The Second Master Lian of the Red Chamber

Jia's mother also nodded, the marriage with the He family was settled, Jia Amnesty was satisfied, Jia Lian felt relieved when the dust had settled, but in the mansion, it was as if a drop of boiling oil had fallen into boiling water, and private discussions abounded everywhere. Everyone was wondering where a defender popped up, who could actually persuade the dignified minister to come forward to fool their elders.

As the saying goes, the servant looks like the master.Although Mrs. Jia Muwang and others were empty-hearted, they always showed the dignity and honor of the founder of the country on their faces. The servants in the family also had their eyes on their foreheads, and they didn't pay attention to the local officials. It's been a while, and what I'm talking about is still the style of the old man's house when he was alive.In addition, this time there is no strange marriage of Uncle Xiaorong from the Ningfu, Jia Zhu's Yue family is a noble family in charge of the Imperial College, and Jia Rong's marriage was bestowed by the imperial decree. Doesn't it show that Jia Lian's family is weak?

These snarky old servants don't care about the rank of the garrison officer and hold the military power in their hands. They only remember the days when many military officers came to the concierge to post greeting cards and gifts to see the old man, and they felt that this marriage was of low status. The second grandma Lian who passed the door also felt contemptuous.

When the gossip reached Jia Lian's ears, he laughed and spewed tea, coughing for a long time.In terms of official position, the elder in the mansion is higher than the elder, but although the title he inherited is first rank, it is a false position and cannot be discussed in one place, and the second master has been fifth rank for many years, which is lower than He Shoubei.This is really looking at people through the cracks of the door, it really underestimates people.

It's just that although Jia Lian thought it was funny, he also knew that this trend was not ruthless, and that the gang of slaves would definitely get worse, and they would bully the He family when they couldn't tell, so his face sank, and he went to find Jia She to explain As expected, he got the approval, and he wanted to bring out those who chewed their tongues and punish them severely.

Before the housekeeper's Mrs. Wang could react, Jia Lian grabbed the [-] or so people who were found to be leading the discussion and beat them down with a board, and immediately began to bite each other.There were too many people who let go, even if everyone wanted to get rid of themselves and frame others, Jia Lian asked a few times patiently, and the board standing next to him gave more persuasion, and the matter was sorted out.

Previously, Jia Lian's marriage was difficult to achieve, and there were a lot of gossip in private in the house. Mrs. Wang closed her eyes and did not restrain her, so the servants became more and more bold.This time, he suddenly talked about someone he had never heard of before, so everyone was naturally curious. A few days ago, the servants who followed Jia She were all stared at and talked to by the relatives who talked in the past. It was really annoying. I wish I could get an errand from Beijing right away, so that I can stay away from these people.There was a lot of quarreling, even though Jia She had instructed not to chew tongues, there were always people who were impatient and let people spit out sporadic and just say a few words.

These servants and servants originally just wanted to hear a western scene, and they dared to go out and talk about it after a few words. Anyway, the housekeeper's wife ignored it, and naturally the more they said, the more outrageous they were, and they cleverly figured out what Madam Wang wanted. But the He family has been passed down as a broken household.

After Jia Lian finished listening, she smiled slightly, let the rest of the servants kneel on the ground to confess their sins, and led some people to escort the pickers out first, and led them to the stewards and housekeeper's wives who were blocked by the boys with dark faces.There was no need for these second-bedroom confidants to threaten the old lady and the second wife loudly, and just opened their mouths with a smile.

"I moved out of the east courtyard at the age of six or seven. The old lady and the second wife have been taking care of me all these years. If I don't respect my elders and make them angry, can I still be regarded as a person?" Jia Lian smiled and narrowed her peach blossom eyes, as if I didn't even realize that these people were implying that he was not filial, and the tone was very kind, with a hint of indifference: "It's also my fault, as soon as I heard that there was a slave who ruined the reputation of the old lady and the second wife, I couldn't sit still any longer. Hold it, give it a good beating before you catch it. How can such a dog slave who doesn't know how to appreciate kindness and wastes troubles keep the elders angry? This is also my little bit of filial piety."

Jia Lian opened his eyes and spoke with sincerity, and he didn't care whether the people who listened to him were serious or not. He ordered the people in the East Court to push the people who were bundled into rice dumplings to the front, and continued: "It's these tricky people. The slave raised his head, relying on his usual prestige, he actually made up the old lady and the second wife. Saying that the master ordered them to go to the old man to inquire about my marriage, isn't this unconscionable and insulting to the master? My About the matter, if the old lady and the second wife ask about it, they will talk endlessly, how can they be allowed to provoke them like this. I wanted to kill the account directly, but I was afraid that people who didn't know the truth would think that there are no rules in our house. It’s better to leave it to everyone, and deal with it according to family law.”

After Jia Lian spoke, except for himself, who still had a pure face, all the stewards standing opposite changed their faces, and the servants who were watching all kinds of things all around wanted to turn their heads and leave the place. , that no one should know that he heard these words.

How can you say that in front of so many people?Whether the old lady or the wife will send someone to inquire about the big house is obvious, but everyone pretends to be confused.The second master Lian is also very smart, why did he suddenly puncture this layer of paper in a muddle?He didn't even think about making the old ladies and wives feel blocked, and he would still ask for it in the future.

After admiring the faces of these overbearing slaves, Jia Lian Shi Shiran led them away, and simply left all the servants who had been captured from all over the mansion by the vicious spirit before to the stewards to deal with, and came over without making a sound. Asking, she really didn't care about the fate of these people at all, and Madam Wang, who had prepared a carload of well-meaning words of comfort, almost felt ill.

As for those slaves who framed their masters, they naturally couldn't stay in the mansion as errands.The Daiwang wife of Zhou Rui's family scolded them, then kicked them all out, and picked out loyal and honest people.

After Mrs. Wang let go of the bad breath, she heard the mother in charge of her natal family talk about the latest news in the capital.I don't know where the words came from, but Jia Lian's friendship was greatly praised by taking advantage of the unseemly and simple funeral ceremony of the eldest son's cousin in Dongping Palace this month.

The person who spread the news vividly said how to forgive Jia Lian and his son, who had seized the first house, how to make Jia Zhu's funeral a big deal, and how Jia Lian would do everything by himself. They talked about everything from beginning to end, as if someone was scrambling on the wall of Rongguo Mansion day and night. Look at it.But the noble family's private property is the people's favorite to listen to and believe in. This report is well-founded, reasonable and reasonable, and the well-known events in Rongguo Mansion coincide with each other. Naturally, everyone believes it. For a while, Jia Lian never left the house, so he won an excellent reputation.

When the steward of the Wang family heard about it outside, it would have spread out of control.And all the rumors outside are true, it's just that Da Fang's intentions are not so kind.Not to mention that the rumors have always been more clarified and confused, even if they can tell, they are all real things. Could it be that they have to analyze with others that Da Fang did it involuntarily?That's really self-exposing.Mrs. Wang Ziteng thought for a long time, but she only sent her confidant to meet Mrs. Wang once and bring the words to her so that she would not be kept in the dark.

When Mrs. Wang first heard that her poor Pearl had become a stepping stone for that little bastard in Dafang, she almost hated her and poked her over, her face turned pale and pale, which made Zhou Rui's family hurry to get pills for her to eat. Next, the servant girl of the royal family who came to deliver the message also panicked.She could hear the godmother mentioning that the aunt and wife are not very broad-minded, and even sisters like to pinch things to be strong. The words were forgotten.When I saw her today, I realized that my aunt and wife had never met anything before.

After finally waiting for Mrs. Wang to improve after taking the medicine with water, the servant girl of the Wang family excused her wife Qing to wait for an answer, and immediately withdrew, leaving the Rongguo Mansion like the wind under her feet. Only then did Zhou Rui's family carefully persuade her one two.

It's not that Zhou Rui's family is really so loyal, it's really that the eldest family has been aggressive in the past two years. Although he didn't directly seize the family power, the eldest master and the second master Lian acted without regard for the second family's dignity, and the servants gradually had two hearts.Zhou Rui's family is accompanied by Mrs. Wang, and now her family relies on Mrs. Wang to show off in the mansion, so naturally they are on the same rope with the second room.

Grandma Zhu became a widow and could not be a housekeeper, Second Grandma Bao had to wait at least ten years to enter the house, but Second Grandma Lian of this big house was about to marry in. Isn't it just cheaper for the big house?Those loyal second servants like them will never have any good results.

When Zhou Rui's family spoke carefully about Jia Lian and others' sinister situation, Mrs. Wang really came back to her senses immediately, her anger disappeared a lot, and her expression became less frightening.She has worked so hard in this mansion for so many years, how can she easily take advantage of Jia Lian's wickedness.

After eating half a cup of rose honey to calm herself down, Mrs. Wang suddenly smiled contemptuously, half-closed her eyelids and sneered: "I don't like this, and I don't want to, I still think he can send a princess back, who will come back?" Thinking of Baba'er coming back from a shabby house, with that kind of family status, he would have nothing to do when he came to our house to see the gentlemen. I don't know where they fell in love. I don't want the old face of my life anymore. Now that we have a marriage, we are in a hurry to step on us, maybe it's because the girl of the He family doesn't even have a serious dowry, so she wants to use tricks?"

Seeing that Mrs. Wang finally stopped staring at the rumors outside, Zhou Rui's family heaved a sigh of relief and quickly followed Mrs. Wang's words: "Isn't that true? Madam, you must be steady, and you must not let that screwdriver be small." It's what you want. As long as you are still in charge of the family, we will have the backbone, how can a yellow-haired girl from the countryside make plans?"

Ever since Mrs. Wang gave birth to her intelligent eldest grandson Jiazhu before her sister-in-law, and finally became the director of the Rongguo Mansion, one thing she has been thinking about is that her children and grandchildren will be able to compete in the future and overwhelm the big family. The other thing is to look forward to marrying The daughter-in-law who enters the door can take over the power of housekeeping from herself, so that the big house and the whole family can rely on themselves.Now, because of Jia Zhu's early death and Jia Lian's cunning, the first thing will be hopeless in a few years. If the goblin Jia Lian wants to marry breaks down the second thing, Mrs. Wang will not be able to rest in peace even if she dies. .

However, it is a rule passed down from generation to generation that the wife and grandma of the eldest house are in charge of the house. Mrs. Wang not only burned incense and prayed for Jia Zhu a few days ago, but also indulged the servants in arranging the guard daughter.After all, no matter how righteous the name is, if the He family can't help the servants to take care of the house, and doesn't have the reason to let the family property left by the ancestors harm her at will, then naturally the able one will live in it.At that time, a bride who can't accept the power of sending her to her door will have to be ruled by others like Mrs. Xing for the rest of her life, while Mrs. Wang can be in charge of the house with peace of mind, waiting for Baoyu's daughter-in-law to come in.

Even though Jia Lian was spoiled by that scoundrel later, even if Jia Lian couldn't be dealt with, Mrs. Wang thought she could handle a girl from a small local official's family.

It's so difficult for the servants not to talk nonsense.Since the two parties are interested, it is time to discuss the dowry and dowry after changing Geng Tie.In the case of Rongguo Mansion's ostentatious family, there is no one to subsidize it, and only rely on the old practice of the public. When Jia Lian was hired, he said at least that it would cost tens of thousands of taels of silver, which is not an antique that he had prepared long ago.Such a generous betrothal gift, even the high-ranking families in Beijing can talk about it, but the He family is just a country bumpkin who lives in Yunqingzhou for a long time. I heard that they have many children, and I am afraid that they will not be able to make up a suitable dowry even if they empty out their family resources. .When the time comes to have a look at the dowry list, won't you immediately miss the bottom line?You can’t say it’s fake, but can you really keep everyone’s mouths shut?Even if Jia Lian has the ability to reach the sky, he can't make up for it.

With such hope waiting ahead, Mrs. Wang really calmed down the anger in her heart slowly, and lived a half-day board meeting, half-day chanting Buddha and praying for Jia Zhu as before.Li Wan, who was in confinement, also sent the eldest girl who was still by her side to give away a scroll of scriptures she had copied for Jia Zhu several times, but Mrs. Wang never forgot to hand Jia Zhu's tablet, and directly The girl handed over to the rough envoy lit the brazier.

It's a pity that Jingzhong and Yunqing Prefecture are thousands of miles away, and He Shoubei and his family are in office, Mrs. Shangshu can only protect the matchmaker, and Jia and He still need to communicate and discuss many matters.This time and again, even if the two families are officials and can borrow the imperial post, it still took a lot of time.

In midsummer, Mrs. Wang still didn't get the dowry list of the He family that she had been thinking about, but she waited for the wedding banquet post from the Dongping Palace, and the grandma Zhen Youshi of the Dongfu who came to find a helper.The wedding banquet between the eldest son of Dongping Palace and Qin Ye's adopted daughter, Qin Shi, will be held at the end of the month, and invitations to the high-ranking families in Beijing have been spread all over the place.The marriage between Jia Rong and the youngest daughter of the Zhen family is scheduled for early autumn. Miss Zhen has already been personally escorted by the fourth master of the Zhen family on the official ship to Beijing, and she will arrive around the beginning of next month.

The post from the Dongping Prince’s Mansion is easy to say. Mrs. Wang had already discussed with Jia’s mother about the congratulatory gift when the Qin family’s marriage was finalized. But it is not easy to pass.

Ningrong and Rongfu are from the same lineage, and now Mrs. Jing is living with her husband in a Taoist temple outside the city, and she has stated that she will not come back to see her eldest grandson get married, so the important matter of planning the wedding falls on Youshi, the stepwife.But Youshi came from a very low family background and was not favored by Jia Zhen. It was not easy to speak in the Ningguo Mansion. In front of Mrs.

In terms of emotion and reason, Mrs. Wang is not good at refusing this matter, otherwise she will not be like the living Bodhisattva-like second wife who is praised by everyone, if Youshi makes a mistake in her work, it will also lose the face of the entire Jia clan.What's more, this marriage was bestowed by the imperial decree, and the slightest mistake can make people catch up and make a big fuss.If there is someone who has a dark heart saying that the two houses have "resentment", then it is really full of mouths and it is impossible to explain.

Therefore, even though Mrs. Wang was full of laziness in her heart to intervene in such a thankless and lucrative matter, she still patiently accepted You Shi's request with a smile.From the placement of the Zhen family when they came to Beijing, the layout of the Zhen family's dowry, to the posts on the day of the wedding banquet, and where to host the guests, everything was discussed with You family, and every two days he went to Ningguo Mansion by car to help with the cooking. After a long time, I was tired and turned on my back. I didn't even have time to inquire about the bustle of the Dongping Palace. I only heard that the Qin family was loved by the elders in the family and respected by the husband and son-in-law after passing through the door. The life was exceptionally beautiful.

After Mrs. Wang and Youshi settled everything, Jia Zhen also came forward to discuss the outside affairs with the fourth master of the Zhen family who accompanied her niece to Beijing to get married, and it was time for Zhenshi to put on her makeup.In the Ningguo Mansion, the You family personally watched the mother-in-law and the girl clean up the two courtyards where Jia Rong lived after marriage and the small courtyard next to the Zhen family where the dowry was kept. The smiling Mrs. Wang also came over with a smile on her face early in the morning and waited for the Zhen family to bring the dowry. It seemed that she was more concerned than the cheap mother-in-law Youshi.

The Zhen family has been very popular in Jinling these years, and the fertile land and shops are useless. Although the Zhen family Xu married was only the concubine daughter of the family, for the sake of the honor of the imperial decree, the dowry they bought was no worse than that of the sisters who were born on the same day.Concubine Zhenxian in the palace rewarded a white jade Guanyin statue, a pair of emerald Ruyi, ten sets of gold and jade gem heads, and a dozen pieces of silk and satin, all tied with golden ribbons in the palace, noble and dignified.In addition, the Zhen family also married more than [-] acres of fertile farmland near Jiangnan and Tongzhou, eight shops in the two places, six boxes of antiques, calligraphy and paintings, ten boxes of clothing and other items, and several pressed boxes of silver. The whole set was built according to the size of Jia Rong's yard. The sandalwood furniture, moved into the Ningguo Mansion together in a mighty way.

Mrs. You had seen the dowry of cheap daughter-in-law a long time ago. Even though she saw it with her own eyes, she could not move her jealous eyes away, but it did not lose the face of everyone's wife, but Mrs. Wang smiled meaningfully. Apart from Zhou Rui's family, the eyes of the other woman who was with her were even more dizzy, obviously dazzled by Grandma Xiaorong's dowry.

Youshi's own background is not obvious, and he is often made fun of by others. Seeing such an unruly servant, he naturally feels ashamed. He always feels that the woman's worthless virtue has been seen by the housekeeper and daughter-in-law of the Zhen family, and he is unsure. How can you make fun of her as the head grandmother who can't restrain her servants, and even loses her dignity with her future daughter-in-law.But she didn't have enough confidence, and she didn't have the courage to go past Mrs. Wang and scold the servants of Rongguo Mansion, so she just turned a blind eye and closed her eyes, feeling depressed.

After Zhen's family left, Mrs. Wang also drove back to the mansion with a smile on her face, only then did a girl who was serving by her natal brother at the Rongguo Mansion come over and secretly found out about the mother-in-law who was born today.It turned out that when the daughter-in-law was young, she was a well-known slobber among the children of the two families, and she was beaten by her mother-in-law many times because she loved to provoke things. She only suffered less in the past two years, but it was because her man was born. He made a big mistake and told the second master Lian of Xifu Lian to break his leg and drive him home, so he couldn't move her anymore.

Mrs. Wang promoted such a villain to her side to serve, Youshi was shocked, and he was also in doubt, and he couldn't figure it out after thinking about it for half a day.Later, I heard that there was a lot of discussion among the servants in the Rongguo Mansion, and they praised Rong's daughter-in-law's dowry to the sky and the earth, and some people led them to guess whether the dowry of the second grandmother Lian, who had never been married, could be half of the dowry. Youshi was slow Taste it slowly, sigh a few words and just do not know, just settle down with the things in the Ningguo Mansion, and plan to hand over the housekeeping power after the first month of Zhen's entry.

It's not that Youshi doesn't want to hold the power of housekeeping in her hands, but that she has always been very self-aware.Before her mother-in-law left Beijing, she personally taught her to be a housekeeper, and helped her beat up the housekeepers. Most of these old servants were obedient, and now a daughter-in-law with a prominent background came, Obviously, her step-mother-in-law couldn't suppress it. Instead of being annoying, it's better to be a little more knowledgeable and interesting, and still have a little bit of love.

You Shi delegated authority happily, and Zhen Shi, who had already practiced many times at her mother's house, did not hesitate, and took it over generously, and resolutely placed many companions brought by her mother's family everywhere. The old man in the house also gave both kindness and power, with clear rewards and punishments. Within a month or so, he managed the Ningguo Mansion cleanly.As for the newlywed Jia Rong, she has long been held in the palm of the hand by Zhen Shi, who has a delicate appearance and a wrist.

Zhen's appearance and scheming are all excellent, and he subdued the people of Ningguo Mansion smoothly.Later, when she realized the unspeakably dirty and ambiguous idea of ​​the two so-called mother-in-law, sister-in-law, second sister You, third sister, father-in-law Jia Zhen, and husband-in-law Jia Rong, she used a thunderous trick to call Jia The father and son Zhen woke up and understood who is in charge of the Ningguo mansion now, but they were afraid of the power of the concubine in the palace and the Jinling Zhen family, and they didn't even have the courage to confront them face to face, so they passed away vaguely.Jia Rong took her heart back, but Jia Zhen couldn't let go, so she just found another place to raise her.

Jia Rong's marriage was finished, and the He Shoubei family didn't let the eagerly awaited Mrs. Wang wait too long. Soon, the stewards of the He family escorted several carts to the house to deliver the dowry list of their daughter and give it to the mansion. The etiquette of the masters of the Jia family.

On the day when the manager of the He family arrived, many boys from the two mansions sneaked over to look at the things sent by the officials from the countryside.Although everything is packed in boxes, it’s hard to see the truth, but the depth of the ruts of the He family’s trucks can be seen by everyone. The things that the second master Lian added for their marriage seemed to be the same, so they couldn't help but make all the servants change their minds, thinking that the He family might be a local rich man.

There are also those who firmly do not believe that the He family can have any family background, and stiffen their necks and say that things are expensive and not expensive, but the weight is the same. The Lin family sent them all antique calligraphy and paintings, which are priceless. Who knows if the He family just took any country Things are fooling people.As a result, it didn't take long to say this, and someone in the old lady's room spread the truth, saying that it was the He family's great handwriting, who sent many rare wild ginseng and high-quality fur spices to the old lady, He was so rich that the person who spoke before did not dare to speak again.

Mrs. Wang, who was laughing and jokingly watching the He family's rituals by Jia Mu's side, also made the He family very upset at the moment.

At that time, she was busy taking care of You Shi, so the Dafang simply bypassed her, and directly made a betrothal gift with the old lady for the He family. After a rough calculation, at least 2 taels of things came out of the palace. There is a list, just list some private subsidy items, sneaky and unwilling to let others know, now the He family's dowry list has arrived, so Mrs. Wang naturally wants to listen carefully.

Unexpectedly, these country people don't understand the rules at all, and they only gave the old lady a share and the four masters of the big house, so Mrs. Wang couldn't hold back the smile on her face, but the daughter-in-law who was in charge of the He family kept praising her The filial piety of their girls has no shame at all.

Mrs. Wang held back for a long while, and the housekeeper of the He family finished bragging about their love for the old lady, and held up a two-palm-wide box with great care. The girl's dowry list, please have a look at it with your in-laws, if there is anything inappropriate, you can discuss it again.

Lai's daughter-in-law, who was waiting on the sidelines, had long been of one mind with Mrs. Wang. After hearing this, she grabbed the box before the other maids and women, turned around and pretended to stagger inadvertently. When it was opened, the paper inside flew out directly, and Gu Lulu rolled away on the road. At first glance, it was more than three feet long, and there were rows of small characters densely written on it.

Jia Lian happened to be holding a cup of hot tea in his hand, and at a glance, it almost spilled all over his clothes.

Even though he knew that He Shoubei was a wonderful person, he never expected to be so wonderful. Looking at the expression on Second Aunt's face, he was really blind.