The Overlord of the Red Mansion

Chapter 82 Ping'er
Compared to the deserted Rong Mansion, people in the Ning Mansion went to the palace to worship and offer sacrifices to their ancestors as usual on New Year's Day.

Jia Rong continued to attend court banquets and ceremonies, and was busy during the New Year holidays, so he could only find time to go home.

Because the retired emperor had died only a few months ago, the powerful people in the capital who lived under the emperor's feet did not dare to celebrate too much.

It was not only the Jia family that was being targeted. Several other noble families were also criticized to some extent, including the families of several empresses.

Fortunately, she was not a royal relative or a close relative of the royal family, so she did not need to wait for three years. She could get married in about a year and hold a banquet after two and a half years.

It is still possible to pay New Year’s greetings as usual. The emperor’s death does not prevent everyone from having meals and gatherings with friends.

Xue Pan and Jia Baoyu were really unlucky that time, but they did not deserve to be punished. Not only did they have to invite prostitutes to drink with them, but they also wrote a famous silver poem.

The sixth day of the new year.

Starting from the third day of the Lunar New Year, you can visit your colleagues, old friends, and relatives to wish them a happy new year.

Miss Shi and her uncle and aunt passed by Rongguo Mansion and finally stopped at the gate of Ning Mansion.

Political stance is so cruel. The people of the Shi family did not visit the old lady Jia Mu, who came from the Shi family. Instead, they brought Shi Xiangyun, who had a good relationship with Jia Rong, to visit this distant relative who never interacted with them.

After the Rongguo Mansion was investigated for various trivial matters, both the Shi family and the Wang family realized the danger.

Shi Nai was the second son of the hereditary Marquis of Baoling and the eldest son of Shangshu Ling Shi Gong, the brother of Marquis Zhongjing Shi Ding, the uncle of Shi Xiangyun, and the nephew of Jia Mu.

When Shi Nai and his wife arrived at the gate of Ning Mansion in a carriage, they found a queue.

"What's going on?" Shi Nai lifted the curtain and asked the servant.

The servant went to ask questions quickly, and soon came back and said, "It is said that Lord Jia has gone to the palace to accompany the emperor to entertain princes from all over the country, and has not returned yet. Those who sent gifts want to have a word with him after he returns, so they are all waiting."

Shi Nai frowned, lowered the curtain and said no more.

Not long after, the servant came over to talk again.

"Master, the housekeeper of the Jia Mansion knows that it is the young lady coming, and asked her to go in and wait."

Shi Nai thought about it, then lifted the curtain to look at the even longer queue. He couldn't help feeling a little scared, fearing that the emperor would be angry and blame him if he knew about this lively scene.

But now Jia Rong is very much favored by the emperor, and it would not be good to offend Jia Rong.

I haven't visited my relatives in these years. If I don't, the relationship between us will really become distant.

The Shi family is not as good as the Jia family. Although the two marquises in the family were extremely prosperous in the past few years, it only took a few years for them to fall into decline.

Because of the grandeur of the Marquis's Mansion, life became increasingly difficult.

Shi Nai was hesitant and wanted to have a good relationship with Jia Rong, but he was frightened by Jia Rong's various unorthodox behaviors.

As a member of one of the four major families, Shi Nai knew very well that this kid had dared to cause a family split when he was ten years old, and had even committed treason by marrying a girl of the same clan and surname.

What’s even more horrifying is that he even dares to scold eunuchs, and often does exciting things that could cost his entire family their lives.

Some things are scary to think about. Even though Jia Rong is extremely successful at the moment, the fact that they are lining up to give gifts is too ostentatious. It really makes Shi Nai unable to believe that he is a steady person who can accomplish great things.

We are close relatives, so I’m afraid of being implicated.

The relationship has become distant, and we have lost a powerful ally.

After thinking it over, Shi Nai quickly went back with his wife, leaving Shi Xiangyun and a few maids and old women alone to continue visiting relatives.

The Shi family is afraid of everything, but it is impossible to win over the Wang family. Jia Rong has no good feelings towards the Wang family and has ignored them over the years.

After Shi Xiangyun and her maid entered the mansion, Yuanyang came out with people to greet them.

"It's good that Miss Shi is here. Come in and sit down. Grandma is entertaining the wives and daughters of several adults in the Ministry of Works. Let's go sit in the garden. The girls are all there."

Shi Xiangyun saw the familiar Yuanyang, and saw that she had a smile on her face and was wearing decent clothes.

Now that the emperor has passed away, nobles are not allowed to dress too ostentatiously when visiting relatives and should wear less jewelry.

"Sister Yuanyang is wearing it so beautifully."

Yuanyang smiled and said, "You are not as pretty as me. Let's go in and talk. The maids and the old women can go and have a rest. I want to talk to the eldest lady."

After leaving the Shi family's maids and servants, Shi Xiangyun quickly asked about the Jia family's affairs.

When I arrived at the garden, I found that everyone here was familiar.

Not long after, Jia Rong came back. After accepting some gifts, he cleared the door and closed it, refusing to see any more guests.

Jia Yuanchun also finished her reception and came out to say to Jia Rong, "Miss Shi is here, she is talking to the girls in the back garden."

Jia Rong said, "Let's go over and take a look. Madam has worked hard these past few days."

Jia Yuanchun sighed and said, "My status is somewhat uncomfortable, and the rest of us are not suitable to meet guests. I don't know how to deal with guests in a decent manner when they come to our house in the future. It would be better for the master to divorce me and marry a lady of equal status."

Jia Rong said with a smile: "If it is inconvenient to meet guests, then don't meet them. This will show that I am noble and do not form cliques for personal gain. In this day and age, it is not bad to avoid suspicion."

Jia Yuanchun had nothing to say. Every time she talked to Jia Rong seriously about something, he always acted so casually and didn't take it seriously.

Ping'er Yuanyang used to be a maid, and was not suitable to entertain ladies and young ladies. Moreover, she was born in the Rongguo Mansion and had the same surname as the other girls.

However, after being interrupted and rejected, Jia Yuanchun also breathed a sigh of relief.

After I said those words just now, I felt a little regretful and was a little afraid that Jia Rong really took it seriously.

Others can go back to their parents' home after being divorced, but I can't.

The two of them went to the large garden at the back together. After being led into the house by the maids, they saw a room full of beauties.

Not counting Yuanyang, Ping'er, Xing Xiuyun, the Li sisters, and Xue Baoqin, there are quite a few ladies and young ladies alone.

Lin Daiyu, Xue Baochai, Jia Tanchun, Shi Xiangyun, Jia Yingchun, Jia Xichun, Wang Xifeng, Qiaojie, Qin Keqing. With Jia Yuanchun by his side, ten of the Twelve Beauties are by his side, leaving only Li Wan and Miaoyu.

Miaoyu was not here because Jia Rong was lazy and busy and forgot about this. He just thought of it and found a random excuse to invite her over.

Li Wan is fine. After all, she is only twenty-five or twenty-six years old and is still a young woman.

Jia Rong licked his lips and said, "What a nice smell! Who roasted this venison? Let me have a taste."

Jia Rong smiled and sat among the women. The sons and daughters nearby also came over and wanted to eat meat, but Jia Rong directly asked them to take them away to eat at a small table.

After the troublesome little guys were gone, Ping'er smiled and said, "You can eat meat, but you have to write a poem!"

Jia Rong picked up the chopsticks and turned the venison over on the stove rack. He smiled and said, "What kind of festive poem can I write in the middle of winter? On my way back today, I looked outside and saw that all that was left was the birds flying back to the forest after eating all the food. The ground was covered in white. It was so clean!"

Miss Shi couldn't laugh anymore. She felt very sad and desolate. She asked hurriedly, "Is the old lady okay?"

Jia Rong said, "It's all right. Although the title and property are no longer safe, the emperor wants the old lady to continue living here. We can talk about the future after the New Year."

Wang Xifeng asked nervously, "Will the others lose their heads?"

"The Jia family is a family of meritorious service, so we can confiscate their property, but unless they are treasonous, the most they can do is exile."

Jia Rong said calmly, "The rest of the people are fine. Jia Lan and Jia Huan can continue to take the imperial examinations. Jia Baoyu and Master Zheng are also fine. There should be a general amnesty in two years. By then, there will be room for Jia Baoyu and Xue Pan's affairs."

"Let those gentlemen earn back the lost property by themselves. The Rong family has no descendants, so I will also help them, so you can rest assured."

Hearing this, the women felt relieved.

At night, Shi Xiangyun went to sleep in Lin Daiyu's room. Qiao'er was still young and after playing with her nephews, she was tired and went to sleep in Jia Yuanchun's yard.

After taking a bath, everyone returned to their respective courtyards. Wang Xifeng and Ping'er returned to Ping'er's room together.

After entering the house, Ping'er did not see the maid, so she walked out of the house and looked at the houses around the yard and found that no lights were on.

"This girl went back to her mother's house to celebrate the New Year without telling me."

Ping'er entered the room, closed the door, and said something scolding with a smile.

Wang Xifeng was filled with emotion and said with a forced smile, "You can't always be so easy to talk to. You should be strict when necessary. Qingwen used to follow Lai's family, so you have to be careful."

Ping Er went into the house and went to the inner room with Wang Xifeng to rest. She said with a smile, "I'm not talking about Qingwen. Qingwen is straightforward and has no other problems. She is also good at embroidery. She was borrowed by the eldest lady after she came for a few days."

Jia Yuanchun was originally from Rongfu, and had known Qingwen for a long time. She was also very nice to people, so Qingwen was naturally willing to follow Jia Yuanchun to help.

Wang Xifeng and Ping'er did not have many head ornaments or jewelry on them. They simply put down their bracelets and hairpins, then sat on the edge of the bed, took off their clothes and prepared to rest.

When Wang Xifeng was taking off her clothes, Ping'er took the initiative to extend her hand and said, "Grandma, I'll serve you."

Wang Xifeng smiled bitterly and said, "I am not a grandmother now. I can do it myself."

After pushing Ping'er's hand away, Wang Xifeng took off all her clothes except for one.

"It's really warm here. Go to sleep quickly. You have a lot of things to do tomorrow."

"it is good."

Wang Xifeng was about to get up and turn off the light, but Ping'er said, "Let it go out by itself. There's no need to save this little money."

Wang Xifeng laughed and said, "I don't mean to save money, I just can't sleep with the light on."

Ping Erh said, "Let me take care of this. Madam, just lie down and have a rest."

Wang Xifeng blew out the light, wiped her eyes and said, "What grandma? Just say you and I. You see, I still can't forget my previous identity. I always say you and I."

Ping Er said, "Just shout like that. I'm used to it."

Wang Xifeng smiled and said, "Stop talking, lie down and go to sleep."

The two of them quickly lay down to sleep.

Wang Xifeng couldn't sleep and had insomnia for the past few days.

Ping'er was also unable to sleep. Just as she was slowly waiting for sleepiness to come over her, she suddenly heard the door outside being pushed open.

"Who? Qingwen?" Ping'er sat up and asked quickly.

"I have sent all the girls in your room back home to celebrate the New Year."

The voice was Jia Rong's, and soon the sound of a door closing was heard.

Ping Er heard this and said quickly, "Master, the Second Madam will sleep with me today."

"I know, that's why I came here." Jia Rong opened the curtain and walked in. He began to take off his clothes under the bright moonlight in front of the window. "Lie down and sleep."

Ping Er thought Jia Rong had misunderstood, "It's not our Second Madam, it's Lian's Second Madam, Feng Ge."

Jia Rong laughed and said, "She didn't object, why are you shouting?"

"Ah?" Ping'er was a little overwhelmed and looked away.

She saw Wang Xifeng lying with her back to her, obviously pretending to be asleep.

Ping'er quickly associated many things and soon understood everything.

"My grandma! How long have you been hiding this from me? I thought I knew everything about grandma!" Ping'er said unhappily, "I'll make room for you!"

Jia Rong came over directly, "It's okay, let's go together! Ping'er will come first today!"

Ping'er quickly lay down reluctantly, while Wang Xifeng next to her was still pretending to sleep.

(End of this chapter)