Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Jia Lian's concerns were valid. Before he could fully appreciate the Second Madam's skills, Aunt Xue returned.

Thanks to the insider's tip-off, the matter was barely kept from being exposed.

Then, a short while later, Baochai returned, and Jia Lian, accompanied by Xue's mother, daughter, and aunt, enjoyed a pleasant lunch.

When he was leaving, he helped Baochai into the carriage. As he turned to mount his horse, Zhao'er, who had come to help him, let out a loud burp, which made Jia Lian look at him with disgust.

Zhao'er could only force a smile at Jia Lian: "The food at Aunt's house was just too delicious, I couldn't help but eat a little too much..."

Zhao'er's words caused everyone around her to burst into laughter.

Aunt Xue, who had been watching Jia Lian with a smile, smiled even more and said, "It's just simple food, as long as the men like it."

Zhao'er, known for her boldness and knowing the long-standing amicable relationship between Jia Lian and the Xue family, dared to respond to Aunt Xue's words and shower her with flattery:

"If the concubine's family's meals are considered simple and plain, then what we used to eat at other people's homes would probably be more like pig swill."

It's true. When we go out with Second Master, the host usually treats us to a meal out of respect for him.

Okay, there are still a few dishes to see. The only bad ones are plain steamed buns, porridge, and pickled vegetables.

Unlike the concubine, who is so generous, disregarding the lowly status of the servants and providing them with plenty of good wine and meat. Heh heh, concubine, why don't you ask around among us Second Master's men? Which one of us isn't the most eager to come to the concubine's house with him?

"That's right, that's right..."

Following Zhao'er's words, some of Jia Lian's bolder subordinates also chimed in.

Jia Lian couldn't help but laugh.

Although I had never seen the meals the Xue family provided to their servants, I could guess what they were eating just from Zhao'er's words and their greasy, glib manner.

That's not surprising. Given the Xue family's attitude towards him, and Aunt Xue's usual skill in currying favor, she would certainly be happy to do something that could buy off his men with a small amount of money.

It seems it's not just me who enjoys eating at the Xue family's house. These little rascals do too.

He brandished the riding whip at Zhao'er, who was still trying to curry favor, and then laughed and scolded, "Alright, look at you, so pathetic. Have I ever mistreated you? Have I not given you any rewards so you can't afford a decent meal? You're making a fool of yourself here."

Zhao'er hesitated for a moment, then laughed and said, "Please forgive me, Master. Of course, you gave us some money as a reward. We now have enough to drink and eat meat at the best restaurants outside. But eating out is nothing compared to the respectability of what the concubine gives us, hehehe..."

Aunt Xue was naturally happy to bribe Zhao'er and the others. These people were all Jia Lian's absolute confidants.

If we get along well with them, things will naturally go more smoothly for our daughter when she's with Jia Lian in the future.

So Aunt Xue smiled and said, "It's rare that the gentlemen don't mind. If you'd like, just come eat here from now on. I'll make sure there's plenty of food..."

"Really? Then I thank you on behalf of everyone, Auntie."

Zhao'er looked overjoyed and quickly knelt down to kowtow to Aunt Xue.

Seeing Aunt Xue's wide smile, Jia Lian glared fiercely at Zhao'er.

This kid has definitely learned a lot of his tricks, and he's even more shameless than him.

"Alright, stop joking around."

Jia Lian lashed out with his whip in mid-air as a threat, then bowed to Aunt Xue from his horse: "Thank you for your kind hospitality, Aunt. I shall take my leave now."

"Hey, drive carefully~"

……

Jia Lian originally wanted to spend more time with Baochai and get to know her better.

But Baochai is not like Daiyu.

Her excessive rationality and intelligence made her extremely adherent to etiquette, to the point that even Jia Lian himself knew that it would be difficult to have an intimate moment with her before he married her.

Therefore, even if he followed her to Hengwu Garden, it would probably be the same as the previous two times, ending after only a few words.

Moreover, there's Shi Xiangyun, who talks a lot, in Hengwu Garden. If that little girl were there, he wouldn't be able to let Baochai slip up.

So Jia Lian simply didn't enter the Grand View Garden. Instead, he invited Baochai down from the back gate and had her maids and servants escort her back. He then led his henchmen out of the city on horseback to inspect the firearms camp.

The special training program for the firearms battalion has already begun. If it weren't for the daily morning and evening visits to the palace to pay respects to the Dowager Consort, Jia Lian might have already moved out of the city by now.

Weiyang Palace.

The national mourning period had a very small impact on Weiyang Palace, or rather, on the entire Chonghua Palace.

Inside the Weiyang Palace, Empress Dowager Bai sat on the heated kang table, flipping through some portrait drafts. She would occasionally ask the old nannies beside her for their opinions, and if she understood something, she would nod slightly.

"Her Highness the Princess has arrived."

As the palace maids and eunuchs greeted her, Princess Zhaoyang, dressed in plain clothes, entered.

"Granddaughter greets the Empress Dowager."

Princess Zhaoyang still looked as refreshing and capable as ever, moving with the speed of the wind, unlike the other princesses and noblewomen who were so frail.

However, perhaps because of her clothes, the Empress Dowager noticed that she looked much thinner than before.

After inviting him to sit down, the Empress Dowager asked with concern, "How are you feeling?"

"Thank you for your concern, Grandmother. I am feeling much better."

Seeing Princess Zhaoyang's slightly raised eyebrows and nonchalant expression, the Empress Dowager couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her.

My grandniece was showered with love and affection from a young age, but she has faced many hardships as she grew up.

First, his innocent love was rejected, then he was betrayed by his blood relative, his grandmother, and almost died in the desert.

She finally returned to the capital and got married to that rascal, but was torn apart by an unreasonable decree from the retired emperor, and lost her first child.

Previously, he had indirectly caused the death of Consort Li by helping her to counter her...

Although Consort Li deserved to die, she was, after all, her blood-related grandmother.

Therefore, Princess Zhaoyang, who had always been in good health, fell ill, which was quite unusual.

I wanted to say something comforting, but firstly, there were other people around, and secondly, the two of them had already said the same thing over and over, so saying more would be pointless.

Zhao Yang could glean much from the Empress Dowager's expression. She raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Grandmother, you summoned me in such a hurry, is there something you wish to instruct me to do?"

Distracted by her, the Empress Dowager subconsciously reached for the portrait on the table.

"What else could it be but choosing a husband for you, girl?"

"Didn't I already say that Grandmother should decide this matter? I'm not picky. Besides, I trust Grandmother's judgment. Anything Grandmother approves of must be good."

The Empress Dowager snorted coldly, "You still won't choose? If you weren't choosing, I would have married you off years ago. Why would you have to wait until today?"

As he spoke, he picked up a few portraits from the stack of portraits on the low table and handed them to Princess Zhaoyang.

"These were all sent up voluntarily by various families and households. I have selected a few from them. Take a look."

After all, she was the child she had raised herself, so the Empress Dowager had plenty of concern and patience for Princess Zhaoyang's marriage.

At the same time, I sighed inwardly.

Back then, she had only just revealed her intention to find a husband for Princess Zhaoyang, and every high-ranking family in the capital was eager to do so, trying every means to recommend their children.

Now, after all the arrangements she made, only about twenty or thirty people have actually submitted their resumes.

Several of the handsome men she had previously favored were no longer seen in this batch of portraits.

The Empress Dowager, of course, knew why.

But then I thought it might be a good thing; under these circumstances, those who would still be willing to send their portraits would probably be more genuine.

Princess Zhaoyang didn't have the Empress Dowager's complicated thoughts; she didn't care who her husband was. Her compliance this time was simply to leave the palace as soon as possible.

They were to randomly choose one of the portraits handed over by the Empress Dowager. However, when they received it, they didn't hold it properly, and one of the portraits was scratched off and fell to the ground.

Princess Zhaoyang bent down to pick it up, her gaze unconsciously falling on the portrait and the accompanying biography.

The old nanny in charge of the matter noticed that Princess Zhaoyang's gaze lingered on her for a long time, and assumed that Princess Zhaoyang had taken a liking to her, so she immediately introduced her: "This is the second young master of General Fenwu's mansion, Wei Ruolan."

This young master Wei is one of the most famous handsome men in our capital. Not only is he exceptionally talented, having passed the imperial examination at a young age, but he is also of good character, which is rare among the many princes and nobles.

that is……"

"What is it?"

Seeing the old nanny hesitate, and before Princess Zhaoyang could express her opinion, the Empress Dowager immediately asked.

She sensed a shift in the meaning. And it was quite obvious that the description on the portrait she could see wouldn't contain any negative information.

If the other party is hiding something, wouldn't that harm my precious granddaughter?

"It's nothing much, it's just that I heard the young master of the Wei family isn't in good health, he's thin and frail..."

"Okay, let's go with him."

Princess Zhaoyang put down the other portraits and presented the one in her hand to the Empress Dowager.

Seeing that the Empress Dowager was still hesitant, Princess Zhaoyang smiled and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I have met this Wei Ruolan. He, Feng Ziying from the Shenwu General's Mansion, and Chen Yejun from the Xuanwei General's Mansion are known as the 'Three Heroes of Guangyi' because their fathers all came from the Guangyi Army back then."

As the old woman said, he was indeed very handsome, with red lips and white teeth, and very likable.

"But……"

The Empress Dowager was still worried. She had originally thought that Wei Ruolan's face was too thin, but she had chosen her because of her beautiful features and good family background.

Hearing the old woman's words, she couldn't help but worry. Because, if she weren't truly unwell, the old woman wouldn't have bothered to say such things.

"No buts, it's settled then. If there's nothing else, I'll be going now. I need to go and kowtow before the Dowager Empress's spirit tablet later."

Princess Zhaoyang shoved the portrait into the Empress Dowager's arms, rose and bowed, then vanished like the wind.

Princess Zhaoyang ran away without a care in the world, but the Empress Dowager was in a dilemma.

For a moment, it was unclear whether Princess Zhaoyang was just being perfunctory or had taken a serious liking to Wei Ruolan.

If it's just a perfunctory response, that's fine, but if they really like it, she really can't refuse, after all, it's a rare opportunity.

After pondering for a long time, he still hesitated, so he asked the old women next to him for more information about Wei Ruolan.

"Forgive this old servant for being so talkative. In fact, in my opinion, there is nothing wrong with Young Master Wei's physique. It is probably because he comes from a military family but abandoned martial arts for literature, which inevitably makes him a bit more refined and weak, unlike other sons of military families who are as robust. That's why others spread these rumors."

If the Empress Dowager is truly worried, why not summon the Consort to the palace to see for herself after the funeral?

The Empress Dowager then nodded, temporarily settling the matter.