The Hairpin of the Red Chamber

The saddest thing about Jia Mu's death was Baoyu and Daiyu. However, the sadness of these two was not purely due to the nature of grandparents, but they were somewhat guilty. Daiyu cried and fainted several times during her kneeling. Baoyu kept silent all the time, and she was as stupid as asking him, and refused to answer anything. Mrs. Wang was so anxious that she sweated, and she tactfully told Jia Zheng, but Jia Zheng said with tears: "This is what they did How can I stop my grandson and grandson's daughter-in-law from fulfilling their duties?"

To make Mrs. Wang helpless, she could only call Xiren and Zijuan in turn, exhort them repeatedly, and ask these girls to persuade them to eat some porridge and rice. The two of Yu were so disfigured, they also remembered the kindness of their father. At that moment, Jia Zheng called Baoyu to the front yard, and Mrs. Wang called Daiyu to the main hall. Xia Jingui, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law came ostentatiously, and said as soon as they entered the door: "You two are here, what a coincidence."

Mrs. Wang was blocked in the room by her, and she had no way to escape, so she had to meet her. Mrs. Xing said with a smile: "The younger brother and sister said last time that they would wait for Baoyu's daughter-in-law, and now she happens to be here, so let's talk about it——Old lady Although Baoyu's daughter-in-law is a grandson, she has her own family after all, so it seems inappropriate to ask her grandmother to contribute the money. Besides, the old lady's own two granddaughters and a grandniece only have three thousand. It is too much to give five thousand to my granddaughter. Besides, the distribution of money in ordinary families is done according to the family. The two of them had a marriage contract long ago. Once married, they are a family, but they got [-] silver. I think it is inappropriate."

She has never been very eloquent, so she said such big words as soon as she came up, which inevitably made Mrs. Wang look sideways. When Zhou Rui's family winked at the side, Mrs. Wang knew that Xia Jingui taught her, and said slowly: "The old lady is old. Now, we only do things based on joy. As juniors, we only have to abide by filial piety, respect and obedience. How can we violate the principle? Besides, our two families have already separated, and all the old lady left is her private money. There is no reason to speak."

Mrs. Xing sneered and said: "The old lady was suddenly ill, and she didn't say a word before leaving. Who knows what her joy is?"

This made Mrs. Wang and Daiyu's faces change color. Mrs. Wang refused to speak, and Daiyu sneered first: "Ma'am, what you said makes no sense. Everyone in the house knows what the old lady means. Send me away." The money that came came in a few neatly sealed boxes, and it was clearly written out for who among our sisters, so how can you say you don’t know what she wants?"

Seeing what Daiyu said, Xia Jingui also came out and said: "Siblings have also been educated, so they should know that their parents have done it, and children who persuade them to correct their mistakes are filial piety. If you blindly follow them, you are praising your parents. Inconsiderate, as juniors, we are supposed to remonstrate and remonstrate, but now that she is gone, we can't just follow her wishes and make it look like there is no one in our family."

Mrs. Wang said angrily: "When the old lady was here, why didn't you mention a word, but now you jump out and say it! What do you mean that our family is not important? You have only started for a few days, and you just talk about your in-law's family like this gone?"

Xia Jingui was not afraid of people, but now she wanted to put on a docile look, so she hid behind Mrs. Xing and called "Mother" timidly.

Mrs. Xing took her into her arms, comforting her, and blamed Mrs. Wang, saying: "She is a little girl, she is used to being outside, and she always has something to say. Seeing that things in our family are a little unreasonable, she came out and said Two sentences, it’s not good, the siblings just teach them slowly, why did they get angry? It’s frightening.”

Mrs. Wang only thought that Xia Jingui was timid and afraid to speak, so she said in a slightly slower tone: "You are always at home, you may not know our rules, and I don't blame you, it's just that for people like us, the elders have decided that we As a child, you can only obey, how dare you disobey? Besides, since the old lady has gone, it is her will, and it must be respected and cannot be changed."

Seeing Mrs. Wang's softening, Xia Jingui got out of Mrs. Xing's arms, blinked and said with a smile, "So it's because of the old lady's will, so it can't be changed. I still think it's my aunt who was greedy for the five thousand silver!"

Mrs. Wang gave her a choke, and was about to get angry again. Mrs. Xing hurriedly grabbed her hand and said, "My brothers and sisters, listen to me, the old lady's will must be obeyed, but the money has already been in their hands, and if they want to dispose of it, they will have to deal with it." It's the two of them's business, isn't it? If the two of them let some more out, it will not be considered a disobedience, and the family will be harmonious, this is a matter, everyone settle down."

Mrs. Wang said: "Sister-in-law's words are strange. The two of them are married, and it's time for them to live. Why do you ask them to give money to help uncle? If this word is spread, I'm not afraid of making people laugh."

Mrs. Xing said with a smile: "It's not Zhou who helped us, but Zhou Ji Lian'er, Lian'er is generally a grandson. When he got married, the old lady didn't pay a penny, but Baoyu and Baoyu did. We just treat it as the old lady. It's the same of."

Mrs. Wang was so angry that she couldn't speak when she saw her brazenness. Daiyu hurriedly supported her to help her, and then said to Mrs. Xing: "Auntie is wrong. When Sister Feng was working, the old lady gave her a lot of money. Even if the new sister-in-law came in, didn't the money for the marriage be paid by the mansion? Logically, the two families have separated, so the marriage should not be our responsibility. The master took care of it, the master cared about his nephew, and helped him a little bit, it was done with all his affection, the money the old lady gave us was also used in our marriage, if it was spent, the public would spend less money, the etiquette of the new year A little more courtesy, isn't it the same?"

Xia Jingui originally thought that Daiyu was just a weak woman, but she expected to be a young lady who came from a scholarly family who was stupid to read books, but unexpectedly explained the pros and cons of it clearly, and immediately frowned and looked at Mrs. Xing, Mrs. Xing Seeing her wink, she coughed and said to Mrs. Wang, "everything Baoyu's daughter-in-law says is good, but in this day and age, no matter how good your words are, if they spread outside, they will change. You said that Baoyu has become a scholar." , the next thing is to go to the examination of Juren and Jinshi. If it spreads the reputation of not being friendly with relatives and neighbors at this time, I'm afraid it will not benefit him. Brothers and sisters don't worry, we will definitely not go out and say this, I am afraid that the family has a large population , there are so many people talking, spread out only a few words, and then tell others to pass it on... You think we are members of the mother's family, and an accident happened last year. I don't know how many pairs of eyes are watching inside and outside the capital. If there is any trouble, I'm afraid..." She showed a meaningful expression Smile, shut up.

Mrs. Wang and Daiyu's faces were ashen. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law looked at each other for a long while, without saying a word.

Seeing the faces of the two of them, Xia Jingui knew that the matter was probably over, so she pulled Mrs. Xing's sleeve, and the two looked at each other. Mrs. Xing smiled and said, "Sister and sister, think about it, let's go first." Xia Jingui walked away waddlingly just like when she came.

Mrs. Wang was so angry that her lips trembled and her hands were just shaking. Daiyu was about to persuade her, but she waved her hand and said coldly, "Go back and rest first. Don't tell Baoyu about this beforehand."

Daiyu hummed, and went straight out, but first went to Hengwu Court, where Baochai was watching the little girls changing Daiyu's clothes. The manpower is reduced, especially compared with Dafang. Even Baoyu has laid off a lot of people. Although Daiyu has plenty of money, she can't be too unconventional, so she doesn't have enough manpower. Take over some of the work in her house.

Before Daiyu stepped into the room, Baochai had already seen her from the window, and came out smiling, pulling the curtains for her. The maids had already rushed to get the sherbet and other things, and when Daiyu entered the room, the table was already full. Put on plain spots.

Baochai smiled and pulled her to sit down, wiped the sweat off her forehead, and said, "Miss asked you to give orders to the housekeeper again? I see that although the number of people in this mansion has decreased by half, things are much worse than before." It used to be more, half of the jobless ones are begging in every possible way, cutting their heads to come in, and the other half are trying to get a contract and invest in a higher branch. You'd better not get involved in these crap things and take care of them for a few months. I'm already in I asked someone to inquire about donating officials, if Baoyu doesn’t pass the exam, let’s donate one for him, I’ll figure it out, my money is just enough to donate a big county for him.”

Seeing that Daiyu's face was still gloomy, Fang was startled and asked, "What's the matter?"

Daiyu said sullenly: "Xia Jingui is urging us to share the money in that room, and if we don't pay, we will make a big fuss and ruin Baoyu's reputation."

The smile on Baochai's face stopped immediately, and said coldly, "She dares!"

Daiyu curled her lips and said: "I've left all the talk here, and I'm just waiting for my wife to make a decision. Why doesn't she dare? If it's just a small amount of money, it's all right. According to what she means, she wants to take all of my five thousand. Go out. I'll figure it out, half of my dowry has been posted to the mansion, and there is still some, in case Baoyu fails the exam, I have to buy an official for him, and there will be money and government expenses, which may not be enough Well—don’t tell me you paid for Baoyu’s affairs, why should you be asked to pay for it?”

Baochai's brows tightened and relaxed, relaxed and tightened again, and it took a long time before she said, "Don't be angry, I'll come up with a solution."