Prequel to the Red Chamber: I Am the Second Wife

"This is a matter between you husband and wife, what are you asking outsiders to do!" Seeing Jia Zheng's expressionless face, Jia's mother suddenly became irritable.In her decades of life, there has been no setbacks. Who knows that marrying this daughter-in-law will make her worry about it in her later years.

Jia Zheng touched his nose, and said helplessly: "We were doing well, but the old lady said that everyone is decent. According to me, it's better to send those aunts away. I'd better live a peaceful life in a few days." Not for anything else, but also for the sake of the child. If girl Yuan can have a great future, wouldn't the family cheat her by doing this." Jia Zheng had some inexplicable expectations in his heart that Yuan Chun could enter the palace and be raised by the queen mother. Jia Zheng didn't dare to think about it.

Mother Jia glared at her son with resentment: "Did I just hope that the department would be bad? Forget it, I have a good intention to manage bad things. You have all grown up, and when you see your wings are hard, you still look down on me." I don't care about your affairs, just eat three meals with peace of mind." With that, Mother Jia drove Jia Zheng out.

Jia Zheng still had no idea when he returned to Lixiangyuan. Aunt Zhou and Aunt Wang brought the girls up to help Jia Zheng change clothes and rest. Today I heard that someone from the palace came, why did they take away all the eldest girl’s things, I think they packed up all the big woolen clothes for winter, what’s going on.”

"The Empress Dowager likes Yuan Chun, and she is keeping her by her side. You all go down, and I will have a quiet meeting by myself." Jia Zheng told the two aunts to go out.Aunt Zhou and Aunt Wang exchanged glances and left together.Jia Zheng sat alone in the room.The familiar room seemed to be a little strange, and Jia Zheng suddenly felt that there was something strange in the room. The Luohan bed that had been placed under the window had been removed by someone, and replaced with a desk. On the window sill, there was a pot of The orchids were brought by Zili from Qingzhou.She likes this dish of flowers very much, watering and dusting her like nothing else, but now that pot of flowers has disappeared.Jia Zheng was about to ask someone to ask him, but Fang'er came in with a tea tray.

"Master has been out for a long time, and there is no one who pours tea when I come back. Just now I was taking the little girls to prepare needlework, and I didn't know that Master is back." The buttons on the chest are undone, revealing a piece of white breasts, the close-fitting jacket outlines the slender waist, under the bright red trousers is a pair of small red shoes, and a casual bun on the head , It's really a goddess who recommends herself to the pillow seat next month.Although Jia Zheng was full of troubles, he felt soft when he saw Fang'er dressed up, thinking that she was an innocent person, but I had to let go.

"I'm not thirsty, and you don't need to pour tea." Jia Zheng's tone calmed down. Fang'er was not the most beautiful and enchanting woman Jia Zheng had ever seen, but for some reason Jia Zheng liked being with Fang'er. Listen She has no scruples, and sometimes even speaks harshly, enjoying her youth, with a natural bohemian body, Jia Zheng feels as if she is young again.Fang'er's body is as wild as a wild animal, and the hot youth seems to have made him young too.Jia Zheng felt that he was no longer the Jia Cunzhou who looked forward and backward in the officialdom, had to adjust up and down at home, and had to deal with countless government affairs and housework when he opened his eyes. Jia Zheng was left to do whatever he wanted and squander his youth.

But Fang'er gave Jia Zheng a supercilious look, and leaned on Jia Zheng's arm: "The master is very comfortable every day, and he doesn't ask me what I do at home."

There was a plump touch on his arm, and Jia Zheng became even more distracted. He pulled Fang'er to sit down, but Fang'er pursed her lips, rolled her eyes, leaned over and whispered in Jia Zheng's ear: "I am here today. The chairs are too hard after seeing the maids working all day." She sat on Jia Zheng's lap as she spoke.

"What did you do at home? According to me, you don't have to work so hard every day. You can just do what you call girls." Jia Zheng put his arms around Fang'er, stroking her plump and firm skin, as if the youth on Fang'er had never Her skin was uploaded to Jia Zheng's body, making Jia Zheng also rejuvenate.

"Don't talk about it, it's your two aunts. I don't like their hard work! Today, some officials from Ping'an County, Gyeonggi Province came to pay homage and gave ten thousand silver. I just refused to accept it. I couldn't see it, so I went to ask someone to accept the money and told him that the master had gone out and waited for you to come back tomorrow. Just don't worry, the master will mediate if there is anything. The official will Thank you so much and leave." Said Fang'er triumphantly took out the bank note for Jia Zheng to see.

When Jia Zheng saw it, he suddenly had a bad idea. The water control in the capital was the result of Ping’an County occupying the land and falsely reporting the amount of compensation. In this case, nearly 30 silver was not accounted for. Mr. Zhou and Jia Zheng mentioned it, so don’t be careless. The reputation of Ping'an County's greed and harshness has spread to the emperor's ears, so don't get involved with him.The county magistrate of Ping'an had sent money to Jia Zheng several times, but Zili stopped them all.Now Fang'er took the money from others all at once, and said something reassuring.Isn't this hurting yourself?At the beginning, I set the rules in front of the whole family, not allowing family members to accept bribes and intercede, but in the end, the people around me slapped me in the face.

"Nonsense, how can you take this money casually, and talk nonsense, don't worry!" Jia Zheng immediately put on a serious face and wanted to teach Fang'er a lesson.

"The master is very angry now, and he will act to show us face at every turn. I know that the master is afraid that people will not like it, so he tries to run us away in a different way. I am your man in life, and your ghost in death. I'm not going anywhere." Fang'er covered her face with a silk cloth and cried, not wanting to be outdone.

Jia Zheng stomped his feet angrily: "Reversely, I can't say no to you. Get out, I can't afford this great Buddha like you."

Hearing that Jia Zheng was really angry, Fang'er sat on the ground and wailed loudly: "You took over my innocent daughter's house, and now you want to drive me away! I don't want to leave, as did my sister back then." I was bullied by you, and now you are bullying me again. I am not so good-natured, and it would be shameless to make a scene. I spend all my time serving the master, changing the furnishings, and controlling the little girls. I don't worry about any of the things in the yard." Fang'er stretched out her finger in the shape of a teapot, and began to cry.

The girls outside were alarmed, someone told Aunt Zhou and Aunt Wang a long time ago, the two of them hurried over to persuade, Aunt Zhou heard Fang'er's words just at the door, she came in with a faint smile and asked the little girl to pull Fang'er up: " You usually like to take big things among girls. Since the master values ​​you, he told us over and over again to let us not care about it. You are outspoken and have no bad intentions, so tell us not to take it to heart. We will bear it. But today Looking at your innocent girl, I want to ask you a girl, even her life belongs to her master, how can she be innocent? We are aunts, and our family is also a good citizen. No one in the whole family has sold themselves into slavery for generations. Just like that, we don’t dare to show off our identities casually. I just found out today that you are a girl from a good family. According to what you said, even the old lady and us are girls from some other family? You are at home every day It’s all right to show the master’s score by yelling, and reach out to the wife’s room. You ask the girl to move out the orchids that the wife likes to dry in the sun, and ask someone to move out the furniture that the wife likes. Then you will Are you going to be a wife? Aunt Wang and I have endured you for these days. Although we are aunts, we are much taller than you who have been slaves for generations. , we have already reported to the old lady. I will go to the old lady to find out now, see if the old lady is partial to her girl or let you mess around with no law." Aunt Zhou pulled Aunt Wang and said Walk.

Jia Zheng blushed with anger when he heard Aunt Zhou's words, and kicked hard: "Get out!" Fang'er was startled, and forgot to cry and "sing", and stared at him. With a heart-warming kick, he rolled his eyes and lay on the ground straight, lifeless.

Not to mention the chaos of Jia Zheng, Wang Ziteng was talking about Jia Zheng's embarrassment with Zili vividly: "There is a saying that good things don't go out, and bad things spread thousands of miles. Now everyone knows that if you want to follow Jia Zheng's way, you have to give it to his girl." It’s about giving gifts. Now I understand what my grandfather said at the time. The smoother the road, the more careful it is, especially in the officialdom. Yes, you can be a minister of the Ministry of Industry at a young age , I used to be a high-ranking member of a party who opened a government office and built a mansion with all kinds of prestige. If it was changed, everyone would want to relax and enjoy it. Their family's vision of seeing people is really amazing!" Wang Ziteng gloated at Jia Zheng's misfortune. "Now I understand why my father and grandfather suppressed me from being promoted too quickly. They were afraid that I would be blinded by the fame and wealth in front of me because I didn't have the experience. My father said that if Jia Zheng could work hard all the time Officials are not fooled by foreign interests, or they can really be a famous minister and general. Now it seems that it is nothing more than that. It’s just a pity for my sister, marrying the wrong person and delaying her life.”

Brother doesn't have to blame himself like this, I think it's a good thing.Now I can do whatever I want and be myself, not someone's wife or daughter-in-law.Life is only a few decades, why do you have to live aggrieved and depressed for the sake of fame?Am I not at ease now?Rather, I am worried that people will point fingers at my family because of my affairs.Zili said with a sigh, thinking about the future, he was a little worried about the reputation of the Wang family.

"The reputation and face are all given by myself. My father is still a cabinet minister, and I am going to be promoted to the nine-door admiral. Who dares to say that our family is not a word, and whoever says anything about you will make it difficult for the Wang family! But I think you mean I am determined to leave their house. Zhu'er and Yuan girl have grown up, what about Baoyu? He is still young. Without his mother, who can really love him and protect him?" Wang Ziteng glanced worriedly Sister, it's easy for adults to talk about it, but what to do with the child, we must arrange the child well before we talk about reconciliation.

When Baoyu was mentioned, Zili felt sad for a while. If she really broke up with Jia Zheng completely, Jia Zhu and Yuan Chun would not have to worry for the time being, but Baoyu would really become a motherless child.In these days of divorce, no woman can win custody, and the children must stay.Although Baoyu was loved by Jia's mother, it was because Baoyu had a mother and an uncle who was a high-ranking official. Of course Jia's mother would love Baoyu.If he really leaves Jia's house, there is no guarantee that Jia's mother will not vent her dissatisfaction on Baoyu and the children.Jia Zhu and Yuan Chun seem to be able to support themselves, but Baoyu is a child who has no ability to protect himself.

Moreover, the Jia family and the Wang family are both respectable people, and there will definitely be no reconciliation.How easy is it to get away?Zili sighed when he thought of this: "It's the dilemma, there is always a trade-off."

"It stands to reason that I shouldn't have said this to you. Our brothers and sisters grew up together, and I will support you no matter what. I wish you would come back and not be upset at their house. It's just that I know that mother and child are connected, and it's really troublesome. No contact with each other, not only Baoyu, but also Zhuer and Yuanchun. I think the prince likes Yuan girl very much. Yesterday the emperor called me over. I happened to see the prince talking to your girl in the imperial garden. The emperor stood behind them and said that he saw it in a daze. The situation back then. What do you mean by that? You want to go. No queen’s biological mother in the past dynasties was divorced. I know you don’t want to see your daughter sent to the palace to gain wealth, but you didn’t enter the palace as you wished. I think it's better to go to the palace to show your skills. Yuan girl is very talented, don't delay her. I mean, it's fine for you two to treat each other as guests, just because he is a colleague who doesn't like him, and you don't have to insist You want to be like glue with him, and you don't like to send him out when you like it. You also have a reputation for being virtuous and generous." Wang Ziteng suggested a new idea to Zili.

Zili was silent for a while, in fact, she had already thought about countless possibilities, and what Wang Ziteng said was the most reasonable method.The ideal sunlight is always difficult to shine into reality, even if there is sunlight, it is distorted by the glass windows of reality. "Actually, my thoughts are the same as my brother's. It's just that I'm not feeling well right now. I'll go back after a few days when my anger subsides." Zili compromised with the reality.

"You can't go back like this. They have to be completely convinced. Let me tell you, what kind of song to sing on any mountain, the way to treat a gentleman is different from that of a villain. Of course you can't bite back when a dog bites you, but You can’t wait for the next time to be bitten. The way is to beat him until he knows it hurts, and tell him that if he dares to bite again, he will pull out his teeth one by one! Think carefully about what conditions you have, and I’ll give them to you Get out." Prince Teng smiled coldly, if it was for the sake of his nephew and niece, Jia Zheng still wanted to be an official in the capital, so go ahead and dream.

..............................

Jia Zheng had never been so devastated, Yushi somehow heard the wind and played his own book harshly, saying that Jia Zheng was corrupt, conniving at concubines to accept bribes, and attacking Jia Zheng for doting on his concubines and destroying his wives, and not strictly managing the family.This book is amazing, Jia Zheng is like a mouse that has been forced into a hole by a cat.The people in the clan heard the wind and some sneered and laughed: "I thought the second master was a real upright official. But who knows it's because we are not good-looking and don't know how to act like a baby. We usually pretend to be so serious, who knows I can't care about anything because of a beautiful girl. For a girl, I pissed off my wife in the house. He really is a real gentleman who doesn't like beauty!"

Some came out and pretended to be good people: "Stop talking nonsense, let the patriarch hear you and scold you."

"The patriarch is also in danger. I heard that the wife of the Dongfu is going back to her mother's house to reconcile with the elder. I usually only see them domineering. How is the result!"

All kinds of gossip became more and more popular, and some of them could not help being heard by Jia Mu. She could only call Jia Zheng and scold him: "What did your father teach you when he was here? Face. Go and pick up your daughter-in-law, let’s calm down the matter in our family first. I told you to pick up your daughter-in-law, why are you pushing back and forth, you go and tell her, it depends on whether it is a family. The old lady and Baoyu come back first in order to save face. She just agrees to whatever she wants."

Jia Zheng didn't expect Jia's mother to back down so much, he looked at his mother with some surprise, "This, doesn't it mean that the older generation is yielding to the younger generation."

"Now that there are no elders and juniors, first calm down your impeachment, and keep your official position!" Jia's mother felt deeply frustrated. , The whole family surrendered to her.Unexpectedly, when she also miscalculated, as a mother-in-law, she would admit defeat to her daughter-in-law.

Just when Jia Zheng's domestic and foreign affairs seemed to be exhausted, Wang Ziteng came to visit.Seeing his brother-in-law Jia Zheng was like seeing a savior grabbing Wang Ziteng and begging him to help him reconcile Zili.

"To untie the bell, you have to tie the bell. Go and talk to my sister yourself. Let me tell you the truth. Of the brothers and sisters in our family, my sister's temperament is the most similar to that of the old man. No one can turn around what she is sure about." .I advise you to follow her wishes. Don't annoy her, and everyone will see it in the end." Wang Ziteng hinted that Jia Zheng would agree to whatever request Zili made.

"It's natural. My old lady also means the same thing. I'm not good at the past. As long as my wife can let go of the past, I'm willing to change my past." Jia Zheng has a sincere attitude and vows that he will definitely change.

"Chichi, come on. Our family is not such an unreasonable person. We always talk about peace and beauty in our lives. If there are conflicts, we must eliminate them at the budding stage. What kind of factions and political strife are there in the family? A sign of a thriving family. Let me tell you all you want to go." Said Wang Ziteng and left.

Jia Zheng sent Wang Ziteng outside the gate, and watched Wang Ziteng walk away for a while before returning.After entering the Lixiang Garden, Jia Zheng called out with a ferocious expression, "Get Fang'er out! Get her out immediately!"

After a while, a few women drove Fang'er with disheveled hair over. Fang'er saw Jia Zheng rushing forward recklessly, hugging Jia Zheng's leg: "Master, don't drive me out, I'll just see if I make a thousand mistakes." Let me survive for the sake of the child in my womb."

Jia Zheng looked at Fang'er coldly, without moving an expression on his face: "Gag her and pull her out."