The Red Mansion in its bustling glory

When the fleet docked, Jia Jue already saw servants from the Rongguo Mansion waiting for them.

It was early October, a time of clear skies and crisp autumn air.

The servants from the Jia family quickly helped Aunt Xue and Baochai and others into the sedan chair.

Xue Pan and Jia Jue, each riding a tall horse, followed slowly behind the sedan chair.

After a long and winding journey, we soon arrived at the gate of the Jia family mansion.

Although Baochai was a well-behaved girl, she was still a young girl, and she couldn't help but feel curious about the capital city that everyone in the world longed for.

One can't help but feel a little curious about this most powerful family in Jinling City.

Therefore, when they arrived at Ningrong Street, Baochai quietly lifted a corner of the curtain of the sedan chair and secretly looked at the scenery outside.

Ningrong Street is very long.

When I first arrived at Ningrong Street, it was extremely bustling.

The road was bustling with people, a constant stream of shouts, bargaining, laughter, crying, and cursing.

As you go further in, the sound gets quieter and quieter.

Just as she was about to lose track of the noise, Baochai saw a magnificent mansion.

The mansion gate alone was extremely luxurious. The main gate was entirely painted vermilion, and eighty round-headed gold nails were inlaid on the two bright red doors. Looking further out, two stone lions stood imposingly, baring their teeth and claws, displaying the extravagance of a wealthy family.

As your gaze drifts upwards, you see a black plaque with gold lettering above the main gate. On it, written in a flamboyant style, are three large characters personally inscribed by the Emperor: Ningguo Mansion!

"This is the eldest branch of the Jia family."

Baochai thought to herself.

Walking further ahead, it wasn't long before another luxurious mansion came into view.

Its magnificent and imposing grandeur is in no way inferior to the Ningguo Mansion that we just saw.

However, on the black plaque with gold lettering hanging high above the main gate, there are three other large characters written by the emperor: Rongguo Mansion!

The sedan chair bearers did not stop; they went straight in through the small door on the east side, turned a corner, and placed the sedan chair at a spot where the arrow was fired.

At this moment, Jia Jue and Xue Pan had already entered the mansion through the side gate. Unlike Baochai and Aunt Xue, they had much more freedom. They had dismounted and were heading towards Jia Zheng's study.

Although Baochai and Aunt Xue's sedan chairs had stopped, they did not get out.

Soon, several other strong old women came over, and with a little effort, they lifted the sedan chair again and continued walking inside.

At this moment, Xue Baochai had already lowered the curtain and was focused on sitting in the sedan chair, no longer looking around.

She didn't know how far they had traveled, but Baochai felt a slight jolt. As a young lady from a prominent family who was used to riding in sedan chairs, she knew that this meant they had stopped.

Soon, a housekeeper's wife lifted the curtain and helped Baochai and Aunt Xue out of their sedan chairs.

When Baochai came downstairs, the first people she saw were two wives—one from the Lai family and the other from Lin Zhixiao's wife.

Their husbands were both stewards in the Jia family, and stewards of considerable status. Therefore, the two of them naturally held a high position among the wives of the Jia family.

The fact that two people were sent to greet Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai speaks volumes.

At this moment, with Lady Lai personally supporting Aunt Xue and Lin Zhixiao's wife personally supporting Xue Baochai, the four of them, surrounded by a group of young maids, passed through corridors and flower gates towards Grandmother Jia's residence.

Just as they were leaving, Jia Jue and Xue Pan had already paid their respects to Jia Zheng.

Jia Zheng's pedantic nature goes without saying. He had heard about Xue Pan's character and reputation before, so he disliked his nephew quite a bit before Xue Pan arrived.

Moreover, Jia Jue was regarded by Jia Zheng as a promising scholar and a future Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), so he was naturally even more displeased when he saw the two of them come to pay their respects together.

If Xue Pan were replaced by Jia Baoyu—ha, Jia Zheng would have found a pretext to beat him up long ago!

Even if the old lady scolds me!

However, Xue Pan was, after all, a relative's child, and if he spoke too harshly, it would be impolite and quite inappropriate.

Therefore, Jia Zheng suppressed his temper and spoke to Xue Pan.

And what about Xue Pan?

He had long heard about his uncle's character and knew that the two of them would never see eye to eye.

If Jia Zheng were replaced by any other pedantic scholar, let alone engaging in conversation, Xue Pan would probably have already punched him.

However, Jia Zheng was an elder, and Xue Pan was inexplicably afraid of him, so he suppressed his temper and spoke to Jia Zheng politely.

After a while, the uncle and nephew got along very well and didn't cause any funny incidents.

As the two talked, Jia Zheng inevitably relapsed into his old, pedantic ways.

He thought to himself, "So Xue Pan isn't as dissolute as the rumors say. His speech, though rude, isn't too extreme. He's probably just not well-educated, but his character is decent; perhaps he has potential!"

Little did he know, Xue Pan was just pretending to be innocent!

Therefore, he couldn't help but feel a little bit of a desire to be a teacher.

He thought he could subtly remind Xue Pan so that he could "get on the right path".

The more he acted this way, the more impatient Xue Pan became. In desperation, he turned to Jia Jue for help.

Jia Jue, who was watching from the sidelines with amusement, saw Xue Pan pleading for his help and said to Jia Zheng:

"Father, Brother Xue must be exhausted from his journey from Jinling to the capital. Why don't we let him rest first and talk again another day?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Zheng stroked his beard and said, "That is indeed polite; it was my oversight. Jue'er, take Pan'er to Pear Fragrance Courtyard. The old lady said earlier that they would stay there when they arrive, and it has already been cleaned. Afterwards, you should go and pay your respects to the old lady; your mother is there too."

Jia Jue and Xue Pan responded and then left.

Once he left Mengpo Studio, Xue Pan let out a long sigh of relief.

Jia Jue smiled and said, "Brother Xue, come with me."

Then he left.

When Jia Jue finished arranging for Xue Pan and arrived at the door of Grandmother Jia's residence, he unfortunately ran into Xue Baochai and Aunt Xue who were just arriving.

Upon seeing Jia Jue, Aunt Xue first smiled and joked with him, then asked, "Where's Pan'er?"

Jia Jue then told Aunt Xue that Xue Pan had gone to rest first.

Aunt said, "Pan'er is really something, he's been so impolite!"

As they were talking, the group went inside.

Just then, a young maidservant announced inside, "Aunt Xue, the young lady, and the second master have arrived!"

Upon hearing the little girl's message, the people in the room couldn't help but stand up.

Then, the group went outside to greet them.

After passing through a door in the inner room, the two groups met.

The old lady was naturally overjoyed.

Madam Wang was even more excited. Firstly, it was the reunion of her sisters after a long time apart. Secondly, she had been separated from her son for a long time and had heard about the many accidents he had encountered, which had made her uneasy. Now that she saw him return safely, she was naturally extremely excited.

Overwhelmed by a mix of emotions, tears welled up in her eyes.

Needless to say, Lin Daiyu, standing nearby, was also shedding tears.

She had been filled with anxiety ever since she heard that Jia Jue had encountered Japanese pirates, fearing that something terrible had happened to him. Now that they were finally reunited, she was naturally overjoyed.

However, Jia Jue and Baochai appeared to be quite intimate...