Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Inside the Rongguo Mansion, everyone finally dispersed.

The two maids, Xiao Que and Xiao Ji Xiang, also happily walked back.

Suddenly, a young boy darted out from behind the three-foot-tall potted crabapple tree.

"Little Lucky, I heard you received a reward. How much did you receive?"

Jia Huan stood in the middle of the road with his hands on his hips, his eyebrows slanted and his eyes furrowed, looking furtive.

Xiao Que and Xiao Jixiang were both Zhao Yiniang's maids, and they knew Jia Huan's nature very well. When they saw his ill-intentioned look, they became wary.

Little Jixiang, still so young, abruptly hid the purse she had just shown to Sister Xiaoque behind her back, then glared at Jia Huan and said, "What business is it of yours how much we received!"

Everyone in the mansion knew that the servants assigned to serve Consort Zhao and her son were incredibly unlucky.

They weren't afraid of Jia Huan.

Jia Huan, however, spotted Xiao Jixiang hiding the money and his eyes lit up. He rushed forward, shamelessly saying, "Quick, give me half..."

"No, this is a reward from Second Master Lian, why should I give it to you!"

Little Jixiang is only nine years old this year, making her the youngest and least experienced maid in the household.

However, influenced by what he saw and heard, he was no longer afraid of his master, Jia Huan.

Seeing his unreasonable demands, she widened her innocent eyes, her fair and rosy face filled with anger. Even when angry, this little round-faced girl was uniquely adorable.

However, in Jia Huan's eyes, cuteness is worthless.

He immediately retorted angrily, "You ungrateful wretch! You think you're worthy of spending that money? Hand it over now, or I'll show you what I'm capable of!"

If the soft approach doesn't work, then the hard approach will.

Jia Huan felt he had to show some respect for his master.

As she spoke, she glanced at the little magpie beside her.

As her aunt's head maid, he naturally knew that Xiao Que would definitely receive a greater reward.

But he was only nine years old, while Xiao Que was already fifteen or sixteen. He knew he couldn't beat her, so he only picked on Xiao Jixiang, the easy target.

Anyway, he was used to bullying Xiao Jixiang, so he didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

Seeing that Xiao Que was sensible enough not to interfere, he seized the opportunity to snatch Xiao Jixiang's money pouch.

"Give me!"

No, it just won't work!

'

"You ungrateful wretch, just you wait..."

Jia Huan, who had been knocked to the ground by Xiao Jixiang, immediately started cursing.

This wasn't just about whether he could steal the money or not; it was about him, the master, being pushed to the ground by a lowly servant—a truly humiliating situation.

After standing up, he saw Xiao Que and a little girl who was also passing by, all laughing at him, which made him even angrier.

Just as he rolled up his sleeves, ready to teach Xiao Jixiang a lesson, he heard firelight and voices coming from the second gate, and then a large group of people walked in.

Upon seeing the leader, Jia Huan instantly cowered and tried to slip away.

"stop."

Upon seeing Jia Lian and Ping'er, the maids, including Xiao Que, dared not be negligent and hurriedly stepped forward to pay their respects.

Upon being discovered, Jia Huan could only obediently step forward, bow, and clasp his hands in greeting: "Greetings, Second Brother Lian..."

"What are you all arguing about here?"

Before Jia Huan could even give Xiao Jixiang a fawning look, the fearless young boy, upon hearing the question, loudly replied, "Reporting to Second Master, Third Master Huan is trying to steal my reward money!"

Seeing that Jia Lian's expression was off, Jia Huan quickly explained, "No, no, I just saw that she received so much reward money, and I was worried that she wouldn't be able to spend it all, so I wanted to help her spend it..."

As he spoke, perhaps realizing that his explanation was incomprehensible, he blushed deeply.

Ping'er, standing behind Jia Lian, couldn't help but laugh upon hearing this. The group of old women and maids behind Ping'er also joined in the mocking laughter.

Looking at the tall and handsome Jia Lian in front of them, and then at the sneaky Jia Huan ahead, they all found it amusing.

They're all gentlemen from the same household, so how can they be so different? Well, perhaps comparing Second Master Lian to Third Master Huan would be an insult and a disrespect to Second Master Lian.

He even stole the little girl's reward money! How could Third Master Huan have come up with such a thing!

When Jia Lian first heard Xiao Jixiang's words, he was also quite speechless.

But considering the situation of Aunt Zhao and her son in the Rongguo Mansion, and Jia Huan's character, it really is his style.

Without saying anything, he turned to Ping'er and said, "Give him two strings of cash."

"Yes."

Ping'er readily agreed, then turned around and took out two strings of large coins from the baskets carried by the old women.

These were all leftovers from before. Ping'er took them back on Wang Xifeng's orders, so they could be used next time there was a reward.

"Thank you, Second Brother! Thank you, Sister Ping'er!"

When Jia Huan saw that Jia Lian was going to give him money, his eyebrows were all smiles.

To be honest, he was a high-ranking official in the mansion, but he was extremely short of money.

One reason is that Aunt Zhao, who raised him, was greedy and stingy. Most of Jia Huan's money was saved by Aunt Zhao, supposedly for him to use when he got married in the future.

Secondly, although Jia Huan was young, he had already developed many bad habits.

Let's not even talk about his reckless spending; he doesn't have much money to squander anyway.

He also loves to gamble with others, thinking he's very clever and can win money from them, but most of the time he ends up losing all the coins he's painstakingly saved.

As a result, many times he didn't even have money to buy snacks when he was in school.

That's why he was envious of Xiao Jixiang's reward. In his eyes, Xiao Jixiang was his aunt's servant, and also his servant; for her to give him money was a sign of respect for her.

How dare she be so ungrateful! When we get back, I'll definitely have my aunt teach her a lesson!

Ping'er had been managing the household under Wang Xifeng's supervision for many years, so she was naturally familiar with Jia Huan.

However, Ping'er did not mock Jia Huan like others. In Ping'er's eyes, Jia Huan was just a child who had been corrupted by others.

Previously, as a servant, she couldn't say much, but now that she saw Jia Lian seemed to intend to discipline him, after giving Jia Huan two strings of cash, she also instructed him, "Take this money and go play with your third sister and the others. Don't bully the little maids anymore, or your second brother Lian will be angry."

"No, it was Xiao Jixiang who bullied me. She even pushed me down. Ping'er, if you don't believe me, ask them."

Having lacked love and endured ridicule since childhood, Jia Huan naturally had a good impression of Ping'er, who was gentle, peaceful, and easy to get along with.

Hearing her gentle words, he was deeply moved. Not wanting Ping'er to misunderstand, he immediately pointed to Xiao Que and the others and explained.

Unfortunately, Xiao Que and the others had long disliked Aunt Zhao and her son, and upon seeing this, they all turned their heads away disdainfully.

Ping'er simply smiled and stood beside Jia Lian.

Jia Lian wanted to say something, but suddenly felt there was nothing to say.

It's impossible to say that Jia Huan was raised to be this way without Lady Wang's deliberate indulgence.

But what does this have to do with his first wife?

Correct it? He doesn't have the confidence or energy to do something so thankless and exhausting with such a crooked tree.

Moreover, Jia Lian knew that in a few years, once Jia Huan grew a little older and developed some "skills," he would be a good target for Lady Wang and Jia Baoyu to cause trouble.

So, let's keep this little thing and let Madam Wang and the others have a headache; it's not really his concern.

So he turned around and said to Ping'er, "You go back first, I'm going to see the master."

After Ping'er agreed, she respectfully saw Jia Lian off, and then returned to Feng Jie's courtyard with the old women.

Meanwhile, Jia Lian easily met Jia Zheng.

Although Jia Zheng felt that Jia Lian's grand scheme of building a "second ancestral hall" was a bit too unconventional, he also heard that Jia Lian had a lot of intentions behind it, so he couldn't object. He just said, "I'm afraid the elders in the clan will have objections."

"It's alright. In a few days, I will gather the elders of the clan for a meeting. I will take care of any problems that may arise."

Jia Lian now holds the title of clan head, and is therefore qualified to have full authority over clan affairs.

Most importantly, the Jia family patriarch not only controlled the management of the family's ancestral fields, but also effectively controlled the distribution of benefits among the branch family members. As a result, the family members had little room to oppose the patriarch.

Even if some people object, he is now a marquis and a well-known favorite of Emperor Ningkang, so there is nothing to worry about.

However, if Grandmother Jia were to ask, one would have to carefully craft an explanation.

Just then, Grandmother Jia sent someone to invite Jia Lian over.

After bidding farewell to Jia Zheng, Jia Lian encountered a woman on the back corridor of the west courtyard of Rongxi Hall.

"Greetings, Auntie."

Jia Lian stood on one side of the road and bowed slightly.

In fact, given Jia Lian's current status, it wouldn't be unreasonable for him to stand and let Aunt Zhao pay her respects first.

However, considering that she was Jia Zheng's concubine and an elder, and that Jia Lian always maintained a humble and polite image, he wouldn't hold it against her.

When Aunt Zhao saw Jia Lian, her eyes lit up slightly.

He rushed over to Jia Lian, returned a perfunctory greeting, and said with a grin, "Brother Lian is now a marquis, why so much formality... Oh, right, I haven't congratulated Brother Lian on his conferment of the marquisate yet!"

"You're too kind, Auntie."

"You're welcome, you're welcome. Hehe, I just heard from my short-lived son that you gave him two strings of cash?"

"It's just a little pocket money, nothing much."

"Not at all, not at all. Two strings of cash are nothing to Lian-ge, but to us, that's almost a month's salary for me..."

Aunt Zhao's face was all smiles, and with her peach-blossom face and good looks, she did have a certain charm, like a beautiful flower in the moonlight or a gentle spring breeze.

However, she couldn't seduce Jia Lian.

Moreover, Jia Lian was also puzzled, wondering why Aunt Zhao was trying to get close to him.

But it probably wasn't to seduce him.

According to Jia Lian's understanding, although Aunt Zhao was of shallow character and even foolish, she was quite loyal to Jia Zheng.

The fact that there is no trace of any romantic relationship with this woman in my memory also serves as evidence of this.

You should know that before he came into this world, Jia Lian was a dashing and unrestrained man who didn't discriminate between meat and vegetables.

Any woman with even a little bit of beauty is someone he'd love to devour as quickly as possible.

However, Jia Lian, who was thinking this way at this moment, also found some scenes from his memory of how he had coveted this foolish woman many times, but he never dared to do so because he did not receive a response from Aunt Zhao.

"If you have something to say, please speak. I still need to see the old lady," Jia Lian said, his gaze turning slightly cold as he stepped back.

Aunt Zhao noticed Jia Lian's impatience and said with a smile, "It's nothing, it's about your brother Huan."

Your brother Huan isn't as successful as you. He's been impatient and restless since childhood, so he probably won't amount to much in the future.

However, he is, after all, your cousin, Lian-ge'er. I was thinking, considering this, if you could help him out in the future, it would not only be a tremendous honor for him, but my husband and I would also be eternally grateful for your kindness.”

In Aunt Zhao's eyes, Jia Zheng was naturally very capable.

However, Jia Zheng was a proud civil official. In the past, whenever she pleaded with Jia Zheng to take care of Jia Huan, Jia Zheng would take the opportunity to ask about Jia Huan's studies and whether he was studying diligently.

Well, what could she say about that? She herself doesn't know anything, how could she possibly teach Jia Huan?

As for Jia Huan, although he had been to school for a year or two, Aunt Zhao could guess what he had actually learned from his usual strange behavior.

Therefore, I can only remain vague in my response.

At this point, Jia Zheng would scoff: "Once he's thoroughly understood and mastered his studies, he'll naturally have a bright future without my help. If he doesn't put his heart into his studies, forget about supporting him in the future; I'd be lucky if I didn't beat him to death."

Therefore, Aunt Zhao dared not mention this to Jia Zheng again.

Knowing full well that Lady Wang would not treat Jia Huan well when the family divided in the future, she was always worried about her son's future.

That's why she's saving money so desperately now.

Now, the Jia family has produced a Jia Lian, who not only holds a higher official position than Jia Zheng, but also is not as aloof, pedantic, or difficult to talk to as Jia Zheng.

Therefore, when she heard Jia Huan say that Jia Lian had given him two strings of cash tonight, she immediately had an idea and told Jia Huan to behave obediently and well-behaved whenever he saw Jia Lian.

With this in mind, she naturally wanted to establish a relationship with Jia Lian when she met him.

Upon hearing Aunt Zhao's words, Jia Lian raised an eyebrow and glanced down at her.

Although I look down on this woman to some extent, her loving and far-sighted attitude as a parent towards her child is still commendable.

But how old is Jia Huan now? Is he ten years old or not?

Instead of properly educating this little brat, correcting his temperament, and then letting him study hard, isn't it a bit too early to be busy planning for his future?

Well, perhaps Aunt Zhao didn't know how to teach Jia Huan either.

He had heard Wang Xifeng and Ping'er say that Jia Huan was very timid in front of others, but in front of Aunt Zhao, he treated her with the attitude of "following one's son after the death of one's husband."

Shaking his head, Jia Lian casually replied, "Auntie, you flatter me. We're all family, why be so formal?"

"Hehehe, I knew Lian-ge was a kind-hearted person, he wouldn't abandon his own brothers..."

"If there's nothing else, Aunt, I'll take my leave now."

Jia Lian knew that Aunt Zhao was ignorant of etiquette, so he didn't bother arguing with her. He said goodbye and, ignoring her reluctant expression, headed towards Rongqing Hall.

After much persuasion, he explained to Grandmother Jia his intention in building the Temple of Loyalty and Righteousness. Grandmother Jia did not intend to interfere with him, but simply instructed him to explain the situation to the elders in the clan. After showing concern for him for a few moments, she told him to go back and rest.

It is worth mentioning that Grandmother Jia still had Yuanyang escort him.

Jia Lian had not paid attention to this before.

Now that I think about it carefully, I don't know when it started, but every time I met Grandmother Jia, if necessary, Grandmother Jia would usually have Yuanyang escort him.

Given Grandmother Jia's shrewdness and understanding of human relationships, it was certainly not unintentional.

Could it be that she sensed his feelings for Yuanyang and therefore deliberately granted his wish?

Or did she feel that she hadn't been close enough to him since childhood, so she wanted to use her best maidservants to make up for it and also to win over his filial piety? Or perhaps, the most capable maidservants she had were Yuanyang and Xiren.

Xiren was given to Jia Baoyu, so the other one was decided to be given to him to show fairness?

If it were the first two, that would be fine, but if it were the last one, Jia Lian could only say that it was completely unnecessary.

Because Xiren was already his woman.