Red Mansion Huacai

Chapter 393: The Golden Jade Fate

The next day, it was said that Li Weijian introduced Wu Shangxian to his teacher Yan Xiyao, and then explained the pros and cons. As expected, it was easy to be an official if you had someone in the court. That morning, Wu Shangxian received an imperial decree in the inn and was appointed as the Recruiting Envoy.

This Zhaotaoshi was a native official, hereditary, and more valuable than a proper Jinshi. Although he did not have the title of a noble, he was far superior to a noble in reality. In addition, another official from the Ministry of War came to the door and said that he had 6,000 obsolete fire guns for sale at a price of 20,000 taels.

Wu Shangxian was overjoyed and answered the official correctly. He then went to Jinglingbo's mansion to express his gratitude. Li Weijian comforted him and promised that "in the future, not only can he be a recruiting envoy, but also a pacification envoy or a pacification envoy."

Wu Shangxian was an ambitious man to begin with. When he arrived at the Jingling Marquis' Mansion, he was immediately eager to try and was full of confidence.

Li Weijian saw Wu Shangxian off and turned to walk towards the east courtyard. Just as he arrived at the main courtyard, he saw Qingwen and Xiangling hiding under the eaves of the wing house, biting their ears.

Seeing Li Weijian, the two girls immediately stopped talking and stepped forward to greet him with a smile. Li Weijian then asked, "What did you just say?"

Qingwen and Xiangling looked at each other, and Qingwen asked, "Does the Fourth Master remember Caixia?"

"Caixia? But she was the maidservant of the lady next door?"

"That's right." Qingwen started to talk. Caixia couldn't stand her parents and married Laishun, the son of Laiwang. But Laishun only knew how to drink and have fun every day. He was also very irritable and would beat Caixia up whenever she didn't like him.

Caixia cried every day, thinking to herself that she had only been married for a few months and it was like this, how could she survive in the future? She rolled up her dowry and disappeared the night before yesterday.

Yesterday, Lai Wang took his son to look for Caixia everywhere but couldn't find her. Lai Wang's family was so angry that they went to Caixia's house and had a big fight with her, forcing her family to return the betrothal gift before they would give up.

Qingwen said, and couldn't help sighing: "In this world, marriages are mostly arranged by parents and matchmakers. How can girls have any freedom? Fortunately, we followed the Fourth Master. Otherwise, if we married into such a family, I'm afraid we wouldn't be as good as Caixia."

Li Weijian smiled but said nothing, but did not mention that Caixia had previously colluded with Aunt Zhao to murder Feng Jieer.

Just as he was about to say something, Baoqin suddenly ran in. Seeing Li Weijian, she hurried forward and said with a smile, "Fourth brother, the Rongguo Mansion next door has invited Zhang Banxian to come. He is now performing a ritual to exorcise evil spirits in the garden. Fourth brother, do you want to go and see what's going on?"

Li Weijian said: "Where did the evil spirit come from? It's just a trick to fool people."

Baoqin was puzzled at first, but then she smiled and said, "Yes, Fourth Brother was a Taoist priest before."

Li Weijian sighed and said, "Yes, if I could really become an immortal, do you think I would still be hanging around in this mortal world?"

At this time, Hongyu came to look for him. She frowned when she saw the few people and said, "I looked everywhere but couldn't find him. I didn't expect the master to come here again. Madam is discussing with her aunt, but her aunt said the dowry is too generous. Madam can't persuade them. Master, go and try to persuade them."

Li Weijian agreed and went to the small courtyard at the back to look for it.

But let’s talk about Rongguo Mansion.

Youshi and Fengjie hid in the distance to watch. Qiaojie, now grown up, pestered Ping'er to come closer to watch. Zhang Banxian pointed his sword and drew a few times in a serious manner, saying that he had taken the evil spirit and sealed it. At the same time, he removed the altar to thank the general, sweating profusely.

Jia Zheng did not believe in ghosts and gods, so he hurried over to ask. The Immortal Zhang stroked his beard and smiled, "Okay, I'll invite the gods to come and help your son find a good marriage."

Jia Zheng nodded and led Zhang Banxian to the front. After they sat down and served tea, Zhang Banxian counted with his fingers and said, "Your son was born with a jade in his mouth. In my opinion, jade is earth, which is born with gold. Your son is also called Baoyu, so he must be matched with gold, which is born with gold. He cannot be matched with wood, because wood overcomes earth, which is unlucky."

Jia Zheng asked for details. Zhang Banxian said, "Since your name is Yu, you can't find a match with a name containing wood, but a name containing gold."

Mrs. Wang was also there at this time. Although her expression was unchanged, she was very proud in her heart. She glanced at Jia Zheng secretly, thinking that she had not persuaded Zhang Banxian this time, and that this man was found by Jia Zheng. If he said so, then Baochai and Baoyu's marriage would be settled, right?

Unexpectedly, Jia Zheng said, "No, Baoyu is earth, so we can't look for gold. Everyone knows that earth produces gold, and earth suffers. It's not right, not right! Since Baoyu is earth, it's better to look for someone with the word "yu" in his name. They are all jade, so there is no mutual generation and mutual restraint. Baoyu is just an ordinary thing, don't bother yourself with it, sir."

Zhang Banxian was stunned for a long time and said, "That's right, I won't say more."

Jia Zheng asked someone to seal the silver and send him away. Mrs. Wang felt depressed and just called "Master", looked at Jia Zheng, and then sighed and didn't know what to say.

Now Mrs. Wang was still under the burden of guilt, so it was difficult for her to refute Jia Zheng's opinion. When Jia Zheng went to Mengpozhai, Mrs. Wang began to think about how to send Miaoyu away so as to promote the marriage of Jinyu and Yu. While she was thinking, a maid came in and said, "Madam, Miss Bao is here, and her carriage has already entered the corner gate."

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

In the Ouxiang Pavilion, Xichun had learned most of the Western painting techniques. She had already finished most of the painting, and now it was almost finished in just a few days. As she was unsure, she asked Miaoyu to come and judge it.

Miaoyu tasted it and pointed out a few things that were not right, then Tanchun came back again. Now the three of them were sipping tea in the Ouxiangxie.

Xichun's maid Caiping read the eavesdropping letter and came back excitedly to report: "The master just told the fortune teller that Baoyu's jade and gold are not suitable, so it is better to find a wife with the word jade in her name."

Miaoyu was stunned when she heard this. Xichun smiled and said, "Great, Yu and Yu are a perfect match. We have nothing to say."

Tanchun also said, "That's right, Master Miaoyu has someone to rely on for the rest of her life."

Miaoyu was both ashamed and annoyed. She stood up and chanted the Buddhist name, "How can I have someone to rely on for the rest of my life? Don't tease me, a poor nun!" Then she stood up and left.

She had a strange personality and was very difficult to get along with at first, but after a few years, Tanchun and Xichun knew that she had no bad intentions. So they didn't take it seriously, and the two sisters covered their mouths and laughed.

There have been rumors of a perfect match in Rongguo Mansion these days, and one can tell without thinking that it is Mrs. Wang who is trying to build momentum for Baochai. Xichun didn't care, and Tanchun had been watching coldly, but now that she heard Jia Zheng's decision, she was immediately very happy.

I wonder if Sister Bao still wants to continue her golden marriage? Let's get past Jia Zheng first before we talk about other things.

While Tanchun was thinking, another maid came back: "Miss Three, Miss Four, Miss Bao's carriage has come in from the corner gate."

According to etiquette, Baochai is older, so Tanchun and Xichun must go to the second gate to greet her. But Baochai had already offended Tanchun, and Tanchun was a hot-tempered person, so she said, "I am not feeling well, why don't you let Fourth Sister go to greet her."

Xichun agreed ignorantly, and only then did she understand her third sister's thoughts when she turned around. She led the maid to the second gate and saw Mrs. Wang talking to Baochai.

Seeing Xichun coming alone, Mrs. Wang frowned and asked, "Where's Tanchun?"

Xichun said coldly: "Third sister is not feeling well, so she will go back now."

Mrs. Wang said nothing, but pulled Baochai aside and said, "The yard was tidied up yesterday, and all the necessary things are now available. You can move in first. If you need anything, just come and find me."

Sister Bao said calmly, "I have to bother my aunt again. My mother and I are both very worried."

Mrs. Wang laughed and said, "Why should we, family members, have to gossip about each other?" She then glanced at Tongxi who was being supported by the little maid, and then led Baochai to the small courtyard to the northeast.

It was already late autumn, and the nights were cold. Unexpectedly, everything in the courtyard was complete except for the charcoal. Ying'er volunteered to go to the storehouse to ask for some.

Mrs. Wang and Xichun chatted with Baochai for a while, and before leaving, they said, "Please stay here first. The old lady is not feeling well. I'll take you to see her later."

Sister Bao agreed, sent Lady Wang and Xichun out, turned around and said to Tongxi, "You should take good care of your pregnancy now, and don't walk alone. If you really feel bored, just take the maids and walk around the garden."

He agreed happily, folded his hands on his belly, and his face was full of joy.

After Tongxi had gone to the wing room to settle down, Ying'er asked for some silver shuang charcoal and immediately frowned and said to Bao-jie, "Miss, I just got a message... It said that the master and mistress have just invited Zhang Banxian to predict Mr. Bao's marriage."

Baochai frowned and asked, "How do you calculate it?"

Ying Erh said, "Master has just told the fortune teller that Baoyu's name of jade and gold do not match well, so it would be more appropriate for him to marry someone whose name contains the character "玉".

Baochai was stunned for a moment, and suddenly felt absurd. She looked down on Baoyu, and because of Xue Pan's drag, she had long been desperate about marriage. She didn't expect that even Baoyu looked down on her!

"girl--"

Baochai came to her senses and said, "Go away. I'm not feeling well." Ying'er wanted to say something but stopped herself. Seeing that she looked upset, she left with a pursed mouth. Baochai stood up, closed the door, and lay on the bed in silence. Her heartache was not because of Baoyu, but because of herself. She felt like a floating duckweed, not knowing where to end up.

Cuicui Temple.

But Miaoyu hurried back from Ouxiangxie, closed the door and hid in the Zen room, unconsciously thinking of everything that had happened before. Sometimes her face showed shame and anger, and sometimes she laughed.

The two maids looked at each other and smiled, saying that their daughters were about to get married. Maid Jinhan counted the charcoal and saw that it was running low, so she went to the storehouse to ask for more, leaving Xiangyin alone to look after the dazed Miaoyu.

Jin Han left in great joy, but returned a moment later with a frosty face.

Miaoyu had already stopped thinking at this time. Seeing that Jinhan looked unhappy, she asked hurriedly, "Who provoked you again?"

Jin Han stammered for a while, and finally said, "Miss, I just heard the two old women talking, and I was extremely disgusted."

"What did you say?"

Jin Han said, "It is said that Master Bao married Miss Bao, and the one he married is...is the Miss."

Miaoyu was startled and sneered, "It's just nonsense, but you believe it."

Jin Han said, "I heard from those two maids that the Jia family is now spending more than they earn, and they owed the Xue family a lot of money for building the garden. And the mistress thinks highly of Miss Bao, saying that she is good at managing the household, while Miss... Miss only cares about romance."

Miaoyu frowned in shame and annoyance, and immediately thought that the servants were gossiping. Who would have thought that Baoyu had not shown up that day, and Miaoyu thought that Baoyu was reading, but only found out in the evening that Baoyu had gone to the northeast upper courtyard in the afternoon and stayed in the room with Miss Bao for two hours before leaving happily.

Miaoyu was extremely angry and thought to herself, I thought Baoyu was a confidant, but who would have thought he was such a playboy. Who knows, he might be another Jia Lian in the future! How can I entrust my life to such a frivolous person? Not to mention that his mother wanted Baochai to be the main one and herself to be the auxiliary one.

She is a pure woman, how could she be someone's concubine?
In this case, why not leave this place and make that precious marriage happen? This will also be a good deed.

After making up her mind, Miaoyu went to Jinhan and Xiangyin and told them, "Let's leave this place tomorrow and go back to Jiangnan before it gets too cold."

Seeing that the two maids were puzzled, Miaoyu said, "If the Zhen family is convicted, we will no longer be afraid of being bullied. We can find a temple to stay in. It will be better than living under someone else's roof now."

The master and his two servants packed their bags overnight, bribed the gatekeeper and left the Jia Mansion in the middle of the night, waited until dawn to leave the capital, and hired a carriage to go straight to Tongzhou.

In Rongguo Mansion, the three-day deadline was approaching. Jia Zheng went to look for Baoyu, but Baoyu had seen Baochai yesterday and thought of her arm again, and for a moment he was confused and lost in thought.

Seeing Baoyu like this, Jia Zheng was immediately annoyed, but he suppressed his anger and said, "Since you can't bear to give up Baochai, why don't you just let Miaoyu take the lead and Baochai take the supporting role?"

Baoyu was surprised and asked, "Isn't this rude to Sister Bao?"

Jia Zheng said, "For a prisoner's family, a good concubine is enough. How can one dare to hope for a principal wife?"

Baoyu thought, if he could have both Miaoyu and Baochai...it would be wonderful! He immediately agreed. Jia Zheng quickly sent Lin Zhixiao's wife to ask more questions.

Unexpectedly, when Lin Zhixiao's wife arrived there, she found the temple empty. She came back and hurried to tell Jia Zheng.

Jia Zheng and Baoyu were stunned when they heard this. Baoyu felt sad, thinking that Miaoyu had abandoned him and that he was indeed unworthy.

Jia Zheng, however, had many more thoughts on his mind. The Rongcui Temple was in the Grand View Garden, and it was locked at night. How could someone leave without making a sound? He also remembered that Mrs. Wang had tried her best to promote the marriage between Jin and Yu, and he was immediately furious.

He ignored Baoyu who was in a daze and went straight to Lady Wang's room. Lady Wang was reciting Buddhist scriptures. She stood up and greeted him. Jia Zheng pointed at her nose and scolded her, "Foolish woman! Now that he has left, it's finally what you wanted! Forget it, forget it. I wanted to find a suitable marriage for Baoyu, but since you are interfering, I will no longer be involved in it from now on!"

Mrs. Wang was so confused by the scolding that she quickly argued, "The master scolded me when he saw me. He should at least let me know why, right?"

Jia Zheng had a prejudice in his heart, and since Lady Wang had a criminal record, he was not willing to listen to her arguments. He immediately said, "Don't pretend to be ignorant when you know the truth. I don't want to argue with you!"

Jia Zheng left in anger and went straight to Aunt Zhao's courtyard to seek comfort, without mentioning anything else.

Mrs. Wang hurriedly sent someone to check, and soon she heard from Lin Zhixiao's wife that Miaoyu had left without saying goodbye last night!

Mrs. Wang was happy at first, as Miaoyu's departure meant there was no one to hinder Baoyu and Baochai. But then she felt aggrieved - Miaoyu had a strange personality, so what did her leaving without saying goodbye have to do with her?
She went to argue with Jia Zheng again, but Jia Zheng didn't listen at all, which made Mrs. Wang so angry that she burst into tears.

Yihongyuan.

Ping Er told Sister Feng about this, and Sister Feng was very puzzled. She looked down on Miaoyu, but she didn't care why Miaoyu left, but how she left.

If Jia Zheng could think of it, Feng Jieer could also think of it. She immediately asked, "Who was guarding the garden last night? No one even said hello when they left? No wonder things have been missing from our house recently. If it continues like this, I'm afraid we won't even know if a thief has come in."

Ping Erh said, "There is a tea room at the main entrance, and the east corner gate is connected to the Bo's residence. I'm afraid the person went out from the west corner gate."

Sister Feng snorted coldly, "It must be that those two greedy people got something out of it, so they didn't report it. Go and get all the doormen at the west corner gate and the doormen at the back door, and give them a good beating. I'm afraid there will be no rules in this house!"

Ping'er was able to distinguish the important from the unimportant, and immediately sent someone to pass on the message, not mentioning the punishment for the lazy old woman or the doorman.

Qiu Shuang Zhai.

On this day, Tanchun and Xichun were together, and were just chatting about when Baoyu and Miaoyu would get married, when a maid told them that Miaoyu had left without saying goodbye.

The third and fourth girls were very surprised when they heard this.

Xichun said, "It's strange. Why did Master Miaoyu leave without saying goodbye? Could it be that she is not happy about this marriage?" Then she shook her head and said, "That's not right. Although she was embarrassed and angry yesterday, she looked happy."

Tanchun felt something in her heart and said, "Maybe someone used some tricks to force Master Miaoyu away."

Xichun asked, "Who did it?"

Tanchun did not reply, but only exchanged glances with Xichun. Seeing that Tanchun was extremely evasive, Xichun was not stupid, so how could she not know that Tanchun was referring to Lady Wang?
The two sisters were silent for a while, and Xichun said, "It's better to leave. From now on, there will be no more disputes. Maybe I will feel more at ease."

Go to the small courtyard in the northeast.

Sister Bao forced herself to go see Mrs. Wang in the morning. When she returned to the small courtyard in the northeast, she closed the door and lay on the couch in a daze.

She had hoped to rise to the top with a good marriage, but was frustrated many times and had to give up the idea; then, seeing factories popping up everywhere, she had the ambition to rise to the top on her own. But Xue Pan got into trouble, and she had been working on this for months. The factory was left unattended and now it was half dead. Some unscrupulous people came to buy it at a low price.

Sister Bao was filled with grief, feeling that neither left nor right could work, and that life in this world was too difficult!

Yesterday Baoyu came over and stayed for two hours, but Baojie only replied incoherently, but Baoyu was very interested and talked endlessly.

Doesn't this man know that he has already been engaged to Miaoyu? Why is he still teasing her?

With a long sigh, all kinds of worries passed through her heart, and Sister Bao made up her mind. This time she was only here to celebrate the pregnancy, and when the baby was born in the future, it would be better to move out of Rongguo Mansion as soon as possible.

Just as she had made up her mind, Ying'er suddenly ran in hurriedly. She came up to her and said happily, "Miss, Miaoyu left on her own!"

Baochai was stunned, and it took her a long while to come back to her senses: "Why did he leave for no reason?"

Ying Er said proudly, "Maybe he knew he couldn't compare to you, so he just left on his own."

Sister Bao was about to scold her when she heard a commotion outside. Without Baochai's order, Ying'er turned and ran away: "I'll go and have a look. I'll let the young lady know later!"

(End of this chapter)