The Red Mansion Big Liar

He is changing the concept. There is a layer of meaning between whether Wang Xifeng is willing to be a widow and being a widow without knowing the reason.

However, he was a vengeful person, and Jia Lian's words just now irritated him, so he deliberately tried to annoy Jia Lian.

Although he asked his wife to offer his daughter-in-law to him, he still kept it a secret. He wanted to see if Jia Lian would still have the nerve to talk shamelessly in front of him if he was pushed to that point.

Xue Pan was already feeling extremely aggrieved, and when he saw Jia Zhen speaking up for him, he suddenly felt like he had found his backbone.

Then he echoed, "That's right! If the disease is cured, you will have a chance to leave offspring and bloodline in the future. If the disease cannot be cured, you will have to find someone to adopt you. By then, your son and wife may be someone else's..."

"Honest advice is unpleasant to the ear, and good medicine tastes bitter. We are doing this for your own good. Otherwise, who would say such offensive words to you?"

The two of them talked back and forth, leaving Jia Lian speechless, his face turning blue and white.

It’s not that he thought what the two said was unreasonable, but changing his words now was tantamount to slapping himself in the face.

Moreover, Jia Zhen and Xue Pan were both lustful and eager to get rich. Knowing that he had a secret and instigating him with words, he could not help but suspect that they were setting their sights on his wife.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yunyi, who had been silent on the side, stood upright and had never thought of laying hands on his wife.

He never thought that the dog that bites doesn't bark...

Instead, he remembered that both Lady Jia and Jia She intended to marry Yingchun to him, so that he would become his brother-in-law.

If it really comes to that, letting him help out will not only keep the benefits within the family, but also make it easier to cover up and prevent outsiders from knowing about it. It is always better than being laughed at and ridiculed by Jia Zhen and Xue Pan.

As he was speaking, Yuanyang came towards the table.

She came closer and bowed to everyone: "The old lady wants to invite Master Yi over!"

……

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 200: Setting up the stage to perform and making guests feel at home

As early as the New Year's Eve dinner, Grandmother Jia wanted to call him to the backyard.

However, since we were in Ning Mansion at that time, it was not convenient to be too obvious.

Now that Jia Zhen has voluntarily given up and still has his own piece of land in Rongfu, he doesn't have to worry about anything else.

"There are few people in the mansion today."

"The old lady and the ladies have been so kind that today is the Lantern Festival. Only the staff who serve in front and behind are allowed to go out to watch the lantern festival."

Although he and Yuanyang were already familiar with each other, without the excuse of the slippery road due to snow, Zhang Yunyi could not take advantage of him again.

I just chatted with her casually.

It was Yuanyang who took the initiative to ask: "I heard from Grandma Zhen that Master went to the hot spring villa outside the city a few days ago?"

"Yes!" Zhang Yunyi casually said tentatively, "This warm soup not only helps relieve fatigue and prolong life, but also has the effect of beautifying the skin. If Sister Yuanyang is free one day, just let me know and I will arrange it."

Nowadays, even a private invitation is equivalent to a private transaction, let alone going to his territory.

As long as Yuanyang agrees, it would be equivalent to tacitly entrusting herself to him.

Yuanyang obviously heard the hidden meaning behind the words, her pretty face flushed, she lowered her head and said in a muffled voice: "Master, you are joking. I serve the old lady all day long, so I don't have time to go out."

Hearing that she didn't refuse, but instead kept asking for help, Zhang Yunyi stopped asking for more and said with a smile, "There will always be a chance!"

As they were talking, the two arrived at Rongqing Hall.

As soon as he walked around the screen, he attracted everyone's attention.

Not to mention Youshi, Li Wan, Ping'er, Yingchun and Tanchun, even Madam Xing and Madam Wang glanced at her intentionally or unintentionally.

Zhang Yunyi had no choice but to greet Jia Mu and others one by one. When it was his peers' turn, he bowed.

Unlike the groups of three or five people in the front yard, people here, including Jia Mu, sat around a small table.

He took Jia Baoyu to sit on the Luohan bed in the middle, with Madam Xing, Madam Wang, and Aunt Xue on both sides.

Li Wan, Wang Xifeng, Youshi and other sisters-in-law, two people each, sat on a small table on both sides.

Jia Baoyu sat with Jia's mother. Zhang Yunyi was the only man present, so he placed his small table horizontally at the end of the two sides, opposite Jia's mother.

It just so happened that the table was closest to those of Tanchun, Yingchun, Youshi and Li Wan, and they formed a corner with each other.

After he sat down, Jia's mother smiled and said, "They all say that Yi'er can tell stories. Why don't you tell one today so that we can listen together?"

Since Lady Jia had said so, it was difficult for him to refuse.

It's just that there are no stories suitable for this era that have been published yet. Although he has some in stock like Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, it's a bit of a spoiler during the New Year after all.

In the original novel, Jia's mother didn't seem to care much about the story of the talented scholar and the beautiful woman, so he chose the story of the Legend of the White Snake as a compromise.

This story is included in the Ming Dynasty's "Jingshi Tongyan". The Great Xia Dynasty in which he lived was considered a parallel universe to the Ming Dynasty.

Nowadays, although there are legends among the people, they have not yet been turned into storybooks.

Acceptance is not a problem.

Of course, after all, with Lady Jia, Madam Xing, Madam Wang, and Aunt Xue present, he did not focus on the love stories, but rather on Bai Suzhen's gratitude and the difficulties she encountered from Fahai.

In his previous life, he had watched The Legend of White Snake several times and even inserted a few lines from the play. Although it seemed a bit too straightforward in the eyes of everyone, the plot was fascinating enough to make everyone fascinated.

While telling the story, he glanced at Li Wan intentionally or unintentionally.

Her obsessiveness was like that of a beauty python that would choose its prey before devouring it. Once you were entangled by it, you would be unable to break free.

As if she had sensed the meaning in his eyes, Li Wan couldn't help but be reminded of the beautiful moment of that day.

Fortunately, everyone was attracted by the story, and no one noticed the strangeness on her face except for her deskmate, Youshi.

Wait until the story is told simply and completely.

Xue Baochai was the first to recover from her shock. She sighed and said, "This story seems to have been inspired by 'Bo Yi Zhi Li Huang', but it's not as wonderful as what Brother Yi said!"

After hearing what Baochai said, Tanchun seemed to want to compete with her and said with a smile: "Sister Bao is indeed well-read, but I think it is more like the "Three Pagodas of West Lake" in the previous dynasty. After all, Xu Xian and Bai Suzhen met at the Broken Bridge of West Lake."

At this point, she looked at Zhang Yunyi and said, "Brother Yi, what do you think?"

Zhang Yunyi, who wanted to catch them all in one fell swoop, naturally would not be biased. He smiled and said, "My two sisters are well-read and what they said is true. The Legend of the White Snake is indeed derived from these two stories."

Lin Daiyu pondered and said, "Brother Yi's story is quite good. If it can be polished a little more, it will surely be very popular!"

"That's right!" Xiangyun also clapped her hands and said, "If it can be made into a song, it will be something new."

Although actors have a low status, composing lyrics and composing music is an elegant job for them.

Even Emperor Minghuang of Tang, who was a noble emperor, was well versed in this and was revered as the ancestor of the opera.

So, no one can comment on it.

Seeing everyone expressing their opinions and getting along well with Zhang Yunyi, Yingchun, who couldn't find a topic to talk about, felt a little ashamed. She lowered her head and pondered for a long time before pursing her lips and sighing, "Although Bai Suzhen is a snake demon, she has a sincere heart to repay her gratitude. She is pitiful!"

At this time, Grandmother Jia smiled and said, "Second girl is right. Knowing gratitude and repaying kindness is the way to behave in the world. It is rare that Yi'er, at such a young age, can make up this story!"

Seeing that Lady Jia had spoken, Wang Xifeng smiled and said, "As the saying goes, a prime minister has a lot of knowledge. I think Brother Yi has a lot of knowledge in his mind, but I don't know how much we don't know..."

Having said this, perhaps because of the alcohol or because he was thinking of something, his face turned slightly red. Unusually, he stopped talking and instead turned his head to look at Ping'er, who was standing beside him with spring in her eyes.

After discussing the plot of The Legend of the White Snake, Grandmother Jia called a small opera troupe and ordered two Kunqu operas.

After the two performances were over, Zhang Yunyi glanced at Li Wan, then stood up and said, "It's getting late, Yunyi will take his leave first."

Grandmother Jia seemed to be in high spirits. She asked Yuanyang to see them off and ordered the maids to serve more wine to everyone.

Zhang Yunyi bowed and declined, saying, "It's rare that the old lady is in such a good mood, so it's impossible for her to go without someone by her side. It's only a few steps away, so I won't bother you, Sister Yuanyang."

Seeing that he was declining, Lady Jia did not insist on it.

After leaving Rongqing Hall, Zhang Yun逸 did not leave in a hurry. Instead, he hid in the rockery next to the Chuihua Gate.

Having just told the story of the Legend of the White Snake, and seeing Li Wan's amorous expression, he couldn't help but feel nostalgic for the day when he was entangled by this beautiful python.

Previously, I learned from Yuanyang that there was a shortage of staff in the mansion tonight. Except for those who had tasks to do in the front and back yards and could not get away, most of them went out to join in the fun.

Therefore, he deliberately declined Yuanyang's farewell in Rongqing Hall, thinking that Li Wan would understand his intention.

As expected, not long after he left, Li Wan left Rongqing Hall on the grounds that she was worried about Jia Lan.

When they left Rongqing Hall, although she didn't see anyone, she still told Suyun, "I'll walk around to get rid of the alcohol. You go to the front and watch over the boys. Don't let them be persuaded to drink."

It was understandable that she couldn't go to the front yard. Although Suyun was surprised that she didn't call Jia Lan back, she told her to take good care of her.

But thinking that it was the Lantern Festival, she did not suspect anything.

After Suyun left, Li Wan looked around.

Just as he was about to go out to look for him, Zhang Yunyi suddenly hugged him from behind.

Then he was dragged behind the rockery.

Li Wan's body softened, and she felt dizzy. She bit her tongue quickly, shook her head suddenly, swallowed, and pleaded with difficulty, "This... this won't work here! There are so many people coming and going, you... you go to the big hall behind the old lady's house and wait for me."

……

Inside Rongqing Hall, the young actors were performing a play requested by Jia's mother.

In the large flower hall, which was only separated from Lady Jia's courtyard by a wall, Zhang Yun逸 and Li Wan were also performing an unknown play.

This is where the Rong Mansion sets up the stage to perform operas during the spring and autumn seasons. However, it is so cold today that it is not as warm as the floor cage in Rongqing Hall.

Although Li Wan was not as diligent in study and practice as the little actors, but the melodious and graceful singing she sang was even better than that of Zhang Yun逸.

The moon is bright in the sky.

It was reflected on the stage in the flower hall, and also on the round shape that occasionally peeked out from the shadows.

Accompanied by the sound of musical instruments and melodious singing.

Instead, the two actors became more fearless of the severe cold and more courageous.

……

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 201 Spring Farming Accident

The day of Hai in mid-spring.

Emperor Zhengqing, who seldom attended court, also left the palace and came to the Xiannong Altar.

After all the complicated rituals such as welcoming the gods, playing music, burning incense, and leading the ministers in worship, etc.

Fang led his ministers to the sacrificial field.

A group of princes and ministers all rolled up their trouser legs and sleeves and took up their respective positions.

Zhang Yunyi's rank was not high enough for this honor, so he could only blend in with the crowd and watch from the sidelines.

However, Jia Yucun, the newly appointed governor of Shuntian Prefecture, had the opportunity to show up. He was seen holding a cattle whip high above his head and kneeling facing north to present it to the emperor.

Emperor Zhengqing took the whip and, surrounded by his ministers, came to the sacrificial field, holding the plow in his hand and waving the whip.

Originally, the work could be completed by plowing the land three times symbolically, but something went wrong this year.

No matter how Emperor Zhengqing waved the whip, the ox remained motionless.

Agriculture was the foundation of ancient dynasties, and oxen, as the best livestock for plowing fields, were a strategic resource.

In order to ensure the stability of strategic resources, the government not only set up cattle-raising officials for the people to rent, but also registered every oxen used by the people.

Even princes and ministers rarely had the opportunity to eat beef.

This is one of the reasons why the Five Oxen Painting has such a high status in the famous classical paintings handed down from generation to generation.

During the spring ploughing ceremony, the oxen went on strike. Even if the emperor was angry, he could not play the lute to the oxen, nor could he punish them. He could only vent his anger on humans.

Not only was the cattle-breeding official of Shuntian Prefecture who provided the oxen for draft, but all the officials of Shuntian Prefecture were also implicated.

However, the fate is secondary, the ceremony must go on, especially this kind of sacrificial ceremony, the time cannot be delayed.

When the emperor was getting anxious, Zhang Yun逸 suddenly remembered an interesting story from the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty.

He stepped out of the line and said, "Your Majesty, calm down! This has never happened before. Now that there is such a sign, it may not be a bad thing. It is better to let Lord Jia and the relevant officials of Shuntian Prefecture to atone for their crimes and complete the procedures of the ceremony first. It will not be too late to deal with it when the harvest comes in autumn."

After hearing this, Jia Yucun and all the officials of Shuntian Prefecture looked at him with gratitude.

Seeing that it was him who spoke, Emperor Zhengqing's face looked better. He exhaled heavily and said, "If the cows don't plow the fields, how can this grand ceremony continue?"

Zhang Yunyi gave Jia Yucun a reassuring look, and then said slowly, "Your Majesty, it is not necessary to use cows for the ceremony. Since it is the fault of Shuntian Prefecture, I am afraid that the officials of Shuntian Prefecture will have to serve the emperor like cows and horses!"