Chapter 850 Li Wan's Experience
It was just after noon.
Mrs. Wang and Aunt Xue, two sisters, each occupied a corner of the Luohan bed and chatted idly.
At first, they were talking about nothing but the right and wrong of the Rong and Ning mansions, but as they talked, somehow, Mrs. Wang began to look Aunt Xue up and down.
Aunt Xue was so nervous at the suspicious look that she said, "Sister, what are you looking at? It's as if you don't recognize me."
Mrs. Wang chuckled when she heard this, picked up a few peeled sugar-roasted chestnuts, gave half to Aunt Xue, and said in amazement, "You said that after your illness, not only did you not lose weight, but your face has become more red, and it is rosy and festive. If you were a few years younger, you could pass for a new bride."
She was just joking, but Aunt Xue's heart almost stopped beating. Her face turned blue and red. She lowered her head and swallowed a chestnut to hide her panic.
But how could Mrs. Wang, who had been with her day and night for the past few years, not notice that something was wrong with her?
He immediately asked curiously: "What's wrong with you? Are you hiding something..."
"Madam, madam!"
As she was talking, she saw someone hurriedly walk in from outside. It was Yuchuan'er, the second-class maid who replaced Caixia. She said anxiously, "The doctor was called in from Yihong Courtyard just now. It seems that the second master is really ill!"
"What?!"
Mrs. Wang didn't bother to ask any more questions. She stamped her feet and said, "How come this debt collector got sick just like that?!"
Having said that, he walked out on his own.
Aunt Xue breathed a sigh of relief, and hurriedly put down the sugar-roasted chestnuts and followed closely.
No conversation along the way.
When they arrived at the Yihong Courtyard, a group of beautiful girls led by Xue Baochai and Lin Daiyu had already rushed over and were surrounding Baoyu, asking him about his well-being.
Seeing Mrs. Wang and Aunt Xue arrive, all the girls came forward to greet them.
Mrs. Wang didn't care about anything else and quickly walked to Jia Baoyu's bed.
Seeing him leaning against the bed in a sickly manner, although he was forcing himself to put on a smile, there was no spirit in his eyes. Mrs. Wang became more and more anxious and asked repeatedly: "Why is he sick again? What did the doctor say? Did he get sick from somewhere, or did he catch a cold by accident?"
As she spoke, she couldn't help but glare at the maids in the room.
Sheyue was quick-witted. Seeing that she seemed to be taking her anger out on him, she lowered her head and said, "Second Master was fine yesterday..."
He was interrupted by Xiren when he was talking halfway: "Second Master was already a little unhappy yesterday, and then he wrote a memorial to the old master of the East Palace, and he seemed to have lost his soul. Fortunately, the doctor said that it was nothing serious, but he was just worried too much and hurt his spleen. He just needs to rest well for a few days."
After hearing her words, Mrs. Wang suddenly remembered that she had already registered her son as sick in order to fool Mrs. You.
After making a few more harsh remarks, he turned around and blamed his son, saying that no matter how filial he was, he shouldn't have hurt his own body.
In fact, Jia Jing went out of the city to practice Taoism and meditate on the mysteries more than ten years ago, and he might not come back twice a year. How much affection could he have for Jia Baoyu?
When Jia Baoyu wrote the eulogy yesterday, he was just expressing his habitual sadness about the passing of time, and he forced himself into it. It had nothing to do with filial piety or anything like that.
But since Mrs. Wang had already set the tone, everyone naturally followed suit and praised him, one after another, praising him as if he were one of the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars.
There were a few who were not good at flattery and kept silent. Only Lin Daiyu came closer and asked Baoyu what he had written in the memorial.
If someone asked him, Jia Baoyu would have to confess.
But in front of Lin Daiyu, thinking of the decadent and world-weary words in the eulogy, which were completely contrary to the vows they had made, how could Jia Baoyu dare to tell the truth?
He stammered a few words and saw that Lin Daiyu's suspicion was growing more serious, so he became so anxious that he broke out in a cold sweat.
Fortunately, reinforcements suddenly arrived from outside - they were Wang Xifeng and Li Wan, who had been claiming to be ill for several days.
Jia Baoyu was as if he had been pardoned. He hurriedly confessed his crime, saying, "I am guilty, I am guilty. How could I have alarmed my sisters-in-law?"
Then he asked the two whether they had recovered.
After experiencing this cruel and unforgiving world, Wang Xifeng was calmer than usual. She covered her mouth with her hands and said with a half-smile, "I was worried, but now that the master has come forward to clear my name, I will naturally recover without any medicine."
As he spoke, he squinted at Li Wan and said, "How come your sister-in-law recovered so quickly from her illness?"
It turned out that this morning, Jia She took the initiative to explain to the old lady, admitting that it was he who instructed his daughter-in-law and son-in-law to do business together without telling the family.
However, the information revealed by Wang Xifeng's words is far more than that.
Li Wan also laughed when she heard this, and shook her head, saying, "I got sick because of you. Now that you are well again, why should I be sick?"
This immediately caused everyone to burst into laughter.
Those who were confused laughed happily; those who were half-enlightened and half-confused laughed mockingly; but those who truly understood laughed with a sigh and sympathy.
Only Jia Baoyu did not laugh. He sat on the bed in a daze, without any reaction for a long time.
Xue Baochai was the first to notice that something was wrong. She was afraid that he might have a hysterical attack and would make clear what he could not say.
So he hurried forward and gently pushed Baoyu, changing the subject and saying, "It's a pity that you got sick at a bad time, otherwise you could have gone to the next door to see something unusual."
Jia Baoyu was disturbed by Baochai. He looked up and saw her winking at him. After a moment of stunned silence, he finally understood and asked, "What's so rare? Sister Zhen is so busy now, how can you have the nerve to see her rare?"
Xue Baochai smiled, but refused to get too close to him in front of others. She pulled Shi Xiangyun over and said, "This matter needs to be told by sister Xiangyun to make it more vivid."
Shi Xiangyun took the lead and told the whole story of the Tianshi Mansion case, even including a lot of personal stuff in it, as if she had seen it with her own eyes.
Finally, she continued, "When I came back this morning, I heard that the second brother of the Sun family was going to be tried in court in that mansion."
"really?!"
Jia Baoyu straightened his back immediately, dropped his legs down the bed, and tried to put on his shoes and stand up, complaining: "Why didn't you tell me earlier? I haven't seen my second brother solve a case in a while!"
Seeing how impatient he was, Mrs. Wang and the others all came to persuade him.
But when Jia Baoyu was in a good mood, how could he listen to anyone's advice?
Moreover, seeing his excited look, his condition seemed to have improved a little, so Mrs. Wang finally had no choice but to let him go.
However, he was still worried, so he personally brought a group of beautiful women to Ningguo Mansion to "pay his condolences."
When they left, a large crowd of people left, and in the end, only Li Wan and Aunt Xue were left.
Aunt Xue didn't want to meet Sun Shaozong, so she declined Mrs. Wang's invitation. Now seeing that Li Wan had also stayed, her face immediately darkened and she walked out alone without saying a word.
Who would have thought that Li Wan would follow them relentlessly and even took over the show by dismissing her maids and old women.
Aunt Xue originally wanted to stop it, but she was afraid that if a commotion broke out here, someone would find out something, so she had to suppress it.
After the maids were led away by Suyun and Yindie, she said coldly: "At this point, what else is there to talk about between you and me?"
Li Wan also stopped smiling, bowed solemnly, and said, "I feel so ashamed of my aunt that I didn't dare to say anything more. But just now I saw that my aunt was frowning, so I thought about how I could atone for my sin."
“No need!”
Aunt Xue said these three words and wanted to turn around and leave.
Li Wan stood in front of her and said earnestly, "No matter how much you hate me, you can only discuss some things with me. Besides, I have gained some experience in the past few years. Even if it's just for my cousin Wenlong [Xue Pan's courtesy name is Wenlong] and Bao, you shouldn't keep him at a distance."
If it were a few days ago, Aunt Xue might not have been able to listen to these words.
But now, the annoyance in her heart has finally eased a little. She almost exposed herself in front of Mrs. Wang just now, so after hesitating for a moment, she finally stayed reluctantly.
But she was absolutely unwilling to take the initiative to ask Li Wan for advice on "experience", so she just kept a stern face and acted like "you say, I listen".
Fortunately, Li Wan was only worried that she would be exposed and then dragged into it, and she didn't care whether she hated herself or not.
He calmly invited Aunt Xue to a nearby pavilion and said softly, "In fact, after I had an affair with him, I was also very worried. Whenever someone looked at me, I always felt that they saw something."
Aunt Xue felt the same way, so she pricked up her ears involuntarily.
"Fortunately, I usually stay at home and rarely go out, and I have Suyun to help me with my worries, so during that period of time, no one really noticed any flaws."
This doesn't really apply to Aunt Xue.
Not only did she have to come into contact with shrewd people like Lady Wang and Xue Baochai on a daily basis, but she also had no one around her to confide in.
Seeing Aunt Xue frowning unconsciously, Li Wan said, "I'm afraid this method is difficult for you to follow, but there is another way. You might as well give it a try."
"What is it?"
Aunt Xue finally couldn't help but ask.
Li Wan said sternly, "Aunt, why don't you think carefully about all the grievances and resentments you have suffered as a widow over the years, and then ask: Why?!"
Aunt Xue was a little confused and asked in surprise, "Who to ask?"
"Of course I should ask myself, that damn devil, and even more so, this damn God!"
Li Wan suddenly became a little excited and slapped her chest heavily: "I am also a human being, a woman of flesh and blood! Why can't I enjoy the gentleness and consideration of a man like a normal woman after suffering so much?!"
Aunt Xue was a little at a loss for what to do by her sudden outburst. She opened her mouth hesitantly, but didn't know what to say.
Seeing her like this, Li Wan restrained herself a little. She reached out and held Aunt Xue's hand, saying seriously, "You can say it's self-deception or you can say it's quoting out of context. Anyway, think more about the hardships we have gone through, fill your heart with reluctance, and you won't feel guilty anymore."
Aunt Xue frowned even more tightly, and it was obvious that she could not accept this method of self-suggestion for a moment.
Li Wan stood up from the stone pier and said softly, "How to get through this hurdle is ultimately up to your aunt to decide."
Having said that, he bowed slightly and walked out of the pavilion.
Aunt Xue was stunned for a long while until the maids came looking for her. Then she returned to Hengwu Courtyard with a sad brow.
…
Li Wan and her servant hid by the roadside, watching Aunt Xue go away. Su Yun asked anxiously, "You think she is so ignorant that she won't be discovered?"
Li Wan shook her head without commenting, and after a while she said, "Compared to this, I am more worried that she will be obsessed with resentment and get stuck in a dead end like I did in the past, and keep entangled with Sun Jia Erlang."
Su Yun looked a little strange after hearing this. She hesitated for a long time, and finally couldn't help but probed: "Grandma, you... you really want to cut off contact with Lord Sun?"
"how?"
Li Wan glanced at her and asked, "You can't bear to leave?"
“No, no, no!”
Su Yun admitted it and swore to the heavens, "As long as I can stay with grandma, I don't want anything else!"
Unexpectedly, Li Wan sighed and said, "But I am reluctant to let you go."
After saying this, he went straight to Daoxiang Village without caring about Suyun's reaction.
