The Overlord of the Red Mansion

Chapter 137 Pain
"Miss! We're back!"

Zijuan, Xueyan, Nanny Wang and others quickly walked up to Lin Daiyu and shouted with some grievance.

Lin Daiyu was discussing something with Jia Rong and others in the hall. When the group saw Zijuan coming back, they became curious.

Yuanyang asked curiously, "What took so long?"

Zijuan felt very aggrieved. "We were not there when the master sent someone to deliver the letter, and the messenger did not tell us. We only found out about it a while ago, which delayed us a lot of time."

Lin Daiyu consoled him, "I'm glad you're back. Are Mother Wang and Xueyan doing well in their hometown?"

The little girl Xueyan quickly shook her head, "Not good at all."

Zijuan helped and said, "There are many branch clans living in the Lin family mansion. They all say that Master Lin has no son. According to the rules, those things should be given to the people in the clan. Now the land and house of the family are occupied by those people."

Zijuan talked about Lin Daiyu and the Lin family.

"When Xueyan and I lived there, many people came to see us. They brought their children to ask us for food and drink. If we refused, they would take it themselves and scold us."

"I'll let it go, but those girls and women said Xueyan was a servant of the Lin family and they sold her out if she didn't obey them."

"During this period, we have been hiding in the business shop that the master took us to. Fortunately, the people there are the master's subordinates and they treated us with great courtesy, so nothing happened."

Jia Yuanchun frowned, "How could this happen?"

Jia Rong said: "This is quite normal. If there is no son outside, the family will be wiped out. Even if she is a lady of the imperial family, there is nothing she can do. It is normal for people in the clan to inherit the inheritance of a widow's family."

"Sit down and talk. It's good that you're back. From now on, you can live a peaceful life in the mansion and don't have to pay attention to those evil people."

Jia Rong walked to the side and sat down, and motioned for the others to find a seat and sit down to talk.

Lin Daiyu said politely to Jia Rong: "Thank you, Brother Rong, for your help. If it weren't for Brother Rong, I'm afraid Daiyu would be in the same situation when she returned home."

Shi Xiangyun asked curiously, "I am also an orphan, and my uncle is very good to me. Is it really that serious?"

Jia Rong laughed and said, "Why doesn't Miaoyu dare to go home? It's because she has money with her and she is a weak woman. Even if she doesn't encounter bandits and bullies on the way, her relatives will eat her up and wipe out her family when she returns home. If they find her a random evil man to marry and torture her to death, wouldn't all the family property be left behind?"

"A daughter who is married off is like water spilled. Generally, married women must follow etiquette when they want to return to their parents' home. They cannot go back easily."

"After you get married, you become someone else's daughter-in-law. The relatives in the clan will not watch a woman take their family's money and property and let someone else get it."

"People are greedy and don't care about reason. If you understand that they are all trying to make money and eat up other people's money, you will understand a lot of things."

Wang Xifeng echoed, "Master, you are right. It is very difficult for a widow without a son to live."

She has a son, and after having him, she has become very confident in everything.

Zijuan stood in the hall and said to Jia Rong, "I have heard recently how the maids in other families live. After hearing this, I realized how good our family is."

Jia Rong smiled and said, "I know the situation outside very well. There is no need to explain it to you, lest you feel uncomfortable."

"Yes!" Zijuan felt that Jia Rong was even more generous and kind-hearted.

Xichun became curious, "Do the maids outside have more work to do and are more tired?"

Jia Rong said calmly, "Those people outside are rich but unkind. It is common for them to abuse and beat the maids. The maids and servants bought from outside are beaten as soon as they enter the house. They are beaten until they dare not resist. Even if their faces are swollen, they still dare not resist. Only then will they stay."

"Some are beaten up right after they are bought in, and then tied up and taught a lesson. In general, buying a girl is like buying a cheap cat or dog."

"Our family is not the kind of family without conscience. We have always treated our servants very well. We have never beaten a maid to death or deliberately abused anyone. Even if they made ordinary mistakes, we would just kick them out."

This is the way it is in this era, especially when the world outside is not peaceful.

To be honest, domesticated children like mandarin ducks are just piglets born by sows.

Fortunately, only a few people have the right to keep slaves. It’s not that the wealthy families don’t want to buy more people, but they don’t have enough authority.

Another thing is that the expenses are huge. Once there are more people, the expenses are definitely more than just the wages, there are also various maintenance costs.

In feudal society, it is impossible to hide slaves in large numbers, as there is definitely not only one landlord in the city.
Jia Rong is a duke, and the Jia family has been doing business in the Jinling area for generations, so they are not afraid of being reported even if they have only one or two thousand people.

If other minor officials and landlords had more than a hundred slaves at home and were reported, it would be a serious matter.

Landlords only acquired land, purchased properties and fields and rented them out to people for farming, instead of buying hundreds of slaves to do the work.

Only the extremely wealthy can afford to support a large number of slaves, but ordinary merchants without power and influence cannot grow big either.

Soon Jia Rong said again: "There are already enough slaves in the house. Don't take any more. Let some go later."

Wang Xifeng nodded and said, "Yes, our family is already good enough. It would be hard to find a better family than ours."

At this time, a maid came in from outside to deliver a message.

"Master, someone from the palace has sent a message that the emperor has summoned you to the palace to discuss matters."

Jia Rong stood up and said, "I'll go over now."

Jia Rong was about to leave, but when he passed by Xueyan Zijuan and others, he suddenly stopped and turned to look at the two maids.

Zijuan hurriedly asked, "What do you want, Master?"

Jia Rong looked at the red spots on Xueyan's face, then at Zijuan.

"Are the red spots on Xueyan's face caused by mosquito bites or pimples?"

When everyone heard this, they were immediately shocked.

Wang Xifeng hurriedly said, "Nurse! Take the children down quickly!"

The wet nurses knew the seriousness of the situation and quickly took away several children who were playing nearby.

Jia Yuanchun and others also moved away from Xueyan.

Lin Daiyu was so shocked that she was pulled back by Xing Xiuyun and Xue Baochai.

Sanchun, along with the maids and others, distanced themselves from each other.

Smallpox is a deadly virus in this era. Everyone will get it, and it is basically a fatal disease.

No matter whether they are children of royal nobles or common people, as long as they show up, they are gambling with their lives.

Some children from powerful and wealthy families could be killed by smallpox one after another, and even a dozen children would not be enough to kill them all.

Not only children, but adults can also get it, and the mortality rate after getting it is extremely high.

Fortunately, each person only gets the disease once, and once infected, they are immune for life.

Because the mortality rate is so high, everyone who is a little older has seen or heard of it.

Especially those who have children will basically know about this horrible infectious disease from their parents or relatives.

Because it is an infectious disease, large families are more concerned about this kind of thing.

The people who had just returned were now regarded as the source of infection. The alienation, defense and vigilance made the girls very scared. Xueyan said hurriedly: "It was a bug bite!"

Zijuan also said, "It's very hot in the south, and there are bugs everywhere in the house. We have a few red spots on our bodies, and they are really bug bites!"

Jia Rong squatted down and lifted up Zijuan's trouser legs.

Soon, several red spots appeared on Zijuan's legs. Jia Rong said to Xueyan, "Xueyan, pull up your trouser legs too. Let me see."

Thirteen-year-old Xueyan quickly did as she was told.

The wet nurse, Mother Wang, was at a loss as to whether she should pull up her trouser legs as well, but Jia Rong did not tell her what to do.

The situation on Xueyan's calves was more serious, with more than a dozen red bumps that looked very uncomfortable.

After seeing this, Lin Daiyu and others felt physically uncomfortable.

Jia Rong quickly stood up and said, "It's not that you have beans, but that you have been bitten by a poisonous insect. Let's go find Yinglian later and ask her to apply the Ruby Cooling Ointment on you."

Zijuan and Xueyan hurriedly thanked him, "Thank you, Master!"

Jia Rong said, "Your skin is as delicate as that of the young lady. Not to mention the evil hearts of people, even the dirty water and poisonous insects outside can kill you. Be careful next time."

"Yes!" Zijuan and Xueyan both knew the danger outside.

Jia Rong quickly went to take care of the emperor's affairs. Today was another day when he skipped work early, and it was not yet time to get off work.

Qingwen and Xiaohong quickly followed and helped Jia Rong change his clothes.

When he went out, Jia Rong's eyes showed a thoughtful look.

The treatment of smallpox can be done, but there is no need to make a big fuss about it, and there is no need to take credit for it now.

After all, things done in a rush to flatter will not bring much credit.

It's not that I care about the reward for my merits, but after careful recollection, it seems that the rewards received by those who have researched various things that changed the course of history were very minimal.

Zhang Zhongjing, Bian Que, Hua Tuo and others did not receive many rewards for their superb medical skills.

No matter in ancient or modern times, in China or abroad, people will not cry until they see the coffin.

Even though countless princes and grandchildren of the feudal dynasty and royal nobles died of smallpox, ordinary doctors who came up with methods to prevent and treat smallpox were still considered inferior people in the eyes of feudal monarchs, ministers, and royal nobles.

Even if an ordinary person solved the problem of smallpox, that was the job of a doctor and he would definitely not be promoted. He would usually be sent to the grassroots level to take charge of the corresponding matters and would be given some honorary bonuses.

You won't cry until you see the coffin. If you don't help someone in need, no one will cherish it, let alone attach importance to the credit.

If it were me, I would not be able to get promoted either.

Jia Rong felt that the emperor could only give him a few words of praise verbally, after all, this was his job as a doctor.

Even if I conquered smallpox, would those bastards in the Ministry of Rites not report me for this?
impossible!

Those bastards will just think that you did what you were supposed to do and shouldn't take credit for it.

After thinking about it for a while, Jia Rong decided to wait until a few more princes, grandchildren and moralists died before making any decision.

After Jia Rong left, the rest of the people also dispersed.

Jia Yuanchun and Wang Xifeng were walking in the garden together.

"What is Yinglian's job at the master's place?"

Wang Xifeng replied, "That girl likes to be quiet and doesn't like to move. She often waits on the master in the study and the front yard. She and her mother are also responsible for cleaning and supervising the pharmacy. Usually, Ping'er is in charge of us getting the medicine."

"We have two pharmacies. One is the warehouse yard, where all kinds of precious medicinal materials are stored. The other is where the master makes medicines and alchemy. Yinglian is in charge of that place."

Jia Yuanchun nodded, "Usually, I would tell the master when I needed to see a doctor or take medicine, and he would take care of it. I didn't expect that Yinglian was in charge of the secret medicine."

Wang Xifeng smiled and said, "She has a good personality, has been with the master since she was a child, and loves reading and writing. I think she will become the new sister in no time."

Jia Yuanchun smiled and said, "This one is good, much better than the others."

Neither Qingwen nor Xiaohong caught Jia Yuanchun's eye.

Even Ping'er and Yuanyang were not actually favored by Jia Yuanchun.

As the legitimate wife, Jia Yuanchun naturally hopes that her master's concubines are all quiet, well-behaved and trouble-making people like Yinglian.

Not only Jia Yuanchun likes Yinglian, but Lin Daiyu, Shi Xiangyun and others also like Yinglian.

Soon the girls took their maids to the front yard to find Yinglian.

"Yinglian!"

Shi Xiangyun shouted.

The courtyard gate opened quickly, and the maid who opened the door saw a large group of people coming and asked curiously, "Why are all the girls here?"

Zijuan said quickly, "The master asked me to come to Sister Yinglian to apply medicine. I have red spots on my hands and legs from insect bites."

When the maid heard the purpose of the visit, she quickly invited everyone in.

"Come in quickly, I'll go inform the girl. I was bitten last time too, and the pus went away after applying it a few times."

The girls entered the yard together. It was a clear and cool autumn day. Although there were osmanthus trees planted in the yard, the maids had cleaned it very cleanly. This yard used to be the main courtyard of Jia Rong and Jia Yuanchun.

After Jia Yuanchun moved into the garden, this place was connected to the front yard and became the place where Jia Rong worked and rested after court.

Soon Yinglian came out with a wooden jar, which looked like a round box for Go.

"I'm here." Yinglian smiled and said, "It just so happens that there is a lot of this ointment left this year. If anyone is bitten, come and sit down. I will apply the ointment to you."

Lin Daiyu smiled and said, "Doctor Yinglian, please help Zijuan and Xueyan."

"I don't dare to call you a doctor." Yinglian was still very happy and said modestly: "The medicine is made by the master. I know what medicine to use to treat diseases, and they are all some common symptoms."

Xue Baochai said, "Can you give me some of this medicine? There are many mosquitoes in autumn, so I'd like to have a bottle ready for use."

Yinglian said embarrassedly: "Master, you are not allowed to take the medicine out. You can go to the warehouse outside to get mosquito repellent medicine, but the best thing is mosquito nets. Master has already prepared mosquito nets and incense for each room. These are good things to prevent mosquitoes. When you really need to use the medicine in my hand, it must be because the previous ones have not been used."

Lin Daiyu smiled and said, "That's true. They didn't get enough rest outside. It's my fault. If I had known earlier, I would have taken care of them all the time. They wouldn't have suffered so much."

Zijuan said, "Miss is worried that we will feel uncomfortable from the bumpy ride. We are not clear-headed from the ride. If we follow the master, we won't suffer. If I hadn't been lazy and wanted to have a good rest for a few days, I wouldn't have suffered for the past two months."

Xueyan went home to visit her relatives, while Zijuan felt tired of traveling and uncomfortable taking the boat when she went to the south of the Yangtze River, so she stayed directly at Lin Daiyu's hometown, planning to go back with Jia Rong and others when they returned.

I didn't expect that just because I wanted to relax, I would suffer a lot.

(End of this chapter)