Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Upon hearing the news of what was happening in Daiyu's room, Grandmother Jia and the others quickly rushed over.

Without exception, whether it was Grandmother Jia or Lady Wang, their primary concern was Jia Baoyu's "Spirit Jade".

After checking and finding that the jade was undamaged, they breathed a sigh of relief and then had the energy to check on Jia Baoyu and Daiyu.

I deliberately blame them for arguing and bickering every year, regardless of the time, even on such a big day as today.

But when Grandmother Jia saw her two beloved grandchildren, one stood there, tears streaming down her face, completely distraught, seemingly oblivious to everyone around her. The other was heartbroken and barely breathing, leaning against Xiangyun's chest in despair, unable to utter a word of reproach.

Therefore, Grandmother Jia's face hardened, and she looked at the servants attending Daiyu and Baoyu, angrily saying:

"I always tell you to serve them diligently, but you just won't listen. You insist on letting them get to this point where it's out of control, and now you can't do anything about it. What use are you then?"

Since it's not appropriate to blame the two main parties involved, the only option is to take it out on the servants.

Grandmother Jia was angry, and Zijuan, Xiren, and all the maids and servants in Baoyu and Daiyu's rooms who were there all hurriedly knelt down, but dared not utter a single word in defense.

"Zijuan, tell me, what exactly happened today!"

Ultimately, Grandmother Jia was not a harsh person. Both Zijuan and Xiren were her most valued maids. She also knew that Jia Baoyu and Daiyu were both willful, and that if they threw a tantrum, it would be difficult for a few maids to calm them down. Therefore, she specifically asked Zijuan for advice.

"Ancestor..."

Without waiting for Zijuan's reply, Jia Baoyu, who seemed to have finally come to his senses, looked at Grandmother Jia with teary eyes and cried out, "Grandmother, please, please don't let Lin Daiyu marry Lian Er Gege..."

Jia Baoyu walked step by step to Grandmother Jia, and as always, he took her arm and spoke with pleading eyes.

As soon as he said this, many people in the already crowded room widened their eyes in disbelief.

The marriage between Jia Lian and Daiyu was essentially arranged privately by the elders of both families and was not made public. Grandmother Jia and others even issued a gag order to everyone in the mansion, so most of the people present were unaware of the matter.

They all thought Jia Baoyu had gone mad. Why was Miss Lin going to marry Master Lian again? But Grandmother Jia and the others were not surprised. Firstly, they had heard some news when they came over, and secondly, they knew from the beginning that this matter could only be kept from Jia Baoyu for a while, not forever.

But at first, they just thought that Jia Baoyu was young and had been close to Daiyu since childhood. Children are always reluctant to part with what they like. They thought that things would be better when Jia Baoyu grew up a bit and became more sensible.

Indeed, in the eyes of Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang, neither of them believed that Jia Baoyu knew what affection or love was; they simply regarded him as a child.

They were used to treating Jia Baoyu like a child.

However, they underestimated how much Jia Baoyu cared about Daiyu.

So Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang exchanged a glance. Grandmother Jia spoke to coax Jia Baoyu, while Lady Wang continued to question Zijuan and the others.

"The old lady instructed you long ago not to discuss this matter in front of Baoyu, why didn't you listen?"

Although Lady Wang's tone was not as stern as that of Grandmother Jia, her cold demeanor made Zijuan and the others feel much greater pressure than when they were facing Grandmother Jia.

Zijuan explained, "Reporting to Madam, we have never forgotten the old lady's instructions, nor have we ever mentioned this matter to Master Bao..."

"Then why has things turned out this way today?"

"because……"

Zijuan glanced at Xiangyun, who was holding her daughter on the bed above, and didn't know what to say.

To be honest, it would be implicated Xiangyun. Besides, the reason Jia Baoyu smashed the jade was because Xiangyun spoke up for their young lady. If we were to betray her, wouldn't that be disloyal?

But if they don't tell the truth, and it involves Jia Baoyu and Daiyu, plus the even more important "Baoyu," they are not qualified to take the blame.

Her hesitation made Madam Wang's expression even more stern.

"Yes, madam, it's me..."

Behind Madam Wang came Shi Xiangyun's voice.

Xiangyun was also afraid of this situation, but she was even more unwilling to cower in the back and let Zijuan and the others take the blame for her.

Therefore, despite her fear, she mustered her courage and admitted, "It was Sister Lin and I talking inside when Brother Bao followed us. Madam, it's all my fault, it has nothing to do with Zijuan and the others. If you must blame someone, blame me..."

Xiangyun felt extremely guilty. She had now realized why no one in the Rongguo Mansion had mentioned such a big matter.

Even Yingchun and the others seemed unaware of the situation.

Madam Wang glanced back at Xiangyun, frowned, and said nothing.

Xiangyun is Grandmother Jia's grandniece, and has no relation to her. So it's not her place to scold her.

Sure enough, at this moment, Grandmother Jia also glanced at Xiangyun. Although she didn't say anything, the reproach in her eyes made Xiangyun feel very uncomfortable.

Meanwhile, Grandmother Jia was also trying to persuade Jia Baoyu: "Alright, Baoyu, be good. Your sister's marriage was decided by her father and your father together. How can you go back on your word?"

Upon hearing that Lin Ruhai and Jia Zheng had jointly made the decision, Jia Baoyu felt as if his heart was being torn apart.

Why was the marriage arranged between Lin Daiyu and her father given to Jia Lian instead of her? Moreover, her uncle-in-law had been dead for half a year, and she only found out about it now. How pathetic that she was the biggest fool in the world, deceived by all of them!

No wonder Lin Daiyu became increasingly cold towards me after returning from the south; it turns out she had fallen for Lian Erge!

Thinking of all this, Jia Baoyu silently shed tears.

Seeing him like this, Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang felt very sorry for him and went to comfort him, but Jia Baoyu wouldn't listen.

Grandmother Jia and the others were oblivious to the fact that they were only concerned with Jia Baoyu and did not realize that the cause and effect of today's events were due to Jia Baoyu's willful and reckless behavior.

But at this moment, Jia Baoyu, who was the one who caused the trouble, was surrounded by them, being pampered and coaxed, while Daiyu, who was truly wronged, only had the small, weak shoulder of Shi Xiangyun to lean on!

Wang Xifeng learned of the news a little later than Grandmother Jia and the others, but she basically arrived around the same time.

Seeing Jia Baoyu's appearance, Feng Jie, as his cousin who had watched him grow up, felt quite sorry for him.

But what can you do? You have a domineering older brother. Once he sets his sights on someone or something, who can compete with him?

In earlier years, you might have been able to rely on the old lady to get him to back down a bit, but nowadays, even the old lady might not be enough.

With a sigh, Feng Jie knew that today's matter was neither a big deal nor a trivial matter. If Grandmother Jia and the others did not handle it well, and Daiyu was truly wronged, her husband would probably not let it go easily.

The quiet atmosphere at home that has only been there for a short time may be broken.

Therefore, Fengjie ignored Jia Baoyu and instead sat down by the bed, took Daiyu from Xiangyun's hands, and gently comforted her, "Good girl, you've been in our family for so many years, don't you know what kind of person Baoyu is?"

Don't take it to heart. Don't worry, I already asked your sister Ping to call your second brother Lian when I came over, he should be here soon. Stop crying, he'll be heartbroken to see you like this.”

Feng Jie's chest was broader and thicker than Xiang Yun's, and her voice carried the gentle tranquility of an older sister.

Hearing Sister Feng's comforting words, Daiyu even stopped crying for a moment, staring blankly at Sister Feng.

At that moment, she had a strange feeling that the radiant woman in front of her, who had nothing to do with her and could even be said to be her enemy, was actually her closest person.

Yes, no matter what, after she marries Lian Er Gege, they will be a real family and will be together day and night.

Thus, Daiyu, such a proud and aloof person, surprisingly lay quietly in Fengjie's arms, feeling much more at ease.

In the center of the house, Jia Baoyu secretly glanced at Daiyu several times. The more he saw her aggrieved and delicate appearance, the more heartbroken and reluctant he felt.

The more heartbroken and reluctant he was to let Daiyu go, the more excruciating the thought of watching her marry someone else came to him.

With the help of Grandmother Jia, Lady Wang, and other people, who were all trying to comfort him with kind words, he began to have illusions again.

"Grandmother, you are Lin Daiyu's maternal grandmother, so you are in charge of making decisions about her marriage, aren't you?"

"Please, Grandma, make the decision to cancel the engagement between Lin Daiyu and Lian Erge. Lian Erge is already with Feng Jie. He is not the best match for Lin Daiyu. Please, Grandma, make the decision to cancel Lin Daiyu's engagement..."

Seeing Jia Baoyu's hopeful expression, Grandmother Jia felt very uncomfortable.

She had watched Jia Baoyu grow from a tiny baby to the man she knew, and he was the apple of her eye—a place no one could ever take! Seeing him so heartbroken, even Grandmother Jia felt a pang of regret.

But now that things have come to this, there's no going back. Let alone the fact that a marriage agreement is a serious matter, it's not something to be taken lightly. Even Jia Lian's eldest grandson isn't someone whose word is law anymore.

She could tell that Jia Lian was very opinionated, and as long as it didn't violate his principles, he wouldn't bother arguing with them about trivial matters at home.

But if she were to actually consider canceling the engagement between Jia Lian and Daiyu, the entire Jia family would likely immediately feel the turmoil caused by Jia Lian.

Such consequences were something that even a first-class Lady of Rongguo, and the matriarch of the Jia family, would not be willing to bear.

Besides...

Grandmother Jia took one last look at Lady Wang, tenderly rubbed Jia Baoyu's head, and sighed: "Foolish child, even if I, your grandmother, am willing to grant your wish, how can you go against your mother's wishes?"

Grandmother Jia did not believe she could live forever; sooner or later, the affairs of Jia Baoyu would fall entirely into the hands of Lady Wang.

Since Lady Wang didn't want Daiyu to become her daughter-in-law, even if she had tried her best to make it happen, it probably wouldn't have been a good thing.

This is also one of the reasons why she turned a blind eye to Madam Wang's intention to deliberately delay Lin Ruhai's marriage proposal.

Although she felt most sorry for Jia Baoyu, Daiyu also held a significant place in her heart. Daiyu was the only daughter of her only daughter, and she ultimately wanted to consider Daiyu's long-term future.

In this world, if a daughter-in-law is not well-liked by her mother-in-law, how difficult her life must be; only those who have been through it know.

According to Grandmother Jia, if Daiyu, as her daughter-in-law, had met Lady Wang, it wouldn't be surprising if she hadn't lived happily, but rather died of depression.

Just as she was pondering how to appease Jia Baoyu, she heard the servants' voices outside the door announcing:

"Second Master Lian is here!"

The previously noisy room of Daiyu instantly fell silent.

Everyone consciously made way, so that the center of the room where Grandmother Jia and the others were located became spacious.

Then, everyone saw Jia Lian, who was seven feet tall and had a tall and imposing figure, walk in with slow but firm steps.

He glanced around at everyone in the room, his gaze finally settling on Daiyu, who was being embraced by Sister Feng.

The tear stains that Daiyu had been wiped away by Fengjie were suddenly replaced by the pent-up grievances that had been suppressed in her heart. As a result, her tears flowed out like a burst dam.

Upon seeing this, a hint of gloom seemed to flash across Jia Lian's cold face, causing those who noticed it to feel a jolt in their hearts.

Since giving up on opposing Jia Lian, Lady Wang has been determined to maintain a good relationship with him. Over the past year, the results have been quite good. The household is indeed thriving, and Jia Lian, just as she predicted, has not caused any trouble for their second branch of the family.

Seeing Jia Lian appear so quickly, his expression also unpleasant, he immediately said, "Lian'er, don't misunderstand, nothing's wrong here. It's just your brother Bao and your sister Lin bickering. Weren't you outside, drinking and watching a play with the gentlemen? Why did you come over?"

"I heard there was a lot of noise here, so I came to check it out."

Jia Lian paid no attention to Lady Wang. His gaze fell on Jia Baoyu, who seemed somewhat fearful, and he asked in a low voice, "Just now, Brother Bao said that I am not a good match for Sister Lin? Then I am curious, in Brother Bao's heart, who is a good match for Sister Lin?"

How could Jia Baoyu dare to reply to Jia Lian? Already dull and simple-minded, he immediately hid behind Grandmother Jia.

Grandmother Jia was not very happy. She protected Jia Baoyu with one hand and looked at Jia Lian with displeasure, saying, "Your brother Bao is young and said something wrong. As his older brother, why don't you be more lenient with him instead of scaring him?"

When Lady Wang saw that Jia Lian had overheard these words, she knew things were going badly.

Unlike Grandmother Jia, she never considered making Daiyu her daughter-in-law. Therefore, not only did Jia Lian seize on Jia Baoyu's mistakes, but the mere fact that rumors of Jia Baoyu wanting to "steal" his brother and sister-in-law would damage his reputation and make it even more difficult for him to find a good marriage in the future.

So he quickly said, "What the old lady said is right. Your brother Bao just misspoke for a moment. Don't take it to heart."

As a marquis and the head of the Jia family, Jia Lian exuded an aura of authority simply by standing there.

Even Zijuan and the others kneeling on the ground dared not get too close, thus creating a blank area around him so that everyone could clearly see his expression.

He slowly turned to face Madam Wang, and in a calm yet utterly cold voice retorted, "It has been said since ancient times that the hatred for killing one's father and the resentment for taking one's wife are the greatest. Does Madam think this is merely a slip of the tongue?"

The room fell silent as soon as he said that.

Lady Wang was stunned for a moment, and even Grandmother Jia's eyelids twitched, almost unable to believe her ears.

They never imagined that Jia Lian would make such a big deal out of nothing, escalating the matter to this point. What is the hatred of killing one's father? What is the hatred of stealing one's wife? Those are things that must be fought to the death!

For a moment, no one dared to speak; the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Happy Lunar New Year's Eve and Happy New Year to everyone!!