Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Having achieved all his goals, Jia Lian noticed that Grandmother Jia's expression wasn't good, perhaps she had also realized something. Not wanting to linger, Jia Lian pointed to the several boxes of silver and said, "If Grandmother has no other instructions, I'm ready to carry Grandmother's mountains of gold and seas of silver out."

In short, his words brought smiles to the faces of Grandmother Jia and the others.

Grandmother Jia waved her hand and said generously, "Since I've had these carried out, they're naturally for you to use. Go ahead and carry them if you want; I'm just afraid you can't carry them all!"

Jia Lian smiled slightly. Sixteen taels make one jin, so six thousand taels of silver would amount to more than three hundred jin.

The weight of a jin (斤) in this era was slightly larger than in later times, roughly equivalent to 400 jin (斤) in modern terms. Even with two years of martial arts training, carrying it would probably be quite a struggle!

Seeing Jia Lian speechless, Grandmother Jia finally laughed with delight.

Finally, we managed to subdue this troublesome monkey.

He then instructed the old women around him to carry the box to the second gate and ordered the servants to take the carriage there.

Jia Lian bowed and was about to take his leave when he heard Grandmother Jia say to Daiyu and Jia Lian, "He's just coming over, you two should go and pay your respects before coming back."

Although I favor Jia Baoyu and Daiyu and don't want them to suffer too much, I cannot disregard propriety.

One is his elder brother-in-law, and the other is his maternal uncle; the proper etiquette must be observed.

Lady Wang had already gone to the main kitchen to prepare lunch for Grandmother Jia. Since Sister Feng moved to the east wing, Li Wan also needed to lead her sisters to kneel at the coffin every day, so Lady Wang had to take care of the household chores herself.

As Jia Lian emerged from Rongqing Hall, Jia Baoyu appeared quite pleased. Following beside Jia Lian, he laughed and said, "Now things are much better! From now on, we won't have to distinguish between 'you' and 'we' in our family anymore. Once the two sides are connected, there's no need for 'Master's side' or 'Master's side.' From now on, we're all one family, and there's no more distinction between us. Second Brother Lian and Second Sister-in-law Lian can live with us for a long, long time."

Upon hearing Jia Baoyu say this, the old women carrying the silver behind him all laughed.

Jia Lian turned to look at Jia Baoyu and asked with a smile, "Brother Bao, do you really think this is a good idea?"

"Of course, could it be that Second Brother Lian doesn't think so?"

Jia Baoyu looked at Jia Lian with some shock, thinking to himself, "I finally managed to change my feelings for Brother Lian, could it be that he doesn't even like me?"

Jia Baoyu considered himself to be extremely picky about people.

First and foremost, it must be aesthetically pleasing and high-quality; without that, nothing else matters.

Secondly, one must be extraordinary. Being extraordinary means not conforming to worldly trends.

When he was a child, he thought Jia Lian was a vulgar person, so no matter how good-looking he was, he didn't like him much.

Over the years, it has been discovered that although Brother Lian Er still cannot be described as pure and refined, he is single-mindedly thinking about becoming an official, becoming one of the most vulgar and corrupt officials in the world!

However, upon closer examination of Lian Er Gege's usual words and actions, he is not too vulgar. He even occasionally reveals some interesting ideas that are different from those of ordinary people.

Combined with his exceptional good looks, the two qualities made him stand out.

He had considered Jia Lian carefully before deciding that he was someone worth befriending. If Jia Lian didn't approve of him, it would be a huge blow to him.

"Hehehe, no, I also think Brother Bao is right," Jia Lian laughed.

But in his heart he thought, if this young man remains so naive, and if things don't work out in the future, he might as well give him a few taels of silver to live on.

Speaking of which, Jia Baoyu and his son Jia Zheng are quite an interesting pair.

Jia Zheng strongly disapproved of, and even loathed, Jia Baoyu's eccentric views. This became increasingly apparent with each passing year of Jia Baoyu's age.

Similarly, Jia Baoyu also looked down on Jia Zheng's pursuits... though he dared not say it.

In reality, the father and son were quite similar, both being people who posed little harm to others.

Sigh, if only Madam Wang weren't here, I might have been able to train this father and son to be my lackeys and do odd jobs for him in the future.

Jia Baoyu was unaware of Jia Lian's thoughts. If he knew that he was going to great lengths to befriend Jia Lian, while Jia Lian was plotting how to enslave them, he would probably explode with rage.

Because he didn't know, he was very happy to see Jia Lian smiling and agreeing with him.

Daiyu, however, keenly sensed that Jia Lian was just going through the motions with Jia Baoyu, while Jia Baoyu remained oblivious.

Over the past two years, Daiyu's misunderstanding of Jia Baoyu has long been resolved. She knows that Jia Baoyu is also a person with wisdom, much more intelligent and clever than ordinary people.

But compared to Lian Er, he suddenly felt like he was just a child.

Since her second brother Jia Lian took care of her eldest uncle's funeral arrangements, she hadn't had a chance to speak properly with him. Just as she was about to take this opportunity to say something, Jia Lian shook off Jia Baoyu, looked at her, and said:

"I am so grateful to Sister Lin for helping me out of that predicament in the old lady's room earlier, otherwise I'm afraid I would have offended her badly by now."

Daiyu raised her delicate eyebrows, which seemed to be furrowing slightly, and said softly, "How did I help you out of that predicament? I don't understand."

Seeing that Daiyu was pretending not to understand, Jia Lian said no more, smiled, and continued walking forward.

Daiyu was a perceptive and intelligent person, so even with her closest friends and family, she was unwilling to reveal the truth, but instead hoped that the other person would tell her what she wanted to hear...

But it didn't go as she wished.

Seeing that Jia Lian was only speaking halfway through, which made Daiyu's eyes show a hint of annoyance, Jia Baoyu quickly said, "Sister Lin, don't be angry. What Brother Lian said is true. Those things you told me in secret."

"As expected, you're the smartest. You found the best solution right away. Otherwise, if Brother Lian had insisted on moving out, wouldn't he have offended the old lady? That's why Brother Lian said you helped him out of that predicament... Hmm, Brother Lian, how did you know that Lin Daiyu told me those words, and that I didn't think of them myself?"

Jia Lian listened to him speaking to Daiyu cautiously, in a servile tone, and shook his head inwardly.

He's still a simp.

"You said it yourself, you're not as smart as Lin Daiyu, and that's perfect, I think so too, so you know now."

Hearing Jia Lian say this, Jia Baoyu blushed. He said he wasn't as clever as Daiyu; he was just being modest...

Upon seeing this, Daiyu covered her mouth and laughed, making all the flowers blush with shame.

Jia Lian couldn't see from the front, but Jia Baoyu was immediately stunned, standing there staring intently.

Daiyu became annoyed, glared at the fool, and followed Jia Lian with small, quick steps.

Upon arriving outside the South Garden, Zhao'er and the others had already brought Jia Lian's carriage to wait for them.

Because Grandmother Jia had decided on a whim to have Bao and Dai come along, without having carriages prepared beforehand, the person in charge of arranging the carriages explained, "The carriages that were previously placed here for backup have all been used by the eldest mistress and the others. Since we didn't know we'd need carriages inside, we haven't brought them back yet. Please wait a moment, Master Bao and Miss Lin; I've already ordered someone to fetch them..."

Jia Baoyu and Daiyu didn't say much, but Jia Lian knew that this was just an excuse from the servants.

In reality, they were just lazy.

"Does the household lack carriages? It's the seventh day after the master's death; you should know that people will be traveling at any time. There should be carriages readily available at all times, not just being thought of for the last minute. And you dare to make excuses and shirk responsibility?"

Upon hearing Jia Lian's questioning, cold sweat broke out on the steward's forehead. Seeing that Jia Lian seemed intent on pursuing the matter, he hurriedly knelt on the ground, begging for mercy.

Jia Lian didn't say anything more, and ordered them to prepare several clean carriages immediately. He didn't intend to stand there and wait, but let Daiyu ride in his own carriage while he rode a horse at random.

Daiyu had no reservations; she had even ridden Jia Lian's beloved horse, so what was a little ride in his carriage?

Jia Baoyu also wanted to ride in the carriage with Daiyu, but Jia Lian said, "Brother Bao, how old are you? Why are you squeezing in with Sister Lin? Aren't you afraid people will laugh at you?"

Come and ride a horse with me.

He then ordered someone to bring over a smaller horse.

Jia Baoyu was very unwilling, but he couldn't show it at this moment. He also knew in his heart that Jia Lian was right, so he silently mounted the horse with the help of the boys.

Horse riding is an essential skill for children from well-to-do families, and he already knew it long ago.

As Daiyu was about to enter the carriage, she saw Jia Lian call out to Jia Baoyu, and upon hearing what he said, her heart stirred.

Indeed, I lost my mother at a young age, which is worse than others. I had neglected such a common courtesy before.

It is likely that books also state that boys and girls should not sit at the same table from the age of seven, as this is to prevent the spread of misconduct.

Over the years, I've seen Baoyu often mingle among us sisters, and neither the old lady nor the madam has ever questioned it. I thought it was normal for close relatives to behave this way.

Now, Brother Lian Er forbids Baoyu from sitting in the same carriage with me, presumably for the sake of his own reputation.

If even my second brother Lianlian is like this, then my judgment can't be wrong. In the future, I should be more careful about what I say about Baoyu, so as not to cause people to gossip behind my back.

In doing so, one can't help but think back to whether there were any transgressions or oversteps of etiquette in the past two years.

She suddenly blushed slightly. There was nothing wrong with her relationship with Baoyu, except for that year in Suzhou when her second brother Lian took her on an outing. On the way there and back, he held her hand and even carried her onto his horse…

Although Lian Er-gege (Second Brother Lian) certainly didn't mean it, he was just pitying her delicate nature, and in any case, he was too close to her.

Sitting inside the carriage, Daiyu, feeling embarrassed and covering her face, then looked down at the luxurious and elegant interior. The woolen rug she was touching was so warm, and it had a faint fragrance.

This must have been ordered by Sister-in-law Lian Er; Brother Lian Er wouldn't have done that.

Thinking of Sister Feng, Daiyu finally dispelled her shyness. She thought to herself, "Brother Lian is a little older than me. He treats me like a younger sister, so it should be alright."