Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Rongguo Mansion, Rongqing Hall.

At the end of October, the autumn wind was chilly and it rained heavily early in the morning. The blue brick floor of the courtyard was dripping with water, and the weather became increasingly chilly and biting.

Under the eaves of the hall, six thick and round pillars stand tall, with the top horizontal beam painted with color and gold, and the bottom horizontally spread with green and red flower railings. It is majestic, luxurious and gorgeous, showing the demeanor of a wealthy family.

As it was early winter, the door curtain of the hall was replaced with a red satin cotton curtain with a gold-mud longevity pattern. Even though the weather was gloomy, the luxurious red color could not be concealed and it was quite eye-catching.

It was already past noon, and in the past Yingchun, Daiyu and other sisters would have entered the hall to pay their respects, and sometimes they would accompany Grandmother Jia for breakfast.

But today, the sisters were not seen in the hall, except for Lady Jia who was sitting on the Luohan bed on the north side, with two big maids, Yuanyang and Amber, standing on her left and right.

Also sitting in the hall were Mrs. Wang, Aunt Xue, Wang Xifeng and others. Even Li Wan, who seldom moved around, was sitting in the hall.

Although the hall was not very crowded today, all those present were women of high status in the Jia family, making the atmosphere seem unusually solemn and formal.

Aunt Xue picked up the teacup and took a sip, feeling a little strange.

Today was the day when Lady Wang's maid Caixia entered her room. Aunt Xue wanted to pretend she didn't know and didn't want to get involved.

Ever since Mrs. Wang falsely accused Baochai of infidelity and tried to drive the Xue family out of the Rongguo Mansion, Aunt Xue and her sister have already been holding a grudge against her.

Although the matter between my daughter and Jia Cong is a confusing one, and no one knows how it will end in the future, sharpening the knife does not delay the chopping of wood.

When Wu'er, Zhishao, Ping'er and others entered Jia Cong's room, Aunt Xue was happy to come out and show up, and she also gave them valuable gifts.

This was not only a favor to Jia Cong, but also a way to win popularity for her daughter's future.

She was the eldest lady of a royal merchant family. She was good at getting along with everyone, had a good network of contacts, and was able to plan ahead for a rainy day. It was almost an instinct for her. She was much more open-minded and active than Mrs. Wang.

But Baoyu and Jia Cong are two different things. When a maid entered his room, Aunt Xue had no interest in showing up and just wanted to get away with it.

Unexpectedly, Mrs. Wang sent a special message yesterday, saying that Caixia would perform the ceremony of entering the room today, and invited her to Rongqing Hall to watch the ceremony.

Although Aunt Xue felt uncomfortable, she couldn't refuse to go since her sister had asked her to do so, otherwise there would really be a fallout.

When she entered Rongqing Hall, she saw that Wang Xifeng, the mistress of the first house, and Li Wan, the widow and gatekeeper of the second house, had both been invited.

Aunt Xue felt puzzled. Baoyu was just a concubine now, so was there any need to make such a big fuss about having a maid move into his room?

My sister had formally invited the ladies from both families to be present, and as well as myself, a relative from outside, it seemed as if I had come specially to serve as a witness.

A servant girl born in a family is actually waiting to meet the emperor, and she only needs three matchmakers and six witnesses. My sister is really weird.

……

Caixia was standing at the bottom of the hall. Today she was not dressed as a maid in red skirt and green jacket.

She wore a double-breasted jacket with a peach-pink floral pattern, a pink embroidered pleated skirt, and a gorgeous pearl and kingfisher hairpin.

Although her cheeks are a bit simple, they are lightly powdered and rouge-covered, making her look very pretty and charming.

Grandmother Jia looked at the colorful clouds with a smile, her old eyes always looking at the slender and straight waist and hips.
I think this girl will have a very good figure when she grows up, and she may be easier to give birth than Xiren and Caiyun.

Wang Xifeng was a woman who had given birth, and she looked at Caixia with great interest. She saw that she had a plump chest, a thin waist, a perky hip and straight legs, and was indeed a maid with potential.

The last time Zhishao and Wu'er entered the bedroom, it was back in February or March, and they chose a day to perform the bedroom ceremony.

My aunt is so anxious now. The news just came out a few days ago, and she wants to give Caixia the ceremony and let her enter her room today.

Could it be that he saw that this girl had potential and was in such a hurry to put her in Baoyu's bed?

Could it be that if Baoyu sleeps with this girl tonight, he will immediately give birth to a son? My aunt is going crazy thinking this, there is no such thing in the world.

Even if the second wife gives birth to a big fat boy tomorrow, so what? A concubine is still a concubine, an old turtle who can never turn over a new leaf.

Even Baoyu's eldest son is not as precious as my eldest sister.

Could it be that my aunt still wants to make a comeback by having offspring and gain more advantages in the future? She really wants to dream big.

But Caixia, the maid, is also very lucky. As a maid born in a family, she can become the concubine of the second wife's legitimate son. Not many maids have such luck.

Looking at her expression, she was probably so happy that she fainted, even her smile sounded stiff and cold.

My aunt was in high spirits, with a dazed look on her face and a pair of shining eyes. She kept staring at Caixia's belly, looking quite obsessed. It was really funny.

……

In Jia's opinion, Caixia is most likely Baoyu's childbearing partner, and Wang Xifeng can guess Mrs. Wang's ambitions by looking at Caixia.

Although Aunt Xue is also an experienced woman, she is too lazy to use her brain. Baoyu and Caixia have nothing to do with her.

However, Li Wan felt a little worried as she watched Caixia perform the salute. She usually stayed at the East Courtyard, and paid attention to all matters in the courtyard.

Li Wan was a widow who remained faithful to her husband, so naturally she was more cautious about the behavior of the women in her family than others.

She had also heard rumors that Caixia and Huan Ge'er were close on a daily basis and seemed to have some dealings with each other.

I am a widow who just guards the gate, but I can hear the news. How could my wife, who is such a smart and capable person, be completely unaware of it?

Perhaps she let Caixia enter Baoyu's room because she was sure that there was nothing wrong with it?
Although Li Wan had some doubts, it was none of her business. She only wanted to discipline her Lan'er, so she just thought about it briefly and didn't take it to heart.

Following Lady Jia's instructions, Amber brought in a tea tray from the back hall. Caixia offered tea and kowtowed to Lady Jia and Mrs. Wang respectively.

She also accepted gifts from everyone in the hall, and after completing all the formalities of entering the room, she followed Xiren back to Baoyu's room.

……

Mrs. Wang chatted some more with Lady Jia, then said she was going to Baoyu's courtyard to take care of something, and then she got up and left Rongqing Hall.

Wang Xifeng and Li Wan also took their leave, leaving Aunt Xue and Lady Jia alone to chat.

After a cup of tea, Yingchun, Daiyu and other sisters heard the news and came over to pay their respects to Grandmother Jia. The hall became lively again.

Grandmother Jia asked, "Why is the third girl nowhere to be seen?"

Yingchun smiled and said, "My third sister went to the East Courtyard early in the morning and said that Aunt Zhao was not feeling well, so she went to visit and say hello."

Last night Jia Cong and Tanchun sat in the garden for a long time. The intimacy and affection between brother and sister was beyond words.

As what happened in the East Courtyard yesterday implied too many unpredictable risks, the two agreed not to tell anyone, so even Yingchun didn't know the whole story.

At the end of last year, in order to avoid suspicion, Jia Zheng closed the connecting gate between the East Courtyard and the West Mansion. The East Courtyard is now a separate residence.

At present, the news from the East Courtyard is not very convenient to be transmitted back to the West Palace.

Although Wang Xifeng was aware of Jia Huan's scandal, she knew that Tanchun and Jia Cong had been close friends since childhood, and that she was now highly valued and loved by Jia Cong.

She considered Tanchun's face and naturally did not spread the matter in the West Mansion.

Besides, the second wife's boy fooling around with other men not only has nothing to do with the first wife, it is also a matter that brings shame to the family and should not be made public.

Even Lin Zhixiao's wife, who knew the truth, was warned by Wang Xifeng.

Lin Zhixiao's family is experienced and naturally keeps the gossips of the maids and old women in the West Mansion under control, so Lady Jia, who is deep in the inner house, has never known the truth.

When Grandmother Jia heard that Tanchun was visiting her aunt, she thought it was just an ordinary matter and didn't take it to heart. She just chatted and laughed with her granddaughters.

……

Mrs. Wang came out of Rongqing Hall with Yuchuan. Before she reached the place, she met her confidant, Mrs. Chen, who came hurriedly.

Mrs. Wang asked Yuchuan to go to Baoyu's courtyard and wait first, while she and Mrs. Chen walked slowly.

Mrs. Chen said, "Madam, you came to the West Mansion early in the morning to do some work, and not long after you left, the third young lady entered the East Courtyard.

She talked for a long time in Aunt Zhao's room, and her maidservant was sitting by the door, so I couldn't get to know her."

Mrs. Wang's face looked a little gloomy. In her eyes, Aunt Zhao was a fool, and Jia Huan was a young boy, superficial and impetuous, so he was not worth worrying about.

The only one who was a little afraid of was Tanchun. This concubine's daughter was shrewd, capable, and intelligent, and she was the top girl in the Jia family.

Mrs. Wang thought she could easily manipulate Aunt Zhao, but she had never been able to fool Tanchun, not to mention that Tanchun and Jia Cong were so close...

He said: “The scandal outside has ruined this kid’s reputation, but there is no movement in the West Palace.

It must be that Congge was protecting the third girl and asked the subordinates to keep their mouths shut. The old lady is still in the dark for now, but they won't be able to hide it for long.

The boy has done such a shameful thing, and the master is still furious. How can the mother and son not be scared?

The third girl is very smart. At this moment, she will not let her brother talk nonsense, otherwise his life will be in danger.

The truth that we can all think of, the third girl must be able to think of it as well. Even if she can't think of it, the person from the East Palace will remind her.

As long as tonight is over, my Baoyu and Caixia will have sex together and drink the wedding wine together, and both of them will be legitimate, and there will be nothing to worry about.

Tomorrow the old lady will also know the rumors outside, how can she not hate it?

The old lady has been in charge of the family for her whole life, and she values ​​the reputation of her family the most. She is more cruel than me, and she loves Baoyu the most. If they dare to talk too much, or make trouble, and anger the old lady, they will die more quickly..."

……

When Mrs. Chen heard this, she felt a chill in her heart. She absolutely believed what her wife said.

The old lady is now old, kind-hearted and generous, but she was not like this when she was young.

The old man has been a duke all his life and has seen countless storms.

Putting aside other things, the Duke had six aunts and grandmothers, two at home and four outside.

But these aunts only gave birth to a few illegitimate daughters, but not a single illegitimate son. The old lady was so powerful and cruel.

The old lady only failed once in her life, but the result was a terrible disaster.

When the eldest master brought the courtesan into the mansion, the old lady did not intervene at all and even let the lowly courtesan give birth to a bastard son.

He also allowed this kid to cultivate into a spirit, and create a huge scene, even the sky and earth of Rongguo Mansion was changed, that is, the Third Master Cong.

The old lady loved the second master the most in her life. Now that she sees the situation at home, I wonder if she regrets not being cruel enough back then...

Later, the courtesan gave birth to a child and died the next day. It was too strange and no one could explain the reason.

Mrs. Wang thought for a moment, whispered a few words to Mrs. Chen, asking her to go to the outer courtyard to do some work, and then she turned around and went into Baoyu's courtyard.

……

Earl's Mansion, Jia Cong Courtyard.

At sunset, Jia Cong returned home from work and found two large carts parked under the eaves of the east corner gate.

In addition to several driver's drivers, there were two teenagers about fifteen or sixteen years old leaning against the cart and chatting.

The sun was setting, casting fiery red rays of light, and the ground was covered with mottled shadows of the eaves. When they saw Jia Cong, their faces lit up with joy, and they hurried forward to greet him.

He said, "I am Cheng Yang, and this is Xu Xiaoguan. We are following the orders of the shopkeeper Qu to deliver what the Lord wants from the south."

Jia Cong was delighted when he heard this and walked to one of the carts. There were many sacks full of things piled on the cart, and the outside was covered with rain cloth.

Jia Cong walked forward and untied one of the sacks. Inside was red-skinned fruits covered in soil. It was indeed what he wanted.

He smiled and said, "I remember both of you. I met you a few times in Shenjing back then. But I didn't meet you during my two visits to Jinling."

Cheng Yang and Xu Xiaoguang were excited to see that Jia Cong still remembered them.

The two of them were orphans adopted by the Embroidery Lady Incense Shop. When Jia Cong and Qu Hongxiu established the Xinchunhao, they put a lot of effort into these orphans.

They specially invited failed scholars and foreign missionaries to teach these orphans according to their aptitude and teach them skills such as literacy and the study of things.

Because Cheng Yang and Xu Xiaoguang were a little older, they were sent to Jinling two years ago to work in the Xinchunhao branch.

To them, Jia Cong and Qu Hongxiu were both benefactors. They were orphans fleeing famine. If they had not been adopted by Xinchunhao, they would have starved to death long ago.

In the past few years, Jia Cong has been able to conquer new territories and be awarded a title for his military prowess, and has been able to pass the imperial examinations for his literary talent. He has become famous throughout the world and known to everyone.

Young people have been full of vigor and vitality since ancient times. With his dazzling halo and the fact that they are of similar age, he is naturally the object of admiration of Cheng Yang, Xu Xiaoguang and others.

After not seeing each other for many years, the two were very happy to see that Jia Cong still remembered them, and felt that the journey of thousands of miles was truly worthwhile.

Jia Cong asked his servants to carry more than ten sacks from two carts and transport them into the mansion. He also took Cheng Yang and Xu Xiaoguan to the side hall of the outer courtyard to talk.

The three of them entered the side hall, and Cheng Yang took out a letter and said, "This is a handwritten letter from Manager Qu, and I asked you to hand it over in person.

The sweet potatoes and taro that the uncle wanted were not common in a big city like Nanjing.

The head shopkeeper asked us to look everywhere, and we only saw some in a few Western churches in the city and in the homes of a few foreign compradors, but the number was very limited.

Later, the head shopkeeper found a way to get two trucks from the Fujian port, and asked the two of us to deliver them to Shenjing day and night."

……

The last time Wang Dequan came back from overseas, he sent several boxes of tomatoes and wheat to Shenjing.

When Jia Cong saw these foreign items, he knew that they were still rare and only very small quantities flowed into the Great Zhou through the port of the Maritime Customs.

Since tomatoes and sweet potatoes can be seen, sweet potatoes and potatoes, which are more suitable for filling the stomach, must have appeared in the Great Zhou Dynasty as well.

Ordinary people currently know very little about these exotic crops, let alone growing and eating them on a large scale.

But as a person from later generations, Jia Cong knew that these foreign crops were very easy to grow and had extremely amazing potential in providing food and clothing for the people.

Since he had encountered it, he naturally did not want to miss it, so he wrote to Qu Hongxiu and Qin Keqing, asking them to collect it in Jinling and other places, and transport it to the capital as soon as possible.

Qu Hongxiu said in the letter that the foreign crops he wanted, such as sweet potatoes and taro, were not common in Jinling.

Later, through the Zhen family's connections, two trucks were shipped from overseas to Fuzhou, and then Cheng Yang and Xu Xiaoguang were asked to receive the goods and escort them to Shenjing.

……

Now that the Zhen family has been confiscated, Qu Hongxiu is still able to communicate with the Zhen family's connections, all thanks to Zhen Fangqing's arrangement.

Although the Zhen family's Nanjing assets were confiscated by the imperial court, Zhen Fangqing had already made preparations and withdrew a huge amount of family assets in advance.

He also took away the Zhen family's considerable fleet and headed to the island where they had been operating for many years to escape the disaster.

Although there is no more wealthy Zhen family in Jinling, Zhen Fangqing relies on his family background and complete family fleet to keep the Zhen family's maritime trade business running.

In order to allow the Zhen family's goods shipped by sea to be sold in Da Zhou under a different name, she left personnel and channels in major coastal ports before setting out to sea.

As a large maritime trading family, the Zhen family knew that even if a broken ship still had three pounds of nails, as long as someone was making a living and there was profit in it, it would not be difficult to do so.

Before setting out to sea, Zhen Fangqing had already reached a tacit understanding with Jinling Xinchun, and the cooperation between the two sides has always been close.

The overseas crops transported this time were searched by Qu Hongxiu through the Zhen family's Fuzhou channel, and then transported by the Zhen family's ships.

Today, all kinds of products made by Xinchun in Jinling are still sold to various countries at sea by Zhen family ships.

Although it is extremely difficult for outsiders to trace the source due to multiple transit channels, for the authorities, such actions are undoubtedly rebellious.

Zhen Fangqing fled overseas and the court searched for him everywhere, but Emperor Jiazhao, out of consideration for the emperor's feelings, never issued an edict to convict him.

Even so, Xinchunhao's move was undoubtedly bold. For Jia Cong, this was not only due to his special relationship with Zhen Fangqing.

Moreover, because of his vision for the future of maritime trade and its huge potential for the national economy and people's livelihood of the Great Zhou Dynasty, he needed a suitable partner.

The Zhen family's rich network of contacts in overseas trade, Zhen Fangqing's strategic talent that is superior to that of men, and their delicate and close relationship, she is his best choice.

Compared with Jia Cong's long-term thinking, Qu Hongxiu, another helmsman of Xinchun, came from a hidden family and was born with a gene of contempt for rules in his bones.

Being used to danger, traveling around the world, experiencing many hardships, and daring to take responsibility for what she does, Miss Qu is braver than ordinary people and does not take these things seriously.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this combination of the two, their combination of strength and flexibility, and their mutual support, that Xinchun was able to rise to become one of the most important imperial merchants in the Ministry of Internal Affairs within a few years.

……

After reading Qu Hongxiu's letter, Jia Cong asked the steward of the outer courtyard to arrange wine and food to reward Cheng Yang and Xu Xiaoguan, and let them rest in the outer courtyard for a few days before returning to Jinling.

He also called the woman who was in charge of the inner courtyard and asked her to clear a piece of land in a sunny place and try to plant sweet potatoes, taro and other crops.

After some results are achieved, Lin Zhixiao will select several farms outside the Rongguo Mansion to plant these overseas crops on a large scale.

As for the short-term loss of harvest at Rongguo Farm, he was not worried at all. At most he would make up for it out of his own pocket.

Because in the long run, the benefits brought by these overseas crops will be immeasurable, and he will not suffer any loss in the end.

After arranging the trivial matters, he returned to his yard and asked someone to move more than ten bags of crops to the outside of the yard and pile them up.

I saw Wu'er, Qingwen and others talking in the corridor, but Zhishao was nowhere to be seen. When I asked her, I found out that she had gone to the small courtyard on the south slope.

He asked Wu'er and Lingguan to pick some sweet potatoes and taro to cook and enjoy in the kitchen, while he picked another basket and took it out.

……

When we reached the south slope of Dengxian Pavilion, the sunset glow in the sky was as red as fire, winding up along the stone steps. The evening breeze blew, and the sleeves of the robe fluttered, which was particularly comfortable.

Walking to the courtyard at the top of the slope, you will see Buddhist flags fluttering on the eaves and Buddhist bells swaying in the wind under the corridor. The lingering Buddhist sounds will intoxicate you, cleanse your mind and bring peace of mind.

Through the low courtyard wall, the vigorous and extending plum branches in the yard have withered green leaves and no plum buds. After the winter snow this year, you will surely see red plum blossoms all over the yard.

He knocked gently on the gate. The monotonous and clear sound echoed around the top of the hill, with a sense of ethereal Zen.

After a while, light footsteps were heard in the courtyard. When the person opened the door, a faint fragrance wafted in the air.

Jia Cong saw the person who opened the door. She was wearing a Buddhist robe, with a graceful figure, flowing hair, and a jade-like face. She was as elegant as an immortal. It was Miaoyu. (End of this chapter)