The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 174 The Guerrilla General surnamed Wang in the Mansion

When Jia She arrived at the Chuihua Gate, he slowed down his pace and made up his mind that he would have to let his wife handle this matter. So he turned around and left, but was seen by a maid.

The courtyard of Lady Jia's courtyard has been quite lively these days. Lady Wang and Aunt Xue often come to see the old lady, as does Feng girl. They often come, and Li Wan also comes. Finally, Baochai and several young girls, as well as several stewards and wives of prominent figures from outside, are now all trying to please Lady Jia.

Lady Jia was an old and shrewd woman. She saw through everything but didn't say anything. She just smiled and the whole room was filled with laughter.

"The master came just now, but he left again for some reason."

A maid came in and whispered to Yuanyang, who frowned, "Leave him alone."

Wang Xifeng had just made the old lady laugh and sat back in her seat in front of Yuanyang and the others, keeping her eyes and ears open. She actually heard what Yuanyang and the others had said clearly, but pretended not to hear it.

After sitting for a while, everyone left when they saw that the old lady was tired.

Li Wan took the girls back to the garden, and Aunt Xue went to Lady Wang's place. Wang Xifeng had her own things to do, and the affairs of the mansion needed her to take care of them. She originally wanted to go back to her own courtyard, but saw Ping'er rushing over.

"Why are you here? If you come, those wives in charge will definitely slack off since no one is around." Wang Xifeng said dissatisfiedly when she saw Ping'er.

Ping'er stepped forward and whispered, "Second Master just returned to his room."

"How dare he come back?" Wang Xifeng cursed subconsciously, her anger rising. "What does he think of my place? A brothel where you can come and go as you please."

"Grandma." Ping'er stamped her feet.

Wang Xifeng finally shut up and followed Ping'er back. Halfway through, she couldn't help complaining, "This life is unbearable."

Ping'er also knew that her grandmother was exhausted these days, but there was nothing she could do.

Wang Xifeng said sadly, "When I heard that my uncle had been promoted, I thought it was a good thing, but it turned out to be a bad thing. And that man is a black-hearted man who only wants money from me. You saw what happened a few days ago."

Ping'er nodded, knowing what her grandmother was referring to.

It is really speechless. In the past, if there were a few thousand taels of silver or large expenses in the mansion, it would be necessary to use the public account. There were housekeepers outside, but there was no money in the public account, so they finally thought of using the money from inside.

The one in charge of internal affairs is grandma. The money she has is just the monthly wages of the servants in the mansion, or some small sums for repairs in the mansion.

Ping'er also knew that grandma was not perfect in her work. She would embezzle money to lend out and made a lot of money by taking advantage of the time difference. But now it was a different matter. How could she ask grandma for money from outside?

A few days ago, it was just a matter of two hundred taels of silver, but the second master actually came to grandma to ask for it.

Grandma has a bad temper and speaks harshly when she is angry, which makes the second master so angry that he wants to hit her, but it is also sad. Don’t these gentlemen from outside really know the situation in the mansion?

"Grandma, you have your own ideas. Why worry about it?" Ping'er advised.

Wang Xifeng snorted, her red lips opening and closing as she said coldly, "I can't control the long-term affairs of this mansion. It's just the dowries of the young ladies. The bulk of these items are prepared by the old lady. If they have the ability, they can use the old lady's savings. As for the rest, each family should take care of the snow in front of their own door. Anyway, you, me, and my eldest sister can't go hungry."

The "big sister" refers to Wang Xifeng's daughter, who is only a few years old. Because she is the eldest daughter of Jia Lian and Wang Xifeng, she is traditionally called "big sister" or "big sister".

Ping'er didn't react much, thinking it was natural. She had grown up with the young ladies and had a deep relationship with them. What Grandma said was natural. She couldn't help but smile and said ingratiatingly, "No wonder the young ladies treated us to a meal. Grandma was so stingy that she only gave a few dozen taels of silver."

"Don't underestimate these few dozen taels of silver. Everyone in the mansion is disgusted by them now," Wang Xifeng said with disdain. "If things don't change in three to five years, then, not to mention the mansion's belongings, I'm afraid even the people will be sold off."

"No way." Ping'er couldn't believe it. No matter what means her grandmother used, her dowry, accumulated property, and even cash would at least be 10,000 or 20,000 taels of silver.

Although the mansion had no income this year, Ping'er really couldn't imagine the situation that her grandmother described. It was really chilling.

"What can't I do? We only spend money and don't earn anything, and the expenses are so huge. We only have the support of our eldest sister. She dares to give things from the palace to the mansion, so the mansion can still hold on. But if my mother's family doesn't live up to her expectations, you have seen me. If my mother's family is still the same as before, how dare he bully me? In my opinion, the eldest sister of this mansion will not end well."

Wang Xifeng stopped talking. She had said it unintentionally, but it suddenly woke her up.

I could still help the Jia family as a housekeeper and squeeze out some money, but in the end I ended up in this situation. The eldest girl in the house not only couldn't help the palace, but also had to rely on the palace to subsidize her family.

Last year, the eldest daughter came to visit her parents and I met her. Although I envied her appearance, I could also feel that her life in the palace was not satisfactory.

I couldn’t understand it at the time, but after the past six months, I can empathize with them.

It's said that men are responsible for the outside world and women for the inside world, but in reality, families like theirs rely on the legacy of their ancestors for their livelihood. If they lose their legacy one day, they will be no better than ordinary people, who can at least support themselves.

But people like them have been used to spending lavishly since childhood and don't know how to make money. Without the support of their ancestors, they can't do anything.

Therefore, the more they lost, the saddest the women in the mansion would be, because in the end, these incompetent men would inevitably turn their attention to women, either to vent their anger or to sell them for money.

When I think about it carefully, I heard that my uncle defected to the emperor, which led to the defeat today.

Isn't the emperor in the same situation as the people in the mansion? The style of the eldest daughter's visit to her parents makes everyone in the Jia family jealous, but the style of the Jia family also makes people outside jealous.

So they are all just for show, just trying to hold on. Although the eldest girl never mentions it, her life in the palace must have been difficult.

She was better off than her. Although something had happened to her own family, she would not have to rely on her for financial support. What's more, there was someone else there, so she always had someone to rely on. Wang Xifeng thought about it and went to Tuobi Villa.

"How do we get there?" Ping'er asked curiously.

"What else could that man want from me besides money? If I don't give him, he will turn against me sooner or later. You saw it last time. I can't afford to provoke him, but I can't afford to hide from him either." Wang Xifeng explained.

Let’s talk about Jia Lian. He was sitting and drinking tea, looking around the familiar house from time to time.

Thinking of that figure, to be honest, there is no woman outside who is prettier than Wang Xifeng. Apart from the fact that she is new, people can't stand Wang Xifeng's temper. Wang Xifeng has been living a life of luxury since she was a child, and she looks down on everyone.

Fortunately, his surname was Jia and he was the eldest grandson of the Rongguo Mansion. Even so, Wang Xifeng looked down on him in her heart. He had nothing to do, and Jia Lian and others were bored, and his mind was full of messy thoughts.

It had been a long time since he last touched Wang Xifeng, and thinking of her figure, he felt a little hot.

"I'm her husband, I'm not afraid of what she might do." Jia Lian put the teacup down heavily on the small tea table, stood up, walked to the door, grabbed a maid, and asked, "What's wrong with your grandmother? She hasn't come back yet."

If Ping'er were here, no one would dare to say anything, as she would be the one to hold up the sky if it fell.

The maidservant who was grabbed by Jia Lian turned pale with fear. How could she dare to confront the Second Master? She nervously guessed everything: "Grandma went to the mistress's place. I guess she should be back. If she hasn't come back, she may have gone to the garden."

"What are you going to do in the garden?"

"Grandma often goes to Tuobi Villa. Miss Qingwen is at the villa, and Grandma goes to see her."

Jia Lian let go of the maid, who was so frightened that her face turned pale and she hid aside crying, "Why are you crying? I didn't do anything to you." After scolding the maid, Jia Lian thought of what happened in Ping'an Town and felt upset.

Two years ago, Jia Rong next door only needed a little over a thousand taels of silver to buy a fifth-rank empty position. Although the Jia family was prosperous at that time, the money required was not much, but now three fifth-rank captains would cost more than 28,000 taels of silver.

I just heard the maid talking about Tuobi Villa, and then I thought of Wang Xin. I have never heard that this person bought an official position with money.

People are more mad than people.

Some people just want to be a fifth-rank military officer, but they have to spend several thousand, or even more than nine thousand taels of silver. Some people don’t spend a penny, and not only do they get a fifth-rank officer, they are promoted to the third rank.

It’s also my father’s fault for bragging outside.

He thought his family was in the past, and made promises to others that he could get the job done for more than 4,000 taels of silver. But now, he offered twice as much silver. In order to save the face of the Jia family, he won over those officers and planned to let the family pay for it themselves.

But my father never thought that this mansion had lost not only its reputation but also its foundation.

Thinking of this, Jia Lian thought of Wang Xifeng again. This woman was good at making money. He couldn't offend her to death, nor could he let her be like before. He had to subdue her.

If you can convince her, not only can you get her, but you can also get the money.

Jia Lian then went to Tuobi Villa to look for Wang Xifeng. After a long time, when he arrived at Tuobi Villa, Jia Lian saw a few maids and asked, "Has the Second Madam been here?"

"Second Grandma is here."

Several maids answered. As they were talking, Jia Lian saw a figure enter the corridor in the distance and couldn't help but be a little absent-minded.

Just one figure was enough to make people lose their souls. Such a woman, he had never seen before. "Who is that person? Is she from our house?" Jia Lian asked hurriedly. "That is Miss Qingwen."

After hearing what the maids said, Jia Lian was stunned. His eyes rolled and he turned around and left.

The old woman didn't know why the second master left suddenly. She thought of how kind Mr. Xin was and that Miss Qingwen didn't care much about them. Instead, she went back to the farm to remind her own girls.

"Mr. Lian just came."

"What is he here for?"

Qingwen had just gone to get tea leaves and was not paying attention to what was happening outside. She was concentrating on pouring tea for the Second Madam. When she heard what the maid said when she came in, she was surprised.

The old woman said, "The Second Master didn't say anything. He just saw the girl, asked who she was, and then left."

Although Qingwen was smart, she had not experienced much and could not think too deeply. The old woman did not say much, but with a "crash", the cup in Wang Xifeng's hand fell to the ground.

"Second Madam, are you okay?" Qingwen hurriedly asked and grabbed Wang Xifeng's hand with concern.

The old woman knew that Feng was smart, so she retreated.

Ping'er was also stunned.

Seeing that Wang Xifeng was unharmed and that the old woman had just left after breaking a teacup, Qingwen smiled speechlessly and said, "Excuse me, ma'am. There are no rules in this village. Master Xin doesn't allow us to interfere in many things, so the rules are gone."

After saying this, Qingwen planned to go and clean the house herself, but was stopped by Wang Xifeng.

Wang Xifeng's eyes were about to burst into flames.

Others may not understand Jia Lian, so how could she not understand him? It would be fine if he came to her openly, but it would be a sign of trouble if he acted sneakily, which meant that he had something to hide. Although that was just her guess, how could Wang Xifeng dare to ignore it?

Qingwen is Mr. Xin's person. If anything happens to Qingwen, Mr. Xin will be furious, and I can't escape it. If something happens in this mansion, I am the grandmother of the mansion, and no matter what the reason, I am also at fault.

It’s okay if it’s someone else, but when it involves your own family, there can be no ambiguity at all.

"I think the Second Master wouldn't dare." Ping'er asked hesitantly.

"Whether he dares or not, I won't gamble." Wang Xifeng looked at Ping'er and said, "You will live in Tuobi Villa from now on. I leave the person in your hands."

Ping'er was stunned when she heard this. How did she end up living in Tuobi Villa? Suddenly, she thought of Master Xin. That time when she saw him without a coat, she couldn't help but feel a pang of anxiety. She lowered her head and asked, "If Master Xin comes back without a letter, it would be embarrassing if he saw me."

"Why are you still pretending, you little bitch? Do you really think I don't know what's going on between you and Mr. Xin?" Wang Xifeng made the matter clear.

Ping'er couldn't explain herself clearly. No matter how she said that she and Mr. Xin were innocent, grandma didn't believe her.

After hearing what Wang Xifeng said, Qingwen opened her eyes wide and looked at Ping'er in a daze. What happened between Mr. Xin and Miss Ping'er?

Good, you hid it from me so tightly, I always thought he was a gentleman. Qingwen gritted her teeth angrily, very angry at Wang Xin.

Jia She returned to the room and asked where his wife had gone. At this time, the housekeeper came to tell him that Jiang Zining, the hereditary second-class male and grandson of Marquis Pingyuan, came to ask him to leave.

"Why is he here?"

Jia She was curious and asked the housekeeper to receive him while he quickly changed his clothes.

The nobles were in trouble during the reign of the retired emperor. They had resisted, but they were powerless against the emperor and could not just sit there and wait for death. So those who could endure hardships turned to literature, and those who dared to fight joined the army.

Like Lin Ruhai or Jia Zheng, they are writers.

Wang Ziteng joined the army.

Very few families are still maintaining the old ways, except for the Jia family, which is so powerful that it is really difficult to give up. Only then will they retain one family, such as Jia Zhen of Ningguo Mansion, who is still sticking with the general nobles.

At first, he spoke nicely, saying that he had picked up the skills of his ancestors and practiced archery at Tianxiang Tower in Ningguo Mansion, but in reality, he was just eating, drinking, whoring and gambling behind closed doors.

People outside didn't know, but Jia She knew it too. After counting, he was the only one in the two mansions who could support the family business. He felt proud and went to see Jiang Zining, the hereditary second-class male and grandson of Pingyuan Marquis.

Jiang Zining is also a nobleman, and he follows the same path as the eldest wife of the Rongguo Mansion, but his family business is smaller. He has been speculating everywhere but has not found a suitable one.

Jia She looked down on Jiang Zining a little. After all, their Jia family had so many relatives and friends. Once he showed up, he could easily make friends with Ping'an Town, which was the first town outside the capital.

He also knew why Jiang Zining was trying to curry favor with him all day long. He just wanted to borrow the door lintel of the Jia Mansion. Many places were no longer accessible because of the door lintel of the Pingyuan Marquis family.

"Brother Jiang Shi."

"Brother Jia!"

Jiang Zining was in his early fifties, without any scheming. His smile was extremely fake, and he enthusiastically pulled Jia She, "Come with me."

"Where are you going? So urgent."

"You don't know yet?" Seeing that Jia She really didn't know, Jiang Zining sighed, "Then the Beijing Camp Commander Zhu Wei is celebrating his 55th birthday. Many families in the capital are going to celebrate. Should we go and congratulate him too?"

"Fifty-five is not a big birthday!" Jia She certainly knew Zhu Wei, but the two had no relationship.

There are thousands of officials in the capital, and every family has connections with each other. The Jia family cannot afford to have such favors. The main reason is that the Beijing camp was a taboo in the past. Because of the past affairs of Prince Yi Zhong, the Jia family had to pay a heavy price to get through it. Even the eldest master of Ningguo Mansion is still hiding in the temple to become a monk.

Therefore, the Jia family has completely cut off all ties with the current Beijing army, and there is indeed no personal connection between them.

Xie Jing, the only guerrilla general in the Beijing camp, was a personal guard of the ancestor and was awarded the title of Marquis of Dingcheng. However, over the years, the two families have not had much contact with each other and neither dared to have excessive contact.

To be honest, Jia She has always looked down on the guerrilla general named Wang in the mansion.

What's a guerrilla general? In the past, in the Jia family, at least the relatives and friends who came to interact with each other were guerrilla generals. For example, Xie Jing, he was a descendant of several generations, wasn't he also a guerrilla general?

Only people with shallow background like the Wang family would take the guerrilla general seriously.

Jiang Zining knew Jia She's temper. The Jia family used to be really powerful, but things were different now. However, he had to drag him along. Thinking of the information he had inquired about, he said, "Friendships are always built on experience."

Jia She couldn't refuse, so he followed Jiang Zining out reluctantly.

"It is said that the imperial court wants to restore the Five Military Commanderies of the previous dynasty."

"What's it for?"

"Replace the nobles." Jiang Zining sighed.

"How else can I replace him?" Jia She didn't believe it.

Jiang Zining explained.

In the past, if a military general made great contributions, they could not always be given more soldiers and more power. So they would use the methods of promotion to noble positions, to enable their children to benefit from the family, to pass on wealth to their descendants, etc., to reward the achievements of one generation to several generations.

The retired emperor suppressed the nobles and promoted military generals, but over the years, the military generals became more and more powerful and there was no room for promotion. So what should he do? So the retired emperor thought of the Five Military Commanderies.

"It's just nonsense." Jia She didn't like the emperor.

"Don't worry about whether it's nonsense or not. Anyway, Zhu Wei is now a popular figure and he is in the Beijing camp." Jiang Zining gave a thumbs up, and said with interest, "I heard that there is a guerrilla general named Wang in the mansion. He is deeply trusted by Admiral Zhu and is very close to Mr. Zhu. With such a relationship, why don't you take advantage of it?"

Jia She was stunned for a moment, "Who told you that?"

The man had a look of regret on his face and contempt in his heart. If he had the foundation left by the ancestors of the Jia family, he would have made a career long ago. These children of the Jia family were just relying on the influence of their ancestors. None of them were really capable of anything.

It's really infuriating that he didn't even know about this favor that was right there in front of him. Why wasn't it him?

Jiang Zining looked down on him in his heart, but he was even more enthusiastic and introduced the matter in detail.

(End of this chapter)