Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Rongguo Mansion, Rongqing Hall.

As the twelfth month of the year approaches and the New Year is just around the corner, the curtains, window drawers, screens, and cushions in Rongqing Hall are all brand new.

The floor of the main room was newly decorated with a scarlet foreign carpet, and the Arhat couch in the middle was covered with a red golden python brocade mattress and a backrest with a bright red palace satin round flower pattern of good fortune and longevity.

Beside the couch was a small lacquered table, on which was placed a black lacquered tea tray inlaid with shells, on which was placed a brocade enamel cup, in which was brewed the Laojunmei tea that Grandmother Jia loved.

On the left side of the Arhat couch is an enamel elephant carrying a treasure vase ornament, and on the right side is a gilded crane incense burner burning the finest nine-piece lily incense.

The pointed crane citron spews out milky white smoke, which slowly and slowly rises, refreshing the heart.

Because it is almost the New Year, twelve new glass palace lanterns are hung on the beams. Although they are not lit in the morning, the gleaming light of the glass is already brilliant.

Grandmother Jia was leaning on the Luohan couch, while Yuanyang, a pretty and pretty girl, was sitting cross-legged behind her, gently massaging her back.

Seeing Jia Cong, Yingchun and other granddaughters coming to pay their respects, Grandmother Jia felt very happy and quickly asked the maid to serve tea.

Sisters such as Yingchun and Daiyu would come to visit almost every day, but Jia Cong would only show up every five or six days.

Because he usually left home to attend court before dawn, he was unable to perform the rituals every day. Even on his days off, it was normal for him not to be home.

Grandmother Jia had also heard Yingchun say many times that Jia Cong had a heavy workload in the Ministry of Works and was often busy day and night.

Yingchun didn't know the reason, but it was just near the end of the year and the firearms workshop was busy with construction work.

Even on his day off, Jia Cong would spend the whole day in the workshop.

Therefore, it was not unusual for him to show up in Rongqing Hall only once in ten days, but it seemed that he was somewhat negligent in the etiquette of the family.

But Yingchun knew very well that her brothers and grandmother were not close. This was a heart disease and estrangement that had existed since childhood, and it was something that was difficult to describe in the mansion.

Even when the grandparents and grandchildren sat together, they had nothing intimate to say to each other.

My brother is naturally busy with official duties and cannot get away, so he may have some thoughts of avoiding it.

As the eldest sister, Yingchun naturally covered up for her brothers in everything. Every time she came to Rongqing Hall to pay her respects, she would often say hello on behalf of Jia Cong.

Whenever there is something to show filial piety in daily life, they always talk as one brother and sister. Even though the brothers are busy with official duties, they never forget to be filial to their elders.

Daiyu and Tanchun are both smart people. They naturally understand Yingchun's painstaking efforts and often speak well of her to improve the relationship between the grandparents and grandchildren.

……

Although Grandmother Jia was old, she was not completely confused when it came to matters within the inner chamber, and she could naturally see the painstaking efforts of her granddaughters.

Before Jia Cong was granted the title, Grandmother Jia often complained that he was trouble-making, cold and ruthless, which often led to gossip among relatives.

But since he inherited the East and West Mansions, his official title has become increasingly grand, and everything he does is dazzling, and the reputation of the two Jia Mansions has also risen accordingly.

The reason why Lady Jia could enjoy wealth and luxury in Rongqing Hall was because of Jia Cong's support from outside, so naturally she dared not complain.

She had no confidence in asking Jia Cong to visit her every morning and evening. If she went through with these false formalities, it would only make the already unrelated grandparents and grandchildren even more distant, which would be counterproductive.

Since her granddaughters were well-behaved and sensible, and were able to mediate the situation, Grandmother Jia naturally went along with it and let everyone carry the fancy sedan.

For Lady Jia, it is enough for the family to be prosperous, the children and grandchildren to be harmonious, and she to be at peace and happy. As for the rest, she can just get by and there is no need to be too serious about it.

……

Therefore, Grandmother Jia did not have any harsh expectations of Jia Cong in terms of filial piety and etiquette.

As long as Jia Cong can maintain the situation from the outside and ensure the prosperity of the East and West Mansions, Grandmother Jia will be in the right place.

Jia Cong could often come to Rongqing Hall to pay his respects and give his grandmother honor, so naturally there was nothing to complain about.

Therefore, on the first day of the twelfth lunar month, Jia Cong brought his sisters into the hall to pay their respects, and Grandmother Jia was quite pleased.

After Jia Cong and other grandchildren were seated, Grandmother Jia asked Amber to call Baoyu over so that everyone could join in the fun.

In fact, Jia's mother could also see that Baoyu was not close to Jia Cong. In Jia's mother's opinion, there were only two reasons.

First, the two of them had somewhat different ideas about studying and could not really go the same way, so naturally there was not much to talk about.

Another reason is that Baoyu has always liked to be close to the maids around him since he was a child. He would mostly try to approach and please any maid who was good-looking.

It just so happens that the grandson of the eldest wife has a lot of romantic relationships, and the girls who come in and out of his house are all the most outstanding maids in the two mansions. How can Baoyu not be envious and jealous?

The last time Baoyu stopped Ping'er from entering Jia Cong's room was because of this. In Jia Mu's opinion, it was not a big deal.

Baoyu just has a childish temper. If he grows up a few years more and gains more experience and wisdom, he will naturally not be so fussy about such things.

Now, according to Grandmother Jia's thoughts, she still hopes that Baoyu can be close to Jia Cong.

Baoyu himself has been spoiled since childhood, and is most likely destined to be the guardian of the family. It would be great if he could enjoy wealth and prosperity.

But now the eldest wife has completely gained the upper hand, and the grandson of the eldest wife is so outstanding that if Baoyu wants to live a good life, he naturally needs to be closer to him.

Even if I go to the west a hundred years later, Baoyu will have his brothers to take care of him, and he will be able to close his eyes when he dies.

So today, with the house full of grandchildren, Jia Lan had no convenience in the East Courtyard, but Baoyu could not be left behind.

……

Grandmother Jia smiled and asked Amber to call Baoyu, without paying much attention to anything else. However, Yuanyang, who was sitting behind her and massaging her back, noticed some clues in the hall.

Her mind has always been on Jia Cong. Ever since he entered the hall, Yuanyang's eyes have been wandering around, and she can't leave him alone.

Realizing that the old lady was going to call Baoyu over, the Third Master frowned slightly.

The usually docile second girl looked a little uncomfortable after hearing the old lady's words.

Even the third girl, who was sitting next to the third master, blushed and looked embarrassed.

Master Bao usually speaks and acts in a ridiculous way, which is somewhat annoying, but Master San and the Second Miss are both open-minded people and will not show these things on their faces.

Why is everyone acting a little weird today? Yuanyang feels that something must be fishy.

Just as Hubo went out to call for help, Xichun, who was sitting next to Yingchun, suddenly said, "She'll get angry again if I ask my second brother to come over..."

But she suddenly stopped talking halfway through, and everyone looked over curiously.

Seeing Xichun taking a tangerine out of her mouth, she frowned and said, "Second sister, if you want to give me a tangerine, at least peel it. You just stuffed it in without thinking. Am I that greedy?"

Yingchun bit her lip slightly, her eyes were gentle, and she said, "You are just a kid, just eat more fruit. You should behave yourself in front of the old lady and don't talk nonsense."

While speaking, Yingchun winked at Xichun. Although Xichun was young, she was a smart person. After living with Yingchun for a year, the two sisters had a better understanding of each other.

She immediately understood Yingchun's meaning. The second sister knew that the old lady doted on the second brother the most and would not let me say bad things about him in front of the old lady. So I didn't have to say it.

As for why she couldn't say it, Xichun was young and ignorant after all, and didn't understand the reason, so she pretended to be stupid and peeled the Lu orange in her hand.

……

After listening to half of what was said, Jia's mother felt a little strange and said with a smile, "Fourth girl, come sit here with me. It's warm on my couch."

Xichun responded, then went over and sat on the Luohan bed, stuffing the peeled tangerine in her hand into her mouth.

Grandmother Jia smiled and said, "You just said that your second brother was angry, why did you only say half of the sentence? Tell me the whole story."

Yingchun smiled and said, "Madam, my fourth sister is still a little girl. She will say whatever comes to her mind and forget it the moment she turns around."

Xichun was unconvinced and said, "Who said I can say whatever I want? Second brother is always angry for no reason and grumbles to himself, and no one knows why.

Could I be wrong? We sisters have seen this many times in our daily lives."

Daiyu couldn't help but smile when she saw that Xichun, at such a young age, was so smart and knew how to smooth things over.

Grandmother Jia looked stunned, then smiled and said, "So that's the reason you mentioned. Your second brother is really like this sometimes. If you treat him better in the future, he won't be like this anymore."

While chewing a tangerine, Xichun was thinking, "Third brother is the best to me. He is very capable. Not only can he write beautifully, he can also draw and he is also very handsome."

My second brother seems to be incapable of doing anything except calling others parasites. What's the point of being nice to him...

After hearing Xichun's words, Yingchun couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. The little girl was smart and actually knew to turn the corner by herself.

She smiled and said, "Fourth sister, you like to eat Lu oranges, so I will peel the skin for you this time, and you can just eat it."

Xichun laughed and said, "Okay, Second Sister is the best. I hate peeling fruit the most.

……

Baoyu was urged by Xiren to reluctantly open the door curtain and enter the hall. He should have been happy to see his sisters sitting in the hall, but now he was filled with anxiety. Yingchun and Jia Cong, brother and sister, had a tacit understanding and did not even turn their heads to look at each other.

Jia Cong was talking to Tanchun, and Yingchun bent down to peel tangerines for Xichun.

Yingchun is originally kind and gentle, and usually doesn't show harshness to others.

Today, outside Rongqing Hall, Baoyu said such arrogant words. Both he and his brother heard it with their own ears and were really angry.

But today she and her brother paid their respects to the old lady, which was actually a good thing, as they could be on good terms with each other.

There was no need to make everyone uncomfortable because of Baoyu's weird words, so she stopped Xichun from speaking, but she had already made up her mind.

Baoyu has become more and more absurd this year, often slandering his brother Cong behind his back. We are all brothers and sisters from the same family, why does he have to behave like this?

Brother Cong doesn't want to argue with him, but he must be unhappy in his heart. As his elder sister, he doesn't need to give him a cold shoulder. They should just see each other less often in the future.

Just wait until Baoyu gets married and moves to the East Courtyard, and then Brother Cong will come to the West Courtyard to pay his respects, and I will have no worries from now on.

……

Baoyu noticed that Jia Cong and Yingchun looked indifferent, as if they didn't even notice him.

The other sisters turned around to look at him, but even Shi Xiangyun, who loved to talk the most, didn't say a word of greeting at this time.

The air in Rongqing Hall was hot and steamy, but Baoyu felt chilly. It was as if his sisters had suddenly become distant from him, and he couldn't help feeling sad.

Grandmother Jia smiled and said, "Brother Cong and your second sister are coming over today, and I thought I would ask you to come over too. Brothers and sisters should always laugh and joke together."

Baoyu listened to Grandmother Jia's nagging, but his eyes turned to Daiyu. He saw that Daiyu was talking to Xiangyun and didn't even look at him. He felt sad again.

Then she heard Grandmother Jia ask, "Caixia has been in good health these past few days, but now she is experiencing morning sickness, so she must be having trouble eating and sleeping.

You ask Xiren to keep an eye on you on a daily basis. If you feel any discomfort, please let me know immediately so that I can help take care of you.

Raising a child is a matter of life and death for a woman, and she cannot be careless at all..."

Baoyu was already depressed and uneasy. When he heard the old lady talking about raising children in front of her sisters, he felt pain in his chest, confusion in his mind, and intermittent feelings of shame and anger.

But now that his wife was not around, he felt somewhat discouraged. Jia Cong was standing in the hall, so Baoyu did not dare to throw a tantrum in front of him and could only suppress the urge to attack.

I heard that the last time I got sick, the one who stabbed people with a needle, Zhang Youshi, was Jia Cong's good friend...

Fortunately, Grandmother Jia did not continue to talk about him, and instead said, "Brother Cong, you should stop being busy with the imperial errands in the government office. Take care of yourself at such a young age.

Having children is a big deal. The maids in your room are all outstanding. You should think about them more often. It is the right thing to do if you want them to have children early like Baoyu did."

Jia Cong smiled and said, "I understand what the old lady means. The inheritance of offspring should be left to nature and should not be forced. We are still young and there will always be children in the future."

Baoyu was stunned when he heard Jia Cong talk, and then he felt angry and disdainful.

This Jia Cong was born with such an outstanding appearance, but he had no respect for himself and talked a lot about having children in front of these outstanding sisters.

They don't even know how to conceal their behavior, which is really a disgrace to civilized people. These parasites who read corrupt poetry and books don't know how to maintain their pure feelings at all.

Losing your composure in front of your daughter, it's really a waste of your life, this is just a waste of nature's gifts...

……

At this time, Xichun said: "Madam, there was a north wind blowing all night last night, and it snowed heavily all night.

The snow scene in Dongfu is beautiful today, and the plum blossoms on the south slope are in bloom. Why don't you go and take a look with us?"

Grandmother Jia smiled and said, "Fourth girl is indeed filial and caring, but I am old and dare not walk on the snow.

You are all still young, you should be walking, running and jumping, and you don’t have to be afraid even if you fall in the snow.”

Yingchun smiled and said, "Even if it's inconvenient for the old lady to walk in the snow, I'm not afraid. Recently, my fourth sister's painting skills have improved a lot and she has painted a lot of good paintings.

Let the fourth sister go back and draw today's snow scene, and bring it to the old lady to appreciate it someday, so that she can also see the snow scene."

Xichun was most proud of the fact that people said she was a good painter. She smiled and said, "Madam, I recently painted a picture of a banquet given by the emperor. It took me a lot of effort to paint it."

When Xichun was still in the West Mansion, she was young, just a child, and Baoyu rarely spoke to his fourth sister.

Now, I see that she has moved to the East Palace for more than a year. She has become more and more lovely, and her words and demeanor are charming and attractive.

I couldn't help but laugh and said, "Fourth sister, what on earth is this picture of the banquet for grace and honor that you drew that makes you so proud?"

Xichun smiled and said, "Second brother doesn't even know about the banquet given by the emperor. When a scholar passes the imperial examination, the emperor will give him a banquet at the Ministry of Rites to show his honor and favor.

What I drew was the scene of my third brother attending the Enrong Banquet. My third brother described to me what the lobby of the Ministry of Rites looked like and what kind of food and wine were served.

It was very interesting to see which officials were attending the banquet and what kind of clothes they were wearing. I drew them all.

Especially the third brother’s painting is very lifelike, the second sister, the third sister, and sister Lin all said that the painting is very good..."

Although Xichun is young, she is very fascinated by the art of painting. Whenever the topic of painting comes up, the little girl will talk endlessly and nag non-stop.

Jia Cong, Yingchun and the others all knew the little girl's temper and were no longer surprised. They listened to her chattering about her paintings with great interest.

Only Baoyu, after hearing Xichun's words, felt as sick as if he had eaten a bunch of flies. It turned out that the "Picture of Banquet Granted with Grace and Honor" was a painting of a banquet granted to successful Jinshi.

The fourth sister is still so young, but she has already been poisoned by the pedantry and corruption. She talked about Jia Cong's success in the imperial examination with great relish and even drew pictures to record it. She is truly hopeless.

Jia Cong has done so much harm to people that even a young girl like my fourth sister has been defiled and blackened by him. It is truly heartbreaking.

……

Seeing that Xichun was still talking excitedly, Yingchun couldn't help but frowning as she saw that Baoyu looked dazed, his face flushed, and his eyes reflected resentment.

He walked forward, took Xichun's hand, and said, "Fourth sister, don't bother the old lady. Let's go back to the East Mansion to see the snow scene. You can draw it for the old lady."

Xichun said, "Second sister is right. Let's go back and see the snow. If the snow melts a little, the scenery won't be beautiful. We should go back quickly."

Jia Cong, Yingchun and other sisters all felt uncomfortable because they heard Baoyu's nonsense outside the hall and did not want to stay with him for long.

After hearing Xichun's words, everyone went with the flow, stood up and said goodbye to Lady Jia. They had just stood up to leave.

I only heard Grandmother Jia laugh and say, "Baoyu, you're just staying at home and sleeping. Why don't you go to the East Palace with your sisters to see the snow scene? Wouldn't that be more interesting?"

As soon as Grandmother Jia finished speaking, Jia Cong, Yingchun and other sisters turned around at the same time and looked at Baoyu with burning eyes.

Baoyu suddenly felt a little ashamed. He noticed that Jia Cong was looking at him with a sharp gaze, like a knife, as if it could pierce through his body.

Although he didn't say anything, Baoyu felt as if he was slapped twice on the ears and his face seemed to be burning.

In fact, he really wanted to go to the East Palace with his sisters, especially Lin Daiyu, to see the beautiful snow scenery. That would be such a beautiful and interesting thing.

However, Jia Cong and his sisters had heard clearly the heroic words spoken outside the hall just now. How could he have the nerve to go to the East Palace again?

After all, he was a man with a sense of shame, and he felt very troubled and felt that God was tempering him again...

Xichun held a small pastel-colored and gold-painted plate in her hand, which was piled with peeled tangerines from Yingchun. They were bright yellow and juicy, and very tempting.

The little girl reached out and picked up an orange, slurped it into her mouth, walked up to Baoyu, and looked at his expression carefully.

Nuonuo asked: "Second brother, if you really want to go to the East Palace to see the snow scene, didn't you just say outside the hall..."

When Baoyu heard Xichun's words, he felt as if a ghost had fled to his body. He was afraid that the little girl's careless words would tear off his face in an instant.

Without waiting for Xichun to continue, he quickly said loudly: "Old lady, I am also afraid of slipping in the snow, so I won't go to see the snow scene.

Caixia has been suffering from morning sickness these days, and has been retching a lot. She doesn't feel well in the mornings, so I'm anxious to go back and see her."

As soon as Baoyu finished speaking, he felt extremely regretful and wanted to bang his head against the wall. He couldn't come up with any excuses, and it was all nonsense about premature ejaculation.

These people talk about raising children in front of me every day, which defiles me, and I don't even realize that I am talking nonsense.

Baoyu felt so ashamed that he didn't even have time to greet Grandmother Jia. He turned around and was about to leave the hall. He felt that he had lost face in front of his sisters by talking about his morning sickness.

I only heard Grandmother Jia smiled and said, "You can go back and see her. After all, she is going to be a father, and she knows how to take care of the people in the house. This is very good."

As Baoyu reached the door, he heard Lady Jia talking about being a father with a smile. He felt as if struck by lightning and felt extremely ashamed, as if Daiyu was staring at him.

He panicked, his legs went weak, he stumbled and almost fell to the ground. After finally steadying himself, he opened the door curtain and ran away.

Grandmother Jia kept nagging: "This Baoyu is still a child. He is always a little impatient and he even stumbles when he walks..." (End of this chapter)