Red Mansion Huacai

Chapter 396: Madam Xing is in Charge of the Household

Now that Madam Wang has died, Madam Xing feels chilled!
She couldn't help but think in her heart that Mrs. Wang accidentally fell into the water after coming out of Yihong Courtyard, and when the sedan bearers arrived, she had already sunk to the bottom of the water. In addition, Mrs. Wang has been claiming for the past few days that she was haunted by ghosts, but how could Mrs. Xing believe it?

I thought it must be Sister Feng's doing, and then I thought more and more that it was right. That's right! After the old lady left, Sister Feng was in charge of the family, but Mrs. Wang no longer had the old lady to suppress her, so there was no way she would cause trouble. So Sister Feng decided to go all out and murdered Mrs. Wang.

Feng Jieer is a vicious person. Didn’t You Erjie get murdered by her back then?

As the saying goes, the lips and teeth are cold, and now that Mrs. Wang is gone, the people below might come to deal with her next. Whether it is to protect herself or to fight back, Mrs. Xing will never let Fengjie have an easy time.

So he looked at Sister Feng and sneered, "How did you take care of him that day? Could it be that you watched him fall into the water and did nothing? I think you were deliberately not saving him!"

Feng Jieer suppressed her anger and said, "The Madam really wronged me. I was just passing by at that time. I was still some distance away from the Madam, and it was a split second. Who could have taken care of me?"

Madam Xing sneered and said, "It's hard to say. Maybe he is holding a grudge against me because of the past incident and is just watching me die without helping me!"

Sister Feng was so angry that her face turned red. She asked, "Madam, do you think you are suspicious of me?"

Madam Xing said, "If you think about it carefully, this is just too coincidental. Who else should I suspect if not you?"

Fengjie couldn't argue in front of so many people, so she simply lowered her head and said nothing.

Seeing that he did not respond, Mrs. Xing could not help but feel more proud, and said, "Let's not talk about this matter. You are in charge of the family now, and you are in good health. I think you should take care of the household affairs from tomorrow. Although our family is not doing well now, we still have to maintain our dignity. There have been many people coming and going in the past two or three days, and there are many things that we cannot take good care of. You need to pay more attention."

Sister Feng agreed in silence in front of Jia Zheng and Jia Lian. She was full of contempt in her heart, thinking that Mrs. Xing knew that the family was short of money, so she pushed her out to pay the money.

At this time, Li Weijian, Jia Zheng and Jia Lian came out and went to Mengpo Zhai to chat.

After all, they were husband and wife, so Jia Zheng frowned and sighed, and naturally did not mention it. Li Weijian discussed the funeral with Jia Lian, and Jia Lian said, "The old lady has just passed the first seven days of her death, so now we can save some trouble. Tomorrow we will set up the mourning shed, buy the coffin, assign some monks and Taoists to perform the rituals, and three days later we will report the death to various places. If we calculate that the old lady will be buried on the seventh day, then the mistress's funeral will be almost the fifth day, so it is not too simple."

Li Weijian thought about it and thought that it was only an extra three or two thousand silver coins. After lingering for a while, he took Daiyu and Yingchun back to the Bo's house.

After passing the East Corner Gate, Daiyu sighed and said, "I never thought my aunt would die in such an unclear way."

Li Weijian also sighed: "Life is unpredictable."

Li Weijian was still thinking about the death of Lady Jia, and how Lady Wang and Sister Feng would quarrel. But who would have thought that she would end up falling into the water and dying of a sudden illness?

Yingchun on the side said, "Your Majesty...it is said that Madam was dragged into the water by that Bihen, so you know that she has suffered the consequences." As she spoke, she glanced at Daiyu and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

Li Weijian did not think much about it and said, "It happened that my second sister-in-law was ill a while ago, and my wife was busy at home every day, so she was a bit confused. If there is really a responsibility and retribution, why would Bihen wait until now? Besides, there are countless monks and Taoists in Rongguo Mansion, how could any wronged ghost dare to approach?"

Daiyu said, "Although Fourth Brother doesn't believe in these things, he should still be kind to others."

Li Weijian couldn't help but laugh and said, "Sister, why don't you take a look? How many gentry in this world have said bad things about me?"

Daiyu glanced at him in anger and said nothing. She thought to herself, "That's true. In recent years, gentry from all over the country have come to visit from time to time. They don't ask for anything else but Li Weijian. They offer a lot of gifts just to make friends with them. If they can give them some advice on how to make money in the future, they will be grateful."

As they crossed the wooden bridge, Daiyu paused and said, "I'll go back first. Second sister seems very worried. Fourth brother should comfort her."

Li Weijian agreed and sent Daiyu to the garden gate before returning to the Zhijue Studio. He thought to himself that Daiyu was much more open-minded than Xing Xiuyan before.

It was no wonder that Li Weijian and Yingchun had been dating on and off for many years, and it was expected that Yingchun would marry into the family, so Daiyu didn't react much. However, Li Weijian thought that he would find an opportunity to comfort her later.

When Lady Jia and Lady Wang passed away, Daiyu did not need to observe mourning because she was not from the same family. However, Daiyu and Lady Jia had a deep friendship, so she voluntarily observed mourning and set a date for mourning, because it was not convenient for Li Weijian to go to the main room in the east courtyard during these days; Yingchun hurried to marry before Lady Jia died, and she observed the mourning of the family without waiting for a date. If she had not married, she would have to observe the mourning of the family, and the date of marriage would be delayed for a year, and no one knew what would happen after a year.

Li Weijian sighed inwardly. Lady Jia was not confused even before her death. She was unwilling to discipline her children. She only hoped that Yuanchun would gain the emperor's favor in the palace, and the Jia family would continue to enjoy prosperity from then on... Is it possible?

Li Weijian shook his head. After all, Jia's mother was just a woman in the inner house with limited knowledge, so he couldn't be too demanding. Moreover, Jia's mother never asked Li Weijian to take care of the Jia family, but only mentioned Jia Lan. It can be seen that Jia's mother is experienced in human nature. She knows that he doesn't like the children of the second house.

At this time, Xing Xiuyan and Yingchun lived here together. It was a coincidence that they lived together in Zhuijin Tower in the Grand View Garden. While Li Weijian was thinking, he arrived at Zhijue Zhai, and Xing Xiuyan and Yingchun hurriedly got up to greet him.

Li Weijian said, "This place is a bit cramped after all. Don't worry, we can build another house nearby in the spring. There is plenty of space."

Xing Xiuyan was very perceptive and knew that Li Weijian might have something to say to Yingchun, so she smiled and said, "Master, please sit down. Madam just happened to give you some Lu'an tea. I'll go make some for you to try."

Li Weijian agreed, and Xing Xiuyan led the two maids out.

Xiu Ju also saw the situation and quickly left, leaving only Li Weijian and Yingchun. Li Weijian stepped forward and pulled Yingchun's hand, and the two of them sat on the soft couch together. Li Weijian comforted her, "Birth, aging, illness and death are inevitable, and you don't have to be too sad, second sister. I am very sad that you have damaged your body."

Yingchun's eyes turned red as she said, "Although I am an old lady with a bad temper, I am always fair and just. Whatever my sisters have, I always have a share. Now even such fair elders are gone, I——"

Li Weijian hurriedly held his hand and said, "Don't you still have me in the future?"

Yingchun may have been in a state of great emotional ups and downs recently. She said out loud what she was thinking at the moment of mixed feelings of sadness and joy: "If the old lady hadn't nodded, I'm afraid you wouldn't know how long you would have to delay."

There was a lot of resentment in these words, but Li Weijian did not argue. He just hugged Yingchun and said, "I am sorry for you. Don't worry, second sister, I will never let you down in the future."

Yingchun responded in a muffled voice, then twisted her body uncomfortably and said angrily: "Jian...Brother, I, I still have to observe mourning."

Li Weijian quickly withdrew his hand and said, "I'm used to it, I'm used to it."

Yingchun didn't know what to say, and after a long while she said, "Just now the eldest wife criticized the second sister-in-law again. It's already this late, but she still can't figure it out and is making a fuss."

Li Weijian asked the reason and didn't take it seriously. He said, "The first wife has always been like this. Just ignore her."

But he was thinking about another thing: Jia Zheng wrote a letter of mourning for his mother's death. He had just taken office as the Junior Official of the Guanglu Temple, but he had to resign before he could even get comfortable in the office. In addition, the Ningguo family was raided, and the eldest master Jia She died early, so the only ones left to support the Jia family were Jia Zheng and Jia Lian.

If Jia Zheng and Jia Lian had spent the past two years mourning their father's death and had less contact with Changle Palace, they might have been spared the tragedy of having their property confiscated and exiled. This is in line with the saying "blessings and disasters are hard to predict".

A few days later, Rongguo Mansion set up a mourning tent again, and three days later, the death was announced everywhere. Relatives and old friends from all over, noble families, and even the virtuous concubines in the palace came to pay their respects.

Yuanchun had been ill after hearing the bad news about Lady Jia's death. When she heard that Lady Wang had died, she fell ill immediately.

At the end of the year, General Qi brought his family back to Beijing to report on his work. Hearing about the funeral at the Jia Mansion, he also went to pay his respects. On this day when Daiyu and Yingchun returned, Daiyu told Li Weijian, "Today General Qi brought his son to pay his respects. Then the eldest wife said privately that when the funeral of Sister Zhen was held earlier, General Qi's son ran into the third lady and has been thinking about her ever since. This time I went to Beijing earlier, but I didn't expect to catch up with the funeral at the mansion.

This matter has to be put aside for now... Qi Jianhui captured thousands of enemies with just one warship, and he will surely be promoted this time, but unfortunately I don’t know if he can wait for Tanchun for another two years."

Yingchun, who was standing by, also said, "I also heard Sister Feng mention it. She said it was a match made in heaven, but it's a pity that the timing is not right."

Li Weijian asked with a smile, "What did the third sister say?" Daiyu smiled and said, "What could the third sister say? She was so embarrassed that her face turned red. She hid away early in the morning."

Having said this, Daiyu continued, "Grandmother and aunt will hold the funeral in a few days. Sister Feng told me that after the funeral, we will send Yuanyang to the residence of Marquis Zhongjing."

Li Weijian nodded and said, "That's perfect. Yuanyang has always been the old lady's personal maid, and she is very respectable. Now that the old lady is gone, it's not appropriate for her to stay in Rongguo Mansion. She might get into trouble with others. Xiangyun is delicate and naive, and her behavior is a bit rough. Yuanyang is just right to take care of her."

Daiyu said angrily, "Sister Yun will probably marry next year. I'm afraid Fourth Brother must be thinking about Sister Yun every day now, right?"

Yingchun was in front of him, and Li Weijian smiled and did not respond, only saying: "The virtuous concubine in the palace has been ill for more than a month, and now she is not getting better."

Yingchun exclaimed in surprise, "I'm afraid my family hasn't heard of the news yet."

Li Weijian said, "What can we do now that we know? We have to start the conversation first before we can talk about other things."

Some time passed, and it was almost the twelfth lunar month. Lady Jia and Mrs. Wang successively sent the body to Tiekan Temple, and then waited for the acupuncture point to be chosen before burial.

By the time everything was ready, it was already the third day of the twelfth lunar month.

After working hard for more than a month, Sister Feng finally had a good sleep that day. Unexpectedly, Jia Lian and Mrs. Xing came to find her early in the morning.

Jia Lian took out the family account book and said shamelessly that due to excessive expenses, he had been in arrears with the monthly allowances of the children of the Jia family for more than two months. This time, he asked Feng Jieer to borrow some money to make up for it first. He would return it immediately after the Liaodong manor sent the New Year gift.

Mrs. Xing, however, complained that her nose was not a nose and her face was not a face. She said that during the mourning period, many household items were lost, and she accused Fengjie of being less and less dedicated in managing the household.

Feng Jieer had worked hard and invested thirty thousand taels of silver. She was so angry that she simply ordered Ping'er to send the account books away, saying that she was ill and asked Mrs. Xing to take charge of all the family affairs from now on.

Mrs. Xing was surprised at first, then she jumped for joy. She immediately grabbed the account book and left happily. Jia Lian asked for permission again and again, but Feng Jieer just pushed it to Mrs. Xing and said, "Second Master, you might as well do the math. I only have a small share in the greenhouse business. The 30,000 taels I got was only from pawning my dowry. If you want money, just ask the first wife."

Jia Lian had no choice but to go find Mrs. Xing. Mrs. Xing got the account book and immediately summoned her personal servants to check the account carefully. This little bit of calculation is not a big deal. According to the current expenses, I am afraid that there will be a deficit of at least 8,000 taels by the summer of next year!

Madam Xing refused to believe it, and told the maid, "Count carefully, I'm afraid Feng girl is hiding something!"

Wang Shanbao, the housekeeper, counted the accounts with the servants and then replied with a sad face, "Madam, this account book is very clear. I'm afraid we can't find any mistakes made by Second Madam."

Mrs. Xing was surprised and asked, "Is the deficit really that big? Have you checked the past few years?"

Wang Shanbao smiled bitterly and said, "I have checked everything. I am afraid that the thirty thousand taels from before really belonged to the Second Madam."

Mrs. Xing was immediately in trouble. She had been accusing Wang Xifeng everywhere, just to seize the power of the family and take advantage of the opportunity to do whatever she wanted. Who knew that this family really had more expenses than income! Not only was there no money, but they couldn't make ends meet. Did they have to pay for it themselves?

A report came from the front saying that Jia Lian wanted to see him.

Mrs. Xing was upset and refused to see him. She said she was tired and sent Jia Lian away.

Wang Shanbao's family member said, "After the Liaodong manor sends the New Year's gift, we can probably get 8,000 taels of living money."

Mrs. Xing was puzzled and asked, "There was a slight surplus in the past few years, how come it is in deficit now?"

A maidservant said, "Madam, you don't know. In the past two years, there have been droughts in the north and floods in the south. Farms everywhere have not had much success. Now it's the twelfth month and there's no sign of snow. There may be another severe drought next year."

Wang Shanbao heard this from her granddaughter Siqi, and said, "I heard that Master Li has suggested to the court that Zidu and Nanzhang buy more rice to meet the needs of the north."

Mrs. Xing was immediately frowning, and had to wave her hand to send all the servants away. But Wang Shanbao did not leave. When Mrs. Xing leaned on the bed, Wang Shanbao came over and said, "Madam, you have finally obtained the account book, you can't just give it back so easily, otherwise who will listen to what you say in the future?"

Madam Xing said distressedly, "You can't ask me to spend money on it, right? It's so much, even if I want to, I can't afford it."

Wang Shanbao, the housekeeper, said, "If it were up to me, there would still be too many people in my family. There are hundreds or even thousands of people, but how many of them have jobs? Consider the Jingling Marquis's mansion, which has only a hundred servants and maids. Madam, why don't you take this opportunity to start... start..."

Mrs. Xing could read after all, so she continued, "Increase income and reduce expenditure?"

"That's right. And..." Wang Shanbao came over and whispered, "It wasn't just the Lai family that embezzled money when repairing the garden. All the managers in other places were involved. Madam, why don't you go and discuss it with the master and take this opportunity to confiscate the house of that unruly servant? That way, you will have money, right?"

Mrs. Xing was immediately moved. She turned around and went to discuss with Jia Zheng and Jia Lian. The uncle and nephew frowned as they looked at the account book. Lin Zhixiao came in with two servants.

Jia Zheng looked up and asked, "What's the matter?"

Lin Zhixiao gritted his teeth and said, "In reply to the master, just now Aunt Ping came out of Yihong Courtyard and saw these two people climbing over the wall with their bags. I happened to see them and ordered someone to arrest them. It's a pity that the two thieves who were waiting outside the wall escaped."

When the bundle was unfolded, they saw a dazzling array of items inside: cat's eyes, emeralds, agarwood crutches, agarwood beads, canaan fan pendants, amber fan pendants, brocade red agate, Ru kiln flower sachets, and golden dragon necklaces; a quick count revealed that these items were worth thousands of taels if pawned at the pawn shop!

Jia Zheng was so angry that he was shaking all over. He pointed at the two men and said, "Rebellion, rebellion!"

Jia Lian was furious. He was the heir to the throne, and all the wealth in the Jia family belonged to him. How could he allow others to get their hands on it? Jia Lian stood up and said angrily, "Beat him and find out who ordered you to do this!"

Immediately, servants picked up sticks and beat them hard. The two servants were not brave men to begin with, so after a few beatings they cried out for help and confessed.

However, Jia Chang and Jia Ling, who were working outside, became furious because they owed money to a loan shark and had not received any rice from the government for several months. So they colluded with two unruly servants to steal the property of the Rongguo Mansion.

Jia Zheng and Jia Lian were extremely angry, and sent people to bring Jia Chang and Jia Ling, but the two of them continued to argue.

"Uncle and Second Uncle have enough to eat, but they don't know how to care for the people. They haven't distributed rice for several months, and the family has been unable to make ends meet. I have come to Second Uncle several times but to no avail. If they really can't make ends meet, won't they try other means?"

Another one also said, "When Uncle Zhen inherited the throne, he never lacked rice for us. Why is it that things have changed when it comes to Uncle Lian?"

Jia Lian said angrily, "You all know that the past two years have been bad. The old lady and the mistress' funeral were paid for by your aunt out of her own pocket!"

The two men stiffened their necks and said, "Second Aunt paid thirty thousand at once, so we know there may be another thirty thousand later. If that's the case, why did she withhold our few taels of silver?"

Jia Lian could not argue, so he personally picked up a stick and went forward to beat them. The two men ran away in anger, and turned around to hide in Tiekan Temple.

After such a farce, Mrs. Xing finally mentioned the issue of increasing revenue and reducing expenditure. It would have been fine if it was about increasing revenue, as Jia Zheng and Jia Lian were too embarrassed to ask Li Weijian for help, but they could think of a way to reduce expenditure.

At this time, Mrs. Xing said again, "The third young lady is quite a good hand. In the past two years, she has followed the advice of the maid and rented out various places in the Grand View Garden to the maids. At the end of the year, she can save several hundred taels of silver, and everyone can do their own thing without having to spend any more money."

(End of this chapter)