The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 564: The Flowers Dispersed
Mrs. Xing was greedy and stingy. Her eyes lit up when she heard this and she almost jumped with joy. What a windfall! Lin Ruhai's inheritance was worth at least 200,000 taels, or even 300,000 taels. It was such a huge fortune, but Lin Daiyu was willing to give it all up for a maid named Ping'er. She must have been stupid because of reading too much, hehe!
"Then Miss Lin, please bring the land deed here quickly." Madam Xing said impatiently. She probably felt that she was being too explicit, so she covered it up by saying, "My aunt is not after the Lin family's money. I am just keeping it for you temporarily. When you get married, I will return it to you as a dowry to prevent you from being kidnapped or cheated by others when you are young and ignorant."

Xueyan rolled her eyes secretly and thought to herself, "I don't trust you. If the money falls into the hands of someone like you, I'm afraid there won't be a penny left!"

Lin Daiyu said calmly, "Aunt, please wait a moment. I will have someone send all the deeds to your room later."

Mrs. Xing rolled her eyes and did not expect Lin Daiyu to go back on her word, because if she did, she would have Ping'er tied up again. It would be better to pretend to be generous, so she smiled and said, "Okay." At the same time, she asked Wang Shanbao to leave.

As the saying goes, "Birds of a feather flock together." Wang Shanbao, the housekeeper, was also an extremely greedy person. He did not care about being beaten at this moment. He followed Madam Xing away happily, thinking about how to ask Madam Xing for some benefits. The Lin family's property was worth hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. Any little that slipped through Madam Xing's fingers would be enough for him to live a full life.

Seeing the eldest wife and Wang Shanbao's wife leave, the other girls couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. However, Ping'er was filled with anxiety. She held Lin Daiyu's hand and cried, "My dear girl, how can I thank you? For the sake of me, you gave all the property left by Master Lin to the eldest wife. What will you do in the future?"

Lin Daiyu shook her head and said calmly: "Money is just a thing outside of my body. I have never valued it. As long as you are all right, it's fine. When Brother Huan comes back in the future, I will also have an explanation to him."

When these words were spoken, the maids present were so moved that their eyes turned red. In the past, they all thought that Miss Lin was aloof and arrogant, looked down on ordinary people, and was not easy to get close to. But now they suddenly realized that although Lin Daiyu was a little cold in nature, she was actually a very kind-hearted person. She gave away hundreds of thousands of taels of wealth without any hesitation.

Jia Tanchun sighed, "Sister Lin, thank you very much. But given the greedy nature of the Master and the Madam, even if you offer all your wealth to them, it would only be like adding fuel to a fire and offering land to Qin. Today he's attracted to Yuanyang, tomorrow he's attracted to Ping'er, and the day after tomorrow he's attracted to someone else. When will it all end?"

When everyone heard this, a layer of gloom covered their hearts. Qingwen gritted her teeth and said, "Anyway, I'm not afraid. If you like me and want me to serve you, the worst that can happen is that I'll die."

The maids bowed their heads in silence. It is easy to kill oneself by colliding with one's head, but how many people have the courage to do so?

Jia Tanchun sighed, "Even ants try to survive, so don't talk about death casually. Just live well, and everything will be fine." After saying that, she walked out of the house.

Lin Daiyu glanced at Jia Tanchun's back and followed her out of the house silently. She saw Li Wan walking into the yard and hurriedly greeted her, "Sister-in-law (Grandma Zhu)!"

Li Wan must have rushed over after hearing the news. Seeing that Ping'er was fine, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes and she asked, "The eldest wife is gone?"

Jia Tanchun sneered, "You've got hundreds of thousands of taels, why don't you leave?"

"What do you mean hundreds of thousands of taels?" Li Wan asked curiously.

After Jia Tanchun explained briefly, Li Wan suddenly realized what was going on. She looked at Lin Daiyu deeply and said, "Miss Lin is really generous and charitable. Alas, when Huan'er is not around, all kinds of evil spirits have come out."

Jia Tanchun's heart was moved, and she asked, "Why is the elder sister-in-law so emotional? Did something happen?"

Li Wan said sadly, "I heard that Aunt You died. She committed suicide by swallowing gold in the middle of the night. The maid who served her in the morning called her for a long time but she didn't wake up. I thought she was sleeping too deeply. When I touched her, I found that she was hard. I don't know how long she has been dead."

The women were all shocked. The Aunt You that Li Wan mentioned was actually Jia Lian's new concubine, You Erjie. She had only been married for a short time when she swallowed gold and committed suicide.

Jia Tanchun sighed, "I had expected this. How could that powerful person tolerate her? I didn't expect that she couldn't bear it and took action just a few days after the Wang family came to power. How pitiful!"

Lin Daiyu couldn't help asking, "What should I do after my death?"

"Master Lian has no money, and that person refuses to give any. What else can he do? He will just be rolled up in a mat and buried hastily outside the city." Li Wan's maid Suyun interrupted. As a maid, she felt a little sad.

"Second Brother Lian is also pitiful, having to deal with such a person... Well, let's not talk about this. He can't even take care of himself now." Jia Tanchun shook her head.

Li Wan pondered and said, "For Lan'er's studies, I plan to move out of the garden. I'd like to tell the girls about this."

"Where is your sister-in-law planning to move to? Have you told the old lady yet?" Jia Tanchun asked hurriedly.

"Lan'er is going to study at Jianming Academy, which is quite far from home. In order to let him study with peace of mind, I plan to rent a small house nearby so that he can study with me. The old lady has agreed." Li Wan said.

Jia Tanchun smiled bitterly and said, "Okay, we've all moved out. If I were a man, I'd move out too. Out of sight, out of mind."

As soon as she finished speaking, a maid ran over in a panic. It was Ruhua, Jia Xichun's personal maid. "Grandma Zhu, Third Miss, Miss Lin, please persuade our girl. She is threatening to shave her head and become a nun." Ruhua cried.

Jia Tanchun stamped her feet and sighed, "This is not the first or second time that the fourth girl has been making such a fuss. In her current situation, perhaps it would be a good thing for her to become a nun. Let's just leave her alone." After saying this, she left, completely abandoning her concern.

"Forget it, I'll go and persuade her." Li Wan sighed and followed Ruhua to Nuanxiangwu, but found that Jia Xichun had already cut her long black hair with scissors.

When Jia Zhen's wife, Youshi, and Mrs. Wang received the news, they rushed to dissuade her, and finally even Grandmother Jia came out. But Jia Xichun was obviously determined and insisted on becoming a nun, no matter what. Everyone had no choice but to agree to let her go to Shuiyue Temple to practice Buddhism temporarily with her hair uncut.

Having achieved her goal, Jia Xichun stopped making a fuss and packed up her things and left that day, going out of the city to Shuiyue Temple without saying goodbye to Lin Daiyu and the others. She was as cold and aloof as ever.

As a result, after Baochai and Baoqin left, Jia Xichun also moved out, and Li Wan would move out soon. As for Shi Xiangyun, she had been taken back by someone sent by the Shi family a few days ago. Now the brothers Shi Ding and Shi Nai not only have their titles restored, but they have also been promoted to higher positions and hold military power, and are much more powerful than before.

With the departure of all the flowers and the absence of Jia Huan, the once bustling Grand View Garden became desolate and lonely. It is true that after the spring has passed, all the flowers have faded, and each must find its own way.

Mrs. Xing was so happy when she received the land deeds sent by Lin Daiyu that she immediately reported the good news to Jia She.

Jia She, the old unruly man, was naturally extremely happy to have made a huge unexpected fortune. He put Ping'er aside for the time being and spent one thousand taels of silver to have someone buy two beauties from the Jiaosifang. He kept them in his private room and doted on them, indulging himself in luxury, debauchery and pleasure.

…………

The situation was tense during this period, and Xue Baochai stayed at home and did not go out to take care of the business. She only read and wrote, did needlework, or chatted with her mother. Fortunately, her cousin Xue Ke had already gone to Beijing, and all business matters were left to him. As for her eldest brother Xue Pan, he seemed to have returned to his old ways. He ran out all day and came back drunk at night. There was no cure for him!
One day, Baochai, Baoqin and Aunt Xue were chatting in the hall when Xue Pan, wearing an official uniform and with a sword hanging from his waist, walked in with his chest puffed out and his belly protruding, looking very proud. If he had a tail, it would have been erected.

"Mom, sisters, look at how majestic my brother looks now." Xue Pan was very proud. He patted his chest and even drew out his sword to perform some sword dance.

Aunt Xue was surprised and asked hurriedly, "Pan'er, where did you get all this attire? Are you going to perform in an opera?"

Xue Pan rolled his eyes and said, "Look at what mom said, what drama? This is a genuine official uniform. I am the commander of the Five Cities Military Department, and I am a sixth-rank official."

Aunt Xue stood up quickly, took her son's hand and looked around, and said in surprise and joy: "I am not dreaming, Pan'er, you really became an official? And the commander of the Five Cities Army, how did you become one?"

Xue Pan said proudly: "How could it be fake? This is the appointment document issued by the Ministry of War, written in black and white, with the seals of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War." After saying this, he calmly took out a document.

Aunt Xue took it and looked at it. She could not read, so she quickly handed the document to Xue Baochai and said, "Bao girl, please check whether it is true, so that your elder brother won't play tricks on you."

Xue Baochai took it, looked at it, and nodded, saying, "It is indeed true."

Xue Pan chuckled and said, "Look, mom should believe it now, right? Hehe, Third Huan won the first place in the imperial examination and was appointed a sixth-rank Hanlin editor. I, Master Pan, am also a sixth-rank official now, not lower than him. Let's see how arrogant he is!"

Xue Baoqin said with a smile: "Although I don't know how big brother became the commander of the Five Cities Military Department, but compared with the sixth-rank military and the sixth-rank civil, although the rank is the same, the status is actually very different, not to mention that brother Huan is a noble sixth-rank Hanlin editor. In terms of future prospects, there is no comparison at all."

Xue Pan curled his lips and said, "Who cares? We are all sixth-rank officials anyway. Moreover, Huan Lao San has become a stray dog ​​now. His position as a Hanlin editor has been revoked. He deserves it. How dare you bully my sister? Pah!"

When these words came out, Chai Qin and the other two girls frowned. Aunt Xue hit Xue Pan and scolded him, "What nonsense are you talking about? Tell the truth. How did you get this position? Did you buy it?"

Xue Pan laughed and said, "It did cost me some money, but not much, just a few thousand taels. Now my uncle (Wang Ziteng) has been reinstated, and he is the highest-ranking official in the Ministry of War. Every day, people come to his door to curry favor with him, and the door is trampled flat. Hehe, I just invited a few powerful officials to have a few drinks, and I got the position of commander of the East City Military Department. They didn't want the money even though I gave them money. If I hadn't forced them to pay a few thousand taels, I wouldn't have to spend a penny."

Aunt Xue suddenly realized: "No wonder you came back drunk every day these days. You actually invited people to drink. It turns out you have become more capable."

Xue Pan said proudly: "I will let Huan Lao San know that Master Pan can also make a name for himself."

Xue Baochai's beautiful eyebrows furrowed even deeper, and she shook her head and advised, "Brother, you should resign your official position!"

(End of this chapter)