Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Suzhou, Xichang Gate.

Four carriages, escorted by many famous cavalry guards, left Gusu City and headed towards Yangzhou.

After Jia Cong settled Zou Min'er, he took Lingguan to Panxiang Temple, picked up Zhishao and Miaoyu, and returned to the capital together.

Zhishao lived in Panxiang Temple for nearly two months, worrying about Jia Cong day and night. She finally waited for him to come back, and he could bring his master and sisters with him. She was very satisfied and had no other requests.

When we arrived at Panxiang Temple, we learned that Xing Xiuyan and her family had received a letter from Madam Xing and were also planning to settle down in the capital.

Although Jia Cong was a little surprised, Zhishao and Xing Xiuyun got along well with each other. Jia Cong admired Xing Xiuyun's indifference and elegance, so he took their family with him.

When Xing Zhong and his wife saw Jia Cong's handsome appearance and the majesty of being surrounded by cavalry guards, their eyes lit up and they were so happy that they were a little dizzy.

Jia Cong frowned slightly at the strange expressions of Xing Zhong and his wife, but he didn't take it too seriously.

Mrs. Xing mentioned that matter in her letter, but there was no time to arrange a matchmaker. Mr. and Mrs. Xing Zhong were also worldly-wise and shrewd enough, so they naturally would not say a word to Jia Cong.

But when he saw Zhishao and Lingguan surrounding Jia Cong, each of them beautiful and pretty, dazzling the eyes, he secretly began to worry about his own daughter.

Compared to her parents' high aspirations and smug joy, Xing Xiuyan was not optimistic at all.

Whenever she saw the handsome and elegant Jia Cong, her face would often blush, but her heart was uneasy. It was a long journey, and she felt like she was just running towards a fragile dream.

……

Shenjing, Rongguo Mansion, Rongqing Hall
Rongqing Hall is the most leaky wall in the Jia Mansion. What is said in the hall can never be hidden in the Jia family.

That day, Grandmother Jia mentioned Jia Cong's marriage to Jia Zheng in the hall, and said something like there would be some progress in the next few days.

In less than half a day, the news was passed on to the East Courtyard by the God of Ears.

When Jia She heard the news, he naturally became furious.

As a father, I have the right to say something about my son's marriage.

Why did the old lady only discuss things with his brothers, and he, her own father, became a decoration? He was so angry that he smashed all the jars and pots in the room.

After hearing this, Mrs. Xing felt that she was indeed foresighted. Seeing that the boy was becoming more and more successful, she had already mentioned the matter of arranging a marriage for her niece Xiu Yan.

She just felt that everyone in the world was the same as her, and must have set their eyes on the gold, silver and power of the Earl's Mansion in the east. The old lady must have also seen this and actually wanted to fill the hole.

Madam Xing thought that she had been suppressed in the East Courtyard for half her life, and now that evil beast raised by a whore had suddenly become rich, and as his biological mother, it was only natural for her to take advantage of it, and she should take it.

Mrs. Xing asked the maid to clean up the broken porcelain pieces on the floor, and personally brought a cup of ginseng tea to Jia She, so that her master could calm down his temper.

"Master, there is no need to be so angry. I heard someone spread the word that the second master happened to come to Rongqing Hall to discuss something that day, and the old lady also mentioned Cong'er's marriage.

If the master gets furious about this and sends word to the West Palace, it would make us look weak.

Master, you just need to remember that you are Cong'er's biological father. It is natural for a father to decide on his son's marriage. It is not right for a grandmother to make the decision and the father has no say.

Now that the old lady has brought up this topic, the master must hurry up and tell her about Xiuyan, otherwise it would be inappropriate for the master to talk to the old lady after she has found someone else."

When Jia She heard what Mrs. Xing said, he felt that it made a lot of sense. He was the beast's biological father. Since ancient times, the father has been the leader of the son. In terms of filial piety and etiquette, the father comes before the grandmother.

She didn't make her son's lifelong decision, and he listened to his grandmother instead of his father. As long as she spoke up earlier, she would have already chosen a daughter's family for the boy, and the old lady would not be able to refute her.

Thinking of this, his spirit immediately returned, and he felt that this matter would surely go as he wished, as long as the boy married his wife's niece, he would be inferior to him and his wife from then on.

With such a companion by his side, he no longer had any reason to stay away from her and enjoy the wealth of the Earl's Mansion alone.

As long as this marriage is completed, after a period of time, his wife's niece will give birth to another boy or girl.

The two sides are no longer clearly involved. With the status of his wife, stepmother and aunt there, he will inevitably be involved in a lot of the gold, silver and power of the Earl's Mansion.

As a father, I gave birth to that beast. It was a great blessing from God that it was only natural for me to take some benefits from him!

As Jia She thought about this, he felt more and more that this matter would definitely be successful. He became ambitious and could not wait to strike while the iron was hot.

So she asked Madam Xing to go first and wait and see when the old lady would enter Rongqing Hall, or it would be convenient for her to talk. After all, there were too many people coming in and out of Rongqing Hall, and they could not talk all the time.

When his wife found an opportunity, he went over and made things clear to the old lady.

……

The East Courtyard where Jia She lived was an independent house separated from the old garden of Rongguo Mansion, and there was no side door leading directly to Rongguo Mansion.

After receiving Jia She's instructions, Mrs. Xing took her maids and servants out of the black oil-painted gate of the east courtyard and took a carriage westward along Ningrong Street.

After walking an arrow's distance, he passed the main gate of Rongguo Mansion, entered from the west corner gate, got off the carriage and walked another arrow's distance inside, and arrived at the hanging flower gate of the inner courtyard.

Just then, Wang Xifeng came back from the second gate and she quickly bowed to Mrs. Xing.

Although Mrs. Xing had always been at odds with her daughter-in-law, she pretended to be nice to her on a daily basis. After all, Wang Xifeng was in charge of all the affairs of the Rongguo Mansion and had considerable power.

Under normal circumstances, everyone keeps their dignity. Even if there are things that are inconvenient for one's own status to intervene, one can still use his wife for his own purposes with good reason.

In short, both the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law are not easy to deal with. They are shrewd in their own ways. As for who is better, only they themselves know.

Housewives of large houses like them spend their entire lives working on this small piece of land, and most of them are illiterate.

People like Lady Xing and Wang Xifeng, faced with the wealth and luxury of the wealthy and powerful, are like chickens that can't lay eggs, so they can only spend more energy on how to smile in front of others and stab them in the back.

People like Mrs. Wang are several levels higher than them.

Because Mrs. Wang already had children, first there was Jia Zhu's success in the imperial examination, then there was Yuanchun who entered the palace to marry into the royal family, and finally there was Baoyu who was born with a jade in his mouth. Her plan for children and offspring was completely complete.

Moreover, her mind and means are no weaker than theirs. In a big mansion like the Jia family, she is the only one second to Lady Jia.

That was why she was able to marry her niece into the first house, and bring someone to the second house to be the housekeeper, and even bring Jia Lian in to run errands. Jia She and Lady Xing could only be confined to the east courtyard, where they could not even fart.

……

However, as the mother-in-law, Mrs. Xing could still ask Wang Xifeng to take care of some daily matters.

Madam Xing asked, "Feng girl, have you found the house I asked you to help me find? My brother and his family will definitely arrive in the capital within ten days, so we can accommodate them there."

Wang Xifeng smiled and said, "Of course, the matter entrusted by the eldest lady must be handled urgently. I have already found the house.

I found a single-entrance house on Chunhe Street. The rent was four taels a month, and only forty taels for a year. It was only two blocks away from Rongguo Mansion.

The eldest wife's niece is coming too, so it will be more convenient for the girl to visit her family."

When Mrs. Xing heard that it would cost forty taels a year, she felt a little sad. Given her brother's situation, she would have to pay for it. Forty taels was her two months' salary, which was not a small amount.

But then I thought that I had to pay a little bit first for everything I did, and when my niece's marriage was done, these forty taels of silver would be nothing.

Madam Xing smiled and said, "You have done a very good job. My brother has not seen me for many years and I miss him very much, so I brought him to the capital to meet him.

Besides, my niece Xiuyan has grown up now. She is the top-notch daughter of our Xing family and an outstanding person. You will definitely like her when you meet her.

She and Congge are close in age, but they have never met before. Bringing their family to Beijing this time will give them a chance to meet and get closer. "

When Wang Xifeng heard what Mrs. Xing said, her heart skipped a beat. The eldest lady had always hated the Cong brothers. Even though the Cong brothers were doing so well now, there was not much easing of their feelings between them.

He mentioned his niece so suddenly and said something like cousins ​​are very close. It was really uncomfortable to hear that. What's wrong with him?

Mrs. Xing asked again, "I heard someone say recently that Baoyu will be fifteen next year, and the old lady wants to arrange a marriage for him. I wonder which girl the old lady has chosen?"

Wang Xifeng was a little puzzled after hearing what Mrs. Xing had just said, but she was a person with a heart of crystal and a heart of glass, and had at least ten thousand tricks up her sleeve.

Just by hearing Mrs. Xing's words, he became clear-headed and understood what Mrs. Xing was planning.

How could the eldest lady ask about Baoyu's marriage? Whether Baoyu gets married or not has nothing to do with her.

But Baoyu is the same age as the Cong brothers. She must have heard the old lady mention the Cong brothers’ marriage in Rongqing Hall, and she was asking about it in a roundabout way.

She thought again of the intimate conversation between the cousins ​​just now, and she could guess what Mrs. Xing was thinking.

Wang Xifeng couldn't help but laugh at her mother-in-law's big dream.

Others may not know Uncle Xing's background, but Wang Xifeng knows it very well.

That cousin Xing was just a poor girl, but the eldest wife actually wanted to marry her to the Cong brothers. How could they be a good match? They really thought that all the members of the Jia family were dead.

Although Wang Xifeng despised it in her heart, she did not show it on her face, and continued to smile: "The eldest lady must have heard it wrong, it is not Baoyu's marriage that is being talked about, but Brother Cong's marriage.

The old lady said that Brother Cong had established a career and was now well-known in the capital. Many nobles and wealthy families were eyeing him, and Brother Cong would reach the age of dancing elephants next year.

So, the old lady wants to find him a good marriage as soon as possible."

Mrs. Xing asked hurriedly, "Does the old lady have a favorite girl in mind?"

Wang Xifeng turned her eyes and said, "It's not explicitly stated, but the noble families in the capital city of Shenjing are unknown to the old lady's family. It's possible that she has someone she likes in her heart, but it's hard to say."

Madam Xing said, "The old lady wants to arrange a marriage for Cong, which is a big deal. The eldest master is busy outside all day, and I, as the old man, don't know anything about it. It shows that I am too busy to understand."

Wang Xifeng understood the meaning of the music and was a little naughty in her heart. She said with a smile: "What the eldest lady said is very right. Since ancient times, marriages are decided by parents' orders and matchmakers' words.

The ones who should be most concerned about Brother Cong's marriage are the eldest master and the eldest wife. This is a major event in Brother Cong's life, so we can't be careless about it."

When Mrs. Xing heard this, she laughed so hard that crow's feet appeared on her cheeks.

He said, "What you said makes a lot of sense. It would be a shame to let others take care of the marriage of one's own son without the parents making the decision. The master and I will definitely be worried about it."

Wang Xifeng got goosebumps when she heard this. It seemed that the eldest wife had forgotten how she had treated the third son, Cong, in the East Courtyard.

If the old lady hadn't been worried that the third son of the Cong family would lose his life and the news would bring shame to the Jia family, why would she have brought him to the West Mansion to raise him?

Now that Cong's third son has become so successful, the eldest master and the eldest wife have started to act like good fathers and loving mothers. Wang Xifeng thought so in her heart, but she would never say it out loud. Even the words she said were thoughtful and considerate.

"When I went out earlier, the old lady was talking to her sisters. Now she is probably free in Rongqing Hall. The eldest lady can go and take a look."

When Wang Xifeng saw Mrs. Xing leaving excitedly, a sneer appeared on her pretty lips. What she had just said, although it sounded caring towards Mrs. Xing, was actually malicious.

She has been the granddaughter-in-law for so many years and knows the old lady’s temperament best….

……

Originally, Wang Xifeng was also going to pay her respects at Rongqing Hall, but now she decided not to step on this fire, so she turned around and went back to her own courtyard.

She had just returned to the courtyard when she saw Ping'er carrying a large copper basin out. Seeing her return, she said, "Madam is back. Second Master has just returned as well and is in the room."

When Jia Lian saw Wang Xifeng coming in with a strange smile on her face, he asked curiously, "What good news have you gotten?"

Wang Xifeng smiled and said, "Your brother is about to get married, and as his sister-in-law, I am happy for him."

Since the secrets in Rongqing Hall could not be kept secret, Jia Lian naturally heard about Jia Cong's marriage proposal.

Jia Lian said, "The old lady just mentioned it briefly. The third child will only be fifteen next year. It's still a long way to go. How can it happen so soon?"

"That's hard to say. I just ran into the eldest lady at the second gate and talked to her for a few words. Then I found out what was going on. I was wondering why the eldest lady was so anxious to bring your uncle and his family to the capital."

Jia Lian curled his lips slightly and said, "What kind of uncle is that to me?"

Jia Lian's biological mother died early, and Mrs. Xing was just his mother's second wife. Although she was his mother's legal mother, Jia Lian always looked down on Mrs. Xing because of her narrow-minded and greedy character.

Although he was afraid of his biological father Jia She like a tiger, he was only polite to his stepmother, Lady Xing, for the sake of face.

As for Xing Zhong, whom he had only met once in more than ten years, they were like a stranger. He was just a scoundrel and incompetent man. How could he be qualified to be Jia Lian's uncle?

Jia Lian asked again, "How come the third brother's marriage is related to Uncle Xing?"

"You forgot that Uncle Xing has a cousin named Xiuyan. From what I heard from the first wife, she wants to marry this cousin Xiuyan to your brother."

Jia Lian was surprised when he heard this and said, "What kind of story is this? The third brother is a hereditary earl with a mansion, and Xing Zhong is just a mediocre man who can barely make ends meet. His daughter is not worthy of being the third brother's wife.

If this gets out, the Jia family will be laughed at. The third son is now very famous. It shouldn't be difficult for him to marry any unmarried noble lady in the capital.

Among the old relatives in our family, there are many top-notch candidates, and the third brother is not stupid, so there is no way he would get married.

Now that he has a strong foundation, he is not someone you can easily mess with, so why does the master have to treat him like this?"

Wang Xifeng sneered: "The eldest wife didn't tell me this clearly, I guessed it from her words, and it must be right. Anyway, this matter has nothing to do with us, so just pretend you don't know."

She thought that by this time, Yingchun and other sisters in Rongqing Hall must have left, and most likely only the old lady and the lady would be left talking. She had just given her mother-in-law some guidance, and was waiting to see the show.

……

Rongguo Mansion, Tanchun Courtyard.

Early in the morning, Yingchun brought Daiyu and other sisters to pay their respects to Lady Jia. After chatting for a while, they did not return to the East Palace, but went to talk to Tanchun's room in the West Palace.

Baoyu naturally had to follow, but he was a little disappointed.

I originally wanted to go to the East Palace with my sisters to take a look at Qingwen and Wu'er in Jia Cong's room, as well as Yinglian, who was even more beautiful and cute.

The maids in Baoyu's own room are all the best in Rongguo Mansion, but they pale in comparison to those in Jia Cong's room.

He was a man who liked girls, and when he met someone with outstanding looks, he would easily become interested in them. He thought that if he said something nice about them, those girls would be happy to be close to him.

But the threshold of the East Palace was too high, and there was a rule that outsiders were not allowed to enter. If he had not been with his sisters, he would definitely not have been able to enter the inner courtyard of the East Palace.

For some unknown reason, these sisters refused to return to the East Palace. Instead, they all went to Tanchun's room, so he had no choice but to give up.

However, Baoyu found the topics of the sisters' conversation a bit boring.

Yingchun said that the East Palace was opening this year, and when Jia Cong came back, they wanted to celebrate the first New Year well, with wine, drinking games, hanging lanterns, guessing riddles, and listening to operas. It would be lively and everyone would wish for good luck. She also asked Tanchun to help her put things in order.

Daiyu said that Jia Cong had promised to bring back the best plum roots from Xuanmu Mountain in Suzhou when he came back this time. There was a south-facing slope under Dengxian Pavilion in the East Palace, which was a good place to plant plums, and she could still catch them in time to enjoy the plum blossoms at the end of the year.

The sisters' topics seemed to all revolve around Jia Cong, as if they couldn't talk properly without him. Baoyu felt that he was completely ignored, which made him very depressed and hurt.

Baochai said that when Brother Cong came back, he would be busy studying at home and preparing for the imperial examination next spring. It was almost certain that he would become the top scorer in the provincial examination or the Jinshi in the spring examination, it was just a matter of ranking.

Baoyu could still barely listen to the previous conversation between Yingchun and Daiyu.

Baochai's topic of official career and economy was fatal to him. Baochai had just said half of it when Baoyu got goose bumps all over his body. He found an excuse to leave Tanchun's room, and looked like he was going to run away.

……

Baochai looked at Baoyu's back as he left, breathed a sigh of relief, blinked her eyes, and suddenly noticed that Daiyu was looking at her with a look full of cunning and mischief.

Then he said to Daiyu, "Sister Lin, Wu'er makes delicious tea. Why don't we go and ask for a cup? It will be more interesting than just talking here."

Daiyu smiled with her eyebrows curved, stepped forward and took Baochai's arm, saying: "Sister Bao really understands me, that's what I think."

After hearing this, all the sisters agreed and returned to the East Palace together.

Only Tanchun sighed slightly. She could see clearly among the sisters.

The second sister Yingchun lives in a different room from Baoyu, and in her heart she only cares about her dearest brother, the third brother, and no one else is as important as her brother.

Ever since that year when Baoyu smashed the jade and made Sister Lin so angry that she vomited blood, the relationship between the two has been very distant, not to mention that Sister Lin and the third brother already had a tacit understanding.

Ever since the gossip about the golden and jade matchmaking came up in the mansion, Baochai never got too close to Baoyu to avoid suspicion. Moreover, Tanchun had long noticed that Baochai had already developed feelings for her third brother.

As for me, my second brother, who has the same father as me, I always like to hang out with girls. I usually do things and say things according to my own will, which easily leads to trouble.

Just like the last time with Jin Chuan, it caused a big commotion and almost cost Jin Chuan her life. In the end, it was the third brother who stepped in to clean up the mess and found a place for Jin Chuan to go.

No one said it, but Tanchun knew in her heart that this incident made the sisters somewhat distant from Baoyu. Compared with the responsibility of his third brother, Baoyu did seem a little dandy.

Tanchun also gave Baoyu some advice in private, but it was of no use.

Last time, the old lady invited a troupe to perform, and Yingchun brought Yinglian and Qingwen, who loved fun, to watch the show.

Baoyu stared at them intently and found many topics to strike up a conversation with them. These were the tactics he was used to using with the beautiful maids on a daily basis.

However, Yinglian and Qingwen had been living with their third brother since they were young, and were influenced by him, so they were not very fond of Baoyu's way of currying favor with girls.

Moreover, these two people are very different from other maids in the mansion. Yinglian is naive, and Qingwen is hot-tempered.

They were either indifferent to Baoyu's words or spoke coldly to him, which made the situation a little awkward for a while. Later, Yingchun rarely brought them to the West Mansion.

As for Baoyu sometimes following them to the East Palace, everyone would avoid it if possible.

Jia Cong kept a house full of pretty maids, and was afraid that Baoyu, with his lustful nature, would cause trouble like Jin Chuan, which would be difficult to deal with if Jia Cong saw it.

Tanchun followed her sisters to the East Palace, looking at the beautiful voices and figures in front of them, and the shadows of trees and the fragrance of flowers along the way.

The sisters in the family are getting older and older, and their feelings for each other are growing day by day. I don’t know what their future will be.

She thought of herself again. This year her mind had gradually become more open-minded and she no longer worried too much.

But I am young and full of vigor, and I can't help but be touched by lust in my dreams at midnight. Whenever I think of that person, I feel heartbroken and terrified. I just hope that as I grow older, the demon in my heart will naturally disappear.

……

Rongguo Mansion, Rongqing Hall.

Grandmother Jia was just chatting about family matters with Lady Wang and Aunt Xue, and was still thinking about something. Today, she asked her trusted maid to go to the Shi family to deliver a message.

She planned to talk to the wife of Marquis Zhongjing first, and then wait for Jia Cong to return home in a few days to do what she wanted.

The reason why she had to wait for Jia Cong to come back was because of what Jia Cong had done in the past two years. Grandmother Jia knew that he was a very thoughtful person and the most difficult to manipulate.

This can be seen from the fact that she wanted to place servants in the East Palace, but was rejected indifferently by her grandson.

So wait until he comes back, then bring up the topic, so that the kid has a way out and won't feel that his grandmother is manipulating him. This way things will be more successful.

As for whether Jia Cong would dislike Xiangyun, Grandmother Jia was not worried at all.

In the past six months, Grandmother Jia deliberately invited Xiangyun to the Jia Mansion more often to give the brother and sister more opportunities to get close to each other. She had some plan in mind.

Grandmother Jia was worldly-wise, so how could she not see that Xiangyun was pretty and charming? Jia Cong loved to be close to her and even remembered to prepare a portion of the rewards from the palace for Xiangyun?

Xiangyun also admired Jia Cong very much. As soon as she arrived at Jia's house, she ran to the East Palace, and it was obvious that they were a good match.

Moreover, his grandson was very young, but no matter whether he went to Liaodong to fight the enemy or went to Jiangnan to do business, he always fought so hard that he was granted the title of earl at a young age.

If he was not a man with a passion for official career and power, how could he have built such a family business? He must have known the benefits of marrying Xiangyun.

Therefore, Grandmother Jia was not worried about the success of the matter, and felt somewhat secure. However, she did not know that the world is always darkest under the lamp, and she had more than one granddaughter.

That day was just like any other day, as Mrs. Wang and I were chatting about family matters to relieve our boredom. Then Aunt Xue came over. The three of them sat for a while when suddenly Mrs. Xing came over.

After a while, Jia She received a message from Mrs. Xing and rushed over from the east courtyard.

When Grandmother Jia saw this, she was slightly stunned. Her eldest son and his wife were not liked by her, so they usually stayed in the east courtyard and acted like kings.

Apart from the necessary daily greetings, it is rare for a couple to come together like today.

Grandmother Jia couldn't help but feel a little strange. She knew her son's temper and was afraid that he would do something strange again. (End of this chapter)