The Second Master of the Red Chamber

After taking a bath in the stream, Jia Lian, feeling refreshed, led Jia Baoyu, who was still wet but still refused to take off his underwear, up the mountain path. From a distance, they could hear the sounds of laughter coming from the clear pond.

"Go tell the girls that the water is too cold and they can't soak in it for too long. Come out when they are done."

After giving Xiangling some instructions, Jia Lian returned to the camp.

Jia Baoyu went to his own carriage to change his clothes, while Jia Lian got into the carriage of Ping'er, Qingwen and Xiangling.

Ping'er was the best at serving people. She first found a clean towel and wiped Jia Lian's whole body carefully, then she squatted down and took off the only shorts and robe on Jia Lian.

As Jia Lian's only maid and the only woman with the status of concubine, Ping'er is naturally very familiar with Jia Lian's body and is unlikely to be curious about any part of Jia Lian.

But at this moment, she couldn't help but secretly glance at Guan Jian twice.

It's a pity that, not to mention that Aqin had helped Jia Lian clean up before, he had just gotten up from the stream, and all traces had long disappeared, making it impossible to see any clues with the naked eye.

After changing his clothes, Jia Lian went to see Zhen Yuhuan in the carriage again. As soon as he got off the carriage, he saw Jia Baoyu approaching stealthily.

"what are you doing?"

"No, it's nothing..."

Jia Baoyu didn't dare to say anything. He heard from the maid that Jia Lian had gotten into Zhen Yuhuan's carriage, and he was afraid that Jia Lian would do something indecent to Zhen Yuhuan.

By now, he has already experienced the tyranny and greed of his cousin Jia Lian.

He even suspected that Xiren's cousin in red, the beautiful girl that Jia Lian had always said he was keeping for him, might have already passed through Jia Lian's hands.

Because many times when he secretly went to play with her, whenever he mentioned Jia Lian, the girl would have a look of respect and admiration on her face, and she was very proud to serve Jia Lian and his wife in their room.

Unfortunately, he was too shy to say that the other person was actually his, so after a few attempts, he no longer had much passion to look for the other person.

Given Jia Lian's criminal record, Jia Baoyu naturally worried that Jia Lian would also do something evil to Zhen Yuhuan.

Fortunately, Jia Lian got off the carriage so quickly that he dispelled his doubts. He hesitated for a moment, pulled Jia Lian to the side, and whispered: "Second Brother Lian, can you think of a way to let Sister Yuhuan continue to stay in our house?"

Jia Baoyu tried to retain her last night, but was opposed by many forces.

Although he didn't want to admit it, he knew in his heart that if Jia Lian was willing to help, there was a good chance that he could do it.

Lin Daiyu has fallen in love with someone else and no longer cares about him. This sister from the Zhen family, who looks almost exactly like Lin Daiyu, is his only hope that can make up for his regrets.

He really wanted to keep the other person.

Facing Jia Baoyu's request, Jia Lian smiled and said, "Why do you want to keep her so much?"

"Well, well... she has such a good relationship with Lin Daiyu and the others. If she goes back to Nanjing, Lin Daiyu and the others will be sad.

Besides, she is a veteran of our poetry club. If she leaves, our poetry club will be missing one person forever."

Faced with Jia Lian's meaningful gaze, Jia Baoyu was evasive.

As if these reasons were not enough to impress Jia Lian, he gritted his teeth and said, "Also, sister Yuhuan is so cute, as her sworn brother, don't you want to keep her?"

In Jia Baoyu's eyes, except for Daiyu who ignored him for special reasons, all his sisters liked him very much.

Although they are also very close to Jia Lian, he feels that since Jia Lian already has Feng Jieer and Daiyu, and is also flirting with Baochai, no matter how charming she is, she can't compete with him, right?

Especially since Sister Yuhuan looks so smart, if she had stayed in the Jia family, she would definitely be able to see his true feelings.

Jia Lian knew Jia Baoyu so well that he knew what the boy was thinking without having to guess.

Instead of giving a direct answer, he asked a question off topic.

"I heard that you and Qin Zhong have reconciled?"

Jia Baoyu was stunned for a moment, and immediately remembered the past that he couldn't bear to look back on. He looked embarrassed for a moment, but still nodded and said, "Well, Xiao Zhonger has forgiven me..."

Apart from being a little weak when faced with big things, Jia Baoyu is definitely a warm-hearted man.

He felt very guilty for having betrayed his brotherhood in order to evade his responsibilities.

Afterwards, when I thought about every little thing that happened between me and Qin Zhong, I naturally tried every way to make up for it.

Although Qin Zhong showed signs of breaking off the friendship at first, he was not a man with a particularly bad temper after all. After seeing a distinguished figure like Jia Baoyu begging for forgiveness repeatedly, he reconciled with them as before.

And it is not known whether some subtle changes occurred, but although Qin Bangye in this life was old and sickly, and was angry that Qin Zhong had brought shame to the Qin family in front of the Jia family, he only had a serious illness and did not die.

Qin Zhong did not anger his old father to death, nor did he die of illness and regret as in the original novel.

Although Qin Bangye is now retired and at home, thanks to the support of his adopted daughter Keqing, the father and son live a very comfortable life.

Jia Lian then smiled and said, "I am very curious, did you two enter the alley at Shuiyue Temple?"

Although Jia Baoyu is a fresh and innocent man, he was born in an aristocratic circle where he can be exposed to obscene culture everywhere. He also made friends with all kinds of people in private, so it was easy for him to understand what Jia Lian meant.

His round face immediately turned red with embarrassment, and he even glared at Jia Lian like a little girl, and said angrily: "Second Brother Lian, what are you talking about... Xiao Zhong'er and I are just good friends, there is no such thing as what you said..."

"Really not?"

Facing Jia Lian's seriously suspicious look, Jia Baoyu suddenly felt guilty and finally stamped his feet fiercely:

"I won't talk to you anymore!"

After saying this, Jia Baoyu turned and ran. But he stopped suddenly after only two steps.

It turned out that Xiangyun and her sisters, along with a dozen maids, were walking up the mountain path, talking and laughing.

The ladies were fine, most of them were dressed neatly and still wearing shoes and socks, but there were slight wet marks on their bodies.

But the maids were much more casual. Not only were their clothes wet, but some of them were barefoot, holding embroidered shoes and silk stockings in their hands. Their every move showed their slenderness and whiteness.

Looking at this group of young and graceful girls is like seeing a group of forest elves who have just returned from the bath.

Not only was Jia Baoyu stunned, even Jia Lian was greatly encouraged. He couldn't help but walk forward and stand side by side with Jia Baoyu.

When they saw Jia Lian and the other two, the girls, who were originally in high spirits and talking and laughing, naturally had different reactions.

Those who were more shy immediately covered up any exposed parts of their bodies and quickened their pace towards their carriages.

Those who were not so shy just glanced at Jia Lian and the other two, then their pretty faces blushed slightly and they quickened their pace.

Only Tanchun stepped forward, blocking Jia Lian and the other two, and said coquettishly, "Oh, Second Brother Lian! Brother Bao! What are you looking at? Turn around!"

Being scolded by his sister, Jia Baoyu's old face turned red, and he smiled apologetically and turned away quickly.

Jia Lian smiled slightly, took the opportunity to look at her twice more, and in the face of Tanchun's increasingly angry eyes, he slightly turned sideways and said seriously: "Go and change your clothes quickly, it's getting late. After the poetry club, we have to prepare to return to the city."

Are you going back to the city so soon?

Tanchun murmured something, then glanced at the sky, feeling a little lost.

Today's experience was something she had never experienced in more than ten years. It was the happiest and most joyful day of her life.

She believes that many of her friends feel the same way as she does.

Unfortunately, after today, no one knows when Second Brother Lian will take them out to play again.

She sighed slightly and saw that all her sisters had successfully entered the carriage. She then looked down at her equally thin clothes, blushed slightly, turned around and walked away quickly.

……

The theme of the poetry club was very appropriate for the occasion, describing the scene and the mood, and in the end, Daiyu indeed won the first prize.

In terms of cleverness of mind and ability to describe scenery and express emotions, Daiyu is the best among all the women.

Seeing Daiyu, who was clearly pleased with herself but trying hard to appear humble, everyone gave her face and came forward to congratulate her.

Only Xiangyun, who had been looking at the poems copied by the secretary Tanchun, suddenly stood up and said, "Sister Lin is first, Sister Zhen is second, and Sister Baoqin is third. I'm not surprised. How come Sister Bao didn't rank first?"

The sisters have run many poetry clubs, so they are naturally aware of each other's strengths.

Excluding the weaker ones such as Li Wan, Yingchun, Xiuyan, Xichun and Xiangling, the remaining people are all strong competitors of each other.

Among these strong contestants, Baochai and Daiyu are recognized as the strongest.

Of course, this excludes Jia Lian, because Jia Lian is usually only average among the crowd, but once he gets serious, he is invincible, even more unbalanced than Jia Baoyu, who often performs unbalanced.

And because of his status, Jia Lian is no longer involved in the ranking.

Therefore, it is not surprising for anyone to know who gets first place between Baochai and Daiyu, but it is surprising for either of them to lose, even for Baochai to be ranked fifth as it is now. Baochai explained this by saying, "I am not good at describing scenery."

Everyone laughed at this, saying, if your sister Bao is not good at describing scenery, then who is good at it?

Some people with clear minds quickly realized that this was probably because Baochai did not want to compete with Daiyu for the limelight.

If others could think of it, Daiyu could naturally notice it as well.

She glanced at Baochai, who looked calm, and a trace of doubt flashed through her mind: Could it be that she really wanted to give in?

What a boring person.

Seeing that the joy in Daiyu's eyes had faded, Tanchun didn't want everyone to continue this topic, so she tapped Xiangyun's head and said with a smile: "How dare you talk about Sister Bao? What about you? You are one of the few among us who can compete with Sister Bao and Sister Lin. How come you lost out?"

Xiangyun said shyly: "How can I compete with Sister Bao and the others? Don't talk nonsense..."

However, Tanchun was not talking nonsense. Although Xiangyun's strength was slightly weaker than that of Chai and Dai, she was obviously stronger than the second-tier characters.

It's just that she is an agile player, or you can say she is talented. Sometimes when an inspiration comes, even Daiyu and Chai feel pressured, so she often surprises everyone as a dark horse.

At this time, Baoqin suddenly said, "Sister Lin's winning the first place is what everyone expected. I'm just curious."

Seeing that everyone was looking at her, Baoqin continued, "Sister Zhen was injured this morning and stayed in the car almost all day today, missing almost all the activities. Logically, she should be feeling disappointed and regretful.

How come her poems are more relaxed and joyful than those written by all of us? Especially when she writes about the relationship between fish and water, one can almost see the joy and excitement in the hearts of the fish, which is really incredible.

Logically speaking, Sister Zhen should not have even walked to the stream!"

Everyone felt the same way when they heard this.

Although Zhen Yuhuan is also very strong, this time the story is about real scenes and facts. It is really amazing that she, as a wounded soldier, won the second place.

Faced with everyone's admiring but puzzled looks, Zhen Yuhuan, who had already gotten off the carriage and was sitting with everyone chatting and discussing poetry, suddenly became nervous.

She said hurriedly, "It is better to have the scene in your heart than to see it in front of you. Although I didn't see it with my own eyes, I was always paying attention to everyone in the carriage. Seeing everyone having so much fun, I was naturally happy in my heart, and I wrote it down naturally..."

Everyone agrees that it is better to have a scene in your heart than to have one in front of you.

Many times, when you are standing in front of a beautiful scenery, you are speechless. Instead, it is only after you leave that you suddenly feel something and can come up with beautiful words.

It's just that everyone is just a little curious, why are you in such a hurry?

Seeing that Zhen Yuhuan might be exposed in front of everyone, Jia Lian saw the maids at the bottom of the hill also obeying orders and coming back, so he stood up and said, "Okay, the maids are back from slacking off, let's go down and see which team won first place."

"Okay, okay! If we hadn't agreed to start a poetry club, I would have wanted to go fishing with the girls just now. What a pity..."

Xiangyun was the first to stand up. From her tone and expression, no one doubted the truthfulness of what she said.

Even many people are like her.

You can make up stories anywhere, including in the Grand View Garden, but if you miss the experience of fishing in troubled waters in a creek, it will be difficult to get another chance.

So everyone stood up and followed Jia Lian down the hillside.

Picnic camp at the foot of the hill.

Qingwen, Ying'er and other maids carried buckets of spoils here.

Every maid's face was filled with happy smiles.

The girls were going to hold a poetry club just now, so they didn't need their help. It happened that Qingwen discovered that there were a lot of fish and shrimp in the stream at the foot of the mountain, so she took people to catch them.

When Jia Lian saw this, he waved his hand and told them to have a fishing competition.

So the masters' daughters competed in poetry on the hillside, and their maids divided into several groups below to have a slacking off competition.

Jia Lian even said that the team that touched the most would receive a reward.

This stimulated all the maids, and they tried every possible means in the small stream, just to catch more fish and get Jia Lian's reward!

At first, it was for Jia Lian's reward, but gradually, it was overwhelmed by the joy of catching fish, and almost all the maids, except Ping'er, participated in it.

Although the maids around these masters are not as delicate as the young ladies, they are also pampered. How can they have the opportunity to enjoy this kind of rural and childlike fun?

Plus, Jia Lian allowed them to do this, so they all had a lot of fun.

So that...

Daiyu looked at the steady maid Zijuan who was walking towards her and took a step back with disdain: "Where did you come from, Huazi? Don't come over here!"

Zijuan felt very aggrieved. She lowered her head and glanced at herself. There was nothing else on her body except for a few spots of mud. She was much better than Qingwen and others who had mud on their faces even when they rolled up their sleeves!

Qingwen walked up to Jia Lian with a smile, pointed at the two small wooden barrels on the ground and said, "Look, Master, these were caught by me, Shishu, Manxue and the others!"

Seeing Qingwen looking up with a happy and proud look on her face, Jia Lian did not despise her. Instead, he reached out to pick a dried mud stain on her forehead and said with a smile, "I heard you guys were having so much fun on the slope. Is anyone hurt?"

"No, I reminded everyone to be careful... It's just that Ying'er accidentally scratched her foot, but we all checked it out, it's just a little skin break, nothing else, no bleeding. She still refuses to admit defeat and wants to compete with us."

Jia Lian glanced at Ying'er and saw that she shrank back a little embarrassedly, but she didn't look unwell. He nodded and said with a smile, "So who won in the end?"

"Of course we won, followed by Ying'er and the others, and finally Xiren. Their group had the least."

Qingwen was really having fun. In order to win first place, she even ran to the vegetable garden behind a tenant's house and took away a few bamboo dustpans to catch fish under the helpless barking of the tethered dog...

When the people from the other two groups saw that she was cheating, they all tried their best to do something, so this slacking off competition was indeed very intense. No wonder even Zijuan, who was known for her steadiness, couldn't help but get involved and became what Daiyu called "Hua Zi".

Jia Lian glanced down at the catch in front of the maids and knew that Qingwen was not lying, so he asked Ping'er, "Where is the money that Xiangyun and the others didn't use up at noon?"

Ping'er naturally understood what he meant, and went to the carriage and gave the bag of remaining money to Jia Lian.

"You, you, and you, all step out."

Jia Lian called on Xiren, Ying'er and Qingwen, and they all stood in front of Jia Lian, either shyly or excitedly.

Jia Lian then grabbed a handful of money from his purse, and Xiren saw this and quickly took it with both hands.

Similarly, Jia Lian took out two handfuls of money and handed them to Ying'er. Ying'er couldn't hold them with both hands, so she quickly pocketed them with her skirt.

Finally, Jia Lian put the entire purse into Qingwen's hands, then said with a smile: "The reward is given to your captain. When you go down, you can divide it equally or according to the merits. Just one thing, no fighting is allowed."

The maids giggled and knelt down to kowtow to express their gratitude.

In fact, this half bag of money did not amount to much, at least for these maids who were the most favored by their masters, it was nothing.

Take the girl Qingwen for example. Compared with Fengjie, she is the real miser.

Apart from playing cards, I never spend money indiscriminately.

Last time, this girl accidentally let it slip that she had thousands of silver coins worth!

She is definitely the richest maid in the Jia family.

When the maids stood up, Tanchun could no longer bear it and said to the maidservant and the others, "Why don't you all go and clean up the carriage? It's so dirty and disgraceful."

The maids looked at each other and dispersed.

Then Tanchun scolded Jia Lian again, "Second brother, you are too indulgent to them. How can they still look like servants of a wealthy family?"

In response to Tanchun's criticism, Jia Lian shook his head and smiled, and asked in return: "Life is short, what do you think is the most important thing, Third Sister?"

Everyone was stunned and stopped to listen involuntarily.

Although Jia Lian did not like to preach and did not often give them instructions, they all knew that Jia Lian was a wise man and that his words often contained profound truths.

They really wanted to know what was the most important thing in life in Jia Lian's eyes.

Facing Tanchun's humble look, Jia Lian patted her head and said with a smile, "Silly girl, you are happy. They are only in their teens. It's rare for them to come out and play for a day. Why should we restrict them?"

Is it happiness? Everyone was thinking.

Tanchun felt even more ashamed for a moment.

Yes, am I too pedantic, rigid and too strict with others?

I think that today, because there were no other elders around, all the masters and young ladies did something extraordinary like bathing in the wild. In comparison, what was the big deal about the maids fishing in the stream?

Without letting the girls do any more philosophical thinking, Jia Lian gave the order, "Okay, let's be casual for dinner. Let's have a picnic with the fish the maids caught and the fruits and vegetables left over from lunch, and then we'll go home!"

"Okay, I'll kill the fish!"

When it comes to eating, Xiangyun is always the most active, she even dares to kill fish! (End of this chapter)