Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Aqin has studied Han culture since childhood and is able to communicate with Han people without any barriers.

Therefore, she understood all of Jia Lian's conversations with those women and admired Jia Lian's attitude of ignoring those glamorous women.

In addition, she had already heard from her sister that Jia Lian could also "write poetry"...

She had been thinking that she had always been by Jia Lian's side, yet Jia Lian had never revealed his literary talent to her!

That's why he kept causing trouble on the training ground.

At this moment, her mischievous thoughts vanished, and she walked to Jia Lian's side, calling out in an extremely obedient and meek manner, "Second Master..."

She has now learned to call Jia Lian "Master" in private, but "Your Excellency" in public.

Because she knew that Jia Lian wanted to train them to be his personal guards, she could also put away her delicate nature when she went out and imitate her sister, becoming serious and unsmiling.

Jia Lian was about to go back to take a shower when he saw her seducing him like this, and couldn't help but say helplessly, "Didn't you sprain your ankle?"

"Second Master rubbed it for me just now, and it's all better now."

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian knew perfectly well that she was doing it on purpose, so he reached out and slapped her on the bottom. Unexpectedly, she took the opportunity to sit in his lap.

Seeing this, Aqi, who was standing nearby, lifted the curtain and went straight into the inner room.

"I heard from my sister that Master wrote a lot of poems today, surpassing all the talented scholars in the capital."

"Back when I was on the grasslands, I really loved the poetry and songs of the Central Plains. I even studied them, but I just couldn't learn them. Could you teach me, Second Master?"

Aqin looked at Jia Lian with admiration, to which Jia Lian only replied that he could only provide what was already there, and as for how to write good poems, he didn't know.

"Alright, we'll talk about it another time. Get up, I'm all sweaty, aren't you tired of it?"

"No, Second Master's sweat isn't greasy at all, it smells nice, like sandalwood."

Aqin deliberately hugged Jia Lian tighter, her slender hands stroking his sweaty neck to show that she really liked him.

Jia Lian slapped her delicate buttocks twice without saying a word and scolded, "You simp, it's a good thing it's me. If it were anyone else, they would have been licked senseless by you."

It was clear that the woman hadn't been intimate with him for a long time and wanted to keep him a little longer.

"lick?"

Aqin didn't know the origin of this word. She looked up at Jia Lian in surprise, then blushed crimson, her watery eyes reproachfully glaring at him, "You're so mean, sir. You're talking about me like that. I won't fawn over anyone else, I'll only fawn over you..."

Jia Lian stood there, expressionless.

……

If Wang Xifeng hadn't timed things perfectly and sent Xiangling to fetch him, Jia Lian would most likely have stayed in the east wing.

Upon returning, they saw Wang Xifeng, along with her maids Ping'er and Xiao Hong, tidying up the inner room, clearing out all the unimportant items and placing them elsewhere.

She was in a great hurry, clearly making room to store the silver.

Jia Lian then asked with a smile, "I remember last time I asked you to pick something out of the master's study, there was a silk painting of auspicious cranes by Emperor Huizong of Song. Where did you put it?"

Jia She had a huge collection of things, enough to fill an entire study, so he brought out about ten boxes to store them.

The total number is at least two or three hundred.

Although most of them are vulgar and common, there are some rare and precious items.

Although Jia Lian didn't like it, he thought he could use it as a gift in the future, so he picked out a very small portion and asked Wang Xifeng to keep it.

Why are you asking this?

"You find it first..."

Seeing that Xiangling and Qingwen had prepared everything, Jia Lian followed them to take a bath.

After taking a bath, Wang Xifeng tidied herself up and changed into some close-fitting clothes, preparing to rest.

Seeing Jia Lian enter, she took a scroll from the cabinet and asked, "Is this the one you're talking about?"

Jia Lian glanced at them and nodded, but Wang Xifeng cautiously asked, "When you gave me these things, you said they were for me. What are you going to do with them now?"

Although Wang Xifeng didn't understand painting, she knew that this thing was quite valuable.

Jia Lian glanced at her and said, "Today, in order to help me gain momentum, the Crown Prince offered me three thousand taels of silver to give him a poem."

If he brings me the silver, and I refuse to accept it, it would be disrespectful to him.

谷犜

If he accepts the bribe, he will inevitably feel that he has been taken advantage of by his subordinates.

Do you understand?

"Isn't this the Prince of Bei Jing? How come the Crown Prince is involved here?"

Most of what happened today was heard by Jia Zheng from the chief secretary of the Prince of Beijing's residence. He didn't know the details, so the people in the residence could only know the general outline.

For Wang Xifeng and the others, the title of Crown Prince was simply too grand, so they were somewhat shocked.

Fortunately, she was used to being shocked by Jia Lian, so she quickly calmed down, thought for a moment, and then pretended to suddenly understand:

"You mean you're planning to send this painting to the Crown Prince so that you won't have to worry about offending him, and he won't feel cheated by receiving such a precious item. He'll be happy to do you this favor."

And from then on, you even developed a relationship with the Crown Prince?

Jia Lian smiled and, seeing Wang Xifeng snuggle up to him, tapped her forehead and jokingly scolded, "Indeed, your head isn't too stupid."

However, it's not really about building a close relationship.

Given my status, it is inappropriate for me to get too close to the Crown Prince.

However, it's okay not to align yourself with the Crown Prince, but you absolutely must not offend him or make him feel even slightly uncomfortable, understand?

Even someone of the Crown Prince's status isn't someone who's qualified to receive gifts from just anyone.

Three thousand taels of silver is neither a lot nor a little; it is roughly equivalent to the annual output of one or two imperial estates under the Crown Prince's residence!

The crown prince, in a moment of magnanimity, readily agreed to give him three thousand taels of silver, but afterwards he inevitably felt that the deal was not worthwhile.

Given his status, even if he was unhappy, he wouldn't go back on his word...

This is the crux of the contradiction. That's why Jia Lian gifted such a famous painting. The value of such things is not fixed. They are priceless in the hands of those who appreciate them, but in the hands of ordinary people, they are just a scroll.

Therefore, after receiving the document, the Crown Prince would only think that Jia Lian knew how to conduct himself, and would not feel slighted or "taken advantage of".

Wang Xifeng nodded as if she understood, and once again felt that the gap between her and Jia Lian had widened considerably.

She had no idea how someone of Jia Lian's status should interact with figures like the Crown Prince.

However, seeing that Jia Lian was shrewd, she didn't bother with such trivial matters. In short, as long as the heartless person didn't just throw it away carelessly, she naturally wouldn't be reluctant to part with it.

With her intelligence, she naturally knew that as long as Jia Lian's official career was successful, he would have no worries about not having wealth and honor in the future. The Jia family's two mansions had been glorious for nearly a hundred years, all thanks to the efforts of several generations of ancestors who served as officials outside the family.

The reason why our family has been declining for more than ten years is because no one in our family holds a high-ranking position in the imperial court!

It seems the heartless man wasn't exaggerating after all; he might actually restore their ancestors' glory and make her the rightful mistress of the Duke's mansion...

Thinking of this, she felt a sweet warmth in her heart and leaned even closer to Jia Lian.

Noticing Jia Lian's hand creeping inside her undergarment, she gently patted it, held Jia Lian's hand to stop him from moving, and then said, "By the way, when I came from Madam's room earlier, Yingchun and the others asked me if we should have a celebration for your birthday in a couple of days."

Judging from their expressions, they wanted to celebrate your birthday, so I didn't reply to them and said I'd talk to them later.

"The master has just died, so it is naturally impossible to do so."

"However, we can easily set up two tables in the courtyard and invite Yingchun and the others over to have some fun."

"Yes, that's what I was thinking too. So, are you taking leave the day after tomorrow, or will you come back earlier?"

"There's no need to ask for leave for this. Just get things arranged for me, and I'll be back early after I clock in."

"Hmm~"

Wang Xifeng was still thinking about what to say to Jia Lian when she realized that Jia Lian was going too far, having completely undressed her. She spat and said, "Wasn't it just at dusk...? You're being unreasonable again. What kind of person are you? Who can stand you?"

Jia Lian chuckled: "Really can't stand it?"

Wang Xifeng then fell silent.

"I can't stand it, but we still have Ping'er."

Wang Xifeng had anticipated Jia Lian's response, and upon hearing this, she pinched his waist hard.

Jia Lian laughed heartily, laid him down on the couch, and said with a smile, "You should be secretly happy to have such a strong and healthy man. Why are you pretending?"

"Pooh……"

……