Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Donning her silk robe, Baochai turned to look at the pond, where she saw two yellow silks fluttering on the surface.

Those were the clothes she used to wear close to her skin.

"Put it away."

"Yes."

Turning her gaze away, Baochai walked towards Jia Lian.

Jia Lian smiled and opened his arms, and she naturally nestled into them.

"How was it? Wasn't your husband fierce?"

Baochai already felt she had been too unrestrained, so she couldn't tolerate Jia Lian's frivolous words.

She raised her hand to cover Jia Lian's mouth and scolded him, "Husband, you mustn't be so improper."

"Is this not proper? You'd better watch out, there's a lot more improper stuff to come."

Jia Lian took the beauty's delicate hand away and smiled.

Baochai had no answer. She was also embarrassed to face Jia Lian's aggressive and scrutinizing gaze, so she could only lower her head slightly and rest it on Jia Lian's open chest to listen to his heavy heartbeat and calm her emotions.

Baochai quieted down, and Jia Lian didn't want to make any more moves anyway, since a beauty's profile is often more pleasing to the eye than her front view.

But soon Jia Lian's gaze was forced to move down from Baochai's beautiful face.

As the saying goes, "If you can't see your toes when you look down, you'll be a peerless beauty."

Baochai, of course, could not see her own toes.

Similarly, when he held her in his arms, Jia Lian, looking down at her, couldn't see her.

The coverings were already obvious, and since the beauty had no underwear to change into after coming ashore, she had no choice but to wear revealing clothing.

It is easy to imagine how completely unobstructed Jia Lian's view was.

He found himself quite ridiculous; he had already seen the true face of Mount Lu long ago, and could even make it up as round or flat as he pleased.

But it was precisely because of this layer of silk robe that he felt particularly excited in the dim light.

After silently observing for a long time, seeing that Baochai was completely unaware, he raised his hand and flicked it backward.

Xiangling, who was massaging his shoulders from behind, immediately withdrew her hands and stepped back with her arms hanging down.

Then he stood up from the recliner and, to Baochai's puzzled look, laid her down on the recliner.

"My husband..."

"Don't move."

Jia Lian stopped Baochai from making any rash moves, squatted down in front of the recliner, and examined the soft, fragrant woman in front of him as if she were a precious treasure.

Startled by Jia Lian's gaze, Baochai asked shyly, "Husband, are you not yet satisfied? You mustn't indulge in too much pleasure."

Jia Lian smiled wryly: "Not at all. It's just that Chai'er is too charming, and I can't help but want to admire her a little longer."

Baochai was speechless. She turned her head away, refusing to look at Jia Lian.

Her gesture clearly indicated acquiescence, so Jia Lian ignored her and removed her jade-like arm that had instinctively been protecting her chest. Then, rubbing his hands together, he opened the collar of the beautiful woman's dress, which she had just put on, as if unpacking a gift box.

He did intend to simply appreciate the natural, pure beauty of the woman's exquisite body.

However, when he finally faced those beautiful things he had praised again, he could not suppress his worldly desires.

He stood up, discarded the robe that the two maids, Qingwen and Xiangling, had draped over him, and then climbed onto the beauty's back.

"you……"

Faced with the beauty's resistance, Jia Lian coaxed, "I'm sorry to trouble you, Chai'er, but please let me enjoy myself a little longer."

Baochai looked up at the wicked man in front of her, but in the end, she couldn't refuse his kind words. After hesitating for a long time, she took the initiative to raise her hands and cooperate in satisfying her husband's unusual request.

The back mountain.

After taking a bath, Sister Feng and the others set up a card game in the pavilion on the mountain.

The sisters either watched from the sidelines, waiting for an opportunity to participate, or they sat around the stove brewing tea and playing chess.

Baoqin stayed for a while, then felt a little bored. Remembering what her cousin had told her a while ago, she decided to go find Baochai to talk about it again.

But after she apologized and went down the mountain, she hesitated, unsure how to bring it up with her cousin.

Hesitating for a moment, he glanced up and saw a relatively isolated palace in the northeast direction. As if possessed, he said to the maid Xiaoluo behind him, "You go find somewhere to have fun by yourself. I'll take a walk by myself."

Xiao Luo asked, "When are you going back, girl?"

"You don't need to worry about it, just keep doing your thing."

After Baoqin finished speaking, she ignored her maid and walked towards a path to the east.

As Baoqin approached the palace with light, leisurely steps, she hesitated whether to continue. Suddenly, she heard a woman's sharp, scolding voice: "Who's there?"

Baoqin looked up and saw a female guard, dressed in white soft armor and with a sword at her waist, scrutinizing her.

Not far behind him, at a side door, was another person dressed in the same manner.

Baoqin thought to herself, "This must be the female soldier that my sister told me about, the one that Madam You San trained for my brother-in-law."

So he quickly stepped forward and explained, "Hello, sisters. I'm looking for my sister. I wonder if she's inside?"

The female guards also saw Baoqin's appearance clearly, and respectfully clasped their hands in greeting: "Reporting to Miss Xue, Consort Xue is indeed inside, and is with the Crown Prince."

"Should we go in and inform them?"

"No need, I'll go in and find her myself."

Baoqin said somewhat nervously.

Upon hearing this, the female soldier didn't say anything more, simply retreated, and continued her duty.

Putting aside the fact that Baoqin is Baochai's younger sister, just looking at her appearance, it would be hard to find someone in the world more exquisite, beautiful and lovely than her.

These women close to Jia Lian inevitably discussed in private which of their daughters might catch the Crown Prince's eye and become the next imperial concubine.

Clearly, Baoqin received a high number of votes.

Therefore, they naturally wouldn't stop Baoqin from seeing Jia Lian.

Baoqin had no idea what the female guards were thinking; she was naturally somewhat afraid of these women who wielded swords and knives.

After glancing at the two of them a few times to make sure they really meant to let her in, she quickly stepped inside.

After walking a few steps inside, Baoqin felt slightly surprised.

I had assumed that since it was my brother-in-law's place, it would be crowded and heavily guarded. This was evident from the caution displayed by the two guards at the entrance.

But then she discovered that it was very quiet inside, and there wasn't a single person in sight.

Baoqin breathed a sigh of relief after turning past a courtyard wall with some lingering doubts.

Before me lay a beaded curtain and emerald screen, walls made of jade, and a floor spotless.

Such a sight is enough to prove the extraordinary status of the owner of this place.

The reason there's no one here is probably because this is the backyard, and my sister and brother-in-law are in the front.

So she quickened her pace and walked forward. Her eyes fell on a white jade pool that was still steaming. She thought that this was probably the hot spring pool that her brother-in-law had mentioned that night. Then her gaze froze and her steps involuntarily stopped in place.

Just as she dodged a beaded curtain and her field of vision widened, a cool chair suddenly appeared in front of her.

She didn't even have time to examine what the lounge chair looked like, because she immediately spotted Jia Lian kneeling naked on it.

Although the handrail obstructed the view of Jia Lian's lower body, she was still at a loss when suddenly confronted with his body.

In particular, besides Jia Lian's figure that made her want to steal a few more glances, she also saw a section of the beautiful woman's long, white thigh behind Jia Lian's buttocks.

Clearly, besides Jia Lian, there should be another person on the lounge chair, and that person is a beautiful woman.

Given Jia Lian's posture, Baoqin's face flushed instantly, and several erotic scenes she had fantasized about flashed through her mind.

But none of them seemed quite right.

Suppressing the urge to speak, she glanced at Jia Lian, then covered her mouth, turned around, and ran away quickly along the way she had come.

Jia Lian certainly saw Baoqin too; in fact, he saw her even before she did.

It was precisely because he recognized who it was that Jia Lian did not make a sound, nor did he disturb Baochai beneath him.

He wanted to see what this girl was up to, sneaking over here so furtively.

I'm even more curious to know how this adorable little girl will react when she sees me and her sister like this.

To his surprise, the girl was much bolder than he had imagined. She even stole several glances at him before turning and running away.

Jia Lian almost wanted to tell her to stop.

"What's wrong?"

Although Jia Lian didn't speak, his unusual reaction and pause naturally caught Baochai's attention.

Therefore, she turned her head away to avoid Jia Lian's harassment and asked a question.

Jia Lian lowered his head again, touched Baochai's lips with his thumb, and smiled, "It's nothing..."

However, Baochai refused to believe it—she had heard the footsteps Baoqin left behind in her panic.

She tried to get up to see clearly, but Jia Lian was sitting on her stomach, pressing her down firmly.

Seeing that Jia Lian not only gave her a perfunctory answer but also wanted to continue to take advantage of her, Baochai naturally wouldn't tolerate him. She threw her hand away, pouted, and turned her head away, determined not to let Jia Lian have any use.

After several unsuccessful attempts, Jia Lian finally gave in.

He laughed and said, "It's Qin Yatou. I don't know how she got here, but she's left now."

Baochai's expression tightened, and she could no longer maintain her gentle demeanor. She covered her chest with one hand, tried to prop herself up, and looked back.

But Baoqin was nowhere to be found.

"Okay, I already told you she's gone."

Baochai was extremely embarrassed and pushed Jia Lian away forcefully, angrily saying, "It's all your fault! Qin'er saw us like this, how am I supposed to face her in the future?"

Seeing that Baochai's voice was trembling with tears, Jia Lian could no longer pretend to be innocent and smiled as he comforted her, "Alright, alright, it's all my fault."

But don't worry, that girl probably didn't see you either. Look, you didn't see her either, did you?"

Baochai refused to believe this. After a moment of stunned silence, she silently pulled her clothes from the reclining chair and put them on.

Jia Lian was now somewhat worried, since Baochai had always been very sensible and well-mannered since she married him, and he didn't want to really upset her.

"Don't be angry, it was my oversight."

The people in the backyard must have been called away by Qingwen and the others, which is why Qin'er barged in. I'll teach them a lesson when I get back.

Jia Lian sat casually on the recliner, one hand resting on the back of the chair, seemingly sincerely admitting his mistake.

Baochai glanced back at him, then lowered her head to button up her clothes before walking over to meet Jia Lian's slightly uneasy expression.

"you……"

Jia Lian opened his mouth, about to say something, but Baochai suddenly burst out laughing.

"Why are you lecturing them again? They did nothing wrong by calling the person away."

On the contrary, it's Qin Yatou who, taking advantage of your leniency, has no manners whatsoever. Knowing full well this is your residence, she still dared to trespass without even announcing herself.

Jia Lian laughed upon hearing this, patted his thigh, and after Baochai sat down as she pleased, he put his arm around her and said with a smile, "So, you're not angry with me anymore?"

"There wasn't really anything to be angry about."

Baochai glanced at Jia Lian, then spoke with a serious expression: "Husband, there is something I would like to discuss with you."

"What is it? Tell me."

"Qin'er is thirteen years old this year, and she's almost at the age where she should be getting married."

This wasn't something we should have been considering, but not long ago, her aunt wrote to us asking my mother in Beijing to help her find a match.

If there are any good families, we must keep an eye out for them.

My mother and I discussed it, and with Qin's looks and character, we must find her a suitable husband.

However, we don't know many people in the capital, so we wanted to ask my husband's opinion.

If my husband knows any talented young men, we would be grateful if he could introduce them to us.

Baochai spoke with increasing seriousness, appearing every bit the caring older sister, busily making arrangements for her younger sister's marriage.

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian raised his hand and stroked his bald chin, saying, "Hmm...you're right. With Qin's appearance, we do need to be picky. We should choose someone with an excellent family background, character, and looks."

Baochai sighed, "It's a pity that there's no man in this world who has all these qualities."

Even if they did, they'd probably already be engaged.

Although Qin and I are not from the same mother, I have always treated her like my own sister.

I already... I can't bear to see Qin'er become someone else's concubine.

Seeing Baochai's resolute words, Jia Lian coughed and swallowed back the words that were about to come out.

Baochai glanced at Jia Lian and continued, "So, if you can't find a good family, you can only settle for second best. You don't care about family background, as long as the person is of good character and looks good."

Does my husband know anyone like that?

"Well, this... since you brought it up so suddenly, I really can't think of a suitable candidate right now. Please allow me to think about it..."

With one arm around Baochai's voluptuous waist, Jia Lian pondered a solution.

He frowned in thought, while Baochai, nestled in her arms, quietly watched him.

After a while, Jia Lian said, "If we don't care about family background and only care about character and appearance, then it's still easy to choose."

"Wait here, I'll have someone collect information on some outstanding young men in the capital for you. You can choose carefully."

"Then thank you very much, my husband."

"You're welcome, it's nothing, nothing at all~"

Seeing that Jia Lian looked dazed and spoke insincerely, Baochai finally couldn't help but burst out laughing again.

When Jia Lian looked down at her with a puzzled expression, she said, "Actually, perhaps it doesn't need to be so complicated."

I observed that Qin Yatou is usually very close to and fond of her husband.

If my husband also finds her agreeable, we might as well take her into our household and give her any title in the future. It would be a great relief for our family.

"What do you think, my husband?"

Jia Lian was taken aback for a moment, then raised his eyebrows slightly.

He laughed and said, "You little rascal, were you teasing me the whole time?"

"No, if my husband doesn't like Qin Yatou, we naturally wouldn't dare to force him. We'll just have to find her another husband."

Husband, please don't wrongly accuse someone.

Jia Lian smiled slightly, slapped Baochai's taut, beautiful buttocks, then pulled her closer, and said, "Thank you for your generosity, my lady, but isn't this too unfair to you?"

While it's not uncommon for sisters to share a husband, it's certainly not something to be proud of.

For Jia Lian, it was nothing, but for the Xue family, especially for the favored Baochai, it was hard for ordinary people to believe that she had sold her sister in order to secure the family's favor.

This is also why Jia Lian was too embarrassed to speak up earlier.

Baochai sighed inwardly upon hearing Jia Lian's words.

She had actually realized long ago that Jia Lian had feelings for Baoqin.

After all, Jia Lian had put in a lot of effort to help Baoqin break off her engagement.

In addition, Jia Lian's usual doting attitude towards Baoqin made it difficult for her not to notice Jia Lian's intentions.

As for Baoqin's thoughts, being a woman herself, she didn't need to ask. Besides, she had already asked.

Therefore, she had long been prepared to share a husband with Baoqin and her sister.

It was only today, with this opportunity, that she finally spoke up.

This was not because she intentionally used Baoqin to secure her favor, but because she knew she couldn't stop it.

Given Jia Lian's status and position, he could easily seduce any woman he fancied, as long as their social standing wasn't particularly incompatible.

Since she has feelings for Baoqin, Baoqin has no chance of escaping. Besides, that girl doesn't even want to escape.

Therefore, instead of waiting for Jia Lian to speak up, she might as well take the initiative herself and gain favor with him.

This is one.

Another consideration is that this might not be a bad thing for her.

Even now, she sometimes wonders why Jia Lian treats her so well. She even feels that she doesn't deserve such affection from Jia Lian.

Among her, Feng Jie, and Daiyu, perhaps only Daiyu was completely single-minded and content to enjoy all the good things Jia Lian did for her.

This kind of extraordinary pampering is intoxicating and mesmerizing.

But Baochai is a very rational person.

She knew all too well that the king's favor could never last forever or remain unchanged.

This is an extremely critical moment.

Jia Lian has already become the crown prince and will become the ruler of the world in the future.

Sister Feng has given birth to the eldest son, and her position is now secure.

However, in the imperial harem, the empress was not the only woman who could be considered noble!

Below them are the Four Consorts, the Noble Consorts, and even the Imperial Noble Consort, whose position is not permanent.

It remains to be seen who will ultimately receive these rare and prestigious titles.

Therefore, even from the perspective of self-interest and securing favor, it was more beneficial than harmful to actively let Jia Lian accept Baoqin.

Compared to the benefits, the malicious speculations others had about her seemed insignificant.

This is why she could calmly accept her sisters sharing a husband. She couldn't stop it, nor was there any need to.

If that were all, it wouldn't be anything special; there have been many such exchanges of interests throughout history.

What truly won her over and made her willingly offer her sister to Jia Lian was Jia Lian's attitude.

It was something he could have accomplished with just a word, but under her deliberate probing, the other party appeared timid and hesitant, completely losing the demeanor of the Prince of Pingliao and the newly crown prince!

She knew that this wasn't because Jia Lian had suddenly become stupid or lost his original boldness, but because he cared about her feelings.

Perhaps the other party was afraid that directly revealing his greed would disappoint him or embarrass him.

That's why he stammered like that.

Although she knew that Jia Lian's claim of finding information on outstanding young men in the capital was mostly a delaying tactic to appease her.

Based on her understanding of him, she knew that if she didn't reveal her true feelings, he would definitely take measures to win Baoqin over before her marriage was finalized.

He has always been the most greedy.

But so what? The fact that he is willing to do these unnecessary things to take care of his own emotions and feelings shows that he cares about himself and that he doesn't just like his own appearance and body.

So when Jia Lian asked her, Baochai gently stroked Jia Lian's equally handsome face and replied, "I don't feel wronged at all. My husband dotes on me so much, I just feel I have no way to repay him."

If letting Qin'er stay with her husband could bring him even a moment of joy, then Chai'er would feel it was all worthwhile.

Faced with such a heartfelt expression from the beauty, Jia Lian was speechless for a moment.

He embraced Baochai, bringing their hearts closer together, before sighing, "To have Baochai in this life, what more could I ask for?"

Baochai smiled upon hearing this, thinking to herself that she probably said the same thing to Lin Daiyu and the others.

However, Baochai naturally wouldn't spoil the atmosphere at this moment.

Remembering that Jia Lian didn't seem to have had enough, she lay quietly for a while before getting up from Jia Lian's lap.

"Are you leaving?"

Although Jia Lian was somewhat reluctant, he thought that Baochai might have been frightened just now, and since she had promised to give her sister to him in marriage, he did not want to force her.

Unexpectedly, Baochai tossed her hair, glanced seductively at his lower abdomen, and said with a smile, "Husband, there should be an inner room here too, right?"

"I don't want anyone else to come in and disturb my husband's enjoyment."

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian felt that Baochai at this moment was as beautiful as a fairy in a dream.

Without a word, he bent down and scooped up Baochai's seemingly plump yet actually quite slender body, striding towards the inner room at the back. (End of Chapter)