Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 244, Tan Chun Returns Home

(This part was a bit difficult to write, so it took a while. Sorry for the slow pace.)
Meanwhile, Jia She greeted Fang Yong and invited him into the Jia mansion.

In the original novel, the women of the Jia family are depicted in a variety of ways.

However, when Fang Yong actually saw it, he didn't find it particularly amazing.

Only a few will truly stay in one's heart.

Aside from Qin Keqing's alluring beauty, only Wang Xifeng possessed striking phoenix eyes and a more captivating figure than Keqing; Fang Yong could recognize her without any introduction.

The rest, not far from Wang Xifeng, was a woman dressed simply, without makeup, with plain features but beautiful appearance, who seemed to be Li Wan, but it was not certain.

Then came Yingchun and Xichun, whom I had only met briefly before.

The reason it's only half a side is because we only saw Yingchun's back before, and only now have we seen her in full.

With a slightly plump figure, cheeks like fresh lychees, and a nose like goose fat, she had the demeanor of a young lady from a wealthy family. When her eyes met Fang Yong's by chance, Yingchun was slightly stunned.

Xichun is too young to be discussed further.

As for the rest, in terms of appearance alone, they are not as good as Consort Zhou.

"Cough cough..."

When Fang Yong entered the Rong Mansion, he knew that Tan Chun was returning home to visit her family, but he didn't want everyone to be too tense. So he told everyone not to be too formal and to just treat it as normal.

Walking with the crowd, passing through winding paths and covered corridors, one sees screened mountains and green bamboo, pavilions and wooden towers, brocade curtains and silk curtains, peony railings, peony bushes, jade magnolias, rose trellises, crimson and purple crabapple trees, Taihu Lake and Moon Pond, thousands of willows and warbling orioles, the courtyard filled with fragrance and butterflies.

In terms of the extravagance of the mansion, although the Jia family mansion was not as luxurious as the imperial palace, it was still extremely splendid.

In recent years, Jia She has smuggled arms and made a lot of money, so maintaining the Duke's mansion is not difficult for him.

Because of Emperor Longqing's austerity measures, the palace was significantly reduced in size and layout, and thus lost its former splendor.

Jia She and others invited Fang Yong to the main hall for a talk.

Tan Chun was then surrounded by the women of the Jia family as they headed to Rongqing Hall at the back for a gathering.

This time, upon her return from spring's arrival, she was surrounded by admirers, a stark contrast to her departure.

Now that I've returned to the mansion, there are no more bad people around.

Throughout the Jia family, countless people had endless praise for them.

Even Grandmother Jia was kind and gentle, and every word she spoke was well thought out, making people feel comfortable and not annoyed.

Aunt Zhao was caught up in the situation, and she spoke up several times, but then stopped herself.

Compared to the compliments and praises from everyone else, what she uttered were vulgar and offensive words.

No matter how hard she racked her brains, she really couldn't think of how to say those flattering and praising words to Tan Chun like the others.

The group walked side by side.

Yingchun was lost in thought, her head bowed.

Xiao Xichun ignored her older sister Yingchun.

Filled with curiosity, she approached Tan Chun, addressing her as "Third Sister," and asked what Tan Chun did on a daily basis after marrying into the family.

Tan Chun then briefly described her daily life to Xiao Xi Chun.

Fang Yong was mentioned from time to time during their conversation, though they didn't talk much about it, but their happiness was subtly revealed.

After hearing this, Wang Xifeng pretended to be envious and said, "Third Miss is really lucky. Only the Old Ancestor could have such good fortune. I will have to try to curry favor with Third Miss from now on."

Upon hearing this, Tan Chun said, "Sister Feng, please go ahead and try to curry favor with me. It would be better if you came back to the palace with me. Sister Yun has been saying these past few days that she misses you!"

Wang Xifeng joked with everyone:
"That would be wonderful! To be honest, I've never seen what the palace looks like before. I'll be following the Third Miss to broaden my horizons! But please don't look down on Second Sister-in-law for being a country bumpkin who doesn't know the rules of the palace. If she accidentally breaks the rules, we'll have to rely on the Third Miss to whisper in her ear and persuade the Prince to forgive her."

Everyone laughed when they heard this.

Some joked that Wang Xifeng was disliked.

Some people flattered Tan Chun, saying that this person was benefiting from Tan Chun's fame. Aunt Zhao couldn't help but chime in:
"Of course! My daughter is truly blessed. Who can compare to her these days? This is no exaggeration; no matter how you calculate it, she is indeed blessed!"

Upon hearing this, Grandmother Jia's smile froze.

Seeing through their expressions, everyone's smiles vanished.

Only Tan Chun didn't seem to care, and continued to smile brightly.

She asked Aunt Zhao:

"Mother, where is Huan-di? I didn't see him just now."

Aunt Zhao didn't react at first, but when Tan Chun mentioned Jia Huan, she immediately started rambling on:

"That wild boy is still out there working, saying he's in some lousy land administration office. All his affairs are kept secret, and I have no idea what he's actually doing. He's busy day and night. How old is he? How can he withstand such hard work? If you ask me, why don't you ask the prince to give him a different job..."

Suddenly, Aunt Zhao realized something.

"Girl, what did you just call me?"

Tan Chun smiled and said, "Mother!"

Upon hearing this, Aunt Zhao burst into tears.

Not far away, Madam Wang's face was as gloomy as a damp Buddha statue, sometimes bluish, sometimes white, sometimes stiff as wood, and sometimes dripping with moisture.

The maids didn't dare to breathe loudly.

In that era, according to the requirements of etiquette and law, a mother could only be the legal mother.

Even though Tan Chun was born to Aunt Zhao, according to etiquette, Tan Chun should address Lady Wang as her mother and Aunt Zhao as her aunt.

Tan Chun now openly calls Aunt Zhao "mother," which means she no longer acknowledges Lady Wang as her legal mother. Lady Wang is bound to be furious.

Normally, some maids and servants, like Zhou Rui's wife, would have stepped forward to flatter the powerful and belittle the weak.

However, no one dares to provoke Tan Chun now.

These servants couldn't really understand Tan Chun's current status.

If we simply consider the ranks of nobility, the Jia family had the foundation of a Duke, and Jia Mu was the Duchess of the State. Fang Yong was enfeoffed as the Prince of Wu, which was at most one rank higher than the Jia family.

The gap between the two companies shouldn't be that large.

However, despite their incomprehension, everyone knew that Tan Chun was definitely not someone to be trifled with.

Last time, because of Jia Huan's incident, the Huaiyin army stormed into the mansion like madmen and stabbed Steward Lai and Musk Moon to death. Even the old lady's words had no effect.

Baoyu, whom the old lady cherished, was lifted up and given a severe beating, losing two teeth and now speaking with a lisp. Therefore, although no one could understand Tanchun's status, none of them dared to provoke her.

Madam Wang didn't dare to get angry at this moment. She forced a smile, which looked stiff, as if a knife had cut her face.

Grandmother Jia broke the deadlock with a forced smile. Instead of blaming Tan Chun, she praised her as a filial child and said that Aunt Zhao had really had a hard time raising Huan'er all these years. She added that Zheng'er was an ignorant child and that Aunt Zhao should have been promoted to concubine long ago...

Tan Chun simply smiled faintly at this.

When they arrived at Rongqing Hall, Yuanyang lifted the curtain and invited everyone in.

Upon entering Rongqing Hall, Grandmother Jia, wanting to show her closeness, specially invited Tan Chun to sit next to her.

Tan Chun politely declined and sat in the guest seat as a matter of courtesy.

When Grandmother Jia suggested that Zhao Yiniang be promoted to a concubine, Tan Chun did not respond.

If she gets involved, it would seem as if she's pressuring her grandmother.

Tan Chun only talked to Aunt Zhao about Jia Huan.

He said, "Huan'er is not young anymore. How can he wander around all day? That job was arranged by the prince because he values ​​him. Although it is tiring, it is also a way to temper his character. How can we change it?"

(End of this chapter)