Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

After returning to Ningguo Mansion, Lady You took her maid to visit Lady Qin.

"Grandma, you've arrived. How's the situation over there? Aunt Lian, she..."

Qin still looked listless and sickly, but she seemed very concerned and anxious.

Madam You knew that Madam Qin and Wang Xifeng got along well. In the past month or so, it was fortunate that Wang Xifeng would occasionally come to open up to her; otherwise, she might have become depressed long ago.

Madam You also knew that Madam Qin was not actually sick; her illness was psychological.

And her heartache was incurable. She had tried to help her, but was slapped awake.

Now, it remains to be seen when Jia Zhen's patience will run out.

Hopefully, she can come to terms with it by then; otherwise, it may be another tragic loss of her life.

Knowing that Madam Qin cared about Wang Xifeng, Madam You told Madam Qin about the situation at Rongguo Mansion in detail.

When Qin Shi heard that Jia Lian had defied all opposition and vowed to defend Wang Xifeng to the death in front of Grandmother Jia and others, a glimmer of hope finally appeared in her eyes, and she sighed, "I knew it. Second Aunt Lian is a blessed person. With Second Uncle Lian protecting her, she will definitely be safe and sound."

Uncle Lian is a real man!

Madam You shook her head and said, "It's not that simple."

The palace wants your second uncle to divorce her and marry the princess instead. Who can disobey that order?

Your second uncle, Lian, has been dismissed from his post by the emperor. If he still refuses to comply within seven days, who knows what will happen.

The old lady and her family over there will definitely try every means to pressure him.

Lady You slowly recounted the details. She had no say in the Rongguo Mansion, but now she could express herself freely.

However, upon hearing this, Madam Qin became even more worried.

He was worried about both Wang Xifeng and Jia Lian.

"So, according to Mother-in-law, it's certain that Aunt Lian will be divorced?"

"I'm afraid that's how it is. But no matter how it ends, your second aunt must have no regrets to have your second uncle protect her like this."

After speaking, Madam You couldn't help but reveal an expression similar to that of Madam Qin.

Both the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were stunningly beautiful, and their simultaneous dazed expressions created a lovely picture.

However, both of them had their own thoughts. They suddenly looked at each other, but as if they could see what the other was thinking, they both turned their heads away.

After a while, Qin said, "I want to go and see Aunt Lian."

"Your body..."

"I'm fine."

"Alright then, I'll arrange a carriage for you. Go as soon as possible and come back soon."

……

As Jia Zhen was about to go to his study, a servant suddenly approached him and whispered a few words in his ear, which immediately made Jia Zhen's face darken with anger.

He immediately ordered the servant to lead him there.

An abandoned courtyard behind Jia Rong's study on Ningguo Mansion East Road.

In the dimly lit room, Jia Rong let out a low growl and then collapsed onto the kang (a heated brick bed).

A soft body then clung to him, whispering sweetly in his ear, "You're really amazing, sir..."

"Hey."

Jia Rong was overjoyed and boldly pulled her into his arms, whispering lewdly in the beauty's ear, "So, am I more powerful or is my father more powerful?"

"Ugh~~"

The beauty blushed slightly, but couldn't resist Jia Rong's persistent questioning. Finally, she smiled, seemingly both shy and pleased, and said, "It's all thanks to Master. Master, Master is already old, he can't do it anymore..."

"Hahaha."

Overjoyed, Jia Rong burst into laughter, flipped over and pinned the beauty down, saying, "Since that's the case, how about you come with me from now on?"

"Hmph, I'm just saying that. I'm one of your people, and you wouldn't dare ask me for anything."

That's all we can do, sneaking around like this. If we get caught, who knows how we'll end up dead...

Taunted by the beauty, Jia Rong smiled sheepishly and said with a smirk, "Alright, beauty, don't cry. This is only temporary. In the future, I will bring you into my room and give you a proper title. Then you will enjoy endless wealth and honor."

"Really? I don't know. When will that be? By then, I'll probably be old and faded, and the master won't even look at me anymore..."

"Perhaps it won't be long. Look at that old man over there, he was only in his fifties when he kicked the bucket. This old man is over forty now, and he doesn't know how to take care of himself. Maybe he won't even outlive that old man."

Even if the old man lives a long life, in a few years when his energy wanes, won't he have to obediently hand over the family business to me? At that time, won't I be the one calling the shots in this mansion?

In an attempt to win over the beauty, Jia Rong recklessly poured out his heart, unaware that outside the broken window, an old man in his forties was already so angry that his beard stood on end.

He didn't care, his interest was piqued again, and he was about to embrace the beauty and pamper her again when suddenly there was a loud "bang" and the door opened.

Jia Rong was startled and hurriedly looked up.

"You damned beast, today I'll see whether your life is longer or mine."

Jia Zhen walked in through the door with a menacing look on his face, holding a wooden stick about the thickness of a wrist in his hand. It was the support for the flower stand that he had just pulled out of the flowerpot outside.

Jia Rong's face was ashen.

……

In Rongguo Mansion, at Rongqing Hall, after Jia Lian came out from a private talk with Grandmother Jia, he saw Daiyu's maid Xueyan and Tanchun's maid Shishu approaching him. They said somewhat shyly, "Second Master, the young ladies and Second Master Bao are all in Miss Lin's room. Please come over for a moment."

Jia Lian nodded and followed the two maids along the back corridor to Daiyu's room.

Sure enough, in this room, not only were Jia Baoyu, Daiyu, and the three sisters of the Spring Festival, but even Xue Baochai was there.

Upon seeing him enter, everyone stood up to greet him.

After a brief greeting, they looked at each other, both feeling somewhat speechless.

Jia Lian sat down, took a sip of tea, and said with a smile, "You invited me here, so please ask me anything. This general will answer all your questions to the best of his ability."

Seeing that Jia Lian was deliberately speaking in a high-pitched voice and even referring to himself as "this general," the sisters couldn't help but laugh.

With that, the atmosphere finally lightened, and Tan Chun was the first to ask, "Second Brother, have you convinced the Old Madam?"

They all knew that Grandmother Jia had summoned Jia Lian to persuade him to obey the palace's wishes and divorce his second sister-in-law.

Jia Lian nodded.

Tan Chun and the others were overjoyed: "Really? That means Sister-in-law Lian can continue to stay in our house, and Brother Lian, you don't have to...you don't have to..."

Tan Chun wanted to say that there was no need to marry the princess, but when she got to the tip of her tongue, she realized it was inappropriate, as it would make it seem like she didn't want Jia Lian to marry the princess.

Jia Lian, however, did not take it to heart. "Of course. The old lady likes your second sister-in-law even more than I do. Just now, she secretly told me that if I dare to be ungrateful and abandon your second sister-in-law, she will disown me as her grandson."

"Really? The old lady really said that?" Xichun's eyes widened in disbelief.

Jia Lian looked at her with a half-smile.

Seeing this, everyone else knew that Jia Lian was talking nonsense. No matter how much the old lady liked Jia Lian's second sister-in-law, she would never say such a thing.

To be honest, putting aside feelings, they all knew that having their second brother divorce their second sister-in-law and marry the princess would be more beneficial than harmful to the family.

Not to mention, they also have to bear the pressure from the palace now. Even they are worried about Jia Lian, so it's no wonder that the old lady and the others can't rest easy.

Baochai stole a glance at Jia Lian and saw that he still had a confident look on his face, which made her feel a little dazed.

Unlike Yingchun and the others, she had developed a relatively mature set of values, so she understood the implications of the situation that Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng were facing better than Yingchun and the others.

To be honest, Jia Lian's reaction to this situation was far beyond her expectations.

That's not all. What's even more surprising is that Jia Lian could remain so calm in the face of pressure from the princess, the empress dowager, and even the emperor, and even had the mind to joke and tease his sisters.

Is he heartless, or is he shrewd and calculating?

If it is the latter, then it truly deserves our admiration and respect.

At the same time, she also felt a bitter taste in her mouth, having prepared for the election for so many years.

But she knew that even if she were selected to enter the palace, she would only be able to serve as a concubine or advisor to a princess or noblewoman, which would be nothing more than a servant.

But what about Brother Lian? He doesn't even bother to curry favor with the most favored princess in the royal family.

The difference is like night and day. (To be continued)