The Red Mansion Big Liar

As for the greenhouse, he had already asked the emperor for permission in advance, and all the glass produced by the factory during this period was sent to the farm.

That day, when I came back from the farm outside the city and just got off the carriage, I heard Youshi come up to me and say, "The old lady sent Yuanyang again, saying that Lian Er and Miss Lin will arrive at the dock at noon tomorrow, and she was afraid that you forgot to pick them up."

"Is there something wrong?" Zhang Yunyi asked puzzledly.

"I heard that Lian Er and Miss Lin are coming back tomorrow, and the old lady wants you to go to the dock to welcome them."

Because Jia Zhen caused Jia Baoyu to be beaten last time, Grandmother Jia was determined to let Yingchun take the blame, so she no longer relied entirely on Jia She and his wife, and began to secretly make efforts to add fuel to the fire.

However, she could not be as direct as Mrs. Xing, but instead adopted a roundabout tactic.

After all, Zhang Yun逸 lived in Ning Mansion and was busy with official duties. He was unlike the other playboys in the Jia family who had nothing to do all day long.

Although he was quite interested last time, he had to give up because of Jia Zhen's disturbance.

I am afraid that when Jia Zhen returns, he will inevitably spread the news and put an end to his thoughts. Therefore, he needs to be given more opportunities to enter the mansion, so as to let him see his family's attitude clearly and to give him some opportunities to meet Yingchun.

After all, Jia She and Jia Zheng are the elders, and Jia Baoyu is inexperienced. Asking them to invite him would not only be inappropriate, but Jia Zhen would probably become suspicious.

Jia Lian, as Yingchun's brother and about the same age as Yingchun, is the most suitable person to make friends with.

However, Jia Lian had been away from Beijing for nearly a year and had missed the opportunity to get to know Jia Zhen. How could he not be suspicious when he suddenly came to invite Jia Zhen?

Therefore, I took the opportunity of coming back this time to let the two of them meet, and also to lay an ambush for inviting him to my house often in the future.

Zhang Yun逸 was still unclear about the reason.

But when he heard that Lin Daiyu was coming back, he became interested and hurried to the hall.

The Yuanyang in the hall stood up quickly and bowed to him: "Greetings, Master Yi!"

Zhang Yunyi returned the greeting and asked knowingly, "Sister Yuanyang is polite! But what does the old lady want?"

The two are of similar age and are just maids serving their elders. Calling her "sister" shows respect for their elders.

Only now did he begin to take stock of this confidant of Lady Jia.

She was wearing a lotus-colored silk jacket with a green satin vest on the outside. Although it was the uniform style for the maids in Rong Mansion, there was a narrow strip of brocade border on the edge, which made her different from ordinary maids. She was wearing a water-green skirt, which was wrapped in the hem of the silk jacket, with only one foot exposed.

She has a slim waist, narrow back, oval face, black hair, and a high nose bridge. Although there are a few freckles on both cheeks, they are just right and do not affect her appearance at all. Instead, they add a unique charm.

While he was looking at the mandarin duck, the mandarin duck was also looking at him.

As the most trusted maidservant beside Lady Jia, she knew exactly what Lady Jia and the first wife were thinking.

He looked at Zhang Yunyi with a bit of curiosity and scrutiny.

Because he was trusted by Lady Jia, not only the servants in the mansion, but even young masters like Jia Lian and Jia Baoyu looked at him differently.

Over time, her standards became more refined.

However, a maid is still a maid after all, and when she reaches a certain age, she will inevitably have to be paired with a servant.

But looking at the entire Rong Mansion, is there any servant who could catch her eye?

If you look down on servants, the only way out is to become a maid or concubine.

But taking Aunt Zhao as a lesson, how similar is the current Jia Baoyu to the former Jia Zheng?

If she followed him, she would inevitably be caught between Lady Jia and Lady Wang, and even the coming Second Lady Bao, and become a victim.

As for the two masters, Jia Zheng was not worthy of mentioning them anymore, and Jia She, who was old, lustful, easily bored with the old and eccentric, and also had an abominable appearance, was not even considered.

Originally, only Jia Lian was suitable, but Wang Xifeng was jealous and had a bad reputation, so she was hesitant for a while.

Now, there is one more Zhang Yunyi.

Although he is not from the Rong Mansion, if Yingchun really marries into the Zhang family, they will have to hire a few concubines.

Therefore, in addition to curiosity, there was also a bit of scrutiny in his eyes.

However, how could she be Zhang Yunyi's opponent? She was defeated after staring at him for only three seconds. She blushed and said, "Mr. Lian and Miss Lin will be back tomorrow. They are the younger generation and it is not easy for them to trouble the two masters to go and greet them. The old lady wants to trouble Mr. Yi to go there."

She paused and continued, "I dare not trouble Master Yi, but there is a brother from the same family who is traveling with us. He was originally the prefect of Jinling and happened to be the replacement in Beijing. If someone else were to come, it would seem to be neglectful. Master, you just need to come back before noon tomorrow. The carriage in the mansion will be ready. Then I will come to pick you up and travel with you."

The latter paragraph was actually meant for Youshi and other people in Ning Mansion. Jia Zhen was just an idle person, so why not let him go and why bother Zhang Yun逸?

This reason couldn't be more appropriate.

Zhang Yunyi smiled and said, "Oh? Could it be that Sister Yuanyang will come with us?"

How could he refuse the opportunity to see Lin Daiyu in advance?

However, he always has his eyes on the pot while eating from the bowl, and of course he would not miss the opportunity to flirt with the mandarin ducks.

Although he didn't know Yuanyang's true thoughts, he was an expert. He could clearly see that she looked embarrassed during their eye contact just now. How could he miss such an opportunity?

Now, he is no longer the same as before. Even after seeing the beauty of Aunt Zhao, Jia Zheng still endured it. What's the big deal about teasing the maid?

However, when he asked this, it seemed as if he was bound to the mandarin duck.

How could she possibly resist?

A blush appeared on her face, and she whispered, "The old lady is worried about Miss Lin, so I want to go with her to take care of her."

Zhang Yunyi clapped his hands and said with a smile, "That's good! Please ask Sister Yuanyang to report to the old lady and tell her that I will be back early tomorrow and waiting for you."

He deliberately emphasized the last sentence, and Yuanyang was so embarrassed that she didn't dare to raise her head and hurriedly said goodbye and left.

……

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 153: Wherever you go

When I first heard that Lin Daiyu was about to come back, I couldn't help but imagine her appearance and figure.

Although he had never seen her before, Qin Keqing combined the beauty of Dai Yu and Baochai Yu. Xue Baochai had seen her before, so he could roughly imagine what she looked like by just slightly adjusting the similarities between the two in his mind.

The evening inevitably became more interesting, so much so that there was constant sobbing in Tianxiang Tower, and it was not until the fourth watch that peace was restored.

Early the next morning.

Zhang Yunyi had just sat up from the bed when two white and tender arms came from behind and wrapped around his neck.

Qin Keqing's face was pressed against his from behind, and she said angrily, "Uncle, why didn't you let mother-in-law serve you last night? You made Keqing suffer twice in a row... If you get pregnant with uncle's child by accident, then you won't be able to..."

She blinked twice and asked tentatively: "Or...has uncle changed his mind?"

Zhang Yunyi turned his head, pinched her nose, and said unhappily, "Don't even think about it! If you get pregnant, this drama ends here!"

Seeing Qin Keqing's eyes rolling, he warned: "Don't use those messy methods!"

Qin Keqing placed one side of her face on his shoulder, facing him, and said with a look of resentment: "It seems that uncle is tired of his nephew's wife..."

Although he knew she was acting, Zhang Yunyi was still moved. He lowered his head and kissed the complaining little mouth.

At the same time, he grabbed her delicate hand and pulled it down.

For a long time, the lips are divided.

Zhang Yunyi pretended to be angry and said, "Are you tired of it? Do you know what's going on now?"

Qin Keqing shook her arms lightly, blushing as she said, "You can't blame my nephew's wife for having wild thoughts. Although my uncle had sex with me twice yesterday, he didn't act like a man-eater like he did before. Instead, he was much gentler."

Zhang Yunyi couldn't help feeling a little ashamed, as he was thinking about Lin Daiyu's delicate figure. He couldn't help but worry that he would move too much and hurt the fragile Lin Daiyu.

I didn't expect Qin Keqing to be so perceptive and notice the changes.

Of course he couldn't admit it, so he just perfunctorily said, "In the past, either my sister-in-law would share the burden, or Baozhu and the others would be there. This time you are alone, and the master is in the mood again, so we have to take it slow, otherwise you can't bear it."

After he said this, Qin Keqing finally let go of her suspicion and hurriedly bowed her head to admit her fault, saying, "It was my niece's wife who wrongly accused me, uncle. I am now apologizing to you..."

……

Because Qin Keqing was so sincere in her apology, she choked up and hesitated for a long time before she finally expressed her sincerity, which delayed her morning exercise.

He had to eat breakfast in a hurry and rushed to the yamen.

Now, although there is one more factory, with the help of forms, the relevant personnel of Tiangong Institute each perform their duties with clear responsibilities, which reduces the hassle of wrangling and improves efficiency.

All he needs to do is to manage the people he uses, evaluate them, and coordinate the overall situation. It's quite an easy job for him.

However, now that winter has arrived, he still needs to make decisions on the charcoal tributes that come in at the end of the year, as well as the assessment rewards within the government.

The Tanjing Yamen had its own rules, which simply distributed money according to rank, and he did not carry out any large-scale reforms.

Just take out a single copy from the government's small treasury, and any family with a child under the age of ten or an elderly person over the age of sixty can get an extra copy.

After all, the system has to be implemented by people. Even if the original intention is good, it is easy to be exploited when it comes to execution.

Therefore, he did not screen the needy families and provide them with special care, but chose a one-size-fits-all approach and only took care of the elderly and children.

After all, the treatment at Tiangongyuan is not bad. Even if the family is really in difficulty, the adults can get through it, but the elderly and children may not be able to withstand it.

He didn't make the assessment too complicated.

There are only three standards: exceeding the target, meeting the target, and failing to meet the target.

!, Only you can decide the excess, and for the other two, formulate the standards and submit them to the people below for verification.

After finishing the work in the yamen, it was almost time.

He got on the carriage and returned to Ning Mansion. After a little hesitation, he changed into casual clothes.

Although Lady Jia had said before that she asked Jia Yucun for help because they were traveling together, Jia Yucun was only a fourth-rank official now. Although he was two levels higher than Jia Yucun, he was a Beijing official one level higher, so the gap between them was not that big.

Not to mention that he had the emperor's favor by his side, and it would seem too serious if he went to pick him up in official uniform.

In the time it took to eat a meal and change clothes, Ningrong Street in front of the two mansions was already crowded with people lined up in a row. There were dozens of servants accompanying them, a sedan chair, and more than a dozen horse-drawn carriages.

He stepped out of the west corner gate of Ning Mansion and happened to see Yuanyang and a wealthy middle-aged man in a brocade robe coming towards him.

"Master Yi!" The man came forward quickly, holding his robe, bowed and said with a smile, "Master Lai greets you! Everything has been arranged here, and I am just about to invite you."

Zhang Yunyi curled his lips, glanced at Yuanyang who was following behind him and bowed to him, then waved his hand and said, "Let's go!"

I had originally thought of taking the opportunity to invite Yuanyang to ride with me, but now it was not easy to ask directly in front of Lai Da.

"Master Yi, please!"

Lai Dayao bowed lower and lower, opened his arms and made a gesture of invitation.

After Zhang Yun逸 passed him, he straightened up and followed closely.

He led Zhang Yun逸 to the front, the large and luxurious four-wheeled carriage, and personally brought the sedan chair.

Zhang Yunyi got on the carriage and lifted the curtain. Seeing Lai Dazheng ordering people to remove the sedan chair, he turned around and looked at Yuanyang, saying calmly, "It's very spacious here. I think Sister Yuanyang shouldn't bother you. Just come up and squeeze in."

Yuanyang pursed her lips, glanced at Lai Da in front of her, bowed deeply and said, "Master Yi, this is not allowed. This car was specially prepared by the old lady for you and Master Lian. I am not allowed to sit in it with my status."

After hearing what she said, Zhang Yunyi no longer forced it.

Yuanyang was able to be by Lady Jia's side and was entrusted with important tasks, so she certainly couldn't be a naive person. She looked at Lai Da intentionally or unintentionally before she politely declined, which was obviously a hint.

As the chief steward of Rong Mansion, he naturally didn't need to do such things as pulling the horse's stirrups himself. However, he took a very humble attitude today. Considering that Lai Sheng had his job taken away by him, his purpose was obvious.

Lai Da probably didn't want anyone to be present, because when he went with Yuanyang just now, he probably had already informed everyone in advance.

He would definitely have to go deeper into the Rong Mansion in the future. He didn't want to offend the Lai family too much, and he also wanted to hear what Lai Da had to say.

Besides, given his current status, there was no need for him to spend too much time on a maid.

The flirtation was just a spontaneous impulse, and this invitation was just to show my attitude.

He knew very well that if Jia She forced her to marry him in the future, Yuanyang would be put in a dilemma, and she would even swear a poisonous oath to prove her determination. The slight hint he gave her now was just to leave her an option.

The goal has been achieved, so there is no need to take it too seriously.

"Let's go!"

Following a shout from Lai Da outside the curtain, the carriage moved slowly.

……

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 154 Follow the lead

His guess turned out to be correct.

The carriage had only been moving for a while when the curtain on the side was lifted. Lai Da, who was outside, called out to Zhang Yunyi, "Master Yi, do you have any other instructions?"

Knowing that this was just an introduction, Zhang Yunyi did not expose it. He shook his head and said, "Thank you for the steward's thoroughness. I am just a personal appearance. You can do whatever you want."