The Famous Detective of the Red Mansion
Ch. 501 - Grandma Liu Enters the Grand View Garden [Part 5]

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He heard that Old Lady Jia had already entered the garden, and Sun Shaozong hurriedly went out to greet her. Although the possibility of the thief still hiding in the garden was very small according to the current situation, since he had agreed to Baoyu, it was not easy to go back on his word.

As he arrived at the Qinfang Bridge, he saw two old ladies sitting in a pavilion on the bridge, accompanied by Old Madam Wang, Li Wan, and Wang Xifeng speaking.

Jia Baoyu, on the other hand, led Daiyu and Xiangyun to stand side by side on the bridge and look around. Even in the bridge cave below, there were several purple azaleas standing guard, as if afraid that thieves would emerge from the water and make a sudden attack.

Seeing Sun Shaozong rushing over, Jia Baoyu finally breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to step down from the bridge to greet him, a person suddenly stood up at the table and knelt on the ground, reciting words. However, it was Grandma Liu who described Sun Shaozong as the King of Hell yesterday.

When everyone saw this situation, they couldn't help but cover their mouths and chuckle, but Old Lady Jia couldn't even make a move and asked someone to quickly help Grandma Liu get up.

As a result, a few maids next to them were dawdling around. On the contrary, Sun Shaozong hurriedly rushed closer and reached out to pull Grandma Liu up from the ground, helping her onto the stone bench covered with cotton mats. He smiled and said, "I had made an appointment with Brother Bao to take a stroll around this garden, but unexpectedly, it disturbed the elegance of the two elderly people. If I had known this would have happened, I wouldn't have come over."

Next to her, Old Lady Jia hurriedly said, "What's bothering you? Anyway, we're all relatives of our own, and there aren't many outsiders. If Erlang doesn't mind, why don't you accompany us around?"

Jia Baoyu and Old Lady Wang next to him all had a chorus of supporting voices, and Sun Shaozong naturally followed suit.

So Old Lady Jia gave an order, and everyone crowded around her again, bustling to Lin Daiyu's Xiaoxiang Hall.

Speaking of which, it was the first time Sun Shaozong had entered this courtyard. He saw bamboo planted on both sides, moss scattered on the ground, and a small path in the middle, similar to a sheep farm, made of stones and suitable for pedestrians to enter and exit.

Grandma Liu saw this and rushed to give way to Old Lady Jia and others, but she walked forward on the moss.

Amber, the maidservant beside Old Lady Jia, caught up with her and urged her, "Grandma Liu, come up quickly. Be careful not to slip by that moss!"

Grandma Liu waved her hands and grinned, "It's okay, it's okay. What kind of slippery ground are we rural people afraid of? Girl, just leave. If those beautiful embroidered shoes like brides get dirty, I will feel sorry for you."

She only waved her hand and spoke, but she suddenly slipped and fell flat, causing everyone to burst into laughter.

Although Old Lady Jia couldn't help but laugh, she hurriedly urged, "Little hooves, why don't you hold her up? How can you just focus on laughing?!"

Before she could finish speaking, Grandma Liu had already climbed up from the ground and continued to grin happily. "I just started talking and got slapped in the face. No wonder the girls laugh at me."

Without mentioning how Old Lady Jia had asked if she had ever been injured, Grandma Liu responded with witty words.

However, Jia Baoyu noticed some flaws due to Sun Shaozong's reminder and turned his head to sneer, saying, "Brother is indeed right. She clearly deliberately fell, which is so funny—thanks to her age, she is willing to work so hard."

At first, he had a hint of closeness towards this interesting rural old lady, but seeing that she was acting, he felt that his family had been fooled and deceived, so he unconsciously became disgusted with her.

Sun Shaozong only sighed and replied with a faint voice, "Poor parents in the world."

Jia Baoyu had not yet figured out what this meant. Old Lady Jia and others had already arrived at the door, and Zijuan raised the curtain, inviting Old Lady Jia and others to come in and sit down. Lin Daiyu personally brought tea to serve Old Lady Jia on a small tea tray.

When asked about Old Madam Wang's preferences, she replied calmly, "We won't have tea. You don't need to pour it."

Although this statement was not considered impolite, there was a hint of alienation in the bones.

Therefore, Lin Daiyu's smile immediately became embarrassed, and she quietly retreated to the side while ordering someone to deliver a chair to Old Madam Wang.

***Tch!***

Sun Shaozong saw this scene through the curtain outside and turned his sympathetic gaze to Jia Baoyu—it seemed that this pair of quarrelsome lovers still had a long way to go to achieve success.

Seeing his beloved being scolded by his biological mother, Jia Baoyu felt embarrassed and wanted to comfort Sister Lin with a few words. However, he didn't want to leave Sun Shaozong alone outside, so he had to gossip with Sun Shaozong while secretly seeing Sister Lin off through the curtain.

When Old Lady Jia chatted with Grandma Liu for a while, she suddenly pointed to the window screen pasted on the window and said to Old Madam Wang, "This screen looks good initially, but after it passes, it seems a bit weird. Moreover, there is green bamboo, and using this green screen to paste it will not match well anymore—I remember we have four or five different colors of screen pasted on the window. Let's replace this window with a new one for her tomorrow."

The first thing to ask about the trivial matters in this garden was Wang Xifeng, and at worst, it should be on Li Wan's. However, Old Lady Jia said it to Old Madam Wang, and there was a hint of criticism and indifference towards Daiyu, the niece.

This time, it suddenly changed to Old Lady Wang sitting in wax, but unlike Lin Daiyu, she had her allies in the room—Wang Xifeng immediately jumped out, trying to fool this awkwardness by making jokes.

As the saying goes, three women play a play, and this Rongguo Mansion was simply a series of original plays.

Sun Shaozong shook his head secretly, too lazy to listen to the three generations of the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law playing tricks anymore. Seeing a bamboo pavilion not far away, he planned to invite Jia Baoyu to sit down for a moment.

Unexpectedly, just as he was about to speak, Jia Baoyu suddenly took a few steps outside and exclaimed happily, "Auntie? Why did you come?"

Sun Shaozong then saw that there were a few more masters and servants rushing over along the path. Although one person was neatly wrapped, it was still difficult to conceal her mature and plump figure. Who else could it be if it weren't Aunt Xue?

"Isn't this to visit your Sister? Coincidentally, I heard that the Old Lady is in the garden, so I rushed over to greet her."

Aunt Xue smiled as she spoke, and suddenly a majestic figure flashed behind Jia Baoyu, causing her expression to become somewhat unnatural.

"Greetings to my Aunt."

Sun Shaozong approached to pay his respects, but at the same time, he felt a bit embarrassed because he just had that kind of thing a few days ago.

Fortunately, Jia Baoyu was full of hope at the moment that Aunt Xue could come in and end the awkward atmosphere, but he did not notice the eerie atmosphere between the two. He approached and pulled up Aunt Xue's pure and soft skin, and hurriedly urged, "The Old Lady mentioned you a few days ago. I'll take you inside!"

Sun Shaozong dodged to the side and watched Aunt Xue enter the room, then went to the pavilion to rest on his own.

About a quarter of an hour later, he finally saw the Old Lady coming out from inside, followed closely by Grandma Liu, Old Madam Wang, Aunt Xue, and others. They were all talking and laughing happily, and there was no sign of any open or secret struggle just now.

It wasn't until the last two, Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu, that the harmonious family style was suddenly disrupted—Jia Baoyu flattered and said something, while Lin Daiyu remained expressionless and ignored it.

Sun Shaozong originally intended to quietly follow behind this angry little couple, so as not to interfere with their flirtatious behavior. However, as soon as he left the Xiaoxiang Pavilion, Lin Daiyu deliberately slowed down her pace and stood beside him, saying, "Brother Sun, do you think those thieves will go back and forth?"

"It's hard to say."

Sun Shaozong shook his head and said, "After all, it's not easy for men to enter this garden. At most, it's just tight on the outside and loose on the inside."

"Don't be afraid, Sister!"

Jia Baoyu followed Daiyu step by step and immediately patted his chest upon hearing these words, saying, "If those thieves dare to come back and forth, I will protect you well."

Lin Daiyu didn't even glance at him and just sneered, "If it weren't for Xiren and the others yesterday, someone might have been incomplete a long time ago, isn’t it? It's not a good idea to speak up here without shame!"

Jia Baoyu rolled his eyes wide when he choked on one sentence, and it took him a while to recover. He didn't dare to provoke her again, so he had to approach Sun Shaozong and beat the side drum, saying, "The gymnastics taught by you is really useful. Since Sister Lin learned gymnastics, her body and bones have been much stronger than before. Otherwise, last night she struggled with fear, and I'm afraid she might have fallen ill early today."

"What's wrong with you?"

To her surprise, Lin Daiyu became angry again, glaring with her watery eyes and angrily saying, "Are you accusing me of being weak, sickly, and timid?"

"I didn't say that!"

Jia Baoyu was attentive for a while, but seeing that she still couldn't get any words he said, he immediately became a bit annoyed and shook his sleeve, waiting for a few words of confrontation.

"Second Brother."

At this moment, Jia Tanchun suddenly turned back and said with a playful smile, "It's rare for Grandma Liu to be very interesting in her actions and conversations. Why are you only focused on talking to Sister Lin?"

Jia Baoyu was angry at Sister Lin for venting her anger, and at the same time, he didn't like Grandma Liu's deliberate behavior. Therefore, upon hearing these words, he immediately raised his eyebrows and sneered, "I see that Grandma is not only uninteresting but also very fake!"

This was in line with the ancient saying *'The speaker has no intention, the listener has intention.'* Tanchun was grateful to Jia Baoyu for the incident where Jia Huan set fire yesterday, and was pondering how to repay him.

Now seeing that he was very unhappy with Grandma Liu, Jia Tanchun's eyes rolled and she went ahead to look for Wang Xifeng and Liwan. She smiled and said, "Every day we say that when old men outside eat and drink, we have to have a bamboo slice husband to accompany us so that we can make fun of him. Unexpectedly, we got a female bamboo slice today."

Li Wan was a kind person, and she didn't know much about it.

Wang Xifeng knew she was talking about Grandma Liu, so she also smiled and said, "Since the opportunity is rare, let's just have fun with her today."

Therefore, the aunt and sister-in-law had a private discussion, only seeing Li Wan shaking her head beside her, saying that they were even more mischievous than her Lan’er.

After making up her mind, Wang Xifeng rushed up to ask Old Lady Jia where she would have lunch.

Upon hearing Old Lady Jia casually ordered to go to Jia Tanchun's Qiushuang Pavilion, Wang Xifeng felt even more at ease. She turned around and rushed to the Qiushuang Pavilion with Tanchun, Li Wan, Amber, Suyun, and others, along with the people serving meals. They set up a table and set up food and drinks in the Xiaocui Hall.