Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

After the young ladies had all left, Qingwen saw Jia Lian resting on a recliner in the outer room, so she went up to him and said, "Second Master, you smell of alcohol. Why don't you take a bath before you sleep?"

"Hmm~" Jia Lian mumbled, turning over and ignoring her.

Seeing this, Qingwen pouted slightly, then got up and said a few words to Xiangling before coming back. She sat down on the edge of the recliner and gently massaged Jia Lian's shoulders and arms.

Whether it was the alluring fragrance emanating from her or the comforting massage from her small hands, Jia Lian, who had been feeling drowsy from the alcohol, gradually sobered up.

He held Qingwen's small hand and secretly caressed it for a while. Suddenly, he pulled her inward and wrapped her serpentine and graceful body inside the recliner. He used his large body and limbs to tightly restrain her, fully absorbing the soft and fragrant scent of the young girl's body.

Qingwen let out a symbolic cry and lightly punched Jia Lian twice before obediently nestling in his arms, muttering sweetly, "Second Master, if you do this again and the maids come in and see, they'll say behind my back that I'm seductive and trying to seduce you..."

Jia Lian, with his eyes closed and a contented expression, leaned even closer to the beautiful woman's head upon hearing this, laughing nonchalantly, "You've always been alluring and seductive. Even I, your second master, am bewitched by you. I wish I could keep you close at hand and bully and torment you all the time..."

Qingwen slapped Jia Lian twice more in annoyance, then suddenly said, "Second Master only says that, but in reality, he doesn't care about her anymore."

"Who said that?"

"Hmph, it goes without saying. Second Master is quite something now. He's even managed to get his hands on Miss Bao. How could insignificant little maids like me and Xiangling possibly catch his eye?"

Jia Lian suddenly opened his eyes and looked down at the girl in his arms.

Noticing that although her expression was still radiant and charming, it carried a hint of nervousness, Jia Lian suddenly realized:

With Baochai's arrival, the women around him, more or less, felt a sense of crisis, not just Fengjie and Daiyu.

However, having dealt with both Feng Jie and Daiyu, he naturally had no problem handling the petty schemes of a little maid like Qingwen.

He rolled over and pinned Qingwen beneath him, looking down at her with a smile, and asked, "What's wrong? Even you're jealous?"

"No way, how could I possibly be jealous of Miss Bao..."

Qingwen was very nervous, turning her face away and not daring to meet Jia Lian's gaze.

Jia Lian pinched her cheek with one hand, forcing her to look at him, and then laughed, "Well, you dare to lie to me now. Looks like I'll have to teach you a lesson."

As he spoke, Jia Lian grabbed Qingwen's collar with one hand and yanked it hard, causing her already thin and light silk robe to fall loosely.

Having been influenced by Jia Lian for a long time, Qingwen naturally understood what Jia Lian wanted to do. Therefore, she quickly protected her clothes and said in a panic, "No, Second Master can't be here. If Second Mistress sees us, she will be unhappy again..."

Jia Lian remained noncommittal to Qingwen's words, and upon seeing her protective clothing, he turned his attention to her red silk trousers.

Qingwen naturally refused and resisted fiercely.

"Don't move! It's been so long since I've shown my little Qingwen any love. She's actually starting to doubt her own charm. It's my fault as the Second Master. Now I'll make it up to her."

Jia Lian wasn't just talking nonsense. Since Qingwen came of age, theoretically, he had only ever really taken matters into his own hands with this girl a handful of times.

It wasn't that Qingwen wasn't attractive enough to him; rather, this girl was utterly useless, even inferior to Xiangling. On the night of her coming-of-age ceremony, she cried her eyes out, looking incredibly pitiful.

Hearing Jia Lian's words, Qingwen's eyes flashed with a hint of resentment. Longing to be pampered herself, she finally gave up resisting, clutching Jia Lian's sleeve, her face flushed as she pleaded, "Then, be gentle..."

Jia Lian smiled slightly and said "okay".

Outside, Xiangling arranged for the maids and wives to prepare Jia Lian's bathing needs before returning to the main room.

She was a person who was less thoughtful than others. Although she had faintly heard some "ee-yah-yah" sounds before entering the room, she assumed it was Jia Lian and Qingwen playing around as usual, so she went straight in.

Then she saw the real situation on the recliner and was immediately at a loss.

It turned out that the Second Master was kneeling on the recliner, gently pushing Qingwen, who was like a soft pest.

The pair of slender, straight legs that Jia Lian held in his arms were dazzlingly white and so beautiful that she envied them.

She lowered her head and weakly replied, "Second Master, the hot water is ready. You can... take a bath now..."

Perhaps because Qingwen was particularly nervous in the main room, she kept an eye on the door while lying on the soft chair, so she noticed Xiangling as soon as she entered.

She tried to nudge Jia Lian to warn him, but he ignored her. Helpless, she could only cover her mouth.

Jia Lian certainly noticed that Xiangling had come in, but in other words, even if Fengjie had come in, he wouldn't have cared too much, let alone Xiangling, who was often seen with Qingwen!

However, having just publicly revealed his relationship with Baochai today, he was thinking of taking a bath and then going to Hengwu Garden, so he didn't want to waste too much time.

Looking down at Qingwen, whose forehead was covered in sweat and whose face was as red as a peach blossom, he had a sudden thought. With one hand, he reached out and easily lifted Qingwen up by her slender waist. Then he got up and jumped to the ground.

Qingwen screamed and clung to Jia Lian like an octopus.

Seeing Jia Lian heading straight for the door without even putting on his shoes, she, knowing his temperament well, was terrified and quickly patted his back: "No! If outsiders see this, how can I face anyone and live on..."

Qingwen was very nervous.

Although Jia Lian and Feng Jie's courtyard wasn't very big, it had quite a few servants, young and old.

Sensing Qingwen's sudden tension, Jia Lian realized that this might be too unrestrained.

Although there were no men serving in this courtyard, there were quite a few maids, servants, and wives. It would indeed be inappropriate for them to see Qingwen's body and make comments about it.

With a quick glance, he grabbed one of his own cloaks hanging in the corner, draped it over himself with a flick of his wrist, and also covered Qingwen's entire body.

"Second Master, this won't do! This is too absurd, people will laugh at us..."

As Jia Lian was about to walk out of the main gate, Qingwen felt ashamed and indignant.

However, Jia Lian replied matter-of-factly, "You are my woman, and this is my courtyard. Who would laugh at me? Who would dare to laugh at me?"

Qingwen was speechless, finally realizing that the large cloak completely covered her. Thus, even if someone passed by on their way to the bathhouse, they would only see her being held in Jia Lian's arms, without seeing any details inside.

Although it is still absurd and shameful, it is not as unacceptable as it was before.

Moreover, from another perspective, seeing the maids and servants see her being carried into the bath room by Jia Lian also lets them know that Aunt Qingwen is still Jia Lian's most favored little slave girl, with a unique position that no other woman can replace!

This might not be a bad thing for her.

So she slowly relaxed and quietly rested her head on Jia Lian's shoulder.

……

While Jia Lian was enjoying his newfound success and indulging in outrageous acts at home, the Mei family in Juxianfang was in dire straits.

Because their son was involved in the Crown Prince's case, the entire Mei family lived in fear, lest they follow in the footsteps of those "Crown Prince's faction."

Mei Hanlin was very fortunate that when the Crown Prince extended an olive branch to him, he did not directly serve him, but only tacitly allowed his son to visit the Crown Prince's residence often.

He had even prepared himself to sacrifice Mei Qi should the Emperor decide to purge the Crown Prince's faction, even if Mei Qi was the most outstanding seed of the next generation of his Mei family, should the Emperor decide to put righteousness before family.

As long as the Mei family can be saved, that's all that matters.

Unexpectedly, as things unfolded, he discovered that things weren't quite as they seemed.

Those who were truly executed and had their homes confiscated were not the remnants of the Crown Prince's faction, but clearly former officials of the previous dynasty!

Only then did he, like many others, realize that this so-called Crown Prince's faction consisted of those who had opposed Emperor Ningkang.

Feeling much more at ease, she then dared to try to exonerate her son.

Finally, his efforts paid off, and the Northern Garrison Commander agreed to release him after receiving bribes.

Looking at his wife beside him, who was chattering incessantly, ordering the servants to change Mei Qiteng's courtyard and house, saying that everything must be replaced after the calamity, to symbolize rebirth after the disaster, he said unhappily: "Why do this! Throughout history, who has not experienced hardships in order to achieve great things?"

He has survived this ordeal unscathed, and he will surely achieve great things in the future.

"But you spoil him so much, you've ruined our perfectly good son, he has no masculinity left!"

Mrs. Mei showed no resentment despite being reprimanded. After saying a few flattering words, she changed the subject, saying, "Since Master says that Qi'er will surely achieve great things in the future, what about Qi'er's marriage..."

That Mrs. Xue is really not easy to deal with. The other day when I went to the Rongguo Mansion, she didn't give me a single kind look.

Therefore, it can be inferred that the daughters raised by the Xue family must not be any better.

Besides, their family has even lost their jobs in the palace and is now just an ordinary merchant family. My lord, don't you think this marriage should be called off and we should find Qi'er a more suitable match?

Upon hearing this, Mei Hanlin fell silent.

Actually, he had a good relationship with the second master of the Xue family. He also thought that the second master of the Xue family was a capable person. Therefore, the two hit it off and worked together to arrange this marriage.

Who knew that the second master of the Xue family would die young.

Seeing that the Xue family had no successor and that his own son had passed the imperial examination, he began to regret his decision.

However, breaking off a marriage agreement was a very disgraceful thing, and he was afraid that if word got out, it would damage his reputation. Therefore, he hesitated and said, "We'll talk about this later..."

"master……"

Before Madam Mei could offer further advice, the steward rushed in with a report: "Master, something terrible has happened! The Northern Garrison Command just sent someone to say that our eldest son has been accused of offering a plan to the Crown Prince on the day of his rebellion. Now the Northern Garrison Command has removed the eldest son's name from the release list and withdrawn all the files, saying they will be re-examined..."

Upon hearing this, Mr. and Mrs. Mei were greatly alarmed. Mrs. Mei exclaimed repeatedly, "What should we do, sir? Does this mean Qi'er won't be coming back?"

Mei Hanlin then asked, "Could you find out which official from the Northern Garrison Command sent the message?"

"They said they were under the command of Commander Zhang Jian..."

Mei Hanlin was puzzled. Zhang Jian was one of the chief officials of the Northern Garrison Command. He had met him before when he was trying to save his son, and he felt that Zhang Jian was quite easy to talk to. There was no reason for him to deliberately make things difficult for the Mei family.

Moreover, upon closer reflection, aside from giving the other party some benefits, he didn't have much of a relationship with this Zhang Qianshi. If there were any changes in his son's situation, there would be no need for the other party to send someone to inform him so late at night.

Is the other party so particular that they would take full responsibility for the Mei family after receiving some benefits?

Intuition told Mei Hanlin that this matter was not so simple.

Seeing his wife pacing anxiously beside him, he scolded, "Alright, what are you crying for? Will crying save Qi'er? Since Lord Zhang has specially sent someone to deliver this message, it shows that he has goodwill towards my Mei family."

"Prepare a generous gift immediately; I need to personally visit the Northern Garrison Command to inquire about the situation."

With his son's life at stake, Mei Hanlin disregarded the late hour and was eager to find out what was going on.

……