The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 27 The Rongxi Hall Girl's Ramblings
Jia Lian entered the main courtyard through the west gate and was about to head towards Rongxi Hall at the back when he saw the curtain of his second uncle's study on the west side of the main courtyard lifted, and his second uncle came out of the study.

Jia Lian quickly stopped and walked over, saying, "Nephew greets Master."

Jia Zheng hummed in agreement and asked, "Was that the eunuch who went to deliver the imperial edict just now?"

Jia Lian replied, "That's right. I just saw her off, and I was just about to go back and give the old lady a report."

After listening, Jia Zheng hesitated for a moment and asked, "Among the people who came from the palace just now, there was a rather young guard who looked familiar to me. Do you know who he is?"

Jia Lian was taken aback, guessing who his second uncle was referring to. He quickly replied, "Master, you've also noticed this person. I believe he must be of extraordinary status, but I can't guess who he is. Since you say he looks familiar, have you remembered something?"

Jia Zheng glanced at Jia Lian, thinking to himself, "When did my nephew develop such discernment? He can see someone's extraordinary qualities on our first meeting."

However, Jia Zheng was a man of principle, and though he thought these things, he did not say them aloud. He then turned to Jia Lian and said, “I saw this person from afar, and he does resemble the fifth son of the current emperor, His Highness Prince Su. However, because I was far away, I could not see him clearly and therefore could not confirm it.”

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian exclaimed in surprise, "Oh dear, that's it!"

Seeing Jia Lian's expression, Jia Zheng asked, "Why are you so sure? Has something happened?"

Upon hearing his second uncle's question, Jia Lian recounted how Tu Chengyu had hit Eunuch Zhou at the gate and then slipped the silver notes back to him.

After listening, Jia Zheng said, "It must be Prince Su. I remember that day in the court, Prince Su, at such a young age, faced all the officials without any fear and refuted the Censor-in-Chief until he was speechless. His behavior was bold and unpredictable. What happened outside the gate today is very much in line with Prince Su's style."

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian exclaimed, "Indeed, they are audacious and reckless. They can beat any eunuch who serves the Empress Dowager without a second thought."

Jia Zheng said, "Now is not the time to talk about these things. We should quickly tell the old lady about this matter and let her make a decision. Since Prince Su has spoken out against our Jia family serving the palace eunuchs, the household must come up with a plan to deal with it. We should not take Prince Su's words lightly just because he is young."

After saying this, the uncle and nephew hurried to Rongxi Hall in the backyard.

In Rongxi Hall in the backyard of the Jia family mansion, after receiving the imperial decree, Grandmother Jia and the others did not separate, but sat together in the hall to discuss the decree.

The adults sat at the head of the table talking, while several young girls from the mansion, accompanied by a group of maids, gathered at the foot of the table, whispering among themselves.

A simple-minded girl said, "Sisters, have you seen that little guard? He looks about the same age as Brother Baoyu. How come he's out here as a guard?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the girls all nodded, apparently having noticed the young guard as well.

The youngest girl among them spoke first, "This little guard looks young, but he's quite bold. Everyone else is listening attentively to the orders, but he's looking around and even sneaking glances in our direction."

"Yes"

"Yes"

The little girl's words were echoed by the others. One of them even teased, "You're not even as old as her, yet you keep calling her 'little guard.'"

The youngest girl retorted, "He's the youngest of the guards. What else should we call him but 'little guard'? Second sister, what should we call him?"

The little girl was relentless in her argument, even managing to make her own reasoning sound reasonable. Poor second sister, who was not good with words, finally came up with a reason after a while, saying, "What if they aren't guards?"

The little girl asked, "If he's not a guard, then what is he? Is he some kind of little prince?!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she couldn't help but laugh. She also felt that her guess was ridiculous. The other girls were naturally amused by the little girl's wild imagination.

After everyone had finished laughing, the girl who hadn't said anything until now joked, "If he were a prince, I'd be a princess."

These bold words drew sidelong glances from the other sisters, but when they thought of their little sister's even more absurd guess, they all burst into laughter again, even louder than before.

The girls' cheerful whispers finally caught the attention of the adults nearby.

With great interest, Grandmother Jia asked, "What are you young maids talking about so happily?"

Upon hearing their grandmother's greeting, the girls quickly turned around. The youngest girl, being the quickest to speak, said, "Reporting to Grandmother, Third Sister said she wants to be a princess."

As soon as she finished speaking, she was given a good beating by her third sister.

The Jia family members were quite surprised to hear this. They had just been discussing the matter of Jia Yuanchun being betrothed to Prince Yixiao as a princess, but before they could even get to the point, they heard that the third daughter was going to become a princess.

Although it was just a child's joke, it was still a pleasant thing to hear, since it would be a good thing for the household to have another princess.

With a smile, Grandmother Jia asked, "Which prince does our third daughter want to become her princess consort?"

When Grandmother Jia teased her, the once cheerful Third Sister blushed and said shyly, "Oh dear, Grandmother, we were just joking."

When Grandmother Jia saw that the third girl was shy, she teased her a bit more. Just then, a maid reported that the master and the second master Lian had arrived.

Upon hearing that Jia Zheng was coming, the young ladies quickly returned to their seats and straightened their posture. Madam Xing and Madam Wang, also helped down from their seats by Wang Xifeng and Jia Yuanchun, who had just entered, and sat on the side armchairs.

With permission, Jia Zheng and Jia Lian entered together and paid their respects to the Dowager.

The old lady first asked Jia Lian, "Lian-ge'er, has Eunuch Zhou been seen off?"

Jia Lian replied, "They've been sent off, but something else happened, which I must report to Grandmother."

Upon hearing this, Grandmother Jia did not speak, but turned her gaze to Jia Zheng as if asking a question.

Jia Zheng said, "My son has come for this very reason."

Seeing that the two men had come for this matter, Grandmother Jia asked Jia Lian to explain the whole story to everyone.

Jia Lian then recounted the entire incident in detail.

When it was mentioned that the young guard might be the current Prince Su, the women of the Jia family gasped in surprise, especially the third daughter, who buried her head in her second sister's arms in embarrassment.

She never imagined that her ramblings would lead to such a wonderful and unexpected connection.

Jia Lian, unaware of the reason, assumed that the family was simply surprised by Prince Su's identity, and continued speaking.

When it came to the matter of Prince Su kicking Eunuch Zhou to the ground without saying a word, returning the silver given to Eunuch Zhou by the household, and warning the household not to give silver to eunuchs in the palace in the future.

The women of the Jia family exclaimed in surprise once again, for they had never seen anyone act in such a way.

(End of this chapter)