The Overlord of the Red Mansion

Chapter 211 Arrogant Xichun

In the cold winter, the girls in the garden gathered together again to have fun.

A group of young ladies wearing beautiful cotton-padded jackets and cloaks entered the Dengxian Pavilion one after another.

Several aunts were wearing cloaks with their own characteristics. Even if they were wearing the same color clothes, one could clearly see the difference in workmanship between them.

As the girls came up one after another, the room became lively.

There is no heating in Dengxian Pavilion, but there is an iron stove in the house. Although the walls are made of wood, it is warm under the warmth of three iron coal stoves for boiling water.

Miss Wang and Miss Wei went upstairs together and saw several beautiful girls when they came up.

In terms of beauty, there are not many who are better than them.

However, the overall quality is still higher here. There is no shortage of beautiful women or talented women here.

"Sister Wei, cousin, come and sit down."

Xue Baochai took the initiative to invite Miss Wang and Miss Wei over.

Miss Wei is Wei Ruolan's elder sister. Because of the engagement between the two families, she has become closer to the Wang family and the Wang Palace.

Most of the time he went to the Wang family. This time he came here with the help of Miss Wang's relationship. Only after being invited could he come here alone with his servants.

The ladies of noble families have all kinds of unspoken rules and procedures, such as how to get to know people and what is considered polite, and their elders at home tell them what to do.

Just like the wedding process and various rules, the elderly are the ones who lead the newlyweds.

Even the rules for being an emperor were learned from his predecessors, and it was rare for him to create his own system.

Although Jia Rong's family has no rules, it is not completely without rules.

The main thing is that Jia Rong himself does not follow the rules, but he does not reject others from following the rules, so it seems that there is no change, but in fact the core is gone long ago.

The rules of other families are meant to maintain order, but Jia Rong sets the rules however he wants.

Miss Wei sat down with Xue Baochai and others. After chatting with Lin Daiyu, Xue Baochai, Shi Xiangyun and others for a few words, she saw various beautiful girls coming upstairs one after another.

Soon Tanchun and Xichun came over.

Tanchun was wearing a bright red cloak, a red Guanyin hood on her head, and red leather boots on her feet. In order to avoid the color appearing monotonous, the fur inside the cloak was white. The snow hat on her head was stained with a layer of white because of the snow that had fallen today. The combination of the two made her look like a red makeup in the snow.

Xichun was wearing a green cloak and looked much younger and cuter.

When the two came over, Miss Wang and Miss Wei stood up to greet them.

Tanchun said quickly: "Xichun's sister-in-law is here~"

Lin Daiyu laughed and said, "Which sister-in-law? These two are both sisters-in-law!"

Miss Wang is Jia Baoyu's wife. Jia Baoyu is of the same generation as Jia Zhen and is Jia Xichun's brother. Miss Wang is naturally Jia Xichun's sister-in-law.

Jia Xichun blushed and retorted, "You're talking about this again. If the princess finds out, she'll call you over and tell you off!"

Lin Daiyu smiled and said, "I won't say anything more. After you leave, we will have peace and quiet here~"

Xue Baochai smiled and said, "That's right, get married quickly."

Xichun was shy and didn't want others to continue talking about this matter, so she quickly changed the subject.

"Yingchun is not coming. She said there is nothing to do here. She might as well stay at home and play chess with the maids."

After hearing this, several people nearby also understood Jia Yingchun's thoughts.

Jia Yingchun didn't like playing with them, especially after she got together with Jia Rong, she was busy with her own things all day, or taking a walk in the garden with a group of maids, or reading books, playing chess, and learning some housework. She basically refused the girls' parties whenever possible.

Especially since my belly has grown bigger recently, I’m even more reluctant to walk.

Lin Daiyu said softly, "Then if there is anything good in our poems later, please copy one down for her."

Xichun smiled and said, "No, she doesn't like this, don't bother her. Look, Tanchun has so many things to do, but she has never missed our poetry club. It's Yingchun who always refuses and doesn't say a word after coming over. She's not interesting at all."

Seeing this, everyone didn't know what to say. Xichun was Jia Rong's aunt, and also the aunt of most people.

Even if it's Jia Yuanchun, it's not good to always talk about her.

Because of Jia Rong, the old lady and others couldn't say it directly every time.

The only one who was considered qualified was Mrs. You, who was the type of person who didn't want to get involved in anything.

A few people sat down and continued to wait for people. Soon they saw Wang Xifeng walking quickly upstairs from downstairs.

"I'm late, has it started yet?"

"Not yet, Second Grandma is here early~"

"That's good! No need to drink the penalty!"

Wang Xifeng came up with a smile, and when she saw the girls were all upstairs, she said with a smile, "I had a lot of things to do when I got up this morning. Fortunately, the people from the Zhen family and the second family reminded me that there was a poetry club today, so I hurried over."

Xue Baochai began to pour the wine, "Sister, you have worked hard, have a drink to warm yourself up."

Wang Xifeng waved her hand quickly, "Please spare me. I have too many things to do today. From yesterday, the fifteenth day, to the new year, I think there will be too much to handle in the half month. My elder sister and the eldest wife don't care about anything. I have to play cards with several ladies in the afternoon. It's not good to drink too much." Jia Tanchun smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Second Madam~"

Wang Xifeng was very happy, "It's better to work harder. I am happy to see that our home is so lively. Look at all these beautiful girls in the room. They are all from our family!"

Xichun reminded, "There are two more that are not."

Lin Daiyu laughed and said, "Look, Sister Feng said a few words and this girl turned her elbow outward."

Xichun became shy again, giving everyone a feeling of amorous longing in the middle of winter.

Shi Xiangyun asked curiously, "I was just talking about the maid when she came."

Everyone looked forward and saw that it was Xue Baoqin coming over.

Baoqin was wearing a bright red cloak with lace, the paint on the cloak shone brilliantly in the sunlight.

This cloak is made of the feathers from wild ducks’ heads, which has good thermal insulation effect, but is also very waterproof and is not afraid of moisture from rain.

Capes made of different materials have different performances. Some have strong thermal insulation effects, while others have strong waterproof effects. However, most of the time, the basic effects can meet various needs, and the main pursuit is still beautiful features.

"Baoqin is here. Look at the clothes she is wearing. How many wild ducks are needed to make this outfit? No, I am greedy again. I want to eat some wild duck meat. Go and ask the kitchen to make some bird meat for me to taste."

Wang Xifeng smiled and changed the subject, and took the initiative to treat Xue Baoqin to a meal to give her face.

Lin Daiyu smiled and said, "Sister Feng must have made a fortune again, but we haven't used up our club dues this year, so we'll pay from the club dues first. We can't always let Sister Feng spend the money."

Wang Xifeng said happily, "Sister Daiyu is really caring."

Shi Xiangyun shouted to Xue Baoqin, "Come quickly! You are late. Drink a penalty!"

Xue Baoqin untied her cloak, revealing her pink cotton jacket and big belly underneath.

"If you want to drink, go ahead and drink. I can't drink while I'm pregnant. My brother sent someone to deliver a letter this morning, so it took a while. Eat more good food today. I'll treat you."

Lin Daiyu asked curiously, "What good news is that?"

Xue Baoqin smiled and said, "My brother said that the emperor wanted to arrange a few more imperial merchants to manage things in Jiangnan. Master helped my brother get a title of imperial merchant registered with the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In the future, he will be registered under the name of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to receive his salary. He will still be responsible for Master's medicinal materials business, but he has two titles."

Wang Xifeng smiled and said, "This is a good thing. There is a lot of money, little work, and it is close to home. The master can do whatever he asks in time. If something goes wrong, the master will be there to take care of it. Sister Baoqin doesn't have to worry about it."

Xue Baochai joined in the fun and said, "My brother is also working in Jiangnan. He is said to have been appointed as a seventh-rank official and will be in office by the end of the year!"

Miss Wei immediately said, "There aren't many seventh-rank officials in Jiangnan. I heard that many people have to wait in line for several years before they can take office. But they can take office in less than two months. It must be that the prince sent someone to pass on the message."

Xue Baochai was even more proud, "I think that's why I'm worried that my brother is not clear-headed and is not cut out to be an official."

Xichun said arrogantly: "What are you afraid of? Jiangnan is our people. If there is anything, just leave it to Rong Ge'er!"

This guy was so arrogant that Wang Xifeng didn't dare to respond to him for fear of being implicated.

Lin Daiyu and others hurried to smooth things over.

"Everyone is here, let's get started."

Xue Baoqin took a look and said, "It's almost time. It's okay to wait a little longer."

At this time, there was a sound of people coming up the stairs downstairs. A little girl about seven or eight years old stuck her head out and looked at the large group of people here.

"Mother, Aunt Lin said that father got a cart of white, yellow and black fox skins, and asked mother to ask the aunts and girls who have made fewer clothes this year, so that they can go over and choose some materials."

Wang Xifeng said quickly, "I haven't worn the black fox fur yet. Go back and ask them to keep it for me. Also, keep a few white and yellow ones for me."

"Okay." Qiaoer went down to work quickly.

Shi Xiangyun quickly shouted, "Qiaojie! Leave me three black fox skins too!"

Qiaojie shouted: "I know~"

Miss Wei looked at the group of beautiful girls in the room. After they finished lunch and left together, she whispered to Miss Wang.

"Even the servants in the palace eat and dress better than us young ladies."

Miss Wang had a deep understanding of this. "The food, clothing and daily expenses there are all of the standard for a prince, and he often receives rewards from the emperor, and dignitaries from all over the world compete to send him gifts."

"We are going in and out through the back door today. If you go to the front and take a look, you will know what a wealthy and powerful family is like."

Miss Wang felt that Miss Wei could not understand the specific meaning, and added:
"Several girls and aunts. Even an aunt who was born as a maid has four big maids."

"There are nearly a hundred maids in the palace, and each maid's monthly salary is the same as our old lady's. If it's an aunt or a mistress, they can spend a thousand taels of silver a month as they please."

Miss Wei suddenly felt embarrassed. "Our family doesn't even have an income of three thousand taels a year. How can we afford to support a girl like this?"

Miss Wang said with a smile: "What are you afraid of? After becoming a high-ranking official, are you still afraid of not having money? When the prince's aunt gets married, she will definitely give your family a mountain of gold and silver!"

After hearing this, Miss Wei couldn't help but look forward to it.

Taking into account the huge amount of wealth Miss Wang obtained after her marriage, the Wei family became generous with their money and quickly put on a lavish display, trying their best to appear more lavish and not lose face for their in-laws.

Even if you are pawning something to borrow money, you have to do it in a decent and elegant way!
(End of this chapter)