Chapter 418: Rongguo Mansion at Night (Part 1)
The lights are coming on.
Wang Xifeng came out of the bath, wrapped her delicate body in a dark purple robe, and was helped by Ping'er to the outer hall. She leaned lazily on the couch. Immediately, a maid brought a few dry towels and carefully dried her beautiful hair.
Another maid came forward and held up two long legs that were like white jade pillars supporting the sky, ready to examine and knead them.
"Okay."
Wang Xifeng pulled her legs into her robe, leaving only her two tender feet exposed, and said casually, "You guys go down and wait first."
Four maids and two old women immediately bowed and went outside the door.
When no one was around, Wang Xifeng made another gesture, and Ping'er immediately went forward to close the door, then came back and asked in a low voice, "Madam, do you have anything private that you want me to do?"
"It's not a big deal."
Wang Xifeng sighed and said helplessly, "The eldest master spread the word at noon that he would ask the old ancestor for Yuanyang as his concubine in a few days - but I know that he is a proud and arrogant person. I am afraid he may not agree to this. If he makes a fuss, it will cause another storm."
Ping Erh and Yuan Yang were very close friends, and she had heard her belittle Jia She as worse than pigs and dogs, so she became nervous upon hearing this and asked hurriedly, "What does grandma mean?"
Wang Xifeng lowered her voice and said, "Go tell Yuanyang that if she is willing, it's fine. If not, she should quickly find a suitable owner and ask the old lady for mercy to marry her off. Otherwise, when the master makes the matter clear, it will not be so easy for her to get away."
If it were another maid, it might be difficult to ask her master to arrange a marriage for her, but Yuanyang was the most favored by the old lady. In fact, she was probably closer to her than Yingchun and Tanchun, the two illegitimate granddaughters.
Therefore, as long as Yuanyang made up her mind, it would not be difficult to ask Lady Jia to arrange a marriage for her.
When Ping'er heard this, she hurriedly prepared to find Yuanyang to inform her.
"return."
Wang Xifeng called her back and ordered, "Take out a piece of shark silk gauze that the empress gave you two days ago and bring it with you."
Ping'er was a little puzzled now. The shark silk gauze was a tribute from the South China Sea, also known as dragon gauze. It was extremely precious and one piece cost hundreds of taels of silver.
If it weren't for the few horses that Concubine Xian De bestowed upon them two days ago, even a family like Rongguo Mansion might not have been able to get them.
But since it was a reward from Concubine Xian De, the old lady was naturally the first one to receive it, so there was no reason to send more to her.
But if you say it was given to mandarin ducks...
How could Yuanyang, a mere maid, afford to carry such precious things worth more than one hundred taels of silver?
"It's not for admiring mandarin ducks."
Wang Xifeng saw Ping'er's hesitation and frowned, saying, "Laiwang has been in the south for more than half a month, but he hasn't reported anything. It just so happens that Brother Bao is going to host a banquet for Sun Erlang today. You can bring the shark silk gauze over and tell him that you asked him to bring it to the second young lady. By the way, you can also ask about the situation in the south."
"this ……"
Although Ping'er was eager to meet Sun Shaozong, Jia Lian had been jealous many times. As his nominal householder, how could she openly have any connection with Sun Shaozong?
"What are you afraid of?!"
Seeing Ping'er's hesitation, Wang Xifeng immediately straightened her body, not caring about the spring light trembling under her robe, and scolded her with a frown: "If he dares to make trouble again, I will move to the ancestral hall and see how he will explain to the ancestors!"
Seeing that she was angry, Ping'er dared not say another word. She hurriedly took a piece of shark silk gauze from the private storehouse, went outside and asked a little maid to help hold it, and hurried out of the courtyard.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he went out, he bumped into Jia Lian head-on.
Just as Ping Er was about to pack her luggage, Jia Lian's face darkened and he angrily scolded her, "Where do you want to go at this late hour?"
Ever since Ping'er had contradicted him in front of everyone last time, Jia Lian's attitude towards Ping'er had plummeted.
"Reply to Second Master's question."
Ping'er calmly pointed behind her and said, "It was the Second Madam who asked me to bring some things to the old lady."
How could Jia Lian know what "shark silk" was?
Seeing that the little maid was holding a piece of silk, she didn't pay much attention to it and just sneered, "You are really attentive. Now I'm afraid you only have the Second Madam in your eyes, not me, the Second Master, right? Well, when someone steps on you one day, don't blame me for not remembering our friendship!"
Having said that, he threw back his sleeves and went into the outer study room without entering the room.
Watching Jia Lian walking away, Ping'er pondered silently for a long time, thinking that his words seemed to hint at something. Could it be that some maid in the courtyard had quietly climbed up the social ladder?
The reason why she suspected that there was a maid who was "cheating" instead of Jia Lian wanting to "introduce" someone new from outside was because if the concubine was married from outside, she would naturally be more valuable than the maidservants, and there would be no need to use the phrase "stepping on her" at all.
Since these four words were used, it was obvious that the person Jia Lian was referring to was originally of lower status than Ping'er.
After figuring this out, Ping'er wanted to go back and report, but she was afraid of delaying her meeting with Sun Shaozong.
So after a little hesitation, he put the matter aside for the time being, picked up the lantern and hurried to the old lady.
When they were outside the old lady's courtyard, Ping'er asked someone to call Yuanyang out and relayed Wang Xifeng's words one by one. She also said with concern: "This matter must not be delayed. You must make a decision quickly as to what to do."
"What's there to decide?!"
After hearing this news, Yuanyang was so angry that she bit her lower lip until it was swollen. At this time, she said with a determined look: "Even if I cut my hair and become a nun, I will never be his concubine!"
"It's already this time, what's the point of you being so ruthless?"
Ping Er pushed her and said angrily, "Hurry up and think about who you like. It's the right thing to do to ask for grace from the old ancestor as soon as possible!"
Speaking of "favorite" and "grace", Yuanyang's face suddenly flushed, and she held the handkerchief hesitantly, no longer as cheerful as before.
After a long while, she finally mentioned a name.
But Ping Erh said first: "That won't work! Don't forget that he was just taught a lesson by the Second Master. Now he is the ancestor, I'm afraid it's not good to put women in his room!"
It turned out that the person who was held in Yuanyang's mouth and almost spit out the secret was none other than Jia Baoyu, the popular lover of Rongguo Mansion.
But after being denied by Ping'er, how could Yuanyang admit it?
She stamped her feet and said coquettishly, "What nonsense are you talking about? Master Bao is three years younger than me, how could I have thought of him?!"
Having said that, she couldn't help but look a little disappointed when she thought about the fact that what Ping'er said made sense.
He was silent for a long while, then suddenly shook his head and said, "It's not that I'm pretending to be noble, but there is really no one in this mansion who is pleasing to the eye."
In the past, Ping'er might not agree with her statement, but if Sun Shaozong is used as a measure, this is absolutely true.
"Then pick one outside!"
Ping Er urged without hesitation: "Choose a poor scholar with good character and good knowledge, and let him be your wife first. With the dowry you have accumulated over the years, you may be able to marry a juren master in a few years!"
After a pause, she continued, "But you have to choose someone who is tough. The master is reckless and may not let it go just because you get married. He may even come to your house to coerce and bribe you."
"That's easy for you to say."
After hearing this, Yuanyang couldn't help but smile bitterly and said, "We spend all day sitting and looking at the world from a narrow perspective. How can we find a scholar who is knowledgeable, has good character, and is tough? Besides, if there really is such a person, I'm afraid he would have been chosen long ago. How could it be my turn!"
Ping'er thought about it and it made sense. If the maids had not been influenced by the ugly people in this mansion every day, how could they have treated Jia Baoyu as a god?
So I didn’t know what to do for a moment.
The two looked at each other in silence for a long while. Ping'er looked back thoughtfully, her eyes swept over the shark silk gauze held by the maid, and suddenly said happily: "I got it, I have a way here, I guarantee that you will find your ideal husband!"
As he spoke, he leaned over to Yuanyang's ear and whispered a few words...
Let me explain this on two sides.
Just as Ping'er and Yuanyang were whispering.
In the outer study, Jia Lian was drinking alone. Just when he was a little tipsy, the silver pot on the table was already empty.
"Zhao'er? Zhao'er!"
Jia Lian called out twice, but his personal servant Zhao'er did not come in. He immediately became angry, thinking to himself that these servants were becoming more and more outrageous. Before, Xing'er was tortured but did it to inform on him, but now Zhao'er, who had just taken office, had become lazy!
"You blind bastard!"
He was cursing and was about to go out and shout loudly to call Zhao'er back to scold him, when he saw the door curtain lifted and a person came in from outside, smiling and said, "Uncle, don't blame him wrongly. I took him somewhere else."
As he said that, he placed two small wine jars on the table, patted one of them exaggeratedly and said, "This is genuine tribute wine, which was just given to me by my godfather the other day. But who am I to afford such a precious item? After thinking it over, I decided to give it to you, Second Uncle, so as not to waste it!"
Jia Lian found his words pleasing, so he pointed his finger and scolded with a smile: "You are really a capable guy, no wonder everyone in the kitchen praises you."
Then he straightened his back and said seriously, "Tell me, you are willing to spend so much money, what do you want Second Uncle to do for you?"
"Second uncle, that's what you said!"
Jia Yun raised his eyebrows and said angrily, "It's as if my nephew has some ulterior motive!"
As he said that, he gritted his teeth, unceremoniously sat down opposite him, and said with a gloomy face: "To be honest, Second Uncle, I really feel the same way as you, so I want to get closer to Second Uncle."
"Empathy? Empathy for what?"
Jia Lian was a little confused.
But Jia Yun pulled at the empty sleeve again and said with gritted teeth: "Think about it, Uncle, if it wasn't for that guy surnamed Sun who hurt Jia Qin's arm, how could I have gotten into this trouble? Now even the girl I love has given herself to someone else!"
Jia Yun pursued Xiaohong in secret, and after Xiaohong hooked up with Jia Lian, she naturally would not leak the matter.
Therefore, Jia Lian had no doubt at all and immediately cursed in unison: "Isn't it! There weren't so many troubles in our house before. It was all instigated ..."
"That's right, that guy surnamed Sun is really a piece of shit!"
Jia Yun agreed, and then he broke the seal on the tribute wine and poured a full cup for Jia Lian, while he drank from another jar...
