The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Chapter 39
Most of the people who look at the houses in the old house are servants who have married.

The men take care of the outside, and the daughters-in-law of each family take care of the inner courtyard.

Therefore, there are no maids here.

After Jia Lian came, he didn't act like a domineering person, and everything in life was kept simple.

But for tonight's dinner, he asked the kitchen to prepare a few more dishes early in the morning, and then put them in the dining room.

"Second Lord, try this sweet-scented osmanthus duck and this squirrel fish. These are all famous dishes of our old Jinling."

Jin Cai knew that Jia Lian was about to leave, so even though Jia Lian didn't give special instructions, he still specially arranged several famous Jinling dishes for Jia Lian to enjoy.

Jia Lian took a sip each, nodded, then put down his chopsticks, looked at Jin Cai who was serving carefully beside him, and said, "How long has it been since Butler Jin saw a mandarin duck?"

How could Jin Cai not care about his precious daughter, he knew that he was able to hold the position of the manager thanks to his daughter's ability in front of Jia Mu.So when I heard Jia Lian's words, I immediately showed nostalgia: "The last time I saw her was when I returned to Beijing three years ago... I dare to ask the second master, I don't know how she is now, but I still care about the old lady. Did you mess with her?" The old lady is not happy..."

Jia Lian: "These housekeepers don't have to worry. Yuanyang has served the old lady very well. Among all the maids in the family, the old lady loves her the most. Even the master and wife have a lot to rely on. But the housekeeper Jin gave birth. A good daughter."

"Don't dare, how dare, the second master is absurd. It is her blessing to be able to serve the old lady..."

While being modest, Jin Cai smiled from ear to ear.

Jia Lian didn't expose him, and continued: "If you miss your daughter, you might as well write a letter home, and I'll bring it back to her for you."

Unexpectedly, Jin Cai didn't expect Jia Lian to say that. Letters are trivial matters. Jia Lian, as the master, is willing to bring them letters.

Jia Lian asked him to get up.

Yuanyang is naturally a rare and good girl, looking at her parents now, she is not too bad.

Although he made a mistake, he took good care of the old house, and didn't let idlers live in it.

Jia Lian was naturally happy to give them grace.

After asking Jincai to wait for the male servant to go down, after a while, Jincai's daughter-in-law also came with Xiangling.

As soon as Xiang Ling appeared in the dining room, Jia Lian was immediately attracted.

It's just that Xiangling at this time has changed greatly from before.Not only did she put on the new clothes he bought for her earlier, but even the hairstyle on her head was combed again, which was obviously arranged for her by the housekeepers and wives after taking a bath.

As a result, the current her has completely lost the aura of a wild girl, and her whole person really reveals some similarities with Daiyu.And because she was a few years older than Daiyu, her figure was much wider than Daiyu's, and her embarrassing beauty was really impeccable.

She was still a little shy, and when she saw Jia Lian subconsciously wanted to walk towards him, but when she saw a table full of dishes, she didn't dare to approach him.

Seeing Jia Lian's reaction, Jincai's daughter-in-law became more and more convinced that Xiangling's future would be limitless, so she helped her up and said with a smile: "Look, second master, after dressing us up, this girl looks like a different person." With this appearance, it would not be an exaggeration to say that she is the daughter of a rich family."

Jia Lian laughed. Originally, Xiangling was a veritable young lady, but it was only because of a servant's negligence that she fell into trouble.

He beckoned, let Xiangling come over, and then asked her to sit up and eat.

Xiangling looked at the table, then at the maids around her, and shook her head.

Jia Lian tried to persuade him again and again, but Xiangling still refused to serve.

Jincai's daughter-in-law sighed: "Second Master, don't embarrass her. This girl is pitiful. She was abducted by kidnappers when she was so young. I don't know how much she has suffered and suffered in these years. Where has she seen it?" In such a scene, although the second master loves her, he insists on doing so, just for fear of frightening her.

It's better to let the servants take her down for dinner. "

Jia Lian was still wondering if what Jincai's daughter-in-law said was right, but Xiangling suddenly stepped back two steps, knelt down and kowtowed to him, crying and begging: "Please don't drive me away, second master, I am willing to be a cow or a horse for the rest of my life." Serve the second master, please don't drive me away..."

Hearing what she said, Jia Lian finally understood.

It turned out that she thought he was going to send her away.

Presumably, although she is introverted and unwilling to speak, she understands it very well in her heart.

In such a family, only the master is eligible to eat at the main table. She wants to stay by Jia Lian's side all the time, only to be a maid and a slave.And obviously, it is impossible for maids and servants to eat at the same table with the master, so she refuses.

Jia Lian was also a little hesitant, although he also wanted Xiangling to follow him all the time, but to follow him, he must have a reputation.

Given Xiangling's current situation, taking her as a concubine might not be a good thing for her, as she couldn't resist the pressure, especially Wang Xifeng.

If she was only allowed to be a maid, Jia Lian felt that she had been wronged and couldn't bear it.

As for taking her home...

If it is said that the Zhen family is still alive, it is not impossible, just do a purely good deed to reunite the Xiangling family.

But he knew that the Zhen family had been destroyed long ago.Xiangling's father, Zhen Shiyin, has also become a Taoist priest, and the old mother does not know if she is still alive or not. If she is alive, perhaps only Jia Yucun knows where it is.

This is not difficult, just go back and ask Jia Yucun to find out, but Jia Lian feels that even if Xiangling's mother is still alive, she may not be able to bear the responsibility of raising Xiangling alone as a weak woman.So Jia Lian also wanted to find out where Xiangling's mother was, and bring her over to reunite with Xiangling.

That is to say, whether it's for his selfishness or for Xiangling's good, it's best to let her stay by his side and let him protect her.

It's just a matter of status... Otherwise, why not accept her as a righteous sister?
Jia Lian's hesitation made Xiangling feel that Jia Lian wanted to send her away. She didn't know where Jia Lian was going to send her, and she didn't dare to think about it. She was just afraid.

She cried even more sadly, begging unceasingly.

Jincai's daughter-in-law became sad, and persuaded: "Second Master, otherwise, you should agree to her. It's a pity."

In the eyes of Jincai's daughter-in-law, this kind of girl who was abducted and left her hometown would be fine if she remembered her parents in her hometown, but she had asked her before, and Xiangling basically couldn't remember.

In this case, the only destination is to find a good family to take him in.

Jia Lian was just dazed for a moment, seeing that Xiang Ling was already crying like a tearful person, then bent down to help her up, and said, "Are you really willing to follow me all the time, even if you're just a maid?"

Xiang Ling kept nodding, and said again: "As long as Second Master doesn't dislike it, I am willing to serve Second Master for the rest of my life."

At Xiangling's age, she actually knows everything she should know. She also knows that the kidnapper is also planning to sell her to a wealthy family. sold her.

Whether it's a maid or a concubine... probably a concubine, Xiangling said when she heard the kidnapper scolding her, with her appearance, it's not bad to be a concubine for others, maybe she can be sold well Hundreds of taels of silver!
Many people will never earn this money in their entire lives.

This is why those kidnappers abduct and sell young girls. As long as they abduct a good-looking girl and raise them for seven or eight years, it is a sure-fire business.

Although Xiangling didn't think that Jia Lian would betray her, she was very unfamiliar with the outside world and was afraid, so she just wanted to stay by Jia Lian's side.

Jia Lian laughed, hugged her and sat on the stool, and then said: "I want to be a maid, and it will be after tomorrow. Today's meal is specially prepared for you. If you don't eat it, won't you eat it?" Live up to my heart?"

Seeing that Xiangling was in a daze, Jincai's daughter-in-law stepped forward to arrange the dishes for her, and said with a smile: "The girl is still stupid, the second master promised you. Now that you are a girl in our family, you have to listen to the second master. He called You eat, just eat well, don’t be afraid.”

Jincai's daughter-in-law has already seen it. With Xiangling's appearance, she must be a concubine in the future. If she has another son and a half daughter, the status will be even different.This girl is very simple at first glance, if you get along well now, it may be beneficial in the future.

Hearing Jincai's daughter-in-law say the same, Xiangling finally sat down peacefully, but she didn't move her chopsticks.

Jincai's daughter-in-law offered to give her vegetables.

Seeing this, Jia Lian ordered: "Okay, just leave two people here to serve, and everyone else can go down."

Therefore, Jincai's daughter-in-law only left two people to serve in the hall, and took the others to leave.

Jia Lian saw that Xiangling was holding chopsticks, as if she didn't know how to eat, so she took the initiative to pick up a small piece of fish, put it to Xiangling's mouth, and asked her to open her mouth.

Xiangling was a little uneasy, but under Jia Lian's gaze, she could only obediently open her thin lips to swallow the fish that Jia Lian handed over.

Jia Lian picked up another dish for her to taste, and then Fang said: "If you feel at ease, I will keep feeding you, you just don't have to do it."

Xiangling thought that Jia Lian was blaming her, so she was about to go down immediately, but fortunately Jia Lian held her down in advance, and sighed helplessly: "Silly girl, I just let you eat by yourself, otherwise, we might not be able to eat this meal." Tomorrow morning."

Xiangling's cheeks turned red, and she finally mustered up her courage, picked up the bowl in front of her, glanced at Jia Lian secretly, and seeing his encouragement, she lowered her head and picked up the duck meat that Jincai's daughter-in-law had given her earlier. Take a bite.

The oil was overflowing, and the strong smell of meat made her brows stretch unconsciously.

Only then did Jia Lian smile with satisfaction.

……

It took half an hour to finish the meal. Jia Lian led Xiangling down from the table and asked the servant woman next to her, "Where is the room that Jin Cai's family arranged for her?"

"Reporting to Second Master, in Second Master's room, Mrs. Jin asked us to tidy up the cubicle next to it, saying that it would be convenient for her to serve Second Master."

When Jia Lian first moved in, the people below arranged for two young daughter-in-laws to serve him.

Although he didn't say it explicitly, Jia Lian knew what it meant.

But Jia Lian, under the watchful eyes of Ping'er, was the one who had the upper hand in Wang Xifeng's belly, how could he put these wives of servants in his eyes, and naturally they were all thrown outside mercilessly.

So there was no one serving in his room, and Jincai's daughter-in-law's arrangement was also within his expectation.

Let others take Xiangling back first, Jia Lian went to the outer courtyard, and practiced fists and feet with Zhang Yong for another hour before going back.

This old house is much more convenient than the Lin Mansion, not only can you practice long-distance running, but also has a special martial arts arena.

It can be seen from this that the old house is more martial arts than the Guogong Mansion built by the royal family in Beijing. I don’t know if the emperor at that time didn’t build a martial arts arena on purpose, or the Jia family at that time didn’t need it anymore...

After taking a shower, he walked back to the house. At this time, the wives in charge had already made up the beds and left, leaving Xiangling alone in the house.

Xiangling already got a lot of rules given to her by the housekeeper's wives, so when she saw Jia Lian coming in, she hurriedly poured Jia Lian a cup of tea.

Jia Lian took a sip, and seeing that Xiangling was still a bit mature, he pulled her to sit on the edge of the tea table, and said softly: "From now on, you can follow me with peace of mind, and you can talk to me if you have anything to say." , with me here, no one will dare to bully you.

Also, usually talk more, I like to listen to you talk. "

Xiangling nodded shyly.

Jia Lian said again: "By the way, let me give you another name. From now on, I will call you Xiangling, the fragrance of flowers, and the water chestnut of lotus leaves and flowers. What do you think?"

Xiangling's previous name, Yinglian, was homonymous to Yinglian. Jia Lian thought it was not very good, but Baochai chose the word "Xiangling" which is both elegant and nice.

Xiang Ling was about to bow down immediately, and said in his mouth: "Thank you for the name, Second Master, I will be called Xiang Ling from now on."

Jia Lian supported her with one hand, "From now on, don't kneel to me at every turn. I'm not a rich landlord, so I send you a little girl to kneel to me?"

Said Xiang Ling embarrassedly smiled.

Jia Lian drank tea again and stood up, "It's getting late, you should go back to bed too."

Xiang Ling blushed and said, "I~ I'll take care of the second master to sleep..."

Seeing her appearance, Jia Lian smiled, hugged her up, and in her clearly tense but silent reaction, carried her to the small bed outside and put her down, covered her with a quilt, and finally She flicked her head and said with a smile: "When you really learn how to serve others, come and give me a good night's sleep. Now, just sleep well by yourself."

After finishing speaking, he turned around and blew out the candles on the cabinet, and walked back into the room by himself.

What serving to sleep, is clearly trying to induce him to commit a crime, he will not be fooled by this.

(End of this chapter)