The Overlord of the Red Mansion

Chapter 51: Rich Lady
In the twelfth lunar month, Jia Rong brought his family to Rongguo Mansion.

Jia She is dead, Jia Lian and Jia Zheng are not at home, and Jia Huan and Jia Cong, the illegitimate sons of the Jia family, have no status.

Although there is a strict separation between men and women, Jia Baoyu cannot entertain Jia Rong at this time.

So we just treated it as an early New Year’s Eve dinner.

After everyone gathered together, they still ate separately according to the rules of the big family.

There were tables for men and tables for women, and the wives stood to serve the girls and old ladies.

At the old lady's table, there were only Jia Baoyu, Jia Rong, Lin Daiyu, Xue Baochai, and Youshi who came as a guest.

Six people is neither too many nor too few.

Jia Yuanchun was also standing. This was the rule of that era.

You can break the rules in Ningguo Mansion, but you are not so free in Rongguo Mansion.

It wasn't Jia Rong who forced her to stand there, it was her family's own rule.

Jia Rong said, "My wife Yuanchun is pregnant and cannot stand all the time. Can the old lady allow her to come and serve once a day?"

Jia Rong is not resisting the oppression of women by feudal dregs. Sometimes he also thinks it is a good thing for his wife to abide by some rules. However, now that his wife is pregnant, there is no need for her to abide by the rules.

The return of a mother by her son is also a feature of the feudal era. Pregnant women are more likely to receive special care, which also makes the man who makes a woman pregnant seem more powerful.

Grandmother Jia said unhappily: "She is your daughter-in-law and also my granddaughter. I love her so much that I can't bear to let her get tired."

"Feng girl, sit down and eat with Yuanchun. You don't have to come and serve her anymore. Take good care of yourself."

Grandmother Jia quickly made arrangements for Jia Yuanchun, took care of Wang Xifeng, and found a woman from her own family to accompany Jia Yuanchun.

First of all, the housekeeper of Ningguo Mansion is Jia Yuanchun, and the housekeeper of Rongguo Mansion is Wang Xifeng, so it won’t hurt for them to have a good relationship.

Especially since Jia Lian and Jia Rong are not on good terms at the moment, it is even more necessary for Wang Xifeng and Jia Yuanchun to have a good relationship.

Secondly, it would not be appropriate for Jia Yuanchun to sit down and eat alone as she did not have a daughter-in-law of the same generation as her, and she could not have two elders, Lady Xing and Lady Wang, accompany her.

Both Li Wan and Wang Xifeng are suitable, but naturally Wang Xifeng, who is also pregnant, is more suitable.

Jia Rong said politely: "Thank you, old lady, for taking care of my willfulness. It is indeed inappropriate here. If it gets out, people will laugh at me. But after thinking about it, my wife and children are more important. I don't care about what people outside say."

Grandmother Jia sighed and said, "Old lady, I still care about these things today, but as long as you live well, I won't say anything more to annoy you."

Grandmother Jia's meaning was very clear, she even cared so much that she refused to hide it.

Jia Rong's wife made a serious mistake and the more she thought about it, the more she made the mistake.

In Grandmother Jia's opinion, if Jia Rong married Wang Xifeng, the strength and influence of the Jia and Wang families would definitely be further enhanced!

Unfortunately, Jia Rong was very clear about the terrible consequences of marrying Wang Xifeng. With someone to back her, Wang Xifeng could be ten times worse than she is now, with incredible destructive power!
Jia Rong said, "A lot of people have been arrested in the city recently. Earlier, I helped Liu Xianglian, the son of the Liu family, the Duke of Liguo, to buy an eighth-rank East Gate Guard. He got the real job by relying on his ancestral relationship."

"This man is highly skilled in martial arts and a good person, a loyal and righteous man. I plan to wait for a few years. Although he is ten years older than Miss Xichun, he is from a good family."

"Next year when there are fewer things to do, I'll ask him to come over and take a look. If it doesn't work out, forget it. There's no need to force it."

Grandmother Jia was very concerned about this matter. She frowned and said, "I know Duke Liguo, but I don't know who this Liu Xianglian is?"

Jia Rong said, "He is a collateral descendant. His parents died early, and he doesn't like to study. He spends all day drinking and gambling, and he also likes to sing operas. But now he is eighteen or nineteen years old, and he knows how to use his talents in the right way. Although his family is not well off, he is a very good person."

Grandmother Jia nodded. "Since you said so, let's see. Xichun is still young. Maybe he will wait for five or six years?"

Jia Rong said, "It should be possible. I will discuss this matter with him. If he finds the right person, then this matter will be over."

Grandmother Jia said, "Okay, if you meet a good man, help the other girls find good families."

Lin Daiyu, Jia Tanchun, Jia Yingchun, and Xue Baochai all looked over here.

Especially Xue Baochai and Aunt Xue, they were the most excited at this moment.

At this moment, Jia Baoyu stood up and yelled like crazy: "I won't marry! My elder sister won't marry, and my younger sister won't marry! I will be unclean if I marry! There is no light in my eyes! Wuuuuu..."

Seeing that he was going crazy, Jia Rong quickly said, "Okay, okay, sit down and eat and talk. I won't talk about this anymore. I'm going back to Jinling tomorrow, and I'll probably be back before the Lantern Festival next year. I guess your father and the others will be back at about the same time."

"You and Miss Lin are still young. I won't force you. When you grow up in a few years, you will understand things by yourself."

This was the first time that Jia Rong treated Jia Baoyu gently.

It may be because Lady Wang, Grandmother Jia and Jia Yuanchun are all here. It may also be because Jia Zheng is not here and does not want to be so harsh on Jia Baoyu.

Or maybe Jia Baoyu and the girls are still treated as children.

When Mrs. Wang and Lady Jia saw how accommodating Jia Rong was to Jia Baoyu, they were immediately relieved and smiled.

Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai stared at Master Bao with wide eyes.

Especially Aunt Xue, she wanted to slap him in the face!
Master Rong was just about to arrange a marriage for their family, but Jia Baoyu went crazy and messed up everything.

Jia Rong is not that kind-hearted. In fact, he is not that nice to Liu Xianglian. Instead, he wants to block the way for the marriage.

Otherwise, if the emperor allows his aunt Jia Xichun to enter the palace in the future, it will be troublesome.

You can't just kill the emperor, can you?

Although it is possible, you can just make a verbal agreement now and regret it in the future.

Jia Rong doesn't care about face at all.

Wang Xifeng was sitting at the same table with Jia Yuanchun in the room and was too lazy to chat and laugh with the old lady.

She is everywhere, and her job is to make the old lady laugh every day.

But after seeing Jia Yuanchun's life as a grandmother, Wang Xifeng felt that her life was really hard.

I have to serve the old lady every day, and then serve my mother-in-law. Then I can go home to eat and manage various matters.

Now that she is pregnant, she has to consider Jia Yuanchun's face before she can sit down to eat.

The more Wang Xifeng thought about it, the more jealous she became!
The baby in my aunt's belly is also his!

Jia Rong comforted Master Bao and said, "We have spent a lot of money this year. Miss Xichun has lived here for almost ten years. I plan to let her move back next year."

Grandmother Jia said, "I can't bear to leave here. Do you think it would be okay for me to stay here for a few more years?"

Jia Rong said, "Before, Ningguo Mansion had few people, and there were not many people who knew how to take care of children, so they sent them here to be taken care of by the elders."

"Now my family is prosperous, and I have built a new garden and residence. It's time for me to go back. Besides, I will have to interact with some dignitaries next year. When others visit me, they will know that there is such a person in my family."

Seeing this, Jia's mother couldn't persuade her to stay. "Then I'll follow your arrangements. But you should come over often in the future. Xichun can come over for dinner."

Jia Xichun came over from Sanchun's table and sat next to Jia Rong.

Jia Rong said, "I have prepared a thousand taels of gold and a thousand taels of silver. I will have them delivered to the old lady's room after dinner. My Xichun is a rich lady."

Grandmother Jia said quickly: "How can I do this? You don't have to send it to me, I don't want it!"

Jia Rong said, "Money is easy to earn, but it is only a part of one's life. Family reunion is the most important thing. Please accept it, old lady. I was not polite to you at the banquet for the successful candidates. If I were too polite, it would be too formal."

Mrs. Wang smiled and said, "Old lady, this is a gift from my son-in-law, just accept it."

Mrs. Xing also tried her best to say, "Son-in-law, this is a New Year's greeting. Please accept it!"

Wang Xifeng felt that what Mrs. Xing said was unpleasant, so she stood up from the inner room and said, "Old lady, this Mr. Rong is here to visit relatives for the purpose of reciprocity. First, it is about Miss Xichun's matter, and second, it is to give Miss Xichun face, so that people outside know that the girls in our Jia family are all precious. Whoever marries a girl from our family is blessed!"

Jia Rong said at the right time: "This is a token of my love for the old lady. She has doted on Xichun for so many years. In the future, she will use this money to dote on Yingchun and Tanchun as well. They are all the old lady's granddaughters."

The old lady said happily, "Okay! Okay! I'll take it."

The old lady was not stupid. She probably had an idea of how much money she had spent recently.

Now that Wang Ziteng has been demoted to another place, the Wang family is no longer as prosperous as before.

The situation of the Shi family is not good either, and the Xue family cannot be relied upon at all.

After the eldest son Jia She died, the hereditary title was downgraded to a lower level when it was passed down to the next generation. The second son was not fit to be an official and spent money like water.

There was unrest outside, with thieves causing trouble every now and then. Just hiring servants to patrol and guard at night was a huge expense.

Although the family is not at the bottom of the financial crisis, given the current situation, we cannot do without the help of Ningguo Mansion.

Moreover, if he did not accept the more than ten thousand taels of silver, his daughter-in-law and granddaughter-in-law would probably nag and complain, and would claim to be sick and not serve him during meals in the future.

(End of this chapter)