The Splendor of the Red Chamber

Let's go back to the Ningguo Mansion.

After Wang Xifeng left, the guests who came to pay their respects gradually dispersed.

Just as Jia Lian and Jia Qiang were outside the gate, seeing off several noble sons who had been friends for generations, someone came running over calling out "Second Brother Lian".

This man was young but tall, with thick eyebrows and big eyes when he was quiet and didn't smile. When he spoke or laughed, he was simple and honest with a touch of shrewishness. He was none other than Xue Pan, Jia Lian's cousin and Xue Baochai's older brother.

Seeing him running so hard he was covered in sweat, with a servant carrying a long pole behind him, Jia Qiang asked curiously, "Uncle Xue, what are you doing now?"

"This is the gun barrel that my second brother Lian asked me to find."

Xue Pan snatched the long pole, held it proudly in his hand, and said, "Look at this, it's genuine Huizhou ox-tendon wood, both strong and tough, a full thirteen feet long (about 4.2 meters). Not to mention making spears, it could even be used to make a horse lance!"

The book "Arm Record" states: "The best material for guns is ox sinew wood from Huizhou."

The Book of Effective Tactics praises it, saying: "It cannot be broken by pulling or cutting, nor can it be severed by a knife or axe."

Jia Lian took it, tossed it around, and then tested it against the wall. Sure enough, it bent without breaking and had amazing elasticity. Moreover, it was already processed into a solid material.

He couldn't help but praise, "This is truly top-notch material. It's amazing you were able to find it so quickly—how much did it cost? I'll restock later..."

"Why are you being so formal, Second Brother!"

Xue Pan shook his head, displeased, and said, "I went to great lengths to find this to honor my brother. If you can use this spear to kill a few more thieves in the future, then my efforts will not have been in vain!"

Jia Lian agreed verbally, but secretly thought to himself that he wouldn't need it for stabbing people for the time being, but he absolutely needed it for stealing people.

…………

It's past midnight (10 PM).

When Li Wan returned home, she first inquired about her son Jia Lan's studies, and then went to visit Qin Keqing.

Seeing Qin Keqing's sickly and absent-minded state, she couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She comforted Keqing for a while before taking her leave.

Once outside, Li Wan sighed to her head maid, Su Yun, "I've been through this myself, and I understand best the bitterness of being widowed young. From now on, you should visit me more often. If you need anything or anything is missing, please let me know immediately."

Su Yun agreed, then, seeing that no one was around, whispered, "Grandma, don't you think this is a bit strange? Just now, Second Grandma Lian had a heated argument with Uncle Zhen and brought Grandma Rong to our house to recuperate, and then Uncle Zhen accidentally killed Grandma Rong..."

"Shh!"

Li Wan quickly made a shushing gesture, first glancing back at the west wing behind her, then lowering her voice to scold, "Is this something you should be discussing? Let's keep to ourselves and not bother with that nonsense!"

With that, he led Suyun into the main room, where she changed her clothes and rested.

Meanwhile, Baozhu, seeing that the lights in the main room were out, patiently waited for about fifteen minutes before tiptoeing open Qin Keqing's door and nervously reporting, "Grandma, there's no sound from the main room."

"I see."

Qin Keqing slowly rose from her dressing table and instructed Baozhu to stand guard outside the door.

Then, as agreed, a piece of white cloth was secretly tucked between the window cracks—it was actually a mourning cloth sent from the East Mansion, and now it was being put to good use.

After making the preparations, Qin Keqing was puzzled as to how Jia Lian would get into this deep courtyard with its high walls.

Little did they know that Jia Lian had been spying on them for a long time outside the back wall.

He was dressed entirely in black, with two layers of mink fur on his boots. He held the thirteen-foot pole in his hand, took a few steps back, and with a running start, he was hanging in mid-air.

It turns out that when Jia Lian was reborn into the next life, he attended a sports school in a vocational school. His elective subjects were swimming and Baduanjin (Eight Pieces of Brocade), while his major subject was pole vaulting.

What was originally a very ordinary skill has now been transformed into a mastery of pole vaulting thanks to his exceptional physical abilities.

Jia Lian had already checked it twice using a pole.

While still in mid-air, he caught a glimpse of a pure white garment hanging on the window of the master bedroom in the west wing. Overjoyed, he leaned forward and landed firmly on the wall.

Click~

The mink fur was so soft and fine that it made only a slight sound when stepped on the tile.

Jia Lian listened intently for a moment, confirming that there was no response from the main hall or the east wing, before pulling the support pole from outside the wall and quietly inserting it into the wall.

Then he hopped and slid down the pole to the ground like a nimble ape, placed the pole against the corner of the wall, and, holding his breath, tiptoed to the west wing window.

Knock knock knock~

Inside her boudoir, Qin Keqing had just sat back down at her dressing table when she heard three gentle knocks on the window.

How did you get here so fast?!

Qin Keqing was quite surprised, fearing there might be a misunderstanding. She leaned closer but didn't dare open the window immediately. Instead, she asked timidly, "Who is it?"

Then, a firm voice outside the window replied with two words: "Zhang Xian!"

"What?"

Qin Keqing was stunned for a moment before she remembered that Zhang Xian was also known as "Zhang Xian the Child-Giving God," a male deity similar to the Goddess of Fertility.

While cursing Jia Lian for his many tricks, she hurriedly opened the window to let the thief in.

Jia Lian nimbly climbed into the room, turned around and closed the window, then picked up the mourning handkerchief before looking up and meeting Qin Keqing's eyes.

The movements were so smooth and fluid, as if they had been practiced countless times. Qin Keqing's mouth gaped open in shock, and she subconsciously made a gesture of holding her heart like Xi Shi.

She possessed the beauty of both Daiyu and Baochai.

Her delicate and charming demeanor was so alluring that it rivaled even the legendary beauty Xi Shi, whose beauty could rival the legendary beauty of fish sinking and geese falling from the sky.

As the Wangwu and Taihang Mountains ate this handful, they became even more beautiful and vigorous, as if they were about to part the clouds and see the sun, showing even more of Yang Guifei's graceful charm.

Jia Lian had been waiting impatiently outside, and seeing this, how could he possibly control himself?

He took two steps forward and pulled Keqing into his arms, lowered his head and kissed her smooth, cherry-like lips for a long time, stirring up a storm of passion and endless moans.

After a long while, their lips parted.

Seeing Qin Keqing lower her head shyly, a blush spreading across her jade-like cheeks, making her even more stunningly beautiful.

Jia Lian said, "A moment of spring night is worth a thousand pieces of gold," and then half-dragged, half-carried her to the bed.

Qin Keqing was dazzled by the kiss and felt she should say something, but she didn't know what to say. Just then, she noticed Jia Lian placing the mourning handkerchief beside his pillow and subconsciously asked, "What is my lord doing with that?"

You'll find out in a minute!

Jia Lian didn't bother to explain; he blew out the lantern and hurriedly climbed into bed.

One was a seasoned womanizer and a pioneer of lust, while the other was eager to secretly conceive and open the door to steal. In a short while, a dozen or so pieces of clothing were scattered all over the place, leaving only two fleshy worms rolling together.

Outside the door.

Baozhu covered her mouth in shock; there really was a man in the house!

But how did he get into this deep mansion?

Does he possess the ability to scale walls and rooftops, or is he secretly being assisted by someone else?

If it's the former, that's fine, but if it's the latter...

Could it be that Madam Zhu, who appears so pure and innocent on the surface, has been secretly having an affair and keeping a lover all along?!

…………

The main room and master bedroom.

"don't want!"

Li Wan seemed to sense something in the darkness, and suddenly woke up from her dream.

She sat up abruptly, panting a few times, before regaining her composure.

Recalling her dream, she couldn't help but curse inwardly. She was having a nice dream about talking to her husband, Jia Zhu, but how did she end up in bed with the Lian brothers in the blink of an eye?

He's still on his neck...

Li Wan subconsciously touched her neck, which was, of course, completely smooth and bare.

"It's all that hot-tempered Feng's fault!"

Li Wan spat again, and was about to lie back down to continue sleeping when she suddenly felt something was wrong with her body.

Looking down, she saw that the brocade quilt was twisted into a ball by her two long legs, just like a twisted rope trapped in a swamp.

Li Wan blushed instantly, and wanted to take a handkerchief or silk cloth to clean herself, but a thought suddenly flashed through her mind.

Since it's already happened... we might as well just...

After hesitating for a long time, she finally lay down with a blush on her face, trying to recall the little things between her and her husband.

However, Wang Xifeng's smug demeanor always seemed to cause trouble, prompting Li Wan to investigate the underlying issues.

In the end, Li Wan couldn't be bothered to deceive herself anymore.

She mistook the brocade quilt for someone else and poured out all her jealousy, resentment, and bitterness towards Wang Xifeng, as well as the loneliness and suffering she had endured over the years.

…………

at the same time.

The battle in the west wing had also reached its climax.

Baozhu stood guard outside the door and heard a series of muffled groans coming from inside. Although the noise was not loud, she couldn't block it out no matter how hard she covered her ears.

The voice was like magic, drilling straight into my heart through my seven orifices!

"Precious Pearl".

Just then, a hoarse voice called out from behind the door; it was clearly Qin Keqing's voice.

Baozhu initially thought she was hallucinating, after all, how could her grandmother possibly make two different sounds at the same time?

It wasn't until Qin Keqing called out again that Baozhu suddenly woke up, only to find that the noise in the room had stopped at some point.

The persistent, ear-piercing noise was actually the echo of what she couldn't forget in her heart.

Baozhu was already blushing, and now her face burned even more. She composed herself and asked in a trembling voice, "Grandma, what...what do you need me to do?"

crunch~

The door was half open, revealing Qin Keqing's equally flushed face. Baozhu, who had served her for several years, had never seen such a captivating beauty and allure before.

Baozhu dared not look any longer when a slender arm reached out from inside and pulled her inside without saying a word.

"grandmother?!"

Baozhu was taken aback and was about to ask what was going on when suddenly a wet white cloth appeared in her hand.

Baozhu held it up to her eyes for a closer look and then recognized it as a mourning handkerchief, stained with what appeared to be saliva. She instinctively asked, "Grandma, what's this for?"

You'll find out in a minute!