Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Daiyu selected many of Lin Ruhai's favorite books and moved them into the room to decorate. After that, her whole room exuded an even more scholarly and noble atmosphere.

Daiyu's delicate and graceful appearance, and her extremely slender and gentle body, brought Jia Lian peace of mind. Therefore, he genuinely enjoyed visiting Daiyu, even if it was just to talk to her or look at her.

Once he confirmed that her cough had subsided and she was alright, Jia Lian prepared to leave.

Sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed), Daiyu suddenly called out to him, hesitatingly saying, "Otherwise, I won't go into the garden..."

"Why not go?"

Jia Lian turned around and saw Daiyu's face was tightly furrowed, looking very serious. He couldn't help but walk back and pat her head, laughing, "Silly girl, your sister Yingchun and the others have all gone into the garden. If you don't move in, who will play with you outside all by yourself?"

Daiyu didn't say anything, she just stared at Jia Lian.

"Alright, that's settled then. From now on, you'll be staying at Xiaoxiang Pavilion. Once you leave the garden, you'll be right there at my place. It won't be any farther than it is now."

Oh, by the way, your Sister Feng said she's going to build a bathhouse behind the west flower hall, drawing water from the spring near the Xiaoxiang Pavilion. That way, the two sides will be only about a hundred paces apart. If you miss me when you have some free time, you can fold a paper boat and throw it in; I'll know immediately.

"Pah, who misses you?"

Daiyu finally blushed, glared at Jia Lian, and asked softly, "Where is Brother Bao?"

"Him? I vaguely heard that he was going to stay at the Grand View Garden. How vulgar, so vulgar! Our Lin Daiyu has such refined taste, she chose the Xiaoxiang Pavilion at first sight!"

Daiyu was at a loss for words.

She naturally wanted to move into Xiaoxiang Pavilion; she loved the environment there, especially the hundreds of emerald bamboo stalks.

However, she feared that because of her, Jia Baoyu would not be able to move into the garden. After all, she was a guest, while Jia Baoyu was the "main guest." If that were the case, it would be quite meaningless, and she wondered why some people disliked her even more.

Seeing Daiyu's thoughtful expression, Jia Lian found it quite amusing and wanted to tease her, but he was preoccupied with other matters and decided to leave it for another time. He smiled and left.

Upon seeing Zijuan and Xueyan in the outer room, Jia Lian took two steps over.

The two maids immediately tensed up.

"It might be a bit noisy outside tonight, so take good care of your daughter and don't let her wander off on her own."

"Understood, Second Master..."

After Jia Lian finished giving those instructions and left, Zijuan and Xueyan both breathed a sigh of relief.

Zijuan saw that although Xueyan was covering her heart with her hand, her eyes clearly revealed disappointment and regret. She couldn't help but chuckle and tapped Xueyan on the forehead before turning and going into the inner room, leaving Xueyan alone standing by the table, her face flushed with embarrassment.

……

"Thank you, Second Madam, thank you for your kindness, Master..."

Inside the courtyard, hundreds of servants gathered, while Sister Feng sat high on the platform, efficiently distributing over a dozen baskets of reward money.

"Lai Da, Lai Da's wife."

"This servant is here..."

Upon hearing this, Lai Da and his wife, who were not far from Sister Feng, quickly straightened their clothes, pretended to be very happy, and knelt down to accept the reward.

Although the couple no longer cared about the small reward, they never failed to perform the expected manners.

Who knew that after kneeling for a while, they heard no sound. When they looked up, they saw Sister Feng smiling at them. The pity and mockery in her eyes made the Lai couple feel uneasy.

"You two, as the head steward and the wife of the head steward of the inner quarters, have made the greatest contributions and deserve more respect than anyone else. If I were to distribute the rewards to you, it wouldn't show enough importance. That's why your lord said he would personally distribute the rewards to you both when we came out earlier."

Sister Feng was known for her sternness as well as her kindness. Her words, which were clearly loaded with meaning, not only startled the Lai couple, but also made everyone else who had received a reward and were about to leave, all of whom stopped to watch.

Although Lai Da usually only manages the affairs of the outer courtyard and doesn't have much contact with Feng Jie, he knows that Feng Jie is an extremely eloquent and diplomatic person. She usually speaks to them politely, so there must be a reason for her sudden change of attitude today.

He quickly looked towards the direction where the steward and other people were gathered, and suddenly realized that Lin Zhixiao was not there. He then looked towards the direction of the steward's wife and others, and even Lin Zhixiao's wife was not there. Lai Da's heart suddenly skipped a beat, and sweat began to bead on his forehead, but he forced himself not to show his fear.

However, his wife lacked his shrewdness. Upon hearing Feng Jie's words, she immediately replied sheepishly, "Look at what you're saying, Second Madam. Serving our masters is our duty as servants. There's no merit in it. Besides, respect is all given by our masters. You're being too kind, Second Madam."

"We servants can't stand Second Madam's jokes. Please stop teasing us. Whether it's Second Master or Second Madam giving us rewards, it's a great honor for us. We can only be grateful. There's no need to talk about whether we value them or not..."

Sister Feng just smiled, waved to ask the time, and then said with a smile, "I'm not joking with you. The Marquis really said he would come to give you rewards in person. He hasn't come yet, perhaps something has delayed him. You can wait here for a while."

After saying that, Sister Feng took Xiao Hong's hand, got up, and left.

Immediately, the entire compound erupted in discussion and astonishment.

Lai Da and his wife, one is the head steward, whose status goes without saying, and the other is the most favored wife of the masters in the inner quarters. Who doesn't fawn over and flatter these two? Even the young masters in the mansion treat them with respect and smiles.

What's going on with this respectable person? Was he forced to kneel by the second mistress?

Lai Da and his wife have been punished before since they became servants, but this is the first time they have encountered a situation like today!

Unfortunately, Sister Feng didn't even explain herself clearly, leaving them all unsure of what she meant.

Faced with the pointing fingers and whispers of their many "colleagues," they looked embarrassed and their faces turned red with shame. Although Sister Feng had not ordered them to kneel and wait, they could all tell that something must have happened for Sister Feng to treat them this way, so how could they dare to stand up on their own?

"What should we do now that he's in charge?" Lai Da asked anxiously.

Lai Da frowned, then shook his head and said, "Kneel down first, and see what Second Master and Second Madam really mean..."

After saying that, he ignored all external distractions and remained motionless with his head down.

The situation inside the compound naturally spread quickly.

Madam Wang was the first to hear the news. She was very surprised and asked, "Did the Lai couple do something to offend them?"

"I don't know. Second Madam only said that Second Master wanted to personally give rewards to Lai Da and Lai Da's wife. The two of them are still kneeling."

Madam Wang frowned involuntarily, and after thinking for a moment, asked, "Where is Lian'er?"

"I heard that Second Master Lian went to the east wing... Madam, should we inform the Old Madam about this?"

As a trusted confidante of Lady Wang, Zhou Rui's wife was very familiar with the situation in the mansion. Although the Lai family were just servants, they had Grandmother Jia behind them. Even if Master Lian and his wife were to oppress them without cause, the old lady would probably not agree.

Madam Wang hesitated for a moment, then shook her head and said, "Don't disturb the old lady yet. Have a few more people go outside to keep an eye on things and see what Lian'er and Feng'er are up to. Report back to me immediately if anything happens."

……

When Jia Lian walked into the courtyard, the scene immediately quieted down. The people who had been running around also consciously took their places to the side, each one as well-behaved as a good child.

After glancing at the Lai couple kneeling below, Jia Lian sat down in the spot where Feng Jie had been sitting, then turned to the maid behind him and asked, "Where is your second mistress?"

"Second Madam has gone to change her clothes."

Jia Lian nodded, said no more, turned around, and his face was now cold and stern.

Upon seeing this, Lai and his companion lowered their bodies even further.

But then Jia Lian picked up the register on the table, glanced at it, and read indifferently: "To welcome the Empress back to her home, Steward Lai Da and Lady Lai, the wife of the head of the inner quarters, have made great contributions. Steward Lai will be rewarded with ten taels of silver and three thousand coins, and Lady Lai will be rewarded with six taels of silver and two thousand coins, for a total of sixteen taels of silver and five thousand coins."

As soon as Jia Lian finished speaking, the old woman in charge of distributing and weighing the money immediately packed it up. However, Lai Da and his companion hesitated to step forward to receive it.

Upon seeing this, Jia Lian glanced at everyone in the courtyard, and finally looked down at Lai Da and his companion, saying, "Our Jia family was established through military merit, and we have always believed in rewarding those who have merit and punishing those who have committed crimes."

This is what you two deserve; why don't you accept your reward and express your gratitude?

Lai Da was already shocked by the scene. After all, Lai Da had seen a lot of things with Jia Zheng. He pulled her up, bent down and took the two bags of silver.

Then he consciously went back and knelt down again.

Since Jia Lian said, "Those who have merit must be rewarded, and those who have committed crimes must be punished," then naturally there will be punishment as well as rewards for merit.

Seeing Lai Da's sensible nature, Jia Lian had to admit that, aside from greed and disloyalty, Lai Da was indeed a talented servant. This was a decisive factor in his success, because an ordinary person could not possibly gain the trust and favor of figures like Grandmother Jia and Jia Zheng.

Not wanting to waste words, Jia Lian waited until they were kneeling properly and then asked directly, "Lai Da, Lai Da's wife, do you two know your crime?"

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