Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Although Princess Zhaoyang held the title of Minister of State Affairs, she was actually not good at handling state affairs.

In fact, Emperor Ningkang made this arrangement simply to have her represent the royal family and Emperor Ningkang himself to supervise Zhao Dongsheng and Shui Rong, and to prevent the two from jointly seizing power.

Princess Zhaoyang's main focus now is on rebuilding the Imperial Guard system.

The Imperial Guard's formation has been disrupted considerably due to the repeated internal strife over the past two years.

The Imperial Guards were unstable, and the imperial power was not secure.

After quickly handling her own affairs, Princess Zhaoyang arrived at Weiyang Palace as usual.

Without having anyone inform her, she easily found the Empress Dowager, who was tending to the flowers in the backyard.

The Empress Dowager was so engrossed that she didn't immediately notice Princess Zhaoyang's arrival.

A slight smile always graced her beautiful face, and through the gaps between the flower stands, it fell into Princess Zhaoyang's eyes, causing her to linger for a long time.

"Royal Grandmother."

A familiar voice rang out, and the Empress Dowager looked up and saw Princess Zhaoyang. Her usually sunny face showed some unease.

"You're here..."

"Is the Empress Dowager cutting flowers?"

"Yes, this trellis is too lush and leafy. Let's prune some of it so that the sunlight can get in."

Princess Zhaoyang walked along the stone path into the flower stand, outwardly calm, but inwardly filled with many strange emotions.

Although the former Empress Dowager was kind to her, she was, after all, raised by her, so she would inevitably speak from the perspective of an elder... well, she would put on airs.

They weren't so polite back then.

The other person didn't even dare to look her in the eye.

This feeling gave her a sense of pleasure in shifting between offense and defense.

She glanced at the Empress Dowager's work, walked to the stone table beside her, sat down, poured herself a cup of tea, took a sip, and said, "This kind of thing can be left to the servants. Your Majesty is of noble birth, why bother doing these things yourself?"

The Empress Dowager frowned slightly at Princess Zhaoyang's seemingly impolite behavior, but still explained calmly, "It's not any heavy work. I'm just idling around anyway, so doing these little things can help relieve my boredom."

Princess Zhaoyang smiled and said, "It's not for any other reason. I'm just worried that my grandmother's hands are so beautiful, what if she accidentally gets scratched by a flower branch?"

Even if the Empress Dowager herself doesn't feel sorry for her, someone else will definitely feel terrible about it.

When Princess Zhaoyang said this, the Empress Dowager almost lost her composure.

When they were at the imperial mausoleum, Jia Lian had praised her beautiful hands, and I remember that the girl was a little jealous at the time.

Therefore, she was not only able to understand Princess Zhaoyang's implied meaning, but her thoughts were also inevitably drawn back to those days in the imperial mausoleum.

She intended to glare at Princess Zhaoyang with her usual sternness, but found that she still couldn't look directly into those bright, young eyes. In the end, she could only turn her head away and remain silent.

The Empress Dowager's weak performance brought a smile to Princess Zhaoyang's face.

She glanced at the palace maids in the distance and whispered to the Empress Dowager, "I've been so busy these past few days. I have to take care of my father, handle the affairs of the government, and keep an eye on the court for my brother."

The emperor himself, on the other hand, took all his concubines and went on vacation outside the city.

Thinking about it makes me really unhappy.

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager said, "Don't think like that. He just returned with the troops and has been busy with your grandfather's affairs. It's rare for him to take a break, so you shouldn't..."

Before the Empress Dowager could finish speaking, she saw Princess Zhaoyang looking at her with a smile and realized that something was amiss, so she slowly stopped talking.

Sure enough, Princess Zhaoyang stood up and leaned close to her, teasingly saying, "Grandmother is so thoughtful; I hadn't thought of any of these things you mentioned."

It seems I didn't care about my elder brother as much as my grandmother did; no wonder he neglected me for her sake.

"You silly girl..."

The Empress Dowager blushed deeply and glared fiercely at Princess Zhaoyang, but ultimately lacked the confidence to back it up, so she turned around and pretended to cut flowers.

Seeing the Empress Dowager's reaction, Princess Zhaoyang laughed for a while but didn't press the matter further.

After thinking for a moment, she said, "Just because my brother can take a vacation doesn't mean I can't."

"I've almost finished what I was doing, and I'm planning to go out of town for a day in a couple of days. Would Grandmother like to come with me?"

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager paused, her hands, which were already not focused, moving.

Although Princess Zhaoyang's words sounded like she was just going out of the city for a casual trip and didn't seem to be looking for Jia Lian.

However, considering her previous words and her decisive personality, it's hard not to suspect that she was secretly going to find Jia Lian.

"I...I won't go. You go have fun by yourself, remember to be careful on the way..."

"Oh, okay then."

Seeing the Empress Dowager's figure that refused to turn around, Princess Zhaoyang secretly shook her head.

Her great-aunt was just too thin-skinned.

However, the more she acted this way, the more she felt an inexplicable pleasure.

After smiling, he bowed and left.

……

Yunhai Wangyue Mountain Villa.

A small boat gently sways on Yunhai Lake.

Daiyu, her small body limply resting on the boat railing, asked casually, "Aren't you going to keep your beauties company today?"

"I just wanted to keep you company."

Jia Lian leaned against the ship's beam, his legs crossed on the bench, his large feet, covered in socks, facing Daiyu.

Daiyu was somewhat dissatisfied with Jia Lian's answer.

Because he had to be with her, he didn't go to be with those beauties. The implication was that if he wasn't with her, he would go to find those beauties.

Or was it because he had to be with her that he missed the chance to go and have fun with those beauties?

"I didn't ask you to come with me."

Daiyu glanced back at Jia Lian, then subtly shifted her hips away from his feet.

"Ha ha."

Jia Lian chuckled, sat up, and smiled as he squinted at Daiyu, whose lips were slightly pouting.

This girl is exquisitely beautiful and has a clever and charming temperament; every smile and frown can captivate people's hearts.

She was a bit thin, so even though she was an extremely beautiful woman, Jia Lian would only feel affection and care for her most of the time.

Unlike Baochai, who is always able to arouse the most primal desires.

Therefore, he enjoyed confiding in Daiyu and relishing the sweet feeling of being in love.

So he plopped down next to Daiyu, the force of which knocked Daiyu's body away.

"Sister Lin, it's rare that Yun'er and the others aren't here today, so I'll teach you how to row!"

Daiyu was startled by Jia Lian's sudden action and was about to scold him, but hesitated upon hearing this.

Because they had been playing at the resort these days, the sisters and Er You had become quite familiar with each other.

After all, they were Jia Lian's other two concubines, so it was not appropriate to neglect them.

This morning, Sister You San took two of her trusted confidants to hunt in the mountains behind the village, and they actually caught two rabbits.

When they returned, they were spotted by Tan Chun and the others.

So Xiangyun, who was the most outgoing and friendly, immediately begged You Sanjie to take them into the mountains to play.

Sister You was a woman with few concerns, so she readily agreed and said she would take them there that afternoon.

When Sister Feng heard about it, she quickly sent more people to follow along and informed Jia Lian, asking him to arrange for men to set up a defensive line on the outer perimeter.

It was precisely because most of the sisters were not around that Jia Lian saw Daiyu lazily staying in her room and coaxed her to come and row the boat.

Daiyu was actually very happy about this.

After all, what she wanted from beginning to end was to be with Jia Lian.

All of Jia Lian's fame and fortune were insignificant to her.

"Tch, you probably can't even row a boat yourself, what makes you think you can teach me?"

Daiyu had known Jia Lian since she was nine years old, and she didn't think Jia Lian knew everything.

Jia Lian laughed and said, "Afraid? This little girl has grown wings and dares to question me?"

How about we have a competition between the two of us?

"How do we compete?"

I bet Daiyu has never been afraid.

"I just checked, there are two oars on this boat. We'll each take one oar and see whichever way the boat goes wins."

Upon hearing this, Daiyu stared at Jia Lian speechlessly.

Isn't this just relying on brute force?

He's so strong, and I'm so weak, how dare he say that!

However, Daiyu didn't mind and readily agreed.

She had already decided that if Jia Lian bullied her, she would kick him into the lake.

Anyway, he can swim.

The boatwoman at the bow also heard their conversation, so when she saw them come out, she immediately handed the oar to Jia Lian and made way for him.

But she did not go far; instead, she stood respectfully to one side.

She already felt lucky enough to have been chosen to row a boat for the Crown Prince and his concubine.

I never expected to witness the Crown Prince and his concubine rowing a boat race in person.

If word gets out, he can brag about it for a lifetime.

At the same time, she was also very curious about how Consort Lin, with such a slender figure, dared to compete with the Crown Prince.

She soon witnessed how, with Jia Lian's powerful strength and relatively skilled technique, the boat inevitably veered directly toward Daiyu.

Daiyu, not to be outdone, rose up in rebellion.

Unfortunately, her petite body and arms, not even half the thickness of an oar, made resistance pointless in the boatwoman's eyes.

On the contrary, the boatwoman was worried that Daiyu might accidentally pry herself into the lake.

She wanted to offer a suggestion, but seeing that Jia Lian next to Daiyu didn't seem to care, she didn't dare to speak rashly.

A miraculous scene unfolded.

After a brief period of clumsiness, Daiyu suddenly seemed to possess divine power, causing the boat, which was already spinning in place, to begin swaying from side to side.

It is clear that the two sides have reached a point of even strength.

Daiyu's eyes lit up, and she worked even harder, determined to win back the score.

Unfortunately, Jia Lian's strength was not to be underestimated. After several rounds of back and forth, the boat miraculously achieved balance and began to move steadily forward.

The boatwoman, who had been observing carefully from beginning to end, naturally understood that the prince must have been letting the boat go easy on her.

This is quite normal; otherwise, Consort Lin wouldn't be able to play at all.

What's remarkable is that the Crown Prince deliberately pretended to be struggling, and even taunted and shouted provocations.

It truly gave Consort Lin a wonderful experience.

No wonder people say that although Consort Lin is young, she is the Crown Prince's favorite.

Now it seems that it was indeed true.

The boatwoman felt a mixture of envy and admiration. The Crown Prince and Consort Lin were indeed a perfect couple, both possessing such extraordinary temperament and being born noble.

Seeing that the boat was about to reach the shore, she quickly stepped forward and said with a smile, "Your Highness, Consort Lin, please stop! You can't go any further."

Upon hearing this, Daiyu looked up at the shore, wiped the slight sweat from her forehead, and quietly stopped.

Jia Lian watched her from the side and felt that Daiyu had some symptoms of blood deficiency. Every time she exercised, her face would turn rosy and she would look particularly attractive.

"How about that? I won, didn't I?"

Daiyu glanced at Jia Lian but ignored him.

Looking back at the lake I came from, I thought to myself, "Wow, we've rowed this far..."

Sure enough, the time I spent with him was both happy and short-lived.

"Want to play another round?"

"I'm tired too. You can paddle if you like."

As Daiyu spoke, she walked back into the cabin.

Jia Lian nodded to the boatwoman, then put down his oar, preparing to go inside and have some romantic time with Daiyu.

Suddenly, they saw Aqin walking along the shore.

"Master, my sister just sent someone to say that Miss Zhen and the others have arrived and are now at the foot of Longyin Mountain."

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian responded and smiled at Daiyu, who had already returned to her seat, saying, "Your sister Yuhuan is here. Let's go and greet her together?"

Since Jia Lian had mentioned this before, Daiyu was not surprised.

Thinking of the girl who looked just like her, Daiyu's face showed a hint of nostalgia.

However, I then thought that Jia Lian was a lecher.

Yu Huan looks exactly like her, so Jia Lian must also have covetous thoughts!

Otherwise, why would he be in such a hurry to send someone to bring her up this mountain?

This suspicion is reasonable and well-founded, but it's not something I can voice.

So Daiyu said, "You go ahead, I need to go back and take a bath first."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Daiyu regretted them.

She was jealous and didn't want to listen to Jia Lian, but then she thought, if she didn't go, wouldn't that be creating an opportunity for Jia Lian?

Jia Lian was unaware of Daiyu's awkwardness. Knowing that Daiyu loved cleanliness, he didn't think much of it and immediately ordered them to dock.

After escorting Daiyu back to the manor, he took a small group of riders and went down the mountain to fetch her. (End of Chapter)