Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 6 Earning Xiangling

Chen Siyuan and Wang Shanbao's wife exited the black-oiled gate together. The former returned through Selfish Alley. Halfway through, he suddenly heard a cheerful voice from inside. He could faintly hear a maid say, "Grandma Rong is finally feeling better. Double Ninth Festival is coming soon. Grandma, does the West Mansion have any news?"

Then a woman was heard saying, "The old lady is old, so how can she say anything? She just went to Huifang Garden as usual to stroll around, have a drink, and listen to opera."

The maidservant clasped her hands and praised: "I was thinking of climbing the West Mountain this year, but it's always good to have a play to listen to."

Chen Siyuan, who was in the alley, paused briefly, and when he heard the woman's voice fade away, he hurried back to his own courtyard. But let's put that aside for now, let's talk about Wang Shanbao entering the Rongguo Mansion from the corner gate and then entering the inner house from the corner gate to the left of the ceremonial gate.

In front were three large, sunny rooms, flanked by warm rooms and passages. Wang Shanbao, the housekeeper, passed through the left passage to the west garden, arriving in front of Jia Mu's courtyard. Looking up, she saw a gate with hanging flowers, flanked by winding corridors that connected the side rooms and stretched all the way into the interior.

Wang Shanbao's wife walked inward, passed three halls, and arrived at the second courtyard, where a large marble screen with a rosewood frame was placed. Passing by three small halls, she reached the main courtyard. Here, Jia's mother lived, with five main rooms and three side halls, a place of extraordinary grandeur.

This house originally had four courtyards, with the back room at the back, but last year the family built a large flower hall at the back, so now it has five courtyards.

When Wang Shanbao arrived at the main hall, a tall woman came to greet him. She wore a long vest with a turquoise silk collar and a emerald green cloth collar, a light blue round-necked jacket, a pine green embroidered handkerchief tied around her waist, and a light blue long skirt.

She had a slim waist and narrow shoulders, an oval face, oily black hair, a high nose, and a few freckles on both cheeks. She was none other than Yuanyang, the maidservant who served Lady Jia.

"Why is Mammy here?"

Wang Shanbao, the housekeeper, did not dare to neglect the matter and bowed slightly, saying, "Miss Yuanyang, could you please call my wife out? There is an urgent matter at home that requires the wife's decision."

Yuanyang nodded and said, "Then I'll go call her. Madam, please wait a moment."

Wang Shanbao's wife agreed without delay. Yuanyang shook her braids and turned to go inside. Turning around the screen, she saw Mrs. Xing and Mrs. Wang accompanying Lady Jia on both sides, Aunt Xue sitting at the head of the table, Baoyu and Qin Zhong sitting opposite Lady Jia, and Li Wan, Feng Jieer, and Baochai, three younger people, standing by.

At this moment, no one knew what joke Sister Feng made, but it made everyone laugh. The old lady pointed at Sister Feng and said, "Look, I said she was a scoundrel and a poor woman, wasn't I wrong?"

Feng Jieer curled her lips and said, "If that's what the old ancestor says, I won't dare act rudely in front of you anymore. Otherwise, the first and second wives might come back and punish me!"

Mrs. Xing smiled, but felt a pang of embarrassment. Aunt Xue, who sat below her, said with a smile, "Don't worry, little Feng. The old lady is worried about you."

Feng Jieer flicked the handkerchief in her hand and said coquettishly, "Where does it hurt? Tomorrow I will give birth to a child. Although it can't be considered a full birth, I don't see the old lady having any complaints."

Grandmother Jia smiled and shook her head repeatedly, saying, "Look, how could she be so eager to ask for a gift? I think she's only thinking about my little possessions!"

Mrs. Wang tried to smooth things over, saying, "Who in this family doesn't know that the old lady's personal belongings are the best? It's almost Double Tenth, little girl Feng, so the old lady's gift this time can't be slack."

Grandmother Jia smiled and said, "They're being prepared. They've been prepared for the past two months. Amber, go get my pair of purple jade bracelets. There's no need to wait until tomorrow. I'll just give them to this scoundrel today."

The maid Amber responded, turned around and went to the inner room, and in a moment she returned with the box. Wang Xifeng happily took it, opened it, and saw that inside was indeed a pair of purple jade bracelets. She was immediately overjoyed and thanked Lady Jia repeatedly, with witty remarks one after another.

At this moment, Yuanyang quietly came to Mrs. Xing's side and was about to lean over to speak when Jia's mother said, "What's the matter?"

Yuanyang hurriedly said, "It was Nanny Wang who came to look for the Madam. She said there was an urgent matter in the East Wing."

Grandmother Jia glanced at the flattering Lady Xing and ordered, "Since you have something to do, I won't keep you here any longer. Go quickly."

Mrs. Xing stood up, bowed, and hurried out. When she reached the main hall, she ran into Wang Shanbao, the housekeeper, and asked what had happened. Wang Shanbao quickly exaggerated the story, saying, "Madam, that Xue Pan is being rude. I think Brother Yuan has been greatly wronged!"

Mrs. Xing didn't care whether Chen Siyuan felt wronged or not. She was concerned about Xue Pan. She thought to herself that she and the eldest master had made a deal about Feng Jieer a while ago, which had made the old lady very unhappy. She had been giving her a bad look these days.

Although Mrs. Wang didn't say anything on the surface, one couldn't tell how she was mocking him in her heart. Why not take this opportunity to humiliate Mrs. Wang?
He immediately made up his mind and said to Wang Shanbao, "Come in with me."

Mrs. Xing led Wang Shanbao into the house. Mrs. Xing acted as if nothing had happened and went to serve Jia Mu again. Jia Mu couldn't help but wonder, "Didn't you say something happened in the East Wing Courtyard? Why are you back again?"

Mrs. Xing glanced at Mrs. Wang and said with a smile, "It's just some children's mischief, not a big deal." After a pause, seeing that Lady Jia had responded without asking any further questions, Mrs. Xing coughed lightly and said to Sister Feng, "Miss Feng, have you assigned a maid to Brother Yuan's place?"

Sister Feng replied, "I'm short of help right now, so I'm sending a little maid away for now. I'll choose a suitable maid tomorrow."

Before Lady Xing could say anything, Grandmother Jia asked in surprise, "Brother Yuan?" Lady Xing was about to speak when Baoyu interrupted, "Grandfather, I know. I just came back and ran into a maid who looked unfamiliar. I asked and found out it was my aunt's nephew who came to our house."

Grandmother Jia disliked Lady Xing very much. Upon hearing this, she said, "Since a relative has come to visit, we must take good care of her. Feng'er, send the maid away as soon as possible tomorrow to avoid being rude."

Feng Jieer agreed, and Madam Xing said, "I'm afraid we'll have to assign an extra maid this time."

Even Baoyu could hear the sarcasm in these words, let alone Jia's mother, so she asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Mrs. Xing said, "Old Madam, you don't know, my nephew originally had a maidservant with him, named Yan'er. He was just settled down this afternoon, and Brother Yuan sent Yan'er to pick up the food box. I don't know how she came back and ran into Brother Pan—"

As he spoke, he glanced meaningfully at Lady Wang and Aunt Xue, who both felt a pang of fear in their hearts. Even Baochai, who was standing by, frowned.

Mrs. Xing continued, "Perhaps he had drunk too much. Regardless of what Yuan-ge said, Pan-ge dragged Yan-er away and said he took her right back to Lixiang Courtyard." She paused, and seeing Aunt Xue's face turn pale, she added, "Yuan-ge already had one personal maid by his side. Now that he's gone, won't he need another?"

As soon as he finished speaking, you could hear a pin drop in the upper room.

Grandmother Jia disliked Lady Xing, and neither Lady Wang nor Aunt Xue. If it weren't for the rules, Grandmother Jia would have wanted to hand over all the household duties to Sister Feng right away.

Especially the Xue family, who have been living in the Jia family for more than two years under the pretext of selecting a partner for Baochai, and the reputation of a perfect match has spread in the mansion. Who doesn't know what the Xue family is thinking?
Grandmother Jia simply remained silent, about to embarrass the Xue family. Lady Wang's expression was also unhappy. She glanced at Aunt Xue angrily, then, out of sisterly affection, said, "I'm afraid there's some misunderstanding here."

Mrs. Xing covered her mouth and laughed, "That's right. Perhaps Pan'er saw that Yuan'er had just arrived, and the two little brothers were playing around."

Aunt Xue couldn't sit still at this moment, so she stood up and bowed, saying, "Pan'er is behaving badly after drinking, old lady, I'll go back and take a look."

Grandmother Jia responded without further comment, and Aunt Xue hurried out with Baochai. Mother and daughter walked in silence through the hallway beside the large flower hall at the back, past the large painted screen where Sister Feng lived, and only after passing through the corner gate did Aunt Xue begin to curse, "This evil creature, when he's not watched for a moment, he's going to cause trouble! How will the whole family view our Xue family?"

Some things are hard to say. Now that Daiyu has been away in Yangzhou for over a year, Baochai has taken advantage of the situation. Now Baoyu often comes to Lixiangyuan to play with Baochai. This golden match may be confirmed in a few years. Wouldn't this unexpected incident ruin the good thing?

Even if we don't consider Baochai, Xue Pan is old enough to get married. If his bad reputation gets out, how can a girl from a good family dare to marry into his family?

Ignoring the advice of several maids, Aunt Xue led Baochai hurriedly. Soon they arrived at Lixiangyuan and ran into Tongxi, a maid guarding the door.

Catching a glimpse of Aunt Xue and Baochai, Tongxi hurried forward to greet them and said, "Madam is finally back! Master has brought back a maid, and now she's been acting wildly in the side rooms. No matter how we try to persuade her, she won't listen. Xiangling said a few more words, and Master kicked her in the face."

Aunt Xue's face turned pale as she went straight to the side room. When she reached the door, she could faintly hear the sound of a woman sobbing inside. Aunt Xue paused, turned her head to look at Baochai, who had stopped early, and said, "My son, go to your room and rest first. I'll go inside to see your brother!"

Baochai agreed, and Aunt Xue opened the door. She looked up and saw a dishevelled woman kneeling at the head of the bed, sobbing uncontrollably. Xue Pan, lying face up, was now snoring loudly.

The woman caught sight of Aunt Xue and cried out through gritted teeth, "I, I won't live any longer—" As she spoke, she jumped down barefoot and rammed her head against the wall!

Aunt Xue was startled and shouted, "Stop them!"

After this incident, the reputation that Aunt Xue and Baochai had built up over the past two years has been ruined. If someone dies, how will the Xue family have the face to continue staying in the Jia family?

The maids Tongxi and Tonggui hurried forward to stop Liu Yan'er. Aunt Xue glanced angrily at Xue Pan, who was showing his ugly face, and said to Liu Yan'er gently, "Don't be so suicidal. Don't worry. If something like this happens, I will always give you an explanation. Tongxi, take her downstairs and clean her up."

Tongxi agreed, and together with Tonggui, they supported Liu Yan'er and walked towards the main room. Aunt Xue wanted to spank Xue Pan, but seeing his thunderous snoring, she sighed and turned to leave the wing room.

When Aunt Xue entered the main room of Lixiang Courtyard, she saw Liu Yan'er sobbing in the west room, and even Xiangling, who was sitting in front of Baochai, was sobbing.

Aunt Xue was at a loss for a moment. She came to Baochai and said, "My son, your brother... Well, what should we do now?"

Baochai bit her lower lip and let Ying'er help Xiangling to the east corner to rest. When they were alone inside, she spoke, "Mother, the only solution now is to ease the situation and make amends. Since brother has taken someone else's maid, let's send him a better one. We must silence that man. There's no time to hesitate. This matter must be done as quickly as possible!"

Aunt Xue frowned and said, "That's an idea, but where can we find a maid of good character and appearance in such a hurry?"

Baochai said nothing, but glanced toward the eastern end of the room. Aunt Xue suddenly realized, "You mean... Xiangling?"

(End of this chapter)