The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Chapter 864 Public and Private

Jia Lian sat back on the recliner, casually pulling his robe over his body.

Then he picked up Ying'er's masterpiece and began to read it.

After only a couple of glances, he smiled at Ying'er and said, "I knew you were skillful, but I never expected you to have such a talent."

No wonder your knots are better than everyone else's; you were confident in your plan.

On the ground beside her, Ying'er, who already had a silly look on her face, laughed even more foolishly upon hearing this.

She wiped her mouth with her sleeve, then quickly got up from the ground and went to help her young mistress straighten her clothes.

Then there was nothing that could help.

Her young mistress avoided her with some disdain and came to Jia Lian's side.

Just a glance at the content of the painting made me feel extremely ashamed.

That wretched little hoof, so clever, but she doesn't use it for anything good.

They put their heart into these crooked and evil schemes.

Although she cursed inwardly, Baochai had to admit that Ying'er was good at grasping the key points, and her painting had a great sense of spirit.

The painting beautifully depicts her fair skin and delicate features, her serene beauty, as well as Jia Lian's upright posture and the looseness of his brocade robe.

The sight of it made her heart flutter and her desire stir within her.

Jia Lian was satisfied with what he saw. When he saw Baochai coming over, he pulled her aside and said with a smile, "What do you think?"

Baochai said embarrassedly, "What's there to see? Just tear it up already."

He then tried to snatch the painting.

"That won't do. How can you tear up such a beautiful painting?"

It's the result of the three of us working together, so it's quite a memorable occasion.

Jia Lian smiled, holding Baochai tightly in his arms, and then picked up his brush to start coloring the painting.

Seeing this, Ying'er, who was standing nearby, quickly ran over to help arrange the dishes of various colored inks.

She also wanted to see what her painting would look like after it was perfectly finished.

Seeing that Jia Lian was in such high spirits, Baochai, who was in Jia Lian's arms, naturally wouldn't try to spoil his mood.

She nestled softly against Jia Lian's chest, feeling the warmth of his body and the breath he exhaled.

Before her eyes was the erotic painting being colored by Jia Lian. Baochai understood that this was probably the true pleasure of the boudoir.

In this place, there was only her, Jia Lian, and a maid.

This was the scene she had always dreamed of.

Unfortunately, such a scenario was destined to be short-lived.

Once he returned to the capital, he would no longer belong to himself alone.

Jia Lian was unaware that Baochai's thoughts were wandering. Seeing that Baochai had calmed down, he even suggested that Baochai help him.

Baochai did not refuse either.

Thus, through the concerted efforts of the three, a painting that almost perfectly recreated his moment of favoring Baochai by the window was born:
Inside the antique-style room, a light rain was falling outside the window.

A beautiful woman, her body half-exposed, leaned against the window with captivating charm.

She wore only a blue shawl over her upper body, revealing her fragrant shoulders and jade-like back.

A pair of soft white silk trousers were already half-dangling between her legs.

A young man, dressed in a loose gray brocade robe, stood behind the beautiful woman, gently supporting her waist, and gazed deeply into her eyes as she turned around…

After reading it, Jia Lian clapped his hands and laughed, "Excellent, excellent, it deserves a reward."

As he spoke, Jia Lian reached for his waist, intending to take a jade pendant from his belt and give it to Ying'er.

He reached into empty air and realized that he had nothing under his robe.

Seeing that Jia Lian was somewhat embarrassed, he looked around.

Baochai smiled gently, took a silver hairpin from her hair, and handed it to Ying'er, saying, "This is a reward for you from your master."

Ying'er glanced at Jia Lian, then smiled and accepted it.

Jia Lian readily agreed to Baochai's offer of a maidservant on his behalf.

He had wanted to replace a batch of gold jewelry for Baochai for a long time.

He was also puzzled. She was clearly a real rich and beautiful woman, and the Xue family was not short of money. However, after this girl took off the gold lock, he could not find any gold or silver on her body.

So, on the second day after Baochai arrived in Tianjin, Jia Lian took her into the city and bought her several outfits from head to toe, including gold hairpins and gold bracelets.

Although Baochai tried her best to refuse, she had no choice but to accept it under Jia Lian's insistence.

But after she got home, she changed all those things and left them there.

When asked, she simply said: "Even though it's a good thing, there's no need to show it off to people every day."

Jia Lian could probably understand why Baochai had developed this habit.

The Xue family's social standing is not what it used to be, so she and Aunt Xue both advocate for a low-key and unassuming lifestyle.

Avoid flaunting your wealth if possible.

Unfortunately, their painstaking efforts were in vain.

Xue Pan squandered money like water outside, earning him the nickname "Big Fool Xue." The Xue family's wealth had long been exposed.

Although Jia Lian didn't like to force people, he still asked Baochai to wear more gold jewelry in front of him.

Because gold jewelry complements Baochai's fair skin.

He hadn't noticed yet, but when did this girl put a silver plug on again?
Perhaps sensing Jia Lian's gaze, Baochai subtly raised the hand adorned with the gold bracelet and touched the remaining gold hairpin in her hair...

Seeing this, Jia Lian smiled and stopped paying attention to such a trivial matter.

He picked up his brush again and inscribed four characters in the empty space of the painting:

The Mirror of Love and Lust.

He also wrote: Even the most heartless person can be moving.

Upon seeing this, Baochai frowned slightly and said, "Although it was just a momentary whim, if such a painting were to circulate, it would be quite a scandal."

It's better to ruin it than to take it seriously.

Although Jia Lian felt that Baochai's words made sense, he was still somewhat reluctant to part with her.

After examining it carefully for a moment, he smiled and said, "No need to destroy it. If it weren't for one of our own, how would anyone know who it depicts?"

Ying'er uses the contemporary mainstream "freehand" style in her painting, emphasizing the beauty of the artistic conception.

In other words, it's not realistic. If you take a close-up of a person's face, it won't match anyone in real life.

Baochai was somewhat angry when she saw that Jia Lian was determined not to destroy the painting.

She wouldn't let Jia Lian hug her anymore, and stood up to walk aside, sulking.

Jia Lian sat up, took her hand, and coaxed, "Alright, don't be angry. Otherwise, I'll give this painting to you for safekeeping. As long as you promise not to destroy it, you can keep it however you like."

Baochai scoffed, "Aren't you worried that I'll tear it up once I get my hands on it?"

"Of course I'm not worried. I believe that Chai'er will never go back on her promise to me."

Baochai was speechless; Jia Lian was clearly trying to shut her down.

For a moment, she really wanted to do what Daiyu did: coax the painting over and then tear it up in front of Jia Lian.

Ultimately, I don't think it's worth it.

It is invaluable that Jia Lian can trust her character so much; she must not ruin it because of a momentary temper.

So he said coldly, "I don't want to."

She would definitely not help Jia Lian collect such paintings.

Besides her, there were also Xiangyun and Baoqin in Hengwu Garden, among whom Xiangyun was quite curious.

If they find out, what will become of her as the older sister?
"Then let Ying'er keep it for us..."

"no!!"

Baochai was furious.

What's the difference between letting Ying'er keep it and letting her keep it?
It could be even more dangerous.

Once someone else gets the painting from Ying'er, they won't even need to guess who the figures in it are.

Seeing that Jia Lian was oblivious, Baochai could only advise him, "If you really want to keep it, then keep it yourself. You must not ask someone else to do it for you."

Baochai thought that as long as the item was in Jia Lian's hands, even if it was leaked, others might not be able to guess who the woman on it was.

Moreover, given Jia Lian's high position, he must have had a set of measures in place to protect confidentiality.

If he wanted to hide his things, they probably wouldn't be so easy to discover. Jia Lian smiled and agreed, "Alright, whatever you say, I'll keep them myself."

As he spoke, Jia Lian took one last look at the drawing, rolled it up, and put it into his sleeve.

"Is this good?"

Jia Lian opened his arms to Baochai again, intending for the beauty to throw herself into his arms.

Baochai hesitated for a moment, but still walked over and gently sat on Jia Lian's lap.

Just as Jia Lian was about to kiss her, Baochai reached out a finger to cover his mouth and said softly:

"It's time for me to go back."

Jia Lian was taken aback: "Go back? Go back where?"

Baochai's beautiful eyes sparkled: "Naturally, I'll return to the capital."

Seeing that Jia Lian remained silent, she explained, "I came out here under the pretense of checking the accounts."

Now, more than half a month has passed, and by now, Ke'er's matter should be over by now.

If I don't return soon, not only will my mother worry, but others will also become suspicious.

Baochai's words were very sincere.

She actually thought that she would only be staying in Tianjin for a few days.

She even thought about taking a trip to Tongzhou and other places when she had time to carefully check the family's accounts.

Unexpectedly, once they arrived here, Jia Lian kept sticking to her.

Moreover, she herself was somewhat reluctant to leave Jia Lian, which is why she has stayed for so long.

Jia Lian smiled and said, "Are you bored staying here?"

Jia Lian thought Baochai wanted to leave because she wasn't used to being alone there.

Although he has tried his best to spend time with Baochai these days, he still has some things to take care of.

Often, once I'm out, it's half a day.

He would bring Baochai along when it was appropriate to do so, but if it wasn't, he would have to leave Baochai inside the camp.

Baochai shook her head, and fearing that Jia Lian would misunderstand, she said softly, "If possible, I would also like to stay here with my second brother."

But my second brother is destined for great things; how can he indulge in romantic love?

Second brother, you don't need to be reluctant to part with me.

Anyway, I'll be waiting for you at Hengwu Garden after I get back.

As Baochai spoke, she took the initiative to reach out and gently touch Jia Lian's face.

She thought that she had made her meaning so clear, and Jia Lian should at least let her go back.

Unexpectedly, Jia Lian laughed and said, "How can being with Chai'er be called 'romantic affection'?"

Chai'er is my virtuous wife.

"You've forgotten how much you've helped me these past few days."

Upon hearing this, Baochai immediately felt embarrassed: "What great help... it's just that Second Brother doesn't mind and indulges my nonsense."

Baochai was knowledgeable about economics and also well-versed in human relationships.

Therefore, in the past half month, she has helped Jia Lian with many household affairs within her capabilities.

This not only made things much easier for Jia Lian, but also allowed Baochai to learn a lot about the ins and outs of military and political affairs.

It can be said that Jia Lian fully utilized Baochai's potential.

He made use of both hardware and software.

Therefore, Jia Lian was definitely reluctant to let Baochai go.

He wrapped his arms around Baochai, expressing his affection for her while laughing:
"There's no need to mention going back anymore."

Just then, the matter I was working on was basically finished.

"Just wait and see. I'll be going back to the capital soon, and you can come with me then."

"This……"

Baochai was unsure whether Jia Lian's claim of returning to the capital was true or a lie.

If it's true, then so be it.

If I lie to her, who knows how long this "period of time" will actually be?

If she stays for another half month, her mother might not be able to keep track of her whereabouts.

Before Baochai could speak, Ying'er, who was behind Jia Lian, advised, "Miss, just listen to Second Master."

"Then we can go back to the capital with Second Master. It'll be convenient and safe, won't it?"

Previously, when Jia Lian and Baochai were close, Ying'er would consciously step away.

But she has changed now.

She felt that since she was so "familiar" with the son-in-law and daughter, what was there that she couldn't bear to see?
So just now, while massaging Jia Lian's shoulders, she eavesdropped on her masters' conversation.

It was precisely because of her existence that Baochai couldn't bring herself to call him "brother-in-law".

Baochai was somewhat displeased by Ying'er's interruption.

This girl really needs to be taught a lesson.

She shouldn't have been so lenient and forgiving when he betrayed her physical characteristics to Jia Lian last time.

However, since Jia Lian and Ying'er had already gone this far, she couldn't insist any further and could only ask:

"So, how long do you expect to be back in Beijing?"

"It depends on the progress at the shipyard. It could take as little as seven or eight days, or as long as half a month. I'll definitely have to go back."

Jia Lian had been keeping a close eye on the situation in the capital.

Even putting that aside, he couldn't possibly stay confined to shipbuilding in Tianjin and neglect his business in the capital forever.

His original plan was to travel to the capital every month to report on his progress to Emperor Ningkang.

Seeing that Baochai was still a little hesitant, he smiled and said, "Alright. I know you're just bored from staying here too long."

It's been raining these past few days, so the weather has cooled down a bit.

"Let's see if it's tomorrow or the day after. If the weather's good, how about I take you to go beachcombing?"

"Catch the sea?"

Both Baochai in his arms and Ying'er behind him were aroused by their curiosity.

Jia Lian explained with a smile: "The so-called 'beachcombing' is to go to the mudflats to collect seafood when the tide is out."

Many fishermen along the coast make a living from this.

However, we don't need to compete with them for resources.

Do you remember that little island we went to bomb last time?
That's right. Once the weather gets better, I'll take you out to sea again, and then we'll go to those resource-rich islands to collect seafood.

If we can't finish it all, you can take it back for the sisters in the garden to try.

"Just say it's a local specialty you brought back from out of town."

Before Baochai could speak after hearing Jia Lian's introduction, Ying'er complained, "Ah, Second Master means we should become fishermen..."

Jia Lian glanced back and said, "If you don't want to go, you can just stay home. I'll go with your young lady."

"Hehe, I want to go, I want to go! I love being a fisherman the most."

Besides, I also have to take care of our girl, so naturally I'll have to stay with her all the time.

Baochai ignored Ying'er's slap; she was thinking about something else entirely:

"This time we don't need to make such a big fuss as last time, right? We can go by ourselves, no need to bring the naval officers and soldiers..."

Although it is impressive to sail across the sea in a large ship with a large number of officers and soldiers.

But Baochai felt that since they were going out to have fun, it was not appropriate to use public resources for private purposes.

Jia Lian waved his hand and said, "It's alright. How can a naval force function if they are not familiar with maritime affairs?"

They escorted us to the island, which gave them a chance to train in the nearby waters.

Training a navy capable of fighting naval battles is also a task His Majesty entrusted to me.

In feudal times, how could public and private interests be separated?

Even the entire country belongs to the Wei family.

(End of this chapter)