The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 55 Uninvited Guest

After coming out of Rongxi Hall, Jia Lian accompanied Li Hu towards Rongqing Hall.

As Jia Lian walked away, he said, "Second Master has loved reading since he was young. He has the common problem of scholars. Don't take it to heart."

Li Hu nodded. Originally everyone was drinking tea and chatting in a very harmonious atmosphere. Somehow, Jia Zheng suddenly started talking about Fengxiang City. He became more and more excited as he spoke, and his words of a sage came one after another, almost nailing him to history's pillar of shame.

Seeing that he was off topic, Jia Zhen tried to change the subject, but ended up getting into trouble and was also scolded by Jia Zheng.

It ended with Jia She walking away in anger.

Li Hu discovered that Jia Zheng was afraid of Jia She, not in the way a brother is afraid of his elder brother, but out of fear from the bottom of his heart.

In addition, he had heard some secrets about Jia She from the prince. Jia She was the deposed prince's companion, and had beaten Emperor Yongchang, who was still a prince, when he was studying in the palace.

This old drunkard is not a simple person.

Jia Lian suddenly asked, "Do you have any news about Wang Ziteng?"

Li Hu: "What's wrong?"

Jia Lian looked around and lowered his voice: "I also heard from your sister-in-law that Wang Ziteng wrote a letter to the second wife to borrow money."

Li Hu stopped for a moment, "Borrow money?"

Jia Lian nodded.

Li Hu frowned. He was confronting the Mongols outside the Great Wall. What was he borrowing money for? To win people's hearts? No, they were frontier troops. Without military achievements, no matter how much money he spent, he could not subdue those arrogant soldiers and brave generals. Besides, he did not have the financial resources.

Oh, is he trying to find another way to bribe the Mongols?

It is really possible. After fighting for such a long time, the Mongolian nobles not only did not gain any advantage, but also suffered heavy losses. If they received Wang Ziteng's property at this time, it is not impossible that they would play a trick on him.

One gets military merit, the other gets money and property, it's a win-win situation. As for the people below, who cares!
Jia Lian sighed: "If this continues, sooner or later the Rongguo Mansion will be emptied by the Wang family."

Li Hu asked with a smile: "Are you so willing to watch Rongguo Mansion being emptied out bit by bit by the Wang family?"

Jia Lian smiled bitterly: "What can I do if I am unwilling? Apart from an empty title, everything in Rongguo Mansion, including connections and economic power, belongs to the second wife. Even the old lady lives with the second wife. Let's just muddle along."

Li Hu raised his eyebrows, what a strong resentment!
Jia Lian asked, "What do you think would happen if Wang Ziteng took these treasures to bribe the Mongols and won a 'great victory'?"

Li Hu did not respond.

Jia Lian was silent for a moment, then continued, "The connections in Datong and Xuanfu are lost, but the other military connections cannot be taken advantage of by this shameless villain Wang Ziteng."

Li Hu looked at him and still said nothing.

Jia Lian stopped beating around the bush: "Wang Ziteng is a complete ungrateful person. The master does not want to rely on him for all his connections. The master is optimistic about you."

Li Hu was startled and asked, "What does this mean?"

Jia Lian: "Then I'll put it bluntly. The master still has some military connections in his hands. At the critical moment, he will use his connections to push you and let you go further!"

"Why?" Li Hu looked at Jia Lian.

Jia Lian was silent and looked at Li Hu deeply.

Li Hu seemed to understand that he was asking unnecessary questions. He coughed and asked again, "Master, are you not afraid of raising another ungrateful person?"

Jia Lian was silent for a moment, then replied, "The master said that he would admit defeat even if he lost the bet again this time!"

Li Hu was stunned again. What Jia She meant was that he had lost a bet before. Could it be related to the current situation in Rongguo Mansion? !

Jia Lian changed the subject: "The master said that Wang Ziteng's victory report will be in the capital in the next one or two days."

Li Hu: "Just say whatever you want to say."

Jia Lian leaned over and whispered something in his ear.

Li Hu hesitated, "I'm afraid this is not a good idea."

Jia Lian: "The master said that only when the border troops are severely damaged will the emperor withdraw a large number of troops from the Beijing camp for support. Only then will you have the opportunity to lead the troops north, while the position of the crown prince is still stable and the master still has some connections."

Li Hu nodded.

"Master Lian!"

A woman who looked like a housekeeper's wife came quickly from the hallway.

The woman said, "The old lady asked, when will General Li come?"

Li Hu looked at her and asked, "I am air?"

Jia Lian frowned and said, "Why don't you pay your respects to General Li?"

The woman pretended to be surprised and quickly knelt down to Li Hu and said, "Greetings, General Li."

Li Hu smiled and nodded.

Jia Lian waved his hand and said, "Don't go down yet."

The woman: "Yes." Jia Lian looked at the woman's disappearing back and snorted coldly, then said to Li Hu: "This is the second wife's companion, a servant of the Wang family. With Wang Ziteng's promotion, she has become more and more arrogant."

Li Hu smiled and followed him towards Rongqing Hall.

As soon as they entered Lady Jia's courtyard, they heard hurried footsteps behind them. Li Hu and Jia Lian turned around to look.

Another woman dressed as a housekeeper's daughter-in-law ran in from outside the yard.

Jia Lian's face darkened: "What's the matter? Why are you so flustered?"

The woman panted and said, "Reply, reply to Second Master Lian, Madam Xue from Nanjing and her family have arrived and are already at Ningrong Street." After saying that, she quickly walked into Rongqing Hall.

When Li Hu heard this, he was stunned on the spot.

How did the Xue family come to Beijing? Even if the plot has changed, Feng Yuan's case has not been judged yet. How dare Xue Da Silly come to Beijing so blatantly?

Li Hu suddenly remembered what he had done in Guanzhong. A single word could decide the life and death of countless people.

Yes, how could a family like the Xue family take the life of an ordinary person seriously?

Li Hu then realized that he was overthinking it. The Xue family was not hiding, but was traveling and enjoying the scenery, and did not take this matter to heart at all.

At this time, a chaotic sound of footsteps came from Rongqing Hall, and then the door curtain was lifted, and a group of wives and maids came out surrounded by Madam Wang.

Jia Lian stepped forward and bowed, "Madam!"

Li Hu took two steps back and lowered his head.

When Mrs. Wang passed by Li Hu, she stopped, snorted, and then hurriedly walked away.

Jia Lian came over and said, "Baoyu was beaten by the second master, so..."

Li Hu was stunned at first, then nodded.

Jia Lian smiled bitterly and said, "Even I am hated by the Second Madam."

Li Hu smiled and said, "That's my fault."

As he was speaking, Yuanyang came out, greeted Li Hu, and then said with a smile, "The old lady wants to invite General Li in." Then he stretched out his hand as a gesture of invitation.

Li Hu nodded with a smile and followed Jia Lian in.

At this time, there were only Lady Jia, Lady Xing and some maids and old women in the back hall.

This was the first time Li Hu walked into the back hall of Rongqing Hall. The last time he did so was in the outer room where he met Lady Jia.

Li Hu smiled and bowed to Lady Jia, then said to Yuanyang, "Bring me a kneeling cushion so I can pay my respects to the Madam."

Grandmother Jia: "No need, you can kowtow when you pay New Year's greetings."

Li Hu: “Yes.”

Grandmother Jia seemed to understand, a smile appeared on her face, and she said, "You don't have to be like this, I don't blame you, just sit down and relax."

Li Hu no longer insisted and replied, "Yes." He bowed to Mrs. Xing again and then sat down on the guest chair.

At this time, Li Hu heard a faint but clear laughter coming from the inner room.

Here Li Hu couldn't help but complain about the TV series. Xue Ke, a foreign man, was actually introduced by Xue Baochai to Yingchun, Lin Daiyu and other young ladies in the boudoir.

Not to mention the three sisters, Li Hu had never even seen Li Wan and Wang Xifeng.

Grandmother Jia spoke: "I heard from Yu'er that you invited the imperial physician. I thank you on behalf of my poor daughter."

Li Hu stood up immediately: "I dare not, this is the responsibility of the younger generation."

Grandmother Jia waved her hand and said, "Sit down. Let bygones be bygones. Our two houses are only two streets apart. When you have nothing to do, you can come with Yu'er, have a meal, and talk about household chores."

Li Hu: “Yes.”

Grandmother Jia: "I heard from Lian'er that you don't even have a maid to serve you in your house. What's going on?"

Jia Lian was stunned at first, then he shook his head slightly towards Li Hu to show that he had not told Lady Jia about the affairs of the Li Mansion.

Li Hu nodded and said, "I bought it at the market without knowing its origin. I was thinking of asking around and buying it later if I found out its origin. But the chaos in Shaanxi delayed my purchase."

Grandmother Jia also nodded and said: "That's right. You don't know the quality of things you buy outside. If you make a mistake, it's a small matter to spend money, but there's no need to be naughty."

After a pause, he said, "You know Yu'er's situation better. Her maid is so childish that she has trouble taking care of herself. So, I want to give my maid to her to take care of her. What do you think?"

Hearing what Grandmother Jia said, Li Hu recalled what happened yesterday. Xueyan was young and didn't know how to take care of Lin Daiyu, and Nanny Wang was old.
Grandmother Jia spoke again: "Don't worry, once you arrive at the Li Mansion, you will be a servant of the Li family, with a personal bond."

Li Hu: "No, no. I have nothing to worry about."

Grandmother Jia raised her hand and said, "This is the rule." Then she said to Yuanyang, "Go to the inner room and ask Miss Lin, Amber, and Parrot to come out."

(End of this chapter)