Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

After getting off the carriage, we walked from the back gate of Grand View Garden to Hengwu Garden.

The Hengwu Garden was quiet, with only the sounds of insects chirping and birds singing.

Jia Lian turned around and said to Baochai behind him, "It's too quiet here. I'll have your sister Feng send a few more servants over later."

"No need to trouble Sister Feng, we already have plenty of people here."

When Baoqin moved in, the old lady was worried that she wouldn't be able to take good care of her, so she had two more mamas and a maid added. Now there are six mamas in this courtyard who are responsible for keeping watch at night and sweeping the courtyard, as well as four maids who prune flowers and plants and do laundry. In addition, there are my, Xiangyun's, Qin'er's, and my own maids. It's enough to serve us.

Even so, I already found them too noisy.

Jia Lian had completely forgotten about Baoqin; Grandmother Jia, a seasoned beauty enthusiast, was truly delighted. It was fortunate that Baoqin was someone else's child; if she were her granddaughter, who knows how much she would spoil her.

Realizing that Baochai wasn't just being polite, Jia Lian didn't say anything more.

He glanced around the courtyard and suddenly asked, "By the way, where are Xiangyun and Qin'er?"

"He probably went to play with San Ya and the others..."

"Hey, girl, the owl is gone too! It must have been taken out to play by Miss Yun and the others."

The sharp-eyed Ying'er spotted the empty beam hanging in the west corridor and immediately called out.

In this era, owls are more commonly called "night owls," or more elegantly, "mountain owls." However, Baochai remembered it because Qingwen mentioned Jia Lian calling them "owls" last night.

Since Baochai and other mistresses called her that, Ying'er and the others would surely follow suit and also change their way of addressing her to this more descriptive term.

"The owl that Second Master had Qingwen bring over last night was even more beloved by Miss Yun than our young lady. She spent the whole night playing with it, feeding it all sorts of things. If our young lady hadn't stopped her, she would have slept with it last night..."

After hearing that Xiangyun and Baoqin were not there, Jia Lian was not in a hurry to leave.

He looked at Baochai and asked with a smile, "Judging from Ying'er's tone, you don't like it?"

"No, what I mean is, our young lady likes it too, just not as much as Miss Yun..."

Ying'er was anxious to explain, but then she saw Jia Lian's doting look as he looked at his young lady, and her young lady's shy appearance with her head down, not daring to look Jia Lian in the eye.

She quickly covered her mouth, giggled, and tried to walk away on her own.

I had only taken two steps when I suddenly saw someone come out of the house.

Ying'er was startled and quickly said, "Miss Qin, you're inside! Where's Miss Yun?"

Ying'er's voice successfully alerted Baochai, who immediately took a step back, distancing herself from Jia Lian.

"elder sister?"

Baoqin was reading alone in her room when she heard Jia Lian and the others talking in the courtyard. She immediately put down her book, ran to the mirror to tidy her appearance, and then excitedly came out to greet them.

She was taken aback to witness a scene of mutual affection between a man and a woman.

Baochai was exceptionally good at adjusting her mindset. In almost the same tone as usual, she calmly asked, "Why are you alone in the room? Where are Yun'er and Xiaoluo?"

Xiao Luo is Bao Qin's personal maid.

"After Sister Yun and the others finished eating, they went down the mountain, and Little Snail went out to play with them."

"Um."

Baochai nodded, then turned to Jia Lian and said, "Second Brother Lian, you've drunk a lot tonight. Come inside and have a cup of tea to sober up before you go back."

Jia Lian smiled nonchalantly: "Okay."

The two of them were so natural and at ease that Baoqin wondered if she was overthinking things. How could her sister, with her character, possibly have anything going on with Lian Er Gege… She was the eldest daughter of the Xue family, the only daughter of the Madam…

Having temporarily put aside her doubts, Baoqin immediately went to Jia Lian's side with great enthusiasm, invited him into the house, and even obediently acted as a maid, brewing new tea for him.

Seeing this, Jia Lian understood even more why the old matriarch, Grandmother Jia, liked Baoqin so much. It wasn't just because she had become Grandmother Jia's darling, but also because of her obedience and understanding.

In this respect, Daiyu is completely outshone.

Jia Lian always knew that although Grandmother Jia loved Daiyu, she also felt that Daiyu was too willful and often not obedient or sensible enough. Unfortunately, her mother died early, and she was frail and sensitive, which made Grandmother Jia afraid to speak harshly even if she wanted to teach her. The old lady felt helpless.

Perhaps this is why Grandmother Jia ultimately did not insist on the "preordained bond of wood and stone," and tacitly allowed Lady Wang and others to solidify the "golden and jade marriage."

In Grandmother Jia's heart, her precious Jia Baoyu was ultimately the most important person.

"Why didn't you go down the mountain to play with Yun and the others?"

Upon hearing Jia Lian's question, Baoqin turned around and glanced at him, then lowered her head and whispered, "I don't really want to go..."

Jia Lian then said, "I've heard about what happened to you. Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on the situation at the Mei family's place, and if there's an opportunity, I'll help rescue them."

If I can't save you, I'll make the Mei family obediently return your marriage certificate.

Upon hearing Jia Lian's words, not only Baoqin but also Baochai became more serious.

She had discussed Baoqin's matter with her mother before. According to her, since the Mei family had broken their promise first, they should take this opportunity to cancel the marriage completely.

Aunt Xue was worried, saying that the Mei family might not be willing to release them easily.

Baochai, recalling the attitude of Madam Mei from before, also felt that the other party was not a kind person. If the Mei family refused to return the marriage certificate no matter what, they really wouldn't have a good solution.

After all, it was written down in black and white.

Just like before, when the Mei family wanted to break off the engagement, they had no good way to do so and could only keep dragging it out.

If Jia Lian were willing to lend a hand...

They belong to a certain circle of people. Although the Mei family is quite prestigious among the Qingliu faction, they are still not enough to compete with Jia Lian, who is surrounded by the aura of a nobleman, the emperor's brother-in-law, a close minister of the emperor, and the grandson of the retired emperor.

The only worrying thing is that Jia Lian's current situation seems to be not very good...

No, Second Brother Lian isn't one to boast. Since he spoke with such certainty, he must be confident.

This further confirms that Mother and those outsiders were wrong; there must be more to the story behind Lian Er Gege's dismissal from office.

Unlike Baochai, Baoqin didn't overthink things. She immediately opened her bright, intelligent eyes wide and asked in surprise, "Brother Lian, is what you said true?"

After asking the question, she seemed to realize that she had lost her composure and felt a little embarrassed.

After thinking for a moment, she looked up and said, "But, according to our mistress, the Mei family is involved in the serious crime of treason. If you, Brother Lian, help save them, won't it implicate you?"

in fact……

A flawless version after careful inspection!

If possible, Second Brother Lian, you can just help me get the marriage certificate back. You don't need to risk your life for me. I... Qin'er isn't worth Second Brother Lian doing this for..."

Baoqin was not yet of marriageable age, and she was pampered by everyone, both at home and outside.

She didn't actually want to get married too early.

Not to mention, although her mother, aunt, and other relatives had tried to keep it from her, how could she not sense that the Mei family intended to break off the relationship?

Even if she didn't know before, she heard Aunt Xue scolding the Mei family for deliberately delaying the reneging of the engagement at Rongqing Hall today.

The young girl's pride also made her resistant to this marriage.

Now that he sees an opportunity to escape this marriage, he naturally wants to seize it.

But being a young woman, she was too embarrassed to say it directly, so she subtly tried to get Jia Lian to help her break off the engagement, her tone naturally sounding very shy and even a little bashful. She herself was unaware of this.

However, her cousin Baochai, who was several years older than her and was in love, saw through her immediately.

Recalling that Jia Lian had met his second uncle and others by chance in the borderlands and had helped his second uncle's family a lot, and that this little girl always looked at Jia Lian with admiration and adoration, Baochai felt helpless.

She finally understood why she had ended up in this state.

As for Jia Lian's hint to Baoqin, what else can be said but "good"?

If he really wanted to save people, it would have been ten times easier back in Iron Net Mountain than it is now.

Because of Baoqin's presence, Jia Lian couldn't find an opportunity to deepen his relationship with Baochai. So, after leisurely finishing the tea that Baoqin had personally brewed, he took Aqi and Aqin down the mountain.

Along the way, Jia Lian was lost in thought, but when he reached the vicinity of Xiaoxiang Pavilion, he subconsciously stopped. However, his thoughts had not yet returned, so he stood there for a long time without moving.

Seeing this, Aqin leaned closer to Jia Lian and asked, "What are you thinking about, Master? You seem so engrossed."

Jia Lian touched her smooth, pretty face and asked, "What time is it?"

"It's past midnight."

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian said, "I drank too much today and my mind is not clear, so please allow me to be lazy for a while longer."

Are you two staying inside tonight, or going back outside?

Although Aqin was a little disappointed, she also felt it was only natural.

In fact, she had long felt that with Jia Lian's current status, there was no need for him to practice martial arts and wield weapons every day.

The only advantage is that, including the sisters in the east wing, Jia Lian only has three women.

Her elder sister was a cool and aloof woman who had no idea what it meant to compete for favor. Hu Yuanyao stayed in the study all day long and rarely dared to compete with the two sisters. Therefore, when Jia Lian was practicing martial arts outside and got tired, only she would serve him.

If Jia Lian, who was serving him, became interested, he could even take the opportunity to make love to him.

Looking back at her sister, Aqin sighed, "Forget it, let's go back over there. That way, both we and Second Madam Lian will feel more at ease."

Hearing this, Jia Lian smiled. Feng Jie, with her fearless nature, was incredibly skilled at managing people.

She would try to control everyone around Jia Lian, whether male or female.

She was only polite to Aqi and her sister. Jia Lian could tell that she was genuinely a little intimidated by the two sisters.

As women from the grasslands, Aqi and Aqin had no connections in the capital, and everything they had depended on Jia Lian. As Jia Lian's first wife, Feng Jie was someone they dared not offend.

Therefore, although Sister Feng arranged rooms for the sisters in the courtyard, in the west wing room opposite Ping'er's east wing room, this can be regarded as an acknowledgment of their status.

However, the Aqin sisters rarely stayed at the house. At most, they would stay overnight at Jia Lian's house if they stayed late.

There was no other reason than that neither Jia Lian nor his wives and maids felt comfortable being with him.

Jia Lian didn't force them. He touched each of the two sisters' faces before turning and walking towards Xiaoxiang Pavilion.