Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Several days later, at the East Wharf of the city.

On the wide canal, a huge imperial ship is clearly visible.

Around it, nearly a hundred ships of various sizes stood in a circle, arranging the entire water surface like a military formation.

On the deck of the imperial boat, Jia Lian instructed the accompanying officials: "All officers, soldiers, and followers must not harass the people along the way, nor commit any crimes. Those who violate this rule will be punished doubly."

"Your humble servants obey your decree."

"Alright, all of you, go about your business. We'll depart promptly in half an hour."

"Yes."

After giving the necessary instructions, Jia Lian walked up the steps of the imperial boat.

This imperial ship, excluding the cabins below, has five decks.

On the deck and below, the activities were mainly those of the shipwrights, helmsmen, guards, and soldiers.

It also includes functions such as warehousing.

From the second floor onwards, it becomes very difficult to see men.

Seeing the eunuchs and palace maids busily tidying up and organizing things, as well as the dancers and musicians carrying musical instruments, Jia Lian abandoned his plan to go straight back to the top floor and slowly strolled along the corridor.

This undoubtedly made the eunuchs and palace maids feel flattered and they all knelt down to welcome them.

However, there's really nothing worth exploring on this floor.

Although there were many houses and many palace maids and geishas who were quite beautiful, he didn't recognize most of them.

Gu Qingyi and the Twelve Officials are not on this floor.

As they walked up, they immediately heard Fangguan's voice: "Be careful, everyone. That's a zither that the Emperor bestowed upon my master. You can't afford to pay for it if you break it."

Looking at Fangguan, who was standing in front of the corridor directing the eunuchs and palace maids to move things, and who had a similar temperament to Qingwen back then, Jia Lian couldn't help but sigh at how fast time flies.

This little girl has grown up.

As for the master she mentioned, she was referring to Gu Qingyi.

When Consort Li was sentenced to death, the Jia family, being relatives of the imperial family, decided to disband the small opera troupe.

Although Jia Lian ultimately saved it, the work team was disbanded.

The twelve young actresses were given the title of maids and assigned to the four beauties: Wan, Gu, Shen, and Wei.

Fangguan was assigned to Gu Qingyi.

Fangguan saw Jia Lian approaching with his entourage, and darted over in a flash. After a sudden stop, she managed to stand up straight and bow, saying, "Your Majesty, this concubine greets you!"

Looking at the radiant young girl in front of him, Jia Lian thought to himself that this little girl was the most lively when she was a child, always jumping around.

Who would have thought that after she grew up, she would become one of the most beautiful among the twelve officials.

Even Lingguan might not be able to completely outmaneuver her.

As for her referring to herself as "your concubine," it was because Jia Lian considered that the Twelve Officials were among the earliest maids to follow him, so he bestowed upon them the title of "Beauty" less than a year after they entered the palace.

Seeing that the crowd that had gathered to pay their respects included quite a few officials, Jia Lian asked with a smile, "Do all twelve of you live here?"

"Yes, not only us, but even our master lives on this floor, though at the very front."

Oh, right, Lingguan isn't here.

Lingguan is a high-ranking official now; she wouldn't stoop to associating with us.

Fangguan said it almost casually, and only after she finished speaking did she realize that her words contained jealousy and complaint, so she looked at Jia Lian's face with some concern.

Because of her outstanding appearance and her voice as melodious as a nightingale's song, Lingguan was frequently summoned by Jia Lian.

On one occasion, Jia Lian was satisfied with her service and thus promoted her to the rank of Noble Lady.

She is also the only one among the twelve officials who is not given the title of "Beauty".

Speaking of titles, Jia Lian basically used the names from the previous generation, but the rules were almost completely different.

For example, in the first hundred years of the dynasty, among the imperial consorts, apart from the empress, the four most honorable consorts were Gui, Shu, De, and Xian.

There may be two imperial concubines among them.

Even if others still held the rank of concubine, it was extremely rare, and their status was incomparable to that of the four concubines.

But it's different with Jia Lian.

Apart from the title of Imperial Concubine, he did not bestow any other titles upon Shude Xian, but instead received all other titles.

Moreover, there are a great many of them, nearly twenty in number.

This undoubtedly lowers the overall prestige of the imperial concubine rank.

If even the rank of imperial concubine is like this, then the rank of lower-ranking concubines is naturally similar.

For those below the rank of Consort, the order is reversed.

Jia Lian had very few concubines in his harem.

Those who won his favor were basically made concubines or imperial consorts.

Others of lower status or who did not please him, such as the Twelve Officials, were generally given titles like Beauty, Talented Woman, or even Selected Concubine by Jia Lian.

This is not because Jia Lian is stingy.

Rather, he didn't want these young girls, who rarely received his favor, to be confined to a small house deep within the palace.

Just like Zijuan and Ying'er, Jia Lian bestowed upon them the title of "Beauty," but did not require them to live separately in another palace. Instead, they could continue to follow Daiyu and Baochai.

If she were to be granted the title of Noble Lady or even, like Qingwen and others, Consort, and still have to do servant work, it would clearly be inappropriate.

Therefore, Jia Lian basically bestowed the lower ranks such as Beauty, Talented Woman, and Selected Concubine as honors on women who had been favored by him, so as to spare them from being humiliated by their lowly status.

As for whether they choose to continue doing what they did before after gaining status or to find an empty palace to enjoy a life of leisure, Jia Lian will not interfere; he will simply grant their wishes.

Seeing that more and more beauties had come after hearing the news, Jia Lian casually nodded to them and then turned to go up to the next floor.

The fourth floor has fewer buildings, and each room is much larger.

In some deserted areas, there are still some activities and entertainment facilities.

Zhou Yanru and others clearly put a lot of effort into designing and building this imperial ship.

This floor was inhabited by imperial concubines and consorts.

Although Gu Qingyi and the others held the rank of concubine, they were not on this level. Perhaps it was because, compared to the ladies of noble families like the Three Springs, they preferred to stay with the Twelve Officials and others.

"Oh, the Emperor has arrived! Greetings, Your Majesty!"

In the first room at the stern of the ship, Jia Lian saw Jia Xiluan and Jia Sijie.

These two girls were the ones he had noticed, but he was too shy to make a move on.

Helping the two up, Jia Lian patted Fourth Sister's head and asked with a smile, "Why are you living here? Why aren't you with your sister Tan Chun and the others?"

Fourth Sister laughed and said, "Third Sister and the others are right next to us, look, not far from us."

Perhaps seeing that Jia Lian was somewhat puzzled, happy Luan smiled and said, "Sister Yingchun, Sister Tanchun and Sister Xichun want to live together."

The two largest rooms at the bow of the ship were reserved for Consort Xue and Consort Lin, which is why Sister Tanchun and the others stayed at the stern.

That room is huge, and you can even swing on the deck outside. Sister Tanchun likes it there, so she asked Sister Jiangyun to move them over.

Jiang Yun is Zhao'er's wife.

In previous years, she helped him manage the beauties and actresses, and he greatly appreciated her.

Later, she was recruited into the palace and helped Sister Feng with her affairs in Kunning Palace.

She was in charge of scheduling most of the miscellaneous servants on the second floor and above of the Imperial Boat.

After giving the two women a few instructions, Jia Lian continued walking forward. Sure enough, after a few steps, he saw the large house that Xi Luan had mentioned, as well as the three women and their personal maids who were busy arranging things inside.

"Second brother is here!"

Looking at the three younger sisters who came up to greet him.

Yingchun and Tanchun haven't changed much, but Xichun has.

Finally, I don't have to add a "little" before her name every time I mention her.

On the contrary, Xichun, who is only fifteen years old, already shows signs of surpassing her two older sisters.

She couldn't compare to her eldest sister, Yuan Chun.

"Why has the Emperor come?"

Tan Chun helped Jia Lian sit down, then had tea served, and then asked with a smile.

"We're about to leave, so I came to check if you're all ready."

"There's nothing much to prepare. Before we left, Sister Feng told us that she had already asked Sister Jiang Yun and Steward Cao to prepare a lot of things for us, so we could leave without bringing anything."

We hadn't planned to bring much, but when the boxes were brought up, we realized we had quite a lot of stuff.

We were just saying that many things would probably be useless even if we went south.”

Jia Lian shook his head upon hearing this.

These girls basically started packing and preparing after he announced the itinerary in the Imperial Garden that day.

Given women's tendency to nag, it's no wonder there's so much stuff left over after a few days.

After exchanging a few words, Yingchun noticed that Jia Lian was holding one of Tanchun's and Xichun's small hands, and seemed a little embarrassed. She quickly said, "Brother, you two talk here. I'll go and visit Sister Bao and the others first."

Upon hearing Yingchun's words, both Tanchun and Xichun blushed.

How could Jia Lian not understand Yingchun's meaning? He thought to himself, "In her heart, am I someone who can't live without pleasure?"

So he let go of Tan Chun and Xi Chun's hands and said, "I was just about to go too, why don't we go together?"

"Ah, oh, okay..."

Jia Lian walked through each room like a dormitory supervisor inspecting the dormitories.

Besides Xiangyun, Miaoyu, and the Li sisters, who held the rank of imperial concubine, there were a few other concubines, most of whom were bestowed upon him by the Empress Dowager when she selected his consorts three years prior.

In short, those who can live on this floor are, without a doubt, impeccably beautiful.

At each place, they would exchange at least a few words, or at most sit down and have a sip of tea.

Even so, by the time Jia Lian reached the bow of the boat, it was already a quarter of an hour later.

Perhaps having received prior notice, Baochai and Daiyu were already playing chess and waiting.

Seeing him approach, Daiyu smiled and said, "Oh, our Emperor is inspecting the harem. It's finally our turn."

Baochai smiled upon hearing this, took Daiyu's hand with a smile, and helped her to greet Jia Lian.

Jia Lian asked, "Are you all ready?"

"It's just a few things, what's there to pack? It's all packed."

Jia Lian nodded, walked to a chair inside, and sat down, smiling, "This trip took quite a while. Did either of you get seasick?"

Upon hearing this, the two exchanged a glance, and Daiyu said, "I didn't know. This is the first time I've ever ridden on such a big ship."

"You know I don't get seasick when I've been on your Fujian-style ship before."

Jia Lian then looked at Baochai, who also shook her head.

"Since none of us get seasick, this trip south is going to be a real treat."

You can enjoy the scenery along both sides of the river.

Wherever we arrive, if we want to visit scenic spots and historical sites, we can stop and explore them thoroughly before continuing.

Upon hearing Jia Lian's words, Daiyu remained noncommittal.

Baochai, however, had a concern: "Didn't the Emperor say that he has important matters to attend to during this southern tour? Won't this take up too much time?"

"Don't worry, this trip is mainly for me to give myself and my beloved concubines a vacation."

As for what I mentioned earlier, it doesn't concern me in the next ten days or half a month.

The so-called Southern Tour, euphemistically called an inspection of the entire country to intimidate disobedient subjects.

The truth is that the emperor got tired of staying in the capital and wanted to go out for a walk and have some fun.

"Sister Bao, don't pay attention to him."

Since that's what he said, then let's just play.

Even if he ultimately neglects important matters or even harms the country, it's not our fault.

Baochai smiled, and before she could say anything, she saw Jia Lian extend his hand to her, so she placed one of her hands on it.

After Jia Lian succeeded, he didn't hesitate to caress and stroke it.

Having seen so many concubines before, Jia Lian felt that each one was more beautiful and more charming than the last.

If it weren't for the thought of not showing favoritism, he might have been trapped in some fairy's cave.

But comparisons are always a bad thing.

He thought the other concubines were good, but when he arrived at Daiyu's room, he saw both Daiyu and Baochai.

But all I see are beautiful women, and fleeting years.

He also felt that no beauty could compare to these two.

So he couldn't help but glance at Daiyu, who was leaning against the window, and at her slightly protruding belly.

His sly gaze was noticed by the perceptive Daiyu.

Daiyu instinctively covered her stomach with one hand, then asked warily, "Why are you looking at me?"

If you get any funny ideas, Sister Bao will be there for you. Don't even think about messing with me.

"If the child gets hurt, I won't forgive you."

Daiyu's words, spoken as if to protect herself from a wolf, made Baochai laugh.

Jia Lian replied sheepishly, "What are you thinking? How could I possibly have designs on you? You have twins, you're very precious."

Before I left, the Empress Dowager repeatedly instructed me to take good care of you.

If something really goes wrong, not only you, but even the Empress Dowager won't forgive me.

"Alright, Lin Daiyu, come here, let's have a good talk."

After hearing the first few sentences, Daiyu felt much more at ease.

When Jia Lian beckoned her over, she immediately became wary again.

Jia Lian's credibility in this regard is truly worrisome.

"Was it really just talking?"

"Of course. A gentleman's word is as good as his bond."

"I am the Son of Heaven, and my word is as weighty as gold."

Jia Lian said with a smile.

Seeing that Daiyu indeed moved over with some doubt, Baochai, who was watching from the sidelines, secretly felt sorry for her.

Thinking to herself that Lin was pregnant for the first time and didn't know her husband's theories, she was easily fooled.

Thinking about it, I couldn't help but glance at Daiyu's belly, and figured she must be about five months pregnant.

It's pretty much the same as what she did back then.

According to their good husband, this day is very auspicious...

When Jia Lian came out of Daiyu's room, the imperial boat had already started moving and was going downstream.

Upon reaching the top deck, the first thing you see is a hundred or so maids and palace maids kneeling in unison, who were prepared in advance.

He lived alone on the entire top floor.

Of course, there were also personal maids led by Qing, Xiang, Ping, Xi, and Yuan, as well as some female guards.

These maids were either brought into the palace initially, such as those Korean beauties.

They were either the women selected later in the palace.

According to his habits, those who could stay by his side and serve him closely were all outstanding in appearance.

Among them were even those whose beauty surpassed that of Xiren and Yuanyang.

Of course, in terms of status, the five maids were the most respected.

After rising, Qingwen said, "Your Majesty, there is still some time before dinner. Would Your Majesty like to rest for a while, or would you like someone to come up and play a piece of music for you?"

Jia Lian said, "I'm going for a swim first."

Upon hearing this, Qingwen and the others immediately guessed that Jia Lian must have slept with Consort Lin or Consort Xue.

After all, they had stayed in that room for so long.

So he ordered people to prepare supplies while helping Jia Lian walk to the back.

The layout of the top floor is much more grand than that of the fourth floor, and there are only a few rooms left.

After passing the main building, we arrived at the middle section.

The area is open, with a pond in the middle, about six feet wide and two zhang long.

It contains water, and the water stains are clear and cool.

Upon reaching the pool, after Qingwen and the others undressed, he leaped into the pool.

Although compared to the luxury yachts of later generations, this imperial boat appears rudimentary in terms of entertainment.

However, it is only because Zhou Yanru and others dared to call it a swimming pool, or perhaps it should be called a bathhouse, that this is possible.

Jia Lian had to commend them for daring to bring this thing up to the top deck of the ship.

I have an idea.

After swimming a few laps, feeling refreshed and free from the sweat and fatigue, Jia Lian pulled himself up by the handrail.

The maids who had been prepared immediately stepped forward, took clean bath towels to dry his whole body, and simply tied a robe around his neck.

Jia Lian immediately walked to a recliner and lay down, facing the azure sky and the gentle, non-glaring sunlight.

Just as I was feeling that something was missing, I saw Qingwen bring over a glass of juice.

"This is the ice I got from Steward Cao, and I made the juice myself according to the method His Majesty previously instructed. Would His Majesty like to try some?"

Jia Lian smiled and took it, then tasted it and found it was grape juice.

It's amazing how clean she made it; you can hardly see the ingredients anymore, and it tastes great.

So, holding the glass in one hand, he pulled the other arm around it, smiled, kissed it on the cheek, and praised, "That's great, so thoughtful."

Upon receiving this praise, Qingwen's eyes narrowed with laughter, resembling two crescent moons.

So she obediently lay down on Jia Lian's chest, enjoying this unique pampering.

The most beautiful one is naturally Jia Lian.

Facing the blue sky and white jade, with chilled juice in one hand and a beautiful woman in the other.

A quick glance around revealed picturesque scenery and a multitude of beautiful women.

I wouldn't trade this kind of life for a god.

—The End—