Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

The Xue family has rarely visited the Jia family in the past month.

Firstly, the Jia family was going through a turbulent time, and it was not good to bother them too much. Secondly, they themselves were busy moving.

They moved from Lixiangyuan to a house in the northeast.

This residence is naturally more spacious than Pear Fragrance Courtyard. It was originally the property of the Rongguo Mansion, but was bought by the Xue family for eight thousand taels of silver.

Originally, Madam Wang intended to give the house directly to her sister's family, but Aunt Xue insisted on buying it.

Lady Wang naturally understood her sister's meaning. She thought that firstly, the Xue family was not short of money, and secondly, the family was short of money at the time because they were building a separate residence for Yuan Chun's visit home. So she agreed.

One incident involved a buyer who intended to inflate the price, while the seller insisted on lowering it.

After a tug-of-war between the sisters, they finally settled on a price slightly lower than the market rate. Lady Wang informed Grandmother Jia and Jia Zheng, who then spoke to Jia Lian. No one had any objections.

Thus, the Xue family officially settled down on Ningrong Back Street.

That evening, Baochai had dinner with her mother and stayed to talk with her.

Sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed), Aunt Xue saw her daughter's radiant skin and serene, elegant face. She sighed deeply, thinking that it was a loss for the royal family that her daughter, with her beauty, had failed to gain entry into the palace.

She sighed and asked, "Bao'er, what do you think of Baoyu?"

Baochai, unaware of why her mother suddenly asked this, thought for a moment and replied:

"Baoyu is intelligent, gentle, and polite. He is quite good."

Their aunt's family treated them well, and when they talked behind their backs, they only spoke of the good things. This was Baochai's principle in dealing with people.

To everyone's surprise, Aunt Xue's eyes lit up upon hearing this: "So, you also think Baoyu is a good boy?"

Ok?

Baochai, being very perceptive, immediately sensed something was amiss and quickly said, "Why is Mother suddenly bringing this up?"

Aunt Xue knew she had aroused her daughter's suspicion, so she sat back down, picked up her tea and took a sip before smiling and saying, "It's nothing, it's just that your aunt has been very concerned about you lately."

Knowing that you failed to win the election, she also told me that it might not be a bad thing. There are many princes and noblemen in the capital; with your appearance and character, you will naturally not have to worry about a good future.

Upon hearing this, Baochai immediately fell silent.

Although her mother spoke cryptically, she still understood the underlying meaning.

She couldn't help but recall the "perfect match" that had been circulating for some time.

Originally, she thought it was just some bored busybody causing trouble for no reason.

After all, the gold lock she had worn since childhood did indeed come from a bald-headed monk. That bald-headed monk had indeed made a prophecy, saying that this gold lock would one day be matched with a piece of jade.

Seeing that her mother and aunt truly intended to match her with Bao, she suddenly realized that this might not be a coincidence.

I just don't know if my mother accidentally let it slip and my aunt overheard it, or if my mother herself had this idea.

Baochai naturally had no ill feelings towards Jia Baoyu.

After all, with a wicked brother as a precedent, Baochai was very insightful and tolerant of the behavior of men in the world.

What is the point of having illicit relations with a maid under the grandmother's nose, or of conspiring with his best friend to have fun with a nun?

What truly kept Baochai calm about Jia Baoyu was that he always acted like a child, lacking any ambition.

Furthermore, despite his uncle's strict discipline, he outwardly complied but inwardly defied him, clearly indicating that he was not someone who would listen to advice or accept discipline.

If, if Jia Baoyu had even half the ambition of his cousin Jia Lian, let alone achieve the same level of success as Jia Lian, if she could just see that Jia Baoyu could accomplish something great in the future, perhaps she wouldn't have objected to her mother and aunt trying to match them up.

In fact, if that were the case, she might even take the initiative to pursue it.

Putting that aside, Jia Baoyu does possess many qualities that ordinary men in the world lack. In particular, his respect for girls is something she also finds extremely rare.

Seeing that her daughter didn't say anything, Aunt Xue knew that her daughter must have guessed it.

She was actually just trying to find out what her daughter was thinking beforehand.

Her daughter was still young, and Baoyu was even younger, so neither she nor Lady Wang were in a hurry about this matter.

She knew that Lady Wang particularly admired Baochai. In previous conversations between the two sisters, Lady Wang had never been stingy in praising Baochai, expressing her desire for a girl "like Baochai" to be her daughter-in-law.

In Lady Wang's eyes, the decline of the Xue family was a fact. The Jia family, on the other hand, still held considerable power, and after Baoyu's sister became an imperial concubine, the Rongguo Mansion was at its zenith.

She doesn't mind that the Xue family is weak, so why would the Xue family be unwilling?

However, Aunt Xue did have some doubts about this.

First, if it were before, when the second branch of the Rongguo Mansion was still in a dominant position, Aunt Xue would not have harbored any disloyal intentions.

After all, inheriting a ducal mansion wouldn't be much weaker than the Xue family in terms of wealth. Not to mention their powerful political background.

Unfortunately, with Jia Lian's meteoric rise to prominence, even his sister and brother-in-law were almost forced out of the family. At this point, the value of Jia Baoyu's status as the legitimate son of a duke was questionable.

Secondly, although the Xue family was weak, they were very wealthy.

What they desperately need is support from power, or rather, from the officialdom and the imperial court.

Marriage alliances are undoubtedly the fastest and most effective way for powerful families to obtain such support!

Although Aunt Xue loved her daughter dearly, as the matriarch of the Xue family, she knew that her daughter, with her exceptional knowledge, outstanding character, and stunning beauty, was currently a very important asset for the Xue family.

She won't hand it over easily.

She wanted to find a son-in-law who could bring happiness to her daughter and also help the Xue family.

The nephew Baoyu doesn't seem to fit this description. Baoyu's nobility comes entirely from the elders around him, and this kind of external blessing is easily dissipated, so it's not so easy to be convincing.

In fact, among all the outstanding young men she had ever met, she had seen one who was someone she could not find fault with at all.

She would be so happy to have that person as her son-in-law that she would wake up laughing in her sleep.

Unfortunately, the other party was her own niece's husband.

Even a princess couldn't steal her lover, so the Xue family certainly had no chance at all.

While these thoughts were idly swirling in her mind, Aunt Xue had no intention of confronting her daughter right now. Seeing that Baochai remained silent, she said, "Have you heard? Your second brother Lian has not only become the acting patriarch of his family, but he has also taken on a mission from the emperor."

An envoy sent for peace?

Although I have never seen what it was like to marry a princess, I can imagine it.

To be ordered to escort a princess to her wedding and to lead troops into another country—what grandeur and power that must have been!

Even their family probably hasn't had such an honor in many years. As for our family, it's even further back; it was probably only during your great-grandfather's time that we had this kind of spectacle.

Upon hearing this, Baochai's expression shifted slightly.

She also recalled the man who was a head taller than her, walking slowly beside her, making her feel as if she were bathed in a spring breeze.

She immediately berated herself for having such thoughts, and replied as if to cover it up, "Second Brother Lian is indeed extraordinary..."

Aunt Xue did not notice anything unusual about her daughter. She continued to sigh, "Bao'er, tell me, if Lian'er returns to the capital safely, how will the emperor reward him?"

At such a young age, he already holds a second-rank noble title and a fourth-rank official position; beyond that…

Aunt Xue's eyes held a hint of longing. "If I remember correctly, he's only twenty years old this year. At this rate, what kind of achievements will he attain in the future? Will he be able to surpass your uncle?"

Hearing her mother's praise, Baochai couldn't help but follow her thoughts.

Then, she didn't know what to say.

Early fame is nothing special; after all, those with noble bloodlines and births are incomparable to others from the very beginning. Although Lian Er Gege's success is not entirely due to his birth, it is undeniable that his status as the eldest son of the Duke's family is the most important reason for his current position.

However, if a young person rises to a high position, and their mind and virtue are insufficient, the probability of them falling halfway through their career is extremely high.

This is probably why those nobles, even if they have some geniuses, ultimately find it difficult to reach the highest position in the court.

For some reason, whenever she thought of Jia Lian's handsome and refined face, especially his deep eyes, which seemed to scrutinize her from above when he looked at her, it was as if everything and everyone around her was under his control.

That calm and confident demeanor made her unconsciously believe that Jia Lian would not act that way.

He will definitely be able to continue steadily.

"Brother Lian is indeed a person with unlimited potential."

"yes."

Aunt Xue sighed with endless regret: "So it is said that God creates people whose fates are destined to be different."

Take your cousin for example. She was a naughty child, and we all said she didn't act like a proper girl at all. We wondered what would happen to her after she got married.

Who knew that among millions of women in the world today, none could compare to her!

It is clear that what is destined to be yours will be yours, and what is not, you cannot force. Everything in this world is predestined...

When Aunt Xue married into the Xue family, the family was quite prosperous. Now, in just one or two decades, it has fallen to this state, forcing Aunt Xue to accept her fate.

However, Baochai was more educated than her mother, and she could not agree with Aunt Xue's feelings and conclusions.

Although fate has its own course, one should not easily accept it until the very end. At worst, she can enter the palace again for selection three years later.