The head of the Red Mansion

Chapter 242 Provocation
At the Rongguo Mansion, Jia Min and Jia Wen walked hand in hand.

Both of them fell silent; Jia Wen's situation had greatly impacted them.

"My second sister has always had a gentle nature."

Jia Wen was very sad.

I don't understand the meaning of her life.
On their side, children with the blood of the Golden Man are not recognized.

On the Jurchen side... it was pretty much the same, wasn't it?

Otherwise, how could they threaten her with her three children to force her to return to Beijing?
"It's no longer a question of whether to be soft or not."

Jia Min sighed deeply, "She has chosen a dead end for herself."

Now we just hope the royal family will make use of her.

But what happens after you've used it?
Wouldn't the Jurchens be wary of her child growing up to become a powerful ally of the Great Zhao?
"When they first invaded the Central Plains, the Jurchens and Tatars cooperated seamlessly, but what was the result? They were just driven back when the young emperor, who had the blood of both races, died of a cold."

Is there absolutely no foul play involved here?

Anyway, Jia Min didn't believe it.

"Fourth Sister, is there really no way to save her?"

Although Jia Wen also hated Jia Wen for living such a wretched life, as her younger sister, she still hoped that her sister could be better off.

"……have no idea!"

Jia Min was silent for a while before saying, "Let's see what my older brother and the others say when they get back!"

We can only take it one step at a time and see what the emperor says first.

In fact, the emperor was very pleased, as he had been worried about not finding a breakthrough.

Now they've delivered it to us themselves.

The emperor summoned several high-ranking officials from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue overnight, along with Jia She and two others, to discuss the matter.

The Jia family's cooperation was indispensable in this matter.

At the same time, Jia Wen, who was staying at the Huitong Hotel, stood by the window, watching the increasingly heavy snow outside. Something in her heart was floating and sinking, without any sense of peace.

The third sister resented that she hadn't died, and resented that she had given herself to her enemy.

Although her younger sister didn't say it aloud, she knew through their eye contact, as sisters who had grown up together.

But did she really not want to die back then?

Her fate seemed sealed the moment she married into Shenyang Wei, a region that had fought several times with the Jurchens.

The first time, she intended to kill Woh with a hairpin and then commit suicide, but he had already anticipated her move.

The assassination attempt failed, resulting in the execution of her nanny and maidservants, as well as twenty Han Chinese men she had taken her anger out on, all in front of her.

She wanted to go with them, but then another hundred Han Chinese were brought up. If she died, they wouldn't survive either.

The second time, she wanted to create an accident, to fall and die along with her unborn child...

Kowoh then told her that if she died by accident or from illness, the Han Chinese who served her in the courtyard, as well as the hundred people who had escaped last time, would be buried with her son.

The third and fourth attempts followed...

Her life was never truly her own, and her child's life... wasn't as important as Voch made it out to be.

But after all, she was his bloodline, and with another child, it meant another way to control her. So, when possible, he was willing to protect her a little, like protecting a puppy.

them……

Jia Wen closed her eyes.

"Your sisters don't recognize you?"

Voch appeared behind her without her noticing, his voice carrying a mocking tone, "You still want sisters like that?"

Jia Wen: "..."

"Speaking of which, your name is very similar to your third sister's."

Woch moved closer to her, his breath tickling her neck. "Is it that Jia Daishan can't come up with a good name, or... is it on purpose?"

"My third sister and I are only two months apart."

Jia Wen didn't want her third sister to be targeted, so she simply repeated what her father had said back then: "Back then, there was a fortune teller who said that if you call your sister's name, you will be able to turn misfortune into good fortune."

"Did she diminish your good fortune?"

Jia Wen: "..."

"And have you noticed that the men you three illegitimate daughters married are all of very low status, except for Jia Min..."

Woch smiled and said, "She is the apple of the eye of the Duke of Rong and Madam Shi."

"..."

Jia Wen lowered her eyes.

Of course she knew how different her fourth sister was from the others.

"She also lived in the Jia family. I heard that when she first came to the capital, Madam Shen of the Ningguo Mansion was worried about her safety and sent several groups of people, including her own son Jia Zhen."

Woh knew what hurtful words meant. "But look at you sisters. When they learned of your death, she and Jia Jingming clearly had time to travel to the north, but they chose to endure the strange looks from the people of the capital and live in seclusion in a Taoist temple. They didn't even think of going to see you off."

Jia Wen: "..."

Her hands slowly clenched into fists.

What she meant to say was to you.
Both of you are sons of the old prince. Now that the old prince is gone, why does your brother have troops and power, while you are just a figurehead prince?
She also wanted to say that when she gave birth to her second child that year, her hunger strike in protest against the news of her death being sent back was actually something you deliberately lured her into, right?
Some people say that the Prince has a new lover, and she is no longer important.

Then she thought it really didn't matter.

Even so, she didn't dare to go all out at once, and only gradually reduced her diet.

But it was still discovered.

All they could do was beg for news of his death to be sent back to the capital.

She thought that as long as she was nominally dead, the mansion could disown her even if she returned later.

Jia Wen was filled with sorrow.

When Woch agreed, she thought his heart had finally softened a little bit for her.

But looking at it now...

They clearly wanted to use her death to seduce the eldest brother and sister-in-law of the Dong family.

ho~
That's a huge underestimation of her older brother.

Why do people who live in Taoist temples not leave?

Because his older brother always knew that someone wanted to kill him.

If he stays in the capital, the retired emperor will be unhappy; if he stays too far away… his life will be in danger.

So he moved to Tai Xuan Temple.

Thinking of her deceased eldest brother, Jia Wen finally suppressed her jealousy towards her fourth sister, Jia Min.

The Lin family, with its single-lineage heirs, placed immense pressure on the younger sister to have children.
With two such young children, how could my brother-in-law bear to let them go to Beijing?
When they returned to the capital, why was the eldest sister-in-law of the East Mansion so uneasy, sending people to pick them up one after another?

And why didn't my sister take the children back to the Lin family's old house in Beijing during the Chinese New Year?

Jia Wen sighed softly to herself.

"Wenniang, don't be silly."

Woch put his hand on Jia Wen's shoulder. "When the weather clears up, I'll take you to the White Horse Temple to offer incense. I've heard there are many high-ranking officials and dignitaries there. Surely someone there will recognize you, right?"

"...I don't know, but I'll do whatever you say, sir."

Jia Wen tried her best to be docile.

She couldn't make the decisions; she could only react to whatever came her way.

Good or bad...

Let's just see what fate brings them together!

……

On the 19th, light snow was falling intermittently.

They definitely can't leave.

Shen Ning practices boxing in her small room, living a life that feels like home.

But this is really different from home.

At least at home, her daughter could laugh with her. Now, she doesn't know if her daughter cries because she misses her, her brother, and her nephew.

Shen Ning suspected that her youngest daughter had already cried several times.

Even when she was asleep, her tears hadn't dried.

Thinking about this, she lost all energy to box.

What's that sound coming from the backyard?

"Feeding the pigs."

Xiaodong had already gone to see it. "There was a very big pig. The village chief's wife said that their pig would be having piglets in a few days."

Shen Ning: "..."

Okay, she wants to see the pigs that are about to have piglets.

"Grab an umbrella and go take a look."

At this moment, she didn't want to write or box, so she could only find something else to do.

"Eh~"

Xiaodong quickly opened the umbrella.

The master and servant went to the backyard, but at that moment, several more barks came from the dogs.

It turns out that the village chief was afraid their precious pig would be stolen, so he specially tied up a big yellow pig to watch over it.

Big Yellow barks whenever it sees a stranger.

"Yuanbao, stop calling, it's an important person." The village chief's wife seemed very straightforward. "I'm sorry to bother you, I'll be right there."

People can move, but pigs are really hard to move.

"nothing!"

Shen Ning smiled kindly. She saw the pig slurping its food, but at this moment, she focused more of her attention on the big yellow dog named Yuanbao.

The puppy's bowl was clean from rolling in the snow, and it was shiny black. The shape of it looked a bit like her usual brush washer.
“Your son Yuanbao looks very capable.”

"Haha, yes."

The woman was very happy, "In this area of ​​more than ten miles, my Yuanbao is the best dog ever."

"Its dog bowl is quite unique too."

Black porcelain varieties appeared in large quantities during the Song Dynasty. At that time, the Song Dynasty tea culture revered black, and the Ding kiln in Hebei and the Jian kiln in Fujian produced a large number of them.

However, after the Yuan and Ming dynasties, fewer and fewer black porcelain pieces were passed down.

This dog bowl...

"This!"

The woman was taken aback. "My child picked it up from the river."

"Can I take a look at it?"

Rong-ge'er, who had come looking for her, was also drawn in and couldn't help but take a closer look.

"Huh? Yes...yes!"

The young master is dignified and handsome.

Although the woman was surprised, she obediently picked up the dog bowl, wiped it, and handed it over.

"Grandmother, look!"

Rong-ge'er showed it to Shen Ning first, saying, "It's a brush washer."

The brush washer is smooth yet has rabbit fur patterns, which is a distinct characteristic of Jian ware.

Shen Ning gently tapped her finger, and the 'ding' sound was slightly deep, feeling that the timbre was just right.

Among the dowry she inherited from her mother-in-law was a set of black porcelain teaware from the Jian kiln of the Song Dynasty.

“It’s a good thing!”

It would be such a waste to bury it as a dog bowl.

Even if it's fine now, there's no guarantee that one day a child or dog won't accidentally break a hole in it.

What if I get hit...

"Auntie, this is a treasure, it can't be used as a dog bowl."

Rong Ge smiled and looked at the woman, "Look, are you willing to part with it? If so... I'm willing to offer one hundred taels of silver."

What?
The woman was stunned, "Madam..."

A young man with no beard is unreliable!
Although she enjoyed watching Rong-ge'er, it was clear that this elegant lady was the one in charge.

"It's really good stuff."

Shen Ning smiled, "It's a pity there's only one Jian kiln black porcelain from the Song Dynasty. If there were others..."

"Yes, yes, yes."

Before she could finish speaking, the woman said urgently, "My child also picked up six bowls."

Because of its ugly color, she put it at the very bottom of the cupboard.

The children wouldn't even use a patched, rough porcelain bowl.

She had originally planned that when she got old and the children separated from the family, she and her husband would use that bowl.

"is it?"

Shen Ning was delighted. "Let me take a look."

Then she and Rong-ge'er watched as the woman took out six large black porcelain bowls covered with a thick layer of ash from the far corner of the cupboard.

Fortunately, there was snow outside.

The woman took it to the yard and quickly cleaned it with snow.

"Madam, do you think this is valuable?"

She was very uneasy.

"value……!"

Shen Ning picked one up, held it up to the light, and gently shook it, revealing red, green, and blue colors.

This is clearly a Yohen.

"It's a pity this one is damaged."

Rong-ge picked up a large, broken black porcelain bowl, feeling very distressed.

"This……"

The woman felt sorry for him.

Unfortunately, it was her husband who did it.

"Madam, how much would this cost?"

How much silver is it all?
Shen Ning really didn't know about this.

She couldn't help but look at Rong-ge'er.

"Together... five hundred taels!"

Rong-ge said regretfully, "It wasn't a complete set to begin with, and now one of them is broken. If you'd like..."

"Yes, yes, I'm willing."

Five hundred taels of silver, why are you unwilling?
If people don't tell her where the dog bowl is, she can just shove it anywhere and not even know it's there!

"That works!"

Rong-ge looked at Shen Ning and said, "I will buy it as a gift for you."

"Okay, then go ahead and buy it!"

Since it's a gift out of filial piety, of course we should accept it.

Shen Ning smiled as she watched him take out his money.

Just then, hurried footsteps came from outside. Jia Zhen shouted, "Mother!" He called out as he came in, "Something has happened in the capital."

what?
Shen Ning turned around and saw Lin Zhixiao, covered in snow and shivering from the cold, being helped in.

"what happened?"

"Mother, this is a letter!"

Jia Zhen handed over the letter that Lin Zhixiao had given him.

He was just wandering around the village when he unexpectedly ran into Lin Zhixiao.

I never expected that my second aunt, who had passed away long ago, was still alive.

Shen Ning took it and read it quickly, but still not satisfied, she went back and looked at it again.

Jia She's handwriting was messy, but he got his point across.

Jia Wen...

Shen Ning handed the letter to Jia Rong, who was eagerly waiting, "Take a look too!"

She couldn't feel any lighter anymore.

These are all people who have never appeared in Dream of the Red Chamber.

Unexpectedly, they've all come out now.

Shen Ning originally thought that her biggest threat would be the monks and Taoists in the Red Mansion.

"It's cold outside, let's all come inside and talk!"

Now that Jia Wen has come to the capital with the Jurchen peace delegation, it would be impossible for the Jia family to disown her.

"Butler Lin, are you still alright?"

"……able!"

Even if you can't, you have to be able to.

If he doesn't go back...

Lin Zhixiao knew all too well what the consequences would be for him, the steward, if the Jia family fell.

“Our master said that if you have any words for me, Madam, write to me and I will go back immediately. He will do whatever you ask.”

The smartest person in the entire Jia family is the eldest wife of the East Mansion.

"Forget it, you're not good enough!"

Shen Ning waved her hand, dismissing the other servants, and said, "Zhen'er, what do you think we should do about this?"

Jia Zhen: "..."

He doesn't know!
he……

He looked at his mother, then at his son, and finally said, "Report this to the Emperor."

"Grandmother, reporting this to the Emperor is the best course of action."

Rong-ge'er chimed in from the side, "In short, our family absolutely cannot be threatened by those Jurchens."

"Go write!"

Shen Ning instructed Jia Zhen, "Just as you said, write a letter back immediately and ask your Uncle She to go to the palace to ask the Emperor for advice."

(End of this chapter)