The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Mrs. Xing's affairs were left to Feng Jie to handle, while Jia Lian's focus was still on renovating the east wing.

Although Yuanchun gave him the Grand View Garden as his residence, the main building of the Grand View Garden, which is also the main hall of the palace, is too far away from Ningrong Street, making it inconvenient to welcome guests on weekdays.

Therefore, the temporary palace is a good place to rest and sleep, but his daily government affairs and economic activities still have to be carried out in the East Courtyard.

Mrs. Xing happened to move out, leaving the entire front and back yards of the east wing completely empty. He could completely imitate Rong Xi Tang and transform it into a five-story mansion with all the necessary facilities.

After all, moving land and starting construction is not a trivial matter, and some situations should be communicated with the second wife, that is, Mrs. Wang, in advance.

So after a short nap, Jia Lian went to the three side rooms to the east of Rong Xi Hall to look for Mrs. Wang.

The ear room is always filled with the scent of incense, so that everyone who enters the room knows that the owner of this room is a believer in Buddhism, a compassionate person with a heart of a bodhisattva.

After the maid reported the matter, Jia Lian found Mrs. Wang in the inner quiet room.

I didn't expect Baochai to be there too.

"I came to see my aunt."

Facing Jia Lian's gaze, Baochai bowed to Jia Lian naturally and then explained.

Jia Lian praised casually: "Well, Bao girl is indeed the most sensible and filial girl. She comes to visit the elders in such a hot day."

Baochai didn't know what to say. Was this forced praise?

Above, after Jia Lian came in, Mrs. Wang had already dropped the props for merit, and while asking Jia Lian to sit down, she asked what she wanted to see her about.

Jia Lian then explained his purpose.

Baochai, who was standing by, was a little curious, but she still stood up and said, "Since Second Brother Lian and Auntie have something important to discuss, I won't disturb them. I'll take my leave first."

After Yingying bowed and was about to leave, Jia Lian suddenly said, "Wait for me outside. I have something to tell you."

Baochai's face couldn't help but turn red.

Her relationship with Jia Lian had only been established for a few days, so she was naturally ashamed to show any intimate behavior with Jia Lian in front of others.

Mrs. Wang seemed very open-minded, and a rare smile appeared on her face, which had never changed.

"In that case, you can go sit in the main house."

"Yes……"

Baochai glanced at Jia Lian inconspicuously and left the room.

There was not much to say between Jia Lian and Mrs. Wang. After telling her about his ideas, Jia Lian prepared to say goodbye and leave.

After getting up, he saw that although the layout was very Buddhist, the space was obviously cramped, so he turned around and said, "Second Uncle and Aunt should move to the main hall as soon as possible.

Although the house here is exquisite, it is a little small after all."

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Wang suddenly became more alert.

Her gaze towards Jia Lian suddenly became deep, as if she wanted to see his inner thoughts from his face.

Unfortunately, Jia Lian's expression at this moment was very calm.

Mrs. Wang was unsure of Jia Lian's intention, so she just said, "Your uncle and I are used to living here, so why bother moving here and there?

Besides, this is just my place to rest and we don’t usually live here.

The three small main rooms on the east corridor are not as big as the main hall, but they are not small either."

Seeing that Mrs. Wang was pretending to be ignorant, Jia Lian was too lazy to argue with her and said bluntly, "Aunt, there is no need to doubt my intentions.

I really suggest that you and your second uncle move into the main hall.

As the only legitimate son of the old Duke, it was natural for my second uncle to inherit the family business.

Since you are the head of the family, how can you live in a side room for long?

And in this situation, if my second uncle and aunt move into the main hall, no one in the family would think it's inappropriate, right?"

Mrs. Wang opened her mouth, but in the end she didn't know what to say and looked thoughtful.

Seeing this, Jia Lian said no more, bowed, turned around and left.

It was not until Jia Lian had left for a while that Mrs. Wang came back to her senses.

Her thoughts were turbulent.

Doesn't she want to move into the main hall?

No, she thought, she had wanted to move into the main house of Rong Xi Tang a long time ago to take the position of mistress of the house.

But she, or rather Jia Zheng, has to save face.

As the second wife, they occupied the main house. No matter what the reason was, it was unreasonable in the eyes of outsiders.

For the sake of modesty and to avoid suspicion, she and Jia Zheng had not moved into the main hall openly for so many years.

Even when Jia Zheng received distinguished guests or she received imperial edicts from other mansions, they all lived in the main house, but they never moved there.

The fundamental reason is that I feel unworthy of it!
Now, it turns out that old man Jia She is not the son of the old duke, although he has become the heir of the emperor with a more prominent status.

But he is not a member of the Jia family after all!
In this way, it is legitimate for Jia Zheng to inherit the family business and move into Rong Xi Tang.

And the title should belong to her husband Jia Zheng.

However, she didn't dare to think about it for the time being. Grandmother Jia had warned her, and she herself knew that this matter was not something she could control.

What's more regrettable is that even though they know that they are the real masters, because of Jia Lian's existence and his strong power, the current situation in Rongguo Mansion has not changed much from before.

Even because Jia Lian expressed his intention to move out of Rongguo Mansion, the whole family, including her, were eager to come up with a practical solution for him, even if it meant giving up some of their interests.

Frustrated?
A little.

But reason told her that this was the right choice.

Not to mention the powerful Jia Lian now, even when Jia Lian was relatively weak, he would suffer defeat everywhere if he went against him.

For now, we can only wait and see, hoping that what Grandmother Jia said is true, and that in the future, the pond of Rongguo Mansion will not be able to trap Jia Lian, this dragon, and he will completely soar and leave the territory to them.

It was just an expectation, but I didn't expect that there would be clues so soon.

Jia Lian actually took the initiative to suggest that they live in the main hall?

If it was sincere, doesn't it mean that Jia Lian acknowledged Jia Zheng's identity as the head of the family?

Mrs. Wang smiled. She felt that Jia Lian didn't need to tease her about this matter. Isn't it true that under the current circumstances, if Jia Lian wanted to occupy Rongguo Mansion or even drive them out, it wouldn't be too difficult.

……

When Jia Lian walked out of the room, he never expected that his casual suggestion would cause Mrs. Wang to be so upset.

For him, since he had already given up the competition with Jia Zheng for the Rongguo Mansion, it would be better to let Jia Zheng take up the official position as soon as possible, as a return gift from them for giving him the Grand View Garden.

After all, it cost hundreds of thousands of taels of silver to build the Grand View Garden!

Most of this silver is the wealth of the Rongguo Mansion, so it is considered a bargain for him now.

After going out, she was about to ask a maid about Baochai's whereabouts, when she saw Baochai and Ying'er, the master and servant, standing there in the east corridor opposite.

He walked over quickly and asked with a smile, "It's so hot, why are you standing here instead of waiting inside?"

Baochai looked deeply at the man in front of her who seemed confident and strong in every move, shook her head, and said, "Didn't you say you had something to tell me? What was it?"

"It's nothing, I just haven't seen you for a long time, and I want to see you and talk to you." Jia Lian's eyes were burning, as if he really hadn't seen the beauty for a long time and missed her very much.

Baochai almost couldn't help spitting.

What do you mean it’s been a long time since we last met? We just saw each other last night!
Seeing Jia Lian staring at her, she felt shy and said, "If you are all right, I will leave."

After saying this, she tried to run away. Jia Lian was admiring the shy look of the cold beauty, so he naturally didn't allow her to do so.

He held the other person's hand, and before the other person could scold him, he smiled and said, "Where are you going? I'll go with you."

This is Mrs. Wang's territory, and Baochai doesn't have the nerve to argue with Jia Lian.

But she knew that she couldn't get away from Jia Lian, so in order to avoid being pestered by him, she could only go along with his wishes and whispered, "Of course I'm going back to the garden."

"That's great! Let's go visit Sister Lin together!" Jia Lian suggested seriously.

Baochai looked at Jia Lian deeply. Did this man really ask her to do anything even if it was embarrassing?

With her hands held by the other party, Baochai had no choice but to nod silently.

Jia Lian was somewhat pleased with himself, but he also knew that this was probably the limit of what Baochai could accept, so he did not tease her any further.

He turned around, held the beautiful woman's hand behind his back, and walked towards the garden.

Along the way, Baochai asked Jia Lian many times to let go, but was rejected every time.

Fortunately, it was a very hot day and we didn’t meet many people on the road.

However, Ying'er, who was following behind them, was covering her mouth and laughing all the way, and no one knew what she was laughing at.

……

In Xiaoxiang Pavilion, behind the house where Daiyu lives, under the old pear tree, Daiyu is sitting on a swing reading a book.

Behind her, a little maidservant with a pigtail was fanning her.

Xueyan on the side was holding a box of chilled fresh-cut fruits. When Daiyu waved, she hurriedly fed a piece of fruit into Daiyu's mouth.

This relaxed and comfortable posture surprised not only Baochai and her servant, but even Jia Lian was stunned.

How come this girl learns as well as Feng girl?
Although no one informed her, Daiyu, who had sharp hearing, quickly noticed the visitor.

When she saw Jia Lian at first glance, she was slightly happy, but then she glanced at Baochai behind Jia Lian, and her face obviously fell.

After thinking for a while, he let go of the swing rope, sat on the swing board, and asked indifferently, "Why are you here?"

"Of course I came to see how the wealthy Mr. Lin lives his daily life.

Tsk tsk, the life of this wealthy landlord is indeed comfortable."

Jia Lian came over, snatched the fruit box from Xueyan's hand, and started to eat it up like a whirlwind.

Of course Daiyu heard the sarcasm in Jia Lian's words, but she was still very embarrassed in front of Baochai. After all, her behavior just now was indeed a bit hedonistic.

The main reason was that Zhen Yuhuan had always been there, and in front of Zhen Yuhuan, she had to pretend to be an older sister!

She didn't want the people in the mansion to spread rumors that she was outdone again...

It wasn't until Zhen Yuhuan went back to the south that she finally returned to her previous relaxed state, and even felt better.

Ignoring Jia Lian, Daiyu first asked Baochai, "Sister Bao lives in the mountains, why did you have time to come to my place today?"

As she spoke, Daiyu glanced at Jia Lian who was standing beside her.

Baochai felt a little annoyed when she heard this. She only lived in Hengwu Garden, which was halfway up the Dazhu Mountain. Although Dazhu Mountain was the main vein of the Grand View Garden, it was just an ordinary hill that was not much bigger than a hill.

After all, it is just a hill within the Ning and Rong mansions.

When Daiyu spoke, she sounded like a country girl from the deep mountains.

Although she was angry, she could see that Daiyu was obviously jealous.

The other party didn't want to ask how she had time to come here, but why she came here with Jia Lian, and what did you do before?
After thinking this through, Baochai calmly replied, "It's not that the Dragon Boat Festival is approaching, and the weather is getting hotter and hotter. Second Brother Lian was afraid that you would get too hot, so he came with me to see you."

When Daiyu heard this, she suddenly became unhappy as she had originally been a little suspicious about Jia Lian and Baochai coming together.

What does it mean to come with her to see me? It sounds like she and Second Brother Lian are family and I am an outsider!
"Really? Then he is worrying too much. I have never been afraid of heat. But Sister Bao, I heard from my aunt that you have been afraid of heat since you were a child. I will ask Sister Feng to send some more ice cubes to Hengwu Garden. Sister Bao, please use it freely. Otherwise, if you get too hot, I will be very sad."

When Baochai heard Daiyu deliberately put emphasis on the word "fear of heat", she knew that Daiyu was hinting at the fact that she was "fat"!

After all, people with a plump body are more afraid of heat, which is a truth most people know.

She admitted that she was a little plump, at least plumper than the sickly girl in front of her, but she didn't think she was fat!
Rarely, Baochai found herself a little angry.

Although Daiyu didn't know that Baochai was angry, when she saw that Baochai had a sullen face and said nothing, she knew that her sarcasm had worked.

Humph, I told you not to be proud and to provoke me.

Daiyu, feeling relieved and with no intention of pressing on with her victory, just tiptoed and continued swinging on the swing.

Suddenly she saw Jia Lian beside her eating almost all the fruit in the box, and immediately scolded him, "If you want to eat it back, ask Qingwen and the others to prepare it for you. Why are you eating my food? And you eat so much, as if you have never eaten fruit before."

Although Daiyu had no concept of "eating melons", she still felt unhappy when she saw Jia Lian pretending to be deaf and dumb.

Besides, she secretly asked Xueyan to prepare this box of fruit for her because Zijuan didn't allow her to eat anything too cold.

Seeing that Daiyu had indeed brought the war to his head, Jia Lian finally stopped holding back his laughter.

She picked a piece of melon and handed it to Baochai, saying with a smile, "Try it too. The fruits here from Miss Lin taste better than those from other places. I don't know where she got them from."

Baochai originally did not want to accept Jia Lian's food, and was about to refuse, but then she saw Daiyu's "vicious" gaze staring at her.

I don't know why, but I suddenly changed my mind.

"Oh, really? Then I'll try it too."

As he spoke, Baochai opened her mouth and let Jia Lian put the fruit into her mouth. She chewed the fruit and nodded approvingly in response.

In a trance, she seemed to hear the sound of someone's silver teeth grinding.

"Tum~"

But it was Daiyu who jumped off the swing.

"People have seen it, and the food has been eaten. Please do as you please. I am going back to my room to sleep."

After saying this with a frosty face, Daiyu ran away.

Looking at Daiyu's back which seemed to be on fire as she walked, Baochai smiled after chewing the fruit.

Seeing the helpless look on Jia Lian's face, who clearly wanted to stop her but failed to stop her because Daiyu was too quick, she smiled and said, "Miss Lin must be angry. Go and comfort her."

Jia Lian pretended to smile bitterly, and then said: "Miss Lin's words are faster than her heart, you shouldn't take her words too seriously."

Baochai smiled and replied, "I know."

Jia Lian nodded and suddenly suggested: "When we entered the garden, I saw that the lotus flowers in the pond were in full bloom. It just so happens that I have nothing to do in the afternoon, so why don't I go boating with you guys?"

"Whether to row the boat or not is another matter. You should first coax Miss Lin."

"Then you wait here."

Jia Lian took two steps forward, then suddenly stopped and turned around, saying, "You are not allowed to leave first. If I don't see you when I come out, I will spank Ying'er's butt!"

Baochai was stunned for a moment, glanced at Ying'er whose face was red with embarrassment, then looked at Jia Lian who looked serious, she chuckled and said, "Okay."

After Jia Lian left with peace of mind, Baochai sighed softly, turned around and walked to the swing, pulled the swing rope with her bare hands, and after swinging half a circle, she slowly sat down.

Seeing that her girl really had no intention of leaving, Ying'er breathed a sigh of relief, but a trace of regret arose in her heart.

This scared her.

If she were really caught by Jia Lian and spanked, she would be so embarrassed and ashamed...

I just don't know why, but I still have such a little expectation?
...(End of chapter)