Uncle Lai in the Red Chamber

Chapter 264
The next day, early in the morning.

Lai Shangrong yawned and got up from the bed. With Qingwen and Xiangling waiting on him, he finished washing and dressing and came to Huifang Garden.

I couldn’t help but sigh, it’s hard to be the king of the sea!
During yesterday's rare rest, not only did he have no chance to recuperate, but he worked a little too hard. It turns out that the landlord's family had no food left.

So when I returned home, not only did I go to the rooms of Qin Keqing or Second Sister You, I didn't even dare to wake up Qingwen and Xiangling.

A moment's rest could not cover up yesterday's hard work. If today was not the first day agreed with Xichun, he would really want to catch up on another night's sleep.

However, to put it this way, the body is the capital of revolution. If we hadn’t worked hard since childhood, we wouldn’t be as happy as we were yesterday.

So when he came to Huifang Garden, he didn't look for Xichun specifically, he just jogged around the garden.

After bypassing Tianxiang Tower and arriving outside Doufeng Pavilion, they saw Dengxian Pavilion opposite, where Master Xichun and his servants were coming.

Xichun is wearing a green dress today and a pink gauze waistcoat. She has a delicate and pretty face with a little baby fat, and her eyes are as deep as autumn water and cold pools, deep and repellent.

Seeing Lai Shangrong running over, he managed to smile, but there was a hint of unfamiliarity in the smile.

"Brother Lai, morning!"

"Yeah! Be good!" Lai Shangrong touched Xichun's head and said with a smile: "The painting supplies will be delivered in the next two days. Then you can paint in the garden, and it won't be so boring."

Xichun didn't know that he had left the errand to Wang Xifeng, thinking that while he was off to Rong Mansion yesterday, he was still thinking about his own affairs and took some time out of his busy schedule to get it done.

There was finally a hint of warmth on that iceberg-like cold face.

"I'm not in a hurry!"

After saying that, Xichun scratched the bun on her head and looked at her nose and mouth, not daring to look directly at him.

"By the way, Xichun, when is your birthday?"

The horoscope of the birth date of the ancients was a secret, because of superstition and fear of witchcraft, except for those who were close, they would only exchange birthdays before they got married.

However, Lai Shangrong didn't care about this. He simply thought about celebrating his birthday and wanted to relieve the coldness in his heart for this little loli who had not yet grown up.

As for whether he counted Xichun's age on his fingers, only Uncle Lai knew.

When he read The Red Mansion in his previous life, he had doubts in his mind. In the book, whether it was foreigners like the Xue family, famous ones like Ping'er or Xiangling, or marginal maids like Si'er, the birth dates were all told.

But they are both the four springs, but only the birthdays of Yingchun and Xichun are unknown, which shows how transparent they are.

Xichun didn't know what he was thinking, so she asked anxiously: "Why does Brother Lai want to ask about his birthday?"

"Hahaha!" Lai Shangrong said with a hearty smile: "Of course I want to celebrate Xichun's birthday! Otherwise, how can we do it?"

"Birthday?" There was a trace of confusion in Xichun's eyes.

"What? In all the years you have been in Rong Mansion, no one has celebrated your birthday?"

"No...no!"

Lai Shangrong held Xichun's head in his arms at the right time and said warmly: "It's okay! Brother Lai will take care of it for you every year from now on."

"Every year..." Xichun muttered, a trace of panic flashing across his face.

Lai Shangrong said calmly: "Of course every year, doesn't Xichun not want to live here with Brother Lai all the time?"

Xichun looked up and saw his sincere face, wondering if he had misunderstood the meaning.

The unexpected answer was: "The eighth day of June!"

"Okay! Brother Lai has taken note of it!"

Later, Lai Shangrong ran around the garden twice more, feeling vaguely like he was being watched.Back in the backyard, Youshi had already laid out breakfast.

"By the way, write down your birthdays, and remember to inform me in advance when you look back. Xiuyan is April 26, and I asked Xichun, and it is the eighth day of June."

Second Sister You's date was the seventh day of the eighth lunar month, so he naturally knew that, but as You's elder sister, he didn't pay any attention to it.

"Hey!"

The truth lies in the subtleties. She didn't expect that Lai Shangrong would still care about these little things. Her eyes were almost watering when she looked at Lai Shangrong. She would serve him even more wholeheartedly in the future, let's not mention it for now.

While Lai Shangrong went to the Yamen, Baochai rushed to the Xue family courtyard in the northeast corner.

Xue Baochai, who stepped into the room, hurriedly said, "Why did mother call me over so early in the morning?"

Before she finished speaking, she saw Aunt Xue looking haggard.

Hastily stepped forward and asked: "Mom! What's wrong with you? Could something be wrong?"

A trace of panic flashed across Aunt Xue's face, and she hurriedly covered it up: "No...it's okay! I was just worried about your brother last night and didn't sleep well."

Xue Baochai relaxed and sighed: "My brother is such a big man, and he went to his hometown in Jinling. I have my second uncle and the others to take care of him. If he doesn't cause trouble, he will be like Amitabha. Are you still worried about him?"

After a pause, he added: "You called your daughter over early in the morning. Did you dream about something while doing homework or have your mind wandered?"

Aunt Xue trembled slightly when she heard Baochai talking about what she dreamed about. She hurriedly handed over a letter and changed the topic: "Someone came from the south and came back with a letter from your brother. He said that your second uncle is dying and he is going to die." Stay there and wait for a while before coming back."

"Ah!~Second uncle is about to die?"

Xue Baochai murmured to himself, and then came back to his senses. He didn't have time to check the contents of the letter, and asked hurriedly: "Did my brother tell me how the shop in the south is doing?"

"I told you, it's all done!" Aunt Xue said weakly.

"How could it be? Didn't we send someone to chase him?"

"Oh! When we sent him, he had already gone out of several rooms. Then the shopkeepers got wind of the news and ran to him to complain, saying that they couldn't treat one favorably. You still don't know your brother's temperament. How can you stand up to this? You can't wipe it out. Noodles, just plate them all out."

"Alas!~Brother is so confused!" Xue Baochai sighed.

"It's too late to talk about this now. Your brother also said in the letter that your second uncle is afraid of delaying Baoqin's marriage and wants her to follow him to Beijing and get married within a hundred days."

In ancient times, people observed mourning for three years after their parents died. During these three years, they were not allowed to post couplets, hold happy events, set off firecrackers, wear red or green clothes, or have bad habits.

However, you can get married within a hundred days of observing filial piety. Otherwise, once the hundred days have passed, you have to wait for three years.

"Is this...is this a bit impatient? The Mei Hanlin family is a scholarly family after all..."

"Why don't I know this? But after all, it is your second uncle's wish. I can only wait for your sister to come to Beijing. Then ask your brother and Xue Biao to come to the door and ask first. Fortunately, they are already engaged. , even if you really don't agree to rush to buy it, it's just waiting for another three years, and your sister is two years younger than you, so you can still wait."

Hearing what his mother said, Baochai nodded and sighed: "That's the only way it can be."

After a pause, he then said: "Actually, it would be good to get married earlier. After all, Mei Hanlin was born in Hanlin, and now he is serving as the Shaoqing of Honglu Temple. I heard that this time he and Brother Lai will negotiate with Xiyi about our family's affairs. Maybe we have to count on his family for some help.”

"Yes, yes! I'm just so worried, but you're more thoughtful."

Xue Baochai nodded and said: "He negotiated with Brother Lai, and I think he must have some friendship. When the time comes, we will ask him to come and invite him to come forward. It is a matter of life for sister Baoqin. I believe that brother will not shirk the responsibility. Then we will invite him over to entertain him. , to thank him for his help, once you come and go, brother can let go..."

"No!" Aunt Xue exclaimed before Baochai could finish.

Seeing her daughter looking at herself with a puzzled expression, she hurriedly said, "I'd better discuss this matter with your brother first, lest he play petty temper again."

(End of this chapter)