Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

When Qingwen returned home from the Grand View Garden, Jia Lian had just finished eating and was preparing to take a bath.

After walking through the fragrant flowerbeds and passing through the flower hall, we arrived at the three bath rooms at the very back.

Pushing open the door, one is greeted by a misty atmosphere, and colorful screens and silk curtains come into view.

Beyond the screen, the central white jade pool was filled with hot water, and countless rose petals were scattered among it, almost completely obscuring the surface of the water.

Beside the pool, four young maids, looking quite charming, were kneeling and testing the water temperature with their hands.

The sight of so many flowers made Jia Lian, who had just returned from the military camp, feel somewhat uncomfortable, as if he were a princess emerging from a bath.

"Where did you get so many flower petals?"

Upon hearing this, Xiangling assumed that Jia Lian was displeased, and quickly explained, "These flower petals were all collected from the garden by Second Mistress. They were originally for Second Mistress to use for bathing. Sister Ping'er said that Second Master works hard outside, so she added more."

Jia Lian then remembered that it was already summer, and all kinds of flowers in the garden were probably in full bloom.

These women usually love flowers and powders, and even if they don't have them at home, they like to buy them from the market.

With Jia Lian's current wealth, he wouldn't care even if they bought things outside to enjoy themselves, let alone if the family already had them.

Thinking of this, Jia Lian accepted it calmly; it was just a few flower petals, and there was no harm in it.

As he stepped forward, the four maids immediately came to help Jia Lian undress.

The sweet scent of the young girl, coupled with the caresses of seven or eight small hands on his body, instantly energized Jia Lian, who had only engaged in a brief exercise with his wife before the meal.

This made the two naive girls who were kneeling down to take off his shoes, socks, and pants blush with embarrassment, and they became even more careful in their movements.

Jia Lian felt no embarrassment about this. Just as palace maids in the imperial palace were theoretically the emperor's women, he could take whatever he wanted from the maids and even the young wives in his courtyard.

Moreover, the maids selected to serve in the bathhouse were all outstanding in appearance and figure.

Wang Xifeng was also a sucker for good looks.

Not long after being submerged in water, Qingwen walked in.

She was no longer dressed as before; she had changed into a lighter, more form-fitting outfit.

"Have you taken care of everything I asked you to do?"

"Hmph, of course! When has Second Master ever given someone a task and they didn't do it well?"

Like a proud rooster, Qingwen walked to the edge of the pond, pushed past the maid, and picked up a handkerchief to help Jia Lian wash his shoulders and back.

Jia Lian didn't refute Qingwen's pride. Although this girl was a bit difficult, her execution ability was indeed stronger than most people's.

She's usually very lazy, and most people can't get her to do anything.

Sure enough, she only helped Jia Lian wash for a short while before she became lazy and started talking to him.

"I've relayed everything Second Master asked me to tell Sister Aqi and the others, and I've also delivered the birds that were supposed to be sent to Miss Bao. Miss Bao even said that she really likes Second Master's birds and asked me to thank you on her behalf."

Jia Lian frowned and turned around; he strongly suspected that this guy was deliberately being ambiguous.

Faced with his scrutiny, Qingwen simply gave him an innocent look.

Jia Lian didn't know what to say, so he just nodded.

"Sigh, Second Master, I've already done two errands for you as soon as you got back. I ran such a long way and I'm all sweaty. How are you planning to reward me, Second Master?"

"award?"

Jia Lian smiled slightly, grabbed Qingwen's hand, and pulled her.

"Oops~"

puff~

A delicate cry rang out, followed by the sound of someone falling into the water.

"Cough cough~"

Qingwen, who hurriedly stood up from the water, didn't even have time to completely dry her face before slapping Jia Lian and complaining, "What are you doing? I haven't even taken my clothes off yet..."

Thanks to the fact that Jia Lian often pulled her into the water during her "bathtub period," Qingwen was not frightened. She even faked coughing in order to take the opportunity to act coquettishly towards Jia Lian and play with him.

But after she wiped her face clean and brushed away the strands of hair clinging to it, she realized that Jia Lian hadn't responded to her words; he was just staring straight at her.

She looked down and immediately blushed and her heart started pounding.

It turned out that she knew all along that serving Jia Lian while he bathed could easily lead to intimate matters, and that wearing those bright and thick clothes was not appropriate, so she changed into a thin gauze outer garment before coming in.

The thin gauze became transparent when wet, and when it clung to her body, she could clearly see the bright red bodice and her delicate skin underneath.

"Pah, you pervert..."

Although Jia Lian had already taken advantage of her, her girlish shyness still made her glare at him before covering her chest and preparing to run away.

But she knew she probably couldn't escape.

Sure enough, her small hand was grabbed by a large hand, and when she looked up, she saw Jia Lian staring at her with a malicious smile.

"Didn't you want a reward? Come here, I'll give it to you."

……

When Sister Feng coaxed Qiao'er to sleep and returned to the main room, Ping'er had already cleaned up the west side room and was making the bed in the inner room.

Seeing Ping'er pull away the bedsheets that had just been changed that afternoon, Feng Jie looked a little embarrassed and asked, trying to make conversation, "Where is your second master?"

"She's still taking a bath."

Ping'er turned back to look at Feng Jie in surprise, then said, "Grandma knows perfectly well that if there's nothing else going on, Second Master's bath will take a long time..."

A hint of jealousy appeared on Sister Feng's face.

It will naturally take a long time; he needs to play with his precious maids!

Thinking about it, he suddenly felt sticky and uncomfortable all over, so he stood up and said, "Let's go, come with me and see what tricks they're up to!"

Ping'er was secretly surprised, after all, she knew that Wang Xifeng was thin-skinned. In the past, when the Second Master forced his way into her bathing room, she was very embarrassed. Today, she actually dared to take the initiative to enter the Second Master's bathing room.

When the master and servant arrived at the bathing room, there was nothing unusual happening. Only two maids were idly waiting outside the door.

Sister Feng secretly breathed a sigh of relief, glanced at the clothes Ping'er was holding, and then pretended to be nonchalant as she led Ping'er into the house.

There wasn't anything too offensive in the bathroom; all that could be seen was Jia Lian sitting in the tub with his eyes closed, resting.

Beside him, besides Xiangling in his arms, there were only two maids kneeling behind him massaging his shoulders.

The only thing worth criticizing is that all the maids only had a bodice and underpants to cover their private parts.

Feng Jie glanced at him closely and realized that Jia Lian seemed to be asleep. Considering that Jia Lian must have been very tired and hard-working outside these days, she didn't care about such things.

She beckoned the two maids standing outside to come out, and then raised her arms to let Ping'er help her undress.

She had actually showered once that afternoon, but after being bothered by Jia Lian and having nothing else to do, she decided to shower again.

As for couples bathing together, although it is against etiquette...

But Jia Lian had no idea how many times he had forced himself on her. As long as the people around him didn't say anything, who would know?

The main reason is that Jia Lian used to make her exercise every time he came back from going out, regardless of how long it would take, which made her lose face in front of the whole family, so she couldn't care less about these things.

The sound of the maids leaving startled Jia Lian. When Jia Lian opened his eyes, he saw Feng Jie, who was only wearing her undergarments, slowly walking down the stone steps into the water.

He showed a look of approval on his face, and then waved to Sister Feng.

Although Sister Feng was a little embarrassed, she didn't have many concerns because she had sent away all the unrelated maids.

When Fengjie came over, Xiangling made way for her so that Fengjie could fall into Jia Lian's arms.

"That's right! From now on, my husband and I will bathe together more often. This will not only save the maids a lot of trouble, but also conserve water. Why not?"

Jia Lian put one arm around Feng Jie and said with a smile.

In response, Sister Feng could only spit out a rebuke.

With a light lift of her slender hand, she placed it on Jia Lian's chest. Feng Jie looked up, about to speak to Jia Lian, but saw that Jia Lian's brows were furrowed and his left arm seemed to be exerting force secretly.

Before she could voice her doubts, an unusual noise came from the water beneath her.

Suddenly, ripples spread across the water, quickly becoming so violent that even the petals floating on the surface were swept away by the waves.

A dark figure suddenly sprang up from under the petals.

"Cough cough, cough cough cough~~"

A series of familiar coughs brought the somewhat startled Sister Feng back to her senses, and she realized that this was not a water ghost.

Sure enough, the water ghost brushed aside her hair that was covering her face, revealing her true identity. Who else could it be but Qingwen?

At this moment, her hair was disheveled, her face was covered in water, and several wet rose petals were on her head, making her look both pitiful and comical.

She pounced over and punched Jia Lian's chest a few times with her little fists. Then she glanced at Feng Jie'er, said nothing, turned around, picked the flower petals off her head, and hid in a corner.

Sister Feng looked utterly astonished.

She said she didn't see Qingwen when she came in; turns out she'd gone downstairs...

Recalling Qingwen's embarrassing state just now, Fengjie was both angry and amused. She couldn't help but pinch Jia Lian's arm and complained, "You really are...aren't you afraid of making her feel stifled!"

Jia Lian withstood all the attacks steadily, replying with an unchanged expression, "No, she's very good at holding her breath."

Upon hearing this, Sister Feng grew even angrier. She thought about how long she had been inside, and how that little girl had managed to stay underwater the whole time. Her breath-holding skills were truly impressive…

It's obvious without even thinking that she was trained by her unscrupulous second master.

Thinking about it, he pinched Jia Lian a few more times.

Jia Lian was a little annoyed. "One pinch would have been enough. Why is this going on and on?"

He grabbed Sister Feng's arm, turned her around, and pressed her against the edge of the pool, angrily shouting, "You've gone too far!"

As he spoke, he freed one arm and yanked down Sister Feng's pants...

Seeing that Sister Feng only struggled symbolically for a couple of moments before obediently lying down by the pond, Jia Lian was filled with righteous indignation. He turned around and shouted, "You lot, come over here and lie down properly. I'm going to teach you some manners. You've really gone too far, daring to hit me."

Since Xiangling was right beside him, Jia Lian grabbed her without thinking.

Seeing that her mistress was so obedient today, Ping'er on the shore naturally wouldn't refuse and took off her outer garments to enter the water.

Only Qingwen was still indignant: "Hmph, I'm not going to go crazy with you guys."

You big bad guy, you're pressing someone's head down.

Qingwen tried to get up and leave, but Ping'er grabbed her.

What a joke! Even the mistress and madam are obediently lying there. How dare you leave?

If you leave under these circumstances, even if Second Master doesn't hold it against you, Second Madam will hate you to death.

Just as Jia Lian was about to unleash his killing spree and achieve a new milestone in the bathhouse, a timid voice announced from inside: "Second Master, Aunt Zhen just came in and said that Sister Aqin came in to inform you that the matter you previously entrusted to me has been settled, and she wants you to go to the study as soon as possible..."

Jia Lian and the others turned around but saw no one else in the room. They could only catch the sound coming from behind the screen at the door.

The person speaking is probably hiding behind the screen, and may have already seen what's happening inside.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Sister Feng broke free from Jia Lian's control and stood up to advise, "Since it's something you entrusted to me, it must be very important. Second Master, you should go and deal with the important matters first..."

Sister Feng was actually quite embarrassed. Although Ping'er, Xiangling, and others were not outsiders and even often served the couple in their intimate moments, that was in the bedroom, which was different from the current environment.

Moreover, Jia Lian wanted to line them up and play with them, which was something she couldn't accept.

Jia Lian looked at Feng Jie, who had already pulled up her pants and was staring at him warily, with great displeasure.

But he only patted Feng Jie's cheek and said, "I'll let you off this time since you've been so good today. Go wash yourself clean and wait for your husband to come back."

After saying that, Jia Lian walked towards the shore.

Sister Feng is right. This matter outside is indeed very important. There will be plenty of time to train Sister Feng later.