Red Mansion Huacai

Chapter 367 Peach Blossom Club

Rongqing Hall.

When Grandmother Jia received the letter, she was surprised and asked, "Why is Mrs. Wang here?"

Mrs. Wang had been living in seclusion in her own little courtyard for more than two years. It was not until the New Year this year that she heard from her grandmother that she was allowed to move around the house, but she was still not allowed to go out.

Grandmother Jia was suspicious, wondering if it was Mrs. Wang who secretly asked a servant to pass the message outside, which led to Aunt Wang?
Mrs. Xing at the side laughed and said, "It's not a festival, maybe something's going on?"

Grandmother Jia frowned unconsciously and nodded, saying, "It's not good to be slow to treat her. Let Feng go to meet her."

Yuanyang, who was replying at this time, smiled and said, "Madam, the second wife got the news and sent the maid to look for the third young lady, and only asked the third young lady to go and meet her."

Grandmother Jia laughed and said, "You have only been the head of the household for a short time, but now you have completely learned how to act like a lady of the household."

Mrs. Xing agreed, "That's true. But she still has a lot of reasons to say, saying that if she keeps busy now, she won't be constrained in managing the affairs of the household when the third young lady gets married."

Grandmother Jia immediately shook her head. At this moment, she heard Sister Feng'er's voice coming from behind the screen: "I finally became the head of the household, and you won't allow me to be lazy for a while?" As she spoke, Sister Feng led Ping'er around the screen and said with a smile from afar: "It is said that those who work with their minds rule others, and those who work with their hands are ruled by others. In the past, the old lady and the mistress gave orders, and I was busying around like a headless fly. Now that I have the help of such a capable girl, shouldn't I be lazy for a while?"

"You have such a big mouth!" Grandmother Jia smiled and pointed at Sister Feng twice, then hurriedly asked, "Is Second Sister well?"

Sister Feng sighed and said, "I rubbed my whole body with liquor several times last night, and the fever went away. Now it seems that I have no fever anymore. I sent someone to the Bo's mansion to ask for garlic extract this morning."

Mrs. Xing said, "Hasn't our family already got the recipe for allicin?"

Sister Feng smiled and said, "I have it, but I always feel it is not as authentic as the one from the Bo's Mansion. Look, I just used it and drank pear soup, and my cough is not so severe anymore."

After Feng Jieer greeted them, she suddenly slapped her forehead and said, "Look at my memory, old lady. I will go outside to greet them too." She turned around and went out.

Grandmother Jia said, "Feng has always been considerate, but she has been forgetful since the birth of my second sister. No wonder she is unwilling to take care of the household affairs."

The head maid Yuanyang chimed in, "I heard Fourth Master Jian say that a woman who is pregnant will become stupid for three years... It means that after giving birth, the mother will be exhausted and her heart will be completely focused on the child. Isn't she too busy to care about other things?"

Grandmother Jia smiled and nodded, saying, "Jian'er is right." Then she frowned and sighed, "I just don't know when Feng will give birth to a boy, so that we can have both a son and a daughter."

Yuanyang did not respond. Instead, Amber, who was standing by, helped Fengjie to excuse herself, saying, "Madam, in the past year or so, not to mention the Second Madam, even Ping'er, Qiutong, and Yaotao have not made any movement. It is not the Second Madam's fault."

When Jia Lian was mentioned, Grandmother Jia was silent. After the eldest master Jia She left and the master Jia Zheng went south, Grandmother Jia and Lady Xing were the only elders left in the family. Lady Xing was a second wife, so it was inappropriate to speak too harshly or too softly. Grandmother Jia advised him twice, but each time Jia Lian nodded in agreement, and then turned around and did his own thing.

Thinking of Jia Lian, Jia's mother asked, "Where did Lian go today?"

Madam Xing said, "She said she went to meet friends. I asked the servants who accompanied her privately. The friends Lian'er met were not serious ones. They were either the rich and powerful of this family or the little bully of another family. They were really useless."

Grandmother Jia said, "It's not good to say that. It's better to make more friends. Who knows, maybe you can get help in the future."

As they were talking, there were sweet laughter and the jingling of jewelry outside. In a blink of an eye, Sister Feng and Tanchun led Aunt Wang and Wang Yunping into the inner room.

Aunt Wang smiled from a distance and said, "Old lady, I am a bad guest this time."

Grandmother Jia said, "How can you say such a thing? They are all relatives. There is no need to inform us a few days in advance when we come to visit."

Aunt Wang and Wang Yunping greeted everyone and talked about family matters after they sat down. It turned out that Wang Yunping had already arranged a marriage, but because of the national mourning last year and the mourning period in the south, it was postponed to May this year. Unfortunately, the Wang family had not held a wedding for a long time, and the family was in a mess.

Last month, Aunt Wang worked herself to the point of being sick, and she had only just recovered, but she dared not show off her ability again. So after much thought, she came to Rongfu and begged Lady Jia to release Sister Feng to help her.

Feng Jie'er was just joking at first, but when she heard herself being mentioned, she couldn't help but say in surprise, "Why are you talking about me? Aunt, I'm afraid you've asked the wrong person. I don't really manage the household affairs now. I've left the things I can shirk to the maids, and I've dealt with the things I can't shirk at random. If you don't believe me, you can ask the old lady and the first lady."

Aunt Wang looked at Grandmother Jia, who nodded and smiled, "Perhaps because she has not recovered from the birth of the baby, Feng has been forgetful these days and has no time to take care of herself. She is worried about the children at home."

Aunt Wang smiled at Sister Feng and said, "No matter how forgetful you are, you are at least better than my wife, right?"

Sister Feng held the teacup in silence. If it wasn't because of the king, how could Sister Feng refuse?

Aunt Wang also knew the reason, and hurriedly said with a smile: "Your uncle is not at home, and I am not in good health now. What's more, my wife has a very Buddhist temperament. If there is really no one to supervise me at home, I would not ask for this. Don't consider the monk's face, but the Buddha's face--" Aunt Wang pulled Wang Yunping beside her and said: "--Just for the sake of your cousin, you should help her this time, right?"

Sister Feng glanced at Wang Yunping, but seeing that her cousin was silent, she remembered that when she first married, she often played with her cousin. Sister Feng felt very sorry for her and said, "Well, then I will only take care of Yunping's marriage, and I dare not interfere in other family affairs."

Aunt Wang was immediately overjoyed and said hurriedly, "Just take care of the marriage, and I'll handle the rest myself."

After drinking a cup of tea, Mrs. Xing saw that Lady Jia was not talking much, so she invited Aunt Wang and Wang Yunping to stroll in the garden. The two did not leave until the afternoon.

Sister Feng stayed with her for a while, then went back to look after her second sister, while Tanchun accompanied her all the way. The little girl would be fourteen next year, and she would be a 15-year-old girl next year. She was at the age of waiting to be married, so naturally she was beginning to fall in love.

Seeing that Wang Yunping, who was older than her, was getting married, Tanchun felt a little flustered. She loved Li Weijian in her heart, but she had kept it hidden so well that even Xichun, who was like a little tail, didn't know about it. Thinking of the marriage, Tanchun felt flustered and frowned for no reason.

She thought to herself that she didn't ask for a good man to be as good as Fourth Brother Jian, she just hoped that he wouldn't be annoying.

After seeing off Aunt Wang and her party, Tanchun entered the Grand View Garden and ran into Xichun. Seeing that Xichun's hands were stained with a lot of ink, Tanchun smiled and said, "Fourth sister, haven't you finished the painting yet?"

Xichun shook her head in distress and said, "When my child was born last year, Fourth Brother Jian gave me a Western painting. Although it is not freehand, it is very vivid. I am afraid that I can't paint well in ink and color, so I might as well try to learn how to paint Western paintings by myself."

Tanchun thought, "If one way doesn't work, it's good to try another one. Eh? Last month, Fourth Brother Jian's family had many visits from Westerners, and there was also a lady of some kind, who looked like a demon, and I heard she was very good at Western painting. Now that lady has settled in Beijing, why not ask Fourth Brother Jian to help introduce her to someone so that Fourth Sister can find a master and learn how to paint Western paintings?"

Xichun was a little shy and frowned, saying, "I'm sorry to trouble Fourth Brother Jian. I'd better figure it out on my own first."

The two sisters then walked toward the garden. Seeing Tanchun turning east, Xichun asked, "Are you going to Sister Feng's place?"

Tanchun nodded and said, "Sister Lin has sent out invitations, saying that she is re-opening the poetry club. I will go and ask Sister Feng if she wants to go later and what time to set."

Xichun couldn't help but hope, "Finally, the club has been re-established. Qingwen is right, crabapple blossoms are unlucky, peach blossoms are better. I just hope this time the poetry club can last longer."

When they arrived at Yihong Courtyard, they could hear the second sister crying incessantly from afar. Then Sister Feng said angrily, "What's wrong again? Isn't the fever gone?"

The nanny advised, "Second Madam, I'm afraid that Second Sister has been frightened. Why don't we ask a witch or an Arhat to call back Second Sister's soul?"

At this time, Tanchun led Xichun into the inner room. Sister Feng caught a glimpse of them and asked, "Why are you here?" Then she told Ping'er, "Those arhats and witches are good at fooling people. Go to the Taoist temple and invite a capable Taoist priest to come and give him more money."

Ping'er agreed, said hello to Tanchun and Xichun, and went to the second front door to pass the message to the servant.

Tanchun and Xichun sat down, and the former said, "Isn't the second sister getting better?"

Feng Jieer said irritably, "I don't know who this child takes after. I was only away for a while and she became so crazy. She can't even speak complete words, and keeps yelling for her mother. Even when I come back to comfort her, she doesn't get better."

Tanchun said, "I'm sick right now. I don't know what to say when I'm feeling uncomfortable, so I'm just making trouble for mother." Fengjie and Tanchun were not polite either, saying, "You can see that it's a mess right now. Why are you two here?"

Tanchun hurriedly told her about the re-establishment of the poetry club. Fengjie knew what she was talking about, so she smiled and waved her hands, saying, "Forget it, forget it. I won't go to fill in the gaps. I have so much to worry about every day, how can I have the leisure time to relax? Besides, it's too late for you to talk. I've already decided to go to the farm after tomorrow. The spring vegetables in the greenhouse are about to be put on the market."

Xichun said, "Sister Feng is going to get rich again."

Sister Feng laughed and said, "Fourth sister, are you talking about a shortage of your monthly allowance or a shortage of your cosmetics money?"

Xichun smiled and said, "It's not short...but Sister Feng is a wealthy woman now, so the gift for the birth of a child this year can't be too simple."

Feng Jieer said with a smile, "You have become a money-grubber. Okay, okay, if you give birth to a child this year, I will give you a two-jin gold necklace, okay?"

Xichun said hurriedly: "A few taels will be enough. Two catties is too heavy. I can't carry it."

Sister Feng looked at Tanchun again and said, "Third sister can't miss out on her share... Eh? Isn't Hou'er the son of Third sister?"

Unfortunately, although Tanchun had finished mourning, Jia Lian and Feng Jie, the head of the household, still needed some time, so it was not appropriate to spend too much money on the birth of a child this time.

Thinking about it, Feng Jieer secretly sighed that Daiyu was thoughtful. Perhaps she had thought of this and invited everyone to form a poetry club on the day when Tanchun gave birth to her child? This poetry club was only one of the things. The most important thing was to celebrate Tanchun's birthday.

Tanchun and Xichun sat in the Yihong Courtyard for a while, then left and went back to look for Li Wan and Xing Xiuyan who had returned. Li Wan loved to join in the fun, so she was naturally willing to go, and Xing Xiuyan had no objection either. But for some reason, Xing Xiuyan's eyebrows were slightly frowned, as if she was worried about something.

Finally, the two sisters went to ask their second elder sister Yingchun, but the second elder sister clearly wanted to go, but because she had not yet finished mourning, it was not convenient for her to go home, so she had to stay this time.

In Zhuijin Tower, Xing Xiuyan sat alone in front of the window, stroking her hair, lost in thought.

I went to the shop during the day and ordered a new dish. When I returned to Rong Mansion, my mother called me aside as soon as I entered the door.

She was not young anymore, and although Xing Zhong and his wife had always wanted to marry her into the Bo's mansion, there had been no progress in recent years, so they could not help but be anxious. Xing Zhong's wife said that if there was no progress in the second half of the year, she would have to ask Madam Xing to help find a husband for her.

Xing Xiuyan was a person who went along with whatever happened. She had made up her mind, but she didn't want to show it too much every time she met Li Weijian, so she just kept hanging in there.

After a long while, Xing Xiuyan came back to her senses and sighed. The maid Zhuan'er came upstairs at this time and saw her daughter sighing in a daze. She couldn't help but pout and said, "Miss, if you have time to sigh, why don't you chat with Mr. Li next time you see him?"

"Okay, I understand." Xing Xiuyan secretly made up her mind that the next time she met Li Weijian in private, she would definitely ask those embarrassing questions.

......................................................

In a blink of an eye, it was the third day of March.

Early that morning, Tanchun changed into new clothes, set up an incense table, and visited all the elders. When she came back, she received gifts from the elders and sisters.

It was fine for the elders, but most of the peers would give a book, a painting, a handkerchief, a pair of shoes, etc., but when it came to Feng Jieer, she gave a Western gold necklace inlaid with tourmaline. Ping Er, who was delivering the gift, said, "Our grandmother said that this was sold privately by the Western Barbarians' envoys. The style is rare. Grandma said that the third lady should just play with it privately."

Tanchun shook her head and said, "As soon as the Western Barbarians' delegation arrived in the capital, they started selling foreign goods everywhere. They called themselves envoys, but they looked more like merchants."

Ping'er immediately agreed, "Who said it wasn't? Fourth Master Jian said privately that the mission didn't count at all. It was sent by a company in England, so it couldn't be considered as being sent by England."

Tanchun blinked and said, "Do the Western barbarians think the imperial court is a fool?"

Ping'er smiled and said, "Our grandmother read in the newspaper this morning that the emperor was furious and sent the junior official of the Honglu Temple to the embassy to question them. The embassy members were all sweating profusely. They might even submit a petition to apologize tomorrow."

Tanchun was surprised and said, "The world is so big that there are so many things. There are even people pretending to be envoys... Yes, the world is full of people traveling for profit. Didn't merchants pretend to be envoys from small countries and pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty? I'm afraid this Western Yi envoy group is planning the same thing."

But this is not something Ping'er can know.

After Ping'er left, Xichun came to look for Tanchun. After a while, the two sisters arrived at Qinfang Bridge. After a short wait, Li Wan and Xing Xiuyan came together. The four girls gathered together, talked and laughed, and then went to Bo's house.

At the east corner gate, Xiangling and Hongyu were already waiting there. The two women greeted everyone and led them to the Dengxian Pavilion. After passing Ningxi Pavilion and a flower garden, they ran into Daiyu and others who came to greet them from a distance.

After exchanging pleasantries, Daiyu and Tanchun laughed and said, "I am so unlucky to be having this party at such a bad time. I forgot that these two days were your birthday. But let's start the party first, and then we can have wine and listen to opera in the afternoon."

Xichun immediately clapped her hands and smiled, "Which team did Sister Lin hire?"

"The Huiban troupe is called the Changxin troupe. They just came here before the New Year. I heard they are singing new songs."

Tanchun was not stupid, so she knew that this was Daiyu's good intention. She went over and pulled Daiyu's hand and said, "Thank you very much, Mrs. Li."

Daiyu rolled her eyes and said, "I want to be beaten. I want to hear it myself. What does it have to do with you?"

Xichun said, "Sister Lin's mouth has not changed even after she got married. Every word she says is like a knife."

Seeing Daiyu leaning towards her, Xichun quickly covered her mouth and said, "I won't say anything, or there will be no banquet or opera troupe when I give birth next month."

Li Wan said, "Next month, Sister Feng will be in mourning. Maybe the family will take the opportunity to have some fun. Fourth sister, there is no need to ask Sister Lin for help."

Xichun suddenly realized, "Yes, that's how it is."

After chatting for a while, everyone went into the Dengxian Pavilion. It was a good time with flowers blooming, grass growing and birds flying. Climbing up the pavilion and looking far into the distance, you can see two gardens full of lush greenery and hundreds of flowers blooming. Just looking at them for a while will make you feel relaxed and happy.

At this time, Tanchun just realized that Baoqin didn't come, so she asked, "Why didn't Sister Qin come? Was she delayed by something?"

"Her?" Xiangling smiled and pointed, "Miss San, look over there."

Tanchun turned her head to look outside and saw Baoqin standing by the corridor, playing with a kite. Tanchun couldn't help but wonder, there was no wind today, how did the kite fly?

After careful observation, Tanchun finally saw clearly that the big butterfly kite was being pulled into the sky by a magpie...

Qingwen, who came over to join in the fun, said, "Miss Qin is always so crazy. I don't know where she got the urge to fly a kite this morning. The other girls should start the group first, and after a while, when Miss Qin has calmed down, she will come over."

Daiyu smiled and said, "Then let's start the club. Since it's the Peach Blossom Club, we must start with the peach blossom as the theme."

Xiangling asked hurriedly, "Madam, how do you say the rhyme?"

Li Wan smiled and said, "If you limit the rhymes, it will lose the originality. I think we should not limit it."

So everyone agreed. Just as they sat down and concentrated on writing poems, Xixue came in hurriedly, whispered a few words to Daiyu, and then left hurriedly.

Seeing Li Wan looking at her with concern, Daiyu smiled and said, "Baoqin's brother has returned from Le Ting."

(End of this chapter)