Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Inside the tea room, Li Wan led Jia Baoyu, Yingchun, and others to sit down separately. The maids brought hot tea, but no one drank it.

Aside from the initial polite exchanges, everyone remained silent, straining their ears as if trying to hear the conversation from the inner room from such a distance.

The maids noticed that it was getting dark and lit lanterns around the room. In the dim, flickering light, the atmosphere became even more tranquil.

Suddenly Xiangyun sneaked over, and Li Wan beckoned to her, then said, "What are you doing running around like this? Aren't you afraid the old lady will see you and scold you? Sit down quickly."

Everyone knows that Xiangyun must have been eavesdropping.

Daiyu was very worried about Jia Lian, so she didn't care about anything else and asked, "What did you hear?"

Xiangyun's face was slightly pale; she was the most curious of them all.

She spent the whole afternoon trying to find out what had happened. Although the adult maids didn't dare tell her, some young and naive girls heard about it from elsewhere and told her.

Therefore, Xiangyun was the first to know the general truth, and even the information that Daiyu, the three sisters, and others knew mostly came from her.

She had just been eavesdropping behind the screen again and had indeed heard many shocking things.

These news items were still too shocking for Xiangyun.

Therefore, when pressed by Daiyu and others, she could only hesitantly utter a few words.

Even so, it was enough to make Tan Chun and the others feel the same way as her.

Daiyu couldn't help but shed tears: Lian Er-gege was such a good person; the enemies outside couldn't defeat him, but even after returning home, there were still people who wanted to harm him~

When Daiyu shed a tear, Yingchun and the others couldn't help but have tears in their eyes as well.

Having grown up carefree under the care of Grandmother Jia, this was the first time they had faced such a cruel reality of family infighting.

When Jia Baoyu saw his sisters sad, he was sad too.

Firstly, she was saddened that the joyful atmosphere at home was gone; secondly, she was saddened that her sisters' tears were not shed for him...

He slammed his fist on the table and said angrily, "These people are really hateful. We were a perfectly good family, living together, enjoying our wealth, and living peacefully. Wouldn't that be better?"

"It would be better if they just let their ambitions for fame and fortune get the better of them and ruin this once happy family!"

Li Wan glanced at him and thought to herself that if everyone were like him, only concerned with their immediate wealth and not thinking about the future, the family might be peaceful, but it would probably collapse in a few years.

At that time, who will be able to keep this family united and prevent it from falling apart?

Clearly, Jia Baoyu could not possibly become that person.

The other sisters, all girls under thirteen, couldn't discern anything particularly amiss in Jia Baoyu's words.

Tan Chun also sighed and said, "So it is true that there are advantages to being a large and wealthy family, and there are advantages to being a small and humble family."

In a large family like ours, it's always been difficult to get everyone's hearts together. When we gather together like this, it's inevitable that all sorts of things will happen, which can be quite bothersome.

In my opinion, those small, humble families are better off. Although their food and clothing may be simple, the family can often gather together, living in harmony and happiness, which is also a kind of happiness.

Tan Chun's words were widely agreed upon by Xiang Yun and others.

Li Wan couldn't stand it anymore and hurriedly said, "Stop talking nonsense. What do you children know? Your words are laughable."

You are so young, yet you have experienced so much, and you are already making such remarks. How could you possibly know that the troubles in small households are no less than those in families like ours?

"You're all from wealthy families, please don't say things like that."

Tan Chun and the others lowered their heads in embarrassment.

……

Inside the inner hall, Grandmother Jia was already impressed by Jia Lian's ambition and naturally wouldn't dwell on what happened today.

She had only one worry now, so after praising Jia Lian a few times, she asked, "Lian'er, what do you think of your second uncle's treatment of you all these years?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian smiled and asked, "What the old lady wants to ask is whether I will compete with the master and Baoyu for the family property in the future, right?"

Grandmother Jia felt somewhat uneasy. She had only intended to subtly convey the importance of family harmony to Jia Lian, hoping he would grow up to be a maintainer of that harmony, not a destroyer.

To her surprise, Jia Lian saw through her thoughts at a glance and even said it out loud, leaving her somewhat at a loss.

Before she could reply, Jia Lian straightened his face, cupped his hands and said, "Don't worry, Grandmother, I'm not that useless. If I want wealth and status, I'll earn it myself. I won't try to compete with anyone."

The old man has treated me better than my own father all these years, and I remember it all.

Therefore, my thoughts are the same as the old lady's: we want our family to live together in harmony forever, and for our Rongguo Mansion to become a prosperous family full of laughter and joy!

I will work with the master to uphold the honor of our Rongguo Mansion.

"If anyone tries to ruin our family relationship, my grandson will be the first to stand up for her."

Jia Lian certainly knew what the Dowager Lady Jia cared about most.

Fortunately, his ultimate goal did not directly conflict with or contradict Grandmother Jia's expectations. He never intended to expel Jia Zheng, Jia Baoyu, Li Wan and her son, Tan Chun, and others from the Rongguo Mansion, and then he and Wang Xifeng would rule the vast mansion.

That's so boring.

Of course, all of this is predicated on Jia Zheng, Lady Wang, and others being content to be idle masters and ladies...

Unfortunately, he did not find any evidence against Madam Wang during the interrogation of those in Yang's house.

This woman must be too clever; even if she has some schemes, she won't easily give anyone a handle to use against her.

It's nothing serious. If you keep bad intentions in your heart your whole life, they won't really be considered bad intentions anymore.

As for the family fortune...

The Rongguo Mansion actually only has three strokes.

One of the funds was what Jia She received when he moved to the east wing, and now Jia She has almost completely squandered it. It's estimated that he can recoup some of it by selling the antiques and treasures in his study in the future.

The second point is that all the private savings that Grandmother Jia had accumulated over fifty years were kept in her Rongqing Hall...

There's not much to say about this huge sum of money; the old lady can give it to whomever she wants, and giving it all to Jia Baoyu without missing a penny is entirely within her power.

The third item was the Rongguo Mansion's official treasury.

This includes the leased land, houses, and commercial properties below.

This money is currently being managed by Jia Zheng and Lady Wang.

But it doesn't matter. In fact, large families all have their own rules and regulations. Even though Jia Zheng and Lady Wang have the power to make decisions, they are actually just maintaining the daily expenses of a duke's mansion. Very little actually ends up in their own hands.

Moreover, Jia Lian also knew that the Rongguo Mansion's income was now falling short of its expenses year by year.

So there's nothing to fight over this sum of money. Fighting over it would only be a way to indulge in the life of a steward; he's not Wang Xifeng.

Therefore, let Jia Zheng and Lady Wang manage the household for the time being. This will not only maintain harmony within the family but also avoid unnecessary conflicts with Grandmother Jia and others prematurely.

As for the most important thing, this imperial-built Duke's mansion, it will naturally be his once he inherits the title.

If everyone gets along well then, it's fine for us to live together.

What Jia Lian has been striving for all along is the right to speak within the family. Just like now, even the high and mighty Grandmother Jia has to start discussing these issues concerning the stability of the family with him in a peaceful manner.

After hearing Jia Lian's statement, Grandmother Jia breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's excellent that you think this way. Indeed, a large family can only be prosperous when everyone is of one mind."

I'm getting old, and what I hope to see most is that you, my children and grandchildren, can live in harmony until the day I breathe my last.

Don't follow your father's example. You're not ambitious yourself, yet you complain that others are biased.

As you said before, our family looks fine from the outside, but it's actually not as good as it used to be. Over the years, it's thanks to your husband and wife that we've managed to keep our Duke's mansion standing.

Now that you've become a proper official and can help them, I feel much more at ease.

Jia Lian simply smiled and did not refute.

Grandmother Jia then spoke a few more words about the importance of family harmony. Suddenly, Li Wan walked in and asked if the kitchen had prepared the meal and whether it should be served now.

Grandmother Jia was surprised to realize that it was already mealtime.

So he said to Jia Lian, "Now that all this has happened, you should go back quickly, so that Feng and the others won't worry too much."

Jia Lian nodded and was about to get up and leave.

In early spring, it gets dark quickly, and since Grandmother Jia wanted Jia Lian to feel her care, she had someone follow him.

Seeing that only Li Wan and Yuanyang were in front of him, he casually said, "Yuanyang, get up and see them off."

"Yes……"

Yuanyang got up and agreed, then picked up a lantern from the corner, lit it, and followed behind Jia Lian.

"Thank you for your trouble, Sister Yuanyang."

Upon hearing Jia Lian's voice, Yuanyang dared not look up and simply hummed in response.