Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

At the Iron Threshold Temple, Madam Qin prepared a late-night snack of white fungus and lotus seed porridge for everyone who had been busy all day, which was praised by everyone for her virtue.

After Jia Yun and the others finished enjoying their sister-in-law's late-night snack, they noticed that Jia Rong was still tidying up his room alone in the outer courtyard. They teased him, saying, "Sister-in-law is so beautiful, how could Brother Rong leave her alone in her room while we fool around?"

As soon as the topic came up, his cousins ​​and even his uncles all joked about Jia Rong, praising his good fortune.

Only Jia Qiang, who knew some of the inside story, leaned against the side silently.

Jia Rong, however, was a man who could take a joke. He didn't get angry when his brothers teased him; he just laughed and said that it was the master's big day, so it was better to separate, better to separate...

Although she appeared carefree and easygoing, Jia Rong was still somewhat upset inside. Especially after seeing Jia Qiang cowering and not daring to speak, Jia Rong felt even more depressed and made an excuse to leave the group's sight.

As Jia Rong walked around, he would occasionally hear people praising Qin Shi, which made him feel even worse.

Thinking of his wife's stunning beauty and alluring figure, Jia Rong found it hard to control himself. He thought that so much time had passed, the old man must have already succeeded. Even if he secretly enjoyed himself now, as long as she didn't say anything, he figured the old man wouldn't know.

Once the thought took hold, Jia Rong found it hard to suppress. Furthermore, being away from Jia Zhen's side, Jia Rong's boldness grew considerably.

After careful consideration, he realized that none of Jia Zhen's confidants had come with him, and felt that the matter was likely to succeed. So he leisurely arrived at Qin's residence.

Qin was not in the room at the time, but he was not in a hurry. He simply told the servants that he had some things to discuss with Qin, and then waited for her to return while drinking tea in the room.

"Why is Master here?" A moment later, Madam Qin, looking suspicious, returned with her maid.

Jia Rong immediately put on a flattering expression and started with some trivial matters he had prepared beforehand. After lowering Qin Shi's guard, he chuckled softly, "There are too many people and it's messy and dirty up front. Why don't I stay here tonight and save myself the trouble of cleaning up another room?"

Qin was an intelligent woman, and having been married to Jia Rong in name only for two years, she knew Jia Rong's habits very well.

Seeing his behavior before and after, she understood his thoughts and didn't know how to describe her feelings!

To be honest, if Jia Rong had made such a request to her two years ago, when they had just gotten married... it wouldn't even be considered a request. That's how things should be between husband and wife.

Or, if Jia Rong had shown her kindness and "changed his mind" before she fell seriously ill and her mindset changed, she might have seriously considered repairing their relationship.

But now, I'm afraid that's no longer possible.

Her heart was dead to Jia Rong.

With a glance, Ruizhu, the maidservant standing nearby, tactfully left. Then, Qin Shi said to Jia Rong, "It's alright if you want to rest inside, sir. I have a cool chair in the outer room. If you don't mind the cramped space, I'll have the maids and servants find some bedding to make up for you in a bit..."

Jia Rong looked embarrassed. He wasn't stupid; he could tell at a glance that Qin Shi was pretending not to understand him.

Yeah, she's probably still sulking with me.

So he smiled ingratiatingly and said, "That reclining chair is really too small. It's hard to even turn over in it... Besides, if we ask the maids and servants to go find those dirty monks' blankets, not to mention how smelly those blankets are, if we're being so formal, won't the old women outside get suspicious...?"

After Jia Rong and Qin Shi got married, they slept in separate rooms. Fortunately, the room that Jia Zhen arranged for Qin Shi was very spacious and luxurious, with large rooms and smaller rooms nested inside, so apart from a few maids who served her closely, no one else knew anything about it.

However, Jia Rong inherited Jia Zhen's fine tradition of being unable to enjoy himself without women every night. How could he bear to be alone in Qin Shi's room? That's why he always stayed out all night. Even when he did stay at home, he mostly slept in the rooms of her concubines and maids.

He rarely visited the Qin family's house.

He couldn't enjoy having such a beautiful wife, so he naturally harbored resentment. He didn't dare vent it on Jia Zhen, so he could only take it out on Qin Shi, which was one of the reasons why his relationship with Qin Shi became increasingly strained.

Wang Xifeng and the others naturally knew some of the details, but they all assumed that the discord between Jia Rong and Qin Shi stemmed from the rumors surrounding Jia Zhen. Given the sensitive nature of such matters, even if Feng Jie and the others knew that Qin Shi was being neglected by Jia Rong, they couldn't very well stand up for her…

Madam Qin then said, "In that case, sir, you can sleep in the inner room, and I'll sleep in the outer room."

Seeing that Qin Shi was not cooperating, Jia Rong was at a loss.

Remembering the saying in the play, "A good woman is afraid of a persistent suitor," she continued shamelessly, "Ahem, well, I miss you so much. There's no need to go to all that trouble. Wouldn't it be better if we both rested inside...?"

As Jia Rong spoke, he reached out to touch Qin Shi's delicate hand.

Qin withdrew her hand, stood up, looked at Jia Rong with tears in her eyes, and said in a sad voice, "Back then, it was Master who was determined to push me away, and it was... it was such a shameful thing!"

Now that the old man has suddenly become interested in bothering me again, what does he take me for?

"I ask you, sir, what will you do if the master finds out?"

Upon hearing Jia Zhen's name, Jia Rong instinctively shrank back and quickly said, "I'm just going to rest inside for the night. I won't do anything. It won't matter if Master finds out. Besides, you can just not tell Master..."

Jia Rong's patience had run out. He thought to himself, "I've already given you face, why are you still putting on airs?"

If you were truly virtuous, you wouldn't have done that kind of thing with that old man. You made me the one who did all the work, and now you're complaining?

Seeing that Jia Rong still feared Jia Zhen like a snake and scorpion, showing no manly spirit whatsoever, although it was expected, I couldn't help but feel sad again.

She sat down indifferently and said, "If you want to rest inside, that's fine, but from today onwards, you must stay in the house for at least five days out of every ten days. And from now on, when I go to pay my respects to the master, you must accompany me..."

Qin was a gentle and reasonable woman; she couldn't act arrogantly or throw a tantrum, so she could only force Jia Rong to back down in this way.

As she finished speaking, she was actually praying that Jia Rong wouldn't agree, otherwise she wouldn't know what to do.

Having seen the vast sky outside, how could one willingly turn back to tread on muddy ground?

Fortunately, Jia Rong was still the same Jia Rong, and he would never agree to either of Qin Shi's two requests.

Five days at home means almost half the rest of the year will be spent abstaining from sex—that's too cruel. As for accompanying Qin Shi to pay respects to Jia Zhen, forget it! Once or twice is fine, but if it happens too often, the old man will definitely realize he's trying to oppose him, and he'll probably tear his hair out!

Therefore, Jia Rong believed that Qin Shi was deliberately trying to belittle him and harm him.

This shameless woman seems determined to follow that old man. Ugh...

"Hmph," Jia Rong, a man, stood up and stormed off.

Arriving at the front, in the area where his servants were gathered, he was still angry and had no desire to mingle with those people who were hiding together gambling.

He happened to see that the light was on in Jia Qiang's room, and a smile appeared on his face as he went up and knocked on his good brother's door.