The Dream of the Red Chamber of Huanzhu is not a dream

Xia Qinglian heard Zi Lan say that her aunt was coming early in the morning, so she packed up and went to see her.

Xia's family business is small, and they don't have any yards, so the family doesn't live in too many rooms.

Xia Qinglian approached the door of Mrs. Xia's room, but saw Xia Ningjue leading Xia Anyu to play outside, she felt a little strange. When her aunt came, Mrs. Xia usually asked her two children to accompany her. After all, aunt and Mrs. Xia really had nothing in common. , can only look for Huatou around the child.

Xia Qinglian passed by Xia Ningjue's sister and brother, and touched Xia Anyu's head: "Did Yu'er pay a visit to uncle and wife?"

"Yu'er paid respects to my uncle and wife." Xia Anyu twisted her body and said, he didn't like this uncle and wife very much, her voice was shrill and high-pitched, every time he said those words of praise, he was tired of hearing them, but why? And I can't be rude, this time it's rare to send him out to play, he doesn't want to go in at all.

Xia Qinglian didn't force him, she smiled and went in by herself.For this aunt, she couldn't like it either, she was mean and greedy, but she was not good at pretending, she would directly quarrel about anything, and it didn't make sense.

Xia Qinglian went in, paid a visit to her aunt, and met the two cousins ​​next to her aunt. When she saw a nanny behind the third cousin holding a two- or three-year-old boy, she knew it was the third cousin. The youngest son of the sister-in-law's family, named Lin Hui, reached out to hug him and coax him a few words.

During this period, his eyes glanced at everyone in the room without a trace, and saw that the aunt was smiling flatteringly, the first cousin was gloating, and the third cousin was maintaining her usual docile smile.

When Mrs. Lai saw Xia Qinglian, she praised Xia Qinglian in a hurry: "Yo, we haven't seen each other for a few days, our Lian'er has become even more graceful, especially this bearing, which cannot be compared to ordinary ladies."

Xia Qinglian smiled, saying the same thing every time her aunt came. She also pretended to be shy a few times, but after too many times, she couldn't pretend any more.

"Hehe, I'm not boasting. My daughter is outstanding regardless of her appearance. It's a pity that her father died early and missed her." Mrs. Xia was relieved and sad when she mentioned her husband who died young, " Now, I only hope that Lian'er can have a good home, so I feel relieved."

Xia Qinglian was taken aback. From the tone of her voice, could it be that her aunt came to say hello to her?Since she became a filial piety, a few matchmakers have also come to the door, either to tell people about the second house, or to fill in the house.The Xia family has a family motto that daughters of the Xia family will never be concubines, but a man of Xia Qinglian's age, who is born with a serious disease, has a bad moral character, and has a poor family, can't be said to be a daughter-in-law. Fiancee?As for the two matchmakers, Madam Xia asked Butler Du to go out and inquire about it. One spoiled his concubine and made his wife angry to death, and the other was drunk and beat and scolded his wife. was beaten to death.With such a family, how can Mrs. Xia feel at ease to marry her daughter?

But looking at Mrs. Jin Xia's appearance, I am afraid that the old lady is very satisfied with the family that my aunt said.

Mrs. Xia rubbed Xia Qinglian's hand, her eyes were slightly moist: "Lian'er, your aunt told you about a good family. He is the youngest son of our Suzhou Tongzhi Mr. Zhang. He is two years younger than you. Although he will not be in charge of the family in the future , but he is a legitimate son, and he is favored by his parents, even if the family is separated in the future, he will not suffer any disadvantages. If my son can marry such a family, he will be able to rely on him in the future."

The aunt also shook the handkerchief and echoed: "Yes, that young master Zhang looks like a good-looking talent, and the gentlemen of the academy all praise him for his literary talents. He will definitely be selected in the next year's exam. If it wasn't for the eminent monk who counted, said he It is not advisable to marry early, and now I am afraid that I even have children. Now that I am old, Mrs. Tongzhi is also choosing thousands of choices. I am afraid that I will wrong my precious son. If I hadn't heard the name of Lian Er's goddess doctor, I am afraid that this is a good thing. It won't fall on Lian Er's head."

Xia Qinglian's heart became furious when she heard this, except for Mrs. Xia who lived in seclusion, who else didn't know what kind of guy Zhang Fan was, the young son of this family?That is a dude who bullies the market, eats, drinks, prostitutes, and gambles. He said that he was destined not to marry early. What's the matter with etiquette?" His fiancée, although not a wealthy daughter, is also from a scholarly family, how could she be humiliated, and immediately hit a wall, and the happy event turned into a funeral.Although Zhang Tongzhi suppressed his fiancée's family with his influence, no daughter of a good family would marry such a bastard after that, and Mrs. Zhang was unwilling to wrong her precious son and lower the standard for marrying a daughter-in-law. It only dragged on year after year.However, there are still quite a few women in Zhang Fan's courtyard, no less than ten fingers.

However, my aunt can still open her eyes and talk nonsense here. If Zhang Fan is really good, how can she surpass her young daughter of marriageable age and tell her an outsider.

However, Xia Qinglian couldn't get angry on the spot. She and Xia Ningjue had always kept Madam Xia's aunt's meanness to her family, because she didn't want to make Madam Xia sad. Her husband died early, and she already regarded her natal family as the only one. If she knows what her uncle and aunt are doing, it will be a great blow to her.

Therefore, Xia Qinglian had no choice but to suppress the anger in her heart, and said calmly: "Aunt may not know, I only found out last time I heard from the magistrate's wife that this son already has three sons and daughters, and there is a concubine who is very young." To be favored, if Mrs. Tongzhi did not suppress her, Mr. Zhang might have straightened this little concubine long ago, and this is the case, Mr. Zhang has also publicly stated that as soon as the main wife enters the house, he will immediately straighten her up as a second wife."

This Mr. Zhang is also a famous figure in Suzhou. At the beginning, Zhang Tongzhi chose the girl from a scholarly family after thousands of choices in order to tell him that he was a good relative. The other party agreed to marry his daughter to this ignorant prodigal, but after his daughter's accident, Zhang Tongzhi tried to smooth over the matter and prevent their family from making trouble, which forced the other party's family to die.

From then on, those families with lower power than Zhang Tongzhi, if they had daughters of the right age, they all quickly made marriages for them, fearing that Zhang Tongzhi would fall in love with them.And those who are more powerful than Zhang Tongzhi or have no daughters of the right age at home, except for a few slanders in their hearts, they only have gossip.After all, in such an era, officials and officials protect each other, even if it is their own affairs, not everyone is willing to collide with the ruling class, let alone other people's affairs?

Therefore, Xia Qinglian, who often went in and out of the inner house to check the pulse of the wives and ladies, knew these gossips very clearly.After all, women in ancient times did not go out of the door, so apart from doing some needlework, they could only get together and chat about the family's shortcoming.

After hearing Xia Qinglian's words, Mrs. Xia was a little displeased.

Mrs. Lai hurriedly answered, "Hey, Lian'er, why are you still so naive? What does it matter if a man is not romantic in this world and has a son and daughter? Can you not have a child? That’s still a legitimate son and daughter. Even if you have children, you can’t surpass them. Moreover, it’s not easy to be a stepmother. This picture is different from that of an acquaintance. The child is just a son and daughter. In the past, they were also raised under your name. These children were still young and raised by your side. How could they not kiss you? And the words of the little concubine who helped straighten him up, how could he take it seriously? Even if Mr. Zhang really Having said that, Mrs. Zhang and Mrs. Zhang will never agree. So, just put your heart in your stomach and be your young mistress of the Zhang family..."

"Auntie!" Xia Qinglian became less and less likely to listen, and stopped her sharply, "We haven't agreed yet, why does Auntie say that I'm going to be carried there today?"

Mrs. Xia heard this, and her previous joy gradually faded away. From Lai's words, it's not that she didn't know about the little son and concubine of the Zhang family, but she never told her about it. If it wasn't for Qinglian who also knew about some foreign affairs I'm afraid that she will readily take out Qinglian's horoscope and become this marriage.

Mrs. Xia is getting older, and her husband has left again, so she values ​​family affection more and more. Although Xia Qinglian and the others are hiding it from her, she is not unaware that Lai's siblings are a bit greedy for petty gain, but she thinks it is a harmless little problem. Even if my family suffers a little loss, as long as the relationship between the two families is not broken, it will be fine.But now it seems that this younger brother and sister are not just greedy for petty gains.

It's just that the Xia family is taking shelter of his younger brother's family after all, and his daughter and grandchildren still need their family to take care of them. Mrs. Xia didn't want to make the relationship too rigid, so she politely refused: "Siblings, we are afraid of this marriage. You can't climb high, you can't say that, otherwise, it will ruin Lian'er's reputation like us rushing in..."

When Mrs. Lai heard Mrs. Xia's rejection, her face immediately changed: "You know it's Gao Pan, since people think highly of you, don't pretend to be noble! With your daughter's current reputation, do you still hope to marry into some wealthy family? Is it? Someone wants to burn high incense! To put it mildly, you are a female doctor. If people praise you as a miracle doctor, they may not think highly of you in their hearts. It is not good to stay in other people's homes all night even if they know that you have delivered babies. What women should do."

Xia Qinglian and Mrs. Xia's expressions changed at the same time, even Xia Ningjue, who was playing with Xia Anyu outside the door, also heard Lai's sharp voice.

Xia Ningjue frowned, and called her mother to take Xia Anyu back to her room, while she and her maid, Zixi, quietly lifted the curtain and entered the door.Everyone in the room was paying attention to Lai Shi, but no one noticed them coming in.

Lai Shi was not a person who was good at hiding his emotions, and he always quarreled directly about anything, and he was a bitter and mean person.Today, she said so many things with a smile on her face, which was enough for her to give face to the poor mother and daughter of the Xia family. If she didn't want to climb up the road of Zhang Tongzhi, she would not be impatient to waste these words.

Xia Qinglian was very angry. Although their orphans and widows said that they were taking shelter from their uncle's family, they took money to take care of it, especially now, relying on her to see patients, they have a few savings in their hands. The etiquette is three points thicker than others.And my aunt often came to the door, and took away what she saw. Although they felt uncomfortable, but because of the favor of their relatives, it was hard to say anything.But I don't know, even though she actually slapped her in the face, I don't know how she thinks highly of herself, thinking that the Xia family can only let her rub it.

Mrs. Xia was so angry that she almost lost her breath, and pointed at her tremblingly: "You... what are you talking about, maybe my family has some deep hatred with you, and you are actually slandering your niece like this , you..." He couldn't breathe, and almost fainted, causing Xia Qinglian and Xia Ningjue to rush forward, one to rub her breasts and the other to rub her acupuncture points.

Mrs. Xia has severe high blood pressure. She usually manages well and doesn't show much, but she must not be offended. Otherwise, Xia Qinglian and Xia Ningjue would not hide their uncle's family affairs from her.

Mrs. Xia defected to her younger brother at the beginning, because the two siblings have a very good relationship, so she would not see them as helpless.But who would have thought that the daughter-in-law my younger brother married was greedy and mean, and if she didn't like her in the slightest, she would cause troubles upside down.

When the Xia family first arrived in Suzhou, they had to rely on the Lin clan to settle down, so that people would not think that they were lonely and helpless, so they would come to them and take most of their money to manage, half of which was embezzled by their aunt.

Mrs. Xia's younger brother, Lin Su, just said a few words about how difficult it is for the Xia family, while Mrs. Lai just made a lot of noise, saying that it was not easy for the family, and that she had to take care of the splashed water and drag her children to fight the autumn wind.

Although Xia Qinglian and Xia Ningjue were very angry, they didn't dare to let Mrs. Xia know, for fear that she would get angry. Later, Xia Qinglian didn't want to make trouble, so she let Lai's money be deducted. Lai saw that there was an advantage to take, so she treated Lin Su Take care of them to settle down and turn a blind eye.

Later, Xia Qinglian gained some fame with her medical skills, but immediately heard some rumors about her outside, saying that she was an old girl who couldn't get married. After careful inquiry, she found out that it was Lai who spread the rumors.Xia Qinglian was furious. Outsiders would laugh at her in the future, but her own family rushed to step on her a few times. What is the reason for this?

Since then, Xia Qinglian has intentionally distanced herself from the Lai family, but Lai's face is extremely thick-skinned, and the silver taels that should be withheld are still withheld. Sometimes they even took her without warning, and the Xia family had nothing to do with her.

But this time, it must not be tolerated. If the aunt really forced her to marry the young master of the Zhang family, let's not talk about how difficult it will be for her in the inner house, just say that Zhang Tongzhi's family will never allow the daughter-in-law who married into the door to go home Taking care of her natal family, the mother, Xia Ningjue, and Xia Anyu really have no one to take care of her, and she can only look at Lai's face.Although Xia Qinglian believed in Xia Ningjue's mental ability, she was still a child after all, and there were too few things she could do in this ancient times.Moreover, Xia Ningjue's appearance has gradually grown, and she has the beauty of a city. In ancient times, girls married very early, and they were able to be prostitutes at the age of thirteen or fourteen. In five or six years, they were afraid that they would be sold out by their aunt again.

So, Xia Qinglian's subordinates consciously pressed Mrs. Xia's sleeping point, making Mrs. Xia fall asleep.

Mrs. Lai thought Mrs. Xia was dizzy from anger and felt a little embarrassed, but she didn't want to leave now. If the matter could not be settled today, Zhang Tongzhi's side would be in trouble.Xia Qinglian didn't know, but she knew that Zhang Tongzhi and his wife were not due to Xia Qinglian. Mrs. Zhang valued another girl from a wealthy businessman more. Mrs. Zhang's criteria for choosing a daughter-in-law-even if she is treated badly, she will not go back to her natal family, and most importantly, the dowry will be generous.And Zhang Tongzhi was optimistic about Xia Qinglian, because Xia Qinglian's superb medical skills made it easier for her son to recuperate his body. You must know that although Zhang Fan was only under twenty, most of his body had been hollowed out by wine.

Xia Qinglian also ignored Lai's ignorance of advancing or retreating, and only changed her usual soft eyes, looked at Lai icily and said, "No matter what schemes Auntie has, she will plan it herself. Why bother to force us orphans and widows? Although Qinglian She is a weak woman, but she is not to be manipulated by others. If you are in a hurry, a rabbit can bite people, let alone people? I will never marry in this family. If my aunt really wants to have this relationship, the third cousin is not suitable. Is it? In this world, there is absolutely no reason to force a niece to marry, and no one will side with my aunt if it is said." Xia Qinglian's words were a little threatening.At this time, she was also a little frustrated that Xia Ningjue's housekeeper was too strict, and none of the servants in the family broke their mouths. Even Zi Lan, who loves to laugh the most, would never say a word that shouldn't be said even if she was laughing and cursing outside, so The Lai family has been domineering in the Xia family for so many years, and there has never been any rumors outside, even Mrs. Xia has kept it secret.It was also because of this that Mrs. Lai dared to act wildly in their family, because she was sure that the Xia family would keep their mouths tight and would not spread these words to the outside world.

So Xia Qinglian had no choice but to threaten blatantly, but she wasn't sure if it would work.She could guess that the reason why Mrs. Lai came to talk about this marriage was probably to gain Zhang Tongzhi's relationship, and Zhang Tongzhi probably did intend to ask her to marry Zhang Fan. After all, Zhang Fan's reputation is too bad, it is not good Someone else's daughter is willing to marry, but she has only orphans and widows in her family, so it is very simple to force her.What's more, there was a Mrs. Lai who hurriedly came to flatter her.

Sure enough, although Lai's face was a little embarrassing, she didn't flinch, as if she wanted to mutter something, at this time, the third daughter-in-law standing behind her grabbed her sleeve: "Mother, let me persuade Lian Sister."

Lai Shi nodded, but her eldest daughter-in-law gave a cold snort. Lai Shi gave her a hard look, and stepped back, but she still had a sarcasm.