The Second Master of the Red Chamber

He had the wet nurse take his daughter away, and Jia Lian took his wife's hand and let her sit on his lap.

Sister Feng was still holding the imperial edict, looking at it with some reluctance, and then asked, "Why did you bring this imperial edict appointing you an official back? Shouldn't it be put in the ancestral hall?"

Imperial edicts are sacred objects, symbols of holiness and glory for every family.

For the Jia family, the most important thing was naturally the imperial edict to inherit and promote their noble titles.

Even including the few imperial edicts from Jia Lian, the Jia family ancestral hall presented fewer than ten such edicts in total.

The second most important thing was the imperial edict granting official titles or promotions.

If noble titles represent family lineage, then official positions represent family power.

Especially someone like Jia Lian, who was specially appointed by imperial decree as a second-rank official and held a powerful position as the military governor of the capital garrison.

Even something as grand as bestowing a title, such as gathering the eight sons of the family, opening ancestral halls, and holding large-scale celebrations, would not be excessive.

Jia Lian said, "No need. From now on, I don't need to put any imperial edicts I receive into the Jia family ancestral hall. You can keep them for me."

In fact, Jia Zheng had previously proposed opening an ancestral hall to inform his relatives.

However, Jia Lian refused.

He just wasn't thick-skinned enough in the end.

Now that Emperor Ningkang has basically acknowledged his status as a descendant of the imperial family, and he himself has said so to others, it just doesn't feel right to frequently open the Jia family ancestral hall as a descendant of the Jia family.

He no longer needs the identity of a descendant of the Jia family to protect himself.

This indifferent approach is understandable to those who need to.

Sister Feng had nothing to say about this. In any case, royal blood was far more noble than the descendants of the Jia family.

She handed the imperial edict to Ping'er, instructing her to lock it in the innermost cabinet of the bedroom. Just as she was about to say something more, she was startled to realize that Jia Lian's hand had already moved to the place that she couldn't resist.

She quickly pressed him down and shook her head at Jia Lian: "Stop fooling around..."

Jia Lian laughed and said, "You don't want it? Don't think I don't know the way you looked at me just now, you practically wanted to eat me alive."

Because she ate well during her pregnancy, Sister Feng's beautiful face, which appeared slightly rounder than usual, was flushed.

But she immediately spat out, "Pah, do you think everyone is like you, like that... you can't control your lower body once you get interested?"

Feng Jie originally intended to insult Jia Lian, but she herself felt embarrassed by her own outrageous words.

So he switched to a gentler tone and advised, "Our child is due in a month, and I won't allow you to do anything reckless at this time!"

Uh……

Jia Lian awkwardly withdrew his hand.

Actually, he felt he had a lot of self-control.

But with so many beauties around him, if he still had to control himself, wouldn't that be both a waste of his own time and a disservice to the beauties?

So it wasn't that he was lustful, but rather that he was too responsible and always wanted to take care of every beautiful woman's body and soul.

Seeing that Jia Lian listened to her advice, Feng Jie's eyes showed a hint of reluctance, but she quickly hardened her gaze.

She helped Jia Lian up by the shoulder, gave him a flirtatious wink, and said with a smile, "The maids are all outside, go and bother them."

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian raised an eyebrow and looked at Feng Jie with approval.

Not bad, the vinegar jar has finally figured it out.

He feigned concern for Sister Feng for a couple of minutes, then walked out of the inner room amidst Sister Feng's coquettish and disdainful gaze.

Sure enough, there were five or six maids serving inside and outside the entrance hall.

Jia Lian glanced around and, not seeing Qingwen and Xiangling, said to the two most beautiful of them, "You two, come in and help me change."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Hong and Liu Xinqing, amidst the slightly envious glances of the other maids, followed Jia Lian into the room on the east side.

Jiaying Hall is much larger than the original Feng Jie'er's courtyard, and the space is naturally much more abundant.

Therefore, Sister Feng set up a dressing room for both herself and Jia Lian.

In particular, Jia Lian's dressing room occupied almost the entire southeastern space of Jiaying Hall.

Because Jia Lian had too many sets of clothes, including everyday clothes, official robes, noble robes, battle robes, and armor, and most of them were too expensive to fold, they had to be propped up on racks and stood out in the room.

So much so that when I walked in, I felt like I had entered a large clothing boutique.

"Which casual clothes would you like to wear today, Second Master?"

The young servant was quite clever and knew that Jia Lian was unlikely to have any official business at this time, so he directly asked which set of casual clothes to wear.

Jia Lian walked to the casual wear section and looked at the dozens of casual clothes in front of him. He rarely paid attention to his own clothes, but he couldn't help but secretly marvel.

Indeed, those adorned in silk robes are not the ones who raise silkworms.

Jia Lian casually picked out a light yellow robe and stopped, saying, "This one will do."

Xiao Hong nodded and cooperated with Liu Xinqing to begin untying Jia Lian's belt and clothes.

Jia Lian, having nothing else to do, focused his attention on observing the two maids.

To be fair, Jia Lian didn't initially intend to keep Xiao Hong as a concubine; that's why he had Lin Zhixiao send her in.

He even thought that since Jia Yun usually behaved well, he might find a suitable opportunity to reward him with Xiao Hong, which would be a rare good marriage in the original work.

However, as Xiao Hong became more and more useful to Feng Jie, Jia Lian himself also appreciated the girl's quick wit and ability to get things done.

Especially as she grew older, this girl indeed blossomed into a beauty surpassing that of the other maids.

Moreover, in his opinion, this girl also had her eye on him, her master, and occasionally showed signs of seduction.

Jia Lian naturally changed his mind.

After taking off her outer robe, Xiao Hong asked, "Should I change into the inner robe as well?"

"Let's change them all at once."

"Yes."

Xiao Hong took Jia Lian's discarded outer robe and left temporarily. Jia Lian's gaze then turned to Liu Xinqing, Xi Ren's cousin in red.

Well, there's not much to say about that.

It was precisely because of her beautiful color that Jia Baoyu took a liking to her and brought her into his mansion.

Although Jia Lian was the kind of person who would try to get his hands on anything good, he still had basic principles.

In the first two years, Jia Lian almost couldn't resist eating the girl several times.

After all, some of the girl's attributes were quite attractive to him.

She's a pretty girl from a rural family, and also Xiren's cousin—a great synergy.

But since it was promised to be reserved for Jia Baoyu, Jia Lian, in order to maintain his psychological advantage when facing Jia Baoyu and not want to be despised by the person he looked down upon, managed to control himself.

The changes in things began last year.

Jia Baoyu's attempt to seduce Jin Chuan backfired, causing her to jump into a well. Not only that, he also beat Xi Ren.

Coincidentally, Liu Xinqing stumbled upon all of this.

Therefore, he developed a great dislike for Jia Baoyu.

Having already learned from Xiren that she was left to Jia Baoyu, Liu Xinqing was very resistant. Taking advantage of an opportunity to help Jia Lian change his clothes alone, she bravely and proactively expressed her feelings to Jia Lian.

Yes, something like this.

When Liu Xinqing heard that Jia Lian wanted to change his inner clothes, she naturally squatted down after Xiao Hong left and took off Jia Lian's boots.

She was very considerate, her face very close to Jia Lian's. When Jia Lian lifted his leg, his short leg immediately brushed against her face.

Liu Xinqing immediately raised her eyelids and gave Jia Lian a coquettish look, as if to say that the Second Master was really naughty.

Jia Lian smiled inwardly. As soon as she took off her boots and stepped onto the soft carpet, Jia Lian immediately grabbed her hair and pulled her close to him.

Liu Xinqing winced in pain, but she still cooperated fully, gently rubbing her little head against Jia Lian's body.

To avoid making the movement awkward, she obediently changed from squatting to kneeling, showing the utmost submission.

Xiao Hong took clean undergarments from the wardrobe. Upon seeing this scene, her face flushed slightly, and she walked over with a touch of shyness.

"Second Master, the clothes are here..." Liu Xinqing, who was rubbing against Jia Lian's legs like a cat, immediately stood up.

Jia Lian naturally refused, pressing her head down with one hand and pulling Xiao Hong into his arms with the other, then leaning down to kiss her.

After a brief two kisses, Jia Lian, already impatient, forced Xiao Hong to kneel down as well.

Xiao Hong and Liu Xinqing blushed and dared not look at each other.

Ultimately, Xiao Hong had a higher status and was more generous.

After only a short hesitation, she put the clothes in her arms aside and took the initiative to help Jia Lian take off his thin fleece underpants and robe.

Seeing this, Liu Xinqing, though shy, immediately cooperated.

Jia Lian was very pleased to see that both of them were so well-behaved.

Thinking that he might as well accept it, Jia Baoyu decided that since he hadn't mentioned Liu Xinqing again for so long, he figured he might as well accept it.

Whether he dared not ask her for it, or thought that she had already taken Liu Xinqing and therefore disdained to ask for it, it didn't matter.

Even if he brings this up in the future, I can just compensate him with another one.

Which one should we compensate?

I'm reluctant to let myself be too beautiful, but being ordinary seems like I'm bullying others.

Or we should compensate him with Xia Jingui.

Anyway, this woman is just wicked, but the fact that she was able to bewitch Xue Pan suggests that she must be quite attractive.

Jia Baoyu is all about looks, isn't he?

Moreover, this scourge cannot be given to Xue Pan, because Aunt Xue cannot control him.

That would be a good opportunity for Madam Wang to try.

Madam Wang, a cunning and shrewd woman, is perfect for dealing with a troublemaker like Xia Jingui.

perfect.

……

Baochai and Daiyu met at a fork in the road west of Daguanlou, and then went to Jiayingtang together.

Sister Feng was surprised that the two of them arrived at the same time, so she quickly asked Ping'er to go out and greet them.

"Greetings to my elder sister."

When Daiyu and Baochai entered the room, they saw Fengjie and bowed to her.

Sister Feng quickly waved her hand and said, "Get up, everyone, don't be so polite."

Please forgive me for being unable to return your greetings due to my physical condition.

Seeing that Sister Feng seemed to be about to get up by holding onto the kang table, Baochai and Daiyu quickly stopped her.

Baochai quickened her pace and stepped forward to help Fengjie sit down properly.

So Sister Feng asked with a smile, "You two are rare guests. What brings you here today?"

Daiyu did not reply, but simply sat down on the stool that the maid had brought over.

Baochai sat down next to Fengjie and explained, "Just now, the old women brought Lin Daiyu and me some gifts from the palace. We've come to express our gratitude to you, sister."

Sister Feng chuckled and said, "What are you saying? The gold was a reward from your second master, it has nothing to do with me, and you don't need to thank me."

"Even if you don't need us to thank you, we should still come and pay our respects to you."

Sitting on the bench, Daiyu felt a little awkward, thinking to herself that her second brother was indeed good at judging people.

He encouraged me to spend more time with Baochai, which was clearly for my own good.

I wouldn't normally say such polite things myself.

It's admirable that Sister Bao spoke so naturally.

She glanced at him and asked, "When I came in, the maid outside said that Second Brother was at home. Where is he?"

Upon hearing this, Sister Feng laughed and said, "I knew you weren't here to see me."

As for your second brother, he just went to change his clothes in that room over there.

"I don't know what's in that room bewitching him; he hasn't finished changing yet after all this time."

Baochai and Daiyu were both intelligent, and now that they were somewhat experienced, they naturally understood the hidden meaning in Fengjie's words.

Baochai was alright; she pretended not to understand.

Daiyu blushed slightly, feeling a little annoyed by Fengjie's loose tongue, and also curious about what Jia Lian was doing in that room.

The three of them were speechless for a moment, so Fengjie turned to Baochai and asked, "I heard you weren't feeling well a while ago, and I even said I'd come to see you."

But your second master wouldn't allow it, so I asked him to go see you on my behalf.

How are you now?

"I didn't dare to disturb them, especially since it was just a cold, and two doses of herbal medicine would do the trick."

Baochai's tone remained relatively calm, but Daiyu, who had been staring at her intently, keenly caught a hint of shyness and panic in her eyes.

I couldn't help but feel curious.

She had been curious about Baochai before.

Baochai has always been in good health and takes great care of herself, so how come she caught a cold when it's almost the third month of spring?
As the three sisters were chatting, Jia Lian finally came over from the east room.

"I was just about to leave, what brings you two here?"

Jia Lian straightened his collar and went into the room.

His action was originally quite ordinary, but in front of the mistresses and servants, including Daiyu and Baochai, who already had some suspicions about him, it only made things more obvious.

Seeing that no one answered, Feng Jie, who was happy to embarrass Jia Lian, asked, "Why is it that only you came out? Where are Xiao Hong and Qing'er?"

"They took my clothes to the backyard. What, do you need them for something?"

"It's nothing important, it's just that they served the Second Master very well, and I was just about to reward them."

Anyone who has watched period dramas knows that if a palace maid is lucky enough to be favored by the emperor, the empress, as the principal wife, will reward her handsomely.

Yes, it would be the same if it were "The Grand Mansion Gate".

Therefore, seeing the obvious change in how everyone looked at him, Jia Lian felt a surge of resentment.

What a woman! It was clearly she who ordered me to do this, and she immediately sabotaged me.

He considered countless ways to take revenge, but in the end, he could only endure it for the time being.

There's nothing we can do; they're carrying a get-out-of-jail-free card inside them.

You really can't hit them, and you can't scold them.

So he ignored Feng Jie and said to Baochai and Daiyu, "You've come at the right time. I have something to do in the main study. You two come with me."

Baochai said, "Since my husband has something to do, he may go. We can stay here and chat with my sister."

Daiyu nodded in agreement.

“She has Ping’er and the others with her, so she doesn’t need the two of you. Come on, follow me.”

Jia Lian first pulled Baochai up from the warm kang, then turned around and took Daiyu with him, one hand for each of them, and led them outside.

When Sister Feng saw this, she thought that Jia Lian was taking revenge on her, and she felt both amused and smug.

She now has a good understanding of Jia Lian's temperament.

Jia Lian was actually very tolerant of her regarding small matters at home and in daily life.

As long as the argument makes sense, even if people often criticize him, he doesn't care much and won't easily use his macho attitude to pressure or order people around.

The only potential conflict between her and Jia Lian now is that he has too many women around him.

It seems that as long as she can ignore this, her life will be all wonderful.

But is this really something that can be ignored?
Sister Feng looked somewhat melancholy. (End of Chapter)