Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Chapter 19: Fortune Will Surely Arrive

"Ahem, young master, please don't be angry. We really didn't mean to disturb Madam Lin's peace. To be honest, we came here today to offer our condolences."

We have always been favored by Lord Lin, how could we possibly be disrespectful to Madam Lin?

Our previous actions were indeed ill-considered. We will now disperse and discuss the salt administration with Lord Lin privately another day…”

Finally, after a few breaths of stalemate, a smooth-talking person shamelessly broke the awkward silence.

However, judging from his words, it was clear that he only yielded because of Jia Lian's status, not because he was convinced by Jia Lian's words, otherwise he would not have said something about discussing it another day.

Jia Lian naturally didn't care. After what happened today, he believed they would no longer use the pretext of mourning to harass the Lin family.

As for the salt administration...

That involves huge interests and is Lin Ruhai's responsibility. How could he possibly solve it with just a few words?

Therefore, Lin Ruhai should still be the one with the headache. His only role was to give these people a warning, so that they might be more careful in the future.

Therefore, without a word, he indifferently said "No need to see me out," and the previously aggressive group of salt merchants, led by the steward, walked out.

Those who were tactful and polite, or who felt they hadn't offended Jia Lian much with their words, bowed and took their leave.

Jia Lian could not return the courtesy, as he was still holding his sword. If he changed his pose now, wouldn't he lose his imposing presence?

However, he still nodded to those who hadn't spoken much before and who had been polite.

These nouveau riche tycoons might have another chance to deal with me someday, so I can't let them be too wary of me, or I might not be able to wield my sickle in the future...

A while later, the steward returned and bowed to Jia Lian with a smile, saying, "Thank you, Second Master, for getting my master out of this predicament. You may not know, but these people have been coming almost every day lately, and each time it's not the same group. Every time they come in, they burn incense before Madam's spirit tablet, and we can't easily send them away. But they just stay here and insist on seeing Master. Master is getting annoyed with them, and sometimes he patiently sees them, but to no avail."

"Ha, after being intimidated by Second Master today, I'm afraid they won't dare to bother our Master again for a while."

Jia Lian shook his head and smiled, "This is just my duty. I'm afraid I might not act properly and cause trouble for my uncle."

"No trouble at all, no trouble at all. In this old servant's opinion, these shameless fellows need to be dealt with with a firm stance like Second Master's. Our master is just too mild-mannered, that's why he can't handle them!"

Jia Lian smiled and handed the sword in his hand to Zhao'er.

This was the sword he had taken from the east courtyard. He had always liked it, and since he needed a weapon for self-defense on his journey south, he followed the example of those chivalrous heroes and wore it at his waist.

However, before entering the Lin family mansion to offer sacrifices, he entrusted the matter to Zhao'er for safekeeping.

"Alright, please have the butler lead us to our lodgings."

"Yes……"

……

After the butler returned to the study, he told Lin Ruhai everything that had happened in front of the side hall.

Lin Ruhai originally thought that even if Jia Lian could get rid of those people, it would take a lot of effort, because he knew how troublesome those people were!

Those people were actually just small salt merchants in Yangzhou. The truly powerful ones would assess the situation and wouldn't openly oppose the imperial court, so they sent these underlings to cause trouble.

Even though he knew the reason, he still couldn't do anything about it.

Actually, if it were really those big salt merchants causing trouble, it would be easier to deal with them; he could make an example of them.

But dealing with these minor characters is not only troublesome, but also pointless.

"To risk one's life for the benefit of one's country and family, without considering personal gain or loss—these words, even to me, were quite enlightening, but to hear them come from his own mouth. It's clear he's a young man with ideas and ambitions, and with his background, he's bound to have a bright future!"

Lin Ruhai muttered to himself, then suddenly laughed and said, "I thought he was a steady kid, but he's still young and impetuous. He started fighting with swords over a single word. I'm afraid he's offended those people quite a bit."

The old steward had an exceptionally good impression of Jia Lian, so he smiled and said, "Young man, how can he not be arrogant? But since you are his elder, he is naturally very proper in front of you and dares not be disrespectful in the slightest. This is where his manners are evident."

As for resorting to swords, this old servant thinks Second Master Lian did a good job; that's the kind of firmness that's needed with those people.

Lin Ruhai smiled. He wasn't blaming Jia Lian, though Jia Lian's actions were rough, he had at least solved the problem for him.

He's been really frustrated by these people lately.

……

The Lin family had a small population but many houses, so the steward arranged a separate courtyard for Jia Lian.

Seeing that there were extra rooms in the courtyard, Jia Lian politely declined the Lin family's offer to arrange other servants for him, and instead, on the grounds of avoiding trouble, let Zhao'er and the others stay in a side room in the courtyard.

This makes it convenient for him to order around, and also makes it easier to control him.

The servants of the Jia family are mostly ambitious and have become unruly after finally arriving in Yangzhou.

He didn't want to end up like Jia Zheng, who, by failing to discipline his servants, allowed them to ruin his good reputation.

He didn't stay in the courtyard for long. After quickly tidying up his belongings, Jia Lian went out and walked towards the mourning hall, observing the buildings and the number of people in the Lin family mansion.

"Greetings, Young Master..."

"Um."

Jia Lian noticed that most of the servants in the Lin household looked at him with unusual respect.

At first, Jia Lian was somewhat surprised, but after a moment's thought, he understood the reason.

Although Yangzhou was renowned as one of the most prosperous cities in the land, it was still just a local prefecture, and its chief official was only a fourth-rank official. Therefore, his background as a member of the Duke of Guo's family in the capital made him seem unapproachable to many.

Another possibility is that the news of his righteous rebuke of the salt merchants at the side hall entrance and his confrontation with them by sword has already spread throughout the Lin family.

It seems that those salt merchants did indeed have a different status and prestige in Yangzhou, and he was able to subdue them all by himself, which naturally earned the respect of the Lin family's servants.

Thinking about it this way, Jia Lian couldn't help but feel happy.

Despite the hardships of several days of travel, she finally managed to win over Lin Ruhai.

The only pity is that Lin Ruhai died young.

If he had lived longer, not only would Lin Daiyu not have been lonely and melancholy in the future, but he would have also given the Jia family a powerful ally.

Just as he was feeling regretful, he saw the old steward chasing after him from behind. Before he even got close, the steward said with a smile, "I've been looking everywhere for Second Master. Master has already prepared lunch in the hall and invites Second Master to come and have lunch."

Jia Lian raised an eyebrow and could only follow the steward back.

"Second Master, you don't know, but since our Madam passed away, Master's health has also been poor, so he usually doesn't eat out."

"Because Second Master has arrived today, Master specially instructed the kitchen to prepare a meal; it was a special invitation to Second Master."

On the way, the old steward said this, and Jia Lian, upon hearing it, quickly cupped his hands and thanked his uncle for his kindness.

Upon arriving at the front hall, Lin Ruhai was nowhere to be seen. There were three tables set up in the hall, one above the other, but no wine was served.

There were also more than ten people sitting there, none of them touching their chopsticks. When they saw Jia Lian, several of the younger ones greeted him with smiles.

Jia Lian knew that these were probably members of the Lin clan who had come from their hometown of Suzhou to help with the funeral arrangements.

The Lin family's ancestors held the title of marquis and were a prominent and wealthy family. Although they have lost their title, they still maintain the demeanor of a large family. Therefore, this place is mostly inhabited by men, and it is assumed that the women are in the backyard, where they can be taken care of.

"My name is Lin Lang, and I greet my cousin Lian."

"Lin Yuan greets Cousin Lian..."

Sure enough, Jia Lian's reputation spread throughout the Lin family in less than half a day. As soon as he appeared, a group of younger members of the Lin family came over to try and establish a relationship with him.

The butler introduced them with a smile, but they were all Lin Ruhai's nephews, or even grandnephews...

Then the steward invited Jia Lian to the main hall.

This action immediately caused many people's expressions to change.

At this moment, there were only three people at the table in the hall, all of whom were elders of the same generation as Lin Ruhai, or even a generation above him.

Jia Lian even noticed that the woman who had introduced herself as Lin Lang with a smile earlier seemed to be unable to hide her jealousy.

He probably felt that since he was of a higher age and therefore not allowed to enter the main hall, the butler's arrangement made him feel slighted and humiliated.

Although Jia Lian didn't care much about these minor branches of the Lin family, they still greeted him with smiles, and he didn't want to offend them unnecessarily. Therefore, he declined the steward's arrangement and said with a smile, "I'll sit here."

After saying that, he sat down next to her.

"But……"

Just as the steward was in a dilemma, Lin Ruhai came out from the back room.

After exchanging greetings with the elders present, Lin Ruhai sat down. Glancing around and not seeing Jia Lian, he called for the steward.

"Didn't I tell you to go and invite Lian-ge over?"

"This..." The old steward gestured with his eyes to indicate where Jia Lian was.

Upon seeing this, Jia Lian stood up and bowed.

Lin Ruhai laughed and said, "What are you doing sitting over there? Come up and sit down."

"Thank you, Uncle, but I'll just sit here."

Lin Ruhai understood the situation from the expressions of his nephews and nieces in the hall, and said with a smile, "You don't need to be like this. You hold an official position, so you are different from them. Come and sit down."

Many people in the hall only knew that Jia Lian came from a noble family and were unaware that he held the position of Assistant Magistrate. However, Lin Ruhai would not speak falsely, so he became even more respectful and urged Jia Lian to take the seat of honor.

"Well... since your uncle has asked you to go up, Cousin Lian, please don't be shy..." Lin Lang also advised, seemingly very generous.

Lin Ruhai invited him again and again, and Jia Lian could no longer refuse. Seeing their gesture, he bowed and went up to the hall.

He bowed to the four elders seated at the head of the table, and then sat down at the very end.