Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Chapter 44 1 Autumn apart feels like a day has passed

Back in his own courtyard, Jia Lian asked the old women outside to help Xiangling tidy up the west wing, and then he asked someone to boil water.

The maid replied, "Second Mistress knew that Second Master would definitely want to take a bath after returning, so she had hot water prepared for him early this morning."

Jia Lian nodded upon hearing this. Indeed, Feng Lazi wasn't all bad; her strengths were quite obvious as well.

So he had some clothes prepared and went to the bathroom to take a bath.

When Wang Xifeng returned with Ping'er, she heard Jia Lian taking a bath and hurriedly asked, "Who is serving him inside?"

"Reporting to Second Madam, no one is here. After the hot water was prepared, Second Master called us all out."

Wang Xifeng then asked, "What about the maid he brought back?"

The young maid gestured with her chin towards Wang Xifeng's back, saying, "Over there."

Wang Xifeng turned around and, sure enough, saw a maid standing blankly in the corridor outside the west wing.

Wang Xifeng smiled and beckoned, "Come here."

Xiangling, a newcomer, couldn't sit still in her room. Upon hearing Wang Xifeng's voice, she quickly came out to see what was happening.

When Wang Xifeng called her, she obediently stepped forward, bowed, and greeted her.

Wang Xifeng had already heard about Xiangling's background, and since it was a detailed account, she didn't doubt it.

She had only a slight doubt, so she asked kindly, "Now that you've become our maid, why don't you go in and serve your second master when he takes a bath?"

Xiangling honestly replied, "Second Master wouldn't allow it. When we were on the boat, Aunt Zhou and the others also told me to serve Second Master, but Second Master thought I was stupid and kicked me out."

Wang Xifeng raised an eyebrow, instinctively wanting to ask, "So, your Second Master hasn't touched you yet?"

Seeing Xiangling's naive and honest appearance, he was too embarrassed to ask her that question and kept it to himself.

So he laughed and said, "Since he thinks you're stupid, I don't. You can follow me from now on, it'll be much better."

How could Xiangling dare to disobey Wang Xifeng's wishes? She could only agree.

Wang Xifeng called Xiangling into the main room, and while she and Ping'er and the others sorted and sorted the things Jia Lian had brought back, she asked Xiangling about her past.

Wang Xifeng was such a shrewd person that she could tell at a glance whether Xiangling was lying to her.

After asking a few more questions, he thoroughly understood Xiangling's background. For a moment, he put aside all his other schemes and just thought to himself that if he could have such a girl under his control, it wouldn't be a bad thing.

After sorting through all the things Jia Lian had brought back, Wang Xifeng felt that Jia Lian was spending money recklessly, buying a lot of useful and useless things. Just then, she saw Jia Lian return after taking a bath.

"I gave you five hundred taels of silver, and you bought all of this stuff?"

Jia Lian knew Wang Xifeng would say this; she was a woman who loved and cherished money. He had been tricked out of five hundred taels of silver by her last time, and he had probably held a grudge for a long time.

Without saying a word, he went inside, rummaged around, and pulled out an exquisite box. He opened it and took out a glittering golden phoenix hairpin.

Upon seeing this thing, the three women in the room couldn't help but widen their eyes.

No woman could resist such a large and beautifully crafted hairpin.

Wang Xifeng had already found it before, but she didn't know who Jia Lian was giving it to. She guessed it would probably be given to her, but of course she wouldn't touch it until Jia Lian said so.

Now that Jia Lian had taken the initiative to bring it up, his heart immediately started pounding.

That heartless man! It's been so long since I've given her something this expensive!

But then Jia Lian swept his gaze across her face, and just as her face turned red, he said, "Ping'er..."

Wang Xifeng's flushed face hadn't even faded when she was called "Ping'er," which ignited her anger to the point of being nine-tenths.

Ping'er could easily see that Jia Lian was deliberately teasing Wang Xifeng, so she snorted, lifted the curtain, and went out.

Jia Lian then smiled, walked over to the fuming Wang Xifeng, and reached out to insert the hairpin behind her head.

Seeing Wang Xifeng reach out to steady him, he asked, "Is this alright?"

"Go~"

In front of Xiangling, Wang Xifeng couldn't reveal her feelings, and only asked, "Where did you get so much money? I heard you spent over a thousand taels just on those wines?"

Jia Lian smiled but remained silent.

This trip has always been reimbursed with public funds. He won't take the Lin family's money, so why can't he take the Jia family's?

With the money Wang Xifeng gave him, and the red envelope Lin Ruhai gave him before he left, he was now even wealthier than before he went to Jiangnan.

But you can't tell this to this woman, otherwise not only will you not be able to get any more money from her, she might also want to squeeze every last penny out of him to prevent him from going out and fooling around.

"Hmph, I know that even if you don't tell me."

When Jia Lian remained silent, Wang Xifeng let out a soft hum.

As someone who also managed the household, how could she not understand the situation? She had heard from the servants that Jia Lian hadn't been idle on this trip. Not only had he helped with the Lin family's funeral arrangements, but he had also visited all the relatives in Nanjing. She simply couldn't believe that he hadn't profited from it.

However, she hadn't heard anything about Jia Lian's philandering during this trip, and with the fresh phoenix hairpin still adorning her head, she was somewhat satisfied with Jia Lian. She was a discerning person; this hairpin alone was worth at least two hundred taels of silver, and Jia Lian's willingness to spend that money on her proved he still cared for her.

So he stopped nagging and turned back to continue counting the items.

Jia Lian walked up to her and secretly sized up Feng La Zi, who was bending over and picking things. Because of her posture, she displayed her ample breasts and hips and her slender waist. The faint fragrance emanating from her hair and neck made it difficult for Jia Lian to control himself.

"Stop fooling around..."

Noticing Jia Lian reaching out to touch her lips, Wang Xifeng knew perfectly well what was going on, but her womanly modesty made her push away Jia Lian's groping hand, scold him playfully, and pretend to be seriously sorting things out for distribution.

Jia Lian smiled, looked up and saw Xiang Ling still standing blankly at the door, so he gave her a wink.

Xiangling was simply not used to the rules of a large family, but she was still good at reading people's expressions. She immediately turned around and left after receiving the message.

So Jia Lian grabbed Wang Xifeng's arm and started to attack. He had been holding back for a long time since they parted three months ago, so how could he let her off so easily now?

Wang Xifeng quickly grabbed the edge of the table with both hands to prevent being pushed over, and protested, "Stop it, I haven't taken a bath yet..."

Jia Lian was not to be fooled. He could tell from the feeling of her clean hair, which still carried a faint scent of soap, that the woman had probably washed it beforehand. In other words, the beauty had made preparations long ago.

"Stop talking nonsense. I told you to be wary of me day and night. Today I'm going to teach you a lesson you won't forget."

"I have something to do later, and the old lady is waiting for me, so I'll do it tonight... um~"

Jia Lian said nothing more. He ran his hands over Wang Xifeng's entire body, and then indulged his verbal desires. Seeing that he couldn't actually lay her down, he let her half-support herself and reached out to remove her handkerchief and other belongings...

Outside, Ping'er heard rustling sounds inside, and occasionally her own mistress's humming. How could she not know what the two of them were doing inside?

Seeing that the new maid Xiangling was still listening with her ears perked up, as if she were very curious, she said, "You stay here and keep watch, don't let anyone in. I'll go get a basin of hot water."

After saying that, Ping'er left. At this moment, if she didn't find something to do, she really felt like she was going to get sick.