Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Chapter 48 Game Theory

Everyone thought it was just a small matter. Jia Baoyu was still a child, and he just liked pretty girls. It didn't escalate to the point of brothers fighting over women.

It wasn't until she saw that Jia Lian hadn't responded to Grandmother Jia's words for a long time that her heart skipped a beat.

Grandmother Jia didn't actually want to bring it up. After all, she was a person of status and position, and she valued dignity. Once she said something, she was unwilling to take it back easily.

Even before Jia Lian returned, Jia Baoyu had already begged her for Qingwen, but she had never agreed and had only given him perfunctory replies.

After being pestered by Jia Baoyu a few times, seeing his obedient appearance, she couldn't bear to upset him, and that's when she finally relented.

Anyway, the person hasn't been handed over to Jia Lian yet, so it's not a big deal.

Just now, Jia Baoyu whispered in her ear that since Brother Lian already has such a good maid, he should give Qingwen to him. One for each of them would be just right...

Only then did Grandmother Jia decide to speak up for Jia Baoyu.

"Don't think I'm going back on my word. You know I can't do anything with your brother Bao, and he's stubborn. If you feel you've been taken advantage of, I'll compensate you in other ways. There's nothing in this house that's too formal; if you see something you like, just say the word."

Grandmother Jia stared at Jia Lian, genuinely displeased. Could it be that Jia Lian was no longer listening to her for the sake of a maid?

Grandmother Jia's words also made others who felt she was biased understand. Children are a bit willful; they want whatever they see that is nice, and Grandmother Jia couldn't refuse them, so she had to exchange it with Jia Lian for something else.

This was already quite considerate of Jia Lian. After all, what Grandmother Jia meant was that he could choose any of the head maids around her. Jia Lian was always a pragmatic person. Rather than competing with Jia Baoyu for a young, immature maid and displeasing Grandmother Jia, wouldn't it be better to choose a larger one to take home and put in his room?

Wang Xifeng, fearing that Jia Lian might have a momentary lapse of judgment, quickly smiled and said, "Look at what the old lady is saying. Although I wouldn't stoop to arguing with a little maid, the old lady is ultimately on our side and doing this for our own good. In that case, I'll agree on his behalf to the old lady that Qingwen should be given to Brother Bao. It'll be good for the children to play together."

"But you can't go back on your word, Ancestor. I really like some of the things in your room. I've never dared to touch them before, but now that you've said so, I won't hold back..."

Wang Xifeng certainly had her own selfish motives; she didn't want Qingwen to enter her household. But more than anything, she was afraid that Jia Lian would offend Grandmother Jia. If that happened, wouldn't all the effort Jia Lian had put into pleasing the family members have been in vain?

But then Jia Lian said in an unfriendly tone, "The old matriarch is talking to me, why are you interrupting? Go back."

This made everyone even more nervous. They had only ever seen Second Mistress Lian speak loudly to Second Master Lian, and he would always smile. They had never seen him scold Second Mistress Lian before. Wasn't this against all common sense?

Even Wang Xifeng was taken aback, but instead of retorting as others expected, she stared at Jia Lian for two seconds, twitched the corner of her mouth, snorted, and stepped back.

Jia Lian finally faced Grandmother Jia directly, and seeing her bright and piercing eyes, he suddenly thought of Jia She.

No wonder Jia She complained that Grandmother Jia was biased. Although the old lady herself was upright in her conduct, this biased habit really needed to be corrected.

He shook his head and said to Grandmother Jia, "Grandmother, let's not talk about compensation. This person was originally a gift from you to your grandson. Even if you wanted to take him back, it would only be a matter of a word. How could your grandson disobey?"

Grandmother Jia laughed. She knew that Jia Lian was a reasonable person and would not cause any unpleasantness over such a small matter.

But then Jia Lian added, "However, if Brother Bao is involved, things might not be the same..."

As Jia Lian spoke, he turned to look at Jia Baoyu, whose face was filled with hope.

Erbao, Erbao, I originally felt some sympathy for you because you didn't have any bad intentions and your ending was so tragic. But now that you've come to mess with me, don't blame your brother for being ruthless from now on.

"If I remember correctly, when Grandmother gave her away, it was agreed that she would make up for the loss in my inner quarters by giving Qingwen to me as a concubine. Now that Brother Bao has taken her away halfway through, I'm afraid this is not appropriate."

I am certainly willing to give up my concubine, but I'm afraid that if others hear about it, they might think that Brother Bao is taking advantage of his elders' favor to steal his elder brother's concubine. That would be bad for Brother Bao's reputation.

If such rumors were to reach the master's ears, I'm afraid he would be furious.

Jia Lian spoke loudly and clearly, so that everyone could hear him.

No one thought Jia Lian was wrong. If it weren't for this concern, Grandmother Jia wouldn't have hesitated for so long.

But after thinking it over, she felt it wasn't a big deal. After all, the person was still in her hands. As long as Jia Lian didn't cause trouble, who would care about such a small matter?

Now that Jia Lian has said this, it seems he is unwilling to give up the people, which makes Grandmother Jia feel quite troubled.

Although she truly intended to force Jia Lian to submit, he ultimately dared not say anything more, fearing that the harmony within the household would be destroyed. The servants would also gossip about her, something she did not wish for.

Then Jia Lian said to Jia Baoyu, "However, this matter is really just between the two of us brothers. If it is mutually agreeable between us, and you are willing to give and I am willing to accept, then no one else can say anything."

Right, Brother Bao?

Jia Baoyu felt embarrassed at this moment. He didn't know that Qingwen was already Jia Lian's concubine in name only. He thought she was just a maid, which is why he insisted on having her because of his favor.

So, facing Jia Lian, she couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. "Second Brother Lian, I..."

Grandmother Jia fell silent at this point; she could tell that Jia Lian had his own ideas.

Sure enough, Jia Lian waved his hand to stop Jia Baoyu from speaking and laughed, "It is only natural for an elder brother to give way to his younger brother. Since you sincerely want it, how could I not give it to you?"

However, you can't let me suffer too much. Let's talk this over amicably, so that others won't say you're taking advantage of me.

How about this, you give your brother Xiren, and I'll give you Qingwen, okay?

Upon hearing Jia Lian's words, both Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang became somewhat uneasy.

Especially Lady Wang, who was unaware of this matter, also felt that Grandmother Jia spoiled Jia Baoyu too much, and that such a thing would indeed be bad for Jia Baoyu's reputation if it got out.

Now, hearing Jia Lian ask for Xiren, she is even more opposed.

She thought Xiren was quite good, at least much better than Qingwen. She hated cunning and wicked characters the most. Although Qingwen was still young, her appearance and mannerisms were almost comparable to Aunt Zhao from back then! If she were to exchange Xiren for someone like that in Jia Baoyu's room, she would probably vomit to death.

The key point is that others will think that Jia Lian is generous and giving way to his brother.

Jia Lian caught a glimpse of the expressions on Madam Wang's face out of the corner of his eye, smiled, and continued to set a trap for Jia Baoyu: "How about it, Brother Bao? You know, back then, the old matriarch gave me three first-class maids to choose from, but I didn't choose any. In the end, she specifically asked for Qingwen."

I had to part with her with something that was hard to accept. Think about it, isn't Qingwen better than Xiren? You're not losing out, are you?"

Jia Baoyu had only wanted Qingwen by his side because of her beauty, and upon hearing Jia Lian's words, he knew that he couldn't take her away without paying a price, so he immediately nodded: "Okay, I agree..."

Children don't weigh the pros and cons that much. Although he thought Xiren was pretty good, she was still not as good as Qingwen.

Jia Lian laughed and looked at Xi Ren standing to the side. The little girl was clearly hurt. After all, Jia Baoyu had agreed to Jia Lian's request, which meant that he agreed with Jia Lian's words and that she was not as good as Qing Wen.

The little girl's pride must have been hurt. But she was very sensible; she only looked up once before lowering her head again.

Qingwen, standing next to Xiren, looked quite angry and aggressive, clearly furious that the Jia brothers treated her like a commodity to be exchanged.

If it weren't for the fact that everyone present was someone she couldn't afford to offend, she would have jumped out and started yelling at them.

"Nonsense!"

Grandmother Jia finally couldn't bear to watch Jia Lian bully the children anymore.

The fact that Xiren could earn a monthly allowance of one tael of silver at such a young age shows that she was worth that much in the eyes of Grandmother Jia. How could a little maid who had only been in the mansion for less than a year compare to her?

They're not people who only care about looks!

Even if you searched the entire household, you would hardly find another person as loyal and sensible as Xiren. This is why Grandmother Jia specially transferred her to Jia Baoyu's room to serve him, because she felt at ease with her.

After saying a few words to Jia Baoyu, Grandmother Jia gave Jia Lian a deep look.

If it wasn't a misunderstanding, she felt that her grandson's shrewdness had grown remarkably!

As the matriarch of the family, even if Qingwen wasn't originally her person, it would be easy for her to get a maid if she wanted one. Who in the entire mansion would dare to disobey her?

However, Jia Lian seemed to understand this principle as well, so he had no intention of offending her in the first place.

What he said first was that if the ancestor wanted something, it would only take a word, without even needing compensation. At first, I really believed that he meant it, but later I realized that it was just one of his schemes.

I said this only to avoid conflict with her, or rather, to give her a way out!

Then, he decisively shifted the conflict to the peers, specifically to the conflict between him and his brother Jia Baoyu.

How magnanimous he was! He gave up the person he had personally requested, only offering a reason not to let him suffer too much loss, making everyone think that Jia Lian was a reasonable and sensible person who had done nothing wrong.

He immediately proposed exchanging Xiren?

He must have been certain that neither he nor Baoyu's mother would agree to exchange Xiren for Qingwen.

Seeing that Grandmother Jia was staring at him, Jia Lian stopped sitting, stood up and bowed, saying, "If Grandmother feels that this is not appropriate, then let it be. I don't even want Xiren anymore; I'll give both of them to Brother Bao."

Jia Lian spoke very sincerely, and there was no sign of sarcasm in his words, but the more sincere he was, the more uncomfortable everyone felt.

That old lady is so biased.

The one who felt this most deeply was Daiyu, who had not yet gotten used to this lifestyle centered around Jia Baoyu.

She couldn't understand why, out of the blue, Jia Baoyu would fight with Jia Lian for a maid, while her second brother Lian could only back down again and again.

Is it really true that in this family, only Bao Er is the precious one, and everyone else has to give way to him, whether it's himself who is younger than him or Lian Er who is older than him?

Daiyu's first impression of Jia Baoyu was actually quite good, but it was clear that compared to Jia Lian, who had traveled thousands of miles to the south of the Yangtze River to mourn her mother and had taken care of her with great care for more than three months, Jia Baoyu was nothing.

But Jia Baoyu, she had only just arrived, and he had already bullied her and Jia Lian together! Daiyu now felt that Jia Baoyu was just like Lin Jiaojiao, someone utterly detestable.

Having experienced decades of life, Grandmother Jia naturally understood what others were thinking at that moment.

If she were to take a further step at this point, it would inevitably make people think that she dotes on Jia Baoyu too much and is too biased, which would also make Jia Lian feel disheartened.

If she had to back down, Jia Lian had already prepared a way out for her, so she could go back without losing face.

She suddenly realized that she had really grown old in the past few years, no longer caring about family matters, and not even paying much attention to what her eldest grandson looked like.

If her guess is correct, and Jia Lian truly harbors such scheming intentions, then sooner or later this family will likely be under his control...

Sigh, by then I'll be long gone, why bother worrying about so much?

He waved his hand and said, "Alright, let's just drop this matter. Alright, Baoyu, stop making a fuss. Tomorrow I'll pick another good maid to serve you, so don't listen to him. Look at you, Xiren has served you for so long, and you just say you're going to give her away to someone else? Don't you even think about hurting her feelings?"

Grandmother Jia smiled and tapped Jia Baoyu's forehead, thus smoothing things over.

Jia Baoyu, who usually prided himself on being a close friend to young ladies and the most considerate of their feelings, regretted his hasty agreement with Jia Lian after hearing what Grandmother Jia said. Secondly, he was embarrassed for not getting Qingwen, so he buried his head in Grandmother Jia's arms, pretending to be an ostrich and refusing to come out.

Jia Lian then bowed respectfully and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

Grandmother Jia chuckled, her voice full of resentment. "You've eaten and drunk your tea, so I won't keep you any longer. Go now. Take your good maid with you and keep her safe in her room, lest others see her and become jealous!"

Knowing that Grandmother Jia was angry, Jia Lian did not linger any longer. He said goodbye, waved to Qingwen who clearly did not look very bright, and then turned and left the tea room.