Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Rongguo Mansion, Rongqing Hall.

When Lady Jia heard Mrs. Wang's innuendo, she couldn't help but frown. She thought her second daughter-in-law must have fainted from anger after being scolded by her own son.

Is there any point in her saying these things to Congge? With this kid's scheming and means, how could he be controlled by her words?

Grandmother Jia watched coldly from the side. Although Jia Cong's tone was normal just now, his words were piercing. He had actually turned against her in his heart and would not step into the trap of his second daughter-in-law at all.

If his wife had not provoked him with those words just now, given his respect for his son, he would have definitely dissuaded his son from staying in the side courtyard of the West Mansion.

Her son has always valued this kid and was unwilling to listen to his advice and decided not to move to the East Courtyard. The reason why Lady Jia asked Jia Cong to come and talk was precisely for this.

As a result, the boy felt uncomfortable after hearing his wife's ambiguous words and simply gave up on the matter.

Saying that younger generations shouldn't be nosy and that we should just make our own decisions were all excuses. He felt that the talk was weird and he didn't want to get involved to protect his reputation.

Although my second daughter-in-law is cruel, she is ultimately stubborn and will never accomplish anything...

When Jia Zheng heard Jia Cong's words praising him for his careful consideration and uprightness, which were admirable, he couldn't help but feel more confident.

And when he heard him say that no matter where he lived, his father's admiration and affection for him would remain the same, Jia Zheng felt more reassured.

He thought again of the embarrassment of the day when the Ministry of Clan Affairs and the Ministry of Rites came to his house together to ask for accountability, and he no longer had any hesitation in his heart.

He said, "Madam, this is settled. I will ask Lin Zhixiao's family to move the eldest wife to the West Mansion, and I will move the disciples to the East Courtyard.

Only in this way can we demonstrate the correct etiquette of our Rongguo Mansion. Not only will the speculations from outside be refuted, but it will also be extremely beneficial to the harmony of the whole family and the stability of the family business."

After hearing what Jia Zheng said, Jia Cong sighed inwardly. In fact, if Jia Zheng moved out of Rong Xi Tang, he could still cope with the court etiquette and laws for clan members, and he didn't have to move to the East Courtyard.

But what Mrs. Wang said just now made Jia Cong alert and realized that some things should not be taken lightly.

Mrs. Wang already had a deep resentment towards her own inheritance of the title, and she was afraid that she would never be able to get rid of her resentment.

When Jia Zheng proposed to move to the East Courtyard, a matter that had nothing to do with him, Mrs. Wang would always try to control him with the intention of filial piety and courtesy. Her intentions were sinister and it was obvious that she wanted to set a trap for him and leave him with a bad reputation.

If this kind of thing happens the first time, it will happen the second time. If such a person is allowed to live in Xifu in the future, causing trouble every day and stirring up trouble, who knows what will happen...

That's why he just now, with the courtesy of a junior, evaded the question of Jia Zheng's relocation and let things develop on their own without wanting to interfere any further.

Grandmother Jia glanced at Jia Cong standing aside and saw that he looked normal and did not respond to what his son said, so it was unclear what was going on.

The extreme words spoken by his daughter-in-law just now had made Jia Cong determined not to get involved in this matter.

Grandmother Jia sighed deeply in her heart, thinking that her stubborn son and her not-so-bright daughter-in-law could never defeat this boy.

……

Mrs. Wang called out in an indescribably sad voice, "Old lady!" and it seemed as if she wanted Lady Jia to stop her.

There was a hint of slight disgust in Jia's eyes when she looked at her daughter-in-law. If it weren't for her harsh words, things would not be like this.

Now that my son has made his point, the momentum of this matter is difficult to reverse.

Moreover, my son’s concerns are not without reason…

Grandmother Jia sighed to Jia Zheng, "Since you have already thought about this matter, I will let you do as you wish this time. However, you have so many sons and grandchildren, and I am afraid that the places in the east courtyard will be too crowded for you to live in."

She turned to Jia Cong and said, "Brother Cong, you are the heir to the family business now. Your master is moving to the East Courtyard for the sake of this family. You can't live in something too shabby.

I don't have the energy to care about this matter. You and Feng girl should work out a plan to make your master live more comfortably. That will be considered as your fulfillment of filial piety and courtesy."

Jia Cong then replied, "Don't worry, old lady. Cong will discuss this matter carefully with my second sister-in-law and will definitely get it done."

When Mrs. Wang heard this, she was dumbfounded. Why did the old lady agree to let this boy renovate the East Courtyard?

Originally, he used verbal threats, thinking that by putting Jia Cong on the spot, Jia Cong, out of respect for the master, would definitely persuade the master to stay in the West Mansion.

Unexpectedly, this kid didn't fall into the trap at all. He said a lot of nice words and completely denied the matter, allowing the master to move to the East Courtyard. This kid has such a dark mind!
……

People often say that things have a destiny and no one can agree on it, but people’s hearts have a fixed pattern. Even if there is a destiny, it is caused by the fixed pattern of people’s hearts.

If Mrs. Wang had not doted on Baoyu too much, she would not have cultivated Baoyu's lazy and ignorant character, and he would not have spoken without restraint and insulted the emperor.

Under the clan etiquette of inheriting the title from the elder brother to the younger brother, even if Emperor Jia Zhao was biased, he could not find a suitable excuse. Jia Zheng might have really inherited Jia She's title, and there would have been no such thing as Jia Cong holding two titles.

Mrs. Wang is like a 10-foot-tall candlestick, which only illuminates others but never herself.

When it came to the second house losing its qualification to inherit the title, she could not see her own fault and simply felt that Jia Cong had robbed the second house of its glory and honor.

It was this kind of psychological set-up that made her regard Jia Cong as an enemy and try her best to squeeze and trap him.

The result was counterproductive and the situation became a certainty. Not only did she have to move out of Rong Xi Tang, but she also had to move to Dongluyuan. Who could she blame?

……

What happens in Rongqing Hall can never be kept secret.

Not to mention that Jia Zheng and his wife were going to move to the east courtyard. Such shocking and strange news spread to everyone in the east and west courtyards of the Jia family in less than a meal's time.

After Jia Cong returned to the East Palace, it didn't take long for his sisters to get the news. Jia Cong told them what happened in Rongqing Hall today.

Jia Zheng is a kind person. Except for being a little strict with Baoyu and Jia Huan, he is kind to other younger generations in the mansion and has a very good reputation.

Daiyu, Yingchun and others felt sad after hearing the whole story.

Jia Cong inherited the title of Rong, and Jia Zheng and his wife moved out of Rong Xi Tang. This was just according to common sense and etiquette. Although it was a bit embarrassing, it was within the common customs of aristocratic families.

However, Jia Zheng's family moving to the East Courtyard was a matter of course, as it was a balance between the strictness and leniency of etiquette and law.

But in the end, driven by the situation, it became an established fact. I don’t know what to say and who to blame.

As a girl from the second wife's house, Tanchun felt a little sad when she heard about this. She was smart and shrewd, and after listening to Jia Cong's narration of the situation, she could not see the basis of it.

Given the tacit understanding between the third brother and the master, if the master proposed to move to the East Courtyard, the third brother would definitely dissuade him.

If it weren't for the Madam's provocation, how could the third brother be so cautious and unwilling to talk about the matter, and how could things turn out like this.

Jia Cong looked at Tanchun's expression and could guess what she was thinking, so he said, "Don't overthink it, Third sister. The East Courtyard was originally the residence of the eldest master, and it was separated from the Rongguo Mansion.

The master put a lot of thought into the house he lived in, and it is exquisite and tidy, not too bad.

I will discuss with my second sister-in-law and renovate and expand the East Courtyard to make the master live more comfortably, which will be our best effort. "

Tanchun seemed to be hesitant to speak, and said, "Third brother, the lady... "

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Every family has its own problems, and it's not surprising. This is good, there will be less trouble in the future, and it will be good for the stability of the family..."

After hearing this, Tanchun understood that her third brother's words about being less involved in trouble in the future just meant that he had become alert, and there was no way the lady's thoughts could be hidden from others.

……

Rongguo Mansion, Baoyu Courtyard.

There has been chaos inside and outside the Rongguo Mansion these days. First, Jia Zheng and Mrs. Wang moved out of Rongxi Hall, and then they said they would move to the East Courtyard.

Later, Mrs. Wang suddenly fell ill and could not get out of bed for a while...

This subversive news about the second branch of Rongguo naturally caused a great shock to Baoyu Courtyard, and some people in the courtyard were in a panic.

Today, the Rongguo Mansion has completely changed. The bastard from the East Courtyard in the early years has turned into the master of Rongguo. This is a shocking thing to the hundreds of servants in the West Courtyard.

As a result, there were many people who followed the wind, some who tried their luck, some who waited and watched, and some who planned. Everyone wanted to take advantage of the change in the situation to find a good foothold or to climb up the ladder.

For example, the old women who used to work with Sister Liu in the kitchen of the West Mansion have been trying to get close to Sister Liu whenever they could these days.

However, the access control rules of the East Mansion were very strict. They couldn't even get in, let alone ask Sister Liu for favors.

The girl from the Liu family came to the West Mansion every day, and these old women would find opportunities to meet her in roundabout ways. They would call her Miss Liu very loudly, but although she was polite and courteous, she would never respond to them and would not be fooled.

These days, such opportunistic behavior by the servants of the West Mansion is common. It is becoming more and more frequent and has become a trend, causing chaos everywhere.

But the maids and old women in Baoyu's courtyard are not included in this list, not because of their noble character, but because they are Baoyu's servants.

Baoyu is the apple of the old lady and the lady's eye, the unrivaled phoenix of the Rongguo Mansion, and the most favored of all the young masters and young ladies in the mansion.

Therefore, the maids and servants in Baoyu's room seemed to be superior to the other slaves in the Rong family. Any family that had a son who entered Master Bao's room would feel like they were bringing honor to the family.

But because of this, all the servants in Baoyu's room have been branded as belonging to the second room, and it is impossible to clear their name even if they want to.

Therefore, the change of the master of Rongguo Mansion was actually disadvantageous to them. They wanted to follow the example of others and sell out their master for fame and fortune and climb up the social ladder, but it was absolutely impossible.

Every one of Baoyu's servants are not only family-born, but also very smart, otherwise they would not have been able to get into Baoyu's courtyard.

They all knew that the wife had fallen ill recently, and it was said that she was angry because she felt that it was the Third Master Cong of the East Palace who had taken away the title and property of the Second House. Although it was not made public, probably in the wife's mind, the Second House and the First House of the Jia Family were at loggerheads.

Although the master and his mistress have now moved out of Rong Xi Tang and have lost their power compared to before, this is only relative to the East Palace.

To the maids and servants in Baoyu's room, the Madam is still the Madam, and she can still take their lives easily, so no one dares to act rashly.

But even so, except for Xiren, Sheyue and a few others who were truly loyal to him, everyone else was somewhat wavering and confused.

……

These days, Mrs. Wang is going to move out of Rong Xi Tang. After all, Jia Zheng and his wife have lived in Rong Xi Tang for fifteen years since the old man passed away, and the accumulated belongings are quite complicated.

Lin Zhixiao's family arranged people and it took two days to move out all the things. Because Madam Wang suddenly fell ill, many skillful maids were transferred to the side courtyard where Madam Wang was temporarily staying to put away the things.

Early in the morning of that day, the two head maids, Xiren and Sheyue, went to the side courtyard to help with tidying up.

Baoyu also went to the palace early in the morning to express his displeasure because one of Prince Beijing's important concubines had passed away.

There were only two maids, Qiu Wen and Bi Hen, left in the yard. As soon as Baoyu and others went out, these two also went hand in hand and went somewhere unknown.

Another girl, Tan Yun, was taken away for her mother's birthday. When the other maids saw that Baoyu and the others were not there, they thought they could not be used at all, so they slipped away to have fun.

When Baoyu returned from Prince Beijing's mansion, he found the room empty. Except for a few old women sweeping and washing clothes in the yard, there was no trace of the maids.

Although Baoyu was a rich, lazy man with no sense of reason, he was never too harsh on the pretty maids in the room and was even a little indulgent to them. Now that they were all gone, although he felt a little annoyed, he was not angry.

He was feeling thirsty, so he called out twice, but no one answered. The maid sweeping the yard wanted to come in to serve him, but Baoyu sent her away in disgust.
He took the teacup himself and poured water from the bamboo basket that held the hot kettle. He heard someone behind him say, "Second Master, be careful not to burn your hands. Let me do it."

Baoyu was startled when he heard this. The teacup in his hand had been deftly taken away by someone. The person quickly poured water from the hot kettle and handed it to Baoyu.

Baoyu saw that the person pouring tea was a rough maid, who was wearing half-new clothes, had a long face, a slim figure and a pretty appearance.

Baoyu asked, "Are you also from my room? What's your name? Why have I never seen you before?"

The maid replied, "My name is Xiaohong. I usually only do odd jobs in the backyard and never do anything in the Second Master's room. It's not surprising that the Second Master doesn't recognize me."

Baoyu thought about it and realized that this was the truth. In fact, he didn't recognize Xiaohong because although Xiaohong was pretty, she didn't have any outstanding appearance.

So Xiaohong worked in his room for a while, but he ignored her.

If she was as pretty as Qingwen or as beautiful as Wu'er, Master Bao would have known her a long time ago.

……

At this time, footsteps were heard outside, coming towards the inner room. Xiaohong's face changed slightly and she hurried out of the house.

When they saw Qiu Wen and Bi Hen coming back, they looked unhappy. When they saw Xiao Hong coming out of Baoyu's room, they both glared at him. Bi Hen even ran into the room alone and looked around.

After a while, he came out, shook his head at Qiu Wen, and said, "Master Bao said he just came back."

When Qiu Wen heard that Baoyu was the only one in the room, her expression became even more stern, and she said, "It seems that we came back too early. We came back later to please you, and maybe we did something good."

Xiao Hong turned pale and said, "Sister, what do you mean? I just lost my handkerchief and I'm looking for it in front.

Master Bao called for tea several times, but no one answered, so I went in to pour tea. It happened that my sisters came back, and nothing good happened. "

Qiu Wen saw that Xiao Hong responded without showing any weakness after she had just said one sentence.

The anger in her heart surged up because she was in a bad mood today.

Now the Rongguo Mansion has changed and the head of the family has changed. Although Qiu Wen and Bi Hen are Baoyu's first-class maids, they are still inferior to Xiren and Sheyue in loyalty and vision.

The two were completely devoted to Baoyu, and they realized that even if Jia Cong inherited the family business, given the friendship between him and the master, the second branch would not lose its wealth even if it lost its honor.

Qiu Wen and Bi Hen were influenced by the people around them. Although they knew their situation, they still lacked some patience and could no longer suppress their restlessness.

Although I dare not climb other branches, I still have some distracting thoughts.

The first person they thought of was Wu'er. Because of her frail health, Wu'er did not work at the mansion and only helped with odd jobs in the kitchen.

Qiu Wen and Bi Hen worked in the kitchen together, and they had met each other several times. They were old acquaintances in the mansion.

Nowadays, everyone is a maid, but Wu'er was sent by Jia Cong to help manage the housework of the West Mansion. It goes without saying how much of a confidant she is in Jia Cong's eyes.

At that time, the servants of the West Mansion would respectfully call this little girl who used to help in the kitchen "Miss Liu", making people like Qiu Wen and Bi Hen jealous to death.

Although they do not have the courage to find another wise master, it is okay for them to stay close to their old acquaintances and leave a way out for themselves in the future.

So, today, while Baoyu was out, Xiren and Sheyue went to Lady Wang's side courtyard to help early in the morning, and Qiu Wen and Bi Hen took the opportunity to go to Sister Feng's courtyard to see Wu'er.

……

Since Wu'er followed Wang Xifeng to take care of the housework in the West Mansion during the day, Wang Xifeng allocated a room in the yard for Wu'er to rest in her spare time.

Back then, Wu'er was just a kitchen maid, and Qiu Wen and Bi Hen had already become Baoyu's enviable personal maids. Now, times have changed, their honors and disgraces have been reversed, and the difference between them is as great as heaven and earth.

Fortunately, although Wu'er was in a good position, he was not arrogant at all. He was still as friendly and polite as he was in the past. He just didn't respond to the secret words they tried to win over, and both sides kept a distance.

Qiu Wen and Bi Hen were not stupid. They knew that although Wu'er seemed friendly on the surface, he did not care about them in his heart and was even deliberately distancing himself from them.

In the final analysis, they are Baoyu's maids, and are people with the stamp of approval of the second wife.

Now, the unknown reason why the lady fell ill, because of the lady, Baoyu and Mr. Cong Sanye are two people who cannot get along.

How could the trusted maidservant of Master Cong Sanye possibly like them?

Qiu Wen and Bi Hen were naturally very upset when their plans for personal advancement failed.

Just now, Xiaohong retorted again. Besides, Xiaohong was just a third-class maid. Bihen was fine, but Qiu Wen could not suppress the anger that had been accumulating for a long time.

He cursed at Xiao Hong: "You shameless, dirty thing! Instead of doing your rough work, you took advantage of us all to do this trick, thinking we were all dead.

Look at yourself in the mirror, are you qualified to serve tea or water?"

When Bi Hen saw Qiu Wen started to curse, she joined in: "Let's not do anything about serving tea and water tomorrow. Just tell her to do it. Let's all go our separate ways and leave her alone to be proud."

The two were arguing fiercely. Xiaohong was so angry that her pretty face turned red, but she didn't dare to curse. She held her breath in her stomach, feeling very uncomfortable.

Baoyu went out and said, "You were not in the room just now. It would have been fine if you had all gone out for a walk, but how come you are quarreling as soon as you come back? It's because I usually go easy on you, but you just let your temper get the better of you."

Qiu Wen and Bi Hen stopped talking when they saw Baoyu come out to talk. Xiao Hong took the opportunity to go into the backyard to hide from the limelight, and then went out of the backyard through the small door. Feeling extremely embarrassed and angry, she wandered around in a secluded place in the garden.

When I walked to a rockery, I suddenly heard someone talking above.

"Second sister-in-law, I want to tear down the wall on the north side of the East Courtyard, enclose the Master's Mengpozhai Study and a piece of land nearby, and build a few new courtyards."

"Third brother, the area of ​​the East Road Courtyard is nearly twice as large as before."

"Since the master is moving there, we must make sure he lives comfortably..."

Xiaohong looked up and saw two people standing on the rockery, gazing towards a house in the distance. One of them was the Second Mistress, and the other was handsome and eye-catching, and he was none other than the Third Master Cong of the East Palace.

Xiaohong heard Wang Xifeng say again: "Third brother is really thoughtful. Yesterday you asked Wu'er to pass on the message, and I asked Wang'er to go to the West Market and find the bricklayers who renovated the garden of the West Mansion in previous years.

Ask them to quote the market price of bricks and tiles, and also the list of servants of the West Palace that Third Brother wants. It is all ready and can be shown to you right now."

Wang Xifeng was about to go down the stairs when Jia Cong said, "Second sister-in-law is not feeling well right now. It's better not to run back and forth. Ask someone to run errands for you."

Wang Xifeng thought it made sense, and she turned her eyes to Xiaohong under the rockery and asked, "Which room's maid are you from?"

Xiao Hong smiled and said, "Second Madam, is there anything you want me to do for you?"

Wang Xifeng saw that she was pretty and clean, and spoke fluently, so she smiled and said, "I went out without my maid today, and now I have thought of something and want someone to tell someone to go and call them. I wonder if you can do it?"

Xiaohong glanced at Jia Cong who was beside Wang Xifeng and said quickly, "Grandma, just give me your instructions. I will definitely pass them on."

Wang Xifeng said, "Go to my courtyard and ask your sister Ping to get the scroll and two pieces of loose paper that are under the Ru kiln plate rack in the outer room, and bring them to me immediately."

Xiao Hong said hurriedly: "Don't worry, Second Madam, I will pass the message right away."

Wang Xi asked, "Which room are you in? I'm asking you to do something. If your master comes looking for you later, I can help you explain it."

As Xiaohong walked away, she turned back and replied, "To answer grandma's question, I'm from Master Bao's room. My name is Xiaohong."

When Jia Cong heard the name, his heart skipped a beat and he muttered, "Xiao Hong..."

Wang Xifeng saw Jia Cong staring at the girl's leaving back, seemingly unable to take his eyes off her.

Then he joked, "Third brother, why are you staring at that girl like that? You usually have a very sharp eye for maids, but this girl is just average looking, how come she caught your eye?"

Jia Cong said: "Second sister-in-law, what are you thinking? Don't you think this girl is well-mannered and eloquent? She is a smart and intelligent person." (End of this chapter)