Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

"Second Master, please be careful. Let me serve you."

At times like these, Qingwen is very diligent and takes the initiative to serve Jia Lian.

But when Jia Lian saw her face flushed from the smell of alcohol, he shook his head, thinking to himself that if he served her, he would surely make a mess of the bed, and then Feng Jie would dislike her even more.

In addition, he didn't like eating glutinous rice products, but he accepted them because Sister Feng had specially sent them to him.

Having eaten two, a plan formed in his mind. When Wang Xifeng was not looking, he summoned two maids and fed one to each of them.

The two little girls seemed to really enjoy it, chewing and eating it, and then glancing at the middle of the bowl guiltily.

Jia Lian watched the two beautiful young maids eating these round things, reluctant to swallow them whole, holding them in their mouths like hamsters eating—it was both pretty and cute, and he felt very satisfied. So he used the same trick again, feeding each of them two more, and that was it.

When Sister Feng came out, she was somewhat surprised to see that Jia Lian had already placed the bowl on the high table next to him.

"Since you like it, shall we have someone bring you another bowl?"

Jia Lian took the handkerchief Qingwen handed him, wiped his mouth, and said with a smile, "No need, it's late at night, eating too much won't help my digestion."

Fengjie then said no more. Seeing that Jia Lian was indeed going to go with her to serve Grandmother Jia, she advised, "That's enough, you don't need to go. You have important business to attend to tomorrow. I'll take care of Grandmother."

Sister Feng thought to herself, "There's no way you can recruit people who will be envious and hungry!"

Although the gazes of Madam You and the others were subtle, as a woman, she could naturally tell that those women might have ill intentions towards her man.

Not in a hurry to go over, he sat down next to Jia Lian and noticed that they hadn't laid out their money. He chuckled and asked, "Are you just going to fight like this? Aren't you going to agree on a stake?"

Jia Lian put his arm around her waist and laughed, "What's the point of exchanging money with them? I'm the one who gives them their money. If we're going to exchange money, it'll be more interesting to do it with a rich woman like you."

Wang Xifeng was both embarrassed and amused. Fortunately, Jia Lian wasn't going too far, so after glaring at him, she teased, "What? Isn't my money your money too? Or is it that Second Master Lian has become successful now and is afraid of being taken advantage of, so he wants to share the profits with me?"

Wang Xifeng was using a joke to get to the point.

That was precisely her concern. She knew very well that Jia Lian, now the Commander of the Military Command, would definitely earn more money than her in the future!

She used to be able to control Jia Lian's finances because almost all of that money was earned by her; now, she certainly couldn't. The fact that Jia Lian was able to return all of the emperor's rewards to her so quickly made her both very happy and very guilty.

She still remembered that year when Jia Lian asked her for money, she was stingy and bargained, and finally gave him five hundred taels.

Jia Lian sent her back over two thousand taels of pure gold and silver this time... She naturally blushed.

At the same time, she was also afraid that Jia Lian might try to share the profits with her, which would greatly damage her reputation.

Jia Lian understood what she meant. In fact, Jia Lian had really thought about using the same methods that Sister Feng had used on him to retaliate against her.

Later, I thought better of it. If Sister Feng remained obedient as she was, there was no need to hurt her feelings. Besides, Jia Lian knew that Sister Feng was a bit greedy. If he shared the profits with her, she would definitely try something funny. It was better to be generous. Maybe she would be more obedient because of the money.

So he laughed and said, "I didn't have that idea, but if you want to split it, I don't mind."

When dealing with someone as opinionated as Sister Feng, you can't speak too definitively, or you'll easily be manipulated by her.

Qingwen, on the other hand, didn't understand the confrontation between Jia Lian and Feng Jie. She even explained to Feng Jie, "Although we don't exchange money, it's more interesting than exchanging money."

Second Master said, "Whoever loses either has to drink three cups of wine as a penalty, and they have to finish them all. Or they have to tell a joke or sing a new song. Whether it's a joke or a song, if they don't do it well, they'll have to accept the punishment."

"What kind of punishment?" Sister Feng found the rules interesting.

Qingwen immediately sat up straight and said, "There are two punishment options: 'Truth or Dare'."

Seemingly understanding that Sister Feng wouldn't understand, Qingwen began to explain before she could even ask: "The truth is, no matter what question the other person asks, you absolutely cannot lie, otherwise... otherwise you'll fall into the chamber pot when you relieve yourself..."

Upon hearing this, Sister Feng spat.

The so-called "clean bucket" was naturally the "toilet" that wealthy families placed in their houses for urination. Sister Feng didn't expect them to make such a disgusting oath.

What is a grand adventure?

"It means letting the other party assign you a task, and no matter how embarrassing it is, you must complete it, otherwise..."

"Alright." Sister Feng didn't want to hear "otherwise" anymore, lest it offend her ears.

She carefully considered the rules and found them novel and interesting, which suited her perfectly. If time allowed, she would really like to sit down and play with them for a while.

At the same time, he understood why Xiangling and Qingwen were both blushing, while Jia Lian seemed unaffected. It was likely that after the two young maids had been tricked, they would rather have a few drinks than choose the latter.

Qingwen, who was looking forward to a lively gathering, saw that Fengjie seemed interested and immediately said with a smile, "Second Mistress, would you like to play with us? By the way, Second Master lost the most last round, so it's his turn to be punished. Second Master, would you like to tell a joke or sing a song?"

Qingwen had already decided that, with the help of Fengjie, no matter how well Jia Lian made his jokes, she would not let him pass and would not let him bully her and Xiangling before!

"I'll choose to have three drinks."

"Oh dear, Second Master, you're so boring... Why don't you just tell a joke? Second Madam has had a long day, tell her a joke..."

Seeing this, Sister Feng shook her head, thinking to herself, "These two little girls who haven't even grown up yet, they want to play tricks on Jia Lian? I can't even outsmart them!"

So, unusually, she agreed with Qingwen and said with a smile, "If you have a good joke, give me one. I'll use it to amuse the old lady. My stomach is practically empty after these past few hours, so I'll replenish it with yours."

Jia Lian finally broke free from Qingwen's clutches. "Since Second Mistress says so, shall I reward you with one?"

"Then thank you very much, Second Master Lian..."

The couple then pretended to be polite.

Now, even Ping'er, who was behind them, took a stool and sat down.

So Jia Lian straightened up, thought for a moment, and said, "It's the Lantern Festival again, and three young wives from a farming family are sitting together chatting..."

Everyone sat up straight, and from the way Master Lian started, they knew it was going to be a timely and funny story.

"They talked for a while, but ran out of things to say, when suddenly the second son chuckled softly..."

"What did you say?"

The most important thing about telling jokes is that the audience listens attentively and is willing to play along. Because Qingwen was wrapped in the same quilt as him, he held one of Qingwen's small feet in his arms, admiring it as he continued seriously:

She said: "Last night I secretly touched my man's butt and found that it was cold."

The eldest and third brothers were secretly surprised upon hearing this.

Ping'er and the others blushed. In this era, there were dirty jokes, but they were not considered polite.

They even thought Jia Lian's words were unreasonable; how could sisters-in-law talk about such shameful things! Fortunately, there were no outsiders present, and Feng Jie and the others refrained from disturbing them. Qingwen took this opportunity to conceal her embarrassment.

The next day, the third brother suddenly said to the second brother, "You're right, I noticed it too. I touched my husband last night, and his butt was indeed cold. It's really strange, do you know why?"

"Yeah, how could a person's... be cold?"

Xiangling and Qingwen were puzzled as to why a person's buttocks would be cold. If it weren't for Sister Feng being there, they would have been tempted to touch Jia Lian's buttocks to verify it on the spot.

Even Sister Feng frowned at this moment, as if she understood something, but didn't.

Moreover, this joke isn't funny at all.

On the morning of the third day, the eldest sister-in-law, her face covered in bruises and her eyes brimming with tears, angrily said upon seeing the second and third sons:

I'm not trusting you two rascals anymore. Last night, I touched my man's butt and couldn't help but say, "Hey, that's strange. His second and third uncles' butts are cold, but yours are hot."

"Pfft~"

Ping'er was the first to find it funny, bursting out laughing before quickly covering her mouth.

Sister Feng and the others gradually realized what was going on. They wanted to laugh but didn't find it funny, after all, their sister-in-law was there at home!

Feng Jie then glanced at Jia Lian and asked, "Is your joke just a joke, or does it have some other meaning?"

Jia Lian remained calm and composed. "If it's a joke, it's just a joke. What other meaning could it have? If you don't find it funny, I'll tell you another one."

Sister Feng laughed again, and stood up with a chuckle: "Go ahead and make fun of people. It's one thing if you make fun of me, but what will you say if the old lady hears this?"

He then said to Qingwen and Xiangling, "You two, stop urging your second master to drink. I won't be back for a while. After you've had your fun, help your second master go to bed early, understand?"

The two girls nodded quickly.

Knowing that she couldn't delay any longer, Fengjie smiled and gave Jia Lian a few glares before leading Ping'er out. Once on the outer veranda, she found Jia Lian's joke increasingly amusing and couldn't help but chuckle, leaving the maids and servants following her bewildered.

How did Second Madam Lian become so pathetic? She's only seen Second Master once, and she's already so happy?

Inside the room, as soon as Feng Jie and the others left, Qingwen nudged Jia Lian and asked, "Second Master, Second Master, is it really possible for someone's buttocks to be cold? Or is Second Brother's wife just being mischievous and deliberately saying it to deceive them? Why did Third Brother's wife also say they're cold..."

They could all understand why the eldest daughter-in-law was beaten, and they found it quite funny, but they couldn't quite figure out the details.

Xiangling said weakly, "Sister Qingwen, it must have been the two of them who conspired beforehand to deceive the eldest mistress... no, to deceive their sister-in-law."

Jia Lian glanced at Xiang Ling and sighed at her humility. She could casually call a fictional character in a story "Madam," as if she always saw herself as a servant.

"Second Master, is that so?"

Jia smiled and shook his head: "The joke loses its meaning once explained; you can interpret it yourselves. Now tell me, have I passed the test?"

"without……"

Qingwen wanted Jia Lian to speak the truth, but after being glanced at by Jia Lian, she felt a little guilty. Moreover, Xiangling had already raised her hand to indicate her approval, so she had no choice but to give up.

It wasn't until the fourth watch of the night that Sister Feng returned home exhausted and went to bed.

The lights were still on in the room. Everything had been taken away from the kang (heated brick bed) in the outer room. Xiangling and Qingwen, their faces flushed, had both fallen asleep on the kang.

Upon seeing this, Sister Feng frowned. She went into the inner room and found Jia Lian sleeping alone.

She glanced at Jia Lian a few times, then couldn't resist lowering her head and gently kissing him before coming out. Just then, Ping'er saw the two unruly maids and was about to wake them up.

"Never mind, let them sleep here."

They're all your Second Master's precious darlings; I wonder how much they drank with him. They must be drunk.

If we cause them any trouble, your second uncle will be furious when he finds out.

"It's too late. Go and fetch me some water. Be quiet; your second master has gone to sleep too."

So, Sister Feng tidied herself up simply and went to bed with Jia Lian.

After tidying up her things in the side room, Ping'er washed her feet, locked the door, and went to sleep in the night watch room on the east side.