The Overlord of the Red Mansion

Chapter 55: Desperate Xue Baoqin

Wang Ren and his family quickly packed up and left.

The rest refused to leave.

All the remaining people came here to seek refuge, not to attend a funeral, and they did not have enough spare money to cover the travel expenses for the winter, so they could not leave.

Seeing the Wang family leave, Xue Ke knelt down and said, "Sir! Please help us!"

Xue Ke kowtowed quickly on the ground, and his head made a sound when it hit the ground.

At this time, the woman in the room couldn't stand it anymore, and a girl about fourteen or fifteen years old lifted the curtain and came out.

"Greetings, Master Rong! I am Xue Baoqin, a daughter of the Xue family!"

Jia Rong looked at this beautiful woman, followed by a maid and a group of women who came out one after another.

Because Xue Baoqin came out, the other women no longer cared about the differences between men and women and followed her out.

"Greetings, Master Jia! I am the sister-in-law of Grandmother Zhu of Rongguo Mansion. I brought my two daughters with me to visit my family. I often hear the elders in the family mention Master."

"Greetings, Master Rong! I am the sister-in-law of the eldest wife of the Rongguo Mansion, and I have brought my daughter to attend the funeral."

Jia Rong knew the Li family's mother, daughter and maid, and they had a pretty good relationship.

The Xue family’s sister and maid.

Female members of the Xing family.

Uncle Xing knelt down and said, "Please help us, Uncle Rong!"

Jia Rong said, "If kowtowing worked, no one would have died outside. And do you know how many people have died recently because of letting people in private? Do you really think this is a joke?"

Xue Ke, Uncle Xing and others became embarrassed.

Xue Baoqin also knelt down and said, "My Lord didn't send anyone to tell us to reject you, nor did he ignore you. There must be a way!"

Xue Ke and others suddenly felt hopeful and figured out the key.

The woman from the Xing family also quickly knelt down.

"Please have mercy, sir!"

The woman from the Li family did not kneel down because she knew Jia Rong.

Jia Rong was in a good mood and said, "Uncle Li used to be the chief priest of the Imperial Academy and had many students. Is there no solution?"

The daughter of the Li family stood there awkwardly and said, "I have nowhere else to turn to, so I can only ask your family for help!"

Jia Rong looked at the Xue family and asked, "Did Mei Hanlin reply to your message?"

Xue Ke, who was kneeling on the ground, said hurriedly: "No, sir, there is no news even if you pass on the message, let alone us."

Jia Rong did not forget, but repeatedly told them the current situation.

"Let's get up and talk. The ground is cold. We are all old family members. I am not an ungrateful person like Wang Ren. I just didn't like him and didn't want to help him."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

The Xue siblings felt relieved but also disappointed.

The Xue family has no relationship with the Jia family. They are related to the Jia family because of the Wang family. Jia Rong's mother-in-law, Mrs. Wang, and his aunt, Wang Xifeng, are both members of the Wang family, but Wang Xifeng's brother was humiliated and driven away by Jia Rong.

They, the siblings, have no direct relationship with the Wang family, and Jia Rong in front of them has a distant relationship with the Rongguo Mansion. There is no friendship between the two sides at all.

"It's getting late. I'll take you into the city and we'll talk as we walk."

Jia Rong stood up and called on everyone to set off.

Seeing that Jia Rong was willing to take charge, the group of people felt at ease and quickly packed up their things, paid their bills and set off.

Jia Rong led a dozen people to approach the city gate, and just as they got close, they encountered a group of people.

The man on horseback was a general, and he saw Jia Rong riding towards him.

Jia Rong took the initiative to salute, "General Feng!"

The man who came was the mighty General Feng Tang, who was a family friend of the Jia family and also the leader of the imperial guard.

Feng Tang looked at the group of women behind Jia Rong and asked, "Pharmacist, who are these people?"

Jia Rong explained, "They are here to attend the funeral. They are all from Jinling and have a clean background. I will write a note to the general at the city gate and he will agree to this."

Seeing that Jia Rong had already arranged everything for his men, Feng Tang nodded and ignored the matter, continuing his patrol with the rest of the men.

He has encountered a lot of similar things recently, and basically all the princes and nobles have been passing notes.

Just turn a blind eye to most things. As long as you can arrange the people under you and follow the rules and procedures, there will be no problem. Just don't put the problem on him.

Jia Rong led a group of people into the city.

"The Li and Xing families can just go to the Jia Mansion. I'll take the Xue family to the Mei family. Remember to have the Mei family go to the city gate to write a letter of guarantee. If there are any problems, the Mei family will be held responsible."

"I will also write a letter of guarantee for the Li and Xing families to the city gate general. If anything goes wrong, it will be my fault. Not to mention my future in the imperial examination, even my title may be in jeopardy."

"Everyone, tell me your birthday and name so I can write them down clearly, so that if something goes wrong, it won't embarrass me and the brothers who help me."

Jia Rong has made his point very clear.

Everyone also saw the crowded crowds outside the city, the deserted streets and the heavily guarded city gates.

In this situation, you naturally know that it is not easy to bring people in.

"Xue Baoqin, fourteen years old." "Xing Xiuyan, thirteen years old."

"Li Wen, fourteen years old."

"Li Qi, thirteen years old."

In an era when people had to get engaged and married at the age of fifteen, these girls were considered girls.

Jia Rong wrote three notes, one for the general at the city gate, one for himself, and an unsigned note for the Mei family to sign.

The dates are also clearly written to prevent someone from using them to take the blame and making changes.

Just a hundred meters after entering the city, two carriages came to pick people up.

"Master! The car is ready!"

Jia Rong turned around and looked at the girls.

"It's cold, ladies, just take a car and go directly to the Jia Mansion. Just tell the truth about the Wang family. His aunt and her family are unwilling to guarantee their nephew with their heads, so it's not my fault."

The Xing family and the Li family all looked embarrassed, but they still gratefully accepted Jia Rong's kindness and got in the car to go to the Jia Mansion.

Jia Rong asked Xue Ke and the male servant and the coachman to squeeze outside, while he, Xue Baoqin and her maid Xiao Luo sat in the carriage.

One man and two women, should men and women be separated?

What a joke! Even if Xue Baoqin was walking on the ground in the cold wind, there was no reason for Jia Rong to stay outside the car.

Xue Baoqin didn't care about the distinction between men and women at this time, and said in embarrassment: "Sir, it may be inconvenient for Mei Hanlin."

Jia Rong had already given the blank note to Xue Baoqin.

The Mei family must guarantee the male and female servants of the Xue brothers and sisters, otherwise they cannot stay.

If the Mei family dared to sign, they would be putting their entire family’s future and lives in the hands of a merchant they hadn’t seen for more than a decade!

When the marriage was discussed, the Mei family was not yet a Hanlin family, and the Xue family was not so impoverished.

Scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans, now Mei Hanlin even wants to break up this marriage, let alone guarantee it.

Xue Baoqin was very clear about this, so when she saw Jia Rong forcing them to go find Mei Hanlin, she knew that things would definitely be bad.

Jia Rong said seriously, "You are here to complete the marriage. You have an engagement, and you are the daughter-in-law of the Mei family. How can the Mei family not guarantee you?"

"Look at me. I have nothing to do with Li Wan and Madam Xing, but I still helped her out of consideration for their sake."

"Mei Hanlin's family is a family of scholars. They understand etiquette, morality, integrity and shame better than I do. You can just go there with peace of mind."

"I won't go in later. You and your family can just reminisce about the past."

Xue Baoqin had no way to resist. She was indeed the fiancée of Mei Hanlin's son, and she should have gone to live in the Mei family.

"How is Xue's mother?"

When Xue Baoqin mentioned Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai, it was obvious that she had the idea of establishing relations between them.

Jia Rong said, "They all lived in the Jia Mansion. They went to the Wang family but they didn't care. Now several people in the family live in a small house in the Jia Mansion. The place is a bit small."

Xue Baoqin knew that Aunt Xue's family were also relatives who had come to seek refuge, and she felt embarrassed to move in with them at this time.

Jia Rong smiled and said, "It's hard to predict what will happen in this world. I know what the Mei family meant by not replying to my letter and not paying attention to me, but it's not good to say anything about them without any evidence."

"You two brothers and sisters should go and knock on the door and tell the story as your parents ordered. If the Mei family regrets the engagement, you can go to Ningguo Mansion to find me. Otherwise, I can't take you in, for fear that people will gossip about you and ruin your reputation."

As Jia Rong spoke, he began to laugh.

His acting skills were very poor, but Xue Baoqin and the maid were both innocent girls and were too embarrassed to stare at him, so they didn't notice anything wrong.

Xue Ke who was outside also heard it clearly and felt very upset about the marriage.

This marriage is difficult to discuss under normal circumstances, and now it is like forcing Mei Hanlin's family to use their lives as a guarantee. There is no way they will agree and they will only curse angrily.

Even if you agree, if something like this happens, you will be hated for the rest of your life.

The Xue brothers and sisters were forced into the flames, and the flames were also directed at Mei Hanlin's family.

Xue Baoqin tried hard to think of a solution. If she went to the Mei family at this time, they would definitely hate her and her life would be difficult.

"How can I bother you, sir? I remember there is a Xue family shop in the city."

"Yes, they are all closed." Jia Rong lifted the carriage curtain. "It's not just the city gates that are closed. All the shops on the street that don't have any connections can't open, let alone take in people."

Xue Baoqin looked outside and saw that the place was indeed desolate, but she could still see the army passing by.

Jia Rong lowered the curtain and said, "This is my Jia Mansion's carriage, but it's better to be low-key. There are soldiers outside. If they want to lift the curtain to search, I will be in trouble."

Xue Baoqin nodded, knowing that Jia Rong was extremely capable.

"Sir, can you let me meet my aunt?"

Jia Rong nodded and said, "Okay, you go to Mei Hanlin first, or find a safe place to live, and I will send them to see you later."

The little girl is thin-skinned and is no match for Jia Rong.

The three members of the Xue family could hardly protect themselves at the moment, so how could they help the brothers and sisters?

Even if the three of them came, what could they do? They would still be embarrassed together.

Even if Lady Jia comes forward, who is Jia Rong?

Old lady Jia herself knew very well that she didn't have much face with Jia Rong!
The emperor has been conducting strict investigations recently, and the old lady's own circle of friends has been destroyed. How could she dare to let the head of the Jia family risk losing his official position and ruining his future just for the Xue family, with whom she has little connection?
If she dared to say it, Jia Rong would call her old and confused!
(End of this chapter)