Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Rongguo Mansion, Rongqing Hall.

The weather in the capital was unusually mild this year. As the twelfth lunar month approached, the first heavy snow of the fifteenth year of Jiazhao arrived unexpectedly.

By the end of the year, the floor of Rongqing Hall was covered with carpets, brocade quilts and embroidered screens, and it looked brand new.

In the middle of the room is a large gilded enamel brazier with three legs of a rhinoceros beast, in which pine, cypress and lily are burned, creating a gentle and fragrant atmosphere in the hall.

Grandmother Jia sat on the soft couch in front, with a new scarlet felt underneath, a bright red Suzhou embroidered pillow with the pattern of longevity and good fortune on the back, and a black sable fur blanket spread on top, which looked extremely luxurious and gentle.

Mrs. Wang, Li Wan, and Tanchun all wore brocade jackets, gold bracelets, and pearls, and their clothes were luxurious. They each sat on a carved lacquer chair at the bottom, each covered with a small grey squirrel-seat mattress, and under the chair there was a large copper foot warmer.

Although the Rongguo Mansion suffered a great shock due to the death of Jia She and the exile of the eldest grandson of the eldest son, it does not seem to affect the extravagance of the Jia family. At the end of the year, the wealthy atmosphere of Rongqing Hall is as usual.

It is now approaching the end of the year, the busiest time of the year in Rongguo Mansion. Grandmother Jia and Mrs. Wang often discuss household affairs with Li Wan and Tanchun in Rongqing Hall.

Since Wang Xifeng fell ill, although Li Wan and Tanchun were in charge of the affairs of the mansion, after Wang Xifeng became pregnant, Jia's grandmother asked them to handle daily affairs and consult with Wang Xifeng more often.

This was just some of Jia Mu's inner thoughts, because the first house was in decline and the second house was gaining power, but the first house's bloodline was continued.

Grandmother Jia then came up with the idea of ​​using her to check and balance the second wife, to prevent the second daughter-in-law from becoming ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth, losing her scruples, and lacking the respect of her father in front of her, which would affect her happy life.

Naturally, Tanchun had no objection. Although she was smart and ambitious, with many ideas and strategies that were not comparable to those of ordinary women, she was after all in her prime, still had a playful nature, and had no taint in her mind regarding worldly affairs.

According to her, Ba didn't need to worry about these household chores, and she could just play with her sisters in the East Palace, and practice calligraphy, read books and talk with Jia Cong. That was the truly interesting thing.

Grandmother Jia asked her to discuss things more with Wang Xifeng, which was exactly what she wanted. By letting Wang Xifeng make the decisions, she would save herself from having to worry too much.

Li Wan, on the other hand, was very interested in taking care of the affairs of the Rong state, which fulfilled her long-cherished wish.

At that time, according to Jia Daishan's last will and testament, with the permission of the Supreme Emperor, the eldest son Jia She of Rongguo Mansion inherited the title, and the second son Jia Zheng inherited the mansion.

According to common sense, the mistress of the Rongguo Mansion should be Jia Zheng's eldest daughter-in-law Li Wan.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Wang was too calculating and full of narrow-minded prejudices of the women in the inner court. She felt that her daughter-in-law was just an outsider and only believed in blood relationship.

Therefore, she strongly recommended her own niece Wang Xifeng to assist her in managing state affairs.

She also claimed that as the eldest daughter-in-law, she was a widow and not suitable to be in public and take care of household affairs, so she deprived Li Wan of her power as housekeeper in disguise.

These rules of etiquette for widows are so reasonable that even Lady Jia would agree with them.

Li Wan was widowed at a young age, and her life was lonely and miserable. Even the opportunity to deal with worldly affairs was deprived by her overly far-sighted mother-in-law, and she could do nothing about it.

……

Now, the situation has changed. The eldest branch has completely fallen into decline, and the title and mansion of Rong State have become the property of the second branch.

In order to make long-term plans for Baoyu, Mrs. Wang naturally changed her mind. Then, Wang Xifeng fell ill and was bedridden, so she let Li Wan and Tanchun take care of the household affairs.

Because Li Wan and Tanchun are both from his second wife, Li Wan has been a widow for many years, and as her mother-in-law, Lady Wang has filial piety and etiquette, so she can naturally hold her tightly.

Tanchun has received much education from Lady Wang since she was a child. It is not because she is kind-hearted, but just to whitewash her good reputation of being lenient to concubines.

Moreover, although Aunt Zhao is Tanchun's biological mother, according to the rules of wealthy families, the matter of Tanchun's marriage is firmly in the hands of her stepmother.

Marriage is a matter of great importance in a woman's life. Mrs. Wang is not afraid that Tanchun will not obey her, and she lets her housekeeper not to worry about this concubine's daughter being disobedient.

Originally, Mrs. Wang's plan was quite appropriate and reliable, and even Lady Jia could not find any fault with it.

But now the situation has become confusing again. It has been more than a month since Jia Lian left the capital to serve as a forced laborer in Liaodong, and the pregnant Wang Xifeng has started to suffer from morning sickness.

However, regarding the Rongguo Mansion's inheritance of the title, there was still no movement in the palace and the clan affairs office, as if everyone had deliberately forgotten about it.

As the saying goes, there must be something wrong when things are not normal. Although Lady Jia and Mrs. Wang are both women with long hair, they are not completely ignorant. They both realized that something was wrong and were like ants on the hot pan.

Even Li Wan felt a little anxious, because if the second house inherited the title, she would be able to sit firmly in the throne as the head lady of the house, and no longer have to spend her whole life in boredom in the inner court like before.

Besides, Tanchun will get married in the future, so there will naturally be no taboos. Once she becomes the mistress of the Rongguo Mansion, her Jia Lan will have more support at home.

As the ruler of an honorable country, Jia Zheng sensed something was amiss regarding the unusual delay in deciding upon his late elder brother's posthumous title.

But given his status and personality, he couldn't bring himself to ask anyone about this matter.

……

Today was just like usual. Lady Jia and Mrs. Wang listened to Li Wan and Tanchun talking about things happening in the mansion at the end of the year. Except for Tanchun, everyone else was in a lazy mood.

When Grandmother Jia heard that Wang Xifeng was suffering from severe morning sickness these days, she asked Amber to call Wang Xifeng over to talk.

Grandmother Jia has been acting interesting lately, as if she is afraid of neglecting her. As long as Lady Wang, Li Wan and others are in the hall, she will always find a reason to invite Wang Xifeng over.

After a while, Wang Xifeng brought Ping'er into the hall. Although she was suffering from morning sickness, she was not yet pregnant and could move around normally.

She wore a cotton-padded jacket with a white background and blue embroidery, a cloak of azurite-carved argenté skin, a gray-and-white crepe skirt, and held a small copper hand warmer in her hand.

Ping'er followed him, holding a small wicker box filled with sour plum and peach snacks.

When she entered the hall, Grandmother Jia naturally asked about her pregnancy, and Li Wan, as usual, talked about the affairs of the mansion during the year-end, because Wang Xifeng was used to doing these things and had clear ideas and insights in her mind.

Wang Xifeng said a few words casually, and happened to see that Mrs. Wang had a calm expression and was just fingering her rosary beads. Wang Xifeng's eyes turned and her heart was moved.

She was a shrewd and bold person, and was very good at observing people's words and expressions. She naturally knew that the situation had changed drastically and her aunt did not like her to be in charge of the household affairs.

However, his aunt's plan has now backfired. Jia Lian was convicted and left Beijing for more than a month, but the inheritance of the title of Rongguo Mansion has remained unknown.

With Wang Xifeng's intelligence and skill, how could she not think of such a big deal?

But now the times have changed, she has also witnessed her aunt's sophistication and indifference, and now she feels only gloating over the obstruction of the second house's inheritance of the title.

Thinking of what Li Wan had just said about the end of the year, he smiled and asked, "I was just thinking of what my sister-in-law said about the end of the year. There is one important thing that must not be forgotten.

At the end of each year, the imperial court would distribute spring sacrifice rewards to meritorious officials. According to the rank of their rank, they would give equal amounts of sacrificial silver, which was placed in a yellow silk bag with the words "Emperor's Grace Forever" written on it.

Our family is not short of these few taels of silver to spend, but this silver is after all the emperor's favor, used to offer sacrifices to our ancestors. It is also the blessing of our ancestors and our descendants who have received the emperor's grace.

Even if the family spent ten thousand silver coins to honor their ancestors, it would not be as decent as this.

My second sister came to see me yesterday and told me about this matter. Brother Yin Cong is now an earl in a mansion, and his biological mother was posthumously conferred the fifth rank imperial title.

Therefore, the Guanglu Temple has informed the East Palace to go there on time to collect the silver for this year's spring festival. I just remembered this and I have to remind my sister-in-law.

This is a glorious and honorable thing for our noble family, which distinguishes it from other families. We must not miss it. Last year, the Second Master went to the Guanglu Temple to receive it.

Now we need to send a reliable man to handle this matter. I think the son of the fifth sister-in-law in the west corridor, Yun Ge'er, is a legitimate Rongguo concubine and a reliable child. He can be sent to handle the matter."

Grandmother Jia also knew about this matter, but she was the patriarch of the Rongguo Mansion, and she had never had to worry about such matters in previous years. If Wang Xifeng hadn't mentioned it, she would never have thought of it.

Grandmother Jia asked Li Wan, "Since the East Mansion has received the message from the Guanglu Temple, the West Mansion should be the same. Has anyone come to tell us?"

Li Wan and Tanchun looked at each other in surprise.

Li Wan said, "We have the stewards and maids report everything going on inside and outside the Second Gate twice a day, morning and evening. I have never heard of anyone mentioning this matter. It must be that no one in the Guanglu Temple has said anything about it."

Upon hearing this, both Lady Jia and Mrs. Wang felt a sinking feeling in their hearts. The East Palace had received word of the spring festival reward silver that would be given to the noble families, but no one from the West Palace, which was separated by a wall, came to deliver the news.

This was not a good sign. This kind of government affairs were all very strict and the rules were very strict. If there was no reason, there would be no omissions. They thought about Jia Lian's crime and banishment. More than a month had passed, and there was still no news about Rongguo's succession to the title. Comparing the two, they were afraid that something bad was going to happen.

Since she was born, Lady Jia has lived in a noble family all her life. If something happened to her family's title when she was old, she really wouldn't know how she would go on.

Mrs. Wang had been dreaming for half her life. She had finally managed to get the eldest master dead and the eldest son crippled. The title was like a duck about to reach her mouth. If something unexpected happened, she would be depressed to death.

When Wang Xifeng saw the surprised and worried expressions of Lady Jia and Mrs. Wang, she felt a sense of satisfaction in her heart. She thought that if she could not get it in her lifetime, it would not be easy for others to get it either. This was what she truly wanted.

At this moment, she suddenly felt a little morning sickness and nausea. She opened the small soft rattan box in Ping'er's hand, took out a honey-wine sour plum from it and put it in her mouth. She felt that the taste was so sour and refreshing that her depression disappeared immediately.

……

At this time, Mrs. Wang suddenly said, "Madam, Cong is an official figure, and he has many connections outside. Maybe he knows something, but we don't know. Why not call him over and ask him?"

When Wang Xifeng heard this, she understood everything. The lady had hoped that the title would be given to the second wife as soon as possible, but it didn't happen as she wished. She was desperate and tried all kinds of methods.

The royal family did not give the Rongguo Mansion any rewards for the spring festival, and asked Cong Lao San what was the point. He could talk a lot, but if the court did not give any money, he would still not give it.

After hearing this, Jia's grandmother felt that it made sense. The East Palace had already received the message to collect the silver for the Spring Festival, and her grandson was capable after all.

Since he even has some face in front of the emperor, it would be better to ask him to find out the truth and let him inquire about Chengjue's affairs. Perhaps it would be more reliable.

He couldn't rely on his pedantic son, and it was useless for a bunch of women to think about it.

Grandmother Jia glanced at Yuanyang, then she took the beauty hammer and massaged her legs, saying, "Go to the East Palace and call Cong'er over. Tell him I have something to say to him."

……

Following Lady Jia's instructions, Yuanyang went through Rongqing Hall, passed the back garden, walked through the two mansions and went to the small gate, and arrived at Jia Cong's yard, but there was no sign of him.

Wu'er said that the third master went to the firearms workshop early in the morning, and he went there every few days recently.

Yuanyang was feeling regretful and was about to go back when news came from outside the second gate saying that the Third Master had just returned home.

She felt lucky and waited in Jia Cong's yard for a while, then she saw a handsome figure swaying at the gate.

When Jia Cong entered the yard, he saw Yuanyang standing under the eaves. She had a slim waist and narrow shoulders, fair skin, handsome eyebrows and eyes, and bright eyes. She was wearing a light red silk jacket, an indigo vest, and a white crepe handkerchief.

He asked with a smile: "Sister Yuanyang, how come you have time to come over and visit?"

Yuanyang smiled and said, "How can I have so much free time? The old lady asked me to invite Third Master over. She has something to say to him."

Jia Cong was slightly stunned when he heard this. In the past few years, he also understood that whenever Lady Jia talked to him, it was usually not something to go with her wishes.

Asked: "Why does the old lady suddenly have something to say? What's the matter?"

Over the years, whenever Lady Jia wanted to look for Jia Cong, it was almost always Yuanyang who came to convey the message. Every time Jia Cong asked the reason, Yuanyang would always reveal it without leaving a trace. This had almost become a tacit understanding between the two.

Yuanyang said, "The old lady heard that the East Palace has received a notice from the Guanglu Temple and is going to collect the spring festival reward money, but there is no news from the West Palace yet.

The wife said that the Third Master was an official figure and knew more than others, so she asked the Third Master to come over and talk.

When Jia Cong heard that it was Mrs. Wang who raised the topic, he more or less guessed the meaning.

The Spring Festival rewards are a special favor bestowed by the imperial court on meritorious officials. The Rongguo Mansion has been able to receive them every year, except this year. No wonder Lady Jia and Mrs. Wang care about it.

But Jia Cong knew very well that they were not concerned about the silver from the Spring Festival, but the honors behind the rewards from the Spring Festival.

It has been more than a month since Jia Lian was exiled to the north, and there is still no news about the inheritance of the title of Rong. Lady Jia and Mrs. Wang feel that something is wrong, and Jia Cong naturally realizes that something is wrong.

When the two entered Rongqing Hall, Jia's mother saw Jia Cong and asked, "I heard that the East Palace just received a message from the Guanglu Temple, and they have to pick a time to collect the spring festival reward money."

Jia Cong replied, "Yes, this year is the first year of the establishment of the Eastern Palace. My mother is a fifth-rank official conferred by the emperor. This reward of silver is also the first time for the Eastern Palace."

After hearing what Jia Cong said, Mrs. Wang felt very uncomfortable. She thought it was ridiculous that that prostitute was now on the same level as her.

When Grandmother Jia heard Jia Cong say the word "mother", she felt uncomfortable.

In wealthy and noble families, only the stepmother is worthy of being called mother. It is an usurpation for the biological mother of a concubine's son to even use the word "mother" and she can only be called aunt by her children.

Jia Cong's biological mother, Du Jinniang, was the woman that Grandmother Jia despised and hated the most in her life. However, this lowly woman gave birth to such an outstanding son, who took away all the glory from the Jia family.

Even though Lady Jia had the reputation of being a filial grandmother, she was still cautious in front of her grandson. Sometimes when she thought about this matter, she felt it was a little weird, as if the ghost woman had come back to collect a debt.

According to common sense, that lowly woman was called aunt by her son. Even if her ancestors had accumulated great virtues, now this boy openly calls her mother.

Although Grandmother Jia was extremely unhappy, she could not say a word of objection.

His grandson was an imperial earl who had established his own household, and that woman had long been posthumously conferred the title of a fifth-rank consort. Her son addressed her as mother, which was also in accordance with clan etiquette and no one else could find any fault with her.

But there was still something that made Grandmother Jia angry. Didn't Jia Cong's Spring Festival silver have a place as her eldest son? But he only mentioned his biological mother in front of her and didn't take his biological father into his heart at all.

However, Lady Jia could only keep these words in her heart. If she argued about them in person, everyone would lose face.

……

Jia's mother suppressed her displeasure and said, "My dear Cong, according to the rules, the imperial court should issue spring sacrifices every year, but this year the East Palace has received the news, but the West Palace has not made any movement so far.

You are an official figure who often travels around, so you should know what this means."

Jia Cong said: "I understand what the old lady said. The imperial court's spring festival rewards are only given to noble families and are related to the level of honor.

The West Palace did not issue the Spring Festival reward, it must be because the hereditary title is still undecided, so the court is holding back."

When Lady Jia and Mrs. Wang heard what Jia Cong said, they became even more worried. Although they had their own thoughts about Jia Cong, they felt an irresistible conviction in what he said because of his abilities.

Cong'er, it has been more than a month since your brother went to Liaodong to serve his sentence, but there has been no news about the imperial edict to confer the title on him.

Grandmother Jia said, "Brother Cong, you are also a member of the Jia family, and you have inherited the title of nobility from the Rong Kingdom, but the things your father left behind are now nowhere to be found. As a son, shouldn't you make some effort?

I know that you have always been valued by the emperor and have some reputation in the palace. I want you to write a petition to the emperor and ask your family to ask the emperor to grant the Jia family the title of nobility as soon as possible.

If you accomplish this, everyone in the family will remember your kindness, and I, as your grandmother, will give you whatever you like."

When Wang Xifeng heard what Lady Jia said so bluntly, her eyes rolled around. She happened to see Yuanyang beside Lady Jia, and suddenly glanced at Jia Cong. Her face inexplicably turned red.

Wang Xifeng was filled with gossip and for some reason she recalled that the master had wanted to marry Yuanyang to her but the girl had refused to do so and tried to commit suicide.

At that time, her stupid sister-in-law shouted out that Yuanyang had a crush on Jia Cong and secretly made shoes for him.

Later it was said that Yingchun was making shoes for her younger brother, and because Yingchun was ill, Yuanyang kindly helped to make them for her, and the matter was passed over.

Now, seeing Lady Jia saying that she would give you everything she had, Yuanyang became excited and blushed. It seemed that what Jin Wenxiang's family said was not nonsense.

The old lady was learning on the spot, and it was obvious that she was using the tricks she had learned before. However, after this kind of thing happened too many times, the third brother Cong was no longer fooled by it. Fortunately, he acted early enough...

Wang Xifeng was gloating over something in her heart.

Then Jia Cong said in a loud voice: "Please forgive me for not being able to obey what the old lady said!"

Wang Xifeng's eyes lit up. Cong Lao San was getting excited. There was going to be a good show to watch! (End of this chapter)