After the rebellion was successful, I realized that this place was the Red Mansion

Chapter 98 Who will pity the broken love?

barracks.

"Eighth Battalion and Ninth Battalion, fetch water in the morning, eat breakfast, and help dig the river. Return at 3 p.m. to fetch water, and then you can rest."

The military steward assigned the logistics troops their tasks for the day, and Jia Lian listened below. After the steward left, he discussed the matter with the supervisor.

Several hundred people from the Jia family were temporarily incorporated into the service army, which was called the Ninth Battalion. Jia Lian served as the manager and supervised the affairs of the camp together with a supervisor sent by the army.

After conferring with the supervisor, Jia Lian returned to the tent and called over the squad leaders, including Jia Zheng, Jia She, Jia Jing, Jia Rong and others, to explain things to them.

"Lian'er."

Jia Zheng said, "I went to see Baoyu last night. He had a lot of blisters on his shoulders. The skin was rubbed by the load. It was swollen and painful. And now he's been asked to fetch water again. I'm afraid..."

None of the Jia family squad leaders said anything, not even Jia She. They had been in the military camp for less than ten days, and their tempers from the pampered life they had in the Duke's Mansion had been worn away to the point of being completely ruined.

Baoyu just had some skin scraped off, so what?
They all had a lot of complaints. They worked in the barracks all day, fell asleep after dinner at night, and continued to work the next day with sore backs.

Baoyu had been treated well by Jia Lian for a few days before, and was allowed to work one day and rest one day, but he was discovered by the supervisor and was scolded. Later, he bought some wine and food from the city, and the supervisor spared him.

Jia Lian said, "Master, things are different now. Tell Baoyu to be patient. I've heard from people who work hard that the skin on your shoulders will heal and break again over and over again. Calluses will form over and over again, and then you won't have to worry about getting your skin rubbed off!"

Jia Zheng hesitated for a moment, "Can we ask him to stay in the camp and chop firewood?"

"Second uncle can't do this job!"

Jia Rong of Ningguo Mansion said directly: "A few days ago, he stayed to chop wood, but he almost hit someone with his axe after a few swings, and got slapped on the ear...

After a while, my uncle hid to rest, but was seen by the supervisor, who whipped him on the arm again, causing him so much pain that his veins popped out!

Jia Zheng was speechless for a moment, but thinking of Baoyu's miserable state he had seen last night, he asked again, "Can you give him a squad leader?"

Looking around, none of the team leaders present spoke. Being a team leader means you can choose the easiest job and you can also slack off under the pretext of supervision. No one wants to give up this position.

In the past, a foreman in charge of miscellaneous tasks would be considered dirty by the masters and young masters of the Ning and Rong mansions. Any servant under his command would be better than this foreman.

But now, even a squad leader position is something they are fighting for!
"I'll change it out and give it to him," said Jia Zheng.

"master!"

Lai Da said directly: "When Baoyu met the emperor and the empress the other day, he said those words. Although the emperor did not punish him for the sake of the empress, you should understand the pros and cons here. If the second master does not change his temper, he will inevitably cause trouble in the future!"

Everyone nodded in agreement, and Jia Zheng had no choice but to go out and visit him.

When I arrived at Baoyu's tent, I saw that he had not yet gotten up. He was lying there like a corpse with his eyes blank, as if he was recalling the days when he was in the Yihong Courtyard and had a group of beautiful maids serving him.

Jia Zheng was so angry that he went up and slapped him: "You useless bastard, why are you still slacking off?!"

Seeing his father coming, Jia Baoyu hurriedly got up, not daring to answer, and put on his clothes by himself.

Jia Lian followed in, holding a bottle of ointment and handing it to Baoyu, saying with a smile, "Hurry up and apply it, you still have to continue working today."

Seeing him coming, Jia Zheng didn't want to continue scolding his son, so he said a few words to him and left.

Jia Baoyu sighed, "Second brother, when will this end? On the day your property is raided, you might as well kill me with a single blow to save me from all this suffering!"

Jia Lian said, "My eldest sister is in the palace, and my second sister has also gone to the palace. After a few years, when the matter has passed, my eldest sister and the others can plead for mercy, and the emperor may pardon our family."

The scene of Jia Yuanchun being embraced by the emperor that night was the last hope of the Jia family.

"Second sister, Sister Yun, both have entered the palace... Sister Lin has also entered the palace?!"

Jia Baoyu asked hurriedly.

Jia Lian said, "Your sister Lin is still in the mansion. The clothes I gave you last time were only given to you after she asked for them. Sister Lin is in charge of the mansion, and only her words are heard."

Jia Baoyu laughed and cried when he heard this, "I knew the emperor wanted her to enter the palace... Sister Lin!"

"Talk less!" Jia Lian scolded him.

Seeing that he didn't say anything, Jia Lian said again: "Since your clothes have been stolen, I will go into the city today and ask Sister Lin for two more when I return to the mansion. I have agreed with the supervisor that no one will steal your clothes this time."

Jia Baoyu pointed to the blisters on his shoulder and said, "Good brother, bring me a few more bottles of goat blood Lidong pills. They are in the cabinet in Yihong Courtyard. And give me some silver. The people here are all jackals, tigers and leopards. If you don't give them money, they will beat you up."

He spoke with an indignant look.

Jia Lian asked, "What else do you want?"

"I want some more rose water. The sun is so strong during the day that it makes me dizzy..."

He mentioned several things in a row, but Jia Lian didn't pay attention to them and just agreed to them all.

Finally, Jia Baoyu sighed and said, "If I could ask my elder sister to help me escape from this sea of ​​suffering..."

Jia Lian said, "Sister, last time the emperor held you in his arms and rode on the same horse with you. Even such a favor wouldn't have helped you... Perhaps you'll need Sister Lin and Sister Bao to ask for your pardon."

"Then I'll ask my second brother to ask Sister Bao for help!" Jia Baoyu said expectantly.

He did not mention Lin Daiyu, but only asked for help from Lin Daiyu.

Jia Lian also agreed. After all, he was just relaying the message that it was Baoyu, Lin Daiyu and Bao Daiyu who pleaded with the emperor.

After instructing him to continue working, Jia Lian left the tent, rode his donkey and headed back to the city.

After returning to the Jia Mansion, he told the eunuch outside the second gate and asked the maid to go in and inform her not to disturb Lady Jia, but to call Wang Xifeng out.

After a while, Wang Xifeng, who was wearing a scarlet stand-up collar shirt with plum blossom pattern and had luxurious makeup on, led Ping'er out to the second gate and met Jia Lian, who was wearing a long gray cloth gown.

"Why are you back again today, Master?"

There was a hint of resentment in Wang Xifeng's tone.

Jia Lian bowed to her and addressed her respectfully, "Second Madam, I came back today to report something to you."

Wang Xifeng kept calling her "Grandma" without changing her expression, but Ping'er couldn't help but look at her and then at Mr. Lian.

This couple probably couldn't be any better.

"what's up?"

Wang Xifeng leaned against the door and asked indifferently.

Jia Lian first gave a general account of the situation of his family in the military camp, and then brought up the matter of Baoyu.

"Three hundred taels?!"

Wang Xifeng's eyes widened. "You're such a jerk, Second Master Lian! How much are you going to squeeze out of this? You're asking for three hundred taels straight away. The other day, when we buried Brother Zhen, no one in the mansion could come up with even a few dozen taels of silver. It was only through Madam Qin's intervention that we were able to get the money... and now you're asking for three hundred taels right away!"

After all, I can't hide it from her!
Jia Lian had no choice but to say, "Don't you know I have to take care of the military affairs? Otherwise, how can the master and his men rest easy? While Sister Lin is still in favor, you should just do it quietly... I have 2,300 taels of silver in the outer study. You can also take out 500 taels and I will take it all away."

"So you have hidden a few thousand taels!" Wang Xifeng sneered.

"That's my life-saving money, dear grandma, don't think about it. Just think of it as the sake of our marriage and quietly take it out for me!"

"no!"

Wang Xifeng refused outright, and no matter how much Jia Lian begged her, she just wouldn't say a word.

Ping'er couldn't stand it any longer and said with a smile, "Second Master, yesterday Miss Bao took people to register all the valuables in the house. The silver in the outer study is ownerless and may have been taken into the government treasury."

These words were like a bolt from the blue, making Jia Lian extremely heartbroken.

Wang Xifeng sneered, "I wouldn't even give you this money. You've used it to steal and cheat. Do you think I don't know? What did you and Bao Erjia do in the past?"

Jia Lian knew that she still regarded him as her husband. He felt helpless and heartbroken about the money. After a while, he said, "You should at least go and tell Sister Lin to take some of the things in Baoyu's room out."

Wang Xifeng knew that he was going to pawn it, but seeing how pitiful he looked, without even decent clothes, she softened her heart and asked him to wait. She went into the Grand View Garden with Ping'er and went to the Xiaoxiang Pavilion to find Lin Daiyu.

"Baoyu..."

Hearing about his miserable situation in the military camp, Lin Daiyu felt heartbroken. She didn't care about anything else and agreed immediately, allowing her to go to Yihongyuan to take some things and send them to the military camp.

Wang Xifeng said, "Even though we gave him the silver, the soldiers in the barracks are ruthless. The eunuchs in the palace took it secretly, and those soldiers robbed it openly. I'm afraid that even if we send a few thousand taels, they will still take it all!"

Lin Daiyu wept silently, saying, "Tell him to stop causing trouble, stop being impulsive, and stop offending others with his words...If we just bear with him for a few more years, perhaps things will turn around."

Now that Daqian has just been founded, even if Yuanchun and others are favored, King Qian will not pardon the Jia family immediately.

Wang Xifeng sighed and said, "I'm afraid he can't bear it anymore. Your second brother Lian also said that Baoyu asked you and Baoya to ask the emperor to pardon him."

Daiyu felt a chill as if ice had penetrated her bones when she heard this. She stared blankly at Wang Xifeng, "Did he really say that?"

"Yes."

Daiyu felt as if her internal organs were burning with anger, and her breath was choked in her chest. She screamed and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Wang Xifeng, Zijuan and Ping'er were all frightened and hurried to comfort her. They also sent someone to the second gate to ask the eunuch to call the imperial physician.

"Don't scream, I'm fine."

There was blood at the corner of Daiyu's mouth, and she wiped it with her handkerchief.

Seeing her face pale but no tears flowing, Zijuan quickly calmed down and told Wang Xifeng to go to Yihong Courtyard and take away what Jia Baoyu wanted. "Go to the government office and get three hundred taels of silver and give it to him. Tell him to... use it."

Daiyu whispered, "I'll pay you first. I'll go to the palace tomorrow and apologize to the Emperor."

Wang Xifeng was also very helpless: "Nowadays, our family is no longer as extravagant as before. We have to ask the emperor for a few hundred taels of silver. How can this be justified? Well, you should rest well. Don't even think about entering the palace. You need to take care of yourself first."

The blood he vomited was really shocking.

(End of this chapter)