The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Chapter 898 Farewell at Changting
On the messy bed, Jia Lian threw himself on Baochai, feeling as if he were throwing himself on a ball of cotton wrapped in silk.

The unparalleled beauty made him wait quite a while before kissing Baochai's neck, then turning over to rest his head on the beauty's jade-like arm.

He turned Baochai's face, still damp with cool sweat, to his side, gazing into her watery eyes, and sighed:

“My hairpin is indeed a beauty of unparalleled grace. I would be willing to die on your belly one day.”

Baochai took a while to come to her senses. Upon hearing this, she felt ashamed and couldn't help but offer some advice.

“Why do you say such things, Brother Lian? You are a hero of the world, with the bearing of a dragon and the grace of a phoenix. You are an unparalleled hero. How could you utter such dejected words?”

Jia Lian smiled upon hearing this.

This well-read girl is different; she can praise men with such a variety of words that she never repeats herself.

He then brought their heads close together and said softly, "Chai'er, if I weren't some outstanding person, much less a great hero, but just an ordinary man, would you still be willing to marry me?"

Baochai, who was originally immersed in tenderness, was suddenly silenced by Jia Lian's question.

Even though she knew in her heart that she shouldn't remain silent at this moment, Baochai didn't say a word for a long time.

Jia Lian looked up at Baochai, who was deep in thought, then suddenly sat up and laughed, "Alright, I was just teasing you."

What a joke! How dare an ordinary man even dream of touching a hairpin?
Only a hero like myself is worthy of my daughter's favor.

"Brother Lian is joking."

Baochai smiled knowingly, propped herself up with a corner of the quilt, and added, "Chai'er is nothing special, it's only Second Brother Lian who treats Chai'er like a treasure."

Jia Lian smiled slightly and said, "I should go now."

Seeing that Jia Lian had indeed bent down to pick up his robe and put it on, Baochai quickly said, "Wait a moment."

When Jia Lian turned around, Baochai lowered her head, pulled her yellow silk bodice back from the foot of the bed, and simply tied it on.

With a little something covering her body, Baochai felt much more at ease. She turned around and said softly, "You're sweating a lot. Let me wipe you off, otherwise you'll feel uncomfortable while traveling."

After saying this, Baochai didn't seem to pull out a handkerchief from anywhere, but instead beckoned Jia Lian over.

Jia Lian didn't think he was in a hurry, so he calmly sat back down on the bed and waited for the beauty to serve him.

Baochai knelt behind Jia Lian, gently wiping his sweat with a handkerchief.

As she brushed the handkerchief across Jia Lian's skin, she took the opportunity to carefully examine the cold, heavy skin of his body.

This is a man's body that fascinates even women.

She knew Jia Lian was in a hurry, so she didn't slow down.

But when the handkerchief touched Jia Lian's left shoulder, she still couldn't help but pause.

There is a scab that has already formed, but there are still some obvious scars.

Jia Lian had been injured a long time ago; he had a bruise on his face, as everyone knew.

However, the scar on his face is now almost invisible and cannot be compared to this one.

While in Tianjin, she heard Jia Lian say that she was wounded by a stray arrow while fighting against the Tatar cavalry in the north.

She remembers feeling heartbroken when she heard it, but Jia Lian smiled and told her that it was nothing to him.

In that battle, few of his most trusted guards escaped with injuries.

Take Feng Fei for example. He had seven or eight sword wounds on his body, but most importantly, he was shot in the back with an arrow that almost pierced his heart and killed him.

To this day, he still cannot lift his left arm.

He added that compared to those who sacrificed their lives, Feng Fei was relatively lucky.

It was from that time that Baochai realized that the cruelty of the battlefield she had read about in books was far less profound than the experiences of those around her.

Jia Lian appears so glamorous and omnipotent at home, simply because he rarely brings the violence and intrigue of the outside world into his home.

His glory did not come out of thin air.

Unable to resist gently tracing the scar with her fingers, Baochai suddenly asked, "Second Brother Lian, is there another important matter you're going on?"

"Why do you ask."

"I just feel that Brother Lian's mood before leaving this time was a little different from before. I don't know if I'm overthinking it."

Baochai had been to Tianjin and knew what Jia Lian was mainly responsible for there.

She didn't think that Jia Lian's obvious ease in handling mundane affairs could make him show such a wary attitude.

She was also aware of the unfavorable situation the imperial court was facing in Liaodong, and that Jia Lian had repeatedly petitioned the palace to allow him to lead an expedition.

After a few moments of reflection, some of her guesses weren't hard to come by.

However, like Sister Feng, she didn't want Jia Lian to be in danger, so she was unwilling to think that way, much less say it.

Jia Lian glanced back at Baochai with some surprise, then paused for a moment before saying, "Alright, I'm leaving now."

As he spoke, he stood up, wrapped the brocade robe around his body, and was about to walk out.

Baochai was about to get up to see him off when she saw Jia Lian walk back to the bedside, lift her halfway up his waist, and after a few breaths, suddenly whisper:
"Take care of yourself. I'll marry you when I get back."

Before Baochai could fully grasp the meaning of those words, Jia Lian had already strode away from her boudoir.

Baochai knew that her attire was inadequate, so she could only sit there lost in thought.

Suddenly, Ying'er came in carrying a copper basin and said with some resentment, "I don't know what's wrong with Second Master. He won't answer when people call him."

Baochai unconsciously shrank her smooth body further into the bed and said, "He was in a hurry to get on his way, so he probably didn't hear me."

Ying'er said "Oh," but in her heart she thought: What do you mean by being in a hurry to get somewhere? What do you mean by not hearing anything?

He has time when he's with a girl, and he can hear her when she talks to him.

But this was a good thing, and Ying'er quickly forgot about it. She carried the basin of water to the bedside, placed it on the footstool, and smiled:

"Now that the Second Master has left, I will serve you, Miss."

She was very experienced in handling these clean-up tasks in Tianjin, so she was very efficient.

Jia Lian did not bid farewell to Aunt Xue, but walked directly out of the Xue family gate and set off on his journey with his men.

The firearms battalion left the city overnight and set off for Tianjin before noon today.

As for Yun Guang's 5,000 troops, Jia Lian also had Emperor Ningkang transfer them to Tianjin Wei so that he could make unified arrangements for their deployment.

In this battle, with a powerful nation against a weak one, firearms against longswords, and ingenious strategy against brute force, he was very confident.

But as he told Sister Feng, he cherished his life.

Therefore, even if he has already made up his mind, he will not be negligent or arrogant in the slightest. He must personally coordinate the overall situation and make full use of all available resources.

He will not tolerate anyone ruining his grand plan.

After two years of management, Tianjin Wei could be considered his second major base.

And in that place, there was no one with more power than him.

Therefore, there, as the Duke of Rong, he was able to mobilize all the resources.

This is also an important reason why he did not stay in the capital for long and chose Tianjin as his base of command.

To avoid attracting attention, he sent the firearms battalion ahead while he followed behind with his personal guard.

After running more than ten miles out of the east gate, they suddenly saw carriages and people stopping in a roadside pavilion.

Just as Jia Lian felt the group looked somewhat familiar, the scout ahead reported, "Second Master, it's the Princess's forces. Should we halt our advance?"

Jia Lian let out a "whoosh" and slowed down the pace of the entire procession.

Upon approaching the pavilion, he dismounted and walked towards it.

As expected, Princess Zhaoyang was already waiting there.

She was dressed in red and strolled out of the pavilion.

Jia Lian stepped forward and said, "Didn't I say there was no need for us to see you off?"

Princess Zhaoyang smiled and said, "General, your journey is to serve the country and make contributions. How could I, Zhaoyang, not see you off?"

As she spoke, Princess Zhaoyang slightly raised her hand.

Beside her, Liu Rushi, following closely behind, quickly stepped forward.

He held the table with both hands, on which were placed a pot of wine and three wine cups.

Princess Zhaoyang picked up the wine pot, took the first wine cup, and steadily filled it with wine. Then she smiled sweetly at Jia Lian and said:
"This first cup of wine is to toast the general's fearlessness in the face of bandits and his determination to kill the enemy and serve the country."

The sun was setting in the west, and people and horses stood facing the wind all around.

The noble princess raised her glass to bid farewell to the general, a scene that indeed resembled something out of a play.

Jia Lian couldn't help but laugh, took the wine cup, and drank it all in one gulp.

"The journey ahead is long and arduous; with this second cup of wine, Zhaoyang wishes General a safe journey."

Jia Lian also drank.

"This third glass of wine..."

Princess Zhaoyang's tone suddenly became more composed, and her voice was strong and resonant: "This third cup of wine is to wish the general a swift victory in eliminating the bandits and returning in triumph!"

Jia Lian accepted the wine cup and replied just as solemnly, "Your subject Jia Lian thanks Your Highness for the wine. I will certainly live up to Your Highness's expectations."

Having said that, he tilted his head back and drank it down.

Princess Zhaoyang glanced at the guards bathed in sunlight behind Jia Lian, then took two steps closer to Jia Lian and asked in a low voice:
"The general's strategy of launching a surprise attack on the enemy's heartland by sea was indeed a brilliant plan of a national hero."

However, the sea route was treacherous, and the danger of a lone army venturing deep into enemy territory was even more unpredictable.

I urge the General to reconsider Zhaoyang's suggestion and select a trusted and capable general to take the sea route, while the General himself leads the main army to contain the enemy head-on. This would be the safest course of action.

After officially obtaining Emperor Ningkang's consent yesterday, Jia Lian met with Princess Zhaoyang.

Although Princess Zhaoyang was amazed by Jia Lian's domineering strategy and thought it was highly feasible, she did not approve of Jia Lian leading a surprise force by sea.

Although Jia Lian explained to her many reasons why he had to lead the team personally, he was not completely convinced.

As far as Princess Zhaoyang is concerned.

Even if the entire Liaodong region were lost, it wouldn't be as important as Jia Lian alone.

How could Jia Lian not know Princess Zhaoyang's feelings?

Seeing that she had brought up the story again, he didn't want to argue with her anymore. Instead, he suddenly stepped forward, put one arm around her, and whispered:

"After I leave, I entrust all matters in the capital to you."

Princess Zhaoyang sighed inwardly, but nodded in agreement.

She knew that since she had chosen to fight for that opportunity, she could not afford to relax in the slightest and give the enemy any chance to take advantage.

In particular, Jia Lian will be away from the capital for a long time to come.

It can be said that her responsibility is no less than Jia Lian's, and may even be greater.

Jia Lian didn't say anything more, as the two of them had already said what needed to be said yesterday.

He patted Princess Zhaoyang on the back one last time, leaving her with the words, "Wait for my good news in the capital."

After saying that, he turned and left without looking back.

Princess Zhaoyang stood still, her gaze following Jia Lian's figure.

Until Jia Lian mounted his horse and, with his dozens of personal guards, roared away into the distance.

(End of this chapter)