The Red Mansion Big Liar

As soon as they got out of the door, Aunt Zhang immediately greeted them with a smile, "Master, I'm afraid you must be waiting anxiously. Please follow me, Grandma!"

Even though Li Wan had already made up her mind and was determined to go for it, she couldn't help but feel shy when she heard this.

Last time at least Youshi covered it up for him, but this time he was openly arrested and was led forward by someone.

She lowered her head and followed Nanny Zhang step by step like a puppet.

It was dinner time, and apart from a few servants passing by occasionally, I didn't run into anyone.

When they arrived at Youshi's courtyard, Nanny Zhang pushed open the door and turned around and said, "I'll take you here. Grandma, please go in by yourself!"

After saying that, he walked away.

Li Wan raised her blushing eyes and saw Zhang Yunyi in the room.

She didn't care whether Nanny Zhang had gone far away or not, she threw herself at her like a young swallow, and then, like a nimble snake wrapping around a stick, she followed Zhang Yunyi's body and wrapped around him.

Afterwards, the two of them never separated again, and like conjoined twins, they staggered and pushed open the door to the inner room.

……

After struggling for more than half an hour, Li Wan finally breathed a sigh of relief and curled up in Zhang Yunyi's arms.

She leaned her face against Zhang Yunyi's chest, raised her blurry eyes, and complained in a rough voice: "How long has it been since anyone slept in this bed? Why is it hard in one part and soft in another?"

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Zhang Yunyi was almost choked to death by the spit.

This was the place where the two of them first met, so he chose this place on purpose.

But I forgot that last night I dragged Youshi here to act out the role of a widow.

Because Youshi had to go to keep vigil, she didn't have time to tell the servants to clean up. In addition, most of the servants had their own chores and no one paid attention to this.

So much so that traces of last night were left behind.

However, Li Wan was just asking casually. Even Wang Xifeng did not dislike the dark and damp cave. How could Li Wan, who was very hungry, be so pretentious just because of some dirt on the bed sheets?

Zhang Yunyi's coughs made her heart flutter again.

Unconsciously, she slipped from Zhang Yunyi's arms, lay in front of him, raised her head and said, "I'm not going home tonight!"

Without waiting for Zhang Yunyi to respond, he leaned down.

……

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 262: A Funeral Where No One Grieves (V)

The next day.

As soon as the sky began to pale, Li Wan, who could not hide her tiredness, dragged her exhausted body and hurried out to the mourning hall.

Last night, she just thought that she had no idea what to eat, so she couldn't help but ask for too much.

But the more this happened, the more she couldn't bear to leave.

He even suggested to Zhang Yun逸 that Jia Lan be sent to study Taoism so that he could bring his son to seek advice in the future.

Seeing how obsessed she was, Zhang Yunyi was willing to use his son as a bargaining chip, and he couldn't bear to see her depressed, so he told her that she had made great contributions recently, and the emperor was worried about how to reward her. It was very likely that the Ning Mansion was just a bonus.

This made her turn worry into joy.

Even so, the torture in the first half of the night was enough for her to bear. Even after resting for most of the night, she still couldn't recover.

However, although he was exhausted both physically and mentally, his complexion was radiant.

After getting up, she sat in front of the dressing table and applied makeup on her face for a long time before she covered up the blush.

She was a little careless yesterday, but she couldn't help but feel a little worried afterwards.

Although Youshi knew all about this relationship and would certainly help cover it up, she was not the only one keeping vigil in the mourning hall.

If Youshi can be considered half a member of the Jia family, then Jia Rong is the real deal.

Moreover, his grandfather and father were lying in the mourning hall, and he was confused at this moment.

I’m afraid I don’t know how to blame myself.

If the news leaked out and let Lady Jia and Mrs. Wang know that she was not with Youshi last night, she would be doomed.

She walked into the mourning hall with trepidation, but calmed down a little and said vaguely, "I wanted to accompany my sister-in-law yesterday, but I didn't expect them to drink too much and fell asleep..."

Then she looked around and said something else: "Why? Rong Ge'er wasn't here guarding last night?"

"Oh!" Yu Shi sneered, "I wanted to go back and rest for a while last night, but I heard a good show!"

"sister in law……"

"Don't worry! He doesn't have that kind of filial piety! Not to mention that he has a dirty bottom, even if he knew that you were with his uncle Yi last night, he wouldn't dare to say a word!"

Youshi still cared about her reputation, but Jia Rong was a man who had given up everything.

Who is willing to keep watch?

As soon as it got dark, he disappeared.

Since several of Jia Zhen's roommates had been divided up by Jia Lian, she was in a hurry and took advantage of the opportunity that Jia Lian was helping with the funeral and staying in Ning Mansion for a few days to go and play with him.

"This..." Li Wan seemed to be in doubt, and then asked, "Really?"

You said jokingly, "Okay, stop looking so sad. He doesn't care whether his father lives or dies. He actually hopes that his father dies so that he can recognize Yun Yi as his father!"

……

"Why does mother look so sad?"

Because she was going to Ning Mansion with Lady Jia today, Xue Baochai returned home from the Grand View Garden early in the morning. When she entered the house, she saw Aunt Xue with a frown on her face, and she could not help asking.

"Do you think Zhen'er's death has something to do with him?"

Xue Baochai was shocked when she heard this. She quickly glanced outside the room, but still felt uneasy. She ran out and looked around. Then she closed the door, returned to sit next to Aunt Xue, and whispered, "Mother, please be careful with your words. How can you say such things so casually?"

"I've been thinking about this all night, and the more I think about it, the more strange it seems. Your brother told him that Zhen Ge'er asked us for the profits from the sugar business, and it's only been two months, and she died. How could it be such a coincidence?"

Didn’t Xue Baochai have such doubts?

When Xue Pan came back and recounted his experience of going to Prince Zhongshun's mansion, she could hear something else in Zhang Yunyi's words.

However, the more she thought about it, the more she dared not make Aunt Xue worry, for fear of revealing the truth in front of Zhang Yunyi.

He hurriedly comforted her, "Mother, you are worrying too much! How much silver is that sugar? Brother Yi has helped to make up for the deficit of more than 100,000 taels. Can you still take someone's life for such a small amount of silver? Mother, please be careful with your words. Don't say that you have no evidence. Even if you do, it is none of our business."

Although she was trying to appease Aunt Xue, she still had some doubts, and her last sentence gave her away.

Aunt Xue was startled and asked in a trembling voice, "You also find it strange, right?"

Xue Baochai denied it immediately: "How could it be! Didn't I just say that? He has already paid more than 100,000 taels, why would he care about that little bit of money? If he wasn't doing this for the good of Brother Zhen, why would he throw dirty water on me? As long as he uses that money to make up for the shortfall, I can pay less! Mother, please don't let your imagination run wild. If you spread bad words, you will really offend people!"

"How dare I tell anyone else? Am I not only telling you this?"

Aunt Xue was filled with doubt and said, "The more this happens, the more worried I become. If what Zhen-ge is saying is true, then wouldn't our family also be..."

Xue Baochai quickly stopped him and said, "Mom, you are worrying too much! How can we be confused with them? Apart from other things, although we have taken back the sugar, we have also given up the caustic soda business, and asked Zhang Dehui to follow him. If he really can't let it go, he won't keep Zhang Dehui, right?"

"The human heart is hard to predict! Before this, who could have thought that Zhen Ge'er would die?"

Xue Baochai took a deep breath and said, "Don't say that this is just your guess. Even if it is true, can he still attack us? We are not like Brother Zhen. We live under the same roof with him. Can he come to our door with a knife and kill us?

Besides, now that the East Palace has lost its title, I'm afraid it can't keep its house. My brother is ashamed to see him. He will live far away in the future, and there will be no chance to meet him. Why should mother worry about nothing and be suspicious? "

"Although what you said is true, don't forget that our family is still working for the inner court. If he deliberately makes things difficult for us, how can we live a good life?"

Xue Baochai couldn't help but sigh, and thought to herself, if you had thought of this earlier, things wouldn't have come to this.

But he said, "This is all nonsense. You also said that this matter has been going on for a long time. If they were deliberately making things difficult for us, they wouldn't have delayed it until today. Now, let alone the previous business, even the share of glass and sugar has not decreased at all."

"Ah!" After hearing what she said, Aunt Xue's face looked better. She sighed and said, "I'm not worried about anything else, but I'm afraid that he will use your brother as an excuse."

"Even if you really say so with your brother's identity, you still have to wait until the assessment every three years. There are still two years left!"

Xue Baochai shook her head and complained, "Mother, if you have time to worry about this, you might as well go to your aunt and ask about my elder sister's marriage. When my elder sister is married, the affairs of the inner court will be decided by Prince Ning's words."

At this point, she said with some worry, "I see that the garden has been built for such a long time, but there is still no news about the marriage. Mom should pay more attention to it."

"you're right!"

Speaking of Jia Yuanchun's marriage, Aunt Xue felt relieved, but then she felt troubled again.

"It's not peaceful in this mansion. Just now Baoyu and Feng girl went crazy, and then that incident happened. This marriage was granted by the emperor, and only your uncle can have a say. Now that the situation is like this, how dare I bring up the matter and go to your aunt to offend her?"

Baochai also knew that Aunt Xue was telling the truth, so she could only shake her head and sigh, "Now we can only hope that the old lady will not hold back and urge my uncle to ask for permission soon!"

Aunt Xue nodded, took Xue Baochai in her arms, and sighed, "I've always seen Baoyu behave like a noble man, but how could he actually touch the maid in your aunt's room..."

She shook her head, hesitating to say, "I just wronged you!"

……

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 263: No One Grieves at the Funeral (VI)

"Second brother! Second brother!"

Just as Jia Zheng was leaving after escorting Lady Jia and her entourage into Ning'an Hall, he saw the two brothers, Shi Nai and Shi Ding, rubbing their hands together in a corner of the courtyard, nodding and bowing to him.

"what happened?"

Jia Zheng straightened his back unconsciously and walked over with a limp step.

Shi Ding rushed to say: "Second brother, look, this Yi Ge'er's parents are both dead, and now even Brother Jing is gone too. There is no tiger in the mountain... No, no, no, there is no general in Shu..."

"What are you talking about!" Shi Nai glared at him and interrupted him, "He has no relatives now. Only the old lady and his two brothers can barely be considered his elders!"

Although Shi Nai interrupted Shi Ding, he still followed his meaning. When Jia Zheng heard the two compare him to a monkey and Liao Hua, his face turned pale and he said unhappily, "Just say what you want to say. Don't talk nonsense."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Shi Nai nodded hurriedly, "Marriage is a matter of parents' orders and matchmaker's words. He is not young anymore and has no elders, so doesn't he have to ask my aunt and second brother for help?"

He took a deep breath and sighed, "Second brother, you also know that my eldest brother passed away early, leaving behind only a daughter like Yun. If we can't find a good family for her, we will not be able to face my eldest brother in the future!"

Shi Ding quickly interrupted and said, "As the saying goes, good things should be kept within the family. This Yi Ge is trusted by the emperor and has the ability to turn stones into gold. He has a promising future. Although Yun is a little young, she will be just right in a year or two."

Shi Ding's words were rough but his point was true. Shi Nai did not interrupt him and nodded, saying, "Please help me, second brother, to mediate between us!"

Before this, although Zhang Yun逸 had invented sugar and glass, it was ultimately the business of the imperial palace.

They were familiar with Jia Zhen's character and knew that he was a money-grubber. Even if Zhang Yun逸 could slip some money through his fingers, it would definitely not be a good deal for them.

But now, the situation is very different. Not only have we heard about the guano business, but Jia Zhen is no longer a stumbling block.

How could the Shi brothers, who were already not well off, not be concerned about her?

If the two brothers did not have daughters of the right age, this advantage would not have fallen into Shi Xiangyun's hands.

To be fair, Jia Zheng didn't think there was anything wrong with this marriage.

He really felt that Zhang Yunyi had become famous by relying on his strange and lewd skills, and he was unwilling to marry him.

However, she still hoped that Zhang Yun逸 could speak well of her in front of the emperor and arrange Yuanchun's marriage.

If he married Shi Xiangyun, it would be considered a closer relationship.

However, when he thought about the fact that he would have to have many contacts with Zhang Yunyi in order to act as a matchmaker, he wanted to avoid it as much as possible.

"What do you mean he can turn stone into gold? He is just a money-grubber! I don't know him well, so do as you please!"

He was afraid that the Shi brothers would continue to pester him, so he simply said nothing.

"Bah! Why are you pretending!"

"When you really have no money left, I'll see how you can still pretend to be noble!"

Watching Jia Zheng walk away in anger, the Shi brothers spat.

After looking at each other, Shi Ding asked, "Do you want to go find your elder brother?"

Shi Nai shook his head: "Forget it. It's better if we don't say it. I'm afraid it will remind him if we say it."

The reason why the two of them went to Jia Zheng instead of Jia She was because they were familiar with the personalities of these two people.

No matter whether Jia Zheng agrees or not, at least he won't intercept it.