The head of the Red Mansion

Stealing or swapping corpses?
Wang Xifeng has lived to such an old age, it's unheard of.

In the past, she would have definitely let her personal attendant Wang'er handle it, or directly let the head steward Lin Zhixiao investigate.

If you can afford to offend the people involved, then appease them, negotiate some terms, and get some benefits. If you can't afford to offend them, then do them a favor and let it go for now.

This is the Wang family's usual way of handling things.

But now...

Wang Xifeng was afraid of bringing trouble to the Jia family and Jia Lian, so without the slightest hesitation, she sent Wang'er with Xiren to the Shuntian Prefecture to report the case.

Regardless of who is involved behind the scenes, with Lord Dong's involvement and their family providing support to Xiren and her daughter, it can't be wrong.

In fact, when Dong Xiaoquan received this strange case, he already had some guesses in his mind.

Chief Constable Lu, accompanied by the coroner, went to the Hua family's cemetery in Daliu Village that very night.

The scene was chaotic.

The ground is very hard in winter, but the soil in the cemetery...

"grown ups!"

Chief Constable Lu rushed back before Dong Xiaoquan went to court, saying, "The Hua family's grave in Daliu Village must have been dug up twice."

twice?

Dong Xiaoquan frowned. "How could it be twice? Is there any evidence?"

If it were just a case of stealing a corpse from the Prince of Jin's residence, digging it up once would have been enough. Why would it have been dug up twice? What other secrets are hidden here?
“In winter, the soil is frozen, and the softness is different when it is dug up once and twice. The skin rubbed off from the previous corpse in the coffin shows that it does not match the current one. He had also been dead for several days, but Hua Zifang… died and was buried on the same day. The villagers at the scene all said that his mother wrapped him in two quilts and protected him very well, so it was impossible for him to have any injuries.”

Chief Constable Lu said, "The body has been brought back by my subordinates and has been identified. It is definitely not one of Mr. Liu's two followers."

How could this be?
If they're not from the Prince of Jin's residence, then...

Dong Xiaoquan's mind was racing as he listened to Chief Constable Lu's analysis.

Chief Constable Lu Yue continued, "According to the coroner's examination, the deceased was around forty years old, missing a finger on his right hand, and both legs were broken by someone. The time of death was within the last few days. Examining the calluses on his hands, I suspect he was a gambler."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "As for why he appeared in Hua Zifang's grave... I suspect it's related to the Prince of Jin's mansion. They must have made a mistake somewhere, or maybe some clever person thought that burying the guard killed by the Prince of Jin directly might be discovered by us, so they moved the corpse elsewhere."

This?
Not impossible.

Dong Xiaoquan nodded. "Go on."

"...Although Hua Zifang caught a cold, she gradually recovered after drinking the herbal medicine for a few days. This can be confirmed not only by the doctor, but also by some villagers in Daliu Village."

Chief Constable Lu looked somewhat saddened. "He froze to death in the night. It should be related to our request for a body from the Prince of Jin's residence for examination. It was a dereliction of duty on the part of our subordinates."

"..."

Dong Xiaoquan sighed inwardly, "Investigate! Investigate thoroughly."

Although the villagers did not catch the grave diggers, the wind left its mark and the wild geese left their trails.

At this moment, in the Prince of Jin's mansion, the steward, who had been worried for a long time, was about to go crazy when he heard that the Shuntian Prefecture had brought the corpse to the yamen in the middle of the night.

The Prince's mansion discovered a mole connected to Prince Cheng. He was worried that there might be others who had slipped through the net, and that Prince Cheng might plot against the Shuntian Prefecture and find something else. That's why he had no choice but to have two more corpses placed in the coffins. Who would have thought that, to prevent the frozen soil from being difficult to dig, and taking advantage of the snow, these bastards actually went to dig up the graves in broad daylight.

it's good now.

"If the prince finds out, you're all doomed!"

He couldn't protect them.

Not only could he not save them, but he himself...

"Grandpa Fang, Second Master Chen and the others were lazy and took Fang Wu's body away first, so my brother and I weren't caught by those people. Shuntian Prefecture probably doesn't expect it to be related to this, right?"

"...Heh~"

The steward was amused by their antics, "Don't use your pig brains to think about Lord Dong or Officer Lu."

Although he wished they were a little less intelligent, how could they be considered less intelligent after getting to where they are today?
“The body of that Hua family boy can’t be used. Find someone and say that Hua Zifang is young, and arrange a ghost marriage for him.”

what?
It seems like a good idea.

The group's eyes lit up, and they were about to offer a few words of flattery when the butler became impatient. "What are you all standing there for? Get to it now."

When it gets light, that man surnamed Lu will probably come again.

"Find another corpse similar to the Hua family boy, and mess it up again this time..."

"Don't dare!"

Several people ran away in a panic.

……

Wang Xifeng remained uneasy in the Rongguo Mansion.

As for the affairs of the Xi family, the old lady was getting on in years and was averse to others discussing life and death. Her father-in-law and mother-in-law were unwilling to listen to the affairs of the second wife's family, so she...

After much thought, she decided to use Baoyu's meal at the East Mansion as an excuse to pay her respects and express her gratitude.

"...We're family, why are you thanking me?"

Shen Ning smiled, "Baoyu is so well-behaved. When he's with me at meals, the food tastes even better."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Wang Xifeng laughed. "I know that's your nephew, and you dote on him, but aren't I also his sister-in-law? Since you've come all this way, how can I not even say thank you? What kind of person would I be?"

My aunt is incredibly kind to her family.

Wang Xifeng also trusted Shen Ning very much. "Aunt, you don't know, a strange thing happened on our side yesterday."

"Oh?"

Shen Ning understood; Feng Yatou had mainly come to tell strange tales.

She raised an eyebrow. "Is it because your second uncle and aunt are causing trouble again? Tell me about it."

"My second aunt is in the small Buddhist hall, she can't even leave the door, so she can't cause any trouble."

Wang Xifeng said, "Although Second Uncle causes trouble occasionally, it's not surprising anymore."

My second uncle and aunt, who used to be exceptionally close, have completely changed.

Wang Xifeng no longer cared much.

She used to worry that her aunt, who had managed the household for so many years, would make things difficult for her, but now that her aunt was in the small Buddhist hall, everyone below her was exceptionally well-behaved, and everything she did went smoothly.

“My niece-in-law is young, and she couldn’t understand it for a long time after hearing about it,” Wang Xifeng said, looking for advice. “I’ll tell you, and you can see what really happened.”

"Well, tell me!"

Shen Ning's curiosity was piqued.

"This matter is actually related to Baoyu."

Baoyu?

Shen Ning became serious.

At this point, it should still be several years before that monk and Taoist priest make their appearance, right?

"The maidservant named Xiren who was by her side received a letter from home the other day saying that her brother had died."

Wang Xifeng said, "I allowed her to go home yesterday after she asked for leave the night before last. Who knew that she would come back in such a sorry state? Her brother's grave had been dug up and a corpse older than her father had been buried in it."

Shen Ning: "..."

She tried hard to think of Xiren from Dream of the Red Chamber.

It seems like her brother has always been doing well!

Thanks to Xiren, the Hua family lived a fairly comfortable life.

how come?
"And then what happened? Were the people who dug up the grave caught?"

"Alas, you don't know, when Xiren went to visit the grave, she saw someone disturbing her brother's grave. She immediately went back to call for help, but because those people made a lot of noise, the grave diggers all ran away, and they couldn't catch them."

"..."

Shen Ning frowned. "What about her brother's body? Has it been reported to the authorities?"

"The body cannot be found."

Wang Xifeng said, "She came back late yesterday because she was looking for her brother's body. You don't know, as soon as she saw me, she cried and begged me to help her. I was thinking about how to handle this, so I had Wang'er take her to the Shuntian Prefecture to report to the authorities."

"...Good news for the authorities."

Shen Ning found herself growing to like Wang Xifeng more and more.

Wang Xifeng in Dream of the Red Chamber was too ignorant and too audacious.

However, by reading more of the Great Proclamation and listening to more of the Great Law of Zhao, one develops a sense of awe, and the situation becomes completely different.

"What did the Shuntian Prefecture say?" "It is said that the government went to investigate overnight, but the specifics are not yet known."

Wang Xifeng said, "Aunt, tell me, how can there still be people stealing corpses in this world?"

Shen Ning: "..."

She didn't know either!

But she barely spoke a few words to Xiren, so how did Xiren's fate change so much?
No wonder she looked like she had been crying when she came over the other day.

"do not know."

Shen Ning shook her head, "Why did Xiren's brother die?"

"It's said to be a cold."

Wang Xifeng sighed, "He had been drinking medicine for a few days and was almost fully recovered, but overnight, when his mother went to call him again, he had fallen to the ground and his body was half cold."

"...How could it be such a coincidence?"

Shen Ning couldn't help but suspect murder.

"You also think it's too much of a coincidence, right?"

Wang Xifeng also felt that something was amiss.

But who would murder a poor boy?

"When Xiren came back, she was crying uncontrollably. Her mother is also in a pitiful state now; it is said that she has cried herself to death several times."

Shen Ning: "..."

Wang Xifeng sighed again, "So I had no choice but to grant her another day off and have Wang'er take her back to settle her mother."

"You did the right thing."

Shen Ning nodded, "Keep an eye on this matter, and help out if you can."

"Uh-huh!"

Wang Xifeng was overjoyed to receive her aunt's approval.

He returned from the East Mansion with a big smile on his face.

I had just returned home when I received another letter from the Xue family.

"Grandma, this was sent by the manager of Xuejia Hengshu Pawnshop. He said that his wife, husband, and daughter have already set off for the capital."

Ping'er was also at a loss. "It seems that Second Aunt wants to send Master Xue to the clan school."

Nowadays, many people want to attend the Jia family's affiliated school.

This is a task that is both easy and difficult to accomplish.

With a simple gesture, Second Madam could get Uncle Xue into the Jia family academy with just a word from her.

But Mrs. Xue's surname is Wang!
Moreover, the second master had specifically sent someone over a few days ago to instruct that their second branch of the family would not associate with any of the Wang family's relatives.

That would have been a de facto order for their grandmother to also forbid her from having any contact with any of the Wang family's relatives.

"Is it possible for them to simply give away a clan school whenever they want?"

Wang Xifeng sighed, "No one else knows how difficult it is for me to be the head of the household, but my aunt should know."

Since that day, her uncle has never had anyone contact her again.

Clearly, her uncle knew about her suffering.

"Let me help you..."

Wang Xifeng shoved the letter back to Ping'er, saying, "This is clearly an attempt to make things difficult for me." If relatives behave like this, they're no longer relatives. "Alright, take it!"

Ping'er quickly handed it to the little maid, gesturing for her to take it to her room.

"By the way, did the manager of Hengshudian send a message to Second Aunt?"

Ping'er shook her head, "Not this time."

They were just there to make things difficult for her.

That second aunt wasn't close to her parents, and the gifts they sent to her during holidays were always mediocre.

After marrying into the Jia family, her second aunt always wrote to her second aunt, only mentioning her briefly. This shows that she was only concerned with appearances in the Xue family.

Wang Xifeng let out a long sigh. "I'll talk to Second Master about this later and see what he says!"

A woman follows her husband wherever he goes; if she can't rely on her own family, she'll definitely listen to her husband's family in everything.

If you're so capable, make your second uncle extinguish his raging anger.

"Second Master... will definitely have to consider your feelings."

Ping'er felt that after their second master became an official, he became more mature and more loving towards his wife.

The girls didn't marry the wrong person.

"...You talk too much."

Wang Xifeng's ear tips were slightly red.

But I was happy.

When they first got married, the second master had nothing to do and even wanted to take over the management of the household from her.

But now that he works in the government office, he obeys her in everything.

After her in-laws moved into Rongxi Hall, they didn't cause her any trouble.

The day before yesterday, while looking at the account books, Wang Xifeng discovered that her sister-in-law Yuan Chun was no longer in the palace; she had married out, which actually saved the family a lot of money.

Otherwise, she would be busy moving money for her right now.

And my father-in-law no longer buys antiques or maids indiscriminately. He just drinks a little wine every day, listens to a storybook, and plays with his birds...

Wang Xifeng had done the math and found that she had saved more than three thousand taels of silver compared to previous years.

The family has split up, and my second uncle's side has also saved money. Now that there are no more guests, they save several thousand yuan a year.

Even without these three major expenses, the family can still save a considerable amount of money each year.

Although the eldest son's wife also supports several of the younger sisters and brothers of the second son's wife, how much money does it cost to support them?

When they grow up, she won't have to worry about their wedding expenses; she'll save up money year after year...

Wang Xifeng and Lian Er became increasingly happy as they calculated the household accounts.

"Okay, okay, I talk too much."

Ping'er smiled and poured her a cup of tea. "Then let me add one more thing. If you ask me, if Second Aunt really wants to let Master Xue go to the clan school, she should write a letter to the old lady."

Writing to their grandmother was really difficult.

"Yes!"

Wang Xifeng sighed, "If the old lady says something, Second Uncle will definitely not say anything more."

"That……"

Ping'er looked at her and asked, "Do you think we should tell Second Aunt?"

Wang Xifeng: "..."

It always needs to be said.

Even if her second aunt didn't say anything, she would still have to tell the old lady.

Otherwise, others would say she is heartless and selfish.

After all, my second aunt's husband had passed away long ago, and my second aunt had traveled a long distance to seek refuge with him...

"Okay, I'll go tell the old lady in a bit."

She was just about to serve the meal.

Wang Xifeng took a sip of hot tea. "Let's go, we'll go there now."

You should have said so sooner.

When Wang Xifeng rushed to Grandmother Jia's courtyard, in Pear Fragrance Courtyard, Wang Shi was striking a wooden fish and, unusually, began to think of her Baoyu.

Baoyu hasn't come for three days.

She couldn't quite adapt all at once.

Besides, if Baoyu doesn't come, he'll gradually drift away from her! (End of Chapter)