Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

The main purpose of this trip to the Xue family is to let Daiyu see Baoqin and to fulfill the promise she made to Baoqin that she must visit her when she arrives in Jinling.

Therefore, after a brief offering of prayers before the memorial tablet of the second master of the Xue family, they came out under the guidance of Xue Ke.

Just as he stepped down from the main courtyard, he heard a dispute in the outer courtyard. Soon after, an old servant jogged over and said to Xue Ke, "Master, the Third Master and the others are here again, demanding to see the First Madam. You should go and see them quickly."

Xue Ke's expression changed slightly. He cupped his hands in greeting to Jia Lian and said, "I have some things to take care of at home, so I have to go out for a bit. Second Brother Lian, please feel free to wander around..."

"It's alright, I'll go with you to take a look."

Xue Ke immediately showed a grateful expression, nodded, and turned to walk out.

Upon reaching the outer courtyard, they saw several middle-aged and young men trying to force their way in, while the Xue family, consisting of only a few guards, were trying to stop them.

"Tadpole, you've come at the perfect time! Look at your servants, they're getting more and more outrageous, actually blocking us from entering!"

Faced with the young man's questioning, Xue Ke's still-youthful face was full of gloom, but he still forced himself to step forward and pay his respects: "Greetings, Third Uncle, greetings to all my uncles and elders."

"Tadpole, do we have guests at home today? Why don't you introduce them to us?"

Although Jia Lian didn't bring many people with him, the Xue family members all saw him, including the guards on duty outside the gate and inside the courtyard. Given that this was clearly not a place that should be in the Xue family's residence, they easily deduced that he must be a guest.

Just as Xue Ke was about to introduce Jia Lian, Jia Lian waved his hand and laughed, "I am merely a descendant of an old friend. Today I have only come to pay my respects to the Second Master of the Xue family and to visit Aunt Xue as well. You need not mind me."

Upon hearing this, Xue Ke knew that they didn't want him to reveal his identity, so he remained silent.

The Xue family members relaxed completely, mainly because Jia Lian's personal guards looked quite imposing. Since it was just a descendant of an old friend coming to pay a visit, they assumed he was a military officer, so they simply bowed slightly as a greeting and didn't take it too seriously.

"Tadpole, where's your mother? Go and tell her we have something important to discuss with her."

After they finished speaking, they spontaneously walked into the courtyard. Xue Ke, unable to contain his anger, stepped forward and stood in the middle of the road: "My mother said that clan affairs are not her responsibility, nor can she manage them. If any of you uncles have any requests, please go to the capital to find my aunt or Brother Pan. My mother cannot make decisions."

These past few days, because of these things, my mother has fallen ill and is now resting at home. She can't receive guests, so you should all go back home.

"What are you saying? My sister-in-law doesn't handle things. Before she went to the capital, she entrusted the southern properties to my second brother to take care of and manage."

Now that my second brother has passed away, there is no one to take care of the family's various businesses. Naturally, it is up to us all to work together to come up with a solution.

Who knew that those lackeys and managers, relying on their seniority and being cunning and treacherous, not only embezzled money wantonly but also didn't respect us at all.

If this continues, are we just going to stand by and watch our Xue family's century-old foundation be destroyed in the hands of a bunch of lackeys and servants?

We would like to ask our eldest sister-in-law for advice, but she is far away in the capital. What can we do? We are here today to ask our second sister-in-law for a solution: fire all those cunning and corrupt servants who embezzle family property, and let our own people take over. Only then can we prevent the Xue family's century-old legacy from being destroyed.

"That's right, that's right. Nowadays, in our Xue family, only Second Sister-in-law's words count. Second Sister-in-law can't let the fear of offending people cause us to disregard the Xue family's century-old foundation. Otherwise, how will Second Sister-in-law face our ancestors in the afterlife?"

Hearing these people talking all at once, Xue Ke trembled, but he didn't know how to respond.

Just then, Zhuang's voice came from the main corridor: "Uncles and elders, you really know how to label people. Unfortunately, I am just a woman and cannot bear such words."

Supported by an old woman, Zhuang walked "shakily" from under the main corridor.

Upon seeing her appear, several members of the Xue family quickly stepped forward to bow and said, "Second sister-in-law, please don't blame us for forcing you. It's just that the servants in the house are too arrogant, and only your words carry any weight with them."

We understand the difficulties Second Sister-in-law faces as a woman; she finds it inconvenient to deal with those servants and employees. Here's what we'll do: Second Sister-in-law, hand over the deeds to the family pawnshop, several cloth shops, and spice shops to us first. After we've purged those corrupt managers and employees, we'll return them intact.

In this way, Second Sister-in-law won't have to take responsibility. If Madam asks in the future, just say it was the clan's idea. As for the details, we'll explain that to Madam ourselves.”

In the Xue family, only Aunt Xue could be addressed as "Madam." After the successive deaths of the Xue family patriarchs, all of the Xue family's assets fell into the hands of Aunt Xue and her son.

Zhuang first glanced at Jia Lian, who was standing to the side observing, and then looked at the Xue family members before suddenly laughing.

"Uncles, there's no need to beat around the bush with me. Let's be frank. Everyone knows whether your repeated demands for control of the family business are for the good of the Xue family or for your own benefit."

However, what puzzles me is why you think I have the authority to make these decisions?

Especially his third uncle, do you think we're different from you? We didn't separate from our eldest brother and sister-in-law, so we can still be in charge of the eldest branch of the family business?

The young man, whom Xue Ke had previously called Third Uncle, said somewhat awkwardly upon hearing this: "Look at what Second Sister-in-law is saying. After Eldest Brother died, Second Brother made most of the decisions regarding the family affairs."

Now that my second brother has passed away, it's naturally my second sister-in-law's turn to make the decisions.

Besides, everyone knows that my sister-in-law trusts no one but my second brother and you. Now that my sister-in-law is in the capital and my second brother is dead, it's natural that you should be the one to make decisions about things in the south.

The Xue family had three brothers in the previous generation, and only the eldest son was born of the legitimate wife, so the family business naturally fell to him.

As for the second and third sons, the second son was highly regarded by his elder brother because of his achievements in business. Therefore, it was only natural that the second son would take over the reins of power and win people's hearts after his elder brother's death.

Now that the eldest and second eldest sons are dead, only the third son, who is neither good at literature nor martial arts, remains, along with a group of clansmen who are eyeing the eldest son's property. Naturally, they are eager to make a move.

In fact, this was also the reason why Aunt Xue moved to the capital with her two daughters. Because these clansmen were really difficult to deal with, and they would often use the righteousness of the family to intimidate people. As an orphan and a widow, it was really difficult for her to protect her own interests without offending others.

Upon hearing this, Zhuang sneered, "What a joke! It has been said since ancient times that a country has its laws and a family has its rules. My elder brother's business is for my sister-in-law and her family to worry about. What does it have to do with me? I can't even manage my own family's affairs. How can I be capable of making decisions for you?"

What's even more ridiculous is, why would you think my sister-in-law would hand over the house deeds and land deeds to me? Third brother, would you hand over your house deeds to someone else?

The young man said in a deep voice, "Second sister-in-law, don't try to fool me. Putting aside everything else, at least the seal of the clan's business and the key to the treasury were previously in my second brother's hands. Otherwise, how could the income and expenditure of the various businesses of the family have been running?"

Zhuang said in a deep voice, "Third brother, you even dare to ask for these two things? Do you really think that just because eldest brother is dead, sister-in-law and the others can be bullied at will?"

"We wouldn't dare. It's just that my sister-in-law and the others have always stayed in the capital and don't concern themselves with family affairs. Surely we can't just stand by and watch the Xue family's hard-earned legacy be swallowed up by these servants? We're only doing this for the good of the family..."

After listening for a while, Jia Lian roughly understood what was going on.

As expected, it's another bunch of trivial matters about fighting over inheritance.

In general, the Xue family had too many businesses, and the eldest sons of the main branch who were capable of managing them all died young. As a result, it was not uncommon for the managers and employees to embezzle and steal.

This made the Xue family members resentful. How could they let the servants take all the benefits? So they came forward to seize it. Both sides had their own strengths and fought each other, neither giving an inch.

However, even if Aunt Xue and others knew that the shopkeeper and the staff were embezzling, how could they dare to entrust their business to their own clansmen?

After all, there's a limit to how much shopkeepers and employees can embezzle, because if they're caught, they'll either end up in jail or lose their lives.

But if it falls into the hands of the clan, it's a different story; there's a risk of total annihilation.

It's like a relative lending you money; if they don't want to pay it back, you might have to be very forceful to get it back. Someone as distinguished as Aunt Xue obviously wouldn't take that risk.

Therefore, Aunt Xue would try to appease these people's requests if she could, and if she couldn't, she would simply take her children to the capital to escape to a quiet place!

Only then did the Xue family members calm down a little.

Now that the second master of the Xue family is dead, these members of the Xue family saw an opportunity and immediately picked another one, with the third son of the Xue family being the most vocal.

In his view, if his eldest brother died, his second brother could take over.

Since the second brother is dead, why can't he take his place?

However, he was young and lacked prestige; none of the shopkeepers or employees in the clan took him seriously, so he came here to pester them. He could only pester them here, since Aunt Xue had long since fled to the capital, and he had neither the ability nor the courage to bother her.

"Alright, I've made things clear to you. The eldest branch's affairs are up to your sister-in-law to decide. If you truly care about the Xue family, whether you write a letter to plead or go to the capital to find her in person, as long as you can get her consent, even if you take over all of the Xue family's assets, that will be a testament to your abilities."

Otherwise, no matter how much you plead with me, it won't make any difference.

"Alright, we have distinguished guests at home today, so we won't keep you any longer. You may all go home now."

The Zhuang family issued an order to evict the guests.

However, these members of the Xue family were still unwilling to leave empty-handed, and instead kept pestering and persuading them, for example, asking Zhuang to write a letter to Aunt Xue with her demands.

They had already tried writing to Aunt Xue in the capital, or even to Xue Pan, but to no avail, or they were met with perfunctory replies. This was why they wanted to start with the second branch of the main line. If they could get through to Aunt Xue, they wouldn't need to go through all this trouble.

Although Zhuang was in the right, she was just a woman, and Xue Ke was only eleven or twelve years old and unable to stand on his own. Therefore, the orphan and widow appeared somewhat weak and even bullied in front of these well-prepared clansmen.

Jia Lian then understood why the Xue family gatekeeper had been so vigilant when he first arrived. Clearly, this was not the first time such a situation had occurred.

Jia Lian couldn't stand it any longer and beckoned to the side. Zhang Yong and the others understood and immediately led their men forward to surround the Xue clan members.

As the bewildered Xue family members looked at him, he stepped forward and said calmly, "Although I am an outsider, after listening for a while, I have come to understand."

So you all want control of the family business but don't dare to ask the matriarch for it, so you're making a scene here, trying to take advantage of the chaos to seize the eldest son's property?

There is probably no such logic in the world.

Seeing Jia Lian, who had been completely invisible until now, suddenly stepping into the center and reprimanding them, the Xue family members' faces turned ugly. They demanded, "Who exactly are you, daring to interfere in the affairs of my Xue family?"

These people weren't unaware of Jia Lian's self-proclaimed title; they simply didn't consider it akin to a marquis. In Nanjing, where were there any marquises? It was too far removed from their lives.

Not to mention, Jia Lian is still so young.

As a result, some people made rude remarks.

"That's right. Since you know he's an outsider, how dare you, a mere brat, interfere in the affairs of the Xue family!"

"How dare you disrespect the Marquis! Slap him!"

Zhang Yong and the others have followed Jia Lian for so many years that they know what to do with just a glance from him.

With a cold shout, Zhang Yong, who was eight feet tall, took a step forward and delivered a loud punch to Xue's third son, who looked weak in comparison!

*Smack!*

Seeing the third son of the Xue family almost fall to the ground after being slapped hard, not only were the Xue family members dumbfounded, but even Xue Ke and Zhuang Shi were stunned.

Then Zhuang smiled in relief. Indeed, she had almost been fooled by his previous humility and politeness. This was the true imposing presence of a marquis—noble and unapproachable.

No wonder his sister-in-law, who is his relative and elder, doesn't dare to make requests of him directly.

Thinking of Aunt Xue's thoughts and her suggestion, Zhuang suddenly felt that she should seriously consider it.

Therefore, seeing the Xue family members' astonished yet hesitant demeanor, she quickly said, "This is the Marquis of Zhenyuan from the Rongguo Mansion in the capital, and also the nephew-in-law of our lady's family. He was ordered to go to Jiangnan on official business and, entrusted by my sister-in-law, brought a letter from home."

Furthermore, my sister-in-law already knows about the embezzlement by the clan's manager and employees. She has entrusted the Marquis of Zhenyuan to help investigate and deter such behavior. Therefore, you need not trouble yourselves with this matter. Please return home.

Jia Lian raised an eyebrow at Zhuang's words but said nothing.

However, the third son of the Xue family, who had been filled with rage after being beaten and seemed ready to fight back, suddenly shrank back upon hearing Zhuang's words and seeing the burly guards around him. He muttered a complaint, "Since they're from the Rongguo Mansion, why didn't they say anything earlier? Now they're beating people..."

The four great families are closely linked, sharing both prosperity and adversity. This is something every member of the four great families knows and must know.

Jia Lian glanced at him. "Otherwise, Third Master Xue, go to Yingtian Prefecture to sue me? Or, I, this Marquis, will have the Prefect of Yingtian Prefecture punish you for forcibly entering a private residence and oppressing orphans and widows?"

Xue Laosan dared not speak again.

Although he was also a member of the Xue family, he could no longer represent the Xue family. Moreover, the difference in status between him and Jia Lian was too great; he would be a fool to dare to take Jia Lian to court.

"I already know about what happened here. I will explain everything to your wives after I return to the capital."

Therefore, you should all stay home and await your wives' decision. If you dare to cause any more trouble, I will have you all arrested and imprisoned in Yingtian Prefecture, charged with coveting and seizing the eldest son's property.

After Jia Lian finished speaking, he didn't even need to listen to the feedback from these lackeys. With a wave of his hand, Zhang Yong and the others directly "sent" them out of the Xue family.

(End of this chapter)

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