The Red Mansions

Chapter 196 Golden Mandarin Duck

Not to mention that Emperor Chongping wanted to search Zhen's family, but said that Jia Heng's dinner was over, and everyone accompanied Jia's mother in the inner hall to talk.

Sister Feng was telling jokes at the side from time to time, laughter came from the Rongqing hall from time to time, even Li Wan pursed her lips and smiled, as for Daiyu, she also held a handkerchief, covered her mouth and smiled, her shining eyes fell on Sister Feng's face.

And the laughter also passed through the green wall. In the quiet night, in a wing room next door, the solitary lamp illuminated each other, forming a pair of shadows, holding a brush, thinking hard, and writing his impressions on the letter paper. look up.

"Second Master, let's have a cup of tea." Xiren held a cup of maple dew tea and said with a chuckle, "I wrote one article tonight, and I will write another one tomorrow morning."

The first-class maid next to Baoyu, because Baoyu is still young, has not guarded herself from stealing at the moment, so let Mrs. Wang thank her.

Baoyu sighed, looked at the vast night outside the window, and said: "Sister Xiren, the old ancestors are laughing and laughing, I am not there, it seems that everyone's life is like this."

Pausing to start writing, Baoyu suddenly sighed "Brother Xun", his eyes were dazed, and his heart was filled with soreness. At some point, his nose became sour, and tears rolled in his eyes.

"Second master is hysterical again." Xiren said softly, his eyes flickered, and he couldn't think of any words to explain it, so he said softly: "Perhaps Second Grandma Lian is telling a joke. Second master write it quickly." , Tomorrow, that Uncle Heng will check on it."

Baoyu answered with tears in his eyes, and buried himself in writing.

In Honor Hall——

Mrs. Wang smiled lightly, and said: "Old lady, it's hard for Feng girl to show her face in the matter of recovering the money deficit of those companies. Brother Heng has a lot of people under his command, why don't you... send a few people to help you?" Some."

As soon as these words were said, Rong Qingtang, who kept laughing, gradually stopped.

The smile on Jiamu's face faded, and she said softly: "Baoyu's mother, what Feng girl meant just now, brother Heng is also very busy recently, so I don't want to bother you anymore, let's talk about chasing money and losing money. Our house It's not that there can't be enough manpower, let Lin Zhixiao take a few servants, and Feng girl counts the accounts."

Mrs. Wang nodded and said with a smile, "Uncle Baoyu said he would take care of this matter himself."

Obedient and listening, Jia Mu was silent when she heard the words, and after a while, she said, "I'll talk to him later."

In Rongqing Hall, after Mrs. Wang's interruption, the atmosphere of laughter disappeared suddenly.

Jia Heng also got up to say goodbye.

Jia Mu smiled and said: "Brother Heng, I'll stay with you for a while longer. I don't know how your daughter-in-law misses you at home. Go back. By the way, don't forget to open the ancestral hall to worship the ancestors the day after tomorrow. Girl Feng can make preparations tomorrow. Yuanyang, It's dark at night, you carry the lantern and see Brother Heng off for me."

Sister Feng's smile froze for a moment, and she swallowed the half-sentence "Ping'er, take the lantern and see off Uncle Heng" that came to her lips.

Jia Heng nodded and said, "The old lady also rested earlier."

As he spoke, he glanced at Li Wan, Tanchun, Yingchun, Xichun and others in the Rongqing hall, then nodded, and followed the mandarin ducks on the side out of the Rongqing hall.

Jia Heng walked to the eaves of the corridor, looked at the mandarin ducks who were wearing emerald skirts and thin powder, smiled lightly, and said: "Mandarin ducks, the night is cold and the dew is heavy, give me the lantern, and I will go back by myself."

There was a smile on the face of the mandarin duck and the duck, and said: "The old lady asked me to send Uncle Heng, so I have to send it to the door on the other side of the aisle."

Jia Heng nodded and said nothing more.

Previously, Cai Quan and Xie Zaiyi, the soldiers of the Beijing camp, had already been sent there, so there was no need to meet up, Jia Heng just walked along the corridor with Yuanyang.

The two of them were silent all the way, and walked through the hanging flower gate, perhaps because of Jia Mu's previous words of "becoming a man in a year or two", the girl's heart was somewhat ashamed, and she looked at the young man from the corner of her eyes from time to time, I saw that young man's face was clear, his expression was silent, his eyes flickered from time to time, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

The mandarin duck's pink lips moved, and said softly: "Master Heng, the old lady looks very happy today."

Jia Heng's complexion paused, and he replied with a light smile: "With Lian's second grandma here, when will the old lady be unhappy?"

Yuanyang also smiled a little bit, and said: "Today, it seems that I am much happier than usual. I have been serving the old lady for many years. Although the old lady used to be happy because of Lian's second grandma, but the old lady The worry in my heart is hidden so deep that no one else can see it, but I'm really happy today... Maybe it's because the two houses have a backbone."

When Jia Heng heard this, he was silent for a while.

Yuanyang glanced at Jia Heng's face, the smile on his face gradually faded, and said, "Master Heng, I'm the one who talks too much."

Jia Heng smiled lightly, stopped suddenly, turned around, looked at Yuanyang with a pair of shining eyes, and said, "Speaking of it, why did you suddenly mention this?"

If you think about it carefully, it is also interesting.

Previously he had said to Heping'er that it was difficult for Sister Feng to be considerate, but here, Yuanyang took the opportunity to say these words to him to make him considerate of Mother Jia's difficulties.

Back and forth, back and forth.

The mandarin duck's steps also paused slightly. Facing the young man's gaze, her pink lips twitched. She felt an urge to speak out her heart, and said in a crisp voice: "Master Heng, I am a servant girl. I dare not know it." High and low, I want to say a few words from my heart to Uncle Heng, I wonder if Uncle Heng is willing to listen?"

Jia Heng smiled lightly, and said, "Speak, I'll listen."

Yuanyang seemed to be encouraged by the young man's gentle smile, and said softly: "I know that because of the matter of the East Mansion, the uncle actually had some opinions on the people in the West Mansion earlier, but the old lady is sympathetic to the poor and the weak. Uncle Guo is not. There are also those old servants, the old lady may not be clear about it, but they just care about the old relationship. Of course, this seems a little weak in the eyes of the uncle. There are also old ladies who dote on Baoyu on weekdays. Not like Baoyu, but the old lady is also Master Yinzhu..."

At the end, she seemed worried that Jia Heng would be angry, so she paused and said softly, "Master Heng, these are all from my heart, if you don't like it, just pretend I didn't say it..."

Jia Heng nodded, sighed, and said, "But you still said it."

mandarin duck:"……"

Tan's mouth was slightly opened, and his bright eyes looked at the young man opposite him with suspicion and anger. His pretty duck-ball face was rosy and pale, showing a little embarrassment.

Jia Heng smiled and said, "I'm just kidding you."

Yuanyang Yurong paused for a moment, "Mmm", and said: "The uncle just sighed, I thought..."

Jia Heng smiled and said: "I just sighed, you know what kind of old lady is, but you don't know what kind of person I am."

After all, Jia's mother is not the Jiazhang family of Qin Man Siheyuan, Baoyu is not a stick, and Mrs. Wang is not Qin Huairu.

After hearing the young man's words, the mandarin duck trembled, and lifted up the duck-egg face with a few freckles, but it did not detract from its beauty, and stared at the man with bright eyes and a gentle smile on his face. happy boy.

Thinking of the young man's words that you misunderstood my Jia Heng, for some reason, a sense of grievance surged in my heart, and I said: "I have served the old lady for several years, so I know what kind of person the old lady is, and I have never served the uncle for a day. ..."

At the end, the duck face was a little hot, and the gnat turned its head to the side.

But in my mind, I couldn't help but think of the scene where I served the boy changing clothes that day.

Jia Heng smiled lightly and said: "If you want to serve me, I will tell the old lady tomorrow that I want you back?"

The mandarin duck heard the words and let out a "Yeah" in surprise, its duck-egg face quickly turned red and glowed with clouds, and a surge of joy that she didn't even notice surged up in her heart, her head turned to one side, her cherry lips moved, wanting to say something.

Jia Heng immediately stopped smiling and said, "I'm just kidding with you."

mandarin duck:"……"

Are you kidding?What about playing?
"No wonder the old lady said that without you, I can't even sleep well." Jia Heng raised his eyes, looked at the slender mandarin duck, and said with a faint smile, "It really is a golden mandarin duck with a beautiful heart."

Yuanyang blinked her eyes when she heard the words, and looked at the young man beside her, her heart filled with embarrassment.

A golden mandarin duck is just a golden mandarin duck. What is one?
Also, is this Uncle Heng... molesting her?
But looking at the dignified young man with a warm smile but still cold eyes, he didn't feel like it.

Jia Heng said: "I don't have any opinion on the old lady about the matter in Dongfu. She can do all the things that an old man of this age can do; as for Baoyu, he is a child, and the old man likes it." There is nothing to talk about with grandchildren, children and grandchildren around their knees; and these servants today, even if they have a dog, they still have feelings. The old lady is over sixty years old, and it is human nature to be soft-hearted. Of course, I will tell you these things , it’s not that I’m explaining, it’s just because you are a mandarin duck.”

Yuanyang heard the words, and listened to the young man's words, her heart was shaken slightly, and she looked at the young man with shining eyes.

As Jia Heng said, he also smiled lightly to himself, and said: "I have always regarded other people's suspicious eyes as like will-o'-the-wisps, and I boldly walk my own night path, but since you are willing to carry the lantern, you want to If you want to illuminate the way forward for me, I don't want to disappoint your heart of gold."

Yuanyang Yurong was stunned, and the young man's words rang in his ears. Aside from being overwhelmed by his calm and generous demeanor, a warm current surged in his heart, and that warm current was mixed with a trace of sweetness that he didn't even realize.

Just because she is a mandarin duck with a heart of gold, she doesn't want to let her down...

Um, this Uncle Heng, what exactly do you mean?
"Okay, give me the lantern."

Jia Heng smiled, said, gently pushed the girl's hand away, and took the lantern.

He still has some affection for this girl's character.

After all, Rongguo Mansion is not a quadrangle full of villains. Apart from some hideous men and women, there are also many people who make people sigh and feel uncomfortable.

For example, for this mandarin duck, Jia She wanted to accept her as an aunt, but the mandarin duck refused. Jia She said that the mandarin duck was waiting for Baoyu, and Yuanyang used scissors to cut off her hair and said, "Don't say it's Baoyu, it's precious gold, precious Heavenly King, Emperor Bao, if you don’t get married, you’re done, even if the old lady is forced to death, you can’t obey her order!”

According to the final ending, after the death of Jia Mu, Yuanyang knew that Jia She could not escape, and committed suicide by hanging herself.

Every time I saw this place in my previous life, I felt overwhelmed.

"Bao Jin, Bao Tianwang, Bao Emperor... I have to say that the author's skill in portraying the characters is profound. A few lines of dialogue make people laugh and cry, but there is an unspeakable helplessness." Jia Heng's eyes were deep, thinking.

"The twelve gold hairpins in the Dream of Red Mansions are not like this... The second sister You who swallowed gold, the third sister You who wiped her neck with a sword, Lin Daiyu who burned her poems to break her infatuation, Shi Xiangyun who crossed the crane shadow in the cold pond, and the gold hairpin in the snow. The buried Xue Baochai...so I said it at the beginning of the article, suddenly thinking about all the women of that day, and carefully examining them one by one, I felt that their behavior and knowledge were all superior to mine. "

Jia Heng suppressed the thoughts in his heart, held the lantern, looked at the mandarin ducks who were stunned, and said warmly: "Go back, the wind is strong and the dew is heavy in the autumn night, don't catch cold anymore."

Saying that, she glanced at the mandarin duck whose eyes were shining like water, and carried the lantern towards the corner door, entered the narrow passage, and within a short while, the lantern disappeared in front of the girl's eyes.

Yuanyang recalled the young man's words that were still in his ears, his heart trembled slightly, and he pinched a strand of hair in his hands. At some point, his eyes became a little crazy.

……

……

The night is dark, and it is almost Haishi.

Jia Heng left Rongguo Mansion, carried a lantern and headed towards Ningguo Mansion, walked through the bright and dark corridors to the backyard.

Looking up, he saw the lights in the back house, knowing that Keqing was waiting for him, and he felt a sense of peace in his heart.

No matter whether he is intriguing with others in the inner house or fighting in the officialdom outside, there is always one light for him among the lights of thousands of houses, and there is always a beautiful figure lingering for him under the west window, frowning for him in this vast sea of ​​people.

That kind of anchored peace of mind is not about being a person in the second life, not about being nearly thirty, accomplishing nothing, with empty hands, and not empathizing.

"Alone as a stranger in a foreign land, I miss my relatives during the festive season. In a few days, it will be the Double Ninth Festival."

Jia Heng was thinking, holding the lantern, and quickened his pace a little.

But near the courtyard, I saw Qingwen standing on the threshold, looking at the raised lantern, and calling out, "Is it the young master?"

Jia Heng smiled and said, "Qingwen, it's so late, you haven't slept yet?"

Qingwen stepped forward to take the lantern, with a smile on the melon seed face, she said: "I can't sleep, I practiced calligraphy for a while, grandma was still talking about you just now, I thought to myself, don't you just live in Xifu and never come back It's over."

Jia Heng walked into the living room, said with a light smile: "There is no place for me to sleep in the West Mansion. After busying there for a day, the old lady left food there."

As she said, she handed the cloak she was wearing to Qingwen, and said, "Have someone prepare some hot water. I'll have a good sleep after I take a bath."

When Qingwen heard this, her eyes flickered, she pursed her cherry lips, suppressed the joy in her heart, and said: "The hot water is ready, and I will go take a bath later."

Inside, Qin Keqing also seemed to have heard the conversation between the two. Accompanied by Baozhu and Ruizhu, she came out with a smile on her face and said pleasantly, "Husband, you are back."

Jia Heng nodded, picked up the teacup on the side, took a sip, and said with a smile: "The ancestral hall will be opened the day after tomorrow to worship the ancestors. Tomorrow, you will discuss with the Second Mistress Lian in the West Mansion, and try not to mess up the banquet to celebrate the conferment." It’s too ostentatious and wasteful.”

Although it is for the purpose of paralyzing the Sanhe gang, it is better not to be too extravagant. It is easy to go from frugal to extravagant, but it is difficult to go from extravagant to frugal.

(End of this chapter)