Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

They stuffed all the heavy silver ingots into their pockets and covered them with their hands. Zhang Yong and the others looked at Jia Lian with increasingly respectful and ingratiating eyes.

Master Lian is indeed a generous and trustworthy person!

Following someone like that, the future is sure to be bright.

"I had originally said that I would give you a leave of absence when we arrived in Yangzhou, and I will keep my word. However, my aunt is still in the period of mourning, so it is not appropriate to let you go out and have fun at this time. Otherwise, if you drink and make a mistake, even if my uncle does not blame you, it will still be a loss of kinship and face for our Duke's Mansion. After we return from the funeral procession in Suzhou, I will give each of you two days off."

Once Jia Lian said this, everyone naturally agreed with him.

Wang Dashuan, who loved to chime in, even laughed and said, "Being able to follow you, Second Master, and do your bidding is already a blessing for us. Why would we care about whether it's real or not? To be honest, this trip to Yangzhou with you is like a long vacation for us. Hey, we even get a reward from you... So please stop talking about whether it's real or not, it's making us uneasy."

His words were echoed by others.

That makes sense, as most of these people weren't close confidants of the masters in the mansion. They spent their days idly in the mansion, just passing the time on meager monthly wages.

Who would have thought that when the Second Master went to Yangzhou to attend the funeral, he didn't bring his usual attendants, but instead chose them instead?

What's even more remarkable is that Jia Lian didn't skimp on their living conditions at all during their journey south. Wherever they went, he made sure they ate the same things he ate. When he stayed at an inn, he paid for them to stay in the adjacent rooms. This practice of sharing meals and lodging with them already moved and impressed them.

As expected, Jia Lian kept his word and rewarded them with piles of silver...

At this moment, Jia Lian's position in their hearts had been elevated to an extremely high level. They almost all secretly thought that after returning this time, they would find a way to stay by the Second Master's side no matter what!

Hearing their declarations of loyalty, Jia Lian smiled.

This is also why he chose these people to go south with him. If it were those powerful servants in the mansion, how could they be bought off with a mere ten or twenty taels of silver?

Just like Zhou Rui's family, who were servants of Lady Wang. Granny Liu had taken twenty taels of silver from Wang Xifeng and wanted to give Zhou Rui's family a silver ingot to thank them for showing her the way, but Zhou Rui's family looked down on it and refused to accept it.

This shows just how wealthy those powerful second masters in the Rongguo Mansion were!

Conversely, Jia Lian knew that the silver reserves in the Rongguo Mansion's treasury were decreasing year by year. If he were the head of the family, he would definitely have used those bloodsuckers to provide disaster relief.

Unfortunately, he's just a housekeeper for someone else right now, so there's no need for him to do anything that might offend people.

Who knows, once those people have become even more greedy and have sucked up all the profits, they might be even fatter when it's time to slaughter them.

After giving the benefits, Jia Lian summoned the two youngest, Wang Teng and Feng Fei, and instructed them: "I have a task for you two these two days. When you have nothing to do during the day, go into the city and find out which wine shop in Yangzhou has the best wine, especially strong liquor. Report back to me after you have found out."

Wang Teng and the other man agreed, but they had some questions in their minds. Didn't Second Master just say that everyone was forbidden to drink alcohol during the mourning period for his aunt? Why are they suddenly asking about alcohol again?

"My lord has always loved wine. I have come all the way to Jiangnan, so I must bring back some of the best and strongest wine for my lord to enjoy."

Jia Lian offered an explanation.

Everyone says that Jiangnan has fine wines, so having come all this way, I naturally want to bring back some good things for Jia She.

He even considered buying two "good horses" in Yangzhou, the kind that had experienced life, were exceptionally charming, and were extremely capable of captivating people and draining their very essence.

I think I'll pass.

It's incredibly shameful for a son to arrange prostitutes for his father. The real issue is whether Jia She, like his predecessors, has a particular fondness for this type of woman…

……

For the next two days, Jia Lian hardly left the Lin residence.

Aside from coordinating the transport of Jia Min's coffin to Suzhou, he stayed in the courtyard, where Zhang Yong taught him training methods and basic combat techniques.

During this time, the Lin family members, led by Lin Lang, repeatedly invited him to go out and "play," saying they wanted him to experience the difference between the Jianghuai region and the capital.

Jia Lian naturally knew their true intentions, but he disdained to expose them and always vaguely deflected the question.

The last time they gathered in the courtyard, they tried to half-drag and half-persuade him, almost dragging him out of the house. However, Zhang Yong showed off his arm muscles and gave a soft shout, which scared them so much that they ran away in terror and never dared to bother him again.

In response, Jia Lian didn't stand on ceremony. He casually whispered a few words in the old steward's ear, believing that the old steward would pass them on to Lin Ruhai.

By the early morning of the third day, everything was ready.

At the Lin family's main gate, Jia Lian approached Lin Ruhai and whispered, "Uncle, the time has come."

"Hmm..." Lin Ruhai's gaze lingered on the wooden coffin for a long time. He personally smoothed out the white silk tied to it, and finally sighed deeply: "Let's go."

Upon hearing this, the butler chanted, "Awaken the spirit!"

Funeral music plays, cries rise...

All those who came to send off the spirit followed the raised coffin and slowly walked out of the Lin family's gate.

The gray streets were lined with white lanterns strung on bamboo poles, creating an unusually desolate atmosphere. But beneath those rows of white lanterns were rows of blue and white tents, each with a small altar in front of it, with incense burning inside a cauldron.

Those were sacrificial tents set up by officials and gentry of Yangzhou Prefecture, and they seemed to stretch on forever.

Some of those mansions sent their sons or stewards to perform the sacrifice on their behalf, while others came in person.

Jia Lian's task at this time was to help Lin Ruhai exchange pleasantries and express his gratitude to these people.

After leaving the section of road with the sacrificial tent, the long procession began to move forward at a steady pace.

Jia Lian turned his head to look at the small, thin figure in front of the coffin.

She appeared so delicate, just holding her mother's memorial tablet seemed to have exhausted all her strength; Jia Lian was truly afraid that a morning breeze could blow her over.

Considering that there was still a long way to go before reaching the city, Jia Lian said to Lin Ruhai, who was riding a horse, "Uncle, Lin's health is delicate, and her illness has not yet healed. Being exposed to the wind for so long may damage her health. It would be better if she rode in the carriage."

Lin Ruhai glanced at his daughter. "Alright."

Jia Lian then waved for someone to bring the carriage up.

"No need, thank you, Brother Lian Er..."

In the past two days, Lin Daiyu had seen Jia Lian several times, mostly in the mourning hall, so she was no longer as unfamiliar as she had been at the beginning.

Upon hearing Jia Lian's arrangement for her, she turned her head away and firmly refused.

He knew that Jia Lian deliberately said she wasn't well so that she could legitimately take a ride and rest.

But she knew she wasn't sick, or rather, she had always been like this; being sickly was her normal state.

Although she had walked such a long way and was indeed feeling tired, behind her was her mother's coffin, and in her arms was her mother's memorial tablet. At this moment, she could not leave.

Firstly, this was her last chance to fulfill her filial duty to her mother; secondly, she couldn't let so many people look down on her!

Lin Ruhai said affectionately, "Your second brother Lian is only doing this for your own good. Everyone knows your health condition, and even your mother won't blame you for it. Just listen to him."

Daiyu simply shook her head.

Jia Lian saw the determination in Daiyu's eyes and felt even more pity for her. He turned to Lin Ruhai and said, "Sister Lin has a sincere heart. Since that's the case, let's do as she wishes."

Thus, although Lin Ruhai was inevitably worried, he had no choice but to give up.

The long white dragon snaked forward and finally arrived at the south gate after more than half an hour.

Outside the city, there were carriages prepared in advance to transport the coffin.

Although one could travel from Yangzhou to Suzhou via the Grand Canal and then the Yangtze River, it would be time-consuming and inconvenient. Therefore, the Lin family decided to take the land route and use horse-drawn carriages to escort the coffin back to Suzhou.

Watching her mother's coffin being lifted onto the carriage by the clansmen, Lin Daiyu wept uncontrollably, almost unable to stand, but fortunately, she was supported by the maids and wet nurse beside her.

Jia Lian hurriedly brought the carriage over and personally helped Daiyu into it.

This time, Daiyu did not insist. Standing on the carriage, she bowed to Lin Ruhai and then to Jia Lian before carrying the memorial tablet into the carriage. Immediately afterward, sobbing sounds came from inside.

Jia Lian tapped Xueyan, who was covered in mourning clothes and looked rather dazed, and instructed her, "Aren't you going up to comfort your young lady?"

"oh."

Only then did the naive girl belatedly follow him into the carriage.

At this moment, Jia Lian also mounted his white horse. After the coffin was securely tied to the horse-drawn carriage, Jia Lian rode up to Lin Ruhai.

Lin Ruhai was exchanging pleasantries with "Third Master" and others when Jia Lian told him that everything was ready and they could set off. He spurred his horse and patted Jia Lian on the shoulder as he approached, saying, "Thank you for your help on this trip."

Jia Lian shook his head: "Uncle, you flatter me. This is what I should do."

After speaking, ignoring the envious looks from Lin Lang and the others beside him, he asked, "Uncle, is there anything else you need to instruct me to do?"

Lin Ruhai shook his head and said, "You guys go ahead."

He also wanted to see his beloved wife off on her final journey, but he was burdened with the mission of the court and the emperor's favor.

He had to request permission from the imperial court before he could leave Yangzhou.

He didn't want to cause a great deal of trouble because of his private affairs, nor did he want the emperor to think he was frivolous.

Therefore, he could only keep his guilt towards his beloved wife hidden in his heart.

Only after watching the funeral procession disappear into the distance did Lin Ruhai withdraw his gaze and call his entourage back to the yamen.