Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

"By the way, master, how is my brother?" Jia Cong suddenly thought of Jia Huan.

Wang Jin smiled and said: "Brother Huan is now serving as General Manager Qian of Liaohai Guard. After the Chinese New Year, I am going to let him go out for defense. Although he does not have your martial arts talent, he is flexible in mind and can adapt to changes. He has a lot to do."

Deng Lei and others also laughed and said: "Brother Huan is smart and resourceful. He is not as honest as us and cannot suffer losses."

Jia Cong waved his hand and said with a smile: "Don't spoil him, for if you don't polish him, you won't be able to make a good use of him."

Wang Jin said: "Don't worry, I will strictly supervise him."

"Okay, I'm leaving tomorrow. Let's have a drink tonight."

Everyone cheered loudly.

The next day, Jia Cong led the people to escort the people from the Liao Palace back to Jinzhou Guard and boarded the ship back to the capital.

Wang Jin and others escorted him all the way to the ship and watched the ship disappear into the sky before returning.

Bai Qiuwei saw Jia Cong looking at the blue sea and sky with a sad look on his face, and couldn't help but ask: "You have won a great victory this time and defeated the King of Liao easily. What's wrong with you?"

Jia Cong sighed: "I suddenly had an ominous premonition, and it felt like a stone was weighing on my heart. I was afraid that something would happen to my family."

Bai Qiuwei consoled her: "How can you imitate a foolish man and a foolish woman and start worrying about the world? You have a princess in charge and a Rongguo queen at home. What can happen?"

Jia Cong sighed, and his heart tightened when he thought of Qingwen's haggard appearance when he left Beijing.
-
In the capital, Dingguofu.

These days, there is no joy and laughter in the house as before, and all the girls are worried. Ruyi, Baochai and Daiyu are even more upset and restless. They don't know how Jia Cong will explain when he comes back.

Seeing the old priest sent by Queen Chen in the palace diagnose his pulse, Ruyi hurriedly said: "Old sir, how are you doing?"

The old worshiper bowed and sighed: "Reporting to Your Highness, I am old and incompetent, and I am unable to save myself."

"What?" The girls were shocked.

Daiyu's eyes turned red when she heard this and she was about to cry. She covered her lips with a handkerchief for fear of crying. She and Qingwen had always been good friends.

Baochai frowned and said, "How did we get to this point? Please old sir, please think of a solution."

The old priest said: "Madam, this aunt is fragile and has not recovered from her previous illness, so she contracted a new disease, which caused double attacks, affecting the root cause.

Moreover, he neglected to take care of himself on weekdays, and the cold evil had already condensed in his lungs. Although he was treated by good doctors, his manpower was sometimes insufficient, and now he was already terminally ill, and the medicine had no effect. Wei Chen's medical knowledge is shallow and he feels ashamed. "

Ruyi was silent for a moment and sighed: "How long will it take?"

The old monk said: "For the present plan, I only use Dushen Decoction to protect my vitality, which can delay it for a few days." After saying goodbye, he left.

Daiyu couldn't help it for a long time and sat aside and cried. Sisters Qianxue, Wanyan and others also shed tears. Baochai, Chuchan, Sister Feng and others were busy comforting her.

Ruyi sighed: "Life or death is a matter of destiny. This is all we can do now. Go get the old ginseng from the house and make soup."

Wan Yanshan wiped her face with her backhand and said, "I brought a lot of top-quality old ginseng from Liaodong last time. I'll go get it." After that, she ran away.

Ruyi said: "Don't cry, let's go see Qingwen so that she can see Brother Cong again."

Everyone nodded sadly and followed her into the house.
-
On the morning of November 13, Jia Cong and his party finally arrived at Tongzhou Pier.

"If you are ready, go to the dock and ask about my family situation." Jia Cong said.

"Yes." Wen Youfang hurriedly jumped off the boat and took the captain who was guarding the dock every day to inquire.

Jia Cong, Bai Qiuwei and others then disembarked from the boat. When they saw Wen Youfang coming back with a solemn look on their face, they were suddenly startled and asked, "What happened?"

Wen Youfang knew that Qingwen was Jia Cong's favorite, so he didn't dare to answer rashly, and he didn't dare not to answer. After thinking about it, he said slowly: "My lord, everything is fine in your house, but..."

"Say!" Jia Cong noticed something was wrong and shouted sternly.

"Yes, I heard from the two primary schools just now that Aunt Qing seems to be...somewhat unwell." After Wen Youfang finished speaking tremblingly, he quickly lowered his head, not daring to look at Jia Cong's cannibalistic eyes.

Jia Cong was shocked. As if he was struck by lightning, a cold air rushed from the soles of his feet to his forehead and stayed there.

Wen Youfang and other captains in Jinyi were startled. If something happened to the master, they would definitely die. They hurriedly winked at Bai Qiuwei.

Bai Qiuwei took Jia Cong's hand and said softly: "Why are you so anxious? It may not be what you think. Just go home and take a look first."

Jia Cong came to his senses with a start, nodded to her, got on his horse, and shouted "Drive!"

A lamp thousands of miles away seemed to sense that its owner was returning home like an arrow. It immediately spread its hooves, chasing the wind and lightning, soaring into the clouds and mist, leaving a white shadow on the official road.

"Sir..." Wen Youfang opened his mouth, and as soon as he said two words, Jia Cong was already far away.

Another captain said in a low voice: "Wen Baihu, how will the family members and generals of the King of Liao be accommodated on the ship? It seems that we should go to the palace to answer the order?"

Wen Youfang glared at him: "Why didn't you tell me this just now? Should you enter the palace, or should I?"

The captain retreated.

Seeing Bai Qiuwei, Liu Xianglian and others finishing their errands and leaving quietly, Wen Youfang thought for a moment and said, "Take the people back to Beijing first."

"Yes."

Jia Cong was so anxious that he spurred his horse on and rushed into Shenjing like lightning, heading straight for Ningrong Street.

At the gate of Dingguo Mansion, several stewards and disciples were chatting. When they saw Jia Cong galloping towards him on a single horse, they hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed: "Welcome the Duke back to the mansion." Several soldiers had already gone up to lead the horse.

Jia Cong turned over and dismounted, ignoring them. Seeing that the doors were opening slowly, he kicked the doors open with a flying kick. The two boys behind the door screamed and were knocked out.

But he saw Jia Cong's body swaying and he had already rushed through the door.

Jia Cong was so anxious that he flew to the door of Neiyi with long strides, grabbed a girl, and shouted: "Where is Qingwen?"

"Ah, the Duke is back!" The girl shouted and said hurriedly: "The Duke is back, Aunt Qing is in the room."

Jia Cong hurriedly turned around and rushed into Qingwen's courtyard, when he met Ruyi and others coming out to welcome him. They were not very happy when they saw him, but instead they all looked sad.

"Qingwen..." Jia Cong hesitated, looking at everyone's eyes were red, their voices were hoarse, and they were choked and unable to speak.

If she saw him like this, she couldn't bear it and said softly: "Just go in and take a look. I'll finally wait until you come back."

Jia Cong was stunned, as if he had fallen into an ice cave. He did not dare to step in, for fear of seeing some heartbreaking scenes.

Upon seeing this, all the girls gathered around him, pulling him and comforting him softly.

Jia Cong closed his eyes to calm down, took a deep breath, and walked slowly through the door.

The house was filled with a strong medicinal gas, the windows were closed, there was no wind, and the charcoal stove was not lit. It was obvious that the patient was extremely weak and could not withstand the charcoal gas, let alone the wind and cold. When Ling'er and Dang'er saw him coming in, they hurriedly said hello.

Jia Cong walked into the inner room blankly, walked to the bed and opened the curtain. He saw the person on the bed. His skin was yellow and thin, his eye sockets were sunken, and his lips were as white as paper. He no longer had the delicate and lively look of the past. He felt a great pain in his heart. His strength was drained, and he slumped down on the pedals.

"Qingwen, Qingwen, I hurt you, Qingwen! I'm back, Qingwen." Jia Cong put his hand under the quilt, held Qingwen's hand, and shouted with a cry.

Qingwen seemed to hear his voice, her eyelids moved slightly and she slowly opened her head. She turned her head slightly and saw Jia Cong. A flash of light suddenly appeared in her eyes. She smiled and said: "Master, you are back. I have finally waited for you." ." Although the voice was soft, it was filled with infinite joy.

Jia Cong couldn't help it any longer, pursed his lips tightly, tears rolled down his face, and choked up: "Qingwen, I, I, I'm sorry for you, I deserve to die." After saying this, he felt regret, pain and hatred, and raised his hand to slap his face. Two slaps.

Seeing this, Qingwen hurriedly wanted to pull him. She just raised her hand and dropped it weakly. She started coughing anxiously: "Master, you can't... cough cough, don't do this. It's my bad luck... I don't live up to my expectations, cough cough." , It has nothing to do with me. If you do this again, I would rather die immediately. "

Jia Cong hurriedly held her hand and cried: "Good Qingwen, don't say any depressing words. I don't allow you to die. You are not allowed to die. If you hear me, I will go find the best doctor to treat you right away."

Tears welled up in Qingwen's eyes, and she said with a smile: "Master, Qingwen can serve you once, which is a sign of good deeds in my previous life. Now that I'm gone, I want to... be well, take care of yourself, and think of me occasionally, then you'll be fine ”

Jia Cong felt like his heart was twisting in a knife, and he could hardly breathe in pain. He stroked Qingwen's face and choked: "Good sister, stop talking, take a good rest and recuperate. I will go find someone to save you right now." You. I beg you, just think it’s for me, don’t leave me, okay?”

Qingwen's eyes were full of deep affection and love, and she said softly: "Sir, Qingwen's heart has been given to you a long time ago, and I will never leave you."

Jia Cong's throat seemed to be blocked, and he was gasping for air, but could not speak. After a while, he shouted: "Come here! Go and ask the imperial doctor to come quickly."

The girls had been waiting outside for a long time. When they heard Jia Cong's grief, they couldn't help but burst into tears. At this time, they hurriedly walked in and said, "I have already sent someone to tell the news."

Jia Cong sat by the bed, without looking back, and whispered: "What did the imperial doctor say?"

Baochai said softly: "The imperial doctor said that for now, take Dushen Decoction to protect your vitality... wait until your body recovers, and then take the decoction for conditioning."

"Yes, yes, Dushen Decoction." Jia Cong suddenly remembered that Qiao Feng accidentally injured Ah Zi and used Dushen Decoction to save her life, and hurriedly said: "Quickly, take out all the best ginseng in the house, as long as it is more than a hundred years old, , if it’s not enough, take my post and go to various Shijiaofu to buy it, go quickly!”

Qian Xue and Jin Chuan'er hurriedly agreed and turned around to go out.

Ruyi came over and held his hand, saying: "Brother Cong, don't worry too much. There are a lot of old ginseng in the house. As the saying goes, diseases are gone like silk. If you... take a few days, you will be fine."

After saying that, he looked away and gritted his teeth tightly, fearing that he would cry again.

Jia Cong nodded and remained silent, just looking at Qingwen.

The man did not cry easily because he did not reach the sad spot.

"My lord, the ginseng soup is here." After a moment, Ling'er came over with a bowl of ginseng soup.

"Bring it here quickly." Jia Cong took the bowl and took a sip. The taste was sweet and the medicinal essence was strong. It was obviously the best ginseng.

"Qingwen, come and drink the medicine and you'll be fine. I have a lot of good ginseng, which will definitely cure you." Jia Cong forced a smile and handed the spoon to her lips.

Qingwen opened her mouth slightly, feeling exhausted and unable to swallow. She choked on the concoction and started coughing.

Jia Cong was in a hurry while holding the medicine bowl, but he didn't know what to do.

Chu Chan said: "Cong'er, hold Qingwen up and help her up, and I'll feed her."

"Okay." Jia Cong hurriedly handed her the medicine bowl, carefully picked up Qingwen and the quilt, and leaned in his arms.

Seeing Daiyu sobbing, Baochai pulled Ruyi's sleeve and said softly: "It's not cheap to have so many people in the house, let's go outside." After that, he helped Daiyu go out first.

Ruyi sighed and waved for everyone to leave, leaving only Jia Cong and Chu Chan.

After drinking most of the bowl of ginseng soup, Qingwen finally felt a little more energetic and her lips had a little more color.

"Master..."

"Hey." Jia Cong saw that she was so angry that he was afraid that she would lose her energy, so he hurriedly said: "You go to sleep for a while, I will watch over you."

Qingwen nodded lightly and slowly closed her eyes.

Jia Cong gently put her down, and after she fell asleep, he winked at Chu Chan and then looked at Qingwen.

Chu Chan understood and whispered: "I'll watch from here, you go and do your work."

Jia Cong felt as if there was a lead weight on his heart. He nodded, took a deep breath, then gathered his strength and walked out slowly.

The girls outside the door knew that Qingwen was just passing the day. Thinking of the lovable and lovely girl on the hospital bed who dared to love and hate, they all shed tears silently. They also thought that once Qingwen passed away, Jia Cong would definitely fall seriously ill. They were all secretly anxious.

Suddenly I saw the girl leading a big girl over, holding a flat box in her hand, but it was a mandarin duck.

"Greetings to Your Highness the Princess, the two madams, and sisters." Yuanyang raised his eyes and saw that everyone was there, and said hurriedly.

Ruyi said: "No courtesy. Are you here to see Qingwen?"

Yuanyang nodded and said: "In reply to the princess, the old lady heard that Qingwen was not in good health and wanted to eat ginseng soup. She was very worried and asked me to bring the ginseng that the Duke of Guo brought from Liaodong last year."

As he spoke, he opened the box, and it was indeed the old ginseng that Jia Cong gave to Jia Mu that day. It was more than a foot long, with all hands and feet. It was in human form and had been heated for at least two to three hundred years.

Ruyi waved her hand and ordered others to accept it, and sighed: "Go back and tell the old lady that I accept her love and thank her for her heart."

"Yes." Yuanyang hesitated for a moment and then said, "I don't know how Qingwen is doing now. I dare to take a look at her. I would like to go back to appease the old lady. Please give her permission."

Ruyi said: "We'll look at it later. Your prince is inside now."

Yuanyang said happily: "The Duke has gone home?"

Everyone nodded.

Just as he was talking, he suddenly saw the fortune teller come in with a post, walked to Wang Xifeng, and said: "Grandma, the concierge said that a poor Mr. Ye came to visit the Duke of Guo with a post, do you think?"

Now Wang Xifeng is not only in charge of the business of Shenxian Liquor House, but also helps Daiyu with the housework. The limelight is 100% greater than that of Rongguofu. He glanced sideways at the "shoddy" famous post and scolded: "Mr. Ye, Mr. Hua" , I didn’t see that the house was busy, so I went to send it off.”

"Yes."

Daiyu was listening next to her, her heart moved, and she hurriedly said: "Wait a minute."

Just as the fortune-teller was about to leave, he turned around and said, "Please give me your instructions, madam."

"Bring the post to me."

"Yes." The fortune teller hurriedly submitted the post.

Daiyu took the name card, which was written on ordinary hard red paper and ink, and saw that it said "Ye Guitian, a late-born scholar from Wu County, pays my sincere respect", and couldn't help but let out an "Ah" sound.

The girls were surprised and happy to see her, and asked why. (End of chapter)