Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

After Jia Lian left, Su Yun sneaked towards the main house.

The main house remained the same, but in Su Yun's eyes, even the air seemed to exude an eerie atmosphere.

Upon entering the master's bedroom, one sees the master sitting in front of the dressing table, dressed only in a white undergarment, seemingly drawing her eyebrows carefully.

Her long, flowing black hair cascaded down, covering her hips but unable to conceal her graceful figure.

In a daze, Su Yun seemed to have returned to the time when she was first transferred to the mansion to serve Li Wan.

At that time, she was just an innocent little maid, while Li Wan married into the Duke's mansion in a grand and glorious manner, becoming the beautiful and dignified eldest young mistress, envied and ashamed of all the maids and wives in the mansion!

She remembered that the first time she spoke to Li Wan was under similar circumstances:

The day after her wedding night, the eldest daughter-in-law, a lady from a prestigious family, turned her head gently and asked her name as she did her makeup.

She can't remember how nervous and anxious she was at that time; she only remembers her most immediate thoughts.

The eldest young mistress is so beautiful and gentle.

She possessed a radiance that none of the other maids, or even any of the women in the mansion, possessed.

Later, Grandpa Zhu died of illness.

Gradually, she noticed that the eldest young mistress seemed to have lost her radiance.

But today.

Su Yun suddenly noticed that the light seemed to be returning.

Before she could think too much, Su Yun realized that her grandmother had already noticed her arrival through the mirror.

silence.

dignified.

Finally, Su Yun heard the first syllable uttered by her great-grandmother: "You..."

Seeing that Li Wan did not turn around, and that the eyes in the mirror did not dare to meet her gaze, Su Yun knew that with the eldest mistress's upbringing and virtue, she was ashamed to see her at this moment.

This also tells us that the eldest mistress probably guessed that she knew about her affair with Master Lian.

Her eyes glanced unconsciously at the bed inside, and Su Yun stepped forward, picked up a comb, and while combing Li Wan's hair, she whispered, "Don't worry, Grandma, I don't know anything about what happened today, and I will definitely not say a word to anyone."

I remember all the kindness my grandmother has shown me over the years, and I think about repaying her kindness every moment.

Therefore, if I ever betray Grandma in the slightest, or do anything to harm her, may Suyun suffer a terrible death and be sent to the Hell of Tongue-Pulling After Death.

Li Wan was extremely nervous and frightened the moment she saw Su Yun enter the room.

Admittedly, given her status as a mistress, it was illogical for her to be afraid of one of her own servants. But she was afraid nonetheless.

He was afraid of this girl who was most useful and trusted by his side, and he despised and ridiculed her.

Fearful, she cast a strange look at her.

She even humbly considered that if Su Yun really guessed the truth, she would claim that Jia Lian had forced her, and that she had no choice but to confront Second Master Lian...

Su Yun's gaze towards the bed was caught by her, and for a moment she even felt like dying. Although she had carefully tidied up all the bed curtains and bedding immediately after Jia Lian left, ensuring that there wouldn't be a single flaw that anyone would discover.

Only when he heard Su Yun express her loyalty did his heart finally relax a little.

The lower her head was, the more she knew in her heart that Su Yun probably knew everything she needed to know. This was evident from the earlier incident where she had told Bi Yue to leave the house and not let her in.

Therefore, there is no way to escape; the only option is to face it.

Fortunately, as her most trusted maid and also a woman, she figured the other person could understand her to some extent.

He raised his hand, took Su Yun's hand and placed it in his palm. With eyes that still dared not look directly at her, he looked at Su Yun earnestly and sighed, "Good girl, you don't need to do this. How could I not trust you?"

only……

Today's events are all thanks to you. Otherwise, how could I face the world again?

Now that things have come to this, I have nothing to say in my defense, except to say one thing to you…

Su Yun was about to kneel down to listen when she heard the sweet voices of the girls in the garden outside, and knew that they were looking for Li Wan.

Li Wan's expression changed slightly. Holding Su Yun's hand, she had no time to think further and said quickly in a low voice, "Good girl, if I am fortunate enough to escape this calamity thanks to you, I will never let you down from now on."

Su Yun knew that Li Wan was kind and taciturn by nature, and now that she heard her say this, she knew that she was being sincere.

Fortunately, there was no time to express her true feelings at this moment. Su Yun simply nodded solemnly and said, "Grandma, don't worry," before going to find an outer garment for Li Wan to change into.

The sisters were invited in, and Li Wan looked up and saw that it was indeed the three sisters of the Spring Festival, along with Baochai and others.

He quickly put aside all his thoughts and greeted them with a smile, "Didn't I hear you were admiring the peach blossoms at Qinfang Gate? How come you're here with me?"

Shi Xiangyun darted to Li Wan's side and laughed, "Oh, don't even mention it. The maids came excitedly to tell us that the peach blossoms were in bloom, but when we got there, we found that only one or two trees were blooming well, and the rest were sparse and uninteresting."

"Wow, your room smells so good, did you just burn incense?"

As Xiangyun spoke, she stretched her neck and sniffed. Seeing this, the others also subconsciously sniffed and echoed her sentiments.

Li Wan was startled. How could she say that she was afraid the maids and servants would notice something was wrong? After tidying up the room, she quickly burned incense to cover it up.

Fearing that Xiangyun and the others might notice the strange smell lingering in the air, Li Wan casually said, "I was just rummaging through the old quilts at the bottom of my trunk to air them out. I found that some of them were indeed damp, making the room smell rather strange, so I burned some incense to mask the odor."

While speaking, Li Wan kept a close eye on the expressions of her sisters, especially those who were quick-witted, such as Daiyu and Baochai.

Fortunately, almost everyone present was a young lady from a respectable family. Although they were initially surprised that their sister-in-law, who didn't like perfume, was suddenly wearing such a strong fragrance, they didn't think much of it after hearing her explanation.

Baochai glanced at Li Wan again and felt that Li Wan was acting strangely today, like a child who had done something wrong.

After the little incident, everyone's conversation returned to the peach blossoms.

Li Wan stroked Xiangyun's head: "It's a bit early to see the peach blossoms now. They'll be ready in a few more days."

Everyone laughed and said, "That's why we came to find you."

"Originally, the second day of the lunar new year was just a few days away, which was the day we held a poetry gathering. I suggested that we should set up a Peach Blossom Society then, since the peach blossoms would be in better bloom by then, which would be perfect for the occasion."

Unexpectedly, Sister Lin said that after the second day of the Lunar New Year, the third day would be the birthday of Third Sister. Why not postpone the poetry club meeting by one day, and hold the Third Sister's birthday celebration and the poetry club meeting together on the third day? That would save a day of hassle and be more lively.

So, we've come to ask you to make a decision.

Shi Xiangyun clung to Li Wan's arm, swinging it back and forth.

Li Wan laughed and said, "Since you have already made a decision, why do you need to ask me for my opinion again? Although I am the president of the club, when have I ever gone against the will of the people?"

Okay, then let's postpone it by one day. On the third day of the Lunar New Year, we'll celebrate Sanya's birthday while holding a poetry gathering.

If we invite my aunt over too, it'll definitely be lively.

Everyone laughed, and Tan Chun said, "When Sister Xing and Bao Qin came before, it was during the national mourning period, not to mention that now, looking back, our poetry club is quite prosperous!"

As she spoke, Tan Chun began counting on her fingers: "Starting from my sister-in-law, there were originally ten of us. Apart from Brother Lian and Sister-in-law Lian, everyone else is still here, making eight. Add Sister Yu Huan, Sister Xing, and Bao Qin. Alas, it's a pity that Sister Wen and Sister Qi aren't here, otherwise it would have been even more lively."

Li Wan said, "Wen'er and Qi'er went to visit their mother and they may not be back for a while, so let's not count them."

Even so, there are eleven of us now, plus my aunt, it's going to be quite a commotion.

Baochai suddenly laughed and said, "My mother is out of the question. She can't write poetry. At most, she'll come and have a cup of wine for Third Sister's birthday."

If I were to name someone, it would be best if she were among them.

"Who?"

Seeing everyone pressing for answers, Baochai didn't keep them in suspense. She smiled and tapped Xiangyun's forehead, saying, "Naturally, it's your newly accepted disciple."

Everyone burst into laughter.

It turns out that after Xiangling became Daiyu's apprentice, she studied diligently from the very beginning of learning to read and write, and had long been able to learn poetry, lyrics and prose.

However, she was a latecomer to the Buddhist order, and Daiyu was well-versed in Taoist methods. She believed that learning poetry was not as rigid as recognizing characters, and how much one could learn depended entirely on one's comprehension.

Therefore, she didn't teach Xiangling in detail, but instead recommended some poetry and prose anthologies that she thought were good for her to study on her own.

Xiangling knew Daiyu's temperament and dared not disturb her too much.

On the contrary, Shi Xiangyun was public-spirited and had a talkative nature. Several times when she encountered Xiangling asking Daiyu questions at Xiaoxiang Pavilion, she took the initiative to explain and discuss with Xiangling!

Therefore, Xiangling had the opportunity to ask Xiangyun questions.

This year, Xiangyun was taken to Rongguo Mansion by Grandmother Jia because her uncle and aunt left the capital and moved into the Grand View Garden. Xiangling also got the opportunity, so how could she not seize this free teacher and take full advantage of it?

Xiangyun wasn't afraid of being teased; in fact, she enjoyed it. Before long, the two of them would often get together to discuss academic matters, often oblivious to everyone else around them.

The sisters then teased Daiyu, saying, "If this continues, aren't you afraid she'll steal your precious apprentice away?"

Daiyu naturally ignored this, but afterwards, others often teased Xiangyun and Xiangling about being master and disciple, just as everyone had teased Daiyu and Xiangling back then.

Xiangyun and Xiangling naturally didn't care much about this.

Tan Chun clapped her hands and laughed, "Sister Bao's suggestion is good. I've thought it should be done long ago."

In my opinion, Xiangling, who lives in Lian Er Gege's room, is more studious than anyone else in our area.

I've already seen that Xiangling's poetry is above average among us. I've long intended to recommend her to join our poetry club, but I haven't had a chance to bring it up yet.

Since Sister Bao brought it up today, why don't we officially decide to recruit Xiangling into our poetry club?

Tan Chun's last words were spoken in a questioning tone.

After all, the members of the poetry club were all older sisters, and Xiangling's status was not quite compatible with theirs.

But she was clearly overthinking it.

Putting aside the fact that Xiangling's abilities have long been recognized by everyone, just look at her identity. Everyone knows that although she is nominally a maid, she is actually Jia Lian's concubine, just like Qingwen.

Even more shockingly, some people know that Qingwen still has a contract of indenture with the Jia family, but Xiangling doesn't even have a contract of indenture; she is a completely respectable woman!

Therefore, no one objected to Tan Chun's proposal.

Jia Baoyu even happily said, "In that case, I will recommend a few people who are qualified to join us."

Everyone looked at Jia Baoyu.

Li Wan, who knew her brother-in-law's temperament well, frowned, probably guessing who he was going to recommend.

Sure enough, Jia Baoyu stood up and said, "Miaoyu in the Green Bamboo Nunnery, and the young lady in green robes living in the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion, as well as the young lady Qiyun and the young lady Shishi..."

They are all extremely talented individuals; with their addition, our poetry society will truly flourish.

Jia Baoyu had originally intended to mention Hu Yuanyao, who worked in Jia Lian's outer study, but since they hadn't had much contact and he didn't know her temperament, and also noticed that everyone's expressions were a bit off, he didn't bring it up again.

Clearly, Jia Baoyu's suggestion did not receive the same level of support as Baochai's and Tanchun's.

Everyone even frowned.

Silence fell over the room for a moment.

Several people opened their mouths, but then, as if remembering something, they couldn't say anything.

Everyone's eyes turned to Hengwu, the "highly respected" member of the company.

Baochai did not disappoint them. Soon, she spoke up and said softly, "Miaoyu of Longcui Nunnery is a person of extremely high talent, better than all of us here."

But she is, after all, a nun, and has a detached nature; I'm afraid she wouldn't want to come out and argue with us.

Besides, she's not someone who often hangs out with us. If we force her to come out and join us, it would make everyone uncomfortable and boring. Let's just forget about it.

With Baochai, her elder sister, leading the opposition, everyone else also expressed their opinions:

Not suitable.

It's not that everyone has a big problem with Miaoyu, nor that Miaoyu isn't qualified to play with them.

The key point is that Miaoyu's aloofness surpasses Daiyu's by ten times, and she has a cold personality, not accustomed to showing politeness to ordinary people.

Therefore, even those who were close to her, such as Daiyu, Xiuyan, and Xichun, knew that having Miaoyu join the poetry club might not be a good suggestion.

Baochai only denied Miaoyu's existence, but remained silent about the other four mentioned by Jia Baoyu.

She didn't mention it, and neither did Tan Chun and the others.

Everyone seemed to be pretending that they hadn't listened to Jia Baoyu at all.

Seeing this, Jia Baoyu felt embarrassed and didn't say anything more, silently sitting back down.

In truth, he knew all too well that the four beauties of Tianxiang Tower were not suited to playing with others.

He only made the suggestion because he saw that Xiangling had been accepted by everyone and thought that perhaps the Four Beauties could also be accepted.

In his eyes, there weren't so many distinctions of rank or social class. Especially towards women, particularly beautiful women, he was never stingy in bestowing upon them the highest honors.

But judging from the reactions of Baochai and others, there are still more ordinary people than ordinary people in this world.

Jia Baoyu shook his head and sighed.

After this incident, seeing that the atmosphere was somewhat somber, Xiangyun thought for a moment and said, "Actually, after saying so much, we've overlooked the most crucial person."

Upon hearing this, most of the people were not surprised and looked at Xiangyun, signaling her to continue.

"The previous clubs were fine, but Brother Lian was busy with important matters outside and didn't have time to joke with us. This club is the first official one since Sister Baoqin and Sister Xing came, and it also happens to be Third Sister's birthday. It would be great if Brother Lian could participate."

Everyone deeply agreed with Xiangyun's words.

Even something as trivial as organizing a poetry club behind closed doors, which seemed like child's play to Grandmother Jia and others, was carefully considered.

Didn't everyone agree to bring Wang Xifeng into the poetry society and force her into a management position when the society was first established, even though they all knew she was illiterate?

There is no other reason than that this one person alone can solve the financial and logistical problems of the poetry society.

As the elder brother and one of the true masters of the Rongguo Mansion, if Jia Lian were present, not only would all the issues of establishing a poetry club become simpler, but he would also be able to do almost whatever he wanted while playing.

To give a simple example, if the sisters had any good suggestions or advice during the process of organizing the poetry club, they could tell Jia Lian, and nine times out of ten, they would be implemented immediately.

Without Jia Lian, it would be very difficult to achieve this. In fact, everyone knew it would be difficult, so even if they had good ideas, they kept them to themselves and didn't express them.

The reason for this is that Jia Lian has far more say in the family than any of them, including Li Wan.

Moreover, Jia Lian was an interesting person who was willing to provide the greatest convenience to his sisters in the family within reasonable limits.

Therefore, Jia Lian's role in the Begonia Society was not simply that of a member.

The poetry society is vastly different with or without him. This has been evident to everyone at previous poetry gatherings.

However, Jia Lian was not like Jia Baoyu, a young master who stayed at home doing nothing; he had his own important matters to attend to.

Compared to what Jia Lian had to do, the little maids' activities of organizing a poetry club at home were insignificant, so everyone had tacitly agreed not to include Jia Lian.

However, at the same time, everyone desperately hoped that Jia Lian would be present. If Xiangyun hadn't brought it up, someone else would have.

Yingchun said regretfully, "But I'm afraid my brother won't have time to play with us. I heard that the reason he stayed in the capital instead of going to the imperial mausoleum with my second sister-in-law is because he has an important mission."

Since his second sister-in-law left Beijing, he has been leaving early and returning late every day, rarely having any free time at home.

Therefore, we are afraid it would be best not to bother him with such a trivial matter.

The idea of ​​welcoming spring is also a concern for everyone.

Seeing that everyone seemed hesitant to invite Jia Lian but afraid of being seen as ignorant, Daiyu, who was in the corner, finally couldn't resist.

She pretended to be nonchalant and said, "If it were just for the poetry club, it wouldn't be good to bother him. But this time it's not just for the poetry club, it's also my third sister's birthday."

You know him. He might be too busy with other things to pay attention to us, but if it's about my third sister's child, he'll definitely care.

Daiyu's words made many people's eyes light up.

Time is like a sponge; you can always squeeze some out. This is a truth that everyone understands.

The key question is whether Jia Lian is willing to squeeze in.

Considering Jia Lian's attitude towards his sisters, many people felt that Lin Xiaoxiang's plan was feasible.

Xiangyun immediately smiled and said, "Sister Lin is right. Second Brother Lian loves Third Sister the most. If he doesn't have anything extremely urgent to do, he will definitely be willing to take the time to participate when he hears that it is Third Sister's childbirth."

Haha, let's invite him over when he gets home tonight.

Daiyu and Xiangyun's words resonated with everyone.

Tan Chun's maid, Shi Shu, who was standing inside the room, smiled and said, "Miss, you probably won't have to wait until tonight to invite the Second Master. When I went back to the room to get clothes for our young lady, I saw Second Master Lian talking to Lan Ge'er in the garden."

"Has Second Brother returned to the manor?"

"Great, let's go find him and ask him."

Seeing that Xiangyun, who was easily swayed by rumors, was about to pull someone away, Daiyu immediately took Tanchun's hand and placed it in Xiangyun's hand, saying with a smile, "Go and invite him. You don't have to bring anyone else, but you must bring Third Sister."

Everyone laughed, which made Tan Chun a little embarrassed.

Looking at Daiyu, who seemed completely confident, Xiangyun wondered to herself, "Could it be that Sister Lin's suggestion to combine the poetry club and Third Sister's birthday celebration on the same day was a scheme to use this as leverage to win over Second Brother Lian?"

If that's the case, then Sister Lin is far too cunning.