Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Since Sister Feng came to invite her personally and said all the right things, Baochai naturally wouldn't insist on staying at home anymore.

Therefore, she bid farewell to her mother and returned to the mansion with her maid, following Sister Feng.

Unlike Jia Lian, Feng Jie did not escort her to the back gate of the Grand View Garden. Instead, she went around the east side of the street to Ningrong Street and got off at the east corner gate of the Rongguo Mansion.

After getting off the bus, he took her hand, showing a friendly demeanor.

Baochai knew that Fengjie had done it intentionally, and felt that Fengjie was indeed worthy of her reputation for being thoughtful.

Now that Sister Feng has had this experience, if anyone says she "entered the door before entering," those willing to speak up for her will naturally have something to say in response.

"Alright, I'll leave you here. Hehehe, as you can see, I've been busy at home today. If it weren't for inviting you back, I wouldn't have had the time."

At the entrance of the Grand View Garden, Sister Feng finally loosened her grip on Baochai and said with a smile.

Baochai nodded. She naturally noticed that from the moment they entered Ningrong Street, there were old women from the Ningguo Mansion inquiring about the opening of the ancestral hall on the orders of Madam You, and then there were stewardesses coming to inform guests of their farewells.

But Sister Feng dismissed these people with just a few words and personally brought her here, which shows her sincerity.

Therefore, let Sister Feng go about her business and don't worry about her.

Unexpectedly, after giving Ping'er a word of advice, Feng Jie turned to look at her and suddenly said with a smile, "Why don't you come with me to take a look? I know you've always been the most decisive one. We'll be handing over this household to you sooner or later, so it'll be good for you to get familiar with it beforehand."

If it were Daiyu, upon hearing Fengjie say such a thing, she would definitely snort coldly, turn her head, and leave, or at least retort with a sarcastic remark.

However, Baochai did not react in the same way. She seemed not to have noticed the probing meaning in Fengjie's words, and only said tactfully, "Sister Feng is joking. If it is not proper, why should I follow her to do it?"

"Please trouble you, sister. If you ever need my help in the future, then you can ask me for it."

After saying this, Baochai bowed and turned to enter the Grand View Garden.

Her reaction made Sister Feng narrow her eyes.

Unlike Daiyu, after spending so much time together and observing her, Fengjie naturally realized that Daiyu was a proud and aloof girl who disregarded worldly affairs.

Even if you give a person like that power, she probably won't bother to use it.

However, Baochai was someone even Jia Lian, who possessed the "heavenly eye," couldn't quite grasp. Naturally, Fengjie was quite wary of her.

When she first heard Jia Lian say he had taken a liking to Baochai, her immediate reply, "I disagree," was no joke.

Originally, Sister Feng wanted to maintain her image as a kind and approachable older cousin, but she couldn't help herself and made a tentative remark.

Unexpectedly, not only did he fail to find out anything, he also revealed his own thoughts.

It seems unlikely that I will be able to coax this girl in the same way I coaxed Daiyu in the future.

Rarely, Sister Feng realized that she had overdone it, said something foolish, and done something stupid.

In fact, Sister Feng didn't know that even if she hadn't said that, she wouldn't have been able to win over Baochai using the same tactics she used to coax Daiyu.

Baochai grew up with her mother managing the family business. In the huge Xue family, there were so many servants, managers and shop assistants inside and out. What kind of cunning people weren't there?

Although Sister Feng is more shrewd, she still falls into these clichés and is not a particularly complex personality.

On the contrary, her previous courteous and respectful demeanor made Baochai suspicious.

Once her true nature was revealed, Baochai immediately understood and felt that everything made sense, and her heart was no longer troubled.

……

When the guests who came to visit found that Jia Lian did not show up, they all took their leave after lunch.

As soon as they left, the two governments suddenly started making preparations in full swing.

We set up the ancestral hall to respectfully inform our ancestors.

If it were just a regular promotion or a title increase, it wouldn't be worth making such a big fuss about it.

But for the descendants to reclaim their ancestors' titles is the greatest honor they could have.

When Jia Daishan received the Emperor Emeritus's favor and was granted the title of Duke, he held a grand ancestral worship ceremony.

There are now precedents to follow.

Jia Lian, however, did not seem to care much about this, letting Feng Jie and others arrange and handle it.

After taking a bath, Jia Lian heard that Baochai had returned to the Grand View Garden, so he prepared to go see her. However, Grandmother Jia sent someone to summon him, so Jia Lian had no choice but to turn back.

"Weren't you feeling unwell? I thought you weren't coming."

Perhaps seeing that Jia Lian's vigorous and energetic manner did not seem to indicate any physical discomfort, Grandmother Jia released Baoqin from her arms and said in a somewhat cold tone.

Jia Lian cupped his hands and laughed, "Grandmother, what are you saying? Even if I were in trouble, how could I dare not come if you summoned me?"

Jia Lian's attitude made it difficult for Grandmother Jia to maintain her composure. She sighed and said, "People come to congratulate us with good intentions, and many of them have been friends of our family for generations. Since you are well, why don't you come out to receive them?"

It's one thing for outsiders to be here, but why don't you show up when your relatives' elders want to see you?

If people find out, not only will they say you've been granted the title of Duke, but they'll also disown your relatives.

Faced with Grandmother Jia's rebuke, Jia Lian had no intention of explaining to her, and only smiled and said, "It's my fault. I just felt there were too many people and it was tiring to deal with them, so I simply wanted to find some peace and quiet."

Lady Xing, who had just returned from seeing off the noble ladies with Lady Wang, really thought that Grandmother Jia was angry, so she hurriedly spoke up for Jia Lian: "Grandmother, please don't blame him. He has suffered a lot and taken many risks outside, and that's how he managed to get Grandmother Jia's title back."

Now that he's finally home, he deserves a good rest. So if he wants to slack off, let him. We can handle entertaining the relatives; it's the same with me and Feng'er."

Grandmother Jia gave Madam Xing a disapproving look. Putting everything else aside, this fool certainly embodied the Three Obediences and Four Virtues perfectly. No wonder even the notoriously difficult Jia She never considered replacing her.

Grandmother Jia wasn't really angry, of course. It was just that today was a special day, and she had wanted to keep a few relatives with her to play dominoes.

However, Jia Lian claimed to be ill, and the family was about to hold a ceremony to worship their ancestors, so Grandmother Jia naturally couldn't keep too many guests, which is why she felt some resentment.

"I called you here for no other reason than to talk about your sister Qin."

The Mei family doesn't seem like anything special to me; they're just a name without substance.

Since they broke the contract first, don't blame us for being heartless.

"It was one thing before, but now that you've been granted the title of Duke, getting your sister's marriage certificate back shouldn't be difficult for you, right?"

Jia Lian glanced at Baoqin, then at the concerned Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang, and suddenly understood something. He nodded and smiled, "It's not difficult."

Grandmother Jia breathed a sigh of relief, smiled, and patted Baoqin's head. Baoqin lowered her head shyly.

Seeing this, Grandmother Jia stopped teasing her and looked up to ask Jia Lian, "I heard that you took Lin and Bao out this morning, saying you were going on a trip to the suburbs."

"You only brought the two of them, no matter how much Yun begged you, you wouldn't take her along. Is that true?"

Jia Lian asked in astonishment, "Who told you that, Grandfather?"

Grandmother Jia spread her hands, gesturing to those around her.

Madam Wang laughed and said, "Yun'er was acting coquettishly in front of the old lady earlier, saying that she clearly saw you taking Lin'er and Bao'er out for a trip to the suburbs this morning, but no matter how much she begged, you wouldn't take her. You're being very biased."

Jia Lian was speechless. Although he had heard that Xiangyun had spread the word about this, he had only thought that she was venting to Tan Chun and the others in the garden. He hadn't expected her to come to Grandmother Jia's place to tell her.

What a big mouth!

It doesn't matter anyway, since he's already planning to announce it himself.

He glanced around the room and suddenly asked, "Why isn't Brother Bao here?"

Grandmother Jia said irritably, "You wouldn't come out when I called you before, so your mistress had your brother Bao see the guests off for you."

Jia Lian nodded, expressed his gratitude to Madam Wang, and then smiled, "Grandmother, what do you think of me marrying Bao'er into our family as well?"

Jia Lian's words stunned everyone in the room.

Even Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang, who had anticipated this, were no exception.

They originally thought that Jia Lian only favored Baochai, which was why he only took Baochai and Daiyu out of the city.

At most, I just have some thoughts in my mind.

This is why Grandmother Jia asked this question.

Who knew that Jia Lian would reveal his hand right from the start!

Keep in mind that this wasn't a private setting; there were quite a few maids and servants inside.

If the Xue family doesn't agree to Jia Lian's blatant coveting of someone else's daughter, then it's basically a situation where they'll never have anything to do with each other again.

Fortunately, everyone knew that Jia Lian wasn't one to speak without reason, so Grandmother Jia pondered for a moment and said, "That's certainly good... How do you plan to marry him?"

"Naturally, just like Lin Yatou."

"Have you discussed this with the Xue family?"

"Um."

"Did Aunt Xue agree?"

"Um."

"What about Feng and Lin?"

"I've already told them."

"Didn't they cause you any trouble?"

"No, they are all very generous and easy to talk to."

Although I don't think Feng Jie and Daiyu are generous and easy to talk to, since Jia Lian dared to say that, he must have used some method to resolve the dispute.

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

Therefore, after careful consideration, Grandmother Jia smiled and said, "If that's the case, it would indeed be a good thing. What do you two think?"

Grandmother Jia looked at Madam Xing and Madam Wang.

Madam Xing looked around, her old face beaming with a smile: "Hehehe, today is truly a double celebration! I've always said how good the Xue family girl is; I wonder which young man will be lucky enough to marry her!"

Our Lian'er has such good taste and ability; she managed to fool people so quietly... she fooled people... Anyway, it's a good thing, hehehe.

Grandmother Jia ignored Madam Xing and continued to look at Madam Wang.

Madam Wang's expression was much more complicated.

But facing Grandmother Jia's gaze, she still nodded and said, "It is indeed a good thing."

Grandmother Jia smiled, then turned to look at Jia Lian: "Since you've already made arrangements between Feng'er and the Xue family, I suppose I don't need to mediate for you. So what do you mean by saying this to me?"

Jia Lian smiled slightly: "I would like to ask the old ancestor to help me act as a matchmaker."

Grandmother Jia then truly sat up.

"To act as matchmaker?"

"Yes."

Jia Lian's expression suddenly became much more serious: "Bao'er is so outstanding, it would be a waste for her to be with me, so I want to ask someone of noble status and high moral standing to help us with this matchmaking."

After much thought, I realized that our ancestors were the most suitable.

Jia Lian's words greatly pleased Grandmother Jia, but she still pondered for a moment and asked, "Why didn't you ask your maternal grandfather to act as matchmaker this time, but instead thought of me? Is it because Old Master Zhang's status is not noble enough, or his virtue and prestige are not high enough?"

"My maternal grandfather was certainly of noble status and highly respected."

But Lin's matter has already troubled him once; there's no reason to ask him to intervene every time.

"Oh, I thought your grandfather was the only elder in your heart."

Jia Lian had no idea that his grandmother would act as if she were jealous. He pretended to wipe his sweat and said, "Grandmother, what are you saying? Last time, it was because Lin was also your granddaughter that we asked the woman's elders to act as matchmakers."

Otherwise, I'll have to trouble you with what happened to Lin last time.

Grandmother Jia snorted, then laughed, saying, "Since that's the case, I'll agree to take on this Baoshan project! But how much will you give me as a reward after it's done?"

"Hehe, who doesn't know that our ancestor was a very wealthy man? Why would he covet his grandson's small amount of coal donation money?"

"It's just something your grandson has. If you, Grandmother, want it, I'll send someone to deliver it to you immediately."

Grandmother Jia laughed heartily in agreement; she was genuinely happy to act as matchmaker for Jia Lian.

Although it's unclear how Jia Lian persuaded the Xue family, the fact that he hadn't leaked a word beforehand, yet had secretly resolved the conflicts of interest with all the stakeholders, demonstrates the importance he placed on this matter.

It's likely that even if Xue's daughter wasn't as good as Lin's daughter in his heart, she wouldn't be too far off.

By agreeing to take on this favor for Jia Lian, he was doing Jia Lian an extra favor, which would naturally make the relationship between Jia Lian and the Jia family even closer.

"Ancestors, what are you saying? Why are you so happy?"

Just as Grandmother Jia was in high spirits, the chubby and plump Jia Baoyu walked in suspiciously.

When Grandmother Jia saw Jia Baoyu, her smile faded considerably. She hesitated for a moment, then said in as gentle a tone as possible, "It's like this, your aunt has betrothed your sister Bao to your second brother Lian, and your second brother Lian asked me to be the matchmaker."

Jia Baoyu was stunned: "Sister Bao, Brother Lian?"

Jia Baoyu glanced at Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang, then at Jia Lian, and finally said to Grandmother Jia, "But doesn't Second Brother Lian already have Sister Feng and Sister Lin?"

Neither Grandmother Jia nor Lady Wang knew how to explain it; they both knew the heartache of their beloved daughter.

Especially for Lady Wang, the daughter-in-law she valued and was most satisfied with was Baochai!

Whether in appearance or personality, Baochai perfectly met Lady Wang's requirements.

However, since Xue Pan's accident, she refused to let Yuan Chun come to his rescue. Although Aunt Xue did not say it explicitly, she knew that Aunt Xue harbored resentment.

Add to that wretched child, Xue Pan…

Lady Wang was very shrewd. She always felt that Xue Pan might not learn from his mistakes and might cause trouble after he was released from prison, which would implicate her son.

Therefore, since then, the two sisters have never mentioned the idea of ​​a marriage alliance when they meet.

She thought it was a tacit understanding, but she never expected that Aunt Xue would set her sights on Jia Lian and abandon her.

Although she felt somewhat uncomfortable, Madam Wang didn't mind too much, because she already had a better goal.

This time, it was rare that she and Grandmother Jia reached a consensus!

That's right, it's Xue Baoqin.

Everyone in the Jia family knew how much Grandmother Jia favored Baoqin.

Although she was forced by Grandmother Jia to accept Baoqin as her goddaughter, over the past few months, she had genuinely grown fond of Baoqin, a girl who was not only extremely beautiful but also had a well-behaved and adorable personality.

Both being daughters of the Xue family, Baoqin's appearance was no less than Baochai's.

The key point is that compared to Baochai, Baoqin's brother Xue Ke is definitely a plus.

Even though they hadn't met many times, Aunt Xue alone could tell that Xue Ke was upright in his words and deeds.

She wasn't after the Xue family's wealth, and with an upright brother-in-law on one side and a brother-in-law plagued by vices on the other, choosing the former was naturally better.

Although Madam Wang was relieved, she was still worried about her son.

She knew that Daiyu's situation had been a great blow to her son, and she was afraid that this would only make things worse.

Both she and Grandmother Jia believed that Jia Baoyu liked his cousin Baochai, because based on past experiences, besides Daiyu, Baochai was the person Jia Baoyu cared about the most.

Jia Baoyu is just naive at times; he's not really stupid.

Seeing that Grandmother Jia and the others did not answer, he understood what they meant.

For the first time in his life, he felt a pang of regret. Had he listened to his father, studied diligently for the imperial examinations, and achieved official rank, he could have saved his beloved Lin Daiyu?

Faced with the worried looks from Grandmother Jia and the others, Jia Baoyu remained silent for a moment, then took Jia Lian's hand and said, "Congratulations, Second Brother Lian."

Jia Baoyu's reaction surprised not only Grandmother Jia and others, but even Jia Lian.

However, by this time, Jia Lian no longer took Jia Baoyu seriously, so he didn't pay much attention and simply replied with a wave of his hand, "Thank you."

Jia Lian's nonchalant attitude made Jia Baoyu feel even worse. He turned to Grandmother Jia and said, "Grandmother, if there's nothing else, I'll head back now."

"Alright, you must be tired too. Go back and rest. Xiren, take good care of Baoyu."

"Yes."

……