The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Chapter 839 Secrets of the Princess's Residence (Part 3)
Not long after, a maid entered and said to Jia Lian, "The princess requests your presence."

Jia Lian then followed her into the inner hall.

Inside a luxurious yet solemn room in the inner palace, Princess Zhaoyang glared at Jia Lian as he entered.

Beside her, Liu Rushi stood with her head bowed, somewhat afraid to meet Jia Lian's gaze.

Jia Lian plopped down next to Princess Zhaoyang and asked with a smile, "What exactly is Qingran's intention today?"

It would have been better if Jia Lian hadn't spoken; once he did, Princess Zhaoyang became even more furious.

"You have the nerve to ask."

She pulled Liu Rushi over, and when Liu Rushi obediently squatted down in front of them, she cupped the other's face and questioned, "Look at me, is this face not alluring enough, or are these big eyes not clean and beautiful enough?"

"Hehehehe..."

Seeing Princess Zhaoyang puffing up her cheeks, looking rather cute, Jia Lian couldn't help but laugh out loud.

He reached out and took Princess Zhaoyang's hand, placing it on his lap and pressing it down, saying softly, "I was just afraid that Qingran was testing me."

"Testing you?"

Princess Zhaoyang scoffed, "When have you ever cared about my thoughts? Of all your sisters and cousins, which one of them ever asked for my opinion beforehand?"

Jia Lian was speechless and could only hold the beauty's hand tightly, offering an apologetic smile.

Upon seeing this, Princess Zhaoyang's last bit of displeasure vanished, and she nestled her head against Jia Lian, saying sweetly:
"Besides, with so many palace maids and sword attendants in my manor, which one of them would I forbid you from touching? It's just that you've been too reserved and haven't dared to make a move on them..."

Jia Lian's heart stirred upon hearing this, but he also knew that he should just take it with a grain of salt.

There's a saying: What I give you is yours; what I don't give you, you can't steal...

This has nothing to do with love or hate; it's about protecting one's most basic rights.

It might be okay once or twice, but if it happens too often, she'll definitely be unhappy.

However, Jia Lian is too embarrassed to make a move right now. When the time is right, he'll definitely pick a few beauties from the Princess's residence to try his luck with.

This was not because he was lustful; it was purely to help Princess Zhaoyang win over people's hearts and establish a group of trusted servants who were loyal to her in body and mind.

Well, yes, that's it.

Jia Lian and Princess Zhaoyang were cuddling and flirting, which shocked Liu Rushi, who was kneeling in front of them.

She had heard about Jia Lian and Princess Zhaoyang's romantic affair when she first entered the entertainment industry, but she never imagined that the situation between them was like this.

Princess Zhaoyang dotes on Jia Lian so much that she not only doesn't mind him having other women, but she also seems to allow him to take advantage of the maids in her own princess's residence.

Has Jia Lian bewitched the princess?

She was shocked, as well as ashamed and hot.

After taking a bath, Jia Lian was only wearing an outer robe. The deep V-neck that stretched from her chest to her lower abdomen was incredibly stimulating for a naive young girl.

With so much time having passed, the belt that the maid had tied around his waist had become somewhat loose, causing the brocade robe to separate from Jia Lian's robust body.

Her gaze, too, was always irresistibly drawn to the vital points.

I have this feeling that some terrifying beast might suddenly leap out from inside at any moment!
Princess Zhaoyang nestled against Jia Lian, about to confide something more private and what she wanted to say to him.

Suddenly remembering that there was someone else in the room, he looked down.

Sure enough, Liu Rushi was still kneeling there, her little face flushed, looking like a little fox spirit.

Princess Zhaoyang followed the other woman's evasive gaze and immediately understood that the little vixen was in heat!

Princess Zhaoyang, leaning on Jia Lian's shoulder, had a significantly better viewpoint than Liu Rushi.

From her, one can clearly see Jia Lian's arrogant spirit that seems to reach for the heavens.

She knew what was going on without even thinking.

She had meticulously designed two trials of love and lust, and although Jia Lian successfully passed both, he must have been quite agitated.

This reaction is to be expected.

Just as she was feeling pleased with herself, Princess Zhaoyang became somewhat disappointed again.

If it were in the past, when she and Jia Lian were carefree and she had provoked him like this, she would have already taken the initiative and made love to him.

But fate has played a cruel trick on us today; those wonderful days will never return.

Suddenly, Princess Zhaoyang noticed Jia Lian's hand moving down to adjust his robes, covering up his indecent behavior. How could she not know that her spying had been discovered?

She rolled her eyes at Jia Lian, thinking to herself that it wasn't like she hadn't seen it before, while also recalling the resolution she had made before.

So she sat up a little and looked at Liu Rushi coldly, asking, "Have you seen enough?"

Already feeling guilty, Liu Rushi was so frightened by these words that she immediately put her hands on the ground and tried to explain, "Princess, please forgive me, I didn't mean it..."

Discovered of her spying, Liu Rushi, too panicked to speak clearly, had long forgotten that her best option in this situation was to excuse herself and leave the room, rather than remain a third party.

However, Princess Zhaoyang had no intention of giving her another chance. She said blankly, "Since you want to see, then I'll let you see it clearly."

As she spoke, Princess Zhaoyang reached out and easily unfastened the clasp around Jia Lian's waist.

Liu Rushi's eyes closed tightly as Jia Lian's robes loosened.

She dared not look again, or even express her desire to see, for fear of angering Princess Zhaoyang and losing her life.

Princess Zhaoyang's sudden attack made Jia Lian somewhat uncomfortable.

He tugged at his robe and pleaded, "Qingran, don't do this..."

Princess Zhaoyang gave him a look that said, "Take it easy."

"open one's eyes!"

The commanding tone caused a struggle to appear on Liu Rushi's face.

Ultimately, she dared not disobey the emperor's order and slowly opened her eyes. Only after discovering that Jia Lian had already torn off his clothes to cover himself did she breathe a slight sigh of relief.

Just as he was thinking of an excuse to leave, Princess Zhaoyang said, "Didn't you say that you are proficient in all kinds of instruments, including the qin, xiao, pipa, and guzheng? It just so happens that Duke Rong has a mature skill in the xiao, so today you can ask him for some pointers."

"If you do well, I will reward you; I would even redeem you from your servitude."

Liu Rushi blinked her big eyes, not expecting that Princess Zhaoyang would ask her to teach Jia Lian to play the flute under such circumstances.

She was even more surprised that Jia Lian, with such a reputation, was also proficient in minor arts like the art of flute playing. She glanced at Jia Lian in astonishment and then began to ponder in her mind.

She didn't see Jia Lian's helpless look as he glanced at Princess Zhaoyang, nor did she notice Princess Zhaoyang's playful expression.

Princess Zhaoyang didn't give Liu Rushi any more time to think. Seeing that Liu Rushi seemed to agree, she reached out and grabbed her head, pressing it against Jia Lian's lap.

Overwhelmed with shame and anger, tears streamed down her face.

But she didn't hesitate too much. Realizing that the devil's hand on her head showed no sign of letting go, she had no choice but to raise her hands and, following the rich theoretical knowledge in her mind, serve the man for the first time.

“Qingran…” Jia Lian felt something was amiss and looked at Princess Zhaoyang.

Princess Zhaoyang noticed Jia Lian's overflowing tenderness and said with a snort, "If you don't like her, I'll give her to the guards outside."

Jia Lian sighed inwardly.

It was indeed a luxury to talk about human rights with a princess in a feudal dynasty.

It means she likes him; otherwise, he probably wouldn't be much better in her eyes than he was in front of Emperor Ningkang.

If these two, who had such a good relationship with him, acted this way, one can imagine what he would do if the Third Prince ascended the throne. He would have no other choice but to raise an army in rebellion or flee to the deep mountains.

This is probably why he was so determined to prevent the Third Prince from ascending to the throne.

Jia Lian's superfluous thoughts were quickly dispelled, and the familiar pleasure returned.

Looking at Princess Zhaoyang in his arms, who was staring intently at the beauty's every move with a hint of excitement in her eyes, Jia Lian was once again certain of this girl's fetish.

Reaching out to pat her head, Jia Lian stopped being coy and earnestly enjoyed the princess's gift.

Princess Zhaoyang forced Liu Rushi for a while, and when she realized that the other party was very obedient and self-aware, she slowly let go.

But she still stared intently at Liu Rushi.

Looking at Liu Rushi's rosy cheeks and alluring eyes, she began to understand why men with beautiful wives still went out to have affairs.

The way these beautiful women look when they are moved is truly diverse, each with its own unique charm.

Feeling Jia Lian affectionately rubbing her head, she thought to herself: You stinky man, now you know how to enjoy yourself, huh?

So she slowly shrank back, pressing her ear and cheek against Jia Lian's bare chest, admiring the beauty's flute playing while listening to Jia Lian's restless heartbeat.

Jia Lian felt that the scene was too quiet and seemed eerie.

He coughed lightly and bowed his head to Princess Zhaoyang, saying, "Qingran still hasn't told me why she's been acting all this time."

Princess Zhaoyang withdrew her gaze, raised her hand and placed it on Jia Lian's chest, replying softly, "How can Erlang not understand? Our identities dictate that we are destined to be apart."

But I also know that I can't refuse Erlang.

That's why I carefully selected ten sword attendants and asked them to find a way to drain Erlang dry.

"That way, Erlang will naturally have no energy to tempt me..."

Princess Zhaoyang spoke with some excitement, seemingly very proud of her innovation.

"I just didn't expect them to be so useless, unable to even seduce such a lustful man as Erlang. I had no choice but to resort to my ultimate move."

As Princess Zhaoyang spoke, noticing that Liu Rushi was eavesdropping and her speech was becoming lax, she patted the other's head as a reminder, then placed her hand on the beauty's shoulder and introduced her to Jia Lian:

"She is one of the four most famous courtesans in the capital. She is proficient in singing, dancing and musical instruments. You can see for yourself how beautiful and graceful she is. She is truly one of a kind in heaven and on earth."

It just so happened that she was someone I knew, so I brought her over in case of emergency.

"Hmph, it's all Erlang's good luck. If Erlang hadn't rejected my sword servants, I wouldn't have given such a beauty to you."

Princess Zhaoyang spoke with great arrogance, as if everything she did was for her own benefit.

However, how could Jia Lian not hear Princess Zhaoyang's inner struggle and torment, as well as her boundless love and tolerance for him?

Jia Lian resisted the urge to slap her face and said, "Actually, Qingran, there's no need for this. Between us... I don't care about what the world thinks. As long as I find a way to get His Majesty to stop interfering in our affairs, we can be together openly and honestly."

Although telling Princess Zhaoyang the truth she learned from Granny Lai could alleviate some of her psychological burden.

However, this matter is too important, and it's best not to let a second person know about it.

Princess Zhaoyang, unaware of Jia Lian's thoughts, assumed he was simply trying to comfort her, so she pulled away his groping hand and snorted, "You don't care, but I do..."

Okay, stop interrupting.

Aren't you curious about what's happening in the main hall, Erlang?

Jia Lian laughed and said, "How can I not be curious? Tell me, where did you come up with these strange tricks? I must say, they're quite interesting..."

Princess Zhaoyang laughed happily, "Speaking of which, I have to thank my third brother. I don't know where he found such a person who is good at making up rumors. The absurd things he told were so interesting that even I found them interesting, let alone those people outside."

From this perspective, those who were made an example of today are quite wronged.

Princess Zhaoyang digressed for a moment, then steered the conversation back to the main point: "They've been making up stories about me being a shameless and promiscuous person, so I'm going to have to see for myself what I'm really like."

So I ordered people to gather all the news circulating in the market and have them tell it to me like a storybook.

Hearing this, what could Jia Lian say but admire Princess Zhaoyang's truly strong mentality?

Those deliberately fabricated evil deeds would be difficult for most men to accept, which is why Emperor Ningkang ordered him to suppress them as soon as he heard the news.

It's remarkable that Princess Zhaoyang is so open-minded.

Princess Zhaoyang continued, "One part of it is a story that depicts how, in order to seize power, I won over the ministers and generals in the court, and went so far as to invite them to my residence and have the maids in my residence accompany them to drink and have fun."

I found it quite interesting, so I redesigned the scene inside the main hall.

However, I replaced those ministers and generals with sword attendants... Actually, I considered using the guards outside, but I was afraid Erlang would be displeased...

Erlang, tell me, did my acting in the main hall just now look real?

"It's so real, so incredibly real, it couldn't be more real."

After Jia Lian finished speaking, he glared fiercely at the woman in his arms: "You actually want to use the guards outside? You've gone too far! I'm warning you, if you have any similar strange ideas in the future, you can only use women."

I'll have someone secretly watching you. If I find out you're having an affair with any other man, I'll spank you until your backside is raw!

Princess Zhaoyang laughed and said, "Second Brother, that's unreasonable. You have so many confidantes, and right now there's one serving you here, yet you won't allow me to have other men. That's not fair."

Seeing Jia Lian's increasingly gloomy expression, Princess Zhaoyang continued to provoke him, "Besides, even if I could refuse other men, what about the young master of the Wei family? He was personally chosen by the Empress Dowager for me as my consort, my rightful husband!"

Jia Lian sneered, patted Liu Rushi's cheek to signal her to stop, and then bent down to sweep all the cups and saucers on the coffee table in front of him.

"What an arrogant woman! It seems I need to teach you a lesson, or you won't know how many eyes Lord Ma has."

As Jia Lian spoke, he roughly threw Princess Zhaoyang onto the table, turned her over, and pressed her firmly against the sandalwood table.

"Erlang, that's enough, stop fooling around, no, I was wrong~"

"If Erlang wants her, you can carry her inside; there's a bed there..."

Princess Zhaoyang begged for mercy while struggling.

She was no weakling; when she struggled, Jia Lian found her quite difficult to handle.

So Jia Lian ordered Liu Rushi, who was standing there dumbfounded, "Come here and hold her down."

"You dare! Don't come any closer... Erlang, spare me, I'll never dare again."

Liu Rushi originally did not dare to lay a hand on Princess Zhaoyang.

But the more I listened to Princess Zhaoyang begging for mercy, the more moved I became.

She could see it coming: the aloof and noble princess, the first princess of the dynasty, who appeared so high and mighty in front of outsiders, was actually playing the role of a little woman in front of Jia Lian.

After all, if she really resisted Jia Lian, she only needed to give a shout, and countless female servants with swords would immediately come in and tear Jia Lian to pieces.

Thinking of how Princess Zhaoyang had bullied and humiliated her just now, she felt a little eager to try it herself.

Just then, a maid heard the sound of the cups and saucers falling to the ground and peeked in to investigate.

Liu Rushi quickly gave her a look that signaled her to stop.

The two maids were clever; when they saw their princess being forcibly pressed onto the table by Jia Lian, they merely turned their heads to beg for mercy and threaten her, without making any attempt to cry for help.

Knowing the relationship between their princess and Jia Lian, the two women glanced shyly at Jia Lian's body before retreating to guard the door.

Thus, with Liu Rushi's help, Jia Lian easily subdued Princess Zhaoyang and forced himself on her.

(End of this chapter)