Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Meanwhile, Aunt Xue waited for Jia Lian at the temporary residence, and she waited until it was completely dark.

When the neighing of warhorses reached them, Aunt Xue, who had been restless for a long time, immediately got up and ran to the outer courtyard.

Unlike the desolate atmosphere when she arrived, the outer courtyard was brightly lit at this moment, and guards in full uniform filed in from both sides of the gate, adding a touch of solemnity to the entire compound.

A young and handsome figure strode in, displaying his boundless majesty and power amidst the lights and guards.

Aunt Xue, who had been standing still, beamed with joy upon seeing the young man. She abandoned her usual composure and strode towards Jia Lian. Her wide robes hindered her movement, causing her to nearly stumble several times, but she paid no heed, simply calling out:

"Lian-ge'er, you're finally back! Save your brother Pan! If you don't, he'll be executed in the autumn..."

Seeing Aunt Xue stumbling towards him, Jia Lian slowed his pace.

In his memory, Aunt Xue was always an intellectual, elegant, and beautiful woman who paid great attention to her appearance. Perhaps it was thanks to her own qualities that she was able to raise such a pure and beautiful daughter as Xue Baochai.

He had never imagined what Aunt Xue would be like when she lost her composure.

Jia Lian reached out and helped the swaying Aunt Xue to her feet. He could tell at a glance that Aunt Xue must have suffered a lot on her journey, because the dust and grime on her body were so obvious. But this dust and grime, along with the sadness and fear on her face, and the faint tear stains, made her lose some of her usual graceful beauty and unapproachability, but gained seven parts of pure and beautiful charm, making her seem pitiful.

"Lian-ge'er?"

Facing Aunt Xue's intense gaze, Jia Lian calmly said, "I already know about Brother Pan's matter. Don't worry, Aunt, I won't stand idly by."

"Auntie, you've been traveling all day, haven't you had dinner yet? I've already ordered someone to bring a table of the finest food from Yuxianglou. Auntie might not know, but Yuxianglou is the best restaurant in Tianjin, and its dishes are no less excellent than Yipinju in Beijing."

Seeing Jia Lian talking as he headed towards the main house, silencing her, Aunt Xue glanced at the eyes all over the courtyard, took a deep breath, and followed Jia Lian's steps.

……

When Jia Lian changed into comfortable clothes and came to the side hall, the servants had already prepared the feast, and Aunt Xue was sitting comfortably to the side.

Aunt Xue looked much more composed than before. When she saw him come in, she even stood up and smiled at him, although the smile looked extremely forced.

"When traveling, please keep things simple. I apologize for any shortcomings in our hospitality, Auntie. Please come in, Auntie."

Jia Lian greeted Aunt Xue and sat down beside her. Aunt Xue responded politely, her expression one of utmost humility.

Although Jia Lian felt a pang of regret, he could only pretend he knew nothing. Just like when Aunt Xue used to host him banquets, he carefully introduced the local specialties on the table to her.

However, Aunt Xue was not a deep-thinking person. At this moment, even the finest delicacies would probably taste bland to her.

She was not a fool. Even without her daughter's reminder, she could tell from Jia Lian's reactions that he probably wouldn't grant her request.

She didn't blame Jia Lian, because she herself knew the difficulties of the matter, and it was hard to say anything that would force someone to do something against their will. She also thought that her son was not only suffering greatly in prison, but also likely to lose his life soon, forever separating him from her.

Thinking about all this, she couldn't hold back her sadness, and tears welled up in her eyes. She quickly took out her handkerchief to wipe them away, but she couldn't stop them.

The atmosphere in the hall fell silent instantly, save for Aunt Xue's soft sobs. Jia Lian's hand, which was reaching for food, froze in mid-air. After a long pause, he suddenly sighed, "Why is Aunt doing this to herself?"

Seeing that Jia Lian was finally willing to speak directly, Aunt Xue hurriedly wiped away her tears without regard for her image and cried out, "I know that your brother Pan deserves his punishment this time. I have been too lenient with him all these years."

Actually, ever since that year when he went to Beijing and got into a fight over an actor, causing someone to lose their life, I've often worried that he might one day cause a major disaster that would cost him his own life. I never expected that day to come so soon.

As Aunt Xue spoke, she glanced at Jia Lian through her tear-filled eyes. Seeing that Jia Lian was listening, she mustered her courage, rose, and knelt before him, sobbing, "I originally had no face to beg you. But your brother Pan is, after all, my flesh and blood, the only heir of the Xue family. However, the people from the Ministry of Justice said that he will be sentenced to be executed in the autumn in two days..."

Aunt Xue wept uncontrollably, refusing to be helped up by Jia Lian. Instead, she looked up at him and pleaded, "I've asked everyone I know, but no one can save him. After much thought, I can only think of you. My dear Lian, I know you are the most capable person. Please, for my sake and for the sake of your sister Baochai, save her brother's life."

Before completely abandoning her social status, Aunt Xue found it difficult to speak. But when she actually knelt before Jia Lian, she found that she didn't feel much burden, and instead, she could say anything.

She knew Jia Lian wasn't heartless; he would definitely agree, he definitely would. She had no other choice.

The two maids who had been standing by Aunt Xue immediately knelt down upon seeing her like this. Laiwang's wife glanced around and, with great tact, withdrew.

However, Jia Lian remained silent.

Just as the Xue family mother and daughter had guessed, Xue Pan was an insignificant person in Jia Lian's eyes. Vulgar, foolish, arrogant, and with a self-righteous sense of justice, even though he was Xue Baochai's brother, Jia Lian could hardly feel much affection for such a person.

In fact, he knew that Aunt Xue was coming in the afternoon, but Jia Lian knew her purpose, so he deliberately waited until evening to show up, hoping that Aunt Xue would back down.

But he still didn't expect that Aunt Xue loved her son so much that she could go to such lengths.

Seeing that Aunt Xue insisted on not getting up, Jia Lian did not force her. He sat down again and said, "Aunt, do you know that human life is a matter of utmost importance, especially under the Emperor's nose? Do you know that the man beaten to death by Brother Pan was the son of a fourth-rank military officer guarding the Imperial City? Do you also know that this case may already be known to the Emperor, and anyone who dares to interfere in the lawsuit may bring trouble upon themselves?"

"I know, I know everything, it's just..."

"Even so, Aunt, do you still think I can save Brother Pan?" Jia Lian interrupted Aunt Xue.

Aunt Xue stared blankly for a moment, then nodded sharply: "Yes, as long as you're willing to go back to Beijing, you definitely can..."

Seeing how much confidence Aunt Xue had in him, Jia Lian felt helpless. Although he didn't know where Aunt Xue got such confidence from, if she really thought that way, and Xue Pan really did die tragically at the hands of the executioner, it was hard to guarantee that Aunt Xue wouldn't vent her remaining resentment on him.

So Jia Lian stopped wasting words and thought for a moment before saying, "I have an imperial order to carry out and cannot return to the capital. How about this, I will write a personal letter, which you can take back to the capital and deliver to Princess Zhaoyang's residence. Perhaps it can save Brother Pan's life."

"really?"

"Don't worry, I won't lie to my aunt."

Aunt Xue's face lit up. She had heard of Princess Zhaoyang's name before. After all, the story of the princess instigating the Empress Dowager to seize her husband, and Jia Lian's long journey to protect his mistress, had long been sung in the form of folk tales, and no one who liked such stories was unaware of it.

The only thing that made her hesitate was whether a person as noble as the Princess would listen to Jia Lian and go to the trouble of saving a complete stranger, even if she had a debt of gratitude to him.

However, upon seeing Jia Lian's expression again, Aunt Xue felt somewhat relieved. In a daze, she thought that with Jia Lian's looks and abilities, it wasn't unusual for a woman to be captivated by him and willing to work for him, even if that woman was of noble birth!

"In that case, thank you very much, Brother Lian."

Jia Lian smiled slightly. He hadn't lied to Aunt Xue, but what he didn't say was that with Princess Zhaoyang's help, at least ensuring Xue Pan's complete burial was no problem.

No one knew Emperor Ningkang better than him. Whether he was unaware of or indifferent to this case was one thing, but if he were truly concerned, very few in the world would dare guarantee that he could save him.

Seeing that Aunt Xue had finally stopped being stubborn, Jia Lian reached out to help her. But as soon as Aunt Xue stood up, she felt dizzy.

She was exhausted. In the three days since Xue Pan's accident, she had barely eaten or drunk anything, and hadn't even had a good night's sleep, relying entirely on her willpower to keep going.

Now that my spirits are about to relax, I suddenly feel weak.

Seeing this, Jia Lian quickly helped her up. Upon touching her, he indeed found her figure to be plump and soft, unlike that of an ordinary young woman. He could guess that Aunt Xue must have been overworked, so he did not have any impure thoughts at this moment, but simply asked her how she was.

"It's nothing." Aunt Xue composed herself, stood up straight again, and refused Jia Lian's suggestion to call a doctor for her, looking intently at Jia Lian.

Jia Lian understood her meaning and immediately smiled and said, "I know Aunt is worried about Brother Pan. But Aunt must have been very worried about Brother Pan these past few days. She must have left the capital overnight yesterday. If you rush back now, you might collapse from exhaustion before you even get back to the capital."

"Alright then, Aunt, please stay here for the night. I'll send someone to escort you back to the capital tomorrow morning. As for the letter, I'll have my personal guards deliver it to the capital tonight and hand it over to the Princess. I guarantee it won't delay the rescue of Brother Pan, how about that?"

Aunt Xue was desperate to save her son, and there was no time to lose. However, after hearing Jia Lian's words, she suddenly remembered something, nodded and thanked him, saying, "It will be as Lian-ge'er wishes..."

……

After having Aunt Xue sent back, Jia Lian went to his study, wrote a letter to Princess Zhaoyang, and had his personal guards escort her back to the capital. Then he sat in his study studying and organizing the design drawings of the harbor and various warships.

Thanks to Emperor Ningkang's support, although he had only been in Tianjin for less than two months, he had already made great progress in both the construction of the harbor and the building of warships.

Especially warships. Tianjin already had a military shipyard, which Jia Lian requisitioned. With the original crew and the talents he brought, they quickly designed the first batch of warships capable of mounting Zhenyuan cannons and put them into production.

In this way, according to Jia Lian's estimate, the Tianjin naval force would be able to possess a number of new-style fleets with considerable combat power within a year. At that time, he could transfer the current naval commander and replace him with his own people, thus gaining another powerful force at his disposal.

Just as she was pondering this, there was a knock on the door, and two maids came in. They were Tongxi and Tonggui, Aunt Xue's personal maids.

"How is your wife's health? Why did you call you here?"

Seeing the two maids who approached him shyly, clutching the hems of their clothes, Jia Lian asked curiously.

"Our wife is alright, she's taking a shower..."

Jia Lian raised an eyebrow. A bath? And he even sent a maid to tell him that?

Tongxi glared at Tonggui, afraid she might say something inappropriate in her nervousness, so she interrupted, "Our mistress said she noticed that the Marquis didn't seem to have many servants with him, so she asked us to come and serve him..."

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian raised an eyebrow and looked at the two women in front of him with great interest.

As Aunt Xue's most trusted personal maid, Tongxi and Tonggui were quite good-looking. Young girls of seventeen or eighteen are generally not unattractive.

Moreover, speaking of which, in wealthy families, the ladies and young women usually choose personal maids for reasons other than special circumstances, such as fear of their husbands' affections or being ugly or psychologically disturbed. Otherwise, under normal circumstances, they would naturally choose pretty and clever maids, as they would be pleasing to the eye, wouldn't they?

Aunt Xue, a young widow, had no worries about her husband's affections and was free from jealousy. Tongxi and Tonggui were naturally perfect, slender and beautiful maids. Especially Tongxi; Jia Lian had taken advantage of her quite a bit when he was drunk at the Xue family's house.

"serve?"

Jia Lian looked at the two maids with great interest. Aunt Xue was right; there were indeed very few servants in his camp. When he first arrived in Tianjin, apart from Zhao'er and Xing'er, he didn't bring any other servants (Aqi and her sister were considered as part of the fighting force).

Even Laiwang and his wife were only brought over by Fengjie after he had settled in. It's unclear whether she was genuinely worried about him being left unattended, or if she was sent to monitor him.

Faced with Jia Lian's scrutinizing gaze, both maids blushed deeply. They weren't naive young girls; they naturally understood the underlying meaning behind Aunt Xue's request for them to serve her.

They secretly glanced at Jia Lian behind the desk, and Tong Gui and others nodded in agreement, indicating their willingness to sacrifice themselves for the client.

Faced with the girl's suggestive glances, Jia Lian smiled and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Madam. However, I have servants here. You may have seen them when you came in; they are the two women carrying swords outside the door."

"They're not exactly benevolent people; they're incredibly jealous. If they take a dislike to you and decide to kill you, I can't keep looking after you. So, you'd better go back and serve your wives; don't risk your lives by my side."

Upon hearing Jia Lian's words, both maids, Tongxi and Xixi, felt a chill run down their spines. Clearly, they knew how formidable Jia Lian's two martial maids were. Although they were willing to offer themselves, it wouldn't be worth risking their poor lives for it.

Tong Gui quickly pulled Tong Xi aside, his eyes showing his intention to leave. Although Tong Xi felt somewhat resentful, thinking that Jia Lian had forgotten her, an old friend, she didn't dare to pester him. She said "Yes" and left with her best friend.

Back in the room that Laiwang's wife had arranged for Aunt Xue, the room was still brightly lit.

Aunt Xue was indeed exhausted these past few days; she almost fell asleep while soaking in the bathtub. Hearing the noise, she looked up and saw Tongxi and Tonggui.

Both women looked ashamed: "Second Master said we don't need to serve him, and that we should come back to serve Madam."

Aunt Xue paused for a moment, then said calmly, "I understand. Alright, bring the clothes over."

Tong happy and Tong Gui quickly divided the tasks: one person went forward to help Aunt Xue up, while the other went back to fetch her clothes.

Aunt Xue hadn't planned to bring a change of clothes since the trip was rushed, but Tongxi suddenly decided to grab a set, which turned out to be useful.

Actually, in the afternoon, Laiwang's wife had asked Aunt Xue if she needed to take a bath, but Aunt Xue was so focused on Jia Lian's return that she had no interest in taking a bath.

It wasn't until she returned to her room that Aunt Xue realized she hadn't bathed or washed for many days. She then asked Laiwang's wife to help arrange hot water.

As Aunt Xue rose from the bathtub, splashing water, her beautiful body emerged from the water.

While wiping the water droplets from their mistresses, Tongxi and Tonggui couldn't help but secretly praise their wives for their undiminished beauty and radiant fragrance. They thought to themselves that if they had wives with such looks and assets, perhaps Master Lian wouldn't have chased them away earlier.

Aunt Xue calmly observed their furtive glances, without any intention of blaming them. As a woman herself, she roughly knew what these two young girls were thinking after their setbacks.

"Do you think the eldest princess can save your good-for-nothing grandfather?"

Upon hearing Aunt Xue's question, Tongxi and Tonggui were both taken aback, not understanding why their mistress would ask them such a crucial question. But since their mistress had asked, they dared not refuse to answer: "It should be possible, right? With the Princess's status, rescuing Master should be very simple..."

The girl's disappointing answer was as expected. Aunt Xue regretted not bringing her daughter along at this moment.

At this time, only her daughter could give her useful advice and help her understand many things.

But she instinctively felt that she might have been too hasty in her celebration. She vaguely remembered that on the way to Tianjin, she had been determined to bring Jia Lian back at all costs. She believed that only if Jia Lian returned to the capital in person could she be sure of saving her son's life.

Perhaps Baochai, the daughter, thought so too, because she knew that it was inappropriate for her to rush to find Jia Lian overnight, but she did not stop him.

Tongxi and Tonggui noticed that Aunt Xue had only asked them one question before falling silent, her expression somewhat gloomy. They were uneasy, wondering if Aunt Xue was dissatisfied with their answer or unhappy with their previous mission failure.

Carefully dressing Aunt Xue in her inner and outer garments, smoothing out the wrinkles, she suddenly asked, "Where was the Marquis when you returned?"

"In the study."

Aunt Xue nodded without saying anything more. Just when the two maids thought their mistress was going to rest, Aunt Xue said to them, "I have important matters to discuss with the Marquis. You two wait in the room. If you get tired, take turns resting. You don't need to follow me."

After saying that, he left the two girls, who were full of doubt, alone outside the room.

The courtyard of the military headquarters was spacious and empty, with a bright moon shining in the sky, its silvery light seemingly taking in all the joys and sorrows of the world, just as it has for thousands of years.

Aunt Xue walked slowly down the corridor of the temporary residence. At the end, she saw the tall and graceful maid. She stood there on the corridor, holding her sword, just as Aunt Xue remembered her, like an unmoving Guanyin Bodhisattva.

Aunt Xue couldn't help but wonder where Jia Lian had gotten such a woman who didn't seem like a woman at all.

Seeing the other person turn their head to look at her, Aunt Xue nodded, but the other person, seemingly oblivious to her manners, simply stared at her quietly. Although the gaze was calm, at that moment Aunt Xue felt as if someone had pulled back her clothes to scrutinize her, causing her to feel a slight urge to back away.

But she couldn't back down. She didn't know if Princess Zhaoyang was just an excuse Jia Lian was using to fob her off, which was why she had decided to stay in the dining room earlier.

If Princess Zhaoyang doesn't show Jia Lian any mercy, or if she can't save her son, and she just returns to the capital in such a muddle, wouldn't she have lost her last chance to save her son?

Therefore, she had to get Jia Lian back no matter what. Only if Jia Lian himself returned would things be truly safe.

Therefore, Aunt Xue took a deep breath, stood in the moonlight, and gently knocked on Jia Lian's study door.