The Splendor of the Red Chamber

After Ping'er returned to Wutong Garden, she didn't hide it from Wang Xifeng and told her directly about sending the longevity lock.

Wang Xifeng was naturally a little annoyed, but since her body's orifices had just been opened yesterday, and she was still quite fluid, her temper had lessened considerably.

Moreover, Qin Keqing could not possibly threaten her position.

After uttering a few curses, she hesitated, touching her lower abdomen, and asked, "Do you think I should really relinquish some power and take a break, waiting until I give birth to my son before making any further plans?"

Ping'er replied impartially, "If Grandma is willing, that would be best."

"Hmph~"

Wang Xifeng snorted, and after a long while, she said in a low voice, "There are so many things to do in this mansion, how many of them can do without me?"

Ping'er sighed inwardly. These are all trivial family matters. What is there to be inseparable from them?

It was clear that Wang Xifeng was too power-hungry. She knew that the most urgent thing was to have a son, but she was unwilling to relinquish power no matter what.

However, if even Jia Lian couldn't persuade her, she had even less hope.

So Ping'er let the matter drop and mentioned that Siqi had taken the initiative to return to Yingchun's side, probably to avoid Jia Lian's affairs.

After hearing this, Wang Xifeng's eyes lit up, and she immediately smiled and said, "This is a good thing. The more unwilling she is, the safer it is to keep her by our side."

"What if Second Master forces himself on her..."

"Then we can use that as an excuse to bargain with Second Master!"

…………

the other side.

Jia Lian spent most of the day leading Shan Ziye and his apprentice through the back gardens of the Rong and Ning mansions.

As expected of the extraordinary talent employed by the Ministry of Works, Shan Ziye not only sketched out a plan of the landscape after walking around, but also laid out a rough layout of pavilions and towers.

Seeing this, Jia Lian took the initiative to ask, "Sir, in your opinion, how many taels of silver would it cost to merge these two gardens into one and rebuild them?"

"this……"

Shan Ziye hesitated and said, "It's too early to say the exact number."

"Just having a general reference is enough."

"Hmm~"

After pondering for a moment, Shan Ziye gave a vague answer: "To achieve perfection, five or six hundred thousand taels of silver would be necessary."

The Rongguo Mansion can come up with 300,000 taels in its public accounts. If we calculate based on 600,000 taels, then we need to divert another 300,000 taels from the Lin family.

Jia Lian couldn't directly intervene in this matter, but he could at least help his family keep a close watch on things and prevent his subordinates from being greedy.

That evening, Jia Zheng hosted a banquet for Shan Ziye and specially invited Jia Yucun to accompany him.

When Jia Yucun heard that Jia Lian had completed the formalities at the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War and would soon take up his post in the Imperial City Guard, he raised his wine cup to congratulate Jia Lian on his great success.

"Yucun, don't flatter him."

When Jia Zheng heard his nephews being praised, he would habitually be modest: "Although the Imperial City Guard is an important place, its future prospects are limited. At most, it can only rise to the fourth rank like you."

Like the Northern Garrison Command of the former Ming Dynasty, the Imperial City Guard was a third-rank official position.

However, the highest-ranking commander was always a eunuch. Someone like Jia Lian, who was not pure of heart, could at most serve as a fourth-rank commander or a fourth-rank assistant commander.

"Uncle, you are mistaken."

Jia Yucun laughed and said, "Even among the fourth-rank officials, there are worlds apart. Besides, my virtuous brother was transferred from a civil official position to the Imperial City Guard. Who knows if he won't be promoted in the future? The ancient saying 'to rise from general to prime minister' perfectly describes my virtuous brother!"

This flattery greatly pleased Jia Zheng.

Jia Lian couldn't help but secretly marvel at how quickly Jia Yucun had improved—a few years ago, when Jia Yucun visited with Lin Ruhai's invitation, he didn't have this thick skin and silver tongue.

The grand ambitions are currently just a wishful thought.

That very night, Jia Lian performed a spectacular feat, leaping over the walls of Zhiwei Pavilion after a long absence.

After placing the newly acquired pole against the wall, Jia Lian knocked on the window of the west wing and climbed in, only to be embraced by Qin Keqing, who burst into tears in his arms.

Qin Keqing hadn't originally planned it this way.

Upon seeing Jia Lian, her scheming was instantly overwhelmed by her emotions—no matter how cunning she was, she was still just a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl.

After crying for about half a cup of tea's time, Qin Keqing gradually calmed down, stood up, pointed to the crib in the corner, and said resentfully, "My lord, please go and see our child. The child is already two months old and has never seen his father."

Jia Lian carried her over and saw a little guy with thick eyebrows and big eyes lying in his swaddling clothes, sucking his fingers.

Seeing Jia Lian and Ke Qing come over, the little guy tilted his head curiously and stared at the two of them for a while, then went back to chewing on his fingers.

Having lived two lifetimes, she had a son for the first time.

Jia Lian was still somewhat excited, so he stretched out his fingers and placed them in Tang Ge'er's left palm, feeling the sensation of him gripping his hand tightly.

Seeing this, Qin Keqing quietly pulled aside her son's diaper, revealing his little bird inside.

Jia Lian only glanced at it before turning his attention back to the child's face.

Having experienced the internet age, he wasn't that obsessed with carrying on the family line, let alone the fact that this was an illegitimate child who had no chance of inheriting the family business.

Seeing his attitude, Qin Keqing couldn't help but feel uneasy and disappointed, but the die was cast.

"My lord."

So she put on a weak and helpless act and said to Jia Lian, "Recently, Jia Zhen has been pressuring me several times. He even said that if I don't take Tang Ge'er back, he will petition Master Jing to make Jia Qiang the heir of Ningguo Mansion."

"rest assured."

Jia Lian said, "If he dares to do that, I will find a way to expose Rong-ge'er's 'cause of death' to Uncle Jing. Although Uncle Jing may not be willing to uphold justice for you, he has always been most afraid of trouble and will most likely choose to let it go."

"But what if something unexpected happens?"

"Of course I have other preparations as well."

Jia Lian pecked her on the cheek and said, "Now the mansion is going to build a separate residence for visiting relatives. Second Uncle is someone who doesn't care about things. I'm going to take up a post in the Imperial City Guard. And the eldest master has been imprisoned by the old lady."

This project is mostly being managed by Jia Zhen. Knowing his temperament, he'll definitely try to skim some money off it. I'll secretly find a weakness in him, and he'll naturally dare not mess with us again.

Hearing this, Qin Keqing breathed a slight sigh of relief, but still pretended to be distressed: "But this can only help for a while, not forever. Lan-ge'er is getting older, and as his cousin-in-law, I have to be careful..."

"Why didn't you ever avoid mentioning Baoyu before?"

Jia Lian interrupted her and said, "There are many rooms to be built in the Imperial Visit Residence. After the visit, I will inform the Empress and you and your sisters can move in."

As they were talking, the baby in the swaddling clothes suddenly started crying. Qin Keqing hurriedly picked him up and patted him a few times, but the crying didn't stop.

Are you hungry?

Jia Lian looked at Qin Keqing in front of him. The two large fruits were heavy on the branches. Although they were not as proud and upright as before, they looked even sweeter and more tempting.

Qin Keqing blushed slightly and explained softly, "I rarely feed him myself; his wet nurse usually takes care of him."

She reached out and pulled open her clothes, bringing the liquid close to the child's mouth.

Seeing Jia Lian staring intently from the side, Qin Keqing hesitated for a moment, then raised her hand and pushed aside the other half...

…………

In the dead of night, in the main room and bedroom.

Li Wan was startled awake from her dream again, and sat up blankly.

Why am I having those kinds of dreams again?

Feeling the strange sensation between her legs, Li Wan couldn't help but curse inwardly. Counting the days, it seemed that she had started having erotic dreams around this time last year as well.

Could it be that these things happen at certain times of the year?

Or perhaps it's because...

As Jia Lian's image appeared in her mind, Li Wan couldn't help but blush and feel a little hot.

Then she thought of the gift Jia Lian had chosen for Lan Ge'er, which clearly showed that he had put a lot of thought into it.

Li Wan's mind wandered even more, and she unconsciously tightened the blanket around her, her delicate hands, which had been draped outside, hesitantly retreating inside.

…………

at the same time.

Ruizhu, who was in the west wing, also quietly got up and cautiously approached the door barefoot.

This wasn't the first time she'd gotten up to peek tonight; the previous two times she'd seen Baozhu with strange expressions and postures, leaning against the door of Qin Keqing's bedroom.

This time, when Ruizhu peeked through the crack in the door, she saw that Baozhu was no longer in front of the master bedroom door, only an empty embroidered stool remained.

Where did Baozhu go?

Ruizhu shook her head, looking left and right, but couldn't find Baozhu. Finally, she gritted her teeth and simply pushed open the door to look around.

No, no, still no!

There was no sign of Baozhu in the living room, and the front door was locked from the inside, so it was clear that Baozhu couldn't have gone outside.

Then it can only be...

Ruizhu looked at the bedroom door, hesitated for a long time, and then carefully leaned over and pressed her ear against the door.

After listening for only a short while, her face showed utter horror, and she turned and ran back to her room without a care in the world.

In his panic, he accidentally bumped into the embroidered stool next to him.

The embroidered stool thudded to the ground, and the bedroom fell silent.

Baozhu peeked out from Jia Lian's arms and asked in a panic, "Grandma, what...what's that noise?!"

"It's alright."

Qin Keqing, who looked noticeably thinner, stared at the door for a long time before saying to Jia Lian, "When you come again next time, I'll treat you to something new."