The Heart of the Red Chamber

After Wang Ren went back, although he thought it was strange that Chen Jingrong asked about Qin Keqing, he didn't think much about it overnight. Seeing this, Lao Hu hurriedly said goodbye to the concierge, followed, and asked, "Master, are you not staying for dinner today?"

Wang Ren smiled and said: "This gentleman has annoyed me today, why don't you drive me back!"

Lao Hu has a simple and honest temperament, and he said quickly when he heard it: "Master, although I am a driver, I also know that I should respect my husband. If my husband annoys me, I should go back quickly and accompany Master Chen Er. That's right!"

Wang Ren laughed: "Okay, Uncle Hu, I've already made amends. It's my husband who has other things to do, so I'll take my leave first!"

Lao Hu breathed a sigh of relief: "Master, if you didn't say it earlier, the old slave misunderstood you! Master, are you going back to the house directly?"

"Well, let's go back directly! It's really hot today!" Wang Ren said, wiping off his sweat.

"Okay!" Lao Hu raised his whip, gave it a little slap, and the carriage moved forward slowly.

"Didn't anyone eat at Mr. Chen's place today?" Hearing his mother, Mrs. Sun, also ask the same question, Wang Ren couldn't help but start to reflect on whether he had eaten at the Chen's house too many times, and his mother felt it was a rarity when he came back. But he said: "How can I bother Mr. every time? Didn't the son come back to eat with his mother today?"

Mrs. Sun looked at Wang Ren lovingly, and said with a smile, "Seeing how hot you are, go and change your clothes before coming over to talk!"

"Yes, mother, the son will leave first!"

Wang Ren changed into the homely clothes that had passed the rain and came back. He saluted Mrs. Sun again and sat down beside her. Mrs. Sun smiled and asked someone to bring a plate of cantaloupe cut into small pieces: "Ren'er, This was sent by Zhuangzi early in the morning, how about a taste?"

Mrs. Sun is in a good mood recently. The Wang family took a few trips with the sailing ship of Fujian's maritime merchants. It still needs to be carefully calculated, even the human relationship needs to be carefully considered. Now that the public is not short of money, Mrs. Sun can naturally let her hands and feet go.Now that they have seen the sweetness, the Wang family has already planned to buy a few ships and go to Nanyang with the fleet. Although the risk is higher, at least they don't need to continue to owe favors to those maritime merchants. Favor debts are not so easy to repay.

As soon as Mrs. Sun had enough money, she thought about buying a few more villas. These days, land has always been the most valuable asset. If you have enough land in your hand, you will have confidence in your heart.Coincidentally, there was a prodigal son in Wannian County a few years ago. He was lured to a gambling house and almost lost all his underwear. Mrs. Sun took the opportunity to send someone to take down the Zhuangzi with more than 700 mu of land, but it cost less than 4000 taels of silver, including the unharvested crops in the land. In this peaceful year, most of the land that can be bought is good land. Zhuangzi, he was lucky.

This newly purchased village has more than ten acres of sandy land, where watermelon, cantaloupe and other fruits are grown. Mrs. Sun knows that Wang Ren likes to eat it, so she ordered the village head to send a batch of melons and fruits every few days. , this plate of cantaloupe came from it.

Wang Ren took a silver stick and stuck a piece into his mouth. Although there are not as many varieties of fruits as in later generations, and the size is not so big, they are indeed original and very sweet. He nodded and asked Said: "It seems to be sweeter than in previous years, it should be because there is less rain this year!"

"This is from a newly purchased village. Since you think it's delicious, you can continue to grow it next year!" Mrs. Sun was very satisfied when she saw that Wang Ren was eating deliciously, and she smiled more gently on her face.

"By the way, mother, Mr. Rong suddenly asked me about Rong's daughter-in-law today. Could it be that Rong's daughter-in-law was quite famous in Chang'an before she got married?" Wang Ren suddenly remembered what happened before, put down the silver stick in his hand, and asked.

Mrs. Sun was stunned: "Rong's daughter-in-law? Mr. Chen also knows? However, the father of Rong's daughter-in-law is only a fifth-rank official, and her adoptive mother passed away a few years ago. Pin, I didn't know anything about the Qin family before! But when I was in Dading last time, I heard people from Ningguo Mansion say that Rong's daughter-in-law was beautiful, and not long after Jiji, many people came to propose marriage! "

This is so strange, that is to say, Qin Keqing's reputation seems to have spread after Jiji, but without the guidance of female elders, how did she, who has never been in the sight of Chang'an noble ladies, be known by so many people Woolen cloth?Moreover, it wasn't that Wang Ren was prejudiced against the Jia family. Jia Zhu, who was not the eldest son, married Li Wan, and the Jia family thought that Li Wan was superior. After all, Li Shouzhong was much better than Qin Ye. The future heirs, if they followed the Jia family's usual way of thinking, even if they couldn't gather any princesses or county masters, the daughters of the Eighth Dukes who were family friends were the ones they really wanted to marry, and they chose Qin Keqing, who was only the adopted daughter of a fifth-rank official. So enthusiastic, and, according to Mrs. Sun, it's not the Jia family who have this idea. Could it be that Qin Keqing is actually the illegitimate daughter of some prince or noble?

Mrs. Sun didn't see what Wang Ren was thinking about, she said with a smile: "Speaking of which, Ren'er is so old, and it's time to marry a wife, don't worry, mother will definitely choose a beautiful and virtuous one for you." When the daughter-in-law comes back, she will definitely not be worse than Rong's daughter-in-law!"

Why did he talk about himself? Wang Ren couldn't help being a little tongue-tied, and hurriedly said: "Mother, my son should study hard now, and won't think about these things for the time being!"

Mrs. Sun saw that Wang Ren was embarrassed, and joked: "Ren'er just read it, and when Ren'er is named on the Gold List, mother will naturally choose for you!"

Wang Ren was almost speechless, so he directly pulled Wang Lun out as a shield: "Mother, cousin Lun from the second uncle's family hasn't married yet, so you should help aunt to think about his cousin first!"

"You child!" Mrs. Sun couldn't help crying and laughing. Except for family banquets, Wang Ren and Wang Lun usually didn't have much interaction at all. Wang Ren pulled him out in a hurry, which showed that he was shy. She couldn't help but pursed her lips and smiled, "Brother Lun Your marriage is almost on the horizon, so there's no need for you to worry about it!" But he stopped teasing Wang Ren any more.

In Wang Ren's heart, he was gossip about which prince or noble did all the work but forgot to clean up the mess. As a result, Qin Keqing, an illegitimate daughter, was left behind. These days, even if it is a concubine, it is not a son, which affects the right of inheritance. It is just a daughter. At most, an extra dowry will be given when you get married, which does not affect the overall situation. It can also give the wife a good reputation of generosity and virtuousness, but why does Qin Keqing become the adopted daughter of Qin Ye, who is not a good person?Even adopting a foster daughter before getting married can elevate her status!

Wang Ren didn't know how many bloody plots appeared in Wang Ren's heart, and it was itchy in his heart, but he suddenly thought that an illegitimate daughter, no matter how rich the dowry, might not be able to catch the eyes of the people of Ningguo Mansion. There is some other reason, could it be that Jia Zhen was unwilling to be a third-class general who only had a false rank, and wanted to find a real lack, so she happened to meet Qin Keqing and her biological father?But this kind of thing, my husband, who seems to be the uncle of the country, will not be interested in this kind of thing.

Wang Ren thought about it for a long time. He knew too little news, and he didn't know much about the middle and upper-level officials. After all, his task at this time was to read. , affecting future development.After thinking about it for a long time, Wang Ren decided that he had to tell his father about it. After all, it seemed like a well-matched marriage at first glance, but now that he thought about it carefully, there were really many problems!

With thoughts in her heart, Wang Ren didn't have much taste for a meal. Seeing that Wang Ren had a bad appetite, Mrs. Sun thought it was because the weather was too hot, which affected her appetite, so she asked someone to prepare a lot of melons and fruits for her. Wang Ren sent it over.

When Wang Ziteng came back in the evening, Wang Ren went directly to Wang Ziteng's room, and told Wang Ziteng all about Chen Jingrong's inquiry about Qin Keqing and some of his own guesses. After hearing this, Wang Ziteng frowned. , It took a long time before he said: "Ren'er, you are not allowed to tell anyone else about this, not even your husband, just pretend you don't know anything, understand?"

Wang Ren nodded quickly: "Yes, father, the son knows!" After hesitating for a while, Wang Ren still asked: "Father, is it true that Rong's daughter-in-law is?" He pointed at it.

It was rare for Wang Ziteng to speak harshly: "Ren'er, this matter is not your business, don't ask too much!"

Wang Ren quickly agreed, and quickly withdrew.

When Wang Ren left, Wang Ziteng's face turned livid. He slammed a delicate Ru kiln teacup on the ground, then walked a few steps around the room with his hands behind his back, and finally sat down. His expression suddenly became cold and serious, his left hand unconsciously rubbed the white jade finger on the thumb of his right hand, the emotions in his eyes fluctuated, and finally he became firm, and said in a low voice: "I didn't know how to deal with such a big event before, purely I want to drag someone into the water, so, although I won't tell the truth, but the century-old friendship between our two families, let's treat it as never!"

Wang Ren was really taken aback by Wang Ziteng. It seems that there are indeed some problems with this matter. I guess it is quite involved. Otherwise, Wang Ziteng would not have reacted so much. But since his father said that he should not take care of himself, Wang Ren I didn't think about it any more, I just watched for a while in my own small room, a little maid came over to pass the word, saying that the meal was delivered from the main room.Wang Ren went to the main room, and Wang Ziteng soon came in. He had returned to normal now, with a warm smile on his face, and said a few homely words to Mrs. Sun, and then they cooked and had dinner together.While taking a sip of the fish soup, Wang Ren murmured to himself, his father really has profound skills, and he is indeed far behind!