Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Madam Xing's behavior and conduct were crude and lacked order, unlike Jia Lian's.

The problem of Jia Cong has existed ever since he hanged Yang. Since it already exists, it cannot be ignored, otherwise, if it festers over time, no one knows what kind of trouble it will eventually cause.

Jia Lian is going to resolve this problem tonight.

His face was not stern at first, but when he saw Jia Cong crying, his brows furrowed slightly, and he scolded, "A real man should speak his mind if he has something on his mind. Why are you crying?"

Jia Lian's voice seemed to have a great deterrent effect on Jia Cong. He trembled slightly, wiped his eyes, and indeed stopped crying.

"Cong'er, I had your aunt executed. Do you hate me?"

The simple yet frightening question immediately made Jia Cong tense.

He was already seven or eight years old, had read some books, and had a basic understanding and judgment of the world.

Moreover, in the past six months, he has experienced both joy and sorrow, ups and downs. The death of his birth mother and the attitude of those around him have forced him to do a lot of thinking at his current age.

Therefore, he knew that this issue was very important to him, so important that it might concern his fate and even his life.

He remembered what his wet nurse and the others had told him, and subconsciously shook his head.

"Then do you think it was right for me to execute your aunt?"

The question, which went even further into his heart, made Jia Cong clench his fists instantly.

Is that right? Can he say it's right? Even though he was very young, he knew that the woman who was ordered to be hanged by Jia Lian was one of the most important people in the world to him.

But isn't that wrong?

Everyone around him told him that his aunt deserved to die.

Even Madam Xing, his aunt, personally instructed him to behave well in front of her and win her favor. As his legal mother, who was closer to him than his aunt, she warned him that his aunt was extremely wicked and deserved her punishment.

She even called him a bastard born of a wicked woman.

So many people shared this attitude; not one of them thought their second brother Lian had done anything wrong.

From a young age, he was treated the best, and even his favorite wet nurse taught him to forget about that concubine. After all, she wasn't his mother. His mother was Madam Xing, and his brother was Jia Lian.

These two people are his closest relatives. In the future, he should, and can only, rely on these two people. Only by atoning for the sins committed by his aunt in front of them can he be taken care of by them without holding a grudge.

You absolutely mustn't hold a grudge. If you offend these two people again because of this, they'll both be doomed...

So he didn't know whether it was right or wrong; he only knew that he couldn't afford to offend Jia Lian. He was genuinely afraid of Jia Lian, so he said in a low voice from the bottom of his heart, "I don't think Second Brother did anything wrong..."

At such a young age, Jia Lian could easily discern whether what he said was sincere.

So she asked with a smile, "Since you don't hate me, and don't think I did anything wrong, then why did you disregard the fact that Master is critically ill, and the wishes of Madam and me, to tell Master that your concubine is dead? Didn't you want Master to stand up for your concubine and you, and to have him scold and punish me?"

Jia Cong was speechless, unsure how to respond.

He didn't know what he wanted to do by telling Jia She about his aunt's death.

He just felt that even if what they said was true, his aunt had always been very good to him since he was a child, serving him meals and dressing him, and then she suddenly died. He felt very sad.

Why didn't they tell Jia She about his father?

He didn't understand whether other people were close to him or not, but Jia She was definitely the closest and most important person to him. Therefore, he had always wanted to tell his father about this, but he was afraid of the pressure from others and never dared to. Until today, when he went to pay his respects to Jia She, there were not many people around, so he couldn't help but tell him.

But before Jia She could intervene and tell him who was right and who was wrong, he turned around and died.

Seeing that Jia Cong couldn't reply, Jia Lian coldly asked, "What? Did your aunt teach you to do something but not admit it? Is this all the man of the Jia family is capable of? You don't even dare to speak the truth?"

"How will you ever avenge your aunt in the future?"

Madam Xing was startled and quickly said, "Lian'er, you're joking too much. What revenge? She was just an insignificant, vicious prostitute, a servant. She's dead, so be it."

You are his own brother, how could he dare to disrespect you for this?

If he truly harbored such thoughts, I wouldn't need anyone else; I'd have him beaten to death first, lest this wicked woman's son, this foolish and ignorant brat, tarnish the reputation of our Jia family."

The cold shoulders and indifference Jia Cong had endured for days, coupled with Jia Lian's scathing interrogation tonight and the further humiliation he suffered at the hands of Madam Xing, had caused him immense mental and emotional distress.

He finally couldn't take it anymore, clenched his fist, and for the first time rebuked her sternly: "Second brother, I never thought of revenge!! They all said my aunt deserved to die, and I know she did bad things to you, but... you are really too cruel, too cruel. That's my aunt, my mother! How could you let someone strangle her? She's my mother..."

He lacked the courage to finish his sentence, so as he spoke, he sat down on the ground and began to cry sadly.

Never underestimate a child; they may think far more than you imagine.

It was impossible for Jia Cong not to hate Jia Lian at all. However, Jia Cong simply couldn't figure out how to hate him; no one could tell him.

That day, he pleaded with Jia Lian not to kill his concubine, but Jia Lian ignored him and had him dragged away. His concubine died shortly afterward. Therefore, this was the only reason he could find any reason to hate Jia Lian.

He's so cruel and heartless!

Jia Lian stared directly at Jia Cong, but his anger was far less than what Madam Xing and the others imagined.

He could see that Jia Cong was still a simple child, not even as sinister and cunning as Jia Huan.

A cunning person would never dare to reveal their true thoughts to their "enemy".

However, on the surface, Jia Lian still said coldly, "Ruthless? Do you know that if I hadn't been lucky enough to see through your aunt's conspiracy, I would already be dead by now!"

At that time, would you question your aunt about why she was so cruel as to kill me without cause?

Jia Cong was only focused on crying, but he still listened to what Jia Lian said.

He didn't know that, with his current mental capacity, he was simply incapable of calculating such a cruel reality. Knowing he couldn't answer, he could only mask his emotions with sobs.

"Or do you think I maliciously framed your aunt? That your aunt was completely innocent in accusing me of trying to harm me?"

If you are truly willing, I can give you a chance. Tomorrow, I will summon all the witnesses from that day so you can re-examine them and clear your aunt's name. Do you dare?

"No……"

Jia Cong shook his head in a panic.

That day, his aunt confessed in front of everyone that she was the one who poisoned Jia Lian, and he was there and heard it with his own ears.

Moreover, he had heard explanations from his wet nurse and others that his aunt did all that for his sake and for the family fortune...

A weak heart leads to a weak spirit; this applies to everyone.

Even a child like Jia Cong was no exception. He couldn't exonerate his aunt on this point, and Jia Lian's cold, indifferent gaze and righteous demeanor made him feel like he had also committed a grave crime.

Seeing the look of remorse on his face, Jia Lian knew the time was right. He nodded to Aqi, who then poured him a cup of wine.

"Lian'er, what's wrong with you...?"

Madam Xing didn't understand why Jia Lian was wasting his breath talking to Jia Cong. In her eyes, Jia Cong was a jinx; if she didn't like him, she could just teach him a lesson and then send him away later.

He was quite surprised to see Jia Lian stop questioning Jia Cong and have a maid pour wine.

Jia Lian did not answer, but instead took out a small packet of yellow paper from his pocket and calmly explained to the equally bewildered Jia Cong, "This is the arsenic that your aunt didn't finish using back then. She deliberately put it in Qiu Tong's room, intending to poison me and then frame Qiu Tong for it."

Upon hearing this, both Madam Xing and Jia Cong shrank back.

Poison, that thing is truly terrifying.

But what happened next was even more horrifying. Jia Lian slowly opened the paper package, and the powdery substance inside was gently shaken into the wine glass in front of him...

"Lian'er, you can't! No matter what, he's still your younger brother. If he makes a mistake, you can hit him or scold him..."

If you kill him, you'll be in big trouble.

Madam Xing stood up abruptly, alarmed. She believed that Jia Lian intended to use Yang Shi's methods to poison Jia Cong.

Jia Lian frowned and said, "Madam, please sit down. This is a matter between my brother Cong'er and me. It would be best if you didn't interfere."

Madam Xing's expression changed several times. She had long known that once Jia She died, Jia Lian would no longer be so respectful to her.

Indeed, to Jia Cong and Yingchun, she was still their rightful legal mother. Their mother's mother was their maternal clan, and her brothers were their uncles. Therefore, their legal mother was their true and only mother!

Unfortunately, although she was nominally Jia Lian's legal mother, Jia Lian was born to his first wife.

Therefore, Jia Lian's maternal family is the Zhang family, not her Xing family. Jia Lian's maternal uncles are the two masters of the Zhang family, not her younger brother Xing Dequan!

In other words, although Jia Lian outwardly still had to respect her as his mother, strictly speaking, she could only be considered Jia Lian's stepmother.

Given Jia Lian's current status, this is naturally the only way he would treat a helpless stepmother like her...

Although it was hard to accept, Madam Xing eventually sat down silently.

She didn't want to fight with Jia Lian; she wanted to secure her position as the eldest wife of the Rongguo Mansion. For this, she was willing to lose some dignity—after all, losing face and dignity in front of Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang wasn't a one-off occurrence.

Although she sat down, Madam Xing still moved her chair around, wanting to stay away from the poisoned wine, afraid of getting even a drop on herself.