The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 420: With a Small Mind (Two Updates in One)

The northwest wind outside the window rustled the trees in the courtyard, and it looked like it was going to snow again. Wang Xifeng carefully observed her daughter sleeping on the bed by candlelight and found that the chickenpox on her little face had indeed scabbed over and would be fully healed in a few days. So she felt relieved and tiptoed out of the inner room.

It turned out that on the seventh day of the seventh month of the second year after Jia Huan went south, Wang Xifeng gave birth to a daughter. Now she is almost three years old, but she has not been given a name yet, and is just casually called "Big Sister".

A few days ago, the eldest sister suddenly had a fever and a rash. Everyone thought it was smallpox, which was very scary. Fortunately, after the doctor's diagnosis and treatment, it was found to be chickenpox. Everyone in the family breathed a sigh of relief, but they did not dare to take it lightly. Wang Xifeng has been taking care of her every step these days. In addition to worshipping the "Smallpox Goddess", she also sent Jia Lian to live in the outer study, because according to custom, no sexual intercourse is allowed during the period of worshipping the Smallpox Goddess, so as not to blaspheme the gods.

So when Jia Huan and Lin Daiyu returned home today, they did not see Wang Xifeng in such a lively occasion.

In addition, due to the recent bad luck for the Wang family, Wang Ziteng was impeached and resigned from office, and Wang Xifeng also kept a low profile. In addition, Jia Huan passed the imperial examination and returned home in glory, and she really didn't want to see the latter's "arrogant" face, so she used her eldest sister's chickenpox as an excuse and did not attend the event to welcome Jia Huan and Lin Daiyu back home.

Wang Xifeng tiptoed out of the outer room and saw Jia Lian drinking alone. She asked, "Feng'er, it's been a long time. Second Master doesn't have to sleep in the study tonight. Can you bring back your bedding?"

Feng'er is now Wang Xifeng's personal maid and also Jia Lian's household member. After Ping'er left, she quickly rose to the top. On the one hand, Wang Xifeng tacitly agreed, as she wanted to tie down her stud-like husband. On the other hand, this woman is no pushover. Maybe she is not as good as Ping'er in character, but she is just as smart.

Feng Er replied, "I have retrieved it. I have checked carefully and nothing is missing."

Wang Xifeng deliberately glanced at Jia Lian and said, "It's not a big deal if something is lost, but I'm afraid there will be extra things, such as women's hair, rouge, etc."

Jia Lian almost choked and glanced at Feng Er with a warning look. Feng Er pouted slightly and smiled, "I didn't see what Grandma said."

Wang Xifeng nodded and said, "It's best if you haven't seen him!" and sat down next to Jia Lian.

Feng'er hurried forward and poured Wang Xifeng a cup of warm rice wine. Jia Lian took the opportunity to pinch her buttocks and secretly gave her a thumbs up as a reward.

Wang Xifeng took a sip of wine and sneered, "Huan Lao San must be very proud to be back home today. I heard that the old lady even allowed him to move into the garden, which is the same treatment as Baoyu."

Jia Lian curled his lips and said, "It's useless for you to be jealous. He is a juren, and he is the first place winner of the Nanzhili provincial examination. Among the two capitals and thirteen provinces of our Great Jin Dynasty, the Nanzhili provincial examination has always been the most difficult. Since the establishment of our dynasty and the restoration of the imperial examination, five out of ten champions are from Nanzhili. Huan Lao San won the first place in the Nanzhili provincial examination, so he is likely to pass the imperial examination, which means he is a quasi-jinshi. How can the old lady not take it seriously?"

Wang Xifeng said bitterly, "In the past, Huan Lao San was not that smart. But after being kicked by a donkey, he became smarter and had a surprisingly good life."

Jia Lian sneered and said, "Didn't you swear before that Huan Lao San would definitely not pass the provincial examination? What's the matter now?"

A trace of embarrassment flashed across Wang Xifeng's face, because she learned from Mrs. Wang that her uncle Wang Ziteng had already made arrangements, so she was certain that Jia Huan would not pass the exam. However, Jia Huan not only passed it, but also won the first place, which severely slapped her in the face.

"What good does it do to you, Master Lian, if Huan Lao San passes the imperial examination?" Wang Xifeng said with a little shame and annoyance, "Why are you so proud? Seeing your wife being bullied, you are very happy, aren't you?"

Jia Lian frowned and said, "How could I be proud? But to be honest, Jia Huan is a member of the Jia family after all. Now that he has passed the imperial examination, the Jia family is undoubtedly proud of him. If he becomes an official in the court in the future, it will be of great benefit to the Jia family. Who knows, we may need him for favors in the future. I advised you back then that it was enough, but you insisted on being competitive and fighting with the third brother Huan to the end, which caused our relationship to become strained."

Wang Xifeng was so angry that she laughed and said, "Well, what a deep brotherly love! I, your legitimate wife, am not as good as your cousin, Huan Lao San. Now you are blaming me for him?"

Jia Lian said unhappily, "You are making a fuss again. I am just talking about the facts. If you don't want to listen, just treat it as my fart. Whatever you want to say, I will not bother to care about your shit anymore."

Just as Cao Xueqin wrote the verdict for Wang Xifeng in Dream of the Red Chamber, "One obeys, two commands, three people are wooden", in the beginning, when they were newlyweds, the relationship between Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng was as sweet as honey and oil, the husband sings and the wife follows, which is "one obeys".

"Er Ling" means "cold". At this time, the relationship between the couple has obviously reached the second stage. Their feelings for each other have turned cold and they have begun to sleep in the same bed but have different dreams.

Although Wang Xifeng is illiterate, she is arrogant and wants to surpass her husband in everything. She has a strong desire for control. At the beginning, she relied on her beauty, family background, and powerful tactics to control Jia Lian. Now that the novelty has worn off and Wang Ziteng has fallen from power, Wang Xifeng has obviously lost control of Jia Lian, and the latter no longer tolerates and cares for her.

This feeling of defeat undoubtedly made Wang Xifeng very angry, but Wang Ziteng had lost his power. Without the strong support of her natal family, Wang Xifeng obviously lost her original confidence. Even though she was reprimanded by Jia Lian at this moment, she did not dare to turn hostile like before. She just sneered and said, "That's right, you can't write two Jia characters with one stroke. After all, you are brothers with blood ties, not like me, a person with a different surname. By the way, how much silver did your brother Huan bring back this time? How much did he give you?"

Jia Lian frowned and said, "You are talking about something else!"

Wang Xifeng sneered and said, "Don't worry, what he gives you is yours, and I won't ask you for it. Why are you hiding it? I won't give you a penny, will I?"

Jia Lian said angrily, "It's true that Huan Lao San didn't give me a penny, but he didn't take a penny either. He sold all of Uncle Lin's inheritance in Yangzhou and bought farms in Suzhou to collect rent."

"You believe everything he says? Uncle Lin's inheritance is at least 200,000 taels of silver. It would be easy for Huan Lao San to embezzle tens of thousands of taels of silver." Wang Xifeng sneered, "You said Huan Lao San didn't bring any silver back, but I heard that Lin Zhixiao carried several locked boxes to the old ancestor's room."

Jia Lian was stunned for a moment and asked, "How did you know?"

Wang Xifeng said proudly, "Do you think I have been managing the house for nothing all these years? Anyway, I know the news in the backyard a hundred times better than you do."

Jia Lian said disapprovingly, "Maybe it's just a gift brought back from Jiangnan. Didn't you also receive gifts from Miss Lin and Jia Huan tonight? All the sisters and brothers in the mansion received some."

Wang Xifeng curled her lips and said, "The gifts in the old lady's room were delivered once before. Those boxes were delivered later and were locked. Do you think they are ordinary gifts?"

Jia Lian's heart moved and said, "It is indeed a bit suspicious. Could it really be a few boxes of silver? That would be tens of thousands of taels. You are so good, Huan Lao San. You said that the Lin family's property was used to buy farms, but you secretly gave the old lady a large sum of money."

Wang Xifeng laughed and said, "Now you understand how cunning Huan Lao San is. He knows who to please in the mansion, and you are still foolishly kept in the dark!"

Jia Lian's face darkened, and he said coldly, "He didn't spend a penny, but borrowed the Lin family's money to please the old lady. I thought he was a very noble person, but it seems that this guy is very likely to embezzle money."

Wang Xifeng said sarcastically, "You have experienced a lot, but you were deceived so easily by Huan Lao San."

Jia Lian remained silent, but his expression changed.

…………

At this moment, in Jia's grandmother's room, Jia She, Jia Zheng and Jia Zhen were standing respectfully in front of the hall. Jia's grandmother was sitting in the middle on the armchair. Four wooden boxes were placed in a row in front of her, and the lids of the boxes were opened, filled with white silver ingots.

Grandmother Jia glanced at the three of them and said, "This is what Huan'er brought back from the south, a total of 10,000 taels of silver, saying that Yu'er gave it to me as a gift of filial piety. Yu'er is a filial child, and I love her for what she has done. Let's see who dares to complain about her eating and drinking for free in our house in the future."

Jia Zhen hurriedly said, "Mr. Lin is indeed very filial. She is even more caring than the old lady's own granddaughter. The old lady is so lucky."

Grandmother Jia snorted, "I have lived for more than seventy years, and I have never seen ten thousand taels of silver? I thought I was as money-minded as you are. Although my granddaughters and nieces have no money to honor me, I have always treated them equally. I have never shown favoritism to any of them, including food, shelter and other necessities."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Jia Zhen's flattery hit the horse's leg and he kept saying yes in embarrassment.

Grandmother Jia continued, "I also know that a lot of money was spent on building the garden in the past two years. You are all suffering from famine. Here are four boxes, each containing 2500 taels. You can each take one box and leave the remaining box as a pension for me in my old age."

Jia Zheng hurriedly said, "This is Lin's gift to mother. How dare I take it without permission? You should keep the flowers for yourself."

Jia She and Jia Zhen also agreed against their will. Grandmother Jia nodded and said, "It's rare that you have such a heart, but I am an old woman buried up to my neck in the earth. I can't bring anything with me when I'm born, and I can't take anything with me when I die. What's the point of having so much silver? I'd rather give it to you to use in an emergency, so that you don't have to worry about the Lin family's inheritance all the time!"

When these words were spoken, Jia She and the others looked embarrassed. The old lady may be old, but her heart is young and her mind is clear.

I heard Grandmother Jia say again: "I know that Huan'er acted on his own this time and did not bring back all the inheritance of the Lin family. You must be quite dissatisfied."

Jia Zheng said he dared not, and Jia She and Jia Zhen also hurriedly denied it, saying that they had no such intention.

Grandmother Jia said calmly: "Whether you have that intention or not, don't think about the inheritance of Mr. Lin in the future. If I find out, I will not allow it. Well, I am tired too, you can take the silver and leave."

After saying this, Grandmother Jia stood up and, supported by Yuanyang, went back to her room. Jia She glanced at Jia Zheng and Jia Zhen, then stepped forward, picked up a box of silver and left.

Jia Zhen looked at Jia Zheng with an embarrassed look. Jia Zheng hesitated for a moment, then waved his hand and said, "Since it is a reward from the old lady, Master Zhen, take it."

Jia Zhen also hurriedly took a box of silver and left. Although 2500 taels of silver was not a lot, it was better than nothing and could last for some time.

After Jia She and Jia Zhen left, Jia Zheng took the silver and left.

Jia She returned to his residence with a box of silver. Mrs. Xing saw it and asked happily, "Where did you get so much silver, Master?"

Jia She sneered, "A lot? Not even a fraction of Lin Ruhai's inheritance. You little brat, you're so smart, you dare to play tricks on me!"

Mrs. Xing hurriedly asked what was going on.

Jia She then told the story, and Mrs. Xing clapped her hands and said, "Hey, Third Huan is very clever. He spent ten thousand taels of silver to win the favor of the old lady."

Jia She sneered, "The old lady is also confused. She sent her away with only 10,000 taels of silver and warned us not to think about Lin Ruhai's inheritance anymore."

Madam Xing said angrily, "That's right. I heard from the accountant who helps Miss Lin with her accounts that the silver from the sale in Yangzhou alone is nearly 130,000 taels. 130,000 taels is enough for our family to build another garden. If we have this money, we can not only make up for the deficit, but even have a surplus.

Huan Lao San is really a ruthless person. He only gave us 10,000 taels of silver and wanted to send us away, while he pocketed more than 100,000 taels for himself. "

Jia She sneered, "Can he swallow it? Aren't you afraid that he will die of overeating? I will make him vomit it out sooner or later!"

Mrs. Xing's eyes lit up, and she asked hurriedly, "The old lady has already said that we should not worry about it. Does the eldest master have any good ideas? Moreover, Huan Lao San is very smart. He doesn't seem to care about the accounts at all. The account books are all in Lin girl's hands. Moreover, our accountant has helped to check Lin girl's account books and found no problems at all. Huan Lao San has never touched a penny of the Lin family's money."

Jia She's eyes flickered as he said, "Huan is a very cunning kid. He was obviously well prepared and he managed to clear himself of all charges. But he didn't touch the Lin family's money, but maybe he touched someone from the Lin family?"

Madam Xing was stunned and asked, "Did they touch the Lin family? Why?"

Although Mrs. Xing was greedy, she was a fool with low IQ and obviously did not understand what Jia She said.

Jia She said with a dark face: "Stupid, you don't even understand this. Huan must want to get both money and beauty!"

Mrs. Xing's eyes suddenly widened, as if she had discovered a shocking conspiracy, and she blurted out, "So that's how it is. If he marries Miss Lin, won't the Lin family's property belong to him alone? Tsk tsk, no wonder Third Brother Huan cashed in all the Lin family's property to buy farms. It turns out that he had this idea. Who knows, those land deeds may be in his hands now. Yes, I heard from Lian'er that Lin Ruhai held on for a whole day and night and refused to die, just to wait for Jia Huan to come back. Although he couldn't speak before he died, he meant to entrust Miss Lin to Third Brother Huan."

Jia She said in a deep voice: "I am afraid that Jia Huan and Lin girl are also secretly in love. Since ancient times, Chang'e has loved young men. Huan is both talented and handsome. The two of them have been together in Yangzhou day and night, so it is not surprising that they have secretly developed feelings for each other."

Madam Xing was shocked and asked, "What should we do then? Wouldn't it mean that Huan Lao San will succeed?"

Jia She sneered, "It's not that easy. Marriage has been decided by parents and matchmakers since ancient times. If Lin Ruhai had clearly stated that he wanted to marry Lin girl to Huan boy, it would be difficult to make a fuss about it. But since he didn't say it clearly, it's up to us elders to decide. Even if they love each other, without the consent of the old lady and the madam, it's useless to say anything."

Mrs. Xing smiled and said, "That's true. Master is very wise!"

Jia She said with a smug look on his face: "Huan brat wants to play tricks on me, but he is still a little naive. Let me think about it carefully. If I can make this brat willingly spit out the silver, it would be best if we don't hurt each other's relationship."

Madam Xing said disdainfully, "The eldest master is his uncle. Even if he hurts the relationship, what can he do to you?"

Jia She scolded him, "Fool, you only have money in your eyes. You can't see the current momentum of Huan brat, can you? This brat has a bright future. If he becomes a high official in the future, what can he do about revenge on me?"

Madam Xing shuddered and said with a smile, "Master has a long-term vision. I have never thought about this."

Jia She said contemptuously: "That's why people say you have long hair but little knowledge. Go away, let Jiaohong serve me."

Mrs. Xing left the room embarrassedly, and before leaving she glanced greedily at the box of silver.

…………

In Yueweiju, Jia Huan had finally decorated the study. After dinner, he took a comfortable hot bath. Now he was lying in the warm bed, quietly listening to the howling northwest wind outside, feeling cozy and comfortable.

No one came to visit the whole afternoon, not even Tanchun. She must have known that he had to tidy up the house, so they all tacitly agreed not to come and disturb him. Maybe tomorrow, they will all come to join in the fun.

This time when he returned to the Jia Mansion, in addition to the necessary souvenirs, he also brought back 12,000 taels of silver. His purpose was naturally not as bad as Jia She had guessed. He admitted that he had feelings for Sister Lin, but he had never been greedy for the Lin family's wealth from beginning to end.

The reason why ten thousand taels of silver were brought back to Lady Jia in the name of Lin Daiyu was purely to shut up the Jia family and prevent people from gossiping that Lin Daiyu was eating and living for free in the Jia family. It was also to eliminate Lin Daiyu's inferiority complex of living under someone else's roof. After all, ten thousand taels of silver were enough to buy a five-story mansion in the capital. In the future, Lin Daiyu could live peacefully in the center of the garden and would not feel that she owed the Jia family no matter how long she lived there.

What Jia Huan did not expect was that the effect of the ten thousand taels of silver was much greater than he had expected. Not only did it please Grandmother Jia, it also made her warn Jia She, Jia Zhen and others. In this way, it would be difficult for these two to openly challenge him and ask for the Lin family's inheritance.

Jia Huan was listening to the wind outside the house with his eyes closed in deep thought, when he suddenly felt a chill on his body. It turned out that the quilt was lifted up by someone. Then, a warm body crawled into his arms.

As soon as Jia Huan felt the size, he knew who it was without even opening his eyes. He grabbed a handful of the round thing and asked, "Are you done?"

Mandalin smiled and said, "Not yet. I'm too sleepy. Let's go to sleep first and continue tomorrow. Sister Ping'er, come quickly!"

"I...I'd better go back to the room over there and sleep." Ping'er said embarrassedly.

Jia Huan patted the other side of the pillow and said with a smile: "Let's sleep together. There is still room here. The room over there has not been cleaned up yet."

Mandalin suddenly got out of the bed and forcibly pulled Ping'er over to her. The latter half-heartedly gave in, but finally fulfilled her wish of being embraced by someone and sleeping in the same bed.

(End of this chapter)