The Red Mansion in its bustling glory

By the time they saw Daiyu off, it was already quite dark.

As the two of them left the hospital together, they saw Madam Wang and a group of maids and servants coming over.

Upon seeing the two of them, Madam Wang said with delight, "I was just about to look for you two. The old lady has sent out the dinner invitation."

The two then followed Madam Wang all the way to Rongqing Hall.

After the meal, Jia Jue, as usual, went to his study to review his lessons, so he asked his grandmother for leave.

Only Daiyu remained in Rongqing Hall to chat with the old lady and her sisters.

As Jia Jue was engrossed in his reading, he suddenly heard a lot of noise and looked up to ask, "What's going on?"

Musk Moon, who was nearby, had already heard the noise and sent someone out to inquire. At this moment, she said to Jia Jue, "It was Bao-ge who broke the jade again in the old lady's room."

Jia Jue sighed upon hearing this.

He had no brothers or sisters in his previous life, but in this life he has at least some siblings. He tries his best to be "friendly and respectful to his brothers," but Jia Baoyu is ungrateful. Since he started studying hard and making progress, Jia Baoyu has become much more distant from him. He also knows that Jia Baoyu has privately called him a "spider" and other such things.

It's just that I can't say it out of consideration for the old lady and the lady of the house.

However, Jia Jue was not one to be easily swayed. Since Bao Yu had repeatedly refused to treat him kindly, Jia Jue naturally couldn't be too lenient with him. He had no choice but to put on his elder brother's airs and reprimand him a few times.

In this era, the saying "the eldest brother is like a father" was not just a casual remark, especially in a family as respectable as the Rongguo Mansion, where such rules were strictly observed. Moreover, Jia Jue, having lived two lives, naturally possessed an air of authority, which made Baoyu unconsciously fear him to some extent.

Upon hearing that Baoyu had smashed the magical jade again, Jia Jue couldn't help but sigh a few times.

He was Baoyu's elder brother, and could discipline him in many ways, except for that jade. Firstly, they were siblings, and if he constantly disciplined his brother over the jade, people would gossip that he was jealous of his younger brother. Secondly, that jade was the lifeblood of the Old Madam and Madam, and disciplining him for it would surely displease them. Although he was cared for by Jia Zheng, he was still quite pedantic, and he would never dare to disobey the Old Madam. Moreover, there were many treacherous people in the inner palace who might use this to their advantage, so it was better to avoid trouble.

Thinking of this, Jia Jue couldn't help but sneer—it turns out that favoritism has been passed down in the Rongguo Mansion.

He could somewhat understand his uncle, who was indulging in wine and women all day long.

A mother's favoritism makes the journey naturally fraught with difficulties.

Jia Jue slowly shook his head, trying to clear his mind of these thoughts.

However, judging by the time, he should go to pay his respects to the old lady now, and since he has benefited from Baoyu's favor by sleeping with the old lady, he must go back now.

He couldn't help but curse inwardly, "Jia Baoyu, Jia Baoyu, it would have been better if you had smashed that jade sooner..."

Helpless, he could only call out to Musk Moon and slowly walk back to Rongqing Hall together.

When Jia Jue arrived, the noise inside the house was still going on.

He watched coldly from outside the door:

The old lady held Baoyu and cried loudly, calling him her darling and her precious flesh. Lady Wang was not there, perhaps because she had not received the news. The three sisters, Yingchun, Tanchun, and Xichun, stood aside in fright. Daiyu was also frightened and wiped away her tears.

As for the maids and servants—only a few maids were truly flustered. As for the sly old women, they even took advantage of the noise in the room to sneak a couple of fruits into their sleeves, intending to eat them when the lights were out at night!

The once magnificent Rongguo Mansion is now showing signs of complete decay!

Jia Jue shook his head slightly, walked in quietly, and then pretended to ask Tan Chun what was wrong.

Tan Chun was the most outstanding of the three sisters in the Jia family, excelling in both talent and personality. However, being born out of wedlock, she wasn't highly regarded. Tan Chun generally held some disdain for the brothers in the Jia family, but she treated Jia Jue differently—firstly, because this brother genuinely cared for her and truly wanted what was best for her; secondly, because this brother was currently the only scholar in the Jia family, possessing exceptional talent and a photographic memory, thus earning her considerable respect.

Now that Jia Jue has arrived, Tan Chun seems to have found her anchor, and she quickly recounts the whole story of Bao Yu smashing the jade.

Jia Jue remembered this scene, but it was only when Jia Baoyu asked Daiyu if she had a jade, and Daiyu answered "no," that Baoyu became obsessed with it.

In the original story, the old lady smoothed things over, saying, "Daiyu originally had a jade, but her mother took it with her when she was buried. Let's just consider this jade as her daughter's jade."

If it were as the book says, the old lady should have realized it quickly, so why is she still not better after all this time?

Helpless, Jia Jue walked up to the old lady and said to Baoyu, "Third brother, there are some things you don't understand. Listen to me."

Baoyu was usually somewhat afraid of him, but now that Jia Jue had arrived, he snapped out of his daze and most of his foolishness vanished. Seeing that his expression had cleared up considerably, Jia Jue continued, "This afternoon, Lin Daiyu went to visit Master. Master has been very busy lately, and his health has suffered, so he asked me to receive her. When I spoke with Daiyu, I mentioned this matter. It turns out that Daiyu originally had a jade pendant, but when Aunt was buried, Daiyu placed it inside as a keepsake. Today, Daiyu's statement that she 'doesn't have a jade pendant' was merely a humble expression."

In fact, Jia Jue's words have many flaws—for example, since Lin Daiyu humbly said "there is no jade," why would he explain the reason to you?

However, now that Baoyu is in a fit of madness, he can't think too deeply about it. As long as it sounds reasonable, he'll let it go.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that Baoyu had finally calmed down. Grandmother Jia smiled as she pinned the five-colored jade pendant on Baoyu's head, saying, "Just as I told you, Jue-ge'er. I was in such a rush that I forgot to tell you. As people get older, they can't handle things as easily anymore."

Grandmother Jia's words prompted everyone to quickly reply, "Not at all, not at all..."

Lin Daiyu, wiping away tears with a handkerchief, thought to herself, "This second brother is truly a wonderful person. He not only genuinely cares about others but also helps them out of difficult situations..." She glanced at Jia Baoyu, who was happily nestled in Grandmother Jia's arms, and thought, "After all, he's living under someone else's roof; how can he possibly complain?"

Only after the farce ended did Grandmother Jia have the mood to arrange Daiyu's accommodation.

This is a slight change from the original story; Daiyu sleeps inside with Grandmother Jia, while Jia Jue and Baoyu sleep outside.

Originally, Baoyu slept inside with Grandmother Jia, while Jia Jue slept outside. Now that Lin Daiyu has arrived, it's difficult to arrange the three of them. Even if Baoyu insists on sleeping inside, Grandmother Jia can't give in to him.

Jia Jue always had a regular schedule and went to bed early.

Daiyu slept in the inner room with the old lady, following her schedule. Naturally, there was no time for her to secretly shed tears and grieve, so she could only go to sleep.

Baoyu was the most carefree person. It was as if he had never broken that jade. He had a normal expression, lay down on the bed, and fell into a deep sleep.

Silent all night.