Prequel to the Red Chamber: I Am the Second Wife

This is a slap in the face in front of her natal family. Wang Changchun's status is not what it used to be. He has become the most important person around the emperor. Where the seat is, it must be from the emperor's relatives in the capital to civil and military officials. Come to congratulate.According to Wang Changchun's temper, even so, the Wang family would not make a big fuss.But people can't help themselves in the rivers and lakes, and that scene is no small matter.Zili was the first daughter of the Wang family to marry, and her birthday gift must have attracted attention.Although those longevity noodles made of white noodles are also must-have gifts for birthday celebrations.If Zili also married in the capital, hundreds of round and lovely birthday peaches and birthday noodles piled up like a hill would be very honorable.But Zili is far away in Jinling.These days there are no incubators or freezers, and the white steamed buns from the capital become green steamed buns, and the silver noodles become charcoal sticks!Here and there is congratulations on the birthday, it is obviously a disgusting person!

Even if the Jia family is snobbish, they can't do such a thing. There must be something in it.It's probably Zhang's fault!Zili took a deep breath to calm herself down. She couldn't be in a hurry, otherwise she would lose her position, and the second-hand man's wrong actions would give people an opportunity to take advantage of.

Zili sneered, and beckoned to Mingqian, "Who else knows about this?" "It was Zhou Rui who saw it and came back to ask grandma for instructions. What should grandma do? I think it's better to go immediately." Go to the old lady and the wife and make a fuss about it, saving them from hiding it and harming people behind their backs. At worst, grandma will go back and see what they can do! Anyway, the master and the old master will not watch grandma be wronged." Tomorrow there will be a quarrel, anyway, the Wang family is more powerful than the Jia family now, if the two families really quarrel, let's see who can dominate the other!

"I made a fuss, but I didn't care. You asked Zhou Rui's family to do this-take those steamed buns and other perishable things and send them to the temple. You don't need to send them to our family temple, just send them from their house. I went inside the family temple and waited for tomorrow when I took out the money to chant scriptures and donated to the old man to pray for longevity. Those things were distributed to everyone to make everyone happy. I remember that there are good flowers in our old house, called Xiaoai Father chose some good flowers in bloom and sent them to the boat as a birthday gift for the old man." Zili thought about it, and could only take the strange flowers and plants from the Wang family's old house as a birthday gift to Wang Changchun and send them to the capital.

Ming Qian suddenly thought of something: "Grandma, I think the Xue family's shop is also in Jinling. Although the third girl has not passed the door yet, the two families have always been in contact. The birthday gift went to the birthday cake, and the rest is too thin , and those flowers belong to our family at first glance. The old lady will think too much when she sees it. Why don't you ask Xue's family to buy some porcelain and foreign goods, which will look good. As for the money, I will use the rent from the dowry village to pay first. past."

Zili thought about it, it would be too late to spend money on birthday presents now, and many things might not be suitable right away.Xue's family is a reliable choice, they have several ships for overseas business.These days, foreign goods are very rare, so Zili immediately asked Ming to do it.

Waiting for Zhou Rui to call back in the evening, everything was done, Zili rubbed his temples tiredly, feeling as if he had run a marathon, his whole body felt a sense of collapse.Just as Zili was about to rest, she heard the voice of the little girl outside: "Second master is back!" Zili was not in the mood to face Jia Zheng, and she asked in confusion, "Why did the second master come in today? Isn't there a day to come in?" Is it?"

"Mr. Wang has something to go out. He said that my homework has improved a lot, so I can relax. I am anxious to come in to see you. But you despise me!" Jia Zheng made a hurt expression, and he was already cold. When he got to Zili, he stared at her with shiny black eyes.Jia Zheng is at the sunniest age, and he looks like a good-looking talent. Although studying hard, Jia Zheng has always insisted on practicing. He is much more upright than the lifeless soft-legged shrimp of the white-faced scholar before.

This is a world of people who look at faces. Although he doesn't have much affection for Jia Zheng, Zili's heart beats faster and his body temperature rises for a moment when he is stared at by a handsome sunny guy and served him with enthusiastic eyes. "You are not too cold to come in at night?" Zili lowered his head subconsciously and turned around. Jia Zheng's eyes were attracted by a delicate and white neck.The girls next to her hid wisely. Jia Zheng hugged Zili's waist from behind and wrapped her around her with his arms. The hot breath and the cold air that came in hit the back of Zili's neck: "I wrote a birthday couplet, and it has been pasted and framed, and I sent it to our family's birthday gift boat."

Zili's heart skipped a beat, did Jia Zheng know?Feeling his body stiffen in his arms, Jia Zheng's brisk tone became heavy: "Don't be angry, I got the news and wanted to come in to persuade you immediately, but it's a pity that my father was talking to Mr. Wang at that time, and I couldn't walk by the side Open. I have been worrying for a day, I am afraid that you will feel wronged and cry with the old lady and the wife."

"So it's because of this. Second Master, rest assured that I'm a sensible person, and I won't be unkind." Zili's heart turned cold when he heard Jia Zheng's words. "It's not what it means, Mr. Tiandi Conscience, neither the wife nor the old lady has any intention to dislike you. I know this matter well. A few days ago, my father told me to prepare a generous gift for your grandfather's birthday. Family matters You also know that it doesn't matter if someone has intentions or made a mistake by mistake, it is definitely not the meaning of disliking anyone. I mean, although you are wronged, it is not good for us as juniors to compete with the elders. No It makes people laugh, but we have become thieves when we are reasonable. I will go to see my father tomorrow and let the matter go first. Waiting for my father to ask, the person who handles the matter will not dare to fool me. Fortunately, I haven’t talked about it today. What if someone else takes the lead and wipes away the traces?" One must know that the birthday present boat has already left, and if Zili starts to make trouble now, it's still easy to dismiss a few people who are doing business.Hearing Jia Zheng's words, Zili suddenly understood that this Jia Cunzhou was really a character pretending to be a pig and eating a tiger. What was he thinking?I didn't touch it at all.

Jia Zheng didn't know what Zili was thinking, he had rushed to make a birthday gift to please the old man, but he had actually been thinking about the birthday present for the old man of the Wang family for a long time.It was Zili's grandfather's birthday, and Jia Zheng naturally couldn't give up the opportunity to show off, especially since he was penniless now, and he was worried that the Wang family would dislike him.In order to save face, he had to show off in front of Wang Changchun and the Wang family.In addition to begging his father to send generous gifts, Jia Zheng also wanted to express his heart.But gold, silver and jewelry are too vulgar, and those things are not earned by themselves, so what's the point of sending them away?Don't let Wang Changchun say again: "The kid is just relying on the second generation ancestor of the family." Wouldn't it be in vain.

Fortunately, Jia Zheng's handwriting was good, so he simply copied a Sutra of Prolonging Life and a pair of longevity couplets with great effort, specially asked someone to frame them, and rushed Jia's boat to be loaded on board before they went to Beijing.Jia Zheng did this without telling everyone. He brought the framed birthday couplet and urged the boy to send it, but happened to see Zhou Rui changing the birthday gift.Jia Zheng got angry when he heard this, and immediately pushed everything on Jia Amnesty.Although their brothers are brothers born to the same mother, they haven't grown up together since they were young. When they meet, they just exchange greetings, but they are far apart in their hearts even though they look intimate.Jia Amnesty is a stingy person, he felt that his younger brother took advantage of him, so he grew up with his grandmother.Being pampered by the elders in the family, not to mention other things, I got a lot of things from my grandmother's private house.Not to mention that mother and grandmother were competing to give Jia Zheng good things and love.Jia Amnesty was always sour towards his younger brother, a little fond of him.Jia Zheng is not a fool, why should I like you if you look down on me!The knot between the two brothers was knotted.

In his heart, Jia Zheng only regarded Jia Amnesty as his opponent, and everything that went wrong was the fault of his elder brother!Jia Zheng thought about going to complain to his parents immediately, but when he rolled his eyes, he immediately had an idea.He wanted to watch Jia Amnesty fall into the pit and be unable to get up.

Therefore, Jia Zheng didn't care about the rules of not having a holiday, so he came in at night to discuss with Zili how to dig a hole for his eldest brother. "Don't get me wrong, I took your grandfather as my own grandfather. They definitely didn't get confused when they did that. My father had already said that he wanted to prepare generous gifts. The big things in the family are decided by the father, but the trivial matters in the family are My sister-in-law is in charge. There was no such thing when my mother was in charge of the house. We are husband and wife, and I will tell you the truth today. I am afraid that the eldest brother and sister-in-law are not sincere to us. The family and relatives are all in charge of congratulations. Buying presents. Father and mother don’t know, she looks at you as a new daughter-in-law with a shy face and refuses to argue with her, and I don’t care about it outside, so I dare to do this.” Jia Zheng saw Zili’s complexion was not good, He simply pulled her to sit down and talked about the reason of the incident in detail, including the delicate relationship between the two brothers.

Looking at him like an honest man who can't get a fart out of three feet, he is actually full of small calculations. Although he doesn't agree with Jia Zheng's plan to plot against Jia Amnesty, Zili is very relieved by Jia Zheng's attitude.This kid is on his side, and Zili has a little confidence in his life in Jia's house from now on.What kind of relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law and sister-in-law, if you are bullied at your in-law's house, it's all because your husband doesn't care about you.Without the support of your husband, your in-laws will not bully you!Thinking of Zili's expression softening here, she gritted her teeth and remained silent for a while unwillingly: "I thought it was because you looked down on me. Since it is a servant who is doing trouble, father and mother will always know. If you insist It’s the trouble over there, and we don’t have any evidence. Even if we have evidence, what else can we do? If our parents are still alive, our brothers will fight against each other, isn’t it our filial piety!” Zili cursed secretly in his heart, waiting for Jia Zheng to say his plan.

"You're right. But there are so many people in the family that things can't be hidden. My father and mother were temporarily deceived, and it didn't take long for me to understand. I came in today because I was worried that you would get angry and let others look at us instead. It’s a joke. Grandma has been wronged since she got married. It’s all my fault. I’m going to plead guilty today. I also ask grandma to hold her hand high and don’t be angry. I’m going to feel bad when I vomit.” Jia Zheng put on a show and rushed to Zili to bow and bow. Winking to make her happy.Jia Zheng said it clearly and logically, and he meant one thing—you have to vent your anger, but you can't make a fuss openly, you have to see the right time to strike.They can't wear the feud hat.

Speaking of Jia Zheng's hands and feet began to be dishonest, he pressed Zili on the bed and leaned over to kiss, but Zili pushed him away: "You better go out, I will remember your instructions. If your father finds out that you If you come back secretly, you will definitely be scolded for being lazy." Zili urged Jia Zheng to leave.But Jia Zheng said nonchalantly, "Father never cares about this, I just want to be with you. Don't you miss me these days?"

"Who are you lying to? Qing Yun and Lang Huan are not enough to serve you? You should go out. I didn't see that when they heard the news that they were going out to serve you, their feet flew up." Zili cast a sour glance at Jia Zheng to coax him out.

When the two girls were mentioned, the smile on Jia Zheng's face froze for a moment, and his eyes darkened instantly, but he quickly covered it up: "Why are you angry with the girls, it's just a thing. Keep it by your side if you like it." If you don’t like it, just drive it out. No one is angry and sad looking at the things you don’t like, but it’s your own body that suffers. I used to be too conniving with them, and made them all become lawless. I know your difficulties, the boss above The wives and wives are there, and they are called by the old wives and wives."

Zili didn't expect Jia Zheng to say such a thing. She immediately clarified that she was not jealous of the girls: "I didn't mean anything else. They have served you since childhood, and they have worked hard without credit. I am not a jealous person. To They don't have any intentions of Song Taizu destroying the Southern Tang Dynasty. The two of them are different from other girls and naturally proud. In fact, it's better to just open up and be a concubine. Because they serve a good end, it's us It is an example of family being kind and generous. Secondly, it also makes wives and old ladies happy." Zili half-truthfully proposed to upgrade Qingyun and Langhuan.

However, Jia Zheng shook his head like a rattle drum: "It's not appropriate. I'm going to take a concubine when I get married. What kind of rumors are spread! Also, the two of them are not heroes who pioneered the land, and they are wronged to be girls." You can rest assured that our husband and wife are of one mind, and don't let other people disturb you." Jia Zheng could hear the sourness in Zili's tone. Since they got married, Jia Zheng saw that Zili was sincerely planning for him, and he didn't mean to look down on or belittle him. .Being kind to the girls around him, Zili tried his best to help him study, and thoughtful of everything.People change people's hearts, Jia Zheng reciprocates, and he loves Zili very much.

The next morning, Zili just turned over to get up, when Jia Zheng's confused voice came from his ears: "Is it time to get up? I'm up too!" Jia Zheng also sat up and rubbed his eyes sleepily. .

Zili looked at Jia Zheng in surprise, picked up the crumpled little coat and threw it on Jia Zheng's face: "Put it on first, and wait until tomorrow and after the rain to come in and see what you look like!" Zili is very considerate My master, if Jia Zheng was here, she would not call Mingqian and Yuhou two girls to come in and wait for them to get up, but would call Qingyun and Langhuan in to serve them.Anyway, it's not like the two of them haven't seen the naked body that Jia Zheng might show, so they are naturally less embarrassed.Jia Zheng sneaked in today, while Qing Yun and Lang Huan were still outside.

Jia Zheng lowered his head to see how naked he was, he laughed but he was not in a hurry to put on his clothes, instead he whispered something in Zili's ear, Zili blushed and lifted the quilt angrily , deliberately asked Leng Feng to enter the bed: "You are not serious, hurry up, it is ugly to be late." Jia Zheng waved his hand indifferently: "You just feel free to say hello, I will be there later."

When Zili arrived at the old lady's yard, she saw Zhang's girl standing outside, she sneered in her heart, it seemed that Zhang had been complacent all night, and in the morning she couldn't hold back her temper and came to watch the joke.Thinking that she had already arrived, the little girl opened the curtain: "Second Grandma is here."

Zili went in and saw Mrs. Zhang standing in front of the old lady. Seeing Zili coming in, the old lady lost her usual smile and looked at Zili instead: "Zheng'er came in yesterday? This kid is really thinking about his wife so he forgot to study." Now, you should also urge Zheng'er to study hard. I know that you two are willing to separate after you get married, but the future is important so you can't waste time."

Such a well-informed news, Zili quickly glanced at Mrs Zhang, Mrs Zhang lowered her head and did not dare to look at each other, Zili also argued that she only lowered her head to listen to the old lady's lesson.Before the old lady finished speaking, she went out to inform Jia Mu and Jia Zheng that they had come in. When she heard her beloved grandson come in, the old lady's complexion improved.Zili watched Jiamu bring Jia Zheng in one after the other. Jia Zheng gave Zili a reassuring wink behind Jiamu, but Jiamu in front had a bad complexion, with cloudy brows.

Greetings, the old lady waved to Jia Zheng with a smile and asked him to sit next to him: "You don't need to come in to say hello because you study hard. I know your filial piety. In winter, the days are short and the nights are long and the days are long. If you have the time to say hello, you should still study." Bar."

But Jia Zheng said with a smile: "Mr. Zhang said that my article has improved. I have something to go back to the old lady. I want to go to the Dabaoen Temple to offer incense. Grandma knows that Mr. Wang is celebrating his birthday. I am the son-in-law of the grandson." I should go to worship and kowtow in person, but the capital city of Jinling is too far away to go in person. But filial piety is indispensable. My husband and I took out 100 taels of silver to do a few days of puja in the temple, and asked the masters to recite the scriptures for eliminating disasters and prolonging life for a few days. , Donate porridge and rice to the poor to pray for the old man. It also fulfills our filial piety as juniors."

The old lady is a bit tasteful. Her grandson who has worked so hard to raise is too concerned about the Yue family, and she feels that she has been left out.The old lady sharply gouged out Zili first, and Zili was hit by an arrow in the knee, and she lay down. "You are filial. The old man of the Wang family must be happy that he has got a good grandson-in-law when he hears the news. Now that you young couple have made a decision, my wife group can't stop you from being filial." The old lady replied with a smile on her face. In other words, Jia Zheng stood up first, and just as he was about to explain something, Mrs. Zhang came out jokingly and said, "Does the second brother feel sorry for his wife? The old lady is happy to see the filial piety of the second brother. The birthday of the old man of the Wang family is really perfect, and the grandson-in-law sent it to him." There are so many birthday presents, and you are still preaching by monks—" Before Zhang's words were finished, Jia's mother coughed: "You juniors should be like this. Zheng'er can have such filial piety because your father didn't teach you in vain, and you can do this to the Yue family. Are you still afraid of not being filial to your parents and elders? Go back and discuss about the birthday puja, Zili has not been out of the house for so many days since she was married, so you go together when kneeling."

Jiamu suddenly said that Jia Zheng and Zili were sent away, and only Jiamu Zhang and the old lady were left in the house.Zili followed Jia Zheng out and walked for a while, Zili couldn't help asking: "Madam's complexion is not good, did you tell Madam about the birthday?"

"Before my wife and I came in, it was the old lady who picked on you. Is it because of my return last night?" Jia Zheng answered the wrong question and pulled Zili back.

As soon as Zili and Jia Zheng entered the room, they saw Qing Yun and Lang Huan waiting for them to come back. Jia Zheng said to Qing Yun, "You are hot, change into something thin." Qing Yun Quickly take it over and see the thin cotton robe the color of lotus root, and replace the fragrant black fox robe on Jia Zheng's body.

Lang Huan looked at Mingqian and took Zili's changed clothes, went to bring water for her to wash her hands after the rain, she went up to roll up Zili's sleeves, took soap to wash Zili's hands: "You have worked hard for the second master these few days. If there is anything missing outside, come in and come back to me immediately—" Zili looked at Lang Huanmei's beautiful side face, and found out why this girl has been so taciturn?

A crisp sound interrupted Zili's words, "Frassy thing, get out!" Jia Zheng kicked away Qing Yun who was squatting down to pick something up from the ground, his face flushed with anger.

Unexpectedly, Qing Yun was kicked to the ground by Jia Zheng, and Zili saw that a piece of Jia Zheng's jade pendant fell to the ground and a corner fell off.

Qing Yun didn't expect Jia Zheng to be angry with her for quick Yupei, her face turned pale and she cried, "It's wrong for the servant to hit something by mistake, but the second master wants to exploit the servant indiscriminately, the servant is really wronged." .The jade pendant is not a big deal. I have broken many things before, but I have never seen the second master like this. And the jade pendant was not dropped by a slave—"

"It's against you, let me tell you a few words you have waiting for me. Who is the master and who is the slave! I can't afford a slave like you, so hurry up and ask someone to take her out!" Qingyun's parents came in and led them away.

Just as Zili wanted to persuade her, suddenly someone pulled her sleeve lightly, and Zili raised her head, facing Langhuan's calm face.She suddenly understood that Jia Zheng had seized on Qingyun's weakness and was determined to throw her out.It must have been Qingyun and the old lady who filed the complaint this morning, causing Zili to be scolded.

But Zili couldn't immediately add insult to injury, she came out to be a peacemaker: "You are an old man who serves by the second master, and you are so careless in doing things, do you want the little girls to follow suit? The second master said that you are doing it for your own good, You admit your mistake this time, and ask Second Master to forgive her for my sake."

Unexpectedly, Qingyun suddenly became hardened, and did not admit his mistake, but just kept crying loudly.Jia Zheng stomped on the side angrily: "What do you mean, I can't do you wrong! If you don't go out, I will immediately go back to my wife and the old lady and tell them to deal with it." He said he wanted to get up and go out.Zili immediately pulled Jia Zheng kindly: "Didn't you worry your wife and old lady by going like this?"

Just as they were making a fuss, Pearl, Jiamu's girl, came and said, "Madam asked Second Grandma to come over."