Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

"Waaaaah, Second Master, I'm bleeding..."

Xiangling wept as she twisted her fair legs and sobbed softly.

Jia Lian finally realized what was going on. It turned out that the little maid's period had arrived, which explained why she had been acting so suspiciously late at night.

Hearing her pitiful and weak voice, filled with inexplicable fear and worry, Jia Lian couldn't help but laugh and say, "Really? Why are you bleeding? Come, let me see."

As Jia Lian spoke, he reached out to lift her clothes to check, which startled Xiangling so much that she quickly stepped back, pressing her hands firmly onto her thighs, striking a simplified version of Marilyn Monroe's classic pose.

Jia Lian then stopped teasing her; the little girl had probably taken off all her pants and washed them.

So he placed the candlestick aside, patted Xiangling's head, and asked, "Is this your first time?"

Xiangling looked up at Jia Lian, nodded with a wronged expression, and thought to herself, "This isn't the first time. Who would suffer such a 'serious injury' so often?"

Jia Lian was somewhat surprised, not expecting that this girl's first period came so late. In terms of age, Xiangling was no younger than Qingwen.

Seeing her expression again, Jia Lian immediately guessed that Xiangling probably didn't know what was wrong with her.

That's understandable. This era is different from later times; even elementary school students understand physiological knowledge.

For people in this era, this is something to be terrified of. Girls rarely have access to this kind of common knowledge before they get married.

Take the girls of the Jia family, for example. They were usually more sensible than girls from the outside world. This was because the young ladies had their own governesses, while the maids, apart from their governesses, often gathered together and could teach each other some things.

Therefore, the girls in the Jia family, with a few exceptions, generally understood what they should know when they reached the appropriate age, and most of them wouldn't make any big mistakes.

But Xiangling is different.

Xiangling was not a native maid of the Jia family; he snatched her back from the clutches of kidnappers.

The kidnapper was after money and planned to raise Xiangling to be twelve or thirteen years old so that he could marry her off to a wealthy family as a concubine and make a fortune. Naturally, he wouldn't care about such things.

Since Xiangling started following him, he hasn't assigned her a personal governess to supervise her, which means she has had little opportunity to learn about the private aspects of a girl's life and has to figure it out on her own.

Qingwen spent a lot of time with her, but that girl probably didn't know much herself, let alone talk to Xiangling about such shameful things.

In this light, Xiangling's actions tonight are quite reasonable.

It must have been that the little girl woke up in the middle of the night and discovered she was bleeding so much, and was secretly terrified.

Because the wound was in a private area, and she dared not disturb him and Qingwen, after much consideration, she quietly got up to wash the bloodstains. She was probably still worried that she might have contracted some serious illness…

Although he felt a little amused, Jia Lian held it back and patiently said to Xiangling, "Silly girl, why are you crying?"

What you're going through is something every girl experiences as she grows up. It's a good thing; it means you've grown up from today onwards, so you should celebrate, not cry.

"Really? Really?"

Xiangling opened her eyes wide, as if she had realized something.

Although she didn't really understand, the strangeness of the incident and the fact that she didn't feel any pain despite losing so much blood made her feel terrible!

She is intelligent and capable of making some judgments. In fact, her crying just now was more because Jia Lian saw her in such an embarrassing situation.

Jia Lian nodded. Seeing that she was barefoot and had no legs, he was afraid she would get cold, so he picked her up and prepared to put her on a stool next to him.

"Second Master, no, I'm dirty, I'm covered in blood..."

Xiangling was afraid of getting Jia Lian dirty, and also afraid that Jia Lian would find her filthy.

"It's nothing, just wipe it clean."

He placed Xiangling on the stool, and to prevent the wooden stool from getting cold on her bottom, he grabbed a piece of clothing that belonged to someone else and placed it on top of her.

Turning around, she took out the thermos from the tea table, poured some hot water into the basin, and then found a handkerchief that belonged to Xiangling or Qingwen, soaked it, and brought it over.

Xiangling had no right to let Jia Lian serve her, so she quickly said she would do it herself.

Jia Lian tapped her on the head to stop her from moving, then laughed and said, "You used to serve me, but today is your big day, so let me take care of you for the night. So sit still and don't move, or I'll get angry."

Xiangling blushed and dared not say another word.

With Jia Lian's meticulous care, Xiang Ling was quickly cleaned up and made to smell fragrant. Her blood-stained clothes were also removed, and then she was wrapped up in the quilt.

"Second Master~~"

Enveloped in the warm blankets, and recalling Jia Lian's gentle care just moments before, Xiangling's large, beautiful eyes filled with emotion. Lying in bed, she tilted her head and tenderly called out to Jia Lian.

Jia Lian picked up Xiangling's two pairs of underwear, which were still wet from the ground, and placed them on the footstool. He said to Xiangling, "Take these dirty clothes back and wash them later. They won't dry tonight anyway."

"Mmm... Second Master, you should come up too, it's cold outside..."

Hearing Xiangling say this, Jia Lian realized that the cold spring night was indeed somewhat effective. So he blew out the faint candle, lifted the quilt, and crawled into bed.

Then he felt a slightly cool, smooth body snuggle into his arms.

Jia Lian felt extremely pleased and satisfied. Not bad, the little maid had already learned to fawn over him. It seemed that spending half a quarter of an hour serving her and getting Xiangling to be so proactive was a super worthwhile deal.

Actually, Xiangling just noticed that he was a little cold and wanted to warm him up as soon as possible. However, Xiangling didn't know that she had been exposed to the cold wind for a long time, and her body was much colder than Jia Lian's.

Nestled in Jia Lian's arms, she noticed that his comforting gestures were gradually taking a turn for the worse, making her feel quite embarrassed. However, remembering how good Jia Lian had been to her, she gradually felt at ease.

Feeling a bit awkward not to say anything in such a quiet setting, Xiangling asked, "Second Master, are you sleepy?"

"Not sleepy..."

after awhile.

"Does every girl really bleed? What about Second Grandma and Sister Ping'er? Do they bleed too...?"

"meeting."

"What about Sister Qingwen?"

"Of course it will..."

"How come I didn't notice, since I live with Sister Qingwen every day?"

"Because you're stupid."

"That……"

Jia Lian patted Xiangling's bottom to stop her curious questions, and said with a smile, "Actually, your second master doesn't know much either. If you want to ask these questions, you can quietly ask your sister Ping'er when you get home. She will tell you."

"Oh……"

Xiangling then shrank her neck in embarrassment. Yes, Second Master isn't a girl.

It would be so embarrassing to ask Sister Ping'er such a question.

Seeing that Xiangling had given up, Jia Lian held her even tighter. Xiangling's innocence and sincerity gave him a sense of nurturing satisfaction.

After a while, Xiangling whispered again beneath his neck, "Second Master, do you think I've really grown up?"

"Hmm~"

"Then...then you should take Xiangling."

Xiangling's voice was barely audible, trembling slightly. She knew that the Second Master definitely wanted her.

Jia Lian sighed inwardly. Did he not want to do that?

That's really not appropriate.

I kicked the one who was fast asleep inside, but the noise didn't wake her up!

So he turned around and asked Xiangling, "Are you sleepy?"

Xiangling paused for a moment, then honestly shook her head.

She had taken a nap before Jia Lian returned from the Muni Temple. Having just experienced such an unforgettable event, she naturally felt no sleepiness whatsoever.

"Since you're not sleepy either, how about I take you out to admire the moon?"

Ok?

This was probably the first time in Xiangling's life that someone had told her they would take her to admire the moon, and she felt a very strange feeling in her heart.

She lifted her head from Jia Lian's chest and glanced down. Sure enough, the room was dimly lit by white light, and outside the paper window, everything was a vast expanse of white. Clearly, the moonlight tonight must be quite nice.

Xiangling was naturally intelligent and had a natural affinity for the elegant pursuit of moon-viewing, a custom frequently found in poetry and literature. Moreover, she was doing it with her most respected and beloved Second Master…

Suppressing her inner joy, she nodded and gave a soft "Mmm".