Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

After Li Wan and the others left, the idle servants also withdrew. Inside the room, in the inner hall, only Grandmother Jia and Jia Lian remained, with Yuanyang kneeling outside, holding a beauty hammer and gently massaging Grandmother Jia's legs.

Grandmother Jia sat upright, dressed in a magnificent robe. Although her temples were snow-white and her face was aged, her eyes still had a sharp quality.

She looked at Jia Lian quietly, seemingly trying to subdue him by using her authority as the matriarch.

But Jia Lian just sat there properly, seemingly oblivious to her gaze or perhaps lost in thought about something important.

Grandmother Jia then abandoned her plan to intimidate her and asked, "No matter what, Yang was still your master's concubine. Why are you so determined to kill her?"

Jia Lian snapped back to reality in a second, cupped his hands and said, "Reporting to the old lady, Madam Yang harbors monstrous intentions and seeks to harm me and sever the direct line of the Rongguo Mansion's eldest branch. The methods she uses are despicable and extremely insidious! If she is not severely punished with swift and decisive measures to make an example of her, I fear that in the future, all sorts of monsters and demons in the mansion will see that there is profit to be made and will rush to imitate her. At that time, I fear that the Jia family will be in chaos and there will never be peace again."

Therefore, for the long-term peace and stability of our family, and for the sake of the Jia family's established order, my grandson must kill Yang Shi alone, thus extinguishing the will of a hundred others!

Speechless at such righteous words, Grandmother Jia retorted angrily, "Then why didn't you wait until your master woke up, or until I arrived? Aren't you afraid that your hasty action will damage your reputation as an official of the court?"

Waiting for you to come? If I wait for you to come, do you think I can deal with that person so easily...?

"I didn't want this to happen either. But it has already happened, and to prevent future troubles, someone has to take responsibility. So, I'd rather bear it alone. How could I let you, my grandmother, be disturbed by such a sordid matter and have your peace and quiet disrupted by your spiritual practice?"

"So you think you're always right, no matter what you say?"

"Your grandson wouldn't dare."

Grandmother Jia was speechless. How come she hadn't noticed before that her grandson was so difficult to deal with! Was it so hard to get him to admit his mistake?

"Aren't you afraid that an imperial censor will impeach you before the emperor?"

In societies ruled by men, laws are often general outlines without detailed rules, hence the saying "the character '官' (official) has two mouths."

Although Jia Lian had ample reason to kill his concubine, if the circumstances were not right, or if he lost power, it could still become a crime against him.

Jia Lian immediately cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "Grandson is not afraid."

His Majesty is not only insightful and has a clear understanding of worldly affairs, but also hates evil as if it were his enemy. How could he possibly listen to the slander of petty people?

Therefore, as long as your grandson behaves uprightly and serves Your Majesty with utmost loyalty, there is absolutely no need to worry about anyone plotting against you behind your back.

On the contrary, if His Majesty knew that someone had harmed me through such despicable means, he would probably be furious and stand up for his grandson.

Seeing Jia Lian's arrogant attitude, as if he were the emperor himself, and that he had nothing to fear with Jia Lian's backing, Grandmother Jia fell silent.

He finally realized that she had no way to deal with Jia Lian.

What else could she say? Could she dare to utter a single word in rebuttal to Jia Lian's words?

After a long silence, Grandmother Jia sighed and asked, "What exactly did you do during your year at the border that made the court value you so much, even prompting the Emperor to promote you to a higher rank?"

To be honest, even Grandmother Jia felt she had failed in her duty. She had initially thought Jia Lian's promotion was a great joy, but she had underestimated the true nature of the matter. Because it was still the New Year holiday, ladies from other mansions kept visiting her these past two days, and almost every one of them mentioned Jia Lian in their conversations, praising him endlessly.

Only then did she truly realize that Jia Lian was different from before.

How did those officials' wives know about Jia Lian? Naturally, it could only be that their husbands told them. The fact that so many officials knew about Jia Lian shows that his promotion was indeed not accidental, nor was it entirely due to the legacy of his ancestors...

When Jia Lian saw that Grandmother Jia had asked this question, the respectful look in his eyes faded considerably, and almost instantly a dignified aura appeared in them:

"We didn't do much, except lead our troops to kill over a thousand Tartars and retrieve a few hundred warhorses for my uncle. That's all."

The words, seemingly calm yet carrying a chilling undertone, startled both Grandmother Jia and Yuanyang.

Especially for Yuanyang, the biggest scene she had ever witnessed was when Wang Xifeng was taking attendance in the courtyard outside the steward's office during the New Year.

At that time, almost all three or four hundred people from the Rongguo Mansion were present, and the dense crowd of people made it feel quite crowded.

More than a thousand people, that's more than a thousand heads...

Just thinking about it made Yuanyang's scalp tingle.

Grandmother Jia is alright, after all, she experienced such things when she was young. However, she has been wealthy for too many years and has not been exposed to such matters for too long.

Looking at Jia Lian's calm expression when he talked about killing more than a thousand people, and recalling that he had executed two people at home today, Grandmother Jia suddenly felt as if the spirit of the first Duke had been resurrected in her home!

This Duke, a man of great stature, practiced military rule and law at home.

However, back then, she was still a timid and submissive young wife, much like Li Wan is now...

The passage of time was so long that it felt like a lifetime had passed.

She sighed, finally letting go of today's events. "So, you've made up your mind to join the military and become a general?"

Jia Lian thought for a moment, then stood up and said:

As the old saying goes: "The blessings of a virtuous person will last for five generations."

Our family has been prosperous for over a century since our great-grandfather's time. Although we have benefited from the immense achievements of our ancestors and still enjoy wealth and honor, however...

It will never be the same as it used to be.

Now that the country is prosperous, new forces are emerging in the court, while those of us from the founding families are gradually losing our voice.

In the past, our ancestors were so glorious, with two members of our family holding high office, revered as pillars of the court. Now, among all the civil and military officials, only my lord from our Jia family has managed to barely make it into the ranks!

This is because the children and grandchildren are unworthy and have failed their ancestors.

Hearing Jia Lian's words, Grandmother Jia felt uneasy. Although Jia Lian's words did not mention her at all, the Jia family had, after all, declined from prosperity under her witness!

Wealth and status can be blinding, and even though she considered herself not a fool, she knew that the Jia family was indeed beginning to decline.

Putting aside everything else, how could she not know that the Rongguo Mansion's treasury, which was once overflowing with gold and silver, has long since become empty and desolate?

The Rongguo Mansion has been living beyond its means for many years. Its current wealth is all due to the depletion of its ancestors' accumulated wealth!

However, she knew about this situation but was powerless to change it, or rather, she didn't want to change it.

She lived a life of wealth and privilege; there's no reason for her to end up living in poverty! She would lose all face.

Then Jia Lian continued, "Therefore, I have made up my mind that whenever I have the opportunity, I will follow in the footsteps of my ancestors, join the army to make meritorious contributions, and serve the court. Perhaps I can use this to reverse the decline of my Jia family."

Jia Lian spoke earnestly, his gaze unwavering, and even Grandmother Jia was taken aback by his thoughts.

"It's heartening that you have this intention, but..."

Joining the army and earning merit is not like studying to become an official; that can lead to death. Aren't you afraid at all?"

Hearing Grandmother Jia's words, Jia Lian smiled and said, "It seems it's time to ask Feng to give me a son."

Grandmother Jia nearly choked on her words and couldn't help but scold, "We were talking about serious matters, why did you have to ramble on like this again? It's a wonder it's you, aren't you ashamed?"

Yuanyang lowered her gaze, which had been fixed on Jia Lian, and blushed as she earnestly massaged Grandmother Jia's legs.

Jia Lian shook his head and said, "It's not a matter of being ashamed or not..."

Everyone is afraid of death, and my grandson is no exception.

However, for the sake of their ancestors' glory, they were no longer so afraid.

I am willing to risk everything, even my own life, to rebuild the Jia family's century-old wealth and glory! If I cannot do so, then my descendants will carry on my will.

As long as the Jia family bloodline continues, one day we will surely restore the glory of our ancestors!

Grandmother Jia was shocked. She felt that all the unexpected events of the rest of her life might come from her grandson, Jia Lian.

If Jia Lian hadn't already proven himself through his actions, Grandmother Jia would have thought he was just boasting, a person who didn't know his place!

No, even if it's bragging, anyone with a shred of shame wouldn't make such a boast.

But Jia Lian, when he said this, showed no sign of guilt whatsoever, as if what he said was exactly what he was determined to do!

What else could Grandmother Jia say? If the Jia family could truly produce such a promising descendant, if Jia Lian could truly fulfill his ambitions.

Putting everything else aside, when her ancestor arrives in the underworld, she will be able to report back to the two generations of dukes.

If even Grandmother Jia was like this, one can only imagine how Yuanyang fared.

The teenage girl stared wide-eyed at the Jia family man before her, her eyes filled not only with shock but also with admiration…

Which young girl doesn't yearn for love? When Yuanyang began to yearn for love, the young masters in the mansion were already in a state of flux. Jia Zhu had just died, Jia Baoyu was too young, and Jia Huan and Jia Cong were even younger and had little presence.

After counting them all, there's only one: Jia Lian, who has just blossomed into a handsome young man...

Moreover, Jia Lian was not only good-looking, which perfectly matched her aesthetic, but he was also one of the few gentle and kind masters in the two mansions!

As someone who had distinguished herself by Grandmother Jia's side since childhood, Yuanyang was able to see many things that other maids could not.

She clearly judged that Jia Lian was one of the few "good people" among the two or three generations of the Jia family, and also a man of action. He managed the affairs outside the Rongguo Mansion with remarkable clarity and understanding.

During those two years when everyone said that Second Mistress Lian's talent far surpassed Second Master Lian's, only she knew that Second Master Lian's talent was no less than Second Mistress Lian's; it was just that he was easygoing and didn't want to compete with Second Mistress Lian.

The only truly flawed thing about Master Lian is probably his excessive lust!

That's all because the head of the household is crooked, which causes the lower beam to be crooked. It's not Master Lian's fault...

Therefore, her companions all said she was proud and didn't flatter her masters, not even trying to please Master Bao. But no one knew that the person she secretly admired was Jia Lian.

Of course, it was just a secret admiration. With her uprightness and self-respect, she would not do anything to seduce Jia Lian; that would be foolish.

She didn't reveal a single thing to anyone, because she knew that Second Madam Lian was a jealous woman!

But today, seeing Jia Lian standing in the hall, loudly telling Grandmother Jia that he wanted to revitalize the family, she could no longer hide the stirrings in her heart.

Fortunately, Grandmother Jia was not paying attention to this little maid at the time, so she did not notice.

Jia Lian, on the other hand, noticed something "strange" in her eyes and was slightly taken aback.

What's going on? Why is Miss Yuanyang staring at him like that? It's like she likes him...

Could it be that in this day and age, saying such things could truly inspire such admiration, moving even the young woman from Yuanyang to tears?