The Red Mansion Big Liar

Knowing that Youshi had gone to Dengxian Pavilion, he did not go into Youshi's room, but went straight to the back garden.

As soon as she stepped into the alley of Tianxiang Tower, she saw Youshi walking towards her, swaying with three steps. She hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Hey! Madam, are you here from Uncle Yi?"

As he spoke, he glanced at Yu Shi unscrupulously.

"Bah!" Youshi suddenly spat fiercely, "If you have something to say, just say it. Put away your thieving eyes. If you keep looking around, I will tell the master!"

"Look at what the Madam said, how dare my son! Today, for the Madam's sake, my son was kicked twice by the Master. Madam, please remember my son's kindness." Jia Rong said with a fake smile, "The Master asked his son to come and invite the Madam!"

Seeing Jia Rong acting fearless, Youshi was confused and thought to herself, could it be that he knew that Zhang Yun逸 had come to the palace to report and was in a hurry to ask for benefits?

"Since it's the master's order, why don't you lead the way!"

It's not that she didn't know where to go, but she just didn't want Jia Rong to follow her and look at her.

The two of them arrived at Ning'an Hall one after another, but saw that there were already more than ten people outside the main house, all of them were Lai Sheng's family and other housekeepers.

Upon seeing this scene, Jia Rong was horrified and felt a little regretful. If he put Youshi in a pig cage or beat her to death, he would be in trouble.

Unexpectedly, Jia Zhen did not get angry when he saw Youshi coming. Instead, he said to the maids, "Listen to me, don't think you can look down on your cousin just because he is a guest. If I find out that you are even the slightest bit negligent, Jiao Da will be your example!"

As he spoke, he looked at Youshi and said in a pretentious manner, "He has just arrived and is alone and helpless. He is at a loss and helpless. You should spend more time with him to avoid making him sick."

Seeing him behaving like this, Youshi knew that there must be gossips spreading. Combined with Jia Rong's performance just now, it was obvious.

"Master, what you said is true. As a sister-in-law, I always go to my brother-in-law's room. If some gossip spreads..."

"Who dares!" Jia Zhen shouted angrily, "Whoever wants to be the next Jiao Da, I will make him do it now!"

Seeing everyone below was terrified, Youshi glanced at Jia Rong with disdain, and then agreed reluctantly.

Jia Rong was so shocked at this time, but the housekeepers and servants thought that Jia Zhen really cared about his cousin.

But he knew it clearly in his heart. He was afraid that the boy must have listened to him and wanted to clear the obstacles for the two of them!

Thinking of this, his neck shrank. How could he dare to make a move on Youshi?

I thought to myself, what’s so special about this cousin that makes my father spend so much money to win him over?

……

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 23: Big promises and hypocrisy

After putting on a show in front of the housekeepers and Jia Rong, Jia Zhen winked at Youshi and returned to the room, impatiently asking, "He's back from the palace?"

The carriage he took to enter the palace was from the Ning Mansion, so Jia Zhen naturally could not hide it.

Before Jia Rong filed the complaint, he was already thinking about how much benefit he could get this time.

"He just came back. I had just sent him back when the master came to look for him."

"Oh? What do you say?"

"The emperor was very pleased and said that he would be sent to serve in the inner court, fully responsible for all affairs, and he was also promoted to the fifth rank of Dragon Guard."

"Be fully responsible for all matters?"

Jia Zhen is more knowledgeable than Youshi, so he doesn't care much about the fifth-rank dragon guards.

"Well! He saw that I had no property, so he said that once the sugar factory was put into production, he would find a way to get some shares to help me with my expenses."

"Uh……"

This was beyond Jia Zhen's expectations. He thought it would take some effort, but he didn't expect it to be so effortless.

He thought to himself, what a young boy with no vision. He hasn't gained anything yet, but he's already rushing to show his affection. It's obvious that he's really been aroused by his own wife.

"Now you understand the benefits of my method, right?" Jia Zhen shook his head and said with some satisfaction.

"What's so wonderful about this? It's my dignity that's at stake. If this gets to my ears, I don't know how he'll gossip about me behind my back!"

Yu Shi said with a face full of shame and indignation, "Now I can still have a clear conscience, but I have to beg you to be my guest, and I will not be able to fool him if I really get the share. Besides, he has endless ways to make money, when will it end? If you walk by the river often, you will get your feet wet. Anyway, you have got what you wanted. When you get the share of sugar, don't ask me to do these despicable things again."

"Wait! What do you mean by endless?"

"I just listened to what they said about making glass, but I don't want the benefit anyway...it's not my turn."

Zhang Yunyi was very good at making promises, and it was he who taught Youshi this set of rhetoric.

Although he did not intend to give a larger share to Youshi, Jia Zhen's character would not let it go easily. Only if he felt that there would be greater profits in the future would he give up the small profit in front of him.

"Why is it not your turn? Didn't he say that the share of sugar would be used to subsidize you? Can I, the master, snatch it from you?"

He also knew that he had to play the long game to catch the big fish. Not to mention the tempting profits from the glass, it had only been a month, and he had already produced sugar of exceptional quality. How could he be without it in the future?

However, once Youshi gave up, with the previous experience as a lesson, Zhang Yunyi would probably not give in easily.

He was not a shameless person. For the sake of the silver, he pretended to be deaf and dumb, but he could not bring himself to tie up Youshi and send her away.

"He is willing to give it to you, how can I not want to?" Jia Zhen said patiently, "You are from a poor family, and you didn't bring much dowry. You still have a mother-in-law and two sisters at home who need support. How could I not know?"

Youshi pretended to hesitate, but Jia Zhen hurriedly urged her, "Okay, it's settled. Strike while the iron is hot. Go over now, so you can have a meal with him and drink some wine. If he gets drunk, you can half-heartedly give in, and then cry and say you can't resist after the deed is done. Why worry that he won't obey you?"

If it was just a passing cloud before, now I have seen real money, so why would I care about anything else?

Even though Youshi knew that he was shameless, she still felt extremely ashamed and angry after hearing what he said.

Jia Zhen still thought he had failed to persuade her, so he used both kindness and force, saying, "It's rare for me to need you, so don't be so rude to me!"

This can really be used, but it is for others.

Yu pretended to submit and said, "I dare not!"

"That's right!" Jia Zhen warned, "I'm just afraid that he has the intention but not the courage. Remember to be gentle and don't scare him. After you've done enough, you might as well allow him to come and visit often. Don't scare him into thinking of moving away."

"Master, how soft should it be? Or should I go take a shower and change clothes first?"

This was originally said in anger, but unexpectedly Jia Zhen slapped his forehead and said, "That's right! You usually wear too plain clothes inside. I will go to Peifeng and get a new one."

"No need! Maybe he likes this tune!"

"Yes! Yes!"

It was difficult to convince Youshi, and Jia Zhen did not want to create any more trouble, so he watched her leave.

That night, all the servants in the ear room suffered.

It's February now, the beginning of spring, and I'm afraid I'll really have to go out to avoid catching a cold.

……

Let’s talk about Emperor Zhengqing later.

After Zhang Yun逸 left, he ordered the eunuch to carefully seal the jar of sugar.

The next morning at court, he ordered the eunuchs to pour out the sugar and place it on the floor of the hall.

He said in a loud voice: "This snowflake cotton candy was made by Zhang Yunyi, the resurrected father. Tell me, how can this kind of white sugar be made in the mortal world? I have set up the Immortal Works Institute in the inner palace. Not only will it be mass-produced, but there will also be glass and other immortal methods coming in the future!"

At this point, he threw his Taoist robe and said, "Come here! Divide it among the gentlemen and let them taste it!"

Inside the hall, Jia Zheng, who was standing behind a group of court officials, licked the sugar that was served to him, seeming to be lost in thought.

When he returned home after office, he did not go to the East Courtyard for the first time, but came to Mrs. Wang's courtyard to eat.

Although she knew that he would not come to visit her unless he had something important to do, Mrs. Wang still served him wholeheartedly.

He poured a glass of wine into the cup and said, "Master, is there something on your mind?"

"Yes!" Jia Zheng sighed, and then asked, "The eldest girl is about to reach the age to leave the palace. As a mother, can't you make some plans for her? If it really takes until that time, she will really become an old maid. By then, will my Rong Mansion have to beg for a betrothal gift?"

Regardless of whether they were palace maids or female officials, if the emperor had not visited them, they would leave the palace at the age of 25.

This is nothing in modern times, but in ancient times it was an absolute leftover woman.

"Master, what you said is not right. I told you before the New Year that I should go to my brother for help, but Master insisted that it was not right and asked me to go to Brother Jing from the East Mansion. Now you blame me."

"What do you, a woman, know?" Jia Zheng put the wine glass heavily on the table. "After all, my uncle is an official. It would be hard to ask him to speak about this matter. Isn't it better to speak in front of the emperor?"

Although Jia Jing was his cousin, he was somewhat disdainful of accompanying the emperor in practicing Taoism. However, due to their respective status, he could only use someone close to him as a substitute.

"Hmph!" Mrs. Wang disagreed. "If I were you, I would ask for help in the right way. But you are so arrogant that you don't ask for help yourself. Instead, you ask me to pass on the message to the old lady. You are using your seniority to pressure others. How can you ask for help?"

"What do you mean by noble? I have integrity!" He drank the wine in the glass. "How can you, a woman, understand these things?"

"Yes, yes, yes! I don't understand. Then why don't you tell me what to do?"

"Today in the palace, the emperor said that the nephew of Brother Jing was resurrected by the late emperor and learned some immortal methods. He was highly valued by the emperor and now lives in the East Palace."

He didn't go to inquire, but someone who was well-informed came to ask him.

Before, I thought it was just a lie made up by the emperor in order to have his biological father enshrined in the imperial temple, and I didn’t take it too seriously.

Today I saw Baitang and heard that there would be a follow-up, so I couldn’t help but become curious.

"If that's the case, why didn't you introduce us to someone during our New Year visit?"

"Perhaps because he hasn't been around for many years, and he is afraid of not being able to face the shame of accepting it now that he has received the emperor's favor."

Mrs. Wang woke up from her dream and said, "Master, do you think that... we should settle the matter first and wait for the eldest lady to leave the palace..."

"Bullshit!" Jia Zheng slammed the table and said, "I am a serious scholar after all. How can I marry my daughter to a sugar maker? It really insults his character!"

"Sugar-making?"

Mrs. Wang couldn't help but wonder, they were just talking about magic, and now they were talking about sugar making.

"I don't know what's wrong with the emperor. He insists on saying that making sugar is a method for the immortals and even set up a Tiangong Academy in the inner court. I tasted it and it tasted the same, just a little whiter."

"Why do you care what the emperor says? Just follow his words!"

"Forget it!" Jia Zheng hated to hear this, and waved his hand, "No matter how respectful you are, your elder brother is already in front of the emperor, and now that your nephew has been favored by the emperor, he must have a say. You can go back and talk to the old lady about it. This is related to our family's reputation."

"That's enough! You've always been concerned about your face. Have you ever really cared about your daughter?"

There was no point in talking anymore. Seeing that the matter was over, Jia Zheng simply got up and left.

When Mrs. Wang saw Jia Zheng walking away, she spat at the door and said angrily, "Bah! Going to see that slutty vixen again, you're just pretending to be prudish!"

……

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 24 Inquire

The next day.

Rongqing Hall.

After the morning and evening visits, Madam Wang dismissed the attendants and said, "I heard from the master yesterday that the nephew of Brother Jing in the East Palace was blessed by the late emperor. Not only did he return to his soul, he also learned some kind of magic. I'm afraid Brother Jing will have a better say in front of the emperor."

"Oh? I have seen that child before. His mother was also a miserable person. She happened to be in those years and was unable to marry into a good family. I didn't expect that her son would be so successful."

Grandmother Jia frowned and said, "However, I remember that the two families have not visited each other for many years. Even if the emperor favors us, it won't be the turn of the East Mansion to benefit from it, right?"

"It is said that he is now living in the East Palace."

"When did it happen? I haven't heard about it since the New Year."

"My wife is also very strange. I guess the master must have found out clearly outside, right?"

"He!" Grandmother Jia shook her head and sighed, "I'm afraid he may not be willing to ask others about it, and he may just listen to a few words."

No one knows a son better than his mother, and Grandmother Jia knows her son's character very well.

"Then the daughter-in-law sent someone out to inquire?"

"We need to think about this matter carefully." Grandmother Jia thought for a moment and said, "The emperor is obsessed with cultivation. He has been perfunctory in selecting concubines in recent years. It is not a long-term solution to keep him in the palace. But even if the emperor allows him to leave the palace, he is really old. If the child really wins the emperor's favor and is a relative of ours, it can be a way out."

This touched Mrs. Wang's heart, and she said hurriedly, "I think so too, daughter-in-law. But the master keeps talking about the character of a scholar..."

Before Lady Wang could finish, Grandmother Jia interrupted, "You can't let your master do what he wants. I remember that the child is already eighteen or nineteen years old. Although he is a few years younger than the older girl, a girl three years older is more likely to bring gold bricks. Besides, marriage is decided by parents and matchmakers. His parents died early, so doesn't his uncle have to make the decision?"

"What the old lady said is true. Isn't the daughter-in-law thinking the same thing?"

Although the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are bound to have some disputes and some bumps in the road, they are surprisingly unanimous on the issue of Yuanchun.

"It's not appropriate to go out and ask about it. Not to mention that the eldest girl is still in the palace. If she really gets married in the future, it will seem like it's our Rongguo Mansion that's rushing to get married."

"That's what the old lady said!"

"It's a pity that Lian Er followed Lin Yatou to the south, otherwise we could ask him to go to the East Palace to take a look."