The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Chapter 815: Mind-attacking Scheme

Although he had already agreed to most of it in his heart, Jia Lian still pretended to be reserved and said, "The old lady's suggestion is good, but..."

“My original idea was to build enough houses in the front yard of the new house for my personal soldiers to live in, and to build a martial arts field and a royal horse path for the personal soldiers to use for daily training.

If we follow what the old lady said, the house and space in the east wing are barely enough, but our wife still lives here after all. If the soldiers train like this every day, I am afraid that my wife will be disturbed. "

Jia Mu and the others frowned, then Jia Mu glanced at the map and said generously: "What's the big deal, just change the place for your wife.

It just so happens that you have moved into the garden, so your yard is now vacant, why not give it to her to live in."

As I said, it doesn’t matter where Mrs. Xing lives.
When Grandmother Jia was thinking about this matter, she didn't think about Mrs. Xing's thoughts at all, otherwise she wouldn't have not invited her to the scene.

Jia Lian seemed to hesitate when he heard this, but he finally gritted his teeth and said, "Since the old ancestor and elder sister have considered me so carefully, it would be hypocritical if I still disagree.

In this case, let’s do as our ancestors wish.”

After Jia Lian said this, Jia Mu and the other two all relaxed.

Among them, Mrs. Wang also looked at Jia Lian deeply.

She could see that Jia Lian disliked the fact that Mrs. Xing lived in the east wing and was in the way, and wanted to move her out but was unable to ask for it, so he used Lady Jia's words to make this happen.

In this way, the East Courtyard, which is connected to such a large area as the Grand View Garden, can be completely at his disposal.

The goal was achieved. Grandmother Jia could not help but say to Jia Lian with some resentment: "I have said it before, as long as the family is willing to discuss, there is nothing that cannot be solved. But you are stubborn and self-willed. You only follow your own ideas and never consider the feelings of the family."

Hearing the resentment in Grandmother Jia's voice, Jia Lian smiled and said, "What the grandpa taught me is that this matter is indeed a matter of inconsideration on the part of your grandson. I did not expect that the old lady is so wise that she could come up with such a compromise and appropriate solution."

Hearing Jia Lian say this, Grandmother Jia burst into laughter.

After thinking for a while, she continued, "Since you also think this method is appropriate, then after you go down, you should renovate your territory according to what we discussed today. As for your eldest wife, you don't have to worry about it. I will explain it to her clearly."

"Thank you very much for your trouble, old ancestor."

"Don't thank me yet, I have something important to ask you."

Seeing Jia Lian and the other two looking over, Jia's mother asked solemnly, "Let me ask you, did you just want a big enough territory to rule over, or did you want to take this opportunity to draw a clear line between you and us?"

Jia Lian raised his eyebrows and said with a smile: "What are you talking about, old lady? Of course it's the former."

Grandmother Jia looked at him with sharp eyes, and after a long while she said, "If that's the case, then I'm relieved.

This time, you two can just consider yourself to be living in a new place. Everything at home remains the same as before.

The economy and population of both sides were unified into the official branch.

The specific matters at home should be left to Feng Yatou to take care of. What do you think?"

Jia Lian's expression changed. It was obvious that Grandmother Jia wanted to keep the family united and was very afraid that he would go out on his own.

"My grandson is willing to follow the old lady's wishes."

Grandmother Jia nodded and turned her gaze to Sister Feng and Mrs. Wang.

Mrs. Wang smiled and said, "What the old lady said is right. It should be so."

Feng Jie rolled her eyes and smiled, "The old lady is so kind to me, and I am willing to take on the heavy responsibility. I am just worried that my ability is limited, and it will be difficult to take care of the bigger plate at home in the future."

Let me make it clear first, if anything goes wrong, the old lady and the ladies will have to bear the brunt of it!"

Naturally, Grandmother Jia was already accustomed to Sister Feng's constant flattery and cuteness. She tapped her forehead, ignored her, and turned around to sit back on the high couch.

When Feng Jieer saw Jia Lian sitting back down, she walked over to him and poked him with her elbow.

Jia Lian raised his head and looked at her in confusion.

Sister Feng lowered her voice and said, "I have no objection to you moving the eldest wife out of the East Cross Courtyard, but can you give her another place?

I am a little reluctant to leave my yard..."

Feng Jieer didn't originally think much about changing territory.

She had managed that yard for so many years, especially the expansion of the flower hall and bathroom at the back, she had already developed feelings for it.

Jia Lian saw what his wife was thinking and whispered back, "What's there to be reluctant about? We are moving into the main hall in the garden this time. That was originally where the imperial concubine lived. How can it not be better than this small courtyard now?
Apart from anything else, you forgot the bathing pool in the Hanfang Pavilion to the west, which is several times larger than the current one. And the whole pool is made of white jade, which is totally different from the previous one. "

When Feng Jieer heard what Jia Lian said, she remembered that when Yuanchun came back to visit her parents last year, she took a bath in Hanfang Pavilion. She was so envious at that time.

Although she was looking forward to moving into the main building of the Grand View Garden, she was still reluctant to give her current courtyard to Mrs. Xing.

"It's not necessarily a good idea to use it too big. How much water will be wasted each time it is used? And if it's winter, I don't know how much firewood will be wasted!
Please, don't give this yard to the first wife.

Even if you don't need it, I will have to come to the mansion to manage things in the future, so I need a place to stay, right? I just want to stay here now, so just agree to it."

In order to protect her own courtyard, Feng Jieer was so desperate that she even hugged Jia Lian's arm and acted coquettishly.

Fortunately, her movements were discreet and her voice was low enough that others could only see that she was plotting something with Jia Lian, but they didn't know the details.

Jia Lian felt that it would be a good idea to move Madam Xing to the courtyard where they lived now according to Lady Jia's wishes. After all, this was where they had lived when they were the Marquis and his wife. It would not be considered as treating Madam Xing harshly, and doing so would not be criticized.

But it was difficult for Jia Lian to refuse his wife, so he just said, "Well, even if we want to move into the garden, it will take more than one or two days. There is still a long time. We can talk about these things slowly after we get home."

After hearing this, Feng Jieer did not insist any more. She glanced at Lady Jia and Lady Wang who were looking at them meaningfully, and quietly stepped back.

Seeing this, Mrs. Wang suddenly said, "Since the queen has given you the garden and you are going to move in, then it is not suitable for Zhu'er and Baoyu to live in the garden anymore.

I mean, move them all out and resettle them..."

Before Mrs. Wang finished speaking, Grandmother Jia frowned.

As someone who dotes on Jia Baoyu unconditionally, Grandmother Jia knows very well how much Jia Baoyu wants to stay in the Grand View Garden.

When he was asked to move out because of Daiyu's incident, he almost had hysteria because of it...

All in all, Grandmother Jia was unwilling to let her precious grandson suffer.

But she also knew that what Mrs. Wang said was not just random talk, but had some truth to it.

So she turned her gaze to Jia Lian.

Jia Lian smiled and said, "Madam, there is no need to do this. We are only dividing the territory, not splitting up the family.

Since they are all family, what difference does it make where my sister-in-law and Baoyu live?
Anyway, there are many pavilions in the garden, so Daoxiang Village and Yihongyuan are not a big deal.

Besides, there are so many maids in the garden who need the eldest sister-in-law to take care of and manage them. I'm afraid Feng doesn't have the energy to take care of this matter, and she doesn't have the patience."

Jia Lian was indifferent as to whether Jia Baoyu should be moved out or not. As he said before, Jia Baoyu was a harmless person and keeping him in the garden would not cause him any big trouble.

The key point is, if Jia Baoyu is driven out, he will have no reason to keep Li Wan!

He is not the kind of irresponsible person who would play with Miss Li Wan and then turn around and deny it.

No one else knew what Jia Lian was thinking. When Feng Jieer heard Jia Lian say that she was impatient, she rolled her eyes.

But she didn't respond. She knew very well that she really didn't have the patience to take care of those sisters-in-law who were either delicate, naughty, or mischievous.

But when Grandmother Jia heard what Jia Lian said, she was very happy.

"He is right. Since they are a family, why should we divide them so clearly? In my opinion, let them all live inside for the time being. When Baoyu and the others grow up in a few years, it will not be too late to move out together." Jia Mu's meaning was very simple. When the little ones in the garden grow up, those who should get married will get married, and then they can move out.

She did this not just for Jia Baoyu.

She knew that Jia Lian cherished his brothers and sisters very much. She wanted to firmly bind the relationship between the Jia family and Jia Lian, and she wished that her grandchildren would be closer to Jia Lian and deepen their feelings.

Since Lady Jia and Jia Lian both had such attitudes, Mrs. Wang naturally didn't say anything more. She was only mentioning it out of courtesy.

After the important matters were settled, Jia Lian did not stay in Rongqing Hall for long. After all, he still needed to cancel the original plan to avoid letting others do useless work.

Fortunately, the new house plan has just been implemented, so we just need to send a few people to announce it.

After he finished explaining everything, he went home and Feng Jieer was already waiting for him.

It is still about the future ownership of this courtyard.

Jia Lian tried to persuade her, "Why not give it to her? After all, she is my legal mother in name only. If she had not occupied the back half of the east wing, it would have been inconvenient for me to do things in the future, and I would not have moved her out."

You also know that she is not a person with insight and does not know when to advance or retreat. If she is unwilling to move, and then she loses her face and makes a fuss, it will be a disgrace to both of us.

If we give her our current yard, I think she will be willing. Even if she is unwilling, others will not think that we are treating her harshly.

I guess the old lady also had this in mind before making this decision."

What Jia Lian said made a lot of sense, and Feng Jieer understood it.

But she just didn't want to.

If Mrs. Xing was Jia Lian's biological mother, she would not be so stingy for her husband.

Or maybe Mrs. Xing was a wise elder worthy of respect, so she just endured it.

But it is none of these.

She felt uncomfortable when she thought that the home she had carefully designed and decorated for many years would belong to an inferior person like Mrs. Xing in the future.

Seeing that neither acting coquettishly nor reasoning could convince Jia Lian, she moved her eyebrows and came up with a plan.

Turning around and sitting on the couch, Sister Feng changed her anxious look and said with a smile: "Actually, if you insist on giving it to her, it's nothing to me, it's just a yard.

Just like you said, how is the main hall in the garden not better than here?

I am only thinking about you and all the girls in your house."

Not only did Feng Jie'er's words make Jia Lian frown slightly, but the "Yingying and Yanyan" standing next to him also looked at him in confusion.

Facing everyone's scrutiny, Sister Feng's cheeks turned slightly red, and then she pretended to be annoyed and explained:

"Don't you think about how many times you have favored them in this yard over the years?

Not to mention the distant past, Ping'er, Qingwen, Xiangling, etc., which one of them was not taken away by you in this courtyard?"

Feng Jieer didn't know that Xiangling was actually taken away by Jia Lian in Suzhou. She just suddenly discovered that Xiangling had served him in the bedroom in a proper way, and thought that Jia Lian had done it quietly in this yard.

She didn't even know that the three people she listed were actually all the people Jia Lian had accepted in this courtyard.

In her eyes, more than half of the 40 or so maids on duty in the yard were good-looking. Given Jia Lian's character, how could he not have some affairs when he had time?

It’s just that she was not as favored as Qingwen, so she was not exposed and discovered by her.

How could she know that although Jia Lian was not completely harmless to the other maids, he was only using some strange and lewd tricks on them.

Without further ado, Ping'er and the other two, who were originally just watching the show, blushed when they heard Fengjie'er's bold remarks.

Feeling ashamed and embarrassed, he suddenly decided to stand on Sister Feng's side and cast a "pressure" look at Jia Lian.

Jia Lian frowned deeply, he began to understand Feng Jieer's point of view.

As expected, seeing that it was really effective, Sister Feng struck while the iron was hot and said, "There is also the bathhouse behind the flower hall. Don't think I don't know what you usually do in there...

If you really give this place to the first wife, she will definitely use the bathroom..."

"All right."

Jia Lian suddenly interrupted Feng Jieer, sat up and said, "You win, no need to say anything."

Jia Lian bent down and lifted up Feng Jieer's beautiful face, pinched her chin, and said with a half-smile: "Not bad, you have improved again. You know how to use psychological tactics to attack my husband."

Feng Jieer broke free from Jia Lian's control and snorted, "No, I learned all this from the Duke."

Jia Lian nodded, admitting that he was persuaded by Sister Feng. He felt a little uncomfortable when he thought of Mrs. Xing's faded and deformed body wandering around the yard all day, lying where he had lain and bathing in the same bath as he had bathed.

So I started thinking.

If this courtyard is not given to Madam Xing, it seems that there is really no suitable place to accommodate her in this mansion.

You know, when the Grand View Garden was built, a large piece of meat was cut from the Rongguo Mansion.

Now he wanted to merge the entire East Road of Rongguo Mansion, including the East Courtyard, and the Grand View Garden into his new residence, which was equivalent to cutting off another one-third of the remaining land of Rongguo Mansion.

As a result, the Rongguo Mansion’s territory was already not very large, and it was occupied by two behemoths, Rongxitang and Rongqingtang!

It is indeed not easy to find a suitable place to accommodate Mrs. Xing from the remaining corners.

Fengjie knew what Jia Lian was thinking, so she asked tentatively, "Why not move the courtyard where my eldest sister-in-law used to live..."

Jia Lian shook his head: "It's not appropriate. Let's not talk about whether the eldest sister-in-law will move back in the future. It doesn't make sense from a legal point of view. Besides, the eldest sister-in-law usually teaches Lan'er in that courtyard."

"Then why not go to the three rooms next to the back corner door of Rong Xi Tang, where Yingchun's three maids lived?"

Jia Lian said: "The house is a little small..."

"It's a little small if it's alone, but if the three rooms are connected, wouldn't it be big enough?"

Seeing that Jia Lian was still considering it, Sister Feng smiled and said, "Don't worry, if you still feel it's not enough, at most we can spend a little more money to tidy up the place and make it more luxurious, right?"

After hearing what Sister Feng said, Jia Lian, who couldn't find a better solution for the time being, could only nod and agree.

Feng Jieer became very happy and began to plan her funeral in her mind.

She was not worried that Grandmother Jia would disagree. After all, how to settle Mrs. Xing was their family's business. Since Jia Lian's background was exposed, Grandmother Jia actually had no legal constraints on their first wife.

"So, should the money for cleaning up the place come from the government or should we pay for it ourselves?"

"It doesn't matter. It depends on your mood."

At this point, the money in the Rongguo Mansion’s official treasury is no different from Jia Lian’s money.

With the little land rent from Rongguo Mansion every year, how many major things can they accomplish?

Especially when Yuanchun came home to visit her parents, she almost emptied the Rongguo Mansion's assets. The money he spent out of his own pocket to fill the Rongguo Mansion's official treasury was probably no less than 100,000 yuan.

If Mrs. Wang dared to object to something as small as renovating a house for Mrs. Xing, then he really wouldn't mind living separately from the second wife.

And it is obvious that under Jia Lian's attitude, Feng Jieer would definitely choose to use the official money to do the job.

She is rich, but she won't spend money on irrelevant people.