Dream of the Red Chamber: After being exiled, I went on a killing spree in Liaodong.

"My lord, you're finally back!" Lai Da hurriedly greeted him. "The old lady has prepared a special welcome feast, and we were just waiting for you!"

"I'm not going." Jia Yi didn't even lift his eyelids.

"Prepare the meal in the kitchen and send it to Pear Fragrance Courtyard. I want to eat it all by myself."

After saying that, he lifted his leg and walked away, the soles of his boots making a crisp sound on the bluestone slabs, like slaps being thrown into the air.

The two people behind him froze in place.

"Big brother..." Lai Er's throat was dry, and his eyes were wide open as if they were about to pop out. "He...he actually dared to talk to the old lady like that?"

Lai sighed and patted his brother on the shoulder: "Wake up, Jia Yi now is no longer the fool who could be manipulated by anyone."

"He's now a First-Class Marquis of Loyalty and Valor, his rank surpasses the entire clan. We lackeys can't even lick his boots."

After saying that, he hung his head and hurried to Rongqing Hall to report the news.

At this moment, inside Rongqing Hall.

The masters of Ningguo Mansion and Rongguo Mansion gathered together, each one restless, their eyes darting around, their hearts pounding like rabbits.

Although we have been strictly ordered to keep quiet about what happened today, Niu Jizong witnessed it with his own eyes! Who knows if he will gossip about it?

Grandmother Jia spent a fortune to host a grand banquet, hoping to use the meal to coax Jia Yi with gentle words and then brainwash him.

In her eyes, Jia Yi was nothing more than a lucky idiot who would be easily swayed by a few words of coaxing.

Jia She sat at the head of the table, sipping his tea with a calm expression.

The whole room was in a panic, but he remained as calm as a mountain.

After all, that's his own son. If anything happens, he won't be held responsible.

Just then, Lai Da stumbled in.

"Grandma, the Marquis... went straight back to Pear Fragrance Courtyard! He didn't even eat!"

"What?" Grandmother Jia suddenly stood up, and the string of her Buddhist prayer beads snapped, scattering pearls all over the floor.

Jia Zheng jumped to his feet: "Lai Da! Didn't you say we were waiting for him?"

"I told him!" Lai Da said, looking aggrieved, "but the Marquis completely ignored me, turned his back and left, and I couldn't stop him!"

"Then why don't you kneel down and beg him?" Jia Zheng's eyes widened in anger, his face clearly showing his disdain for Jia Zheng.

Lai Da's lips twitched, and he thought to himself:

Why don't you go kneel down? They're the kind of people who can meet the emperor without being informed. If I kneel down, I'm afraid I'll be dragged out and flogged!

But all he could do was lower his head and stammer, "It's...it's my incompetence..."

The hall was deathly silent.

The group exchanged bewildered glances, cold sweat trickling down their backs.

They finally realized—

The "silly Yi'er" who was once manipulated by others is no longer a puppet they can control.

Is this the level of the stewards at Rongguo Mansion?

Lai Da almost couldn't hold back and wanted to overturn the table and curse Jia Zheng on the spot.

Are you kidding me? Jia Yi is a ruthless man who single-handedly took down hundreds of elite guards from the Prince Zhongshun's mansion! Me, stop him? I'd be asking for a hasty death!

"Alright."

Grandmother Jia spoke calmly, her voice low, yet it silenced the clamor in the room.

"If Yi-ge'er isn't coming, that's fine. Lai Da, take all the dishes on the table to Yi-ge'er at Lixiang Courtyard."

"yes!"

Lai Da immediately responded, and led a group of maids and servants forward in single file, carrying the table full of delicacies and leaving without daring to linger for even a glance.

"This child is getting more and more unruly!"

Jia Zheng's face was ashen, his fists clenched tightly in his sleeves. "Having just returned to the capital, how dare you not come to see your uncle first? What kind of behavior is this!"

Madam Wang also frowned, her face showing deep distress.

"Second brother," Jia She sneered, crossing his legs with a lazy yet arrogant air, "even if my son is irresponsible, he's still a properly conferred marquis. And your son? Where has he gotten to in his recitation of the Four Books and Five Classics? Can he even write a decent eight-legged essay?"

The moment the words left his mouth, the air froze.

Jia Zheng's lips twitched, and Madam Wang's face turned from white to green—she was so angry she almost couldn't breathe.

"Big brother, you...you..."

"That's right!" Madam Xing immediately chimed in, straightening her back to support her husband. "Yi-ge'er is of high status now, how can we follow the old rules in everything? Don't be too demanding."

She spoke with high-sounding words, but inside she was overjoyed: Finally, it was our turn to hold our heads high!

Over there, Jia Zhen and his son, along with Jia Lian and his wife, had already huddled together, their heads buried lower than the ground, looking like a flock of ostriches burying their heads in the sand.

No one dared to utter a sound—both sides were like fathers, and it would hurt no matter which side you hit!

"That's enough!"

Grandmother Jia slammed her hand on the armrest and glared coldly at Jia She, her gaze sharp as a knife.

"I'm still alive, you don't think I'm just a decoration, do you?"

The room fell completely silent.

She slowly closed her eyes and sighed, "I'm old and tired. Let's all leave now, stop putting on this show for me."

The crowd fell silent, trembling with fear, and slunk away.

After everyone had left, Grandmother Jia gently took Yuanyang's hand, her voice low and hoarse, full of exhaustion.

"What a loving couple... It's not easy for me, an old lady, to support this family."

"I've poured so much effort into raising a bunch of good-for-nothings. And then there's this one who's finally doing well, but his brain is... sigh."

She shook her head, a glint of turmoil in her eyes: "Today's commotion will shake the entire capital. I'm afraid... afraid he'll be framed."

Yuanyang's eyes reddened, and her fingertips trembled slightly.

She understands.

The old lady is entrusting her future to someone else.

"Grandma, please rest assured." She bit her lip and knelt down, her voice firm, "I will stay by his side and never let a single treacherous person get close to the Marquis."

"Good child." Grandmother Jia smiled, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes smoothing out, but deep within that smile lay a glint of shrewdness that was barely perceptible.

Yuanyang's move to Pear Fragrance Courtyard was tantamount to placing a pawn next to Jia Yi.

If we can win over Jia Yi's heart, the position of the matriarch of the Rongguo Mansion will be as secure as Mount Tai.

Thinking of this, a sharp glint flashed in her cloudy eyes.

"Go, pack your things, let's go now."

"Grandma, I'm leaving."

After Yuanyang finished tidying up, she turned around and kowtowed three times, her tears falling onto the blue bricks and shattering into eight pieces.

"Good boy, Yi-ge'er... I'm entrusting him to you." Grandmother Jia murmured, as if giving instructions, or perhaps praying.

-

At this moment, inside the Pear Blossom Courtyard.

Jia Yi was sitting with his legs crossed, leaning back on the soft couch. He opened a can of iced cola with a "hiss" and gulped down a mouthful, a burst of stimulating sweetness exploding on his tongue.

The table was laden with delicacies: the crystal pork knuckle glistened with oil, the steamed shad was fragrant and delicious, and there were several dishes of Western Region tribute fruits, their colors enticing.

He was enjoying his meal when suddenly a gust of wind swept in.

Looking up, one sees Yingchun with red eyes leading the way, followed by Tanchun, Xichun, Ping'er, and a group of maids, each with a face full of worry.

In the middle was Jia Baoyu, whose arms were being held up and whose face clearly said, "I don't want to go."

"Third Brother, are you alright?" Yingchun grabbed his hand and checked him over. "I heard you offended the Emperor Emeritus. Did you get beaten up?"

"Yes, yes, the Emperor Emeritus didn't punish you with a caning, did he?" Tan Chun asked anxiously.

In an instant, a group of women surrounded him, searching his shoulders, back, waist, and legs, afraid of missing a single wound.

After confirming that they were unharmed, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, patting their chests and exclaiming, "That scared me to death!"

Today's events have completely won them over this "foolish" third brother.