Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

"My lord..."

After moving slightly away from the room, Jia Lian finally turned around and looked at the woman in front of him.

"Is there anything else?"

"Why did you leave in such a hurry, my lord? Is there something Jiao Jiao did wrong? Don't worry, my lord. Jiao Jiao is still young and it's inevitable that she doesn't know any better. As long as you are willing to teach her, she will be very obedient."

"My lord, you see, Jiaojiao is Daiyu's maid's older sister. In the future, the two of them serving you together would be a beautiful story, wouldn't it?"

A beautiful story? I'm afraid Daiyu would vomit herself to death.

Jia Lian was somewhat curious as to why this woman was so persistent. He had already let it go by trying to get her daughter into his room several times before, but he hadn't expected her to pull such a stunt today!

So he shook his head. "No, your daughter is fine. I'm just curious, don't you feel any shame at all for humiliating your daughter time and time again?"

"What do you mean by that, Lord Marquis? It is her good fortune to be able to serve you, how could it be an insult? You are joking, Lord Marquis."

Chen's expression changed slightly, but she forced a smile.

Jia Lian felt that discussing shame with her was a luxury, so he laughed and said, "Oh, since Madam feels that serving me is your good fortune, then I see that Madam still retains her charm. Why don't you be even more generous and come along to serve me as well?"

Madam Chen was slightly taken aback, then raised an eyebrow and glanced at Jia Lian with a shy and timid expression, "Does Your Excellency truly find me... find me pleasing to the eye? I'm already over thirty this year..."

Jia Lian looked at her calmly. To be fair, although this woman looked to be in her late thirties or early forties, she had a rather graceful figure and was indeed quite attractive. Considering her shallow and foolish personality, it was probably because of this attractiveness that she was able to marry the only scholar in the Lin family.

However, let alone compared to Madam Xu, who was younger, prettier, more dignified, and more elegant, even Aunt Xue looked much younger and her temperament was completely incomparable.

Therefore, Jia Lian had no chance of being interested in her; he simply wanted to see where this woman's bottom line was, in order to understand the nature of all kinds of women in the world.

He somewhat enjoys studying this.

Jia Lian's keen interest was clearly misunderstood by Madam Chen. She tossed her hair, gave Jia Lian a few coquettish glances, and then quietly leaned closer, whispering, "If Your Excellency truly takes a liking to me, I'm not unwilling to agree. However, I have two conditions. If Your Excellency agrees, I will be Your Excellency's woman..."

As she spoke, she leaned into Jia Lian's arms. Jia Lian was curious about her words, and she was indeed quite attractive, not the kind that would be an eyesore. He just considered her a free courtesan to play with, so he didn't push her away. He just smiled and asked her what her conditions were. "First, let my husband become the acting patriarch of the Lin family and manage the distribution of the Lin family's property. I know that for the Marquis, this is just a matter of a word. The Marquis won't refuse, will he?"

Jia Lian had long seen through the woman's intentions. It seemed that for the Lin family's concubines, the most attractive thing was being able to sit in the position of acting clan head and control the distribution of ancestral property.

"Secondly... after the Marquis has our bodies, he must rightfully take Jiaojiao into his room as a concubine. I dare not say anything else, but at least Jiaojiao must have the same status and position as Daiyu's niece."

Moreover, I am, after all, Lin Hong's wife, and it wouldn't sound good if word got out that a mother and daughter were sharing a husband. Therefore, it's impossible for me to follow you with Jiao Jiao. At most, during your time at the Lin family, if the Marquis needs anything, just summon me, and I will serve you wholeheartedly..."

Seeing Chen's earnest expression as she spoke, Jia Lian chuckled inwardly. Well, this woman seems afraid he'll try to extort her.

"Oh, since Madam knows she is a married woman, yet still dares to obey my summons and come to serve me, aren't you afraid Lin Hong will find out?"

"So what if he finds out? The Marquis thinks he's some kind of good man, all talk and no action. He's just a scholar, nothing special, and he likes to seduce other men's wives. As far as I know, he's having an affair with Widow Li from Liangshuifang in the east of the city. So, even if he finds out, I'm not afraid. I have my own ways of dealing with him. Besides, if he finds out that the Marquis made him a cuckold, he won't dare utter a word. He might even have to serve me well, hoping the Marquis will find him an official position in the future."

Otherwise, Your Excellency should have some mercy and give him a minor official position. That way, he'll be perfectly content and will never interfere in our affairs again…”

As Chen spoke, her eyes lit up. She came from a humble background and initially thought it would be good enough to be the wife of a scholar. Later, seeing the respectability of officials' wives, she dreamed of becoming one herself.

Therefore, this is why she was so determined to give her daughter to Jia Lian as a concubine. Having witnessed how the officials of Suzhou Prefecture treated Jia Lian, she felt that as long as she could gain access to Jia Lian's power, securing an official position for her accomplished husband would not be difficult!

Jia Lian looked at her with amusement, then suddenly threw her aside. Amidst her puzzled gaze, he laughed and said, "What you said isn't difficult. However, I suddenly have some regrets."

"Judging from how open-minded you are about this kind of thing, I suppose you've made Lin Hong the kind of 'leftover cuckold' you've been talking about quite a bit before, haven't you?"

"This...how could that be? I only treat you this way, my lord. How could anyone else compare to you..."

Chen blushed deeply and stammered an explanation, but Jia Lian just watched coldly.

Indeed, among all kinds of women in the world, there are those who are reserved and virtuous, and those who are promiscuous and unrestrained; there are those who are chaste and virtuous, and those who are shameless and unscrupulous.

This Chen family member clearly belongs to the latter category.

Looking behind him, Jia Lian saw that Aqi and Aqin had also come looking for him. Only then did he completely suppress his playful mood and said seriously, "I understand Madam's plans. As for the selection of the Lin family patriarch, I am discussing it with several elders of the clan. Whether it will be Lin Hong in the end depends on his own fate."

As for your daughter, I advise you to choose a suitable husband for her as soon as possible. Forcing her on me is pointless. I have many wives and concubines, and countless beauties. With your daughter's looks, she will have a very difficult time standing out among them.

Finally, I dislike being disturbed repeatedly, and I especially dislike those who don't know when to advance or retreat. Before I lose my temper, I'll give you one night to move out of the inner courtyard.

If you haven't moved out by tomorrow morning, my personal guards will come to help you. Don't blame me for not warning you if you become a laughingstock.

After Jia Lian finished speaking, he gave the two maids a look and then left with them.

On the way back to the house, Jia Lian asked Aqi when the two had arrived.

"After we took a bath, we went to Lin Xiangjun's courtyard to welcome Second Master. Miss Zijuan said you had gone back, and we didn't see you, so we came looking for you. We happened to see that Chen Shi throwing herself into Second Master's arms, and thinking that we couldn't ruin Second Master's good time, we didn't show up."

But it turned out that Second Master didn't seem to like her very much and even pushed her away, so we came out to help him get away.

Jia Lian smiled upon hearing this. He was actually aware that he was attracting some romantic attention.

Previously, the Xu family in Yangzhou had also wanted to recruit him as their son-in-law. This time, someone even washed their daughter clean and presented her to him, dressed only in one layer, like a palace maid serving him, for him to enjoy.

Given his increasingly casual attitude, it's one thing for Chen Shi to lose her beauty, but Lin Jiaojiao has already come to him to seduce him. If he changed the time and place, it wouldn't be a big deal for him to take her in casually.

However, Daiyu had just lost her father, and Jia Lian knew that Daiyu didn't like her as her cousin. Naturally, Jia Lian didn't want to do anything that would be beneath his dignity at this time, lest he damage his image in Daiyu's eyes.

She glanced back at her two maids who had changed into dresses. One was as sweet as a white lotus, and the other was as aloof as the clear moon in the sky. Both had just bathed and exuded the unique fragrance of young women.

He was pleased to see them, so he took them both into his arms and said with a smile, "I have been busy with affairs these past few days, and my martial arts skills have fallen into disuse. As my guards, you two have the responsibility and obligation to urge me to practice my martial arts diligently."

So, tonight you'll all come to my room, and we'll practice together properly, shall we?"

This wasn't the first time the two sisters had been held in Jia Lian's arms at the same time, so they didn't resist.

Hearing Jia Lian's words, Aqin couldn't help but giggle sweetly. Since arriving in Suzhou, it was unclear whether Jia Lian was trying to abstain from sex or because Lady Lin lived next door, but he hadn't touched either of them for many days.

Seeing that Jia Lian had finally taken an interest in them, she was secretly pleased and nodded shyly.

As for her older sister, Aqi, although she was too embarrassed to say anything, her blushing face and silence were the greatest form of acquiescence.

Jia Lian was even happier. After kissing each of the two sisters on the cheek, he let them go into the house to find Xiangling, asked Xiangling to arrange for them to wash up, and told her about his plans to go to Jinling to see her mother.

……

Jia Lian didn't have much to do in Suzhou, so he quickly inventoried the Lin family's assets and loaded everything he could take, such as deeds to land and houses, gold and silver, antiques and paintings, onto a ship.

The rest was left for Lin Youquan to keep and count slowly.

As for the acting patriarch of the Lin family, Jia Lian ultimately appointed Lin Hong, the only scholar in the Lin family, as the patriarch. This was the result of a compromise by the elders of the Lin family.

There was no other way; a person with the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations) still held considerable status in a poor and destitute family. Just look at Jia Dairu, the patriarch of the Jia family school; he only had the title of Tongsheng (a student who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations), yet he had been in charge of the family school for many years.

Although it was just about teaching a group of good-for-nothing children, it was enough to show how important academic achievement was to ordinary people.

In this era, as long as one had a degree or official title, one would at least not starve. In fact, if one was adept at scheming, such as running a private school, one might even make a fortune.

In any case, Jia Lian felt that in this era, the price of education was very high. If you wanted to study, you had to give your teacher a small gift, which could also be called a greeting gift. If it was too little, the teacher would not teach you.

As for why Jia Dairu's family was still so poor...

Whether someone is poor or not depends on who they are compared to. Compared to the Rongguo Mansion, Jia Dairu's family is definitely poor. But compared to ordinary people, Jia Dairu is wealthy.

No matter what, his family still had several servants, and their house was a large, detached courtyard house in the capital.

Secondly, the purpose of the Jia family's school was to provide free education for the children of the eight branches of the Jia family who could not afford to study.

Therefore, most of the children in the Jia family's private school did not have to pay tuition; instead, the clan provided them with supplies. Perhaps this is why the Jia family children in the clan school did not cherish the opportunity to study, since their families were not paying for it.

Therefore, Jia Dairu didn't earn much money from the students at his home school, but he could make a little extra money from those who were related to him and sneaked into the school.

For example, at Jia Baoyu's request, Qin Zhong went to study at the Jia family's private school. Qin Zhong's father, Qin Bangye, immediately sent twenty-four taels of silver as a gift to Jia Dairu's family, even worrying that it might be too little and make them a laughing stock...

Twenty-four taels of silver was enough for an average family of five to live on for a year, but it could only afford to hire a teacher with little talent for one child. Therefore, it was quite normal for people in this era not to be able to afford education.

Although Lin Hong was appointed as the acting clan leader, the management of the Lin family's ancestral property was carried out in accordance with Lin Ruhai's last wishes, with several clan elders taking charge of it.

Furthermore, Jia Lian had no intention of letting Lin Hong's family live in the Lin family's ancestral home. Instead, he instructed Lin Youquan to seal it off after finishing his business, leaving only a few servants to do routine cleaning and maintenance.

He felt that Lin Hong's family had a bad reputation and didn't want them to bring trouble to his son's family.

Heading north along the Grand Canal, where it meets the Yangtze River, the ship enters the Yangtze River and sails towards Nanjing.

Jinling City, the old residence of the Jia family.

Built by the two founding heroes, Ning and Rong, this residence is magnificent, grand, and solemn, unmatched by any other.

Walking through it, one can truly feel the profound heritage of the Jia family.

"When I heard that Your Excellency was coming, I cleaned all the rooms in the main courtyard. Your Excellency and Miss Lin can take a look and stay wherever you like."

Yuanyang's father, Jin Cai, had been looking at houses in Jinling for years. Perhaps because of Yuanyang, Jia Lian had a good impression of this old man.

He is a person who is loyal to his duty.

Since it was originally their own home, Jia Lian naturally chose the main house without hesitation, leaving Daiyu to live in the side courtyard.

Returning from Daiyu's room, Jia Lian found Xiangling sitting alone, lost in thought. He went over, sat down beside her, and asked with a smile, "What are you thinking about?"

Xiangling turned around and hurriedly tried to get up, but Jia Lian pulled her closer, so she obediently stood still.

Are you thinking about your mother?

"Um……"

Xiangling nodded, her expression unusually complex. There was a hint of longing, but also a touch of worry and uncertainty.

Perhaps, for her, who lost her family at a young age, the word "mother" was too unfamiliar.

If Jia Lian hadn't told her that he had found her mother, she probably wouldn't have believed it.

"We'll go to the government office first thing tomorrow morning. If your mother arrives in Jinling City then, you'll be able to see her."

It's too late to visit the government office today.

"Yes, I understand."

Xiangling, fearing Jia Lian's misunderstanding, quickly waved her hand. She wasn't actually as eager to see her mother, Madam Feng, as others might imagine. After all, she had lived through so many years; why rush things?

"Second Master and Miss Lin have been traveling around and are exhausted. Miss Lin is also so weak. Naturally, she should get a good night's rest. There's no need to rush."

"Second Master has been so good to me, even helping me find my mother. I don't know how to repay him."

"repay?"

With a beautiful and well-behaved maid standing before him, Jia Lian habitually became irreverent. "You've been following me for so many years, haven't you always been repaying me? You've done much better than that little brat Qingwen, haven't you forgotten?"

Upon hearing this, Xiangling blushed and nodded in agreement.

Upon seeing this, Jia Lian couldn't help but laugh. His two beautiful concubines were not only naturally beautiful, but each one was also more interesting than the last.

One is flamboyant and assertive, with a shrewish and mischievous personality. The other is the complete opposite: well-behaved and quiet, slow-paced, and often excessively adorable.

He pulled her delicate body into his arms and said with a smile, "So, it's not that I'm good to you, but that you're good to me, understand?"

However, I do have a little worry.

"What?"

"You're so obedient and good. What if your mother sees you and doesn't want you to be a maid by my side and suffer grievances? Wouldn't I be at a huge loss? Over the years, I've gotten used to having you by my side. If you leave, I'll be heartbroken for a long time."

Upon hearing this, Xiangling panicked. She quickly pulled away from Jia Lian's embrace and said anxiously, "No, no, I will never leave Second Master in my life, never!"

Ironically, it is precisely this seemingly naive girl who is most touching and breaks down people's defenses when she gets serious.

Jia Lian, who had initially been teasing her, couldn't help but take it seriously upon seeing her expression and asked, "What if your mother insists that you go with her?"

Xiangling's face immediately contorted in a frown; clearly, she had never considered this question before. But meeting Jia Lian's gaze, she quickly came up with an answer.

"If my mother really wants me to go with her, I will tell her that Second Master has been very, very good to me all these years, and he is the best person I have ever met. I will not go anywhere else except here with Second Master. Unless Second Master wants to kick me out, I will not go anywhere, not anywhere..."

Perhaps this question was too difficult for her, because as she talked, the little girl couldn't help but cry.

Jia Lian then realized the terrible things he had done.

The little girl finally had a chance to see her mother, and he had given her such a difficult task. He secretly slapped himself, then cupped the little girl's face in his hands. Seeing the tears on her delicate, fair face, which looked as if you could pinch water from it, he gently wiped them away with the tip of his tongue and comforted her repeatedly.

Jia Lian's intimate gesture naturally turned Xiangling's sadness into shyness, and she quickly threw herself into Jia Lian's arms, where they enjoyed a period of tenderness before stopping.