Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

The next day, Jia Lian woke up amidst the sweet fragrance and soft touch of her body.

He noticed that both arms were a little numb, but he didn't care. Instead, he opened his eyes and looked left and right...

The two, though slightly different, both displayed perfect bodies, lying quietly in his arms.

On the right is his beautiful wife, and on the left is his concubine.

Such a carefree life made Jia Lian feel extremely happy, and he couldn't help but chuckle out loud.

Wang Xifeng and Ping'er, who were already close to waking up, were awakened prematurely by his laughter.

"What are you laughing at so early in the morning? Having a sweet dream?"

Wang Xifeng rubbed her eyes, glanced at Jia Lian, and looked somewhat dissatisfied.

"Yes, I'm having a sweet dream, and I haven't woken up yet."

Jia Lian pulled both beauties closer to his chest and stroked them with his hands.

At this moment, Wang Xifeng also saw Ping'er's exposed body on the other side. She couldn't help but recall the many twists and turns of the previous night. When she heard Jia Lian's words, she knew why Jia Lian was laughing. She couldn't help but reach out and pinch Jia Lian's waist.

"You're so smug!"

Even so, Wang Xifeng was still very happy.

This at least shows that Jia Lian genuinely liked the two women, mistress and servant, and it can be considered that he did not disappoint her painstaking efforts in giving her most trusted people to Jia Lian for his use.

Therefore, after pinching Jia Lian once, her warm, jade-like hand gently stroked his lower abdomen.

That heartless man has really gotten strong; those hard muscles, he calls them "abs."

She initially mocked it, calling it a "negative chicken" or a "positive chicken," but after experiencing its power in bed, she secretly grew to like it.

"Stop touching it, or you'll be responsible for putting out the fire."

Jia Lian tilted his head and kissed Wang Xifeng's smooth nose, teasingly saying...

Wang Xifeng immediately withdrew her hand, realizing that Jia Lian was mocking her, and felt somewhat displeased.

If it weren't for the fact that she and Ping'er were both reserved and unable to do anything too seductive, people would really think that the two of them were no match for him.

She wanted to teach Jia Lian a lesson, but knowing that Jia Lian had many things to do that day, she decided not to argue with him.

So they shifted the conflict elsewhere.

He reached out and tapped Ping'er's head, saying irritably, "You brat, get up! What are you pretending for!"

She caught Ping'er stealing glances at them earlier, and she still dared to pretend to be asleep.

Ping'er let out a soft moan, opened her eyes, glanced at Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng respectively, smiled shyly, and silently tried to shrink back onto the bed.

Finally, Jia Lian put his arm around her and kissed her before stopping.

This prompted Wang Xifeng to secretly pinch Jia Lian again.

Jia Lian had originally intended to take advantage of the beautiful morning light to do some nice things with his wife and concubines. Now that Ping'er had run away and Wang Xifeng was teasing him, without saying a word, he rubbed her body for a while and then pressed down on her to make love.

No matter what Wang Xifeng said about the distinguished guests arriving today, and if Jia Lian was told to prepare in advance, he wouldn't let her off the hook.

So when the maids brought in the toiletries, they were forced to wait silently in the outer room.

After having morning tea, Jia Lian did not stay at home to wait for relatives and friends to visit. Instead, after tidying up, he told Jia Zheng to receive any guests who might come, and then he took a few people and rode to the Lin family.

Daiyu did not sleep all night.

After waking up early, I feel listless and lack the energy to do anything.

However, the observant Zijuan noticed that when their young mistress was not in the room, she would often secretly open the window and stare blankly at the front yard.

Zijuan then remembered that she had told Daiyu last night that Jia Lian would be coming to visit her today.

"Who are you waiting for, young lady?"

Zijuan brought the medicine to Daiyu's bedside. Instead of scolding Daiyu for not listening to her instructions and opening the window to let the wind in, she jokingly said...

Daiyu paused for a moment, ignoring Zijuan without even moving her head.

Seeing this, Zijuan chuckled, quietly closed the window, and turned to feed Daiyu her medicine.

Although the doctor said that Daiyu was fine, and that Daiyu had been able to get out of bed as usual the night before, Zijuan still dutifully followed the instructions of Physician Wang and prepared the medicine for Daiyu on time.

Daiyu never liked taking medicine, and since she felt that she was already healthy, she naturally didn't want to take any more medicine.

What's even more infuriating is that I had just told Zijuan not to brew any more medicine, but she still did it. So I shut up and remained silent as a form of protest.

Zijuan's eyes darted around, and she smiled, "I advise you not to be stubborn, Miss. Why bother? When Master Lian arrives, you'll still have to obediently drink your medicine."

At first, Daiyu was puzzled and looked at Zijuan with a questioning look.

Why should she obediently drink her medicine just because Jia Lian has arrived?

Suddenly she remembered that when she was in the Jia family, she often didn't take her medicine and even secretly poured it away.

However, on two separate occasions, Jia Lian happened to arrive.

Perhaps because she always respected Jia Lian, she was easily coaxed by him and obediently drank the medicine.

She hadn't noticed this, but in the eyes of Zijuan and the others, it naturally seemed that she was completely obedient to Jia Lian.

Having figured this out, Daiyu was extremely dissatisfied, but unable to argue, she simply turned her head away angrily, lay down, and refused to pay any more attention to the annoying Zijuan.

However, my mind was already racing.

She remembered many things from her past with Jia Lian.

Thinking of the years Jia Lian cared for and loved her in the Rongguo Mansion, her heart was filled with warmth.

Being loved and pampered by someone from beginning to end is a feeling that is indeed hard for her to refuse.

Thinking back to the two times Jia Lian was ordered to leave the capital, she had carefully made gloves for him, all of which she had made herself, stitch by stitch. She wondered if her second brother Lian still had them with him. Thinking about it made her blush.

And there was the time he helped teach Xiangling, when Jia Lian fed her hot pot in the snow...

The most unforgettable memory was when Jia Lian traveled thousands of miles to the south of the Yangtze River to mourn his mother, and took her on a day trip to Xuanmu Panxiang Temple.

That was the happiest day she had had since her mother passed away.

Every little thing, though ordinary, is so deeply etched in my memory.

That's why I, for some inexplicable reason, agreed to my father's suggestion yesterday.

If Brother Lian Er found out, he'd be so ashamed...

Thinking of this, Daiyu was extremely embarrassed and buried her face in the pillow so that Zijuan wouldn't see her.

Zijuan had no idea that her words would have such a tremendous effect, causing Daiyu's body to contract repeatedly.

To be honest, she didn't know about Jia Lian's proposal to marry Daiyu. So far, only Lin Ruhai and his daughter, and the old steward in the entire Lin family knew about it.

She was simply clever and probably felt that Daiyu's unusual behavior these past two days was inextricably linked to Jia Lian.

Seeing that Daiyu was about to curl up completely under the covers, Zijuan found it amusing and was about to pull Daiyu up when she heard a maid's announcement from outside.

"The Marquis has arrived!"

Zijuan was overjoyed and was about to say something to Daiyu when she saw Daiyu suddenly pull the quilt up and cover her head completely, disappearing without a trace.

Zijuan was taken aback for a moment, but said nothing more and turned to greet Jia Lian.

When Jia Lian entered the Lin family, he went straight to find Daiyu.

He wasn't afraid of Lin Ruhai suspecting anything, since Lin Ruhai already knew about his intentions.

If Lin Ruhai is willing to agree, he naturally won't stand on ceremony.

If Lin Ruha is unwilling to agree, there's no point in being polite, so there's no need for him to be polite.

"How is Lin Daiyu?"

"Reporting to Second Master... Lord Marquis, the young lady is much better now, but she's throwing a tantrum and refusing to take her medicine. We'll need your help to persuade her."

Zijuan said with a smile.

Jia Lian glanced at her and casually said as he walked into the house, "Although you serve by Lin Daiyu's side, you are still considered a member of our Jia family. Since you're used to calling me Second Master, you can continue to call me that from now on."

Since being granted a title yesterday, not only Zijuan, but many people in the manor also find it difficult to change their way of addressing her.

The people around him addressed him as "Second Master" with more familiarity, but seeing that Jia Lian didn't care about that, the people in the mansion just called him "Second Master" or "Marquis" interchangeably.

Daiyu's room was very warm, especially in front of the kang (heated brick bed), where several braziers of charcoal were burning separately.

Although it was all top-grade silver frost charcoal used by wealthy families, which produced almost no smoke or dust, Jia Lian still felt that this was not a good idea, so he instructed: "The room is burning so hot and there is no ventilation, it is easy to get sick from the stuffiness."

Open both windows.

Zijuan and the other maids dared not disobey Jia Lian's orders. Since Daiyu was currently in bed and not worried about being blown by the wind, she led a maid to open the window.

Jia Lian, on the other hand, strolled over to Daiyu's bedside.

Seeing no one, only a bundle of bedding curled up in the middle, Jia Lian was taken aback at first sight, then realized that Daiyu must have overheard his conversation with Lin Ruhai yesterday.

So, is the little girl shy?

Thinking of this, Jia Lian smiled slightly, sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and saw that the person in the quilt seemed to react and moved to the other side. Jia Lian found Daiyu's behavior even more adorable and charming.

"Legend has it that a type of seafood called sea snail often grows on the vast seashore."

Although the conch has tender, juicy, and delicious meat, it is very timid. Whenever it sees fishermen gathering seafood, it will shrink its entire body into its shell.

"May I ask you, my little seashell maiden, I am not a fisherman, why are you avoiding me?"

In the past, Jia Lian would never have said such provocative things to Daiyu, but now...

Now that Daiyu already knows his intentions, he doesn't need to hide them anymore. He might as well be more open, which would make Daiyu think he is an honest person.

Sure enough, Daiyu, who was in bed, clenched her little fists in anger when she heard Jia Lian's words.

Although she had never seen the sea, let alone a conch shell, she had heard the myth of the "Conch Girl".

Jia Lian deliberately called her the Conch Girl and said he was a fisherman. Wasn't that implying that he was flirting with her?

Embarrassed and annoyed, Daiyu wanted to come out and argue with Jia Lian, but she was too shy to show her face or even respond to his words.

But at the same time, she couldn't help but wonder why Jia Lian always had such fresh things to say to her?

He even arbitrarily altered the stories of his predecessors. What he said had absolutely nothing to do with "The Conch Girl"! To call the perfectly good Conch Girl seafood is simply an eyesore and unforgivable!

But he spoke with such certainty, could it be that Brother Lian Er went to the beach and collected seashells?

In a young girl's world, she is quite curious about new things.

Seeing that Jia Lian seemed unable to do anything about Daiyu, Zijuan came over and said with a smile, "Miss, get up and drink your medicine first, it will be even more bitter if it gets cold."

Daiyu, still in bed, seemed to realize that ignoring everyone wasn't good, so she took the opportunity to retort to Zijuan, "I told you, I'm fine now, I don't need to drink anymore, but you're so annoying."

Zijuan smiled helplessly and gave Jia Lian a look that said, "I can't do anything about it, Second Master, you'll have to figure it out yourself."

Unexpectedly, Jia Lian looked at her and said, "Alright, Zijuan, now that Lin Daiyu is better, why are you forcing her? Who is the master, you or Lin Daiyu?"

Zijuan was stunned. Even though Jia Lian gave her a look asking for her to cooperate, she still seemed to understand but not quite.

Having been trained by the Rongguo Mansion for many years, she instinctively knew how to respond when her master reprimanded her.

"This servant knows her mistake, please forgive me, Second Master..."

"Since you know you're wrong, I'll punish you by making you kneel here."

"Yes."

Although Zijuan felt wronged, she still obediently prepared to kneel down.

But Jia Lian hooked one of her knees with his foot, preventing her from kneeling down.

When she looked at Jia Lian again, she seemed to understand a lot more.

Daiyu, who was in bed, was naturally quite surprised.

What's wrong with Second Brother Lian? Isn't he usually the most considerate of his servants? Why is he making Zijuan kneel over such a small matter? To be honest, Zijuan was just following orders and it was for her own good. Although she found it annoying, she didn't think Zijuan had done anything wrong!

How could Second Brother Lian bully Zijuan just to please her!

"Zijuan, what's wrong?"

A little anxious, Daiyu asked in a muffled voice from under the covers.

There was no response, and Daiyu became nervous.

Over the years, she knew perfectly well how Zijuan had treated her, and in her heart, she no longer regarded Zijuan as a maid.

This is also why she often throws tantrums in front of Zijuan.

She always maintained the dignity of a young mistress, even in front of others, including Xueyan.

Therefore, even Jia Lian cannot bully her Zijuan without reason!

Upon realizing this, Daiyu could no longer hide her feelings. She rolled over, wrapped herself in the quilt, and sat up. Seeing Jia Lian, she scolded him playfully, "Why don't you distinguish right from wrong..."

Halfway through her sentence, she caught a glimpse of Zijuan standing outside the kang (a heated brick bed), smiling at her.

Daiyu, who was initially confused by her concern, realized that she had probably fallen into a trap. She was stunned and didn't know what to say.

Jia Lian looked at Daiyu's rosy cheeks, which looked much better than when he saw her yesterday, and felt relieved.

Seeing her stunned, he couldn't help but tease, "So, Lin Daiyu has finally decided to speak to me?"

When Jia Lian teased her, Daiyu glared at him, but after only a breath, she dared not look him in the eye again.

To be honest, she didn't see Jia Lian at all yesterday. So, if you count it, this was the first time she had seen Jia Lian since last year.

At this moment, Jia Lian had already taken off his official robes and noble attire, and was only wearing a casual robe. Although he was not as imposing as when he wore official robes, he had a more approachable air about him.

Therefore, Daiyu blushed after just one glance, lowered her head to stare at the corner of the quilt that was being tossed about by his hands, and had no idea how to face Jia Lian at this moment.

As for Zijuan, she had already ignored her at this point.

This traitor! I was so worried about her, and she actually colluded with outsiders to deceive me. It's unforgivable!

The traitor Zijuan, knowing she was in the wrong, smiled shyly and obediently left the room.

She could see it so clearly; the girl was obviously shy.

Thinking back to what Master and Second Master Lian had said yesterday, Zijuan had a general idea of ​​what was going on. At this moment, she naturally wouldn't act as a third wheel.

"What, is Lin Daiyu really not going to talk to me anymore?"

Perhaps Zijuan's departure lessened Daiyu's concerns, and upon hearing Jia Lian's teasing, Daiyu finally raised her head defiantly, glared at Jia Lian, and after a moment spat out, "Pah, you're just a liar!"

"Hehehe, if I don't do this, the Conch Girl won't come out. What can I do?"

Jia Lian spoke casually, showing no shame whatsoever for defrauding the young girl.

Seeing Jia Lian still laughing, Daiyu became even angrier. She glared at him angrily, but then remembered what had happened between them. Overwhelmed with shame, she wanted to cover her head and shrink back into the quilt to hide her embarrassment.

Jia Lian, however, grabbed one of her small hands beforehand, his wanton demeanor vanishing, and looked at her tenderly, saying, "Did you hear what I said to my uncle yesterday, little sister?"

"No, no..."

Before Daiyu could even react to the shyness of having her hand grabbed, she hurriedly denied it.

Seeing her shy reaction, Jia Lian felt at least eighty percent relieved, so he asked softly again, "Then, Lin sister, would you be willing to marry me?"