Red Mansion Huacai

Chapter 363 Sister Feng's Vicious Plan
Tanchun sat for a while and then returned to the Grand View Garden. Li Weijian and Daiyu didn't know what was going on. They thought that the Xue family had already made plans for Baochai's marriage, but they were puzzled as to how this rumor came from You Erjie's side.
But Aunt Xue and Baochai were completely unaware of this matter at the moment. Aunt Xue was absorbed in contacting old friends and arranging a suitable marriage for Baochai, while Baochai was wholeheartedly devoted to running the canned food business.

The three thousand taels of silver were paid for the purchase of machinery, and it was agreed that it would be delivered in half a month. The factory was opened in Tongzhou. Now was the summer and autumn, and once the factory was opened, we could start to buy canned fruits and vegetables. Although the canal could not be used in winter, we could still use carts to travel between Tianjin and the capital, and we could buy sea fish from Tianjin and make them into canned food.

When Baochai had settled all the matters and was returning from Tongzhou, she heard Tongxi say, "Miss, it's said outside that you are going to marry into the Xiuguo Mansion!"

Sister Bao was stunned and asked hurriedly, "What did you say? Where did the rumor come from?"

Tongxi said, "The lady sent me to deliver something to the master this morning, and Baochan congratulated me in a weird way just before I left."

Baochai frowned, and just at this moment Aunt Xue brought Tonggui back, and Baochai hurriedly told Aunt Xue about this.

Aunt Xue said with a bitter face: "It's strange. I have never been around the Xiuguo Mansion before. Where did this rumor come from?"

Ying'er chimed in, "Since Baochan mentioned it, it must be related to grandma."

Aunt Xue suddenly realized what was going on and quickly sent Tonggui to inquire about Xue Pan's situation. Although most of the people at Xue Pan's place were Xia Jingui's companions, there were also Xue family servants and maids.

When they returned in the afternoon, the fellow said angrily, "Madam, young lady, I have found out everything. It turns out that grandma plays dominoes with others at home every day, and somehow she became a card partner with a distant relative of the Xiuguo Mansion. A few days ago, that person mentioned that the third master of the Xiuguo Mansion was going to remarry, so grandma mentioned the young lady, and who knew that the person took it to heart. I am afraid that now even the Xiuguo Mansion has taken it seriously!"

Aunt Xue was in a trance, feeling dizzy. Sister Bao clutched her handkerchief, trembling all over!
Xia Jingui is so vicious!

It would be fine if the person being proposed for marriage was the fourth brother of the Duke of Xiuguo Mansion, but it was the third brother whose wife had died. How could Baochai be willing to marry him as a successor?
Aunt Xue suddenly stood up and said angrily, "This is really outrageous. I'll go find her and have it cleared up!"

At that moment, the mother and daughter drove straight to Xue Pan's place. When they entered the house, they asked a servant to eavesdrop and heard that since the Xue mother and daughter lived separately, Xia Jingui regarded Baochan as a thorn in her side.

Baochan, however, was not as temperamental as Bilian. She was a fiery firewood. Since she and Xue Pan were in love, she had forgotten about Jingui. Recently, she saw Jingui mistreating her again, and she refused to give in. At first, they quarreled with each other, and then Jingui got angry and even scolded her, and then beat her. Although she did not dare to fight back, she threw a tantrum, rolled on the ground, and tried to commit suicide. During the day, she used knives and scissors, and at night, she used ropes and made trouble.

Xue Pan couldn't take care of both at the moment, so he just waited and watched between the two. When he saw that the fight was getting out of hand, he went out and hid in the outer room. Jingui didn't lose her temper. Sometimes when she was happy, she would gather people to play cards and dice for fun. She also loved to gnaw bones the most. She would kill chickens and ducks every day, give the meat to people, and only eat the fried bones with wine.

When he was impatient with the meal or got angry, he would curse and insult her, saying, "Other bastards are happy, why shouldn't I be happy!" Since the mother and daughter of the Xue family were not around, Xue Pan had no choice but to regret day and night that he should not have married this troublemaker.

The card game had just ended, and Xia Jingui had drunk too much, so she was taking a nap in her room. The maid came back to say that her mother-in-law and sister-in-law had arrived, and Xia Jingui was annoyed that she had disturbed her nap, so she came out with a sullen face for a long time.

When they met just now, Aunt Xue asked loudly, "Let's not talk about other things. Let me ask you, what is the matter with the renovation of the Duke's Mansion?"

Xia Jingui said nonchalantly, "It was just a casual remark at the poker table, but Niu Anren took it seriously. Now that I think about it, it might be a good match for my sister. As the saying goes, a rotten ship can still be repaired with three thousand nails. If my sister marries him, she might have no worries about food and clothing, and live a prosperous and glorious life."

Aunt Xue said angrily, "Everyone knows that the third brother of the Duke Xiu's mansion is a playboy? He was still playing around when his wife was giving birth. Otherwise, how could such a good person die of anger?"

Xia Jingui said without raising her head or opening her eyes, "This man must be tamed. Those who only know how to be obedient are just asking for it. I think my sister is a scheming person, and she may be able to tame the Third Young Master. Let me tell you something unpleasant. In a little over a year, my sister will be 29 years old. If you don't get married now, I'm afraid you will become an old maid in the future."

Aunt Xue said angrily: "Even if she becomes an old maid, she will be kept at home for the rest of her life. She will never be married to anyone else!"

Xia Jingui felt impatient and simply stood up and said, "There is no plan anyway. Since the madam is not happy, just refuse when the Duke Xiuguo comes to propose marriage tomorrow. I have a severe headache right now, so I won't accompany the madam." After saying that, she stood up and went back to her room.

Aunt Xue was so angry that she fell backwards, but she couldn't do anything about Xia Jingui.

Baochai was secretly resentful. Seeing that Xia Jingui had indeed returned to her room to rest, she comforted Aunt Xue for a while. Then she saw Baochan pouting and complaining. Baochai pulled her aside, comforted her with gentle words, and quietly stuffed ten silver coins into her hand, saying, "I know you are a good person. If my sister-in-law wants to provoke you, just hide away and never confront her. Keep this silver for yourself. If you are short of money, just spend it on food and other expenses."

Baochan's eyes suddenly filled with tears, and she felt that Baochai was the one who treated her best.

Afterwards, the Xue family mother and daughter returned to their separate residence in anger. Aunt Xue visited relatives and friends for several days, saying that the rumor that Baochai remarried was nonsense. However, it took only one mouth to spread the rumor, and it took a lot of effort to refute it, but no one knew when the rumors would stop.

In a blink of an eye, a few days passed without any trouble. The Bo's house was tidy and tidy. Xiuying, Qingwen and Baoqin were competing openly and secretly, but Qingwen caught a cold at night, so there was no need to compete. Li Weijian decided that Baoqin and Xiuying would accompany him.

Qingwen cried a lot, and Li Weijian comforted her and promised to take her on a southern tour next year. Only then did the girl smile.

On the 22nd, Li Weijian traveled light, bringing only Baoqin, Xiuying and two maids. The only males except Ding Rushong were the four Beishan guards.

Daiyu was worried and asked Li Weijian to bring more followers. But Li Weijian said, "There is a garrison in the capital to protect the emperor, and there are also a thousand dragon guards. There are also many officials from the inner court. Why should I bring so many people? It's better to keep them for my sister to use."

Daiyu thought about it and agreed, so she said no more.

At the time of parting, the emperor expressed his reluctance to leave without saying much. At the beginning of the morning, three carriages from the Bo's mansion came out from the corner gate, and at the same time they met the emperor's carriage outside the city, and then set out for a tour to the north.

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But it is said that Jia Lian returned from Ping'an Prefecture on this day, and he was accompanied by a voluptuous woman named Yao Tao. It turned out that Jia Lian had stayed in Ping'an Prefecture for more than half a month, and he was invited to a banquet hosted by the governor of Ping'an Prefecture, and he also made friends with the local gentry who admired his reputation.

Since he inherited the title, Jia Lian indulged himself more and more, feeling that there was no more restraint on him. When he was drunk, a gentleman gave him a bed-warming maid, and Jia Lian accepted her with a smile. With this maid by his side, Jia Lian felt that the maid was different, and she was not comparable to ordinary women in bed.

After careful questioning, I learned that this woman had been practicing with a urn since she was young. At first, she only practiced with a small urn. She could only open the door to welcome guests when she could move a large urn weighing hundreds of pounds. The urn between the bed and the bed swayed like the wind, which was extraordinary.

Jia Lian was so fond of the peach that he didn't care what Feng Jie did. He took the peach with him on his way back. On the way back, he realized that the peach should not be left at home, so he might have to leave it with You Erjie first.

Since they had entered the capital, Jia Lian did not return to Rong Mansion first, but took Yao Tao to Xiaohuazhi Lane. When they arrived at the place, they saw that the door was closed and locked, and they were immediately startled. They went forward and knocked on the door, and then an old servant came out to answer.

After asking, he found out that You Erjie was taken back to Rongguo Mansion by his eldest sister-in-law Li Wan! Jia Lian immediately took Yaotao back to Rongguo Mansion in a hurry, fearing that Feng Jieer would be jealous. Unexpectedly, he found out after entering that Feng Jieer had moved to Yuyuan, Xiangshan, and You Erjie had moved into the wing room of Yihong Courtyard.

Jia Lian finally breathed a sigh of relief, put Yao Tao to rest, and hurried to Rongqing Hall to see Lady Jia.

At this moment, Lady Jia, Lady Xing, Li Wan, Mrs. You, Tanchun, Xichun and others gathered in Rongqing Hall, chatting.

Mrs. Xing said, "——It shows that what people say outside is not true. It seems that the concubine loves Baochai, so how could she let Baochai become a second wife?"

After saying this, Jia's mother remained silent, only lowered her head and took a sip of tea. Seeing the coldness of the scene, Tanchun quickly changed her tone and said, "It's almost July, and it's cold morning and night. I heard that it snows in August outside the Great Wall. I don't know when Fourth Brother Jian will return."

Li Wan smiled and said, "Tan girl, you have to ask the old lady about this matter. The old lady also went there once when the old Duke was on a tour to the north with his guards."

Grandmother Jia was perked up when she heard this and said with a smile, "This is a little different. When the emperor was in power, the old duke would accompany the emperor on his northern tours and would usually return in one or two months. This time is different. After all, he hasn't toured the north for more than ten years. I heard that this time the emperor is going north to Ning'an (now Jilin). I'm afraid it will take ten months to return."

Tanchun looked hopeful, thinking of the scenery beyond the Great Wall, and said, "It's so beautiful, but it's a pity that I can't see it."

Xichun said, "Xiuying has agreed to it. She said that when we pass by the enclosure, we will definitely hunt a lynx to make a mattress for the third sister."

Li Wan smiled and continued, "The furs outside the pass are cheap. Jian'er said that if he finds a good one, he will bring a tiger skin back for the old lady to warm her legs."

Grandmother Jia laughed and said, "Speaking of tiger skins, I remember an incident. I had only been married for two or three years that year, and the old Duke had only been appointed as a Dragon Guard. In the autumn, the emperor went on a tour to the north. In mid-August, he arrived at the hunting ground. The old Duke shot a bear blind with a string of arrows with one hand, and then he stabbed the bear under the armpit with a spear, and got a bear skin. After it was tanned, he brought it back home like a treasure."

Mrs. Xing sighed and said, "The old Duke is known for his bravery. Madam, is the bear skin buried in the bottom of the box now?"

Grandmother Jia smiled and said, "When Yu'er's mother got married, the bear skin was considered as her dowry. Unfortunately, after Min'er left, no one took care of the dowry. When Lian'er brought it back, it was moth-eaten... What a pity."

The head maid Amber suddenly came in and said, "Madam, Master Lian is back and is on his way to where you are now."

When Grandmother Jia heard this, her smile disappeared. Tanchun watched the situation and knew that it was inconvenient to stay for long, so she hurriedly pulled Xichun up and said, "Madam, I'll listen to your stories later. Now Xichun and I will go to the kitchen to see what we have for dinner today."

Li Wan also stood up and said, "Lan'er may be back soon, old lady, I will go back first too."

At that moment, the three sisters-in-law left Rongqing Hall, leaving only Jia's mother, Lady Xing and Youshi. After a while, Jia Lian quickly stepped inside and bowed respectfully. Jia's mother looked at him and said coldly: "You are now a family of your own, you must learn to be more careful. Do you know that because of your little thing, you almost made Fengjie pregnant?" Jia Lian kept complaining, saying: "Grandma, there will be no next time for your grandson."

Grandmother Jia continued, "I have no right to interfere with what happens to You Erjie. There is only one thing you must do: be worthy of Fengjie."

Jia Lian said hurriedly: "It's getting late today, I will go to Xiangshan to visit tomorrow."

Jia's mother knew that she could not control Jia Lian, so she waved her hand and said, "Forget it, you just came back, go down and put things in order."

Jia Lian bowed and left. Youshi and Xing Furen looked at each other, and the latter said, "Madam, we will go back first."

Grandmother Jia's mood was greatly dampened, and she did not keep anyone. Mrs. Xing and Mrs. You hurried out of Rongqing Hall, followed Jia Lian in two quick steps, and went to Yihong Courtyard.

Yao Tao had just been settled when Qiu Tong came to look for her. Yao Tao was much older than her, so Qiu Tong frightened her and then got to know Yao Tao's background. When she heard that Yao Tao was a prostitute, Qiu Tong immediately despised her and felt that she was superior to Yao Tao. Seeing that she had just arrived and looked timid, Qiu Tong decided that Yao Tao must not be older than her, so she wanted to win her over.

Pulling Yaotao and muttering, Qiutong said, "Second Master has no dietary restrictions. He eats anything that is dirty and smelly. This is something you should not interfere with, and you cannot interfere with it. There is only one thing, there is a second mistress at home, and there is a new second mistress. You must choose one to respect."

Yao Tao pretended to be confused and asked, "Sister, why is there a new second grandmother?"

Qiu Tong raised her chin towards the east wing and said, "Look, the new second wife lives in that room. She is so angry that she wants to be his second wife."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jia Lian entered the Yihong Courtyard. Hearing this, he glanced at Qiu Tong, who was not afraid at all and just rolled her eyes in return. Jia Lian ignored Qiu Tong and immediately went to the East Wing to look for You Erjie.

After entering the palace, they found that You Erjie was indeed pregnant. During these days, she stayed in the Grand View Garden. Because Jia's mother had never seen her, Tanchun only treated You Erjie according to the share of a maid, and Qiutong cursed in the streets all day long, You Erjie's life was naturally not easy.

Thanks to Mrs. Xing and her elder sister Youshi's constant care, You Erjie was able to get by. When she saw Jia Lian, she was so aggrieved that she couldn't stop crying.

But Jia Lian was annoyed at the moment. He secretly married You Erjie and told lies all the time, but he never thought of taking You Erjie back to Rongfu. He just treated her as a plaything kept in the outer house.

The cold words that Lady Jia had just spoken were still ringing in her ears. Not to mention that this had annoyed the old lady, even if something happened to Sister Feng, it would be bad to be known as a man who favors his concubine over his wife.

Because Jia Lian no longer had his usual patience, he just said a few perfunctory words of perfunctory advice. In addition, You Erjie was pregnant and he had a new love, so he only sat for a moment and then left, saying that he was tired.

On this night, Qiu Tong thought that the Second Madam was not at home and the new Second Madam was pregnant, so it was her turn this time. Unexpectedly, Second Master Lian called the newcomer Yao Tao to the front. Yao Tao pretended to be ignorant, and Qiu Tong thought she was not a threat, so she took her anger out on Second Sister You.

The next day, Jia Lian lazily set out for Xiangshan when the sun was high in the sky. He arrived at Yuyuan Garden at 3 p.m., and with a guilty look on his face, he thought that Sister Feng would definitely say something cold to him, but Sister Feng greeted him with a smile.

He just said, "Second Master has just returned, why are you in such a hurry to come see me? My sister just got married, and I can't take care of her for the time being, so Second Master needs to spend more time with her."

Jia Lian was very surprised, but he thought that Feng Jieer's temper had changed because she was about to give birth. After exchanging greetings, Jia Lian briefly mentioned the affairs of Ping'an Prefecture.

Sister Feng remembered what Li Weijian had said that day and was afraid that Jia Lian would be involved in the lawsuit, so she said, "Now that we have enough food and daily necessities at home, why do you have to travel to Ping'an Prefecture?"

Jia Lian said with great pride: "What do women know? When the master was alive, our family was the one who took charge of that business. After all, it earns several thousand taels of silver every year. How can we just give it away for nothing?"

Sister Feng stammered, "If we go to the grassland to trade, we might get contraband. If the imperial court investigates strictly—"

Jia Lian said nonchalantly, "Even the Water Prince is here. If the sky really falls, there will be tall people to hold it up. Why should we worry about it?"

Feng Jieer thought about it and decided not to think about it anymore.

That day Jia Lian pretended to stay the night in Yu Garden and wanted Ping'er to serve him at night, but Ping'er said that she had her period. Jia Lian had to find a servant to relieve his sexual desire, but he missed his new daughter more and more.

The next day, after breakfast, he hurried back to the capital.

As soon as Jia Lian left, Feng Jieer became more suspicious and went to Ping'er and said, "It's harvest time soon. You're going to inspect a few farms, so why don't you go home and take a look around?"

Ping'er agreed. Although she didn't really have anything to do with Li Weijian that day, they did have physical contact, which was very exciting. She often dreamed about it these days, and sometimes she would get up in the middle of the night to change her underwear. There is a saying that a woman's private parts really go straight to the soul, and Ping'er felt the same way at this moment. Sometimes she would regret that nothing really happened that day.

One day, Ping'er returned to Yu Garden after touring Zhuangzi. She saw Fengjie and hesitated for a while before finally telling her the matter of the peaches that died young.

Feng Jieer sneered after hearing this and said, "Our Second Master is indeed a good father. When the First Master was alive, he always took in new people. You just wait and see. There will definitely be more sisters in the future. Who knows, it will become even more lively."

Ping Er was also annoyed, but she kept trying to persuade her, fearing that Feng Jieer might have a miscarriage. Feng Jieer sneered and said nothing, and the thorn in her heart had not been removed, and another thorn was added. Thinking of the child in her belly, she had no choice but to swallow her anger and try to cover up with a good face.

At this moment, he lowered his head and gently patted his lower abdomen, hoping to unload the baby as soon as possible so that he could get rid of this evil fire.

In the blink of an eye, it was the end of July. On this day, Daiyu sent Fu Qiufang to Yuyuan to bring a lot of tonics. Fu Qiufang talked to Fengjie about child-rearing for a long time.

Feng Jieer was so stunned that she said in astonishment, "Why are you talking so much? I didn't even notice it when I gave birth to Qiao Jie."

Fu Qiufang said, "That was my master's advice. If it weren't for this, my childbirth wouldn't have been so smooth."

Ping Erh said, "The Fourth Master did tell us about it before, but our grandmother didn't care at all. She said that she had stopped taking her daily walk for some time."

Sister Feng looked at her belly, fearing that the baby was too big to give birth to, and said hastily, "Forget it, it's been raining these days, so I'm too lazy to move. It's sunny today, so I'll go for a walk later."

As they were talking, Feng'er came in and said, "Grandma, it's the village head Wang who wants to see you."

Sister Feng was very surprised and asked, "What is the purpose of Mr. Wang's visit now? Ping'er, go and ask him."

Ping Er agreed and went out of Zhichun Hall to meet the village head. After a while, Ping Er returned to Zhichun Hall with a strange look on her face.

Sister Feng asked, "Is Wang Zhuangtou in trouble?"

Ping Er hesitated to speak, and glanced at Fu Qiufang. Fu Qiufang was also good at observing the situation, so she stood up and said, "It's getting late, sister-in-law, please take a rest, I have to go back first."

At that moment, Sister Feng sent someone to send Fu Qiufang away. Ping'er then whispered, "The head of Wang Zhuang said that the second master went to the farm and spent several hundred taels of silver on food and things. The head of Wang Zhuang said that firstly, the accounts don't match, and secondly, the silver for purchasing coal is a little short. Please make a decision, madam."

Sister Feng was furious: "My manor, why did he eat and take away everything? Send someone to check it out, what did your second master do with the silver?"

Two days later, the maid who had been sent home received the news. She returned and told Wang Xifeng, "Madam, I heard that Old Lady You and Third Sister You were having a hard time, so they came to Second Master for help. Second Master was unable to find a solution, so -"

Feng Jieer was so angry that she almost fell over!
"Not only has the eldest one entered the family, but now they have to support the old and the young as well? I think the Jia family should just change their surname to You!"

Ping Erh hurried over to comfort her, but before she could open her mouth, she suddenly saw Feng Jieh holding her belly and frowning, and she cried out "Ouch". Ping Erh was startled and quickly asked the imperial physician and midwife to come and see her.

After a while, the imperial physician and the midwife arrived. After examining the baby, they both said that the baby might have been miscarried and would be born soon.

Ping Er was so frightened that her face turned pale. She quickly asked someone to help Feng Jieer to the prepared delivery room, and sent someone to Rongguo Mansion to report the news. Coincidentally, Jia Lian could not stand You Sanjie's pestering that day, so he took her to wander around the West Hills, and they had not returned yet.

Grandmother Jia quickly sent Lady Xing and Li Wan to take care of her. Daiyu from the neighboring Bo's Mansion heard the news and was afraid that it would be inconvenient to go to Xiangshan and delay the doctor, so she sent Wu Haiping to the Imperial Hospital to invite the gynecologist and asked him to deliver the medicine to Xiangshan in person.

Fortunately, Daiyu invited the imperial physician to come. Fengjie was too well-fed this time, and the fetus was too big, so it was a bit difficult to give birth. She went to the delivery room in the afternoon, and at night, Fengjie was exhausted. She took ginseng slices and the imperial physician used acupuncture. It was not until midnight that the baby was born.

At this moment, Sister Feng looked as if she had been fished out of water, with no strength in her body. She let the midwife fiddle with the baby, and after a while she smiled and said to Sister Feng, "Congratulations, madam, on the birth of your daughter. This child is very strong, weighing a full five catties and six ounces."

Feng Jieer was extremely disappointed! She also thought that You Erjie was pregnant now. If she gave birth to a boy, she might become the new second wife!
(End of this chapter)