Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Gu Qingyi, who was born as the top courtesan, has the most outstanding demeanor and temperament, and she is not afraid of others' opinions about her.

She sat quietly before the guqin, and waited until the noise of the onlookers subsided before slowly speaking: "I have already finished playing the pieces I prepared for the banquet. I wonder what other pieces you would like to hear? Please feel free to tell me, and I will certainly do my best to play for you."

Since there were no elders present, the sisters were more relaxed in front of Jia Lian, and they all started talking at once, reciting their favorite songs.

Finally, Tan Chun smiled and said, "I happened to hear Sister Gu play a piece at Longcui Nunnery last time. It was like hearing celestial music. However, because the old lady was there, I didn't have time to ask her in detail. I suppose it was a new piece composed by Sister Gu. Could you play it for us again today?"

"What song is the Third Miss referring to?"

"I can't really explain it, but I do vaguely remember two lines of the melody..."

Tan Chun didn't know how to describe it, but since everyone here was her brother or sister, she hummed the tune she still remembered in a low voice.

Gu Qingyi understood. After realizing which poem Tan Chun was referring to, she felt a surge of affection for Tan Chun, for true kindred spirits are hard to find.

"The tune that the Third Miss is humming is called 'West Sea Love Song.' However, this tune was not composed by me. In fact, many of the pieces that came to be made by me were composed by the Marquis, including this one."

When Gu Qingyi said this, she glanced at Jia Lian with a look of admiration.

If she felt this way, one can only imagine how others felt. Even those who knew the truth, like Daiyu, looked at Jia Lian with complicated emotions.

Brother Lian, could you be a genius?

Jia Lian accepted all the admiring glances. After all, his intention was not to deceive the world or steal fame for the sake of deception; his intention was simply to share the good things he knew with these people he liked and loved.

Knowing that the piece was composed by Jia Lian, everyone's interest was piqued even more, and they all sat up straight, waiting for good news.

But Gu Qingyi hesitated again, beckoned to her maid Xiao Zi, and instructed her, "Go back and fetch the guzheng."

Fearing that it would cause dissatisfaction among the crowd, Gu Qingyi immediately said to Jia Lian, who was sitting at the head of the table: "Ever since the Marquis taught me this piece, I have liked it very much. I have tried to play it with different instruments, but in the end I felt that this piece was not very suitable for playing on the zither."

The zither's tone is deep and resonant, serene and elegant to the ear. Yet this melody is soaring and expansive, like wild geese soaring over the vast deserts of the Western Regions, revealing its boundless expanse.

Compared to the zither, the guzheng, with its more transparent and ethereal tone, is better able to express the melody and artistic conception of this piece.

Gu Qingyi's implication was that playing "West Sea Love Song" on the zither was better than on the qin.

Jia Lian naturally had no objections to this; his musical knowledge largely stemmed from Gu Qingyi, so he wouldn't presume to take the lead. Although he thought the guqin version of "West Sea Love Song" was already quite beautiful.

"Oh, you want a guzheng, right? Why bother making her go all the way back to get it? I have one here, just wait."

Feng Jie, who had been silently observing the situation, wiped her mouth and said to Ping'er, "Ping'er, go and take a look in the storeroom in the backyard. I remember before the New Year, the noblewoman from the Duke of Shan's mansion gave the old lady a guzheng. Since the old lady didn't have enough room for it, she gave it to me. I've been keeping it in that room. Go and get it for me."

Ping'er went with two maids, and soon brought over a guzheng.

Gu Qingyi took it and examined it. Although it couldn't compare to the one Jia Lian had given her, it was still a fine piece. She placed it on the table, put on her finger picks (to keep the zither strings taut and prevent hand injuries), and after a moment of concentration, without using sheet music, slowly began to compose the piece she knew by heart.

The clear, lofty, and incomparably beautiful melody instantly filled the entire flower hall.

Everyone who heard it for the first time was amazed. The melody was so refreshing and heavenly, it truly deserved Tan Chun's praise of it as "celestial music".

Even Jia Lian couldn't help but sit up straight.

When the song ended, everyone was completely captivated.

Daiyu stared blankly at Gu Qingyi, who was sitting quietly with her hands still, seemingly lost in thought.

It wasn't until the hall was filled with cheers and applause that Daiyu came to her senses. Noticing that Jia Lian was looking at her, she tossed a strand of hair behind her ear and quietly complained, "This song is much better than 'The Tomb of the Foolish Lover'."

Daiyu could also play the zither, so Jia Lian found some sheet music for her to practice from Gu Qingyi.

"It's not that the 'Tomb of Passionate Lovers' is inferior to this piece, but rather that your skill is simply not as good as theirs."

A simple retort made Daiyu's eyes widen in anger. If it weren't for the large number of people present, she would have strangled Jia Lian.

How dare they say that about her?

With just one performance, Gu Qingyi won the hearts of all the guests in the hall.

Everyone said they hadn't heard enough and wanted Gu Qingyi to play again, but Jia Lian felt sorry for Gu Qingyi, who had already played almost ten pieces in a row, so he interrupted everyone and asked Ping'er to take her and her servants down to eat and rest.

Although everyone was disappointed, they did not insist and began to chat and joke casually.

Seeing that the time was right, Baochai also brought a cup of wine to Jia Lian and said with a smile, "This cup of wine is firstly to thank you, Second Brother Lian, for the gift you gave me yesterday, and secondly, on behalf of my mother, to express her gratitude to Second Brother Lian."

Jia Lian took the wine cup from Baochai's hand, feigning ignorance: "Oh?"

Baochai then recounted to everyone how the Xue family had received care from the Western City Military Command during the chaos of war in the capital.

"The Western City Military Command is responsible for maintaining order in the Western City and protecting the interests of all its citizens. This action is simply part of their duty."

Baochai shook her head: "Even so, the entire capital was in chaos at the time. If it weren't for the fact that Brother Lian was the commander, how could the Military Affairs Office have been able to mobilize so many soldiers and personnel to protect the Xue family in such a timely manner?"

Regardless, my mother and I must accept the kindness shown to us by my second brother Lian.

Jia Lian smiled and, without further ado, downed the fragrant wine in one gulp, causing Daiyu beside him to frown.

Baochai took the empty wine cup back from Jia Lian and said, "My mother told me to ask Brother Lian if he has any other plans for tonight."

If she has some free time, my mother would like to prepare a small feast at home to thank my second brother Lian for his kindness.

Now Jia Lian hesitated. After all, he had already had two drinking sessions today. If he went to the Xue family's house for another one tonight, wouldn't he become a complete drunkard like Jia She back then?

But then he thought again, the Xue family's wine was always one of his favorites. Besides, although Baochai had agreed to be his woman, his progress in winning her over over the past few months had been so slow it was almost like a tortoise crawling.

This is not because he is careless or incompetent; it is simply because the opponent's defenses are too strong.

If we go to the Xue family's house for a banquet tonight, it might just be an opportunity...

Before Jia Lian could make up his mind, Feng Jie interrupted.

"Why did Aunt invite only him to this banquet? Does she think I, her own niece, am less worthy than him and don't deserve to drink this cup of wine?"

"Look at what you're saying. My mother would be overjoyed if you would deign to come."

She invited you many times before, but you always refused.

Sister Feng smiled and said nothing more.

Although she didn't really want Jia Lian to get too close to the Xue family, given her cousin's character and appearance, more contact would inevitably lead to problems.

The only thing that reassured her was that she knew her cousin was ambitious, and with her and Daiyu in front of her, the other party would definitely not easily interfere.

Besides, since it was a legitimate invitation to thank someone, she couldn't very well interfere.

After being interrupted by Sister Feng, Jia Lian made up his mind and accepted Aunt Xue's invitation.

Others, such as Xiangyun, had originally wanted to get a share of the feast when they heard that Aunt Xue was hosting it, but seeing that Sister Feng had given up, they felt even more embarrassed to "come uninvited".

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"Sitting around is boring, let's play some games instead."

One person made a suggestion, and everyone agreed, starting to discuss what games to play.

As the host, Jia Lian neither actively participated in the discussion nor spoiled the fun; he simply sipped his wine while appreciating the various behaviors of the young ladies.

Just as they were enjoying themselves, they suddenly saw Ah Qin, dressed smartly, strolling over.

"My lord, Su Keguang and Fan Jin have come to request an audience."

"What are they here for?"

"The imperial court's appointments have been made. Su Keguang will replace the Marquis as the commander of the firearms battalion, while Fan Jin will be promoted to deputy commander of the West City Military Command, temporarily acting as commander."

Aqin's tone was somewhat indignant. Although she hadn't gone to Iron Net Mountain with Jia Lian this time, she had roughly learned everything from her sister and the others, and now she felt sorry for Jia Lian's fate.

Jia Lian ignored this point; he was only thinking about the appointment.

Clearly, this was Emperor Ningkang's intention. Both Su Keguang and Fan Jin were previously recommended to Emperor Ningkang by Jia Lian, and it's unclear whether Emperor Ningkang did this to appease him, but he actually accepted both.

Although Fan Jin was only a deputy commander, given his reputation, this was already an exceptional promotion.

At this time, the two men must have just received their appointments and rushed to pay their respects to him, clearly to show their loyalty.

However, this move was undoubtedly intended to sow discord between him and the emperor. If Emperor Ningkang had truly only dismissed him to protect him, then it wouldn't have been a big deal.

If Emperor Ningkang truly harbors resentment towards him, their actions might only confirm his suspicions.

So Jia Lian barely hesitated before instructing, "Go back and tell them that I have other matters to attend to and no time to see them. The court has bestowed this favor upon them, so they should remain cautious and dutiful, so as not to disappoint His Majesty and the court's earnest cultivation."

Furthermore, I instructed Zhao Sheng and the others that from today onwards, if any officials from the court come to visit, they should all be dismissed on the grounds that I am observing mourning at home.

Ah Qin noted down Jia Lian's words, then glanced at everyone in the hall before turning and leaving.

Such a disciplined and efficient demeanor drew secret glances from the young ladies and maids in the hall. Truly worthy of being a third-class bodyguard personally appointed by the princess, her dashing and heroic bearing, a woman who rivals any man, truly brings honor to the women.

Although Jia Lian and A Qin spoke in hushed tones, those nearby could still hear them roughly.

Someone like Baochai, who had some understanding of officialdom and the court, could glean many subtle meanings from Jia Lian's few words and seemed to be deep in thought.

But for most people, they were secretly delighted to see that Jia Lian did not go out with A Qin.

The atmosphere is just right; it would be so boring if Brother Lian ran away.

"Brother Lian, since the weather is so nice today and Sister Feng has prepared such a good venue, why don't we start a poetry club? Anyway, it's only two days away from the actual day of our poetry club, so let's do it two days early this time."

Xiangyun, Tanchun, and the others had reached a consensus and were now seeking Jia Lian's final decision.

If Grandmother Jia and others were present, they certainly wouldn't have dared to make this suggestion. After all, there's the matter of national and family mourning...

Fearing that Jia Lian would refuse, they all looked at him with hopeful and pitiful eyes.

Jia Lian, who didn't care about formalities, naturally knew what to do when faced with so many beautiful glances.

"Okay, but it seems the club president isn't here."

"I'll go and fetch my sister-in-law!"

Xiangyun immediately took flight.

"And Baoqin the maid..."

"Sister Bao, where did Auntie take Baoqin? Did she go back to your house?"

"Let's not invite her today. After all, she's in this situation, and if we force her to come, she won't be able to let go, which would spoil everyone's fun."

Everyone agreed with Baochai's reasoning and said no more.