The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Chapter 889 Vomiting blood
In the Yihong Courtyard, Xiren helped Jia Baoyu to bed, and then prepared to rest herself.

Upon hearing that Jia Lian had arrived, she quickly put on her clothes and came out.

"Is Brother Bao asleep?"

Jia Lian glanced through the wooden screen at Jia Baoyu lying on the bed in the inner room, then sat down at the tea table.

Xiren brought over tea, grunted in response, and explained, "She had her dressing changed just now and kept complaining of pain. She just fell asleep."

Xiren thought Jia Lian had come to see Jia Baoyu, but to her surprise, after taking the tea, Jia Lian neither drank it nor spoke, but instead stared at her.

Xi Ren's gaze became somewhat evasive.

Suddenly, Jia Lian asked, "Where are you injured?"

Upon hearing this, Xiren thought to herself, "Master Bao was beaten with a board by the master, and his buttocks were all bruised. Master Lian couldn't possibly not know where he was injured."

Therefore, he wasn't asking where Master Bao was injured.

He was asking her!
But how did Second Master Lian know she was injured... Ah, it must have been her cousin who told her.

Thinking about it, Xiren suddenly felt like crying.

She had always thought that Jia Lian only treated her as a plaything that was neither here nor there.

I never imagined that one day I would receive his care.

Trying her best to hide her emotions, she shook her head and said nothing.

Jia Lian's gaze turned unfriendly. "Come here and let me take a look."

Xiren immediately became a little nervous, after all, not to mention that Jia Baoyu was lying in the inner room, from her angle she could even see Jia Baoyu's peaceful little round face after he fell asleep.

Even the head maids, such as Musk Moon, could come in at any time to check on the situation.

So she immediately gave him a pleading look.

"come over."

With a commanding tone, Xiren had no choice but to quietly approach Jia Lian.

Where did I kick you?

Xi Ren replied softly, "I just accidentally kicked my stomach, it's nothing serious."

"Nonsense. You can't just kick a girl's stomach like that. How could she be okay after being kicked?"

Lift it up so I can take a look.

Xi Ren had no choice but to glance at the door, then turn to face Jia Lian, shyly and nervously lifting her undergarment to reveal her stomach and ribs.

The reason she exposed so much wasn't to seduce Jia Lian, but because Jia Baoyu kicked her right in the lower rib area.

Jia Lian's gaze followed Xi Ren's shy demeanor, and then he raised an eyebrow.

Xi Ren was a plump girl, so she didn't wear a bellyband underneath, but rather a half-length strapless bra that only covered her upper body.

As she lifted the apricot-yellow outer garment herself, the view underneath was naturally revealed.

The girl's belly was delicate and taut.

Especially when paired with the glimpses of spring hidden beneath the strapless bodice and the girl's shy expression, it evokes a sense of longing and restlessness.

Jia Lian suppressed his lewd thoughts and stared intently at the girl's white belly for a while. Finally, he found a bruise the size of half a steamed bun under the girl's right rib.

Jia Lian's gaze immediately darkened, and he reached out to touch it.

Seeing this, Xiren immediately put down her undergarment, shook her head at Jia Lian, and said, "Second Master, don't worry, I'm fine. Don't listen to Qing'er's nonsense, she just likes to make a mountain out of a molehill."

When Jia Lian saw that Xi Ren wouldn't let him touch her, he didn't force her. He simply said, "Go and call Mushe in."

Xi Ren asked in surprise, "Why are you calling her?"

Jia Lian said coldly, "He kicked my woman, so to be fair, I should kick his woman back."

Xiren was shocked that Jia Lian had said it so openly, and she quickly reached out to cover Jia Lian's mouth.

"My ancestors, please keep your voice down..."

Xiren blurted out the same lines she usually used to coax Jia Baoyu, but only halfway through did she realize that she was facing Jia Lian, not Jia Baoyu.

Just as she was feeling embarrassed, she realized that in her haste, she had almost ended up in Jia Lian's arms.

But Jia Lian was no pushover, so he immediately wrapped his arms around her waist and hips, and with one hand he touched the wound she had been trying to avoid being touched earlier.

Does it hurt to touch?

Xi Ren blushed and shook her head.

It was only then that she realized what Jia Lian had just said. Although she knew he was teasing her, she was still very touched.

So this is what it feels like to be cared for.

No wonder his household members, Qingwen and Xiangling, were so different – ​​one unruly, the other carefree. It's a pity I can only envy them.

If he hadn't been kicked by Master Bao, he probably wouldn't have gotten this moment of tenderness.

Perhaps she felt a little excited by the current environment, or perhaps she felt incredibly safe with Jia Lian by her side.

In short, Xiren temporarily forgot the risk of being discovered and just stood there in front of Jia Lian, letting Jia Lian's arms wrap around her hips and thighs.

Xiren wasn't very tall, so Jia Lian, sitting on the round stool, was about the same height as her.

Their eyes met, and Jia Lian put his arm around Xi Ren, who then consciously closed her eyes.

Invited by the beauty, Jia Lian did not stand on ceremony and immediately lowered his head to savor the taste of the second-ranked maid in the supplementary register, the first maid of the Yi Hong Courtyard.

Musk Moon was one of the few senior maids in the Grand View Garden, and besides Xi Ren, she was the highest-ranking maid. She often had to stand guard in Jia Baoyu's room at night.

Not to mention that Jia Baoyu is seriously injured and bedridden this time.

She and Xiren had already made arrangements: one of them would stay inside, while the other would keep watch outside to prevent Jia Baoyu from waking up and not being able to reach anyone.

Jia Lian's late-night visit was something she certainly dared not neglect.

Seeing that Xiren was serving inside, she came out to arrange the lanterns and maids for the send-off.

Because she saw that Jia Lian had come alone, she couldn't let him go back alone so late at night.

It must be said that Xiren is indeed a maid trained by Grandmother Jia, and even the apprentices she taught are quick-witted and capable.

Musk Moon thought that since Jia Lian had come to see Jia Baoyu and knew that the Second Master Bao had fallen asleep, he would leave soon.

But after waiting outside for a while and not seeing Jia Lian come out, she prepared to go inside to check on the situation.

Unexpectedly, she saw a strange scene as soon as she entered the house.

Xiren knelt on the ground, wiping Jia Lian's clothes repeatedly with a handkerchief, while constantly apologizing.

Jia Lian, on the other hand, sat with a gloomy face.

Upon seeing her enter, he shouted, "What are you all standing there for? Go outside and call two old women to fetch a doctor who can treat internal injuries."

Musk Moon didn't understand why Jia Lian would call for a doctor so late at night.

At this moment, Xiren turned around after hearing Jia Lian's words, and Mushe was shocked to find that there was a conspicuous layer of blood on Xiren's lips.

However, Xiren was unaware of what was wrong with her. Seeing Mushe hesitate, she immediately said, "No, don't disturb everyone."

"It's so late at night, why are you calling... cough... doctor?"

Before Xiren could finish her sentence, something seemed to have triggered her, and she couldn't help but cough.

She immediately covered her mouth with a handkerchief.

It wasn't until I looked down and saw bloodstains on the clean white handkerchief that I realized there was blood on my lips.

Musk Moon quickly stepped forward and asked with concern, "Sister Xiren, what's wrong?"

"I'm fine..."

At this moment, Jia Lian slammed his hand on the table and cursed, "What do you mean 'nothing's wrong'? You're a fool too! Didn't you see she was spitting blood? Why didn't you go out and get someone to fetch a doctor? Do you expect me to go and get one myself?"

Musk Moon then realized what was happening, quickly let go of Xi Ren's hand, turned around and ran out as fast as she could.

Xiren called out to him in time, but dared not blame Jia Lian, and could only sigh in vain.

Seeing this, Jia Lian said irritably, "You too, you were injured but you kept quiet about it. Why didn't you remind me earlier and instead spat in my mouth."

Upon hearing this, Xiren felt a surge of hatred in her heart.

Just now, Jia Lian kissed her, and she didn't know if it was because she was too excited or because Jia Lian held her too tightly, but she suddenly felt her internal organs churning.

She quickly pushed Jia Lian away, intending to remind him to let go.

Unfortunately, Jia Lian didn't take it seriously.

There was nothing Xiren could do, because the intense coughing didn't give her much time. So she could only forcefully turn her head away to avoid coughing anything into Jia Lian's mouth.

She initially thought it was just a normal cough.

It wasn't until a sweet taste rose in her throat and she noticed the red spots that had suddenly appeared on Jia Lian's clean face that she realized what was happening.

He quickly wiped his mouth, and when he looked at it, it was indeed blood.

Before Xiren could even think about why she was coughing up blood, she immediately took out a handkerchief from her person and wiped Jia Lian's mouth and face.

The bloodstains on the corners of the mouth and face were easy to wipe away, but those that had fallen onto Jia Lian's magnificent robes were not so easy to deal with.

Therefore, she could only wipe it while begging for forgiveness and apologizing, for fear that Jia Lian would be angry.

(End of this chapter)