Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

"Cao Zhong!"

"Yes, Your Majesty..."

Upon hearing Jia Lian's call, Cao Zhong hurriedly ran inside.

He looked somewhat worried, fearing that Jia Lian would punish him for "acting on his own initiative."

"Make arrangements so that I may return to the Crown Prince's residence tonight."

"Ah...oh, okay, I'll go and make the arrangements right away."

Since Jia Lian had not yet appointed a crown prince, the Crown Prince's residence naturally refers to the place where Jia Lian previously lived.

As for whether it is the Imperial City or Ningrong Street, there is no need to ask further; it is assumed to be the Imperial City.

If not, the master will explain it himself when the time comes.

"Keep it down late at night, don't disturb the neighbors."

"Yes."

After giving instructions to Cao Zhong, Jia Lian got up and went to the mourning hall.

After a brief ceremony, someone was sent to wake the fourth prince.

"What's wrong, Your Majesty? Didn't you say you were on guard duty for the first half of the night?"

I've only been asleep for a short while...

The fourth prince yawned and slunk over.

Jia Lian patted his shoulder and reassured him, "I have something to do tonight and need to go back to the capital."

So please keep watch for me, I'll relieve you first thing tomorrow morning."

"what?"

Upon hearing this, the Fourth Prince, though unwilling, could not refuse and could only watch Jia Lian's departing figure with a weary and resentful expression.

"Why go back so late at night? Honestly..."

Despite the crickets chirping in his mouth, the fourth prince still obediently knelt on the prayer mat in front of the coffin, kowtowed a few times with great difficulty, and then knelt and dozed off.

He woke up with a start after a few breaths, and when he looked back, he saw that quite a few people were staring at him.

Her face flushed, but she quickly came up with an idea.

"You, go and wake my fifth brother..."

"Yes."

……

Because it was late at night and they deliberately kept quiet, Jia Lian's first departure from the palace after ascending the throne did not attract much attention.

Upon returning to the Crown Prince's residence in the Forbidden City, Jia Lian again refrained from making a great fuss.

He simply asked the steward of the inner quarters who came out to greet him, "Have Consort Lin and Consort Xue gone to sleep yet?"

The steward replied, "The main lights in Consort Lin's and Consort Xue's courtyards are off... but the lights in the Crown Princess's courtyard are still on..."

Jia Lian nodded and walked alone towards the west courtyard.

Upon seeing this, Cao Zhong and the others quickly sent someone to notify them in advance to make arrangements.

There is a long room in the west courtyard, which was originally where Prince Yun kept musical instruments and antiques.

Later, the empress ordered the palace to be renovated and decorated, and it became an empty hall with no clear purpose.

Later, it became the dormitory for those Koreans and Jurchen women.

Of course, they didn't live here initially.

They were all moved here to regulate the management of the Prince's Mansion and to make room for the Princess and others.

Just as they had gone to bed, they suddenly heard that Jia Lian had arrived at the west courtyard and were about to get up to greet him.

Then another nanny came in and instructed them to lie down and not to move around.

Although the women were slightly puzzled, they all obeyed and lay back down side by side.

All sleepiness vanished, and everyone turned their heads to the left and right, whispering to each other.

"His Majesty has arrived."

A soft announcement rang out from outside the door, and the beauties looked over at the sound.

Then, the familiar, tall, and imposing figure walked in slowly, surrounded by several people.

All the beauties rose to their feet, knelt on the warm kang (heated brick bed), and bowed their heads obsequiously, saying, "We, your servants, respectfully welcome Your Majesty (Master)."

The voices weren't perfectly synchronized, but the more than twenty sweet and melodious voices coming together created a strangely pleasing sound.

Jia Lian stood at the doorway, his gaze sweeping into the room.

The long room, about ten meters long, had rows of beds on both sides, with only a narrow passageway about half a meter wide in the middle.

Twenty-five or twenty-six beauties were arranged in two rows, lying prostrate on the kang (heated brick bed) on both sides.

Their thin, close-fitting clothes could hardly cover their fair skin and beautiful bodies, making them look as alluring as a hundred flowers in full bloom.

Ignoring the beauties, Jia Lian turned his attention to the rolled-up quilt on the kang (heated brick bed) and the decorations in the room.

Judging from their positions, each beauty had about two clean and tidy bedding sets, and there were neat shelves and chests on the walls and in the corners for them to store their belongings.

Although there were two rows of embroidered shoes in the corridor, there was not a trace of unpleasant smell in the entire space; on the contrary, there was a constant fragrance.

So he nodded secretly, it seemed that the managers of the Prince's Palace did not dare to disobey and mistreat these foreign women.

"Get up, everyone."

Jia Lian waved his hand, signaling the beauties to get up, then stepped aside and casually reached into one of the beauties' bedding.

The beautiful woman was quite charming. Upon seeing this, she thought Jia Lian was going to take liberties with her, and her feet under the covers instinctively shrank back.

Then, realizing something was wrong, she quickly offered her bound feet to Jia Lian.

However, Jia Lian ignored her little actions and took it out after touching the warm kang surface.

The head maidservant who was attending to the young ladies reacted quickly and said, "His Majesty is benevolent and has ordered that heated beds be built for the young ladies."

We servants dared not disappoint His Majesty's benevolence. Since last winter, we have arranged for someone to heat the kang (heated brick bed) for the girls every night before they sleep, for fear that these delicate beauties would get cold.

Even though it's springtime, the weather is still cold, and we servants dare not be negligent.

As she spoke, she glanced at the twenty-odd beautiful faces on the kang with a slightly ingratiating look, hoping to get them to show some leniency.

Although she never dared to mistreat these beauties, she couldn't possibly treat them like masters either.

After all, there were so many of them, and many of them didn't speak Mandarin, so serving them would be troublesome, not to mention the fact that they were so numerous.

The key point is that the Crown Prince doesn't seem to value them much. Since becoming the Crown Prince, he may not even summon one of them once a month.

Therefore, it is unavoidable to be looked down upon and criticized verbally.

It wasn't anything unusual, but who knew Jia Lian would suddenly come to see them.

I imagine I might have to favor some of them later.

If they were to take the opportunity to complain about her, and Jia Lian took it to heart, she would be upset.

"Alright, you two can leave now."

Jia Lian ignored the old woman's words and the winks she gave the beauties, and waved for them to leave.

"Yes……"

The two maids glanced at Jia Lian, then discreetly withdrew and closed the door.

Once there were no more eyes in the way, Jia Lian looked at the twenty-odd pairs of eyes on both sides of the kang (heated brick bed) staring at him with expressions ranging from doubt to excitement, and a smile appeared on his face.

It turned out that after driving away Consort Zhou, he found that the restlessness in his heart was hard to calm down.

Thinking that the palace was in mourning after all, any disturbance would have a bad impact.

That's why I decided to head back home.

Anyway, the beauties I keep at home are in no way inferior to those in the palace.

Seeing that some beauties were already eager to get off the kang (heated brick bed) to greet him, Jia Lian waved his hand to stop them.

He then asked the Aqi sisters beside him, "I asked you to teach them martial arts, how is their training going?"

Aqi and her sister were taken aback. They thought to themselves that although Jia Lian had given such instructions, they were with Jia Lian every day, so where would they find the time to teach them personally?

It's just letting them make their own arrangements.

So Ah-Qin asked Jang-Geum with a smile, "Didn't you hear the Emperor's question? How's your training going?"

Jang-geum was a beauty that the King of Joseon presented to Jia Lian alone. Because she arrived early and was fluent in Chinese, she was the leader of this group of foreign beauties.

Her position was also near the door, and upon hearing this, she quickly knelt down and replied, "Your Majesty, we have been practicing swordsmanship every day as Miss Aqin instructed."

Now they can use wooden swords and skillfully set up three sword formations.

Jia Lian had only asked casually, but he didn't expect that they actually had some progress in their practice.

However, given their delicate figures and the lack of instructors to force them to practice hard, their so-called "sword formation" is probably similar to the starting posture of a dance.

"Hmm... since it's effective, there must be changes in your body."

"Remove all the extra clothes and let me see them."

Jia Lian did this on a whim.

The main attraction was seeing so many beautiful women sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed). The only drawback was that each woman was dressed differently.

Some only wore tube tops and bodices, while others wore pajamas (underwear).

Jia Lian's casual command was an order that the beauties had no choice but to obey.

Those who had extra clothes were easy to deal with; they obediently sat up and began to remove them.

Those who only had underwear were in a difficult situation.

I don't know if these things, like the bellyband, are considered "redundant".

However, after looking around and seeing that no one had removed their undergarments, he gave up.

In just over ten breaths, twelve or thirteen on each side, a total of twenty-five or twenty-six beauties were left wearing only their undergarments.

Each of them had a slightly flushed face, looking both shy and expectant, occasionally glancing at Jia Lian.

They all knew very well that if they wanted to live well in this powerful and prosperous country, Jia Lian was the only person they could rely on.

Didn't you see that tonight, when Jia Lian just came over to look at them, those usually arrogant old women immediately showed them fawning smiles?

If Jia Lian hadn't given the order, many people would have wanted to get off the kang (heated brick bed) to curry favor.

Jia Lian remained standing not far from the door, openly admiring the beauty of the women's bodies.

They all had fair, delicate shoulders and slender, jade-like arms.

It evoked the imagery of "a jade body lying horizontally," and my heart grew increasingly restless.

However, being a seasoned veteran, he was not in a hurry.

Thinking that using this excuse to gradually reveal their beauty was more natural and interesting than directly making them take off their clothes to serve them.

"Not bad, your physique is indeed better than before, which shows that there are similarities between martial arts and dancing."

Jia Lian nodded approvingly to the beauties, then asked, "Since you've been practicing martial arts, have your dance skills become rusty?"

Jang-geum asked, "Do you also have someone to practice ****? Would you like us to demonstrate?"

"It's late at night, and the space is cramped, so there's no need for a drill."

"Dance is all about leg flexibility; by simply looking at the legs, I can consider it an inspection."

As Jia Lian spoke, he thankfully didn't blush.

However, the beauties were already blushing with embarrassment and asked one after another, "What does Your Majesty think of... your legs?"

Jia Lian had his own plans when he made the request.

"You shall all lie down, as you normally would, with your bodies hidden under the covers, except for each of you sticking out one leg and pointing it toward the ceiling. In this way, I may inspect you one by one."

The beauties who understood Jia Lian's meaning felt a unique and exciting sensation just by imagining the scene.

Those who didn't quite understand, after the sisters' simple, whispered explanations, roughly grasped the point.

Then, following the example of the others, I obediently lay down and covered myself with the blanket.

After hesitating for a moment, she quietly extended her long, slender, white legs out of the blanket and slowly straightened them.

And so, the room, which had been so vibrant and fragrant just moments before, was soon left with only jade-like legs and the shy, delicate heads of beauties peeking out from under the covers.

Jia Lian's eyes lit up.

Looking around, all one could see was a sea of ​​white, a forest of jade-like legs.

Jia Lian couldn't help but take a step forward. As he walked along the central corridor, he couldn't resist reaching out a hand and stroking over those straight, beautiful legs.

But if a beautiful woman tries to resist the itch and then backs away, he doesn't criticize her harshly.

Even with his eyes wide open, he could only take in the "snow scene" on one side, and didn't have time to carefully look at the other side.

Halfway there, they suddenly saw a foot that was exceptionally beautiful, no less so than those of Qingwen and Daiyu.

I couldn't help but stop and admire it.

Still not satisfied, he reached into the blanket and pulled out the other one as well.

After taking a brief look around, he instinctively placed it under his waist.

Coincidentally, this beauty had the honor of serving Jia Lian twice, and she was also quite shrewd.

Sensing that she was receiving special favor, she shyly glanced at Jia Lian, then closed her eyes and tried her best to gently massage him with her feet.

This undoubtedly extended the time they could control Jia Lian.

It wasn't until Jia Lian felt it was inappropriate to ignore the other beauties that he decided to move forward.

A knock came from behind, abruptly interrupting Jia Lian's pleasant mood.

Noticing Jia Lian's displeasure, Aqin quickly went over and asked in a stern tone, "What is it?"

After a brief silence outside, Ping'er's gentle voice came through: "Please inform the Crown Princess that she requests Second Master's return to discuss something."

Upon hearing this, Aqin turned to look at Jia Lian.

Jia Lian's expression softened slightly after hearing Ping'er's voice.

Thinking that although Sister Feng is cunning, she is still quite sensible now.

Since they've come to invite me twice, they probably really have something to say.

So he took the initiative to speak up: "Okay, you can stand here for a bit."

Jia Lian stroked the slender leg in his hand one last time, smiled at the many beauties who couldn't help but look up at him, and then turned away.

As he walked to the door and stood still, Ah Qin bent down to straighten his robes, and then the two sisters opened the door.

Sure enough, Ping'er stood quietly outside the door, dressed in a simple and fitted dress.

"Let's go." Jia Lian nodded to her and stepped out of the room.

Ping'er readily complied.

However, before turning around, she couldn't help but glance into the empty room.

Although it was no longer as neat as before, the scene of beautiful women and boundless spring colors was still deeply imprinted in Ping'er's mind.

Upon reaching the main bedroom, Ping'er led the way, saying, "Master, this way."

Jia Lian stopped.

Ping'er glanced at the servants behind her and explained in a low voice, "Second Madam is taking a bath..."

Jia Lian raised an eyelid, his first thought being, "Why isn't he sleeping and taking a bath in the middle of the night?"

However, it soon became clear.

Since Sister Feng chose to call him over during her bath time, it seems she has come to her senses and is willing to invite him to take a bath together.

Without saying much, he nodded and walked from the porch to the backyard.

Sure enough, the bathhouse was brightly lit, and there were maids on duty in the corridor.

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

He casually nodded to the maids who bowed, and without even waiting for them to do anything, Jia Lian pushed open the bathroom door and went inside. (End of Chapter)