[Red House + Space] Falling Spring

The elder brother in Pinxiu told the news about the inquiring. After knowing that his family was fine, Mrs. Xing didn't take Luochun back to the mansion immediately, but assigned the elder brother in Pinxiu to deliver the letter to Xing's mansion.When Xing Dequan came in a hurry, Mrs. Xing and him talked alone in the room for nearly half an hour. After that, Luochun said goodbye to Pinxiu with tears in her eyes. The mother and daughter returned to Jia's Mansion under the escort of Xing Dequan.

Sitting in the car, Pinxiu looked at the ignorant driver, the old horse, and the women and servants who followed the car, feeling quite complicated. Although her family was fine, it didn't mean that the servants in the mansion were fine. When they go back, they still don't know what fate awaits them. Maybe it's better to be a fugitive slave than to follow them back to the manor.It's just that Luochun doesn't have a compassionate personality, she doesn't care much about her family except Mrs. Xing, let alone these people, so she just thinks about it in her heart.

Although there were soldiers guarding the entrance of the Rongguo Mansion, Mrs. Xing and Luochun were members of the Jia family and entered the mansion again, so they were not troubled and entered the mansion smoothly.Xing Dequan didn't follow them into the house, he just sent them to the door and turned around after watching them enter the house.

Mrs. Xing and Luochun entered the mansion through the side door, and when they arrived at the place where the sedan chairs were changed by the second door, there were no sedan chairs and people, so Mrs. Xing simply took Luochun out of the car, sent the driver and the following women and servants away, and walked inside.Along the way, Luochun found that there were no servants in many places where the shift was supposed to be on duty, and the courtyards that were originally thought to be crowded suddenly became empty, and they were as beautifully carved as usual. The ridges and eaves of the roof inexplicably give people a feeling of loneliness in addition to being rich and noble.

When I arrived at Jiamu's upper room, I saw a few maids and women in red and green. From their mouths, I learned that Jia Amnesty, Jia Zheng and his wife, Jia Lian and his wife, together with Li Wan, were discussing matters in front of Jiamu.Mrs. Xing and Luochun entered the room after the girl reported, and without waiting for others to speak, when Jia She saw them, he stomped his feet and said with a sigh: "It was hard for you to escape outside, and you still ran back to do it?" What?"

Luo Chun saw the people with complicated expressions because she and Mrs. Xing came in. Hearing Jia She's words and seeing his annoyed look, Luo Chun felt an unspeakable feeling in his heart. He may be incompetent, but with his words, at least Mrs. Xing's return is not a loss.

Sitting at the top, Mother Jia said with a straight face, "Boss, what are you talking about? What are you doing running back? This is the home of your daughter-in-law and children. Where else can they go if they don't come back?" After reprimanding Jia She, she signaled Mrs. Xing to sit down on the nanmu armchair under Jia She, then turned to Luo Chun and said, "Good boy, I'm here to discuss business matters with your parents, uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters-in-law, where are you?" It's not convenient, go back to your room, or you can go to Baoyu and the second girl to play."

When Luochun saw Jia Mu pushing her away, she said nothing, saluted Jia Mu and the others, and withdrew.Although she had just returned to the house and did not stay in the house, she could guess what Mother Jia and the others were discussing, and it was nothing more than asking them to pay for the shortfall with their private houses.Judging by the expressions of the people, before Mrs. Xing and Luo Chun entered the room, they were already discussing, and it should be very unpleasant.In fact, Luochun just thinks with his toes, and knows that this matter is not so easy to do.At this moment, no one is a fool, the titles in the mansion are gone, the officials are gone, the houses are gone, the fields are gone... I don’t know what will happen in the future, who is not holding this little thing in their hands? Tight, it's no wonder you take it out!

Sure enough, the room was just as Luochun expected. After Luochun left, Jia's mother said: "As I said just now, the people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs sent someone to say that if you can't make up the money owed on the account, you won't be able to pay." If we are allowed to go, the officers and soldiers outside will not withdraw... For the sake of our previous friendship, let us have some time, but if we keep procrastinating like this, if we want to renege on our debts, we will not be able to save face for us Old lady, I am so old, besides, it is shameful enough to lose the inheritance passed down from my ancestors. You call, discuss how to deal with this matter, you all talk about it."

Jia Amnesty rubbed his nose and said, "What can I do? It's not like my mother doesn't know what's going on in our eldest house. Luo'er's mother has been married to the mansion for so many years, and she hasn't even touched the books of the mansion. However, as for Lian's daughter-in-law, although she said she was helping her second aunt with the housekeeping, the second wife held the keys and the big account. She was just acting as a director of the house, but actually she was working as a housekeeper and daughter-in-law. So in this matter, you should ask the second brother and the second younger sibling what to do."

At this time, Mother Jia no longer cared about turning to the second bedroom, and her eyes fell on Jia Zheng and Mrs. Wang.Jia Zheng sat there upright, watching his nose with his eyes and his heart with his nose, without saying a word.Seeing that he was silent, Mrs. Wang hurriedly said: "The reason why I am in charge of the house is because Lian'er's mother was ill and unable to manage the affairs, and then passed away. After the eldest wife married in, she didn't understand the rules of our house, so The old lady asked me to pick up this burden. But although I am in charge of the house, I have always followed the old routine and never overstepped. For big and small things, still follow the rules in the hands of the ancestors. However, the industry is not as much as it was first, and outsiders make fun of it when it is frugal. Old ladies and gentlemen are also wronged, and the servants of the family complain about the poor .I’m just making ends meet, so there’s no money in this account, and it’s not that I withheld it privately.”

Complained with an aggrieved expression: "Because we are the second room, in order not to let the eldest brother feel that I have neglected their room because of the housekeeper, so I will not respond to any request from the eldest brother. The eldest brother sometimes wants money to buy antiques, and sometimes wants money. Money to buy a girl, and sometimes I want money to treat people to dinner and a show... I am afraid of being talked about, so as long as my elder brother comes to withdraw money, I am afraid that my elder brother will be suspicious, so I never dare to ask. That's it. A few times, because I didn't have any money in the account, I should be a little late. I was afraid of delaying my elder brother's use, so I hurriedly sent my dowry to pawn, and sent it after I got it together. The master said a lot about me, and made the master come back and get angry with me several times..."

Mrs. Wang implied that most of the money in the mansion was spent by Jia She indiscriminately.Sister Feng has been very close to Mrs. Wang since her marriage. Apart from Mrs. Wang being her aunt, it is also because Mrs. Wang is favored by Jia Mu and holds the power in the house. She does not want to be marginalized like Mrs. Xing. Therefore, he tried his best to please Jia's mother and approached Mrs. Wang.After Jia Amnesty submitted the paper to resign from the title, the situation inside and outside the mansion suddenly changed. Mrs. Wang asked her for money to pay outside, but she couldn't get it out, so there was a rift between Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Wang.And now that the titles in the mansion are gone, the whole family will move out of the mansion. At that time, Sister Feng and Jia Lian will return to the big house to live with Jia She and Mrs. Xing.

Jia Amnesty and Mrs. Xing still have some things in their hands. Sister Feng knows that because of the housekeeper, she paid for all the private houses in her hand. , The more things they have in their hands, the easier their life will be. Sister Feng still understands this truth.In the past, there was no stake involved, so of course Sister Feng was close to Mrs. Wang, but now that the interests of Da Fang and her and Jia Lian's family were involved, Sister Feng would naturally speak on Da Fang's side.Therefore, Sister Feng said: "What the second wife said is very unreasonable. When the second wife paid me the money a while ago, because I said that there was no money in the account, the second wife lost her temper with me and said, 'You If I don’t care about the house, I won’t ask you.” According to what the second wife said to me, the old man should share the money with you, the housekeeper. Why did the second wife change the term now?”

Sister Feng turned a blind eye to Mrs. Wang's angry eyes, and said, "Mrs. Meng was flattered to let me help the second wife manage the house for a few days. I also read a few of the family's account books. Is the grand master's expenses here?" It's small, but the second master doesn't make too much room here. Although the second master doesn't buy antiques, he doesn't buy maids,...but the second master has a lot of clean customers here, buy ancient books, calligraphy and paintings, write articles and discuss politics,...Second The cost of the master and the Qingke together is only a lot more than that of the grand master..."

Jia Zheng blushed because of Sister Feng's words.Sister Feng wiped the corners of her eyes with her handkerchief, and continued: "I know I have done a lot of wrong things, and I don't have the face to express my grievances here, but there are some things, some words, that I have kept in my stomach for a long time. Let me say it here today, lest if you die, you are just a dead ghost. Even if the eminent monks repent, you will not be able to be reborn. The second wife also said just now that there are few people entering the mansion and many going out, and everything follows the old rules. According to the rules, since I took over the housekeeping, although I have thought of some frugal methods, they are of no avail. The second wife said that she is a sister-in-law, and she dare not respond to the request of her uncle. I am a junior, and I am valued by the elders. , asked me to help the housekeeper, so I dare not respond to the demands of the elders. It’s just that the clever daughter-in-law can’t cook without rice, and there is no money in the account. I filled in the dowry, but the dowry was finite, and it would soon bottom out, so I started trying to find ways to raise money... I knew I did something wrong, but I just made the wrong idea out of desperation. "Sister Feng tried her best to justify her actions of taking the lawsuit and lending money for profit. "After something happened in the mansion, because of this, everyone thought I might be rich, and because I made a mistake, I didn't dare to say anything, so I had to answer all those who asked for money. Now I That house is well-deserved, sold for sale, ... there is nothing left, so even if I have the heart to say what the old lady said, I don't have the ability."

After Sister Feng finished speaking, there was no one to continue, and the scene became cold for a while.Mother Jia looked down at her son, daughter-in-law, grandson, and grandson-in-law with different expressions, and finally her eyes fell on Li Wan.

When the family in the mansion repaid the debts, although Li Wan's family was a family of famous eunuchs in Jinling and a scholarly family, and her father Li Shouzhong's Zijian Jijiu was a noble official, his salary was not high, and the extra oil and water Not many, and Li Shouzhong is a pedantic and old-fashioned person. What's more, the Jia Zhu she married was only the son of the second wife of the Rongguo Mansion, and Jia Zheng was only a minor official from the fifth rank, so Li Wan's dowry was not rich, even in the case of Mrs. Wang. It seems that being shabby and frivolous is one of the reasons Mrs. Wang doesn't like Li Wan.Moreover, Li Wan was a widow, Luo Chun, who was orphaned and widowed with Jia Lan, felt very pitiful, so when she copied the valuables of Jia's house in the booklet for the emperor, she showed mercy to Li Wan, Not only was it put at the end, but only a few things were written on it.

When Mr. Xu came to the mansion, he acted according to the order Luo Chun wrote. Li Wan was put at the end. When Luo Chun estimated the value of the items, compared with the people brought by Mr. Xu, he underestimated, so when he came to Li Wan, There were few things in the first place, and it was almost the same, so I didn't take a few.Later, when Mrs. Wang asked for favors and gifts for Jia Zheng's affairs, she not only searched the rooms of Yingchun and Tanchun, but even used the things in Baoyu's room, but did not touch the things in Li Wan's room.It's not that Mrs. Wang doesn't want to, but Li Wan doesn't want to.Because of her status as a widow, Li Wan's room was originally clean, and after Master Xu came, she put away all the valuables on her face.

Then, Mrs. Wang found her, and saw that the things placed outside could not be given as gifts at all.In front of Li Wan, the daughter-in-law, Mrs. Wang still wanted to save some face, so she didn't go straight, but went round and round to explain her intentions, but Li Wan just pretended not to understand.No matter what Mrs. Wang said, Li Wan would rather offend Mrs. Wang, ignoring Mrs. Wang's black face, just clenching her teeth but not letting go.In the end, Mrs. Wang couldn't hold back her face, and returned home in defeat at Li Wan's place.Therefore, in the mansion, Li Wan was the one who kept the most private houses.

When Li Wan saw Jia's mother's eyes falling on her, she cried out inwardly. She supported her head and pretended to be dizzy.Li Wan had money in his hand, and Mrs. Wang knew it well. When Jia Mu looked over, she was thinking about how to reject Jia Mu's words if she opened her mouth. Li Wan helped him back to his room to rest, and called Jia Zhu's name and began to cry: "Poor son, if you are still alive, you can support your family at this age, so why do you let me and your father worry so much? Why do you have the heart to leave your daughter-in-law and son behind, and let their orphans and widows suffer in this world..."

Mrs. Wang, Mrs. Xing and Sister Feng directed people to take Li Wan back to the room, and Jia Lian ran out to invite the doctor.In this way, most of the people left, so the brainstorming and making up for the shortfall organized by Jia's mother ended without a problem.Jia Lian invited the doctor over, sent him to the second room, and returned to his and Sister Feng's yard.Sitting on the couch, Sister Feng saw him enter the room and said, "Are you back?" Jia Lian nodded, sat down on the kang, picked up the teapot on the kang table, and poured herself a cup of tea.

Sister Feng sighed: "I always thought I was smart, but now it seems that I am the stupidest person in this house!" Jia Lian was drinking tea from a teacup, when he heard the words, he asked suspiciously, "How do you say that? "Sister Feng glanced at Jia Lian, and said with a smile: "As the saying goes, what kind of lid should match a pot? As companions, the two of us are indeed a match made in heaven.”

Jia Lian angrily put the teacup in his hand on the kang table, and said, "Can you speak well? You are so angry, what kind of charade are you playing? Just say you are stupid for no reason, why do you still have no reason? Want to take me?"

"You don't want to hear that you're stupid." Sister Feng gave Jia Lian a sideways look, and asked, "Can't you tell if sister-in-law Zhu is really dizzy or fake?" Jia Lian was taken aback, and said in disbelief: "No Right? That's impossible, why does the good sister-in-law Zhu pretend to be dizzy?"

Sister Feng sneered and said: "Why? Why do you say? Don't you know why the old lady called us over today?" She wrung her fingers and said, "Sister-in-law Zhu's monthly payment of ten taels of silver is twice as much as ours. In this way, the old lady and the wife also said that she was a "widow unemployed", poor, not enough, and had another Laner, so she added a full ten taels of silver, and stood shoulder to shoulder with the old lady and the wife; The land in her garden is rented by everyone, and there is a year-end division, and she is responsible for the distribution. There are not ten people in her yard, including the master and the servants, and the food and clothing are still from the public. All in all, there are four to five hundred silver a year, and sister-in-law Zhu doesn't have much to spend, so she has nothing left. The second master paid off the debt, and when Mr. Xu from the household department came, he didn't take a few things from her room , except for her dowry, all the things in Brother Zhu's house were in her hands back then. When Brother Zhu was here, his status and treatment in the mansion were no worse than Baoyu's. Look at Baoyu, think about Brother Zhu again, I don’t know how many good things there are in Brother Zhu’s house. The sister-in-law Zhu is usually very quiet, but she is the richest man in our house. I’m afraid she can make up for the deficit with the things in her hands alone. The wife must have thought of this, so she looked at her, but before the old lady could speak, sister-in-law Zhu passed out."'

Hearing Sister Feng's reckoning, Jia Lian couldn't help opening his mouth in surprise. If Sister Feng hadn't reminded him, he really wouldn't have thought that Li Wan would be so rich.Sister Feng sighed and said: "Sister-in-law Zhu Zhu is so smart, she made a lot of money in a silent voice. I have worked so hard on my side, and I have a bad reputation. I have made a river fall into the sea, and it is not good. Compared with her, What have I become in this life!"

Jia Lian thought for a while and asked, "Well, does the second wife know about this?" Sister Feng sneered and said, "If the second wife didn't know, how could she cry for brother Zhu so coincidentally after sister-in-law Zhu fainted? Today, we played a good show together in front of the old lady. I am afraid that the old lady and the gentlemen also saw that Mrs. Zhu was pretending to faint. Only you, a fool, didn't see it, and went to ask the doctor stupidly. .”

Jia Lian ignored Sister Feng's sarcasm, bowed her head in silence, and said after a while, "Sister-in-law Zhu pretended to be dizzy, and she clearly refused to pay. Since the second wife followed suit, it means that she is also unwilling to pay the money. Master, I also stated my attitude early on, if I have no money, what should I do with the shortfall in this account?"

Sister Feng rolled her eyes and said angrily: "What should I do? Cold salad! Anyway, I don't have any money. If you have the ability to find money, you can pay it back. I have no objection, or you can just stretch your neck and wait. Look. Who is in a hurry in the end!"

Jia Lian sighed deeply when he heard the words, and said helplessly and bitterly: "The days are really, really... Alas!" He knew that although Sister Feng's words were angry, they were also telling the truth.Now everyone is comparing patience. When it really comes to the fire, some people will naturally be anxious to get angry. The Ministry of Internal Affairs said that it is not a deficit, and if the officers and soldiers do not withdraw, they will go to prison.