Red Mansion Huacai

Chapter 366: The Sixteenth Year of Zhenghe

Li Weijian had just returned from his three-month tour with the emperor, and Daiyu and the others had been waiting anxiously for him. As soon as he returned home, there was no need to mention the tenderness, tenderness, and love in his heart.

After a good night's sleep, Li Weijian did not get up until the sun was high in the sky the next morning. Seeing Daiyu sitting in front of the dressing table drawing her eyebrows, he came over to make trouble again. Daiyu tried to drive him away several times but failed, so she had no choice but to let him do whatever he wanted.

After a long while, Daiyu stood up and said, "Stop making a fuss. We have to go see the old lady later."

Li Weijian took a look at her, then moved closer to measure her, and said with a smile, "Sister, you seem to be an inch taller than in the summer." He stretched out his hand to measure her, and sure enough, Daiyu had reached his shoulder.

Not only has she grown taller, but she has also gained some weight. Daiyu was overjoyed and said with a smile, "Thanks to the diet recipes prescribed by the imperial physician, Sister Xing cooks different kinds of food every now and then, and I eat them with great concentration, so I have grown a little bit, haven't I?"

Daiyu pulled Li Weijian to the green gauze cabinet again, looked at it for a while, frowned and said, "Fourth brother doesn't seem to have grown any taller."

Li Weijian laughed and said, "Seven feet and six inches, if it's any longer, wouldn't it just become a bamboo pole?"

Daiyu also covered her mouth and laughed when she heard this.

A little while later, the two were enjoying breakfast when Qianxue suddenly came in hurriedly and said solemnly, "Doorman, look at the people coming in and out of the Rong Mansion, and there are servants wrapped in mourning bands. I'm afraid there is a funeral."

Daiyu was startled and said quickly, "Go and check it out!"

Li Weijian frowned and thought, then comforted her: "If there really is something serious, I'm afraid someone would have reported it to our family long ago, so you don't need to worry."

Daiyu thought about it and immediately ordered, "Go and find out, and come back and report to me."

Qianxue agreed and left. After a while, she came back and said, "Master, Madam, I heard that the second wife of Master Lian from the first house has passed away."

Li Weijian and Daiyu looked at each other in bewilderment. Li Weijian was confused and thought it was Sister Feng. Daiyu said, "Since the second sister of the You family came into the family, everyone privately calls her the second grandmother, and calls the second sister-in-law the eldest grandmother."

Li Weijian said with a sigh, "That sounds too awkward. We don't need to avoid taboos in our family. Just call me by my name from now on."

Qianxue agreed and quietly left. Daiyu thought about it and said to Li Weijian, "Fourth brother and Second brother Lian are close, and Second sister You passed away. I have to go and ask about it."

Li Weijian frowned and said, "She has no name or status. Even if she has a status, she is still a concubine. Do you want me to intervene for a concubine? I can just send Hongyu to pay my respects later."

Daiyu thought about it and realized that if they went to express their condolences in a serious manner, it might make Fengjie angry later.

Then he said, "I just heard yesterday that Hu Junrong gave the wrong medicine and caused You Erjie to miscarry. What a pity, it's a boy, and the baby is already formed."

Li Weijian sneered, "Sister, have you forgotten what the Madam did that day? Doctor Bao and Hu Junrong are only on par with each other, with mediocre medical skills and poor personal ethics. Fortunately, the old lady took care of him, otherwise he might have been cured to death quietly!"

Daiyu was still frightened, but after a long while she calmed down and breathed a sigh of relief, "Look at the bright side. I still have the old lady and my fourth brother to protect me. Now I can finally feel happy after all the hardships."

The couple said nothing more, and after breakfast, they packed up and went to Rongfu to visit Jia's mother. Unexpectedly, just as they left the house, they saw Hongyu leading Ping'er in a hurry.

Daiyu was surprised and asked, "Why is Miss Ping here?"

Ping'er looked unhappy, and after hesitating for a long time, she looked at Li Weijian and said, "Master Jian, may I have a word with you?"

Li Weijian glanced at Daiyu, then nodded in agreement, and then chatted with Ping'er in the small study in the front.

There was no one else inside, so Ping'er walked in and knelt down, begging, "Please help me, Fourth Master. It will be a good deed for our grandmother!" After that, she kowtowed continuously.

Li Weijian hurried forward to support him, saying, "We were just talking, why do you suddenly want to kowtow? Stand up and talk first."

Ping'er's eyes were red at this moment. She was helped up by Li Weijian and sat down aside before she started talking.

Hearing that You Erjie had died, Jia Lian finally remembered their past friendship and cried while hugging the body. He consulted with Feng Jieer, Mrs. Xing and Tanchun and decided to keep the body at home for five days. Now it has been moved to Lixiang Courtyard.

Jia Lian was clamoring for a grand funeral and insisted on a five-seven-day funeral. Feng Jieer was annoyed. A five-seven-day funeral was comparable to a formal wife's. So where would Feng Jieer be placed? So she turned around and grumbled to Jia Mu. Jia Mu didn't like You Erjie in the first place. When she heard this, she frowned and said, "Don't believe his nonsense! Who doesn't cremate and scatter the dead children of tuberculosis? Why do you hold a serious funeral and dig the ground? Since it's a second house, it's also a distinction between husband and wife. Just wait for a few days to carry the body out, and either cremate it or bury it in a mass grave."

Ping Er was originally a servant of Jia Lian, and just happened to come to ask Feng Jieer for money for the funeral, so she heard everything Jia Mu said clearly. She asked Feng Jieer for money again, but Feng Jieer was angry and was unwilling to give it. She just said that there was not much money in the government treasury, and she just gathered 20 or 30 taels of silver.

Ping'er was afraid that Jia Lian would be angry, so she didn't dare to reply for a moment. After thinking it over, she decided to go to Li Weijian for help.

After saying a lot, Ping'er continued, "Although our grandmother has kept it a secret from me, there are a number of people in this mansion who can call on Doctor Hu. If the truth is revealed in the future, I'm afraid it will be your fault. Fourth Master Jian, don't give in to the monk, give in to the Buddha, at least--"

"Don't say anything," Li Weijian sighed, and casually pulled out a stack of banknotes from his sleeve. Ping'er was startled and said, "You don't need so much. Five hundred taels is enough."

Li Weijian took out a thousand taels of silver and handed it to Ping'er, saying, "Just because you are so kind, I will give you this thousand taels of silver. But..." Li Weijian hesitated for a moment and said, "Being too kind may not always be a good thing."

Apart from other things, if You Erjie had been content to be a concubine, how could she have met with the disaster she is facing today? I'm afraid she also wanted to replace Feng Jieer, but she was weak-willed and not good at calculating, so she ended up like this.

Ping'er looked up at Li Weijian who seemed to be hesitant to speak, then lowered her head and said nothing.

Li Weijian sighed secretly, saying that it is easy to change the country but difficult to change one's nature. Ping'er's character may not change, and it is useless to say more. So he said, "Forget it, take the banknotes and go to the funeral first."

Ping Er stood up and bowed, but was stopped by Li Weijian again. He took out a handkerchief and wiped Ping Er's tears carefully, then said, "Just say that the banknote was paid by Second Sister-in-law. Don't say anything else. If Second Sister-in-law asks, I will naturally settle the matter with her."

Ping'er agreed and then walked away in silence.

Li Weijian came out later and just shook his head when he saw Daiyu. Then the couple went to Rongfu. From Huifang Garden to Daguan Garden, and then from the back to Rongqing Hall, Li Weijian had not returned for several months. This time, when he saw Jiamu, everyone should have been happy. Unfortunately, You Erjie died, so the young couple just chatted with the old lady for a while and then returned home.

The sage granted a ten-day holiday to all the people accompanying him, so Li Weijian went to his room to talk to his concubine. Hongyu was a gossiper, and in just a few words she told him all the changes that had taken place during these days.

On the one hand, Wang Xifeng was concentrating on nursing the baby, leaving the household affairs to Tanchun. You Erjie was often treated harshly, and everyone thought it was Qiutong who was doing the wrong thing. When the elder sisters Li Wan and Xichun came over, they also disliked Qiutong very much. But the third girl said nothing, probably because she saw that it was Sister Feng who was doing the wrong thing.
Second, Third Sister You went to Jiangnan. She was a beauty in the north and had a chivalrous manner, which won the favor of the gentry in Jiangnan. There was an endless stream of visitors every day, and even Xue Baochai's canning factory received many more orders. Old Lady You was afraid of Sister Feng and did not dare to visit Second Sister You. She also heard that Third Sister You was living very well in Jiangnan, so she decided to go to Jiangnan to join Third Sister You in July.
Third, I heard from Tanchun that in July, Jia Zheng sent a letter, and Baochai went straight to Jia Yucun's house after receiving it. At first, Jia Yucun didn't like her very much, but somehow, in September, Baochai's canning factory really got an order from the Ministry of War. I heard that the business is now extremely prosperous.

Li Weijian laughed when he heard this and said, "What else can we do? General Yue Zhongqi led a group of soldiers from Brunei and killed more than a thousand bandits in the first battle. The surrounding states surrendered upon hearing the news. It can be said that we have won the first battle."

Qingwen said, "Again a war? But we must not lose."

Hongyu smiled and said, "The Dashun army is no longer the same as before, so how could they lose? Fourth Master, I heard that the southeastern sea is not peaceful either? It seems that the navy fought with the red-haired barbarians?"

Li Weijian shook his head and smiled, "It's not the red-haired barbarians, it's the English barbarians."

The English saw Sindhu as theirs, so how could they allow Dashun to get involved? Knowing that Dashun was having trouble getting supplies through the Himalayas, and would have to rely on sea routes for supplies, the English East India Company gathered pirates and merchant ships to harass Dashun's sea borders.

On the 20th of last month, General Pingbo and Second Class Male Qi Jianhui led the navy to fight against the enemy. A chaotic battle took place off the coast of Fujian. Three enemy ships were captured, more than ten were severely damaged, and two were sunk. The pirates scattered, and the English barbarians fled and sent envoys to seek peace.

Emperor Zhenghe was furious when he received the memorial and ordered the withdrawal of the navy and severe punishment of the British barbarians. It was the successive victories that gave Emperor Zhenghe confidence. If it were three years ago, I'm afraid the saint would have made a big deal out of a small matter.

After talking about the war, Fu Qiufang suddenly said, "Master, a rubbish called Li Tong He Hao was listed near Dong Si Pailou last month, promising to earn 10% interest on deposits for a year. Anyway, the money at home is wasted, so why not buy the bonds of Li Tong He Hao?"

Baoqin said with a smile: "I'm afraid Auntie doesn't know that Litonghehao is also our family's livelihood."

Fu Qiufang was surprised and asked quickly.

However, Li Weijian has not been idle in the past few months. He has been exchanging letters with the capital and connecting with wealthy merchants from the north and south. He first sold some of his shares and used the money to co-found a Dashun Bank with the gentry and the imperial court. Then he created the empty shell of Litonghe. Dashun Bank lent Litonghe 20 million silver coins at an annual interest rate of 5%, and then turned the money over to the national treasury. The proceeds were mortgaged with the spoils of the Sindhu War.

Afterwards, the bonds were sold with this collateral, and in just three months, 23 million silver coins were raised. In addition, after this northern tour, the saint promised to promote long-wool sheep and establish wool spinning mills in various parts of the grassland, and lifted the iron and salt bans. It was expected that the northern border would be stable for at least 20 years. The saint and the court were confident to turn their attention to the distant South Asian subcontinent.

After a long chat, the concubines and others left, and Li Weijian went to the study. When the emperor was on tour, the official documents from all over the inner court were sent to the emperor's place. Ordinary documents were sent 400 miles, memorials were sent 600 miles, and only urgent matters were sent 800 miles.

The 400, 600, and 800 miles are just for reference. Take the 600 miles by express train for example. In reality, it is good enough if you can walk a little over 400 miles a day.

In the morning, an official from the inner court brought in documents, which Li Weijian had not read yet. Now he went into the study and sat down, copying the documents and reading them one by one. At this time, Xue Ke was still in Leting. After several accidents, the chemical plant was gradually getting back on track. The next step was for Li Weijian to go there in person.

Li Weijian glanced over the rest of the chores, but the one about the Leting Iron Works made him frown. How many years has it been? According to the production estimate by the end of September, the annual output of steel was only 6,000 tons, pig iron was 170,000 tons, and coal from all over the country was about 6 million tons.

This amount of output is totally not enough!
Let's not talk about other things. Just the rails, if they are lighter, will cost 50 kilograms per meter. One kilometer of double-track railway will consume 200 tons of steel, and 100 kilometers will require 20,000 tons. What can 6,000 tons be used for? Li Weijian was thinking about how to expand production capacity next. Unfortunately, the train is still under construction, so he might have to find another excuse to convince the loyal and brave king and the saint.

At this moment, Hongyu suddenly came in and replied, "Fourth Master, the Second Madam is here. I see that the Second Madam looks unhappy, and I'm afraid she's angry."

Li Weijian thought to himself that it must be about the one thousand taels of silver. Putting down the letter, Li Weijian said, "Don't worry about it. I'll just talk to her for a while."

Hongyu agreed, and soon led Fengjie and Ping'er, whose eyes were red, into the room. Fengjie's face was cold and frosty, and she was obviously annoyed.

After Hongyu left, Fengjie sat down directly below, gritting her teeth and angrily said, "Ping'er is kindhearted, but you are not on the same page with me! You have a lot of silver, so you just gave Ping'er a thousand taels. If you have more, why not give me tens or hundreds of thousands to spend?"

Li Weijian winked at Ping'er, Ping'er hesitated, then turned around and walked out slowly. Li Weijian came over, put his arm around her shoulders and said, "Killing people is not enough, why are you so angry?"

Sister Feng turned away and ignored him, saying, "This guy is really hard to tame. No matter how close they were before, he will definitely forget the old one once he gets a new favorite!"

Li Weijian didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and said, "Where does the vinegar smell come from? It's so sour."

Sister Feng turned her head and looked at her, then said coldly, "I'm afraid in your heart, I'm not much better than the vicious women of all time."

Li Weijian tried to comfort her, "It doesn't matter if it's a court fight or a family fight, the important thing is to fight without breaking up. Why do you have to force someone to die? When You Erjie was alive, Brother Lian might not have remembered her kindness, but now that she's dead, I'm afraid he's going to take it to heart, especially since the one that slipped away was a boy."

Feng Jieer said angrily, "What can I do? If I let her give birth smoothly, what do you think will happen to me?"

It is easy to change a country but difficult to change one's nature. Li Weijian sighed and stopped trying to persuade him. He asked, "Has Hu Junrong gone far?"

"After getting one thousand taels of silver, he ran away long ago."

"And what about the rest of the matter?"

Sister Feng raised her chin slightly and said, "The rest was done by Qiu Tong, what does it have to do with me?"

Li Weijian frowned and said, "Mrs. You and Third Sister You are still in Jiangnan. If they return someday, I'm afraid there will be more trouble."

Feng Jieer said indifferently, "It's okay to make a fuss, but I have no status and no evidence, what can you do to me?" She paused, then glanced at Li Weijian angrily and said, "If I had given birth to a legitimate son, I wouldn't be afraid of any more seductresses who came in later. But the seed is not good, so I only got a daughter!"

Feng Jieer is going to rebel! How could Li Weijian bear it? He raised his eyebrows, stepped forward, raised his chin, and kissed her. He rubbed Feng Jieer until she was out of breath and her face was red.

Feng Jieer was a strong-willed person to begin with, so she could not subdue Jia Lian's dissolute behavior. Only someone as powerful and sometimes overbearing as Li Weijian could subdue her.

After a long while, Li Weijian finally let go and persuaded her: "No matter what, you have to save face. You are not short of money, so what's wrong with sending You Erjie away in a grand manner?"

But at this moment, Feng Jieer has been celibate for a long time, and she becomes aroused by the slightest provocation. Judging from her appearance, I'm afraid she is planning to have another child.

Li Weijian didn't dare to cause any trouble at this moment, so he turned around and sat down, and started talking seriously with Feng Jieer about other things.

"Did you buy the bonds?"

"Of course I bought it," he replied. Seeing that Li Weijian was not brave enough, Feng Jieer rolled her eyes at him. After all, she was in Li Weijian's house, so she didn't dare to be too presumptuous. She stood up and said, "I can't stay for long. I'll go back now."

He stood up and took two steps, then suddenly pulled out a silver note worth one thousand taels from his sleeve and slapped it on the table, then turned and left.

Li Weijian looked at the exquisite figure and felt more and more itchy. The ancients really understood the beauty of it: a wife is not as good as a concubine, a concubine is not as good as a secret lover, and a secret lover is not as good as not being able to steal.

Sister Feng led Ping'er back home and personally gave Jia Lian 1,000 taels of silver. Jia Lian had bought a coffin for 500 taels of silver on credit and was worried about it. He thought the 1,000 taels was a timely help and felt a little guilty towards Sister Feng.

Afterwards, he stayed in Lixiang Courtyard for seven days, and every day there were constant Buddhist and Taoist rituals. Later, Jia's mother called him back, but said that he had not been given the title and could not enter the family temple. Jia Lian had no choice but to find someone to choose a grave, and buried him seven days later. That day, Feng Jie sent away Wang Xin and his wife, and then Youshi, and there was no one left to see him off.

In a blink of an eye, more than a year passed, and it was already the spring of the sixteenth year of Zhenghe.

On this day, the secretary returned from leave and walked straight into the Grand View Garden. She ran into Cui Mo and Ai Guan playing in the garden. The two girls came up to her and asked about the scenery. The secretary smiled and said, "I finally saw something new! It didn't seem so impressive from a distance, but when I sat on it, I was choked by coal dust. Fourth Master Jian is really capable. He can even build a train that runs on its own!"

Ai Guan laughed and said, "I heard from the young lady that the trains in the capital are just small trains with three carriages, which can only carry dozens or hundreds of people. The train that transports iron materials from Leting to Tianjin is a real train! I heard that it can pull seven or eight carriages and carry tens of thousands of kilograms of iron materials at a time! My God, I really can't imagine it!"

Cui Mo couldn't help but envy him and said, "That's great. Next time I have a day off, I want to go take a ride. Sister Shishu, what's the price of that little train now?"

The secretary replied, "It's only five copper coins, you can get on and off as you like. Now it goes around the inner city, and you have to get off after one round. If you want to ride again, you have to pay another five copper coins." He suddenly covered his mouth and laughed, "It's interesting to say that a few candidates from other places rode on it for a day yesterday, and they came to ride it again today. One of them ran down and lay down to look under the front of the carriage, and was sprayed with a big clown face, hahahaha--"

As they were talking, the three of them returned to Qiu Shuang Zhai. The secretary had just spread out the package and shared the preserved fruits he had bought with Ai Guan and Cui Mo when he suddenly heard someone outside calling, "Is the third young lady home?"

Three maids hurried out to greet her, only to find that it was Qingwen from the Bo's mansion.

The secretary came forward and said with a smile, "Miss Qingwen is laughing so happily, is there any good news?"

Qingwen smiled and said, "Is it considered a happy event to invite the third and fourth young ladies to come over to look at the poems?"

Cui Mo asked, "Was it made by Madam, or by Miss Qin or Miss Xiangling?"

The secretary was a smart one, and couldn't help but ask happily, "Could it be that your wife is going to start a poetry club again?"

Qingwen shook her head and smiled, "Isn't it? My mistress said that the Begonia Society was founded in autumn, so it shouldn't flourish. Now it's spring, and everything is growing and flourishing. Plus, my mistress, Miss Qin, and Xiangling have all written peach blossom poems, so why not change the name of the Begonia Society to the Peach Blossom Society? I think it will flourish for a long time!"

Several maids clapped their hands in praise. Not to mention the Third and Fourth Young Misses, even the Second Young Miss Yingchun had already taken off her mourning clothes, so they no longer had to avoid banquets and drinking.

It would be great if the masters could have fun together and the maids could join in the fun and drinking.

Cui Mo volunteered to go and look for Tanchun and Xichun.

When Qingwen met Tanchun, she gave her the manuscript of the poem.

Tanchun took it and looked at it, and saw the words written on it:

The cold wind blows through, bringing in the desolate air; after the rain, the peach blossoms fade easily.

The oriole's feathers are wet, and she looks so beautiful; the scarred shadows of flowers on the moss make my heart flutter.

The flying smoke suddenly obscured the furnace peak, and the new grass withered and the winding path was lonely.

It was already dusk when I picked up the falling clouds, and in the distant woods I heard the sound of falling spring.

After reading it, Tanchun savored it for a moment and smiled, saying, "Since Sister Lin got married, her writing style has changed a lot."

Qingwen only knew a few words and could read a newspaper, so she asked curiously, "Miss San, how do you explain this?"

Tanchun smiled and said, "Sister Lin's poems usually contain sadness about the passing of spring and autumn. Now that she has married Fourth Brother Jian, I think her life will be smooth and the resentment in her heart will naturally disappear."

Qingwen covered her mouth and laughed, "Our mistress had a quarrel with the Fourth Master yesterday, and I don't know how to respond to what the Third Miss said."

Tanchun was surprised and asked, "Did Sister Lin and Fourth Brother Jian have a quarrel?"

Qingwen stammered, not knowing how to respond, and secretly hated herself for being quick-witted. Yesterday, the Fourth Master dragged Xueyan and Zijuan into a prank, and the Madam caught them red-handed. Wasn't she angry? But the Fourth Master was very skillful, and he only coaxed them overnight. This morning, the two of them were as sweet as honey again, and there was no sign of any rift between them.

Just then, a maid came and said to Tanchun, "My uncle and his wife are here. Please go and pay your respects, young ladies."

It turned out that Wang Ziteng's wife had arrived. Tanchun hurriedly said to Qingwen, "Go and tell Sister Lin that I will definitely be there in two days."

He then pulled Xichun and hurried forward.

(End of this chapter)