The head of the Red Mansion

Is the young master going to be engaged?

Granny Tang had been looking forward to this day, but... she was just an adopted daughter of a minor official of the fifth rank...

Like Grandmother Jia, she wanted to object.

"Mommy!"

Rong-ge'er could tell what she wanted to say just by looking at her. "My mother was of high status back then, wasn't she? But what happened to her?"

His grandmother survived the misfortunes that befell her maternal family, but his mother did not.

He was left behind, looking pitiful.

His grandparents were not at home, and he lived with his father and stepmother...

If he were only relying on them for a living, that would be one thing, but in reality, he also had to curry favor with the Lai family.

In the vast Ningguo Mansion, only his nanny and the brothers Tang Gui and Tang Fu were truly willing to protect him.

But Rong-ge'er once felt that he couldn't protect them.

Because the Lai family might not want their own people around him.

Because all the elderly people my mother used to work with have passed away.

Some made mistakes, while others sought grace.

In just a few years, he was left with only his nanny, Tang Fu, and Tang Gui.

That's why he would cry so much when his grandmother and father wanted to beat Tang Fu and Tang Gui at school.

"Our family looks better than before, but who knows what will happen in the end?"

He didn't want to be like his grandfather, nor like his father.

"The fact that the girl was able to remain calm in that situation and do her best to save the people around her is something I think is very commendable."

Rong-ge'er said, "Moreover, she saved Grandmother twice. Granny, just for that reason alone, I won't lose out by marrying her. As long as she doesn't betray me, I will never betray her in this life."

Grandfather betrayed Grandmother, leaving her to face the gossip and rumors of the world alone.

If my grandmother hadn't been so tough, she would have been driven to her death by those knife-like rumors long ago.

Rong-ge'er wants to marry someone like his grandmother, someone with a strong personality.

Moreover, according to his observation, since his stepmother gradually became more assertive, even his father's temperament has improved.

In the past...

My stepmother used to do whatever my father said.

But the more she did this, the less her father looked down on her.

Rong-ge'er had a feeling that things might be better if the women in the family were more assertive.

Even the second great-uncle of the West Mansion.

He was implicated by his great-aunt, but it wasn't entirely her fault.

It's mainly him.

They get easily swayed by a few words of flattery and lose all sense of direction.

Outsiders call him an idiot, and at home... even the Wang family looks down on him.

If he were even slightly more capable, would the Wang family have dared to steal from the Jia family like that?

Rong-ge observed every couple in the family and gradually discovered things he had never noticed before.

Although the stepmother can now keep some control over the father, the two are not a married couple, so the father is obviously still somewhat wary.

Rong-ge hopes that he can grow old with his future wife, so that his children won't have to call someone else 'mother' halfway through life, and he won't have to worry about his future wife mistreating his children.

Although it is said that filial piety comes from the rod and spoil the child, he did not beat his son like his grandfather and father did.

Rong-ge'er's childhood trauma was the feet of his grandfather and father. If you weren't lucky, you might have been kicked to death.

"Granny, can we not judge her based on her background?"

"……it is good!"

Granny Tang straightened Rong-ge'er's clothes.

She had seen how hard her son had worked over the past six months.

She always knew that the young master was well-informed about everything he did.

The old man is just unreliable.

"I'll do whatever you say, Granny."

My wife wouldn't harm my son.

The key point is that the girl saved the lady's life, so even if the grandmother doesn't want to cause trouble in the future.

Think about it this way...

Granny Tang felt relieved.

Over the years, she had always been worried that her eldest daughter-in-law might have some bad intentions towards her son.

"Has your wife said when you're going to propose?"

That child is blessed.

Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to meet their wives.

"...They said that once my eldest aunt got married, my grandmother would feel better, so they would go and ask for a matchmaker."

Rong-ge'er was slightly shy.

Before you know it, he's grown up.

As he recalled Qin Keqing's appearance, the retired emperor, after hearing the report from his secret guards about his granddaughter's condition, finally couldn't sleep.

Even eating a snack is a struggle for the child!
The thought of his granddaughter picking up a broken bamboo pole to protect others... made the old man's heart burn like oil.

His crown prince was once like that too.

During those years, he was often ill, and the Crown Prince would stay by his side night after night.

A child in his teens, holding endless memorials, simply sat by his bedside.

He handled everything he could for him.

How gratified he was at that time!
He was not worried that if he died, the Great Zhao Dynasty would have no successor.

But when did they, father and son, end up in such a situation?

"Somebody come!"

"The Great Emperor!"

The gray-clad eunuch, who only accompanied them at night, hurriedly stepped forward.

“Award four imperial estates to the emperor.”

what?
The gray-robed eunuch was slightly surprised, but quickly replied, "Yes!"

"Go, give him the estate now."

It was late, but he couldn't sleep, the Emperor...

Thinking that the emperor had freeloaded his lunch and dinner today, the retired emperor's lips twitched. "After he goes to bed, wake him up and give him the food."

"……Yes!"

So, in the middle of the night, the emperor, who was snoring softly, was woken up.

He inexplicably received a reward from his father.

Imperial estates!
Four more.

Why is he so poor?

It's just because the imperial estate given to him by his father was the smallest back then, and the money for building his mansion was still owed to him and not enough was given.
Now suddenly they've given us four...

Did they know he was so poor he had to pawn his pants?
The emperor looked at the land deed of the estate again and again, touching it repeatedly. Ignoring Consort Zhou, who was also trying to come closer, he picked her up and carried her to the Empress's palace.

In the middle of the night, even the Empress was awakened by him.

"It's so late, why aren't you resting? Why are you here again?"

The Empress was speechless.

The concubines, consorts, and noble ladies in this palace all have some kind of background.

When they were princesses, they could live their lives behind closed doors.

Being an emperor or empress... that's a different story.

The emperor must bestow his favors equally upon all his subjects; otherwise, not only will he be impeached by his court officials, but even the retired emperor will not tolerate it.

As an empress, one must be even less prone to jealousy.

Her family benefited from the honor and were granted the title of Duke Cheng'en, but they couldn't help the emperor in any way.

She could only do her best to fulfill her duties as empress.

Although it's sometimes quite upsetting, since everyone else is vying for this position, why can't her husband?
Her husband is the emperor, and the sons and daughters she bears will also be princes and princesses in the future.

As long as she doesn't get upset about those pointless things and takes good care of herself...

"I've struck it rich!" The emperor slapped the deeds to his four imperial estates on his hand, grinning with his big teeth. "You're going to live a good life from now on."

What?
The empress paused in her rubbing of her eyes and hurriedly moved closer.

In the Shou Kang Palace, the retired emperor heard that his son had been granted an imperial estate and immediately went to see his empress, and couldn't help but sigh.

Or perhaps his empress died too soon.

Otherwise, he and the Crown Prince wouldn't have ended up like that.

"Someone, allocate two more imperial estates to the Empress."

Since we're going to make them happy, let's make them as happy as possible!

……

In Pear Blossom Lane on Yashi Street, Qin Keqing, fast asleep, was unaware that because of her, some people were losing sleep and others were making a fortune.

Little did she know that, besides the few people in the palace who were thinking about her, even the Prince of Jin was also interested in her.

Having taken the medicine and sweated it out, Prince Jin was feeling much better, but whenever he thought about how that so-called niece had ruined his plans, he felt a bellyful of resentment with nowhere to vent it.

That person was once the crown prince, so he could only be the emperor's younger brother, who was inferior to him.

Why?
They are all the emperor's sons.

It's hateful that even though he's already dead, they still have to use his death to trick him.

The thought of how the Crown Prince had used such a tragic method to make his father, the Emperor, suspect them made Prince Jin so angry that he couldn't sleep.

If that person had been more obedient back then, the throne would have been rightfully his.

now……

The thought that he had been dead for so long, yet still had a daughter to annoy him, made Prince Jin simply throw off the covers to cool down his furious body.

He desperately wanted to kill someone.

If his father hadn't already been watching that child, he would definitely...

"Somebody come!"

"Your Majesty!"

Wu Rubao, who was on night duty, rushed in.

"Has the Shen family of Ningguo Mansion... fallen seriously ill?"

How many people die from minor injuries on the battlefield?

As a woman confined to the inner quarters, Shen was both shocked and frightened, and it was very likely that she would not be able to withstand it.

"...At that time, a royal physician went there."

Wu Rubao was sweating, but the prince's expectations were too high, this really wouldn't work!

"This afternoon, a royal physician came for a follow-up visit and said...it's all right."

Prince Jin: “…”

He stared at Wu Rubao with a sinister look. "So, the Jia family is still doing as usual?"

"Yes!"

Wu Rubao lowered his head.

He knew that the Ningguo Mansion had become a source of anxiety for their prince.

But what could he do? Large merchants like the Li and Lu families were not easy to find.

Many people who manage to build such large businesses have more than one powerful backer.

Their prince used to be quite good, but now he's having a run of bad luck...

Those big businesses also have their own connections and have already inquired about it.

Even if they take the initiative to make connections, it won't be that easy.

Wu Rubao was also quite heartbroken.

Even a seventh-rank official like Wu was always addressed as "Master Wu" wherever he went.
Many people gave gifts, but the prince took the lion's share, and the stewards also benefited from it and received gifts as well.

But what about now?
Now everyone avoids them.

"Good good!"

The Prince of Jin was furious. "I'll give you seven days to come up with a way to deal with the Ningguo Mansion. If you can't come up with one... then get out of here and go mine in the Western Hills."

A useless lackey is not worthy to stand before him.

……

At Ningguo Mansion, Shen Ning was unaware that Prince Jin hated her even more than before.

But her leg injury...

When the female doctor helped change the dressing, she peeked at it and realized that the bandage couldn't be loosened at all, otherwise it would bleed.

Obviously, wounds that haven't been stitched up will take time to heal.

"Is the wound quite deep?"

Shen Ning was a little afraid of blood, and her face turned very pale when she asked this question.

"Fortunately, no bones were broken."

The female doctor glanced at her and comforted her, "It's easy to tie it around your leg. As long as you don't exert any force, and you lie down more, the bleeding should stop in about ten days to two weeks."

Fortunately, it's cold today, and the medicine is good, so there's no need to worry about it getting infected and becoming infected, otherwise...

"It's been that long?"

Shen Ning sighed, "Isn't there a better way to treat this kind of injury?"

"...They do exist in the military. However, those always require stitches."

That's used when there's no other way.

If they don't sew it, they'll die.

Sewing it up might save his life.

However, neither she nor the imperial physician who came believed that this lady could endure the excruciating pain of being stitched up.

"Can you suture?"

Shen Ning, unaware of the other person's thoughts, was instead somewhat invigorated by their words, "Then I..."

"Stitches hurt a lot!"

The female doctor could only say, "You felt it when I applied the medicine; it was very painful."

Shen Ning: "..."

She patted her head. What are some of the anesthesia methods in traditional Chinese medicine?

Hua Tuo's anesthetic powder is no longer available.

However, skilled traditional Chinese medicine practitioners seem to know how to use acupuncture for anesthesia.

Sedatives also contain ingredients that induce drowsiness, but they cannot withstand the pain of surgery or injections.

"Sorry, I thought too much."

She sighed, "I'll be troubling you for the next while."

"You're too kind, it's what I should do."

The female doctor smiled.

I thought changing the dressing for this lady would be a very difficult task, but to my surprise, she was very polite. Even though the wound was bleeding, she didn't cry, make a fuss, or move. I changed the dressing very easily.

Before she arrived, she was afraid that the lady would move around while she was applying the medicine, and then become angry and try to punish her.

I've encountered people like that before.

Especially the ladies and grandmothers in the inner quarters, many of them would call out for ages just to get a little rub on someone's skin.

"Then let's not stand on ceremony."

Shen Ning smiled, "It just so happens that there's a happy occasion in the family, so I made a lot of wedding cakes. I'll take some back with me later so my family can have a taste."

"Thank you very much!"

The female doctor happily received a large red envelope and left carrying a lot of wedding cakes.

"Mother! Look who's here!"

Before Madam You finished speaking, Jia Yue's "ah ah ah" sounds reached her ears.

As soon as the child sees her, he wants to rush towards her.

Shen Ning's heart softened, and she quickly hugged her.

“When I took my younger sister out for a walk today, she kept turning toward your yard.”

Madam You said, "She even cried for a while in the middle, but we had no choice but to bring her back. As soon as we entered the courtyard, wouldn't you believe it? She immediately stopped crying."

"Is my Yue'er missing her mother?"

Shen Ning hugged and kissed her youngest daughter, "You mean, sister-in-law? I didn't cry, I just missed my mother."

"Kekeke~~~"

The little girl laughed happily when her mother kissed her.

Her mother always took her out to play.

It wasn't there yesterday, and it's not there today either.

Jia Yue was naturally anxious.

"Haha, it's my fault, sister-in-law. Our little Yue'er didn't cry."

Lady You smiled, "Mother, the Marquis of Xinping has just arrived again. Do you think we should meet him?"

"He came by yesterday, didn't he?"

"Yes!"

Madam You covered her mouth and laughed, "He came to see you, but you had already gone to bed. He just stood in the courtyard for a while, but he still asked someone to deliver something to my younger sister."

"Then I'll definitely be here to see your younger sister again today."

While holding her youngest daughter, Shen Ning said, "Go and invite Cheng Luo, and also ask someone to call your older sister over."

Cheng Luo was willing to get close to the Jia family, so of course she wouldn't turn her away.

"I'll have Zhen'er have dinner with me later."

"Yes!"

Madam You turned around and told the maids to call out, "Mother, if you find the room stuffy, we'll bring out the soft chairs and take you for a walk in the garden."

"...Okay!"

What can't she do in her own home?
Shen Ning nodded, "Back at the West Mansion, your second aunt didn't cause any trouble when she went into the Buddhist hall, did she?"

"I didn't hear that."

Madam You shook her head. "If Second Aunt were even a little smarter, if she cared more about Yuan Chun, she probably wouldn't have made a fuss."

On her daughter's big day, it's really inappropriate for her, as a mother, to be crying and making a fuss at home.

"It's good that there's no trouble."

Shen Ning played with her daughter's little hands, "You should also tell Zhu'er's wife that if anything happens, she doesn't have to hold back. Your second aunt is the type who takes an inch and then a mile; you have to keep her in check from the beginning."

"...Didn't the old lady ask Aunt Zhou to supervise him?"

Even the key to the Buddhist hall is in Aunt Zhou's hands.

Moreover, according to Madam You, Aunt Zhou's child was aborted by her second aunt.

Madam You vaguely sensed that the old lady had ulterior motives in having Aunt Zhou supervise her second aunt.

"Oh~"

Shen Ning thought for a moment, "I completely forgot."

She suddenly began to doubt the old lady's original intention in letting Aunt Zhou manage the keys to the Buddhist hall.

Although in Dream of the Red Chamber, Aunt Zhou is a very honest person who never stands out.

But Lady Wang in Dream of the Red Chamber was actually the mistress of the Rongguo Mansion.

In the end, even the old lady couldn't control her.

Although Wang Xifeng was capable, she was ultimately just a housekeeper who paid money to do the work.

Even so, she still had to put up with the abuse.

Clearly, Madam Wang had a very strong control over the Rongguo Mansion.

Under such a formidable Madam Wang, wouldn't Aunt Zhou have to be even more obedient if she wanted to survive?
But things are different now!
Although she also felt that Wang Shi would be better off dead, if Wang Shi really died, Jia Zhu would have to stop taking the exams for three years.

Yuan Chun cannot have children for the time being.

But Cheng Luo is already over twenty. If she can't have children, the Cheng family will definitely have something to say. Even the Emperor Emeritus might bestow another concubine upon her.

This is something the retired emperor wouldn't do.

The more generous the gifts from Consort Zhen, the more uneasy Shen Ning became.

I have a feeling that the assassination attempt at the lantern festival was somehow related to Consort Zhen.

Make another move...

Even if she endures her whole life and doesn't dare to take action again, it would still be very easy for her to offend the Jia family.

"When you see Zhu'er's wife later, tell her to keep an eye on things and not let Aunt Zhou go too far."

“…Hey!”

Ms. You paused for a moment, then smiled and agreed.

Before long, Cheng Luo and Yuan Chun arrived one after the other.

When they saw each other, a look of joy flashed in their eyes.

Shen Ning, not wanting to be a third wheel, chatted idly for a few moments before asking Yuan Chun to take Cheng Luo for a stroll in the garden.

Sure enough, the two left, looking quite embarrassed.

During this period, although Cheng Luo could not visit the Jia family very often, she still sent a letter today, a hairpin tomorrow, and a box of fruit and pastries the day after... the gifts kept coming.

Yuan Chun would occasionally return a handkerchief, a sachet, or write a short poem, and the two of them were happy every day.

Even Yingchun and Tanchun could see that the older sister was becoming more and more interested in her future brother-in-law.

Both of them were quite happy.

Although the letter wouldn't be shared and the hairpin could only look at it, they still got to enjoy the fruit and snacks.

Even if they don't lack those things, isn't this a token of their sister's and brother-in-law's affection?

"I wish my older cousin had gotten married a little later."

While eating the oranges that Cheng Luo brought in, Lin Chang'an said, "The longer she gets married, the more food we can eat outside."

"..."

"..."

Daiyu, who was solving the nine-linked rings with Tanchun, was suddenly stunned.

It seems...that's true.

"Ah~"

Lin Chang'an sighed like a little adult, "Brother-in-law Cheng really got a great deal. Our family raised our daughter with great difficulty, and he just married her off like that."

His older cousin is so wonderful, he can't bear to part with her.

But he just happens to have so many older cousins...

They are all going to get married. (End of Chapter)