The Royal Merchant of the Red Chamber

"Big brother Xue, big brother Xue, here, here." Jia Baoyu kept waving at the second door, and the servant Mingyan behind him tried to persuade him, "Oh, my lord, please keep your voice down."

Xue Pan walked up to Jia Baoyu with a nose that wasn't a nose and eyes that weren't eyes, and said with a cold snort, "I didn't believe it when others said it, but now it seems that there are really no good people in your family."

"Hey, Brother Xue, what's the matter with you?" Jia Baoyu was scolded inexplicably, and hurriedly accompanied Xiaoxin and said: "But who made you angry, can you tell me, let me judge for you? "

"What the hell, I don't even know who said it." Xue Pan stared at Jia Baoyu and shouted, "How can your family be so cruel, so hard to pick people up all the way from thousands of miles away?" Come on, don't say stay well, but all kinds of indifference, and now I have only lived in your house for two days, and even the maidservant dares to gossip. It will last forever, and I won't die here. "

When Jia Baoyu saw Xue Pan's words of condemnation, he couldn't help being very anxious, and quickly cupped his hands and said, "Good brother, good brother, let's talk about things, why are you so angry?"

"I'm not a Bodhisattva. I can't calm down when I encounter this." Xue Pan snorted coldly, and shook Jia Baoyu's arm away from him.He turned his arms around his chest and turned his back to Jia Baoyu, with an angry look on his face.

"This..." Jia Baoyu felt a little helpless, and looked at Mingyan with a sad face.

This Mingyan is the most capable servant beside Jia Baoyu.Usually the best at trying to figure out the mind, articulate.Seeing that his second master was worried now, he hurriedly went forward, knelt down on one knee, greeted Xue Pan with a smile and said: "Little Mingyan, I have seen Uncle Xue."

"Huh!" Xue Pan snorted dissatisfied.But seeing that Mingyan was wearing thin clothes, she knelt on the ground pitifully and gave him a flattering smile.He couldn't help but said uncomfortably: "Why are you kneeling on the ground in the cold weather? It's as if I bullied you."

"Thank you, sir, for your compassion." Upon hearing that, Ming Yan's smile grew brighter.In my heart, I have an estimate or two of Xue Pan's character.Immediately smiled and said: "I don't know why Uncle Xue was angry with our second master just now? So that Uncle Xue knows that according to the rules of our Rongguo Mansion, the slaves who have served in front of the old master are originally ordinary little masters. Therefore, For a while, I don’t know the dignity of the uncle, and it’s true that the lard has blinded my heart. You might as well tell our second master, our second master must go back to our ancestors and let the second master decide.”

When Xue Pan heard what Ming Yan said, he couldn't help but feel his heart move.Seeing this, Jia Baoyu hurried forward and begged his grandpa to tell his grandma, "My good brother, tell me quickly!"

"I was confused about this at first, but I just heard it from a little girl in the yard. This morning, when Sister Lin went to the flower hall to greet the old lady..." Xue Pan sighed, and slowly told the whole story. Jia Baoyu listened.In the end, I couldn't help complaining, "I shouldn't have said this, but your Rongguo Mansion was a little too negligent. It took nearly two months to hire someone in Yangzhou, why is there still no preparation at all here?" ? Pass it out..."

I thought it was your Rongguo Mansion who didn't want to see people!Then why did you invite the person back with a huff and patter?

Jia Baoyu blushed, and couldn't help asking, "Sister Lin? But that fairy-like sister I saw in the flower hall yesterday?"

Seeing that he was still thinking about it, Xue Pan couldn't help laughing angrily, and asked, "Which fairy-like sister? I see that every sister is very good, and she looks like a fairy!"

When Jia Baoyu heard this, he hurriedly said: "It's not someone else, but that sister from Uncle Lin's family in Yangzhou who looks like a Xizi."

"Cut!" Xue Pan sneered, not knowing what to say.Seeing that Jia Baoyu was still looking at him eagerly, he nodded impatiently and said, "That's her!"

After finishing speaking, he said unwillingly: "When did I say this, why do you still care about this?"

On the other side, Jia Baoyu pretended to be enlightened, nodded and said with a smile, "So it was her."

Xue Pan felt a surge of anger in his heart, and only felt his hands itch.Really couldn't help but raised his hand to give Jia Baoyu a slap, and said in his mouth: "I said this is all wronged by your grandma, do you care about it?"

Jia Baoyu came back to his senses and couldn't help sneering when he heard Xue Pan say that. "What kind of grandma are they? The decent grandmas are all sitting in the house. Who would talk about such irrelevant gossip? They are all disgusting fisheyes. How dare they treat the distinguished guests of the house like this ?”

With that said, he walked towards the direction where the old lady lived.He added: "Today I have to go back to the old lady and give Sister Lin an explanation. Why did you pick up a fairy-like figure from that far away place, and even dare to talk to the servant woman when he arrives at the mansion?" of."

Seeing Mingyan at the side, he secretly complained.He hurriedly went forward and stopped him: "My ancestor, we can't go to this matter. If it really gets serious, wouldn't the master beat you to death?"

"Go away." Xue Pan pulled Mingyan away with a sweep.Smiling at Jia Baoyu: "Okay, I heard others say that you are weak and looked down on you, but now it seems that this is what a man should do! Let's go, I will go with you. If your father wants to beat you, Let him beat me first!"

Jia Baoyu was a little apprehensive at first when he heard Mingyan's words, but he became courageous after being so provoked by Xue Pan.Stretching out his hand to hold Xue Pan's wrist, he nodded and said, "Okay, let's go together!"

Let's talk about Jia's mother, who was about to squint for a while after tossing all morning, when she heard a report from a little girl outside, "Master Xue and Baoyu are here."

Mother Jia couldn't help feeling suspicious, and asked Yuanyang, "Didn't the two of them say they were going to the Prince's Mansion of Andong County? Why is this hour here again?"

Yuanyang couldn't figure it out either, so she approached the old lady with a smile and said, "The old lady just let them in and ask, so they understand everything?"

After a pause, he said again: "It seems that Second Master Bao is reluctant to part with the old lady, so he came to say goodbye to you before leaving."

Mother Jia became more and more useful after hearing this, and quickly raised her hand and said, "Let them in quickly."

Before he could finish his sentence, he saw Jia Baoyu and Xue Pan holding hands and rushing in angrily.Mother Jia was taken aback, and quickly got up and asked, "What's the matter, but your father is mad at you again?"

"It's not me, it's Sister Lin." Jia Baoyu replied without a word, and then slipped into the old lady's arms, saying: "Old ancestor, you have to make decisions for Miss Lin. You can't let any cat or dog go. All to torture her."

"How did you say that?" Mother Jia was annoyed when she heard the words, "Girl Lin is my granddaughter, who would dare to be angry with her?"

As he spoke, he cast a vague look at Xue Pan.She couldn't help being so suspicious, who told Baoyu to drag Xue Pan in by the hand?

But Baoyu changed the subject and slowly told Jia Mu what Xue Pan had just said to him.Finally he said: "Old Ancestor, Sister Lin was brought over from Yangzhou all the way, and she has such a fairy-like personality. We can't let those unruly and rude people in the house bully her."

When Jia Mu heard this, her face darkened, she waved at Yuanyang and said, "Go and invite the second lady and Feng girl over."

Yuanyang bowed slightly, and replied in a low voice: "Yes."

At that time, Wang Xifeng was in the Ruirong hall, and the second wife was reporting the affairs of the mansion.Seeing Yuanyang's dignified expression, he couldn't help asking: "Hey, what kind of wind brought you here?"

Yuanyang licked the corners of her lips at Mrs. Wang and Wang Xifeng, and said, "Madam and grandma, please follow me! The old lady is waiting in the flower hall!"

"Do you know what's going on?" Seeing Yuanyang's expression was wrong, Wang Xifeng immediately got up and walked to Yuanyang's side, asking softly.

"It's Miss Lin's business." Yuanyang sighed softly, and said exactly what Jia Baoyu had said when he complained.At the end, he said solemnly: "The old lady is very angry, I told you to go there immediately!"

Wang Xifeng didn't care after hearing this, but the rosary in Mrs. Wang's hand suddenly clenched tightly.Exhaling slowly, he stood up and hurriedly walked towards the old lady's room under the service of Jin Chuan.

When I entered the flower hall, I saw a room full of people in the dark.Baoyu and Daiyu were held in Jiamu's arms, and Li Wan stood aside with his head bowed.Mrs. Xue sat on the lower chair, with Xue Pan on the bottom, and Baochai and Yingchun three sisters sitting next to each other.Jia Amnesty's wife, Xing Shi, was sitting on the first chair on the right. When she saw the second king, she showed a gloating smile.The other housekeepers also stood on the ground.Seeing this situation, Wang Xifeng knew that the old lady was really angry, so she woke up.

Mother Jia took a look at the second king who had just come in, and did not allow the second king to pay his respects. She said to herself, "My wife is getting older, and I want to take it easy, so I handed over the housekeeping to the second daughter-in-law. Later, the second The daughter-in-law tried to save trouble, and handed it over to Feng girl... I don't care who is the housekeeper now, it's just that something so inappropriate has happened, and my Yu'er has been wronged so much... If it weren't for Baoyu to speak up , I, Yu'er, have been bullied by you for no reason, have I?"

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Wang glanced at Jia Baoyu calmly.

Only to hear Jiamu say again: "No matter who instructed the servants to say it, the servants are still chewing their own tongues. The old man has to intervene in person today. I have to give my poor granddaughter my waist, so as not to hurt everyone. My sons think that I am old and useless, and I can only wait to die, even my only granddaughter dares to easily bully me."

Seeing this, Wang Xifeng immediately leaned forward and said with a smile: "Hey, what the old lady said is really worse than stabbing us to death with a knife. You are the ancestor of our family. If you say something that is not right, don't It seems that you are taking it easy now, but it is because you are an old man that the mansion is safe and peaceful today. If anyone dares to say that the old lady is useless, I will be the first to refuse."

"It's nice to say, who knows what you think in your heart, I'm afraid I can kick my legs to make room for you." Jiamu sneered, but she also felt sorry for this granddaughter-in-law, so she stopped talking about beating. , Then turned to the main topic and said: "Today, I called all the dignified people in the house, whether they are masters or slaves, just for the matter of Yu girl. Let me put the ugly words first, I this time The one who loves me the most in my life is Min girl. Now she is gone early. I took Yu girl from Yangzhou to my side in spite of the rules. I didn’t want you guys to gossip. There must be an explanation about Yu girl, I My granddaughter must not be wronged."

The Xing family who was on the side immediately said: "It should be so. You said Yu girl is such a smart person, and she just lost her mother. I really can't bear the pain. Who would have the heart to abuse her!"

Lin Daiyu, who was at the top, listened, and looked at Mrs. Xing with a little gratitude.

Mother Jia looked at Mrs. Xing, showing a little appreciation.Then he turned to Mrs. Wang and said, "The second son's family, you are in charge of everything in the house now, what do you think?"

There was no mention of Wang Xifeng at all.Mrs. Wang was startled, she clenched her hands slightly tightly in her sleeves, and said a little dullly: "Since Yuanchun entered the palace, I have been worrying about her all day long, and I only stayed in the back house to eat fast and chant Buddha, I hope the Bodhisattva can feel it." Thanks to my piety, please bless Yuanchun a lot. Therefore, I can't have the slightest energy to get involved in the affairs of the mansion. As early as a few years ago, I handed over all the up and down matters to Feng girl... Maybe it's because there are so many things in the mansion recently. It’s possible that I didn’t notice it for a while.”

Wang Xifeng glanced at Mrs. Wang in displeasure, and immediately said: "It's all my fault. I didn't take care of it at a glance, and I was so tired that Miss Lin suffered such a big grievance. I will make an apology to Miss Lin first."

With that said, he walked up to Lin Daiyu and bowed deeply.

Lin Daiyu hurriedly avoided, and said generously, "Second Sister-in-Lian, please don't do this, they are all girls and women who gossip behind their backs, what have you got to do with Second Sister-in-law Lian?"

Seeing this, Wang Xifeng knew that Lin Daiyu did not vent her anger on her, so he was relieved, and his tone became much lighter. "After all, it's because I don't manage my family strictly that someone dares to gossip behind their backs."

Jia Mu who was on the side slowly interjected, and said, "Okay, it's not your fault. You are young, and you can manage this huge inner house like this. It's not bad. It's only your aunt's fault. Forgiving herself, she actually handed everything over to you regardless. That's why there are so many troubles."

This was a bit far-fetched, but Mrs. Wang had to apologize and said with a smile: "It's all my fault."

Jia Baoyu, who was on the side, was reluctant to let his mother be blamed, and quickly said: "My wife was also negligent for a while, so don't be angry with your wife. You didn't see, because my wife was wronged because she loved Sister Lin, her face turned pale with anger."

Then Mother Jia turned her head and looked at Mrs. Wang carefully.At the end, he said calmly: "Your mother's face is really not very good-looking."

After hearing this, Mrs. Wang clenched her hands tighter and tighter.He glanced at Jia Baoyu calmly, with a gloomy expression.He moved his lips for a while, but in the end he couldn't say anything.

Mrs. Xue and Xue Baochai looked at each other, and hooked the corners of their mouths indistinctly.

Mrs. Xing cast a mocking look at Mrs. Wang, cleared her throat, and said, "It seems that her aunt eats a lot of vegetarian food, and her face is turning blue."

As soon as these words came out, Mrs. Wang's face turned ashen.

Mother Jia gave Mrs. Xing a disgusted look, but she had nothing to say about her bluntness.The reputation in the boudoir sounds quite neat, why is he actually like this.At the beginning, I was mistaken.

Mrs. Wang secretly took several deep breaths, and after weighing it over and over again, she said: "Don't worry, old ancestor, I will definitely handle this matter well."

"I only give you one day today." Mother Jia waved her hand without raising her eyelids and said, "You all go to the afternoon, let us talk freely. I will ask you after dinner in the evening."

"But—" Mrs. Wang hesitated to speak.

Jiamu glanced at her, smiled lightly and said, "I know you are busy with trivial matters, I'm afraid you won't be able to take care of this matter. I'll let Lai everyone go with you, is that okay?"

Madam Wang had no choice but to bow and say, "Yes!"

Gossip to Yuanyang again, and then lead Wang Xifeng and Li Wan away.

Mother Jia said to Mrs. Xing who was fidgeting and wanted to say something: "You go too!"

Mrs. Xing had no choice but to get up and leave.

Suddenly Jia Baoyu got up and said, "Old Ancestor, then I went out with Big Brother Xue too?"

Only then did Jia Mu wake up, and hurriedly urged: "Go quickly! Don't delay the important matters outside the house."

After Xue Pan and his wife bid farewell to Jia Mu, they bid farewell to Mrs. Xue and all the sisters one after another. It was time for another cup of tea before they left the flower hall.

Jia Baoyu hurried to the direction of Rongxi Hall, but was grabbed by Xue Pan. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to see my wife. Her complexion is not very good. I'm a little worried." Jia Baoyu looked in the direction of Rongxi Hall and said worriedly.

Is there really someone who is not afraid of death and hits the muzzle of a gun?Xue Pan looked at Jia Baoyu in amazement, feeling that this person's thinking circuit was really different from his own.But he just helped him once, and Xue Pan couldn't bear Jia Baoyu's failure in the past.Immediately, he pulled Jia Baoyu's sleeve and said, "Second Wife was ostracized by the old lady just now, she must be in a bad mood now, you go, be careful not to bump into her fire."

"I didn't make her angry, and she won't take it out on me. What's more, the mother is in a bad mood, and the son is afraid that he will not go forward to persuade him. Isn't it unfilial?" Jia Baoyu said, stretching out his hand to pull Xue Xue away. Pan's hand, turned and walked in the direction of Rongxi Hall.

"This man!" Xue Pan shook his head speechlessly, so he had to stand outside and wait for him.

Sure enough, after a while, Jia Baoyu walked out dejectedly.

"How's it going, have you been sacked?" Xue Pan asked gloatingly.There is quite a kind of excitement of "not listening to the old man's words and suffering in front of my eyes".

Jia Baoyu said to Xue Pan with an aggrieved face: "My wife doesn't know what's wrong. When I went in, she gave me a lot of evil fire. She also said that I didn't study hard in the past, so I asked the master to know carefully." My skin... she never cared about this before."

Isn't this an expression of anger?Xue Pan smiled mischievously, seeing Jia Baoyu's ignorant and ignorant look, felt more and more aggrieved for Mrs. Wang.Raising such a naturally dull baby son...

Xue Pan shook his head, no longer thinking about Mrs. Wang's mood, but just grabbed Jia Baoyu's arm and said, "Okay, don't be aggrieved, it's serious for us to go to the Prince's Mansion of Andong County as soon as possible. I'm afraid Zhen Baoyu will wait for you." Hurry up, if we don't go there, he will come over."

So the two went to the Prince's Mansion of Andong County together.

In addition, Mrs. Xue and Xue Baochai were stopped by Jia Mu to gossip, and it was another apology.

"I'm getting old, my energy is not enough, and I can't take care of the family's affairs more and more. I'm really sorry for letting my aunt see a joke!" Jia Mu shook her head and smiled bitterly.

Mrs. Xue immediately apologized and said with a smile: "Where is this old lady talking? The family has a big business, and no one has two chewers. Not to mention the huge Rongguo Mansion, it is the ordinary family with a small family. That screwdriver is not tricky, how can you blame the old lady?"

"But after all, I still let Yu girl suffer!" Jia Mu said, rubbing Lin Daiyu's neck pitifully, and sighed softly: "My poor son, if you hadn't left early and couldn't take care of your granddaughter, Why did she suffer such grievances!"

When Daiyu heard this, she couldn't help but her eyes turned red.After sobbing for a while, she said to Jiamu: "Fortunately, my grandmother and godmother's family love me..."

Mother Jia thanked Mrs. Xue again, and Mrs. Xue exchanged greetings in trepidation and trepidation.Seeing that Mother Jia looked at Xue Baochai for a while, she asked thoughtfully, "Is this trip to Beijing for the sake of Bao girl's talent show next year?"

"That's right!" Mrs. Xue replied with a smile all over her face: "Long En, who was born from the sky, is the dignity of our Xue family, and we should treat it with caution."

As for the matter of the new emperor and Xue Pan, Mrs. Xue did not mention a single word.

After hearing Mrs. Xue's words, Jia's mother couldn't help but sigh in her heart.Bao Yatou is a good girl, with a decent character and a plump appearance, and her every move is quite like everyone. This kind of steady style is the favorite of those above.Originally, the family background was still a little weak, even if she entered the palace, she was just a female official serving others, but who knew that Xue Baochai's identity changed suddenly and became a noble daughter of everyone because of her meritorious service.And the status of the Xue family in front of the new emperor...

Now there is no news of Yuanchun girl in the palace, and she doesn't mean to be favored at all.It so happened that such a treasure girl came here. If this treasure girl really has good luck in the future... can she use this east wind to make Yuanchun girl also...

Sensing Jia Mu's constant scrutiny on her, Xue Baochai slightly lowered her eyelids to hide the deep thought in her eyes.

Gossiping for a while, the old lady's spirit was a little tired again.Immediately waved his hand to signal everyone to retreat, and he fell asleep slowly under the service of Yuanyang.

All the way back to Rikain without saying a word.Mrs. Xue, mother and daughter sat down together with Lin Daiyu in the hall, and a group of maids came over to serve tea.After eating about half a cup of tea, Xue Baochai suddenly put down the cup of tea, and smiled at Mrs. Xue: "At first, I thought that my brother was the most straightforward person, but now it seems that my brother's methods are really clever. Today The tricks of 'killing with a knife', 'watching the fire from the other side', and 'drawing the fire from the bottom' make it a smooth move. I should learn it."

Mrs. Xue also responded with a smile: "Your brother is called 'Wuxinously Inserting Willows' and 'A Blind Cat Touched a Dead Mouse'. If he has such scheming methods, I will wake up laughing in the middle of the night."

"Whether he does it intentionally or not, as long as that person looks at me, I will feel at ease!" Xue Baochai waved his hand indifferently, and said softly.

Lin Daiyu listened to the two mothers and daughters of the Xue family, tilted her head suspiciously, and asked softly, "Why can't I understand what the godmother and sister are talking about?"

"With your cold heart, it's strange that this kind of thing can understand." Xue Baochai said, reaching out and tapping Lin Daiyu's forehead.Seeing Lin Daiyu's increasingly ignorant appearance, my heart moved.

"Sister Lin, why don't you learn how to be a housekeeper with me?" Xue Baochai looked at Lin Daiyu and said tentatively.

"Housekeeper?" Lin Daiyu was taken aback, not understanding what Xue Baochai meant.

"The strife in the inner house is just like the strife between men and women outside. It has existed since ancient times. My sister is now in the boudoir, so she is protected by my mother and me. But you can't stay at home all the time! In the future..."

Lin Daiyu was quite moved when she heard Xue Baochai's words.Under Jia Min's words and deeds, she was quite impatient with this kind of family management and account management, thinking that only vulgar and wealthy people would care about this.But now it seems...there are still a lot of ordinary people in this world.So what can she do if she is arrogant, because she was slandered by two maids and mothers-in-law and couldn't say a word?If she had Sister Bao's three-point skills, I'm afraid that villain wouldn't dare to trample her at will!

Seeing Lin Daiyu's expression, Xue Baochai continued to persuade: "I see that you are usually very thoughtful, and you are always worried and anxious. It's not pleasant to say it, and I'm afraid it's too leisurely. Now you learn to be a housekeeper with me. If you have too many things to do, you will naturally scatter your energy. Most of your energy will be focused on these practical things, and those sad thoughts will naturally be less. Your body will be fine if you are not sure!"

Lin Daiyu blushed when she heard this, and gave Madam Xue a shy look.

Mrs. Xue said with a smile: "I think what your elder sister Bao said is right. I couldn't tell you too much because of your mother before. But now that you are my daughter, I, as a mother, naturally want to Teach you good things, so that you won't be disliked when you leave the cabinet in the future."

Lin Daiyu was blushed by Mrs. Xue's words, and immediately said coquettishly: "What are you talking about, godmother, I will stay with godmother... I will stay with godmother for the rest of my life."

"Yo, yo, I don't dare to be this sinner. If you stay by my side all your life, how can I explain to Mr. Lin?" Mrs. Xue said with a smile, put her arms around Lin Daiyu and joked: "Or you really have Thoughts, do you really want to enter my house and spend the rest of your life with me?"

"Godmother?" Lin Daiyu was taken aback when she heard the words, and immediately understood.With a flushed face, she pushed Madam Xue away, and ran away without looking back.

Mrs. Xue and Xue Baochai teased for a while, and it took a while before they stopped laughing.Xue Baochai asked with a puzzled look: "Did Mom really mean that when she said this today?"

"It's not up to our girls to decide. You have to ask the master later. Besides, Yu'er is still in the filial piety, how can you mention such a thing?" Mrs. Xue shook her head, not paying attention Said. "What's more, Miss Lin's temperament... It seems that it is not suitable at present. Let's talk about it later!"

"Then mother just now..." Xue Baochai looked puzzled.

"I'm just trying to broaden Miss Lin's heart." Mrs. Xue said with a sneer when she heard the words: "Let that person know that we are a family of good women, not poor relatives who come up to beat the autumn wind. Don't bother." Let those low-sighted villains only feel that our girl is no one wants to force her into the house."

Upon hearing this, Baochai nodded thoughtfully.