Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Rongguo Mansion, Fengjie's Courtyard.

When Ping'er saw Baoyu coming and asked about Wu'er again after just a few words, she couldn't help but frown slightly and felt uncomfortable.

Mr. Bao is becoming more and more distracted these days. He does not do any work all day long. He just keeps thinking about random things, which makes people feel ashamed of him.

After hearing what Baoyu said, Wang Xifeng couldn't help but laugh in her heart. Now that the second wife has become like this, Baoyu still knows nothing.

He thought he was the Phoenix of West Mansion and could get whoever he wanted. He was so bold that he didn't even consider who the person was.

She smiled and said, "Wu'er originally worked here, and I treated her like a little maid, assigning her tasks every day and busying myself in and out.

But now she is different. She has served tea to the old lady in Rongqing Hall and has become Brother Cong's woman. I can't order her around too much.

She is currently managing household affairs in the West Mansion, which is just a side job. Serving Brother Cong well is her real job."

After hearing what Wang Xifeng said, Baoyu felt as if he was slapped in the face. His face was burning. He took the covered bowl that Feng'er brought and pretended to drink tea to cover up his illness.

Wang Xifeng seemed to be unaware of Baoyu's abnormality and said casually, "Wu'er is not feeling well today and needs to rest in the East Palace. He will not come."

After hearing this, Baoyu's eyes brightened slightly, as if his secluded heart had found light, and he even forgot the embarrassment of being squeezed.

He asked hurriedly, "What's wrong with Sister Wu'er that she can't even come here? Have you asked a doctor to come and see her?

I think she is a bit as delicate as Lin Daiyu. She should take better care of herself. The more people cherish her, the healthier she will be."

Wang Xifeng felt a little creepy after hearing Baoyu's intoxicated and affected words, and her chest was churning and twitching.

I couldn't help but blurt out, "She's not sick at all. It was her turn to be on duty last night. She was too tired to serve Brother Cong all night, so she naturally needed a day off."

After hearing what Wang Xifeng said, Ping'er's pretty face turned red. Maybe it was because she was holding it in too much, but her whole body trembled twice.

She wanted to laugh but didn't dare to. All she could think was how shameless her grandmother was to say such dirty words to a man without even changing her expression.

Baoyu's face instantly turned pale and twisted, as if he had been struck by lightning. His hands were shaking and he almost dropped the bowl, quickly putting it on the table.

Wang Xifeng's malicious obscene words kept buzzing in his mind, and his heart was pounding and his chest and abdomen felt as if they were being stabbed by a knife.

This damn Jia Cong is really a beast. He raped Wu Er and even made someone serve him all night...

He thought about how he and Caiyun had been fooling around all night, and how he had been busy for half the night but had accomplished nothing.

It wasn't Caiyun who was serving him, it was clearly him who was serving Caiyun. He himself hadn't fallen asleep yet, but that dead girl was sleeping soundly.

Until dawn, the colorful clouds were still as pure as ice and jade, enjoying the elegance of being under the willow trees.

When Baoyu thought of these bad things, he felt a surge of blood rushing to his head.

There was only one voice in his mind: Wang Xifeng eats both meat and vegetables, and he absolutely does not believe such nonsense!
……

Wang Xifeng was still not satisfied and continued, "Wu'er is a girl with a good figure. Even a woman like me would envy her. She is a good match for her husband and children.

Who knows, after this winter, we might have another baby in our eldest family.

Ping'er, when the eldest sister has recovered enough months, you won't need to serve me here anymore. You should go to the East Palace as soon as possible to serve my third brother. That is the right thing to do.

Don't fall behind in everything, I can't afford to lose face."

Ping Er was very embarrassed when she heard this and said, "Second Madam, it's fine if you talk about others, why are you dragging me into this?"

……

Wang Xifeng's words just now made Baoyu feel like he had been hit by a severe blow. His heart was filled with grief, indignation, grievance, jealousy and loss.

Now, hearing that she was just like Aunt Xue, also enjoying the topic of having children, I felt more and more dizzy and nauseous.

Ping'er also blushed when she heard Wang Xifeng's funny words. Although she tried to avoid the topic, she was probably very willing in her heart.

Damn Jia Cong, how many talented and beautiful people does he want to ruin...

Baoyu felt as if his heart was being cut by a knife. He felt that the whole world was his enemy, everyone was hateful, and everyone was out to trample on him. He wished he could die of depression and anger.

Wang Xifeng ignored Baoyu's unhappy expression and said with a smile: "Brother Bao has someone else in his room now, and he will get married at the end of the year.

You'd better hurry up, my aunt is still waiting to have a grandson.

Brother Cong is in mourning right now and cannot marry a wife for the time being, but you can get there before him, and the second wife will surely bear fruit sooner than the first wife."

When Baoyu heard Wang Xifeng's last sentence, he couldn't help shivering and his face turned red.

Thinking about Xiren revealing his privacy and his wife's advice to him to see a doctor, he, an innocent person, had to hide away from the West Mansion.

As for bearing fruit, he didn't know whether he could be of any use.

However, he was disdainful of this. He was a person who came and went without any worries, so how could he be alienated from such mundane matters...

But Baoyu's words could not deceive himself, after all, this matter was still shameful.

He hoped that this matter would never be revealed to anyone, but Xiren, whom he trusted the most, leaked the news. He could not suppress his anger at the thought.

Because of Wang Xifeng's words of insult and sarcasm, Baoyu felt so upset that his brain was a mess.

Self-pity, self-pity, narcissism, and self-satisfaction were all mixed together, and his expression became a little silly.

……

Wang Xifeng was also startled when she saw Baoyu's strange expression.

She was afraid that her words were too harsh and would provoke Baoyu to have a fit, so she stopped talking immediately.

Seeing Wang Xifeng's sharp tongue, Baoyu finally took a break and breathed a sigh of relief.

But he did not dare to take it lightly, for fear that Wang Xifeng would say something heartbreaking again.

He hurriedly found a pretext to say goodbye and even forgot to get the monthly allowance of paper and pen. He looked quite embarrassed as if he had escaped in a panic.

He staggered out of Fengjie's yard, his heart filled with shame, anger, and jealousy, as if it was being cut by a knife and burning with fire, and he was so angry that his body was shaking.

Unfortunately, my luck was extremely bad. Before I had taken a few steps, the sky was covered with dark clouds and soon it started to rain, which kept getting heavier.

It was a sunny day when Baoyu went out, so he naturally didn't bring an umbrella. He was humiliated in front of Sister Feng, so naturally he didn't want to go back to get an umbrella.

He was afraid of getting wet, so he ran in the rain with his head down.

His vision was blurry and he didn't look carefully at the road ahead, and suddenly he bumped into a maid.

The maid was knocked back and staggered. Baoyu was filled with resentment at the ridicule he had just received from Wang Xifeng.

His shoulder hurt from being bumped into, and he felt a surge of anger in his heart. He kicked the maid without thinking.

He babbled nonsense, cursing, "You vulgar and vulgar things! I have always been tolerant and forgiving of you, but you think I am easy to fool and make fun of me even more!"

He kicked the maid quite hard and she fell heavily to the ground with both umbrellas in her hands falling to the ground.

In the heavy rain, in just a moment, her hair was stuck to her face by the rain, and she couldn't help but moan a few times.

She called out, "Baoyu, I am Xiren."

When Baoyu heard the cry, he saw that the person was Xiren. He felt a chill in his heart and hurried forward to help her up.

He said, "Why didn't I see it was you? Did I hurt you?"

Xiren only felt a burning pain in the chest and abdomen where she was kicked. Her lips trembled slightly and she couldn't help shedding tears, but it was not noticeable on the rainy day.

Seeing Baoyu's worried expression, she forced a smile and said, "It's okay, it doesn't hurt too much. I saw it was raining heavily, so I came to bring you an umbrella."

Baoyu tried hard twice to help Xiren up, and then picked up the fallen umbrella. The two of them supported each other and walked slowly in the rain.

……

The two of them finally moved back to the yard. Musk Moon, Cai Yun and the others saw that although they were holding umbrellas, they were all soaked.

When Mrs. Wang saw Baoyu in such a state, she could not help feeling heartbroken and quickly asked Baoyu to change his clothes to avoid catching a cold.

When she saw Xiren trembling all over and her face as pale as paper, she remembered to ask Xiren the reason.

Xiren only said that the road was slippery on a rainy day and she accidentally fell down. The umbrella that fell to the ground hit her chest and abdomen and she is in severe pain now.

Baoyu's face turned red and he didn't dare to say anything. He wanted to help Xiren back to her room, but Mrs. Wang urged him to change her wet clothes, so he had no choice but to give up.

Musk Moon supported Xiren back to her room and helped her take off her wet clothes. She was shocked when she saw large purple bruises on her snow-white chest and abdomen.

He said: "It was just a bump from the umbrella, how could it be so horrible? We can't take it lightly, we need to ask a doctor to come and see him right away."

Baoyu changed his clothes and ran to see Xiren, feeling very uneasy, fearing that Xiren would say that he was the one who kicked her, thus embarrassing him.

Fortunately, Xiren didn't say anything, but her expression was very unhappy, so Baoyu didn't need to worry.

When Mrs. Wang saw that Xiren had fallen and was injured, and seemed unable to even walk, she certainly could not go to the East Courtyard to serve Baoyu.

Although Xiren was seriously injured, she was in no way compared to her son. Baoyu's illness could not be delayed for a single day.

Finally, Mrs. Wang asked Caiyun, Qiu Wen and Baoyu to return to the east courtyard, leaving Sheyue and Bihen to guard the courtyard.

……

Rongguo Mansion, Fengjie's Courtyard.

Outside the window, rain suddenly started to fall, and the whole yard was filled with the sound of dripping water.

Wang Xifeng had Baoyu's tea leftovers removed, and sneered, "Third brother was ordered to inherit the title and the mansion, but Second Madam is always dissatisfied. I wonder what she is dissatisfied with. Baoyu is the only legitimate son of the Second House, so is Second Madam relying on this son?

It's also really hilarious. Look at how shabby Baoyu is, and his mind is always on beautiful women.

No matter whether it is related to him or not, no matter whether it is remotely related or not, he will always think about it.

I see that he is still young and is still concerned about saving face in front of the sisters.

If my sisters get married in the future, I don’t know how my true colors will be revealed.

When he grows up and becomes more sophisticated and slick, he will definitely look like the master."

Ping Er said: "There is nothing to be afraid of. The two mansions are now under the control of the Third Master, and the Second Master Bao will not cause any trouble. It's just that his behavior is absurd.

Unlike the eldest master, who is a legitimate hereditary general and carries the title of Rongguo, it would be more dangerous if something happened. Otherwise, the second master would not be implicated. "

Wang Xifeng sighed, "What you said makes sense. Baoyu will never achieve fame or success in his life. He is a piece of shit like a black-eyed chicken.

He just keeps mumbling around at home and doesn't even have the ability to cause trouble, so how can he compare with the master.

But I find it strange that Baoyu was living well in the West Mansion, so why did the Second Wife suddenly ask him to move back to the East Courtyard?

The Second Wife dreams of the West Mansion being her own family property and wishes Baoyu would live and die in the West Mansion forever.

We fired most of Baoyu's maids and servants, and even though we humiliated them, we still couldn't drive them away.

Now you suddenly want to take Baoyu back to the East Courtyard. This is not like my aunt's personality. There is no smoke without fire, so there must be a reason."

……

At this time, the maid Feng'er came in and said, "Second Madam, I have your instructions to go outside and inquire about the news.

I took a tour of the mansion and asked a few gossipy old women what they were thinking. I also asked a maid in Baoyu's courtyard some questions.

But no one got any definite information, and no one knew what disease Master Bao had.

But when I came back, I saw the Second Madam leading Master Bao and two maids from her room out of the inner courtyard together."

Ping Er said, "Master Bao just said he would stay at the East Courtyard for a few days. It's raining heavily now. Why is he in such a hurry to leave?"

Wang Xifeng felt more and more puzzled, and the fire of gossip was burning fiercely, but she just couldn't figure out the clue.

At this time, the eldest sister inside woke up and cried, so she quickly asked the wet nurse to comfort her and no longer paid attention to it.

……

After coaxing the little girl to calm down, footsteps were heard in the yard and the sound of rain falling under an umbrella.

The door curtain was lifted and it was Lin Zhixiao's wife. She came in and exchanged a few words of greeting, and then talked about the important matters of the mansion today one by one. This was the daily routine of the housekeeper.

When Lin Zhixiao's wife finished talking about family affairs, she suddenly said, "Second Madam, our head of the family heard news from outside today.

The one from the Zhen family, Liu Baozheng, died in the Jinyiwei prison yesterday. I heard that she refused to tell the truth at first, and was tortured severely, but she didn’t make it in the end.”

Wang Xifeng's face changed when she heard this. Liu Baozheng's wife was a good talker and one of the most capable maids. She didn't expect that she would die just like that.

Lin Zhixiao's wife continued, "She sent the silver to the capital with the brother of the eldest wife of the Zhen family, and I heard that he also suffered a lot.

Yesterday, the sentence was handed down, and he is to be exiled to a remote place. I guess his life is probably gone. It is rare for anyone to leave the Jinyiwei prison alive."

Wang Xifeng's face turned pale. These two people had sent money to the Jia family twice, but just a few days had passed and they ended up like this.

If she had really accepted this batch of silver, she would have been afraid that the same thing would have ended up like this. Wang Xifeng couldn't help but shudder, feeling somewhat relieved.

Lin Zhixiao added: "It is said that more than half a month ago, the imperial court issued an imperial decree to the Zhen family, dismissing the eldest master from his official position and confiscating 70% of his property.

Now, there are rumors that the court has drafted a new imperial decree to charge the Zhen family with a serious crime for hiding their wealth. The imperial decree was issued to Jiangnan yesterday."

Wang Xifeng looked frightened and said, "The two people from their family who sent the money were punished so severely that they couldn't even save their lives.

This has caused such a big commotion, are they going to confiscate the family and exterminate them?"

Lin Zhixiao's family said: "Our head of the family doesn't know how to punish him, he just heard it from outside.

But the crime charged to the Zhen family for sending silver to the capital this time was even more serious, and it was absolutely true. They might even be subject to confiscation of property and execution.

Our Third Master is an official in the imperial court, a Hanlin scholar, so he must know more about the affairs of the imperial court than we do."

Wang Xifeng didn't want to ask Jia Cong about it. Anyway, the situation of the Zhen family was getting worse and worse. It sounded scary, so she decided not to listen.

This incident left Wang Xifeng with lingering fears, as she had done all kinds of dirty work in the past, such as handling lawsuits and lending money at high interest rates.

Compared with the Zhen family's hiding of silver, these things didn't seem to be much easier. It was a blessing that nothing had happened to me.

Now that her husband Jia Lian was convicted and sent to exile, she was a widow, and with her daughter as a burden, she dared not make any more mistakes.

After this incident, she became more cautious than before, and her greed for power and money was restrained a lot.

……

Jinling, Zhen family farm west of the city.

Since the last imperial decree was issued, all the more than fifty people in the Zhen family mansion, including men, women, old and young, have moved into this farm.

In addition to Zhen Yingjia and his wife, the two legitimate and illegitimate children, the wives and concubines of three generations, there were also seven or eight loyal old slaves.

Although this farm is not small, it still seems much smaller than the grand Zhen family mansion.

All these different kinds of people came in at once, making it a bit crowded and noisy.

Just cleaning the farm inside and out, purchasing necessary furniture, and daily necessities took up a lot of energy for the Zhen family.

After the imperial edict was issued, all the young slaves of the Zhen family were sold, leaving only seven or eight older slaves.

The Zhen family was used to a life of luxury, with a host of servants around them every day, and none of them were physically active and were too lazy to work.

Although the family has now fallen into ruin, the men, women, old and young in the family have not yet adapted to the hard life of self-reliance.

Mrs. Zhen could only bring a few diligent concubines and command seven or eight old slaves, and it took six or seven days.

It really took me nearly my entire life to hastily tidy up the farm inside and out.

But the farm was in chaos from morning to night, like a noisy vegetable market.

The fallen men and women of the Zhen family fell from the clouds of wealth and glory to the dust.

Everyone's heart was filled with injustice and complaints. The farm was filled with crying, shouting, and noise every day, making it like hell on earth.

Mrs. Zhen felt guilty and weak because her own son was involved in this family disaster, so she could only swallow her anger.

She had been in charge of the household in the past, but she had never done things so personally, let alone experienced such a miserable and embarrassing situation. She lived on the brink of collapse almost every day.

If the Zhen family had not hidden more than a dozen boxes of gold and silver in advance, and if the eldest wife of the Zhen family had not had a trump card to turn things around, Mrs. Zhen's courage to live would probably have been mostly eliminated.

However, the Zhen family will be detained by the government for three years and are not allowed to leave Nanjing without permission within these three years.

Therefore, the dozen or so boxes of gold and silver hidden in the Jia family could only be taken out after three years.

For Mrs. Zhen, it was just three years of hardship. Although the time was not too short and she had to endure a lot of hardships, she believed that she could get through it.

After the Zhen family had moved into the farm for more than half a month, they seemed to have slowly accepted their miserable fate, and their quarrels and complaints became much less.

Mrs. Zhen, who had enjoyed wealth and glory in the past, actually felt a lot of humble joy in her heart when facing the decadent and helpless changes of everyone in her family.

She felt that this family disaster had finally come to an end and would not cause any more terrifying storms.

Like Mrs. Zhen, Zhen Yingjia began to accept the difficulties and embarrassment in front of him.

Even if they could not enter the official career in the future, with the dozen boxes of gold and silver hidden in the Jia family, they could still be rich and prosperous for the rest of their lives, which was a blessing in disguise.

The couple kept the secret a secret, and even the old lady in the family was unaware of it.

Because of their ardent longing, they gradually became calm about the current desolation.

After having lunch served by an old servant, the couple took Baoyu and sat under the eaves to enjoy the cool air.

There was no luxurious ice jar like in the Zhen family mansion. Zhen Yingjia and his wife were each fanning themselves with palm-leaf fans, showing a kind of open-minded attitude of taking pleasure in hardship.

Zhen Baoyu, who had been pampered since childhood, did not have the calmness of the couple. After enduring more than half a month of hard times, he had lost weight and was a little depressed.

The couple chatted happily, as if this was not a remote farm but the magnificent Zhen family compound.

Suddenly, some noises were heard, and within a few breaths, people shouted, horses neighed, and smoke and dust billowed at the farm gate.

In an instant, a large number of Jinyiwei rushed in, wearing bright clothes and armor, with sharp swords and spears, and full of murderous intent.

The Zhen family members in the farm kept screaming and running away, but the farm had been surrounded by the Jinyiwei and there was no way they could escape.

Zhen Yingjia and his wife's faces turned pale, their legs became weak, and they didn't know what disaster was about to happen.

A man walked out from the Jinyiwei, and it was Wang Zhangjiang, the chief officer of the Jinling Jinyiwei.

Zhen Yingjia asked tremblingly: "Lord Wang, what does this mean?"

Wang Zhangjiang gave him a cold look and did not respond at all.

He raised the yellow satin scroll in his hand and said in a stern voice: "The emperor's decree is coming from the capital. Everyone in the Zhen family should kneel down to receive it!" (End of this chapter)