Song QingShu shook his head and banished this thought from his mind. He thought that Li Qingluo was indeed the Holy Mother of the White Lotus Society, and she was also from the Carefree Sect. There was always some evil in her, and this move of hers was really too vicious.
However, he had to admit that her idea was very targeted. If it was carried out, it would be a piece of cake to divide the Jia, Shi, Wang, and Xue families.
"But it's too despicable." Song Qingshu couldn't bring himself to do such a thing.
"Second Master Bao, it really is Second Master Bao!" A few pretty maids ran over. When they saw him, they all burst into tears.
Song Qingshu had pretended to be Jia Baoyu once, so he naturally recognized them as his maids: Xiren, Qingwen, Xiyue, and Qiu Wen.
A few maidservants were chattering and jumping around him. Song QingShu answered their questions one by one, not revealing any flaws.
"My darling, where did you run off to?" Not long after, an old lady ran over. Before she even reached him, she opened her arms to hug him.
Song Qingshu knew that she was Mrs. Jia, who loved Jia Baoyu the most. He quickly went up to her and held her. "Ancestor, don't fall."
Mrs. Jia hugged him tightly and called out to him as if she was her darling.
Noticing her tears and feeling her sincere concern, Song Qingshu sighed. If she knew that Jia Baoyu had died a long time ago and that her son, Jia Shidao, had died because of him, he wondered if she would break down.
After all, she was an innocent old lady. Song Qingshu secretly made up his mind not to let her know the truth and continue to live happily as before.
"Where have you been all this time? Everyone has been so worried." Mrs. Wang was also a little emotional, but she couldn't help but scold him.
"Pfft, pfft, pfft. What do you mean by dead? It's inauspicious." Mrs. Jia turned around and glared at her.
"You're right, Mrs. Wang." Mrs. Wang sighed and looked a little worried.
"It's a long story." Song QingShu swept his gaze around. The people in the Jia Residence all appeared to be extremely happy on the surface. However, with his experience, how could he not distinguish the complicated emotions contained in some people's eyes?
"It seems that not everyone in the Jia Residence welcomes Jia Baoyu's return," Song QingShu thought to himself.
"Let's go. Come to my place and tell me slowly." Mrs. Jia dragged him to her yard. The others had many questions, but they didn't dare to fight with the Old Lady. They didn't dare to fight with the Old Lady, so they could only watch them leave.
When they arrived at Mrs. Jia's yard, Song Qingshu told them the reason he had already thought of, "I was captured by the Mongolians … and I finally found a chance to escape …"
Hearing this, Lady Jia's heart jumped, she could not help cursing, "Why did those damned Mongolian Tartars capture you?"
"Maybe he wants to use me as a hostage," Song QingShu replied.
"Our family has been through a lot in the past two years. We finally waited for you to come back, but your father is gone." Mrs. Jia was sad and kept wiping her tears. Her daughters-in-law, young ladies, and maids tried to comfort her.
"What happened to my father?" Song Qingshu acted as if he didn't know what had happened to Jia Shidao.
"Your father tried to protect the emperor in WuTang Mountain, but he was … was …" Mrs. Jia cried, and the other old and weak women and children in the room also cried.
Song Qingshu also put himself in the shoes of the real Jia Baoyu, thinking about how the real Jia Baoyu would react as he imitated it.
Everyone in the house cried for a long time, but Mrs. Jia was the first to sober up. "You must have suffered a lot during this period of turmoil. Xiren, take Baoyu back to the Yihong Courtyard to freshen up, change your clothes, and wash away the bad luck on your body. Then we'll eat together."
"Yes, Old Lady." Xiren and the others bowed and came to Song Qingshu.
"I'll come back later to pay my respects to the Ancestor." Song Qingshu also stood up and said goodbye. He had to pretend to be someone who had escaped, so his clothes looked a bit ragged.
At the same time, he secretly complained about Jia Baoyu's taste. She named her yard Yihong Yard and called herself Mr. Yihong, which sounded like a prostitute and a rapist.
After Song Qingshu left, the other ladies talked with Mrs. Jia for a while and then went back to their rooms.
When Wang Xifeng returned to her house, Jia Lian was already pacing back and forth in the room. Seeing his wife come back, he said, "I heard Baoyu is back."
"I'm afraid the people next door already know that he's back." Wang Xifeng nodded seriously.
"Are you sure it's him?" Jia Lian asked.
"I think so." Wang Xifeng wasn't sure. "Judging from his appearance and his conversation with the Ancestor, I can't see anything wrong with him."
"Why did he come back at this time?" Jia Lian's expression was a bit fierce. "I was about to inherit the title of Rongguo Mansion, but he came back at this time!"
Wang Xifeng hurriedly opened the door and looked around for a while. Seeing that no one was around, she let out a sigh of relief. After closing the door, she scolded her husband, "Are you crazy? If the Ancestor heard this, it would be terrible."
"What are you afraid of? There's nothing left anyway." Jia Lian was a bit lost. "Jia Baoyu has been missing for so long. The Ancestor used all his connections, but he couldn't find him. Everyone thought he died outside. Why did he come back safe and sound?"
In the official announcement, Jia Shidao died protecting the Emperor. In order to reward his behavior, he was posthumously conferred the title of King. Of course, such a title couldn't be inherited, but his title of Duke Rongguo could be passed down. Jia Shidao's eldest son, Jia Zhu, died many years ago. He only left a widowed wife, Li Wan, and no children. His second son, Jia Baoyu, hadn't married yet, so he didn't have any children. Now that he was missing, Jia Lian naturally became the first heir. But as soon as Jia Baoyu came back, everything was ruined.
Wang Xifeng's expression suddenly changed. "Do you think the one who came back is fake?"
Jia Lian instantly became spirited. "Fake?"
Wang Xifeng nodded, "That's right. Master has been investigating for so long, but he couldn't find any trace of him. He even suspected that we were the culprits. Doesn't this prove that Master also thinks that Baoyu is no longer alive?"
Recalling that period of anxiety, Jia Lian gradually came to a realization, "That's right, if Master didn't have enough information, he definitely wouldn't have thought that he was dead."
Jia Lian suddenly thought of something and suddenly became discouraged. "Didn't you just say that he behaved exactly like Baoyu?"
Wang Xifeng didn't know if she saw hope, but a smile appeared on her gorgeous face. "That's only on the surface. The world is so big, and it's not impossible to have exactly the same people. If someone taught him some of Jia Baoyu's habits and various situations in the Jia Mansion, it wouldn't be difficult for him to impersonate."
Jia Lian instantly became spirited. "But how can we prove that he is a fake?"
Wang Xifeng looked in the direction of the Yihong Courtyard. "If he impersonates, it's the hardest to fool the people around him. Xiren, that girl, has already eaten the forbidden fruit with Baoyu. Besides, the maids in the Yihong Courtyard are the most familiar with him. He can fool the old lady, but he may not be able to fool Xiren and the others."
"But they are just maids after all. What if they are threatened and don't dare to report him?" Jia Lian's mind was unprecedentedly meticulous when it came to his title.
Wang Xifeng frowned and suddenly came up with an idea. "Then I'll do it myself."
"You?" Looking at his wife's confident look, Jia Lian was puzzled.
A blush flashed across Wang Xifeng's face. She explained, "I can go to him in private and pretend to have had an affair with him. If the other party is a fake, he will definitely follow my words. At that time, it will naturally prove that he is a fake. It's best to let the old lady and the others see the scene of that person flirting with me. Even if he is real, his reputation will be ruined."
"That's a great idea!" Jia Lian was overjoyed, but after the excitement, he felt that something was wrong. He looked at his beautiful wife suspiciously. "Did you really have something with Baoyu before?"
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