Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

, !

Jia Lian's question stunned Daiyu, who stared at him, speechless for a long time.

Jia Lian looked at her with a smile, his handsome and resolute face full of doting affection, as if he saw not a woman he wanted to marry, but a little sister he had spoiled since childhood.

This feeling left Daiyu somewhat dazed.

After a long while, she finally managed to pull her small hand back and turned to the side, saying, "Didn't Brother Lian say that there's a difference between men and women? Why are you asking such a presumptuous question..."

Even though Daiyu had hinted to her father that she was willing to marry Jia Lian, she was too shy to speak her mind when facing this young man whom she had always regarded as an older brother.

To be able to perform like that already required immense courage.

Jia Lian knew that Daiyu was like this, so he didn't take her words seriously. He just laughed and said, "I taught you the difference between men and women back then, just because I didn't want to see Baoyu pestering you every day."

Now that I have asked my uncle for my sister's hand in marriage, if my uncle grants my request, we will be husband and wife, and there will be no need for any taboos.

Hearing Jia Lian say this, Daiyu felt ashamed, angry, and somewhat helpless.

She had always thought that Jia Lian was a mature and steady person, and that he had always treated her with the best manners of a cousin.

Who knew that once he decided to marry her, he would become so shameless!

Judging from his words, it seems that everything he taught her before was out of ulterior motives, to prevent anything from happening between her and Baoyu. Really…

How dare he say that?

In this way, when Daiyu recalls all those years, wouldn't all the things Jia Lian did for her be seen as having ulterior motives and hidden agendas?

She had always regarded Jia Lian as an upright person and even secretly admired him. It turned out that she had been deceived by him all along.

A feeling of being cheated quietly crept into my heart.

She felt she should be angry, but she found that she couldn't muster any anger at all.

Yes, but in addition to his previous secret admiration for Jia Lian, he also developed a little more affection for the unknown Ji Dong!

She couldn't help but think that Lian Er-gege was indeed a man of great ambition, planning everything before acting. Even his feelings for her were the same; he had been scheming for so many years, and she hadn't even noticed them!

Thinking about it this way, she almost laughed out loud.

After gathering her thoughts and suppressing the myriad emotions within her, Daiyu maintained her usual demeanor and retorted to Jia Lian, "You're becoming increasingly disrespectful! What husband and wife... You and Sister-in-law Lian are the real husband and wife, what does it have to do with me!"

He was clearly just being shy and responding to Jia Lian's words, but as he spoke, he suddenly felt a pang of sadness, and some of the things he originally wanted to say were no longer uttered.

"My lord, our master requests your presence," came an old woman's voice from outside.

Jia Lian turned around and responded, then looked at Daiyu, who was turning her head away, looking somewhat stubborn and aggrieved, and sighed inwardly.

He sat a little closer to Daiyu and said, "I know I've wronged you, sister."

My sincerity towards my sister is as clear as day and heaven, and I have absolutely no intention of disrespecting her.

I dare not lie to you. I truly cannot do it. I cannot divorce you, Sister Feng, just to marry the woman I love most, because my conscience forbids me from doing so.

Moreover, I have always admired Lin Daiyu's character, and I know that if I were to abandon my wife in order to marry her, Lin Daiyu would look down on me and would never marry me again.

So, I might as well be a little greedy.

"Lin Daiyu, do you understand?"

Jia Lian took Daiyu's hand again and placed it on his heart.

Daiyu felt as if she had been electrocuted, and trembled slightly. She looked up at Jia Lian, her eyes moist and moved.

Unexpectedly, Second Brother Lian knew her so well...

Jia Lian is right. If Jia Lian were willing to divorce Wang Xifeng for her sake, she might be happy for a while, but she would never be truly happy.

The Jia Lian she loved was the kind, righteous, gentle, and considerate Second Brother Lian, not the heartless big shot who was willing to abandon his wife and children to achieve his goals!

This is also why she was so gratified and moved when Jia Lian withstood such great pressure from the palace to protect Wang Xifeng.

She felt that she hadn't liked the wrong person.

It was from this that she realized that Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng had feelings for each other.

If Jia Lian were to divorce Wang Xifeng now in order to marry her, not only would Jia Lian's reputation be damaged and Wang Xifeng hate him, but she herself would also feel uneasy, guilty, and unhappy for the rest of her life.

Lin Daiyu would rather not have such a flawed love.

Even worse, she was afraid that she would worry about Jia Lian's feelings.

Today's new faces surpass the old ones; who can guarantee that in the future we won't meet new faces again and forget about the old ones?

Isn't that ridiculous?

Therefore, from the very beginning, Daiyu never intended to separate Wang Xifeng and Jia Lian.

Even though she was aware of her feelings for Jia Lian and thought she was better than Wang Xifeng, her initial thought was simply to bury her feelings for him in her heart.

As she told her father, Lin Ruhai, she would either spend her life with a Buddhist lamp and a Buddha statue, or come into this world naked and leave naked, without burdening anyone else. This was because her illness had caused Lin Ruhai, Grandmother Jia, Jia Lian, and others who cared for her to worry about her, leading to a sense of self-loathing. She didn't want others to worry about her for the rest of her life.

Although she had some thoughts in her mind, she was still a naive and expectant girl, and not an extreme person.

She still had many expectations for Jia Lian.

Her greatest expectation was that, as things were now, she would admire Jia Lian, and Jia Lian would love her just as deeply.

Heaven have mercy, this really happened. Just when her father was seriously ill and she was at her wit's end, Jia Lian finally revealed his feelings.

Therefore, no one knows how excited and happy she was when she overheard Jia Lian and her father's conversation yesterday.

The imperial physician's diagnosis was correct; her fainting was indeed caused by excessive joy followed by extreme sorrow!

That's why, when Lin Ruhai came to ask her what she thought, she still confided her feelings to her father despite being extremely shy.

Despite her sincere feelings, she felt powerless to respond to Jia Lian's relentless verbal assault. So she lowered her head slightly and replied in a voice barely audible, "Father is calling you. You should go now. I... I'm a little tired and want to go to sleep."

As she said this, Daiyu indeed lifted the covers and buried herself in the blankets once again.

Once she was sure Jia Lian couldn't tell her face was burning, Daiyu's face, which had been barely maintaining its composure, suddenly flushed red. A wave of intense heat surged up, causing her to involuntarily cover her face with her hands, wondering if she had burned herself.

Jia Lian, naturally, couldn't see the beautiful woman's shy demeanor. Sitting on the couch, all he could see was Daiyu curling up into a ball again.

The little girl was too frail; if he hadn't seen her hide inside with his own eyes, he wouldn't have been sure there was someone hiding inside, given the shape of the bulge in the blanket.

"Okay, then you should go to sleep first."

However, since you didn't answer my question, I'll take that as your tacit agreement.

If I manage to persuade my uncle to marry you to me, you can't go back on your word later.

After saying this, Jia Lian, certain that Daiyu would not respond to him, smiled, got up, and left Daiyu's boudoir.

"Second Master..."

Zijuan, standing by the door, looked both shocked and pleased.

Driven by her curiosity, Zijuan couldn't resist eavesdropping on some of Jia Lian and Daiyu's conversation.

And so, she finally understood the reason for what had happened in the past two days.

Under these circumstances, Zijuan's gaze towards Jia Lian was filled with admiration, emotion, and a sense of closeness.

She shared the same thought as the old steward, believing that it would be a good outcome for Jia Lian to marry Daiyu, even if she were his concubine.

The difference is that Zijuan's thoughts stemmed entirely from her genuine affection for Daiyu, without any other considerations of self-interest.

Having served Daiyu for several years, she had long understood Daiyu's thoughts.

She hadn't dared to expose it before, since Jia Lian already had a family.

Now it seems that the girl's long-cherished wish may one day come true. As the maid who has taken care of her young lady like a younger sister, she is naturally happy for Daiyu.