The Overlord of the Red Mansion

Chapter 98: Reputation is ruined again

Ningrong Street, Xifu
The sign of Rongguo Mansion has been taken down and replaced with that of Jia Mansion.

Everyone knows that this is the West Mansion, and the East Mansion Ningguo Mansion is the real Jia family.

The area in front of the West Palace Gate was extremely deserted, with fallen leaves, dust, mud, and horse manure all over the ground.

The old lady and her group came to the gate, looked around, stayed for less than half a minute, and then walked back east.

He did not return to Ning Mansion, but returned to the southeast corner of Rong Mansion, not far from the street gate of Huifang Garden.

There is a private alley between the East and West Palaces. No one lives in it. It is an alley separating the two palaces and is usually used by people from the two palaces to pass by as a detour.

Jia She's courtyard is here, belonging to a corner of the West Mansion.

Jia She, the former legitimate son of Rongguo Mansion, was squeezed into this large courtyard in the southeast corner and no longer had any secret dealings with other people in Rongguo Mansion.

Now, Lady Jia and others live in this compound.

Jia She's yard is not small, with three entrances and three exits, so it is no problem to accommodate dozens of people, and even two hundred people if they squeeze in.

The place is small, so the difference between men and women is not so obvious.

Jia Zheng came in from the black oil-painted door at the entrance and walked quickly to the side of Jia's mother.

"Mother, the backyard has been cleaned up. There are six rooms in total. The kitchen, study and other places have also been renovated. If there is no room, let them move into the original servants' quarters first. When we have more money, we can rent a yard outside."

Jia's mother sighed, "Okay."

Grandmother Jia quickly brought Tanchun, Yingchun, Li Wan, Lady Wang and Lin Daiyu in.

Shi Xiangyun and Xichun did not come. Xichun was from the East Palace. Shi Xiangyun and her maids and other servants could not accommodate them all, so they stayed there.

Jia Tanchun and Jia Yingchun followed him into the courtyard in silence.

Especially Jia Yingchun, this is where her father used to live, and it was originally her home.

Unless Jia Rong persuades her to stay, she will definitely come back.

The fifteen-year-old girl was already at the age of marriage. Jia Yingchun had heard about Jia Rong's concern for his sister-in-law and the quarrel with Jia Yuanchun. Now, under the protection of her half-sister, she returned to the broken courtyard and lived a hard life.

Jia Tanchun was also in a bad state. She was managing the money, counting accounts and scolding people in the Ning Mansion, when she suddenly found out that she was an outsider and was immediately sent back to the Jia family.

"Sister Lin, we can meet every day from now on." Jia Baoyu was very happy.

Li Wan and Jia Tanchun wanted to kick him.

Aunt Zhao couldn't help it anymore. "It's all because of you running into other people's backyards for no reason. You've made the three of us suffer with you! How are we going to live from now on?"

Aunt Zhao has been harboring hatred towards Jia Baoyu for a long time, and it is about to erupt at this moment.

Grandmother Jia said angrily, "That's enough! Go back to your room! If you are not satisfied here, go back to your mother's house!"

Aunt Zhao soon became obedient. She rose to power from a maid, so she had no parents’ home at all. Being driven away was just a matter of a word.

Everyone quickly went into their own houses.

The place to live is pretty good, not too shabby and not too small.

But first, it’s not as clean as the original place, second, it doesn’t look as noble as the original place, and third, it doesn’t have as many things as the one next door.

Not to mention the East Palace, even the original West Palace is far inferior.

Especially Tanchun and Yingchun, the two young ladies had to squeeze into one room, otherwise the other female relatives would not have room to live there.

Life was not actually that hard. Jia She could afford to keep several concubines and had quite a few servants and maids.

However, the problem is not the size of the courtyard. Jia She had income in the past, and he also received support from the West Mansion. Now, with a family of 200 people, food and drink are already a problem.

The two girls were lying on the bed worriedly. Tanchun turned over and looked at the pillows and quilts, and found that the embroidered pillows and quilts looked new, but they were obviously made of ordinary craftsmanship and looked cheap.

If it were in the Ning Mansion in the east, the maids wouldn't use such ugly things.

After more than an hour, the maids came in to deliver the meal.

"The old lady said we should eat in the house at noon and get together in the evening."

The two girls got up and prepared to eat. They looked at the two bowls of rice on the table, and then at the rice bowls of fish, meat and chicken.

"Is that all?" Jia Tanchun asked doubtfully.

The maid sighed and said, "That's all. The kitchen said the madam had about the same meal. The East Mansion sent four dishes and a soup to the old lady, and she asked someone to take them to Miss Lin."

"Master Zheng and Master Bao used to have their meals delivered by the east kitchen. I heard that Grandma Rong gave some money to the master and the lady, and the master is busy sending people to buy some rice, flour, meat and vegetables. Things will be better in the evening."

Jia Tanchun and Jia Yingchun looked at each other and both of them had lost their appetite.

Jia Yingchun asked, "What is Miss Lin doing?" Siqi said unhappily, "Master Bao dragged her to the study to study. She was just complaining about the loud voices of the old ladies outside the study, and the master heard her and scolded her a few times before she behaved herself."

Jia Tanchun couldn't help but sigh.

Siqi added, "Miss San's brother was also angry, saying that the place he lived in was not as good as Master Bao's. Master Bao lived in the nice house that Master Lian had cleaned up earlier, while he lived in the concubine's house. He also started to make a scene, but he calmed down after being scolded by the master."

Tanchun said angrily, "No wonder they were all driven out. They are a bunch of dandy boys who still don't repent. Wherever they go, there is chaos and foul smells!"

Jia Yingchun didn't know what to say. Her status couldn't be changed and now she had no one to rely on, so she could only endure it.

The person who suffered the most must be Li Wan.

Although Li Wan's house was also in the backyard, it was closer to the middle yard, so she could clearly hear the quarrels between loving fathers and filial sons in the middle yard, as well as the complaints of maids and old women.

Li Wan, who has read the story of Meng's mother moving three times, pays great attention to her son's learning environment.

When the Rongguo Mansion was doing well in the past, they would not allow their sons to get too close to playboys like Jia Baoyu.

What good reputation does the Rongguo Mansion have nowadays?

Everyone in the capital knows that this family is in a state of disgrace and has a bad family tradition.

Li Wan couldn't help crying when she saw her honest son lying at the table studying and reading.

He thought of the smiles of Jia Baoyu and everyone in Rongfu, and felt resentful.

If I continue to stay here, my son will be ruined by them!!

"Sister Lin! I wrote a poem!"

Jia Baoyu ran into the backyard where the women lived again, not taking the reputation of this widow and his sister and other girls seriously at all.

In the evening, Jia Mu and others had dinner together.

Mrs. Wang looked at the home-cooked meal on the table.

"Why are there only these things? Didn't you ask someone to buy them?"

Zhou Ruijia said hurriedly, "Madam, you may not know that the summer grain harvest this year was not very good. Many places suffered disasters. The good rice and flour were all supplied to the wealthy and prominent families. Fortunately, we bought some from Uncle Rong's shop."

Except for Lady Jia, Lady Wang, Miss Lin and a few other young ladies and masters, the dietary standards of the rest of the people have dropped significantly.

Grandmother Jia knew there was nothing she could do, so she could only persuade everyone to sit down and eat, and live one day at a time.

Without the title and property, now the two hundred people in the family have to rely on Jia Yuanchun for support. How can they all live a good life without doing anything?

Mrs. Wang comforted him, saying, "Just wait until the master is appointed. Master Rong will definitely help."

Everyone nodded, feeling somewhat comforted.

After three or four days, just when everyone felt they were getting used to it.

Soon, one of the servants ran away with the money for purchasing holiday supplies.

Jia Zheng is not capable of managing the household, Li Wan is unwilling to step forward, Mrs. Wang trusts her own maids, and the old lady and Tanchun and Yingchun are all in the backyard and cannot show up.

Some ran away, some embezzled money, and some just wanted to lose their families and return to Ning Mansion for refuge.

In less than ten days, the money was running out.

Not having enough money is a small matter. The most important thing is that Lady Jia and Li Wan were just falling asleep soundly in the middle of the night when they heard a commotion outside and someone banging on the door and shouting for help.

When Grandmother Jia heard the crying, she sat up in surprise.

"What happened outside?"

"do not know."

"Go and have a look!"

Grandmother Jia urged quickly, and after the maid lit the candle, she got up and put on her clothes.

It's the middle of the night, anything that happens is no small matter.

Not only Lady Jia, but everyone in the backyard also quickly put on their clothes and waited.

Soon Jia Zheng sent someone in to deliver a message.

"Madam, the patrol officer just found two people in the alley nearby. After arresting and questioning them, he found out that it was Siqi, the maid of our second young lady Yingchun, who had an affair with our servant in the middle of the night. Now that they have been caught, he asked us how to deal with them."

When the old lady heard this, she almost burst into tears.

(End of this chapter)