Red Mansion Huacai

Chapter 392 Return to Rongguo Mansion

It is not known whether the nitroglycerin was really effective, or whether Grandmother Jia was in a better mood, but since the Double Ninth Festival, her health has improved. Daiyu and everyone in the Jia family breathed a sigh of relief.

Later, good things happened. Jia Zheng was idle for more than a month, but he was finally transferred to the post of Junior Official of Guanglu Temple by imperial decree. Although his rank had not changed, officials in Beijing were always one level higher than local officials. Therefore, everyone in the Jia family was very excited, and there were continuous banquets and guests.

In October, Xue Pan was executed at Caishikou. Aunt Xue and Baochai managed to arrange the funeral, but soon she fell ill and lay on the kang sobbing all day. Baochai consoled her every day and shed countless tears, but she could not persuade him.

Baochai knew that extreme joy or sorrow could easily harm the body, and was afraid that Aunt Xue would hurt her body by crying, so she thought of sending Aunt Xue to the Rongguo Mansion, where she could have Lady Wang as her companion, and the two sisters could comfort each other, which was always better than the consolation of the younger generation.

Sister Bao was tempted to go to Rongguo Mansion to pay a visit, but one night she saw Tongxi retching repeatedly. Tonggui and Ying'er didn't understand why, but Baochan knew the truth and gnashed her teeth in anger.

She went to the death row of the Ministry of Justice several times, and Xia Jingui was right in saying that Master Xue Pan was a useless man. After all this trouble for so long, not only her, but also the widow Ma who was hired at a high price, showed no sign of any movement.

On the contrary, it is a happy occasion. They only had a quick meeting with Mr. Xue, but now they have a child!
Sister Bao saw this and suddenly understood what was going on, but she remained calm. She just said that Tongxi was not feeling well and sent him to rest first. Tonggui and Ying'er both praised Baochai for her generosity. Tongxi knew her own situation and her face flushed. She could not help but leave with a happy look on her face.

The next morning, Sister Bao said that she was worried about Aunt Xue's health, and hurriedly sent a servant to invite a doctor. At that time, she dismissed the attendants and left Tongxi alone to accompany her.

The doctor first examined Aunt Xue and said that she was too worried, so he prescribed a prescription. After examining Aunt Xue, Sister Bao hurriedly said, "Doctor, my maid has not been feeling well recently. Please have a look at her too."

The doctor agreed, and Tongxi stepped forward to let him feel her pulse. After a while, the doctor smiled and bowed, saying, "Congratulations, this girl is pregnant."

Before Sister Bao could say anything, Aunt Xue, who was sickly sitting on the kang, jumped up and asked in a stern voice, "Is it true?"

The doctor said, "Madam, you are right. Although the pulse of this girl is weak, it can be detected by careful examination."

Aunt Xue was overjoyed, and her previous depression was gone. She hurriedly asked someone to reward the doctor. Sister Bao hurriedly gave her a look, and Aunt Xue realized it belatedly. She suppressed her ecstasy, patiently said a few words to the doctor, and then asked Baochai to send him out.

After Baochai sent the doctor away, Aunt Xue could not help but hug Tongxi and cry, "Thank God, the eldest wife finally has an heir."

After saying that, he frowned and said, "But I don't know whether it's a boy or a girl. If I had known this, I should have let Tonggui go with me that day—"

"Mom!" Baochai hurriedly stopped Aunt Xue from talking and pointed outside, indicating that there were ears on the other side of the wall.

Aunt Xue quickly covered her mouth, took off the gold bracelet on her wrist and put it on Tongxi, whispering with relief: "Good girl, you must give birth to a boy for the Xue family."

Tongxi blushed and nodded in agreement.

On the other side, Baochan saw that after Baochai sent the doctor away, she closed the door to discuss things and left Tonggui to guard the door, but did not ask herself to go in. She couldn't help thinking that she had fought fiercely with Xia Jingui, and for the sake of her offspring, she gave up her face and went to the death row with the widow to serve Xue Pan. She didn't expect that all her hard work would be in vain, and Tongxi would come out on top.

Actually, Tongxi had no relationship with the master. Xia Jingui was the grandmother who was married in a formal way, and she was the one who was favored. No matter how you look at it, it was not Tongxi's turn to reap the benefits.

She was immediately indignant, and turned around to find a talkative old woman to complain to. Half of the people in the Xue family were Xia Jingui's companions, and Xia Jingui knew about the old woman's gossip before noon.

Because Baochan was vague about what she said before, she had all kinds of lies. Xia Jingui thought that Tongxi had also gone to the prison to have an affair with Xue Pan some time ago, and she thought that she was not pregnant, but the maid of the Xue family was pregnant. She was also thinking about taking over the Xue family's shares and marrying again. If she really had a child, how could she get away?

Not only that, she had already disliked Aunt Xue and Baochai, and there was a possibility that one day she would even lose her status as a legitimate mother. If she was kicked out of the house, wouldn't all her efforts be in vain?

Xia Jingui was always proud and in anger, she immediately led her people to the main room at the back to make a scene. She came in and pointed at Tongxi and started to scold him, and wanted to fight him. Baochai and Ying'er hurried to stop them, but Xia Jingui scratched Ying'er's face again.

Aunt Xue was afraid that Tongxi might get pregnant, so she quickly protected her and then shouted, "If you keep making noise, I'll send you home tomorrow! I allowed Tongxi to go to the prison. When I asked you if you wanted to go, you said you didn't like the prison and refused to go no matter what. What's the reason for making noise now?"

Xia Jingui was so choked that she had nothing to say, and she just started to make a scene, causing great unrest in the Xue family. Baochai couldn't stand it any longer, so she quickly found a maid from the Xue family and sent Xia Jingui to the front yard.

After they left, Baochai looked at Ying'er, who was sobbing with her hands covering her face, and saw that Tongxi was still in a state of fear, so she came over and said to Aunt Xue, "Mother, my sister-in-law is not a quiet person. Who knows what she will do in the future. If Tongxi stays at home, I'm afraid she will be plotted against sooner or later."

Aunt Xue frowned and said, "What should we do? Why don't you take Tongxi and move out first?"

Baochai said, "Now that my brother is gone, the Xue family's hopes are on Tongxi. In my opinion, mother should take Tongxi to the Jia family for a while. When Tongxi is ripe, we can talk about other things."

Aunt Xue suddenly remembered that when she went to Jia's house twice before and talked with Mrs. Wang in private, Mrs. Wang often tried to eavesdrop on Baochai. It seemed that she wanted to bring up the old matter again and renew their marriage. If so, why not let Baochai lead the celebration instead of herself?
Yin thought about it and shook his head, saying, "How can a mother-in-law hide away and leave her younger sister-in-law and sister-in-law at home? I think it would be better for you to take the joy away...your aunt mentioned you earlier."

Although Baochai was smart, she didn't think much about it for a while. She thought that although what Aunt Xue said made sense, Aunt Xue would inevitably be angry if she stayed with Xia Jingui, so she was not very happy.

Aunt Xue thought that Xue Pan was dead and the Xue family had a bad reputation. She thought that Xue Pan and Baoyu were in the same league and it would be difficult for them to find a satisfactory marriage. So she kept persuading Baochai.

Baochai couldn't stand Aunt Xue's nagging and had to agree.

The next day, Aunt Xue went to Rongguo Mansion to visit Lady Wang. The two sisters chatted and Aunt Xue said to Lady Wang, "I don't know what sin our ancestors committed that Pan'er married such a female demon. Now that Pan'er is gone, she is even more intolerant. As a mother-in-law, I can still talk to her, but she is getting more and more disgusted with Baochai."

Mrs. Wang understood the meaning of the string and said, "They are incompatible and it is not good for them to stay together. How can they live with constant quarrels and arguments every day? I think it would be better to let Baochai move back and live in the Grand View Garden. I will take care of her and we can find a suitable marriage in the future."

Aunt Xue said, "Sister, you need to help me with this matter." She remembered that Baochai had said before that she had offended all the girls in the Jia family except Xing Xiuyan before she left. Aunt Xue said, "But Baochai is waiting to be married now, so it's not good for her to go to the garden again. I think it's better to let her live in my small courtyard."

Mrs. Wang naturally agreed, and for a moment the two sisters rekindled their old friendship, and it seemed as if they were still the same as before.

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

But on this day, in Yihong Courtyard, Yuanyang sat aside, and Sister Feng was calculating by herself, frowning and saying worriedly: "Last month, the old lady's birthday was celebrated, and there were gifts sent to the palace for Chongyang Festival. In addition, the master was promoted and had a series of banquets. I calculated that I have spent five thousand taels in the past month. And there will be weddings and funerals in the future, which may cost another three or two thousand. The money I just received in September has been spent in the past year. I hope that the farm can make more money in the twelfth month, otherwise it will be difficult to get through next year."

Yuanyang said, "Second Madam is a wealthy woman now, why would she care about these three or two thousand?"

Feng Jieer looked unhappy, and Ping Erh, who was standing beside her, said, "Miss Yuanyang, this is public and private. Our grandmother has saved up some money with great difficulty, and we can't always give it to the public, right?"

Yuanyang laughed and said, "Where does the public and private come from? Now it's Second Madam who's in charge of the family, so won't Second Madam have the final say in the future?"

Sister Feng put down her abacus and said meaningfully, "It's hard to say."

In the first two years that Feng Jieer was in charge of the household, she naturally sent away all of Wang Fu-ren's companions, including Zhou Rui's wife, for fear that Wang Fu-ren would rely on these people to trip her up in the future.

Who would have thought that Mrs. Wang was resourceful? Seeing that there were only three or four chambermaids left, she simply spent money and showed favors to win over the Jia family's servant.

Feng Jieer was just getting married, so it was fine that she had few maids, and not many of them were useful. Also, because Feng Jieer was strict in housekeeping, the servants of the Jia family, who were used to being lazy, secretly resented her. Mrs. Wang managed to win them over a little, and she was able to gather most of the servants in the mansion.

Recently Sister Feng has come to her senses, but it is too late. Besides, given Sister Feng's personality, how could she be willing to lower herself to bribe a maid?

So Sister Feng thought about it and decided to take care of all the key points, especially the kitchens, to prevent Mrs. Wang from using despicable means. The rest could only be left to chance.

Yuanyang smiled but didn't answer. Feng'er came in with a frown and replied, "Grandma, Laiwang's wife said that she searched the storeroom but couldn't find the wax-jelly Buddha's hand. She sent me to tell you that it might have been left somewhere else and I'll send it to you as soon as I find it."

Sister Feng frowned, scolded a few words, and then looked at Yuanyang.

Yuanyang stood up and said, "I guess the old lady was just in a spur of the moment mood and might forget it the next moment. Since we can't find it now, let's wait until we find it."

Although Feng Jieer didn't like Yuanyang, she hurriedly sent Ping'er to see him off. When Ping'er came back, Feng Jieer couldn't help but mutter, "I put that Buddha's hand there, how come it's gone? Did my house get robbed?"

After the words fell, Ping'er did not reply. Fengjie looked up and saw Ping'er hesitated to speak. Fengjie said: "What do you know? If you have something to say, just say it."

Ping'er stammered, "Madam, you don't know, ever since Madam was able to move around, the servants and maids in the family have become much more uninhibited. Second Master Qiang and his companions often come home, and at first someone stopped them, but Madam saw them twice and said that they were all children of the family, so it was fine for them to come to the house or even go to the garden."

Sister Feng frowned.

Ping Er continued, "Since then, Second Master Qiang and others have been coming and going more frequently... A few days ago, someone saw Second Master Qiang coming in empty-handed, but leaving with a bundle, and no one knows what was in it."

"Sure enough, we've found a thief!" Feng Jieer slammed the table in anger.

Ping Erh said, "If Madam is still angry, why not go talk to the old lady?"

Feng Jieer thought for a moment and shook her head, saying, "Thanks to brother Jian's medicine, the old lady has gotten better for a few days. It's better not to make her worry." Feng Jieer also knew how to be grateful. She had been favored by Lady Jia for many years, and now she was caught between Lady Xing and Lady Wang. She was probably very upset.

Feng Jieer was thinking about how to respond when suddenly another maid came back and said, "Grandma, the Xia family sent a young eunuch to talk to you."

Feng Jieer was immediately unhappy and said, "What are you talking about? They have moved enough in a year." After a pause, she asked, "Where is your second master?"

The old woman said, "The Second Master said he is not feeling well, please go and see him, Madam."

Wang Xifeng grumbled, "What do you mean by unpleasant? It's just that I can't bear to part with the money."

Eunuch Xia sent a eunuch to come, but the Jia family couldn't refuse to see him, so Feng Jieer suppressed her anger and asked someone to bring him in.

When the eunuch came in, Feng Jieer asked what he was doing. The eunuch said, "Grandpa Xia happened to see a house today, but he is short of 200 taels of silver. He sent me to ask my aunt's family if they have ready-made silver to borrow 100 or 200 taels of silver. They will send it back in a day or two."

What temporary loan? It's just blackmail.

Feng Jieer complained in her heart, but smiled and said, "What do you mean by sending it to me? We have plenty of silver, just exchange it first. It will be the same if we borrow it again later when we are short of money."

The young eunuch said, "Grandpa Xia also said that there were still 1,200 taels of silver that had not been delivered in the last two rounds. By the end of this year, it will all be delivered at once."

Sister Feng laughed and said, "Your grandfather Xia is so stingy. Is this worth mentioning? I'm saying one thing, I'm not afraid that he would be suspicious. If he remembers everything and returns it to us, I don't know how much he has returned. I'm afraid he doesn't have enough. If he does, just take it." She then ordered Ping'er to take out a silver note of four hundred taels to give to the young eunuch.

When Ping'er sent it out, she stuffed ten silver dollars into the young eunuch's pocket.

When Ping'er came back, Wang Xifeng was about to complain about Eunuch Xia's excessive extortion, but Ping'er said in surprise: "Madam, do you know that Miss Bao is coming back again?"

Sister Feng was very surprised and asked hurriedly: "Where did you get this rumor?"

Ping Erh said, "The maid at the second gate said that when Madam sent Madam away, Madam said that she would send Miss Bao over later."

Sister Feng couldn't help but sneer: "How can you have the face to come back?"

As they were talking, the maid outside said, "The Madam is here."

Sister Feng stood up slowly and said to Ping'er, "Let's wait and see. It must be about Baochai."

As expected, Feng Jieer welcomed Mrs. Wang in. After they sat down, Mrs. Wang said, "The Xue family is in a bad situation now. Wenlong just had a funeral, and Xia Jingui is not a stable person. She quarrels with Baochai every day. Just now your aunt came to ask for permission, and I was thinking that Baoyu is grown up now, so why not welcome Baochai back and let her live in the small courtyard as before."

Sister Feng said indifferently, "Did Madam ask the old lady?"

Mrs. Wang was unhappy and said, "I have asked, but the old lady is too lazy to take care of things now, so she just asked us to discuss it."

Feng Jieer thought to herself that Mrs. Wang might not know that Baochai had offended everyone in the family. She had invited her back with the intention of helping her, but it might backfire... If it was just Feng Jieer fighting with Mrs. Wang, then the third girl Tanchun would probably just stand by and watch. But now that Baochai is here, maybe Tanchun will help herself.

Thinking of this, Sister Feng smiled and said, "Since the old lady has spoken, then we will do as Madam says. Do you want the family to send a carriage to welcome her?"

Mrs. Wang secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "Your aunt said Ming'er will come personally, so there is no need to go to greet him."

Only after Sister Feng agreed did Mrs. Wang get up and turn around.

But when Mrs. Wang returned to her own courtyard, she heard that Jia Zheng had just returned from office. After thinking for a while, she hurriedly asked someone to invite Jia Zheng over.

When Jia Zheng entered, Mrs. Wang told him that Baochai would be coming the next day.

The couple have been arguing a lot about Baoyu's marriage these days. Mrs. Wang advocates that Baochai should be the main one and Miaoyu should be the auxiliary one, but Jia Zheng has always refused to give in.

Now that the old matter was brought up again, Jia Zheng frowned and said, "It's still inappropriate. I'm afraid Miaoyu won't agree to it."

Mrs. Wang was at a loss. Suddenly, she remembered something and said, "I heard that there is a fortune teller named Zhang Banxian in the city who is very accurate in fortune telling. What exactly is going on in this matter? Why don't we ask Zhang Banxian to tell us the fortune?"

Jia Zheng said coldly: "A man does not talk about strange things, how can you believe what the sorcerers say?"

Mrs. Wang said, "It won't hurt to do a calculation. Besides, it's not just Baoyu. Tanchun and Xichun are also getting old. There's also Huan'er and Lang'er. Why not calculate for them all as well?"

Jia Zheng thought that the eldest daughter Yuanchun was being neglected in the palace, so he agreed: "Well, then find a day to invite her to come home and have a calculation."

At this moment, a maidservant suddenly said outside, "Why don't you come in, Auntie?"

Then Aunt Zhao said in a panic, "I heard that the master had returned, so I came to see him, but then I thought he might be discussing important matters with the mistress, so I decided not to go in."

After saying this, he walked away in a hurry.

Mrs. Wang immediately frowned, and Jia Zheng defended her, saying, "She is sneaking around like that. What a jerk! I'll go and give her a good scolding!"

Jia Zheng was going to look for Aunt Zhao, but just as he was leaving the house, a maid came back to say that Sun Shaoqing had sent someone to deliver a name card, so Jia Zheng hurried back to the front.

Aunt Zhao waited in the room for a long while, and only after Xiao Que's reply did she learn that Jia Zheng had gone to the front again. She complained to herself for a while, and then asked Xiao Que where Jia Huan was.

The little magpie said, "I'm afraid he went to play in the garden again!"

Aunt Zhao cursed and swore, then stood up and went to the Grand View Garden to look for Jia Huan. But Jia Huan was naughty and no one knew where he was. Aunt Zhao looked for him and soon found herself near the Rongcui Temple.

At this time, the gate of Longcui Nunnery opened, Baoyu came out, turned around and bowed respectfully towards the inside, saying, "Then I will come to look for my sister tomorrow."

After saying this, he walked away, looking back every few steps. Miaoyu was leaning against the door to look around, and suddenly caught a glimpse of Aunt Zhao with a bad look on her face. She immediately turned cold and was about to close the door.

Aunt Zhao valued her reputation the most. Seeing Miaoyu's contempt, she immediately became angry and shouted, "Why are you so proud? You will only be someone's concubine in the future!"

Seeing the door about to close suddenly stopped, then opened again, Miaoyu frowned and walked out and asked, "What do you mean by that?"

(End of this chapter)