The Red Mansion in its bustling glory

Yinglian did not speak immediately.

She was constantly struggling and hesitant inside.

She remembers that when she was first abducted more than ten years ago, she thought about going home and her parents all the time.

However, after all these years of being raised by others, she has become completely unfamiliar with parental affection.

But she still harbored a sliver of hope that one day she could return to her parents' side and enjoy family life again.

However, even though she had only been in Jinling for a short time, she had already heard about the Feng family.

After all, even the prefect of this prefecture was present that day, so naturally everyone knew about it.

She knew that going back might mean facing another hell.

Besides, his mother was already having a hard time in the Feng family, and if he went back...

But can we stay here?

Thinking of this, Yinglian couldn't help but recall the scene on the street just now, when Jia Jue ruthlessly killed that child.

Is he so volatile that he might kill himself as if he had killed a child?

Yinglian knew that Jia Jue had saved her, and she shouldn't have assumed that about Jia Jue.

But this is only human nature. Seeing Jia Jue kill that child, she would feel fear and wonder if she would one day die by that sword.

But Jia Jue was, after all, his benefactor, who had rescued him from the hands of the servant boy.

If it weren't for Jia Jue, I might have been bought into the Xue family mansion by the young master of the Xue family. Judging from the young master's appearance, he certainly wouldn't have had many good days.

So ultimately, my life still belongs to this young master before me.

So, if one day this young master wants to take it back, wouldn't that be perfectly reasonable?

So Yinglian spoke up: "I was saved by you, young master, and my life belongs to you. I have nothing to repay you with, only the desire to serve you for the rest of my life to repay your kindness!"

As she spoke, Yinglian was about to kneel down.

The three people beside her, including Xiren, quickly helped her up, looking distressed.

Jia Jue sighed, "Since that's the case, then you can stay here with me. But let's make this clear first: if you decide to stay here, you can't see your mother one last time, otherwise it will be extremely troublesome."

Yinglian nodded and said, "Of course I know that."

Jia Jue continued, "Logically speaking, since you are now mine, I should give you a name. However, you already have a name, which was chosen for you by your parents with great effort, so I can't change it. I'll just temporarily omit the character 'Zhen' and call you 'Yinglian' from now on."

Yinglian quickly bowed and thanked her.

As Jia Jue accepted Yinglian's greetings, he walked out of the house—he had saved Yinglian out of kindness, but there were still many things to deal with afterwards!

Two flowers bloom, one branch each.

While Jia Jue was deep in thought, Xue Pan returned to the Xue residence.

It turned out that a servant of the Xue family had been ordered by Madam Xue to fetch some things from their shop, but he happened to run into his young master who was lying on the ground and unable to get up.

He was so flustered that he hurriedly returned to the Xue residence to report.

This Lady Xue was, in fact, related to Jia Jue.

What kind of kinship?

Lady Xue was the younger sister of Lady Wang, Jia Jue's mother, who shared the same mother.

According to seniority, he should respectfully address her as "Auntie".

Since she shared the same mother as Madam Wang, it was natural that Aunt Xue resembled Madam Wang somewhat.

Especially when it comes to dealing with children.

Both of them were equally doted on.

Therefore, when Aunt Xue heard someone report that her son had been beaten outside and was so badly beaten that he couldn't get up, she became anxious.

She was cursing as she urged people to bring Xue Pan back, and the Xue household immediately became bustling with activity.

Just as Aunt Xue was overcome with grief and tears were streaming down her face, a young girl came to comfort her.

The young woman was strikingly beautiful, gentle and graceful. Though dressed in fine clothes, the colors were simple; though she wore no makeup, her beauty was captivating. This young woman was Aunt Xue's daughter, Xue Pan's younger sister, and her given name was Baochai.

It's said that Xue Baochai and her brother Xue Pan didn't seem to have been born from the same mother.

Xue Pan was so boisterous and irresponsible, spending his days fighting cocks, drinking, and indulging in debauchery, while she was gentle, polite, quiet, elegant, and refined.

At this moment, she walked over, gently comforting her mother while methodically instructing the maids and servants to either inform them or make preparations.

In an instant, the noisy Xue family returned to order.

When Xue Pan was carried back, a doctor was already waiting, and the maids and servants took over the stretcher from the servants and smoothly carried Xue Pan into his room.

A short while later, the doctor came out. Baochai was a young woman and it was inconvenient for her to receive guests; Aunt Xue was a widow and it was also inconvenient for her to receive guests. So Baochai asked one of her capable maids to go and ask the doctor what was wrong with Xue Pan.

The doctor said, "Your son is fine. Although he suffered some internal injuries, the person who attacked him was very careful. He only feels pain, but it doesn't damage his health. He will recover in a day."

After the maid reported to Xue Baochai and Aunt Xue, they saw Aunt Xue put her hands together in a gesture of worship, close her eyes, and mutter, "Amitabha, thank you Buddha for your protection!"

Baochai, however, said, "It's good that there's nothing seriously wrong. Ying'er, go and ask the doctor if I need any medicine. If so, please write down the prescription. Also, go and weigh out two taels of silver and give it to Doctor Wang. You know what to say."

Ying'er responded and left.

Aunt Xue then took Xue Baochai and the other girl to Xue Pan's room.

At this moment, Xue Pan was still lying on the bed, crying out in pain.

Seeing her son like this, Aunt Xue's eyes immediately reddened again, and large tears rolled down her cheeks.

Xue Baochai was naturally also heartbroken. Although her brother was a scoundrel, he had treated her quite well. Now, seeing her once spirited brother in such a state, she was naturally filled with sorrow, and her eyes reddened.

Seeing her mother crying, she could only suppress her own grief and rush over to comfort her.

"Mom, why are you crying anymore? It's good that brother has come back safe and sound. Besides, there's a saying—'Those who survive a great calamity are destined for good fortune.' Who knows, brother might be blessed from now on. Besides, brother needs to rest in this condition. If you keep crying like this, you'll upset him and make him restless. How can he calm down?"

Her daughter's words made sense, and Aunt Xue gradually stopped crying, but she still couldn't bear to look at Xue Pan.

At this moment, Xue Pan also shouted things like "I'll beat him to death next time I see him" and "I'll report him to the authorities."

Xue Baochai couldn't help but step forward and advise, "Brother, you should calm down and recover first. The doctor said you'll be fine in just one day of rest. Once you're better, we'll naturally go to the government office to demand an explanation. How could a family like ours suffer such a loss?"