Red Mansion Beijingwang

As night falls and the lights come on, a crescent moon shaped like a small boat hangs in the dark sky. The bright moonlight seems to cover the earth with a soft silk cloak, with some hazy beams of light.

The small courtyard where Li Wan and Jia Lan lived.

Li Wan stood in front of the nanmu table, slightly hunched over. Her delicate body was so curvaceous under her azure blue skirt. Her bright almond eyes looked at the neatly arranged blue-and-white porcelain plates on the table, and a look of satisfaction appeared on her pretty face.

Zhen Hua had already told him clearly about inviting the prince to be the host. The prince would come today, so she had made preparations early. The exquisite food on the table was all prepared by her.

After all, apart from doing it myself, there is no other way to express my gratitude to the prince.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead with her slender hands, and rolled up her sleeves, revealing her arms, which shone brightly under the orange candlelight. Her bright eyes under her willow-leaf eyebrows stared at the food on the table. She thought to herself, "I haven't cooked for a long time. I hope the prince won't mind."

On one side, Jia Lan looked at Li Wan, who was busy at the nanmu table. Under her delicate eyebrows, her eyes were bright and her voice was filled with joy. She said, "Mother, when will my uncle come?"

Today, his mother suddenly said that she wanted to invite his uncle to be a host, which made Jia Lan very happy. Jia Lan had great respect for his uncle who had taken good care of him, and had originally wanted to repay him. However, he was still young and had no chance. He never thought that his mother would actually invite his uncle.

Hearing the young man's words, Li Wan looked up at Jia Lan, and saw the joy that could not be hidden on his little face, and a trace of imperceptible worry between his delicate eyebrows. She said softly, "Well, the prince will come over when he finishes his work."

In fact, Li Wan was not sure in her heart. After all, it was Zhen Hua who told her. However, Zhen Hua had no need to coax her. She thought she had explained it to the prince a long time ago.

The most important thing is that since the prince is such a humble man and has already agreed to it, how could he break his promise to a widow like her?

Li Wan pursed her pink lips and looked up at the joy on Jia Lan's face. Her almond eyes twinkled and she smiled, "Why are you so happy that the prince is coming over? You like the prince so much."

She knew that Jia Lan respected the prince very much, but this time it seemed that it was more than just ordinary respect. Did Brother Lan like the prince that much?

Jia Lan nodded, his eyes bright as he said, "Well, my uncle is a very good person. In addition to teaching me and Uncle Huan San knowledge, he also often teaches us some principles of life. Uncle Huan San and I both respect my uncle very much."

Li Wan stared at the joy on Jia Lan's little face, her almond-shaped eyes flashed under her willow-leaf eyebrows, and a feeling of apology towards Jia Lan surged in her heart.

She roughly understood Jia Lan's thoughts. Brother Lan was not valued in the Duke's Mansion and few people taught him. Even his grandfather Jia Zheng basically just asked about his homework.

Even if Li Wan could teach Jia Lan, she was a woman after all, and she certainly didn't have the ability to teach by example. If that person were still alive, she wouldn't have done this.

The expression on Jia Lan's face, which has always been steady, can't be faked. The prince's care for Jia Lan is real. At this moment, Li Wan's gratitude to the prince is even greater.

At this moment, Zhen Hua, dressed in gorgeous clothes, walked in. Seeing the mother and son in the room, she smiled and said, "Aunt Zhu, everything is ready."

When Li Wan saw Zhen Hua, a smile appeared on her beautiful face, and she greeted her, "Hua'er, you're here."

This party was arranged by Zhen Hua, so of course she was invited. Moreover, as a woman, she felt a little uncomfortable staying in the same room with a man, so having Zhen Hua, an "acquaintance", accompany her made everyone feel better.

Zhen Hua smiled and gestured, and Jingzhe came up with a tray on which was an exquisite blue and white porcelain wine pot. In Li Wan's slightly puzzled eyes, he explained, "This is the best Shaoxing rice wine. I brought it here specially."

Li Wan's brows were relaxed, and there was a touch of touching in her eyes as she looked at Zhen Hua. This nephew's wife was truly a considerate person and worthy of close friendship.

Li Wan pursed her lips and said, "I have prepared the drinks. You..."

Zhen Hua didn't take it seriously and said with a smile, "Since we brought it, it shouldn't be wasted. Let's eat yours first and keep this pot of wine for later use."

If we want to succeed, we must rely on the wine she brought.

Li Wan blinked when she heard this, and thought that what Zhen Hua said made sense, but she didn't say anything.

At this moment, Jia Lan stepped forward, saluted in a serious manner and said, "Hello, Sister Hua."

Jia Rong and Jia Lan are of the same generation. Logically, Jia Lan should call Zhen Hua sister-in-law, but Zhen Hua does not like this title and asks Jia Lan to call her sister.

Zhen Hua stared at Jia Lan, rubbed Jia Lan's little head intimately, and said with a smile: "Well, good boy."

Jia Lan was not used to this kind of intimacy. An unnatural look appeared on his pretty face. He blinked and asked, "Sister Huaer, why didn't uncle come with us?"

Upon hearing this, Zhen Hua paused slightly while rubbing Jia Lan's little head. A gleam of brilliance flashed in her crystal clear eyes, and she felt an urge to tear Jia Lan's mouth apart.

What uncle? When she heard this name, she thought of Jia Yuanchun and felt annoyed.

At this time, Li Wan also raised her beautiful eyes and looked at Zhen Hua, with a hint of doubt between her delicate eyebrows. She thought that the prince would come with Hua'er, but she never expected that Zhen Hua would come alone.

If something went wrong, then her hosting today would be in vain.

Zhen Hua came back to her senses and said with a smile, "I sent someone to ask, and they said that the prince had just returned home. I think he will be here soon. We just need to wait for a while."

Hearing this, Jia Lan's eyes brightened, and Li Wan's heart also eased a little.

As soon as she finished speaking, a maid came in. It was Li Wan's personal maid Suyun. She bowed and reported, "Grandma, the prince is here."

Zhen Hua smiled when she heard this. She looked up at Li Wan and said jokingly, "Just when we were talking about the prince, he came. What a coincidence."

As she spoke, Zhen Hua looked outside the curtain. Not long after, she saw Shui Rong, dressed in a plain white brocade robe, walk in. Her bright eyes were filled with joy. She stepped forward and said, "The prince is here."

Of course, such an intimate title as cousin cannot be mentioned in front of "outsiders", but after today, it won't matter anymore.

Shui Rong gazed at the charming and smiling face of the beauty, nodded, then raised his eyes to look at Li Wan and Jia Lan, mother and son, and greeted them, "I was handling some government affairs in the Governor's Mansion and came back late. I'm sorry to have kept Aunt Zhu waiting for a long time."

Seeing this, Zhen Hua felt a little annoyed. He ignored her before he got her. If he got her, she might even ignore him. She was really inviting a wolf into the cave!
Li Wan stared at the gentle young man, her eyebrows and eyes were gentle, and she said softly, "No, I just got ready here. The prince came at the right time. I'm afraid I disturbed the prince's official business."

For Li Wan, the fact that the young man gave her the honor of attending the banquet was already a respectable thing to her, not to mention that the prince of a county spoke to her in a friendly manner.

At this moment, Li Wan accepted the young man's humble character from the bottom of her heart.

Shui Rong took a look at the elegant lady, nodded slightly, then turned to look at Jia Lan and said, "Brother Lan, you are here too!"

Jia Lan's eyes moved slightly, and he stepped forward and said, "Greetings, uncle."

Shui Rong looked at the serious young man in front of him, nodded slightly, but didn't say anything. After all, this was Jia Lan's temperament and he was used to it.

Zhen Hua, who was standing by, pouted her lips slightly, then said with a sweet smile, "Since the prince is here, let's start the feast. Prince, please sit over here."

Li Wan didn't care about Zhen Hua's usurpation of the limelight. Under Zhen Hua's command, Li Wan and Jia Lan sat opposite Shui Rong, while Zhen Hua sat on the side of Shui Rong, so that it would be convenient for her to prepare wine and food for Shui Rong and pour wine from the pot.

Li Wan looked up at the young man sitting opposite her, her bright almond eyes twinkling, and gently pulled Jia Lan's skirt under the table, then picked up the wine cup on the table, raised the cup and said, "Brother Lan has been bothering you a lot as a tutor in the palace, I offer a glass to the prince to show my appreciation."

Jia Lan understood and raised his cup to toast, "I'll toast to my uncle, too."

Shui Rong had no reason to refuse, so he raised his cup and drank a glass, then said, "Brother Lan is self-respecting, hardworking and motivated, so there is nothing to complain about. Sister Zhu, you don't have to be polite."

Jia Lan was sitting on a brocade cushion. Hearing the praise from his uncle, he felt a little happy. However, he was always steady and did not get complacent. Li Wan was also happy to see her son being praised. She looked at Jia Lan with a look of relief in her eyes.

Although she and her son were not valued in the Duke's Mansion, her son still made her proud. This was also what Li Wan hoped for and was her spiritual support.

Li Wan pursed her lips and looked up at the young man. Her almond-shaped eyes were full of smiles as she said modestly, "Brother Lang is just a little hardworking. He doesn't deserve the praise from the prince."

Shui Rong didn't know what he was saying, and smiled and said, "If you do well, you should be praised. There is nothing unworthy. If Lan Ge'er does poorly, I won't praise him. Sometimes, children also need more praise, so that they will be motivated to improve themselves."

From Li Wan's words, Shui Rong could understand her attitude towards teaching children, which was nothing more than the kind of teaching that generally suppressed children. In Shui Rong's opinion, this kind of teaching was not so desirable. If the children did poorly, it was understandable to scold and punish them. If they did well, they should be praised generously.

Apart from anything else, Jia Huan had always been suppressed and taught by Aunt Zhao in the Rongguo Mansion as a bastard, and had become a person who was not presentable. But during his time in the prince's mansion, his personality had improved a lot, and he was no longer as petty as before.

The damage done in childhood takes a lifetime to heal, and it may not even be healed successfully.

Li Wan was slightly startled when she heard this. Her sparkling almond eyes looked at the young man, blinked, and said softly, "Your Highness is right. It's me who is petty."

In the past, she might have agreed because of Shui Rong's identity, but Jia Lan's changes were visibly good, which proved Shui Rong's teaching method and made Li Wan accept it in her heart.

Perhaps this is the disadvantage of her as a woman raising a child. She only knows how to teach Jia Lan to study hard, but doesn't know where to start in teaching anything else.

Well, I think these are the teachings of a father, but Lang Ge lost his father at a young age and no one taught him.

Fortunately, Jia Lan is now serving as a tutor in the prince's palace, and is being taught by the prince, which makes Li Wan feel a lot more relaxed.

Zhen Hua put her arms on the table, and her bright eyes under her willow-leaf eyebrows watched the young man talk about parenting. Her beautiful eyes flickered slightly, like bright stars.

I didn't expect that my cousin is so good at educating children. No wonder Lang'er was educated so well. When her son is born, she will ask her cousin to teach him well.

Pursing her pink lips, Zhen Hua picked up the wine cup and said with a bright smile: "Don't just focus on eating. Come, I'll toast to His Majesty as well."

Shui Rong raised his eyes to look at Zhen Hua's charming face, and saw her winking playfully. He felt amused and raised his wine cup to clink glasses with Zhen Hua.

This painting and this occasion are both trying to seduce me. She is truly a little devil. If it weren't so inappropriate, she would have been in trouble.

After a while of drinking, Shui Rong looked at Jia Lan's slightly tipsy face, his eyes fixed slightly, and said, "Brother Lan, you are still young, it is not suitable for you to drink too much, so you don't need to drink anymore."

Although the alcohol content of the wine was low, even a sickly girl like Daiyu could drink it, but Jia Lan was young and it was okay for him to just have a few glasses. However, looking at Jia Lan's condition, it was obvious that he couldn't drink too much.

Jia Lan paused when he heard this and whispered, "Uncle, I'm fine."

It was a rare and happy opportunity to have a meal with his uncle. This novel feeling made him very happy. At this moment, Jia Lan did not want to spoil the mood, but he did not dare to talk back to his uncle, so he could only complain in a low voice.

Shui Rong chuckled and said, "You know the truth that a gentleman does not show off his abilities."

Jia Lan's heart paused when he heard this, and he looked at Shui Rong eagerly, then put down the wine cup, stood up and said, "Yes, uncle, I understand."

Li Wan looked at the scene and her tense heart relaxed a little. Her two curved brows relaxed. She had thought that Jia Lan would displease the prince, but it seemed that she was overthinking it.

But it's not that bad. This kind of "training" scene makes the beauty's heart throb a little, as if... as if
At this moment, a faint, barely noticeable blush appeared on Li Wan's beautiful face, and she secretly cursed herself for being shameless and for having such unrealistic ideas.

Pursing her pink lips, Li Wan reached out to straighten Jia Lan's sleeves, and said tenderly, "Well, it's getting late, you should go down and rest first!"

In fact, she had long wanted to stop wanting Jia Lan to accompany her, but she was concerned about the presence of the prince. Now that the prince had taken the initiative to speak, Li Wan could just let Jia Lan go down and rest.

Jia Lan was startled when he heard this, and after a moment of hesitation, he bowed and said, "Yes, mother."

In fact, he could have accompanied her even if he didn't drink, but since Li Wan, as his mother, had spoken, how could Jia Lan refute her? So he had to leave obediently.

After Jia Lan left, Shui Rong took a sip of the wine and said, "Brother Lan is so well-behaved and sensible. Sister Zhu is so lucky. I think when Brother Lan grows up, he will definitely have a career and maybe even win a royal title for Sister Zhu."

In the original novel, Jia Lan worked hard to seek fame and fortune after the Jia family fell into decline, and in the end he did win a status as an imperial concubine for Li Wan.

Li Wan smiled upon hearing this, her sparkling eyes looking at the young man, and said, "I don't care whether he gets the imperial decree or not. I just hope that Brother Lan can achieve fame and establish a family and career. That would be great."

For a mother, having a filial, sensible, hardworking and motivated son is undoubtedly the greatest comfort. Her own honor and disgrace are secondary.

Shui Rong stared at the beautiful woman's snow-white face, which had turned a little red due to the alcohol. She looked very bright and beautiful. His eyes moved slightly, but he didn't say anything.

At the side, Zhen Hua's almond-shaped eyes were full of sparkle, and she lifted the wine pot with her slender hands and said with a smile: "All the wine is gone, and I just happened to bring a pot of the best Shaoxing rice wine."

As he spoke, Zhen Hua handed the empty wine jug to Jingzhe, with a strange light flashing in his eyes.

Jingzhe understood and turned around to get the Shaoxing rice wine that had been prepared long ago. Her beautiful eyes involuntarily glanced at Li Wan, with mixed feelings in her heart.

At this time, Shui Rong suddenly said: "Since the wine is gone, let's forget about it today."

Now that they had eaten and drunk, Shui Rong had given Li Wan enough face. There was no point in staying any longer. What's more, he was a little drunk. When he saw Li Wan's beautiful face, his heart was slightly moved.

At this moment, Shui Rong was thinking about which courtyard to go for a walk later. At worst, it would be nice to take his sweet cousin to find Xin'er, Xue'er and other sisters to get together.

When Zhen Hua heard this, her heart moved slightly. She looked at the young man with her bright eyes under her willow-leaf eyebrows and couldn't help feeling angry in her heart. She had arranged everything, but her cousin had caused trouble. Does her cousin still want this great opportunity?
Seeing that the young man was about to stand up, Zhen Hua hurriedly pulled the young man's sleeve and said unhappily: "Cousin, I brought this wine, it would be a waste if you don't drink it."

As she spoke, Zhen Hua turned her eyes to look at Li Wan and secretly winked at her.

Li Wan's face was startled, a hint of hesitation floated between her beautiful eyebrows. In fact, she also felt that it was about enough, but since Zhen Hua's painting was so helpful to her, it was hard to refuse. After all, it was a pot of wine, so they could just share it.

Thinking of this, Li Wan said softly, "Your Majesty, Hua'er is right. Why don't you sit for a while longer?"

Shui Rong was silent for a while, thinking about it, and thinking that Zhen Hua and Li Wan had both tried to persuade him to stay, it was not easy to refuse directly, so he replied: "Okay, let's drink this pot of wine."

Zhen Hua felt a little jealous when she saw that Li Wan had made her cousin change his mind just by speaking, as if the new love was better than the old one.

But it didn't matter, it was just the novelty of the man. After a while, she was still the apple of her cousin's eye, so he picked up the wine jug and poured wine. But when pouring wine for Li Wan, Zhen Hua's hand moved slightly, and her white fingertips seemed to touch something.

After pouring the wine, Zhen Hua raised her glass and invited him, "Come, let's have a drink together."

Upon hearing this, Shui Rong and Li Wan were unaware of his presence and started drinking together.

Zhen Hua picked up the wine cup and started drinking, but her beautiful eyes turned towards Li Wan. Seeing Li Wan drink up the wine in the cup without leaving a sip, the corners of her tender lips raised slightly, and her bright eyes under her willow-leaf eyebrows revealed a sense of success.

Oh, Aunt Zhu has completely fallen into the trap. (End of this chapter)