The head of the Red Mansion

Chapter 291 Granny Ma

In Annam, inside a temporary camp, Prince Teng, who had won several more battles, looked at the letter from home that had come through military connections, and his anger was almost uncontrollable.

My sister, who shares the same mother, has died.

He used rat poison to kill himself and Jia Zheng together.

That's not the most important thing. The most important thing is that she died just six days after she said that Madam Shen of Ningguo Mansion was raising her younger brother-in-law. The rumor had barely spread when she died.

Wang Ziteng simply did not believe that his sister had committed suicide.

The Shen family... how cruel they are.

They even killed Jia Zheng.

Can the Ning and Rong mansions still function as before?

"Men! The army is moving out! Kill!"

Wang Ziteng could not quell his hatred without killing more people.

Nine days later, news of the victory reached the imperial court once again.

"Mother~"

Jia Zhen brought over today's official gazette: "Prince Teng has captured three more cities in succession. The Prince of Annam is probably not going to be able to hold on."

"...Isn't this great?"

Shen Ning took the official gazette and read it carefully.

Prince Teng in Dream of the Red Chamber rose through the ranks, clearly demonstrating his abilities.

now……

With this achievement, as long as they don't do anything reckless, the Wang family can still maintain their wealth and status for several decades.

The reason for mentioning decades is mainly because Shen Ning doesn't have a high opinion of Wang Ren.

In the end, Wang Xifeng sent her private savings and her daughter Qiaojie to the Wang family. What was the result?
Qiao Jie was sold to a brothel.

What kind of place is that?
A place for men to seek pleasure.

Even if ordinary people had no choice but to sell their daughters, they would not easily sell them to brothels.

Wang Ren was ruthless.

No matter how high Wang Ziteng runs, with a nephew like that around, unless he is very resilient, the day he dies will be the day the Wang family falls apart.

“Mother, when he returns, he will at least be a marquis. What if he holds a grudge against our family…”

"Go and cry to the Emperor."

Jia Zhen: "..."

"As long as you are honest and law-abiding, if he really bullies you, fight him. If you can't win, go to the Emperor."

Shen Ning was exasperated with him, "Do I really need to teach you these things?"

Okay, no need to teach.

Jia Zhen blushed slightly.

She's crying.

He's so old, and his mother is still teaching him to cry.

"Don't worry, arrogance will eventually be punished by Heaven."

Shen Ning glanced at him and said, "As long as Wang Ziteng isn't arrogant, he won't bother you. But once he becomes arrogant... it won't just be you who can't tolerate him."

To seize military power from the Prince of Nan'an, he recklessly attacked Annam. The emperor tolerated him because of his meritorious service, but after that... he couldn't expect a peaceful end.

Shen Ning was only thankful that the Jia family and the Wang family were now adversaries.

Even if Jia Zhu and Yuan Chun still have inextricable ties with the Wang family, at least the Ningguo Mansion will no longer be dragged down by him.

"Didn't I tell you to keep a close eye on Wang Zisheng and Wang Ren last time?"

Shen Ning reminded him, "Blocking their mistakes is almost the same as blocking Wang Ziteng."

Huh?
Yes.

Jia Zhen was a little pleased. "My son understands."

Shen Ning waved her hand, shooing him away.

But Jia Yue wouldn't have it. She'd just been brought in by the wet nurse, and when she saw her older brother, she laughed and fluttered towards him, suddenly blurting out, "Pot~"

"Why is it 'pot'? It's brother."

When Jia Zhen hugged him, he corrected him very seriously, "Look at your brother, it's your brother!"

He taught his younger sister by lip-reading.

Jia Yue obliged and called out again, "Grasshopper."

Got it!
Now he has turned into an insect.

Jia Zhen sighed helplessly, "Fine, fine, call me whatever you want, Mother. Your son has taken your sister out to play."

"...What's the rush?"

Shen Ning was quite jealous.

My daughter spends every day at Mr. Zhan's place playing with her older sisters. It's one thing for her to call them "sister" first, but why does she call them "pot" before calling them "mother"?
"I always ask you to teach her to talk more, and this is how you teach her?"

"Mother~~"

Upon hearing her mother speak, Jia Yue suddenly cried out.

"Mom is here."

Shen Ning was overjoyed, "Good boy, say it again."

"Mother~"

"Oh my, my baby is so great."

Shen Ning hugged her youngest daughter and gave her a happy kiss.

The little girl giggled.

He seemed quite pleased with himself.

Jia Zhen was heartbroken. He could pronounce "mother" and "sister" so clearly, so why was he the one who got the blame?
Unable to accept this, he quickly stepped forward and taught her to call him "brother".

"Look at my brother, look at my brother, call out 'Brother!'"

Jia Yue glanced at him, then turned her head away, ignoring him.

Oh dear, that's going too far!
Jia Zhen quickly moved closer, calling out, "Call me brother!"

"Don't scare her."

Shen Ning shielded her daughter, saying, "It's fine as a pot. If it's a little bigger, the pronunciation will be correct."

My birthday is on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, but if you really want to calculate it, it's still a few days short, only eleven months.

“‘Pot’ sounds awful,” Jia Zhen said, “and this word is bad too. Every time she calls it that, I feel like I’ll have to take the blame for her in the future.”

"Alright, then you go and teach!"

Shen Ning couldn't help but laugh, "Only one, can't fight."

"...Don't you see how temperamental she is? Do you think I have that kind of guts?"

He might secretly pat her butt a few times at most.

"Come on, Yue'er, call me brother~~~"

"Pot~"

"Oh, brother~~~"

"Cricket~"

"It's not a cricket, it's my brother~~~"

"Cricket~"

When Madam You arrived, she could hear the sounds of her brother and crickets coming from inside.

A hint of a smile involuntarily crept into the corners of her eyes and brows.

When my younger sister was a little over nine months old, she started babbling, first calling me "sister," and occasionally "mother," but each time she called for her mother, my mother was not by her side.

For a mother to allow her husband to teach her younger sister to call her "pot" like this, it must mean that she has already called her "mother" in front of her.

hum~
She wouldn't tell them that Yue'er could already call her sister-in-law.

……

West Mansion, Grandmother Jia's Courtyard.

The old lady was indeed ill.

Her second son is gone, and not a single niece-in-law from the East Mansion has shown her face.

What's the point of Zhen'er and Rong'er running around like this?

If Madam Shen doesn't stick her neck out, even when her second son is laid to rest at the Iron Threshold Temple, he has to stay far away from Jia Jing.

Moreover, because it was a violent death, the coffin could not be carried back to the hometown for three years.

Her heart...
Grandmother Jia was heartbroken.

Last year, her nephew Jia Jing died a bad death, and she was worried that it would affect her and Shen Shi. They both fell ill last time.

They finally recovered, thinking they had escaped this ordeal, but little did they know that it would ultimately befall Er'er.

Now both of them, husband and wife, have died...

"Grandma, the old lady you invited, Granny Ma, has arrived."

"Please!"

As people get older, the old lady starts to believe in a lot more.

Money is nothing to her; she only asks for peace in her home and for her second son to be spared from being beaten by the Duke and the ancestors.

Yesterday, she had a vivid dream again that her second son was being beaten with a cane by the Duke while being pinned to a long bench. Her parents-in-law were also there, and after the Duke finished beating him, they joined in, as if he weren't their grandson.

The old folks are so biased!

The second son has returned everything to the eldest son, so why won't he let it go?

Grandmother Jia invited Granny Ma today to interpret yesterday's dream.

Her second son was crying pitifully, begging her for help.

Granny Ma went inside, and a short while later, Yuanyang hurriedly went to the East Mansion.

"The old lady wants to see me?"

Shen Ning, who was teasing her daughter to call her "Mother," paused for a moment, "Is the old lady's illness better?"

As she spoke, she glanced at Qingping.

Although she was an elder, she was a daughter-in-law from another branch of the family.

Although the two families were close, the old lady had been ill ever since she returned from escorting the coffins of Jia Zheng and his wife to the Iron Threshold Temple.

Shen Ning visited a few times and could clearly sense that the old lady wasn't very happy to see her.

Even though it wasn't her fault that Jia Zheng died, the old lady still blamed her.

So for the past two days, she has been asking Qingping to go and check on her, and bring her some medicine or food.

I never expected to have to see her now.

"Yes!"

Yuanyang was at a loss. "The old lady is much better than she was a few days ago, but she had a bad dream last night. We just invited Granny Ma over to interpret the dream."

As the old woman said, the one who tied the knot must untie it.

The Second Master suffered in the underworld mainly because the First Madam of the East Mansion never forgave him.

She was the matriarch of the Jia family and was deeply trusted by the old Duke and others. The second master and second mistress died because of her, and she refused to forgive them. As a result, the Duke of Ningguo and the Duke of Rongguo could not treat the second master well.

In short, I said a lot.

The main point is that the eldest wife of the East Mansion has to go to the Iron Threshold Temple to hold a Buddhist ceremony for the second master, offer incense, and tell him that she doesn't blame him anymore.

This is a very difficult situation for Yuanyang.

But there was nothing that could be done; the old lady's health had been poor lately.

She could only give a hint first.

"Grandma Ma?"

Shen Ning remembered this person.

This person has some rather unorthodox methods.

hiss~
Shen Ning was unwilling to meet such a person.

"Tell the old lady that I won't be going today. I'll visit her tomorrow morning."

mandarin duck:"……"

She was stunned!

The old lady was ill, and it was rare for her to ask to see the eldest wife of the East Mansion. How could the eldest wife refuse her outright!
"Madam, the old lady asked you to..."

“Sister Yuanyang, come this way.”

Xiaodong didn't even let her finish speaking before pulling her away.

She was strong; Yuanyang couldn't pull her away at all.

Once he took a step, he was out of control and was pulled out of the house in the blink of an eye.

oops~
Yuanyang stamped her foot, about to say a few words to Xiaodong, but before she could finish speaking, she said, "Sister, our young lady is at a crucial stage in her life. It's rare that she called her mother today, and our madam is very happy."

How could she bear to leave the girl even for a moment?

Besides, it's getting late, and the old lady is ill, so it would be disrespectful to go over there now.

"It's agreed to be tomorrow, so it's definitely tomorrow."

“…Alright, I’ll go and tell the old lady.”

Yuanyang gave Xiaodong a deep look, then turned and left.

As the old lady's maid, she was always treated with respect wherever she went.

When we first came, the first wife was very accommodating, but I never expected...

As Yuanyang walked back, she couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

No wonder Granny Ma said that if the east prospers, the west will not.

Similarly, if the west prospers, the east will not.

This is some kind of balance of the natural order.

Previously, the east was not prosperous, but the west is gradually rising...

"Come again tomorrow?"

Grandmother Jia was waiting for Shen Ning to come over so she could discuss it with her.

But to my surprise, she didn't come.

In front of Granny Ma, the old lady didn't say anything, only saying, "Then I'll trouble you to come again tomorrow morning."

"That's right, that's right."

Granny Ma bowed respectfully and said, "Then I will come again tomorrow to interpret the old lady's dream."

"Amber, please deliver this."

The old lady nodded, indicating that she should also take out the things she had prepared.

The bulging bundle was quite heavy, and even Amber had some difficulty carrying it.

Granny Ma glanced at her, bowed again with satisfaction, and then left the house.

Of course, she was even more satisfied when she picked it up herself.

If we could take advantage of the old lady's dream interpretation to make contact with Madam Shen of the Ningguo Mansion again...

Ma Daopo felt that since she and Jia Jing had lived in a Taoist temple and had met the girl she longed for there, and since life is full of gains and losses, she could use this as a starting point to build a relationship.

Among the noblewomen of the capital city today, the most prominent is Madam Shen.

If we can win her over, she might even be able to follow us in and out of the palace and strike up a conversation with the Empress.

She left Rongguo Mansion happily, unaware that Shen Ning, having just let Yuanyang leave, immediately ordered Jia Zhen to investigate Granny Ma.

"Mother, do you think there's something wrong with this old woman?"

Never heard of it!

But Jia Zhen knew that this old woman often went in and out of the inner quarters of various households and was very popular with people like the old lady of the West Mansion.

"She was Baoyu's godmother."

Jia Zhen was in a dilemma. After all, Jia Zheng and his wife had only recently died. Although their deaths had nothing to do with his mother, the key point was that some people outside felt that his mother was involved because of their deaths.

Now his mother wants to investigate Baoyu's godmother, this is bad...

"If you're worried about her, wouldn't it be easier for our son to talk to Uncle She and let him investigate?"

"Fine!"

Shen Ning had a headache. If Jia Zhen hadn't mentioned it, she would have forgotten that this old woman was Bao Yu's godmother.

Ha, she acted as someone's godmother in name only, yet she harmed them...

"Tell your Uncle She to be careful when he investigates, and not let anyone find out."

"do not worry."

Jia Zhen laughed, "Uncle She is being cautious these days too."

The next day, after breakfast, Shen Ning strolled over to the West Mansion.

To show her filial piety, she also brought a box of bird's nest that the Empress had bestowed upon her.

"Auntie, are you feeling better today?"

"I feel much better, much better! Please sit down!"

When Grandmother Jia saw her, she was quite warm and welcoming, a stark contrast to her previous slightly dismissive attitude. "I heard from Yuanyang that Yue'er can call me 'Mother' now?"

"No."

Shen Ning laughed, "She plays with her older sisters every day. When she was eight or nine months old, she started calling out 'sister'. I've been trying so hard to get her to call me 'mother,' but she just won't. A few days ago, she even called Zhen'er 'pot' without saying it. Although the pronunciation is wrong, at least she said it. I've tried everything to get her to say it, from threats to bribes, but she just won't. It made me so angry that I almost wanted to just leave her alone."

"You, you, you're even jealous of the child."

Grandmother Jia was amused by her words, "Now look how it is! Zhen'er and Rong'er are going to be jealous."

I wonder how spoiled this little girl from the East Mansion will be.

Although Min'er was favored by the emperor, she never received the title of county princess.

"Haha, Zhen'er doesn't like her calling it 'pot'."

Shen Ning was reluctant to talk about dangerous topics when it came to safety. "As for Rong-ge'er, the pronunciation of the word 'nephew' is a bit difficult, so it will definitely take a few more months."

"Wait until I feel better, then bring her over."

Grandmother Jia was also willing to dote on this youngest granddaughter among her grandchildren.

In the East and West mansions, Jing'er and Zheng'er are both gone, and She'er is getting older, so he probably won't have any more children in the future.

"I'll bring her over tomorrow to pay her respects."

Just as Shen Ning was about to say something more, a maid came in and said, "Grandma, Granny Ma is here."

"Please!"

Grandmother Jia raised her voice a bit, "I had a bad dream yesterday, so I asked her to interpret it. She said she needs to see you to completely resolve the dream."