It was already very late when Jia Lian came out of the Princess's Mansion, so he went directly back to Rongguo Mansion.
When he got home and changed his clothes, Qingwen asked him: "Why did the second master take the second grandma out of the city today? I think the second grandma was not in a good mood after she came back. I asked Ping'er, but she didn't say anything."
Jia Lian sat by the kang and replied with a smile: "Why do you care about this?"
"People are just curious."
Seeing that this girl was full of gossip, Jia Lian asked Xiang Ling next to her: "What about you, are you the same as her?"
Xiangling shook her head and nodded again.
Seeing this, Jia Lian said perfunctorily that the weather was nice and he would take Sister Feng out for a walk in the city. As a result, he sent Sister Feng back in advance because he had something to do.
Qingwen understood, and immediately squatted down next to Jia Lian very attentively, beat his legs, and said seductively: "Second Master, we haven't been out of the city for a long time. Xiangling is okay. Second Grandma went to the temple to fulfill her vows a few years ago. She even went out with him.
I'm so pitiful, I don't know how long it's been since I left the city. The second master will take me out of the city for a walk sometime..."
Because she was pitiful, Jia Lian said, "Well, it's not impossible. It depends on your performance."
"My behavior is not good. In the past few days since the second master came back, I haven't been out of the courtyard very much. I wait at home every day for the second master to come home and serve me. I haven't even gone to ask them to gamble or play..."
"That's right. He's really well-behaved."
"When will the second master take us out of the city? I promise not to run around and cause trouble to the second master."
Jia Lian became happy and said with a smile that as long as she remained so good, he would take her with him next time he had a chance, making Qingwen smile.
She turned over on the kang, kicked off her shoes, and massaged Jia Lian carefully until Sister Feng came back.
"Okay, you go out first."
When she heard that Jia Lian asked her to go out, Qingwen felt a little suspicious. When the second master and the second grandma were talking, they usually wouldn't avoid her and Xiangling.
Even if the second master wanted to be intimate with the second grandma, he would do it directly and let them avoid it automatically.
There must be something weird like this today.
So after going out, Qingwen walked to the west window, stood under the window and eavesdropped.
Her appearance made other people who saw her complain: She was the only one in the whole courtyard who dared to blatantly eavesdrop on the conversation between the second master and the second grandma.
In the room, Jia Lian called Sister Feng over, let her sit on his lap, kissed her, and said with a smile: "I never had a chance to ask you before? I just heard Qingwen say that you were in a bad mood. Did the princess bully you this morning?"
Sister Feng scolded me: "With one of her eyes, she saw that I was in a bad mood. Damn her little hooves, she loves to talk."
After scolding Qingwen, Sister Feng saw Jia Lian's serious expression, hesitated for a moment, and said: "Princess, she is a very nice person, and she did not bully me.
She just told me a lot, including what happened when you sent her off for marriage.
She said that if she were not the princess of the Tian family, she would not compete with me for anything. Even if she did not have any status, as long as she could be by your side, she would be satisfied.
She also said that as long as I give up my status as the main wife, she is willing to always call me 'sister', and she will not come into the house to argue with me in the future. From then on, she will help you to gain a future outside, and I will be at home.
Serve the elders for you. We two sisters will assist you together..."
Despite his speculations, Jia Lian couldn't help but be moved when he heard these words of Princess Zhaoyang from Sister Feng.
So he held Sister Feng's waist tightly with one hand, supported her head with the other hand, pressed it on his chest, and then sighed: "I have wronged you."
Sister Feng didn't cry all day, even when faced with Princess Zhaoyang's powerful aura, she didn't want to cry. But now, nestled on her husband's chest, listening to his apologetic comfort, Sister Feng felt like crying inexplicably.
But she forced herself not to cry. She knew that crying at this time would serve no purpose except to show her weakness and incompetence and to embarrass Jia Lian.
So he forced a smile and said, "What's there to be aggrieved about? It's my blessing to be able to match the dignity of the eldest princess and sisters. Speaking of which, I have to thank the second master for giving me such an opportunity."
Jia Lian turned his head and glanced at her, wondering whether the woman was joking or mocking him.
Even if it's a taunt, Jia Lian won't be angry. This woman likes to taunt him even if she has nothing to do. What's more, he really owes something like this.
Although the two women decided on their own status, he did not come forward. This preserved his dignity to a certain extent and prevented him from actively breaking his original promise to Sister Feng.
But he has to accept this love.
So after a moment of silence, Jia Lian said seriously: "No matter what, you will always be my Jia Lian's wife in my heart. This will never change."
Hearing what Jia Lian said, the last bit of grievance in Sister Feng's heart disappeared.
People are not afraid of affection and dedication, but they are afraid of not being understood by the other party. Now that Jia Lian can say this, it shows that he understands her in his heart.
In that case, what else could she say?
The matter is a foregone conclusion, and she is not a blaming person. On the contrary, her shrewdness allows her to know what to do to put herself in a favorable position in adversity.
Knowing that Jia Lian felt a debt to her at this time, although discussing this matter further would deepen Jia Lian's debt, it was not enough, so she changed the subject in time.
"Okay, let's not talk about this for now. My aunt sent someone to invite you earlier, saying that she wanted to thank you for saving Uncle Xue's life and that she wanted to host a banquet for you.
It's getting late, just pack up and go over, it's not good to keep people waiting."
Aunt Xue has always been a good person, so it is reasonable to hold a banquet to thank him, and Jia Lian is not surprised at all.
Nodding, he asked Sister Feng: "Aren't you coming with me?"
"You are specially invited, what should I do? I can't help you with Uncle Xue's matter."
"Are you still a heretic with your own aunt? You and I are one husband and wife, so inviting me doesn't mean I'm inviting you?"
Jia Lian originally intended to take Sister Feng to the Xue family for a banquet to relax her mood. But she actually insisted on not wanting to go, and Jia Lian did not force her.
After changing my clothes, I was about to go out, but Yingchun and Tanchun came to visit me hand in hand.
They went to greet Mrs. Wang and then returned to the garden. Seeing the scene in the small courtyard, they guessed that Jia Lian had returned to the house, so they came in to visit.
Seeing Jia Lian's outfit, Tanchun asked: "It's so late, where is the second brother going?"
Sister Feng smiled and said, "Aunt Xue invited him over for a drink."
Tan Chun had a look of understanding when he heard this, but Yingchun sighed: "I heard that Brother Xue's case was sentenced to one year. My aunt must be very sad. Why did she invite her to have a drink?"
"What's sad about it? In the case of Uncle Xue, someone else would have died 800 times earlier. Now the sentence is only one year, I don't know how lucky I am.
It’s all thanks to your brother’s efforts, that’s why aunt invited him.”
Sister Feng has a certain degree of stupidity. In Jia Lian's eyes, Yingchun is innocent and kind, but in her eyes, she is not.
Among the three sisters, the one she rated the lowest was Yingchun. If it weren't for the fact that she was her man's biological sister, she wouldn't want to talk to her.
Jia Lian was beside her and glanced at her. Yes, she could still be rude, so she seemed to be in a much better mood.
Nodding with his two sisters, Jia Lian was about to get up.
But he saw Tan Chun walking next to him with a smile as bright as a flower: "Since my aunt is hosting a banquet, maybe my second brother will take us along? Speaking of which, we haven't been to our aunt's house for a long time.
Brother Bao and I have missed the bad goosefoot, duck and apricot made at my aunt's house. Ever since we tasted it that year."
Tanchun became less and less afraid of Jia Lian after discovering that Jia Lian was doting on his sister. Seeing Jia Lian's hesitation, she quickly added: "After Sister Bao and her brother had an accident, Sister Bao went out to live with her aunt.
Now that Brother Xue's matter is over, it's time for Sister Bao to move back, right? Without her these days, the garden is deserted, and no one is interested in opening a poetry club.
She has always been thin-skinned, and if we didn't invite her, she would definitely be reluctant to come back.
Second brother will take us along, we are not here to drink from aunt, but to invite Sister Bao back to the garden."
It turns out that today the case of the Xue family was over, and the sisters in the Grand View Garden discussed inviting Baochai back. Among them, Xiangyun was the most cheerful.
After Baochai left, she felt lonely in Hengwuyuan, so she went down the mountain to live next to Tanchun, so that Tanchun never tired of it.
Seeing this, Sister Feng also smiled and said: "They are fine anyway, just take them with you. I don't think my aunt will dislike them."
Seeing what else Jia Lian could say, he waved his hand to his two sisters to follow, and walked out of the room first.
The carriage outside the east cross-yard is ready. It is the special luxury carriage for Jia Lian and Sister Feng to travel.
Because it was getting late and there were only a few steps to Xue's house, Jia Lian did not make a special trip to welcome the spring and prepare another carriage for Tanchun.
Arriving at Xue's house, the door of Xue's house was indeed wide open, and Aunt Xue and Baochai were waiting outside.
As soon as the two parties met, Tanchun, who was riding in Jia Lian's carriage, didn't bother to look at the shy Yingchun, so he took the lead and ran towards Aunt Xue, smiling: "I heard that Aunt Xue was hosting a banquet, and my second sister and I came uninvited.
, please don’t blame me, aunt."
Aunt Xue hurriedly held her hand and showed her classic aunt smile, "No wonder, no wonder, you can come, it's not too late for aunt to be happy."
Tan Chunhui smiled sweetly, then walked to the side and took Baochai to talk.
Aunt Xue walked up to Jia Lian. She originally wanted to say a few polite words, but after meeting Jia Lian's eyes, she felt that given the current relationship between the two parties, there was no need to be too polite.
So he just smiled and said: "I know you are busy, so I didn't dare to send anyone to rush you. But the banquet has been prepared for a long time, and it was all organized by your sister Baochai herself.
Last time you praised the sweet wine she brewed for being delicious, and she specially prepared it this time."
"Auntie and sister Baochai are interested."
Jia Lian glanced at Aunt Xue, who was smiling and still charming, and then glanced at Baochai, who was lonely and cold next to her, but turned away when she caught his eye. She said to herself that she occasionally comes to Xue's house to eat and drink.
It’s also a pretty good choice.
…
The rooms in the Xue family's house are not very big, so Baochai chose the banquet place on the verandah in front of the main house.
I also invited a troupe of actors.
Because I didn’t know that the Tanchun sisters would come, I was thinking that Jia Lian alone or Jia Lian and Feng Jie’er would come. There were only a few people there, and there would be no drama. I was afraid that it would be boring if I couldn’t sit for an hour or three.
It was just a little-known theater troupe that performed a few elegant pieces.
It must be said that Baochai has very high taste.
A small courtyard, a few lonely lamps, a stage, and a few actors. There was clearly no complicated or gorgeous decoration. The host and the guests were enjoying the banquet separately, but they felt at ease.
Tanchun and Yingchun, who had been talking to Baochai and Aunt Xue, didn't realize they had lost their conversation. Facing the cool evening breeze of early spring, they listened carefully to the sad songs sung a cappella by the actors with beautiful voices.
"Singing so beautifully."
After the song, Tan Chun took the lead in praising it, then tilted his head and asked Baochai: "How come I haven't heard such a beautiful song before? Sister Bao, where did you hire the team from?"
Tanchun originally thought that as a young lady from the Duke's Mansion, she should have listened to all the famous music in the world. However, she did not expect that right here, there was music that was completely unfamiliar to her, but that she found extremely beautiful.
Aunt Xue smiled and said: "This is a local ditty in the south. Most of the troupes in Beijing don't sing this song. I happened to invite them last year, and your sister Bao remembered them and invited them again today."
Baochai added: "This song is called "Pianpian" and it belongs to a Suzhou waterside tune called "Eight Immortals Tune". I went to Suzhou with my grandfather and heard it once, and it is still fresh in my memory.
I didn’t expect to hear it again in the capital after so many years, so I paid more attention.”
Baochai was sitting next to Aunt Xue, and next to Aunt Xue was Jia Lian, and on the other side were Yingchun and Tanchun. Therefore, when Baochai and Tanchun were talking, they could not look past the middle.
While she was talking, she noticed an appreciative gaze peering at her. She turned around and saw that it was not Jia Lian. She quickly straightened her body and her heart beat a few times for no apparent reason.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! She didn't know Jia Lian's feelings for her before, but she was still somewhat calm when facing Jia Lian's eyes.
After her mother told her about Jia Lian's ambition towards her, she found that she could no longer face Jia Lian calmly.
Jia Lian took her reaction into consideration and smiled.
Baochai was already more knowledgeable than Tanchun and the other two. Not to mention, the old lady Jia Mu of the Jia family liked to listen to lively dramas, and the Jia family followed the example, and most of them listened to the same kind of dramas during the New Year and festivals.
It seems that this kind of Jiangnan graceful tune has become a new song.
But it's not surprising either.
Although the Jia family was from Jiangnan, Tanchun and other girls were still among the twelve beauties of Jinling.
However, Tanchun and others were not ashamed that Jiangnan people did not know the music of Jiangnan. They only deeply praised Baochai for being well-informed.
The feast continues.
The host and guests were all elegant people, and although there was gossip among the guests, it was not noisy.
Suddenly, they heard that the silver vase underneath was broken. Everyone looked up and saw a petite actor leaping on the stage with a green sword on his back.
Then he spread his arms and danced, bringing out little bits of cold light under the night.
Sword dance is naturally not new to Jia Lian, but it is very attractive to the two people who welcome spring and Tanchun.
After all, the Jia family has long been a scholarly family, and those who wield swords and swords are taboo. Only in the past few years has there been some change.
Therefore, even though the young actor's swordsmanship is not sophisticated, his costumes are novel and his moves are exquisitely designed, which is a feast for the eyes of the women present.
Yingchun turned around and glanced at Aqi, who was standing behind her, and then said: "I once had the honor to see sister Aqi dance with a sword. Her sword was so sharp that it moved like a stray rabbit, was as quiet as a green pine, and moved like a dragon entering the sea.
Each move is like a cold light. Although I have only seen it once, I still have lingering fears when I think about it..."
Yingchun originally wanted to praise Aqi, because she knew that Aqi was a bodyguard that her brother valued very much.
But in the end, I still expressed my truest feelings.
Indeed, among Jia Lian's many subordinates, Aqi was the most murderous.
Not to mention that she once took her sister to escape the enemy's pursuit on the grassland, but after joining Jia Lian, she took the lead every time there was a battle.
Even Jia Zhen, a powerful third-grade general, died in her hands.
Seriously, in terms of murderous intent, perhaps no one under Jia Lian can compare to her.
And she specializes in swordsmanship. For such a woman, even if she dances with a sword, the harshness of it is beyond the ability of a well-behaved lady like Yingchun to withstand.
What Yingchun said is a different feeling when heard by others.
Aunt Xue and Baochai both looked at Aqi in surprise. They both said that Yingchun was clumsy, but the way she described it just now showed that they had a deep memory of each other's swordsmanship.
Tanchun quickly asked: "Is it true? I have never seen him. It would be great if I could take a look."
As he spoke, Tanchun glanced at Aqi with admiring and pleading eyes, and his purpose was obvious.
Aqi frowned.
She understood Tanchun's meaning, but she was never used to lively scenes and only wanted to stand quietly behind Jia Lian.
Moreover, she doesn't like to perform with others.
Especially swordsmanship. Even Jia Lian rarely lets her dance swords for fun.
When I was a child, I practiced swordsmanship just for fun and not to be looked down upon by others. Later, it was to protect my sister and clan members.
Now, it is to become a useful woman beside Jia Lian.
It would be nice if my sister was here. With her personality, she is very willing to show her face in front of others. It's a pity that she went down to eat with the Xue family servant.
Outsiders don't know Aqi's personality, how can Jia Lian not know it?
Knowing that she was in embarrassment, Jia Lian smiled and said to Tan Chun: "When it comes to swordsmanship, I am not much worse than her. If my third sister wants to see it, how about I dance for you?"
At this time, Tanchun could probably tell that Aqi was unwilling, and he regretted his recklessness. Hearing this, he quickly said: "My little sister is just joking for a while, my second brother doesn't have to be like this."
"It doesn't matter."
Jia Lian waved his hand, stepped back from his chair and stood up.
The wine Baochai brewed was sweet and intoxicating, and Jia Lian had already drank a lot.
In addition, everything had been going well recently, and in front of Baochai and his two sisters, he felt a little bit mad.
After untying his cloak, when Aqi stepped forward to take it, he took off the sword from his waist, stumbled quickly down the steps, and walked onto the stage.
When the people in the theater troupe saw that Jia Lian was about to leave, they had already cleared the stage quickly.
Jia Lian was seen with his back to the main corridor, his body slumped in the middle of the stage. The dim light shone on him, making his shadow appear very long, disappearing beside the stage, and flew out of the hall.
The originally radiant man, now half drunk and in such a bleak environment, actually exuded a stronger charm than usual, making the young women and girls watching unable to take their eyes off him.
They then saw Jia Lian slowly raise his left arm, and the sword in his hand also rose up, over his shoulder and across his head.
Immediately, Jia Lian drew out his sword with his right hand, pointed the sword's edge at the night sky, and at the same time, his slender figure retreated sharply.
As his figure retreated sharply, a vigorous and melodious drunken song followed.
"In drunkenness, look at the sword with the light on!"
"The dream returns to the trumpet company camp."
"Eight hundred miles away, my subordinates are burning, and fifty strings are beating outside the Great Wall. On the battlefield, the troops are ordered in autumn!"
The poem was only sung for half of the poem, but the sword that followed was like a rainbow soaring into the sky.
But I saw Jia Lian's body was like thunder, running as fast as flying. The long sword in his hand was invisible, only the cold light flickered.
Although one man has one sword, he has a mighty force.
Such a sword dance, not to mention Aunt Xue and other girls, even Ah Qin, who had just returned from dinner, could not help but slow down when she saw it. Her eyes were filled with brilliance, and she deeply regretted that she should not have eaten, so that she missed the chance to watch the sword dance.