The head of the Red Mansion

Chapter 43 Yangzhou
Rongguo Mansion!
Jia She, who had been hiding for a day, finally returned. He already knew everything that had happened at home, so the first thing he did upon returning was to pay his respects to the old lady.

No matter what, a mother shouldn't beat her son, who is already quite old, just because of a dead servant.

"You still know how to come back?"

Grandmother Jia gets a headache whenever she sees this son. "You enjoy watching your second brother make a fool of himself, don't you?"

"My son doesn't dare!"

Jia She said respectfully, "I didn't know Mother was looking for me. I just suddenly wanted to pay my respects to my elder brother, so I went to see him."

Jia Mu: "..."

She sighed. "How is your elder brother Jing doing these days?"

"not good!"

Jia She's eyes were slightly red. "He has no money. Although the Taoist priests at the temple have tried their best to take care of him, it's not as good as before."

The villa was not far from the Taoist temple, and my sister-in-law had always been there to take care of it.

Later, when my sister-in-law returned, there were more than ten servants there to attend to her.

But now?

Seeing his elder brother carrying water to water the vegetables, Jia She felt really sorry for him.

"...Did he ask you for help?"

After a moment of silence, Grandmother Jia asked her son very seriously.

"no!"

Jia She shook his head. "When my son was leaving, he wanted to give him all the gold and silver seeds he had on him, but he didn't want them. My son had no choice but to give them to the abbot and ask him to take good care of him."

"..."

Grandmother Jia sighed, "Go and talk to Zhen'er about it later!"

Shen is his mother, and he should be filial to her, but Jia Jing is also his father, and he should be even more filial to him.

"Eh!"

Jia She felt that the matter of fleeing should be over, so he raised his voice when he answered.

"...There's something else I wanted to ask you to come back to."

Grandmother Jia glanced at him. "Wasn't it you who recommended Zhou Rui to manage the spring and autumn rents?"

Jia She: "..."

Was it him who recommended him?
It was clearly his mother, his second brother, and his sister-in-law who informed him that Zhou Rui would be collecting the rent for the spring and autumn seasons from now on.

Jia She was somewhat confused, "Mother..."

"Isn't it still the person you promoted who's collecting the spring and autumn rents for the manor now?"

uh~
"Yes!"

Jia She lowered his head.

He had finally gotten this opportunity, and now no one could make him give it up. "Lin Zhixiao was a kind and honest man who followed his son when he was young."

"Hmm, let's go with him!"

Grandmother Jia said nonchalantly, "You are the head of the household, so naturally all the people collecting rent are your people."

what?
Jia She couldn't help but exclaim with delight, "Mother is right, Lin Zhixiao's wife is quite good too, she..."

"Feng'er will be in charge of managing the household affairs. She is the head of the household, so you shouldn't interfere in her matters."

"……Yes!"

As long as it's not given to my second brother's wife, anything is fine.

Wang Xifeng is Lian's daughter-in-law, and the meat always ends up rotting in their own pot.

Jia She was in a very good mood after leaving Grandmother Jia's courtyard.

He, who always stayed at home, was unaware that his mother and brother had used the two quarters' rent belonging to the public school to make him take the blame for misjudging people.

Xing was even more confused.

At this moment, all she knew was that the family estate had essentially returned to her husband's hands.

Although he might not necessarily spend his money on her, Jia She would always be more generous to her if he had more money.

Hearing her parents-in-law's joy about the rent from the spring and autumn seasons, Wang Xifeng wanted to sigh.

"Ping'er, do you think I should mention this to the master?"

She couldn't quite grasp the situation within the manor.

Although Zhou Ruichu's uncle recovered most of her belongings, her aunt truly lost most of her power within the household.

Normally, my aunt should be very angry at this time.

However, according to Wang Xifeng's observation, she always felt that her aunt's eyes revealed a hint of happiness.

This is really wrong.

“What good would it do to bring it up?” Ping’er, being a member of the Wang family, instinctively said, “Even the master has to listen to the old lady.”

Since it concerns the master's reputation, the old lady will definitely force him to agree, since he doesn't hold any real position and doesn't need to travel.

"……yes!"

Wang Xifeng said helplessly, "It's all in vain for us to think about it."

At this moment, she missed Jia Lian very much.

With him around, she doesn't have to worry about the disputes between the two families.

"I wonder if Second Master has arrived in Yangzhou yet, and if he has seen Aunt."

If conditions permit, she should go to Yangzhou with the Second Master.

Wang Xifeng sighed, "Jiangnan is wealthy, but I don't know if we can buy land there."

At this moment, Jia Lian, whom she was thinking about, was actually going to the backyard with Lin Ruhai.

“Your aunt was talking about you to me just a few days ago.”

Lin Ruhai was genuinely happy. He had brought Jia Min to Jiangnan for several years, and although he had never stopped giving her gifts during holidays, he knew that Min'er missed her mother-in-law very much.

The old lady was getting on in years.

"If I cry when I see you later, you'll have to comfort me."

"nature!"

Jia Lian smiled.

He's not Brother Zhu. Aunt might shed a few tears if she saw Brother Zhu, but if she saw him... she definitely wouldn't.

"To be honest, I haven't met my younger cousin yet."

As Jia Lian walked, he said, "When we came here, the old lady told me to hold my cousin a lot, saying... it's like I'm holding him on her behalf."

"Hahaha!"

Lin Ruhai laughed loudly, "Chang'an is very mischievous, the old lady is probably going to be disappointed."

He is currently enjoying a successful career and has both a son and a daughter; he is at the peak of his life.

“My aunt certainly won’t say my cousin is naughty,” Jia Lian laughed, “because she’s seen even naughtier ones.”

"..."

Lin Ruhai didn't expect him to say that. He pointed at his nephew and burst into laughter, "Haha! Hahaha!"

"What good news is there, sir? Why are you so happy?"

Hearing the master's laughter from afar, Jia Min came out to greet him.

"you guess!"

Lin Ruhai smiled but said nothing.

Jia Lian did not speak immediately.

My aunt has been in Jiangnan for six or seven years. He has grown from a boy into a young man.

Although Jia Lian, who had no mother, once regarded his second aunt as his own mother, his aunt also took good care of him when he was young.

Even though he didn't like studying and was mischievous, often making his aunt so angry she wanted to hit him, Jia Lian's eyes gradually reddened after not seeing him for so many years.

"You are... Lian'er?"

"Yes!"

Jia Lian immediately bowed and said, "Lian'er greets Aunt. How have you been, Aunt?"

"Good good!"

When Jia Min rushed over, she quickly helped her up. "Get up quickly," she said, her eyes suddenly welling up with tears. "Why didn't you tell me you were going to Yangzhou sooner? I could have come to pick you up!"

"I was temporarily assigned this job."

Unexpectedly, his aunt actually cried. Jia Lian quickly turned around and took the wooden box that Wang'er had been holding. "Aunt, there are letters from the old lady, the madam and everyone else inside. I've finally brought them safely."

Jia Min: "..."

She wiped away her tears and glared at her nephew, whose eyes were clearly red but who was still grinning: "Speak, what job is it?"

As she spoke, she took the wooden box, and sure enough, the letter on top was from her mother.

Next were the letters from my eldest brother and second brother. But when I turned to the last page, I was surprised to find an even thicker one. This letter was from my sister-in-law, Jing.

Although they have kept in touch over the years, it's still so thick...

Is something wrong at home?

"Yes, there is, but I'm hungry right now, Aunt, aren't you going to feed me?"

"Haha, naturally."

Lin Ruhai smiled and ordered, "Quickly, bring the young lady and the young master over. Today, we're having a family reunion dinner."

(End of this chapter)