Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Shenjing, Qingyufang, Xia Mansion.

In the main hall of the inner courtyard, Mrs. Xia read the text message sent by Mrs. Wang and understood everything.

That day she went to visit the Jia family and asked Mrs. Wang to convey her gratitude to the emperor.

When Mrs. Wang mentioned that her daughter was a female historian in the palace, Mrs. Xia left out a remark that her daughter had connections everywhere in the palace, which really made Mrs. Wang remember her forever.

Now the letter mentioned this matter in a tactful way, and invited Mrs. Xia to bring her daughter to visit when she had time, saying that there was a daughter in the boudoir at home who could be the perfect companion for the handkerchief.

Mrs. Xia said to the maid who delivered the letter, “I understand the meaning of your wife’s letter, but the selection of concubines in the palace this year is very grand.

All the officials and ladies of marriageable age have entered the palace to wait for selection, hoping for the emperor's grace to come, and they are now under the watchful eyes of the public.

Although there are relatives working in the palace, if you want to make friends with them, it will easily attract attention and the risks are unpredictable.

Please allow the Xia family to think about it for a while before replying to your wife."

The messenger was Lady Wang's confidant who came with her dowry. She originally thought that given the Jia family's status, if they wanted to ask a merchant family like the Xia family for help, the other party would definitely agree.

Unexpectedly, Mrs. Xia hesitated, but as she was just a servant of the Jia family, she couldn't say much. She just said that she would go back and convey the truth to the lady.

Moreover, Mrs. Xia's words that her family had relatives working in the palace were somewhat intimidating, and intimidated the woman who delivered the letter. She felt that the Xia family did have some background, which was why they were so cautious.

After Lady Wang's dowry maid left, Miss Xia came out from behind the screen in the main hall and asked, "Mother, I heard from Baochan that someone from the Jia family came to deliver a letter?"

Madam Xia frowned and said, "Your maidservant is a real gossip girl and she is also restless. Just now, the second wife of the Jia family sent a letter to invite us to visit her."

Miss Xia's eyes lit up and she asked, "Why are you inviting us to your house for no reason?"

Mrs. Xia smiled and said, "The last time I visited the Second Madam of the Jia family, I wanted to ask her to convey the matter of thanking the Xue family for the marriage, and during the casual conversation, I mentioned my family's background in the palace.

Unexpectedly, the second wife of the Jia family is actually an ambitious person. She knows that the emperor wants to select beautiful girls in the palace this year to enrich the inner palace.

Her family has an eldest daughter who entered the palace at a young age and now works as a female historian for Fengzao Palace. The second wife wants to ask the Xia family to use their connections in the palace to help her daughter select opportunities and win the emperor's favor.

Whether the Xia family's help can be successful in this matter is still uncertain, but it is feasible to help them get around and accumulate favors in the Jia family.

We are an orphan and a widow. If we want to gain a foothold in the business and official circles, we must make more friends with noble and prestigious families with strong foundations.

The Jia family is a noble family, a powerful family, so it would be a good thing for the Xia family to be able to make friends with them. However, agreeing to this kind of thing too quickly would make the reaction seem too easy, and it would not have much weight.

It would be a favor to leave her alone for two days until she is doubtful and uneasy, and then give her a reply."

……

After hearing what her mother said, Miss Xia was slightly delighted and said, "Mother, helping someone else's daughter gain the emperor's favor in the palace is not an ordinary thing, it is really a favor.

Just based on her letter, our family accepted the matter, which would be too easy for the Jia family to get."

Mrs. Xia was slightly stunned and said, "Whether this matter can be done or not, we still need to ask that relative in the palace. At present, this matter has not been decided yet. What you said makes sense, but is there any good way?"

Miss Xia said, "In my opinion, mother is not as good as you, not as good as..."

Miss Xia, who was usually outspoken, actually stuttered when she spoke. Her pretty face suddenly turned red, and her beautiful eyes were full of gleaming light, as if water could come out of them.

As the saying goes, no one knows a daughter better than her mother. When Mrs. Xia saw her daughter's expression, she knew what she was thinking.

He frowned and said, "You are not going to use this incident to control the Second Madam of the Jia family and ask her to help you deal with Jia Cong, are you?
You are a grown woman and yet you have no shame. You were really bewitched by Jia Cong.

Jia Cong is now the Lord of Rongguo Mansion, and the Second Wife has to look at his face. He is not the Second Wife's biological son, so how can she influence his marriage?

You should be more contented and stop being so thoughtless and wishful thinking all day long!"

Miss Xia's face was still red with shame, but she was not forgiving. She said, "Mother, if you didn't say that our family needs to make friends with such a noble family, it's not necessarily wrong for me to think so!"

Mrs. Xia was troubled to see her daughter was stubborn and said, "You are right. You can choose any of the young masters of the Jia family, but Jia Cong is too famous. It's useless even if you like him.

Just listen to what mother says. With his status, he definitely won't look down on a family like ours. If you still persist in doing so, you will definitely suffer greatly in the future."

Miss Xia has always had a fierce temper and was the only daughter of a wealthy family who was spoiled. From childhood to adulthood, whatever she set her eyes on, she had always been able to get it thanks to her mother's doting.

Now, relying on her youth and beauty, she thinks of herself as a golden Buddha, so naturally she wants the best things to suit herself.

Although she also realized that it would be difficult for her to get Jia Cong, her heart was burning with passion and she still refused to give up, so naturally she would not listen to her mother's words.

Mrs. Xia saw her daughter leave angrily and knew that she would never give up. She felt very depressed, but on second thought, she felt something was wrong.

That day, my daughter met Jia Cong at the Jia Mansion. If they had only met once, how could she have been so obsessed with him?

These sons of noble families are not easy to deal with when it comes to women. It would be impossible that when my daughter met Jia Cong that day, he saw her beauty and had already seduced her!

Otherwise, how could this girl become so crazy and worried about that man and unable to let go... ?
Mrs. Xia knew that her daughter was a little spoiled and sometimes did things without restraint. If she was young and ignorant and had done something immoral, how could she get married if the news got out?

She thought about it over and over again and felt that something was not right, so she asked someone to call her daughter's maid Baochan for questioning.

……

Miss Xia returned to her room. Although she was in a bad mood, she did not smash things all over the room. She just lay on the embroidery bed, thinking about something.

The maid Baochan was relieved to see that her mistress had been offended in the front hall and had not caused any trouble when she came back. She lazily slipped out of the room and sat on the steps outside the door eating melon seeds.

At this time, the maid beside the mistress came to her and said that the mistress asked her to go to the front hall for questioning.

Baochan was quite pretty, but her temperament and behavior were somewhat frivolous. She was best at acting nice and pleasing in front of Miss Xia, but she didn't learn the good things, but she learned all of Miss Xia's cunning and weirdness.

She usually took advantage of Miss Xia's status and was not afraid of anyone in the inner courtyard except Madam Xia. When she saw Madam Xia suddenly summon her for questioning, she couldn't help feeling a little uneasy.

In the inner courtyard hall, Mrs. Xia saw Baochan coming in with her head down and said, "You follow the young lady closely all the time. I want to ask you something. If you hide anything, I will expose your skin!"

Baochan shuddered all over after hearing Mrs. Xia's sinister words.

Everyone in the family knows that the wife is a capable person, otherwise how could an unemployed widow run such a big business of the Xia family and manage it so well?

She replied timidly, "Madam, feel free to ask me anything you want to ask. Baochan would never dare to hide anything or lie."

Mrs. Xia asked, "That day when we were guests at the Xue family, you accompanied the young lady to the Jia family garden to enjoy the palace lanterns. On the way, you met the Jia family's Weiyuanbo. What did the young lady say and do to him? Tell me."

Baochan said, "That day, the third young lady of the Jia family and the eldest young lady of the Xue family accompanied us to the garden to watch the lanterns in the mansion, and we met Weiyuan Bo and that Baoyu on the way."

Mrs. Xia was slightly startled and asked, "Who is Baoyu?"

Baochan seemed to be quite fond of Baoyu, and when she heard the lady talking about him, she smiled a little. However, she knew that Mrs. Xia was always very powerful, so she quickly restrained her expression.

He said, "Baoyu is the son of the second wife of the Jia family, the young man who was rumored in the capital to be born with a jade in his mouth."

Mrs. Xia was suddenly enlightened. She had naturally heard of the rumor about being born with a jade in the mouth.

Mrs. Xia frowned and said, "I'm asking you about your young lady and Weiyuan Earl Jia Cong. Why are you talking to me about Baoyu? What kind of words and actions did your young lady have with Jia Cong at that time?"

Baochan replied in some confusion: "The young lady has nothing to do with Jia Cong. At that time, we just saw from a distance that the third young lady of the Jia family called her third brother, and then I knew that it was Earl Weiyuan.

The lady just saw him from the side, and the two of them didn't talk to each other at all, let alone any behavior."

Mrs. Xia was also stunned when she heard this and said, "Miss, you only saw him from a distance, how come you are like this when you came back? Are you lying to me?"

Baochan was startled and said in panic, "Madam, I am telling the truth. It's no wonder that Miss is like this. Jia Cong is very handsome. I have never seen anyone as handsome as him.

Moreover, she has a title and an official position, which makes her easy to be envied by others, so the young lady would...

In fact, Baoyu is also very handsome and pleasing to the eye. I have also advised Miss that Jia Cong is too powerful and it is not worth getting involved with him. There are more handsome young men than him... "

Mrs. Xia saw that Baochan was frightened by her and looked flustered and spoke incoherently, so she frowned as she listened.

It turned out that my daughter just glanced at the other person and didn't even say a word, but she was made so confused by him. What a shame.

Even after a trip to the Jia Mansion, it was really a ghost. The daughter had been possessed by Jia Cong and could not stop thinking about him. She wanted to marry him immediately.

Her maid seemed to be possessed as well. She mentioned Baoyu every few words. When she spoke of him, her eyebrows raised and her eyes lit up, looking very flirtatious.

Can the men of the Jia family be so fragrant?
……

Mrs. Xia was annoyed when she heard Baochan's chattering. She said, "Go away, go back and take good care of the young lady. If you dare to stir up trouble in front of the young lady, you'll have to watch out for yourself!"

After hearing what Mrs. Xia said, Baochan felt as if she had been pardoned, and hurried out of the hall.

Mrs. Xia rubbed her temples with a headache, thinking of Baochan's nonsense just now, and suddenly something happened to her.

In the past, she had heard rumors about Baoyu in the market, but outsiders only knew that the Jia family had a boy who was born with a jade in his mouth, but they could not figure out whether he was the son of the first or second wife.

The Xia family was a merchant family, and the Jia family was a wealthy and noble family. It was impossible for the two families to have any intersection, and naturally they didn't know what was going on.

Just now, after hearing Baochan's words, Mrs. Xia realized that Baoyu was the biological son of the second wife of the Jia family... Although the maid Baochan was a little frivolous, she was also good-looking. She had served her daughter since she was a child, and her vision was not low. She felt that Baoyu was a good person, so it must be correct...

As for Jia Cong, his status and power are there. Mrs. Xia is a worldly-wise person and is not a naive person like her daughter.

Even if this man was so outstanding that he was unrivaled in the world, she would never have any extravagant expectations of him, so as not to make a fool of herself.

……

Rongguo Mansion, Lixiangyuan.

The seven or eight decades-old pear trees in the yard were blown by the warm February breeze. Their branches, which had been dry throughout the winter, now sprouted green buds, adding a touch of spring joy to the yard.

Inside the main hall, Ying'er was drawing patterns, while Jinchuan was combing the colored threads and arranging them into neat strands for her daughter to use for embroidery.

Baochai had a jet-black bun on her head, and wore a long cross-collared jacket with a honey-colored base and gold edges. She wore a bright red cross-collared small coat underneath, and a light yellow silk cotton skirt.

She wore an ordinary gold hairpin inlaid with pearls on her head and a pink silk flower on her right temple. She had no other head ornaments. Although her makeup was simple, her eyebrows looked like spring mountains, her eyes like autumn water, and her lips like rouge.

The scarlet cross-collared lining slightly reveals the collar of the long coat. The red and white colors make the crystal clear neck skin look even more delicate and smooth like snow, and the fragrance is disturbing and dazzling.

She was holding needle and thread, embroidering a picture of peonies in spring on a green bamboo embroidery frame. Her slender fingers gently rolled up the colored thread, and the silver needle jumped up and down in a light and smooth movement.

During this period, Baochai lived a leisurely life because Aunt Xue and Mrs. Wang were busy arranging Xue Pan's marriage, giving Baochai a chance to catch her breath.

Baochai was glad that her mother had found a good excuse based on seniority. Her brother hadn't gotten married yet, so she shouldn't have been the first to do so. It was very reasonable and saved her aunt from trying to get her married.

Baochai is extremely intelligent and she knows exactly what her mother is thinking. The fact that she pushes her brother out to block the way at this moment shows that her mother is already opposed to the marriage between them.

As for why her mother had changed so much, Baochai naturally guessed the reason, not just because Baoyu had a bad reputation now.

More importantly, the Cong brothers were favored by the emperor and became the co-masters of the East and West Mansions of the Jia family. From then on, no one in the Jia family could surpass him in glory.

Although my mother knew that there was a huge gap in the social status of our two families, she eventually began to be tempted, so she and I were so attracted to him and refused to talk about the perfect match.

Although Baochai felt somewhat helpless about her mother's swaying power, at least it no longer went against her own thoughts, which made her feel much better.

Although she knew in her heart that the distance between them had been difficult to bridge since Jia Cong was conferred the title, now that he had inherited two titles, he was even more dazzling.

There is no relationship between him and me to begin with, and there is probably no hope for us in the future. I can only take advantage of him day by day...

……

Several people in the inner room were busy with their own things when they suddenly heard footsteps coming from the main room. It turned out to be Mrs. Wang.

Baochai now feels somewhat resistant to her aunt, not only because she always wants to match her with Baoyu, which goes against her own wishes.

Also, ever since Cong's brothers inherited the title, her aunt's words and actions have been directed at him, with some bad intentions, which makes Baochai unhappy.

However, as a junior, even if she was dissatisfied, she still had to observe the proper etiquette. When she heard the maid outside serving tea, she lifted the door curtain and went out to greet Mrs. Wang.

When Mrs. Wang saw Baochai's beautiful and graceful appearance, a satisfied smile appeared on her face, and the coldness that had usually appeared on her face during this period also disappeared in an instant.

Baochai exchanged a few polite words with Mrs. Wang, then left Mrs. Wang to talk to her mother and went back to her inner room to busy herself with her embroidery.

……

Yesterday, Mrs. Wang counted the money and goods on hand, and asked her trusted maid to send a letter to Mrs. Xia, but the maid came back and said that Mrs. Xia was still thinking about it and could not make a decision for the time being.

Mrs. Wang was very disappointed when she heard this. But when the old woman said that Mrs. Xia mentioned that there were relatives of the Xia family in the palace, Mrs. Wang's heart, which had just frozen, began to beat again.

Three years ago, when Yuanchun was waiting for selection in the palace, Mrs. Wang withdrew money from the Duke of Rong to plan Yuanchun's future. With the help of others' advice and arrangements, she once arranged for a eunuch named Xia in the palace.

It is said that this eunuch Xia often goes around the six palaces to do his work, and outsiders call him the eunuch of the six palaces, but that is just a private compliment and not the title of his actual position.

This eunuch Xia is considered an old and senior eunuch in the inner palace, and he also holds some official positions, but his status and official position are still far behind those of the eunuch chief Ouyang Bin and the deputy eunuch Guo Lin.

However, since Eunuch Xia was experienced and well-versed in palace affairs, he would participate in the selection of inner palace officials every three years as the Supervisor of Ceremonies.

Although he was not a selected eunuch in charge, he did hold some power, so the Jia family did not miss this person when they were building connections in the palace three years ago.

Although the Jia family had tried to make arrangements for this person three years ago, due to the lack of familiarity between the two families and various other reasons, Yuanchun ultimately failed to succeed.

This eunuch Xia has the same surname as the Xia family. Could it be that the relative in the palace that Mrs. Xia mentioned is this person?

Mrs. Wang was almost certain of this guess, because there were not many people with the surname Xia, and it seemed that he was the only eunuch with the surname Xia who was powerful and famous in the palace.

When Mrs. Wang figured this out, her heart was burning with joy. The Xia family's connections in the palace were actually her blood relatives, so the relationship must be extraordinary.

This made her even more excited about the Xia family's help in this matter. She felt that as long as Mrs. Xia could spare the time to help, Yuanchun's future might be fulfilled...

As Mrs. Wang's expectations for the Xia family grew, she became more and more anxious in waiting for a reply, and she began to value the Xia family more and more.

In the past few days, she has been worried about the four thousand taels of silver and has been too busy to take care of the thank-you ceremony that Mrs. Xia asked her to do.

Now he dared not delay any longer and arranged a carriage to go to Lixiang Garden early in the morning to negotiate the date between Xue and Xia's families.

In the main hall, Mrs. Wang, contrary to her usual behavior, told the story of how the Xia family had asked a high monk to tell fortunes, and how Miss Xia and Xue Pan's destinies were incompatible. She also spoke many good words for Mrs. Xia.

In fact, Xia's mother had been gone for more than half a month and there had been no news since then. Aunt Xue had guessed the result long ago, and after hearing her sister's detailed explanation of the reason, she was not too surprised.

The Xia family girl had outstanding manners and looks, and Aunt Xue really liked her, which made her feel quite regretful.

Seeing that her sister was so enthusiastic about this matter and praised Mrs. Xia so much, which was unlike her sister's usual character, she felt a little strange in her heart.

……

Although Baochai in the inner room was no longer worried about her aunt's worries about gold and jade, she was still wary of Mrs. Wang's arrival.

When she heard that her brother's marriage with the Xia family had not been successful, she was not depressed at all. Instead, she felt very happy.

Because the Xia mother and daughter came to visit that day, Baochai remembered the way Miss Xia looked at the Cong brothers, which was so ambiguous and presumptuous, and she felt that this girl was not a serious person.

It was not a bad thing that she could not become his sister-in-law. It was even a good thing, so that his brother would not marry the wrong person and cause trouble in the family in the future.

Besides, my brother's marriage has failed, and my own marriage is even more uncertain. Even if my aunt sets her sights on me, she won't know where to start. Wouldn't I be happy...

Baochai thought about all this and felt happy. She suddenly wanted to take a walk in the East Palace. She didn't know how his studies were going, and suddenly she wanted to meet him.

She put away her needlework, called Jinchuan, lifted the door curtain, and said to Aunt Xue, "Mom, I'm going to the East Palace to take a look and talk to my second sister, Sister Lin, and Sister Yun."

Aunt Xue smiled and said, "It would be good to go out and hang out with the sisters so that you don't have to stay in the house all day."

Baochai bowed to Mrs. Wang again, then left Lixiang Courtyard with Jinchuan.

Mrs. Wang looked at Baochai's graceful and charming back, her face somewhat strange, and asked, "Sister, does Baochai often go to the East Palace now?"

Aunt Xue smiled and said, "Bao girl is popular. The girls in your family like to talk to her. It's common to go to the East Palace every day."

Madam Wang twisted her bracelet in her hand and said, “It’s good for sisters to be affectionate with each other, but the East Palace is Cong’s residence after all.

In previous years, Congge was still young, so he naturally didn't have to worry about those concerns. But this spring, in April, Congge has reached the age of dancing elephants, and people have to be let out of the house.

When he turned fifteen, his bones, veins and blood had grown, and he was no longer a child. Baochai had also passed the age of marriage.

It is good for sisters to be close to each other, but when they reach a certain age, they should start to have some taboos. Baochai is young after all, so my younger sister should give her some advice when she is free."

Aunt Xue felt a little embarrassed when she heard this. In fact, she had been against Baochai and Jia Cong getting too close at first, but now she was kind of waiting for it and her mood was quite complicated...

She said casually, "Now both the East and West Palaces belong to Cong'er's territory, so it doesn't matter which one we go to. However, Baochai has always been polite, so don't worry, sister. I will also give her some advice."

After hearing this, Mrs. Wang felt uncomfortable, her thoughts were in turmoil, and her eyes were flickering.

Baochai is the daughter-in-law she has chosen, but there cannot be any mistake.

Now Mrs. Wang became more and more resentful towards Jia Cong, thinking that this boy had always been dishonest and had so many pretty maids in his house.

He is of the same race as the eldest master, both father and son are lustful.

Every time this kid came back from an imperial mission, he would bring back women of unknown origin, either nuns from the temple or little actors from the opera troupe, and he would bring any woman, whether fragrant or smelly, into the house.

Now that he is about to reach the age of dancing elephants, he will definitely have no scruples when it comes to women.

My niece is so beautiful. If she goes to the East Palace frequently, this boy might develop lustful intentions towards her.

He is so handsome that it is easy for women to be attracted to him. If he seduces his niece and does something to her...

Mrs. Wang felt a little confused when she thought about this. She felt that she must think of some way. Although it was impossible to do so at the moment, it was always better to take precautions. (End of this chapter)