Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Practicing with Zhang Yong and others is more exciting than practicing alone.

It wasn't until dusk that Jia Lian returned from the east courtyard.

Because he was covered in sweat, Jia Lian was too lazy to take the official robe back. Later, Zhao'er and the others would deliver it to the second gate, where the old woman would take it back to the courtyard.

Back home, just as Jia Lian entered the courtyard, he was about to tell Qingwen and the others to prepare a bath. Hearing voices coming from the west wing, he stepped up the stairs without thinking.

Sure enough, there were several girls inside, gathered around the desk discussing academic matters.

His two charming maids, Xiangling and Qingwen, needless to say, also included Daiyu as a mistress and servant.

Zijuan stood by the window like a supple wooden stake, while Daiyu stood in the due north direction, seemingly acting as a lecturer, giving a lesson to Xiangling and Qingwen.

Qingwen looked up and saw Jia Lian, then quickly smiled and said, "Second Master is back!"

As they were speaking, they came over to greet them.

Although Jia Lian did not want to be disrespectful to Daiyu, since he had already entered, there was no need to leave now, so he stopped at the door.

"Second Master is sweating a lot, I'll go prepare some bathing supplies for him!"

As Qingwen spoke, she immediately ran out.

Daiyu actually saw Jia Lianchu as soon as he entered the room.

Seeing that Jia Lian was only wearing a close-fitting garment, with his arms exposed, two faint blushes immediately rose on her face, though they were barely noticeable.

"When did Lin Daiyu arrive?"

Hearing Jia Lian's nonchalant question, Daiyu managed to calm herself and replied softly, "I haven't been here long..."

Xiangling came over at this moment, picked up a handkerchief and gently wiped the dampness from Jia Lian's face and neck, then smiled and said, "Miss Lin has been here for a while. I was reading some of the poems that Second Master wrote but didn't quite understand them, so I asked Miss Lin to teach us. Even Qingwen rarely sat down to listen to Miss Lin's explanation, and she kept asking all sorts of questions."

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian couldn't help but smile and glance at Daiyu.

Imagine three stunningly beautiful and adorable girls, Dai, Qing, and Xiang, discussing poetry together – the scene itself is incredibly charming and delightful.

Daiyu couldn't help but glance at the two of them... Their strong arms and the rugged muscle lines gave Daiyu a very strong sense of sensation.

She didn't dare to look closely for even a second. She lowered her head, hunched her neck, and walked to Zijuan's side. She took out a package from the corner, opened it, and took out the contents.

After thinking for a moment, he handed the items to Zijuan and asked her to deliver them on his behalf.

Although Zijuan didn't dare to look directly at Jia Lian, who was radiating a burning heat, she knew that Daiyu was even more embarrassed. So she took the shoes, walked up to Jia Lian, and said, "Second Master, these are a pair of shoes that our young lady prepared for you. She started making them a month ago and did it so carefully..."

"Zijuan~"

Daiyu blushed and gave a coquettish rebuke, "I told you to give it to him, not to be nosy."

Zijuan then pursed her lips, quickly glanced at Jia Lian, and then withdrew.

When Daiyu saw that Jia Lian had received her birthday gift, she didn't dare to stay any longer. She said, "Second Brother, you go ahead and do your work. We're going back now," and then quickly fled the west wing in her floral boots.

"Hehehe, aren't you going to see your teacher off?"

Jia Lian gestured to Xiang Ling, who smiled and quickly followed after him.

In the room, Jia Lian looked down at the shoes that Daiyu had made. The shoes were made of uniform blue silk. Although it was clear that Daiyu had intentionally tried to de-feminize herself, the exquisite stitching and the two plum blossoms adorning the edges still made the shoes look somewhat demure. At a glance, it was obvious that they were made by a young girl.

Not wanting to get the shoes dirty, Jia Lian went to where Daiyu had placed the package, put the shoes back into the silk cloth, and carried them back to the main room.

……

The next day was the ninth day of the third month.

Jia Lian's twentieth birthday.

谷浒

Early in the morning, Wang Xifeng instructed the kitchen staff to prepare several precious and rare dishes, intending to set up two tables at home and invite her peers, such as Yingchun and Baoyu, to come and sit down.

Because we were still in mourning, we didn't even invite a troupe of actors to perform; it was just a small gathering to express our condolences.

In Rongqing Hall, Grandmother Jia had overheard her granddaughters discussing it all morning, so when Wang Xifeng arrived, she jokingly said, "Today is Lian'er's big day. I heard from Yingchun and the others that you invited them to your house for a good meal. Why didn't you invite me?"

"Haha, we are more than happy to have our ancestor come."

We didn't dare invite the old lady before, because we were afraid of being scolded by her for saying that our husband had just passed away and we were already making arrangements for his birthday.

Originally, this wasn't really a birthday celebration; it was just a pretext to invite Brother Bao and his family to our little courtyard for a visit, to fulfill my duties as their elder brother and sister-in-law.

Grandmother Jia smiled upon hearing this.

She naturally knew why Wang Xifeng and the others didn't call her. As the matriarch of the family, if she made a move, most of the family would have to move as well. At that time, even if Wang Xifeng and the others wanted to make a small commotion, they wouldn't be able to.

At the same time, they felt that Jia Lian and his wife were well-mannered, and even though they were now wealthy, they still knew how to observe proper etiquette. Unlike those nouveau riche who became arrogant and ostentatious after gaining power, making a big fuss over trivial matters, as if afraid that others would not know that they were no longer what they used to be.

"If that's the case, then I suppose you haven't prepared anything delicious for me, so I don't care to go."

"I'll just send Yuanyang over to check later. If she sees anything good, she can just grab it and run. I'm not afraid you'll chase after me and demand it back."

Grandmother Jia's words made everyone laugh.

After a while of laughter and commotion, an old woman came back and said that Jia Lian had returned.

Wang Xifeng couldn't sit still any longer and hurriedly went back to prepare.

Seeing that Yingchun and the others were also eager to go, Grandmother Jia shook her head and smiled, "I know you can't sit still, so why don't you go with your second sister-in-law?"

"Feng'er, I'm entrusting them to you today. Take good care of them for me. If anything goes wrong, I'll hold you responsible."

"Yes, I will obey the orders of our ancestors."

Wang Xifeng greeted her brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law with a smile, and then left Rongqing Hall amidst laughter and conversation.

On the way, Wang Xifeng noticed that Baochai was missing from the group of sisters, so she hurriedly asked Xiaohong, "Did you go to invite Miss Bao yesterday?"

"I've gone."

"Go and invite them again."

"Second Madam, I saw Miss Bao and Aunt Xue in Madam's courtyard earlier. They must still be there now," an old woman said with a smile.

Wang Xifeng hurriedly invited them over, along with Aunt Xue.

Back inside the courtyard, it was indeed completely different.

In the already clean and tidy courtyard, two screens were placed at the bottom of the steps on the north side, and several long tables were set up. The long tables were covered with colorful silk and had tea, fruit and snacks on them.

On and under the corridors, maids dressed in brightly colored clothes were busy arranging various trinkets and objects.

In short, the usually quiet and deserted courtyard now has a vibrant and lively feel to it.

Wang Xifeng laughed and said, "My room is small, and I was afraid you wouldn't have enough room to play, so I simply set up the space in the courtyard, so you can do whatever you want."

At the age when Jia Baoyu was most playful, he had already put everything else out of his mind and looked around as soon as he entered the door.

He didn't care much about the screens, tables, chairs, or food and drinks, but he was very interested in the new things that Qingwen and the others were arranging along the west corridor. He ran over and asked what they were.

When Wang Xifeng saw this, she smiled and said, "That was also your Second Brother Lian's idea. He said that although there weren't many people here today, they were all refined guests, so he specially prepared a few elegant things for you."

Tan Chun and the others quickly laughed, "We dare not call ourselves elegant."

Everyone was drawn there, some they knew and some they didn't, and they all found it novel.