Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

After leaving Jia Zheng's study, Jia Lian headed towards Rongqing Hall.

In this society where filial piety is the foundation of everything, it's essential to do things well on the surface to avoid a lot of trouble.

After disciplining a few servants and extorting money from them, he had to report to Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang to get their approval, in order to appear benevolent and filial.

Because Rongqing Hall and Rongxi Hall are on the same horizontal line from east to west, Jia Lian did not want to take a long way, so he decided not to go through the west hanging flower gate, but to go straight from the courtyard where Lady Wang lived and into the passageway behind.

In Lady Wang's courtyard, besides Jia Zheng and Lady Wang, there were also Jia Zheng's two concubines, Aunt Zhao and Aunt Zhou.

As for Aunt Zhou, she has very little presence and rarely shows her face throughout the year.

Aunt Zhao was a prominent figure in the Rongguo Mansion, and her house was in a very prominent position on the west side of the courtyard. So, when Wang Xifeng went to report to Madam Wang from home, she would pass by the back window of Aunt Zhao.

"Really? You really saw it clearly? There really is that much? My goodness! If that money were given to my daughter and me, we'd be rich..."

"You heartless wretch! I always tell you to study hard and please the master, but you never listen. Now, my daughter and I are less well-off than a servant in this mansion!"

"Bah, what kind of nobody is Wang Xin? Back then, his parents shamelessly begged Madam to give him his surname, but when they couldn't get anywhere with her, they went to curry favor with your second sister-in-law, that dark-faced, triangular-eyed woman, and got a lucrative job, so they act all high and mighty in front of everyone." "..."

Jia Lian had no intention of lingering in this suspicious place, and when he heard Aunt Zhao scolding Jia Huan inside, he didn't want to pay any attention.

He got a little angry when he suddenly heard the other person cursing his wife.

Other insults are one thing... but black face and triangular eyes?

This is a bit too much.

Feng Yatou clearly has phoenix eyes... Phoenix triangular eyes, that's still a very beautiful eye shape, okay? But the way she described it, this beautiful woman looks exactly like Li Kui!

After standing outside the window for two seconds, Jia Lian shook his head and decided to leave magnanimously.

Disciplining a few servants is nothing, but disciplining my uncle's concubine seems a bit strange. Oh well, let's just treat her like a comedian.

As you enter the back courtyard of Rongqing Hall from Grandmother Jia's back flower hall, just as you are about to step onto the main corridor, you see a maid walking leisurely towards you.

She was tall and slender with a beautiful face. A robe was draped over her arm in front of her abdomen as she strolled out from under the lamplight.

When she looked up and saw Jia Lian, she seemed to freeze for a moment, then stood there, unsure of what to do.

Jia Lian glanced at her and asked calmly, "What, don't you recognize me?"

Upon hearing this, Xiren quickly stepped forward and bowed, "This servant greets Second Master..."

There was a hint of grievance in his lowered eyes.

Even though I'm just a maid...

Although it was to shut her up last time...

Although……

After all, her daughter's most important asset was her innocent body, which she had given to the Second Master. Surely he should cherish her a little.

Why are you so cold to me...?

If he were a cold and heartless person, then I wouldn't have any expectations. But unfortunately, he's clearly very kind and gentle to the people around him...

"Wronged?"

As Jia Lian took a step closer, Xi Ren quickly took a half step back and shook her head.

Unbeknownst to Xiren, while she kept looking down at their toes, Jia Lian's face above her wasn't as cold as she had imagined.

Jia Lian even showed some admiration.

This Xiren truly lives up to her title of "Secondary Hairpin," possessing a unique and distinctive character.

If it were any other girl, she probably wouldn't have been able to maintain such composure under such circumstances.

"To the old lady's room?"

"Hmm, it's late. Go get Master Bao a coat..."

Jia Lian raised an eyebrow, deliberately mentioning Jia Baoyu as if to say, "You may not care about him, but someone else does."

Jia Lian glanced around. In the backyard of Grandmother Jia, it was bright and open, and people could appear at any moment.

"Let's go."

"Um……"

Xiren stepped aside, letting Jia Lian go first.

However, when she reached the back door of Grandmother Jia's room, she found no one on duty, so she quickly went up to act as the one who lifted the curtain. Only after Jia Lian went in did she quietly follow him in.

Suddenly, she felt a strong force strike her waist, which startled her so much that she almost cried out.

She reacted quickly and immediately knew who was attacking her, so she held her breath and dared not move.

Her heart pounded uncontrollably. This was the old lady's back door; if anyone saw her, she was finished...

Because of the tension, I didn't feel any of the joy or tingling sensation I felt when I was in this embrace last time.

Fortunately, this situation didn't last long. After bullying her a few times, the domineering man let go of her.

As soon as she got the chance, she quickly retreated. Seeing Jia Lian looking down at her mockingly, she blushed, hurriedly straightened her clothes, and turned to run away.

Jia Lian waited until she had taken a few steps before leisurely emerging from the narrow, dark place.

He had noticed earlier on the corridor that Xiren had become much plumper than before, and he thought it must be his doing, so he checked it himself, and the situation was indeed as he had expected.

"Second Master Lian..."

As always, there were many people in Grandmother Jia's room. Maids and servants stood in groups, and there were bursts of laughter and chatter in the inner hall.

"Second brother is here!"

The spacious and beautifully decorated Rongqing Hall was still occupied by the commotion caused by Jia Lian, and Jia Mu and the others were unable to rest for a long time.

"What are you doing here again? It's so late, we're all about to leave."

Grandmother Jia, Lady Wang, Aunt Xue, and Granny Lai were playing cards around the table.

Jia Baoyu and the three sisters of Chun watched from the side, while Baochai and Daiyu played chess under the west window.

This was the norm in Grandmother Jia's room; she always enjoyed lively atmospheres.

"Nothing special, just finished dealing with things outside, and thought I should report to the Ancestor." "Heh, you still report to me? I thought you'd achieved some great success and could make all the decisions on your own."

Grandmother Jia was a prudent person and rarely made sarcastic remarks, so when she said that, Aunt Xue and the others couldn't help but smile.

Jia Lian smiled awkwardly; at this moment, not answering was the best response.

As expected, Grandmother Jia was too embarrassed to make a scene again. Just as the game was over, she put down the cards and told everyone to continue next time. Then, supporting Yuanyang's arm, she walked towards the high couch on the south side.

As soon as she moved, everyone followed her to the activity center.

"Tell me, how much did you bribe with your servants today, and how much did you get them to confess?"

Grandmother Jia sat on the high couch and asked somewhat displeasedly.

The more Jia Lian confiscated, the more it proved that the servants were indeed greedy, which indirectly showed that she had been incompetent in managing the household and had tolerated their embezzlement.

Jia Lian laughed and said, "Grandmother, I had a good harvest today. I collected more than 10,000 taels of silver in cash, and nearly 20,000 taels of other assets. They have all been sent to the warehouse, and Lin Zhixiao and the others are busy registering them."

When Jia Lian said this, everyone wanted to laugh but couldn't.

Second Master Lian is really something. The old lady used the word "plunder" to satirize him, but Second Master Lian seemed not to understand and even used the same word as the old lady.

Grandmother Jia looked at her handsome grandson with the same gaze she would give her own foolish grandson!

This bastard isn't incapable of distinguishing between good and bad words; he's just arrogant and impervious to reason, making him incredibly difficult to deal with.

Too lazy to waste words, she spread her hands and said, "I heard them say that under your oppressive methods, the servants all obediently reported the amount of silver they embezzled? Let me see, I want to see just how honest our servants are, daring to confess to embezzling silver!"

Grandmother Jia was indeed curious, because this practice was beyond her comprehension.

She genuinely didn't believe that Lai Da and his associates would dare let their employer know how much money they had embezzled.

He must have just filled in a random number to appease this bastard.

"Uh, I'm afraid we can't show this to our ancestors..."

"What, you can't even stand to look at me?"

Grandmother Jia's face darkened.

She knew, of course, that Jia Lian had promised the servants not to reveal this to anyone else.

But she didn't think that person included her.

Others also seemed a little nervous or took a meaningful look.

As the steward, Master Lian naturally needs to establish authority and cannot be untrustworthy.

However, the person who needs to see it is Grandmother Jia...

Since ancient times, it has been said that loyalty and filial piety are difficult to reconcile, and in fact, filial piety and righteousness are also difficult to reconcile.

If you disobey your elders, you are considered unfilial. Throughout history, many self-proclaimed "filial sons" have used the excuse that "the command of one's parents is hard to disobey" to commit acts of betrayal, abandoning their wives and children.

Such people are often praised...

Could it be that Second Master Lian can't even see this principle, and would go against the old lady's wishes in order to fulfill his promise to the servants?

But Jia Lian spread his hands and said, "Grandma, you've misunderstood. It's not that I didn't want to show it to you, but I burned all the books, including the numbers written by the servants, beforehand."

So even if the grandson wanted to tell the old lady, it's probably impossible now.

"Burned?"

Grandmother Jia was quite surprised, and then a thoughtful look appeared on her face. She wondered if Jia Lian was lying to her.

"It was indeed burned. After all, I promised the servants that no one else would know how much they had embezzled, and this was to protect them."

However, keeping the booklet risked loss or being peeked at, so the grandson decided to burn it in public.

As soon as Jia Lian finished speaking, Jia Baoyu clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Haha, I've read about this in books! It's even a historical anecdote. Back then, Cao Cao..."

Jia Baoyu wanted to show off in public, but seeing Lady Wang glare at him, he lowered his voice.

Fortunately, Xichun and Tanchun pressed him for an answer, giving him a way out. So he started telling the story of "Cao Cao burning the letter" in the small circle below.