The Red Mansion in its bustling glory

Foreword: This morning, while I was sleeping, something suddenly occurred to me—Hangzhou is further south of Nanjing, so the protagonist and his group would never pass through Hangzhou. Because I really longed to visit Hangzhou, I wrote about it without much thought at the time, and I wouldn't have realized it until this morning.

I'm so sorry everyone, the previous chapters have been revised; Hangzhou has been changed to Zhenjiang. The author has never been to Zhenjiang and doesn't know if there's a lake there. If not, please consider it a fabrication by the author. My apologies.

-

Jia Jue smiled at Musk Moon and said, "It's alright, you can go back now."

Of course, she didn't listen to him. Instead, she went to Jia Jue's side and carefully examined him to make sure he had no wounds before she felt relieved.

Liu Xianglian then said, "It's getting late, I should head back now."

Jia Jue nodded, and after exchanging a few more words, Liu Xianglian left.

Then Jia Jue went to the stern of the boat, gave the old boatman a few instructions, and then went back with Musk Moon.

The next day at dawn, Jia Jue went out of his room and onto the deck, where he saw several stewards already waiting respectfully.

Jia Jue instructed people to send messages to the capital and Jinling, while also trying to appease the victims. He also ordered the ships to dock and hide the bodies.

Last night, after returning to his room, Jia Jue began writing a letter.

The letter to the capital stated that they had encountered Japanese pirates there, and almost all their goods were lost. They requested that their family report this to the imperial court.

The letter to Jinling was to instruct them to begin purchasing some items in preparation.

After doing all this, Jia Jue said to everyone, "Let's continue sailing. The Dowager Empress's birthday is the seventh day of the seventh month. This is a fixed date and cannot be delayed. As for the items prepared for the prayers, since we have suffered a misfortune, I have already sent a letter to the capital. If there is anything inappropriate, the clan and His Majesty may understand."

After saying that, the ship set sail again.

But now they were all driving extremely fast, and everyone was just thinking about getting to Jinling as quickly as possible to avoid any further mishaps.

On the deck, Jia Jue sat with his eyes closed when he suddenly heard a voice—"Thank you for saving me."

When Jia Jue opened his eyes, he saw that the person who had come was none other than Miaoyu.

Jia Jue then laughed and said, "It's just going with the flow, no need for thanks."

Miaoyu shook her head and said, "If it weren't for you, we would surely have been killed by the Japanese pirates. Why do you refuse?"

Jia Jue simply smiled and said nothing more.

Miaoyu remained silent.

After a long pause, Jia Jue finally spoke, "Did Master Miaoyu and the Abbess come out without any guards?"

"Guards?" Miaoyu asked. "The 'guards' you're referring to, are they the ones outside the temple gate?"

Jia Jue nodded.

Miaoyu said, "They just guard the temple gate and do nothing else."

Jia Jue asked, "Was the nun frightened last night?"

Miaoyu shook her head. "Master is always calm. Even during yesterday's chaos, Master did not change his expression."

Jia Jue sighed, "The nun is truly no ordinary person."

Miaoyu didn't speak, but her expression unconsciously carried a hint of pride—how could her master, Miaoyu, be an ordinary mortal?

Miaoyu suddenly asked again, "Why did you lie to me last night?"

Jia Jue turned to look at her, stared at her for a while, and then asked with a strange smile, "What makes you think I'm lying to you?"

Miaoyu said, "When I returned yesterday, I asked Master if he knew of a person named 'Yang Shen' from the previous dynasty. Master is learned in both ancient and modern times, yet he still didn't know. I was afraid that Master might have overlooked something, so I specifically looked through the anonymous work 'Biographies of Talented Scholars of the Ming Dynasty' that I brought with me. It lists 230 'talented scholars' of varying ranks, but I couldn't find such a person. Since he wrote such good poems and had the title of talented scholar, how could I not find him?"

Jia Jue laughed and said, "Does this book really include all the talented people? Although Abbess Huixin is very knowledgeable, she is not necessarily omniscient."

Miaoyu merely gave a cold laugh and said no more.

-

A short while later, the boat was about to dock, and in the distance, the outline of Nanjing could be seen.

People from the Jia family were already on the shore to greet him, and they rushed over to serve him when they saw him arrive.

Miaoyu, Abbess Huixin, and the other monks and nuns naturally bid farewell and departed. The maids Xiren, Qingwen, and Sheyue, along with several others, boarded a luxurious carriage together, with the boys following behind. Jia Jue, Liu Xianglian, Chijian, and Fushu, however, rode tall horses, chatting idly along the way.

The maids and servants could naturally move directly into the Rongguo Mansion in Jinling. Although Xianglian, Fushu, and others were close to Jia Jue, they were not people of the Rongguo Mansion after all, so they could not move directly into the back courtyard. It was also inappropriate for them to live in the servants' quarters. Therefore, Jia Jue arranged for people to clear out several courtyards outside the Rongguo Mansion for them.

These courtyards are all within the Rongguo Mansion, but they are all on the periphery, just like the Jia family's arrangement for the Xue family in the original novel.

After entering the Rongguo Mansion, Jia Jue first had everyone lead Liu Xianglian, Chijian, Fushu, and others to the courtyard to rest, while he himself went into the Rongxi Hall of the Rongguo Mansion alone.

The Rongguo Mansion in Jinling was built almost exactly the same as the Rongguo Mansion in the capital, with the same carved beams and painted rafters, the same magnificent halls and pavilions, and even the halls and courtyards used the same names as those in the capital.

Among the Jinling clans, the highest-ranking members were the "Wen" generation, among whom the three most distinguished were Jia Chi, Jia Xiao, and Jia Dun.

What you see in Rongxi Hall today is Jia Chi.

As soon as Jia Jue entered the hall, he bowed and said, "Jia Jue greets his elder brother."

Jia Chi quickly came over and helped him up, saying, "Jue-ge'er has come all the way from the capital. He must be tired from the journey and must have been frightened by the encounter with the Japanese pirates. Please don't stand on ceremony and get up quickly."

As Jia Chi arranged for him to sit down, Jia Jue asked, "I wonder if Uncle has prepared all the items and gifts?"

Jia Chi said, "Don't worry, Jue-ge'er, everything has been arranged. All the necessary items have been prepared. The family temple and the Zhen family temple have been cleaned. His Majesty has also decreed that the royal temple in the suburbs can be used. The prayer procedure has also been discussed and written down. I will have someone deliver it to Jue-ge'er tonight."

Jia Jue nodded and said, "The Dowager Empress's birthday is on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, and it's only the beginning of June, so there's still plenty of time. However, since we've already come from the capital, and this matter is widely known, it's not appropriate not to visit the Zhen, Wang, Shi, and Xue families, who are on good terms with our family. But my uncle knows that all the gifts he brought were lost on the way. I'd like to ask him if there are any items left from the capital? Please prepare something, more or less, as it wouldn't be good to visit empty-handed. A letter has also arrived from the capital, saying that the matter of the Japanese pirates has been reported to His Majesty. His Majesty is furious and has dispatched General Wei Wu to lead troops to suppress the pirates. It seems that the suppression will be successful soon. Once the pirates are defeated and the journey is peaceful, the capital will send more gifts."

Upon hearing this, Jia Chi quickly said, "Jue-ge, why be so formal? Rest assured, this matter will certainly be handled perfectly!"