The Second Master of the Red Chamber

The next morning, Sister Feng helped Jia Lian to dress neatly and told him to take good care of Yingchun and the others, saying that they were all beautiful young ladies and nothing could go wrong.

Jia Lian looked down at Sister Feng, who was becoming more and more talkative and had the temperament of a housekeeper, and said with a smile, "Are you really not going to play with us?"

"What am I going to do? You guys will definitely be wet and dry by then. I don't understand those things, so I won't show up there."

Sister Feng said with a smile.

In fact, she knew that Jia Lian was mainly going to take Baochai and Daiyu out for an outing today, after all, they did not go out yesterday.

If she went with them, not to mention that the three of them would feel uncomfortable with each other, Jia Lian would also find it difficult to coax the two talented women in front of her.

The most important thing is that she has to distinguish herself from Baochai and Daiyu!

Concubines and beauties can be taken out to play, but the real mistress is the one who manages the household business at home.

Jia Lian was not aware of all the twists and turns in Feng Jie's mind, and seeing that she was determined not to go, he did not force her. Anyway, with Ping'er around, there was no need to worry about no one to take care of the logistics.

So he kissed Sister Feng on the face. Just as Sister Feng was grumbling, a maid's voice came from outside: "The third young lady is here."

Sister Feng hastily tidied her appearance, and Jia Lian also walked out of the room, and saw Tanchun, who was wearing a light blue long skirt and looked extremely capable, leading her two maids, Shishu and Cui Mo, up the stairs.

As soon as she saw him, Tanchun smiled and said, "Second Brother Lian is ready."

"I don't have anything to prepare here. If you are ready, you can leave at any time."

"We are almost done. Sister Bao and Sister Lin are in the old lady's room to ask for leave. I thought I had two things to discuss with my second brother, so I took the time to come here."

Jia Lian nodded, motioning for her to speak.

"One is Xichun, she needs to keep vigil for her father morning and night, so she can't leave the city with us. The other is Second Brother Bao, I went to ask him out last night, he said he was tired and didn't feel like moving.

It just so happened that we were in the old lady's room just now and she asked about it. She didn't seem very happy, and I couldn't persuade Brother Bao, so I wanted to ask you for help.

If you send someone to call Brother Bao, he will definitely agree to go."

Tanchun was a wise woman, and she probably understood the problem in Jia Baoyu's heart. But she felt that Jia Baoyu was such a playful person that as long as Jia Lian personally sent someone to invite him, he would definitely agree to go out of town with them.

Jia Lian didn't care about the two questions raised by Tanchun. After all, Ping'er had already explained them to him last night.

Jia Jing's coffin was still in the side hall of Ningguo Mansion, and it was really inconvenient for Xichun to go out of the city at this time. Although it would not be a big problem if he asked Xichun to go with them, after all, Jia Jing's first seven days had passed long ago, and even the funeral was delayed because of the incident in the capital, and now they were waiting for the Imperial Observatory to re-verify the funeral date.

At worst, they could just say something else, saying that they were leaving the city to pray for Jia Jing's soul.

But it's not necessary.

Today's main purpose is to see Zhen Yuhuan off, and the poetry club is just a side event. And if the Begonia Club is to be assembled, then doesn't it have to bring along Li Wan, the club's president?

Jia Lian was willing, but Li Wan would certainly not dare to be taken out for a walk by her brother-in-law in public.

Anyway, there are enough girls in the garden, so it doesn’t matter if Xichun is missing.

As for Jia Baoyu, haha, he was too lazy to pay attention to him.

“Since the fourth girl wants to keep vigil, let’s forget about it today. We can take her with us next time when we have the chance.

As for Baoyu, since you have personally invited him, he must really not want to move, so there is no need to force him."

"But I'm afraid the old lady will be suspicious."

Tanchun still wanted to persuade him. Firstly, she didn't want Jia Baoyu to be depressed and felt that the family should be lively and harmonious. Secondly, she was really worried that Grandmother Jia would think that they were isolating Jia Baoyu.

"What's there to worry about? We should respect everyone's choice. Well, it's getting late. Go say goodbye to the old lady and then we'll set off."

Tanchun sighed secretly, realizing that Jia Lian didn't care about Jia Baoyu.

Yes, because of the inherent conflict of ideas and concepts between Second Brother Lian and Brother Bao, they are destined to be unable to coexist.

Maybe in the past, Second Brother Lian would still be more considerate and tolerant of Brother Bao because of their brotherly relationship. But now Second Brother Lian's background has been revealed, and there is no longer a blood brother relationship, Second Brother Lian really doesn't need to show too much affection to Brother Bao, who prides himself on being noble.

For some reason, when she thought of Jia Lian's life experience, Tanchun looked at the handsome and tall figure walking in front of her, and there was some unspeakable emotion in her eyes.

Looking at her family and friends, she had never seen a man who had left such a great shock and impact on her heart.

Not to mention reality, even after reading through ancient and modern biographies and actors' stories, she could not find a character as special and charming as her cousin.

What was even more difficult to accept was that her cousin was very kind and friendly to her, his illegitimate cousin, and never looked down on her in the slightest.

She still remembers the taste of the bowl of longevity noodles she had under the peach blossom forest in the Grand View Garden on March 3rd.

She was fortunate that she had such a brother who loved his sisters and brothers. She was even more fortunate that this brother was actually the descendant of heaven who was sent to their family.

This may be God's blessing.

Thinking of this, Tanchun's heart surged with excitement and uneasiness, but in the end she dared not show anything. She just quietly quickened her pace to catch up with the figure in front.

……

Before reaching Rongqing Hall, someone came outside and said that the master of the Mei family was here to visit.

If someone else came, Jia Lian would probably not see him. Anyway, he was avoiding trouble now, and no one was more important than him taking the golden hairpins out for fun.

It was just the Mei family. Jia Lian remembered the conversation he had with Jinyiwei Zhang Jian yesterday, so he could only say a few words to Tanchun and then turned out through the second door.

When we arrived at the reception hall of Rongxi Hall, we saw a middle-aged man in a Confucian scholar's robe sitting in the guest seat with a serious expression.

Seeing him coming out of the back hall, he quickly stood up, bowed and said, "I am Mei Hong, the lecturer of the Hanlin Academy, and I am here to see Duke Rong."

Jia Lian nodded slightly, then sat in the main seat and said casually, "Master Mei is a rare guest."

Mei Hong pondered what Jia Lian meant by this sentence.

According to family relations, the Jia family was a founding noble family, while the Mei family was a family of poetry and literature, and was a well-educated family. The two families had no old ties, and could be said to be clearly separated and kept to themselves.

Today was also the first time for him to visit the Duke's Mansion.

From this point of view, he is indeed a "rare guest".

However, based on what he knew about the relationship between the Jia family and the Xue family, and given that his Mei family and the Xue family still had an engagement, he paid his first visit long after the Xue family's daughter had gone to Beijing to discuss marriage. The word "rare guest" must have been somewhat ironic.

Although he was unsure of Jia Lian's attitude, he was a Jinshi and a Hanlin after all, so he did not feel timid in front of a young noble like Jia Lian.

"I am a humble official, and it is an honor for me to be received by the Rong Kingdom."

"Haha, what are you standing for? Sit down and talk."

"Thank you, Lord Rong."

After inviting Mei Hong to sit down, Jia Lian beckoned the maid to pour a cup of tea, and then sat down to drink tea, sip after sip, and ignored Mei Hong. Mei Hong was a little uneasy now. After thinking for a moment, he stood up again, bowed deeply to Jia Lian and said, "I beg Lord Rong to spare my son's life."

Be humble in your behavior and sincere in your tone.

Jia Lian seemed a little surprised. He asked in astonishment, "Why do you say that, Master Mei?"

Seeing Jia Lian pretending to be stupid, Mei Hong's expression turned fierce, and he knelt down and said, "It was my fault for delaying the marriage with the Xue family earlier. I am willing to go to the Xue family in person to apologize and make amends to Mrs. Xue.

However, all of this was my husband and I's idea and had nothing to do with our child.

The case of treason involves such deep implications. How could Lord Rong bear to see a little boy like me, who has not even reached the age of twenty, involved in such a major case and having my head and body separated?

Please have mercy, Lord Rong."

Facing Mei Hong kneeling down to beg for mercy, Jia Lian slowly asked, "Did Zhang Jian ask you to come?"

Mei Hong's expression changed, and he nodded, saying, "I dare not deceive Lord Rong. It was under the guidance of Zhang Chenshi that I came to see Lord Rong."

Jia Lian said, "If your wife had had the same attitude as you when she came to visit, how could this happen?"

Mei Hong hurriedly explained: "My wife is from the countryside and does not know etiquette. She spoke wildly in your house the other day. After returning, I have severely punished her.

Please rest assured, Lord Rong, I have a very close relationship with the second master of the Xue family. Even though he is gone now, I only care about his descendants and have no intention of bullying them. Therefore, even if my son is doomed this time, I will definitely return the marriage certificate to the Xue family and have no intention of letting the daughter of the Xue family become a "widow". "

At this moment, Mei Hong really hated his wife for not being able to accomplish anything and always causing trouble.

She was clearly asked to go to the Jia family to ask for help that day, but not only did she not get any help, she also offended the people. The key point is, if he hadn't heard it from Zhang Jian, he wouldn't have known!

Last night he went to the Northern Pacification Office with a nervous mood, but he didn't expect that Zhang Jian seemed to have expected him to go and was actually waiting for him inside the Northern Pacification Office.

At first, the other party tried to deceive him. It was only after he said all the nice things and handed him an envelope of silver that he finally revealed the "truth" to him.

It turned out that according to the interrogation of their Northern Pacification Division, it had been determined that Mei Qi had nothing to do with the prince's treason case.

Just at this time, Rongguo Mansion sent someone to say that on the day of the incident, Lord Rong and his personal guards saw with their own eyes that Mei Qi had a very harmonious relationship with the staff of the Prince's Mansion, and that Mei Qi was arrested when the Prince's villa was breached. Therefore, he must be closely related to the case of treason and must be strictly interrogated and must not be let off easily.

Rongguogong Jia Lian was the most meritorious official who had suppressed the rebellion and saved the emperor. He was also at the scene, so his words were naturally credible. Therefore, the Northern Pacification Office had to send Mei Qi's case back for retrial...

Of course, Mei Hong didn't believe this at all. How could his son have the merits and abilities to attract the attention of Jia Lian, the Duke of the current dynasty and the grandson of the emperor, and to lower his status to become a tainted witness?

So he asked with a frown, and finally after inviting Zhang Jian to Shangkangfang and spending a lot of money, he learned from Zhang Jian that his Mei family had offended someone.

How could Mei Hong dare to be negligent? It would be fine if the slander was just groundless, but it turned out that his son was captured from the prince's palace by soldiers who were suppressing the riot.

Just for this reason, it was not unfair at all for the imperial court to execute his son!

Not to mention, there was Jia Lian, a duke of the current dynasty, who was watching him personally. Mei Hong believed that he could not win in a competition of power, so he packed up early in the morning and came personally to apologize and beg to save his son's life.

"Master Mei said this, do you believe it yourself?"

Facing Jia Lian's almost naked ridicule, Mei Hong's face showed a trace of unnaturalness, but he still ignored it and said according to his plan: "If my son is lucky enough to escape from the cage safely this time, I am willing to abide by the contract between the two families and immediately arrange three matchmakers and six betrothals to let my son marry the daughter of the Xue family..."

Mei Hong said this, and seeing Jia Lian's eyebrows raised, he changed the subject and said: "Of course, if the Xue family is unwilling to recognize this marriage because of our previous mistakes, I will personally return the marriage certificate, and from now on the two families will not interfere with each other and marry freely."

Jia Lian smiled and said, "Is this what Master Mei really said?"

"I dare not lie in front of Lord Rong."

Jia Lian did not respond for a moment, and the hall became quiet, with only the crisp sound of his fingers tapping on the table.

Just when Mei Hong couldn't help but want to speak again, he finally heard Jia Lian say, "In that case, go back and get the marriage certificate."

After hearing this, Mei Hong thought that Zhang Jian had not lied to him.

He replied with a "yes", then reached into his bosom and took out something wrapped in silk, which looked like a scroll. He stood up and respectfully presented it to Jia Lian.

Seeing Jia Lian's surprised expression, he concentrated and said, "My son is involved in a treason case this time. I know that my son is no longer worthy of Xue's daughter. I know that Xue's family may have the intention to cancel the engagement. Therefore, before I came, I brought the marriage certificate with me. I would like to ask Lord Rong to return it to Xue's family on my behalf. I will be very grateful."

Jia Lian actually smiled, "Master Mei is thoughtful."

"this is necessary……"

Although Mei Hong showed some flattery on the surface, he was full of contempt in his heart.

After watching the courtesan's performance last night, Zhang Jian suddenly asked him, "What does the girl from the Xue family who is engaged to your son look like?"

He said: "Although I have never seen her in person, but according to people who have seen her, this girl is very pretty."

"That's right."

Then Zhang Jian married Jia Lian to Xue's legitimate daughter, and it was very likely that Jia Lian also had his eyes on Xue's concubine's daughter. If he wanted to gain Rongguo Mansion's forgiveness, he should return the marriage certificate as soon as possible. Otherwise, not to mention Mei Qi, I'm afraid that his Mei family will be in trouble sooner or later...

Although he had long intended to regret the engagement, taking the initiative to regret it and forcing him to hand over the marriage certificate because someone else had taken a fancy to his future daughter-in-law were obviously not the same thing.

It's impossible to say that I don't feel aggrieved, but for the sake of my son's life, I have to endure it.

Jia Lian naturally didn't know that Mei Hong despised him in his heart. When he saw Mei Hong handing him the marriage certificate, he opened it and read it without thinking.

But there was nothing special about it, it was just an engagement contract of ordinary format and style.

When Jia Lian was reading the marriage certificate, Mei Hong did not interrupt. When Jia Lian finished reading, he tentatively said, "The marriage certificate has been sent back. I wonder if my son..."

Jia Lian nodded and said, "Although I am a duke, I am not in charge of criminal matters, so I have no say in your son's case.

However, judging from Lord Mei's character, I think your son would never be foolish enough to get involved in a conspiracy.

Please rest assured, Master Mei, if the Northern Pacification Office comes to ask me again, I will definitely speak well of your son."

Hearing Jia Lian's agreement, Mei Hong finally relaxed and subconsciously bowed to express his gratitude.

Looking up, he saw Jia Lian looking at him with a half-smile, and he realized that his attitude after accomplishing something seemed to have changed too quickly. He blushed and was about to kneel down again to express his gratitude solemnly.

Although there was no regulation in the imperial court that required lower-level officials to kneel when meeting higher-level officials, given the difference in rank between him and Jia Lian, kneeling down would not be too humiliating for him.

In other words, as the grandson of the emperor Jia Lian, and as an official of the Wei Dynasty, he was kneeling upright.

Jia Lian suddenly helped him up and said with a smile, "Master Mei is a famous scholar, so there is no need to be polite."

In fact, because of Mrs. Mei, Jia Lian initially intended to control and punish Mei Hong.

However, seeing that he came from the Hanlin Academy, where reputation was the most important, but was willing to kneel down and beg for mercy for his son, Jia Lian felt some sympathy for him and did not make things difficult for him.

After helping him up, Jia Lian said, "I have other things to do today. If Master Mei has nothing else to do, let's talk about it another day."

Mei Hong nodded, not afraid that Jia Lian would go back on his word. After all, apart from the marriage with the Xue family, there was really no conflict between the Mei family and Jia Lian.

So he thanked her again and again, and left the hall with his attendant. (End of this chapter)