The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Having had his fill of playing with her hands, Jia Lian patted Wei Shishi's little bottom and told her to go down and stand in two rows on each side of her sisters.

The four beauties were all stunningly beautiful, in the prime of their youth, and very pleasing to the eye.

Now, they are all wearing these blue and white uniforms, which are pure yet infinitely alluring, making them an unparalleled sight to behold.

Jia Lian finally understood why some people liked to own a private jet for fun.

He beckoned the four beauties to come closer, and Jia Lian sat up straight to look them over before finally saying, "Take off your shoes."

Embroidered shoes ultimately didn't match the beautiful clothing of later generations.

Jia Lian was thinking about whether he should get a batch of crystals and make a pair of crystal shoes for each of them to try out.

Upon hearing the order, Gu Qingyi and the other three beauties bent down almost without hesitation, took off their embroidered shoes, and then stepped barefoot onto the clean and soft carpet.

Originally, Jia Lian only laid fur on the very center of the main hall, on the cool couch.

Later, when Lady You saw that Jia Lian liked to come here to play, she took the initiative to replace all the carpets on the floor behind the entrance screen and outside the partition room, and regularly changed and cleaned them.

So let alone just going barefoot, even if Jia Lian were in the mood, he could use the ground as a bed.

Jia Lian stood up and looked around at the four barefoot, stunningly beautiful flight attendants, but still felt that something was missing.

A glance around the hall revealed several baskets in the east corner containing leftover strips of cloth and silk of various colors, likely leftovers from when Qin Keqing and the others were making clothes.

So he quickly went over and searched around, finding several pure blue cloth strips.

Take the scissors next to him and cut out four diamond-shaped ribbons, each about two fingers wide.

The four beauties and Xiangling on the couch all craned their necks, curiously watching Jia Lian's actions.

Jia Lian came over with a diamond-shaped silk ribbon and went straight to Gu Qingyi. He draped one of the ribbons over her swan-like neck and tied it.

Seemingly not quite satisfied, he disassembled it and changed the way it was tied, then took two steps back, finally revealing a slightly satisfied smile on his face.

Although the other three didn't understand why, looking at Jia Lian's expression and glancing at Gu Qingyi, who seemed a little embarrassed by Jia Lian's gaze, they actually felt that after Jia Lian's embellishment, Gu Qingyi was indeed even more beautiful and attractive.

Shen Pan'er then smiled and said, "Master, you can't be biased. Why are you only dressing up Sister Gu, but the three of us don't?"

In fact, when Jia Lian refused to let Gu Qingyi and the other three beauties change their clothes back and demanded that more braziers be lit, they knew that they had done the right thing by listening to Qin Keqing.

The reason they won't let us exchange it is simply because they want to see and appreciate it more.

Why burn so many braziers? Naturally, it's because we're afraid they'll get cold.

The simple instructions clearly demonstrate Jia Lian's fondness for their current attire and his deep affection for them.

Not to mention, now that Qin Keqing is away, Jia Lian is personally dressing up and adorning them.

Therefore, the four beauties naturally did not want to be outdone and all wanted to show their most beautiful side to Jia Lian and outshine the others.

Jia Lian, naturally, wouldn't show favoritism and quickly tied these simple little "silk scarves" on all three of Shen Pan'er's children as well.

Sure enough, with this little touch, the four beauties looked even more like stunning flight attendants.

Just as Jia Lian was beginning to feel a stirring of desire and plotting something wicked, Qin Keqing emerged from the cubicle again.

Following her were Jiang Yun and twelve young actors.

Jia Lian's attention was immediately diverted.

As Jia Lian had predicted, Qin Keqing did indeed create not only flight attendant uniforms, but also school uniforms.

It's still a classic Japanese design.

Well, perhaps Jia Lian himself only remembered this one, so the beautiful Qin could only replicate this one.

Seeing that Jia Lian's gaze was indeed focused on a group of young actresses, Qin Keqing smiled and said, "Because this set is similar in material, color and style to the set worn by Gu Dajia and the others, I made these two sets first."

Only after they were made did I realize that the two sets were quite different.

This outfit seems more suitable for these young actors, what do you think, Uncle?

What could Jia Lian think? He could only think that Qin Keqing indeed had an aesthetic talent.

Although the young actresses have been with the Jia family for two years, the oldest is only thirteen or fourteen, still considered little girls.

Twelve people wearing this Japanese school uniform together look perfectly natural.

Moreover, if Jia Lian's judgment is correct, the one Qin Keqing produces will be an alluring one.

Because compared to the flight attendant uniforms worn by Gu Qingyi and the other three beauties, these uniforms not only used less material and were shorter, but also exposed their navels...

Of course, this is definitely not Qin Keqing's fault. After all, that's what the blueprints he gave her were like. She was just copying what he said.

Previously, Jia Lian hadn't felt anything about having young actors serve him, but now, after being dressed up by Qin Keqing, he actually felt a long-lost sense of guilt.

However, it must be said that the young actors, dressed in school uniforms, do indeed exude more than three times the youthful energy.

Moreover, unlike Gu Qingyi and the others, the embroidered shoes no longer felt out of place on their feet.

Even the white stockings that covered her calves high up had a similar effect to white silk stockings, and they matched the style of the clothes perfectly.

After carefully observing the shy and timid young actors for a few moments, Jia Lian finally turned his gaze to Jiang Yun, who stood out from the crowd.

Uh……

The dress is black, white, and gray, a standard maid outfit with nothing particularly special about it.

Strictly speaking, the maids' attire in the Jia family could also be considered a type of female servant's uniform.

Wearing light-colored ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) and a vest with pinned teeth, Jia Lian found the sight of all the maids in the mansion dressed like this quite pleasing to the eye when he first arrived in the world.

Perhaps it's because he's seen so much of this now, or perhaps because the maids' attire isn't significantly different from the ordinary clothing of this era, that Jia Lian took a liking to Jiang Yun's current appearance at first glance.

There was even an urge to have all the maids and wives in the two mansions wear such uniforms to work.

But it's just a thought.

Putting aside the fact that the maids and wives couldn't accept it, the worldly perspective alone would be enough to make him look bad.

As a result, Jiang Yun is now even more embarrassed and awkward than the Four Beauties and Gu Qingyi.

Strictly speaking, she actually wore the most fabric.

But whenever she looked down at her loose, fluffy clothes that seemed like they could be exposed with a gust of wind, she couldn't help but feel ashamed.

Fortunately, she came from a brothel and had a strong mental fortitude; otherwise, she would never have accepted Qin Keqing's suggestion to wear this outfit... let's just call it an outfit for now.

When Qin Keqing saw Jia Lian's gaze fall on Jiang Yun, she immediately smiled and said, "I didn't really understand the design my second uncle gave me. It seemed quite complicated, so I only made this one outfit."

I saw that my second uncle had labeled it 'maid', so I asked her to try it on.

Second Uncle, can you still close your eyes?
If it suits my eyes, I'll make more of these so that all the maids and young wives here can wear them in the future.

Well, but I'm afraid that won't work in this weather. We'll have to wait until it gets warmer.

Otherwise, if they get too cold, my second uncle will be heartbroken.

Qin Keqing did consider adding insulation to these clothes, but after several trials, she felt it wasn't good enough and eventually gave up.

Since these clothes are not meant to be worn outside anyway, and the weather is getting warmer, I decided to reproduce Jia Lian's design as closely as possible.

After hearing Qin Keqing's words, Jia Lian realized that all she had done was to please him alone.

Thinking about how much she had suffered since she came to him, and how she never complained to him, he felt a pang of pity for her.

So he waved to her.

"what?"

Qin Keqing walked over, puzzled. Unexpectedly, Jia Lian scooped her up, turned around, and sat down on the couch with an air of authority, placing her on his lap.

"They're watching what Uncle does..."

Qin Keqing blushed and her heart pounded. Although she understood that the beauties of Tianxiang Tower had long since seen through the relationship between her and Jia Lian.

However, being so openly exposed in front of people still made her feel somewhat ashamed to face them.

Jia Lian had no such concerns. He reached out and stroked her stunningly beautiful face, which could captivate all beings, and sighed, "You've really worked hard. You've helped me decorate the wedding room and courtyard, and you've been busy getting all these things done. I don't know how to thank you enough."

Qin Keqing was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "Uncle, what are you saying? It is my honor to be able to do things for you. I am so happy that I don't need your thanks."

"Oh, is it so?"

As Jia Lian spoke, he lifted the beauty's body slightly and lowered his head to kiss her forehead.

Looking up, he saw that her skin was as red as the sunset and her face was full of shyness, so he no longer held back and continued to kiss her cherry-like lips.

Some of the others in the hall looked on with surprise, but most of them simply had an expression of "I knew it," and nothing unusual about it.

Jiang Yun quickly glanced around and found that the hall was filled with regular servants and no unauthorized personnel, which put her at ease.

After thinking for a moment, he walked up to Gu Qingyi, who was frowning and observing, and whispered a few words to her.

Only after he nodded did I walk towards the east-facing cubicle.

In order to provide Jia Lian with a better viewing experience, Qin Keqing dismissed all the maids, including Lan Zi, Qing Lü, who were not yet assigned dressing duties by her.

So, after Jia Lian had his fill of the beautiful Qin's fine wine, he looked up again.

Inside the hall, melodious music filled the air, accompanied by gentle singing and dancing.

Jiang Yun, dressed as a maid, was leading several maids, carrying a table and fine wine, and placing them in front of him.

Looking at the beautiful women in the room, Jia Lian glanced at Qin Keqing, who was in his arms, her almond-shaped eyes glazed over, her breath coming in soft gasps, and her beauty beyond compare.

He thought to himself, "How can one not cherish such a beautiful day and scenery?"

……

Amidst intensive preparations, February 11th finally arrived.

Early in the morning, many people began to flock to the Ningrong Street area.

Many of them heard the rumors from storytellers and gossipy women who spread rumors.

Claims such as "the grandest wedding in Beijing in ten years" and "the presence of high-ranking officials" had already begun circulating among the public half a month ago.

Many people are willing to believe it.

The reason is simple: the groom of this wedding is the most famous legendary figure in the dynasty, the grandson of the retired emperor, and the Duke of Rong who single-handedly established the dynasty's rule over Liaodong.

Many people want to witness firsthand what a grand wedding of such a person would be like.

As expected, there's no smoke without fire. As soon as they approached this area, many people noticed that the number of soldiers and government officials patrolling the streets was many times greater than usual.

Before noon, a large group of richly dressed servants began sweeping the streets and laying incense ash from Ningrong Street eastward.

Then came the bundles and bundles of brand-new, wide red carpets, pushed out from the Rongguo Mansion and laid out along the east and west sides of the street, one roll after another, as if they were free.

When some mischievous children saw it, they immediately wanted to jump up and have fun, but were hurriedly pulled back by their own adults.

Goodness, in their small family, such carpets are only brought out by the clan chief to decorate the facade during ancestral worship ceremonies. If even one is damaged, they probably couldn't afford to pay for it even if they sold their entire fortune.

Of course, you can't hold them back.

They soon discovered that many children had already run up there, jumping and rolling around.

Those were all children who weren't being watched by adults.

Moreover, it seems that no one went up to drive them away or shout at them.

Some parents, still worried, asked around before finally finding out the truth.

It turns out that the Rongguo Mansion had said that it was okay to walk on it normally, and the children could play on it, but they were not allowed to deliberately dirty or damage it, nor were they allowed to urinate on it. They just had to avoid it when the wedding procession arrived.

So the people sang praises, saying that he was indeed a family that accumulated good deeds, and that he was indeed the Duke of Rongguo who loved the country and the people.

When they heard that the Duke's Mansion would throw money, candy, and red envelopes after the wedding procession, the onlookers became even more excited and reluctant to leave.

……

Marriage is best done at dusk.

Following Jia Lian's prior instructions, Wang Mama and Zijuan, among others, strictly adhered to the rules and only formally dressed Daiyu an hour before the wedding.

Of course, the base makeup and other preparations were done in advance.

Even so, wearing a phoenix crown weighing nearly ten pounds for an hour still made Daiyu feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Especially when she thought about having to ride in a sedan chair later and then going through a series of tedious rituals after entering the gate, Daiyu's little face fell.

She began to complain about why Jia Lian had made her wear such a heavy phoenix crown; wasn't he deliberately trying to torture her?

Zijuan saw through Daiyu's thoughts and comforted her, "Miss, just bear with it. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event, so it should be celebrated in a grand manner."

Today, countless women throughout the city are envious of this young lady.

Hearing this, Daiyu felt a little better, but she still corrected him, saying, "And Sister Bao too."

Zijuan smiled and said, "Let me help you support yourself, Miss."

As she spoke, Zijuan reached out and gently supported Daiyu's phoenix crown to ease some of the pressure on Daiyu.

It's not that she can't take it off halfway, but today is Daiyu's most important day, so she naturally has to be dressed in the most perfect makeup and attire for her wedding, and she can't be careless in the slightest.

If you take it off halfway and then hurriedly put it back on when Jia Lian arrives, it would be bad if you missed the appointed time.

In this joyful anticipation, we finally heard the sound of gongs and drums outside.

"The groom is here!!"

Upon hearing the announcement from the maids in the outer courtyard, Zijuan, Xueyan, and the others immediately got to work, finally touching up Daiyu's eyebrows and makeup.

Granny Wang also entered at the right time, and said with a smile, "Miss, the auspicious time has arrived, please get into the sedan chair."

As she spoke, she stepped forward to help check, making sure there were no mistakes or omissions, before covering Daiyu's head with a bright red veil. With the help of Zijuan and Granny Wang, Daiyu was escorted out of her boudoir.

Through the bright red veil, Daiyu could not see the outside world.

But even from the deafening noise of gongs and drums, Daiyu knew that a large number of people had gathered around her.

Until that familiar voice rang out: "Lin Daiyu~"

Daiyu blushed instantly and dared not respond at all, letting Wang Mama and the other woman help her to a sedan chair carried by eight men and step onto a stool.

"Be careful girl."

Only after she was safely inside the sedan chair, with Zijuan and the others helping her pick up the hem of her robe and put it inside, and closing the curtain, did Daiyu finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Sitting in the empty bridal sedan chair, it took her a long time before she dared to slightly raise her hand and lift a corner of her veil.

Only when she realized that no one could see her anymore did her heartbeat truly begin to steady.

Outside, Jia Lian, riding a tall steed, waited until everyone was ready before loudly announcing the return journey.

Then the sounds of gongs, drums, and suonas filled the air once more, and the grand wedding procession returned along the same route as it had come.

The difference was that a large number of Lin family members followed behind.

Steward Lin Youquan had already discussed it with Granny Wang. Not only did they gather all the existing servants of the Lin family in the capital, but they also hired an additional thirty or forty people, making a total of sixty or seventy people to send off the bride.

Of course, they weren't empty-handed.

Besides wearing flowers and red ribbons, almost everyone carried them on their shoulders and in their hands.

What was being carried and adorned was not only Daiyu's dowry, but also the prestige and influence of the Lin family. (End of Chapter)