Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 449 The Crown Prince's Affairs: Lian Yuan's Thoughts and the Secret Planning of Ancestors and Grandsons
Jia Lian was taken aback, then quickly smiled and said, "That's how it should be. Then let's go and take a look at the east courtyard."

The two immediately rose and left the south-facing hall, heading together towards the east courtyard. Jia Lian wasn't stupid; he had observed Chen Siyuan's various reactions and could easily guess that Chen Siyuan was extremely wary of the Crown Prince.
Jia Lian was puzzled, and after leaving through the side gate, he asked, "Brother Yuan seems to have a lot of fear of the Crown Prince."

Chen Siyuan glanced sideways and laughed, "Second Brother is joking. The Crown Prince is still a ruler. I will only show respect to the Eastern Palace. Why would I be afraid of him? Haha..." After laughing twice, Chen Siyuan continued, "However, with the current Holy Emperor on the throne, I think Second Brother will understand the matter of being loyal to the emperor even if you are eating his food."

Jia Lian smiled and nodded: "That's right, that's exactly the point."

After walking for a while, Chen Siyuan couldn't help but ask, "Second Brother, if I may be so bold as to ask, why does your family insist on getting involved with the Crown Prince? Don't you know that doing so will only incur the Emperor's suspicion?"

Jia Lian sighed and finally spoke a few words of truth, saying, "How could the nobles in my family and other places not know this? Unfortunately, the current emperor treats the nobles too harshly. Everyone knows that there is no hope for this dynasty, so we can only place our hopes on the next one." He paused, then lowered his voice and said, "The Crown Prince is a benevolent ruler and relies heavily on us nobles. How can we not do our utmost?"

Chen Siyuan listened thoughtfully. Rather than saying that the Jia family made mistakes, it was more accurate to say that their positions determined their perspectives. The current emperor was determined to reform, but unfortunately, his health was poor; he had already suffered two strokes and might become paralyzed at any time. If he followed his nature, he would definitely choose a new emperor who could continue his political lineage, so that his reign would not end with his death.

The current Crown Prince was established when the Emperor Emeritus abdicated, and he is the only son of the former Empress. He enjoys considerable prestige among the nobles and officials. The nobles and officials know that if they let the current emperor continue to act as he pleases, not only will this dynasty suffer, but the next dynasty may also be in dire straits. In that case, they might as well take a gamble and secretly push the Crown Prince to the throne.

Moreover, the Jia family did not cling to the past. While maintaining close ties with the old noble families, the second generation, Jia Jing, the third generation, Jia Zhu, and the fourth generation, Jia Lan and Jia Jun, all achieved considerable success in the imperial examinations. In this way, even if they could no longer rely on the title in the future, at least their descendants would be able to secure a place in the examinations.

Looking at it this way, he's a perfect example of being two-faced!

Chen Siyuan, being at the downstream end of history, naturally saw the Jia family upstream as extremely foolish. However, he thought that if he were in charge of the Jia family, he probably wouldn't be able to relinquish the benefits brought by the nobles and would be single-mindedly trying to change his allegiance.

Well, the Jia family is already deeply involved; it's too late to say anything now. The sky will rain, and a mother will want her family; perhaps it's better to think about how to rescue the women after the Jia family's downfall.

Chen Siyuan chuckled and stopped talking about it. He and Jia Lian passed through the three ceremonial gates and entered the main room to glance at Jia She. After sitting for less than half a quarter of an hour, they both covered their mouths and noses and retreated.

Leaving aside these two, let's turn our attention to Rongqing Hall.

The separation had passed, and upon hearing that the second daughter, Yingchun, was doing well, Grandmother Jia nodded with a smile. Madam Xing, though her face was tense, felt a pang of sadness in her heart. Even Tanchun and Xichun felt a deep sense of resentment.

If it weren't for the age difference, how could Tan Chun have given up such a good man? Now it's truly too late to say anything.

Just then, a maid came back and said, "Grandma, Aunt Fu has brought Zhang-ge'er here."

Grandmother Jia was taken aback for a moment, then said happily, "Quickly, bring him in!" She instructed the maid, then turned to Yingchun, who was also on the soft couch, and said, "I haven't met Second Sister yet. Zhang-ge was born when Master was in office. He looks very clever and bright. Maybe he will become a Jinshi someday."

Yingchun smiled and chimed in, "Everyone says that when Brother Zhang was born, the sun shone brightly, which shows that he has a deep blessing." As she spoke, she quickly gave Hongyu a look, and Hongyu nodded slightly. Then she and Xiuju found a pair of gold locks in their bundle.

Before long, Fu Qiufang led little Jia Zhang inside. The mother and son greeted each other, and then Grandmother Jia called Jia Zhang forward.

When Zhangge'er came forward, Grandmother Jia took his hand and said, "Zhangge'er, you must call her Second Sister."

Jia Zhang called out in a childish voice, and perhaps because she was pregnant, the second young lady's heart softened instantly. She quickly smiled and presented a pair of gold locks.

“The boy is well-behaved, just as the old ancestor said, he looks like a bright and intelligent person.”

Fu Qiufang stepped forward to express her gratitude, then stepped aside and said, "Grandmother, there are still some general affairs to attend to at Yihong Courtyard, so I will leave Zhang-ge behind and head back first."

Grandmother Jia agreed, and Fu Qiufang then curtsied and took her leave.

A short while later, upon hearing that Jia Lian had led Chen Siyuan to the east wing, Madam Xing hurriedly made an excuse to return to the east wing, hoping to have a chance to speak a few intimate words with Chen Siyuan.

At this moment, Grandmother Jia said to Tan Chun and Xi Chun, "It's still early. You two and Yun'er should go back to the back first. Your second sister and I have something to talk about."

Tan Chun, Xi Chun, and Xiang Yun all agreed and left Grandmother Jia's main room in no time.

Once only Grandmother Jia and Yingchun remained inside, Grandmother Jia sighed, "Second daughter, your second uncle is in trouble with the law, and we don't know how to deal with it yet. Although you are married, you still belong to the Jia family, so you must help out this time."

Yingchun had heard Chen Siyuan mention this before, and she had long expected that Grandmother Jia would ask her for help. So she said the truth: "Grandmother, my husband said before that no matter what, whether it is for the sake of the Jia family's past achievements or for the sake of the Empress, even if Second Uncle is wrong, this time it will only be a small punishment to teach him a lesson."

On the contrary, such a grand celebration at home might backfire.

Grandmother Jia frowned and said, "I understand the reasoning, but the family is not doing well right now... Your father suffered a stroke, and now your husband is embroiled in a lawsuit. If he loses his job, who will take over the family business?"

Yingchun thought about it and agreed. After some consideration, she advised, "Grandmother, Second Uncle's temperament is not suited to being an official. To put it bluntly, Second Uncle is better off staying in the court, but if he is sent out to other places, he will definitely cause trouble. It seems like he is about to be dismissed from his post, but in fact, it may be a good thing afterward."

"No matter what, the Empress is one of the four imperial concubines. Even if His Majesty wanted to save face, he wouldn't want his family to fall into such a state of decline."

She paused, then added, "Besides, my husband wanted to help before, but he is of low status and has no real job. He has never even seen the Emperor's face. He wants to help but doesn't know where to start."

Grandmother Jia tentatively asked, "Aren't Yuan-ge'er and Prince Yanping close friends?"

Yingchun's expression immediately changed, and she said, "The most taboo thing in this dynasty is for members of the imperial family to discuss politics. No matter how favored Prince Yanping is, he can only guard the inner palace. Has the old ancestor ever seen the prince meddle in other matters?"

Grandmother Jia, realizing there was no hope, sighed heavily. Indeed, even her own nephew, the Marquis of Zhongjing, wouldn't come; what use was Chen Siyuan, who had just passed the imperial examination?

Yingchun, not wanting to continue the conversation, changed the subject and asked, "Our ancestor said the family has no means of support. Why is that?"

Grandmother Jia then went on and on about the family's difficulties. It was all the same old story: firstly, in order to maintain appearances, they had to indulge in extravagance; secondly, the family was growing while their income was decreasing.

After rambling on for a while, Grandmother Jia couldn't help but sigh, "Now that you're getting married, Zhu Ge's wife will have to take over, but unfortunately, she's ill. There's no other way, so Madam has to manage the household herself. A while ago, we received news from the Liaodong estate that a snow disaster has killed countless cattle and sheep, and this year's New Year's gifts will probably be 30% less than in previous years. Madam has done the calculations and says that no matter what, there will be a deficit of five thousand taels of silver this year."

Yingchun sighed on the surface, but remained noncommittal in her heart.

The deficit of five thousand taels of silver is probably all due to the Empress's recent misappropriation. A mere eunuch like Xia can extort twelve hundred taels, and Lady Wang regularly sends silver to the palace every few days, seemingly a bottomless pit. How could there not be a deficit?
The old matriarch had a good plan back then. She thought that by sending the eldest sister into the palace, she could take care of the Jia family for ten or twenty years and eventually wait for a capable member of the Jia family to emerge.

However, every advantage has its disadvantage. The family did receive the Empress's favor, but this favor required a lot of money to pay for it! Not counting the money sent to the palace every year, the Rongguo Mansion was completely drained of its wealth just by buying a villa for the Empress's visit.

In that light, perhaps it would have been better to have chosen to lie low in the first place.

Anyone can be a hindsight expert, but the key is how to break the deadlock in the present.

Yingchun frowned and pondered for a while, then suddenly raised her head and said, "Grandmother, shouldn't we put Brother Bao's marriage on the agenda?"

"Baoyu?" After a moment's thought, Grandmother Jia suddenly realized, "Oh, you mean Xia Jingui?"

Yingchun nodded repeatedly. The Xia family was extremely wealthy, and not only did the two already have a daughter, but Baoyu would also be sixteen next year, making it the right time to discuss marriage. Thus, if Xia Jingui were to marry into the family, her dowry could fully cover the family's deficit, allowing the Rongguo Mansion to continue operating for a few more years.

Grandmother Jia shook her head and said, "Madam originally planned to submit a memorial to the emperor after Master returned to the capital, requesting permission for Baoyu to marry the Xia family's daughter as a secondary wife. Who knew... alas, in this situation, Master himself is in dire need of protection, how could he dare to submit a memorial to the emperor?"

Yingchun suddenly squinted and smiled, "Grandmother, isn't Xia Jingui the only daughter of the Xia family?"

“Yes again… ouch.” Seeing Yingchun’s teasing smile, Grandmother Jia suddenly realized something.

Yes, Xia Jingui is the only son of the Xia family. With Chen Siyuan as a precedent, why not make Xia Jingui the second wife? Although this would reduce the amount of dowry that can be used, it wouldn't prevent Baoyu from marrying someone else.

But if Yuan Chun were to be promoted to Imperial Concubine, Bao Yu would become the Emperor's brother-in-law. For a man of such high status as the Emperor's brother-in-law to marry into the family would be like taking a wife who is also a heir apparent; it would be quite unpleasant to hear about it.

Grandmother Jia frowned, pondering the pros and cons. Yingchun then offered her advice: "My husband is the third-ranked scholar in this year's imperial examination. Grandmother, do you see anyone outside laughing at him? In private, most people envy him. Besides, Brother Bao's temperament... he's probably not suited for officialdom in the future. He'll just be a wealthy idler, so why bother caring about what others say?"

The second young lady didn't mention the deficit. The Rongguo Mansion did benefit from this, but the second branch of the family benefited the most. Logically and morally, the second branch should make up for the deficit themselves.

Grandmother Jia, however, was not thinking about these things. She was only focused on Xia Jingui's inheritance. It didn't take much; as long as she could get 30,000 taels of silver from the Xia family, that would be enough to keep her going until she passed away. As for what would happen after she died... her children and grandchildren would have their own lives to live, and Grandmother Jia couldn't worry about that anymore.

Having thought it through clearly, Grandmother Jia finally felt relieved. She looked up at Yingchun and couldn't help but sigh that she had misjudged her. Who could have imagined that this blockhead was actually a person with great talent?
After chatting for a while, Yingchun went to the east courtyard to see Jia She, then sat in Fengjie's room for a while. After seeing Li Wan, she went to the back to find Tanchun, Xichun, Xiangyun and others to play with.

At the hour of Wei (1-3 PM), everyone gathered at Rongqing Hall, still separated by screens, with men on the left and women on the right.

Although Chen Siyuan chatted with Jia Zheng a lot during the meal, Jia Zheng was disheartened and listless, and his words were mostly perfunctory.

Seeing this, Chen Siyuan said no more.

By the end of the Shenshi hour (3-5 PM), the banquet had ended. Chen Siyuan and Yingchun bid farewell to the Jia family and others, and went out of the ceremonial gate to take a carriage back home.

The second daughter is five months pregnant and is now extremely sleepy. She kept dozing off on the train, and after returning home, she gave a few brief instructions and went to rest.

After bidding farewell to Yingchun, Chen Siyuan headed towards the West Courtyard. Little did he know that Sister Bao was there looking for Daiyu, which saved him the trouble of running back and forth.

The three of them sat down. Daiyu was still fiddling with the flowers in the vase when Baochai put down her silver scissors and inquired about the situation. After hearing Chen Siyuan's account, Baochai sighed with lingering fear, "The Jia family... I'm afraid things are going to get chaotic."

Wouldn't things get chaotic? Fu Qiufang led Jia Zhang back to the mansion, and Jia Zheng was completely biased towards Fu Qiufang. Then Xia Jingui entered the mansion again. Oh, I'm afraid the Jia family will fall apart!
As dinner time approached, Baochai said she would get up and return to the East Courtyard after a while.

Just as Chen Siyuan was about to lean closer to Daiyu for a bit of intimacy, Lin Daiyu glanced at him sideways and suddenly said, "What did you do to Qin'er?"

Yesterday afternoon, Baoqin came to the study again to pester him. The two whispered sweet nothings to each other for a while. Seeing that Baoqin was becoming increasingly bold and reckless, Chen Siyuan used some homosexual techniques. However, after losing control, Baoqin immediately covered her face and ran away in great shame.

Chen Siyuan pretended to be confused, feigning surprise, and asked, "What can I do to her?" He paused, then sat down next to Daiyu, put his arm around her shoulder, and asked, "What happened to that girl?"

Daiyu was suspicious and pondered for a while, thinking to herself that although Chen Siyuan was licentious, he would never make a move on a young girl of this age. So she said, "That's strange. Today I went to find Qin'er to make incense, but when Qin'er spoke, she was incoherent and would get distracted after saying a few words. At noon, she was even more listless and barely ate anything. I heard that she was resting her chin on her hand and deep in thought all afternoon. I wonder what she was thinking."

Chen Siyuan pondered to himself, "Has Baoqin lost her soul? After all, she's still a young girl. Before, she probably only thought that romantic feelings between men and women were just about kissing, hugging, and lifting each other up. Now that she's been hit by this, it's understandable that she's momentarily dazed and lost in thought."
That girl usually acts all seductive and bewitching, but I never expected her to be so reserved inside.

Chen Siyuan found it amusing, but after making up his mind, he turned to look for Baoqin. He mumbled a few words and made a slightly flirtatious remark, which made Daiyu feel embarrassed and annoyed. Only then did he go to the East Courtyard to look for Baoqin.

To his surprise, he was turned away at the door. Baoqin said through the door that she was "not feeling well" and refused to see him no matter what. Chen Siyuan found this amusing and laughed heartily before going to find Baochai to talk to.

............................................................

By the end of November, the civil unrest in Huai'an had been quelled.

After the autumn harvest, the Emperor settled scores. The Prefect of Huai'an was found to be corrupt and incompetent, having falsely reported the disaster, causing widespread suffering. He was sentenced to immediate execution. The officials of Huai'an Prefecture were punished according to their respective crimes. Jia Zheng, who had failed in his inspection, was dismissed from his post, fined a year's salary, and ordered to return home to reflect on his actions. (Note 1)

The slap fell, a small punishment indeed serving as a warning.

Throughout the Rongguo Mansion, Grandmother Jia and others breathed a sigh of relief, while Madam Xing and Sister Feng watched coldly from the sidelines. Only Madam Wang was deeply distressed. Madam Wang visited the Wang family several times, but aside from receiving a few vague words, she returned empty-handed.

Ironically, Jia Zheng, now idle, found joy in his daily life. He would either sit idly in his study reading or seek out his guests to play chess and drink. He paid little attention to official matters or even the household affairs.

Perhaps because of the obedient and well-behaved Jia Zhang, Jia Zheng no longer disciplined even Bao Yu and Jia Huan.

For over a month, Baoyu lived in fear and anxiety. Seeing that Jia Zheng ignored him, he reverted to his old ways, spending only half the day at the private school and the other half playing outside.

Her husband lost his official post and stayed at home, completely disheartened; her son was rebellious and absurd; she had to handle all the big and small affairs of the household, keeping her extremely busy; and Fu Qiufang had annoyed her several times, making her feel increasingly frustrated. At the age of fifty, she managed to hold on until the end of December, but finally fell ill and never recovered.

Her illness threw the entire household into chaos. Left with no other option, Grandmother Jia summoned everyone to Rongqing Hall to discuss the matter.

According to Grandmother Jia's thinking, since Sister Feng has already given birth, it would be better to let Sister Feng continue to manage the household. If Sister Feng is unwilling, then let Tan Chun take over the management.

Who knew that not only Feng Jie, but even Tan Chun was indifferent – ​​now that Madam Wang was in charge of the household, the two of them had long since broken ties with Madam Wang, so why bother with that thankless task?
So Tan Chun claimed that she was too young to manage the household affairs; Feng Jie made the excuse that her two children were still young and she couldn't be without someone by her side.

Grandmother Jia was immediately annoyed. This person didn't want to do it, that person didn't want to do it. Did she expect the old lady to take charge of the household affairs?

Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly heard a commotion outside, and then Madam Xing stormed in.

Upon entering, he threw a rotten ginseng on the ground and shouted, "Old lady, please help me! I can't live like this anymore!"

Grandmother Jia had a terrible headache. She frowned and said, "Speak up if you have something to say. Isn't this noise just making you lose face?"

Madam Xing wailed, "To save face, you'd harm the master? Then I don't care about saving face at all!"

Seeing that things were not going well, Li Wan quickly came over to offer some words of advice.

Madam Xing then revealed the truth. It turned out that she was supposed to brew medicine for the master today, but when the old woman went to the storeroom to get ginseng, she sensed something was wrong and hurriedly went to Madam Xing to complain.

The master is bedridden, and it should be paid for his medical treatment from public funds. However, it is nearing the end of the year, and the New Year's gifts from Liaodong have not yet arrived, so even Jia She's medicine money is in arrears.

Madam Xing was already dissatisfied with the second branch of the family taking the lion's share of the public funds, and now that she had found a good opportunity, she was bound to cause trouble.
After explaining in detail, Madam Xing wailed, "Previously, we only separated the rooms, not the entire household. Now, they're even delaying the master's medicine. Are they hoping for his death? In that case, it would be better to divide the household property!"

(End of this chapter)