The Legend of the Long Room in the Red Mansion

How could Ying'er dare to leave her own lady alone, what she was doing was rummaging through other people's houses, so she was so frightened that she persuaded her all the way: "Miss, go home, I will stay and search."

Baochai resolutely said: "If you are found out, you will die." After walking around the princess mansion, Baochai learned to think differently - no one in power can tolerate slaves turning over their heads, whether it is What's the reason, not to mention Mrs. Wang is ruthless.

Ying'er cried with tears in her eyes: "Is it okay if the girl is discovered? The reputation will be ruined."

Baochai smiled wryly: "This is just right, she won't want me to marry her son." Baochai had already made up her mind that she would go back to Jinling and never go to Beijing for the rest of her life. Not so important anymore.In any case, with the Jia family's declining influence in Xishan, it is not easy to spread her bad news all over the capital, and it is impossible to reach Jinling.Not to mention that among the four major families, only the Xue family has been stationed in Jinling, and the other three families left there are all ineffective branches.

Seeing that Baochai was determined, and that they really didn't have much time left, Ying'er didn't dare to delay any longer, she shed tears and ran away.

Back in Lixiangyuan, Yinger quietly ran back to her room, washed her face in a hurry, made sure that no one would see her panicked, and then went back to the front yard again, pretending that she had just come back, and asked the little girl to spread the word, and put Aunt Xue's close The servant girl Tongxi Tonggui called out, and said with a smile: "Young lady and the others are eating and drinking over there, and they are also thinking about the wife and the second wife at home, so they asked me to come back and have a look."

Tong Xi smiled and said: "The girl is filial, the wife will be happy to know, but it's better for the younger sister to come in later, right now the two wives are chatting sideways in the room."

Tonggui snickered and said, "It seems to be about girls." The fact that their wives intended to marry the second wife could not be hidden from the maid, and Tongxi and Tonggui knew about Mrs. Wang earlier than Baochai and Yinger. Recently, the idea of ​​matching Baoyu and Baochai started again.

Ying'er was distraught, and thought, "Our girl doesn't look down on that Second Master Bao at all."He was so angry that he could only talk away and said: "Don't dare to talk nonsense, be careful that the girl is annoyed."

Tong Xi and Tonggui turned pale, and they also knew that Baochai looked gentle, but in fact was very strict under the imperial court. Don't look at her often throwing money to inquire about the Jia family's affairs, but she hates her servants gossiping, and she saw it. At the least, they are verbally reprimanded to deduct the monthly money, and at worst, they are sent to the outer court, and they are not allowed to enter the upper house. Therefore, the servants of the Xue family are actually much better than the former Rong Guogong's mansion, which is known as the home of Zhongming Dingshi.

Ying'er frightened the two of them, relieved her anger a little, and simply pretended to be aggressive and said: "It's easy for me not to tell the girl about this, you have taken care of my wife and second wife for me, and let me rest my legs and feet." , I won’t say anything.”

Tong Xi and Tong Gui nodded repeatedly when they heard this, this was originally their duty, and it was really a good deal to exchange favors with this.Ying'er ordered the two to prepare wine and dishes, and sent them to Aunt Xue, saying that it was Baochai's filial piety.Aunt Xue happily showed off her daughter in front of Mrs. Wang, and immediately pulled Mrs. Wang and poured wine herself, determined to have a few drinks with her.Mrs. Wang declined and said it was time to go back. Yinger was anxious, snatched the appetizers from Tonggui's hand, lifted the curtain and went in, smiling at Aunt Xue: "Madam, this is what the girl read from the book. The recipe is made by the servant, please try it."

Seeing that it was Yinger, Aunt Xue was puzzled: "Why are you here? The girl is back?"

Ying'er laughed and said: "Miss and Master Bao are having a good time playing. They drank a few more glasses and are resting in Miss Qin's room. I'll come back and get a change of clothes for the girl."

Mrs. Wang was also very satisfied when she heard that everyone was playing with Baoyu until she got drunk—in her eyes, it was only natural for everyone to revolve around her son.Then he smiled and said to Ying'er: "Forget it, just let them have fun today. You go back and tell Jin Chuan'er that I won't go back, and the children in the province won't be able to play when they see me."

Yinger was delighted in her heart, and hurriedly complimented her. She has been with Baochai for ten years, and Baochai has [-]% or [-]% of her way of dealing with people, not to mention learning everything. ?Aunt Xue was also provoked by her, and began to praise her daughter out of nowhere, and incidentally did not forget to mention the benefits of Baoyu.Mrs. Wang's words were drawn out, and the two talked and drank, seeing that the time delay could proceed smoothly.

Ying'er withdrew, found a casual coat, wrapped it in a bundle, and went back to the garden to look for Baochai.Passing by the Red Fragrance Garden where everyone had a small banquet, I also specially investigated the situation-Xiang Yun was half drunk again, Li Wan was trying to persuade him to take the wine glass away, but Xiang Yun refused to give it, and the sister-in-law and sister-in-law became entangled; Baoqin is okay, but her face is a little red, and she is talking intimately together; Baoyu is acting like a coquettish and coquettish girl to play with him, depending on the situation, she has no intention of taking Baochai again. It means to pull out.

This was another layer of safety, Yinger hurried back to report to Baochai.During this period of time, Baochai had knocked every inch of the wall and floor of the small Buddhist hall, but found nothing abnormal.Ying'er checked the futons, prayer blankets, and kneeling mats again, and she found nothing except that they were probably new and hadn't been used much.

But this confirmed Baochai's conjecture—this small Buddhist hall was not used for pious chanting at first glance, but Mrs. Wang came here almost every day, which must be weird.Just can't find where the weirdness is?Baochai scanned the furnishings in the Buddhist hall inch by inch. She had touched everything that could be moved, and now the only thing left was the Avalokitesvara statue.

Baochai is still a little afraid to do something to the Bodhisattva statue, but it is not stronger than the fear that the life of the whole family is in the hands of others.It's just that the Avalokitesvara statue was about half the size of a person, and it was placed on a waist-high stone platform. Baochai couldn't climb it, so he had to rub the platform and the feet of the Avalokitesvara statue once.

Just at this moment Yinger came back, and Baochai hurriedly called out, "Come and help me."

Ying'er threw down her clothes and bundles and ran over, and with Baochai's help, she climbed up the stone platform, and began to touch the Guanyin statue inch by inch from top to bottom.

Baochai watched with her face up, and from time to time pointed out where Yinger had fallen.But even the pleats of the Avalokitesvara statue were checked and nothing abnormal was found. Yinger withdrew her hand and said affirmatively, "Girl, the Avalokitesvara statue is one piece, there is no place to put things."

Baochai said, "Have you checked carefully?"

Yinger said: "It will never be wrong."

Baochai said helplessly: "It seems that I guessed wrong, that's all, you come down first."

Ying'er promised to get ready to come down, and subconsciously put her hands on the top of the Guanyin statue, trying to jump down with her legs.

Baochai was lowering her head and thinking about where to go next, but she didn't see Yinger's movement, and she still talked to her: "I offended the Bodhisattva in vain, and I don't have a theory. When I go back, I must pay homage to our own Avalokitesvara statue and kowtow a few times." , it’s better to accompany the crime.”

Ying'er was already uneasy because she climbed onto the platform of the Avalokitesvara statue, but when she heard Baochai's words, she panicked, her feet went limp, she didn't jump down, she swayed and bumped her head on the Avalokitesvara statue. "Yo", she was ready to hit her head, but unexpectedly, the Guanyin statue was knocked flat by her and moved to the right.

Baochai was taken aback for a moment, then rushed forward, pushed Yinger aside, and poked her head to see where the Avalokitesvara statue was.I saw there was a stone hole about the size of a plate, carved on the stone platform, the depth was not shallow, and there were many boxes of different sizes stacked inside, with different colors and patterns.

Ying'er also came back to her senses, got down from the table in a hurry, and leaned over to study.At this time, Baochai had already opened all the boxes on the first floor, but saw that there were everything in it, except the usual sachets and purses, as well as small and light girls such as sandalwood fans and sweat towels. Household stuff.There is even a bead that seems to be smudged with brilliance, even with Baochai's eyesight, he is not sure whether it is a night pearl.The rest of the things were even weirder, some looked like rouge, some looked like compacts, and some looked like pills inside.

Baochai knew that what she was looking for was here, but she didn't know which one it was.It is unrealistic to take them all away, not to mention whether Mrs. Wang will notice, the number of boxes alone cannot be taken away.Baochai stomped her feet anxiously, but Ying'er swooped down and picked up the discarded clothes and package, and said anxiously, "Girl, take this bag with you."

Baochai's eyes lit up, she reached in, picked out all the boxes that looked like medicines, quickly opened them one by one, and took out a little of each.Pills are easy to handle, just squeeze one and wrap it in a handkerchief, but powdered things are not easy to handle.Baochai used up the purse, sachet, and Yinger's handkerchief on her waist, but she could only pack three of them. She twisted a little of each and took them away, preparing to send them to the princess mansion for business.But there is still half left, and I really can't take it anymore, so I can only say cruelly: "Anyway, I already know where it is, and I will come back later."

Ying'er was eager to leave. Hearing this, she hurriedly packed up the package, while Baochai put the boxes back in the cave.The two of them exerted great force at the same time, and pushed the Guanyin statue back again—after pushing Baochai tiredly holding on to the stone platform, he felt a bulge about half the size of a palm—twisting it according to the direction The statue of Guanyin was moved—the master and the servant couldn’t laugh or cry, wasting their efforts in vain.

After tidying up the Buddhist hall, the master and servant quietly opened the door, intending to go back to Baoqin's room.As long as you go back, this matter will be over today.But just as soon as he opened the door, he heard Yu Chuan'er's voice, smiling and talking to someone.

When she was standing in the courtyard, Baochai and Yinger could not go out, otherwise they would run into each other head-on.The two kept praying, hoping that Yu Chuan'er would leave quickly after finishing speaking.It's just that the wish didn't come true, not only Yu Chuan'er didn't leave, but there were two more people. Take a closer look-one is Jin Chuan'er, and the other is Baoyu.

Baoyu's face was rubbed with rouge, and he supported Jin Chuan'er's shoulders. He staggered, swaying here and there, and couldn't walk well, but he danced and said loudly: "I'll see Sister Bao, she's drunk. I'm afraid I'll get a headache after drinking, so you guys go and get the hangover soup, and I'll drink some with Sister Bao."

Baochai was shocked. Baoyu went to Baoqin's house at this time. How could she go back?If she is not in the house, everyone will definitely look for her, and something will happen - she must never be seen entering Mrs. Wang's Buddhist hall.

Ying'er was already in a daze of panic, holding the package trembling in her hands, she could hardly hold it.Baochai snatched it up, held it in her arms, put her hand on the door, pushed open a small crack, and checked the movement outside.

Now there are more people in the courtyard, and Baoyu's maid Xiren also came in. Since Jin Chuan'er came, she has been secretly competing with her for favor and position in Baoyu's heart. If they are close, if these two people get together for half a stick of incense, the attacker will surely come over and stare at them;

Li Wan was afraid that these little ancestors would cause trouble, so he kept sending people to watch;

Because Baoyu was going to her house, Baoqin felt a little awkward, but because she was under the eaves, she didn't dare to say anything, so she simply came over to see for herself;

As soon as Baoqin came, Tanchun who was talking to her also stopped by;

Baochai was angry and impatient, noticing that among this group of people, only Yun girl was the most worry-free, and she was probably lying somewhere after drinking too much.

A group of people were arguing endlessly in the courtyard. Baoyu was drunk and wanted to see Baochai. Baoqin was not happy to let Baoyu go to her boudoir, so she offered to take care of her cousin. Tanchun was careful and saw Baoqin's displeasure , also stopped Baoyu with words, and kept suggesting that Jin Chuaner and Xiren take Baoyu back to Yihong Courtyard. Li Wan hurried over and agreed—she hoped that these little ancestors could go back to their respective places after drinking too much. house.

It's okay for the masters to speak one after another, but Jin Chuan'er and Xiren didn't stop. Jin Chuan'er relied on that he came out of Mrs. Wang's house, and his younger sister Yu Chuan'er was still working as a maid, so he wanted to help Baoyu to Mrs. Wang's house. Xiren naturally dared not enter Mrs. Wang's room casually. If Baoyu went to rest there, she would not have the share of being courteous, so he took Li Wan's words to talk about things, and only said that Grandma let her go. Help the second master go back to his room.When Li Wan heard this, he hurriedly cleared himself up: "Just let him lie down and rest for a while, and he can go wherever it is cheap."

Jin Chuan'er was triumphant, called Yu Chuan'er, and sent Baoyu to Mrs. Wang's upper room while supporting Baoyu; Baoqin breathed a sigh of relief, but really planned to take Tanchun to see Baochai together; But he didn't dare to let Baoyu go to see others first. If Mrs. Wang knew about it, she didn't know how to deal with her; Li Wan was also busy with Baoyu's affairs and left Xiangyun behind; It was loud, but she never left Xiangyun too far, so that she would not be left unattended.

Baoqin turned around in a circle, and finally decided to go and see Baochai. As for Baoyu, it would not be rude to greet him after he settled down.Baochai's eyes were burning with anxiety, but because of Baoyu's procrastinating movements, she could only watch Baoqin walk towards the courtyard.

Ying'er sighed and closed her eyes: "Girl, we're done."

As soon as the words fell, I heard Baoqin's exclamation: "Where is Sister Chai?" Then he rushed out, ran to the courtyard, pulled Li Wan Tanchun and shouted: "Sister Chai is gone, she is not in the house, Where did you go?"

With such a yell, Baoyu, who had already been comforted by Jin Chuaner, became fussy again: "Sister Bao disappeared? What happened? Why don't you go find it?" Xiren wanted to step forward to help Baoyu, but was caught Baoyu, who was still in a daze, gave a push and shouted, "Go and find Sister Bao, what are you doing here?"

Xiren was yelled at by Baoyu in front of Jin Chuan'er, full of grievances, but had to obey, before Jin Chuan'er's smug smile fully bloomed, Baoyu also broke out of his arms, blatantly wanting to go by himself Find Baochai.Jin Chuan'er hastily locked Baoyu in her arms, hugged him and walked into the room, trying to make him lie down first, don't accidentally trip or fall, then everyone will finish playing together .

As soon as Li Wan heard that Baochai was gone, his head buzzed, and he shouted in his heart that something was wrong. He hurriedly took someone to the ear room behind Baoqin's house, hoping that Baochai was actually just getting up to relieve his hand or something;

Tanchun was still stuck in the center of the yard, not deciding which side to take care of first;

Only Baoqin had no distractions, turned the house upside down to find Baochai, but when she couldn't find it, she turned her head and ran back to the red incense garden, to see if Baochai had woken up and went back;

Tanchun hesitated for a moment, and seeing that Baoyu was also coaxed to the door by Jin Chuaner, he followed Baoqin and ran out.

Seeing people coming and going in the courtyard, Baochai started to become chaotic, pushed Yinger, and said in a low voice: "Now, go around to the back room and go back. Someone bumped into him and said that you went home to get your clothes and found that they were gone." I'm looking around."

Ying'er was in a hurry: "What about the girl?"

Baochai said: "I also tried to get out, and only said that I wanted to relieve myself, but I was so drunk and dizzy that I went the wrong way."

Only then did Ying'er get out, and ran all the way to the corridor with her head bowed and her chest in her chest, and she turned around the corner in a flash under the cover.

Baochai was one step behind and had to close the door of the Buddhist hall before leaving, which wasted time.And when Yinger was running ahead, although others didn't see her right, they saw someone flashing past in the corridor.Others don't need to reason, but Yu Chuan'er was ordered to watch the house, so she couldn't stop asking, so she hurriedly called out: "Who is where? What are you running for?"

Ying'er already had ghosts in her heart, but when Yu Chuan'er yelled like this, she panicked even more and ran even faster.Seeing that the figure was unfamiliar, Yu Chuan'er thought she had been a thief, so she screamed and chased after him in fright.Jin Chuan'er also knew Mrs. Wang's kindness and cruelty, fearing that her sister would be held responsible for her negligence, she hurriedly put Baoyu down, pushed him into the room, pressed him to the bed, and flew after him.

Baoyu was actually so drunk that he couldn't see people clearly, but he could still understand things in his mind, so he danced and danced to remember.

Baochai huddled in the shadow of the pillars to avoid Jin Chuan'er, and ran in the opposite direction desperately after leaving the Buddhist hall, but there were so many people in the courtyard, and Yu Chuan'er kept yelling at them, so they couldn't run too far.Seeing a room at the moment, he ran into it without thinking, didn't see where it was, and hurriedly turned around to close the door, hoping that no one would see it.

As a result, when he turned around again, before he could raise his head, he bumped into a person. The person couldn't bear it anymore, and he fell backwards with a loud "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhs" yell.Baochai had nowhere to exert force, and struggled to help but had nowhere to start, and only had time to cry out in surprise, and then fell down.The two were about the same height, when they fell, their heads collided with each other, the force was not light, and they were both drunk, they both passed out.

Two consecutive shouts aroused the crowd. Li Wan heard a male voice, which must be Baoyu, and hurried over, but when he opened the door, he was dumbfounded.The people behind came one after another, and they all stood at the door stupidly—I saw Baoyu lying on his back on the knee-high couch where Mrs. Wang usually took a nap, with one arm around her waist.On half of his body was Baochai who was lying prone on his side, and his head rested on Baoyu's shoulder. The two of them nestled together, seemingly very close, and they were sleeping (dizzy) unconscious.