The Red Mansion Big Liar.

Chapter 588: Touching the scene and feeling sad
"Master! The old lady sent someone to tell me that the second wife's birthday is in two days, and she specially invites you to come and celebrate..."

As soon as Zhang Yun逸 arrived home, Youshi came up to report.

"Oh! Why go to all this trouble if you want to have fun?" Zhang Yunyi sneered, "Now that Baoyu's wedding date has been set, there's no need for the eldest and second girls to drag it out!"

"That's right!" Yu Shi echoed, "I think it's better to have two...three happy events at once!"

Although there are no clear regulations, marriages are generally arranged according to the order of seniority.

At the end of last year, Zhang Yun逸 had the idea of ​​letting Yuanchun and Yingchun marry into his family, but Grandmother Jia refused and said she wanted to wait for Jia Zheng to come back.

Now, Jia Zheng has not only returned to the capital, but has also gone to a Taoist temple to avoid the world.

It's just that he hasn't had the time recently, so he hasn't taken care of it.

However, when talking about Lady Wang’s birthday, he thought of Tanchun again.

Tanchun's birthday is on the second day of March, only one day apart from Lady Wang. She has also reached the age of marriage, so it is better to solve Tanchun's worries at the same time.

So, he waved his hand and said, "Forget it! After all, it's the Second Wife's birthday, there's no need to steal her limelight!"

Although, given the current situation, it would not be so troublesome to take Tanchun as a concubine, doing so would inevitably cause Tanchun to have unnecessary suspicion.

If you want to put on a complete show, you might as well follow Tanchun's idea.

He did not return to Huifang Garden, but simply brought dinner to the front yard. He called Lai Da and Jia Lian over and asked them about the whole story.

The reason why Jia Lian was brought up was because Jia Baoyu asked about the names and horoscopes.

Now the Rongguo Mansion is full of his spies. When Lady Jia asked Jia Lian to inquire about Li Congwen's case, it was naturally impossible for her to hide it from him.

Although it was unclear what the specific purpose of Lady Jia's inquiry was, for Zhang Yunyi, who was confident in his plans, it was not a bad thing at all. Instead, it was a way to make an example of her and warn Lady Jia several times.

Therefore, he allowed Lady Jia to inquire about Li Congwen's case.

Today, the case had just been settled, and Grandmother Jia was in a hurry to arrange a birthday for Lady Wang, which inevitably aroused Zhang Yunyi's imagination.

After all, from Lady Jia's perspective, Mrs. Wang can be said to be an indispensable bond between him and the Rongguo Mansion.

After asking about the whole cause and effect, he found out that not only was his guess correct, but Grandmother Jia had also specially invited Aunt Zhao to attend.

Zhang Yun逸 was no longer in a hurry.

A good hunter often appears as the prey.

Before this, Tanchun had intended to let Aunt Zhao break the window paper, and now that she had this ready-made opportunity, she naturally would not miss it.

Sure enough, that night he pretended to ask Jin Chuan to deliver some small gifts to the girls in each courtyard. As soon as Jin Chuan came back, she hurried to report that Tanchun had brought a message, asking him to make time to attend Mrs. Wang's birthday.

Although he knew that Tanchun had made arrangements, he did not sit back and enjoy the results. He found Lady Wang and Aunt Zhao respectively and made additional supplements. He also called Lady Xing and gave her some instructions.

After everything was arranged properly and I asked for a day off in advance, the next day was the first day of March.

Family disgrace should not be made public. Jia's family knew about their own affairs and they also expected Mrs. Wang to be humble and work hard for the family, so it was naturally inconvenient to invite outsiders.

Therefore, even the side branches of the Jia family were not invited, except for the two ladies of the Xue family who were temporarily staying in the Rongguo Mansion, and the most important Zhang Yunyi, who were not invited at all. They just closed the door and had the fun on their own.

Because it was Lady Wang's birthday, Lady Jia did not take advantage of her seniority and set the venue at Rongqing Hall. Instead, she brought Lady Xing and others to Lady Wang's Rongxi Hall early in the morning.

She did not forget the important matter, and had to break down and explain everything she had learned to Mrs. Wang, and gave her instructions in person.

Since it not only paves the way for her son but also makes it legitimate and satisfies her inner desire, Mrs. Wang naturally would not pretend to be reserved and make excuses.

She kept her private plans secret from Zhang Yunyi, and followed Lady Jia's wishes, and even washed and dressed up.

After accepting Yuanchun, Baoyu and a group of younger generations, kowtowing to them in congratulations, and chatting with Aunt Xue and others for a while, Zhang Yunyi finally arrived until the lunch was served.

In the Red Mansion, even if it was Jia Baoyu's birthday, peers would still kowtow and say a few words of congratulations. What about the nominal junior?
However, although Zhang Yun逸 had knelt before, it was always behind Mrs. Wang’s back. He had never done it in front of her or in public before.

Ok……

At most, she had met him a few times in private with a few people including Lady Xing, Aunt Xue, Wang Xifeng and Li Wan.

This was also the reason why he deliberately came late, so as to avoid being separated from Jia Lian, Baoyu, and the other golden hairpins, so as not to stand out and be too conspicuous.

However, having said that, we still have to do the job.

As soon as he showed his strength, Mrs. Wang said, "I dare not!"

Grandmother Jia, Madam Xing, Aunt Xue and a number of others all echoed her.

Zhang Yun逸 just went with the flow and stopped the momentum, which rather spoiled the mood of Wang Xifeng who was waiting to watch the fun.

Zhang Yunyi looked up and caught a glimpse of her malicious gaze, and gave her a look that said "you'll be in trouble" in return.

Wang Xifeng was not intimidated at all. Instead, she pouted provocatively at him and said with a smile, "You didn't even kowtow, but this courtesy cannot be taken lightly!"

Since it was a spur-of-the-moment decision, it was naturally impossible for Zhang Yun逸 to prepare in advance.

However, with his current status, it is not difficult for him to find a few appropriate gifts in the Ningguo Mansion’s storehouse.

Thinking of the words "blessings as vast as the East Sea" mentioned when he sent Jia Zheng to Zixiao Temple, he specially selected a jade plate with the words "blessings as vast as the East Sea" and a depiction of sea and mountains carved on it.

Although giving it to Lady Wang is not as appropriate as giving it to Jia Zheng, in order to avoid wasting one's own intentions, one can only settle for the second best.

Although this jade plate is of great value and its meaning is appropriate, Mrs. Wang could not help feeling sad when she saw it.

She was about to turn forty, and every time she celebrated her birthday, she would get one year older. However, Zhang Yunyi was only concerned with satisfying his own bad taste and did not consider her feelings by giving her such a thing.

She just thought that Zhang Yunyi disliked her because of her age, which made her feel sad.

In fact, Mrs. Wang also didn't understand the situation and was a little self-deprecating.

Although the ancient times were not as good as the modern times and there were many means of maintaining health, for Mrs. Wang and Aunt Xue, who lived a life of luxury and had delicate bodies, they were far from being old.

And, this also depends on the person.

Take Xue Tao from the late Tang Dynasty for example. When she was in her forties, she had a brief romance with Yuan Zhen, a talented and romantic writer who wrote the Story of Yingying, the prototype of The West Chamber.

She even created the world-famous Xue Tao paper for expressing her feelings through letters.

Xue Tao was born in the turbulent late Tang Dynasty. She had a rough life and was once reduced to a house prostitute. She was far from living a life of luxury and well-maintained life.

Although Mrs. Wang is slightly inferior to Aunt Xue, they are sisters after all, and have more or less inherited some anti-aging genes.

In addition, people are in high spirits when they are happy, and now they are well nourished. Zhang Yunyi's mental age is much older than his actual age, so he does not feel anything wrong facing Mrs. Wang.

Some are happy, some are sad. Mrs. Wang is sad, but Aunt Zhao and Wang Xifeng, who sit at the last seat, are beaming with joy.

Although Zhang Yun逸 could see that Mrs. Wang was not interested, the Rongguo Mansion depended on him and were only happy to see Mrs. Wang.

Besides, time will tell what a person's true character is. There was no need for him to explain further in front of all the ladies.

After handing the jade plate with blessings as vast as the East Sea to Wang Xifeng who came forward, he turned around and greeted Lady Jia, Madam Xing, Aunt Xue and others.

Then she turned around, bowed to the group of ladies with golden hairpins, and stepped forward to join the conversation of the sisters.

……

(End of this chapter)