Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Jia Lian was unaware that Daiyu had visited.

Firstly, the house was too secluded, and secondly, he was focused on Xiangling's charms and had no other thoughts.

After years of careful nurturing, the stunningly beautiful maid, now approaching sixteen, possesses an unparalleled lightness of body and suppleness of joints.

After what seemed like an eternity, Jia Lian finally calmed down, embracing the sweaty maidservant. They leaned against the bedpost, using a cushion as a pillow.

Xiangling noticed that Jia Lian seemed unsatisfied and said somewhat apologetically, "I'm sorry, Second Master, it's all my fault..."

"Silly girl, what nonsense are you talking about? You've already done a great job."

Jia Lian's words of comfort did not put Xiangling at ease. Noticing that Jia Lian's hand was still ruffling her bun, she blushed and looked up, saying, "Otherwise, I'll serve Second Master like I did at the beginning!"

Although Xiangling didn't know what magic her mother had in giving her the two buns, she knew that Jia Lian liked to pull them up, and that was enough.

Xiangling shrank back a little, but then she was in a dilemma. "Second Master, wait a moment. I'll go get some more tea to wipe you down."

Jia Lian almost burst out laughing when he saw her hesitant expression.

He pulled her up, pressed her back into bed, and then shouted a couple of times to those outside.

Soon, the maid outside came in with her head down after hearing the noise.

Jia Lian was pleased with their thoughtfulness when he saw them carrying towels and basins of water, so he asked them to wash him.

"Second Master, Miss Lin came to see you before."

A maidservant, taking advantage of a spare moment, blushed and informed him.

Jia Lian was slightly taken aback, but then didn't seem to care much.

After taking a bath, he brought Xiangling inside for some fun. It was quite early, so it was normal for Daiyu to come looking for him.

Where is Miss Lin?

"Miss Lin has already gone back... We told her that Second Master was not available right now, and Miss Lin didn't say much. She just asked if Sister Xiangling was in the room before leaving."

Although the maid hesitated and seemed reluctant to speak, and her meaning was not fully expressed, Jia Lian roughly understood the situation.

Unlike Zijuan, he wasn't too worried.

Jia Lian had long ago said that Daiyu was actually much more generous than most girls; her tendency to be calculating was merely a facade. Jia Lian had already seen through the surface to her true nature; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to so easily win Daiyu's heart.

Putting aside everything else, during the twenty or so days on the ship heading south, Daiyu always took the initiative to let Xiangling come to his room to take care of his daily life.

This even made the sensible Xiangling almost forget that although she was nominally Daiyu's maid on this trip, she hadn't actually served Daiyu for more than a few days.

In Daiyu's heart, Xiangling is probably already his. Letting her witness this once is harmless, and might even bring some benefits.

Anyway, Daiyu would understand this sooner or later, so it's better for her to realize it now.

Of course, even knowing this, it would be unwise to leave it unattended. Jia Lian immediately decided to go to Daiyu's room to check on the situation.

So he asked the maids to fetch his clothes.

Xiangling was about to get up and serve him when she saw this, but Jia Lian ordered her to lie down and rest until he returned.

Upon arriving at Daiyu's room, Zijuan was the first to see him. Seeing the strange look in the young girl's eyes, Jia Lian calmly walked over and flicked her forehead. After she dodged, he asked, "Is Lin Daiyu asleep?"

"Second Master, you'll know once you go in and take a look."

Zijuan, confident in Daiyu's position by Jia Lian's side, gradually became less afraid of Jia Lian. After being startled by Jia Lian, she even appeared somewhat annoyed.

Jia Lian glanced at her, a dangerous smile appearing in his eyes, but he didn't want to argue with her at this moment, so he stepped inside to find Daiyu.

He saw Daiyu sitting on the couch reading a book. When she saw him come in, she didn't even look at him properly. She turned to the side and pretended to continue reading.

This was typical of Daiyu; she was always so proud and aloof. Jia Lian wasn't surprised at all. He casually sat down next to her and asked with a smile, "Lin-meimei, are you reading? What are you reading?"

"Can't you read what books yourself?"

Daiyu asked a question in return, then turned her body slightly to the side, her back to Jia Lian.

In reality, her face had already turned crimson. One reason was that Jia Lian's strong physique and aura were approaching her, making it difficult for her to concentrate. Another reason was that seeing Jia Lian made her involuntarily recall those previous speculations, those ambiguous yet blush-inducing and mesmerizing fantasies, which were simply irresistible.

Her emotions, which had only just begun to calm down, were immediately disrupted by Jia Lian.

Before she could even begin to ponder her thoughts, she realized that the book in her hand had been snatched away. Daiyu snapped out of her daze, immediately glaring at Jia Lian with displeasure.

"Why are you glaring at me? Didn't you tell me to look at what book it was?"

When Jia Lian asked her such a question, Daiyu sat there sulking.

"Hahaha, I wondered what kind of book it was. It turns out that Lin Daiyu was hiding in her room reading some improper book."

"Pah, what nonsense are you spouting? I was clearly looking at Li Qingzhao's poetry collection..."

Daiyu, as if her tail had been stepped on, nearly jumped up to retort.

This made Jia Lian ponder. Could it be that this girl had really been hiding away and reading indecent books? Otherwise, why would she react so strongly...?

His thoughtful expression made Daiyu blush, and she immediately lunged forward to snatch the poetry collection from Jia Lian's hands.

Jia Lian wasn't about to let her get away with it. While dodging, he laughed and said, "You still won't admit it? Let me read it to you, and let Zijuan judge whether it's improper or not. You see..."

Jia Lian laughed, shaking his head as he recited from the book: "Having finished playing on the swing, she lazily straightened her slender hands. The dew was heavy, the flowers were delicate, and her thin clothes were soaked with light sweat."

"When a guest came in, she slipped off her socks and slept with her hairpin in hand. She ran away shyly, leaning against the door and turning back to smell the green plums."

As Jia Lian recited the poem, Daiyu tried to snatch it away. In the ensuing struggle, Daiyu ended up in Jia Lian's arms, completely subdued. She could only watch helplessly as Jia Lian deliberately used an improper tone to recite Li Qingzhao's poem.

She felt ashamed, because some of Li Qingzhao's poems did indeed express the feelings of a young girl directly. In the eyes of worldly moralists, these were indeed "excessive and vulgar language," or even verses that insulted literature.

She didn't approve, but she couldn't stand being accused by Jia Lian of watching these "bad" things.

Zijuan, who was serving tea to Jia Lian, saw the two of them laughing and joking. She was worried that Daiyu would throw a tantrum, but she breathed a sigh of relief and stood aside, watching silently with a smile.

"You deliberately misinterpreted what others meant, and then used that to criticize them. Bah!"

Daiyu realized that she was being held in Jia Lian's arms again, and struggled while expressing her dissatisfaction.

In fact, she thought Li Qingzhao's poem was very delicate and well-written, perfectly portraying the purity and beauty of a young woman in her boudoir; it was one of her favorite poems. Even though she knew Jia Lian was deliberately teasing her, she was still dissatisfied with him.

As she spoke, she sniffed Jia Lian again. Although she didn't smell anything, she still felt uneasy and spat.

"Haha, alright, alright, my Lin sister is the most proper, I misunderstood her."

"By the way, I heard from the maids that you came to my courtyard to see me before, why didn't you sit down and just left?"

Upon hearing this, Daiyu immediately fell silent.

After a while, Jia Lian suddenly felt a pain in his waist, and then he heard Daiyu's voice full of reproach.

"You still have the nerve to bring this up? You know perfectly well what good things you've done."

Jia Lian had been pinched by Feng Jie countless times, but this was the first time he had been pinched by Daiyu.

Sure enough, women naturally possess this unique skill for expressing dissatisfaction.

Jia Lian twisted his body, grimacing as if he was being pinched, and then angrily questioned Daiyu, "What good deed have I done? Lin Daiyu, you better explain yourself clearly. If you can't explain, I will use my position as your future husband to punish you for poisoning your husband."

Daiyu wasn't really sure whether Jia Lian had done it or not, but in any case, avoiding her meant he hadn't done anything good.

"Then tell me, what were you and Xiangling doing in the room?"

"You mean before? Oh, Xiangling broke a teacup at home, and I made her kneel as punishment."

Upon hearing such a ridiculous explanation, Daiyu looked up at Jia Lian, then struggled to get away from him, not wanting to talk to him.

Jia Lian hugged her tightly and quickly corrected himself, "Oh, I misremembered. I was using the inner room, and Xiangling was holding the door for me. Think about it, I couldn't just let you in at a time like that, could I? Don't be angry."

"you……"

Daiyu's expression immediately changed, and she felt completely unwell.

If it's a small urination, it doesn't take much time. It's only that kind of thing that's inconvenient to be seen in public!

How could Jia Lian say such a thing to her face? Especially considering that she had just secretly smelled Jia Lian's scent, she felt a little nauseous.

Moreover, how could Jia Lian possibly get two such drastically different reasons wrong?

Is this some kind of joke, treating Miss Lin like a fool?

"You liar, you never tell the truth, let me go!"

Miss Lin was truly angry. She struggled against Jia Lian, determined to get down there even if it meant death.

Suddenly she stopped moving, as if all her strength had been drained away, and she lay prostrate in Jia Lian's arms, no longer daring to wiggle her hips.

When Zijuan saw this, she thought something had happened to Daiyu and quickly came forward to comfort her.

Jia Lian gave her a reassuring look, signaling her to leave. So Zijuan could only leave the inner room with some doubts.