The Heart of the Red Chamber

This year may really be an unlucky year. Mrs. Sun and Mrs. Shi were discussing summer clothing materials in the room, and there they were talking about the clothes styles that are popular in Chang'an this year, picking up on the patterns of the newly delivered clothes, these almost boring topics Mrs. Shi listened to Mrs. Sun nagging that Wang Ren was extremely afraid of the heat in summer, and the material of his clothes must be light and cool, otherwise he would get prickly heat. Mrs. Shi thought that Wang Zisheng was urging Wang Lun's marriage again, so she threw it away. She picked up a piece of pea-green satin in her hand, and was about to complain, when suddenly Yaoqin, the big maid next to Mrs. Sun, hurried over: "Madam, Second Madam, the housekeeper is outside the door, saying that someone from the Xue family is here!"

Mrs. Sun was taken aback, the Xue family is far away in Jinling, and the communication with the Wang family is just an annual ceremony, why did they send someone here at this moment, maybe something happened, so she hurriedly said: "Let the housekeeper come in and answer!"

The big housekeeper Wang Fu knelt down through the screen: "This old slave pays his respects to the wife and the second wife!"

"Get up!" Madam Sun said from behind the screen, "Jinse, bring a stool to the housekeeper!"

Jinse quickly moved a round stool over: "Sit down, butler!"

"Thank you, Madam, for giving me a seat!" Wang Fu saluted again, and then sat down on the stool sideways.

"What's the matter with the Xue family?" Madam Sun asked.

Wang Fu hurriedly said: "If you go back to your wife, the Xue family is here to report the funeral! The master of the Xue family went on the [-]th day!"

Mrs. Sun and Mrs. Shi were taken aback, and Mrs. Shi was especially surprised. You must know that the Patriarch of the Xue family is younger than Wang Zisheng. Mrs. Shi also met him when he was in Jinling, and he was very energetic. Died at this age?

Mrs. Sun also hurriedly said: "Let the Xue family come in!"

Wang Fu got up and answered, and went to find the servants of the Xue family who were still waiting in the outer courtyard.

Xue Ping, the second housekeeper, came from the Xue family. He was wearing a white coarse cloth belt around his waist, and his eyes were full of bloodshot eyes. Crying: "Slave Xue Ping has seen the first uncle's wife and the second uncle's wife!"

Mrs. Sun sighed: "Housekeeper Xue please hurry up, the second son-in-law is in his prime, why did he go? But what happened?"

Xue Ping wiped away his tears and said: "Returning to my uncle and wife, the master was busy taking care of the tributes that will enter the palace this year in February this year, and he was exhausted when the tributes were delivered to the boat. I thought it would be fine to rest and recuperate, but when I was about to get better, I caught a cold and invited countless doctors, even the old doctor who had returned home, but it was always good and bad. The people in the clan don't worry too much, the master wanted to take over the imperial merchant's errand not long after he was ill, but after less than two months, the master still went!"

Mrs. Sun now understands that the funeral report is true, and the deeper meaning is to hope that her natal family will support her, so that the members of the Xue family will not bully their orphans and widows. A woman can't make any decisions, so it's better for Steward Xue to rest for a while, and then make a decision when the master comes back!"

Xue Ping hurriedly said: "The servant understands!"

Mrs. Shi was silent for a long time, and now she asked: "Housekeeper Xue, have you reported to the Rongguo Mansion?"

Xue Ping nodded: "Back to the words of the second uncle and wife, the servant and others entered Chang'an, and they divided into two routes, and the other route has already gone to Rongguo Mansion!"

Mrs. Shi nodded: "That's it, then go down!"

Xue Ping knelt down and kowtowed again: "Slave leave!" After saying that, he withdrew.

Mrs. Sun waited until Xue Ping left, then sighed, and called Wang Fu: "Housekeeper, go and see if the master is in the yamen, if he is, tell the master about the Xue family, and let him come back to discuss the funeral thing!"

Wang Fu immediately complied, and went out to the Yamen of the Ministry of War.

"Poor second aunt, my son and daughter are so old, they are going to be widows!" Mrs. Sun said to Mrs. Shi.

"This is fate!" Mrs. Shi also sighed, thinking of herself again, "Second aunt still has a son, but I..."

Mrs. Sun was also very helpless, she stretched out her hand to hold Mrs. Shi's hand, and said gently: "Sister-in-law, don't think that sister-in-law is talkative! Now it seems that Lun'er is not very useful, and it is too late to think about teaching now! However, Mr. You need to have an heir! If you feel uncomfortable, just keep the son and go to the mother! He has been raised by his side all the time, and it is almost the same as his own!"

Mrs. Shi was a little upset, and said in a low voice: "Sister-in-law, I understand, I just don't want to be reconciled!"

Mrs. Sun also lowered her voice: "Are you so unwilling, or are you even more unwilling to let Lun'er inherit the second room in the future?"

Mrs. Shi bit her lower lip hard, and finally said: "Sister-in-law, I want to go back and think about it!"

Mrs. Sun sighed: "Sisters and sisters, we women have to accept our fate! Look at our two sister-in-laws, who didn't say they were lucky at the beginning, but one eldest son is gone, and the other is a widow at a young age! This is life!"

Mrs. Shi stopped talking. She was different from Mrs. Sun. Even when Wang Ziteng had been childless, he valued Mrs. Sun very much and insisted on letting Mrs. Sun give birth to a son. Yellow-faced woman, even the number of intercourse is very small, what will happen to her if you let her live alone.After thinking about it for a long time, it seems that I really can only do what Mrs. Sun said, and I have been raised by my side since I was a child, so I should treat it as my own.

Wang Ziteng happened to be working in the Ministry of War that day. As soon as he heard that the brother-in-law of the Xue family had passed away, he immediately asked the Ministry of War for leave and went home first.It is obviously not realistic for Wang Ziteng to go to Jinling for the funeral in person. After discussing for a while, he decided to let Wang Zisheng take people to Jinling. home chores.

On the other side of the Jia family, it was Jia Zheng who was traveling. Who told the Jia family that the real relationship with the Xue family was the second room. If Jia Zhu was still there, Jia Zhu could naturally go. The problem is, Jia Zhu died too. up.

Wang Zisheng and Jia Zheng hurried to Jinling along the official road, and Xue's family in Jinling was already in chaos.

Since the Xue family lost their job as the Secretary of General Affairs, the business has not been as smooth as before. People who used to fawn on the Xue family are now picking on Joe, and even making troubles everywhere. Most of the success is due to the relationship of the General Secretary. In fact, he is nothing at all when it comes to the means of doing business. Therefore, although the four major families in Jinling still have influence, they are no better than In the past, in just one or two years, the Xue family's business has shrunk by [-]%. Xue Lin, who was originally high-spirited, was almost exhausted because of this. He secretly regretted that he had both sides for the sake of insurance, and finally annoyed the emperor and the present, making the Xue family so embarrassing. .

The ancestral training of the Xue family has always been the position of the patriarch, and those who are virtuous, but Xue Lin's lineage has always inherited the errands of their ancestors, so it is naturally smooth sailing, and the clansmen are also happy to take advantage of their lineage to make money, but Xue Lin has a big heart. He failed to invest in the future emperor, and later showed his insufficiency. It's just that the Xue family did not want to be called ungrateful for Xue Lin's sake. Xue Pan is just a nine-year-old child, and he is extremely stubborn. After three or four years of enlightenment education, he still can't even memorize the opening chapter of the Book of Songs. Who would let such a person inherit the position of patriarch?

Xue Lin's wife, Wang Xue, has no big ideas other than pampering her son and cherishing her own daughter. She is crying and yelling at the clansmen for crossing rivers and demolishing bridges, bullying them orphans and widows, making those clansmen feel ashamed. Guang, had to decide to wait until Xue Lin was buried before discussing the matter of the patriarch.But Wang immediately ordered the second housekeeper and the third housekeeper to bring people to Beijing to ask for help from her natal family and her sister. According to her thinking, the Wang family and the Jia family will naturally be able to subdue the ungrateful white-eyed wolf of the Xue family and guarantee The interests of one's own son will not be encroached upon by the tribe.

Mrs. Xue Wang just cried for a while in the mourning hall and walked into the bedroom exhaustedly. The seven-year-old Xue Baochai sensiblely asked the servants to bring ginseng tea: "Mother, drink a glass of water to moisten your throat first!"

Xue Wangshi took the cup, took a sip and put it down, put her arms around Xue Baochai and said, "My son, you are tired these days, go and have a rest!"

Xue Baochai shook her head and said, "Mom, I'm not tired, I'll accompany you!"

"My son, your father just left like this, but our mother has suffered a lot!" Seeing her daughter so sensible, Wang Xue felt sad again.

Xue Baochai persuaded from the side: "Mom, don't worry, haven't people invited uncle and uncle? Uncle and uncle will definitely decide for us!"

Xue Wang wiped away her tears, nodded, and strengthened her confidence: "Well, it will be fine when my brother and brother-in-law come, our third mother also has something to rely on!"

The mother and daughter were talking, Xue Pan ran in from outside sweating profusely, picked up the cup, drank the tea in the cup with a "gudong gudong", and then said: "This weather is so hot dead!"

When Xue Wang saw her son, she immediately threw her daughter aside. She stood up, wiped the sweat off Xue Pan's forehead distressedly, and said angrily, "You child, why don't you die? There's no one in your mouth! Your uncle and the others will come over in two days, and then you can't do this, understand?"

Xue Pan nodded reluctantly, agreed, and soon asked curiously: "Mom, which uncle do you think is here this time?"

Mrs. Xue thought for a while: "I hope it's your uncle who came, but now your uncle has joined the cabinet and will not leave Beijing, so it should be your second uncle who came this time." , You and your sister have seen it before when they were young!"

Xue Pan was a little confused: "I've seen it, why don't I remember it?"

"You were still young at that time, do you still remember the wooden horse you used to play with, it was given by your second uncle!" Xue Wang said.

But unfortunately, Xue Pan has too many toys, and he has no impression of the wooden horse, but Xue Baochai said from the side: "I heard from my mother that my nine chains made of jade were given by my second uncle." !"

"That's right!" Xue Wangshi showed a smile, "Chai'er has a good memory!"

Here Mrs. Xue began to teach the sons and daughters what to say after meeting their uncle and uncle. All in all, they must not let those white-eyed wolves succeed, and they must keep Xue Lin's accumulated family business and so on.