Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Chapter 557 The Imperial Concubine's Visit Home (Part 10)

When Yuan Chun left the palace, she brought with her a huge amount of gifts.

Gold, silver, newly made copper coins, colorful silk fabrics, pearl ruyi scepters, the Four Treasures of the Study, and so on—everything imaginable is available.

From Grandmother Jia down, all six or seven hundred people in the two Jia mansions received rewards.

After expressing her gratitude, Yuan Chun sat on the imperial desk in the main hall, glancing over Grandmother Jia and the others, and then taking in the wealth and splendor of the entire hall, her eyes revealing extreme reluctance.

Fearing that it would make Grandmother Jia and the others shed tears, she forced a smile and looked at her sisters, saying in a clear voice, "Feng, Daiyu, come forward."

Feng Jie and Daiyu were caught off guard by Yuan Chun's sudden summons. They exchanged a glance, and then, urged by the gazes of Grandmother Jia and others, they walked together to the center and bowed their heads to greet her.

Yuan Chun glanced at the two women before her and sighed inwardly that Jia Lian was truly blessed. Then she said, "I have lived in the deep palace for a long time, but I know that Brother Lian is an unparalleled hero. Even His Majesty and the Empress often praise him, saying that he has inherited the style of their ancestors. Given time, he may well be able to restore the glory of their ancestors."

Since you two are destined to be together, you should cherish this opportunity and support each other wholeheartedly. Do not hold grudges over minor disagreements or resentments, lest you needlessly damage this bond.

As Yuan Chun spoke, she glanced at Madam Wang and the others.

Although she had previously reminded her grandmother and mother to treat Jia Lian well, this trip home made her realize even more clearly how important Jia Lian was to the entire Jia family.

What's most remarkable is that Jia Lian is so close to her and now trusts her. She worries that because of her mother's negligence and shortsightedness, Jia Lian's enthusiasm might be dampened.

Knowing that his mother and others held the imperial authority in the utmost reverence, he deliberately pointed out Jia Lian's position in the eyes of the Emperor and Empress in front of everyone. This was to effectively prevent his mother and others from developing a grudge against Jia Lian over some trivial family matters.

In addition, it was also a way of returning the favor and helping Jia Lian stabilize his household.

The blessing of having multiple wives is not something to be enjoyed easily, especially since she saw that her two cousins, Feng Jie and Daiyu, were not foolish or submissive. Therefore, she used her status as the eldest sister and the imperial concubine to teach them a lesson.

Feng Jie was used to instructing her servants, so she immediately understood Yuan Chun's meaning and quickly knelt down, saying, "Thank you for your instruction, Your Majesty. I will remember it."

Although Daiyu followed Fengjie by her side, she inwardly disagreed with Yuanchun's words.

She thought to herself that she recognized Lian Er Gege not because he was a hero of the time, nor because he had the ability to restore the glory of their ancestors, but simply because he was Lian Er Gege, the Lian Er Gege who could protect her, care for her, and love her.

Whatever she was thinking, the clever Daiyu wouldn't reveal it at this moment. Seeing Fengjie kneel, she quickly knelt down as well, saying, "This humble woman will obey Your Majesty's decree."

"Get up, everyone."

Yuan Chun raised her hand in a gesture, gave Zhao Rong a look, then took a brocade box from her hand, opened it, looked inside, and handed it to Bao Qin.

He first looked at Sister Feng and said, "When you married into the family, I wasn't in the household, so I didn't even give you a proper greeting gift..."

Sister Feng repeatedly said "No need."

Yuan Chun then looked at Daiyu: "When you and Brother Lian get married in the future, I'm afraid I won't be able to come to the mansion to congratulate you both."

It just so happens that I acquired a pair of jade bracelets in my early years. They came from a single piece of jade and were engraved with the words "auspicious" and "as you wish".

Today I bestow this upon you both, hoping that you will be like this jade, flawless in quality, and perfectly harmonious inside and out.

Baoqin came to Fengjie and Daiyu, and gave "Jixiang" to Fengjie and "Ruyi" to Daiyu.

The two took a look and found that the jade bracelets were indeed flawless and very beautiful, and the two bracelets were almost identical in shape, structure, and even texture.

Baoqin smiled and said, "These bracelets are our Empress's favorite things. The two can be combined into one, which is also very beautiful."

As she spoke, Baoqin took the two bracelets, clasped them together, and they fit perfectly side by side. It turned out that both bracelets had polished surfaces on their sides, allowing them to be joined together, and the resulting shape was quite beautiful.

It is not hard to see that these bracelets were originally meant to be a perfect pair, and their purpose was to be given to a couple in love as a keepsake!

Yuan Chun, however, gave it to them...

This made Daiyu, who was already shy because Yuanchun mentioned her marriage to Jia Lian, blush even more, but she dared not refuse the reward.

Watching this scene from the side, Jia Baoyu felt as cold as autumn water.

Previously, seeing how much Yuan Chun loved him, he had even considered whether he could ask Yuan Chun for help to salvage the situation with Daiyu.

He knew that Yuan Chun was even more powerful than Grandmother Jia. Weren't those people all afraid of power and trying to curry favor with Brother Lian? If his sister spoke, they would obey, right?

Who would have thought that before he could find an opportunity or figure out how to bring it up, Yuan Chun publicly expressed her approval of Jia Lian and Daiyu's marriage in Rongqing Hall, and even took off her prayer beads from her wrist and gave them to Daiyu.

His heart sank.

Who knew they would pull this stunt right in front of him again! Therefore, watching their harmonious display, Jia Baoyu felt utterly disgusted and dizzy, thinking to himself, "Why did I come into this world to be hurt like this? I'd rather die sooner..."

Regardless of what Jia Baoyu thought, after Fengjie and Daiyu thanked Yuanchun, they returned to their seats.

Seeing this, the ceremonial eunuch was about to step forward. Yuan Chun knew what he meant, so she gave him a look to calm him down beforehand, then stood up and said loudly, "This time I returned home and was able to see my grandmother and other relatives. That is enough for me."

Upon returning home, I will certainly write down today's events in addition to "A Record of the Grand View Garden" and "Ode to the Visit to My Family," so as not to let down the hard work and effort that the family has put in to welcome me home.

Furthermore, after I leave, this garden should not be locked up and left to fall into disrepair.

I see that I have many sisters in my family, and each of them is skilled in poetry. Why not let them move into this garden? Firstly, they would have a spacious and quiet place to study, and secondly, it would add vitality to the garden, preventing it from becoming deserted.

Just don't be so wasteful as you are today.

Upon hearing Yuan Chun's instructions, Grandmother Jia and the others immediately nodded in agreement.

Upon seeing this, Daiyu couldn't help but wonder: she remembered that her second brother Lian had asked her many times which place she would like to live in if she could enter the garden.

When she mentioned that her favorite place was "Youfeng Laiyi" (Xiaoxiang Pavilion), I asked her how she wanted it decorated, and even specially built a beautiful swing frame for her under the old pear tree behind the pavilion...

Lian Ergege looked as if he already knew that the Imperial Concubine would let them stay here.

But judging from Yuan Chun's appearance, it seems like it was a spur-of-the-moment decision. Could it be that Brother Lian consulted Yuan Chun beforehand?

Daiyu was unaware that Jia Lian was absolutely certain they could move in. Even if Yuan Chun hadn't mentioned it, he would have later written a memorial to remind her.

……

After the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), Yuan Chun returned to the palace.

Because if it got any later, they wouldn't be able to get back to the palace in time. The court officials had to enter the palace at dawn to prepare for the court assembly; once the palace gates opened, it was considered the next day.

As an imperial concubine, Yuan Chun was naturally not allowed to spend the night outside the palace. Therefore, the palace's restrictions on the time for returning to the palace were not entirely unreasonable.

It's also better than the original story.

Jia Lian remembered that in the original story, Yuan Chun set off from the palace at the beginning of Xu (7 pm), and didn't know what time she arrived at Rongguo Mansion. Finally, at the third quarter of Chou (1-3 am), she returned to the palace.

All told, I only stayed at home for five or six hours.

This visit to her family home will take a little longer. Yuan-chun arrived at the Rongguo Mansion in the evening, and by this time she left, it will have been about nine hours.

However, whether it's five or six hours, or nine hours, it's all too short for Yuan Chun, who only gets a chance to go home once every ten years.

This is also why Jia Lian didn't deliberately try to get Yuan Chun more time to return home. He couldn't let Yuan Chun stay at home for more than a few days, so whether she stayed two more hours or two less, the difference wouldn't be significant.

Yuan Chun has left, but a massive amount of follow-up work still needs to be done.

Grandmother Jia, Lady Wang, and the others naturally had no energy to deal with it. Yuan Chun's departure saddened them greatly, and they had already gone back to their rooms to rest after being comforted by everyone.

Since Jia Zheng had to go to court, he couldn't stay to handle the trivial matters. Therefore, all the tidying up work inside and outside the garden had to be left to Jia Lian and his wife.

Of course, the assistance from Lady You, Li Wan, Qin Keqing, and others was indispensable.

However, whether it was to show off or to genuinely care for Jia Lian, Sister Feng soon found him and told him to go back and rest.

"You have to host a banquet tomorrow to thank your family and relatives. How can you manage without energy? Go home now."

These are Feng Jie's words.

Jia Lian had always trusted Feng Jie'er's ability to manage affairs, and hearing that what she said was reasonable and sincere, he did not stand on ceremony with her. He simply told her to take care of the important things first, and that the rest could be dealt with later.

In order to welcome Yuan Chun back to her home province, it took ten days just to decorate the garden, not to mention the many other things that had been prepared beforehand.

Therefore, the workload of managing and cleaning up these two mansions and one garden was enormous.

Feng Jie readily agreed to Jia Lian's instructions, but clearly didn't take them to heart.

When Jia Lian returned home and slept for two hours, he woke up to find Feng Jie tiptoeing towards bed.

"You're awake. I'm going to take a break..."

Seeing Jia Lian frowning and staring at her, Feng Jie felt guilty and tried to cover it up. So she lifted the quilt she had just covered herself with and pretended to get out of bed.

Her cautious demeanor, coupled with her clumsy acting and the barely concealed weariness on her face, which should have made her radiant, vanished from Jia Lian's mind. He grabbed her arm, pulled her into his embrace, wrapped her in a blanket, and then gave her a light slap on the bulge under the blanket.

With just this simple action, Sister Feng understood that Jia Lian had seen through everything.

Seeing that Jia Lian didn't seem to blame her, she felt both happy and embarrassed. She nestled comfortably in Jia Lian's arms and explained, "There are so many things in the garden, especially those in the Empress's palace. Most of them are very valuable. If we don't take good care of them, it would be a pity if they got lost or accidentally damaged. So, I thought I'd take care of everything before coming back. Who knew that before I knew it, it was already dawn..."

As Feng Jie spoke, she became increasingly guilty, because if she hadn't realized it was already broad daylight and that Jia Lian would punish her later, she wouldn't have wanted to leave things behind and come back.

I don't know why, even though she hadn't slept for two nights, she didn't feel sleepy at all as long as she had something to do.

Jia Lian didn't know what to say to this woman. Even though he was tolerant and believed that everyone had their own preferences and pursuits and that there was no need to interfere unless necessary, he was still impressed by Feng Jie's "dedication".

With this attitude, if he were alive today, he would definitely be the CEO of a listed company.

"Are you angry?" Seeing that Jia Lian didn't speak, Feng Jie looked up at Jia Lian's face with some concern.

"no."

Jia Lian reached into Feng Jie's inner garment, touching her flat, smooth belly, and sighed, "I just pity our child. His mother doesn't care about him at all, nor does she want to bring him to see this wonderful world sooner..."

Upon hearing this, Sister Feng blushed and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? This has nothing to do with that... Besides, I'm really not tired. I'm just sitting here, instructing the servants to do things. I'm not doing anything myself."

To this, Jia Lian simply snorted.

He didn't believe that Sister Feng didn't understand the reasoning behind it. But for her, asking her to stay at home for a long time to prepare for pregnancy was worse than killing her!

He was too lazy to persuade her anymore, because he had even brought up the most important issue for Sister Feng—the issue of offspring—and she still couldn't remember, which meant she really couldn't change.

If that's the case, why force it?

Since she enjoys this feeling of being tired, let her enjoy it.

"Go to sleep, let me rub your tummy."

Jia Lian said this because he suddenly found it quite amusing to rub his wife's little belly.

Sister Feng was genuinely moved. She lay down a little, closed her eyes with a smile, and prepared to sleep.

But she couldn't sleep at all and found herself unusually energetic. It wasn't Jia Lian's fault; Jia Lian's hands were very proper and gentle.

"Um, I need to discuss something with you."

"What?"

"I'd like to build a bathhouse in our garden, like the one in the Empress's palace... It doesn't have to be that big, just a small one will do. What do you think?"

Sister Feng held Jia Lian with one arm, her head resting on his arm, and whispered their conversation.

It turned out that she had been very envious ever since she saw the beautiful scene of Yuan Chun bathing last night.

Unfortunately, her courtyard was too small. After much thought, she realized that there was only a small plot of land at the back of the garden that was unused. Therefore, she wanted to ask Jia Lian if it was feasible.

"Why bother? The bathhouse in that palace is clearly unusable anyway, it's just a waste to leave it there. If you want to use it, who can stop you?"

"No, no, that won't do! After all, it belongs to Her Majesty. If I use it casually, wouldn't that be overstepping my bounds?"

Sister Feng shook her head and said repeatedly.

She still has a strong sense of hierarchy.

Seeing this, Jia Lian didn't say anything more, because he suddenly felt that it wouldn't be bad to have a bath in his own courtyard.

So he nodded and said, "In that case, let's use those three small houses behind the flower hall. When I have some free time, I'll have the craftsmen come in and renovate them."

"Can it really work?"

Sister Feng happily propped herself up. "Where will the water come from? Are we going to have the servants fetch it every time we use it? That's too much trouble!"

"It's alright. We're not far from Xiaoxiang Pavilion. We can just draw a stream of fresh water from there and let it flow through the base of the wall."

"Wouldn't it be bad luck to disturb the feng shui of the Empress's garden without permission...?"

Jia Lian chuckled and looked at Feng Jie, "So, do you want to get it done?"

Feng Jie was speechless, but ultimately her desire to enjoy herself prevailed, and she nodded shyly.

"That's it. Leave this to me. I'll design and build it. However, you'll have to cover all the expenses."

"Tch, enough with the talk, I'll pay it then."

Sister Feng chuckled speechlessly. Ever since she had tens of thousands of taels of gold in her treasury, she felt that she was very wealthy and generous, and she would not care about such a small expense.

Jia Lian pinched her cheek and then got up.

He realized that if he didn't leave, this woman wouldn't want to sleep and would still want to chat!

"Where are you going?"

"Go to the yamen to report for duty."

Seeing Jia Lian call in a maid to change her clothes, Feng Jie curled her lips: "And you're talking about her? Aren't you also destined to be a hard worker?"

So he ignored Jia Lian, covered himself with the quilt, and collapsed onto the bed.