Li Shouzhong was the Director of the Imperial Academy. After Jia Zhu entered the Imperial Academy and the Hanlin Academy, Li Shouzhong would be a great help to him.
The marriage had been discussed before Jia Daishan died. Although the six formal rites had not been completed, the two families had already reached an agreement.
After Jia Daishan's death, Lady Wang, who was unhappy with the match, no longer wanted to go through with it.
She looked down on "poor people" like the Li Family.
But Jia Zheng insisted. After all, he had been the one to ask for the marriage.
Lady Wang had no choice but to agree, though she was deeply reluctant.
As Jia Yuanchun listened to Lady Wang's complaints, she thought of her own situation back then.
Her mother and grandmother had been set on marrying her into the Dong'an Prince Mansion as the heir's second wife. Fortunately, her grandfather had intervened and arranged for her to marry Liu Zhong.
Otherwise, how could she be living such a happy life now?
Her mother and grandmother had been too shortsighted. They had only seen the wealth and status before them, without considering the future.
Jia Yuanchun could only carefully explain to Lady Wang the benefits of an alliance with the Li Family.
"Although our family has Eldest Cousin and Uncle Lin as civil officials, we still lack connections in that circle. The Li family's master is the Director of the Imperial Academy, and he has taught countless students. They are all valuable connections. Once my brother becomes a son-in-law of the Li Family, he'll be able to establish himself among the civil officials through their network..."
Jia Yuanchun worried that Lady Wang's contempt for the Li Family would offend her future in-laws and lead her to treat her future sister-in-law poorly. She went to great lengths to explain the advantages of marrying Li Wan.
Because it was her daughter speaking, and because the matter concerned her son's future, Lady Wang took some of it to heart.
At least, she treated Li Wan somewhat better than she had in the original story.
Several months later, Jia Yuanchun successfully gave birth to a daughter.
Seeing the baby's lively eyes, Liu Zhong raised an eyebrow.
Those eyes didn't seem as blank and innocent as a baby's should be.
There was something unusual about his daughter's origins.
But if he could travel through time, why couldn't someone else?
Liu Jiaying had never imagined that she would be reborn in another world.
She had died while rescuing two children who had fallen into the water.
After pushing them ashore, Liu Jiaying ran out of strength and sank beneath the water.
At the time, she had thought that since she was an orphan, no one would grieve for her if she died. At least she had saved them.
She hadn't expected good deeds to be rewarded. She had actually been given a chance to be reborn with her memories intact.
Although she had been born in ancient times, without the conveniences of the modern world, getting another chance at life was still wonderful.
Liu Jiaying enjoyed her new life. Her family was very well-off; she had been born into a wealthy household.
Her father was an official who, she had heard, had earned his position by passing the imperial examination.
Her grandparents were kind and loving, and her younger uncle was a remarkably handsome youth.
Her mother was gentle and beautiful, and her older brother was an adorable little chubby boy.
Liu Jiaying thought that in this life, she would have an ordinary and happy life.
Then reality hit her like a ton of bricks.
When she was a month old, her maternal grandmother came to visit her and her mother.
She heard her grandmother call her mother "Yuanchun."
She also heard her mother mention names like "Baoyu," "Lian'er," and "Tanchun."
Liu Jiaying was completely dumbfounded!
Had she really been reincarnated into the world of Dream of the Red Chamber?
But why was she Jia Yuanchun's daughter?
Had Jia Yuanchun not entered the palace?
Or was her mother simply someone else with the same name?
Liu Jiaying had so many questions, but she couldn't speak yet. There was no way she could ask them.
She could only listen to the maids and wet nurses chatting, gathering information from what they said.
Her mother in this life really was Jia Yuanchun. The reason she had not entered the palace was that Jia Daishan had refused to let his granddaughter do so.
The Jia Daishan of this world had lived longer than the one in the novel, passing away only three years ago.
Since he had lived so long, things at Rongguo Mansion had turned out very differently from the novel.
Jia She's first wife was still alive and well, and she managed the affairs of Rongguo Mansion.
Lady Wang had never been in charge of the household, so she had never emptied Rongguo Mansion's coffers.
Jia Hu was still alive, and had even placed first in all six imperial examinations. He had married a princess!
Liu Jiaying had once thought Jia Hu was a time-traveler. Later, she visited Rongguo Mansion and met him. After seeing his manner and behavior, she ruled out the possibility that he was from the modern world.
Liu Jiaying also learned that her handsome young uncle was none other than Liu Xianglian!
She immediately decided she would protect her uncle and never let him be tricked into marrying a woman like You Sanjie, only to become a monk for her sake.
Liu Jiaying lay in bed, clenching her tiny fists.
Since she had been reborn into the world of Dream of the Red Chamber, she would help the Twelve Beauties of Jinling and make sure none of those unfortunate young women met a tragic end.
But she hadn't expected that, with things at Rongguo Mansion having changed so much, the Twelve Beauties' fates would have changed too.
Take Lin Daiyu, for example. Both her parents were alive, and she even had a younger brother. She was no longer a poor, orphaned girl living with relatives, in need of rescue.
Besides, she was much younger than the Twelve Beauties. How was she supposed to help them?
By the time she grew up, the Twelve Beauties would already be married and have families of their own.
Liu Jiaying's infancy and childhood passed quickly. In just a few years, she was running and jumping everywhere.
By then, she realized the Twelve Beauties truly didn't need her help.
The butterfly effect in this world had already changed the fates of several young women.
The greatest changes had come to Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai.
Both of Lin Daiyu's parents were alive, and she lived a carefree life. She was healthy, with none of the frail, sickly look she had in the novel.
She and Jia Baoyu were very close, and their parents and elders were happy to see them together.
Well, that was mainly because Jia Baoyu was reasonably ambitious and didn't spend all his time among the rouge and powder, as he had in the original story.
In this world, Jia Baoyu had already passed the provincial examinations and earned the title of juren.
Lin Ruhai was reasonably satisfied with such a son-in-law.
Although Jia Baoyu's temperament wasn't suited to officialdom, he could still become a "talented scholar."
With Rongguo Mansion as his backing, Jia Baoyu would have a comfortable life, and Lin Daiyu would not suffer by his side.
Then there was Xue Baochai.
Miss Xue had successfully entered the palace.
Since the Jia Family had no daughters in the palace, Lady Wang wasn't worried that Xue Baochai would compete with her daughter for a man. She hadn't obstructed Xue Baochai's entry; in fact, she had helped her.
Xue Baochai entered the palace this February. What happened to her after that depended on her.
Xiangling had always stayed by Lin Daiyu's side, so the incident where Xue Pan killed someone while trying to seize her never happened.
Xue Pan had no murder charge hanging over him. After coming to the capital, he tried to throw his weight around under Rongguo Mansion's protection, but Jia Hu gave him a harsh lesson.
As a result, Xue Pan became much more restrained. Whenever he saw Jia Hu, he acted like a mouse seeing a cat.
Xiangling was a few years older than Lin Daiyu and had now reached marriageable age.
Jia Min and Feng Shi were both actively looking for a suitable match for her.
Lin Ruhai helped arrange a match with a scholar from a poor family, who was one of Lin Ruhai's junior fellow disciples.
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