Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

In the Rongguo Mansion, an old woman from the second gate entered Feng Jie'er's courtyard, bowed before the main room, and said, "Second Madam, the servant of the Second Master has told us that he will not be returning for lunch today."

"Do you know where Second Master went?"

"They said they went to the firearms camp."

"Okay, you can go now."

Inside the room, Sister Feng looked listless.

Although Jia Lian didn't give any instructions when he left in the morning, she could roughly guess that he must have gone to the palace so early.

As for his purpose, it was nothing more than his affair with the princess.

Therefore, she didn't bother with household affairs much today and stayed home to wait for news.

After being comforted by Jia Lian and Princess Zhaoyang, she had accepted the outcome and was even mentally prepared for the awkward situation she would be in after the matter was made public.

It wasn't too difficult; she wasn't a sensitive or easily hurt person to begin with.

Moreover, in terms of embarrassment and shame, this incident is far less embarrassing than the one in which the Empress Dowager punished her that year.

On that occasion, she was reprimanded by the Empress Dowager for being immoral and reckless. Not only did she almost lose her reputation, but Jia Lian also lost his official position and suffered all kinds of gossip.

Although she was able to get through that ordeal mainly because of Jia Lian's protection.

But we made it through after all.

Looking back, that experience became an unforgettable one in her life. How many decent women in the world could successfully overcome such a desperate situation?

Although she was inevitably humiliated after being demoted to a concubine, she had lost to the reigning princess, so it didn't really matter.

If you put yourself in her shoes, who could truly ridicule her?

Having had that experience before, she had the courage to face the situation ahead with equanimity and the confidence to turn adversity around.

Even so, the loneliness of having her husband taken away when no one was around still inevitably made her feel depressed.

This is not a contradiction.

Since Jia Lian didn't return, she had no way of knowing whether he had gone to the palace or what the outcome was. She could only order a meal to be prepared and planned to go to the garden to see Baochai after the meal.

Suddenly hearing that Grandmother Jia had invited her over, Sister Feng quickly tidied herself up and headed to Rongqing Hall.

Upon arriving here, she noticed the somewhat somber atmosphere. The head maids in front of the main room were not as lively as usual, which made Fengjie suspicious.

Slowing down, they entered and turned into the inner hall, where they saw that besides Grandmother Jia still sitting high, Lady Wang and Aunt Xue were also sitting upright to her left and right.

Upon seeing her enter, everyone turned their gazes to her, their expressions profound.

Feng Jie's heart skipped a beat. Just as she was about to use her best humor to probe what was wrong with her elders, she heard Grandmother Jia speak up from above: "Feng girl, do you know about Second Brother Lian and Princess Zhaoyang's affair?"

"Well……"

Sister Feng hadn't expected Grandmother Jia to ask such a question. In her mind, even if Jia Lian had a result, he would definitely tell her first, not Grandmother Jia or the others.

Why does it seem like Grandmother Jia and the others knew about it before she did?

If it was someone close to Jia Lian who let it slip, then it's unlikely that even Qingwen and Xiangling knew about it, let alone those close to Jia Lian.

Regardless of how Grandmother Jia found out, since she already knew, there was no reason for Sister Feng to hide it from her, so she nodded.

"Foolish!!"

Grandmother Jia rebuked in a stern voice: "How dare you hide such an important matter from me and from your mistress!"

Sister Feng immediately knelt down, looking aggrieved, and said, "It's not that we intentionally kept it from the old lady and the madam, but this matter is of great importance and should not be publicized."

Second Master's idea is that it's not too late to inform the Ancestor after he has resolved all the beginnings and end troubles..."

As Fengjie explained, she felt increasingly aggrieved. Clearly, she was the only one who had been hurt in this matter, while the Jia family would benefit from the Princess's influence. In the end, however, Grandmother Jia scolded and questioned her.

Seemingly sensing Feng Jie's thoughts, Grandmother Jia's expression softened somewhat, and she said, "If it weren't for the letter from the Imperial Concubine in the palace, I wouldn't have known about this matter. You all acted without any sense of propriety..."

Upon hearing Grandmother Jia's words, Sister Feng realized where Grandmother Jia's information had come from. At the same time, she thought to herself, "Since Yuan Chun knows about this, that heartless woman must have already gone to the palace to beg for favors. I wonder what the outcome will be."

Before she could even guess, Grandmother Jia glared at her again, scolding her with exasperation, "Lian'er is a man, and young too; it's inevitable that he'll act impulsively. As his wife, since you knew about this, why didn't you try to persuade him? You let him act recklessly, leading to this disaster!"

Uh……

Sister Feng looked up, her eyes filled with tears, and gazed at Grandmother Jia.

Grandmother Jia said angrily, "The Imperial Concubine said that the Emperor Emeritus found out about Lian'er and the Princess, and he was furious. He has issued an edict severely reprimanding Lian'er and demoting him!"

"ah……!"

Sister Feng was also shocked. If she hadn't known that Grandmother Jia wouldn't joke about such a thing, she would have thought that Grandmother Jia was lying to her.

What's going on? Wasn't it said that the eldest princess was very favored by the emperor, and her husband was also a trusted minister of the emperor? Even the empress dowager had intended to match them up.

Now that I'm willing to step down and make room for you, why is the royal family unhappy about it?

Therefore, he immediately asked for the specific reason.

After Yuan Chun met with the Empress and returned to Fengzao Palace, she couldn't help but worry about Jia Lian. So she wrote a letter to tell her family what had happened in the palace that day.

The purpose was also to let Grandmother Jia and others know about this matter, so that they could persuade and restrain Jia Lian and prevent him from going astray.

However, when Grandmother Jia learned about Jia Lian and Princess Zhaoyang's affair, she was immediately shocked. When she learned that the Emperor Emeritus was furious, she was even more terrified.

They were about to send someone to question Jia Lian, but Jia Lian wasn't home, so they had to summon Feng Jie.

As for Lady Wang... as the lady of the house, there was no reason for Grandmother Jia to hide such an important matter from her.

Aunt Xue had just come to the mansion to speak with Lady Wang when she heard that Grandmother Jia had summoned her, so she came along as well. She was quite surprised to hear about this.

When Sister Feng heard Grandmother Jia relay Yuan Chun's words, she was stunned.

Without giving it much thought, she quickly picked up on the crucial question: "The Imperial Concubine said that our Second Master's marquis title was stripped by the Emperor Emeritus?"

"It's not that they were cut off, but they were downgraded from second-class to third-class."

Phew, that's alright.

Sister Feng cared a lot about this. Although she was prepared to lose her title of "Lady of the Marquis," to put it bluntly, even if she were to become a concubine, there was a world of difference between being a Marquis's concubine and being an ordinary person's concubine.

Just like how the emperor's concubines were high-ranking imperial consorts, or noble ladies.

The concubines of a courtier were called "aunties," commonly known as "half a mistress."

As for concubines of ordinary people, they were no different from commodities.

The differences are obvious.

Upon learning that Jia Lian had not been completely stripped of his title but had retained his status as a marquis, Feng Jie's mind suddenly stirred:

Since the Emperor Emeritus objects, does that mean that woman can't enter the Jia family?

A different thought flashed through her mind, but Fengjie remained obediently kneeling on the ground, awaiting Jia Mu's instructions.

"The Emperor is merciful and, considering the merits of our ancestors, has spared Lian'er this time."

But you know Lian'er's personality; he's usually very shrewd, but he can be stubborn at times. If he doesn't repent and continues to entangle himself with the Princess, he'll completely anger the Emperor. Not only will his own achievements be wasted, but his family will also suffer.

You must clearly understand the stakes involved.

Sister Feng nodded repeatedly, "Don't worry, Grandmother, I'll talk to Second Master when he gets home..."

Seeing that Sister Feng's attitude was so good, Grandmother Jia could no longer scold her.

After all, she could tell that Sister Feng only found out about Jia Lian and the princess's affair after they had already gotten involved. And she certainly didn't want to see the two of them together.

As she spoke to Sister Feng to get up, Grandmother Jia couldn't help but admonish her:

"I often tell you, men are like greedy cats, how can they not steal fish!"

As a woman, you should know how to win your man's heart.

You're so nice to have so many beautiful people in your house, but you won't let him touch this one or that one. If this goes on, how can he not steal food from outside?

I think you, as the wife, are half responsible for this whole mess!

Hearing Grandmother Jia say this, Fengjie felt extremely wronged and couldn't help but retort, "How could I not let him touch anyone in the room? Grandmother, you're really ripping me off..."

"Still dare to argue? Let's not talk about the distant past, just take Qingwen for example. So many years have passed since Lian'er took her away, and I heard someone say that she is still a virgin. Is that true?"

"this………"

Sister Feng was speechless. Clearly, Jia Lian had done something wrong; he was just being kept around and not being used, so how had it become her fault now?

It was not appropriate to defend oneself in front of Aunt Xue and Madam Wang.

Feng Jie's silence was seen as tacit agreement by Grandmother Jia, so she snorted and said, "I was young once too, do you think I don't understand your thoughts?"

But there's a limit to jealousy and capriciousness. Do you really have no idea what other people are saying about you?

There's no point in saying too much. Go down and think it over yourself, what truly matters is gain and what truly matters is loss.

Oh……

Sister Feng remained undecided.

From childhood to adulthood, in Fengjie's heart, Grandmother Jia was always a high and mighty Duchess, a respected elder.

However, ever since that time she fell into misfortune, the indifference shown to her by Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang diminished her respect for these elders.

Of course, it could also be due to her improved status. In any case, she was no longer as obedient to the words of Grandmother Jia and others as she used to be.

Jia Lian's idea was that he should just listen to his elders and do what he was supposed to do.

So Sister Feng listened attentively to Grandmother Jia's admonition, nodding her head repeatedly. But how much she truly absorbed, only she knew.

After finally saying goodbye to her elders and returning home, Sister Feng had no appetite.

She hastily had the items taken away, and then Sister Feng kept Ping'er behind, telling her the news she had learned at Rongqing Hall.

One person's plan is short-sighted, two people's plans are long-sighted.

Ping'er was not only her personal maid, but also her strategist.

The current situation is rather complicated. She has some ideas, but she is afraid that they are not comprehensive enough, so she asks Ping'er for advice.

Ping'er listened with a solemn expression. She said, "If that's really the case, it might be a good thing for Second Madam."

As Feng Jie'er's personal maid, Ping'er's interests were naturally aligned with Feng Jie'er's.

She didn't want Sister Feng to lose her current status either.

"You think so too?" Sister Feng's expression brightened, and her willow-leaf eyebrows were slightly raised, giving her a lively and animated look.

Compromise is a helpless move in the face of overwhelming trends, also known as being pragmatic. Given a choice, who would willingly give up their position and humble themselves before others?

"But what about Second Master..."

Hearing Ping'er's hesitant prompting, Feng Jie'er finally suppressed her excitement.

She understood Ping'er's meaning because she herself was very familiar with Jia Lian's character and temperament; he was not someone who was easily subdued.

Although on the surface, Jia Lian had no possibility of rebelling against the Emperor Emeritus, Feng Jie had a vague feeling that she shouldn't be too happy too soon!

"I know your second master's temper; he's not an impulsive person. If the Imperial Concubine hadn't said anything wrong, and the Emperor Emeritus really couldn't make an exception, your second master wouldn't have knowingly done something impossible."

However, it's hard to say that he didn't have other thoughts in his mind.

Moreover, he's always been used to things going smoothly, so this setback must be hard for him to bear.

No wonder he didn't go home immediately after the incident, but went to the military camp instead. He definitely didn't want to go home and face us...

Thinking of this, Sister Feng felt inexplicably fortunate.

She knew what Jia Lian was like when he was in a bad mood. This was clear from the fates of the Yang siblings (Jia Cong's maternal uncles) and the servants like the Lai family.

If she hadn't learned of this from Grandmother Jia and others, but instead Jia Lian had told her upon his return, and if she had shown any joy in front of him, he would have noticed...

For some reason, Sister Feng felt a little scared. She clearly thought that even so, Jia Lian wouldn't do anything to her.

Deeply dissatisfied with her own cowardly thoughts, Feng Jie continued her analysis: "After this incident, your Second Master must be in a bad mood. Tell the people in the courtyard to be careful lately and not to make any mistakes that would displease him."

You need to be smart; if he doesn't bring it up, don't mention it in front of him either. Just pretend you don't know anything about it.

Ping'er nodded quickly. She was worried that Feng Jie would get carried away and displease Jia Lian, so she was very relieved to hear her words of advice.

After going through so many things, Second Grandma has matured a lot and become increasingly shrewd and calculating.

"Also, we need to think of a way to cheer up your second master and try to make him forget about this as soon as possible. Hmph, it would be best if he completely forgot about that ominous woman!"

Hearing Sister Feng's ruthless words, Ping'er felt somewhat helpless.

Just yesterday he was calling her "Princess" and seemed quite pleased with being called "sister" by the princess. He even told himself that with the princess around, his career would definitely develop faster and better.

Has she become "that ominous woman" today?

However, Ping'er thought that Feng Jie'er's idea was correct; given the current situation, it would be best for the Second Master to forget about the princess.