The Second Master of the Red Chamber

The Ministry of Justice's dungeon.

As a secondary prison under the Ministry of Justice, the environment is dry and well-ventilated. Apart from being a bit dark, its comfort level is almost no different from that of an ordinary house.

The jailer hunched over and approached a cell near the skylight.

Upon seeing the prisoner sleeping facing the wall, he immediately went up and pounded on the cell door.

"Xue Pan, get up quickly..."

The jarring noise startled the fat man inside, who muttered from his bed, "What's all the noise? Can't you see I'm sleeping?"

You little brats, serve me well, and when I get out, you'll get your share of the rewards..."

Seeing that Xue Pan completely ignored him, the jailer turned to the nobleman behind him and smiled helplessly: "You see, this..."

Jia Lian waved his hand to indicate that he didn't need to say anything more, and stepped forward to say, "Brother Pan, if you feel comfortable staying here and don't want to come out, I will come to pick you up another day."

Jia Lian's calm voice was exceptionally clear in the dungeon.

Xue Pan, who had been feeling drowsy, suddenly jolted awake and immediately rolled over and got up.

Upon seeing Jia Lian and his entourage at the prison gate, a strange joy appeared in his eyes. He jumped off the bed, but because he was too clumsy, he lost his footing and almost knelt on the ground.

Then he scrambled to the prison gate.

"Brother Lian, you've finally come to see me. Are you here to take me out?"

Jia Lian had already taken a step back when Xue Pan lunged at him.

Hearing this, he ignored him and instead said to the jailer next to him, "He was supposed to be released in a few more days, but today is his family's birthday, and his family misses him very much, so they thought of taking him back home."

"I have already spoken with the officials in the ministry. If the ministry needs to interrogate anyone, they can come to the Xue family to bring them in."

The jailer, who had already taken out his key to open the cell door, laughed and said, "Look at what the Duke is saying. Xue Pan is not some heinous criminal. The case has long been closed. There is no need for further interrogation."

Moreover, Minister Tao has instructed that, counting from the day Xue Pan was imprisoned, it has been exactly one year today, and he can be released.

Therefore, Your Excellency, please take them away. We will take care of the rest of the formalities.

Jia Lian simply smiled upon hearing this.

It has indeed been exactly one year since the incident.

However, counting from the day Xue Pan was sentenced, it was indeed less than a year.

Following the proper procedures, the calculation method is quite clear.

"Second Brother Lian..."

Xue Pan walked out of the prison cell and looked at Jia Lian, whom he hadn't seen for a year but had heard about countless times from his mother and the prison guards, who had become increasingly noble. He was somewhat hesitant to approach him.

Jia Lian glanced at him and said, "Let's go outside and talk."

Leaving the dungeon and seeing the long-lost sky, even someone as thick-skinned as Xue Pan felt as if he had been transported to another world.

Jia Lian turned around, looked at the fat man following closely behind, and frowned, saying, "How come you've gained weight after a year in prison?"

Xue Pan immediately glanced at his chubby arms and hands and said with an embarrassed smile, "It's all my mother's fault. Every time she comes to see me, she brings big fish and meat. I've told her not to bring any more, but she won't listen. She's just made me fat."

This is clearly not the main reason.

No matter how lavish the food Aunt Xue brought, it was only once every two weeks.

The real reason was that Aunt Xue was afraid Xue Pan would suffer in prison, so she spent a lot of money to bribe everyone in the dungeon and secretly slipped him silver notes so that he could ask the jailers to buy whatever he wanted to eat...

Every one of those prison guards was a shrewd and calculating person.

What kind of people can come in and never leave? They can be bullied at will.

No matter what kind of person is down on their luck, they are not someone they can trample on.

They know it inside and out.

Who is Xue Pan?

Putting aside how illustrious their ancestors were, just consider that they ordered someone to kill the son of a high-ranking military officer, which became widely known, yet they were only sentenced to one year in prison. Can you believe it?
Therefore, under such circumstances, with real money to be made, the prison guards wished they could worship Xue Pan as an ancestor.

That means they'll give you whatever you want.

It's almost as if he's about to bring a woman in.

Jia Lian had obviously thought of these things as well.

I originally thought that after a year of imprisonment, Xue Pan's image would be much better.

After all, apart from being overweight, her facial features are fairly regular and she's not ugly.

If he can lose weight and amass wealth, he'll definitely be a highly eligible bachelor.

It seems like that's out of the question now.

"Let's go, it's Bao's birthday today, so I came to pick you up early."

Otherwise, I'll make you stay here obediently for the full 360 days.

Xue Pan chuckled awkwardly, then, thinking of his younger sister, immediately tried to ingratiate himself with Jia Lian, asking, "My mother said that Brother Lian, you're going to marry my sister. So, does that mean I'm yours...?"

Jia Lian, who had already mounted his horse, ignored him and rode off.

Xue Pan was slightly embarrassed, but he already knew from Aunt Xue that Jia Lian was the grandson of the emperor and had been granted the title of Duke, as well as many heroic deeds about Jia Lian.

Therefore, he was not angry at all because of Jia Lian's attitude.

They even felt that since they had survived such a calamity, they were sure to be blessed with good fortune.

With such a formidable brother-in-law, who in the capital would dare to mess with him?
So, at the beckoning of Jia Lian's attendants, he happily climbed into the carriage that had been prepared for him.

……

Baochai celebrated her first few birthdays after arriving in the capital at the Rongguo Mansion.

This year is different from previous years due to the special circumstances.

Aunt Xue, who originally wanted to invite Lady Wang and Grandmother Jia to her residence for a drink, gave up the idea after her daughter's advice.

That's really not good.

My daughter is about to marry into the Rongguo Mansion, and the Jia family is, in a sense, my daughter's husband's family.

There's no reason to invite the groom's family to celebrate the daughter's birthday when the wedding is just around the corner.

However, Aunt Xue figured that Jia Lian would come over if he had nothing else to do, so she ordered the kitchen to prepare a top-quality feast well in advance.

Suddenly, the housekeeper's wife rushed in with a smile on her face. Aunt Xue immediately asked, "Has Lian-ge'er come?"

The housekeeper's wife smiled and said, "Madam, not only Second Master Lian, but also the eldest master... Our eldest master is back too!"

Aunt Xue was taken aback: "What did you say? Pan'er is back?"

"Yes, Madam, it's Second Master Lian. He brought our master back."

Aunt Xue no longer cared about her manners and immediately walked out of the kitchen.

Sure enough, I could hear my own wretched child's voice from afar:

"Brother-in-law, what exactly is in this box? Open it and let me see."

"Is this a birthday gift for my sister?"

Aunt Xue quickened her pace and, just as she stepped out of the ceremonial gate, she saw Jia Lian's familiar figure, and that wretched child beside him.

The wicked child had obviously also discovered his mother.

At this moment, he was no longer interested in the boxes that Jia Lian's entourage was carrying.

His eyes reddened, and he rushed forward, knelt on the ground, hugged Aunt Xue's legs, and began to cry:

"Mom, I'm so sorry for missing you. It's been a year since I last saw you. I've missed you so much."

Even though Aunt Xue's eyes were red at this moment, she couldn't help but feel a little ashamed when she heard this.

She wanted to scold Xue Pan, but then she remembered the year of suffering he had endured and couldn't bear it. So she forced herself to wipe away her tears and said to Jia Lian, "Brother Lian is here."

Jia Lian nodded and smiled, "Today is Bao'er's birthday. I thought it was a special day, so I took the liberty of bringing Brother Pan out. I hope Aunt won't mind."

"No, no, I'm so glad you've thought of me."

As she spoke, she kicked her son, who was as sticky as a leech, and called out to Jia Lian, "It's rare for the whole family to be together today, come on in and talk. Pan'er and Ke'er, you two clueless kids, why don't you take the things for your second brother Lian?"

Aunt Xue saw Jia Lian take the large, long wooden box from his attendant and tuck it into his waistband.

Upon hearing this, Xue Pan and Xue Ke both stepped forward to help.

Jia Lian said, "No need, I can take it myself."

Some of the items inside are quite valuable; you don't know how they're housed, so they're easily damaged.

Now, even Aunt Xue became curious.

After all, it's quite rare to hear the word "precious" from Jia Lian's mouth.

Seeing that Jia Lian didn't say anything, she didn't press him further and could only say, "Look at you, you've come all this way, why did you bring a gift? Don't spoil Bao'er."

So he beckoned Jia Lian to come inside.

On the way, she repeatedly looked at her son's condition and noticed that he was somewhat filthy. So she sent someone to fetch Xue Pan's two former maids and asked them to take Xue Pan downstairs to wash him.

Xue Pan, who hadn't eaten meat for a year, had a gleam in his eyes when he saw his maid.

Ignoring the strange looks from those around her, she immediately got up, eager to go downstairs to take a shower.

Aunt Xue felt somewhat embarrassed in front of Jia Lian and her nephew.

After chasing Xue Pan away, he immediately asked Jia Lian what gift he had brought.

When Jia Lian saw that Baochai had also come out, he naturally stopped keeping her in suspense and opened the wooden box on the table, revealing a set of phoenix coronet and wedding robes and accessories that were exactly the same as Daiyu's.

When such an extremely luxurious item appeared, not only Aunt Xue and her daughter, but even Xue Ke's eyes widened in surprise.

Jia Lian smiled and said, "These are wedding dresses that I specially commissioned to be made. One set will be made for Bao'er and one set for Lin'er."

"Bao'er, this outfit is peony-colored. Do you like it?"

Baochai obeyed and stepped forward, even though she didn't particularly like gold and silver embellishments or anything too flashy.

Upon seeing the phoenix crown and wedding dress in the box, she couldn't help but feel a slight shock in her eyes.

The so-called gold and silver threads represent the most difficult and luxurious craftsmanship.

According to Jia Lian's instructions to the Zhang family, the decorations must be luxurious enough, and silver thread should be avoided if possible, except for necessary decorative patterns.

"This is far too extravagant and wasteful," Baochai commented objectively.

The Xue family were imperial merchants for generations, and were also involved in the design and tailoring of fine clothes.

Therefore, one can immediately tell the high value of this bright red and glittering gold wedding dress.

Even those who are not experts should be able to tell how luxurious it is just by looking at that pure gold phoenix crown.

Faced with Baochai's "disdain," Jia Lian bluntly said, "You and Lin Yatou both deserve the best."

In front of Baochai, Jia Lian did not shy away from praising Daiyu.

He did it on purpose, wanting Baochai to get used to Daiyu's presence.

Jia Lian's cheesy sweet talk made not only Aunt Xue and her daughter, as well as the maids and servants beside them, blush, but even Xue Ke blushed.

He thought to himself that it had to be Second Brother Lian; if it were him, he would never have said such a thing.

Compared to Baochai's reserved nature, Aunt Xue was much more frank.

For her, the more generous Jia Lian was to Baochai, the better, because it would indirectly show how much Jia Lian valued Baochai.

So without any hesitation, I went up and gently flipped through the pages.

The more she looked at it, the more she liked it, and she couldn't wait to say to Baochai, "Bao'er, since it was prepared so carefully by your second brother Lian, don't refuse. Quickly put it on and see if it fits."

Upon hearing this, the polite and sensible Xue Ke immediately said to Aunt Xue, "Aunt, I'll go see my older brother."

"Okay, go ahead."

Xue Ke bowed to the people inside the room and immediately left.

The other maids and servants also tactfully withdrew at this point.

Jia Lian said, "There's no rush to try on the clothes. I have something I want to say to Bao-ya alone. May I borrow Aunt's place for a moment?"

What a joke! Having learned his lesson from Daiyu, how could Jia Lian possibly allow Baochai to wear a wedding dress and phoenix coronet now?

It's been so long since I last had the chance to enjoy Baochai's fair skin and soft flesh.

He had planned to enjoy it today, and he wasn't about to let a piece of clothing ruin it.

So, without any hesitation, she led Baochai into the inner room right in front of Aunt Xue.

Baochai blushed and tried to shake off Jia Lian's hand, whispering, "What are you doing? Mother is still watching..."

"It's nothing, I just have something to tell you."

Seeing her daughter being pulled into the inner room, Aunt Xue was stunned for a moment, feeling that Jia Lian was not taking her, his mother-in-law, seriously at all.

Of course, she wouldn't say anything. She even instructed Tongxi, Tonggui, and Ying'er, who were still standing nearby, "Since your second master and young lady have something to say, you should all go outside and wait."

"Yes."

After the maids had all left, Aunt Xue glanced back at the dark inner room and found herself having a strange urge to go in and eavesdrop on the young couple's private conversations.

She quickly dismissed this terrible thought and focused her attention back on the wedding dress in the box.

The more I look at it, the more I like and admire it.

Inside the room, Baochai, finally free from Jia Lian's grasp, said with some reproach, "You... this is far too rude."

Jia Lian shrugged and smiled, "I missed you so much. If you don't mind me going to your room, I'll carry you there right now."

Baochai blushed instantly, and at the same time, she understood what Jia Lian meant.

Although Jia Lian had been to her boudoir before, things were different then than they are now.

With their wedding date fast approaching, it's obvious to anyone that Jia Lian would brazenly go to her boudoir again; what would he be up to?

Moreover, it's her birthday today, so there are more people in the inner courtyard than usual.

and so……

Baochai asked in great fear, "Do you mean you want to stay here... No!"

"Hahaha……"

Jia Lian chuckled and plopped down on Aunt Xue's bed, laughing, "It's just a chat, what are you thinking?"
However, now that you've reminded me, I do have some ideas.

"no!"

Baochai quickly shook her head.

Jia Lian propped himself up on the soft bed with his hands behind his back and smiled easily, "Why not?"

"Mother will find out."

Jia Lian laughed and said, "What's there to be afraid of? Didn't she already know? Have you forgotten that before I went to war last time, she saw me carrying you to your courtyard..."

"Stop talking..."

Reminded by Jia Lian, Baochai realized that she had been misled by Jia Lian and had done so many unconventional and outrageous things.

Jia Lian carefully observed Baochai's embarrassed expression and noticed that she looked wary, as if she was ready to run away at any moment.

Jia Lian didn't want to push too hard, so he casually laughed and said, "Alright, since you say no, then let's just talk and wait for the banquet to begin, okay?"

Baochai looked up in confusion. Was Jia Lian being so easy to talk to?

"Ah."

"Hey, are you planning to stand this far away and talk to me? Then I'll have to speak louder. I don't care if the aunties outside hear us."

Baochai glanced back somewhat guiltily, but ultimately walked slowly toward Jia Lian.

She wasn't unaware that Jia Lian's actions might just be a delaying tactic, but she chose to believe him.

Isn't that right? Many times, girls just want a reason to deceive themselves.

...(End of chapter)