Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

"Second Master is back."

At Sister Feng's courtyard, someone shouted, and everyone busy in the courtyard hurriedly put down what they were doing and gathered towards the courtyard gate.

Today, Wang Xifeng wore an exquisite gold hairpin adorned with eight treasures, jade earrings with shimmering green light, a bright silk skirt, and a crimson brocade jacket trimmed with sable fur.

The stunningly beautiful woman, adorned in such magnificent attire, moved with graceful steps, truly resembling a celestial goddess.

Upon seeing Jia Lian, her face lit up with joy, and she gracefully curtsied, saying, "This humble servant respectfully welcomes Your Excellency."

Behind him, the maids and servants, dressed in equally bright colors, also bowed and greeted him in unison.

Faced with Sister Feng's solemn demeanor, Jia Lian smiled slightly, waved his hand, and walked over. His gaze swept over Ping'er, Qingwen, Xiangling, and the others who were all smiling at him, and finally landed on Sister Feng. He raised an eyebrow and couldn't help but show his affection.

Seeing Jia Lian standing in front of her without saying a word, only smiling at her, Feng Jie felt a little embarrassed and gently pushed Jia Lian, "What are you doing? Everyone's watching."

She gave a coquettish remark, then her expression brightened, and she smiled, "The Marquis is leaving tomorrow, and my family and I have prepared a simple farewell banquet for him. I wonder if the Marquis would do us the honor of attending?"

"Thank you for your trouble, Madam."

"whispering sound……"

With a smile, Sister Feng took Jia Lian's arm. As they got closer, she keenly smelled an unusual fragrance on Jia Lian. A look of understanding appeared on her face, but she didn't pay much attention to it. She still smiled and led Jia Lian into the flower hall.

Feng Jie's flower hall was no longer the same as before. Not only were there simple tables, chairs, and food and drinks set up in the hall, but many of the potted plants and flowers that were usually placed in the garden were also gone. In their place, a red carpet two or three zhang long and wide was laid on the ground under the empty flower hall.

The flower hall opens on all four sides, with servants standing in rows. Lanterns hang densely from the eaves and other high places, illuminating the entire small garden area.

While the mansion may not be described as extremely magnificent, it certainly exudes the elegance and refinement of a renowned family.

Feng Jie helped Jia Lian to sit down at the long table in front of the flower hall. She then sat down to the side and asked Jia Lian with a smile if her preparations were satisfactory. After receiving a positive response from Jia Lian, her smile grew even wider, and she clapped her hands lightly.

As the music began, several stunningly beautiful women with incredibly graceful figures emerged and danced elegantly to the rhythm of the music.

These were Gu Qingyi, Shen Pan'er, and other women.

Of these four women, Shen Pan'er needs no introduction; a natural dancer, she is hailed as the number one dancer in Yangzhou Prefecture. In comparison, although the other three women, including Gu Qingyi, are slightly inferior in dancing skills, their beautiful figures and appearances more than make up for it.

In particular, Gu Qingyi, who is only seventeen years old but has already won the title of the most beautiful woman in Jiangnan for two consecutive years, can easily capture the audience's attention with her ethereal temperament and stunning appearance, even without her superb dance skills.

No wonder Shen Pan'er once snuggled in his arms and said that she didn't like rehearsing dances with Gu Qingyi.

However, in Jia Lian's opinion, Gu Qingyi is still far from being able to match Shen Pan'er in terms of dancing skills. After all, Shen Pan'er's strength lies in dazzling and captivating dances that can easily make men's hearts flutter, and in this respect, Gu Qingyi is probably not suitable.

She is well-suited to this elegant and beautiful style, which portrays a grand and magnificent era. However, Jia Lian thinks that if there is an opportunity, Shen Pan'er could personally teach her, which might create a unique and interesting contrast in her beauty.

Although Sister Feng also enjoyed watching dances, she was not a man after all, so much of her attention remained on Jia Lian.

Seeing that Jia Lian was smiling and looking at the beauties below without any attempt to hide his admiration, she picked up a cup of wine and held it to Jia Lian's lips, helping him drink it. Then she leaned close to his ear and teased, "Since Your Excellency likes them so much, why don't you let a few of them stay tonight to serve Your Excellency before you retire for the night?"

Jia Lian smiled without saying a word, but secretly wrapped his arm around Feng Jie's slender waist.

Feng Jie hesitated slightly, but fearing that her movements would be too exaggerated and make her a laughingstock, so she glared at Jia Lian and could only quietly move the stool closer to him, shyly leaning against him.

Once the shyness subsided, and I met the various glances that seemed to be directed at me from all around, I felt a sweet warmth in my heart.

Gu Qingyi and the others danced two songs in a row. Jia Lian, feeling sorry for the cold weather, told them to leave early, leaving only Gu Qingyi behind to entertain them with her zither and flute.

"Where is Qiaoyatou?" Jia Lian suddenly remembered his daughter.

"Hehe, don't mention her. At first, she kept saying she'd wait for you to come home and even said she'd recite poetry for you. But then she got tired of playing and went to sleep before you got back."

Jia Lian smiled. His daughter was too young to go to school and study poetry, but he had many aunts in the family, all of whom were talented women and admired her. It was common for them to teach her a few lines of poetry.

However, it's just a matter of reciting poetry while looking up at the sky, without being able to read the characters.

Sister Feng, always adept at managing the atmosphere, drank with Jia Lian for a few rounds, then, feeling the fun was waning, glanced at the people sitting below and said with a smile, "Ping'er, your Marquis is leaving home tomorrow, don't you all know to come up and offer him a toast?"

As soon as Fengjie spoke, the maids became excited, especially Qingwen and a few others, who hurriedly filled their cups with wine and stood up to follow Ping'er.

Even the servants, including Lady Feng (Xiangling's mother), who held considerable status in the courtyard, were quite tempted to sit at a table. After all, being able to personally offer Jia Lian a cup of wine represented the highest honor.

Fortunately, they all knew Jia Lian's preferences, so they did not dare to overstep their bounds. Instead, they agreed to wait behind the maids and go forward together to offer a toast.

"It's no fun just to offer a toast; you have to say something auspicious."

Faced with Sister Feng's last-minute request, Ping'er, who was taking the lead, did not show any fear. She bowed, held up her wine cup, and said with a smile, "This servant toasts Second Master, wishing him all the best in his business outside, and also hoping he takes good care of himself so that Madam won't worry too much at home..."

Sister Feng laughed and scolded, "Pah, you little hussy, you can drink your wine, why are you dragging me into this?"

Jia Lian took the wine from Ping'er, but instead of drinking it, he smiled and looked at the maids lined up on the steps in front of the hall.

He had already noticed that not only was Sister Feng dressed up in a glamorous way today, but the maids were too, and even the old women and wives were dressed more elegantly than usual.

The maids, in particular, were all dressed in brand-new clothes, and their colors and styles were quite similar. At first glance, they gave him a sense of the beauty of uniformity, and even the colors of some of the maids that he usually didn't pay much attention to seemed more vibrant in this atmosphere.

Therefore, he couldn't help but tilt his head and ask, "Is it your idea for the girls to dress like this?"

Aside from Sister Feng, Jia Lian couldn't think of any other reason why the maids would act so uniformly. After all, the Jia family didn't require the maids to wear uniforms; only the low-ranking maids who had just been bought into the mansion would be given two sets of coarse clothes.

"I was rummaging through the back storeroom and found a lot of stockpiled fabric, all of excellent quality. I was thinking that with the end of the year approaching, I should make a decent set of clothes for Ping'er and the others. Then I thought, the maids in the house are all sensible and obedient, and didn't you always tell me to treat them well? So I simply took out all the fabric that I didn't need for the time being and made a set of clothes for all the maids in the house."

I just sent them out yesterday. Since you're leaving Beijing tomorrow, I had them all wear them as a farewell gift.

Sister Feng looked at Jia Lian with a smug smile in her eyes.

Hmph, who told Jia Lian and others to always say she was stingy and miserly? She'll just have to be generous this time and show them.

Indeed, the clothes made for the maids this time are far superior to those usually issued by the mansion. Each piece is made of the finest materials and is quite valuable. Did you not see the maids' joyful expressions yesterday when they received their clothes, and the envious looks and comments from other maids when they wore them out today?

Of course, the main reason she was so generous this time was that she had too much fabric piling up at home.

Putting aside everything else, among the gifts the Empress Dowager recently bestowed upon Jia Lian, there were quite a few pieces of imperial brocade and satin. Adding to those from before, it's fair to say that in the past two years, their household has basically not purchased any additional satin!

Not only do we not need to buy them, but we also can't use them all. Instead of letting them get old, why not gladly use them to give as a gift?

As for having the maids wear it today, besides what she said, there was also a hidden agenda behind it.

Jia Lian's reputation is too great now, and countless women are eyeing him. He's going out again, and if he doesn't remember the good things about home, who knows how many shady women he'll bring back when he returns.

Having the maids dress him up nicely would not only make Jia Lian less susceptible to being seduced by other women, but also make him think more about home while he's out, and return home early after finishing his business. This is actually the same principle behind her careful dressing up tonight.

She wasn't afraid that Jia Lian would see through her scheme; it was an open and aboveboard plan.

Jia Lian didn't pay much attention to Feng Jie's thoughts. He just felt it was a rare occurrence, that even a vinegar jar could be filled with soy sauce, and he was naturally happy to see it happen.

"I wish Second Master great success in accomplishing the task assigned by the Emperor, and that he will be promoted and ennobled soon!"

Qingwen was the second to come up and toast Jia Lian. She was always bold, and seeing that the atmosphere was right, she finished saying some unrefined auspicious words and then, bypassing Jia Lian's outstretched hand, directly fed him the wine.

"I...I wish Second Master a safe and smooth journey home soon..."

Xiangling was a little nervous.

After these three women, the other maids were either in groups of three or five. Jia Lian made no attempt to hide his appreciation for the looks and demeanor of each maid who came up to toast him.

It has to be said that even with Sister Feng's constraints, the quality of the maids in their courtyard has become increasingly superior.

Under the bright lights and colorful clothes, each young girl is either adorable or charming. Listening to their sweet voices and playful words is truly an indescribable pleasure, making one want to forget about the outside world for a moment and stay at home to enjoy the tenderness.

In short, Sister Feng had put a lot of effort into preparing for tonight's events, and Jia Lian appreciated her kindness. So, after seven rounds of drinks, seeing that Sister Feng was also slightly tipsy and her face was full of affection, Jia Lian kicked the stool back, ignored Sister Feng's objections, picked her up by the waist, and carried her directly to the main courtyard, leaving all the maids and servants standing there, each of them revealing a knowing smile.

With Feng Jie being taken away, Ping'er naturally took precedence. Ping'er, being sensible, knew that Jia Lian and Feng Jie had both drunk quite a bit and feared they might bump into something, so she quickly ordered Qingwen and Xiangling to go and serve them, while she stayed behind to clean up the mess.

After arranging all the matters, she returned to the main courtyard. When she passed the main house, she hesitated for a moment but did not go in. Instead, she arranged for two more maids to be at her service outside, while she went back to her room to rest.

A moment later, there was a knock on the door. Opening it, one saw the newly arrived maid, Liu Xinqing. The girl, head slightly bowed and cheeks flushed, whispered, "Sister Ping'er, the Second Master wants you to come over..."

Upon hearing this, Ping'er felt a surge of emotion, her heart racing. She nodded calmly in agreement, returned to her room, and after briefly tidying herself in front of the mirror, rose and headed towards the main room.