The Splendor of the Red Chamber

The next morning.

Jia Yingchun arrived at Wutong Garden with trepidation. Upon entering, she saw Wang Xifeng sitting on the daybed with a radiant face, instructing Ping'er to frame the poem sent by the Third Miss Tanchun.

Seeing Yingchun timidly enter from outside, Fengjie couldn't help but sigh and beckoned to her, saying, "Come and see the poem that Third Sister wrote."

Yingchun cautiously walked over, craned her neck to look, and saw that it read:

With soaring spirits, they embark on their journey; with heroic bearing, they stand tall and proud.

Once you ride into battle, your brilliance shines through; a long wind carries your fame far and wide.

This poem isn't exceptionally good, but for a 12-year-old girl to write one like this, she undoubtedly put her heart into it.

After Wang Xifeng finished reading the poem, she handed it to Ping'er and then said to Yingchun, "Sister, we are the closest people in the whole family. Third sister can't compare, and fourth sister is even less so. Would your brother and I harm you? Why are you always hiding?"

"My sister-in-law has misunderstood me!"

Jia Yingchun grew increasingly flustered and hurriedly bowed, saying, "I... I was just too foolish, afraid of delaying the things my sister-in-law had entrusted to me, so..."

Wang Xifeng waved her hand to interrupt her: "I am ultimately an outsider. Let your brother come back and tell you."

He then gestured for Jia Yingchun to sit opposite him.

The two sisters-in-law sat facing each other. Fengjie did not speak first, and Yingchun remained silent, like a clay sculpture.

About fifteen minutes later, a hearty laugh, accompanied by a child's innocent voice, burst into the main hall and living room.

Wang Xifeng got up to greet her and saw her daughter Qiaojie riding on Jia Lian's shoulders, holding a new toy in each hand, smiling from ear to ear.

She couldn't help but chide him, "We already spoiled her enough by letting her sleep in our room yesterday. Taking her out to run wild this morning, we'd better not let her get too smug!"

"Haha~"

Jia Lian laughed and said, "If you ask me, it's better to have a daughter. Look at our Qiao'er, so adorable! Isn't she ten or a hundred times better than those naughty boys?"

He was influenced by the later trend of daughter-obsessed people and said these words sincerely.

But Wang Xifeng thought he was just comforting himself. While she was pleased, she was also determined to give birth to a son.

Fengjie reached out to take Qiaojie down, but Jia Lian turned his head away and put his daughter down himself, then handed her to Jia Yingchun to hold.

Yingchun was immediately flustered and in a panic.

"This girl."

Seeing this, Jia Lian couldn't help but sigh. While instructing the maids to serve the dishes, he said to Jia Yingchun, "You're not young anymore. Do you have any plans for the future?"

Jia Yingchun quickly replied, "I'll leave it entirely to Father and Brother to decide!"

"The father makes the decision?"

Jia Lian scoffed, "Even if he were greedy for money and sold you out, I wouldn't be surprised."

Wang Xifeng quickly pushed him, telling him not to be too explicit.

Jia Yingchun buried her head behind Qiao Jie's head, her eyes clearly red.

Jia Lian ignored Wang Xifeng's advice and said, "If you really marry into a family where your in-laws are unkind and your husband is uncaring, forget about establishing yourself; you might not even be able to keep your life!"

Seeing that Yingchun was hiding even more deeply, she still didn't say a word.

Jia Lian shook his head helplessly and then instructed Wang Xifeng, "Aren't there frequent polo matches lately? Take her to see them when there's a suitable opportunity. It would be even better if she could participate in the match herself. See if that can broaden her horizons."

Wang Xifeng pressed further, "What about the other young ladies in the family?"

"I can't make decisions for others, so you should go and ask the old lady what she thinks."

Jia Lian asked Wang Xifeng to mentor Jia Yingchun not only because he wanted Wang Xifeng to gradually relinquish her power in managing the household, but also because he wanted to find Jia Yingchun a good marriage in the future, thus finding an ally and assistant for himself.

Who knew this younger sister would turn out to be so hopeless?

Hey~

How wonderful it would be if Tan Chun were my own younger sister!

Once seated at the table, Jia Lian stopped criticizing Yingchun and instead chatted idly with Wang Xifeng, teasing Qiaojie.

Jia Yingchun breathed a sigh of relief. Thinking about how she would be going to participate in polo with her sister-in-law in the future, she felt both apprehensive and secretly looking forward to it.

Just as they were halfway through their meal, news came from outside the second gate that Xue Pan and Jia Qiang were already waiting outside, and Feng Ziying, Gu Tingwei, and Wei Ruolan had also arrived one after another.

The fathers of these three men all served as officials in the Tiger Guard and Eagle Guard, so it's not surprising that they would have received advance notice and come to join in the fun.

Jia Lian ate until he was about 70% full without any rush, and then went to the front yard on his own.

When they arrived at the second gate, they found Baoyu among them, whispering to Wei Ruolan.

Jia Lian asked with a smile, "Brother Bao, are you joining in the fun too?"

Baoyu quickly cupped his hands in greeting: "I was just about to catch a glimpse of Second Brother Lian's handsome appearance!"

Actually, he was the least fond of joining in the fun, always feeling that too many men were corrupt—of course, Qin Zhong was an exception.

He came unwillingly because Jia Zheng forced him to.

The others were different; they all excitedly surrounded her, asking her all sorts of questions.

The question was asked, "Second Brother Lian, are you absolutely certain of victory?"

The one asked, "Second Brother Lian, what weapon are you using?"

Someone else asked, "Second Brother Lian, I heard that yesterday you lifted a steward who had made a mistake into the sky, and then, while he was in mid-air, you carved six major sins on his back. Is that true?!"

Another person said with a regretful expression, "It's a pity my second brother isn't here. Otherwise, the four of you could have fought each other in pairs; that would have been even more interesting!"

While dealing with the crowd, Jia Lian instructed Zhao'er to load the armor and weapons onto the carriage. Although the martial arts competition would mostly involve wooden weapons, bringing real ones just in case would make him, Second Master Lian, appear more confident.

Fifteen minutes later.

Surrounded by a crowd, Jia Lian left the Rongguo Mansion in a boisterous manner, and along the way he met several scions of prominent families, most of whom were from military families.

Among them was Liang Xuan's younger brother, Liang Han.

Seeing that he had also come to join in the fun, Feng Ziying deliberately teased, "Liang Liulang, are you going to cheer for your brother or for Lian Erge? If it's the latter, we won't allow it!"

Liang Han was only fourteen years old, but he wasn't intimidated at all. He raised his voice and laughed, "When Second Brother Lian was fighting Zheng Xiao, I stood up for Second Brother Lian and cheered him on; when Second Brother Lian was fighting my brother, I cheered for my brother and encouraged him. Isn't that the best of both worlds?"

Everyone burst into laughter upon hearing this.

Both the Tiger Guard and the Eagle Guard were stationed outside the city. The Tiger Guard was closer, so Jia Lian went to the Tiger Guard first, intending to have a showdown with Zheng Xiao.

When they arrived at the Tiger Guard, Liang Xuan and several generals from the Eagle Guard were also present, clearly showing that they all attached great importance to this martial arts competition.

Jia Lian stepped forward to greet them one by one, addressing those he was close to as uncles and elders, and those he was more distant by their official titles.

When they arrived at Gu Yankai, the Left General of the Eagle Guard, Gu Yankai took the initiative to shake Jia Lian's hand, wanting to test Jia Lian's strength.

Jia Lian knew that he was the most valiant general in the army, so he dared not be negligent and hurriedly mustered his strength to fight back.

Before they could even finish their sparring, Gu Yankai suddenly started coughing violently, startling Jia Lian into quickly withdrawing his hand.

"Uncle, what's going on?"

"It's nothing, just old...cough cough, old injuries. I'm too old to suppress them now."

Gu Yankai covered his mouth with a handkerchief and said with a look of relief, "Fortunately, the Duke's mansion has a successor, so I don't have to hold on anymore. After a few years, once you have established yourself in the army, I will step down and hand over the position to the worthy one."

Jia Lian noticed a red stain on the handkerchief and felt a chill run down his spine.

Prince Teng was promoted in name but demoted in reality and sent to the southeast. The Jia family's greatest reliance in the army was Gu Yankai.

But judging from Gu Yankai's condition, it's clear he won't last more than a few years.

If he hadn't acquired a special advantage and hadn't been determined to work hard, then once Gu Yankai retired due to illness or died, the Jia family would have completely lost its support in the army.

At that time, wouldn't the Rong and Ning mansions be completely at the mercy of others?!

At this point, Jia Lian became even more certain that his decision to join the military was the right one. As long as he could fill Gu Yankai's vacancy in time, he would most likely be able to save the dynasty from collapse.