The head of the Red Mansion

Chapter 36 Mother and Son
Meanwhile, Jia Zhu, who had rushed home from Ningguo Mansion to have dinner with his grandmother or parents, was surprised to find that his grandmother and father had gone to his eldest uncle's place.

Every time my grandmother and father went to visit my eldest uncle, there would be an argument.

Uncle...

Jia Zhu sighed.

He knew that his uncle could never win an argument with his father, because his father always had his grandmother behind him.

She couldn't argue with her uncle, nor could she beat her uncle's father, so her best skill was finding her grandmother.

"Why did you come back?"

As Li Wan walked with him toward her mother-in-law, she said, "A lot of things have happened at home?"

"……What's up?"

"It's still about Zhou Rui's family," Li Wan said, having heard about it as soon as they returned last night. "Mother thought it was the eldest aunt of the East Mansion who did it, so she went to the East Mansion today to apologize, but the eldest aunt didn't accept it. Disregarding the face of the old lady and the madam, she directly told Sister-in-law You to see the guests off."

She was there at the time.

Li Wan felt extremely ashamed.

Most importantly, when she went with the old lady, the old lady said that she was there to mediate and also told her to try her best to get along with Sister-in-law You.

Who respected that older sister-in-law back then?

After marrying into the Jia family, both the old lady and the madam told her that she would be the eldest among her sisters-in-law of the same generation. But less than half a year later, this happened.

"Oh~"

Jia Zhu said calmly, "I already know."

When he paid his respects to his aunt at the East Mansion, she told him everything.

Zhou Rui...

He sighed. "If you were my aunt, would you accept my mother's apology?"

Li Wan: "..."

My aunt's reputation as a shrew is known to everyone these days.
If she were the eldest aunt...

"Regardless of whether Zhou Rui's imprisonment was caused by my aunt, no one would accept my mother's apology."

He said he was going to apologize with thorns on his back, but he didn't have any thorns or gifts.

On the surface, Mother had handed over the management of the household to her second brother's wife, but everyone in both households knew that her second brother's wife listened to Mother.
His mother was the one in actual power.

Aunt stripped Uncle Jing of his Taoist robes, which certainly made her look like a shrew, but Jia Zhu felt that both Uncle Jing and Aunt Jing were making a sacrifice for their past.

Doesn't this process hurt them?
They are in more pain than anyone else.

How can outsiders interfere in their affairs?

Mother should have kept quiet about the maids and servants' gossip. She was capable of doing so, but within half a day, the whole capital was abuzz with it. Mother... was most likely behind it all.

Jia Zhu was helpless.

He went to pay his respects to his aunt today, but he was actually prepared to be sent back.

But my aunt didn't.

Instead, they were unusually concerned about his health, and when they talked about family matters, they only talked about the elders, not about the children.

She kept comforting him.

The incident involving Uncle Jing must have left a deep shadow on her; she seems very worried that he might follow in Uncle Jing's footsteps.

Jia Zhu was very sad.

His grandmother and parents never thought about these things; they only demanded that he study hard and pass the exams.

He is their face; he cannot afford to fail in the slightest.

"Don't worry about this."

Jia Zhu looked at his silent wife and said, "I will find an opportunity to persuade my father and mother."

Nowadays, when outsiders talk about the Jia family, they all say that his father was good.

But as a son, I know all too well what my father is like.

Whether it's national affairs, family matters, or matters concerning family members, my father is far inferior to my uncle.

"If your mother has wronged you, I apologize to you on her behalf."

"...It's not that serious."

When Jia Zhu was about to bow, Li Wan quickly stopped him, saying, "Let me tell you, my eldest uncle came today too. I don't know what he said, but after Father saw him off, he immediately went to find the old lady. Then the old lady took Father over there to confront my eldest uncle."

The elders are in a mess.

Li Wan, as the daughter-in-law, was at a loss.

If she could, she really wouldn't want to come back.

"……don’t worry."

Jia Zhu held his wife's hand and slowly walked towards Rongxi Hall. "Grandmother is here." As long as his grandmother was there, there would be a limit to how much trouble his uncle and father could cause.

"Just continue as before, listen and observe more."

My mother-in-law's illness has been cured, and my wife can't stay away from home all the time.

"If anything happens, please be lenient with me for my sake."

"Ok!"

Under Jia Zhu's gentle and affectionate gaze, Li Wan blushed and whispered, "I'll do whatever you say."

They had only been married for six months.

Her husband was even better than she had initially thought.

only……

As Rongxi Hall drew closer, her eyes slowly dimmed again.

The maids serving her husband were either the old lady's or the mistress's people. As the daughter-in-law, she couldn't afford to offend them in many ways.

Li Wan felt particularly helpless.

But I can't say this to my husband.

Those maids also grew up alongside him.

Li Wan slowly pulled her hand away from Jia Zhu's hand, and under his puzzled gaze, she softly explained, "Madam is still ill."

Jia Zhu: "..."

A hint of sadness flashed in his eyes.

Six months into their marriage, due to various reasons, they gradually came to realize that his mother disapproved of him and his wife getting too close.

For example, if we actually saw him holding hands, we would not only remind him to prioritize his studies and not be too sentimental, but we would also find a reason to make her his wife.

Jia Zhu silently expressed her apology with her eyes and strode ahead.

"Jewel!"

"Mother!"

Upon seeing her son, Wang quickly dispensed with formalities.

She guessed her son would come back to have dinner with her, "Please sit down!"

Li Wan, who was about to bow, waved her hand and directly ordered, "Hurry up and serve the dishes, the master must be hungry."

“My son isn’t hungry, but Mother…” Jia Zhu smiled, “You look much better than you did this morning.”

He went to the East Mansion to apologize but was rejected. Knowing his mother's personality, who knows what kind of trouble she'll cause this time.

I didn’t expect that…

Jia Zhu's eyes flickered, sensing that something was amiss.

"The medicine prescribed by the imperial physician is very effective."

Of course, Wang would not tell her son that in a few days, the person who had wronged her would be punished by Heaven.

"I heard you went to school. How are the two new teachers doing?"

"very good."

Jia Zhu said, "Mr. Fang is good at the Four Books, and Mr. Chen is good at breaking down a topic, developing the topic, and starting the discussion. With these two around, it's not impossible that the Jia family will produce several more scholars in a few years."

That's it!
Wang was not particularly happy.

If you pass the county-level exam to become a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level exam), then you must pass the provincial-level exam to become a Juren (a successful candidate in the county-level exam) and the Jinshi (a successful candidate in the county-level exam).

They were all behind her son, unable to help him in time, and who knows how much trouble they would cause him.

"Hmm~"

Madam Wang sighed, "Actually, your grandfather Dai Ru wasn't that bad either."

Jia Zhu: "..."

When Mr. Shao returned to his hometown, he studied with Grandpa Dai Ru.

That grandfather was a bookworm.

He finds it difficult to read even himself, so teaching children would be even more difficult.

But he didn't want to argue with his mother.

After all, that grandfather had already been removed from the family tree by Brother Zhen, so there was no point in Mother saying anything more.

“When your brother Zhen gets down to business, he doesn’t leave anyone any room for maneuver.”

Wang said, "If you have the chance in the future, you should also include his family in the family genealogy."

When Jia Zhen gets into trouble, the husband and son can win people's hearts and minds, and then they can get Jia Dairu back.

"Let's talk about the future later!"

Seeing his mother's sickly appearance, Jia Zhu didn't say anything else. "Mother, my second brother Lian is not at home. If there's anything going on with my eldest uncle, please don't worry about it."

"Don't worry, your mother isn't stupid!"

Wang smiled and said, "Your grandmother is in charge of your uncle's affairs."

Jia She and Xing Shi were never in her eyes.

"But Lian Er... with so many things to do at home, he's so immature to be meddling in school affairs. Isn't that putting the cart before the horse?"

Wang knew that the brothers had a good relationship. "You should talk to him about it later. There are old people and young children in this family. He'll be away from home for at least two months. What are we going to do?"

"...My aunt has been married for many years and has never returned. The old lady misses her, and so do my father and the others. It's a rare opportunity to take this chance to pay my respects to my aunt and uncle. What can I do for them?"

When Jia Zhu was little, Jia Min held her in her arms and taught her to read. She liked her aunt very much. "Besides, don't we have a younger brother and sister-in-law at home?"

Wang Xifeng was very skilled at managing the household.

"I'll come back whenever I have a day off."

Not long before the old are old, and not long before the young are young.

"You……"

Wang sighed and tapped her son's forehead. "Your task now is to study hard. You don't need to worry about things at home."

As they were talking, the maids carrying food boxes began to serve the dishes, and in a short while, the table was full.

"Yes!" Seeing that they were all his favorite foods, Jia Zhu pressed his stomach without making a sound. The "bitter-sweet" steamed buns he ate at school were especially filling. "Mother, where's Baoyu? Shouldn't we bring him over to eat with us?"

"He's making a huge fuss."

Since her eldest son was rarely home, Madam Wang just wanted to spend some quality time with him. "Let's eat together at dinner time!" she said, and then she instructed Li Wan, "Quickly, serve Zhu'er some ham and bamboo shoot soup."

A sip of soup before a meal is good for the stomach and overall health.

"These bamboo shoots were brought by your eldest uncle today. It's a pity he's busy, otherwise he would definitely have come to see you."

(End of this chapter)