Chapter 247

Inside Li Xiang Courtyard,

Xue Yima kept comforting Xue Pan, saying:

"Don't blame yourself, don't blame yourself, you're still young; it's inevitable to make some mistakes in what you do."

"Once you start a family later, it'll be fine; Mom has already looked around for you again—there's a young lady from the Guihua Xia family that Mom thinks is not bad!"

Baichai at the side watched Xue Yima and Xue Pan's deeply affectionate mother‑son scene, let out a soft sigh, and her eyes held an indescribable helplessness.

Everyone says the Jia Family's old lady dotes on Jia Baoyu, but our mother's indulgence toward her brother is no less.

But she can understand, after all, this branch of the family now has only her brother as the male descendant.

Her mother has only this one biological son—it would be strange if she didn't dote on him!

"Getting married isn't urgent for me! Right now the most important thing for our family is to settle my sister's marriage!"

Xue Pan heard Xue Yima mention the Guihua Xia family, and a flicker of movement passed through his eyes.

But after hesitating a moment, he still resolutely cut off his feelings, waved his hand, and said:

"Mom, I'm telling you, the brother‑in‑law…… is now a hot commodity!"

"In Shenjing City, high and low, there isn't a noble family that doesn't want to marry into him! We must seize the opportunity!"

"It's rare that my sister herself likes him too—Mom, you really need to put some thought into this."

Xue Pan's face turned unusually serious for a moment, and he earnestly instructed Xue Yima:

Xue Yima's expression grew complex upon hearing this, mingling joy and worry.

The joy was that Xue Pan would also consider his sister; the worry was that Jia Jing is too much in demand, making this marriage arrangement difficult!

Xue Yima thought it over, but still did not intend to tell Xue Pan about her and the good girl's secret scheming.

Although she dotes on Xue Pan, she also knows her son cannot keep things to himself, so some matters are better not let him know too much.

Faced with Xue Pan's eager gaze, Xue Yima didn't say more, merely nodding and saying:

"Good, good, good! Mom knows!"

Xue Pan saw Xue Yima's evasive attitude and thought she hadn't taken his words to heart, frowning and saying:

"Mom, you wouldn't still be thinking of marrying my sister to Jia Baoyu, would you?"

"Let me tell you, don't just look at Jia Baoyu being favored in their mansion; outside, nobody recognizes his status as a second‑branch lord of the Rong Guo Mansion."

"It's only their old lady who treasures him; in fact he's good for nothing and utterly unreliable."

"Even the adopted brothers from my uncle's family are far more respectable and impressive than he is."

"My sister is beautiful, kind, talented—marrying her to Jia Baoyu would be a waste of her!"

"Mom, at this point you can't afford to be muddle‑headed! You'd ruin my sister's lifelong happiness!"

Xue Pan had heard earlier that his mother seemed inclined to betroth his sister to Jia Baoyu, and there was even talk of a "golden jade good match".

Now seeing her perfunctory attitude, he assumed his mother had settled on the Jia Mansion's "phoenix egg" Jia Baoyu.

Xue Yima gave a helpless, wry smile, not knowing how to explain to her own son.

Jia Baoyu is currently a backup option in her mind; Lady Wang has been chatting with her lately, and she hasn't closed the door on it.

In her view, Jia Baoyu may not match Jia Jing, but he's still not bad.

Especially with Lady Wang's connection, her daughter marrying into that family would at least not suffer injustice.

Jia Jing's side may be good, but there's no certainty; if it ultimately fails, we won't be left without other options!

Having multiple choices means multiple paths—this way we can be prepared for anything, after all, who knows what the future holds?

"Mom, ……"

Xue Pan was still about to say something, but Xue Yima had already grown impatient with his nagging and cut him off:

"Enough, enough! I know what you're saying. It's not early anymore—hurry back and rest!"

Having said that, she practically pushed and pulled him back to his own room.

The room fell quiet again for a moment.

Only Baichai remained, standing by the window, gazing at the few pear trees in the courtyard whitened by the moonlight, silently pondering her own thoughts.

…………

The night grew deeper!

Yet the little courtyard of Feng Jie deep in the east wing of the Rong Guo Mansion still had lights on.

Two horn‑shaped lamps hung beneath the eaves of the courtyard, their light dim and warm.

The shadows of the several pomegranate trees beside the steps were cast upon the window paper, faint and wavering.

Ping'er sat on the steps beneath the eaves, holding an embroidery frame, stitching intermittently.

She would occasionally pause to listen to the low murmurs of conversation from inside, her face bearing a hint of worry.

The night breeze lifted her sideburns slightly; she reached up to smooth them, then lowered her head to embroider the not‑yet‑formed peony.

Inside the side room, Feng Jie lounged on the daybed.

At this moment she wore only a rose‑red nightgown, over which she had draped a stone‑green waistcoat.

Her hair was loose, bound only by a red‑gold hairpin with a pearl pendant.

In the candlelight her face looked exceptionally fair and smooth, her phoenix eyes slightly upturned; as her gaze shifted, it carried an indescribable mix of sharpness and allure.

After the day's emotional ups and downs, and having helped Jia Mu greet guests in the evening, her face now bore a trace of fatigue.

Besides Feng Jie, there was another person in the room.

Qin Keqing, dressed in a light‑purple shirt covered with an unadorned gauze robe of the same hue, lay pale with sorrow on the bed behind the gauze canopy inside the room.

Her eyes stared unblinking at the canopy, unknown what she was thinking.

Her lovely face in the candlelight was white as porcelain, bearing a transparent, fragile beauty.

Feng Jie fanned herself with her palm‑leaf fan, let out a long sigh, and glanced at Qin Keqing lying motionless on the bed.

She snorted and said:

"You're the one acting as the head of the household now! My master's family hasn't even gone to sleep, and you're already resting early!"

Feng Jie set down the folding fan in her hand, rose leisurely, and walked to the dressing table to begin removing her makeup and rouge.

Qin Keqing had been silently lost in her own thoughts, and only when she heard Feng Jie speak did she come to herself and say, startled:

"Why did you come back so late? Has everything been arranged over at the matriarch's side?"

Qin Keqing didn't stay long at Rong Qing Tang that night and returned early.

Even though today was the celebratory day of Duke Jia Jing, she had no mood to exchange pleasantries with the respectable ladies and wives of the various families.

Wang Xifeng laughed:

"You've been back for a while; you were there lost in your own thoughts, with no one else in your eyes."

"All the distinguished wives from the various families at Rong Qing Tang have already been sent off!"

"The matriarch is old after all; after watching a play she got a bit… unable to stay, so she went back to her room to rest!"

"The rest were guests I entertained together with the Great Lady and the elder sister‑in‑law; after seeing them off, I went to check on the Great Master."

"Lian Er isn't home, so I have to go see him every morning and evening."

When it came to Great Master Jia She and Jia Lian, Wang Xifeng sighed again at length, her expression inevitably showing a few hints of lament and unwillingness.

Today the first‑rank Duke's wife and the lofty riches of the heavens flew away before her eyes—what a lamentable thing!

Just thinking of it makes her feel a heart‑rending, gut‑twisting anguish!

Qin Keqing, seated on the bed, lightly nodded, not paying attention to Feng Jie's emotions.

A faint veil of melancholy still clouded her eyes, and she was not very eager to converse with Feng Jie.