Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

When Qingwen saw the wink Jia Lian gave her, she thought for a moment, then stepped forward and asked Grandmother Jia for her leave.

Grandmother Jia looked at Qingwen, who was becoming increasingly beautiful and graceful, and sighed softly.

Unlike Lady Wang, she quite liked clever maids like Qingwen; otherwise, she wouldn't have wanted to give her to Jia Baoyu.

However, given how clever this girl is, and the fact that she has fallen into the hands of Lian'er and Feng'er, she is probably not destined for good fortune.

Seeing the undisguised reluctance in Jia Baoyu's eyes, Grandmother Jia shook her head and said, "Go, and take good care of your second master."

"Yes……"

Qingwen stood up, without even kowtowing to Wang Xifeng again, and hurriedly followed Jia Lian.

When she arrived at the back corridor, Jia Lian was indeed standing there waiting for her.

Upon seeing Jia Lian, she suddenly stopped in her hurry. She paused for a moment before slowly making her way forward, eventually approaching him. Knowing full well what he was doing, she asked, "What are you doing standing here?"

Jia Lian looked at Qingwen, and a slight smile involuntarily appeared on his face.

It's true that beauty is justice; even this girl's coy and bashful manner is pleasing to the eye.

"I'm standing here, naturally waiting for my concubine to come out so we can go home together."

Jia Lian laughed. Under the night sky and the glow of the lanterns in the corridor, his tall, slender figure and handsome face made him appear even more dashing and extraordinary, instantly increasing his charm for the little girl.

Qingwen was momentarily dazzled, but quickly realized what she meant and spat out, "Pah! Who's your concubine? Weren't you going to use her to exchange for Xiren? Since you like her so much, why don't you make her your concubine?"

Qingwen said indignantly.

She wasn't afraid of Jia Lian at all.

Firstly, in the eyes of the people in both mansions, Jia Lian was harmless. Apart from being lecherous, he was a perfectly good young master, much more harmonious with the servants than his wife, Second Mistress Lian.

Secondly, it wasn't that she eagerly wanted to be with Jia Lian; rather, Jia Lian had long taken a liking to her and, with great difficulty, received a favor from Grandmother Jia, specifically asking her for her hand in marriage. For this, she was ridiculed by the young ladies, sisters-in-law, and older women inside and outside Rongqing Hall for quite some time. Although she denied it verbally, she was secretly quite pleased with herself.

Finally, regarding the commotion in the tea room earlier, although she was initially very indignant and even angry, she gradually realized that Jia Lian had no intention of giving up on her. He was clearly putting the old lady in a difficult position and was not giving Bao Er Ye any face at all.

This shows that Jia Lian cared about her a lot, and he even dared to go against the old lady's wishes for her sake.

Based on this judgment, she felt that she must hold a high position in Jia Lian's heart, which is why she dared to address him as "you" repeatedly.

She even felt that Jia Lian was not as mediocre as others said; that Second Master Lian was very clever!

For example, in that previous situation, if it were her, she definitely wouldn't know what to do. She even thought that if Jia Lian couldn't withstand the pressure from Grandmother Jia, she would bravely stand up and express her attitude that a good woman would not serve two husbands, so that Grandmother Jia would retract her decision.

She was actually wondering why she had such an impulsive thought at the time. It was probably because he had already hugged her... Moreover, everyone knew that she was Lian Er Ye's woman for the past few months. Why would he suddenly ask her to serve Bao Er Ye?

That doesn't necessarily mean she liked Jia Lian that much... If Jia Baoyu had been there first, and Jia Lian had wanted to marry her, she probably would have had the same attitude.

Qingwen's shy denial was exactly what Jia Lian expected. In this quiet and secluded environment, he was happy to tease her: "Why not a concubine? Isn't a maidservant a concubine? Besides, who said they were going to replace you with Xiren? In my heart, how could she compare to you?"

Qingwen was secretly pleased upon hearing this, but she maintained an indifferent expression and argued:

"Nonsense! Who's your concubine? I haven't even agreed to it yet!"

Jia Lian saw that her face had turned red and thought to himself that girls in this era are really precocious; she is so young and already has the awareness of becoming a concubine.

Actually, he had originally planned to have Qingwen work as a maid first, so that Wang Xifeng wouldn't target her too much.

However, given the situation just now, he had to first establish Qingwen's status as a concubine in order to have a better chance of successfully maneuvering against Grandmother Jia and the others.

As he had predicted, Grandmother Jia did not spoil Jia Baoyu to the point of losing her mind, nor did she dare to let Jia Baoyu bear the crime of plotting to take her brother's concubine.

So, in the end, he kept Qingwen, but this did not make him happy at all!

Even though Jia Baoyu was only acting impulsively and not plotting to seize the opportunity, he almost lost the maid he had already acquired. One can imagine how he would react when faced with other conflicts of interest in the future.

You can't always win by using words to win!

However, the power of the entire Rongguo Mansion was in the hands of Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang. Jia Zheng, the only one, was not only naturally suppressed by Grandmother Jia, but also, given his position, it was impossible for him not to side with his own son.

Therefore, the only way to break through this fortified fortress is to find a breakthrough from the outside...

After exchanging a few words with Jia Lian, Qingwen felt quite shy. Seeing that Jia Lian suddenly stopped talking and his expression became rather serious, she felt uneasy.

"Is Second Master angry?" she asked tentatively.

They just said they haven't agreed yet, not that they won't. Why are you being so petty, Second Master?

Seeing her pouting lips, Jia Lian couldn't help but smile. This girl has a very low awareness of being a servant.

Remembering how frightened she was when he picked her up last time, his mischievous thoughts resurfaced. Taking advantage of her unpreparedness, he picked her up again in the same manner, saying, "What an ignorant girl! Don't think that being my concubine is your good fortune. You're just a little girl who sold yourself into slavery. Do I need your consent for this?"

"Let's go back now, we'll perform the ritual to open your face and make you a real concubine."

When Jia Lian picked her up again, Qingwen instinctively struggled, but not as fiercely as before. After all, she had prepared herself mentally over the past few months.

Hearing Jia Lian's words, he was still somewhat at a loss.

Seeing that Jia Lian was already carrying her home and seemed to have made up his mind, her heart began to pound. She stared at Jia Lian's face for a long time, then suddenly wrapped her arms around Jia Lian's neck, buried her head in Jia Lian's shoulder, and refused to get up.

Jia Lian's original intention was just to scare her, but to his surprise, this girl, who originally seemed not easy to bully, suddenly went quiet, as if she had resigned herself to her fate and was ready to become a concubine!

The little girl hugged him tightly, and in the quiet night, he could clearly feel her heart beating uneasily.

If it weren't for the fact that it was winter and both of them were wearing thick clothes, he might not have been able to resist being hugged by such a beautiful girl full of vitality, whispering sweet nothings in her ear.

However, this feeling was also good, so Jia Lian slowed down and walked forward slowly.

Suddenly, she heard a soft, sweet voice in her ear: "Second Master, you still haven't answered the question I asked you last time. Why did you ask the Old Madam for me...?"

"Why didn't I answer you? Didn't I say it was so you'd warm my bed every day?"

Qingwen was clearly dissatisfied with Jia Lian's answer. She wrapped her arms around Jia Lian's neck, but did not ask any further questions.

Seeing that she had quieted down again, Jia Lian couldn't bear to keep teasing her like that. He finally patted her and laughed, "Silly girl, what else could it be for? Of course, it's because I like you that I'm taking you as my concubine. The first time I saw you, I thought, 'Wow, this girl is really pretty. She's definitely got the makings of a concubine. Rather than letting her be someone else's concubine, I might as well take her as mine.' So I've been planning this for a while, and finally, I've got my chance."

"Ugh, why are you talking about having a concubine on the left and a concubine on the right? It sounds awful..."

Qingwen gave a coquettish sigh, but she was finally satisfied. She had heard Jia Lian say that he liked her.

It seems she's about to become the fastest-rising maid in the manor... From a lowly maid to a concubine in Master Lian's room, even though she's the lowest-ranking concubine, she's practically a mistress!

After thinking for a moment, she added, "Second Master, I know that Second Master Bao asked the Old Madam about me. He's been bothering me a lot lately, and even when I ignored him, he kept coming after me. I even scolded him..."

Qingwen spoke very softly. She had indeed scolded Jia Baoyu when she was annoyed by his nagging, but there was no one else around. She wouldn't dare do it in front of outsiders; if she were reported to the old lady, she would be in big trouble.

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian knew that the little girl was expressing her loyalty and was afraid that he would misunderstand her and Jia Baoyu because of what had happened before.

"Okay, I understand. Well said."

Qingwen smiled over Jia Lian's shoulder.

It felt wonderful to be held in Jia Lian's arms. For a moment, it seemed that the sound of Jia Lian's footsteps and the surrounding buildings had disappeared. All that could be felt was Jia Lian's presence.

She suddenly raised her head and looked directly at Jia Lian. Jia Lian glanced at her, and she closed her eyes. Then, she pressed her lips to Jia Lian's.

Her sudden action completely stunned Jia Lian.

Fortunately, Qingwen only kissed him once, and soon buried her head in the crook of his neck again, hugging him tightly, looking ashamed to be seen by anyone. Jia Lian couldn't help but laugh.

This girl is really ready to become a concubine. He thought that Qingwen, who was ambitious and aloof, would at least have to be won over first, and would only offer herself after he had made her happy. It seems he was overthinking it.

That's true. Putting aside the fact that Qingwen hadn't yet developed such a shrewish personality at this time, even in the original story, she aspired to be a concubine. However, what she wanted to be was a proper, respected concubine, definitely not like Aunt Zhao!

Therefore, she never seduced Jia Baoyu, and she was both jealous and disgusted by the affair between Xiren and Jia Baoyu.

Because Xiren, like them, had no official status!

For them, status and recognition are the most important things.

So she neither seduced Jia Baoyu nor left the Grand View Garden, all in the hope that one day she could become Jia Baoyu's concubine with dignity. Unfortunately, she never got to see that day.

That's understandable. Given a good opportunity, who would willingly spend their whole life as a servant, or grow up to marry a filthy servant, with their descendants also being servants?

But now, the situation is different.

A few months ago, when she was first given to Jia Lian by Grandmother Jia, she wasn't quite sure of her place. But earlier in the tea room, Jia Lian had publicly declared her status as a concubine, and no one objected.

Since that's the case, if Jia Lian wants her, she naturally won't refuse.