The head of the Red Mansion

Chapter 286 Rat Poison

At the Rongguo Mansion, Jia Zhu has finally returned.

Although his hair hadn't returned to its yesterday state, his spirits had clearly recovered. This was a huge surprise to Li Wan.

"make you worry."

Jia Zhu felt very sorry for his wife.

His scientific expedition this year will probably be delayed.

As a husband, instead of bringing glory to his wife, he should make her stay by his side and support the second wife...

"Grandpa, don't think too much. As long as you're okay, we're all okay."

Her in-laws had a terrible reputation, but they had been kicked out of the house, so she no longer had to face them or suffer their harassment every day.

On the contrary, because they left, the great-grandmother, eldest uncle, and eldest aunt in the mansion were all very kind to them.

The housekeeper's sister-in-law is a very generous person.

The younger brother-in-law and sister-in-law are both well-behaved and sensible.

Li Wan actually felt much more comfortable now than when she first married into the Jia family.

"If you fall down..."

Tears streamed down Li Wan's face. "I'm truly sorry to myself, to the old lady, my uncle, and my aunt for all the kindness they've shown us. Even my aunt from the East Mansion and Brother Zhen will never have a good life."

And then there's Baoyu, Tanchun, and Huan'er. They're still young, and with their parents like that, if something happens to you, who will they rely on?"

She paused for a moment, then continued, "You've done everything you were supposed to do for your parents. From now on... for the sake of all of us, please treat them well!"

"Good~"

Jia Zhu held his wife's hand and made his promise, "From now on, I will only take care of you."

This time, he had already deeply wronged his aunt from the East Mansion.

His aunt took pity on him, so after his grandmother made the decision, she took him along to rescue people.

From now on, this life... will no longer belong to my parents.

"Uncle~"

Li Wan's tears streamed down her face.

Upon hearing that their elder brother had returned, Baoyu, Tanchun, and even Jia Huan were all brought over by Aunt Zhao.

When Jia Zhu collapsed, the most terrified people, besides Li Wan, were Aunt Zhou and Aunt Zhao.

One of them had no children and relied on Jia Zhu for old age, while the other had children, but the children were still young. Although the master was not at home, Jia Zhu had the demeanor of an elder brother. It could be said that during this period, all of them had been living more comfortably than when the master and mistress were at home.

"Brother~"

When Baoyu was released from school, he heard that his parents had done something foolish again, causing his grandmother distress, his aunt from the East Mansion was about to fight someone, and his brother was seriously ill...

Baoyu had been crying uncontrollably for a long time, and now, seeing his brother's almost completely white hair, he couldn't help but burst into tears.

If he is like this, how could Tan Chun and Jia Huan be exempt from it?

In an instant, the cries of children in Pear Fragrance Courtyard were deafening.

Aunt Xue and her family of three lived nearby and all rushed over.

Madam Shen's handling of Huang Yao greatly shocked Aunt Xue and Baochai.

Neither of them expected that a woman could face such shameful rumors head-on.

Li Wan was pregnant, and the two men first advised her to think about the child in her womb and helped her to rest in the next room. However, when they returned, Xue Pan was also wiping away tears inside.

When Madam Xing, Jia Min, Jia Wen, and Wang Xifeng arrived, they were all deeply saddened by their appearance.

That evening, news was flying everywhere, and they all, like Jia Min, went to the East Mansion.

A group of people never expected that the Wang family could fabricate such erotic rumors.

And several days have passed, and Jia Zheng hasn't informed his family at all.

If it weren't for my sister-in-law's (aunt's) good handling of the situation, they would all be ashamed to go out in the future.

Madam Xing, who originally harbored a lot of resentment towards the second wife, could only let all her anger dissipate when she saw Jia Zhu's appearance again.

However, when Grandmother Jia and Jia She, who had just returned, heard from the servants about the results of Shen Ning and Jia Zhen's two separate operations, they were stunned for a long time.

"Grandma, you can rest assured now."

Anyway, Yuanyang is quite at ease now.

As long as things are handled well and the old lady doesn't worry, everything else is fine. "I'll at least have a sip of this freshly stewed bird's nest."

The old lady hasn't eaten much all day.

"What will happen to Grandpa if you get sick again?"

Although the master is alright, the children of the second branch are completely different in Rongguo Mansion with and without the old lady.

"Ah~"

Grandmother Jia sighed deeply, then took a few sips of wine from Yuanyang's hand. "This family is fortunate to have Shen Shi holding it together."

If it were anyone else, they would be so ashamed that they wouldn't be able to defend themselves.

If it were someone of lower status, they might have been drowned without a second thought.

"So you're a lucky old lady!"

Yuanyang comforted her, "The First Madam of the East Mansion is very respectful to you. She knows you're worried about the Master's health, and she was worried too, so she went to save him right away."

The main problem is that the second master and second mistress are not human.

But once you encounter it, there's nothing anyone can do.

The old lady finally made up her mind, but the old man stopped her again.

after……

Seeing how obedient the second wife was today, Yuanyang felt that things weren't so simple.

She and the second master drank the same medicine, but the medicine in the second master's bowl was slightly different from the medicine in her bowl. Couldn't the second mistress tell?

Men might be too careless to notice, but women are different.

Especially the second wife...

Yuanyang didn't want to say these things to the old lady anymore.

Because it's no use saying it.

Given their current situation, a divorce is impossible.

Let's just make do with it!

If they were to separate, neither of them would be better off than they are now.

"...Yes!" Grandmother Jia sighed. "Shen Shi takes care of her family and gives in as much as she can. Why can't Wang Shi just be more peaceful?"

She must have done something terrible in her past life to end up with such a daughter-in-law. Her second son is also pitiful, as are Zhu'er and Yuanchun. This whole family is now tied up by Wang Shi.

I'm so unwilling to accept this.

The old lady frowned. "Oh, right, have Granny Lai come over again tomorrow."

There's no way to negotiate with other people.

But Granny Lai, she always used her skills very smoothly.

Although the Lai family caused some estrangement between them, putting aside their decades-long bond of friendship through thick and thin, Granny Lai would still try her best to help her solve her problems, even just for the sake of the Lai family's children.

"Yes!"

The mandarin ducks responded.

He personally helped the old lady wash up, watched her fall asleep, and then carefully withdrew.

That night, not only did the masters and servants of the Ning and Rong mansions not sleep well, but many people in the capital city also did not sleep well.

After enduring a long night, I heard early in the morning that Censor Xiang was going to remonstrate with the emperor in court and punish the so-called Qing delegation from the Huitongguan.

The Qing Dynasty was indeed on the verge of being wiped out by the Russians.

The Eight Banners soldiers, who once plundered the Central Plains and killed countless people, are no longer as brave as they once were.

As Madam Shen of Ningguo Mansion said, do they even deserve to be called kings?

While everyone anxiously awaited news from the court, Shen Ning was looking at the rewards that the Empress had sent by a eunuch.

Unlike before, this time, the emperor directly used the empress to bestow upon her a royal estate.

Zhuangzi lived in Jinan Prefecture, a place with mountains, rivers, fields, and courtyards.

Compared to gold and silver, Shen Ning definitely preferred this kind of estate.

Perfect timing, when the ice melts and the south wind returns, I can visit the village.

“Mother, this estate also grows Mingshui fragrant rice.”

Jia Zhen smiled and said, "This alone brings in several thousand taels of silver a year."

Their family mainly eats the tribute rice.

However, Mingshui fragrant rice is also very famous, and their family can receive one or two hundred catties from the palace every year.

Jia Zhen was very fond of this rice, always feeling that it was even more refreshing than Bigeng rice.

Its delicate fragrance is so captivating that it always makes him eat an extra bowl of rice.

Therefore, Mingshui fragrant rice has always been part of Ningguo Mansion's procurement.

"nice! You love it."

Shen Ning handed a simplified map of the imperial estate to Jia Zhen, saying, "I'll be returning south in a few days, so I'll send a steward to take over everything."

"Hey~"

Jia Zhen responded loudly, "However..." He hesitated for a moment, "Mother, can I still go to Prince Zhongshun today to ask about the matters that were not resolved at the meeting place yesterday?" He wanted to put pressure on them again so that Suo Jin and his people would never dare to provoke the Jia family again.

"Wait!"

Shen Ning picked up the jade gourd and examined it, saying, "We've done everything that was supposed to be done for our family. Next... the Prince of Zhongshun will come looking for us on his own."

In the novel *Dream of the Red Chamber*, Prince Zhongshun was actually one of the emperor's men.

Doesn't his appearance at the meeting hall speak volumes?

Shen Ning sighed softly to herself, "As for the people who accompanied me yesterday, let's give each of them another sixty taels of silver!"

"Yes!"

Jia Zhen went without hesitation.

Shen Ning looked at the things laid out in the room and said, "Give some of the snacks to the West Mansion, and the rest..."

The Empress bestowed many pieces of jewelry made in the imperial workshops. In the past, she would have been happy to share some with the Western Palace, but now, she didn't want to.

"Send it to Curry!"

"Yes!"

Qingzhu and the others readily agreed.

In fact, if you ask them, their wives were just too horny, which is why the second wife had the audacity to talk such nonsense.

As they packed their things, cursing Wang Shi in their hearts, Wang Shi secretly collected the dregs of the medicine Jia Zheng had brewed and hid them away.

Could Jia Zheng have done such rough work before?

It's impossible!

It must be something the old lady said yesterday.

hum~
Treat her like a thief!
When Wang Shi took her medicine early in the morning, she could tell that she took much less than Jia Zheng.

Normally, she would definitely make a fuss.

But now...

Wang knew that if she really argued with Jia Zheng, some people in the village would probably help Jia Zheng bully her.

She has no family members on her mother's side!

At this time, Wang was unaware that her brother, sister-in-law, nephew, and niece all hated her.

I ran to the outhouse again, but to my surprise, as soon as I got back to the house, I smelled the aroma of medicine again.

"Sir, my stomach hurts terribly. Could you give me a little more medicine this time?"

"...Am I really that comfortable?"

Jia Zheng's voice was extremely cold.

He was punished with a cane yesterday.

I'm sweating profusely all day.

But I don't have a single penny to hire a doctor.

He went out to borrow it early in the morning, but no one paid him any attention.

"You're saying your stomach hurts now? Why didn't you say that before?"

Jia Zheng glared at her fiercely and then ignored her.

Having no other option, Wang could only lie down on the kang (a heated brick bed).

The firewood we bought that day has almost burned out.

now……

The kang (heated brick bed) wasn't warm.

She could only wait for Jia Zheng to finish brewing the medicine and then give her a bowl.

But as she waited, she unknowingly fell asleep. When she woke up, there was no medicine for her.

"Sir, where is my medicine?"

"..."

Jia Zheng ignored her completely and continued copying the book.

There's not much refined grain left at home, and not much whole grain either.

If he doesn't make money, he'll starve.

"Sir, where is my medicine?"

With a sob in her voice, Wang asked again.

Jia Zheng also ignored him.

Wang had no choice but to lie there and silently shed tears.

However, when nature calls, Jia Zheng's stomach started hurting again after taking the medicine. As he headed to the outhouse, Wang Shi scrambled up and started searching for any medicine he might have hidden.

But no.

Wang did not believe it was true.

The old lady clearly brought two days' worth of medicine, but including yesterday's and this morning's doses, she only took it for one day.

Wang's searching became increasingly rough.

Jia Zheng, who had just come out of the outhouse, saw this and couldn't help but sneer, "Looking for medicine? Don't dream about it, that was given to me by my mother."

"Bullshit, it's clearly my Pearl..."

"How dare you mention Pearl to me?"

It would have been better if Jia Zhu hadn't been mentioned, but as soon as he was... Jia Zheng flew into a rage, "You're going to kill him!"

His son, who was about to become an official, has been ruined like that; he'll never be able to take the exam again this year.

"Wang, for the sake of the Wang family and for a moment's satisfaction in your words, how long are you going to keep harming my father and me?"

Wang: "..."

Her lips trembled, and she seemed to have suffered a great blow. Finally, everything went black, and she collapsed.

Jia Zheng originally didn't want to get involved, but then he thought that now that she was dead, his son wouldn't be able to take the civil service exam next year, so he had no choice but to drag her into bed with him.

He didn't brew the medicine for her; he just rinsed the dregs that Wang had hidden away with water and heated them up.

"Drink it quickly."

Wang: "..."

She drank it with trembling hands and extreme weakness.

However, as soon as she finished drinking, she felt a sharp pain in her lower abdomen and rushed to the outhouse again.

When she came out after a while, Wang was leaning on a cane.

She had rectal bleeding.

She was chilled all over.

Wang felt that if things continued like this, she wouldn't live for more than a few years.

Rather than letting Pearl finally pass the official exam only to immediately go through mourning, it would be better to...

She took out the rat poison.

The couple were terrified when they first saw the mouse.

later……

I think I'm slowly getting used to it.

But I really don't want to get used to it!
Wang cooked rice and stir-fried vegetables.

Jia Zheng thought she was trying to appease him again in order to get more medicine, so he ate and drank as usual without any hesitation.

Wang stayed with him silently.

"Master, we're going to have a grandson."

Unfortunately, they will never see what their grandson looks like.

Fortunately, Jia Lian from the main branch and Feng Yatou have not yet made a move.

"I know I was wrong."

As Jia Zheng shoveled rice and vegetables into his mouth, she said, "But aren't you right? Let's not talk about anything else, just this time..."

"Shut up!"

Jia Zheng knew, of course, that he was wrong.

Yesterday, when our mother couldn't see him, my older brother punched him hard.

Even now, my back still hurts from the blows he gave me.

"Can't even a meal shut you up?"

Jia Zheng angrily rebuked, "If you really don't want to eat, then get out of here. I can finish this."

He doesn't want to die.

He wanted to live a good life.

He felt he could live a good life.

Jia Zheng decided to stop listening to Wang Shi.

"..."

Wang didn't say anything. After giving him a deep look, she also started eating heartily.