Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 457: There is also a gap between the younger generation of the Jia family

After patting each maid on the back twice to comfort them, Yue Ling smiled helplessly and said in a gentle tone: "This is still in prison, not a place where we can talk comfortably. Let's go back to the mansion first."

The eunuch nodded slightly behind him, thinking that Yue Ling still had some dignity and would not seek excitement in the cell and do something immoral. Once he returned to the mansion and locked the door, no matter what happened, no one would care.

Sanchun stood up again, wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, and responded in a low voice.

The eunuch stepped forward and announced the pardon order, saying: "According to the law, the Jia family's property has been confiscated, but the three daughters, Jia Yingchun, Jia Tanchun, and Jia Xichun, have made meritorious contributions by reporting the case first. They can be regarded as great loyalists and righteous men. According to the Dachang Law, the first accusers can be exempted from slavery and pardoned immediately. This is my decree!"

As soon as the imperial edict was handed over, the eunuch started to act as a favor and said, "Although this is written in the law, there is no precedent. The three of you were able to escape danger thanks to the protection of Duke Dingguo. Your Majesty, please show mercy and use the three of you as an example to announce it in the capital to promote loyalty and righteousness."

"So you must not forget your majesty's kindness, and you must serve Duke Dingguo wholeheartedly."

The three girls nodded shyly and responded very sincerely.

Seeing the eunuchs looking at him, Yue Ling was speechless. He had to quickly disrupt the gradually weird atmosphere and said, "Don't worry, go back to the mansion first. Sister Lin should still be waiting for you."

The three of them did not comment and followed Yue Ling obediently.

After walking out of the cell and passing the corridor in front, you can see the members of the Jia family who are still locked up here.

Seeing that the three women had no shackles or fetters on their bodies, and even their clothes were not dirty, they immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the Jia family.

When they got to the iron railings, everyone stared at Sanchun, but due to Yue Ling's intimidation, they didn't dare to say anything for a while.

Jia Zheng was jealous. He had survived many dangers during his exile, and now he couldn't help but sigh, "I hope the Duke can treat my daughter well."

Bowing and performing the ritual was Jia Zheng's last act as a feudal patriarch.

Yue Ling also gave him some respect and nodded in agreement.

This signal of goodwill attracted Mrs. Wang again, "My Lord, please stay. I hope you can tell Baoyu about what you just pointed out to Lang'er."

"After today, we will go south to Qiongzhou, leaving him alone in the capital to study. He will definitely suffer a lot of grievances. If the Duke can give us some advice, we can avoid many detours."

As she spoke, Mrs. Wang pulled Baoyu forward and kowtowed to Yue Ling.

Mrs. Wang didn't dare to ask for more, she just hoped that Yue Ling could say something, that would be enough.

But when Baoyu saw Yue Ling, his body began to shake again and he was terrified.

He was so timid that he even stuttered and couldn't utter anything.

Yue Ling just shook his head and didn't stop.

But when he passed by Lady Jia's prison door, he saw her staring at him with a pair of scarlet eyes.

Yue Ling did not expect that she still hated him so much even though she was in such a situation.

"Yue Ling, you deceived the three girls from the Jia family, and you helped Baoyu. Is that too much? Three girls share one husband. I sacrificed the reputation of my Jia family in exchange for Baoyu's success. Isn't that worth it? You have such a vicious heart!"

Yue Ling frowned slightly, turned his head and looked at Sanchun, and said calmly: "First of all, they are not the price of your transaction, they are living people. And where is the Jia Mansion now, what does it have to do with you if they stay or go?"

"Besides, you have already destroyed the reputation of the Jia family. The 'Tongling Baoyu' that you value is not a seed that can become a useful thing. If your virtue is not worthy of your position, there will be disasters. Don't you know this at your old age?"

"Even if you don't know, you are now a criminal who will be executed in the autumn. It should be you, but you still don't understand it? You are really stupid and don't know it."

On Jia's mother's pale cheek, she was so angry at Yue Ling that she vomited blood, which sprayed on the dry straw, leaving colorful bloodstains, which was shocking to the eye.

But Grandmother Jia was still holding her breath and was unwilling to give in in front of Yue Ling.

Until now, she does not think that the decline of the Jia family is her fault alone. There are corrupt officials everywhere, and Yue Ling is making trouble everywhere, causing her to give up the power of the Jia family again and again, thus falling from the altar and unable to fully control the Jia family, leading to today's disaster.

"I have seen the end of my life of wealth and honor long ago, so what does death mean? Even if Baoyu is released from prison alive, the success or failure is still uncertain!"

Yue Ling couldn't help laughing and said, "Death is easy, it's just the end of everything. Living is hard."

Waving his hand, Yue Ling ignored him.

Sanchun was even more numb as she passed by Grandmother Jia, completely ignoring her grandmother's pupils that suddenly widened. Finally, she fell to the ground, twitching and coughing up blood foam.

Before she died, she realized that the entire Jia family had been unable to resist Yue Ling in the past, and that only Baoyu and other descendants would escape from the situation. If Yue Ling intended to target her, she would be worse off dead.

Baoyu, who was listening next door, was even more terrified. He jumped up like crazy, and his hysteria broke out again, "It's over, it's all over! It's all gone! My sisters are gone, the Jia family is gone, and I am gone too, hahahaha!"

"It's all your fault. It's all your fault for offending the devil Yue Ling and bringing disaster to my Jia family. Everyone is tainted with evil, and everyone will die a miserable death!"

Mrs. Wang was in tears as she watched, and Jia Zheng couldn't bear to watch.

Of course, the jailer would not pay attention to these things. After respectfully seeing off Yue Ling and others, he returned to the cell and took the pardoned descendants of the Jia family out of prison one by one.

"Jia Lan, the fourth-generation grandson of the Rongguo Mansion."

When his name was called, Jia Lan struggled to stand up and said to his mother Li Wan, "Mother, don't worry. I will wait by the roadside of the South City Gate tomorrow and go south with you."

Li Wan was surprised and asked, "What are you doing?"

Jia Lan, who was still young, had his own ideas. He was afraid that his mother would worry, so he explained, "First, I want to spend more time with my mother. Second, it is difficult for me to study at the Imperial College as a commoner, so I can only go south to Cangzhou to the Qingfeng Academy, and try in Jiangnan and other places."

"And Duke Dingguo just told me that I don't need to specialize in the Four Books and Five Classics, but need to be well-informed and have a strong memory. I thought Duke Dingguo was telling me that reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. Even if I fail to study, I can travel around and gain knowledge without writing. I firmly believe that I will not be far behind in the future."

Li Wan's eyes were red again. She said, "You are old now and have your own opinions. Mother is very pleased. You need to take good care of yourself in the future and don't be reckless and insist on doing it."

Jia Lan followed the jailer out of the prison gate, looking back and reminding his mother, "Mom, you are the one who needs to take good care of yourself. You must stay healthy. One day, I will help you get rid of this crime."

"Okay, mother, wait."

The jailer saw the mother and son parting and shook his head with emotion. He then read out, "Jia Baoyu, the third-generation grandson of the Rongguo Mansion."

I called out, but no one answered. When I opened the cell, I found that he was unconscious.

"Why is there a madman here? Come on, throw them all out!"

……

There were few people in front of the Dali Temple.

If you don't look carefully, you won't notice that there is a sedan chair parked at the corner of the alley. If you lift the curtain of the sedan chair, you can just see the situation in front of the Dali Temple.

"Miss, Duke Dingguo has come out. He was shirking responsibility with the eunuchs from the palace, so he let the eunuchs carry the palace sedan chair and leave first."

Baochan and Xia Jingui were talking to each other. Xia Jingui, who had not rested well the night before, woke up slowly. She stretched her lazy waist and yawned, "Did anyone follow them out?" "Yes, it should be the three girls from the Jia family. They got on the sedan chair of Duke Dingguo, and Duke Dingguo rode a horse beside the sedan chair."

Xia Jingui frowned and hurried behind the curtain of the sedan chair to observe the situation in the distance.

Baochan asked, "Miss, the daughter of the Jia family was picked up by Duke Dingguo, which is exactly what you expected. Does the Jia family have a chance to turn things around?"

Xia Jingui was also unsure and shook her head, "Wait a little longer."

The master and servant stared at the door intently. Their efforts paid off. After a few quarters of an hour, someone else came out.

The two of them had been hanging around in the Rongguo Mansion for some time, so they could naturally tell those people apart: Jia Lan, Jia Huan, Jia Cong, and the younger generations of the Jia family.

But the only person I didn't see was Jia Baoyu.

"Miss, all the descendants of the Jia family have come out, why don't you see Second Master Bao? Could it be that because he and Second Master Lian are legitimate sons, they are kept in prison together to be punished?"

Xia Jingui raised her eyebrows slightly, feeling a little unwilling in her heart. If it was really as Baochan guessed, then all her efforts would be in vain.

In the past, she was still showing off and mocking in front of Xue Baochai, but now she has really fallen into the abyss and is too ashamed to see anyone.

"Miss, I'd say forget it. The Rongguo Mansion has been confiscated. Even if you insist on fulfilling the engagement, how much money can you squeeze out of them? Besides, I think they have some bad luck. Don't bring misfortune to our family."

Xia Jingui was not one to accept defeat, so she gritted her teeth and said, "Let's wait and see. Although the Jia family is gone, it was Wang Ziteng who confiscated the property after all, so the Wang family will be fine for a while. If he knew that Jia Baoyu was still alive, wouldn't he feel guilty and take care of him?"

"When the time comes, there will be money for us to make. Besides, Baoyu is not stupid, and he is also good-looking. Now that the Jia family is in decline, he has nowhere to stay. It would be appropriate for him to change the marriage certificate and marry into the Xia family, right?"

"Bring-in-law?"

Baochan's mouth twitched, thinking that his daughter really dared to think so.

Although the Rongguo Mansion has lost its title, the ancestral hall is still there, and the reputation of the Duke is still there. If he really marries into the family, it will be such a shame.

However, this does in fact raise the status of the Xia family, and it is indeed feasible.

Baochan continued to wait with her girl, but when the sun was high in the sky at noon, there was still no sign of him.

The two of them had been stuck in the sedan for a long time, their backs were soaked with sweat, and they couldn't help but come out and walk around.

"Miss, the weather is really hot and humid. Let's leave two servants to watch over it and go back first, shall we?"

Xia Jingui leaned against the wall, took the handkerchief handed to her by Baochan, wiped the sweat from her chin, and shook her head, saying, "Why don't we wait and see? If anything goes wrong, it may be too late to rush over."

Baochan had no choice but to continue waiting behind Xia Jingui. When she raised her foot and looked into the distance, she saw a person lying behind the willow tree in front of the door, motionless. She had never noticed him before.

"Girl, girl!"

Baochan hurriedly pulled Xia Jingui's sleeve.

Xia Jingui felt hot and unbearable, and impatiently shook off his hand, "What's the matter? Tell me!"

Baochan pointed to the distance and said, "There seems to be another person in front of the door. Girl, shall we go and take a look?"

"What? Is there anyone else?"

Xia Jingui immediately walked out of the alley and headed straight for the gate of Dali Temple. Sure enough, she saw Jia Baoyu resting against the willow tree in the shade in front of the gate.

He was unkempt, ragged, and if it weren't for the piece of jade on his body, Xia Jingui would have been hard-pressed to determine his identity.

When someone came in front of him, Baoyu, who had gone crazy for a while, did not react much, but just said weakly: "Water, water..."

Seeing that Baoyu's lips were already covered with layers of white skin, Xia Jingui immediately asked someone to get the water bag and pour it into Baoyu's mouth. After a quarter of an hour, his expression finally eased a little.

After recovering a little, Baoyu went crazy again, patting the grass and crying, "It's over, the Jia family is over, it's all over! Duke Dingguo will not forgive us, not me!"

Baochan was frightened by this and asked her daughter tentatively, "Girl, he seems to be crazy. How could this Duke care about his poor family? Girl, do you still want to fulfill the marriage contract? I think it's better to forget it. What's the point of marrying him if he is not smart enough..."

Xia Jingui frowned, snatched a new water bag from Baochan's arms, uncorked it and poured the water over Baoyu's head.

The cold well water soaked into his skin, causing Baoyu to shiver. After a few breaths, his eyes regained some clarity and he jumped up and shouted, "Who are you and what are you doing?"

Xia Jingui glared and said, "Who am I? I am your wife-to-be!"

Baoyu really regained some of his rationality and even looked up and down at Xia Jingui's appearance.

Even though Xia Jingui had many shortcomings, she was still an extremely beautiful woman. She was born into an imperial merchant family and made a living by growing osmanthus flowers. She had a natural fragrance about her, which was exactly what Baoyu wanted.

Baoyu is now desperate, but the woman in front of him still does not despise his poor family and comes to him looking for marriage. How can he not be moved?

However, after being repeatedly criticized by Yue Ling, Baoyu learned his lesson and carefully found out the purpose of the visit. He then asked, "Are you the daughter of the Xia family? My ancestors and mother have chosen a marriage for me."

Xia Jingui, who had been waiting for a long time, had no patience and replied with a frown, "Yes, what's the matter?"

Baoyu scratched his head and said embarrassedly, "But now that Rongguo Mansion is gone, are you still willing to accept this marriage?"

He thought that although the woman in front of him was inferior to Lin Daiyu, if she stayed together and lived in harmony with him, it might be a good marriage. Besides, what else could he ask for given his current situation?

"Of course I recognize you. If I didn't recognize you, why would I come to look for you?"

Baoyu let out a long sigh, "Well, don't worry, young lady, I will definitely find a way to collect the gift money and go to your house to propose marriage. If you don't let me down, I won't let you down!"

Baochan stepped forward at the right time and spoke on behalf of Xia Jingui, "Although my daughter agrees to this marriage, you are now a bachelor and your status is not worthy of my daughter, so you don't need to prepare any betrothal gifts, just sign the marriage contract."

"What? Marry into the wife's family?"

"Why? My daughter is extremely beautiful and wealthy. I don't know how many people have come to ask for her hand in marriage. What are you picky about?"

"But asking for marriage is asking for marriage, and marrying into the wife's family is marrying into the wife's family."

Seeing Baoyu being so stubborn, Baochan lost her composure and turned to look at her own girl, "Girl, he is in such a miserable state. You don't despise him, but he still doesn't know what is good for him. What should I do?"

Xia Jingui narrowed her eyes, took a step closer, raised her hand and slapped Baoyu in the face, hitting him hard on the face, causing him to have ringing in his ears and dizziness.

"Do you still think you are from a noble family? Are you leaving or not?"

Before the next slap landed, Baoyu begged for mercy: "Go, go, miss, please stop hitting me..."

(End of this chapter)