Red Mansion Huacai

Chapter 402 Ancestor Worship at Qingming Festival
As March approached, Tongxi's belly began to grow. Baochai was extremely concerned and spent money to invite several imperial doctors to examine her. However, the doctor said that they could not tell whether the baby was a boy or a girl.

Aunt Xue came several times, anxious and worried. Baochai, on the other hand, was open-minded and consoled her, saying, "My brother is gone, and it is not easy for him to leave behind descendants. How can we still hope for a boy or a girl?"

Aunt Xue sighed and said nothing, and then comforted Tongxi. Baochai asked about Xia Jingui again. These days, Xia Jingui has returned to her old ways, drinking and having fun every day. Aunt Xue was too lazy to discipline her and just hid in the back. I don't know who leaked the news. Xia Jingui had made two scenes because of Tongxi. Fortunately, Tongxi went to Rongguo Mansion with Baochai early, so Xia Jingui had nowhere to start. Although she made a scene, she could do nothing about it.

Baochai frowned, and had no way to deal with the shrew-like Xia Jingui. After sending Aunt Xue away, a maid came forward to congratulate her on the way back. Baochai had a bad reputation among the sisters, but she had a very good reputation among the servants. Earlier, the news that Baochai was the main wife and Miaoyu was the assistant was spread. Now that Miaoyu left without saying goodbye, the second wife of Baochai naturally fell on Baochai's head.

Baochai felt uncomfortable and reluctantly told the matter off and went back to her room, but she ran into Jia Huan who was running towards her madly on the way.

Jia Huan glanced at Baochai and couldn't help shouting, "What's so good about Second Brother Bao? Why did Sister Bao sacrifice her dignity and insist on staying at home?"

It was just a coincidence that Jia Zheng came out from the hallway just as he finished speaking. Upon hearing what he had said, he immediately shouted, "What nonsense are you talking about? Did you say that?"

Jia Huan's momentum weakened a bit, but thinking that Baoyu would not live for many days, he stiffened his neck and argued: "I was not wrong. Second Brother Bao is indeed not worthy of Sister Bao."

Jia Zheng was furious. He stepped forward and slapped Jia Huan to the ground, cursing, "Now you have learned to be stubborn. This is outrageous!"

Jia Huan immediately covered his face and cried, "You only love your second brother Bao. What's so good about him that you even gave him a wife? In my opinion, it's right to kick him out!"

Jia Zheng scolded, "No matter how useless you are, it's better than you hanging around everywhere! You evil beast, if you dare to talk too much, I will punish you according to the family rules!"

Just then, Aunt Zhao, who had received the news, came hurriedly and pulled Jia Zheng aside, saying, "The master is very partial. He only knows how to play the ring and is partial to Baoyu."

Seeing that he was getting more and more outrageous, Baochai couldn't help but explain, "What you said is wrong, Auntie. If he did the right thing, who would have the time to beat their son?"

Aunt Zhao said, "The master has always looked down on Huan'er. Today he wants to beat her. My mother and I can't stay here anymore. If you want to beat me, beat me too!" She stretched her neck and asked Jia Zheng to hit her.

Jia Zheng really slapped her twice. Aunt Zhao couldn't stand it. She sat on the ground and started crying and making a scene, saying, "I'm being bullied anyway, I won't live any longer!"

Jia Zheng said, "There are so many children at home. No matter how I treat them equally, I can't take care of them all. Huan'er is also my son. How can I not love him? I send him food and drinks. You are still not satisfied and want to make trouble. Don't we have enough things to do at home? You continue to make trouble! Come on, let's use the family rules!"

Aunt Zhao was so frightened that she dared not make any noise, and stood up to protect Jia Huan behind her. At this time, Mrs. Xing got the news and hurried over to dissuade them, so Aunt Zhao simply took advantage of the chaos to drag Jia Huan back to his room.

When the mother and son came to the room, Aunt Zhao said with a gloomy face, "Your father still sides with Baoyu. As long as Baoyu is alive, we mother and son will have no chance to make a living. Go and contact those ruffians. This time, Baoyu must die!"

There was a terrible commotion up front, so a maid must have reported it to Ping'er.

A maid said, "Mrs. Zhao is becoming more and more unreasonable. The master is very angry. Mrs. Ping should go over and try to persuade her."

Ping Er shook her head and said, "This is the Second House's family affair, how can I interfere?" After a pause, she continued, "The lady of the Bo's Mansion said that the peach blossoms in Fangyuan have bloomed, so today she invited me to take Qiaojie and Second Sister to go for a stroll. If there are other things at home, just send someone to inform the Bo's Mansion."

The old woman curled her lips and said nothing. In the morning, a doorman saw Fengjie's carriage entering the Bo's house. Now Ping'er led Qiaojie and Erjie to Huifang Garden. Who doesn't know what they are thinking?
Most of the servants praised Ping'er for her kindness and righteousness, but some with bad intentions secretly told Jia Lian about it. But no one knew what Jia Lian thought, as he acted as if he didn't hear anything and just let it go.

Ping'er thought privately that they were a young couple after all, and perhaps the Second Master was regretting his decision now, but he just couldn't bring himself to ask the Second Mistress to come back.

As they were talking, Qiaojie ran in to urge them, so Ping'er sent a maid to pick up the second sister, and took Qiaojie's hand to go to Huifang Garden.

At this time, Daiyu was strolling around Huifang Garden with Wang Xifeng. Sister Feng was worried about her two daughters and looked towards the east corner gate from time to time.

Seeing this, Hongyu said, "Don't worry, grandma. I have already sent someone to inform you. I expected that the son would be here soon."

Feng Jieer collected her thoughts and smiled, "With Ping'er here, I can feel relieved." She looked at Daiyu again and saw her rosy face, which was extremely bright and beautiful. After a little thought, she knew that this was due to the care of Li Weijian. At that moment, she felt bitter and strange in her heart, but she teased, "I haven't even congratulated Sister Lin yet, but I don't know when she will be pregnant."

Daiyu blushed immediately and could not help but said angrily, "Sister Pianfeng, you are not serious from time to time. How can you talk like this?"

Sister Feng smiled and said, "You know me. Only those who are distant from me are polite. As for those like Miss Lin, I always eat both meat and vegetables."

Daiyu squinted and said, "So, it's my fault for being so close to Sister Feng?"

Sister Feng smiled and came closer and said, "It's better to consummate the marriage as soon as possible, so that those vixen below won't have any inappropriate thoughts."

Daiyu was not stupid. She only nodded slightly when she heard this, but did not respond. Although she managed the household well, the sisters seemed to be in harmony with each other and rarely quarreled, but how could Daiyu not know what everyone was thinking? This was just her. When Yun came in the future, they would be divided into two courtyards, east and west. Who knows how they would fight.

I think Fourth Brother had already made preparations, so he sent a smart maid to follow Xiangyun, and also sent Yuanyang to follow her, thinking that no matter how much they fought in the future, they would not end up in a feud.

Suddenly Baoqin, who was in the front, called out, "Sister Feng, look! Sister Ping'er is here with Sister Qiao and Sister Er."

Feng Jie left Daiyu behind and hurried to meet her. When Qiao Jie and Er Jie saw Feng Jie, one ran towards her crying and shouting, while the other struggled to land, babbling.

In a flash, Sister Feng hugged one and embraced another, and the three of them, mother and daughter, were reunited and naturally had a good time reminiscing about the past. Daiyu did not go forward to disturb them, but only asked Baoqin, Xing Xiuyan and others to go wander around somewhere else.

After a long while, when Qiaojie and Erjie had finished talking, Ping'er sent Qiaojie away to play with Daiyu and the others. Wang Xifeng held Erjie in her arms and sat in the pavilion. Ping'er said, "Grandma..."

Feng Jieer said sarcastically, "Whose grandmother am I? But you are praised by everyone now. Who knows, you may become the new second grandmother someday."

Ping Erh said angrily, "If you continue like this, I will leave!"

Feng Jieer was just saying those words in anger, and now she was begging Ping Er to look after her two daughters. Seeing this, she quickly said angrily, "Okay, okay, I just said those words in anger, but you're still angry!"

Ping Erh sat down again and thought, "Looking at Second Master's recent mood, I think he has regretted it. I have to ask Second Madam to come back soon."

"Go back?" Feng Jieer sneered, "I have no feelings for him any longer, what's the point of going back?" Ping'er said, "At least for the sake of Qiaojie and Erjie."

Feng Jieer felt a pain in her heart, but she said stubbornly, "The affection has long gone. He is just thinking about my previous kindness. If I really go back, I don't know if he will get tired of me again in a few days. It's better this way. Qiaojie and Erjie have you to take care of them, and I can rest assured. I will save more money outside and leave it for their dowries.

When I see them get married one day, I will have put my worries to rest."

Ping'er saw that Sister Feng was not angry in a low voice, so she knew that Sister Feng had made up her mind, so she just sighed and stopped comforting her.

After a while, Sister Feng said again: "On Qingming Festival in a few days, I have just asked Sister Lin to go to the old lady's grave and kowtow a few times."

Ping Er asked in surprise, "What will happen if we bump into each other?"

Feng Jieer said sadly: "What else can I do? I will just wait until they leave, and then I will go and kowtow."

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

In a blink of an eye, it is Qingming Festival.

The day was overcast and foggy early in the morning. It drizzled for a while and then stopped. Not only the Jia family, but everyone in the Bo family felt depressed.

Li Weijian traveled light, with only Daiyu and Xing Xiuyan, and Wang Xifeng hiding behind him. Meanwhile, the children of the Jia family prepared incense, candles, and offerings, as well as money and paper money, and the servants carried the offering boxes and headed for the Jia family's ancestral tomb in a dusty and mighty procession.

Men and women gathered in the open fields, carriages and horses were noisy, and ladies and tourists were out for a walk. In several places, new cigarettes and paper money were flying, spring grass was green, and ancient tombs were piled up. Jia Zheng and Jia Lian led the crowd to pull their clothes and kneel down to worship, and people were pouring wine and crying. Lin Zhixiao and Lai Wang'er took hoes to weed and add soil, while Jia Lian placed paper money on the grave and cried loudly.

Baoyu cried bitterly, for one thing he missed his deceased mother, and two, because he was no longer under the care of Lady Wang. Jia Zheng would beat and scold him at every turn, and within a few months, Baoyu received several severe beatings just for his homework.

Baoyu was really scared, and with Baochai's consolation, he patiently read the Four Books and Five Classics. He felt bitter, but it was hard to tell others.

After the sacrifice, everyone in the Jia family went back. Jia Lian did not dare to deal with Li Weijian, so Jia Zheng came to ask about it. Li Weijian frowned and said, "Sister Lin wants to spend more time with the old lady, so uncle can go first. There is a separate courtyard nearby, and we can stay there at night, so we don't need to bother uncle."

Jia Zheng agreed and immediately led everyone in the Jia family to Tiekan Temple.

After the people had gone far away, Li Weijian helped Daiyu to stand up, and then Wang Xifeng got out of the carriage and burst into tears after walking a few steps. She fell to the ground in front of the grave and cried incessantly, saying that she was sorry for Grandmother Jia and had not taken good care of the Jia family, and then she accused Jia Lian of being unkind and ungrateful.

After burning a piece of paper, lighting three sticks of incense, and kowtowing several times, a maid came forward to comfort her. Seeing that it was getting late, Daiyu gathered her thoughts and went forward to persuade her: "Grandmother knows that Sister Feng is filial. If she knew, she would be relieved. Sister Feng, please get up quickly, or you will hurt your body by crying."

Feng Jieer stopped crying, stood up, and got into the carriage, looking back every few steps. The group from the Bo Mansion set off for the nearby Haidian Villa.

Let's not talk about this for now, but the Jia family arrived at Tiekan Temple before dark in just one hour. Knowing that the Jia family was offering sacrifices to their ancestors, all the young monks fled to Mantou Temple to hide. When Jia Zheng and Jia Lian entered Tiekan Temple, they saw that it looked dilapidated, so they called the elders who were guarding the temple to ask questions.

The elder said, "Master Qin, Master Qiang, and Master Huan always invite their friends to drink here, and it is not easy for me to stop them—"

Jia Zheng was furious: "This is ridiculous! How can the place where we worship our ancestors be tolerated by such scoundrels?" He was about to call a few people over to deal with the matter, but after searching everywhere, he could not find anyone.

Jia Zheng had to suppress his anger and ordered Jia Lian to settle the group of people. Today is different from the past. The real masters are only Jia Zheng, Jia Lian, the third lady Tanchun, the fourth lady Yingchun and Mrs. Xing. It is simple to settle them. For a while, Jia Lian ordered Lin Zhixiao to busy himself around and deliver food and water to various places.

Baoyu followed Sheyue into a small courtyard, feeling sad. Sheyue tried to persuade him several times, but Baoyu didn't feel better, so she just waited on Baoyu and washed him.

After dinner, Baoyu went to bed early due to excessive grief.

Who knew that in the night someone suddenly shouted, "The fire is coming!"

Baoyu woke up with a start and saw through the window that there was a fire outside. Baoyu put on his clothes and wanted to go to see the situation, but Sheyue stopped him and said, "There is a fire outside. It is a time of chaos and disorder. Master Bao should not walk around carelessly."

Just as he finished speaking, he heard a knock on the door.

Musk Moon asked, "Who?"

Then I heard someone outside say, "Is Second Brother Bao here? Hurry up and get dressed! There's a fire. The flames might spread over here!"

Baoyu was horrified when he heard this and hurried out. However, Sheyue was a careful person and frowned and asked, "Master Huan? Didn't Master Huan return to the capital a long time ago? Why are you knocking at the door now?"

Outside the door, Jia Huan made up a story: "It's too late to come back. The city gates are locked, so I have to turn back. Don't delay any longer. It will be too late if you don't leave now!"

Baoyu was about to leave again, but Sheyue pulled him back. Seeing the crowds of people outside by the light of the fire, she asked again, "Is it only Master Huan San outside?"

Jia Huan said impatiently: "I brought two servants with me. Tsk, are you leaving or not?"

Musk Moon said, "The fire is in the southeast. I don't think it will be over soon. I think we should wait a little longer."

As soon as he finished speaking, a duck-voiced man outside said impatiently, "Stop talking so much, just kick the door open and take him away!"

There was a loud bang, and the door was kicked open. Four men with knives rushed in. Without giving the master and servant time to talk, they knocked them unconscious. Then they found hemp ropes and tied them up.

Jia Huan hated Baoyu so much that he found a stool and was about to hit him, but he was stopped by a man: "Wait! How much are those gold and silver worth? Let's take the hostages and extort a few thousand taels from the Rongguo Mansion, and then you can deal with them!"

(End of this chapter)