Prequel to the Red Chamber: I Am the Second Wife

"Your girl can be regarded as I watched her grow up. I naturally hope that she will have a good husband's family. It's just that the elders have to decide the marriage. In fact, I really want your girl to be my daughter-in-law, but I am afraid that I will wrong her. Your girl is you. Since she was raised by her mother, you can be regarded as half of her relatives. I don’t know what your master and wife are planning.” Zili thought in his heart that since Baoyu can wake up, Xiangyun’s being with him is not a waste of his daughter.Since the historians have this meaning, she is also happy to be a favor.

"Don't hide it from my wife. I have brought a girl since I was a child. If you say that the master and wife are not good to the girl, you will break your conscience. But if you say that it is the same as your own, it is not your own. So careful. Listening to what our master and wife mean, it seems that we have taken a fancy to Baoyu in your house, but we are just worried that the status of the girl is not worthy." The nanny conveyed the meaning of the Shijia.

"There's nothing unworthy of that. I'm still worried that Baoyu will delay your girl." Zili made a final decision, preliminarily agreeing to the Shijia's marriage proposal.Mother Jia is naturally happy. Although Xiangyun is an orphan, she has a relationship with her. Xiangyun is a member of the historian and her grandniece. Baoyu will have a closer relationship with her in the future.Jia's mother immediately forced Zili and Jia Zheng to say that they should immediately prepare Baoyu's gengtie and go to the historian to propose marriage.

Zili smiled and said: "Don't worry, old lady, I will discuss it with Baoyu's father. Now that Yun girl is visiting our house, why should I wait for Yu'er's birthday to go over there to propose marriage?" .”

"The old lady is so happy and confused. In the past, the old lady loved sister Yun so much. I thought that if sister Yun went out that day, there would be no one around the old lady. How deserted would it be at that time? Who knows that it will be better now, and in the future Sister Yun has been in our house for a long time. Love, from now on we clumsy mouths and cheeks will not be hurt!" Mother Jia laughed at what Sister Feng said: "You shameless, act like a baby first. pain!"

Jia's mother was gone, and Sister Feng and Li Jin were discussing how to celebrate Daiyu's birthday together. Everything about the banquet was appropriate. Li Jin and Sister Feng were both housekeepers on weekdays, and this matter was quickly settled. "I think the matter between Sister Yun and Brother Bao has been completed. At the beginning, the old lady meant to marry her aunt's family, but she was robbed by Brother Shixiang. I think Sister Yun also likes Baoyu, and they got married. They should also be a loving couple." Sister Feng suddenly remembered that she and Jia Lian, the original sweetness had long since disappeared, she thought of Jia Zhu and Li Jin's loving husband and wife, and now Baoyu and Xiangyun have their wishes fulfilled, so She was left alone struggling in a boring marriage, and she couldn't help feeling sad.

"You've always been a straightforward person, so why bother to sigh meaninglessly? I think Lian'er treats you well. After experiencing the lesson of Second Sister You last time, he should have a long memory. Now that you have taken care of yourself, you will have a baby. That's fine. In fact, I think Ping'er is very good, you might as well promote Ping'er, so as to tie Lian'er's heart, and besides, you don't have to work so hard." Li Jin could see from under the makeup on Sister Feng's face She was exhausted, Jia Lian secretly marrying Second Sister You was not a simple matter of profanity, Jia Lian actually gave her private house to the second sister for safekeeping, and even told her that when Sister Feng died, he would take her in and be a regular Grandma Fang.

In fact, Sister Feng would not be so sad if she was an ordinary cheater. She knew what Jia Lian did and said. She was completely cold in her heart. She always thought that Jia Lian loved her, but was she just a man? If you cheat on your shortcomings, you will steal your mouth. As long as you change it, you can still live together.It's just that she didn't expect that in Jia Lian's heart, she was even worse than a second sister.Sister Feng's sincerity slowly turned into a block of ice. She no longer had the tenderness and sweetness she used to have for Jia Lian. Now she didn't care what Jia Lian did, said, or who she was with.

At the beginning, Jia Lian thought that Sister Feng was angry and coaxed her for a few days.Unexpectedly, when she saw that Sister Feng didn't respond no matter what she did, every punch was like hitting cotton, so Jia Lian lost her patience.Taking advantage of the news about Second Sister You, Jia Lian simply went out on the pretext of hiding his embarrassment.

Hearing Li Jin's deterioration, Sister Feng suddenly burst into tears: "I have always been proud and arrogant, and I always like to be strong. Who knows what I have gained through hard work these years. Now I understand that relying on men is unreliable, and I am also I don't want to have a son anymore. Children are destined by heaven, I just take my daughter to live with peace of mind. As for Ping'er, she will serve me for a while anyway, and I can't treat her badly."

Seeing Sister Feng crying sadly, Li Jin's heart was also sour. When she married in, she was compared with Sister Feng everywhere. She is happy, and even her mother-in-law is Sister Feng's real aunt.Grandma Zhu, Li Jin, has almost become a transparent member of the Jia family.But in a blink of an eye, the feng shui changed, and Jia Zhu's official son was promoted step by step. She had a son and became the housekeeper's grandmother. She was in love with Jia Zhu and his wife, and life went smoothly.But Sister Feng, who was so beautiful back then, has become this tired look.

In the afternoon, Li Jin came over to talk to Zili about Daiyu's birthday arrangements. After Li Jin finished speaking, Zili looked at her face and said, "Well, why are you crying?"

"It's nothing. Today, I went to Feng girl first. She became sad as she talked, and I was sad with her. I forgot to wash my face when I came back. I asked my wife to see it." Li Jin was busy wiping with a handkerchief. Wipe the tears off your face.It is also impolite to lose face in front of your mother-in-law.

Listening to Li Jin talking about Sister Feng, Zili sighed and told her to sit down: "I just asked casually, now you have to prepare for the departure, and when you and Zhu'er leave, there will be no one in front of me. What's the use of having a bunch of children, if they all fly away! Feng girl is very proud, she liked Lian'er at the beginning, I asked her if she thought about it and decided to live with Lian'er. If she didn't want to, she agreed. She was still too young back then, liking and starting a family are not the same thing."

Li Jin listened carefully to Zili's words, weighed Zili's words repeatedly in his heart, raised his head after a long while, and said with admiration: "I have convinced my wife. I have learned from my wife to be a housekeeper, and I can slowly be able to take care of myself." I thought I had finished my studies. But today, I realized that I was still far behind. My wife’s wisdom in life is enough for me to learn for a lifetime.”

"Don't be afraid of flattery, you're tired too, go back and rest. What has Zhuer been doing lately?" Zili asked casually about Jia Zhu's movements.

"Uncle is still the same as before, but he has been going out frequently in the past few days. I asked, and he said that he went to the East Palace to meet the crown prince." Li Jin stood up, bid farewell to Zili and left.

When Jia Zhu came back in the evening, he first went to Zili's side to say hello, "You have been to the East Palace for a few days, but what's the matter with your sister?" Zili saw that Jia Zhu was wearing casual clothes, and knew that he had gone to the East Palace again.

"My sister is safe with me in the palace. It's just that the crown prince summoned me to gossip, and please rest assured that the son knows how to behave. But today I saw my sister, and His Royal Highness, His Highness can already run away, He looks very good. My sister said that if mother is free, she will invite mother to the palace to see her grandson that day." Jia Zhu talked to Zili about Yuan Chun and the child with his usual expression.

Zili raised his eyebrows slightly, and said to Jia Zhu, "Just tell me what you have to say." Now that Jia Zhu has been promoted to General of Fujian, why not bring his family to take up the post, according to Jia Zhu's current status, he shouldn't It's too close to the East Palace, but Jia Zhu has been going to the East Palace in casual clothes these days.He even brought up Yuanchun carefully, saying that Yuanchun invited Zili to the palace to see his grandson.Zili sensed that there seemed to be something going on in the East Palace.

"It's nothing important, but Xue Cairen is becoming more and more popular in the palace. Doesn't mother know that Xue Cairen settled the former concubine Ning's unjust case, and his reputation in the palace is growing day by day. My sister is worried. I want to ask my mother to come to the palace to talk." Jia Zhu told the truth.A few years ago, a servant in Concubine Ning's palace suddenly had a miscarriage, and as a result, red flowers were found in her anti-fetal medicine. It was traced that someone close to Concubine Fang gave the maid to drink the anti-fetal medicine.In the end, Concubine Fang was accused of harming the palace people and forced to commit suicide.

When Tanchun was married and married, Baochai actually dug out the real culprit who caused the abortion of the servant. "I heard that it was Xue Cairen who found safflower and peach kernels in her soup to invigorate the blood. She asked someone to track it down and found that it was made by the inner eunuch next to Concubine Ning. He was caught at the first interrogation and asked how he had framed Fang when he was recruited. The concubine's matter. Now the emperor is becoming more and more indifferent to Concubine Ning. But to comfort Xue Cairen, he gave a lot of rewards. Mother knows that she has always been a good person, and she helped the queen take care of the harem. She really won over There are a lot of people's hearts." Jia Zhu sighed, and frowned worriedly: "I'm worried that she will be unfavorable to our family. She is still young, and if a prince comes out, she will have the heart to seize the throne. "

Zili was under the shadow of the candlelight. Hearing Jia Zhu's words, Zili was silent for a while before opening his mouth: "Aren't there many secret things in the deep palace? It seems like she's flirting with old scores like this." Hurry up, but how could the emperor, empress and queen mother tolerate her for a long time? So many people were deceived by Concubine Ning at the beginning? How many people passed a bowl of soup and medicine in the palace? Who did it? If Concubine Ning really killed the child who was selected as a servant back then, would the emperor still tolerate her? Now that she is either dead or thrown into the cold palace, can she still be called a concubine in his own palace? In fact, as long as you want to dig into the affairs of the palace, there are secrets in any corner. Why wait for a talented person who has just been promoted? I want to go into the palace to see your sister, and tell her not to worry."

Jia Zhu heard that Zili was about to enter the palace, and immediately looked relaxed: "This is the best way. Mother has been worrying about family affairs for days, and going to see my sister can be regarded as relaxing. It's just that I will go to work next month, and I I don't want to be with my mother any longer." As he spoke, Jia Zhu sat beside Zili and leaned her head on her shoulder.It seemed to be back when he was a child again, Zili hugged his son and patted his shoulder lightly: "Why are you the same as your own son? You are such a grown-up and still act like a baby."

"I want to ask my mother one thing. Xuan'er, I want to stay with her." Jia Zhu suddenly told Zili seriously that she wanted to keep her son in the capital. "Why do you leave the child well? The child is only so old and cannot be separated from his parents. Besides, parents cannot be replaced by others, so your wife may not be willing." Although Zili likes his grandson, it is important for children to follow their parents The most suitable, and both Jia Zhu and Li Jin are very reliable parents, they will never teach their children astray.

"Listen to me, mother, it's not that we're lazy and don't want to take care of our children, it's just that the place in Fujian is wild and undeveloped, and you can't even hire a decent gentleman there, and the weather there is humid, full of poisonous insects, and the locals are superstitious and believe in Ghosts and gods. The child is still young, and the one who is close to vermilion is red and the one who is close to ink is black. I want to wait for the child to grow up before taking him there. Now the third sister is gone, and the second and fourth sisters are about to get married. The family used to be lively Yes, it doesn’t matter if you have more children. But now that we have all left home and our parents are desolate, I discussed with my wife, let the children stay first, and wait a few years to see the situation before making any plans.” Jia Zhu Speaking of my plan, Fujian was a barren land at that time, and it was not at all the same as Jiangnan in the Central Plains.

Zili thought about it, nodded and said: "In this case, I will discuss it with your father. Actually, I like children very much. You can rest assured that you give the child to me. Naturally, I will not treat my grandson badly. It's just that the education is good. I'm not responsible for the damage."

"As long as the mother agrees, the father will never object again. Our brothers and sisters were all taught by the mother. Who dares to say that the mother can't educate the children. My wife and I still think that if there is a mother who can personally teach Xuan'er for a few years, it will be the same. He's lucky." Jia Zhu bowed to Zili with a face of joy, and the mother and son wentssip for a while before Jia Zhu said goodbye and went back.

When Jia Zheng went back to the room, he frowned when he heard Jia Zhu talk about Baochai: "Everyone is subject to change. When she was in our house, I thought this child was safe and steady, and she was orderly and orderly. , although she is not as energetic as other children at such a young age, it is not a bad thing to be young and old. Maybe she can be sensible earlier than other children. Who knows that everything will change once she enters the palace. She is still young after all. The superficial has not learned the essence. She only thinks about flattery, observation, peeping at other people's things for her own use to achieve her own goals! But she doesn't understand the fundamentals of being a human being, and without faith and righteousness, she loses the fundamentals of being a human being. Hurry up, you have to go up and down at the end."

"Master's words are more and more to the point. I think she was really dazzled by fame and wealth in the palace, and she started to take risks. Some cities will feel uneasy relying on themselves. I'm not really worried. Besides, after all, she and our family are relatives, and she lived in our house before entering the palace. Presumably she used Yuanchun and your reputation in the palace to build momentum for herself. If she can be favored for a long time, that's all. I'm worried that if she misses a move, we will also suffer an unreasonable disaster. We should think of a way to cut it." Aunt Xue and her son have moved into her own house a few days ago, although Xue's ancestral house is far away from Jia's. It's not far away, but it's not necessary to follow a wall before, and Baochai made troubles, Aunt Xue is embarrassed to come again.As a result, Zili and his younger sister have less and less, but Xue Pan is a conscientious child, who usually gets some good things, and often comes to deliver things in person, please talk to An.

Mentioning the girl in the palace between words, Xue Pan always had a guilty expression. Zili asked Jia Zhu to persuade Xue Pan. We are all relatives. Although you and her are brothers and sisters, we are each other. The aunt will not vent her anger, let alone keep her sister and nephew away.

Hearing what Jia Zhu said, Xue Pan said with a face of shame: "My aunt and uncle are still reasonable, and I will be more filial to my uncle and aunt in the future." Therefore, the relationship between the Jia family and the Xue family is still good.Now that Zili proposed to cut off the Xue family, Jia Zheng hesitated: "You and the aunt are sisters, and I think that child Pan'er has changed. If you talk about cutting off at this time, does it seem that we are causing trouble for nothing and are picky?" relative?"

"It's not that we broke up with the concubine's family, but we tried to find a way to take off the hat on Xue Cairen's head. You want Xue's family to be an imperial merchant, orphaned and widowed, what can you do? I think Pan'er has grown up. I’m sensible now. A few days ago, he asked me to greet her and said that he wanted to go back to his hometown. He stopped his mother from discussing with Baochai, which shows that he is sensible. I am going to go to the palace to see my daughter and remind her. I don't know what Baochai's plan is, so let's find out the truth first." Zili and Jia Zheng expressed their thoughts.Baochai is in the palace under the banner of the Wang family and the Jia family, especially recently she hugged Yuan Chun's thigh, went to the queen every day to say hello, and tried to get along with Yuan Chun in a different way.The more Zili thought about it, the more worried he became, not to mention that Baochai had some intentions to harm the East Palace.

"We have to wait until after Yu'er's birthday." Jia Zheng frowned. The children in the family did not live up to their expectations, and even had a scheming relative.Now that the emperor is getting older, the prince is in the prime of his life, and now is the time when friction between the crown prince and the imperial power is most likely to occur. The prince has always dealt with it step by step carefully. How can he resist adding a Baochai whose purpose is unknown and who is black and red? The prince should not have too much involvement with the emperor's harem.

If he hadn't experienced the incidents of Xichun and Tanchun, Jia Zheng would never have thought that a little girl like Baochai would have such a deep scheming, and even her relatives would plan to make her climb up.

Leaving aside how Jia Zheng and his wife discussed going to the palace to meet Yuan Chun, the day before Daiyu's birthday, Mother Jia called the whole family here to celebrate Daiyu's birthday.

Daiyu and Shixiang came over early in the morning. The two of them came in to meet Jia Mu, and they were going to salute Jia Zheng and Jia Amnesty. Sitting in a good mood and chatting with the sisters, I asked Shixiang to come out for the outside affairs. By the way, I heard that today's play was invited by your sister-in-law Zhu and sister-in-law Lian's private house, you should thank them." Shi Xiang Xiang knew that Jia Lian and Jia Zhu must have something to discuss with him, so Shixiang said knowingly: "Thank you two sister-in-laws for your love, I will offer you two more glasses of wine when I go out. Since it is the kindness of the old lady and uncle and aunt, you Just stay here with the old lady." Saying that, Shi Xiang resigned and went out to meet Jia Zheng and Jia She.

Here Yingchun and Xichun are looking forward to Daiyu coming to talk to them, and Xiangyun is a talkative person, waiting for Shixiang to go out, first dragging Daiyu to chat.Daiyu has matured a lot since she got married. Although she was very happy to see her sisters, she still held back her face and said to Xiangyun, "You still have this restless temperament, and the whole room is listening to you." Grinding your teeth."

Xiangyun smiled slightly, his face suddenly turned red and he stopped talking. Originally, Daiyu and Xiangyun were used to teasing each other, but Daiyu didn't expect Xiangyun to really shut up and calm down, thinking that she was not on guard when she spoke. Hurt Xiangyun's face and feel a little embarrassed.Yingchun and Xichun became embarrassed watching them, Xichun quietly said to Daiyu: "Sister Lin, don't worry too much, girl Yun is embarrassed in front of her mother-in-law." Jade was a smart guy and immediately understood what was going on.She smiled and tugged Xiangyun's sleeve, and said with a smile: "So that's the case, but karma is not bad at all. In the past, you were the one who chewed your tongue all day long, and everyone didn't care about you because of face, but now it's the retribution of the world. Look. From now on, you won't be able to make such a fuss in front of old ladies and wives."

Xiangyun's face turned even redder. She couldn't help but make a face at Daiyu, as if she wanted to catch her.Over there, Zilihe saw the interaction between Daiyu and Xiangyun and exchanged eyes, so he pretended not to see it.

Zili asked how Daiyu and Shixiang got along, but what troubles did they have? Daiyu said everything one by one. Seeing Daiyu's face glowing, her eyes were full of happiness and satisfaction. Everyone knew that Daiyu and Shixiang Shixiang is indeed a perfect couple with the piano and the instrument and the harmony.Sister Feng pulled Daiyu and said with a smile: "Your young couple are as good as a person. The old lady has always loved her younger sister the most. She went out to get married and wanted to celebrate your birthday. We took all of you today. It’s just that you can’t eat this meal in vain—when will you have your full moon wine?”

Daiyu's face was flushed, and she spat at Sister Feng: "You snotty tongue, you're making fun of me." Zili smiled and put his arms around Daiyu and said, "Feng'er's words are not sarcasm, what are you going to do?" When are you going to have a baby?"

Just as he was talking, he saw Lin Zhixiao's family come in: "The princess concubine asked someone to bring something to Aunt Lin." Sure enough, he saw several inner eunuchs come in with some brocade toys, saying they were Yuanchun's birthday present to Daiyu.

Daiyu didn't expect that Yuanchun would still think about her when it was her birthday, so she hurriedly got up to thank her, and someone came to pick up the gift.Afterwards, Mother Jia and others asked Yuan Chun how he was, and invited the eunuch to sit down and drink tea. The mother and Zili smiled and said: "It was also yesterday that His Royal Highness mentioned that today is the second grandma's Qianqiu. The crown princess said that the second grandma stayed with the wife when she was not out of the cabinet, which relieved the desolation of the second wife's knees. The crown prince thought of the second grandma's good, especially Give these things down. Also, the princess is thinking about the wife and the old lady, please ask the old lady and the wife to come to the palace to talk tomorrow."