Corrupt official in the Red Chamber

Chapter 444 Chicken Head and Cow Queen

"What are you doing? How can you let people see you?" Yuanyang pushed Jia Rui away.

Jia Rui didn't go too far, he just hugged the mandarin duck and said, "Have you missed me these days?"

There was a trace of blush on Yuanyang's face, and then he said in a voice that was almost inaudible: "I thought about it."

Jia Rui was very satisfied with getting the answer he wanted, and then he let go of Yuanyang and walked out side by side with him.

"What are you ladies going to do? Tell me everything."

"Our old lady is going to let Baoyu marry the Xiangyun girl as his equal wife."

Jia Rui started to frown when he heard this.

Before traveling to ancient times, Jia Rui always thought that three wives and four concubines meant three wives. But when he came to this world ruled by feudal ethics, Jia Rui realized that it was unusual.

The so-called three wives and four concubines have always been a folk saying, which is not recognized by the orthodox dynasty.

In the feudal dynasty, only monogamy and multiple concubines were recognized.

So what happened to the three wives and four concubines?

First let’s talk about the three wives. The three wives mean three wives.

The first of the "three wives" is the "legitimate wife", who is the first woman married by the man. The one with a higher status is often the first wife, but it is not ruled out that the male head of the family may make other favored women as the first wives. The other two are "partial wife" and "lower wife". "Partial wife" and "lower wife" are just wives in name, but not in reality.

In other words, among the "three wives", the first wife is the wife of the main wife; the two common wives assist the first wife and share the husband's tasks with the first wife.

The fourth concubine is a woman who is used to serve these three wives. Although she can sleep with her husband, her status is far inferior to that of the wife, and the status of the children she gives birth to is also very low.

Legally, no one has the legal status of a wife except the first wife.

It can be said that among the three wives, except for the legitimate wife, the others who are called wives are actually concubines.

On the surface, Jia Mu's arrangement took Shi Xiangyun's face into consideration, but in fact, it put Shi Xiangyun's identity on the ground.

In Jia Rui's opinion, it would be better to marry Shi Xiangyun to a commoner. In this case, Shi Xiangyun would still be at least a legitimate wife and there would be no need to look at other people's faces.

Coupled with the fact that he and Shi Xiangyun have some incestuous love and his help, Shi Xiangyun's life will not be too bad.

But if she becomes a concubine to Jia Baoyu, her life will be over. She will always have to be humble in front of Lin Daiyu, and she will never raise her head again.

Although I have some different opinions in my heart, after all, this is a matter related to the Rongguo Mansion. At most, I can provide some advice. I can't force the decision in the name of the clan leader. After all, there is Shi Xiangyun who is not from the Jia Mansion!

Therefore, in this matter, in the end, it largely depends on Shi Xiangyun's attitude. If Shi Xiangyun is resolute and does not want to be an equal wife to Jia Baoyu, then he can also speak out and give Shi Xiangyun the best result.

In the midst of this random thought, Jia Rui came to Rongguo Mansion.

At this time, the two masters of Rongguo Mansion, Jia She and Jia Zheng, also greeted Jia Rui at the side door.

When Jia Rui saw the two of them, he just nodded and walked inside first. The two of them quickly followed behind and arrived at Rongqing Hall.

When they entered the lobby, they saw Jia Mu sitting on the imperial concubine's couch in the middle with a frown on her face.

Mrs. Xing next to her had a smile on her lips and eyebrows, while Mrs. Wang's face was full of sorrow.

Even Wang Xifeng, who is usually very active, stood aside and said nothing at this time.

The atmosphere in the entire Rongqing Hall was very solid.

Jia Rui came in, and Jia Mu quickly asked people to sit down. Jia Rui bowed first, and then sat down with Jia She and Jia Zheng.

"Brother Rui, you also know about Baoyu and Xiangyun. After discussing it for a long time in our house, we finally have a result, so I want to tell you, the clan leader." Jia Mu sat on top and said in a hoarse tone.

Although Jia Rui had already received the news from Yuanyang, he still pretended not to know and asked: "Then I wonder how the Rongguo Mansion will arrange it?"

Mother Jia said: "The matter has come out. The most important thing now is to suppress this matter, so as not to cause trouble in the city and ruin the reputation of our Jia family."

After saying this, Jia Mu also took a peek at Jia Rui sitting there.

Jia Rui lowered his head and looked at his feet, as if he didn't care at all.

In fact, he had already begun to curse in his heart.

What Jia Baoyu did was such a bastard. No female guest would dare to associate with the Jia family from now on. It will be difficult for the boys of the Jia family to get wives in the future.

In fact, Jia Rui wanted to cut the knot quickly, so he simply let Jia Baoyu and Shi Xiangyun into the pig cage. This way he maintained the reputation of the Jia family and saved himself trouble.

But thinking about it, Jia Rui couldn't do anything to this poor girl Shi Xiangyun.

"Our government thinks that it makes sense to let Xiangyun be Baoyu's equal wife." Seeing Jia Rui's unresponsiveness, Jia's mother finally told the result of the Rongguo government's discussion.

Jia Rui looked up at Jia Mu, and then asked, "What's the attitude of Sister Xiangyun?"

Mother Jia didn't say anything, but Mrs.

Jia Rui glared at Mrs. Xing, who immediately felt the hairs on her body stand up.

Although Jia Rui is now the prime minister and has sole control of the court, he is still relatively harmonious to the Jia family, so no one feels Jia Rui's murderous intention. Jia Rui was really bored today. He unconsciously took on the majesty of his powerful minister and the murderous aura he brought on the battlefield.

Just for a moment, Mrs. Xing felt herself seeping into the ice cave. It was like a small animal encountering a natural enemy, hiding there and not daring to move at all.

"I think it would be better to ask Xiangyun. After all, this is a life-long event that concerns her, and she is a member of the Shi family no matter what. It is inappropriate for our Jia family to decide her future."

Jia Zheng nodded after hearing this, and then said in annoyance: "This is exactly the reason. A little girl cannot bear the consequences of my evil deeds that harm the family tradition."

After saying this, Jia Zheng was still angry. Then he glared at Mrs. Wang and said, "If you ask me, I'll beat her to death."

Jia Mu was not happy when she heard this, "Okay, you beat him to death, and we girls will go back to Jinling."

When Jia Zheng saw that Jia Mu was angry, he stood up and apologized.

Jia Mu then relaxed a little.

"Rui Geer means to discuss it with the historian, but is this the truth?"

Jia Rui nodded and said nothing more.

Jia's mother didn't feel any embarrassment about this. You must know that she was the eldest aunt of the Shi family. In addition, the Jia family was now at its peak. Her words were more effective than the imperial edict in the Shi family.

"Then it's settled. I'll ask my two nephews in two days."

But now her second nephew is working as an official outside, and only her third nephew is in Beijing. It may take some time to finalize this matter.

Seeing that the matter had been settled, Jia Rui stood up and left.

Jia Zheng and Jia She originally wanted to give it away, but Jia Rui postponed it and asked them to go back and talk to Jia Mu.

When Jia Zheng and Jia She saw that Jia Rui was very determined, they stopped disobeying him and sent him to the gate of Rongqing Hall. They watched Jia Rui leave before returning to Rongqing Hall to continue discussing follow-up matters with Jia's mother.

Jia Rui walked slowly along the verandah. When he turned a corner, he saw Shi Xiangyun's maid Cui Lu.

As soon as he saw Cuixi, Jia Rui knew that Shi Xiangyun had something to say to him.

Sure enough, Cuixi stepped forward and gave Jia Rui a blessing before saying in a low voice: "We girls, please go to the front and talk to Mr. Rui."

Jia Rui nodded, followed her around the verandah, and stopped at a rockery.

Turning around the rockery, I saw Shi Xiangyun standing there.

When Shi Xiangyun saw Jia Rui coming, he hurried up and said Wanfu first, and then stepped aside with his head lowered.

"Sister Xiangyun, do you have anything to say?"

Shi Xiangyun looked up at Jia Rui, then quickly lowered his head and said, "How did they discuss my future?"

Jia Rui looked at Shi Xiangyun in front of him and felt a little pity in his heart. Shi Xiangyun used to be such a carefree girl with a cheerful personality. Looking at her current appearance, she is worrying about gains and losses, and her face is full of sorrow, which makes people feel distressed.

"They want you to be Baoyu's equal wife. What do you think?"

There was a hint of blush on Shi Xiangyun's face, but she lowered her head and said, "I would rather be a chicken head than a cow queen."

Jia Rui didn't say much, he understood what Shi Xiangyun meant.

Shi Xiangyun had a good relationship with Lin Daiyu before, but now he suddenly became Lin Daiyu's concubine. Shi Xiangyun could not accept it psychologically and physically.

After all, when it comes to identity, Shi Xiangyun's father is a marquis. Although Lin Daiyu is said to be from the family of the fifth marquis, Lin Ruhai no longer has a title in her generation and can only be born in the imperial examination.

Therefore, in terms of status alone, Shi Xiangyun is better than Gao Lin Daiyu.

In this ancient world where matching was important, Shi Xiangyun served Lin Daiyu as the daughter of a marquis. This not only made Shi Xiangyun feel uncomfortable, but also insulted Shi Xiangyun's parents who had passed away.

Jia Rui was very satisfied with the girl in front of him. She was indeed one of the Twelve Beauties of Jinling. She was so smart and perceptive that ordinary women could not have it.

"In that case, you refute them. As for your future, I will arrange for you to be a poor boy with a Jinshi background. I think with my help, your life will not be too bad." Because I admire this girl, so Jia Rui made an exception and made a promise.

Shi Xiangyun nodded, then knelt down to kowtow to Jia Rui.

Jia Rui quickly stepped forward to help.

Just so inadvertently, Shi Xiangyun and Jia Rui bumped into each other. Shi Xiangyun quickly shrank back as if he was electrocuted, while Jia Rui also felt a little rude and took a step back.

The scene was a bit awkward, but Jia Rui managed to bring the topic back to a close.

"In this case, I will send someone to send a message to your two uncles and ask them to refuse the Rongguo Mansion. Afterwards, they will entrust me with your marriage and I will arrange it for you."

Shi Xiangyun nodded and said nothing more, but Jia Rui could see deep gratitude and admiration in his eyes.

(End of this chapter)