The son of the red mansion is unscrupulous

Xue Baochai was full of doubts, but after Wang Xifeng entered Xue's house, she was so gentle and courteous that Aunt Xue couldn't make a mistake. Even if she had played the side drum a few times, Aunt Xue also believed in Wang Xifeng.

She was puzzled in her heart, so she prepared to go to Rongguo Mansion to find out - after all, Xue Pan and Wang Xifeng had a lot of contacts with Jia Lian recently, and Jia Lian might not know about it.So on the day of the invitation to welcome the Spring Festival, I got up early in the morning to adjust my makeup in the mirror. This time I was still dressed in a poor and happy way, only wearing a half-worn two-color gold makeup satin water red peony pattern long jacket, dark green pleated There were only two hairpins on her skirt and her cloud-like temple hair. Ling Yinger took a silk flower hairpin made in a brocade box and took a sedan chair to Rongguo Mansion.

Leaning against the wall of the sedan chair on the road, Xue Baochai closed her eyes and meditated until she entered the corner gate of Rongguo Mansion and stopped at the hanging flower gate in front of Rongqing Hall before she got out of the sedan chair and saw several daughters-in-law going out with assorted food boxes , smiled at the daughter-in-law, and led Ying'er into the Rongqing Hall, where she saw Yingchun, Tanchun, Xiangyun, Daiyu, and a girl about eleven with a rouge mole between her eyebrows smiling happily. Come and meet her.

"Where did those people go to give gifts just now?" Xue Baochai held Yingchun's hand and looked at Yinglian curiously.

Yingchun hurriedly told Yinglian's life experience, and then said with a smile: "Those are going to Xu's family, come quickly, the old ancestor and aunt are waiting to see you."

Xue Baochai heard that Jia Min was there, so she went to Jia's mother's room without delay, and saw Mrs. Wang was also there. After greeting Jia Mu, Jia Min, and Mrs. Wang graciously, she went to the garden with Yingchun and others to admire them. Apricot blossoms, unfortunately, a rain of apricot blossoms came, so Xue Baochai followed Yingchun and others to the Yingchun room to joke.

The sisters were playing chess or doing needlework in the house, but after a while, Xiangyun, Daiyu and Yinglian felt bored, so the three of them went to find love and play around with the girls on the porch. The mallard went.

"Then Yinglian is very lucky to have Lian's second brother help her twice." Xue Baochai couldn't help sighing when she heard Yinglian's laughter outside the room.

Yingchun smiled and said, "Second brother Liu is also chivalrous, otherwise someone else might not be willing to bring her back."

Tanchun nodded.

Xue Baochai knew that Liu Xianglian was now probably a guest of the Rongguo Mansion, so she smiled a little, and before she could say anything, she heard Siqi hurriedly said outside the door: "Third Miss, go and have a look, Aunt Zhao is in the east again. There's a fuss."

Tan Chunyuan was criticizing Xue Baochai's speech and behavior in secret. Hearing Siqi's words, his handsome eyes dimmed, and he sneered, "My aunt is here, what is she doing now? No need to ask, it must be You have a bad heart and a rotten heart to instigate her!"

Siqi gloated in his heart: "Third Miss, go back to the east to persuade Aunt Zhao, Brother Huan made a joke in the school again, so the aunt and second wife told the old lady that you should discipline Brother Huan. My son. Somehow, the word spread to the garden in the east. Aunt Zhao is now yelling at the west through the courtyard wall. In the words, she first said that the second wife didn’t like her, and that the aunt herself didn’t have a son yet. Worry about someone else's son!"

Xue Baochai wondered that although the East Garden where Jia Zheng lived was separated from Rongxi Hall by a wall, there was still some distance. How could Aunt Zhao immediately know what Jiamu and the others were talking about?How could it be that Aunt Zhao was yelling and cursing a few words to vent her anger through the wall over there, and someone mobilized people to spread them to Rongqingtang so quickly?

Tanchun's eyes were red with anger, knowing that Mrs. Wang used Jia Huan to lead Aunt Zhao to make a joke for Jiamu and Jia Min, but now she has nothing to do.

"...You can go take a look in my car, at least I can persuade your aunt not to offend my aunt." Yingchun comforted Tanchun.

Tan Chun said with red eyes: "So what if I go? Now I can only go to the old lady, wife, and aunt to make up for her." Saying this, he got up and went outside. When he got outside, he saw Dai Yu, first apologize to Daiyu, and then move forward.

Xue Baochai watched Tanchun go away lonely with his servant book and an umbrella, took Yingchun's hand and sat down next to the desk by the back window, playing chess with her, and said tentatively: "Isn't there peace in the east?"

Yingchun laughed and said: "There are always troubles a few times a year, and every time it's thunderous and rainy. The second wife just said that she wants to educate Brother Huan, but she never really insisted on taking Brother Huan back; Auntie only dared to jump in the garden on the east side, and she would feel very wronged when the old lady called her over."

"Don't you ask the second master?" Xue Baochai looked at Yingchun with his face on his face. Seeing her delicate skin and gentle eyebrows and eyes, when he mentioned the objects in the room, five or six out of ten were rewarded by Jia She. He couldn't help but envy Yingchun. Luckily, she has an older brother, but his elder brother is being controlled by his sister-in-law.

Yingchun held a black chess piece on her fingertips, and said with a light smile, "Where is the second master willing to ask? Everyone on our side can see clearly that when the second master is sending money, he asks the housekeeper's second wife for it; he wants to enjoy the family relationship." When he was having fun, he went to Aunt Zhao's room. He seemed to be impartial in his actions. The old lady also saw clearly the chaos in the east garden, so she didn't want to take care of it anymore, so as not to be caught by the second Madam took it as a weapon." After finishing speaking in one breath, she remembered that Mrs. Wang was the aunt of Xue Baochai's direct relative, and she couldn't help but secretly regret it.

With a slight smile on her face, Xue Baochai didn't think there was anything wrong with Yingchun's words. Hearing the pattering outside the window, she covered her mouth with a silk handkerchief and yawned. Chun got close to Mrs. Wang, and after deliberating for a long time, she finally made a decision. She lowered her eyelids slightly, and said with a light smile, "They have nothing serious to do outside the house, so it's reasonable to make a fuss. Just like our family, In the past, all the serious things were done by the shopkeepers at home, and my elder brother used to drink and make troubles all day long, and now he is doing business with Lian's second brother, which has changed his previous problems." His eyes stared at black and white. The chess piece, but the mind is all on Wang Xifeng.

Yingchun smiled and said: "After two days, the apricot list will be released. Our family is getting more and more difficult to do business, and we need your family even more."

"I don't know how the business between the two is doing now?" Xue Baochai looked at Yingchun.

Yingchun stirred the chess box with her fingers, and shook her head, "I only manage the accounts inside the mansion, and the accounts of Zhuangzi's shop outside the mansion are all led by the deacons outside."

Xue Baochai thought, no wonder Jia Lian felt relieved to call the housekeeper of Yingchun. It turned out that he only took care of trivial matters, so he chuckled and said, "Now that the matter between Lian's second brother and Xu's sister has been settled, both rivers are relatives of your family. I think we will follow Lian. It's also very cheap for the second brother to go to the Liangjiang area to do business."

"I don't know about that. My brother never mentioned this matter, but he was always afraid of troublesome people, and he was afraid that he would not be able to help your family much." Yingchun laughed.

Xue Baochai casually dropped another son, seeing that Yingchun really didn't know, she couldn't help feeling a little anxious, thinking that if she knew about Xue's family, she might have to ask Jia Lian; How to find Jia Lian.

"Hey, why did you end up here?" Yingchun tapped on the chessboard with her finger that was covered with Koudan.

Xue Baochai saw that she had made a mistake in a moment of carelessness, and immediately yawned while holding the handkerchief, and said vaguely: "This rain makes people listless. I really can't cheer up. Let's go forward and see how the third girl is doing." .”

Yingchun also felt that the chess game was boring, and felt that the incident caused by Aunt Zhao in the front should be over, so she agreed to Baochai and went out hand in hand with her. Yinglian and Yinglian were standing on the corridor with Xiaohong kicking shuttlecocks. When they heard that Yingchun and Baochai were going to Jiamu's room, they saw that the rain was a little less, so they followed them with their umbrellas. .

The five people entered Jiamu's courtyard from Dataiji in the backyard, and stood outside Jiamu's room along the veranda. They heard from the little girl that Jiamu was reprimanding Mrs. Wang for not being able to manage the house well and not being able to discipline Aunt Zhao. He didn't dare to go there, so he listened to Baochai's suggestion and spoke to the hall in front of Rongqing Hall.

When they arrived in the hall, Daiyu and Xiangyun, who were tired from playing, lay on the table and chatted sleepily. Yingchun went to ask Yinglian about being abducted by the kidnapper, and Xue Baochai sat aside quietly, saying nothing. Listening to what Yingchun and Yinglian said one sentence at a time, I was still thinking about Wang Xifeng and Xue Pan in my heart. Hearing the sound of the rain, he gradually dozed off with his head supported, and suddenly heard Daiyu and Xiangyun muttering that they wanted to go to Jinghuanzhai After waking up from a doze, I saw that Yingchun was weeping for Yinglian, so I ignored Daiyu and Xianglian for now, and waited for a while when I saw that those two had really gone. Not seeing them coming back, he got up and said to Yingchun: "It's boring to sit, let's go find Sister Yu and Girl Yun."

Yingchun was startled, seeing that Daiyu and Xiangyun had disappeared, she said with a smile: "They must have gone to quarrel with brother again, let's go, let's go and have a look too."

Although Yinglian and Liu Xianglian have a marriage contract, she is innocent and innocent, and she is grateful to Jia Lian for finding her mother for her. Seeing that Yingchun and Baochai are going, she follows them without avoiding suspicion.

The three of them went out of the Hanging Flower Gate of Rongqing Hall, and then went to the through-wall mountain gate of Jinghuanzhai.

Because Xue Baochai entered the courtyard of Jia Lian's inner study, she first felt something was wrong, but seeing Yingchun and Yinglian didn't feel that something was wrong, so she followed.In front of the door of Jia Lian's room, I couldn't help being surprised, but I saw not only Daiyu and Xiangyun, but also Baoyu, Jia Huan, and Jia Zhu who were resting today. The small stream formed by the rainwater under the corridor is poured into the rustling bamboo forest.

Candles are lit on the lotus lanterns, which flow into the bamboo forest in the rain. There is a bit of elegance.

"Brother Lian and Brother Zhu played by themselves, and they didn't ask us to come!" Shi Xiangyun complained, pouting as he folded the lotus lantern.

Daiyu smiled while lighting the candles: "It looks good now, when the rain all flows into the ditch, I don't know how to clean up the rotten paper in the forest."

"Don't worry about what to do, just have fun now." Jia Baoyu had a rare rest, and was led by his elder brothers to play, and he also became interested. He didn't fold it, but waited for Daiyu to light the candles. Finally, the boy put the lotus lantern in the stream, and he took the bamboo pole and pushed the lotus lantern into the stream flowing downstream into the bamboo forest.

Jia Lian and Jia Zhu didn't speak a word. The two of them originally figured out such a boring game by reading a book in the rainy day. Now they saw a bunch of little ones coming over, so it's not good to fight with the little ones, so they just folded the paper Give them the lights to play with.

Yingchun and Yinglian thought it was interesting, so they stood on the porch to look at the paper lanterns.

Xue Baochai leaned out of the veranda with her hand in her hand, seeing that there was only a little rain at this moment, she felt that the Jia family really knew how to have fun, this time I don't know how many paper candles will be wasted, it is more expensive than setting off fireworks; let's see what time is the brightest in the bamboo forest The lights never went out, and after looking more closely, I realized that it was lit with Mingwa glazed lamps and placed specially in the bamboo forest.

"It's raining this time, and my sister Baochai has nowhere to play. I'm really sorry." Jia Lian stopped his hands, and seeing Xue Baochai standing aside watching them mess around, he thought to himself that everyone was drunk and I was alone. wake up?

Xue Baochai said with a smile, "it's going to rain, there's nothing we can do about it." Then he said, "how is Lian's second brother recently? Mom said thank you for bringing your brother and sister-in-law to do business."

Jia Lian laughed and said, "You've said it the wrong way. You want to thank your brother and sister-in-law for taking the worthless people in our school to do business."

"If there is no salt from Lian's second brother, where would they do business? Mom is completely relieved to ask my brother and sister-in-law to run the family shop because of the help of Lian's second brother. Mom told me to thank you when I see Lian's second brother." , and asked me to ask my brother and sister-in-law how their business is going outside? She originally wanted to ask her brother and sister-in-law, but she was afraid that if she asked them, they would think that we didn't trust them, so she had to turn a corner and ask Lian's second brother Standing outside the crowd, Xue Baochai caught a glimpse of Baoyu busily flattering Daiyu, Xiangyun, and Yinglian, who put on a lamp for one and held candles for another, and thought to himself that he was the busiest among these people.

Jia Lian flexibly folded the lotus lantern with his fingers, wondering if Xue Baochai has noticed that Wang Xifeng and his wife are transferring the Xue family's money or what?He laughed and said: "I have been busy studying and taking exams for the past two years, so I didn't have the time to ask in detail. It's just that your sister-in-law is very good at everything, and your brother is very righteous. There are many people who help them. I think your family's business is outside. Very prosperous."

"However, a few shopkeepers from Jinling said that my brother closed the shop. Although I didn't see the shopkeeper, my mother saw someone through the back window of the study. I heard from the shopkeeper that our business in Jinling is not very good." Xue Baochai tentatively said, She was sure that Jia Lian should know something. From her point of view, Xue's family was a merchant family. To do business, they had to rely on an official family. This official family was either Wang Ziteng's family or Jia Lian's family.Now that Wang Ziteng is not in the capital, and Xue Pan and his wife are close to the Jia family, how can the Jia family know nothing about the Xue family who borrowed their family status?In her opinion, it makes sense that Jia Lian should know everything about Xue's family.

Jia Lian said with a smile: "I've heard about this. It's your brother's ambition to go overseas to do business. According to me, among businessmen, it's rare for him to be as courageous as he is."

Xue Baochai's lips moved. Seeing that Xue Baochai was always asking about the Xue family's business, Jia Zhu immediately interjected, "Sister Baochai is starting to worry about the dowry? Could it be that my aunt has already started seeing your brother-in-law for you? Don't worry, Pan'er." If you are wronged, kid, no one will wrong you."

Hearing the word dowry, Yingchun, Xiangyun, and Daiyu all looked at Xue Baochai.

Yingchun said with a smile: "It turns out that you were listless this day because you were worrying about the dowry."

Xue Baochai smiled calmly, blocked by the word dowry, but it was difficult to ask Xue Pan about the business.Knowing that she was going to enter the palace, Jia Zhu must have known it, seeing Jia Zhu also came to block her with words, she felt that Xue Pan and Wang Xifeng were weird.

Jia Lian got tired of folding, so he sat on a high stool and took colored paper to fold out butterflies, lilies, paper cranes and other small things for Daiyu and Xiangyun to play with. When he saw Amber and Pearl approaching from a distance, he laughed and said : "You all go to your ancestors, the ancestors sent someone to invite you."

After hearing this, Yingchun knew that Jia Lian was going to see off the guests, so she took Baochai and Xiangyun to Rongqing Hall. Let people go back to Rongqingtang.

After everyone left, the fire in the bamboo forest went out one after another, and the bamboo forest was indeed a mess, with rotten paper stuck on the ground everywhere.

Jia Zhu coughed twice, followed Jia Lian into the bright room and sat down. Knowing a little about what Jia Lian had done, she sipped her tea and said, "That girl Baochai is very vigilant, and now she feels that Pan'er, Feng Something is wrong with the girl."

Sitting opposite Jia Zhu, Jia Lian thought that Xue Baochai was a high-ranking scholar in the mountains. Thinking that Xue Baochai was having dinner at Jia's mother, she called Quanxi and said to him, "Send someone to tell Grandma Xue's family, Said their girl is very clever, she came to Jia's house today to spy on the couple."

Jia Zhu coughed and said with a smile: "You are too inspiring to mobilize people. She is a little girl, so what if she is suspicious?"

"I don't dare to treat her as a little girl." Jia Lian thought to himself that a girl like Xu Qingheng is a little girl, and someone like Xue Baochai, even if she is a little tender, she has to be respected as a high scholar.

Quan Xi heard this, and recalled that when she was watching from a distance just now, she saw that among the crowd, even Yinglian with delicate eyebrows and eyes was not as outstanding as Baochai, she sighed twice in her heart, and immediately ordered to go out, I went to the gatehouse of the study in the front yard to find Zhu Long, who was waiting to be on duty, and told Jia Lian what he had said.

Zhu Long hurriedly put on the bamboo hat and coir raincoat, and immediately rode out. It was raining a little on the way, and when he arrived at the door of Xue's house, he said he wanted to see Grandma Xue.

The person at the door sent a message to the inside, and after a while, Wang Xifeng's companion, Wang'er, came out.

Zhu Long leaned into Wang'er's ear and said, "Wang'er had heard that Xue Baochai was very powerful. Seeing that Xue Baochai wanted to spy on Jia's house, he immediately went inward, entered the corner gate, entered Wang Xifeng's courtyard, and entered the Ming room." Li hurriedly said Zhu Long's words.

Wang Xifeng sat lazily in an armchair, unable to lift her spirits due to the rain, her eyelids kept twitching, and said with a sneer, "I knew about this a long time ago, and I told Second Master Lian to trouble him." Xue Baochai went The Jia family spied on her, and she turned around and told Xue Pan and Xue Baochai that she was afraid that the Jia family would take advantage of the Xue family and go to the Jia family to talk to Jia Lian with a gun and a stick.

Wang'er agreed, and immediately went out again in the drizzle, and met Zhu Long at the gatehouse, told Wang Xifeng's words, and started to talk to Zhu Long again: "Brother, how busy you are at the mansion recently?"

"I'm not busy right now. I'll be really busy when the apricot list comes down." Zhu Long smiled, and put on the coir raincoat and bamboo hat that had been hanging aside one by one.

Wang'er helped him put it on, and smiled deliberately: "The matter between Lian Erye and Xu's girl has been settled. Whether there is a gold list title, Lian Erye's future will not be bad."

Zhu Long smiled and said: "That's what you said, but there is still a palace test. It's raining today so the second master can take a break, otherwise he will be forced to study by the two masters." Said, got on the horse after going out, and immediately rushed to Rongguo Mansion. Halfway, seeing that the rain was too urgent, he went to a restaurant to take shelter from the rain, ordered the waiter to lead his horse to the stable, and then went to the stable by himself. I went upstairs leisurely, took five cents and the waiter watched as he prepared the food and drinks. After a while, he saw the waiter brought peanuts, beef and a pot of Huiquan wine, and he ate the peanuts slowly. Hearing the sound of the monk chanting scriptures, he felt impatient, so he stood on the restaurant with a flagon and shouted condescendingly: "What are you shouting about?" Waiting to see two crazy monks downstairs, among them the monk was lame and the Taoist Lame and disheveled, he froze immediately, ignoring the wine, and hurried down from the restaurant.

The waiter still yelled: "Masters, we are in business, you two came in, it stinks, which one can eat and drink?"

Zhu Long tossed a dime to the waiter, remembering Jia Lian's nonsense that he ran away with the skinny monk and lame Taoist priest in the past, and now he invited the skinny monk and lame Taoist priest to Jia Lian, wondering how Jia Lian would reward him, so he piled up With a smiling face, he smiled at the skinny monk and the lame Taoist priest: "Do the two masters also drink and eat meat?"

"If people in the world can eat it, so can monks and Taoists." The scarlet-headed monk scratched his head and said.

Zhu Long said: "My master has admired you two for a long time, why don't you follow me to my house for a drink? How can the wine and food in this small restaurant compare to my house's?"

The scarlet-headed monk laughed and said, "Is there anyone who admires me as a monk?"

The lame Taoist also laughed, seeing that Zhu Long was well-dressed, he said, "Let's go, the monk Taoist who is annoying to everyone is going to take a walk in the rich and gentle village of the duke's family today."

As they were talking, the monks and Taoist priests who had come in to hide from the rain saw that the rain had stopped, and saw that the waiter disliked them very much, so they intentionally and intimately pulled Zhu Long out.

Zhu Long smelled the sour smell from the two monks, and suddenly felt that Jia Lian might not be willing to see them seriously, maybe it was Ye Gong who was fond of dragons.Even though he thought so, he still entrusted the waiter with the horses to send them to Rongguo Mansion, and led the monks and Taoist priests all the way to Rongguo Mansion by himself.

This place is not far from Rongguo Mansion, and after a short time, he walked up Ningrong Street, and when he reached Rongguo Mansion, Zhu Long's brand new boots were soaked, and his clothes were splashed with mud, and he arrived in front of the door. So I sent the boy to the branch to meet Jia Lian.

Because the scarlet monk and the lame Taoist were very unbearable, Zhu Long didn't dare to invite them into the mansion right away, he just spent his own money at the front door to ask the doorman to get some refreshments and tea for the two monks to eat first. Standing by the porter and looking up, he waited to see Jia Lian rushing over with a strange expression, and hurriedly said: "Second master, I saw them in the restaurant, so I invited them here immediately."

Jia Lian's lips were tight, and he strode towards the gatehouse without saying a word. When he got to the spacious gatehouse, he saw the young man at the door fanning the wind in distaste and refusing to enter the gatehouse. With colorless clothes, he sat cross-legged on a bench, gorging himself on a plate of chicken oil and pine nut stuffed rolls.

"Masters, our second master is here." Zhu Long said hastily.

Jia Lian raised his eyebrows slightly, seeing that the monk and Taoist were going crazy, he sneered and said: "Don't pretend to be crazy, whether it's a magic stick, a human trafficker, or someone from Haishang, tell me everything clearly today! Somebody, go and invite Liu Xiao Master, Miss Zhen, Miss Xue, and Miss Lin go to Jinghuanzhai and wait for the two masters to tell them their fortunes." He would like to see how this skinny monk and lame Taoist can still sing the sad "Dream of Red Mansions" "!