The Second Master of the Red Chamber

"Oh, isn't this the Duke? Aren't you busy with the affairs of your two ladies' marriage? What brings you back?"

In Jiaying Hall, Jia Lian, who had just returned, heard Feng Jie's words and said irritably, "What's wrong with you now?"

"What can I do but congratulate Second Master?"

Jia Lian walked over, touched Feng Jie's increasingly large and protruding belly, and asked Ping'er with a smile, "How much vinegar did you add to the dishes for lunch?"

Ping'er was puzzled, but still shook her head and cooperated: "No, no vinegar was added..."

Jia Lian then laughed and said, "If you didn't add vinegar, how come your second mistress's old illness has relapsed?"

"Go~"

Using veiled insults and double entendres is one of Sister Feng's strengths, so she was able to react to Jia Lian's sarcastic remarks immediately.

Therefore, she slapped Jia Lian's hand away and said with resentment, "How dare you say I'm jealous! I originally thought that the scene when Lin and Bao entered the house would be better than mine back then, but who knew you would be so biased."

If it were just a grand affair, that would be one thing, but I've heard from others that you sent invitations to everyone in the capital, from high-ranking officials and gentry to ordinary people—everyone who could be connected with our family.

You might as well give my position to Lin Yatou and Bao Yatou, so I don't just hold onto this title and become a laughingstock in the whole city.

Hearing Sister Feng's resentful tone, Jia Lian chuckled and coaxed, "Why are you bringing this up again? Didn't we already say that the situation is different now than it was back then..."

“Even if it’s different, you can’t do this. You’ve completely overshadowed the grand celebration of the old lady’s birthday.”

Interrupted by Sister Feng, Jia Lian was somewhat displeased, so he said to Ping'er, Xiao Hong and the others in the room: "You lot, didn't you see how angry your second mistress is? What are you standing there for?"
"Go downstairs and pack your second mistress's things. I'll take her back to the Wang family later."

Upon hearing Jia Lian's words, not only were Ping'er and the others uneasy, looking around anxiously, but even Feng Jie stared at Jia Lian with disbelief.

She was just casually grumbling, partly out of genuine jealousy, but mainly because she felt Jia Lian was being too extravagant and wasteful, and wanted to offer some advice.

Unexpectedly, Jia Lian was going to send her back to the Wang family.
My first reaction was that it was impossible. She had been so disheveled and "immature" before, and Jia Lian had never done this.

She's heavily pregnant right now, and it's very likely she's carrying Jia Lian's eldest son. How could Jia Lian punish her like this just because she complained a few times?

This is obviously unreasonable.

Though she didn't believe it in her heart, she said aloud, "You want to divorce me?"

Jia Lian patted Feng Jie's thigh, which was slightly plumper than before, and said coldly, "What do you mean by 'break up'?"

Didn't you complain that your wedding was too small, not as grand as Lin Yatou and Bao Yatou's?
Since that's the case, I have no choice but to treat everyone equally and temporarily send you back to your parents' home as well.

On the day of the grand ceremony, we will bring you back along with Lin Yatou and the others, and we will bow to heaven and earth again.

That shouldn't be considered favoritism, are you satisfied now?

Sister Feng was speechless for a moment, then blushed and spat, "Pah, utter nonsense..."

Although he cursed, his inner grumbling completely disappeared.

Although the wedding ceremony was ordinary back then, it was still a proper marriage.

No matter how grand or luxurious the setting is nowadays, it's still just a side room or a secondary room.

She would only want to exchange things if she were completely out of her mind.

Moreover, she was well aware that the main reason she was able to sit in the position of the principal wife was largely because she had gained an advantage from the beginning.

If she were to give up this advantage and compete fairly with Daiyu and Baochai, she would really be unsure of herself.

The main reason is that those two are not only just as good-looking as her, but their temperament and talent are also far beyond what she, a "fallen woman," can compare to.

Once you think about it that way, there's nothing you can't understand.

Jia Lian thought she hadn't figured it out yet, so he continued to ask, "What nonsense are you talking about? I'm serious."

Seriously, since you envy them so much, why don't you listen to me?

Anyway, there wasn't much difference between seeing two people coming in and seeing three people coming in that day.

"Then you stand with the two of them, and the four of us do the wedding ceremony together, how about that? It'll be even more lively!"

Feng Jie knew perfectly well that Jia Lian was deliberately making fun of her, and somewhat angrily pinched him, then interjected jokingly:
"They only said a few words, and you said all this. What do you mean by that?"

I wasn't really complaining, but since you've put on such a big show and are embarrassed to ask me for money, I was worried you might not have enough cash on hand, so I was thinking of giving you some.

You're so ungrateful; you don't appreciate kindness at all.

Seeing that Feng Jie had given in, Jia Lian stopped pursuing her. He put his arm around her shoulder and said with a smile, "It's enough that you have this intention. It's just a little money. There's no need to touch the family's money."

Feng Jie, who had her head buried in Jia Lian's arms, pouted when she heard this.

That jerk's attitude is getting increasingly arrogant, talking about small amounts of money...

Is it because she can't do math?

Although it is unknown how Jia Lian and Jia Zheng negotiated, judging from the fact that Jia Zheng has been helping to arrange things outside these days, spending money one sum at a time, and Lady Wang doesn't seem to care at all, it is clear that Jia Lian must have been supplementing the government's funds.

Suddenly, Sister Feng looked up and said, "There's one more thing I want to tell you..."

"Actually, I think now that we've established our own government, it's better to keep the accounts separate... What do you think?"

Sister Feng's ideas are very simple.

In the past, everyone lived off the government's output. We all shared the same resources, and we discussed what was most profitable.

However, the current output of the Rongguo Duke's mansion is clearly insufficient to support the two gates of the mansion.

Take this time for example. Jia Lian's grand ceremony would probably require several years' worth of revenue from the Rongguo Mansion's finances to make up for it.

In other words, the income and expenditure of the current Rongguo Mansion officials are no longer commensurate with Jia Lian's income and expenditure.

Let's not even talk about how Jia Lian suffered a loss.

If Jia Lian wants to accomplish something big now, he needs to proactively contribute funds to the government, otherwise the government's funds and provisions will be insufficient.

If we make up the difference, will Jia Zheng and the others need to add money to their accounts when they handle things in the future?
If we try to make up the difference, they probably won't have the money, and it's not very reasonable for them to do so either.

If we don't make up for it, wouldn't Jia Lian look like he's being taken advantage of?

That's not fair either.

Therefore, Sister Feng had long felt that it was better to keep the accounts separate, just like Jia Zheng and Jia She did back then.

Each person should pay for their own affairs.

Jia Lian could certainly understand what Feng Jie meant.

In fact, keeping accounts separate is the right thing to do, and it's the way of the department head.

However, back then, Grandmother Jia and others were afraid that Jia Lian would be separated from the family, so they strongly insisted on "not separating the family."

This is actually a "bad practice" within the family.

After thinking for a moment, Jia Lian said, "Let's talk about this later. Bringing it up now will not only upset the old lady, but also make the master suspicious."

Jia Lian didn't seem to care much about this trivial matter.

If he were in a less fortunate position, he might try to separate the accounts; otherwise, having them mixed together would inevitably lead to conflict sooner or later.

But the problem is that he has more money than he can spend.

So, it's okay to suffer a little loss.

Anyway, since Yuan Chun's visit to her family, the officials of Rongguo Mansion have recovered.

Even without annual growth, at least the income is enough to cover the expenses.

This time, he was determined to hold a grand wedding and didn't care about the cost. That's why he took the initiative to donate 20,000 to 30,000 taels of silver to the government so that Jia Zheng would know he had money and could act freely.

As for the usual expenses of Jia Zheng, Jia Mu, and others, as long as they do not drastically increase their spending beyond the previous level in order to indirectly extract money from him, it will not have much impact, or rather, no impact at all.

The output from the 100,000 mu of fertile land and hundreds of houses under the Rongguo Mansion's name was enough to support their expenses.

They treated the Rongguo Mansion's treasury as their own, merely receiving an inheritance along the way and naturally supporting an extra group of people.

Seeing that Jia Lian didn't seem to care, Sister Feng naturally didn't have much to say.

Because she didn't want to completely sever her ties with Grandmother Jia and others.

Although she likes money, she is not exactly a miser.

In fact, she has a pretty good overall perspective.

Her earlier concern that Jia Lian might not have enough money wasn't entirely unfounded.

If Jia Lian were truly short of money, he might ask her for it, and she would give it to him.

After all, this money was originally entrusted to her by Jia Lian for safekeeping. However, if that were the case, she would certainly advise Jia Lian against being too extravagant and wasteful, and even interfere in the affairs.

It's unreasonable for me to pay the money but not be allowed to manage things, right?

The couple both knew what kind of people the other was, so they were surprisingly in sync on some matters.

……

"Second Master is here."

In the main building of Tianxiang Tower, when a maid ran in to report the news, Qin Keqing hurriedly called to all the beauties in the hall: "Quickly, all of you go to the private rooms for now. You can only come out when I call you."

For the sake of the beautiful clothes, the beauties were obedient.

Those who were already dressed quickly hid in the cubicle, while those who weren't dressed also grabbed their clothes and hid inside.

Therefore, when Jia Lian led Xiang Ling in, all they saw was Qin Keqing and a few empty boxes on the ground.

Jia Lian was not surprised to see Qin Keqing there; he already knew that Qin Keqing had something to discuss with him today.

Because if the beauties of Tianxiang Tower were looking for him, it would be Jiang Yun or the four maids Lan Zi Qing Lü who would go and tell him, not Qin Keqing.

"Second Uncle, you've finally arrived! We've been waiting for you for so long."

Jia Lian nodded and glanced at the cubicles on both sides. There were faint chattering sounds coming from inside, indicating that quite a few people were hiding there.

"Didn't you say there were shows for me to choose from? Where are they?"

Qin Keqing smiled and said, "Second Uncle, don't be in such a hurry. It's bound to be a good show. I'm sure you'll like it."

As she spoke, Qin Keqing pulled Jia Lian to sit down on the soft couch in front of her, then gave him a flirtatious wink before walking into the back room.

Xiangling, who came with Jia Lian, frowned, wondering what tricks the scheming Qin Keqing was up to now, trying to corrupt the Second Master.

"What are you thinking about? Come over and give me a shoulder massage."

"Oh."

Upon hearing this, Xiangling walked up to Jia Lian, took off her embroidered shoes, climbed onto the couch, and knelt behind Jia Lian to gently massage his shoulders.

Jia Lian comfortably propped himself up with his hands, closed his eyes, and enjoyed the moment.

After a while, footsteps were heard from behind, and the little hand on the shoulder stopped moving.

Jia Lian then opened his eyes and looked back.

His eyes lit up at first glance.

Behind Qin Keqing, four stunningly beautiful figures followed.

It was none other than the four beauties: Wan Qiyun, Shen Pan'er, Wei Shishi, and Gu Qingyi.

They were all wearing matching dark blue caps, pure white shirts with blue stripes, and blue pencil skirts...

If it weren't for Qin Keqing leading the way, and the four beauties looking rather coy, with no stockings covering their eight smooth, long legs, Jia Lian would have almost thought he had traveled back to the future.

Indeed, the four beauties were wearing classic flight attendant uniforms.

It was one of the main uniforms that Jia Lian had previously designed for Qin Keqing. Unexpectedly, Qin Keqing replicated it so quickly and even persuaded the Four Beauties to wear it.
After taking a closer look, it actually looked quite convincing.

For a moment, Jia Lian felt like he had struck gold.

With Qin Keqing around, things will get interesting from now on.

While Jia Lian was sizing up the four beauties, the four beauties were also observing Jia Lian.

Seeing Jia Lian's satisfied expression, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

To be honest, when Qin Keqing asked them to wear these things before, they were very resistant.

However, it is worth noting that the clothes Qin Keqing and the others made together were indeed made of superior materials and were exquisitely crafted.

Secondly, Qin Keqing repeatedly persuaded them that these were clothes designed by Jia Lian himself, and whoever was the first to wear them would definitely stand out in front of Jia Lian, so they reluctantly accepted.

Now that they knew Jia Lian really liked watching, they unconsciously dropped their awkwardness caused by the cold and stood up straighter and more gracefully.

However, this made Jia Lian frown.

He immediately felt relieved.

These beautiful women had never seen a flight attendant before, and they wouldn't even understand the strange costumes they wore, so naturally they couldn't imitate the flight attendant's demeanor and actions.

These are minor issues, though; they can be corrected with some guidance later.

Qin Keqing, however, keenly sensed Jia Lian's dissatisfaction and quickly suppressed her smile, asking, "Second Uncle, is there something you feel is not good enough?"

She felt it shouldn't be like that, because in her eyes, the four beauties of today were all incredibly dazzling.

However, such attire must not be seen by outsiders, otherwise one would surely be criticized for being uncivilized.

Jia Lian didn't know how to explain, so he only said, "Well, it doesn't fit quite right. It's fine for the others, but it doesn't suit Shishi very well."

Qin Keqing glanced at Wei Shishi, whose lips were pursed as if she wanted to cry, and smiled:

"It wasn't originally made specifically for the four of them."

I thought the clothes were simple, so I took two bolts of cloth and prepared to make two sets for my second uncle to see.

I didn't expect these clothes to be so economical with fabric. The amount of fabric that could have made one set of clothes could have made at least several sets, so I simply made these four sets first.

Of the four of them, they were the prettiest, so of course I let them try them on first.

I didn't expect it to look so good on me, so I thought I'd ask my second uncle to take a look and see how it looked. I didn't expect him to be so picky and not understand how hard people work at all..."

As Qin Keqing spoke, she forgot her identity as her niece-in-law and adopted a coquettish tone, making it even clearer to those around her that there was indeed an improper relationship between her and Jia Lian.

No wonder she went to such lengths to acquire these strange and unusual clothes to please Jia Lian.

Wei Shishi already felt embarrassed wearing such clothes, and she had finally managed to wear them with her sisters to show Jia Lian, but unexpectedly, Jia Lian "criticized" her. Feeling quite wronged, she took the initiative to say:
“I also thought I didn’t look good in it. Since Second Master said I’m not suitable to wear it, I’ll take it off now and let someone else wear it for Second Master to see.”

As Wei Shishi spoke, she tried to take off her clothes, but then she remembered that her clothes were still in the shop window in the cubicle, and she was immediately in a dilemma.

Jia Lian was well aware that the little girl's pride had been hurt. He beckoned her over and then pulled her onto his lap.

He placed one hand on her legs and gently stroked her nose with the other, laughing, "Alright, saying you're not suitable doesn't mean you don't look good in it."

However, this outfit only suits the tall and slender figures of Sister Wan and others.

You're petite and cute; this outfit doesn't suit you.

You don't need to rush.

I've come up with a few other outfits that would suit you well. How about you wear them to show me after she gets them ready?

Wei Shishi was the youngest of the Four Beauties.

The oldest, Wan Qiyun, is already over twenty this year, while she's only fifteen.

Jia Lian initially chose her because she was petite and cute, and had some resemblance to Yang Guifei from the Tang Dynasty. He planned to raise her and see if she could eventually rival Baochai.

"So this is ah."

Hearing Jia Lian's words of comfort, Wei Shishi seemed to feel much better. She put her hands inside Jia Lian's cloak, hugged his waist, and nestled in his arms for warmth.

Her premeditated actions made Shen Pan'er and the other two wonder what was going on.

This seemingly honest little sister isn't pretending; she's just attracted to the Second Master's warm embrace.
Jia Lian had already beckoned the other three beauties to come closer, and was about to give Qin Keqing some feedback so she could improve, when he suddenly noticed their bare arms and legs and asked, "Where is Jiang Yun?"

Qin Keqing was taken aback: "What does Second Uncle want with her?"

"It's nothing, just have her tell someone to bring in a few more basins of charcoal."

Jia Lian was very considerate of the beauty. Although it wasn't as cold as during the New Year, she would definitely catch a cold if she was only wearing so little.

However, Jia Lian did not want the beauties to change back into their clothes immediately, so he thought of raising the temperature in the room a little higher.

Qin Keqing understood Jia Lian's meaning and nodded, saying, "Second Uncle, wait a moment, I'll go arrange for someone."

After Qin Keqing finished speaking, she walked to the back.

Upon seeing this, Jia Lian immediately realized what was happening.

It seems that Qin Keqing didn't just come up with this one thing; there must be other things involved.

Moreover, Jiang Yun should also have been conscripted by her.

Otherwise, Jiang Yun, who was almost always present and ready to serve him whenever he came, wouldn't have deliberately hidden herself away. (End of Chapter)