Chapter 393: Cheap Bones
Since that day, Wang Xifeng cried bitterly in Grandmother Jia's arms. She returned home feeling ashamed and aggrieved. That night she caught a cold and was bedridden.
And Jia Lian is really a despicable person. When Wang Xifeng was trying to get close to him, he acted in a very rude way and treated her kindness as nothing - but now that Wang Xifeng has become discouraged and indifferent to him, he has started to act out the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars again.
For several days in a row, Wang Xifeng served him without taking off her clothes, which made her neither happy nor annoyed. She cursed "enemy" and sighed "evil fate" many times.
But early that morning, Jia Lian brought some nourishing medicinal food and fed it to Wang Xifeng one spoonful at a time while sitting at the head of the bed. Suddenly, he heard a report from outside that Lai Wang had to go to the ancestral home in Nanjing to check the accounts, so he came to say goodbye to the second wife.
Jia Lian immediately threw the soup spoon into the bowl and cursed, "What an ignorant dog servant! The Second Madam is ill now, how can she have the time to see him? Let him kowtow a few times in the yard, and that will be considered as his farewell!"
Seeing that he was a little annoyed, the little maidservant was about to go out and pass on the message timidly.
"Wait a minute."
Wang Xifeng forced herself to sit up straight and said without question, "Let him wait outside first. After I change my clothes, I will call him in to talk."
As he spoke, he pushed Jia Lian again and said angrily, "Second Master said he would be my housekeeper for a few days, but why are you hiding in this room all the time? Hurry up and keep an eye on the front, so that those bastards won't sneak around!"
Jia Lian stood up and looked at Wang Xifeng suspiciously for a long while. When the maid came out, he lowered his voice and said, "You are in a hurry to send me out. Are you planning to do some money lending again?"
In fact, Lai Wang went to Jinling under the pretext of checking accounts, but he was actually partnering with the Sun family in running a timber business.
But Jia Lian couldn't stand hearing the word "Sun" the most, so Wang Xifeng was happy to let him misunderstand her. She sneered and said, "Why? If you think the money from the loan is not clean, just don't use it in the future!"
Like her, Jia Lian was used to spending lavishly. How could the dozen or so taels of monthly salary be enough for him?
So after hearing what Wang Xifeng said, Mangmanmiandui laughed and said, "Look at you, you haven't said anything yet, but you've already cut off my livelihood? Well, I won't ask you about these things. Just go to the front and take care of the housework. Is that all right?"
As he said this, he stood up, bent over exaggeratedly, and sang in a long voice with ups and downs: "My lady, I am leaving now~!"
Then he accompanied himself to the beat of gongs and drums and went along with the clanging of sounds.
Wang Xifeng was amused by him and could not help cursing "enemy" twice. Then she called Ping'er in and asked her to help her change into an apricot-colored pleated gauze skirt.
Following Ping'er's shout in the hall, Laiwang hurried in with his robe in hand, knelt down on his knees and greeted him respectfully.
"I have already told you what errand you are going to do."
Wang Xifeng leaned on the couch and said weakly, "When you get to the south, consult with the stewards around the master. The people sent by the Sun family should be used when necessary, but you have to be careful of them in secret."
Normally, she spoke in a crisp and refreshing voice, but now that she was weak, her voice became more lingering and charming, and with a slightly hoarse voice, it was like countless small hands scratching from the ears to the heart, making the person feel weak all over, except for one place that was hard!
Lai Wang unconsciously clamped his legs together. He was afraid to look up at Wang Xifeng's face because he had a secret plan. He only stammered, "Grandma, the Second Master just had a rift with Mr. Sun. Let's do business with the Sun family behind his back, right..."
"Is it what?!"
Wang Xifeng straightened her back at once, her tone returned to its usual sharpness, and she shouted with a frown, "Whose business partnership should I go into? Do you have the right to say anything about it?"
Hearing this playful yet menacing tone, Lai Wang was immediately frightened and kowtowed, saying, "I dare not, I dare not!"
But after Wang Xifeng scolded him twice in a harsh tone, she began to feel a little breathless, and her chest heaved violently, as if her clothes were about to burst.
Ping'er hurried forward to help her rub her back, and explained on her behalf: "In fact, our Second Madam doesn't want to get involved with the Sun family at this time, but the matter has already been settled, and the letter has been sent to inform the master, so it's too late to change it now."
Lai Wang said hurriedly, "Yes, yes, it's all my reckless thinking that blinded my heart. Don't worry, Madam. When I get to the south, I promise to sleep with one eye open. I will never let anyone steal our money!"
Wang Xifeng finally recovered a little and said in a deep voice, "I don't care what you think. Anyway, you have to keep this a secret from your wife. If you let out even a hint of it, I'll skin you alive!"
After a pause, she softened her tone a little and continued, "As long as you work hard, I will definitely benefit from you!"
"Thank you, Second Madam, thank you, Second Madam!"
Lai Wang kowtowed in thanks, and when he saw that Wang Xifeng had no other instructions, he quietly left.
When they got outside, the mistress's majesty gradually faded away, and she couldn't help but think of those first few charming and soft voices. She thought to herself that everyone said that Miss Lin was a sick beauty, but she didn't expect that her own Second Mistress's illness could be so alluring.
The Second Master has been taking care of her these past few days. She can hear and see but cannot eat. It is really a tough job.
Then Lai Wang thought about his trip to Jiangnan this time. Without his master to restrain him, he would definitely go and experience the Qinhuai romance!
I heard that southern women are the most beautiful, but I wonder if there are any as beautiful as my second wife...
He was daydreaming when he almost bumped into someone.
The man dodged and shouted angrily, "Laiwang, are you hysterical? Why are you banging your head around? It would be fine if you bumped into me, but what if you bumped into Lord Sun and Yu Hanlin?!"
Lord Sun?
Lai Wang looked up and saw a burly and strong figure standing in front of him. Who else could it be but Sun Shaozong?
Why is Lord Sun here again ? !
Lai Wang was suspicious, but he did not dare to be negligent in the slightest. He bowed quickly and apologized without stopping.
Sun Shaozong naturally would not argue with him. He just smiled and waved his hand, then followed the steward towards the Grand View Garden.
When they entered the Grand View Garden, they saw the dazzling summer scenery. Sun Shaozong asked with a smile, "Tingyi, what do you think of the Rongguo Mansion's guest house?"
It turned out that this time he came to see Jia Lan with Yu Qian, who had just passed the imperial examination and became a scholar.
Yu Qian shook his head slightly, and said, "Such a luxurious scene should not be seen in the world."
Sun Shaozong laughed and was about to tell him some interesting stories about building the garden so that the steward wouldn't overhear what he had done, but he saw Jia Baoyu approaching him quickly. He bowed and said with a smile from a distance, "Brother Tingyi, you are probably the only one in this dynasty who can be admitted as a scholar-official at the bottom of the three classes!"
Then, he greeted Sun Shaozong and said, "Second Brother Sun."
Although he called Sun Shaozong his brother, he was embarrassed to take advantage of Yu Qian, so they talked about their own things when they met.
Yu Qian returned the greeting and said modestly, "Master Bao, thank you for your compliment. With your talent and ability, as long as you study hard for a few years, it will be easy for you to pass the imperial examinations."
"Thank you, Brother Tingyi, for your kind words."
Jia Baoyu smiled bitterly and said, "It's just that I'm really a person with no perseverance. I've thought about studying hard before, but after just a few days... Alas!"
He sighed heavily, then turned around and smiled again: "Let's not talk about this anymore. The student you are going to see today is not me, but my precious nephew - Brother Lang is waiting in the waterside pavilion now. Second brother and Tingyi, come with me."
As he spoke, he waved away the steward who was leading the way, introduced the scenery along the way, and led the two of them around and finally arrived near the Ou Xiang Pavilion.
“Here it comes, here it comes!”
As soon as the three of them stepped onto the bamboo bridge, Shi Xiangyun, who was standing guard at the door, flew in front of Li Wan and Jia Lan, waving her handkerchief and gesticulating: "That Yu Hanlin looks even more burly than Lord Sun, with a green face, fangs and eyes like copper bells..."
"go!"
Jia Tanchun chased after her and pushed her, saying angrily, "You are still trying to scare Lan Ge'er at this hour—Yu Hanlin is clearly a humble gentleman, not like the monster you described!"
"Heaven and earth have conscience!"
Shi Xiangyun immediately cried out: "How could I scare him? I was just joking with him so that he wouldn't be so nervous."
"You are such a naughty kid..."
"Alright, alright! If you keep talking, someone will see you!"
Before the two of them could say anything, Xue Baochai, who was standing beside them, hurriedly pulled them to the next room, and Lin Daiyu and Jia Xichun also hurriedly hid in there.
Li Wan hurriedly gave her son a few more instructions, but when she heard footsteps approaching, she could only reluctantly move away temporarily.
When they reached the inner room, they saw Shi Xiangyun holding Jia Tanchun's slender waist and teasing herself, "Why are you so anxious when I mention Yu Hanlin? Are you thinking about..."
"Don't talk nonsense."
Xue Baochai interrupted her again and whispered, "Yu Hanlin is the nephew-in-law of Lord Sun. I heard that his son is already three years old."
Shi Xiangyun spat out Xiao Dingxiang and said awkwardly, "Don't be upset, Third sister. I was just talking nonsense..."
"nothing."
Jia Tanchun was quite carefree and said without reservation: " To be honest with you , Sister Yun, I really like his ambitious essay - I'm afraid no other article in recent years can be compared with his in terms of breadth of mind and bearing."
"Yes, this Yu Hanlin is indeed not an ordinary person."
Xue Baochai also agreed, "First, an essay angered the emperor, and he fell from the first place to the last of the third place. Then, he won the favor of the Minister of Personnel, Wang, and became his disciple."
"Now he has passed the imperial examination and become a Hanlin—even the top scorer in the undergraduate exam would probably be inferior to him!"
"If it weren't for Lord Sun coming forward to invite us, I'm afraid others might not be able to invite him."
Jia Xichun, who was standing nearby, could not help but mutter under her breath, "This man is well-educated, but he is too bold to even denounce the emperor."
Jia Tanchun immediately refuted: "You should be brave. Otherwise, if you don't have any responsibility, what kind of man are you?"
Shi Xiangyun also nodded and said, "That's right, I think Brother Bao should really learn from others."
“Shh~!”
Lin Daiyu suddenly made a gesture to silence everyone and whispered, "Stop talking, Yu Hanlin has already started to test Lan Ge'er."
Upon hearing this, all the ladies held their breath and listened attentively to the noise outside, especially Li Wan, who was so nervous that she almost tore the handkerchief into pieces.
In this silence where one could hear breathing, Yu Qian said softly outside: "I don't know if you..."
"Second Master, Second Master Bao!"
Just after hearing these three words, someone outside the door shouted at the top of his voice: "The Second Master is calling you to Rong Xi Tang to meet a guest!"
