The King of Beijing in the Red Mansion

Pursing her lips, Daiyu immediately bowed and said, "Since my brother-in-law has invited me, I will obey his orders."

Shui Rong couldn't help but smile as he looked at Daiyu, who was behaving and speaking so generously, and said, "Although her body and face are very weak, she has a naturally elegant demeanor." What he said was true.

After a while, Shui Rong sat opposite Daiyu, and Tanchun and the other girls came forward to join in the fun.

Shui Rong played the white chess piece first. After making a few moves, he noticed Daiyu coughing a few times. After a careful comparison, he asked, "Sister Lin, are you feeling unwell?"

Daiyu looked up at Shui Rong and said softly, "It's just an old illness. It won't be a big deal. Just take a rest for two days and it will be fine. Thank you for your concern, brother-in-law."

Shui Rong frowned after hearing this. Daiyu's old illness was no small matter. With her congenital deficiency and her sensitive mind, she would be exhausted sooner or later and die like in the original novel.

Shui Rong naturally felt sorry for this daughter who was rich in the spirit of heaven and earth. After a pause, Shui Rong said, "Minor illnesses left untreated can become serious problems. Sister Lin should not be underestimated."

Listening to the caring words of the young man in front of her, Daiyu knew that Shui Rongqi was not just being polite. If not, he would not have mentioned it again and again. Daiyu couldn't help but feel a little moved. She pursed her lips, not knowing what to say, and went down with the chess piece in her bare hands.

Xiangyun, who was standing by, said sadly, "Brother-in-law, you don't know that the imperial physician has seen me several times and only prescribed some medicine, nothing else."

These sisters grew up together, so naturally they were all worried about Daiyu, but even the imperial physician was at a loss, so there was nothing they could do.

After Shui Rong heard this, it became clear that Daiyu's illness was probably due to her sentimentality. It was a heart disease. The so-called heart disease requires a heart medicine doctor. In the final analysis, Daiyu should relax her mind and slowly take care of herself in the future, and her body will gradually improve. Get better.

Although the words were simple, Daiyu's sensitivity meant that the illness was doomed to never heal.

After a pause, Shui Rong said softly, "Thinking too much will drain your energy. Sister Lin should focus on recuperation."

Daiyu's heart paused when she heard this, and her beautiful eyes couldn't help but look at Shui Rong. Was her brother-in-law's words implying her?

After a moment of silence, Daiyu nodded slightly in response. Shui Rong didn't say much when he saw this.

After an unknown amount of time, the chess game was decided. Shui Rong looked a little embarrassed. This Daiyu was indeed "a person of rare talent and beauty in the world" and was also an expert in chess. She had previously boasted that she would defeat her without leaving a single piece of armor, but now she was being defeated in return.

Chapter 109 Tanchun is a crying tiger cub

In Shenjing, in an alley four or five miles away from the Mansion of Duke Rong, there stands a slightly dilapidated courtyard with mottled green walls. Although the wall is mottled, its free and simple style can still be seen from the small windows made of bricks on the wall and the decorations around it.

Fu Shi, a student of the Jia family, returned from the Rongguo Mansion. He sat in the main room with a rosy face. His wife, Mrs. Wu, handed him a towel and asked, "What happened today? The master seems very happy."

Fu Shi took the towel and wiped his face, then said with a smile: "Today, the Lord recommended me to be the prosecutor of the Central Military Governor's Office. How can I not be happy?"

When Wu heard that Fu Shi was going to be appointed as an official, she was shocked and asked hopefully, "Prosecution documents? What rank is this official?"

In the eyes of women like Mrs. Wu, all official positions are empty and only rank is real.

Fu Shi understood the situation and replied, "From the ninth rank."

Wu's face suddenly turned ugly when she heard this, and she said disdainfully: "He is just a ninth-rank official, why is the master so happy?"

Although the ninth rank has a rank, it is not up to standard in the eyes of others and is called a "minor official who is not up to standard". In her opinion, since she has been appointed as an official with the golden signboard of the Rongguo Mansion, she should at least be a county magistrate of the seventh rank, so that she can be the wife of the county magistrate. However, she did not expect that he would be a minor official who is not up to standard. How could she not be disappointed?

Fu Shi saw Wu's indifferent expression, raised his eyebrows, and scolded: "What do you know as a woman? The Central Military Command will be under the control of Prince Beijing in the future. Prince Beijing is the son-in-law of Duke Zheng. Promoting Duke Zheng at this time is just a transition. When the tide rises, I will also be able to rise to prominence."

Upon hearing this, Wu suddenly became interested and said excitedly, "Master, this is true."

Fu Shi stroked his beard and said confidently, "Of course it's true. It's ridiculous that Zhan Guang and Shan Pinren are so short-sighted. They think they are well-educated and look down on this road to fame."

Jia Zheng has many disciples, including Zhan Guang, Shan Pinren and others, who are the same disciples as Fu Shi. However, in comparison, compared with the so-called "literary character", Fu Shi pays more attention to scheming.

Seeing Fu Shi's confidence, Wu said no more.

Fu Shi took a sip of tea and suddenly asked, "By the way, where is Qiufang?"

Wu was unaware of his presence and said, "Qiufang is reading in the study, would you like to go and take a look, Master?"

Fu Shi groaned without answering. After thinking for a moment, he said in a deep voice: "I saw Prince Beijing from a distance earlier. He had a handsome face and an extraordinary demeanor, just like a man of heaven. He was also humble and courteous, and had a good political and public character. This son-in-law is truly a blessing."

Wu listened to Fu Shi's envious tone. As his bedmate, she immediately had a guess in her mind. She rolled her eyes and whispered, "Does the master want Qiufang to serve the prince?"

Seeing that his thoughts were exposed by his wife, Fu Shi did not try to hide it, and said with a sharp gaze: "Sister, you have both talent and beauty, so why not?"

His younger sister, Fu Qiufang, was a lady of good character who loved reading and was quite pretty. It was no exaggeration to say that she was both beautiful and talented.

Generally speaking, girls are allowed to get married at the age of fourteen, but Fu Qiufang is over twenty years old and still unmarried, which makes her an old maid.

It’s not that Fu Qiufang doesn’t live up to her reputation and no one looks up to her, but Fu Shi has always wanted to find a good family for his sister and is unwilling to promise her off easily, so it has been delayed until now.

Originally, Fu Shi intended to make Fu Qiufang Jia Zheng's second wife, so he let Fu Qiufang work in the Jia family more often. However, Jia Zheng was a decent person and had no other thoughts about his disciple's sister, which gave Fu Shi a headache.

As for the young man who was born with a jade in his mouth, Fu Shi did have some ideas about it, but he was still young, so he could only take it step by step.

Now that Fu Shi saw the imposing manner of Prince Beijing, he immediately had evil thoughts in his mind. If he could live with Prince Beijing's mansion, firstly, his sister would have someone to rely on and live a worry-free life, and secondly, he would be able to rise to prominence by relying on the influence of a wealthy family.

"I'm afraid it's inappropriate. Even if Qiufang is lucky enough to be favored by the prince, Princess Beijing will probably not agree."

Wu's heart was also moved, but although she was a market woman, she was not stupid. The prince of Beijing was already married, so Fu Qiufang could only be a concubine, but even if she was a concubine, given the Fu family's background, You may not be able to see the Prince's Palace in Beijing either.

Moreover, Mrs. Wu felt that as a wife, she always wanted to monopolize her husband, and sending someone over at this time would be dislikeable.

Fu Shi disagreed and sneered, "You know nothing. I know the whole story. You don't need to care."

In Fu Shi's opinion, Prince Beijing is of noble status and a member of the royal family. He must be surrounded by countless concubines. As a disciple of Jia Zheng, he knows that the Rongguo Mansion has a concubine sister as a dowry, and is accompanied by several pretty maids. Do you think this is to serve him in his daily life?

How could Fu Shi not know the hidden rules among the wealthy and powerful families? This Wu is shallow-minded and self-righteous. He uses his own rules to speculate about others. He really doesn't know what he is talking about.

As long as the prince likes her, nothing else matters. He believes that his girl will be favored based on her appearance.

Moreover, he did not intend to tell Jia Zheng about it. With his identity as a disciple of the Jia family and a clerk in the Central Military Governor's Office, it would not be easy for him to create opportunities.

Even if the prince doesn't like it, it doesn't matter. I have to give it a try anyway.

Wu looked unhappy when she heard this, and didn't say much for a moment.

In the small room of Rongqing Hall, the second girl Yingchun and Lin Daiyu were playing chess in front of the table.

The second girl Yingchun was gentle and silent. Looking at the boy playing chess, she seemed to be concentrating on it. Her focused expression was quite calm and indifferent.

After a while, there was a noise outside the house. Daiyu smiled knowingly at the chess player and said in a clear voice, "Except for that annoying Feng girl, there is no one else."

As expected, before the person arrived, the laughter was heard: "Hey, I brought people here, you can't chase me away again."

As soon as he finished speaking, a coquettish young woman, who looked as dazzling as a fairy concubine, came over.

Shui Rong couldn't help but look up. This Sister Feng had indeed brought people with her. One was Tanchun's younger brother Jia Huan, and the other was Jia Lan, both of them were younger generations.

However, there was a woman standing next to Jia Lan, wearing a snow-blue bodice with lotus-colored floral embroidery and a collar, a black collared, lead-white square-necked stand-up jacket with a side lapel, and a black-edged tea-white horse-faced skirt. She had an elegant appearance and a graceful temperament.

"Hey, Sister Zhu is here."

When Xiangyun saw the woman next to Fengjie, her eyes lit up and she raised her hand to greet her.

Shui Rong understood what he said. The one called "Sister Zhu" must be Li Wan, the "Old Plum".

Sister Feng came to Shui Rong with a smile on her face and introduced him, "Your Highness, this is Sister Zhu."

Li Wan stepped forward and said politely, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

Shui Rong looked at the sister-in-law Zhu in front of him. She had a slender figure and fragrant cheeks and a beautiful face. She was worthy of the title of Golden Hairpin. She was really beautiful, but the coldness between her brows was like a still well in a deep alley, which made her look less beautiful.

I remember that when I came to the Jia Mansion for the initial engagement ceremony and the wedding ceremony, I had seen most of the gold hairpins in the mansion, but I had missed this "pretty widow".

Looking at Li Wan's chaste and indifferent face, Shui Rong understood clearly in his heart that Li Wan was a widow at a young age. Although she lived in luxury, she was like a dead tree. If she did not have her own son to take care of her and the company of this group of sisters-in-law to comfort her, she would probably have been accompanied by a secluded mind and a Buddhist monk for the rest of her life.

Nodding slightly, Shui Rong called her "Sister Zhu" and said nothing more.

Li Wan was not as smooth-talking as Feng Jieer. When she was greeted, she didn't say much and remained quiet and composed.

At this moment, a little man rushed over, knelt on the ground, and shouted with a smile: "Greetings to my brother-in-law."

This sudden scene left everyone present speechless. Everyone had different expressions on their faces, and the room fell silent for a moment.

Tanchun's pretty face flushed red, her pair of eyes that looked around with spirit and eyebrows raised, she shouted: "What are you doing? Stand up quickly, stand still!"

The cry was deafening, especially the heroic eyebrows that were trimmed, giving people the feeling that she was right but also a little timid. It was full of aura, like the roar of a lion from the east of the river, which made Shui Rong's heart jump. He looked at Tanchun with a little surprise. Was this still his caring sister-in-law?

Jia Huan was frightened. He knew his sister's temper and knew that she was really angry. He stood up with a drooping brow and eyes, muttering, "Mother said that we should kneel to pay respects to the prince."

When Tanchun heard this, her heart trembled, and she knew that it was her mother who taught her this. Tanchun understood that Aunt Zhao wanted Jia Huan to show off in front of the prince, and there was nothing wrong with that.

But if you want to pay your respects, you have to make a big fuss about it and act different. It's fine if you don't respect yourself, but now a good man has been taught to be frivolous. This will make everyone look down on you. If you don't respect yourself, how can others respect you? This is not just a hindrance, but you are really not worthy of being on such a high platform.

Thinking of this, Tanchun's anger suddenly rose, her eyes widened again, and she glared at him, "If you say that again, I'll give you a good slap in the face!"

When Jia Huan saw Tan Chun frowning and squinting, he was frightened, fearing that Tan Chun would come forward to take action, so he hung his head and remained silent.

After scolding Jia Huan, Tanchun came back to her senses. She noticed with her clear eyes that everyone's gaze was on her. She was stunned, especially when she saw Shui Rong's strange expression. Her pretty face turned pale.

It's over. I saw my younger brother was too frivolous and I couldn't control myself for a moment. I lost my composure in front of the prince. I hope the prince won't dislike me for this!

Seeing Tanchun's panic, Shui Rong understood and smiled, saying, "Huan'er is just showing respect to me, so there's no need to be too harsh on her, Third Girl."

Upon hearing this, Tanchun felt a little relieved, and her pretty face regained some color. The prince's words meant that he would not take it too seriously.

But Tanchun hadn't completely calmed down yet. Jia Huan hung his head as if he had suffered a great injustice and said, "Brother-in-law is right. I just respect him!"

As he spoke, Jia Huan's eyes rolled around. He stood there motionless, looking at Shui Rong from time to time.

Seeing Jia Huan like this, Tanchun knew what he meant. He came to ask for a reward. Tanchun was so angry at his lack of self-respect that she almost fell over. She wanted to go up and slap him a few times. However, with the prince in front of her, she could not lose her composure again. She stared at Jia Huan with eyes as cold as knives, as if warning him.

Seeing this, Shui Rong was shocked. This fierce aura seemed to make the temperature in the room drop a few degrees.

I thought Tanchun was a female cat, but she turned out to be a tiger cub, howling.

Chapter 110 Shui Rong: Give Sister Feng a big stick?

Shui Rong looked at Tanchun's slightly bulging breasts rising and falling, knowing that she was extremely angry. If he had not been there, she would have gone berserk and taught her brother a lesson.

Although Tanchun looked disgusted, Shui Rong understood that she was "disappointed" with her brother Jia Huan. Otherwise, Tanchun would have just watched from the sidelines and would not have been so angry that she lost her composure in front of Shui Rong. This is what is called "the deeper the love, the more severe the blame."

After a pause, Shui Rong took out a golden coin with the words "Top Scholar" from his pocket and handed it to Jia Huan. Jia Huan's eyes lit up when he saw this, and he took it with a smile, then stepped aside.

Seeing that Tanchun was about to go berserk, Baochai stepped forward, pulled up the hem of her skirt, and whispered, "Okay, okay, the prince doesn't care anymore. If you keep making trouble, it won't end well."

Tanchun breathed a sigh of relief when she heard this. What Baojie said was right. Now that the prince had finished speaking, it would be her fault if she continued to scold him.

After persuading Tanchun, Baochai's bright almond eyes could not help but glance at Shuirong, who was calm and composed. The prince was really considerate to the third sister and protected her dignity. If...

Thinking of this, Baochai's cheeks turned slightly red. She still remembered the prince's hint, and didn't know what the prince's intention was.

After Jia Huan's incident, "Little Master" Jia Lan stepped out with Li Wan's gentle push, bowed and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

Shui Rong looked at the polite Jia Lan and nodded secretly in his heart. Generally speaking, children would be sent to live with their parents when they are over eight years old. Jia Lan looked to be only five or six years old now, so he must not have started school yet. Most young men from wealthy families would hire a private tutor when they were young. However, Li Wan came from a scholarly family and was well versed in literature, so he should be taught by Li Wan.

After all, Jia Lan's manner of greeting is quite similar to Li Wan's.

In the original novel, the Jia family was in decline. Jia Lan studied hard for ten years and passed the imperial examination, thus reviving the Jia family. Among all the men in the Jia family, he was the most promising one.