The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 293 Still Envy
Tan Chun glanced at Ping'er, but pretended not to see her.

While they were talking, he thought about Ping'er's expression. It was probably related to his second sister-in-law. The matter was complicated, and he couldn't let Ping'er misunderstand him.

Having figured out the key points, Tan Chun finished speaking and looked at Ping'er with a joyful smile.

Then, laughing and scolding the others, he said, "Miss Ping'er is here! How can you not even have this much sense? Why don't you bring a chair for the guest? Did you not listen to a single word of what we said earlier?"

Everyone sprang into action, each taking a bite of Ping Guniang.

Instead, Ping'er became embarrassed and more cautious.

Speaking of which, the Second Madam once told me that among the young ladies in the mansion, the Third Miss was unassuming but actually quite capable, though it was a pity that she was an illegitimate daughter.

He endured this for many years, and even his own mother became as distant as a stranger.

But there's nothing wrong with it either. Looking at it now, it's amazing how well the people in the mansion are managed. It's a completely different experience from when the Second Mistress was in charge.

Unlike the Second Madam's constant intimidation, there was an indescribable energy in her.

Ping'er understood Tan Chun's formidable nature and dared not speak recklessly. With so many people around, she smiled and said, "You all go about your business. It's my fault for coming at the wrong time."

Tan Chun pointed at Ping'er and said with a smile, "No, you've come at the right time. I have something to ask you."

Ping'er asked curiously, "What is it?"

Tan Chun didn't say it directly. At this moment, someone brought a chair over, and Tan Chun went forward and pulled Ping'er to sit down before she sat down on the couch herself, the two of them sitting close together.

"Logically speaking, you are a guest, and we shouldn't ask you about the affairs of the manor. But you are different from others. Everyone in the manor treats you like half a master. We sisters have always called you Sister Ping'er since we were little."

Ping'er was deeply moved by Tan Chun's words.

Speaking of which, when they entered the mansion with the Second Madam, the young ladies were still little, but now they've all grown up.

"Third Miss is right, so why should we be distant?"

Ping'er smiled.

Upon hearing this, Tan Chun smiled, her face lightly powdered, revealing her graceful, goddess-like beauty. Ping'er was stunned.

There was a moment of silence.

Tan Chun didn't beat around the bush; she went straight to the point.

“There’s an old story in the manor. We sisters each receive two taels of silver a month, and the maids get a separate allowance. The other day, someone came and said that we each need to pay an additional two taels for our hair oil and face powder every month? This is just like the eight taels of silver at the school, layer upon layer. The amount of money isn’t much, but the categories are complicated, and it doesn’t seem right. It turns out that Second Sister-in-law is in charge of it. Is there some kind of reason behind it? I wanted to take charge, but I’m afraid there might be things I don’t know, and if I interfere haphazardly, I might cause some trouble.”

Ping'er breathed a sigh of relief.

The third daughter didn't say that the second mistress had made a mistake; she only said that there were certain considerations involved, which shows that she was prudent in her actions.

Since that's the case, Ping'er smiled, but her eyes showed understanding.

"There's a reason for this. These things that the girls use should naturally be allocated. Every month, the purchasing agent buys them and instructs the women to hand them over to us for safekeeping. It's just for the girls' use; it's not reasonable for each of us to take money every day to buy hair oil and cosmetics."

So the foreign compradors took over and assigned women to us on a monthly basis, one room at a time.

The two taels of silver a month that the girls receive are not originally for buying these things. They are meant so that when the matriarch or mistress of the household is away or busy, the girls may occasionally need a few coins, saving them the trouble of asking someone for help.

This is to prevent the girls from being wronged, but you should know that this money wasn't only for buying these things. Now I coldly watch as our sisters in each room use their money to buy these things first, and half of it goes to these items.

I was suspicious; either the comprador had run away and was waiting a while, or he wasn't buying genuine goods and was trying to fob me off with something unacceptable.

Tan Chun revealed an expression of "I knew it."

With Ping'er's explanation, Tan Chun sneered, "I wouldn't dare say it's completely unusable, but eight out of ten times it's delayed. If we rush them, they'll scramble to find some inferior goods from some hidden corner, just to put them on the shelf, but they're actually useless, and we have to pay for them ourselves. We have to ask our wet nurse's brother or our brother and sister-in-law's son to buy them to get anything decent. If we use officials, they still send the same old stuff! I really don't know what tricks they're using. Are they just collecting unsold, rotten stock from shops to fool us?"

Although she was no longer a member of the household, Ping'er resented the snobbishness of the people there.

Although he knew this was the case, he snorted and said sarcastically, "The girls have misunderstood."

Everyone looked grim and embarrassed.

If that's the case, then I'm not afraid of Miss Ping. Although I dare not offend her, everyone does it this way, and the law doesn't punish the masses.

Even back in the days of Second Madam, she never dared to expose the rules of these undercover agents.

But things are different now.

The third daughter is in charge.

The tasks in each area should be separated so that everyone can "work independently" instead of working together. The more you do, the more you earn; the less you do, the less you earn. When there are benefits to be had, no one wants to give up their share.

Who gets assigned to each post is entirely up to the Third Sister.

Even if the matter were revealed in front of the Third Miss, no one would be willing to refute it. Besides, given the Third Miss's character, such things would not happen again.

It's fine to ask for benefits, but you must do your job well in all places, and then you can reap your own benefits after you've done your job well in all places.

The rice paddies are planted well, the jujube orchards are well tended, and the lotus ponds are well looked after.
The produce from all four seasons can always be sold for some money, which is no less than the monthly salary.

"It's not that they don't want to buy good stuff, it's that the compradors are pressuring them! If she really bought good stuff and sent it over, would the compradors let it go? They would definitely suspect that she was up to no good and wanted to take away this lucrative purchasing job! So the people below can only do this, they would rather offend the girls inside than dare to offend the compradors who are in power outside. If the girls use their close wet nurses to buy it, the girls don't dare to say a word."

Ping'er ultimately dared not completely offend them, so she made accusations while also trying to exonerate them. Seeing everyone's expressions, she became even more surprised.

Tan Chun gently tapped the kang table with her slender fingers, her eyelashes trembling slightly.

Before Ping'er could speak, he chuckled and said, "That's the crux of the problem! We spent double the money—one from the public funds and one from our own pockets—but only half of the goods are usable, while the other half is wasted! All things considered, we've actually spent twice as much! In my opinion, we should just cancel the allowance for these cosmetics suppliers to avoid raising parasites!"

Tan Chun then looked at everyone and asked, "Don't you all agree?"

Since things had come to this point, everyone agreed that it was best to leave it at that.

Ping'er was somewhat dazed. Although the Third Miss had used her, she didn't know that she had come. It must have been a spur-of-the-moment decision. And since it was a spur-of-the-moment decision, she was able to conveniently resolve a difficult matter that the Second Madam had never been willing to deal with before.

How can there be such an amazing girl in the world?

Ping'er was stunned.

Seeing that the matter was almost settled, Tan Chun glanced at Ping'er and noticed that Ping'er had lost her previous imposing manner. She waved her hand and said, "You may all leave. Ping'er must have something to say to me. We can discuss your matters later."

Then everyone left.

Ping'er couldn't help but smile bitterly, having received a favor for no reason.

As if guessing Ping'er's thoughts, Tan Chun took the initiative to ask, "Did you come to see me because of Second Sister-in-law's matter, Sister Ping?"

Ping'er sniffed, her expression turning serious, and questioned, "Since Third Miss knows about Second Mistress's affairs, why doesn't she care?"

"Ugh."

Tan Chun sighed.

“Sister Ping’er arrived at the perfect time, just in time to see me showing off. She must think I was having a great time. In fact, Sister Ping knows just as much about what’s going on in the manor as I do, and she is well aware of all the difficulties I’m facing.”

Ping'er didn't expect Tan Chun to soften so much, but what she said was the truth.

Although the second daughter, Yingchun, was also born out of wedlock to the first wife, the first wife didn't manage things much and wasn't particularly kind or difficult to her.

The third daughter was born out of wedlock to the second wife.

Second Madam and Madam are aunt and niece. Having followed Second Madam, how could I not know how carefully Third Miss has lived all these years?

Given this situation, it's remarkable that the Third Sister has managed to gain a good reputation and is in such a predicament. Ping'er asked herself honestly, and realized that she herself would never have been able to do it. She felt a pang of sympathy for her.

Ping'er said sadly, "How could I not know the difficulties of the Third Miss? It's just that the Second Mistress doesn't mind having a few more girls around. Can't she at least consider our past relationship?"

Tan Chun's eyes also reddened. "I've been worried about Second Sister-in-law's matter. How powerful the people in the mansion are! Don't think that just because I'm a girl born out of wedlock, even if it were Bao Yu, the baby of Madam, the old men in the mansion would dare to make things difficult for him because of their seniority. How much more so for me?"

"Third Miss, you've had it tough too."

Ping'er was truly moved.

Tan Chun held Ping'er's hand and choked up, saying, "Sister Ping, whether you believe it or not, even if you hadn't come today, I would have taken advantage of the opportunity to assign tasks to suppress them and would definitely have gone to see Second Mistress."

"I believe in the Third Sister."

Ping'er felt a warmth in her heart.

The third sister addressed her as "Sister Ping" repeatedly, and from the moment she entered the room until now, she hadn't uttered a single wrong word.

Instead, it was myself.

He's clearly a guest, yet he's questioning the host. And what kind of guest is he? He's being incredibly unreasonable, just relying on Lord Xin's power. What's the difference between him and the servants in the mansion who bully others by virtue of their status?

Ping'er felt embarrassed. "It's my fault. I didn't think things through and almost put the Third Miss in a difficult position."

“What’s so difficult? No matter how big the difficulty, we’ll get through it. I believe Second Madam will get through it too,” Tan Chun said with a smile.

Ping'er nodded: "I may not trust others, but I have no doubt about what Third Miss says. After we move out, I can rest assured that Third Miss will be watching over Second Mistress's affairs."

After this incident...

Ping'er finally understood.

Things are different in the mansion now. Before, when the Second Mistress and the others were in charge, it was understandable for me to live in the mansion. But now that the people in charge have changed, it's just as Master Xin said, it's better to move out as soon as possible.

Tan Chun was stunned.

"Why would you move out of here for no reason?"

"We had already agreed to move, and we even found a house, but Mr. Xin had some business to attend to, which delayed the move."

"In that case, it's not too late to bring up moving when Master Xin comes back."

Tan Chun pleaded, "Ping'er, please help me. Madam just put me in charge of the household, and now the guests have moved out. Not only you, but Baoqin also said she wanted to leave. Ping'er, please have pity on me."

Ping'er quickly said, "That's a pitiful thing to say. We won't move then. We'll do as you said and wait for Master Xin to come back and follow his arrangements. But why is Miss Baoqin leaving?"

Lord Xin likes Baoqin very much, and Ping'er often visits Baoqin and they have a good relationship.

"The second master of the Xue family has come to the capital. How can Baoqin, with her temperament, stand being restrained? She has long been unwilling to stay in the mansion. She mentioned this to me the other day, and will probably have her father take her away."

Tan Chun looked on with envy, saying, "It's such a blessing for Baoqin to have such a doting father."

Ping'er did not refute.

Master Xin's kindness and Baoqin's father are both admirable.

Tan Chun was in a good mood when she saw that Ping'er had agreed not to leave. She pulled Ping'er aside and chatted for a long time, asking her many questions.

Ping'er admired Tan Chun and was always willing to share her knowledge.

Xiaoxiang Pavilion.

Lin Daiyu leaned against the chaise longue, its shadows dappled with bamboo. Her fingertips were twirling a half-embroidered white begonia on the corner of her handkerchief. Her silver-red floral gauze sleeves had slipped down halfway, revealing her alabaster forearms. A jade bracelet pressed against her pale blue veins, like spring vines locking in a trace of snow.

Looking at Xue Baoqin with a half-smile, he mocked, "Are you here to say goodbye or to show off?"

Xue Baoqin knew she couldn't hide it from Lin Daiyu, so she stepped forward and squeezed through.

Lin Daiyu reluctantly moved aside, and Xue Baoqin, who was sitting down, laughed and said, "Of course I'm here to show off. You're the only one in the manor who can take a joke, and you're the most magnanimous."

Lin Daiyu rolled her eyes, her voice clear and pleasant to the ear.

"So you're just bullying the good guys, huh?"

"Just bully me, just bully me."

Xue Baoqin chuckled.

As Lin Daiyu was about to get up, she said, "You've spent too much time with that person, and you haven't learned any other good things, but you've learned the habit of bullying others."

Xue Baoqin suddenly pressed Lin Daiyu down.

"Big brother doesn't bully people, he just likes to bully you, because you're the most fun."

Although Xue Baoqin was younger than Lin Daiyu, Xue Baoqin was sitting while Lin Daiyu was lying down. Not to mention that Lin Daiyu was not very strong, she was easily pushed back by Xue Baoqin and could not break free.

"Zijuan, Zijuan."

"Okay, you're going to call someone else too."

Xue Baoqin reached out and gently grasped Lin Daiyu's waist.

"Good sister." Lin Daiyu immediately begged for forgiveness, "I won't call you that anymore. Let's talk properly. After you leave, who knows when we'll see each other again."

Xue Baoqin then released Lin Daiyu.

He looked like he had won.

Lin Daiyu didn't argue with her and asked, "Are you going to Datong this time?"

"Yes."

Xue Baoqin laughed and said, "Datong is so much fun."

"Tch." Lin Daiyu chuckled. "Who was it that said staying too long isn't fun?"

“It’s really not fun staying here for too long, but if you’re away for too long, you can’t help but miss it. Actually, it would be nice to go there once in a while, but it’s a pity you can’t come with me,” Xue Baoqin said regretfully.

Several young ladies in the manor.

The second daughter is too dull, the third daughter is too blurry, and the fourth daughter is too young.

My cousin is too shrewd; sometimes it gets boring after spending too much time with her.

Only Sister Daiyu.

Like a treasure trove, she always brings surprises. No wonder the older brother likes to tease Sister Daiyu, and he can't help but tease her himself.

Lin Daiyu remained silent.

Actually, I'm somewhat grateful to him. Not to mention my father's life-saving grace, but just the principles he taught me. Although I can't do all of them, I've benefited a lot from them.

Ultimately, my father's life-saving grace is the greatest.

I can't even imagine how heartbroken I would be if my father were gone too.

At least my father is still alive, so when I really miss my mother, I can think of my father more.

Her eyes welled up with tears.

I thought of my mother.

Every time Lin Daiyu saw the deep mother-daughter affection between Baochai and her mother, she was filled with envy. She knew it was all for her own benefit, a fantasy about something impossible, but she still envied it nonetheless.

(End of this chapter)