Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

The festive atmosphere at Ningguo Mansion was far less grand than that at Rongguo Mansion.

As Jia Lian walked in, he found that apart from the red lanterns hanging everywhere and the newly painted white walls, there was no festive atmosphere.

The servants were probably all slacking off and taking a break, so when Jia Lian walked from the courtyard into Ningxuan Hall, he didn't see many people.

However, things improved a lot after entering Ningxuan Hall.

The number and quality of the maids and servants standing here are roughly no less than those in Grandmother Jia's Rongqing Hall.

Many of the maids were unfamiliar faces, which made Jia Lian take a few more glances at them.

"This servant greets Your Excellency!"

Is your grandmother at home?

"Yes, sir. Does the Marquis wish to see the eldest mistress? We'll go and fetch her right away..."

"No need. My sister-in-law is pregnant and it's inconvenient for her to visit. I'll go and pay my respects."

After exchanging a few simple words with the maids standing in the corridor, Jia Lian gave a look to Aqi and Aqin behind him, then stepped into the main hall alone, and followed his memory to You Shi's room.

"My lord!"

Perhaps having heard that he was coming, Yindie and another maid came out to greet him. As soon as she saw Jia Lian, Yindie's face showed a hint of joy, and she stepped forward to bow respectfully.

Knowing that Jia Lian had come to see his mistress, he stood up and said with a smile, "The mistress knows that the Marquis has come and is waiting in the room. Please come in, Marquis."

Jia Lian nodded and went directly into Madam You's bedroom.

As the mistress of the Ningguo Mansion, Lady You naturally lived in the main hall with dignity. This was unlike Lady Wang, who did not live in Rongxi Hall but instead ordered a courtyard to be built next door.

As the main hall of the Ningguo Mansion, Ningxuan Hall was of the same standard as Rongxi Hall in every aspect.

Even the inner hall where the master lived consisted of five large rooms, with smaller rooms nested within the larger rooms, and even an inner corridor. If an assassin unfamiliar with the layout were to break in, it would probably take quite a while to find the master.

"Second Uncle..."

Lady You already knew about it when Jia Lian visited the East Mansion and discussed matters with the stewards.

She originally intended to go out and find Jia Lian, but she was afraid that appearing too eager would arouse suspicion, so she did not take any action.

Later, when she heard that Jia Lian had entered Ningxuan Hall, she knew that he must have come to see her, so she tidied herself up and waited quietly in the room.

Seeing Jia Lian walk in, he hurried forward and called out with a hint of surprise in his voice.

Jia Lian had already noticed Lady You standing by the window the moment he entered the room.

The woman was still as beautiful and dignified as ever, but her belly was now noticeably protruding, affecting her voluptuous figure.

He found the spacious room empty of servants, and the two maids, Yindie and the other maid, who had greeted him earlier, had not followed him in. Jia Lian knew this was You Shi's arrangement, so when she came to greet him, he stepped forward, took her arm, and then wrapped his arms around her, gently pulling her into his embrace.

Seeing the eager look in Madam You's eyes, Jia Lian lowered his head without hesitation and kissed her lightly rouged red lips.

Couples separated for a long time are bound to be more passionate. It was only because Jia Lian was concerned that Lady You was about to give birth that he released her ahead of time.

"Second Uncle~~"

Yu was somewhat embarrassed, lowered her head, and murmured.

Although she had previously met with Jia Lian in secret, it was either under the pretext of handling funeral arrangements or by meeting at Tianxiang Tower.

This was the first time he had ever made love so openly in her room, and the feeling of trepidation was both frightening and subtly exciting.

Jia Lian also found the beauty's lips and teeth fragrant and her aura incredibly attractive, so he took her hand and sat her down on the armchair next to him. Then he had You Shi sit on his lap, whispering sweet nothings to each other while discussing important matters.

What is the important business? However, Jia Lian asked You Shi if she had encountered any difficult problems in the past six months, and You Shi was concerned about his dangers outside.

Perhaps knowing that time was precious, neither of them delved into the details; instead, their desires gradually arose as they worked together.

Lady You felt somewhat apologetic and whispered in Jia Lian's ear, "Let me call Yindie in for you."

Seeing Jia Lian shake his head, You Shi remembered that she had given Yin Die to Jia Lian a long time ago, but Jia Lian had never accepted it. She had long suspected this, so she gently explained, "I only took Yin Die into my life two years ago. At that time, your brother Zhen was focused on pleasing Rong'er's wife and didn't pay much attention to me or the people around him. So, she is still a virgin."

Otherwise, I wouldn't dare give her to my second uncle.

Jia Lian raised an eyebrow. This Lady You was indeed excessively virtuous and sensible.

However, he had already checked whether the silver butterfly was a virgin, so that was not the reason he refused to use it.

Without explaining anything to her, he simply changed the subject, saying, "When I came over here earlier, I noticed that you seem to have many more maids in your courtyard?"

Jia Lian found it strange. He knew that You Shi and Qin Shi had sent away many of the concubines and maids who used to serve Jia Zhen and Jia Rong. How come she had more people serving her in her room?

She knew that Lady You was not the kind of person like Wang Xifeng who liked to compete and show off.

Upon hearing this, Lady You looked up and glanced at Jia Lian. Just as Jia Lian was beginning to have doubts, Lady You smiled and said, "It is much more than before."

When your brother Zhen was alive, many places in the house were overly furnished and wasteful.

Now, it's just me and Rong'er's wife at home, plus your Uncle Jing and your Brother Zhen and a few other aunts. We don't need that much space, so I've eliminated all the unnecessary formalities.

This was how I got rid of quite a few people, but since many of them had impeccable backgrounds, I couldn't show them no mercy. So I kept them by my wife and me's side, ready to serve us.

Jia Lian understood; so that's how it is.

Although some people were sent away, because there were fewer places in the family that needed help, more people ended up having free time.

Take the Rongguo Mansion for example. If Grandmother Jia were to suddenly pass away one day, wouldn't the hundred or so people serving in Rongqing Hall immediately become idle?

Seeing that Jia Lian understood, Madam You continued, "However, I'm all alone and don't really need so many people around me. It's a waste to leave them idle. How about I call them over and let Second Uncle take a look? If there are any that are acceptable, I can give them to Second Uncle to use, how about that?"

"Second Uncle, there's no need to be suspicious. While I can't guarantee that all these people are completely innocent, at least they rarely appeared in front of Master Zhen before. Many of them only joined the household this year to serve him..."

As she spoke, Madam You glanced at Jia Lian with a look that seemed both teasing and playful.

Jia Lian was speechless.

He believed that what Lady You said was true. After all, no matter how lustful Jia Zhen was, his vision and energy were limited. In addition, Jia Jing was still alive, so he still had some concerns about his actions. Therefore, it was impossible for him to have slept with all the maids and wives in the mansion. This was normal.

At the very least, the Ningguo Mansion still had hundreds of households with servants, so every year some newly grown servants and maids would enter the mansion. In addition, the Ningguo Mansion might also need to buy some servants and maids from outside every year.

Therefore, as long as Lady You is willing, she can certainly collect quite a few beautiful and innocent maids from the mansion...

But this doesn't mean he would be willing to sift through the group of maids that Jia Zhen had already chosen to find more beautiful women.

In fact, if the Ningguo Mansion truly possessed unparalleled beauty, even if it didn't reach the level of Qin Keqing, he wouldn't mind encountering someone comparable to You Shi.

But obviously, this is difficult.

He may question Jia Zhen's character, but he will not question Jia Zhen's judgment.

Although he had no intention of hunting for women in the Ningguo Mansion, Jia Lian knew that this was You Shi's good intention, so he simply held her face and smiled, "There's no need to rush this. Let's talk about it when I'm in the mood."

"oh."

Lady You, however, had already realized that Jia Lian had not taken her suggestion to heart.

She didn't necessarily want to give them away to Jia Lian. The reason she intentionally collected some pretty maids around her was that, given the current situation of the Ningguo Mansion, those maids would easily cause trouble elsewhere, such as having affairs with servants.

Therefore, it's better to keep her by his side. That way, if he has many beauties around him, Uncle Lian will be more likely to think about her.

Having the time makes it easier to come to her.

Although Lady You knew that she was quite beautiful, she was still seven or eight years older than Jia Lian, and perhaps in a few years, she would become less and less attractive to him.

And among Jia Lian's entourage, from his wife Wang Xifeng to his maid Qingwen, who wasn't younger and prettier than her?

She knew that all she had was a sense of "curiosity." Knowing her strengths and weaknesses, she naturally knew how to make Jia Lian pay more attention to her.

Having confirmed that Jia Lian had neither the intention to summon the Silver Butterfly nor the desire for others to serve him, she had no choice but to quell the anger she had stirred up herself.

Jia Lian couldn't bear to let her serve him with such a large belly, so just as she was about to kneel down, he helped her up and sat her on the kang (heated brick bed). He then kissed her forehead, told her to take good care of herself, and said he would come to see her another day before leaving.

Although my status is different now, it's still best to avoid trouble if possible.

As the acting clan leader, it was inevitable that he would have to deal with the You clan, but it was best not to make things too obvious to arouse suspicion.

So they went out onto the outer corridor, called over Aqi and Aqin, and headed towards the Grand View Garden.

To enter the Grand View Garden from Ningguo Mansion, you have to pass by the foot of Tianxiang Tower.

When Jia Lian arrived, he found the entire Tianxiang Tower eerily quiet; even entering through the main entrance, he knew no one would be seen. But being cautious by nature, he still circled around to a secluded spot and climbed up the corner tower…