The Red Mansion Big Liar

"Hey! Hey!" Lai Da nodded and bowed, "Lai Sheng is blind and neglected Auntie in the past. Master Yi is magnanimous and just sent him home to reflect on himself. The Lai family is very grateful."

Regardless of Lai Da's purpose, it must be said that his attitude is indeed very positive.

Instead of rushing to plead for Lai Sheng, he first praised Zhang Yun逸 for his magnanimity. This is the attitude one should have when asking for help.

The servants of the two mansions were all those who looked down on the weak. Naturally, the original owner's biological mother was a concubine's daughter, so she would not receive any preferential treatment.

However, Zhang Yunyi did not dig out any negative information from the original owner's memory about Lai Sheng's harsh treatment of his biological mother.

This was probably an excuse made up by Lai Da, otherwise he wouldn't have reminded himself and brought hatred to his family.

Don't hit a smiling person. He was very polite. Zhang Yunyi had no reason to be disrespectful, so he took advantage of his words and said, "You are seriously blaming the housekeeper. I never bear grudges. What's done is done."

"As the saying goes, a prime minister has a broad mind. Your Excellency is a man of great responsibility, so he will not take the negligence of us servants to heart."

He had some status in the Rong Mansion. When he went out of the mansion, he could not ride in a sedan chair, but it was common for him to take a carriage.

But he followed the carriage with the curtain lifted all the way, but he didn't even get on the shaft, and he couldn't help panting when he spoke.

"Your Excellency is magnanimous, but we servants should not be ungrateful. I scolded him a while ago, but Your Excellency did not punish him and just sent him back. How could he not be grateful? Even if he wanted to beg, he should have asked Your Excellency for a job as a horse stirrup puller, so that his merits could make up for his sins."

"Butler Lai is exaggerating. Even for the sake of the old lady and Nanny Lai, we cannot do this..."

"You are right, sir. You are generous and have given dignity to our old mother. The whole Lai family is deeply grateful."

He paused, took a breath, and then said, "My son was blessed by the master's grace. He was released as soon as he was born. He has also studied for two years. He also saved his career two years ago. Now he is a candidate for the Ministry of Personnel. If you don't mind, I will ask him to follow you and serve you. He will serve the family and repay your kindness!"

Zhang Yunyi was stunned for a moment. He originally thought that Lai Da was pleading for Lai Sheng, but now it seemed that he was trying to find a way out for his own son.

I was originally surprised that he was willing to humble himself for his cousins, but now it seems that he was just pitiful of the love of parents in the world.

As the chief steward of Rong Mansion, Lai Da has deep roots in the mansion, which can be seen from Yuanyang's attitude just now.

If he puts his son in his own little piece of land, it will definitely be much easier for him to do things in the Rong Mansion in the future.

You can even be your own insider.

As for the character of the Lai family, it has been nearly a year since I traveled through time, and my feelings about them are somewhat different from when I first read about them.

The original book seemed to have a filter when writing about the Jia family.

As the saying goes, when the fake is made to appear real, the real becomes fake. This is perhaps also the case with the Mirror of Love and Lust, where one side reflects a beauty and the other side reflects a skull.

Of course, he didn't care whether it was as he expected.

The head follows the butt. The Rong Mansion is not under his jurisdiction. When he arrives at the Tiangong Court, there are laws and rules to govern him.

The Lai family were just servants of the Jia family, not his relatives. If there was really something wrong, he could even take the initiative to arrest and punish them when appropriate.

However, he did not agree immediately, but asked: "Why don't you go to the old lady and the two uncles about this matter?"

If I remember correctly, Lai Shangrong's position as county magistrate was due to his relationship with the Rong family.

Lai Da was obviously stunned when he heard this, and then he said frankly: "To be honest, sir, the old lady originally agreed. It's not that the eldest girl has been blessed, and the master is worried about causing criticism..."

Although he did not specify the master he was referring to, Zhang Yun逸 guessed that it must be Jia Zheng.

Thinking of Madam Wang's words that were meant to gain fame, he couldn't help but smile and said, "If that's the case, let him go to Ning Mansion another day. I'll see him first and then we'll talk."

"Hey hey hey! Wait a moment, sir!"

Lai Da agreed hastily, then dropped the curtain and ran to the shaft of the cart, jumped on it, took the reins from the driver, lifted the curtain from the front, and shouted at the driver beside him: "Hurry up and kneel down to thank the master for his grace!"

The driver in front immediately turned around, climbed onto the shaft, knelt down in front of the door, and shouted, "Shang Rong greets you, sir. Thank you for your grace!"

Zhang Yunyi had not expected that Lai Da and his son could do this. He raised his hand and said, "Get up! You will wait for me in front of the government office at noon tomorrow. We will handle the formalities slowly. Go and gain some experience first. Start with the scribes and get familiar with the affairs of the government office."

Biteshi is just a reference to clerical officials, whose official ranks ranged from ninth to seventh rank. He was not in a hurry to make any promise.

However, even so, Lai Da and his son were very grateful.

"Thank you very much, sir! The Lai family has no way to repay your kindness in supporting us. From now on, if you have any orders, everyone in the Lai family will obey them!"

In the original book, Lai Shangrong got a county magistrate position through the Rong Mansion.

Although the scribe of Tiangongyuan was not as good as the parents of one family, he was a few years ahead of them after all, and it was at a time when the Rong family was unwilling to make a move.

Of course, people’s hearts are hidden, and Zhang Yunyi has no way of guessing what they are really thinking.

But this attitude is clearly visible.

Zhang Yun逸 was quite satisfied with this.

There was no life-and-death relationship between them, and Zhang Yun逸 did not expect them to fight to the death. He just needed to know the importance of the matter.

Moreover, when a wall falls, everyone pushes it; when a drum is broken, everyone beats it. In human society, there are many people who kick someone when he is down, but few who help him in times of need.

Instead of wasting time complaining, it is better to spend your energy thinking about how to climb up and not give others the opportunity to take advantage of you.

Zhang Yunyi nodded with satisfaction to the two people who took turns to kowtow and said meaningfully: "Since you are willing to follow me, go back and tell Lai Sheng to go back to Ning Mansion. I have another errand for him."

Helping someone is actually completely different from joining the army, but Zhang Yun逸's words undoubtedly tied the two together.

Of course, the Lai family could also pretend to obey while secretly saying one thing in front of others and another behind their backs.

But as long as Lai Shangrong is still under his command, they have to weigh the consequences.

As a person of later generations, he knows that talented people are hard to come by.

Therefore, when he learned that Zhang Cheng was well-versed in farming, he intended to promote Zhang Cheng and his son in order to win them over.

In addition to entrusting him with important tasks, he also handed over the greenhouse and grafting on the farm to him, and brought Zhang Hua into Tiangongyuan.

Although Zhang Cheng did not give up the caustic soda business, it was just a stopgap measure for Zhang Yunyi. Firstly, there was no need to give him too much power, and secondly, he did not want him to be distracted.

The reason why Lai Sheng's job was taken away was simply to make it easier to manage the servants in Ning Mansion.

Now that the Lai family is knowledgeable and sensible, there is no need to waste such a person.

Lai Da obviously understood the meaning of his words, and he secretly groaned in his heart.

As the eldest son of the Lai family, how could Lai Sheng hide the situation in the Ning Mansion from him?

He knew clearly what Zhang Yunyi had done in Ning Mansion.

However, he did not dare to reveal anything at this moment. He prayed silently that Zhang Yun逸 would not make any unreasonable requests, and then he bowed down again.

"I have no way to repay you for your kindness, so I will just follow your lead from now on."

……

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 155: Sickly and Enchanting

When a wealthy family travels, they will have plenty of preparations.

Grandmother Jia was determined to promote his marriage with Yingchun, so how could she let him feel neglected?

When the convoy arrived at the dock, it had already occupied a piece of open space, with umbrellas, tables, chairs, and even charcoal basins.

Even so, Lai Da still felt it was not enough, and stepped forward and said, "If you feel it's too cold outside, why not let Shang Rong accompany you to a nearby restaurant..."

"No need to bother!"

Zhang Yun逸 also hoped to catch a glimpse of Lin Daiyu's beauty, so naturally he did not want to miss the opportunity to see her get off the boat.

Women from wealthy families were required to stay inside the main door or outside the back door. Even if they had to go out, they would decorate the surroundings and use curtains to conceal their tracks.

Apart from chance encounters on the way to Rong Mansion, I guess the only chance you have to catch a glimpse of her from afar is when you get off the boat.

As soon as he sat down, Yuanyang came over and handed him a hand warmer, saying, "If you feel cold, I will cover you with a curtain..."

"Master is not that delicate!"

He said this, but he reached out his hand, took the heater, held it in his arms and rubbed it for a few times before handing it back to Yuanyang, saying, "I appreciate Sister Yuanyang's kindness, but you should keep it warm, don't catch a cold."

A blush flashed across Yuanyang's face, and then she waved her hand and smiled, "Master, you are not that delicate. How can a servant like me not be able to stand the wind?"

"Maid?" Zhang Yunyi looked around, then turned back to look at Yuanyang, a little confused, "Sister, are you talking about me?"

Although she knew that he was acting, Yuanyang was still inexplicably happy, but she said insincerely: "Master, please don't tease me, how can I bear it!"

Zhang Yunyi said seriously, "Sister, you are joking! Although I don't go to the mansion very often, I have heard that the old lady can't leave you for a moment. I'm afraid that even her own granddaughter is not so close to her, let alone a maid."

After he said this, Yuanyang's face showed a bit of disappointment.

What Zhang Yun逸 said was indeed correct. Lady Jia really couldn't live without her, but a maid was still a maid after all.

Even if Yingchun is as transparent as she is, when the time comes for a good marriage, Grandmother Jia will help her with all her might.

On the contrary, she has to think of every possible way to find a good home.

Seeing that Zhang Yunyi seemed to treat her differently, she felt more expectant.

She chatted with him very politely.

Zhang Yunyi didn't want to spend too much time on it, but there was no phone call at the moment, and he didn't know when the boat would arrive. He could just wait anyway, so it would be more interesting to flirt with the couple than to chat with Lai Da. He could just treat it as a way to pass the time.

About half an hour.

All I heard was a shout from the servant outside.

"Here we go! Look at the Second Master's boat!"

The two stopped talking.

Yuanyang quickly stood up, apologized to him, and brought a group of maids and servants, set up a curtain and went to the river bank.

As the dock was cramped, all ships had to dock one by one.

After a while, a petite figure in white clothes was seen on the boat that had arrived at the shore first. She stepped onto the sampan with the help of two maids.

There was no harm from electronic products here, and Zhang Yunyi had no pressure from scientific examinations. His eyesight was excellent, and although he was not close, he could still take in Lin Daiyu's pure and elegant face.

Two curved eyebrows, seemingly frowning but not frowning, were like a cloud of green mist, hanging on a pair of eyes that seemed to be full of emotion but not happy. Her eyes were clear, like a pool of clear water, with tears in their eyes and slight gasps.

Her face reveals sorrow and her delicate body is full of illness, which makes people can't help but feel love and pity for her.

It's a pity that although it is beautiful, it has not yet fully grown and is underdeveloped, so it looks too weak.

Zhang Yunyi only took a quick glance and she had already stepped off the sampan and walked into the curtain.

However, this actually made her fragile figure hidden behind the curtain.

It further highlights the delicate beauty of the beautiful flowers reflecting in the water and the willows swaying in the wind.

Only after watching the petite figure get into the sedan did Zhang Yunyi withdraw his gaze.

At this moment, Lin Daiyu's boat had already made way, and Zhang Yunyi couldn't help but look at the two people standing at the bow of the next boat.

That young man with a face as white as jade, a dashing appearance and frivolous manners must be Jia Lian.

Next to Jia Lian was standing a man with a round waist and thick back, a broad face and square mouth, a straight nose and powerful cheeks, who looked quite attractive. It was probably Jia Yucun.

Jia Lian was the first to step off the boat. He did not greet Zhang Yunyi, but laughed at Lai Da and said, "Thank you, housekeeper Lai, for coming to pick me up in person!"

Lai Da looked quite embarrassed. He bowed to Zhang Yunyi and then said to Jia Lian, "The old lady specially asked Master Yi to come here."

He specifically used the word "please" to remind Jia Lian, but he didn't notice it.

Instead, he turned around and called Jia Yucun, saying, "Brother Yucun, why don't you come back with me to meet the old lady and my second uncle."

Jia Yucun bowed slightly and said in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "I have been summoned back to the capital this time, and I have to report to the Ministry of Personnel first. I will come to apologize in person another day!"

After saying this, he bowed solemnly to Zhang Yunyi and said, "What is this gentleman's name?"

Although Zhang Yun逸 was not wearing official uniform, his clothes were extraordinary and obviously different from those of the servants.

Moreover, Jia Lian did not take Lai Da's words seriously. He had been in officialdom for a long time, but he understood the meaning of it at the first time.

"Your humble servant Zhang Yunyi greets Lord Jia."

Zhang Yunyi bowed slightly.

Putting aside other things, there is indeed a difference in quality. In public, one still needs to put in some effort to show off.

Unexpectedly, before he could even bow, Jia Yucun stepped forward and held his arm.

He shouted: "No, no! It turns out that it is Mr. Zhang who was favored by the late emperor. Please don't let Yucun down!"

Zhang Yunyi was stunned. He didn't expect that Jia Yucun, who was far away in Jinling, had heard of his name.

On the other hand, Jia Lian is indeed a little confused.

However, then again, if one of the masters of the Ning and Rong mansions could be as talented as Jia Yucun, the Jia family might not necessarily fall.