Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Chapter 74 Rebuilding Dignity

When Jia Lian returned to the Rongguo Mansion, he indeed found that the situation at home was somewhat tense.

The second steward, Lin Zhixiao, and a large group of servants were guarding the west gate. When they saw Jia Lian's carriage, they immediately came to greet it.

"Second Master, the Old Madam, Master and Madam are all waiting for you in Rongqing Hall. Please come in quickly."

Faced with Lin Zhixiao's urging, Jia Lian did not show much reaction. He jumped off the carriage, straightened his robes, and then strolled inside.

Enter through the west corner gate, walk forward for about a shot's distance, then turn west, pass through an east-west passageway, and there is a hanging flower gate on the north side. Step through the hanging flower gate and look into the north-south passageway. Through a passageway and a side hall, you can see directly into the main room of Grandmother Jia at the very back.

At this moment, a crowd of people could be seen gathered on the porch in front of the main house, all craning their necks in anticipation.

Jia Lian quickened his pace and arrived at the courtyard of Rongqing Hall.

"Second Master Lian is back..."

Grandmother Jia and the others were standing on the corridor in front of Rongqing Hall, and they naturally saw Jia Lian as soon as he stepped onto the path.

Seeing that he was in good shape and walked with a brisk pace, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

However, apart from the maids' excited announcements, no one on the main corridor spoke, and the scene was quiet for a while.

"I've met the old lady, the master and his wife."

Jia Lian came to the front of the crowd, stood on the central axis paved with white stone slabs, and bowed to Grandmother Jia and the others in front of him.

His calm and unhurried demeanor, without any sign of panic, aroused suspicion among Grandmother Jia and the others. Could it be that Jia Zheng and the others had made a mistake, and that Jia Lian had simply gone out to play for half a day without anything happening?

Jia She, the least patient of all, stepped forward and demanded, "You wretched child, people outside say you beat up the heir of Prince Duan. Is that true? Tell me the truth!"

Jia Lian glanced at him, feeling a little strange. Why did the old man seem a bit more energetic after just a few days?

"Yes, sir, that is indeed the case."

"Ah..." Upon learning this directly from Jia Lian, the women in the corridor could no longer remain silent and exclaimed in surprise.

Jia She was so angry that his mustache stood on end. His face was contorted with rage. He stomped on the floor and roared, "You wretched beast! How dare you come back? The heir of Prince Duan is so noble! And you are nothing but a nobody! How dare you lay a hand on the heir of Prince Duan! I…"

"Guards! Seize this wicked beast! I want to personally take him to Prince Duan's residence to apologize!"

Jia She stood on the steps, stamping his feet anxiously.

As a man who was content with wealth and honor and only knew how to enjoy riches and glory, Jia She despised everyone of lower status than him and feared everyone of higher status than him.

He didn't want to just sit at home doing nothing, only to have disaster strike from the sky one day.

Therefore, as soon as he learned that his unfilial son had offended the Prince Duan's mansion, his first thought was to tie up Jia Lian, beat him up, and send him to the Prince Duan's mansion to be dealt with by the Prince Duan. Perhaps this would appease the Prince Duan's anger.

Unfortunately, this was a secluded inner courtyard of a mansion, with no servants or male attendants, only some adult female servants nearby. Upon hearing Jia She's order, the old women were unsure whether they should go forward and tie up Jia Lian. In their hesitation, the scene became somewhat quiet and awkward.

Jia She sensed it too and immediately yelled at the steward's wife beside him, "Go out and call someone to tie him up..."

Jia Zheng stood to the side, hesitant to speak. He felt he should ask for clarification first, but then he remembered that Grandmother Jia was present, and Jia Lian was not his son after all, so it was not appropriate for him to say anything at this time.

"That's enough!"

Grandmother Jia finally stopped Jia She by striking him with her cane, and then she asked Jia Lian, "Tell me, why did you hit him? How badly is the young master injured? And what happened after the Emperor summoned you to the palace? Explain everything clearly!"

Jia Lian remained silent throughout Jia She's outburst, making no comment. Only when he heard Grandmother Jia's question did he speak, saying, "Today I was invited by a friend to attend the Fourth Prince's banquet in the capital..."

Jia Lian recounted in simple terms what had happened at the Fourth Prince's residence that day.

Everything else was fine, but when Jia Lian said that the Fourth Prince originally had a large yellow rooster with the title "Great General of Divine Might," which was later beheaded by the emperor, Jia She's face darkened.

"For some reason, the Prince Duan's son disliked his grandson. Coincidentally, he also learned that the eldest master had inherited the title of First-Class Divine Might General, so he insulted the eldest master with extremely vile words... The grandson had been enduring it all, but upon hearing this, he could no longer tolerate it and struck him. That's roughly what happened."

Jia Lian said in a deep voice, seemingly angry just thinking about it.

Grandmother Jia and the others finally understood. They had already learned that Jia Lian had hit the Prince Duan's heir because the heir had verbally insulted Jia She, but they didn't know exactly how. After all, such words were not something others could easily relay…

Now everyone understood. It turned out that the Prince Duan's heir had compared Jia She to a large yellow rooster, a fighting rooster being toyed with and played with. They were all silent for a moment. They could never have imagined such a thing, not even in their wildest dreams. How could a member of the imperial family be so vulgar, rude, and inhuman!

Jia She's face was as black as iron. Looking at the people around him, especially the seemingly indifferent glances from his own brother Jia Zheng, he felt an inexplicable fire burning fiercely in his heart.

However, he dared not scold the Prince Duan's heir, so he could only vent his anger on Jia Lian: "You have committed insubordination, and you still think you're right after hitting someone? Even if the Prince Duan's heir spoke inappropriately, he is still a prince, and you are nothing but a nobody, daring to lay a hand on him? It would be fine if you died, but now I'm afraid I'll be implicated too, you..."

Jia Lian, who had remained unmoved by Jia She's words, finally couldn't hold back any longer. He looked up and interrupted Jia She:

"I know that the Prince Duan's heir is of noble status, and under other circumstances, I would naturally not dare to be disrespectful to him. However, he used such vicious and despicable words to insult you. If I could still turn a deaf ear and swallow my anger, wouldn't I be unworthy of being a son? There is an ancient law that says, 'He who insults another's parents shall be killed without punishment!'"

Secondly, my son is no mere commoner; he is the grandson of the Duke of Rongguo! He carries the blood of two generations of dukes!

"You...unfilial son!"

When Jia She was publicly contradicted by Jia Lian for the first time, he was so angry that he almost couldn't breathe.

But everyone else remained silent.

If such descendants are all rebellious, then what should be done about sons in the world?

Even if it were a prince's son, he would dare to retaliate and even kill his father for insulting him. How could such a son be labeled as a rebellious son? I'm afraid no one but Jia She himself would believe it.

That's all. Listen to Jia Lian's rebuttal to Jia She: He is no mere weed; the blood of the Duke of Rong flows in his veins!

This is something that Grandmother Jia naturally felt most deeply about.

When she married into the Rongguo Mansion, it was the Jia family's most prosperous period: their family had a long line of officials and two members held high positions.

At that time, among all the high-ranking officials, who did not show some respect to the Jia family?

At that time, the name Jia carried immense weight in the entire Great Wei Dynasty!

These are things that future generations may have forgotten...

Grandmother Jia gave Jia She a deep look, then turned back to look at Jia Lian, who stood tall and proud below the steps, seemingly determined to defend the dignity of his bloodline. At that moment, she truly felt that the pride that belonged to her late husband and son had returned to the Jia family.

Although the others did not feel it as deeply as Grandmother Jia, looking at Jia Lian standing tall and fearless, they all felt that the First Master, who was now like a clown jumping around, and even the Second Master, who had previously shown great anxiety, had all their former majesty merely a facade.

In the presence of someone like Jia Lian, who truly values ​​self-respect and takes pride in his bloodline, they all seem pitifully vulnerable.

Second Master Lian is a true man of integrity and upright character, worthy of being the descendant of the late Duke!

Jia She was unaware of how ridiculous he appeared in the eyes of others. He only felt that Jia Lian dared to talk back and was about to rush down and beat him up, but was stopped by a shout from Grandmother Jia.

"Lian'er, you look perfectly fine. Does the Emperor also believe that you are innocent after striking the Prince of Duan's son?"

Grandmother Jia's pride had been stirred by Jia Lian's words, so she put aside her slight worry about offending the Prince Duan's mansion.

In fact, the dignified Duke's mansion had no need to be too afraid of an ordinary prince's mansion.

Grandmother Jia's only worry was the Emperor's attitude!

After all, the Prince Duan's family was a member of the imperial clan, and they were considered relatives of the emperor.

Jia Lian bowed to Grandmother Jia from a distance, and then said, "Grandmother, His Majesty did not punish me. He only scolded me a few times and then let me return."

"Phew, that's good." Grandmother Jia breathed a sigh of relief, her heart finally at ease.

As long as the emperor doesn't blame us, then this matter really isn't a big deal.