Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 672: A Luxurious Night in the Capital
In the back hall,
Meng Yueyun smiled slightly, looking at her parents who looked so nervous, she knew that they were doing it for her own good, so she replied;

"Mother, father, we need to go and see whether it will work or not. We can talk about it later. I know that women are in charge of the Rongguo Mansion, but seeing is believing. I want to go to the Rongguo Mansion. Is it possible?"

"this,"

Mrs. Meng was stunned for a moment. How could an unmarried woman go to someone else's house? Even if it was a blind date, she would be accompanied by a matchmaker, and they would be far away. They just looked at each other, and that was it.

If I go to their house so rashly, won't they look down on me?

He wanted to say more, but Meng Li stopped him with his hand.
He knew that his daughter had always been independent-minded, so it was not impossible for her to go to the mansion, but she would have to think carefully about how to go;
"Madam, don't worry. My daughter has her own ideas. There is nothing wrong with visiting her. The Red Mansion blind date still requires the man to visit her. It is not right for our daughter to suffer any grievance. Tonight, I will visit Old Lady Shi and have a talk. After the talk, I will let my daughter go there openly tomorrow."

Meng Li originally wanted to wait a little longer, but then he changed his mind and decided that the sooner the better. If it succeeds, it will succeed. If not, he can just find an excuse to refuse. If he drags it out, there may be changes on the side of the Prime Minister and the Rongguo Mansion. What if Brother Feng comes to his senses and takes this opportunity to blame the Jia family and tell the Jia family about his daughter? Then it will be all over.

Although the chances are small, Brother Feng is a good friend of Shen Zhongxin, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. If Lord Gu comes forward, it is not certain. Thinking of this, Meng Li could not wait any longer.

He looked at his daughter's beautiful face, considered for a moment, and then said;
"Yueyun, if you have made up your mind, Daddy promises you that you can go tomorrow. As for whether you go alone or with your mother, it is up to you to decide."

Meng Li stood up, reached out to take the letter on the table, refolded it and put it in his arms. Both mother and daughter knew that they should go to Rongguo Mansion.

Meng Yueyun thought about it and thought that if her mother came along, it would be awkward if it didn't work out. It would be better for her to go to the house herself and talk a little to find out the truth. If it didn't work out, she could smooth things over. If it did work out, she could let her mother come forward.
Then she shook her head and said coquettishly;
"Mother, please ask Madam Meng to accompany me, and I will go alone. If you go, how can you see Jia Baoyu? Who knows, what if they are sitting there talking tomorrow and it is all fake? Isn't that deceiving us?"

What you said makes sense. I am just afraid that when going on a blind date, one might suppress one’s true nature and act like an act, thus deceiving everyone.

Speaking of Aunt Meng, she is the old lady Meng in the mansion. She has served the Meng family for three generations. With the surname of the Meng family, she is well-behaved by the master family. Aunt Meng helps her in everything in the mansion. Not only is she very familiar with the ways of the world, but she has also been good to Meng Yueyun since she was a child. She is very good at judging people. When she is free, she helps many clansmen in the mansion to matchmake and arrange marriages. She is well-known.
When she heard that it was her, Madam Meng's face relaxed. With her around, her daughter's affairs were really no problem. She exhaled and nodded.
"That's fine. Nanny Meng treats you like her own child. I feel relieved to have her accompany you. But remember, the man has to watch it, and his mother has to watch it too. If you meet a mother-in-law with a weird personality, your future life will be miserable."

"Why say all that? If that's the case, you've made up your mind. I'll go to Rongguo Mansion and meet the old lady to see what she has to say. Just wait."

Meng Li saw that his wife had agreed, so he did not hesitate to go and chat with her first, then turned around and left in a hurry.
Mrs. Meng shook her head when she saw this. She was still impatient. Matters of marriage should be handled slowly. Why was she in such a hurry? Although her daughter was not one in a million, she was still rare. So she had to marry into a good family.

"Yueyun, your father is in trouble. The Feng family's previous experience is a lesson right in front of us. He is a little scared and worried that you will be wronged."

"Mother."

"Okay. Let's not talk about it!"

Manchunyuan,
In Tinglan Pavilion,

It is no exaggeration to say that it is a life of drunkenness and dreaming. The atmosphere of luxury and debauchery permeates the entire attic.

Zhang Jinyu's face was red from drinking, and her mouth was knotted. She didn't expect the wine to look good, but it had such a strong aftereffect. She drank a lot, her face was red, and she felt dizzy. She seemed to be holding something in her arms.
The three women who had been accompanying him to drink were no longer as dignified as before. Their faces were blushing, and their clothes were a little messy, revealing a lot of skin. On the table, there were delicacies from land and sea, and Zhang Jinyu had eaten most of them. Princess Yongcheng, who was beside him, was wearing almost transparent clothes. She squeezed next to him and seemed to have drunk a lot.
On the high platform not far away, the courtesans of Manchun Courtyard, Gu Qiubo and Ma Xianglan, were still dancing slowly. They were barely visible under the lights, and it was not an exaggeration to say that their days were like those of gods.

Zhang Jinyu was shocked. This was not going to work. If he continued drinking for a while, he would not know where the wine had gone. It seemed that the wine nowadays was not just blended like the wine in later generations. So he made a mistake by drinking it.

In a trance,
I didn't know where my hand had reached, but it felt soft and smooth. I had no choice but to take the teapot and pour it all over. Only then did I feel much better. I shook my head and realized that my hand was in a place where it shouldn't be. I quickly withdrew my hand, and a faint fragrance came to me.
He suppressed his restlessness and said;

"Your Highness, Your Highness, I, your subject, cannot drink any more. As the saying goes, it is not the wine that makes you drunk, but the person who makes you drunk. I have lost my composure."

Zhang Jinyu threw away her chopsticks, drank another bowl of tea, and hurriedly pushed away the wine brought by Princess Yongcheng. She didn't know that the wine cup was repeatedly drunk by the two of them. To outsiders, it looked like a romantic relationship between a man and a woman.

"Oh, Lord Marquis, why are you so self-deprecating? As far as I know, Lord Marquis has a huge appetite, how can this make him drunk? Besides, it's a rare opportunity for Lord Marquis to come here, if he doesn't let go and drink a little, then it would be a waste of time. Besides, I am here with you, so what's the point of drinking?"

After saying that, she came close to him, almost half lying in Zhang Jinyu's arms. Her soft and plump body, with the fragrance of orchids, made people intoxicated. It was very good, but it was a pity that she was a princess. The key point was that her husband was not dead yet. If she was a widow, it would be hard to say.

Zhang Jinyu thought about this and realized the difficulty. If he really wanted to, he might as well choose Princess Yueru. After all, she was a widow. It would be too generous for him, Marquis Luo Yun, to share with others.

He blocked it with his arms and sighed.
"Your Highness's intention, I appreciate it. Now Your Highness also has to consider the feelings of the Prince Consort. It is said that Your Highness once had an unpleasant quarrel with the Princess Royal because of the Prince Consort. Now the Prince Consort has followed Your Highness to the capital.

Don't let him cause any trouble, you need to comfort him and make sure you don't ruin His Highness' intentions, otherwise, in the end, His Highness will fail, wouldn't it be a pity!"

As soon as Zhang Jinyu mentioned the prince consort, she seemed to sober up and looked around to see if the prince consort was hiding in the dark. As the saying goes, if you catch an adulterer, catch them in pairs. In addition, there were several other women with them. If he was caught, there was no telling how many pairs there would be and he would lose face.

Speaking of the Dawu prince consort, he was almost the same as the prince consort of the previous dynasty, with no status. Even if the princess had a lover, the prince consort could only watch from the side. It was really like having an affair. For a man to do this, it was a waste.
But when he thought about it, he remembered that in his time and space, someone had been married for more than ten years, and several children were not his own. Thinking about it this way, the prince consort felt much better. It was all obvious.
Just when Zhang Jinyu was daydreaming,
Princess Yongcheng Zhou Ying suddenly stood up and sneered.
"How dare he! With that rubbish of his, he dared to ruin my business. I don't look down on him. If he really did it, I might look at him with a higher regard."

Such a tone made Zhang Jinyu stunned. He obviously guessed that the princess used this tone. The rumors of those officials were obviously wrong. Didn't Princess Yongcheng go to great lengths to snatch the prince consort from Princess Yueru? How could this be? However, these were not things that he, an outsider, could interfere with.

"Your Highness, you'd better be careful. We've almost finished eating. Please don't forget the agreement. I agree with you too. The imperial examination is coming soon. We must not cause any trouble. In the next few days, I will find an opportunity to advise Your Majesty. Please be patient."

As soon as this word comes out,
Princess Yongcheng was stunned. She put down the wine cup in her hand, held her chin with both hands, and half-lying on the edge of the table. Her green skirt was scattered, and the neckline of her top was opened wider, revealing the scenery inside. Zhang Jinyu was so thirsty that her mouth was dry. She was indeed a woman, so courageous.
But even so, I remained calm and took the benefits first.

"Haha, the Marquis is afraid that I will default on my debt. Ge Qing, give the banknotes to the Marquis. We don't have much in Manchun Courtyard, but we have a lot of silver. As for the grain, we will naturally transport it to the outside of the Great Wall for the Marquis after the autumn harvest."

Ge Qing glanced at His Highness, and hurriedly took out a wooden box from the secret compartment under the table, and directly took out four bills, including a silver bill of 50,000 taels, and placed it on the table. Then, he quickly closed the box and sent it back.

Zhang Jinyu glanced at it and saw that there was still a thick stack of money in the box. Suddenly, he felt that he might have asked for too little. As a famous brothel in the world, Manchunyuan had earned a lot of money in more than ten years. Before he could come to his senses, Princess Yongcheng took a seal and stamped the lower left corner of the four silver bills. It was a secret code with the bank. Only with this seal could the silver be redeemed.

"Thank you, Your Highness. You're welcome."

He reached out his hand, took the banknote from the table, put it in his arms, and then picked up the tea money bowl and took a sip. Without stopping, he stood up, clasped his fists, and said;

"Your Highness, the matter is over. Your Highness has drunk so much wine, it is time to take a rest. It is getting late, I will go back now."

"Haha, Marquis Luo Yun has turned his back on me after receiving the silver. He wants to leave so soon. I haven't had enough to drink yet."

The lazy voice sounded again. Zhou Ying stared at Luo Yunhou and did not stand up. Zhang Jinyu's legs were numb now. He needed to sit cross-legged and kneel for the first time. Who could bear it? He endured the discomfort and replied;

"Tea also intoxicates people, so why do I need wine? Books are fragrant, so why do I need flowers? Wine doesn't intoxicate people, but people get intoxicated themselves; flowers don't fascinate people, but people fascinate themselves. Your Highness still looks the same. If you return to the capital, the young talents in the capital will surely go crazy for you. There are many scholars taking the imperial examinations. If Your Highness returns to the capital, you will need to restrain yourself. I'm leaving now."

Without waiting for Princess Yongcheng to finish her words, Zhang Jinyu stepped down the stairs, greeted Ning Bian and others, and then pushed the door open and left in such a cool and elegant manner.
Princess Yongcheng, who stayed in the room, put away her smile, picked up the wine cup, drank it all, and muttered to herself,

"Tea also intoxicates people, so why do I need wine? Books are naturally fragrant, so why do I need flowers? Wine doesn't intoxicate people, but people get intoxicated by themselves; flowers don't fascinate people, but people fascinate themselves. What a good poem, but I feel there should be a second line. Everyone says that Marquis Luo Yun is lustful and flatters villains. When I saw it today, I was shocked."

At this moment, Princess Yongcheng looked normal, with a gleam in her eyes. She sat up and returned to the main seat. The woman in white, Zou Xiao, hurriedly stood up and poured a bowl of tea for her master.
"Your Highness, Marquis Luo Yun is not ignorant of etiquette as the outside world has said. But just now, Marquis Luo Yun looked at your Highness in many places, it's not that he didn't look at you."

After saying this, his face turned red. The large amount of white that His Highness accidentally revealed just now made Luo Yunhou's eyes pop out. He must have seen it all.
"Ah, the more this is the case, the more it proves that this person is not simple. If a man is not lustful, then there is really something fishy. Luo Yunhou is young and hot-tempered. Even if he can endure it, he will not be too deliberate. He asked for 200,000 taels of silver from me a year. Counting my sister's money, it is 400,000 taels a year, plus 600,000 dan of grain. I wonder what the situation is outside the Great Wall?"

Princess Yongcheng had a solemn face. Marquis Luo Yun was actually the Marquis of Guannei outside the Great Wall. Although it was a bitter and cold place, it could support 200,000 people. With these, it was unknown how many more troops he could support. After all, the soldiers of Dawu only received two taels of silver a month. Could it be possible that the two sisters would be able to support another Western King?

Suddenly, Zhou Ying smiled and shook her head. Even these were not enough to sustain the army. She was worrying too much.

"Your Highness, as far as I know, there is a shortage of food outside the Great Wall. There are endless ships sailing from the south of the Yangtze River to the north. Many of them are purchased by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Most of them are sent to the outside of the Great Wall by the imperial court. Especially after the civil strife in southern Beijing, the prefectures along the canal have stepped up efforts to send people away. I guess the situation in southern Beijing is not optimistic."

Ge Qing also stood up early and waited respectfully to explain that the situation inside the Great Wall is not peaceful at the moment, while the areas outside the Great Wall and the northwest are peaceful and stable, forming a sharp contrast.

"In the south of the capital, isn't it just that the Taiping Cult is causing trouble in Linshan County? I don't know where they came from, and they are forcing the court to send troops. Well, let's go back to the capital first. As for my sister, you should start to have someone keep an eye on her now. I think my sister has the same idea. I just don't know if there will be other changes. Besides, it's hard to say whether the forces of the Marquis of Jingnan will be involved in the unrest in the south of the capital."

Princess Yongcheng's eyes drifted out the window. She was still not as good as her sister. The power of the Jingnan Marquis's Mansion alone was beyond the reach of many people. If she had not returned to the capital, earned some money, and kept many retainers, she would not have had the time to return to the capital. But when she met Marquis Luo Yun today, she realized that without military power, all were castles in the air. Could 10,000 elite troops really not hold out for even an hour?

"Yes, Your Highness, I obey your command. The people we brought from the northwest are already lurking in the capital."

"Okay, just wait for the letter from the palace. As for the prince consort, wait until everything is settled before taking him over. After all, the emperor still wants to see."

"Here!"

Outside Tinglan Pavilion,

The night wind blew, and along with the water vapor from the lake, it began to spread ashore!
"My Lord, my Lord, please walk slowly. The ground is uneven."

Outside Manchunyuan,
Zhang Jinyu almost ran out, followed by his personal guards. Ning Bian was even more afraid that the Marquis would fall, so he kept reminding him from behind.

After leaving the yard and reaching the lake, the breeze made people obviously more sober. Touching the silver bills in his arms, Zhang Jinyu couldn't help but sigh. There were many people in the world who were not well fed. It could be said that the people were living in misery. And these so-called nobles were living a life of drunkenness and dreams, and they didn't know how to live. How could civil unrest be prevented?

Looking back at the brightly lit Manchun Courtyard, the restlessness in his heart suddenly calmed down, as if warning himself, he said;

"Uneven roads make people more careful. On the contrary, flat roads may be more dangerous. Let's go back."

"Yes, Lord Marquis."

immediately,

Zhang Jinyu got on the carriage and lay directly on it. Ning Bian and others protected the carriage and moved slowly. As the convoy moved away, a ghostly figure flashed in the dark and disappeared. No one knew which spy stayed here.

Baolinghou Mansion,

Madam Lang's personal maid brought the lotus seed soup to her and placed it on the table. She then took a spoon and put it in the bowl.

"Madam, the lotus seed soup is ready,"

"Oh, I see."

Lang Shuhui, the wife of Baolinghou Mansion, had just finished bathing, changed into apricot-yellow clothes, tied her hair simply, and walked out. She picked up the bowl and tasted it slowly. It was sweet but not greasy, and it still had the same taste.

"It must be made by Nanny Wang. It's still delicious."

"Yes, ma'am, it was Nanny Wang who did it."

The little girl squinted her eyes and smiled. Every time Nanny Wang cooked more, she would have a small bowl.

"You are the only one who can take advantage of me. By the way, I have thought of something. I plan to have the housekeeper accompany me to send Xiangyun to Rongguo Mansion for a few days tomorrow. After all, we are old relatives. Let the old lady feel at ease."

Mrs. Shi, Lang Shuhui, has been thinking about it these days. She can't just visit her husband's family suddenly. After all, her husband's family and the old lady had a bad relationship in the past. Although the situation has eased a lot since then, it's still not good.

So after thinking about it, he decided to let Xiangyun go first to test the waters. After all, Xiangyun has a good relationship with the Rongguo Mansion, so he would see how the situation develops.

"Oh, Madam, you want to send Miss Xiangyun to Rongguo Mansion. Will the master and the second master agree?"

The water drops speak without restraint, blurting out,

Lang Shuhui raised her eyebrows.
"Why? This lady cannot interfere in the affairs of the Baoling Marquis's Mansion. As for the Second Master, they have already separated their family. The Zhongjing Marquis's Mansion is the Zhongjing Marquis's Mansion, and the Baoling Marquis's Mansion is the Baoling Marquis's Mansion. It is not their turn to take charge of my place. It is settled. Now go and tell Xiangyun."

Shuizhu paused for a moment, knowing that the lady had made up her mind, and replied;
"Yes, ma'am, I'll be right there."

(End of this chapter)