The Red Mansion

Chapter 109 Wedding (Part )

It was early December of the first year of Taishun, the dead of winter with biting northerly winds.

Today is a nice day with bright and warm sunshine.

Emperor Jingning, the Empress Dowager, and Emperor Taishun had all returned from Changchun Garden to the imperial palace in the inner city of Shenjing, because in winter there were winter solstice worship ceremonies, New Year's Day celebrations, and major sacrifices.

Today, Jiang Nian was summoned to the palace. He straightened his clothes and composed himself, then walked into the Yangxin Palace and paid his respects to Emperor Taishun.

Emperor Taishun nodded slightly and personally handed a list of property to Jiang Nian.

Jiang Nian took the list with both hands and unfolded it for a closer look. He saw the list written in bright ink, which read:

A thousand taels of gold, ten thousand taels of silver; a house in the eastern suburbs; jade, porcelain, and lacquerware; silks, furs; wedding gowns; jewelry; valuable brushes, inkstones, paper, and inkstones; rosewood furniture, ivory screens, and cloisonné incense burners...

A dazzling array of items!

Among them, some were given by Emperor Jingning and the Empress Dowager, but most of them came from Emperor Taishun's private treasury.

Such a generous reward was obviously prepared for Jiang Nian's wedding. All in all, it was worth tens of thousands of silver.

Jiang Nian was shocked and quickly knelt down to express his gratitude.

Emperor Taishun was a mean person who advocated moderation, but this time he gave Jiang Nian a generous gift.

The reasons for this were, firstly, that Jiang Nian was his own son, a descendant of his, and therefore his wedding could not be too simple. Secondly, Jiang Nian had made many contributions this year—investigating financial and grain deficits, improving government warehouses, comparing cedar boxes, and providing flood relief in Zhili—all of which had achieved remarkable results. If it were an ordinary official, achieving such great feats would have earned him a promotion from the rank of Fifth Rank, Third Class Imperial Guard, to the rank of Second Rank or even First Rank.

What's more, the wedding of Prince Daqing would cost tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of silver coins.

In comparison, the property worth tens of thousands of silver given to Jiang Nian this time was not considered extravagant.

Emperor Taishun thought about giving the former Ningguo Mansion to Jiang Nian. After all, the girl Jiang Nian married was Yuanchun from Rongguo Mansion, so it would be appropriate for her to live in Ningguo Mansion.

However, Emperor Taishun changed his mind and felt that this move was too ostentatious, so he gave up for the time being.

However, he had already made up his mind: Ningguo Mansion would not be given to anyone else. He would wait for the right time in the future to give this magnificent mansion to Jiang Nian...

……

……

To keep it secret, Emperor Jingning, the Empress Dowager and Emperor Taishun jointly rewarded Jiang Nian, but pretended that it was given by Prince Zhongyi. Emperor Taishun also ordered Prince Zhongyi to send someone to escort the property to the Jiang family's small house in the eastern suburbs of Shenjing City.

When this batch of treasures arrived at the Jiang family's small courtyard, it immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the Jiang family. Although many of the treasures were packed in boxes that Jiang Nian would not open in public, large items such as rosewood furniture and ivory carved screens could not be concealed. They were brightly displayed, attracting everyone in the Jiang family to marvel at them.

Even Xue Baochai could not help but marvel at this, thinking to herself, "The Thirteenth Prince is truly very kind to me, to have given me so much money for my wedding!"

Her expression couldn't help but look a little gloomy. Thinking about the fact that Jiang Nian and Yuanchun's wedding was approaching, she could only marry as a concubine, which made her feel bitter.

Jiang Nian noticed Xue Baochai's dejected look.

After everyone had left, he left Xue Baochai and Ying'er behind, and in front of them, he personally opened the boxes and cages, revealing gold, silver, jade, porcelain, lacquerware, silk, furs, wedding gowns, jewelry, precious pens, ink, paper, and inkstones, which were all shining brightly.

Xue Baochai and Ying'er were both amazed when they saw this.

Jiang Nian said nothing, but leaned over to check, and suddenly took out a set of valuable writing brushes, inkstones, paper and inkstone from the bottom of the box.

The brush is a high-quality Huzhou wolf-hair brush, with a purple bamboo stem and plain patterns throughout, except for a light carving of an orchid at the end, which is elegant and restrained.

The ink is made from pine soot ink, a traditional Huizhou method. It has a light, firm texture and a glossy surface like antique lacquer. A finer inspection reveals the aroma of musk and cinnabar.
The paper is tribute paper from Cao family in Jing County. It is as smooth as ice wings and has a cloud-blue color. When it is caught in the light, you can see the pattern of a curtain.
The inkstone is from an old pit on the Duanxi River, and its color is like a red date. The inkstone has a rouge stain on it, and when you knock on it, it makes a clanging sound like a jade chime.

Such a set of writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstone is very valuable and hard to buy among the public!
When Xue Baochai saw Jiang Nian take out the set of writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstone, her eyes immediately lit up.

Jiang Nian said gently to Xue Baochai, "I know you don't like flowers or fancy things, and you don't often wear jewelry, but you don't lack anything anyway. This set of four treasures of the study is an elegant item. It will be a good use for your daily writing."

Xue Baochai was delighted and bowed her head, "Thank you for the generous reward, sir!"

……

……

The Qin family next door.

In the west wing, Qin Keqing reclined on an embroidered couch, her slender fingers gripping a silver needle as she meticulously traced across the plain silk. Beside her, Baozhu, a young maid, held a box of silk thread. Master and servant remained silent, their only sound being the rustling of the cold winter wind against the windowpanes.

Suddenly, the head maid Ruizhu came in, lifting the curtain. She said to Qin Keqing, "Miss, this is incredible! Mr. Jiang next door just received a generous reward from the Thirteenth Prince. He brought over ten boxes, including rosewood furniture, ivory carved screens, and other large items."

Upon hearing this, Qin Keqing paused for a moment, but without looking up, she simply said, "The Thirteenth Prince has always been kind to him, so it's nothing surprising for him to give him some gifts."

Ruizhu saw her indifferent expression and took a step forward, whispering, "I heard it was prepared specially for Mr. Jiang's wedding..."

Qin Keqing's fingertips trembled suddenly, and the silver needle almost pierced her finger. She hurriedly lowered her head to hide it, and only pulled the embroidery frame closer to her chest. A strand of black hair fell from her temples, covering a corner of her beautiful face.

Ruizhu sighed when she saw this, then turned to Baozhu and winked, "Go to the kitchen and see if the bird's nest porridge is ready."

Baozhu pouted and said, "What's so important that you have to get me out of here?"

Ruizhu took out a piece of silver from her pocket, put it into Baozhu's hand, and said with a smile: "This is for you, go quickly!"

When Baozhu saw the silver, she immediately smiled and left in a flash.

Ruizhu sat down next to Qin Keqing and whispered, "Ever since Mr. Jiang was arranged to marry by the Empress Dowager, you've been avoiding him for six months. Could it be that you'll never see him again in your lifetime?"

Qin Keqing remained silent and just straightened the silk threads on the embroidery frame one by one.

Ruizhu said, "In the past six months, whenever there was trouble in our family, it was always Uncle Jiang who took care of it. In the past six months, there were also some bastards who came to harass the young lady, and it was Uncle Jiang who dealt with them. If it weren't for Uncle Jiang, how could our family be safe? How could the young lady be safe? The young lady treats him coldly like this, isn't it disheartening..."

Seeing Qin Keqing still silent, Ruizhu twisted her handkerchief and gritted her teeth, "Actually... there are some things I've been holding back for a long time, and today I'm just going to blurt them out - how could Master Jiang disobey the Empress Dowager's order? Besides, the eldest daughter of the Rongguo Mansion is so noble! Our family is now... Sigh!"

She stole a glance at Qin Keqing's face and continued, "After the master passed away, our family fell into disrepair. Although the girl is an adopted daughter, after all... after all..."

At this point, Ruizhu's voice gradually faded, but Qin Keqing suddenly looked up: "What on earth is it?"

Ruizhu made up her mind: "With Mr. Jiang's current status, it's okay for me to become his concubine!"

Qin Keqing's clear eyes suddenly glared at Ruizhu, and when she was about to scold her, she lowered her head sadly.

Didn't she understand? She was an orphan adopted by the Yangshengtang. With the passing of her adoptive father, Qin Ye, the family was like a candle in the wind. How could she be worthy of being Jiang Nian's wife? Being a concubine was certainly acceptable...

Ruizhu saw Qin Keqing's expression soften, so she took the opportunity to say, "Master Jiang treats you with deep affection and loyalty. If you are willing to be his concubine, he will definitely..."

Qin Keqing suddenly interrupted, "Stop talking!" Ruizhu said this because she felt Jiang Nian was grateful to the Qin family and could protect Qin Keqing. Even if she became Jiang Nian's concubine, she would still have a prosperous and peaceful life. She also had a selfish motive: she herself had fallen in love with Jiang Nian, and she thought that if Qin Keqing became Jiang Nian's concubine, she might have the opportunity to become his concubine...

At this moment, Qin Keqing couldn't help but recall the scene half a year ago. At that time, Jiang Nian accepted her mandarin duck purse and said, "Miss, since you have given me the purse, from now on, you are my woman." He also said, "I can't marry you. After you have passed the mourning period, I will take you as my concubine."

She kept these two sentences in her heart and didn't tell anyone, including Ruizhu.

In fact, she had come to terms with it over the past six months and believed that what Ruizhu said made sense. The key was that she loved him deeply.

"In that case...what's wrong with being his concubine?"

Qin Keqing sighed deeply.

……

……

The property that Jiang Nian was given this time included a house located in the eastern suburbs of Shenjing City.

Jiang Nian is the son of Emperor Taishun, and his marriage was arranged by the Empress Dowager. He is marrying Yuanchun from the Rongguo Mansion, so it is natural that he should not have a wedding in the old small house where he currently lives.

Emperor Taishun was very thoughtful. The house he rewarded this time was located near the current Jiang family house, only a hundred steps away.

This is a three-courtyard house, twice as spacious as the old small house where Jiang Nian currently lives. Although there is no back garden to decorate it, it is majestic and neat, with red doors, gray tiles, and flying eaves, showing an aura of nouveau riche.

It was a fine day, the winter sun warm, so Jiang Nian specially took Xue Baochai, Meng Xiong, Ying'er, Xiangling, Qi'er, Qin'er, Feng Shi, and others to visit the new house. The girls and maids were all seeing the new house, and they were curious as they walked through the corridors and courtyards, taking in its surroundings.

Holding Ying'er's hand, Xue Baochai walked slowly through the hanging flower gate and entered the inner courtyard. Facing them were three main rooms with east and west side rooms, surrounded by corridors on both sides. The left and right side rooms were relatively spacious, and the ground under the steps was paved with blue bricks.

In a corner of the inner courtyard, there is a flower pond, in which there are peonies. Although it is winter, the dead branches still look vigorous.

Jiang Nian, not being well-versed in flowers, asked Xue Baochai, "What kind of flower is this?"

Xue Baochai said, "Peony!"

Jiang Nian nodded, secretly amazed.

There was a pear tree in the inner courtyard of the old house where he now lived. He once lamented that the pear tree seemed to be calling Xue Baochai to stay there.

And now, in this new house, there is a pond of peonies planted in the inner courtyard, which seems to be calling Yuanchun.

Isn’t Yuanchun the beautiful, graceful and elegant peony?
Moreover, in the original novel, Xue Baochai drew a peony lot at the banquet of flowers, which was inscribed with the words "crown of all flowers", and there were small words engraved below, which said: Even if it is heartless, it is still moving.

Therefore, peony can also represent Xue Baochai.

Even Ying'er felt that Xue Baochai was like a peony, born into a wealthy family, dignified and elegant.

Jiang Nian is about to marry Yuanchun in this new house, and if nothing unexpected happens, he will also take Xue Baochai as his concubine in this new house.

This is also a wonderful fate.

Thinking of this, Jiang Nian smiled at Xue Baochai and said, "When the peonies bloom next year, let's enjoy the flowers and have tea together."

Xue Baochai nodded slightly, sighing inwardly, "The 'we' that Master mentioned doesn't just refer to him and me, it also includes the eldest daughter of the Jia family!"

As everyone was admiring the house, Xue Baochai suddenly noticed that the paint on the beams and pillars in the main hall was still new, but a thin layer of moss had grown in front of the steps. Puzzled, she said to Jiang Nian, "This house looks like it's been empty for a short time. I wonder who lived there before?"

Jiang Nian said with a strange look on his face, "The previous owner of this house was an official. When the Zhili flood occurred this summer, he withheld the disaster relief money and his house was ransacked."

Xue Baochai: “…”

This summer, seven officials were ordered by Emperor Taishun to have their property confiscated for withholding relief funds.

One of them was an official of high rank and was the former owner of this three-courtyard house.

This matter is somewhat related to Jiang Nian, because Jiang Nian mentioned in his disaster relief proposal that corruption should be severely punished, and officials who withheld relief funds should be severely punished.

There is one more thing worth mentioning.

Although Emperor Taishun had long had a "bad reputation" for confiscating property, this summer he earned the title of "Emperor of Confiscating Property" by ordering the confiscation of the homes of seven officials who had withheld relief funds.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew through the hall, and the iron horses on the eaves jingled, and everyone fell silent.

Ying'er was naive and blurted out, "If that's the case, isn't it unlucky for us to live here?"

Xue Baochai quickly glared at Ying'er, and Ying'er lowered her head.

Jiang Nian said calmly, "Bad luck? Don't you know that the small house we live in now was owned by a previous owner who was confiscated? Moreover, the previous owner even embezzled the disaster relief funds. Now he's sleeping on a tattered straw mat somewhere. We're letting him enjoy this beautiful courtyard with blue bricks and black tiles - it's a relief!"

After saying that, Jiang Nian announced on the spot: "We will move into this house tomorrow!"

Xue Baochai sighed when she heard this: "Finally, we don't have to squeeze into that small courtyard anymore!"

……

……

After Jiang Nian finished touring the new house, he returned to the old courtyard and told He Yun, "Tell Peng Jizhong next door to come over."

Soon, Peng Jizhong came to Jiang Nian with a hunched back and bowed before saying anything: "I pay my respects to Master Jiang! What can I do for you?"

Jiang Nian said, "Tell your daughter that I will move tomorrow."

Peng Jizhong panicked instantly, his knees weakening and he nearly fell to his knees. "Where are you moving to, Uncle Jiang? Our Qin family needs your care!"

Peng Jizhong was in awe of Jiang Nian, believing that the Qin family couldn't do without Jiang Nian's protection, and he also believed that he couldn't do without Jiang Nian's protection. He had previously sued the Ningguo Mansion and gotten himself into trouble, but it was Jiang Nian who helped him settle it.

Jiang Nian said, "Don't panic. My new house is only a hundred steps away. If there is anything wrong with the Qin family, I will still take care of it. I will still protect Miss Qin and you as usual."

He pointed to a blue satin package and said, "This is a gift from me to your daughter."

After expressing his gratitude profusely, Peng Jizhong took his blue satin package and left, walked out of the main room and passed through the inner courtyard.

This scene was discovered by Xue Baochai and Ying'er behind the window of the west wing.

Ying'er pouted and said to Xue Baochai, "Master must have sent something nice for Miss Qin next door, and sent it to Housekeeper Peng."

Xue Baochai remained silent, but couldn't help biting her lower lip.

(End of this chapter)