The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 435 Taking advantage of the situation
The dinner was very sumptuous. Given Jia Huan's current status and position, the kitchen naturally didn't dare to make things difficult for him as they did before. On the contrary, the meals supplied to Yueweiju were all the best, almost the same as the treatment in Jia Baoyu's room.

Outside the window, the cold wind blew through the trees in the courtyard, making it feel cold. Inside the house, the charcoal fire was burning red and warm. Jia Huan, Ping'er and Mandalin, two maids, sat together for dinner, chatting about family matters. The atmosphere was relaxed and warm.

There weren't so many rules in Jia Huan's house to begin with, and now that he had physical contact with the two maids, there were naturally even fewer rules. Eating at the same table was a regular practice, and sleeping in the same bed was an occasional practice.

Just as the master and his servants were happily eating dinner, a maid came in and reported: "Master Rong from the East Palace is here."

Jia Huan's heart moved, he put down his chopsticks and said, "You guys eat first, I'll go out for a while."

Ping Er also put down her chopsticks, took out a large banner and put it on Jia Huan, gently reminding him: "Third Master, if you can help, please help. If you can't help, don't take it on yourself."

"I see!" Jia Huan nodded, walked out of the room, and told the maid, "It's windy outside, let Rong Ge'er come to the tea room."

After giving the instructions, Jia Huan went straight to the tea room next door. A moment later, Jia Rong was brought in. He was wrapped tightly with a scarf covering half of his face, as if he couldn't stand the light.

"Nephew pays his respects to Uncle Huan!" Jia Rong took off his scarf and bowed to Jia Huan. His eyes were red, not knowing whether it was due to the wind or other reasons.

Jia Huan nodded and said, "Rong'er, please sit down. What do you want to talk to me about?" As he added kerosene into the stove and ignited the charcoal, the tea room gradually became warmer.

Jia Rong seemed to be hesitant to speak, obviously finding it difficult to start!
It's no wonder. His wife is on the mind of his father, and he has no ability to protect her. He can only ask for help from Jia Huan, who is a dozen years younger than him. It's really shameful and cowardly. It's so cowardly! !
Jia Huan glanced at the constipated Jia Rong with sympathy and asked, "Brother Rong, are you here for your wife?"

Jia Rong nodded awkwardly and said, "I am very grateful to Uncle Huan for giving Keqing advice, but when that man returned home in the evening and found Keqing missing, he flew into a rage and forced me to bring Keqing back to the mansion tomorrow. Uncle Huan, please be a good person and give me another suggestion. If you can get away with it, I will be very grateful."

Jia Huan frowned and said, "You picked him up when he asked you to? Are you still a man?"

Jia Rong blushed with shame, and stammered, "He is the father, how can a nephew disobey him? Uncle Huan, you also know that in our East Palace, he is the king. If a nephew dares to say no, he will be beaten half to death."

Jia Huan couldn't help but sigh inwardly. This damn feudal patriarchy was really depressing. He had suffered greatly from it in the past. Now that he had passed the imperial examination, he felt better, but he still could not completely get rid of this shackles. So a blacksmith must be strong himself. It was really difficult to get someone like Jia Rong, who had lived under the tyranny of Jia Zhen since he was a child, to rise up and resist at once.

Fortunately, Father Zheng is just pedantic, old-fashioned and hypocritical, but at least he is still a "gentleman" who cares about his reputation. If he were a beast like Jia Zhen, I would have no choice but to take the risk of killing my own relatives for the sake of justice.

Jia Huan pondered for a moment and said calmly, "I can give you an idea, but you can't avoid it. As the saying goes, a thief can only steal for a thousand days, but you can't guard against thieves for a thousand days. What's more, this thief is a thief in your family. How can you guard against him, Rong'er?"

Jia Rong was stunned for a moment, then covered his head in pain and said, "Nephew, I don't know what to do, Uncle Huan, can you teach me?"

Jia Huan shook his head and said, "I can't teach you this, and I can't teach you. You have to figure it out yourself."

Jia Rong looked at Jia Huan thoughtfully, his expression changing. Jia Huan said calmly: "Let me give you an idea to solve the urgent problem. You go to the old lady now and do this and that..."

Jia Rong was delighted when he heard this and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Uncle Huan. From now on, if Uncle Huan has any orders, I will do my best to help you."

"That's not the case. The reason I'm helping you is simply because I can't bear to see it. Go quickly. The old lady is old and goes to bed early. I'm afraid she will fall asleep later." Jia Huan waved his hand.

Jia Rong bowed hurriedly, then left Yueweiju, went out of the garden from the west gate, and went straight to Jia's grandmother's residence.

The west gate of the Grand View Garden is connected to the Rongguo Mansion. Going around Fengjie's courtyard from the back is where Jia's grandmother lives. At this time, Jia's grandmother has not gone to bed yet and is chatting with Mrs. Wang and Wang Xifeng.

Today is a happy day for the Jia family. Jia Yuanchun gave birth to a son and was promoted to imperial concubine. Grandmother Jia was in high spirits and did not feel sleepy at all at the moment.

In addition, although Wang Ziteng was dismissed from his post, the final blow had been struck and he managed to escape with his life without any danger. He did not end up like Prince Yi Zhong, which was a blessing in disguise.

"Master Rong from Dongfu pays his respects to the old lady." At this time, a maid came in to report.

Jia Mu and others were slightly stunned. It was rare for someone to come to pay respects after dark.

Normally, when Jia Zhen, Jia Rong, Jia Lian and others came to pay their respects, Jia's mother would not let them in. She would just kowtow to them through the curtain outside the door and then send them away. But today, she was in a good mood and full of energy, so she made an exception and said, "It's hard for him to come to pay his respects to an old woman like me so late at night. Please ask Rong'er to come in."

After a while, Jia Rong was brought in. He knelt down in front of the seat and greeted Lady Jia, and then greeted Lady Wang and Wang Xifeng.

Wang Xifeng joked, "I guess the sun rose from the east this morning. Rong Ge'er came here to pay his respects to the old ancestor so late at night. I was a little confused."

Jia Rong said with a smile, "Don't make fun of me, Auntie. This is what your nephew's wife specifically told me to do. How dare I not do it?" Wang Xifeng clapped her hands and laughed, "You are so young, but you are afraid of your wife. It's really embarrassing for a man."

Grandmother Jia laughed and said, "Feng Lazi, don't laugh at Rong'er. Isn't Lian'er afraid of you? Besides, it's better to be afraid of your wife than to be uncontrollable and fool around outside. Look at your father-in-law, he's already in his early sixties, but he doesn't take good care of his body, and he doesn't do his job well. He just wants to marry a concubine. Your mother-in-law doesn't care and just flatters him."

Wang Xifeng said pitifully, "How can Second Master Lian be afraid of me? Now I am the only one who is afraid of him."

Grandmother Jia frowned and said, "Really? Did he bully you? Don't be afraid. If Lian'er dares to bully you, tell me and I will vent your anger for you!"

Wang Xifeng took the opportunity to say, "I just found out that Sister Lin gave Master Lian a house in Yangzhou and sold it for twelve thousand taels of silver, but he kept it a secret from me. I guess he hid it as private money."

Grandmother Jia smiled and said, "Yu'er is very generous. Don't worry. I will ask Lian'er to hand over half of it tomorrow, and let him keep the other half. It would be unreasonable for a man to go out to socialize without a few taels of silver to protect himself!"

Wang Xifeng said with a smile: "I was just joking, old ancestor, please don't do that, or Master Lian will blame me for being too talkative and using your power to suppress him."

Grandmother Jia snorted coldly, "If he dares, you must let him know that I am your backer, so that he won't steal money everywhere like a greedy cat when he has a few dollars in his pocket."

Wang Xifeng was secretly delighted to hear this. She also clearly felt that her husband Jia Lian was becoming increasingly cold towards her and was less and less obedient to her. What's more, her uncle Wang Ziteng was demoted from his position. Naturally, she was worried that she would not be able to control Jia Lian anymore, so she took the opportunity to use the power of Grandmother Jia to put some pressure on her husband.

Hey, when it comes to being clever, Wang Xifeng is quite capable. Listening to this, Jia Rong couldn't help but feel sympathy for his uncle Lian. At the same time, he was glad that his wife, Qin Keqing, had a gentle personality. It would be boring if she was as fierce and competitive as Wang Xifeng, always trying to suppress her husband.

Thinking of this, Jia Rong missed his wife even more. He secretly clenched his fist to encourage himself and decided to keep his wife.
At this time, Jia's mother finally woke Jia Rong up and asked, "By the way, your wife hasn't come to see me for a few days. Why did she suddenly ask you to come and pay your respects to me today? Isn't she sick too?"

Jia Rong was waiting for this sentence, and hurriedly answered according to Jia Huan's instructions: "Keqing is not ill, but mother's illness has not improved, and many medicines have not worked, so Keqing went out of the city today to Ningtai Temple to pray for blessings. I heard from the master there that if mother's illness is to be cured, Keqing must eat vegetarian food and chant sutras in the temple for 49 days to pray for mother's blessings and eliminate disasters."

Hearing this, Jia's mother suddenly realized, "So that's how it is. So your wife is staying in the nunnery now?"

Jia Rong nodded and said, "Yes, I can't come to pay my respects to the old lady and the mistress during this period, so I was told to come and say hello to the old lady."

"Amitabha, what a filial child!" Grandmother Jia couldn't help but praise with a smile. Mrs. Wang also clasped her hands together, but Wang Xifeng seemed to be thinking about something.

"I have received her kindness. Rong'er, you have married a good wife. You must treat her well in the future. How about this? It is rare that your wife is so filial. I will give twenty taels of silver as incense money and ask the nunnery to perform a few more rituals to eliminate the disaster for your mother, so that she can get better soon."

Mrs. Wang smiled and said, "Since the old lady offered twenty taels, I will also offer fifteen taels, and have someone send them to the mansion over there later."

Jia Rong was overjoyed and hurriedly thanked Lady Jia and left her room. However, he did not go home immediately. Instead, he went to a brothel to have some fun. He returned home around midnight, still a little drunk.

Sure enough, as soon as Jia Rong entered the mansion, the servant told him: "Rong'er, the master has been looking for you for a long time. He asked you to come to the study when you get home."

Jia Rong went to the study room while still drunk. He saw Jia Zhen's face was extremely gloomy. He shouted at him, "Where did you go to drink yellow urine again? You were nowhere to be found all night."

Jia Rong was so frightened that he got a little drunk and lied, "I happened to have a friend today, so we had a few drinks together."

Jia Zhen stared at Jia Rong for a long time, until the latter's scalp was numb, and then he asked coldly: "Did you tell the old lady that your wife went to Ningtai Temple to chant sutras and pray for blessings?"

Jia Rong quickly denied it, "It wasn't my son who said that. I guess it was just gossip among the servants, and it got to the old lady!"

Jia Zhen sneered with an unpleasant expression, threw a bag of silver in front of Jia Rong, and said calmly: "You don't have to pick up your wife tomorrow. This is the thirty-five taels of silver given by the old lady and the mistress as incense money. Send it to the nunnery tomorrow and ask the nuns to help perform a few rituals to pray for your mother to eliminate the disaster."

Jia Rong was overjoyed. He picked up the silver on the ground and said, "Yes, I'll send the child there tomorrow." Then he was about to leave.

Jia Zhen shouted, "Wait, once the forty-nine days are up, bring your wife back immediately."

Jia Rong secretly hated it and nodded, "Yes!"

"Go!" Jia Zhen shouted and waved his hand to drive Jia Rong away. However, he had no place to vent the anger that had accumulated over the past few days, and it was uncomfortable to hold it in, so he called a boy lover who usually served him to the study to do it.

(End of this chapter)