The head of the Red Mansion

Chapter 80 Angry Curse
After a busy and chaotic day, Shen Ning thought she could finally rest, but unexpectedly, the old lady of the West Mansion gave her something to do again.

"Yuan Chun grows older every year."

Grandmother Jia sighed, "You know her talent and beauty. The Emperor's harem only has a few women, and he doesn't have many children. It just so happens that you're going to the palace to express your gratitude tomorrow."

The old lady knew that she had gone a bit too far with her suggestion, but given how difficult it was for the Jia family to get in touch with the royal family these days, she had no choice but to seize this opportunity.

"Do you think we could find an opportunity, whether it's the Emperor or the Empress, to let them see our Yuan Chun?"

The old lady patted Shen Ning's hand and said, "What she lacks now is an opportunity. If we give her this opportunity, she will definitely be able to rise higher. If her path in the palace is smooth, her path in this family will naturally be smooth as well."

"..."

Shen Ning was so angry she almost laughed. "The Empress saved my life. Are you suggesting I recommend Yuan Chun to her and then steal her husband?"

Jia Mu: "..."

How could you say such harsh words?
"You should know what kind of place the palace is."

The old lady's face fell. "If it weren't for Yuan Chun, it would have been someone else. Others are confused, but how can you be confused too? Sending Yuan Chun to the Emperor's side would be beneficial to both the royal family and our family."

She took a breath and said, "The Emperor Emeritus is still showing leniency towards our family. The Emperor is alone and needs our help right now. Is it so difficult for you to say a few words in support? Are you just going to watch Yuan Chun waste her years in the palace?"

When she got to the last sentence, the old lady was already heartbroken.

"It's not that I want her to waste her life."

Shen Ning's face also darkened. "When you sent her to the palace, you should have thought that she would waste her life there."

In Dream of the Red Chamber, how many times did Yuan Chun cry during her visit to her family in such a short time?
She understands everything and comprehends everything.

But they could only get stuck in that quagmire, unable to struggle.

Unfortunately, none of the family members are any good.

They all depend on her alone.

It is delusional to think that if one person attains enlightenment, all their relatives and friends will benefit.

“I can’t control how many people are around the Emperor, but the Empress just saved my mother and me. I, Shen Ning, cannot do something so ungrateful.”

Shen Ning firmly refused, "Auntie, you've come to the wrong person if you want to find a solution for Yuan Chun."

Why are you so stubborn now?

Grandmother Jia was furious. "If you want to repay a debt of gratitude, the Emperor needs our family too!"

"..."

Shen Ning stood up and moved away from her, coldly saying, "Does the Emperor need our family? What about the Emperor Emeritus when you say that? Aren't you afraid people will say we're two-timing? Or did Consort Zhen get someone to vouch for you?"

Princess Nan'an was not a good person.

Her son was defeated in battle, and she couldn't bear to part with her daughter, so she reluctantly sent Tan Chun away.

How many princesses who were sent to marry foreign rulers throughout history actually fared well?
Moreover, Tan Chun was not a princess.

No matter how strong-willed she is, in a foreign land, with no relatives or friends, what can she do under the rule of someone else's emperor?

Even in modern times, few female college students who are sold to the mountains can make a good living.

Therefore, Tan Chun's fate was almost predictable.

Shen Ning was furious with the old lady. She didn't care about the men in the family, but only wanted to find shortcuts for the girls.

“You also have sons, and you do your best for them, but have they all lived up to your wishes? If even the small Jia family is like this, what about the imperial family?”

She didn't want to waste time with this old lady. "No matter how bad the princes are, they are still sons of dragons and phoenixes. They have their pride. You are doing such opportunistic things. When they need you, they will flatter you, but when they don't... Aunt, what do you think the Jia family will become?"

"How...how could we not need it?"

Before trying to persuade Shen Ning, the old lady was prepared to be rejected. "Even if the Jia family has declined, there are still a few people in the army. Zhu'er is old enough to wait until he takes the exams..."

Even if one passes the imperial examination with top honors, one will only become a sixth-rank Hanlin scholar.

Shen Ning interrupted immediately, "It will be at least fifteen years before he grows up, and there can't be any accidents during that time. Besides, you said that the Jia family still has a few people in the army, but why don't you look at what Lord Wang is like now? He can protect himself and not implicate the Jia family. Aunt, our two families should be burning incense with gratitude."

Jia Mu: "..."

She was utterly shocked.

What did Wang Ziteng do that made the Shen family misunderstand and think they would be implicated?

"It seems you know nothing at all?"

Shen Ning spun around in anger.

This old lady knows nothing and can't even manage her own little plot of land, yet she's thinking about some grand family plan.
"What you've given away, do you think anyone can get back?"

No, she can't touch this old lady, but can't she touch Wang Shi?
"You still expect Wang Ziteng to help your grandson? Zhu'er is suited for literature, and Baoyu is not cut out for martial arts. Even if he were willing to help, how much could he possibly help?"

“There is Yuan Chun…”

Grandmother Jia is still unaware of her fate.

"Don't mention Yuan Chun to me."

Shen Ning was furious. She strode open the door and yelled at the group of women from the West Mansion who were helping Madam You tidy up, "Madam Wang, are you a daughter-in-law of the Jia family or a daughter of the Wang family? If you don't know, go to the ancestral hall and kneel down to explain yourself."

Mrs. Wang: "..."

Did the talks break down?
Her face gradually turned pale.

The Shen family isn't giving her any face at all!

In front of her daughter-in-law...

"Old lady~"

Wang covered her face with a handkerchief and burst into tears, crying out, "You must do me justice!"

Having received an imperial decree makes all the difference; they dare to treat her like this.

"Somebody come!"

Seeing that Lady You and Wang Xifeng were waving for the maids and servants to leave, Shen Ning shouted angrily, "Bring all the men here! Today I want to ask them whether I am the one bullying Lady Wang, or Lady Wang is the one bullying the Jia family."

"Yes!"

Qingping ran out immediately.

"Shen, what are you trying to do?"

Grandmother Jia did not expect her to react so strongly.

Her daughter-in-law, granddaughter-in-law, and even herself had all spent the whole day helping out at the East Mansion to entertain guests. How come they didn't give her any face at all?
"I didn't intend to do anything; I just wanted to lay things out and make things clear."

Shen Ning decided to intervene in the affairs of the West Mansion. "Everyone knows how much you love your second brother and sister-in-law, but do you think you're doing the right thing? Your doting has spoiled your second brother."

"..."

Grandmother Jia was suffering from a heart ailment, and her body swayed uncontrollably.

She had always thought her second son was better.

He loves reading and discussing knowledge, but he doesn't go out to spend money or collect antiques.

Although he had several concubines, they were all well-behaved.

Who knew so many things would happen during this time? Her second son is like a good-for-nothing, he can't do anything.

That heartless Chen Chong, if it weren't for She'er's quick action, he would probably be a guest of honor for her second son.

Shen Ning looked at the Jia family men who had received the news and were arriving one after another.

"Mother!"

Seeing Wang Shi crying, and her mother looking as if she had suffered a major blow, Jia Zheng was displeased. "Sister-in-law, the old lady is getting on in years. Can't you speak more slowly?"

"I'm presenting the facts and reasoning with you to my aunt, and I'm even scolding you." What?
Jia Zheng's heart skipped a beat.

Jia Zhu, who had rushed back to attend his little sister's one-month celebration, waved to his wife Li Wan, who quickly pulled Wang Xifeng away.

“Aunt, today is Yue’s full moon celebration. You must be tired after a long day,” Jia Zhu said helplessly, bowing deeply as he said, “Rest first. Tell me tomorrow and I will try to persuade Grandmother, Father, and Mother.”

Shen Ning: "..."

She looked at Jia Zhu, who seemed like a gentleman, and was silent for a moment. "Tell you?" A sneer flashed across her lips. "Zhu'er, don't you have eyes? Your uncle is the heir to the Rongguo Mansion. Where does he live? Where does your father live? Don't tell me it's because your grandmother wants your father to live closer. I'll just ask you, is your grandmother right? Did you try to persuade her?"

Now tell me, what is it that you want to persuade your grandmother, father, and mother about?

Isn't this a joke?

"And you call yourselves scholars? I think the books you and your father read have gone to waste."

"..."

"..."

The people at the scene were so shocked that their expressions changed drastically.

Wang was so frightened that she didn't even dare to cry anymore.

"You can't even understand your own family matters, so why are you wasting your brains worrying about the future of the family?"

Shen Ning said this while looking at Jia Zhu, but it was also meant for everyone present: "Aren't you afraid of dragging the family into the mud and harming your descendants?"

She originally wanted to take it slow and proceed gradually, but she really couldn't hold back today!
"Jia Zhu, I ask you, what is the purpose of your studies? Is it to bring glory to your family, or to secure a good title for your wife and children?"

"……Yes!"

Jia Zhu's voice trembled.

The father was the second son and had no chance of inheriting the family title. The parents were determined to have the siblings support the family and make things better for them than for their uncle.

He did his best.

but……

"What a glorious family, bestowing titles and privileges upon their wives and children."

Shen Ning sneered, "Since you have such a mindset, why didn't you stop your father when he insisted on sending Yuan Chun to the palace? Or do you also want to follow Yang Guozhong's example and use your sister to glorify your family?"

"...Jia Zhu wouldn't dare!"

Jia Zhu was terrified and immediately knelt down.

"Don't you dare?"

Shen Ning slowly walked up to him. "You dare not try to persuade her? Isn't Yuan Chun your sister? How can you bear to let a girl go to that place where she has no relatives or friends, to earn so-called family honor and the honor of the second branch of the family for the sake of the family and your incompetent father?"

"..."

Jia Zhu trembled and prostrated himself on the ground.

He vaguely guessed why his aunt had reacted this way.

But Yuan Chun...

"Pearl knew nothing about what happened back then."

Wang couldn't bear to see her son treated so badly by Shen Ning, so she quickly stepped forward to defend him, saying, "If there's anything, come at me, sister-in-law!"

As she spoke, tears streamed down her face. "Yuan Chun's entry into the palace wasn't just our decision; it also involved Brother Jing..."

"Do you listen to someone who doesn't even hold an official position?"

Shen Ning interrupted abruptly, "Or are you saying I didn't try to persuade you back then?"

"But things have come to this, sister-in-law, you can't just abandon Yuanchun!"

When Wang fell, she tried to grab her legs, but fortunately You was quick-witted and rushed over to help her up. Xing was unusually clever and also rushed over to help her up.

"Well, things have come to this!"

Shen Ning was amused by her, "You made your decision in advance, informed my husband and me, leaving us with no choice but to accept it. And now you're doing this?"

Jia Jing lost his title and official position. From a young age, he was taught to take responsibility for his family.

But in the end, he implicated his family.

Although he was implicated because of the late Crown Prince, it was a fact that he could not protect his family. He implicated his family and even his beloved younger relatives. How could Jia Jing's heart not bleed?

Xi Fu didn't utter a single complaint, but every single thing he did was met with complaints.

But can we blame Jia Jing for this?

There was more than one Jia Jing in the Jia family; there was also his father-in-law and uncle from the West Mansion.

Everyone knows that the retired emperor was taking his anger out on others.

He doted on the crown prince and, from a young age, pushed the best sons of the nobility and all the ministers he was close to to the crown prince's side.

He himself made a wrong decision, yet he blamed the crown prince for being shrewd and capable.

He blamed a group of ministers for corrupting his crown prince.

Shen Ning was furious.

Even though the Jia family had clearly instructed their children to abandon martial arts and pursue literature early on in order to put his mind at ease, and he knew this, when it came to attacking the Crown Prince, he still did whatever he was supposed to do.

What's even more ridiculous is that the Jia family still relies on him.

He believed that this retired emperor would be lenient towards the Jia family.

“You yourselves are useless, so you keep pressuring the people around you. You have pressured Auntie to break Shedi’s heart, and she is still worrying about you and mending clothes even though she is old. You have pressured Yuanchun to give up her future, and now you want to pressure me to be an ungrateful person.”

Shen Ning's eyes flashed sharply. "Jia Zheng! Your elder brother isn't home. Tell me, can I discipline you or not?"

"……able!"

Jia Zheng was filled with shame and indignation, but with his sister-in-law watching him and his mother's eyes filled with tears but no intention of standing up for him, he could only lower his head and agree.

"Alright, since I can control you, the ancestral hall is over there. Go and repent to your ancestors for why you failed the imperial examinations, why you've been a junior official in the Ministry of Works for so many years, and all you do is read the official gazette and drink tea, why you've been living in your elder brother's Rongxi Hall, why you just shrink back when there's trouble at home, and why you've accomplished nothing and only know how to sponge off your parents and children?"

Jia Zheng: "..."

He was shocked.

Is he really that bad?

How come he doesn't know?

His sister-in-law is framing him.

The words of rebuttal seemed to be stuck in his throat, but he couldn't utter a single one.

Because he really couldn't refute it.

“I…I didn’t steal Rongxi Hall,” he pleaded with his mother, “It was Mother…”

"Shut up!"

Shen Ning shouted angrily, "Even now, you're still trying to pin everything on your aunt?"

Although she wasn't her mother-in-law, the concept of filial piety still weighed heavily on her in this era.

Shen Ning decisively pushed Grandmother Jia aside and turned to Jia Zheng and Wang Shi, who were standing in front of her but seemed a little smaller, and said, "Have you never been to school? Did you learn the Book of Rites but forget it? Ask yourself honestly, have you ever practiced brotherly love and respect?"

What were you doing when your brother gave up Rongxi Hall for your aunt's sake?
How dare you have the nerve to move in?
Your aunt loves you so much. If you had just said that this is your brother's room, would your aunt have forced you to move in?

"The Rongguo Mansion is so big, there's nowhere you can't stay. What's stopping you from seeing your aunt every day?"

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(End of this chapter)