Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Although tonight is not a time for things like appreciating flowers and the moon.

However, it's already past midnight, so those who should be asleep have already gone to bed, and those who shouldn't be asleep have certainly found somewhere to escape the cold wind.

Secondly, tonight is a special night for Xiangling, and Jia Lian wants to give her an even warmer and more romantic memory.

So, without further ado, Jia Lian immediately got up and started dressing, without even lighting candles.

Xiangling, however, was in a dilemma.

It turned out that Xiangling and Qingwen knew they were only going out of town for one night, so they didn't bring any spare clothes, only the ones they were wearing.

No wonder Xiangling secretly got up to wash her pants earlier, only scrubbing the dirty crotch area and not daring to soak them completely in the basin. She probably planned to wash them and wear them again the next day...

Jia Lian naturally wouldn't let Xiangling wear wet pants. Without thinking, he took out the clothes and skirts that Qingwen had folded to the side and picked out the undergarments and trousers for Xiangling.

Xiangling immediately blushed and said, "No, if Sister Qingwen can't find me when she gets up, she'll scold me..."

"It's alright, she wouldn't dare to scold me. Besides, she's in good health, so it's fine if she leaves the room empty for a day."

Although Xiangling didn't know the word "gap," its meaning was not difficult to understand in the current context.

After hesitating for a long time, Xiangling ultimately decided to do as Jia Lian said, as she could not go against his wishes.

Thinking that he wouldn't be able to admire the moon until dawn, he decided to take it off and fold it for Qingwen when he got back, figuring that Qingwen wouldn't notice.

I'll do that myself during that gap... Okay...

Jia Lian was just joking; the maids hadn't brought any spare clothes for themselves, but they brought him two sets.

I'm just too lazy to go outside and rummage through the luggage right now. Tomorrow morning, as long as Qingwen doesn't mind that it doesn't fit, she can wear his.

Seeing that Xiangling had gotten off the kang (heated brick bed), Qingwen simply turned over and continued sleeping, showing no sign of waking up. Jia Lian could only marvel at how good her sleep quality was!

I had originally intended to treat everyone equally and let her go along as well, but I've changed my mind now.

He lightly patted the blanket sticking out of her buttocks, tucked the blanket around Qingwen, and then took Xiangling's hand and slipped out of the room.

Because it was the wrong time of year, the moon outside wasn't very bright, but the houses and roads were still barely visible.

Jia Lian didn't take Xiangling out in the middle of the night. He remembered that there was a small open-air pavilion behind the house with a stone table and a few stone benches.

In that environment, holding Qiaobi and gazing at the starry sky... well, there were no starry sky tonight, only a misty sky.

That would be a wonderful thing!

Noticing that Xiangling was walking with a limp, Jia Lian turned around and asked, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

"No, no..."

Upon hearing Jia Lian's question, Xiangling quickly straightened her posture. Wearing Qingwen's undergarments and then her own over them, Xiangling felt a little awkward.

Jia Lian chuckled but didn't argue. He came to the stone table and, as expected, sat with Xiangling in his arms for half an hour. He found that the place was not open, with lush trees in front and tall buildings behind, so it wasn't a perfect spot for moon viewing.

After looking around, Jia Lian suddenly suggested, "My dear Xiangling, how about we go somewhere else?"

"Where to?"

Xiangling didn't care where she was or whether there was a moon. As long as she could stay by Second Master's side, everything she did felt wonderful and blissful.

Jia Lian then picked up Xiangling with one arm, went to the passage between the main house and the side room, moved the ladder that the servants had placed there, put it under the ridge of the main house, shook it, and got quite familiar with it.

So he smiled and looked at Xiangling, then called her over.

Xiangling was very surprised and suspicious. When she arrived at the wooden ladder, she saw Jia Lian urging her to go up. Xiangling subconsciously shook her head: "Second Master, I'm afraid..."

The beams were too high and the ladder too long; she was hesitant to go.

Jia Lian pulled her back and said with a smile, "Don't be afraid, I'm down here. Even if you fall, I can catch you."

Ultimately, trust in Jia Lian overcame fear, and Xiangling began to try the novelty of climbing the wall at midnight. Because she was timid and inexperienced, it took her a long time to climb up, and she clung tightly to the roof ridge, not daring to move an inch.

It wasn't until Jia Lian came up and helped her up that she dared to look at her surroundings properly.

A wider field of vision and a broader sky; standing on it, it's as if your state of mind is completely different.

This feeling instantly helped Xiangling overcome her fear, and she even felt a little excited.

Ultimately, this excitement transformed into trust and admiration for Jia Lian.

If it weren't for Second Master, I would never have known how miserable my life would have been, let alone doing something as unconventional as climbing onto the roof at midnight to admire the moon.

Jia Lian also recalled the martial arts dramas of his previous life, where the heroes always liked to sit on the rooftops drinking and admiring the moon, which was quite dashing and romantic.

I only had this idea because I saw that the beams and ridges of the Iron Threshold Temple were quite sturdy.

Once he got up there, he realized that the rooftop was even more spacious and flat than he had imagined. There was no need to worry about falling off; it was truly an excellent place to admire the moon.

So he took Xiangling in his arms and lay flat on the roof, which was very clean from the rain, gazing up at the dark, mysterious sky.

Jia Lian even felt that he could fall asleep lying here. The prerequisite was having a beauty like Xiangling with him; otherwise, the spacious roof and the vast sky would not bring comfort or mystery, only boundless loneliness and desolation.

So he pulled his left arm in and tucked Xiangling in front of him, giving her a big kiss on her pink lips.

Xiangling was embarrassed and immediately shrank into Jia Lian's arms to hide.

With such a beautiful night and such a lovely woman, if Jia Lian weren't afraid of waking others and causing unnecessary trouble, he would have loved to burst into laughter.

Suddenly, a sound came from the huge roof beam beneath his head. Although it was very faint, Jia Lian's head was resting on the beam, and through bone conduction, he could clearly feel someone moving his ladder!

He immediately stood up, made a shushing gesture to Xiangling, and then, with agile movements, reached towards the ladder.

There were indeed people climbing up the ladder, but for some reason they suddenly stopped.

Jia Lian turned his head and looked down. In the dim moonlight, he saw a beautiful woman with a graceful figure, captivating and alluring, quietly clinging to the ladder. She was only two or three steps away from climbing up.

Jia Lian recognized her at a glance as Qin Shi.

He vividly remembered patting her pert, plump buttocks just this afternoon.

I just don't know why she would be here so late at night, doing something like stalking a pervert!

When Jia Lian realized it was Qin Shi, he naturally lowered his guard and squatted there in deep thought.

Little did the beautiful woman below know that when she inadvertently raised her head, she was suddenly terrified to find a human face above her.

"Ah..." Qin cried out in surprise, her hand lost its balance, and she seemed about to fall!

She was more than ten feet off the ground at that moment. Even a grown man would be seriously injured if he fell like that, let alone a delicate beauty like her.

At this critical moment, fortunately Jia Lian regained his senses and, with great agility, suddenly ducked down and grabbed Qin Shi's clothes, thus stabilizing the wooden ladder and stopping Qin Shi's fall.

"Second Master..."

The others rushed over and grabbed Jia Lian's legs.

Seeing Qin Shi standing there dumbfounded, not knowing how to help herself, Jia Lian said impatiently, "What are you still standing there for? Give me your hand and I'll pull you up."

Qin Shi had never experienced such a dangerous situation before. Completely flustered, she obediently handed her hand to Jia Lian...