After the rebellion was successful, I realized that this place was the Red Mansion

Chapter 120 Sister Feng Alone in Her Empty Chamber

Rongguo Mansion.

"Grandma, it's time to get up at dawn."

Ping'er entered Wang Xifeng's bedroom, lit the lamp, and then hung up the gauze curtains on her bed. Just as she was about to call her again, she took a closer look and saw that Ping'er's fair face had turned red.

Wang Xifeng was lying on her back asleep on the bed, covered only by a thin quilt, revealing her snow-white shoulders and round, straight calves. Her toenails were painted vermilion, and her slender figure was clearly visible under the thin quilt, with her chest forming a considerable round shape.

A red handkerchief lay on the edge of the bed, seemingly dry.

There was also her embroidered pomegranate-red undergarment placed beside her pillow; the second mistress clearly had no clothes at all under the thin quilt.

"Ping'er..."

Wang Xifeng opened her languid phoenix eyes, pulled her smooth, white arm out from under the thin blanket, rubbed her sleepy eyes, and asked, "What time is it?"

"It's early morning."

Ping'er helped her up. The thin blanket slipped off Wang Xifeng's fair shoulders and hung on her chest, barely covering the woman's alluring figure.

But the next moment, Ping'er pulled the thin blanket away, revealing Wang Xifeng's fair body.

Wang Xifeng then came to her senses, raised her hand to slightly shield herself, her face flushed slightly, and instructed her:

"Go and fetch some water."

Ping'er smiled, glanced at her twice, then went out to bring in the washbasin, wrung out a towel, and handed it over, asking with a smile, "Grandma, may I help you wash?"

Where to wipe is self-evident.

Wang Xifeng spat at her: "Why did you come in so quickly? Are you trying to embarrass me!"

Ping'er laughed and said, "When have I ever laughed at Grandma? I heard noises last night."

Seeing that she was about to get embarrassed and angry, Ping'er quickly said, "I'm telling the truth. Second Master has been away from home for almost a month. How can Madam not be lonely, being alone in her empty room?"

Wang Xifeng's cheeks flushed, and she laughed as she scolded her, "No wonder you said such shameful things this morning, it turns out you little hussy couldn't resist thinking about men!"

Ping'er didn't answer, but brought a towel. Wang Xifeng then lay down, raised her legs, and let her wipe her body.

A while later, Wang Xifeng put on the pomegranate-colored undergarment, tying the two upper corners around her neck and the left and right corners around her waist, then tying it behind her back.

She got out of bed and went to the dressing table to put on her undergarments. Ping'er brought her a white undergarment and glanced at the Second Mistress's figure from behind.

Especially her ripe, peach-like buttocks, she couldn't help but say, "Second Madam is now truly a living widow."

Wang Xifeng snorted coldly and told her to hurry up and bring the clothes.

As Ping'er helped her get dressed, she said, "Second Master has come home several times, but he hasn't even dared to enter the second gate... Second Madam should also think about what to do in the future."

"What else can I do?" Wang Xifeng said, "The young ladies are all going to the palace, while I'm still at home taking care of the old lady and the madam. Am I supposed to eagerly follow the young ladies into the palace too? People would laugh themselves to death if they found out."

She added, "You saw it yesterday too. My sister-in-law disguised herself as a maid and followed her into the palace. She stayed there for seven or eight days. When she came back, Madam didn't give her a kind look. She tried to serve her, but Madam ignored her."

"If I were to enter the palace, wouldn't the Madam and the First Madam skin me alive?"

Ping'er said, "That's not necessarily true. If Grandmother were to be made a concubine..."

Wang Xifeng laughed, glancing sideways at her with her alluring phoenix eyes: "The young ladies have just been made concubines, what am I to be made? Stop talking nonsense. If you want to leave, you can wait for the imperial decree to come down and leave the mansion yourself, or go and beg Miss Yun to let you leave the mansion too!"

Ping'er laughed and said, "Where can I go? Can I marry someone else? Since Grandma is truly unwilling, I won't mention it again. I'm just worried that in the future, if we don't receive the imperial decree of amnesty, Grandma will be left a widow, and then Madam Qin in the palace will be made a concubine. It will be too late to regret it then, so I'm telling you this."

Wang Xifeng was stunned. Ping'er helped her dress and whispered, "Madam was able to manage the household before because the Second Master was there. Now, Madam can manage the household because of the three young ladies appointed by the Emperor. They are all going to enter the palace. After the young ladies leave, will Madam still be able to manage the household?"

Furthermore, His Majesty doesn't reclaim the Ning and Rong mansions now, nor will he in the future. The people in the Duke's mansion will eventually disperse, and when the young ladies all enter the palace, why would the Emperor even glance at the mansion again? Even if Madam wanted to enter the palace then, it would be difficult.”

Wang Xifeng remained silent for a long time.

Ping'er stopped talking and dressed her up. After she was dressed, the Second Madam still looked like a goddess. If the Second Master Lian outside the military camp were here, even the servants in the mansion would not be able to match her attire.

If the Second Mistress still wants to be husband and wife with the Second Master, the first thing she should do is take off all her fine silks, satins, hairpins, and ornaments.

Wang Xifeng went to pay her respects to the old lady and the ladies, but Ping'er did not go with her; instead, she sent several maids and servants to accompany her.

An hour later, the Second Mistress still hadn't returned. Ping'er was about to send someone to inquire when she suddenly heard a maid outside shout, "Sister Ying'er is here!"

Ping'er hurriedly got up and went out to welcome Baochai's maid Ying'er into the room and sit down.

Ping'er was originally one of the head maids in the mansion. Only the maids called her "elder sister," and there was no reason for her to go out to greet them.

But now, the emperor has appointed three young ladies to manage the household, and the maids in the young ladies' rooms are the head maids, such as Zijuan, Xueyan, Ying'er, and Cuilu.

Baochai usually managed the household affairs, so Ying'er was implicitly considered the head of the many maids in the Rongguo Mansion.

Ying'er drank her tea and smiled at Ping'er, "Did you send me here to ask if Second Mistress has gotten that money back?"

Ping'er's heart skipped a beat, and her expression became somewhat troubled. She sighed, "That silver was lent to our relatives by Grandmother. After His Majesty led his army into the city, all the relatives scattered and left. I'm afraid we won't be able to get that silver back for a while."

As he spoke, he looked at Ying'er's face and saw that she was also frowning.

Ping'er hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Could you be a little more lenient with Miss Bao?"

Ying'er was also in a dilemma: "I dare not make the decision. Let me go and tell you, Miss, and let you decide."

Ping'er quickly grabbed her hand: "Good sister, wait for me a moment, I'll go talk to Grandma about this!"

Ying'er smiled and said, "I have something to do, so I won't sit down. I'll go tell you later, Miss. You two can discuss it first."

Ping'er saw her off and then hurriedly sent someone to find the Second Mistress. A short while later, Wang Xifeng returned home, and Ping'er's first words were: "Mistress, Miss Bao sent Ying'er to ask for money!"

"what!"

Wang Xifeng's expression also became anxious, and she hurriedly went into the room to ask for details.

After listening, Wang Xifeng hesitated for a moment before asking her, "You sent someone to ask Ni Er, Zhao Kui, and Wu Ren the other day, have you received any reply?"

Ping'er shook her head and said, "Old women are not as efficient as servants when they go out to do things, so it's not good to ask the eunuchs to do this."

Seeing that Second Madam's face was not good, Ping'er said again, "Ni Er is an honest man. He said that if he can't get the money back, he will give Madam an IOU."

Wang Xifeng sneered: "I gave him three thousand taels of silver, and he still hasn't gotten two thousand taels back. When will he ever have the money to pay me back?! It's more important to tell him to go to the people who owe him money and collect it as soon as possible!"

Ping'er sighed, "Who knew we'd have to go to the city... Zhao Kui and Wu Ren actually went and renege on their promise, saying they never took our money. They're clearly just trying to get rid of Grandma's money because they see our family has lost power!"

In recent years, Wang Xifeng has been lending money outside, and over the years, the interest has compounded to a total of 12,000 taels of silver, all of which is her private savings. She has never told Jia Lian a single penny of it.

Originally, relying on the power of the Duke's Mansion, no one dared to default on the interest payments they made. But now that the Rongguo Mansion has fallen, the men have been driven out of the city to do corvée labor. Originally, Wang Xifeng ordered servants to do this, but now that she has changed to old women, Zhao Kui, Wu Ren, and others immediately turned their backs on her!

"These heartless bastards will only know what I'm capable of when they fall into my hands!"

Wang Xifeng gritted her teeth in hatred, her long, beautiful phoenix eyes filled with rage.

Ping'er lowered her head and thought for a while before saying, "The only way now is to go find Miss Lin."

Looking for Lin Daiyu?

Wang Xifeng did not want to look for Daiyu.

Although she had a good relationship with Daiyu, she could also see that Daiyu did not want to use the emperor's name to do anything, nor did she want to manage the household.

Ping'er laughed and said, "If we go to Miss Bao and ask her to come forward, as the emperor's favorite concubine, how could she not get the money back? But in that case, Miss Bao might have to report your matter to the emperor."

Wang Xifeng also laughed and said, "After all, Miss Bao is not from our family."

Just then, an old woman came to report: "Second Madam, Second Master has returned from outside the city and is waiting at the Second Gate."

"He's trying to get money again?!"

Wang Xifeng was immediately annoyed. Ever since Jia Lian was punished and sent to do corvée labor outside the city, he had been trying to find ways to ask for money every time he came back. In addition to asking for money for Baoyu, he also asked for money for himself.

Wang Xifeng originally wanted to scold him for not having money, but considering that it wasn't easy for him to come back from outside the city, she still led Ping'er to the second gate to see Jia Lian.

"This humble servant greets Second Madam!"

Jia Lian bowed to his wife Wang Xifeng, who sneered, "Good for you, Second Master Lian! We've been husband and wife for so many years, when have I ever received such a grand gesture from you? Today you're only acting like your grandmother because of the Emperor!"

Jia Lian still smiled and said, "If Grandma is happy, I will bow a few more times."

Wang Xifeng stood at the hanging flower gate and smiled at Jia Lian, who was standing at the bottom of the steps: "Good lad, you've learned to flatter after just one trip. Come on, I'll stand here and you kowtow to me a few times, the louder the better, and I'll dote on you!"

Jia Lian's expression finally changed slightly, and he smiled and bowed again: "Grandma, please forgive me this time. I have a serious matter to ask you for help!"

"Going home and asking for money is your real business!"

Wang Xifeng gave a cold laugh.

Jia Lian said, "Brother Bao asked me to come back and get five hundred taels of silver."

"What does Baoyu need money for again?!"

Wang Xifeng looked at him with surprise and suspicion, "Are you trying to deceive me again? You gave me a thousand taels, and you pocketed five hundred taels for yourself, only giving the rest to Master and the First Master. Second Master Lian, you are too greedy!"

Jia Lian protested repeatedly, saying, "Baoyu spent five hundred taels to redeem Qi Guan. You can send someone out of the city to inquire and you'll find out!"

Wang Xifeng still didn't quite believe him, saying, "Things in the manor aren't what they used to be. Baoyu is trying to save money wherever he can outside the city. Why don't you try to persuade your brother?"

Jia Lian said helplessly, "Baoyu can't lift heavy things, so I have to spend money every day to buy him an easier job."

Wang Xifeng sneered: "I'll ask him again when Baoyu returns!"

Seeing that Jia Lian remained silent, Wang Xifeng's expression softened. "Your Lin sister just returned from the palace and is feeling a bit better. I can't bring myself to ask her for money again."

"Lin Daiyu is back?"

Jia Lian was somewhat surprised and said with a smile, "Baoyu said he would go and ask Miss Bao, and if that doesn't work, he will go to the East Mansion to ask Sister Yun."

Xiangyun and Baoyu are like siblings; if you ask her for money, there's a 90% chance you'll get it.

Just as Wang Xifeng was about to speak, Ping'er advised her, "Grandma, why don't you go ask Miss Bao? Second Master Bao and Miss Bao used to play together all the time, just like siblings."

Wang Xifeng understood the implication in her words, so she pointed to the back room and said, "Go wait there."

Jia Lian smiled and bowed, "Please take care, Madam. I have some business to attend to in the city. I'll come back to visit you again in a while!"

After saying that, he took his leave and left.

Wang Xifeng knew he had gone to the city to drink, and she was so angry that she gritted her teeth and cursed at his back: "The emperor shouldn't have made you a manager and then made you do corvée labor, to work you to death, you heartless bastard!"

Jia Lian was startled and hurriedly returned, bowing and explaining, begging her not to speak ill of him in front of the emperor, out of consideration for their past as husband and wife.

Wang Xifeng was so angry she laughed!

Ping'er laughed too, for the Second Master was also afraid of being whispered in the pillow's ear.

(End of this chapter)