Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Qin was kept by her mother-in-law to help Feng Jie manage the affairs of the inner quarters. However, with Jia She's funeral already underway, most of the relatives and friends who were supposed to come to pay their respects had already done so, so the overall situation was not as busy as before.

Moreover, Sister Feng was very good at managing household affairs and didn't need much help from others. In other words, there were very few places where others could get involved. So, after spending half a day dealing with things, Qin Shi felt a little bored.

Hearing that Jia Lian had been granted the title of Second-Class General, Qin Shi was very happy for Jia Lian and Feng Jie.

With Jia Lian's abilities and now with a high rank, he is like a tiger with wings. From now on, his future is limitless. He may even be able to restore the glory of his ancestors!

Consider the Ningguo Mansion; under the control of its father-in-law Jia Zhen, it had already been reduced to a third-rank official title.

Given Jia Zhen's comfortable and privileged life, and Jia Rong's cowardice and incompetence, the possibility of him being promoted to a higher rank through military merit was extremely slim. Therefore, even if their rank were to be successfully passed down in the future, it would only be a minor rank of fourth or fifth grade by the time it reached Jia Rong.

Although Qin was a woman, she had a remarkable amount of insight.

At this moment, Jia Lian foresaw that the gap between the two Jia families would only widen in the future. If the Ningguo Mansion, from Jia Rong onwards, continued to lack anyone capable of upholding the family's reputation, it was feared that in a few decades, the two mansions would become as different as heaven and earth...

Thus, Qin couldn't help but find her previous absurd and wicked thoughts quite laughable.

Whether it's Jia Zhen or Jia Rong, they are both absurd, laughable, and utterly shameless. Compared to the truly noble people in the world, they are not worth mentioning. Why bother getting entangled with them? If pushed too far, and things reach an extremely difficult point, they will simply die, and at least leave with a clean record.

In this way, I can face my mother-in-law, Madam You, with equanimity.

For more than a year, Yu Shi's supervision of her has been almost all-encompassing, and they all know why.

Having resolved her inner conflict, Qin Shi only wanted to cultivate good relations with the people in the Rongguo Mansion. She had long understood that, apart from Jia Jing, who had become a monk, the only people who could control Jia Zhen and make him have any reservations or fears were a few people in the Rongguo Mansion.

Moreover, I'm afraid my mother-in-law might not be a celibate person; she and Uncle Lian might have some grudges between them.

If I can get some information about her... even if I don't intend to control her, at least I won't feel so guilty and embarrassed when we get along in the future.

She and Lady You were actually not that far apart in age. When she first entered the mansion, although there was a distinction between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, they got along like sisters. It was only after rumors about her and Jia Zhen spread that their relationship became complicated.

Since he had nothing to do and was thinking this way, he left the steward's room, pretending to stroll around, but actually secretly inquiring about Jia Lian's whereabouts.

She happened to arrive at Jia Lian's newly prepared inner study, the very courtyard where Jia Lian had executed the wicked woman, Yang Shi. Seeing Jia Lian's two maids guarding the study door, Qin Shi knew that Jia Lian was indeed inside.

He wanted to go over, but was afraid of looking too abrupt, so he lingered around for a long time before suddenly turning back to look for Yingchun and the others.

Li Wan accompanied Grandmother Jia and others to the palace, while Wang Xifeng was too busy to take care of the young ladies in the house, so she entrusted Yingchun and the others to Qin Shi for management.

Upon arriving at the mourning hall, Qin Shi accompanied Yingchun and the others to burn paper money, and then led them to a temporary resting place.

When the topic of Jia Lian's ennoblement came up, Yingchun, Daiyu, and the others were overjoyed for him. They wanted to congratulate Jia Lian to thank him for his care and concern for them, but they had some reservations.

For example, Jia Lian is too busy, so would it be inconvenient to disturb him? Also, Jia Lian is currently in mourning, so it would be inappropriate to congratulate him...

Madam Qin smiled and said, "Second Uncle must not be busy today. Nowadays, there are fewer guests coming and going. Usually, Aunt Lian manages all the affairs inside and outside by herself in the steward's office. In comparison, Second Uncle Lian is much more relaxed."

When he's not busy, he rests in his study in the backyard. If you aunts want to see him, I'll take you to Uncle Lian's study.

At this moment, everyone was gathered in Yingchun's room. Hearing Qin Shi say this, Tanchun immediately smiled and said, "In that case, let's go to Lian Er Gege's study and see. If he is really busy, we won't bother him any longer."

So everyone got up and went to find Jia Lian, each accompanied by one or two of their personal maids.

After walking a few steps, they arrived at the courtyard where Jia Lian's study was located, and sure enough, Jia Lian's foreign maid was still standing at the door of the study.

Upon seeing her aloof demeanor, her masculine attire, and especially the sword she always carried, they felt a chill run down their spines and even lowered their voices.

While it was a privilege granted to Aqi and Aqin by Jia Lian to carry swords at home, in reality, large families did not allow servants to possess sharp weapons, especially in the inner courtyard. Therefore, Jia Lian almost never took Aqi and Aqin to Rongqing Hall.

Young ladies from prominent families like Yingchun naturally feared such people, and would have avoided them at all costs if they weren't Jia Lian's maids. Even so, they couldn't get close to them.

Qin Shi had been managing affairs here recently and had often interacted with Jia Lian's people, so she stepped forward and asked, "Is Second Uncle inside?"

Aqi nodded without saying anything or making any attempt to stop her.

Qin invited everyone inside, only to find Jia Baoyu standing motionless, staring intently at Aqi.

"Uncle Bao, let's go in." Madam Qin smiled and pulled Jia Baoyu's arm. She knew that Jia Baoyu must have fallen into his habit of not being able to walk past pretty girls again.

Seeing that everyone was laughing at Jia Baoyu, Xiren quickly nudged him as well.

Jia Baoyu blushed. Being so close to Qin Shi reminded him of the wet dream he had experienced in her room that day. A boy's first time is always so unforgettable and deeply etched in his memory.

He kept his head down and followed, stepping over the threshold.

Tan Chun walked ahead, oblivious to Jia Baoyu's embarrassed expression. She went straight into the study and, upon seeing Jia Lian, called out loudly, "Second Brother Lian, we've come to congratulate you! What are you doing?"

Inside the study, Jia Lian had his obedient Xiangling copy the eulogy for him, while he himself propped one leg up on the desk and lay comfortably in the armchair reading.

Hearing the voices of Qin Shi and the others outside, he put his legs down and sat up straight.

"Why are you here...?"

"Haha, naturally I'm here to congratulate my second brother on his high rank and honors."

"Not at all, not at all. It's just thanks to our ancestors' kindness. It's nothing. Please, all of you, have a seat."

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Jia Lian invited everyone to take their seats.

At the tea table on the other side, a person was playing dice. Qingwen, who was already quite bored, saw Tanchun and the others walk in and immediately went to greet them and served them tea.

Because Jia Lian and his wife were very easygoing with the sisters in their household, the sisters felt quite at ease in their room. Xi Chun immediately noticed the exquisite dice on the tea table, gestured to Jia Baoyu, and then they both went over to admire them, exclaiming, "What beautiful dice!"

Qingwen proudly smiled and said, "This was given to me by the Second Master just now."

Then, he immediately tempted Xichun: "Fourth Miss, let's play dice and see who's bigger. You can bet anything under ten coins, how about that?"

Although Xichun was a young lady, she was still young and playful, and she was immediately interested upon hearing this. When she heard Qingwen mention gambling, she looked at her maid, Xiaoruhua.

Ru Hua naturally understood Xi Chun's meaning. She immediately reached for the small purse on her waist, then remembered that it only contained some loose silver. After thinking for a moment, she took out a handful of her own pocket money from her pocket...

Qingwen was delighted and invited the others to join in.

Seeing that everyone was distracted by Qingwen, Daiyu walked up to Jia Lian and said to him, half-suggesting and half-teasing, "Look at her, she's started a gambling den right here in your room, aren't you going to do anything about it?"

Jia Lian laughed and replied, "She's not usually like this. But since you're here, she's helping me entertain our guests. I'm happy about that, why should I care what she does?"

Tan Chun also disliked arguing with servants, so she walked away as well.

Hearing Jia Lian's explanation, she disagreed, saying, "Second Brother Lian is just making excuses for her. How come other maids wouldn't dare to treat guests like that on behalf of their masters, but she alone dares?"

Seeing that Jia Lian didn't reply, everyone just smiled and said no more.

Those who serve elders and respected figures naturally hold a different status. Moreover, everyone knows, to some extent, that Qingwen's identity is not merely that of a maid.

Xi Ren, who was standing to the side like the other head maids, saw this scene and kept it in mind.

Even Master Bao might not be able to be so forgiving towards those around him… Master Bao himself is tolerant, but his wife and grandmother forbid it, so he can't do anything about it. As for Master He Lian, once he spoke up, no one else dared to say anything more…