Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

In the Grand View Garden, a petite figure in fiery red darted into the Xiaoxiang Pavilion and peered through the west window.

"Sister Lin, what are you looking at so intently?"

"No, it's nothing..."

Seeing the panicked look on the person inside, as if caught red-handed, Shi Xiangyun's big eyes flashed with a little doubt.

He went around into the room, intending to find out what was going on, but found that everything in the room had returned to normal, without a single clue.

"Sister Lin, today is Sister Bao's birthday. Why aren't you coming out to play with us? Why are you staying inside?"

As Xiangyun finished speaking, the voices of Tanchun and others could be heard outside the courtyard, indicating that the main group had arrived.

Daiyu watched Xiangyun circling her desk, looking at it from all angles, and felt a little nervous, but she didn't say much. If she did, this curious little girl would only become more suspicious, and her inquisitiveness was so annoying.

So she ignored her completely, and waited for Tan Chun and the others to enter before warmly taking their hands and saying with a smile, "Today is Bao-jie's birthday, please forgive me for being late. By the way, where is Bao-jie?"

Xiangyun searched for a long time but couldn't find the letter Daiyu had read before, so she had to give up and turned back. "Sister Bao went home to see her aunt. She should be coming with her aunt in a little while. Let's not wait for them. Let's go to the mansion first. I heard that there's going to be a big opera performance at the mansion today. I wonder if there's anything new or exciting."

"It's a rare occasion for Sister Bao's birthday. We've all agreed that after the old lady's gathering, we'll get together at Hengwu Garden to drink and compose poetry. We must seize this opportunity to get Sister Bao to drink a few cups of wine."

It's a pity that Sister Zhen has left, and Brother Lian isn't home either, so we can't very well invite her over.

The Zhen family did not return to the south for the New Year, but stayed in the capital, seemingly because something was still pending. Therefore, during the New Year, Mrs. Zhen and Zhen Yuhuan came to visit. Grandmother Jia, on the grounds that the Zhen mother and daughter were lonely in the capital, insisted that they stay as guests for a few days and spend the Lantern Festival together before letting them go back.

Tan Chun's words left everyone somewhat disappointed. After all, although there were many noble ladies in the capital, most of them, like Wang Xifeng, did not study and were not of the same ilk. Either their families were too strict, and they had no opportunity to play together. Now, it was rare to find the Zhen sisters, whose looks and talents were no less than theirs, and who were also veterans of the Begonia Society, so they naturally felt a special closeness.

The sisters and others sat in Daiyu's room for a while, and after Daiyu tidied up, they all went to Rongqing Hall.

Rongqing Hall was indeed already set up, and the stage in the backyard was also ready. When the sisters arrived, twelve little actresses were dressing up behind the curtain, their clothes painted in blue and green, their faces painted with colorful paint, and they were chattering away.

Shi Xiangyun found it interesting, so she ran over and joined the group.

The three sisters, Daiyu, and others went to Rongqing Hall to greet Grandmother Jia and the others. They sat down for a while, but finding it boring to listen to the elders' idle chatter, they soon dispersed to find their own interests.

……

Jinxiang Courtyard wasn't the best brothel in the western part of the city, but it was very popular with some wealthy young men and playboys.

The reason for this is probably that its approachable and easygoing service, which appeals to both refined and popular tastes, easily touches the hearts of young men. To put it simply, Jinxiang Courtyard is neither as secretive and pretentious as the famous brothels in the capital, nor as unremarkable as ordinary entertainment venues where all you do is take off your clothes and there is nothing else to offer.

At the entrance of the market, under the signboard, a tall man with a pale face and a hunched back covered his hands and looked on expectantly.

Suddenly, he saw five or six riders coming from the east street in a majestic manner. He was delighted and hurriedly went to greet them.

"Brother Xue, over here!"

Xue Pan reined in his horse, a smile spreading across his face, and asked, "Brother Sun, you've arrived so early. Where is the others?"

"Young Master Wang and Brother Feng have already gone inside. I came here specifically to wait for you, Brother Xue."

Xue Pan nodded and was about to invite the man into the ward when he suddenly noticed the man's left hand, which was covered by gauze and stained with blood. He asked in surprise, "What happened to Brother Sun's hand?"

"No, it's nothing, just a minor injury..."

Xue Pan was a reckless and unruly man, but he prided himself on being unparalleled in chivalry. Upon seeing this, he immediately jumped off his horse, stepped forward, and grabbed the man's hand to examine it. To his horror, he discovered that the man's left hand was missing two fingers!

"Brother Sun, who did this?!" Xue Pan shouted angrily.

The man was Sun Shaozu, who had been arrested and imprisoned in the Military Command prison as soon as he entered the capital last year. Xue Pan was the first benefactor he had the good fortune to meet after he finally escaped from that inhuman Military Command prison, and also the only person who genuinely helped him.

Looking back on the past year, he couldn't bear to use the word "unlucky" to describe himself! All sorts of strange and unexpected things happened to him, both expected and unexpected. It was because of this tragic life that he valued Xue Pan, the benefactor who could bring him warmth in the cold winter, so much.

As for his hands...

When people are at their lowest point in life, they always yearn for a chance to turn things around. And for Sun Shaozu, after he had nowhere else to turn things around, there was only one opportunity he could think of.

bet!

There was nothing he could do. He had been tortured by those inhuman beasts in the military prison, and he had contemplated suicide several times. He had given up hope of getting out alive, but miraculously, he escaped! Later, he learned that it was his mother who had gone to great lengths, exhausting the last of the Sun family's savings, to finally plead with the Jia family, allowing him to escape.

After leaving, hoping to curry favor with the Rongguo Mansion, he dragged his frail and ailing body to visit them. He didn't meet the head of the Jia family, but by chance, he met Xue Pan, the head of the Xue family, another of the four great families of Jinling!

Xue Pan took a liking to him because he claimed to be a student of the Rongguo Mansion and had extraordinary misfortunes that ordinary people would never encounter, and immediately regarded him as a close friend and brother.

With the support of his good friend Xue Pan, Sun Shaozu, now possessing some capital, naturally harbored ambitions to expand his business and turn his fortunes around. And throughout the capital, the only place capable of fulfilling his wish was the underground gambling dens, where people treated gold and silver like dirt.

Unfortunately, his luck remained bad. After experiencing the ups and downs of winning and losing, which were addictive, he accumulated a huge gambling debt.

Yesterday, he unfortunately couldn't escape being cornered by those vicious loan sharks. Even after he brought up his status as a disciple of the Rongguo Mansion and a close friend of Young Master Xue, he still couldn't avoid a brutal beating, and they even took away two fingers that no longer belonged to him.

He had already lost all ten of his money. The reason the other party didn't take it all was simply to ensure he could continue raising money to pay off his debts.

If it weren't for Xue Pan being his lifeline, he would have already considered fleeing the capital.

After putting on a tearful and dramatic performance, he finally reluctantly told Xue Pan about his ordeal.

Upon hearing that he had accumulated over three thousand taels of silver in less than ten days, even the wealthy and powerful Xue Pan couldn't help but gasp and tentatively asked, "Um, did you get swindled?"

Sun Shaozu looked utterly defeated. Although he had long realized this, what could he do? The agreement was in writing; if he didn't pay back the money, he would die.

Seeing that Xue Pan didn't seem too keen on helping him, he sighed helplessly, "Fine, it seems this is my fate, Sun. Since it's a gambling debt I incurred myself, I'll just pay them with my life. I'm just worried those desperate criminals won't let my mother go..."

Therefore, I only have one request to make, Brother Xue: please take good care of my mother in the future. After all, you are the only person I, Sun Shaozu, can truly trust in the capital.”

Sun Shaozu bowed gracefully, appearing as if he had long since disregarded life and death, not wanting to implicate others, and only wishing for his mother's safety.

Xue Pan greatly admired Sun Shaozu's noble character and quickly helped him up, saying nonchalantly, "Brother Sun, what are you saying? It's not that serious! It's just a little over three thousand taels of silver. I'll pay it back for you."

"Brother Sun, you don't need to be afraid of them. Those gambling den owners are the most cowardly and bully the weak. I'll give them a heads-up later, and they definitely won't dare to cause you any more trouble."

Sun Shaozu was overjoyed upon hearing this, thinking to himself that he had indeed never seen this before, and that this Xue Da Shazi was truly his benefactor in his desperate situation!

After repeatedly thanking him, he led Xue Pan into the most bustling market in the western part of the city like a lackey. There was no trace of the decadent and arrogant temperament he had when he was in Datong Prefecture.

……

Rongqing Hall of Rongguo Mansion is once again bustling and lively today.

Before Grandmother Jia's grand hall, a grand opera was slowly unfolding. Along the wide corridor in front, extending from Grandmother Jia's left and right, were more than a dozen tall tables laden with delicacies and fine wines. Maids stood in rows before and under the eaves.

Ladies and young ladies, dressed in fine clothes, sat in rows, enjoying wine and watching plays, taking in the splendor of the prosperous era.

Grandmother Jia was overjoyed, for she loved such a scene of many children and grandchildren, of wealth and glory. She turned to chat with Aunt Xue for a few moments, and noticed that Baochai, sitting upright and dignified beside Aunt Xue, was far superior to her four granddaughters. This only increased her satisfaction.

"Baoyu, today is your sister Bao's birthday, don't you know to come up and pour her some wine?"

Jia Baoyu, who was initially finding the opera boring, immediately rushed over with a pot of wine to pour some for Baochai, saying with a smile, "Sister Bao, today is your special day. You should drink a few more cups so as not to waste this auspicious occasion."

"Hehehe, Baoyu is such a good talker, much better than the other children. Baochai, you should thank your brother Bao."

Baochai didn't actually need Aunt Xue to tell her. The moment Jia Baoyu stepped forward, she gracefully stood up, thanked him gently and politely, drank a cup of wine, and then told him not to stand on ceremony and to go back to sit down.

However, Jia Baoyu rarely found an opportunity to openly get close to Baochai, so he was unwilling to let it go. Naturally, he made full use of his "childish" advantages, finding all sorts of ways to joke around. Because he was teased by Aunt Xue, he suddenly threw himself into Aunt Xue's arms, twisting and wriggling like a piece of candy, which made Aunt Xue stroke his head and laugh non-stop.

Others only thought that Jia Baoyu was childish and close to his aunt. Only Jia Baoyu himself knew that Aunt Xue's embrace was so fragrant and sweet, softer than the embrace of any other woman he had ever been in. He rarely enjoyed such a feeling.

"Hehehe..."

Grandmother Jia watched this scene with a smile, then glanced back at Lady Wang, only to find that Lady Wang's expression was exactly the same as hers. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law exchanged a glance, and surprisingly, they felt a rare sense of unspoken understanding. So they nodded to each other, everything understood without words.

Amidst the joyful atmosphere, Grandmother Jia suddenly remembered something, glanced at Feng Jie beside her, and lowered her voice slightly: "Feng girl, I saw Zhen'er's wife and Xiao Qinshi earlier, where did they go?"

Sister Feng laughed and said, "Grandma, you don't know this, but today is not only Bao'er's birthday, but also the birthday of your two great-grandchildren. Grandma, guess who it is?"

Grandmother Jia's eyes lit up. "Could it be that today is the two little ones' birthday?"

"Hehe, the old lady guessed perfectly. Today is also the birthday of Sister-in-law Zhen's two children, their first birthday. They went home a long time ago, probably busy preparing first birthday gifts for their nephew and niece."

Grandmother Jia understood, and also remembered that it was indeed on the day Baochai turned her hairpin last year that You Shi gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. But Grandmother Jia couldn't help but frown, feeling that You Shi was being too cautious, even for such an important event as her son's first birthday, she didn't make a fuss about it, and didn't even inform her, the old matriarch.

Fengjie saw through Jia Mu's thoughts and said, "Speaking of which, Bao'er and Sister-in-law Zhen are quite destined, as they happen to have the same birthday. However, Sister-in-law Zhen is really too awful. She didn't even announce such a happy occasion. If I hadn't overheard her talking to Bao'er earlier, I wouldn't have known either."

I originally thought the old lady must know, but I didn't expect... Well, I guess Sister-in-law Zhen was just afraid of putting the old lady in a difficult position. On the left is Bao'er, and on the right is her great-grandson, both born on the same day. If she also comes to invite the old lady, where should the old lady go, and where should she not go?

"If that's what you're saying, then Sister-in-law Zhen is quite sensible. How can a junior overstep the order of seniority? No matter how precious her son and daughter are, can they possibly surpass Aunt Xue? Naturally, they must take a backseat. If the old lady really feels bad, she can go see Heng'er and Wu'er after celebrating Bao'er's birthday. She can also have another meal there, so the old lady won't lose out either way."

Although she knew that Sister Feng meant it this way, Grandmother Jia was still amused by her rambling words. She waved her hand and laughed, "You're right, nieces and nephews really can't steal the limelight from their aunt. Even if she had invited me, I would have celebrated Bao'er's birthday first."

"But what you said makes sense. Zhen'er's daughter-in-law is reasonable, and we can't really ignore those two children. After we've had our fill of the opera, let's go to the East Mansion together to see those two little ones."

With their coordinated exchange, Grandmother Jia and Sister Feng effectively sealed the deal. The others immediately began to discuss it.

While Yingchun, Daiyu, and the others were still whispering among themselves, Tanchun looked towards Grandmother Jia and said with a smile, "Grandmother, what Sister Feng said just now was absolutely right. Aren't Sister-in-law Zhen's two children destined to be with Sister Bao?"

Not to mention that they were born on the same day, what's even more coincidental is that one of them is named "Heng'er" and the other is named "Wu'er," and the courtyard where Baochai lives happens to be called Hengwu Garden, with even the characters being the same! Isn't this a perfect coincidence?

You should know that the name "Hengwu" for Hengwu Garden was personally chosen by the Imperial Concubine last Mid-Autumn Festival. It's truly remarkable how Sister-in-law Zhen came up with the idea to name Heng'er and Wu'er.

Tan Chun's words immediately ignited a lively discussion among everyone, who marveled at the coincidence, with Xiang Yun being the most excited and enthusiastic. Even Bao Chai herself smiled wryly, finding the coincidence too much to bear, let alone others.

Just as things were getting lively and joyful, an old woman from the Xue family came stumbling over.

"Madam, Madam, something terrible has happened! Our master has been arrested by the soldiers!"

"What!" The words shocked the entire room.

Aunt Xue jumped to her feet. Seeing that the old woman didn't seem to be lying, she swayed for a moment, feeling as if the sky had fallen. Aunt Xue knew perfectly well that, given the relationship between the Xue and Jia families, who wouldn't think twice before taking action against the Xue family?

Although Baochai, with her fair skin and beautiful face, was also shocked, she calmly helped Aunt Xue up and asked repeatedly what had happened.

The old woman said, "They say they were fighting over a courtesan named 'Yun'er,' and accidentally killed someone in the process!"

Aunt Xue's vision blurred, and she fainted.