Red Mansion Huacai

Chapter 395 Misfortunes never come singly
Jia Lan kowtowed heavily, and Grandmother Jia nodded slightly with a smile, then looked up at Li Weijian.

Li Weijian said hurriedly, "Don't worry, old lady. I will always plan a future for my nephew. And Brother Lan is smart. Even if he doesn't need the help of the younger generation, he will definitely be able to show his strengths in the imperial examinations in the future."

"Okay, okay, okay." After saying several good things, Li Wan led Jia Lan away.

Grandmother Jia looked up at Daiyu, who was crying at the bedside, and said, "Yu'er has had a very hard life, but now she has finally found happiness. I can rest assured now."

Daiyu cried and shook her head.

Grandmother Jia sighed and said, "I got the medicine a while ago. I thought I could hold on for another two years. At least I could watch Yu'er give birth to children... but it's a pity that I can't see it anymore."

"Grandma!"

Grandmother Jia squeezed Daiyu's hand and said, "My dear child, birth, aging, sickness and death are common. I have enjoyed a life of wealth and glory. Now that I am in my eighties, this can be considered a happy funeral. Don't cry..." As she spoke, she waved her hand again, and Li Weijian hurried forward and leaned over.

Grandmother Jia whispered, "It's just that I'm still worried about Yingchun's matter." As she spoke, she looked at Daiyu, then at Jia Zheng, Mrs. Wang and others.

He said, "I know that, but we have been delayed for the past two years because of the Jia family's face."

Outside the house, Yingchun burst into tears upon hearing this. She ignored the objections, entered the room, knelt down, and said, "Grandfather, don't worry. My granddaughter is unlucky. From now on, I wish to -"

"Don't talk nonsense!" Jia's mother said angrily, "Even if you want to become a nun, go outside. We can't keep you at home."

After saying this, he looked at Daiyu again. Seeing her grandmother asking for permission before her death, Daiyu hurriedly agreed and said, "It's all up to you, grandmother. I have no other ideas."

Grandmother Jia looked at Jia Zheng again. Jia Zheng was very unhappy, but he had to bow and say, "Mother has ordered me to do this, and I dare not disobey."

Grandmother Jia said, "The family is in decline. I don't know how to explain this to the old Duke. At least we have to arrange the marriages of our children and grandchildren. Yingchun is soft-hearted and not the master of the household. I don't think it's necessary to arrange it specially. Just pack up today and go with Jian'er. In the future, whether she is a concubine or a daughter-in-law, it's up to Jian'er to decide."

Li Weijian was both happy and confused, and hurriedly said, "Don't worry, old lady, I will definitely not treat you harshly in the future."

Grandmother Jia smiled and nodded, then sighed and said, "This way, I can put my mind at ease. You can go out now. I will go and see Tanchun and Xichun again."

Daiyu burst into tears, and Li Weijian had no choice but to go forward and embrace Daiyu and walk out. When they passed by Yingchun, he reached out and held Yingchun's hand.

When they got out of the door, Baoyu, Baochai, Tanchun and Xichun were all there. Seeing Li Weijian holding one and holding another, Baoyu was stunned. Sister Bao looked at them with her nose, mouth and heart, and frowned without saying a word after just one glance.

Xichun closed her eyes and recited Buddhist scriptures. Tanchun was smart and knew at a glance that the old lady must have approved. Then Sister Feng came out with red eyes and said, "Third and fourth girls, come quickly."

Tanchun hurriedly pulled Xichun inside.

Li Weijian led Daiyu and Yingchun to wait outside. When Jia Mu saw Tanchun and Xichun, she whispered, "Your second sister has found a place to stay in the future. Although her status is a problem, Jian is a man of love and righteousness. Yingchun will surely live a smooth life in the future. Now I am worried about you two sisters."

People are not plants, who can be heartless? Xichun was tense for a long time, but now she could not hold it back any longer and burst into tears. Since she learned about her life experience, Xichun realized that it was thanks to the old lady's protection, otherwise she might have been plotted to death if she stayed in Ningguo Mansion.

Not liked by her nominal father, not liked by her biological father either, Xichun was like a rootless duckweed adrift in the sea. If it weren't for Grandmother Jia raising her in Rongguo Mansion, how could she be alive today?
When Xichun started crying, Tanchun also started crying.

After trying to persuade them for a while, Grandmother Jia realized that she was getting weaker and weaker, so she ignored the two girls' crying and said, "Tan girl has a strong character, not inferior to men. She will be a good helper in raising children and managing the household affairs in the future. I am not worried about her. But Si girl... I know you have resentment in your heart, but no matter how resentful you are, you can't just be cold-hearted. You must get married in the future. How can I feel at ease with you in this situation?"

After a pause, he continued, "I kept some of my own money. After deducting the money for the funeral, there was 30,000 left. I gave 10,000 to each of you three sisters as dowry in the future. From now on, I can't take care of you anymore."

Tanchun immediately pulled Xichun to kowtow and thank her. Seeing that Lady Jia was becoming increasingly exhausted, Mrs. Wang hurriedly said, "You two should go down. The old lady still wants to see Baoyu."

Tanchun and Xichun stood up and left. The head maid Amber wanted to say something but stopped herself. Seeing that Lady Jia frowned but did not object, she tacitly agreed to let Mrs. Wang take Baoyu and Baochai in.

Thinking of the kindness of Jia's mother in the early years, Baoyu knelt down and cried as soon as he entered. Seeing this, Jia's mother sighed and thought to herself, after all, she had loved her grandson for more than ten years, and that useless jade was the fault of Mrs. Wang, so what did it have to do with Baoyu?

At that moment, he couldn't help but say with pity: "I am most worried about you. Don't be angry and awkward anymore. Study hard and don't make your father angry again."

Baoyu cried and agreed. Jia's mother glanced at Baochai again and said, "It's a pity that I can't see you two get married. It's also a pain in my heart."

Baojie frowned when she heard this. She didn't intend to get involved in the Jia family's mess, but Jia's mother promised this marriage on her deathbed. Seeing that she had succeeded, Wang Furen couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. She hurriedly sent Baoyu and Baochai out. Jia's mother explained the matter to Xing Furen, Wang Furen, Youshi, Fengjie, and Li Wan one by one. She saw her face getting more and more rosy, and suddenly she heard crying coming closer from outside.

"Grandma!"

In a moment, Yuanyang and Xiangyun, whose face was covered with tears, came running in. Grandmother Jia immediately smiled and waved: "Yun girl is here, good, good, so I have no regrets."

Xiangyun knelt in front of the bed and cried. Jia's mother reached out with difficulty and stroked Xiangyun's head, saying, "You are a blessed person, don't worry. Among these children, I am most confident in you." While speaking, she looked at Yuanyang and said, "You have been with me for many years, and your temperament has become more and more arrogant. After you get married, you should follow Xiangyun wholeheartedly."

Yuanyang knew how much Grandmother Jia cared for her, so she knelt on the ground and kowtowed.

After everything was done, Jia's mother's face became more rosy, but she could no longer speak, and she left with a smile in her eyes. The whole Jia family burst into tears.

Jia Zheng, Jia Lian, Lady Wang, Youshi, Fengjie, Li Wan, Baoyu, and Daiyu cried especially hard. Aunt Zhao was furious when she saw that Jia's mother had called in all the other sons and daughters but Jia Huan was not there. She pulled Li Wan aside and cried, "Huan'er is not his grandson, why are there only Baoyu and Jia Lan?"

Just then Jia Zheng passed by and could not help shouting, "Shut up! The old lady is dying, how can she see everyone? You heartless evil woman, why are you still arguing at this time?"

Aunt Zhao was scolded so harshly that she could only turn her head and walk out.

After Grandmother Jia left, the Jia family was in chaos. Sister Feng thought of how Grandmother Jia had cared for her and cried for several times, but she fell ill unexpectedly. Jia Zheng had no choice but to let Lady Xing and Lady Wang take care of the funeral.

That night, Li Weijian took Daiyu and Yingchun back to the Bo's mansion. He first placed Yingchun in Zhijue Zhai to keep Xing Xiuyun company. Then he returned to the East Courtyard and persuaded Daiyu for half a day. Daiyu was probably tired of crying and fell asleep.

The next day, Li Weijian sent someone to the inner government office to ask for leave, and took Daiyu, Yingchun and others to Rongguo Mansion to discuss the funeral.

Although the Jia family did not go around to announce the death, the Shi and Wang families, who were close friends, had already sent people to offer funeral gifts. Shi Ding and Shi Nai brought their children to observe the mourning ceremony, and Wang's aunt also brought Wang to pay her respects.

Jia's mother was a super-rank imperial concubine, and her death had to be reported to the court. On that day, people from the Ministry of Rites came to pay their respects, and the virtuous concubine Yuanchun sent eunuch Xia to pay her respects. Jia Lian entertained eunuch Xia and asked about Yuanchun's condition. Eunuch Xia only said: "The virtuous concubine heard the news of the old lady's death, and she missed her grandmother and cried. She was not feeling well and could not sleep or eat well."

Jia Lian had no choice but to ask Eunuch Xia to convey a message to the Empress, asking her to accept her condolences.

In response to the passers-by, the mourning tent had already been set up. It was not until the afternoon that Jia Zheng, Jia Lian and Li Weijian gathered together to discuss the funeral.

Jia Lian said with embarrassment, "Uncle, the public treasury is insufficient now. The old lady left a lot of personal belongings, but most of them are antiques and jewelry. Although the discount is not small, there is not much cash. She also left 10,000 yuan dowry for each of her sisters. I am afraid that 10,000 yuan will be good for the funeral." Jia Zheng frowned and said, "How can 10,000 yuan be enough? The funeral of Ningguo Mansion was more than this amount. The old lady lived a life of luxury, how can she be so simple at the end of her life?" He paused, thought, "I still have some calligraphy and paintings in my study, why not take them out and sell them."

"This, is not the case, not the case."

Li Weijian interrupted, "The old lady is Daiyu's grandmother. It is reasonable for the Bo's Mansion to pay a portion. I think the funeral can be held, and the Bo's Mansion can make up for the shortfall."

Jia Lian wanted to save face, so how could he let Li Weijian pay for it? He immediately shook his head and said, "That's not the case. Although Jian'er has family wealth, it's not right to let him spend money on this matter."

Just at this moment, someone outside suddenly said, "Second uncle, the old lady's funeral must be done honorably. If you are short of money, just ask me to pay it."

Everyone turned their heads to look outside, and saw Ping'er helping the haggard Fengjie to go around the screen and into the inner room. Fengjie wore a forehead brace and her eyes were red and swollen. After greeting Jia Zheng, she said, "After all, I am the head of the family now. Although I am ill and cannot run around, you should still listen to my opinion. Since I got married, the old lady has been kind and caring for me. I can't bear to see her funeral be so simple.

"Thanks to Brother Jian's help in the past few years, I have at least earned some money for myself. This is the opportunity to repay you. Second Uncle and Second Master, just take care of it—" As she spoke, she nodded to Ping'er, and Ping'er put a small box on the table. Sister Feng said, "There are 20,000 silver notes in it. If it's not enough, I will go back and get more. We must make the old lady's funeral dignified and elegant."

Jia Zheng was extremely surprised, and Jia Lian, who was standing beside him, was even more shocked. He had always pestered Feng Jieer to give him two thousand taels but she refused. Who would have thought that this time the female Pi Xiu would give him twenty thousand taels at once!
Seeing Sister Feng's curiosity, Jia Zheng said ashamedly: "How can I, as an uncle, not know how to manage the business? Now I have to favor my niece's wife..."

Jia Lian was distressed, but said, "Second Uncle, we can talk about other things later. Now the most important thing is the old lady's funeral."

At this point, Jia Zheng no longer refused. Sister Feng heaved a sigh of relief, saying that she was not feeling well, and left.

Li Weijian took the opportunity to get up and say goodbye. He quickly walked a few steps to catch up with Ping'er and Fengjie in the Grand View Garden. He couldn't help but say to them, "Don't show off your wealth. You took out 20,000 taels at once. I'm afraid you will cause trouble in the future."

Sister Feng said with red eyes: "The old lady treated me well. No matter what, I cannot bear to see her funeral be too simple."

Li Weijian sighed, but in his heart he admired Sister Feng very much, and said, "If there is any problem in the future, send someone to inform me as soon as possible."

Sister Feng didn't care at all and said, "It's just a plot to gain the family property. Now the Rongguo Mansion is just an empty shell. What can you do with it?"

Li Weijian did not try to persuade him further and returned home.

Another day later, Jia Zheng got some money and went to the Imperial Observatory, inviting 100 monks and Taoist priests to come to his house to chant sutras and hold a ceremony. He remembered that there were a group of nuns on standby at the Shuiyue Temple, who were being looked after by Jia Qin, so he called Lin Zhixiao and asked her to go to the Shuiyue Temple to find Jia Qin.

Lin Zhixiao's wife brought three or four carts to Shuiyue Temple, intending to bring back all the nuns and Taoist priests. However, five of the twelve little actors left during the first dismissal, and one of them became a nun in Shuiyue Temple. After the second dismissal, Daiyu agreed to Tanchun's request and placed the seven little actors in two silk and satin shops.

But Fangguan, Ruiguan and others did not like to be entertained and sent off, and within a few days they disliked the manager. Daiyu, no matter how kind-hearted she was, could not look down on such ignorant little actors. Within a month, except for the three who stayed, the other four little actors were dismissed.

The four of them didn't know where to go, so they simply went to Shuiyue Temple.

Jia Qin was in charge of the Jia family temple. He was a playboy. He first took Fang Guan, and then the girls in the nunnery got older and became more aware of it. They couldn't resist Jia Qin's advances and took advantage of her. There were also young men in the family named Xianglian and Yuai who got to know Jia Qin and sneaked into Shuiyue Nunnery to flirt and sleep with the little nuns. In their spare time, they would learn to play the strings and sing songs.

Before long, Jia Qiang, Jia Huan and others learned that there was fun to be had here, so they simply lured a group of bad young men from Tiekan Temple to come here for fun, eating, drinking and gambling every day.

Lin Zhixiao's wife was caught red-handed. She was shocked, but then she thought that it was the old lady's funeral and it was better to have less trouble than more, so she decided to cover up the matter for the time being.

The Rongguo Mansion held both land and water ceremonies, and it was decided that the body would be kept for 49 days. It was not mentioned that Daiyu and Yingchun went to the Rongguo Mansion every day to observe the mourning ceremony.

But Sister Feng was so sad that she fell ill, and the family's funeral arrangements had to be handed over to Mrs. Wang.

Aunt Zhao saw this and was both shocked and afraid. First, she was afraid that Lady Wang would be in charge of the household again, and she would not be able to take care of her son in the future. Second, her angry words that day displeased Jia Zheng, who would rather stay in the study than go to Aunt Zhao's courtyard. Moreover, now that Sister Feng was in charge of the household, it was possible that the first and second houses would separate as soon as the funeral was over, and even after the separation, Aunt Zhao would still be under Lady Wang's control. How could she bear this?

Aunt Zhao was too worried at night and couldn't sleep. From time to time, she would pull Jia Huan and cry, saying, "The lady will definitely harm us mother and son in the future."

Who would have thought that when Jia Huan returned that day, he actually handed a packet of medicine powder to Aunt Zhao and said, "Mother, if you just let Madam smell this, it might work wonders!"

Aunt Zhao was startled and quickly twisted Jia Huan's ear to ask. Jia Huan felt pain and then told him the origin of the powder. It turned out that Xing Dequan would visit Third Sister You's house from time to time, either to have a meal or to drink a cup of tea. Third Sister You would let Xing Dequan take advantage of her from time to time, which immediately made Xing Dequan confused.

Li Weijian had previously reported to the court that opium was dangerous, but the court did not take it seriously, but the then Guangzhou prefect regarded him as a confidant. Li Weijian could not help it, so he simply saved the country by instigating the internal government and customs to impose heavy taxes on opium.

The Guangzhou prefecture banned opium, and the customs imposed heavy taxes. With these two factors combined, opium was temporarily out of stock. Third Sister You had long been addicted to it, and could not get rid of it for the time being. She could not find opium, so she had to find a substitute. This substance was mixed into the fumigation cage, and the smell of it had the effect of leaving the soul.

Aunt Zhao was skeptical, so when she was on guard at night and no one was watching, she threw the thing into the fumigation cage.

The smoke from the incense burner was rising, and Mrs. Wang was the first to smell it.

By the afternoon of that day, Mrs. Wang had been tired and grief-stricken for days, and had become ill. She was weak and tired, and walked unsteadily, but she forced herself to go to Sister Feng to discuss something.

Feng Jieer was already feeling better. After they talked about the past, Feng Jieer said, "Madam, you don't have to worry too much. I'm feeling much better now. I'll take care of you starting tomorrow."

Mrs. Wang agreed, and Fengjie and Ping'er escorted Mrs. Wang out of the Yihong Courtyard. Seeing that Mrs. Wang was in a trance, Fengjie hurriedly sent a maid to call for a sedan chair.

Unexpectedly, while waiting for the sedan chair, Mrs. Wang felt dizzy for a moment, so she leaned against a willow tree to rest. Suddenly, three disheveled ghosts appeared from the water, one of whom looked familiar, and it was Bihen. Mrs. Wang was very frightened, and she heard the ghost sneer, "Madam, you are so cruel, you forced me into a desperate situation, and now I am here to take revenge." Then he and the other two rushed towards Mrs. Wang.

Mrs. Wang was so frightened that her heart and liver were broken, and she cried out, "Ghost, ghost!" Then she turned around and ran away, ignoring Ping'er's attempts to stop her.

Sister Feng and Ping'er chased after her, but they could not catch up with her and could only watch Mrs. Wang fall into the water.

Fengjie cried and called for help, stretched out her hands to save people, and called Ping'er to break branches. Just then, she saw the sedan bearers coming. They quickly put down the sedan, jumped into the lake, and rescued Mrs. Wang. But Mrs. Wang fell ill and never recovered. She had a fever day and night, and her speech was incoherent. Jia Zheng quickly asked a doctor to see her, but her condition did not improve at all. She became even more crazy, talking incoherently and shouting loudly.

Fortunately, Li Weijian invited the imperial physician from the Imperial Medical Bureau to examine Wang Fu-ren. After a careful examination, the physician ordered people to turn her over, and unexpectedly found a rusty iron nail at the back of Wang Fu-ren's head.

Li Weijian gasped: "This is tetanus!"

Tetanus can only be cured these days, and allicin and the like are completely useless. The imperial physician tried his best to save the patient, but the patient never recovered. When Mrs. Wang was dying, she held Baoyu's hand with tears in her eyes and refused to let go, saying, "My son, I have nothing else to worry about this time. I am only worried that you will not be successful, and I am afraid that you will neglect your studies in the future. No one will take care of you, how can I feel at ease? I am also afraid that the mischievous ghost will be jealous of you and twist and pinch you whenever he gets the chance. There is no one to protect you, how can I not feel heartbroken?"

After saying this, Mrs. Wang let go and left.

The Jia family had two funerals in one winter, and both of them cried to death, which was too tragic to watch. Baoyu lost his mother at a young age, and his heart was broken. He wished he could go west with his mother. Aunt Zhao took advantage of her and pretended to cry, but she didn't shed a single tear.

(End of this chapter)