Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Ping'er and the others had already prepared Jia Lian's meal.

I just knew that the master and the grandmother were talking inside, so I didn't disturb them for the time being.

To everyone's surprise, as they waited, there suddenly became no sound from inside.

Ping'er had some guesses, so she tiptoed to look into the other room and saw the curtains fluttering, figures swaying, and faint, suppressed moans.

Ping'er, understanding the implication, walked back without making a sound and beckoned the maidservant standing in the room to leave.

The maids who were allowed to serve inside were not stupid. Seeing this, they all guessed what was going on. With strange expressions and swirling emotions, they retreated outside the door to await orders.

……

Inside the Grand View Garden, all the young ladies naturally knew that Jia Lian had returned to the mansion.

However, none of them came out to see Jia Lian, not because they didn't want to, but because they were afraid that their brother and sister-in-law would think they were being unreasonable.

Especially after seeing that Daiyu, who was originally most worried about Jia Lian, showed no intention of leaving Xiaoxiang Pavilion, they completely gave up the idea.

However, it was still early, and the energetic young ladies decided to go to Hengwu Garden to sit down and chat.

Hengwu Garden is now naturally the most lively place in the Grand View Garden.

Although Aunt Xue had moved back after Grandmother Jia and the others returned from the imperial tombs, Baoqin and Xiangyun were still there.

Grandmother Jia was not an unreasonable person. She had kept Baoqin by her side and cuddled her for so long before. Now that she saw the little girl and her sisters happily staying in the garden, she felt embarrassed to take her back to enjoy her again.

However, Baoqin was still very sensible. Every day she would obediently run to Grandmother Jia's side so that the old lady could see her and show her affection.

Even if she forgets because she's playing, her cousin will remind her.

In the small but spacious room, the six sisters Baochai, Baoqin, Yingchun, Xiuyan, Tanchun, and Shi Xiangyun each held a fan and sat scattered around.

"Brother Lian is finally home. The city was in a state of panic these past few days. Although Sister Feng didn't say anything, we could all tell that she was very worried about Brother Lian."

"Yes. Not only Sister Feng, but Sister Lin is the same."

Even someone as aloof as her went to the manor every day just to inquire about news of her second brother, Lian.

Although it was just casual conversation, the topic naturally turned to Jia Lian.

But that was all; after just two sentences, the conversation suddenly fell silent.

Everyone seemed to have a lot to say, yet they also seemed unsure how to say it.

Indeed, some of the news that came home after the Emperor's return to the capital in the afternoon was still too exciting for them, and they didn't know how to talk about it.

As the hostess and the elder sister, Baochai naturally wouldn't let her sisters stare at each other for too long.

"Brother Lian has weathered many storms and is cautious and humble, so naturally nothing will happen to him."

Sister Feng and Lin Yatou are just confused because they're worried.

Baoqin nodded frantically upon hearing this.

She was the one who personally witnessed Jia Lian, dressed in herdsman's clothes, escorting the princess of the dynasty back to Han territory from beyond the Great Wall.

She used to think her father was very capable, traveling all over the country as a merchant.

But every time his father went out, he would gather many merchants to act together, and he would also hire many thugs to accompany and escort him. In this way, whenever he arrived in a place or country, he would also seek connections and protection in order to ensure his own safety.

But what about Jia Lian? It is said that he was a remarkable man who, while being pursued by 100,000 foreign soldiers, single-handedly crossed the Gobi Desert and escorted the princess back to her homeland!

These are legendary deeds, even recorded in history books, and she admires them immensely every time she thinks about them.

Not to mention, Jia Lian's legendary deeds are far more than just this one.

"Yes, Second Brother Lian is very capable. He is the commander of the Imperial Guard, with thousands of soldiers under his command. Of course, nothing will happen to him."

With Baochai starting the conversation, everyone else began to discuss the topic from the perspective of praise.

But when it comes to chatting, some people are good at it, while others aren't.

Xiangyun suddenly blurted out, "So, do you think Second Brother Lian is really a grandson of the emperor?"

Silence fell again.

They couldn't possibly answer that question; they themselves had only heard snippets of information.

If they asked the servants, they certainly wouldn't know; if they asked the elders, they wouldn't dare to discuss such a topic; if they asked Jia Lian, they would like to, but they thought they would wait until Jia Lian had rested by tomorrow.

Baochai suddenly laughed, and after attracting everyone's attention, she glanced at Yingchun and said with a smile, "If that's really the case, then we should all stand up and bow to her."

Everyone was slightly taken aback before they realized what was happening.

Yes, since Second Brother Lian is the grandson of the emperor, then Second Sister is naturally the granddaughter of the emperor.

According to the status of the Emperor Emeritus's grandchildren, my second sister should at least be a princess, right?

The difference in their social status is huge all of a sudden.

Furthermore, Tan Chun and others even thought of Jia Cong, who was neither loved by his uncle nor his maternal grandmother, in the east wing.

I heard that even servants dared to bully him before, and it was only after his second brother Lian warned him that his situation improved.

Now, those servants who gave Cong'er a hard time should be sweating bullets.

Yingchun hadn't expected the fire to spread to her, and she felt quite embarrassed, saying awkwardly, "Why are you all looking at me like that? I don't know anything..."

Yingchun's reaction relieved everyone.

Everyone felt that, given Second Sister's (Ying Ya Tou's) personality, even though she was a granddaughter of the emperor, she wouldn't hold grudges too much. Therefore, they didn't need to worry too much about whether they had offended her in the past.

During the brief silence between the five sisters, the voice of a nightingale drifted from outside the corridor.

"Why are you here?"

"Wow, what's that? Such a big bird!"

Then came the sound of birds flapping their wings and chirping, as if driving away the unwelcome guest.

Then came Qingwen's voice: "Is Miss Bao here?"

"The young lady and the third young lady are inside. You may go in."

All the women in the room looked towards the doorway, and soon they saw Qingwen, dressed in brand-new clothes and looking so clever that she didn't seem like a maid, walk in with a smile.

Seeing the room full of beautiful women, her smile widened. "Oh, all the girls are here. Say hello to them."

No one paid any attention to her, because everyone's eyes were fixed on Qingwen's right shoulder.

There stood a bird, looking rather sneaky, tilting its head and curiously watching them with its big, bright eyes.

Almost instantly...

"Wow, what a beautiful bird!"

"It's so cute! What kind of bird is it? I've never seen one like it before!"

"They seem to be night owls."

Baoqin, Xiangyun, and Tanchun, the younger children, all stood up at almost the same time and rushed towards Qingwen.

"Sister Xing, you just mentioned 'night owl,' is this what a night owl is?"

"I'm not sure either. I've seen something similar in the countryside before. My mom called it a night owl, but this one is too small, and she's really cute."

Xing Xiuyan was also captured and walked over directly.

However, seeing that everyone was bristling and hiding behind Qingwen, clearly afraid of their numbers, she felt too embarrassed to attack again.

"Is this still small? It looks much bigger than a parrot or a myna!"

Baochai, seeing her sisters chattering away, patiently explained, "This is a mountain owl, also called a night owl in the countryside."

Be careful, everyone. It's a bird of prey, a carnivore. If it pecks you, it's no joke.

Upon hearing this, the women hurriedly dispersed.

Qingwen quickly said, "Don't worry, Sister Aqi said it's just a baby bird and won't hurt anyone."

The women breathed a sigh of relief and looked again at the little guy who had jumped out from behind Qingwen and was now perched on her shoulders.

Then everyone noticed that the little guy had a thin rope tied to one of its feet, which was attached to Qingwen's arm. No wonder it didn't run away.

Qingwen was still trying to prove that the bird wouldn't hurt people by turning around and reaching out to tease it.

"See? It really doesn't hurt people, and it's not afraid of strangers at all; it's very friendly. It's just that Sister Aqin was worried that it would fly away halfway because it wasn't familiar with me, so she tied it to me with a rope."

Upon hearing this, Tan Chun and the others couldn't resist going forward to tease him again.

Sure enough, this time the little guy was much more easygoing. Although there was still a hint of wariness in his eyes, he didn't hide anymore.

After everyone's enthusiasm had subsided somewhat, Baochai said to Qingwen, "Did Sister Feng send you to see me?"

While Qingwen was still playing with the birds with the girls, she suddenly remembered the important matter and hurriedly said with a smile, "It wasn't Second Madam who sent me, it was our Second Master."

Second Master specifically instructed me to deliver it to Miss Bao.

Ok?

What?

This bird isn't Qingwen's; it was given to Baochai by Lian Er.

Facing the surprised gazes of her sisters, Baochai's eyes showed a rare hint of panic.

But Qingwen was completely unaware of this. As she untied the ropes from her arms, she smiled and said, "When the Second Master returned to the manor, he instructed me to bring a gift to Miss Bao."

I didn't know it was it until I met Sister Aqi.

Sister Aqi said that Second Uncle called it "Owl" because he found it by chance in the wild; it was still a fledgling.

"owl?"

"Yes, its head really does look like a cat's, but it's a bit dumber."

"I love it so much, is this the only one...?"

Looking at Qingwen handing her the rope, Baochai suppressed the urge to show her fear and pretended to be calm, asking, "Why...why did Second Brother Lian give me this?"

"I don't know, anyway, it was Second Master who instructed me to. What, Miss Bao, don't you like it? It's so pretty!"

Qingwen really liked these cute and silly things, but unfortunately, she had already kept quite a few pets in the West Wing area where she and Xiangling lived, which had already caused some dissatisfaction in Xiangling.

Furthermore, since this was a gift specially given to Baochai by Jia Lian, she dared not harbor any covetous thoughts.

"Sister Bao, since Second Brother specially gave this to you, please accept it!" Xiangyun shouted louder than anyone else.

Xiangyun used to live with her aunt, but she was living under someone else's roof and was afraid of upsetting her aunt, so she naturally had no interest in keeping any pets.

When we arrived at the Grand View Garden, since it was someone else's home, we couldn't bring just anything inside.

The reason she liked Baochai so much was because Baochai was generous; she could freely take anything that belonged to Baochai.

She was afraid that Baochai wouldn't like it and would give it away to someone else.

It would be alright if it were Tan Chun and the others, but I'm most afraid of it falling into Daiyu's hands. That stingy girl doesn't like anyone touching her things.

Facing the expectant looks from her sisters, Baochai took a deep breath and gave Qingwen a slight bow: "Please thank Brother Lian for me, and tell him that his gift is very good, and I like it very much."

The little creature seemed to possess a spirit. Seeing one end of the rope fall into Baochai's hand, the baby owl jumped off Qingwen's shoulder, stepped on Baochai's arm, and hopped to Baochai's shoulder, glancing sideways at everyone.

Upon seeing this, Baochai couldn't help but smile and reached out to touch its glossy gray feathers.

Qingwen took her leave, and the sisters returned to the center of the room.

Xiangyun and Baoqin stayed close to Baochai, admiring the adorable pets. Yingchun and Xiuyan, though seated, kept glancing over from time to time.

Only Tan Chun's complexion was different.

"Brother Lian is so thoughtful. He's been away for so long, but he still remembers to bring Sister Bao a gift when he comes back."

Baochai looked grateful: "Second Brother Lian has always been kind. The other day my mother said that during the days of turmoil in the city, some thieves wanted to break into our house, but fortunately the soldiers under Second Brother's command came to our rescue and we were spared trouble."

"Presumably, my second brother Lian instructed us to look after the family before leaving the capital. I never expected our family would benefit as well."

Tan Chun frowned. Aunt Xue had mentioned this matter when she entered the mansion and spoke with the old lady and others, so everyone knew about it.

She had only said it casually, but Baochai immediately brought it up, which made her even more suspicious.

"Yes, Brother Lian is really thoughtful and takes good care of us younger sisters."

"But I used to tease him for being biased, only favoring Second Sister and not us. I never imagined that even Second Sister would be outshone by Baochai now."

This statement carries a very strong implied meaning.

Even Xiangyun and the others turned around in surprise, wondering what kind of riddle Baochai and the Third Sister were playing.

"Sister Bao, what are you talking about? What do you mean Second Sister has been outdone by you?"

Baochai laughed and said, "Your third sister is jealous. She was unhappy because Second Brother Lian only gave me a gift and not hers, so she's teasing me."

The sisters stared wide-eyed. If it weren't for Baochai's smiling and indulgent tone, they would have thought that Baochai and Tanchun had fallen out.

Tan Chun was speechless after Bao Chai's words, her cheeks flushed slightly, and she was too embarrassed to continue the conversation.

Xiangyun, however, thought Tanchun was ashamed and quickly came over to pull Tanchun's hand to smooth things over, "Third Sister, aren't you usually the most generous? Why are you suddenly concerned about this? Hasn't Brother Lian given us enough things in the past? Among us, Sister Bao has received the fewest gifts from Brother Lian."

Perhaps that's why Brother Lian only gave it to Sister Bao, since there was only one item available.

Third sister, if you like it, just come and take a look whenever you have time, okay? I'd be too embarrassed to refuse, hehe.

What could Tan Chun say? She could only nod helplessly and accept Xiang Yun's mediation.