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

Chapter 122 Sister Feng Seeks Wealth, Xiangyun Shows Righteousness

The sedan chair arrived at Ningguo Mansion and entered through the side gate. The sedan chair stopped at the second gate, and Wang Xifeng and Ping'er got out of the sedan chair and went straight to You's courtyard, which is now where the Shi family lives.

"Big sister is here!"

A sweet, youthful voice rang out. Wang Xifeng lifted the curtain and saw her uncle's daughter, Wang Xuanzhu, Wang Junyi, and others playing with several sisters from the Wang and Shi families. Upon seeing her, all the sisters came over to greet her.

Seeing these sisters, Wang Xifeng smiled, her charming face blooming with spring-like beauty, and said to them, "I've come today to see Miss Yun about something. Do you know where she is?"

"Big sister, you've come at a really bad time!" Wang Xuanzhu hurriedly replied, "Sister Yun just went to the West Mansion, she left through the back gate, she's probably going back to her side hall."

Shi Xiangyun now lives in a side hall next to the Grand View Pavilion. The other side hall is reserved for Yuan Chun. It is obvious to everyone that Xiangyun is extremely favored in the palace, which is why she can live in a side hall in the garden.

After the women of the Shi family moved to Ningguo Mansion, Shi Xiangyun also had a place to live there, so that she could easily go home to visit her grandmother and aunts.

Upon hearing that Xiangyun was not there, Wang Xifeng sent someone to invite her back. Instead of going to the Shi family's courtyard, she went to the Wang family's courtyard to chat with her aunts.

The other girls said their goodbyes, and only Wang Junyi and Wang Xuanzhu came along.

Before long, Wang Xifeng entered Jia Rong's courtyard, where the women of the Wang family lived.

Wang Xifeng's parents and elder brother were all in Jinling. A few letters had arrived sporadically during the war, and all they knew was that their home had been ransacked and the men had been forced into labor, but they didn't know exactly where they had gone.

Of the Wang family members residing in the capital, only Prince Teng and his wife remained.

"You've just arrived; I was just looking for you."

Wang Ziteng's wife stood up to greet her, smiling as she spoke.

Wang Xifeng hurriedly went over to help her aunt sit down, and said with a smile, "How can an elder stand up to greet a junior? Auntie, you flatter me!"

Wang Junyi and Wang Xuanzhu are both Wang Ziteng's daughters. They were a little embarrassed to see each other now, because they guessed that their mother had something to ask of them.

Sure enough, after drinking the tea, their mother said, "Thanks to the kindness of the new emperor, our family was spared and moved into the Ningguo Mansion with the Shi family, so that your sisters wouldn't have to show their faces in public before they were even married."

This is why many of the women in the Wang and Shi families were unwilling to leave their residences.

Wang Xifeng hurriedly asked, "Auntie, are you staying well? Is there anything you're lacking? Auntie, just send someone to tell me. I'm in charge of the West Mansion now, so it's convenient for me to get anything."

Madam Wang Ziteng smiled and said, "Miss Shi has never shortchanged us in any way. She gave me a monthly allowance of one tael of silver and asked me and Madam Zhen to help manage it. The cosmetics, clothes and jewelry for your sisters are also provided according to the standards for the young ladies in the Grand View Garden."

Wang Xifeng's monthly allowance is now one tael.

Young women were given preferential treatment because they could be summoned to the palace at any time to serve the new emperor.

Those who had entered the palace received five taels of silver per month, such as Tan Chun and Ying Chun; those who had not yet entered the palace received two taels per month, such as Xi Chun, and the young girls from the Wang and Shi families.

Because of her young age, Qiaojie also received a monthly allowance of two taels of silver, which was one tael more than her mother, Wang Xifeng.

"only……"

Lady Wang changed the subject: "I worry about the future and am always concerned for you." She paused and continued: "The Jia, Xue, and Shi families all have daughters who have entered the palace. Although they have not been made concubines, the Emperor still favors them greatly. Only our Wang family has never had a daughter enter the palace."

Wang Junyi and Wang Xuanzhu, who were sitting down, had a slight blush on their fair and delicate faces.

Wang Xifeng understood her aunt's meaning; among the young girls in the Wang family, these two were the most outstanding in appearance.

"I heard that after Miss Lin went to the palace, the Emperor granted her a favor and issued an edict to restore the Lin family's ancestral home?"

Lady Wang asked again.

Wang Xifeng nodded: "Miss Lin has stayed in Linjing Palace for seven or eight days. Perhaps the Emperor is particularly fond of her." She then said: "If you two sisters want to enter the palace, why don't you ask Sister Yun for help?"

"It's not appropriate to ask Miss Yun," said Madam Wang Ziteng.

The Shi and Wang families now live together, so if she says it's difficult to make a request, there must be another reason.

After thinking for a while, Wang Xifeng said, "In that case, we can only ask Sister Lin for help."

Why don't you go and ask your aunt?

It refers to Madam Wang and Aunt Xue, who are now both living in the Jia household.

"My two aunts..."

Wang Xifeng hesitated more and more, and after a long while she said, "Second Aunt is easy to talk to, but Miss Bao is the most fair and strict in managing the household. One of Eldest Aunt's two daughters is in the palace, and the other one doesn't know when she will enter the palace, and she wasn't born from Eldest Aunt's womb either."

To outsiders, the four families of Jia, Wang, Shi, and Xue appeared to be as close as family, but only they themselves knew the true nature of their own family affairs.

Yuan Chun was born to Lady Wang, but Tan Chun was not. The Wang family wanted Tan Chun to bring their daughter into the palace, which is quite a complicated relationship.

Lady Wang sighed, "In the end, only those with the surname Wang are effective!"

Wang Xuanzhu, who had been silent, finally smiled and said, "Mother seems to have forgotten that eldest sister also has the surname Wang!"

Madam Wang Ziteng was quite surprised, and Wang Xifeng blushed as well, laughing and scolding her: "Second girl, you always say such shameful things. I'll have your mother discipline you properly one of these days!"

Wang Xuanzhu stuck out her pink tongue, smiled, and remained silent.

Her mother doted on her the most, and would only scold her a couple of times when she did something wrong. On the contrary, she was most afraid of her older sister, Wang Junyi.

Ping'er, standing to the side, looked at Wang Xuanzhu, the younger sister of the Second Madam. Last time at Qinfang Pavilion, it was this girl who recited the erotic poems, such as "half receiving favor and half offering herself" and "serving the emperor with her beauty."

It turns out that her mother had spoiled her too much.

Her older sister, Wang Junyi, had the air of a well-bred lady, and when she heard her say something inappropriate, she tugged at her sleeve.

After a while, a maid came to report: "Second Mistress Lian, Miss Yun has returned."

Only then did Wang Ziteng's wife remember and hurriedly asked her, "What brings you here to see Miss Yun?"

“Baoyu asked her for some money, and asked me to inquire,” Wang Xifeng said with a smile.

Madam Wang Ziteng was startled. "Of all people to ask, why come to Miss Yun for money?!"

As they were talking, a maid came running back: "Miss Yun, the Second Madam has arrived!"

Wang Xifeng and the others went out to greet her. Wang Junyi also stood up slightly. She was older than Xiangyun and shouldn't have stood up to greet her.

"Sister Feng didn't even tell me you were coming! I just got back to the West Mansion, and you came in through the front gate. Now I have to come back again!"

Before Shi Xiangyun even entered the house, laughter could already be heard.

After they came in, Aunt Xiangyun smiled at Wang Junyi and said, "You are Yun'er's older sister, why did you get up to greet her? Please sit down."

Wang Junyi was slightly shy and bowed before sitting down.

Now, everyone in both households knows that the young ladies are the most pampered. Having entered the palace, met the new emperor, and gained favor, they are only one step away from being made imperial concubines. After everyone was seated, Wang Xifeng chatted with them for a while, but Shi Xiangyun, being straightforward, asked her with a smile, "I heard from Second Aunt that you came to ask me for money?"

The room suddenly became quiet.

Wang Xifeng looked at the second wife of the Shi family, the wife of Xiangyun's uncle and Marquis Baoling, Shi Nai, and asked with a smile, "Auntie, who told you that?"

Aunt Xiangyun said calmly, "I heard from someone the other day that Lian'er asks for money every time he comes back. I gave him several hundred taels and some things to take out. This morning, a maid saw him entering the West Mansion. I think he is still coming back to ask for money."

"Did Brother Bao call him back to ask for money?" Xiangyun asked hurriedly, and her second aunt glanced at her.

Wang Xifeng nodded and recounted the whole story.

Five hundred taels?!

Aunt Xiangyun sneered, "I'm not trying to scare you, but when you spend your money, you should think about Jia Zhen, who was sentenced to death by the Emperor. Our families were all raided, but he was the only one sentenced to death. Why? It was because he disregarded the imperial edict, refused to obey Madam Qin's management, and allowed his servants to run rampant, which led to his death!"

The room was eerily quiet; even Xiangyun dared not speak.

Her second aunt continued, "The new emperor has just ascended the throne and is very busy with state affairs. Memorials from all over the country are flying in like snowflakes. Therefore, he has entrusted the two ducal mansions to your families. But this is not a gift to you, nor is it given to our four families. If you treat these mansions like your old home, like Baoyu, and take money at will, who knows how many more will die when the imperial edict comes down in the future!"

Seeing that no one spoke, Xiangyun quickly said, "My dear brother has gone to great lengths to ask me for a favor, so I won't give him a single penny?"

She stuttered again when she spoke.

Her second aunt laughed and said, "You used to only earn a few strings of cash a month at home. Now that you're in charge of tens of thousands of taels of silver, you don't care about five hundred taels. If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have let you check the silver in the storeroom."

Wang Xifeng also smiled and said, "Although what you say is harsh, your reasoning is correct. Our old lady often says that our family is now living in the official's house. Before, when Lin Daiyu gave Baoyu several hundred taels of silver, she had to go to the palace to apologize. Fortunately, the emperor did not blame her and even let her stay in Linjing Palace for seven or eight days."

Xiangyun smiled and said, "That's right. Our Emperor brother teaches us to cherish money, but he never tells us to value silver more than friendship. I'm thinking that since it's the first time my second brother has asked me for money, I'll give it to him this once, just this once. Good aunt, please grant my request!"

Her second aunt said, "You're already a person who has entered the palace, yet you still keep calling him 'Second Brother' this and 'Second Brother' that. People will laugh at you, and it won't sound good."

"What's wrong with that? That's what I've always called you!"

Xiangyun's words made everyone laugh. Madam Wang Ziteng said with a smile, "She's still a child after all. Aunt, don't be too reserved with her."

Aunt Xiangyun laughed and said, "She's not a child, she's a grown woman. I was thinking of finding her a husband at the beginning of the year, but luckily I didn't find anyone, which is why she has this good fortune."

Xiangyun blushed and begged her again.

Wang Xifeng stood up and said with a smile, "I dare not ask you for more, Aunt. This money should not be taken lightly. I think Baoyu will understand the family's difficulties. I still have some loose silver in my account, so I will let him use it for the time being."

Xiangyun felt a pang of sadness. "Second brother must be having some trouble in the army camp..."

"What difficulties does he have? He used the money he was given earlier to buy an actor!"

Her second aunt sneered, but fearing that Xiangyun would act on her own, she could no longer control her. So she instructed Xiangyun: "If someone asks you for a certain amount of money, even if you are willing to help, you can't agree to it right away. You have to give them half the amount, otherwise they will think you are easy to bully and will come to you for money and benefits again next time."

One sentence made Wang Xifeng blush with embarrassment. Even if she hadn't come to ask for the money, she would still feel awkward at that moment.

Second Aunt Xiangyun said, "Have someone go to the storeroom and withdraw one hundred taels of silver. Send it over first, and have someone find out exactly what Baoyu wants the silver for. Don't just give him the silver indiscriminately!"

Xiangyun finally smiled and quickly agreed, saying, "I'll tell His Majesty about this next time I go to the palace. Consider this money as a loan from the Emperor, and I'll pay it back later!"

Having said that, he got up to take his leave, and pulled Sister Feng out to the storeroom to get the silver.

……

After several twists and turns, Wang Xifeng finally managed to get one hundred taels of silver and left Ningguo Mansion with Ping'er in a sedan chair.

Inside the sedan chair, Wang Xifeng rubbed her temples, looking exhausted. "Now I know why my aunt didn't dare to ask Yun'er for help. Her second aunt is just too difficult to deal with."

Ping'er laughed and said, "That's why I say Miss Yun likes to stay at our house. I heard from Xiren that when she was at home, her family thought the expenses were too high, so she had to do almost everything herself. Sometimes Miss Yun would stay up until the third watch of the night before she could go to sleep."

Wang Xifeng sneered: "Two marquises in one family, yet they're so stingy. I'm afraid they're just taking advantage of Yun'er's loss of parents and deliberately making things difficult for her. Now that the emperor has appointed Yun'er to manage the household, it's as if she's still in charge!"

Ping'er nodded, "It is a bit stingy."

But deep down, I didn't really agree.

Upon returning to the Rongguo Mansion, Lin Daiyu sent someone to invite Wang Xifeng. Wang Xifeng guessed what it was about, so she hurried to Xiaoxiang Pavilion.

Daiyu indeed asked her if she had gotten the money.

Upon hearing that it would only take one hundred taels, Daiyu pondered for a long time before sighing and saying, "Please ask Sister Feng to go to the government office and withdraw four hundred taels for him. I will then go and report back to the Old Madam and Sister Bao."

Wang Xifeng then went.

They finally raised five hundred taels, kept one hundred taels for themselves, and told Ping'er to hide them in the house.

In the afternoon, Jia Lian arrived. Wang Xifeng had someone take the remaining four hundred taels of silver out the second gate, dismissing the others, and then sneered at Jia Lian:

"Lian boy, come here and kowtow to your great-aunt!"

Jia Lian hurriedly asked, "The money is almost in your hands?! Was it given by Lin Daiyu or Baochai?"

Wang Xifeng snorted coldly: "This lady prayed to gods and Buddhas and suffered all kinds of grievances to get these five hundred taels of silver, and you want to take half of it with just a few words? You really know how to scheme!"

Jia Lian looked somewhat embarrassed and urged her to bring the silver so he could leave the city.

Wang Xifeng said, "I'll give you four hundred taels of silver. You can cover this up for me."

Jia Lian laughed and said, "Grandma, you just opened your mouth and asked for one hundred taels of Baoyu. Who can I reason with?"

"Don't try to play the victim with me. Do you think I don't know your story? How many people did I have to beg for this money?"

Seeing that she didn't seem to be lying, Jia Lian could only say, "I also want one hundred taels, and the rest will all go to Baoyu."

After listening, Wang Xifeng thought for a while and said, "You keep the fifty taels for him, so that he doesn't spend it all on that actor."

Jia Lian couldn't help but be amazed. His wife was more attentive to money than anyone else, and she saw through Baoyu's intention to ask for money from the actors at a glance.

After receiving the silver, Jia Lian bowed to her as usual, then took his leave.

Ping'er witnessed the couple's affair and said, "Grandma, earning this hundred taels won't be enough. We still owe the government three thousand taels. In a few days, Miss Bao will be going to the palace."

Wang Xifeng was at a loss for words. Her eyes fell on her, and seeing her beautiful appearance, she suddenly laughed: "Why don't you go to the palace to plead guilty for me and ask the emperor to grant me a few more days?"

Ping'er hurriedly begged for mercy: "I can't go. My legs go weak when I see the emperor. If I embarrass myself, I'll blame Grandma."

"Humph!"

Wang Xifeng turned and went back, and Ping'er hurriedly followed.

(End of this chapter)