Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 57 Aunt Zhao

Aunt Zhao received the news early that morning. Her maid Xiao Jixiang heard it and came back to tell her that the eldest lady had made a fortune.

Aunt Zhao pressed for the reason, but little Jixiang had only heard a vague explanation, so how could she explain it clearly? Aunt Zhao immediately scolded him and sent little Que away to look around.

By the afternoon, Xiao Que had not returned yet, so Jia Huan ran back and said that he had learned something privately and it was spread everywhere that the newcomer Chen Siyuan was actually a well-connected person. He had somehow made the acquaintance of a certain governor's aide, and he only needed to say a few words to that aide and make a fortune by selling his money.

Aunt Zhao was puzzled, thinking that Chen was a poor relative with a bad temper, but she didn't expect him to have such a background. After a while, Xiao Que came back and finally explained the whole story clearly.

Aunt Zhao was a short-sighted person to begin with, and upon hearing this, her eyes immediately brimmed with envy. A 50% interest rate! Investing a thousand taels, and making five hundred taels in just six months!

She served and flattered him wholeheartedly every day, but her monthly salary was only two taels of silver. These five hundred taels were equivalent to her monthly salary for twenty years!
As the saying goes, money can move the heart, and Aunt Zhao was immediately tempted. However, she heard from Xiao Que that it would cost at least 1,000 taels to get involved. Aunt Zhao had only saved a few hundred taels over the years, so where could she find 1,000 taels?
But such an opportunity is not easy to miss. If you miss it, wouldn’t it be a waste of twenty years of salary?

Aunt Zhao started to think, thinking that she couldn't rely on her ungrateful daughter this time, so she had to turn her attention to her master Jia Zheng.

As it happened, Jia Zheng returned from office not long after. Aunt Zhao hurriedly sent little Jixiang to the front to pass on the message. After several invitations, she finally managed to invite Jia Zheng.

While Mrs. Wang was away serving the old lady, Aunt Zhao started crying and making a fuss, and Jia Zheng was so annoyed that he finally agreed to "lend" Aunt Zhao four hundred taels of silver.

Aunt Zhao immediately smiled brightly. She finally waited until nightfall. Jia Zheng went to Lady Jia's courtyard. Aunt Zhao was afraid that something might happen if she was late, so she hurriedly took her maid and went to Chen Siyuan.

The maid, Xiao Jixiang'er, felt uneasy and couldn't help but say, "Auntie, we have no previous relationship with that Master Chen. If we rashly go to him like this... I'm afraid it wouldn't be a good idea, right?"

Aunt Zhao, however, was completely unconcerned and said, "So what if we don't have any contact? After all, we are all relatives, and the more relatives interact, the closer they become."

Aunt Zhao was clearly thinking, although she was a concubine, she was still half a master. Chen Siyuan, on the other hand, was a distant relative, so they were equally matched and shouldn't look down on each other. If Chen Siyuan was sensible and helped her this time, with her help in the future, wouldn't the Chen family have a foothold in this mansion?

While she was thinking, she arrived at the gate of the courtyard. The maid Xiaoque came forward to knock on the door. Hongyu came out to greet her. When she saw that it was Aunt Zhao, she was immediately surprised.

"Why is Auntie here?"

Aunt Zhao smiled and said, "Didn't Tanchun borrow some books from Brother Yuan a while ago? I noticed that Tanchun has made some progress these days, so I came to thank her. Oh... Xiaohong, is Brother Yuan here?"

Hongyu said in surprise, "Master is here."

He then greeted her and slowly led Aunt Zhao inside.

Hongyu walked slowly and was about to mention that Second Wife Wang Xifeng was also there, but unexpectedly Aunt Zhao was impatient and passed Hongyu in just a few steps and arrived at the door of the main house.

At this time, Chen Siyuan had already opened the door to greet him. Aunt Zhao took only a glance and raised her handkerchief to praise him, "Oh my, this is Brother Yuan, right? He is indeed a handsome man! The third lady was full of praise when she saw him once, and today I see that he is indeed quite remarkable. Hehehe——"

Chen Siyuan looked at him amused. As the saying goes, 'Don't hit someone who smiles.' He simply smiled and said in return, "My aunt, you are so kind. Please come in and chat."

Aunt Zhao was still praising herself, "I am the kind of person who says what I think. My boy is so handsome that he would be first-class even if the two mansions of the East and West were combined. Maybe one day he will marry a princess or a county lady - uh -" Aunt Zhao suddenly couldn't continue, and the smile on her face froze. Then she saw Sister Feng sitting by the table, looking at her with a smile.

Aunt Zhao's face changed and she frowned and said, "Oh, so Miss Feng is here too." She wanted to say something sarcastic but was afraid of offending Yuan Ge'er, so she rolled her eyes and stopped talking.

Sister Feng put down her teacup and said with a smile, "This is strange. I wonder what the aunt wants to do by visiting Brother Yuan so late at night."

Aunt Zhao said, "I came for the same reason you came."

Sister Feng raised an eyebrow and said, "So, Auntie is also concerned about the funeral ceremony?" As she spoke, Sister Feng looked at Ping'er and said, "That's strange. I wonder when did elder brother entrust this matter to Auntie?"

"You——" Aunt Zhao was choked and speechless.

Sister Feng sneered, and simply stood up and said, "Brother Yuan, I won't stay any longer."

Chen Siyuan said, "Then I'll see my second sister-in-law off."

Sister Feng said with a smile as she walked, "Brother Yuan, please stay. Auntie is still here. Haha, haha, I'll see. Brother Yuan will be busy from now on."

Chen Siyuan put on a wry smile and escorted Feng Jieer to the door. Because Aunt Zhao was still there, Chen Siyuan really couldn't send her out, so he quickly sent Hongyu to carry a lantern and escort her.

When she turned around, she saw that Aunt Zhao had already sat in the seat where Sister Feng had just sat, looking very angry.

Chen Siyuan secretly complained, wondering if Aunt Zhao was truly stupid or just pretending... She must be half-truthful, half-fake. She might be vulgar, perhaps foolish, but she was definitely not an outright fool.

How could a woman who could coax Jia Zheng into a state of confusion, sleep with him while Lady Wang was still raising him, and even give birth to a son and a daughter be really a fool?

Chen Siyuan pondered and turned around to sit down and said, "Auntie, you came to see me now... is there something wrong?"

As he spoke, he took a quick glance and saw that Aunt Zhao had a thick layer of makeup on her face. She seemed to be even older than Madam Xing, but even so, one could tell that she had a good foundation when she was young.

Aunt Zhao rambled on, "Didn't my brother borrow some books from Tanchun a few days ago? Yesterday, the master saw that Tanchun had made great progress and praised her highly in front of me. I came here to thank my brother."

Chen Siyuan was at a loss for words and said, "So that's how it is. This doesn't deserve any thanks from Auntie. It's all because of Third Sister's own intelligence and wisdom. It has little to do with me."

Aunt Zhao, a quick-witted person, immediately said, "It's not much, but it does have something to do with me. "By the way, my dear, have you been doing well in the mansion these days? Is there anything you've been missing?"
My dear, you don't know that the servants in this mansion are all arrogant and look down on others. If you are not careful, you will fall into their trap and suffer losses. I, as an elder, have been in this mansion for more than ten or twenty years and have seen many crooked ways.

If you don’t understand something, feel free to ask me.”

Chen Siyuan agreed, too lazy to talk nonsense, so he just smiled and said, "Auntie, are you here for the opening of the port?"

(End of this chapter)