Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Seeing this scene, Wang Xifeng naturally felt a little jealous.

But I quickly adjusted my mindset.

As long as the heartless ones stop going out and fooling around, it's not a big deal if there are only two or three people at home. Anyway, it's already a done deal, and it's not the first time.

"I heard that Your Excellency has made a fortune again today, so I came to congratulate you." Wang Xifeng said with a smile as she stepped forward and took the wine cup from Xiangling's hand, gesturing for Xiangling to come over.

Then, seeing that Jia Lian only smiled and ignored her, she went over and asked with a smile, "Second Master, won't you tell me where all that money outside came from?"

"Only three thousand taels, is that a lot?"

Seeing Jia Lian reply without even looking up, Wang Xifeng raised her eyebrows slightly and then smiled and said, "Yes, yes, everyone knows that our Second Master Lian is now very capable. How could he possibly care about a mere three thousand taels of silver?"

It's because the eyelids are small and shallow.

Therefore, I humbly invite you to have a drink, Second Master, and then I humbly request your guidance.

As Wang Xifeng spoke, she held the wine cup in one hand and supported the bottom of the cup with the other, and offered the wine to Jia Lian.

As the eldest daughter of the Wang family, she was pampered from a young age. Even after marrying into the Jia family, she never lifted a finger and her hands were very well maintained.

Compared to Xiangling's delicate little hands, they were less childish and appeared more slender and beautiful.

In addition, her long fingernails, adorned with vibrant nail polish, added a touch of allure to her beautiful hands.

Jia Lian suddenly remembered the woman who fell off her horse at the Crown Prince's villa earlier that day. He had noticed that she also had high-end nail polish on her hands.

Long nails adorned with nail polish were likely a symbol of status for women in this era...

Without thinking too much, I watched as Wang Xifeng raised the cup to my lips with both hands. The aroma of the wine mingled with the fragrance of the beautiful woman's hands, which was quite captivating.

So she drank it all in one gulp, and before Wang Xifeng could react, he grabbed her slender waist and pulled her into his lap.

"What are you doing? The girls are still here..."

Wang Xifeng's cheeks flushed red. After settling into her seat, she lightly patted Jia Lian's thigh to show her displeasure.

"I'm done eating."

Jia Lian put down his chopsticks, lowered his head and whispered in Wang Xifeng's ear, "Didn't you want to know where all this money came from? Let's go inside and I'll tell you slowly."

After saying this, Jia Lian picked up Wang Xifeng around the waist and stood up to walk into the inner room.

"Hey, are you trying to kill me? I have things to do, stop messing around..."

Wang Xifeng could easily see through Jia Lian's intentions, and immediately began to twist and wriggle in protest.

It was only just nightfall, not time to rest yet! Besides, the thought of the two masters doing something naughty in front of Xiangling and the other maids always made her feel ashamed.

Ping'er was tidying up in the inner room when she saw the Second Master and Second Mistress enter in this manner. She was slightly taken aback, but still put down what she was doing and was about to leave.

Seeing Jia Lian's resolute will, Wang Xifeng relented. So when she saw Ping'er, she craned her neck and gave Ping'er a knowing look.

Ping'er nodded knowingly to her, then went out. Looking at the two maids with different expressions in the side room, she said in a serious tone, "You two go and keep watch at the door. Don't let anyone in. I'm going to the kitchen to fetch some hot water."

Xiangling nodded, knowing the rules, and was about to take Qingwen's hand and step outside to stand guard.

Qingwen said, "You all can stay here. My legs are sore from running around getting food for the Second Master. I'm going back to rest for a while."

After saying that, she walked away with a pout on her face.

Ping'er didn't want to say anything to her, so she nodded to the obedient Xiangling and went out the back door to the small kitchen.

……

When Grandmother Jia and the others heard Jia Zheng's words at Rongqing Hall, they were filled with disbelief.

"You mean, Lian'er won ten thousand taels of silver in a poetry contest outside?"

Even Prince Bei Jing was impressed by Lian'er's literary talent and offered three thousand taels of silver just to obtain an original manuscript written by Lian'er herself.

With a head full of questions, Grandmother Jia asked this question.

Inside the hall, Lady Wang, Li Wan, Jia Baoyu and his sisters who had gathered around upon hearing the commotion, as well as the maids and servants around them, were all dumbfounded.

Jia Zheng knew that Grandmother Jia and the others wouldn't believe him, so he was prepared.

"These are the words spoken by the chief clerk of the Prince of Bei Jing's residence. My son copied them down immediately. Please take a look, Madam."

Jia Zheng took out his handwritten manuscript and respectfully presented it to Grandmother Jia.

Grandmother Jia took the manuscript blankly, glanced at it casually, and noticing everyone's curiosity, she handed it to Jia Baoyu, who had squeezed in front of her, and instructed him, "Baoyu, read it to everyone."

"good!"

Jia Baoyu, who considered himself the most talented among the men of the Jia family, took the manuscripts with great ease, as if receiving a great favor.

He simply refused to believe that Second Brother Lian had truly become a monster!

After a while.

Jia Baoyu lowered his arms listlessly, glanced at the crowd around him who all had almost the same expression, and a feeling of powerlessness welled up in his heart.

In particular, seeing the amazement in his sisters' eyes, he felt that he was about to lose even the last piece of pure land he had left at home.

Lian, you're really not human...

Otherwise, how could he possibly write such beautiful sentences!

"The most fleeting things in life are youthful beauty, fading from the mirror and flowers falling from the tree."

"The wind blows once, the snow falls once, shattering my dreams of home..."

He secretly compared his own most proud words with these phrases, and even though he was unwilling, Jia Baoyu knew that he had been completely outmatched!

For a fleeting moment, Jia Baoyu even thought that it would be better if he were less knowledgeable and hadn't learned many poems.

In that case, perhaps these poems were written by predecessors and used by Lian Erge without his knowledge...

Unfortunately, when Jia Baoyu glanced at Lin Daiyu, he knew from her eyes that this was a hopeless dream.

Even though he was not very learned, Lin Daiyu was exceptionally intelligent.

Given Lin Daiyu's straightforwardness, she would have pointed out the words of someone from the past without hesitation, without considering Lian Erge's feelings!

As a former daughter of a marquis, Grandmother Jia, though not exceptionally talented, had developed a remarkable ability to appreciate beauty from a young age.

At least it's much more refined than Lady Wang's views.

She could also tell that these poems were indeed extraordinary.

Those few quatrains were fine, but even she found these two poems thought-provoking and memorable.

A beautiful face, once removed from the mirror, is like a blooming flower falling from its branch into the mortal world.

What a perfect metaphor.

Who wasn't a beauty when they were young?

Grandmother Jia quietly touched her graying temples, then realized it was an embarrassing thing to do, so she quickly put it down and asked Jia Zheng, "Did Lian'er really write these? You must have made a mistake. I've never seen Lian'er say anything decent since he was little. It would be really strange if he could write something like this."

Although Daiyu also felt that the matter was strange, she couldn't help but say when she heard Grandmother Jia belittle Jia Lian in public: "Grandmother, when Second Brother Lian went to Yangzhou to pick me up, he actually said something that even my father praised at the time."

"Oh, what did you say?"

Daiyu realized her words were inappropriate as soon as they left her mouth.

But seeing that Grandmother Jia didn't take it to heart, he let it go, thought for a moment, and briefly recounted what had happened that day.

She did this purely to clear Jia Lian's name and prevent others from looking down on him.

Lian Ergege is just steady and reserved, and doesn't like to show off.

But it's strange, if Brother Lian is really so good at both poetry and lyrics, then why did he ask me to teach Xiangling in the first place, and why did he ask me to go to his courtyard to teach her?

Thinking back to every time I went to Xiangling's room to teach her, whenever Brother Lian came home, he would always come over to check on her...

Could it be that Lian Er Gege's busyness is only one reason, and another is to make it easier for him to see me?

Suddenly embarrassed, Daiyu hurriedly searched for a suitable reason.

Yes, when his father asked him to take him to the capital, he must have promised his father that he would take good care of him.

Since he was staying in the old lady's room, it wasn't very convenient for him to take care of her, so he asked me to go to his yard often so he could check on me frequently to see if I was sick again and how I was feeling...

Even yesterday, when he rarely came to visit me, he told me to go to his courtyard.

In that light, perhaps I should indeed visit him more often when I have the time, so as not to waste his efforts...

"I would gladly sacrifice my life for my country and its people!" What a fine line, what noble aspirations! This is the true spirit of a man!

Upon hearing his niece's words, Jia Zheng praised her, then glared fiercely at Jia Baoyu.

You damned beast! If you were even half as sensible and ambitious as Jia Lian, I wouldn't have to worry about you so much!

Before he could glare at her for long, he noticed that Grandmother Jia was also glaring at him. Jia Zheng immediately composed himself and bowed to Grandmother Jia, saying, "I have heard this phrase from my colleagues before, because they all said that it came from our Lian'er."

Later I learned that this was something Ru Hai mentioned in his memorial to the Emperor. I originally thought that Ru Hai was trying to promote Lian'er, so he deliberately elevated him.

Now that my niece has said this, it seems it really did come from him.

If that's the case, then it makes sense that Lian'er does indeed have some talent and is able to compose these sentences.

But why didn't he show it more before...? I can't guess what he's thinking; I'm afraid it can't be judged by ordinary standards.

Grandmother Jia didn't care much about family, country, or the world, but she was deeply moved by a single sentence from Jia Zheng.

Jia Lian's grandson is indeed not to be underestimated!

Take yesterday's events for example. In the face of such a major event, which person wouldn't be hoping to gain an advantage and avoid spending money?

Jia Lian, on the other hand, was so generous that he voluntarily handed over his father's entire inheritance to build a garden for his family!

Although in retrospect, he probably wanted to force Zhen'er to give up Huifangyuan's territory, this is not the way an ordinary person should act.

She and Madam Wang were willing to contribute money because they genuinely loved Yuan Chun and couldn't bear to see her unable to go home for a visit despite having such an opportunity.

But what about Jia Lian? When Yuan Chun entered the palace, he was just a teenager. What was he after? Was it just for the excitement? Considering everything that happened before, this boy Lian'er may have really transcended the category of "ordinary people." His behavior and methods cannot be judged by common sense.

Who knows, these poems might actually have been written by him.

"Grandma, I just heard that Lian'er has also returned to the manor. Instead of speculating here, why don't we call him over and ask him directly?"

Lady Wang, who had no interest in poetry, suddenly spoke up.

Grandmother Jia rubbed her forehead and said, "Look at me, isn't that exactly me?"

"Yuanyang, go and invite him here. Tell him we have some questions for him."

There are specific considerations regarding the type of person to invite and who should be invited.

Now, Jia Lian can no longer summon just any little maidservant as he used to.

……

Before it got completely dark, Yuanyang didn't waste any time and went alone from Grandmother Jia's courtyard to Sister Feng's courtyard.

Her feelings were mixed, but mostly she was amazed.

As the most prestigious maid in Grandmother Jia's household, she is also the most educated servant.

This is thanks to the fact that both her parents were elders of the Rongguo Mansion for generations, which provided a solid foundation for her love of reading from a young age.

Later, when she served Grandmother Jia, who was also a refined person, she worked hard to learn to read and write in order to please Grandmother Jia, which made her far surpass the other ignorant maids.

This is actually one of the reasons why other maids could not shake her position.

As Grandmother Jia grew old, she needed a kind and virtuous person to serve and care for her.

Therefore, she was one of the few maids who could discern the profound meaning behind those poems.

The original Master Lian was already good enough, but it seems everyone still misjudged him...

Yuanyang didn't know what kind of attitude she should have. Logically, she should admire and respect him, but she found that she didn't feel that way.

Because the more perfect Master Lian is, the further away he is from maids like them...

Yuanyang was very familiar with Fengjie's courtyard. She usually helped Grandmother Jia with her affairs and had to deal with Jia Lian and his wife. So she didn't go through the main gate, but went directly into Fengjie's courtyard through the side moon gate and went up to the corridor of the main house.

The courtyard was quiet, with only the faint chirping of insects, which sounded somewhat noisy in the peaceful twilight.

"Sister Yuanyang, what brings you here?"

When Yuanyang reached the door of the main room, she didn't see anyone. After hesitating for a moment, she lifted the curtain and went inside.

I saw Xiangling sitting at the tea table, her hands supporting her head, lost in thought.

Hearing the noise snap him out of his daze, he immediately went to greet her, feeling slightly nervous.

"Why are you here all alone? Are your grandparents home?"

"Yes, yes..."

Xiangling blushed a little, and her grandparents remained silent for quite a while.

And Sister Ping'er, she went in and never came out...

Although Yuanyang didn't see or hear anything, she only caught a glimpse of Xiangling's subconscious glance inside. Then she remembered that Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng were still at home, and all the curtains were drawn. How could she not realize what was going on?

Her pretty face immediately turned bright red, and she hurriedly let go of Xiangling's hand. "Go tell your master that the old lady is calling him."

After quickly finishing her sentence, Yuanyang slipped out of the room.

Then Jia Lian's voice came from inside the room: "Grandma called me, right? Sister Yuanyang, please wait a moment, I'll go with you right away."

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The mandarin ducks did not reply.

Sure enough, Jia Lian came out shortly after.

The sky was dark, obscuring Jia Lian's handsome appearance.

The mandarin ducks lowered their heads, not daring to look back.