Red Mansion Huacai

Chapter 407: Blessings and Disasters
Xing Xiuyan was confused because Miaoyu said some strange things when she entered the Bo's mansion as a concubine. She was grateful for Miaoyu's teaching, but she couldn't stand Miaoyu's lonely personality. She comforted her a little, helped Miaoyu out of the back hall, and took a carriage to the inn.

On this side, Li Weijian cleaned up his mess, talked with the Yangzhou prefect and the prosecutor, and led his people back to the inn. Li Weijian did not mention what he said to Daiyu. Xing Xiuyan was afraid that Miaoyu would be upset, so she stayed with Miaoyu.

After crying and making a fuss, Miaoyu finally calmed down. Xing Xiuyan thought, "Although the world is peaceful now, it's not good for you, a single woman, to run around everywhere. You must find a place to settle down."

Miaoyu turned her head away and blushed, recalling everything that happened in the morning. On one hand, she felt overwhelmed with ecstasy, and on the other hand, she felt extremely humiliated. She thought herself to be noble, and in her heart she hoped that Li Weijian would come over and be gentle with her, but at the same time she was afraid to see him again.

Xing Xiuyan was a smart person. Seeing Miaoyu was very uncomfortable and occasionally looking at Li Weijian and Daiyu, she vaguely guessed what was going on. When she had time to find Li Weijian, she said, "Master, I think Miaoyu is in a weird mood right now. She seems to want to see you, but she is afraid to see you."

Li Weijian responded without saying anything else.

Xing Xiuyan was about to speak but stopped herself. Li Weijian glanced at her and then laughed dumbly, saying, "Why, are you still counting on me to come over and comfort you?"

Xing Xiuyan didn't know what to say.

Li Weijian said, "She is being awkward, what does it have to do with me? If you hadn't come to beg me, why would I rush to save her? Miaoyu and I don't have much friendship, and we used to hate each other, but now it's better not to meet. Yes, we will take a boat to Jinling early tomorrow morning, you go and ask her, if she has nowhere to go, it's okay for her to come with us. My uncle is seriously ill, so it would be appropriate to ask her to recite scriptures and pray for blessings."

Xing Xiuyan felt relieved after hearing this and said with a smile: "She is the most arrogant. If I say this, I am afraid she will not be able to stay." Then she frowned again: "I am just afraid that I will meet such a bad person again in the future."

Li Weijian pulled Xing Xiuyan's hand and said, "We can save her once, but we can't save her forever. This world is unfair to women. She can either get married and raise children, or stay away from worldly affairs. Isn't it a disaster for her to be neither a monk nor a layman?"

Although the two of them were talking in low voices, Miaoyu had been thinking for a long time. At this moment, she happened to come to thank Li Weijian and heard the words. Her turbulent thoughts were immediately poured with a basin of cold water. Miaoyu felt like she was hit on the head with a stick. She couldn't help but wonder in her heart, what exactly did she want?
Thinking of Baoyu, Chen Yejun, the old monk, and Li Weijian, and thinking of the past twenty years, he could not help but frown and returned to his room in silence. When he got to his room, he found a razor and shaved off his hair that he had kept for more than ten years in front of the mirror. Seeing his beautiful face in the mirror again, he thought to himself that it was this appearance that caused the trouble, so he cut a few cuts on his face with the razor and then went to see Li Weijian.

Li Weijian and Xing Xiuyan were shocked to see this. Miaoyu glanced at Li Weijian with mixed feelings and chanted the Bodhisattva: "Thank you for your help, Mr. Li. I will often chant sutras and pray for you in the future."

After saying that, he ignored the two of them and turned away. He did not mention the two maids who ran after him crying. Xing Xiuyan was surprised and asked, "Master, has she really seen through the world?"

Li Weijian shook his head and said, "I don't know. What does it matter whether it's true or not? Since she is so determined, there is no turning back."

The next day, Li Weijian and his party arrived in Nanjing by boat. As expected, his uncle Li Shouzhong was seriously ill and could not get out of bed.

Li Weijian led a group of concubines to visit his uncle. It was the first time that Li Shouzhong saw Daiyu. Seeing Daiyu's appearance, he was very satisfied. After talking to Daiyu for a few words, he was interrupted by his aunt Liang: "My niece is in poor health now. It's not good to overwork her after traveling."

Li Shouzhong nodded, and Liang led all the concubines to leave.

Li Shouzhong and Li Weijian were left alone in the room. A servant brought some medicine, and Li Weijian personally served Li Shouzhong with it. After Li Shouzhong took a little, he frowned and said, "There are only a few days left. Don't torture me with this medicine."

Li Weijian was about to speak but stopped, so Li Shouzhong said, "I have been pedantic all my life, and it is the right time for me to die now, so that Xin Chong, who is not clear-headed, will not participate in the struggle for the throne." He then looked at Li Weijian and said, "You should also take this opportunity to hide away."

Li Weijian pondered, "The saint has pacified the Dzungar Khanate and reformed the internal affairs, and his momentum is at its peak. But the crown prince is gaining strength... There is no father and son in the royal family. The reason why my nephew wrote to me last time was because he was afraid that my eldest brother would be involved in it without knowing it, and bring great sin to the Li family."

Li Shouzhong sighed and said, "The emperor is short-tempered and holds grudges. You can see the fate of the Wang family. The Wang family was the king's vanguard and took action against the Jia family's generals. Now, Wang Ziteng has dealt with them to the point where not even one tenth of them survived. He just turned around and threw them away like old shoes."

Li Weijian frowned and asked, "Have you found any results with Wang Ziteng and Wang Zisheng?"

Li Shouzhong said, "The last report said that the two had been dismissed from their posts. I'm afraid they will be sent to Qiongya soon." He paused and continued, "I know the ways of the world, but I'm too lazy to be worldly. Since the saint despises me, I simply resigned and returned home. He also ordered Xin Chong and Xin Ming not to leave, because he knows the emperor's temperament well. If the new emperor ascends the throne tomorrow, Xin Ming can give it a try."

Looking at Li Weijian, he coughed a few times and said, "You are different. You are a capable minister. No matter who is the emperor, they all need money like you. But you must be careful when doing your job and not be too naive."

"Thank you for your teachings, uncle. I will remember it."

Li Shouzhong tried to explain, but then he became listless, so Li Weijian left. He turned around and went to see his aunt Liang, and comforted her. Liang said, "Birth, aging, illness and death are common. Your uncle has been ill for several years, and it is not easy for him to survive until today."

Li Weijian sighed in his heart. Daiyu was pregnant and it was difficult for her to work, so the other concubines took turns to wait on her by her bed. A few days passed, and one night Li Shouzhong's face suddenly turned red. He ate some of his favorite salted duck and drank half a pot of Huadiao wine. He fell asleep at night and passed away without knowing when.

The Li family was in grief, and the funeral was handled in an orderly manner. Li Weijian wrote another memorial, saying that he had been raised by his uncle since he was a child, and although he had no gratitude for his birth, he had gratitude for his upbringing. Therefore, he asked the emperor to allow him to observe mourning for his uncle Li Shouzhong for one year.

The memorial was submitted to the imperial desk a few days later. Emperor Zhenghe was at a loss whether to laugh or cry after reading it. He found Yan Xiyao and said, "In this world, officials are afraid of their parents' death and they mourn for three years, which will definitely delay their future. Only you, my disciple, are different from ordinary people. How can you rush to mourn for your uncle?"

Yan Xiyao said: "Your Majesty, you don't know that Li Shouzhong raised Li Weijian since he was young. The two of them say they are uncle and nephew, but in fact they are like father and son."

Emperor Zhenghe thought that there were more and more memorials impeaching Li Weijian recently, most of which were made by the prince's followers, and he became more and more upset. He said, "Our dynasty was founded on filial piety. It is rare for Li Weijian to be so filial, so he will be allowed to mourn for one year."

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

Rongguo Mansion.

But on this day, Tanchun was discussing with Ping'er about handling the affairs of the household, when suddenly a maid came in happily and said, "Master Bao is back!"

Baoyu had been missing for more than three months, and Jia Zheng fell ill because of this. Jia Lian searched everywhere in the capital, but could not find Baoyu.

An elder of the Jia family has already come to Jia Zheng and told him to adopt a young man from the family. Jia Zheng flatly refused at first, but now he is tempted to do so.

Tanchun, Xichun and others were extremely worried. Xichun recited sutras and prayed for Baoyu's safety every day. As time went by, everyone had given up hope. Unexpectedly, Baoyu came back at this moment. Tanchun and Ping'er were both very surprised. Tanchun stood up and asked, "It really is Brother Bao? Where is he?"

"We just entered the ceremonial gate!"

Tanchun didn't care about her daily affairs, and left Ping'er to go out to greet them. She had just come out of the meeting room when she ran into Baochai and Tongxi who had just come out of the garden for a walk.

Tongxi's belly was bulging, and she was pregnant. Although Tanchun didn't like Baochai, she knew that since Miaoyu left without saying goodbye, Baoyu had no choice in marriage, and she was afraid that it would most likely fall on Baochai. Thinking that she would get married sooner or later, she deliberately said, "Sister Bao is here at the right time, Second Brother Bao is back!"

Baochai was extremely surprised, but said calmly, "May the Bodhisattva bless you. I wonder how much suffering he must have endured out there."

She immediately asked the maid to send Tongxi back to the courtyard, and Baochai and Tanchun went straight to the ceremonial gate to greet her.

When I got to the front, I could see Baoyu in the distance, dressed in blue, with a slightly weathered face, and a young wife-like woman beside him. After a closer look, I realized it was Xiren.

Tanchun and Baochai came forward. Tanchun happily talked to Baoyu and quickly sent the maid away, saying, "Go and tell the master!"

At this time, Baoyu looked at Tanchun and then Baochai, and felt extremely happy. He had been staying in Zhitong Temple for the past three months. The green lamps and Buddhist chants every day helped Baoyu cultivate his character. So he was more reluctant to leave his sisters in the garden.

At that moment, everyone surrounded Baoyu like stars surrounding the moon and walked towards the inner room. In a blink of an eye, they arrived at Demengpo Zhai, where Jia Zheng was already waiting at the door to greet them.

When the father and son met, Baoyu was moved and knelt down to greet him. Jia Zheng sighed and finally put his worries aside. He did not scold him, but just said, "It's good that you are back, it's good that you are back."

At that moment, everyone sat down to talk, and Mrs. Xing, Jia Lian and Xichun arrived one after another.

Baoyu described what had happened in the past three months. Jia Zheng glanced at Xiren, who looked like a young wife, and saw her bulging belly. He couldn't help but frown.

Then he said, "It was Jia Huan who harmed you that day. Now he and his mother have been driven away to Black Mountain Manor. As long as I am alive, I will not allow them to return to the capital."

It is said that Jia Zheng wanted to kill Jia Huan, but even a tiger would not eat its own cubs, so he could not kill Jia Huan. It was not easy to publicize such a secret death, and it was even harder to see the officials. After much deliberation, he sent the mother and son to the Black Mountain Manor in Liaodong, just in time to punish those increasingly disrespectful village heads.

Baoyu was shocked, but he didn't care. He only cared about his sisters. When did he treat Jia Huan as a brother? Hearing this, he nodded and agreed.

Because it was the mourning period, it was not appropriate to celebrate in a big way, so Jia Zheng decided to have a reunion dinner for everyone in the afternoon.

When everyone had left, Tanchun, Xichun, and Baochai were walking together. Xichun said, "Xiren is back again. Why do I think...she seems to be pregnant?"

Tanchun quickly covered up and said, "Maybe the food was good."

Sister Bao looked calm and composed, her heart was as peaceful as a well.

The next day, Aunt Xue heard that Baoyu was coming, so she came to congratulate him. After meeting everyone, she said to Baochai when she was alone: ​​"Your uncle's case has been decided. He will be exiled to Qiongya."

Baochai frowned and sighed.

Aunt Xue continued, "People say everywhere that the saint is narrow-minded and is avenging an incident from more than a decade ago." After a pause, she said to Baochai, "I heard that the madam is increasingly unwelcome in the palace, and I'm afraid that the Jia family will be in great trouble in the future. My son, the Jia family is no longer a good place to live, so you should move out with Tongxi first. If one day the barbarians come to confiscate the property, it's fine, but what if the baby gets miscarried?"

Aunt Xue was about to persuade her again, but unexpectedly Baochai was relieved and said, "That's good. We came here in a hurry, but our uncle and sisters don't like us. It's better to move out as soon as possible."

Aunt Xue was surprised, but was relieved to see her daughter agree. Little did she know that Bao-jie had completely seen through Bao-yu, and felt annoyed at the thought of living in the same room with such an irresponsible person.

A few days later, Baochai said goodbye and moved to the outer city with Tongxi. But just after they settled down, Aunt Xue came to the door crying.

After Baochai had inquired for a long time, Aunt Xue finally cried, "Our family fortune...is totally lost this time!"

Xia Jingui was greedy for profit and lent out all the shares of Xue's family. At first, there was a good exchange and Xia Jingui made a lot of money. But the shares were risky and the borrower made mistakes in gambling and lost all his capital. Later, he concealed the truth and said to others that he had made a lot of money, which attracted rich families to lend out shares.

By last month, the man saw that the interest was more than the monthly shares he collected. He knew that his plan was going to fail, so he simply took the money and ran away. He has been missing since.

Xia Jingui was greedy for profit, not only did she invest in Xue's family, she also spent a lot of her own money. When this person ran away, Xia Jingui was dumbfounded. She had concealed the truth for more than a month, and now she couldn't even pay the servants' monthly wages. Aunt Xue asked repeatedly, and then she got the truth.

Baochai was disappointed, and after a while she said, "It's OK if it fails. Fortunately, my mother gave me some money that day, so I was able to set up the factory. Now as long as I run the factory well, our family can live on."

Aunt Xue continued, "I'm thinking of laying off some of the servants. We can also leave the house in the inner city and move here later."

Baochai asked, "Where is Xia Jingui?"

Aunt Xue frowned and said, "She has harmed Wenlong and ruined the family business. The Xue family cannot keep such a woman. I will send her back home tomorrow!"

(End of this chapter)