The Red Mansion Big Liar.

Chapter 152: A casual joke

Zhang Yun逸 did not deliberately inquire about the affairs of the Rong Mansion.

However, Jia Zhen did hear a lot of news when he was supervising the construction of the Grand View Garden.

Because Jia She and his wife were targeting Zhang Yun逸, he became defensive.

Therefore, I told him the story of the internal strife in the Rong Mansion in a vivid and exaggerated manner.

I heard that Aunt Zhao was beaten with twenty boards and knelt in Lady Jia's courtyard for a night. After returning home, she was bedridden.

Zhang Yunyi speculated in his heart, wondering if the beating was very severe. If the skin was torn and the inside was damaged, leaving some marks, then...

However, he has no time to care about these things at the moment.

Flat glass has already started to be produced, and the first batch will naturally be installed for the emperor. In order to win his favor, he also presented the design of the sunroom to the emperor.

Afterwards, he also visited the cabinet duty room and the officials of various ministries.

Glass windows were installed for several cabinet ministers and officials from various departments.

Although the inner court belonged to the emperor's retainers, it still had to be inspected by the Ministry of Personnel. Plus, he held a title, so he couldn't just ignore it.

As the saying goes, don't hit a smiling person. It would be a waste not to earn favors like this.

However, he still knows clearly.

He was not a graduate of the imperial examination system, and he became famous by virtue of his strange and lewd skills. Even if he had the emperor's favor, he still could not catch the eyes of these scholars.

There is no need to try to get in on the act and put your face in front of someone else's cold butt. It is enough to just maintain superficial politeness and not make others hate you.

After replacing the glass windows for the palace and related people, he started to tinker with his own things.

The sunroom in his home didn't cost much and he had already installed it in advance.

As for the greenhouse, he had already asked the emperor for permission in advance, and all the glass produced by the factory during this period was sent to the farm.

That day, when I came back from the farm outside the city and just got off the carriage, I heard Youshi come up to me and say, "The old lady sent Yuanyang again, saying that Lian Er and Miss Lin will arrive at the dock at noon tomorrow, and she was afraid that you forgot to pick them up."

"Is there something wrong?" Zhang Yunyi asked puzzledly.

"I heard that Lian Er and Miss Lin are coming back tomorrow, and the old lady wants you to go to the dock to welcome them."

Because Jia Zhen caused Jia Baoyu to be beaten last time, Grandmother Jia was determined to let Yingchun take the blame, so she no longer relied entirely on Jia She and his wife, and began to secretly make efforts to add fuel to the fire.

However, she could not be as direct as Mrs. Xing, but instead adopted a roundabout tactic.

After all, Zhang Yun逸 lived in Ning Mansion and was busy with official duties. He was unlike the other playboys in the Jia family who had nothing to do all day long.

Although he was quite interested last time, he had to give up because of Jia Zhen's disturbance.

I am afraid that when Jia Zhen returns, he will inevitably spread the news and put an end to his thoughts. Therefore, he needs to be given more opportunities to enter the mansion, so as to let him see his family's attitude clearly and to give him some opportunities to meet Yingchun.

After all, Jia She and Jia Zheng are the elders, and Jia Baoyu is inexperienced. Asking them to invite him would not only be inappropriate, but Jia Zhen would probably become suspicious.

Jia Lian, as Yingchun's brother and about the same age as Yingchun, is the most suitable person to make friends with.

However, Jia Lian had been away from Beijing for nearly a year and had missed the opportunity to get to know Jia Zhen. How could he not be suspicious when he suddenly came to invite Jia Zhen?
Therefore, I took the opportunity of coming back this time to let the two of them meet, and also to lay an ambush for inviting him to my house often in the future.

Zhang Yun逸 was still unclear about the reason.

But when he heard that Lin Daiyu was coming back, he became interested and hurried to the hall.

The Yuanyang in the hall stood up quickly and bowed to him: "Greetings, Master Yi!"

Zhang Yunyi returned the greeting and asked knowingly, "Sister Yuanyang is polite! But what does the old lady want?"

The two were of similar age, just maids around their elders, calling her sister showed respect for their elders. He was just now sizing up this confidant of Lady Jia.

She was wearing a lotus-colored silk jacket with a green satin vest on the outside. Although it was the uniform style for the maids in Rong Mansion, there was a narrow strip of brocade border on the edge, which made her different from ordinary maids. She was wearing a water-green skirt, which was wrapped in the hem of the silk jacket, with only one foot exposed.

She has a slim waist, narrow back, oval face, black hair, and a high nose bridge. Although there are a few freckles on both cheeks, they are just right and do not affect her appearance at all. Instead, they add a unique charm.

While he was looking at the mandarin duck, the mandarin duck was also looking at him.

As the most trusted maidservant beside Lady Jia, she knew exactly what Lady Jia and the first wife were thinking.

He looked at Zhang Yunyi with a bit of curiosity and scrutiny.

Because he was trusted by Lady Jia, not only the servants in the mansion, but even young masters like Jia Lian and Jia Baoyu looked at him differently.

Over time, her standards became more refined.

However, a maid is still a maid after all, and when she reaches a certain age, she will inevitably have to be paired with a servant.

But looking at the entire Rong Mansion, is there any servant who could catch her eye?

If you look down on servants, the only way out is to become a maid or concubine.

But taking Aunt Zhao as a lesson, how similar is the current Jia Baoyu to the former Jia Zheng?

If she followed him, she would inevitably be caught between Lady Jia and Lady Wang, and even the coming Second Lady Bao, and become a victim.

As for the two masters, Jia Zheng was not worthy of mentioning them anymore, and Jia She, who was old, lustful, easily bored with the old and eccentric, and also had an abominable appearance, was not even considered.

Originally, only Jia Lian was suitable, but Wang Xifeng was jealous and had a bad reputation, so she was hesitant for a while.

Now, there is one more Zhang Yunyi.

Although he is not from the Rong Mansion, if Yingchun really marries into the Zhang family, they will have to hire a few concubines.

Therefore, in addition to curiosity, there was also a bit of scrutiny in his eyes.

However, how could she be Zhang Yunyi's opponent? She was defeated after staring at him for only three seconds. She blushed and said, "Mr. Lian and Miss Lin will be back tomorrow. They are the younger generation and it is not easy for them to trouble the two masters to go and greet them. The old lady wants to trouble Mr. Yi to go there."

She paused and continued, "I dare not trouble Master Yi, but there is a brother from the same family who is traveling with us. He was originally the prefect of Jinling and happened to be the replacement in Beijing. If someone else were to come, it would seem to be neglectful. Master, you just need to come back before noon tomorrow. The carriage in the mansion will be ready. Then I will come to pick you up and travel with you."

The latter paragraph was actually meant for Youshi and other people in Ning Mansion. Jia Zhen was just an idle person, so why not let him go and why bother Zhang Yun逸?
This reason couldn't be more appropriate.

Zhang Yunyi smiled and said, "Oh? Could it be that Sister Yuanyang will come with us?"

How could he refuse the opportunity to see Lin Daiyu in advance?
However, he always has his eyes on the pot while eating from the bowl, and of course he would not miss the opportunity to flirt with the mandarin ducks.

Although he didn't know Yuanyang's true thoughts, he was an expert. He could clearly see that she looked embarrassed during their eye contact just now. How could he miss such an opportunity?

Now, he is no longer the same as before. Even after seeing the beauty of Aunt Zhao, Jia Zheng still endured it. What's the big deal about teasing the maid?

However, when he asked this, it seemed as if he was bound to the mandarin duck.

How could she possibly resist?

A blush appeared on her face, and she whispered, "The old lady is worried about Miss Lin, so I want to go with her to take care of her."

Zhang Yunyi clapped his hands and said with a smile, "That's good! Please ask Sister Yuanyang to report to the old lady and tell her that I will be back early tomorrow and waiting for you."

He deliberately emphasized the last sentence, and Yuanyang was so embarrassed that she didn't dare to raise her head and hurriedly said goodbye and left.

……

(End of this chapter)