she spoke, she pushed Baoyu out.

Dong Xian was Emperor Ai of Han's male favorite, and this is also the origin of the term "cut sleeve" (a homosexual relationship).

Baoyu immediately felt guilty and hurriedly cried foul, saying, "Jingqing and I are good friends, we just study together. How could you misunderstand, little sister?"

It would have been better if he hadn't mentioned studying; the moment he did, Lin Daiyu was even less convinced. Just now, he was pushing her with one hand, but now he was pushing her with both hands at once.

Jia Baoyu, who already had one foot inside and one foot outside, was pushed and lost his footing, cried out in surprise and fell off the carriage.

Upon seeing this, Lin Daiyu screamed and rushed forward to try to grab Baoyu, but she missed by a hair's breadth and failed to catch his hand.

Fortunately, Qin Zhong also came over and quickly grabbed Jia Baoyu's waist, preventing Baoyu from falling.

Lin Daiyu initially breathed a sigh of relief, but seeing the two embracing tightly, she became displeased again, lowered the curtain, and urged them to hurry back to the mansion.