Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Just after midnight, Sister Feng's courtyard became lively.

On the porch of the main room, Sister Feng personally tied a cloak around Jia Lian's neck. She complained a little, "Why couldn't you just send anyone to take Zhen'er back? I had to do it myself. Ping'er said you didn't go to sleep until after midnight last night. Didn't you even take the opportunity to sleep a little longer?"

"Sending her off was just a side trip; I also need to visit the commanders of the Imperial Guards early today."

"Why would we visit them?"

Sister Feng's tone was completely indifferent. So what if he was the commander of the Imperial Guards? His husband was not only a marquis, but also the commander of a division of the Imperial Guards. His status was no less than theirs. Why did they need to rush to visit him?

"I need to negotiate the transfer of troops. Before leaving Beijing, I need to get the personnel structure of the artillery battalion set up."

Jia Lian had served as an official for several years and had his own insights and experiences in being an official. He was always pragmatic. Although he had the emperor's promise and was not afraid that the commanders of the Imperial Guards would not cooperate with him in setting up the firearms battalion, why waste time and energy arguing over a problem that could be solved quickly with courtesy?

The emperor gave him two jobs at once, and he was worried that he didn't have enough energy. He thought he could handle both the firearms battalion and the affairs in Tianjin at the same time, since the two places were not far apart.

Jia Lian had no intention of explaining these subtle considerations to Feng Jie. He glanced at Feng Jie one last time and laughed, "Are you really not going to the birthday banquet?"

"I'm not going."

Jia Lian smiled slightly, brushed a strand of hair from his wife's temple, then turned and strode down the steps. Inside the courtyard, Qingwen and the other maids, who had been waiting for a long time, hurriedly led the way with lanterns, while the sisters Aqi and Aqin immediately followed to protect him.

Upon arriving at Xiaoxiang Pavilion, he found it brightly lit but rather quiet. He asked the others to wait outside and entered the pavilion alone.

As Fang arrived at the main house, Zijuan walked over from the side and hurriedly said, "Second Master, please forgive us. Our young lady and Miss Zhen both went to bed late last night, so they got up... a little late..."

Zijuan looked somewhat flustered and guilty.

It turned out that when Zhen Yuhuan first arrived the day before, although she and Daiyu "felt like old friends at first sight," they were still quite shy with each other. After spending two days together, they became much more familiar with each other. Last night, after returning from Jia Lian's place, the two young ladies chatted until very late. Even after being urged by the maids and night watchwomen to turn off the lights and go to sleep, they still lay side by side on the bed, chatting for a long time.

Zijuan slept on the maid's bed in the next room. Although she felt that Zhen Yuhuan was the one who kept their young lady chatting, she didn't say much because the other party was a guest. As a result, she fell asleep and had no idea when the two of them went to sleep.

The end result was that when she woke the person up at dawn, they were gone in the blink of an eye; the person was already fast asleep again, still holding their young lady. She called them again, and it was almost the same. Only then did she realize that this Zhen family girl had an even worse procrastination problem than their own young lady…

But now Jia Lian has arrived! She didn't know if that young lady was up or not, so after speaking, she wanted to slip in and take a look, but Jia Lian waved his hand and said it was alright, and then casually walked past her into the house, showing no sign of being angry at all.

Zijuan felt great respect for him; indeed, the Second Master was good-tempered and tolerant. You see, the Second Master had sent someone to inform them last night, and the Second Madam had sent someone to inform them again this morning, yet the Second Master was still not ready even after arriving at their place. If it were any other elder, even if they weren't truly angry, they would certainly have received a verbal reprimand.

Jia Lian had no reason to be angry. Firstly, it was still early. Secondly, he didn't even consider who was sleeping in—they were two Lin Daiyus who had fallen from the sky!

At their age, they should be getting plenty of sleep. Jia Lian didn't want to disturb them unless absolutely necessary.

However, there was nothing they could do, as the Zhen family had sent someone to pick them up the previous night. Since it was too late, and considering that Zhen Yuhuan and the others had spent the whole day celebrating for him, it wasn't appropriate for them to pack up and leave, so they sent the Xue family back, promising to personally escort him to the Zhen family early in the morning to ensure things wouldn't be delayed.

The Zhen family was anxious to bring Zhen Yuhuan back, giving the reason that she needed to go to the palace to pay her respects to the Empress. However, Jia Lian knew that they had already met with the Empress the day after they arrived in the capital. Therefore, their solemn preparations were probably not just for meeting the Empress.

The Emperor Emeritus's birthday banquet will last for three days, and today is the first day. On such an important day, the Crown Prince himself will definitely be present.

Inside Daiyu's room, four or five maids were each performing their duties, standing by on high alert. Under the west window, on the boudoir, "Daiyu" in a thin, pale yellow nightgown sat blankly, a floral quilt covering her legs. She clearly looked as if she had just sat up, her body awake but her mind still asleep.

Perhaps it was the sound of the maids greeting Jia Lian that startled her, for she turned around and glanced at them, then a look of embarrassment appeared on her face.

After thinking for a moment, she lifted the quilt and sat a little further out so that the maid beside the bed could help her get dressed.

Jia Lian knew the little maid was shy, so he didn't get too close. He sat on a stool closest to the door until she was almost dressed before getting up and going over.

He first glanced at the other little girl in the bed. She was curled up, turned to the side. A gentle breeze brushed against her slender neck and fair shoulders, seemingly making her feel the chill. She curled up a little, but this only caused the blanket to slip even further off her shoulders.

Jia Lian shook his head and smiled, then bent down to pull the quilt back up and tuck her in tightly to make sure she wouldn't catch a cold. Turning around, he noticed that "Daiyu" was standing next to him, staring straight at him, seemingly surprised by his gentle actions that seemed out of place for her status.

Jia Lian smiled and said, "Your mother sent someone to pick you up last night, she must have made arrangements for you today, so we can't delay. The carriage is ready outside, if you're really sleepy, you can sleep in the carriage."

Although Jia Lian's words were not blaming, Zhen Yuhuan still lowered her head and explained in a low voice, "I'm sorry, Second Brother, I overslept."

"It's not even three-quarters of an hour yet, I'm a little early."

Jia Lian shook his head, his understanding words deeply moving the remorseful Zhen Yuhuan. She opened her bright eyes and looked at the sworn brother her elders had chosen for her. Noticing the little girl's gaze, Jia Lian also lowered his head and saw her hair half-disheveled, her black hair in disarray, and especially her pair of bright eyes that met his gaze, which looked extremely pure and extremely cute.

Jia Lian turned his head away. "Your mother is taking you to the palace, so she'll definitely have requirements for your makeup and attire. I'll take you home first, and then you can follow her instructions. Now tie your hair up, and let's set off."

"Yes, I'll do whatever my second brother says."

Knowing she had wasted time, Zhen Yuhuan didn't try to bargain with Jia Lian. She obediently followed her personal maid to Daiyu's dressing table to get her hair done.

Just as Jia Lian was about to go out to wait, he suddenly heard a familiar, sweet voice behind him: "You're leaving already?"

Turning around, she saw that Daiyu had also woken up. She was sitting on the couch just like Zhen Yuhuan had been, with her brows slightly furrowed.

"What about the poetry club? She doesn't participate?"

Although the idea of ​​the poetry club was proposed by Tan Chun, and Daiyu didn't seem particularly enthusiastic on the surface, she actually valued it very much. Who would have thought that the club had barely started, and before even the first session had been held, Zhen Yuhuan, one of the founding members, had already left? It seemed rather pointless.

Daiyu's words caused Zhen Yuhuan, who was standing in front of the dressing table, to darken her face. She had traveled a long way to the capital, and here she didn't know a single person. She had finally become somewhat familiar with so many of the Jia family sisters, but now she had to part ways so soon, and she was reluctant to leave.

But there was nothing she could do. Although the Zhen and Jia families had a good relationship, they weren't close relatives. If she hadn't left the Jia family, it would have been fine for her to stay a few more days. But now that she was leaving, she felt embarrassed to ask her mother to send her back, and even if she begged her, her mother wouldn't agree.

This is actually why she couldn't bear to sleep last night and wanted to chat with Daiyu, her destined soulmate.

"Why wouldn't she participate? She's just going home, not quitting the poetry club. When we start our poetry club, we'll send someone to invite her. Does she think she can just refuse?"

Yes, that's a good idea!

Upon hearing Jia Lian's words, Zhen Yuhuan almost lost her composure. Given her mother's doting affection for her, as long as they were still in the capital, if the Jia family sent someone to invite her to participate in the poetry club, her mother would likely agree.

There's a big difference between being invited and someone coming to your door on your own initiative.

Zhen Yuhuan was pleased, but Daiyu was not. She still said in a coquettish voice, "When scholars outside start a poetry club, it may take a year or two, or even three or five years, to gather enough people to start one club. So each club is very precious. We are just brothers and sisters in our family who start clubs for fun. Let alone three or five years, as long as we are in the mood, we can start a club every three or five days. Yesterday, Tan'er and I discussed that we should start one today."

Should we invite her every day just for the sake of the poetry club? Or should we hold another event every three to five months just for her sake, in case she goes back to the south?

Daiyu's words seemed somewhat aggressive. The maids like Zijuan were fine with it, but Zhen Yuhuan's two personal maids glanced at them sideways, thinking that even if Miss Lin was reluctant to see their young lady leave, what did it have to do with the Marquis of Zhenyuan?

Furthermore, why is she speaking to the Marquis like that? She's just a cousin, not a biological sister.

Even Zhen Yuhuan, who knew about the relationship between Daiyu and Jia Lian, was somewhat surprised. She thought that even if Daiyu was as beautiful as a fairy and was favored by her sworn brother, she should still speak to him gently and obediently. Therefore, she hurriedly looked at Jia Lian to see if there was any displeasure on his face.

How did they know that Jia Lian understood Daiyu? Jia Lian knew almost immediately from Daiyu's series of words that she must have an ulterior motive.

Jia Lian knew that Daiyu rarely spoke unless she had something to say. Her seemingly unreasonable and ambiguous pronouncements indicated that she wanted him to fulfill her desires.

Based on the context, Jia Lian had probably guessed correctly. He glanced back at Zhen Yuhuan, who was watching the drama unfold, and then smiled, "You're right. It's really not good to invite her every day for something as trivial as the poetry club. We don't mind the trouble, but we're afraid our elders will get annoyed and think we're being inconsiderate. We certainly can't postpone starting the poetry club just because of her."

"Well then, I'll ask their mistress later how long they plan to stay in the capital and if they have any other urgent matters. If not, why not let my sworn sister stay with us indefinitely, living in the garden with her sisters? That way, everyone will have company. What do you think?"

Daiyu thought about Jia Lian's words and felt that this was probably the most appropriate way. Because last night she asked Zhen Yuhuan if she would come back after leaving, and the other party couldn't answer. They both knew that as the eldest daughter of the Zhen family, and with her mother in the capital, there was no reason or justification for Zhen Yuhuan to frequently visit the Jia family.

But this is on the premise that there's no reason. What if there is a reason?

Given Jia Lian's position as the head of the Jia family and Zhen Yuhuan's sworn brother, if he were to invite Zhen Yuhuan to the Jia family to keep her company with her sisters, it's likely that Mrs. Zhen wouldn't refuse.

Similarly, if Grandmother Jia were willing to intervene, she could probably bring Zhen Yuhuan back. However, Grandmother Jia is not as easy to talk to as Jia Lian. If they were to beg, even if Grandmother Jia agreed, she would probably think they were being unreasonable.

Unless it's Jia Baoyu, that precious son, who begs for it.

However, compared to Jia Baoyu, it was clearly more convenient and effective for Daiyu to order Jia Lian around. But she was by nature tactful and didn't like to openly express her thoughts, so she subtly hinted that Jia Lian should take the initiative to do the work.

Having almost achieved her goal, Daiyu smiled, but when she met Jia Lian's smiling, meaningful gaze, she was stunned for a moment, then turned her head away.

Her second brother probably saw through her thoughts, which is why he deliberately cooperated with her by saying those things.

Thinking about it this way, Daiyu felt a little embarrassed, but quickly became at ease. Sure enough, her second brother understood her best. In one's life, it is rare to find a true friend, and her second brother was indeed that kind of friend. Sometimes she even felt that he understood her better than she understood herself.

How fortunate she is to have met such a person in the world.