The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Chapter 698: Writing lyrics and composing music

Jia Lian was about to follow Daiyu into the side room, but Xiangling walked to the main corridor and said that hot water was ready.

So Jia Lian went to take a bath first. When he turned around and came out to look for Daiyu, the maid said that Daiyu had gone back to the garden.

"Why don't you let her stay for dinner?"

"It's not like the second master doesn't know Miss Lin's temperament. If the second grandma is at home, she might be willing to stay. But now, she won't stay."

Ping'er smiled and handed the bowl of rice and silver chopsticks to Jia Lian.

Jia Lian nodded, and when he saw Ping'er holding a pair of chopsticks and standing next to him, obviously intending to serve him food, he waved his hand and asked her to sit down and eat with him.

Ping'er didn't refuse, and sat down opposite the desk very reservedly.

At that moment, Qingwen and Xiangling had tidied up the bathroom and carried Jia Lian's old clothes into the house. When they saw Ping'er sitting and dining with Jia Lian in a grand manner, Qingwen said, "Hey, someone is claiming to be a loyal minister. Second Mistress You’ve only been away from home for less than a month, and you’ve already gotten used to sitting in this position. I’m afraid you won’t be able to let it go by then!”

Ping'er just pretended not to hear anything and didn't care about her.

Jia Lian glared at her. But Qingwen had already carried her clothes into the back room, and it was obvious that she was just choking casually out of habit. When she came out again, Jia Lian laughed and scolded her: "If you want to eat, just bring a stool over and sit on it. If you get jealous again, be careful how you serve."

As soon as she heard the words "serve according to family law", Qingwen's aura immediately dissipated.

He glared at Jia Lian evilly, but did not dare to get close to Jia Lian. He just retorted: "I am not that lucky! It is better to go back to our own room to eat comfortably."

After saying that, he took Xiang Ling and left.

After eating, Jia Lian took out a piece of paper from his arms and handed it to Ping'er.

"I bought some supplies from Tianjin Wei, and they should be sent back soon. When the time comes, you can send people to distribute them according to what I wrote above."

Ping'er, who was not doing assignment work for the first time, took the paper sign and saw at a glance that it was just some local specialties and snacks, so he didn't ask any more questions and nodded in agreement.

"Thank you very much."

Ping'er glanced at Jia Lian and suddenly smiled, "Why do you need to say this, Second Master? Ping'er is so happy to be able to do things for Second Master. How can it be so hard?"

While speaking, he already took out a clean handkerchief, leaned in front of Jia Lian, and gently wiped the grease from the corners of Jia Lian's mouth.

Feeling that Jia Lian's big hands had naturally fallen to her waist, and then touched her jade buttocks, her heart felt soft and warm.

As the housekeeper and right-hand assistant of Jia Lian and his wife, Ping'er often works for Sister Feng and Jia Lian.

She is the dowry maid brought by Sister Feng from the Wang family. Sister Feng considers herself generous towards her, but it is absolutely impossible for her to be like Jia Lian, who can always make her feel respected as a person and pampered both physically and mentally.

Therefore, she is extremely devoted and loyal to the man in front of her, and she is willing and enjoys doing things for this man.

When it comes to Jia Lian, she can automatically ignore some of Jia Lian's shortcomings, and is only satisfied with Jia Lian's good qualities.

Jia Lian, who was sitting, was originally going to take advantage of Qiao Ping'er's beauty to appease him, but unexpectedly he found that the look in the girl's eyes towards him was so intense that it was scary.

I thought, maybe this is what the legend says, the eyes are stretched.

She couldn't help feeling proud, so she held Ping'er lovingly in her arms and rubbed her ears together, but she was embarrassed to do anything too much.

……

Ningguo Mansion.

Main courtyard, steward's room.

Qin Keqing put down the last account book in his hand, then took out a book from the side and handed it to the housekeeper's wife, and said: "The above is what the house needs recently. I have written down the quantity and requirements on it. You can take it and buy according to this." Don't delay."

"Yes." The housekeeper's wife took the booklet and went.

After seeing that the matter was over, Qin Keqing supported himself. Her graceful and beautiful figure was immediately highlighted by her lazy movements, which made the female servants in the room feel a little sad.

The maid stepped forward to help him up and walked to the main courtyard. Suddenly he heard the sound of horse hooves in the outer courtyard. Qin Keqing's heart moved and he waved for people to ask.

Suddenly the maid came back and reported: "Go back to grandma, it's Second Master Lian who's here. He seems to have gone to Ning Xuantang."

Qin Keqing was secretly happy after hearing this, and asked, "Who is following you?"

"There are two master guards and Miss Xiangling."

Qin Keqing, who subconsciously raised his legs to go to Ning Xuantang, stopped.

I thought to myself, as soon as Uncle Lian came here, I hurriedly chased him. If this happened too often, others would inevitably be suspicious.

After hesitating for a moment, he gritted his teeth and walked back to his yard.

On the other side, Jia Lian came to Ning Xuantang just to see Jia Heng and Jia Wu.

Unfortunately, the two fair and tender little guys were taking a nap, so Jia Lian did not stay in Ning Xuantang.

After coming out, when he was hesitating where to go, Qin Keqing's personal maid Ruizhu stopped him.

"My slave, please pay your respects to the Second Master."

"Hmm...how is your grandma?"

"As for the second master, our grandma is still in good health. However, since the eldest grandma has been away from Beijing for a long time, she has to take care of everything in the house, which makes her a little tired."

Ruizhu kept her head buried while talking, not daring to look directly at Jia Lian.

"She is capable of getting things done. I don't think she can be troubled by this matter in your house."

Jia Lian responded casually, and then got to the point: "You came to see me for something?"

"Our grandma sent me to invite Miss Xiangling. She wants to invite her to come and talk."

"I?"

Behind Jia Lian, Xiang Ling, who was standing obediently, raised his head in surprise when he heard this, and then seemed to realize something, with a look of reluctance on his face.

But she was meek by nature and didn't know how to refuse, so she raised her head and looked at Jia Lian.

Jia Lian chuckled, glanced at Ruizhu, and then said to Xiang Ling: "Since she wants to talk to you, just go ahead."

Jia Lian spoke, but Xiang Ling had no objection and stood up obediently. After Ruizhu and Jia Lian bowed, she followed her to Qin Keqing Courtyard in the east.

Although she was familiar with the paths and courtyards here, the Qin Keqing Courtyard, with its spacious layout and graceful style, was like a ghost in Xiangling's eyes, which made her want to stay away.

Finally, I came to a familiar place and saw Qin Keqing, the eldest mistress of Ningguo Mansion with stunning appearance.

Without waiting for her to bow, the other party walked up to her, supported her, and gave her a friendly smile like a real sister looking at her younger sister. At this moment, Xiang Ling knew in her heart that she was probably right.

As expected, the noble eldest mistress didn't mind her humble status at all, so she took her hand and pulled her into the boudoir.

I don’t know what was said to her, but after a long time, the eldest mistress let her come out.

After lightly flipping her hair around her ears, Xiang Ling looked back at the door and then left quickly.

Along the way, she saw some people from Ningguo Mansion taking the initiative to greet her, and she responded shyly.

But when she rushed to Ning Xuantang, she didn't notice any trace of Jia Lian, so she grabbed a maid on duty in the corridor and asked, "Sister Xiaohui, do you know where my second master has gone?" ?"

Xiangling is one of the most favored maids around Jia Lian. Even in the entire Jia family, she is the maid with the highest status and status, which is very different from other maids.

The maid called Xiaohui didn't expect that such a "big shot" would actually know her name, and she spoke softly, and her pretty little face was full of well-behavedness. She didn't look like the one next to other masters and grandmas. The cronies are so arrogant and domineering.

Xiaohui, who was happy in her heart, smiled quickly and said: "Just now I saw Mr. Lian went north after getting off the corridor. It seems that he either went to Tianxiang Tower or went back to the garden. You go to Tianxiang Tower and ask Bar."

"Thank you, Sister Xiaohui."

Xiangling bowed to express her gratitude and left, all the way to the outside of Tianxiang Tower.

But when I hear the immortal sounds, I can't stop wandering around.

Following the sound, she came to the main hall of Tianxiang Main Building and saw the landmark figures related to Jia Lian - A Qi and A Qin in white clothes and light armor. Xiang Ling knew that they were indeed here.

Nodding to the two women with swords who were scrutinizing her, Xiang Ling walked in from the door with small steps, walking in an area that was not blocked from the light. When her eyes adapted to the environment in the hall, she immediately saw the situation in the hall clearly.

Although the Jia family's two mansions are only public mansions, many buildings in the two mansions are suspected of violating regulations.

For example, the main hall of Tianxiang Tower, although it can only be called a "hall", its size and layout are the same as the "hall" of the palace.

Especially after Gu Qingyi and the four beauties moved in, with the support of the You family, many places in Tianxiang Tower were rearranged, so that in terms of luxury, the main hall was even more generous than the main hall of the palace.

And in such a gorgeous hall, where the curtains intersect, there are a few light and agile maids standing sparsely.

In the middle area surrounded by them, behind a dark-colored short table, a handsome and majestic young man in brocade robes sat upright, holding a beautiful plain hand and teaching something.

A woman in a gorgeous dress with peerless appearance and extraordinary temperament sat crookedly in his arms. Her beautiful and serene face, which did not resemble the color of the human world, revealed a bit of surprise and admiration along with the content that emerged in his writing.

Near them, there were several more beautiful ladies sitting on the ground, leaning on the short table, also observing what they were writing.

A scene of a gentle and wealthy countryside.

Xiangling didn't dare to disturb her, so she consciously walked to the edge and stood quietly, but her eyes unconsciously glanced at the table. She was very curious about what Jia Lian wrote, which made so many beautiful women rush to watch.

Finally, it seemed that he had finished writing. The quiet and beautiful scene was broken, and then the delicate voices of beauties sounded.

"Have you finished writing? Mr. Hou is really amazing. This word is written so well."

"Yes, especially this sentence, 'I only see new people laughing, but never hear old people cry.' Wow, wow, that makes me so sad.

I think back when I was in Yangzhou, it was clearly the Nu family who had a good relationship with the Marquis first. I never thought that after Mr. Hou got his sister Qingyi, he would forget about her.

Just like today, Sister Qingyi can sit in the arms of the Marquis, while others can only watch from the side. Isn't it just that "you only see new people smiling, but don't hear old people crying", "a new generation replaces the old". Wow, the more I talk, the more I want to cry. "

After hearing the little sister's self-deprecating joke, Gu Qingyi, whose attention was focused on the manuscript in his hand, felt a little embarrassed and hurriedly stood up from Jia Lian's arms.

Don't blame her for being frivolous, sitting in Jia Lian's arms in front of all the sisters and asking for favor. In fact, after she and Shen Paner collaborated to perform a piano and flute ensemble version of "The Love Song of the West Sea", while everyone praised it, they asked if Jia Lian had any new lyrics and music.

Unexpectedly, Jia Lian smiled and did not shake his head. He only said that there was a love song that needed to pass through the hands of this beautiful lady before she could come to this world.

Of course, the reason why she can accept such a request so easily is not only that she has now dedicated herself to Jia Lian, but more importantly, the sisters, including her, have long been impressed by Jia Lian and are willing to devote themselves to serving Jia Lian.

Also, let me ask you, with Jia Lian's status and talent, where can you find another man in the world?

Not to mention that Jia Lian never despised and humiliated women like them, and was willing to be patient and gentle while giving them shelter?

For example, just before Jia Lian came over, the servants of the Rongguo Mansion sent many things and supplies, saying that Jia Lian brought them back from Tianjin Wei and specially rewarded them.

They all inquired and found out that these rewards were mainly given to the girls in the Grand View Garden and a few of them.

This is not the first time this has happened.

Therefore, let alone Shen Pan's three daughters who had long since followed Jia Lian, even if they were as conceited as she was, they would have already resigned themselves to their fate. Otherwise, she would not have taken the initiative to devote herself to Jia Lian.

What makes her strange is that even so far, Jia Lian has only accepted her as one person. Shen Pan'er and the other three daughters, who are not much weaker than her in appearance, have not made any real move, as if they have other plans.

Jia Lian, who stopped writing and smiled, was not lost in the compliments of the beauties.

He had long wanted to enrich the entertainment of this era, and he happened to have talented women such as Gu Qingyi in his hands. Therefore, he naturally did not hesitate to select some of his favorite music from his library and teach them to them, so that they could spread and promote them in this era.

In fact, the lyrics and music he taught, no matter how "classical" they are, are unique and novel for this era.

The emergence of new things is actually not so easy to be accepted by the public.

For example, the words and phrases he just taught about the Dream of Mandarin Ducks and Butterflies were still too straightforward for Gu Qingyi and others.

The reason why they praised him so much was, firstly, to give him face, and secondly, because everyone knew that the music composed by him must be particularly beautiful and beautiful.

Sure enough, after Gu Qingyi and others praised it, they asked if there was a song to match it.

Compared with this kind of lyrics that directly express their feelings, they are obviously looking forward to the new song more.

"Of course there are songs too. Haven't the four of you all learned the music? Now I will hum the music, and you four will each record it, just for me to see. Which of you can remember it quickly and accurately?"

Jia Lian smiled.

Everyone listened and realized that although they all knew about writing, composing and noting music, they were definitely no match for Gu Qingyi. After all, when Gu Qingyi was in Jiangnan, he had already composed many piano music that were highly sought after by literati, and he was just about to start recruiting disciples.

However, they also knew that Jia Lian did not really let them compete with Gu Qingyi, but just to join in the atmosphere, so they all smiled and asked their maids to bring a table and pen and ink, and sat around in front of Jia Lian like real students.

Jia Lian smiled and looked at the four beauties sitting downright with expectant eyes, and suddenly felt guilty.

Until now, Gu Qingyi and others thought that he must be able to compose piano music, otherwise it would be impossible to teach them one classic after another.

It's just that Jia Lian seemed to prefer to teach beauties like them face-to-face, so he preferred to give oral instructions instead of directly giving them composed music.

In fact, Jia Lian had secretly read some piano scores, and even observed and memorized it while Gu Qingyi was composing the music.

He felt like he was almost there. Soon, he should be able to compose music directly on paper without borrowing the hands of Gu Qingyi and others.

……