Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Nanren Street, Luoxiang Lane, is just an ordinary street in Stone City. The surrounding area is mostly inhabited by ordinary people.

Sun Zai Ren had already determined that Jia Lian would not harm him, so he naturally tried his best to curry favor with him.

He led Jia Lian and the others to the gate of a secluded courtyard and said respectfully, "Young Master, this is the place."

Jia Lian dismounted and looked around. The place was quiet and secluded, a rather nice place to stay.

"Is this your home?"

"Replying to you, sir, I live next door. When I bought this house, I thought it was too spacious for my family of three to live in, so I partitioned off part of it and opened another door to rent it out so I could earn some money for cooking oil and rice."

Sun Zai Ren's words made Jia Lian look at him with new respect.

It seems that this young novice monk is doing quite well in Nanjing. He not only bought a big house, but also, according to him, got married and had children!

You should know that the other person was once a rootless, drifting monk who had no choice but to leave the monastery and return to secular life. In just a few years, he has settled down in a big city and is living a happy life.

This is much harder to achieve than those from extraordinary backgrounds, which shows that he is a smart and capable person.

Unfortunately, he was ultimately defeated by Jia Yucun and was exiled to the army by Jia Yucun.

It is clear that Jia Yucun truly deserves to be called the number one jinx in Dream of the Red Chamber! Every perfectly good person who encountered him, especially those who had helped him, met a terrible end without exception!

Zhen Shiyin, Lin Ruhai, Jia Zheng, Wang Ziteng, the young novice monk...

Thinking of this, Jia Lian couldn't help but feel a sense of unease!

Should I deliver the letter of recommendation Lin Ruhai gave me to Jia Zheng...?

Sun Zai Ren had no idea that he was being looked up to by a noble person, so he went up and knocked on the door.

"who……?"

A soft, girlish voice came from inside.

Seeing that the courtyard gate was not closed to begin with, Jia Lian waved away Sun Zai Ren and stepped forward to gently push it open.

A small, quiet courtyard, barely large, with almost nothing in sight except for a little girl of about eleven or twelve years old, dressed in thin clothes, sitting in front of a wooden foot basin, washing clothes.

She looked up and saw Jia Lian and the others, immediately showing a nervous expression. She stopped what she was doing and asked weakly, "Who are you looking for? My father went out on business..."

Jia Lian silently walked in and looked at the timid girl in front of him.

Her slender face could not conceal her striking features; between her fair brows, a small pink rouge mark stood out prominently.

At a glance, Jia Lian was certain that this was Xiangling. She was the woman listed first in the secondary register of the Twelve Beauties, and also the only girl in the secondary register with a judgment poem.

"The fragrance of lotus blossoms lingers from its roots, yet my life's experiences are truly heartbreaking."

Since two lonely trees grew in different places, her fragrant soul returned to her hometown.

The poem that foreshadowed her fate is heartbreaking even to read simply.

Jia Lian walked up to her and gently placed his hand into the wooden basin in front of him. The icy coldness made him reflexively withdraw his hand.

It was already winter, and washing clothes in icy cold water, no wonder her ten little fingers were frozen red!

Sun Zairen noticed that Jia Lian was somewhat angry, so he quickly put on an indignant expression: "This is all that kidnapper's doing! He has no skills and only knows how to drink, so he makes her wash clothes for the neighbors to earn money. He can't bear to buy firewood, so even in this weather, he only allows her to use cold water."

After saying that, Sun Zairen turned to the somewhat nervous Xiangling and said, "Miss Yinglian, don't be afraid, this gentleman has come to rescue you!"

Hearing Sun Zairen's words, Xiangling became even more uneasy, shrinking back and hugging her legs, remaining silent.

Seeing this, Sun Zairen shook his head at Jia Lian and said, "Young master, you don't know, there is a kind of kidnapper in this world. They are all lazy and good-for-nothings who specialize in kidnapping young girls, raising them to the age of twelve or thirteen, and then selling them to others as concubines. They can usually get a good price for them!"

The kidnappers, fearing exposure, would usually beat and scold the girls from a young age to scare them, so the girls only dared to tell outsiders that the kidnapper was their biological father.

Miss Yinglian must feel the same way.

At first, I only had suspicions, so when the kidnapper wasn't home, I secretly came over and asked Miss Yinglian. But she wouldn't tell the truth. If I pressed her, she would just cry and say she didn't remember anything from her childhood, so...

Therefore, I, being a petty person, have not told the truth, and that's why I haven't reported it to the authorities yet.

Sun Zai Ren glanced at Jia Lian cautiously, fearing that Jia Lian would hold him accountable.

Actually, the kidnapper didn't come last month; he had rented the house six months ago, and he already knew almost everything about the kidnapper.

However, he himself had a difficult life and no chivalrous spirit, so even though he realized that the girl was Zhen Yinglian, he did not think of meddling in her affairs.

Kidnappers are usually desperate criminals and not to be trifled with. Besides, if you report a kidnapper, even if you don't get retaliated against, no one will rent your house from him anymore. Why bother?

Jia Lian glanced at the young novice monk but didn't argue with him.

Even Jia Yucun, a third-rank prefect of Yingtian Prefecture, didn't care. This little novice monk hadn't received any great favors from the Zhen family, so what reason did he have to condemn the little novice monk's indifference?

Moreover, given the young novice's abilities, even if he could save Xiangling, he probably wouldn't be able to properly take care of her.

He also had to thank him. If it weren't for the little novice monk, he certainly wouldn't have been able to find Xiangling so easily, and once Xiangling fell into Xue Pan's hands again, the outcome would have been difficult to change.

He turned to Xiangling and said, "Yinglian, do you still remember your father and your mother?"

Xiangling simply hugged her legs even tighter.

Jia Lian frowned slightly, then continued gently, "Do you still remember Jiao Xing?"

Jiao Xing was Xiang Ling's mother's personal maid, and she had played with Xiang Ling since she was a child.

Xiangling shuddered, looked up at Jia Lian, and then shook her head.

Jia Lian, however, already understood. He turned around and asked the young novice, "Do you know where that kidnapper went?"

"They're mostly drinking at the nearby taverns..."

"Zhao Sheng, Feng Fei, you two go with him and bring him back to me."

It seems that Xiangling still has some memories of her childhood, but she is too scared to reveal a single word about them.

It seems that only when she sees the kidnapper being dealt with will she be able to speak.

After Zhao Sheng and the others left, Jia Lian found that he couldn't get a word in with Xiang Ling, so in order not to frighten her, he went outside to wait.

The young novice monk was indeed very familiar with the kidnapper's methods. In the time it takes to eat a meal, he and Zhao Sheng and the others managed to turn the kidnapper back.

"Dad~~"

Hearing the kidnapper's curses, Xiangling walked blankly to the courtyard gate, not knowing what to do.

The commotion attracted the attention of the neighbors, who came out to watch.

Upon seeing this, the kidnapper shouted, "Oh my god, come quick! Murder! A thug is abducting a young woman!!"

"Shut up!"

Zhao Sheng had a fiery temper. Upon hearing this, he slapped Zhao Sheng hard across the face, making Zhao Sheng roll his eyes back.

Jia Lian mounted his horse and bowed to those around him, saying, "This man is a kidnapper who specializes in abducting young girls. He is a truly depraved person. I am about to take him to the yamen for the Prefect to decide."

Jia Lian's words were clearly more credible than those of the kidnapper; who would dare to take a woman to court after abducting her?

Immediately, people started discussing: "Yes, yes, we knew he was no good. He does nothing but beat and scold his daughter and make her do chores. I always knew she wasn't his biological daughter, ugh, he's a heartless kidnapper!"

"What do you mean by biological child? You can tell she's not just by looking at her. That girl is so beautiful and well-groomed, he must have kidnapped her from a wealthy family. That hateful kidnapper, he's caused such a tragedy, separating family members and causing people to be separated from their homes."

So I advise you, those of you with daughters, to be careful and watch out for people like this!

Some people were discussing it, while others were applauding it.

Jia Lian ignored the kidnapper, spurred his horse forward, and said to Xiangling, "Get on, let's go ask the righteous official to intervene on your behalf..."

Xiangling was already old enough to understand human affairs. She might be afraid of strangers, but she should have a natural trust in the local official, who was known as the "upright and just official," just like ordinary people.

Otherwise, Jia Lian wouldn't have gone through all this trouble; he could have just beaten the kidnapper half to death and sent him to Yingtian Prefecture, and that would have been the end of it.

Xiangling still didn't dare, but the uncles, aunts, and women around her couldn't help but say, "Girl, just go with this official. I'm sure he and the prefect will be able to stand up for you."

All he could hear were these words. He glanced at his father, who was helpless in Wang Sheng's hands and could only wail desperately, and finally nodded silently.

Seeing this, Jia Lian bent down, took Xiangling's hand, and with a strong effort, lifted her onto the horse.

Then Jia Lian addressed the people around him: "Fellow villagers, this kidnapper is a heinous criminal who abducts and sells young girls. I implore you all to come with me to the government office and ask the Prefect to bring this man to justice as a warning to others!"

"Okay, that's how it should be!"

"This gentleman is indeed a chivalrous and righteous man!"

After Jia Lian said this, the people around him had no more doubts and were filled with righteous indignation. Many of them voluntarily followed behind Jia Lian and his group.

Many families have daughters; who could bear to see their daughters kidnapped, beaten, and sold for money?

Just by simply putting myself in their shoes, the hatred in my heart is beyond words, and I want to see what happens to this kidnapper.