Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 574 It’s indeed Mrs. You
After walking for a while, my legs and feet felt a little uncomfortable. The ankles must have been swollen from the twist just now.

Wang Xifeng was resentful. For the sake of her enemy, she was busy with everything, not only to deal with the aftermath, but also to deal with the aftermath. What was her plan? Mrs. You couldn't stay in the arranged courtyard, so she had to share it with her sister-in-law. Living together, isn't this causing trouble?

Fortunately, the distance is not far away.

In the hazy night, I saw the small courtyard where Li Wan lived. It was brightly lit, so he must have not fallen asleep.

Wang Xifeng's ankle felt better at this time. She stamped her feet without any pain.
"Okay, let's go in like this. Once inside, you mustn't talk too much, just listen!"

"Got it, grandma."

When Ping'er saw her grandma letting go of her hand and walking forward alone, she was still worried, but as she walked into the yard, she stopped talking and followed behind her silently.

Wang Xifeng looked around, but the scenery was still the same. She turned towards the porch, entered the corner door, and reached the attic door. She put her ear to the door and listened to the movement inside. Although there were voices, she could not hear clearly. She turned back He winked at Ping'er.

Pushing the door open,

"Oh, sister-in-law, why haven't you fallen asleep so late?"

"Yes, Jia Lian is still there, but brother Zhen of Ning Guofu is also there. It's just a coincidence and God's will."

"An Xin, it's Girl Feng who's here. She's one of our own, just like you and me."

As soon as he entered the house, he saw his sister-in-law Li Wan standing there, looking at him with a half-smile but not a smile, with a gentle face and a smile. Although Wang Xifeng was puzzled, he looked at his sister-in-law carefully, and it didn't seem like she was there. What it looked like after they were happy, maybe my guess was wrong, just like Ping'er said, the Marquis didn't come over.

Get a head start and test it out.
His eyes quickly looked at everything in the room, and everything was still as usual, but the voices stopped abruptly.

"How could this happen? Jia Lian is still here, how can you do such a thing with him?"

"somebody is coming,"

In the West House,
Mrs. You washed herself up under Su Yun and Yin Die'er's service. Li Wan sat aside and talked with her. Suddenly she heard someone coming into the room. Mrs. You's face turned pale, and the clothes she was about to change slipped off. Li Wan With quick eyesight and quick hands, he hurriedly stood up to stop it, and then put it back through again.

"Then I won't thank you."

what.

While joking, Wang Xifeng went straight into the west room, still thinking about how her sister-in-law agreed so readily.

"What can be the matter? Sister-in-law You is here to stay, isn't she? I'll come over and take a look. If there's anything missing, I'll arrange for my servants to deliver it. I can't neglect Sister-in-law You. By the way, Sister-in-law You is here. "

Hearing that the voice came from the west room, Wang Xifeng's expression returned to normal, and she pulled Ping'er towards the west wing.

Li Wan didn't care at all. This voice was not the powerful second mistress of the Rongguo Mansion. Who else could it be? She was the only one who would not let anyone hear it when entering her own courtyard.

Mrs. You couldn’t refute, but it was reasonable.
"What do you say?"

Mrs. You still didn't believe it. Wang Xifeng had a strong personality and would never do anything dirty.

Mrs. You was shocked in her heart. The clothes she was holding in her hands were wrinkled. She thought that Feng Yatou was the same as herself. How dare Luo Yunhou,
In this way, wouldn't it be that all the wives of the Jia family in Ningrong and Rong were eaten up by him? If word spread, how could the Jia family, a century-old prince, have any face in the capital? Na Na said to herself,

Mrs. You quickly put on her clothes, looking a little flustered.

"If you don't tell her, she will naturally know. You can't hide it from her."

Li Wan shook his head gently, then got up and walked outside the house, saying no mercy,
"What kind of wind has brought Feng girl here? She stayed up in the middle of the night and still came to my place. Could it be that she still has something on her mind?"

Li Wan didn't know if the two of them were still together apart from that one time. It was unlikely, but once there was a next time, how could he figure it out? He didn't want to know the inside story.

Seeing that Feng Yatou didn't mean what she said, Li Wan secretly laughed in his heart. Feng Yatou still needed to cover up the matter between the Marquis and Mrs. You. He couldn't help her by himself. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but get out of the way.
"Where else can I be? In the house, of course. Come in, it's cold outside."

As soon as I entered the house, I saw three or four palace lanterns lit in the corner. The house was bright and I looked over at a glance. The house was not big and the furniture was not much. But on the north side of the house, the most conspicuous thing was the sleeping area. Not only is the bed extremely spacious, it also has a thick curtain, which makes it look extremely strange.

There is not even a dressing table or a bronze mirror in other places. There is only an antique table with a few stools on the south side of the room, which looks extremely empty. As for the walls, there are no other accessories, only heavy curtains hanging to cover them up.
Just why does Sister-in-law You live here? Looking at the bedside, there are urgent items and messy clothes still on the bedside. Isn’t that what Mrs. You wore during the day?
Suddenly, his heart tightened. Mr. Hou could not have gone to the wrong room and done that to Sister-in-law You.

"Sister-in-law You, why are you sleeping here, but the small courtyard I arranged is not suitable."

Seemingly trying to test her, Mrs. You looked helpless and felt sad in her heart. She slept in this room by some strange combination. She should have been in such a disaster.

"That's not true. The courtyard is deserted. I'm just chatting with Li Yatou."

Before sister-in-law Li Wan could speak, Wang Xifeng continued to ask,

"Can Madam You see Marquis Luo Yun coming tonight?"

At this question, even Wang Xifeng himself, the three of them had complicated looks in their eyes. They looked at each other, and when their eyes met, all kinds of complaints and sorrows were intertwined. Wang Xifeng didn't know that Sister-in-law You must be committed to him. Could it be that Mr. Hou went to the wrong house?

"Yes, I saw it. The room was dark. I went to the wrong house."

Li Wan sat down at the table and replied helplessly that the people in the room didn't understand. Wang Xifeng also smiled bitterly and thought to himself, as expected, it doesn't matter, it still needs to be covered up.
"If you make the wrong move, just make the wrong move. After all, a few of us know about it. We must not spread the word. Nowadays, the capital is not stable, and Ningguo Mansion is in trouble again. We must not cause trouble."

This can also be regarded as an explanation and warning to the people in the house.

Mrs. You sat there silently, her head lowered, her face flushed, and she said no more. Seeing this, Li Wan got up and dragged Wang Xifeng out.

"Sister-in-law You, it's night, you should go to bed earlier. The three of us sisters are here, everything is as usual." He nodded to Suyun and pulled Feng Yatou out.
"Okay, you know what's going on, just go back and don't draw attention to yourself."

Wang Xifeng had a lot to ask, but when she saw her sister-in-law's eyes, she seemed to be chasing her away, and she knew the importance.

"Sister-in-law, I'm paying attention. You should be more careful. Since this has happened, I will stay in your courtyard so that I can take care of you."

"That's natural. The East and West mansions still need a lot of help from Feng Yatou,"

"Look at what my sister-in-law said."

The two of them played riddles and talked to each other, and Wang Xifeng made an excuse to leave. As soon as they walked into the courtyard, they heard the sister-in-law behind them suddenly say,
"Girl Feng, I don't have any fire to cook any more medicine tonight."

Wang Xifeng left for a moment, then recovered and left without saying a word.

After leaving the gate of the small courtyard and walking onto the path, Ping'er caught up with him, carefully holding a lantern in front of him to light the road. The wooden palace lantern had a large Chinese character Jia written on it.
"Grandma, what did grandma mean just now? What kind of medicine did you cook?"

Wang Xifeng sighed leisurely,
"What other kind of medicine could it be? Women drink it, Bizi Decoction. She didn't drink it tonight, so it's just to save the seeds."

"Ah. This!"

Ping'er exclaimed in a low voice, which was a little loud. Ping'er was so frightened that he quickly covered his mouth with his hands and looked around nervously. Fortunately, no one was here. He patted his chest and asked,

"Grandma, what should I do if Mrs. You really has a baby? Uncle Zhen is still there at Ningguo Mansion."

"Seeing that you are worthless and making such a fuss, you are here, God knows and Earth knows, we just need to know. Even if Mrs. You gives birth, even though she is the first wife of the Ningguo Mansion, she is also the legitimate son, and she is the one who will continue the marriage. , for Jia Rong, he is not a concubine and cannot inherit the title, so there is nothing to worry about. Those in the Rongguo Mansion are just lying down and being small, raising them together and not participating in any major events. When they are older, they will Just get married, share some land, and separate the family."

Wang Xifeng curled her lips. She could see clearly that the Jia family only valued direct descendants. If the old lady who was born as a concubine didn't like it, it would be useless no matter how favored the concubine was. A concubine was useless in the Duke's mansion. On the eldest master's side, Jia Lian Inheriting the title, from the second wife's side, even though Jia Lan is the eldest grandson, the family property and land and money are reserved for Jia Baoyu. From Sister-in-law Zhu, how much can be divided depends on the methods of the sister-in-law. Otherwise, the money There must be some, she has seen through it.

"What grandma said is that she is afraid that this matter will stir up trouble again. I just think there is something in what grandma said, but I don't know what the specific meaning is."

Ping'er bit her lip, led the way, and replied in a low voice, feeling even more uneasy in her heart. After this, Mr. Hou was a romantic man. Although he didn't visit the brothel, he kept an eye on the wives and concubines in the house. What should I do with this hobby, grandma? It doesn't matter if you have to help cover it up.

Wang Xifeng was careful about her steps and walked slowly. It was better to be in a hurry when she came. Hearing this, her heart was unavoidable. Ping'er was right. Although the avoidance of Zi Tang was taboo, her sister-in-law was so smart. How could she not prepare some medicine tonight? I just said no, it was too much of a coincidence, and there was one more thing I didn’t understand.

Mrs. You came to live with her sister-in-law in the courtyard. How was the sleeping place arranged in this room? That room was probably the place where she and the Marquis had fun. Why did Mrs. You sleep there? Was it intentional or unintentional? , the meanings are thousands of miles apart,
It's because Mrs. You saw the clues herself, and it's hard to tell if she made a mistake and followed others. The most important thing is that the young enemy of Marquis Luo Yun is not old, but he is good at arranging music, and he likes other people's wives and concubines. Like who is in that opera, by the way, Cao Cao or something.

There is also the matter of Ningguo. Depending on what the old lady wants, she will definitely ask her relatives for help. Her uncle, the prince, is about to leave the capital. Although he has sent letters, there is no news yet.

That heartless Jia Lian didn't come to visit him for more than half a month. He didn't know if Hu Meizi came to his door. Thinking of this, he felt irritated and forgot what he had just thought. It was going to rain and his mother was getting married. People, let them be,
"Ping'er, I am the daughter-in-law of the Rongguo Mansion. I am a Taoist woman. I don't care so much. Just let them go. Let's just pretend that we have never been here tonight."

"Yes, I listened to grandma, but grandma, I sent a letter from the second master, but I haven't received a reply yet. I don't know what's going on. Should I send someone to go there again tomorrow?"

Ping'er responded, knowing that grandma missed the second master, but she couldn't hide this thought from herself. Even Ping'er herself missed him a little.

"Don't mention him. If he had remembered home, he would have replied a long time ago. Let's wait for one more day. If he doesn't come tomorrow, let Laiwang make a trip to see what happened to the second master."

"Got it, grandma."

The faint voice was hidden in the courtyard of Rongguo Mansion, with only the dim light of the lantern,
His figure was nowhere to be seen.
Anhu Camp,

Central commander's tent,

Wang Ziteng returned from patrolling the camp with his own soldiers, with a tired look on his face. He opened the tent and walked in. Using the light of the candlelight in the tent, he picked up the tea bowl on the table, poured a glass of water, and drank it in one gulp. This makes him look more energetic.

And outside the account,
Jia Lian and Wang Ren each unloaded their weapons and entered the tent one by one. When they saw their uncle standing in the tent meditating, they did not dare to disturb them and stood there separately.

a long time.

Wang Ziteng looked at the two of them and said,

"Remove armor."

"promise."

Jia Lian and Wang Ren stepped forward and reached out to remove Prince Teng's armor, but they themselves remained armored.

"Uncle, the brothers in each battalion are sleeping peacefully. Today's events have not caused turmoil. The guest army has issued orders and prohibitions. They are rare elite men. There is no trace of other soldiers and horses."

Wang Ren led his troops and inspected the entire camp with Jia Lian. The brothers from the Beijing camp went to the southern camp as usual. The 10,000 soldiers from Hongnong never made any noise. From this alone, we can tell that Hu The power of the general.

Jia Lian then continued,

"Uncle, the important area of ​​Jingshu is connected to the city. We should have moved 10,000 troops to strengthen the defense. However, my eldest brother and I were worried. We discussed it and each sent a battalion. A total of 10,000 elite battalions were sent to guard the important area of ​​food and grass. You still need to be careful.”

I didn't discuss this matter with my uncle Wang Ziteng, but when I was dispatching troops and horses, I heard what Marquis Luo Yun said that day. Food and grass are the key. If you can't defeat it in a battle, you can still defend the city. So, just in case, It was better for our own people to rest assured, so they each allocated a battalion of 5,000 men and horses from their own command, and sent over 10,000 people.

The prince frowned and did not blame him. Ten thousand people more or ten thousand less didn't matter. Now he was worried about two things, the capital, the soldiers and horses of the two counties in the north, and the Jiedu of Daliang City. Will the envoy Lu Daiyuan be delayed in Beijing, which will affect the deadline for going south? Linshan County has never seen a messenger coming.
Another thing is the news that came in the afternoon. Jia Zhen of the Ningguo Mansion was sued by Yan Guan Yan Cong, and the drum was beaten. It was simply lawless. If the Jia family was touched, it would be an attack on the nobles of the capital. This At that time, what did His Majesty mean? Did he mean to strike, or did he really want to test it?

"You two have decided on this matter. Tongcheng is the source of food and grass for the capital. No matter how careful you are, you can't be too careful. In this way, the garrison of Tongcheng has a weight of 30,000. The city is strong and the troops are powerful. It’s Wuyou. What I’m worried about is not the entire city, but the capital south of Beijing. Letters from the city indicate that Jia Zhen of the Ningguo Mansion is raising demons, causing trouble in the capital and attracting a warning from heaven. Some officials have beaten the news drum.”

"What, how is that possible!"

(End of this chapter)