Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Chapter 21 Lin Ruhai's Art of Judging People

Lin Ruhai, nearing fifty, had only one daughter, who was so beautiful and intelligent, and he cherished her dearly. If it weren't for unavoidable circumstances, he wouldn't have been willing to send Daiyu to the capital.

As he helped Daiyu up, he sighed, "I am already of age and have no intention of marrying you. Besides, you are young and often ill, with no mother to raise you and no siblings to support you. Now, if you go to live with your maternal grandfather and your cousins, it will relieve my worries. Why don't you go?"

Upon hearing this, Daiyu felt even more heartbroken, yet she had no words to refute it and could only silently shed tears.

Lin Ruhai recalled Jia Lian's words from earlier that morning and softened his tone, advising, "Your maternal grandmother is an elderly and virtuous woman. The fact that she personally sent someone to fetch you shows how much she cares for you. Besides, she has many siblings. Once you're there, you'll have your grandmother's love and your sisters to study with. Wouldn't that be better than staying with me?"

Daiyu was not one to dwell on things, and she knew that once her father made up his mind, he would not change it.

Knowing that the matter was beyond redemption only added to my sorrow.

Lin Ruhai didn't press her, but pulled her to sit down beside him and began to instruct her, "Two days later, I will send your mother's coffin back to Suzhou for burial. On this trip, you must listen to the arrangements of the steward and your cousin Lian, and not act arbitrarily, understand?"

Daiyu nodded, then suddenly realized, "Isn't Father coming to Suzhou with us?"

"I have duties to perform and cannot leave..."

The same words as always made Daiyu's expression darken.

It had been like this since she could remember. Her father was always busy in the government office. Every time he was promoted, she and her mother had to either endure the pain of separation or move from their hometown of Suzhou to Yangzhou, just like they had done a few years ago.

After a few years of peaceful life, my mother fell ill and passed away.

Now, he can't even get away from sending his mother's coffin back.

Daiyu was somewhat confused as to what her father had been doing all these years as an official, even neglecting her mother's funeral arrangements...

Lin Ruhai, fearing his daughter might worry, added, "I have arranged everything with the steward and others, and I have also communicated with the elders in Suzhou, so even if I don't go back, your trip should proceed without any problems."

Furthermore, if I was a little worried before, now that your Second Brother Lian is here, with him around, I have no more worries at all.

Daiyu looked up in surprise.

Before noon, she had vaguely heard people talking about the Second Master Lian of the Rongguo Mansion in the capital, which sounded rather mysterious.

Originally, he was just a servant trying to curry favor with the powerful and wealthy, but now, upon hearing his father's words, he was full of praise for him.

Over the years, no one other than Mr. Yucun has ever heard my father praise me in such a way.

Lin Ruhai, lost in thought, saw Daiyu looking at him and said, "Your cousin is not only better off than others, but he is also very polite and steady in his conduct. I will ask him to take good care of you during this trip to Suzhou. Don't be too temperamental. If he cares about you, you shouldn't keep him at arm's length; you should be more affectionate."

That way, when you go to your maternal grandmother's house in the future, you'll have someone else to take care of you.

"Father~"

Although she knew Lin Ruhai had no ulterior motives, Daiyu still blushed deeply.

Although she was young, she already understood the difference between men and women.

Although Jia Lian is his cousin, he is still a man from another clan. Moreover, they have only met for the first time today. Why did his father say things like "close" and "take care" of him?

Seeing his daughter's shyness, Lin Ruhai smiled on the surface, but couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

My daughter has always been frail, yet she is so precocious; I fear she is not a blessed person.

This is also what he is most worried about.

Therefore, as soon as he received Grandmother Jia's letter, he agreed to send Daiyu to the capital, hoping that the large family environment would help him to broaden his daughter's mind.

As for asking Jia Lian to take care of his daughter, it was also from the bottom of his heart.

He believed he was good at judging people. Putting aside everything else, the fact that Jia Lian traveled thousands of miles south to attend the funeral made him believe from the bottom of his heart that Jia Lian was a reliable person.

……

Having accepted Lin Ruhai's request, Jia Lian wanted to get started as soon as possible.

To everyone's surprise, when they found the steward, the steward said that Lin Ruhai had instructed him to rest well for a day since he had just arrived. Besides, everything in the manor was going smoothly now, and there was nothing for him to do for the time being.

Jia Lian did not insist further. He arranged a meeting time with the steward and others for the next day, then went to the mourning hall to burn incense before returning to his lodging courtyard.

As soon as I entered the courtyard, I saw Zhang Yong, the guard, practicing his martial arts in front of a locust tree in the north corner.

Even from a distance, Jia Lian could feel the immense power emanating from that burly body and thick arms.

Jia Lian then walked over.

"Second Master."

Upon seeing Jia Lian approach, Zhang Yong immediately stopped and stood at attention, offering a somewhat naive greeting to Jia Lian.

The five guards were Zhao Sheng, Zhang Yong, Wang Teng, Feng Fei, and Wang Dashuan. Among them, Zhang Yong was the one Jia Lian considered to have the highest fighting ability. It was said that Zhang Yong's grandfather was a personal guard of the first Duke of Rongguo, so even though they were just servants, their family held some status in the Rongguo Mansion.

"Were those military moves you were practicing just now?"

Seeing that Zhang Yong was only wearing a short-sleeved vest, and that his sweaty arms showed prominent muscles and veins, Jia Lian became interested and walked down the steps.

Zhang Yong laughed and said, "This servant doesn't know either, but my grandfather taught me all of this."

"Could you teach me?"

"Second Master wants to practice this?"

Zhang Yong was greatly surprised. How could Jia Lian, who was used to a life of luxury, suddenly be interested in such vulgar things?

Jia Lian laughed and said, "Our ancestors made their fortune through this. Now, in our generation, instead of bringing honor to our ancestors, we've all become people who can't even kill a chicken. If word gets out, it's too disrespectful to our ancestors."

"Since I have some free time now, you can teach me how to practice these martial arts techniques. Even if I don't go to the battlefield to fight, it will still keep me healthy."

"Second Master is not a weakling. I saw him carrying a sword earlier, and he looked quite imposing."

Zhang Yong offered a slight compliment, then circled Jia Lian halfway around him, even reaching out to massage his shoulders and arms before shaking his head and saying, "Second Master has never practiced this before, so it's not suitable for you to practice what I just demonstrated; it might injure your muscles and bones. If Second Master is truly interested in learning, I'll teach you some basics first."

Knowing that the other party disliked his less-than-extraordinary bone structure, Jia Lian wasn't annoyed. He had never intended to become as large as Zhang Yong!

"I am willing to follow the instructor's instructions."

When Jia Lian called him "Instructor," Zhang Yong's mouth stretched into a crescent moon as he exclaimed.

He immediately put aside his other thoughts and began his lecturing of Jia Lian with a smile.

……

"Hey Zhang, what are you doing?!"

After eating and drinking tea, Zhao'er figured Jia Lian should be back by now, so she came out of her room to scout ahead.

Inside the courtyard, Jia Lian was seen in a horse stance, while the burly Zhang Yong was patting and hitting him. Upon closer inspection, one could clearly see the unbearable pain on Jia Lian's face, with large beads of sweat dripping down his cheeks and neck.

Zhao'er immediately shouted at Zhang Yong.

Zhang Yong naturally didn't take the young upstart Zhao'er seriously and ignored him completely.

Jia Lian turned his head and scolded, "What are you yelling about? Can't you see I'm practicing kung fu?"

Zhao'er took a closer look and realized that Jia Lian did indeed seem to be practicing kung fu, rather than being abused by Zhang Yong. She then laughed and ran over to observe, asking, "Second Master, why did you suddenly decide to practice this nonsense?"

Zhao'er had been with Jia Lian since she was eleven or twelve years old, so she knew Jia Lian's personality very well.

Second Master has always been someone who loves to enjoy life. When he was studying, it was like his life was being taken away. Now, he is actually willing to endure this kind of torment?

Look, even Second Master's legs are trembling a little!

"Let me help Second Master..."

"Get lost."

After being dismissed by Jia Lian, Zhao'er wore a bitter expression and pouted, looking just like a wronged little wife.

Zhang Yong then said, "Second Master, if you feel you can't take it anymore, you should rest for a while. It's your first time practicing the horse stance, you can't hold it for too long."

Jia Lian was already gritting his teeth and persevering, and when he saw that Zhao'er's shout had startled everyone else in the courtyard, he breathed a sigh of relief.

It had only been about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, and her legs felt like they didn't belong to her anymore.

If Zhang Yong and Zhao'er hadn't supported him, he probably would have sat down on the ground after losing his temper.

He managed to move to a seat on the stone steps to the side, wiped his sweat, and looked at the crowd that had gathered around him. Jia Lian said, "It's time to keep the promise I made to you before I left. Zhao'er, go to my room and get a hundred taels of loose silver."

Upon hearing this, everyone, including Zhang Yong, could not hide their excitement.

As servants of the Duke's mansion, although their welfare and treatment were much better than those of ordinary people, they usually only received a few hundred coins a month.

This trip earned me two or three years' worth of wages.