Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

In Sister Feng's courtyard, birds sang and danced, and everyone was happy and harmonious.

While the dancers went down to rest, the three sisters raised their glasses together and came to Sister Feng, saying with a smile, "Second sister-in-law, we toast you."

Sister Feng was quite busy today. She had to deal with people outside and inside, with the elders, and now she had to come back to keep company with her sisters-in-law. Of course, this was all of her own choosing.

She had already drunk quite a bit, but faced with Yingchun and the others' kind persuasion, she could only obediently drink a full cup. Thus, her beautiful face became even more radiant, attracting the attention and envy of countless women present.

Little did anyone know that the three sisters' purpose in coming here was not just to get her a drink. Taking advantage of her beaming face, Tan Chun nudged Ying Chun with her elbow, and then Ying Chun took Feng Jie's arm and said, "We are planning to start a poetry club and would like to ask you, sister-in-law, to be our 'supervisor'."

"What kind of censor?"

"The Imperial Censor. Just like the Imperial Censor of the court, he supervises us and doesn't let us slack off or be lazy. Originally, when we first moved into the garden, I wanted to suggest that we set up a poetry club for fun, but the mansion has been busy these days and Xiangyun hasn't come, so it's been delayed."

Sister Zhen came yesterday, and coincidentally, she can also write poetry, so I couldn't resist making the suggestion. Who knew that everyone would agree?

After hearing Tan Chun's explanation, Feng Jie slowly understood. She subconsciously glanced at the two "Daiyu"s on her left, then shook her head and laughed, "Then you must have the wrong person. You all know I don't know anything about cooking, whether it's wet or dry. It's more like you want me to come over for a drink. You should ask your Lian Er brother for this kind of thing."

Tan Chun then said, "Of course we should look for him. After all, when it comes to writing poetry, among all of us brothers and sisters, who can compare to Brother Lian? We originally wanted to invite him to be the head of the poetry club, but Sister Bao said that Brother Lian is too busy with official duties all day long, so he doesn't have time to play with us."

We thought about it and agreed. If we start a society where the leader isn't here today or tomorrow, it won't function properly. So, in the end, everyone elected my sister-in-law as the leader, and if my second brother Lian has the time, he can just be a member in name only.

Li Wan, who was standing nearby, added, "It's not that we're asking you to write poems. You just need to take charge of your duties. If any of them aren't enthusiastic about starting a poetry club or make excuses not to show up, then you'll have to step in and punish them."

Upon hearing that Li Wan was the president of the poetry club, Sister Feng realized that supervising the members was clearly the president's responsibility, yet they insisted on appointing some kind of "censor." Remembering Li Wan's usual stinginess, she immediately laughed and said, "You don't need to fool me; I already guessed it. Since you've started this poetry club, you must be taking turns hosting. Your own monthly allowances aren't enough, so you've come up with this scheme to trick me into coming here so you can ask me for money."

Feng Jie's words made Tan Chun and the others feel embarrassed. Li Wan chuckled and said, "Truly a heart of crystal and a person of glass."

Feng Jie looked at Li Wan and said, half-jokingly and half-mockingly, "You're supposed to be the elder sister-in-law? How much money do they spend on their poetry club? Oh, you don't care, and you even instigate them to cause trouble for me? Your Lan'er is going to be the top scholar in the imperial examination. He doesn't need you to save money for his wedding. In my opinion, you might as well take the money and let them spend it. That way, they'll remember you well."

Li Wan blushed at Feng Jie's words and couldn't help but laugh and scold, "Pah! They only wanted to invite you to be the supervisor of the poetry club because they said you were fair and impartial. Although I'm not like you, with your Lian Er's mountains of gold and seas of silver filling your home, I can still afford the money they use to run the poetry club. If you're not willing to be the supervisor, then forget it, we'll choose someone else."

The implication was that Feng Jie was not virtuous, but rather a cunning and wicked person. Indeed, Feng Jie had misunderstood Li Wan; although Li Wan was frugal by nature, it was a habit she had developed over time.

The family's situation is different now. After Jia Lian's several hints, both explicit and implicit, she is no longer so worried about her son's future. Naturally, she no longer needs to foolishly save money for her son by ten or twenty taels at a time.

Besides, there are now four well-known wealthy people in the family. Jia Lian and Feng Jie are one thing, but the other two are Grandmother Jia and Daiyu.

Daiyu has already joined the poetry club, and Jia Lian probably won't refuse. Therefore, instead of wasting energy trying to trick Fengjie into contributing some club fees, it would be better to have Jia Lian and Daiyu sponsor some money themselves. Everyone knows that these two are extremely generous.

Li Wan and Feng Jie, the two sisters-in-law, were bickering, and the other sisters didn't dare to interrupt, simply watching the spectacle with amusement. Zhen Yuhuan, a new guest at the Jia mansion, also watched quietly from the sidelines. She felt that the atmosphere at the Jia family's place seemed much better than at her own home. Especially her god-sister-in-law, who was quite amusing in her speech.

Just as they were laughing and joking, a group of old women suddenly rushed into the courtyard, each carrying a pot of fresh and lush crabapple blossoms, which attracted everyone's attention.

Before anyone could ask, they saw Jia Lian, dressed in official robes, walking leisurely towards them.

He seemed taken aback, as if surprised by the large number of people in the courtyard.

At this moment, Sister Feng had no time to bicker with Li Wan. She had already floated down the main corridor like the wind. Only when she was about to leave did she realize that she had been laughed at by her sisters and sisters-in-law. So she quickly stopped and said with a smile, "Why are you back so late? Everyone outside has left. Now only we are left with the energy to make a fuss here."

Jia Lian first glanced at the three sisters and others in the main corridor, then swept his gaze over the maids and servants standing in the side corridors, before nodding to Feng Jie and saying, "Thank you for your hard work."

"Oh, what hardship have I endured..." She glanced at Li Wan and the others behind her and noticed that they were indeed looking at her with "strange" eyes. So she quickly looked at the crabapple blossoms that the old women had brought in: "It's really rare to see such fresh crabapple blossoms at this time of year. Where did you buy them?"

"I don't know where Yun'er found them. You mentioned the other day that you wanted to replace some of the flowers in your garden, so I had them all moved in for you."

As Jia Lian spoke, he walked towards the main corridor, briefly greeted the people there, and then went inside to change his clothes.

Li Wan was ashamed to see Jia Lian and offered to take her leave; the others probably felt the same way. Fortunately, Feng Jie dissuaded them in advance, saying, "If you leave as soon as he returns, he'll think you don't like him. Dear sisters, please sit for a while and wait for him to come out."

After saying this, she told Ping'er to take good care of Li Wan and the others, and then she went into the room to help Jia Lian change his clothes.

In the couple's bedroom, in front of the large glass dressing mirror, Feng Jie, along with Qing Wen and Xiang Ling, quickly helped Jia Lian change into a set of casual clothes. During this time, Feng Jie also recounted to Jia Lian what she had done that day, her tone implying that she had done a good job and should be praised.

Jia Lian was very pleased with this, feeling that Feng Jie'er's recent change was a good sign. So he patted her head and praised her, "It is my good fortune to have such a diligent and capable wife as you."

"Ha, you call that good fortune? I'm already content as long as you don't scold me like you used to, calling me a reincarnation of a hard-working devil."

Although Sister Feng didn't appreciate it verbally, the smile on her face betrayed her.

"I thought it was a rare occasion for everyone to be happy today, so I invited Yingya and Baoya to the courtyard. My aunt was also there, but she said that we are all juniors and we might be more comfortable without her, so she left after sitting for a short while."

"Sitting idly is boring, and it's not appropriate to invite a large opera troupe from outside, so we invited twelve young actors and four female performers to come and perform for us to entertain us. Don't feel bad about it yet. You yourself said that the more women in our household there are, the more powerful I am. But I'm not powerful yet. I'm just having them perform a few pieces for you to see."

Sister Feng knew that the twelve young actresses were one thing, but the four "teachers" were all beautiful and pitiful. She wouldn't mind using them, but she was afraid that Jia Lian might not be so kind and might be unhappy.

"Did I say anything?" Jia Lian looked at her in surprise, then turned and left.

It was quieter outside than before, and all the young masters, ladies, and masters had taken their seats. Looking into the courtyard, they realized that a new round of performances was about to begin.

This appearance wasn't really an appearance, because Sister Feng didn't set up a stage in the courtyard at all. Instead, she simply laid out a rather wide red carpet in the middle of the ground. Right in the center of the red carpet, the beautiful Gu Qingyi sat calmly in front of her guqin, clearly waiting for the person in charge to appear before she began to play.

She remains the same, accustomed to performing alone, without anyone to cooperate.

Jia Lian knew that this was not simply because she was aloof and disliked cooperating with others. The more important reason was that her temperament was too otherworldly and her appearance too stunning. When others cooperated with her, she could only take the lead, not play a supporting role; otherwise, the guest would become the host and the distinction between host and guest would be blurred.

Therefore, Shen Pan'er and others did not like to rehearse programs with her.

Gu Qingyi was undoubtedly a cold beauty, exuding an aura of unapproachability at all times. But perhaps because her temperament was too similar to Miaoyu's, and her figure and stature were also similar, Jia Lian, who had just come down from the Longcui Nunnery, could not take her lightly. In a daze, he felt that her clothes had disappeared.

The maids brought Jia Lian a new stool and set out new cups and chopsticks. Upon seeing this, Jia Lian finally put aside his restless thoughts, for he realized that Li Wan was right beside him!

Li Wan was clearly aware of this as well, and she didn't dare to look back at Jia Lian at all.

However, this arrangement seemed reasonable to others. Before Jia Lian arrived, Li Wan and Feng Jie sat in the middle; now that Jia Lian had returned, given his status, he naturally couldn't sit in a side seat.

Even Sister Feng had no doubts about this. She came out of the room and plopped down to Jia Lian's left, looking up at Gu Qingyi below: "Why is it you again? Alright, the Marquis is back. Just pick one of the songs he usually likes to listen to and play it."

Gu Qingyi nodded in acceptance, but then turned to ask Jia Lian, "I wonder which piece of music Your Excellency would like to hear?"

Her reaction made Sister Feng's eyes narrow.

Jia Lian also sensed the subtle tension between the two women, and he found it quite interesting. He thought that in other households, wives and concubines would subtly flaunt their favor and importance to the master. But here, the mistress was implying the closeness between Yue Ji and the master, while Yue Ji vehemently insisted that she wasn't familiar with his man.

This is all due to information asymmetry. Little did Gu Qingyi know that he had already openly revealed his intentions to Feng Jie, so how could she possibly hide it from him?

So Jia Lian waved his hand and said, "Although your 'Guanghan Palace' is very good, it is too decadent. I don't like it very much. In comparison, I prefer your 'Supreme Joy'."

Upon hearing this, Gu Qingyi frowned slightly but did not say anything more. She then continued to ignore the people and things around her and immersed herself in her musical world.

As she focused her efforts, the dozens of people in the courtyard, whether sitting or standing, all quieted down.

Jia Lian didn't speak either, but his focus wasn't entirely on the music.

Under Sister Feng's meticulous care, this little courtyard had become quite luxurious. What was rare was that in such a subtly luxurious courtyard, on its grounds and corridors, there were people listening to music.

With his seat as the central axis, to his left are, in order, Feng Jie, Daiyu, Zhen Yuhuan, and Xue Baochai, while to his right are Li Wan, the transparent Jia Baoyu, Yingchun, Tanchun, and Xichun.

Behind them, and along the corridors on both sides, were a few servant women, maids from the courtyard, and Daiyu's and others' personal maids.

Ping'er, Qingwen, Xiangling, Xiaohong, Feng'er, Huixiang, Tanyun, Hongling, Caihua; Zijuan, Ying'er, Xueyan, Suyun, Biyue, Shishu, Cuilu, Ruhua, Siqi, Xiuju...

And at the northwest corner, the twelve officials are clustered together.

A casual glance revealed dozens of bright and vibrant faces. These faces, along with the melodies played by Gu Qingyi's fingertips, together composed a magnificent symphony before his eyes.

This is the grand chapter that belongs to Jia Lian.