The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Chapter 869 Love House and Crow
Zijuan stepped forward and pushed the door, finding it was indeed bolted from the inside. She gave Xueyan a look that said to stay and watch, then picked up the lantern she had prepared and followed Jia Lian out.

The Xiaoxiang Pavilion had the most maids and servants in the garden, second only to the Yihong Courtyard.

It wasn't that Jia Lian was reluctant to provide Daiyu with as many servants as Grandmother Jia did for Jia Baoyu, but rather that he knew Daiyu preferred quiet most of the time.

Xiaoxiang Pavilion is only so big; having too many people would actually make it harder to take care of Daiyu.

Even so, the number of people at Xiaoxiang Pavilion couldn't even match that of Hengwu Garden, which housed three young ladies.

Just guarding the courtyard gate required four old women and four maids on duty in shifts.

Those four old women were arranged by Jia Lian to prevent Jia Baoyu from disturbing Daiyu.

Having four maids was a common practice in the garden.

After all, the Grand View Garden was full of beautiful flowers, and using maids as greeters would certainly be more pleasing to the eye and more appropriate to the occasion than using servants.

Therefore, Zijuan casually called a maid to follow her and accompany her to see Jia Lian out.

We arrived at the main entrance.

Nowadays, it should probably not be called the main gate, but rather the second gate, or the hanging flower gate.

Going out through the second gate leads to Jia Lian's exclusive east courtyard, which is also the front courtyard.

A side gate was opened next to the second gate to connect the Grand View Garden with the rear residence of the Rongguo Mansion, which was built by imperial decree.

It was already past four in the morning, and the old woman guarding the gate had long since gone to rest in her duty room.

Zijuan then ordered her maid to call someone to get up and unlock the door.

When only the two of them remained under the porch lamp, Jia Lian, feeling bored, turned to look at Zijuan.

Although Zijuan was a little embarrassed, she did not pretend to be shy.

Instead, she took the initiative to speak up, "Second Master, what made our young lady angry again?"

"Children shouldn't pry into adults' affairs."

Zijuan paused slightly, mumbled something, but ultimately didn't dare to do anything rash.

She was the "older sister type" maid that Grandmother Jia gave to Daiyu on the very day Daiyu entered the mansion.

Therefore, she was three or four years older than Daiyu.

Jia Lian, a master in his twenties, called her, a maid in her teens, a child, and she accepted it.

However, Jia Lian's statement that his relationship with Daiyu was an adult matter and that she, as a "child," had no right to inquire about it was quite offensive.

Having finally come to understand Jia Lian better, she didn't hold it against him and instead laughed:
"I know even if you don't tell me. It must be because you wanted to bully our girl, and she didn't stand for it, so she got angry and kicked you out."

Zijuan seemed rather smug.

Ever since she discovered that Jia Lian had locked the door, she mistakenly believed that Jia Lian had ruined Daiyu's health, and she felt guilty for a long time.

Although Wang Mama later confirmed that Daiyu was still innocent, her guilt lessened slightly.

But at the same time, she was determined to protect Daiyu even more closely.

To achieve this wish, she even crammed on some related knowledge.

As for the source of the knowledge, it was naturally Daiyu's "private collection".

Ever since Granny Wang realized that Daiyu was about to experience the joys of adulthood, she began to look for opportunities to impart relevant knowledge to Daiyu.

However, Daiyu was too shy and couldn't listen to a word she said, so she turned away in embarrassment.

After a while, Granny Wang gave up on personally teaching Daiyu and instead used books and picture books, letting her study on her own...

Sure enough, although Daiyu was still incredibly embarrassed by her, she managed to accept the gift.

However, Daiyu dared not take such a generous gift lightly.

She always kept herself hidden in her boudoir, only daring to peek out when there were few people in the Xiaoxiang Pavilion, secretly locking the door to ensure that nothing went wrong.

However, Daiyu thought it was a secret.

But how could she possibly hide all her actions from Zijuan, who was right beside her?
Zijuan had long ago discovered Daiyu's treasured collection and had benefited greatly from it.

Therefore, she knew what it was acceptable to allow Jia Lian to do things to Daiyu that could enhance their relationship, and what it would do that would harm Daiyu and that she absolutely had to stop.

At first, she was very wary and did indeed try to stop Jia Lian from bullying Daiyu.

But gradually she also discovered that Jia Lian himself was actually protecting Daiyu.

After all this time, the girl had remained a virgin, which was the best proof. Therefore, Zijuan couldn't help but lower her guard.

Having learned from Xueyan that Jia Lian and Daiyu had already woken up, she had been closely monitoring the situation in the room.

I even sneaked inside to peek.

Although Jia Lian's posture astride his young mistress was strange, considering that it did not conform to any dangerous cases in the teaching materials, she assumed that the two masters were just playing around and did not go in to disturb them.

Later, seeing Jia Lian get his comeuppance, they assumed that Jia Lian must have been making a scene and trying to do something outrageous, and that the girl beat him up out of embarrassment and anger.

Zijuan was naturally proud of her daughter's "family throne" in front of Jia Lian, which is why she seemed so pleased with herself.

Jia Lian chuckled as he looked at Zijuan's expression.

Foolish girl, I'm afraid I'll sell your daughter and you'll still be in the dark.

The old woman guarding the gate was summoned by the maid and quickly opened the gate for Jia Lian.

Looking at the old woman who was bowing and scraping, Jia Lian said, "Guarding the gate and protecting the courtyard is of utmost importance. I don't want to hear any gossip in the mansion in the future."

Go back and tell the others that the master entrusted you with guarding the gate because he trusts you, so be sure to keep your mouths shut.

We should clearly distinguish what can be passed on and what cannot be passed on.

Otherwise, don't blame yourself for the consequences.

In fact, given Jia Lian's temperament, he could have simply climbed over the wall and left long ago.

The reason I've been standing here for so long is to intimidate these people.

Although the servants in the Jia family received rigorous training before starting their jobs, there were always some who took advantage of their seniority and others who were forgetful, requiring them to be reminded from time to time.

He came out of Xiaoxiang Pavilion so late; who knows what they'll say about him behind his back.

Jia Lian didn't care, but he was worried that Daiyu would feel uncomfortable if she heard it.

The old woman repeatedly assured Jia Lian that she would never gossip.

Jia Lian didn't say anything more, refused Zijuan's suggestion to send more, and walked out of the garden alone with the lantern.

Once you get to your own little courtyard, things become simple.

He simply knocked lightly on the courtyard gate, and immediately heard the old woman's voice coming from the corner room inside: "Coming, who's knocking?"

Then came the sound of approaching footsteps.

After Jia Lian responded, the two old women inside immediately opened the door and greeted him with smiles.

They were responsible for guarding the house, and knowing that Jia Lian had not yet returned home, they naturally dared not sleep.

Not only did I dare not sleep, but I also had to stay alert.

Otherwise, if Jia Lian were left standing outside late at night, that would be quite a mess.

When the gatekeeper greeted him, Jia Lian said, "Thank you for your hard work."

This made the old women even happier, and they kept saying it wasn't hard work, while also asking if they should inform Sister Feng.

Jia Lian glanced at the dark room and shook his head, saying, "No, thank you."

After saying this, he picked up the lantern and went to the west wing.

Sister Feng is always busy, and it's almost dawn. It's best not to disturb her.

This made things difficult for Qingwen in the west wing.

I originally thought I wouldn't be on duty tonight and could get a good night's sleep.

Who knew, I was woken up in a daze.

That's fine, after all, it was my beloved second master knocking on the door in the middle of the night, so I'll reluctantly forgive him.

Who knew that Jia Lian had gone off to have an affair somewhere, and as soon as he entered the door, he poured her a cup of tea.

Before she could even realize what he meant, Jia Lian noticed there was ice in her room, so he immediately poured her another glass and added a piece of ice to it.

Then he casually sat on her small bed, smiling as he asked her to help him dispose of the body and cover up the crime.

And so, the pretty maid, who was still half asleep, was forced by the unscrupulous second master to work hard for half the night until the outside world began to turn a hazy white, and she was finally exhausted and fell asleep in his arms.

(End of this chapter)