The Second Master of the Red Chamber

After seeing Dai Quan off, Jia Lian returned to the main courtyard.

The hall was now even more lively than before.

Not only did none of the people who came to receive the imperial decree leave, but many more servants and maids with beaming faces also arrived.

Under the arrangement of Jia Zheng and Jia Yun, they were all taking stock of the property that had been taken over from the eunuchs.

Needless to say, the horses were taken to Ma Peng's place for temporary care. As for the other items such as gold, silver, jade, palace satin, and fur, it's impossible to inventory them all at the moment.

The most eye-catching thing, of course, is those plates of dazzling golden spikes.

Jia Lian walked up to the rows of old women and servants, picked up a gold ingot from the trays they were carrying, and examined it.

The gold nails were small, costing five taels of silver each, and bore the imperial seal.

Upon seeing this, Jia Yun hurriedly stepped forward and said with a smile, "Father, all these gold ingots have been counted."

There are fifty plates in total, with forty pieces on each plate, and each piece weighing five taels, totaling ten thousand taels.

Fortunately, Jia Yun had been working in the family business for two years and had seen a lot of money; otherwise, he probably would have been dazzled by it all.

But the merchants struggle to earn a few thousand or tens of thousands of taels of silver a year, how can that compare to tens of thousands of taels of gold?
Not to mention that it was bestowed by the emperor himself.

All Jia Yun wants to say right now is: My dad is awesome.

If Jia Yun was like this, one can only imagine how the women were treated.

They were all dazzled by the magnificent sight before them. They looked at the gold and silver treasures filling the courtyard, then stole glances at the tall and handsome Jia Lian, and secretly swallowed their saliva.

Even the three Chun sisters had blank expressions.

If it weren't for Jia Lian, their elder brother, frequently giving them red envelopes over the years, they would probably only have two taels of silver as pocket money each month.

Looking at these forty platters of gleaming gold, how could one not have their eyes light up?
Unfortunately, Grandmother Jia had just warned that no one else was allowed to touch it, otherwise they would have already reached out and touched it.

Because they all knew that Jia Lian would definitely not mind.

Grandmother Jia, leaning on her cane, examined each box roughly, then sighed and turned to Jia Lian, saying:
"Lian'er, arrange for someone to take all the things in, and tell Feng'er to keep them safe."

Grandmother Jia's meaning was very clear: she wanted Jia Lian to move the items back home himself, and had no intention of "confiscating" them.

Even Lady Wang, who used to frequently discuss matters with Jia Lian, showed no unusual expression, as if this was the natural course of events.

There is no way around this.

Although Jia Lian was once glorious, his second branch of the family had Yuan Chun, the imperial concubine, so they were naturally evenly matched.

Whether she felt she had been taken advantage of or wanted to gain some benefit, Lady Wang couldn't help but discuss the matter with Jia Lian.

Times have changed, and the situation is different now.

Even the plaques on the doors of the two houses are different now. Although they are still nominally one family, everyone knows that this is just a "cooling-off period" before they completely separate.

If you really upset Jia Lian, he might just move out completely.

After all, it was they who went to great lengths to keep Jia Lian in the family.

Moreover, to be fair, the Rongguo Mansion's treasury was depleted after the construction of the Grand View Garden.

Over the past two years, Jia Lian has already provided subsidies to the government officials several times.

This allowed the official treasury to maintain its dignity, and now it has even begun to have a surplus again.

Moreover, everyone knows that Jia Lian is now truly famous and wealthy, and doesn't care about any petty gains.

Take this year when Jia Lian renovated his Rongguo Mansion, he made changes to many places. Apart from a few small expenses that Jia Zheng helped with, Jia Lian and his wife did not touch any of the government's money.

To put it bluntly, that couple is now many times richer than the officials, so they don't care about the meager assets in the government treasury.

Under such circumstances, to try to haggle with Jia Lian over expenses would be foolish and a pointless exercise.

Madam Wang is no fool.

Look at all this wealth! If you get along well with Jia Lian, he might just give you a little bit of it. Wouldn't that be much better than you going through all that trouble and losing all your dignity?

At this moment, Jia Lian naturally didn't intend to pretend to be generous. Mainly, there were too many things, and he needed to carefully consider how to deal with them.

So he ordered that all the items be arranged in groups and sent to the Grand View Pavilion for Feng to see.

Sigh, another chance to dazzle Feng's greedy eyes, so satisfying.

As the belongings were gradually removed, the people in the compound began to disperse.

After Jia Zheng saw Grandmother Jia off, he returned to find Jia Lian and gestured for him to go to Mengpo Studio with him.

Jia Lian also had something he wanted to discuss with him, so he nodded and told Jia Yun to stay here to sort things out, while he followed Jia Zheng to Mengpo Studio.

After dismissing the idlers and having everyone seated and served tea, Jia Zheng looked at Jia Lian with ill intent, his gaze becoming increasingly satisfied.

Jia Lian said, "Second Uncle, please speak freely."

"Oh, it's nothing... just showing concern... His Majesty's generous reward to you this time, is it because of you..."

Although Jia Zheng did not discuss some things with Jia Lian, he was actually aware of them in his heart.

What he wanted to ask was whether the emperor's generous reward meant that the emperor was no longer concerned about Jia Lian's background.

Jia Lian naturally understood as well.

After thinking for a moment, he replied, "While I'm not entirely sure about the other things, His Majesty probably doesn't intend to kill me."

When he first heard that Emperor Ningkang hadn't promoted him to First-Class Duke in one go, he thought Emperor Ningkang was stingy.

However, Emperor Ningkang's subsequent series of rewards showed that he wasn't exactly stingy.

Although the emperor's rewards totaled less than 200,000 taels of silver, they were insignificant compared to the 10 million taels of wealth and glory he brought back to Emperor Ningkang.

However, public matters are public matters, and reason is reason.

Value cannot be compared in this way.

It's not like it's a gang splitting up loot.

It's like if you were appointed as the governor of a province and greatly boosted the province's economy, increasing the province's revenue by tens of millions of taels, the emperor would have to give you several million taels proportionally, right?

The state has laws, and the imperial court has systems.

Emperor Ningkang's act of setting a precedent by rewarding meritorious officials with ten thousand taels of gold was sufficient proof of his recognition of their achievements.

Once we've established that the emperor isn't stingy, let's look at it from a different perspective.

Does the fact that the emperor deliberately suppressed the promotion of noble titles mean that he was leaving room for you to be promoted?

Does leaving you room for upgrades mean they still want to use you?
Things that can be inferred indirectly are more credible and more important than any reward from the emperor.

Although Jia Zheng was concerned about the relationship between Jia Lian and Emperor Ningkang, he couldn't offer any good advice because he really didn't know Emperor Ningkang at all.

After chatting idly for a while, just as Jia Lian was about to get down to business, Jia Zheng suddenly asked somewhat embarrassedly, "What do you think of your third sister?"

Jia Lian swallowed his words.

After carefully examining Jia Zheng's face, he already had a guess in his mind.

So he replied quite naturally, "My third sister is naturally very outstanding."

Not only is she beautiful, but she also has an outstanding temperament.

The key point is that she also inherited her second uncle's insight and understanding.

Even the old lady said that the third sister's personality was the best among all her granddaughters.

I... also really like my third sister.

Jia Lian's last sentence was half-testing.

As expected, Jia Zheng perked up upon hearing this and laughed, "Oh, you really think she's that good?"

"Of course, I wouldn't dare lie to my second uncle."

"Hehehehe..."

Jia Zheng stroked his beard and chuckled.

"In that case, your wife and I have already discussed it and intend to betroth your third sister to you, just like Lin Yatou. What do you think?"

Although Jia Zheng felt that it was already an honor for Jia Lian to make his illegitimate daughter his concubine, he was, after all, a Confucian gentleman, and the act of offering his daughter to be someone else's concubine still made him instinctively feel ashamed.

Jia Lian, being adept at handling situations, initially showed some disbelief upon hearing this.

Then he immediately stood up and knelt down in front of Jia Zheng without hesitation: "Nephew thanks Second Uncle for his kindness. From now on, I will definitely treat Third Sister well and will never let her suffer any grievances!"

"Good good!"

"I knew I hadn't misjudged you. I feel completely at ease entrusting your third sister to you."

Jia Zheng couldn't stop laughing at Jia Lian's actions.

He quickly got up and helped Jia Lian up, saying "good" three times in a row.

Looking at Jia Zheng's happy expression, Jia Lian couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing.

If that old man knew that I had already tricked his daughter away, I wonder if he would still be laughing.

"My nephew is very pleased with my second uncle's kind intentions."

However, I think that my third sister is still young and it is not appropriate for her to get married too early. Besides, although I am about to finish my mourning period, I have already arranged engagements with Lin and Bao.

If we were to hastily propose marriage at this time, I fear that the arrangements would be inadequate and would unfairly burden my third sister.

"How about letting my third sister enjoy a few more years of her life with my second uncle? When she's a little older, I can marry her. What do you think, second uncle?"

"Good, very good, you've thought of everything."

What could Jia Zheng say? He was naturally very satisfied.

Although he strictly followed Confucian thought, with men being in charge of external affairs and women managing the household, he rarely interfered in matters concerning the inner quarters.

However, he had heard some opinions about his youngest daughter from other sources, and he felt quite fond of her.

He would be more than happy to have him stay by his side for another two years.

Moreover, Jia Lian's thoughtful consideration shows that he truly cares about his daughter.

This also proves that his judgment was correct, and his daughter will definitely have a good life after marrying into the family.

After Jia Zheng had finished celebrating, Jia Lian continued, "Actually, there's something else I'd like to ask my second uncle for help with."

"Oh, go ahead. I'll definitely do it for you if it's within my power."

“That’s right.

When Uncle Lin betrothed Lin Meimei to me, I promised him that after I finished my mourning period, I would definitely marry her as a proper wife.

Now it's almost time for me to fulfill my promise.

And there's also Baochai.

My aunt doesn't despise me and is willing to give me her precious daughter as a concubine. I can't let my sister Baochai suffer and upset my aunt.

Moreover, unlike the third sister, Baochai will turn seventeen next spring, which is the age for marriage, so it is not appropriate to delay.

Therefore, I thought it would be better to choose an auspicious day to marry Baochai and Lin Daiyu.

Originally, this kind of thing should have been handled by Feng Yatou.

However, she is currently unwell, so it is definitely not appropriate to trouble her.

I've thought about it carefully, and the internal matters are easy to arrange.

Both of my sisters-in-law are capable of handling things, so I feel at ease asking either of them to help me with anything.

It's just outside...

My nephew can't find a suitable candidate right now.

Yun'er is a good person, but he is of a lower generation and can't hold his own in a big way.

Therefore, after much thought, I had no choice but to humbly ask my second uncle for help with this matter and to take care of some things outside for me..."

Upon hearing this, Jia Zheng chuckled and said, "I thought it was something else, but it turns out it's about this."

This is wonderful news, and you've thought of everything very carefully.

"Hehehe, don't worry, leave this to me. I'll make sure your wedding is a grand and spectacular affair."

Putting aside Jia Lian's polite words, even if Jia Lian hadn't said anything, he would still have been willing to help.

Daiyu and Baochai, one is his niece and the other is his aunt, both are his close relatives and younger generations.

Now she's getting married, and to Jia Lian, the good nephew she watched grow up.

He'll feel bad if you keep him out of it at this point.

Moreover, it's clear that Jia Lian is not short of money now.

Previously, due to the mourning period, many happy occasions could not be held.

Now that the mourning period is over, and he's marrying two beautiful wives and concubines at once, how can he not hold a grand celebration?

I wonder how many dignitaries and important figures will be invited to the ceremony.

In this way, as long as she arranges the marriage properly for him, she can also make a big splash in the spotlight.

With all this in mind, Jia Zheng decided that for the next few months, he could ignore the affairs of his department and focus on completing the task that Jia Lian had entrusted to him.

The uncle and nephew then discussed the relevant matters for a while, and after setting the main tone, Jia Lian took his leave from Jia Zheng.

He had only taken a few steps toward the garden when he saw several maids peeking in. Soon, the figures of the Sanchun sisters, Xiangyun, and Xiuyan appeared before him.

"Second brother..."

The clear, affectionate calls made Jia Lian's heart flutter.

So he walked over, patted the youngest Xichun on the head, and asked with a smile, "Did you guys deliberately wait for me here?"

"whee."

The girls smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Tell me what you want from me."

Tan Chun and the others exchanged glances, unsure of what to say.

They only saw Jia Lian and Jia Zheng go to Mengpo Studio, and thought that Jia Lian would definitely return to the garden later.

Since they had nothing else to do, they agreed to wait for Jia Lian there.

If I had to say what I wanted to say to him, I wouldn't really have anything specific to say.

Tan Chun then laughed and said, "Look at what Second Brother is saying, can't I come to you for no reason?"
As your younger sisters, can't we wait for you to come into the garden together and talk to you?

Jia Lian nodded and said, "I think I understand."

"You're all pretending to wait for me to speak; you're just after the things the emperor bestowed upon me, but you're too embarrassed to ask, so you're standing in front of me to see if I, as the older brother, will behave or not, right?"

"Oh dear, we're not that mercenary. Second brother is looking down on us."

"That's it."

The younger sisters all objected.

Fortunately, they were used to Jia Lian's company and knew that he was joking.

Otherwise, given their thick skin, they would actually feel embarrassed.

Because, it must be admitted, they do have this expectation in their hearts.

They had discussed this before; the emperor bestowed so many gifts, many of which could be used on ordinary days.

Given Jia Lian's generosity, he might just allocate some to them.

Jia Lian chuckled and said, "Alright, I guess I misunderstood you."

But I do have a gift for you.

You saw those fur products before, right? They were things like mink and velvet fur.

Although it wasn't particularly precious, it made into a nice garment.

"It's getting cold right now, so come with me. Pick out a couple of outfits you like, and I'll have them made into new clothes for you to wear for the New Year."

"Wow~"

It must be said that Jia Lian understands these young girls.

Gold, silver, and jade artifacts hold little appeal for them beyond their perceived value.

But those glamorous fur coats are different.

That's what attracts girls' attention the most.

Which girl wouldn't want to wear a beautiful mink coat and go out to enjoy the snow and find plum blossoms on a snowy day?
Just now in the courtyard, what they were most focused on were those dozen or so boxes, containing hundreds of leather goods.

Every single one was so beautiful that they loved them.

At the same time, the girls were overjoyed that Jia Lian could grasp their psychology so accurately and be so generous.

Seeing that everyone was about to happily follow Jia Lian, Tan Chun, who had more concerns, smiled gently and said:

"Although Second Brother is generous, if we really rush over there in such a hurry, Second Sister-in-law Lian might think we're going there to freeload."

In our opinion, we shouldn't go yet. Let's wait until my second brother and sister-in-law have finished checking everything before we talk about choosing things.

Upon hearing this, the girls also began to realize what was happening.

Rushing over there together right now doesn't seem like the right thing to do.

Although Sister-in-law Lian is generous, she cannot compare to Brother Lian.

If I go there now, even if she doesn't say it, she definitely won't like it.

It's better to wait until Brother Lian and Sister-in-law Lian have discussed it before we go over.

Anyway, there are so many things, and Brother Lian has already agreed, so why should he go back on his word?

Jia Lian smiled and told them not to worry, but the sisters already had their own plans, so they took the initiative to part ways with Jia Lian before they reached the secluded path.

Jia Lian didn't press the matter further and headed straight back to the main hall along the eastern avenue. (End of Chapter)