Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

The waterways in the Grand View Garden are man-made, winding and meandering.

The water source is introduced from the outer river through the Qinfang Gate in the northeast corner, flows through various parts of the garden, and finally converges at Yihong Courtyard, flowing out from under the wall.

The main road runs from Qinfang Gate along the main building, "Shengqin Villa," around to the northwest corner, "Liaoting Huayu," then turns sharply downwards and flows all the way to Xiaoxiang Pavilion in the south.

This is also why Xiaoxiang Pavilion was the first stop when Yuan Chun visited her family.

Board a boat at the clear water pool next to Xiaoxiang Pavilion, where Dicui Pavilion is located, and go upstream against the current; you can take in almost all the scenery in the Grand View Garden.

A small awning boat cuts through the clear water, gliding among the lotus and water plants.

Ying'er stood at the bow of the boat, completely ignoring the sunlight and the slightly scorching wind that brushed against the water's surface, and began to row the boat forward with her slender arms.

She still had a happy smile on her face.

Zijuan, who was standing nearby, advised, "Slow down, be careful not to fall."

"I understand, Sister Zijuan."

Zijuan shook her head helplessly. Holding the oar, she had no choice but to row faster to prevent the bow of the boat from veering into the depths of the lotus blossoms.

Inside the cabin, Jia Lian looked at Daiyu, who was reclining on the railing, her chin resting on her hand, staring intently at the water, seemingly lost in thought. He reached out and patted her shoulder.

Daiyu frowned and turned away, her gaze unpleasant.

Baochai, who was opposite, noticed the situation and looked over as well.

Jia Lian smiled and pointed outside the cabin. Seeing that the two women looked puzzled, he laughed and asked, "Did you notice?"

"What?"

The two girls, Daiyu and Baochai, were even more puzzled. Daiyu, in particular, wore her impatience on her face.

She had been coaxed and coerced by Jia Lian into coming out to row the boat, and she still remembered how Jia Lian and Baochai had bullied her earlier.

Jia Lian sat up straight and said in a serious tone, "Haven't you noticed that the personalities of these two maids, Zijuan and Ying'er, are quite similar to those of you two masters?"

"What are you saying!"

Daiyu retorted almost without thinking.

How is Zijuan, that brat, like her? She has to control everything she does, and she nags all day long, just like a nagging old woman. She has none of the carefree and unrestrained spirit that I possess.

Baochai seemed to understand something, but smiled without saying a word.

Sure enough, Jia Lian analyzed, "Look at these two maids, Zijuan and Ying'er. One is mature and steady, the other is lively and adorable. One is thoughtful and thoughtful, yet calm amidst activity, while the other is natural and unpretentious, with movement hidden beneath her calmness. Aren't they just a perfect match for your personalities?"

Perhaps everyone's judgment of themselves is not always accurate, which is why Daiyu frowned for a long time before she realized what Jia Lian meant.

It wasn't that their maids resembled them, but rather that their maids were similar to each other.

Her brows furrowed even deeper in an instant. She was trying to figure out which of the two maids Jia Lian had described, which was good and which was bad, in an attempt to determine whether Jia Lian harbored any "goodwill" towards her.

She was determined that once she discovered that Jia Lian was making veiled criticisms or implying that she was inferior to Baochai, she would immediately settle both old and new scores.

Baochai didn't think that much about it; she just thought about what Jia Lian said and realized that it actually made some sense.

To be honest, Ying'er's true nature is indeed more like Lin's. It's just that she doesn't show it much when she's with her own family, and only fully reveals it when she's in front of outsiders.

As for Zijuan...

Baochai couldn't help but look at the maid that Grandmother Jia had specially placed beside Daiyu to take care of, and then nodded secretly, thinking that this maid was indeed a good one.

Seeing that the two women roughly understood his meaning, Jia Lian immediately emphasized and laughed, "Right? That's why I said you two don't need to hold too many grudges against each other. Actually, you haven't even realized that you like each other..."

Seeing the ambiguity in Jia Lian's words, Daiyu spat out before he could finish, "Pah! What nonsense are you spouting! Who...?"

Daiyu glanced at Baochai with a somewhat unnatural expression, too embarrassed to continue.

"I'm not talking nonsense. I'm clearly stating the facts and reasoning."

Jia Lian smiled and said, "Look at you, one of you comes from a prominent family in Jinling, a century-old imperial merchant family, and the other has ancestors who were marquises for four generations. Neither of you are ordinary young ladies."

Not to mention, she probably had a dozen or even dozens of maids around her, right?

Of all those maids of different kinds and with different personalities, you chose Zijuan and Ying'er as your most trusted confidantes.

To be fair, isn't this enough to illustrate your respective preferences?

Therefore, it is not a coincidence that your daughters resemble each other, but rather the inevitable result of your respective choices.

Therefore, I say that you like each other's personalities; this is not a conjecture, but a fact that is undeniable, and there's no use denying it.

As Jia Lian spoke, his smile widened and his expression grew more confident; he was practically ready to touch his non-existent beard.

Even the two maids outside the cabin were drawn to Jia Lian's voice, finding his words both enigmatic and intriguing.

The two maids only heard half of it, so they were confused, but the two young ladies inside the cabin heard it clearly and understood it perfectly.

While feeling embarrassed, they all glared at Jia Lian with annoyance.

At the same time, a doubt arose in my mind: Could it really be as he said?

After all, the reason why Zijuan and Ying'er were able to gain their trust and become their maids who often followed them was indeed not due to anyone's influence, but rather their own voluntary actions.

With this suspicion in mind, Daiyu couldn't help but think back to all the maids in Xiaoxiang Pavilion. Did she prefer someone with a personality like Zijuan or someone with a personality like Ying'er?

The more I thought about it, the more doubtful I became about reality: Could it be that I really don't dislike her?

Baochai, on the other hand, was much calmer.

She knew from the beginning that she didn't dislike Daiyu, and even liked her a little, since the other person could live the life she dreamed of.

But her focus wasn't on that; it was on Jia Lian.

It's obvious what Jia Lian's purpose was in saying those words. She was just surprised by Jia Lian's keen observation, that he could eliminate the conflict and estrangement between her and Daiyu through such a small detail.

With such worldly wisdom, it's no wonder that everything he does is so easy and effortless, as if divinely aided.

Seeing that both women had thoughtful expressions, clearly having taken his words to heart, Jia Lian took the opportunity to hold Daiyu's small hand and gestured to Baochai.

Because the boat is small, even if she were sitting opposite him, he could still grab it if Baochai reached out.

Baochai hesitated for a moment, then thought that following Jia Lian's lead was a good idea.

She knew she would be dealing with Daiyu frequently in the future, and she didn't want to be constantly being verbally attacked by this sharp-tongued girl.

So he handed his hand to Jia Lian.

Jia Lian clasped the two women's soft, white hands together and said with deep affection, "You two are my favorite people. I would feel heartbroken if either of you were wronged."

So promise me, no matter how our identities change in the future, you must treat each other like sisters, just like you did back in the garden.

Jia Lian didn't say much. Both of them were exceptionally intelligent and kind-hearted maids.

In that case, we'll stop here.

In fact, Jia Lian wasn't too worried about the two of them; it was just a matter of one making a sarcastic remark to the other, and the other snapping back...

As long as he's there, it's no big deal.

Faced with Jia Lian's blunt instructions, both Daiyu and Baochai felt somewhat embarrassed.

Baochai, considering herself the elder sister, nodded and gave a resounding "Mmm" in response.

Daiyu, however, couldn't bring herself to do it.

She snorted and pulled her hand away, saying, "Who would believe your nonsense? You may say this in front of me and Sister Bao, but when you turn around and see other women, you'll probably say something completely different."

Without even glancing at Jia Lian's expression, she stood up and sat down next to Baochai, resting one hand on Baochai's shoulder, and said in a coquettish voice, "So, Sister Bao, let's ignore this smooth-talking person. It's more worthwhile to take a good look at these lotus flowers and water lilies."

Baochai glanced at Daiyu's delicate and charming face, thinking that although the girl was impolite, she had responded to Jia Lian with her actions. She felt both fondness and secret envy.

I admire Daiyu's straightforwardness and envy her natural ease in front of Jia Lian.

This is something she feels she cannot do.

After thinking for a moment, she released Daiyu's sway and stood up under Daiyu's strange gaze.

"Lin girl, this is the last time I'll call you that."

I know that you still harbor resentment about what happened between me and my second brother Lian.

We are sisters who live together in the same garden day and night, and I will not hide my feelings from you.

A hero like Lian Erge is a rare find, both in ancient and modern times.

It is Baochai's good fortune to have such an opportunity to follow him.

At the same time, I also know that you have been by Lian Er Gege's side since you were a child, and the depth of your feelings for him is incomparable to that of others.

I never intended to compete with you.

Besides, you and Brother Lian got engaged first, and I got engaged later. According to the rules, I should call you "elder sister".

If you, elder sister, do not mind and are willing to accept me as your younger sister, Baochai will be extremely grateful.

"Elder sister, please accept my bow."

As Baochai spoke, she bent down and knelt down in front of Daiyu.

Jia Lian was startled and instinctively reached out to help.

But seeing Baochai's solemn expression, he seemed to remember something and silently sat back down.

Daiyu was stunned when Baochai suddenly made her statement; she never expected Baochai to pull this stunt.

Although Baochai's words were somewhat loose that day at Tianxiang Tower, as if she meant to call her "elder sister".

It was from that moment on that she stopped being so resistant to Baochai, this sudden rival in love.

But she never imagined that Baochai, who couldn't even bring herself to call someone "elder sister" that day, would suddenly do something like this today.

To be fair, she admired Baochai's decisiveness and ability to adapt to changing circumstances.

They were both intelligent people, so of course she knew why Baochai did what she did.

All I wanted to do was eliminate her hostility.

Just as she had expressed her stance to Sister Feng back then.

However, Feng Jie had always called her "elder sister," and she couldn't quite imagine what Baochai's feelings were when she changed her address to "elder sister."

Without giving herself much time to think, Daiyu immediately helped Baochai up, saying with a hint of reproach, "Sister Bao, what are you doing? You're making everyone feel quite embarrassed..."

Daiyu is ultimately pure-hearted. Although she has realized that Baochai's statement today is very important to her, she still doesn't want to spend too much time scheming.

Even as she met Baochai's earnest and sincere gaze, she suddenly made a decision in her heart.

She pulled Baochai down to sit and laughed, "Why bother with that guy when we have a relationship? I've been calling you 'sister' for so many years, it feels weird to suddenly ask me to change how I address you, and I'm not used to it!"

In my opinion, we are all sisters who spend every day together, so we shouldn't follow those complicated formalities.

From now on, I'll still call you "older sister," and you can still call me "younger sister."

Baochai said, "How can this be? A country has its laws, and a family has its rules; these cannot be disregarded..."

"Oh dear, Sister Bao, why are you just like those annoying old scholars! If you're going to be like this, then we should have less contact with each other in the future, otherwise I'm afraid I might suddenly break some rule and upset you."

It took Baochai a lot of effort to make up her mind to distinguish between primary and secondary matters with Daiyu in order to avoid unnecessary conflicts in the future.

From Jia Lian's attitude, she could tell that he really didn't want her to have any disagreements with Daiyu.

She didn't want to waste too much energy on competing with Daiyu for his affections. Since she was determined to follow Jia Lian, she wanted to gain his approval as soon as possible, integrate into his circle, and become his capable wife.

As for the empty titles within the inner quarters, she didn't care much.

But Daiyu responded in this way.

Faced with Daiyu's words, which were playful yet sincere, she hesitated for a long time before finally nodding.

Daiyu finally breathed a sigh of relief, glanced at Jia Lian who was smiling beside her, and then glared at him silently.

This guy was clearly afraid of upsetting his sister Baochai; she saw his subconscious action just now!

The two maids outside the cabin naturally saw what was happening inside.

Ying'er had a beaming smile on her face. The servants of the Rongguo Mansion could recount countless instances of how much Jia Lian adored Daiyu, evidence of which are impossible to count.

She was also afraid that her daughter would not gain any advantage or even suffer losses if she became enemies with Daiyu.

Now that things are going well, the young lady and Miss Lin have become completely honest with each other, and she can now wait peacefully to become the Second Master's concubine.

Zijuan, however, felt somewhat regretful:

My silly girl, how could you let such a good opportunity slip by? I'm afraid you'll never be able to reclaim the title of "older sister" again...

Regardless of what the girls were thinking, Jia Lian was pleased with the scene unfolding before him.

In fact, this was a problem he had thought about but hadn't figured out how to solve.

Baochai was two or three years older than Daiyu, and they spent every day together. Baochai was always referred to as "Sister Bao" by the other sisters in the garden.

Unfortunately, Daiyu was engaged before Baochai, so it was really difficult for Jia Lian to force a marriage arrangement between the two of them in the future.

Regardless of whose side he favors, it's possible for the other party to feel wronged.

Now, things are much better. Baochai and Daiyu have each compromised and agreed to maintain their original relationship.

He didn't get involved, and neither of them harbored any resentment. Nothing could be more perfect than this.