The Second Master of the Red Chamber

As the eldest daughters-in-law of the Ning and Rong mansions, Lady You and Li Wan originally had little interaction due to their different backgrounds and habits.

However, over the past year, Li Wan has been managing the Rongguo Mansion and has inevitably had more contact with You Shi from the East Mansion.

The two women were of similar age, both widows, and both had children. Over time, they became quite familiar with each other.

"My sister is really capable; she taught Lan boy so well."

Unlike my two little rascals, who are always making me angry.

"No, actually I didn't teach them much."

As children grow older and become more sensible, they naturally become more obedient.

Li Wan and Madam You drank tea while exchanging their experiences in managing a household and raising children.

Suddenly, Jia Lian walked in, and the two quickly got up to greet him.

Jia Lian smiled and said, "Both of my sisters-in-law are here."

Faced with Jia Lian's greeting, the two young women, both with guilty consciences, felt somewhat uneasy.

In the end, Madam You was more generous, and replied with a smile, "I had nothing to do, so I wanted to chat with Sister Li."

Second Uncle, if you need to see her, I'll be going now. You two talk.

As she spoke, Madam You bowed and prepared to leave.

Jia Lian grabbed her wrist and laughed, "You want to leave as soon as I arrive? What, am I that unwelcome?"

"It's not...this..."

Lady You looked down at her arm, which was being held by Jia Lian, and then glanced at Li Wan, whose expression was strange. She didn't know what to say.

Jia Lian didn't care about all that. After all, they were both his women, so why should he be afraid of them being too formal?
So he pulled You Shi to the tea table before letting go of her hand.

Then, without caring which cup belonged to which person, he poured half a cup of tea and began to taste it.

Lady You was initially ashamed to face Li Wan, as it was inappropriate for someone of her status to get involved with Jia Lian.

However, when she saw Jia Lian drinking tea from the teacup that Li Wan had used, and Li Wan not only did not stop him, but instead blushed with embarrassment.

She suddenly realized what was going on.

It's likely that this young woman from a prestigious family, whose fate is similar to hers, has also secretly fallen in love with the man before her, just like her.

Once she understood this, Ms. You was not surprised at all; on the contrary, she felt it was only natural.

They had always felt sorry for Li Wan in private, thinking that a perfectly respectable young lady from a prominent family had become a widow just a few months after getting married.

She had become close friends with Li Wan over the past six months. She found Li Wan to be excellent in both appearance and figure, and felt it was a pity.

He also thought that Jia Lian had always been an impolite person, and this widowed sister-in-law lived so close to him, so he was afraid it would be hard for him not to be tempted.

Lady You never suspected Jia Lian's ambition; she simply observed that Li Wan was an upright person and wondered if Jia Lian had succeeded.

At this point, it seems they have succeeded.

As a result, Ms. You completely relaxed.

She stepped forward, took Li Wan's hands, and gave Li Wan a knowing look when Li Wan looked at her. Then she led Li Wan to Jia Lian's side.

She first poured Jia Lian a cup of tea, then went behind him and massaged his shoulders.

He smiled and said, "I heard that Second Uncle has been very busy since he was promoted to Jiedushi. I wonder how you have time to come to Sister Li's place today?"

Jia Lian reached back and touched the jade-like hand that was moving on his shoulder, then nodded and said:

"I have something to discuss with her."

As he spoke, Jia Lian looked at Li Wan, who was clearly still a little at a loss, and asked with a smile, "I intend to adopt Lan'er as my godson. What do you think?"

Upon hearing Jia Lian's words, Li Wan disregarded her embarrassment and looked at Jia Lian with surprise and confusion.

Madam You chuckled and said, "That's a good thing. I was just telling Sister Li that Lan is a well-behaved and polite boy, a rare find."

As expected, my judgment was correct.

Even his second uncle took a liking to him and wanted to adopt him as his godson.

Sister Li, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and agree!

Li Wan was also somewhat excited at this moment, but she was always cautious and hesitated, saying, "I'm afraid we should ask Master and Madam about this matter first..."

Jia Lian nodded: "You're right, then I'll go back and ask the two elders first."

"Um……"

No one would think that Jia Zheng and Lady Wang would refuse such a good thing.

So Madam You directly congratulated her: "Congratulations, Li family sister, now you have no regrets."

You once told me that our two children were unfortunate, as they were born without a father.

Now that things are better, with a strong and upright man like your second uncle as Lan's father, you, as his mother, can finally rest easy.

Li Wan felt very uncomfortable after what You Shi said.

At first glance, You Shi's words seemed innocuous, but the repeated use of "father" and "mother" made her feel that You Shi had figured something out.

Besides, is it really appropriate for you, as an older woman, to massage your uncle's shoulders...?

Li Wan wasn't stupid; she guessed it too—there was something going on between You Shi and Jia Lian.

Jia Lian knew that You Shi's words were also meant for him.

So he turned around and said, "If you're willing, you can also let Heng'er and Wu'er recognize me as their godfather."

"Let's forget about it then. The two little ones are still too young. If Uncle still likes them when they're older, we can discuss it later."

Wouldn't it be putting the cart before the horse to have Jia Lian's own children recognize him as their godfather?

Moreover, because of Jia Lian's excessive concern for Jia Heng and Jia Wu, some people had already begun to speculate in secret.

If we go to such lengths, wouldn't that only raise more suspicion?
Anyway, ever since Jia Zhen and his son died, Lady You felt that her life was complete.

There was a wealthy duke's mansion, and two adorable children growing up healthily.

She had no greater ambitions and naturally did not want to cause any unnecessary trouble.

Sensing that Madam You was as sensible as ever, Jia Lian took her hand, pulled her from behind, and sat her on his lap.

"No, we'll be laughed at by the Li family's daughter..."

Even in front of Li Wan, You Shi still felt embarrassed.

Not to mention Li Wan.

Her cheeks turned bright red almost immediately.

"Um, I'll go out first..."

Li Wan sensed that the two were about to have an affair and wanted to make room for them.

Jia Lian grabbed her hand and laughed, "What are you going out for? It's rare for the two of you to be together today. How about I get a taste of the flavors of my two sisters-in-law?"

Li Wan was held by Jia Lian's hand and remained silent in despair. You Shi, who often served Jia Lian alongside Qin Keqing, saw through Jia Lian's thoughts at a glance and couldn't help but spit out, "Second Uncle is just humiliating people. The maids are still outside; they can't do anything reckless."

Jia Lian smiled and said, "It's alright. I told Yin Die and the others when I came in that no one is allowed to come in without my permission."

Fearing that Li Wan might overthink things, Jia Lian also mentioned that he had sent Jia Lan away.

After saying that, he began to kiss Yu's face.

In fact, Lady You was a beauty of the same type as Baochai.

They all possessed beautiful faces that radiated the promise of a prosperous and peaceful nation.

Baochai was simply fairer, more delicate, and younger.

Li Wan, needless to say, is one of the Twelve Beauties.

Li Wan was by nature indecisive. Although she wanted to escape in this situation, she was held back by Jia Lian and dared not move.

She stood silently with her head down, which led Madam You to misunderstand and think that Li Wan had tacitly approved.

With a sigh, Madam You reached out and covered Jia Lian's mouth: "Second Uncle is too impatient."

Even if they wanted to... wanted to humiliate us two sisters-in-law, they couldn't have chosen a better place.

There isn't even a bed here..."

Following You Shi's words, Jia Lian turned around and glanced back.

As expected, the wooden house was simply furnished.

Although there was a kang (heated brick bed), it was very short, only enough for two people to sit and talk, and it was impossible for anyone to lie down.

But it would be a shame to let these two pretty widows get together so easily.

Suddenly, Jia Lian had an idea. He swept his hand, and the cups and saucers on the table rolled to the ground.

His sudden action startled both Li Wan and You Shi.

This startled the maids outside the door.

"what happened?"

Su Yun walked in suspiciously.

Jia Lian said unhappily, "Didn't I say that no one is allowed to come in without my permission? Get out."

"Oh, yes..."

Su Yun glanced at Grandma You, who was being held down by Jia Lian and slumped over the table, then at the cups and saucers lying on the floor, and at her own grandmother, who was blushing and looked utterly ashamed. She seemed to understand something and quickly retreated.

When she came out onto the veranda, she saw Silver Butterfly looking at her with a smile, and she immediately became a little angry.

Well, it seems this little brat has guessed what's going on, but she didn't warn her and let her go in alone to get scolded.

Therefore, she pouted and pretended to ignore people.

Silver Butterfly knew he was angry, so she went over and coaxed him in a low voice, "Alright, I didn't mean to not remind you."

"You reacted so quickly, I didn't even have time to react..."

Hearing Yin Die's explanation, Su Yun readily stepped down the stairs and asked with overflowing curiosity, "Your eldest grandmother and second master...?"

Silver Butterfly raised an eyebrow: "What did you see?"

Su Yun blushed slightly.

But thinking that Silver Butterfly probably knew more than she did, she wasn't embarrassed at all.

“I saw your eldest grandmother lying on the table. The sound just now must have been Second Master knocking the teapot and teacups to the ground to make room for your eldest grandmother.”

With her rich experience, Silver Butterfly could almost immediately picture the scene inside the room.

Then I heard Suyun repeatedly refer to her as "your great-grandmother," as if her great-grandmother was some kind of aloof and superior person.

So he replied, "It's not just our great-grandmother. If you go in and take a look now, your great-grandmother might be doing the same thing, slumped over the table."

Upon hearing this, Su Yun was so embarrassed that she didn't know how to reply.

Perhaps she didn't even need to reply, because a creaking sound suddenly came from the quiet room behind her.

The sound was very soft, like the sound of a table leg rubbing against a wooden floor due to regular pressure.

Perhaps it was the will of Heaven that brought about this perfect outcome.

For the next half hour, no one came to disturb them.

So, after Jia Lian had done his fun, he took one last reluctant look at the messy table and the disheveled beauty before turning around and opening the door.

Seeing that Suyun and Yindie were behind the door instead of obediently guarding the corridor, he did not reprimand them.

He simply instructed, "Guard the door carefully. Don't let anyone in until your grandmother comes out."

"Yes."

Jia Lian nodded, wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, and then walked out.

The two maids exchanged a glance after confirming that Jia Lian had left.

The bolder Silver Butterfly couldn't resist her curiosity and reached the door to peek through the crack.

Then she quickly shrank back.

Seeing this, Su Yun scratched her head and asked, "How is it inside?"

"See for yourself..."

Su Yun was initially hesitant, but seeing that Yin Die had already looked, she figured she wouldn't be discovered, so she followed suit and peeked over as well.

She blushed instantly at just one glance.

I think Second Master Lian is really too domineering.

Even with her own grandmother's thin skin, she was willing to be with Grandma Zhen.

Judging from how Grandma and Grandma Zhen looked like they couldn't even get up, you could tell how fierce Second Master had been just now.

If only the two old ladies were replaced by her and Silver Butterfly...

Su Yun couldn't help but squeeze her legs together, looking at Yin Die with seductive eyes.

Silver Butterfly immediately took a step back, looking at her warily.

Silver Butterfly knew all too well what that look meant to a woman.

Although she was willing to serve her own grandmother, it didn't mean she was willing to serve Suyun.

Uh……

Why am I the one serving her?

Perhaps I should have her serve me... (End of Chapter)