The Red Mansion Big Liar

Chapter 376 Lantern Festival Gifts

The wife has the duty to take concubines for her husband.

Although Lady Jia was suspected of overstepping her authority, she had informed Yuanchun and had Yuanchun's tacit consent. Even though she had not yet asked Zhang Yunyi's opinion, Lady Jia did not think there was anything wrong with it.

Even if Zhang Yun逸 rejected this kindness, he could at least lay the groundwork for making Yingchun a concubine.

Therefore, within a few days, before Zhang Yunyi came to visit on the Lantern Festival, the news had spread throughout the Rongguo Mansion.

Although Zhang Yun逸 was not the first to know about it, since the matter involved rumors about him, how could Lai Da not report it?

However, since the historian and Lady Jia were so eager to help, he was happy to sit back and reap the benefits.

Therefore, he pretended to be ignorant even though he knew the truth, and even did not go to Rong Mansion, allowing the situation to develop.

It was not until the Lantern Festival and after lunch that he finally came to the Rongguo Mansion with gifts he had prepared in advance.

In Rongqing Hall, Jia's mother, taking advantage of her age, said with a smile, "Why did you wait until now to come? Could it be that I was late last time and you want to challenge me?"

Zhang Yunyi smiled and said, "The old lady misunderstood. She prepared some toys for the sisters to play with. Because the things are fragile, she came a little late."

After saying this, he bowed to Madam Xing, Madam Wang and Aunt Xue.

The three of them were a little restless, the difference was that Mrs. Xing and Mrs. Wang thought about the embarrassment of being humble in front of him and being criticized, so they clutched the corners of their clothes with both hands and unconsciously closed their legs.

Aunt Xue thought about the stupid thing she had done and felt flattered.

Seeing that he had finished meeting the elders, Jia's mother smiled and urged, "What new things did you bring? Let us take a look at them!"

Zhang Yunyi bowed slowly and greeted Jia Baoyu and his sisters, then he rushed outside and ordered, "Hurry and bring in the glass lantern."

Jin Chuan immediately entered with a dozen maids, each holding two glass lanterns of different shapes.

The Lantern Festival is of course a time for viewing lanterns.

Years ago, he instructed the glass factory to make some glass lanterns in advance.

After enjoying the hairpins, I plan to let everyone choose the one they like as a souvenir so that they can remember the person when they see it in the future.

Pan Lu Deng Xiaoxian is an excellent person in the first four items, but he still has some problems with time, even with the help of a time management master.

Zhang Yun逸 didn't think this was a big problem.

At present, it is in the critical stage, and he needs to hide it from both sides and bring things out later. Plus, there are always such a few days every month, and ten months of pregnancy, so it is hard to say whether it will be enough.

We’ll talk about this later.

The more gifts you give, the less blame you will get. Jia's mother always liked ostentation, and she smiled from ear to ear and said, "Although this glass factory is yours, it is not cheap. It's fine to have a few for novelty, but why do you have so many? Won't people say we are too extravagant?"

"It's not really an extravagance. It would be a shame to throw away those lanterns after using them up in previous years. Later, we will guess lantern riddles and choose two each in order. In the future, sisters will go out with these lanterns at night without worrying about them being blown out by the wind."

"Yes, yes, yes! You are really thoughtful!"

Zhang Yunyi took out another box from his arms, opened it and said, "This lantern can only be regarded as a lucky omen."

The box contains seven pearl hairpins, which were made from pink jadeite stones awarded by the emperor.

These pearl hairpins had been made long ago, but he wanted to collect all of them, but he didn't want to give any away.

I have always been struggling to find a suitable excuse, but now, during the Lantern Festival, I have the opportunity to make Xiangyun my concubine, so I can make things fair.

For someone like Daiyu and Chai, who had never had any intimate contact, the commander thought that giving her to Xiangyun alone would embarrass her.

As for Yuanchun and others, it can be interpreted that they have other intentions, thus saving him from the possibility of facing the Shura field.

As it turned out, everyone was just as he thought.

Yuanchun, Yingchun and Tanchun, with affectionate eyes, secretly glanced at someone.

Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai both looked at Shi Xiangyun unconsciously, which made her, who was already shy, blush with shame and she dared not look up even more.

That day, when she suddenly heard from Li Wan that she knew the inside story, she was still worried, fearing the strange looks from her sisters.

But unexpectedly, not only Yuanchun but also Baochai did not mention it at all.

Even Lin Daiyu, who was always sharp-tongued, not only did not make sarcastic remarks for the first time, but she was even very secretive about the fact that she was going to become a concubine.

She was quite surprised at first, but after thinking about it, she understood the reason.

If she had been a mistress to someone else, Lin Daiyu might have made fun of her, but Zhang Yunyi had the kindness to ask for medical advice.

She should look at the face of others, knowing that she was to be his concubine, so how could she be so ungrateful as to make fun of her?

Understanding this made her feel a lot more at ease.

I unconsciously looked at the pearl hairpin in the box.

The seven pearl hairpins are all made of pure gold. A huge oriental pearl is wrapped on the hairpin head, and several pink jadeite of different sizes are hung under the pendant. They look really good.

Everything else was fine, as Zhang Yun逸 had ready-made materials on hand. As for the Dongzhu pearls of normal size, it took him some effort to find them.

Of course, if there were only seven, it wouldn't be difficult to find, but Xiangyun didn't know that. He had made preparations in advance and had prepared some for Xing Xiuyun, Miaoyu and others as well.

Although the format was the same, the order of distribution was still inevitable. Before Zhang Yunyi could speak, Grandmother Jia had already stepped in and said, "Yunyi, just distribute them according to their age!"

A woman’s age is a private matter. In the original novel, in the Grand View Garden, the girls called each other sisters.

Although Grandmother Jia wanted to show Yuanchun her rights as the eldest wife, she gave Zhang Yunyi a legitimate opportunity to understand everyone's age.

Life is like a play, it depends on acting.

Although it was in front of many people, when presenting gifts, his eyes might show affection, helplessness, or a dull expression, depending on the person, and he responded to each one with ease.

After presenting the gifts one by one, he had a clear idea of ​​the age ranking of the women.

The girls took the pearl hairpins and thanked him, intending to observe Shi Xiangyun's attitude.

Unexpectedly, she was seen staring at Xue Baochai in a daze, seeming absent-minded.

What Zhang Yunyi gave happened to be a pearl hairpin, which coincided with Xue Baochai's idea.

Shi Xiangyun also looked towards her subconsciously, and by chance, she saw her tightly holding the pearl hairpin in her hand, stroking the pink jadeite hanging on the hairpin intentionally or unintentionally.

She was startled. If she remembered correctly, Sister Bao never liked these embellishments. How come...

Just as I was daydreaming, I suddenly heard Grandmother Jia say, "You guys go down first! Come back to eat later. Yun Yi, stay and talk to me for a few minutes."

Upon hearing this, Shi Xiangyun quickly lowered her head.

Zhang Yunyi knew that the real show was about to begin, so he shrugged at the girls and gave them a helpless expression.

This made Yuanchun and the others smile, cover their mouths, and leave with Madam Xing, Madam Wang, and Aunt Xue.

……

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 377 Go with the flow

After everyone left, Grandmother Jia got straight to the point and said, "A few days ago, my two nephews' wives came over and said that Yun girl was not young anymore, so they planned to make her your concubine. I have already agreed to it on your behalf."

Because she wanted to arrange an assistant for Yuanchun, she did not give Zhang Yunyi the opportunity to refuse, which was exactly what he wanted.

"Uh……"

He put on a look of surprise at the right moment, and after hesitating for a long while, he said respectfully, "Everything is up to the old lady."

At this point, he paused again and said hesitantly: "But, wouldn't it be too unfair to Sister Xiangyun?"

Fearing that he had overacted, he agreed first and then put on an act.

Grandmother Jia said in dissatisfaction: "What's wrong with that? Even the second girl can do it, so she can't do the younger one?"

Zhang Yunyi was tangled up and said, "Second sister... I really..."

He seemed to be hesitant to speak, and shook his head like a rattle.

Seeing this, Jia's mother quickly spoke frankly and comforted her, "We have no choice but to do this. With Yun girl's preparation, Er girl will not be talked about in the future."

"Forget it!" Zhang Yunyi sighed, "In this case, I'll trouble the old lady to make the decision for Yunyi!"

When Wang Mang was humble and had not yet usurped the throne, he could have secretly taken advantage of the emperor. Why did he have to expose his wolfish ambitions and tear his face off?

Anyway, time is on his side.

As long as he can go one step further, when the Rong Mansion is exposed to a financial crisis, and facing the family's settled destiny, there is no need to worry that Lady Jia will not compromise.

Grandmother Jia thought that he was just considering Yingchun, so she accepted Xiangyun and said with satisfaction: "I knew you were sensible!"

Zhang Yunyi struck while the iron was hot and said, "Although this was not my original intention, it did save my second sister from gossip. I will remember this favor. Please tell the old lady and the two ladies of the Shi family. If there are any difficulties, please feel free to ask. As long as I am able, Yunyi will never refuse."

Given Lady Jia's want-it-all personality, if it weren't for Yuanchun's reasons, I'm afraid she might not easily agree to Yingchun becoming a concubine.

Even so, for the sake of her face, she would not reveal her plan to make Yingchun a concubine until the last moment.

Among the four major families of Jia, Shi, Wang and Xue, we will not mention the Wang family for now.

Although the other families are not as powerful as before, they are still well-known and renowned families after all.

All things are difficult at the beginning. As he said, historians have made a good start in this matter.

If the Shi family had nothing to ask for, it would be impossible for them to take the initiative to let Xiangyun become a concubine, which would bring shame to their family.

Thanks to Lai Da's knowledge, he was well aware of the difficulties faced by historians.

Reciprocating a favor can not only finalize the matter, but also set an example.

In this way, with the example of Shi Xiangyun, it would at least be possible to take Xue Baochai, Xing Xiuyun and others as concubines, which would clear some obstacles and increase some bargaining chips.

Grandmother Jia knew very well what her two nephews' wives were planning. She was worried that Zhang Yun逸 would complain, so she planned to settle the matter first and then persuade him patiently after a while.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Yunyi actually took the initiative to propose it, and he was immediately overjoyed.

But he said, "It seems that I am still old, and I can't compare to you who are young and thoughtful."

After playing coy with Lady Jia for a while, he stood up and said, "Madam, please take a rest here. I'll go see my second sister-in-law."

Because Wang Xifeng was pregnant, she not only gave up her power as housekeeper, but also was exempted from the morning and evening visits and all social engagements.

If he entered the Grand View Garden now, it would not be a good idea to go to any courtyard, and he did not want to accompany the old lady Jia Mu.

The only legitimate reason was to visit Wang Xifeng.

When he arrived at Wang Xifeng's courtyard, before he could rush to the inner room, he just reached the main room when he saw Jia Lian chasing him from the wing room and said, "Brother Yi is here!"

Zhang Yunyi greeted him with a smile: "So Brother Lian is here too."

"Oh!" Jia Lian scratched his head and said, "I forgot to inform you, brother. It's not easy to have a chance to worship you. I moved back a while ago. I'll see if I can take care of you. I hope you won't mind."

As if he was worried that Zhang Yunyi would be dissatisfied, he quickly added: "Brother Yi, don't worry. I will move out after the baby is born."

Zhang Yunyi thought to himself, no wonder Jia Rong said that he didn't care about the concubines outside, which gave him the opportunity to take advantage of, so this was the reason.

He waved his hand and said, "Hey! Brother Lian, you are too polite. This is your home. Why are you asking about me after you moved back?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Jia Lian said somewhat awkwardly, "If this baby is not a son, I'll have to trouble you to try harder..."

"Hey!" Zhang Yunyi pretended to be angry and said, "Why are you and I so distant? Even if I have a child, won't you come?"

"That's right, that's right!" Jia Lian nodded and smiled like a chicken eating rice, then pointed to the inner room and said, "Brother, please do as you please. I won't go in."

Zhang Yunyi nodded and was about to step into the inner room.

But Lin Hongyu pursed her lips and walked out with a resentful look on her face.

"Master!~"

She tried her best and finally caught Zhang Yunyi's eye and switched to the East Mansion.

However, although he promised to ask her to come back, she was left to Wang Xifeng and ignored.

Years ago, Wang Xifeng was in charge of the household, and she could also help with some chores.

Now that Wang Xifeng has given up her power as housekeeper, Lin Hongyu can only do nothing.

Just now when I was in the house, I vaguely heard him talking to Jia Lian outside, and was thinking of finding an opportunity to remind him.

Unexpectedly, Wang Xifeng was worried that she would have inconvenience in the house, so she found an excuse to send her away.

Because she was worried that speaking would cause Wang Xifeng's dissatisfaction, she could only look at him with resentment, reminding him not to forget her.

Zhang Yunyi saw her inner anxiety, and without thinking, he hugged Lin Hongyu's slender waist.

He took her in his arms and brought her into the inner room.