2.26 Wang Xifeng: Even you are bullying this mistress?

That evening, inside the VIP guest courtyard of the Rongguo Mansion.

Lin Rui learned about the nonsense that had taken place in Grandmother Jia’s courtyard only after waking from his afternoon nap.

Knowing about it was one thing, but he had no intention of doing anything about it for the time being. It would do him no harm if Jia Min grew disappointed or even desperate toward the Jia family; if she turned into a typical sister blindly devoted to her family of origin, he would be the one truly plagued with trouble. It was just a bit exhausting for Lin Daiyu to have to stomach such unpleasantness.

"Brother Rui didn't see him, but he really and truly—" The young girl's sense of aversion had not diminished in the slightest. "Clearly a young man, yet his attire and grooming were far more flamboyant than those of myself and the other sisters, completely disregarding our father's mourning period and taboos. And yet he fancied himself quite clever, chattering away to himself with nonsensical remarks like, 'Though we have never met before, looking upon you I feel a sense of natural affinity, as though we were old acquaintances. Today we might well consider this a joyful reunion after a long parting,' and the like. It is truly maddening."

"What does little sister think of him?" Lin Rui smiled, not taking the matter to heart.

"Little sister... cannot say!" Lin Daiyu looked somewhat bewildered. "We had certainly never met before, but upon seeing him, I felt the strangest sensation, as if I had known him somewhere before. How could he look so familiar?"

"As the saying goes, 'A nephew resembles his maternal uncle.' Perhaps he bears some slight resemblance to me," Jia Min interposed with a smile. "In any case, there is a distinction between men and women between you two. If you dislike him in the future, simply choose not to see him. What does it matter?"

"Mother is right," Lin Daiyu naturally nodded in agreement.

"Anping, you mustn't dwell on this either." Knowing the young man's temperament, Jia Min was genuinely afraid he might do something beyond remedy. "The boy is clearly spoiled rotten, but regardless of everything else, he is my second brother's son. We must still preserve a semblance of courtesy."

"Rest assured, Madam, I have nothing to say to him!" Lin Rui truly had no intention of troubling himself with that phoenix egg of a cousin.

Besides, there was no need for him to dirty his hands; he only needed to wait for them to court their own destruction.

With that, he began to explain the situation to the mother and daughter before him.

Those familiar with the Dream of the Red Chamber often harbored misconceptions, imagining Jia Baoyu to be some grand and formidable figure. In truth, they were entirely mistaken.

Jia Baoyu was the protagonist of *The Dream of the Red Chamber*, but in the actual "Red Chamber world," he amounted to nothing at all.

It was quite simple: the Ningguo and Rongguo Mansions constituted a noble military household holding "two ducal titles in a single family." All their connections were rooted within the circle of military merit and peerage titles under the Great Zhou dynasty. The heir to the Ningguo Mansion was Jia Zhen, and the heir to the Rongguo Mansion was Jia Lian. In the future, they would inherit the vast majority of both mansions' resources.

And Jia Baoyu?

As for his origins, he belonged to the second branch of the Rongguo Mansion, and his father was the "secondary son of the legitimate wife." At best, he hovered on the periphery of the entire military nobility circle, yet he could not even touch its outer fringe. He possessed neither the right to inherit a title nor the right to inherit property; he was nothing more than an ordinary collateral member of the family.

The only reason he was allowed to live within the Rongguo Mansion was due to Grandmother Jia's favoritism and lust for power—nothing more.

If nothing unexpected happened, the moment Grandmother Jia passed away, he and everyone else in the second branch of the Rongguo Mansion would be driven out by Jia She, the legitimate heir to the title, cast away carelessly like trash to fend for themselves however they could.

By contrast, Lin Rui was currently the "head of the household" for the Lin family. As long as he remained an "Official of the Military Equipment Department under the Ministry of War," his social circle encompassed the middle tier of the entire capital, and he associated with the most core members of the younger generation—not some mere secondary son of a collateral branch.

"Is that truly how it is?" Sister Lin's expression turned blank. "To not hide it from Brother Rui, aside from the time he came before noon, after waking from my afternoon nap, Grandmother introduced me to him once more. He appeared to be exceedingly favored."

"There is an order of seniority, a distinction between legitimate and collateral lines, and a proper degree of respect between high and low." Compared to her daughter, Jia Min clearly understood the implications much better. "As the old saying goes, 'The youngest son and the eldest grandson are the old lady's very lifeblood.' That refers precisely to him. What use is favor? Could he possibly override Brother Lian?"

"The rightful heir to the title of the Rongguo Mansion is Second Brother Lian, which naturally includes the vast majority of the property and all interpersonal networks," Lin Rui emphasized with a smile. "At most, that phoenix egg might secure a bit more of the old lady's private wealth due to her partiality. The rest will essentially be divided up as if during a formal household split."

"A household split?" Lin Daiyu truly could not comprehend.

The Lin family had only a single branch; the Lin residence had only her, and her only younger brother was already gone.

Discussing a "household split" for such a family was truly putting her at a loss.

[...]

"According to custom, a few thousand to ten thousand taels of silver, a few hundred mu of estate land—though it might be slightly more generous if the main branch chooses to be magnanimous—and that will be the absolute limit," Jia Min sneered with undisguised contempt. "Do you know why I hold that good second sister-in-law of mine in such low regard?

Ever since she married into this family, she has brought with her the Wang family's habitual lack of vision, constantly coveting things that do not belong to them in the slightest. Take the current Rongguo Mansion, for instance. I know she has covertly accumulated quite a bit of private wealth, but what good is that?

Family property belongs to the family. While parents are alive, brothers should be friendly and respectful, and one should not hoard private estates. When the mother passes away a hundred years from now and the estate is divided, apart from the portion allotted by the eldest brother, the only things they will be able to take out with them are the clothes on their backs. Do they seriously imagine they can spirit anything else away?"

Lin Rui smiled without answering, but he understood Jia Min's meaning perfectly.

Lady Wang, Aunt Xue, and Wang Xifeng—the three daughters of the Wang family—were all cursed with severe shortsightedness.

Fortunately, Xue Baochai was not cut from the same cloth.

*Wait, why did I suddenly think of Sister Bao?*

"Sister Lin can rest easy. In any case, we won't be coming here all that often in the future." Shaking the stray thoughts from his head, he continued to undermine the phoenix egg in front of Sister Lin. "Don't forget the rule that 'men and women at age seven do not share the same mat.'

Everyone in this household is his sister, so things can be glossed over to some extent. But you and he are cousins, and too much contact will do you no good. If you wish to play and frolic with the sisters, it matters not; our two families live close by, and you can simply send an invitation in Madam's name to have them come over."

"Brother Rui is entirely right!" Lin Daiyu nodded hastily.

"It's getting late, you should rest!" Seeing that everything had been said, Lin Rui smiled and rose to his feet. "If not for the customary rule that a married daughter returning to her parents' home after more than ten years must spend at least one night here, I wouldn't wish to stay even a single day in this place."

"Be careful on your way!" Jia Min shot him a sidelong glance, smiling as she pulled her daughter close to see him off.

Lin Rui paused at the threshold, sweeping his gaze over the two of them for a brief moment before withdrawing it.

By now, Jia Min had long since recovered from the shock of Lin Ruhai's assassination.

Although she needed to wear plain and dark colors on account of the three-year mourning period, it failed to conceal her innate beauty in the slightest. By comparison, Sister Lin standing beside her probably appeared somewhat inferior simply because she had yet to fully blossom.

Though his glance was swift, the beautiful matron noticed it instantly.

As she watched him walk out of the courtyard, Lin Daiyu turned back only to find that her mother was still lost in thought.

"Mother?"

"It's nothing!" Jia Min hastily shook her head, though she could not banish that lingering gaze from her mind no matter how hard she tried.

"Where is Brother Rui staying tonight?" Lin Daiyu asked with lingering concern.

"It should be the guest room in Brother Lian's courtyard," Jia Min replied, keeping her mind on the matter at hand. "At least the arrangements in this household are passable. When we return to my maiden home, we are treated as VIP guests, and he is housed in the same courtyard as the ducal mansion's heir. It is only a pity—"

"What is a pity?" Lin Daiyu looked puzzled.

However, Jia Min said no more, smiling as she pulled her daughter back into the inner bedchamber.

It was a pity that as a daughter returning home to visit her parents, she should normally have shared living quarters with her mother so the two of them could converse privately.

Yet when extending the invitation for a short stay, Grandmother Jia had mentioned only the two of them—mother and daughter—entirely omitting Lin Rui.

Under the current circumstances, however, it was inconvenient for her to refuse.

Meanwhile, the person who had been pitied as "a pity" harbored no such self-awareness whatsoever, for his impression of the Jia family had never been favorable. There was a saying: "How can a flying dragon riding your face possibly lose?" They had entered the arena with precisely such an unbeatable opening hand.

And the result?

"A vast, blank expanse of pristine white, truly clean."

Since they were bent on courting their own destruction, let them perish. It was only a pity for the young girls.

*No matter, I shall simply rescue them.*

Just as these wandering thoughts drifted through his mind, he had reached his destination.

"You stray dog who never stays home, why didn't you just die out there?" No sooner had he pushed open the door than a curse rang out from the main room. Immediately following it, a graceful figure slammed the door open and rushed out, grabbing him by the lapels before he could even speak. "Which filthy, stinking creature has ensnared you this time?"

Yet she instantly realized something was amiss, for the person before her was far too tall.

Jia Lian stood a little over seven chi, but the man before her was well over eight chi.

"Second Sister-in-law Lian, what sort of performance are you putting on here?" Lin Rui naturally recognized the beautiful matron before him and teased with a smile. "The *Battle of Huachao* or *Havoc in Heaven*? Wanting me to play a matching role isn't going to be quite that simple."

Even with Wang Xifeng's fiery temper, she flushed crimson with embarrassment and could barely lift her head.

"Greetings, Elder Uncle Rui!" Fortunately, someone nearby reacted quickly. Ping'er stepped forward instantly, curtsying with a smile. "It's merely a joke, Uncle must not take it to heart. The guest rooms on that side have all been tidied up. Would you care to see if there is anything else you require?"

"Many thanks for your trouble!" Lin Rui had a favorable impression of the maid, nodding with a smile as he chose not to let the fierce-tempered woman off the hook quite yet. "Second Sister-in-law Lian, have you thought it over? Asking me for help is fine, but it will cost you extra!"

"Even you are bullying your old mistress?" Wang Xifeng was clearly stung to anger out of embarrassment.

"Second Sister-in-law, I said it just to say it, and you heard it just to hear it. Let bygones be bygones." Lin Rui ignored her impotent rage, his attitude entirely casual. "I don't know where Second Brother Lian went socializing this afternoon; I only know he didn't drink much when he dined with me at noon.

Nor do I care where he has gone now. I have only one reminder for you: at this rate and with this attitude, any normal man would grow resentful. No matter how deep the affection, it cannot withstand such relentless attrition. Sooner or later, the day will come when you live to regret it."

"First he abandons, then he commands, finally leaving her like the wood character 'mu'," captured the true reality of Jia Lian's attitude.

They had already reached the second stage; the only reason they hadn't progressed to the next was simply because he could not afford to cross her.

Thus, he chose to hide from her.

"As if I needed you to tell me!" Wang Xifeng lacked the face to continue throwing a tantrum, but she could not help muttering under her breath.

"Troublesome for you, Sister!" Lin Rui nodded indifferently, gesturing for the maid to lead the way.

"This servant wouldn't dare!" Ping'er hastily performed a deep curtsy before stepping forward to guide him.

Feng's courtyard was not large, situated as it was in the single-entry courtyard directly behind Rongxi Hall. The guest rooms were located in the western wing, so "guiding the way" amounted to little more than finding an excuse to leave, the distance being merely a turn around the corner.

"Please go on in, Sister!" Lin Rui paused at the doorway, gesturing that she had gone far enough.

Knowing Jia Lian was absent, he certainly wished to avoid any situation prone to misunderstanding.

"Uncle, please don't be displeased." Ping'er glanced back first, confirming that her mistress had retreated into the room before speaking in a low voice. "After you finished drinking here this afternoon and went to rest in your quarters, our second master unexpectedly went straight out."

"A proper man of the house, surely he's entitled to some social engagements?" Lin Rui didn't quite catch her drift.

"I heard someone invited him to a gathering, over at—" Ping'er let out a faint sigh. "In short, he departed without a word of greeting. Our mistress grew angry for a moment and behaved improperly just now. This servant offers her apologies on her behalf."

Lin Rui smiled and waved it off as nothing.

As he watched him step inside and close the door, Ping'er wore a complex expression.