Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 39: Jia's Investment

Qin Palace,
In the dungeon, the shackles on Jia Lian were removed by his personal guards. When he was about to stand up, his legs were numb and he could not support himself, so he sat back on the chair.

The middle of the chair was hollow and had no wood, which made Jia Lian cry out twice, "Ouch, what kind of suffering am I in?"

Seeing Jia Lian fall, the Kunlun slave beside him wanted to help him up, but Jia Lian quickly dodged and said, "No, stay away from me, I don't need your help."

The guards of the Prince of Qin's mansion smiled at each other again and said to Jia Lian, "Okay, stop dawdling. If you don't go back, you can stay here all night."

"Go back, the two generals will lead the way."

Two guards carried Jia Lian out of the prison. After passing through the gate, Jia Lian took a few deep breaths and his expression calmed down. He looked around and asked in confusion, "Why do there seem to be fewer people here than when I came here?"

The guard pushed Jia Lian's back, causing him to stagger. "Is this something you can find out? Hurry up and leave!"

Jia Lian steadied himself and wiped the sweat from his forehead, "Okay, okay, let's go."

Watching Jia Lian's departing figure, one of the guards wondered, "The Jia family has always been careful about their reputation. Other noble families have had their titles demoted due to various misdeeds, but this family has inherited the title the best. Rong Laoguogong was supposed to be demoted, but he was given the title of Duke again because of his military merits. Why did he get involved in this mess this time?"

"The old Duke is a wise and brave man, and we admire his magnanimity, but his descendants are useless. None of them have joined the army. Can you call them a noble family? I'm afraid they want to replicate the achievements of the old days."

"Then why didn't Commander Yue report the matter directly, but let Jia Lian go first? At least he can serve as a witness."

The other man pondered for a moment, but still couldn't figure out the reason. "Forget it, don't guess anymore. Perhaps Commander Yue has his own plans. If we can guess, we can at least be a flag officer, if not a commander."

The two of them smiled with relief and returned to the mansion together.

……

Rongguo Mansion, Rongqing Hall,
In the main hall, Grandmother Jia sat upright on the central armchair, closing her eyes and breathing slowly.

Unusually, there was no one to serve Lady Jia. Even Yuanyang was not in the room. Instead, there was a table and a royal armchair next to the chair.

Below, Jia She and Jia Zheng were both sitting on the side, looking unhappy.

Jia Lian changed his clothes in the room and rushed to the hall without even taking a hot bath to warm himself up.

When he entered the hall and saw this situation, he knelt down immediately.

"Grandfather, my grandson is back."

Jia She frowned and asked, "Why did you take so long? What delayed you?"

How could Jia Lian dare to say that he was kidnapped by the Qin Wang Mansion? He confessed in prison and lied: "On the way back, I ran into some friends and went out for a drink..."

Jia She was furious and slammed the table, saying, "Do you know what this is?! Are you treating this as a joke? You are more likely to cause trouble than to help. I will beat you to death in this hall today!"

After saying this, Jia She wanted to stand up, but was stopped by Jia Zheng who was standing beside him. "Brother, Lian Ge'er is just in the mood for fun. He has done his job neatly. It's good that there is no mistake. There is no need to get angry. When you and I were young, we were always scolded by our father."

Jia She was speechless, and he thought to himself, "Why are you bringing up old issues in class? When you were teaching Baoyu a lesson, you were not so talkative."

At that moment, they heard Lady Jia speaking from above.

"Well, if you want to show off, do it outside, not in front of me. I'm afraid you don't have the ability to show off outside, and you can only show off in front of your children and grandchildren."

"Brother Lian, go and invite the old master from the East Palace, and then go back and rest."

Not long after, an old man in his sixties walked into the Rongguo Mansion. His hair and beard were all white, but his brows were still full of heroic spirit. His figure was not stiff, but as straight as a pine tree. The wrinkles on his cheeks seemed to prove the wear and tear of time.

Jia Daihua from Ningguo Mansion walked in front of Jia Lian with a steady gait.

Jia Daihua was annoyed by the young people in Rongguo Mansion. They were all useless. But the two cloves of garlic in his family were not as good as those in Xifu Mansion, which made Jia Daihua even more depressed.

"Did Lady Shi say anything?" Jia Dai transformed himself into the head of the Jia family. He was also one of the only two Jia family members with military power. Naturally, he was very famous and admired by the young men in the family. Jia Lian was also very afraid of him.

When Jia Daihua was teaching his children and grandchildren a lesson in Ning Mansion, he beat them until their skin was torn and they were covered in blood, without holding back at all, which made Jia Lian terrified.

"Reply... reply to Dabogong, he didn't say anything, just let me go and invite you."

Jia Daihua frowned and thought for a while, "Well, you can go back."

Jia Lian bowed and said, "Yes."

Entering Rongqing Hall, Jia She and Jia Zheng hurriedly stood up and saluted to greet him, "Greetings, Duke."

Jia Daihua waved his sleeves and said, "No need to be polite."

Then, Jia Daihua walked straight forward and sat on the left side of Jia's mother.

"Are there any new scholars in the mansion? I remember Baoyu has grown up too, right?"

Hearing Jia Daihua's question, Jia She looked at Jia Zheng.

Jia Zheng blushed and said, "I am looking for a teacher to teach me. Although I can read, my talent is still not as good as Zhu Ge'er's."

Jia Daihua shook his head and sighed, "We in the East and West governments seem to have no such fate. Those who can study cannot become officials. There is no way out."

Grandmother Jia comforted him, saying, "My dear old master, you are in good health, which is a blessing to our descendants."

Jia Daihua sipped the tea on the table and said, "It is better to practice all day in the military camp. It is not as good as you enjoying yourself at home. If there are people who can accomplish something, why do we need to work hard for them?"

Jia She and Jia Zheng lowered their heads in shame again.

Grandmother Jia tried to smooth things over by saying, "Master, please don't make it difficult for them. If you insist on doing something you don't have the ability to do, it will only cause trouble."

Hearing this, Jia Daihua nodded and asked, "Why did Lord Feng come to see me today?"

"I am not as strong as you, old man. I cannot go to the East Palace to pay my respects. I will make you laugh."

Grandmother Jia took a letter from the side, handed it to Jia Dai's incarnation, and motioned him to open it.

Jia Daihua looked puzzled, then he unfolded the letter, read it from top to bottom, and his expression became more and more shocked.

"Is this what my second brother meant?"

Jia Daihua looked at Grandmother Jia, as if asking her to give an explanation.

Grandmother Jia's face was slightly calm, "I, an old woman, felt the same as you when I received the letter."

Jia Daihua asked again: "Isn't it rumored that he was captured by the northern barbarians?"

Grandmother Jia looked down at Jia She and said, "He went there in person to get the news."

Jia She immediately raised his hands and said, "It was my junior who went to Datong Prefecture and got this handwritten letter."

Jia Daihua carefully considered the pros and cons stated in the letter, then looked down at the useless descendants below, sighed and said: "Well, the East and West Palaces are united and share weal and woe. Since my second brother has this plan, there is no reason for the East Palace not to help."

At that moment, another servant came to deliver a message.

"Grandfather, the Prince Kang's mansion was surrounded by the Prince Qin's troops, and the palace's Yulin Army was dispatched."

Hearing this, everyone in the hall changed color. Grandmother Jia suppressed her emotions and comforted them, "Don't worry. If Prince Kang can't handle such things, what's the point of fighting for a position?"

(End of this chapter)