Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

, !

Xue Pan rushed home happily, changed into clean clothes, put on a jade hairpin and a new crown, and then, without letting any servants follow him, rode a horse and headed north.

Not far from the city gate, sure enough, they saw a lone figure on horseback standing on the opposite bridge. The man on horseback, dressed in brocade robes and a magnificent crown, was remarkably handsome—none other than Liu Xianglian.

"Haha, good brother, I knew you wouldn't lie to me."

Xue Pan laughed loudly and rode forward.

Liu Xianglian smiled at him, then spurred his horse and rode off, with Xue Pan following happily.

Upon reaching a reed bed where there was no sign of human habitation, Liu Xianglian finally stopped, tied his horse to a tree, and called Xue Pan down to make a vow to keep the secret.

Xue Pan would never refuse. Upon hearing this, he immediately knelt on the ground, raised his hands, and shouted, "I promise I will never tell anyone about what happened today..."

Before he could finish speaking, Xue Pan felt everything go black, his mind went blank, and he was kicked on the head by Liu Xianglian and rolled down the slope.

Xue Pan had never been treated like this before. After letting out a cry of pain, he turned over and started cursing.

Little did anyone know that Liu Xianglian had already pressed down on Xue Pan. He had been preparing to teach Xue Pan a lesson, but upon hearing Xue Pan's vile words, he didn't hesitate any longer. He grabbed his horsewhip and began to lash Xue Pan's body repeatedly, all the while sneering.

"I'll beat you to death, you blind bastard! Today I'll teach you who your Grandpa Liu is!"

Xue Pan was in pain all over his body and finally became afraid. His arrogance vanished, and he rolled around to avoid the attack while begging for mercy.

After delivering the whip thirty-four times, Liu Xianglian felt a bit tired and was also afraid of actually killing Xue Pan, so he took a break.

Seeing this, Xue Pan, who had been wailing for a long time, covered his head and glanced at Liu Xianglian, who was full of anger. He said in a wronged tone, "This was originally a matter of mutual consent. If you didn't want to agree, then fine, but why did you trick me into coming out and then beat me like this..."

"snort."

Although Liu Xianglian felt a great sense of relief, he was still somewhat angry, because Xue Pan had rolled over and arrived at the ditch beside the reeds.

There were many reed stalks lying in the ditch, as well as some waterfowl feathers, and the water looked dark and murky.

Liu Xianglian then ordered, "Crawl over there and drink two sips of that water, and I'll spare you today!"

Xue Pan glanced at it and quickly shook his head, "How can we drink such dirty water..."

Liu Xianglian didn't care about anything else. He took a step forward, pulled Xue Pan's leg up, dragged him into the ditch, and then pressed Xue Pan's head into the sewage.

Xue Pan, who had never been treated so inhumanely, had no idea what to do. He gulped down several large mouthfuls of the drink, and suddenly felt a stench emanating from his head, and even thought about dying...

……

Fengjie Courtyard of Rongguo Mansion.

After Jia Lian left, Wang Xifeng went to Grandmother Jia's courtyard, only to find that Grandmother Jia had already ordered the performance to stop and was talking and laughing with Aunt Xue and others in Rongqing Hall. She went up to join in for a few words, but found it not very interesting, so after arranging some chores, she went home and found that Jia Lian had returned home sometime earlier and was taking a nap on the kang outside.

One hand was resting on the head of her obedient maid, Xiangling.

Looking at Xiangling, who was also asleep on the edge of the kang, and who was becoming more and more graceful, Wang Xifeng couldn't help but sigh inwardly. She wondered if it was the heartless girl who was lucky to have met such a well-behaved maid, or if the maid was lucky to have met such a good master!

He walked over, patted Xiangling's shoulder, and told her to go back to her room to rest when she woke up. He then tucked Jia Lian's exposed arm back into the quilt.

She had originally intended to go inside and take a nap, as she was quite tired after serving Grandmother Jia for half a day. However, upon seeing Jia Lian's peaceful face, she suddenly felt wide awake again. So she simply leaned against the edge of the kang (heated brick bed), quietly admiring her husband's increasingly handsome and dashing appearance!

When love runs deep, one wants to reach out and touch, but fearing to wake Jia Lian, one refrains.

For a moment, she felt that spending time with Jia Lian like this was also sweet, and she buried her head in the quilt in embarrassment. After a while, she dared to look up and peek at Jia Lian again. After repeating this several times, she finally sat sideways on the footstool and fell asleep quietly, just like Xiang Ling had done before.

During this time, Ping'er and Qingwen each came in once. Seeing such a warm and loving scene between their grandparents, one quietly took her things and left the room, while the other pouted slightly and tactfully withdrew.

As a result, the entire courtyard became peaceful and quiet. Even the usually lively young maids were warned by Ping'er and the others not to make any noise.

An old woman walked from the courtyard gate. Before she even reached the porch, she saw the maid guarding the main house door gesture for her to be quiet. She quickly slowed her pace, walked to the door, and asked in a low voice, "Is Second Master home?"

"Second Master is taking a nap."

"Oh, is that so? Zhao'er sent word through the second gate that the matter Second Master instructed has been completed, and he wants Second Master to go to the east courtyard."

The two maids exchanged a glance, and one of them replied, "Sister Ping'er doesn't want anyone to disturb the Second Master. How about this, we'll give him a reply when he wakes up."

The old woman didn't dare say anything more, glanced inside the room, and left with regret.

Nowadays, the status of Master Lian and his wife is rising day by day, and even the old women who are responsible for relaying messages like to take on the tasks in this courtyard.

Not to mention the occasional rewards from Master Lian and Madam Lian, just being able to meet them is an unimaginable benefit.

Inside the room, Jia Lian had already woken up.

He was a light sleeper, and although the voices outside weren't loud, the old woman's voice was too rough and easily disturbed his sleep.

He casually touched the head next to him with a head of beautiful hair, and realized that the feel was wrong. He turned his head and saw that it was Sister Feng.

When Feng Jie fell asleep, she lost her usual flamboyant demeanor and finally appeared quiet and elegant, which aroused Jia Lian's mischievous thoughts.

He first shaved her cheek, causing her to wrinkle her nose slightly, then curled a strand of her hair and teased her delicate nose with the end of the hair.

How could Wang Xifeng possibly sleep? She sneezed slightly, looked up, and saw that it was indeed Jia Lian teasing her. She scolded him irritably, "I didn't even dare to wake you when you were asleep just now. But you, after waking up, come and tease me. Don't you even have any consideration for how busy I've been in the Old Madam's courtyard all day!"

"Who said I don't understand you? I'm just worried you'll catch a cold lying outside."

As Jia Lian spoke, he turned over and picked up Feng Jie, placing her into the warm quilt she was already sleeping in, and laughed, "Isn't it more comfortable to sleep like this?"

Wang Xifeng didn't say anything more. She asked about the time and realized that half an hour had already passed. She hurriedly got up and said, "The old lady is in a high mood today. She must be putting on a show this afternoon. I have to go and see."

Jia Lian sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), shook his head, and said with a suggestive tone, "You are not the same as before. You are now the proper wife of a marquis. Why are you still as cautious and timid as a newlywed?"

Wang Xifeng couldn't help but laugh upon hearing this.

When Jia Lian was ennobled as a marquis, she naturally became the marquis's wife, holding the same rank as the old lady—both were of the first rank!

Although Grandmother Jia was the wife of a duke, she was still more noble than her. In the entire Jia family, apart from Grandmother Jia, her title was the highest, far surpassing that of Lady Wang and Lady You.

She understood the meaning behind Jia Lian's words; he was mocking her, a marquis's wife, for making herself so tired.

"Things are different now. How can you possibly surpass the old lady? You're always busy with things outside, and you still rely on me to fulfill your filial duties to the old lady. Instead of saying something nice to comfort her, you're being sarcastic."

"If I were to follow your example and avoid showing my face to the old lady every few days, I guarantee that before long, the whole household would know that we were both unfilial."

Jia Lian chuckled and didn't argue with Wang Xifeng. Just then, a maid heard their conversation and came in to report. Jia Lian then got up, changed his clothes, and went out.