Red Mansion Huacai

Chapter 387 Matchmaking
Baoyu was secretly shocked when he heard this. He had already doubted Xiren's character when he was still in the south of the Yangtze River. Now, after hearing what Ai Guan and others said, he was sure that he understood clearly. He was afraid that most of the private conversations they had had in the past were told to Mrs. Wang by Xiren.

But Baoyu was two years older now, and more mature than before, so he pulled Ai Guan and the others aside and said, "Don't make a noise, or people outside might hear you."

Seeing that Xiren didn't say anything, Ai Guan and the others no longer had the heart to vent their anger, so they pulled Baoyu and begged, "Second Master Bao, please redress our grievances and ask Second Madam to let us go back to the garden. We have been out to that miserable place, being bullied and humiliated. We miss the garden every day and cry. It's all because of this hooves that has no shame and barks that we have been forced to leave the garden. Now we can't come back in."

As they talked, Ai Guan and the others kept crying, and even Baoyu's eyes turned red. Although he had never had much contact with the little actors, he thought of Bi Hen in the past and felt pity for her. He knew that if she left, her future would be uncertain. Unfortunately, now that Mrs. Wang had given up her job as the head of the household, Sister Feng was in charge of the family.

If it was in the past, it would be fine. Because the old lady doted on her, Sister Feng naturally looked up to her. But since the old lady changed her temper, Sister Feng became even colder towards her.

Baoyu said with red eyes: "Sister Feng has made up her mind and has already reported it to the old ancestor. I am afraid it will be difficult to change it. There are still people to be sent away in the next few days. If you have anything to say, don't shout loudly. It will be bad if Sister Feng sees it."

Kui Guan sneered at this time: "Master Bao can't do anything about it, so you don't have to worry about us in the future. I just want to ask one question, why are all the mistakes ours, but Xiren is not at fault at all?"

Xiren couldn't stand it any longer and cursed, "I've been patient for most of the day, and you guys started to flirt with me as soon as Second Master Bao came back! You didn't check yourselves at the beginning, and you gathered together in the garden, acted recklessly, and aroused the wrath of heaven and people, but you let it go for now. Now you're trying to make up stories and slander me, saying that I was the Madam's informant, and that I went to Second Madam to inform on her. There's no evidence at all, and you're just making up accusations like this?"

Ai Guan said, "Everyone knows that you are Madam's confidant. If you want to get an extra two taels of silver every month, who else can do that but you? Don't assume that everyone doesn't know. I just don't agree with one thing. You keep saying that we are a foxy and cunning man. What about the sneaky things you and Master Bao did?"

Xiren sneered, "You usually act pitiful, but why are you so vicious today? You just talk nonsense, not afraid of getting hurt!"

Baoyu was shaking with fear. Previously, when he was in Jiangnan, he was caught by Jia Zheng while having sex with a beautiful woman, and he was severely beaten. Now Jia Zheng was at home, and if he knew that Baoyu had an affair with Xiren, he would probably give him another beating!
Yin Shi hurriedly begged Ken, "Please, sisters, don't mention it. If you mention it again, it will cause big trouble!"

Under normal circumstances, Ai Guan, Kui Guan and others would have given Baoyu some face, but now they could not care less. They immediately dragged Xiren to the old lady to ask for an explanation.

Baoyu was also anxious, and he pulled Kui Guan and Ai Guan one after another, saying a lot of nice things to them, until Lin Zhixiao's wife passed by and scolded them. Then Ai Guan, Kui Guan and the other two dared not make trouble anymore, and left a harsh sentence: "I'll let you go for now, but this matter is not over yet."

After that, the three girls went to seek help from Wang Xifeng.

Just at this time Qiu Wen and She Yue came back from outside. Kui Guan, Ai Guan and others pushed them aside and went out without paying any attention to them.

Because Xiren's clothes and hair were messed up, she went back to the room to clean it up. When Baoyu saw Sheyue and Qiuwen, he immediately thought to himself, why not take this opportunity to ask them about it?
Yin pulled Qiu Wen and asked, "They all said that Xiren told them in private. You are often together, so you must know the inside story."

Qiu Wen asked, "Why is Second Master asking us about her affairs?"

Baoyu frowned and said, "Even if you don't tell me, I'm afraid you won't be able to escape the connection once I find out the truth."

Qiu Wen and She Yue looked at each other. Seeing that Xiren had not come out yet, and thinking of Meiren being framed by Xiren, Qiu Wen and She Yue naturally felt sad. So She Yue said, "It really has nothing to do with us. Xiren always goes to the old lady and gets an extra two taels of silver every month. I heard that she doesn't even listen to the old lady. Master Bao, won't you think about it yourself?"

Baoyu understood immediately, and waited for Sheyue and Qiuwen to go in. Then Xiren came out again after getting dressed. She was afraid that the three little actors would cause trouble at Fengjie's place, so she wanted to go over and see what was going on. But Baoyu stopped her and said, "I hate people who stir up trouble behind people's backs the most. Poor Qianxue, Bihen, Meiren, and now there are Aiguan and Kuiguan... Who can I trust now? I'm afraid no one is trustworthy!"

Xiren frowned and said, "Second Master, why do you suspect that I did it? Actors never speak the truth, how can they be sincere? I want to go to Second Madam to see if I'm wrong!"

Baoyu was extremely disappointed. He had always thought that Xiren was a beautiful girl, but who knew that she was so vicious? He immediately felt sorry for himself and was extremely sad. At this moment, he suddenly saw the red silk that Jiang Yuhan had given him tied around Xiren's waist. He was stunned and thought: "Jiang Yuhan and she are a perfect match. Why not act as a matchmaker and let him marry Xiren?"

Seeing that he was in a trance, Xiren immediately withdrew her hand and hurried to Yihong Courtyard. When Baoyu came to his senses, Xiren was nowhere to be seen. The more Baoyu thought about it, the more he thought it was right. He took Shuangrui and went to Hua's house.

At this time, Xiren's parents had passed away, and there were only her brother and sister-in-law at home. Her elder brother Hua Zifang had known for a long time that his sister Xiren was planning to become the concubine of Master Bao Er, and he felt that it was not appropriate. Hua Zifang was used to hearing the internal disputes and calculations of wealthy families, and he didn't know how many maids who were seeking to get promoted died every year.

Firstly, my younger sister Xiren was not a born daughter of the family. Secondly, she tried to please Lady Wang and made Lady Jia dislike her. Later, Lady Wang got into trouble. So, how could Lady Wang be the concubine of Master Bao in the future?

Baoyu found Hua's house, and Hua Zifang entertained him warmly. After a few words of idle chat, Baoyu mentioned Jia's mother's name, saying that she had found a marriage for Xiren. Her surname was Jiang, her family was wealthy, and she had taken a fancy to Xiren.

Hua Zifang's face froze, she was very puzzled, and immediately carefully scanned Baoyu's expression. But Baoyu was not a cunning man, and even a fool could see the disgust on his face.

Hua Zifang thought to herself that she was afraid that her sister Xiren had offended Master Bao, and if she did not obey Master Bao, there was no telling what would happen to her, so she agreed without delay.

This was the first time that Baoyu made the decision to deal with something. Seeing Hua Zifang agreed readily, he breathed a sigh of relief and quickly sent Shuangrui to call Xiren.

Half an hour later, Shuangrui brought Xiren over. When Xiren saw Hua Zifang, she didn't say much, but lowered her head with a gloomy look. She looked at Baoyu quietly, but she saw that there was no friendship in Baoyu's eyes.

Xiren felt a pain in her heart, how could she not know that Baoyu was already disgusted with her at this moment?
Hua Zifang didn't know the truth, and thought Xiren would not agree to the marriage, so she immediately pulled her out of the house to persuade her. Unexpectedly, Xiren was very open-minded, and after finding out who she was going to marry, she thought about it and agreed.

It turned out that Jiang Yuhan was sold by Baoyu last time, and then taken back to the palace by King Zhongshun. Fortunately, Jiang Yuhan has a wide range of outings, and not only has a special relationship with King Beijing, but also can say a few words to King Zhongyong. King Zhongyong learned about this, and then King Zhongyong spoke to the saint, and King Zhongshun did not dare to punish Jiang Yuhan after learning about it.

After a few years, Prince Zhongshun changed his nature and started to support other actors. Jiang Yuhan then left Prince Zhongshun's palace and, with the money and goods given to him by dignitaries in the past, he bought a farm in the north of Beijing and lived a very free and easy life.

Hua Zifang came out and said with a smile, "Second Master Bao, Xiren has agreed."

Baoyu nodded immediately with a heavy heart, still thinking about how to go to Prince Zhongshun's mansion to find Jiang Yuhan. Soon Hua Zifang told him where Jiang Yuhan was now.

Baoyu was overjoyed, but it was a pity that it was late today. Baoyu decided to go look for Jiang Yuhan early tomorrow morning.

The next morning, Baoyu took his servant to the north of Beijing to look for her. After walking forty miles, they arrived at Zidan Fort.

Since Baoyu sold her out last time, the two of them had no more contact. Seeing Baoyu at this time, Jiang Yuhan was very surprised. He asked, "Is there something that Master Bao wants to see me for?"

Baoyu ignored the awkwardness in his words and said with a smile after he sat down: "I will give your belt to the beautiful lady to wear forever. I am willing to be the old man under the moon and act as a matchmaker."

Jiang Yuhan was even more puzzled: "Which beauty did Master Bao give the belt to?"

"Xiren."

Jiang Yuhan was startled. She had often heard Baoyu praise Xiren for her gentleness and beauty, and she was quite envious. When she heard Baoyu was willing to give Xiren the gift, she thought that Baoyu had come to complain about his previous annoyance.

Jiang Yuhan's expression softened a bit, and he couldn't stand the clamor from the people around him, so he agreed. The host and the guests were all happy, and Jiang Yuhan hosted a banquet to entertain Baoyu. When they were drunk, he set the date for the wedding.

When Baoyu returned home, he sent Xiren away first to go home and get married, and then told his mother, Mrs. Wang, about this matter.

When Mrs. Wang heard that this matter had been decided, she was immediately furious. She saw that Xiren was obedient and easy to use in front of her, never concealed anything big or small, and had many intentions to persuade Baoyu. Although she had intended to deceive him before, now that Baoyu's reputation was ruined, Mrs. Wang really wanted to make Xiren his concubine.

Who knew that Baoyu was so crazy that he gave Xiren to someone else just a few days after returning from Jiangnan.

Because he had been nagging Baoyu for a long time, he thought that Baoyu was old now, so he didn't want to say anything more.

But on the 28th, Rongguo Mansion was decorated with lanterns, screens with phoenixes, bedding with lotus, and the sound of sheng, flute, drums and music filled the streets and alleys. On this day, the Queen Mother of Nan'an, the Princess of Beijing, and several old friends came to Rongguo Mansion to celebrate the birthday.

Jia's mother and the others all dressed up according to their ranks to welcome him. When everyone met, they were first invited to Jiayin Hall in the Grand View Garden. After they had tea and changed their clothes, they went out to Rongqing Hall to pay their respects and take their seats.

Everyone was humble for half a day before they took their seats. The two seats at the top were for the princesses of the north and south, and below them were the officials of the dukes and marquises. The first seat on the left was for the guests including the Marquis of Jinxiang, the Marquis of Linchang, and Daiyu, and the first seat on the right was for Grandmother Jia.

Mrs. Xing and Mrs. Wang led Youshi, Fengjie, Li Wan and several other wives from the family, standing in two rows behind Lady Jia. Lin Zhixiao led the wives, all outside the bamboo curtain, waiting to serve food and wine, and Yuanyang led several maids, waiting behind the screen to serve and call. Anyone who followed had already been taken care of elsewhere.

As five of the twelve young actors had been sent away earlier, and there was no use keeping seven, Sister Feng decided to send them all away. So today they invited a troupe from outside to perform.

At that moment, Jia's mother invited the two princesses to select opera excerpts. The two of them were polite and one selected a civil play and the other selected a martial play. The rest of the people also selected opera excerpts, and the troupe began to sing. After a while, four dishes were served, and the soup was just beginning. The people who came with them took out their rewards and gave them to each family. Everyone changed their clothes and went back to the garden, and they were served good tea.

Although Nan'an Concubine was forcing herself to smile, she could not hide her sorrow. This was because the general first defeated the Zhun bandits and then entered Shentu to expand the territory. It would have been fine if he had made great military achievements, but Shentu was rich, and the officers in the army made a lot of money.

The Prince of Nan'an did not expect to be promoted to a higher rank, and in fact, there was no more he could be promoted to, but he was quite disgusted with Yue Zhongqi's sudden wealth. In addition, the martial virtue of Dashun was abundant, so the Prince of Nan'an could not help but be tempted.

The King of Toungoo has been quite disrespectful recently, repeatedly sending chieftains to invade the territory of Dashun. This is because last month the King of Nangan requested to go south to Yunnan to supervise border affairs.

The Queen Mother of Nan'an could not help but feel worried. The reputation of Prince Nan'an was not as good as that of Prince Beijing, and his ability to command troops was far inferior to Yue Zhongqi. It was unclear whether it would be a blessing or a curse for her to provoke a border conflict.

After talking about family matters, Concubine Nan'an suddenly asked about Baoyu's situation.

Since all the guests were women today, Grandmother Jia said that Baoyu was still kneeling in the family temple to pray for blessings.

The Concubine Nan'an just asked in passing and then asked about the girl in the family.

Grandmother Jia smiled and said, "Some of the sisters are sick, some are weak, and some are shy when they see people, so I asked them to look after the house for me. I also invited a small Hui troupe and sent one group to the hall over there to accompany his aunt's sisters to watch the play."

It’s Lady Jia’s birthday, no matter what, the Xue family’s mother and daughter have to show their support.

Concubine Nan'an smiled and said, "In that case, ask someone to invite him in."

Jia's mother turned around and told Sister Feng to go and invite them. Sister Feng agreed and soon invited Baochai, Tanchun and Xichun to come.

The Nan'an Concubine took Tanchun by one hand and Baochai by the other, asking how old they were and praising them repeatedly. After a while, she pulled Xichun over and praised her repeatedly.

He turned around and smiled at Lady Jia, "They are all good. I wonder which one you want me to praise?"

Then she called for someone to present the rewards, five gold and jade rings and a string of wrist fragrance beads for each person, according to the number of people. After the rewards were given, the Nan'an Concubine smiled and said, "Sisters, don't laugh at me. Save it for the maids."

At that moment, Baochai, Tanchun and Xichun expressed their gratitude, and Princess Beijing had also given her a reward, so they naturally did not mention it.

After the day was over, Baochai was worried about Xue Pan's lawsuit, so she wanted to talk to Daiyu, but Daiyu was dragged to the garden by Tanchun. Sister Bao lived outside now, so it was not easy for her to enter the garden without permission. And she thought to herself that by now, her brother Xue Pan's lawsuit had already been reported to the public, and she was afraid that Fourth Brother Jian would not be able to help.

After thinking this way, Baochai had no choice but to go find Aunt Xue and left with a heavy heart.

As soon as Daiyu entered the garden, Xichun began to chatter and laugh, "Sister Lin suffered a loss by getting married, otherwise she would have been rewarded this time."

Tanchun laughed and said, "Fourth sister, you don't know that Sister Lin's title of Lady of Jingling is no worse than those imperial edicts. Besides, when it comes to interpersonal relationships, how can you take advantage of others? It's just a matter of transferring gifts from one hand to the other, a matter of courtesy and reciprocity."

Xichun said, "That's true. But Fourth Brother Jian has a lot of money, and I think Sister Lin will have plenty of money too."

Daiyu laughed and said, "Is it short or not? Is Fourth Sister still a worm in my stomach?"

It was just a joke, Tanchun just got down to business.

Tanchun said, "Sister Lin, there is something I don't know how to start today."

Daiyu observed Tanchun's expression and said, "Third sister doesn't speak easily. I guess you are in trouble?"

Tanchun said, "The family is running out of money. Madam gave us a suggestion last time, saying that we have too many idle people. The old lady agreed and told Sister Feng about it. Unexpectedly, Sister Feng decided to send Kui Guan, Ai Guan and others out of the house.

They are still young, and their mother is mean and vicious. If they go out, they will probably end up in a shameful place." After a pause, Tanchun looked at Daiyu and said, "The Rong Mansion is bloated, but the Bo Mansion has a small population. I wonder if Sister Lin can show mercy and take Kuiguan and Aiguan over as well?"

Daiyu frowned immediately. She went to Rong Mansion every day, so she knew that those little actors were not easy to deal with. Some of them pretended to be phoenixes, some secretly got married to Jia Qiang, some drank and played cards, and so on.

The Bo's residence was always clean and simple. When they were not on duty, they would drink, but they rarely gambled. They would punish them if they were found. If those seven little actors entered the Bo's residence, wouldn't they corrupt the atmosphere of the Bo's residence?

Seeing Daiyu frowning, Tanchun thought for a moment and said, "Sister Lin can be settled in the house. She doesn't have to stay in the mansion."

Daiyu just relaxed her brows after hearing this and said, "That's easy. Sister Qin and I have a few silk and satin shops. Let them learn for a while, and then they can greet guests and answer questions for the female relatives."

Tanchun heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing this and said with a smile, "That's great. I know Sister Lin has a kind heart."

Daiyu laughed and said, "How can I be kind? No matter how I treat you, I can't compare to Third Sister's kindness."

Tanchun said, "It's because Ai Guan had nowhere to turn to, so he had to look for me. After all, we are master and servant, and we have lived together for several years. I can't just watch them go to Shuiyue Temple without a place to stay." After a pause, she continued, "If Sister Lin hadn't agreed, I'm afraid they would have gone to Shuiyue Temple too."

Daiyu said, "Third sister, you also know that Fourth Brother has a large woolen mill in the north, where there are many female workers. Since they have released their indentures, why don't they go to the mill and earn their own living?"

Xichun said, "They have been learning opera since they were little. They can't even wait on others. How can they stand working?"

Daiyu smiled and said nothing, but in her heart she was quite dissatisfied with those little actors. Perhaps because they had been married for a long time, Daiyu was unconsciously influenced by Li Weijian.

The three of them walked towards the East Corner Gate. As they walked, Tanchun asked again, "Sister Lin, do you know that Xiren is getting married?"

Daiyu was surprised and asked, "Who is she going to marry? Is it Brother Bao?"

Xichun spoke quickly and shook her head, "No, it was Master Bao who gave Xiren to Jiang Yuhan. I don't know what he was thinking."

(End of this chapter)