Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

"Eunuch Xia..."

"Oh, my lord, this old servant greets you."

In the left-hand side hall at the front of the palace, Xia Shouzhong and several eunuchs were sitting and drinking tea. When they saw Jia Lian enter, they hurriedly came forward, their faces beaming with smiles and flattery.

Jia Lian glanced at him, secretly shook his head, and thought to himself that these eunuchs were good at changing their tune depending on the wind, no wonder those high-minded literati looked down on eunuchs the most.

In fact, as the chief eunuch of the six palaces, Xia Shouzhong was only superior to Dai Quan, apart from the senior eunuchs of Chonghua Palace.

Having risen to such a position as a eunuch, he must have been accustomed to power and authority, and there was absolutely no need for him to be obsequious to a marquis from another family.

Jia Lian knew that in the original story, when the Jia family began to decline, the first to take advantage of their misfortune were a group of powerful eunuchs led by Xia Shouzhong.

The reason he adopted such a humble posture at this time was simply because the Jia family was at the height of its power and because Jia Lian was highly trusted by the emperor.

It is conceivable that if Yuan Chun were to fall out of favor or lose the emperor's trust, Xia Shouzhong would be among the first to turn his back on her.

Despite knowing this, Jia Lian still smiled at him and said, "This time, because of the Imperial Concubine's visit to her family, I have troubled Eunuch Xia and all the other eunuchs with their busy work. I thank you all for your help."

"We dare not accept such praise. It is our duty to serve the Marquis and the Empress. We are unworthy of your thanks."

As Xia Shouzhong spoke, the other two chief eunuchs beside him also smiled and echoed his words.

Seeing their reaction, Jia Lian stopped wasting words and waved his hand, and Lin Zhixiao walked out from behind him, carrying a tray in his hands.

Jia Lian made no attempt to conceal it, and directly lifted the lid, revealing a tray of brand-new small silver ingots inside, weighing approximately five hundred taels.

"This is a small token of the Jia family's appreciation. Please take it and use it to buy some wine for us."

Following Jia Lian's words, Lin Zhixiao presented the tray to Xia Shouzhong.

"This...this is so kind of you, Lord Marquis, to go to such lengths..."

Xia Shouzhong was not new to dealing with the Jia family and knew they were wealthy, so he said he was sorry but had already taken the silver.

Jia Lian smiled, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "In that case, gentlemen, please rest here. I will not disturb you any longer."

"Please take care, my lord..."

Walking back to the side courtyard where the Jia family masters were gathered, Jia Zheng immediately came up to them and asked, "How did it go? Have you all made arrangements?"

Jia Lian nodded. The best way to deal with these eunuchs was with a lot of hard-earned money.

Don't think that five hundred taels of silver is a small amount. Not to mention that the Jia family has already put countless amounts of silver into the pockets of these chief eunuchs for the purpose of visiting their relatives, five hundred taels of silver is definitely enough for those chief eunuchs to divide among themselves.

Keep in mind that at that time, the annual salary of a third-rank eunuch was only a little over a hundred taels of silver. Consider Dai Quan, the chief steward of the Daming Palace in the original novel, who was known as the Inner Minister. He was willing to promise Jia Zhen a fifth-rank Imperial Guard position for Jia Rong for a thousand taels of silver.

Only Jia Lian, with his current wealth and power, doesn't think that a few hundred taels of silver is anything.

As for giving these eunuchs some benefits, that was a must. Not to mention bribing Yuan Chun, just consider the many things that happened during Yuan Chun's homecoming visit. Even if the Jia family handled everything very carefully, there would still be things that would be criticized.

At times like these, it becomes very important to prevent these chief eunuchs from gossiping in the palace, or even from praising them.

"In that case, let's hurry over there. Her Majesty has finished her rest and will soon hold a banquet in the main hall. We should go and attend to her."

"it is good."

……

After taking a luxurious and comfortable bath and changing her clothes, Yuan Chun felt refreshed and invigorated.

If she weren't thinking about spending the Mid-Autumn Festival with her family, she would have liked to soak a little longer.

Yuan Chun gathered with Grandmother Jia and others in the main hall. She then ordered everyone inside and outside the palace to waive formalities and take their seats, and a grand banquet was held.

Grandmother Jia, Lady Wang, and other female relatives accompanied him inside the hall. Among them, Sister Feng and Lady You personally served soup and cups to him. Jia Zheng, along with more than a dozen of the main nephews and nieces of the Jia family, accompanied him on the outer corridor.

Yuan Chun thought about the scenery in the garden she had just visited, which was delightful at every turn. Moreover, out of respect for her, Jia Zheng and others had only mentioned the plaques at most, without giving any formal names to the pavilions and buildings.

So he ordered pen and inkstone to be prepared, and then chose the one he liked best to give a name.

The main building was bestowed the plaque "Daguanlou".

The main hall was bestowed with a plaque inscribed "Remembering Kindness and Righteousness," and a couplet was written on it:

"Heaven and earth bestow boundless compassion, and all people, young and old, are grateful and honored; ancient and modern times have established a grand tradition, and all nations of the land are bathed in its grace and glory."

And:

When the phoenix came to visit, it was named "Xiaoxiang Pavilion".

The name "Hongxiang Lvyu" was changed to "Yihong Kuailv" and renamed "Yihongyuan".

The fragrant herbs were given the name "Hengwu Garden".

The apricot curtain was in sight, and the place was named "Huange Mountain Villa".

The west side of the main building, where the bathing place had just been, was named "Hanfang Pavilion," and the east-facing pavilion was named "Zhuijin Pavilion." In addition, there were other names such as "Liaofeng Pavilion," "Ouxiang Pavilion," "Ziling Island," and "Qiushuang Studio," as well as more than a dozen plaques with four characters such as "Pear Blossom Spring Rain" and "Tung Tree Cut Autumn Wind," which are too numerous to mention.

He also ordered that the existing plaques need not be removed, so he first inscribed a quatrain:

"Built with exquisite craftsmanship, nestled between mountains and water, it took countless hours to complete. It boasts all the scenic wonders of heaven and earth, and deserves the name 'Grand View' for its fragrant garden."

Inside, Yuan Chun displayed her talents, while on the outer corridor, the men of the Jia family closely watched what was happening inside, waiting for the "literary gathering" to end so that music could be played and the play could begin.

While waiting, whenever poems by Yuan-chun were circulated from inside, everyone except Jia Zheng, Jia Lian, and Jia Bao-yu would vie to flatter her, praising her exceptional talent. This was a common occurrence.

Jia Lian, given his social status, disdained to do such a thing, while Jia Zheng, because she was his own daughter, felt embarrassed to praise her.

As for Jia Baoyu, he only had a limited understanding of the situation. He realized that his older sister was indeed far more talented than ordinary people, and he felt even more heartbroken.

Suddenly, a maidservant close to Yuan Chun came out carrying a zither. After bowing to Jia Zheng, Jia Lian, and others, she said, "Your Majesty invites Second Master Lian and Second Master Bao to come in."

No one found Yuan Chun's order strange; they could only look on with envy at Jia Lian and Jia Baoyu.

After all, they are the younger brothers of the Imperial Concubine. Isn't it only natural for an older sister to dote on her younger brothers?

Of course, there were actually two other people in the two households who were Yuan Chun's younger brothers: Jia Cong and Jia Huan. Among them, Jia Huan was Yuan Chun's biological younger brother.

However, Yuan Chun never paid any attention to the two of them from beginning to end, and everyone treated them as if they didn't exist. They weren't even allowed to enter the palace.

Meanwhile, Jia Lian and Jia Baoyu entered the hall under Baoqin's guidance. They saw Yuan Chun sitting high at the main table in the center, with Li Wan, Baochai, Daiyu, and the three sisters of the Spring and Autumn period standing on either side of her. Each of them had writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone in front of them, and they were all deep in thought.

At first glance, he looks more like an examiner proctoring a student.

"Greetings, elder sister."

"Baoyu... greets elder sister..."

Jia Baoyu was taught that he must address Yuan Chun as "Your Majesty" when he sees her, and he had always done so before. However, now that he was with Jia Lian, he was influenced by his words and began to stutter for a moment.

"No need for formalities."

Yuan Chun stepped down from behind her desk, bathed, touched up her makeup, and changed into casual clothes. She appeared even more radiant and captivating, breathtakingly beautiful. Even Jia Lian couldn't help but glance at her again, wondering to himself, "There's no reason the Emperor wouldn't love such a beauty."

"I am not good at quick thinking, nor am I good at composing poems. Tonight, I am just trying to fulfill my duty and not let down this garden and this scenery."

I am delighted that all my sisters are literate, and I have just instructed them to each inscribe a plaque and a poem according to their respective talents.

Yuan Chun explained something to Jia Lian and Jia Baoyu, who looked puzzled, making Feng Jie and You Shi, who were standing nearby, feel very embarrassed.

Clearly, these two illiterate sisters had just lost face.

Yuan Chun paid no attention to them and turned to Jia Baoyu, saying, "On this trip home, I was delighted to see the words you wrote in this garden. It shows that you have not neglected your studies over the years and have not let down my hard work in teaching you since childhood."

Yuan Chun's praise made Jia Baoyu feel embarrassed. In his father's words, this was all he was good for; he only knew how to write flowery and ornate poems, and he knew absolutely nothing about serious studies.

In short, "studies" were the two words Jia Baoyu was most reluctant to hear. However, when facing outsiders, especially those he hadn't gotten to know well, he wouldn't flaunt his personality, and thus obediently nodded.

Yuan-chun was unaware of these inside stories, because after Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang entered the palace, they only spoke well of Jia Bao-yu to her, saying things like how handsome he was, how cute he was, and how obedient he was.

"There are four places in the garden that I love the most: Xiaoxiang Pavilion, Hengwu Garden, Huange Villa, and Yihong Courtyard."

"Since we are gathered here today, you shall compose poems for two places: Hengwu Garden and Yihong Courtyard. There are no restrictions on rhyme scheme, only five-character regulated verse is required."

Hearing that Yuan Chun asked him to compose a poem, Jia Baoyu breathed a sigh of relief. These were some of his favorite places, and he had secretly written many poems about them before. Now, composing two poems to complete the task was not a difficult task, so he bowed and agreed.

Yuan Chun then looked at Jia Lian.

Jia Lian understood Yuan Chun's meaning as soon as he heard her suggest four places, but only let Jia Baoyu take two.

So he immediately bowed to Yuan Chun and said, "Elder sister knows me. I am just an ordinary, uncouth person who only likes to practice martial arts. Unlike Brother Bao, who is refined and can compose poems, elder sister, please don't make things difficult for me."

Yuan Chun was taken aback when Jia Lian rejected her before she could even speak, and then she couldn't help but laugh.

"Brother Lian, you are being too modest. I believe you are skilled in martial arts, but I don't believe you can't compose poetry. And I'm not the only one here; who else would believe that?"

Yuan Chun waved her hand, and everyone she pointed at laughed in response.

"Back then at the Crown Prince's residence, Brother Lian's poem 'Butterfly Yearning for Flowers' and his song 'Longing for Love' were truly elegant and refined. Why are you now declining? Oh, I see. Perhaps Brother Lian is only capable of writing about the vastness of the eight thousand miles of mountains and rivers and the deepest human emotions. He simply disdains to write about the scenery of this garden."

Yuan Chun said with a smile, and judging from her expression, she was not going to let Jia Lian off easily.