every spring [comprehensive]

So Tanchun quietly told Baochai that Jia Lian had secretly married Miss Zhen's younger sister, Second Sister You, and that after Wang Xifeng invited her Second Sister You back to the garden, she swallowed the gold and committed suicide not long after. The Youshi of the East Mansion naturally had an enmity with Wang Xifeng.

As for Mrs. Xing and Mrs. Wang, even if Tanchun doesn't talk about it, Baochai knows why, and she can usually see the signs.

When Wang Xifeng gained power, she was too high-spirited and did not leave any way out for herself. She did not show respect to Mrs. Xing, and she was only loyal to Mrs. Wang.

Mrs. Xing, who has no heart and is always strong and aggressive, must have held a grudge for a long time. She is still Wang Xifeng's mother-in-law in name, and she will definitely not make Sister Feng feel better when she gets a chance in the future.

As for Mrs. Wang, even though she is Wang Xifeng's real aunt, she is still a hard-hearted person in front of her own interests, so in the end Wang Xifeng will only become an abandoned child, not a human being inside or outside.

Tanchun sighed: "Hey, every year in the mansion is not as good as every year. The second elder brother and his wife did not use their own money to subsidize the official. Yesterday I heard Ping'er say that the wife asked Lian's second brother to get 200 yuan first no matter where he is. She has a use for two silver coins. The husband and wife have no choice but to take Sister Feng's gold collar and go out to pawn it."

Baochai said: "The two of them have also invested in a share in my shop in the south, and they earn several thousand taels of silver a year. How come they have reached the point where they want to be things? Don't you hear me wrong?"

Tanchun said: "No, I saw with my own eyes that Ping'er took out the collar that the second sister-in-law brought as a dowry. Although the eldest sister-in-law and I also participated in the housekeeping, some consumption will not be reflected in the book."

Tanchun whispered in Baochai's ear: "I heard that there are some father-in-laws in the palace who often borrow money from the mansion." In fact, they would never repay them in name of borrowing, and the Jia family would not ask others for it.This is basically enshrined to those eunuchs, and this bottomless pit will still be filled, unless it didn't start, or Yuan Chun didn't become a concubine in the palace.

During the conversation, the food was ready, so everyone moved to the table to eat, and the maids had another table. There was no daughter-in-law or aunt waiting on them, but they were very comfortable.After dinner, they all went home. Baoyu and the others knew that Mrs. Xue, Baochai, would go back and wait for Xue Pan to come back, so they didn't bother them much.

Baochai asked someone he trusted to follow them back, and came back after seeing the parents and entering the garden.

When Baoyu and Daiyu went back, Mother Jia had not finished her meal and asked, "What have you seen all day? You can see the general, is he majestic? Have you seen your big brother Xue?" Shi Xiangyun is a favorite talker Yes, Jia Baoyu was also very excited after playing for a whole day, the two of them were chattering, you and I described the grand occasion of the army entering the city very vividly, and said that the people on both sides all knelt down spontaneously, which made people feel very solemn and solemn. Those who are listening seem to be in it.

Xichun Yingchun and others regretted not going together.Jia's mother asked what she was eating again. She heard that it was a banquet in a famous restaurant outside, so she asked Daiyu, "Is there anything uncomfortable about eating outside?"

Lin Daiyu shook her head and said, "The old ancestors thought of me too weak. I have not been like that for the past two years. Besides, my body has always been taken care of by Sister Bao. With her around, even if there is really something I shouldn't eat Yes, she will also remind me, and naturally, like my ancestors, I will not be allowed to eat."

Mother Jia sighed: "Yes, why did I forget, Miss Bao has always loved you, and she is careful, so she will take care of these. You sisters get along well, better than real sisters, so don't break this relationship. We will visit more often in the future.”

Daiyu replied, "Yes."

After everyone had dinner in the old lady's room, Li Wan took Tan Chun away to talk about family affairs.Li Wan said: "It's already the middle of the month, but the monthly bills of the whole family have not been allocated yet. Many people can't help it. Some people even sued the wife. The wife still asks me today!"

Tanchun said: "It's because the outside doesn't send it down, and it's not the two of us holding it back. It's useless to be anxious! We can only appease and appease first."

Li Wan said: "There are too many people left in our family, so it is inevitable that there will be a lot of people. Press the gourd and scoop it up. Otherwise, why don't we scrape together some money to make up for it, and wait for the money on it to come down, and then put our own money away?" Take it back, so it won’t alarm people, and you don’t have to listen to them gossip.”

Tanchun opened his eyes wide, and said to Li Wan in disbelief: "How can sister-in-law have such thoughts? We are ordered to be housekeepers, but there is no reason to fill in our own money. You are right. This time I saw Sister Bao , she gave me the dividends of the past few months, just think about my few silvers, how much my family can have as a girl, if it wasn't for Sister Bao's kindness to share the sisters' property, I would pay it back for a month How about two taels, our house expenses and personal monthly bills always cost thousands of taels of silver, how many years will I have to save to be able to pay for this one month!"

Li Wan said: "Girl, don't worry. I was just discussing with you. I didn't expect to provoke you so much. If you don't want to say it directly. Besides, it's not all what I mean. Today, my wife came to me and showed that This tone tells us to find a way to solve it first, and then make it up for us when the above comes down, otherwise I would not be so bold as to spend money on it privately."

When Tanchun heard that it was Mrs. Wang's intention, he couldn't help but think deeply, "We have been in charge of it for the past few months, and you have experience as a housekeeper before, so you should know that the amount of money you get every month will not be so big. Happy, but we were able to receive the monthly report almost before the tenth, could it be that Sister Feng had to put money into it when she was the housekeeper?"

Li Wan said: "I don't know about it. If you want to know, it's easy. Let's inquire about her. Recently, Feng girl always said that she is not feeling well. I just want to go and see her."

Tanchun said: "I think it's better not to ask. No matter what the result is, we have to deal with the difficulties in front of us. The main thing is not the monthly money this time. Even if we can't make it this time, it will cost us both It's empty, what should I do next time there is such a thing, I think the top priority is to increase revenue and reduce expenditure, and try to reduce some."

Baochai and the others returned home and packed it up. At night, the servants outside shouted, "Master is back!"

Mrs. Xue couldn't sit still for a long time, and she had been looking at the door for a long time before. Song Baoqin and others persuaded her to go back to the warm pavilion. When she heard the news, she got up and walked out. Xue Pan walked away in a hurry When he came in, everyone present stood up in embarrassment.

Xue Pan walked up to Mrs. Xue with a few strides, knelt down on his knees, and said excitedly: "Mother, the child is back!"

Mrs. Xue was very excited. Xue Pan had never been away from her for such a long time. Although when he was around, he always complained to Baochai that he was not up to date.

Mrs. Xue looked at him carefully from head to toe, and seeing that he was not injured, she was relieved, wiped away her tears and said, "Just come back! Hurry up and visit your aunt, and your siblings who have seen you! "

So Xue Pan went to see Mrs. Song again, but Mrs. Song dared not let him really bow down. She hurriedly supported her and said, "What's wrong with this? Brother Pan, don't be too polite. You are an official of the court, and I am a civilian woman. How can I bear it."

Mrs. Xue said: "He is a junior and a nephew. It is right to kowtow to your aunt. What a great official, he is just a stickman."

Xue Pan also said: "That's right, my nephew hasn't seen my aunt for several years, and my uncle couldn't go to the funeral to offer incense, so I should kowtow to you!"

Brothers and sisters like Baochai, Baoqin and Xue Biao just came to see his elder brother. Xue Pan looked like an older brother to Baochai and Xue Biao, but he couldn't help grinning back at Baochai: "Sister, I'm coming back!" Yeah, do you miss me?"

Xue Pan developed late, his birthday has passed, he has grown taller than before, and his body is also much stronger, unlike the young master who was at home before, this may be due to the difference in the environment and the amount of exercise, no wonder Mrs. Xue didn't recognize him at first sight on the street.Moreover, in the military camp, it is no better than at home. No one will let him and spoil him. Gradually, the truth that his family and teachers could not understand before, when he was isolated and helpless, he slowly proved it, and he felt more and more that his The younger sister is rare, and when he was still ignorant, he had already supported the responsibility of the family, otherwise the Xue family might gradually decline when Xue's father passed away.

As he spoke, he raised Baochai involuntarily, and with his hand under her armpit, he turned happily around several times suddenly, and Xue Pan's joy of reunion after a long absence could not help but infect Baochai.

Now Mrs. Xue is in a hurry: "Nonsense, you put down my sister! I think it made her dizzy!"

So after Xue Pan talked about the cold and temperature with his family, he went to visit various relatives' houses, including Jia's palace.After waiting at home for a few more days, the decree of enfeoffment also arrived, and Mrs. Xue was also promoted to the third rank.The whole family was overjoyed, first they were busy thanking each other, and then the congratulatory gifts from various mansions came in a steady stream.

Xue Pan learned that Xue Biao was specially picked up by Baochai as a helper, so he called Xue Ke to give her a good beating, and told her to listen to Sister Bao's words well. He grew up behind his ass, not to mention that the eldest brother is like a father, Xue Pan is now the head of the family, so naturally he obeys his orders.

It’s just that no one, not even Wang Ziteng, would have thought that Xue Pan, an official, would get higher and higher. , but other people's third grade might have survived for many years, most of them are already at the limit, and that's it.

But Xue Pan has a good political affiliation, and is young. There is no messy relationship in his family, but he was born directly under the thirteenth prince, Prince Yi. Who doesn't know that Prince Yi is the emperor's confidant, so Xue Pan, who is Prince Yi's confidant Naturally, he is also a direct descendant of the emperor, so in the future, this official position will not be limited to these three ranks, maybe it will be unlimited.

In the imperial court, military officers have never been valued as much as civilian officials, so third-rank generals are not very attractive.Even so, Xue Baochai repeatedly urged Xue Pan not to make friends with other princes and elder brothers in private except for the thirteenth prince and the emperor. Their Xue family has no foundation in the officialdom. , maybe it will be beyond redemption.

Xue Pan knew the seriousness, seeing that Baochai said it so cautiously, and told him in detail about the intricate relationship between Kowloon's conquest of the heir apparent in the late Kangxi period, and the current situation, even Jia's mansion was subordinate to one of the losers.For those who used to participate in party struggles behind the princes, although the current emperor has not started to clean up, it is because there were too many state affairs before and there was no time, but not cleaning up does not mean not cleaning up. Now the crisis in the Northwest has been resolved. In a stable state, it is hard to say what the court will do next.From Xue Baochai's point of view, if she is a superior, she will never let her opponents go.

No matter how stupid Xue Pan was, he knew that he, a small fish, would not be able to withstand one or two rounds under the hands of those big men, so he was very cautious, except for serving the emperor wholeheartedly, he never made any sidekicks.Seeing him like this, the higher-ups valued him even more.

He had said earlier that he would invite Jia's family to visit the garden. After Xue Pan returned from the army, his position had been settled, and everyone had already brought gifts, and he had to set up a banquet to entertain the guests.

Mrs. Xue originally thought that she would be lonely and helpless when she left Jia's mansion. Who knew that Xue Pan would be promoted so soon after returning.Moreover, there is Mrs. Song who can relieve boredom on weekdays, and there are two more sensible children such as Bao Qin and Xue Bian who can entertain her under her knees.Living in my own spacious home, the whole person is much more comfortable physically and mentally, which is better than living next to Mrs. Wang in Jia's mansion, and their Xue family has a simple population, and the servants are obedient, there is nothing to worry about, more and more I think Baochai's decision is wise.

So Mrs. Xue got on a sedan chair carried by four people and went to Jia's mansion to invite Jia's family to come and play for a day.Seeing that Mrs. Xue was so enthusiastic, there was no reason why Mrs. Jia Muwang didn't come, so she brought the whole family all dressed up.

Mrs. Xue invited all the members of the Wang family at the same time, and Baochai took Baoqin to pick up Mrs. Zhao.Wang Ziteng, Wang Zisheng, Wang Ren, Wang Zhong, Jia Zheng, Jia She, Jia Zhen, Jia Lian, Jia Rong were waiting outside, Xue Pan and Xue Ke entertained them.The female relatives enter the back house to visit the garden.

The several gardens of the Xue family did not take much effort by myself. They were all refined and carved by the group of craftsmen sent by Prince Yi. Except for the same landscapes, flowers and trees, they are different from the delicate and delicate ones of Jia's mansion. People built a house for Prince Baylor, so after the completion of Xue's house, there was a solemn atmosphere everywhere, and the female relatives who visited the garden recently were full of praise.

Mother Jia is the oldest, and she is well-informed. She also recognizes many materials that others don't know. She knows that such a garden will cost a lot of money to complete, and their Xue family is not trying to save the concubine's relatives so that others can see financial resources. Those who live in the family usually use those high-quality and rare materials, which shows the huge financial resources of the Xue family.From this, she understood a little bit why Mrs. Wang tried her best to bring Baochai and Baoyu together. If such a marriage is formed, it will definitely be beneficial to Jia's family.

Wang Xifeng said: "I usually thought that I was a well-informed person, but today when I came to my aunt's house, I really gained a lot of knowledge!"

Jia Mu said: "You are young, there are so many things in this world, you have never seen them before, fortunately your aunt's family can find them."

Mrs. Xue said modestly: "The old lady has praised the prize. In fact, I didn't worry about how to build this garden. It was all decided by Baochai and his brother, and the prince sent someone to supervise the construction. I didn't even look at it after I moved in. It’s fine to do something else, just live in my own house, and it’s enough to be tidy.”

Wang Xifeng said: "Auntie is too modest. If this is the case, it is only called Qizheng. Then what do I usually call it? It can only be called Bird's Nest!" Everyone laughed.

Mrs. Zhao is Wang Xifeng's mother-in-law. At this time, she smiled and pointed at her and said, "Young girl Feng is getting narrower and narrower. When I was a girl at home, I never saw you being so unscrupulous. It can be seen that the old lady is used to it." !"

Jia's mother said: "When a family gets along, when there are no outsiders, they are just talking and laughing. This is the only way to be happy. Why bother to stick to etiquette and dare not say what they care about!"

The Zhao family, the Song family and others all said: "The old lady still loves her grandson-in-law!"

At this time Baochai said: "The banquet is ready, please old ladies, aunts, aunts, sisters-in-law and sisters move over to start the banquet!"

So everyone moved around, walking and crossing flowers. Madam is blessed, with a son and a daughter, the male dominates the outside and the woman dominates the inside, Madam Xue doesn't have to do anything, as long as she enjoys the wealth and honor.

During the banquet, Mrs. Zhao saw that there were no outsiders, so she said to Mrs. Xue: "I think our Bao girl is really a Bao girl. With such appearance and character, there is absolutely no reason why she should not be selected. The second girl will have a happy life later. Woolen cloth!"

After she finished speaking, some girls in the banquet were still at a loss, not knowing what was going on.

Mother Jia said: "Oh, I remembered. I remember when my aunt and wife's family first came to Beijing, they said that Bao girl was going to Beijing to be elected, right? No one mentioned it for so long, and I was catching up with Guoxiao again. I forgot I still want to take a line from it and tell her a good family!"

If it was any other girl who was brought up about the important matter of marriage in person, she would have blushed with embarrassment and hid herself with an excuse.Baochai just showed a smile on her face, she was kind and natural, her calm expression made Zhao and others admire secretly.

Mrs. Xue said: "Exactly. Although our family later became an imperial merchant, our ancestors were Hong Fu, and their brothers and sisters are still in the flag. Marrying privately. I can only let the old lady down. "

Zhao said: "I said that the second girl is also blessed. Our Baochai is so outstanding that it is not difficult to stand out among a hundred or a thousand people. Maybe you also have the blessing of our eldest girl!" When the time comes, both of you sisters will be the same son-in-law, wouldn't it be a good talk." The eldest girl she mentioned was Mrs. Wang, and the second girl was Mrs. Xue.Mrs. Zhao had already passed through the family before the two of them were married, so the title of them was still the same as when they were young ladies in the Wang family.

Mrs. Wang smiled: "Then we will entrust our sister-in-law with auspicious words, and wait for Miss Bao's good fortune." Last time, Yuanchun sent someone to send a message, telling her that the matter of Baochai's being put on the brand has been done. .

Apart from Mrs. Wang's mother and daughter, no one else knew about this matter, and they all echoed Mrs. Zhao and Mrs. Wang, saying: "Baochai must have had a great fortune."

Although Xue Baochai didn't like Xiaoxuan's entry into the palace, she thought that Xiaoxuan was not a general election, and she would not be accused of marriage immediately.Maybe she will become a court lady and stay in the palace forever, and it is not certain which palace she will be assigned to.But if she really didn't go to the draft, girls at the age of fifteen or sixteen would be almost engaged.If you want to marry someone so early, you might as well enter the palace!So when she dealt with the draft, she never made much comment to Mrs. Xue, but just let nature take its course.

Jia Baoyu, since Jia Zheng, Jia Amnesty and others came today, he was naturally in another place with these men. During the banquet, everyone would congratulate Xue Pan on the third rank of official residence and praise him for being young and promising. Jia Baoyu came to make a comparison, making Jia Baoyu feel ashamed and uncomfortable.

The old house of the Xue family is not located in the most prosperous streets, but in a corner, so it covers an area of ​​about two miles. In the residence, the female relatives live in the west, so when entertaining guests, these foreigners also have places to visit.

Because it was a family banquet, no one else was invited, Wang Ziteng had the highest official position and the most powerful at the banquet, and the Jia family had been relying on Wang Ziteng's power for more than ten years to survive by relying on the vacant position sheltered by their ancestors.Wang Ziteng was very optimistic about Xue Pan, who was promoted to the official position through martial arts like him, and asked Xue Pan to work hard so that he could be his successor in the future.

Hearing that they were full of talk about officialdom and career, Baoyu was even more bored and lazy. It was a pity that he couldn't be with the sisters.Because of Jia Zheng's presence, it was not easy to be too obvious.

Later, it was Jia Mu who found out that the banquet outside was over, and Xue Pan took everyone to the garden to drink tea.So he hurriedly sent someone to call Baoyu in.Jia Baoyu came to Jia Mu.Surrounded by such sisters, she couldn't help showing her true colors.

His relatives who usually get along with him are used to this kind of behavior, and they don't think there is anything wrong with it, but outsiders such as Zhao and Song can't help but shake their heads in their hearts.

Everyone gathered here today to congratulate Xue Pan, who was only eighteen or nineteen years old and already knew how to make great achievements and glorify his ancestors.This Jia Baoyu is better than his background, he was born in a duke's family, so he should inherit the behest of his ancestors.It's just that Jia Baoyu is good-looking, has a good mouth, and is loved by everyone. When he was fifteen or sixteen years old, he only knew how to act like a baby in front of his grandmother and mother, and played with his sisters, just like a child.

Madam Xue took Wang Xifeng to her room while Baochai was entertaining everyone.Wang Xifeng was quite surprised: "I don't know if my aunt is looking for me alone, but what do you want to tell me?"

Mrs. Xue said: "It's nothing serious, I just want to give you something back."

Wang Xifeng wondered: "Give me something back? What did I leave with my aunt? Why can't I remember?"

Mrs. Xue said, "Have you lost anything recently?"