Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Chapter 84 Advance Arrangements

Madam You stared blankly at the open door for a moment.

Jia Lian is gone just like that? It seems he really is gone.

Madam You blushed, remembering what Jia Lian had just said.

He said she was still as charming as ever...

What You Shi cared about most was this sentence. It seemed that Jia Lian's acknowledgment of her charm brought her more pleasure than actually having an affair with Jia Lian.

In fact, her ambiguous relationship with Jia Lian was driven more by spiritual desire than physical lust.

She found it very difficult to find herself in her marital relationship with Jia Zhen.

Only when she was flirting with her uncle Jia Lian could she feel that she was indeed the eldest daughter-in-law of the fourth generation of the Jia family, a living, breathing woman.

Therefore, she couldn't help but want to flirt with Jia Lian, yet she didn't want to truly fall for him.

It seems that Jia Lian has helped resolve this inner conflict.

Because she felt respect from Jia Lian, an unprecedented and heart-stirring respect.

It turns out that Jia Lian had lost interest in her because he was afraid of harming her, so he was restraining himself.

In that instant, she felt that the person in front of her was no longer the philandering and womanizing uncle, but clearly a man of integrity and worthy of respect.

Unspoken emotions surged within Madam You; she knew that this time, she was truly moved.

After quickly straightening her clothes, Madam You wiped the dampness from her forehead that had been dried by the wind. Feeling that Jia Lian should be far away by now, she gracefully walked out of the room.

……

Jia Lian originally had no intention of doing anything to You Shi, after all, he wasn't the one who was originally having an affair with You Shi.

But he suddenly felt that it wasn't so bad to take You Shi as a concubine, and in fact, You Shi's status was very helpful to him.

If he could win over Lady You, it would be entirely beneficial for him to control the Jia family.

Take the Qin family matter for example; it's clear that You family had a much easier time maneuvering with them.

Therefore, under the conditions that Lady You had specially created, he decided to follow his heart, which was just as well, and he wouldn't have to disappoint the beauty's heart.

However, as he said, he does not yet have the ability to contend with Jia Zhen.

If Jia Zhen knew that You Shi was unfaithful to him, he might not do anything to himself, but he would certainly be able to easily deal with You Shi.

With this in mind, he refrained from doing anything to Lady You for the time being.

You must plan carefully before you act, and try your best not to put yourself in a passive situation. Otherwise, no matter how capable you are, you are just a reckless fool.

Upon entering Huifang Garden, just as I was wondering where Sister Feng and the others were playing, I saw Wang Xifeng leading two maids coming from the hillside.

Upon seeing him, he immediately walked over quickly.

"Wasn't it Grandpa Zhen who invited you for drinks? How did you get in here?"

"Brother Zhen got drunk and is resting. I heard that the flowers in the garden are in full bloom, so I'm going to come in and take a look."

"I see." As Wang Xifeng spoke, she unconsciously leaned closer to Jia Lian, and immediately asked suspiciously, "You smell like a vixen. Tell me, which little devils in their mansion have bewitched you this time?"

As soon as Jia Lian saw Wang Xifeng's shrewd expression, he knew that she must have smelled the rouge and powder on him.

Madam You's was alright, it was relatively light. The two maids from before had a strong scent of perfume on them, and they had been rubbing against him for a long time, so it was hard for them not to leave their scent.

If it were the Jia Lian of the past, facing Wang Xifeng's scrutiny at this moment, he might not have known how to explain and could only evade the question.

However, he had already figured out the effective tactics to deal with Wang Xifeng.

With a wicked smile, he pulled Wang Xifeng into his arms in front of the two maids behind him and kissed her rosy lips.

"laugh……"

The two maids behind them had never seen such a spectacle before, and they immediately blushed and turned away, not daring to look closely.

Wang Xifeng's struggles and coquettishness were in vain. Jia Lian pressed down on Wang Xifeng's head, and only when he felt that it had worked did he lift his head, and then continued to hold her, making sure that she could feel his unwavering determination even through the thick clothes!

"What's rightfully yours can't be taken away by that vixen. If you don't believe me, shall we find a place to practice?"

"A deathly sight..."

Wang Xifeng blushed deeply. She felt increasingly overwhelmed by Jia Lian's boldness.

At the same time, I was also quite surprised, realizing that I really hadn't done anything wrong before!

Of course she knew that Jia Zhen and Jia Lian spent most of their time together indulging in debauchery, but she couldn't stop them. She couldn't very well stop Jia Lian from associating with Jia Zhen, the clan head and elder brother, could she?

Seeing that Madam You was approaching from the road below the mountain, she quickly patted Jia Lian, "Sister-in-law You is here! Let go, don't let her laugh at us!"

Jia Lian then released her.

Then, Madam You casually walked over and teased, "Oh, you two aren't ashamed at all, hugging in front of the maids? You must be very affectionate, it's enviable."

"Get lost, what hug or not? His eyes were just blinded by sand, I was just blowing it out for him. You're the one who's seeing things, and you're making fun of me."

Wang Xifeng was adept at responding to people on the spot. She casually replied, "I was just looking for you. Brother Bao and the others went fishing at Huifang Bridge over there and suddenly decided to grill some fish to eat. The old lady sent me to ask you for two stoves and an iron rack, etc., to give to them to play with."

Upon hearing this, Madam You laughed and said, "That's easy, leave it to me. The old lady doesn't care about you, you're pregnant, it's not like you have to go through all this trouble to run errands."

As Madam You spoke, she glanced at Jia Lian.

"It's only been a month, how could he have become so spoiled?" Wang Xifeng just smiled. Actually, she had taken the initiative to come out, intending to go to the front to check what Jia Lian was doing... At this moment, she couldn't help but glance at Jia Lian with a little guilt.

Jia Lian had told her to take care of her health and to delegate household management duties to others whenever possible…

Jia Lian didn't say anything. After You Shi left, he tapped Wang Xifeng on the forehead.

Wang Xifeng glared angrily at Jia Lian. For so many years, she was the only one who had ever hit anyone; who dared to hit her?

"If you glare at me again, I'll tell my wife that you're no longer allowed to handle anything at home. You can just stay home and rest during your pregnancy. Do you think she'll agree?"

Wang Xifeng, assessing the situation, ultimately realized she couldn't outmaneuver Jia Lian, so she laughed and said, "You're worrying too much. Even the doctor said that moving around more is good for the pregnancy, but you, a man, are being so fussy."

Jia Lian glanced at her, still having something to say, but it wasn't convenient to discuss it here, so he didn't say anything more.

……

That evening, Jia Lian called Wang Xifeng to his side and said, "I have something to discuss with you."

Wang Xifeng sat on the stool, taking off her earring as she said, "Just say what you want to say directly. You know I don't like beating around the bush."

"I plan to arrange for Xiangling and Qingwen to leave the manor."

Wang Xifeng asked in surprise, "Why is that?"

"I'm going to the border soon, so I definitely can't take them with me. I'm not comfortable leaving them at home."

Wang Xifeng sneered, "I guess you don't trust me!"

She was an extremely intelligent person. As soon as she heard Jia Lian's words, she knew that he was afraid that she would break her promise and punish Qingwen and the other girl while he was away from home.

It's infuriating and frustrating. Hasn't she done enough these past few days? Why is Jia Lian still so suspicious of her?

"You know that much," Jia Lian said bluntly.

"You...!" Wang Xifeng was furious. She thought that after more than a month of harmonious married life, Jia Lian should trust her completely. It turned out that it was all her illusion.

"You don't need to be angry. I'm just being upfront about the unpleasant aspects."

That was my original plan, but then I realized that while I would feel more at ease doing it that way, it would certainly damage your dignity. That's why I'm discussing this with you here.

"How about I entrust them to you? You can keep a close eye on them for me until I return, is that alright?"

Wang Xifeng frowned; she understood Jia Lian's unspoken meaning.

She knew Jia Lian cared about those two young girls, but she really didn't expect him to care this much. He was so worried about them that he even wanted to make other arrangements for them before leaving!

If Jia Lian really did that, she would lose all face! People in the manor already said she was a jealous person, and Jia Lian's actions would undoubtedly prove that to everyone: even the Second Master Lian was so afraid of her that he had to hide his maid elsewhere before going to the border!

Now that she has this pretext, everyone can criticize her.

Jia Lian understood this, so he was negotiating terms with her.

He could refuse to send anyone out, but he would demand a guarantee from her ensuring the safety of Qingwen and Xiangling. How eloquent he was, entrusting the people to her and asking her to keep an eye on them, as if he trusted her implicitly.

"What if I don't take good care of you?" Wang Xifeng couldn't help but ask.

Jia Lian's expression remained unchanged. "I believe you can definitely succeed."

Wang Xifeng's cheeks twitched slightly; she knew she had once again fallen into a disadvantageous position.

"Divorce me?" She raised an eyebrow.

"That's not the case. However, I've always been fair in my dealings and believe in reciprocity."

I mean what I say. Anyone who doesn't keep their word in front of me will gain far less than what they lose.

Therefore, I believe in you and that you will be able to take good care of them.

I firmly believe that trust between two people is gradually built up through a series of events.

But to destroy it, only one thing is needed.

I hope that one day we can reach a point where we truly trust each other and no longer let such trivial matters hurt our relationship.

Wang Xifeng has a strong personality, and saying certain things might actually provoke her rebellious tendencies.

Only by being ambiguous and leaving her uncertain can she truly have some reservations.

As long as Xiangling and Qingwen don't pose such a great threat to her that they absolutely must be eliminated, this concern is enough.