Prequel to the Red Chamber: I Am the Second Wife

A few days later, Zili was arranging the things to be prepared for the summer, when suddenly a girl from Jiamu's side came over: "When the old lady is free, if the second wife is free, she can go over and talk to the second wife if she has something to say." Zili was surprised by Jia. What can mother do? After finishing the housework, she took the girl to Jiamu's side.

Jiamu's place is lively, Sister Feng, Baoyu and others are talking and laughing in front of Jiamu. He couldn't stop saying, "I knew it was you who harmed these flowers for nothing." Baoyu put his arms around Zili's neck and twisted his body: "Anyway, if I don't pick it off, the flowers will fall by themselves in a few days. Why don't you pick it off and play with your sisters, if they are happy, it's not a waste of time." Zili heard Baoyu's words and put him on the ground: "It's a good thing you are still young, I will see what you do in the future." Let’s play the feudal lords. Your sisters are more sensible than you.”

When Jiamu heard Zili coming, she called inside, "Baoyu told your mother to come in and talk, the sun is hot outside so don't burn it." Saying this, Zili led Baoyu in to greet Jiamu.Mother Jia smiled and said, "I really like you as a niece. I asked. It will be her birthday in a few days. I plan to pay for her birthday. Girl Feng is also in her prime, so it should be lively." Zili smiled and said: "It's her luck that the old lady likes Feng girl. As an aunt, I naturally want to celebrate her birthday without the old lady's expense."

After hearing what Zili said, Jia's mother still insisted: "What's yours is yours. I like Feng girl who is smart and knows how to be filial to her elders. If that's the case, you don't have to worry about it. I'll use my own money to celebrate her birthday."

"The old lady likes her, so why use us to make fun of her? It's a good idea to put it away. From now on, so many of our girls will be excellent, and the old lady will spend money on her birthday. At that time, I should feel distressed again. They complained behind their backs that they were insane, and they couldn’t stop after opening the head once, which caused me to fill in the money every year. I have thought about it for a long time. Feng’er used to work hard with her father there, and her father every day There was a hail of bullets, she and her mother were in fear, so they could live a day with peace of mind. Now that they are back in the capital, her house will be repaired in a few days, and I will go back. I want to take advantage of this time to celebrate Feng'er's birthday properly. Just tell me what you like to eat, what show you listen to. I've already ordered someone to make new clothes for you." Zili waved to Xifeng, pulled her and said.

"Since that's the case, I'll just eat wine and watch the theater." Jia Mu was also very happy when she heard Zili's words, and Xifeng also felt radiant when she heard her aunt celebrating her birthday, so she thanked Zili.Zili knew that Mother Jia called her here for Xifeng's birthday, so she said to Sister Feng, "Take your younger brothers and sisters out first, and I will talk to the old lady." Xifeng is a smart person, and she immediately brought Baoyu to welcome the spring Wait out.

There was no one else in the room, and Mother Jia said with a serious face, "What did you see on the day Zhen'er got married? You were so scared that you fell ill like that."

Zili didn't expect that Jia's mother would notice her strangeness, and her heart shuddered. She pondered for a while and decided to tell the whole story, so Zili and Jia's mother talked about how they heard someone talking about Youshi and her stepmother's background at the banquet that day. "Although I haven't met You's stepmother, I used to go there often when Sister-in-law Jing was pregnant. There was indeed a nanny beside her. At that time, Sister-in-law Jing didn't believe that their family had children. Well, the nuns and wives are all hired from outside. I also wondered that this nun behaved differently from others. Now that I think about it, it makes sense. It seems that the old lady guessed right, four The girl's mother is not wronged, no wonder Brother Jing over there simply lived in a Taoist temple outside and didn't go home." With this cruel son, Jia Jing might die if he didn't run away.

"Sure enough, before you left, Brother Jing quietly begged me to let me take care of Xichun in a healthy way, just in front of her having lost her parents and brothers. I thought at the time that maybe he was so sad and confused, but now I understand. Poor thing Father's heart, if you respect elder brother or cherish Chun, that girl will inevitably become a thorn in his side. Forget it, I will treat her as my own granddaughter from now on." After hearing Zili's words, Jia's mother also spoke out. piece of secret.

"In the future, I should feel sorry for Si Yatou. Actually, it's not a big deal. There is no impenetrable wall in the world. I am worried that one day the matter of Zhen'er will come out, and all the things about the years before and after will be released. At that time we The family is a catastrophe. Please ask the old lady to come up with an idea." Zili worries that once the matter is exposed in the future, the Rongguo Mansion will also be implicated.

"Why don't I have this worry. It's just that they are two families. From now on, you will walk around with relatives over there. You go back and talk to your master. Don't meddle in things over there. It's just a matter of saving face." .” Mother Jia sighed and said that she had no choice.Seeing what Jiamu said, Zili wished he could stay away from the East Mansion, so he immediately agreed.

Zili thought that Jia's mother was fine, so she wanted to resign and leave, but Jia's mother said: "I like Feng Ge'er very much, and thinking that she is about the same age as Lian'er, I want to propose marriage to you."

Zili said hesitantly: "It's her luck that the old lady likes her. It's just that Feng girl's life-long affairs are decided by her parents. I have to ask my brother and sister-in-law about this matter, and Lian'er's marriage should also be asked about by the elders. The meaning of the master and the eldest wife." Jia Lian is a standard son-in-law, he doesn't have much interest in studying, but like Jia She, he likes to go out and make friends.What are the sons and daughters of the capital, all kinds of helpers, opera actors and relatives, and small officials in the yamen, they have many connections and face.Jia Zheng originally wanted to ask Jia Lian to take the imperial examination route, but seeing his nephew's natural temperament, he had no choice but to do so.However, Jia Lian was closer to Zili and Jia Zheng than his own parents. Jia Zheng thought that Wang Ziteng had a lot of friends since he was a child, and he is doing well now, so he didn't mention Jia Lian asking him to study.Instead, he often gave him little things to ask Jia Lian to learn how to do things.

"Speaking of Lian'er's parents, I have never included such careless parents. It's fine if the eldest wife doesn't say anything, after all, it's not her own birth, and it's useless to be separated by a layer of belly. You see, she only knows how to flatter their family every day. My lord, my mother-in-law is only here for the occasion. Can you still expect her to worry about Lian'er and the second girl's life-long affairs? You old man, I have never seen him kissing his father like this, and it is not easy to be an official. The son doesn't care about the daughter and doesn't ask. Waiting for him to remember Lian'er's life-long event, he doesn't know when. Let's say that Lian'er is old and still alone." When Jia Mu mentioned it, Jia She and his wife sighed.Mrs. Xing saw that Zili was running the house neatly, and Mother Jia couldn't find any faults. She was far behind Zili in terms of background and ability, so her competitive spirit was also discouraged. up.In addition, she has never had a biological child, and she feels that she is not strong in the house.The only thing he wanted was to flatter Jia Amnesty every day, and he didn't care about anything else.Therefore, both Jia Lian and Yingchun became children who actually had no mother or father.

"Although that's the case, it's still time to ask. Feng girl has endured a lot of hardships since she was a child, and now she has finally survived. Her parents may not be willing to ask the girl to marry so early. Let me test my brother's intention first." Zili didn't finish his sentence, he just delayed.

"Is mother there?" Zili was lying on the recliner in a daze, when Yuan Chun came in quietly.Zili smiled and beckoned to Yuanchun, Yuanchun immediately threw himself on Zili's side with a smile, lying beside her acting like a spoiled child.Rubbing Yuan Chun's face, the round face when he was a child has begun to become three-dimensional, and the baby fat on the cheeks is slowly fading away.Yuanchun has begun to have the embryonic form of a beautiful girl. "Why did you come here alone? Aren't you playing with the younger sisters?" Zili moved to the side along Yuan Chun's hair.

Yuan Chun lay contentedly beside Zili, holding Zili's fingers: "I'm just so annoying, I finally came back, and my mother just doesn't want to see me like that. You Feng girl and Yingchun girl are playing with them, so I will I want to talk to my mother." Zili smiled and hugged Yuanchun: "It's hard for you to coax them. You are an older child, so you don't like to play with children. There are many people and things at home these days. I Busy with those messy things, I neglected you. You are fine in the palace, do you lack anything? How are you getting along with Feng'er and the others?"

"I'm doing well in the palace, and I don't need anything. Even if it's missing, I don't need to bother my mother. I will mediate it myself. Feng girl is a clever person. It's just—" Yuan Chun sighed, frowning, trying to find an accurate adjective : "It may be that she worked too hard outside with the third uncle and cared a little too much about things outside of her body. To be honest, she looks sweet and can deceive people. Everyone knows that she is clever, smart and considerate, but sister Xifeng is actually the most innocent. But people, as long as you treat her well, she will tell you everything stupidly. Others have calculated and don't know!" Yuan Chun and Zili talked about how they got along with Wang Xifeng in the past few days.

"It's rare for you to see this level at your age. You can't blame her for this. Your third uncle is a man who hasn't read much and is mixed in the army. He licks blood on the knife edge in that kind of wild place, girl Feng. She has been influenced by her ears and eyes since she was a child, and she has no teacher to teach her the truth. In her heart, the strong prey on the weak and the strong bully the weak. She is young and doesn't know how to hide it. Isn't that the temperament. Your third aunt is frugal by nature, and she looks at money. Tight, Feng girl is as rough as a son even though she is a daughter. I don’t think Feng girl was as arbitrary and pampered as you when she was a child. Think about it, if you didn’t see a new dress for a year when you were young, the girls around you would serve you. There are not many people here, and they were raised by girls from small households. Then suddenly you saw that other sisters were all rich and precious, how did you feel? You can turn a blind eye to those beautiful clothes and delicious food, and treat them as a common thing Is it? Therefore, daughters must be pampered, not to be treated badly materially, and not to be treated badly psychologically. Otherwise, the girl will be raised with a petty air, no knowledge, no vision, no love and no love since childhood, not a cowardly boss It’s not being generous, and lacking confidence in front of others. It’s just inferiority, arrogance, and lack of sympathy. If you dig into the horns of your own horns, you may make trouble.” Zili analyzed the reasons for the formation of Sister Feng’s personality for Yuanchun, and raising a daughter poorly is harmful to others. !

Yuan Chun listened carefully to Zili's words, and said thoughtfully: "No wonder the people who served me when I was young used better things than my elder brother. I heard that the old lady seemed to want to tell Lian'er Feng girl. This—if According to what mother said, girl Feng is actually not suitable for our family's daughter-in-law." Regarding Jia Lian's marriage, Yuan Chun had his own views, and Zili always believed that Yuan Chun should not be raised as a greenhouse flower, so Yuan Chun was a little girl. At this age, I can think independently and have my own views on the fate of the family and family matters.

"This matter is not up to me. I think the old lady brought this up. One is that Lian'er has indeed reached the age of marriage, and his father is also a man who doesn't care. According to your uncle's temperament, he may not be able to find a daughter-in-law. It's not as good as this. Besides, she fell in love with Feng girl's temperament. She seemed to have a lot of heart, but she was simple in heart, and she was coaxed by a few kind words. After Lian'er gets married, I can rest. I will leave the family affairs to someone Honest people are good. Feng girl is my niece, and everyone will say that my aunt and niece have taken control of the Rongguo Mansion, why don't I avoid suspicion first?" Zili analyzed Jiamu's plans and the situation in the mansion to Yuanchun.

Yuan Chun sighed and buried his face on Zili's shoulder: "Mom is really wronged, when can I leave here?"

Don't worry about me, I'm happy with the situation, and I don't care about the rights of a housekeeper.I don't cause trouble, and I'm not afraid of trouble when things come. They can plot against me.I'm having fun.It's just that in the future, Feng girl's life will not be as bright and comfortable as it seems.When you were with her these days, did she show any intentions?Zili asked what Yuanchun Wang Xifeng meant.

"She, she didn't show her face. I think the second brother Lian often called the girl over to give things and talk. I remembered a funny thing. The second brother Lian didn't like reading like that. He even came to study in a pretentious manner. He was shaking his head and reading about Guanju!" Yuan Chun and Zili talked about Jia Lian's pursuit of Xifeng, and they couldn't help laughing.

"If they become husband and wife, they will be in love with each other. They are a perfect couple. From now on, regardless of whether Sister Feng lives well or not at home, the relationship between her and Lian's second brother will definitely be good." Yuan Chun believes that Xifeng and Jia Lian will definitely be happy.

"Not necessarily. People's hearts are changeable, especially men. Look at Lian'er's father. You should know that your second elder brother will definitely not be the kind of person who is devoted to love in the future. It is a common thing for a noble son to like the new and dislike the old, lustful and greedy. Your Lian'er As long as the second elder brother is not as good as his father, he will be lucky. Feng girl is prone to extremes, and it may be possible to turn against each other." Zili instilled in Yuanchun little by little that it is easy to fall in love, not easy to stay together, and married life Do it and cherish it.

Leaving aside Zili and Yuanchun's discussions about love and marriage, Jia Zheng took Fang Haogu to visit Li Shouzhong's house.Hearing that Jia Zheng and Fang Hao had arrived, of course Li Shouzhong opened the door and warmly welcomed the prospective in-laws and matchmaker.Although Fang Haogu was in charge of the Imperial Academy, he was not rigid and pedantic. He was a joking person by nature.Seeing Li Shouzhong, he smiled and said: "You asked me to be a matchmaker. Fortunately, I did not disgrace my mission. Cun Zhou has already told me that his dog is too bad to be your bed. If you are not worthy, even though you are ministers of the same court, you don’t have any personal friendship. Therefore, I specially dragged him to have a deep talk with you. I don’t know if you welcome it or not.”

Li Shouzhong didn't have anything else to say, he was busy cupping his hands and being modest: "I've heard about Brother Cun Zhou's reputation for a long time, but I didn't have the opportunity to make friends with him. It's really glorious to be honored and come to the hut today." He invited Jia Zheng and Fang Sitting in the old main hall drinking tea and talking.

Jia Zheng looked at the furnishings of Li Shouzhong's house and was secretly surprised.Li Shouzhong has no background, and he is also an official of Qingshui, who is doing Jijiu of the Imperial College. The furnishings of the house are also low-key, luxurious and connotative.Does this Li Shouzhong have some management skills?The red sandalwood furniture in this hall is also worth tens of thousands of gold, not to mention those azure Ru kiln incense burners, Longquan celadon vases and so on, all of which are of great value.All of a sudden, the servants of the Li family brought tea, which was also the best spring tea this year.

After all, Jia Zheng had practiced in the local area for a few years. He quickly calculated Li Shouzhong's promotion, salary, and possible gray income over the years, and quickly came to the conclusion that Li Shouzhong was either greedy for money or sent a sum of money to others. Unknown wealth.

The three of them flattered each other first, and then did what officials from the imperial examinations like to do most. Xu Niangeng, who was the candidate of the year, who was the teacher, who was the same candidate, what year were you the candidate, and who was the same year? who.After some discussion of seniority, Jia Zheng and Li Shouzhong turned out to be candidates from the same master. Fang Haogu naturally had a detached status, and he was also Jia Zheng's deputy examiner of Chunwei back then.With this relationship, the atmosphere suddenly became heated, and the three talked about everything.

Speaking of his experience as an official, Jia Zheng somehow talked about the suppression of King Wei's rebellion in Qingzhou: "If it weren't for the help of General Li Shen, my family would still be alive. It's just that Li Shouyi later died for the country. , I actually lost contact with his family. If I can find him in my lifetime, I will definitely take care of his two children as my own children."

"If they can find it, it's their good fortune. Don't mention anything else. Your eldest son will be able to go straight to the sky if you just point it out to His Royal Highness. Not to mention that your relatives and friends in Ningrong and Rongfu are all over the world." Fang Hao Gu shook his head and echoed.

Li Shouzhong's heart became alive after hearing Jia Zheng's words.He pondered for a moment, then stood up and bowed to Jia Zheng to the end, and said, "So my benefactor is right in front of me. Li Shouyi is my elder brother. When my elder brother was the chief executive in Qingzhou, he wrote a letter saying that there was a senior Take care of him, which magistrate is Brother Cun Zhou."

"Do you know where your elder brother's widow and a pair of children are?" Jia Zheng waited for Li Shouzhong to jump out and recognize him, and hurriedly beat the snake stick to follow.

"This person is at my house." Li Shouzhong pondered for a moment and then said to the servants beside him: "Please come out, sister-in-law. Just say that Mrs. Jia from Qingzhou came to visit her at home, so I just ask my wife to come out with me." Li Shouzhong said Facing Jia Zheng, he said, "My elder brother's two sons and daughters are studying at home—"

"The child's studies are important. Now that I have found the original benefactor today, I need to keep in touch with him more often in the future." Jia Zheng immediately said not to delay the child's study.Fang Haogu talked a lot on the sidelines, nothing more than praising Jia Zheng for his conscience, Li Shouyi is a loyal minister and good general, and his younger brother Li Shouzhong is also a kind and righteous gentleman. "Nowadays, people's hearts are not old, that is, your family's poems and books are heirs, and the brother can take care of the widow and young children left by the elder brother. If it were someone else, they would be eager to get rid of the burden." Jia Zheng and Fang Haogu praised together For Li Shouzhong's act of benevolence and righteousness, Li Shouzhong's face remained unchanged, and his mouth was very humble.Jia Zheng took Li Shouzhong's every move into his eyes, and a thought suddenly came to his mind.If I hadn't practiced outside for a few years, I would have learned some machine-changing skills from Mr. Zhou and Mr. Shan.Maybe at this time, he thought Li Shouzhong was a loyal, benevolent, modest gentleman.Who knew that under the skin of benevolence, righteousness and morality could be so despicable and selfish.Their family tradition is too hypocritical.The girls in their family think that they are close to vermilion, red and close to ink, and black.Such a girl absolutely cannot be my daughter-in-law.

It took a while for footsteps to be heard outside, and then a servant announced: "Madam is here." Li Shouzhong glanced sideways at the servant who announced, and he immediately added: "The eldest wife is here too." Jia Zheng listened. When the man replied like this, his heart became colder and colder.Li Shouyi's wife could be regarded as a serious master, but the servants didn't even have a title.

First, Li Shouzhong's wife came in, and behind her was a woman dressed in simplified notation. Jia Zheng looked and found that it was Li Shouyi's wife, who was dressed worse than the second-class servant of Jia's family.Compared with the splendid clothes worn by Li Shouzhong's wife, it was a world of difference.Jia Zheng also pretended not to see, and only greeted Li Shouyi's wife respectfully. He said that when he left Qingzhou, he asked someone to look for her in the Li family's hometown in Jinling. "When I left Qingzhou, I was worried that my wife would not be able to contact us, so I sent my family members to your hometown in Jinling to tell us, but my family members reported that they couldn't find us. I lost contact because of this. In the past few years in Beijing, I have been worrying about this matter. I failed to fulfill the entrustment of Li Shouyi's virtuous brother, how can I see him in the future?" Jia Zheng's eyes turned red and he almost burst into tears.

"This is Madam's fault. Mrs. Jia is also well-known in the capital. Since Madam is in the capital, why don't you contact his family?" Fang Haogu suddenly said something from the side, Li Shouzhong's expression changed and he immediately said: "My sister-in-law lives in seclusion and does not go out. , indifferent to outside affairs."

"Then why didn't you say anything as a younger brother? What a fool!" Fang Haogu grasped the loopholes in Li Shouzhong's words and pressed him step by step.

This, this... The color on Li Shouzhong's face finally changed, and his wife first glanced at Li Shouyi's wife viciously, and said with a smile: "My master is a pedantic person who reads books. She considers herself to be a benefactor. You don’t want to repay your kindness. They are all loyal to the court, so there is no kindness.” Li Shouzhong’s wife spoke softly, with her head half lowered and her eyebrows lowered. Madam.In addition, her dress is simple, and her calm and clear face is only lightly covered with makeup, making people think that she is an honest and quiet woman who is dedicated to caring for her husband and teaching her children.If Jia Zheng hadn't seen the fierce look she gave Mrs. Li Shouyi just now, Jia Zheng would have believed her words.

Fang Haogu couldn't talk to women, so he just laughed and said nothing. At this time, Li Shouyi's wife said to Jia Zheng, "It's really inconvenient for me to be a widow here." See, my wife and I will naturally come to take care of you from now on. It’s getting late today, and we will definitely come to see you tomorrow.” As he spoke, Jia Zheng took out his name card and said to the people around him: “In the future, Grandma Li’s family will come, It must be reported immediately and cannot be neglected."

Waiting for Jia Zheng and Fang Haogu's words to come out, the sky outside was already gloomy. The two sat in the sedan chair and walked for a while. say."

The two went to the teahouse and chose a quiet place. Fang Haogu sighed: "I didn't expect Li Shouzhong to be a duplicity person. I only thought that he came from a poor background, but I didn't expect it——I shouldn't open my mouth to be a matchmaker." .”

"Don't blame yourself, old man. I was almost deceived by him. Man, if it wasn't for his brother's accident, I'm afraid we would think that Li Shouzhong is a square, rigorous and simple person for the rest of our lives. I feel a little sad when I think about today's situation." Jia Zheng said with a somewhat uncomfortable sigh: "Adversity sees people's hearts, and we are usually modest gentlemen."

"But you see what Li Shouzhong means. Since you have come to the door, you can agree on this marriage. I don't know what kind of character Li Shouzhong's daughter is, but Zhilan is hard to get out of the abalone. I am a little sorry for you, your son's future Yuanda, good character—" Fang Haogu is a smart person who has penetrated into human affairs and the world, so he couldn't help but advise Jia Zheng to think about it.

"Actually, I have one more thing to ask the teacher for help. Zhu'er still knows how to make progress. I think my family is today thanks to Li Shouyi's rescue. If I have to marry a girl from the Li family, Li Shouyi also has a daughter. I think—" Jia Zheng cupped his hands at Fang Haogu: "I also invite you, old man, to come out and be an iceman."

"That's good, this is a natural good marriage!" Fang Haogu immediately agreed with a smile, and he suddenly remembered something with a look of distress on his face: "What if Li Shouzhong refuses?"