Red Chamber 10

When Jia Hu and Liu Zhong left Yangzhou, all the kidnapped children except Zhen Yinglian had returned to their families.

The Lin family servants had already found the Zhen family.

After all, Hulu Temple was a major clue.

But the Zhen family's home had burned down. From the neighbors, the Lin family servants learned that Zhen Shiyin and Feng Shi had gone to Daru Prefecture to seek refuge with Feng Shi's family.

The Lin family servants first returned to Yangzhou to report what they had learned, then took the travel expenses Jia Min had given them and set off for Daru Prefecture to look for them.

Jia Min beckoned Zhen Yinglian over and stroked the little girl's head.

"When I first saw you, I felt you weren't an ordinary girl. As it turns out, you're a young lady from a gentry family, and you're related to the Zhen family, too," Jia Min said. "The Rongguo Mansion and the Zhen family have been connected for generations. You're a distant relative of mine, and my junior."

She instructed the servants in the mansion, "From now on, Yinglian is a young lady of the family. Treat her with the same respect as you do the other young ladies. Do you understand?"

The servants hurriedly agreed.

Another month passed, and a servant brought Feng Shi to Yangzhou.

The moment Feng Shi saw Zhen Yinglian, she recognized her daughter. She embraced Yinglian and burst into tears.

A mother and daughter were bound by blood. Though Zhen Yinglian had forgotten what her mother looked like, the woman seemed familiar and dear to her, and tears spilled uncontrollably from her eyes.

By then, Zhen Shiyin had already run off with the two monks, while Jia Yucun had bought Jiao Xing. Feng Shi's father and brothers had also stripped the Zhen family of its wealth. All she had left was the ten taels of silver she had secretly hidden away—the money Jia Yucun had paid for Jiao Xing.

Jia Min felt deeply sorry for Feng Shi and took her in at the Lin Mansion.

Though Feng Shi was poor, she was unwilling to live off others, so she helped Jia Min look after Lin Daiyu.

She was far more attentive in her duties than Lin Daiyu's wet nurse, Nanny Wang.

So Jia Min dismissed Nanny Wang and entrusted Lin Daiyu entirely to Feng Shi, allowing herself to rest easy during her pregnancy.

Several months passed. Jia Min gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Though childbirth had taken a toll on her, she did not deteriorate completely as she had in the original story.

Her son was healthy and strong. With proper care, he would not die young.

Her daughter's health also gradually improved. Jia Min and Lin Ruhai believed it was because Feng Shi had cared for her so well, and gave Feng Shi a generous reward. The Lin family's fortunes continued to improve, straying further and further from someone's plans.

Meanwhile, Liu Zhong and Jia Hu made a smooth journey back to the capital.

As for Jia Hu, after he returned to the Rongguo Mansion, his father dragged him around, showing him off to everyone, until his grandfather finally stopped them.

As for Liu Zhong, the Li Duke Mansion sent a special message, asking Father Liu to bring Liu Zhong back for a visit.

Father Liu took his son back, and Second Uncle Liu received the two of them in his study.

This was a level of attention they had never received before.

In previous years, whenever Father Liu brought Liu Zhong to the Li Duke Mansion, they had simply blended in with the rest of the Liu clan. Liu Zhong had never had any close contact with Second Uncle Liu.

Second Uncle Liu had never even given Liu Zhong a proper look.

Now Second Uncle Liu had changed his attitude. He had recognized Liu Zhong's potential and wanted to win him over early.

Liu Zhong calmly handled Second Uncle Liu, making it clear that he understood what he meant.

Wasn't he simply hoping Liu Zhong would lend the Li Duke Mansion his support?

Hah. The Li Duke Mansion had never once helped their family. What gave them the right to demand, so brazenly, that he support them?

Did they think the signboard of a duke's mansion was enough to control him?

Heh. If the Li Duke Mansion really had that much clout, Uncle Liu's official rank wouldn't be higher than Second Uncle Liu's.

Liu Zhong fended off Second Uncle Liu with vague replies. He only said he understood what Second Uncle Liu meant; he never said he would do as Second Uncle Liu wanted.

The father and son ate an unpleasant dinner at the Li Duke Mansion, then returned home.

Mother Liu had someone bring them goat's milk. "Eating at night is hard on the stomach. Have some goat's milk to tide you over."

"Mother understands us best," Liu Zhong said. "The duke's mansion's food isn't so easy to swallow."

"Just listen to what your second uncle says," Father Liu told him. "You don't have to do as he says."

"I know."

A maid brought a bowl of goat's milk to Liu Zhong, and he reached out to take it.

The maid's hand shifted slightly, and their hands touched.

Liu Zhong looked up and met the maid's tender, affectionate gaze.

The maid gave him a flirtatious glance.

Liu Zhong frowned.

Liu Zhong wasn't a monk. In his previous life, before he transmigrated, he had been with women.

In this life, for the sake of continuing the Liu family line, he would have to marry, too.

But his previous life had shaped his thinking. What he wanted was one wife and no concubines. He despised womanizers.

Even though he was a man himself, he couldn't accept men who were unfaithful and kept taking women.

Liu Zhong would respect the wife he married in this life, and he detested maids who tried to seduce their masters into taking them to bed.

Liu Zhong spoke up. "Mother, aren't the maids serving you getting on in years? Have you arranged their marriages? Perhaps you should do it soon, before their youth slips away."

At his words, the maid's face instantly fell. Two other maids looked stricken as well.

Liu Zhong lowered his eyes. Was he really such a catch?

It had never occurred to him that, young and accomplished as he was, handsome and already a licentiate in his teens with a bright future ahead, he would naturally seem like a catch to all the maids.

When Mother Liu heard Liu Zhong's words, she was startled at first, then understood.

So the maids around her had set their sights on her son.

Father Liu had only Mother Liu as his wife, with no concubines or bedchamber attendants. That was partly because Father Liu was an illegitimate son who had never been favored, but it was also because the two of them loved each other.

Mother Liu had never had another woman vying for her husband, and she didn't want to make life difficult for her future daughter-in-law. Even if she arranged concubines or bedchamber attendants for her son one day, she would wait until after his wife joined the family. She didn't want a situation like the one at the Li Duke Mansion, where a concubine's eldest son was born before the legitimate heir, and neither the heir nor his principal wife could keep him in check.

Mother Liu had never considered arranging a bedchamber attendant for her son at this point.

The maids around her had grown too ambitious. As her son had said, it was time to let them go and marry.

Mother Liu narrowed her eyes, her mind made up.

She looked at her eldest son. He was grown now, and so outstanding. No wonder so many little hussies had their eyes on him.

It was time to find a match for him.

Mother Liu asked, "Zhong'er, what kind of woman do you like?"

Liu Zhong was taken aback, then realized that Mother Liu had decided to find him a bride. He replied, "Your son doesn't mind. You can choose someone you like and think will get along well with us."

"How can it be about what I like? She'll be your wife."

Liu Zhong smiled. "Your son will be out working most of the time, with little time to spend in the inner quarters. My wife will spend most of her time with you, Mother, so we should choose someone you like, someone you can talk to."