The Splendor of the Red Chamber

Rongguo Mansion.

In the side hall where Wang Xifeng usually worked, the three sisters and Baoyu were gathered around Lin Daiyu, listening to her assign the gifts that Jia Lian had brought back.

Last night, Lin Daiyu selected most of them according to her sisters' preferences, but there were still some that were difficult to categorize.

So I simply left Zijuan and Xueyan all spread out on the coffee table, and whoever liked them could take them.

"This is good."

Jia Baoyu picked up a few gemstones and said with a smile, "Xiangyun loves to make things out of these stones. I'll save them for her first, and later..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lin Daiyu snatched the stone away, her face stern, and said, "Why should you play the good guy for something your brother gave you? I'll keep this stone for Xiangyun!"

"Yes, yes, yes."

Baoyu wasn't annoyed, and said with a smile, "Wouldn't the things we stinky men bring pollute the sisters? Sister Lin is so thoughtful."

"Hmph~"

Lin Daiyu still refused to give him a kind look.

In the past, the two would not have held a grudge overnight, but the attitude and demeanor of Madam Wang yesterday left a thorn in Lin Daiyu's heart.

If this thorn cannot be removed, it will inevitably implicate Baoyu.

Seeing that everyone had almost finished distributing the gifts, Lin Daiyu took out another one and handed it to Tan Chun: "This is for Huan-ge'er. Remember to give it to him later."

"Does he have it too?"

Upon hearing that her younger brother Jia Huan was also included, Tan Chun was quite surprised.

Lin Daiyu explained, "The younger generation will receive their share. I will personally deliver Lan-ge'er's share to Sister-in-law Zhu later."

Upon hearing this, Jia Baoyu clapped his hands and laughed, "Second Brother Lian has really struck it rich this time on his trip to Jiangnan. He's much more generous than before."

Upon hearing the word "get rich," Daiyu couldn't help but glare at Baoyu and scolded, "So many gifts and you still can't shut your mouth? If you say another word, go outside and tell everyone. Don't interfere with our sisters' important business!"

Jia Baoyu quickly covered his mouth with his hand to show that he would not interrupt or say anything more.

At the same time, he thought to himself, "Lin Daiyu has grown taller and prettier since she came back from the south, but her temper seems to have grown as well."

Lin Daiyu ignored him and solemnly took out the contract, saying only that it was a subsidy from Jia Lian and Feng Jie to their younger sisters, but she didn't mention anything about silencing others.

Faced with the monthly subsidy of ten taels of silver, Sanchun was even happier than before, after all, it was a steady stream of income, and having silver in hand would make many things much more convenient.

However, due to their upbringing, they couldn't express their gratitude directly, so they could only repeatedly thank Jia Lian and Feng Jie.

"Okay~"

At this moment, Xue Baochai suddenly burst in from outside and teased, "I've been looking for you all for so long, only to find out you were secretly dividing the gold behind closed doors."

"Why is Sister Bao here?"

Tan Chun went up and took her hand, laughing, "Now that you mention it, we've all become mountain kings."

Lin Daiyu then said sarcastically, "We are dividing the private money that Brother gave us. This money is a timely help for us, but Sister Bao's family is so wealthy and powerful that she would definitely look down on it."

Xue Baochai asked Tan Chun in a low voice before saying, "The money is a small matter, but Lian Erge is so considerate to his sisters, he is so much better than my brother."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "I came to find you because of Brother Lian. He won two consecutive battles at the military camp outside the city. I heard that he defeated Zheng Xiao and Liang Xuan without any chance to fight back."

"real?!"

Lin Daiyu and Jia Tanchun were overjoyed to hear this, and even Yingchun secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Of course it's true."

Xue Baochai said, "However, Brother Lian was summoned to the palace by the Emperor right after the competition."

"Did you go to the palace?"

Daiyu and Tanchun looked at each other, both remembering Jia Lian's actions in the east wing yesterday.

Could it be that the emperor is going to investigate this matter?!

Xue Baochai thought the same thing, so she said, "Everyone is waiting for news in the old lady's room right now, should we go over there too?"

"Yes, of course!"

Lin Daiyu and Jia Tanchun agreed in unison, and then led the way to the old lady's courtyard.

Upon arriving at the main hall of the fourth courtyard, sure enough, all the prominent figures in the family were already there, including Jia Zhen, You Shi, and Jia Qiang from the East Mansion.

The only one missing was Jia She, who was in solitary confinement.

Seeing the tense atmosphere, Jia Zhen comforted him, "Master, don't worry, perhaps it will be another good thing, just like last time."

"I hope so."

Although Jia Zheng said this, he couldn't help but wonder if news of Jia Lian's disobedient and unfilial behavior yesterday had reached the palace.

It would be such a pity if Jia Lian were punished for this!

Back then, Jia Zhu only had a chance to pass the imperial examination, while Jia Lian actually defeated the best soldiers in the army, and later he was more than capable of establishing himself in the army based on his martial arts skills.

This child, why can't he be more restrained?!

If it really comes to that, it will be too late. From then on, the Rongguo Mansion will only have…

Jia Zheng subconsciously looked towards Grandmother Jia's side and saw Jia Baoyu, who had just entered the house, whispering to Daiyu among the women. He felt a surge of anger.

This wretched child will be ruined if kept in the inner quarters!

We must find a way to get him to focus on his studies and spend less time with his sisters.

But if we send her to an outside academy, I'm afraid the old lady won't be able to bear it.

Hey~

It would be great if there were a compromise.

at the same time.

Jia Zhen was also pretending to drink tea while stealing glances at Qin Keqing across from him.

Compared to a year ago, this pretty daughter-in-law's features are still as beautiful as ever, but her figure is noticeably fuller, especially her chest area.

I heard that she recently suffered from breast engorgement [caused by Wang Xifeng pinching her]. If she were in Ningguo Mansion, I would definitely help her clear it myself.

Unfortunately, Qin was stubborn and unyielding. Even when threatened to make Jia Qiang replace Tang Ge'er as the future heir of Ningguo Mansion, she refused to comply.

Perhaps I should put more effort into working on the Qin family?

Just then, an old woman came to report that Second Master Lian had returned from the palace.

"Quickly, call him here!"

Jia Zheng abruptly stood up and gave orders. Seeing the old woman turn to leave, he hurriedly pressed her for an answer: "Did he say whether this trip to the palace was a good thing or a bad thing?!"

"this……"

The old woman hesitated for a moment before saying, "The Second Master didn't say, but I saw that Xing'er and Long'er were very happy. He must have received a reward in the palace."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Before long, Jia Lian hurriedly entered the hall, exchanged glances with Wang Xifeng, and then greeted the old lady.

"Get up, get up quickly."

Grandmother Jia said anxiously, "What exactly happened? Tell me in detail!"

"It's nothing really."

Jia Lian laughed and said, "His Majesty felt that it was a waste of my talents to go to the Three Guards, so he appointed me as a personal guard in the Imperial City Guard and rewarded me with one hundred taels of silver and ten bolts of silk, telling me to serve diligently in the future."

Upon hearing this, everyone was overjoyed.

Jia Zhen patted Jia Lian on the shoulder and said excitedly, "Second brother, you've got it! Since the reign of Emperor Taizong, it's been so many years since anyone of noble birth has served in the Imperial City Guard. You're practically the only one like this in recent years!"

Jia Zheng nodded frequently, looking quite proud of himself.

Hey~

Seeing this, Jia Lian couldn't help but sigh inwardly. He was almost in despair of this family's political wisdom. As the saying goes, there must be something fishy about things that are not normal, let alone when it is related to the intelligence agency. Yet they didn't even have this much sensitivity.

Taking advantage of everyone's joy, Jia Lian instructed Wang Xifeng to put away the imperial gifts, and then said to Jia Zheng, "There are some things I would like to ask you, Uncle, to consider."

Jia Zheng didn't think much of it. He told his mother and then took Jia Lian to Baoyu's outer study to talk.