Through the Ring of Red Mansions

After entering the garden and staying in the garden, Xiuyun Jinyue replaced the quilts and pillows with Jia Huan's usual style, and the girls sighed privately, "I'm used to living in the villa, and I feel very uncomfortable when I come back. Not to mention, I just want to go out and go outside for convenience, and it’s freezing outside, and I have to undress outside.” He said, “There is not even a faucet in the house, at least you can wash your hands directly with hot spring water at home. , and now it’s going back more and more.”

So Xiuyun laughed and scolded, "But if you live here for half a month, you can't stand it like this. Let the people in the garden hear carefully, and let you have a meal first."

Jinyue smiled and said, "Now it's Grandma Zhu and the third girl who are housekeepers, what are you afraid of?"

Xiuyun said, "Who is in charge of the house? If there is a broken-mouthed one, the old lady and the second wife may hear it. The old lady is fine now. The second wife doesn't find the ring for a while, and I feel uncomfortable. You still do it like this." Not careful!" After hearing this, the few people stopped mentioning it again.

Jia Huan still gave a set of winter clothes, a set of pearl and jade jewelry and a set of skin care balm and water powder to Jiamu, the two wives of King Xing, Li Wan, Sister Feng and Sanchun sisters, and Daiyu alone during the New Year. Jiamu had an extra agarwood crutch Baoyu got a dress and an amethyst carved ornament, and because Daiyu was born this year, she no longer used plain colors, but gave a pink dress instead, and Aunt Zhao and Tanchun also had private ones. One copy is not mentioned in front of others.Then there is Mother Jia who brought Xiangyun over to celebrate the New Year, Aunt Xue Baochai Baoqin, Mrs. Xing and girls from Li Wan's relatives are all there, and it is necessary to give them another share, which is only thinner than that for the Sanchun sisters. But one set of jewelry per person is over.

At this time, Rong Mansion has re-arranged the people according to the method of Jiahuan Villa, which saves a lot of wronged money compared to previous years, but many princes and relatives greeted and sent the New Year's gift, and Li Wan and Tan Chunsheng were afraid. I am not familiar with it, and if there is any omission or thinness, it will cause disrespect, so I reported to Jia Mu, and finally invited Sister Feng to come out to help.Sister Feng just helped them add and change the gift list, or set a date to invite each family to have New Year's wine, so that it would not be the same as Dongfu.

Because there were people in charge everywhere, and Sister Feng and Li Wan were outside to take care of them, Tanchun simply took a moment to talk to Jia Huan, and during the two or three months when Jia Huan was away, Xue Pan was beaten again. It's about Jia Lian being beaten again. Jia Huan knew about it a long time ago, but after talking about it for a while, they went to Jia Mu's place to talk and laugh together, or joked with Baoyu, Daiyu and all the sisters in the garden.

Since the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, "all kinds of colors are available, the door gods have been changed in both houses, couplets, listings, new peach charms, and a new look."

On the [-]th day, the ancestral hall sacrifices were first performed. "The people of Jia's mansion were divided into Zhaomu and established: Jia Jing as the officiant, Jia Amnesty as the accompanying sacrifice, Jia Zhen as the lord, Jia Lian and Jia Cong as silk, Baoyu and Jiahuan as incense holders, Jiachang and Jialing exhibitions. Worship the carpet, guard the burning pond. Tsingyi music playing, three tributes, after worshiping, burning silk and drinking wine, after the ceremony, the music stops, quit."

After the sacrifices in the ancestral hall were completed, they came out of the main hall again to worship, led by Jia Mu. The building is surrounded by eaves inside and outside the corridors, inside the two danges on the upper and lower steps, there are clusters of flowers, and there is no gap."

Waiting for the masters and daughters-in-law of the Ning and Rong mansions to serve tea for Jia Mu, they went back to Rong Mansion to watch the new year. Make up according to the product, put a full set of deacons into the palace to congratulate, and wish Yuanchun and Qianqiu."

At present, "the hall, the upper courtyard, are full of opera and wine, relatives and friends flocked in an endless stream, and it took seven or eight days to finish." There were also a few people who had only met Jia Huan during Yujia's southern tour, and brought New Year's gifts. He also sent a post to invite him to have a drink. Jia Huan had to go back one by one, and pushed back the banquet.It just so happened that Mo Yan brought the carved emerald dragon mouth pearl bracelet from the jewelry shop of Jinxiu Pavilion. Jia Huan looked at it and found it very suitable, so he ordered someone to send it to Shui Lang.

In the evening of that day, Mo Yan came back with another box and said, "Fourth Master Long returned the gift. I didn't come back for a long time, and called me out again, saying that Fourth Master Long said he liked it very much. Thank you, Third Master Huan for thinking about it." , and gave me another box of unknown things for Mr. Huan to play with, and said goodbye when you returned to the villa."

Jia Huan took the box and looked at it, and saw that it was wrapped in silk silk, which was like a piece of milky white soap that was no bigger than a fist. The surface was very smooth, and the texture was not too hard. It smelled very pleasant. , I didn't know what it was for a while, so I put it away first.

"On the evening of the [-]th, Mother Jia ordered a few tables of wine in the big flower hall, ordered a small show, hung all kinds of beautiful lights, and led the family banquets of the sons, nephews, nephews, grandchildren, grandchildren and grandchildren of the Rongning Second Mansion. He didn't invite him for wine, and after the ancestral sacrifice was over on the next seventeen days, he still went out of the city to cultivate." "Jia Amnesty received the gift from Jia Mu, so he left."

"There are more than a dozen seats on the Jiamu Flower Hall here. Next to each table, there are a couple of stoves and vases, burning the imperial lily and palace incense." "The two seats above are Aunt Li and Aunt Xue. On the east side, Jia Mu set up a couch with short feet and short legs with a screen carved with a dragon, complete with backrest, pillows and leather mattresses." They are sitting with Jia Mu. So below is Mrs. Xing and Mrs. Wang, and then there are You Shi, Li Wan, Sister Feng, and Jia Rong's wife. On the west side are Baochai, Li Wen, Li Qi, Xiuyan, Sister Yingchun and others." "The seats on the porch are Jia Zhen, Jia Lian, Jia Cong, Jia Rong, Jia Qin, Jia Yun, Jia Ling, Jia Chang, etc."

After listening to a few plays, Jia Mu ordered Baoyu and Jia Huan to go down to pour wine for everyone, and some female gentlemen came in to tell some stories about new books, and beat drums to pass flowers. People set up screen frames in the yard and set off a lot of firecrackers and fireworks. The Lantern Festival was very lively.

On the early morning of the [-]th, two well-dressed nuns were suddenly sent from the Palace of the Prince of Jing, and they said that they had been ordered by the old concubine of the Prince of Beijing to bring Princess Lin to the mansion, and that Daoyuan did not want to disturb Mr. Shi. The Taijun's family happiness is only fifteen now, and the old concubine Kuang went to play with several sisters of Princess Lin today, so I came here to invite Princess Lin to have a lot of fun.

Mother Jia couldn't help but say to the two nuns, "Yu'er was supposed to go and kowtow to her godmother for New Year's greetings. I was afraid that the concubine would have troubles in the new year. If I went, I would annoy the concubine, so I didn't pass. After all, I should make a serious apology to the concubine." Then he ordered people to follow him to the Beijing Palace, and the two nuns went back with Daiyu.

As soon as Sister Lin went away for a day, Baoyu immediately felt very bored, and finally waited until evening, and immediately forced Jia Mu to send someone to pick her up. I met several noble daughters of the clan, watched a Zixi play, and showed Jia Mu one by one the things given by the princess of Beijing. There is also a piece of jade that the concubine personally wore with her.

Baoyu saw a gold collar around Sister Lin's neck as soon as she entered the door, and a piece of crystal, warm, crimson beautiful jade was embedded under it, and she couldn't help but said, "In this way, Sister Lin also has jade, come on!" Show me what kind of treasure it is?"

Daiyu untied it for him to see, and said to Jia Mu, "I heard from the concubine and godmother that it is a red jadeite. She wanted to give it to me a long time ago, but I can't wear it when I am still in filial piety, so I will see it today. "

Because Baoyu saw that this piece of red jadeite was specially carved into the style of gourd Fudou (Fu Lu Shou), and the workmanship was very exquisite, and he also saw the four characters "made by the Palace of Longevity" on the back of the jade pendant, so he asked curiously, "Where is this Palace of Longevity?" ? Is it a Taoist temple in the capital?"

Daiyu said, "You ask me, but I don't know."

But when Jia Mu and Mrs. Wang heard the words "Longevity Palace", they secretly thought about whose master the Longevity Palace was. They might as well suddenly think of a person, and they were startled. Jiamu called Baoyu to stop, "You know where it is, just talk nonsense! You are not allowed to mention this in the future!" After Baoyu forced himself to read it, he hurriedly put it back on Daiyu himself.

Daiyu said to Jia Mu again, "The concubine and godmother also said that on the eighteenth day of the first lunar month, she would drink wine for the first month of the first month in the mansion, invite some familiar old lords, and send someone to invite the old lady, so I will tell you She was originally the goddaughter of the concubine, but now it is enough to invite the old lady on behalf of the concubine, there is really no need to send someone here."

Jia Mu smiled and said, "You answered very well. We should not have refused to invite Concubine Kuang." She then ordered, "Tomorrow, we will send a woman to the Beijing Palace and say that Princess Lin will send a report. Concubine, I will definitely go there some day." Sister Feng Li Wan hurriedly agreed from the side.

In the early morning of the [-]th, "everyone went to Ningfu to salute again, waited to cover the ancestral hall, collected the video, and then came back. This day is the New Year's wine at Aunt Xue's house." On the [-]th day, everyone invited, but Jia Mu He took Daiyu to the Beijing Prince's Mansion again, and after a while of drinking and bustle, the Princess of Beijing said to Jia Mu, "Old Lord Feng has seen the world, so he must know the nature of the manpower that I serve beside the princess and princess. There is a rule that Yu'er was in Xiaoli at first, so it is not appropriate to make a big move, so I didn't say anything, and now I have to discuss this matter with Lao Fengjun."

Jia's mother hurriedly said, "The concubine is thoughtful, and it is her great fortune that Yu'er has to recognize the concubine as her godmother. To say something disrespectful, I have thought about the matter of the princess setting a rule, but My Min'er is just such a single seedling left, and it has been raised by me for so many years, and I really can't bear to be separated, so I saw that the emperor's order was not yet given, so I just dragged it on."

As he spoke, he couldn't help rolling down tears with Daiyu, who also hung her head and wept slightly.Everyone hurriedly tried to persuade her, and Princess Beijing smiled and said, "I knew that Lord Feng loved his granddaughter, so I never said that I would bring her to live with me. It's just that Yu'er is getting older. The arrangement is not decent. Those who know say we love Yu’er, but those who don’t know may underestimate Yu’er’s status as the princess! So I want to put four nuns next to Yu’er, all of whom are gentle and guarded A well-behaved old man in the palace, but Yu'er lives in Lao Fengjun's mansion after all, so I want to ask Lao Fengjun for advice."

When Mother Jia heard that she didn't want to take Daiyu out of Jia's mansion, her reluctance settled down, and she hurriedly laughed, "What the concubine said is very appropriate, and it's all for Yu'er's sake. This method is very good. Yu'er Now my son is living in one of our gardens and has his own yard, even if the four nuns are gone, they will be able to live there very well, so I can't say, just do as the concubine said."

Concubine Bei Jing laughed, "That's very good. In addition, the Ministry of Internal Affairs originally set aside monthly allowances for the servants who served the clan's relatives, and it didn't cost Lao Feng Jun's house. If Lao Feng Jun agrees, I will pay for it tomorrow." Report these four nuns as Yu'er's education nuns to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and let them issue monthly regulations."

Jia's mother laughed, "I'm making the concubine laugh, even if I give my body to Yu'er to raise her, it's just that I want this granddaughter to be by my side all the time."

Concubine Bei Jing also laughed and said, "That's not the case." The two agreed and talked and laughed again, and Jia Mufang took Daiyu to leave.

In a few days, the Ministry of Internal Affairs assigned Daiyu four nuns, Cui, Li and Liu Meng, among whom Cui was good at being an embroiderer, Li was good at making food and fruit, Liu was good at health and medicine, and the last one, Meng, But he is a good hand in managing affairs and regulating people.As soon as these four well-mannered nuns entered Jia's mansion, everyone realized that the dignity of a princess is actually different from that of the girls in the mansion.