The Red Mansion Big Liar.

Chapter 174: Pretending to serve the public good for personal gain
The next day, the agreed date arrived. Fortunately, the sky cleared up.

Although he said that he looked down on Zhang Yunyi's glass house, on the appointed day, Jia Baoyu still followed him like a burden.

But when they entered the glass room and waited for Daiyu and others to hand the prepared gifts to Xiangling, he looked a little embarrassed and started scratching his ears.

In fact, he was not the only one who did not prepare a gift. However, Xichun was still young after all, and she was Zhang Yunyi's formal cousin, so it did not seem out of place.

Lin Daiyu brought a collection of poems with her as she had promised to teach Xiangling poetry.

"You should read one hundred five-character regulated verses by Wang Wei first, and study them thoroughly. Then read one or two hundred seven-character regulated verses by Lao Du, and then read one or two hundred seven-character quatrains by Li Qinglian..."

Tanchun obviously put some thought into it. Knowing that Xiangling was interested in learning poetry, she gave her a set of four treasures of the study.

Baochai's gift was nothing special. It was just a set of gold jewelry for her unborn baby. Since she didn't know whether it was a boy or a girl, she just gave them a gold lock and bracelet.

Yingchun leaned against Lady Jia and presented her with a white fox fur cloak.

Only Xiangyun was short of money, and she took out a handkerchief she had embroidered herself, feeling embarrassed.

Xiangling had never been treated like this before, and she was immediately flattered. She wanted to serve tea and perform the ceremony of paying homage to the master.

However, now that she was pregnant, no one was willing to accept it.

Jia Baoyu, who was standing by, was a little embarrassed at first. He was still a little upset about Xiangling being entrusted to the wrong person, but when he saw her with a big belly, he felt relieved.

So I just shamelessly blended in with the crowd.

Since the purpose is to enjoy the snow, I have to compose two poems to suit the occasion.

However, after deciding on the topic, Tanchun's eyes drifted towards the direction of Dengxian Pavilion and asked, "Sister-in-law Zhen, why doesn't Brother Yi come over?"

When she asked this, Youshi's face suddenly became a little unnatural, and she evaded the question by saying, "The girls are here to enjoy the snow, how can he come close to them?"

"There are no outsiders here, and besides, isn't Baoyu here too?" Yingchun murmured in a low voice.

Yu Shi couldn't refuse, so she said perfunctorily, "Well... I'll go call him later. He and Feng Yatou have started a business together, and today he sent Ping Er to discuss things, so I'm afraid he can't get away right now."

"Huh!~" After she said that, everyone looked around unconsciously, and sure enough, they didn't see Ping'er.

Tanchun laughed and said, "I was wondering why the second sister-in-law was so kind that she specially sent Sister Ping'er to help take care of it, but it turns out that she was abusing her power for personal gain!"

No one else thought much about it, but Baochai was stunned when she heard it.

Jia Baoyu was hoping that he would not join in the fun, and hurriedly said, "Brother Yi has something important to discuss, so let's not disturb him!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Yu wiped the sweat from her forehead, glanced at the Dengxian Pavilion not far away, and quickly agreed.

……

In the sun room, people were reciting poems and writing couplets, and the atmosphere was lively.

In the Dengxian Pavilion, there was also a slight gasp, as if the passion was in full swing.

"Master! The day before yesterday, we received news from the south that the goods have already been loaded onto the ship. Taking into account the time on the road, I'm afraid they are already on the way. Even if they can't make it in time, they won't be delayed for a few days..."

Youshi was not talking nonsense. Wang Xifeng asked Ping'er to come over because of the bird droppings business.

However, Wang Xifeng's abuse of power for personal gain did not prevent Ping'er from following suit.

With his eyes closed, he explained his intentions intermittently, but he didn't hear any response. He opened his eyes slightly and said in a trembling voice: "Big..."

He had just uttered a word when the hole for venting his anger was blocked tightly by Zhang Yunyi.

After a long while, Zhang Yunyi said in dissatisfaction, "How dare you be distracted at this moment? We can talk about these trivial matters later!"

Ping'er said in a tearful voice, "I...I am worried that there is no one to serve over there, and it will arouse suspicion. What if someone comes to look for me..."

Zhang Yunyi said disapprovingly: "It's okay! Ruizhu and Baozhu are watching from the opposite side!"

Hearing that Baozhu and Ruizhu were standing guard outside, Ping'er didn't know whether she had let down her guard or was shy, but she seemed to be afraid to breathe and just "whimpered" with the north wind outside the house.

……

"When did Ping'er follow the master?" Ruizhu, who was sitting on the threshold of Tianxiang Tower, asked with a wandering look, "Do you think Second Madam Lian will also..."

"Who cares!" Baozhu pouted, "You can't write two Jia characters with one stroke. Since you have to deal with this side, you will naturally have a grudge against the other side. We can't collect the debt from Chen Po, so we can only rely on you to help make up for it."

Although Ruizhu and Baozhu were bought by Qin Ye and had no relatives in the Qin family, they had a relationship with those deceased servants for more than ten years.

Instead, he was happy to be an accomplice to the tiger, helping him steal perfumes and jades and standing guard.

Although Ruizhu didn't think there was anything wrong, she was still a little hesitant: "It's just that it's okay for others, but since the incident at home, they just treat the young lady as if she doesn't exist. Only the second wife still remembers our past friendship. Will we..."

Baozhu didn't wait for her to finish and couldn't help but sneered: "It's our own will. I didn't force her to send the people here. We are doing her a favor and keeping watch for her people. She should be thanking us!"

Ruizhu deeply agreed with Baozhu's statement.

"You said that the Second Mistress gave Sister Ping'er to the Master. Did she have some other plan in mind?"

Although Jia Zhen had ulterior motives when he gave the two of them to Zhang Yun逸, the fact that Qin Keqing was able to hook up with Zhang Yun逸 was due to the great contributions of the two of them, especially Baozhu.

It is not easy for women from wealthy families to get rid of people around them.

Now, Wang Xifeng took the initiative to send Ping'er here. How could it be similar to the past? Ruizhu couldn't help but have some guesses.

Baozhu nodded unconsciously when she heard this and said, "A fly won't bite an egg without cracks. Didn't you hear what the mistress said? Jia Lian just came back the day before and he stayed at the brothel. The two of them had a quarrel over it and their faces were all bruised."

For Youshi, who was in the same trench with them, the two of them still kept the title of Madam, but for the Jia family members in the two mansions, most of them called them by their names.

The more she spoke, the more excited she became: "Second Madam Lian has always been good at calculating. For such a big business, she must have a scale in her mind. Besides, even if she didn't mean it, since she covets Master's money, why can't she allow Master to covet her body?"

Ruizhu couldn't find fault with Baozhu's simple values, and could only sigh: "No matter what, Miss Ping'er is kind-hearted. It's better for her to follow the master than to waste her time there!"

"That's right! Don't say we didn't do anything for her. Even if we did, she might thank us!"

At this point, she pointed to the sun room in the distance and said, "Don't say anything else, just look at the madam and you'll know!"

There is no harm without comparison. Although they had heard a little about the affair between Jia Rong and the maid, they did not have a deep understanding of it.

But even if you haven't eaten pork, you have seen a pig walk.

Yu's reaction is there, which can serve as evidence.

Baozhu praised Zhang Yunyi's ability, and Ruizhu would not refute it. The image of the second wife, who was always arrogant and domineering, emerged in her mind, with a look of despair and hesitancy.

He couldn't help but think of his own young lady, who was aiding and abetting the tyrant and helping Master Yi to plot against Youshi.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind: the young lady would probably like it very much, right?

……

(End of this chapter)