The Heavens Begin with Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 184: Wang Xifeng's Attack
"Sister Qi, what do you think of this hairpin?"

Jia Lian handed over a box with a smile. Inside the box was a finely carved silver hairpin on the silk cloth. Just by looking at the material and workmanship, one could tell that it was not cheap.

Among the two sisters of the Li family, Jia Lian fell in love with Li Qi at first sight. The reason was very simple. On the one hand, Li Qi was the younger sister and one year younger. On the other hand, Li Qi was more beautiful. The original text praised her as "a girl like water onion."

He had already taken a fancy to the family background. Both Li Qi's father's and mother's families had officials in office. Although they were not noble, overall they were much better than Fu Qiufang's. So the choice of a successor would naturally fall on the Li family.

The criteria for choosing a partner between the two sisters is naturally to choose the prettier one.

Mrs. Wang had already revealed the news to him and had discussed it with Li, asking him to behave well in the near future. So he acted like a playboy again and bought gifts to coax Li Qi as he did in the past.

His style had always been successful in attracting girls in the past, but unfortunately, the Li sisters were not common women without any connections. They had seen many young masters' styles and knew all about them. The method of using money to bribe people had little effect on them.

Especially after listening to Li Wan's analysis last night, the two girls have already eliminated Jia Lian from the marriage candidates.

Even if they don't want to marry Master Zhan as concubines in the future, it is absolutely impossible for them to become Jia Lian's second wife.

Without waiting for Li Qi to say anything, Li Wen interrupted with a fake smile:

"Mr. Lian is really biased. My sister gets a hairpin, but I, as the elder sister, get nothing."

Jia Lian hurriedly looked up to the sky and laughed, then bowed his hands and apologized:

"Don't blame me, Sister Wen. I was not well prepared. I will make it up to you tomorrow."

He was a man who had been around women before, and should not have made such a mistake. However, he thought that since it was a blind date, it would be easy to cause misunderstanding if he tried to please both of them, so he gave the gifts to them one by one. The Li sisters naturally knew his attitude.

Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Li Wen pursed her lips, flicked her sleeves, pulled Li Qi and turned away, leaving only one sentence, "Humph, who cares about your hairpin!"

Eh?
What does this mean?
Is this...my sister is jealous?

Could it be that the person the Li family is interested in marrying is my elder sister Li Wen?

Jia Lian was stunned for a moment, a little confused, but the situation was beyond his control, he dared not neglect it, and hurriedly chased after him, apologizing repeatedly:
"Oh, it's all my fault. I pissed off my sister Wen. Please give me a chance to apologize."

Li Wen was just looking for an excuse not to let her sister accept the hairpin. Seeing Lian Er catching up, she also wanted to get some information, so she slowed down her pace, tilted her head and smiled:

"It's just a hairpin. We have so many sisters, and it's not a big deal to be angry or not. You don't need to apologize."

"Instead of giving us the hairpin as a present, why don't you take us sisters for a stroll in the Grand View Garden?"

Jia Lian's heart was at ease again, and he immediately agreed with a smile. He led the way and took the two girls to stroll around the Grand View Garden.

He had just accompanied Fu Qiufang to visit here a few days ago, and now he retraced the same route and introduced the scenery again.

Sister Li Wen's mind was not on the scenery in the garden. She looked around, paying attention only to the attitude of the servants passing by towards Jia Lian.

The servants in the Jia family have never been well behaved. Now that Jia Lian is down and out, even the servants around him are very neglectful most of the time, not to mention the other maids and servants, who have no respect for him at all. The polite ones would just nod and smile when they meet him, while the impolite ones would simply ignore Jia Lian.

After the two women met, they had some understanding of Jia Lian's status in the mansion, and they believed Li Wan's previous words more.

The Li Wen sisters looked at each other and asked tentatively:

"I see that the mansion is busy and I wonder what they are preparing. Why don't I see you going over to help?"

Jia Lian smiled awkwardly and said:
"The second wife is in charge of arranging the affairs of the mansion, so there is no need for me to interfere."

"Besides, they are preparing for the marriage of Yingchun and Tanchun. I am a grown man, so I can't get involved!"

"Oh, the two sisters are getting married? I wonder who their husbands will be?" The two girls pretended to know nothing and asked with surprise.

"Uh..." Jia Lian was speechless for a moment.

He now hates Master Zhan so much and hates to hear his name mentioned in front of others. But Master Zhan is so popular that even people in the government are trying to curry favor with him. So even if he doesn't want to mention it, he can't avoid it.

"My two sisters are marrying the Earl of Zhongliang... The Jade Emperor Temple is in front of us. We can go inside to worship and ask for the blessing of our ancestors."

He mentioned it briefly and wanted to change the subject, but the two girls wanted to get information about Master Zhan to compare with the information they had heard from Li Wan. How could they let it go so easily? They immediately covered their mouths with surprise and shouted:
"Oh, two women sharing one man?"

"My two sisters, are you going to become concubines of that loyal earl?"

"Who is this Earl Zhongliang? Why would the young lady of your mansion want to be his concubine?"

Jia Lian's face became increasingly gloomy, and he said unhappily:

"That Zhan guy is just a lucky guy who used some tricks to deceive the current emperor and got such a benefit."

"Don't look at him being arrogant now. When he loses the emperor's favor in the future, I'm afraid his family will be destroyed!"

The two sisters were startled and asked hurriedly:

"Why do you say that, Master?"

"Is there a bad relationship between your family and Earl Zhan?"

"But if the relationship was not harmonious, why did you marry your two daughters to others as concubines?"

Each of these questions was meant to irritate Jia Lian, who was so angry that he yelled at the top of his lungs:
"Who knows how that fellow tricked the queen into giving her the order to make her own sister his concubine?"

"If it weren't for the Queen's words, no matter how rich and powerful his family was, my Jia family wouldn't have to rush to curry favor with him!"

Seeing Jia Lian's reaction, the two girls looked at each other and stopped asking questions. However, they had already gotten most of the information they needed, so they had to ask a few more people to continue asking questions and cross-comparison.

Because of Jia Lian's anger, the situation at the scene became dull. Several people walked in silence and no one spoke.

Just when they were feeling awkward, Jia Lian's trusted servant Xing'er suddenly came over in a hurry. After he stopped, he glanced at the Li Wen sisters and whispered to Jia Lian:

"Master, we have a visitor."

Jia Lian thought that it was those bad friends who came to ask for money again. Now was the time for a blind date, and it was not convenient to meet with these people. He frowned and waved his hand, saying:
"I'm busy now, please ask them to come back later."

"Uh..." Xing'er hesitated for a moment and whispered, "Master, it's a guest from the Wang family."

"Hmm? Wang Ren? What is he doing here?" Jia Lian hesitated, and Li Wen and her sister smiled and said, "Second Master, please go and do whatever you want. We sisters are tired and want to go back and rest."

Jia Lian also felt that his impotent rage just now was a bit socially dead and quite embarrassing. There was nothing to talk about for a while, so he said goodbye to the two girls and went back.

After leaving the two girls' sight, Xing'er came over and said:

"Master, it's not Master Wang Ren who's here, it's Second Madam."

"Who?" Jia Lian stopped walking suddenly and looked back at Xing'er in surprise, "Feng'er is here?"

"Yes! Second grandmother said she missed her daughter and came back to visit."

"Why is she here at this time? Isn't this just causing trouble for me?" Jia Lian's face suddenly changed color.

That day, Wang Xifeng learned from her brother Wang Ren that Jia Lian wanted to remarry, and she also began to be tempted.

If she could return to the Jia Mansion again, it would naturally mean that the past was over and she wouldn't have to worry about being sent away with a glass of medicinal wine. It would be much better than going to Master Zhan's house and being a concubine.

Although Mr. Zhan was a good man who became an earl at a young age, and the future Mrs. Zhan, Sister Lin, had been well taken care of by her in the past, she could not accept that she and Ping'er became sisters, especially since Ping'er came into the family first and was the elder sister.

Compared with love between men and women, Feng Lazi cares more about power.

She is the overbearing female CEO of this era. No matter what wives or concubines she has, the key is to hold the power.

Without the power of a housekeeper, it would be as if she had lost the meaning of her life.

The reason why she decided to divorce decisively was that she was worried about being killed by a cup of poisoned wine, but the deprivation of her power by Lady Jia and Mrs. Wang was also an important reason.

After she learned that Jia Lian wanted to remarry, she began to plan how to take back the power of housekeeper from Mrs. Wang after returning to the Jia Mansion, and waited for Jia Lian to come to her house to discuss the terms.

Her plan was quite good, but Jia Lian never showed up no matter how long she waited.

Finally, Wang Xifeng could not hold back any longer and asked Lai Wang'er to go to the Jia Mansion to inquire. Only then did she know that Mr. Lian had started dating again. It was said that the person who would become his future wife was Fu Qiufang, the sister of Fu Shi, a disciple of Mr. Zheng.

Now it was Wang Xifeng's turn to be anxious. She knew Jia Lian a little bit and knew that he was a fickle person. He wanted to remarry today but might regret it tomorrow. It was not surprising that he changed his mind.

Now that the situation has changed, Wang Xifeng no longer cares about her own status. She found an opportunity, hurriedly sneaked out of the Wang Mansion, and came to the Jia Mansion, under the pretext of visiting her daughter, hoping to fight for herself again.

Even if she wants to plan something, she has to come back first. As for future matters, it won't be too late to talk about it later.

Although Wang Xifeng is no longer a daughter-in-law of the Jia family, there is still some ties between them, so the servants of the Jia family did not make things difficult for her. After asking Mrs. Wang a question, they let her in directly.

Her reasons are sufficient, and Mrs. Wang can't stop the mother and daughter from meeting each other!
After seeing Qiaojie, the mother and daughter immediately hugged each other and cried bitterly. After they finished crying, Wang Xifeng wiped Qiaojie's tears and whispered:

"When your father comes, go over and hug him and cry, saying that you miss your mother and want her to come back."

Qiaojie nodded in a daze and agreed. As soon as Jia Lian came in, she ran over, hugged Jia Lian's thighs, and cried loudly.

"Dad, I miss mom, can you please let mom come back... wuwu..."

Jia Lian had rushed back with a lot of resentment, but after hearing Qiaojie's crying, he softened his heart immediately. He picked up the child and handed it to the maids next to him, asking them to take the child away first. Then he sat down on the chair with a big horse and a golden sword, and asked coldly:

"You've already divorced, why are you coming back?"

Wang Xifeng was so angry that her teeth itched in her heart, but she remained calm on the surface and just smiled and said:

"What are you talking about, Second Master? I miss Qiaojie, so why can't I come back to see her?"

"Humph!" Jia Lian snorted coldly and waved his hand, saying, "Since you've seen it, go back quickly!"

Seeing this, Wang Xifeng began to sob.

"Wow... Second Master has such a cruel heart..."

"I just met the child and didn't even say a few words to him, and you want to chase him away!"

"I have been loyal to Second Master all these years, managing this family with all my heart and soul, without any slacking off, but Second Master is so cold-hearted and doesn't care about our old friendship at all."

As husband and wife, Wang Xifeng had long known Jia Lian's temper thoroughly. She knew that Jia Lian was not a bad person by nature, but was just too cowardly, easily influenced, and had no opinion of his own.

Therefore, if you want to influence his thoughts, just keep pestering him!

Even though Mr. Lian acted like a romantic to Fu Qiufang and the Li Wen sisters, you can tell from his background that he doesn't have the genes to be a bootlicker. He can never be one. From childhood to adulthood, he has always been chased and licked by others.

But now that times have changed and the Jia family is in decline, Jia Lian has begun to learn to lick others.

It’s just that being a dog licker is not something you can learn just because you want to. Most people can’t learn it even if they want to.

If Fu Qiufang could understand this principle, humble herself and be more proactive, there would be no chance for the Li Wen sisters!
However, Wang Xifeng saw all this clearly, and in order to achieve her own goal, she was willing to lower her status. After all, licking her own master was nothing, and when she succeeded, she would return him tenfold or a hundredfold, and ensure that Master Lian would still be obedient.

As expected, when Wang Xifeng cried like this, Lian Er immediately became anxious and slammed the table, shouting:
"Who stopped you from watching your daughter?"

"If you haven't seen enough, I'll have someone bring Qiaojie back."

"Why are you crying? You're so annoying!"

Wang Xifeng stopped crying and just sobbed and said incoherently:

"When I came back this time, I saw that Qiaojie's clothes were all stained. It was obvious that the servants were lazy and slack."

"My poor daughter, after losing her mother, no one cares for her anymore, and even the servants treat her casually."

After hearing what Wang Xifeng said, Lian Er was filled with anger and snorted coldly:
"Those black-hearted guys are not only lazy towards Qiaojie, but they are also treacherous towards me, the master."

"How could this be?" Wang Xifeng pretended to be surprised.

"Humph, why else? It's because the master is gone, and the title is gone. The mansion is now run by the second wife, and those lowly bastards are all trying to curry favor with Baoyu, Huan Saner and the others!"

Seeing Jia Lian fall into the trap, Wang Xifeng raised her eyebrows and started to scold:

"What a bunch of unruly people!"

"When I was the housekeeper, no one dared to treat a mistress as unpopular as Sister Xichun like this!"

"How come the rules in this mansion have become so lax since I left!"

"Alas, it's because I left. If I could come back and take care of this household, I would definitely not let the master and Qiaojie suffer such humiliation!"

Ok?
Lian Er's heart was moved, thinking back to when his wife was the housekeeper. Although he was always controlled by his wife, at least he would not be bullied by the servants. Even though the second branch was still powerful at that time, the difference was not as obvious as it is now.

But he thought again, the master and the title were there at that time, but the situation is different now, so he shook his head and sighed:
"Times have changed. The master and the title are both lost. Even if you come back, I can't let you be the housekeeper."

Wang Xifeng heard his tone soften, so she perked up and said:

"Second Master, what you said is not right."

"When the old lady was here, why did she hand over the power of housekeeper to me? Wasn't it because the second wife couldn't manage the household well and didn't do good things?"

"Just look at the current situation in the mansion and you will know how poor the second wife's housekeeper is."

"Let alone other things, the daily expenses of this mansion must be carefully calculated, otherwise there will be problems when settling accounts at the end of the year."

"Second Master is also aware of those thieves in our mansion. Whenever there is a chance, they will do whatever they want. Even if someone is watching, they still do this. What about lax management?"

"I think if the Second Madam can't manage the income and expenditure well, there will be problems with the expenses of the mansion sooner or later. If the Second Madam doesn't want the mansion to fall into a difficult situation, she will definitely hand over the power of the housekeeper."

"I will be the housekeeper then, and the second wife will be like the old lady in the past, she just needs to stay in the back."

"It's hard to say what else will happen, but at least no servant in this mansion will dare to glare at you, Second Master, and your daily food, clothing and daily expenses will definitely not be lacking at all."

After hearing this, Lian Er finally reacted and realized why Wang Xifeng came back. He couldn't help but look at Wang Xifeng and sneered.

"Haha, I thought you were so kindhearted that you came back on your own initiative. Could it be for this?"

"Why, do you still want to go back to the mansion and be your housekeeper and second wife?"

Seeing that Jia Lian had discovered it, Wang Xifeng stopped pretending and just walked over to stand behind Jia Lian with a smile, gently pressing her hands on his shoulders and saying with a smile:
"I heard from my brother that the Second Master wants to remarry. As his wife, I have to take the initiative to show my support. I can't let you be so eager!"

Jia Lian shook his arms and shook her hands off. He picked up the teacup and drank the tea slowly, snorting coldly:
"Your Second Madam Lian is back too late. I, your Second Master, already have another choice and will soon marry someone else!"

Wang Xifeng was not in a hurry to be treated coldly by Jia Lian. She put her hand on him again and continued to massage him, smiling and saying:
"I know, that Miss Fu Qiufang!"

"But her brother is a disciple of Master Zheng. Even if he is admitted and manages the household, he still has to act according to the Second Madam's wishes. Second Master, you still can't turn things around!"

Jia Lian had only been thinking about the beauty and family background of his second wife before, but had never considered these things. Now that Wang Xifeng reminded him of this, he suddenly realized it, and couldn't help but frowned, feeling a little hesitant.

But our Second Master Lian is a dandy boy who would rather lose than lose the battle. He hesitated in his heart, but still said stubbornly:

"That's all old news. The ones you're dating now are the cousins ​​of Wan Dasao's wife, and there are two of them. You can choose one for me."

"Li Gongcai's cousin?" Wang Xifeng was stunned for a moment, but still sneered: "It's the same thing!"

"They are all relatives of Master Zheng. No matter who the Second Master marries, the housekeeper's affairs will still be in the hands of the Second Madam."

"If my guess is correct, the woman chosen by the Second Madam for the Second Master must be gentle, virtuous, and non-competitive. I'm just afraid that she will meet someone like me and go against her."

This hits the nail on the head and is exactly the same as the actual situation. Both Fu Qiufang and the Li sisters look like ladies, not as fierce as Wang Xifeng.

Jia Lian's suspicion became more and more serious.

Wang Xifeng advised again:
"I know that you have resentment towards me, but you should ask yourself, is the Second Madam really so kind as to find you a considerate second wife?"

"I'm afraid it's just to better control you?"

"To put it bluntly, my aunt is the most cruel and heartless. If she hadn't wanted to send me away with a glass of poisoned wine that day, I wouldn't have been so determined to divorce her."

"Poisoned wine?" Jia Lian was shocked and his body suddenly tensed up.

"You...don't know?" Wang Xifeng asked hesitantly.

"I...how could I possibly know these things? Are you overthinking it?"

"Haha..." Wang Xifeng sneered, the hatred in her heart was hard to dispel, "After I got into trouble that day, she and the old lady didn't want me to come back, so as not to lose face for the Jia family."

"After she came back, she immediately took away my position, under the pretext of letting me recuperate, but in reality she wanted me to disappear from the public eye, and when the limelight was over, she wanted me to die of illness."

"I didn't dare to trust my own judgment at the time, and I went to her house to beg her to help me. Guess what happened?"

"She had a gloomy expression on her face when she spoke, as if I had taken away her precious son!"

"I still remember her sinister look. I will never forget it for the rest of my life."

When talking about this past event, Wang Xifeng felt both cruel and afraid, and her voice trembled a little.

Jia Lian took a deep breath and suddenly felt that the Second Wife was quite friendly to him.

Wang Xifeng felt the stiffness of her subordinate's body and knew that he was frightened, so she comforted him:

"Don't worry, Master. After all, you are a man in the mansion. You are not a woman like me who never leaves the house. She won't dare to attack you casually."

"The reason why I told you all this is not for anything else, but to make you understand one thing."

"The second wife is unreliable. Only we husband and wife are of one mind."

"After all, we have been married for many years and know each other well. If you replace her with a concubine who is close to the second wife, can you really trust her?"

"Can she really break up with the Second Wife just for the sake of her family?"

"Does she really have the ability to change the current bad situation of the Second Master?"

After repeated questioning, Wang Xifeng softened her tone and pleaded earnestly:
"Second Master, we two will fight at the head of the bed and make up at the foot of the bed. No matter how many faults we have, we will solve them by ourselves behind closed doors. You can beat me or scold me, it's all up to you."

"I have made many mistakes in the past, and I have reflected on them these days. When I come back, I will definitely turn over a new leaf. I will never be so ignorant as before and embarrass you, Master."

"But when facing the Second House, we two are on the same team. Second Master, you need a capable wife who can charge in the front and bring benefits to the family."

"Even if you don't want to remarry me, I still have to say this. Anyone can be my successor, except the one introduced by the Second Madam!"

After being persuaded by Wang Xifeng, Jia Lian's ears immediately softened. The idea of ​​remarrying, which he had originally given up, resurfaced and became even stronger.

However, whenever he thought of remarrying, he felt a dull pain in his nose bridge, and his body twitched involuntarily. He hesitated and said:
"I did think about remarrying before, mainly because I wanted to give Qiaojie a complete family so that she wouldn't cry and look for her mother every day."

"But your brother Wang Ren is bent on currying favor with the man surnamed Zhan, and he insists on sending you to him as a concubine."

"That guy named Zhan is not a good guy either. He has had bad intentions towards you for a long time. If you remarry, I'm afraid you will offend him."

When Wang Xifeng heard this, her brows raised and she felt angry. Your own wife is actually afraid of offending Master Zhan?

But she was standing behind Jia Lian, so Jia Lian couldn't see her expression and didn't know that she was angry at the moment, and she was still muttering to herself.

"My lord, I want to make great contributions and become an official in the future. If these two hold me back, I'm afraid my career will be full of setbacks!"

Wang Xifeng knew that her useless master was a coward and did not dare to provoke Master Zhan. She also knew that the relationship between the couple had long faded. What remained was only a little affection and more weighing of pros and cons. So she took a deep breath, suppressed her anger, and said with a forced smile:
"Hey, what did I think it was?"

"My brother is not that simple. He is just angry at your previous ruthlessness, so he deliberately irritates you. Otherwise, why would he tell me that you want to remarry?"

"As long as you and I remarry, he will naturally stand on your side again."

"As for Mr. Zhan, he is just lustful, but he doesn't have to target a married woman like me."

"We will find two beautiful ladies to send to him later. I guarantee he will be very happy and still treat you as his brother."

Jia Lian was not a man good at strategy, but after hearing what Wang Xifeng said, he felt that it made sense no matter how he thought about it.

If the brother-in-law didn't want to bring them together, he would not have leaked the news to Wang Xifeng.

Mr. Zhan's reputation as a lustful person has long been well-known in the capital. No one knows how much of the benefits he has distributed as a result. He loves the woman so much that he loves her too. It seems that as long as there is a beautiful woman, there is no need for him to keep staring at a yellow-faced woman.

The power of the Wang family is countless times stronger than that of the Li family and the Fu family. If he can rely on their support after the remarriage, it will be of great benefit to his family in the future when he joins the army or becomes an official.

After Jia Lian carefully considered for a long time, he finally made up his mind and nodded:
"Forget it. This time, for Qiaojie's sake, I will forgive you once. I only hope that after you come back, you can abide by your duties and not act recklessly again."

"If you still don't recognize your identity and dare to be disrespectful to the master, be careful that the master will send you back home!"

After hearing this, Wang Xifeng knew that the matter was settled. She immediately smiled sweetly, ignored his words of trying to save his dignity, and put on a respectful attitude, swearing:
"Master, don't worry. If I make you angry again, you don't need to ask me. I will sell myself to that lustful Master Zhan and be his humble concubine for the rest of my life."

Jia Lian was originally quite satisfied with Wang Xifeng's attitude, but the oath sounded awkward to him.

He shook his head, threw the unhappy thought out of his mind, stood up and walked out.

"I'll go tell the second wife and cancel all the blind dates."

Wang Xifeng was overjoyed and smiled as she reminded him from behind:

"Then I will go back to the Wang family and wait. Master, please remember to come and pick me up."

Thanks to the book friend "Nancheng1225" for the reward of 500 coins!


(End of this chapter)