Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Rongguo Mansion, Rongqing Hall.

Just as Lady Jia was getting to the point, the maid outside came in with a message saying that Aunt Xue was coming to pay her respects, and Lady Jia's words were interrupted.

But Wang Xifeng is a shrewd person, and she is best at observing people's words and expressions and adapting to circumstances.

Just now, when Lady Jia said that Jia Cong had reached an age where he needed a woman to serve him, her eyes inadvertently glanced at Yuanyang, although she later covered it up a little by asking Yuanyang to change the tea.

But Yuanyang's face was so shy that even her ears turned red. How could she hide this from Wang Xifeng?

Wang Xifeng thought about the big commotion that happened when the master wanted to take Yuanyang as a concubine.

It was also rumored that Yuanyang would rather die than obey the eldest master because she had fallen in love with the third son of Cong.

Yuanyang's stupid sister-in-law insisted that Yuanyang had a crush on Cong Lao San and secretly made shoes for him. Although it was later said that Yuanyang was making shoes on behalf of Yingchun, it was still a confusing account.

The matter was later suppressed by the old lady, and the master was naturally unhappy.

However, Wang Xifeng, Mrs. Wang and other shrewd people in the inner house all realized that Yuanyang’s feelings for Cong Lao San might be complicated, but no one dared to say anything because of the old lady’s face.

Wang Xifeng just saw the look in Lady Jia's eyes and Yuanyang's unusual reaction, and then she truly understood what was going on. It turned out that the old lady was as clear as a mirror and had already made a hidden move.

Just now the old lady pointed out Zhishao because that girl has a special identity and is someone who cannot be avoided. She left another vacancy and said that she wanted to choose someone who is steady. Isn't the meaning obvious?
She sent her trusted maid to the third brother Cong to plant the seeds of connections around him.

The old lady had thought of this idea a year ago, but she kept it to herself. After all, she is very experienced and has a deep mind.

However, Cong Lao San is such a smart man that he cannot see through the old lady’s thoughts and may not give in so easily.

Apart from Zhishao, the others in his room included Wu'er, Qingwen, Yinglian, and the new Lingguan, all of whom were his trusted confidants who traveled with him everywhere.

Even his own Ping'er had to stand back. Would he take Yuanyang, who had no feelings for him at all, as his wife? I'm afraid it would be difficult.

While Wang Xifeng was thinking about it in her heart, Mrs. Wang heard what Grandmother Jia said. As the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law have lived together for decades, they know what Grandmother Jia means. The old lady wanted to place her confidant in the boy's room.

This kind of routine is common in large mansions. Aunt Zhao in the master's room was originally the old lady's trusted maid. She was given to the master when she was young, just like Xiren was given to Baoyu.

Aunt Zhao was pretty and fertile when she was young, but fortunately she had a very rough temper and was a complete fool, otherwise Mrs. Wang would have a hard time now.

……

Not to mention Wang Xifeng and Mrs. Wang’s own thoughts.

After Aunt Xue entered the hall, she started chatting with Lady Jia about family gossip, and even joked with her sister. Her expression was warm and natural, as if what happened with Baochai that day had never happened.

When Mrs. Wang saw her sister's smiling expression, she felt somewhat puzzled. That day, she suggested that the Xue family move out of the Jia Mansion as soon as possible.

Several days have passed, but there is still no movement from my sister's side. I don't know what's going on?

Aunt Xue and Grandmother Jia chatted for a while, then changed the subject and said, "I came here today to pay my respects to the old lady, and I have something important to tell you.

My family moved to the capital from Jinling that year. Thanks to the care and sympathy of the old lady and the lady, we have been staying in the Jia family for several years. I feel very sorry for bothering you for too long.

These days, I have had people clean and renovate the Xue family's old villa in Shenjing. Once everything is ready, I will move in. When the time comes, I hope you will come and visit me, old lady."

When Aunt Xue said this, Mrs. Wang felt relieved. Her sister could finally move out, so that Jia Cong would no longer have to fool around with Baochai. It was disgusting to see him, so she would just ignore him and not be bothered by him anymore.

When Lady Jia and Wang Xifeng heard what Aunt Xue said, they were both shocked. The Xue family had been living in Lixiang Garden for several years, and the people in the Jia family had become accustomed to it.

They were all very surprised when they suddenly heard Aunt Xue say that she was going to move away.

In fact, according to Grandmother Jia's wishes, it would be better if the Xue family moved away, so that Aunt Xue and her wife would not have to meddle with the golden marriage and always instigate Baoyu to marry Baochai, thus ruining her plans.

But even though he thought so in his heart, he naturally couldn't say it out loud. After all, the Jia and Xue families had been friends for generations, and now they were in-laws, so he had to maintain his face and affection.

Grandmother Jia asked, "The concubine and the wife are living well, why do you want to move out suddenly? What have the servants in the mansion done to you? Tell me in detail, and I will definitely teach those who are ignorant of etiquette a lesson."

Aunt Xue laughed and said, "What are you talking about, old lady? Our family has strict education and everyone we meet is very polite. There is absolutely no such thing as what the old lady said.

Although the relatives are close to each other and harmonious, like a family, I feel sorry for disturbing your house for too long. "

Grandmother Jia laughed and said, "Madam, what you said is out of context. Not only are the Xue and Jia families from Jinling aristocratic families, but they are also relatives in this generation, so there is no need for them to be so polite.

Your family is richer than ours, but you only live in a courtyard here. All the food and other expenses are paid by yourselves. In fact, it is our Jia family who has treated you poorly.

How can I deserve your annoying words? "

……

Wang Xifeng didn't care much about Lady Jia's polite words. She was just thinking in her heart, the Xue family had always lived well, why did they suddenly propose to move out?

Wang Xifeng also noticed something strange. When Aunt Xue proposed to move out, Lady Wang, her elder sister, did not say a word.

She neither persuaded Aunt Xue to stay nor explained the reason to the old lady. This was too unreasonable...

In fact, Wang Xifeng could sense that something was wrong. Naturally, an old woman like Jia Mu, who had been in the inner court for her entire life, also noticed that the situation was odd.

Grandmother Jia even vaguely felt that there was an inexplicable gap and alienation between the two sisters than before.

This made Lady Jia's heart move slightly. Could it be that the perfect match they were planning had some problems that she was not aware of? Otherwise, why would Mrs. Xue suddenly want to move away?

But these were just Grandmother Jia's wild speculations, and there was no real evidence. The only thing that was certain was that as long as Mrs. Xue moved out of the Rongguo Mansion, this perfect match would most likely be over.

What Lady Jia could think of, naturally, was guessed accurately by a shrewd person like Wang Xifeng, but she thought about it a little more, wondering what on earth made Aunt Xue want to move away.

Wang Xifeng didn't believe what Aunt Xue had just said, that it was too much of a bother because she had been staying there for too long.

If the Xue family was really so smart, they should have moved out immediately after the Madam moved out of the Rongguo Mansion, and would not have waited until today.

Wang Xifeng said with a smile: "Aunt, please stop talking about moving away. You have lived in Lixiang Courtyard for several years. You are all close to each other and have been living in harmony for a long time. It is like a family. It is more lively to live together.

Besides, Sister Baochai is a generous and intelligent person. She has always been close to her sisters at home and is very popular. It is good for the sisters to live together. If she suddenly has to move away, no one will be willing to let her go.

Now that Brother Cong is in charge, he is young and likes excitement, so he would definitely not agree to it. "

After hearing this, Mrs. Wang raised her eyebrows slightly, feeling a little annoyed. It would be fine if this girl Feng just said some polite words, but she brought up things that were not relevant and brought up that boy too.

When Aunt Xue heard what Wang Xifeng said, her expression changed slightly and she did not respond to Wang Xifeng's words. Although she had a smile on her face, she showed a hint of discomfort.

But when he saw Wang Xifeng's eyes, his pupils lit up slightly, as if he had sensed something, but he was not quite sure in his heart.

Grandmother Jia had no choice but to chime in and said, "Feng girl, what you said makes sense. Although Cong is young, he is the head of the family now, and the sisters have always been close.

Knowing that the concubine is going to move away with her brothers and sisters, she must be reluctant to let them go without someone to keep her company."

Wang Xifeng saw that both she and the old lady had been so polite, but Aunt Xue still declined with a smile, but the persistence in her words had softened a little.

Looking at my aunt again, her face started to look strange and she seemed to not know what to say.

Wang Xifeng sneered in her heart. At this time, she had already figured out that Aunt Xue did not really want to move out. This matter must have been caused by her aunt for some reason.

She knew very well that although the second branch had lost its legitimate heir, her aunt had never given up on this family property.

Wang Xifeng didn't know the real reason, but she felt that her aunt would instigate this matter, which must be beneficial to their second wife, but not to the first wife, and might even be harmful.

Since the pros and cons are weighed like this, Wang Xifeng can't let this matter go smoothly. After all, Aunt Xue lives in the mansion and doesn't need any public money at all. It would be a waste not to do this favor.

……

Wang Xifeng laughed heartily and said, "Old lady, now that Brother Cong is in charge, we can't let him stay idle all the time. The etiquette of entertaining guests should be done by him, the head of the family.

We can’t let the old lady worry about him all the time, let him come out and say something kind, auntie should at least give us some face.”

When Mrs. Wang heard this, her face changed. She used words to control her sister and let her move away without losing face.

But as long as Jia Cong intervenes in this matter, with his shrewdness, he will definitely guess that he is trying to persuade his sister to move out because he seduced Baochai. Given this boy's lust and shamelessness, how could he bear to let Baochai, such a beautiful woman with a soft complexion, go and find all kinds of excuses to let his sister and her family continue to stay.

Mrs. Wang felt aggrieved when she thought of this. It was all because of Feng girl's bad mouth. She always loved to stir up trouble out of nothing and had to involve that boy.

When Lady Jia heard that Wang Xifeng asked Jia Cong to come over and talk, she also thought she was meddling. She thought that they could just exchange a few polite words and deal with the situation. Even if they moved away, it would be refreshing. There was no need to create more trouble.

But Jia Cong is the head of the family after all. Since Wang Xifeng has brought up this topic, it would be embarrassing not to let him come over.

Now that Grandmother Jia has accepted the reality that Jia Cong will inherit the title and become the head of the family, there is no need to create grudges with her grandson over such a small matter. She should still save face.

I had to say, "Feng girl, what you said makes sense. Since he is the head of the family, he should be more concerned. He stays in his room reading every day. I guess he doesn't know anything about what's going on with the concubine."

After hearing what Lady Jia had said, Wang Xifeng naturally decided to go along with it. Now that she was in charge of the first wife's house, how could she let her aunt's second wife control things behind her back?

We must secretly help the third son Cong to establish his authority, so that his aunt won't think that the eldest son is easy to fool and have more delusions in her mind, so that she will sit on the stool and then the table in the future.

She said to Ping'er beside her, "Go and call your Third Master over, and ask him to persuade your aunt. We have all lived here for so many years, and we are all one family. How can you bear to move away just like that?"

Aunt Xue secretly breathed a sigh of relief after hearing what Wang Xifeng said, but Mrs. Wang beside her looked as restrained as usual, except that the Buddhist beads in her hand had stopped turning...

……

Earl's Mansion, Jia Cong Courtyard.

As the Spring Examination approached, Jia Cong's daily schedule became more compact. He used to go out for a walk every afternoon.

Yingchun was afraid that he would worry too much, so every afternoon she would take her sisters to walk around in his yard to save him the trouble of going out.

Every time the sisters came over after dinner, either Daiyu would play the piano for fun, or Yingchun would play chess with him to relieve boredom.

But a game of chess takes too much time, and Yingchun is worried that it would waste their time, so the two of them would often play for two cups of tea before Yingchun would stand up and stop the game. A game of chess between the two of them would often take several days to finish, which is quite interesting.

Every time Xiangyun came over, as long as she had some free time, she would pull Jia Cong to chat about all sorts of things, just to have fun.

Xing Xiuyan usually followed Xiangyun, mostly just listening to the fun from the side, and only occasionally saying a few words to Jia Cong.

Now she is just over 18 years old, but her actions and behavior already have the calm demeanor of a free and easy cloud and wild crane, fresh and elegant, gentle and pleasant, which makes people feel calm and happy.

……

That afternoon, Jia Cong and his sisters were spending their time as usual. After seeing off a group of people, they went to the study and did their homework for half an hour. Then they saw Ping'er enter the yard alone.

Ping'er told Wang Xifeng what happened in Rongqing Hall. She was also a smart person. Wang Xifeng could see that something was wrong, so she naturally also saw something fishy.

Aunt Xue said goodbye to Lady Jia, and the Xue family prepared to move out of the Jia Mansion. However, Lady Wang, who was the elder sister present, did not say a word to keep them, and her words and actions were very strange.

When Jia Cong thought about what happened between him and Baochai that day, he couldn't guess the cause of the incident.

However, Aunt Xue came to Rongqing Hall specially to say goodbye today, and in the end he had to show up. He could naturally guess whether there was some mystery in this.

But no matter what Aunt Xue's intention was for her actions today, or whether she really wanted to move out of the Jia Mansion, it didn't matter to Jia Cong.

What's important is that his words and deeds with Baochai are innocent. If Mrs. Wang uses such false accusations to force the Xue family to move out of the Jia Mansion, wouldn't he, the head of the family, become a decoration?

In the future, Mrs. Wang will definitely become more and more demanding and will do other things that are presumptuous.

……

Rongguo Mansion, Rongqing Hall.

Wang Xifeng half leaned back in the soft chair, letting Feng'er massage her slightly numb legs. Grandmother Jia and Aunt Xue were chatting with each other, but Mrs. Wang looked a little uneasy.

Suddenly, footsteps were heard outside the hall, and the curtain at the door was lifted by a maid.

When Jia Mu and others saw Jia Cong wearing a round-necked robe with magnolia flowers on an indigo background, he had handsome eyebrows and bright eyes, and a free and easy manner. He was accompanied by the pretty and graceful Ping'er. The two of them set off each other and were very pleasing to the eye.

Yuanyang, who was standing behind Lady Jia, looked at the radiant Jia Cong, and then at Ping'er beside him. Thinking that the status of these two people had also been determined, she felt a little empty in her heart.

Jia Cong bowed to the old lady and said to Aunt Xue, "When I came here, I heard Sister Ping'er say that Aunt Xue wanted to move out. She lived well before, but is there anyone who treated Aunt Xue badly?"

After hearing what Jia Cong said, Mrs. Wang felt guilty and thought Jia Cong was hinting at something...

Aunt Xue smiled and said, "Don't worry, Cong-er. Everyone is very nice. It's just that we have been bothering you for too long. We are now cleaning up our villa. Why don't you just move back and live here?"

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Since my aunt moved into Lixiang Garden, I lived in Qingzhizhai and was her neighbor. It has been several years, and our two families have always been in harmony and have long been as close as one family.

Although I inherited the title and became the head of the household, I have been studying in the East Palace recently and have rarely been in the West Palace. I have also become more distant from my aunt. Thinking back, I really shouldn't have done that.

Ever since the master, the mistress, sister-in-law Zhu, and the third sister all moved to the East Courtyard, the West Mansion has become much emptier than usual. The second sister-in-law is not in good health now, and the old lady likes more noise as she gets older.

Cong will be finished with his mourning period in two months. He will have to go to the government office every day, and may even have to go on imperial missions. I'm afraid he will spend very little time at home.

I originally thought that my aunt still lived in the house, and with an experienced elder in the family, there would be someone to take care of everything, and the old lady could talk and play cards with my aunt on a daily basis.

Although we, the younger generation, have to move around outside, we feel more at ease. After all, my aunt's temporary residence in the Jia family has given Cong many benefits and conveniences.

Moreover, Sister Bao is a generous and wise person. She gets along very closely with the sisters in the family, just like siblings. The sisters also have more company with her on a daily basis, which is very rare.

My aunt and her family are moving away now, and everyone in the family is reluctant to let them go. It must be because Cong is too young and has not managed the family well, which has alienated my aunt."

……

After listening to what Jia Cong said, Wang Xifeng was amazed.

After all, the third brother Cong is an official. Although he is young, his mind is so clear. What he said was both decent and friendly.

These kind words are much better than a bunch of women's blind politeness that doesn't hit the spot.

Aunt Xue was staying at the Rongguo Mansion, and in the eyes of Cong Lao San, it seemed as if the Jia family had taken advantage. Although they did not force her to stay, everyone felt proud when the fancy stage was set up.

Aunt Xue had no choice but to happily give in to the excuse given by Cong Lao San. Perhaps Aunt Xue had been wanting to do this for a long time and was just waiting for Cong Lao San to do this...

Because Jia's mother had no intention of having a perfect match for the Xue family, she was actually happy that the Xue family moved away. However, now that things had come to this, it was also due to human feelings and she had nothing to say.

Moreover, even with her lifetime of experience in the inner court, she felt that Jia Cong's words were very respectful. At such a young age, his words were careful, polite and well-mannered, and he truly had the demeanor of a household head.

Although Grandmother Jia loved Baoyu all her life, she thought that even if it was Baoyu, he would hardly say such nice words, and she could not help but feel a little regretful...

After hearing what Jia Cong said, Mrs. Wang felt powerless. She really didn't expect that the boy was so good at talking about household affairs.

His words gave his sister enough face. Even if his sister really wanted to move away, she had to stay. Besides, the two sisters didn't know each other well. His sister didn't want to leave in the first place, she was just retreating to advance.

This kid really mentioned Bao Yatou, saying that the sisters were hanging out together. I'm afraid they were fooling around with him in private, which is true.

As expected, I guessed right. If he had known that my sister's family was moving away, he would have definitely kept them. How could this little pervert be willing to give up a beauty like Bao Yatou?

……

Since Jia Cong had laid the foundation with his words, there was naturally no need for him to say the rest. Wang Xifeng made jokes and set the mood. This kind of thing of playing both sides was what she was best at.

Aunt Xue tried to decline politely, but Wang Xifeng took the opportunity to flatter her a few more times, and Aunt Xue agreed to stay, and thanked Lady Jia and Jia Cong with a smile.

For a moment, everyone in the hall was delighted except Madam Wang...

Jia Cong's words kept Aunt Xue here, and then he left in anger to Lady Jia. The women in the hall were gossiping, and it was unreasonable for a man like him to just sit there and do nothing, so he left without hearing anything.

Coming out of Rongqing Hall, I walked towards the small gate along the two palaces. On the way, I passed by Lixiang Garden. I couldn't help but think of that day, stumbling in the rain, holding the soft and fragrant jade in my arms...

At this moment, at the gate of Lixiangyuan, a graceful figure appeared among the flowers and willows... (End of this chapter)