Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Jia Baoyu felt his heart break upon seeing Daiyu's tears. However, with everyone around, especially his mother, Lady Wang, sternly holding him back from running around, he dared not do anything.

He had planned to coax Daiyu after leaving the house, but Daiyu was riding in the same car as Fengjie, and before Lady Wang got into the sedan chair, she ordered him to follow behind the sedan chair and not to run around. He had no choice but to comply.

As he sat dejectedly on his horse, he suddenly caught sight of the pretty country girl from before, standing on the edge of a field by the roadside with a group of country children dressed in coarse linen clothes, looking at them with curiosity.

Especially when she saw him, an acquaintance, her watery gaze swept over him, and she lowered her head, seemingly shy yet affectionate.

Jia Baoyu was immediately captivated, unable to look away.

As the horse moved forward, Jia Baoyu's head tilted backward, his gaze falling on the young lady. The people around him could see this and smiled, but dared not tease Jia Baoyu.

Jia Lian followed Jia Baoyu's gaze and glanced at the girl. Among those mud-covered children, she did indeed stand out. However, she was merely pretty and delicate; as the saying goes, few girls of sixteen are ugly…

In the countryside, she might be considered outstanding, a woman that men from far and wide would want to marry. But putting everything else aside, she couldn't even compare to the top maids in the Jia family.

That's what Jia Lian thinks.

Therefore, logically speaking, such beauty should not have captivated Master Bao. It can only be said that perhaps Master Bao was young and inexperienced and had never seen such a fresh and tender woman who was "untainted by the mud".

So he rode forward and joked, "What's wrong, Brother Bao? You've taken a fancy to her? How about we buy her and have her serve you in your room?"

Jia Baoyu was immediately embarrassed and hurriedly said, "Second Brother Lian, you're talking nonsense, nonsense... How could you buy a perfectly innocent young lady like that..."

Hmm, it seems that Erbao has pretty sound values.

"Since she doesn't want to be a maid, I have a plan that I guarantee will work."

"What?"

Little did Jia Baoyu know the sinister intentions of his cousin, and subconsciously looked up to ask.

He would be overjoyed if he could legitimately send the other party to the Jia family mansion!

"Heh, since she doesn't want to be a servant or maid, why don't you marry her and take her home as a concubine, or even make her your mistress? Brother Bao is so handsome and of such good status, I doubt either she or her parents would object."

Upon hearing this, Jia Baoyu was at a loss for words. Jia Lian's words seemed to make sense, but he felt that something was amiss, so he remained silent.

He was slow-witted, but Madam Wang in the sedan chair ahead was shrewd. She had already lifted the curtain and peeked out, and had also noticed the situation.

"Lian'er, don't talk nonsense. Your precious brother is still young; you'll corrupt him!"

Lady Wang was furious to see Jia Lian openly instigating her son to do such a shameful thing that would affect his "future," but she suppressed her anger and said...

Jia Lian, unafraid of Lady Wang's authority, looked at her again and said seriously, "To be honest, Madam, why don't you grant Bao-xiong's wish? Madam didn't see how distraught Bao-xiong was just now. It's clear that he truly likes her. Rong'er, you saw it too, don't you think?"

Jia Rong and the others would never normally dare to go against their grandmother, Lady Wang's, wishes. However, seeing Jia Lian taking the lead and confirming the matter, they were happy to cooperate. They only dared to say in unison, "Second Uncle Lian is right..."

Lady Wang glared at Jia Lian and the others, then stared fiercely at Jia Baoyu, saying, "Baoyu, if you dare to cause trouble, I'll tell your father when we get back, and see if he beats you."

Jia Baoyu's only slight stirring of emotion was extinguished by the word "father," and he turned to give Jia Lian a bitter look.

Jia Lian shrugged, giving an expression that said, "If your mother doesn't agree, there's nothing I can do."

So Jia Baoyu could only turn back and look one last time at the beautiful woman who had already gone far away and whose whereabouts had become indistinct.

It seems that this chance encounter today may never be our last...

Thinking about it, I can't help but shed tears.

……

The group staggered and finally arrived at the Iron Threshold Temple after noon.

The abbot of Tiekan Temple, Sekong, led a group of monks and Taoists to receive the spirit in front of the temple.

Everyone entered the temple according to the pre-arranged plan and took their places.

Jia Lian and Feng Jie personally escorted Jia She's coffin to the mourning hall arranged in the inner palace. Then, a group of monks, Taoists, nuns, and Taoist nuns who had been prepared in advance began to perform a grand Buddhist ceremony.

Jia Lian and Feng Jie did not linger there, and rushed out again to entertain the family's relatives and guests with Jia Zhen, You Shi, and others.

The funeral procession was now complete. After two more days of religious rites, the burial could begin. Therefore, not everyone needed to stay at the Iron Threshold Temple for two days. If anyone had other commitments, they could return home and come back on the day of the burial.

In this way, the Iron Threshold Temple would not be overcrowded.

Therefore, some relatives and friends, both inside and outside the family, took the opportunity to eat before leaving, while others were too lazy to stay for a vegetarian meal and simply said goodbye before leading their families back home.

Jia Lian, Feng Jie, and the others were busy until late afternoon before they finally saw off all their relatives and friends.

At this point, only the Rongguo Mansion's staff and a few close relatives remained.

Grandmother Jia is also leaving.

Grandmother Jia was too old, and Jia Zheng and the others dared not let her sleep in the family temple. Moreover, as Jia She's mother, there was no precedent for Grandmother Jia to keep vigil with Jia She, so it was only reasonable and justifiable for her to return to the city to live.

If Grandmother Jia wanted to leave, Lady Wang had to escort and serve her, so she also had to leave.

Then Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang wanted to take Jia Baoyu, Daiyu, and the others away as well.

After all, no matter how spacious the ancestral temple is, it is still much simpler than home, and there are too many people here, which is inconvenient.

However, upon arriving in the suburbs, Jia Baoyu felt like a wild horse that had broken free of its reins, and naturally refused to go back. He pleaded and begged to stay and help Jia Lian and the others...

As for Yingchun, as Jia She's own daughter, she also had to stay for the next two days.

Yingchun couldn't leave, and Tanchun and Xichun, somewhat like Jia Baoyu, didn't want to leave either. So they made an excuse that they also wanted to fulfill their filial duties to their uncles and take care of their unwell second sister, Yingchun...

Grandmother Jia was then in a bit of a dilemma.

Feng Jie immediately saw through Jia Mu's concerns and said with a smile, "Grandma, don't worry, just leave them to me."

We had already instructed people to prepare several rooms in the Shuiyue Nunnery.

Originally intended for the elderly lady and her wives, but now that they are going back home, it's perfect for them to stay here.

Firstly, it would fulfill their filial piety, and secondly, with me taking care of them, the old lady wouldn't have to worry about them being wronged.

If the old lady doesn't even trust me, there's still my sister-in-law, why not have her stay and take care of them too?

Sister Feng was incredibly shrewd; she didn't want to live in this chaotic family temple. But if she went to live at Shuiyue Nunnery, she feared people would say she wasn't filial enough. Now, she had a pretext to take care of her sisters-in-law, and no one could say anything against her!

Grandmother Jia nodded as well.

In Grandmother Jia's view, unmarried girls should absolutely not live outside the home. This is because if they are not properly protected, it could damage their reputation in the future.

That's why Grandmother Jia preferred to take Tan Chun and the others back to the city rather than let them observe mourning for Jia She.

As for the Water Moon Nunnery that Sister Feng mentioned, Grandmother Jia was naturally aware of it. This was also a nunnery funded by the Jia family, located near the Iron Threshold Temple.

During the years she was in charge, she often interacted with Shuiyue Nunnery, and the current abbess of Shuiyue Nunnery, Jingxu, was also someone who frequently visited her residence to pay her respects.

Since Sister Feng and the others had arranged rooms at the Shuiyue Nunnery, so that Daiyu and the others wouldn't have to squeeze together with the monks and Taoists in the family temple, there was nothing to worry about, and they were happy to accommodate them.

However, he repeatedly instructed Madam Xing, Li Wan, and others to take good care of Daiyu and the others.

Grandmother Jia was a shrewd woman. Knowing that Sister Feng was troublesome, she decided that it was more reliable to arrange for Madam Xing and Li Wan to take care of things!

Then, under the escort of Lady Wang and Jia Zheng, Grandmother Jia returned to the city.

Jia Zheng needed to attend court, so it was not appropriate for him to stay outside.