Corrupt official in the Red Chamber

Chapter 317
On this day, an invitation was sent from the Marquis of Jinxiang Mansion, inviting Xue Baochai to a banquet. It turned out that Xue Baochai was the eldest son of the Marquis of Jinxiang, and had been sent away to serve as an official. The Marquis of Jinxiang always loved his eldest son, so he invited Xue Baochai, who was an acquaintance of his. Officials, there was a lot of fun together.

It's a pity that Jia Rui doesn't have much contact with the Jinxiang Hou Mansion. In addition, he is the chief minister of the dynasty and is so busy every day that he has no time to go to the banquet.

Therefore, he asked Xue Baochai to go to Jinxiang Hou Mansion on his behalf.

That day, Xue Baochai arrived at the Jinxiang Hou Mansion in an eight-carry sedan, surrounded by three or four personal maids, five or six women, and a dozen young men.

Marquis Jinxiang's wife personally greeted him at the side door.

When she saw Xue Baochai's sedan stopped, she went over and opened the sedan curtain herself without leaving the door.

Xue Baochai poked his head out and saw a woman wearing the rank of a marquise standing next to his sedan chair. He immediately knew that this was the Marquis of Jinxiang's wife.

Xue Baochai quickly got out of the sedan and wished the woman a blessing.

The woman quickly returned the gift, and then said with a smile: "Why are we sisters so polite?"

Ying'er, who was next to Xue Baochai, glanced at the woman and laughed a little. It turned out that the woman was already over fifty years old and could already be Xue Baochai's mother.

"Madam personally greeted her, Baochai was flattered." Xue Baochai replied with a smile.

Then, Mrs. Jinxiang Hou took Xue Baochai's hand and went inside.

Arriving at the back hall of Jinxiang Hou Mansion, Xue Baochai saw that seven or eight ladies were already sitting here.

Among them was Mrs. Wang of Rongguo Mansion.

Mrs. Wang’s current status is quite extraordinary.

She represents the Rongguo Mansion, and her husband is the governor of Hainan, so she is considered a moderate figure in the court.

So her seat is very forward.

Xue Baochai first came to Mrs. Wang and said a thousand blessings. Mrs. Wang quickly stood up and helped Xue Baochai up. The two chatted for a few words, and then Xue Baochai was moved to the top by Mrs. Jinxiang Hou.

After that, four or five more ladies came, but because of their status, they all stayed with me.

Mrs. Jinxiang Hou was very good at giving speeches. She sat on top and kept harmonizing the atmosphere, so these noble ladies slowly became closer to each other, and the entire back hall changed from being quiet at first to chattering. .

I don't know when Mrs. Wang actually sat next to Xue Baochai.

At this time, Mrs. Wang was holding Xue Baochai's hand and complaining to her.

"You don't know how difficult our family is. Now the flower pond in the Grand View Garden and the grasslands everywhere have been rented out."

"That's not all. The servants are now starting to have their monthly payments reduced. We just have to drive them all home. Don't you think this is a disgrace to the reputation of Rongguo Mansion?"

After hearing her complaint, Xue Baochai quickly inquired carefully, and then found out that Mrs. Wang had resigned from the position of housekeeper, and now the Rongguo Mansion was headed by Li Zhi, Jia Yingchun and Jia Tanchun.

Xue Baochai thought for a moment, and then felt like laughing in her heart.

Among these three people, Li Zhi is a good person and seldom offends others, while Jia Yingchun has a dull personality and is not able to do anything. I am afraid that the only one who can really manage the family is Jia Tanchun.

The current policy of Rongguo Mansion was probably proposed by Jia Tanchun.

Although it was funny in her heart, Xue Baochai was also a little frightened. She did not expect that Rongguo Mansion would be in such difficulty.

This is even more excessive than reducing the number of employees in the Baolinghou Mansion and letting Shi Xiangyun's ladies do needlework.

The Baolinhou Mansion just wants to save money, but the Rongguo Mansion has begun to increase revenue.

Mrs. Wang complained to Xue Baochai, and then continued: "The old lady has been talking about you these days. How about you and I go back to see the old lady today?"

Xue Baochai originally didn't want to go, but Mrs. Wang extended the invitation and she couldn't resist it, so she agreed.

After the noon banquet, everyone dispersed. Because Xue Baochai was of high status, Mrs. Marquis of Jinxiang personally sent Xue Baochai out of the Hou Mansion.

When they came outside, Xue Baochai and Mrs. Wang got into their sedan chairs and returned to Rongguo Mansion surrounded by a group of maids and guards.

They entered through the side door, then got off the sedan in front, changed to a small sedan, and were carried by two women into the second door and went straight to the old lady's Rongqing Hall.

The old lady had already received news that Xue Baochai was coming, so she ordered Yuanyang to greet him at the door of Rongqing Hall.

As soon as Xue Baochai's sedan stopped, Yuanyang stepped forward and personally opened the sedan curtain and helped Xue Baochai out.

"Grandma Rui, the old lady has been waiting for you for a long time." Yuanyang said.

Xue Baochai heard this and asked quickly: "Is the old lady's health and bones okay during this period?"

"Eating is delicious during this period, but my sleep is a little light, and I often wake up in the middle of the night." Yuanyang said.

"This is the problem as we get older, and our ancestors often can't sleep." Xue Baochai sighed.Then Yuanyang supported Xue Baochai, and Mrs. Wang accompanied them into Jia Mu's main hall.

When Jia Mu saw Xue Baochai come in, she immediately sat there and shouted: "Hurry up to me and let me see if you are fat or thin."

Yuanyang quickly helped Xue Baochai to come to Jia Mu. Jia Mu grabbed Xue Baochai's hand and looked up and down, then smiled and said to Mrs. Wang beside her:
"Looking at her rosy complexion, I just feel a little thinner."

Mrs. Wang smiled, and then replied: "I haven't seen this junior for a long time, and I always think that I have lost weight. In fact, when I looked at Baochai, I actually gained some weight."

The mandarin ducks on the side are complaining in their hearts. Xue Baochai is neither fat nor thin now. Is it ridiculous for you two to say this, one is not full and the other is too much?

After a few jokes, Xue Baochai sat next to Jia Mu and talked to him about some common things.

While talking, Jia Mu somehow brought the topic to Lin Daiyu.

"Daiyu's health has gotten worse this year. It's not because she had a cough some time ago, but it hasn't gotten better yet. It's really worrying." Mother Jia said worriedly.

After hearing this, Xue Baochai rolled his eyes and wanted to say something, but finally endured it.

Mrs. Wang on the side said somewhat casually: "Daiyu, this child has a weak body and bones. She played wildly with her sisters some time ago, and her old disease naturally relapsed. Isn't this strange?"

Jia Mu sat there and was silent for a long time. Finally, she forced a smile and said to Xue Baochai: "As I get older, I am always worried about the younger generation. Don't laugh at me."

"How dare you? The old lady cares about the younger generation. We people can't even envy her. How dare you make a joke."

Just when the atmosphere became harmonious again, an old woman hurriedly walked in from outside.

Jia Mu glanced at the old nanny, "You old man, didn't you see me talking to Baochai? Why did you come in here?"

When the old nun saw Jia Mu's face changed, she was also frightened. She quickly knelt down and said, "Back to the old lady, Aunt Zhao and Miss Tanchun are having a quarrel. No one can stop it, so I'm Just called the old lady, madam."

"What's going on?" Mrs. Wang asked quickly.

"In reply to my wife, it seems that Aunt Zhao's brother died. Aunt Zhao wanted Miss Tanchun to spend more money, but Miss Tanchun didn't agree, so the commotion started." The old mama replied cautiously.

After Xue Baochai sat there and listened, she felt that what the old woman said was minor. The real situation was that Aunt Zhao probably didn't know what she had scolded Jia Tanchun.

After hearing this, Jia Mu immediately slapped the table, turned to Mrs. Wang, and said to the old woman below:
"She is really ignorant. Tanchun crawled out of her intestines. Now she is also the master. How can she go to Tanchun's place to cause trouble?"

But Mrs. Wang's face immediately darkened. It turned out that she also heard that Jia Mu was criticizing Sang and Huai.

However, Mrs. Wang did not dare to contradict Jia Mu in front of outsiders.

Otherwise, if word of this spreads, she will be disobedient and unfilial, and Jia Zheng will have to write a letter immediately to divorce Mrs. Wang even though he is thousands of miles away.

Seeing the delicate atmosphere between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, Xue Baochai didn't want to get involved here, so she stood up and said, "Old lady, let me go over and take a look. Don't let them make too much noise and let outsiders laugh."

Jia Mu nodded, and Xue Baochai quickly saluted and went out.

After Xue Baochai left, Mrs. Wang stood up and wanted to say goodbye.

But Mother Jia stopped her, "I put in more than 1 taels of silver in the treasury a few days ago, but why was it short of 2000 taels in a few days?"

Mrs. Wang was startled, raised her head and glanced at Mother Jia, then quickly lowered her head and said, "There are a lot of social activities during this period, so I have spent some money."

Mother Jia was so angry that she slapped the bed, "Don't think that I am old and stupid. When I was in charge of this family, you were not married yet!"

Mrs. Wang was frightened and fell to her knees. "Old lady, calm down. To be honest, my brother has been having some difficulties outside during this time and moved 2000 taels to me."

Seeing that Mrs. Wang had told the truth, Jia Mu calmed down her anger and asked, "Didn't your brother go on tour around the world? What did he do with the money?"

Mrs. Wang smiled bitterly, and then said: "I heard from my sister-in-law that those border generals are all domineering. When my brother goes there, not to mention getting benefits from them, sometimes he has to serve wine for important events of the court. Invite them.”

Jia Mu was startled, "If they dare to do this, the court won't care?"

"My brother has submitted several memorials, but I don't know why the court never responded."

When Jia Mu heard this, her eyes began to roll around.

This is not a good sign.

The surrounding generals actually ignored the nine-sided inspection sent by the imperial court. What does this mean?
If the court's prestige hadn't declined, then it meant that someone in the court had greeted him, so everyone didn't take Wang Ziteng seriously.

But now the imperial court is at its peak, and those border generals are all the confidants of the Supreme Emperor.Naturally, there will be no disobedience to the court's orders.

Then the other one is that someone is going to take action against Wang Ziteng.

(End of this chapter)