The head of the Red Mansion

After being persuaded to stay again, Granny Liu finally met with Grandmother Jia that evening.

At that time, the girls who had just finished school were also serving Grandmother Jia. When Granny Liu went in, she saw that the room was decorated with jewels and flowers, and fortunately, she recognized most of them.

She curtsied several times and said to Grandmother Jia, who was reclining on the couch, "Greetings, Your Majesty!"

Grandmother Jia then curtsied and greeted them, before ordering Amber to bring a chair over. "My dear in-law has arrived; we should treat you well, but alas, my health is failing me." With that, she sighed, "You saved my niece-in-law; you are a great benefactor to both our families..."

"No, no, no, the old man has misunderstood."

How could Granny Liu dare to agree to any more promises from her benefactor?
"I'm just here to see Madam Shen off. If not me, then someone else will."

The Jia family was being polite, but it wouldn't be good if her daughter, son-in-law, grandson, and granddaughter took it seriously.

“My home is three villages away from the official road, so those Japanese won’t be able to find Madam Shen.”

"...It's a kindness to be able to send it back."

Grandmother Jia was quite pleased with the old lady's honesty, and her smile widened. "For a whole day and night, my dear in-law, you had no idea how worried our family was."

Fortunately, it's all in the past now.

Shen was willing to acknowledge this life-saving grace; otherwise, she could have simply given him some money and sent him away. Why did she keep him there so persistently?
Besides, if Shen Shi acknowledges something, and she doesn't, wouldn't things just become strained again?
"Those are all the hateful Japanese!"

Granny Liu said, "Fortunately, they have all suffered their retribution. Madam Shen has survived a great calamity; she will surely be blessed with good fortune in the future!"

Being born into such a family is a blessing.

"The old man need not worry."

"I'm not anxious anymore."

Grandmother Jia chuckled, "My dear in-law, how old are you this year?"

Grandma Liu quickly stood up and replied, "I am sixty-eight years old this year."

Looking at her, Grandmother Jia couldn't help but feel envious. She said to everyone, "At such an old age, she's still so healthy. She's several years older than me. When I get that age, I don't know how I'll be able to move around."

Grandma Liu laughed and said, "We are born to suffer, while old ladies are born to enjoy life. If we were like that, then no one would do the farm work."

Grandmother Jia was pleased. "Are your eyes and teeth still alright?"

"Everything is fine!"

Grandma Liu pondered the old lady's condition and said, "It's because the left molar became loose this year."

Actually, she's good in every way, but judging from the old lady's appearance, she must have quite a few bad qualities.

Sure enough, Grandmother Jia said, “I’m old and useless. My eyes are failing, my ears are deaf, and my memory is failing. I don’t remember any of you old relatives. When relatives come, I’m afraid people will laugh at me. I can’t do anything. I can only eat a couple of bites of what I can chew, take a nap, and when I’m bored, I can play with my grandchildren for a while and that’s it.”

Grandma Liu quickly said, "This is truly a blessing for the old lady. We can't have it even if we wanted to."

"Haha, what good fortune? He's just an old good-for-nothing."

That's what Grandmother Jia said, but judging from her expression, you could tell that she also agreed with Granny Liu's words.

Granny Liu quickly coaxed Gongwei, and soon the two old ladies were chatting and laughing together.

The old lady was unhappy these past two days, and she was also sick, so everyone was quite depressed. Now she's finally better.

The gloom that had been hanging over the two governments for days was finally swept away.

When Yingchun returned home, the corners of her mouth were turned up in a smile.

"Second sister!"

Tan Chun called out to her sister, who was about to leave, "Did you know that Cousin Mei is getting engaged?"

"I know!"

Yingchun said, "Didn't we already agree on a date last year?"

However, due to the passing of her eldest uncle in the East Mansion and then her second uncle, and the mourning period in the family, Cousin Mei's marriage was repeatedly postponed.

“I heard from my aunt that Cousin Mei declined the two newly appointed scholars that my fourth aunt helped select.”

Tan Chun waved for the maids to step back, and whispered to Ying Chun, "She chose the illegitimate son of Lord Lu of the Ministry of Revenue herself."

"Young Master Lu also passed the imperial examination this year and became a Juren!"

Yingchun looked around and whispered, "Young Master Lu's maternal family is the richest in Pingzhou, and he himself is also ambitious. Actually, he's quite good."

This is what my cousin Mei told her herself.

"But families like these have more choices."

Tan Chun listened to her mother ramble on for a long time today, and her little head was a bit confused.

She thought about asking her cousin Mei, but Mei was too much older than her, and she was afraid of affecting her mood, so she could only talk to her second sister. "My aunt said that the Lu family probably thinks that my third aunt, a divorced woman, is easy to manipulate."

Her aunt also said that since Cousin Mei kept rejecting the people chosen by Fourth Aunt, Fourth Aunt might become cold-hearted and stop caring about them.

Tan Chun had no worries about these things.

Although their stepmother and father were gone, the elders felt even more sorry for them, and their elder brother and sister-in-law were also good to them.

She is not worried about her future.

Cousin Mei, on the other hand, is a bit stubborn.

If things don't go well after marriage, she probably won't tell any of them to avoid worrying her third aunt.

"...Don't worry! The Lu family wouldn't dare."

Yingchun glanced at her younger sister and couldn't help but laugh. "I heard from Cousin Mei that she didn't originally have her eye on the Lu family. She preferred the two families that Fourth Aunt mentioned. But the Second Young Master Lu wouldn't give up and repeatedly asked Cousin Min to pledge his loyalty."

what?
Tan Chun opened her mouth slightly, her eyes sparkling, "Why? He took a liking to Cousin Mei at first sight?"

"He's taken a liking to Cousin Mei, and he's also taken a liking to our family!"

Yingchun smiled, "The Lu family's wealth was mostly made up from his mother's dowry. His stepmother is alright, she said she never mistreated his mother, but their old lady is still alive. The old lady favors the other two sons, and not only has she not divided the family property yet, she has also been helping the other two sons to embezzle public funds and save private money."

Lord Lu couldn't do anything about his mother, and Madam Lu was too soft-hearted. Their family needed a strong daughter-in-law. Originally, his elder brother wanted to marry a strong woman, but the rumors were unreliable. His sister-in-law had a bad stepmother who was always ruining her reputation. In fact, his sister-in-law was just as gentle and quiet as his stepmother.

So, by the time it was his turn, his whole family had already set their sights on our house.

However, neither of the sisters is the right age.

But Cousin Mei is also considered a member of the Jia family.

"So, should our family go over there and help them fight?"

"what are you thinking?"

Yingchun tapped her younger sister's head with one hand, "Who is Cousin Mei? Does she think she's someone that just anyone can bully?"

My cousin is incredibly efficient and decisive when it comes to managing daily affairs.

"Don't worry, even if she needs to find someone, she definitely won't bother the elders. She can just tell Cousin Min, and he can put in a good word at the school. What can't be done?"

Cousin Min has connections with all sorts of people outside.

"Okay, I was worrying too much."

Tan Chun smiled and grabbed her sister's hand, shaking it, "Good sister, you must not tell Cousin Mei."

"Hmph, if you don't want me to talk about it, then make me a purse tomorrow."

"Hehe, I'll definitely make you a really pretty purse."

The two sisters' laughter carried quite loudly in the wind, and even Baoyu, who was doing his homework, couldn't help but listen.

But I can't leave my homework unfinished, because my older brother will check it tonight.

He diligently did his homework, while Xiren fanned him from a distance.

Recently, there have been many problems with ice. The entire layer of ice outside the ice storage has been thrown away, and the amount of ice used in each room has naturally been reduced.

The ice in Baoyu's room is only for cooling purposes; it's impossible to use it like before.

However, he didn't get ice at school during the day; everyone did it that way, so it wasn't a big deal.

My older brother said that even places like the Imperial College don't have ice.

It was already very good that he got home in the evening. Baoyu worked hard on his homework.

His cousin Chang'an is younger than him. If he still falls short of Lin Chang'an in the next monthly exam...

Baoyu shuddered.

He was afraid his older brother would sigh.

It seemed as if with each sigh, another strand of hair would turn white.

My brother's hair really can't go any whiter.

Baoyu composed himself and wrote the characters even more neatly.

The Jia family school at this time was quite different from what it had been a year ago.

Both of the teachers who taught us became newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) this year.

Chen Tang, who was enrolled in the affiliated school, later changed his surname to Liu Tang with the help of his family and also passed the imperial examination.

The two people who came to teach now are the most learned among the failed candidates.

The three living Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) were the greatest encouragement. Even Xue Pan, who had no intention of taking the exams, was afraid of falling to the bottom and tried his best to keep his fifth-to-last position.

The rolled-up schoolroom was terrifying for a poor student like him.

Baochai accompanied her throughout the recitation and writing exercises.

Baochai could immediately help him with anything he didn't understand, anything he wrote wrong, or anything he needed to preview.

However, some people may not be born to be good at studying.

He could memorize many books tonight, but the next day he would stumble over them, and by the third day he had forgotten most of them.

If he could drop out of school, Xue Pan would have cried and begged to do so long ago.

But no.

Madam Shen's words still ring in my ears: three years is the bottom line.

If Xue Pan dared to try to bribe his teachers and classmates, the guards who taught him martial arts every day would find a way to subdue him.

To prevent her brother from being beaten again, Baochai had no choice but to accompany him in his studies every day.

She felt even more hopeless than Xue Pan when faced with her brother's blockheadedness.

Especially the contrast with the Lin siblings in the household.

Baochai was arrogant. No matter what she learned, she was no less capable than Lin Daiyu. They were both girls who could grasp things quickly. But how much older was her brother than Lin Chang'an?
As a result, he didn't even stay in elementary school for more than a few days before he was promoted.

Her brother... unfortunately, he fell into the bottom tier of elementary education.

"Alright, brother, your thousand-character essay today is even better than your dictation yesterday."

Baochai tried her best to ignore the few ugly characters that were almost ink blotches, and praised them against her will, "We'll write them from memory again tomorrow, you can do it if you remember."

With someone like her brother, learning anything must be exhausting!
Not only was he tired, but his teacher was even more tired.

"My God, I never want to write these words again."

Xue Pan flung his pen aside, then slumped into his chair as if he had no bones left. "Good sister, can you give me a day off tomorrow?"

"Brother, Lin Chang'an has already started university studies."

Xue Pan: "..."

He really wanted to curse, but Lin Chang'an was alright.

He was small and didn't play with the older students much, so he often went to play in their Montessori class.

Hey~
Xue Pan sighed with worry, "Alright, I'll write it tomorrow."

He muttered a few curses at Lin Chang'an in his heart, but Lin Chang'an went to bed early after finishing his studies.

Children spend their days reading and exercising at school, and at night they fall asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow.

Jia Min first went to check on her daughter, then her son, and only after confirming that both children were sleeping well did she return to her room with a self-deprecating smile.

The newly built salt factories are all doing well, and the Emperor has already intended to summon the Master back to the capital. If it weren't for the incident with the eldest sister-in-law of the East Mansion, she would have already cleaned up the Lin family's old residence.

However, it's not too late now.

In the dead of night, Jia Min picked up her pen again and wrote a letter to Lin Ruhai, "My dear husband, seeing this letter is like seeing you in person..."

The couple had been separated for almost a year, and it would be a lie to say they didn't miss each other.

Fortunately, everything is moving in a positive direction now.

There aren't that many princes in the capital anymore. With the retired emperor falling ill, it's much easier now whether you're an official in the capital or outside the capital.

She eagerly awaited Lin Ruhai's arrival in Beijing.

I look forward to seeing what his son and daughter look like now.

I anticipate his surprise and delight.

That year, both my son and daughter grew much taller.

The two children were born to be from the capital; they would fall over if the wind didn't blow them down, and would get sick if the rain hit them.

Her health has also improved significantly compared to when she was in Jiangnan.

Jia Min couldn't wait to help Lin Ruhai improve his health, since he was currently the one in the family with the worst health.

Under the dim light, her face was gentle and tender.

……

At Ningguo Mansion, Shen Ning's foot was not fully healed when Old Madam You arrived with her two daughters.

Since they are in-laws, she should treat them warmly, just for Madam You's sake.

Lady You was considered to have married into a higher social class. It was impossible for her second and third sisters to marry into the same class again. However, with her elder sister and brother-in-law, finding a minor military officer of the sixth or seventh rank in the capital would be no problem at all.

In fact, that was also Old Lady You's idea.

Both of her husbands were minor officials.

Although life isn't wealthy, we can definitely live a good life.

"My eldest daughter has really benefited from your care over the years!"

Even in front of Shen Ning, Madam You was a quiet and gentle woman. "When I looked at her, I felt that she was even more beautiful than when she was at home."

Having a son truly makes everything worthwhile.

Having a child really changes things.

"Haha, you're too modest. The eldest sister is a good person."

Shen Ning smiled, "She's beautiful, has a good personality, and is an excellent housekeeper. This family owes a lot to her."

As a stepmother, given that her own life wasn't particularly wealthy, it was already very kind of her to have all the betrothal gifts brought over by her stepdaughter as part of her dowry.

As for Sister You Er and Sister You San...

In Shen Ning's view, it was also closely related to the social atmosphere at the time.

They were both from humble backgrounds and probably came here hoping to become concubines.

But things are different now; men in the Jia family can no longer take concubines at will.

Madam You's status and position in this family were also different.

As her younger sisters, Sister You Er and Sister You San's status and position naturally rose accordingly.

"She was most concerned about you guys. When she learned you were coming, she was so happy that she had the house cleaned overnight."

Shen Ning wanted to tell them that Madam You was loved by her mother-in-law, cherished by her husband, and respected by her stepson; they shouldn't embarrass her. (End of Chapter)