Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

She's a widow who's been single for many years...

Jia Lian stood there, reflecting on himself, wondering where he hadn't done well enough to let Li Wan escape.

Then she felt guilty. Should she put on her clothes properly before going home after practicing archery and martial arts, so as not to make Li Wan feel bad like she did today...?

I think I'll pass. I'm all sweaty, and if I put on clothes without showering, I'll feel uncomfortable. Compared to that, it's better to make others uncomfortable.

Back home, while taking a bath, he suddenly noticed that Qingwen was unusually attentive. Not only did she gently massage his shoulders and back, but she also seemed to be intentionally or unintentionally flirting with him as she moved.

Jia Lian knew she must have something to ask of him, but he pretended not to know and even asked her to take off her clothes and come in to serve him.

Qingwen wasn't too coy. It had become a routine anyway. Whenever the Second Master took a serious bath, one of them would be sent in to serve him, either Qingwen or Xiangling.

So she moved behind Jia Lian, removed her outer garment, leaving only a small red silk bodice and a tight-fitting robe of the same material, and walked to the large bathtub. She shyly tiptoed and stepped inside.

Her slender, snow-white legs were so dazzling that they inevitably attracted Jia Lian's attention. Qingwen looked shy on the surface, but was secretly delighted.

She knew that her body was just that beautiful, beautiful in every way. Even compared to Xiangling, who was also very beautiful, in the eyes of others, there was no one who could definitively say that she was better than her.

Although Second Master often said that they were equally good or bad in order to take care of Xiangling's feelings, she could tell from many of Second Master's usual actions that she was more attractive to him than Xiangling!

That's why she could be so arrogant. No matter who the maids, big or small, dared to offend her, or made a mistake, she could scold them at will. But if it was a trusted head maid from another room…

No, she would befriend anyone who was close to her in status.

What do you call this? It's a classic case of treating people differently based on their status! There's nothing you can do about it; after all, he didn't go to school and has worked his way up from a young age, so it's inevitable that he'll pick up some bad temper traits.

Jia Lian watched Qingwen's behavior throughout, feeling a little itchy inside.

Naturally beautiful, with skin as white as ice and bones as jade, that perfectly describes a beauty like Qingwen. The best things are often appreciated slowly and carefully; perhaps this is the real reason he couldn't bear to eat Qingwen.

In this way, every time one enjoys the purest and cleanest Qingwen, it is a kind of pleasure that benefits the soul.

He never lacked for pure physical pleasure; in fact, he could have as much as he wanted. But there was only one Qingwen who resembled Daiyu so closely—she was unique.

Therefore, before Qingwen could do anything else, he immediately pulled her into his arms. The closeness of their skin mixed with the splash of water was already a wonderful feeling.

For Qingwen, every time she was close to Jia Lian, it was naturally pleasant. She nestled docilely in Jia Lian's arms like a cat. Feeling ticklish from Jia Lian's touch, she shifted her body uncomfortably. Perhaps to distract herself, she took the opportunity to reveal her purpose.

"Second Master, could you take me with you on this trip? I haven't been back to Jiangnan for so many years since I left when I was a child. I really want to go back and see it."

"cannot."

Upon hearing Jia Lian's resolute refusal, Qingwen immediately pouted her cherry-like lips! The Second Master is truly shameless, taking liberties with her while being so heartless and ungrateful!

"Why not? Don't try to fob me off with excuses like 'I have important business to attend to'. I know everything. You're taking Xiangling down to Jiangnan, supposedly to find her mother!"

As she spoke, Qingwen felt somewhat wronged. She could understand Jia Lian's usual bullying of her as a sign that he liked her more.

But she was not happy about this blatant favoritism.

Jia Lian looked down and saw that Qingwen's face, moistened by the moisture, was even more rosy and radiant, incredibly delicate!

Despite his unhappy expression, Jia Lian laughed.

"You yourself said that Xiangling went with you to help her find her mother. You just wanted to go to Jiangnan for fun. How can that be compared?"

Besides, it's not like I'm taking Xiangling to the south. I won't be taking a single maid with me on this trip to the south.

Xiangling was able to go south because Lin Daiyu was willing to take her with her. So, if you have the ability to persuade Lin Daiyu to take you along, I have no objection.

"Don't give me that! Don't think I don't know. It must have been you who had Miss Lin bring Xiangling along! You still want to lie to me? Second Master is biased, and you won't admit it!"

Qingwen was very clever; she knew that with Xiangling's dull mind, there was no way she could have come up with the idea of ​​having Daiyu take her on a trip to Jiangnan.

It must have been arranged by Jia Lian.

Seeing that he couldn't fool Qingwen, Jia Lian touched her face and earnestly comforted her, "Alright, don't be angry. I didn't do this out of favoritism, but because I was thinking of you."

Firstly, it's really inconvenient for me to bring you along, otherwise I wouldn't have let Xiangling follow Lin Daiyu.

As for why I didn't take you... I have a lot of things to do on this trip south. I might have to ride back and forth between several prefectures. Taking you along would definitely be inconvenient... Don't say anything yet."

Just as Qingwen was about to say that she could also ride a horse, Jia Lian interrupted her, so she could only pout and continue listening to Jia Lian's explanation.

"You, my delicate little beauty, have been following me all over the world. Even if you can endure hardship, wouldn't I be heartbroken if you got hurt? Even if I'm not heartbroken, I'd still worry that you'd interfere with my work."

Another point is that even if Xiangling comes south with me, she won't have much of a chance to follow me. You and Xiangling have very different personalities. Xiangling is alright; she likes quiet and can stay indoors all day without going anywhere. Ask yourself, could you do that?

"I……"

Qingwen was speechless. She had wanted to go out and play, and she didn't want to stay in the house all day long. What was the difference between that and staying at home?

Therefore, he glanced at Xiangling, who had just entered with clothes, and said nothing.

"Lin Daiyu's father has just passed away, so she definitely needs peace and quiet. So, even if you were to stay with her, if you can't stay still, wouldn't that just annoy Lin Daiyu? In the end, if you're living under someone else's roof and suffer any grievances, there will be no one to support you. Why would you want to do that?"

It's better to stay at home. You can still be the king of the house, go wherever you want, gamble and play cards whenever you want. Isn't that more carefree? Why go through all that trouble to make a fool of yourself?

Jia Lian really didn't want to take Qingwen south. Qingwen was too active, and he wasn't going on a vacation. Taking her along would definitely be inconvenient.

Qingwen thought about it carefully for a moment and asked, "Second Master really intends for Xiangling to stay with Miss Lin, and not for her to serve you after we go to Jiangnan?"

"Of course not."

"Oh well……"

Aside from Jia Lian, Qingwen was indeed unwilling to serve others. Even the fairy-like Lin Daiyu, she had no desire to flatter or fawn over.

Of course, this was before she knew that Daiyu would become the second-in-command of the family in the future.

Seeing that Qingwen wasn't being unreasonable, Jia Lian was quite pleased. He kissed her cheek and said with a smile, "Haven't you always wanted to have maids around? It just so happens that little maid named Tanyun seems quite attached to you. From today onwards, let her follow you. You don't need to do the chores yourself; she can do them for you."

Qingwen's eyes lit up immediately. "So, she'll be my maid from now on, and she won't have to worry about anything else in the courtyard?"

"Uh, I guess so."

Jia Lian never elevated Qingwen's status, simply because her status as a maid made it easier for her to act recklessly.

In fact, Qingwen had already been his legitimate concubine two or three years ago, and it was bestowed upon her by his mother, Jia Mu.

It's not an exception to give her a maidservant to serve her now.

Qingwen's face immediately lit up with joy. Although she hadn't asked for it, she still cared about it. Because she had never considered herself a maid, but rather Jia Lian's concubine. Therefore, she could accept, without a doubt, the things Jia Lian asked her to do—the things a concubine should do.

"Now that I have a maidservant, shouldn't we raise her monthly salary? It doesn't seem right to take a maidservant's salary too, does it, sir?"

It was rare for Qingwen to act coy and coquettish.

She certainly didn't care about a little bit of money each month. After following Jia Lian for several years, he had given her quite a lot of things and money, both openly and secretly. She had nowhere to spend her money and she wasn't likely to lose at cards, so she had accumulated quite a bit of wealth.

However, monthly allowances were related to a person's status in the household.

She felt that Jia Lian's willingness to give her a maidservant meant that her efforts over the years had been recognized by Jia Lian, and that he acknowledged her status as a concubine.

Now that they've become masters, they naturally can no longer receive the monthly salary of a first-class maid.

That's the rule.

Jia Lian was speechless, not realizing that Qingwen had the ability to use this opportunity to her advantage.

"Alright, alright, I'll raise your monthly allowance. From now on, I'll add one tael of silver to your account every month, so you can have the monthly allowance of an aunt, okay? Honestly, it's like I've been mistreating you."

As early as when Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng inherited their titles, their monthly allowance was increased from five taels of silver to twenty taels, putting them on the same level as Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang.

Originally, the allowance could have been increased to only ten taels, which was the old custom of the Jia family, the monthly allowance that young masters with official positions and their corresponding wives should receive. However, since Lady Wang, a fourth-rank noblewoman, received twenty taels, how could Wang Xifeng, a second-rank noblewoman, receive only half?

So, they were all raised at once.

Of course, neither Jia Lian nor Wang Xifeng cared about the meager monthly allowance from the government.

"Hehe, Second Master, you're so kind!"

Qingwen felt a little embarrassed by Jia Lian's words, but having received the long-awaited benefit, she grabbed Jia Lian's arm and shook it to curry favor.

Although Qingwen was suspected of having a flat chest, she could still feel it when the little pigeons pecked at her arm, right?

So Jia Lian looked down at her and asked with a smile, "Since I'm so good to you, are you just saying it without any concrete actions?"

"What kind of gesture does Second Master want...?"

Qingwen understood Jia Lian's meaning perfectly. She glanced back at Xiangling, who was massaging Jia Lian's shoulders, then, suppressing her shyness, stretched her neck and quickly kissed Jia Lian.

"not enough……"

"Never mind if it's not enough. Second Master, are you done washing? If you're done, I'm going out."

When Qingwen tried to run away, Jia Lian, of course, wouldn't let her get away so easily. He caught her and gave her a good scolding until she agreed to serve her sentence obediently.