Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Suzhou is a city located only a few hundred miles away from Yangzhou.

The commotion brought about by the burial of Lin Ruhai, a high-ranking official of the second rank in the central government, has subsided, and Suzhou has once again returned to its tranquility and prosperity as a "paradise on earth."

"Cough cough cough~~"

Inside a secluded and ancient mansion, in a beautifully decorated and elegant room, suddenly came the sound of a girl coughing.

Hearing the sound, the maid behind the screen looked up, immediately picked up the large cloak beside her, walked behind the delicate and slender girl under the west window, draped the cloak over her shoulders, and then gently advised, "Miss, it's windy here, why don't you go inside and rest?"

"The coffin is to be taken out of the city for burial tomorrow. What if the young lady falls ill at this time..."

After several attempts to persuade her, the maid saw that the girl remained silent and even pouted slightly. Knowing that further persuasion would only upset her, she could only shake her head, turn around, move the brazier closer to the room, and close all the windows in other directions.

She considered closing the other door in front of the girl, but was afraid she would throw a tantrum. After standing there for two seconds, she suddenly smiled and said, "Miss, let me ask you a question: In which direction is Yangzhou from Suzhou?"

Perhaps her laughter was too jarring, for the girl finally turned to look at her, her bright eyes fixed on her maid, Zijuan. From the cunning look in Zijuan's eyes, the clever girl immediately realized something.

He glared at the other person but didn't say anything.

Sure enough, Zijuan laughed to herself, "This servant has never read books or looked at a map, so I didn't know which direction Yangzhou was, but recently I suddenly realized it."

As she spoke, Zijuan took two steps forward, stood by the window, and pointed outside with her delicate fingers in front of the girl: "Yangzhou is in that direction, right? Let me see, it's northwest. Hehehe, girl, tell me quickly if I'm right, so that if anyone asks me this question in the future, I can brag to them about my knowledge."

Her sarcastic and strange demeanor immediately made the girl blush, and she stood up in embarrassment and anger.

"You little brat, Zijuan, you're so annoying, cough~"

As expected, a sick person cannot be agitated. Before she could finish speaking, the girl clutched her chest and coughed again.

Seeing this, Zijuan dared not tease her anymore and quickly stepped forward to pat her back.

The girl, however, didn't appreciate it. She turned away and pretended to be very angry.

She naturally became Daiyu, who obediently stayed in Suzhou to keep vigil for her father, as Jia Lian had instructed.

These days, apart from kowtowing and burning paper money in front of her father's coffin every day, Daiyu has basically stayed in her room, living a life of going back and forth between two points.

The days were already cold and dull, and spring was the season when her cough was most likely to flare up. With both of these factors combined, she became increasingly depressed and unhappy.

The only thing that could bring her any joy was recalling the moments she spent with her second brother, Jia Lian, on the boat that brought them here, and the things he said to make her laugh. So she couldn't help but sit by the window alone, lost in thought.

She didn't intend to become a "waiting-for-husband stone"; she simply felt a certain way and unconsciously sat facing the direction of Yangzhou. Who knew that her maid, Zijuan, would dare to mock her!

Outrageous.

Seeing Daiyu leaning on the table in anger, clearly not easy to appease, Zijuan seemed to know she had caused trouble, so she smiled and said, "Don't worry, Miss, unless Master Lian has something he really can't leave for, he will definitely return to Suzhou before the master's burial."

So, young lady, you should rest and relax. Maybe he'll arrive this afternoon?

Upon hearing this, Daiyu's attention was successfully diverted.

Of course she remembered that Jia Lian had promised her that he would come back before her father's burial to help her with both internal and external affairs.

But she also remembered that she felt sorry for Jia Lian and didn't want him to rush back and forth between the two places and make himself so tired.

As her father's burial date approached, her feelings became unpredictable again.

Even now, she doesn't know whether she wants Jia Lian to heed her instructions or not.

Just as the master and servant were arguing, they suddenly heard the loud sound of horses' hooves coming from the front yard, accompanied by the high-pitched neighing of the horses, which sounded exceptionally clear in the quiet old house.

Zijuan quickly smiled and said, "See what I told you? Judging from that noise, it must be Second Master Lian returning! Miss..."

Zijuan was about to say something when she saw her young mistress pause for a moment, then walk into the inner room without saying anything.

Zijuan laughed and, without hesitation, immediately followed him inside.

……

"The Marquis is back."

"My lord!"

Jia Lian abandoned the heavy carriages and baggage and led a light cavalry force back to the Lin family's old residence.

When the people he had assigned to work at the old house heard the news, they all came to greet him, but Jia Lian was nowhere to be seen.

"Uncle Quan, where is the Marquis?"

"Hehehe..."

Lin Youquan, who was standing in the courtyard gently massaging his legs, immediately straightened up with a smile when he saw others gathering around him.

"The Marquis has instructed all those in charge to assemble in the council hall in a quarter of an hour."

"Uh, yes."

In Daiyu's room, Daiyu was hurriedly applying makeup when she had no idea that Jia Lian would arrive so quickly.

Hearing the announcement from outside the door, Daiyu, who was only halfway through her task, appeared quite flustered. In her anxiety, she called out to Zijuan, "Quick, go and stop him!"

Zijuan was speechless. "My dear girl, do you think everyone is like you? We wouldn't dare."

But there was no need to dwell on whether or not to disobey orders, because as she turned her head, she saw Jia Lian, dressed in casual clothes, walking with a powerful and imposing gait, walking in from outside the door.

"Lin Daiyu...!"

Daiyu also spotted Jia Lian's reflection in the glass mirror. Her face flushed with embarrassment and anxiety, she quickened her movements and scolded, "Why did you suddenly barge in? Get out!"

Jia Lian came over excitedly, eager to see Daiyu as soon as possible.

To his surprise, Daiyu chased him away as soon as he entered the door, and for a moment he thought he had misheard.

I stopped and looked around, then I realized what had happened. Haha, it turns out I was blaming myself for arriving too quickly and not giving her time to touch up her makeup!

This illustrates two points.

First, of course, was Daiyu's feelings for him. After all, everyone understands the saying that a woman dresses up for the one she loves.

Secondly, the fairy must usually be lazy and didn't even do her makeup properly. This time, she was caught off guard and exposed.

Having figured all this out, Jia Lian ignored Daiyu's shyness and walked directly to her side. He casually picked up a stool and sat down leisurely, clearly wanting to watch Daiyu touch up her makeup.

After this, Daiyu was too embarrassed to move. She quickly glanced at Jia Lian, then turned her head away, not daring to let him look at her.

Actually, Daiyu didn't wear much makeup; she felt she was naturally beautiful and looked good no matter what.

Having not seen Jia Lian for more than ten days, she suddenly heard that Jia Lian might be back. She subconsciously reflected on the fact that she hadn't put on makeup that morning, and then immediately went back inside to look in the mirror.

When a girl looks in the mirror, she always touches up any flaws she doesn't have. Little did she know that Jia Lian would arrive so quickly. Actually, if she hadn't touched up her makeup, she wouldn't have been so ashamed to see Jia Lian. But now that she had finished so hastily, she felt uneasy and didn't want Jia Lian to see her.

Jia Lian found her appearance very cute and couldn't help but laugh.

"What? Has my celestial beauty, Lin Daiyu, become ugly after just over ten days? Is she too ashamed to show her face to anyone?"

The more beautiful a woman is, the less afraid she is of people saying she's ugly. So Daiyu knew Jia Lian was teasing her on purpose, but on the surface, she still had to pretend to be angry. Otherwise, what could she do?

"Who's afraid to show their face? It's all your fault! You barged in without permission, and now you're blaming them!"

"Hahaha... eh."

Jia Lian feigned surprise, then leaned closer to Daiyu and asked, "Sister Lin, what happened to your face?"

What?

Daiyu was startled and quickly looked up at the center of the mirror, but there was nothing wrong with her face...

Still wondering, she noticed the big face next to her grinning smugly. Daiyu knew she had been tricked, so she blushed, spat lightly, and, too embarrassed to turn her head away to stop Jia Lian from seeing, lowered her head in embarrassment.

Daiyu, with her celestial beauty, displayed such a shy and delicate demeanor, making her even more radiant than the most beautiful hibiscus flower, a sight that never tires the eye.

As he watched, Jia Lian's smile faded somewhat.

Daiyu was already slender, and now, only ten days later, Jia Lian keenly noticed that her body seemed to have become even thinner.

Moreover, glancing inside the room, it was already early spring, yet Daiyu's room still needed a charcoal brazier.

Daiyu was already ashamed of being looked at by Jia Lian, so she wanted to glare away from him. But when she looked up, she noticed the change in Jia Lian's expression. Her shyness disappeared, and she looked at Jia Lian with some confusion.

Jia Lian laughed again: "Was Lin Daiyu putting on makeup just now? I think that with Lin Daiyu's beauty that surpasses even the peach blossoms, she is the most beautiful even without any adornment, she doesn't need makeup at all."

If it weren't for Jia Lian saying similar sweet nothings more than once after their relationship was established, Daiyu, a gentle and reserved young girl, might not have been able to resist.

Even so, Daiyu still lowered her eyes and glared at Jia Lian, saying in a huff, "Who cares what you say? Whether I paint or not is none of your business."

"Uh, did I say it was my business? I was just expressing my opinion."

Daiyu didn't know how to respond. She knew that she often couldn't win an argument with Jia Lian. The reason she usually won was simply because Jia Lian let her have her way.

Thinking about it this way, I felt both ashamed and pleased. So I didn't argue back.

Who knew that Jia Lian, seeing how good things were, wouldn't stop there and teased her again, saying, "Besides, there are only the three of us in this room. If Lin Daiyu's makeup wasn't done for me, then was it done for Zijuan?"

"I drew this for myself!"

Zijuan stood there for only a short while before realizing that she had seen and heard many things she shouldn't have seen or heard. She shook her head, turned around, and left.

As expected, Zijuan was sensible; once she left, Daiyu became much more at ease.

Although her face was still flushed, she dared to look up at Jia Lian. Noticing the slight weariness on Jia Lian's face, she couldn't help but say, "Didn't I tell you that if you were busy, you didn't need to rush back? Why did you still come?"

Seeing that Daiyu was speaking more gently, Jia Lian was greatly pleased.

He took Daiyu's small hand and held it firmly in his palm before smiling and saying, "She should come back. I won't feel at ease if she doesn't."

"What are you worried about?" Daiyu tugged at her little hand as always, but when she realized she couldn't pull it, she let it go, though her face became even more shy.

Because the feeling of Jia Lian holding her small hand was very comfortable, and she felt like she was being cared for wholeheartedly.

"Of course I'm worried about my Lin Daiyu. She's so beautiful, like a fairy who doesn't eat the food of this world. How can she be bothered by worldly affairs? These mundane matters should naturally be handled properly by me, a mundane person, so that I can feel at ease."

Hearing Jia Lian repeatedly refer to himself as a vulgar person and compare her to a fairy, she rolled her eyes at him in annoyance and spat, "Pah, you smooth talker."

Daiyu's coquettish remark pleased Jia Lian even more than a peerless beauty's coquettishness.

He took Daiyu's hand and unconsciously moved closer to her.

Noticing their faces drawing ever closer, Daiyu felt her heart pounding wildly. Just as Jia Lian's face was less than three inches from hers, she finally couldn't help but turn her pretty face away.

"What...what do you want to do...?"

Having failed in his attempt once again, Jia Lian gave an embarrassed smile, pretending nothing had happened. "It's nothing. I just noticed something on my sister's brow, but when I looked closer, it disappeared. How strange."

Jia Lian's self-talk did not dispel Daiyu's suspicions.

Daiyu glanced at her suspiciously and warily, smiled shyly, and then said in a seemingly calm tone, "You've just come back, go back to your room and rest for a while."

I've had the room kept tidy for you; it's right next to the courtyard.

Xiangling…

Daiyu suddenly acted like a hostess, calling in Xiangling who was already waiting outside and leading Jia Lian out.

She dared not let Jia Lian stay any longer.

She wasn't stupid; she naturally understood that Jia Lian had clearly wanted to kiss her just now!

Most importantly, she realized that she had almost closed her eyes just now.

If I hadn't been so embarrassed at the last moment that I interrupted, wouldn't Brother Lian have already succeeded?

Just thinking about it made her feel so ashamed that she felt weak all over.

At the same time, it was strange because Jia Lian had clearly stolen a kiss on her hand before, and she had been held in his arms when her father died.

Having already done such intimate things, how come I felt so nervous, so incredibly nervous, when I sensed that my second brother Lian wanted to kiss me?

Unable to figure it out, Daiyu could only lie on the table and think slowly. Just as she was about to fall asleep, Zijuan entered the room and woke her up.

After asking where Jia Lian was, she cheered herself up, tidied herself up, and prepared to go out.

"Where are you going, young lady?"

"Don't worry about it, just come with me."

A little while later, Zijuan, who had followed Daiyu to the kitchen, learned that her young mistress was preparing a bowl of soup for Master Lian, who had come all the way back, as a token of her affection.

Although she understood Daiyu's feelings, Zijuan thought it was going to be tough.

Having served Daiyu for so many years, Daiyu's hands have never touched water or cooked soup.

Never mind, I'll just help out more and make sure the girl feels involved.