Dream of the Red Chamber: Daiyu and I swapped clothes

Chapter 49 The warm fragrance of nephrite
Seeing Li Chen's suspicious gaze fixed on her, Xiangling's eyes darkened, and she timidly tried to retreat from the bed curtains.

Since entering the Zhenyuan Marquis's mansion, except for the first night, the young master has never been intimate with her again.

After she moved into the side room, the young master deliberately avoided her, only letting her do some simple tasks such as serving tea and meals. He even watched her finish grinding ink and then urged her to leave.

All of this made Xiangling feel anxious and uncertain.

On one hand, she admired the young master for his character and for truly keeping his promise and focusing on his studies; on the other hand, she was also filled with fear and unease, wondering why he had asked for her in the first place if he was so cold and indifferent.

Xiangling has never known how to compete for favor or how to please others. She fears that if she makes a wrong move, she will end up being discarded like a worn-out shoe.

At this moment, she felt even more inclined to back down.

She turned her face away and said in a low voice, "Young master, please forgive me. I was in a hurry and barged into the bedchamber. I will go out and wait for you right away."

But just as she was about to turn around, her sleeve was suddenly tightened, as Li Chen grabbed her hand.

"Young Master?" Xiangling looked up in surprise.

Li Chen had already come to his senses by this time.

This is clearly my own body, but I don't know why there is Xiangling in the room.

But that's not something we should be investigating right now.

Could it be a bad thing that a pretty maid has joined the room?
What's the difference between this and a sheep wandering into a wolf's den?
Moreover, she is Xiangling, a charming and naive maid in Dream of the Red Chamber, whose appearance and temperament are among the best.

"It doesn't matter."

Li Chen spoke in a relaxed tone, with the languor of someone just waking up, and ordered, "Go and fetch my clothes so I can change. Didn't you say Mother was already waiting in the hall?"

A glimmer of light suddenly appeared in Xiangling's dim eyes.

As a servant, my greatest fear is having nothing to do.

Since he was willing to make an unprecedented move by letting her serve him closely, he must not have disliked him.

Xiangling nimbly went to the wardrobe to find clothes, quickly returned to the bed, and carefully dressed Li Chen, even more attentively than she had treated Xue Baochai in Pear Fragrance Courtyard.

Serving a man as he dresses is quite different from serving a woman.

Xue Baochai had a plump figure and a soft, warm touch.

Li Chen's arms were strong and his muscles were clearly defined. Xiang Ling could feel his strength as her fingertips brushed against them, which stirred a ripple in her heart.

At that moment, Li Chen had a playful smile on his lips, his gaze fixed intently on her.

Xiangling looked up and met his gaze. Her face immediately turned red, and she hurriedly lowered her eyes. Even the way she was buttoning her clothes became a little messy.

After unfolding the outer robe and draping it over Li Chen's shoulders, the two stood even closer to each other, face to face.

Li Chen's warm breath brushed against her earlobe, and Xiang Ling felt her heart tremble. Her hands became increasingly flustered, and when she finished, she subconsciously tried to back away.

The atmosphere grew increasingly enchanting, and Xiangling could hardly resist it.

He stepped back and lost his balance.

Xiangling let out a soft cry and her body leaned backward.

Li Chen reacted swiftly, reaching out to grab her slender waist and gently pulling her back.

With a soft chuckle, Li Chen asked teasingly, "Why are you hiding? I'm not going to eat you."

"Young...Young Master didn't allow me to get too close before...But now I..."

Xiangling's voice was barely audible, filled with grievance, yet she dared not finish her sentence.

Li Chen understood instantly, as he listened carefully to the implied meaning.

"What a Lin Daiyu! Using my name to play the role of a 'pure and abstinent' Liu Xiahui? Isn't this just burying one's head in the sand?"

"However, Xiangling was really brought back by her? What method did she use? I was acting like a spoiled brat and chatting happily with Xue Pan, but I didn't have the nerve to ask for her directly."

"She's got it all figured out! She delivered a New Year's gift and ended up bringing home a beauty? That's practically a thief leaving empty-handed—no, I mean, her methods are brilliant!" "Truly worthy of being my system!"

After his initial reflection, Li Chen composed himself, his grip on Xiangling's hands remaining firm, even tightening his hold on her restless little hands. "Be careful. If you fall off the bed with your slender body, you'll get bruised and battered. Do you expect me to take care of you then?"

"This servant dares not..." Xiangling hurriedly shook her head.

At this point, neither advancing nor retreating was an option. Xiangling's hands were too weak, so she could only obediently lean against Li Chen's chest, like a frightened little rabbit.

The atmosphere had gone beyond romantic and was becoming increasingly heated.

Xiangling not only felt her face burning, but even the young master's breath was scorching her shoulders, vaguely similar to the shameful situation of their first night.

Just as she was panicking and trying to beg for mercy and break free to continue her unfinished task, the beaded curtain made a crisp "whoosh".

"My good young master! You should at least check the time, shouldn't you?"

Chun Tao lifted the curtain and entered, seeing the two embracing tightly on the edge of the bed, she immediately laughed in exasperation, "Madam's relatives are all here in the hall, eagerly waiting to see you! This is not the time for your tender moments!"

……

It is a long-standing tradition for the maternal relatives to visit the family on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

This year, however, the scale of the event is much grander than in previous years.

In the main hall, Mother Zou sat in the main seat, chatting and laughing with a group of elderly relatives, her face radiant.

Besides Li Chen's close uncle Zou Xun, there were several other farmers who looked older than his mother, dressed simply, with expressions of respect and joy.

Four other boys, of varying heights and builds, stood respectfully below the hall, making up a complete group.

Li Chen originally thought it was some cliché story of "wealth attracting distant relatives even in remote mountains," but knowing that his father had gained real power, he came to visit.

After his gaze swept over the four of them, Li Chen understood.

It wasn't entirely for her father; she also had ulterior motives towards him.

In the imperial examination system, a candidate for the preliminary examination needed to be jointly guaranteed by five people, with each person's guarantee being correct, and then by a student from the county who was receiving government stipends, in order to be eligible to take the examination.

This is a guarantee.

If one person cheats, all five will be punished, and even the student with a stipend will be stripped of their academic honors.

Therefore, finding four trustworthy and reliable individuals who would not cause trouble was not an easy task, and they were usually sought out from among the students in the academy.

For someone like Li Chen, who was tutored at home by a tutor, it was perfectly safe to find four trusted and honest relatives from his mother's family to act as guarantors for him, since he couldn't find classmates.

Moreover, for these four teenagers, this opportunity also saved them a large sum of money by finding a government-subsidized student to act as guarantor, which was a win-win situation.

"Brother Chen! Come quickly and let your uncle take a look!"

Upon seeing Li Chen enter, Zou Xun immediately rose from the tea table, smiling as he greeted him. He gave Li Chen a firm squeeze on the shoulder and arm, exclaiming loudly, "Good! Your physique is getting stronger! No wonder you're the son of the Marquis of Zhenyuan. In my opinion, this build is better suited for the military camp. It's a pity you're buried in scriptures now!"

Li Chen smiled upon hearing this, and then grabbed Zou Xun's wrist with his other hand, twisting it gently to subdue him. He joked, "Uncle, don't worry. I've never dared to slack off on my martial arts skills."

"Hey! Good lad, your strength has improved!"

Zou Xun winced in pain, then laughed and slapped his arm to beg for mercy, "Let go! You haven't changed a bit, have you?

Li Chen immediately let go, but a hint of surprise flashed through his mind.

He hadn't used much force just now, so why did his uncle react so strongly?

His physical strength seemed slightly stronger than I remembered, and I found myself somewhat uneasy with his movements.

Li Chen's mind raced.

"Lin Daiyu, Lin Daiyu, you are really useful! You must have been practicing diligently every day according to the requirements I wrote down, and maybe you even did some extra practice on your own."

"Sigh, I wish it could make money for me too."

(End of this chapter)