Honglou Xing

When Aunt Xue heard that Mother Jia proposed marriage to Lin Ruhai, she immediately became furious.She rewarded the little girl who sent the message with money, and went straight to Mrs. Wang's residence early the next morning.

After Madam Wang woke up, she felt a little better, she was helped up by the maid, and she half leaned against the big stone-blue cushion.Just getting up and tossing like this, Mrs. Wang broke out in a lot of cold sweat.Yin Chuan served him with tea carefully, and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.

After drinking tea, Mrs. Wang remembered that she still had something important to do about the construction of the Palace, so she ordered Yin Chuan to invite the eldest lady.She is sick now, if Mrs. Xing dared to reject her after she came, she would dare to faint to her and put all the fault of her serious illness on Mrs. Xing's head.

Mrs. Wang was contemplating joyfully when she suddenly saw Aunt Xue coming in angrily, with a very bad expression on her face.

Mrs. Wang frowned, and asked her what happened with great concern.

Aunt Xue saw that Mrs. Wang was sick and pale, almost bedridden, so she took a deep breath and sat down first.

Mrs. Wang knew that something was wrong with her, so she asked her what happened.

Aunt Xue took a deep breath, squinted her eyes and questioned Mrs. Wang: "Why did you promise me earlier, you said something every time and then went to propose marriage to the old lady, but until today, I haven't heard any news."

Mrs. Wang sneered: "I was going to mention it, but look at my current body. My sister is so anxious, can't you let me go for a few days?"

When Aunt Xue heard Mrs. Wang's words, her heart burst into flames.Mrs. Wang is now saying how unreasonable she seems to be, not counting how long it has been since Xue's family lived in Rongfu.Every time Mrs. Wang promised her vowedly, but in the end she didn't say a word to Jia Mu.

Mrs. Wang saw that Aunt Xue was unreasonable, and when she thought of her current situation, she felt even more sad and angry.

Aunt Xue endured it for a long time, but finally couldn't bear to see Mrs. Wang's dismal appearance. She sighed and her expression softened. "Sister, don't blame me for being anxious, maybe you don't know yet, an old lady proposed marriage to the Lin family in person yesterday."

"What?" Mrs. Wang stared round in surprise, she didn't know where the strength came from, and grabbed Aunt Xue's wrist fiercely.

Aunt Xue cried out in pain, and Madam Wang let go.

"Sister, I—"

"You don't know, I don't blame you." Aunt Xue sighed, observing Mrs. Wang's guilty look, she felt a little relieved, and continued, "The Lin family didn't fancy this marriage at all. Your old lady insisted on forcing it. The Lin family's father and daughter moved away overnight last night."

Mrs. Wang raised her eyebrows in surprise, thinking that her son had been rejected, she asked in great dissatisfaction, "Really moved?"

"Yes." Aunt Xue responded in a low voice, and then said, "Sister should also know why I came to you. You have agreed to me for this marriage no less than ten times. I have been willing to wait with my girl. It is indeed such news. Sister, put yourself in my place and think about it. I will feel better when I hear this? I am here today for no other reason than to ask you a question. Is the relationship between our two sisters knotted or not? ?”

"Yes, of course. Sister, you should know that I have long regarded Baochai as a daughter-in-law in my heart." Mrs. Wang nodded firmly.

Aunt Xue sneered: "Sister, don't prevaricate me with such words anymore, three days! If I hear the news from the old lady within three days, we can talk about this marriage. If not, our girl can't afford to wait." , It’s not too late to think about it early.”

"Three days?" Mrs. Wang was a little excited and coughed twice.

Seeing that her situation was not right, Aunt Xue quickly finished her sentence: "Yes, it will only be three days, sister, don't blame me for being cruel, your old lady suddenly proposed marriage to the Lin family, and you really want to call me Mrs... Elder sister, people are shameless. If the truth is that we can't do it, let's make it clear." Aunt Xue said, and hurriedly said goodbye to Mrs. Wang.

Mrs. Wang still had a lot of words in her stomach and wanted to say, but seeing people leave, her chest became more and more depressed, and she felt so uncomfortable that she was dying.

Yin Chuan brought the medicine and wanted to serve Mrs. Wang to drink it. Mrs. Wang hurriedly got up and went to see Jia Mu.

"Ma'am, your body is too weak to walk around on the ground now. Once your root is injured, it will not be easy to recover."

Mrs. Wang was irritated, but Yin Chuan was not allowed to talk too much, she gave him a look, "Stop talking nonsense, prepare the sedan chair."

Yin Chuan felt helpless and told herself to meddle in her own business, so it didn't matter if the second wife was in good health or not.Anyway, this master is dead, and she will have other masters to serve her in the future.

Mrs. Wang arrived at the place in a sedan chair in a daze.As soon as Jia Mu heard that she was coming, she hurriedly called Yuanyang to meet her.Yuanyang frowned and helped Mrs. Wang into the house.

Jia's mother was worrying about her marriage with the Lin family, and she thought that Mrs. Wang came here only when she was recovering from her illness.She was really surprised when she saw Mrs. Wang being dragged in with a pale face and powerless.

"You—" Mother Jia opened her mouth, not knowing what to say.Mrs. Wang is ill now, so she will not open her mouth to scold a patient.

"Old ancestor!" Mrs. Wang choked up.

Jia Mu nodded, and quickly gave way to her, telling her to rest where she was sitting and lying, while she sat on the bench next to her.

"Is something wrong with you?"

Mrs. Wang moved her eyeballs and shook her head. "It's nothing serious. I heard that the ancestor is going to be engaged to Baoyu, so I want to join in the fun."

"Hey, you can just send someone to ask about such a trivial matter, why come here in person. Look at your current body, how can you do it if you don't take good care of it." Mother Jia sighed.

Mrs. Wang continued to ask: "Old Ancestor, I heard that you proposed marriage to the Lin family?"

Jia Mu frowned: "Well, but your brother-in-law Lin is cold-tempered and has high eyes, so he doesn't look down on our family at all."

"Perhaps brother-in-law Lin has a good place to arrange for his daughter. If this marriage is not successful, it will not be successful. The twisted melon is not sweet, so why should we add trouble." Mrs. Wang gritted her teeth.

Jia Mu frowned even deeper: "You really think so?"

Mrs. Wang nodded, and softly persuaded Jia's mother: "How can my daughter-in-law not understand your ancestor's thoughts? You are reluctant to part with that child Lin, and you only want to make this marriage because of Baoyu's future. But you always think about it." , brother-in-law Lin has already refused to go to this job, what can we do? It's better to stop thinking about it and change to someone else."

Jia Mu sneered, knowing that the last sentence was the purpose of Mrs. Wang's visit.

Mrs. Wang didn't intend to say that thoroughly, some words were too clear and purposeful.Mrs. Wang saw that the fire was almost over, and her body was about to collapse from overdrawing, she hurriedly said goodbye, leaving Jiamu alone to think.

"By the way, regarding the matter of the palace, the younger siblings disagree, but the Xue family wants to contribute, and the daughter-in-law hasn't figured out whether to respond or not." Mrs. Wang said this before leaving.

Mother Jia listened in a daze, and sneered in her heart.Isn't this implying to her that as long as she agrees to get married with Xue's family, they will help Rongfu with money.

Mother Jia was in a dilemma for a while, and she had no backbone.After thinking about it for a long time, Jia's mother finally decided to call Mrs. Xing to discuss it and see what she had to say.

"My daughter-in-law disagrees with the palace. With our family's situation, we really don't have any spare money to build another palace. Even if we have money, I don't recommend doing this. It's a big tree."

Mother Jia frowned. Although she didn't agree with the elder daughter-in-law's statement, she really had nothing to refute.It is always reasonable and right to be diligent and thrifty in housekeeping.

"Baoyu's marriage, what do you think?"

When Mrs. Xing heard this, her expression turned pale, and she looked at Jia's mother hesitantly: "Mother, don't blame your daughter-in-law for saying harsh words. You should have listened to me in the first place, so why bother to mention it to the Lin family. It's good now. Well, the two families are in such a mess, why did my master and I stop their father and daughter last night, we just didn't stop them. The Lin family has a scholarly family for generations, and it's a single lineage, born with a sense of pride, how could we force them to come here? "

Jia Mu stiffened her neck and muttered in dissatisfaction: "What a wonderful marriage, he just can't think about it. He must rely on his girl to climb high branches. How can Gao Zhier be so easy?"

"Mother, you are Baoyu's real grandmother. You are full of him. You think that your child is good in everything. But think about it, Baoyu is good in everything, but not good at all. He doesn't like reading. Don't seek to make progress, even his father knows about it, and he doesn't scold him every time he sees him. Brother-in-law Lin is very talented, and he is a famous Tanhua Lang with a previous record. You said he can stand the marriage of a talented son-in-law Is it his daughter?" Finally, Xing couldn't help it, and decided to clarify the matter with Jia's mother.

Jia Mu frowned, she had never heard such a bad word in her life, and she still slandered her precious grandson Baoyu!Mother Jia was so angry that she slapped the table twice, and even the ground trembled twice. Her lips trembled for a long time, but she couldn't say a word.

It became increasingly difficult for her to refute her elder daughter-in-law.

"I think my brothers and sisters like the eldest girl of the Xue family. This girl is calm and generous, with a good temper and a better body. There is a saying that she has a good relationship with Baoyu. I think it is a true match." Mrs. Xing.

Jiamu narrowed her eyes and said in disgust, "But she is the daughter of a merchant."

"After the girl's family gets married, she will follow her in-law's family. Who cares about her background, and the emperor's business is not ashamed." Worthy of Baoyu!

When Jia Mu heard this, she frowned and pondered.

Mrs. Xing raised her eyebrows and smiled lightly.She thinks it is the rarest thing that people don't dislike Baoyu.If she were Aunt Xue, she wouldn't be so stupid as to marry her daughter to such a worthless child.It doesn't matter if you have a poor family background, knowing how to make progress is the most important thing.

In the end, Jia's mother still hesitated, and sent Xing away irritably.

The Xing family also didn't want to stay longer, and the left and right Lin's family also moved away. As for Baoyu's marriage to Cheng Baochai, it has nothing to do with her, and it is not a threat.

On the way back, Xing happened to meet Xue Baochai, Shi Xiangyun, Tanchun and other girls.When Shi Xiangyun saw Mrs. Xing, he remembered the embarrassment he had when he watched the play last time, and his complexion suddenly turned bad. With tears in his eyes, he lowered his head aggrieved.Baochai and Tanchun were generous, and greeted Xing with a smile.

Mrs. Xing greeted them with a smile to have fun, and remembered that Jia She came back yesterday and brought some deer, so she ordered someone to send some venison to the girls.

Baochai smiled and complimented: "Follow your wife, and you will have delicious food. From now on, we will stick to you often, and we will enjoy our mouths."

"Look at Baochai's sweet mouth." Tanchun intentionally amused her, calling her Baochai.

Baochai didn't mind either, and smiled innocently.

Seeing that the atmosphere was relaxed, Shi Xiangyun forgot about the past, and wanted to join in the fun, and said cheerfully: "Let's go to the yard to roast deer preserved, paired with the chilled wine from Sister Bao's house, wouldn't it be fun?"

The rest of the people almost drooled when they heard it, and hurriedly nodded their heads.

Shi Xiangyun became even more excited, and casually suggested: "Let's call the second sister to have a lively time together."

Baochai's smile faded, and she looked at Xing.

Xing smiled slightly: "She can't, she is going to get married in a few days, and she is too busy with many things."

Shi Xiangyun answered cheerfully, "It's not too late."

Xing raised the corners of her lips and told Baochai to wait. As for Shi Xiangyun, she didn't even look at it.

It wasn't until Xing Shi turned around and left that Shi Xiangyun realized that he had been left out in the cold by Xing Shi.She looked at Baochai and the others incomprehensibly, and they also looked at herself with strange eyes. Shi Xiangyun didn't understand why, but felt extremely wronged, and tears immediately fell down.

Baochai and Tanchun hurried to coax her and wipe her tears.

After the girls returned to the house, Shi Xiangyun dared to complain: "How did I offend her?"

"You, next time learn to read words and demeanor. The eldest wife is now a unique figure in the Rong Mansion, and no one can afford to provoke her." Baochai persuaded in a low voice.

Shi Xiangyun cried even more when he heard the words. She is from the old lady's natal family anyway, and she didn't do anything rebellious. Why should the old lady want to be so cold to her? This feeling of being ignored is too uncomfortable, it's better to just scold her. The sentence is refreshing.

Tanchun sneered: "You have a big heart. When you were listening to the opera, you slipped your tongue and said what Sister Lin said, and you have offended him. Now everyone has forgotten about it with great difficulty. Today, you disobeyed her without knowing what is good or bad." Meaning. What did they say, you can’t come because you are busy with the big wedding, but you have to force someone to come, can the eldest wife give you a cold shoulder?”

Baochai pursed her lips, nodded, and stretched out her hand to protect Shi Xiangyun, coaxing her well.

The girls sent someone to inform Baoyu's maid earlier, and they got the news as soon as Baoyu came back, so they hurried over to join in the fun.I didn't see the food and wine, but I saw Sister Shi crying non-stop.

"What's going on here?"

Tanchun is busy talking to Baoyu about his passing.

Baoyu was so angry that she felt wronged for Shi Xiangyun: "Why, she has covered the sky with one hand in our Rongfu! I just don't believe it. Sister Shi, don't worry, I will go and find the old ancestor to make the decision."

Shi Xiangyun stretched out his head from Baochai's arms, stopped crying, and looked at Baoyu moved.Inspired by the adoring eyes, Baoyu became even more morale, and hurriedly turned around and went back to Jiamu.

Jia's mother didn't expect Baoyu to come back, and Yuanyang greeted all the maids in the room for a lecture, reminding everyone not to tell Baoyu about the failure of the marriage proposal with the Lin family.Baoyu heard it clearly outside the door at this moment, and immediately rushed in like crazy, crying and asked Jia Mu if it was true.

Mother Jia was taken aback for a moment, and finally sighed helplessly and nodded.

Baoyu was so frightened that she didn't say anything, just sat on the ground and cried, calling for sister Lin.The maids quickly helped him up and led him back to the house.Baoyu was still crying, refusing to recognize or listen to anyone's words. Finally, tired of crying, Fang fell asleep in a daze.

Only then did Jia's mother have the opportunity to ask the question: "Why did he come back all of a sudden?"

The maid in front of Ziyou Baoyu told Jia Mu about the girls.When Jia Mu heard that no one was wrong, she couldn't blame anyone.

Shi Xiangyun got the news of Baoyu's bewilderment, but felt that he caused the trouble, and thinking that she was disliked by the eldest wife in Rongfu, she would be aggrieved if she stayed any longer, so she simply packed up her things and said goodbye to Jia Mu, and she didn't want to come back again. up.

Xing didn't have the time to worry about what a little girl thought of her. She always talked to people who were interested, and those who didn't, simply became cold.Xing didn't mean to criticize anyone specifically, but if others thought too much, she wouldn't explain anything.If the other party is not important, it doesn't matter even if you don't know her.

When Baochai saw Baoyu's bewilderment, she had a calculation in her heart.After she and Aunt Xue visited Baoyu, they went back to the room and stopped talking.Aunt Xue was very worried about her, hugged her daughter and coaxed her for a long while, only to see that she couldn't hold back anymore, with tears in her eyes.

"Mom, we live in Rongfu just for that? It's not worth it!" Baochai whimpered.After staying in the Rongguo Mansion for the second time, she found that many things had changed, the status of the second room had changed, the atmosphere of the Rong Mansion had also changed, and the servants were not as good as they used to be. .After all, everything has become more orderly, and everything is developing in a good direction, but it just makes her feel depressed and helpless.

"Good boy, what do you mean?"

"Mother, I'm afraid this marriage is not that good." Baochai stammered with a blushing face, and then she added, "If it was a good marriage, how could the Lin family refuse..."

"Good boy, don't think too much. I heard that the Lin family will reject this marriage, because they want to climb high, as if they want to assign Miss Lin to someone like the prince."

"Really?" Baochai looked surprised. She felt that her appearance and talent were comparable to Daiyu's, and her personality was much better than Daiyu's, which made her more popular.The only difference between the two of them is their birth. They never thought that the daughter of the official family could marry so well, but she had to think of ways to marry such a half-bad person.

"No, this is the difference in birth. Do you understand why I have to marry you into an official family now? In the future, your children will not suffer from this crime." Aunt Xue sighed.She has already invested too much energy and financial resources in Rongfu, and if she withdraws at this time, all the previous efforts will be in vain.

Baochai somewhat understood what her mother said, so she stopped arguing and obeyed her mother's arrangement.From the bottom of her heart, she still likes Baoyu, and Baoyu's temperament is not bad, so she just needs to teach him more in the future.For this, Baochai is still very confident. She feels that she still has the ability to teach Baoyu to make progress.

Three days later, there was no letter from Mrs. Wang and Jia Mu.Sure enough, Aunt Xue asked someone to tidy up and salute, and took her daughter Baochai to say goodbye to Jia Mu.Aunt Xue's trick is called playing, playing hard to get.

Mother Jia was a little panicked, and tried to persuade their mother and daughter to stay, but Aunt Xue politely declined and insisted on leaving.Jia's mother had no choice but to ask Xing's to give it to her.

The next day was the day of Jia Lian's reunion, and the Xing family had many things to do.Aunt Xue was very sensible, she took her daughter to leave without asking Mrs. Xing for a few steps.When Mrs. Wang heard that Aunt Xue had taken someone away, she was very emotional and vomited blood and fell into a coma.While the Xing family was arranging happy events, they also had to take care of Mrs. Wang's condition.

When the bride Liu Shi came in, Xing Shi finally breathed a sigh of relief.Early in the morning, Mrs. Xing and Jia She drank daughter-in-law's tea, and began to scrutinize the new Second Mistress Lian.At the age of 28, he looks dignified and upright, with a small round face and a pair of almond eyes, which narrow into a slit when he smiles, which is really pleasing.This Liu's mouth is also sweet, and he speaks crisply.Jia Lian was obsessed with his new daughter-in-law, no matter what she said, Jia Lian couldn't help looking at her and smiling dotingly.

Mrs. Xing felt that Mrs. Liu had kept Jia Lian, and was very satisfied. She greeted Mrs. Liu with a smile, and handed over the two land deeds to Mrs. Liu. "This is for you young couples. Save all the money you have saved. Do what you like. The important thing is that you can live your own life."

When Mrs. Liu heard this, she knelt down with a thud, thanked Mrs. Xing obediently, and even took Jia Lian to thank her.Before Mrs. Xing could mention it, Mrs. Liu stated that she would definitely treat Sister Qiao 120 points, and she would never have any selfish intentions.

"Regardless of my daughter-in-law giving birth to children in the future, I will definitely treat Sister Qiao as my own. No, it must be closer than my own. I also invite the master, wife, and the second master to supervise me. If I criticize her at all Where you are, even if you punish me, please ask the heavens to strike me with thunder and strike me to death!"

"Bah, on a happy day, if you say something inauspicious, hurry up and apologize to the master and wife." Jia Lian laughed, since he married his wife, his lips seemed to have changed.For the first time, Jia Lian felt what it means to live a life. He felt at ease, and he also wanted to miss and protect his family.

Jia Amnesty was very happy to see their husband and wife singing in harmony.

The family immediately went to ask for gifts from Jia Mu. Mother Jia just asked Mrs. Liu a few words, and she fell in love with the child, and she also became more and more impressed with Mrs. Xing's ability as the housekeeper.

Seeing that Jia's mother was happy, Xing raised her eyebrows to signal Jia's amnesty.

Jia Amnesty got the instruction, coughed, and said to Jia Mu: "Mother, there is something that my son thinks I should tell you. Brother-in-law Lin is planning to continue."

"What? Then what about my poor granddaughter? No, I have to bring her back." Mother Jia got up excitedly.

Mrs. Xing hurriedly went to grab Jia Mu: "Mother, brother-in-law Lin's reunion is for Miss Lin, do you think she can still suffer?"

"That's right, look at me, old ancestor, and you will never have second thoughts about sister Qiao." Liu Shi helped Xing Shi agree.

Mother Jia frowned and looked at Liu Shi: "You and I believe it, but who knows what kind of character he is looking for. Once she scolds my precious granddaughter, she will be fine. I don't feel at ease with anyone, Lin girl. Only in front of me can I rest assured!"

"Mother, you have to trust brother-in-law Lin's vision. You can't be wrong. If you can have a son and a half daughter after the reunion, it's good. If you can't have a child, Lin girl's child will be adopted in the future, and someone will look after her in the back house."

"No!" Mother Jia insisted not to agree, her lips trembling, obviously very angry.Jia's mother got up arguing, and now she was going to Lin Ruhai's house to settle accounts.

Xing let go, and did not persuade Jia Mu. "Mother, if you really want to go, your daughter-in-law will not stop you. But have you forgotten that you just forced brother-in-law Lin and his daughter out of Rongfu a few days ago?"

When Jia Mu heard this, her body trembled even more, and she resigned herself to her fate and sat back down.

Xing raised his eyebrows at Jia Amnesty again.

Jia She coughed, and then said: "Mother, there is one more thing. In fact, after the Holy Majesty appointed his son as Minister of the Ministry of Officials, he gave him a mansion. Now everything in the mansion has been arranged, and my son plans to let the whole family move there. Live. After all, this mansion is bestowed by the emperor, it would be bad if my son doesn’t live there.”

Jia's mother was very surprised: "Imperial mansion? Our Rongfu already has an imperial mansion, doesn't the emperor know? Why do you want to give you another mansion?"