The Splendor of the Red Chamber

When Jia Lian went to report to Qiu Jing and Liu Bangchang, he deliberately placed the timeline of the Marquis of Nan'an's attack on him after he had proposed a deal to the Dowager Consort.

Upon hearing this, the two men not only dared not blame the Second Master for his incompetence, but also comforted Jia Lian for a long time with words of comfort. After finishing the matter, they even considerately gave him half a day off.

When Jia Lian returned to the city, he also gave Sheng Changwu a holiday.

The two parted ways on the street. Sheng Changwu watched his receding figure, feeling conflicted, unsure whether he should tell Jia Lian what he had been doing in private.

But there's still no word from my cousin. If the Second Master really likes this kind of thing, but ends up disappointed, wouldn't that be my fault?

If the Second Master doesn't like this kind of food, and things fall through, wouldn't I have suffered for nothing?

Well, let's see how things develop before making a decision.

…………

When Jia Lian returned home, he found that neither Wang Xifeng nor her servants were in the Wutong Garden.

So he had his maid help him change into casual clothes and went to the side hall to talk to Sister Feng.

Knowing that she loved gossip about the Grand Mansion, Jia Lian first told her about the clues he had found and his subsequent trip to the Prince of Nan'an's mansion for negotiations.

After hearing this, Sister Feng said smugly, "I knew this couldn't be kept secret. Even I, a woman, felt something was amiss. How could those corrupt officials, who are as cunning as monkeys, not notice?"

Then, with further curiosity, he asked, "Second Master, have you seen the Prince's corpse? Do you think it's possible that his enemies wanted to use the Prince's head to make a flying head, so they deliberately used some kind of magical weapon to cut it off?"

In the past, Jia Lian would have laughed at Feng Jie for reading too many storybooks and making up nonsense.

Having experienced the dream journey, Jia Lian was still somewhat unsure about these supernatural things.

Moreover, upon further reflection following Wang Xifeng's line of thought, it became clear that the Prince of Nan'an truly met the requirements for creating the Flying Head Barbarian.

According to ancient legend, the best heads of the Flying Head Barbarians are those of the most wicked, evil, rich, and noble people. The Prince of Nan'an was certainly a rich and noble person, and if the affair between him and his birth mother, Princess Yi'an, were true, then he would be an unforgivable sinner.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that his head is made of top-grade flying head material.

This also explains the theft of the bronze ritual vessels, which were all custom-made and engraved with the birth date and time of the Prince of Nan'an, his life story, and talismans for appeasing the soul and praying for blessings provided by the Buddhist Registry.

To ordinary tomb raiders, these bronze artifacts are naturally not as valuable as gold and silver jewelry, but if they are involved in some kind of evil ritual, these things may be priceless treasures.

The couple were chatting about ghost stories when Ping'er suddenly lifted the curtain and came in.

He reported to Wang Xifeng: "Grandma, I have delivered the medicinal meal, but Baoyu is not in Jiangyun Pavilion. I heard from Mushe that he went to the old lady's courtyard."

Sister Feng asked in surprise, "Didn't you say this morning that you were bedridden? How come you can get out of bed and walk around all of a sudden?"

Jia Lian wasn't surprised at all, and laughed, "His injury wasn't serious to begin with. He was just pretending he couldn't get up to gain sympathy. Now that he's achieved his goal, he can naturally get out of bed and walk around."

Wang Xifeng suddenly realized and shook her head, saying, "He's really childish. If he's going to pretend, he should at least pretend to the end. Otherwise, Lin Daiyu will feel deceived and start making a fuss with him again."

As she spoke, she suddenly remembered something and sneered, "Speaking of which, during the year you accompanied Lin Daiyu south, it was Baoyu who visited Zhiwei Pavilion the most. Now, he suddenly doesn't dare to go anymore, which makes him seem rather guilty. Second Master, you should be careful not to become his brother."

The phrase "boots brother and boots brother" is a joking way of referring to two people who frequented the same prostitute. Ultimately, Wang Xifeng was mocking Qin Keqing as a prostitute.

"Um?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian frowned. He wasn't too worried that Qin Keqing would have ulterior motives. Now that Tang Ge'er was born, Qin Keqing's biggest and most reliable hope was him. Even if it were someone else, they might not wholeheartedly support Tang Ge'er to inherit the title.

Moreover, Baoyu was just a young boy and couldn't offer much help at all.

As for whether Baoyu had any feelings for Qin Keqing...

"Ping'er."

Jia Lian feigned anger and ordered, "Find an excuse to go to Rong-ge's wife's place, chat for a few minutes, and then come back."

He had planned to sneak into Zhiwei Pavilion at night to tell Qin Keqing about his reprimand of Jia Zhen, and also to try the fresh fruit he had promised last time.

Now is the perfect opportunity to bring this up and test Wang Xifeng's limits.

Upon hearing the Second Master's instructions, Ping'er immediately turned to look at Feng Jie.

Wang Xifeng did not stop her, but just snorted and turned to look out the window.

Ping'er understood and quietly withdrew.

After holding back for a while, Wang Xifeng couldn't help but say sourly, "Second Master really cares about that little slut!"

Jia Lian hugged her from behind and chuckled, "If I really cared about her that much, I would have rushed to Jiangyun Pavilion and given Baoyu a good kick in the chest long ago."

He added, "Besides, you're the one who started the trouble, and now you're the one who's jealous. Aren't you just being stubborn and getting yourself stuck on both ends?"

"What kind of excuse is that?"

Wang Xifeng punched his arm, and remembering that he had killed half of Jia Rong for her sake, her jealousy dissipated considerably.

The two snuggled together and talked for a while before Ping'er returned from Zhiwei Pavilion.

He first reported back to Qin Keqing, then hesitated and said, "I don't know why, but when those master and servants saw me, their expressions were a bit strange, as if something was wrong."

"What's wrong?"

Wang Xifeng, who had been leaning against Jia Lian, immediately sat up straight, her phoenix eyes shining as she asked, "Didn't you try to find out anything?"

Ping'er was both amused and exasperated: "Even if I ask, they have to be willing to tell me."

Wang Xifeng thought it made sense, so she stopped pressing Ping'er and excitedly gave Jia Lian a suggestion, telling him to make sure to get a result from the torture.

Jia Lian also began to have some doubts.

So, taking advantage of the dark night and the absence of stars and moon, he climbed into Zhiwei Pavilion just after midnight.

Upon arriving at the west wing, they found that Qin Keqing's expression was indeed somewhat off.

Jia Lian then deliberately questioned, "What's wrong? Are you unhappy that I came?"

"How could that be!"

Qin Keqing hurriedly explained, "That day, Ruizhu caught us in the act, and I originally thought of dragging her into it so that Second Master could have a taste. Who knew that this girl was so stubborn and would rather die than give in."

Seeing that pushing her any further would lead to someone's death, I had no choice but to reason with her and appeal to her emotions, making her swear an oath never to reveal it.

As she spoke, she grabbed Jia Lian's arm and pleaded with him, "She has always been loyal to me. Please, Second Master, spare her life for the sake of me and Tang-ge'er."

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian couldn't help but smile and say, "What do you take me for? Do you think I can't even tolerate a chaste and virtuous maid?"

He paused for a moment, then added, "But it's still better to have some insurance. I'll bring her family to the coal mine later. As long as she keeps quiet, I'll make sure her family is treated well."

Then she asked about Baoyu.

Qin Keqing didn't hide anything, saying that after Jia Rong's funeral, Baoyu did come over often to visit and inquire about things like the Fairy Disenchantment and the Land of Illusion.

At first, Qin Keqing thought he was just being childish and didn't take it to heart. But later she gradually realized something was wrong and asked Baozhu to subtly inquire about it.

"That's when I realized he had dreamt about me, and it was the kind of embarrassing dream." Qin Keqing said this with a mixture of embarrassment and pride.

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian immediately understood that Qin Keqing was actually the object of Bao Yu's fantasies.

Jia Lian didn't know what to feel. The main thing was that you couldn't stop this kind of thing, so he could only find an opportunity to warn Bao Yu a few words and tell him not to come to Zhiwei Pavilion again.

Only after clarifying what he wanted to ask did Jia Lian recount how he had reprimanded Jia Zhen.

Hearing that Jia Zhen had backed down and dared not mention the matter of stripping him of his title again, Qin Keqing was overjoyed. Since she no longer needed to be wary of Ruizhu, she directly called Baozhu in.

That night, the master and servant used every trick in the book, wishing they could serve Jia Lian from the toes down, until almost four in the morning before finally stopping.

The master and servant were so exhausted that they could not move.

With his waist lighter, Jia Lian dressed himself neatly, opened the window a crack, and prepared to observe the situation before making his move.

But when I looked outside, I was surprised to find that the outside was covered in a blanket of white snow.

The snow mostly started falling around midnight, but because the battle inside was raging, no one noticed anything amiss.

The snow has stopped now, and there is only a thin layer on the roofs, walls and the ground.

Seeing this, Jia Lian couldn't help but secretly lament his predicament. Although he could move swiftly and agilely, he didn't have the ability to leave no trace in the snow. What should he do now?