The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Chapter 827 Rumors
Thinking that Feng Jie was the one who had spoken to him about this matter, Jia Lian was about to get up when he found that Feng Jie had grabbed his hand again, and her expression had become unnatural, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

"You have something to say."

"...It's like this, today the Lady of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion came to pay her respects, and she told me something..."

"What's the matter?"

"She said, she said..."

Seeing that Jia Lian's gaze was gradually becoming impatient, Feng Jie had no choice but to continue, "She said that on her way to the mansion, she heard many rumors in the city about the Duke and Princess Zhaoyang..."

Jia Lian's expression immediately turned cold, and after a long while he said, "Oh, what rumors are these?"

"They were mostly unpleasant words, so Second Master doesn't need to take them to heart..."

Feng Jie'er spoke in a low voice, and her gaze wandered, as if she was afraid that Jia Lian would get angry.

Jia Lian glanced at Feng Jie indifferently. What did she mean by "don't take it to heart"? If she truly thought that way, she wouldn't have brought it up specifically.

This is probably what she really wanted to say; what Madam Xing said earlier was just a prelude.

"Just say what you want to say, there's no need to hide anything, there are no outsiders here."

Seeing that Jia Lian looked normal, Feng Jie breathed a sigh of relief and said slowly, "Second Master, please don't blame me for being nosy. I have met the princess and I admire her very much. If possible, I would also like to be her true sister."

I would be willing to give her my rightful place, but I'm afraid she's too high-ranking to even consider me worthy of her…

"Let's get to the point."

"The key point is that everyone in the world now knows that Second Master is the grandson of the Emperor Emeritus, a member of the imperial family, and a blood cousin of the Princess."

Those filthy, rotten-hearted people don't care about the cause and effect; they just gossip behind people's backs.

Therefore, I think that even if you don't care about your own reputation, you should at least think about Her Highness the Princess. From now on, you should have less contact with the Princess; that way, you can shut up those people outside.

This is just my personal opinion. If you, Second Master, think I'm wrong, please just consider it my ignorance and don't take it to heart.

Sister Feng tried her best to use a gentle tone to avoid offending Jia Lian.

Jia Lian, on the other hand, had a sullen face, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

After a long while, he finally asked, "What exactly did they say?"

"What exactly they're saying doesn't matter; it's just some unpleasant gossip. Anyway, according to Mrs. Niu, it's being spread like wildfire outside. Second Master can just send a few people out to inquire and find out the details..."

Jia Lian took a deep breath and said, "I understand."

Then Jia Lian looked at Feng Jie and said gently, "Thank you for reminding me of this matter. However, you don't need to worry about it. There are probably some villains deliberately causing trouble behind this. I will handle it myself."

Upon hearing this, Sister Feng laughed and said, "Oh, there's no need to thank me. As long as you don't blame me for meddling or suspect that I have bad intentions, I'll be satisfied."

Jia Lian nodded, reached out and touched Feng Jie's cheek, then got up and left.

Ping'er entered the room and saw Feng Jie sitting alone on the edge of the kang, deep in thought. She whispered, "Madam knows that Second Master will be unhappy if he finds out about this. Why do you insist on telling him yourself? Anyway, even if you don't say anything, Second Master will find out soon enough."

"Now that Grandma has said that, there's no guarantee Second Master won't suspect her. Why is Grandma doing this?"

Sister Feng was taken aback, then said in an annoyed tone, "You little hussy, you're lecturing me now."

"But you're worrying for nothing. Judging from how your second master was just now, he must have listened to what I said."

Of course, I know his temper. Listening to his advice is one thing, but actually doing it is another.

However, I don't really care. After everything that's happened, I've come to realize that a man should have his own opinions, otherwise he won't amount to anything.

"To be honest, I'm quite glad that even in your current state, your second master is still willing to sit down and listen to me, instead of giving me the cold shoulder right there and then."

As Sister Feng spoke, she actually started to laugh.

To say that she spoke of this matter with Jia Lian today without ulterior motives would be hard for even herself to believe.

But she still had to do it.

Firstly, if Jia Lian takes this to heart and stays away from Princess Zhaoyang's residence for the sake of his reputation, that would naturally be a good thing.

Even if he doesn't listen, she can use this opportunity to gauge Jia Lian's attitude towards her in these matters, making it easier for her to understand how to maintain a marital relationship with Jia Lian in the future and solidify her own position.

Of course, as Ping'er said, it's better not to do anything than to do something wrong.

But that's not Wang Xifeng's style.

……

Jia Lian had a certain understanding of what Sister Feng had said.

Thinking that Sister Feng's account was based on hearsay and was vague, he personally went to instruct his servants before returning to the Grand View Garden.

Inside the Xiaoxiang Pavilion, Jia Lian secretly gave a wink, signaling Zijuan to leave, and then sat down next to Daiyu.

"what are you doing?"

Daiyu was very vigilant and immediately stared at him.

Jia Lian was naturally not intimidated by this paper tiger. He reached out and hugged Daiyu's slender waist, leaning his head close and snuggling up to her, saying, "What else can we do? Of course, we'll get intimate with my Lin sister."

As he spoke, he reached out to kiss Daiyu's cheek.

Daiyu was very unwilling and struggled to push Jia Lian away.

Jia Lian didn't take it to heart, and instead complained, "Why are you being so heartless? That brat Yu Huan has been staying here with you for over a month. Do you know how I've been coping for that entire month?"

Jia Lian's words were very useful at first.

Daiyu found it difficult to cope with Jia Lian's resentment. Indeed, because Zhen Yuhuan had been staying at Xiaoxiang Pavilion, she and Jia Lian had become quite "estranged."

At least he won't be bullied to the point of losing his mind by Jia Lian so easily...

But Daiyu, true to her talent, quickly recovered and retorted sarcastically, "Who would believe that? In my opinion, Rong Gong hasn't been idle for a moment these days. I don't know what tricks he used to win over Aunt Xue, who has even agreed to give you her precious daughter."

"Rong Gong went to such great lengths and gained such great benefits, how could he possibly remember me, this little girl... Humph!" A classic Daiyu-style haughty and sarcastic remark.

In the past, Jia Lian might have occasionally felt annoyed, thinking that this girl was hard to understand, but after so many years of coaxing her, he had long since developed a strong immunity to it.

He could automatically ignore those sarcastic remarks, and could only see Daiyu's adorable appearance when she was being proud and aloof.

So he took Daiyu's hand and, taking the initiative, said with a smile, "Isn't this all in the past? The other day when we were on the boat together, you two acted so close, leaving me all alone. Turns out it was all an act, a facade."

As expected, you girls love to pretend and lie; you even fooled me.

Daiyu was a little angry, but she didn't feel very confident.

Indeed, thanks to Jia Lian's powerful skills and Baochai's ability to be flexible, she was able to easily turn the tide.

Although she still doesn't understand why she was so agreeable before, what Jia Lian said was true after all.

Although she understood this in her heart, she would never admit it aloud, and her mind raced as she thought of the corresponding words:

“I’ve moved on from my relationship with Bao-jie, but I never said that I’ve moved on from my relationship with you as well.”

"Bah, you lecherous scoundrel! If you're so capable, go find your precious or beautiful daughters, what are you doing here with me?"

Daiyu looked disgusted.

Jia Lian couldn't help but sniffle.

Daiyu's words were full of mistakes; if they really went to argue, he was confident he could make Daiyu cry within three rounds.

But why bother? Not only will you have to comfort her after she cries, but she might also get angry and renege on all the promises she made, which would be a huge loss.

Therefore, Jia Lian could only pretend to be at a loss for words and sigh helplessly.

As expected, Daiyu grinned upon seeing that she had won the game, appearing quite pleased.

But her joy didn't last long before Jia Lian leaned closer and said, "Yes, I admit I'm a lecherous fellow. So, this lecherous fellow has a favor to ask, and I'd like to ask the beautiful, charming, gentle, and kind-hearted Daiyu for help."

Because Jia Lian spoke very politely and adopted a humble attitude, even though Daiyu sensed a hint of conspiracy, she still blushed and replied, "What, what is it..."

"It's nothing serious, it's just that we haven't been close for so long, I miss you so much, could you..."

Jia Lian spoke in a low voice, pulling the small hand he was holding toward a place it shouldn't have gone.

In this way, even if Daiyu was initially confused, she was able to react in time.

She was shocked, ashamed, and furious. She jumped to her feet, glaring at him with her almond-shaped eyes, and yelled, "You filthy scoundrel, don't even think about it!"

This stunned Jia Lian, who muttered, "It was supposed to be a mutually agreeable matter. If you're not willing, fine, but why are you cursing? It's not the first time. Let's discuss it again."

Daiyu was even angrier. Her face, which had only been slightly flushed, turned completely red. Two seconds later, she stepped forward, grabbed Jia Lian's arm, and dragged him out: "Get out of here! You're not allowed to come here again..."

His attitude was so firm that he completely ignored Jia Lian's attempts to appease him after realizing he had said the wrong thing, and simply pushed him out the door.

"Lin Daiyu?"

Jia Lian stood at the door and called out three or four times, but there was no response from inside.

In the small hall outside, Zijuan and the others saw Jia Lian being chased out by Daiyu again, and they all covered their mouths and chuckled.

Unable to keep watching her master suffer, Zijuan came over and advised, "Second Master, it's late. You should go back and rest first, and come again tomorrow."

"That's just how it is, sigh."

Jia Lian sighed, and when he turned around, he couldn't help but laugh.

Zijuan and the others were slightly taken aback, then understood. They thought to themselves, "No wonder Second Master Lian is so weak and laughable; he was just teasing the young lady."

I wonder if the young lady knows how much effort the Second Master has put into this.

Carrying a lantern, Zijuan saw Jia Lian and Xiangling, mistress and servant, out of Xiaoxiang Pavilion. After returning, she went to Daiyu's room to check on the situation.

As expected, Daiyu was no longer blocking the door, but was sitting cross-legged on the cool couch, engrossed in reading.

Zijuan opened her mouth several times to ask, but seeing that Daiyu was too engrossed, she didn't want to disturb her.

After tidying up the room, he called Daiyu to go to bed.

Daiyu then put down the book she hadn't been reading at all, looked up, and casually asked, "Did he go back?"

Zijuan was almost fooled by Daiyu's performance, but as soon as the other party spoke, she immediately understood everything.

He smiled and asked, "Who are you asking about, young lady?"

Noticing that Daiyu's gaze had clearly turned unfriendly, Zijuan quickly said, "Oh, you mean Second Master, Miss? He's naturally gone back..."

"Oh~"

"You saw it with your own eyes?"

As Daiyu walked into the inner room in her embroidered shoes, she asked casually.

"Of course I saw it with my own eyes."

"Since you saw it with your own eyes, tell me, did he go back to his room, or did he go somewhere else...?"

Zijuan felt she was about to lose control.

The girl was clearly very concerned, but she pretended to be indifferent, which was quite interesting.

"Don't worry, young lady. I saw it clearly. Second Master went back to his room. The maids and I all saw that the firelight was heading towards the garden gate..."

Daiyu nodded and said nothing more.

She glanced at Zijuan, who had a mischievous grin on her face, frowned slightly, but ignored her and went inside.

(End of this chapter)