The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Jia Lian didn't know how long ago Qingwen had mentioned hearing the zither music.

When he arrived at Longcui Nunnery, the nunnery was quiet and dark.

Not wanting to disturb others, Jia Lian used the corner of the wall as a springboard to leap down and landed easily and smoothly.

Longcui Nunnery is not very large, but it still has more than ten rooms.

At this moment, almost everyone in the temple was resting, except for the main hall where lights could still be faintly seen.

Jia Lian then walked forward using the faint light.

Just as they stepped into the corridor, an old woman's voice came from the gatehouse: "Who is it?"

Following the sound, the gatehouse opened quickly, and an elderly woman of about fifty years old came out carrying a lantern.

She looked wary, her right hand still gripping a door latch.

However, the moment the lantern in her hand illuminated Jia Lian's figure on the corridor, she suddenly knelt down.

"This old servant did not know it was Your Highness who had arrived. I have disturbed Your Highness and hope Your Highness will forgive me."

Jia Lian recognized the old woman; she was one of the elderly people Miaoyu had brought from Suzhou.

Seeing that he was somewhat frightened, Jia Lian lowered his voice and said, "You don't need to be nervous."

I am very relieved that you are so vigilant and can take care of your young lady.

Okay, you can go back and continue to rest.

"Do not announce my arrival."

Jia Lian didn't explain why he climbed over the wall so late at night; anyone who isn't mentally challenged should be able to guess.

Therefore, after giving the woman a word of advice, he swaggered over to the nunnery where Miaoyu was staying and knocked on the door.

"Who is it? It's so late..."

"it's me."

The room fell silent for a moment, then the sound of feet pounding on the floor could be heard.

The door opened, and the tiny, intelligent child appeared inside.

Her face lit up with joy: "Your Highness, why have you come so late?"

Jia Lian glanced at the dark room and asked, "Is your young lady asleep?"

"Yes, she's asleep."

However, she would be especially happy if she knew that the prince had come to see her.

"This servant will go and fetch her to greet the Prince."

Seeing that Zhi Neng'er was about to turn and run away, Jia Lian grabbed her by the back of her neck.

"Don't disturb her, I'll go over there."

"Hehe, okay then."

Because it is a nunnery.

The layout of the house is also different from that of ordinary courtyard houses.

Zhi Neng'er slept in a small meditation room on the side of the main hall.

Behind the main hall, in a secluded inner corridor and connected rooms, lies Miaoyu's boudoir.

This girl is always very particular; she decorated the rooms inside to be even more beautiful than the boudoirs of ordinary young ladies from wealthy families.

When Jia Lian arrived at Miaoyu's room, he found that there was a candle burning inside, but there was no movement.

Following behind him, Zhi Neng'er explained in a low voice, "Your Highness doesn't know, our young lady is most afraid of the dark."

Every night when she went to rest, she would leave a candle on the candlestick and wouldn't let us blow it out for her.

They said they wanted to fall asleep by candlelight.

We asked her if she needed us to get up in the middle of the night to relight the candles, but she said no, she would let them burn out on their own.

As Zhi Neng spoke, she glanced at Jia Lian's profile.

Unfortunately, Jia Lian did not respond to her words. Instead, he quietly walked to the bedside and looked at his young mistress's beautiful face as she slept soundly inside the bed.

"Should we wake the young lady up...?"

"Need not."

Seeing Jia Lian raise his hand to start taking off his clothes, Zhi Neng'er was stunned.

Why won't you wake the girl up, and why are you taking off her clothes? Does the prince intend to take advantage of her while she's asleep?
What kind of insane gameplay is this?

It's no wonder that Zhi Neng'er speculated about Jia Lian in this way.

In the past two years, Jia Lian has visited the Green Bamboo Nunnery quite a few times, but each time he comes, he basically just dotes on his young mistress, whispers sweet nothings, and then leaves.

I have never spent the night at Longcui Nunnery.

Although she was worried that Miaoyu would be frightened by Jia Lian, Zhi Neng'er did not dare to ruin Jia Lian's good deed. Instead, she stepped forward, lowered her head, and silently took the clothes that Jia Lian had taken off, and put them aside.

Jia Lian only took off his outer robe, then waved to Zhi Neng'er: "Go back and continue sleeping."

After saying that, without waiting for Zhi Neng'er's reaction, he kicked off his shoes, climbed onto Miao Yu's fragrant and soft bed, and snuggled into her warm quilt.

When he wrapped his arms around the tall, slender beauty's perfect figure, even though it wasn't the first time he had enjoyed it, Jia Lian couldn't help but secretly praise in his heart how wonderful the touch was.

Clearly, even the soundest sleeper would react to his intrusion.

Sure enough, Jia Lian heard a soft moan and then felt the delicate body in his arms tremble slightly.

Jia Lian quickly hugged her tightly and buried his head in her fragrant neck, saying softly, "Don't be afraid, it's me."

As his voice faded, the delicate body in his arms softened again.

However, Jia Lian did not receive any feedback.

Then, a faint sobbing sound came from the other side of the embroidered pillow.

"Why are you crying? I'm here to keep you company. Aren't you happy?"

The woman continued to sob softly, but after a while, she seemed to have released most of her emotions.

She rolled over in Jia Lian's arms, turning to face him with her red, swollen eyes.

As Jia Lian raised his hand to wipe away her tears, she grabbed his hand before answering her earlier question.

"No, I'm just so happy. I didn't expect you to come see me. I was so afraid this was all a dream..."

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian, who had already felt pity for Zhi Neng'er after hearing her say that she "slept by candlelight," felt even more guilty.

Pressing the beautiful woman's tear-streaked face against his chest, Jia Lian sighed, "You've suffered because of me."

But don't worry, this won't last long.

"Once I have some free time, I'll definitely give you a proper status so you can be with me legitimately."

Although Miaoyu was touched by Jia Lian's earnest words, she didn't take them to heart.

It wasn't that she didn't believe Jia Lian's promise, but rather that it was never that Jia Lian was unwilling to give her a formal status.

From the very beginning, Jia Lian advocated that she return to secular life and marry him.

However, she was proud and afraid of being looked at differently by others, so she never dared to take that step and just let things slide.

Her resentment was never primarily directed at Jia Lian, but rather at herself.

She resented the injustice of fate, resented her parents for sending her to a nunnery when she was young, and resented the world for separating her parents and leaving her homeless.

Jia Lian had clearly done nothing wrong to her, yet he said he had wronged her, which moved her but also saddened her.

"I'm not upset at all. I'm already very happy that you came to see me so late at night."

I heard you are currently busy with the funeral arrangements for the Emperor Emeritus; you must be extremely busy.

I'm fine, you should go back quickly and not stay up late to rest.

Before meeting Jia Lian, she harbored some resentment towards him.

After all, he only came back after half a year and didn't even come to see her.

But when Jia Lian actually came, nestled in his familiar, warm embrace, she immediately felt relieved. She realized that it didn't really matter whether Jia Lian came or not, as long as he had her in his heart, that was enough.

He was a world-renowned hero, and he had his own important matters to attend to; he couldn't be preoccupied with personal feelings.

Having seen too many girls, Jia Lian thought Miaoyu was just saying one thing and meaning another, and wouldn't take it seriously.

He kissed her smooth forehead and said with a smile, "I won't go back tonight, I'll sleep here with you."

We'll leave at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM).

Oh, by the way, I'll let you know.

I probably won't be returning home tomorrow, because I have to escort the coffin to the imperial mausoleum early the day after tomorrow, a round trip that will take about a month.

Upon hearing this, Miaoyu immediately lifted her head from Jia Lian's embrace. Her red-rimmed eyes reflected both the joy of Jia Lian wanting her to stay the night and the disappointment of having to part ways for at least another month after just meeting.

Nodding to indicate that she understood, she lay back down, her pair of fair and smooth arms encircling Jia Lian's body.

Jia Lian thought she was reluctant to part with him, and said with a smile, "If you don't want to be separated from me, I have an idea."

"what?"

"You are a well-known Taoist master in the capital, and I happen to be in charge of the funeral of the retired emperor."

If you're willing to condescend, I can hire you to be the face of the funeral procession and lead the young nuns and Taoist priestesses performing the rituals.

So, are you interested?

Miaoyu blushed slightly upon hearing this, and for a moment she was tempted.

But after thinking for a while, she finally shook her head: "Forget it, I stopped doing these things a long time ago."

At the very beginning, she might have actually agreed, as long as she could be with Jia Lian.

But now she understands that her relationship with Jia Lian can only be kept secret from ordinary people.

Those prominent figures in the Jia family probably already guessed her relationship with Jia Lian.

Take the ritual itself as an example.

When she first arrived at Longcui Nunnery, some people from the Jia family would come over from time to time to ask her to perform spirit writing and inquire about good or bad fortune.

But gradually, such incidents became less frequent.

To this day, no one bothers her anymore.

At the same time, the Jia family's respect for her only increased.

She could still deceive herself before.

Since Jia Lian formally introduced her to his wives and concubines when he left the capital last year, they all seemed to know the truth all along.

She could never do it again.

Jia Lian had only said it casually, and seeing that Miaoyu had no interest in it, he didn't bring it up again.

He had been busy all day and had just indulged in the pleasures of Daiyu and Baochai, so he was already feeling sleepy.

He glanced back into the room, and although he didn't see anyone, he knew he could call out, "Zhi Neng'er~"

"Yes, Your Highness. What are your orders?"

Sure enough, Zhi Neng jumped out from behind the curtain.

"Your young lady and I are going to sleep. Remember to wake me up at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM)."

Actually, even if Jia Lian didn't explain and just slept with her, it wouldn't have caused any problems.

He just didn't want his men to be unable to find him the next morning, and then come looking for Longcui Nunnery.

Longcui Nunnery is, after all, a Buddhist temple, so taboos should still be avoided.

Zhi Neng'er was already happy because Jia Lian had come to visit her young mistress.

Hearing that Jia Lian wanted to stay here, he was overjoyed.

She quickly replied loudly, "Your Highness, rest assured, this servant will not sleep tonight, but will stay outside and come to wake Your Highness when the time comes."

"Well, let's go."

After dismissing Zhineng'er, he turned around and saw Miaoyu staring at him blankly, so he asked, "What's wrong?"

"No, it's nothing..."

Miaoyu lowered her head in a flustered manner.

Seeing this, Jia Lian smiled, hugged her tightly in his arms, and closed his eyes, resting his head on the beauty's jade arm.

He could actually guess what Miaoyu was thinking.

This girl is probably wondering why she's become so well-behaved tonight.

After all, whenever he saw the stunningly beautiful and ethereal Fairy Miao, he would usually undress her first.

But tonight, he really didn't have any such plans.

Firstly, I had just finished eating, and secondly, I really didn't have much time left to sleep.

It's not like it's a routine job, there's no need to make yourself so tired.

Therefore, Jia Lian had no choice but to be grateful to Qingwen.

The girl is reliable.

We wiped his whole body clean beforehand.

Otherwise, even if she changed all her clothes, Miaoyu would probably still be able to smell the scent of Daiyu and Baochai.

In that case, the effect of tonight's surprise attack on Longcui Nunnery will be greatly reduced.

……

When Jia Lian woke up, he was delighted to see Miaoyu's beautiful face.

Looking at the still dark sky outside, Jia Lian asked, "Is it time?"

"Ah."

Upon receiving a definite answer, Jia Lian sat up abruptly.

He twisted his slightly sore neck, turned around to look at Miaoyu, who had also sat up and whose face was devoid of any tenderness, and asked suspiciously, "You little rascal, you didn't sleep all night, did you?"

Miaoyu smiled gently: "I'm not sleepy. Besides, I feel very happy to watch you fall asleep."

Jia Lian was speechless.

If he hadn't slept so peacefully and woken up still with their arms and necks intertwined, he would have suspected that the girl had done something perverted to him while he was asleep.

He raised his hand and ruffled Miaoyu's hair, saying affectionately, "You're such a silly girl."

Miaoyu immediately revealed a smile like that of a lovesick woman.

Jia Lian thought to himself upon seeing this.

Miaoyu also has a changeable personality.

When she gets willful, she's even more so than Daiyu.

When it comes to being compliant, she far surpasses the average person.

If it weren't for the fact that it would be too much of a hassle, he really would have liked to take her for a morning workout.

He rolled over and jumped off the bed. Zhi Neng'er immediately appeared, took his clothes, draped them over him, and tied them up.

"Stay home and wait for me. Be happy and don't overthink things."

"it is good……"

Only after receiving a satisfactory answer did Jia Lian lift his foot and walk out.

After taking a couple of steps, he remembered something, turned around and strode back, hooked the head of the beautiful woman sitting on the bed, and kissed her forehead.

Seeing her shy and quiet demeanor, Jia Lian smiled and said, "Wait for me to come back."

"Hmm~"

Zhi Neng'er escorted Jia Lian to the door, but seeing that Jia Lian was walking too fast to keep up, she turned back.

They found that their young mistress had already gone back to bed, her eyes fixed on the bed curtains above her head.

Although he seemed lost in thought, he wore an incredibly happy smile.

She couldn't help but flatter him: "Your Highness returned so late last night, and you're leaving so early this morning."

That shows how busy they are.

But he was so busy, yet he still found time to visit the young lady and even rested in her room.

It is clear that the prince still had feelings for the young lady.

"Miss, you should relax and take good care of your health so you can give the Prince a healthy baby boy in the future."

The first part was fine, but the last sentence made Miaoyu freeze in shock.

She sat up abruptly and snapped, "Are you trying to die? Who, who wants to be with him, with him... Pah!"

"If you have nothing else, you can go downstairs. I'm going to sleep."

"Hee hee hee."

Zhi Neng chuckled and Xiao Yi took her leave.

However, when she turned around, the envy on her face was no longer concealed.

How she wished that Jia Lian had kissed her forehead when he left; how wonderful that would have been. (End of Chapter)