Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Rongguo Mansion, Rongqing Hall.

Four neatly dressed maids were nimble and quick as they shuttled back and forth, clearing the tea tables, wiping the tables, and holding chairs and mopping the floor.

In just a few moments, Rongqing Hall was cleaned up and there was no trace of the room being filled with female guests just now.

Yuanyang opened the Nine-Longevity Jade Cauldron incense burner on the table and lit the finest ambergris slices. The smoke curled up with a refreshing fragrance that cleared away the restless atmosphere in the hall.

Grandmother Jia looked pleased and said with a smile: "I am already over seventy years old and I no longer expect anything else. I only hope that my grandchildren will have many descendants and my family will prosper.

Cong is still in mourning, so he doesn’t have much convenience. Although he is older, Baoyu has taken the lead.”

Mrs. Wang felt very uncomfortable when she heard what Lady Jia said. Now the old lady has also changed.

How the old lady disliked that boy in the beginning. His lowly aunt gave birth to him and died of hemorrhage, but the old lady didn't even go to see him.

Before the kid was ten years old, he could only show up at the annual ancestral temple sacrifices, but he couldn't even step into the threshold of the West Palace, and he didn't even have a seat for the family dinner on New Year's Eve.

The old lady was so resentful and disgusted with this boy that she could not believe it.

If she hadn't been worried that he would be tortured to death by the eldest master, the Jia family would have exposed the scandal between father and son and made the old lady lose face.

How could this kid turn a disaster into a blessing and be taken to the West Mansion to be raised? Could it be that the old lady has forgotten all these past events?

Now, whenever she talks about my Baoyu, the old lady will always mention this kid, pretending to be fair, keeping her words precise, and putting on a show inside and out.

The old lady has actually forgotten what she looked like in the past, and now she pretends to be a loving and filial grandmother. Who is she doing this for?

……

Mrs. Wang complained that Lady Jia favored Jia Cong and was about to say a few sarcastic words to dampen Jia Cong's momentum.

Grandmother Jia continued, "It is rare to live to be seventy. I won't live for many more years at my age. I will die with peace of mind if I can see Baoyu get married and have children."

When Mrs. Wang heard the talk of getting married and having children, the anger in her heart seemed to be extinguished as if by cold water.

These two casual words from Lady Jia were like a sharp knife piercing Mrs. Wang's heart, causing her to feel heartbroken.

Although she delayed Baoyu's wedding date by two months, the time left for her was still tight.

As long as Baoyu and Miss Xia get married, it will be difficult to hide the problem of his son's impotence and the extinction of the family line.

If the old lady knew that Baoyu was destined to have no children or grandchildren, would she still dote on him as much as before? I'm afraid it's absolutely impossible.

At that time, the old lady really took it for granted and put all her thoughts on Cong'er, and not my Baoyu.

No one will care about the second branch of the Jia family from now on. They are doomed to be doomed and will never be able to turn things around.

By that time, I'm afraid that even if the old lady is still alive, the second branch will be worthless and become a laughing stock among the nobles.

Those gossipy women in the Eighth House of the Jia Family in the capital used to be jealous of the Second House’s nobility, and now they are stirring up trouble everywhere...

Whenever Mrs. Wang thought of this, she felt cold all over and became terrified.

She absolutely did not want to end up in such a situation. Even though she was confused and tormented every day, she had to hold on with all her strength and not let anyone notice any clues.

……

Grandmother Jia said, "Since we have already set the date for the marriage with the Xia family, we should pay the betrothal gifts and send them to the Xia family before the end of the year. It would be a pity to be impolite."

Madam Wang said, "That's exactly what the old lady said. After sending Madam Xia away, she asked Mrs. Wang to go out and prepare various wedding gifts."

Grandmother Jia knew that this old lady Wang was a confidant brought by her daughter-in-law from her parents' home. Not only was she capable, but she was also literate and was Mrs. Wang's right-hand man.

Grandmother Jia smiled and said, "She is also an experienced person. Letting her handle this matter will make people feel at ease."

Although Mrs. Wang was deeply worried about Baoyu's marriage, she knew that Lady Jia was an experienced person in the inner house and did not dare to reveal any flaws in front of her.

He dared not miss any words or things that needed to be said or done, for fear of arousing Lady Jia's suspicion.

Besides, no matter what happens in the future, the marriage between Baoyu and Miss Xia is inevitable, and she will not easily give up the dignity and benefits they deserve.

Said: "Madam, Baoyu is the direct descendant of the Duke, the grandson that you love the most, and it is a big event for him to get married.

Moreover, Baoyu married the only daughter of the Xia family. Everyone in Shenjing City knew that the Xia family was a leading imperial merchant family with immense wealth and was very wealthy.

The Rongguo Mansion was marrying such a wealthy young lady, so the daughter-in-law felt that she could not be careless when it came to the betrothal gifts and wedding ceremonies, and that everything must be adequate and in place.

Otherwise, Baoyu would not be able to bring glory to his daughter-in-law, and if it were to bring disgrace to Rongguo Mansion and the old lady, it would be a loss of a greater good."

……

Grandmother Jia was an old lady in the inner house. After hearing what Lady Wang said, she knew what her daughter-in-law meant. It was nothing more than asking the public office of the West Palace to allocate money for the wedding.

She asked, "You are Baoyu's biological mother. How much money do you think you will need to support your son's marriage? How much money do you think you will need?"

Mrs. Wang said, “In the past, for such a big event as Baoyu’s marriage, a full-blown wedding would have cost at least 10,000 taels to be worthy of the state.

But because Cong'er inherited the title with a lower rank, the West Palace lost 500 dan of property, and the public treasury is not as abundant as before. I also know these circumstances.

I think the public treasury has only allocated 8,000 taels of silver, and the master and I will try to make up for the rest, so as not to burden the family with too much."

After Mrs. Wang said this, Yuanyang, who was serving beside her, showed no emotion on her face, but felt a little contempt in her heart.

I thought that the second wife was very calculating. She asked the prince to give eight thousand taels to her son for his wedding. What was the difference between eight thousand taels and ten thousand taels?

From what the Second Madam said, it seemed as if she had given a lot of consideration to the West Mansion because of the lack of two thousand taels of silver. This was really ridiculous.

Now the Third Master has inherited the family business, and every penny in Xifugong is the Third Master's private property.

Asking the Third Master to pay 8,000 taels of silver to give face to his cousin's marriage, what kind of logic is this? What kind of marriage is this...

……

When Lady Jia heard Mrs. Wang ask for eight thousand taels, she was shocked and felt a headache immediately.

Although the first and second branches of the Jia family have not yet separated, for such a major event as Baoyu's marriage, it is in accordance with family etiquette for the Duke of Xifu to allocate money to subsidize him.

But the situation is very different now. The eldest son, Cong, has inherited the family business by imperial decree. Every ounce of silver in the West Mansion comes from the ancestral property of the West Mansion.

According to the imperial edict in the palace and the patriarchal ethics, all of these are this kid's property.

Grandmother Jia had been a housekeeper for many years, so she naturally knew that since Jia Cong inherited the title, the wealth of the West Palace had shrunk, and the public treasury's annual income was only ten thousand taels of silver.

After Wang Xifeng took over the household last year, she reduced the number of people and cut various expenses many times. Only with this little money could she support the hundreds of people in the mansion.

Even so, Sister Feng often cried and complained about her poverty and hardship in front of Lady Jia. Even if her grandson's wife exaggerated a little, Lady Jia knew it was almost correct.

Although Grandmother Jia dotes on Baoyu the most and naturally hopes that his marriage will be as glorious as possible, she also knows that the situation is different and that there is a difference between the first and second wives.

His daughter-in-law asked for eight thousand taels, which was the income of the West Mansion in recent years.

Feng Jieer is so smart and capable that I'm afraid she will never give in. Although Cong Ge'er usually doesn't talk, I'm afraid he will show his displeasure after hearing it.

But when my Baoyu gets married, he marries the daughter of the Guihua Xia family. Without that much money, he really can't afford such a grand ceremony.

……

Although Mrs. Wang was worried that her son's impotence would pose a huge hidden danger to this marriage.

But even though she was worried and calculating every day, when the time came, she was unwilling to give up the dignity and glory of the Rong family.

Seeing that Lady Jia looked hesitant, she could guess what was in her mind, and this was also within Mrs. Wang's expectations.

Said: "Old lady, I also know that Baoyu's expenses will take up most of the harvest of the West Palace for half a year, but Baoyu's marriage is a little unusual.

Everyone in the capital now knows that Miss Xia is the only child of the Xia family. It is said that whoever takes this girl is like taking away a golden Buddha.

Baoyu not only married her, but also took away all the belongings of the Xia family. How many people envied this marriage.

People in the world always hate those who have and laugh at those who have nothing. Now, I wonder how many people are watching Baoyu's marriage.

The Rongguo Mansion is a duke's family, a famous aristocratic family in the capital. If Baoyu's marriage was not grand, he would have married such a daughter-in-law.

I don’t know what nasty things these talkative people outside will say.

Not to mention that the old lady and the Jia family would lose face, Baoyu would also be three points shorter than his wife in the future, how could he live a smooth life in the future? "

……

Jia's mother originally thought it was difficult for Xifugong to give 8,000 taels to her Baoyu for his wedding, but after hearing Mrs. Wang's words, her heart brightened.

She said, "After all, it is you, as a mother, who has thought it through carefully. Although the Xia family is not as well-off as the Jia family, they are extremely wealthy and even better than ours.

Now that the eldest branch has inherited the family business, the second branch is not as good as before. If the two branches offset each other, it will be even for everyone.

In this world, marriages should be based on equal status and a good match for each other. When Baoyu marries the extremely wealthy Miss Xia, it must be done in a grand manner.

As long as this marriage is properly arranged, even if the family is divided and set up a household in the future, Baoyu will not get much family property, but he will have enough to live on for the rest of his life.

If this is really possible, even if I die, I won’t have to worry about Baoyu suffering in the future.”

Seeing that Lady Jia had been persuaded, Mrs. Wang was delighted and said, "Old Madam, you are still thinking long-term. This is the reason for this matter.

Besides, the old lady knows Cong'er's background. He has done a lot of business outside, so he doesn't care about these eight thousand taels of silver..."

When Lady Jia heard what Mrs. Wang said, her expression changed slightly. She naturally understood what the second daughter-in-law meant.

The Guihua Xia family is an imperial merchant, and Congge'er is also close to the imperial merchant. The girl he is dating in Jinling is a rare female imperial merchant in the Great Zhou.

This Miss Qu was a thoughtful person. Every New Year she would send all kinds of gifts to the mansion according to the etiquette of the younger generation, and Lady Jia was never left out.

I heard that this girl would send whole boxes of silver to the East Palace at the end of every season or the middle of the year for her grandson's expenses.

How could Grandmother Jia not know about this kind of thing? I don’t know where this kid got his blessing from…

……

However, Grandmother Jia had some sense of propriety. Unlike Lady Wang, she was too secretive, twisted and jealous, and did not respond to Lady Wang's words.

But after listening to Mrs. Wang's reason, although I felt more confident about the eight thousand taels of silver, I was still a little unsure.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law chatted for a while. Grandmother Jia only said that she would discuss the matter with Sister Feng and asked Mrs. Wang to return to the East Courtyard to arrange Baoyu's marriage.

When Mrs. Wang left Rongqing Hall, Grandmother Jia was tired from talking too much, so she asked Yuanyang to come over and massage her back.

He kept muttering, "This big family's trivial and embarrassing things are really a headache. It's better to be in a small family with a small population and do things in a clean way."

Yuanyang smiled and said, "That's because the old lady is very lucky. She is the ancestor of a noble family in the principality. With a large family and a lot of wealth, naturally there are more things to do."

In fact, let the Third Master and Second Mistress worry about the affairs of the mansion, and the old lady should enjoy her peace and quiet. "

Grandmother Jia smiled bitterly and said, "No one in the family is easy to deal with. I won't say anything about Baoyu's marriage, but I'm afraid it will be difficult to arrange.

This eight thousand taels of silver is not a small amount, but the second wife is not wrong. Brother Cong is not someone who is short of money. Yuanyang, do you think this is true?"

……

Yuanyang's eyes flickered, and she smiled and said, "Old lady, I am just a little maid, and I don't understand many great principles. I just listen to what you say.

I felt that the second wife's last words were not quite appropriate, although there were rumors that Xinchunhao was the third master's property, but it was managed by Miss Qu.

But the Third Master never admitted this. Xinchunhao was the imperial merchant of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and it had never been officially announced, so this matter could not be considered true.

In recent years, Miss Qu has been very polite and courteous. She sends holiday gifts to the two mansions at the end of each year. People outside say that she is the third master's lover.

But this is just talk. After all, Miss Qu and the Third Master have no official status and are not considered members of our family.

Therefore, even though she had a big business and earned a lot of money, it could not be attributed to the Third Master, and it had nothing to do with the Jia family.

If we go by the second wife's statement, taking this matter into account, the public treasury should pay out eight thousand taels of silver, and this reason may not be too far-fetched.

If this amount of money was really spent for this reason, it would be very unpleasant if the news got out, and those gossipers would spread all kinds of nonsense.

Wouldn't it be that she could earn money by becoming the Third Master's lover? The family only gave 8,000 taels of silver to let the Second Master Bao marry in style? This is too harsh to hear. "

……

After hearing what Yuanyang said, Jia's mother's face turned red. She thought that if such a rumor was true, Yuanyang's words were probably just polite.

Let’s not talk about those old relatives and wealthy families for now, just the gossipy women in the eight branches of the Jia family in Shenjing would not be so reserved in their words.

They would most likely spread the word everywhere that Cheng Cong's lover was a decent person and gave money to Baoyu to have a grand wedding.

Good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels a thousand miles. If such rumors really spread, the reputation of both the East and West Jia family's mansions would be trampled on the ground.

As a super-ranking duke of the first rank, Lady Jia will no longer be able to face life as a human being and will become a laughing stock among the nobles until her death.

Yuanyang continued, "The Third Master's temperament has remained unclear to me over the years. He is more likely to respond to soft tactics than to hard tactics, or more likely to respond to hard tactics than to soft tactics.

The Third Master sometimes gets into a bad mood, but he won't respond to any persuasion or trickery, and it's hard for others to figure out what he's thinking.

If the old lady really mentioned Miss Qu's words, the Third Master would be angry and ignore the matter, and the Second Madam would not dare to pay the money. "

……

Grandmother Jia smiled bitterly and said, "You, a girl, do understand his temper. This matter really cannot be turned to Miss Qu, so as to avoid being caught by others."

Yuanyang gently patted Jia's waist again and said, "So, no one should say anything about the eight thousand taels of silver. Just let it go to the Lord of the West Mansion."

Grandmother Jia sighed and said, "If it had only fallen into the hands of the emperor, I'm afraid it would have been difficult to spend the money."

Yuanyang said: "In fact, the old lady's mind is as clear as a mirror, and she knows everything very well.

Although I am not clear about other parts of the mansion, I am in charge of the expenses of our Rongqing Hall on a daily basis and I know it very well.

Although the Second Mistress laid off hundreds of people in the past six months and sent them to work in farms and shops to make a living, the population of Rongqing Hall remained unchanged, and two laundry maids were even added.

Rongqingtang's monthly expenses are more than two hundred taels, which is nearly three thousand taels a year. These are all for daily expenses and are not too extravagant.

The Third Master now lives in the East Palace, and the dignity of the West Palace rests only with the Old Lady. The ceremony for the appointment of a Duke or a Super Duke has always been governed by established rules and regulations.

If the public treasury were to spend eight thousand taels of silver at once, not only would everyone in the mansion suffer from famine next year, but even the old lady's expenses would have to be reduced.

If outsiders knew about these things, it would be too unlikely. Most people would say that Master Bao was extravagant in his wedding and left the old lady short, and lost the filial piety of his children and grandchildren. "

After listening to Yuanyang's story, Jia Mu's face became even uglier, but every word Yuanyang said made sense and there was nothing wrong with it.

Grandmother Jia sighed, "This matter has been used to find other topics, but it has been directly dealt with by the government. We will take whatever we can get."

Yuanyang was standing behind her and massaging her back. When she heard what her mother said, she smiled with bright eyes and looked pretty and charming, but her mother did not see it.

……

Rongguo Mansion, East Courtyard.

After leaving Rongqing Hall, Mrs. Wang went to Baoyu's courtyard to give instructions and saw that her son was in a bad mood.

When she asked the reason, Baoyu just said that Jia Cong was ridiculous and actually tricked a female cultivator into living in his mansion, which was somewhat inappropriate and made people sad and angry.

Mrs. Wang found it boring. The situation was critical and Baoyu didn't know the seriousness of the matter and was still worrying about these trivial matters.

She had always been brooding over Jia Cong's playing with Baochai, and now he was even hooking up with a nun to fool around in his house. Although she felt disgusted, she had no time to pay attention to it.

How to cure her son's illness, how to prevent the news from leaking out, and how to find an excuse to fool people are Mrs. Wang's top priorities.

When Mrs. Wang returned to the east courtyard and just entered her room, she saw her confidant Wang Po coming in.

Madam Wang asked, "Is the arrangement of the betrothal gifts going well today? You should choose the best ones and don't be stingy with the money, lest you lose face."

Mrs. Wang looked a little strange, and said, "I was originally going to do what the Madam asked me to do, but something unexpected happened, so I have to delay it for now."

She walked to Lady Wang and whispered something in her ear. Lady Wang's face changed and she asked, "Is this true?"

Mrs. Wang said, “Madam has an empty side room in her dowry shop in the south of the city. I have taken her there and tied her up and gagged her.

I followed my wife's instructions and did not disturb any familiar faces. It just so happened that I have a distant sister-in-law who married to Tongzhou in her early years and was visiting relatives in Shenjing these days.

She has always been doing this business and has never failed. I specially asked her to come and take a look, and she said it was absolutely correct.

My distant sister-in-law will return to Tongzhou the day after tomorrow. She is already old and normally won’t come back for five or six years. There won’t be any problems.”

After hearing these words, Mrs. Wang's face became gloomy and cold, with a hint of cruelty, which was quite different from the graceful and elegant appearance of a wealthy lady in the past.

He said, "Go and prepare the carriages and horses, we will go there right away..." (End of this chapter)