Red Mansion Huacai

Chapter 374 Silly Uncle

When Wu Haiping returned to the Bo's Mansion, he went to find Li Weijian to report back. After Wu Haiping told Li Weijian about the situation of the Xing family and congratulated him, he was about to leave, but Li Weijian stopped him unexpectedly.

"Master, is there anything else?"

Li Weijian said, "Haining received a letter today. The letter is with Xiuying. You can go and take a look when you have time."

Wu Haiping immediately glared at him and said, "This brat has only sent me two letters in a year since he joined the army!"

Even so, Wu Haiping secretly breathed a sigh of relief. There were only two male members of the Wu family, and the situation outside was dangerous and dangerous, so if they were not careful, something could go wrong.

Wu Haiping left the study and found Qianxue at the second door. Qianxue went to the back to get the letter. Wu Haiping didn't know many words, so he read it carefully and was immediately delighted.

Wu Haining went to the northwest after receiving the recommendation from the loyal and brave king. He first served as a lieutenant in the army, then made some meritorious deeds and was promoted to the chief of sentry. Later, he followed the Dashun Jingying through the snowy mountains to Brunei, during which he made many meritorious deeds and was promoted to the chief of the army.

Qianxue observed Wu Haiping's expression and said with a smile, "Second Uncle has become successful now. I just heard from Auntie that Master praised him a lot in private, saying that Second Uncle has become more stable."

Wu Haining curled his lips and said, "He's still like a hairy monkey. I think he needs more experience." Putting down the letter, Wu Haiping said, "Haining said that he will return with the fleet in May. He is old enough. By then, I will find a suitable marriage for him." He looked at Qianxue and hesitated to speak.

Qianxue frowned and said, "Why are you looking at me? The only ones I know are maids. Second uncle is the head of the department now, so he must find someone who is of equal status and suitable for him."

Wu Haiping hurriedly said: "The Wu family doesn't have much background, so I don't care about that. The most important thing is character - and the elderly in the family." Speaking of this, Wu Haiping couldn't help but talk about Xing Zhong's situation.

Qianxue frowned when she heard this and said, "After all, she is still my aunt, it's hard to talk about her parents."

Wu Haiping said: "I just said that, can you go out and gossip with others? It's only because the uncle's family is rich and powerful, otherwise I don't know how Xing Zhong will make trouble in the future."

Qianxue's expression softened as she said, "The maids we have hired are well connected, and there is still some time left. I will ask someone to find a good woman with a simple family background for my second uncle."

Wu Haiping agreed without delay. As the couple were still on duty, they talked briefly and then left. Qianxue returned from the second gate and heard footsteps coming from behind. She turned around and saw that it was Li Weijian. She quickly bowed and stepped aside. Li Weijian smiled and nodded and then passed by.

Li Weijian went straight into the main room of the east courtyard and saw Daiyu playing the zither. Li Weijian pretended to appreciate it for a long time and praised her: "Sister, your zither skills have reached perfection. This piece of music should only exist in heaven. How many times can we hear it in the world?"

Daiyu glanced at him and said, "Has Miss Xing's matter been settled?"

Li Weijian smiled and said, "It's settled. The day for the selection of the Imperial Observatory's Spring Officials is May 16th."

Daiyu didn't say much after hearing this, and Li Weijian told her about the situation of the Wu family. Daiyu frowned and said, "It's a pity that Sister Xing has such a bad character and has such parents."

"He is from a small family, and has a short eye."

Daiyu said, "Now I think you have finally got what you want."

Li Weijian came over and said with a smile: "Sister, don't you know me? Sister is content only when she is by my side."

Daiyu felt relieved, then frowned and said, "Sister Xing, can we just bring her in in a sedan chair?"

"It's not a formal wedding, so we shouldn't make too much of a fuss." Li Weijian thought about it and said, "When the day comes, just invite some relatives and friends to have a meal."

Daiyu thought, "Sister Xing's family is poor, so I will send her a set of headgear later, which will be considered as a supplement to her makeup."

"I know my sister has a kind heart."

On this side, Daiyu wanted to add some makeup to Xing Xiuyan, and Baoqin found out about it. Thinking of the sisters in the Grand View Garden, she also wanted to add some makeup.

She went to ask Daiyu herself, and saw that what Daiyu gave her was a set of gold filigree and South pearl headwear. Baoqin rummaged through the bottom of her box and decided to give her a set of coral and tortoise shell headwear.

The next day there was another Peach Blossom Society gathering. This time, Feng Jieer, Li Wan, Tanchun and Xichun all came to the Bo's house, but Xing Xiuyun was the only one missing.

Xichun sighed, "It was a pity that Sister Yun was waiting to be married and couldn't come over. Now Sister Xing has moved out too. I don't know when we will meet again in the future."

The ladies in the Bo's Mansion smiled at each other. Qingwen, who was quick-witted, said, "It's hard to say about the others, but Miss Yun and Miss Xing, the fourth young lady, can see them."

"What do you mean?" Xichun asked.

Qingwen said, "Next year, Miss Yun will be married after she reaches the age of 15. As for Miss Xing..." Qingwen smiled and said, "The fourth lady will be able to see her in May."

Xichun still didn't understand, but Tanchun was smart and said, "Sister Xing is going to marry into the Baoning Marquis's mansion, isn't she? Could it be that -"

Qingwen snorted and said, "What's the situation with that young master? Who would dare to jump into the fire pit from a good family? Miss Xing naturally refused and begged our wife privately."

Tanchun had already made some guesses in her mind, and when she looked at Daiyu, she saw her smiling and nodding. Tanchun was stunned, with mixed feelings in her heart, wondering when did Sister Xing get involved with Fourth Brother Jian?

Yes, they knew each other before, and then he managed Sister Lin's food box shop. It is said that he had to deliver food boxes to the inner government office every day. It is said that after such a few visits, the two of them fell in love with each other.

Li Wan, who was standing by, was also hearing this for the first time. She said, "It's a bit unfair to Miss Xing. She has such a good character, like a carefree cloud or wild crane, but she is held back by her family background. It's good for her to enter the Earl's Mansion. Brother Jian is a generous man and will definitely not treat her unfairly."

Feng Jieer, who was beside Li Wan, was not happy. She smiled and said, "Oh, why is Miss Xing coming to the Bo's house too? Brother Jian is nostalgic. He has gathered all the good girls he knew in the past and brought them to his home." She counted on her fingers, "Sister Lin, Sister Shi, Baoqin, and now Miss Xing. Tsk tsk, this doesn't even include Qingwen and Hongyu who were brought in earlier."

Hongyu just happened to be bringing the maids to deliver fruits. Upon hearing this, she laughed and said, "Second Madam, what are you talking about? I am just a child of my own family. How dare I compare myself with the girls in the mansion?"

Wang Xifeng glanced at her and said with regret, "I feel the greatest pity for you. I originally liked your quick wit and ability to get things done, and your thoughtful nature. I thought that when brother Jian left home, I would invite you to be at his side and serve him. But who knew that brother Jian would take you with him when he left the house. It's a pity that Ping'er is the only one who can be used by me now, and she is not very useful."

As soon as the words fell, Li Wan immediately spoke up for Ping'er and said, "That's not right. Ping'er has always been sensible and considerate. How can she not be useful?"

Wang Xifeng said, "If I am not of the same mind as you, what good can it do?"

Ping'er looked embarrassed, knowing that Wang Xifeng was talking about You Erjie.

Without waiting for the others to complain, Wang Xifeng said with a smile, "I just said it casually, but you took it seriously."

After this matter was exposed, they started talking about other gossip.

Wang Xifeng brought up Wang Yunping's marriage again: "What's the saying? Lose in one place, gain in another. In my opinion, it's good that the second son of the Zheng family has a softer temper. Yunping will be able to stand up for herself when she gets married, instead of being a humble servant and suffering in the future."

Baoqin asked in surprise: "So... the marriage has fallen on the head of the second son of the Zheng family?"

Wang Xifeng said, "What else can we do? We can't let both families become a laughing stock."

First, Wang Yunping was old and there was no time to find another husband; second, the frontier troops had been disbanded, and Wang Ziteng's nine-province command was just a temporary assignment, without even a proper government office. Privately, Wang Ziteng saw that Emperor Zhenghe was not as enthusiastic as before, and his responses to memorials were quite cold, so he knew that the emperor was thinking of getting rid of him.

Wang Ziteng has offended many nobles such as the Four Kings and Eight Dukes by disbanding the border troops in recent years. Now he is thinking of marrying his daughter to ease the relationship between him and the nobles.

After this incident, Daiyu was busy organizing the club, and had a theme and rhyme. Everyone was thinking hard about it, so they didn't mention it. In the afternoon, everyone in Rongfu returned from Bo's Mansion. The fourth girl Xichun was quick-witted. Because she was close in age to Baoqin, she said, "I heard from Xiaohe that Sister Qin wanted to add some makeup to Sister Xing in private. She said she found a headdress." Then she looked at Tanchun and said, "Third sister, do we want to add some?"

Tanchun said with a bitter face, "We haven't even gotten married yet, and the monthly allowance is tight, where can we get the money to add to the dowry?"

When children were born during the Spring Festival, Tanchun and Xichun received gifts from their elders, but they were just toys for fun and few were presentable. Even the jade pendant given to Xing Xiuyan was considered a very valuable item by Tanchun.

Since there was no way to have two little ones, she planned to give a thoughtful gift to Xing Xiuyan when she got married. Li Wan was very proud of Xing Xiuyan, and although she didn't say anything on the way, she rummaged through the boxes and cabinets in Daoxiang Village, thinking about buying Xing Xiuyan a dowry.

Feng Jieer's heart was now on Li Weijian. Although she knew that she couldn't delay Li Weijian from taking a concubine, she still felt unhappy. She had to go to Ping'er to argue for a long time, but Ping'er's good words were useless. Unexpectedly, Feng Jieer was busy arranging makeup for Xing Xiuyan.
Ping Er was very puzzled, and Feng Jieer said, "It's not her that I'm angry with."

Ping'er suddenly realized that, yes, the Second Madam was angry with Fourth Master Jian.

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

It is said that when Old Lady You passed away, Third Sister You and Mrs. You discussed it and decided to keep the body at home for seven days and then send it to a temple outside the city. They invited monks to chant sutras for the soul-stirring, and also found a Taoist priest to choose the acupuncture points. It was almost April when the burial would take place.

That day, Youshi and You Sanjie buried You Lao Niang and donated 200 kilograms of incense oil to the temple. When they were riding back together, the two sisters inevitably had an argument.

Youshi was a man of many plans but indecisive, while the third sister was a fierce one. When talking about revenge for the second sister and her mother, Youshi hesitated and seemed to be perfunctory. Seeing that Youshi was indifferent, the third sister said angrily: "If they are not biological children, they are different. That's it. Let's have less contact in the future. I will avenge my third sister and mother by myself."

Youshi sighed and said no more. It was almost noon and they happened to arrive at Tiekan Temple, so Youshi arranged to rest there.

When the third sister entered the Tiekan Temple, she heard the sound of shouting and yelling. Yu Shi was talking to the elders of the Jia clan, and then she frowned and said, "Xing Dequan brought Jia Huan here to hang out, and also found a group of young men. The Tiekan Temple has been turned into a mess."

Third Sister You was still angry, but she ignored Youshi.

After resting for half an hour, when the two were about to set off again, Xing Dequan came over to greet them - when Jia Huan heard that Youshi was coming, he was so scared that he ran back and had disappeared by now.

When they arrived at the temple gate and greeted each other, Xing Dequan stood up and glanced at Third Sister You, and immediately half of his soul flew away.

Since arriving at the Rong Mansion, Xing Dequan had been hanging out with Jia Qiang, Jia Qin and other young men of the Jia family every day, going out to all the red-light districts and indulging in eating, drinking, whoring and gambling. He believed that he had seen many girls and had even looked at the top girls from afar, but all of them were not as good as a finger of the third sister.

Xing Dequan stared at the Third Sister, who was a little annoyed. She had seen many such filthy men in Jiangnan. Many of them were bewitched by them and never had sex with them in private, but they still gave her a lot of money.

Suddenly she remembered that this man was related to Madam Xing, and Third Sister You became interested. When she met him, she said, "It turns out to be Uncle Xing."

Xing Dequan came back to his senses and said with a smile, "What Uncle Xing? People outside call me Stupid Uncle. Third sister, you can call me that from now on."

The third sister said meaningfully, "People outside are talking nonsense, but Uncle himself took it seriously. Uncle is not stupid, he is just sincere."

Xing Dequan straightened his back and said, "Yes, yes, Third Sister is right."

Third Sister You knew that too much is as bad as too little, so she just passed by him and only glanced back at him with a smile before leaving. It was this one glance that immediately attracted Xing Dequan's soul.

He thought to himself that he would ask his elder sister, Madam Xing, to marry Third Sister You to him.

He was not very thoughtful at this time, and he was a simple person who did whatever he wanted. He did not drink the wine, nor did he care about the card game. He took out the private money that Mrs. Xing had given him, and rode his donkey back to the capital in a hurry.

When he arrived at the Rongguo Mansion, it was just before 3 p.m. Xing Dequan went to the second gate of the east courtyard, spoke to the old woman guarding the gate, and then began to pace around like an ant on the hot pan.

After waiting for a long while, a maid finally led Xing Dequan in.

Mrs. Xing had just taken a short nap. Seeing her brother coming, she asked, "Are you out of money again?"

Xing Dequan blinked and smiled innocently, "Yes, but that's not what I'm talking about today." He paused, then said solemnly, "Sister knows that I'm now at the age where I need to start a family and a career, and it's not good for me to mess around anymore. It's said that you should start a family first and then start a career, so I'm thinking about finding a suitable marriage first."

Mrs. Xing was very surprised and said in astonishment: "You have improved recently. You only know how to drink and spend money? It's strange. When I talked to you a few days ago, you were very impatient..." After a pause, Mrs. Xing was only concerned about the matter between men and women. She suddenly realized and said: "Tell me, which girl do you like?"

Xing Dequan hesitated for a long time before finally speaking.

Mrs. Xing was stunned when she heard this: "Third Sister You? Do you know what her reputation is?"

Xing Dequan said, "What reputation? Fish seek fish, shrimp seek shrimp, and turtle seek turtle. Anyway, I'm attracted to Third Sister You!"

Mrs. Xing was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. She said, "What's the point of you picking someone's favorite? You have to be liked by others first."

After a pause, he continued, "Besides, the third sister of the You family... is still in a lawsuit with her family. She has just sent away Old An You, so you can't marry her even if you want to."

Xing Dequan was immediately dejected when he heard this. Only then did he remember that when he ran into Third Sister You and You Shi today, they both had plain hair and plain faces, and the jewelry on their heads were all silver.

But in Aunt Zhao's courtyard, when she saw Jia Huan return early that day, she especially noticed that his expression was not right. As the saying goes, no one knows a son better than his mother, so Aunt Zhao used both threats and tricks to find out that Jia Huan did not go to school that day, but instead went to Tiekan Temple to play with Xing Dequan and others.

Aunt Zhao scolded, "You are such a shameless bastard. If you want to play, you should go after the sons of noble families instead of those useless ones!"

Jia Huan squinted his eyes and replied, "That noble son also looks down on me."

Aunt Zhao was immediately upset when she heard this. When people outside mentioned the children of the Jia family, they only knew about Jia Lian, the heir to the title, and Baoyu, who was born with a jade in his mouth. But who knew about Jia Huan, the concubine's child?
It's a pity that Lady Wang survived the two years of confinement. Aunt Zhao had dreamed that Lady Wang was suffocated to death, and Master Jia Zheng loved to listen to her pillow talk, so maybe he would not remarry in the future. Is she the one who makes the decisions in this family?

Although she was born as a maid and could not be a second wife, it was also good for her to be a lady in real but not in name only. Then who would dare to look down on Jia Huan?

Feeling unhappy, Aunt Zhao scolded Jia Huan and asked at the end, "In the past, you always came back from playing at the end of the afternoon. Why are you coming back so early today?"

Jia Huan said, "Grandma Zhen and Third Sister You are back from the funeral, and they just happened to stop by Tiekan Temple to rest..."

Aunt Zhao's heart was moved when she heard this. If she were to say who in the Jia family she wanted to kill the most, Sister Feng would definitely be in the top three - the first two being Lady Wang and Baoyu.

There is no such thing as a wall that is impenetrable. How Feng Jieer tortured You Erjie in private, how could Aunt Zhao not know? So she quietly pulled Jia Huan over and said, "When you have time, go outside and look for where You Sanjie lives."

Jia Huan said unwillingly: "Just ask Sister-in-law Xunzhen, why do you need me to run errands for you?"

Aunt Zhao immediately said sternly, "Go if I tell you to, or your monthly allowance will be deducted!"

Jia Huan had no choice but to agree. The next day, he went out with his head down and happened to run into Xing Dequan, who was in a state of daze. The two looked at each other and were both surprised.

While sighing, Xing Dequan asked Jia Huan where he was going. When he heard that he was going to look for Third Sister You's residence, Xing Dequan suddenly became excited.

"Third sister?" The silly uncle was rarely moved and lied, "Oh, it's chaotic outside, how can you run around at such a young age? Well, I'll take care of you today and make sure you come back safe and sound."

(End of this chapter)