Red Mansion, Ningfu Scholarly Family

Chapter 85: Mrs. Wang persuades Aunt Xue
……

Ningguo Mansion, Huiyuan.

Yingchun, Tanchun, Daiyu, Xiangyun and the hostess, little Xichun, the five little aunts sat in a circle in the pavilion, enjoying the scenery, drinking tea, joking and having fun.

"This Qinfang Pavilion is located by the mountains and streams, with white stone fences and green trees as its friends. It is indeed fresh and elegant. No wonder Sister Lin is so happy living here and doesn't want to leave." Tanchun took a sip of tea and said with a smile.

Xichun also picked up the teacup and took a sip, saying with a smile: "This is all caused by Rong Ge'er."

Yingchun exclaimed: "Brother Rong is really amazing!"

Xiangyun suddenly glanced at Daiyu and chuckled, "What does her living here have to do with the pavilion? It's mainly because her eldest nephew is filial that she doesn't want to go back, right?"

Lin Daiyu and Xiangyun were used to bickering, so she immediately retorted, "Yun'er, you bit your tongue, didn't you acknowledge Rong'er as your brother? Doesn't that mean you have to call us aunt?"

"Yun'er, why don't you serve tea to the aunts!"

Xiangyun stood up and said to everyone, "Ni Heng and Kong Rong were close friends. When Heng was less than 20 years old, and Rong was already 50, they respected Heng's talent and forgot their age!"

"Sister Lin, you know the story of friendship regardless of age, right?"

Lin Daiyu smiled and said to everyone, "Is she a friend regardless of age? She is clearly a friend regardless of generation!"

What a great friendship!

Everyone laughed when he said that.

Xiangyun said stubbornly: "People who forget their age usually forget their generation. If they don't forget their age, how can they forget their generation?"

Lin Daiyu smiled and said, "You can't speak clearly because of your lisp, but no one can beat you when it comes to making up stories."

Xiangyun smiled and said, "If you never let go of anyone's mistakes, I will obey you if you point out his faults."

"Who?"

"Brother Rong!"

"Haha, I was wondering who it was. It turned out to be him." Lin Daiyu said casually, "Not serious, talkative, fake and silly."

"Pfft."

Xichun seemed to remember something and smiled with her hands covering her mouth.

"Oh……"

Xiangyun smiled meaningfully and said, "Why is Rong'er not serious and is being frivolous? How come we don't know? Please tell us in detail, Sister Lin."

"Damn Yun'er!"

"I'm just saying one thing, why are you so anxious? Could it be... hehe!"

"I told you to talk nonsense!"

Lin Daiyu stood up and tried to grab Xiangyun, but Xiangyun quickly ran around the table. Tanchun tried to stop her, Yingchun tried to pull her back, and Xichun laughed. As they were making a fuss, a beautiful woman in a flowery red Xiang skirt came staggering in from outside the pavilion.

It was Xue Baoqin who walked up, waving a folding fan and laughing, and first bowed deeply to everyone.

"Hello... Aunts!"

Xichun smiled and said, "The real niece is here. This is Baoqin's niece. She is of the same generation as Rong'er."

Yingchun asked doubtfully, "Niece Baoqin? Do you know Sister Baochai?"

Xue Baoqin smiled and said, "Yes, I know her. Sister Baochai is my cousin."

Yingchun became even more confused.

How do you determine seniority?

How should she call?

Xiangyun stepped forward and took Baoqin's hand, saying with a smile: "Good girl, there is no need for so many etiquettes, we can just treat each other as equals. There is a saying that goes 'each one has his own way'."

"I wouldn't dare." Baoqin said with a smile, "My father especially told me when I came here not to be arrogant."

Tanchun said with a smile, "What if Sister Baochai comes? I heard from Madam the other day that Aunt Xue and her family seem to be coming back to live here. How will your generations be calculated then?"

Xiangyun asked happily, "Really? Sister Bao is coming back?"

Lin Daiyu had not seen Baochai yet. She looked up at Xiangyun and said, "Why are you so happy?"

Xiangyun sighed, "You haven't seen it, Sister Bao is really a rare person in the world... It's a pity that she was exhausted by her brother." "Oh?"

Lin Daiyu pulled Baoqin into her arms and said with a smile, "Is there anything good about my niece Baoqin? I don't believe it."

……

Jia Rong did not join his aunts in the pavilion. Today, besides studying, he had other important things to do.

Accompany Xue Ke to the Ministry of Revenue to obtain the nominal documents for the traveling merchants. In addition, the matters concerning the imperial merchants also need to be handed over to the treasury.

Of course, I have to explain the situation to Aunt Xue and Baochai before going.

Reality is always cruel.

Xue Pan is still in prison awaiting his trial, and now they are going to cut off the foundation of the first house...

but,
There was nothing that could be done about it, because the Xue family's first wife had no one left. It was impossible to register Baochai's name at the Ministry of Revenue to receive the internal treasury money and grain, right?

Another thing, time waits for no one.

How many wealthy businessmen had their eyes on the position of imperial merchant. If Jia Jing had not given notice in advance, it would have been replaced by someone else long ago.

Wang's house, west wing.

Ever since Xue Pan was sentenced to death by hanging, Aunt Xue went to the Wang family, and the uncle and nephew ran around to various government offices in the capital, spending hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, but to no avail.

Xue Pan is still guilty of the death penalty.

Aunt Xue was angry and hurt, crying day and night.

Not only Aunt Xue, Baochai has also lost a lot of weight due to worry during this period. Her originally plump body is now comparable to that of Lin Daiyu.

As the day of the trial drew closer, Aunt Xue could hardly eat, and finally lay in bed that day.

Baochai felt heartbroken and could only force a smile to comfort her.

"Now that things have come to this, it's time for Mom to let it go."

"This is life!"

"My brother is a man without luck. He inherited so much from my grandfather and could have lived a life of wealth and honor. However, he did not know the seriousness of the matter and allowed his slave to kill someone. Killing someone would have been fine, and he could have been given a lighter sentence. However, he never took it seriously and came to the capital in a swagger, making his crime even more serious. Who can I blame?"

Aunt Xue burst into tears again and cried, "I know, it hurts my heart! I am so old, but I have to send off my son."

As he spoke, he was already sobbing.

Baochai shook her head and could only continue to comfort her: "In general, raising children is to have someone to rely on when you are old. Even a small family must earn a bowl of rice to support their mother. How can you make a fuss about the ready-made ones and then harm the elderly and make them cry their hearts out?"

Finally, Baochai gritted her teeth and said simply: "I am not saying that my brother's behavior is not that of a son, but that of an enemy!"

Aunt Xue: "..."

While the mother and daughter were talking, Mrs. Wang came.

Recently, Mrs. Wang knew that her sister was sad, so she often came to comfort her.

Baochai hurriedly offered her a seat and ordered Ying'er to serve tea. She then sat aside, doing needlework while listening to the conversation between the two sisters.

The two sisters cried for a while at first.

Aunt Xue held Madam Wang's hand and said weakly, "After Pan'er is gone, and the eldest wife is gone too, how can I go down and explain to the ancestors of the Xue family?"

Mrs. Wang hurriedly comforted her, "Don't be afraid, sister. After all, our surname is Wang. We only need to explain to our Wang family ancestors. Why should we explain to the Xue family ancestors?"

Mrs. Wang then continued, "I saw my brother when I came here just now. He also said that people should always look forward. After all, you are still young..."

Aunt Xue: "..."

Xue Baochai: “…”

It must be said that after Mrs. Wang's words, Aunt Xue and her daughter even forgot the word "sad" for a moment, and their minds were full of thoughts:

What does it mean?
"Sister, what did you say?"

Aunt Xue opened her eyes wide and stopped crying for a while.

……

(End of this chapter)