Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 394 The Xue family sets off for Beijing
Jia Lian saw that it would take a while for the Xue family's motorcade to reach the camp.

When you get up and lead people, take the first step.
Behind him, Lai Wang, Zhao'er, and the soldiers followed closely. They returned to the gate of the camp, sorted out their clothes, and then stood at the door waiting, as if they were waiting specially.

After a while,
The Xue family's motorcade has arrived. Xue Pan is riding on his horse and looking around. He sees someone waiting at the camp gate in the distance. He thinks they are the personal guards left by the Luo Yun Hou Mansion. He turns around and urges him to leave quickly. Some.

Come closer,

Looking carefully again, I saw a slender, luxuriously dressed young man with a suave look on his face. He turned out to be Jia Lian of Rongguo Mansion. He hurriedly rode over, asked tentatively and said;

"Is this the second brother Lian from Rongguo Mansion in front of you?"

Jia Lian had already seen the visitor, strode over, patted Xue Pan on the arm, hugged Xue Pan, and replied,

"It's your second brother Lian, and brother Pan is here."

The Jia family and the Xue family have been family friends for several generations, and they are also close relatives by marriage. The head wife of the Rongguo Mansion and the head wife of the Xue family are direct sisters of the Wang family.

Although the Xue family is not as good as before, the royal merchants must have accumulated a lot over the generations and have many connections. As long as there is a courageous man in charge, they will definitely make a comeback.

Jia Lian has not been involved in matters in the south for several years, so naturally he doesn't know the specific situation of the Xue family. Although Xue Pan is confused, his own affairs cannot be leaked to others at will, and others still don't know.

The two met and exchanged brief greetings.

"Brother Lian, why are you here?"

"Hey, don't mention it. The Marquis left early and I didn't follow him, so I had to stay. He said he wanted to wait for you to go with him, so the second brother can only wait for you here."

Xue Pan was not stupid. He knew that Lian's second brother had missed the boat and could only go north with his family. This matter was not a big deal. The friendship between the two families should be like this.

"That's it, Brother Lian, please pack up and get on the boat first."

"Okay, please, Brother Xue,"

"Please."

The two of them went back separately and arranged for their servants to start carrying the luggage. In the water village, there were soldiers from the Hou Mansion with people to help them carry the luggage.

Xue Pan returned to the carriage and said to the inside;

"Mom, sister, the second brother Lian from the Jia family in Rongguo Mansion is also waiting here. He took a boat to Beijing with us. He must have been delayed by something yesterday."

"Well, it's a small matter. As a family member, Baochai, let's go down and prepare to board the ship."

"Yes."

Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai helped each other out of the carriage and glanced at the building boat in front. The guards were still on it, which was good.

Then a voice sounded. Jia Lian came over and bowed, bowing respectfully.

"My nephew, Jia Lian, pays homage to my aunt."

Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai turned around and looked. They saw that the person who came had a fair face and a beautiful beard. He was dressed in brocade and rich clothes. He seemed to have the aristocratic air of a Duke. He actually had a heroic spirit, which was really rare. Aunt Xue stepped forward and said, A gift in vain.

"Please wake up quickly. You are Jia Lian. I haven't seen you for many years. How are you doing, old lady?"

"Go back to aunt, everything is fine,"

Jia Lian stood up to reply and looked up. Aunt Xue's shape and appearance were very similar to the second wife of the Jia family. She was just a little younger and full of smiles, which was very different from the serious face of the second wife. She couldn't help but sigh. There is a big difference, but because Wang Xifeng is called her husband's family, she calls "aunt" "aunt".

Aunt Xue didn't stand either. She pointed at the boat and urged,
"Don't talk here yet. Let's talk when we get on the boat. It's already windy."

Several people agreed,
Then they got on the deck of the ship together, and looked back below. The soldiers of the Hou Mansion directly carried the carriages onto the ship, then collected the ropes on the shore, raised the anchor, and directly raised the sail and left.

"Lian'er, when did you come to Jiangnan? Why didn't you go to Xue's house to sit for a while? A few years ago, your brother Pan still talked about you. He went to the capital and never came back."

Jia Lian gave a polite salute and responded,
"Thank you, aunt, for your concern. Everything is well in the house. I don't know how happy Feng girl will be if she knows that you are coming to Beijing. Today, my nephew came to Jiangnan to mourn. Aunt Jia Min and uncle Lin Ruhai died of illness in Yangzhou. They met Luo Yun on the way. Hou, this matter is a bit complicated and I can’t go into details here.”

Aunt Xue was interested when she heard that she was involved with Marquis Luo Yun. However, Jia Lian spoke like this, so it was hard for her to inquire after the first meeting. Although Xue Baochai also wanted to inquire, she had a daughter and it was not convenient for her to ask.

"Then please forgive me."

Aunt Xue said with some regret that Jia Min had seen it herself, and it was a pity that she left so young!
After all, when it comes to relatives, Jia Min is farther away, and she is closer to Wang Xifeng's family. After all, Wang Xifeng is Aunt Xue's niece. Unlike her sister, there is another person in the second room, and her sister has the same temperament as others. I don’t know, but Aunt Xue knows everything. "Don't worry, aunt. Everything has been arranged. Now we just have to go back to Beijing. May I ask if aunt has made arrangements for her trip to the capital this time? Do I need my nephew to report to the old lady?"

Aunt Xue quickly refused after hearing this.

"When we arrive in the capital, we should go back to our old house first, and then go to the house to see the old lady. It would be disrespectful to rush there."

Although he said this, he made up his mind to go to the Hou Mansion to see the old lady of the Hou Mansion first and make arrangements for his children before making any mistakes.

Jia Lian didn't expect Aunt Xue to refuse so quickly and didn't take it seriously. The Xue family in the capital had already bought a house, but they just didn't come here often.

"Then my nephew is too worried. If Aunt Xue needs help with something, just drop by the house and give her a message."

"It's hard for you to ask us specifically because you are so thoughtful."

Aunt Xue praised her and then felt a little regretful.
"Your sister-in-law is in Yangzhou and has not had much contact with us. However, such a nice person whom I have met left so early. I must be very sad for the old lady. By the way, I remember that your sister-in-law also has a daughter. My name is Daiyu, how can I arrange it now?"

Aunt Xue didn't ask specifically, but she did know something about Jia Min. Now there is only an orphan girl alive, and Jia Lian has not seen anyone here. Could it be that she stayed with the Lin family? But according to the old lady's temperament, she must I won’t not ask, so I can’t help but ask this question.

Jia Lian seemed stunned and hesitated, but he still told the whole story.
"Aunt, I have a younger sister, Daiyu. However, when my uncle and aunt were still alive, they had already betrothed Daiyu to Marquis Luo Yun as their equal wife. My younger sister was not in good health, so she went back to the capital with Marquis Luo Yun."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone in the Xue family looked surprised. How could this happen? Especially Aunt Xue was shocked. There was actually a woman who had arrived first. There were three equal wives in the Hou family. Baochai didn't know about it after this. Will she be bullied? How can Aunt Xue sit still?
"This is actually happening. Lian Er, do you know what the situation is like in the Marquis's residence? For example, how many wives and concubines Marquis Luo Yun has, and who else is more important to speak to?"

Jia Lian couldn't figure it out for a moment, why he suddenly became interested in the Hou Mansion. Qin Keqing, the wife of the Hou Mansion and the head of Chang'an County, knew about it. After all, the Zhang family and the Jia family were in trouble, and the others really didn't know about it. But Wang Xifeng must know,

"Why does aunt ask this? The nephew of the Hou family is not sure, but your niece must know that Wang Xifeng helped arrange the marriage of the Marquis. Mrs. Hou is the princess of Chang'an County who was personally named by the mother-in-law. The other nephews don't know. But my aunt is in trouble."

Aunt Xue naturally knew that Qin Keqing, the lord of Chang'an County, was worthy of being favored by the empress. He was well-mannered and a very nice person. She had met him once and was not like her sister, who seemed a bit mean after entering a high-ranking family.

At the Hou Mansion, I looked around and saw that they were all beautiful women, and I didn’t know who was the wife and who was the concubine.

"Lian'er, I'm not afraid that you will know. Our two families are not outsiders. Your sister Baochai will still need Feng Yatou to help her in the future. Don't let Baochai be bullied."

Jia Lian's eyes turned red as he spoke. Jia Lian didn't know where to start. He still needed Wang Xifeng's help, which was about his daughter's family.

"Please also ask my aunt to make it clear that if my nephew and Feng girl are of use, I will not shirk it."

"Good boy, you and Feng Yatou are caring. Auntie will not hide it from you. Your sister Baochai is also married to Luo Yunhou. The old lady agreed and she became an equal wife. However, auntie is only a daughter, so she can't help but worry. Since Girl Feng is so familiar with the Hou Mansion, she will naturally take care of Baochai more."

Aunt Xue didn't expect Feng Yatou to be so close to the Hou family. She must have nodded in agreement. It's always good to have more than one person to help her.

Unexpectedly, Jia Lian was stunned there. Unexpectedly, after a round of twists and turns, Jia Lian himself and Luo Yunhou started to kiss each other. They are both sisters. It seems that it is not easy to talk about this matter. I will deal with it first and go back to find it. Wang Xifeng would like to discuss it carefully.
"Aunt Xue, it's a good thing that this is the case. We are all members of our own family. My nephew, a man, is inconvenient to ask more about this matter. He still needs to go back to Beijing and let Feng Yatou come forward to inquire. It's windy outside, so it's better for aunt and sister to rest early. "

Aunt Xue also realized that Jia Lian was trying to evade, so she stopped asking. When she arrived in the capital, she went to meet her niece Wang Xifeng in person. No matter what, she could not ask about her daughter's affairs.

"That's right. Then Lian'er, I'll go back first."

"Auntie, please."

After being polite, the Xue family returned to the cabin, leaving Jia Lian alone on the deck. I didn't understand what happened here. How the Xue family came to the Hou Mansion, and there was no news, except that my uncle's daughter also came in. Hou Mansion, how can I say this?

I wanted to leave Xue Pan to inquire, but the Xue brothers remained silent behind them, and they were afraid of losing face, so they didn't say anything.

"Second Master, what are you doing standing here? The wind on the river is strong. Go back and rest early. I asked the steward of the Hou Mansion. He said that the speed of the building boat is not slow. If the sails are full, it will take about six or seven days. We can reach the capital, not much slower than those fast ships, but for the sake of stability, the manager said it needs to be slower, so it will only take half a month."

Lai Wang, who was behind him, saw Mr. Lian standing on the deck in a daze, so he came over to inquire. He was worried that the strong wind on the ship would freeze Mr. Lian.

Jia Lian's thoughts turned back and he glanced at the cabin of the building. The Xue family had long since disappeared. He no longer dwelled on the matter, put down his thoughts, and prepared to go back to the cabin to take a nap.

"Okay, I'll go back right now. You two, please look out for each other and don't collide with anyone on the boat. If you have anything, come to me in the cabin."

"Yes, Second Master, I understand. My brothers are all lying in the cabin and haven't gone anywhere."

"That's good, you can go back and rest."

Jia Lian patted Lai Laiwang on the shoulder and went back to the cabin to rest.

(End of this chapter)