Red Mansion: After being expelled from the family, I was granted the title of Marquis of Mobei

Chapter 150 Jia Tanchun's Plans, Sisters Reunite

Sheng Minglan shook her head and said.

"Who knows? Oh well, why bother worrying about it?"

"If it's a male member of the Rongguo Mansion who comes, we can just kick him out."

"But the one who came was a delicate woman, and so sensible. Let my husband decide."

Zhang Guifen nodded after hearing this and didn't think about it any further.

About half an hour later, in a side hall of the front hall of the Prince of Jin's mansion, Jia Tanchun waited anxiously.

Before long, Jia Jue stepped into the side hall.

Upon seeing Jia Jue, Jia Tanchun quickly stepped forward, bowed, and said...

"This humble woman, Jia Tanchun, greets Your Highness."

After glancing at Jia Tanchun, Jia Jue was also somewhat moved.

Jia Tanchun was undoubtedly one of the most outstanding among the four sisters.

The men of the Rongguo Mansion were all show and no substance, each one more useless than the last, but the women of the Rongguo Mansion were exceptionally intelligent and beautiful.

Apart from Jia Yingchun, who is a blockhead, the other three sisters are all clever and quick-witted.

If we're talking about the most outstanding one, then it has to be Jia Tanchun right here.

She was probably the one with the best ending among the four springs.

In the original novel, Jia Yuanchun eventually dies in a palace intrigue, while Jia Yingchun is forced to marry Sun Shaozu to pay off her debts, and is subsequently tortured to death.

Jia Xichun, on the other hand, became a nun and was often starving.

As for Jia Tanchun, there are some differences between the original novel and the TV series version of Dream of the Red Chamber.

In the original novel, Jia Tanchun married into the Zhou family, the governor of Zhenhai, before the Rongguo Mansion fell from power.

In the TV series, Jia Tanchun was adopted as a goddaughter by the Princess of Nan'an and married to the King of the Western Sea.

Regardless of the reason, at least Jia Tanchun survived and no longer had to worry about food and clothing.

However, due to Jia Jue's meddling, the Rongguo Mansion collapsed early, and the Western Sea barbarians were wiped out by Jia Jue.

Therefore, Jia Tanchun's fate was also completely changed.

After glancing at Jia Tanchun, Jia Jue sat down in the main seat and raised his hand to speak.

"No need for formalities. If I remember correctly, you should be the third young lady of the Rongguo Mansion."

Upon hearing this, Jia Tanchun quickly replied.

"That's right, my name is Jia Tanchun, and I am the third among the women of Rongguo Mansion."

Jia Jue said calmly.

"Tell me, what brings you to my door today?"

Jia Tanchun hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"I have come today to ask Your Highness for help."

Jia Jue said meaningfully.

"You are truly laughable, young lady. I have no connection with the Rongguo Mansion other than hatred. You actually came to me today seeking my help. What makes you think I will help you?"

After hesitating for a moment, Jia Tanchun said.

"Your Highness, if I may ask, are you very close to my sister Yuan Chun?"

Jia Jue glanced at Jia Tanchun with slight surprise after hearing this, and then calmly said.

"You know all this, so it seems you've secretly visited Yuqing Temple."

"So what? You don't think you can threaten me with this, do you?"

Jia Tanchun waved her hands repeatedly and said.

"No, no, Your Highness misunderstands. Even if I were bold as a child, I would never dare to threaten Your Highness."

"Besides, my elder sister has gone through many hardships, yet she has won the prince's favor and now lives a stable life. As her younger sister, I can only be happy for her. How could I possibly use this to threaten the prince?"

Jia Jue stared at Jia Tanchun and said.

"Then why did you bring this up? You weren't just trying to make light of it with me, were you?"

"I think you shouldn't be in the mood for this at a time like this."

Jia Tanchun looked at Jia Jue with neither arrogance nor servility and said.

“Your Highness is absolutely right. Now that the Rongguo Mansion is gone, our Jia family is left with only our second branch barely clinging to life.”

"So, the reason I have taken the liberty of visiting you today is to make a deal with Your Highness."

Jia Jue said after a moment of thought.

"I'm curious what bargaining chips the Jia family can offer me now that they're in this situation."

Jia Tanchun pointed to herself and then said.

"This humble woman is not very capable, but I am willing to serve as this bargaining chip."

“I know that the Rongguo Mansion has offended the Prince in the past, and the Prince harbors resentment.”

"This humble woman is willing to enter the Prince's mansion and serve as his servant."

"I wonder if having the daughter of my enemy serve me wholeheartedly could be considered a bargaining chip."

After hearing this, Jia Jue shook his head and said...

"You underestimate me. I do have a grudge against the Rongguo Mansion, but I would never take it out on a weak woman like you."

"The culprits who persecuted me have all been executed. I would never stoop to the level of abusing a weak woman like you for the sake of pleasure. You have misjudged me."

Hearing this, Jia Tanchun hesitated for a moment before speaking somewhat shyly.

"In the past, the sisters Ehuang and Nüying served Emperor Shun together, which became a timeless tale."

"Does Your Highness not also want to experience the same feelings?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Jue was stunned. Good heavens, he was so good at judging people.

Who on earth is spreading this rumor that I like to eat rice bowls? It's absolutely outrageous!

Jia Jue then looked at Jia Tanchun and said.

"This is getting more and more absurd. Alright, let's leave that aside for now. Tell me, what kind of trouble has your family run into?"

When Jia Tanchun saw Jia Jue's expression, she immediately knew the answer. Sure enough, a man's words are deceiving, and the temptation of rice bowls is still quite strong for a man.

Leaving that aside for now, which will be brought up later, Jia Tanchun is certain that Jia Jue is interested, but it's not appropriate for him to accept it directly yet, as that would be too blunt.

But as long as I keep trying, things will definitely work out.

Thinking of this, Jia Tanchun breathed a sigh of relief.

My family is finally saved.

Then Jia Tanchun looked at Jia Jue and said respectfully.

"Thank you, Your Highness. Here's what happened."

Jia Tanchun then told Jia Jue everything about Sun Shaozu coming to her house to demand money, and then said helplessly.

"As Your Highness knows, all of Rongguo Mansion's properties have been confiscated."

"My father spent all his savings to arrange the funerals for my grandmother and uncle."

"Now we have nowhere to turn, so we have no choice but to beg the prince."

"I beg Your Highness to have mercy and help my Jia family out of this predicament. I would be eternally grateful to Your Highness, even if it means my own death."

Then Jia Tanchun knelt down in front of Jia Jue, adopting an attitude of wanting whatever he wanted.

Seeing this, Jia Jue helped Jia Tanchun up and then said.

"Alright, when I'm with your eldest sister, she often mentions you, saying that you are the most clever among the sisters."

"Looking back today, what I said was true."

"With the passing of your grandmother and stepmother, it is time for my past entanglements with the Rongguo Mansion to come to an end."

"For the sake of your sister, I will help your Jia family through this difficult time."

"Don't be so helpless, go and see your older sister."

“She has missed you very much this past year,” Jia Tanchun said, nodding and bowing.

"Your Highness is so generous, I will remember it forever. Thank you, Your Highness."

After exchanging a few words, Jia Jue ordered his maid to take Jia Tanchun to the courtyard where Jia Yuanchun lived.

Jia Jue then began preparations to deal with Sun Shaozu.

Jia Jue would never take out silver to help the Jia family pay off their debts. He was joking, after all. What kind of bastard was Sun Shaozu? A wolf in sheep's clothing!

Most men are attracted to women, and Jia Jue was no exception.

However, Sun Shaozu took pleasure in abusing women, a perverted thing that disgusted Jia Jue.

People like Sun Shaozu are just wasting air by being alive.

After a moment's thought, Jia Jue sent someone to deliver a message to Gu Qianfan, asking him to deal with Sun Shaozu.

If this happens to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Sun Shaozu is bound to suffer greatly.

Two flowers bloom, one branch each.

As for Jia Tanchun, led by her maid, she arrived at a courtyard in the back of the Prince's mansion.

Upon entering the main hall and seeing Jia Yuanchun sitting upright there, Jia Tanchun's eyes instantly welled up with tears.

When Jia Yuanchun saw her sister whom she hadn't seen for so long, tears welled up in her eyes.

The two sisters hugged each other and comforted one another.

After a long while, both of them calmed down a bit. They took out their handkerchiefs to wipe away their tears, and Jia Yuanchun looked at Jia Tanchun and asked her a question.

"Tan Chun, what happened at home? How did you end up at the Prince's mansion?"

Jia Tanchun sighed and then told Jia Yuanchun everything.

Long before Jia Yuanchun was abandoned by Old Madam Jia and Lady Wang and sent to Yuqing Temple, Jia Tanchun had always wanted to find an opportunity to visit Jia Yuanchun.

However, as a woman, it was not convenient for her to leave the Rongguo Mansion.

Several months later, she finally found an opportunity to visit Yuqing Temple.

By that time, Jia Yuanchun had already established a stable relationship with Jia Jue, and Jia Jue arranged for people to provide Jia Yuanchun with all her needs, including clothing and food.

After bribing the young Taoist priest, Jia Tanchun learned the reason for the incident.

After confirming that Jia Yuanchun was financially secure and could live peacefully at Yuqing Temple, Jia Tanchun did not disturb her further.

This time, it was also because something happened to the Jia family that Jia Tanchun had no other choice.

She originally wanted to go to Yuqing Temple to ask Jia Yuanchun for help, but Jia Yuanchun had already been taken down the mountain by Jia Jue and brought to the capital.

Jia Tanchun couldn't find Jia Yuanchun, but after a moment's thought, she guessed that Jia Yuanchun must have been taken care of by Jia Jue.

So Jia Tanchun simply went directly to the Prince of Jin's residence to see Jia Jue.

Jia Tanchun had prepared herself for the possibility of being humiliated by Jia Jue, but Jia Jue's reaction was beyond her expectations.

This also made Jia Tanchun realize that Jia Jue must really like his older sister, otherwise he wouldn't have been so gentle with her.

After Jia Tanchun told Jia Yuanchun the whole story, Jia Yuanchun sighed and said...

"Alas, who could have imagined that five thousand taels of silver would drive the Jia family to this state?"

"The blessings of a virtuous man will decline after three generations and end after five. The Rongguo Mansion has truly lived up to this saying."

"Tan Chun, what was the prince's reply to you?"

Jia Tanchun hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"The prince has agreed to help."

Jia Yuanchun said with some surprise.

"Did Your Highness agree so readily?"

Jia Tanchun lowered her head shyly and said.

"At first, no, but I said, Your Highness, have you ever heard of the story of Ehuang and Nüying?"

"Then the prince declined a couple of times, but then agreed to help."

"Of course, there must be some influence from my elder sister, otherwise the prince wouldn't have agreed."

Upon hearing this, Jia Yuanchun looked at Jia Tanchun with a strange expression and said...

"Who taught you this, Tan Chun? How could you, how could you—"

Jia Yuanchun was at a loss for words. She felt that her innocent third sister had gone astray and now even knew about rice bowls.

Jia Tanchun said shyly.

"Big sister, I really have no other choice."

"I know that, because of your influence, the Prince will definitely lend a helping hand this time."

"But you know about Father's situation, eldest sister."

"My father is not a very adaptable person, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to work in the Ministry of Works for so many years and still be a fifth-rank official."

"Now that my father has been dismissed from his official post, our family has no means of making a living and no savings."

"We can't keep bothering you, big sister."

"That's why I came up with this idea. Besides, the prince has many wives and concubines in his mansion, and my elder sister is naturally indifferent to fame and fortune and is not the type to fight over things."

"If I come to the Prince's mansion, my sisters and I will be of one mind, which is better than my eldest sister being all alone."

Hearing this, Jia Yuanchun was somewhat persuaded.

Although Jia Yuanchun was not competitive or greedy, she did not want to grow old and lose her beauty and popularity.

With her younger sister Jia Tanchun by her side, she could surely hold onto her husband's heart and always have a place in his heart.

Thinking of this, Jia Yuanchun nodded slightly and said.

“You’ve always been opinionated. Now that you’ve made up your mind, what else can I say?”

"But you might not be able to convince your father."

Jia Tanchun gave a bitter smile and said.

"When faced with the hardships of life, even the most aloof person cannot last a moment."

"Don't worry, Father will compromise on his own."

"Let's not talk about that anymore, big sister. Your family is probably still living in fear right now."

“In that case, I’ll go back first. After I’ve dealt with Sun Shaozu’s matter and entered the Prince’s Mansion, we sisters will have plenty of time to catch up.”

Jia Yuanchun patted Jia Tanchun's hand and then said.

"You've thought of everything. By the way, wait a moment."

After speaking, Jia Yuanchun took out several silver notes from his sleeve, which added up to a face value of about 1,200 taels.

Jia Yuanchun handed the silver note to Jia Tanchun and said.

"Tan Chun, this is some personal money that the Prince gave me. Please take it home with you."

“Father is useless and can’t do anything, and he doesn’t know how to do business. But the family still has to make a living.”

Jia Tanchun hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Big sister, isn't this inappropriate?"

Jia Yuanchun smiled calmly and said.

"Alright, apart from serving the Three Pure Ones, I don't have any other expenses all day long."

"The prince treats me very well, and I don't have much to spend money on."

"Give this money to your father. As long as he is frugal, it should be enough to support him for more than ten years."

Jia Tanchun nodded and said.

"Alright, big sister, I'll accept it."

"It's getting late, I'll go back first."

Jia Yuanchun looked at Jia Tanchun and said.

"It's already dark. Here's what I'll do: I'll have the guards from the manor escort you, just in case anything goes wrong on the way."

(End of this chapter)