The head of the Red Mansion

Chapter 152 Tai Chi
After hearing all the gossip about the Cheng and Jia families outside the Prince of Nan'an's residence, the Dowager Princess of Nan'an looked very serious.

They treated the Jia family very well.

The Jia family clearly knew the relationship between the Nan'an Prince's Mansion and the Cheng family, yet they still helped Cheng Luo so much, which clearly showed that they didn't take the Nan'an Prince's Mansion seriously.

Cheng Feng, the former Marquis of Xinping, was a general who rose through the ranks under their prince's command.

His ability to marry a princess also represents the royal family's efforts to win over and guard against the Prince of Nan'an's mansion.

Win them over and keep them around, but be wary of them...

Princess Nan'an couldn't help but close her eyes.

Back then, they helped Cheng Feng restrain Princess Baofeng and fulfill his love affair with his childhood sweetheart cousin, but they didn't want Marquis Xinping to be taken away by the royal family.

But I never expected those two muddle-headed women in the Cheng family to be so bold and so stupid.

From infancy to adulthood, how many opportunities do they have in the first ten years?

Now that they discovered the princess was on guard, why couldn't they have been even more careful? Making the accident so obvious was practically forcing the princess to fight them to the death.

The Princess Dowager of Nan'an is truly unbearable to think about; just thinking about her makes me so angry.

The Cheng family died because of their own stupidity.

But while the Cheng family members are dead, their royal palace lost a significant amount of military power because of Cheng Feng's death.

Most of the troops that Cheng Feng led back then are now in the hands of the emperor.

just now……

Because of the Cheng family, the Prince of Nan'an's mansion has become a laughing stock.

"Go and send a letter to the Rongguo Mansion."

The Princess Consort of Nan'an wanted to ask Old Lady Shi what she meant.

The Jia family did this, and they pretended not to know, while Shen Shi of the Ningguo Mansion was probably laughing her head off at home.

"Send another invitation to the historians."

The relationship between the Prince of Nan'an's mansion and the Shi family has always been very good, but this time...

Princess Nan'an suddenly changed her mind again, "Forget it, let's leave the Shi family aside for now."

Once things have reached a stalemate, there's no turning back.

Princess Nan'an does not want to do this for the time being.

Jia Lian of the Jia family can now work in the Armory.

"Mother concubine!"

Princess Nan'an asked cautiously, "Aren't we going to ignore the Cheng family?"

"Manage? How do you intend to manage it?"

The Princess Dowager of Nan'an finally had an outlet for her pent-up anger: "Bring that old woman Cheng out again and make her beat the petition drum!"

The Cheng family is a bunch of idiots.

Either stop her from the beginning and prevent her from striking the drum. But since she's already struck the drum, she should fight to the bitter end.

But they actually blamed their own family members for being confused and made Cheng Quanluo a victim.

Did they think that this would make Cheng Luo grateful to them?

Stop dreaming.

People probably wish they could skin them alive and eat their flesh.

"The Cheng family isn't thinking straight, and neither are you?"

She smashed a cup with a 'bang' and pointed at her daughter-in-law, saying, "Get out of here."

Princess Nan'an was so ashamed by the scolding that she covered her face with a handkerchief and left crying.

But the Princess Consort of Nan'an was still not satisfied, because tomorrow's battle would not be easy.

As the matriarch of the Jia family, Madam Jia Shi naturally sided with the Jia family. Moreover, with the old lady of the Cheng family gone, her granddaughter Yuan Chun could take control of the inner quarters, and no one else could suppress her.

From now on, the Cheng family will only be able to live by the whims of Cheng Luo and Yuan Chun.

This is beneficial to both the Jia family and Yuan Chun.

So tomorrow, she can only rely on their friendship to keep her close.

The Princess of Nan'an dug her fingernails into her palm, and only released them when she felt the pain.

Aside from the royal family, she hadn't been pushed to this point in so many years.

……

Upon receiving the invitation, Grandmother Jia of the Rongguo Mansion frowned deeply.

Yesterday she was worried about the Prince of Nan'an, and sure enough, the Dowager Consort couldn't wait even a day and would come to interrogate her tomorrow.

Hey~
The Prince of Nan'an is still a powerful prince, and his family... is not to be trifled with!

Grandmother Jia pondered how to quell the Empress Dowager's anger.

Or rather, she came here this time because she wanted to say something to Lian'er.

After all, the Prince of Nan'an was fighting with someone in Guangnan Prefecture.

Thinking of her promising grandson Jia Lian, the old lady finally felt a little more at ease.

"Has Lian'er been busy lately?"

She asked Wang Xifeng, who was serving her.

"All the necessary personnel have been transferred from Ningxia, so he's not that busy lately."

"Hmm, have him come over to my place later."

"Is it because of the Princess Dowager of Nan'an?"

Wang Xifeng guessed that the problem lay with the post from the Prince of Nan'an's residence.

"Yes, the Prince of Nan'an has quite a connection with Cheng Feng, the former Marquis of Xinping..."

Grandmother Jia explained the relationships between these families to Wang Xifeng, saying, "Our family has always had a good relationship with the Prince of Nan'an's family. Now, I'm afraid the Dowager Princess is very dissatisfied with our family because of the Cheng family's matter."

Wang Xifeng: "..."

She didn't know what to say for a moment.

However, the matter of moving Princess Baofeng's grave was approved by the retired emperor.

What right does the Princess Consort of Nan'an have to be dissatisfied with their family?
As a woman, Wang Xifeng felt that Princess Baofeng was too weak, but she still felt quite sorry for her. After all, she was facing the Cheng family. If it were her...

"Grandma, we need to tell our eldest sister about this. She will be the matriarch of the Cheng family in the future."

The current Marquis of Xinping is actually the Emperor's nephew.

It's impossible for the Prince of Nan'an to expect his son-in-law to be like his father.

They couldn't target the Cheng family, so they came after their family instead...

In any case, Wang Xifeng was not happy.

Moreover, the Second Master had told her that when serving the court, he only needed to listen to the Emperor.

other people……

"Yes, yes, yes, someone, go and invite the young lady over."

The old lady was shrewd and wise. Seeing her granddaughter-in-law's expression, she said, "Don't worry, I won't make things difficult for Lian'er." She would never make things difficult for her grandson because of outsiders. "I just want to tell him that within the bounds of propriety, if he can take care of relatives and friends by marriage, he should. If not... he should naturally take care of himself first."

People like them shouldn't be treated with too much ruthlessness.

Otherwise, if something goes wrong, it will collapse in an instant.

"Yeah! I know."

Wang Xifeng smiled and served the old lady a cup of tea.

As long as the old lady in their family isn't confused and doesn't interfere, things won't be too bad.

Having gotten to know her father-in-law better, Wang Xifeng no longer thinks he's unreliable or a scoundrel.

Compared to my second uncle, he was far superior.

Although the family gained another great-aunt because the father-in-law ran away quickly, they were not short of a room or a little bit of monthly allowance.

When she could help, she felt she should lend a hand.

Besides, Cousin Bai is very ambitious, and Cousin Mei is somewhat similar to her in some ways. Moreover, she is studying in the East Mansion.

Now that she was the matriarch, Wang Xifeng couldn't join in the fun, so she could only envy her younger sisters as equals.

Yuan Chun arrived quickly. Upon hearing that the Princess Dowager of Nan'an was coming tomorrow, likely to interrogate her family, she frowned slightly. "Grandmother, there's no need to worry. On what grounds does she have to interrogate our family? She's not a member of the Cheng family."

Besides, if my uncles and brothers don't help me and Cheng Luo, are they supposed to just stand by and watch the Cheng family bully our son-in-law because of the Prince of Nan'an?

That's just not how things work. If she actually asked, it would be her being unreasonable.

"..."

Grandmother Jia patted her granddaughter's hand with great satisfaction, "That makes sense, but people always like to talk about what's in their favor. Our family and the Prince of Nan'an's mansion have a long-standing relationship. Having more friends means having more options, so we can't just think about offending them."

The children are all learning from the niece-in-law of the East Mansion.

It's not that it's impossible, but Madam Shen is already a first-rank noblewoman, and Zhen'er and Rong'er are filial, so she has the right to do so.

But when children get married, how many of them can be like the eldest granddaughter Yuan Chun, who doesn't even have a mother-in-law?

In this capital city, almost everyone is like their family, with a mother-in-law who has two wives.

"As long as you stick to what you consider the bottom line, you can ignore everything else."

"Hmm~"

Yuan Chun nodded.

Wang Xifeng, standing nearby, also benefited greatly from listening to the old lady instructing her granddaughter.

Time flies, and the next morning, upon hearing that the Dowager Consort had arrived, the old lady personally went to the second gate to greet her.

Before knowing the other party's specific attitude, Grandmother Jia was unwilling to let her granddaughter suffer, so she simply pretended to be confused and did not let Yuan Chun come over.

The two greeted each other warmly, chatting and laughing as they made their way to the flower hall. Once they were seated, the Dowager Princess of Nan'an feigned a sigh and said, "The old lady must know why I've come today."

She raised the question to test Grandmother Jia's attitude.

As long as the other party shows even a hint of guilt, she can act freely.

otherwise……

"Is it because of the Cheng family?"

Grandmother Jia did not hesitate. "Did the old lady of the Cheng family ask the Dowager Princess for help?" She looked disapproving. "It's not that I'm speaking up for my Yuanchun and Luo'er, it's just that the Cheng family went too far back then."

Although Shen, the niece-in-law, did not change much during those years of ups and downs, she became intolerant of any past conflicts with her nephew Jia Jing once she let go of everything.

If she were to show weakness to the Princess Dowager of Nan'an at this moment, given Shen's temperament, she might never set foot in their West Mansion again.

Moreover, although Shen's actions were somewhat radical, they were made after careful consideration from various aspects.

The retired emperor did indeed feel guilty towards the Jia family after Zhen'er's assassination attempt.

This time, the Jia family helped his poor daughter move her grave only after his grandson's earnest pleading. Even if there were some mistakes, the Jia family was willing to take the blame.

So what does this have to do with the Jia family?
"Why was the Emperor Emeritus able to bestow gifts upon the Jia family? Wasn't it because he also felt sorry for Princess Baofeng?"

Whether you feel sorry for them or not, you still have to say the polite words.

"The reason they're holding onto Princess Baofeng's grave like that is simply because Luo'er's surname is Cheng."

The old lady said, "You know perfectly well that Luo'er was heartbroken by them. When she came crying and begging that day, she specifically mentioned Chen Tang from the former Minister of Works, Chen's family. Didn't that child change his surname to his mother's?"

She didn't give the Princess of Nan'an a chance to lash out. "It's only because the Cheng family changed their tune early and kept that old lady Cheng in check. Otherwise, do you think the Emperor would side with his nephew if he didn't side with his family of outsiders?"

Princess Dowager of Nan'an: "..."

What else could she say?

All I could do was sigh again, "Yes!"

The retired emperor's attitude changed, so the emperor felt more confident.

This is the key.

The Jia family saw this out, which is why they dared to do this.

"Old Mrs. Cheng was still thinking that since her family had won back then, she wanted our Nan'an Prince's Mansion to help them out again."

Please, please don't!

"No, I just came to talk to the old lady."

This is hopeless!
The Princess Consort of Nan'an took a sip of tea. "However, I heard that the Second Master of the household is really going to divorce?"

If she's not feeling well, then this old lady won't be feeling well either.

"He's still young. I remember the old Duke liked him the most back then."

Jia Mu: "..."

What can you do about your own unfilial son?

The old lady had long considered the possibility that someone might come forward to criticize her.

"It's like a tree. When it's young, it stands straight, but as it grows, it becomes more and more crooked. There's nothing you can do about it."

The old lady sighed, "Fortunately, the Duke never expected the brothers to do anything."

The Jia family is no good this generation.

But then the next generation rose up.

"Let him retire; there's always food at home."

Anyway, being an official is a disgrace.

After the old lady had to face this fact, she actually became more relaxed. "For a family like ours, as long as our children and grandchildren don't go out and cause trouble, or become spoiled brats and spendthrifts, that's enough."

With gambling banned, even concubines can no longer gamble. It won't be so easy for the Jia family's future children to squander the family fortune.

It was precisely because she recognized this point that the old lady did not stand up to object.

"……Yeah yeah!"

Princess Nan'an never expected to run into such a tough opponent.

Although the older generation worked hard to build this huge family fortune for their descendants, and the children don't have to work so hard, which family doesn't want to enjoy long life and wealth for generations to come?
How many generations has the Jia family gone?

But when she thought about how other people's grandchildren were gradually becoming successful, she could only suppress her frustration.

"I'm relieved that the old lady can think so positively."

Listening to their back-and-forth conversation from inside, Wang Xifeng would be lying if she said she didn't admire them.

They seemed to be talking about everyday things calmly, but almost every word they said was like a knife!
“In a few days it will be August, the autumn air will be crisp and clear. How about our two families make an appointment to go to Wan’an Temple together to pray for peace?”

Princess Nan'an smiled and changed the subject.

If something is impossible, then don't do it.

Nowadays, there are many people who wish the Jia family even worse off than they do.

However, if it were last year, the Jia family would definitely have gone if she had made the invitation.

This year……

Especially since they had just stabbed each other in the back, the Princess of Nan'an believed that Old Madam Jia would not be willing to accept it.

really!

"No, I'm getting old, and my legs are getting worse. The other day, the imperial physician told me to move around less."

Grandmother Jia is lying through her teeth.

She knew that the Princess of Nan'an was just saying it casually, and if the Jia family took it seriously, it would be a joke.

Why should the Jia family, who are going to Wan'an Temple, have to submit to others and go with the people from the Nan'an Prince's Mansion?

Choose a good day, let them know beforehand, and the whole family can go.

Anyway, Grandmother Jia is old and no longer wants to flatter others.

Moreover, after the upheaval during the period following the deaths of her elder brother-in-law and the Duke, Grandmother Jia realized that often, it's not enough to flatter someone with all your might.

To strike iron, you have to be tough yourself.

If you're no longer successful, even someone who was once in the same circle can easily kick you away.

The old lady refused as she intended, unaware of the many hidden complexities involved.

Little did she know that the Princess Dowager of Nan'an was waiting for her to refuse, to prevent her family from being implicated and suspected when certain people made their move.

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