Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Inside the garden, after the elders, including Grandmother Jia, had gone for their afternoon nap, the sisters were free to play and went off to various places to explore.

They were all teenage girls who didn't like taking afternoon naps anyway.

When they had some free time, everyone came to Lotus Fragrance Pavilion.

Lotus Fragrance Pavilion is a waterside pavilion within Liao Fengxuan, where Xichun resides, built along the Qin Fang Creek. It was Xichun's favorite place to relax, and the young girl set up a simple art studio here.

Xi Chun loved to paint, a fact known to most in the Jia family, including Grandmother Jia. Coincidentally, today, when Grandmother Jia was leading Granny Liu on a tour of the garden, Granny Liu remarked that the Grand View Garden was as beautiful as the New Year's paintings they bought to display during the Spring Festival. She even joked that it would be even better if she could paint what she saw and take it back to show off to her fellow villagers.

It was meant as a joke, but to show that her granddaughters were proficient in all four arts, Grandmother Jia boldly ordered Xichun to paint a landscape of the Grand View Garden, and even set some requirements.

This put Xichun in a difficult position. She couldn't refuse in front of the "guest," so she had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree.

And so, a group of her older sisters and sisters-in-law, knowing her predicament, came to offer her advice on the spot.

Some taught her how to draw figures, some taught her how to paint landscapes, and some taught her how to create a reasonable composition...

Ultimately, everyone agreed that Baochai was the most skilled in this area and willingly allowed her to teach Xichun how to prepare for this important event. Baochai explained that when the Grand View Garden was built, the craftsmen must have had a draft plan, and if Xichun could obtain it, it would certainly be beneficial to the overall layout of the painting.

Just as everyone was about to ask Jia Baoyu for help in demanding the money, they discovered that Jia Baoyu had disappeared sometime earlier.

"Master Bao didn't come in with the girls. He seemed to have something to do, so he went outside."

Everyone listened, lost in thought. They remembered how Jia Baoyu used to love joining in such lively gatherings, but his absence today was likely due to Daiyu's influence. Daiyu still largely ignored Jia Baoyu, although after his provocation last time, she no longer avoided him.

No one dared to say what they were thinking, because they knew that if they did, Daiyu would probably leave too.

Then Tan Chun laughed and said, "It's really strange, we didn't even notice that Brother Bao hadn't come in. Oh right, didn't Brother Lian say last night he was going to come and keep us company—no, to keep Sister Lin company while she strolled in the garden? It's already past noon, why hasn't he come yet?"

Upon hearing Tan Chun's words, everyone, whether they had heard Daiyu's invitation to Jia Lian to stroll through the garden the previous night or not, smiled.

Daiyu glanced at these people, said nothing, and went to the side to admire the flowers.

Seeing that Daiyu was unusually not embarrassed or annoyed by Tanchun's teasing, everyone was secretly amazed, but they did not dare to press the matter further, and instead turned to talk about Jia Lian.

"Sigh, I originally thought the autumn scenery was the best today and wanted to go boating. But I was too embarrassed to trouble Sister-in-law Lian. If Brother Lian were here, it would be so much more convenient and fun for us."

Tan Chun's words resonated with the other sisters, and they all understood her meaning. It is said that the eldest brother is like a father, and Jia Lian's virtue is more than enough to fulfill this role. However, Jia Lian gave them a very warm feeling, and most importantly, he showed them extraordinary tolerance and inclusiveness.

It can be said that with Jia Lian around, everyone could laugh and talk freely without restraint. This is something that would be far from being achieved even in front of Grandmother Jia.

Li Wan, upon hearing Tan Chun's words, scolded her for being heartless, asking if she truly wanted to row a boat and couldn't arrange it for them, or if only Feng Jie could command those awning boats, and she, as the elder sister-in-law, had no right to do so?

This prompted Tan Chun, realizing she had misspoke, to quickly step forward and try to appease him. Amidst the laughter and commotion, an old woman beside Li Wan said from outside the pavilion, "The young ladies wanted to find Master Lian, but he has already entered the garden. We just happened to run into him when we came over. He asked the old lady a question and, upon learning that she hadn't woken up from her afternoon nap, he left. We saw that he went in the direction he was heading towards Longcui Mountain."

If the girls want to find him, they only need to send one of them to Longcui Nunnery to inquire.

"Alright, I knew it. Brother Lian would never break his promise again, let alone to Sister Lin. He must be going up the mountain to brew tea and discuss philosophy with Miaoyu."

"Why don't we go too?"

Everyone in the Jia family knew that Jia Lian had once regarded Miaoyu of the Longcui Nunnery as his Taoist master. In addition, everyone knew that Miaoyu was a refined person whose expertise and attention to tea ceremony was unmatched by anyone in the Jia family. Therefore, there was the saying that Tan Chun "discussed the Tao while brewing tea".

Everyone felt that staying there was pointless and wanted to go find Jia Lian. Yingchun said, "Miaoyu dislikes noise the most. We just bothered her before, and now if we all rush to her again, she will inevitably be displeased. In my opinion, we should send someone to check on her."

"I'll go."

"Wow!"

As soon as Yingchun finished speaking, the most active girls, Tanchun and Shi Xiangyun, volunteered at the same time.

Baochai then smiled and said, "Look how anxious you two are, then you can go together."

Tan Chun and Xiang Yun exchanged a smile, and then bid farewell to everyone and came out.

As for Jia Baoyu, he was still young. The fact that he could say those words that day, making Daiyu stop avoiding him, was already the limit of his courage and emotional intelligence. In the current situation, he didn't know how to return to the carefree and happy days when all the brothers and sisters were together, laughing and joking without any worries.

The contrast between the joy of accompanying Grandmother Jia, Granny Liu, and others on their midday stroll through the garden and the profound sense of loss in his heart caused him to sadly slip away from his sisters' sight and walk out of the Grand View Garden.

Upon reaching the second gate, he inquired whether his servant, Mingyan, had returned. He gave Mingyan a task: to go to the countryside where Granny Liu lived and find the fairy who was gathering firewood in the snow…

Upon learning that Mingyan had not yet returned, he listlessly walked into the garden.

He hesitated for a moment at the fork in the road, but instead of heading towards Liao Fengxuan, he chose to go towards Yihong Courtyard. At least, the maids in his own courtyard wouldn't give him a hard time. He planned to go back and clear his head.

When he returned to Yihong Courtyard, he found it quiet and deserted. Jia Baoyu shook his head and sighed, realizing that the maids had probably all followed their masters and gone off to play.

He slowly entered the room, and soon Jia Baoyu froze. Even through the shop window, he could hear the snoring coming from his own bedroom, which grew louder and louder as he approached.

He pushed open the glass folding door in a daze and went in. He could only smell the stench of alcohol and farts. Looking around the room, he saw an old woman lying on her back, flailing her arms and legs, on his beautifully decorated and clean bed. Judging from her clothes and figure, she was probably Granny Liu from the countryside.

Jia Baoyu was stunned and stood there dumbfounded, not knowing what to do.

After an unknown amount of time, his chubby, fair face suddenly turned a mixture of red and blue. He glanced at the "filthy" Granny Liu with disgust, then dashed towards the door, shouting as he ran, "Help! Where are they all?! Help!!"

Jia Baoyu's furious outburst startled everyone who was slacking off in the Yi Hong Courtyard, including Tan Chun and Xiang Yun who were passing by outside.

The two women walked in suspiciously, only to find that the Yi Hong Courtyard had become completely agitated. The usually gentle and quiet Bao Er was now standing on the eaves of the main house, looking extremely agitated, and constantly urging and scolding the maids and old women in the courtyard.

An old woman was dragged out by two maids. Without being told, she kowtowed and begged for mercy to Jia Baoyu. Jia Baoyu ignored her and just cursed the old women, saying that he would have everything in the house moved out and burned.

"Second brother, what's wrong?"

Seeing Tan Chun and Xiang Yun approach, Jia Baoyu's anger seemed to subside somewhat, but he was still filled with resentment. So he glanced at Granny Liu and said nothing.

Tan Chun rarely saw Jia Baoyu so angry, and upon seeing this, she hurriedly asked the old woman.

The old woman said angrily, "That crazy old woman, drunk as she is, doesn't she know she should find a coffin to lie down in? She actually... she actually came to our Second Master's room..."

As she spoke, the old woman glared at Granny Liu. Realizing she had made a grave mistake, Granny Liu could only hurriedly explain that she was "drunk" and "didn't know it was the young master's room."

Tan Chun and Xiang Yun then realized what was happening. They glanced at Granny Liu, who was covered in alcohol, and after exchanging a look, Tan Chun stepped forward and helped Granny Liu up from the ground.

Shi Xiangyun said, "Brother Bao, why are you so angry about this? You know that at noon, the old lady and Sister Feng were up to no good and made her drink a lot of wine. She must have been drunk and just fell asleep wherever she saw a place. She didn't know this was your room."

Tan Chun also advised, "That's right. Ignorance is no excuse. She's so old. Second Brother shouldn't get angry with her."

As Tan Chun spoke, she noticed that Granny Liu was quite frightened, so she reassured her, "Granny, don't worry, it's nothing. But you've been drinking, why didn't you have anyone follow you? Why did you come here by yourself?"

Granny Liu said with shame and resentment, "Young lady, you don't need to speak well of me. It's all my fault for being foolish. I was drunk and wandered around aimlessly, accidentally bumping into the young master. I deserve to die..."

Seeing that Granny Liu was about to kneel before Jia Baoyu again, Tan Chun could only help her up while smoothing things over, saying, "This is all the fault of the maids and servants. The old lady clearly instructed us beforehand that she is old and has been drinking, and that we must take good care of her. They must have been lazy and not watching over Granny, which is why this has happened."

Even if my second brother doesn't say anything, he should forgive her for the sake of her old age and senility, but also for the sake of my wife and Sister Feng.

Although they are only distant relatives, they came because of the title "Wang," so they are guests. One should be more tolerant of guests and not get angry and make them feel uncomfortable.

Although Jia Baoyu understood that Granny Liu's mistake was probably unintentional, the thought that his bed had been slept on by such a dirty old woman made him feel extremely uncomfortable and miserable.

He cherished innocent daughters most of all, saying that before a girl marries, she is made of water and flesh, a priceless jewel. Once she follows a man, she inexplicably develops many flaws, and although she is still a jewel, she has lost her luster and become a dead jewel.

Even older, let's not even talk about it, it's practically a dead fish eye!

This shows how much malice Jia Baoyu harbored towards the old woman.

This Granny Liu was not only an old woman, but also a country bumpkin, filthy and smelly! Although Granny Liu had taken a bath and changed into clean clothes before going to town the day before, in Jia Baoyu's eyes, she was still unbearably dirty and smelly.

Just thinking about the thunderous snoring he heard after entering the room, and the stench that permeated the room, made Jia Baoyu unable to shake off his evil thoughts.

She wouldn't actually insult an old woman from out of town; she simply yelled at the maids and servants who were still dawdling, "What are you all standing there for? Take everything out and throw it away! No, burn it all, burn it to ashes!"

Upon hearing this, Granny Liu was so embarrassed that she wished she could disappear into the ground.

Shi Xiangyun, being straightforward, also felt that Jia Baoyu had gone too far, so she said, "Second brother, why do you have to be like this! When you guys talk about Miaoyu, you all say that she is cold-hearted. In my opinion, you are not much better than her."

If you're unhappy that someone has made your clothes dirty, you can just have the maids take them out and wash them clean, or you can simply give them to a servant if you don't want them anymore.

If you continue like this, we won't dare to get close to you anymore. Otherwise, if we get dirty too, you'll curse us to death.

"Look at Third Sister! When we went to her room before, Ban'er was being naughty and rolled around on her bed. Third Sister didn't say anything, and even gave Ban'er a gift!"

The more Shi Xiangyun talked, the more she felt that Jia Baoyu was going too far. Compared to Tan Chun's open-mindedness and tolerance, he was worlds apart.

Only then did Granny Liu realize that the elegant and tidy room she had visited that morning belonged to the beautiful young lady in front of her, and she quickly bowed to Tan Chun to apologize.

Tan Chun smiled and said, "It's alright, Grandma. Ban'er is just a child, he'll be fine."

Although Jia Baoyu was kind to his sisters and rarely argued, he was still a child at heart. Being so openly belittled by Shi Xiangyun made him lose face, and he coldly snorted, "Fine, if you don't want to be close to me, then go play somewhere else, I'm not keeping you company."

As he spoke, he stepped into the room, personally tore down the bed curtains and other items, and threw them on the ground. He then ordered the several uneasy maids in the room to move all the ornaments out and throw them away...

On the corridor, Tan Chun and the others, hearing the commotion inside, smiled helplessly, knowing that Jia Baoyu's stubborn nature was kicking in.

Just then, Xiren returned and quickly explained the situation to her.

Xiren frowned, glanced at Granny Liu, and then said to Tanchun and the other girl, "Don't worry, ladies, I'll go and persuade him. You ladies take Granny Liu with you; it won't be easy for him to lose face while you're here."

Xiren was known for her virtue and competence in the Jia household, and I felt somewhat at ease after hearing her words, which suggested she had a well-thought-out plan.

Everyone knows that Jia Baoyu is the apple of Grandmother Jia's eye. If they knew that Jia Baoyu had suffered such an injustice, Grandmother Jia would be furious. It would be a small matter if Granny Liu couldn't handle the situation, but the maids and servants who served him would probably be in big trouble.

So Tan Chun instructed the maids and servants in the corridor, "You must not tell anyone about this. If the old lady finds out, you will benefit from it."

The old women, aware of the gravity of the situation, quickly agreed, secretly grateful to Tan Chun and the others. If they hadn't come, Grandmother Jia would surely have found out. In that case, they, the housekeepers, would have been in deep trouble.